Chapter 7:

The next time we saw each other, it was considerably awkward and strained.

The first conversation went something like this:

"Hey."

"Yeah."

She proceeded to completely ignore me throughout the entirety of homeroom and straight up to lunch. Every once in a while, I would sneak a glance back at her and find her staring at me with voluminous eyes. It made me blush, I won't deny it.

The second conversation, after lunch, went like this:

"So."

"Yeah."

"Um, how are you?"

"Fine. How's your head?"

"Better."

"I'm glad."

"Yeah."

Long awkward pause. Then,

"Thank you."

...

"Yeah, um, I'll see you in the clubroom."

"Yeah. Okay."

And life went back to normal. As normal as life can be around Haruhi Suzumiya, anyway.

My mother had practically fainted when I'd come home the night before. I was a wreck, but I hadn't known it until she started screaming and pointing at my head, which was dark-brown with dried blood and matted hair. While my father attended to my mother, my little sister "tsk"ed at me and treated and bandaged the back of my head, all the while lecturing me in her high-pitched voice.

I think Haruhi was worse for the wear. She'd adopted a sudden wary look about her, like a rabbit that knows its hunting season, and would often start up at the opening or closing of a door. I was torn between wanting to hold her and comfort her, and knowing that if I did so, I'd wreck her dignity, so in the end I just became more brusque and sarcastic, which really wasn't a good way of resolving the situation at all. Hey, I'm a guy, okay? Give me a break.

Ever since the praying-mantis incident, the four of us lower SOS Brigade members had been hot on the lookout for the Won Ring of Pawah. As of yet, there still was no indication of where the Won Ring might be, which was getting a little annoying. It seemed to pass hands quickly, mysteriously, and whoever had it was keeping quiet, knowing that if they announced the fact that they could hear other people's thoughts, they'd be branded as not only "crazy" but also "contagious". Occasionally they'd let something slip, and we'd hunt them down like mad, but by the time we got to them, the Ring had passed on. Most likely, the people who had it weren't aware that it was the consequence of the Ring at all.

And so by now we were all stumped, waiting for revelation, and in the meantime Haruhi had lost interest in the Ring for the most part and was going on about the "band" again.

"No, no, Mikuru-chan, don't play it here! Play it here, here, and here!" Asahina-san smiled weakly and attempted to comply with Haruhi's loud demands, tapping the tambourine nervously. The instrument, which had been decorative enough, had acquired various ribbons and silent, tiny bells, added by Asahina-san or Haruhi, as if apologetic for her epic-fail lack of rhythm. Like the girl herself, it was quickly becoming a piece of functionless "stage art". I didn't mind the view, and I doubt any guys in the audience would, either.

For my part, the bass was quickly becoming a habit with me, in dutiful compliance with the wishes of Haruhi. It came with the added benefit of the wordless lessons in the company of Yuki after rehearsals, from time to time. No, no, no, don't get me wrong. I mean wordless as in she'd just show me how to play...What am I thinking? I swear, my brain is going in extremely strange circles recently.

I looked over at the blue-haired girl, who had already mastered the difficult solo passage on her own guitar and was just running over it for appearances' sake. "Ne, Yuki, could you show me something really quick?" I asked. I was still trying to get used to calling her "Yuki", but ever since that moment in the library, she seemed to be getting more and more human. I enjoyed this side of her.

While Yuki demonstrated palm muting with graceful ease, Koizumi was still playing the drums in his own little world, or so it seemed, and Haruhi finally gave up, throwing her hands in the air for good measure, and said, "Fine, fine, just stand there! Don't tap the tambourine, don't move, just stand still and look pretty, okay?" Asahina-san's eyes started to water with tears, and impulsively I decided to stand up for her.

"Oi, Haruhi, give her a break, okay? She's trying her hardest."

"You stay out of it!" Haruhi snapped, and stomped over to the piano. At least what had happened last night hadn't destroyed the effect of her sharp tongue.

I sighed and commenced paying attention to Yuki's instructions. But Asahina-san gave me a little shy smile that melted my heart and effectively demolished whatever educational intent Yuki had been going for.

It was Thursday, and yet again Haruhi had deemed it necessary to have an "emergency" rehearsal, kicking out the rightful inhabitants of the room for her own purposes, despite my protests. I saw them peering in with hopeful/hopeless gazes, but Haruhi stubbornly held her ground, ignoring the rest of us completely and working over a new series of borrowed chords she intended to incorporate in her newest "masterpiece": Hi no Shi.

I sighed and tried to concentrate on the technique Nagato was showing me, until she whispered, without missing a beat, "We have a new lead on the Ring."

I definitely missed the beat, to the scowls of the otherwise inattentive Haruhi. "Really?" I whispered back. "Do we have a better chance than last time?"

She nodded almost imperceptibly. "Taniguchi-san of the same class as you was seen by Koizumi-kun picking up a ring of the given description, and according to a couple of his friends, his actions have been more and more nervous recently."

Uh oh. Taniguchi having a hold of the Ring could only spell out bad things. I made a mental note to stay at least 5 meters away from him tomorrow, lest he discover certain feelings I thought I might be developing for certain girls of my acquaintance.

"Since you are the closest of his acquaintances among the four of us, we need you to be the one to retrieve the Ring from him."

Damn.

"Keep your mind clear, and don't think any suspicious thoughts. On no account should you let him know either the purpose of the Ring, or your intent to get it from him."

Thanks, Yuki. Really, that's very helpful.

She shot me what might have been a look of sympathy. "Don't worry. Koizumi-kun and Asahina-san will be backing you up."

I sighed. "All right. I'll try during lunch tomorrow."

Haruhi stood up from the piano abruptly. "Rehearsal's over," she announced, and, collecting her belongings, stalked out of the room.

Koizumi gave a sideways look at the rest of us. "Nagato-san, did you tell him?" She nodded, and Asahina-san stepped forward to put one of her small hands on my shoulder comfortingly.

"Don't worry," she said, while tingles went up my spine. "The three of us will be lending you support."

Oh, thanks. That's very comforting.

.

The next day, I tried to "keep my mind clear", but it wasn't easy. For one, Haruhi had already taken note of Taniguchi's strange behavior. This was already a huge warning bell. For another, Taneguchi kept sidling up to me and giving me winks in Haruhi's direction. That set the red lights flashing.

But he kept mostly quiet during homeroom and class, and, though I continually kept glancing in his direction, there was, as yet, no sign of the mysterious Ring. Of course he wouldn't be wearing it, but even if he was, I didn't even know what it looked like yet. It was quite aggravating.

I kept watching the clock, so intent on quelling the butterflies in my stomach, as if I were going to step onto a stage and give an oration at noon, that I missed the teacher's questions several times and sank deeper into my chair, hoping to turn invisible from the snickers of my classmates.

Lunch rolled around, finally. The teacher left mysteriously today, leaving the students up to their own devices. I think teachers permanently suffer from the misconception that if they leave the class, the students will continue in the well-behaved pattern that they demonstrate while the teacher is there. Oh, well. They say that ignorance is a kiss...no, a fist...damn, English phrases don't make any sense!

As per the usual, Haruhi whisked off to do her daily patrols of the school, and I took a seat with Taniguchi and Kunikida, always keeping an eye out for the Ring. I wondered if I could sneak a look in his backpack, and kept trying to find excuses to do so.

"Oi, Taniguchi, you remember that movie you said you were going to let me borrow?"

"Yup. Just one minute," he said through a mouthful of rice.

"No, it's okay. I'll get it myself," I said, reaching for the backpack.

He swallowed with a little difficulty and waved his hands. "No, sorry, I forgot to bring it today. Don't worry, I'll bring it tomorrow. Out of curiosity's sake, why are you so interested in my backpack?"

Oops. It looks like I was a little more transparent than I thought. "What makes you think I'm interested in your backpack?"

"Yeah, what's up, Taniguchi?" Kunikida chimed in, so I knew that my behavior didn't look suspicious to anyone else.

He thought for a minute, as though he had something on his mind, and then shook his head. "Nothing, my mistake."

There was a little awkward silence, and then he finally broke it by saying, "But speaking of being interested, wooie! You really have the hots for that girl, don't you?"

I felt my heart stop still. "What girl?"

"You know." He winked audibly (which still doesn't make sense). "Suzumiya-san."

My face went red. "Haruhi is nothing but an obnoxious brat," I said, and stabbed at the tamago in my lunch viciously. "It's not my fault she drags me into everything. I'd switch you places, if I could."

"Uh huh." That look in his eye was far too knowing. Hastily, I changed the subject. "What about you? Don't you like someone right now?"

He looked down sheepishly. "Well...sorta, but she's a third-year, so I don't even think she notices me..."

I closed my eyes. "Let me guess, she has red hair?"

"Yeah..." He took a deep sigh, and, Ring or no Ring, I could see pictures of a maid-costume clad Asahina-san dancing around in his head. I wanted desperately to wring his neck, but restrained, especially as he gave me a sudden sideways look and scooted several inches away from me.

"But don't you think you're a little too serious, Taniguchi?" came Kunikida's voice from the other side. "You're not going to ask her to marry you or anything, are you? I saw you holding an engagement ring earlier." Wow, even Kunikida was ahead of me. Apparently I was a terrible sleuth.

Taniguchi blinked, and then laughed, rummaging around in his backpack. "You mean this?" he asked, and then...I beheld the Ring!

It was somewhat large, with a wide gold band, and a flat square gem set in the middle. At first glance, it appeared to be a regular diamond, but inside, brilliant miniature rainbows were dancing of an amber cast. I caught my breath and tried to not to think about what it meant. Taniguchi stroked it with a little absent smile on his face, and I could swear I heard him purr, "My preciousssss..."

"Hey, let me see it," Kunikida said, and pulled it from Taniguchi's grasp. His eyes suddenly opened wide as he held it, and he cast a sharp glance over his shoulder at a certain bashful, purple-haired girl who sat two seats away from him in class.

"So that's it," he murmured to himself quietly. "That's why she's been behaving so..."

"Oi, quit talking to yourself," Taniguchi admonished him. Apparently, as soon as you let go of the Ring, you forget that you ever had the power to read other people's thoughts.

Kunikida turned to retort, but the next instant the Ring had been plucked from his hand by another girl in the class. "Hey, what's this...Ooh!" Her eyes went wide, too, and I attempted to keep myself from face-palming or punching the desk, and half succeeded, face-desking instead.

The girl scowled as she turned to one of the other girls she'd been eating lunch with. "I can't believe you'd say such things, Reiko-kun! How could you be so mean?" She put the Ring down on the desk and marched over to the girl, but then forgot exactly why she was so upset. The next girl picked it up, and exclaimed, "I am not!" to Taniguchi and hit him over the head.

You can see where this is going. General mayhem ensued, but it was a sort of stop-action mayhem, in which everything seemed to be run through a strobe-light, and in the end, everyone was angry with everyone else and no one knew why. In the meantime, I tried desperately to get my hands on the Won Ring of Pawah, but it seems fate was against me; it kept getting farther and farther away.

Of course, I can't really figure out why no one realized it was the Ring's doing. It should be obvious, right: I'm not holding the Ring, I'm not hearing people's thoughts. I'm holding the Ring, I'm hearing people's thoughts. But apparently the Time-Traveler fellows of Asahina-san who had made the Ring of Pawah had endowed it such that unless you'd been told, you wouldn't know.

Haruhi took this moment to reenter the scene. After casting a bemused glance around at the noisy classroom, she frowned and walked over to where I was sitting. "Kyon, what on earth is going on...why are you staring at me like that?"

She was speaking to the boy who just happened to have the Ring at the time. A smirk was planted on his face, and he kept looking from her to me. Despite my best efforts, I was still about seven meters away, so he had to be reading Haruhi's thoughts, not mine. In any case, the implications of the look were pretty clear.

She marched over to him and whacked him on the shoulder. Then she noticed the Ring.

"What's this?" she asked curiously, and I took this moment to panic.

As she reached for it, I bolted over, maybe even flew, I don't know, and lunged for the Ring. I was unable to grab it, but at least I knocked it out of her hand so that it flew with amber rainbows sparkling in the air, and was caught again by Taniguchi.

"What, Kyon, you afraid that someone might propose to Suzumiya before you?" he asked with a smirk, and I thanked whatever gods other than Haruhi that were out there that I was standing far away enough to be out of the range of the Ring's power.

I sighed. "No, it's not that..." but Haruhi was already marching over to Taniguchi and again reaching for the Ring of Pawah.

Again, I somehow got over there before her and grabbed it from him. I had a brief few seconds of hearing foggy voices in my head, among which were Haruhi's "What's up with him? I wonder if it has anything to do with that ring?", Taniguchi's "Hey! That's mine, I found it!" and Kunikida's "Hmm...that purple-haired girl isn't so bad looking...I wonder if I should ask her out?" before I tripped over Haruhi's outstretched foot, placed there for that purpose, and the Won Ring went flying out the window (which fortunately opened to the outside).

We all watched it fly, as if in slow motion, and then drop to the ground three stories below outside. I sent a panicked look to where I knew Asahina-san and Koizumi to be watching around the door of the classroom, trying to signal where it had went, but Koizumi was explaining to a teacher outside what they were doing there, and Asahina-san just smiled sweetly.

Far below, I watched as an unsuspecting stray cat prowled up to the Ring, lapped at it curiously, and swallowed. A second later, it gave an unearthly yowl and tore off madly, as though it was demon-possessed.

Well, we were safe for now, at least. But who knew when the Ring would show up again?

Author's Notes: Sorry this chapter is so poorly written! I knew it needed to get done, but I was plumb out of inspiration, and this is the result. Gomen nasai!