Pretty much as promised, here is the next chapter! I probably would have had it done yesterday, but I got a cold. XP

Also, I'd like to announce that I've gotten my very own Meet the Suzumiyas website! You can read both the Meet the Suzumiyas fic and the sequel there. There is also a shoutbox and a location for any fanart you guys might be interested in posting. I'd like to say thank you to Medz03 for building it for me. The URL is www(dot)meetthesuzumiyas(dot)co(dot)cc/ I hope all of you come and check it out!

Anyway, let's get this party started!

Chapter 4

It wasn't long ago that it was mandatory for all Japanese students to go to school on a Saturday. My parents would remark about how important it was to their education and how removing it was a huge mistake. A lot of the older generation seems to think that a full weekend for teens is contributing to the corruption and denigration of the younger generation.

Right now, I'm thinking that all of those old fogies should remove those sticks up their asses.

I was currently trying to complete the make-up exams that were given out to anyone not able to make their exams earlier this week. The testing was done in a completely different classroom than my normal class, which felt really, really weird. Worse still, I wasn't even able to take the seat that was second to the back and next to the window. I'd been sitting in that seat in my own class for so long that it felt weird to sit anywhere else.

To compound it all, I didn't have Haruhi behind me. I know in the past I would complain about how she would get done early and snore away, becoming a huge distraction. However, I found that not having her behind me was an even worse distraction! What the hell is wrong with me? This feeling of uneasiness was definitely affecting my performance. Dammit, and to think that I was technically better prepared for this exam than any other I'd ever taken, thanks to Haruhi's tutoring. Was it all a waste? Am I really this helpless without my girlfriend's support. This sucks!

Thankfully, when I had completed the exams, I was free to leave. Unfortunately as I was walking home, I felt like a cumulonimbus cloud was following me overhead, raining down onto me. My mother was going to kill me when she found out my test results. If they were bad enough, I'd bet that she'd travel all the way back down here just to make sure I went to a cram school over the summer. That would really ruin my summer break, as I was hoping I'd be able to spend it with Haruhi.

When I came home, I saw Oruki and Naru-san both in the living room, although Naru-san was actually spending time on the computer. I didn't give it much mind until Naru-san called me over.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"I...don't know," she said with a look of confusion. "The computer is...taking a long time to do stuff."

That's odd. I know this computer is no longer brand new, but it should still run pretty fast for most applications. I took a closer look at how the computer was behaving, and sure enough, it took nearly a minute for the computer to even open the web browser. "It shouldn't be this slow. Something's wrong."

Naru-san looked worried. "Oh no! Did I do something to it?"

"I'm thinking that it might be infected with a virus or two. Have you been clicking around on some suspicious web banners?"

"I don't think so," she said before smiling brightly. "I did click on this one advertisement that said it would clean up my computer and make it super fast for free! It's a good thing I downloaded that! Looks like I needed it!"

I placed my hand on my face. I should have known that Naru-san's inexperience with computers would potentially doom this one. When I looked at the program she downloaded, sure enough that it was indeed a Trojan program. "I'm afraid that program you downloaded was actually a virus."

Her eyes widened. "Really? Oh my..." She scowled at the computer, which I had to admit was kinda adorable. I think that might be the first time I've seen that expression on her face. "Those sneaky bastards."

"You have to be more careful in the future. The internet is full of scams and cons."

"Can you fix it?" said Naru-san with the look of a begging puppy.

I sighed before looking at the computer screen once more. "I'll try..."

So for the next two hours I tried my best to combat the viruses that Naru-san foolishly downloaded. I ran the computers anti-virus programs over and over, tried looking around the system folders for suspicious files, and looked at the registry, but I ultimately failed to save the computer. I simply lacked the know how to fix an infection this bad.

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling defeated.

"No, I should be the one to apologize," said Naru-san sadly. "I ruined our computer."

"Don't worry. I know someone who can help."

"Who?"

"Nagato. She's pretty much a uber-hacker. And if that doesn't help, I'm sure she could just use her powers to fix it."

"Oooo, that's the alien, right?"

"Who's the alien?" came a voice behind us.

I jumped the moment I heard it. It was Haruhi, who was checking out what was going on.

"N...nothing," I said. "I was just joking around with your mother."

Haruhi leaned forward to take a look at the screen. "Something wrong with the computer?"

"You mother downloaded some viruses, and I failed to remove them."

"Mom!" she yelled. "How could you ruin it already?"

"Sorry..." Naru-san said with her head down.

Haruhi sighed. "I guess I'll ask Yuki-chan to help. Speaking of which..." She looked at me. "We need to get going. Go change into some casual clothes."

Oruki overheard us. "Where are you two going?"

I was worried that we might have to come up with some excuse for why we were going out, but Haruhi was surprisingly honest. "We're going out to spy on our friend, Yuki-chan. She's going out on her first date and we have to make sure she's safe."

Oruki seemed a bit dumbfounded. "What?"

"I don't trust that guy that she's going out with. I'm almost certain that he going to try and do something perverted, so I'm gathering the Brigade to make sure that if he tries anything, we will prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law!"

If you really didn't trust him that much, why'd you even offer to let him go out with Nagato? And what law exactly are we prosecuting him on? I'm pretty sure the SOS Brigade has absolutely zero legal authority.

"Sounds like you guys are going to have a lot of fun," said Naru-san. "Try not to get into trouble!"

Oruki didn't even respond, instead turning back to watching TV. There's only so much of his daughter's weirdness that he could take.

After that, I quickly went upstairs and changed. Once I was done, Haruhi and I were out the door towards wherever we were planning to meet the others. I was sure to note that she was carrying a bag with her as we left.

Haruhi and I met up with Asahina-san and Koizumi at the center of town. Haruhi looked around the area suspiciously before she gathered us together.

"As you all know, we're on a secret mission to watch Yuki-chan and keep her safe during her date with that computer club guy. It's the responsibility of all members to look out for one another in their greatest moments of need."

I would hardly call a date the "greatest moment of need". Nagato was more than capable of taking care of herself, even when it comes to something like this. Of course, I'd be lying if I said I was thrilled over the prospect of Nagato dating anyone. I'd feel the same if it was Asahina-san as well. As I've said before, you could say that I was protective of all the girls in the Brigade.

I wasn't bothered by the idea of keeping an eye out on Nagato. I was more bothered with how we were going about it. We were going to do this like some kind of spy mission, but wouldn't it have made more sense to set the first date up as some kind of double date? That way we could kill two birds with one stone. I wouldn't mind going on a real date with Haruhi. It's been a over week since our last one.

"We can't do that, Kyon," said Haruhi. "If he knows we're here, then he won't try anything. We need to be secretive so that we can see this guy's true colors."

I shook my head in defeat. I guess there was some kind of warped logic going on in her brain.

"I think it's really romantic that Nagato-san is going on a date," said Asahina-san with a blush.

Koizumi nodded in an annoying manner. "I think it's should be our responsibility to ensure that this date will be a positive experience for Nagato-san.

The best way to ensure that this date will be anything close to positive is if we stay out of it...not that I was planning on following my own advice. Man, I'm a huge hypocrite.

"There she is," said Haruhi while pointing. "Get down."

Sure enough, there was Nagato walking down the street towards our usual meeting spot. I knew already that we were wasting our time hiding from her. She probably knew we were here even before we noticed her. In any case, if she did know we were here, she didn't show any signs of it. I was surprised to find that she wasn't wearing her school uniform. Instead, she was wearing a light yellow sundress. I wondered when she would have bought it or whether it was her idea to wear it. In any case, it looked good on her.

A couple minutes later, we spotted the extremely nervous looking computer club president. He was dressed casually enough, but you could tell that he probably messed with his hair a bit too much. I almost felt bad for the guy...almost.

"Okay, everyone," whispered Haruhi. "When the two of them move out, we'll try to follow them while wearing these." She then pulled out of her bag four baseball caps and four pairs of sunglasses. "We should be inconspicuous while we have these on."

Uh, no. If anything, wearing these things will make us more conspicuous. Are you trying to get us caught?

"An excellent plan," said Koizumi.

Will you stop kissing up to my girlfriend? Of all people, surely you should be aware of the stupidity of this plan!

"Stop complaining, Kyon!" said Haruhi almost to loudly. "Just stick to the plan."

I sighed deeply before putting on the baseball cap and sunglasses. Haruhi tied a ponytail before putting her cap on, which pleased me greatly. Asahina-san put her hair into twin tails as well. Before long, we were all in our "disguises" and had begun to follow the two towards wherever they were going.

After a minute of following them, I noticed Koizumi leaning towards me way too close. I swear the next time you do that I'm decking you!

"You seem conflicted."

"What gives you that idea?"

I noticed that his pace was slowing down slightly, giving me the impression that he wanted to put a little distance between the two of us and Haruhi. I reluctantly complied.

"I was just watching you for a bit. You appear to react negatively to both our current task, as well as the entrance of Nagato-san's date."

Would you please watch me less? It's kinda creepy. "What about it?"

"It just seems to me that your desire for Nagato-san to express her freedom conflicts with your desire for her security. You want her to be happy but are protective of her as well."

"What I want is for you to stop analyzing me."

He ignored my complaint and continued. "I suppose you'd feel the same if Asahina-san were in that position...or if Suzumiya-san were there."

Of course I'd be upset if Haruhi were out on a date with that guy! If that were the case, I'd probably skip the spying and go directly to strangling him.

Koizumi chuckled lightly. "Perhaps you see yourself as a bit of a parental figure in our group. The father, maybe?"

Do I look old enough to be a father to you? I've been told that my voice is deep for my age, but still.

Koizumi motioned his hand towards Haruhi. "And Suzumiya-san would probably be the mother figure. In a sense, we're all one family."

Strangest family I've ever met...okay maybe second strangest. It's kinda debatable. Oh, and by the way, if you were to start dating some girls, I wouldn't feel bad in the slightest.

"I'm just commenting on how much our group has changed over the last year. It kinda relates to how we've all changed in that time."

Funny, you don't seem to have changed much. You're every bit as annoying as you ever were. "Is there some kind of point that you're trying to make?"

"No, not really. I'm just babbling."

I really hate it when you talk to me about things that don't matter. It was then that I remembered something I wanted to talk about. "Anyway, about that thing that came out of my nose. Have you guys found it yet?"

Koizumi shook his head. "I'm afraid the answer is no. We're doing the best we can, but like Nagato-san, we espers can only detect its presence when it's relatively close by."

"Aren't the interfaces helping you?"

"From what I understand, they're doing what they can to track it down, but I wouldn't say that our searching is coordinated. We're pretty much acting independently with only myself and Nagato-san to communicate in between."

"That doesn't seem very efficient."

"I doesn't, does it?" he said as he scratched the back of his head. "Even though our two factions are allied, we try not to get in each others' way. We have our ways of tracking it down. They have their own."

"Let's just hope one of you guys find it. Is Asahina-san's faction helping, too?"

"We've heard nothing from them. It seems to me that they're staying out of it."

That doesn't sound good...

"There was something I wanted to asked you," said Koizumi. "I wasn't able to ask you yesterday due to Suzumiya-san's interference, but I wanted to know what had happened Thursday evening after we split up."

"What do you want to know?"

"I was wondering if something either of you said might have been the cause of the reawakening of the super-analog creature. Anything you can answer could be helpful in allowing us to track it down."

I paused for a second before answering. "Haruhi was telling me about that incident during Tanabata four years ago. She admitted to me that she wasn't alone that night."

"That was when Asahina-san brought you back in time to meet her, correct? I'm assuming that she doesn't know the identity of the stranger she met that night."

"Yeah. She told me she wanted to meet that guy so she could thank him."

"And did you feel at all strange after that conversation?"

"I got a really bad headache right afterward. By the time I woke up the next morning, I was violently ill."

"I see," said Koizumi, who was no longer smiling. Instead, he appeared to be in rather deep contemplation. "It's about what I suspected. It seems that the reawakening of that creature was related to what she had told you. She expressed a desire to meet the man that inspired her to come to North High, and immediately after, she used her power to alter the nature of that creature."

"Wait a minute," I said confusedly. "What do you mean by alter? I thought she just woke it up?"

"You told me yourself that you saw it yesterday after you sneezed it out, correct?"

"Yeah, why?"

"If you'll remember, the original creature was invisible to us until Nagato-san altered the space around us to match the spectrum of the creature. Essentially, you should not have seen anything. Not only that, but the original fragment was considered inactive because the surroundings of your head were not made of any cellulose. And yet, not only was it able to awaken, it even grew a little, correct?"

"I guess so. Wasn't it originally supposed to be microscopic?"

"Precisely. This leads me to believe that although this new creature is similar to the original, it's also likely to be somewhat different as well."

"Just how different are we talking?"

"I can't say, although I would hope it's no more formidable that the original. I do remember that being a rather difficult battle."

No kidding. The original "tentacle beast" was tough enough that even the combined efforts of Koizumi and Nagato almost weren't enough.

"In any case," said Koizumi, "we should not underestimate what it can do. Since it seems to be visible outside of super-analog space now, it could be very troublesome of you do not destroy it before it reaches full maturity. We have to do what we can to prevent the public from discovering it."

I began to imagine the entire city being smashed into bit by the rampaging monster, followed by it being uselessly attacked by military weapons. That's just what the world needed, a bad science fiction movie coming to life.

"In any case, I'll be sure to update you later," said Koizumi. "The information you've given me should be helpful. I'll make sure Nagato-san knows about it later."

"I just hope you guys get rid of it once and for all. It's given all of us enough trouble."

"There!" said Haruhi as she pointed ahead. "They're going in there!"

Sure enough, we spotted Nagato and the president walking into a nearby restaurant. It was one of those moderately decent ones that wasn't extremely classy but was definitely a step above a fast food joint.

"We're going to wait a few minutes before going in," said Haruhi. "We all need to keep a low profile as to not draw attention."

Yeah, like that's going to happen. Next you'll have us dress as ninjas so we could sneak in unnoticed.

"I wanted to buy us some ninja costumes, but they were too expensive," said Haruhi with a frown.

Uh...yeah, I was being sarcastic. The fact that you would think that was a good idea almost hurts my head.

My criticism was ignored, and we all stood around like idiots for the next few minutes. A few patrons that were entering or leaving gave us weird looks as they walked by. This was going to be a disaster.

When we finally entered, we managed to find a booth we could sit at that gave us a good look at the two of them without being too close. When the waitress approached (she was polite enough not to comment on our ridiculous attire), we made our drink orders.

Haruhi pointed at Nagato. "What is she drinking?"

Waitress raised an eyebrow before looking at the other table. "I believe she is having the mint tea."

"I'll have that!" ordered Haruhi.

After taking writing that down, the waitress polite bowed before walking away to get our drinks.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Don't worry," said Haruhi. "It's all apart of the plan."

I sighed before leaning onto my hand. And to think this would've so much better if we'd have done this my way. Right now, the four of us looked like the most bizarre double date in history. Of course, the idea of Koizumi and Asahina-san dating made my stomach churn, so I was quick to dismiss the idea.

After we all got our drinks and made our orders, Haruhi announced her plan. "Here's what we need to do. Our goal is to switch my drink with Yuki-chan's."

"Why would we want to do that?" I asked.

"Simple. You see, it's likely that that pervert has slipped some kind of drug into Yuki-chan's drink while she wasn't paying attention. In order to thwart his attempts to take advantage of Yuki-chan, we need to make sure she doesn't drink the drug!"

I placed my hand on my face. Not only was the idea of Nagato being drugged patently absurd, even if he did try to do it, I doubt it would work. Of course, Haruhi didn't know that, but even still, this plan was stupid.

"How are we going to accomplish this task without getting caught?" asked Koizumi.

"That's easy," said Haruhi while looking at me. "You're going to do it while they're distracted."

"Why me?" I said half-annoyed.

"You're the one who looks the least recognizable wearing the disguise. We need to make sure neither of them discover our plan."

"How are we going to pull this off without them noticing?" I said.

"We'll create a distraction," said Haruhi while looking at Asahina-san. "That'll be your job, Mikuru-chan!"

Asahina-san became very nervous. "Me? Why do I have to do it?"

"Relax, you're perfect for the job! All you have to do is get up and bump into a waitress holding some drinks. That should create enough of a distraction for Kyon to move in and switch the glasses!" She then pointed at me. "Take my drink and get into position! When you see Mikuru-chan create her distraction, you know what to do!"

I hung my head in embarrassment as I took the drink and got up from the table. I slowly made my way around the restaurant, being sure not to be seen by the president. When I got into position, I felt myself getting really nervous. I knew that one small misstep would result in getting caught and blowing my cover. When I looked at the two of them, they seemed to be just silently sitting there, not talking much. It wasn't a surprise. Nagato is difficult to talk to if you don't know her very well. No doubt the computer club president felt very awkward.

I noticed Asahina-san getting up from the table. She was a nervous wreck as she looked around for someone to bump into. Dammit, Haruhi! I can understand you wanting me to do your dirty work, but why drag her into this?

It was then that she spotted a waitress with a tray full of glasses. As the waitress came close, Asahina-san took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She then started running towards the waitress. Unfortunately, she missed the waitress completely and instead bumped into a table next to her. She fell on top of it and tipped it over, causing all the food to spill onto her. I felt so bad for the little time-traveler that I almost missed my chance to switch the drinks.

Despite the poor execution, the distraction worked perfectly. The president looked towards the incident, completely unaware that I was walking next to him. I quickly took Nagato's drink and switched it. While I did that, I heard the president say something along the lines of "Do I know her?" It should be noted that Nagato herself did not fall for the distraction at all, instead looking at me. I only had enough time to look at her apologetically before I walked away with her drink. Man, this was humiliating.

Minutes later, Asahina-san was sitting at the table, covered in bits of food. Her embarrassment had resulted in a downpour of tears. Man, it pissed me off whenever Asahina-san was upset.

"Good job, Mikuru-chan!" said Haruhi. "As always, you prove that you're worthy of the title of Deputy Vice Chief!"

"It's all yucky," whimpered Asahina-san as she tried to wipe off the food with a napkin.

"Was it really necessary to send her to do that?" I said. "Why couldn't you have done it?"

"Everyone has their duty, Kyon! If I did everything, what would be the point of having a Brigade?"

You just didn't want to get your hands dirty. Stupid, selfish Brigade Chief.

"What should we do with the drink we just switched?" said Koizumi.

Haruhi eyed the glass closely. "Did she drink any of it?"

"It appears Nagato-san has taken a few sips of it," said Koizumi.

Haruhi rubbed her chin. "We need to find out quickly if it's really been drugged. We don't have much time. There's only one way to know for sure!" She then looked at Koizumi. "You need to drink it!"

Why does he have to drink it? It was your idea. Why don't you drink it?

Haruhi scowled at me. "You would allow me to ingress a potentially dangerous drug? How could you be so inconsiderate!"

"You're the one who's making accusations about drugs," I said. The truth is, though, that my real objection to Koizumi drinking the mint tea was that it meant he would get an indirect kiss from her. It bothered me almost as much as the idea of him and Asahina-san dating. Damn him!

"I guess it can't be helped," said Koizumi as he drank the mint tea down. We waited around a minute to see if anything happened.

"How are you feeling, Koizumi-kun," said Haruhi. "Are you feeling light-headed? Is the world spinning? Getting sick?"

"I feel fine, I'm afraid."

See? I knew this was a huge waste of time! Asahina-san got messy, I got humiliated, and Koizumi got an indirect kiss that he totally didn't deserve! And for what? Nothing!

Haruhi ignored my complaints and instead continued to rub her chin. "He's craftier than I thought..."

Or maybe...just maybe, he's not planning anything at all. I can't believe I'm defending the guy, but there's a really good possibility that he's half-way decent. And I'm well aware of the hypocrisy I've been displaying!

"Don't worry. When we're done eating, we'll keep following them. Perhaps he didn't know where to get his hands on those kinds of drugs and is planning something else."

I placed my hand on my forehead. You know what? Whatever. I just hope this nightmare ends soon.

So after everyone finished their meals (I was stuck with the check), we continued to follow Nagato and her date. Eventually, they made their way to a movie theater. We waited until they bought their tickets before we went in line. However, when it time to buy our tickets, we came across a problem.

"Which movie did they buy tickets for, Kyon?"

"How am I supposed to know? None of us were close enough to find out."

Haruhi frowned before looking at the ticket salesperson. "What movies are about to start?" There were three movies that were going to start soon, so we ended up buying tickets for one of them, hoping we would get lucky (I paid for them, too). After that, we bought some popcorn, soda and candy at the concession stand (also paid for by yours truly). After we went inside the theater we bought tickets for, we looked around for Nagato and the president. After failing to find them there, Haruhi took us back to see the manager and demanded that we have our tickets exchanged. After spending five minutes arguing with the poor guy, we were given tickets for a different movie, and we went into that theater...only to find that one wasn't the right one either. Finally, Haruhi just had us go into the last theater that we hadn't tried without bothering to switch tickets, stating that since we paid for tickets anyway, it didn't matter. I was too exasperated to care.

When we finally found Nagato and the president, we strategically positioned ourselves behind them, making sure not to be noticed. From where we were, we could easily see if anything were to happen between them.

In hindsight, we should have found out what the third movie was beforehand. It turned out to be a horror movie. Now I'm not saying that I was scared or anything. My real concern was for Asahina-san, who I knew would be terrified. Sure enough, when the scarier bits of the movie appeared, she would instinctively squeak in fear and start trembling before grabbing Koizumi's arm. Dammit! Stop getting all the action, Koizumi! You're pissing me off.

Of course, Haruhi was too busy eying our targets to pay attention to the movie, so their was no chance that she would grab my arm or anything like that. Aren't girlfriends supposed to get scared and hang onto their boyfriends for comfort and support during these movies? Isn't that the point of watching them? This is the worst date ever!

About halfway through the movie, Haruhi and I noticed that the president was attempting to put his hand onto Nagato's. Without hesitation, Haruhi grabbed a box of candy and threw it directly at him. It clocked him directly in the head.

"Ow!" he said before turning towards us. "Who the hell did that?"

Everyone ducked behind the seats before he could notice us. We waited a few minutes before peeking our heads out. He seemed to give up looking for who assaulted him, still rubbing the back of his head. It was a good thing the theater had plenty of people, or else we would've been busted.

Eventually, the movie ended, and we were forced to follow the two once more. I was still irked by the fact that Asahina-san was still holding onto Koizumi's arm, probably still traumatized by the experience. Koizumi seemed somewhat uncomfortable with her doing it, but I couldn't figure out why. If I had Asahina-san holding onto my arm like that...never mind. It should have been someone else who did that.

"Pay attention, Kyon," hissed Haruhi. By now, we were walking through a very familiar park, the same one where I met with Nagato the night she told me she was an alien and the one where Asahina-san told me she was a time-traveler. In fact, this place has been the center of a lot of weird things.

And tonight would be no different. Haruhi stopped us momentarily to pull something out of her bag. "Before we let them go home, I want to put that guy through a test!"

"What kind of test?" I asked reluctantly.

Haruhi then pulled out two ski masks. "I want you and Koizumi-kun to wear these and pretend to be muggers! I want to see for myself what that guy's true nature is!"

You've got to be kidding me. You want us to pose as criminals? Is this really necessary? Haven't we ruined their date enough? Even I'm starting to feel bad for the guy, and I was against him dating Nagato from the start.

Haruhi ignored me again and shoved the mask into my chest. "Put it on!"

I sighed and shook my head before putting the thing on. It was really fuzzy, itchy, and hot. It was the last thing I'd want to wear in the middle of a hot summer evening.

After Koizumi and I donned our disguises, we hurried away and tried our best to sneak around the couple. When we got into position, we waited until the two of them were close before we suddenly popped out.

I did my best to look menacing, even going as far as disguising my voice. "Give us your money!"

Koizumi just stood there in a formal manner, looking really out of place. "Yes, it would be in your best interest to give us all of your valuables. It would be a shame if we had to bring harm upon you."

Wow...Koizumi, you have got to be the worst thug in history.

Despite the fact that we were easily the least intimidating crooks of all time, the president immediately panicked and fell onto his butt. "Please don't hurt us!"

Even though I was supposed to be in character, I couldn't help but place a hand on my face when I saw that. I was beyond embarrassed now. Thank goodness Nagato didn't seem to care. All she did was tilt her head slightly, probably wondering what we were up to.

A moment later, the president suddenly remembered that it was his responsibility to keep his date safe. He gritted his teeth and stood up. "If you want to hurt her, you'll have to go through me first!"

You can't be serious. You're actually going to fight back? Face it, you're outnumbered and you have no chance to...

I didn't get to complete my thought before a fist collided with my nose, knocking me off my feet. It hurt really badly.

"Ow!" I screamed as I removed the mask and rubbed my nose. "That hurt!"

It was then that I realized that I'd blown my cover. The computer club president looked at me strangely. "Wait a minute. I know you!" He then looked at Koizumi, who by now was shaking his head in what must have been shame. After recognizing him as well, he started to look around the park suspiciously. "What going on here?"

It was then that Haruhi and Asahina-san popped out from behind a tree. Haruhi stared angrily at me. "Dammit, Kyon! You blew it!"

What do you mean I blew it? Doesn't the fact that he fought back mean he passed the test?

"I knew it!" said the president. "It just figures that you guys would try and ruin my date! Rotten SOS Brigade!"

"We were just making sure you behaved yourself while you were out with Yuki-chan!" said Haruhi. "The last thing we needed was for you to take advantage of her!"

"What?" he said, quite taken aback. "What would make you think that I'd do such a thing?"

"Have you forgotten what you did to poor Mikuru-chan? She's still traumatized by it."

"That was your fault!"

"I bet you still enjoyed it."

The president was really pissed off now. "That's it! The deal's off! I want my computer back!"

Haruhi shook her head. "Sorry, no refunds."

"That's ridiculous! You ruined my date! That should be grounds for the termination of our contract!"

"You know what they say. Let the buyer beware!"

After gritting his teeth a bit longer, the president sighed deeply before looking at Nagato. "I'm sorry. You're really great and all, but...your friends are crazy."

Hey, I take offense to that! Only one of us is crazy!

"As much as I'd love another date, if I'm going to be harassed like this, it's not worth it...not that you aren't worth it or anything, it's just that I have to think about my sanity here."

Nagato's expression almost seemed...disappointed? "...I see."

The president then looked back at Haruhi. "You'll pay for this!"

Haruhi responded by sticking her tongue out and pulling her eye-lid down. Real mature there, Haruhi.

The president stormed off. "Just you wait, you'll be sorry you messed with me! This will be the last time I get screwed over by you guys!" After that, he was gone.

Haruhi placed a hand on Nagato's shoulder. "Don't worry, Yuki-chan! You can do better than him!"

I had to admit that I had mixed feelings about what happened. I was relieved that Nagato was single again, and yet I still felt bad for the guy. I also was worried about the fact that despite our intentions, we didn't really take into consideration Nagato's feelings. When I thought of that, I started to feel really guilty. Did we really do the right thing? I had my doubts.

In any case, I also had to wonder what that guy meant when he said he'd make us pay. Guess we'll find out soon enough.

The four of us walked Nagato home before we split off our separate ways. I was completely exhausted after this ordeal and was hoping to go home and relax a little.

It was then that Haruhi made an annoying comment. "I can't believe you got beat up by that guy."

Hey! He didn't beat me up! He...he just caught me off guard.

"Sure," she said.

Hey! I could have taken him any time I wanted. Remember when I beat Koizumi in the mud wrestling tournament?

"You only won because you cheated."

I didn't break any rules, so it was totally legit! And what about the time I stood up to your dad?

"He beat the crap out of you!"

Ha! That's only because I didn't fight back. If I did, I totally maybe might have somehow landed a punch if the stars had aligned in my favor or something...I'm not a wimp!

"Oh well," said Haruhi with a sigh. "I didn't fall for you because you were tough." She then grabbed my arm and hugged it tightly. Finally, something about this evening I could enjoy!

After we walked for a little while, I could tell that Haruhi seemed to have some regrets about how tonight went. Just as we got to the street we lived on, she spoke up. "Maybe we should go on a real date tomorrow."

A real date, huh? That sounds like music to my ears! Too bad there was one major problem. "I'm out of money until my parents send me some more. Sorry."

Haruhi frowned a bit before speaking. "Fine, I'll pay."

Really? You're not just saying that are you?

"You're just lucky I'm not an old fashioned kind of girl. You seriously need to make more money!"

What do you expect from a high school student with no job? Money is hard to come by.

"Whatever. You just better come up with some really good ideas for tomorrow. If I'm going to pay, you better make it worth my while!"

"I think I can think of something."

It was then that we made it home. After we came in and took off our shoes, I greeted Oruki and Naru-san cheerfully. "Good evening."

"Back so soon, huh?" said Oruki. "How was your date?"

"It was hardly a date," I said.

"Sure it wasn't," he said as he went back to watching TV.

"Was it fun?" asked Naru-san.

"You could say that it was mission accomplished!" said Haruhi with a thumbs up. "Thanks to our efforts, Yuki-chan is safely at home!"

Naru-san giggled. "I take it that you two already ate?"

"Yeah," I said as I walked upstairs. "Have a good night!"

After that, Haruhi and I went upstairs and gave each other a kiss before we went into our rooms. I laid on my bed and grabbed a manga that I'd bought recently that I'd yet to finish. Just as I was almost done, I heard my phone ring. At first, I thought it was Koizumi wanting to talk to me about something, but I was surprised to find instead that it was my mother.

What she told me would terrify me more than anything I'd heard in months. She told me that she and dad would be visiting next week...

Yay for more plot threads! What else could go wrong for poor Kyon? Guess we'll find out next chapter!

Oh, and I forgot to mention this earlier, but thank you guy for filling out the Meet the Suzumiyas page on TvTropes. There's plenty more tropes to add, I'm sure, so if you guys want to keep going, be my guest!

See you guys later!