What Took You So Long?
"Asakura-san?"
Ryoko looked confused, "Have we met before?"
So that's how it was. She must be one of the original's clones. This wasn't my first time seeing Ryoko once again after Haruhi had disappeared.
I smiled. "No, I just read it from you name badge." For emphasis, I pointed to the pin on her chest.
Ryoko's face lit up, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I can be such an airhead sometimes."
Airhead? No, that's not how I would describe you. Psychopath? Yes, that's how I would describe you.
"Kyoonnn…" Akane said as she stumbled down the steps behind me, "Suddenly, I'm really tired."
I kept smiling in front of Ryoko. I didn't trust this girl one bit, and now that I was on her turf, I wasn't going to let my defenses down.
"Are there hotel rooms prepared for us?" I asked.
"Yes, but I'm afraid you'll have to meet with Dr. Shulz first. She's been expecting you for quite some time now. I'll arrange for another car to pick up your companion. Will that be alright?"
Well I guess Dr. Shulz didn't want to dilly-dally around. Fine by me, I'm just as eager to see who you really are.
I nodded and whispered to Akane to get some sleep at the hotel. I got into the car that Ryoko had prepared for me. As the driver took me to Dr. Shulz's destination, I admired the beauty of the island. The airport that we had landed at was right next to the beautiful beach. The waters sparkled brilliantly, and the sand looked so warm and inviting that all I wanted to do at that moment was dip my toes into it.
The island wasn't perfect though. There was a patch of what looked like swampland over to the west. Like the beach's opposite, it was dark and forbidding. Because the rest of the island looked so nice, I was surprised that the architects who had originally planned and built all the buildings had left the swampland there.
We had arrived at a large building that had the logo "Shulz Sciences" in the front. Two security officers were manning the doors, and as I walked in they began accompanying me.
"Top floor, sir."
The elevator that took me to the top floor was all glass, and I was able to see the island once again from above. As I pressed my forearm against the glass and looked at the beautiful vista, a shiver went down my spine.
The doors opened, and the guards nodded at me. "Your stop, sir."
I stepped out into what was one big room. Everything was made of glass, and I couldn't tell whether all the blue from outside was from the sky or sea. A desk was in the middle of the glass room and behind it a stunning, silver-haired woman. Glasses adorned her face and upon seeing me, it seemed like the glint covered the entire lens as if the glasses themselves were giving off light.
"Hello, Kyon," Dr. Shulz said, "What took you so long?"
"I guess my papers and fake identity didn't slip past you." I replied as I sat down in front of her.
Dr. Shulz smiled. "How could they, I recognized your face as soon as I saw the photos. The infamous lackie of Haruhi Suzumiya."
I grimaced, "I really don't like being called that."
"My apologies. But honestly, that's not the reason why I recognized you. You're a very good acquaintance of my daughter."
"Your daughter?"
Dr. Shulz flipped a picture frame on her desk for me to see. In the picture was Dr. Shulz and unmistakably Yuki Nagato.
"You're Nagato's mother then?" I said trying my best to remain cool. It had been a long time since I got news about Yuki.
"In a manner of speaking," Dr. Shulz said, "I programmed the majority of her code and designed her framework. As you can tell from her appearance, she was a particular favorite of mine. The emotion was hard to do. Whereas all the other data constructs were trying to perfect emotion responses so that humans wouldn't be able to distinguish us from other humans, I was trying to create a being that had genuine internal emotions. Or at least as close as I could get anyways. The Data Overmind gave me high commendations for creating her."
Shoot, I was in front of one of the top guns of the aliens. I could take her out right now and cripple their organization.
Dr. Shulz grinned as if she knew what I was thinking. "Do you know why creating Yuki Nagato was so amazing?"
"Why's that?"
"Because in the beginning, as much as Haruhi was complaining about not meeting an alien friend, she could have very easily done so with one of our other constructs: Ryoko Asakura.
I frowned. That was right wasn't it? Asakura, the alien, was in our class the year I met Haruhi. She also took every opportunity to get closer to Haruhi, but for some reason Haruhi was never really interested.
"Why didn't Haruhi like her?" I asked.
Dr. Shulz shrugged. "Who knows what thoughts come up in the mind of a God. The only thing that is certain is that Ryoko Asakura was defective. Much like Yuki Nagato was as we found out four years ago."
The hair bristled on my neck.
"But we're not here to talk about that are we. We're here to talk about Project G."
I said nothing.
Dr. Shulz sighed and crossed her legs. "Let me put it to you simply. You're not going to find out anything about Project G. In fact, the only reason why you and your companion are still alive right now is because of whim. My whim."
"I know that the ESPers know about Project G, but unfortunately this is something way out of the organization's depth. So what I want you to do is this. You are to spend a week in your hotel room or at the beach. Treat it as a vacation. As soon as the week is over you fly back to your organization and tell them there was nothing to be found. You do this for me, and I let you live. Understand?"
The elevator doors opened behind me, and the two security guards I had seen earlier were carrying a bound and gagged man. It was very same man from the plane that had warned me to get off the island. The scarred man was struggling to free himself from the mens' clutches, but the security guards were too strong and held the man in place.
In one smooth motion, Dr. Shulz pulled out a handgun and pulled the trigger. There was a deafening bang, and after a second, the man slumped down, with a new bullet hole in his chest.
"Understand Kyon?"
I understood exactly. She was trying to drive the fear of God in me; to show me that on this island she ruled the coop. But there was one problem here. You let me live and because you let me live, I will find the plans for Project G. And after I find the plans for Project G, I will kill you Dr. Shulz, and that's because of my whim.
