Chapter 4 – The Second Night of Haruhi Suzumiya
With the miraculous resurrection of hundreds of thousands of bugrom, the latest bugrom fortress turned into a, if you'll pardon the horrible pun, veritable hive of activity. For the first time in her life, Haruhi started to feel like she was becoming a secondary character in somebody else's carefully directed production…
"Chico!" shouted Katsuhiko Jinnai, "I want you to randomly select out about half of all of the returned bugrom gathered in, or around, our fortress. This half of our force will be put to work immediately on renovating and greatly enlarging our fortress. I'm entrusting you to find the necessary building materials for this task. I want this fortress to look as close to our former Hive headquarters as possible. Is that clear, Chicho?"
Clear as crystal, boss! replied Chico, while saluting Jinnai, I'm right on it!
Katsuhiko then quickly turned about in a half-circle, and shouted out to Gummo, while pointing at him.
"Gummo!" he exclaimed, "I want you to follow behind Chico, and begin forming twenty-bugrom search parties out of the bugrom that Chicho does not select for building work. Each such twenty-bugrom search party must include at least four bugrom of the Voyager class – that's the Red Comet's type, in case you don't recall. Assign a division number and division leader to each such party formed!"
As you command, Katsuhiko! responded Gummo, also saluting Jinnai, I'll make sure that each of these parties are very well-rounded and up to whatever searching tasks that you choose to assign to them!
"Good" stated Jinnai in a confident tone, "Their mission will be of the upmost importance to our long-term strategic goals!"
With Chico and Gummo already racing wildly about with these two missions given to them, Haruhi, upon returning from a washroom break and a shower, found herself getting a bit lost in the crowd, with bugrom rushing about all around her, almost bumping into her at times.
"Katsuhiko…" she stated weakly towards him and with an unusually timid tone for her, about thirty feet behind him.
"Harpo!" shouted Jinnai, taking no notice of his newest ally, "See if you can find Sasuke, our top miniaturized bugrom spy and informant of the Reconnaissance class. He was Queen Diva's top informant and messenger prior to the last war! I need him to sneak into Florestica, and begin intelligence gathering work for us there. Can you pass that message along to him for me, Harpo?"
Absolutely, boss! answered Harpo, saluting him, I'll find Sasuke and pass that message unto him as quickly as I possibly can!
"Excellent!" replied Katsuhiko, pumping a fist, "Sasuke has done great work for us in the past! With him working for us again, we'll know everything from what Londs' is eating for breakfast to the color of underwear that Rune Venus is wearing! Ha ha ha ha ha!!!"
"Katsuhiko!" stated Haruhi, a bit more loudly this time, and becoming a bit agitated at him seemingly ignoring her… although his possible desire to know the color of Rune Venus' underwear likely wasn't making her happy either.
"Zeppo!" exclaimed Katsuhiko, turning about thirty degrees in a direction away from Haruhi and towards Zeppo, continuing to seemingly not notice Haruhi, "Follow behind Chico and Gummo. Once Chicho and Gummo have completed their tasks, go with them and also retrieve Harpo, and report back to me! With their three assignments complete, I will gather together our main elite search and combat unit, which will include the three of them, yourself, Groucho, Margaret, the Red Comet, the Blue Drop, myself, and…"
"KATSUHIKO!!!" screamed a highly displeased Haruhi, rushing right up to him and yelling this directly into his left ear!
"Aaaaagggghhh…!!!" he hollered in pain, as he actually began to wobble about a bit from the force of Haruhi's yell, before turning about to face her, "Are you trying to deafen me?! I was just going to list you as the final member of our main elite search and combat unit, you know! So reelaaaxxx!"
"That's not the point!" she shouted in reply, "Don't ever ignore me like that! It really annoys me when people ignore me like that!"
"Sigh" he responded, "Haruhi… I'm not ignoring you. But I have to work decisively and quickly here! I can't risk losing the element of surprise that we hold as an invaluable trump card right now!"
"Element of surprise?" responded a genuinely confused Haruhi in question, "What kind of surprise are you talking about?"
"We need to regain full military readiness as soon as possible!" began Jinnai in answer, "Then we will be able to pull off the ultimate surprise attack on the Alliance! We will be marching on Florestica, and opening up an important theater of war through out Roshtaria as a whole!"
Jinnai intended this to convey the image of shocked and terrified Roshtarian guards and soldiers fleeing in utter despair at the sight of the burgeoning and surprisingly revived Bugrom Empire making a blitzkrieg through everything in sight! Haruhi, however, took it to mean something very different…
"Marching bands of bugrom!" she shouted, thinking of a marching band of bugrom musicians and dancing marchers going through the streets during a large celebration, "And a theater production involving a script having to do with war! Katsuhiko… what incredibly bold ideas you have! It'll be such a blast!"
"Oh yes, things will be blasting alright… bwa-ha-ha-ha-HA!-ha-ha-ha-HA!!!" responded Jinnai in gleeful laughter over dreams of victory and conquest.
Haruhi initially smiled widely at, and was even beaming over, her interpretation of Katsuhiko's plans here… until a depressing important fact crossed her mind causing her countenance to become much more subdued and sad.
"Huh?" asked Jinnai, noticing the sudden change over Haruhi's mood, "What's wrong?"
"You have really cool plans, Katsuhiko…" she said in a dejected mood, "But I really wish that the rest of my SOS Brigade from Earth could be here to take part in them! As much as I want to throttle them and wring Kyon's neck for leaving my side like this for so long… I'm also missing them!"
"Oh, that's all it is" replied Jinnai with a proud look on his face and slight smile, "I perfectly understand your sentiments there. If any brigade of mine abandoned me like that, I'd want to throttle them as well! Anyway… just what do you think the search parties I'm putting together are for, my invaluable ally?"
"You… You're planning to help me search for my missing SOS Brigade members!" exclaimed Haruhi in excited surprise.
"Of course!" responded Jinnai, "Since you've proven yourself to be from Earth, it's safe to assume that this SOS Brigade that you keep talking about is also from Earth. They too probably got powers while travelling from Earth to El Hazard. It is absolutely imperative that we do not let them fall into the hands of the Alliance, where the miserable Makoto is likely to propagandize them against us!"
"Wow… you and Makoto Mizuhara are in a bit of a feud, huh?" responded Haruhi, being a bit more perceptive than usual, "Well… I can relate. That craven Computer Club President tried to steal Yuki from me! From what you're saying, Makoto is starting to sound just like him!"
"Oh yes, Mizuhara loves nothing but computers!" exclaimed Jinnai in reply, "He's a complete nerd that is always getting in the way of my plans!"
"That's unforgiveable!" shouted Haruhi in turn, "I won't let him stop our cool marching band and theater production plans! The SOS Brigade will always stand against bothersome killjoys like him!"
"Aaahhhh…" stated Jinnai, so marvelously pleased that someone else was finally seeing Makoto the way that he does, "You are a perfect ally who takes after my own heart, Haruhi Suzumiya! Let us quickly begin searching for your fellow SOS Brigade members, so that I will have even more perfect allies! Do you have any pictures of them with you, by chance?"
"Yes!" she responded energetically, "I have them in my school bag! I'll go get them for you right now!"
"Excellent!" he replied, "I'll then distribute those pictures amongst all of our search parties, and then we'll fan out through out all of El Hazard to find your missing friends. No stone will be left unturned, and no house will remain uncombed, in our search for them!"
"Thanks so much, Katsuhiko!" responded Haruhi with a big smile, as she rummaged through her school bag, "You're such a great friend! You always take the initiative and don't have to be told what to do… unlike Kyon, I'm afraid to say…"
"Mr. Jinnai" came the voice of Queen Diva, elegantly interjecting upon this scene that she had been calmly overlooking from a nearby corridor, "Before you and Miss Suzumiya begin your search, there is something that I must discuss with you both."
"Oh?" asked Katsuhiko Jinnai, "What's that?"
"Is it something that has to be discussed now?" asked a somewhat impatient Haruhi.
"Yeah, Diva… this can't wait?" asked Jinnai, a bit eager to get searching as well.
"The sooner it is discussed, the better" answered Queen Diva, "It involves an integral transition within the Bugrom Empire that was foretold of from old. Please come with me to my chambers where we can discuss it in private."
Queen Diva then turned about and began walking with a regal stride to her personal chambers. Haruhi and Jinnai did not move at first, while Haruhi glanced over to Jinnai to see if he had any idea what it might be about. Jinnai simply shrugged his shoulders over it.
"Is she always like this?" asked Haruhi, a touch annoyed.
"Diva can be a bit… cryptic at times" answered Jinnai, "Nonetheless, it's usually a good idea to follow her when she has something to show you, or tell you."
"Ok then" stated Haruhi, forcing a slight smile for Jinnai's sake, "Lead the way!"
And with that, Katsuhiko Jinnai and Haruhi Suzumiya walked after Queen Diva and into a meeting that would prove to be of surprisingly great importance. In its own way, however, what Itsuki, Makoto Mizuhara, Nanami Jinnai, Sensei Fujisawa, Fatora, Alielle and I were working at was important as well.
After a long flight to Curtisfulla, we all slept in a small nondescript inn for the night. The inn itself had comfortable accommodations, but it never had seven beds to spare by the time that we arrived at it. Hence, Itsuki – with out consulting me about it first, of course - offered to have him and I sleep on the floor. Makoto and Sensei Fujisawa initially objected on the grounds that Itsuki and I really needed our rest during our very first night in El Hazard, but they eventually caved to Itsuki's insistence that they should have the beds since they provided the transportation. Sigh
This rather uncomfortable sleeping arrangement, coupled by the sounds of Fatora and Alielle sneaking off during the middle of the night presumably to engage in truly unspeakable things, resulted in a largely sleepless night for me. Nonetheless, about three hours after sunrise and immediately after each of us had a short bath and a change of clothing, the six of us met directly outside the inn to plan out the day's events. Since the weather was considerably warm and balmy here, Itsuki and I had chosen to wear the summer clothes that we had worn when we visited Koizumi's distant relative at his newly built island villa.
"Ok, everybody, we have a lot of work to do today!" stated Makoto in an oddly cheerful tone for someone who considered what we were going to be doing to be work, "Koizumi, do you and Kyon have some pictures of your three missing friends that you can show the rest of us?"
"Yeah!" shouted Fatora excitedly, while making a teasing smile towards Kyon, "I can't wait to see what this Mikuru Asahina looks like for myself!"
At that point, I became flush with a deep and presiding inward desire to find the effortlessly cute Mikuru before she feel into the clutches of the Roshtarian lesbian society. Even so, Koizumi showed pictures of Haruhi Suzumiya, Mikuru Asahina, and Yuki Nagato to all four of our four comrades in what felt like a most ill-fated searching operation to me.
"Hey!" stated Nanami, "I really like that catchy armband that Haruhi Suzumiya is displaying there! It features a really nice logo design that would make for a perfect marketing logo for almost any private enterprise! Did she make it herself?"
"Yes, she did." I answered, "Haruhi can be pretty handy with handcrafted items, and promotional materials, actually."
"That's perfect!" continued Nanami, "Once we find your friends, maybe her and I can start up a box lunches business here on El Hazard! I'm pretty good with financial matters but colorful marketing and promotions is something that I could use some work with. Your friend Haruhi sounds like her talents would make a nice compliment for my own."
"Yeah, and Haruhi isn't the most prudent person around when it comes to handling finances, so maybe you two really would compliment each other well" I responded with a chuckle.
"Wait… you said that she's the club leader of your SOS Brigade, right?" continued Nanami with rhetorical question, "If she's had problems handling finances… how is she managing to come up with much needed club materials and supplies… like, say, computers?"
"Um… well…" I began, and with a nervous chuckle, while rubbing the back of my head, "That's a really long story. It's probably best if we save it for another time."
"Yuki Nagato looks really smart!" interjected Makoto, as he was most taken by Nagato of the three female members of the SOS Brigade, "She has great taste in glasses, and she looks like she's really into computers and books."
"That's impressively perceptive of you, Makoto" replied Koizumi, "Yuki is a truly voracious reader. She can also analyze and distill data and information at least as well as anybody else that I know. She is a very fast computer typist and knows a great deal about science and technology."
"I'm really looking forward to meeting her then" continued Makoto, "There's not many girls like her at my school, unfortunately."
"Hey! What do you mean by that, Makoto?!" asked a slightly hurt Nanami.
"Ah… I didn't mean anything against you, Nanami" answered Makoto, a bit worried over upsetting his friend, "It's just that you're not all that into books and computers, unless it relates to ways to make money, or crunching sales figures and tabulating profit margins."
"Well isn't that the main practical use of a computer?" asked Nanami in turn.
"If you say so" responded Makoto disingenuously, wanting to avoid needless verbal conflict, as I could begin to sense that him and Nanami shared a relationship a little bit similar to mine with Haruhi.
"~Oooohhhh… Fatora~!" exclaimed Alielle, making me fear what was coming next, "Just look at those incredibly yielding, pliant, buxom, plump, and ample breasts!"
Apparently the concept of redundancy was lost on Alielle.
"They are indeed quite luscious and large!" replied Fatora, "And in that maid outfit with the tight corset… my, I don't know what's more impressive: Mikuru Asahina's appearance, or Haruhi Suzumiya's skill at making attractive girls look even sexier!"
"And that bunny outfit, Fatora!" continued Alielle in complete and utter glee, as she started to squirm her body excitedly back and forth, "Wouldn't you just love to squeeze that puffy pretty bunny tail?!"
"Haruhi herself isn't bad in one of those get ups!" chimed in Fatora, before turning to face me, "Wow, Kyon… you're one really lucky guy! I have to admit that I'm actually a bit envious of you! I hope that you're treating these excellent specimens of femininity the way that they deserve to be treated!"
I was about to ask Fatora what was the proper treatment for such excellent specimens of femininity, as she put it, before I decided that her answer might be something more than my more modest sensibilities could handle. Thankfully, though, being aroused by the pictures of Haruhi Suzumiya and Mikuru Asahina caused Fatora to prompt everybody to get a move on.
"Ok – enough chit chat!" she exclaimed cheerfully, "Let's get this ball of sensuous wax rolling! We need to start searching for these gorgeous girls right now!"
"Right!" added in Makoto, causing Nanami to scowl slightly as she suspected that he was getting a bit too enthused over efforts to find Yuki Nagato, "Let's split up into two teams. The first time will search through out the entire village of the Curtisfulla, while the second team will search through the surrounding woodland areas of Curtisfulla, and this search will occur over the next three hours! Koizumi, I know that yesterday evening you offered to help rebuild Zafteon Academy along with Kyon and Sensei Fujisawa while the rest of us searched for your three missing friends… but on second thought, we probably should leave such rebuilding efforts for later."
"I agree" stated Sensei Fujisawa, "These three friends of yours look like model students to me, and students like that are always indispensible!"
I couldn't help but chuckle at Sensei Fujisawa's choice of term of model there, considering how Haruhi, Mikuru, and Yuki looked in some of the pictures.
"Sadly, it'll probably be several weeks, if not months, before Zafteon Academy can be rebuilt" continued Sensei Fujisawa, "Whereas there's a chance that we can find at least one of your missing friends today. So, mountain climbing notwithstanding, I tend to think it's a better course of action to deal with the shorter term tasks first before moving on to longer and larger tasks. That's the way you gradually build towards a productive life, after all!"
"You're right, Sensei Fujisawa." responded Koizumi, "Plus, once we find Haruhi, Mikuru, and Yuki, we may find that we'll have added help in rebuilding the schools. So, Makoto, who do you think should be in each team?"
Like me, Koizumi had come to the conclusion that, in his own way, Makoto was the leader here. Makoto's leadership was an understated type that delegated power a great deal and was not the least bit overbearing – a stark contrast to the way that Haruhi tended to lead the SOS Brigade. Yet, you could tell that Makoto commanded a certain level of quiet deference and respect from his friends, and even from his own Sensei. Sensei Fujisawa was clearly deeply proud of Makoto, and tended to be a guiding light for him, as opposed to an outright director in the style of Haruhi. Itsuki and I tried to adjust, as best we could, to this more relaxed and subtle leadership – yet, at the same time, it was nice to have some real say in things for a change. Haruhi could learn a great deal from Makoto, I felt.
"Well, while it might be a bit discomforting for you and Kyon, I think that the two of you should be on different search teams" answered Makoto, "If we happen to find one of your friends, it would be best, after all, if we had at least one familiar face already present to greet them. That way, they're more likely to come running towards us if they happen to spot us even while we don't see them."
"That's smart thinking, Makoto" I concurred, "Not bad."
"I concur" added in Koizumi, "In truth, it might even be good for Kyon and I to spend some time apart from one another so that we'll… come more quickly out of our personal rapport comfort zones, if you get what I mean."
"I'm glad that you're both fine with being separated for now, then!" exclaimed Makoto towards Kyon and I, before getting back to the details of his plan, and hence making eye contact with everybody that had naturally formed a semi-circle around him.
"Should we happen to run into some sort of resistance…" continued Makoto, likely thinking of the bugrom, "It would be ideal to have complimentary power sets within each team. So, Kyon should be with me, while Sensei Fujisawa and Koizumi should be on the other team to ensure that the second team has some abilities and powers to work with as well! Alielle and Fatora likely want to stick together, so they can both go on Sensei Fujisawa's team. And that leaves Nanami with Kyon and me!"
I was relieved to find myself on a team separate from Fatora and Alielle. This gave me, I felt, a fighting chance of finding Mikuru before they did!
"Also… unless somebody has an objection to make, we'll keep these two search teams as they are until we find the person who came out of the spacial anomaly in Durasland!" exclaimed Makoto, "Hopefully, we'll find that person this morning, but if not, we'll continue to search in these two search teams through out all of the area within a forty mile radius of the location of the Durasland spacial anomaly. We'll extend this radius by ten miles for every two days of searching… but let's really hope that our search doesn't take that long. So, does everybody agree to this search plan? Does anybody have any objection to make?"
"Sounds great to me, kiddo!" exclaimed Sensei Fujisawa, giving Makoto an enthusiastic thumbs up, "Hearing that great search plan puts me in a mood for some of Roshtaria's strongest sake, ha ha!!"
"Yeah, that is a good plan." I admitted, "You're not bad at this at all, Makoto."
"Thanks Kyon!" responded Makoto with a smile, appreciating my show of confidence, "So… no objections?"
"Nope!" stated Fatora, "This way, Prince Charming over there won't be able to stop me from having some fun if I happen to find Haruhi or Mikuru before he does."
That… highly disturbing ramification of Makoto's search plan had not occurred to me until Fatora mentioned it. Now I just knew that I had to find the lovely Asahina before Sensei Fujisawa's team did!
"I'm with Fatora so I'm happy!" shouted Alielle, "And besides… if she likes the plan, then so do I."
"I'm completely pleased with it." stated Koizumi.
"Well… it's too bad Sensei Fujisawa will be leading the other team, but at least I get to go with Makoto!" exclaimed Nanami, "So I'm fine with the plan as well. Let's get going! I have a great feeling that Haruhi Suzumiya and I are going to be running a very successful business here in El Hazard, and the sooner we get that up and running, the better!"
"With the two teams decided upon then…" stated Sensei Fujisawa, as he brought a fist up to his chest, "I'll have my team handle the searching through the woodlands surrounding Cutisfulla! Being a natural outdoorsman, that search area is perfect for me!"
"Agreed, Sensei!" exclaimed Makoto, "Ok then – let's get started everybody!"
And with that, Itsuki and I began our first full day of searching for Haruhi, Mikuru, and Yuki. That first day of searching would unfortunately prove to be fruitless, as least as it pertains to actually finding Haruhi, Mikuru, and Yuki. Still, I found it interesting to learn more about Makoto and Nanami, and to gain a greater appreciation for the friendship dynamic between them. While it was similar to my friendship with Haruhi, with Makoto in my shoes and Nanami in Haruhi's, there was something of a juxtaposition going on there as well… for Makoto, as I noted before, was a leader in his own right; much more than I myself was. This mutually respectful give and take between Makoto and Nanami was something that I slightly envied… but still, that was largely a passing thought for me. Finding Mikuru Asahina was my most pressing concern!
In the process of searching for her in Curtisfulla, however, I learned much about the geography and people of El Hazard. They were largely friendly people… but also deeply shaken. They inwardly bore the scars of war, reflected in somber sloped faces as they went about dusting streets and houses, reconstructing crumbling building of all sorts, and simply going about daily routines. Only the youngest of the children appeared genuinely cheerful, with more than a few ironically commenting on how they found it cool to be temporarily free from the burdens of school, as not all could afford the trek to Florestica, while closer and still standing schools simply had no room left to accommodate them.
As I ate with my newfound friends at Pluto's Café during lunch, I found myself starting to resent Katsuhiko Jinnai deeply. How could he actually partake in distributing such sorrow and suffering to all of these innocent people? His personal animosity towards Makoto was understandable given what Minori Jinnai had told me, but this warfare… this warfare was despicable and indefensible! How is it that he could not realize that? What madness must churn in his mind in order for him to internally justify such callous brutality to the humans of El Hazard? I actually feared for Haruhi if she should encounter this atypically insane teenager of all people – a fiend that made Haruhi appear like the very picture of sanity by comparison. Alas, she had already met him however…
"So…" stated Katsuhiko Jinnai, fists firmly planted on his hips with his arms arched outwards, as he stood horizontally across from Haruhi while facing Diva at a slight angle, "What is it that you want to discuss with Haruhi and I?"
"Yeah… and this better not be something boring!" exclaimed Haruhi.
"I very much doubt that you'll find this boring in the least, Miss Suzumiya" stated Queen Diva with a sly and telling smile on her face, "Mr. Jinnai, do you recall the prophecies I told you concerning your identity as the Messenger of God sent to us bugrom to lead our people to a promised land of domination, glory, and plenty?"
"Of course I do", responded Katsuhiko Jinnai with a proud grin, "How could I forget a prophecy as divinely inspired as that one obviously is?"
"Yes, well…" continued Queen Diva, "There was more to that prophecy that I kept hidden from you for your own sake… and out of my fruitless hope that it wouldn't come true."
"Oh?" piped up Jinnai in question, finding this quite intriguing, "What's the rest of the prophecy?! Quickly now, Diva – I sense that this is very important!"
"Does it concern me at all?" asked Haruhi, her own interest piqued a bit, and also suspecting that she wouldn't be involved in this private meeting if it didn't involve her in some way.
"It concerns you greatly, Miss Suzumiya" answered Queen Diva, "First, though, I must explain the background that leads into your likely part of the prophecy. The prophecy told… that before the Messenger of God would complete his holy mission for the Bugrom Empire he would meet with a seemingly disastrous and intractable setback that would be partly of his own making. Your… zeal in your early days in leading bugrom forces into battle was too great for me to bring myself to reveal this to you, Mr. Jinnai. It is why, however, I wanted to stop you from acquiring Ifurita – I feared such an acquisition, or an attempt thereof, would backfire disastrously on you. Now, though, I'm sure you can tell what the prophesized setback in question is, can't you?"
"Yes, I can" he responded with an initial tone of sneering anger, quickly and correctly interpreting the prophecy, "However, that particular setback has been undone Diva! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"
"Are you… talking about the setback of how almost all of the bugrom went… missing, from my understanding of it?" asked Haruhi.
"That's a rather… euphemistical way of putting it, Miss Suzumiya, but yes, you can put it that way" answered Queen Diva.
Haruhi Suzumiya wanted to ask Katsuhiko Jinnai how in the blue blazes he actually managed to lose hundreds of thousands of bugrom… all because of some weird person, object, or event called the Eye of God… but she could tell that this was a particularly sore topic for Jinnai so she choose to leave it well enough alone for now.
"Now then…" began Queen Diva, smiling widely, "The prophecy also states that shortly after the setback in question, the identity of the final Bugrom Queenwould be made known. She is called the perfect ally of the Messenger of God, and she would undo the horrors that he had previously endured and suffered. With her aid, the Messenger of God would successful complete his most sanctified mission. In my desire to reign as this final and glorious Bugrom Queen … I have to admit that I had hoped that I myself was that Bugrom Queen. However, after witnessing Miss Suzumiya becoming a bugrom, after witnessing her already becoming beloved by many bugrom including even Groucho…and after watching you, Mr. Jinnai, call her a perfect ally, I now have no doubt concerning the identity of the final Bugrom Queen."
Haruhi Suzumiya's eyes widened large, and her mouth opened wide, as she gradually began to take in the meaning of Diva's words here.
"Yes, I have no doubt of the identity of the final Bugrom Queen either, Diva" stated Jinnai, as he made a sincere polite knowing smile, devoid of any malicious or sinister sense, "You've been a fine Bugrom Queen yourself, of course, Diva… but I look forward to the perfect alliance with the final Bugrom Queen!"
He then turned about ninety degrees to face Haruhi and walked towards her. He gently turned her about, and placed one hand on each of her two shoulders, making eye contact with her through gazing intensely down at her eyes. Haruhi Suzumiya, as unshakeable as she was, began to tremble slightly.
"Haruhi Suzumiya!" he exclaimed in grandiose fashion, "With I as the Supreme Commander of the Bugrom Empire and with you as its final Queen,there will be no obstacle thatcan even hope to repel us! Our greatest hopes and most enduring dreams will become reality! Nobody – not Sensei Fujisawa, not my turncoat sister Nanami, and most certainly not the loathsome Makoto Mizuhara will stop us! You are the greatest ally that I could have ever hoped for, and I'm sure that the bugrom will accept you with wide, open arms as their final Queen!"
"K-Katsuhiko…" stated Haruhi softly, and while blushing, before her more natural assertive personality reasserted itself, "Yes, that's right! I'm going to be Queen of an entire race of extra terrestrials! That's so… that's so… no words can possibly describe how incredibly cool that is! He he he…"
"What becomes of you, though, Diva?" asked Jinnai with the slightest touch of camaraderie, releasing Haruhi's shoulders, and turning to look at the soon to be former Bugrom Queen.
"After Haruhi is crowned Queen of the Bugrom Empire" stated Diva, "I will remain on as her chief advisor. She will need time to adjust to this new role of immense responsibility, after all!"
"I already know what my first command as Bugrom Queen is, though!" Haruhi exclaimed excitedly, and with a huge smile.
"What's that?" asked Katsuhiko Jinnai, wondering what this first command could possibly be.
"As Queen, I will not permit the Supreme Commander to be dressed in a dull, ordinary student uniform!" she exclaimed
"W-what?!" exclaimed Jinnai nervously, and in question, fearful of where this was leading.
"As hero to the bugrom people, you need a costume befitting of such a role!" exclaimed Haruhi Suzumiya in explanation.
"Hhmmm…" mused Diva, "Not a bad idea, Queen Suzumiya!"
"Aaaaaggghhh…!!!" cried Jinnai, as Haruhi took firm hold of his neck tie, and began to drag him after her.
"Now we need to get some measurements done for you!" she shouted, "We're going to go and make the perfect costume for you! I already have the perfect costume idea for you! He he he!!!"
*Brrrrzzzt*
"Video recording complete" stated the play-back computer within the Shadow Tribe's innermost laboratory.
"Very interesting developments within the Bugrom Empire!" exclaimed Shadow Tribe assassin Nanoha Inverse, "Their ranks have been completely restored, and they're even about to crown a new Queen!"
"They are indeed very interesting developments, Nanoha" stated Lord Nahato, "Our robot spy disguised as a Reconnaissance class bugrom has given us some priceless information to work with."
"I agree, Nahato" came an eerily voice from within the overcastting shadows just behind where Nahato was leaning, as the source of that voice began to move forward towards him, "You have done very well in my absence."
"L-Lord Galus!" he exclaimed in a mixture of supreme shock and jubilant joy, "How is it possible that you are alive?!"
"You underestimate the Shadow Tribe's scientists, engineers, and technicians" answered Lord Galus, "You gave me to them to bury, and arranged a bodiless funeral for me afterwards thinking that it was impossible for them to revive me. While I was touched by watching the recording of my own funeral, the truth is that reports of my permanent demise were very much exaggerated! Our scientists and engineers have resuscitated me by turning in me into the perfect killing machine – a partly cybernetic being with might far exceeding what I had before! I now intend to resume my rule as leader of the Shadow Tribe, Nahato."
"Absolutely, Lord Galus!" he shouted, "Nobody is more pleased than I am to see that you have returned."
"Now then…" stated Galus, "To the business at hand… Yuki Nagato, will you join us please?"
"Yes, I will do that." she replied coolly and calmly.
"Now, look at the shorter of the two women on that freeze capture there – the one standing next to the man called Katsuhiko Jinnai… do you see here, Yuki?" he asked, pointing at that woman.
"Yes, I do" responded Yuki, her tone still monotonous.
"Do you recognize her, per chance?" asked Galus, very intrigued to see what answer Yuki would give.
The dimmest of memories flashed through Yuki's mind, like slightly distorted video footage. Yuki could vaguely recall an extremely assertive young woman… dragging along an equally young man by his neck tie through the halls of a school… she could also recall a certain sense of curiosity and impending dread concerning that young woman. She could remember little else, though.
"No." answered Yuki, "I don't."
"A pity" stated Galus dishonestly, as he was secretly glad that Yuki had seemingly forgot the very identity of her friend Haruhi Suzumiya, "Well, anyway… that woman on the screen… I want you to follow her closely. Use your invisibility power to sneak into the fortress that she currently occupies. Give us regular comprehensive daily reports of what that young Earth woman is up to, including ongoing measurements of her vital signs. Also pay some attention to the scheming of Katsuhiko Jinnai… though he is the secondary objective here. Other than that, simply wait for further direction."
"Yes, I will do that" stated Yuki, before she turned about, beginning to leave.
"Wait, Lord Galus…" began Nahato in protest, "I was going to have Nanoha spy on this new Bugrom Queen for us. Are you sure that Yuki is ready for such a delicate mission as this already?"
"Again, Nahato…" stated Lord Galus, "You underestimate our scientists, engineers, and technicians. They have already fully prepared Yuki Nagato for this mission. Nanoha will follow after the Makoto Mizuhara party that's currently near the sight of the spacial anomaly in Durasland, and provide us with intelligence on them. At this point, it is but a short matter of time before Katsuhiko Jinnai and Makoto Mizuhara renew hostilities against one another, as they have mutually exclusive missions here. They can't both have the entire SOS Brigade, after all – one must ultimately triumph over the other here. When that happens, we will kill the winner of the contest. And, if my suspicions concerning Haruhi Suzumiya prove to be correct, we will then gain far more than merely the death of a hated enemy! Ha ha ha ha ha ha…!!!"
To Be Continued…
