Note to readers: I was considering dropping this story because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it justice. I do have some ideas on how to proceed, but I want your opinion. With that said, enjoy this chapter. I apologize for it being rather short.
A few hours later, I was woken up by my cellphone. I looked at it groggily. It was Koizumi. If memory served, he did this when he wanted to tell me something important. Being half-asleep, however, I didn't remember this and just groaned.
"What do you want, Koizumi?" I asked.
"Kyon!" he shouted, startling me awake.
His tone of voice did not sound good. I had dropped my phone after his outburst and just picked it up again.
"Jeez, Koizumi. What's wrong with you?" I asked him.
"It's Miss Suzumiya! I think the Organization took her!" He exclaimed.
"What?!" I asked in shock.
I certainly wasn't getting any sleep now after hearing that.
"You heard me, Kyon! Miss Suzumiya's gone! I would've called you sooner, but they subdued me and tied me up!" He explained.
I guess Shepard or somebody else decided to go after her. Haruhi, you idiot! If you hadn't run away before, I might have been able to do something!
"There's nothing you could have done, Kyon! We're talking about some really strong espers here!" Koizumi said, as if reading my thoughts.
I sighed.
"I guess with you being one of the weaker ones and the other factions not interfering, there's not much we can do now." I said.
"Indeed." Koizumi said. "Even with Miss Nagato's abilities, we're severely outnumbered."
I sighed again.
"What do you suggest we do?" I asked him.
"Let's meet at the station first. We'll talk there." Koizumi answered.
Certainly made sense to me. It'd be better if we were together. Always was.
"All right, Koizumi. See ya there." I said.
"Yeah. See ya, Kyon." Koizumi said before he hung up.
After hanging up, I stood up and went to my closet. Once I found an outfit I liked, I changed into it. Leaving my nightclothes and a note for my sister on my bed, I made my way outside. I soon reached my bicycle. I was getting on it when I saw that my sister had followed me out, dressed like I was. Needless to say, I wasn't happy.
"Miku! What are you doing?!" I hissed, causing her to flinch.
"Something's happened to Haruhi, right?" She asked.
I sighed. I already regret telling her everything.
"Yes. She's been kidnapped. Wait. How did you know about that?" I asked in confusion.
"I was woken up by Koizumi's yelling and went to see if everything was all right." She explained.
Well, obviously, everything's not all right, so go back inside. I told her to do just that. She just shook her head though.
"Wherever you're going, I'm coming with you." She said.
Just because I spilled the beans to her doesn't mean I want her to get involved.
"You're better off staying here, where it's safe." I said to her.
But, she just insisted and before I could do anything, she climbed on behind me.
"I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not." She said firmly.
Man, is she stubborn. Just like someone else I know. But, once again, I relented. I seriously need to be more stubborn. Otherwise, I'm going to become a pushover.
"All right, but you better hang on tight." I said.
She nodded and wrapped her arms around my waist. To her credit, Miku actually sat down instead of standing up like Haruhi tends to do. Without another word, we rode off towards the station.
When we got there, we saw Koizumi & Nagato. We got off and Koizumi looked at me as I propped my bike against a wall.
"Is there a reason your sister is with you, Kyon?" He asked me.
I sighed again. I've been doing that a lot tonight.
"I told her to stay home, but she wouldn't listen to me." I explained.
Koizumi chuckled.
"Well, she's lucky we're not going off into enemy territory just yet." He said.
Lucky indeed. Mom would kill me if anything happened to my sister. Even if it was her idea to come, I was still responsible for her safety and well-being. I looked to see my sister sitting on one of the steps. It was then that I finally noticed. Her hair was down. I've seen it down before, but it's just now hitting me how much my sister resembles Miss Asahina. Come to think of it, their names are similar too. It could be a coincidence, but there's enough reason to doubt it, considering the fact that Miss Asahina is a time traveler from the future. When she was from was never specified. Not that she could, of course. The words "classified information" would probably come out of her mouth every time she tried. My musing was interrupted by Miss Asahina's arrival. To my surprise, she came with Tsuruya in tow. But, then I understood. She's going to help us save Haruhi.
"A pleasant surprise to see you, Miss Tsuruya." Koizumi remarked.
"What? You think I wouldn't help my buddy, Mikuru, out of a fix?" Tsuruya asked.
"So, I take it you know the situation?" Koizumi asked her.
"'Course, I do. Haruhi knows your secrets and now she's been kidnapped. That's what I'm here for, to help rescue her." Tsuruya replied.
Then, she spotted my sister, who waved. Her smile went away and she looked at me.
"What's she doing here?" Tsuruya asked me.
"I told her to stay home, but she insisted." I explained.
"Does she even know what's going on?" Tsuruya asked.
"Yes, I told her everything not that long ago. I think she wants to help, but I don't think she realizes how dangerous this stuff is." I answered.
Tsuruya nodded and went over to sit next to my sister.
"Hi, Tsuruya." Miku said.
Tsuruya sat down.
"Hi, Miku-chan." She said.
She then put a hand on my sister's shoulder.
"Do you know that your brother almost died once? Has he told you about any of that?" Tsuruya asked softly.
Miku's smile disappeared.
"Yeah. He did tell me about that." She said.
"Then you must know why you shouldn't tag along with us. It's dangerous and you could get seriously hurt or worse." Tsuruya said.
"I know. But, I wanna help." Miku replied.
"I get that. But, think about it. You can't manipulate the fabric of reality. You can't travel through time. And, you don't have psychic powers. How do you expect to help us then?" Tsuruya asked.
I knew my sister wasn't stupid. So, I wasn't surprised when she said nothing. She probably couldn't think of an answer to Tsuruya's question. Tsuruya then patted my sister's shoulder.
"You know what? I'll teach you how to fight, if that's all right with your brother." She offered.
My sister looked up with wide eyes as soon as Tsuruya suggested it. Both then looked at me. Tsuruya's willing to teach my sister to fight? I'm okay with that, actually. At least, my sister will be able to defend herself if she ends up joining us. After all, I got her into this by telling her everything. Might as well help her her out as best I can. I nodded my approval and my sister ran over and hugged me.
"Thanks, Kyon." She said.
You're welcome, sis.
"I warn you, Miku-chan." Tsuruya said with a smirk. "I'll be tough."
My sister let go of me and turned to Tsuruya with a determined look.
"Bring it on." She said.
"I like your attitude." Tsuruya replied.
I cleared my throat, because I wanted to get things back on track.
"So," I asked, "How exactly are we going to do this, Koizumi? As it stands right now, Nagato & Tsuruya are our only offense against the Organization."
Koizumi chuckled. I looked at him in confusion.
"Actually, Kyon, I just remembered that the main headquarters of the Organization, where it's likely Miss Suzumiya is being kept, are draped in a sort of field not unlike a closed space, so we can add me to that list. Of course, even if they weren't, Miss Suzumiya might create a closed space that encompasses the place. Either one is possible unless Shepard sees to it that neither happens, as we've already established his intelligence. We can potentially add your sister as well, with her being trained in combat by Miss Tsuruya. With that said, we now have four offensive players in our party. Of course, as I said earlier, we're still severely outnumbered, as well as outclassed." He explained.
He was right. We were outclassed regardless of our numbers. After all, we were just a group of friends going up against an entire organization. But, then again, Koizumi and Nagato have faced similar odds in the past. Just the two of them beat that giant insect after all. But, let's face it. The two of them are not going to be enough this time, meaning my sister and Tsuruya had to get involved. I looked to see my sister chatting animatedly to both Tsuruya and Miss Asahina. You know, if you said to me that my sister would get involved in this, I probably would've deemed you insane. Yet, there she sat. I sighed. What was I getting her into? I knew the answer all too well. However, despite knowing that death is certainly a possibility, my sister still wanted to tag along. I stand corrected. My sister may be stubborn, but I think in this case, the word I'm looking for is "determined". Determined to save Haruhi. Determined to bring a smile back to my face. I sighed again. I think I'm going for the record at this point. In any case, just because I find my sister annoying, doesn't mean I don't care for her. Huh, that also sounds like Haruhi, not that I'd admit it to anyone but myself.
Koizumi, Nagato, and Miss Asahina's heads snapped up to the sky.
"Huh? What's up, Koizumi?" I asked.
Koizumi looked to me, still with that smile on his face.
"There's been some sort of disturbance in reality." He explained.
"What? Like a closed space?" I asked.
"Sort of, but not really." He said. "It feels more like the walls separating alternate realities are being breached."
"Alternates realities?" I asked, wondering if I heard him right.
"Yes." He answered. "For instance, a world where everything is normal, in other words, the world that Miss Nagato created, or a world where everyone is the opposite gender. The possibilities are endless."
"I see. So, do you have any idea why this is happening?" I asked.
"It is possible that Haruhi is in such a state of terror that she is subconsciously using her data altering abilities to call others to this world in order to help her. That is what I believe." Nagato answered.
You know, that's the second time this week I've heard Nagato only use Haruhi's first name. You think she's trying to alter her speech so as to sound more human? Who knows?
"That might just be it." Koizumi agreed.
"Okay, so, what do we do then?" I asked.
"If our gender-opposite counterparts end up being like us, we could recruit them and almost double our party's size." Koizumi suggested.
That could work. I don't want to get my hopes up though.
"All righty, so until then, training begins tomorrow at my place." Tsuruya announced.
We all nodded in agreement.
"The next few days might be interesting." Koizumi remarked.
No doubt about that, considering I might end up meeting a female version of myself. I'm already curious as to what she's like. Deciding to dwell on that later, I went to my bike and got on it, my sister in tow. We rode home and changed back into our nightwear after getting there. We bid each other good night and we both went to sleep. No doubt both of us were wondering what the morning will bring.