Under Review

A fanfiction of Suzumiya Haruhi

The characters depicted herein are solely the creation of Nagaru Tanigawa; I'm just borrowing the keys to the car for a while.

I spend most of the train trip home trying not too think about too much of anything - there's just too much to process right now, and too many people around to do it. It's a slow trip home; the rain let up while I was talking with Mikuru, but the clouds are still there and everything's still wet.

I don't actually live all that far from the station, but the trip today feels like it takes twice as long as usual. Maybe it even does, I'm not paying much attention to the time. I'm not really paying much attention to anything, really - I'm just trying to concentrate on the process of getting home.

Wait for the announcement of my stop. Stay out of the crush of people on the platform. Take the turn, put one foot in front of the other, and repeat.

Anything to put off thinking about what Mikuru said, for as long as I can, anyway. I hate it, but I'm going to have to face it sooner or later.

When I finally arrive, I see that Mom's already home. Smells like takeout tonight, so at least it'll be better than 'marginally edible'. I don't really feel like eating with her today, though - too much on my mind.

Mom has different ideas, though. I try to slip into the kitchen and grab some food to take up to my room, but she's in there herself and starts talking.

Don't get me wrong - I don't completely hate my mom or anything, but she doesn't get me, and never really has. She does at least try, but... honestly, it feels like it's just one more appointment on her PDA - 'Friday evening: have chat with Haruhi'.

"Oh, there you are, Haruhi-chan! You should have called if you were running late," she chides.

"Sorry," I mumble, collecting a plate and getting some food for myself. "Kind of a rough afternoon, I was just going a little slow."

"Rough...?" A note of suspicion comes into her voice at that - great, just what I needed. "Haruhi, are you in some kind of-"

"No, Mom, I'm not in any kind of trouble at school," I reply testily. "Just some trouble dealing with... a friend."

"Oh," she replies, placated. "Is it... anything you want to talk about?"

I can't help but snort at that. 'Oh sure, Mom, I just found out that I've been hanging out with an alien and a time traveler for the last year and that they've both been keeping it secret from me for all that time.' Yeah, that's really something I expect you to take seriously.

I just shake my head in reply, then grab a bottle of green tea from the refrigerator before heading up to my room. I can hear Mom sigh as I head upstairs, but today... Today is not a day I want to try to explain things to her. She'd laugh it off as me making things up or chew me out for getting 'too lost in my fantasies' again.

Once I make it up to my room, I set dinner down on my desk and collapse into my chair, letting my head dangle over the back for a minute.

How could I have missed that much about Mikuru? I mean, sure, I can't say I'm really surprised that she's got a thing for Kyon, but... I had no idea it hit her that hard. She sounded almost... broken, the way she was talking about it, but maybe that's not that surprising, all things considered.

I sit up and start in on dinner; if I leave it too long, it'll end up stone cold, and I should really eat something even if I'm not feeling particularly hungry.

I work my way through the meal mechanically, giving some serious thought to what things would be like if Mikuru and Kyon were... together. It makes a lump rise in my throat, making it hard to swallow, but I keep going, forcing down the last few bites before washing it down with a swallow of tea.

Ugh, bitter. But then again, so is what I'm thinking right now, so it at least matches my mood.

I force myself to face the idea head-on, though. I've given Mikuru (and to a lesser extent, Kyon) hell about it all year, and now... not only is she head-over-heels for Kyon, she's not allowed to do anything about it because of her job, so she's been pining for him for who even knows how long.

And then I've been getting on both of their cases any time Kyon so much as looks at Mikuru with any kind of interest. I feel like a total bitch, now - if Mikuru couldn't do anything about it anyway, all, I've really been doing is rubbing her nose in the fact that she can't have him.

Thinking back... the movie casting is probably the worst of it. Even back then I realized that Kyon didn't particularly like Koizumi, so I made sure Kyon was forced to watch while I put him and Mikuru in every lovey-dovey situation I could think of. I knew it'd tick him off, and in the process I was making it clear to Mikuru that she'd do what I wanted, and to hell with what she thought about it.

And she was such a cooperative little doll about it, too.

God, I was such an ass.

I heave myself out of my chair, heading over to stare out the window at the dark street outside.

Is Kyon really that important to me?

Well, honestly, the answer to that is obvious. Of course he is, he's John Smith - the person that gave me the inspiration to keep searching for the unusual. Why wouldn't he be one of the most important people in my life?

...but that's a copout, and I know it. I didn't know Kyon was John Smith until just today, and even if I suspected it before it was no more than that - just a suspicion. Whenever I was getting on his case about Mikuru, he was only Kyon.

I turn away from the window, starting to pace back and forth as I think.

Even without John Smith, is Kyon so important to me that I can't let anyone else get close to him?

No, that's not it either. I wasn't that bothered by Yuki saying she was his friend - even before she said she was my friend! - although, to be honest, I have to admit my heart skipped a beat when she said she'd date him if that's what he wanted.

So, Suzumiya, stop beating around the bush and face up to the question - the real question, the one that makes the difference.

I fall back on my bed, simply staring up at the ceiling, as I ponder that question: Do I like Kyon? Romantically? Do I want to go out with Tadamichi Kyousuke?

I've been dodging this question for... over a year now. Ever since those first weeks at Kitago, where he actually had the nerve to ask me if I was serious. Between my reputation from East Middle School and my introduction, I was sure I'd scare off pretty much everyone except the really serious (or weird) guys; maybe not the best idea, in retrospect, but it's not like I can go back and change it now.

Well, maybe I could, with Mikuru's help, but if I didn't do that, would Kyon have spoken up to me?

I think back to those early weeks, before there even was an SOS Brigade. Searching randomly through the school for unuusal types, trying out every club in the school - admittedly, both of those were mostly to try to find John Smith or any information about him. Trying everything I could to draw attention to myself as someone who was unusual, so other unusual people would go 'hey, maybe we should look into that Suzumiya Haruhi'.

And yet, given all of that, no one did - except Kyon, who was obviously just about as normal as you can get, except for that odd first twinge of deja vu - that and the fact that he wasn't afraid to talk to me.

Between those two things, I can freely admit that I was curious. Deja vu itself is a neat unexplained phenomenon, and the fact that I was feeling it directly really piqued my interest. The other half of it was that Kyon, for whatever reason, didn't just blow me off.

I was trying, though. Back in those first days of the year, everyone figured they could pin me down - either as someone cute enough to date or someone to help out or befriend, and I didn't want any of it - all of it was too normal and boring! I'd been through all of the same things in middle school, and even letting it get started in high school was out of the question.

Even he was the same until the day he asked me about the way I was changing my hair. It actually pissed me off - how could this completely normal buffoon have figured out the way I was doing it? And to top it off, he even told me he'd worked out that it was for attracting attention! Not all of it, obviously, but more than I would have expected anyone to notice.

But it made me actually pay attention to him for the first time, and that's when that little pang of familiarity hit me - which irritated me even more. Deja vu should be cool and mysterious! Not something that's triggered with some totally average idiot.

So I cut my hair. If he was paying attention to it, obviously it wasn't unusual enough to attract the attention of anyone that wasn't normal, and if it was something he cared about, then obviously cutting it off should get him to leave me alone.

Except that he didn't.

I roll over on my stomach and take a swig from my tea. After that day, he just wouldn't give up. Sometimes he'd have something mildly interesting to talk about, and we'd end up talking for a few minutes. Other times, he'd come up with the same boring crap that everyone else was talking about, and I'd just ignore him. But even if I ignored him one day, he'd try again the next, and eventually he seemed to figure out the stuff I hated, since the days where I felt inclined to ignore him got fewer and fewer.

It was a first.

No one had ever tried figuring me out before. They either tried to ignore all the things I did to try to make myself unique and push ahead with what they cared about, or act like everything was normal even when 'normal' was the absolute last thing I wanted.

Kyon was the first person - well, the first since John Smith, anyway - to be willing to accept what I said at face value. Even if he was only paying lip service to those ideas, it was still more than anyone else had done in the last three years. But I didn't think then - and I still don't, now - that he was just saying what he was saying to get on my good side.

Then came the conversation I won't forget, ever - him droning on about how for normal people 'like us' we should just sit back and enjoy the ride, since it was the exceptional people, the geniuses and visionaries, that made the world change to fit their views.

I was determined not to be one of those 'normal' people, just waiting for something to happen - I would be one of the people to make things change.

And so the SOS Brigade was born.

Those first few days were great - Yuki was a real find, for starters. I knew that with only one person in the Literature Club she'd have trouble with it getting shut down sooner or later, so I figured I could strongarm her into accepting more members while I set up the Brigade - since without us she'd lose the clubroom sooner or later. The fact that she had her nose buried in some weird Western science fiction was a nice bonus, too - if she was interested in sci-fi, she might at least be open to the idea that there were aliens and time travelers out there.

I can't help but snort at that as I finish off the last of the tea. I wonder if the science fiction she's been reading all along is humor for her, in picking apart how crazy and wrong the authors really are about aliens and other dimensions.

Mikuru I just figured would be the ultimate eye-candy; ridiculously moe beyond any reasonable standards, so even aliens couldn't help but be moved by her, right? Not that everyone else wouldn't too, but that's all right - she'd draw absolutely everyone's attention, and the normal idiots should be easy to weed out from there.

Except that Kyon paid attention to her too.

That, I hated with a passion. Kyon was the only one who'd ever cared enough about finding out about me - about me - to actually stick around.

How dare she take his attention away from me!

So I made damn sure she knew her place on the food chain. The fact that I could get a computer out of it was a nice bonus, admittedly, but the important part was making sure Mikuru knew that I could - and would - make her life hell if I saw the need.

What a selfish, stuck-up bitch.

I roll over and bury my face in my pillow, trying to conceal the hot, shameful tears I can feel forming. I can't really hide from it, can I?

Kyon's been mine since before I even started the Brigade, and I've done my damnedest to make sure everyone knew it, too - except for Kyon himself. Why should that be any of his concern, after all? I mean, he made his choice when he showed that he was interested in me.

Or that's what I wanted to assume, anyway. But then, I'd never showed him any kind of interest in return, had I? Why wouldn't he keep looking?

This is why I hate love! It is just like a mental illness - it sets itself up in your head and twists around the way you think and act. Everything you do gets contaminated by it!

Just like it's done to me.

There, I've admitted it. I've been avoiding it for who knows how long, but I can't deny it anymore. I think I'm in love with Kyon.

And it's made me act just as stupid as all those simpering idiots I despised back in middle school. Hell, I made every effort to crush a time traveler over it - and apparently was so blinded by it that I didn't even realize that's what she was!

I sit up in my bed, slamming my fist into my pillow angrily. This is all Kyon's fault, dammit! If he hadn't led me on - made me think he was interested in me - I wouldn't have done any of this!

Why couldn't he just have come out and confessed to me, if he was actually interested? I know all the stories from East Middle made the rounds - he should have known I wouldn't have turned him down if he'd asked!

Except a little worm of guilt won't let me accept that. Yeah, the stories from East Middle would have gone around - and that's only half of that story. I know for a fact Taniguchi would have talked to him about it, and after our world's record 15 minute relationship, he'd have tipped him off that I never dated anyone longer than a week.

Knowing that little tidbit, why would he say anything to me? Knowing it wouldn't last more than a few days?

I take a minute to scrub my face and blow my nose. So, if it's not reasonable for me to expect him to say anything to me, why haven't I ever said anything to him about it?

Well, the answer to that... I told him that I hated love. How could I turn around on that and then say that I liked him? To turn into one of those stammering idiots writing stupid confession notes and daydreaming about romance all day? That's way too normal and bland for Suzumiya Haruhi!

...besides, what if he rejected me? The invincible Suzumiya Haruhi, the girl who tossed aside every suitor in East Middle School, reduced to confessing to some guy that brushed her off just as easily?

And that's when I realize that it isn't love that's backed me into this corner, it's something else entirely.

It's pride.

Suzumiya Haruhi, admitting she was wrong about love?

Suzumiya Haruhi, lowering herself to be just like any other normal high school girl?

Suzumiya Haruhi, risking rejection by confessing to the guy she likes?

Unthinkable, any of it! Because all of it means that Suzumiya Haruhi has to risk being humbled.

Except that now it's happened. Suzumiya Haruhi has admitted she's wrong, and apologized for it, because even she has to swallow her pride when she really looks at how she's treated someone she considered a friend - out of nothing more than jealousy and selfishness.

Maybe it's time for me to do the same with Kyon. I know enough, now, to confront him about being John Smith; I don't know what's going on with Koizumi, but given how far off I was in some ways about Mikuru, maybe it's better if I let Kyon tell me what the deal is there in case I've misjudged him.

And for how I feel about him... well, we can talk about that too.

I do at least manage to get some sleep, but it's uneasy at best, full of nightmares - glowing giants locked in mortal combat with one another in a dead, grey world. I don't know where they come from, but I've had dreams like this on and off for years - usually when I'm angry or upset in some way.

Usually, I feel better after one of those dreams; watching the giants tear through the world around them, breaking down the old and worn-out to make way for the new and exciting - it's normally really invigorating!

Today, though, I feel... uneasy, but settled in a way - even though that doesn't really make sense.

I'm nervous about what's going to happen when I talk to Kyon - how could I not be? - but at least I know which direction I'm going from here. Even aside from that, there are other problems I need to face, like what I should do about Mikuru, but... I'm going to take one thing at a time.

Maybe Kyon can even help - it's not like he didn't see this; he said it to me straight out in my review.

I shake my head a bit, feeling a wry smile forming. With everything going on, I almost forgot that's where this all started. Reviewing the performance of the members of the SOS Brigade... turns out it was the chief that had the most she needed to work on.

And only one of the members had the guts to tell her so to her face.

Not that it's likely to matter much until all the dust settles, but Kyon is absolutely going to be the vice-commander from here on out. Even if things don't pan out between us the way I'd like, he's at least earned that by willing to be honest with me.

Thoughts like this occupy me as I climb the hill and enter the school; as usual, by the time I've changed my shoes and settled at my desk, I'm still one of the only people in the room. Kyon usually doesn't get here until almost the last minute, so I'm not going to have any time to talk to him before class.

I toy with the idea of leaving him a note, then decide against it - that's worse than those guys in middle school. With as important as this is, Kyon deserves no less than what I'd want someone to give me - the courage to tell him how I feel to his face, not hidden in a note or behind a telephone call.

When he finally comes in there's just a couple of minutes before the chime to start classes is due to ring. I can't help but look at him as he comes in, though; he's got that same bored and disinterested look he usually wears in class, although when he catches sight of me his expression turns a bit more concerned.

"What's wrong?" he asks as he hangs his bag from the side of his desk, not even bothering with a greeting. "You look like you've got something serious on your mind."

Boy, is that an understatement. "You could say that," I reply tightly, not meeting his gaze.

"Anything you want to talk about?" he continues, settling in at his desk as Okabe bustles in.

I take a deep breath, steeling myself before answering. "Actually... yeah, it is. But not now."

That actually prompts a double-take, Kyon staring back at me incredulously. "You do?"

"Yes!" I hiss back, tossing my head in Okabe's direction. "Not now, though - after class. Don't you dare be late to the meeting!" I can't help but put some fire into the order - if I'm going to do this, the last thing I need is for Kyon to mess around.

"I... sure," he says, obviously confused.

I give him a sharp nod, just as the class representative begins the morning ritual to stand and bow. That's the first step down, at least.

At lunchtime, I'm half tempted to drag Kyon out and get started, but Sakanaka's been trying to get my attention all morning and I doubt we'd be able to get through everything before afternoon classes started anyway.

I follow Sakanaka's lead out of the classroom, although I decide to skip lunch; I've had butterflies dancing in my stomach all day, and the thought of eating something... no, not now.

We head up to the roof again; it's not completely deserted today, at least, but there are few enough people up here that finding an area to talk privately isn't hard. I can't really muster up the enthusiasm to press Sakanaka for info, so she opens up her lunch and waits a minute before deciding that I'm not going to start the conversation.

"We, um, did get more information yesterday," she offers, looking at me a bit worriedly. "Nanaka-chan's club isn't meeting this week - ah, that's Onoki Nanaka, she's in the tea ceremony club.

"Anyway, she was outside the building yesterday right after school let out when Koizumi-san came running through in a big hurry. She said he jumped into a black taxicab and drove off before she could see much, but that the driver did look like an older man with white hair. She didn't have time to get a picture, though."

"That's great," I say, giving her the best smile I can manage. "Good to get confirmation on that, at least."

She frowns a bit, taking a bite from her bento before she speaks again. "Is... something wrong? You've been looking a little... worried, today."

Do I really want to talk about this with her? On the one hand, it's not like she's going to believe me about all of the Brigade members, I'm sure, but... she's been a lot of help with Koizumi, and I shouldn't just totally brush her off, either.

"I'm... yeah, I'm kinda worried," I admit. "I can't really get into the details too much, but I'm going to have to talk to Kyon about some really serious stuff today."

"Oh," she says, sitting up a bit as she eats a bit more of her lunch. "Is this... are you going to confess to him or something?"

She at least doesn't get giggly and excited when she asks, so I've got to give her some credit there. "No, it's not..." I grit my teeth and sigh. If I can't be honest with Sakanaka, how badly is it going to go when I try to talk to Kyon?

"It may come to that, but it's a lot bigger than just that," I manage to eke out. "Some of it's related to what you've been doing in watching Koizumi for me."

"I... see," Sakanaka says quietly, looking a bit down. "I guess I shouldn't pry, then."

Am I about to hurt another friend out of my stupid pride?

I rub my forehead for a minute before answering her. "It's not... it's not even that I don't want to tell you - I don't necessarily want to keep this a secret from you," I blurt out. "It's just... some of this stuff is almost unbelievable, and I'm not even sure how much of it is true or what's going on with all of it.

"I just don't... I don't want to shoot my mouth off without knowing more about what's going on. I... kind of found out yesterday that I may have really hurt someone by doing that, and I don't want to do it again if I can help it," I admit. "I... what I don't know, I think Kyon does, and I'm hoping he can help me sort out what's going on."

Sakanaka just takes that in quietly, then gives me a soft smile. "All right, I understand," she replies. "I'll just wish you luck with Kyon, then, and if you want to talk about it later, I'll be all ears."

"Thanks for understanding." I give her a small smile myself. "Anyway, I'll leave you to your lunch - I'm not particularly hungry today, and... well. I doubt I'd be very good company at the moment."

I stand and give her a quick bow to excuse myself. "Thanks again for your help!"

"It's no trouble," she says just before I turn to go. "Good luck, Suzumiya-san - I'll be rooting for you!"

The rest of lunch is spent roaming the halls to kill time; Kyon's eating with Taniguchi and Kunikida as usual, so I peek in on the others' classrooms for lack of anything else to do.

Mikuru's in her third-year classroom, eating lunch with Tsuruya; the green-haired girl is as energetic as always, from what I can see. Thinking back to Mikuru in the clubroom yesterday... it's probably good that they're friends, if Mikuru's been having such a hard time. I still need to figure out how I can try to make things up to her.

Yuki I don't spot in her classroom, but I've seen her in the clubroom at lunch before; she might be over there, but I don't really feel like crossing over to the old building to check.

Koizumi's eating alone in his classroom; not that I'm really surprised, but a lot of the girls seem to be looking over at him. He doesn't look so hot today, though - while I've never seen him mussed up or dirty the way Kyon is most of the time, he does look pretty tired. Wonder what kept him up.

I spend a little more time wandering the halls, then settle back into my desk shortly before the tone sounds to end lunch. Kyon gives me a somewhat worried look as I sit back down, but I don't meet his gaze. Nice to know that he's concerned about me, though.

And so, the waiting game begins again. On the bright side, the period after lunch until the end of classes is shorter, but it makes up for it by having the most ridiculously boring teachers and subjects of the entire day. I'll admit, Kamishirasawa-sensei is one of the better history teachers I've had - she at least makes it interesting most of the time - but today? I don't really care to get into a detailed list of battles during Tokugawa's rise to power.

At long last, though, the chime sounds to end class, and we bow to the teacher as we collect our books. Finally - at last there's nothing standing between me and a long talk with-

"Suzumiya!" The class rep, Goto, calls out my name. "You're on cleaning duty today!"

What?

Damn it! Damn damn damn damn!

I can feel my face flushing as I get angry, but... if I make a scene it's only going to take longer, so I might as well get it over with as fast as possible.

I grab Kyon by his tie and yank him close before he can make his way out of the room. "You'd better be in the clubroom waiting by the time I get done here, got it?" I growl.

He looks shocked at the sudden tug, but sighs and nods after I'm done. "Of course," he says tiredly.

"I'm absolutely serious today, Kyon!" I snap at him.

"All right, all right, I'll be there," he says, trying to placate me.

I just stomp my way over to the closet with the cleaning supplies in response, Kyon beating a hasty retreat as I do. I slam open the door and dig out a bucket; I'm half tempted to kick the damn thing across the room, I'm so mad!

There's some kind of commotion out in the hallway, but I ignore it for now. The sooner I get this stupid chore done, the sooner I can get out of here.

It takes me a couple of minutes to fill the bucket with water and get a washcloth ready. Just as I'm about to start scrubbing the teacher's podium down, though, the commotion out in the hall returns - and makes its way to me. Sakanaka darts into the room, out of breath, then quickly comes over to me.

"Suzu... Suzumiya-san," she pants. "I don't know what's going on, but Koizumi... Koizumi was waiting in the hall, and when he saw Kyon come out, he just grabbed Kyon's arm and started off with him - then after they changed their shoes, he took off running!"

"He what?" I shout, wringing the cloth in my hands.

"I caught... Nanaka-chan at the gate, she's following them from there," Sakanaka continues, finally breathing normally again. "She said she'd text me once she's seen where they're going."

I grit my teeth in frustration... to hell with it, cleaning duty can get bent! I'm going after Kyon. "Okay - Sakanaka, come with me, we're getting reinforcements," I declare, grabbing her wrist and pulling her along as I head over to the old complex at a fast walk.

If they're being followed, there's no need to rush - they've got too much of a headstart on me to make up by running, so I'll just wait for them to stop and then corner them.

I burst into the clubroom without knocking; Mikuru's the only one here, though - well, obviously Kyon and Koizumi aren't, but Yuki being missing is a little odd. The time traveler is standing in front of the costume rack, and as usual she literally jumps when the door hits the wall.

"Mikuru-chan!" I bark out. "Leave your stuff here and come on - this is an emergency! Kyon's being abducted!"

She blinks in surprise at that, her mouth dropping open. "Abducted? But I haven't..." She shakes her head.

"Don't worry about that, just come on!" I snap at her. "This is no time to be helpless and moe - we need to go rescue him! Didn't you say you wanted to be the person to step up and help when it's needed? Well, that time is now!"

"I... but I," she flounders for a minute, then seems to focus. "You're right - I do want to be that person," she says, looking more determined than I think I've ever seen her. "Just tell me what I need to do!"

I give her a grin. "That's the spirit! But for now, just hurry - Sakanaka-san's got a friend following Kyon and Koizumi, and she'll let us know where they're going," I explain, as the three of us head out to the shoe lockers.

I'm kind of surprised that Sakanaka's getting into it this much, though - she's grinning as we jog towards the school's entrance.

Just as we arrive at the lockers, Sakanaka's phone chirps. While we change shoes, she flips it open with one hand, scanning over it briefly. "Looks like they headed down to the station and got on the train, headed into town. Nanaka-chan managed to get on with them, she'll let me know where they get off."

"Awesome - I'm going to owe you guys a major favor for all this, Sakanaka-san," I say as the three of us head out of the school.

"Wait," Mikuru says, catching up to me. "Did you say Koizumi and Kyon?"

"Of course!" I start to snap, then realize that Mikuru doesn't have any idea what's actually going on other than me demanding her help. That was something she asked for, too, now that I think about it.

"I told Kyon today that I had some really serious stuff to talk to him about today in the meeting," I explain as we jog down the hill. "Related to... well, what we talked about yesterday, and some about Yuki, too."

"I... see," she says after a moment, starting to puff a bit as we near the station. "But what does that have to do with Koizumi-kun?"

"Well, I got stuck with cleaning duty, and I told Kyon to go wait for me in the clubroom - and then Sakanaka-san saw Koizumi dragging him out of the school. I haven't figured out everything about him yet, but I've got some clues, and if he's abducting Kyon for some shady reason... I'm not going to stand for it!"

Mikuru's wheezing pretty hard by this point; I almost want to shake her for it. This is an emergency, pick up the pace! There's no train at the station as far as I can see, though, so I slow down a bit to let the redhead attempt to catch her breath - she does at least seem to be trying her best.

Another minute at a jog is enough time for us to reach the station platform. As we wait for the next inbound train, I glance over at Mikuru; her panting easing up a bit, and she seems to be smiling a bit, which is a little odd.

"Mikuru-chan?" I ask, eyeing her dubiously.

"Oh!" she says, startled out of her thoughts. "Sorry, I was just... thinking."

Sakanaka looks over at the two of us curiously, but holds her tongue for now. I can just bet she's wondering what's going on - I'll definitely have to give her a good explanation later.

"Anyway, what I was thinking is that once we find them, I'll take care of Koizumi while you get Kyon to someplace safe," I tell the redhead. "Sakanaka-san, once we get them cornered it'll probably be best if you and Onoki-san stay out of the way, just in case."

Sakanaka nods absently, flipping through her phone again. "Looks like they got off at-"

Her voice is cut off by the arrival of the train, the brakes screeching as it pulls to a halt. I wait until the doors have opened and we've boarded before I ask for clarification.

"Where'd they get off? Couldn't hear you over the train."

By this point, though, Sakanaka's buried in her phone again. "Hang on a minute... oh, this doesn't look good. They got off at Kitaguchi station - Nanaka-chan saw them cut into an alley behind a cafe near there, but they're not there now and she's not sure where they could have gone."

I shake my head at that. "Well, at least we've got somewhere to start," I grumble. "Let her know we should be there in just a couple of minutes, and she can meet us at the station to show us which alley it is."

"Right," Sakanaka agrees, already punching buttons on her phone.

Mikuru's looking a bit spaced out, I notice; I wave my hand in front of her face as the train lurches into motion. "You still with us, Mikuru-chan?"

"Just a minute," she says, frowning a bit in concentration. I scowl at that, but don't push; it's not like we're ready to rescue Kyon right this minute. Maybe she's just trying to psych herself u-

Out of nowhere, my own phone buzzes with a new text message. I look down at it and find that it's... from Mikuru? While she's standing right next to me? She doesn't even have her phone out!

The message simply reads: 'Back at 4:30'. I check the time on my phone; it's about 3:55 now.

I give her a puzzled look, and just as I do she seems to snap back into focus, looking at me quizzically. "Sorry about that - it's... um, a little hard to explain," she offers, her eyes flicking over to Sakanaka.

Something to do with time travel, I guess. "All right," I mutter. "I did just get a text, though-"

"Don't tell me about it, please!" Mikuru says quickly, then lowers her voice and whispers directly into my ear. "I'm already stretching some rules to get you some information, but I can't know about it yet - all I know is that it should be something related to Koizumi and Kyon."

I'm taken a bit aback by that. "Wait, it's okay for me to know about it but not you? How does that even make sense?" I splutter.

"It has to do with classified inform-" She bites her lip at that, and I just sigh in response.

"I guess that'll have to be enough for now," I grumble.

Overhead, the speaker announces that the train is arriving at Kitaguchi station, so I move over towards Sakanaka, Mikuru trailing along in my wake. As we get off, I see another somewhat-familiar girl in a Kitago uniform; once she sees me and Sakanaka getting off the train, she waves and trots over to meet us.

"You got here quicker than I thought!" she replies, looking mostly towards Sakanaka among the three of us.

"Onoki-san, right?" I jump in before Sakanaka can reply. "I really appreciate the help - but we don't really have time to talk. Can you show us where you last saw Kyon and Koizumi?"

"S-sure," she stammers, a bit taken aback by me taking over. "It's not far - follow me!"

With that, we hustle out of the station. She's right about it, though - the alley she leads us to is actually directly behind the cafe we usually meet at during our mystery searches, just a couple of blocks from the station itself.

"They went back there, but by the time I came around the corner they'd disappeared!" Onoki explains. "I'm not sure where they could have gone, though, unless they got into the back of the cafe somehow."

"That's okay - Mikuru-chan and I will take it from here," I nod sharply. "You've been a big help - but this is SOS Brigade business, and it might be kind of dangerous. It'll be best if you and Sakanaka-san head out; we can handle this, and I can give you the rundown on what happened later."

Onoki nods timidly and heads out of the alley, but Sakanaka sighs. "Be careful, Suzumiya-san, and good luck - both with this and with Kyon. Give me a call once the dust settles, okay?"

"You bet," I reply, flashing her a grin.

She nods in reply, following Onoki out of the alley. Once they're gone, I look over at Mikuru.

"I know you said you can't give me details about Koizumi, but... is it possible that he and Kyon could have disappeared from here entirely - like, teleported or something?

She frowns a bit. "I... don't know too much about how Koizumi does what it is that he does, but I'm pretty sure he could, yes."

I nod at that, then pull out my phone to check the time - 4:20. Snapping the phone shut, I give Mikuru a quick nod. "Okay then - if that's a possibility, I think the two of them might be coming back here soon. So here's the plan: we'll wait here in the alley for a little while. If Kyon shows up we get him out of here and regroup; if it's just Koizumi, I'll make him talk until he tells us where Kyon is. If they're together, I'll handle Koizumi and you get Kyon out of danger. Clear enough?"

Mikuru looks nervous, but nods anyway. "I'll do my best," she avers.

I don't know what Koizumi can do, exactly, but I'll have to take some risks to get Kyon out of here no matter what we do. I figure my best bet will be to try to stun him, somehow; I don't want to hurt him seriously if I'm wrong about what's going on, so delaying him for long enough for us to get to a safe location is probably the best call.

With the plan of action squared away, now it's just down to waiting, but this time it's not for long. Shortly after checking my phone at 4:28, there's an odd distortion in the air, and Koizumi and Kyon both appear in the alley a moment later. They're facing away from us, so I can't tell much about what's been going on, but I move into action as soon as the distortion fades.

"Mikuru, now!" I yell, darting forward and shoving Kyon forward a few steps, away from Koizumi.

The latter turns to face me with an expression of complete horror, but I'm not really in the mood to talk. Out of the corner of my eye I see Mikuru grab Kyon's hand and dash towards the end of the alley, but I don't spare more than a moment's attention before I turn my focus completely on Koizumi.

"I don't know what you're planning with Kyon, but I'm not going to let you get away with it!" I yell, lashing out and planting a fist in his stomach. I'm no martial artist, but the blow is apparently a good one - enough to drive the air out of him in a great 'whoosh' and knock him flat on his ass.

Perfect, that should buy us a minute or two!

With the esper down, I run to the end of the alley, where Mikuru and Kyon are both staring at me in shock.

"What are you waiting for, let's get out of here!" I exclaim, grabbing both Kyon and Mikuru arm and dragging them both after me as I run past.

"Haruhi..." Kyon splutters in my wake, before finally coming up with "What the hell?"

I don't stop to answer until we're right outside the station; if Koizumi's been going to this kind of effort to hide what he can do, I doubt he'll try anything while we're in an area this public.

I finally turn to Kyon, giving him a smirk as I answer his question - 'what the hell' indeed.

"Just doing what someone told me to do, a long time ago," I reply. "After all, I have to look out for the John Smith that will shake the world."

Author's Note: Kyon's name in this chapter is borrowed from Brian Randall (aka Durandall), with his permission. If you're reading my poor prose I can't imagine you haven't read at least some of his, but if you haven't, do so!