I heard two rings before a sound came over the line.
"Hello?"
His gentle voice finally answered. Even by just hearing it, you knew the owner of it was some handsome bastard who was taller than you.
"Koizumi?"
"Yeah, who's this?"
"...Kyon."
"Oh? Yeah?"
"Yeah, listen, can you meet me somewhere, I need to talk to you."
His voice changed, as a hint of startled uneasiness came into it.
"Um... sure."
"Front of the station, 15 minutes?"
"Okay. I'll be there."
I hung up the phone quickly and walked over to the station from Nagato's... er... Haruhi's apartment. 7 days. I can't really explain that to Koizumi. I can't tell that to anyone. Haruhi is the only one who's seen it, but the less people know the better. The only problem with that is, I still have no idea what to do.
As I arrived, I took the time to lean against the pole we usually met at. It was beginning to get dark. I scanned my gaze over the station. There was an unusually small amount of people here. I gazed off into the distance a ways to see the cafe we usually eat at, we being the SOS Brigade in my time. It seemed so remote now, so nostalgic.
I began to start falling asleep standing up against the pole. My eyes closed softly, my eyelids becoming heavier. My will to keep them open was slowly dissolving.
"Hey. Kyon?"
I felt a nudge as I awakened my senses. Koizumi's smiling face greeted my newly opened eyes.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
I picked myself up, because I had fallen to a sitting position against the pole. Okay, time to get serious.
"Koizumi, listen carefully. I know you are an esper."
Koizumi's grinning face hardly flinched as he just kept radiating the repulsive and hollow smile back at me. I expected him to at least be a little surprised that I knew that, I figured it would be his biggest secret.
"It seemed like something was different about you Kyon."
I was extremely agitated by his relaxed nature.
"Yes. Let me be frank with you. I am not the me from this time plane."
The smiling esper only nodded and replied with "is that so?"
Yes, it is. If you can believe it, there were 5 SOS Brigade members in my time plane, the 5th being an humanoid interface created by the-
"Integrated Data Sentient Entity."
Koizumi quickly interrupted me without changing his demeanor.
Wait, you know about them?
"Kyon, it is my job to keep watch over Suzumiya Haruhi. It's part of the job description to know who else is watching her as well."
So that means...
"Yes, I know about Asahina-san."
The initiative in this conversation had been completely flipped, as now I was shocked that he knew so much, even though I intended for him to be impressed with my knowledge.
He only continued to smile as he said,
"Kyon, let me tell you something about the time plane we are in right now. I'm sure you're aware of the power Suzumiya-san possesses?"
Yes, you explained it to me before. I believe you were the one who thought... she was a God, right?
"Correct, in a sense. She has the power to recreate the world at will."
And it's tough for you, because Haruhi is so weird and wants all this crazy stuff to happen?
"Actually, no. Suzumiya Haruhi is very stable. Closed space is hardly ever created in this time plane, and when it is, the Shinjin do not act very destructive."
What? Haruhi… stable? I don't think that thought can materialize in my mind. Although, what I had just gone through at her apartment really did prove his point a little.
He saw the confusion in my face.
"Oh, I'm sorry, do you not know about closed space? Shall I show you?"
He reached out his hand toward me. No thanks, you've taken me to a closed space before, and I know all about those Shinjin and whatnot. But I didn't know Haruhi was different in this time plane.
"Of course. I don't know how it is in your time plane Kyon, but there is only one thing that gives Haruhi grief, and it is her emotions. Particularly, love."
Oh boy. His grin grew wider as his head moved slightly toward mine.
"I feel I should let you know since you know all this already, but Suzumiya-san is in love with you. The greatest cause of her angst is the fact that she cannot tell you. She is too bashful. In fact, she created the SOS Club just to be with you."
Haruhi? In love with... me? SOS Club?
"Ah, yes, I heard you refer to it as a 'Brigade'. The SOS Club is nothing more than a social club Haruhi created. She did it because she wanted to spend time with you after school. She asked you to help her make it. I joined to keep her thoughts and actions in check. Asahina-san joined, well, because you did. Ever since you started dating Asahina-san, Haruhi had become much more dejected."
The little princess is jealous of Asahina-san?
"On the contrary, that isn't the case. She is just very disappointed that you don't notice her more, and that she is able to see you give your love to someone else. But she is happy when you are happy Kyon, so she would no regret something that puts a smile on your face. That's why both you and Asahina-san still exist and are still going out, Haruhi has not wished for you to break up."
He raised his face to look at a spot above me, seemingly searching for the distant stars that were hidden by the city lights.
"It will be much easier now though, if you are different. The you of this time plane, and pardon me for saying, really liked the Asahina-san of this time plane, it was easy to see. You confided in me your feelings, and I could just dismiss them as simple high school puppy love, so I let you go off and confess to her, even though it makes my job harder. But now that you are impartial, and don't show feelings toward anyone, it should be easier for all of us."
My mind swiftly brought up the image of Nagato, standing on the beach, the snow gently falling around us. She leaned into me, and met me with a kiss. I wouldn't say I was impartial. Can't let Koizumi know that though.
"You know Koizumi, this is all fine and dandy, but it's new to me. How am I supposed to act now that I know this?"
"Just act normal. Live your life. Be happy. It will be very troublesome for Suzumiya-san, and in extension, me, if you were to start acting... weird."
Things have already gotten weird.
"I apologize for that Kyon. Just try to do your best..."
He dramatically lifted his wrist so I could see him looking at his watch.
"Well, look at the time. I had better get back home to get some sleep, I had been up the past couple of nights working. You know?"
Yeah. I know.
"Goodbye Kyon, and good luck."
He waved as he smiled and departed around the corner.
Things were unquestionably getting peculiar… that was an understatement. It was hard for me to grasp this new reality in my head. For some reason, my mind began to get hazy. I began to remember Nagato. I began to remember her soft touch, that dream I had on the beach with her. It was not a dream. That's the last time I saw her. Nagato. Her hand was so warm, it was so different than anytime I had felt her before. I had felt her love. Now she's gone.
I found myself to be in a daze. I walked in a wayward fashion across the city, the natural light had long since vanished behind the scenery, never daring to show its face in a depressed condition. The city took me up in its synthetic light, and let me bask in the warmth it provided. My feet moved mechanically, not in synch with my mind at all. Here and there, a curb would appear, and I would trip, only regaining balance after a few steps. There was fog in my head. What was this. I was blank inside, I cannot think. Everything is different now. I don't have Nagato anymore. She wanted me to be happy. She felt this was the best possible solution to the problem at hand. Why did I have to go and make her change? Wait, am I blaming myself for making someone fall in love with me? Why couldn't Nagato just live her life? I've often wondered how she really feels about her existence. Why couldn't the Integrated Data Sentient Entity just let her be a normal human being on the outside, who could live a normal life with her friends, and have normal feelings? They made the others, like Asakura, that way. Why did they do this to Nagato? Why can they let her data get corrupted? Do they not care?
I tripped again as I fell to a knee in a puddle along the dark street. The low roar of a passing car slowed my thought process.
Nagato. It's not fair. It's not fair to me. It's not fair to everyone. But it's especially not fair to you. The minute you start to feel a place in this world, you are swept away. Why did it have to happen like this? Nagato began to be more normal, she began to fit in more. The more she tried, the more "broken" she was to them.
I picked up my pace to a slow jog as my head continued to grind out thought after thought. I began to physically keep speed with my mind, as my thoughts got heated, so did my body. I had no idea what was happening anymore. The fog from before was coming into my head. Only this time, it was not from outside. There is no dream state. There is no Nagato. This is all me now. I'm all alone.
They can't do this! All the time I've spent as a high schooler, I've just been waiting for it to get better. I dwell on the things I have to do for the SOS Brigade, having to put up with Haruhi and gaze at Asahina-san, knowing I can never have her. I have to listen to Koizumi yak about nonsense, and I have to keep my grades up so I won't be disowned by my mother. Now that all of those problems are gone, I've realized that this existence, one without Nagato, my rock, the one person in the world I could depend on in my utmost moments of despair, is gone. All my various problems of before are gone, but they have left behind in their wake one of exponentially worse magnitude. There was no Nagato. And for some reason that I can't comprehend, it tears away at me.
Before I had realized it, my legs were running. I was running for no reason, in no direction, with no meaning... with no thoughts. Everything was emotion.
Why Nagato? Why this? Why does this have to happen? Why must you sacrifice yourself for the likes of the rest! You don't deserve this!
My cries became more external until I was saying them out loud as I ran. They grew in amplitude until I was yelling them out. I heard the repugnant sounds intermixed with my gasps for breath. Even if I collapsed right there, I would not care, I would still want to run. If my heart burst on the spot, it wouldn't matter, because it felt empty anyway. The ghastly sounds that started coming from me began to mix with my sobs. I was yelling and crying and panting all at the same time as running. Why? The only thing that would cross my mind! Why! Three letters in my head. Why! They flashed colors, they flashed lights, they flashed in and out, and began to fade. I felt a sharp pain in my knee as the indistinct landscape in front of me stopped moving. My side began to ache as if it were cut open.
I had slipped and fallen. I just lay there. What point was there in getting up? Why don't I just lay here, I deserve it for sending Nagato away, it's my fault. I don't care about Haruhi. I don't care about Asahina-san either. I just want things to be the way they were, I want Nagato back in the corner reading her books. I want to be able to look at her, and wonder what is going on in her head. I need that old reality to find its way into this one.
I slowed my sobs and breathing as I lifted my head to see where I was. There was a dark blue tint to everything, as if someone had applied a photo filter to the world. The golden lights of the city had left me behind, as now all I saw was a lone candlelight. I was near a shrine.
I picked myself up slowly, and struggled over to a bench outside, before throwing myself upon it in undying agony. My ears picked up the sound of a hoarse voice. It was coming from my left.
"We here on this earth do but walk in unison, yet bound ourselves to each other by ties of responsibility, of emotion. We will all fall in this three-legged race of life. So then I ask you, what is keeping you from cutting the rope tied around your ankle?"
I glanced over, trying hard not to make much of an effort to look. There I saw a small, old man, hunched over. A dark shawl covered him, as he swayed a little with his words. His arms were extended in front of him. He was facing out toward the shrubbery next to the shrine, and it seemed he was talking to no one.
It's a crazy guy. Great.
"Why must we make such treacherous activity be common-place on this earth? It is because of how we as humans live. We as humans are inherently evil, and will always find a way to better ourselves while tearing down those around us. We do not fool our innermost desires when our conscience gets to us. We all know what we want, and that is more."
I turned my head back to stop staring at the old man. I was about 10 feet away from him, and it did not seem like he had noticed I was there. Yet it did not seem like he noticed anyone was anywhere, and he certainly didn't notice that no one was where he was preaching to.
"Take a look at yourself. Now look to the left and right. What do you see? Do you see someone who is poorer? Better looking? Perhaps they smell bad? Why can we not look past these things? Do not stare into the picture frame, but avert your gaze to the mirror, for you look just as unfavorable to them as they do to you. So why must we break that mirror? Why must we skew it to not see ourselves? Is it because our reflection scares us? Or perhaps because the bad luck is the least of our worries..."
I have found the craziest guy in Japan. But... what makes him so much crazier than me? I felt so out of place right now that I have been running around blindly for the last 20 minutes. I don't feel I belong here at all. What does it all matter? I can't be happy here. Nagato wants me to, but even I cannot grant her that wish. Maybe I would be happy with Asahina-san as a girlfriend, but what would that amount to? Maybe it's better that Haruhi is more laid back, but she is still capable of remaking the entire world. Even when I was placed in a world where I would supposedly be happy in every aspect, I was still stuck in the clutches of impending doom. So I ask again, what does it all matter?
"We may take the pen, and empty out the ink to see what is inside. But all we are left with is a sheet of paper stained with black emotion. The pen is gone, the insides are now seeping through to everything. The tip is lonely, it may roll, but it will never find itself to be whole, because it's already too late. Drip. Drip. Drip. The black ink has overflown. And so do our lives into the abyss."
I couldn't tell who's thoughts were who's now, as it seemed the old man's voice ran through my brain. My eyes closed gradually, and opened to see a pond in the darkness where I had been staring.
I unconsciously stood up and walked over to its edge, the dark water smiling back at me, the iciness seeping into the air around my face.
I could end it. What does it all matter anyway? I could join Nagato, and terminate myself. Then we'll see how this world reacts. I could not see my reflection in the water as my face drew nearer, my body edging closer and closer to the blackness, away from any light. I could just drown, and let the sweet cold water fill my lungs.
"The ink would just seep out, and drip away, until it was permanent with the scenery..."
Permanent... I wasn't permanent anywhere. The only thing that is permanent is death... and for Nagato, that time had come. For me...For me... take a step. Just fall.
"I will catch you. You won't be cold anymore. Just fall."
My pocket vibrated.
I stepped back from the water's edge by instinct. My mind seemingly came out of a trance, as the fog in it lifted little by little.
I reached in and grabbed the sleek chrome phone and flipped it open.
1 new TXT message
Open...
"Kyon... I'm worried about you. Please call me. Love Mikuru"
...
I felt tears coming to my eyes.
"Do you know why this is happening? It's you! Your fault! You're selfish! Man is selfish! But you! You are the epitome! Life is not always about you! Repent! Regret! This is your fault!"
I closed my eyes tightly as the old man's voice reached my ears. No it wasn't. No... it... wasn't...
"Your fault! Think for a second about others! You are here for a reason! A reason! This is your fault! Your fault!"
No! No it wasn't!
"Yes! Yes! Your fault! Your fault!"
"Your fault!"
Your fault!
Your…
Fault…
I spun my contorted face around and screamed,
"No it's not!"
No answer. Silence. I clutched my cellphone tightly in one hand, as a fist was made with the other. My eyes opened slowly. There was no one there. A lone tree branch rustled in the wind. There was no light anywhere, but there was no old man either.
I looked around. He was there... wasn't he? My eyes surveyed the area again. It was the same.
I looked down at my cellphone screen...
" Mikuru"
It's not my fault...
My fault...
Just keep saying that Kyon...
The more you say it, the more you know it isn't true.
The next day at school was interesting to say the least.
As I drudged up the slope to my everyday hell, which was sure to be worse today for the fact that I was in this time plane and knew nothing about what was happening, I felt a familiar slap on my back, coupled with the same greeting that always followed.
"Yo Kyon!"
Taniguchi ran up next to me and started walking.
"Yo."
Taniguchi seems the same. It sure would be weird if in this reality he was the one who had girls chasing after him instead of the other way around. That would sure freak me out enough to turn back and head home.
"Kyon, bro, you gotta tell me something. And be truthful man. How far have you gone with Asahina-san? No lying!"
"Shut up idiot!"
I turned and coldly looked into his smiling face. He returned my stare with a grin that hid no shame. My own face began to get red.
"C'mon! We're buds right? Just let me in on this..."
Right there I realized something. This was a golden opportunity to mess with Taniguchi. Granted, this isn't my style of joking, but I had had no fun since being thrown into this timeplane, only confusion and grief, so it was about time I balance it out. And there was no better way than getting Taniguchi all hot and bothered. It was one of the many things I loved to do, but hated to admit to, just like going to SOS Brigade meetings every day after school, that is, if there isn't anything weird planned.
"Ok Taniguchi, I'll tell you, but you have to swear to not tell anyone else."
I leaned in close to him and feigned seriousness. The "don't tell anyone" was a nice touch.
"Let's just say... last weekend I socked the ball pretty deep into the outfield, and didn't stop as I rounded third, if you know what I mean."
His eyes grew bigger as I knew my trick had worked. Really Taniguchi, is it that easy?
"No way Kyon! No way! You went all the way?! With Asahina-san?!"
"Hahaha! Taniguchi! Hohoho!"
I laughed in his face, almost doubling over as I clutched my sides. What a gullible friend I have!
"C'mon Kyon! Really! Truly? You swear?"
My laughs died down in sound as I bent over and put my hand on his shoulder.
"Shh! Yeah. There, I told you. Now don't tell anybody else."
"Ohh c'mon! Give me details! I need details!"
He grabbed my shoulders and tried to stop me as I started walking away but I shrugged him off.
"Hey, I told you enough, just forget about it."
"Agggghhh!"
He clutched his head as he let out an antagonized groan skyward. I smiled happily to myself as I continued up the slope. This day started out good enough.
I walked into class just before the lesson was starting. Haruhi was in the room staring at the vacant spot in front of her, where I should be sitting. I walked over and tossed my bag on the desk, breaking her concentration.
"Hey Haruhi."
She looked up at me, and then turned away, averting her gaze to the window.
"Hey."
Her cheeks went slightly red. Maybe she was remembering that I had been in her apartment last night.
So this Haruhi liked me huh? I'll admit it made me feel good to know this, I felt I had the upper hand in the relationship now. I stared at Haruhi for a little longer before turning around. Okabe-sensei had started the lesson. I looked over and saw a familiar person sitting a row to my right and three seats up. It was Koizumi. What was he doing in this class? Shouldn't he be in that smart 2-9 class? He didn't seem different at all when I talked to him before.
Sigh, now it was time to space out for a while until...
Lunch.
I didn't really know what to do during lunch. I just kind of sat there as the chime rung. Haruhi took a bento out of her bag. Well, that's weird... and different.
"You're eating here Kyon?"
"Umm, yeah I guess."
I took my bento out of my bag as well. Taniguchi and Kunikida were no where to be found, it seems they had rushed out of the classroom or something, so I might as well sit here and eat. Koizumi had left as well, presumably going to the cafeteria.
I took out my chopsticks and looked at Haruhi, who in turn had been staring at me. She looked back down and began to unwrap her bento.
"How come you aren't eating with Mikuru-chan?"
Oh crap. The mention of her name made me remember I was supposed to call her. I should go talk to her.
"Oh. Uh. I don't know. I'm just gonna eat here and then maybe go talk to her."
I don't know why, but I felt much more uncomfortable knowing Haruhi had an interest in me. She was very shy. As I looked at her again, and noticed she was blushing, I realized how cute she looked. She delicately took out her chopsticks and began eating her bento slowly, with miniature bites.
I finished my lunch quickly as I said goodbye to Haruhi and left the room. As I was leaving, I noticed there were hardly any guys in the room at all, and didn't see that many in the halls as I walked over to Asahina-san's classroom.
I reached my hand out to grasp the doorknob. Just as I did, the door itself slammed open into me. I fell to the ground with a hard thud. Ow! What the hell just happened?
In the doorway was a menacing looking Tsuruya-san flanked by a crying Asahina-san, followed by some of their classmates, trying to comfort the poor sempai. Tsuruya-san took notice of my lying on the floor as her face turned from menacing to evil. She looked really mad. She jumped on me, grabbing my collar, and pulled my face close to hers.
"What is this Kyon!? You go around telling people about promiscuous nights with Mikuru-chan?! That's not something you just go spouting off you insensitive idiot!"
It seemed like she was either about to punch my head off or bite my neck with her giant canines. I tried to defend myself, although I was doing a pretty poor job. I had no idea what was going on either. If anyone knows, it would be great if you could come in and explain it for me, because I lack in the art of making up stories on the spot.
"I... Wha? Uh... Asahina-san?"
I looked at her as she was crying, staring at me through her tears and sobs. I slowly began to realize why. Taniguchi. That son of a bitch!
"No! Wait! Look, I can explain!"
I tried to push Tsuruya-san off of me, but she would not budge. I could just clear this up right now if you'd give me a chance!
Suddenly Asahina-san cried out in between sobs.
"Kyon! That was supposed to be our little secret! It's not something you tell your friends about!"
What?
"No No! Asahina-san! It's not like tha-"
Wait a second. Our secret? That means it actually happened? The me in this time plane had actually... bedded Asahina-san? No way! That bastard!
Wait, why am I mad, isn't it me anyway? Should I be praising my other self or kicking him in the crotch?
"I really had you pegged wrong Kyon, you pervert!"
Tsuruya got off me and pulled me to my feet in front of her face. Then, in front of everyone, and making a sound no one could ignore even if they were on the other side of the school, she slapped me across the face with such force that I was scared my head would spin all the way around.
"Get out of here!"
She pointed back down the hallway. I didn't move, but just held my cheek, complete with a red imprint of a hand, and stared at her and Asahina-san.
"NOW!"
She jumped toward me as I broke my trance and began to scamper off down the hall. I still wasn't clear on what was going on, but that seemed to be the theme in this time plane for me. As I walked back to my class rubbing my cheek, I began to realize that it was a huge mistake making that joke, as every person in the halls stared at me strangely, and lowered their voices in their conversations. If word got out that I... had done things to Asahina-san, the whole male population of the school would beat the living daylights out of me.
The chime rung, and as I entered room 2-5, a mob of blue blazers pounced on me.
"Kyon! no way"
"How was it?"
"Were you gentle?"
"Did you use a rubber?"
"How about those ta-tas?"
"Is she a moaner? I bet she's a moaner..."
Rabid questions came flying at me from left and right. What the hell? What am I supposed to say? I stood dumbfounded as the questions bounced off of me, the other guys in the class getting more and more annoyed. I saw Taniguchi's grinning face at the back of the mob. Goddamn him.
This is insanity. I tried to make my way through the small crowd back to my seat. Okabe-sensei came into the room and broke up the party, one of the few times I was actually glad to see him. I slumped down in my chair, as I realized Haruhi was not sitting in the seat behind me. Hm, maybe she went home. I also saw that Koizumi was gone as well. Weren't they both here earlier?
The rest of the day proceeded with whispers following me everywhere. I hung my head low so people couldn't see my face. Needless to say, I did not visit the Literature Club room after school.
I sighed as I looked at my digital clock.
9:45 PM.
I should go to sleep soon.
I flipped my phone open, and stared at the wallpaper. It was a photo of me and a smiling Asahina-san, my arm around her, my other arm protruding out of the picture, I assume to hold the phone to take the picture. She looked so happy. There was no worry in her face at all. Sigh. Why do I just have to ruin everything?
Just then my door flung open as my sister came bounding in, carrying Shamisan.
"Kyon-kun! Shami wants to sleep with you! He's so cute!"
She tossed the furball onto my bed sheets and quickly exited the room. That was a brief visit for her, I didn't even get to tell her to knock before entering.
Sigh.
I looked into Shamisan's eyes as he returned my gaze. My hand reached up and began scratching him behind his ears.
"What in the world should I do Shamisan..."
"Isn't it obvious?"
My hand froze as my eyes enlarged. I had just heard the familiar melodic tenor voice I had heard last year when I first had found this cat. Did Shamisan just talk again? What?
I recoiled and scrunched up against the wall next to my bed.
"Shamisan? You can talk?"
"Yes."
He replied and stared at me, cocking his head a bit to his left. He didn't seem to think it was that big of a deal. Don't act so casual! Wait, I'm yelling at a cat.
I was a little too shocked at this point to do anything. I could only sit in that uncomfortable pose and look at him, as he looked back. The ticking of the wall clock became noticeable.
He repeated what he had said again,
"Isn't it obvious?"
His gaze was piercing through me, his voice sounded all business. I was a little intimidated.
"Um... what?"
"What you should do. It's obvious."
Oh? Because I have no idea.
"12 days ago. Last Friday."
What? How do you know about last Friday? I pictured the bookmark in my head. 7 days. Nagato had to have been referring to that Friday.
"W-why last Friday..."
I noticed the shrill tone in my voice.
"Do you know what happened last Friday?"
Um. No…
"You confessed to Asahina Mikuru."
Shamisan's face had not changed at all. I was having a discussion with a cat. And now he was telling me about my love life.
"I confessed to Asahina-san?"
"Yes."
He turned his head down and began to lick his paw. I looked around the room to make sure there was no one else here, like a ventriloquist in my closet. I then crawled forward to get closer to Shamisan, so I could whisper.
"Shamisan, how do you know this?"
"I just do. I know quite a bit more than you."
Usually, I would be extremely annoyed that a cat was insulting me, but this is good now. Information was good. I needed help.
"Just how much is that, Shamisan?"
"Let me say this. This time plane was split off from the old one because of the termination of Nagato Yuki. Because everyone's memories would be changed, Nagato Yuki took the liberty of changing the reality to fit how she thought you would be most happy. She believed that this was how you wished you're life to be. They could not alter your memory completely though, there were disturbances in correlation transfers and data dumps of brain matter."
I felt like I was talking to Nagato herself. Shamisan still looked down, and paused to lick his other paw.
"Because of this, you were able to remember her."
But, how do you know all this then, why isn't your memory reset?
"That is due to Nagato Yuki as well. Unbeknownst to the Integrated Sentient Data Entity, Nagato Yuki made sure my memory was not altered, and also gave me an understanding of what was happening. I believe she left me intact in case this very situation happened. She is giving you a chance."
A chance…
Shamisan walked in a small circle on my bed, patting down his territory. He paused for a moment after making 2 full circles, and then lowered his body to a laying position, while resting his head on his paws. His eyes closed.
"Wait, Shamisan. Does that mean… you know how to get her back? You know how to make everything go back to normal?"
He didn't move for about 10 seconds. Don't tell me you're sleeping you lazy feline.
Then his small cat lips moved.
"Yes."
I raised myself up from my hunched over position, and stared ahead at nothing in particular. All this time, I was looking for someone who could give me an answer, who could help me. And all this time, it was my cat. I had to look no where but at home.
Nagato had made sure that if I wanted to get her back, that it was possible. She even went over the head of her alien bosses.
I looked down at the resting cat. He was so relaxed, yet this information was so important. His demeanor was certainly helping me not to freak out.
"Shamisan…"
He didn't answer.
"Shamisan…"
"What?"
This time he answered gruffly, and immediately. I seemed to be intruding upon his sleep. Wake up, this is important.
"What do I need to do to get her back?"
He opened one of his eyes halfway to look at me.
"Didn't I say it was obvious?"
