Overall, the rest of winter break was relatively peaceful. By relatively, of course, I mean compared to Haruhi's world. The alien interface, Kuyo Suou, didn't show her face again, at least not that I knew of. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, wherever I went. Speaking with Asakura on the 29th of December, after a visit with Yuki, I asked her if she knew anything more about the movements of the Existence interface. Her response was somewhat vague, but she assured me that the interface hadn't come near Yuki since the evening of the 26th.
I still can't say that I completely trust Asakura. Granted, she did save Yuki and me from Suou, but the revelation that the "normal high school student" façade was an act made me a little less trusting. Plus, I was pretty sure that the reason she showed up when she did was that she was following Yuki and me at the time. I didn't like the idea of her spying on us. I wondered if anything she had seen, like Yuki and I holding hands, had made Asakura more hostile to me. And while she hadn't directed her knife at me this time, I still didn't love the thought of going back to school in January to sit in front of Asakura in class. Still, maybe seat assignments will get shuffled.
It's really amazing how easily I came to terms with the fact that Asakura had supernatural powers in this world. I suppose you could say that living in Haruhi's world desensitized me to that sort of thing. Once I was satisfied that Asakura didn't intend to kill me, her powers were a lot easier to accept. I was still bothered, though, by her selective deletion of Yuki's memories.
The break passed too quickly. As the beginning of the next school term approached, Asakura prodded me into doing my homework, which I had been putting off doing all break.
"If you do poorly in school and get held back, that will make Miss Nagato very distressed. And I could never forgive you for that," Asakura said, just a tad threateningly. Great. I'm pretty sure "I could never forgive you" is going to become Asakura's version of Haruhi's "death penalty". Still, I guess it's good to have someone motivating me to get my schoolwork done, since I seem to lack the motivation on my own.
I felt a little bit weird on my first day back at school. I couldn't help but think that everyone still had my recent "delirious episode" in mind, and was looking at me strangely as a result. That said, pointing this out to someone would probably just mark me as paranoid, which wouldn't help my case at all.
I noticed as I entered the classroom that Asakura wasn't there yet. As I took my seat by the window, I wondered where she might be. I supposed she could be shadowing Yuki. How was that going to work with us being at school? I guess Asakura probably has the ability to remotely track Yuki, just as she apparently has the ability to remotely track me.
I had noticed that Asakura seemed to have an odd fixation on Yuki, though. Not just in the "obligated to protect her against harm" way, but in another way that was hard to put my finger on. If I didn't know better I would almost think…nah, that couldn't be. Good grief, sometimes my mind just goes right to the gutter, doesn't it?
I was broken out of this chain of thought by Taniguchi as he clapped me heartily on the back. What the hell was that for?
"I have to say, Kyon, I almost want to ask you for advice. I really would like to know your secret."
What the hell was this bald octopus talking about?
"Taniguchi, rather than making comments with no context whatsoever, would you like to fill me in on what you're talking about?"
"Oh, come on, you know what I'm talking about, Kyon," he said, giving me a sort of demented half-grin. Seriously, you're freaking me out, Taniguchi!
"No, I really have no idea what you're talking about," I said, some of my annoyance showing up in my voice.
"I'm just saying, you've got to be pretty smooth, going from having a nervous breakdown or delirium or whatever caused you to act so weird right before the end of term, to dating an A-minus girl within a week. Honestly, I'd figured that after that incident with Miss Asahina, no girl in this school would give you the time of day, but you apparently managed to pull it off!"
What the hell was he talking about?
"Taniguchi, you're sounding like an idiot," I said succinctly.
"I'm talking about Nagato," he said. Wait a minute, since when did he know anything about the two of us?
"What, you think we're dating?" I asked casually.
"Well, I'm not sure what it is exactly when you have lunch with a girl, and then go to a movie with her, if it's not a date."
"Don't go reading meanings that aren't there," I said calmly. Was Taniguchi stalking us? Though I had to admit, he seemed to be taking this rather well. After all, not only did he not get his date with the girl from Kouyouen Academy (who was she, I wonder?), but he also apparently thought I was going out with Yuki. Which was more than halfway true, really. I would have thought in this case he'd be sulking in jealousy, rather than talking to me cheerfully about it.
"Huh, so you're not?"
"It's a little complicated," I replied. Why should it be complicated? Well, that goes into a whole raft of reasons that I can't discuss with Taniguchi, because he'd probably assume that I really had gone off the deep end.
"What, Nagato can't bear the shame of being seen with you?" he asked, smirking. Don't make me punch you, you wannabe Casanova! Though, I considered somewhat ruefully, it probably didn't build up Yuki's reputation to be seen with the school's designated crazy person.
"No. It's just like I said, it's not a simple matter. Just assume that Nagato and I are good friends, and nothing more." I figured that if I told him anything else, he'd probably tell Kunikida, who would then tell everyone else. Those two were more hopeless gossips than the girls!
"Right, Kyon old buddy," he said, winking at me and giving me a disgusting grin. Honestly, were his facial expressions crafted by somebody looking to create a stereotypical idiot friend?
Although there was quite a bit more than a grain of truth to Taniguchi's assumption, I'd rather he not go spreading that around the school. I figure that it would be bad if Yuki was the last one to know our apparent relationship status. I'm also pretty sure that it would lead to an irate Asakura, and I really didn't want that, especially given that she isn't overly fond of me anyway.
Unfortunately, my hopes that this could be kept under wraps until I myself knew where I stood on Taniguchi's pronouncement were dashed to pieces when Kunikida approached me. And naturally, he was asking whether what he heard from Taniguchi was the truth. I knew that if Kunikida thought I was in a romantic relationship with Yuki, she would automatically become a "weird girl" in his mind. In fact, he was the one who manufactured my entire reputation for liking "weird girls". Which is ironic, because Sasaki really wasn't all that weird, and, more importantly, she wasn't my girlfriend to begin with. She seemed to share Haruhi's view that love and romance were all just a by-product of evolution, and foolish to get caught up in. But I digress:
It was difficult to impress upon Kunikida the importance of not spreading Taniguchi's surmise around the school, given that I couldn't tell him the real reason. As a result, it didn't make any sense to him. And honestly, I couldn't trust him with a secret if his life depended on it.
So by the time class was to start, I was in a rather discontented mood. But that would pale in comparison to the shock I was about to suffer. Believe me, there was nothing funny about what happened next.
/
The class quieted down as Okabe entered the room. He welcomed everyone back from break, and made a few announcements which went in one of my ears and out the other. But his next words struck me as portentous:
"While this is highly unusual, we have a new student joining us this term, who transferred from Kouyouen Academy."
This prompted some excited and bewildered murmurs from the other students, but all of this just washed over me as I processed the oddness of our instructor's announcement. And I was appalled when I saw that person enter the room. The girl that attacked Yuki on the 26th.
"Please make Miss Kuyo Suou feel welcome," continued Okabe, as the ghost-like girl walked, in her strange, unearthly manner, into the classroom. She was no longer wearing the Kouyouen uniform, having traded it for the sailor-style uniform for North High girls, but there was no mistaking the identity of the girl entering the room. And when she took the seat behind me, the seat that was supposed to belong to Asakura (in this world, at least), I realized that I was in serious trouble.
"Wait a minute, what are you doing in Asakura's seat!?" I demanded angrily.
"Miss Asakura has a different seat now," answered Okabe for her, indicating a seat in the middle of the room. And right on cue, Miss Asakura entered the room and took her seat, after bowing and apologizing to Okabe for being late. Did she not notice the unwanted interloper here?
Lessons passed by in a haze for me, much as they had when I first discovered Haruhi's absence from North High. Still, the alien interface sat quietly behind me without doing anything overtly suspicious, so all things considered it wasn't too bad. Kuyo Suou, apparently, didn't intend to do anything if there were witnesses present to see it.
It seemed like an eternity before the lunch bell rang, but when it did, I got up from my seat and went over to Asakura's new seat. Glancing nervously at the ghostlike girl sitting by the window, I whispered to Asakura, "What is she doing here?" Asakura motioned me to sit down in an empty seat next to hers. Once I was seated, she replied, "Well, obviously she transferred here," stating the blatantly obvious. "You don't know either, do you?" I replied, feeling like I was about to lose my calm. "I'm analyzing the situation right now," responded Asakura, "rather than panicking in a crisis like you are." Hey! I'm not panicking. But what the hell am I supposed to think, when someone who tried to abduct Yuki shows up in class?
Clearly, of course, Kuyo Suou was attempting to get closer to Yuki, either to study her, or something else. That much was apparent. But why was she in our class, rather than Yuki's class? Not that I would rather have her in Yuki's class. The thought of Yuki being in that class, with a being like Kuyo Suou in there, and no one to protect her caused me to shudder. At least the alien interface in this class would have to contend with Asakura if she wanted to try anything.
"It seems obvious that she's trying to get close to Yuki," I said, still whispering. "But why is she in here?"
"I knew that the interface was attempting to transfer into this school, and into Miss Nagato's class. So I did what I could to prevent that from happening," replied Asakura simply, "I couldn't prevent her from transferring to this school, but I saw to it that she would be here, where I could keep an eye on her more easily, rather than anywhere near Miss Nagato."
"Well, you could have given me a heads up," I said, annoyed at the revelation that Asakura apparently saw this coming and had decided not to tell me. "It wouldn't have accomplished anything to tell you," she retorted, "I'm handling the situation. Just sit quietly and don't cause any problems, and I'll resolve the situation, somehow." Easy for her to say, she wasn't the one sitting in front of Kuyo Suou.
"I'm going to eat somewhere else," I replied. The prospect of eating my lunch in the vicinity of that strange person behind me wasn't one that I relished. Besides, I hadn't seen Yuki today, and I wanted to check on her. I had a pretty good idea of where she would be at this hour of the day, so I made my way to the literature clubroom.
As I entered, I was unsurprised to see Yuki sitting in her normal place by the window, reading, as usual. As she turned her face towards me, I saw her expression brighten considerably. It was a welcome change from the first time I met her in this world, when she had stared at me like I was a visitor from another planet.
"Hello." She said simply.
"Hi, Yuki," I said, walking over to my seat next to the table. As I sat down, I pulled my bento from my bag, when I was struck by a thought: "Yuki, when did you have lunch?"
"Oh, well I, that is, I don't usually eat lunch," she answered quietly, turning her face toward the floor.
"That's not good. You'll make yourself ill, not eating lunch," I replied. Granted, I wasn't really one to lecture over health habits, but I couldn't stand for Yuki to go without it, especially when I would be eating right in front of her. "Why don't you have some of mine?" I suggested. At first she was reluctant, but after a minute or two of me pestering her about it, she agreed.
As we ate together, I casually asked Yuki if she had seen Asakura today.
"We walked to school together," she replied.
"Do you two normally walk to school together?" I asked, although I supposed it wasn't really my business. Mostly, I just wanted to know if Asakura's behavior had changed since Kuyo Suou appeared. I was pretty sure that Asakura wasn't normally late for class.
"Sometimes. It depends on when we leave. I usually leave later than Miss Asakura." Yuki replied, "But she left later today than she usually does."
Hmm. It didn't seem like Asakura to just suddenly change her routine, so perhaps she was making more of an effort to be around Yuki 24/7. I was a little reassured, although I wasn't crazy about being shadowed by Asakura whenever I was with Yuki. I mulled over this and other concerns of mine as we finished lunch.
As the lunch period neared its end, I got up to leave. As I straightened my blazer, Yuki walked around the table, and stood before me, her eyes slightly downcast.
"You-you're coming back later, right?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course, Yuki," I replied, "why wouldn't I?"
She was silent for a few seconds before she replied, "You seemed a little preoccupied."
Ah. So it showed. I guess I'm pretty easy to read, aren't I? Unfortunately, it would be a little problematic to tell Yuki about just why I was preoccupied. After all, she didn't even remember the incident with Kuyo Suou, thanks to Asakura. And who was to say how Yuki would react if I told her that this had happened, and the only reason she didn't remember was that Asakura had altered her memories? I would hardly be able to blame her if she was suspicious, and in either case she would be distressed. And even if I could get her to believe it, what could either of us do about it?
While Yuki now apparently possessed Haruhi's powers in some way, she couldn't alter reality at will like Haruhi had. And yet, Asakura herself had said that Yuki was the only person who could "disable" her. How would she do that? Would it require a command? Or simply willing Asakura not to be able to do things like altering her memories?
"It's nothing," I lied, "I'm just not all that crazy about classes starting back."
"Oh-okay." Yuki responded. She looked a little confused, as if she wasn't sure whether to believe what I said or not. Or was that just my guilty conscience picking up on things that weren't there? I wasn't sure.
On impulse, I reached out and took her small, pale hand in mine, and squeezed softly. I couldn't think of any words to say, other than what I had said already. I had to hope that this gesture said what I couldn't verbalize.
As we left the literature clubroom, I found it more than a little difficult to part from Yuki, especially when I let go of her hand.
/
When I arrived back in class I-5, about a minute before lessons were to start again, Asakura asked, in that voice which I had come to recognize as holding a hint of threat under the sweetness, "So, did you enjoy your lunch?" I nodded a little absently. My eyes were drawn, naturally, to the unwelcome visitor who was still at the desk behind mine. I really didn't enjoy the thought of sitting in front of Kuyo Suou for the rest of the school day, but I figured I didn't have a whole lot of choice. Why is it that strange, difficult, and/or threatening girls always sit behind me in class?
Still, the afternoon lessons passed much as the morning lessons had. I even managed to retain some of what our instructor was saying. I was almost able to forget that an alien who had tried to abduct Yuki just a few weeks ago was sitting behind me. It was a little creepy, though, how she seemingly hadn't said a word all day.
As the last class neared its end, I worried about what Kuyo Suou would do after school. Would she follow me to the literary clubroom, and try to abduct Yuki again? Could she do that, with Asakura here?
After the bell rang, I found myself heading automatically out the door of the classroom and, just as I had feared, Kuyo Suou followed me. I wasn't about to lead her to Yuki, especially when I wasn't sure whether Asakura was following (although she probably was), so at the end of the hallway, I turned to face the interface.
"What exactly are you doing here?"
Silence.
"Why did you try to abduct Yuki?"
More silence.
I was frustrated. After babbling incomprehensibly when we first met, Kuyo Suou seemed committed to reticence.
"What are you?"
"A_humanoid_interface of_the Sky Canopy_Dominion"
What? The Sky Canopy Dominion? What was that? Asakura had mentioned a Macrospatial something-or-other, but this term was completely unfamiliar to me.
"Do you mean the Macrospational whatsit Existence?"
"Unfamiliar_term_please provide definition"
"Well," said Asakura's voice, as she approached us, seemingly out of nowhere, with a very fake-looking smile on her face, "It's certainly interesting to know what your kind calls itself."
The interface turned towards Asakura with a look of hostility. I hoped that a fight between the two wouldn't break out here in the hallway, where everyone would see. Though, I noticed, the hallway seemed strangely empty right now. Was this Asakura's doing? Some sort of reality-warping? Or was it Kuyo Suou? My life needs to come with an instruction manual to clarify these points!
"So why is it that you threatened Miss Nagato?" said Asakura.
"Observation_data_manipulation_capability_priority."
"So you're trying to study Yuki's powers?" I asked.
No response.
"Don't bother asking this thing questions," Asakura said derisively, "I doubt it has any idea what you're talking about."
"My purpose_observation."
That actually sounded a little bit like someone I knew, albeit someone who seemed a lifetime away now.
"Then why did you try to abduct Yuki?" I demanded.
"Abduct_unfamiliar term_define?"
And that was when Asakura struck at her with a knife. I was going to yell at Asakura not to do this where everyone could see, except that I recognized at that moment that we no longer seemed to be in the hallway.
The three of us were in some weird space, a sort of off-white space, through which objects with bizarre geometries swirled. I wasn't sure what was going on, but this seemed reminiscent of the space that Asakura (the version in Haruhi's world) created when she tried to kill me.
"This way no one can bother us while we settle this," said Asakura gleefully, "and it'll also keep you from escaping before I can finish my work." So why have I been dragged along? I fully accept that it would be best for my long-term health not to anger Asakura, after all, so she certainly doesn't need to prove anything to me. The best explanation I could think of was that I had been drawn into this space accidentally.
The fight between Asakura and Suou was far less restrained in this space than during our first encounter, and I witnessed all of it. Asakura seemed to have a seemingly endless supply of knives to throw and stab with (she seems to have thing for sharp and pointy objects, no matter what world she exists in). They both seemed to move with uncanny speed, and in ways that humans shouldn't be able to move. Then again, at least one of the combatants wasn't human at all, and the other was of debatably human nature.
In addition, time seemed to be all wrong. At several points it seemed as if the fight was progressing backwards, and my own perception of time was messed up. I wasn't sure if several seconds, or several thousand had passed. Occasionally, I dodged flying debris thrown out by the two combatants. I noticed that my own reflexes and speed seemed to have been increased. Then again, maybe it's just the nature of the space I was in.
At length, or maybe in a short time, Asakura was finally able to immobilize Kuyo Suou, seemingly with some invisible force that she was able to project remotely. As she advanced on her apparently helpless prey, her knife drawn, she said evenly, "Well, this was certainly easier than I thought it would be. It's almost disappointing, really. I was hoping for at least a bit of a challenge, but that was pathetic." Raising her knife over the interface, bearing an eerie resemblance to the version of herself that had tried to kill me, she looked triumphant.
But then Kuyo Suou seemed to disappear from under her, prompting Asakura to look genuinely confused for a second. I shared that confusion myself, especially when an unseen assailant grabbed my arm from behind, pulling me backwards and nearly causing me to fall. But I was able to guess, from the expression that crossed Asakura's face, who my assailant was. Still, Asakura regained her composure quickly (a little too quickly, in my mind), and said, in a nonchalant manner, "You're not planning on killing him, are you? While I personally don't care either way about him, I'm afraid I can't allow that, since it would make my master very upset."
"Define_kill," replied Kuyo Suou from behind me, and then, "release_from_spatial_distortion". "I can't do that unless you release him," said Asakura, point her knife point at me. Crap, did I just get taken hostage? I didn't even ask to get drawn into this fight!
Asakura still stared past me for a few seconds, looking hostile. Then, to my surprise, the bizarre space around me dissolved, and re-formed into the hallway outside of class I-5, now bathed in the reddish glare of the sunset. I felt the hold on my arm released, and turned wildly to see what Kuyo Suou was doing, only to find that she had mysteriously vanished. "What just happened?"
"You got in the way. I could have destroyed her," said Asakura reproachfully. "Hey, I didn't ask to get drawn into that space. What the hell was that, anyway?" I found myself asking.
"I don't know why you were drawn in. I tried to exclude you from it specifically. It's almost as if…." She trailed off. "What? Almost as if what?" I asked. "Nothing," Asakura replied, shaking her head. "No matter," she said, "I've expelled the interface, for now, and I won't slip up on our next encounter."
I was about to ask what possibility it was that Asakura had apparently dismissed, when I noticed the fact that it seemed later now than it should be. It was sunset, but when I was drawn into this space, it had been mid-afternoon, just after classes. What was going on?
"Time passes differently in the distorted space we were in," Asakura said in response.
Crap! I remembered then that I had promised Yuki that I would be coming back to the clubroom right after school. She would probably think I had forgotten! And what the hell was I supposed to say? "I was dragged into an alternate dimension for a few hours while Asakura and an alien that tried to abduct you fought there?"
Leaving Asakura behind, I dashed to the clubroom. I figured that I would just have to apologize profusely, since my excuse certainly wouldn't work. Why have circumstances conspired to make me look like a bigger ass than before?
As I burst into the clubroom, I was relieved, at least, to see that Yuki was still there, and hadn't gone home yet. If she had gone back to her apartment, I wasn't even sure if she would have let me come in to explain myself. But I was a little unnerved to see that she was bent over, her face in her hands and her glasses set aside with her elbows resting on her knees. She gave a slight start as she heard my entry, but didn't change her position.
"Yuki!" I said as I walked towards her, "I'm so sorry I'm late, some stuff came up after class and-and…" I trailed off as I came closer to where Yuki was sitting. She looked so sad and dejected, I wanted to hug her and not let go. But it seemed inappropriate to me, to act as if everything should be okay between us, when as far as Yuki knew, I had ditched her.
She finally looked at me, tears running down her face. This wasn't fair! I hadn't even deliberately done anything to hurt her! But she couldn't know that now, could she? My excuse would sound like the lie of someone who didn't even respect his audience enough to come up with something mildly believable.
"Yuki, I'm really, really sorry. It's just, the time got away from me, and-"
"It's okay," she said softly.
"No, it's not, I promise I'll make it up to you-"
"That's not the reason."
I just stared dumbly at her. What did she mean? That wasn't the reason she was crying? Well, I guess that was good. I certainly didn't want to be the cause of that. But then why had Yuki been crying?
"What's the matter?" I asked her.
Trembling slightly, she pulled what looked like a hastily folded piece of paper from her right pocket. Her hand trembled slightly as she handed it to me. Taking the piece of paper in my hand and unfolding it, I noticed that the paper bore the school letterhead. And as I read the message, printed in official-looking characters, I began to realize what had bothered Yuki so much:
Due to the persistent failure of the Literature Club to expand its membership and engage in productive club activities, the literature club will be terminated, effective January 31. All literature club materials should be removed by that date.
Signed, Kyosuke Tomokazu, Student Council President.
To be continued...
