Taniguchi and Kunikida had a bad habit of spoiling the major plot lines of movies that I have yet to see, yet for some reason whenever I come across those points in the film, I feel just as surprised as if they have never told me at all. I got a similar feeling this afternoon when I met up with Mikuru Asahina. Thanks to me accidentally eavesdropping over the conversation between Yuki and Mikuru, I was indirectly told that Mikuru was going to put her hair up in a ponytail for our little outing. Nevertheless, I wound up utterly stunned when I first laid eyes on her sitting patiently on that historic bench where she first told me her true identity. This place is a little out of our way for the starting point of our day together, but I am not complaining. After all, the spring scenery is spot on to perfection, and all the memories dealing with this area would provide a significant morale boost as if getting to spend the day with the lovely Asahina isn't morally boosting enough.
I needed a moment to confirm her assets when I first saw her as she was wearing clothes strikingly similar to the garments that were more or less native to the Mikuru Asahina (adult). The only notable difference is that her button-sleeved shirt is about as red as the bunny-girl costume that Haruhi had assigned to Mikuru long ago. She is definitely the younger Mikuru, all right. I probably would have cried on the inside if otherwise. I give a sigh of relief as I took my seat next to her. We spent our first couple of minutes together in silence. Everything about this day is beautiful from the clear skies to the goddess Athena's reincarnation sitting next to me. She lets out a relaxed sigh then leans on my shoulder.
"You seem tensed up, Kyon. Could it be that you are uncomfortable around me?"
"No, that's not it," I quickly replied. "You look really different today."
"Oh, do you mean my hair? It was Nagato who suggested it. What do you think?"
"It looks great on you!" I said, putting it mildly.
"Really? I'm glad."
Mikuru gave a satisfied smile as she gazes back into the day tha is as beautiful as she is.
"Say, Kyon," Mikuru started in a tone oh-so serene. "I wanted to promise you something before we started our day together..."
"A promise?" I asked. "What's that?"
"Every time we went out together like this, it was always an order from my superiors in one way or another."
Now that she mentions it, the two of us did do a lot of things together. We traveled three years in the past to assist Haruhi during the Tanabata Festival, there was the crazy scavenger hunt from a Mikuru eight days in the future, and then there was the time where I wound up saving an important future figurehead from sudden death. It truly has been one wild ride after another.
"That is why I wanted to promise you, that this time, this meeting is not an order from my superiors... but rather... something I've always wanted to do... since that day."
"That day..?" I wondered since nearly everyday we shared together had its own unique flavor.
"I-I'll explain to you in time!" Asahina said with a flushed face. "Consider it a surprise if you will."
Honestly, I was not too worried about whether or not our day together was part of some ulterior motive. I have ultimately considered each and every moment with Asahina as somewhat of a golden opportunity. With that being said, however, the fact that she declared this date to be a normal one takes a load off of my mind. At the same time, it also produces new questions. For instance, this same Mikuru was very reluctant to get too close to me with the fear that Haruhi would react in a catastrophic way. If she had such a submissive mindset in the past, then what caused her change of heart? With that question in mind and more, our first official date began.
After a decent amount of time debating, we mutually decided that our first stop together was to the bowling center that we barely get to go to. Sometimes when Haruhi asked her club members for opinions on a club activity, I have suggested bowling quite a few times. For whatever reason, Haruhi was never in the mood to go, and no one else had any intention of out-voting her. Now that I think about it, Mikuru actually raised her hand with me the first time I thought about it. If Koizumi joined in with a few convincing words, I'm sure Haruhi would have caved. Maybe Koizumi wasn't that interested in bowling either.
The bowling center was thinly populated for a Sunday. It's only the early afternoon, so perhaps most of the public plans on coming here later on in the evening. Mikuru quickly shedded her high heels before we reached the bowling shoe counter. There was one girl that looked younger than Mikuru in line ahead of us.
"Excuse me," the girl said. "These shoes you gave me are two sizes too small. I'm sorry to trouble you."
She rocked her body back and forth with the pace of an impatient grade-schooler. I've seen those childish pigtails before, but I could not put my finger on it. I wound up asking for her attention, and she turned around in an about face.
"What is it...? Hey, you're Kyon!"
"...Kyoko Tachibana?"
Kyoko hopped a couple inches high. "So you remember my name. That's good. Oh, and you're Mikuru Asahina."
"Yes," Mikuru said with a bow. "It's nice to see you again Ms. Tachibana."
Should Mikuru really be polite to someone who kidnapped her earlier? Then again, she was put to sleep during the whole ordeal, so one can assume that she did not see Kyoko's face during that time...
"Did you guys rent a lane yet?" Kyoko asked. "It would be nice if the four of us can share a game together."
Mikuru was puzzled. "Did you say four? Who else is here?"
"Sasaki is sitting over there in our lane."
"That sounds like a great idea!" said Asahina. "Kyon and I can form a team together against you and Sasaki."
All of a sudden, the two player game changed to a two versus two co-op. Sasaki gets up to greet us when she notices our presence.
"This is a rather pleasant surprise, Kyon," Sasaki began. "It has been one fateful encounter after another as of late."
Our presence as a whole appeared to gather some mild male attention in the alley. What can be so interesting about three highly attractive high school girls playing bowling together? And no, I do not want an answer.
For anyone that cares, the order of bowlers were in the following order: Mikuru first, Kyoko second, yours truly third, and Sasaki fourth. Mikuru and I were team blue while Sasaki and Kyoko were team red. Why is it usually the colors red and blue are labeled as rival colors? I always considered black and white to make more sense myself. I mean the opposite of red is green and the opposite of blue is orange. Even from another perspective, it is purple that is the opposite to red on a rainbow, not blue...
Mikuru's slow ball manages to score a strike on her first try. Either that was beginner's luck, or I may have underestimated my partner's skill level when it comes to bowling. Mikuru returned to my side and Kyoko got up to take her turn.
"I found myself thinking about you earlier today," Sasaki said while looking in Asahina's direction.
"Oh really? What for?" asked a curious Asahina.
"When I met you the first time, I could not decide for myself whether you are the esper or the time-traveler in Kyon's little group. I have been meaning to ask you for quite some time, but it goes without saying that it is rare that we cross paths like this."
"That's not cool!" shouted Kyoko who managed a 4-6 split on her first turn.
"I come from a distant time frame as a matter of fact," Asahina unexpectedly answered. Does Mikuru really trust Sasaki enough that she would reveal herself so casually?
"Oh I see. I was very certain that the alien among your little group is the adorable silver-haired one. As for the other high-spirited young man in your group, I had originally thought that he was the counterpart of Sir Fujiwara. Based on his chosen topics of discussion, however, I started to debate within myself. Now that I know for sure, it would have been too strange of a coincidence if everyone's counterparts were of the same gender."
Kyoko hit one of her remaining two pins head-on, and so I left the conversation that I was not a part of for my turn. It still bothers me that a somewhat normal girl like Sasaki got mixed up in all of this. I don't know how many innocent people all of these factions intend to get involved...
I toppled 9 pins on my first roll, leaving just number ten standing firm. I take a steady aim and attack... but my unintentional curve was too sharp and I fed the gutter. Sasaki got up to take my place.
"So how much do you know about Sasaki?" Kyoko asked Mikuru.
"I know quite a few details actually. Although I am not authorized to reveal much, I can say that I am aware of the connection between you two," said Mikuru. Wait, what information about Sasaki is so important that it's classified? I guess if I knew that, it would not be classified, but...
"I wish that Fujiwara could tell me his opinion on who is in the right," Kyoko said in a worried tone. "I mean I'm strongly confident in my beliefs, but... when you're on the underpopulated side of things, it's hard to stand firm..."
"Tachibana," said a sympathetic Mikuru. I noticed out of the corner of my eye, Sasaki hit seven pins on her first bowl, leaving the far three on the left side to deal with.
"Fujiwara insists that It doesn't matter who it is... that it does not make a difference either way. How can he say that? How can something as major as the one with all the power not matter?"
Mikuru contemplated on this question that I did not understand and replied, "Well, I have only recently started to understand the entire situation myself, but I think I understand what Mr. Fujiwara meant by that."
"How much can you tell me?" bellowed an excited Kyoko.
"What if I told you there is no wrong answer at all? What if I told you that the rightful person is actually more of a matter of chance?" questioned Mikuru as Sasaki picked up the spare.
Kyoko seemed bewildered. "Chance? You mean like the flip of a coin? But that is..."
"My turn's up next, Kyoko. I'll tell you something you might want to know when I'm done!"
"You look like you're deep in thought, Kyoko," said Sasaki.
"A chance huh..?" Kyoko pondered. "Kyon, your friend is really nice! I started to think that all time-travelers were as stuck-up as Fujiwara."
"Fujiwara...?" I asked. "Is that the guy I met before?"
"He claims to have met you once before," answered Sasaki.
That despicable sneer comes to mind. So the jerk's name is Fujiwara? Ah, Mikuru scored another strike! Kyoko made haste to the lane as if she wanted her next turn to be quick.
"It appears as though little Kyoko has taken a liking to you, Mikuru," said Sasaki with a warm smile.
"Oh really? She is an interesting person to talk to."
"She is once you get to know her," Sasaki said while looking in Kyoko's direction. "From what I gathered, she does not give many boys the light of day. It's a real shame especially considering how cute she is."
"Tachibana never really struck me as the shy type," I thought out loud.
"NO! Why me?" said Kyoko who grimaced at her 7-10 split.
"I do believe it is more of a matter of not being interested in associating with partners of the opposite gender; when it comes to them, I understand that she tends to be unnaturally selective.
"Actually, I can somewhat relate to Ms. Tachibana on that," confessed Mikuru.
"Is that a fact? I would not have guessed since I could only base my opinion off of how obviously close you are to Kyon."
Asahina shifted her eyes' attention to her own index fingers that she started to press together.
"Well... Kyon... um... Kyon is an exception. I..."
Mikuru was cut off by Kyoko making short work of pin 7.
"Okay, Mikuru! Can you tell me now, pretty please?" begged a childish Kyoko.
"What were we talking about again? Oh yes, chance, wasn't it?"
As interested I was in the conclusion of their conversation, I decided to take my turn. I don't know how many styles there are to bowling, but I'm pretty sure my technique is among the most common. I aim for the middle pin fast and hard. This time, I got a strike. We might actually win this one.
As Sasaki approached me, I noticed that Kyoko's eyes sparkled with excitement at whatever Mikuru was talking about. She looked like a grade schooler ecstatic to see a random mall Santa.
"Mikuru and Kyoko are really enjoying themselves," said an impressed Sasaki. "Their affinity with each other makes me question the common terms of the supposed rival factions."
"As long as I've known Asahina," I started. "I don't believe she would discriminate anyone for something as little as an opposing faction."
"I would have to agree with your intuition."
I went back to the chairs to catch what was left of Mikuru and Kyoko's conversation.
"...My destiny here in Gamma... do you know anything about that?" asked an extremely intrigued Kyoko.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you any more than that, Kyoko. Just stay true for what you believe in, and you will surely see some results in your time."
"Oh thank you, Mikuru! You have no idea what this means to me! I'm so happy!"
Kyoko leaped from her chair and hugged Asahina like a child would hug their best friend. Seeing those two closely in arms like this reminds me... there's something I want to ask Asahina later on.
The match ended in our victory. Asahina secured the victory early on with her turkey, I barely pulled my weight in the competition scoring six more points than Kyoko an twenty-two points less than Sasaki. Overall, it was a close game. We were offered another game, but Asahina respectfully declined. We were here for over three hours and apparently we had other things to do. We gave our farewells and left the alley.
Our next stop was the movie theater. I let Asahina decide on what movie to watch for two reasons. I haven't been watching TV long enough to catch an interest in any of the movies' trailers, and I would be wise to leave the opinion of a good flick to someone whose opinion is literally ahead of my time. Thinking of that reminded me of my middle school writing assignment where I had to write about the one thing I would do if I had the ability to go back to the past. My answer was that I would create a movie or video game that I know was popular from the time frame that I left and enjoy the profits for myself. Thinking about that now, there is probably a way to get caught doing something like that, not to mention real time travelers would probably have a warrant on me.
The movie we decided to watch was a subtitled foreign action movie. Looking back on it, I did not understand the plot all that much. From what I gathered, it was about a guy who met a girl that he instantly went crazy over. It turned out that the girl had been in seven different relationships before, and the male protagonist had to defeat every one her past boyfriends in outlandish ways. For the most part, I was not following the plot too easily. If nothing else, the CG and sound effects made the movie feel more entertaining than what it probably was. At least Asahina appeared to be satisfied.
The sun was starting to set and our next stop on Mikuru's agenda turns out to be the sandy beach. This is my first time going here in the evening. The way the dusk illuminates the water over the horizon is not a bad sight. Before I realized it, I wound up asking Asahina what's been on my mind since the beginning.
"Today was fun, Mikuru," I started. "Though I have to ask what made you want to spend the day with me like this?"
Mikuru looked at me with an alluring puzzled expression.
"I-I'm just asking because up until now, most of the things we done together were either as a Brigade Group or dealing with your missions at a time-traveler. This is a great change of pace, but in the end, I'm still curious."
Mikuru gives me a motherly smile as if she understood.
"I guess it's about time... to tell you the truth."
We gazed in each others eyes under the setting sun. Her gaze was dreamy to the point where I had to step on my foot to confirm that I'm not dreaming. Her cheeks became as red as the sunset.
"I'm sorry Kyon, but could you look that way for a moment?"
I did as she said. She pointed in the direction of the sunset... our star that the world revolves around. But never mind that... a somewhat uneasy feeling overwhelmed me just then. Why did Asahina want me to look at the sun?
"Asahina, I..."
And then it happened.
Fluffy marshmallows?
No wait... Asahina's lips?
They both feel the same...
I had no idea what to feel just then besides my obvious surprise. Mikuru Asahina kissing me? I never once thought that anything like this would ever happen until now. She finally pulled back looking expectantly bashful after what she pulled off. I'm not a good judge of my own facial expressions, but I know I was shocked.
"I finally did it," said Mikuru in a sweet, soft tone. "I'm sorry that I made you look away... I tried doing it while looking at you, but I got far too nervous."
It was my turn to reply, but everything I had to say failed to produce.
"I suppose I should explain myself now," Mikuru said with a giggle. "A long time ago... Tsuruya told me about something really sweet that you did for me..."
"Tsuruya did?"
"Yes. My memory was fuzzy at the time because of what happened to me that day." Asahina hesitated before continuing. "You saved me from losing my first kiss, Kyon."
I then remembered. It was during the time we were filming that pointless movie at Tsuruya's. Haruhi gave Tsuruya the crazy idea to intoxicate Asahina against her will, and to top it off, Koizumi nearly kissed her for a hardly feasible reason!
"When I heard about what happened, I was very upset... probably the most upset I have ever been since I arrived on this time plane."
I always considered 'Asahina' and 'angry' antonyms.
"You have always been there for me, Kyon," continued Asahina. "It was pure torture that I could not tell you how I feel until now... but now that we're here, I don't have to hide it anymore."
Mikuru embraces me with all of her glowing radiance and said, "Thank you Kyon... for everything."
Oh wow! Is this a harem? We have Haruhi who is more or less a tsundere. Nagato is the quiet type who just started to open up, and now the moe character made her move! Don't expect me, Kyoko Tachibana, to become a part of it anytime soon. It just so happens that I'm already taken! Hmhm...
Next time, on the Gamma Dimension: Policy. Rules are for fools! Be a rebel!
