Book Two: Prepare For a Quest

Chapter 8: Discover the Past

The room they were in earlier was not the same room they were in now. This room had a series of school desks in neat order and was a normal sized room. The environment was clean and free of the earlier musky odor and trash-ridden floors. What had been daylight earlier was a dark sky observed by the windows along the opposite wall, indicating that it was night. Makoto's bag and flashlight was still sitting on the floor between them in the middle. The light was still on, shining the small portion of the room. Kyon observed the documents in the room that were hanging on the wall opposite of the windows. They looked like documents for school. Did Makoto sent us back to our school, Kyon thought. The room they were in didn't look like the same classroom he and Haruhi shared.

Makoto glanced at his watch and then the clock on the wall over the chalkboard. The time was the same: 9:40pm.

Haruhi finally spoke up. Her melancholic state had changed to resemble some cheer. "Ah. Does that mean your watch worked?" she asked.

Makoto looked at Haruhi with a smile. "Yes. Now can you believe that I'm a time traveler?" he said sarcastically.

Kyon felt sweat drip from his face. For some reason, it felt hot inside the room as if it was a summer day. He was wondering why it became hot and where did Makoto sent them. "Where are we actually? And what day is it?"

"We're at East Middle Junior High," Makoto said, "As for the date, it's Monday, July 7th, 2007. The day of Tanabata."

"Huh?" Kyon was amazed at the date. He sent them close to four years back from their current time period?

Haruhi gasped. That's when she noticed the humid air in the room. She started to feel sweat run down her neck and on her face. "Did you just say we're at East Middle Junior High?"

"Yes." Makoto responded. "I brought you here to show you something. Something you might remember." Makoto stood up and stretched his hand to help Haruhi up. He then took a pair of binoculars out of his bag and walked to the window to see if he came at the right time. He made sure to open the bag where they couldn't see what was inside and closed it. He made perfect timing as the duo on the field down below was almost finished. "It's almost finished. Take a look."

Haruhi ran to the window to look at the ground below. She was surprised at what she saw on the court below. Kyon caught up to look out the window and couldn't believe what he was seeing. Down below in the field, a boy and a girl were on the court: the boy was pushing a line marker to create a large and familiar symbol on the court, the girl with long hair near the edge jumping up and down screaming at the boy. She was yelling something but it was distant and hard to hear. Haruhi grabbed the binoculars out of Makoto's hand and zoomed in towards the girl that was on the side. The girl had a yellow ribbon in her hair, identical to the one in her hair and had on a top and shorts. She then glanced towards the boy and noticed that he was in a North High uniform. His face made Haruhi's jaw drop. Haruhi finally figured out why Makoto sent them here: Haruhi was looking at her younger self while Kyon was creating the large symbol on the court.

"I am here. That's what the boy is writing on the field," Makoto said, "That's you Haruhi... the younger you. And the boy assisting you is Kyon..." He looked at Kyon and made sure to choose his words correctly. "An alternate Kyon."

She glanced at Kyon as if she didn't know what to say. Her face continued to show shock and she almost looked as if she would tear up. "Th... Then who is John Smith?" she asked, "Kyon told me he helped me during Tanabata create this. Is that you Kyon?"

Kyon sighed. He remembered what he tried to tell her about the Tanabata incident when she was at East Junior High and how she hadn't believed him. He looked at Makoto. "If I tell her, what will happen?" Kyon asked.

Makoto looked at Haruhi. He knew earlier he couldn't tell Haruhi about her powers but he had broken part of that promise in order to convince Haruhi to see this. He would remind himself later to tell Haruhi not to let anyone else know about her secret personality, for it may result in severe chaos. Makoto came up with a solution.

"No, Haruhi," he said, "The Kyon that is right here is the real Kyon. The Kyon down there is a replica of this Kyon, only from a different dimension. And that Kyon met with this current one to tell him to obviously not tell you what happened on this day. So no, it's not this Kyon who helped you, but the other one. But you will be able to see that Kyon, the one who would tell you his identity as John Smith."

Kyon tilted his head. Makoto was so good at making stories, he actually made Haruhi believe that story. Makoto blinked to Kyon, indicating that he did know he had helped Haruhi then, but had to say the story so she wouldn't do anything drastic. Kyon nodded. "That's... right Haruhi. The other me told me about this incident."

"Also," Makoto said as he pointed in the direction of the building in the distance, "Look over there and you'll see a girl. Do you recognize her?"

With the binoculars still in her hand, Haruhi looked in the direction Makoto was pointing. A girl appeared sleeping against the wall of the building. She was also in a North High uniform and despite it was dark, you could tell she had reddish orange hair. It was Mikuru. Haruhi gasped.

"Now do you understand Haruhi? Mikuru is a time traveler. She is the one who sent the alternate Kyon here to help you. And speaking of John Smith," Makoto continued as he collected the binoculars and walked back to his bag, "I actually have one more place I need to take you guys to before you see the real deal." He replaced the binoculars for a jacket that matched his gym apparel and handed it to Haruhi. "You're going to need this. Put this on."

Haruhi accepted the jacket and put it on, the jacket almost fitting her like a dress. Kyon already had his coat jacket on. Makoto glanced for Haruhi and Kyon to approach him and asked them again to close their eyes and hold hands as he began to dab at his watch again. This time they did it standing up.


They woke up in a dark room, the flashlight lighting up few of the details of the room. The room was actually larger with columns and empty tall shelves. Some windows revealed a bright overcast day, indicating it was daylight. Another abandoned building or warehouse, but this was cleaner and the air was cold... Or make that freezing cold.

Haruhi noticed the immediate chill in the air first. "Uh!" she said as she clutched herself to keep warm. She saw her breath form out into the cold air. It was very cold and she along with Kyon was shivering. "W-Where are we now?"

"Monday, December 20, 2010," Makoto said, "Just near Kouyouen Academy."

Kyon remembered that date and the location. The same date he was supposed to be in a hospital bed from hitting his head on the stairs at school but was in a different dimension that Nagato had altered. He made a glance to Makoto that asked was this what he thought it was. Makoto knew what Kyon was thinking. "Yes Kyon. We are here. In the alternate dimension you were in, but Haruhi had no idea about. Come."

They snuck out a side door and took the short walk to Kouyouen Academy. Again, Makoto looked at his watch to check the time: 12:14pm, right on schedule.

The freezing cold didn't affect Makoto, who was still in long pants and a short sleeve top with his bag in tow. How could he manage walking in this cold with no coat, Kyon thought. Kyon tried to keep warm with his jacket while Haruhi appeared to be freezing. He knew the jackets they wore for their fitness class were very thin and useless in very cold conditions. "Haruhi, you want me to help you?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine." Haruhi reluctantly said. Her reluctance got Makoto's attention. That reminded him when he stopped to look at Haruhi. Haruhi didn't like how Makoto was looking at her.

"What is it?" she asked, still clutching herself in the jacket. The freezing cold caused irritation to show on her face.

"You need to take that ribbon out of your hair." He said.

Haruhi raised her eyebrow. "Why?"

"It will cause a time disturbance if they see you. Just take it off."

Haruhi made a deep sigh and began to take her ribbon out of her hair. She put it in the coat pocket and noticed Kyon was staring at her. With or without the ribbon, she looked cute but the stares from Kyon and Makoto made her annoyed. "Why are you looking at me? You better not have any funny ideas Kyon! You too, Makoto!"

"Ouch!" Makoto said feeling offended. "Easy, little goddess."

They made it to where they were near the entrance to Kouyouen Academy, coming from the opposite direction Kyon ran that time from North High. To avoid a time disturbance where the Alternate Kyon would see himself and the North High version of Haruhi, Makoto had them cross the fence through more bushes and trees between the road and train tracks to hide behind a building. He noticed a white van next to the building, so they hid there. Makoto glanced from the rear of the van and saw the alternate version of Kyon standing near the entrance to the school. School would let out momentary and he was waiting for the alternate Haruhi to appear. "Take a look guys, but don't make yourself noticeable."

Kyon and Haruhi glanced over below Makoto and noticed the Alternate Kyon/John Smith that was standing at the foot of the shop. The gate to the entrance of the school opened as students were walking out of the school. Haruhi remembered that Kouyouen was an all girls' school, but had both boys and girls coming out of it. "This is supposed to be an all girls' school. When did it become co-ed?" Haruhi whispered to Makoto.

Makoto responded in a whisper. "In this dimension, different to the dimension we just left, Yuki sent you along with Itsuki here. She kept the memories from the dimension we left into this one, but modified this school to be a co-ed facility. She made Itsuki and Mikuru normal humans and took away your powers. This is the reason why Yuki was punished, because she altered the time period." He noticed her version coming out of the building. "Oh. Here she comes."

Haruhi had just saw the younger version of herself earlier, and now saw the alternate version of herself leave Kouyouen Academy. She didn't pay attention when Makoto said Itsuki was also here. She was surprised to see Itsuki walking next to her. As if it were a movie, they saw the playback of that day: Kyon stopping Haruhi, Haruhi shocked to find out how Kyon knew her name, Haruhi striking Kyon when trying to stop her, and Kyon telling her who he really was, causing Haruhi to collapse. Anything that Kyon and Makoto convinced to her earlier that she had doubt of was gone. She could no longer deny that Kyon was not telling the truth, for he was telling her the truth. After watching the scene unfold, she sat down on the cold asphalt at the rear of the van and stared down at the ground. She took her hands that she had in her pockets and looked at them as if she could form an object out of them. After realizing nothing would come out of them, she put her hands on her cold face and sat there as she tried to think.

Makoto and Kyon noticed Haruhi sitting on the ground by the edge of the van with her hands covering her face. Her posture indicated that she looked sad. Makoto kneeled down and took her hands away from her face. She looked miserable and confused as she stared at his eyes. "Now do you believe?" he asked.

Haruhi nodded before saying, "I believe."

He helped her up. "Now's not the time to be sad Haruhi. Where is the energetic Haruhi I should know of, that Kyon already knows?"

After he said that, her sadness dissipated and a smile grew on her face. "There she is." Makoto said, forming a smile. He glanced at Kyon, who looked in sorrow but understood how Haruhi felt. Makoto was right when he said she was quick to deny but not willing to accept. She for once finally accepted.

"We have to move." Makoto said, "It's time to get real. We have to save Yuki. I did this so you would understand Haruhi, so you would believe. That is how this mission will work. Otherwise, it wouldn't if you were in denial."

As he signaled for Kyon and Haruhi to head back towards the abandoned building, Haruhi quietly yelled for them to stop so she could glance over the van to see the alternate Haruhi one more time. Itsuki was still holding the alternate Haruhi as she was staring at the alternate Kyon in amazement. She had questioned Kyon before about how he looked at Yuki and got jealous when he stared at Mikuru. If they were able to save Yuki and make it back to their time period, Haruhi sought to make changes to herself to get Kyon to pay more attention to her. Maybe she could try to be less bossy than she already was and listen to Kyon for once. Haruhi turned around to see Makoto and Kyon preparing to enter the bushes. She caught up to them as they walked back to the abandoned building.

They made it back to the abandoned building without any attention. Makoto realized that they had traveled in a time span from the clubroom in March 2011 to summer 2007 to the winter of 2010 in about an hour's time. Time traveling did little to the human body, but he figured Kyon and Haruhi hadn't ate anything for hours and were probably starving. He dabbed at his watch in preparation to take them to another time period where he could meet his contacts and collect more information. It was one of his requirements: always check back with his contacts to make sure everything was set before starting any mission.

As he configured the watch, Haruhi stood near him with her mind hazy and a puzzled look on her face. It worried Kyon. "Haruhi, are you okay?"

Haruhi raised her head before saying "Yes. I'm okay Kyon" while forcing a smile. He didn't know if she was okay or not. She had seen everything from her past to the alternate version of herself. She knew about John Smith—what Makoto told her—and realized that if Mikuru was indeed a time traveler, that would meant that Kyon was right about Koizumi as an esper and Yuki as an alien, humanoid interface.

Kyon stood next to Haruhi. He didn't think Haruhi was okay for many reasons. Of course, she was worried about Nagato, and then learned everything Kyon had tried to tell her in the past with help from Makoto. It was possible she was feeling down due to what Makoto said about Yuki dying in three days. He was still confused about that. "Hey Makoto. What did you mean when we were in the clubroom that Yuki would die in three days?"

Makoto had finished dabbing at his watch, giving himself more time to talk before they left the current time period. "I said three days so I could get you out of that clubroom. But it's not three days. I can tell you why it's not three days from the clubroom period but you'll find out once we get Yuki. If I told you now, it could affect the mission. So far, we do have time, but we need to get prepared in order to get Yuki. Going like this in this current state won't help us and I need to contact my resources to get more information. That's where we're going now."

Makoto glanced for Haruhi and Kyon to approach him and to hold hands again before they left. He set the watch to send them in 20 seconds so he could say one last thought. If in the event he had to stop the countdown, he could but thought he didn't have to, for he had convinced Kyon and Haruhi enough. "I need to know if you can do this. Once we get there, there's no turning back. This is do or die time. Are you guys willing to do this, to save your friend and prevent her boss from terminating her?"

Haruhi and Kyon glanced at each other before looking at Makoto. "Let's do this." Haruhi said as a smile formed on her face.

"Let's go." Kyon said as his face showed determination. He wasn't going to let the Entity have their way of Nagato. He kept his promise on what he would do if they did try to take her.

Makoto smiled after hearing their approvals. "Alright. Get ready."

With the bag sitting in the middle between them, they closed their eyes and tightened their grip as Makoto's watch sent them to another universe.