Chapter 3

Due to the infamous bunny girl incident, I would later find out, the name Asahina Mikuru had become as oft spoken as that of Suzumiya Haruhi. Word quickly spread of the two scantily clad high school girls creating a commotion at the front gate after school, dressed in provocative fetish costumes.

Suzumiya Haruhi was no longer just a strange girl people occasionally brought up. It became clear that her influence was spreading into a small club, and of the three members she's roped in, it seems I was the only one universally recognized. There was some talk of Suzumiya's boyfriend tagging along, as well as the quiet book girl who let them use her clubroom, but as soon as you mention the second year girl who got dragged out in a bunny girl costume no one was forgetting any names.

Of course, this is only how I assume the rumours spread. To be honest, it all came as a complete shock to me when I returned to school and found that people had already talked all about me and the mysterious escapades of this SOS Brigade, for which flyers were still being passed around. Although nobody had the courage to approach the Literature Club room, it was clear that Suzumiya-san was a marketing genius.

The reason all this came as a surprise though is because it was actually two days after the incident that made me uncertain of whether or not I could continue. Shameful as it was, I skipped school, all because another girl saw me naked. I only wish it were that simple though.

Not that I'm proud of it, but on my day off I took my time to enjoy myself in a way I haven't in several days. That is to say, I spent all day at home eating comfort food and watching television. I even considered going out on a shopping spree, but the chances of running into someone I knew, even in a foreign temporal plane, was too much for me. Nevertheless, I had plenty of fun on my own.

The downside though, is that part of me felt certain that I never wanted to go back. I've received more than enough of an education in my own time, and the only thing waiting for me at North High now was more humiliation. I admit, it was a weak moment, but for the entire morning all I could think about was how wonderful it was to simply sit around and do nothing for once. I wondered why it couldn't always be that way.

My main argument for myself was that I received no orders to join Suzumiya's club, let alone continue serving as a member. I chose to follow this route on my own, so I should be free to drop it if I want after all. I remember making myself a feast of sandwiches and eyed the ice cream in my freezer, thinking that at last I was free of the curse of the mummy Suzumiya.

Of course, I knew all along that was just wishful thinking. I'm a time traveler, and I have a duty. On top of that, people would get suspicious if I simply disappeared, and I have to return to school eventually if I plan on continuing the one official task I was giving. I don't have to be in Suzumiya-san's club, but I still have to keep an eye out for strange activity, especially from her.

Besides, what would Kyon-kun think of me if I just quit like that? It would be rude of me to make him miss the only normal company he had after he's treated me so nicely.

And that's how I found myself at school once more, making the discovery that it was far too late to back out now. My name and Suzumiya Haruhi's were now forever intertwined, and this SOS Brigade was not going away.

"Mikuru, I can't believe you'd do something so wild! I sure wish I could have seen you. What did you wear? Was it really as sexy as people say it was?"

Tsuruya-san was laughing while she patted my back, simultaneously fueling and trying to comfort away my embarrassment. I expect her to find these sorts of things humourous. As far as she's concerned I merely put on a costume and paraded around the school grounds with my new club mates.

"What's this SOS Brigade about?"

"So that first year girl was the Suzumiya-san I've heard about, eh?"

"You should be careful, Asahina-san. Those strange club activities might get you suspended."

Around my desk was a group of female classmates asking me questions before class started. I've been approached by a few boys, but the looks I got from them upon discovering I was possibly into erotic cosplay was enough for Tsuruya-san to step in and chase them off.

To be fair, the awkward glances from the boys were less stressful than the questions my friends and classmates posed. Tsuruya, why couldn't you chase them away too?

"They've got a good point Mikuru. We don't want you getting in any mischief, do we? Just be sure to invite me next time you do something fun and crazy around school like that, alright? I'll be sure to keep you in line!"

Almost as if magically summoned, our teacher came in to begin class the moment Tsuruya-san sealed her closing statement with a playful smile and wink. As great as it would be to have Tsuruya protecting me in the clubroom, I had a strong suspicion my close friend would only be fueled by Suzumiya's enthusiasm and further enforce that kind of behavior. It looks like there really is no way out.


In the clubroom I was relieved to see Kyon again, and this time he had a wonderful surprise for me. It was probably more for himself, but that didn't stop me from appreciating something like this.

"I brought a board game so we could pass the time. You wanna play?"

Yes Kyon. I would love to play your generic, completely normal game. There's no stripping in Othello as far as I can tell. Not only was I excited to be doing a normal activity for once, I had hope that Kyon's board game antics might possibly influence further club activities. Maybe seeing us have fun, Suzumiya-san would anxiously ask to play and focus her energy on conquering Kyon's black pieces.

Speaking of Suzumiya-san, it seems she's going to be late today. As Kyon put it, there's a transfer student starting at this school today. I have no idea why that's important, but I'm sure Kyon and Suzumiya have their reasons for seeking this new student out.

"Hey Asahina-san. I never thought you'd show up today!"

Right, I kind of left Kyon alone with Suzumiya before (unless Nagato-san miraculously became the social type while I was gone). I'm sure he's more accustomed to Suzumiya than any of us, but it must still be rough to handle her alone. I wonder what these two do when it's just them.

Well, as I knew all too well, I considered staying at my home here for some time, but in the end it was too concerning to leave these matters unattended. Despite all I've endured, I still haven't collected any usable information regarding the mysterious time quake at the Zero Point.

"What's there to be concerned about?"

Good gravy, did I say that out loud again? I really should watch what I say. Apparently my conditioning wouldn't protect me from the overly observant and questioning Kyon.

"It's nothing," I said.

Luckily Kyon didn't continue his interrogation. He really is much too considerate. He's like the complete opposite of Suzumiya-san in that regard.

"Nagato-san, you wanna play?"

Over Kyon's shoulder the quiet Miss Nagato surprised us both by coming to our side of the room for the first time. So she likes books and board games. I guess alien clusters are into that sort of thing.

Nagato played with the Othello pieces for a while before figuring out how they worked. If anything, she seemed a bit surprised and amazed that such things could exist. I guess a Data based being would have trouble understanding physical properties like magnetism. Makes me wonder what she was like the first time she walked.

In fact, I noticed she was a pit clumsy moving the pieces around. According to my information, human interfaces for the IDSE were created during the Zero Point three years before now. Or was it that the interfaces existed already and they merely were instructed to observe Suzumiya after the Zero Point. In that case, wouldn't Nagato-san's lack of dexterity be more alarming?

She spends all her time reading, not budging or moving one bit, and every time she'd finish a page she'd effortlessly slide a page over without a noise. Aside from walking and moving her hands, I don't think I ever saw her do any physical movement.

In a way, it was kind of eerie watching her struggle to control her delicate human fingers. It only served as a reminder of what I discovered, that this girl wasn't human. Who knows how long she's been on this planet, and yet she still had trouble doing the most basic of physical tasks. In a way I felt almost sorry for her.

Then again, she's posing as a student like me, so she must surely be doing classwork. After a month of writing with a pen or pencil she must be getting the hang of this sort of thing by now right? Maybe she's just naturally clumsy?

Despite her minor handicap though, Nagato-san managed to beat me in the end. I admit, I was a bit nervous the further she and I played, although I get the feeling she'd have won even if I had nerves of steel.

Just as we were setting the board up for another game, our Brigade Chief returned with our newest victim.

"Hiya! Kept ya waiting? I got us today's new transfer student from 1-9. Introducing…"

At Suzumiya's side was a skinny, well groomed boy, standing tall and at ease with a bright smile. He shut his handsome eyes and grinned gently as he waved at the room to finish Suzumiya's introduction.

"Koizumi Itsuki. Pleased to meat you."

His voice gave off the impression he's the kind of sweet boy who was the focus of many crushes from the girls at his previous school. It's a shame that his handsome face and polite demeanor will mean nothing now that Suzumiya's brought him into the forbidden zone. At best, he'll get to be the SOS Brigade's new model.

"This is the SOS Brigade clubroom. I'm the commander in chief, Suzumiya Haruhi, and these are Subordinates One, Two, and Three. Be sure to get along everybody."

What kind of introduction is that? This Koizumi boy probably has no idea what's going on yet.

"I don't mind joining. So what kind of club is this anyways?"

I'm glad he asked because I was too embarrassed to ask myself after being here for so long.

"Let me tell you. What the SOS Brigade is about, that is, to find aliens, time travelers, and espers, and become friends with them!"

I'd say something about time standing still if it weren't for the immediate irony.

Obviously, my hearing was a bit off. The odds of both me and Nagato-san to be discovered by complete chance by the very person we were observing is an already astronomically unfeasible event, but I now discovered that this was Suzumiya's goal to begin with.

She wanted aliens and just happened to stumble upon Nagato. She wanted time travelers and by complete luck she recruited me out of a sea of hundreds of students. And what's this about espers? Is this new boy secretly an esper? Or is Kyon the esper and Koizumi-kun is secretly a ghost?

There's no way this can be a coincidence. In every timeline there exist predetermined events in time that cannot be manipulated according to Linear Time Theory. Whatever doubts I had left were now long gone. I never had a choice in the matter. It was determined from the very beginning that I would join this Brigade as its resident time traveler.

"As expected from Suzumiya-san."

The above quote was made more jarring by the fact that it was spoken out loud by newcomer Koizumi Itsuki.

"No problem then. I look forward to working with you. I'm Koizumi. Since I just transferred I still have a lot to learn. It's nice to meet you."

Unsatisfied by the nameless introductions our leader handed out, Koizumi now began introducing himself to us one by one, starting with the only other male in the room.

"He's Kyon!"

Suzumiya seemed excited to show off her metaphorical husband as the two boys shook hands. She then went on to properly introduce her two unwilling wives.

"The cute one there is Mikuru-chan, and the glasses girl is Yuki-san."

"Pleasure to meet you all."

When I got up to greet our new, still unaware member, my legs turned to mush. Most girls in my situation would say the handsome aroma emanating from the dream boy in front of me made them weak in the knees, but there's no way I'd have the pleasure of such a normal sounding excuse.

Standing before Koizumi and watching his perfect locks part way for his ridiculously shiny eyes, I felt a familiar tingle. Something about this boy's existence involved something no ordinary human should have. There was Data interference.

It was faint, and even if I did a better job remembering what I learned in my last Data Constructions course it would be difficult to determine what Koizumi was doing, or saying, with this unusual interference. It definitely wasn't the elaborate code coming from Nagato-san, that's for sure. I think we just found our esper.

Shortly after everyone got acquainted, Suzumiya offered to give Koizumi-kun a tour of the school. Once Nagato-san returned to her reading spot it was just me and Kyon again. I could have stayed some more, but we already played multiple games of Othello, and I felt like I had more important things to do.

After excusing myself, I left Kyon alone with the club alien and went down the stairs, completely unsure of what exactly I should do next.

There was no mistaking what I felt. Koizumi had a faint hint of Data code surrounding him. It was weaker than even my own Data technology, so I'm only guessing he's still human. A human with limited Data-based powers? To someone of this temporal plane, that would be classified as supernatural powers, meeting the criteria for the esper Suzumiya was looking for.

I don't recall reading notes about a faction of espers, but my information was so vague and simplistic it's hard to tell. All I knew about Nagato's faction was that there's an alien cluster and there may be a few interfaces at the school, including one in the Literature Club.

Koizumi-kun belonged to some sort of faction most likely. He matches the conditions being sought after by Suzumiya, just like me and Nagato-san. It was predetermined that the three of us be gathered together, just like all three of us were sent here to observe the mysterious girl responsible for the inhuman feats I came to research.

Whoever Koizumi was, all I could do was trust that he's only here to observe, like myself and Nagato. I didn't know either of the two well enough to determine how much I could rely on them to stand back like myself, but what else could I do?

And then there's Kyon. Suzumiya only mentioned three groups that just happened to be brought into this scenario, but there were four of us. By the time I joined, Kyon and Nagato were already in the club, but I recall that Suzumiya and Kyon-kun are in the same classroom together. It seems they both started this club together.

So wouldn't that make Kyon a collaborator of Suzumiya's? Together the two of them brought three completely unrelated factions together. Maybe the reason I haven't found any information regarding the time quake is because Suzumiya-san isn't special, at least not by herself.

[Kyon] and Suzumiya Haruhi, two ordinary high school students who managed to pull off the impossible together three years after a mysterious time quake. Maybe the true reasoning behind the Zero Point is the connection between those two.

It seemed hard to believe, but right now it's my first lead. I'll have to look into it.


The next day at school managed to shoot me back to square one.

Click

I should be grateful that this time my embarrassment is limited to our clubroom. Currently, the only witnesses to my new state are the usual Kyon and Suzumiya-san. I guess Nagato-san was paying attention too, but her attention was focused on her reading as usual.

Click

Why does that shutter have to click so much? On this day I didn't have strange boys touching me or even ogling me from afar. Today all I had to do was make poses. I'm definitely not a fan of Suzumiya's camera after the Computer Club incident, but at least we have some privacy this time. As you might expect, it required me to get forcefully undressed while Suzumiya let her fingers grab whatever they could. It started off rather tame, like a simple model shoot, but soon the anomaly that is Suzumiya couldn't keep still any longer.

"The glasses would look better tilted. Yes, that's better! Kyon, remember to take plenty of pictures!"

While Suzumiya unbuttoned my clothes further and shifted the glasses she borrowed from Nagato-san on my face, Kyon was off to the side taking pictures. I know he's a teenage boy and can't exactly control these things, but I really hope he's not enjoying this.

On top of this embarrassment, just a few minutes ago Kyon had walked in on me getting undressed by Suzumiya. It was just like the bunny girl day, right down to the moments leading up to it.

"Take off your clothes," was the only warning I had then. Suzumiya came to the clubroom with another bag, and another costume for me to wear. I was fortunate that this new costume wasn't as revealing or tight fitting as that of a bunny girl. Miss Suzumiya bought me an elegant maid uniform.

Now I only wish she'd told me that before stripping me in front of Kyon again. And that brings us back to my photo shoot.

"Mikuru-chan, from now on you have to wear this costume every time you come in for club activities!"

Did I hear that right? I now have a guarantee that I'll have to go through this every single day. Gone are the hopes that I might have a day like yesterday, calmly playing games with Kyon and Nagato-san, both of which have shown no effort to stop this photo shoot. A little resistance would be appreciated at the very least.

"Man, who said you could be so cute? I'm a girl and even I can't keep my hands off you!"

You're just now noticing that?

By the end of the shooting my new uniform had been hastily put on only for Haruhi to begin stripping me down again for the camera. Kyon and his eye piece got a nice gimpse of my cleavage again, which wobbled out uncontrollably over this flimsy apron. This uniform does not seem fit for proper maiding. I get the feeling this isn't a real uniform at all!

Suzumiya had continued to push the bar further every time she got a handful of Asahina goodness, as was painfully clear every time I felt her hips thrust against me. Please tell me she's not doing what I think she's doing…

"Alright, I think we got enough. You can stop now."

Thank you Kyon! He's right, we got plenty of pictures. Suzumiya had plenty of souvenirs of her performing questionable acts to a partially undressed maid with glasses. My only hope is that her fetishes don't get any weirder, but for now Kyon seems to be under the impression that I can endure a bit of molestation and he'll end it before it gets too far.

"Hey, I said enough, stop that already!"

"It doesn't matter though. You wanna join in?"

I don't know which was worse, Kyon's face blushing as he seemed to genuinely consider the offer, or Suzumiya's face brightening as she offered to share her catch with her Kyon-kun. Please, someone go hug Nagato. She's probably getting lonely. Can't I at least have a break?

"Woah, what's going on here?"

The gentleman Koizumi made his entrance, and calmly looked around to analyze everyone's whereabouts in the room. With Haruhi practically framing my cleavage out for whoever was standing at the door, I was glad he didn't linger on just me, but the fact that Suzumiya's hands blocked the view might have influenced that decision…

"Koizumi, just in time! Come on, let's play with Asahina!"

I don't want to be played with!

Koizumi merely walked toward the table and placed his bag and himself down gently.

"No thanks. Seems pretty scary to me actually."

You have no idea!

"Mind if I just sit and watch?"

I do mind actually. These kinds of situations only get more embarrassing with an audience you know! At least when it's just me and Suzumiya I have the comfort of knowing no one else will know about it.

Suzumiya-san's disturbingly warm embrace was soon pried off me, allowing me to button up and hand Nagato-san her glasses back. It looks like today's sexy party was over. Now I only have to look forward to the ones for every other day of the school year.

"Alright, we've taken enough photos already I guess."

Excellent! Now I can just sit down and be appreciated like a porcelain doll instead of a rubber inflatable one.

The rest of the meeting was spent discussing the next step for the SOS Brigade. By this, I mean the actual purpose of the SOS Brigade. Up until now Suzumiya-san has only worked on getting new members and attention to the Brigade, but she was now ready to put us to work.

I'm not quite sure what to do though. We're supposed to look for aliens, time travelers, and espers, but I already know where to find one of each. Any searches I do would just be a waste of time, especially since I can't even show Suzumiya my results.

Of course, a search was exactly what Suzumiya-san wanted. After a heartfelt speech she verbally instructed us all on where we are to meet next and what arrangements need to be made. It was pretty exhausting, especially knowing how this search would very likely turn up nothing if she managed to get this close to aliens, time travelers, and espers, all without even knowing.

I guess I should be thankful though. Once Suzumiya began to get serious about club duties she had forgotten all about her playtime with me. She still gave both me and Kyon a passing glance and smirk once it came time to exchange phone numbers. Which one of us was her love interest again?

I have a cell phone, one from this time, and I've used it on a few occasions while on this temporal plane, but I was still very inexperienced with this kind of technology. Why do the buttons and screen have to be so small? New forms of communication wont be discovered for a while though, so on my way home I reluctantly spent the whole trip watching the tiny numbers on the screen dance as I sorted through my new list of contacts.

At the very top was Suzumiya-san, who insisted nobody call her unless it was something new and exciting. Does that mean we can't call her if it's a boring emergency? Below her name was Koizumi Itsuki and [Kyon], the last of which was a name I was actually unfamiliar with, but I felt odd having just "Kyon" in the middle of all these highly detailed contacts.

At the bottom was Nagato Yuki, who claimed to have no phone. After disbelief on Suzumiya's behalf, although no one else was the least bit surprised it seemed, Nagato-san eventually changed her mind and decided she did have a phone. We only got one number, so I don't even know if it's a home or cell number, and I hope no emergencies come up where I'll have to find out.

Tomorrow would be Saturday, and for the first time I was invited to an all day trip around town with fellow students. I was told to enjoy my time in this century, and having a day to just enjoy the company of your friends, maybe going to a nice restaurant and getting some shopping done, it all sounded like a really fun experience. But there's no way it would be anything so simple and average sounding if Suzumiya-san was involved.

Once I got home I began to feel a bit homesick. A few years ago I was still going shopping for new outfits before the Summer comes around this time of year with my mother. While in school I'd sometimes get invited out on nice days just like this one. There was no Suzumiya Haruhi back then. There weren't even any time quakes or plane destruction seminars to attend. Maybe I picked the wrong career.

Thinking about my own time, I eventually felt like I was there again, back at the main office, speaking with the receptionist on the first day. Now that's a job I could get behind. Not only would I spend all my time in one spot, but I could warn unsuspecting new interns like myself of what they were getting themselves into.

Of course, I'm sure other time travelers don't have to deal with anything like Suzumiya-san in their whole lifetimes, so maybe I'm just the unlucky one.

Just when I had gotten my mind off this time business, I noticed a small postcard on the table in my living room. I didn't notice it there before, and it didn't seem very important at all, except for one small detail: it contained a time stamp and coding on the bottom edge.

It was off to the side of the mail, which usually consisted of junk and coupons since I have no family or business in this time, but I don't remember if I saw this on the pile or not. Not that it mattered though, this was clearly a message from my own temporal plane. Seems kind of dangerous to have these kinds of thing on paper though.

Picking up the postcard, I read the top of the small paragraph printed on the only part that wasn't blank.

Saturday morning

This Saturday? Is this a new mission, or some kind of addition to my old notes and information? As I read on, it seems I now had something to do tomorrow, something I never thought I'd have to do, especially so soon.

I had a new mission. This one didn't involve Suzumiya Haruhi. At least, not directly. Instead it involved someone else entirely, and all I can say regarding this new task I was given is this: I hate it when I'm right.


On Saturday morning I arrived by the station, and although I wasn't the last to show up, it seems most of the Brigade had been waiting a while already.

"Mikuru, what took you so long! Koizumi and Yuki-chan got here ages ago! As Brigade Chief I have to wait for everyone, but you can't keep the entire Brigade waiting."

Kyon-kun isn't even here though. By Suzumiya's logic I only kept two out of three people waiting. That's still well past 60%, but who cares about percentages with such low numbers.

"Good morning Miss Asahina. Don't worry, I don't mind waiting. The only reason I arrived early is because I merely woke up and threw something on before coming here."

Koizumi-kun wore a nicely pressed brown jacket over a bright pink shirt with a nice and dapper neck tie going down the center. He cleaned up rather nicely, and he was already a fair sight to begin with. If this is something he just threw on then the extensive hair routines I try on a regular basis are more excessive than I thought.

"Never mind what you're wearing. You both look nice as it is. Now where's that Kyon?"

Suzumiya-san was wearing a rather cute long sleeve shirt and skirt combo, although the rest of her looked about the same as she usually does in her uniform. I hate to admit it, but seeing her dressed so casually makes it rather easy to forget her usual self, even with her scowling like that as we waited for our last arrival.

If I didn't know any better I'd say Suzumiya Haruhi was rather cute looking. I'd be glad to introduce her as a friend of mine if she just kept her mouth shut. Wait, that sounded mean didn't it?

Off to the side was Nagato-san, still wearing her school uniform. First she had no phone, now she has no clothes? This girl really isn't human. I wonder, does she even sleep or eat?

Koizumi-kun tried to spark up some conversation, which was definitely a nicer alternative to the rushed Suzumiya expressing disbelief in Kyon-kun's tardiness every time there's a pause. I should note that it's still not even the appointed time we arranged for the meeting. If Kyon arrives in the next ten minutes he'd still be early.

I admit, it was still nice, and on occasion Koizumi would try to bring Nagato into the conversation, which would result in her giving an actual response half the time! Is this boy really an esper? He's way too nice. Even Kyon-kun could learn something from him, not that there's anything wrong with Kyon-kun now.

Speaking of him, he arrived less than five minutes after I did, but unlike myself he was thoroughly punished for making us wait. I just got here though! Don't drag me into his guilt trip. Kyon had to pay for our drinks, meaning our first stop was the nearby café.


"Now let's draw lots!"

At the café we were all made sure of Suzumiya's plan while we enjoyed our drinks. Nagato-san in particular took her time to enjoy the place and put much thought into what she should order. This was actually a nice place. I wouldn't mind coming back here if it meant the five of us could enjoy a nice day out on the streets.

Suzumiya-san prepared five toothpicks and marked two of them with a pen. The way she planned things out we were going to split up into two teams, travel in opposite directions, then meet up later to show our findings.

Just when I worried about whether I'd be able to get anything done, or worse, what if I get on the two person team with just Suzumiya, I was relieved to find that my partner for the day was none other than Kyon himself. Well this seemed to work out rather well.

"Kyon, this isn't a date. Take this seriously!"

"Okay already!"

I never even thought about how date-like our scenario was until Suzumiya mentioned it. And here I was thinking I could finally relax. Now I have to be careful not to let Suzumiya-san think I'm trying to steal Kyon from her. As far as I can tell, those two aren't even dating though, so why do I have to be so careful? It's not like I'd have the courage to try anything with Kyon-kun anyways, even if it were allowed.

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for?" asked Koizumi-kun.

"Anything suspicious! Anything or anyone that looks odd, like portals to another dimension, or aliens disguised as humans."

The alien disguised as a human in our group calmly drank her tea as Suzumiya-san continued to provide us with increasingly unlikely examples of what we should find. She doesn't honestly expect us to find any of this stuff, does she? There's a limit to these things you know. What happens if someone turns me in as a time traveler? She'd probably expect me to have laser guns and cybernetic implants or something (although she's definitely felt my body enough times to know that last part isn't true).

"I see, so all we have to do is look for aliens, time travelers, and espers with supernatural powers, as well as any traces they may have left behind on this Earth. I understand completely."

Is this boy really an esper? I still haven't pinpointed what kind of faction he's from based off what little traces of Data interference I detected off him. For all I know even he's unaware of what kind of supernatural powers he may have. In class we learned of the theory that humans have a natural ability to manipulate Data without the use of Data-based code or technology, so that's definitely a possibility.

The fact that he looked directly at Nagato-san when he said "alien", right before he tilted his head in my direction just so he could say "time traveler" was a dead giveaway he knew more than he let on though. I was certain he was here for the same reasons as the rest of us. I guess it was foolish of me to think things might get easy for once.

"Alright, let's go!"


My first official non-date with Kyon was surprisingly quiet. I don't mean Kyon-kun was surprisingly quiet. He's always like that. I don't think I ever heard him make a peep unless he was standing up against Suzumiya-san or protecting me from something. It's rather noble, but not much of a conversation piece.

The quiet part came from our surroundings. After parting from Suzumiya's party, Kyon and I merely stood in our spots for a few seconds wondering just where we were supposed to go. We were given a vague compass point and instructions to please Suzumiya, but that doesn't help much.

It was Kyon's idea to just walk around, which I guess is the only thing any of us could do in this situation. It wasn't long before we ended up at the riverbank and continued down its path. On certain times of year the river is a wonderful place for activity. There could be cherry blossoms and birds, and among us would be families and tourists and joggers enjoying the sights. It's definitely one of my favourite parts of town, not that I know this town well enough.

Today was just an ordinary day though. The trees were plain with no special animal sounds in particular. The occasional jogger or couple walking by would be there to greet us, but for the most part it was just me and Kyon, who remained quiet as ever, even when I accidentally bumped into him and touched his shoulder. It was totally an accident by the way, so don't get any bright ideas about me.

Probably most chilling though was the fact that I had been given my first official mission the night before, and I knew I'd have to carry it out sometime today. With Suzumiya gone I've been given the perfect chance, but I was definitely still nervous.

Since we have a few hours I figured maybe I should lighten the mood and do some sweet talking with Kyon-kun. Well, maybe not sweet talk, that gives the wrong impression. I don't want to scare him off if I come on too strong. Wait, what am I saying, this isn't even a date!

Alright, the chips are on the table. I have a mission to carry out and I can't carry it out if I'm too nervous. The fate of the world is counting on my ability to make pleasant conversation.

"This is the first time I've had a walk like this!"

"What do you mean?"

"A walk, like…with a boy…just the two of us."

One sentence in and I already messed up. Why couldn't I have just said I've never walked by the river before? Kyon-kun, this is my first time walking by the river with a friend. Doesn't that sound more believable?

Of course, I really haven't ever walked with a boy like this, but now's not the time to say it!

"That's a little surprising actually. Don't tell me you've never gone out with a guy before."

Why are you continuing this discussion!? Can't you read the telepathic "STOP TALKING" messages I just shouted at myself? And no, I've never gone out with a guy before. It's way too embarrassing, even before I came to this school.

"But there's been plenty of guys who confessed to you, right?"

I don't keep track of that sort of thing. None of this is important, I was just trying to make pleasant conversation. Why is everything suddenly about me?

Besides, I can't get involved with anyone at the moment. I'm not allowed to interfere with this time, and it's impossible to have a long distance relationship with anyone back home when I'm constantly disappearing from the entire temporal plane for years at a time.

That's right, Kyon-kun. You may think I'm cute or charming. You could indirectly compliment me with your looks of shock. In the end though, the life of a time traveler is not one for romance, it's one for doing what's right.

I have to do this now.

"Kyon-kun," I interrupted, making sure to pause our walk to get his full attention. "There's something I want to tell you."

"Tell me?"

This was in the order I received before. Nagato-san, Koizumi-kun, and I, we were all sent here to observe Suzumiya-san, but Kyon-kun, I always wondered what your role in this was. Kyon and Suzumiya. Suzumiya Haruhi and [Kyon]. They were connected in some way. I know that now.

Today, I am to alert Kyon-kun of my presence, and my existence as a time traveler. Those were the instructions printed out for me in last night's mail.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, not at all. Maybe we should sit down first."

At this moment I realized how perfect this day was going. First Kyon and I are left alone at the first chance we had, and now there's a bench right next to where I stopped, on a riverbank that's conveniently emptied out by now. Not a single chirp would interrupt us.

Alright, now, where to begin? I never was good at explaining things. And what if he doesn't believe me?

Hey Kyon-kun, I'm from the future and was sent here on a mission to observe a time anomaly cause by your good friend Suzumiya-san, which you may or may not be involved with! Who would believe that!?

Of course, the instructions never said I had to get him to believe me. It seems it was predetermined that I confess my secret to Kyon today, but whether he believes me or not is irrelevant. All that matters is that he hears what I have to say. I guess this knowledge will become important to him later on. In that case, here goes.

"I'm not from this time and age. I am a person from the future…"

The next few minutes involved me trying to explain Digitized Reality Theory and temporal fault lines to someone who's never even heard of time functions. I'm not even sure if he understood what I was saying, let alone believed me, and half the time I was just hastily trying to explain things the way my old teachers did.

You see, time is like a cartoon. Different digitized planes form cells stacked onto each other to be played in the form of a moving image. They stack together, but there is no movement between them because there is a layer of air between each film. Oh great, now I'm getting into molecular theory. Maybe something simpler.

Travel between planes requires a strong force of Data capable of tearing through fault lines, allowing someone to travel through these spaces into a temporal plane they didn't exist in beforehand. So I'm like a doodle an animator's child drew all over his life's work.

Eventually I was at a loss of words. I've explained enough right? If I went into the details of Time Plane Destruction or Linear Time Exponentials this would only make his brain hurt. After I paused, a couple with a small child passed by. The pause gave me time to think.

I'm certain I said plenty. This kind of stuff doesn't matter. I already told Kyon I'm a time traveler and how I got here, now I just have one last thing to tell him.

"Let me tell you why I've come to this temporal plane."

I spent the entire first half of my speech staring at my toes (why must my toes be so toe-like?). As I looked up and got my first view of Kyon-kun post-confession I saw he was having a hard time following. Does he believe me or not?

Well, I got this far. I can't stop now.

"Three years ago we detected a huge time quake. That is, three years ago from our current point of view, when Suzumiya Haruhi was in junior high."

Kyon became attentive when I mentioned Suzumiya-san's name. Was he surprised I mentioned her? Was he expecting something else? This is frustrating. I have no idea what he knows.

"Um, upon investigation, we were surprised to discover that we were unable to go further back in time beyond that point. The conclusion was that an abnormally large fault line was created at that specific point in time, one too large for us to traverse. We only recently discovered the cause of that. Oh, by which I mean recently according to the time I came from, not now."

Time travel makes it very difficult to use pronouns and verb tenses. At least Kyon-kun should understand now why I've been sent here to investigate.

"And what's the cause?"

My suspicions that Kyon-kun has some unknown connection regarding Suzumiya-san were getting stronger. When he asked me his shock and curiosity from before had disappeared, almost as if he knew what the answer was, but he had to ask anyways. He seemed almost as if he wants the answer to be anything but-

"Suzumiya-san."

His eyes widened. I don't know what Kyon-kun has heard, but this definitely isn't his first time hearing about something like this.

"The reason is because of Suzumiya-san. She's located at the center of all this. Please don't ask why. I'm not allowed to inform you, but we're certain that Suzumiya-san has somehow blocked passage into the past from three years ago."

"I find it unlikely Suzumiya is capable of such a thing."

"Neither did I! In all honesty, it's impossible for an ordinary human to interfere with temporal planes at all. This is a complete mystery, and it seems that even Suzumiya-san herself doesn't know how she's creating these temporal distortions and time quakes. That's why I'm here. My task is to observe any unusual changes to the temporal planes."

Kyon's silence followed by his look of deep thought implied that my story made sense. For Suzumiya-san to do something humanly impossible, of course the people from my time would send someone to investigate. The only question was, did he find my story to be truth, or just a good work of fiction.

"So why are you telling me this?"

In all honesty I have no idea myself. At first I thought Kyon-kun had some unknown connection to Suzumiya-san, just as she shows no signs of conscious effort into her temporal distortions. I can't help but feel that Kyon himself is aware of something, or at the very least has his own suspicions.

Kyon-kun, what is your connection to Suzumiya-san? As far as I know, you never met her before high school and had no connection to the quake from three years ago. Why were you drawn into all this? The SOS Brigade, my mission, and Suzumiya-san herself. Something about you makes you special, not just to us, but to Suzumiya as well.

"It's because you've been chosen by Suzumiya-san, Kyon-kun. I can't give you the full details, but from what I've guessed, you are very important to Suzumiya-san. There is a reason to everything she does, as well as her connection to you."

"Then Nagato-san and Koizumi…?"

He knows! What do I do now? I was only informed to alert Kyon of my own presence. Am I allowed to tell him about other things unrelated to myself as well?

"Those two are…similar, but Suzumiya-san is unaware that she has gathered us all together."

"Then do you know what they are?"

"Classified Information."

Ow! My head hurts! All I did was say yes. Wait, that wasn't what I said, was it? If I heard correctly I said…

"What would happen if we just leave Haruhi alone?"

"Classified Information."

Well I guess my questions are answered. This is the first time I've made an actual effort to reveal such information to anyone. My headache seems to have come from the unexpected surge of Data protection censoring my own thoughts. It would be nice if I got a heads up on how the conditioning method worked.

"If you're from the future, do you know what happens next?"

"Classified Information."

I now know that my mission is complete. I've told him everything he needs to know. Anything else is forbidden knowledge to him and I'd never be able to tell him no matter how hard I tried. In a way I'm a bit relieved. That means my job is finished for now. The rest is up to Kyon-kun.

"What happens if I tell Haruhi about this?"

"Classified Information."

The buzzing in my head stopped once Kyon-kun paused once again. It looks like our chat was finished. Whatever's going on between you and your Haruhi, Kyon, I hope this helps.

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me. I'd just like you to know of this."

Suddenly what was happening had just dawned on me. Kyon-kun wasn't the one left in the dark. All this time I was so nervous, but in the end my mission was just to deliver a message so the real person behind the job could handle this. Well great, so I was worried over nothing. It was never my job to begin with.

In that case…I hope I did a good enough job to help Kyon-kun.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Really…"

The two of us stood facing the river, uncertain of what the other was thinking. I'm now glad this wasn't a date. I had previously set a standard for my imaginary first date and this did not meet those standards at all.

"Asahina-san, can we pretend this didn't happen? Whether I believe you or not, let's not worry about that for now."

That's…a very good idea! If Kyon-kun ever needs my help with whatever it is he's doing here, I'd be glad to do what I can. For now though, that's just background information. Suddenly we were back to being two close friends, recently brought together through an unusual club, taking a stroll down the river.

It was pretty peaceful. Having Kyon-kun be the one I shared this moment with made it all the more special.

"I think that's just fine. It's probably the best solution. Please, just treat me like you always have. I'm counting on you."

Taking this moment to give Kyon-kun a bow of my gratitude. I really couldn't help but smile. Kyon really is good at making bad moments nice ones again. It's a gift.

"Can I ask you one thing?"

Anything you want Kyon!

"What's your real age?"

"Classified Information~"

I almost want to punish my eyes for making such an embarrassing winking motion, but it was hard enough suppressing the giggles building up in me. Kyon-kun, I ought to punish you for getting me so excited like that. That's probably Suzumiya-san's job though, isn't it?

True to his word, Kyon-kun went about the rest of the day as if nothing had happened. Despite this not being a date, I definitely wouldn't have known any better if he told me it was. The handsome young man by my side escorted me to some lovely places for window shopping and some ice cream. I almost blushed at the thought of what he'd do if this were a real date.

The day ended perfectly.

At least, that's how I wish it had ended. There was still plenty more of the day left, as was brought to my attention when Kyon's phone suddenly began ringing.

It was Suzumiya.