AN: I own nothing related to Haruhi Suzumiya, regrettably.
I had taken pride in being the only normal member of the SOS Brigade, as well as its conscience, but now I couldn't do that. Any normality I had left after becoming Haruhi's plaything had now been completely stripped from me by Tsuruya-san's actions.
I found that I didn't really care. My normality had always been an odd point with the company I kept, making my normality an abnormality. Now that it was gone I was effectively as normal as I had been before – normal in one place; strange in another. Because of Haruhi's corrupting influence I doubt that a normal world would satisfy me, so I decided that there was nothing wrong with fitting in with a more interesting one.
"Hey, are you going to answer me or not?" Haruhi asked, annoyed.
Oh, right. Checkmate. And maybe I am paler but I don't think it matters much.
"You might have anaemia or something. And how is that checkmate!"
I would feel tired if I did but I feel fine. There's no need to worry. And it's checkmate because of my knight.
"You win, then. Tell me if there ever is anything wrong, though. I don't want to needlessly worry."
I don't want you to needlessly worry; you cause enough problems as it is!
"I do not cause problems!"
If only Haruhi knew what she had done in the past week alone, I felt sure that she would reconsider. Moving my family out of the country, turning me into a girl and then making my nerves incredibly sensitive, resulting in my seemingly (there was no evidence yet…) becoming a vampire. I highly doubted that the last one would bother her, however.
"Nee-chan, Suzumiya-san, dinner is ready." Ryoko said, signalling the end of my game of chess with Haruhi (she had begun to set the board up again) and the beginning of our meal.
I didn't realise just how hungry I was until we were actually eating and ate at a pace to match both Haruhi and Nagato. Ryoko was the only person left eating when the rest of us had finished and started talking and even she wasn't far behind.
"Kyonko-chan, what's your actual name? I've forgotten." Haruhi asked, causing me to panic slightly until Nagato passed me a slip of paper. Akane… how ironic. A name that means 'deep red' and what colour is blood? Can Haruhi's subconscious tell the future to make things as humorous as possible?
It's Akane.
"That's a nice name."
Are you telling the truth or is that just a compliment?
"Going to make tea." Nagato said, rising and heading off to do just that.
"You seem unusually pale, nee-chan." My 'sister' said as she finished eating.
"I noticed that earlier, do you think it means there's something wrong with her?"
Don't treat me like I'm not here, that's rude. And I already told you that I'm fine, stop worrying!
"It's actually a sign that the illness nee-chan had is almost over, there's no need to worry about it. She'll be in school tomorrow."
Don't make facts like that up! If Haruhi thinks that this paleness is a sign that I'm still ill then it will go away and so will its cause! Wait, why am I still objecting to being a vampire? Oh, right, the blood. That just seems… wrong.
"Tea." Nagato announced, silently returning and producing the tea, handing it out.
"I should get going, Kyonko-chan needs her sleep and I've got homework to do." Haruhi announced when she had finished drinking, almost as soon as she was given the cup.
Why are you still using that nickname, you know what I'm really called! Besides, I don't need any sleep, I'm not tired.
"I'll stay if you want." Haruhi replied, moving and rubbing against me.
Stop that! Stop, I said! Stop!
"Fine… why don't I stay here for the night?"
And where would you sleep?
"With you, of course. Where else would I sleep? I'm your girlfriend, remember?" Haruhi replied, sounding irritated. Not as irritated as Ryoko looked, though.
You're my girlfriend, right… and how many times have we done anything to suggest that, like kissing?
Haruhi replied by kissing me roughly, something I should have seen coming after my words but didn't. She certainly liked it and I, much to my shame, enjoyed it, despite the humiliation of having onlookers. When had I become such a masochist? Had climbing that hill repeatedly changed me or had I always been like this?
Haruhi stopped when a door slammed, signalling that Ryoko had left the apartment. She seemed confused as to why but even if Ryoko hadn't been my 'twin' her reason was just as plausible: she didn't like seeing someone else get that close to me.
"Interesting." Nagato commented, leaving me unsure whether it was a comment on Ryoko's reaction or the kiss itself.
"I-I'll be going now." Haruhi said, blushing (embarrassed? Is that possible for Haruhi?) as if she had forgotten there were onlookers and got too caught up in the heat of the moment. With those words she hastily left the apartment.
It was an hour later as I was trying to find a way to break through Nagato's flawless defence in a game of chess my 'sister' returned with Tsuruya-san, showing no sign of her reaction to Haruhi's kissing me, since she was smiling again.
"Hey, Kyon-kun. Sorry I didn't show up until now but I was made to stay until dinner was finished. Anyway, the end result of what I did this morning depends on whether I was more or less than precisely half finished. It it's less than, nothing will happen. More than and you'll be stopped half-transformed, which will kill you." Tsuruya-san said cheerfully, despite the rather dire implications of her words. "There are several ways to tell if you're partly transformed or not but the simplest one is to tell me if this seems appetising."
With those words she produced a clear bag full of something from a pocket. As soon as I registered what the red liquid was I had to resist the urge to try and grab it out of Tsuruya-san's hands.
"Hmm… you're trying not to jump at it, right? That means it's more than half…" She mused, putting the blood back in her pocket and looking extremely thoughtful. "Well, unless you want to die you're going to have to let me bite you again and finish the job."
I accept. Vampirism is definitely better than death – especially when said death could lead to the end of the world.
Tsuruya-san grabbed my arm and pulled it towards her mouth. Instinctively I fought against her pull but there was no way for that to work, she just pulled harder. When she bit it hurt a lot – so much that I was fighting back tears – but it hurt less as time went on.
"Finished!" Tsuruya-san cheerfully declared five minutes later, lifting her head up and wiping some of my blood away from her mouth. The actual cut she had made was small but the bloodstain around it was disturbingly large. At least it indicated that she hadn't been using me as a meal. "You should be completely changed by morning. By the way, your blood tastes nice."
You weren't supposed to be using me for sustenance!
"I wasn't, else you'd be in a worse condition right now. I can't help tasting it when I'm putting something into it. Anyway, try not to hurt Haru-nyan tomorrow. Bye!" She replied, leaving just as quickly as she came in and throwing something over her shoulder to Nagato.
"Blood." The interface stated, leaving the room to store the fluid somewhere. Once more I had to resist the urge to try and grab it but I managed it – I knew I would need it in the morning, I certainly didn't yet.
It was about then that I felt tired and told Ryoko that I was going to sleep. Before she allowed me to leave I was told the reason why vampires are supposed to die in sunlight, namely that they – we? – burn very easily even in the winter sun.
After that I got away and spent over an hour trying to get to sleep, attempting to disregard how uncomfortable everything felt – after all, I was stuck with it for the rest of my life, it seemed like a good idea to get used to it. Eventually, I did fall asleep… only to be awoken minutes later by my 'twin'.
Give. That. Back.
"Why?"
Because I am not sleeping wearing absolutely nothing! Now give that shirt back!
"But… I love you, even more than I love Yuki-chan. I just want to be as close to you as Suzumiya-san. Why do you respond to her so quickly? Why don't you show that sort of affection towards me? Is it because of when I tried to kill you? But I was ordered to do that, I had no choice. Please don't hold it against me…" Ryoko said; looking like she was on the verge of crying.
I don't show any affection towards Haruhi and even if Haruhi didn't exist I couldn't love you like that, we're twins!
"But you're always thinking about her and you never offer much resistance towards her pushing you around… even when she kissed you in front of me you didn't do anything to stop her. And you and I know we're not really twins, it doesn't matter what the world thinks. Love is more important… don't you like me?" She countered, actually crying now. Despite the fact it seemed like an overreaction to me I couldn't help but feel guilty.
I like you but if I do anything to make Haruhi feel jealous and she finds out then the world could end. Would you rather I treated you like a sister or have the world ending.
"Why can't you treat me like your girlfriend when no-one we know is around? That way there's no chance of anything going wrong..." My 'twin' suggested, still standing beside my bed. In the light the filtered through the window I could see her entire body and it was becoming harder and harder to ignore. In order to remove her naked body from my field of vision I rashly agreed to her suggestion.
Ryoko DID move her body. The only problem was the manner in which she had done that: by kissing me. Like with Haruhi, I found myself unable to refuse her because I was enjoying it, despite how differently they kissed. Haruhi seemed to have no understanding of the word gentle; my 'sister' was as gentle as possible.
"You're still letting me sleep here, right?"
Are you planning to put anything on? Where'd you put that shirt, I can't see it.
"No, I'm not. And that shirt is somewhere on the floor. Isn't it more comfortable like this, anyway?" Ryoko asked, climbing into my bed before I had told her whether she could or not. After everything she had just said and the tearstains still on her face I didn't have the heart to berate her for it.
You're just sleeping there, right? Don't do anything to take advantage of our lack of clothing.
Her reply was to hug me, which was comforting but also felt strange due to the lack of cloth and my increased sensitivity, and use my shoulder as a pillow. Despite how much more comfortable it was compared to the scratchiness of the bedding, it was still hard to fall asleep. Eventually I managed it, long after Ryoko's breathing had settled into a steady rhythm.
"Nee-chan, wake up! Nee-chan!"
Huh? Ryoko? What time is it? And why is everything so itchy? Also, why is the light so bright?
"Well if we don't get ready now there's a chance we'll be late for school. Well, late by Yuki-chan's standards. But today is different; there are some other things to do first. And can't you remember yesterday?"
Oh right, that…
Whilst I got ready for school there were a few accidents, notably that I managed to rip a piece of clothing in half without thinking and that my 'twin' received quite a bad bruise. Eventually, however, I was dressed and presentable – despite how uncomfortable the uniform, along with the ridiculously long socks, felt and my inability to tie a proper ponytail.
Still trying to get accustomed to how easy it was to hear, see and smell everything in perfect detail, I ate breakfast. Shamisen, who had been conspicuously absent for the past few days, was sat on Nagato's lap and kept glaring at me. Did he know I was a vampire or did he just dislike me now?
"Wait." Nagato said as I went to leave, still hungry despite the large breakfast. I only realised why when I saw what she was holding in her hand – the packet Tsuruya-san had thrown to her the previous night.
This time I didn't try to resist the urge to grab it and instantly lunged for the blood. It turned out to taste a lot better than I had expected and whilst I still wanted more – just to check that the way it tasted had been real, it had seemed too good for what it was supposed to be – I wasn't hungry.
When I tried to leave again I was once more held back, this time by my 'sister'. Once I had applied the sunscreen she was holding to any uncovered areas of skin or areas that were likely to be uncovered during the day, as well as having put the sunscreen with my school-things for reapplication later (Ryoko was very insistent about that and I wasn't too keen on getting badly sunburnt anyway) I was finally allowed to leave.
If I had known what was going to happen, I would have stayed at home.
AN: Another long chapter. I'd swap places with Kyon in a heartbeat, even if it did mean changing gender. So many interesting things, AND two girls in love with him AND he's basically gained immortality. Wouldn't everyone swap places with him/her for one of the above reasons, though?
I love cliffhangers. XD
Review, please?
