Spring is the symbol for new beginnings for most people. The seasons that precede it become a distant memory of what was, while the new events of the present blossom like fresh sakura flowers... or in my case, like a stinging sensation on my spinal cord.
That was the way she decided to greet me in the morning as I left my shoe locker.
"Hey, Kyon! How are ya?" asked a cheerful Tsuruya who wrapped her arm around my shoulder.
"If you didn't just dislocate my spine, then I'm fine."
Tsuruya chuckled and wrestled with me until our faces met. She is incredibly strong for someone with her build.
"Thank you so much for yesterday, Kyon!"
Yesterday? My advice wasn't very helpful. If anything, it was vague.
"I'm still not so sure what I'm getting myself into, but please keep an eye on me until Friday afternoon, okays?"
Before I could respond, she rubbed her nose against mine in an Eskimo kiss fashion. The cheerful senior then whisked down the hall brushing past Taniguchi and Kunikida. They always seem to show up at the darnedest times.
"Say Taniguchi, weren't Kyon's rumors dealing with Yuki Nagato and not upperclassman Tsuruya?" asked Kunikida. Wait, what rumors?
"Heck yeah they were! I don't even know what to believe anymore," said an exasperated Taniguchi. "Since when were you so buddy-buddy with Tsuruya, Kyon?"
"As long as I've known her, she's been on good terms with the majority of the school," I replied.
"Um, I don't know where you came up with that impression," remarked Taniguchi. "Sure she's popular with the guys. Heck, she even gets an A+ ranking in my book! From what I heard though, she has a rough time with a lot of the girl students from the school."
"I can agree with that," added Kunikida. "I hear various girls talk about Tsuruya from time-to-time and most of the time, their words are pretty harsh."
"I would never have guessed anything like that judging her attitude. What kind of problems would anyone have with Tsuruya?"
"It all boils down to jealousy," continued Kunikida. "She is arguably one of the more popular girls in the school and on top of that, she comes from a rich upbringing. And when it comes to her personality, it's nearly impossible to put her down. Do you remember that time last winter when someone tried to trip her in the hallway, Taniguchi?"
"Oh yeah, I had almost forgotten about that! She just barely caught herself from a nasty fall. Tsuruya looked up at the culprit and started laughing like it was nothing."
At this point, the three of us had managed to navigate our ways to our homeroom. The thoughts of what Tsuruya goes through on a daily basis lingered through my mind for most of the morning. Haruhi is apparently too wrapped up in whatever she is writing to talk to me. Glancing at what she's working on, it looks like some sort of treasure map as opposed to conventional homework. I wonder if it has anything to do with today's club activity plans?
Before I knew it, it was lunchtime. Haruhi said something about going her going to the club room as I rushed to the cafeteria like a starved caveman. The bread line was so long and staggering, I could hear my stomach whining in agony. Just then, someone decided to place what felt like a boxed lunch on top of my head. Her laughter erupted from behind me before I even attempted to guess who it was. I turned around to see upperclassman Tsuruya holding two boxed lunches. If this is a dream, please let it run its course before waking me up!
She invited me to the spot in the cafeteria where she and Asahina would usually sit. I have actually sat with them a few times last year, however they were always engaged in some sort of conversation that I had no interest in joining.
"I usually prepare two lunches for Mikuru and I," said Tsuruya. "I totally forgots that she was out of town this morning so I made two of these out of habit."
"Ah, I see," I replied as she slid her extra box in my direction. "Thank you, Tsuruya."
She held off an urge to laugh and said, "I bets you totally thought I made this just for you! Too bad!"
I ignored her absolutely true statement and took the first bite. "It's delicious."
Tsuruya gave me a warm smile more genuine to the ones I were used to coming from her and shifted her attention to directly in front of her. We spent the next minute in silence until Tsuruya broke it by bursting out in silent laughter.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
"Some people are just so ridiculous!" she said while tactfully pointing directly in front of her. "Do you see those two girls over there? They make it so obvious that they're talking about me... they way they cup their mouths to each other and glance at me. If they just talk normally I wouldn't have heard them from this far away. It's mega silly of them!"
The two girls, who also must have been upperclassmen, sneered and turned their backs to us. Tsuruya's laughter volume increased. It was then I was convinced that Taniguchi & Kunikida were on to something after all.
"We can go up to the roof where it's quieter, Tsuruya."
Her laughter stopped indicating that she heard me through her sounds of forced amusement. That cute, serious look of her's came back for an encore followed by a smile that signaled her approval of my idea.
I was nervous for a moment because I had forgotten to take the current weather into account when I said what I did. It slightly rained this morning but luckily the skies are beautifully clear in the present. Tsuruya took her seat first and stretched out like a kitten. The way she seems relaxed around me is like the exact opposite of Asahina's mannerisms.
"So how long have you known Asahina?" I asked while the topic is on my mind.
"I met Mikuru in my first year homeroom," she reminisced. That would mean Mikuru was here a year before she met me then. "I totally wasn't the same girl before I met her. I was probably just as stuck up as those two girls I pointed out."
"Are you suggesting that Asahina is the one that changed you?"
"Oh totally! Mikuru was like the first true friend I ever had. I was mean to everyone at first, including her, but I did it because I was too afraid to make friends. Mikuru... saw right through me."
I started to imagine things through Asahina's perspective. Her purpose in our time is to help stabilize whatever future she came from. If she arrived one year in advance before running into Haruhi, does that mean her original assignment actually dealt with Tsuruya?
"Can I tell you a secret, Kyon?" Tsuruya asked while facing me. "But you totally cannot tell Mikuru I said this!"
"I've been keeping secrets you wouldn't believe," I remarked. "Go ahead."
"Well... the truth is... I so wanted to join Haruhi's SOS Brigade for a long time... when Mikuru suddenly quit the Calligraphy Club to go there, I totally wanted to follow her. That and your club sounded mega fun from all the rumors. But... Mikuru said that I couldn't get directly involved, no matter what."
Come to think of it, I would have said the same to Taniguchi had he ever asked.
"I totally thought it was unfair! Every time I got to hang out with you guys like at the ski resort and for the cultural festival film, I swears I was having the time of my life with all of you! At first I thought there was something or someone she didn't want me to be a part of... but after all that stuff a few days ago..."
I don't know how much longer I can keep hiding everything from Tsuruya, let alone whether or not I even have to. It's getting to the point where I need a good discussion with either Koizumi or Nagato to set my mind straight. For now I would rest my hand in hers and assure her one thing.
"Listen, Tsuruya. Asahina never mistrusted you for a second. Believe it or not, there are really good reasons why no one in their right minds should get involved with us. Heck, I'm constantly questioning myself as to why I have to be a part of it all."
Her eyes shifted from our held hands to my eyes. She melted into a fit of giggles while leaning on shoulder. Compared to her tone in the cafeteria, she sounded less strained and more high-spirited. When she finally calmed down, she made herself more comfortable on my shoulder.
"Ever since you said that I was like a cat yesterday, I started feeling more and more like one," she said in a playful kitten tone. "Even now, when you and Mikuru say that the SOS Brigade is mega strange, my curiosity is totally killing me!"
"Sooner or later, you're going to regret it," I said just in time for the bell signaling the end of lunch.
"See you this afternoon, Kyon!" shouted Tsuruya as she gave me a quick, yet full hug and made haste back into the building.
I slowly paced my way into the building and noticed a vision of rotten luck in the form of a human standing four stairs below me. She caught me out on the roof with Tsuruya, and her mischievous smile confirmed that. Is this the end of the world? No seriously... is it?
"Did you have fun?"
A rhetorical question right off the bat! This is the very definition of being screwed.
"Haruhi, I can explain," is probably the most overused, thus useless thing I could have said, and yet I did.
"Dummy, there's nothing to explain," Haruhi remarked shrewdly. "Tsuruya explained the whole thing to Yuki and I in the club room before she brought the extra bento to you."
"Ah... really?"
"She didn't have to go through all that just to share a lunch. Man, how could anyone so adorable want to share a lunch with you?"
I don't know why, but all of a sudden, Tsuruya's actions have been much easier to read lately. I'd bet anything that the reason Tsuruya asked Haruhi for permission was because I hang out with them daily and she feared Haruhi and Yuki would become as despicable as the girls she pointed out earlier. That kind of mindset is just not possible for either of them of course, but it seems like Tsuruya to take safety measures just in case.
"Anyways Kyon, I don't have or want any control over your social life, but you had better be careful in your future decisions," Haruhi continued. "The things you say or do may affect the fate of the entire universe!"
No comment. None whatsoever!
Hi guys! I'm Tsuruya! Are you excited about the next chapter? You should be because lots of stuff is going to be happening! An evil threat is gonna be summoned to the earth really soon and you all are going to get to see Super Tsuruya and my heroic attempt to save the day! ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! What's that, nyoro? You don't believe me..?
Next time, on the Gamma Dimension: Continuation! The show must go on whether you believe me or not!