I just want to say, that I seriously do not intend in updating at such crappy times. Stuff keeps happening. Moving into a new apartment along with college along with lots of real-life issues really cuts into all of your time. Anyway, hope you enjoy because I believe this is the longest chapter so far.

Disclaimer: Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu was created by Nagaru Tanigawa (Who is working on the 11th novel) and animated by Kyoto Animation. (That has officially made Season 2 epic, after the abyssmal Endless Eight) and I only own the original characters that are included in this story.

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Those sounds made Kyon roll around in his bed. He didn't want to get up, so he let the phone ring until the batteries ran out of juice. As his eyes slowly started to accept daylight, he could tell it was way too early for school to start. There wasn't a rush to go school. There wasn't even a rush to go brush his teeth. Unfortunately, the ringing continued on for a few minutes.

Not getting out of bed. Don't want to get out of bed anyway...

Kyon put his blankets over his head, hoping to deafen out the sound. However for him, the phone's ringing echoed throughout other sections of the house. After a minute, the door busted open as an energetic girl entered the room. She looked at her brother, bewildered to why he wasn't doing anything.

"Kyon-kun, your phone." She spoke.

"Don't need you to tell me that..." Kyon groggily said.

At this point, he decided to just get out of the bed of his own. It would be better than having to deal with his sister yelling and jumping on the bed. He pressed his fingers by his sockets so that his eyes could fully open. When he picked up the ringing phone, he looked at the screen to see who was calling, but it read "Unknown Number."

"Hello?" He said.

"Kyon-kun? It's Itsuki."

Of course. The one person who I wouldn't put on my contacts list.

"What do you need?"

"Eat, get dressed, and come outside."

"Wait, why-" Kyon started, only to have the phone disconnect on him.

Curse you Koizumi. If time is of the essence, why would you call me just to put on my clothes and eat? Why not tell me about the situation at hand? Did you really have to make it all serious and ominous by hanging up on me. I mean, you could have just come in the house and told me what happened. Then again, giving an esper access to my house is not too great of an idea.

An unsatisfied Kyon crawled out of his bedroom to follow Koizumi's instructions. He followed through his morning schedule like with any normal day, but with an irritated scowl on his face. Once he had finished eating breakfast, he slowly took time to get dressed. Anything to make the esper to wait longer than he needed to.

But he did eventually go outside so he could get going to school. Once he put his hands on his bike, he was surprised by Koizumi's voice.

"Ready to go now?"

Don't surprise me like that!

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go."

Great, I have to walk and talk with him. I have this bike, but I can't use it because he can't talk to me over the phone. It's like talking over the phone can't be engaging and emotional. I wonder what he wants anyway. Wait a second...what's that?

"What's with that bump on your head?" Kyon said.

Koizumi had a lump near his right temple that was being mostly covered by two band-aids. The two had been walking for only a few minutes before Kyon had finally noticed it.

"Ah, I see that you've noticed this now?" He smirked.

You wanna make this dramatic, don't you? Okay, I'll bite.

"Just tell me what it is." Kyon stated.

"Fine then." Itsuki responded. "This swelling has come from my fight with the blue giants in Closed Space yesterday. The Organization had been battling them for several hours and continues to be fighting them at this very moment. I quickly went to work to tame them, but I unfortunately was worn out and attacked by a sudden shinjin appearing behind me. And of course, I had to fulfill my duty to Suzumiya-san."

"Okay, I'm kind of getting it."

"But here is the problem." The esper's tone became more serious. "When I am done battling the shinjin, the only stress that puts on my body is that it makes me exhausted. However, this time, I was physically injured after coming back to the real world."

"How is that possible?" You now have my interest.

"We believe that it came from the power of the shinjin. The Organization has dealt with that amount of danger only one time before, so we were unprepared for a fight like this. Something where the shinjin were attacking the terrain in a savage manner."

"Savagely?"

"When Suzumiya-san summons them in Closed Space, it is due to whenever she is bored, irritated, or unsatisfied with the situation at hand. When that happens, it is fairly routine to control the shinjin before anything reaches critical activity. Defeating one is not that hard in the grand scheme of things. You've seen that first hand."

Uh huh. Get to the serious part.

"So this situation is different because?" Kyon said, wanting to finally get the explanation.

"What Yamada said to the Suzumiya in the club room was...devastating. Literally, most of the buildings in Closed Space were destroyed beyond recognition. We assume that no one has ever spoken so directly to our Brigade Chief."

"Are you serious?" He said with a bit of disbelief. "No one has told her off before?" I'm not trying to glorify Haruhi, I really think someone could have yelled at her before.

"I can ask around, but we do believe this is one of the few times where someone else's words have really stuck with Suzumiya-san. Sadly if such words are taken too seriously..."

"Yeah, I know the end result. How bad was it?"

"About 75% of Closed Space was closing in upon the world."

That's bad. We for sure can't let that happen again.

"Is there anything we can do?"

"I suppose we could talk with Yamada-sempai into making an apology."

"He seemed serious." Honestly man, have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror? I'm pretty sure Haruhi's words stuck with him too.

"If we can't do that, then we'll just have to console Suzumiya-san to the best of our ability. I'm sure Nagato and Asahina's parties can agree on that notion. We just can't appear too obvious with our concerns."

I know the scenario...but, it's better to have a happy Haruhi than a sulking Haruhi.

"The Organization is unsure on how to deal with her feelings since she's so inquisitive towards any event. We'll be limited to helping her between just the four of us, but even then we have to be subtle. I suppose if you want us to cover all of our bases, you can talk to Suzumiya-san. The rest of us can look over the grand scheme of things. While the espers can handle Closed Space, Nagato and Asahina have been researching more with Yamada-sempai. We have many possibilities to concern."

"Wait, why do I have to talk to Haruhi?"

"You know the answer to this. You are the one she'll listen to."

Why must you talk to me like that.

At this point, the two members of the SOS Brigade had arrived at the school. Kyon felt relieved that he could stop talking to Koizumi for a few minutes. He checked his watch to see that class was about to start soon. As the two split to their separate classrooms, Kyon felt a strange aura upon sitting at his chair. He glanced to see Haruhi, simply staring at the window. She didn't look like she wanted to make contact.

I hate seeing her in this mood. It's always very chilling. That argument the two of them had was rather vicious. It's like a scientist looking in at an active experiment trapped in a glass box. You aren't sure what is gonna happen, but either way the results will be surprising. For this experiment, the stressor was god and the reactant was the universe. Sounds a bit unfair.

"It looks like it's gonna rain..." Suzumiya murmured.

Kyon took the time to look at the sky himself. Grey clouds appeared to be moving in from the south.

Some kind of symbol?

On a different side of the city, one individual house was separated from the rest of the Hyōgo Prefecture. It looked normal for the most part, despite having a Western-like appearance. People walking by slowly started to turn their heads at the house, feeling like something was emitting from the ground. It gave a very faint sound from one particular side of the house. Everyone who noticed it though, simply ignored it and went on with her day.

Inside the room, emitting the noise was a broken teenager. Norio was lying on top of his bed while staring into space. Even as the music slowly toned down, he didn't seem to acknowledge any change. His brain was only focusing on his computer, blasting the sound at hand. He didn't pay attention to his needs, he just focused on music.

He continued to mouth the words to himself as his speakers played the industrial metal.

Take me...with you...

Take me...with you...

Without you...without you everything falls apart,

Without you...it's not as much fun to pick up the pieces.

His eyes were oddly bulged out. The teenager was unfazed as he shifted his body on side. He made a loud sniffle even while covered in his long blankets. As much as he didn't want to get out of bed, he knew that he had to. Norio simply waited until the song had ended. Once it had faded away, he slid out of his bed and left the room.

Norio contemplated to himself as he scrounged around his bathroom for medicine.

I am sick. I know this has to have happened to someone else. Where something so horrible happens that it makes you physically ill? That's basically what's wrong with me.

The singer popped a few pain relievers/minor illness pills before washing them down with water. He shook his face from the bitter, weird taste they left in his mouth. It left him to stare in the mirror...which quickly made him depressed once again.

I don't know what I'm going to do. No matter what happens, I'm screwed. I'm going to have to go to school sometime and deal with all the taunting. Don't they have any compassion at all? I know Mikuru has gone through something similar, but I guarantee that the school has given her a pass. But me? I'm not a girl. I don't have worshippers.

Why does anyone even allow the SOS Brigade to do the things they do? Exploitation? Abuse? Blackmail? They don't even accomplish anything like real clubs. All they need is one really inquisitive class representative and they would go poof. This club does absolutely nothing to contribute to their futures.

Maybe I could be that one to ruin the Brigade...but then Haruhi would probably kill me. Or ruin my chances with Tsuruya. I can't think about this now.

Norio sneezed rather hard, causing him to reach for some tissues. With some tissues and hand sanitizer, he moved into the living room so that he could watch some TV in peace. But that peace was very short lived, as the doorbell rung.

Why is someone ringing my door.

The singer walked towards the door in annoyance. If it was Haruhi there to demand why he wasn't at school, he knew he was going to lose it. At least this way, he had the advantage of seeing who it was. His eyes shot open however, for a different reason.

"Helloooooooo!!!" The girl called out in a long, loud voice from the door.

Tsu-Tsuruya?!

Norio instantly opened the door upon seeing her emerald hair. Tsuruya lit up seeing him on through the door.

"Hi, Nori-kun!" Tsuruya greeted. She wanted to hug him, but the robe and the look in his eyes reminded her about why she came. "I noticed that you were sick today, so right after school ended I had to come down and see if you weres okay! You're so lucky that I brought my home-made tea today!" She said, pulling out some items from her bag.

"Why...thank you. I was not expecting it." Norio blushed.

"Ooh, you are turning red! Let me check your temperature."

Tsuruya quickly went to action to take care of her friend by extending her arm to his head. Norio was starting to feel really nervous now as the girl of his dreams not only decided to check up on him, but she was actually going to take care of him now.

Oh my god, she's touching my forehead. Tsuruya is touching my forehead...this isn't going to leave my brain soon. She's such a sweet person.

"Oh wows, you are megas hot!" Tsuruya said while removing her hand from his head. "Here, go ahead and sit down. I'll make some of my tea while you go and relax."

"Okay then." He nodded.

Norio went to go down on his sofa while the girl started to prepare the tea. Norio turned on the television, he could hear Tsuruya's delightful humming, which made him think about his current situation.

Tsuruya coming here is a good thing. She might still hold out hope for me or...understand my issues with the Brigade. I honestly doubt she is here just to observe my wallowing. There's no need to worry about anything.

"The tea is ready, nyoro!" Tsuruya said, moving a plate over with the tea cups.

Must have lost track of time. I should stay calm during this. I may love her, but I can't sweat just after what happened. Man...just thinking about it is making me teary-eyed. Need to distract my self. Wow, this tea is good.

"Do you like it?" She quickly said, making Norio shake his cup.

"It-it's delicious." He nodded.

"It's the Tsuruya family's number one pick-me-upper! I brought it to school because I was feeling tired, but man, was this a coincidence?!" She said chuckling. "I'm glad someone else gets to try this!"

"I suppose it is." He smiled.

Tastes a little fun though...remedy-curing herbs? Sweet sake? Tequila?

"Are you feeling better now?"

"I am. I feel a little chilly though."

"Is it the rain? That must have made you feel bad! Silly Nori-kun, staying out in the cold."

"No, it wasn't that at all."

"It wasn't?!" She said surprised. "What could it be then?"

"I think it was from...the incident."

"The incident...oh, hahaha! You mean the play!"

Please don't refer to it that way.

"I think."

"I don't see why you would feel so bad about that, nyoro. It was definitely the best part of the play."

"Tsuruya, please don't talk about it. I thought it was horrible."

"But it was hilarious!" She said, really starting to laugh thinking about the subject.

"It wasn't funny!" Norio shouted, nearly halting Tsuruya's laughter. "I mean, it's bad enough that everyone is laughing at me for it, but Haruhi is pissed off about it to."

Tsuruya only responded to the last part of that response. "Oh yeah, Harunyan did seem a bit peeved. I noticed Mikuru had her hair in braids that day."

I won't even ask.

"Do we have to talk about this?"

"We should!" Tsuruya said enthusiastically.

"I don't want to!" He retorted.

Tsuruya started to piece together some of Norio's ramblings. Sadly for him, they were connecting to a very obscure puzzle. She clapped her hands together as she came to an assumption.

"I know what this is about. You are avoiding Harunyan!"

Halfway true.

"I don't like her, but why would you say that I'm avoiding her."

"You wanted to leave the SOS Brigade and you are embarrassed about what happened to you at the play, despite how great it was, nyoro."

Will you stop saying that was a good thing!? It was not a good thing! Do you think Mikuru likes the idea that boys think about her breasts for every moment of every school day!?

She continued. "And today, you are sick after I saw Mikuru-chan's hair in braids. I bet...you are scareds of Harunyan."

"Scared?!"

Tsuruya started to laugh. "Are you afraid, Nori-kun? That mean ol' Harunyan is gonna kick the crap out of you?!"

The only thing filling the air that moment was Tsururya's laughter at the thought of the Brigade Chief beating up her unrequited friend. He stared at her with blank eyes. It didn't take him long for his limbs to quiver, and his eyes to leak tears. He couldn't bear to look at her for longer. After a while, she saw that she wasn't looking at him anymore.

"Nori-kun?"

"Leave my house."

"Huh?"

"I know, you are trying to help me...but just leave."

She moved in a bit closer. "Hey, I didn't means to be hurtful or anything."

Norio swiped away her arm. "No. Go away."

Tsuruya was taken back by what she said. "Listen, Nori-kun..."

"Thank you for the tea, but just get the hell out of my house, Tsuruya."

"What?"

He lifted his face, revealing a whole new side to Tsuruya. She almost felt intimidated by his angry scowl and sharp eyes. She started to back off his couch as he shifted his body up.

"You have no idea just how stupid you are." He spoke through his teeth.

Silence. Silence filled the air as he spoke those words. Tsuruya started to think to herself...this must have been what happened with Haruhi. No one had ever yelled at her like that before, leading to the eventual hair-braiding. Without a word, she held her hands by her face. Her legs turned around as she ran out of the door.

Can't you understand? Why can't you understand that things just aren't that pure Tsuruya? Do you honestly believe that insulting me is going to cheer me up? Do you lack the brain capacity to get it when someone is in pain? Or when they are suffering? Or when they are being abused right before your very eyes?

What's wrong with you...what's wrong with everyone!?

Those words started to bubble around in his head. He grabbed the tea and quickly slugged it down, hoping that the theory of alcoholic tea was true. Norio came to the idea that he should sleep after suffering through all this mental torture for a few days. After remembering about the sleeping pills in the kitchen, he grabbed a few of them and quickly turned on the faucet.

But before he could pop them, he had to take a step back to see something in the window. It was raining much harder than he had expected. The ground was covered in a greyish haze. His eyes locked in however, seeing a dark green figure standing on the sidewalk. He ran towards the window immediately, knowing who it was.

What is she still doing here?! Doesn't she have a limo!?

He stared at Tsuruya as the rain just ruined her clothes and hair. It looked like her feet were nailed to the concrete as she did not budge, even from the pouring rain. Norio's eyes looked in a bit closer. Her mouth was moving. It was moving constantly in the same pattern over and over. Even with all the rain, he could still get a shot on her lips.

Why is she doing this? Is she trying to prove something? Maybe my words got to her? Gah, I can't think about myself, I need to know what she's saying. Ugh...Go, no it's something else. I...I'm sor-ry.

I'm sorry! That's what she was saying?! Oh my god, what have I done?!

Norio burst open the door, nearly ripping off the shingles attaching it. He was standing right under an awning that covered one section of his house. He moved to the side, to see his emerald-colored beauty within his sights. Norio gasped, seeing the blur of her hair walking away from his house. He shouted with all of his might.

"Tsuruya!!!!!!!!"

There was no response. Just rain. He started to panic as he continued to shout.

"I'm sorry!!!!! I should have never taken out my anger on you!!!!!!! Tsuruya!!!! Come Back!!!!!"

He started to cover his eyes in shame. He did it. He let his fury overpower his brain.

"Nori-kun..." A faint voice said.

"Tsuruya?!" He looked up, to see the girl standing right before him.

The singer was just as shocked as she was a few minutes ago. He had now seen a whole new side of her...as a frown was right across her face. Norio had never seen her depressed. Even the day he truly bonded with her, she never looked seriously sad. But seeing her with such a beaten up look was now etched into his brain.

He didn't want to see it again.

Norio started to audibly cry as he extended his arms like an eagle. Tsuruya jumped in head first to them. It nearly took him to the ground, but Norio stayed strong even with his weakened will. The two held each other with all of their might as they dug their heads into each others shoulders. Their ears were ringing with the muffled sounds of "I'm sorry," and "I shouldn't of done that." They stood that way for a good long while as they completely shut out the sound of the rain. Norio started to think to himself; That only a true relationship could withstand a fight such as this.

Never again...I never wanna see her like that again.

"You know guys..." Haruhi sighed. "I'm just not feeling up for this today. Go ahead and go home."

The girl walked up from her chair, with her books in tow, and went right out the door. It made a swift slam, sending chills up the rest of the SOS Brigade members' bodies. With the exception of Yuki of course, who continued to be unaffected even after the argument. Kyon felt uneasy from the day.

Today was one of those days where awkward silence filled up the room. It wasn't as scary as the days when Mikuru got her hair braided, but it was close. As strange as Haruhi can be, the days where you don't hear her rambling about any theories or ideas she has really puts a damper on things. Makes things feel like a waste.

Oh crap, Koizumi is looking at me. Better get moving.

Koizumi was staring at Kyon, still holding that trademark grin of his. He responded by rolling his eyes and dashing out the room, hoping to meet up with Haruhi. The days of blankness would continue if he didn't do something. Not to mention that he'd probably have to deal with more mysterious meetings in the morning or at the middle of the night.

Just as he came to the doors, he took a sudden stop seeing that Haruhi was waiting there. She could hear him stepping down the hallway, but her eyes were fixated on the pouring rain. Haruhi still spoke with him.

"What are you in a hurry for?" Her voice sounding blasé.

"I wanted to get home soon, that's all." Kyon thought up. "I didn't know it was still raining."

"I'm not surprised that you didn't notice it." She sighed.

Yes, and I'm to console you.

"I wonder how many things you don't pay attention to."

"I know, I know." Kyon said, going along with the conversation.

"Kyon, can you do me a favor?"

This will be difficult. "What do you want?"

"Tell me the truth. Do I seem like a happy person to you?"

How am I never prepared for this? It's like, the pressure isn't there until she asked. Then it's like several needles pushed against each other going into different parts of my head.

"Yeah." Kyon said simply.

"How so?"

Kyon started to squirm around, trying to find the right words. Luckily, Haruhi didn't keep an eye on him.

"I think that when you really show interest in..."

"I knew you'd say that." Haruhi moved her eyes from the rain to the ground.

Huh?

"Even you would have trouble coming up with some kind of answer. I didn't think it would be possible, but maybe I'm not all that happy a person as I thought I would be."

"Don't say that." Kyon instinctively said.

"Why? I bet you even have days where you think like that."

I find it really creepy when you know what I'm thinking.

"Just don't bug me about this, okay? I'll handle it on my own."

"...Okay then. You know my phone number."

"Whatever." Haruhi shrugged. "Huh, the rain has stopped."

The god/singularity walked out of the school, feeling exactly the same way she felt this morning. Kyon looked to the ground with thoughts of defeat in his head. This was all very off-putting. It wasn't the typical conversation with Haruhi when they were put into this kind of scenario. He knew what to do when she was excited or angry or even when she ignored him. But this was a whole different side.

That was awkward. And I know that I think that a lot, but this was so much more awkward than I think anyone could have expected. Did she want me to talk to her? Did she want me to console her? How am I supposed to feel about these things?

I know that whenever I talk to Asahina-san, Nagato, or Koizumi, they always say I'm that "one" person. I'm starting to believe that I know what role that is now.

I'm her psychologist. What the...

Kyon heard the sounds of his phone vibrating, causing him to pick it up and answer it. He groaned, as it was a harsh reminder of what had happened earlier this morning.

"Uh, Kyon-kun?"

"What is it?" He responded with a sour tone.

"We've received a spike in Closed Space activity. By any chance, did you say something to upset Suzumiya-san?"

"No, I didn't."

"Are you sure?" He said. Even over the phone, it sounded like Koizumi was leaning over him.

Kyon sighed and pressed his fingers against his forehead. "Maybe you should do try doing my job for once."

"I'm sorry?" The esper said, taken back from the response.

"If you are so concerned about what Haruhi does or how Haruhi feels, maybe you should just do some of the work yourself."

"But Kyon-kun, you are..."

"Listen Koizumi, I can't always help out Haruhi. Today, I didn't have much success." Kyon said in a deadpan tone, turning the phone off.

Helping her is one thing, but think about how many times this has happened. Seriously Koizumi, if The Organization is so concerned in keeping Haruhi in line, then getting to know her would help them. Putting all of the emphasis on me is just weakening their purpose. And if I'm out of commission, she's just going to act worse over the fact that I'm not around. If it's your duty to keep Haruhi's emotions in check, then using me as your only tactic isn't going to help. I've failed in this situation, so what are you going to do now?

Kyon walked to the soaked bike rack, hoping to go home without any ominous appearances or discoveries popping up in front of him. Times like this he needed to sleep.

Things will settle. They always do.

"Okays then, goodbye Nori-kun." Tsuruya said.

"Thank you for coming, Tsuruya-chan." Norio bowed.

The genki girl walked out of the house with a revitalized sense of joy. She practically skipped out of the door as a rainbow started to form from the sky. Norio felt that same level of happiness simply watching the girl of his dreams leave. His illness felt like it had faded away…well, mostly. He began coughing again after Tsuruya went out of his eyesight. He aimed towards the sink to clear out his mouth.

Well, my bond with Tsuruya is still intact. I can't believe I yelled at her like that. What was I thinking? I'm glad I was able to snap out of it before she left feeling all broken. ...Might have been able to call her on my cell phone, but it just wouldn't of been the same. Either way, I'm relieved. I have Tsuruya's love to get me through the day.

Norio found himself still blushing just from mentioning her as his face became less red, he started to think about the reality of the situation.

That doesn't really change much. The school is still gonna be laughing at me and my band is will still be angry at me. I can talk to Daiki for updates though. Maybe we can bribe Wrathchild to give me some leverage. After all, we are the ones who accepted her in the first place. It amazes me that everything even happened. Honestly, a drum battle? A play? Public humiliation?

Maybe it's my fault for getting involved. People told me to avoid that brigade because of its insanity, and I didn't listen. I had to get closer to Tsuruya some way. It was the only thing I could do since we couldn't really talk anywhere else. I enjoyed spending my time with Unstability, and hell, that's like going to business meetings for me.

Putting more thought into it, the singer started to culminate over every single event with the SOS Brigade. The formula was so simple…there was always one reoccurring factor. He gritted his teeth and bashed his hand across the counter.

Why am I even blaming myself? It's all that damned Haruhi's fault! None of us have ever done anything wrong, and yet still she treats us like animals. No, even worse! Animals have some sense of decency! She thinks we're all just a bunch of potatoes. I can't believe I didn't leave the group sooner. But even with that, I never knew one woman could be so stubborn.

Seriously, why is anyone else even in that stupid club? Not only was I kicked around, but I watched as Kyon and Mikuru were mishandled the entire time! How can one person have so much animosity towards life? I've heard of self-hating artists, but that makes sense! It's so that the artist in question can become better and more talented than he/she hoped for!

But Haruhi?! No…she would prefer to hate the world and everyone who lived in it just for not being special enough. Hell, she even seems to hate herself since she never applies to do anything other than foolishness. All of that musical and athletic talent is completely wasted. She thinks that if some time traveler or alien appears that her life will be magically better? What the hell is she even thinking with that kind of logic? Talented or honest people aren't good enough for her satisfaction?

And what's worse is…people continue to let her live in her little bubble. The rumors, the conspiracies, the facts all prove that this girl needs to be slapped around. Every single one of her problems is stuck in her head and just dripping with stupidity. Why can't the student councils or teachers put a stop to her? It's nothing but mindless self indulgence!

They must be throwing away their studies just by living under her thumb. Nagato and Koizumi didn't leave any impression on me but Mikuru can't live on her cuteness alone! Kyon's a smart guy, I know that. This kind of pressure just won't lead to anything good if he continues to stay. And Tsuruya…precious Tsuruya…I don't even know if that girl even acknowledges her kindness and hard work.

I don't know what to do if…

Norio's train of thought was cut off by his nearby phone, ringing loudly. He quickly began to think if he should answer it. The school might not believe in his sickness because of what had transpired. He checked the clock…it was near sunset actually. The time moved much faster than he expected. With those concerns gone, he grabbed the phone and started to speak.

"Hello, Yamada residence?"

"Norio-san? Is that you?"

Where have I heard that voice…

"Yes. Who is this?"

"Ah, don't you remember?"

"It's kind of a blur…" He tried to recall.

"It's Asakura-san."

Norio's memories began flowing like a broken dam. It was that cerulean-haired beauty who just completely vanished from the school. No one seems to be all that affected by her sudden moving, but it was still quite odd. He felt a little special knowing that she had called him.

"Asakura-san? Wow…I haven't heard about you in ages."

"It's only been fourteen months." She responded.

"What happened?"

"Don't you know? I relocated to Vancouver, Canada."

"So the rumors were true…"

"Yes. They were." She said factually.

"So, why are you calling me exactly?"

"I was informed about your situation approximately 36 hours ago."

Great, so those students have to tell the entire world about my problems.

"Did you want to talk about this? Did something similar happen to you? I always knew you as being this incredible person."

"A proposition."

"What proposition?"

"Norio-san, try to comprehend this within that mind of yours. A type of reality where Haruhi does not exist. She's completely gone from the school and people are perplexed about where she is or what she has been doing. Even if she were to come back, people would feel completely uncomfortable about her presence."

"It sounds great, but I really don't understand." He said.

"I want to say that this kind of world is not possible, if you are not involved. As much as I would like to change the way our universe works, I can not. My purpose in life did not have such opportunity or clear value."

The singer was getting increasingly uncomfortable from Asakura's words. Not only did they sound ominous, but it was as if she was speaking in some sort of code.

"Wh-what are you saying?"

"Haruhi is the source of all your troubles, am I correct?"

Well not...I guess.

"Yes."

"Do you believe she will change?"

"...She could."

"Do you approve of the things she does?"

"No."

"Do you worry about Tsuruya-san?"

What in the hell does she know...

"Of course I do!"

"Then the answer is simple." She responded without missing a beat.

"What's that?"

"Separate her from them."

"I couldn't get Tsuruya to leave the SOS-Brigade. But that would just make her unhappy..." I've already tried. I guess it's a relief, that Asakura doesn't know everything.

"Then remove Haruhi from the picture."

"But how can I do that?"

"I've said everything I needed to say."

"What?!" Norio shouted. Just as things were about to get serious, she now has to leave.

"I'll leave you a message explaining all of the details."

This is creepy. Asakura has formed some psychotic plan for me to get what I want...despite the fact that she never really knew me. She's just stuck in Canada doing God knows what. But now she acquired my information, and wants me to go along with this. Perhaps I just need proof or something to know that she doesn't want to mess with me.

"Asakura-san?"

"Yes?" The alien responded like nothing had changed.

"Tell me, the reason you moved to Canada...was it because of Haruhi?"

"Yes. Goodbye now."

At that moment, the phone hung up. Norio ran back into his room to find his cell phone which was now vibrating on his dresser. He opened it to find three messages found by Ryoko to explain everything he was supposed to do. He opened up the "Part 1" file and began reading thusly.

The plan was well thought out, calculating every move step by step. It had a detailed list of locations, times, and people that he was supposed to meet in only a few hours. Norio became more and more stunned as the plan was noting every last iota. Moving to the next message, the steps were getting grimmer and grimmer.

Once he looked at the final steps...he was starting to pant. All these steps were to be executed after he made a long trip within one day. Then it was to turn into some kind of waiting game. The goal was to find a perfect opportunity to strike. After the final notion, it left one simple phrase. "All of the aftermath will disappear."

Norio just flipped his cell phone down and put his hands over his face. The idea...it was too ludicrous to perform. He would surely fumble up somewhere. And the end result? Would he really want that on his conscious? Just so Tsuruya could be safe? Thinking about that green-haired girl started to put horrifying images in his head.

I should look at this differently.

He pulled out a sheet of paper and began scribbling down two different columns. One was labeled as "Go With The Plan" while the other was labeled as "Forget The Plan." Sadly, the reasons for going along with the plan were staggering. There was a plethora of support to go along with everything: Tsuruya's safety, the sanity of Mikuru and Kyon, and the fact that Haruhi has possibly damaged everyone's life in the SOS Brigade. It just went on. There was also the fact that she has already ruined his own reputation and is ruining the trust between him and his band mates. As the list filled, he looked towards the one reason to skip the plan: Because she's a human being.

Norio again just put his hands over his eyes to think this all over. That was truly the only reason he could think about not doing this. Simple morality. But, did that ever really help him? Did Haruhi have the morality to understand what everyone else was going through? Didn't he show enough humanity that he cared for the people he loved?

In the end...it isn't that bad of a solution.

I hope that was worth time you guys may have waited. Thank you for still reading this story. Seriously, I really appreciate it.

For this chapter, I named it "Well Thought Out Twinkles" after the band, the Silversun Pickups. And I say this for once, because I believe that the Silversun Pickups' music is perfect for reading or watching Haruhi. Their spacey, shoegazing lyrics and sound just works so perfectly for this series. All I can say is, give it a shot.

Again, thanks to you all.