Chapter 9
A/N: Huh, stupid me had this chapter sitting on my document manager for like, half a year. I remember now that I had uploaded it while I was capped, and in slow frustration decided to upload it the beginning of the next month... I guess it kind of slipped my mind. Well, I guess I may as well pull the 'Suzumiya's story didn't go in order, so neither will mine' schtick... And uh, for those of you who don't accept that... Um... NnyEEH! -Throws chapter at readers and runs-
Enjoy.
Three sheep… Four sheep… Five sheep…
"Mmn… Nya…"
Seven sheep… Eight Sheep…
"Hey, move a little closer, it's cramped…"
Eleven sheep… Twelve sheep…
"Aa… N-Not there, Suzumiya-san!"
Thirteen… Oh, to hell with this. Whoever can get to sleep with such a cheesy method is amazing. Then again, it could just be the circumstances… Actually, it's most certainly the circumstances. One reason is the uncomfortable wooden floor. I've been twisting and turning about for the last ten minutes in a futile attempt to find a good sleeping position. And the other reason would be-
"Kyon! Stop moving so much, we're trying to sleep! You're too noisy!"
… Yeah, that would be the other reason. If you could sleep through such an ordeal without incident, you'd have to be female. Sadly, I am one hundred percent male, so this just wouldn't do. My brain's been having flashes of naughty, erotic things, and I've begun to lose confidence in my restraint. Seriously, at least five times I've found myself inching towards the bed. If it weren't for Haruhi's occasional threats of pain and agony putting me back in my right mind, I'd be in that bed faster than a bullet train.
Oh man, I'm doing it again. My hands have begun to instinctively drag me slowly towards the bed. No! Must resist! I quickly slapped myself on the face, taking care not to be too loud about it. I took a deep breath, turned to face the wall, and tried once again to count sheep.
One sheep… Two sheep… Three sheep…
Rustle. Rustle.
Four sheep… Five sheep…
Rustle. Rustle.
The girls sure move a lot. That's making it a lot harder to forget they're there… I'll just keep counting calmly… Six sheep… Seven sheep… Hey…
Suddenly, I felt a light breeze near my ear, strangely warm. Kind of like breathing…
"Hey, Kyon."
The voice startled me, and I found myself pouncing sideways, my forehead thumping onto the wall.
"Quiet down, Kyon!"
Ugh, you be quiet, crazy woman. Regardless, now wasn't the time to worry about her. Right now, there was someone right next to me. Who was it?
"Shh… Now, now, Kyon. I've altered my voice so that only you can hear it. You wouldn't want Haruhi to open her eyes and notice that I'm here with you, would you?"
Oh no… No… It's her. The insane Asakura was, at this moment, staring down at me as my back was pressed against the wall. I was a cornered hamster, with the deadly snake closing in to gobble me up… Why did that turn me on a bit? I'm such a masochistic freak.
"So Kyon…" Asakura was inching closer, lifting up one of her hands to reach out to me, causing me to flinch away. She giggled like a schoolgirl. That didn't make it any less frightening. "Do you mind if I cuddle up with you?"
"You can't."
Just as suddenly as Asakura had appeared by me, Yuki was now standing beside me as well. Judging from the volume of her voice, she had also somehow changed her voice in a way that the others wouldn't hear her.
"Oho, and how do you intend to stop me?"
I saw Yuki's dark silhouette twitch ever so slightly, and she slowly drooped to her knees, bending forward in my direction. The position made her look like a cat, and while I couldn't make out her face, it still came off on me as being quite cute.
In such a swift and fluid movement that I hadn't been able to react, Yuki had slid forward and now had her head suddenly nestled on top of my face, her breath slowly skipping past my ear.
Whatever the hell was happening, there was a sinful part of me that was enjoying it.
I felt a sudden groping on my ear, and realized that Yuki had wrapped her sweet, thin lips around my earlobe, and I felt her tongue briefly brush against it. The sensation was so incredible that I sharply gasped, stiffening like a corpse. She then, admittedly to my dismay, slinked off me, turning to face Asakura.
"That wasn't very fair," Asakura said with a frustrated voice. What was she talking about?
"I will do what I must to protect him."
What did she do? I lifted my hand and touched my earlobe. It was still warm and a little wet from Yuki's precious tongue… Oh my God, I'm such a shameful person.
"Very well, but are you willing to stay near him to keep your shield working all night? It looks quite uncomfortable."
"… I will."
Asakura briskly clicked her tongue before standing back up. "Very well, I'll let you go for tonight, Kyon." She leaned forward, and my eyes could barely make out the form of her chest, and my eyes decided this was all it had to make out. "But I'll get you sooner or later Kyon!"
And with that, she headed back over to the bed and got back in. I looked back at Yuki, who was still up on her knees looking at the bed. She slowly turned her head to face me. My eyes had adjusted a bit more to the dark by now, and I could almost make out her face. Her large, expressionless eyes were staring back at me. Was she waiting for something?
"Ah… It looks like you have to stay near me, right?" Normally I'd probably question what she did back there, but I think I've got the idea from listening to their conversation. There weren't any more spare blankets or pillows, so I moved aside and offered them to her.
"… -are."
Huh? I didn't hear her because of how soft and quiet her voice was right now.
"… Share."
Oh. Okay… Wait.
Yuki had already made her way next to me, lying on exactly half of the pillow and wrapping into exactly half of the blanket. She then lifted her hands to my face, taking a hold of my cheeks, and pulled me down onto the other half of the pillow. While staring into her eyes in a trance, she had begun to pull the rest of the blanket on to me.
"I will protect you."
I needed protection from one girl, from yet another girl. I seemed to find myself surrounded by supernaturally powerful women. How demeaning it was to be a man right now.
Yuki continued to stare at me quietly. At this range, the dark didn't matter. Her undeniably cute face was plastered right next to mine. Her body warmth underneath her thin pajamas was emanating towards me in the sheets…
I can't take this. This is unbearable. How can I possibly sleep like this? I guessed that Yuki probably didn't really need to sleep, because she never closed her eyes. She didn't even blink. Just kept staring at me with those eyes…
This was starting to get kind of creepy.
"Kyon!"
Oh crap! It's all over! The monster's slumber has ended, and most certainly this seen will earn me the death penalty. Goodbye world…
"Kyon!"
I nervously turned to the bed, where I was baffled to see Haruhi's arms outstretched in the air. They made the notion of shaking, most likely my shoulders. Haruhi was sleep talking. Strange, but at least I'd live to see the daylight.
"Don't betray me Kyon, or you'll regret it!"
Urgh. I kind of felt sorry for the 'me' in her head. Anyhow, that scare made me determined to move from Yuki, else I'd find myself in Heaven with the rest of Earth's population and a lot of annoyed looks.
"Hey Yuki, I know that Asakura could kill me, but don't you think it would be much better if you went back to the bed? If Haruhi catches us, I think she'll take it the wrong way."
Yuki's expressionless face looked back at me. She knew I was right, right?
"I'm glad you want to protect me, but the world comes first. I'll just go out for a while or something."
I really did have to get out of here. I was certain that staying here would make me do something criminal…
"…You are right."
Yuki finally agreed, although she seemed kind of reluctant as she got up and moved for the bed again. Or that was just my mind screwing with me as usual.
I slowly rose to my feet, trying to be as quiet as possible, and tiptoed to the door. Resisting the urge to head for the bed instead, I managed to get a hold of what conscience I had left and silently left the room.
Just like in a manga, a cold wind brushed by me as I closed the door. Standing outside in my pajamas, I just couldn't shake the feeling that I had wasted a grand opportunity.
Oh yeah, and I also have nowhere to sleep now. I was at the girls' hotel, so simply changing rooms would do no good. And the boys' hotel was too far. Just thinking of walking the distance made me cringe.
I sighed deeply. I had to find somewhere to go and soon. If a teacher found me out after lights-out, he'd definitely send me back to my room, and he'd also see the group of girls in my bed.
I thought about where I was. This hotel had a really traditional style. It was built outwardly more than up, and only had two floors. I was currently on the second floor. I was feeling to tired to wander too far, so I had to find somewhere in the hotel that was secluded and hidden…
I tilted my head up as I thought, and the answer was right in front of me. Literally:
I could stay in the attic. I walked down the corridor and soon found the door to the attic, which thankfully wasn't locked. As I opened it, a small pull-down ladder tipped out, and I quickly made my way up.
After I shut the door behind me, the only light I got was from the floor, where strands of light from the corridors came up through the roof's somewhat shifty looking floor. Every step creaked, and the only thing in here was assorted junk.
"Cough! Cough!"
Yeah, very dusty junk, too. I was getting the feeling I wasn't going to enjoy this nap. But screw it. At least staying here, I can be certain of one thing.
I'm not going to be assaulting any girls tonight…
Right? I mean come on, what were the chances that sleeping in the attic like this would result in something bad? Practically zero, wasn't it? Isn't it?
… Enough of this nonsense. I'm just going to sleep, and dream happy things for a while. Like what I could've done in that room…
Kyon, you stupid pervert. You don't deserve a real name.