Chapter 9. Big Talker and Small Talker

"Now, Koizumi," satisfied by achieving the result I wanted, I turned to my esper nakama. "What were you saying about playing a game? I'm still interested."

"If that's the case, let's play it." Koizumi opened a box and pulled out a board which looked much like a chessboard, but instead of black and white, its squares were of many different colors. Next, he got sixteen pieces out, which were of the same colors as the board's squares. Each one of them looked like a small tower with a dragon on its top side. Half of the pieces' dragons were black, and the rest of them had gold dragons. Koizumi took one with a gold dragon and one with a black dragon, hiding them from my eyes under the table, and a moment later he stretched his arms, both of his hands doubled in fists. Without thinking, I pointed at his left hand. Opening his fist, Koizumi revealed a green piece with a gold dragon.

"So the first move is mine?" I asked.

"No," smiled Koizumi. "In Kamisado, black goes first."

Tough luck. Well, it's not like the first move can play an important role and affect the whole game. As long as the forces are even, at least.

"How do we play this game, anyway?"

"The rules are fairly simple," said Koizumi while putting the pieces with black dragons on the board. He was placing them in such a way that every tower matched the color of the square it was standing on. I figured I should do the same with my own towers and started placing them on the board's bottom row in that pattern. "The object of Kamisado is to get one of your towers on your opponent's Home Row – the one where the towers are standing in the beginning of the game. In order to do that, you must move your towers during every turn. You can make moves in every forward direction, which is either directly forward or diagonally. You can also move a tower through any number of spaces during a turn. However," Koizumi raised his finger, "you may not cross an occupied square. Another limitation is, once you make a move with a tower, that tower cannot change the direction it's moving towards. That means, if I move a piece like this…" He took a crimson-colored tower and put it on a closest square in front of it. "It can only go straight forward, and I may not move it diagonally. It works the other way around, as well."

Sounds easy enough so far.

"So if I move a tower forward, it can only go forward, and if I move another tower diagonally to the left, it can't go forward or diagonally to the right?"

"Precisely," nodded Koizumi. "As I've told you, the rules of this game are very simple."

"All right…" I popped the knuckles on my hands, producing a sweet cracking sound, and reached for a piece. "Then it's my turn now."

"Wait," stopped me Koizumi. "There are still a few more rules left. The most important one dictates the only allowable way to move your towers. The reason why this board and the pieces have many different colors is because you may only make a move with a tower which is of the same color as the square on which I ended my turn. Look at the tower I've just moved."

Koizumi lifted the crimson piece slightly so I could have a better look on the space it was standing on. It was yellow.

"Because I've placed a tower on a yellow square, now you have to make a move with a piece of the same color." He put the piece back on its place. "Choose a direction in which your yellow tower will be moving for the rest of the game. Depending on the color of the square you will end your move on, next turn, I will have to use a piece of that color."

And there was the twist. I think it would be a good idea to find out if there are more of them. However, before I could open my mouth and ask, Koizumi was already speaking again:

"As the game progresses, one of us may find himself in a situation where he cannot make a move with a tower of the required color. The piece could be blocked by another piece, or maybe it has been moving diagonally and ended up on the edge of the board. In case that happens, the one who cannot move his tower will have to pass the turn, and the other player will move a piece of the same color as the square where his opponent's immobilized tower is standing. To put it simpler, if you have to use the blue piece but you cannot, and let's say it is standing on a pink square, my next move will be with the pink piece. Do you follow?"

I repeated everything he just said in my head. This rule is kinda complicated.

"I think I got it. Go on. Any other things I should know?"

"Just one more, and we can finally start playing," nodded Koizumi. "While there is a single way to win, which is to place a tower on the end of the board, there are two ways to lose. The first one is to let your opponent reach your Home Row before you reach his. The other one is to cause a situation when neither of us can make a move: that is, when all of our pieces are blocked in one way or another. Should that happen, the player who made the last move is the loser."

He went silent, indicating that he was done with explaining the rules of the game. Well… I can sincerely say that this game, Kamisado, is an unusual one. But is it as easy as it appears to be on the first sight? Well, only one way to find out. I took my yellow tower and placed it on a purple square, two places in front of it.

"It is a very interesting game, don't you think?" Koizumi's fingers picked up the purple tower with a black dragon, and he made his move. "You build your strategy by dictating your opponent how he is going to act and by trying to predict how he will make you respond. One could say it is not a fair game, but situations with similar conditions happen in our life more often than one could imagine."

"Uh-huh." Now was my turn, and I used the green piece. "Koizumi, while we're playing, let's change the subject. I would like to talk about someone."

Koizumi's face took on a curious look.

"And who would that be?"

I stopped to think for a moment. Should I move my towers forward towards the ones Koizumi is moving forward too? Sooner or later, those towers will be blocked and unable to move, but so will Koizumi's…

"It's about that Hanigaru guy. He has intrigued me a lot. I'd like to know more about him."

I hope Koizumi doesn't get the wrong impression from my words. It seemed like he didn't, as he had a serene smile on his face while thinking about his strategy.

"Hanigaru had intrigued us all when the Organization just came to be," said Koizumi after making a decision and plotting a course for another tower. "It was a few days after I woke up one morning and realized I had become an esper. My parents had made the same discovery, but we were reluctant to talk about it at first, until we sensed something was calling for us. Something we couldn't see but were still aware of was alluring us. That day, we took our car and drove far away, to where we could sense the source of that call. That's how we discovered Suzumiya-san's first Closed Space."

The history behind Koizumi's Organization… I haven't been interested in hearing it before – or rather, I never considered learning about it, but now that Koizumi has started telling how it all began, I realized that I wanted to know. Did I really regain my curiosity about the supernatural? Or was it ordinary curiosity? Hard to say. Asahina-san, who was using Haruhi's computer while she was absent, stopped browsing or whatever she was doing and listened in.

"We arrived at a hill in the western part of the city. We stopped the car because we felt an invisible boundary and thought it would be unwise to drive right through it. When we stepped out, thoughts of doubt visited our minds. Why had we come there? Wasn't it madness to go and look for a place because of a sudden urge to do so? If it was, then how could all three of us – myself and my parents – lose our sanity at the same time and in the same way? Then I told them: if we made it this far, there was no point in turning back. If we saw the white rabbit and followed him to his hole, why not look how deep it was?"

I turned my head to Nagato and her book. I wonder if Koizumi really did say that line to his parents or if he made it up just now. Because he might have noticed that the book Nagato was reading was Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

"Once we could tell where exactly the boundary lied and noticed that we could show to each other where the entry point was and get the same result while showing it, we convinced ourselves that it wasn't madness after all. Somehow, this wasn't delusion. It was reality. Determined to uncover the nature of this mystery, we crossed the boundary and found ourselves in the exact same place, but with a dark sky without sun, moon or stars. Something – intuition, if you like – told us that wherever we had just ended up wasn't a part of the world we knew. It was getting curiouser and curiouser."

Yep, he was definitely referencing Alice.

"Being in a Closed Space for the first time felt very strange," continued Koizumi without stopping the game. "Knowing that it was outside of the usual reality and that it had a creator… The feeling was similar to what you experience when you enter a sacred temple and feel God's presence in it. I don't suppose you felt the same way when I brought you in a Closed Space for the first time, did you?"

"Nope. Must be one of your esper things."

"Exactly," laughed Koizumi. "Fortunately for you, you are not meant to be attuned to Closed Spaces, as you are an ordinary human. We, however, became different overnight. We weren't sure how and why it happened, but the answer was waiting for us within that strange gloomy world. It wasn't long before we realized we were not alone there. Other people, who wandered there because they felt the call too, were in the Closed Space as well, and more of them kept coming. That's how we all met. You know some of them – Arakawa, Mori-san, Tamaru brothers – but believe me, there are many more you haven't met yet."

Stretching out in my chair, I thought that Koizumi's tale would be better with some hot tea, and then I noticed I still had a cup right before my eyes. Thank goodness, it was still warm. How embarrassing would it be to let Asahina-san's heavenly tea go cold and lose its magnificent taste? No way I'm letting it happen.

"Let me guess: when you all ran into each other, it was one awkward meeting."

"No, it wasn't." Looks like Koizumi also forgot about his tea. Unlike mine, it must have already been cold, since he came to the clubroom earlier than me. "We were confused, but we were many. Together, we could overcome our insecurity and acquaint ourselves with each other even in such an abnormal situation. It wasn't awkward at all, until a black-haired boy stepped in, looking at me."

Koizumi made a grumpy face and let out a disapproving hum.

"A child…" he said, lowering his voice. "He's just a little boy. Why did you bring him here? What were you thinking?" Those were the first words he said to my parents. Naturally, they were not pleased by his attitude and asked him to be polite when he speaks to grown-ups. However, they had to agree he had a point, since we still didn't have a single clue about the nature of the place we found ourselves in. When I asked the boy for his name, he looked away and told me to call him Hanigaru. That was the starting point in his and my family's relationship."

Some starting point it was, I imagine. I could almost hear Daichi angrily telling Hanigaru to watch his mouth, Hotaru agreeing about the possible danger of bringing a twelve-year-old Koizumi to a Closed Space, and Koizumi himself amicably asking what Hanigaru's name was. I guess Koizumi inherited his temper from his mother rather than his father.

"Once we gathered, we began sharing whatever pieces of knowledge we had with each other. Every one of us knew about the changes that occurred within us; nonetheless, the realization was vague and barely comprehensible. We also knew instinctively that there was a person out there who was responsible for changing us, though we couldn't tell who exactly it was at first. But we knew we could find that person, because there was an odd… attraction. Like a compass arrow pointing to the north, we could sense where that person was. That is, while we were in the real world. In that space, closed from the normal reality, the arrow went completely insane, which can only happen if you actually are at the North Magnetic Pole… or inside our mysterious benefactor's soul. Once we realized that, our only desire was to find out who created that dark place. But in order to do that, we needed to find a way back to the real world. And that's when we heard a loud crash."

I think I knew where this story was going. The only thing capable of making crashing sounds in a Closed Space could only be a…

"We saw large blue glowing figures, smashing the buildings around them. Somehow, we also knew we were the only human beings within the Closed Space, and we didn't have to worry about those giants hurting anyone inside those buildings. But we could tell that we couldn't let them continue their rampage. It would have drastic consequences for the real world, even though it was separate from that space. Immediately, all of us gained new knowledge, and it was about how to use the power within us. We encased ourselves in red spheres and took off the ground, floating in mid-air at first, and then actually flying. I can't describe the way it felt. It was amazing, but also much more. So different from how an ordinary human feels. We knew how to use this power, and what to use it for. But it didn't turn out to be as easy as it seemed. Attacking the giants proved to be difficult. Cutting them into pieces for the first time was a lot harder than it is nowadays with our experience. And the giants fought back, too, swinging their enormous arms at us. We scattered, and then we noticed someone split away from our group and landed on a nearby apartment's roof, bringing down his red sphere. It was Hanigaru. He waved his hand at the giant, and… It stopped attacking us, just like that. It froze in place without moving for a second, and then it turned around and headed towards its fellows. Before we realized what was going on, the giant began landing punches on the other giants."

"No way!" exclaimed Asahina-san. "Are you saying he… he took control of the Celestial?"

Koizumi nodded. My God… that guy surely is good. No wonder Koizumi said before he intrigued the whole Organization.

"How is that even possible?"

"That he never explained to us," Koizumi answered my question. "When we asked him about it later that day, he said he simply knew subconsciously how to do it. Predictably, it helped us a lot in our first battle. While the giants were distracted, we were easily able to overwhelm and defeat them. Once we did, the Closed Space disappeared, and we returned to the real world, with new impressions and the realization that our lives were changed forever. And so, our next step was finding the source of our powers. Using our sense which was similar to a compass arrow, we easily located the mysterious person. Imagine our surprise when we found out it was just a twelve-year-old girl, same age as me at that time. We saw her leaving from a baseball stadium with her parents… And we knew it was her. She gave us the power. She created the Closed Space. She made those blue giants destroy everything around them and expand the space's territory. And we prevented it from swallowing the entire world. It wasn't a pleasant discovery."

"Why? Because a little girl was responsible for all that?"

"No, although it did add insult to injury. The situation, already bizarre and insane, became even more absurd. The power to create miracles somehow ended up in a little girl's hands. We didn't know what to make of it, at first. We knew, however, that there would be more Closed Spaces, and everyone would be in danger if they are not taken care of. That's how a bunch of random strangers became the Organization you know. There never appeared anyone whom others would want to acknowledge as a leader, so we made a decision: all of us would be equal. Whatever tasks we would have at hand, we'd split them between each other, and one would always help another if such a need ever rose."

He made it sound so easy. I wonder how many of them objected and didn't want to join. Some heavy persuading had to take place to create a big team of super friends.

"But destroying Closed Spaces from within wasn't the only goal we wanted to accomplish. Another important objective was gathering information about everything related to our condition. Beside Suzumiya-san herself, that also included our own abilities as well. That's where Hanigaru was most helpful. His talent to perform a quick analysis of any situation allowed us to understand our powers without wandering in the dark. If it wasn't for him, we'd probably lose our sanity or simply give up on trying to figure out what exactly was going on. He always was quick to turn a vague surmise into a solid theory and begin to test it. Thanks to Hanigaru, whenever we received new knowledge about Closed Spaces, like we did during our first time, we were able to operate on it almost instantly. He was the brain of the Organization, our expert on the supernatural."

"But why does he have powers that other espers don't?" I inquired. "That probing ability of his and controlling Celestials… Why was it so?"

Koizumi shrugged his shoulders, showing with his look that he wished he knew the answer.

"But it's not like the rest of us all have the same powers without any differences," he protested. "You must remember that I can perform attacks with fire. Others can generate electricity or move things with their mind. It's much like a lottery, in fact. We stick with whatever powers we have and we use only them. For some reason, Hanigaru is more capable than most. I assume he might have found out why our powers vary in the last three years, but even if that's the case, I don't believe he would just share that information with anyone."

"He left your Organization, didn't he?"

"Yes." Koizumi's face turned sulky. "It happened one year after the Organization was formed. During a fight with Celestials, my father failed to cover Hanigaru's back in time, and he took a strong hit, almost dying in the process."

I almost choked on my tea.

"Are you serious?" I wiped my wet face with my undercoat's sleeve.

"His barrier shattered, and he fell down from fifteen meters high. We didn't even notice how it happened. Only after the Closed Space dissolved, we saw him lying on the ground broken, bleeding and unconscious. It was our first real workplace accident. We took him to the hospital, and the doctors saved his life…" A shadow appeared on Koizumi's face as he remembered something very unpleasant. "He recovered a few months later, but he wasn't the same anymore. Something changed in him, but no one could tell what it was. Perhaps it was a grudge he held on my father for unwittingly causing this, but he never talked about it. And then came a day when he just resigned. He said that accident opened his eyes, and his place wasn't among us any longer. He left, and we never saw him again."

"Until yesterday," I added.

"Right. My father began looking for Hanigaru after my own accident in the pitch-black Closed Space had occurred. He thought Hanigaru could give us an advantage in our conflict with Dark Haruhi. But my father wanted a guarantee he wouldn't leave us again, and he tried to convince him to rejoin the Organization during your and Asahina-san's venture to Nagato-san's rescue. He had no success. Even after my father shared with him all information about Dark Haruhi, which is supposed to be classified, Hanigaru said he wasn't interested. As such, I'm afraid yesterday was the last time he helped us."

Wait. I don't quite understand it.

"Then why did he come to help at all?"

"Father asked him the same thing. Hanigaru told him that he wouldn't want any of us to get hurt like he once did. But since we don't know any better than to stay away from danger, then he won't stop us from harming ourselves anymore. He said that involving others into one's problems is selfish and irresponsible, and he wasn't glad one bit when my father realized he needed you and Asahina-san. That's the kind of person Hanigaru is. He respects our decision to protect the world from Closed Spaces, but he also made a decision of his own. It's only fair Hanigaru doesn't want my father to involve him in our activities if he doesn't involve us in his."

Koizumi finally finished his long story. But now he looked so sad and nostalgic, I couldn't help but wonder what was on his mind.

"I miss him," he confessed without me asking. "Hanigaru used to be like a big brother to me. He always was very protective of me because of my young age. He had intellect, he had guts, and on top of that, he had the most powers in the Organization. It wasn't strange that I looked up to him. But then he got injured and left after he made a recovery. He didn't even leave behind any means to contact him. Father had to spend a lot of effort to find him, and he left once again before I could talk to him."

I don't think I understand your pain, Koizumi. With all his bitterness and arrogance, Hanigaru didn't seem likable to me in the slightest. And his powers, while impressive indeed, aren't something I would like him for either. After all, I hang out with four supernatural beings, each with their own special powers. That's not the reason why I call them my friends. But you've known Hanigaru for a longer time than I. Maybe there is some positive quality in him that only you can see.

My peaceful contemplation was interrupted by a familiar voice singing something behind the clubroom's door.

"Gotta make you understand…"

The knob turned, and the door was opened by our Brigade leader, who was radiating enthusiasm and eagerness. There's no way it could be a bad sign.

"Never gonna give you up!" Passing by Nagato, Haruhi gently stroked her short hair and gave Koizumi one of her brightest smiles. "Sorry I kept you waiting, guys. I've been taking a promenade around school, looking for inspiration and new ideas. Because we are going to need a lot of them, and right now! What do you say, Mikuru? Do you feel like giving birth to something creative?"

"Umm… I don't know… Kya!" Merrily giggling, Haruhi ran up to her and hugged her waist with both arms. Purring like a cat, she caressed Asahina-san's head, disregarding our club's maid's scared face and trembling lips. Hey, I know we've exchanged our greetings this morning, but would you kindly pay me more attention than to an average piece of furniture?

"Listen to me, Brigade!" Letting go of Asahina-san, Haruhi took a marker and stood in front of the whiteboard, which still had our names and cosplay roles on it (except Asahina-san's). "Attending a cosplay contest in a costume isn't even half of the job any person with dignity is supposed to do. While making a great first impression is important, it is never enough. We need to develop a strategy to win the contest! For that to happen, we must create a skit!"

"A skit?"

"Yes, Kyon, a skit!" Holding the marker like a knife, she pointed it at me, unwittingly making me shiver. "How are you going to win a cosplay contest without showing an excellent skit? They won't give you any prizes just because you show up in a fancy suit! It isn't called a contest for nothing! You aren't going to tell me you've never actually been to a cosplay contest before, are you?"

What does your female intuition tell you, oh goddess?

"Your silence speaks for itself," she snorted. "Geez, you are such a disappointment, Kyon. It's like you don't have a life at all. I can only hope your brain isn't as nonexistent and it can come up with some good ideas for your performance. Now…"

Squeaking with the marker, Haruhi wrote on the board the following words: "WHEN FIVE BADASSES MEET." That sets a basis for our skit, I assume?

"Mikuru," she addressed Asahina-san. "From this moment on, keeping your role secret can complicate things. Nobody is going to see your costume before the appointed day, as I promised, but should I keep quiet about your role as well? No, wait," Haruhi stamped her foot a few times. "I have an idea. What if I say you are going to cosplay as a ninja? How about that?"

"A ninja?" That suggestion seemed to amuse Asahina-san, judging by the chuckle she released. "I like it, Suzumiya-san. I don't mind."

"Okay! So, this is what we have so far. Commander Shepard, Rei Ayanami, Ichigo Kurosaki, Obi-Wan Kenobi and a nameless ninja run into each other. What does that spell for them? What is going to happen when they meet? Hmm?" Haruhi glanced over us, inquisitively searching for signs of mental work in our heads. "Come on, guys! There's a reason I let you choose the roles you liked. That way, you would know how to act like your character would! So tell me, how are those characters going to interact with each other?"

Call me lazy, but I didn't have a single idea how they would interact. Among the five, only Shepard and Ichigo had somewhat similar personalities, while Rei Ayanami was as quiet as Nagato, and Obi-Wan is supposed to be calm and reserved because he is a Jedi. And Asahina-san's ninja's personality is a complete unknown. So how would I know what would happen if they suddenly met?

"I have an idea," said Koizumi. Thank goodness. If our smooth talker has something to say, then the less imaginative members of the Brigade are going to be spared from execution. "Because a skit has a time limit, our performance has to be short, but memorable. I suggest our characters participate in a humorous sketch. While they have vastly different personalities, most of them share a similar mission, which is to save the world, be it planet Earth or an entire galaxy. But I'm afraid I don't know if Asahina-san's role fits this criterion."

"It does," nodded Haruhi, carefully listening to what Koizumi was saying. "Mikuru's character pursues a noble goal to stop a sinister conspiracy from causing a war between two powerful nations. Many innocent lives are at stake. Therefore, Mikuru has chosen a heroic role just like the rest of us did."

"Then how about this?" Koizumi leaned forward and crossed his fingers. "Our five characters could engage into an argument about whose mission is more important and whose world should be saved first. If we give it a try, we might add some nice humor to this scenario."

Why don't I ever have ideas like that? You make me jealous, Koizumi. I wish I was as creative as you. But it seems I serve a different purpose in this story.

"And that's why, Koizumi, you are the Vice Leader of the SOS Brigade!" Haruhi winked at Koizumi and pointed a finger at him. "I like the way you think. And I believe I can add more to it. The argument between the heroes is going to take form… of a song! That's it!" Snapping her fingers and grinning happily, she added the words "THEY SING" on the board. "We are going to write a song for our skit! I think lyrics should be enough. As for music, we can just choose whatever fits them most."

Haruhi inhaled deeply, getting a lungful of air and closing her eyes.

"Can you smell it?" It wasn't me, I swear. "This is the smell of victory! We will work as a team, and together, we will win that contest! Who's with me?"

I raised my hand. Asahina-san, Koizumi and Nagato followed. This was enough to induce the feeling of invincibility in Haruhi. She let out a chuckle, flapped her arms like a bird and looked at her Brigade with hope and determination. I kept my hand raised after the rest of us put theirs down.

"What is it, Kyon?"

"Haruhi." I turned around and faced her. "I hate to spoil your fun, but I need to go now. In case you have forgotten, you and I have another important project to do. I'm going to the city library. And I strongly suggest you spend some time on that project, too."

"Don't tell me what to do," she retorted and pulled a face. "Unlike you, I always do my homework in time. But if you want to go and study, then do it. I'll stay and begin writing our song, and next time I want you to contribute to it as well, because I'm not screwing up in front of the audience! Especially since Shiraki is going to be there."

Did I hear her right?

"Shiraki? What does he have to do with your song?"

"I invited him to the contest, that's what!" Haruhi patted her hair. "After all, he needs to see the performance of the Brigade he supervises. Not to mention seeing Mikuru's costume he's paying for."

Sure. Performance and costume. Who are you kidding, Suzumiya? You just want to show off before your crush's eyes. You know, why does that even bother me?

"See you tomorrow." I grabbed my backpack. "Let's go, Nagato."

"Wait, what?" Haruhi angrily frowned. "Why are you taking Yuki with you?"

"I'm not taking anyone with me," I glared at her. "We're just going to the library together. Both of us have got stuff to read there."

"Is that true, Yuki?" Nagato nodded. "Well, okay then. Yuki, please make sure he doesn't go back on his word and actually studies."

"Understood," said the alien girl.

It felt really nice to spend some time with Nagato for a change. Having to tear between Asakura and Koizumi, I've grown sick of both of them. The former insisted on training me in kendo every day, the latter just didn't know the meaning of the words "shut up." I couldn't say the same thing about Haruhi and Asahina-san. Haruhi, while annoying as always, hasn't been bothering me as much as those two, and Asahina-san was a different matter altogether. I would jump at every opportunity to take her somewhere or follow her to any place of her choice, and that would make me the happiest guy in the world. But Nagato… She was something else.

I can't even begin to describe how much I'm enjoying her calm and quiet demeanor right now. If you want to rest after a wearying stroll with your friends but hate relaxing alone, a bookworm friend is your best option. I knew Nagato would never nitpick me about unimportant things, shamelessly demand my attention or otherwise overtax my patience. My loyal and most reliable friend, an immovable rock in the raging storm… My Nagato.

And she looked damn cute without those glasses, too.

There was no need for words as we were making our way to the city library. Almost a year and a half ago, I got a library card for her there. That day in May, we went on our first trip all together to search for mysteries that would interest Haruhi. While we found nothing (although I discovered one of my new friends was a time traveler), getting a card for Nagato was something that became important in the future. When she rewrote the world, the new normal Nagato admitted she obtained a library card with my help, as well. Thinking back, everything might have played out very differently if it wasn't for that small act of kindness. Returning the world to its previous state could be impossible if I had never met Nagato in that alternate reality's past.

We found ourselves a table close to the shelf with the books I needed for my project. Nagato took a seat and immediately began reading something about war strategy. I sat in front of her and opened an encyclopedia on biology. Flipping through pages and looking for the part I had to copy, I didn't notice at first that Nagato was staring at me.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth.

"I know you have peeked at my underwear when you were battling a hostile creature in the Closed Space yesterday."

I had to pinch myself to make sure I didn't mishear her. What did she just say?

"Nagato…?"

Her eyelids covered the top half of her eyes.

"Pervert."

All I could do was sit with a dazed look and feel the blood fill my face, giving it a red color which can only be found on Santa Claus' coat. But it was an accident, Nagato! I didn't do it on purpose. You'd think peeking under a girl's skirt would be the last thing I wanted to do when there's a monster trying to kill me, and I'm about to fall to my death!

I wanted to say all that in my defense, but I could only open my mouth and wheeze something inarticulate.

"That was a joke," said Nagato.

I blinked.

"W-What?"

"I have been studying the concept of humor," calmly replied Nagato. "Judging by the information I have gathered, it appears that humans find embarrassing and inappropriate situations funny."

Wait, wait, wait. What was that? Did Nagato just make a joke?

"Was I successful?"

"Errr…" Then the funny side of what just happened hit me. I sniggered in my hand, and then I had to keep covering my mouth to muffle the loud sound of my hysterical laughter. I shouldn't make noise in a library, after all.

"That was a good one, Nagato," I said to her a few minutes later when I was able to restrain myself. I was still shaking violently, barely able to contain my laugh. "You got me. I'm sorry. But I didn't mean to… you know. I was just trying to climb back on the top of that tower. It wasn't my intent to look where I wasn't supposed to."

"I understand," said Nagato. "You were in the middle of a life and death situation. That was the reason why I studied the concept of humor. I wanted to relieve the stress you have been under."

I smiled, looking at her with all fondness I had in my heart.

"Thank you, Nagato."

Well, who would've expected that. Our silent character is learning how to crack jokes. I should mark this day with a red marker in my calendar and celebrate it every year. God, she will never cease to amaze me. I was right to bring her here with me.

"Hey, Nagato." I realized I wanted to ask her something. "Has your boss had any luck in tracking Dark Haruhi down?"

She shook her head.

"Well, she has caused plenty of trouble already," I continued to make my point. "First, she brought Asakura back… Now, she had trapped you in a Closed Space. What are your superiors going to do about it?"

"The Data Integration Thought Entity has decided to apprehend the culprit known as Dark Haruhi through her subordinate, Ryoko Asakura," answered Nagato. "She is the only link to Dark Haruhi we currently have. If Ryoko Asakura is put into a threatening situation, there is a possibility the culprit will react in some way."

"Wait, you are going to put Asakura into what?"

"A threatening situation."

I thought about it for a moment. Nagato's boss is going to provoke Dark Haruhi by putting Asakura in danger. What about my training? What if they end up destroying Asakura, and there will be no one to teach me how to use a sword? Is it alright? Should I support Nagato, or try and talk her out of it? The former felt more appealing to me. I had no reason to wish Asakura any good. In fact, I would be glad to get rid of her once again.

"Excuse me?" somebody's voice said above my ear. "Is this seat taken?"

The voice was familiar. My heart pounded in my chest, recognizing that beautiful sound. I turned my head and saw a woman in her twenties with elegant reddish brown hair and full lips, curved in a smile. She was dressed in a white blouse and a black mini-skirt, and she had a bracelet on her left wrist. Overwhelmed with joy, I stood up and smiled back.

"Please, take my seat. It's good to see you again, Asahina-san."