Well I did promise a mid-November update, so here it is! Enjoy and please review!

Meet at the train station at 6:30. That's what she said. Having been faced with such meetings many a time in the past I decided to show up extra early so I could arrive before Haruhi and thus not have to be faced with the punishment game that seems to inexplicably favour the hip pocket as its victim of choice.

Sitting at home and rubbing the slight bump on my forehead I couldn't resist looking back on what was surely the strangest night of my entire life. An entirely new side to Haruhi had shown itself, one I never knew existed. It's not as hard to comprehend that the excessively eccentric oddball named Haruhi Suzumiya could be some kind of world altering phenomenal being I mean, it's not like she acts like a normal person or gives off the vibe of any other human being I've ever met.

But when faced with a decidedly human side of her, suddenly I began to doubt whether everything I had gone through with the SOS Brigade was real or just a hallucination. Perhaps from the very beginning, when Haruhi slammed my head on the desk and shared her bright idea to join the club, maybe I got a concussion and just dreamed all of our adventures.

But my wallet seemed to beg otherwise...

I took some of the headache medicine the doctor gave me that morning and washed them down with a glass of water. After another cold shower to clear my muddled head I came across the ever difficult conundrum of what I should wear to the concert.

Haruhi never even told me what band we were going to see! Haruhi has some unusual tastes...I'm sure if I turned up to a death metal concert without the typical hint of black or some kind of occult symbol on me I'd probably suffer for it. But...maybe it will just be a normal concert? Or am I hoping for too much? I guess wishing for the obvious or normal option is always just asking for the moon when Haruhi is involved...

Regardless I just settled for whatever the Hell was sitting at the top of my drawers and set off for the station, hoping to arrive an hour early. Unfortunately, I encountered a problem before even leaving the house...

My mobile started to sing. Actually, it didn't sing, more like wailed in a tinny piercing voice. I didn't check the caller I.D and just simply answered the call. It was definitely a surprise to hear Mio's voice on the other end.

"Hey Kyon!"

"Oh, hi Mio. What do you want?"

I sensed a hint of trepidation in her tone as she hesitantly answered the question, "Well...I was wondering if you had plans tonight?"

…

Oh come on, don't do this! Don't do this! Why now?!

"Uh...I...I..."

Damn it! I can't let Haruhi down, not this late in the game anyway. She's probably halfway to the station already, expecting me to buy her a drink and pay for her train ticket. But I don't want to upset Mio either. If it was just something simple she wouldn't be ringing a friend from out of town. She obviously was expecting me to do whatever it is she had planned...

But...

I guess this is where I have to tip the scales. To allow for me to spare Mio in the battle of the bands this Saturday I have to make keep Haruhi in high spirits and distract her for the days leading up to it. I'll end up disappointing both of them ultimately...But if I can at least make them both happy at some point as well, then everything will balance out, right?

Oh crap, Haruhi's delusional optimism is infectious!

"Kyon?"

Ugh! Here goes nothing...Take a deep breath and-

"Um...I'm sorry Mio but I've got some stuff I have to do tonight."

There was silence on the other end. I bashed my head against the wall and instantly regretted it.

"Oh...Ok, that's fine. I was just asking." She sure as Hell didn't sound fine. Her voice lost its life and left her sounding like a broken speaker.

"I'm really sorry."

"No, no, don't be! It's not your fault. Besides, you're still coming to see me on Saturday right?"

"Ha ha ha, you bet!"

"Great! At least I'll see you then!"

She was definitely disappointed.

I wasn't in much of a mood for running to the station anymore...

"Late! Penalty!"

It was 6:15 by the time I arrived at the station. Haruhi, who already stood out by yelling and screaming only stood out more in her...Outfit. A frilly black skirt flowed down around her snowy white thighs held in place by a studded leather belt which appeared thicker than her slender arms. Despite the cold, Haruhi simply wore something of a corset of white lace. Regardless of how little of her body it covered it must have been amazingly expensive.

"Wow...That's some outfit."

Haruhi smiled smugly and puffed her chest out, which really wasn't necessary since the corset was doing a good enough job of that by itself. I noticed I wasn't the only male on the railway platform that was staring. Hell, even the girls were staring. Even the old ladies were eyeing this out of place young succubus.

I'm going to have to be careful on the train-ride with Haruhi...

Actually it's probably more accurate to say I'll have to be careful absolutely everywhere with Haruhi...

"You're the late one so I demand you buy me a drink! Or are you just going to stare at me all day?"

Well there goes being subtle. Haruhi's outfit was amazing and visions of Miss Asahina and her fashion model body dressed the same began to flit through my mind. Honestly thought it suited Haruhi really well. It didn't beg for attention so much as demand it by just being there, as if not looking and paying attention was an unforgivable crime. And just like Haruhi, it stood out in a crowd and drew stunned gazes from onlookers. There wasn't anything better suited for her I must say.

While collecting the cans of juice from the vending machine I inadvertently glanced down at my own simple jeans and shirt and frowned. I looked like Haruhi's roadie. Well, I guess that is true though. Roadies are the guys behind the scenes who nobody really takes notice of and yet without them there would be no show.

I really am the roadie of the SOS Brigade.

Unfortunately her backstage rider consisted of just a can of juice but she gratefully accepted it (Read as 'snatched'.)

The train was fairly busy but we managed to find a quiet spot in the rear carriage and settled in comfortably. I gave Haruhi a sidelong glance and grinned, "Are you a fan or are you trying to upstage the performers themselves by wearing that?

"What? I'm simply dressing for the occasion! You must arm yourself for battle and a rock concert is one of the greatest battles a man must face!"

Dress for battle huh? Doesn't look like you've got much armour on you.

"Oh shut up! You're supposed to compliment a woman's outfit."

"Fine, it looks great on you."

"Oh yeah, you sounded so enthusiastic!"

"Well it was kind of forced I must admit..."

"It shouldn't have to be forced! The words should come naturally, just like the beauty of a young maiden."

You're talking about yourself there aren't you?

Haruhi sniffed and looked out the window, seemingly a little pissed. "Geez, no wonder you're so lonely!"

"Well, if I wasn't lonely I wouldn't be coming out on a 'research' trip with you would I? So I think it ended up in your favour in the end."

That made her go quiet.

For a while we just watched the night-time world fly by out the window but at some point something really began to bug me and I had to get it off my chest.

"Who are we going to see anyway? You never told me."

As if waking up from a dream Haruhi jolted in her seat and jerked her head around to face me. Calm down, it's a simple question and nothing more.

"Huh? Oh right. You remember me saying I met the ENOZ girls the other day? Well they gave me two tickets to their show, just like they said they would!"

Actually, I sort of remember the day after the cultural festival when the girls were thanking Haruhi and they did indeed offer to let her come to a show. In fact if I remember right...

"You should come along to one of our shows. You can bring your boyfriend too!"

A harmless misunderstanding at the time. Haruhi's constant dragging me around would give the impression we were together. It seemed the misunderstanding hasn't dissipated over time however since that second ticket must have been intended for me from the very beginning. That must be why Haruhi asked around everyone else first before settling for me, hoping to avoid the inevitable mishap of showing up with me at her side, only adding fuel to the fire in the imagination of the ENOZ girls.

Oh well...

"And where are they playing?"

"It's a live house a few towns over. It's only a small place but it has a reputation amongst up and coming bands as being a good stepping stone towards success. Bands from all over the area go there to make a name for themselves. Once we win this competition we should be able to book a gig real easy!"

You've planned quite far ahead this time. That's a first, I'm sure.

That's not good though. The reckless Haruhi I know and was technically counting on wouldn't even think of the future aside from the always impossible goal that sets her off in the first place. When you don't plan things through it gets harder and harder to carry them out, which is why you're so fond of jumping ship once the first step has been crossed.

That's why you would hopefully give up on the band thing after realising it is too hard, even for our mighty SOS Brigade.

But if Haruhi is making plans for after the battle of the bands then that means this whole ordeal is far from over...

I quietly brooded over this fact while staring out the window until at last Haruhi alerted me that it was our stop. I was never really paying attention for the ride so I had no clue where we were, just trusting Haruhi would know the way.

It was a short walk until we found a street corner packed full of people that were, as Haruhi had so eloquently put it, 'dressed for battle'. That's the place.

With nothing else to do while waiting in line I studied the poster on the wall of a neighbouring shop. Sure enough ENOZ was there on the bill, albeit fairly low, but for a band only just starting their career that's to be expected. None of the other names seemed to ring any bells though one of them certainly struck me as odd.

"Death Devil?" I read aloud.

Hmm, sounds cute...

All of a sudden, Haruhi bounced towards me like a puppy wanting a treat, "So Kyon, are you ready?"

Depends on if you remembered to bring the other ticket for me or not.

"I guess so. What exactly are we supposed to be researching here anyway?"

"Everything!" said Haruhi with boastful pride. How she was satisfied with such an answer I'll never know since her response only left me further in the dark. At least she managed to detect my inability to understand her and decided to elaborate. "It's the experience! Observe their skills, the way they interact with the crowd, their moves, their banter...Everything! Learn from them and apply it to our performance!"

"Ok, fair enough. I'm ready."

"Great! By the way I'll be assessing your performance on this mission! If you score enough points I might just promote you from minion to chief minion!"

Where to begin with that one? How am I supposed to score points? Since when has there been a hierarchy in the SOS Brigade other than you holding dominion over everyone else and what kind of promotion is minion to chief minion?! That's like promoting rubbish to garbage.

"Ooh, the doors are opening! Here we go!"

Something grabbed me and I was quite about ready to flinch until I realised it was simply Haruhi keeping hold of me so we wouldn't get lost as the great amassed crowd outside suddenly surged forward towards the double steel doors on the corner. At least I'm pretty sure she was doing it to not get lost, but the giddy giggling of an over-excited hyperactive Haruhi was harder to interpret.

"Someone's excited..."

"Of course I am! Aren't you?"

Yeah...Try as I might to not get swept up in Haruhi's enthusiasm this was getting to be pretty interesting. Having never really gone to any proper concerts before I couldn't help but smile as we marched through the doors and down into the darkened underground beyond...