I want to apologize for the delay of this chapter. I know I used to update very quickly, but I've had a very nasty case of writer's block for a while. This was partly due to my anxiety caused by wanting to make sure the setting in Kyoto was described right. Ultimately, I don't know if I did a good job, but I hope I did.

Fortunately, this chapter is a very important one that may or may not be the chapter many of you guys have been waiting for. *wink*

It was a tough chapter to write, but I think it was plenty worth it. Hope all of you agree as well

Anyway, onward!!!

Chapter 25

My face itched. I wondered why it did. Something's on it. I needed to get it off. I put my hand on my face and felt something weird. I picked it off and tossed it over the side of my bed. There was more. I picked some more off my face. I did this for a full minute before a realization dawned on me…

What the hell was I picking off my face?

I then opened my eyes…or eye to be exact. The reason for this was because the other one was sealed shut. I put my whole hand on my face and became freaked out. In almost a panic, I sat up and tried to go to the bathroom. I used the word "tried" because my balance was still screwed up and I almost fell again.

When I finally made it into the bathroom, I was finally able to figure out what the hell was wrong with me.

Apparently I threw up all over my face. All the partially digested food I ate last night was now sticking to the left side of my head, making it impossible for me to open my eye. Yes, it was every bit as disgusting as it sounded.

When I realized what had happened, my stomach began to churn. Clearly my stomach had yet to have recovered from last night, and it had more to get rid of. I opened the toilet bowl and let out some more of whatever was still in my stomach. It was then that I realized just how terrible I had felt. It was quite possibly the worst hangover I'd had yet.

The first thing I decided to do was take a shower. I removed my ruined clothes and stepped in. Fortunately, the water easily washed away the gunk on my face and within a few minutes I was a new man…Okay, that was a lie. I still felt like absolute crap, and I found a nasty welt on the back of my head that hurt like hell. Where the heck did that come from?

I dried myself off and wrapped a towel around my waist as I went to open the bathroom door. When I opened it, I searched around the room for where I left my suitcase. It was while I looked around that I noticed something wrong…

Haruhi was still in my room.

There she was, laying on what was supposed to be Koizumi's bed, still out like a light. Crap! What the hell was she still doing here?!

I quickly bolted back into the bathroom to avoid having to be seen in nothing but a towel. When I closed the door, I leaned against it and scowled a bit, unhappy with the current situation. I forgot about the welt on the back of my head and bumped it on the door, smarting something fierce. Okay, now I was really getting fed up. Just what the hell happened last night? The last thing I remembered was…Haruhi's parents calling. Dammit! I remember talking to that bastard Oruki, too. Did he know that we were drunk? I really hope not. He'd probably kill me the next time I met him.

Thanks to the fact that Haruhi was still in my room, I couldn't go out there to fetch my clothes without risking her waking up and seeing me practically naked. I opened the door slightly to check on her. She didn't look like she was close to waking up, and the clock between the beds said it was almost nine. I realized that I didn't have much of a choice but to risk getting my clothes and hope that she didn't wake up. This all wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't feel so horrible. The consolation to all this was the fact that Haruhi was likely to feel just as bad if not worse when she finally woke up. Serves her right. Then again, did I really want to deal with a hung over Haruhi? Great…more problems to think about.

I slowly left the bathroom and made my way towards my suitcase as quietly as I could. I carefully opened it up and took out a clean outfit for the day, picking out something light since I remembered that the day was supposed to be pretty warm. Just as I gathered it up, I heard a snort coming from Haruhi. I turn to see her moving. No! I was frozen stiff, not sure if I should run or hide. It was when Haruhi merely rolled over and went back to sleep that I felt relieved. False alarm. I got up and darted back into the bathroom as quickly as possible. Knowing that I was free from any prying eyes, I got dressed as quickly as I could before exiting the bathroom.

Just as I came out, I found Haruhi finally rousing from her drunken rest. Her face looked miserable, and it was obviously that she was feeling less than one-hundred percent.

"I feel like craaaaaaaaaaaap…" said Haruhi as she put her hands on her forehead. She then looked at the clock to see what time it was. As soon as she did, she appeared slightly distraught. "Are you kidding me? We're late!"

Late for what? The only thing we're planning on doing was walking around the city like idiots again.

Haruhi gave me a nasty glare before responding. "Idiot! You may be fine with lying around and doing nothing, but we have some important things to do today! How can you only think of yourself like that?!"

Instead of wasting time yelling at me, why don't you go back to your room and get ready?!

I then watched as Haruhi eyed the small pile of vomit that was on my bed. Soon after that, Haruhi began to gag and soon bolted towards the bathroom. I tried my best not to think about the noises that came from there shortly after that. Yep, last night was a huge mistake alright. At least the mess I made was room service's problem to deal with.

When Haruhi was done…relieving her stomach, she left the bathroom and made her way out of my room. About a minute later, Koizumi returned to our room, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes.

It was then that my mood soured just a bit more. It didn't take me long before I figured out that he spent the entire night sleeping in the girls' room, with a passed out Asahina-san. What the hell were you doing, you bastard?

As if sensing my suspicion, Koizumi scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Well, after I went and took Asahina-san back to her room, I laid her down on her bed. I was concerned about her condition, so I decided to sit down and keep an eye on her. I guess the drinks I had last night made me sleepy, because I soon fell asleep after that. I only just woke up when Suzumiya-san returned to her room."

Yeah, right…

He began to look around the room with that annoying smile of his. "It looks like you and Suzumiya-san had plenty of fun in here last night."

The way he said that… "Nothing happened!"

Koizumi merely shrugged innocently. "I didn't say anything like that."

I decided that I felt too crappy right now to want to stick around in my room, especially with him. "Well, while you're getting ready, I'm going down stairs. Just tell Haruhi that I'm waiting down in the lobby."

I did exactly as I said I would, making my way down to the lobby and taking a seat down there. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back to rest a bit more, hoping it would make me feel a little better. I was there for what felt like half an hour before I felt something heavy hit my stomach, jolting me out of my rest. I soon realized that it was my pack of useless "supplies" that I was now holding.

"Forget something?" asked Haruhi with a hint of venom. I noticed that everyone else was also ready and carrying their own stuff. As expected, Nagato was her completely usual self without a trace of a hangover. So not fair. Asahina-san looked a bit groggy although she was definitely in better shape than Haruhi and I.

"Get up already, and let's go!" commanded Haruhi. "We're going to get breakfast!"

How can you possibly eat right now? Just the thought of food makes me want to puke again.

"Perhaps a meal will help settle your stomach," suggested Koizumi.

"Besides, I was going to make you run to the store and get some stomach and headache medicine while we waited for our food, anyway!" commanded Haruhi.

"Why do I have to do it?" I asked bitterly.

"Because it's you're fault that I feel so crappy right now!" yelled Haruhi with her hand at her hips. "It was your idea to drink even more after we were already drunk!"

What? I don't remember that! Are you saying that you actually remember what happened all of last night? Never mind. "Well you were the one that suggested that we drink in the first place."

"And we'd have been fine if we'd kept it to moderation," said Haruhi as she turned away from me. "But seeing as some people can't control themselves, I realize now that the ban on alcohol must be reinstated!"

Who here is surprised by this announcement? And who else thinks that it'll be less than a year before she lifts this ban again? Sorry, I'm not taking bets…

Haruhi then points at Nagato. "I mean, look at her. She drank more than either of us, and she's perfectly fine. If we don't put an end to such behavior, she'll develop a drinking problem for sure!"

I don't think drinking could ever be a problem for Nagato, as I don't think human interfaces can become addicted to anything, but you wouldn't know that, would you?

Ultimately, I accepted my fate and decided to go and look for a local drugstore while the others ordered their food. Finding a drugstore was going to be a bit of a problem, however, as I was far from familiar with the local area. It also didn't help that the brightness of the sun only made it worse for my head. I had to walk several blocks before I eventually found a convenience store. Although I knew it wasn't the ideal place to find medication, I had hoped that I could find what I needed there.

I was fortunate that I was able to locate the head and stomach medicine quickly enough, and I made my way to the front of the counter to pay for it. I ignored the snarky comment made by the store owner, who was obviously able to piece together why I was buying the stuff, and I made my way back to the restaurant. While walking there, I wasted no time in talking both medications, hoping both of them would start working fast. Perhaps, I should ask Nagato for some help if these don't do the trick. I'd have to be subtle about though. If Haruhi caught Nagato biting my wrist, no doubt that she would get the wrong idea.

It didn't take long for me to spot the group when I entered the restaurant. There was an open seat next to Koizumi and Haruhi which I took.

"Did you get it?" asked Haruhi, who was still far from being a radiant beam of brightness.

I said nothing and handed her the medication. She took both and swallowed them down immediately. She took what was left and put it in her bag.

"What did you order for me?" I asked.

"We took the liberty of ordering you eggs and toast," answered Koizumi. "I hope that's adequate?"

"It's fine," I said as I leaned onto my hand. I had doubts that I could stomach much more than that.

Haruhi went and pulled out a map of the city while we were waiting. "We might as well go over our plans for today while we can. We've already wasted enough time." Despite the clear lack of enthusiasm that she felt, Haruhi began her reminder of what was expected of us today.

"As you guys should know, we'll be searching Areas Three and Four during the first half of the day while we later search Areas Five and Six during the second half of the day." She then took a pen from her bag and drew some circles on two different locations on the map. "Those searching Area Three will consist of myself, Yuki-chan and Kyon. We will spend our time in eastern Kyoto. Koizumi-kun and Mikuru-chan will search the western side."

She then drew two more circles in what was obviously northern and southern Kyoto. "During the second half of the day, Kyon and I will proceed to the north end of Kyoto while the rest of you proceed to the south. Are there any questions?"

None of us said a word, which was probably a good thing. I figured that all I needed to do was follow Haruhi around all day, not that it would be easy. I just hoped that this day didn't drag…

I then looked carefully at the circle on the map that was supposed to represent northern Kyoto. I then remembered that Haruhi and I were going to be alone during that segment of the expedition. That was the moment that made me worried. My heart began to race again, and my head started to pound. I was sure that was when Haruhi was…

I was jolted from my train of thought when the waitress arrived to hand us our breakfast. I took my plate and began to eat in earnest. I knew that one thing was for sure. This day was going to test me.

The first stop for our group was the Fushimi Inari Shine, the most famous of all the shines in the world dedicated to Inari, the goddess of rice, agriculture and…fertility. Unfortunately, that was about as much as I cared to know about the place at the time, as my hangover was still quite overpowering. What made it worse was the fact that even though Nagato was with this group, at no point was it remotely possible for me to ask for her assistance. Why? Because Haruhi was sure to make it so all three of us were together at all times. Dammit, that's annoying. And you know what makes this all worse? I'm carrying most of Haruhi's and Nagato's stuff. Did you really expect any less?

We visited that main area of the shrine, doing our best to take in the sights, although it was obvious that none of us were really looking for anything out of the ordinary. There were a ton of fox statues all over the place, since the goddess apparently had a fox for a messenger. A few of the more impressive ones were given the honor of having Haruhi taking a picture of them.

However, what was probably the most impressive part of the place we were at were the countless number of torii gates that were positioned one after another over the various trails that meandered around the area. The total time it took to walk the whole distance? Two hours! Please tell me that Haruhi was planning on us walking the entire distance.

"Of course we're not walking the whole thing!" yelled Haruhi. "We can't thanks to fact that we lost so much time this morning!"

You mean you seriously were going to walk this whole thing if we'd gotten up early enough? Did the alcohol you drank last night rot away the last vestiges of your brain?

"Idiot! Instead of complaining, you should be keeping an eye out for anything unusual!"

Like what? We're surrounded by torii gates from all angles. There's nothing to see no matter which way we look. And I still feel like absolute crap.

Haruhi didn't respond right away, deciding to sigh a bit and turn her head away. I turned behind me to look at Nagato. She was reading a book while following us the whole time, completely absorbed in whatever was contained within. Why the hell isn't Haruhi yelling at her? She's obviously not looking for anything. Not that Nagato necessarily needed her eyes to observe her surroundings. It's almost as if her eyes were for cosmetic purposes only. Then again, I didn't really want Nagato to be yelled at, either. I'd probably be a bit pissed off if she was.

It was then that Haruhi asked me something that surprised me a bit. "How's your head?"

At first, I missed the point of her question. "How do you think? My head is pounding like crazy."

"That's not what I meant, idiot!" exclaimed Haruhi in annoyance. "I meant the back of your head!"

Wait a minute. You mean you know about the welt that I have? Does that mean you actually remember what happened last night? How the hell is it that you can remember when I can't? Just what the hell happened to my head anyway?

"You don't remember?" asked Haruhi before she then turned her head away, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Y…you accidentally fell backwards and hit your head on the desk."

"Really," I replied, getting the feeling that she wasn't being completely honest with me. "Well, it hurts like hell."

Haruhi didn't reply to what I said, although I got the feeling that she was feeling a bit guilty. We were all silent for the next half an hour as we continued to walk the tremendous path aligned with the torii gates. I had to admit that the gates did a good job blocking out a lot of the sun light. Without the brightness of the sun to aggravate it, my head felt a slight bit better after a while.

I could only assume that Haruhi was beginning to get bored, since she started to talk to me, only it was a topic that caught me a bit off guard. "You know how these gates are used to mark the paths from sacred to non-sacred areas, right?"

"What about it?" I asked suspiciously.

"It's almost as if it marks a transition, you know?"

"So what if it does?" So what is her point?

"It get's me to wonder…if maybe having us walk this path...maybe it's telling us that we're about to transition into something different."

Why is she talking like this? Is she trying to tell me something? For some reason, I decided to respond back. "If you ask me, I'd rather if things didn't change. I kinda like things how they are now. I know that sometimes things have to change, but change can be hard."

Haruhi looked away, as if her mind was becoming burdened. "But…sometimes change can be a good thing…And what do you mean by what you said?"

I didn't answer her right away. Why? Because for some reason, I got a brief glimpse of Ryoko Asakura in my head again. The conversation we were having was way too reminiscent of the first time she almost killed me. My eyes began to dart around suspiciously, as if I had expected some unknown violent evil to attack me. I was then reminded that Nagato was still following close behind us, so there was little reason to believe that anything bad would happen.

I turned back to Haruhi, hoping that we could drop the subject. "Never mind what I was saying before. I was babbling. I'm not really in the mood to talk about deep subjects, anyway. When are we moving onto the next area?"

Haruhi went and looked at the clock on her cell phone. "You're right. We need to move on before lunch time. The next opening we see, we should leave and head to our next destination."

Shortly after she said that, we found a clearing in the path of gates that lead away from the path and towards the nearby city streets. It was so sudden that it made me wonder if…nah, it must've been a coincidence. Anyway, it took the path away from the torii gates and made our way towards the nearest bus stop.

Our next destination: The Kiyomizu-dera…

The Kiyomizu-dera (or Pure Water Temple) is widely considered to be the most famous site in all of Kyoto, perhaps even all of Japan. It's a massive temple, built at around 780 A.D. and remains associated with the Hosso sect of Japanese Buddhism even today. It was also up for consideration for being one of the new modern Seven Wonders of the World (it didn't make the final cut). How do I know all this? Because it was crammed down my throat by Haruhi while we were riding the bus on the way there. Despite her efforts, I was so not in the mood for learning. In actuality, my mind was somewhat distracted on the way there by the sight of a police vehicle. Inside it, I spotted what appeared to be, you guessed it, the Tamaru Brothers. Great…

When we arrived, I was expecting there to be a great deal of people there, seeing as this was such a popular tourist attraction, but I found myself being a bit surprised to find that it was relatively sparsely populated that the time. I tried not to question this, but I had my suspicions that there were forces at work that were making the location unnaturally deserted.

As we moved about the premises, I noticed Haruhi's energy level and mood improving rapidly. It was almost as if her force of will alone was removing all the effects of the night of binge drinking we had not that long ago. It could be explained that her powers were actively removing the unpleasant symptoms (as I'm sure Koizumi would likely state), but I had the feeling that even without such powers, her tenacity would find a way.

The same could not be said for myself…

The first stop we made while at this place was the infamous "Love Rocks" that Taniguchi was kind enough to bring up before we left. Just as he said, there were two stones placed nearly twenty meters apart. I place my hand on my face in exasperation as I watched Haruhi quickly dart towards them when they came into view.

"Hey, Kyon! Do you know what these are?"

Yes. Yes I do. And please tell me you're not planning what I think you're planning?

"They say that if you're able to walk from one stone to the other with your eyes closed, you'll fall happily in love with whoever is the one you secretly desire." She then looked at both myself and Nagato, that notorious million-watt smile of hers beaming at full power. "Let's give it a try!"

"I'll pass," I said immediately, wanting nothing to do with the damn rocks. Besides, it's just a stupid superstition anyway. I was tempted to ask her why she wanted to perform such a ritual to begin with, but I already knew the answer. It might have been fun to poke fun at her for doing this, but I couldn't muster the will.

Seemingly ignoring my comment, Haruhi positioned herself in front of the rock. "I'm going first!" She then closed her eyes and held her hands out, hoping that doing so would in some way aid her in being able to successfully navigate to her desire destination. I suspected that Haruhi would be able to reach the other rock without too much trouble, given her extraordinary sense of balance and otherwise unnatural level of talent. My suspicions were correct. Before long, her foot hit the other rock, causing her to jump in excitement.

"Alright! I did it!" she cheered loudly before running up to Nagato. "You do it, Yuki-chan.!"

Nagato's eyes lifted from the book for a moment and glanced at Haruhi and I. When she saw me shrug lightly, Nagato turned back to Haruhi and lightly nodded. After being given some quick instructions, Nagato lined herself up on the one rock, closed her eyes, and walked effortlessly towards the other rock. She walked so easily toward it that Haruhi started to become suspicious.

"You're not cheating are you? How are you doing that?"

As I said before, I seriously doubted that Nagato needed her eyes to complete this task. If it was the fact that she was able to perfectly calculate her path without looking, or if it was the fact that she can see without actually having her eyes open, I wouldn't be surprised either way.

Haruhi was quick to congratulate Nagato when she completed the walk as well. "Way to go, Yuki-chan! I wonder who your dream guy is! Just remember that if you find him sometime soon, try not to let him get in the way of Brigade activities!" She then turned to me. "Your turn, Kyon."

Didn't I just say that I pass? What part of that didn't you understand?

"Come on, Kyon! Just do it already!" She then grabbed my shirt by the shoulder and began to shake me back and forth. "Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do…"

"Okay! Okay!" I yelled in exasperation. I knew that this was stupid, and I still felt way too crappy to want to do it, but I figured it wasn't worth the aggravation. I positioned myself in front of the rock, closed my eyes, and began to carefully make my way towards the rock. It didn't take many steps before I found myself becoming disoriented, and I wasn't sure how many steps it would take to make it.

That wouldn't matter, though, because I soon felt something in the way of my one foot, tripping me up and causing me to fall forward on my face. It was only when I started to hear some laughter that I realized what had happened.

"That was…great!" gasped Haruhi as she doubled over in laughter. I figured out that she tripped me with her foot while I had my eyes closed.

"Very funny," I said sourly before retorting with a comment. "I guess I'll never find my true love now…"

Haruhi's laughter ended at that exact moment, and she looked a little worried for a half second before she responded. "Well…since you were tripped while you attempted it, I'll allow you another try."

"Forget it," I said as I got up and started to walk away, despite Haruhi's protests. Eventually, Haruhi let it go, making the excuse that it was a stupid superstition anyway. The next stop we made while we were still at the Kiyomizu-dera was underneath the main hall where there where three streams of water.

"According to the travel guide," said Haruhi. "Drinking from each of these streams will confer different properties. One will give you wisdom, one will give health, and the last will give longevity. You can only drink from two of them, though, or misfortune will befall you."

I knew immediately what I wanted to pick. I went to the stream that bestowed wisdom first, figuring that I was going to need a lot of it to make it through the rest of this horrible trip, and then I took a drink from the stream that bestowed health, hoping that would cure my hangover. Haruhi went and picked health and longevity, while Nagato picked wisdom and longevity. I could only guess that Haruhi avoided the wisdom stream simply because she felt she didn't need the extra wisdom (I couldn't disagree more, by the way). I was more curious about Nagato's decisions. I guess that since she was an interface, health concerns were a non-issue, so that's maybe the reason why she avoided that stream, but I also remembered Nagato mentioning something when I presented her with that love letter from Nakagawa (which was written by me and later accidentally read by Haruhi). She said that her "self-control mechanism" would unlikely remain functional for a period longer than ten year. It may not even last ten years. I wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but there was a possibility that Nagato's lifespan would not last as long as an ordinary person's. Did Nagato want to live longer? It would make sense, I suppose. I decided to stop thinking about the possibility for her life ending early. I had enough depressing things to worry about.

The final location that the three of us finally visited was the famous stage that many people could look over. I had to admit that the sight of looking at it was quite impressive. The structure stood nearly thirteen meters tall. I noticed that Haruhi appeared more enthusiastic than at any point today when she looked over at the scenery around the stage. Her enthusiasm dipped a bit when she looked down to see how high she was up.

"It's way too high…" said Haruhi with a pout.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Have you heard of the saying 'to jump off the stage of Kiyomizu'?" she asked in a calm tone.

"What about it?"

"It means for someone to take that first step towards accomplishing one's goals," answer Haruhi with increasing eagerness. "I believe that all of us should always strive to move forward towards obtaining whatever it is we desire most. I had wanted to bring the whole Brigade here later so that we could all jump off the stage as a symbol of our commitment to meeting the goals of the Brigade!"

Have I ever told you that you're insane? Because it's true. Really…really true…

Haruhi frowned again as she looked down. "But it's way too high to do that."

That, and the fact that security here would probably never allow us to jump anyway would probably put a damper on your plans.

Haruhi went and looked in the travel guild again. After a few seconds, she appeared to find something interesting, as her face began to beam again. "Hey, Kyon! According to this, there have been two-hundred and thirty-four people that have jumped off the stage, and more than eighty-five percent of them have survived! Those are pretty good odds! Maybe we should try it anyway!"

I facepalmed upon hearing this. No, Haruhi. An eighty-five percent survival rate is not good odds. That means that out of the five of us, one of use will likely die. And since Asahina-san is likely the one with the lowest constitution score, she'd probably be the one to go. Words cannot express how mad I'd be if I lost my maid-wearing angel who brewed the sweetest of elixirs everyday after class. The whole idea is almost as stupid as jumping into a barrel and falling down Niagara Falls. The fact that a lot of people have done both only further destroys my faith in humanity.

"Geez, Kyon. I was only kidding," said Haruhi a bit harshly. "Of course I wouldn't do it. I'd never do anything that would put my Brigade in serious danger. You know that."

If only you knew the truth, Haruhi. If only…

Haruhi then looked at her cell phone to check the time. "We need to head back now. It's time for lunch."

With that, the three of us made our way towards the nearest bus stop. As we walked away, I noticed that Haruhi gave one last, long glance at the Kiyomizu-dera. I had wondered what she was thinking about when she did so, but I decided not to ask. I had the feeling she wouldn't tell me if I did.

When the group got together for lunch, I was unsurprised to find that Koizumi and Asahina-san had failed to find anything (it's doubtful that they even tried to look). Haruhi was unconcerned by this setback, however, stating that she was confident that we'd find something when we set off after lunch.

Unfortunately, I was reminded of the fact that the next time we split up, it would be Haruhi and I alone together. My heart began to race nervously at this fact, because I knew for sure that it was during this time period that Haruhi was finally going to confess to me. I was absolutely convinced of it. So great was my anxiety about this fact that I couldn't bear to eat my lunch. What was I going to do? I knew for a fact that the moment that she finally says the truth about her feelings that there would be no going back. Worst of all, she still doesn't know about the fact that I was leaving on Monday. How the hell could I tell her about that without upsetting her? And I still don't know how the hell I'm supposed to avoid this horrible catastrophe that Asahina-san (big) warned me about. Was it all because Haruhi finally confessed to me? Was that the reason? Was it caused by something I said, or was going to say? Was there anything I could say that wouldn't lead the world into inevitable peril? So many questions, and I didn't have a single answer. However, there was one thing that I knew for certain…

I couldn't let Haruhi have the opportunity to confess to me. I had to find a way to avoid it…

Fortunately, I was roused from my day-dreaming state by the words of a certain, angelic time-traveler. "Kyon-kun, you don't look so good. Are you okay?"

I was startled by her words as I looked up at her. "Huh?"

"Asahina-san is right," said Koizumi. "You don't appear to be well. You're looking a bit pale, and you're sweating a lot."

I wiped my brow only to discover that I had indeed been sweating quite profusely. I had been so absorbed within my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed.

Haruhi went and put a hand on my forehead. "You don't feel warm. Are you okay?"

It was then that I was hit with a sudden bolt of inspiration. I realized that if I could fake not feeling well, I could get out of being alone with Haruhi, and she wouldn't get the opportunity to confess to me. It's not like I'd really have to try all that hard, either, since I still felt pretty crappy from the hangover.

"To be honest, I'm not feeling that great. My head is killing me." I then remembered the nasty welt on the back of my head and decided to use that. "I'm starting to wonder if that bump I got last night was worse than it seemed."

"Do you need to see a doctor?" asked Haruhi, her concern beginning to rise.

"No, I think I just need to lie down for a while," I replied, since I was worried that if I did see a doctor, they might figure out that I was faking it.

Haruhi stared at me with a mixture of sternness and concern. She then made an announcement that I didn't want to hear. "Fine, then I'll take you back to you're room and keep an eye on you while you're resting. It's my responsibility that every one of my members is taken care of when they're not feeling well."

Crap! That's the exact opposite of what I wanted. I had to think of some excuse quickly to get her to change her mind. "You can't."

"Why not?! If you're not feeling well, I can't just leave you on your own!"

I probed my mind for a second for an excuse before finally coming up with one. "We still haven't found anything we can use against James Randi. We need to make sure that as many people as possible are looking or we might miss our chance. I don't want to be the reason why we come out of this trip empty-handed." I then darted a look towards Koizumi, trying to give him a non-verbal cue that I wanted him to help me out here.

Fortunately, Koizumi was as perceptive as ever, and he caught onto what I was trying to do. "I agree with him, Suzumiya-san. I think it's best that as many of us as possible are out there searching. We don't have much time before the convention tomorrow, and we must all search diligently if we are to succeed."

Haruhi took a deep breath before letting out an unpleasant sigh. I could tell that she really didn't want to leave me alone, but there was no way she could disagree with what Koizumi and I said without making it obvious that she had ulterior motives for this trip. A second later, she finally agreed. "Fine. We'll have you rest in your room while the rest of us continue our search." She then points at my nose before continuing. "But if you start to feel any worse, you better call us immediately!"

With that, I was off the hook. After lunch ended, the group walked me back to the hotel and dropped me off at my room. After Haruhi was satisfied that I was okay, she told Asahina-san that she would take my place in her group during the second half of today's search before the four of them finally left. I noticed Haruhi gave me one last look of concern before she closed the door.

The moment that they were finally gone, I felt an enormous wave of relief hit me. I did it! I avoided Haruhi's confession! I don't know how I managed to get so lucky, but now I had the piece of mind in knowing that it was unlikely that Haruhi was going to get another opportunity to confess to me. I felt so much better that I almost forgot about the crappy hangover.

The next couples of hours were spent doing exactly what I said I would: resting. Fortunately, the bed sheets had been changed, and the room was now clean. It didn't take long before I eventually passed out for a bit.

I was asleep for about two hours before I finally woke up. It helped a lot. My hangover was markedly better than it was before. The queasiness in my stomach and the throbbing in my head as all but gone. I almost felt normal.

I spent the next couple hours after that watching TV. Unfortunately, there wasn't much that was good on, so eventually, I put the TV on some random channel and laid back again to think. Truthfully, despite that fact that I narrowly avoided a disaster, there was one thing that I soon realized that bothered me greatly…

If Haruhi was so dead set on confessing to me today during the second part of our search for mysteries, why did she so easily give in and let me stay here and rest? If Haruhi really wanted to confess to me, and had been planning to do so for quite a while, then it probably would've been next to impossible to convince her not to be alone with me. She would've found any excuse she could come up with to be alone with me so she could finally admit the truth.

And then there was also the fact that there was no way for me to know whether I had actually avoided the so called terrible event that I was told about. If my understanding of time travel was correct, it's unlikely that I actually avoided it. That could only mean one of two things: Either this terrible event is unrelated to Haruhi trying to confess to me, or Haruhi found some other way to confess to me, and I managed to avoid nothing.

Upon this realization, the feeling of relief I felt earlier was now completely gone, replaced by the feeling of dread instead. I realized now that I was foolish to be so confident that things were now okay.

No, I couldn't give up just yet. There has to be a way. I had to find a solution to all my problems, and I had to do it soon. I just wished I knew what it was that I had to do now. Dammit, why isn't that water that I drank from that stream making me wiser already?

I turned the TV off and sat back in reflection, hoping that another bolt of inspiration would come and inform me what I needed to do. Unfortunately, I failed to come up with anything. I knew what the biggest problem I was facing was. It was the fact that there was a really good chance that I was going to hurt Haruhi. This fact would only be exacerbated if she actually confessed to me. What would I say to her if she did? "Hey Haruhi, thanks for telling me how you feel. By the way, I'm moving. Sorry about that." I can't do that! Even I know that would result in disaster. To make matter worse, I'm certain that she's going to want to know how I feel about her and…I don't have answer. I still don't even know how I feel about her. I could lie to her and say that I do have feelings for her…but would I be lying? Dammit, I hate thinking about this. Damn you, Oruki! Thanks to you kicking me out, I don't have the time to figure this out. If I end up accidentally destroying the universe, I'm putting the blame squarely on you!

It was then that the door opened, revealing Haruhi and the others. I figured that they all wanted to check on me to see if I was better.

"How are you feeling?" asked Haruhi.

"Better," I said, which was only the half-truth. Physically, I was fine. Not one-hundred percent, but closer to the upper eighties, and enough that I could manage. As for my mental and emotional state…well…I already said how I felt about that.

"Good," said Haruhi before issuing an order. "We're going to get ready for dinner. I want you and Koizumi to get your best clothes on. I made reservations to a really nice restaurant that I want all of us to go to."

I was caught off guard by this, as Haruhi made absolutely no mention of this at any point during the meetings we had both before and during the trip. I remembered her mentioning for me to bring the nicest thing I had to wear, but I had assumed that was for the convention tomorrow.

Haruhi and the girls left shortly after that, leaving Koizumi and I to get ready. As I was reaching for my suitcase, Koizumi began to speak to me.

"It good that you're feeling better. I got the feeling that you were trying to avoid being alone with Suzumiya-san. Was that the reason why you faked your illness?"

"I wasn't faking," I retorted, fibbing only a little. "Besides, is there anything wrong with wanting a little space away from Haruhi?"

"Not necessarily, although I get the feeling that you went out of your way to get away from her. Were you suspecting that she was planning something? Unfortunately, I believe your efforts were in vain. I don't suspect that Suzumiya-san was planning anything during our searches."

"Really," I said, hinting at my disappointment. This only makes me more worried that she had plans of a different sort in mind. Well, at least getting out of the search wasn't a complete waste, as it gave me a chance to rest and reflect. Still, I was in a bad position, and this dinner we were getting ready for was starting to become increasingly suspicious.

The outfit I wore was the same one that I wore to the party that the Brigade had at Tsuruya's house the day before I was supposed to leave. It was definitely not formal wear, but since I didn't have anything even close to formal with me at Haruhi's house, I had to settle on wearing this.

Koizumi, on the other hand, had a perfectly tailored suit to wear. Seeing him put it on irked me quite a bit. No, it wasn't because I was jealous. It was because I knew he was doing it just to be a kiss-ass again.

It didn't take long for Koizumi and I to finish getting ready. The same could not be said for the girls. I kinda half-expected this, but it was still annoying. I figured that a lot of the time lost would be because Nagato probably needed the most help getting ready, as she's not really the type that dressed up much.

Ultimately, it took an hour and a half after we had gotten done before the girls finally exited their room. Nagato had been dolled up considerably, wearing a light blue gown and having a small flower clipped to her hair. Asahina-san was wearing a pink colored dress with her hair put together in one long braid in the back. Haruhi's dress was an elegant navy blue, with her hair done in a small bun in the back of her head. All three were wearing make-up, enhancing their beauty even further. To be honest, the sight of the three of them dressed like that was almost enough to make me wonder why I ever complain that I'm part of the Brigade. Almost…

"How do we look?" asked Haruhi as she twirled around quickly.

My answer was nothing more than a goofy grin and a thumbs up. I must've looked like an idiot doing that.

Haruhi soon noticed what I was wearing and gave me a look of annoyance. "Damn you, Kyon! Is that what you plan on wearing?"

"It all I have," I responded. "Sorry."

Haruhi sighed deeply, aiming her breath upward and causing a few strands of hair to fly up. "And you wonder why you're the lowest ranked member. Where's your commitment?"

Is it too late to use some of that money to buy my a suit before we go? Wait a minute! Now that I think about it, where did you get those dresses anyway?

Asahina-san giggled a bit, putting her fingers to her lips as she did so. "This was the surprise that Suzumiya-san want to show you. We thought it was best to buy them here."

So that's what the girls were doing yesterday. While Koizumi and I were going all over the city like morons, these three were picking out dresses for tonight. Wait a minute! That means that they knew about the dinner at least since yesterday. Why was I left out of the loop?

"This isn't time for silly questions, Kyon," interrupted Haruhi. "We'll just have to settle with what you're wearing tonight. We need to get going. It's already starting to get late."

And with that statement, the five of us made our way out of the hotel and into a large, dark colored limousine that apparently was waiting for us. Just how much money did Haruhi spend preparing for this evening? The dresses alone must've cost a large chunk of that money we earned last week, and between the limousine and the expensive dinner we're about to have, there was no doubt that if the rest of that money wasn't completely spent, it was close to it. Without a doubt, this was all extremely suspicious.

Upon inspection, I noticed that our limo driver was none other than Arakawa-san himself, making me all the more uncomfortable. Damn you, Koizumi! Can't we ever go on a trip without your Organization pals butting in? Haruhi didn't seem to notice that he was the one driving as we got inside and began to take off toward our destination. I wondered how Koizumi would explain away his presence if she had noticed.

It didn't take long for us to reach our destination, and when we exited the limo, we quickly made our way towards the entrance. As expected, Haruhi had indeed booked the restaurant in advance, and we were soon seated at a table in the middle. The restaurant décor, despite being somewhat western, was relaxed and soothing. This was somewhat helpful in easing my nerves. Koizumi and Nagato took their seat next to me while Asahina-san and Haruhi took theirs across. I felt like we stuck out like a sore thumb, partly since we were considerably younger than most of the people also sitting within the restaurant. This place was definitely not for high school students. I was just glad that no one said anything about what I was wearing.

It wasn't long before we were asked what we wanted to eat. Not in the mood for anything out of the ordinary, I settled for a teriyaki streak. I didn't really pay attention to what everyone else ordered, as I was too lost in thought to care.

Our drinks were served quickly (Haruhi was adamant about making sure that none of us had alcohol), and shortly after they arrived, Haruhi raised her glass off the table, giving an indication that she wanted to give a toast.

"No matter what happens tomorrow, may the Brigade come back from this trip with awesome memories!"

It was then that I remembered that I never bothered to ask if the search was successful or not. Well, I already knew it wasn't, but wouldn't that mean that our mission here to Kyoto was a failure. What the hell do we plan to do tomorrow if we got nothing to show James Randi?

"Don't worry about that now, Kyon," answered Haruhi. "While our searches were not a success, we've undoubtedly gained valuable experience from this trip anyway!"

That wasn't the original goal of the trip, though. We were supposed to find something supernatural in nature so we could bring it in front of James Randi and embarrass him. If we confronted him without anything, the only people that are going to be embarrassed are us.

"You just let me deal with what happens when we meet him. I had a contingency plan just in case this happened."

That's what I'm afraid of…

This conversation drifted off onto different topics, such as what would our next destination would be. Tokyo, Osaka, and a few other places were debated upon, but when the topic went towards the idea of a camping trip, Haruhi became even more excited.

"Maybe we can go up into the mountains and find ourselves a yeti!"

Too bad that even if they existed, yetis aren't native to Japan. Although knowing you, it'd just be my luck that we'd find one anyway…Wait, why am I thinking that I'm going to be there?

It was so easy to get caught up in Haruhi's enthusiasm that I repeatedly forgot that this was going to be my last trip with the Brigade. Truth be told, this conversation we were having, with Asahina-san's shy responses, Koizumi's constant agreement, Nagato's serene silence, and Haruhi's boisterous announcements, were all quite enjoyable. Without a doubt I would miss all of it. Dammit, I wish it didn't have to be this way.

I could curse Oruki for kicking me out. I could curse my dad for getting that stupid job transfer. I could even curse myself for failing to find a place to live, but none of that mattered. Whether I liked it or not, tomorrow would be the last full day I would get with the Brigade. I figured I'd try my best to enjoy it.

I had been initially concerned about the nature of this night out, but it appeared that nothing unusual was going to happen. I was quite sure that Haruhi wouldn't go confessing to me in front of everyone. If what Koizumi had told me about her is true, she'd probably be too embarrassed to. That meant that as long as the whole group was together, I could safely enjoy the dinner as much as possible.

The entrées arrived before long, and everyone could begin eating. I then finally discovered what everyone decided to order. Haruhi had ordered a smoked salmon dish with various vegetables, Asahina-san ordered a Japanese-style spinach salad (also known as gomae), Koizumi ordered beef sukiyaki, and Nagato ordered stuffed cabbage. I didn't waste too much time eating my meal, as I was starving since I didn't eat lunch. It was quite delicious, by the way, but at a place like this, that's to be expected.

The conversation died down a bit as everyone went and enjoyed their meal. I noticed that Nagato was once again eating at her usual break-neck pace, and it wasn't long before her plate was clean. I noticed that Asahina-san and Koizumi were also eating somewhat more quickly than normal, as if they might be in some kind of rush. For two people who were usually so well mannered, it seemed quite unusual. What surprised me the most was the unusually slow pace Haruhi was taking. Normally, this girl would be second only to Nagato when it came to speed eating, but tonight she appeared almost methodical in how she ate her dish, as if she was savoring it too much.

It was then that Nagato stood up, catching me a bit off guard. "I have finished my meal. May I be excused?"

Haruhi merely nodded and waved her off, which I thought was a bit odd. "Sure, Yuki-chan. You maybe excused."

Wait, why is Nagato planning on leaving so early? That's certainly not like her. And how does she plan on getting back? There's only one limo after all.

Nagato ignored my questions and politely bowed before she silently made her way out of the restaurant. Was she planning on walking back? There was no way for me to be certain, although I knew that walking back would be a problem since the place wasn't that far from the hotel. Also, if there was anyone who would be perfectly safe walking the streets alone in a dress, it was Nagato. I'd almost feel sorry for the poor fool that decided to target her for a mugging or possible rape victim. It would almost certainly end very badly for them.

Just as I was getting used to the idea of Nagato leaving, Asahina-san then also stood up. "I have to go wash up."

Leaving her meal only half finished, Asahina-san made her way towards the restroom in the back of the restaurant. Normally, the idea of someone going to the bathroom after eating wouldn't be anything to be alarmed about, but there was something in the way she said it that made it suspicious. That, and the fact that she was taking a very long time to "wash up" was enough of a reason for me to suddenly become very nervous. Something was definitely wrong.

It was only when Koizumi himself stood up when I realized what was happening.

"That was a wonderful meal. Now if you excuse me, I'd like to go outside and get a breath of fresh air."

It was all a set up…

The moment I made this realization, my heart began to race again. I knew immediate what was happening now. The moment Koizumi walked out of the restaurant, Haruhi and I would be alone. Alone in a restaurant with a rather romantic setting, with Haruhi herself wearing a rather stunning and elegant dress. Exactly the situation I absolutely didn't want to have happen during this trip.

"You're coming back, right?" I asked Koizumi in a voice that only barely contained my growing sense of panic. Koizumi only responded with his annoying smile as he made his way out the door to the restaurant. Koizumi you bastard! Come back! I won't forgive you for this!

It was then that I began to wonder just how long this whole thing had been planned…and whether all three of them had been in on it the whole time. Thinking back to it, there were multiple times when Haruhi could have easily had the opportunity to plan this with them, like that time period when she was out of the house while I sneaking a peek at her electronic diary. Damn you, Haruhi! How could I not see this coming? I didn't think you'd be so sneaky as to get the others on your side!

Things at the table became very quiet once it was down to just the two of us. I noticed that the look on Haruhi's face had the slightest hint of nervousness in it, which did little the ease my own nerves. Quite the contrary, I was a complete wreck on the inside, so much so, that I accidentally dropped my knife onto the floor when I tried to cut my next bite.

Before I could reach down to grab it, Haruhi went and handed me her knife. "You can use mine. I don't need it for my dish."

I reluctantly took her knife. "Thanks. I guess your fish looks easy enough to cut with a fork. How is it?"

"Want to try?" asked Haruhi as she cut a bite sized piece with her fork and held it out to me to eat. It should be noted that the way she was doing this would totally give an outsider the wrong impression about us, but then again, I was starting to think that it was intentional.

I tried not to think too much into it when I took the bite of fish into my mouth. I had to admit that the smoky flavor was tasty. "It's good."

"How's yours?" she asked.

I'm not an idiot. I knew immediately what she wanted me to do. It was as if she wanted to have this scene play out like some really bad western romance movie, where the couples share each others food over a romantic dinner, and I really, really didn't want to play along.

I decided to do the not so romantic thing and slide my dish towards her. "Here."

Haruhi's immediate response to this was annoyance. She crossed her arms and stared me down, as if trying to signal to me that I was screwing up. It was a really uncomfortable stare, and it felt like she could burn a hole right through my head. Thanks goodness there's no such thing as a Haruhi Beam. I'd be screwed for sure if there was one.

"Idiot!" yelled Haruhi as she went a grabbed her knife back and cut a piece of the steak before shoving it in her mouth and looking away, her arms immediately crossing again. "It's okay." I couldn't help but spot the fact that her expression of annoyance had a slight twinge of disappointment in it.

Seeing that look on her face must've made me feel a little bad, as I began to reconsider my decision. It's not like I want to ruin the dinner or anything. I just didn't want her to get the wrong idea. Eventually, though, I gave in and cut another piece from my streak and held it towards her. "Why don't you try this piece?"

Haruhi's expression softened as her eyes darted between the piece of meat and my face. She then slowly bent forward and took the steak that I offered into her mouth. She chewed it slowly, as if actually trying to take in its flavors this time. "Better…"

It was at this point that I decided to try and make some small talk in a desperate attempt to avoid any chance for her to say anything I didn't want to hear. "So…uh…are we really just going to show up at the convention tomorrow without anything to show for our efforts?"

"I told you not to worry about it," answered Haruhi nonchalantly. "It's okay that we didn't find anything mysterious or strange. I've been wanting to say a thing or two to that old geezer for a while, anyway. I'll win this battle by any means necessary! Remember that this is war! In war, if you run out of guns, you use knives! If you run out of knives, you use rocks! The important thing is to use whatever you have available to win the day!"

Instead of doing the logical thing and, I don't know, surrender? I've never been much of the Kamikaze type.

Haruhi continued her speech. "We're all going to wear our arm bands when we confront him tomorrow, so that everyone will know who we are. No matter what happens, it's a victory for us, because we're bound to get ourselves a ton of publicity! I might even plug in the web address for our website! Imagine how many hits we'll get when I do that!"

My guess? Zero…

To be fair, I was actually enjoying Haruhi go off on her tangent about what her plans were for tomorrow. My mild grin contrasted with Haruhi million-watt smile as the two of us continued our conversation. I didn't realize it right away, but while we were doing this, I had been subconsciously shifting my positions to emulate Haruhi's while she was doing the same towards me. When she leaned forward, so did I. When I took a drink, so did she. It happened so naturally that I'd completely failed to notice it until the both of us were leaning close to each other, and I realized that Haruhi was staring rather deeply into my eyes. Her expression softened further to the point where she was no longer smiling. She had a look of seriousness in her face, but it was mixed with the slightest hint of doubt, I think. To be honest, it was an expression that was both adorable and beautiful.

And then she said this. "I think the most important thing about this trip for me was that I didn't want to leave empty-handed."

My heart jumped a little when she said that, mostly because I knew she wasn't talking about our inevitable confrontation with James Randi. I then notice how close our faces had become, and I immediately pulled back before swallowing hard.

It was then that the two of us got the feeling that we'd stayed at the restaurant long enough, and it was time to go. We gathered our things and made our way outside, towards the limo. Arakawa-san was careful to hide his face as he opened the door to the limo. I was curious as to how Asahina-san and Koizumi had left, but I merely assumed that they both had their means of getting back easily enough.

I was feeling very relieved at this point, because despite what had been said, there wasn't a confession made by Haruhi. If she was planning to tell me how she felt in the restaurant, she failed to do so. Pretty soon, the two of us would be back at the hotel, and I'd be back in my room getting some much needed shut-eye. Haruhi said nothing on the ride back to the hotel. She merely continued to stare out the window, appearing to be lost in thought. I'd wondered if she was feeling regret for not saying more, or if there was something else on her mind.

I didn't get the chance to figure it out, as we were soon back at that hotel. The two of us walked inside and took the elevator up to the floor that our rooms were at. The dead silence between seemed to only deepened the tension as the elevator doors opened. We both walked out, but just as I was about to turn towards the direction of our rooms, I felt a hand grip my arm tightly. I turned towards Haruhi, confused as to what she was doing.

Her eyes darted away from my face as she spoke. "Kyon…there's somewhere I wanted to take you…"

My confusion only worsened as she suddenly took off in the opposite direction of where our rooms were located, dragging along by my arm. Her incredible strength was not lost on me when she kicked open a door and proceeded to pull me up several flights of stairs. It was all I could do just to keep up. I wanted to ask her what she was doing, but the words just wouldn't come out. It was as if my mind had gone completely blank.

Eventually, we reached the top flight of stairs and came across another door, which Haruhi quickly opened. It was the door to the roof of the hotel. The fact that the door was somehow unlocked never occurred to me at the time as she pulled me outside and towards the edge. She then let go of me, and slowly walked a bit closer to the edge.

I looked up at the sky, and soon realized that it dazzled marvelously in a display of countless tiny, shimmering lights, much like the night on the rooftop of Haruhi's house but even more so. The wind had picked up ever so slightly, giving a noticeable breeze. The lights of the streets below sparkled like a thousand candles, seemingly moving about in rhythm. It was a glorious sight, the kind that few people in their lifetime would get the honor in seeing. A setting like this would be impossible to have in a city like this. No, only someone like Haruhi could allow all this to be possible.

But I couldn't enjoy the scene. Why? Because I knew what was about to happen. There was no doubt in it anymore. Everything that Haruhi had done for this trip had led to this moment.

I nervously began to try to find an excuse to get away. "Uh…Haruhi…I…it's getting late, and I'm feeling really tired and…"

"Kyon," interrupted Haruhi. "There's something I want to say to you…" She then removed the hair band holding the bun together, causing her hair to fall to her shoulders. The wind began to caress her hair, causing it to dance. Her dress also began to sway in much the same way as her hair, as if they were partners that were sharing the same dance with each other.

Again, I could not bring myself to enjoy the sight, because at that very moment, I was frightened. I was experiencing a fear greater than any I could ever think of at that moment. Koizumi had warned me that this moment was inevitable. Why couldn't he be wrong? Why?

"Do you remember that question I asked you?" she asked. "About whom you would bring with you if you had to bring someone with you to a deserted island."

"What about it?"

"When…I answered that question…I wasn't being honest. There's someone else that I would rather bring with me other than Yuki."

I felt my heart pounding harder and harder with every word she spoke. My legs and hands began to tremble ever so slightly. My stomach began to churn violently.

Haruhi continued to speak. "It's funny…how much things have changed since I started high school. I never would've guessed that I'd end up with such amazing friends…even if they are only human."

I failed to reflect on the irony of her statement. I was too lost within myself to notice it.

"I'll never forget the day you asked me about my hair. I don't know what it was, but something about it made me realize that…you…thought a lot like I did. In just one question, you said so much more yourself than most biographers could say in a whole book. I wasn't sure at first, but something told me that you were going to become a very important person in my life."

My eyes continued to widen further as I began to sweat profusely. I could feel my mouth becoming ever dryer, to the point where I knew I couldn't speak.

"And of course, I have you to thank for giving me the inspiration for the SOS Brigade. I can't imagine what my life would've been like if I hadn't thought of it, and I'm not really sure if I would have thought of it if it hadn't been for that silly speech you gave."

Haruhi…please stop….

"The year that followed was easily the best year of my whole life. I got to meet some great people, and do some really great things. No matter what happened, I always had a blast with you guys. But…"

Her head lowered a bit as if her thoughts were starting to begin to fill with regret. "I…I know that it wasn't always great. I'll never forget the fight we had at Tsuruya's house when we making the movie. And then you got hurt falling down the stairs at school a few days before our Christmas party. I was really scared that you weren't going to make it. It was really bad."

Haruhi…please…stop talking…I can't take this…

"But, you were okay after all, and I started to think that nothing could come between us. I started to take the fact that you were still here for granted. I thought you'd always be there, no matter what. But then…I found out that you were moving, and it happened all over again. I had to face the reality that you being here wasn't a given. That you could be gone from my life so easily, and that there wasn't a whole lot I could do to stop it. I was lucky again that you didn't leave, and I've been happy that you've been living with me and getting along with my parents, more or less, but I knew now that I couldn't become complacent anymore. I know now that if I waited any longer, I'd never get the chance to tell you the truth."

My breathing was now so fast that I was starting to wonder if I was hyperventilating. The trembling in my limbs was stronger than ever, and I was becoming light-headed.

"I had a strange dream a year ago. We were stuck on the school grounds together, unable to escape. And there were these weird, blue giants that appeared out of nowhere. I remember that we were running from them when we suddenly stopped. It was then that you walked up to me and put your hands on my shoulders and…you told me something really stupid before you went and…kissed me… It was so real that I was thrown out of my bed when I woke up from it. I didn't want to believe it then, but I knew it for sure, deep inside me, the truth."

Please don't say it, Haruhi…I'm begging you not to…Please…

She turned towards me, strands of hair gently caressing her face. Her smile was gentle and sincere. Her eyes glimmered with a serene glow. It was the look of someone who about ready to release a great burden from off their chest.

"...I love you, Kyon…and I have for a very long time…"

The moment those words reached my ears, I felt myself floating away from my body. Every sensation I had felt beforehand was a distant memory. The moment felt completely surreal, as if it must have been a dream. It was as if my mind was trying to convince me that none of this had actually happened and that everything was okay. But I knew for sure that it did, and that was the worst part. Try as I might, I had nothing to say. There was nothing I could say. I was as if every word of Japanese I'd ever learned had been sucked from my brain, leaving me an empty husk of swirling, chaotic emotions. I felt wretched inside, and I was starting to realize why. I knew now exactly why I didn't want Haruhi to confess to me.

Before I could settle my thoughts, I felt a finger touch my lips. Snapping back into reality, I looked down to see Haruhi looking away from me as her finger continued to be pressed against my lips.

"I know what I said was a lot to take in, so I'm going to give you a chance to think about what I said. Tomorrow, after we get back from our trip, I want to hear your response. I…want you to tell me how you feel about me…"

After that, she removed her finger and went up and gave me a light peck on my cheek before she bolted away, perhaps too afraid that I would say something before she was ready to hear it.

The moment she was gone, I collapsed onto the ground. The weight of everything that had happened to me this night was too much for me to bear. Why was it that a confession could be so painful? It was because at that very moment, I knew exactly what the older Asahina-san was talking about when she said there would be a disaster that was about to happen.

I knew that no matter how I felt about Haruhi, I was ultimately going to break her heart. And the whole universe was going to feel the effects of that very heartbreak.

She didn't know that I was moving, and the moment she finds out, everything will be undone. Oruki had decided to kick me out of the house to prevent this very thing from happening, but he was too late. He failed to prevent this from happening, and so did I.

One day from now, I will have to face up to Haruhi and tell her the truth. There's nothing else I could do. I still had one more day to figure something out, but I already knew it was hopeless. The only thing I could hope for was that the damage in the end would not be too bad…

Damn you, Haruhi…

…

…

…

…

Damn you…

And so with the publishing of this chapter, this fic now officially becomes the longest TMoHS fanfic ever written, surpassing "Unmasked" in terms of total words. I sincerely hope that this chapter was worth the wait.

I won't lie. The next chapter may take a while, for one main reason. I'm going to try and contact James Randi himself to see if I can get any advice about writing his character. I doubt I'll succeed, but I'm certain that the scene at the convention center will be very difficult to write. I'm hoping my writer's block isn't too bad during it.

Once I get past that scene, it's all smooth sailing from there. I'm certain I'll get through the rest of the story rather quickly, as the chapters from that point onward will be short, intense, and sweet. I hope you guys are looking forward to it.

Until next update…