It's been a while, sorry about that. Anyway hope you enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to review!
There is something I came to realise during dinner that night. I sigh a lot. I suppose I should have noticed earlier, but at some point during dinner I began subconsciously counting each sigh as if it would have the same effect of counting sheep and induce some kind of magical coma. Unfortunately there was no escape for me, or any of the other reluctant victims trapped in our booth and at the table opposite.
Ritsu and Haruhi had been arguing on every single subject you could possibly think of. Honestly it amazes me how two girls who are so similar can have absolutely nothing in common. I must be desensitised to all the time travelling and data altering and such if I find the chance meeting between those two to be the most startling and confusing event in recent weeks.
Well whatever, I seem to be a magnet for weird stuff. It's a pretty crappy power. Anyone want to trade? I thought not. Damn it!
However things were just about to get worse.
Ritsu applauded whatever Haruhi had said and sank back into her seat, having previously been leaning over the table and knocking people's plates and drinks over. Folding her arms she hummed quietly to herself and nodded, only to open her eyes, alight with fire. Moving with the speed of a ninja she shot off out of her chair back towards her table. Before any of us could even attempt to guess what she was doing, a shadow wrapped around the unwitting junior of the Light Music Club.
Noticing the stares centred upon her, Azusa's eyes narrowed and her cheeks turned a slight shade of rosy red. "H-Huh?"
Like a coiled snake, Ritsu sank her fangs into the frightened little mouse. Azusa let out a shrill scream at having been ensnared in her sempai's powerful grip and resisted valiantly as she was dragged out of her seat towards us. Unfortunately, her kicking and screaming only managed to make surrounding patrons glare and curse as they struggled to get on with their meals.
"Let me go!" she squealed, only inciting a fearsome laugh from her captor.
"Never! Not until you do the trick we taught you!" roared Ritsu, sounding like a sadistic ringleader for a demented circus.
Azusa's face turned completely red. In fact even her tiny hands were burning up as she adamantly refused.
Our Brigade watched on, stunned as Ritsu overpowered the smaller girl and forced her to lean over the table right in front of us. Her eyes welled up with tears, her face directly in front of mine as she silently pleaded for mercy. Feeling a part of myself die inside I stayed my hand, hoping that once she actually performs the trick Ritsu will leave her alone.
"Say it!" Ritsu snarled, shoving her further onto the table to the point she was almost lying on top of it.
Slowly Azusa's shoulders sank and whilst wiping the tears from her eyes she uttered something I certainly wasn't expecting.
"N-Nyan!"
…
There was silence at the table for a while before everyone seemed to fawn over the sobbing wreck. Ritsu backed away and grinned confidently.
"See? Witness the moe power of Azu-nyan! Nobody can resist her charms!"
Nodding as if a genuinely good point was made, Haruhi saluted her foe. "Well done, I'll admit that even I fell for that one. But do not underestimate us! The SOS Brigade comes equipped with its own moe mascot! Come on Mikuru! Dance for me!"
I should break this up before the police arrive...
"Calm down guys, other people are trying to eat you know? Let's just quiet down a little and stop making a scene ok?"
Somehow my words sank in and Ritsu sat down at our booth again as if she was there from the beginning. Azusa tried to go back to their table but Ritsu trapped her and forced her to sit on her lap like some kind of puppet.
Feeling left out Yui quickly dragged her chair over and joined her band-mates while my fellow Brigade observed in stunned awe.
"Kyon-kun, who are these people? Who are they?"
"Fellow club members." I mumbled, not wanting to pursue this conversation at all.
"And fellow band members!" Haruhi added, sticking her chest out with pride.
Yui's eyes narrowed at that and her whole body turned to me as she asked in a shocked tone, "Have we been betrayed?!"
Betrayed how?
"What about Mio?" she cried, her voice rising melodramatically, "You're here to cheer her on aren't you? You promised her last night at the hospital!"
My jaw dropped.
Yui had unwittingly dropped a bomb right then and there...
I was too afraid to look over at Haruhi, but I could feel the air around us grow cold. Mikuru started stuttering and Yuki stared at me as if to seek orders. Koizumi, of course was smiling, but his eyes were telling me he had a bad feeling about all this.
Somehow unable to pick up on the darkening atmosphere Yui kept on ranting, "You know I think Mio has a bit of a crush on you. She's always talking about you. Isn't that so sweet? Like cake! I like cake!"
I stopped listening there. I didn't miss out on much though, the rest seemed to be about her dessert and how delicious it was. It didn't matter. The damage was already done.
I couldn't speak. In fact I could hardly breathe.
I just sat there and watched the storm clouds roll in...
In the meantime, Haruhi stormed off without saying goodbye.
Haruhi locked herself in her room. Nobody was allowed in, no matter how hard they tried to reason with her. Her excuses varied from feeling tired, to being sick and everything in between. She also managed to hurl some mighty curses at the Light Music Club members who tried to help out.
Nothing worked and knowing Haruhi she wouldn't give in at least until morning. It was best to leave her be and hope for the best.
So I did.
The two stranded groups gathered in my room, standing around the bed as if for a strategy meeting. Ritsu glanced between the door, the Brigade and me, finally settling on me with a frown.
"Alright somebody is gonna have to explain this to me. What on earth happened back there?"
"It was all your fault Ritsu! You behaved like a fool back there!" cried Azusa, glaring at her senior with contempt.
Koizumi nodded and folded his arms, "It is true, your behaviour was somewhat inappropriate...Ritsu, was it?" he let out a sigh and looked over at the door, "However...I'm afraid this has little to do with you."
"Well then why is she so angry? What happened?"
"Um...was it me?" Yui asked sheepishly.
"Oh come on, what could you have possibly done to get her mad?" Ritsu groaned, "It's not like you stole her dessert or something."
Yui shied away and twiddled her fingers, "I know...But..."
"Actually..." Koizumi began, but quickly cut himself off, directing a knowing glance my way. With a shake of his head he once again looked out towards Haruhi's locked door. "I do not know, but for now we should simply assume she is jet-lagged. Travel can take a toll on those who are not used to it and I assume it has worn her out. She is simply frustrated with her exhaustion and accidentally let it out on us."
Ritsu and Yui blinked. "So...we're not guilty?"
"No. But I think it would be best if you avoid contact with Miss Suzumiya for the remainder of the night. I'm sure she will free herself from her stupor by morning and we can all enjoy the competition together."
I almost felt like patting him on the back. I didn't though. But Koizumi sure comes in handy in tough situations. The way he explains away things with the professional air of a doctor makes you want to believe him and do as he says.
Still, the girls bowed and gave their apologies before leaving up the hall to their rooms. The others trailed after them shortly after. Koizumi stopped in the doorway and glanced back at me with a look of suspicion. I questioned his stare and he simply shrugged.
"I meant nothing by my actions; I am merely concerned for my Brigade. It appears that whatever relationship you have acquired with these new friends of yours has angered Miss Suzumiya. I do not wish to pry, but I shall give you some advice; Beware a woman scorned."
With that he flashed a blinding smile and strolled off.
Miss Asahina cocked her head in confusion while I simply glared at the empty space that irritating smiling face had previously taken up. I mean come on, seriously? What kind of advice is that? If you really want to help out then why not give me some sacred charms or a holy sword or something.
On second thought, never mind...
I was considering checking up on Mio, but decided against it given the situation at hand. Besides, if she wasn't well enough to come down to dinner then it would be best to leave her to get well. She'll need all her strength for the competition tomorrow, especially with the furious effort I know Haruhi's gonna unleash on that stage. If I know her (and unfortunately I do) she'll channel all of her pointless and unnecessary anger into her performance, which will make a good impression on the crowd and the judges. Even against superior talent it may be enough to get us through to the second round.
Perhaps that will be enough? As long as we avoid the first cut maybe Haruhi will be satisfied and we can graciously concede defeat and allow Houkago Tea-Time their rightfully earned chance at stardom. Otherwise things are only going to get worse from here on out.
I can only hope that Haruhi becomes bored with this before too long so we can close the book without any casualties. If not then we all know who will have to clean up the crime scene...
If you didn't guess 'me' then you really are stupid. Have you been paying attention at all this entire time?! Oh what am I getting angry at you for? Don't worry I'm just agitated...
But really, pay more attention sometimes. Maybe then you won't get into as much trouble as I did...
As expected, trying to sleep off such an awful night was utterly futile. I couldn't get comfortable, perhaps due in part to the fact that I was sleeping on the floor while Asahina was sleeping close by in the double bed. Still awake, I could hear Miss Asahina's soft sighing breaths and suddenly I was wide awake. The mix of temptation, fear, confusion, hope and...Well the list is quite long but you get the picture. There was a lot going through my mind, not the least of which was what to do about Mio and Haruhi.
This silly game can't go on forever. I can't keep this nonsense up much longer. Something has got to give at some point. Whatever Haruhi thinks is going on between me and Mio must be pretty extreme to get her to behave like that. I don't know what I need to say to her to convince that stubborn girl that...
Hmm, what am I supposed to convince her of exactly?
I don't even understand why she is so angry about me hanging around Mio! How am I supposed to counter something when I'm not even aware of the problem in the first place?
Damn it! Why can't women be a little easier to figure out sometimes, or at least come with an instruction manual?
Oh brother...
Maybe I should just confront her and straight out ask her? No that wouldn't work. I could try and get her drunk? No I wouldn't be able to go through that Hell ever again! Then perhaps I could lock Mio and Haruhi in a room together and let them sort out whatever is going on? No, I don't want to put Mio through that.
Hmm...
I suppose I have a few hours until sunrise to try and solve the conundrum...
But of course it was only then that I suddenly felt tired. Odd how sleep works isn't it? One minute you feel like you could run a marathon and in the blink of an eye you can collapse and pass out without a seconds notice. Even so, the sudden and totally unwarranted desire for sleep hit me unusually fast.
As if by some sort of black magic I felt drowsy and weak. Eyes closed, breathing slowing to a crawl, I drifted off soon after, silently cursing my body's need for rest. Oh well, I'll deal with the morning when it comes and not a second sooner. For now, I need rest...
The sun rose on Saturday morning. At last, the day of the competition. The Battle of the Bands would commence later at night and considering our shameful excuse for a band we would be going back home on the Sunday. Unless of course by some miraculous stroke of luck we make it to the second round which would consume the Sunday after. Then there would be the semi-finals and finals, but we don't have to worry about that now do we?
Do we?
No I doubt it...
I sat up from the poor man's futon I had constructed out of blankets, jackets and pillows and glanced over at Miss Asahina. Just like Snow White she was locked in a deep sleep. For a moment I wondered what a time traveller would dream of. The past or the future? Perhaps both? Who knows, maybe Miss Asahina is dreaming about riding dinosaurs into battle against a legion of killer robots? Because, you know, that sounds so much like what she would dream about now doesn't it?
Oh forget it.
Deciding to let her sleep in peace I got dressed as quietly as possible and headed outside. As expected, Haruhi's door was locked. Since Koizumi wasn't sleeping outside on the floor like a dog I could only assume he was sleeping in Nagato's room. That bastard! Speaking of which, Nagato's door was closed as well. Tentatively I tried the handle and it slowly groaned open.
Much to my surprise, Koizumi was sleeping alone in the large double bed while Nagato sat in the corner under a night-light reading another gigantic book. It was different from the one on the train but she had already gotten so far through this one...She must have been reading all night.
Whether or not she knew I was there she remained perfectly still and never once looked up from the book.
I closed the door and stood in the hall for some time, wondering what to do until everyone else wakes up. That was when I heard somebody screaming further up the hall.
