- Chapter 4: Fishing -

"Ishigaki, would you go on ahead, and I'll catch up with you?"

She cocked her head at me. "Old friend of yours?"

"Yeah."

"What if we can't find each other again?"

I waved her off impatiently. "I'll text you."

"We don't have each other's phone numbers."

"...Oh, right."

So we got out our phones and stood there entering in numbers while just a few hundred meters away, one of the most dangerous enemies of Koizumi's esper organization was sitting on the lake shore, fishing. I couldn't find much humor in the incongruity of it all. At that moment I was feeling something I hadn't really felt in a long while, and I was finding it hard not to lose patience.

You can maybe credit Ishigaki for my not losing it. She had already tested my patience a little, but she was basically a nice girl, the sort I wouldn't want to blow up at, even if she weren't Haruhi's friend.

I was so eager to get this over with that I didn't even object when I noticed she was entering in "Kyon" as my name. "...oh-four? Is that right?"

"Yeah, that's right." I breathed in to stop myself from telling her to just get going.

"Okay." She put her phone away. "See you later."

Then I had to watch and wait for her to get a good distance away. I didn't want any chance of her overhearing us.

When she was virtually out of sight, I walked down to where Mishima was still fishing, just as if he didn't have any other business here. Of course, I knew better than that.

The sound of my footsteps in the brush finally caught his attention. He looked up. "Ah! Fancy meeting you here." He set aside his fishing pole and stood up to meet me. "Is this a family outing, or are you here with Miss Suzumiya?"

I didn't say a word. I just walked up to him and delivered a clean right hook that knocked him sprawling on the ground, his glasses flying off his face and into the water. When he started to pick himself back up onto his hands and knees, I saw with satisfaction that his lip was bleeding.

...Okay, not really. Violence doesn't come as naturally to me as I would like. I just stood in front of him, trembling, and said, "I wish I could punch you."

He looked surprised at that. "What would you do that for?"

"For forging that love letter from Haruhi." Said letter had been planted in my shoe locker shortly before White Day, and had caused me no small amount of confusion and anxiety, particularly after a love letter from me was in turn planted in Haruhi's shoe locker. More importantly, it had upset Haruhi. No sight was more unpleasant than an emotionally troubled Haruhi.

He raised his brows. "Why would you think I did that? No, wait, let me guess: Because Koizumi told you I did." He very condescendingly shook his head. "I thought you knew better than to put your trust in him."

I couldn't think of anything to say to that. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Fishing." He studied my face. "Oh, you thought I was here on Haruhi Suzumiya business? No, no. Even we espers can take an occasional fishing trip."

"Right when and where Haruhi happens to be."

"You can't believe that might be coincidence?" He shrugged. "Truth be told, neither can I. Perhaps Miss Suzumiya is looking for me, to get another esper involved in her adventures. Or perhaps she planted the notion of coming here into my subconscious."

"Or perhaps you're full of it."

Mishima tilted his glasses at me. "That's not a very sensible suspicion. If I were observing Miss Suzumiya, why would I bother lying about that? After all, your dear Mr. Koizumi does the same every day. You really trust him, and not me?"

I turned my head from him and scoffed. "Koizumi has never given me any reason to mistrust him."

"Neither have I."

"You tried to turn me against Nagato and Miss Asahina. That's reason enough."

"Hmmph. You really are stubborn. I've never tried to turn you against them; I'm just asking you to not trust them blindly. Like it or not, you've become part of a dangerous game, and that means you need to be more careful about who you trust, both for your own sake, and for Miss Suzumiya's. You wouldn't want to see her turned into a pawn for some power-hungry organization just because you believed everything you were told, would you?"

This was just going around in circles. "For all I know, your organization is the one likely to try that."

"Of course. But just because you can't trust me doesn't mean you can trust them." He returned to his seat and picked his fishing pole back up. "Hmm. You know, since we are both here... This is a good opportunity to prove to you just how untrustworthy Itsuki Koizumi is." He cast out his line.

"How?" I pressed.

He whistled a tune while he reeled the line back in a few meters. "You'll see."

Mishima seemed to regard that as the end of the conversation. But I didn't. "I don't know what your plan is, but I'm going to tell Koizumi you're here. And Nagato and Miss Asahina."

"If you must. Koizumi can't stop me, and Misses Nagato and Asahina are forbidden to interfere."

"If you harm any of them..."

"Why do you keep talking like I'm some sort of terrorist?" He sounded irritated. "If you insist on just swallowing whatever lies Itsuki Koizumi has told you about me, then go away and let me fish."

Another adversary who dismissed me as no threat. That annoyed me, but there wasn't much I could do about it. He hadn't made any actual move against us yet, so hitting him would be pointless aggression. Besides, Ishigaki was waiting for me.

I headed back to the main trail. It took a couple minutes of light jogging, but I caught up with Ishigaki.

"Hey." She nodded at me. "So, how'd that go? Did you invite your friend to the fashion show rehearsal?"

"Oh. Yeah, but he says he can't make it." I swear, if he shows up there, I'll strangle him with his own damn fishing line.

She cocked her head at me. "Is something wrong?"

I have a pretty good poker face, but it was simpler to use a cover, and as it happened, I had one. "I've been wondering about you and Taniguchi, actually."

Her face wrinkled slightly at the unwelcome topic.

"Why don't you like him?" Besides the obvious, I mean.

She pulled away and started walking. "What are you talking about?"

I took up walking behind her, so as not to crowd her too much. "You looked pretty uncomfortable with him on the bus."

"Was I that obvious?" Before I could answer, she laughed at herself. "Yeah, I guess I was. I'm sorry, I just don't know how to deal with guys like that."

"I don't blame you. Taniguchi can't take a hint sometimes. I can only imagine what a nuisance that must be." I felt bad about pressing her on this, but still, I did have to make at least some sort of effort for Taniguchi. "But even if he is kind of a pain, Taniguchi really does try hard. Going after you like that means he really does care about you. It's okay if you don't like him. I just..."

"Wait, I never said I don't like him." She glanced back at me. "He's a sweet guy, and not too proud of himself. It's just, I don't want that kind of attention from him."

I nodded. "I see."

"Sorry. I know he's your friend, but..."

"It's fine." It was kind of funny, her thinking she needed to apologize for not wanting to go steady with Taniguchi. As if he weren't being a total jerk about the whole thing. "You feel how you feel. I kind of suspected this, actually. He mentioned that he only got obligation chocolates this Valentine's Day. I thought you might be one of the people who got them for him."

"Yeah. I really didn't think he'd take it that way. I don't want to tell him off, because he's a nice guy, but I can't give him what he wants from me, you know? Do you think maybe... you could explain that to him?"

I shrugged. "I'll try. He probably won't listen, though. Why did you get him chocolates, anyway?"

"We were in the same club at the time."

"The cooking club, right?" Taniguchi joined that one when he realized he would be the only guy in the group. He got kicked out about a month later. I didn't ask why, but I could imagine.

"Yeah. He'd just recently become a member, but, well, we all made our Valentine's Day chocolates in the club. Taniguchi even helped us make them. It would have been kind of cruel to have him watch all those chocolates being made and not give him any, wouldn't it?"

That stupid fool. Returning love chocolate for a Valentine's gift he only got as a club member. How could he put his heart on the table when he was holding such a terrible hand?

After that, I turned the conversation to her archaeological studies. It all went a bit over my head, to be honest, but she was clearly quite enthusiastic about it, and that was something I could respect. I could see why Haruhi liked her.

We met back up at the campsite at the appointed time.

"Well, did you find anything?" Haruhi demanded of us.

"Not a thing." Ishigaki performed an open-palmed shrug. "Sorry."

Koizumi and Chisuga, who were working on starting a fire, paused to wave at us. "I'm afraid we were unsuccessful as well," Koizumi said.

"That's okay." A nasty smirk came over Haruhi's face. "You cut it pretty close getting back here, though! Not even five minutes before the time I told you to be here. Were you two having fun?"

The insinuation caught me off guard, I'll admit. But I had a clear conscience. "You told us to search for aliens, espers, and time travelers for two hours. Why would you expect us to give up and come back early? I thought you wanted me to be diligent about my work."

"Hmmph, that's no fun. Besides, you two must have at least talked a bit over those two hours. Yui, what do you think of Kyon?" She leaned towards her. "Do you like him?"

Ishigaki was even less fazed by Haruhi's questioning than I was. "He's a great guy." She gave Haruhi a grin and a wink. "I think you should hold onto him."

"Hold onto him? Pfff, you couldn't give him away."

"I'll be sure to remind you of that comment the next time you want me to do something." I glanced around. "Wait a minute. Where are Nagato and Yanami?"

"Hmm? They haven't come back yet."

Getting a sinking feeling in my stomach, I double-checked my phone's clock. "We should go search for them."

"Oh, be patient. They're just running late."

"That's my point. Nagato's never late."

"Nobody's perfect, Kyon. You of all people should know that."

No human is perfect, true. But Nagato isn't human. And at least one of the SOS Brigade's enemies is lurking out there.

"Give her ten minutes." Haruhi folded her arms. "There's no reason to go into panic mode just because she isn't here at the exact second we're supposed to meet."

"Yeah, take a chill pill," Ishigaki threw in. "Go sit with the boys while Suzumiya and I make the sashimi. Nagato and her little friend will be back soon."

I wasn't satisfied, but I didn't exactly have a lot of room to argue. And Koizumi was looking pretty calm. I couldn't imagine he'd just sit there if he thought Nagato was in danger.

Of course, it wasn't just danger I was worried about. Nagato was alone with Yanami. I still wasn't sure what her intentions were in bringing him along, but it wasn't hard to guess what his intentions were. Even assuming Nagato wasn't interested in him that way, there was no telling how she'd react to him making a move on her. This was completely unexplored territory for her. She was liable to just sit there and let him paw her.

My blood boiled at the thought.

I kept it all internal, though, and took a seat next to Koizumi. "Ishigaki and I bumped into Goro Mishima on our walk." I kept my tone casual, since I still didn't know whether Chisuga was part of Koizumi's organization.

"Oh?" Koizumi kept it casual as well. "I can't say I'm too surprised. He is quite the fishing enthusiast."

Did he mean that at face value, or had he expected Mishima to be monitoring Haruhi, and was keeping it in code for Chisuga's benefit? "I wonder if Nagato and Yanami might have bumped into him, and started talking."

"Doubtful at best. Mishima may be acquainted with Miss Nagato, but he has no interest in her whatsoever." He turned to me and smiled. "I'm sure it is something else which has held Miss Nagato up."

"Perhaps she has found something of interest," Chisuga suggested. "One of those aliens or espers Miss Suzumiya asked us to look for."

"Aliens, most likely. I have a feeling there may be some in the area. Miss Nagato has told me her interest in them is keen."

I wondered exactly what aliens he was referring to. I also wondered why he hadn't warned me about them ahead of time. It sounded like he had anticipated them showing up on this trip.

"Hey, guys." A broadly grinning Taniguchi approached and sat on my right. "Kyon, buddy! Did you give Miss Ishigaki the good word about me?"

"As much as possible," I evaded.

"And? What did she say about me?" He was practically bouncing.

It was tempting to tell him exactly what Ishigaki had said, just to shut down his exuberance. But I was too soft-hearted to humiliate him in front of Koizumi and Chisuga. "I might be more in the mood to tell you if you hadn't spent the past two hours as the only guy in the company of three attractive girls."

"Say whaa? What, do you think Suzumiya, Tsuruya, and Miss Asahina all went skinny dipping the instant you guys left? We were fishing!"

"They are lovely ladies," Chisuga said with an innocent smile, as though he were commenting on a set of paintings.

"So what? Unlike Kyon here, I know better than to chase more than one skirt at a time."

If you know better, than why don't you have a girlfriend yet?

"I wasn't suggesting that you'd court them." Chisuga leaned closer in. "Though at least some of them seem worth courting. I meant only that I'd think you'd take the opportunity to observe them."

"Did you forget that we're getting to see a fashion show rehearsal on this trip? Why should I get excited about seeing the girls in just their regular clothes?"

Chisuga shrugged. "Difference in taste, I suppose. I've always found women to be most lovely when they are dressed for their own comfort rather than for looks. The female figure, when in its natural, relaxed state... it has a sublime beauty that is much the greater for being unassumed." He gazed wistfully upwards.

Okay. This guy is weird. Or maybe even more of a thespian (that does mean actor, right?) than Koizumi told us.

"Suit yourself." Taniguchi slowly turned his head to the right. "Me, I'd much rather see Miss Asahina in a skimpy - Gah!"

I looked behind me to see what had given Taniguchi such a rude shock. Nagato and Yanami were standing right behind us, having apparently slipped up to us like ninjas, or ghosts. Or ninja ghosts. There's an idea that might catch Haruhi's interest.

"We have returned," Nagato said.

I shot up from my seat. "Where the hell have you been? We've been worried about you."

"We were talking," Yanami answered.

My eyes remained trained on Nagato, demanding an answer. She just nodded in apparent affirmation of Yanami's reply.

Talking? Yuki Nagato was late returning from an expedition because she was caught up in conversation? Our Yuki Nagato?

I was still trying to decide whether to think that Yanami and Nagato were lying to cover up some more scandalous activity or that somehow this Computer Society twerp had gotten Nagato into more of a conversational mood than I ever had, when I heard Haruhi bellow, "Sashimi's ready!"

When I turned to look, I couldn't see her at first. Then she poked her head around the side of the girls' tent. "Hey there, Yuki! See, Kyon, I told you she'd be back in less than ten minutes!"

I felt a brief flicker of anger that that was all it took to assuage her worries on Nagato's account.

Author's notes: In imitation of one of my favorite fan fiction authors, I'm using this space to cover the background of this fic's original characters. Shingen Chisuga is new, while Yui Ishigaki, Tetsuya Yanami, and Goro Mishima were all introduced to varying extents in "Love Letter". Mishima is the only one of the three who's gotten an actual scene before now, in addition to being discussed at length by Kyon and Koizumi. Yanami was discussed by Kyon and Nagato but didn't actually appear, and until this fic Ishigaki got only a fleeting mention by Haruhi (who used only her given name, Yui).