Chapter 2

My thoughts immediately shifted towards the possible implications of this deduction of mine. I remembered with a jolt what Nagato had done. That was when she caused the Vanishment of Haruhi Suzumiya. This event occurred on the morning of December 18 last year, where Nagato remade the world. She had made so that Haruhi and Koizumi would never go to North High. In that reality, the two of them were instead enrolled in Kouyouen High, which wasn't an exclusive school in that world. Also, Asahina-san in that world was merely a cute but unreachable upperclassman, without any traces of her being a time traveler. As for Nagato herself, she made it so that she would be "reborn" as a normal human high school girl, who merely happened to be very timid and shy.

An electric shock seemed to have passed through my brain when I remembered the incident in her apartment in that alternate world. She had invited me for dinner, and I obliged, seeing how much that Nagato wanted to be with me at the time. Then, all hell in my mind had broken loose when Asakura Ryouko came in to cook our dinner. Immediately, I excused myself from the dining room where Asakura had taken her place, and I ran into Nagato, who was carrying three plates from the kitchen for the three of us to dine on. With a sinking feeling, I remembered how that conversation had taken place.

"Oh, so you are not eating with us?" Asakura Ryouko had said when I stood up to leave.

That was when I nearly bumped into Nagato.

"I'm leaving. Sorry for intruding. See you tomorrow," I had said.

Then, it happened.

I felt a tug on my sleeve that seemed to be as light as a feather falling from the glorious heavens above. I looked for the source of the very, very weak force, and I saw Nagato tugging my sleeve, just like when she handed me the Literature Club application form. I looked at her face, and I noticed that she was looking at the floor while she was pulling my sleeve. Obviously, she did not want me to leave her alone with Asakura in that room. I was more than happy to oblige, after seeing for the first time, a Nagato who was very, very desperate in wanting me to stay.

I was still in the position meant for sleeping students when I realized that I was wide awake. I was severely disturbed by the implications of all of this. I still haven't considered everything yet though; my memories of the other Nagato were akin to the top of an iceberg.

I decided to sneak a look at the clubroom while pretending to be asleep. I opened one eye and I saw Koizumi reading a magazine at the other end of the table. Upon further scrutiny, I saw the title and my jaw almost dropped at the sheer openness of his actions.

The magazine was titled 100 Sexiest Men of the Year. Jeez Koizumi, you might be pretending to be ambiguously gay so that Haruhi won't wish you to become such, but isn't this taking it a bit too far? Haruhi isn't even here! Yare yare…

I then stole a look at Asahina-san, who was now brewing some tea. Thankfully, it seemed that every ounce of concentration she had to spare was focused on brewing her heavenly tea. Hmph. I really shouldn't think lustfully about her from now on. After all, Asahina-san deserves better, right?

And of course, I couldn't resist sneaking a look at Nagato. She was still immersed in that romance novel of hers. I automatically closed my eyes again, and I went back to pondering further other potential implications of my deduction earlier.

And then it really hit me this time. Even a Yamato Gun shot from a fully armored Battlecruiser couldn't hit me as hard as this thought hit me. Fear suddenly began to course through my veins, as I remembered the very root of Haruhi's disappearance.

What if Nagato were to rewrite the world again? Even worse, if she did so, what if she doesn't leave an Emergency Escape Program like last time?

I now knew what I had to do. I would have to observe Nagato very, very closely during the next few days. If she tries anything, I would be the first to know. It also helps that, in the SOS Brigade, she seems to only trust me. I could use that to my advantage if I were to prevent another world-cramping incident.

It isn't that I don't like how Nagato may or may not feel about me. I wasn't really averse to that. Besides, she had saved my neck countless times already. I felt that I owed Nagato quite a lot now. And I must admit, she's really cute in ways that even Asahina-san is not.

If ever she felt that way about me, I would be more than happy to reciprocate it. After much careful consideration, I realized that, if she really does feel that way about me, then I could use this to help her interact with the world more. I wouldn't even have to blackmail the Integrated Data Thought Entity like I did after returning to this current world from the alternate reality. I could channel some of her feeling towards other things, so I could help her become more sociable. Personally, I guess that's the only thing lacking in Nagato's psyche. The ability to interact with others.

I then gave up my act of pretending to be asleep. I then stood up and said, "Okay everyone, I'm leaving now. I got some homework to do for tonight. Better do it so Haruhi won't bite my head off for 'neglecting my studies,'" as I mimicked floating quotation marks in the air.

"Alright Kyon. See you tomorrow," Koizumi said. As usual, he still had his million watt smile. How much more MP am I gonna have to expend to avoid punching him in the face..

"B-but.. Kyon-kun. Your tea isn't ready yet," Asahina-san mumbled.

"It's okay Asahina-san. You can have my share of your tea. You deserve at least some of the fruits of your own effort, right?" I said gently.

"Thank you so much Kyon-kun," Asahina-san said. She gave me one of her radiant smiles. I couldn't help but smile back.

I picked up my bag and walked to the door. As I passed Nagato, I said, "Yo, Nagato. I'm going. See you tomorrow."

Nagato looked up from her book and looked at me. Then, something that I didn't expect to happen happened. In the same way that she shocked me by blushing, I saw her mouth turn up ever so slightly at the corners. I couldn't help but smile back at her. Damn, she really does look great without glasses.

Nagato then gave me a short nod, and I walked out of the door. Yare Yare.. So much work to do over the next few days..

A/N for KeRose: Uh, I set this right before the Dissociation novel. I think that Kyon knowing about the Anti-SOS Dan in this story might complicate things too much.