Chapter 3

Once again, here I am, on a sunny Tuesday morning, undertaking the journey going to North High. After more than a year of climbing this accursed hill going to school, I can safely say that I'm already used to the hike.

Unfortunately, I did not sleep well last night. After leaving the SOS Brigade, I went home, thankfully without any incidents occurring along the way. I performed my usual nightly ablutions before going to bed. The problem is, my dreams last night were punctuated by Data Entities engulfing my very being. I would have slept even worse than I had now if it weren't for the appearance of Nagato in my dreams.

Great Goddess Nagato had saved me from an even worse night of sleep. Even in my dreams! Yare yare..

Ever since I began to rely on Nagato for help, I've always felt that I was weak. But if you're wondering why it has to be Nagato, and not, say, Itsuki or Asahina-san, let's just face facts.

Asahina-san doesn't really display much power in this time period. Her true power is wielded by her future self, who is her superior from the future. As for Koizumi, his Esper powers are only effective in the Closed Space that Haruhi generates when under stressful or undesirable conditions.

Nagato, on the other hand, has already saved me from the rogue human interface Asakura Ryouko. As if that wasn't enough, Nagato was able to endure the roughly 16,000 iterations of our most recent summer activities, and most powerful of all, rewrite reality using the pilfered powers of Haruhi Suzumiya, rendering her completely powerless.

So there should be no question why I end up relying on Nagato to get me out of every sticky situation involving Haruhi. This time however, I have my doubts, since Nagato herself is the instigator of this situation, if my gut feeling is to be believed.

"Yo Kyon!"

I turned to whoever was calling me by that accursed nickname of mine. Ah, Taniguchi. It seems that bumping into him while traversing this hill is becoming a very common occurrence for me.

"Yo, Taniguchi," I replied.

"What's cracking lately? You and Suzumiya up to anything new?"

"Nah. Strangely enough, Haruhi hasn't had any plans as of late. I don't count our regular trips around town for mysterious events and people as plans," I said.

"Oh, come on Kyon, spill it!"

Damn it. Sometimes, Taniguchi can really piss me off when he talks about Haruhi and I.

"I'm not kidding," I replied scathingly.

"Okay, okay, I got the picture. Anyway, be seeing you later. Kunikida's got some delicious lunch today," he shouted while running ahead of me.

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And so I continued my trek to North High on my own, pondering on how to observe Nagato as needed for the next few days.

As usual, class flew by for me, like a runner in a hundred meter sprint race. It really seemed like everything that Okabe-sensei said entered my right ear and exited my left. Strangely enough, Haruhi seemed to be preoccupied with something today. She simply sat behind me throughout the morning, as stoic as Nagato on a normal day. Yare yare.. How many times has Nagato crossed my mind already?

The same was true for the afternoon classes. Haruhi was just sitting silently behind me. It's either she was extremely preoccupied with something, or she pretended that I didn't exist today.

When the bell for the final class rang, I decided to confront her. She was too quiet. And for Haruhi Suzumiya, that was nigh impossible, especially when I'm the person sitting in front of her. After all, she did bash my head into her desk on the day she decided to form the SOS Brigade.

"Yo. Haruhi. What's the matter?" I asked, while we were walking to the clubroom.

"Hm. Nothing. I just feel like there's something mysterious going on that I don't know about," she replied.

Hah. If you mean the potential for Nagato to love, then yes, that would qualify as mysterious.

"Huh? What was that about Yuki?"

Oh crap. Did I just say that out loud?

"Uhhh.. Nothing," I stammered.

Too much of a giveaway. Kyon you idiot.

"Kyooooooooooooooooon! WHAT ABOUT YUKI ARE YOU HIDING FROM ME!?" she screamed.

"Lower your voice Haruhi!" I snapped. "These hallways have great acoustics. So great that your shouting is going to make my eardrums burst."

"Okay fine! But you better spill whatever it is about Yuki that you're hiding from me," she said.

Hmm. Perhaps I can use this to my advantage. That way, I'll have more eyes on Nagato. The best part is, Haruhi doesn't even have to know my suspicions about Nagato.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But not in the clubroom."

I pulled her into a stairwell, much like the way she pulled me into a stairwell on that fateful day that the SOS Brigade was formed.

"Haruhi, I think Nagato is in love with somebody," I evenly said.

"WOW! Now that's mysterious! I wonder what Yuki's taste is like…." She trailed off into silence.

"We shouldn't be talking about it. But, if you're in this thing with me, we're going to find out if Nagato makes a move on whoever it is she likes," I said. "So, that means we should watch her without letting her know we're watching her, alright?"

"Is this like a detective game?"

As long as she doesn't barge into the whole situation, much like the way she did when we played that game against the Computer Club, I guess anything could work.

"Yeah, it is. So under no circumstances should Nagato know we're watching her."

"Got it. You know Kyon, for an underling, you do get strokes of inspiration," Haruhi replied. I ignored her.

We then went to the clubroom, and, as usual, Haruhi burst into the room without knocking. I surveyed the room that we just entered.

Thankfully, Asahina-san was not in the act of dressing when Haruhi and I entered the clubroom. She was already wearing her maid costume and was already brewing tea at the stove. Koizumi merely greeted us both with a smile, and, as expected, there was Nagato in the corner, reading another novel. I took the time to glance at the title, and it read, New Moon. What kind of titles are these anyway? Thankfully, Nagato did not meet my eyes this time, so that saved me from trying to hide my nagging suspicions about her love interest, especially because, despite anything I might say, I actually wanted Nagato to like me.

As Haruhi was sitting down at her throne (that is to say, the chair with the prism labeled "Chief"), she beckoned me to get behind her. I obliged, vaguely wondering what she'd pull this time.

She removed her armband that read "Brigade Chief." She took out a marker, and, on the underside of the armband, scribbled "Ultra Stealthy Secret Detective."

Cue my facepalm right now.

"Haruhi," I whispered. "Nagato isn't supposed to know about this, alright?"

"Yes yes Kyon, but it doesn't feel right without it."

I emitted an audible sigh. Haruhi can be very weird at times. Sometimes, I just have to wonder what exactly is going through that girl's brain.

With that, Haruhi stood up.

"Attention, SOS Brigade, I have an announcement. For the duration of this week, we are not going to have any special activities. Let's just say I need a break from searching for aliens, time travelers, espers, and sliders, so let's just hang around in the clubroom and relax."

Koizumi raised an eyebrow and said, "Whatever works, Suzumiya-san." He gave her another one of those kiss ass smiles. He's really getting better at doing it.

"D-d-do I have to change into any other c-costumes?" Asahina-san timidly asked. Poor girl! She was literally trembling in fear.

"No Mikuru-chan, the maid costume will do," replied Haruhi.

"Eh?" Asahina-san and I replied at the same time. "Haruhi, are you serious?" I asked.

"Yeah I am," she said. "I figured I'd give Mikuru-chan a break as well on the cosplay."

"Thank you, Suzumiya-san. Here's some tea," Asahina-san said.

Wow. That was most certainly unexpected. Haruhi is really getting into this plan of mine. I figured I might as well play my part in this plan of mine. I pulled up a chair and sat down beside Nagato, with a magazine in my hand.

"Hey, Nagato, mind if I sit here?" I asked.

"…"

Nagato just shook her head and went back to reading that novel of hers. I decided to adapt what the Nagato in the other world did: pretend to read while observing. Of course, I won't make the same mistake of giving myself away, as that other Nagato turned beet-red when she had noticed me watching her watch me.

And so the afternoon proceeded quietly and smoothly. Haruhi was just playing games on the computer; Koizumi and Asahina-san were playing Othello, while I pretended to read beside Nagato. After about an hour of performing my charade, I began to feel the rays of the setting sun on my face. Any time now, Nagato should close her book and stand up, that being the signal for us to leave.

I was right, in some aspects of that normal daily occurrence. But there was a twist this time. When Nagato stood up, she addressed all of us.

"It is time for us to go home. However, I must request that the three of you –"she pointed to Haruhi, Koizumi, and Asahina-san in quick succession, " – leave us in private."

Strangely enough, Haruhi said, "Alright Yuki! Sure. Mikuru-chan, Koizumi-kun, let's go!"

Asahina-san looked baffled, so Koizumi had to beckon for her to leave, wearing his smile all the while. However, as Haruhi passed Nagato and I, she gave me a short nod that seemed to say, "You had better find out who Yuki is in love with, and this is the best opportunity for it. Do not fail me!"

When the clubroom door finally closed, Nagato and I were left alone in the room. No one seemed to want to pierce the silence. Eventually, Nagato did.

"Kyon," she stated.

My eyes widened in shock. This was the first time in living memory, in any time plane, that Nagato Yuki had called me that. Normally, I'd be annoyed, but coming from Nagato, that nickname didn't sound so bad.

"Y-yes?" I stuttered out of shock.

"Love," she said. "What is love?"

Hmm. The answer to this question would require me to dig very deep into my philosophical thinking. Where are those ranks in Knowledge (Love) when I need them? Stupid Dungeons and Dragons system. It took me a while before I came up with my answer.

"Nagato, I believe that love means sacrifice. When you're willing to sacrifice the most important things to you for someone's sake, then I guess you love that person," I seriously said. "For example, your own life."

"…"

"…"

"In that case, then this interface has already processed that feeling a long time ago."

"When was that?" I inquired.

"When, according to your memory, I first saved you from Asakura Ryouko," she said.

I was stunned. She was willing to die for me. I guess I was right. Nagato Yuki indeed loved me.

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A/N: This may sound like the end, but it isn't the end yet! Don't worry everyone. Comments are appreciated.