A/N: So I keep forgetting that I have to put disclaimers here. Ah well, here goes:

I do not own Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu. Only Nagaru Tanigawa and Kyon own Haruhi. Lol. :P

Chapter 10

"Kyon-kun! Kyon-kun!"

Wha~? Who the hell dares to disturb my really cool dream right now? Nagato was in it for f— Oh it's my sister.

"Shia-chan?" I blearily said.

"Eh? Who's that Kyon-kun? Anyway, it's breakfast time lalala~," hummed my sister.

Whoops. Apparently, I was still half asleep since I was calling my sister random names.

"What's for breakfast?" I asked.

"Oh, we're having pancakes today."

Mmm. Pancakes. I already imagined the pancakes, slathered in maple syrup and topped off with a small slice of butter. Nothing like a decent American breakfast to start an uneventful day. At least, I hope it's uneventful. Too much has happened lately. I needed some rest. Good thing Haruhi didn't plan anything for this week, or I'd really be run dry.

I unsteadily got to my feet, and walked to the door. I rubbed my bleary eyes, and sniffed the air. Mm. I can already smell the pancakes.

"Hey, save some for me!" I called.

As I undertook the daily trip up the steep hill going to North High, I thought about my plans for tomorrow with Nagato. First, I'll take her out to lunch. Gotta be somewhere where she'll be satiated. Since I've seen that humungous appetite of hers over the past year. Buffet will do just fine. Then after that, we'll catch the 2 pm screening of Transformers. Then a walk around town then we'll just kill time at the library.

I wrung my hands like a mad scientist. The perfect date. Most unlike that date in one anime that I watched recently. That date was a total disaster, as the guy's friends had planned the date out in advance, and his date caught him referring to a map with instructions. Confess at the top of the Ferris Wheel. Please. How cliché. I sure wouldn't want to make the same mistake that guy did.

Besides, I'm sure Nagato will be easy to please. I wouldn't be surprised if she'd be fine with a picnic under a tree in the park in the afternoon. After all, I was with her, and I guess she did want that at the very least.

My thoughts were interrupted by a rough slap to my back.

"Ouch! Taniguchi! What the hell was that for?" I exclaimed.

"Heh. Sorry Kyon. Are the rumors true?" he asked.

Oh no.

"Which rumors?"

"The ones that say that you've hooked up with Nagato-san."

Crap. Nagato was that popular? I hope I don't get chased by envious men from around campus, much like that guy who blew his date in that particular anime. Well, I'm different from him. He had groupies dedicated to three girls who liked him going for his skin. As for me, I'm sure Nagato's fanboys aren't that many. And envious. And violent.

I sighed.

"And so what if they're true?" I answered.

"Well Kyon, I thought it'd be you and Suzumiya for sure. So something did happen that time, right?" asked Taniguchi slyly.

"What are you talking about?"

"That time when I caught you and Nagato in our classroom, all alone."

Oh, not that again.

"Like I already told you, idiot, Nagato suddenly felt weak due to her anemic condition. She stumbled, and before she hit the floor, I caught her. Got it?" I snapped.

"Okay, okay Kyon, cool it. Anyway, I won't be seeing you at lunch. I'm going to try my luck with the upperclassmen this time. Maybe that Tsuruya-san might do," he said.

No chance in hell Taniguchi. Tsuruya-san is definitely not in your tier. And by that, I mean that her tier is much higher than yours.

"That's just brutal dude."

"I speak the truth," I said, while laughing,

"Whatever Kyon. Anyway, later!"

Taniguchi then rushed off ahead of me. By this time, we had already crossed the hill, and North High was but a few meters away. Time to let the day slowly slip by, then before I know it, tomorrow's going to be here.

Morning came and went uneventfully, with Okabe-sensei's words entering my right ear and exiting my left as usual. When the lunch bell rang, my back was suddenly rapped by Haruhi.

"Rin-chan!"

"Ow! What was that for? And what new nickname is that for me?"

"Oh, I was just copying a green haired girl I saw in an anime based on a famous dating sim some time ago," she replied.

Yare yare.. She gets interested in the weirdest of things. I guess I'm so used to her eccentricity that I no longer consider her wanting to meet aliens, espers, time travelers, and sliders to be weird. Not that she knew that three of the four already surrounded her.

I'd been wondering for a while now when that slider would show himself. It also occurred to me not long ago that the slider could be me. I remembered Koizumi creeping me out for the first time because I asked.

"Do not worry Kyon-kun. You are a completely ordinary human. No special powers whatsoever," said Koizumi.

"How do you know this?" I asked.

"I did a background check on you. Sorry," said Koizumi sheepishly.

"You're freaking me out."

"Anyway Kyon, you're taking Yuki out to a movie tomorrow right?"

"Yeah."

"Make good use of those tickets you two won. You two actually took me by surprise. I didn't think you and Yuki would end up kissing thirty times," she exclaimed.

I just grinned at Haruhi. Apparently, here was the product of Nagato's reprogramming. She didn't give a damn about the whole business.

"Are you and Yuki going out now?" she asked.

"N-not really. Tomorrow's our first time out alone on non SOS Brigade related business."

"Hey, I got an idea! Let's all have some fun tomorrow. Meet at the train station at ten o'clock in the morning. That's an order. You and Yuki aren't excused just because you guys are on a date."

Jeez, way to go Haruhi. Now you're filling up my schedule. I was supposed to pick Nagato up at 1 pm tomorrow, since I was supposed to sleep in until 11 am. A man needs his rest. But of course, you're the Brigade Chief. Way to go for messing my plans up.

"Stop complaining Kyon. Okay, tomorrow, you're excused from paying for lunch. Since you have to spend money on Yuki, I figure that Koizumi or I could pick up tomorrow's lunch tab. Then pay whoever pays for tomorrow back within a week, or there'll be a penalty for you!"

I sighed. Oh well. At least she wasn't going bonkers about me and Nagato hooking up.

"Anyway, see you Kyon. I'll be roaming around the school for a bit. Don't forget to stop by the clubroom later. Attendance is mandatory, as usual," said Haruhi.

Do whatever you want Haruhi. I couldn't help but grin. I still have Nagato.

The afternoon class period came and went in a flash. Of course, I slept through most of the afternoon.

This week is honestly one of the most tiring weeks I've ever experienced. This even beats the time that Haruhi made summer repeat itself 15,498 times. I remembered with a pang how Nagato had been aware that those eight weeks of summer repeated themselves that many times. She had literally been running, for more than two millennia straight, in an endless circle of events that Haruhi didn't want to end because of me. All because I didn't do my summer homework before the end of the holidays. I have to apologize to Nagato for that soon.

When the final bell rang, I looked behind me and saw that Haruhi was already gone. Apparently, she left without me noticing. I stood up unsteadily, yawned loudly, and saw a note on her desk. It read,

"Today's meeting is going to be a quickie. Be there or else heads will roll. - Haruhi"

Good. At least I can get some well deserved rest after I bring Nagato home to get ready for tomorrow's big date.

I made my way to the clubroom, and knocked gently on the door.

"Come in!" shouted Haruhi.

Strange. I wonder why it wasn't Asahina-san who answered. I entered the room and looked around. There was Haruhi, already getting ready to leave, Nagato, sitting in the corner staring at me, Asahina-san, standing still by the stove, not wearing her maid costume, and Koizumi, who, to my immense surprise, was not smiling at all.

Before I could comprehend all of this, Haruhi said,

"You're late. You'll pay me back for tomorrow's lunch DOUBLE! Don't forget Kyon, tomorrow at ten o'clock."

With that, she left the room. I turned to the other three members.

"Uh. Did something happen?"

"K-Koizumi-kun. You tell Kyon-kun. I'm scared," squealed Asahina-san, who started to cry.

"Kyon-kun. We have a problem. According to Nagato-san over there, she has detected several human purpose organic interfaces making their way for Earth. Estimated time of arrival would be in about an hour," he said seriously.

"What do they want?" I asked.

"Originally, we thought that they wanted to interrogate Suzumiya-san, that's why I requested that she make today's meeting a short one, so she could safely get out of the way. However, that is not the case, and Nagato-san will explain the situation to you."

I turned to Nagato.

"Well? What's going on Nagato? Please make this explanation short, so I can easily understand."

The reply she gave was indeed, a short one. However, I was not amused in the slightest.

"Asakura Ryouko. She is coming. With her comes the entire rogue faction of interfaces affiliated with the Integrated Data Thought Entity. I thought that I had vanquished her in that classroom, but it appears that I am wrong. She comes for revenge."

"SHIT! What are we going to do?" I shouted.

"I have already alerted my colleagues to the situation, and they are coming as we speak," said Koizumi.

Hold on. I thought you espers could only work in closed space? How is that going to help us?

"Ah, but Nagato-san has a plan. Yesterday, Asahina-san filled me in on everything. I must congratulate you and Nagato-san now, while I still can."

He smiled.

"Do you remember that Nagato-san still has some of Suzumiya-san's power?"

"Yes. How is she going to use it?"

"She will make it so that our esper powers will work outside of closed space."

I turned to Nagato.

"Can you really do that?" I asked,

"Of course. It is within my abilities."

I turned to Asahina-san.

"What about you, Asahina-san?" I asked.

"E-eh, uhm.. It is forbidden for us time travelers to carry weapons, so I'm not sure how I can help. But I would like to help very much," she earnestly said.

"Do you remember the movie that we made? Do you remember that Haruhi temporarily made your Mikuru Beam real?" I asked.

Asahina-san nodded. I turned to Nagato.

"Nagato, can you make it so that Asahina-san over here can use her Mikuru Beam against the interfaces?"

Nagato's eyes glinted.

"Done," she said.

"Kyon-kun, how do I control the Mikuru Beam again? I seem to have forgotten how to…"

"Nagato, how will Asahina-san activate the Mikuru Beam?" I asked.

"Do what you did when we filmed the movie. Place your fingers in a V-shape around your eye and say, 'Mikuru Beam,'" replied Nagato.

"O-okay. I hope I can help if I'm needed," said Asahina-san.

"What else do we have to do?" I asked.

"We should relocate to an open area to minimize casualties," said Nagato.

Damn. This town is so urbanized there aren't many fields out there. Thankfully, Koizumi saved the day.

"There's an old abandoned warehouse that my colleagues own on the other side of town. I'll tell them to rendezvous there," said Koizumi.

"What about me? Do I go with you guys, or do I stay at my house" I asked.

"We think it is best if you stayed with us," said Koizumi. "I wouldn't put it past Asakura knowing about you and Nagato-san. If she targets you while we aren't around.."

He shuddered.

"We don't want that to happen. Or else no doubt Suzumiya-san will destroy this world and create a new one."

"Well, that's settled then."

Nagato then stood up, and said,

"We must leave now."

Suddenly, Koizumi's phone rang.

"Yes," replied Koizumi. "Ah. Alright. Understood."

He closed the phone and said,

"Our transportation is waiting outside. Let's go everyone," said Koizumi.

Forty-five minutes had passed since we left the clubroom. Here we were, at an abandoned warehouse on the other side of town, waiting for Asakura's Rogue Squadron to arrive.

I surveyed my surroundings. I was at the very back of the formation that the espers, Asahina-san, and Nagato had formed. I was not supposed to participate in the battle, since I'd be totally useless fighting human purpose organic interfaces. There were three legions of espers, each commanded by Nagato, Asahina-san, and Koizumi. Though I wasn't too sure if letting Asahina-san lead a group of espers in a battle was such a good idea. Maybe she'll play the role of a sniper with her Mikuru Beam? I silently prayed that she had enough practice a while ago in using the Mikuru Beam.

I made an estimate on the total number of people we had on our side, and my count was more or less 94, including Koizumi, Asahina-san, Nagato, and myself. I hope Asakura didn't bring too many of her friends. I shuddered at the thought of her knife being buried in my body and my almost getting killed by her, not once, but twice.

I looked at my watch. Five minutes till arrival. The formations were already in proper order. All that was left was to await the arrival of our enemies.

It turned out that five more minutes wouldn't suffice.

"Hello, Nagato-san," a girlish voice boomed inside the warehouse.

Asakura.

The top of the warehouse was suddenly blasted open. Floating in the afternoon sky above the warehouse was Asakura Ryouko, flanked by what seemed to be around a hundred rogue human purpose organic interfaces.

"I'm back. And this time, you shall die," said Asakura Ryouko.

A/N: I hope that the buildup in this chapter was just right. :P Btw, did anyone notice certain anime references I made? Peace ^___^ R&R please. :D