3…

"See you at school!"

"Bye Itsuki, Kyon."

2…

"Uwah! Tsuruya, why did you take me here?"

"Did ya read the sign outside? Double service!"

1…

"But this is a host bar!"

"Who cares? Double service is exactly what the two of us need, the best way to end the night if you ask me!"

0…

Autumn

It was as if time had stopped the very moment I counted to zero. Everything was literally frozen, even the air felt as if I was trapped in a block of glass extending all the way down my throat and into my lungs. I could no longer feel the softness of my bed or gravity for that matter. I was nauseating how the air felt so solid. I was no longer able to draw breath or exhale. I kept my eyes shut feeling dizzy, my surroundings were warping. I've never felt so claustrophobic in my life.

Suddenly I was freed from my confined prison. I took a deep breath of air, unable to open my eyes I felt myself slowly being lowered onto the ground. My clothes were different, I was standing upright. There were sounds of other people around me. I finally opened my eyes and looked around at where I was.

I was at the host bar. I could tell from the atmosphere that I was late at night. Thank goodness Koizumi was here just as dizzy as I was from the lack of air, also recovering from the feeling of being trapped in glass. I need him to explain a few things for me. Why were we at the host club? Had Nagato's program finally finished?

"Koizumi." I said.

"Kyon, I finally remember where we were before Nagato started her program..."

"That's great but where?"

He was still drawing it large amounts of air, trying to catch his breath.

"No time to explain, we are being called for." He said finally recovering. He looked only slightly worn out in appearance.

"By who?"

A voice called for us from behind. It was a voice I had never heard before in this reality. It was no illusion, it was too distinct. If I tired I would be able to remember the voice. It's not supposed to be that way with illusions, whose voices you can never remember. It was driven deep into my memory, that voice. To confirm that it wasn't an illusion, I remember hearing it from before I came into the reality.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Tsuruya called for us from our double service table.

Koizumi took me by the wrist and pulled me over to the two costumers Tsuruya, and good lord, Asahina.

"This is the first time we are actually meeting them. By the looks of it you have made enough connections to be approached by these two. I have much to explain but it will have to wait until these two are gone. This is an opportunity to make even bigger connections so keep your cool."

We arrived at the table and Koizumi resumed his masquerade as a host.

"Welcome ladies to our wonderful host bar! You have sat at our double service table, which means the both of you will get two hosts to keep you company for the night! Now choose wisely which host you pick. Your decision will determine your experience here tonight! You can always change of course." He smiled.

Tsuruya and Asahina looked at each other, it was the first time they had heard such spiel from a host like Koizumi. He's doing a good job keeping them interested. Just who is the host here?

"You may call me 'The Crimson Superball' Koizumi Itsuki!" He took a pose and looked in my direction.

"What?... Oh! Erm… You may call me the 'Charming General Person!' Kyon!" I said awkwardly trying out my own pose I had just made up on the spot failing miserably, giving up and deciding to maintain normal posture instead.

Tsuruya looked back and forth between both of us having a hard time deciding which one of us to pick. Asahina found it impossible to choose before Tsuruya did so she stared somewhere else across the room behind us. I was secretly hoping that Tsuruya would pick Koizumi, which would leave me with Asahina. For the sake of making further connections with the old world I tried to look as unappealing as possible to Tsuruya, although I had a small desire to find out what being Tsuruya's host would be like. Koizumi knew what to do and quite naturally attempted to activate his non-existent male pheromones.

"I'll go for Mr. Superball over here then!" Tsuruya said pulling Koizumi's arm into the seat.

Perfect, it's going exactly as planned. Set by the reality or not, I'm moving in for the check. I coolly took a seat next to Asahina.

"Welcome to the club!" I said cheerfully savoring every moment I get to act as a host for Asahina.

She didn't say anything. All she did giggle and give a small wave. At least she was enjoying herself and not completely shut in. The events during the double service are irrelevant. Tsuruya was her regular energetic self, and although I hadn't expected her to act so according to my predictions, Asahina was reluctantly enjoying herself as well. It all passed, too quickly.

"Working at a host bar in your first year in high school, must be fun, nice work at a young age." Tsuruya said dreamily at the exit after our job had been done.

She was waiting for Asahina to return from the bathroom.

"I'm back." She said standing next to Tsuruya at the door.

"Now it wasn't as bad as you thought it was, isn't that right Mikuru?" Tsuruya laughed.

"I enjoyed it." Asahina smiled.

"We better get going now. Who knows, we just might come back some other time. It's nice to spend the night with a couple of nice guys like yourselves. See ya later!" Tsuruya said leaving.

"Good bye Kyon, I had lots of fun." Asahina followed Tsuruya out.

As soon as the door shut Koizumi's host smile vanished and for the first time in a while, he frowned.

"I guess our shift is over…" I usually would say in relief, but this time I was responding to Koizumi's frown. "What's up? Did something happen?"

"Yes… I expected something in the reality to change as we met Asahina and Tsuruya, but it seems that no connections have been made."

The place was closing down. We got changed into our normal clothes and hung our host suits up on the rack. As we walked towards the exit, the light behind us shut down on their own, one by one. All the doors lock by themselves, although we were the only ones left in the building. It was usually like this. The host bar closes itself down at the set time. The only light on in the bar now was the one above the exit door, dimly lighting our way out.

"No connections? Did we do something wrong? Did we forget anything?" I asked as we walked down the stairwell.

"Whatever happened, happened and couldn't have happened any other way." Koizumi replied.

"I expect we'll be seeing them again I suppose."

"They will become more relevant figures I suppose. Until then, the connections are the only things that matter for now."

It was getting late and the both of us were just about to go our separate ways.

"School begins tomorrow, I will see you then." Koizumi smiled as he waved, heading in the opposite direction I was.

I couldn't reply, remembering that school was to resume the next day. You can't help but feel irritated for the rest of the evening.

…

At least school in this reality is less demanding than the old world where you have to actually live through the insignificant parts of it. The idea was enough to keep me occupied until I had noticed I had walked too far down the street and passed my house.

"I'm home." I said into the house after I entered.

"Welcome home!" said a voice I wasn't too familiar with.

It was coming from the kitchen. Uru usually cooks dinner at this time. Was she trying to trick me?

Apparently this was a… Very good trick…

Asahina Mikuru, dressed in a night gown and an apron was standing in front of the stove tasting something that she had made, possibly some very nice soup judging by the smell. For a second I believed the reality was broken. I tapped the walls of the house a few times to make sure my fist didn't pass through it or distort in anyway. This wasn't a joke.

"What are you doing in my house?" I tried keeping my calm.

"Eh? What're you talking about?" Asahina had said in a very Uru like manner. "Why don't you take a seat over there at the dinner table? I'm almost done."

This person apparently isn't Asahina. Never would she break into my house in the middle of my night to change into a night gown and start making me dinner. Uru was absent, and here is this person who looks exactly like Asahina in the kitchen talking like Uru.

"Here ya go. I had to go out somewhere this evening so I didn't have much time to work on anything else." She set down the bowl of soup with a clatter.

I cautiously took a spoon, not even sure it would go down, having dinner with Asahina in very see through attire. How could anyone focus on eating in this situation? This was Uru's cooking alright. There was only one way to make sure.

"Uru?"

"What?" She asked abruptly.

This was indeed Uru, but why the sudden transformation in to Asahina? Was this really her with an altered personality? Is this Asahina look alike really the Uru I had been living with through my life in this reality? Or could she possibly an impostor?

"Nice soup…" I said quietly eating hastily.

"Hmm?" She glared suspiciously at me for a few seconds. "Alright then.' She said dropping her glare and returning to her own bowl.

…

After dinner I was waiting outside the bathroom for Uru to finish up her shower. Wondering what might be the cause for her change in physical appearance. Why would Uru change into Asahina of all people…

Urukim Anihasa…

You're kidding me, and I didn't see this before?

"No freaking way…" I thought about who Uru really was.

I had never met anyone like her in the old world. She was definitely not my younger sister. People do seem to be prone to personality adjustments in this reality. Changes in appearance also apply here. Could it be extreme to the point past the mere changes in clothes and hair? Something like age difference. Then again, I did see Asahina on my first day here, just as mature as she was in the old world. I had met Uru a short while after. I just saw the older Asahina today. Were there two Asahina's in this reality?

No, I'm getting too ahead of myself. As much as Uru's name is Mikuru spelled backwards and no matter how similar the two may be on the outside, there's no way to be sure if this is the real Asahina. I should first confirm that this isn't Uru first.

"Hey Uru." I said loudly so Uru can hear over the splashing noises the water was making.

"What are you doing outside? Are you peeking? I'll kick your ass pervert!" She said making the door shake with her death threat.

Asahina… Really? For a personality change this is a little too extreme. I'm getting closer to concluding that this isn't Asahina than confirming that this was Uru.

"Are you feeling alright?" I asked, wondering if Uru noticed that she suddenly had… um… I wondered if she felt anything strange with her body.

With her being in the shower and asking anything more specific would mean attracting too much of her suspicion and irritation.

"Well…" She started.

It sounds like she does feel strange with the changes that she appears to be almost oblivious to.

"There is something that's bothering me…" She said insecurely.

Jackpot, this is it, some clues!

"Yes? What is it?" I asked.

The door suddenly flung open and steam filled the hallway along with Asahina's towel clad silhouette.

"You're stalking me outside the bathroom during my shower!" She roared.

Excuse me?

"PERVERT!"

"Eh?"

Her eyes flashed maliciously midst the clouds of steam. Before I knew what had happened Uru impaled me with her foot and I was no more. Bad end? Might as well have been...

To Our Beloved Reader: I know, I know. It isn't Autumn yet... But I couldn't resist.

Thanks For Reading: LordPlagus777