"I can't say that I haven't considered it once. I've been curious about why Uru looks like Asahina but it never crossed my mind to introduce them to each other." I replied.

Koizumi put his hand on my shoulder. I had the urge to jump back but it wasn't the moment to be Koizumiphobic. He had something important to say.

"Kyon, it has come to my realization that we are not supposed to return to the old world."

You're joking, right Koizumi? Not supposed to go back to the old world? Then you mean we're stuck here for the of our lives? No, Koizumi would never say something like that as calmly as he did now. Then again I have no idea what he's feeling behind that smile of his. I wouldn't be surprised if he remained impassive announcing our own death sentences.

"There has to be some other way back to our old lives. There is another way out, is there?" I asked with suppressed panic.

"Yes Kyon." Koizumi replied followed by a great rush of relief. "We are closer to 'returning' than ever before."

"Alright then." I said taking a deep breath. "As always… explain please."

"It would be much easier discussing it, with the rest of our group. I believe I'll be able to answer all of our questions." Koizumi said. "Suzumiya's powers are as active as ever. For a person like myself where I am constantly aware of her powers whether I want to or not, it means much when I say 'active'."

What Koizumi meant by the rest of our group I had no idea. There were also many things I wanted to ask about what condition the reality was in if Koizumi was feeling all this activity. The guy at the store, Asahina and Uru, why we weren't going back the old world, I would just die waiting.

"Ah, Koizumi." I said. "Did you see Haruhi go by here?"

"I don't think so, why do you ask?" Koizumi asked shrugging.

"Never mind if you don't know."

How could Koizumi not notice Haruhi lurking around the second year's floor out of all the illusions in the hallway? She stands out from the crowd even if they weren't just illusions. What good are you at sensing Haruhi's powers if you can't even take notice of her passing you by in the hallways?

Then again, he was the same person who had made Haruhi his regular before even knowing who she actually was. It's not his fault.

…

The rest of the school day was slightly off from my average experience. Haruhi was in an unusually good mood, Koizumi had little to say or talk about as he thought deeply about what actions to take with the activity of Haruhi's powers. In no time school was over the five original members of the SOS Brigade were gathered in the clubroom. That would be, only if Uru hadn't replaced Asahina.

"There seems to be a small issue." Koizumi whispered to me as we sat together in the clubroom.

"What might it be?" I asked.

"I never really had a chance to have a good talk with Asahina before. Besides the host bar, there really hasn't been an extended period of meeting. I am still waiting for an opportunity to bring up the selected subjects without having the people who aren't involved listening into our conversation."

"So when do you plan to catch her alone? She's almost always next to Tsuruya when you see her."

"It might be even harder than that, as long as Uru is in our presence we won't be able to see Asahina." Koizumi whispered

"Why is that?" I asked curiously with my face behind my book.

"We haven't ever seen the two together before. I am sure that you haven't either." Koizumi said.

"That's right, we haven't."

"I believe that Uru and Asahina are sharing the same body. Their personalities alternate back and forth, the time intervals I am not very sure of. I have confirmed it this morning when we met on the second years' floor. Asahina was not in her classroom and you had said that Uru was in yours."

"How can we be sure?" I asked, I wasn't really sure about them sharing bodies. Can't it be that I've just never seen them at the same time?

"We can't be sure just yet." Koizumi said. "So tonight when you set off to work, I'll follow Uru, and you go to where Asahina should be. If you and I see both Uru and Asahina, then my personality switch theory is invalid. If Asahina is not present and I end up following Uru for the rest of the evening and vice versa, we'll have enough evidence for a base assessment."

"I see. I guess we won't know anything until I leave for work." I said without bothering to whisper. Haruhi looked up from her won stuff when I mentioned work. I could have sworn I had seen her smile. I wonder if she still visits the host bar. She hasn't mentioned it at all since I've left. Isn't she curious about where I work now?

…

"Alright everyone, nice work for the day." Nagato said to dismiss us from club activities. "You're free to leave, I will be going."

As the other members said their good byes to Nagato as she left, Haruhi rushed right out of the clubroom without a word, or even a glance for that matter. Uru got up after Haruhi with her bag.

"I'll be heading home early to make dinner, have fun at work." She said before leaving.

"You know what to do Kyon, I'll be following her." Koizumi said as he gestured to the door after Uru left. "Make sure not to make any calls until after you're finished with work. It might interfere with our little investigation."

"Sure I won't. I'll be too busy to do so anyway. I have a feeling the second day is going to be as exhausting as the first." I sighed.

"Kyon, I have slipped a little something into Uru's bag." Koizumi mentioned getting ready to leave. "It's a Host Bar Business card. You'll know when you see it won't you?" Koizumi said.

"Of course how can I forget? Why are you bringing this up now?" I asked.

"Well, if Asahina and Uru are sharing the same body, I'm certain Asahina would be using the same bag that Uru is currently using." Koizumi said. "I need you to look through Asahina's bag while you're at work and see if she has the card or not. If she does have it, we can be sure that Uru and Asahina are indeed sharing the same body. Do not worry Kyon, this is for the sake of discovery and surely not a crime to just look through, even if it is a slight invasion of privacy, I'm sure your sense of morals will not be bothered by this?"

"Of course not." I assured with a sigh.

"Good luck Kyon." Koizumi said going off to catch up with Uru.

…

I couldn't help feeling the anticipation of finding out the relationship between Asahina and Uru. I wondered if there would even be any time for me to look for the card without getting caught be Asahina or worse, Tsuruya, that's even if I could get to the bag first. This will be difficult. It really don't have to anyway, If Koizumi ends up following Uru through the evening and I don't see her at work, then it's solved. They're sharing the same bodies. If they end up appearing together then that would be even bigger headache to solve, clones. It might be messed up if none of them showed up at all.

"Welcome back Kyon! I see you're ready for another day of work?" Tsuruya asked as she stood at the register.

I was almost too unbearable to nod, the thought of work were already wearing out my neck muscles, as well as every other part of my body.

"Don't worry though; it'll be easier for you today. You see, we have a new employee." Tsuruya said loudly.

"Eh? Who might that be?" I asked counting off the people in the reality on my fingers, trying to predict who it would be. Could it be Uru? No, she went to make dinner. What about Nagato? I'm sure she doesn't have much to do after school, why not pick up a part time job while she's at it? Then again, I don't think Asakura would like the idea of Nagato working into the late hours. Nagato's already doing fine with Asakura, so she's out of the possible choices. It might even be Koizumi. That might only be possible if a freak change in plan took place, but I doubt that would even be possible. Could it be?...

"Hey there Kyon…" I heard the voice behind me. I spun around and almost fell over.

"You can call her Haruhi! But I bet you already know her don't you Kyon? She's in your class!"

"Of course I do! But why?" I asked Haruhi who was in the work uniform that matched Asahina and Tsuruya's.

"Umm… you quit the host bar and Koizumi tells me that you started working at Tsuruya's store" She said brushing off her uniform skirt, over conscious of her appearance. "I thought it might be fun to try and work with you for a while here."

"Alright then, Asahina isn't going to be coming into work today. I let her have a day off, but no worries; with Haruhi here I'm sure that we'll get enough work done for the evening." Tsuruya laughed.

Was that it? Does that mean Koizumi will be spying on Uru for the rest of the evening?

"So start stacking them shelves!" Tsuruya commanded.

Haruhi hurried off to start working, as I was about to follow her to where ever the empty shelves may be I was stopped by Tsuruya.

"Kyon, good luck." She winked.

"Get off it…"

"And wait for me in front of the store when we close down." She added.

I nodded in reply and went off to get started myself.

…

It was awkward no matter how you looked at it. The countless aisles seemed to go down the store for miles when you're stacking shelves with this reality's Haruhi. She didn't really say a word. She worked as fast as she could, we didn't even make the smallest eye contact. I however had a lot more on my mind, thus I was bound to fall behind in my work.

If I'm here alone with Haruhi right now, that must mean that I'm supposed to interact and make connections with her. Nobody has any idea how pressuring that feels. I wasn't expecting this kind of scenario until the search on Saturday. I really wanted to slip out of work and call Koizumi on the phone to see how he's doing.

"Is this really more fun than working at the host bar with Koizumi?' Haruhi asked.

"Some things came up, I had to change jobs." I replied.

"I understand, I'm kind of glad and disappointed at the same time." Haruhi said.

"Really?" I asked, trying to think of better longer responses. It was no good. She's completely leading this conversation. I had no motivation to do it myself. "Why disappointed? Is the host bar no fun without me around? I thought you liked choosing Koizumi." I joked.

Haruhi dropped her can and hurriedly bent down to pick it up before it rolled away.

"I really wanted to work up the courage to try something different." Haruhi said.

"Different? Is Koizumi no good?" I asked.

Haruhi's cheeks turned pink as she gave me a look that hinted that I was missing her signals. Things that you see often in a romance manga or dramas but none of those could have helped me decode her hints.

"Anyways," Haruhi sighed. "I'm glad you got this job if you were quitting the host bar. Something that I can do with you." She said with much difficulty.

"I understand." I said.

"Really?" She asked hopefully.

"Part time jobs are no fun if you do it by yourself, it's better to have a friend to with you, am I right?" I said cheerfully to try to lighten the mood.

Haruhi sighed again; this conversation wasn't going to make any connections happen. She's not enjoying this in the least. Making connections would be much easier if I was still in the host bar. Not once did Haruhi ever give any signs that she wanted to choose anyone other than Koizumi. I bet I'd have way more confidence if I was in my host uniform. Anything that would've helped me spit out some sort of clever line.

"You're right; it is a lot more fun isn't it?"

"I'm looking forward to the search on Saturday." I said to change the subject.

"So am I." Haruhi replied in a light tone.

"We'll have lots of fun then. You can be sure of that." I said encouragingly.

"I'm still kind of confused, what are we supposed to be looking for?" She asked.

"Aliens, Time Travelers, and Espers." I replied. "If they exist of course."

"Do they?" She asked skeptically.

It was weird hearing Haruhi ask me that. Honestly I didn't even know what to say if I brought the subject up. By replying no that'd just make the search meaningless. It'll also make it hard to bring back the old Haruhi by giving her hints of the life style from the old world. If I reply yes, I'll be confirming that they do exist and I'll be allowing Haruhi to believe in them.

"We'll see after the search." I said having nothing else left.

"I see…" Haruhi didn't seem too convinced.

"But hey! We'll be playing around on the side. I'll even treat you guys to lunch and stuff." I said, once again attempting to lighten the mood.

"Sure." She smiled weakly. No matter how small this Haruhi's smile may be, it's the feeling of knowing it exists makes it all the more brighter. I hope I'll be there to see more of it.

…

"Thanks for wait up Kyon." Tsuruya said as she locked the last entrance into the store. All the work had been done. My arms were sore from the second straight day of stacking cans. Haruhi left on a good note, and I was relieved to be done with it all.

"So why'd you hold me back?" I asked expecting a good reason for an illusion to want to speak to me.

"Walk me home Kyon." Tsuruya said.

Her being my boss had some part in it, but out of instinct I followed without asking any questions.