Itsuki and Juro lifted off the ground and flew through the air, battling and circling the glowing blue Celestial as it pounded and destroyed everything in its path. Juro wondered if it felt pain, but that thought was short-lived. Such a demon would never feel pain.

Moving at such speeds, Juro felt as if he was going to collide or crash at any moment, tumbling to the ground and to his death. This however, did not happen. Instead, it was the Celestial that had that fate.

Its arms fell off and crashed into the ground, and then its head was sliced off by one of the other espers. The job was not too hard when they all worked together.

Itsuki landed back on the ground by his son when the fight was over and they watched together as the Closed Space cracked and broke apart in a big finale of light and sound. It took a moment for them to re-adjust to the real world again.

The two of them came home and Ituski's wife was ready with a hot bowl of ramen for each of them. They ate it slowly and loudly, absorbing the heat and taste as they swallowed the wet noodles.

The next day wasn't much different. They were eating their lunch, when suddenly a Closed Space needed tending to. They excused themselves and rushed off, leaving the wife and daughter by themselves. They did not like being left alone like this is the middle of a meal, but they knew that they had no choice.

This Closed Space was a bit bigger than the last and was quickly growing. They did not wait longer than a second to power up and to go fight. They had gone through the same thing the day before, so they still had in mind the best method of defeat. This time the destruction of the Closed Space was not as amazing as the last. Two days in a row, it wasn't exciting anymore.

Every day for the next week, a Closed Space appeared somewhere, and Itsuki and his son would run off to go destroy it. It was not what you would call practical, but you could call it work.

"We need to find the source of such unhappiness for Miss Susumiya," said Itsuki to his son while they were walking home. "We can't let this go on if it can be helped. I've never seen her create Closed Spaces this frequently before."

"How are we going to do that?" asked Juro. "It's not like we can just come up to her door and say 'Hey, Miss Suzumiya! Do you mind telling us why you were creating such trouble for us lately? Those Closed Spaces are popping up every day!'"

"No, you're right, but I've got a hunch as to what may have happened."

Itsuki held his son's hand and they started walking. It didn't take too long, but it was long enough for Juro to start to get bored. He decided he'd say something to make sure they weren't on a wild goose chase.

"Dad, are you sure this is the right way?"

"Well, no, but we're almost in the first place I want to look. I think it may be the most likely place for us to find answers."

Itsuki replied the way he always had to his son's questions; calmly. He was never agitated, never uptight. He was the kind of person his son looked up to and wanted to be.

The dark clouds in the sky gave way and it started to rain, but Itsuki did not turn back, just kept going. They had reached where he had heard of Haruhi going before. He thought he might find her here today.

They walked along until they found the place in the cemetery and there read the name as clear as could see; Suzumiya. In front of it was a figure of a woman. She was kneeling down and facing the shrine of sorts, her head bowed slightly.

Itsuki could tell who it was from five feet away; the distance that he and his son were currently standing from her.

Although the rain pattered against the ground, they could hear Haruhi sobbing. Her breathing was uneven, her shoulders shaking. They weren't trying to listen, but they could hear her whispering between her uneasy breaths.

"Why….why did you have to leave me?" Haruhi whispered. "I still need you…..I'm not ready for your to leave me yet. There was so much I still wanted to do. I want you to still be by my side, to guide me through my problems, to help me reach my goals. You were always so confident, and I tried so hard to be just like you. You were exactly who I wanted to be, and I still need you to help me fulfill that dream…..

"You always told me that I need to be strong, and I tried so hard. You told me I could do anything I wanted and that's what I tried to do, but I still don't know if it was enough. I haven't gotten enough time with you yet. Why did you have to leave me now?"

Haruhi stood up and slowly turned to leave. She turned around until she laid eyes on Itsuki and Juro, her eyes swollen and overflowing with tears. Her long, dark hair, slightly tangled, lightly caressed her shoulders.

"Koizumi..?" she said slowly, her eyes squinting slightly and her eyebrows tightening.

She slowly walked towards him, not sure why he was there.

"Miss Suzumiya…" Itsuki started to say, but he didn't need to finish. Haruhi gasped, realizing it was him.

"It is you," she said "Koizumi, why?"

"I was only worried about you," Itsuki said. "I wasn't sure if I'd find you here, but I must tell you something."

"No, Koizumi, nothing will ever make me happy again. Mother is gone. I cannot see her anymore. There is nothing good left."

"Do you remember North High? Do you remember the SOS Brigade?"

"What does that have to do with anything? It's over, all those days spent on trivial activities, they are completely gone. Those many days of happiness, they mean nothing to me now."

"Do you remember looking for aliens, time travelers and espers?"

"Who cares about them anymore? They don't exist. It's impossible. I should have realized that fact so long ago."

"You don't truly think that, do you?"

Haruhi tensed slightly and looked at him with a confused expression.

"I didn't think so," continued Itsuki. "You still believe they could still be out there. You were surrounded by them all this time."

"What? No. You are fooling with me, Koizumi. There are no aliens, time travelers or espers at all."

"No, that's not true. Believe me, Miss Suzumiya, they are around you. Miss Nagato is an alien. Well, a Humanoid Interface to be exact. Miss Asahina, is a time traveler and I am what you'd call an esper. We are all this way because you wanted it. You wished it. Wish for anything Miss Suzumiya, you'll have it. You have an amazing gift; you can have whatever you want. Wish for it, you can make it a reality."

Haruhi's face brightened, but she wasn't truly happy.

"Show me…..show me! I need proof!" Haruhi got louder as she made her way through this statement. How could she believe him? Words mean nothing. Words can be spoken without feeling, without meaning behind them; empty words.

"I'm sorry, Miss Suzumiya. I can't at this time. We can't. Juro and I are not currently able to do so."

"Of course…" said Haruhi "…because you actually don't have powers. You're covering it up!"

"It makes perfect sense for you not to believe me, but I promise I'll be able to show you, sometime."

Itsuki's face suddenly took on an expression that Haruhi had never seen before. It was only for an instant, but it was there long enough for her to notice. It had flashed across the boy's face at the same time. Something strange was happening.

"It appears I can show you now…" said Itsuki. He held out his hand. Haruhi, not knowing what else to do, reached out to hold it.

"Right this way…" he said. "Close your eyes for one moment."

"Why?"

"Just do it." It was the boy who spoke this time. Reluctantly, Haruhi did so.

When she opened her eyes, the world of grey shocked her, but she had seen it before. A blue giant thrashed about in the distance. It was like the strange dream she had had such a long time ago.

Was it really a dream?

"Watch," said Itsuki.

He and his son became two red balls of light that began to fly through the air, destroying the blue giant, piece by piece.

"Impossible…" she whispered to herself.