April 18th. Friday Afternoon. Location unclear.
I carefully bowed down to allow Haruhi to dismount, which she did slowly like she didn't trust her own feet yet. But once she had both legs on the ground she assumed a firm position, just the slightest bit wobbly at first.
"Are you alright?" I asked with genuine concern as I stood up, I'm not used to seeing Haruhi this vulnerable. She didn't answer, just stared at me silently. The look on her face was still one of stunned amazement, like a child meeting Santa Claus. She placed her hand over my face and ran it across my forehead and cheeks, as if to examine it like she was blind.
"Is it really you?" She asked cautiously. "You…you're really him? I didn't get a good look that night but I always thought you two were similar…but that was 4 years ago…"
Her face of amazement turned into one of apprehension as the implication of that fact sank in.
"But…you…John Smith was about your age when I met him all those years ago…"
I've told her everything I can get away with. I simply cannot confirm the existence of time travel to her. She has to have some slither of ambiguity, some crack that her rationality can wedge its way through and prevent her mind from running loose. It's the only way this gambit of mine can work.
"I can't tell you everything," I said carefully, knowing how this answer might rub her he wrong way, "I'd like to point out that we're still on the run and I don't think it's a good idea to be giving lengthy explanations out here in an open field. I know it's a lot to ask right now, but can you just trust me and follow me?"
"Trust you?" Haruhi asked, "I let you drag me all the way here before I started to ask questions, isn't that enough?"
"No, I need to get you to a hotel or something. Somewhere we can stay out of sight, indoors."
"But…I don't understand…" Haruhi murmured, "how can you be John smith? I thought he'd be in his twenties by now…"
"I said there's something special locked within you?" I asked her, keeping my cautious tone like a doctor explaining a bad diagnosis to patient, "If I tell you too much that special something might get…unlocked."
"I don't understand," Haruhi pleaded, "What on earth are you talking about? Something special?"
"It's…hard to explain. Basically, if I tell you too much I'd be giving you the key to unlocking that. You won't be able to help yourself, and then what's safely locked within you might…get out."
Haruhi stared at me blankly for a while, and then her face turned to anger.
"That's the most convoluted excuse I've ever heard, even from you!" She accused, some of her vigor returning.
"Yeah I know…sorry but it's the only one I can give you," I said apologetically.
Haruhi stared at me with a look in her eyes that made it clear she was not at all satisfied with my answers.
"Just tell me this…" She said, "Are you…you know…human?"
"Sorry to disappoint, I know how much you wanted to date an esper or an alien, but I'm just an ordinary human," I said.
"It didn't have to be esper or alien…just someone interesting, and out of all the words I have to describe you now, boring certainly isn't one of them." Haruhi said and looked to her side with pout.
"Glad I can meet your standards." I said.
"You're under evaluation!" She shot at me. "So, you're not going to tell me how you appeared before me 4 years ago the same age you are now? Or why you did?"
"I can't."
"You're not going to tell me what strange phenomenon you claim caused you to get recruited by a powerful organization? You're not going to tell me what you say I caused or how I did it?"
"I already explained, I can' tell you that."
"You won't tell me just who these people are you've gotten yourself involved with?"
"I can explain that better once we've found a place to stay."
"And you won't tell me just what it is you say I have locked inside of me?"
"I don't really understand it myself."
Haruhi stared at me thoughtfully for a moment, this time I was the one that broke the silence
"Do you believe me?" I asked.
"I'm thinking…" She mused, "The contents of that bag prove that you really are involved with some powerful people, I know you didn't gather this yourself because know you'd never be this thorough.…You being John Smith proves that there's something weird going on with you…but this 'something locked within you' business…that just too much to take in," She said, clearly perplexed.
I thought it might be…
"Okay, how about this," I said, trying to sound reasonable, "if you can't believe me can't you trust when I say that you really are in danger and I really am looking out for you, and that I honestly can't tell you too much. I've already said more than you're supposed to know."
"Supposed to know?" Haruhi repeated and raised an eyebrow, "You make it sound planned…have you been keeping things away from me?"
"…Yes, I had to," I admitted.
Haruhi narrowed her eyes at me and frowned fiercely.
"And after admitting that, you're asking me to follow you blindly?" she accused.
"That's really what you've been doing so far," I said.
"And look where it got me," Haruhi said and gestured at our surroundings.
For moment she was silent. She looked like she was thinking about something so I didn't interrupt her, I wasn't having much luck explaining this to her in a way that she'll accept.
"Okay. Fine. I'll follow you for now, despite the gigantic holes in your story, which I expect you to fill in time," Haruhi finally said determined, "but there are two conditions!"
"I guess that's fair…what are they?" I asked, knowing that these 'conditions' she spoke of would in fact be demands.
"Condition one!" Haruhi declared and put her hand in a fist right in front of my face with only her index finger pointing up.
"You say you've had to keep me in the dark about some things, but now you've apparently decided that it's better that I know. So from now on I want you to tell me everything. If you want me to follow you, you can't keep anything away from me anymore!" Haruhi said with clear determination, reassuming her leadership role.
"Condition two!" She lifted up her middle finger. "You say I have…something locked within me…I don't really understand what you mean by that, because you won't tell me, but now you say that there are some people after me because they want to make use of it…if that's true…then I'm not some commodity, I won't be used as a tool, a weapon or a resource, you got that!"
"Yeah, sure…"
"Condition three!" She lifted up her ring finger.
"But you said-"
The look on her face shut me up.
"Condition three!" She repeated impatiently, "You say that there's some sinister plot going on around us, if that's true and I agree to go with you then you must see this through to the end! Don't leave me with your associates, don't give up halfway and don't you dare abandon me at some sleazy hideout!"
"You got all that?" she asked, like a drill sergeant breaking a recruit.
"Yes. Don't lie to you, don't use you as a tool and follow you to the end of this," I recited, "I accept those terms."
Haruhi gave me a scrutinizing stare.
"Good."
We stood there for a while, both unsure how to proceed. This is weird…What must she be thinking? I just sprung on hell of a surprise on her and I really am asking a lot of her, and to be brutally honest I think that Organization expects far too much from me. Add onto that Haruhis demands. We're both far out of our comfort zone.
"So, what's your plan?" Haruhi asked.
"I was thinking we'd go to that town over there," I said and pointed towards the town, the nearest building couldn't have been more than a kilometer away.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because it's the nearest town," I answered.
"Why didn't we go where we were headed? Why did we have to leave the train?" She asked.
"Because there was a chance there was an ambush waiting for us at our destination," I admitted.
"What? Ambush?" Haruhi repeated, "What are you talking about? Just who are these people who are after us?"
"I…I can't really tell you, other than I don't think they'll stop there," I said.
"And…you could just make the train stop? Is that why you were gone for so long before you dragged me out of our cabin?" She asked and raised an eyebrow at me.
I didn't drag you, you followed me…but sure, I'll take credit for that.
"Yes," I said, can't really explain that is was done by a time traveler. I don't even know how he did it…
She just stared at me skeptically for a while, until I broke the silence.
"I was thinking we'd go to some store, buy traveling cases, a new set of clothes and something to eat. Then we will check into a hotel."
Haruhi focused her skeptical look on me.
"You're planning to check me into a hotel?" She said, "That's the first place your mind goes to? Don't tell me this whole thing is an elaborate ruse to lure me into a hotel room with you?"
"You're gonna lecture me about pretexts?" I retorted, "I was thinking we'd take separate rooms anyway…people might think it improper if we'd check into a hotel together."
Haruhi's skeptical look intensified, but she turned it away from me and walked onwards past me.
"Get your head out the gutter," She shot at me as she passed me by, "Come on, lets get to that town while all the stores are still open."
Took her long enough to take the lead again...I chased after her.
"Just so you know," Haruhi said without turning her head, but in a volume that was clearly directed at me, "This conversation is not over. It's just on hold while we find a place to stay. You have a lot of explaining to do."
"Yes, Dear."
Haruhi and I found our way into town and got directions to the nearest shopping center from some of the locals. It didn't take long to find it, it wasn't an impressive building but it had a few dozen shops and at a glance had all we needed. Our first stop was a sports outlet where we picked out two big traveling cases, the kind that has wheels at the bottom, and bought them. As I was paying for them I nearly pulled out the entire roll of yens but decided to try to inconspicuously take a decent amount of yens out of the bag without any bystanders seeing its contents.
"I was thinking…if we have to be gone for long, don't I have to call home to let them know I'm alright?" Haruhi asked once we were out of the sports store, "Shouldn't we also call the brigade to check on them?"
"I'm sure they're fine…" I said, although I wasn't, "but I think the people after us could track down our phones so you should turn yours of."
"I see…you better be sure!" She said, reached into her pocket for her cell phone and turned it off. "but we gotta find some way to let our parents know we're fine."
"I'll think of something" I said. She's right, I'll have to think of some way…didn't Nagato tell me my phone couldn't be tracked? Maybe I'll just call Koizumi or even my parents…
"You better…so, you said something about new clothes?" Haruhi asked.
"Yes, we can't walk around in our school uniforms," I said, put down my bag, reached into it and took out something in the area of 40-50 thousand yens.
"Here," I said and handed the money to Haruhi, "think this'll be enough for you?"
She accepted the money and counted it quickly. "I guess I can work with that," she said.
"Good, I think we should split up while we shop for clothes so we can do it quickly," I suggested.
I hurried and picked out a few pieces of everything. Just jeans, plain shirts, underwear and so on, then I found myself a new jacket, paid for everything, got dressed into a new set of clothes and stuffed the rest, including my school uniform, into the case. I then proceeded to walk back to the store I had left Haruhi, were I found her browsing through a rack of blouses.
"Are you about done?" I asked her once she noticed me.
"I've picked these two out," Haruhi said and waved a couple of shirts at me.
"Just two? Could you hurry this along…please," I said without letting my impatience shine through too much, "We'll be in hiding for some time now so just…can't you just pick something plain and be done with it?"
"I picked you, didn't I?" Haruhi muttered without turning her attention away from the clothes rack, "just give me some space, I'll be with you in a minute."
As much as I wanted to know just what she meant by that remark of hers, I let it go and walked out of the store. I took a seat at a bench nearby and stared blankly at the people passing for a few moments and let my thoughts wander. It was getting harder to ignore just how lost I am right now. I don't even know what town we're in…and the events of the day...The disappearance of the data entities was unsettling on many levels, the silence and now alleged murderous intent of the time travelers was hard to process, and it was getting harder and harder not to think about the fire at the School. Come to think of it, what must my family be thinking, me disappearing right after a fire…and what will they think if this goes on for long, and their son stays gone for days? Weeks? Longer?
I have to know what happened at school, if there really was a fire…if something did happen it would be on the news wouldn't it? I looked around and saw an internet café. I stood up and walked into the store that I had left Haruhi in.
"Hey, Haruhi?" I called out to her once I found her. She was facing away from me but the instant I called out to her she grabbed whatever she was holding closer to her like I had startled her and she quickly turned her neck around.
"What!" She snapped at me, "I told you to give me a minute!"
Why is she blushing…"Er, I just wanted to let you know I'll be going to the internet café here close by…"
"Fine! Just go!" Haruhi said annoyed and turned her attention back to whatever she was holding. The lady at the counter gave me a strange look as I walked out of the store.
After a few minutes I had paid for an hour online at the café, not that I would need that much time, and was entering in the web address of one of the local news stations. Once I was done I didn't immediately press enter. A feeling came over me like the one you get just before you check your grade on an exam you did poorly on or opening your mailbox when you expect bad news. Only this time the feeling was a thousand fold worse. After a few moments of hesitating I pressed enter.
The first thing I noticed on that webpage confirmed it. Big headline; Fire at North High. I scrolled down the page…dozen students rushed to nearby hospital, no names can be released at this point. I scanned though the article looking for anything helpful but found nothing.
I took a brief minute to search for info about local hotels before I logged out, left the café and turned on my phone.
Nagato told me that my phone couldn't be tracked so it has to be all right to call. I have to know if everybody's alright. I picked Koizumi out of my list of contacts and called him. He answered almost immediately.
"You shouldn't have called." He said
"I'm sorry, I had to."
"It's alright, I shouldn't have answered either. You're supposed to have disappeared and we're to have no contact with you until we've done some…internal housecleaning. We need to keep this brief, are you and Suzumiya safe?"
"We are, we're-"
"Stop. Don't tell me anything else no matter how vague. Knowing that you're both safe is enough and I don't know who could be listening."
"I should tell you, my phone has been modified by Nagato…she said it couldn't be monitored anymore."
"I see…the data entities are still absent so I wouldn't rely too heavily on that, we really don't understand anything at all about their technology. Did you call about anything specific?"
"I'm calling about the fire…Is everyone…" I couldn't ask the question.
"I am fine. As you know Nagato was absent from school and as it turns out, so was Asahina. Tsuruya has also been accounted for, she did end up with some smoke poisoning but not a bad case, she'll recover completely and quickly. The rest of your class has mostly been accounted for, and we don't think any of those rushed to the hospital were your classmates."
There are few words for the relieve I felt once I heard that.
"But…those rushed to the hospital…is anyone seriously hurt or…worse?"
"We honestly don't know, information gathering from the hospital has not been a priority since your class was accounted for and most of that information has not been made public."
"I see…I had another question…what about our families? My family and the Suzumiya household?"
"It seems your rivals had everything set on capturing you so your families weren't really in any danger. After you fled we set in motion a contingency plan, basically we staged an Yakuza crime in front of your fathers and then, using the aid of our allies in the police force, we rushed them into what they believe to be a witness protection program of some sort but is in reality just house arrest at an undisclosed location. Your mothers and your sister were brought along. Of course any lawyer or policeman would see though that charade but men with little experience in these things, like your fathers, usually seem to just play along if the safety of their family is at stake. They've been told that the two of you were seen leaving the school before the fire and that the police are looking for you, so they should not be too worried. Not for the first day at least. But I assure you the police we're working with haven't reported you as missing to their collogues. We pressed our luck by asking our contacts in the police to tell your parents one thing and then ignore it but for now they're going along with it."
"Okay…thank you for that…really. But…you trusted your allies with our families when you couldn't even ask them to escort me and Haruhi?"
"For your parents we used our allies in the police force, most of whom are not aware of Suzumiyas power and have no reason to have defected. However, had we decided to use them to secure the two of you our Rivals might have been alerted one we contracted the police and simply rushed their plans and abducted you before the police could do anything, or worse they might have fought the police and made that whole standoff even uglier, undoubtedly exposing Organization ties to in the process and severely hurting us in the long run. It was an option, but we took a gamble on you and it paid off."
"I see…Feels like you're giving me too much credit."
"I'm afraid I have to end this conversation now as I'm not even supposed to be talking to you at all, you're supposed to be completely off the grid, I hope that was all you needed to know because it's all I can tell you though this line."
"I understand…goodbye."
"Bye, stay safe," and with those words he hung up. I shut of my cell phone again.
I then walked back to the bench in front of that clothing store where the divine one was hand picking her clothes. After about twenty minutes of waiting she finally came out. Maybe it was the stark contrast between seeing her in a dirty school uniform and then a few moments later dressed in her handpicked skirt-and-blouse but…she looked better than she has in a while, wearing a white blouse with some patterns near the neckline and a yellow skirt.
"Well?" She asked ecstatic once she had gotten within arm's reach of me and put her hands on her hips. I couldn't think of anything to say but after a few seconds Haruhi giggled pleased, apparently satisfied with my idiotic stare as an answer.
There is one other thing…
"Haruhi…your ribbon," I said
"What about it?" She asked and lifted her hand, adjusting her ribbon although it had been on perfectly.
"We're supposed to be in hiding and…you've had that thing on for everyday for over a year now," I said, "I makes it sort of easy to pick you out in a crowd, if you know what you're looking for."
"I guess you're right…fine!" She said, took her ribbon of in one shift practiced motion and shoved it in my chest, "If you had any distinguishing features I'd ask you to remove them as well!"
"Why are you handing it to me?" I asked her and took a hold of the ribbon with one hand.
"It'll either be a good luck charm or something to remember me by, we'll see," She said nonchalantly, turned around and walked on.
I quickly stashed her ribbon into the outer compartment of my bag and chased after her.
"Where are you going?" I asked her once I caught up to her.
"I thought I saw a cosmetics store when we walked in," Haruhi said absently and kept looking around.
"What? You're thinking about makeup now?" I asked her, mildly annoyed by this distortion of priorities.
She stopped and gave me an ugly look.
"You said we needed to blend in?" She asked, "If we'll be hiding in towns and cities then cosmetics is how you blend in. No one is giving us a second look now but when we arrived here in dirty uniforms, did you see the looks we got?"
I honestly didn't, but I'm not going to argue with her on this.
"Frankly," she said and gave me a stern look, "I was going to shop for you there too, who knows how you'll end up looking in a few days, a teenage boy on the road without adult supervision!"
I just gave her a wary stare, reached into my pocket for the remains of my clothes money and handed it to her.
"Just be quick," I said resigned.
To her credit she only took a few minutes in the cosmetics store while I waited outside, she came back with a full bag of…something. I conceded to her greater knowledge in this field and didn't ask her about the contents of the bag.
"Anything else you wanna buy?" I asked her once she returned.
"Nah, I'm good, for now," she said, "Should we find a place to stay next?"
"Yes, I checked for local hotels at the Internet café and there's one not far from here, lets go"
We walked onwards. I just noticed we've begun walk side by side, since when did that become the default? Now that I think about it, are we still dating right now? We've had other things to think about so that particular detail has been kind of put on hold…maybe its better we just focus on hiding.
"Maybe I should adopt a different hairstyle now that we're supposed to hiding," Haruhi said like she was thinking out loud, "any thoughts?"
I think it's obvious what I wanted to say, but considering I had just told her about my identity has John Smith her mind has to be analyzing past events and if I tell her to put it in a ponytail she might make a connection I'd rather she didn't make. Maybe pigtails…scratch that, that idea wouldn't be well received…she'd still look good even if she just wore her hair plainly like Sasaki-…can't really suggest that either…
"Kyon?" She asked and turned her neck around to face me.
"I'm thinking," I said.
I stared at her for a few moments, picturing some of her old hairstyles.
"If you're going to be weird about this, then never mind," Haruhi said blushing, and turned her neck to look forward again.
Suddenly, Haruhi stopped and stared to her side.
"What is it?" I asked.
She didn't answer, just kept staring. I looked to my side as well and saw that she was staring at the display window of an electronics shop. It had a few televisions on display and on them…an aerial shot of North High on fire, accompanied by various newsflashes, including 'several students rushed to hospital.'
Haruhi put down her bag and reached into her pocket for her cellphone.
"Haruhi…" I said cautiously but she didn't seem to notice. Her phone made a sound indicating that it was turned on.
"Haruhi," I repeated a bit more firmly, "You…you can't call. Your phone can be tracked, you shouldn't even be turning it on."
"Who cares!" Haruhi snapped at me, "I have to know if everyone's okay, don't you?"
"Of course I do," I pleaded, "but you can't call anyone, not while we're hiding. They could use the phone call to fix on your location."
Haruhi stopped dialing and fixed her eyes on me, her face slowly turning from distressed to furious.
"You're too calm," She said coldly, "You knew about this?"
"…Yes, I heard about this a few hours ago," I admitted.
"You…You idiot!" She yelled at me, grabbed my collar and pulled me down. "That's not how this works!" She shouted in my face, gathering the attention of quite a few bystanders, "You were supposed to tell me everything! You don't keep me in the dark when something like this happens!"
"I just confirmed it a short while ago-" I tried to defend.
"You don't wait to confirm!" Haruhi yelled at me, "If any of my friends could be hurt or…you tell me!"
She stared at me as if she was waiting to see whether or not I had something to say for myself, which I honestly didn't. It was a stupid mistake not to tell her about this, and I did just because it was easier to keep her moving if she doesn't know…I guess that way of thinking has to go.
"I'm sorry," I said sincerely and straightened by back, although Haruhi didn't let go of my collar, "I…I guess I didn't want you to worry for nothing so I wanted to wait until I knew something."
"That's not how the deal works," Haruhi muttered crossly and turned her eyes away from my face, staring into my chest instead
"You're supposed to tell me…just tell me if everyone is…" She tried to speak before she drifted away. She grabbed my collar even tighter and placed her forehead on my chest. I could hear one or two quick and suppressed sobs.
"I spoke with a person who's in a position to know earlier, so I know that Koizumi, Nagato and Asahina weren't harmed by the fire, and our class seems to have escaped the worst of it…Tusurya was admitted for smoke poisoning but they say she'll be fine."
I gave Haruhi a few moments to compose herself. It was a bit strange standing there with her right up against me, I couldn't tell if a hug was called for but in the end I just stood there. She made a few controlled, labored breaths through her noise and after a few of those she seemed to have gathered herself.
"Is there anything else you're not telling me?" She finally asked sternly, and looked up to face me.
The fact that you're capable of bending reality. The fact that I've been asked to transfer those powers into Sasaki. The fact that there are data entities observing you, and they've gone missing. The fact that I should be dead right now according to some…
"Yes," I admitted, "I already told you, there are some things I can't tell you."
"If you keep something like this away from me, who can I trust you?" she asked me and narrowed her eyes at me, I could've sworn her hold on my collar got even tighter.
"I…I wasn't keeping it away from you, I just hadn't told you yet…we needed to keep moving, all the fallout…we could handle later," I said, trying to sound sincere but not even I would've accepted that excuse.
"That's not how this works," Haruhi said and pulled me down again, although with less enthusiasm than before, "I've accepted that you absolutely can't tell me some things because of somethingI don't really understand, but beyond that you don't just tell me whatever makes me manageable, you tell me everything. You got that?"
"…Yes. Absolutely." I said and swallowed.
"Good," Haruhi said and let me go, "Now…I understand that these cell phones might give away our position but my parents must be worried sick…"
"Your parents have been placed in a witness protection program," I said, trying to make it sound reasonable and normal.
Haruhi stared at me in disbelieve.
"I'm telling you now," I said before she could vocalize her accusation, "They're safe and they know you weren't at school so they know you weren't hurt in the fire."
"Wait, how do they know that?"
"They were told that you were seen leave the school before the fire…with me."
Haruhi let me go and turned to stare at the televisions.
"The people who are after me…did they do this?" She asked, "They did this to get to me? This happened because I'm in that school?"
Crap. How the hell do I explain this without mentioning time travel? If what Fujiwara told me is true then nobody caused the fire, some people just tried to take advantage of it. But in my opinion that distinction is just splitting hairs. They should've prevented the fire, and not just for me, I don't believe history needs Tsuruya to get smoke poisoning or several High School students hospitalized.
"You…don't blame yourself, there was no way for you to know what was going on or what would happen," I said.
"Yes," Haruhi said hotly, "I didn't know what was going on, and you tell me that's because you and your people kept things away from me!"
"Look…" I said, trying to contain the anger that was slowly building up in me, I'm sick of having the fallout of Haruhis power on one side and Haruhi herself on the other, permanently stuck between a rock and a hard place, "I didn't know they would go this far, I even tried to talk to them to find a peaceful solution but they wouldn't have it. I'm also in way over my head here just like you so just…Stop blaming me, I only did what I had to too keep you…contained."
She didn't answer, just frowned at me and glanced a few time at the televisions. She then wordlessly grabbed her traveling case and walked on. I caught up to her and walked with her. Neither of us spoke while we were walking out of the shopping center. Once we were out I subtly took the lead, as I knew where the nearest hotel was, and lead us towards it.
"You know…it just kicked in for me…this is real, isn't it?" Haruhi said thoughtful, "You really are John Smith, There really was a fire at our school, you really are linked to some powerful organization, my parents really are in a witness protection program, there really are people after us…"
"Yeah…" I murmured, "I'm afraid so."
"Then…they really did come for me this morning…and you really did save me?" Haruhi said, her tone turning more serious.
"I'm not sure 'saved' is the word but yes…my allies couldn't protect you so I had to take matters into my own hands." I said.
We walked in silence for a few minutes after that.
"You know, I wasn't really going to tase you back then…" Haruhi muttered suddenly.
"I know," I said, "That thing wasn't even turned on."
Haruhi made an adorable embarrassed grunt.
We arrived at the Hotel shortly after that exchange. It wasn't a fancy hotel, the info I found online said it was about two and a half stars, but it was good enough. It wasn't large and it had more of a western feel to it than the other hotels I've been to while traveling with my family, probably more marketed to occidental tourists.
"How may I help you?" asked the clerk at the desk once he noticed us.
"We'd like two one-bed rooms, please," I said. I think it's better if we get some time apart for now, and I'm pretty sure Haruhi will agree.
"Oh, I'm afraid the only room available is the bridal suite," The clerk said.
"…What?"
"Just kidding," The clerk said with a bright smile, "I'll give you rooms 106 and 107"
Restraining the urge to smack him, I paid for the rooms and accepted the keys, handing Harhui the keys to room 107.
"Are you hungry?" I asked Haruhi while we were looking for our rooms.
"Yeah a little…but I could use a shower…" She said.
"Okay, how about we take a rest and meet up in…lets say two hours?"
"Sure," Haruhi said.
We found our separate rooms and parted ways. The room wasn't much, just a bed, a small desk, a television and a small bathroom with a shower. The first thing I did once I had put my bag down was to take a long and well deserved shower.
Once I got out of the shower, with the towel wrapped around me, and stepped out of the bathroom I found Nagato standing in the middle of the room staring at me. Her eyes where slightly shut like she was somehow worn out, her back was slightly bent and her uniform was wrinkled.
"You…how did you get in here?" I asked once I had regained my bearings
"The door wasn't locked," She said.
"…oh."
I'm not very good at this fugitive stuff, am I?
"What happened to you?" I asked.
"There was a confrontation with the Domain," She said. Her voice wasn't her usual monotone-ish voice, it somehow sounded more flat, like she was completely on autopilot. Her eyes didn't meet mine but rather stared directly ahead.
"Confrontation? You guys fought?" I asked.
"Indirectly," Nagato said, "The Domain set up a barrier around this planet. For approximately three hours the IDSE was unable to gather any data from it. Agents locked on the inside where dispatched to examine, evaluate and engage the barrier."
"What…Barrier? I don't understand."
"Humans have not discovered the concepts involved in the technology applied, 'barrier' is a word I choose to communicate the effects of the phenomenon."
Did Nagato just say she dumbed it down for me? Guess I shouldn't complain...
"So, what happened? Are you alright?" I asked, genuinely concerned. Even if she only looked a little tired, this was Nagato. She didn't get tired, and her uniform was always spotless.
"I will recover. The safety of you and Suzumiya-san is our concern now," Nagato said.
"Alright…so, you broke the…'barrier'?" I asked.
"No," she said, "Breaking the barrier quickly could not be accomplished without endangering the planet Earth due to the volatile nature of the energy it utilizes and because of its strength. Much like a ship in a bottle made of bulletproof glass, it is hard to break the glass without damaging the ship."
…
…Why?
…Just….Why?
Having a bossy reality warper in my life wasn't enough. Having an organization planning to abduct her wasn't enough. Having time travelers trying to murder me wasn't enough. You need do add to the equation aliens beyond our comprehension willing to endanger the entire planet?
How can this mess still be getting worse?
"So…the barrier's still there?" I asked, trying to understand what I knew I couldn't.
"Yes, we overtook it," She said.
"If it's something so powerful, won't people on Earth notice it?" I asked.
"You have the same chance of detecting it as a Homo erectus would have of detecting radiation or radio transmissions. You simply don't know what to look for."
"I see… So you overpowered them and took it over? Now you're fighting?"
"No. We overtook it without direct confrontation using a vulnerability in its defenses that allowed us to override their control and force them out. It is now controlled by the IDSE."
"You hijacked their plan in three hours? Are you that superior to them?" I asked hopeful.
"No. We now believe the vulnerability was intentional," She said.
"Intentional? Why would they do that?" I asked surprised.
"Overtaking and maintaining such a massive barrier tied up a significant portion of our resources, and the vulnerability was engineered in such a way that only the most dominant faction within the IDSE could make use of it. As a result the dominant faction has lost a part of its power and can no longer claim clear dominance as long as we have a significant portion of our power tied up in maintaining that barrier."
It's never simple with any of these people, is it?
"But...if they did that intentionally, how did they do it?" I asked, "I thought you two entities barely even understood each other."
"It's a possibility they have gained a greater understanding of us than we believed. It also a possibility one of the factions within the IDSE gave it the information it needed to engineer the barrier this way. Although communications with the Domain have been next to impossible so betrayal doesn't seem likely, it's still within the realm of possibility that one faction within the IDSE independently developed a way of communicating with the Domain."
I gave myself a moment to take that in.
"If the Domain did it on their own, why would they intentionally temporarily weaken a specific faction within the IDSE?" I asked.
"It shows an understanding of the IDSE command structure we didn't know the Domain possessed. With the dominant faction weakened its policies can no longer be enforced. We are…unsure how to proceed."
"…you're no longer just going to monitor Haruhi and not interfere anymore?" I asked cautiously. This conversation just keeps getting better.
"While we are reaching a stronger consensus, we will not do anything beyond keeping you and Suzumiya safe and attempt to hinder any attempts made by the Domain to secure you without engaging them directly if it can be avoided." She said.
"You're still not fighting them directly? After all this?" I asked surprised.
"The barrier incident ended without direct confrontation, and the decision to engage and fight the Domain head on must be made with a strong consensus so every faction will fully partake, the general opinion is that this can still be resolved without open hostilities. The barrier could have to be maintained for the duration of this crisis so we must reach a common understanding. Other issues being debated are the decision to provoke a response from Suzumiya, to support the transfer of power or to take a standing in the issue of timeline change."
"So…you know about that timeline…issue?" I said. I had been sort of hoping that Fujiwara had been lying to me but if Nagato confirms it…
"It would've been hard not to notice the massive disturbance in the local temporal flux," She said.
"So…where do you stand on that?" I asked, reluctantly as I had a suspicion that maybe, just maybe, I didn't want to hear the answer.
"The time travelers affiliated with Asahina no longer appear to have goals compatible with ours. The alliance has been dissolved."
I swallowed hard when I heard that. The status quo really had been thoroughly broken.
"But…what about Asahina?" I asked, the worries about her I had been trying to suppress for the entire day finally surfacing.
"Asahinas primary affiliation is the SOS Brigade, as such she's under my protection," Nagato said, "So is Koizumi although his Organization has been forced to splinter into smaller cells and have a severely reduced effectiveness. The alliance with them remains."
There is no word for the relief I felt when I heard about Asahina being under Nagatos protection. I had the impression that Koizumi was more capable of handling himself but I was still glad to hear he had added protection, despite his organization not doing so well.
"But anyway, you're not sure which timeline you want?" I said.
"We are no longer allied with either time traveler faction, and we're not sure which timeline would benefit us more. Most wish to go by non-interference but we do not agree on whether 'non-interference' would mean letting the time travelers fight amongst themselves or actively fight against outside faction wishing to interfere with Suzumiya, as we know she is the key in the divergence of timeline so standing aside may not be wise."
"You don't know what caused the timeline divergence?" I asked. Could it be that I know something critical that Nagato doesn't? That could be a first…
"It is hard to pinpoint the exact variable." She said.
"It…Fujiwara told me that in the original timeline I died…today. He told me that my death was what caused Haruhi to reshape the world, and it not happening was what caused the divergence."
Nagato was silent for long time after that statement. I eventually got uncomfortable with her standing there staring blankly into space and continued speaking.
"He said he wanted to prevent the original timeline because of the damage done by time travelers in it."
"I see."
She remained silent for a few moments more, she then finally spoke.
"It is a creative solution to the problem of timelines being protected by key events being predetermined, one that demonstrates far more understanding on the temporal flux then we were aware that humans could possess. Instead of forcing the flux to take a wildly different direction by attempting to make a new event happen and thereby forcing change to a new timeline, which has been proven to be impossible because the flux fights against it, he kept the flux on a course it was more likely to take by preventing a random and unlikely key event that radically changed the timeline, leaving the flux to repair and resolve itself and turning it against the old timeline. It would, however, have been impossible if Suzumyia hadn't been involved."
"I don't fully understand all that but…I get the practical side of it. I die, original timeline gets restored. I live, new timeline overwrites old one," I said.
"It's not that simple."
Of course it isn't…
"Not only must you live but some radical change should be made so that the timeline diverges fully. The problem is that paradoxically the local flux will now eradicate the old timeline but also work against any attempt at forcing a key event that would make the existing timeline an impossibility and completely overwrite it," Nagato said, "Eventually the old timeline will get destroyed as the divergence becomes greater on its own but it's difficult to tell how long it will take, none of our simulations are viable as our temporal flux theories don't apply anymore."
"I don't understand…how does the…'flux' fight against it?"
"Humanities understanding of the laws of probability is flawed. Most events dramatic enough to diverge a timeline have a 0% chance of happening so they will never occur no matter how you try to force them, this is most evident when someone from another era is involved. If Fujiwara would attempt to force change by introducing a new technology to this era, introducing a new disease or detonating a nuclear device on a major city, he would never succeed. He could only accomplish small changes and rely on them to cascade into greater events."
…and I though the time traveler talk I had heard so far was convoluted…this is something else…
"So…what, I just wait?" I asked once I had processed all that.
"Not necessarily, you have two options."
"What are they?" I asked, glad to be hearing the practical side of this.
"Transferring the power to Sasaki would make it impossible for Suzumiya to reshape the world. However, as it is an event that would force timeline divergence and is done by someone that shouldn't be in this era, as you should be dead now, it should have a 0% probability. But as many fundamental rules have already been broken and Suzumiya is directly involved in that event, it's possible it could have even a 100% probability"
"…I'll think about that, but doesn't that go against your goals?"
"We haven't decided. We are still debating."
"…right, what's the other way?"
"Suzumiya changed the world because she saw the world differently in a profound way, if she would see the world in a way different than she does now she might reshape the world in a way that makes the old timeline an impossibility."
"But…how? How would I profoundly change her worldview?"
"To combat a change caused by a negative feeling, it is logical to invoke a positive feeling. Her change happened when you were suddenly removed from her life, perhaps her life will be significantly different if you become a bigger part of it."
"…did you just tell me to save the world using the power of love?"
"That approach has proven successful in the past."
…did Nagato just make a joke?
This is getting to be too much to take in. I sat down on the bed, making damn sure my towel revealed nothing along the way, and rubbed my chin.
"So…" I said after some introspection, "will you be traveling with us now?"
"No. It is not an option. We have clear evidence that there are at least three agents of the Domain active within the barrier and we believe they are looking for you and Suzumiya, and intend to capture you or lead their allies to you," Nagato said.
"…You're saying that right on my tail I have three of those…" I was going to say things but then I remember what company I was in. She's nothing like the Domain agents, nothing like the other IDSE agents even, but I'm not going to risk offending her by referring to interfaces as 'things'. "…guys chasing me down?"
"They are not chasing, they are seeking. If I traveled with you, my sustained presence would give away your location; my presence is far easier to lock on than yours. Additionally, any data manipulation I would perform would act as a flare to them. It is best if confrontation can be avoided entirely and for problems to be solved without data manipulation. The barrier distorts all readings within it and makes it difficult to track down individual humans but usage of manipulation would narrow their search ring down significantly."
"But…if it's difficult to track down individual humans now, how did you find me?" I asked.
She suddenly turned her weary head and looked me directly in the eyes with her sleepy eyes.
"I never lost you," she said.
…why do I feel guilty now?
"…thanks…"
"For the duration of the debates, I have been assigned to protect you and call in other interfaces if necessary." Nagato said, "I have decided to use programmable nanites. They are more primitive than my usual technology but they cannot be detected from a distance and in past exchanges the Domain has shown an inability to understand programmable nanites, it's a technology that they don't seem to be compatible with."
She gestured at a bag she had by her feet.
"There is a meal in that bag, with it are two cans of soda. In those cans are nanites that will automatically reproduce and spread through your body. They will increase your healing factor, stabilize some of your chemical reactions to make you more adept at handling stress, increase your reflexes, and allow me to monitor your condition and location more easily. If you get hurt or your vital signs point to you being in danger, I will arrive."
"…Thanks. I'll give one of the cans to Haruhi I presume?"
"Yes, but note that there is a possibility that the Domain agents or a powerful EMP might destroy the nanites. There are extra pills in the bag that can be dissolved in a drink and will re-introduce nanites to your systems. I suggest taking daily iron supplements while they are building up. If only one of you has the nanites, they can be transfused via two ways."
"And what are those?" I asked.
"A kiss would allow enough of the nanites to cross to be able to reproduce," She said.
"A kiss? That's a little…I don't know about that, what's the other way?"
"If you don't like the first method, you will not like the second one."
"What do you mean-…oh"
….why the hell would they include that feature?
"Any exchange of-"
"-yeah I got it!" I interrupted.
"I must leave you now," Nagato said, " I can't risk the Domain agents tracking me down while I talk to you and I've said all I need to. We will speak again later."
She walked out the door. I guess teleporting would count as data manipulation and help the agents track us down…still it's a bit bizzare to hear her speak of such imaginable technology and then just casually leave like a normal schoolgirl would.
After that I spent the remainder of those two hours I had for myself going over the contents of the bag and watching some talk show on the TV. It wasn't interesting but I needed something to turn my mind off.
Once my two hours where up I grabbed the bag Nagato had left, found Haruhis room and knocked.
Haruhi opened the door. What immediately struck me was that she really had put some time into her appearance just now. Her hair was tied into a bun, a hairstyle I didn't remember seeing her use before but I swear looked extremely familiar. She also had put the makeup she had bought to good use and she was wearing a one-piece dress that really did justice to her…figure.
"Well," She said with a bright smile, "Where are you talking me?
"Uhm…" I stumbled and lifted the bag, gesturing at it with my other hand.
Haruhi glanced at the bag, she then gave me a scowl that clearly indicated I had given her the wrong answer to her question.
"I was thinking we'd just…stay in. We're supposed to be hidden," I tried to explain.
With an annoyed growl Haruhi turned around, sat down on the bed and turned on the TV. I took a seat next to her and handed her a bento and soda from the bag. There was some action movie on the TV but I wasn't really paying attention to it. I've had enough excitement for today.
"What's the plan anyway?" Haruhi asked after we had begun our meals, "You had all that money and all those passports…are we going to leave japan?"
"I don't know…I know that tomorrow we should probably keep moving and try to get to a more crowded City…" I said.
"These people…we can't fight them? We just gotta run?" Haruhi asked.
"I don't think we're ready to confront them yet…for now we need to stay hidden," I said.
Haruhi didn't immediately respond, just stared out the window for a while.
"Then how is going to end if we don't fight them?" She asked and turned to face me.
"…You're right, it probably won't end without us facing them but…for now, today and tomorrow, it's best if we hide," I said.
"I see," She said and turned her attention to the TV, "I guess don't have much of a choice so I'll play along with this for now but I expect some real answers from you, and I expect them soon."
"Sure…"
We spent the night watching that action movie. It wasn't very good but I was an adequate distraction, if only for the reason that it gave Haruhi and I something to talk about other than our recent escape. After the action movie was a movie about ghosts. At my insistence Haruhi grudgingly agreed to change the channel and we watched some old drama instead.
A few hours later I was still there sitting in Haruhis bed. The only light was the faint glow of the television screen and some street lighting that was shining in, and only sounds where the faint sound of cars passing, insects buzzing, some faint chatter coming from the TV and the soft breathing of Haruhi, resting her head on my shoulder while she slept, having drifted off into sleep during that drama movie.
I should be sleeping as well, seeing as there was probably a long day ahead tomorrow, but I just couldn't. I had far too much on my mind for me to relax enough to be able to fall asleep. Everybody I know was in danger today, and it won't end there. The simple truth is that I don't see an ending in sight. Hiding isn't a solution but still it feels like the only thing I can do.
"You better be worth all this," I muttered quietly and turned to Haruhi, "don't take that the wrong way, it's just that I hope you realize I'm doing a lot for you. You better appreciate it."
The slumbering goddess did not respond to my comments in any way.
"You're prettier when you're being quiet," I said and turned my attention back to the television, trying to use it to turn off my mind so I can drift off into sleep. It's going to be a long night…