Hey guys! Sorry for the delay... University's so much more work than high school... That and I got a writers block which soon cleared up after I (finally) watched the last two episodes of the second Haruhi season. lol I have to say I was a little unsatisfied, but oh well. Anyway, another reason for the delay was that I was trying to piece different things together and I kind of changed the plan for this story a little bit. Hope you enjoy!

Where am I? Ugh, not this again.

Another weird dream. That's exactly what I needed.

I looked down at myself. I wasn't my normal self - I was a robbed figure standing on a rooftop, looking down at what appeared to be a busy Tokyo street. A black fly flew in circles in front of me and my arm moved to grasp it in my hand all by itself. It appears I have no control over this body. I sighed inwardly as my - or perhaps, someone else's - body brushed off the bug remnants between his thumb and forefinger, staring down from under his red hood at the city bellow with all its people, rushing cars and bright lights. To my left side stands another figure in a hooded white cloak and to my right, another, in a hooded black cloak. Both are shorter than I and they too watch scene in the ground. The one in the white opens their mouth to speak, but strange sounds come out instead of normal speech, and somehow, I understand what they're saying.

"They're like insects, aren't they?" this person asks, who judging by the voice, is female. My body nods.

"Indeed. They are weak in terms of strength, slow to react in dangerous situations, and physically very fragile," he explains. "Without their intelligence, they would be mere primates like their ancestors, but they are somewhat interesting. Don't you agree?"

The hooded one in black began to growl. It sounded almost like a small angry dog; high pitched but still fightening. I noticed she seemed to have fangs and the one hooded in red had her on a leash. He and the third person didn't even so much flinch at the female beside them, who seemed the most like a wild animal. The small portion of her face I could see reminded me of some insane Pagan nomad. She'd give Princess Mononoke a run for her money, I thought.

"Easy, girl," he said, and the feral one was silent. He pulled her leash so she would come closer and cupped her chin in his hand. "Patience is a virtue."

The female purred gently against him, suddenly calm. Now, she clung to and nuzzled him, like a cat upon seeing its owner. This was getting a little weird.

"What shall we do now?" asked the white cloaked one. The male was silent for a moment.

"Is everything ready?"

The female cloaked in white nodded. "I am prepared."

The one whose eyes I was seeing through turned his head to look at the feral one, who made a grunting noise to signal her readiness. He was about to give an order, when suddenly, there was a loud bang followed by a wet, sickening cracking noise. The two figures beside me looked between them to see what had happened, but by then, I was already on the floor, the world melting into a bright light.

It was then that my eyes fluttered open. What? No! What happened to the robbed man? And what was up with that leash? I checked myself, hoping it wasn't one of those dreams, and finding myself quite relaxed, relief washed over me. I grunted, rolling over into my pillow. Even if it wasn't that kind of dream, it was weird nonetheless.

After finally finding the energy to sit up, I got ready for school. "Miharu's having her sleepover today," I remembered just after brushing my teeth. "Must remember to keep out of the way of those pre-teen girls."

I knew all too well what pre-teen females thought of teenage males such as myself. So long as we aren't overweight or too ugly, they latch onto us like girls did Miguel James [1] in the 80s. I shivered at the thought. Miyoko Yoshimura was alright (she never clung to me), but some of Miharu's other friends made me nervous. I found one of them with my underwear once. Ever since then, I've locked my bedroom door when I knew they were coming over, even though Miharu was clearly freaked out by that incident and told that girl never to speak to her again (at least I know she's on my side). Maybe I'm just paranoid.

That day, I didn't expect to see Haruhi at school at all, but I suppose life is full of surprises, isn't it? There she was, staring out the window, pretending I didn't exist. Maybe if she focused hard enough, I really would disappear.

"Morning," I said and turned slightly to greet her. I was answered with a 'hmph'. My shoulders slumped a bit. I guess Hero's little talk did nothing to sway her.

Haruhi bored holes in my back all morning (huh, I thought I didn't exist, Haruhi...). After class and the entire evening when we were at the Brigade meeting, she totally ignored everything I said or did. Koizumi smiled again, but we could tell he really wasn't in his usually chipper mood. He was just smiling for Haruhi's sake. It's alright, I thought to myself, she'll get over it.

And then came the sleep over. I refused to open the door for any of our guests as I was afraid of being glomped to death.

My mother sighed at my protest. "Oh Kyon, they're only little girls."

"You mean small masses of hair and braces and fangs?" I asked. She shook her head at me and went to answer the door. I heard a tiny squeal and turned to face the direction from which it came. Low and behold, my mortal enemy. No, not Ayame Kimura, but good guess.

Tomoyo Kinomiya: pigtails and a pink dress and, oh, fangs (they're hidden somewhere, I know it!). She gawked at me for a while before Miharu came rushing downstairs. "Tomoyo!"

The creepy tween was knocked out of her trance. "Miharu!" she shouted as she and my sister embraced each other. I tried to focus on the math problems in front of me hoping maybe the two girls would just go upstairs. Tomoyo turned to me, grinning. "Hi, Kyon!"

"Hi," might as well be nice. I didn't have to smile or anything, but a simple greeting was okay. Alright, back to my homework... A train leaving Tokyo Station at 5 pm at 50 miles per hour is going to arrive in Osaka at... (SMOOCH) .... W-what?

My head shot in the direction of a giggling Tomoyo, who was running away from me. My sister made a disgusted face at her friend, but shrugged it off and followed her upstairs. My cheek had just been violated by a 13 year old. Ugh... I let my head sink into my textbook. Perfect.

As the night went on, more of Miharu's friends came through the door, turning my home into the receiving end of an open Pandora's box of sheer terror. One of them, I think her name was Naoko, started whispering to some of her friends and looking over at me. Yeah, that's not obvious... I felt like I was on display, but I pretty much ignored it until my mother ushered the girls into my sister's room. Peace and quiet at last...

Well, until Shamisen came downstairs dressed as a crudely constructed cat version of me.

"That's it," I said, closing my chemistry text. "I'm outta here."

I grabbed my jacket and ran out the door, telling my mother I was going out for some air. Wow, pre-teens are insane. I wonder if I was that insane when I was 13? After wandering around for a bit, it only took me about a half hour to realize I had no where to go. I tried sitting around in the park, but there was some disheveled old man there looking at my funny over his shoulder and stroking something in front of him (he was in the dark and I couldn't see all of him) so I left. I tried just walking around but that soon got boring (Haruhi must be rubbing off on me). I was strolling aimlessly until I noticed a familiar door step: my grandmother's house. As I stared up at it, the door opened as if on cue and out stepped a tall, skinny blond haired boy to take out the trash: my younger cousin, Hiroto. What was he doing here? He and my aunt (the one who dubbed me Kyon in the first place) lived all the way in Osaka. Maybe he was just visiting, but somehow, I doubted that. As he looked up from the garbage, he squinted into the darkness then smiled when he realized the figure was me.

"Hey, cuz!" he waved happily. "Fancy seeing you here!"

Yeah, I kinda live around here...

"Hey, Hiroto," I smiled back. "What are you doing here?"

"You'll never believe it. My mom and the principal at my old high school had - uh - a bit of a spat so I'm transferring to yours!"

What? Another transfer student? How many of these are we going to get? This is becoming redundant. And that's kind of a strange reason for them to dump him here. In that case, couldn't they have put him in another school in Osaka?

"Really? That's great," I replied. Hiroto smiled, seeming proud of himself.

"Hey, you wanna come inside?" he stepped aside and opened the door wider for me. "Grandma's making hot chocolate."

Well, I was looking for something to do, right?

"Sure, thanks," I said as I approached the door step and walked in.

"Grandma!" my cousin called as he shut the door behind him. "Kyon's here for a visit!"

Down came my grandmother from upstairs, a tiny old woman with a pleasant little pixie-like face. She smiled widely when she saw me.

"Oh, hello there, Kyon!"

"Hi, grandma," I met her in an embrace when she'd descended.

"What brings you here, deary?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen to tend to the beverages. Hiroto and I followed.

"I'm just stopping by."

My grandmother walked over to the counter and poured the warm chocolate milk into three mugs, handing two of them to each of us when she was finished. She picked up the last one for herself. "Come along boys, let's go into the living room."

Once we'd all gotten settled down, we conversed about recent events in our lives and we took a short stroll down memory lane. I remember my grandmother used to live with us when I was a kid. Hiroto would visit sometimes since back then, and he and my aunt lived in the area. My grandma wasn't like other women her age. She never let life pass her by. Grandma was always making some adventure for herself and enjoying her life. In fact, Rumiko Sato (my grandmother, of course) was an anthropologist in her youth and a historian and university professor in her old age. She would tell us many stories of ancient civilizations and the people she had the pleasure of meeting. Grandmother would tell us of ancient ruins and mountain peaks and other places we could only dream of. Maybe that's why I'm interested in history?

"Hey, Kyon," Hiroto interupted my thoughts. "Do you remember that story Grandma used to tell us? The Edian creation myth?

Edian creation myth? Grandma's told me lots of stories, but I don't think that was one of them.

"No, I don't think so," I replied.

"I think I only told that one to you, Hiroto."

"Oh!" my cousin smiled. "That one's the best one! Grandma, tell Kyon the Edian creation myth."

My grandmother laughed. "Alright, alright. That always was your favorite story."

Long ago, before the time of the Earth, there were only the Gods. These Gods were all a large family comprising of 101 different dieties and they all lived in harmony. The two youngest in this family were the twin sisters, Lilita, who was the Goddess of the moon, and Eva, who was the Goddess of the sun. The twin sisters became bored one day and decided to create a miniature version of their world. They used clay to create a round ball with plants and animals on it just like their home. This they called Terra, but eventually, the girls were bored again, so they used the last bit of clay they had to create a creature on Terra who resembled a God. This was the first man, with a necklace made of a single eye of both Lilita and Eva to act as his heart, and his name was Ado. When the other Gods saw Terra and Ado, they were all greatly amused and wanted to create little clay creatures of their own. Each of them created one to live in the country which is now known as Edia. The Edians believe that each of their 99 tribes are descended from these first people. Ado, however, has no descendants. He never got the chance to start a family. You see, Lilita and Eva both had to share him as their creature and neither of them were any good at sharing. They constantly fought over who loved Ado more, who contributed more to his creation, who Ado himself favored, the list goes on. There were many attempts by both sisters to kidnap him. Eventually, it was Lilita who successfully fooled her sister and ran away with Ado, dragging him behind her. Enraged, Eva vowed to chase them for all eternity and Lilita vowed to run for all eternity. Ado had no choice in the matter. The Edians believe that Lilita and Ado run from Eva even to this day.

Hiroto grinned widely. "I love that story! Something about it is just hilarious."

Grandma shook her head playfully. "You have an odd sense of humor, Hiroto."

I smiled, but cringed on the inside. I could definitely relate to poor Ado, being dragged around against his will. But hey, it was a good story. I think I'll remember that for later.

It was at that moment that the phone rang. My grandmother stood to get it, then turned to me. "It's from your house, Kyon."

I sighed and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

Sure enough, it was my mother.

"Kyooon," she whined. "The DVD player's acting funny and the girls wanna watch a movie. Can you come back and help us with it?"

Walk back into the lion's den? I shivered at the thought, but when my mom started to whine, things could only get worse if I didn't go back. Then it hit me: how did she know where I was?

"Mom, how'd you know I was here?"

"Oh, one of the girls suggested you might be at your grandmother's house," she explained casually. That made me shiver even more... The little creeps are stalking me. My mother seemed to think nothing of why whichever girl it was would have suggested that or why she was correct or even why she knew specifically that I was visiting my grandmother, but I didn't expect her to. My mom tends to be a tad oblivious.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," I said. She seemed relieved (maybe the tweens were beginning to get on her nerves too, but I kind of doubt it) and we said our good-byes.

Hiroto pouted. "You have to go back now, cuz?"

I nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that. My sister's having a sleepover so my mom needs me to help out."

"I suppose your father is working late today?" grandma asked.

"Yes, he is." My dad was a lawyer, if you didn't know. Loads of paperwork doesn't make for many nights home on time for dinner.

"Oh, well you go and help your poor mother," the old woman smiled, pulling me into a hug. "And come back and visit again sometime, alright?"

I smiled back warmly. "Of course I will!"

Once she let go, Hiroto immediately latched onto me. "I can't wait to see you again!" Nervously, I laughed a little (as much as I loved my cousin, it was a little uncomfortable when he hugged me like that).

"Haha, me too, Hiroto," I said, slowly breaking the embrace after a bit. "Now I have to go."

"Okay, see you, Kyon!"

My grandmother smiled as I pulled my jacket back over my shoulders and opened the front door.

"Goodbye, Kyon."

Later, I was rather awkwardly bent over our DVD player, trying to get the damn thing to work. Being bent over like this with five tweenage girls behind me made me feel incredibly exposed. My mother was making popcorn in the kitchen so she couldn't protect me if one of them was so bold as to grope me while my back was turned. Tomoyo was bragging to her friends about the kiss she snuck earlier. My sister was grossed out by her, but forgave her. I guess she's used to her friends' insanity, but I sure wasn't. I'm also pretty sure they're stating at me. Ugh, my life...

When I finally got the picture to work and realized the sound cable on our DVD player was broken, I temporarily switched it for the one we usually used for the Playstation 3. Finally finished, I decided to get to shelter quickly. The chorus of "Thanks, Kyoooon-sempai!" followed by giggles was just too creepy.

There was a silent thump noise when my body hit my bed. God, I'm so tired... But wait, what's this? My heart's racing. I almost can't breathe. Suddenly, this familiar feeling washes over me again. I stand up, suddenly brimming with adrenaline, and look at myself in the mirror, sure enough seeing Hero staring back at me. Why did I transform? I never intended to... This isn't good. I should be able to control this or I might start transforming in front of people. What if I've lost the ability to control my transformations? What if I can't control Hero? Or if he goes on a rampage all by himself? O-

The museum, I thought to myself. There's something at the museum. I feel it. I don't know what, but there's definitely something calling me to that place. As crazy as I thought I was for actually listening to myself (imagine that!), I hurried out the window and into the night. It didn't take me long at all to reach our local museum. I began to wonder why my instinct would lead to be a crummy old place like the Kanzaki Museum. It was nothing compared to just about every other museum in Japan. The only exhibit even worth mentioning was the stones exhibit, where the Ever Stone, a ruby belonging to some ancient pharaoh, and the Hitomi Diamond were housed. Other than that, there wasn't really anything there I could think of that would be of any importance. That and there's no one here. I sighed inwardly and maneuvered myself through the front door security. The place was so seldom visited I doubted even criminals looked at it twice, especially since the alarm system was sort of like the standard ones you get installed in your house. Nothing special, really. I melted through the walls without any trouble then set my feet on the floor. Yep, nothing here. I was about to turn around, cursing one of the instances where I acted completely on a whim, until I saw something in front of me: a light reflected against the wall. It looked like it was coming from a flashlight behind me, but I didn't hear any footsteps. I could hear things from miles away and yet I can't hear a security guard's footsteps in a building? I turned to face the owner of the light only to realize there was a reason why this person's feet made no sound.

It was a tall man - an angel, if you believe in that stuff - who wore a magnificent all-white robe and stared down at me with his ethereal face. The palm of his left hand was the source of the light, which he probably used to grab my attention, while his white, feathery wings moved just slightly. He himself levetated above the floor. After getting over my initial shock, I spoke to him.

"Who are you?"

The angel shook his head. "My name is of no importance."

I raised an eyebrow. Okay then... "Are you the one who called me?" I asked.

"I did."

There was silence. This guy was starting to get on my nerves with that mysterious aura. "So... what for?"

"I have come to warn you," said he as he fluttered slowly to the ground. "Do not protect the Hell goddess from those who attempt to smite her." The man began walking so he stood in front of me. "I understand she has chosen you as her prophet and that you feel you have a duty to her, but if you continue, you will surely loose your life."

"Die...?" I asked. I couldn't understand what he was saying at all and now I felt a little dizzy. There was the mention of that Hell goddess again. And I'm a prophet? What? God, I don't want to die!

"I see this is all foreign to you," he added, noting my confusion. "Lady Lilita the Hell Goddess has chosen you as her prophet, much to her sister's dismay."

"Lilita?" I remember that name... Oh! Yes, now I remember! My grandmother's story. "She's the Edian moon goddess, not the Hell goddess."

The angel shook his head. "Lady Lilita was the moon goddess before she committed a heinous crime. She betrayed Lady Eva's trust and for that, she was put in charge of Hell while Eva ruled over Heaven. Does this make sense?"

"N-no," I can't believe this is happening.

"You are in a state of shock," the angel shook his head. "I shall bid thee adieu, but not before I get what I came for."

Before I could question him about his intentions, there came a swift, searing pain in my abdomen. The wind was knocked out of me and I was suddenly beginning to see small dark circles building in my view. Dizziness overcame me as I fell to the floor, gasping for air, but growing faint.

"Rest well, Hero," I could hear the man say before I blacked out.

Later, my eyes fluttered open. Ugh, my torso hurts. And I feel sick. He must have punched me in the stomach. God, if I feel this terrible in this form, I couldn't possibly imagine what would have happened to me if I were regular Kyon. I banished the thought. The idea of me, mangled, bleeding and dead in a corner was making me feel more ill. Slowly, I stood on shaky legs as I caught my breathe, then I realized - shit! - it was morning. No! My family was probably wondering where I went! What was I supposed to tell them?

"Hey! You there!"

I turned quickly to see a rather pudgy security guard who, once he realized who I was, began shaking with fear until another two security guards ran up behind him. One of them pointed to his right.

"The Diamond!" he shouted. I looked in the direction he was pointing. Sure enough, that Hitomi Diamond was gone and the glass it was contained in was completely smashed. Oh, damn. It looks like I stole it, doesn't it? Some angel, I thought to myself.

"Put your hands up!" the boldest guard yelled, holding his gun up in front of him. The other two followed and that was my cue to leave. I already knew bullets wouldn't harm me, but I think 'jewel thief' is a much better title than 'murderer' so I broke the nearest window and soared across the sky.

"Come back here!" they screamed, but they didn't bother shooting me.

After flying for a shorter time than I had last night (I had to check to see if my family had discovered Kyon's absence, so I went very quickly), I expected to see my mother stricken with worry, my father angered at whatever excuse I came up with, and my sister (and.. her friends, ugh) insisting I never go anywhere without her (them) again. I entered my open window and silently changed back. Then I put on my sleepwear, messed up my hair a little and was about to quietly open my bedroom door until I saw the alarm clock on my bedside. "6:30 AM" flashed in red, squared Arabic numerals.

"Seriously?" I asked no one in particular. School was in two hours, but it only took me an hour to get ready. In that case I guess I can sleep now, I thought as I crawled into bed.

I turned to the left to get comfortable, then to the right. Then I laid on my stomach and then, on my back again. It look me 15 minutes to realize I wasn't getting to sleep; and it wasn't because of the blow to the gut that "angel" had dealt me. I just had way too much energy to sleep. Another "perk", I suppose. I remember wondering as a child how all the super heroes I saw on television and in comic books could just save the world whenever they needed to, day or night and as a young man, I finally have my answer: they just don't sleep. They don't need to sleep. Not to say that I never sleep, but I can now function perfectly fine with a very small amount.

My stomach growled. Funny how my needs for natural human necessities seemed to decrease - I suppose another new power of mine is that my body uses its resources much more efficiently - but my new abilities did little to aid my hunger. Sighing, I got out of bed and walked silently downstairs. I descended the stares, making sure to be very quiet around my sister's room (God forbid I should wake one of those mini gorgons), and fished the tempura from last night out of the fridge. I popped some tempura shrimp and mushrooms with rice into the microwave and leaned against the counter top on the opposite side. I was relaxed until I noticed a strange light followed by many other odd white lights while my eyes were between blinks. What the hell? My eyes followed the lines of energy until they reached the glowing box that was cooking my meal.

"Great," I smiled to myself sheepishly. "I can see microwaves." [2]

Beep!

Yawning, I took the bowl out of the microwave oven and looked for a clean pair of chopsticks. Upon finding there were none and washing some myself, I set them and the bowl down at the table and went to turn the television on.

"... is possibly responsible for the abduction of the Hitomi Diamond. Security guards spotted Hero fleeing the scene, leaving a broken, Diamond-less case behind him. Police have not stated whether or not he is indeed the thief. More on this in the afternoon segment," the female newscaster announced.

I see my little incident has already made it to the news. Well, my day couldn't get any worse.

"And I thought that guy was some super hero or something," Taniguchi laughed at lunch. "Jewelry stealing is petty thievery if you can fly and smash through walls and all, isn't it?"

"But no one knows if he actually did it," Kunikida frowned.

"Yeah, I know, but it'd be kinda interesting if he did, wouldn't it?"

Kunikida and I were silent. It was Taniguchi's turn to frown. "Oh, c'mon! I'm not the only one who thinks so, am I? Hero gone bad? That's not interesting? Oh, don't tell my I'm turning into Suzumiya or something..."

He looked around desperately for someone to possibly back his opinion. "Oh! Kimura-san!"

Upon hearing her name, Akane walked over to us, her beautiful jet black ponytail moving a little with each step. "Yes, Taniguchi-san?"

"Kimura-san, do you think it might be interesting if that Hero guy really is the jewel thief?"

"Absolutely not!"

The three of us were surprised by her strong reaction. Kimura-san talking so sternly? Unheard of! She blushed a little at our shocked expressions.

"Hero couldn't have done that," Akane stared at the floor. "And if he did..." she paused and shook her head. "Look, he didn't do it, okay?"

"You've - uh - got a lot of faith in him, don't you, Kimura-san?" asked Taniguchi. Akane blushed and opened her mouth to say something until some ignoble soul interrupted her.

"Akane's had a crush on that freak since she saw him on the news a while back," Kimura jeered and stopped his approach when he was standing right beside me. "But you guys already know that with how she fangirls over him. It's pretty pathetic, actually." I scowl at him. His sister growled... How cute!

"Shut up, Ayame!" The Kimura brother laughed at his twin's anger. My poor chopsticks attempted to withstand the pressure of my tightening grip. Who did he think he was anyway?

"Like you could do any of the things he does!" the Kimura sister barked.

"Like I'd want to! Who would want to have to stay up all night trying to defend people who probably won't even appreciate what you do for them? Plus, he looks like some reject manga character. He's a looser if you ask me."

"You're the looser, Ayame."

"I'm not the one who thinks they actually have a chance with a guy like that," he grinned. "Face it, sis. Hero maybe a joke, but what does that make you if you actually want him?"

Akane glared angrily, but her eyes told me she was close to tears. Taniguchi and Kunikida looked at each other awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

"Ayame, why don't you just leave?" I asked. Ayame expression changed from sadistically amused to angry.

"What was that, Sato?"

"Taniguchi asked Kimura-san for her opinion. No one was talking to you. So, why don't you leave?"

"Make me," Kimura came dangerously close to me.

"Ayame, he's right. They were talking to me!"

"Quiet, Akane!"

"Why don't you be quiet?" I turned to him with a scowl. "No one was talking to you and yet here you are."

"Don't push me, Kyon-kun."

Alright, that was it. I stood.

"You can go to Hell, Aya-chan."

The smug look on the face of the boy in front of me was promptly wiped off when I called him 'Aya-chan'. His fists shook at his side. A vein on his forehead strangely seemed more prominent. The corner of his mouth trembled and revealed a row of suddenly sharp looking teeth, much like an angry wolf.

"You've been warned, Sato. I'm going to Hell? We'll see who'll end up in Hell, you bitch!"

With that, there was a stifling yet familiar pain in my abdomen. I toppled over, realizing the asshole had punched me in the stomach. Akane, Taniguchi, and Kunikida called my name, but I could barely hear them as adrenaline pumped through my veins. My mind filtered out whatever it deemed as unimportant, which felt like almost everything. Ayame just stared down at me, emotionless, not moving a muscle. Even when everyone else in class began to gather and panic, even when a teacher ran in and demanded to know what happened, he just continued to stare. I looked up from my stupor and noticed a blurry Haruhi in the doorway. She'd been walking around or something out there before and was probably brought back here by her curiosity. She had a strange look on her face that I couldn't quite recognise. Kunikida and Taniguchi helped me up, concerned by my disorientation, and were about to take me to the nurse's office. As the teacher ushered Kimura out the door, probably so he could receive punishment, I noticed Haruhi shoot him a subtle but visible poisonous glare that read death. Kimura smiled back at her, condescendingly. Was she actually upset that he'd hurt me? By then, my legs began to give out and I must have fallen over on top of the other two boys. Then the world turned black.

I half expected I'd wake up in my bedroom. Perhaps I'd fallen asleep this morning when I came back home and the entire day was just a dream. That would certainly explain the gentle throbbing in my stomach, but when I woke up, I was met with the stale white ceiling of the nurse's office instead.

"Hey, Kyon! You're alive!" Taniguchi joked, although I was sure he was genuinely concerned. He and Kunikida sat in the stools at my bedside.

I groaned. "That Kimura guy punched me."

"He sure did," the smaller brown haired boy sighed. "Kimura must have a pretty good punch if he knocked you out like that."

"So, how is Kimura-san?"

"Not talking to her brother, I think," the black haired one explained. "She was pretty upset when you got hurt."

"And Haruhi?"

Taniguchi raised a curious eyebrow. "What about Suzumiya?"

"Well, before I blacked out, I saw her in the doorway. She looked angry."

"Oh yeah, she was there." realized Kunikida. "I'm not really sure, but I went to tell sensei you were alright, and she looked pretty mad... Her face was turning red. I thought she was going to start breathing fire!"

The other boy laughed. "She was probably thinking," he put on a high pitched voice for this part,"'No one hurts Kyon except for me!'," then Taniguchi grinned. "That's how a lot of girlfriends are, I suppose."

I rolled my eyes, but that was probably true.

"So, I think Kimura's been given a detention or something. He didn't seem phased at all by any of this though. He was kind of like 'whatever' about everything. Weird, isn't it?" said Taniguchi. "I mean, a few minutes ago, he looked like he'd stab Kyon with a box cutter!"

"Taniguchi, this is Kimura we're talking about. Not Nevada-chan [3] ," I frowned.

"But you know what I mean. His mood changed so quickly; from fiery to passive. Maybe he's just a weird guy or something."

"Yeah," I replied. "Maybe."

The room was silent then.

"So, will you be okay here by yourself?" the brown haired boy asked. "Sorry, it's just we're missing a lot of class."

I nodded. "Yeah, I think I just need a bit more sleep. You guys go on. Thanks for everything though."

The boys got up to leave.

"You get better, you hear Kyon?" Taniguchi called from the doorway.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Alright, now that those two were gone, I could get some shut eye. I must have been asleep for about another hour until the sound of the door closing woke me up again. The person jumped a little when they noticed I was awake.

"Haruhi?"

The girl in question regained her composure and put on an annoyed face. "What do you want?"

Wasn't it you who came in here in the first place?! Hey, was this actually Haruhi attempting to speak with me? "Nothing. The door just woke me up. That's all."

She grunted, 'hmph', in return. "I just came to see if they had any medical tape. I'll need it later."

Huh, sure. "I see."

The room was silent then, other than the sounds of Haruhi rummaging through the drawers for medical tape I was sure she didn't need. Awkwardness set in as we both seemed to know what she was really here for (although, I'm sure she wouldn't ever admit it to herself).

"Still tutoring that Kimura girl?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am."

"I see."

"So uh, what's the medical tape for?"

"None of your business." Which was Haruhi language for 'nothing, I just need an excuse to be in here'.

"You know, I'll be there tomorrow," I said.

"Where?"

"Our club meeting. I've got tutoring tonight, but I'll be there tomorrow."

"Hm."

This was going nowhere fast. Jeez, but what was I supposed to say to her? I already knew what was bothering her, but I had to pretend like I didn't or she would suspect something. I could tell her Hero told me everything, but what if I need to have a private conversation with her again? She'll never tell him anything then. So, it was silent - save for the rummaging. I was sure she must have found it by now, but she seemed to be pretending she couldn't, possibly to prolong her time here. Come on, Haruhi. Say something. It's obvious you want to talk to me about it, so just say something!

"Hey,"

Hm? "Yeah?"

"That Kimura guy's an asshole. I'm going to give him a piece of my mind next time I see him. No one..." she left her statement unfinished. I suppose it would have ended with something like 'no one beats the stuffing out of you but me'. "You just feel better."

Haruhi grabbed the medical tape she was supposedly looking for and left faster than she came. That wasn't much of a conversation, but I commended her for trying. I guess she really was upset by what Ayame did to me. Why does my face suddenly feel warm?

God, am I blushing? Why? Well, I mean, I guess I never would have expected her to get mad and, dare I say, protective about this, but it's no reason to feel like this. I mean, I'd be angry if someone hurt her too! So why am I turning even redder?

1 - A replacement for another popular pop singer with the initials "MJ". lol

2 - For those who got confused, I don't mean microwave here as in the electric box that cooks food... I mean a wavelength of energy that this machine uses to cook with. :)

3 - I'm not sure if will allow too many culture references... That's why I change the names of celebrities and bands and such. This specific reference refers to a girl in Japan who, many years ago, stabbed a fellow student with a box cutter because the student was apparently picking on her. o_o

So, review and fave and all that great stuff! ^^