It's been a while. Too long, if you ask me. It's been over a month, which, as far as I'm concerned, is too long between updates.

I apologize. But I assure you, it's because of work and other factors. It has nothing to do with releases of new games, like Left 4 Dead 2, or updates to Team Fortress 2. Or a general sense of laziness.

Anyway, this chapter was a bitch and a half to write. I wanted to get a little action in for once, but I think it might be a bit too cliche. Seriously, I rewrote sections of this chapter about 3 times. I'm still not completely satisfied with it, but it's as best as I could do. So please, if you spot any ways to help improve it, criticize away. I really need the help. I do hope to be an author someday, so any advice now will certainly help.

In any case, enough with the excuses. Here's chapter 6.

After an awkward and long train ride, we took a short ferry ride to Kouri island in Okinawa. Upon embarking, we were greeted by a rather unusual sight.

"So, uh, Tsuruya," I had to ask, "this is your summer home?"

"Yup! Well, one of 'em, anyway. Make yourself at home!"

I dropped my suitcase to the ground.

"IT'S HUGE!"

Before us was a pristine western style mansion. Three stories tall. Beachfront property. Surrounded by a lush garden. An enormous water fountain before the entrance. Every part of the house screamed 'We're filthy, stinking rich.' And it was only one of several summer homes.

Tsuruya is a nice enough guy, but I don't think I'll ever understand the rich.

"Awesome!" Haruki was doubled over with excitement, and began hopping up and down. "Tsuruya, you are the best! I can't wait any longer, let's hit the beach!"

With that, Haruki threw off his shirt and pants. My face reddened as I covered my eyes and pondered how if I should feel more or less embarrassed than I was. I took a quick peek, though, to see he had, apparently, worn swim trunks under his clothing. I wanted to chastise him for doing something so childish, but for one thing, it was Haruki. Childish was nothing new. And secondly, I, much to my eternal shame, couldn't stop staring. Dear Lord, what was happening to me?

A hand fell on my shoulder. I looked to see it connected to an ever smiling Tsuruya. "Yo, go on an' follow Haruki! The maid'll take your stuff to your room while the rest of us go get changed."

"No way," I refused. "Haruki said I had to spend the rest of the day dressed like this, but I'm not going to stay out in public, even on a beach, wearing a bikini. Absolutely not. I'm going to stay in my room until the end of the d--"

Before I could finish my sentence, I was suddenly grabbed from behind by my ponytail.

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" As I awkwardly walked in reverse, I could see my assailant, Haruki, pulling me off. "Hey, knock it off! That hurts!"

"This is a training trip! Everyone must join in, no exceptions!" Haruki stated coldly. "Absentees will face the death penalty!"

I sighed in resignation. "Fine. But don't pull me by my hair! It hurts!"

Surprisingly, Haruki listened. "That's bet--"

Before I could finish my expression of relief, I was hoisted over his shoulder and carried off instead. Oh well. But I never thought I'd miss the days of Haruhi dragging me around by my tie.

"I ask this of you: What is the ultimate goal of a man?"

After dragging me to the shore of a somewhat crowded beach just a short way from Tsuruya's unnecessarily large summer home, I was unceremoniously placed on my butt in the sand alongside my fellow bikini sufferer, Asahina, we were asked this meaningless and pointless question.

"...How would I know?" An honest question. Even if I still had my manhood, I would still have the same answer. I didn't even have the slightest clue what I wanted to do after high school, let alone some 'ultimate goal' for my life.

"Ah, um..." Asahina stuttered, apparently feeling obligated to answer between nervously scanning the area for anyone who might be staring at him. "T-to find true love?"

"Wrong!" Haruki shouted and Asahina flinched in fear. "All acts of manliness are based around one goal! To pick up chicks!"

I applied my palm to my face. To the crowd of people now staring at us because of Haruki's lack of volume control, I apologize, but there is nothing I can do.

"So with that, let's go pick up some babes!"

"...Have fun with that." I turned away and sighed.

I couldn't see his expression but I could feel a hard glare in my direction and some hesitation in my heart. I was confused. Didn't I still like girls? I mean, shouldn't I? But then I had all those weird feelings looking at Haruki's bare chest just minutes ago and my feelings for Asahina staying firm. But if I liked girls in this world, wouldn't I be a lesbian? But to be attracted to guys... I had to make a choice and I had to make it now.

So I chose not to think about it. Instead I turned my head back to watch his face flip through several emotions before he turned his head to the side with reddened cheeks. I was too tired to try and analyze what that meant, so I decided to just enjoy the irritating feeling of sand getting under my swimsuit.

"F-Fine, I suppose it's okay if you just watch and understand how it's done. Come on, Mitsuuru. You're going to be my wingman."

"Eh? Me? Ehhhh?!" Haruki quickly grabbed the arm of the bikini-clad angel and dragged him off towards a large crowd of people. Poor guy. I'll pray for your safe return.

"Well, that was certainly interesting." That would be Koizumi's voice. Great. I just stared out at the ocean, unwilling to even look at her annoying smile. But she apparently didn't notice my annoyance or didn't care. Either way, I heard her sit down next to me.

"This certainly puts a new light on our situation. I'd say Suzumiya is acting quite unusual."

"Haruki always acts unusual."

I couldn't see it, and I can't explain it, but I could feel Koizumi's expression get even more annoying. I decided to try and ignore her as much as I could, and tried to fix my ponytail instead, as Haruki screwed it up.

"Perhaps, but I'd say Suzumiya is acting unusual even for himself. He's never been one for relationships, always viewing them as wastes of time, in his own words. And now I see he's out trying to court some young women?"

Okay, I couldn't ignore her. I tried to look away. On the opposite side of me, Tsuruya was setting up a beach umbrella. Nagato was already underneath it, reading a book. Both were wearing nothing but swim trunks. The sight of their naked chests, so fit, with tight abs and... okay, enough of that. Let's go back to looking at the ocean.

"It seems... out of character, I'd say."

"Didn't he just say it was part of this stupid 'manliness' training?"

"Ah, yes. Well, perhaps it is. I certainly cannot deny the possibility. But what if there were another reason for Haruki to desire to be 'manly?' Does it not seem strange that Suzumiya Haruhi would be transferred into the body of a male and still he desires to be more masculine? Coincidence?"

Like hell I'd know. If anyone can figure out Haruhi's thought patterns, they deserve to win the Nobel Peace Prize instantly.

"...Kyonko, may I ask you a question?"

"I have the feeling you'd ask whether or not I agreed."

"Not at all. It's quite optional."

Argh. Now if I refuse, I just look like a jerk. "All right, fine."

"How do you feel about Haruki? Not just as a person, but as a man."

"Huh?" I finally gave in and looked at. Koizumi. She wasn't looking back, but actually staring out at the ocean. And... whoa. She was also wearing a bikini. And all that flesh. And that cleavage. Argh! I couldn't take my eyes off of it! Dammit, it's so unfair! Wait, shouldn't I be more concerned with how she's willingly wearing that in public? Or are you doing this just to torture me? Damn you!

"Well, what I'm asking is have you felt any sort of attraction to Haruki?"

My face finally pulled itself away from the breasts contained in Koizumi's white, gorgeous swimwear and managed to look her in the face before I felt my face turn totally red.

"O-Of course I haven't. I... I like girls."

"Ah, I see. I simply thought... well, physical attraction is largely based on hormones, a physical component of the body, so as I've stated, it would be a little abnormal to not have some attraction to males."

"...Maybe... maybe a... a little." I could barely whisper it. My face was burning up.

Koizumi giggled. "That's what I thought. I saw how you reacted to Asahina. And then when Haruki took his shirt off."

Damn Koizumi's eyes.

"Now now, it's okay. I was just surprised. You see, you don't normally show much emotion no matter what."

Says the girl whose face never changes from a stupid, fake smile. If anything, you've gotten better at hiding your feelings, not that I cared then or now.

"But now, I can sort of read your thoughts, at least a little. I could see how embarrassed you got when you got complimented on your swimsuit. It was quite charming, really. And Haruki noticed it as well."

I didn't like where this was headed. I usually didn't.

"I get the feeling you're trying to tell me something. Just spit it out."

"Well, suppose, just theoretically, given his odd behavior, what if Haruki was going about all this 'manliness' training because he was trying to impress someone?"

"What the—are you serious?" I snorted. "Who? That flock of girls?" I lifted my hand to point at a group of girls further down the shore. They were encircling Haruki and Asahina, and seemed enamored by his boisterous and confident ways. No, wait, some of them seem to be staring intently at Asahina. Well, I suppose I can't fault their tastes, but I was somewhat annoyed that other girls got to enjoy the sight of him.

"No, no." Koizumi sighed. "Those girls are merely a means to an end." She rested her head on her palm and smiled. For once, it seemed like a genuine smile. At least, it didn't annoy me to the core. "Haruki is flirting with those girls because it's his preconceived notion of his that flirting with and, if I may borrow his language, 'picking up chicks' is a requirement for being a man."

I sighed. "Well, what girl would possibly be impressed by that? If anything, it'd only make her agitated and jealous."

"Of course, in reality, normal relationships don't work that way. But Haruki's actions do not always reflect the thought patterns of the average person."

You don't need to remind me of that.

"I offer my condolences to whoever Haruki is trying to attract, if that's the case."

Suddenly, Koizumi bursts out into a fit of giggling. What the hell is so damn funny?

"Oh, it's nothing." Despite that, she continues to giggle to herself, breaking out into full laughter for a brief moment. "I was just thinking that it feels like we've had this conversation before. Ah, well... Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go confirm a few things."

With that said, Koizumi got to her feet and walked off back towards the house, leaving me alone on the hot sand. I don't know why, but the way she ended our conversation pissed me off even more. I let my anger go and sighed as I looked around. There was Nagato, sitting under the beach umbrella reading some novel that was thicker than some encyclopedias. Tsuruya was by the shore, building a sandcastle with a couple of small children he befriended. Asahina was--

"Help! Help me!"

--In deep trouble, apparently. I sprung to my feet and dashed in the direction of my angel's screams. Don't worry, I'll protect you from anything!

Of course, if it was Haruki, there was little I could actually do to help him, but it felt better than telling myself that I'd just stare in jealousy as he got publicly molested.

I stopped abruptly as I came across the scene of the emergency. Asahina was being smothered to death. Mostly by a gaggle of overly enthusiastic women who couldn't keep their hands to themselves. They were hugging, rubbing, squeezing, pulling, squealing, and cooing over the effeminate boy.

Haruki was standing beside me, his hands on his hips and a smile so bright it rivaled the blazing sun overhead.

"He's a natural!" he proclaimed in a prideful tone. "I'll make a man of this boy yet!" Haruki pounded his fist against his chest and beamed even more.

Was I irritated by his lack of compassion for the kind boy being smothered in women, or was I irritated that I wasn't one of those women?

"Say, Haruki..." He was here, so I figured I might as well try and figure something out.

"Hmm?"

"What's so important about being 'manly?' Why all the training? Do you have to--"

"Of course! It's extremely important!" Haruki gazed at me with a look of absolute faith. "You may not get it because it's a guy thing. But it's utterly essential."

You're right. I don't get it. But it's not because I was currently a girl. I'm pretty sure it's because you are insane.

"Hmmm?" Haruhi's smile turned into a mischievous smirk. The kind of smile you'd expect to see on a fox after a chicken comes to ask for directions. "Something the matter? Ah, I get it. You were getting lonely, huh? Jealous of all the attention I was giving to Asahina?"

Haruki stepped behind me. A sharp, cold feeling ran up my spine, followed immediately by a smooth, warm feeling of a large hand running down my spine before it firmly grabbed my ass.

Smack!

My palm print was firmly left on Haruki's still smirking face as I stormed off.. I just wanted to go find a hole to dig myself into and spend the rest of my life there. Maybe I could become a hermit and move to Siberia. Anything to get me away from him.

I found an empty table with an umbrella for shade and took a seat before dropping my face on its surface. That was humiliating, degrading, and above all, it wasn't enjoyable. Or at least, I kept telling myself that as my heart raced.

Clink. I heard the sound of something hitting the table I was sitting at, but I didn't bother to lift my head.

"Boyfriend trouble?" A young man's voice asked.

"...Not exactly."

"Ah, just a friend, then?"

"More like a slave driver or an executioner."

"Ah."

The conversation with the unknown boy who'd I'd yet to even look at died right then and there. At least for the moment. I listened to the clamor of the crowds, the crashing of the waves, and the cries of the birds overhead, anything to get my mind off of Haruki and my heart to slow down. But eventually, the boy spoke up again.

"You know, I don't think your friend there meant to do anything wrong."

I guess he was waiting for a reaction. I didn't give him one.

"He obviously likes you, he just doesn't want to say it directly."

I'll believe that when I see it. You don't drag people you like away by their hair, you don't force them into humiliating swimsuits, and you don't I doubt any court of law would accept 'I only did it because I like her' as an acceptable excuse for sexual harassment. Come to think of it, would a restraining order work? Nah. It's not like Haruhi ever considered the legality of her actions before and I doubt Haruki would be any different.

"Ha ha. Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude on your private affairs. Let me start over by introducing myself. My name is Morinozuka Youji. I wanted to thank you."

"Is that so? Thank me for what?"

"I, and the rest of my organization, wanted to thank you for preventing so many crises involving your friend Suzumiya."

I finally lifted my head off the table and looked at the boy I'd been conversing with. A short, slim boy, probably about my age, with a messy head of short black hair and round glasses that sat on his almost child-like face. Cute, perhaps, but I'll stick with Asahina. Besides, from his words, I knew one thing. This boy was trouble.

"What... what did you say?"

Rather than repeating himself, he lifted his canteen to his lips and took a quick sip.

"I'm sorry, how terribly rude of me. Would you care for a drink?"

"Uh, no thanks."

"Are you sure? It's vitamin water. Very refreshing on a hot day."

"Still, I'll pass." Somehow, accepting a drink from a strange boy who may know something about Haruki didn't seem high on the list of bright ideas.

"In any case, I'll try not to bore you with the details, then." He set down his glass and gave me a cheerful smile. "I belong to a group, one of many. As you may suspect, our interest is in the one you call Suzumiya."

Hey, Haruki, you've got another weirdo fanboy. Don't you feel lucky?

"So, what? You think Haruki is some kind of God, too?" If so, maybe I should start a cult. It would at least earn me some money. My wallet may sit in a skirt pocket these days, but it was as thin as ever.

"No, nothing like that," Youji said as he pushed his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose. "But you're probably wondering what my interest in Suzumiya is."

"Not really." I sighed.

Youji stared at me for a moment before he started to smile. It wasn't a sinister smile, but one of true amusement. "I see. Well, nonetheless, I'd at least like you to listen to my story, as I need your help."

"My help? To do what, specifically?" I didn't like this one bit.

"Put simply, this world is in danger. Not just this world, actually. Every world. And I believe you are the only one who can save it."

"Now I know you're lying. If you needed help to 'save the world,' why approach me? Of all the people who know about Haruki, why me? I don't have any powers. I can't travel through time. I can't do anything special at all. I'm just a bystander who happened to get caught in the middle. If you really needed help, you'd ask for someone who can actually do something of importance."

"Ah, but my dear..."

Please don't call me that. It's just weird.

"You do have something of great value. There is something you alone can do. You can control Suzumiya and his powers. You can influence him. It is the same in every world I have touched. One voice is heard by Suzumiya and is the only one he considers with great interest. Your voice."

Are we talking about the same Suzumiya Haruki? When he was a girl, I was dragged everywhere by my tie. I even had my head smashed into Haruhi's desk several times. In this world, I'm pulled by my ponytail or unceremoniously tossed over his shoulder like a sack of vegetables. My objections to his plans end with him shooting them down if he acknowledges them at all. What part of this suggests I have influence over him? He's a tidal wave and I'm just a ship caught up in it.

"Let me explain. There are many, many dimensions. None are exactly the same. And they all exist separately, unable to interact. Until several years ago. Suzumiya has the power to tap into other worlds. The implications of this are complicated and dangerous."

Youji's smile vanished and instead his features slowly twisted into a sullen look.

"He is a danger to any universe he is in. He can create anything. He can destroy anything. All the while seemingly without obeying the laws of conservation of mass and energy. I, and the members of our organization, believe this possible because Suzumiya can draw power from other worlds. We have seen the effects of this first hand. As have you. Your current form is the result of one such experiment."

I liked this conversation, and the boy I was speaking to, less and less with each word. Still, I knew he had a point. Haruki, in any form, was dangerous. But was Youji now admitting he's the reason I was a girl?

"It was a simple test, really," Youji explained after he took another sip from his canteen. "We took two worlds. Two very similar worlds. All I did was present Suzumiya Haruhi with information. Similarly, a counterpart of mine presented some other information to Suzumiya Haruki. The results were as expected. The two worlds became linked together, with each Suzumiya at the center of that connection. Data was pulled through that connection. Do you know what it was?"

I knew where he was going with this, but I wasn't in much of a mood to answer.

"What was it?"

"Your consciousness. As well as that of Suzumiya and those she held close. All were transferred from one world to the other."

"Yeah, I figured that." I drooped my head and sighed again. This is the same story I'd already heard a hundred times. How it happened doesn't matter.

"Morinozuka, tell me this. I don't care how we switched bodies with some alternate doppelganger in an alternate world. All I care about is how to reverse it and bring things back to normal."

He shook his head before telling me what I didn't want to hear.

"I'm afraid that it is not a reversible process."

It felt like a sword had just pierced my chest. It wasn't reversible. Those words echoed in my head. I was going to be stuck as a girl forever.

"...Or at least, it might be. But, if you help me, I may be able to fix it."

Dammit, then don't say it can't be fixed! For once in my life, I missed talking to Koizumi. At least she would answer my questions when asked, even if it was in a roundabout fashion. This guy just seemed like he was being purposely vague.

"...Fine. Just tell me what you want me to do."

"Very well. All I need you to do is undo what you did several years ago."

My exasperation was actually audible.

"...Did you not hear me when I said that I lacked the ability to travel through time?"

"I heard you," Youji said with a nod. "But you know someone who can."

"But... Asah—I mean, I do, but he said that time travel was cut off right now."

"Yes, that is true. And I know of the conversation you had with Asahina Mitsuuru."

Oh great. So not only was this guy a freak and probably some sort of cultist trying to, basically, blackmail me into helping him, but he's also a stalker. If he tells me he's even seen me changing, he's going to regret it.

"And he's partially correct," he continued. "Asahina was cut off from his superiors in the future. True. But the past is another matter."

"Even if that's true, Asahina would never agree to take us to the past in order to alter it."

Youji shook his head. "I'm aware of that. That's why I'm not asking you to ask her on my behalf. As I said, this is something only you can do. I want you to take his time travel device from him by any means necessary and bring it to me. I have the means to use it properly to take us back to an hour before Suzumiya's powers awakened. Convince the younger Suzumiya Haruki to stop his plans. Meanwhile, your counterpart in your original world will be doing the same to Suzumiya Haruhi. Neither of them will ever develop their powers. As a result, these events will never happen and you should return to your world in your body. But there will be no SOS Brigade, no supernatural phenomenon, and no danger anymore. Things will be perfect."

I was stunned. If there were a mirror for me to look into, I bet I'd see the dumbest look ever on my face. I must have misheard him. I must have. But I knew I didn't. I was listening too closely to have misheard him. So there was only one thing I could do, as soon as I had my wits about me.

I took a deep breath. I had to say this now or it would eat at me forever.

"No. I refuse. Go ask someone else for help."

Youji's face was dripping with shock. I suppose when one puts out a dramatic speech as he just had, one assumes that no one could disagree.

"What? But I already told you, no one else can! Don't you realize how much danger that boy has put us all in?"

"The danger he put us in? You're the ones who made him do this! Not only that, but you've said yourself that we've done a good job keeping him under control."

"Yes, but that can't last forever!"

"Maybe, but do you have any guarantee that changing the past would even make things normal again? If Asahina would be against it, so would I. Not to mention that I would never, ever lay a hand on him! You're asking me to essentially betray and steal from my friends to help some strange guy who just walked up to me on the beach! Sorry, but I don't trust you. We'll solve this on our own."

Having said that, I stood up, preparing to walk away, but as I did, my left wrist was pulled back. Youji grabbed my arm and wasn't letting me go.

"You can't go! If you don't help me, this world is doomed!"

You know, maybe he was right, but I couldn't take his attitude any longer. I didn't care. Nagato, Koizumi, and Asahina had all placed their trust in me. To steal from one of them, to go against their wills, and to trust some strange boy with a habit of making dramatic speeches and tampering with dimensions... I couldn't. I would never betray that trust.

"Let go of me, you jerk! I don't want anything to do with your plans!"

I pulled and pulled in vain. He was stronger. I used my free arm to try and loosen his grip, but his free hand just grabbed mine and thus I was trapped. I started to panic. Fortunately, a crowd started to gather. Even he wouldn't do something with so many onlookers, right?

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to have to do this," Youji said with a determined look in his eyes. "I really didn't. But I see now that you won't listen to reason."

In one swift motion, Youji let go of one of left arm, but twisted my right so that I could not retaliate. The crowd around us began to get into an uproar. However, when several men moved in to help me, they stopped dead in their tracks when Youji pulled out a handgun.

Shit! This guy is nuts!

"All right, nobody move!" Youji declared out loud. "I'm leaving, she's coming with me, and--"

The gun was gone. In the blink of an eye, a large, menacing shadow appeared behind the boy. Nagato!

With speed and precision, Nagato began to disassemble the handgun, piece by piece. In less than half a second, it was no longer a weapon but a pile of mechanical junk lying in the sand.

"You!" He seemed to be in utter disbelief. "But you shouldn't have been able--"

Crack.

I didn't actually see the blow, only its aftermath. As I felt my right hand become free, I saw Youji fall to the ground with a slight trail of blood in the air. Another mammoth figure was before him. Haruki.

"Who the hell do you think you are? What right do you have to touch a member of my brigade? On whose authority were you allowed to threaten this girl with a weapon? What kind of cowardly fool are you?"

"H-Haruki, you..." I looked down. Youji was wiping a trickle of blood from his lips.

Another figure, though much smaller than the other two, stood between me and the bleeding boy on the ground.

"Th-that's right! You... You can't h-hurt Kyonko! I... I won't l-let you!" Asahina stuttered. His whole body was visibly trembling, but he stood tall. Well, as tall as he could, anyway, acting as a shield between us.

"Fine, it seems today's mission was a failure," Youji said standing up. "Then it seems I'll have to take my leave. I only hope you see the light before it's too late."

Youji struggled to get up, ending up on all fours.

"Oh no, I'm not letting you go, you bastard." Haruki reached to grab the arm of the boy as he stood up, but Youji took a handful of sand with the other hand and threw it in Haruki's face. In an instant, the boy was on his feet and dashing away. He was fast. But we had someone faster.

"Yuuki, go!" Haruki fell to his knees, coughing and struggling to get the sand out of his eyes and mouth.

Nagato gave a single nod before turning to where Youji had run off to and, well, I'd say he ran after him, but 'teleported' seems to be a better way of putting it. To all the people who saw him take off, would you believe me if I said it was just an adrenaline rush?

Speaking of adrenaline rushes, mine seemed to have worn off and I was left kneeling on the hot sand, feeling my heart's attempts to jump through my chest. Wait, I was just assaulted, wasn't I? And he had a gun. Well, at least he didn't stab me. I've had enough of that, thank you.

A hand came to my shoulder. I looked up to see Haruki looking down on me. Some tears stained his cheeks as a result of the sand, but his expression was more solemn. Without a word, he placed a hand on my back, an arm under my legs, and lifted me into the air. I wrapped one arm around his neck and buried my face into his chest. I was so relieved to see him. He just saved me. Who knows what that psycho wanted me to do. Maybe it was all a lie. Or maybe he'd have brainwashed me or cloned me. At this point, I'm willing to believe anything. But it didn't matter now, because Haruki saved me.

And I didn't want him to see that look of gratitude, of comfort on my face. It was too embarrassing. God, just thinking about how I felt is humiliating.

A pair of gentle hands took my left hand and held it. I turned to look at Asahina's face, which, like Haruki's, was also covered in tears but I'd say for an entirely different reason.

And so we walked like that back to Tsuruya's place.

Nagato later told me that that boy, Morinozuka Youji, was indeed an agent for the Multidimensional Microbial Collective. Nagato caught him with ease, but the boy merely opened a rift in something called the spacial data plane, whatever that is, and escaped. But there was no doubt as to his identity.

The police would be called and I would give them my slightly altered testimony. In a rare display of useful, straightforward advice, Koizumi helped me fabricate a conversation in which Youji hit on me, I rejected him, and he didn't take it well.

Asahina would prepare me the most delicious tea I'd ever had, and helped the chefs prepare a meal that I swear was too good even for the angels.

I'd take a long, hot bath, spending the time wondering what to do next. This was getting serious. After my refusal to help, the Multidimensional Microbial Collective would certainly take more drastic measures. I had to act and it had to be soon.

But none of that mattered at that moment. I simply took a primal pleasure from the comfort and safety of Haruki's arms and Asahina's affection as we walked back to our temporary retreat in silence.

To be continued.