Wow, it's been a long ride, but it's here. The final chapter of Kyonko's New Life. Well, except a short epilogue. But anyway, it's been almost a year, and if you've been keeping up, thank you so much. It means the world to me. It's been difficult for me, but I've learned quite a bit writing this and I got some ideas for some new fictions in the process which may or may not see the light of day.

In any event, this chapter was somewhat more difficult to write. A good bit of action, some romance, and a large supply of hand-waving. Please let me know where I need improvement. I would truly appreciate it.

And now, on with the show.

(Oh, and Kyon, Kyonko, Haruhi, Haruki etc. don't belong to me, don't sue, etc.)

When you hear that someone has died, there's a certain finality to it. Once you're dead, by definition, you're gone for good. There is no reset button. There is no getting better. There are no continues, no second chances, and no way back.

Thus there may be some confusion when I say that I did, in fact, die. If I did die, then how can I still be here to explain it? Well, the obvious answer is that I can't, so I didn't actually get killed. After all, the only other possibility is that some sort of special exception was made for me, where the laws of reality are momentarily overlooked.

So when I tell you right now that I died, please do not misinterpret it by assuming I'm being overly dramatic or that I'm being figurative. I assure you I am not.

I was stone cold dead.

Which is why I was shocked to wake up quite suddenly.

It felt like I was shocked with an extra high voltage defibrillator as I sat up. All at once I was struck by the surge of sensations returning at once. Sight, sound, touch... Everything hit me simultaneously.

"Kyonko... you're... you're alive..." Before my vision settled and I could piece together enough focus to identify the voice, I was embraced. A slimy and slick but warm body was pressed up against me.

"...I am? I'm alive? How...?"

Without clearing my confusion, the figure pulled me into his chest.

"Thank God," he whispered. He began to squeeze me so hard I thought I was going to die. Again, I mean. As I was released, enough of my senses had gotten themselves together to allow me to get a good look at my hero.

It was Haruki. He was dripping wet and covered in small cuts. The parts of him that weren't covered by the strange metallic suit and wires that had previously strapped him down, that is. As I looked around, I saw that the glass globe which had held him until a little while ago was shattered. Glass shards and a pool of liquid sat beneath it, as did an unconscious Haruhi.

Haruki stood up with his face alternating between relief and anger. It quickly settled on the latter and approached Nagato, who backed away.

"Stay away, foolish creature. We do not wish to instigate further-"

Haruki punched Nagato in the face, sending the possessed alien straight to the floor.

"Snap out of it, Yuuki!" commanded Haruki.

Haruki must have had some skill as an exorcist, as the moment Nagato's body hit the ground, the MMC was forced out. Taking the form of white vapor, the monster leaked from Nagato's skin, forming a large cloud overhead.

Personally, if I'd known a hit to the head would cure you, I'd have asked someone to do it to me earlier when I was under the MMC's control.

The swirling mist above our heads moved in an unnatural way, gathering at one point, becoming denser and denser until it reformed into the same pile of goo that was the Multidimensional Microbial Collective.

Haruki lent his hand to Nagato, helping him to his feet. "Hey, you alright? Sorry about hitting you like that."

"I am fine," he responded with the same monotone voice. Well, looks like he's back to normal.

"All right, then stay out of this," ordered Haruki as he stepped towards the beast, cracking his knuckles. "I'm going to have a few choice words with that... thing."

The MMC seemed unfazed. He simply stated that "There is nothing to discuss. We ask that for the sake of peace, it offers no resistance. Surrender peacefully and-"

Then Haruki punched its head clean off. The displaced cranium hit the cold floor with a splash before it returned to its body and was shortly reformed.

"We see that it will not. Truly unfortunate. It will have to be subdued, then."

The room went black once again. That nauseating feeling of everything around me disappearing. And then it came back. As the room was reconstructed I saw that the broken tower was gone, as was the door that was our only chance for escape.

Worse yet, I couldn't move. This was mostly due to the fact that my hands and legs were chained to the wall, crucifix-style. As I wondered if this scene could possibly get any worse (or more cliché), I noticed that all of the others were similarly bound to the walls.

"What the hell is this? How did I end up...?"

Haruki was throwing a fit, struggling against his restraints.

"Do not fret, child. We will end its life quickly."

"Okay, I've got a number of things to say here." Haruki's eyes shone with defiance. "First, don't call me a child. Secondly, don't call me an 'it.' Next, you're insane. And last, when I get out of these chains, I'm going to kill you."

"It appears the child is even more foolish than we believed. Truly, to leave such a monumental power in the hands of one so ill-tempered, it is miraculous nothing disastrous happened before now."

"That's it!" Haruki was livid. The chains on the wall strained themselves to hold the boy back.

"Now, for the good of all, it and its powers must be done away with!" With that, the MMC began to change itself. It's arm took the form of a large spear. In one smooth motion, it took that arm and thrust it towards Haruki's chest.

"Haruki!"

Upon seeing what was to be his demise, I cried out.

But the next sound we heard was not the piercing of flesh or the dripping of blood, but the shattering of chains. Haruki leapt from the wall moments before the bastard alien could skewer him. Instead, Haruki landed on the MMC, squashing it into a pool of liquid.

But the Multi-whatever just rose again somewhere else.

"Its tenacity is becoming something of a nuisance. But it must realize we cannot be defe-"

"Shut up!"

Haruki was boiling with rage. It was then that I noticed something. There was an almost ethereal glow to him.

"This isn't good..."

A voice came from beside me. It was Koizumi (female), who was chained to the wall to my left.

"Nothing about this situation has ever been good, why should that change now?"

"It's Suzumiya. His powers are going berserk. Closed spaces are popping up everywhere and he's activating his abilities constantly."

"How can you tell?"

"I just know. Call it an esper's intuition."

"Well, then, what the hell do we do?"

Koizumi yanked on her chain. "Well, given the situation, I'd say our only option is to stay here and pray."

My heart sank somewhere into the depths of my stomach. My life was now in the hands of Haruki. I wonder if it's too late to start making up a will?

Hey, wait a minute, what about Nagato? Surely a couple of chains couldn't hold them back.

"I'm afraid they're as stuck as we are."

I followed Koizumi's finger to see two figures on the opposite side of the large room. The room was so large I almost couldn't recognize the two of them as Nagato. A faint echo of chains being broken reached my ears as I watched the two of them drop from the wall. Sadly, not even a second later, they were yanked back to the wall.

"They've been at that for as long as we've been stuck like this," Koizumi informed me.

Speaking of things going on for a while, the entire time we were talking, Haruki was dodging attacks by the alien overlord and hurling obscenities back at it. The alien was seemingly growing tired of it.

"How does it manage to evade our blows? It is a larger nuisance than we imagined."

"Who are you calling a nuisance? You keep us here, tie us up, and you have the nerve to call me a nuisance, you freak of nature? I was already going to beat your ass, but now I'm going to wipe it across the freakin' floor. But before I do, tell me one thing. I've no idea what the hell is going on here. One second I'm walking down the hall and the next I wake up covered in goo and... and Kyonko is lying on the floor. And she's not breathing. Answer me this. Are you the one responsible, or do you answer to someone else?"

"We answer to none. We merely do what must be done for the good of-"

"I don't care. So you admit you're the one who hurt Kyonko?"

"...Yes, we did it out of necessity. To intensify our powers, to help protect the universe from-"

"That's all I needed to hear."

As he spoke, that aura around him grew in power until it was almost overwhelming to look at. He practically looked to be on fire.

Haruki darted towards the evil alien. The MMC countered by turning one arm into a spear once more and launched it at the approaching half-naked boy. But he simply side stepped the approaching skewer and grabbed it instead. In one sweeping motion, the offending appendage was ripped from the body of the alien.

But this time, when it was thrown to the floor, it didn't gel up and rejoin the body. Instead, it turned to a pile of dust and vanished before our eyes.

"Uragh!" Surprisingly, the alien seemed to be writhing in pain. "How did it... why did..."

And then Haruki punched it in the gut. More of the beast flew off and disappeared.

"That's for chaining me up!"

He tore off an arm. It vanished.

"That's for hurting my friends!"

And then he drove it home with a massive punch to the face that sent the monster down to the floor.

"And that's for hurting my girlfriend!"

What the... did he just call me...? Don't just blurt things like that out loud!

The Multidimensional Microbial Collective flailed around on the floor, giving off what I assume was some sort of death rattle, but it pierced my ears like nothing else. Finally, the flailing and crying slowed. Its clear body slowly turned gray as if it were filling with cement. Eventually it began to crumble to pieces until it was nothing but a pile of worthless dust.

Pardon me if I don't exactly weep at the loss of such a thing.

Haruki stood over the defeated alien, his fist still clenched tightly. Then he fell.

I tried to call out to him, but it was as if I had no voice. The world around us seemed to grow brighter with each passing second until I lost consciousness as well.

You know, I've been knocked out a ridiculous number of times over the past few days, haven't I? It's getting a little tedious. In any event, when I woke up, I was back in Tsuruya's summer home. Specifically, I was splayed out on the dojo floor.

If you tell me this was all a dream from when Haruki knocked me out, I'm seriously going to scream. Except I looked down and saw that I was still dressed in a maid costume. So unless someone decided to play dress-up on my unconscious body, it was all real.

"Need a hand?"

Koizumi stretched out her hand and helped me to my feet.

"It's good to see you're all right. That was a little too close for comfort."

She smiled a brilliant, and for once, sincere, smile with her perfect white teeth. It was so annoying. But I agreed. I never wanted to go through that again.

"Wait," I paused and looked around the room. I saw Nagato and Asahina, but someone was missing. "Where's Haruki? Is he all right?"

"Nagato took Haruki back to his room while he was still unconscious. We brought Tsuruya back to his room, too. They should both wake up shortly. However, before that happens, we should probably all get changed."

I then realized what she meant. If Haruki remembered anything that just happened, seeing me dressed like a maid and everyone else dressed in some cheap sci-fi jumpsuits might make him realize it was all real.

"Fortunately," she said with a smile I didn't like in the least, "I know just what we need in this situation."

Clad in nothing but a bath towel, I gently eased myself into the steamy water of Tsuruya's open-air bath. I leaned against the bamboo divider between the men's and women's section and sighed contentedly. I don't think I'd ever needed this so much in my life. I hate to admit it, but Koizumi had the right idea, not that I'd ever admit that to her face. It felt great and it gave us a good reason to change out of our clothes.

Then the door to the mansion opened, revealing a rather curvy, long-haired figure in naught but a towel.

Oh, crap! No, this isn't what it looks like! I didn't mean to-

I stood up and looked down and saw a pair of breasts. Well, they're only an A-cup, but still. Then it hit me. I'm a girl, too. I had forgotten for a moment. Humiliated, I sat back down until the water covered my head.

"Hey, don't do that." Koizumi pulled me from the water. "The heat's bad for your hair. Here, I think I have some shampoo that will protect it from heat damage..."

"No, really, that's okay."

"But I do need to pay you back for today. After all, if not for you, I don't know if we'd have made it off that ship in one piece."

Actually, most of the credit for that goes to future Asahina. I didn't have the guts to tell her that I was the one, in fact, who caused this whole situation when I went back in time and told Haruhi she needed to 'man up' before she could find a non-existent cloning facility here in Okinawa.

"Fine, whatever."

Koizumi seemed all too happy to lather me up. Is this a girl thing?

"So, you weren't always a female, Kyonko?"

"Wait, you remember?"

"I'm afraid not. Whatever happened to me on-board that ship... Well, as far as I can remember, you and I have always been girls. Asahina said the same thing, that he's always been a boy. Though, given what we saw today, it's hard to deny the truth of what you say."

"Yeah, well, it's not like it makes a difference now. I'm stuck this way, like it or not."

Koizumi flashed her brilliant, flawless teeth once more. God, male or female, I hate that smile. "Well, Kyonko, you must remember that no matter what you're like on the outside, it's what's inside that counts."

Actually, my internal organs have changed, too, you know. You should know enough about biology to understand that.

But Koizumi just gave an adorable, gentle giggle. God, do I hate how perfect she is.

"Now, now, Kyonko, you know what I mean. I'm sure it may be a harsh adjustment, but as long as deep down, you're still yourself, then nothing else matters. Your feelings, your beliefs, your desires, your conscience, these things don't change with the physical form."

"I guess..." I leaned over the side of the bath and Koizumi poured some water over my head. Gah! That's cold.

"And if you like, you can think of me as your senpai! I can teach you all about being a proper girl! Ask me anything at all."

Ugh, that's just plain creepy. And don't be so damn happy about this!

"Oh, don't be like that, Kyonko. It'll be fun!"

With that, she grabbed my arm and pulled me closer, trying to embrace me. Besides being totally creepy, this had the unfortunate consequence of putting my arm directly in her ample cleavage.

"Dammit, get your oversized melons off of me!"

Koizumi let go and seemed taken aback. She looked down at herself, as if she never noticed she was totally racked. Damn you, not just for acting to completely innocent, but for taking those things for granted!

"Huh? Ha... Hahahahahaha!"

And then she started laughing. What the hell is so damn funny?

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh... It's just... Tell me... Are you... jealous of me?"

I turned away to hide the redness in my face. Dammit, I know I shouldn't be, but...

"D-Don't be ridiculous. Why would I, a former guy... That is..."

"That is...?"

"...Okay, fine. I'm jealous! I'm so jealous I can't stand it! It's not like I can control it, it's just, when I see you... I feel so... inadequate."

"Hah... hahahaha... Now that's irony..."

I'm pretty sure if looks could kill, tomorrow's papers would read 'Shriveled Corpse of Woman Found in Mansion Bath.' But sadly, my intense stares didn't spill even a drop of blood.

"No, no, I'm not laughing at you. Quite to the contrary, Kyonko. I'm laughing at myself. Did you realize that since the day we first met, I've had a ping of jealousy for you?"

...Huh?

"It's true," she said with a nod. "Suzumiya's only interest in me has been because of my 'mysterious transfer student' status. If I were to drop my facade, even for a moment... Well, let's just say when he gazes at you, which he does with some frequency, there is a certain warmth to it that is lacking when he looks at me."

The bath felt even steamier than before. Surely Koizumi was just imagining things. But my heart wouldn't stop racing. I thought back to what had happened on the ship. When I realized that I loved that idiot, as strange as that felt. And then... he called me... his girlfriend? I don't know what to believe anymore.

"Ask yourself this, Kyonko," Koizumi continued. "How is it that you are still alive?"

"Eh?"

"We saw you collapse aboard the ship. From the sounds of things, your heart stopped beating. That was quite the scare you gave us."

She was right. My heart did stop. Not just that, but my lungs, too. I lost all sensations. It was as if I was cast into one of Abaddon's bottomless pits of darkness. But then I awoke in Haruki's arms. What, exactly, happened?

"Well, this is only a theory, but I believe if our foe was truly as powerful as he appeared, then there is little doubt that he killed you. But Suzumiya's will would not accept this. His desire to see you alive was so strong, it caused his powers to manifest in a way we've never seen before. As near as I can tell, his desires were being directly and almost immediately granted."

I thought back to what I saw on the ship. The way he avoided all of the MMC's attacks, the way he broke free of his restraints, and of course, the fact that he managed to kill something that could not be killed. There really is no other explanation for how it happened than Haruki's bizarre ability to alter reality.

"There's more to it than that, however."

Koizumi looked at me with eyes that seemed almost on the verge of tears.

"It's true that Suzumiya has the unique ability to warp the world around him to meet his needs, but the truth is that most of the time this power is overridden by his common sense."

Common sense and Haruki's name are not two things I often associate together. But I suppose the fact that this world isn't filled with flying dragons, man-eating giants, and rampaging demons suggests even he doesn't believe in those things. Not yet, anyway.

"However, in this case, his desire to see you well and unharmed overrode that common sense. Specifically, the notion that once someone has died, they cannot return to life. The finality of death is a fundamental tenet of all life. But when he saw you lying on the floor like that, he refused to accept it. That refusal, I believe, is largely why you are sitting here with us now. I find it rather romantic, myself."

It was all I could do to cover my face with my hands. I was too confused, too embarrassed, to be seen right now. Could it be true? Could Haruki actually care for me, of all people? It sounds ridiculous but... I could also feel my adrenaline pumping. I was excited. I wanted this. I wanted this so badly. That's what my body kept saying, at the very least.

"So, really, there's no reason for you to be jealous of anything I might have, when what you have is so much greater."

My brain began to boil like an egg in this hot water. Koizumi, who had a body that almost gave my original angel, Asahina Mikuru, a run for her money, was jealous of me? Because Haruki liked... he liked me? How was any of this possible?

As I pushed my brain into overdrive, noise came from the bath on the other side of the partition.

"I'm telling you, it was the weirdest dream ever!" Haruki's voice rang out from the other side. "I swear, it felt so real, but then next thing I know, I wake up in my bed and... damn, I'm all worked up."

It sounded like Tsuruya was with him, too. "Is that so? Well, nothing beats a good bath to..."

"Kyaaaah!" A piercing, high pitched scream echoed across the bath. It was unmistakably from Asahina, who had gotten in around the same time as we did. "Suzumiya! Tsuruya! Where are your towels?"

"What are you talking about, Mitsuuru? This is a bath! A bath! Towels are for drying off afterward!"

"B-but it's indecent!"

"Nonsense! We're all men here! This is the very pinnacle of male bonding! Now, lose your towel already!"

"Waaah, Haruki, nooooo!"

Asahina's cute squealing echoed through the night sky. I resisted the urge to try and find a way to peek at the other side and just listened intently. My dear, I'm so sorry for finding pleasure in your pain.

"Wait, what the hell is this? Swim trunks? In an open air bath? Dammit, Mitsuuru, this isn't a swimming pool, so lose 'em!"

"N-no! It's too embarrassing! It's indecent!"

"Then you've forced my hand! Tsuruya! Grab his arms!"

"Wahaha! Roger that!"

"N-noooo!"

"Dammit, quit kicking! This will go easier if you just relax!"

"Kyah! No no no no no no nooooooooo!"

"And... here... we go! Hyah!"

A pair of bright red swim trunks flew over the partition and ended up floating in the women's side.

An eerie silence permeated the air.

"...Mitsuuru..."

"What? What did I do?"

"Mitsuuru, I had my doubts. But now I see you are a real man! Congratulations!"

"Eh? I don't understand. What are you... EH?"

What followed next was a long series of screams that I didn't hear well mostly because I was covering my ears and blushing while trying to enjoy the rest of my bath.

After a while, when Asahina's adorable sobbing finally stopped, I spoke to Koizumi.

"Hey."

"Yes?"

"Is it really okay to leave the world the way it is?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, swapped around like this of course."

"Ah, that's what I thought you meant."

Then don't ask.

"Well, truth be told, it worries me a little, too. The point of our agency has always been to prevent, and if necessary, reverse any changes Suzumiya Haruki makes to the world. However, in this case, there doesn't really seem to be any opportunities for us to do so. Unless you have an idea."

I sighed deeply. Dammit, I hate when Koizumi is right. "No, I don't. It just doesn't feel right. I'm not the person I was..."

Koizumi nodded, as if understanding. "Well, I'm sure it will take time to adjust, but remember that people are always changing everyday. The person you will be tomorrow will not be the same as the person you are today. Just think of this as a slightly larger change."

Excuse me? Slightly larger change? Changing your gender is one hell of a change! But... She's right. If defeating the MMC and fixing the worlds so they don't implode didn't change everything back to normal, then I have no idea how to fix this mess. In the end, I'm stuck as a girl, like it or not. Reality may bend to the whims of Haruhi and Haruki, but it doesn't bend to me.

Then it hit me. My little sister. My real parents. My real friends. I'd never see any of them again. Okay, so they have replacements. My little sister is now my little brother. My parents haven't changed physically or mentally. But they're still not the same. They're not the originals. And when I realized that, my heart broke.

"K-Kyonko?" Koizumi showed a look of concern, something of a rarity from her usual poker-faced smile. "Kyonko, why are you crying?"

"I... I don't really know, it's just..."

"Kyonko is crying? What did I miss?"

Koizumi and I looked up at the partition to see Haruki on top of it, peeking over.

My depression disappeared in an instant. In its place was a burning hatred.

"Ah, n-no, I was just concerned, so I—Eh?"

It seems that the partition was not made to withstand the weight of a rather large teenage boy, as a loud cracking noise was followed by the barrier between the two sides collapsing and Haruki falling directly into our side.

"Eek!" The first to scream was Asahina, who covered himself and turned away. Tsuruya just stared blankly. Nagato, in a move that should be considered surprising by absolutely no one, was reading a book in the bath and ignoring the commotion. Koizumi couldn't maintain her cheerful smile and instead tried to hide as deep into the bath as she could.

Haruki, meanwhile, emerged from the water, standing straight up. Stark naked in front of me.

My embarrassment momentarily surpassed my anger at his blatant perversion and/or stupidity. So I merely stood up as well, and walked towards the door.

"Kyonko, wait! I've got something I've got to say!"

He reached out to grab my arm. And I smacked it away.

"Read the mood, idiot!"

But my deflection was ill-timed, instead causing him to grab onto my towel.

"Ah..."

I'm not sure whose face was redder, mine or his, when we realized we were now both totally nude in front of each other, and everyone else, but mine was a combination of near fatal levels of embarrassment and unbridled rage.

"Ah, Kyonko—I didn't, I mean, I was trying to-"

"Haruki, you idiot!"

These feelings manifested themselves in the form of a kick to the gut and a slap to the face before I made a mad dash for the mansion.

Fifteen minutes later, after the tears and fury wore out, exhaustion and some remnants of embarrassment were all that was left in me. It was pretty early and I was still soaking wet, but I didn't care. I threw on a night gown and threw myself face first into my pillow.

Until a knock came to my door, anyway. Can't a girl have a mental breakdown in peace?

"Who is it?"

"...It's me." Haruki's voice came from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

That got my attention. Since when did our fearless brigade chief ask for permission for anything? Usually, if he wants in, he'd kick down the door. Unfortunately, I was in no mood to listen to that idiot.

"No. Go away. I've seen more than enough of you today."

In fact, I still saw him when I closed my eyes. And I didn't like how it made me feel.

"Please, Kyonko, I need to talk to you."

"No, I said leave me alone!"

"Please! This means a lot to me."

Sigh. Fine. Fine. I struggled to pull myself from my bed and unlocked the door. I opened it to see a somewhat serious looking Haruki standing in my doorway. He was still dripping wet and wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. I could feel my face reddening as I looked at his tight abs and broad shoulders that I wanted to—Okay, this is not happening.

"At least get dressed before you come to talk!" With that, I slammed the door shut.

"Wait! Ow!"

At least, I tried to, but Haruki stuck his foot in the way. I opened the door once more to see him hopping up and down, holding said foot. The uncharacteristic foolishness gave me a smile for a brief second.

"All right, all right. Come in."

We sat together on my bed side by side. A thick silence hung in the air until I broke the ice.

"So, what was so important that you had to run over here without even fully drying off or getting dressed?"

Haruki took a deep breath. His eyes were darting around the room while he fidgeted with his hands. Was he... nervous? Okay, seriously, this is getting weird.

"First, uh, Kyonko... What were you crying about back there?"

"That? Uh, well... It's a girl thing." Technically true, since the fact that I was a girl was the thing giving me problems.

"Well, you know, whatever it is, you can always talk to me about it, right? I mean, as your chief, it's my duty, you know, to look after my subordinates."

"Oh, well, thanks..."

The uncomfortable silence returned with a vengeance. We both were doing our best to avoid eye contact. The tension continued to build until I had to say something.

"...But... umm... did you really come over here in such a hurry to tell me that?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, no. No. I... I wanted to talk to you about something kinda strange..."

Haruki, if it involves you, it will always, always be strange. Like the sun rising in the east, it's a constant fact.

"Well, I mean, I wanted to talk to you about a dream I had."

Wait, does he mean...?

"See, I don't remember even going to take a nap today, but apparently, when I did, I had this dream, see, and you were in it. And so was Yuuki, and Mitsuuru and everyone. And some people who seemed... strangely familiar now that I think about it..."

Is he talking about Haruhi and our other selves? Does he remember them, even slightly?

"And what happened in this dream?"

"I don't really remember the details, but I remember seeing you were hurt. Worse than hurt. I thought... I thought I'd lost you. And it felt so real, I was so scared. But you came back to me. And I promised myself then and there that the second I had a chance, I'd tell you something. Something I'd been holding back for a while. I finally built up the nerve and... here I am."

Before I could ask him what he wanted to say he took me by the shoulders and looked me in the eyes with a serious gaze that paralyzed me.

"Kyonko, I... I really... I li... no, I lo... lo... lo... I LOVE YOU!"

...Huh? You know, in retrospect, I should have seen that coming. After the talk I had with Koizumi, it shouldn't have surprised me. But it did. I was completely blindsided.

I fled back to the center of the bed, but Haruki followed me, climbing over top of me. From there, I got a good look at him. He was definitely fit, with a strong, muscular physique, broad shoulders, and the way he swept his bangs back... I couldn't deny how attracted to him I was, despite an intense desire to do so.

"Kyonko, I need to know, do you feel the same way?"

"I... I..."

I tried to speak, but my heart was beating so fast I had to calm myself down first.

"Kyonko, please..."

I wanted him. That's what my body was telling me. Every fiber in my being was screaming out to hold him, to embrace him, to become his. And I felt that I loved him, too. It wasn't just a physical attraction. I knew it. I felt it.

So why was I putting up such a resistance?

"Kyonko..."

Then it hit me. It wasn't because I was a guy once, so this was somehow disgusting. My body certainly said otherwise.

It wasn't because I didn't love him back. I certainly did. The real reason I was resisting so much simpler than that.

"It's Kyon."

"Excuse me?"

"My name isn't Kyonko. It's Kyon."

Haruki, bewildered, sat up, giving me the chance to do the same.

I thought back to what the two Asahinas had told me on-board the ship. That even if they had swapped bodies, deep down, they were the same. Koizumi told me the same thing earlier. And when I thought about it, I knew they were right. In terms of personality, I hadn't changed. It was all a physical change.

I pushed Haruki onto his back and turned the tables, crawling over him.

"The truth is, I'm not the girl you think I am. Nor are you the boy you say you are. Haruki, I have no right to answer your confession."

"Wait... I'm not... I don't understand what-"

I put my finger to his lips.

Even if I was the same mentally, being a guy was also part of my identity. It was part of what made me who I was. To say that the physical body doesn't matter is just naïve.

And there was something else. The bonds that I had formed were also a part of who I was. My angelic benefactor who I could watch all day was a cute and sexy girl named Asahina Mikuru. The dependable and mysterious alien girl Nagato Yuki was someone who I owed my life and then some. Even Koizumi Itsuki, he was supposed to be an annoying prick who smiled too much, not some jiggly chested annoying girl. The people here in this world were similar to my friends, but the same? No way.

Most importantly is Haruhi and I. Who is Haruhi to me? I'd answer that question one way and one way only. Haruhi is Haruhi. I honestly don't know where I stand with her. She makes my life a living hell, but it's so much more exciting with her in it. But I do know we're not lovers. Kyonko and Haruki are lovers.

But I am not Kyonko. And this boy, despite what he may think, is not Haruki. So that must change.

This worked once before, let's hope it'll work again.

"Please listen to me. Haruki... and Kyonko... are destined to be together. I can feel it. But that's not who we are. Let's go back to who we were. Together. And let's let the lovers be reunited at long last."

I gently caressed his cheek before moving closer.

"This is dedicated to Haruki. Let's hope he gets the message."

And then we kissed.

To be concluded.