Chapter 7

Sometimes, on days like this, I wonder just why my life is like a well of weirdness. And for that matter, why every time I fall down it and think I've finally hit bottom, someone (usually Haruhi) pulls out a shovel and starts digging-or rather, tells me to start digging.

"I knew that people from your time are a little slow on the uptake, but that stupid look on your face is still really something else."

I looked at my travelling companion with more than a bit of disdain. "Are you serious? You've just told me that in order to fix everything that I'd have to kill myself! How do you expect someone to react to that sort of statement?"

"Damn it, we don't have time for me to explain this, but since you have wax in your ears, it looks like I'm going to have to anyways."

Come to think of it, I did notice that the Sneering Bastard was less smug and more . . . on edge, if I had to pick something. It wasn't a blind panic, but the way he kept moving around, looking everywhere. Was he scared of something? He was acting like we were a couple of wanted criminals.

"That's because we are, you dolt! Just by being here we're committing massive violations of the time laws, never mind what we plan to do!"

That brings me back to a very good point. If you think that I'm going to kill myself, then you're even more out of touch than Asahina-san (small) is with this time (or so you love saying).

His reaction was a mix between a sigh and a low growl. Interesting, although I realized that this wasn't the best time to be thinking about things like how one does both of those vocalizations at once.

"Alright, listen, because after I tell you this we have to move. Even with the modifications to my TPDD, it will only be a matter of minutes before they realize that someone has come to this era unauthorized. Understand?"

At this point my silence was my consent, so after seeing that I had no objections, he continued.

"You're going to kill John Smith. Not you-John Smith."

Well, pardon me if I fail to see the difference. "Isn't the problem that I am Smith?"

Fujiwara groaned. "Don't you get it? It's killing in the metaphorical sense! You're going to stop yourself from meeting Haruhi on the school grounds and making those markings, whatever the hell you want to call them. If you don't meet her here, then there is no John Smith! The future will be irreparably changed, same with what you consider the present. Get it?"

Although I hated to admit it, what he had said did make sense. It was 'killing' John Smith while leaving everyone else be. But if it was always that easy, then why didn't you just do it by force?

"Well, first of all, even I'm not desperate enough to kill anyone. I don't think you're very important to the timeline, but who the hell knows: without you, I might not exist either, so whatever. There's less of a risk if you just live differently though. Secondly, this isn't a one man operation; someone has to be here to stop-"

He was cut off as a sound tore through the air, unlike anything I've ever heard. Now his face showed sheer panic.

"No, no! They're here already!"

What's going on?

"The Time Incursion Force is about to arrive already! While you do what you need to do I have to hold them off! But it's too early, there's still too much time left!"

The look on his face told me that I wouldn't enjoy what we had to do next, but that didn't change the fact that it was the only viable option left. So it came as no surprise when he turned to me and practically screamed:

"RUN!"

It really seemed to me like neither of us really knew just where we were going. We were just going as fast as our legs could carry us, taking as many turns and back alleys as humanly possible. If I ever see the hill again I'll be grateful, because after this it will seem like a luxurious stroll through the hanging gardens of Babylon compared to the manic pace of this chase.

Wait . . . are we even being chased?

"Will you stop wasting breath on pointless narrating and just run you idiot?" my ever pleasant travelling companion chimed in.

"The stakes are pretty high if we're going to this length to get away from pursuers that I can't even see."

"That's because they're not here yet. Up ahead, we can stop in that alley, just for a minute though."

Needless to say, I was a little confused by the amount of effort that we were putting forth to elude pursuers that aren't even here yet.

"You don't get it, do you? Now that the TIF have realized that something has gone wrong-and if it's gone wrong enough to get them here, that means it's gone wrong in a big way-they'll be looking for us everywhere, and believe me, they can. The only thing that is really keeping them from being down our throats at this very moment are the-well, modifications that my TPDD has undergone."

Although he didn't outright say it, his tone told me everything: it was because he had illegal technology from his time that we've even made it this far. That fact doesn't really go a long way to helping my resolve in this situation, not to mention knowing what I have to do.

"Hey, if you can think of anything better, I'd love to hear it. Unless you want to actually kill yourself, in which case you have no right to call me the one who's off the wall, even with all I've done."

As much as I hate to admit it, the Sneering Bastard raised a good point. It looks like this was an all or nothing situation. Still, this just felt wrong. Ever since we arrived here there's been a feeling in the pit of my stomach-no, more than that, like something at the very core of me is objecting to every single second that I'm here. It'd be simple to try and dismiss it as a side effect of the time travel process, but that's not it. But as of this moment . . .

"Do I have an alternative?"

"If I say 'no', will you shut up and just concentrate on moving? And also: just how the hell are you going to convince yourself to not be your precious Mikuru's lapdog for a change?"

Even when you make good points, do you have to make them so annoyingly?

"Don't make that face. If I weren't honest then we'd both be in bigger trouble than we already are. And on that note . . ."

He handed-well, more like thrust-something into my hand. I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened my palm, but a rather dull looking metal sphere was not one of the top-runners. What exactly is this anyways?

"Hopefully you won't need to find out. But don't lose it, since I get the feeling that unfortunately you will."

The worry in his voice, despite him trying to sound smug, was just the latest in a long line of less than reassuring events that happened today.

Maybe I'm asleep. Maybe it's all a dream, and I'll wake up and Haruhi and I will still be together.

"Focus dammit!"

Well, so much for that thought.

"Anyways, that's enough of a break, it's time that we got moving again, and this time, we're not stopping. At least, not of our own volition."

Yeah, it just keeps getting better and better.

My lungs burned, my legs burned. I was sure that other parts of my body probably hurt too, but I couldn't be bothered to care at the moment. I know that we've only been running for a couple of minutes, but it honestly feels like a couple of hours.

"Do you always complain this much? It's a wonder that anyone can stand you, let alone call you a friend."

Yeah, yeah. You say that but you're wheezing nearly as badly as me. Besides that I'm pretty sure we've either been running in completely random directions, or in circles, maybe both. Completely random circles? I'll worry about just how that works later.

In between all my huffing and wincing though, I managed to ask a question that had been bothering me for a while:

"Just why are you so dead set on doing all of this anyways?"

"You ask me this now, of all times? Why do you even want to know? It's not like you care, it's not like you'll even remember if this works after it hopefully does-which it better, because I don't want to think about what's going to happen to us if it doesn't."

I'd just like to know if you were born this annoying, or if it was a finely cultivated and honed trait. And besides:

"Is time travel really that bad for the future?"

For a while, the only sound in the air was our continuously heavy breathing as we kept running, but when I managed to glance in his direction, I could see that he was debating whether or not to tell me something, anything. I was actually surprised that he was bothering to consider it at all, because in just about any situation but this one, I think his answer would have been to laugh long and hard right in my face.

"Whatever, since it won't matter anyways, I might as well tell you; better than hearing you complain more about where we're going and how much your damn legs hurt."

Although I could have given a smartass reply, the last thing I wanted at this moment was to get into an insult slinging contest with him while running at near full speed, so I just let him have that one and instead waited for him to continue.

"I hate history."

Wait, what?

"I. Hate. History. I could never stand it, not in a textbook, from my age, your age, hell, from any age. I'm sure that if I could go to Athens and argue with Socrates that I'd find it terribly dull and mock the old man for being an idiot."

"The thing is though, that in the future, history isn't just the past. In a way, it's everything. You see, they haven't mastered time travel yet. Getting 100% accurate representations of the future isn't really possible even in my time, and of course there are all those laws. Not that they matter much; so many people disobey them that they might as well be a joke. So, you can meet yourself, and learn what's at least very likely to happen."

The only thing I could really think of as he finished that sprawling thought was "So, what?"

He came to a dead stop so fast that I almost crashed into him, before he turned around.

"So what? So what! Do you know how much of a burden, how much of a drag it is to know how things are going to play out? Imagine that everyday you got a news report that was specific to you, and that no matter what you did, your day would progress exactly like that. I'll say that a lot of your concepts are outdated, but the idea of Hell that you people have sums that up pretty well in my book."

He started running again, probably just to get back at me for making him angry, but he apparently wasn't done yet.

"All that's ever hammered into us from practically the first day we can stand is how our lives are 'so much better' thanks to the 'small sacrifices' that we've made-like, you know, free will and a tomorrow that isn't already written in absolutes. Some people don't take to it very well, as you'd imagine."

"And what, exactly, happens to those people?"

I wasn't really sure that I wanted to see the look on his face, but his tone told me everything I needed to know.

"They all understand eventually, one way or another."

Asahina-san . . .

Just what happened to you then? What will happen to you, between your teary eyed departure from the club room and our time, until you grow up and come back to warn me not to do exactly what I'm doing right now? Is individual happiness really so bad?

"For most people in my time, yes, it is."

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't all of a sudden the Bastard's best friend or anything, and some of the things he's done can never be forgiven, at least in my eyes. But all things considered, I can see why he probably hates his life, and why he probably hates all the things that Asahina-san represents. My selfishness is helping his selfishness along.

Peachy, isn't it?

"So, you see, this is better than the alternatives."

"And you'd know, I suppose."

"Not really. It's none of my business, and I don't really care. But from what I've seen, you're not the most decisive person in the world, and it wasn't like any other solution was going to come and bite you on the ass and beg for you to use it."

He had a point, as much as I hated to admit it. Was I just waiting for something like this to happen? Was I really that used to getting saved by other people? Whether it was Koizumi covering me in the mundane day to day, or Nagato saving me from the extraordinary-even Haruhi has probably unknowingly kept me out of trouble, even if the trouble was usually her fault. Was I just the guy that cleaned up after everyone else had done the important work? I didn't think that the work aptitude test was correct when it said that I'd probably make a great janitor!

. . . Why am I thinking of this now?

Then that unearthly sound pierced my ears again, the noise that seemed like the air itself was ripping around us. Even the Bastard flinched, although we kept running.

No, I guess I knew. I was thinking about it because I didn't want to think of the alternatives.

I didn't want to think about what happened if we got caught.

This time, no matter how fast we tried to run, the noise didn't let up. I wanted to ask the Sneering Bastard just what was about to happen, but unfortunately I got the answer myself before I could even open my mouth to ask.

I really wish that the universe would stop answering my questions when all the answers are really, really bad news.

These were the thoughts screaming through my head as I was momentarily blinded and brought to a halt by an unbelievably bright white flash. I've never been popular, but I'd imagine that this is what celebrities must feel like, perhaps minus the sense of immanent dread, maybe.

"They're here."

The Bastard decided to begin stating the obvious, as in front of us there was a uniformed individual-I honestly couldn't tell if it was a man or woman, although s/he was a little tall to be the average woman-wearing stuff that I've never seen before. I'd say that it was a get up like those soldiers from that movie that takes place in a galaxy far, far away, but this looked way beyond that in terms of technology. Lights and readouts seemed to be everywhere, and the helmet that covered the face looked both technical and imposing, not a good match.

I didn't have much of a chance to let these observations sink in though, because the figure levelled what looked to be a high tech rifle at the both of us. I was so entranced by the appearance of this time cop that I never even noticed the Bastard draw what, in hindsight, actually looked like a childrens water pistol painted black. When he shot it off though, it was clear that it didn't fire water. The blast of energy that came out of it knocked the our would be captor clean of their feet and about 5 feet back, where s/he fell into a heap.

I honestly felt sick. Had I really just seen-

"Relax, it's a stun pistol, just like that's a piece of weaponry meant to capture rather than kill. Wouldn't want to disturb the timeline, would we?" the Bastard mockingly mused, taking the rifle that seconds before was our biggest threat.

"We're not done yet. Keep running!"

Oh joy, because that little stand off wasn't nearly enough to make a lesser man wet their pants. I guess that if there's anything I owe to Asakura Ryoko, it was the fact that I could now weather most situations with a pretty clear head. Nearly getting stabbed, then impaled, then seeing a friend turned into a bloody spiked mess and then actually getting stabbed and nearly dying makes plenty of other situations seem downright calming.

The Bastard muttered something under his breath-probably another instruction telling me to save my breath for running-but at this moment it didn't really matter anyways. After all, if that was the most we'd have to deal with, it didn't seem all that bad.

"Ha! Yeah right. That was an advanced scout. They've pretty much figured out where we are now, it's only a matter of time-"

The sentence was cut off by that same noise, this time so loud that I felt like my eardrums were about to burst. Just how was any time traveller supposed to get here without a 5 mile radius noticing from the noise alone?

At this point the Bastard had stopped. Good-I didn't think that I could run anymore, even if he threatened me with that rather vicious looking rifle.

Before I could shout to ask why we'd stopped, I was rendered blind by that same whiteness. It was a good couple of moments before I could see again. Unfortunately, I could still hear just fine, well enough to hear the numerous guns I assumed were being levelled at us.

"Drop the weapon and get your hands where we can see them!" an authoritative but neutral voice commanded. My sight was returning just in time to see the Bastard, looking defeated, dropping the rifle to the ground and raising his hands in the air.

A brief look around confirmed the worst. There were a dozen of them that I could see, and the one I think I heard the order come from was dressed with a couple of extra insignias across the chest plate. At the moment he was holding the rest off from firing. I can only assume that both me and my less than pleased 'brother in arms' would have been out for weeks if the leader had given the word.

"By order of the Central Time Command, you two are under arrest for violation of the time stream and attempting to cause massive, irreparable damage to space-time as we know it," the voice said. Although it sounded completely level, there was an edge of hostility in it that made me reflexively gulp, even though my mouth was already dry from running in the night air.

The commander made a hand gesture, and everyone else cinched up on their guns.

Kinda unnecessary if you ask me. At this point, they knew they had us both, so it really didn't matter.

"I expected this from you, I knew it was just a matter of time. But I have to say that I'm disappointed in you, Kyon."

Wait, what?

The commander had addressed me by my nickname? No way, it couldn't possibly be. But my stomach sank when the commander removed her helmet, and an impressive red ponytail that might have had me in heaven any other day of the week instead just made my knees weak for all the wrong reasons. Asahina-san (big) stood before the two of us, a mix of disappointment and anger on her face.

"Oh, brother" doesn't even begin to cut it…

The Bastard levelled his best death gaze at the older Asahina-san standing in front of us, one that she was more than happy to return.

"Ah, so the lofty Asahina Mikuru finally decides to get her hands dirty. I'd be honoured if I cared."

"Well, it was you after all. You've been a problem in my life for as long as I've known you, so I thought that it was more than fitting to deal with this personally."

She turned her attention to me now, and although her look softened a bit, it was nowhere near as much as I would have liked.

"All I can say is that I'm disappointed in you. Out of all the people from the past, I thought that you were different, I thought that maybe, just maybe, you understood just what was at stake here."

"All I understand is that for the sake of your future the girl I love apparently has to suffer and be miserable the rest of her life! What kind of a person does that willingly to a friend!"

My train of thought and my anger were promptly derailed by the hard slap across my face. As I reeled back, I could only imagine how stunned I must have looked. I caught the Bastard smugly enjoying the show from the corner of my eye, although right now I was more focused on the face in front of me: her eyes were tearing up and her face was turning red, a mixture of anger and pain flooding across it.

"Haruhi was not my friend! I wasn't her friend! I was her plaything! Do you know how that feels? To have to bend to the whims of a deranged sociopath or else knowing that because she had a bad day thanks to you that everyone you love might never even exist!"

Even some of the other officers were looking a little frightened at this moment. If I'd have had it in me to stare this woman down, then I would have, but if there was anything that I needed to say before they did whatever they were about to do, it was this:

"You aren't the Asahina-san I knew. You aren't Asahina-san, period."

She looked me dead in the eye, having regained her composure for the most part.

"You're right, I'm not. I didn't have that choice, to still be that innocent girl. I used to think that people from the past could be my friends, but there's too much that happened, too much that happened to me, to ever consider that again!"

Was this the product of her training? To make her turn her back on people that were her friends? I knew that she had her own time, but I refuse to believe that our Asahina-san thought of us as merely a means to an end. She was one of our friends just as much as we were one of hers. No, this wasn't Asahina-san; this was someone that simply lost herself at some point, and may never find herself again.

"Not to break-up this Kodak moment or anything, but you've got a date with destiny."

Both this woman who claimed to be Asahina-san and myself were stunned out of our stare-down of each other and turned towards the interjector. As we did, we saw that the Sneering Bastard was slowly lowering his hands.

"Put your hands back up!" one of the other officers shouted.

But before anyone could really react he assumed a relaxed posture, only to have something fall out of his sleeve and hit the ground. The look on the woman's face turned to horror as the Bastard smiled that almost trademark slasher grin.

"It's a temporal displacement grenade! Everyone-"

I closed my eyes and prepared to meet my maker, my maker hopefully being Haruhi, which would be a nice change of pace. It wasn't until I realized that nothing much of anything was happening that I opened my eyes.

The scene was surreal. Every single person, from the Bastard, to all the time cops, all of them were like statues, completely frozen in place. The commander even still had that shocked look on her face; it looked like she was in the middle of barking out an order, but that she got cut off mid-sentence.

This of course left me with the overwhelming question of just what the hell had happened, and why I was seemingly immune to it. As if in response to my question, I felt a slight buzzing in my pocket. I took out the device that Fujiwara had given me earlier. To my surprise it opened in my hand and a small screen displayed his face, looking less than pleased.

"Truth be told, I knew that it would come to this, which is why I gave you this temporal anchor, which makes you completely immune to the effects of my little surprise. We had to run in order for you to get close enough to the place where you'd be meeting up with history, so to speak. I also had to stall for time."

Come to think of it, I really didn't know what time it was. I assumed that we had arrived here at about the same time that I did on my first trip here, but I guess that wasn't the case.

"But now that the temporal displacement grenade has gone off, this small section of space time will be stuck like this for a while. More than long enough for you to do what you came here to do. Don't screw this up, you don't want to know what happens if you do."

With that the orb closed back up. Looked like it only had two tricks, and both of them it did quite well. Now the rest was up to me. Great. Now all I have to do is convince myself to never become John Smith. A real walk in the park.

. . . Oh, brother.

It didn't take me long to get as far away as possible from that frozen scene, since it was seriously disturbing to say the least. The Sneering Bastard was right when he had said that he'd been leading us here all along, since we were rather close to the park bench where it would all begin, at least from Haruhi's perspective.

Now that there wasn't any more immediate danger of getting captured and thrown who-knows-where, it really started to sink in: this would be the moment that would set the entire chain of events in motion. Little did I know on that day when she asked me the seemingly innocent question of whether she had met me before, that indeed she had, and I just didn't know it yet. It didn't really surprise me anymore, since nothing is normal with Haruhi, but . . .

Isn't that part of what makes being around her so enjoyable?

It was really starting to hit me hard, that when I did this, literally nothing would ever be the same again. As clichéd as that line sounds, it was true. I tried to convince myself that it was all for the best, I mean, I couldn't stand to have Haruhi stay like this, so wouldn't it be better if she had never met John Smith tonight? Then she could go on with her life, even if it meant never forming the SOS-Brigade. This was all for the best, for both of us, maybe for all of us.

But, was it?

My wanderings had taken me to within earshot of the park, and that's when I heard it.

"Kyon-kun, I'm sorry that you have to do this."

I nearly froze, thinking that I had been ousted, until I realized that the demure voice of Asahina-san (small) wasn't being directed at me, but rather at . . . me . . .

. . . Let me rephrase that, Asahina-san (small) was speaking to my sleeping self on the park bench.

I did my best to remain hidden, while of course also avoiding the spot where I think that Asahina-san (big) was likewise remaining hidden. Come to think of it, I never was told just how long I had been out, although I assumed that it was only for a few minutes at most. But it looked like I was out a lot longer than I had thought. Despite the fact that I knew without a doubt that I loved Haruhi, I couldn't help but being jealous of my younger self. Still, I had to keep focused, and figure out when would be the best time to reveal myself. Of course, I had figured that it would be after Asahina-san (small) was asleep and her future self had left the scene.

"I don't know what's going to happen. They don't give me access to that information, but knowing what time this is, I know that this is extremely important."

Somehow I felt like I was eavesdropping, even though I was technically the one whom the conversation was directed at. Of course, she thought that she was talking to an unconscious person using her lap as a pillow, not someone hiding in the bushes in the area. From where I was hiding, I could see that Asahina-san had an almost motherly look on her face, but there was also a tinge of sadness. I couldn't help but wonder why , and as if she was reading my mind, she softly explained to my sleeping self:

"I know that I must be a burden to you, and to Suzumiya-san and Nagato-san and Koizumi-kun, but, even though I haven't really been able to say it, I'm glad that I've met you all, and that we've become friends."

The words really struck a contrast between this moment and the one that I had just been in. I couldn't help but wonder if her change of attitude was more or less my fault. I mean, maybe I did let Haruhi get away with too much. Maybe I should have been more up front with my objections.

And yet, despite all that she's been through (or from the perspective of the one sitting on the park bench, all the things she will be put through) there were plenty of times when she seemed genuinely happy to be here, even if it wasn't her own time. She always found joy in even the simplest things. I remember how happy she looked when she was patiently waiting for her latest tea to be ready to serve to the rest of us. Likewise, during the school festival, she seemed really delighted to be serving so many happy customers, even if it was just with water.

My mind wandered through all the times when Asahina-san was filled with wonder or joy, and to me, they seemed to outweigh those hard times. Even the moments I wasn't there for, but learned about later, like when Haruhi told me all the effort that she, Asahina-san, and Nagato had put into making the chocolate for Valentine's Day. Of course, at that moment Haruhi herself wouldn't have admitted that she was trying to get my attention with those sweets, and let's not even get into my own troublesome habit of ignoring what was being waved in front of my face for months.

No, it took a near tragedy to do that.

Maybe that was another reason why I was doing this, to stop anyone from getting as hurt as Nagato almost was on that day. I mean, it will be tough to convince myself, but if anyone can do it, shouldn't it be a me that's older and wiser, even if it's only by a couple of months?

I've done things that I thought were impossible before. Like, for example, finally asking Haruhi out. And even though in hindsight I rank that as the more impressive accomplishment that I made that day, the one I made before it was equally as important.

I took Kuyoh back to Nagato's apartment as my legs could carry me, looking back now and then just to confirm that she hadn't pulled any sort of strange disappearing act as some sort of cruel joke, but each time I was met with that same somewhat blank and clueless looking face that didn't change even though she was going full gait to keep pace with me. It was lucky enough that the café wasn't too far from the apartment complex.

It was also unlucky though, because I had forgotten that Haruhi had the key to the front door.

I tried my best to keep myself from going into a blind panic, although even if I tore my own hair out I doubt that the girl beside me would care that much, or even think it that unusual. Of course I wasn't thinking straight, but taking a moment to analyze the situation after giving serious contemplation to breaking the door down, I realized that I could just call Nagato after all.

The fact that she didn't answer though just drove my panic from a blind one to an outright apocalypse.

"No! We can't be too late! Not after all of this, we just can't!"

Kuyoh simply cocked her head to one side, giving me as much of a quizzical stare as she could possibly muster.

"I don't suppose that you can just teleport us up to Nagato's apartment, can you?"

"_ negative. Overabundance of dissolutive factors _ improbability rating."

And I thought some of Nagato's tech speech was bad.

"_ proximity detection indicates _ two units _ one operating at 10% efficacy and declining _ the other at 52% efficacy and remaining stable."

10%? Then we weren't too late! Wait . . . The other? Of course, Kimidori-san! Crap, what was her apartment number? She lived on the same floor, actually I think that she took Asakura's old apartment, which suited me just fine. As my fingers crossed the numbers on the pad I prayed that I would get it right the first time.

One ring.

Two rings.

She couldn't not be there, Kuyoh just said she was and that she was operating, at least to more of a capacity than Nagato.

Just when I thought that I might have the wrong apartment, someone picked up on the other end, and a tired but blissfully familiar sounding voice answered.

"Hello, this is Kimidori Emiri. Is this very important? I'm feeling a little under the weather at the moment."

Believe me Kimidori-san, this is as important as it gets.

"It's me."

"Ah, you have returned with the rest of the group."

"Not quite, I have Suou Kuyoh with me, and we need to come up as fast as you can let us in!"

"The representative of the Macrospatial Quantum Cosmic Existence? But it is the entity responsible for this current predicament!"

Yeah, but it's not an attack like we thought! They're trying to communicate with you. At this point I will admit that I was perhaps a little too blind to the possibility that Kuyoh might simply be saying that this was the case, when it in fact was an attack, but the girl gave the impression of being blunt, if nothing else. Maybe that's why she wasn't at the meeting, they didn't want her spilling the real facts behind the crisis.

After a moment of silence, the buzzer sounded and over the intercom, Kimidori's voice came, quiet but still strangely commanding all things considered:

"Bring her up and meet me outside of Nagato-san's apartment; there may be a way to end this predicament before it is too late."

I was in the building, dragging the mass of black hair behind me, before the doors could even fully open. I took the stairs because at the rate I was going they were faster than the elevator could be anyways. When we got into the hallway, I could see Kimidori-san waiting for us. She looked about the same as the last time I saw her, but perhaps slightly worse, which made me worry even more about how Nagato was doing at this point.

Kimidori-san looked at the two of us, more carefully scrutinizing the rival-I guess they are rivals, maybe?-interface. Something told me that they almost might have been having a conversation without my knowing it, but before I could really ask, Kimidori-san opened the apartment door and gestured for us to come in.

"I will not embellish the truth: Nagato-san does not have much time left. In this current situation, if she ceases to function without a link to the main entity, if she ceases to function, there will be no way to repair the damage."

In other words, if she dies now, there isn't a backup, or any sort of convenient reset button. That makes getting whatever needs to be done right now even more important.

"Of course, what I plan to do is not without its dangers."

Wait. What do you mean, and just what is it you plan on doing, Kimidori-san?

As we all gathered around Nagato, who didn't even acknowledge our presence in any way, Kimidori-san began to explain.

"Taking into account that the explanation given by this avatar is correct," she said, gesturing to Kuyoh, who looked back at her, "so great is its scale then that this attempt at communication is blocking all other transmissions."

"So, to put it crudely, it's almost like a denial of service attack, except unintentional."

"Somewhat akin to that, yes. What I plan to do is allow Kuyoh, and through her the entity that she represents, to communicate directly to the Thought Entity through me."

Something tells me that this isn't going to be something as simple as just sitting down and talking over tea.

Kimidori-san nodded. "Indeed. This will take nearly every ounce of power that I have in my current condition. One single avatar of an entity cannot stop this process, so Kuyoh cannot effectively lend any aid to this process, it is all in my hands."

Then I really, really hope that you're up to it, Kimidori-san.

"As do I," she said, turning to face Kuyoh, who was sitting beside her. She grabbed one of the alabaster hands of the girl and closed her eyes as Kuyoh did likewise. I was left in silence, looking at Nagato and worrying just what would happen if this didn't work. No, it had to work, it just had to!

After what seemed like ages, Kimidori-san opened her eyes, and said the words that almost crushed my spirit right on the spot: "The attempt is going to be unsuccessful."

No, after all this, there has to be something else that can be done!

"There is. But it is even more dangerous than what I am attempting now."

"What is the risk? Is it something that I have to do? I'll do anything; just name it!"

"It is something that you have to do, but you will not be the one assuming the risk," she said, looking at the motionless figure seemingly asleep on the bed.

Nagato? I don't understand, she can barely keep herself alive, let alone help in this situation.

"That is true, but only because of the locks placed on her programming and powers after her malfunction."

The last word bit me a little, but this wasn't the time to think about that.

"Normally, the locks would be removed by the Entity directly, but since this is not the case, they will have to be removed from this side, with the proper password."

A password to remove them from this side? But, what could it possibly be?

"You will receive instructions and hints. However, attempting to undo the locks will prove draining, and in this situation, if the locks are not removed quickly after-"

"You don't have to tell me what will happen. I don't want to know. But how quickly is 'quickly' in this case?"

"Perhaps five minutes."

Five minutes to guess a password that could be anything, and if I get it wrong . . . Well, I really didn't want to think about what will happen if I get it wrong.

"It is dire, but without Nagato-san's help, there is no chance of success in this current endeavour."

Alright, point made; here's hoping my lucky streak keeps up.

With that having been said, Kimidori-san told me what to do before devoting her attention back to fully maintaining the level of progress that she had managed. After calming myself as much as I possibly could, I began.

"Unit Nagato Yuki: begin sequences to remove inhibiting programs."

Nagato weakly opened her eyes, and spoke in an almost hollow voice that would have sent chills down my spine if I had time to really think about it.

"Beginning removal sequence. Entity main core cannot be reached at this time for verification. Please state password."

Here comes the hard part, what could the password be? Without any hints to start off, I tried something glaringly obvious: "Suzumiya Haruhi"

"Password incorrect. Power output dropping. Do you wish to maintain current procedures?"

With no choice, I simply nodded, at which point Nagato spoke up again.

"First aid: . . . Very important to me."

It almost seemed like the messages where more fragmented than they should have been; could the lack of power be affecting her so badly that she couldn't even properly give hints to the password? This was not good.

"Unh, something important? Well, what about books?"

"Password incorrect."

Damn! Time was running out, and here I was not even able to think of anything besides 'books'! I should be hung for my incompetence!

"Second aid: I would give my life to protect -"

It looked like she was going to say more, but nothing came out of her mouth. At this point I was getting desperate, I tried something even broader: "Knowledge."

". . . incorrect. Third aid: . . ."

She couldn't even say anything anymore, and I didn't have any ideas.

Think what you will of me, but I'm not ashamed to admit that at this point I began to tear up, despite my best efforts. This was perhaps the one time when I could have helped Nagato as much as she's helped me, but I just didn't know the answer. I knew that it wasn't the time to wallow in my own self pity, but I just couldn't help it.

Then, a slight tug on my wrist. As I looked through my watery eyes I saw Nagato looking at me. I don't know if my vision was blurred, but I swear that she looked just like she did when she had wished to simply be a normal schoolgirl. And yet, despite that, even with her fondest wish, she still gave the ultimate choice to me.

Wait, could that really be it? I dearly hoped I was right, more than I had hoped for absolutely anything ever before in my life. As I bent down and whispered the words into her ear, the seconds could have been years before the response came.

"Password accepted: dissolution of power limitation factors granted. Processing."

A second before I just barely kept myself from crying out in sorrow, but now I had to keep myself from crying tears of joy. Before I could really realize what was going on Nagato shot up into the sitting position, nearly sending me sprawling on account of how close to her I had been. Without a word she grabbed Kuyoh's other hand, and closed her eyes like Kimidori-san.

After a few moments of what looked like intense concentration from all three of them, they opened their eyes, and in union said the words that I had hoped would be coming:

"Communication link established."

Separating their hands, I could already see that Nagato and Kimidori-san were looking better than either had in more than a day. I was surprised when I turned to Kuyoh though. There was something different about her, a lucidity that wasn't there before. It surprised me when she quickly got to her feet, then gave a small bow.

"I am sorry for all the trouble that this communication attempt has caused. I do hope that now that lines of communication have been established, that communication will continue between our two benefactors, and between us as well."

She spoke with a quiet ease, not struggling for words or making awkward pauses. It was like she was a completely different person now. I couldn't help but wonder just what happened, but as long as everyone was alright, then I wasn't going to worry that much.

"Kyon, thank you for allowing this to happen."

The dark haired girl bowed slightly again, then left the apartment as quickly as she had come in. Kimidori-san also stood up and prepared to leave.

"No doubt that the Entity will want to discuss this at length among its various factions and representatives. I will leave you to rest and recuperate somewhat, Nagato-san. And, like Kuyoh, I must thank you for your help in this matter. Without it the situation would not have been as, preferable to the one we are experiencing now."

Having seemingly gained an ability to massively understate the gravity of the situation, Kimidori-san also left to go back home, perhaps to do some convalescence of her own. Even though she had faired better in the, er, communication attempt than Nagato, she was still probably feeling it as well.

And so, I was left alone, with Nagato, in her bedroom, with her in pajamas. Haruhi would kill me if she ever found this out.

"Thank you."

A soft voice, now much more recognizable, broke me out of thinking what a grand punishment I'd have to endure.

"After all the times that you've saved me, it was the least I could do." I just wish that it hadn't have been so touch and go, but hey, I can't complain about the results.

And, I guess you could say, that in a way I was better for it.

Although the petite interface might have been somewhat confused when I started tearing up a little, then gave her as much of a hug that I thought she could handle-though looking back, we are talking about the Nagato that got impaled as though it were a casual ear piercing or something-it still meant a lot to me when she returned the hug. Not strongly, but it was more than enough.

"One good thing that came out of this, Nagato, is that now I know what it is that I want."

Nagato tilted her head slightly, looking about as puzzled as she could ever look.

It was simple. It was in front of me all along, she was in front of me all along, and I had almost been too stubborn to say anything about it to her. But even if she doesn't reciprocate, I knew what I had to do.

I need to tell her how I feel about her, I thought. And no matter where the path goes from there, for good or ill, at least she'll know, and I'll know how she feels.

Those words replayed in my mind as clearly as I thought them on that day that seemed to almost be another lifetime ago. I realized that in all my time reminiscing, that Asahina-san (big), or at least the one that talked to me then, was just about to leave, meaning that soon would be my only chance.

I also knew at that moment, that there was no way in hell that I was going to interfere with the events that were about to unfold.

Less than a day ago I had been angry with Haruhi for wanting to walk away from it all. And yet here I was, trying to do the same thing on an even grander scale. I was about to throw away all the memories, all the times, both good and bad, just for the sake of sparing myself the heartbreak of losing her. At least with her turning her back on things there was the possibility of getting her to listen, of getting things to return to normal. With what I seriously considered doing, there was no going back.

No, I wasn't going to interfere. You couldn't have forced me to even if you'd of possessed every single cell in my body. I knew that there wasn't an easy answer to this; hell, maybe there wasn't one. But one thing was for sure: this wasn't the answer that I was looking for. I've really known it all along. It felt wrong being here, and even though I tried to chalk it up to being in a different time, I've never felt this way any other time I've time traveled.

No, it was me knowing that this was something that I just couldn't do.

And so, keeping a safe distance, I watched it all unfold. I was somewhat amused by just how hard I worked that night, and what an 'imposing' taskmaster the tiny but no less tenacious Haruhi was at the time. I guess anything is easier to appreciate, as long as you're not doing hard labour at the time.

After everything was said and done, with Haruhi heading back home satisfied despite my 'shoddy' workmanship, and myself and Asahina-san (small) heading off for a three year long slumber party at Nagato's place, I went into the courtyard and drank it all in. This is when it might have happened, and this is where it all happened again. The events set in motion would cause my life to become a mess, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Of course, it was only now, staring at the giant scrawl over the courtyard, that a very important thought crossed my mind:

How was I going to get back to my time?

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that."

A voice came from behind me, with a cold edge to it. I also heard a sound I'd become all too familiar with in the last couple of hours: a gun being raised and trained on my position.

Asahina-san (big), leader of the TIF, stood with a weapon and a very stern expression on her face, seemingly ready to atomize me.

"Kyon, I hereby place you under arrest for massive incursion of the time stream."

Oh, brother.

Author's Notes: First of all, an apology, I know that this took a while to get published, but school gave me no time to indulge in writing anything aside from essays. I hope that the wait was worth it. To me, this is one of the most important and pivotal chapters, and one that I've been thinking about nearly from the start.

Needless to say, the story is beginning to reach it's conclusion. I can pretty safely say that there will be at most ten parts, but more than eight, so probably nine. This is of course subject to change, but it's honestly how long I think it's going to go at the moment.

Once again, monumental thanks goes to Arty Esbee d'Arc for her continued betaing, which I assure you is a lot more punctual than my writing progress.

I hope to be able to bring the next chapter to bare sometime next month, but unfortunately I cannot make any guarantees with studies starting back up. As such, I thank everyone for continuing to read and enjoy the story. Your continued reviews and following of the story means a lot to me, so sincerely, thank you.

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own any of the characters of the Haruhi universe, please don't sue me (strangely flattering as it would be).