Hey guys! I'm glad to see that you're all enjoying my new story so far. As a note, I'd just like to point out that it might move along slow, but that's because I've got some progression that needs to be shown with the characters. So if you're wondering where "the story" is, you'll have to realize that building it up will take some time for this one. For now, just enjoy the Brigade and their antics. Get to reviewing everyone, because there's gonna be a week till I get another chapter in....
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When was the last time I've felt jealousy? Frankly, I really don't remember. All I know is that right now, after just having watched Tsuruya-san making out with the formerly lady-less Taniguchi, I suddenly felt a large gap in my stomach that could signify jealousy.
With this feeling brewing in my lower stomach, I followed Yuki Nagato downstairs. I don't want to be feeling jealous of anyone right now, to tell the truth. Especially since it's still only been a single day since I separated with Haruhi. These envious feelings are just going to eat me alive if I continue dwelling on them...
A voice cut the air like a razor, snapping into my thoughts like a rubber band being launched from someone's fingers.
"What were you doing? I hope you weren't playing around with Yuki or anything! Being a Brigade member doesn't mean you're allowed to screw around with the other members, Kyon!"
As we were in the process of descending downstairs, Haruhi took the initiative to go and search for us. She was waiting all the way at the bottom of the steps, having shouted up to us with her arms crossed and a very disapproving look on her face.
What? What is Haruhi accusing me of this time? Don't tell me that every moment I spend with another girl is a reason for our Brigade Chief to make it sound like I'm being a sleazy pervert or something! Haruhi's just going overboard at this point.
Nagato seemed to robotically stop upon hearing Haruhi's exclamation, and I almost immediately felt uncomfortable when I deciphered what she said. I hid it well though, answering Haruhi in a calm and coherent voice.
"What? You're delusional. I was just going back downstairs with Nagato."
"Don't try to weasel out of it, Kyon! I know what you were doing! I'm surprised, though. I didn't know you could be so easily seduced. I guess you just fall hard for the silent types. You make me sick."
I make you sick? What's wrong with you? Where did all these nasty comments suddenly come from? Don't tell me Haruhi is still jealous as ever. I mean, I thought we had both agreed to breaking up. She even gave me this sweet hug and everything. Does Haruhi just disregard whatever she feels to be unimportant? What kind of stupid question am I asking? Of course she does.
"What? We're going down the stairs together so clearly we're up to something? You're being an idiot. I'm heading to the living room if you don't mind." I said straight out to her, having gotten fed up with this emerging attitude of hers. I figure it would be much better to strike it down now before it becomes an actual problem.
And so, without another word, I walked past Haruhi, and I only assumed that Nagato followed, albeit silently. Call me nasty for saying what I'm about to say, but I don't think I give much of a damn what Haruhi thinks of me right now. God knows I've dealt with enough of her and her attitude for the last few weeks, and a break from it all would definitely be a nice thing, if you ask me.
"You don't stand down against Suzumiya-san."
Nagato's random comment caught me a little by surprise. Was it a sudden news flash that not everyone in the world willingly breaks in front of our Brigade Chief? I don't think I've shown myself to be that spineless around Haruhi, have I? I certainly hope not.
"Take a little tour of your own?" Koizumi said to us as we entered the living room again, with his usual annoying smile on his face. Asahina-san didn't notice us at all, mostly because she was now occupied with staring at the many swimming fish that populated a gargantuan fish tank. Her curious expression was more adorable than words could describe.
"I guess you could say that. Taniguchi got surprisingly lucky. In fact, I think th-"
My incoming words were cut off, by a loud and hyperactive voice that easily rivaled Haruhi's.
"Hey guys! I gots an announcement to make! It's really important nyoro~!"
Tsuruya-san waltzed into the living room like a frisky newborn tiger, with Taniguchi right behind her, his hand locked in hers. I can imagine she probably has a powerful grip on him, because he looks like he's being dragged along like a little kid.
"Taniguchi-kun is my new boyfriend! I thoughts that you guys would want to know. I hope I didn't ruin anyone's hopes or anything. I don't wants to make anyone sad."
It's surprising, you know. Taniguchi doesn't seem to want to talk as Tsuruya-san holds his hand and keeps yapping on. He looks nervous and unsure, and I guess he's probably wondering how all this happened to him. It's remarkable that somehow, above all odds, Taniguchi has stumbled upon a girl who seems to have the hots for him.
Now granted this girl is extremely hyperactive and animal-like at the same time, but she is a girl nonetheless, and one who is is gifted with looks just like Haruhi is. So in the end, irony hits me like a flying pig, because Taniguchi now has the very thing that I had only days ago.
He has a girlfriend now. I do not. The world is amazingly cruel, don't you think? Perhaps karma has decided to give me a nasty wake-up call.
"What happened? The Brigade Chief should be informed of everything!" Haruhi states in an annoyed tone as she angrily stomps into the room. Heads turned, and Tsuruya-san's toothy mouth opens up, with intentions of giving Haruhi all the information she would ever need.
"It's megas awesome, Suzumiya-san! I gots a new boyfriend!"
Tsuruya's smile was like that of a rambunctious angel, and it was no surprise that Haruhi simply glared at the sight of her holding hands with Taniguchi. To tell the truth, Haruhi looked like an overbearing father who was dissatisfied with the man his child had chosen to marry. I just can't help but find it amazing she can be characterized with a male figure so easily.
"Hmph. I think you're showing poor taste, Tsuruya-san. But I guess if it suits you, then it's all fine." Haruhi responds, obviously unable to argue with someone like Tsuruya-san, since it seems like the girl's opinion would probably very hard to change.
With that exchange, it was clear that Haruhi had no choice but to accept this new development between Tsuruya-san and Taniguchi. We then moved on to more fun things to keep the night going. Not that any of us had any say in what we were doing next. Why? Because Tsuruya-san decided to drag us all back down to the basement, where a pair of large game machines awaited us at the far end.
"Let's play this!" Tsuruya-san announces, pointing her finger at the two DDR machines in front of us. I sighed heavily, realizing just how bad of an idea this is. I'm not any good at these kind of dancing games, and the last thing I want to do is make a fool of myself. Almost instantly, a voice of reason in the back of my head demands I protest against this.
"Why don't we play something else? I'm not too good at this kind of stu-"
"Shut up! You're playing against me! Now!"
I think Haruhi is out to get me. I really do.
No sooner after saying that, our Brigade Chief then proceeds to grab me by the arm and drag me onto the machine opposite from her like I was nothing but a lifeless rag doll. My feet stepped onto the machine with uncertainty, and I don't think I had much time to react before I could hear Haruhi already picking the song without even waiting for me to get ready.
"Hold on a second! I didn't say I wanted to play!"
"Quiet! I'm picking the song! Let's see...."
"Hey! Can I suggest one ~nyoro?"
Oh no. Please don't provide such an offer, Tsuruya-san. I know you mean well, but I don't have a good feeling that whatever song you plan on choosing will be in my favor. Oh forget it. What's the point? Haruhi's going to beat me no matter what this green-haired girl chooses.
And I was right. Very right, actually. After a round of "Canned Heat" and then another of "Virtual Insanity", I was left worn out, while Haruhi seemed happy and confident that she had easily dominated me. What did she expect the outcome would be? I can't dance to save my life, and when she picks songs that are based around the fact that you need to know how to dance, I have no choice but to lose. I can't believe Haruhi did both of them perfectly, too. Through my wheezing, I gave Haruhi a glare of destruction while she wasn't looking, feeling pissed that she thought that this is such an accomplishment.
After my failure in DDR, it's safe to say that the rest of the night was relatively boring and uneventful. We proceeded to watch a long and boring movie when it got to around mid-night, and the funny thing was that although Tsuruya-san was the one to suggest the idea, she's the one who ended up sneaking off. I figured she probably went to go make out with Taniguchi when we were halfway through the film. I can't help but wonder if Taniguchi is just a boy toy to her or something. I don't know, and I really don't care.
"Isn't it kind of ironic that Tsuruya-san could like a boring idiot like Taniguchi?" Haruhi randomly comments on the couch next to me as I was on the brink of falling asleep. This movie was turning out to be a terrible romantic comedy that I couldn't stand more and more by the second.
I groaned upon hearing Haruhi's statement, mostly because she pointed out a fact that only helped make the jealously in the back of mind reignite like a raging fire. Giving her an answer would be a bad idea, so I said nothing and closed my eyes again.
To tell the truth, I've been trying my absolute best not to think about it, but every time I glanced at Haruhi, I realized just how much I was being mocked by karma.
I just want to fall asleep.
I was surprised to know that my wish actually came true. How did it come true, you ask? Well, it seems that I was tired enough to just fall asleep on the couch in Tsuruya-san's living room. There was nothing to keep me awake besides a romantic comedy that I had lost interest in watching. In fact, I had lost track of just about everyone besides Haruhi by the end of the night, so it's not a wonder that I was able to doze off so easily.
A loud yawn emanated from my throat as sunlight peeked through the windows of the living room. At first, getting up was the first thing on my mind, but something else caught my attention before I could shake myself awake. In fact, I could feel hair tickling my nose, and someone was clearly leaning up against me, keeping me held down to the couch with their body resting on my arm. My eyes darted around, recognizing an orange headband, brown hair...
"Haruhi!?!" I said in a suddenly shocked voice, unable to control myself from shuffling around after discovering just how close Haruhi was to me. Apparently, she seemed to fallen asleep leaning up against me, and although I find it hard to admit, she was beyond adorable in this sleeping state. Her breathing was calm and sweet, and Haruhi's sleeping face could have easily rivaled any cute expression that Asahina-san could come up with on any given day.
It was then that Haruhi started talking out of nowhere, and it seemed that I didn't actually wake her up immediately despite the fact that I had almost screamed right in her ear due to our closeness to one another.
"Kyon...don't be such an idiot....you can't be...too...gentle..."
I raised a very confused eyebrow. What exactly was Haruhi dreaming about right now? Something tells me that it's not anything clean.
Damn. I guess this proves that she's certainly not gotten over it all just like she said it would. I should have expected this earlier. It's only in Haruhi's nature that she be unable to forget things so easily.
"It's morning already? Well, I guess I can't sleep forever."
Haruhi's voice sounded more coherent now, and the fact that her amber eyes were now staring up at me was obvious proof that she was awake. I felt nervous and uncomfortable all of a sudden. Of course it has something to do with the fact that Haruhi is so close to me. We're not in that kind of relationship anymore, but if I didn't know any better, I would say Haruhi is acting like nothing ever happened.
"Good morning, Brigade Chief. Can you please get off me? I do need some personal space." I blatantly said to Haruhi. If there's anything I have to do right now, it would be to make it clear to Haruhi that we're not in that kind of relationship anymore. What's over is over, and I will make Haruhi understand that as best as I can, no matter how thick-skulled she's going to act about it.
Much to my surprise, Haruhi said nothing after hearing my request to her. In fact, she looked very surprised herself.
I guess it was a good idea to point out that I didn't want to be so close to her, because she could have fooled me into thinking our break-up was a sudden news flash. The best way to get to Haruhi was to get straight to the point. And it seems to have worked this time around. What a relief.
Without a word, Haruhi stood up, looking away from me as if I had been the one to do something wrong. She took a quick glance at me, as if she wanted to say something that wouldn't come out of her mouth, before she walked away and out of the living room in a swift fashion.
Damn it. Now I feel bad inside. Well, I guess she took the hint. She had taken it quite well, actually. There was no arguing, no nasty comments, and not even a hint of assertiveness. It was very unlike Haruhi.
The rest of the morning was a relatively simple affair, because it mostly involved us eating a massive and excessive breakfast that was dutifully prepared by Tsuruya-san's cooks. It would have been delicious, but ever since I told Haruhi off, the food just tasted terrible to me.
I'm a little sorry to say that I wasn't too sad when we finally departed from Tsuruya-san's mansion that morning. She gave us all a very energetic goodbye, and I guess my mood just plummeted some more when I discovered that Taniguchi wasn't leaving with us. I don't know what those two planned on doing next, but I really didn't want to think about it.
Dammit! It's all Haruhi's fault! She's making this stupid break up harder than it's supposed to be!
I just want to forget about it all, and go on with this summer as painlessly as possible. But I can't if she keeps trying to get my attention every five seconds. Maybe that's why she was being so competitive with me before. She's just trying to get my goddamn attention. That's all this about.
Gah, why does this kind of stuff have to happen only to me? Why couldn't it be someone else? Why?!? Someone answer me already!
Thankfully, the next few days were a relative godsend. I got no phone calls from Haruhi, and it's safe to say that I was able to relax a little because if that. It would only be a matter of time till this short break ends, but I figure I should take advantage of it as much as possible.
On a bleak Thursday, the call I was dreading came, at approximately ten o'clock in the morning. My phone's ringtone became the most annoying sound in the world, because I knew for a fact that Haruhi was calling, and that I would be leaving the house today to go and participate in whatever our Brigade Chief had planned.
"What is it, Haruhi?"
Knowing that Haruhi was the on the other line could only mean that this was just another routine for me now. Last summer was exactly the same, although I liked it better when Haruhi's calls on my cellphone weren't necessarily my morning alarm clock.
"You'll find out soon enough! I want you down at the cafe immediately, Kyon!"
There was nothing else to say after that. I groaned to myself as I got out of bed and closed my phone at the same time. This morning felt much worse than usual. If I could avoid my sister, then perhaps that would be one positive thing about today...
"You're late once again. I can't believe how irresponsible at arriving on time you're becoming, Kyon. I'd give you a penalty, but you don't learn either way. I don't even know why I bother with you." Haruhi told me flat out when I finally arrived at the cafe, where everyone waited for me. I didn't kill myself getting there, but it wasn't exactly a calm or pleasurable bike ride either.
"Well, sorry! It's not like I have so much time when you call me at ten in the mo-"
Wait a second. Something doesn't feel right.
What did Haruhi just say? I didn't hear any anger in her voice. She didn't have the same tone as usual, and even the expression on her face was very unlike her. It sounded like Haruhi was just relatively displeased with me, and she was actually expressing it like any normal person would.
But she's not a normal person. I must imagining things.
"But we'll just put that aside for now. It's time we get to the actual point of all this. And that's the Brigade activity for today! Pick one of these everyone. Time to decide how we all get split up." Haruhi announces to the rest of the Brigade, holding out a bunch of toothpicks that are simply for the purpose of separating us into groups. I can't help but feel weird as I take my seat. I don't feel so good all of a sudden.
In accordance to what Haruhi just told us, we all take one toothpick from the bunch that she's holding in her hand. It takes a few moments for us to register who we're paired up with, and to my surprise, I managed to get a marked one that matches the blue color of the one Koizumi received. The esper gives me a smile from across the table, and when I glance at Haruhi, I can see her staring at her red-marked toothpick, and she looks very annoyed.
Haruhi mutters something under her breath, and then addresses us all again.
"Alright everyone. I've decided that we're going to be doing something different this time around."
Different? Somehow, I almost don't like the sound of that. What exactly does Haruhi have planned for us?
"What are we doing today, Suzumiya-san?" Koizumi asks in a calm tone, and Haruhi suddenly looks all confident, answering Koizumi with a voice full of self-righteousness. Even still, I feel like she's putting out a different vibe than usual.
"We're doing community service today. The SOS Brigade needs to have a better image in this city, and what better than doing a city-cleanup to help strengthen our image? It'll make us more well-known than before, without a doubt."
"Right. This is a joke, isn't it Haruhi? What's the real activity for today?"
Haruhi raises an eyebrow towards me, and she glares at me like I've shot the Prime Minister of Japan or something.
"I'm not joking, Kyon. We're doing community service, and you're helping whether you like it or not."
It was at this point that I just proceeded to shut up and slump down into my seat, unable to believe what I was hearing. If it was all in fact true, today did not sound fun at all.
Once again, I happened to be terribly right.
With a bored and melancholic look on my face, I stabbed at another can lying on the street. Tossing it into the green bag for recyclables, I turned to see that Koizumi was taking his sweet time in picking up all the surrounding garbage behind me. I groaned.
Haruhi was in fact not joking when she said we'd be doing community service. Apparently, she had signed us up to help clean all the garbage out of a long disused street some blocks away from North High. Don't ask me why, but I don't believe for a second that it's coincidental for all this garbage to somehow end up in one place, especially considering how environmentally conscious people in this city are.
And now we were stuck cleaning it all up, because Haruhi had suddenly gotten the bright idea that the SOS Brigade needed to be conscious of the local community to strengthen it's "image". I really don't remember that last time she's cared about such a thing. Call me selfish, but I really don't want to spend a Thursday in my summer vacation cleaning up other people's garbage.
"Enjoying yourself?" Koizumi asked me, having shown no hate for the fact we were stuck doing menial labor right now. I wonder what Haruhi, Nagato and Asahina-san are doing right now. I really hope our Brigade Chief's not telling us to do all this work while she goofs off.
"I wouldn't ask that question. You won't like my answer, Koizumi."
"I see. Well, I hope that Suzumiya-san is enjoying herself. All the better for the rest of us."
"Don't you mean for the world? It's not like you care about anything else besides the world's well-being..."
I would be lying if I said I don't realize how nasty I was sounding. Koizumi hasn't done anything to me, but I guess it's his optimistic attitude right now that's really annoying me. Or maybe it's something else entirely that's bugging me. Something that has to so with our infamous Brigade Chief...
"Once again, you're tense about something. It would be a waste to lie about it."
Damn you, Koizumi! Do you have a fetish for being right or something? I sighed to myself, knowing fully well that I had no choice but to answer him.
"It's nothing. I've just got a lot on my mind."
"And it's all about, Suzumiya-san, no doubt? We all have her on our minds. Everything we know hinges on her emotional state, so it would be difficult not to worry about her."
I'm not talking about her stupid emotional state, Koizumi. I'm talking about.....never mind. I'm not dwelling on this kind of stuff. There are other things I'd rather think about right now. Let me just ask this esper if anything is going on with Haruhi. Then I can get those other things off my mind.
"You haven't noticed anything weird about Haruhi, have you?" I asked the esper, stabbing a plastic bottle on the ground at the same time.
To my surprise, Koizumi did not immediately answer me. He put on a studious expression, and narrowed his eyes before speaking in a concise tone.
"You're observant. There does seem to be something amiss regarding her usual demeanor. It's as if her personality is sporadically changing. I witnessed this phenomenon multiple times while you were asleep at Tsuruya-san's mansion a few days ago."
What? Just what were you doing with everyone while I was sleeping? You mean to tell me that you all stayed up while I was dozing off?
I ignored my own thoughts for the moment, bringing my attention back to the conversation at hand.
"And I'm guessing this is making your organization's job harder?"
"You are quite right. We've had some problems closing some of the spaces created by Suzumiya-san lately. It seems that some of the giants show a new capability to render themselves intangible to our attacks for brief periods of time. It's quite bothersome actually."
Great. Just great. First it's Haruhi falling in love with me, and threatening to destroy the world because of it. Then Haruhi starts losing faith in the existence of her strange beings, and the universe threatens to end abruptly. Then she reads the Bible, creates this weird orb, and once again, apocalypse is on the horizon. Don't tell me the same situation has entered my life again. And please, please don't tell me that it's all because I broke up with her.
I glared at Koizumi angrily, and before I could stop myself, I violently kicked a nearby can. Perhaps it was a mixture of conflicting emotions that surged through my brain at once. I don't feel great at all.
And it's all Suzumiya-san's fault. It's always her fault!
Damn you, Haruhi! It's times like these where I almost wish that I never met you....