Hey everyone! I decided to get the next chapter up quickly since I made you guys wait so long before. Plus, I'm really amazed by the amount of reviews I've been getting. The fact that you guys seem to really like this story makes me want to write even more. Thanks a bunch, and enjoy this new chapter! With a cameo by someone very....famous. :)

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It's strange. It's like something was sitting in the pit of my stomach, shouting out to me that I shouldn't believe what had just happened. Something was telling me that Haruhi was in fact not eavesdropping on us. But in the back of my mind, I knew all too well that she had been. And it's not like I didn't have definitive proof that she had done it. The proof was safely in my right hand.

I clenched me teeth in nervousness. Haruhi had indeed run off, and she had left her orange hair band on the floor while doing so. Looking at all aspects of the situation in front of me, I realized that multiple options lay before me.

The first option was to follow Haruhi and question her about what she thought she might have heard. This seemed like the most sensible and rational option, but it came with an obvious downside. Knowing Haruhi Suzumiya, it would probably be excruciating difficult. It would be like trying to open a giant oyster shell with one's bare hands. It would be a very arduous task that I'd rather not undertake.

The second option was a bit easier. I could drop Haruhi's headband and leave the scene, effectively ignoring the fact she had been eavesdropping on the conversation between me and Koizumi. That option was no doubt the easiest, but it probably wasn't the smartest.

Finally, the third option was simple and painless. I'd just go find Haruhi, return her orange headband, and go back about my business. It involved no discussion, interrogation or questioning of any kind.

These were the three options I could choose from. Well that's not really true. In hindsight, there was actually a fourth, more daring option.

So with these things on my mind, I walked slowly to Haruhi's and Asahina-san's cabin, holding the orange hair band in one hand, my muscles suddenly feeling tense. The door was ajar, and I walked inside, finding my Brigade Chief sitting on her bed, looking up at me like I was some sort of ghost.

I felt nervous at first. Haruhi seemed like she had been doing nothing this entire time, but it was easy to see that she hadn't really been in this room until now. Perhaps it's because the door was wide open.

"You still up?" I said in a quiet voice, sounding slightly unsure.

"Yeah. I had trouble falling asleep."

I was a bit surprised. Haruhi sounded sincere in what she said. Was I really going to come here and scold her? No, because I didn't think I could do it anyway. Beside Haruhi, on the other side of her bed, I could hear the sound of someone softly breathing. It was Asahina-san, who sounded like a sleeping angel.

"You dropped your hair band outside." I told her, putting out the orange object for her to take. Instinctively, Haruhi looked at the object like it was some sort of demonic relic. It was almost as if she was feeling guilty for even considering taking the hair band. Even so, I watched her reluctantly take it from my hand, and our fingers touched for a moment. Her skin felt delicate and warm. Somehow, the feeling almost made me shiver.

"Thanks." She said, looking up at me, her face looking almost sad, or perhaps distraught.

I looked down, and surprisingly, Haruhi looked up. For those moments, we were caught in each others gaze, and it was at this time when I was reminded of the feeling the still remained locked in my heart. It was that throbbing feeling that I had always had whenever I was around Haruhi. And the more I stared back at our Brigade Chief, the stronger the feeling got. Finally, I could hold back no longer.

Without second thought, I took Haruhi in my arms, and gave her the most passionate kiss I could muster. She gave a yelp of surprise and struggled at first, but slowly, I could feel her relax in my embrace. We kissed even as I held her in my arms and the both of us sank down into the covers of her bed.

With Asahina-san sleeping right next to us, I took Haruhi's virginity right then and there, and all my problems were solved in a heart beat.

And if you believed for a million years that I would do any of that, then not only are you an absolute moron, but you're also a sick-minded individual who needs serious medical assistance. We all know by now that I definitely don't have the will or the spine to do any of those things.

Instead, the situation that occurred in reality turned out a little a different. An awkward silence emerged between me and Haruhi, as she put her hair band down on top of a small drawer beside her bed.

I should really say something, shouldn't I? I can't just stand here and clam up. If I let this go, then for all I know, a myriad of problems could emerge from it later. For all I know, Haruhi could cause the end of the world over the contemplation of trying to figure out just what I and Koizumi were speaking about.

"Maybe I should be going. You look tired, so I should let you be."

With that, I readied myself to say good night to Haruhi and leave, but the girl spoke before I could get my words out.

"What do you think of Koizumi-kun, Kyon?"

I raised an eyebrow. What kind of sudden question was that? Perhaps she's trying to figure out what we were talking about, and she had a hunch that it has something to do with Koizumi. It's kind of amazing how she's both so right, and so wrong.

"Well…I don't know. He's alright, I guess." I rubbed the back of my head uncomfortably. All of sudden, I felt like I was being the one getting interrogated. Besides, what do you expect me to say about Koizumi to Haruhi?

Hey Haruhi! Itsuki Koizumi is actually an esper whose job is to eliminate closed spaces which you create almost every day!

But of course I can't say something like that. If I had gotten lucky enough that Haruhi hadn't actually heard much of our conversation, then mentioning anything else might just compromise the situation.

Haruhi grew silent now, as if her voice box had been cut out and she was unable to say anything else. Another few awkward seconds of silence emerged between us, until Haruhi broke it in a quiet whisper.

"I'm going to sleep. I'll see you in the morning, Kyon."

And with those words, I got the hint that Haruhi probably wanted to be left alone now. I might really never know just what she heard, but it was obvious that she did indeed hear something from our conversation. As I nodded to our Brigade Chief before leaving her room, I hoped that she might easily forget anything we said pertaining directly to her. Unfortunately, I knew in my heart that Haruhi wasn't exactly the most forgetful person in the world.

After that, I didn't know what I could really do next. After having talked to Haruhi, I didn't feel the urge to go to sleep. In fact, I had this very annoying feeling in the pit of my stomach again that probably wouldn't let me go to sleep no matter how hard I tried. I sighed to myself, looking back at the door to Haruhi's cabin, wondering what was going on inside her head.

It was easy to see by now that Koizumi was very right about what he was talking about. Haruhi had begun to change in more ways then one, and you had to be a moron not to see that. I personally think the amazing part about all this was the fact that it was reminding me so much of something that had happened months ago. It was all reminding me of the same fiasco where Haruhi Suzumiya had found herself in love with me.

To anyone, I probably looked very sullen as I wandered out of the lower cabins, hands in my pockets. The image of her orange head band lying on the ground was already branded into my thoughts, and the sight of her from just before wouldn't leave my inner-mind theatre either. My annoyance was already building quickly, as the images of Haruhi made no effort to excuse themselves from the sanctum of my mental thoughts.

So without the urge to fall asleep, I concluded to myself that the only possible thing for me to do was to sit outside on the deck of the boat and wait for myself to fall asleep. The full moon might annoy me the whole time, but it's not like I had any other better options at the moment.

When I walked out on deck, I spotted two figures sitting near the edge of boat, and based on just their postures, I could easily recognize who they were.

Koizumi was sitting cross-legged, and through the moonlight, I could easily see the smile on his face as I approached. Nagato, who had been our boat driver earlier in the day, was sitting down with a static expression on her face, slowly flipping through the pages of another one of her novels. Despite the moonlight that was present tonight, it amazes me how she can read in these lighting conditions nonetheless.

Nagato didn't look up, but Koizumi registered my presence almost instantly, calling out to me in a sly and concise voice.

"Unable to sleep, Kyon-kun?"

I sat down next to Koizumi, my expression indifferent as I looked up at the moon.

"I wouldn't be out here if I could sleep. I guess my prayers to be left alone so I could relax went unanswered. If there are angels, they all hate me by now."

"I doubt that. You don't seem like the religious type."

I looked back at Koizumi, grimacing as I heard him chuckle. I don't see what's so funny. I'm not really in the best mood right now, you esper bastard!

"That's beside the point. I just feel like garbage right now, so I'm not in the mood for your bad jokes."

My gaze turned to the sea. Something about it seemed so much better than being on this boat. The ocean glistened in the moonlight, slowly shifting back and forth, albeit with calm and fluid movements. In boredom, my eyes watched the ocean, and in a few seconds, I could already see hallucinations of Haruhi's face forming up in the waters. I could see her staring at me, crying. I looked away from the waters, suddenly feeling worse.

"Did you manage to convince Suzumiya-san otherwise?"

I glared at Koizumi, wondering where he could have possibly gotten the information about Haruhi eavesdropping on our conversation before. Either he's a master detective, insanely smart, or a mind reader, and sometimes I really can't help but think he's got some sort of mind-reading power.

"I didn't really say much to her. I just went back to her room to give her hair band back. Haruhi didn't really have much to say. She looked kind of confused, maybe guilty."

"I would conclude she is probably very confused. It would be unlikely for Suzumiya-san to believe most of what we were talking about, and that's even going so far as saying that she was able to figure most of it out. I think that she might have heard only what she wanted to hear, and that was enough to get her focused."

Koizumi's hair moved in a slight sea breeze for a moment, as did Nagato's. Something about this scene was serene and calm. Maybe this summer was turning out to be that way. Call me crazy, but I think I'm beginning to miss the more vocal Haruhi.

"Then what the hell is she so focused about?"

Koizumi smiled at me as if I was a circus clown performing a trick. He thinks I'm an idiot, doesn't he?

"You, of course. You're not the only one struggling to get over the relationship between the two of you. It's obvious that Suzumiya-san is having serious trouble accepting that it is over. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she figures out a way to bring you back together. Her powers could certainly allow it."

I crossed my arms, almost pouting. There's no way in hell I'm getting manipulated into doing anything, be it by someone like Haruhi or not. She might force me do things more times than I can remember, but I am not going to be forced back into being her boyfriend without a say.

"Well she can forget about it. I'm sick of being someone else's plaything. She's not getting her way with me, no matter how much of a brat she acts like."

Koizumi eerily laughed again, and I contemplated punching him in the face. I didn't, of course, but there was still contemplation of doing the said action, despite my mind telling me it was a bad idea and stopping me at the last minute.

"If Suzumiya-san really wanted to be with you again, then it would have already been done, whether you want it or not. I assume she has the desire, but perhaps her rational mind is stopping her from just changing reality to suit that desire. While Suzumiya-san is relatively unaware of her powers, we've concluded that she most likely has some sort of indirect control over them. That could be one of the many reasons why this world hasn't been completely remade yet."

I sighed quietly, and wondered if the situation could get any worse. From what I could see, Haruhi was changing, and it probably wasn't for the best. As Koizumi described, it was all because she can't get over this break-up of ours. I was an idiot for thinking that she would get over it so easily. We're only a week into our summer break, and it's obvious that Haruhi still has strong lingering feelings for me. What else should I have expected? Of course someone like her would have trouble giving up on just about anything.

"Anything else?" I asked Koizumi, my expression now becoming melancholic. To tell the truth, this is only making me feel a lot worse. And I bet this esper doesn't care one bit.

"We just need to keep careful watch on Suzumiya-san. With her personality changing this sporadically, there will probably be outward effects on the world as it becomes more severe. Fortunately, the progression of her changing is relatively slow from what I've observed, so we have some time to figure out how to solve the problem."

My mind clicked when I heard Koizumi mention this as being a "problem".

Was there really a problem is Haruhi started acting more like a rational and normal high school girl? Was there really a problem if she suddenly became more aware of other people's needs, and perhaps became more aware of such things as the needs of our local community? I really have no desire to do any community service, but I have to hand it to Haruhi for thinking about other people and their well-being.

And who knows? Maybe if she's more like a normal high school girl, albeit beautiful, I might just be able to stand being around as more than just a lowly Brigade member.

"What do you think of all this?"

My question was quick, and probably caught Koizumi a little off-guard. With him being the one talking this whole time, I figured that I could at least ask him something about himself. Because to be completely honest, I didn't really know all that much about the real Koizumi. The one he claims to be hiding because the personality he shows to the rest of us is supposedly more pleasant. Maybe with the question, I could get a little insight from what he's really thinking.

Koizumi's smile faded a bit, and he looked slightly unsure. This could all be an act, but something told me he probably just didn't expect this kind of question. Next to him, Nagato sat reading her book like a silent accessory to the ship, ignoring everything else around her.

"I'd like to see Suzumiya-san happy and occupied. From what I've seen of her so far, she's certainly not happy. Once we solve this predicament, things will go back to normal, and I'll be content again."

No matter how genuine it might have sounded, I didn't believe Koizumi's answer for one second. It sounded too right and selfless, if you ask me.

I was about to add something witty, but I was abruptly interrupted by Nagato, who did not look up from her book as she uttered a few words.

"You should hold on to something. The displacement of water may possibly relocate you off this vessel."

"What?"

There wasn't anytime to say anything else after that. Behind us, we heard a loud rumbling sound, and then the wave hit.

It was a powerful wave of water that seemed to crash into out boat like it was nothing more than a toy. Listening to Nagato in almost an instant, I held on for my dear life, and water crashed onto the deck like a rolling tide. We all got soaked as the boat rumbled far to its side, and it had tipped over enough that I could slightly feel gravity pulling on me.

My mind continued to panic even as the rumbling stopped, and the boat became balanced on the water again. I coughed a little; having swallowed a bit of seawater after the wave had hit us. While it wasn't that large, it could have certainly knocked some of us overboard. Koizumi was soaked as well, and Nagato, whose clothes were sopping wet, continued to flip through the pages of her book, which were surprisingly dry and untouched.

"What the hell was that?" I said in a loud voice. Immediately, I wondered how long it would be till Haruhi came rushing out of the lower cabins, yelling and screaming on about what woke her up.

Without a word, Nagato pointed at something while still keeping her gaze on her novel. Koizumi was standing now, watching something in front of him. Finally, I did the same, and I think my jaw dropped at that moment.

Some distance away from our ship, I could see something titanic moving through the water. A grouping of towering, dark-gray dorsal fins cut through the water like gigantic razors, creating wakes that caused our boat to rock back and forth. They were comparable to super-sized starfish almost, except that they were obviously attached to something huge. Whatever it was, it swam mostly underneath the water, at a distance from us that made me realize how huge it was. If it got much closer, no doubt our boat would capsize. For a moment, I watched a head surface, staring at our boat with one of its large, almost human-like eyes. It was reptilian, with a mouth full of sharp teeth and a snout that looked suitable on a dragon.

Without thinking, my mind was searching for an answer to what this was. In a few seconds, I was able to recognize it, and I almost couldn't believe it. The creature was famous almost everywhere, and it was swimming some two hundred meters from our boat.

"Am I seeing things? It that…what I think it is?"

"That is real, it seems. To be accurate, it's more of a who then a what. Let us just hope he leaves us alone." Koizumi replied, watching the giant monster with an indifferent expression.

Suddenly, I felt very, very afraid. With a nudge of its tail, this monster could just knock our boat over. It could swallow us whole without second thought. Why did we have to go on this stupid boat trip? Why? I don't want to end my life like this! I don't want to get eaten by some pissed off giant monster!

In fear, I watched the monster look back at us a final time, as if we were nothing but specks in the ocean to it. And compared to its size, we certainly were. After a few more seconds, it sank underneath the water, dorsal fins and all. Finally, it was gone, having retreated back to the ocean depths.

I felt insane for what I saw. I've seen some crazy things with Haruhi, but that definitely takes the cake. I would never expect in a million years to run into…

"What's going on? I want to sleep! Who's causing all the ruckus out there?"

Koizumi and I turned when we heard Haruhi, and watched as she emerged from the entrance to the lower cabins, clad in her yellow pajamas. Her hair was a mess, and she looked very annoyed. I wondered if the ship nearly capsizing had brought her out of a good dream. I also wondered why Asahina-san wasn't with her, unless the time traveler could sleep through just about anything.

"Just some waves nudging the boat around." Koizumi said quickly, with a smile on his face. "You should go get some rest, Suzumiya-san."

I half-expected Haruhi to tell him off, but she actually didn't. In fact, she surprised even me.

"Okay…I guess it's nothing then. See you all in the morning."

And with that, Haruhi went back towards her cabin, leaving me both stunned and confused.

I could do nothing less than give a big sigh at the entire situation.

After the events of that night, coming home sounded exciting. We left relatively early the next day, because Haruhi felt like there wasn't much for us to do if we couldn't catch any fish. She was rational in what she said, because we didn't catch a single fish the next morning either. I think I'll attribute that with our sighting of a certain monster the night before.

And so, we parted back at the harbor, and Haruhi mentioned to us that Tsuruya-san would pick up her boat sometime later today. Walking home was a nice, relaxing breather for me, since my mind was still wrapping around just what exactly I saw. Koizumi had given me no explanation whatsoever so far, and I didn't have the urge to ask Nagato about it. Asahina-san probably wouldn't be able to tell me anything, but I really didn't want to scare her either.

I've seen a lot of the movies. I remember actually believing that somewhere in the ocean, he existed. But when I got older and less juvenile, I stopped believing in any of that. Such a creature sounded too big to go unnoticed. It sounded too big to even be believed.

But I had seen it. It was there. It had stared back at us from the water, with its gaze having an almost human intelligence. I know what I saw. Damn. Now I sound like a conspiracy theorist who believes the United States might have never landed on the moon.

I was lying on my bed as I thought, staring up at the ceiling in boredom. With Haruhi letting us go, there was nothing to really do for the day. Sure, I had summer homework to take care of, but that'll probably remain untouched until a few days before school starts again. I will do it though, no matter what. The last thing I want to do is accidently repeat a week of our break over and over again like last year.

Haruhi. There's no doubt that you played a part in us seeing that monster. But why? For what reason? Does this mean we're going to see a monster attack on Tokyo on the news in a few days? Why would Haruhi want something like that?

I turned, closing my eyes and wishing for sleep. It never came, and I cursed Haruhi under my breath.

My life is becoming an insane asylum at this point. How much worse can it possibly get?

In hindsight, the smart thing is to never ask that question. Because with Haruhi, there's always a good chance that things can get much, much worse.

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Edit: Making something clear to everyone. What other gray-dorsal finned giant monster can you think that swims and relatively hangs out near Japan? Yes. That was Godzilla.