And here's another chapter coming you're way everyone! I've got a big suprise for you all in the next few days, and I get the feeling I'll reveal it by the next time I post another chapter. Otherwise, enjoy this one!
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The sound of knocking on the front door was audible down the hallway, and it made me sigh as I opened up the door to my room, cursing Haruhi for making me leave the cool comfort of my air-conditioned bedroom.
It's been about a week since our boat trip, and the giant monster sighting that occurred there has still not left my mind. I can assure you it is not very easy for something like that to just leave your thoughts. And if you can prove me wrong, please, be my guest.
The week that passed by was relatively boring, to say the least. In the end, it basically involved me waiting for Haruhi to call and tell me when and where we would be doing our community service for the day. It seemed to me that Haruhi has suddenly gained a sudden interest in doing lots and lots of community service. Instead of cleaning up garbage, however, Haruhi had us taking care of little kids at the local community center instead. While Haruhi had this amazing knack for being nice to little kids, I ended up getting beaten up by them the whole time. I was more worn out this week than ever, not to mention Haruhi wasn't really herself these last few days.
On top of that, there is one other thing I've noticed, and I can't say it hasn't bothered me a little. With Haruhi becoming less vocal and charismatic with each passing day, I also couldn't help but notice that she's beginning to show a sudden…interest in Itsuki Koizumi. Now you may call me paranoid for saying this, but there are subtle things I've witnessed that point straight in that direction. Haruhi seemed to get a kick out of interrogating me for any information she needed on him, even though most of my answers ended up being empty.
Look, I really don't care what she wants from me of Koizumi. To tell the truth, I kind of just want her to leave me alone. It's bad enough that she causes me enough stress on a daily basis, and the last thing I need is more stress from her. Broken up means broken up. I think we (or at least I) made that clear by now.
But for Haruhi, the concept of being separated isn't enough to keep her away from me. And that's why on this Friday afternoon, I'm answering the door, knowing full well that she is on the other side.
"Welcome…" I said with disinterest in my voice, opening the door to reveal Haruhi, Koizumi, Asahina-san and Nagato behind it. Haruhi was easily able to recognize my tone of voice, and she scowled at me.
"You could at least try to sound a little happier. I'm doing you a big favor by coming here to help you finish your summer homework, Kyon."
I groaned. Yeah, Haruhi. I didn't even invite you, idiot! You just decided to plan this without my consent! Don't even make this about you. Because believe it or not, Haruhi, you're always making it about you!
But I shouldn't be complaining too much. The last thing I want is another time loop like last summer. That would just be another pain in the ass.
"Whatever. Let's just get this over with." I said without revealing most of my internal rant, opening the door so the rest of the Brigade could enter. My parents were gone for the day, having taken my sister with them. Luckily, there was a lot of leftover sushi from a few nights ago sitting in the fridge, so I was prepared enough in the event any of us got hungry.
"You're so ungrateful, Kyon." Haruhi commented as she entered, followed by Asahina-san, who gave me a small smile. Nagato methodically came after her, and than Koizumi brought up the rear, giving me his own usual plastic smile.
"I don't see what's there to smile about."
I closed the door behind me after saying this. Koizumi's expression didn't change, but his tone was serious. Still unhappy from having to do all this in the first place, I felt annoyed hearing his voice.
"You should really be in a better mood. You've finally gotten what you wanted. You're separated from Suzumiya-san now. Isn't this what you've been waiting for?"
I winced upon hearing Koizumi's question. He was so right…and almost wrong too. What the hell did I want? Damn it. I don't really even know. I answered with a partial lie.
"Sort of."
A few minutes later, Koizumi and I arrived to my room and found that Haruhi was already making herself comfortable. She laid back on my bed, staring up at the ceiling in what looked like boredom. Her shoes were off, and Haruhi was wearing clean white socks, despite the fact that today had been disgustingly hot so far. The air conditioning in my room had been cranked to its highest.
Meanwhile, Nagato was sitting in my desk chair, reading a novel in silence. Asahina-san had probably wandered off, because I didn't spot her in my room at all. As Koizumi and I entered, I smiled as a blast of cool air hit me right in the face. The air conditioning was so nice, and the sound of cold air rushing out of it was music to my ears on a hot day like this.
Suddenly, to my horror, the sound stopped. My eyes snapped open, and my gaze darted back and forth until it landed on Haruhi's location. Her hand was right near the switch to toggle my air conditioner's power, and it was now set to off. I reacted a bit impulsively.
"What the hell are you doing!?!" I nearly yelled in panic, my mind slipping at the thought of no longer having an air conditioner to keep me cool. Haruhi turned back and gave me a look that might have signified she obviously knew better then me.
"I'm turning off our main distraction. We're here to finish our summer homework, not to relax. Think about the bigger picture, Kyon. If this remains on, then you'll just space off and never get your work done."
What do you mean I'll space off?!? Are you really an idiot? I'll do it better if the damn air conditioning is on! Dammit! You're just trying to make me suffer now, Haruhi!
Though my blood was already beginning to boil, I couldn't find the will to argue with Haruhi. She wasn't even that firm and vocal about it like she usually was; but even still, I couldn't find it in myself to tell her off. It might have been a mixture of things, but I had a good feeling it something to do with my sort of bad mood.
We all sat down in a big circle on my floor, right after Asahina-san returned, telling us that she really needed to use the bathroom before we got started on our summer homework. The television in my room was off, unlike the last time we did something like this. Last time, Haruhi ended up just playing video games with my sister the whole time, and we were all left to get our work done without her help.
But this time, Haruhi actually seemed interested in doing work. Apparently I wasn't the only one who had procrastinated on their summer homework. The rest of the Brigade, save for Nagato, unsurprisingly, had not even touched any of their work for the summer. I felt a little relieved not being the only one who hadn't taken care of his homework.
And so, we got along to doing our homework, all of us writing furiously as we tackled math problems, history questions, and even filled in the bunch of vocabulary sheets for our English language classes. I could already feel the beads of sweat coming off my forehead, and dripping onto the paper that I was writing on. One of my sevens in the equation I was doing suddenly became soaked, and I grunted in annoyance at the fact Haruhi was being insane enough to turn the air conditioning off on us.
As we continued to do our work, I couldn't help but notice something. What was that something? Well, it was Haruhi, and just how much attention she was suddenly giving to Koizumi and his "homework".
"No, no, no. Listen here, Kozumi-kun. You can't just solve a log problem like that. Let me show you how it's done correctly…" Haruhi told Koizumi as she literally leaned over him and began writing on his worksheet, her tongue sticking out as she began to write like she was drawing with a crayon. It would have been cute to watch, if I didn't have this sudden feeling in my stomach that I didn't like at all.
"I see, Suzumiya-san. What a silly error on my part. Thank you for your assistance." Koizumi said to Haruhi with a smile, and surprisingly, our Brigade Chief actually smiled back.
"Not a problem. You've got a nice smile, Koizumi-kun. I wonder why I never noticed it before."
At this point, the writing on the worksheet in my hand had turned into scribbles; mostly because I was too busy noticing what was going on between Haruhi and Koizumi. What was this feeling? Was it jealousy? Why would I be jealous of them? I wanted to be away from Haruhi. We're over. Finished. Done. Separated. Why the hell should I care that she's practically hitting on Koizumi in front of me?
"Thank you, Suzumiya-san. Your compliments are very fla-"
"I thought we were supposed to be doing our homework here?" I said in a nasty tone, unaware of how my words were coming out. Haruhi and Koizumi both looked at me, Haruhi with a look of surprise, and Koizumi with his usual smiling expression. Asahina-san whimpered quietly in reaction to my obvious irritation while trying to fill in multiple choice bubbles for her history homework at the same time. Nagato said nothing as usual, continuing to read her novel behind us like a silent background accessory.
"You shouldn't interrupt people, Kyon. It's very rude." Haruhi shot back at me, her face now discontent. I didn't have a smile on my face, for all it's worth. I was certainly not a happy camper at the moment.
"Well while you're all getting distracted, I'm here trying to finish my work. Or was it not you that suggested we all get it done at my house, in my room?"
The annoyance in my voice was easily apparent right now, and I could already feel the aura of a scared Asahina-san. Koizumi continued to smile, while Haruhi looked simply dumbstruck that I would even use such a tone of voice with her.
"You're being a real jerk right now, Kyon."
To my own surprise, I went silent after hearing such a thing from her. Look, I've gotten plenty of insults from her. I've been called many things by our Brigade Chief, but for some reason, those words seemed to actually hurt. The way she said it, the way she conveyed it with her facial expression…it sounded like she actually meant it. And to me, that was something to almost sulk over. I feigned ignorance, deciding to just shut up and finish my homework. Haruhi just had to make my mood worse, didn't she?
"It's alright, Suzumiya-san. All Kyon-kun is doing it trying to help. He is right. We do have to get this work done."
Koizumi's comment didn't make me feel any better, and I made a grimace as I continued to fill in vocabulary words for English class. It seemed that Haruhi's words were banging around my thoughts now, and it felt like I was being mentally tortured. I don't know what kind of face I was showing to everyone else, but frankly, I kind of stopped caring at this point. My fluctuating emotions were taking their toll on me, and more beads of sweat came down my face as my stress level just climbed higher and higher.
I felt the pencil slip out my hand, and my forehead felt like it was being fried. How Haruhi could survive in this unbearable heat, I don't know, but I did know that I wouldn't be able to do the same.
"Kyon-kun….you look kind of sick…" Asahina-san said in a soft and scared voice, her attention away from the work she had just been doing. I didn't look up to see if Haruhi cared that I was heating up like this, but I didn't want to see her face anyway. I stood up almost immediately.
"I need some air. Just don't destroy my room for the five minutes I'm gone."
I didn't really get to see the expressions of those around me, as I exited my room without even giving them as much as a glance. Not much to my surprise, the hallway outside of my room was a lot cooler, and I felt a slight tinge of relief at the fact that I had escaped the hellhole that was my room for the time being.
Cold water hit my face, and the sensation made me feel like it had come straight from the Fountain of Youth. Mentally, I felt like the cold was washing away hot, burning feelings of desire from the back of my confused and conflicted brain. My face felt better the more I splashed water on it. Being out of that room was helping me for the time being.
Out of everyone in the universe, why did it have to be Haruhi?
It had been awhile since I've asked that question to myself. Why Haruhi? The answer was never clear, and never easy. Why was I attracted to the one girl who I shouldn't be attracted to? Why did I fall for the same girl who pretty much figured it was her job to be my overlord?
Why was I even going over stuff like this again? It's a waste of time. I already knew that such questions can never be answered by me. In fact, they had no answer. As unrealistic as it sounded, it's the most realistic way of explaining it. Asking me why I fell for Haruhi Suzumiya all those months ago was like asking what came before the universe, or where we could find proof of a "one true God". It's a question that would remain lost to all those who seek it.
I splashed more cold water on my face. The sensation was nice enough, but to tell the truth, it wasn't really washing my thoughts of Haruhi away. It was more of a temporary pleasure, as it allowed me to not think about her for only a small amount of time. When you got down to it, I was still as stressed as ever.
"It is quite the hot day, is it not?"
Only one person I knew would ask such a question when you're practically burning up. I stopped splashing water on my face, my back turned to the speaker. A discontented expression formed on my face, unseen by the esper behind me.
"Way to go pointing out the obvious. Thanks to Haruhi, I nearly suffered heatstroke back there." I replied, turning off the running faucet. My Fountain of Youth had been suddenly stopped; because I knew that it wouldn't be as relaxing to splash water on my face if I had to listen to Koizumi while doing it.
Koizumi chuckled again. It was by far the most ear-piercing sound I could have heard at this time, and it took the maximum willpower and effort for me not to turn around and sock Koizumi right in the nose. It was like he was trying to be slick and annoying on purpose. It was like he was mocking me.
"Well, I believe she's just looking out for you. You heard her. She believes you'll be distracted if the room is comfortable. All Suzumiya-san really wants is for us all to finish our summer homework so we can enjoy ourselves before the school year starts again."
When I thought about it, I finally realized that there was only one year of high school left after this year comes to a close. After that, I'd be going to college, where I'd have to learn something that would eventually lead me to a full-time career, and more importantly, an actual life on my own.
Time seemed to be going so fast. It was like yesterday that Haruhi was just starting the SOS Brigade. I can still clearly remember the expression on her face that day. I can almost feel the tugging on my neck when she forced me to help her make the club that fateful day…
Somehow, that almost made me smile. The keyword is almost, of course.
"These days, I really don't know what that girl believes. I just want her to leave me alone. She can change however she wants, as long as she doesn't drag me into the mess."
God, what a truth right there. All this time, Haruhi has in fact dragged me into whatever mess she's gotten herself in. She's always been involving me, and after awhile, it just became a part of my daily routine. Such things should scare me when I think about them, but due to their regularity in my life these days, they didn't.
After my comment, Koizumi didn't seem to have much more to say, and I guessed that it was probably due to the fact he knew I wasn't in much of a mood to talk right now. My facial expression and the tone of my voice were clear proof of that.
When we returned to my room, we were both greeted by a blast of cold air that seemed like it was sent from heaven. Apparently, Haruhi had decided that the room was in fact getting too hot, and she had taken the liberty to turn the air conditioning back on.
Haruhi was turning the television of my room on as the two of us entered, partially fanning herself with a folder as she did so. Serves her right to be burning up. I don't know what's going through her head, but why she would turn off the air conditioning on a day like this is beyond me.
"Done with our work, I assume?" Koizumi asked with a smile.
"For now we are. I think we need a little break anyway." Haruhi responded while manually changing the channels on my television. To tell the truth, the remote to the thing was probably hopelessly lost somewhere in this room, never to be touched by human hands again.
Almost immediately, Haruhi found the news channel, and decided to sit back on my bed as the news anchor began to speak. Everyone seemed to watch the television at once, even myself. I guess it was more interesting than summer homework, at least.
"….reports of sightings all across the coast. Witnesses say that the creature was of titanic proportions, and it had some sort of gigantic gray dorsal fins on its back. All witnesses seem to lack any definite evidence of this creature's existence, and as of yet, the sightings are concluded to most likely be large whales. Witnesses say that the creature has a striking resemblance to the fictional kaiju Godzilla, but as said before, these reports are most likely false. In other news…"
Are you kidding me?
"What is this? That sounds completely ridiculous." Haruhi commented first, narrowing her eyes in disbelief.
I raised an eyebrow. What did you say, Haruhi? Am I hearing right? Suddenly, my mood went from annoyed to worry. That did not sound anything like the Haruhi I know.
"You heard me, Kyon. That sounds completely ridiculous. People saying they saw a movie monster? I mean really! That sounds like the stupidest thing I've heard in a long time."
And you know what? I completely agree with you, Haruhi. At least, I would if I hadn't seen the damn monster with my own eyes! This is insane! Why won't it just disappear already?!? Oh right! Because you're keeping it here, Haruhi!
"And I'm not in the mood to listen to other people's conspiracy theories anyway. Let's see what else is on." Haruhi said before changing the channel without asking, stopping her channel surfing when a sudden ad flashing on the television caught her eye.
We didn't really have time to read it before Haruhi thrust a hand in my direction, rummaging into my pocket without even asking. I was too stunned that she would do such a thing to even find the will to protest, and I just watched her as she pulled out my cell phone and dialed the number on the TV screen. What amazes me the most, is that even as she was pulling out my cell phone from my pocket, she already had hers up to her other ear, waiting for someone to pick up.
When I finally got around to reading the TV ad before it disappeared, I found out that the contest was for whoever ends up being randomly chosen as the winning caller. It said you'd win five tickets to some concert if you were lucky enough to get picked…
"Hello? I'm calling about the tickets! Did I win them?"
Now that sounded like Haruhi. The same Haruhi who would probably wring the operator's neck if they told her she wasn't the winner. Perhaps I should move away from her a bit. I get the feeling she might not have won…
"I did?!? Yes! Oh, my name's Haruhi Suzumiya. That's right. So where do I get them? Really? It's that easy? Thanks!"
And with those super fast words, Haruhi closed my phone, a smile on her face that looked like it had the power to light up an underground cavern. She handed my phone back to me, and I could already feel the rising excitement even before we began to speak. Haruhi stood up, hands pumping up and down as she made an announcement to all of us.
"Attention! We've won the free tickets to a concert tomorrow night! The operator said all I need to do is get them from the ticket box before the concert starts. He was kind of surprised too. He said I was the only one who called at all."
I had the urge to face palm, but I stopped myself. Of course you were going to be the only one, Haruhi. No doubt you probably used your powers and made sure that no one else's calls made it in. In essence, you cheated, Haruhi.
"Where's this concert going to be? And while I'm asking, do you even know what band is playing at this concert?" I asked, a little interested, and still a little stressed. The nice cool air was calming me down a little bit though.
"The ad said it was some band called The Crescendolls, I think. Don't ask me who they are. I've never heard of them. And it's in the stadium all the way downtown. It should be easy enough for us to make it tomorrow. I'll make sure we get up early if we have to!"
And as usual, Haruhi had everything planned out in her head before we even knew what we're doing. Frankly, I didn't even know if I was going to like this band. With a name like that, it doesn't sound too much like music I'd like. Either way, I was still going to be forced into going, and free tickets were free tickets, I guessed. What luck that Haruhi just happened to turn on that channel at the exact time. I would have personally liked to know more about those giant monster sightings…
I felt like sighing, but I realized the energy wasn't in me today. Even with Haruhi in such a good mood all of a sudden, I still felt terrible. Nothing seemed to be going right lately. And guess whose fault it was?
For once, I had no idea. It could be mine, it could be Haruhi's, and hell, it could be Koizumi's. I just hated feeling like this. Let's just hope this concert tomorrow was good enough to at least make me forget about all my problems for a little while...
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If you're a Daft Punk fan or a hardcore anime fan in general, you may very well get the reference at the end of this chapter. If not, then you'll just have to wait and see what comes along in the next one. :)