"Hey, Kyon! Earth to Kyon, wake up!"

"Hm…?" I must have been asleep…? Where was I? Who…

"Well, good morning, sleepyhead." The voice was Koizumi's. Great. "You do know that everyone else rushed off to get ice creams already, right?"

My eyes slowly came into focus. I'd been lying face-up on a chair, it seemed…staring at the sun, no less. Huh, then that must've been why my eyes ached so much. Looking around, I saw Koizumi's figure, completely blacked out with shadow. So he was there and…right next to him, there was another figure. That of a woman's…a rather tall…oh, it was Sakaki, I realised.

I glanced at her first, as Koizumi's infectious grin probably wasn't the first thing I wanted to see upon awakening. She seemed slightly concerned and a little curious at the same time, for whatever reason I couldn't have guessed. Fortunately, she didn't leave me to dwell on it for too long, as she broke out into a friendly smile when she realised I was awake.

"I decided not to wake you." She said. "Did you find the trip tiring…?"

I smiled back, placing my hand over my mouth to cover up a yawn.

"I must've done…" My expression then changed to one that I can only describe as being "exasperated…" only it was a special sort of exasperation. One reserved for Haruhi herself.

"Well, on a train journey with Haruhi, I'd imagine anyone would be tired out. That girl just keeps going and going…like some sort of long-life battery."

Sakaki laughed a little, in that subtle and reserved way that she kept about her. It was then that I turned to Koizumi, who was offering me a hand up. I wondered how long that hand had been there for.

"You think I can't get off of a chair by myself?"

"Well, I was just offering. I thought you'd feel too tired to even move." Koizumi shrugged. Well, I guess it was good of him to offer.

"Thanks, but I'm perfectly fine."

I lifted myself off of the chair and stretched a little, looking over the beach as I did. Mugi certainly hadn't been lying when she said the house was "well-situated…" or, whatever she'd said about it. The house itself was on a path leading off from the beach, so we were always about 2 minutes away from the beach at all times. And of course there was a seaside town not too far away either, in case we…no, wait. In case Haruhi or the other members of her band of idiots got bored. I was just glad of the break, and I'm assuming most others were, too.

"So, they're buying ice-creams, huh?" I directed this question at Koizumi, but the one who answered it was Haruhi, from the other side of the beach.

"KYON WE'RE BUYING ICE CREAMS GET OVER HERE NOW SAKAKI KOIZUMI NOW"

Or something like that, anyway. Izumi chimed in with something similar, and Takino yelled something…I don't know. Obnoxious, I guess. I was still too woozy to even think about responding to it, so I just shrugged and decided to walk over there.

"Ah, you're going over, hm?" Koizumi said.

"Do we have a choice?" I shrugged. He laughed in response.

"No, I guess we don't, do we? Not if we want to keep her happy, that is."

I sighed. Keeping the Goddess happy was the first thing on our minds again…typical, we go on vacation and it's all Haruhi, Haruhi, Haruhi, as normal. Well, I guess I was used to it by now, and it wasn't like my vacation would be totally ruined.

"I'll go on ahead. There's something I need to talk to Nagato about. You'll catch up, right?" He said, a wry grin sneaking onto his face.

"What's that supposed to mean? Of course I will." I didn't want to guess what that expression, coupled with that final remark, could have meant. He just went back to his default, grinning expression and nodded, before setting off jogging towards the stand- "Straw Hat Ices." Interesting name for an ice cream stand, that's for sure. I sighed, and turned to Sakaki.

"Are you getting anything?"

"Hm?" Sakaki had been gazing out over the ocean. "Oh…yes. I like lemon ice creams."

"I see…oh." A thought suddenly popped into my head, as if from nowhere. "Was there any reason you quit that band you were in? You all sounded pretty good together at the end-of-school concert."

We started off walking, and Sakaki was silent for a moment. I'd gotten used to this by now- being friends with someone since middle school will do that.

"Well, I guess I don't really react well being in front of so many people like that." She said, hands behind her back. To most people this would seem like a sign of quiet reserve, I guess. Like I say, I was used to it. "I don't want to let them down…"

With this, she went silent again and continued to stare over the ocean.

"Ah…I see." I replied. In the distance, Nagato, Miss Asahina and Ayumu seemed to be talking, over strawberry ice creams. Three guys- one with blue hair, one with grey-looking hair, and one with a hat- approached them. Predictably, they were turned down, something the hat-wearer took harder than the other two. A moment later, they walked past us-

"It's your fault, Junpei. You're coming on way too strong."

"Dammit, we're older than them! I thought they'd-"

"Ugh. You get one more chance to prove to me that-"

They must've been picking up girls…of course they'd have failed with Nagato, and the others didn't seem like the type to go for guys. I guess you get that sort at the beach all the time…even if the blue-haired one didn't seem overly enthusiastic about it.

"So…" I began, trying to make conversation, "What kind of ice cream are you getting?"

Sakaki turned to me, her face curious.

"Oh. Um…" She stared at the sky, thinking. "I may skip it. I'm not fond of ice cream that much anymore."

"You're not? I remember you always used to like lemon."

"Ye-yeah. I guess."

And at this point I just gave up altogether. As nice a person as Sakaki was, she could be pretty hard to converse with at times, due to her quiet and reserved demeanour. Sure, I'd known her for a while, but I couldn't get her to break out of her shell as much as to get a good conversation out of her. Well, I supposed it could have been a blessing. Not being a particularly outspoken person myself, I would rather Sakaki been quiet than-

"KYON WHAT ARE YOU DOING FLIRTING WITH HER COME HERE NOW AND GET ICE CREAM"

I shook my head in annoyance as Sakaki smiled, a little embarrassed. Seeing this, I smiled back, looking downtrodden (I imagine) as I did so.

"You know…" I said, thoughtfully, "I bet you're glad you didn't join the SOS Brigade, huh?"

"Um…" Sakaki thought. "I didn't think people had a choice…"

I stopped and considered this. What an odd thought for me to have had…

"No, you've got that right. Unless, of course, you're a time traveller, ESPer or alien?"

Sakaki smiled softly, tilting her head.

"Well, I suppose that's a conversation for another time." She said, enigmatically. I didn't reply to this, simply pausing and considering what she had said. Surely it didn't mean…?

I just decided to chalk it up to Sakaki having an…alternative sense of humour. It was a bit of a cop-out, but hey, it was fine with me. I'd rather not have had another bizarre, sudden revelation while on vacation- it'd be like one of those soap operas where all the horrible twists suddenly come at the most inappropriate times. I was perfectly fine, as I've said already, with having a nice, relaxing (for the most part) vacation to round off the school year.

I ordered a strawberry-flavoured ice cream in the end. After being served, I sat with Sakaki and Mugi on a sunbed to eat it, talking about the house with Mugi as I did. Apparently, it was her family's smallest summer home…and I shouldn't have to point out that since all of us could comfortably fit inside, you'd hardly call it "small." Apparently, the Light Music Club was going to have a practise session later on, and we were all invited to watch. In honesty, I had planned to relax out by the front of the house and watch the waves that night, but I told Mugi that I'd try and come to watch. She smiled a genuinely kind smile, and said that it would be nice if I did.

Of course, it was at this point that Haruhi made an appearance.

"Hey. Kyon." The voice came from behind me. I turned and saw the Princess standing right there, pout intact.

"We're going to the town nearby now. And you're all coming. So tell those two."

"Wait a minute." I said, already sensing that it was probably futile to object. "You can't just make decisions for others- besides, aren't you tired from the train ride? Why don't we just relax or some-"

"BORING! I don't want to relax, Kyon! We're on VACATION!" She whined, as Haruhi does, "We need to have FUN! Dammit, what if there are like, sea monsters washed up here or something? DO YOU CALLYOURSELF A BRIGADE MEMBER OR WHAT?"

I groaned, the slow sound of someone slipping into utmost despair. It seemed that, no matter what I called myself, I was still going to go on this trip. Sakaki simply watched, a little bemused, and Mugi tried to interject-

"Um, if Kyon doesn't want to go, I can go in his place…I know the owners of the pottery shop in Kurouzu-cho, anyway…" Mugi explained, her smile never leaving her face, "Mr Goshima worked on the sculptures in the summer home, and my father is one of his friends. I haven't seen his daughter, Kirie, in a while…"

This name, "Kirie," rang a bell, but I wasn't sure where from…was she an old friend? Had I been here before? I didn't know. Haruhi was staring at Mugi, a mixture of curiosity and boredom…most likely boredom. The poor girl seemed to realise this, and panicked to speed up her speech.

"U-um, so yes, I would like very much to come along." She finished. Haruhi closed her eyes and folded her arms, as if in thought.

"Mmhm. Well, that's good. I'm glad you're enthusiastic about it." She didn't seem glad. More uninterested, really. "Well, if we're going to go we have to go NOW! Come on, Kyon! Your Brigade Leader orders you to go! NOW! MOVE!"

"Okay, okay, just let me put on a shirt at le-"

"NOW!"

Haruhi stomped off across the sand, seemingly not bothered about walking around a pretty respectable town in nothing but a swimsuit. Mugi stood up, touching me on the shoulder as she did.

"Don't worry. Just go and get ready, I'm sure it'll be fine." She said. Her reassurance was touching, if not incredibly naive. Well, she had plenty of time to get used to Haruhi over the vacation, though whether that was a good thing or not, I wasn't sure…

I stood up, deciding to resign myself to keeping Lady Haruhi happy and content, as usual…I asked Sakaki whether she wanted to go into town, and she nodded, before making her way back to the house to change into her clothes. I said I'd meet her at the entrance, and she nodded. It was good to have a normal sort of companion.

"Hey."

I jumped. Koizumi.

"Why do you keep sneaking up on me like that…" I said, pulling on a shirt that I'd thrown over the back of a chair.

"Heh, sorry." That grin, as usual. "I just thought I'd come and fill you in. Nagato and I have been talking."

"Haruhi." I said. It wasn't even a question.

"That's right. Maybe you've heard her talking about sea monsters."

As the conversation followed on its predictable trail, we reached the top of the beach and walked towards the edge of the hill overlooking the town. I could spot Haruhi, Izumi, Takino and the others running to the bottom, Haruhi obviously in front. For the brief moment I had to survey the town, I could see that it was a pretty kind of place, with a pond in the centre and smoke coming from the various chimneys dotted around- an old-fashioned town, just as I liked. I could only imagine what they'd think when they saw Haruhi…

I broke out of this romantic depiction in time to see Sakaki, Yomi, Mio and Kagami heading towards me, all in different states of annoyance.

"-can't even believe they'd be so stupid as to run down to a nice little village in bathing suits!" Kagami exclaimed, being the most irritated out of the four.

"I know, what will the elders think? They just don't use their heads at all." This was Yomi, who was probably the next in terms of annoyance.

"It's not like I expect anything else of them, though…" Mio mumbled, seeming more exhausted than anything. "Yui and Ritsu do this sort of stuff surprisingly often. I'm pretty sure they pulled open the window on the train and blew some old guy's hat right off…"

Sakaki, the least annoyed, said nothing. She was staring out over the village, as I had been. Koizumi and I greeted them and they us, however hurried they may have been.

"Ugh, I shouldn't feel like I want to rush after them as if they're my kids…" Yomi moaned, "But I really do…"

"I know exactly how you feel." Kagami agreed. "Well, I guess we can't waste much time, huh."

"Otherwise we'll look up and the whole town will have collapsed into the ground or something…" This was Mio. With this last remark, a horrible thought surged through my brain. I turned to Koizumi, who was deep in thought. As if he read my mind, he turned to me and nodded.

"We'd better get going." He said.

"…yeah." I agreed, the girls following suit like a kind of chorus. And with that, the six of us set off running down the hill, hoping to catch up with Haruhi and the others before something really, really bad happened to the town of Kurouzu-cho…sea monsters or not, the vacation at least promised to be exciting.

…after all, out of all the words that could be used to describe Haruhi, "boring" was not one of them.

Author's Note: And that's it. Finally, I've finished this fanfic- and probably a lot later than I could've done, due to concerns I had about the writing style, direction of story etc…but I'm glad I finished it, and I hope everyone reading it enjoyed it.

I have a lot of writing projects at the moment, as well as university starting up, but I do intend to write more fanfiction set in this "combined universe," so I will be doing so once I get some good ideas.

Once again, thanks for reading.