The Very Exciting Author's Note!
Cha-Cha: Hey hey hey! I know you guys missed us! Or, at least, I hope you did. ;) Anyway. Hi to those who are reading this the first time, and to those who are re-reading this… welcome back!
Mugi: This fanfic isn't good enough for someone to read through twice, Cha-Cha. You do realise that, right?
Cha-Cha: …Shut up.
Rikuto: I'm apologising in advance for any rubbish my master might come out with, she's pretty brain-dead because of the homework her mean teachers give her.
Cha-Cha: AM NOT!
Rikuto: Anyway… onto the reviews! *grabs a cue card*
Kyon-Is-Haruhi's-Slave00, chapter 4: Erm… thanks? XD
Drake Nolsa, chapter 4: I know Momoka's being pretty bitchy at this moment in time, but hopefully she'll grow up as a person in the future ^^ Hope you're enjoying the fic so far.
Brendan Rizzo, chapter 4: I guess she is a bit like Haruhi *laughs* Well, me and Mugi are best friends so we often argue over joint fanfic ideas XDDDDDD But we usually compromise before we actually get down to writing a chapter.
Mr Wang 330, chapter 4: Yeah, I'm really rubbish at action -_- I absolutely suck, so I have no idea why I let Mugi talk me into doing a war-story with her. Sigh… I'll have to leave all the action up to her. Anyway, thanks for the help with your OCs. I'm really really happy that you submitted them. I really hope that we can toss around more ideas in the future ^^
superstarultra, chapter 4: Don't worry. If Mugi doesn't do her share of writing, I'll spank her ;) Joking aside, I'm really glad that you like the Hotaru-Momoka combo. I like it too XD There'll be a lot friction ahead, rest assured.
Cha-Cha: Yes, thank you for that, Rikuto. You're such a good OC. Now, bake me a pie before this chapter is over. Okay?
Rikuto: Gotcha!
Cha-Cha: DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN HARUHI. IF I DID THIS WOULD BE A REAL THING AND EVERYONE WHO CREATED AN OC FOR SILENCE WOULD BE PRETTY FREAKNIG FAMOUS OVER THE INTERNET.
Mugi: Hey, you almost forgot about me! Am I not contributing to this chapter?
Cha-Cha: Oh! Almost forgot. Mugi's writing most of this chapter! TA-DA!
Mugi: Thank you ;)
Cha-Cha and Mugi: Thanks for reading, please review ad don't forget to add an OC to Silence via the forum if you're interested!
XXX
Silence
!
No. Please no, not today.
I gave a small whimper, which (hopefully) the others didn't hear, and stood up, terrified. Surely that noise couldn't be a good sign. Mr Koizumi stood up, a worried look on his face, while Miss Kazue trembled and grasped his hand.
"Ah, this isn't good. Why now, of all times?" Mr Koizumi's face told us that this was far less than convenient, which I'd kind of grasped already, but his expression confirmed my fears.
"Th-they're really here? They found us?"
I bit my lip; Miss Kazue's usually calm, serene expression had changed to one of hardship and distress. She sighed deeply and tied her dark hair back into twin buns, her eyes becoming focused and serious. Rikuto was tense, eyes flashing around as if he expected to be attacked at any moment. I didn't know where to place myself. The Koizumi family was strong, clever and powerful. And there I was, an add on, unable to do anything. Well. Hardly anything. I reached into my bag and grasped my twin pistols, loading them slowly and carefully. It didn't go unnoticed by Miss Kazue, who's eyes whipped over to me the moment the clicking sound of a loaded gun was produced. I tried to look confident and strong, trembling inside. This was it. Time to show everyone what Mikuru Asahina was made of!
"Okay."
Mr Koizumi stood in front of us all as the siren wailed earnestly, as if to remind us that our lives were now at stake.
"We're under attack, so we need to take all necessary operations. Rikuto, take Miss Asahina to HQ2 - find a way. Just don't let any aliens find it. Kazue, you come with me and help defend the HQ until all the time travellers have escaped. Miss Mori is in charge of that operation, she'll contact you once it's safe and we'll give over. You know we're no match for those aliens. We'll just hold them up. Okay, everyone know what they're doing?"
I nodded, unsure of whether he was addressing me or not, but Miss Kazue looked unsure.
"Itsuki, is this all necessary? I mean, Rikuto's just a boy! This is dangerous! Freeing the time travellers was one thing, but he could get seriously hurt! This isn't practise, it isn't training! The aliens aren't playing a game! This-"
I grasped her hand, surprising myself as well as her.
"Please don't worry," I assured her, pulling out my weapons and giving a tiny smile, "he wont be alone, I'll help in any way I can. I won't let any harm come to him."
Miss Kazue's lips trembled, before a tall man with a scar down his face (I'm guessing he's an ESPer), burst into the room, eyes darting around, then yelled, "Mr Koizumi, sir, we should leave, sir!"
"All right, thank you for notifying us, Joseph." The man ran off. Mr Koizumi shot a determined look towards Miss Kazue.
Miss Kazue looked down and nodded, then rushed forward and hugged Rikuto tightly. She quickly moved onto me then. She was warm and comforting in my arms, but I could feel her body shaking slightly as she squeezed me tightly.
"…I-I just don't want our family ripped apart again."
She smiled at me and waved, before running out of the room with Mr Koizumi. Rikuto and I simply stood there for a few seconds in stunned silence, before springing into action.
"Follow me, Mikuru!" Rikuto called, grabbing my hand.
I felt an odd aching in my heart and nodded.
"Mm!"
I held my pistols tightly and glanced around everywhere, prepared for a surprise ambush. ESPers and time travellers alike rushed past us, shouting things across the corridor, a select few pulling out weapons and preparing for a long, hardwearing battle against Humanoid Interfaces. I noticed we were heading over towards the girls dormitories and quickly voiced my concerns.
"Rikuto, where are we going?"
Rikuto was breathing heavily, hands balled into fists as he ran through the stubborn mob of allies. He didn't answer me, or maybe he hadn't heard me, but I didn't ask again.
We finally came to a halt in front of a pale pink door which, according to the sign, belonged to Hotaru. I held my breath and held my guns carefully, standing guard as Rikuto burst into the redhead's room, glancing around quickly.
"Is she there?"
Rikuto exited the room and shook his head, but choked out, "But her laptop and emergency bag are gone. She's probably escaped. Momoka too. I just wanted… to make sure."
I praised him inside for his dedication to his friends, but I was becoming seriously worried, sure that any time now, we were going to find ourselves in some life or death situation.
"Come on," I pulled on his arm, trying to get him to focus. "Lets get out of here. I'm sure the girls are safe. Now lets leave, please!"
I could hear the despair in my voice and hated it, shaking my head. I took a deep breath, but as soon as I did I regretted it.
"Do you smell… smoke?"
Rikuto looked confused, but then wrinkled his nose, his eyes flashing.
"Shit. Come on, Mikuru, let's-"
A terrible scream was heard echoing around the building, though it seemed to be coming from outside. Rikuto gritted his teeth and grabbed my wrist, pulling me along the corridor and down a set of crumbling stairs. He thrust open a cupboard and pushed me inside, his breathing ragged and uneven.
"M-Mikuru, just… just stay here okay? Until I come back. I- There's something I need to do. I wont be-"
"You're going to go out there?"
I shook my head, disbelieving, grabbing the hem of his shirt tightly.
"You can't! I promised Miss Kazue I'd protect you, and I can't if you just go running off in the midst of a war! You've done your job! Now let me do mine!"
He shook me off, glaring. I felt terrified at how scary his face was.
"Do you not understand, Mikuru? I-I have to go! My parents are out there! And no matter what, I have to be there to help them! They're my family!"
I swallowed the lump in my throat and croaked, "Don't go, Rikuto. Stay here. It's way too dangerous."
"MAKE ME!"
He shoved past me, hiding his eyes behind sandy hair, his face in a grimace.
"Wait, Rikuto!"
He'd already gone. I sat there, clutching my knees, praying this would come to an end soon and he'd come back. They were to young to deal with this. They were kids, no matter how mature they were about handling the situation. At the end of the day, they were still children, and no child should have to fight in a war.
Forget this. I couldn't stand being in this cupboard without Rikuto any longer.
"Rikuto!" I cried, bursting out of the cupboard. I glanced around wildly. He was no where to be found. I'd waited a moment too late.
I'd only been in this place for a couple of days, and I had no way of knowing where he was. Feeling tears pricking my eyes, I ran blindly back up the corridor, pushing through swarms of stubborn ESPers carrying guns.
"Stay away from the scene, miss!" one shouted.
"I need to get through!" I cried desperately. "Please just let me through!" I realised how ridiculous I looked - me, with my frilly little pastel-coloured dress, carrying twin pistols, with my baby face and my short stature - but I didn't care in the slightest right then. I just needed to get to Rikuto, before I let Miss Kazue down.
Once I'd pushed through the crowd, I ran down corridor after corridor. This place was like a maze, and people like me don't do well in mazes. Darn it, where was the exit?
Finally, I saw a familiar hallway. The kitchens! If my co-ordination was correct, down the hallway to the left would be-
"The exit!" I called, my voice coming out as a relieved sob.
I pushed open the doors to a scene of bright skies… the sound of people in pain rang in my ears.
"Look out the way!" I ducked just in time to see an alien being crushed against the wall beside me. I shrank away in fear, feeling my face drain of colour as their body slumped on the floor as they recreated their body-structure. The blood was enough to make any one faint away.
I scanned the battle before me. I saw a few faces I recognised… Mr Keiichi, whom we had first met on an island owned by the Agency, ducking behind a wall while firing his handgun at an unsuspecting alien (the results of which were vile)… Then, I saw a flash of shining green amidst the dark blood stains surrounding.
I stared, open-mouthed. Miss Kazue had just jumped in the air, firing from twin pistols as she did a double-flip in the air and landed on her feet again. In her trademark high heels, too.
Her glossy black hair was tied back in buns with little green ribbons, and she was wearing her favourite fuzzy pink sweater and her old worn-down jeans. She had this serious look on her face, eyes glinting dangerously.
In all my life, I had never seen Miss Kazue looking so fierce.
"Miss Kazue!" I called. She looked over in my direction, face flushed with the heat of the battle.
"Mikuru!" she gasped. "What are you doing here? You know it isn't safe here!" I felt tears fill my eyes, but I blinked them back, realising there were more important things at stake.
"Rikuto escaped and I'm sure he came here!" I cried, searching the scene for a glimpse of his face. "I'm so sorry, Miss Kazue, I know I let you down but right now-"
"Mikuru, that doesn't matter right now! We need to find him!" She also looked worried. "I'll get Itsuki. Oh, what if he's hurt? This is all too much!"
I bolted through the crowd, hoping to find either Mr Koizumi or Rikuto. I couldn't find anyone.
"Take this, you damn alien bastards!" I turned around, heart thumping. A flash of gold hair, shining. Everything seemed to go in slow motion at that moment.
"RIKUTO!"
He'd barely turned around before I jumped on him, grabbing his arm.
"Mikuru, what the-? How did you find me?" he demanded. "Hey, you have to let go!"
"No way!" I yelled, surprising myself at how fierce my voice became. "Rikuto, your mom's worried sick about you! We need to get inside, out of the danger! Please!" Suddenly, I felt that familiar sensation and squeezed my eyes shut tightly.
"Wha-?"
Oh, no. Why now?
We stumbled to the side and fell into… shrubbery!
"Whoa! Bushes?" Rikuto gazed about wildly. "Mikuru, what happened?" I blinked, shivering. It was oddly warm, considering it was only march. I looked around me. We were on a soft patch of grass. Surrounding us, teenagers roamed freely, chatting and laughing. I groaned inwardly.
"Oh, no," I wailed. He looked alarmed.
"What? What's wrong?" he asked, eyes wide. I slapped my forehead, feeling dumb.
"I… I'm sorry… M-My…" I hung my head. "… My TPDD was unconsciously activated when I grabbed your arm before."
"What!" he exploded. "But this is really bad, Mikuru! I mean, really bad! What are we going to do? Take us back, right now!" I shook my head.
"I would, but… We can't go back there! Not until it's over! Rikuto, we absolutely can't return while the battle's still going on! We can't!"
"Then what are we going to do?" he asked desperately. I looked up above us. A tall and familiar building towered over our heads.
"Well, this is kinda what you wanted, I guess."
"What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.
"You remember how you and Hotaru wanted to see what normal school-life was like?"
"What are you getting at?"
I gave him a tiny smile. "You're going to have to pretend to be a north high student today, Rikuto."
XXX
Cha-Cha: Ohhhhh, I'm really sorry this chapter is so short! D: I didn't mean for it to be!
Mugi: I'm pretty sick at the moment so Cha-Cha took over for be because she was tired of not updating. She thought you guys were going to ditch us if we were on hiatus for too long.
Cha-Cha: Did not!
Mugi: Did too!
Cha-Cha: Did not! Anyway, you should've finished off the chapter already! Now I've had to, and the update's been short.
Mugi: Well, I'm SORRY. Okay? I'm practically coughing up a cat here, and all you're worried about is whether or not the chapter's lengthy enough. Some friend.
Hotaru: OOOOOH, BURN!
Cha-Cha: Where'd you come from? You're not even in this chapter!
Rikuto: Knock it off, Hotaru. Let them work out their differences.
Cha-Cha: See, Mugi. That's how a good OC behaves.
Mugi: Damn you!
Cha-Cha: Anywayyyyy… Just saying, but THANK YOU to superstarultra, who promoted our fanfic in his awesome crackfic, You Got HaruhiRolled! :D We really appreciate it, as both friends and fellow fanfickers.
Rikuto: Just so we're clear, if you ever need OCs you can use me, Hotaru, Kazue and everyone else's OCs with their permission! That goes for everyone else too! If you ask, we'll be glad to lend OCs - with full credit, of course!
Mugi: Thanks for promoting us there, Rikuto.
Cha-Cha: Just because you're mad at me doesn't mean you have any right to be stingy with Rikuto.
Mugi: Whatever. Don't forget to review and add an OC to the forum to become a part of Silence!