WARNING: STUPIDLY LONG AUTHORS NOTE D8
The Very Exciting Authors' Note!
Cha-Cha: Back, guys! Sorry that it's taken so long for us to continue. But I've been planning out everything! So, we're going to meet old friends, new friends, enemies, and just plain annoying characters. Hilarity and mind-blowing awesomeness is ensured!
Now. Onto the reviewing corner.
Mr Wang 330, chapter 4: XDDDD Yesh! I absolutely love Asami, Takeo and Mirai's little sibling relationship. It was hilarious in HaruhiRolled! I hope in future they can meet more often :3 Anyway!
I'm glad that you liked Mikuru's POV. Not many people seem to write from Mikuru in a way that makes her seem more than what meets the eye… And I just realised. She should really be more confident, if she's the Big Asahina that Kyon's encountered numerous times. But maybe the war changed time, and moulded her back into the way she used to be. Or! Oh, wait. She's about thirty-forty now, so… uh. *Brain fizzled up and died*.
Okay, I promise to message you if I need any help writing action scenes. Also, I'm glad you like the little time-travelling plot device. I'm hoping it'll turn out better than it is in my head right now…
Drake Nolsa, chapter 4: I'm so glad to hear that! It's such a relief to know that Silence fans are sticking with us ^_^ And I can't wait to write about North High. It'll be so much fun~!
Yowaki, chapter 4: Yesh! I sure hope you like this next instalment, because it'll be quite fun to write about Rikuto and (young) Itsuki's relationship.
Brendan Rizzo, chapter 4: Well, I never intended to create a reason for them to be unable to go back (by Mikuru saying "We can't go back!" I was more thinking that if they returned in the middle of the battle they'd be shot dead before they had a chance to take cover). But maybe there is! I'm not sure. I'm kinda mad at myself because Mikuru didn't do all that much that chapter, but she is kind of powerless in this war, especially as the time-travellers have been kept as prisoners for so long. Itsuki and Kazue will probably ground both Rikuto and Mikuru when they get back xD.
Superstarultra, chapter 4: Nah, don't worry about it. The fact that you read and reviewed at all is good enough for me! I also can't wait to write about time-travel. It should be different for him to get involved with his parents. I wonder if Kazue's going to try anything with him *sweat drops*. And no, there was no reference, it was pure luck and coincidence! XDDDD
AND WOW! The Layman has reviewed every chapter, one after the other! That makes me uber happy! Thank you so much! In answer to all your reviews:
I'm glad that you're so caught up in what's going on! As for how long they're going to stay in the past, I'm just not sure yet! I have a basic idea; probably about a day. But the story leads where the story leads. Like, for example, Kazue wasn't created until the last few edits of the prologue, when I decided that single dad Koizumi would be interesting, but it'd be more interesting if he had a snuggly wife to cuddle up with. That kinda thing.
Mugi: Cha-Cha, you've taken up most of the authors note! That's so heartless! How could you?
Rikuto: Here's that pie I promised you, Cha-Cha! *holds out apple pie*
Cha-Cha: LOVE TEH APPEL.
Mugi: Oh yes! We had three more OCs to join us! Welcome to the stage, Asami Asahina, Kazuma Tengu and Kaoru Inoue! Your one-minute auto-biography starts… now!
Asami: Hi, you might know me from HaruhiRolled! I was created by Mr Wang 330, I'm Mikuru's daughter… Not sure about my dad. I bet he wasn't a good one, seeing as he doesn't even have a name or much of a mention yet. I'm gonna take charge of this fic at some point, so you guys better watch your backs!
Cha-Cha: Yikes! Y-You can't do that! W-We're the creators! The fic rightfully belongs to us!
Mugi: Time's up! Next, please!
Kazuma: Hi! I was created by Ultimatewolf! Give me garlic and I'll love your forever 8D
Cha-Cha: OMG! We have so much in common! *lives for garlic bread* Hi-five, my man!
Kazuma: *answers the high-five with his face*
Mugi: Er, next!
Kaoru: Hi, I was created by The Layman. I was a samurai, but my teacher was killed off during a fierce battle.
Cha-Cha: Awww! *bursts into tears* I know the feeling, Kaoru!
Mugi: How?
Cha-Cha: M-M-My English teacher retired, and she was one of my favourite teachers. She had great dress-sense!
Mugi: *sweat drops* Anyway, please leave a review and submit an OC to become a part of Silence!
XXX
Silence
Oh my god.
I stared at my reflection, eyes wide. I was wearing a white shirt, teal blazer, maroon tie and some brown pants. The North High uniform felt so wrong on my body. I wasn't cut out for school life.
"You look great!" Mikuru said. I sighed, unsure. Mikuru sounded so enthusiastic, I couldn't help but wonder if she was secretly happy we'd returned to the past, even though we would be getting an earful from Mom and Dad when we got back.
"I don't know… I don't think I was built for school uniform," I said, nervously. She smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine. But you'll need a name." I stared at her blankly.
"What?"
"A name, an alias. You'll need one if you ever need to time-travel again." I looked out of the window at the pan of sky visible. Sky? Sora? Then I got it. Blue. Simple enough.
"Aoi. My name's going to be Aoi Ichidome." A look of sudden realisation dawned on her face for a moment, but then she giggled.
"Sounds great! Suits your handsome face." I scratched my head sheepishly.
"So what do I do now?" I asked. She pointed to the classroom nearest me. Class 2-7.
"After homeroom, join the class and sit at the desk by the door. That's the only seat you can sit in. The desk nearest the door. After school, meet me at North High again at 6, okay?"
As I was about to protest, kids slowly began milling out of their classrooms and she pushed me into Classroom 2-7.
"One last thing!" I turned around. She was waving. "Don't do anything which could cause trouble in the future!"
"You think I don't know tha-!" Someone elbowed me into the classroom. In defeat, I dropped my bag down on my desk.
I sat down by the door anxiously, drumming my fingers on the desk. While I was waiting for the classes to start I stared around the room.
There was a large chalkboard at the front of the classroom. There was one like this at the base. Dad sometimes used it to map out battle plans, and that kind of things. And there were loads of desks too. Quite a big class. And tons of textbooks on shelves in the corner of the room. Huh. I guess I'd be failing school. I can barely read, so you know.
"I see." I looked up, startled. Someone strikingly familiar was smiling at me.
"Huh?"
"The transfer student. I believe you are the new transfer student? Well, we were told you were transferring in tomorrow." I began to sweat nervously.
"U-Um, no. I'm… well, I, uh… I changed classes."
"Oh, I see. Well, it's nice you meet you. Your name?"
"Koi- er, I mean, Ichidome. Aoi Ichidome." He smiled. I stared. My dad, Itsuki Koizumi, an 18 year old high school student, smiling at me with that carefree expression of his.
"I sit in the desk behind. I hope we can get along and be good fellow classmates." Without saying another word, he sat down at the desk behind and started setting out his things.
"E-Er…" I racked my brains for a question that normal high schoolers asked each other in any of Hotaru's mangas I borrowed when I had time to kill. "W-Well… Wh-Who's your girl?" He blinked.
"My… girl?"
"Y-Your girlfriend," I said hurriedly, face flooding with red. "I… I mean, do you have a girlfriend or anything?"
"Oh, I see. Yes, I do have a girlfriend. She's from Kouyouen Academy. Her name is Kazue Matsuda." Mom!
"A-Ah… I see." I felt my heartbeat quicken. They knew each other this far back? "Er… that's great. What's she like?"
"What's she like?" Dad stroked his chin. "Hmm… She's charming." He cracked a smile. "She's not the most normal of girls out there. Unique would be the most appropriate word."
"U-Uh, how come?" I asked. Hearing about my mom from this kind of perspective definitely wasn't the usual way I heard stories of their youth.
"Well… she's quite eccentric. Very energetic, light-hearted, cheerful. Just an all-round interesting person. She's beautiful too." He smiled. "You should come meet me and a few friends tonight."
"Um… Sure!" At that moment, our homeroom teacher entered the room and the room quietened down considerably. He didn't notice my presence, and I was glad. I didn't want to create any trouble by inserting myself into this time plane at random.
XXX
The bell's shrill ring was drowned out by my grumbling stomach, begging for food. I was starving. It was understandable - I hadn't slept or eaten in twelve hours and trying to write English when you can't even write Japanese just makes the day seem longer. Desperate to eat something, I dashed out of the room as the lesson ended to try find a vending machine or something.
It was only a while later I realised I actually had no money on me anyway.
I held my growling stomach and dropped my head face-first on the tabletop. It was nice out in the courtyard, feeling the cool air on my skin, but it wasn't enough to disguise my hunger. I wish I'd stayed with Dad and stolen some of his bento.
"Are you okay? Do you need to see the nurse?"
I perked up at that voice and blinked. The girl looked vaguely concerned and strikingly beautiful, pushing tiny glasses up on her face. She seemed to be thinking about something else and probably didn't care about the answer I was about to give, but I gave one anyway.
"No, I'm not ill. Just really, really hungry. I forgot my money."
The girl rolled her eyes.
"Of course you did. Here, have some of my bento. My mom is an amazing cook and taught me everything I know. But in return, you'll have to tell me what the hell you're doing here."
I blinked and pouted, but my stomach spoke for me, and before I could stop myself, I was chowing down on perfectly made egg rolls and telling this girl everything I knew.
"I will personally kill Mikuru! She knows she's not supposed to come back here anymore! It's way too risky-!"
I swallowed a mouthful of spring roll and sighed.
"Asami-"
"That's Asahina to you, Rikuto! You need to show me some damn respect! I've got enough to do already without you screwing things up! You're not supposed to be here either! Oh, I will kill Mikuru!"
I shrugged and started on the pickled vegetables. Asami and I had been friends (and I use that term in the loosest aspect) since we were very small - we'd grown up together. She was Mikuru's daughter, but when Mikuru had disappeared, Mom had instantly taken Asami under her wing. Of course, there was a four year age gap, and Asami was nineteen by now, so she'd always thought herself better than me. Even now, she was at the top of her game, with a rank level to (or maybe even higher than) Dad's and had hundreds of men at her control.
…At least I didn't throw up on stage in middle school.
I'd long given up on caring about Asami's opinion; I never seemed to do anything right in her eyes. She refused to acknowledge the fact we'd once played hide and seek in the garden and instead chose to enforce the fact that she was older than me, better looking than me, more intelligent than me, a higher rank than me…
She was gorgeous, I have to admit, with milky skin and perfectly trimmed auburn hair barely touching her shoulders, cut with scarily perfect precision. No need to say, she was a perfectionist.
Her beauty didn't faze me anymore. Her cute exterior had no effect on me anymore. I know she's not as perfect as she lets on.
"I really don't know what I'm going to do with you, Rikuto! You're not a time-traveller, you-"
"You think I don't know how risky this is?" I stared at Asami and put down my chopsticks, "You really are thick. I'm not a child! I know about the do's and don'ts of time travel!"
"Hey!" Asami was fuming, "Don't talk to me like that! You are in so much trouble when we get home. I have business to do here, but as soon as I'm finished, we're going home. Oh, you are so dead!"
She seemed to marvel at my misfortune. I simply shrugged and couldn't care less. Asami my have power, but she certainly didn't have my undying respect.
"Anyway, Asami… did you hear about the ambush?" she nodded.
"Yes. Congratulations on freeing the time-travellers. My thanks is on my mother's behalf, and my mother's behalf only." I cracked a smile at that comment.
"But Asami, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about right now! The aliens attacked us earlier today. Well, at about sevenish. Anyway, Asami, you've got to go back to your HQ so that everyone can get through the tunnel. Did you forget that there's a lock on the door?"
"Of course I didn't forget! How could I, Asami Asahina, the head of HQ 3? And, an attack? On HQ 2? This is the worst thing that could happen! I'm here for a reason, you know, and I can't keep nipping back to open the door. Get Hotaru to open it. I mean, she's an alien, she can do that stuff, right?"
"Well, yeah, I would, but I'm here. Or did that slip your mind?"
"Don't be so disrespectful!" Asami snapped, face burning. She gets flustered when things don't go her way. "I'll find a way to get back, or contact someone to do that job for me. But for now, eat up your lunch and don't ask any more questions!"
XXX
The day had come to a close nicely, without too much drama about "transferring classes" and whatnot. Fortunately, we had a supply for maths, which was the last lesson of the day, so it saved confusion, as, naturally, she wouldn't know a single face in the class.
Asami was still frowning at me when I left the lunch table as the bell rang, but I pretended not to notice her. I wish she'd just realise already that she can't control me just because of the power and control she has.
"Come with me." I followed Dad outside, where there were people milling about everywhere. I spied the bush me and Mikuru had fallen into and glared at it, as if it was its fault. Which then made me wonder, where had Mikuru wandered off to? It's not like she was young enough to masquerade as a student, or anything. Maybe Asami had finally gotten a hold of her. Speaking of which, just what in the heck was Asami doing here, anyway? Honestly, if she was getting mad because we were in the past, what made her think it was okay for her to be here? I mean, we were the ones in the middle of the war here.
"Where are we going, anyway?" I asked. Dad turned around.
"We're going to meet up with Kazue and a few other of my friends," he grinned. I stared. I did look just like Dad did. No wonder Mikuru got confused when we first met.
He led me into town, where a coffee shop was waiting for us. Dad pushed open the front door and led me past bustling school kids over to a table, where I recognised a strangely familiar face. Mikuru was sat opposite, smiling timidly at Dad's entrance.
"Mr Koizumi…" She trailed off as she stared over his shoulder at me. "…Um…"
"Itsuki~!" I blinked. She threw her arms round Dad, a blissful look on her face. Then she broke apart from him and grinned at me, eyes bright and twinkling. There stood my mom, her inky hair tied back into two wild braids with green ribbon.
"This is my girlfriend, Aoi. Kazue Matsuda."
"Hiya!" she gabbled, shaking my hand quickly. "Call me Kazue! It's nice to meet any of my guy's friends! If you have a phone, give it me and I'll tap in my number!" She spied one sticking out of my make-do schoolbag and grabbed it.
Now I could see why Dad described her as "eccentric" and "unique". He grinned a little awkwardly and then motioned towards the rest of the group sat down.
"This is Mikuru Asahina," he said, motioning to Mikuru. She smiled and waved a little shyly.
"H-Hi," she giggled. I waved back.
"This is Kyon," he continued. A guy with dark hair and a bored-out-of-his-mind expression glared at Dad.
"I have a name, you know, feel free to use it any time," he said sarcastically. "Hey."
"This is Yuki Nagato." I held my breath. A great alien, some people had said about her. So great, in fact, Hotaru had been given similarities to her when being created. A beautiful girl with a short, slightly scruffy mop of hair and an expressionless face looked up from the book she was reading, stared at me with glassy eyes and then looked down.
"… I see." she said, without much expression in her voice. I tried not to be disappointed by her lack of friendliness. "Kyon" looked over, seemingly alarmed, and mumbled something to her I couldn't quite catch.
"And this is the leader of our group, Haruhi Suzumiya," Dad finished, smiling in her direction. My throat clenched and suddenly I couldn't speak, or breathe. This was Haruhi Suzumiya, the girl who had the godly powers, the reason that I was an ESPer, the reason this whole war happened.
And she looked completely ordinary too. Beautiful, I'll admit to that. Beautiful creamy skin, shining eyes, and beautiful dark hair adorned with a yellow headband and ribbons. I couldn't believe it was this girl that had done so much to our lives.
"Hi!" she grinned. "My name's Haruhi Suzumiya, I'm the chief of the SOS Brigade. If you're interested in joining, you should! I mean, with the exception of Kazue, no one new has joined, which stinks, because now we only have six members. Six members isn't enough to keep a club going without the Student Council Bastard on our cases like we're smuggling heroin out of the country or something!" she stopped her rant and sucked some soda from a straw. "Anyway, what's your name? And sit down, while you're at it."
I took a seat, still stunned.
"M-My name's Aoi Ichidome. But you can just call me Aoi."
"Right! Mysterious name! Have you ever met an alien?"
You'd be surprised.
"Hmm… Not that I can think of." I feigned deep thought, which only made her more excited.
"Hey, I like you! You seem to contribute way more than Kyon. If you join the SOS Brigade, maybe you can become a Medium or something!" I thought of Dango and tried hard not to laugh.
"Anyway, what'd you like to drink?" "Kyon" asked wearily. "I'm probably paying for them, anyway."
"Er, black coffee please," I said, avoiding eye contact. He nodded and held up a hand for a waitress.
"Hey, Maehara!" A brunette with scruffy pigtails and dark eyes came over. She was in a waitress uniform. "One black coffee, please."
"Coming right up," she giggled, disappearing into the kitchens. Wow. She was pretty.
"That's Mizuki Okajima. She was part of North High's light music club, ENOZ, back when we were freshmen, so she talks to us pretty often when we order from here because Haruhi and Nagato filled in for them when two of the members were unable to play," Kyon explained. I nodded, wondering how much of that information my brain had actually soaked up.
"What's the time?" I asked. Dad looked at his watch.
"It's quarter to six," he said. Crap!
"Dammit… I gotta go," I said quickly. They blinked.
"Uh… okay," Dad said, looking slightly hurt. "I guess we'll see you around then, Aoi." I nodded.
I was just about to leave when Mom called out, "Wait!"
I turned around to see she was holding out my cell phone with a sheepish look on her face.
"Here's your cell back. Call me some time, okay?" she said, smiling. I smiled back and took it gratefully, squeezing it tightly to stop myself from crying.
"Thanks, Kazue." I waved to them, catching Mikuru's eye. She was waving, and looked slightly sad-eyed.
I then turned around and left hurriedly, towards the school once again, my eyes blurry. I finally stopped at the gates, panting, crouching down, with a tearing stitch in my side.
I reached for my phone. I had to call Mom. I had to call them. I had to tell them I wasn't coming back. I fumbled around, finding her number in my phone book, punching the call button, holding it to my ear.
We're sorry, this person isn't available right now…
It felt like someone had shot me down. Mom and Dad and Mikuru and the other three were probably sat in that booth, laughing, chatting, oblivious to the fact that I'd be here one day and gone the next. Oblivious that I was trying to call them, to tell them I was leaving and how I'd miss them, and they weren't even thinking about me enough to just turn on a cell phone.
My heart ached at that thought. Mom and Dad didn't care about me in the past, and they didn't even know where I was in the future.
I sighed, wrapping my arms round my knees, shivering. It was starting to get dark.
"Riku- I mean, Aoi!" I looked up. Mikuru was running towards me, her face flushed. She bent over once she reached me, gasping.
"I'm sorry… I didn't… come sooner…" she panted.
"I-It's okay," I said, rubbing my eyes to erase any evidence I had been close to tears while she was catching her breath. Once she caught her breath finally she smiled weakly.
"Come on. It's time to go back." As she held my hands I felt that horrible lurching feeling as we were whisked away by the powers of the TPDD and were dropped back down on the streets in town.
As we fell to the ground I staggered and tripped over, falling forward on my stomach. I groaned and lay still for a second, winded. The next, I sat up.
I looked around wildly. I'd only been running down these streets a few minutes ago. Only then, of course, they were filled with happy people.
"The shop!" I scrambled to my feet and ran ahead, past the houses and stores, searching for that one door, that one door with the school kids swarming inside and those warm, friendly people sat at the booth in the corner…
"Rikuto!" Mikuru yelled desperately, running after me.
My feet came to a halt. I stared at the coffee shop - or at least, what it used to be. The windows were smashed in. It was dark and empty. There wasn't a cheerful face in between the dusty and torn booths.
What I loved about that place, in the short time I stayed in there… I leaned against the door, shoulders shaking.
"Rikuto…!" Mikuru watched me, with that same sad-eyed look she'd given me as a high school student only ten minutes ago. "Rikuto…" this time her tone was softer, sadder.
"… This war's ruined everything, Mikuru," I said, struggling to keep from crying. "In the coffee shop, I had so much fun then… I wish I had had the opportunity to take the path you did, Mikuru. A place where everyone watched from afar, timid to take action but still living a peaceful life, where war was such a small, meaningless word in the back of your mind…"
She sat down next to me, hugging her knees, resting her chin on her hands.
"Rikuto…"
"This is the first time I've cried since what happened to Mr Arakawa," I mumbled, putting on my baseball cap to hide my face. "I was sitting on the sidewalk like this, too."
"But Hotaru was with you?" Mikuru said softly. I nodded.
"You're nothing like Hotaru was, Mikuru," I whispered. "…Hotaru didn't stick around long enough to sit down, before she pulled me to my feet and ran down to the sweet shop." I sank down further, until my face was actually resting on my knees. "Maybe that was for the best."
XXX
Cha-Cha: Gah, talk about a depressing chapter! O.O We never even planned half of that, either!
I actually wrote the depressing bit while listening to Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg for the forty-eighth time in a row. It's an amazingly sad and sweet song. YOUTUBE IT! YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!
Rikuto: *blows nose in baseball cap* That scene you wrote about me! It! Was! So! Beautiful!
Cha-Cha: D'aww, really? Thanks ^/ / / / / /^
Ah well. Next chapter things will focus on the ambush again, and maybe possibly how things are going for Momoka again? Or Hotaru?
I know! YOU guys pick. Because right now, I could see the story going anywhere 8D So review to tell me who you think the next chapter should focus on. Even the characters that already existed, like Koizumi!
Also, at some point, if you guys want to, you can have a go at writing a chapter and PMing it me over Fanfiction and I can make a few edits before uploading it? Because at this point, the story can go anywhere, so anything can happen! (within boundaries, of course. Like, no pots of gold raining from the sky!)
Hotaru: VOTE FOR HOTARU, BITCHES!
Cha-Cha: Hotaru, no!
Cha-Cha and Rikuto: Okay, review, favourite, author alert, story alert AND add an OC for Silence and we'll send you a pedobear absolutely free!