Disclaimer: I do not own Haruhi Suzumiya and/or Inception or anything related.
A/N: I know nothing much happened in the last chapter… but it will have its purpose. Soon. XD
And yeah, sorry for not updating much… School's been kinda rough. I hate writing for academic purposes. Ugh. I dislike being cold and formal…
WARNING: If you have not seen Inception yet, then go see it before you read this. It goes without saying that there will be MAJOR SPOILERS for the movie.
Also, for this fic, I assume that Cobb got back to reality. Screw whether the top falls in the end, I've got fanfiction.
Title: The Inception of Haruhi Suzumiya
Synopsis:
Dom Cobb thought that his life as an extractor was over. He didn't realize that while he was no longer an extractor, he would be asked to become an inceptor. And his first target after the Fischer job? A girl named Haruhi Suzumiya.
Chapter 6: The Warning
Kyon stood by his room's window. The moon shone brightly upon his face as he looked towards the sky. He looked down at his hand, clenching and unclenching it.
He tried to sleep that night, but he couldn't. It was as if something was bothering him.
Maybe it was the prospect of flying to America that weekend…
But come on, it was just a flight. Kyon thought. If anything, this would turn out like that time when we went to Keiichi-san's island.
Tapping his feet lightly on the bedroom floor, Kyon gave out a sigh.
"Maybe that's why I feel like this."
He looked outside the window, peering over the front lawn, and into the street.
Something caught his eye.
Beside the nearest lamp post, a figure stood, as if waiting for him to acknowledge its presence.
Kyon's eyes widened as he recognized the figure.
Likewise, Cobb found himself staring outside the hotel window. He was twirling a glass of half-drunk champagne in his right hand, staring at the liquid pensively.
Eames and Arthur were busy discussing the plan of action to the team members. Cobb didn't feel like listening. The Extractor, hated to admit it, but the more he hears the plan, the more he gets nervous.
"It seems that you are a bit… disoriented, Mr. Cobb."
He turned. It was Saito.
"Me?" he gave a smirk. "The most skilled Extractor? Disoriented?"
"I understand if you don't want to admit to me that you are… worried that this job won't go well."
"We just need to stick to the plan."
"Haruhi Suzumiya is no ordinary target. She has a high tendency to reject any idea we plant into her mind."
"If we get out unscathed, we have no assurance that the idea will stick into her mind. She might even reject it all together."
"Which is why I got you for the job." Saito said. "Only you can find a way to stick that idea in her mind. Perhaps you should join the discussion. It would be more prudent that way."
Cobb drank the rest of the champagne and followed the Tourist back into the discussion room.
Careful to not wake his parents and sister up, Kyon made his way outside the house and met with the person standing beside the lamp post outside his house.
As he approached the figure, he heard it say:
"Kyon-kun. It's been a long time."
Lovely long orange-colored hair flowing in an elegant curl, a vivacious body in a white dress shirt with a matching grey A-line skirt to complete the whole office lady look, standing in front of Kyon's house was none other than the Older Mikuru Asahina.
"Asahina-san, what are you doing here?" Kyon said, halfway between nostalgia and surprise.
"I'm here to give you this." She said as she reached out her right hand towards him.
Kyon took the small object from her hand.
It was a metal jack.
"Uh… you want me to play jackstone?"
She giggled softly.
"No. But that will serve its purpose one day. Keep it."
"What is it for?"
"Kyon-kun, I cannot give you the specifics, but an event will take place soon. It will be unavoidable."
"So on the first layer, we will be more focused on separating Haruhi Suzumiya from her friends." Eames explained, scribbling on the whiteboard. "Why not actually separate her before we even put her under?"
"Because if anything, the agents sent to observe and/or protect Haruhi Suzumiya will act, and we'll be in terrible shape if they do." Arthur responded.
"Very good, Arthur! Ten points to Gryffindor!" The British Forger exclaimed. "Not only that, but we could also note any significant relationships she may have with the members of the SOS Brigade."
"So, on the second layer, we'll use the member that Haruhi trusts the most, right?" Ariadne asked.
"Not exactly." Cobb replied. "We won't be putting that member under the second layer. We'll have Eames impersonate that member, and gain Haruhi's trust so that in the third layer…"
"Haruhi would trust us enough to open the safe and generate the idea herself." Saito finished.
"Normally, the idea we want to plant into her mind is a simple one, and can even be done without performing an Inception on any other normal person… however, in Ms. Suzumiya's case, telling her outright will only make her reject the idea, and her mind would generate the opposite of the idea." Cobb explained.
"She's full of paradoxes and contradictions." Arthur explained. "Add to that the fact that she's pretty much the Prime Dreamer. The stakes are really high. Any mistake we make, and it affects reality itself."
"So we cannot, in any way, afford to make her, or anyone, fall into Limbo." Said Cobb.
Ariadne's eyes shone, meeting Cobb's icy-blue ones.
Kyon went back into bed after talking with the Older Asahina. He touched the small metal jack, twirling it around his fingers.
He's in for a long weekend. He just knows it.
"Yusef."
"What can I do for you, Ariadne?"
The young girl bit her lip.
"About the sedative we're gonna use this time… You said it was a tad bit stronger than the last one we used before."
"Ah, that's because according to Arthur's research, one of the SOS Brigade wasn't, strictly speaking, human."
"I-I don't understand…"
"Her chemical composition is different from a human's. Yet it's not that different. Her body seems to be organic, for the most part, but somehow, it seems as if it was also robotic."
"Kinda like an android or something?"
"Yeah. Like a bionic woman." Yusef puffed up, proudly. "But my new Protosomnacin work on her! Don't you worry about that!"
At this, Ariadne was worried.
"What about the effects on us? We're no androids, and the chemical would be shared among all of us, right?"
"Well, we've redesigned the PAS-IV to regulate the somnacin dose on us regular humans." Yusef said. "Everything will be fine."
Yusef patted Ariadne's back.
"If you are worrying about Cobb, or anyone else getting stuck in Limbo because of the drug, you need not to. We made it through last time, right?"
"Yeah… but barely." She whispered.
As Ariadne walked away, bidding goodnight to the Chemist, Yusef sighed.
"Actually, I'm afraid that at least one of us might not wake up from it." He whispered.
The next day at North High the day proceeded as normal. Mr. Cobb was still on second period, Mr. Mikido on fifth, algebra was still a pain, and the girls still greeted Mr. Cobb with a smile as he walked down the hallways.
Haruhi took the latter as an annoyance, and remained disgruntled earlier during Mr. Cobb's class. He even tried to get her to participate, by asking her to read a passage from Romeo and Juliet, but Haruhi would have none of it. This made Cobb wonder whether or not he did something wrong to annoy her.
After class, he approached Kyon, who he met on the way to the old shack.
"Hey Kyon, was it?" Mr. Cobb said jovially to the boy, one would not think of him as a teacher.
Kyon turned to face the new English teacher.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Fire away, sir."
"I was wondering why Haruhi's acting that way… In class earlier. Did I say something wrong?" The American smiled feebly.
Kyon recalled having the same conversation with Haruhi earlier on, during lunch time.
"Hey Haruhi."
The girl seated beside the window had her left hand on her chin, apparently looking bored and annoyed.
"What?", she replied sharply, without looking at the boy seated in front of her.
"What's with your attitude towards Mr. Cobb during second period?"
"I don't find Romeo and Juliet interesting. That's all." Was her reply.
"That's still no way to talk to him. He's gone out of his way to provide the Brigade with something to do, and yet…"
"…I don't like the way the other students treat him! He's our Faculty Adviser!"
Kyon was shocked with this answer. Mainly because Haruhi actually blurted out how she felt.
Pinch me, I must be dreaming, Kyon thought.
This was Haruhi Suzumiya we're talking about, and for her to actually say how she feels, was saying something.
Moreover, Haruhi spoke as if she was a lioness protecting her cub.
Or should I say, a Haruhi protecting her Cobb. Kyon smirked at the pun.
The fact remains that Kyon can see that Haruhi is starting to be protective (if not overprotective) of her Brigade Members, and this was a great, if not significant change in the girl.
Either that, Kyon thought, or Haruhi was being her usual selfish self again.
After talking it out with Mr. Cobb, who got dragged away by Okabe-sensei to the Faculty Meeting before he could follow, Kyon eventually reached the clubroom, only to find the only occupant, Yuki Nagato, reading yet another book in the corner.
Kyon looked at the cover. It was a novel in English, written by a certain Lisa McMann.
"Is that book interesting?" he asked.
"Useful." She replied.
Without warning, Yuki Nagato closed the book, and walked towards Kyon.
"Was Zhou dreaming that he was a butterfly? Or was it the butterfly dreaming that it was Zhou?" Nagato stated out monotonously.
Kyon looked at the alien in front of him. Her eyes unblinking, staring into his own. Her hand was holding the book in front of him. As if she wanted him to take it.
"I don't understand, Nagato." Kyon gulped.
"Remember it."
"Hey Cobb. How'd the second day go?"
Arthur was seated comfortably on the couch of the hotel lobby, with him is Eames, who was scratching his scruffy chin, apparently lost in thought, and Yusef, who was fidgeting with what Cobb recognized, was Ariadne's iPod.
"Good news." Cobb replied, "Haruhi Suzumiya was disgruntled in my class."
"Cobb, darling, I love your sarcasm." Eames chimed.
"No, I wasn't being sarcastic, Eames." Cobb said, sitting down on an empty chair opposite Yusef. "Apparently, the cause of her annoyance was that I was pretty popular and on good terms with the other students."
"Which means?" Yusef asked, taking out the left earphone.
"We've gained her trust. Haruhi Suzumiya has now counted me as a… valuable SOS Brigade member." Cobb smiled.
A/N: Whew! And that's it for now! Thanks to all you guys who added my humble story into your Faves List and your Alerts! Thankslots! And of course, a major major thank you to you guys who reviewed!
In the next chapter:
"This is freaking awesome!" Haruhi yelled. "We're on a private jet to the United States of America! I can't believe this! This is a dream come true!"
"Haruhi, will you keep quiet. It's embarrassing." Kyon said.
"Ah... There is no need to worry about that."
The SOS Brigade looked around. A Japanese man was standing beside Mr. Cobb.
"Good morning, young ones." He said. "I am Mr. Saito, and I welcome you to my humble plane."
"I believe you're no ordinary flight attendant." Koizumi winked at the young brunette. "Have we met before?"
"I'm sorry sir. I don't remember seeing you before today." She replied.
"Oh… I must have been mistaken… Pardon my insolence. Well, I'll have coffee for my drink please," Koizumi said. "Miss Ariadne."
"Cobb, I think they're onto us." Ariadne whispered, pinning Cobb against the wall of the small restroom cabin.
"Relax, Ariadne." Cobb said "And…. Could you let go of me? If anyone sees us in this position, they'd be more suspicious."