Okay, once again thanks for all your support. I've setup a forum on this site. Please feel free to comment there if that suits you. I'm pleased that Oruki and Naru are being well received.

This is my longest chapter yet, so onward!

Chapter 6

Have you ever had one of those dreams where either you do something horribly wrong or something terribly bad happens? And then for the rest of the dream you feel depressed or ashamed at what happened only to wake up later and realize it was never actually happened. Isn't that feeling the best feeling in the world?

I had one of those moments last night. I dreamt that I was out in the park with my cat Shamisen. We were walking around having a wonderful conversation (my cat was talking again) when a shovel suddenly appeared in my hand. For some reason, I started to dig up the ground and made a deep hole. I put my cat in the hole and started to bury him. After he was completely buried, I spent the rest of dream being sad that I buried the cat. It was bizarre…

Unfortunately, my moment of relief from my dream would come not in the comfort of my bed, but from the painful sensation of something hard hitting my butt repeatedly. I also felt something pulling on my collar. When I was startled out of sleep, I found that I was being dragged down the stairs. By a certain infamous girl no less.

Haruhi turned her head in surprise when she noticed I'd finally awoken. "It took you that long to wake up? What the hell is wrong with you?"

I should be asking you the same thing! Dragging me down the stairs like this…and my pants are starting to come off!

I fought Haruhi's grip while trying to pull my pants back up. It was really embarrassing, and my butt hurt really badly. She finally let go, but doing so had an unexpected consequence. I lost my balance and began to tumble down the stairs, taking Haruhi with me. She grabbed onto the railing just in to time to prevent her head from cracking on the step below, but she lost her grip soon afterward and tumbled down the stairs with me the rest of the way.

Luckily we only had a few steps to tumble down, but it still hurt like hell. I winced painfully for a moment before I regained my senses. It was then that I realized that I was right on top of Haruhi. We stared at each other awkwardly. I looked deeply into her eyes and felt myself becoming lost in them. I think I saw her blush as well. We were like this for about five or so seconds before a profound realization hit my head. We probably made a lot of noise falling down the stairs. Enough noise to wake up a certain someone's parents. If they walked out of their room to find myself and Haruhi in this provocative position…I'll stop right there. The pain was so great I could feel it even before it happened.

As I quickly got off of Haruhi, she was sure to berate me for falling on her. "Stupid, clumsy Kyon!"

"It was your fault for letting go."

Haruhi looked at me sourly as she got up. I had thought of helping her up, but changed my mind after she called me stupid and clumsy.

I then saw out of the corner of my eye that both of Haruhi's parents had exited the room, worried about the noise they'd heard.

"What's going on?" asked Oruki-san.

"Are you two okay?" asked Naru-san.

"We're fine. The idiot here fell down the stairs," said Haruhi.

As much as it irked me that I was the one being blamed for what happened, I played along knowing that it was better than telling them the truth. "Yep, clumsy me. Sorry if I woke you up."

"We're fine. You're not hurt are you?" asked Naru-san. She such a good person, it really make me want to forget that she's a weirdo, but the paper wards still hanging around the house serve as a constant reminder to know better.

"I'm fine. I've been through worse."

Like what happened last night…I'll never forget that in a million years. If I had been only a few seconds slower before getting up, that nightmare would have probably come ten fold this morning. It's hard to know sometimes if I'm lucky or unlucky.

The two older Suzumiyas made their way down the stairs and walked past me. I saw a nasty glared come from Oruki-san as he passed me and opened the front door to get the paper. He hates me…he really, really, really hates me…

It was then that Haruhi lifted my arm and took a sniff. "You stink Kyon. When was the last time you took a shower?"

Now that I think about it, probably Saturday before the party.

Haruhi's eyes widened. "Disgusting! Get upstairs now and get washed! If you hurry, you might still have time to eat and get dressed before we have to go!" She then proceeded to push me back up the stairs. The nerve of her pushing me back up the stairs after dragging me down them.

Haruhi showed me where the bathroom was and told me where the towels were kept before rushing back down stairs. Going through the bathroom was like looking into a window for the three of them. I noticed that there were three sets of razors, one obviously designed for a man, the other two designed for women. The one the belonged to Oruki-san was on of those nice three bladed razors that I heard worked pretty damn good. The other two were for women to shave their legs. One was pink, the other was yellow. I assumed the yellow one was Haruhi's. I'm surprised that Haruhi would actually bother. The thought of her shaving her supple legs though…never mind that thought.

As I started taking my shower, I noticed that there were also three different shampoos to choose from. One was a lavender shampoo, which I figured belonged to Naru-san. I saw an unscented shampoo that was obviously Oruki-san's. I then picked up what I assumed to be Haruhi's shampoo, which was apple scented. I decided to use that one to wash my hair. I liked how it smelled.

When I was done, I opened the medicine cabinet to see if they had any deodorant. I knew it was rude to use someone else's deodorant without permission, but I figured they'd never know. I picked the one that was obviously made for a guy and applied it. I grabbed a towel from the linen closet and wrapped it around me before heading into my room to change.

When I was done, I made my way to the kitchen to find that breakfast was finished. It was a typical western-styled breakfast consisting of eggs, toast, bacon and even pancakes, and it smelled great. I bowed towards Naru-san to thank her.

"Thank you so much for making breakfast, Naru-san."

"Oh you don't need to thank me. Haru-chan was the one who made breakfast this morning."

Surprised, I looked at Haruhi, who seemed somewhat embarrassed.

"I was just that breakfast sucked yesterday and…I just felt like it, okay?"

I smiled at her as I took my seat. "Thank you, Haruhi."

I saw a light blush as she tried to look away. "Just hurry up and finish. I still need to get ready before we leave."

I couldn't help but notice Oruki-san lower his newspaper slightly to glace at both Haruhi and then myself. He narrowed his eyes at me when he noticed the look on Haruhi's face.

Desperate to try and get on his better side, I asked him a favor. "Um…since I'm only staying here a month…I figured it'd be wise for me to look in the paper for place for me to stay. I was hoping you could lend me the paper when you were done with it…"

Oruki blinked for a second before a smirk appeared on his face. He then pulled out the classifieds from the paper and handed them to me. I thanked him, folded them up and placed them into my school bag. As the four of us enjoyed our breakfast, which was probably the best breakfast I'd had in a while, Oruki-san decided to make an announcement.

"Listen up you two. I want you both home as early as possible today from school. I don't want you two spending all day at your club. I have some things around the house for you to do."

When he said "you", I knew he was really referring to me. After all, that was my agreement with them for staying here. I didn't want to be a freeloader, but I'd be lying if I said that I looked forward to coming back after school.

After Haruhi shoveled down the last of her food, she got up and darted up to her room. By the time she had finally finished getting dressed, I was finishing the last of my meal.

"Hurry up, Kyon! We're going to be late!"

I stuffed the last bites into my mouth and got up to go. I bowed to both Oruki-san and Naru-san before I turned to leave.

"Bye, Haru-chan! Bye Kyon-kun!" said Naru-san as I began to leave…wait did she call me Kyon, too? Dammit! Thanks a lot Haruhi…

Haruhi and I moved as swiftly as possible towards school to avoid being late. We weren't quite running, but our pace was anything but relaxed. We ultimately arrived to class with about three minutes to spare. After we took our seats, I got my school stuff ready for class. After a minute, Haruhi grabbed my hair and pulled me towards her.

"Ow! What are you doing?"

"Checking to make sure you washed properly."

"In the middle of school? Couldn't you have done that earlier?"

Haruhi didn't answer until after I heard her sniff my hair. "Apple?"

"Oh yeah. I used that shampoo earlier. I like how it smelt."

After Haruhi released my hair, I turned towards her to see that she had a large smile on my face. I guess it was the shampoo she liked.

When lunch time came, I gathered with the dynamic duo for our usual lunch ritual. I had pulled out the paper I was given earlier and was looking through it. By the way, I forgot to bring a lunch again. Damn I'm an idiot…

"Where the hell is your head lately, man," asked Taniguchi. "I bet you forgot the magazine, too."

"Yep…"

"Well, I'm not sharing this time. You won't learn unless you suffer."

"Thanks, I appreciate it…"

"So what's with the newspaper?" asked Kunikida.

"I'm looking for an apartment to live in."

"Ah…things not working out between you and Suzumiya-san?" asked Taniguchi.

"It's all three of them. I found out that Haruhi's parents are from Bizarro World, too."

"I knew it! There's no way normal people could raise someone like Suzumiya-san. So tell me what are they like?"

"I'd rather not get into it…"

I was only able to ignore Taniguchi pestering for so long. Eventually, I got up and went back to my seat and continued to search the classifieds. About twenty minutes later I noticed a Styrofoam container suddenly plop onto my desk with some food. I looked up to see that Haruhi had gotten me something to eat while she was gone.

"I remembered that you'd forgotten to bring a lunch, so I got you this."

I gave her a humble smile. "What's with you doing all these favors for me? At this rate, I won't be able to pay you back except through indentured servitude." Now that I think about it, that wouldn't be too different from what usually happens already.

"Oh, don't worry. I have every intention of making you pay me back ten fold. I'll think of some way for you to pay me back."

"I can hardly wait…"

I then noticed Haruhi putting her hand on her chin in deep thought, a mischievous smile slowly emerging. Oh joy, I can feel my impending doom already…

I was able to finish eating before lunch period ended. The class period continued on without much more than the usual lectures, although I had to say that Haruhi's help yesterday made a lot of difference in allowing me to understand what was being talked about.

When classes were over, Haruhi and I made our way to the clubroom once again. I was sure to pull out the paper out on the way there, expecting to spend the time there continuing my search for apartments.

"Have you found anything yet?" asked Haruhi.

"Not yet."

Upon reaching the door, Haruhi opened it before I had since my hands were full with holding the paper, and I saw briefly the near nude form of Asahina-san. I quickly turned and apologized the moment I saw her. Normally, I would knock before I entered, but Haruhi wasn't held to the same standard and opened it without consideration.

After being allowed to enter, I took my usual seat and began searching the classifieds once again. I pulled out a pen so that I could circle any of the places that appeared promising. A couple minutes later, Koizumi entered the room and took his seat across from me. He was going to ask me to play another board game with me, but seeing as I was busy, he offered to play with Asahina-san instead, who happily agreed once she was done with brewing the tea.

I noticed Haruhi busily searching something on the computer. I secretly hoped it had nothing to do with the so called war we were supposedly having with the JREF. After about an hour Haruhi got up from the computer and went up to me.

"Find anything?"

"I managed to find three places that look hopeful. I probably won't have time to look at them until this weekend though."

"I'm coming with you when you go check them out."

I raised my eyebrow in Haruhi's direction. "Why do you want to do that?"

Haruhi then pointed her finger at my nose. "Because I expect certain standards for all Brigade members when it come to living quarters. I can't in good conscience allow anyone who considers themselves a member to live in sub-standard housing."

Whatever…although I get the feeling that you'll just complicate things.

Haruhi returned to the computer to do some more "research" which gave Koizumi an opportunity to whisper to me while he was trying to teach Asahina-san chess.

"So how are things at Suzumiya-san's house?"

I was reluctant to answer him. The memories of last night were best forgotten. "Well, I'm fairly sure weirdness is hereditary now."

Koizumi chuckled lightly. "Is that so?"

"Why do you think I'm trying so hard to find a place of my own?"

"It is true that Suzumiya-san's parents have their own ways of expressing themselves and that those behaviors maybe be unsettling to others, but the three of them do in fact share at least one quality."

"What? You mean besides weirdness?"

"They all are hardcore realists on the inside."

I looked at Koizumi like he had three eyes on his head. Realists? Right…realists that beat the crap out of helpless teenagers to boost their own ego, or attach paper wards to the walls in an attempt to haunt their house…or create strange clubs designed to look for aliens, time-travelers and espers.

"You can say that people have always had a disconnect between their beliefs and their behaviors. Have you heard of the term cognitive dissonance?"

"Yeah…" I bet he's going to explain it to me anyway.

"When a person performs a behavior that conflicts with their personal beliefs, it leads to feelings that are very uncomfortable. To keep these feelings at bay, the person has two options. They can either change their behaviors so they don't contradict their beliefs, or reshape their beliefs so that they rationalize their behavior."

"And how does this apply to Haruhi and her parents?"

"Well, it applies better to Suzumiya-san and her mother really. They want to find the extraordinary. Each tries their own approach to finding those things. But they don't really believe they exist. They rationalize this by telling themselves that they want to prove themselves wrong. To them, the world would be boring if they were right in the first place. Do you understand?"

"I guess…"

I then went back to searching the classifieds, trying to give the message that I was done listening to his speech. It seemed to have worked, as he then went to preach to Asahina-san about the history behind the game of chess…

I am now back at the Suzumiyas. I was standing on a ladder looking at some disturbing gunk inside the gutters of their home.

"What are you waiting for?! Start cleaning!"

That was Oruki. Apparently my first task was to clean the gutters of their house. A task I knew I was going to loath. Don't I get any gloves for this?

"Where the hell are your balls?! Just put your hand in there and clean it up! It's not going to kill you!"

I stared ominously at the blackish goo before plunging my hand into it. The sensation of it was quite disgusting to my fingers. I then picked up a bunch of it and flung it over the edge. An audible plop could be heard as I did this. I moved to the next chunk of crap and repeated the same thing.

"Faster! You're going too slow!"

I had half a mind to take a handful of this stuff and fling it onto his face, but I knew doing so would result in my brutal murder, so I refrained from doing so.

"If you don't hurry up, I'll pull the ladder from underneath you!"

Anyone who didn't know any better would probably think he was joking. I knew better. In my short time staying here, I knew there was at least one thing that was true about him. Oruki was always dead serious. Another wonderful trait that he passed down to his lovely daughter…

I cleaned the gutters as fast as I could, which was a task made more frustrating by both Oruki's constant berating and by the sun beating down and making me sweat. I was then given the task of mowing the lawn. Oruki went into his garage to grab the mower.

"We do happen to have a gas powered mower, but I thought that you could use the exercise, so I'll have you use this instead."

He then pulls out an old-fashioned push mower…one that hasn't been used in quite sometime. I could see an evil grin on his face as he pointed to the location he wanted me to start.

"Get mowing!"

It's official. Oruki is a sadist. Mowing the lawn is a task that is loathed by anyone who actually has a lawn, but the task was made ten times worse by the fact that this damn contraption probably hasn't been oiled and cared for in quite some time. The lawn wasn't terribly big, but the task was still taking an eternity to accomplish. Pushing the mower was incredibly difficult, and damn near impossible whenever I came across a thick patch of grass. I'd have to move the mower back and forth several times before I could get through it. The only good thing out of all of this was that Oruki finally went inside, assuring me he would be back in a little while to check my progress.

I was only about halfway done when I heard Haruhi yelling at me from her bedroom window.

"Kyon, I need you to do something for me!"

Great, what now? Can't she see that I'm busy?

"I need you to take out the garbage!"

"Why?" I asked as I wiped the sweat from my brow.

"No questions, dammit! After all I've done for you the last few days, the least I expect is complete obedience when told to do something! Or did you forget who got you something to eat earlier today?!"

"Alright, I'll do it." I said as I dropped the mower on the ground and went inside to take out the trash.

I marched right into the kitchen and went straight to the garbage can. I removed the bag filled with garbage and began to make my way towards the door when I was stopped by Oruki.

"What are you doing?"

I swallowed nervously, wondering if I had done something wrong.

"I'm just taking out the garbage."

"And who told you to do that?"

"Haruhi…"

I could him rolling his eyes as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Drop it."

I then put the bag on the floor before watching Oruki march up the stairs. It was only moments later that I heard yelling and arguing from upstairs. I could hear audible swearing as the too of them verbally squared off. For someone that grew up in a household that was relatively calm and relaxed, it was quite disturbing for me to hear such a nasty argument. After about a minute, the argument was over and I heard heavy foot steps make their way down stairs. I saw Haruhi quickly march towards the kitchen where she grabbed the bag from off the floor. She gave me a death glare as she picked it up and went outside to throw it out. What did I do? Don't use me as a personal servant to get yourself out of doing chores.

Oruki came down the stairs shortly afterwards and walked up to me.

"Just so you know, if you are supposed to anything around here, I will be the one to tell you. I don't know how Haruhi treats you when I'm not around, but in this household, I am the one in charge. I'm not going to let her get a free ride from doing her chores just because you're here. Got it?"

After nodding my head, I was told to go back and finish mowing the lawn. As I walked towards the door, Haruhi came back in and walked past me. She didn't even look at me while doing so. Great…

I had finally met someone that Haruhi couldn't boss around, but for some reason I couldn't enjoy the moment. I think it had something to do with the fact that Oruki was every bit as bossy as she was, and that even if Haruhi wasn't the one bossing me around, he would be. And of course I would listen. Oruki had quickly become a member of the top five scariest people I've ever met. I wouldn't dare disobey him.

Oh, and Haruhi is on that list, too. Can't wait to deal with her wrath later…

Eventually, I finished the exhaustive task of mowing the lawn, after having to spend several extra minutes going over spots that I missed that Oruki's keen eye picked up. After I was done, Oruki said that was all for the day and that I was excused. I slowly walked back into the house, having had more than my fill of chores for one day.

Naru-san approached me as I entered and handed me a glass of something to drink.

"I figured you'd be thirsty after working so hard today."

I thankfully took the glass and brought it to my lips. I had initially thought that it was iced tea or juice, but when I felt the chunkiness and the god-awful taste, I realized it was something else altogether. I struggled to swallow down the gulp I took, trying to be as polite as possible.

"What is this?"

"It's a protein drink I put together. It should fill you with vigor after a full days work!"

I couldn't help but notice the usual warm, honey-sweet smile of Naru-san had an extra level of excitement upon speaking the last sentence. In an attempt to not be rude, I gulped down the rest of the concoction and swallowed it with all my will power.

"Thanks…"

"You're welcome," said Naru-san with all the sweetness in the world. Maybe she's not so bad after all. Still weird though…

"Did your paper wards ever work?"

Naru-san's smile quickly turned into a pout when I asked the question. I had to admit it was quite cute, but it was nevertheless strange to see a grown woman acting this way.

"No, I haven't seen anything strange happening around the house. I thought for sure it would work this time."

She then moved uncomfortably close to my face.

"I won't give up though! I'll find something that works! I swear it!"

I couldn't help but smile at her determination. "I'm sure you'll succeed in finding something worthwhile someday, Naru-san."

It was then that Naru-san displayed a smile that reminded me of Haruhi's million-watt smile. "Really?! Thank you, Kyon-kun!"

She then gives me a big hug, making me feel really uncomfortable. I began to look around frantically to see if Oruki or Haruhi were watching us. Luckily they weren't. This hug wouldn't have been so bad if I knew it was just the two of us in the house, but if either of those two saw Naru-san and I right now…well you get the idea.

It was then that my cell phone began to ring, giving me an excuse to escape her embrace.

"I need to get this."

Naru-san understood and let go. "Okay! Thank you for your kind words, Kyon-kun!" She then walked away cheerfully.

Looking at my cell phone, I noticed it was Koizumi who was calling. I answered as I made my way upstairs and into my room. I was sure to speak quietly while doing so, remembering that the wall between my room and Haruhi's weren't very thick and that if I could hear her, she could hear me.

"What's up, Koizumi?"

"I sensed that a close space has recently appeared. I wanted to know if you knew why?"

Another closed space, huh? Not surprising considering what happened earlier.

"Haruhi and her father got into a fight over chores. And she mad at me because of it."

"Oh really," said Koizumi. "I figured that might be the case. To be honest, the vast majority of closed spaces that appeared when Suzumiya-san was still in junior high were caused by confrontations between herself and her father."

"They don't get along, huh?"

"Well, perhaps about as well as any girl who was acting out would with a strict parent."

For some reason, I was not surprised by any of this. It made total sense that the two of them would be like this. The problem was that the both of them were completely ignorant of the fact that every time they decide to butt heads, the world was put at risk.

"So what am I supposed to do about it?"

"Just do what you can to mitigate situations like this as they occur. These things happen, but that doesn't mean we have to let them take their natural course. I'm sure you'll think of something."

"I suppose telling Haruhi's parents the truth is off limits."

"The Organization feels that it's best that they are left in the dark. The higher ups believe that having them know would only increase the likelihood of Suzumiya-san discovering her true potential."

Figures…

"Anyway, I have to go shutdown the closed space now. I'll talk to you later."

"Later."

After turning off my phone, I couldn't help but feel like an unnecessary amount of responsibility was put on my shoulders. Keeping Haruhi happy outside of her home was already hard enough. And having to face up to Oruki whenever he feels the need to confront his daughter was certainly an easy ticket to a world of hurt. I couldn't help but rub my temples as a headache soon came. I can't wait to get out of here…

Eventually it was time for dinner. If I had remembered correctly, it was American night, which I figured would be burgers and fries night. I was surprised to find out that instead we were having fried chicken with mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and creamed corn. It turned out to be a pretty damn good meal again. I couldn't help but notice that Haruhi still wouldn't look at me in the face while we were eating. Why the hell is she mad at me? It's not my fault she got into trouble.

After we cleaned up, I went to my room to do my homework, since it was starting to get late, and I knew I had to do it before it was too late.

About an hour after starting my homework I started to hear a strange noise from outside. I looked out the window, but didn't see anything. I opened it and looked around. I saw something from the corner of my eye. There was someone climbing onto the roof. When I saw that Haruhi's window was open, I figured it must have been her. I called up there just to be sure.

"Haruhi, is that you?"

I didn't get a response. She still won't talk to me. This has got to end.

"Hey, I don't get why you're mad at me. I was doing what you asked until your dad stopped me. I didn't know I was supposed to take the garbage out in secret. You didn't tell me it that I was doing something you were supposed to be doing."

I waited about half a minute for a response, but I never got one. Just when I was about to give up and close the window, Haruhi finally spoke.

"I…I know…I'm not really mad at you…I'm mad at my dad…"

I heard movement above me and a moment later I saw Haruhi's head pop up from the edge of the roof. It was funny seeing her hair dangle upside down like that.

"The truth is my dad and I haven't really been on the best of terms since I entered junior high. He's such a hard ass sometimes that it drives me nuts."

I nodded in understanding. After all, I've been getting a taste of what he was like these last two day. I don't even want to imagine what going through your whole life with him would be like.

Haruhi's eyes began to shift a bit before she spoke. "Listen, you want to come up here?"

I began to look around my window. "I don't think I can get up there from my window."

Haruhi pointed at her window. "Just go through my room and climb up from my window. The drainage pipe over there is held up against a piece of wood you can step on." She then points her finger at my nose. "Just so you know, you're only getting permission to pass through my room. You are absolutely not allowed to touch anything in there. Got it?!"

I nodded before I walked out of my room. I paused momentarily before entering Haruhi's room. I had yet to see what it looked like and I was a little apprehensive to see it. I finally turned the knob and opened the door.

As expected, Haruhi's room exuded her personality. Her ceiling and walls had all kinds of strange symbols and shapes strewn about it in various colors. I couldn't help but notice that some of them looked like the symbols she had painted (or rather I had painted) during the Tanabata Festival almost four years ago. I noted that the paint she used was showing signs of wear, indicating that she painted her ceiling and walls quite some time ago, likely before she went into high school. The room was a bit of a mess as I saw clothes, magazines and manga strewn about the floor, dresser, night stand and bed. I tried not to pay too much attention to the bra I saw on the corner of her bed. Finally, the room was complete with a TV and computer.

After giving the room a quick look over, I couldn't help but feel relieved that the room was only this weird. It certainly was Haruhi-esque. I then made my way to the open window and began to climb out of it. The step that Haruhi mentioned was a bit small, and I'd be lying if I said that climbing up to the roof was a safe ordeal. I did manage to make it up to the top, though, so I guess it worked well enough.

Haruhi was lying on her back with her hand behind her head, looking up at the stars. The light pollution in the area dimmed them pretty badly, but some of them were still visible. I'm guessing this must be something Haruhi did whenever she wanted some solitude to think to herself. I took my spot next to her and lied down as well.

We were silent for a few minutes as we continued to watch the stars, deep in contemplation. The air had cooled considerably since earlier today, so it was actually quite comfortable. Eventually, Haruhi gained the will to speak again.

"I get this feeling sometimes that my dad wished I had been born a boy."

"Oh, really?"

"Before I went into junior high, he tried really hard to get me into all kinds of sports and stuff. He kept this up all the way until I started high school. No matter what he tried to get me into, I always found it boring. I could tell that he was frustrated not having someone to play ball with or something."

"Why didn't your parents try to have another kid if it was that important for them?"

"My mom couldn't have anymore kids after me. Something happened to her cervix or something. I think it was a tumor. Anyway, the surgery needed to remove it basically made it so that she couldn't have children anymore."

"That sucks."

"I love my dad, but it's always been hard for us to see eye to eye on some things. What bothers me is that he's such a hypocrite. He used to get into trouble a lot too when he was my age. Now he acts like we all should be perfect little angels."

"Parents usually don't want their kids to make the same mistake that they made."

"I guess so…"

Things grew silent between us again. I couldn't help but briefly contemplate the idea of the male version of Haruhi. The thought scared me a bit, so I tried to come up with something to change the subject.

"Do you mind if I ask you a hypothetical question?"

Haruhi turned towards me when she heard the question. "Like what?"

"Let's just say, hypothetically mind you, that you have the power to alter reality to your very whim. You're basically omnipotent. What is the first thing you would do if that were the case?"

Haruhi sat up and gave the question some thought. "The first thing I would do…" she then smiled brightly before finishing her answer. "Is meet up with some aliens, time-travelers and espers and have fun with them, of course!"

Upon hearing this answer, I couldn't help but mentally face palm. She was completely ignorant of the fact that she was doing this very thing already everyday for almost a year. Haruhi then asked me the same question.

"What would you do if you were omnipotent?"

"I'd give my power to someone else, or not use it altogether. Such a power would be a bother. I'd be afraid of ruining everything."

Haruhi's face showed obvious amounts of annoyance upon hearing my answer. "What kind of boring answer it that?! You'd throw away the one chance you'd get unlock any mystery you could think of?! You could explore the deepest oceans, or the farthest reaches of space! You wouldn't even have to mess things up to do that! Are you telling me you wouldn't do any of that?!"

"Well, if you put it that way…"

I guess she's right. I would probably like to travel around in space for a while in order to see what I could find. Although I'd probably get bored of this after a while and if there is anything I've learned in the last year is that bad things happen when omnipotent beings become bored.

To change the subject, I decided to ask another hypothetical. "Okay, how about this? Say you were stranded on a desert island with nothing but what's already on the island to survive or escape. Who would you want to have there with you?"

Haruhi went and lied back down and began to think about the question. "That's a tough one…As fun as it would be to have Mikuru-chan there, she wouldn't be very helpful. Koizumi would be okay, I guess. Yuki would definitely be the most useful. You on the other hand would only be good for menial labor, and even then…"

Thanks. I appreciate that…

"I guess I'd go with Yuki. What about you?"

"Well, you'd be the last person I'd want to be stuck with," I said with a bit of sarcasm in my voice. Haruhi reciprocated by punching me in the arm. "Ow! See? That's why!"

"Very funny!" said Haruhi before she jumped on me and put me in a head lock. "Tell me who would you want to be with? Is it Mikuru? Or maybe Yuki? Or is it Koizumi? Do you even swing that way?"

No I do not, and whoever said that physical attraction was the only thing I'd take into account when it comes to picking someone?

"Tell me then! Who?"

I was really beginning to regret the question. I wasn't sure how to answer it. Being alone with Asahina-san would be great in the short term, but a nightmare long term. Koizumi would drive me nuts with his long winded expositions. Nagato would be useful but boring. And who ever said it had to be member of the SOS Brigade? Maybe I would pick Tsuruya-san.

"Hurry up and pick one!"

"Fine! I'd pick Tsuruya-san!"

I felt Haruhi pause for a moment after I said that.

"Why'd you pick her? Do you like her or something?"

"No. I just figured she had the fewest down sides."

Haruhi finally let me go and gave me a strange look.

"What kind of stupid reason is that? I swear, sometimes I just don't understand how you think, Kyon."

That's funny. Now you know how I've felt about you since I first met you.

Haruhi lied back down and started looking at the sky. I got the feeling that maybe now was a good time to go back to my room.

"I'm going to go back to my room. I'm getting tired…"

"Okay…"

As I moved carefully back towards Haruhi's window, I looked back at her one last time. I had to admit, seeing her face under the light of the moon made her look absolutely stunning. It was hard to tell, but I think she might have looked disappointed. Was she upset that I didn't pick her? Whatever…

I made it back to my room without falling and finished my homework before I finally went to bed. Today had been another exhausting day, and I didn't know how much longer I could keep this up.

I was having a bout of restlessness at first, but eventually I could feel myself starting to doze off when I heard the door to my room open. I turned quickly to see what it was. I was surprised to see that it was Nara-san. She walked towards me like a zombie. She eventually got to the edge of my bed and stood there motionless for about a minute.

To be honest, I was totally freaking out at this point. I had no idea what the hell she was doing. Was she possessed or something? Maybe those wards finally started working…nah, that's not it. She's probably just sleep walking. So why am I still scared as hell?

It was then that she lied right next to me. I stayed motionless as I tried to figure out what to do. My bed wasn't very big, and I was feeling very cramped and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, before I could do anything else, Naru-san rolled over and wrapped her arms around me. Okay, now I was really, really uncomfortable. It wasn't that the feeling of Naru-san body against mine was a bad thing. Far from it. It's just the fact that I'm smart enough to know that this could only end badly for me if I didn't do something.

"Mmm…Oruki-kun…"

Great, she thinks I'm her husband. Wonderful…okay, think. What should I do? I guess I could just wake her up. No! Think harder! If I woke her up while in this position, she might misunderstand and scream. That would lead to Haruhi and her father waking up, coming in here and also misinterpreting what's going on. Seconds later the two of them would rip me into little pieces. No, the only thing I can do is try and escape her grip and get out of the bed.

Fortunately, Naru-san wasn't nearly as strong as her daughter or husband, so I was able to slowly wriggle out of her grip and slip out of the bed without waking her up. After breathing a huge sigh of relief, I slowly crept my way out of my room and down the stairs. I decided to lie down on the couch for the night. It wasn't as comfortable as my bed, but the alternative was far worse.

I closed my eyes and started to dose off before I heard something again. Upon opening my eyes, I was horrified to see Naru-san standing over me again. No! Not again! Before I could react, Naru-san fell on top of me and wrapped her arms around me once again.

"Why'd you go, Oruki-kun…"

This was really bad! She was on top of me this time, and I couldn't slip out without pushing her off, which would likely wake her up. I tried to remove her hands, but they gripped tighter as a reflex action, making it next to impossible to get away. In my struggle to her off me, we both fell off the couch. My back landed on floor with a loud thud which was quite painful. She still didn't let go of me. I was trapped, and I couldn't get away…oh no! NO! They heard the noise! I could hear the both of them rushing down the stairs! There's only one thing I could do! Exclaim my innocents and hope for mercy!

"I SWEAR TO GOD IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!!!"

I could see the faces of both Haruhi and her father staring blankly at myself and Naru-san while we were in our odd position. I thought for a moment that I saw my life flash before my eyes. It was after a few seconds that I saw Haruhi sigh deeply before she walked toward the two of us. I winced just as she came up to me, expecting tremendous pain to come my way, but instead she pressed her foot on her mother's back and began to nudge her.

"Mom! Wake up! You're sleep walking again!"

It was moments later that Naru-san began to wake. After a few seconds of disorientation, she finally got up, realizing where she was.

"Oh my. What happened?"

I moved away from her when she finally got off of me. I then explained what had happened and why we were in the living room. Naru-san gave an embarrassed smile before apologizing.

"I'm sorry…I'm afraid I've always had a sleep walking problem. I hope I didn't scare you."

Oh you scared me alright. I hope that never happens again. Eventually, everyone decided to head back to bed. I did however note that Oruki gave me another look of suspicion as we went upstairs. He hates me. He really, really, really, really, really hates me.

I can't wait to get out of here…