People liked the last chapter way more than they thought they would. ^^' I actually didn't think it was my best work really. I'm also worried that every chapter I make from here on out will be compared to that last one. It's like climbing a mountain. Oh well…

I will always strive to make sure my work is at least enjoyable, although I can't guarantee that every chapter will blow you away (although I do still have some great surprises for you all).

I'm expecting this chapter to be a lot shorter than the last two. If you don't like it, too bad! :)

Chapter 8

My room was warm. It felt so good. It sure was nice. It's been a while since I could sleep in…wait a minute. I'm still in bed? What time is it? Why hasn't Haruhi woken me up yet?

I finally opened my eyes and looked that the clock in my room. It was a little past noon. I haven't slept in this long in what seemed like forever. I slowly rose from my bed and wiped the sleep from my eyes. I still wasn't fully awake yet, but I still decided to get up anyway. I had things to do today.

My eyes happened to meet up with a plastic bag with tea leaves in it. Hey, a cup of tea would be great right about now. Even if I suck at brewing it, it'd be better than nothing. I grabbed the bag and exited my room. I slowly came down the stairs and headed for the kitchen. On the way, I saw both Oruki and Naru-san sitting in the living room watching TV. They both spotted me passing by.

"Good afternoon, Kyon-kun," said Oruki in a tone that mocked me just a little. "Full of energy as always I see."

I waved weakly at the both of them, still too sleepy to really register what they said. I finally went into the kitchen and put the leaves on the counter. I took the tea pot and filled it with water and started to try and brew the leaves. To be honest, I only kinda knew what I was doing, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't half-assing it. Eventually, the water began to boil and I added the leaves. I sure hope this comes out okay…

When I was finally done, I poured myself a cup and took a sip. Terrible…I'm sorry Asahina-san. I've wasted your precious gift with my lack of brewing talent. I should have made you brew it. I continued to try and drink it, since I didn't want to waste it.

A minute later, Haruhi entered the kitchen while wiping the sleep from her eyes. Did she just wake up? She's never asleep this late. No wonder she didn't bother to wake me up.

"What happened to Carpe Diem?"

"Shut up. I had trouble sleeping last night."

She had troubled sleeping. Why would she…

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Last night! Haruhi…my room…kiss…Dammit! Just like how I had been up all night because my mind was racing after that, she must have been going through the same thing. I could feel my heart pounding again. I was wide awake now. I was feeling really nervous all of a sudden. I started to watch Haruhi suspiciously.

However, Haruhi was acting like nothing had happened last night. She walked up to the tea pot and poured herself a cup. She went and took a big gulp like she always does, but she was unable to swallow it. She made a grimace before she spat it out into the sink.

"Yuck! Who the hell brewed this? Was it you Kyon? It would have to be. Only you would be this incompetent!"

After hearing her yell at me, I was actually feeling very relieved. She doesn't seem to be treating me any different after what happened last night.

She then motioned for me to come closer. "Come here. I'll show you how you're supposed to do it."

Haruhi, brewing tea? I was starting to wonder if I'd gone insane. I cautiously approached her has she took some of the leaves out of the bag that I hadn't used and began to brew that tea properly.

"I'd never thought I'd see you doing this," I said.

Haruhi narrowed her eyes at me. "Just because I choose not to do it at the club doesn't mean I don't know how to."

"Maybe you should. Give Asahina-san a break every now and then. Heck, you could even put the maid outfit on while you're at it." I can't believe I just said that. The image of Haruhi wearing that outfit rushed into my brain without permission. The thought of her acting like Asahina-san…Whoa, way too much…

"Absolutely not. Mikuru has her role in the Brigade just like everyone else. Nobody is allowed to slack off, ever!"

"Didn't you say once that you would wear it?" There I go again! What's wrong with me?! Why can't I just shut up! That image is still there. And it keeps switching back and forth between that and the kiss from last night. I was starting to feel really uncomfortable.

Haruhi ignored my question and eventually finished brewing the tea. She then poured a cup for the both of us. I took my sip and…it was really good! Almost as good as Asahina-san. Figures. Haruhi's good at everything…well everything except directing movies…I'd never tell her that though.

I watched Haruhi gulp down her tea instantly. I could never understand how she does that without searing her mouth and throat. It certainly doesn't allow her to actually enjoy the tea. Afterwards, Naru-san entered the kitchen and became excited to see that there was some tea brewed.

"Ooo, did Haru-chan brew that?" She walked up to the counter and inspected the bag of tea leaves. "Oh my, these are some pretty expensive looking leaves. The premium kind. Who ever bought these must really know something about tea!"

I smiled at Naru-san's enthusiasm. "It was a gift from a friend of ours at our club. She's definitely become quite the tea expert."

She then poured herself a cup and took a delicate sip. "Wow, that's really good, Haru-chan. You've done these leaves justice."

"Thanks, mom," said Haruhi, taking her compliment like it was no big deal. "I'm going to get washed up." She then left the kitchen and went up stairs.

"So you have someone brew you tea at your club?" asked Naru-san.

"Yup."

"Wow, it must be great to be able drink such wonderful tea while you're reading!"

I blinked in confusion. "Reading? I don't do that at our club. Only one of us actually reads all the time there."

Naru-san also blinked in confusion. "Really? Oh…." She then walked away, leaving me stumped as to what the hell she was talking about.

After we both washed up and ate, Haruhi and I were once again on the hunt for a place for me to move. Since finding a place of my own ended in disaster, I had hoped that becoming a roommate would allow more success.

While walking to the first apartment, I tried my best to not look at Haruhi too much. Every time I did, the images of last night would shoot back into my brain, overwhelming me. Her lips…her taste…damn I need to stop. I was really tempted to ask her not to come, but since I did kinda ask her to tag along last night, I knew it would be rude to change my mind. Not to mention I knew Haruhi would have a fit.

My mood was obviously quite transparent, since Haruhi eventually turned to me with some annoyance. "What the hell is wrong with you? You've been acting weird."

She must still think that I was asleep during everything that happened last night. Figures. I suddenly had the urge to mess with her, if for no other reason than to give her the message that she wasn't as sneaky as she thought. "I had this really weird dream last night."

Haruhi paused when I said that. "Oh really? About what?"

"I was in this dark room. And there was this girl there. I saw her sneak up to me and kiss me. And for some reason, I couldn't stop her."

Haruhi's face started becoming several shades paler. An obvious amount of anxiety could be seen in her expression. Serves her right. What she did was technically sexual assault. Then again, sexual assault was something she's done many times before with Asahina-san. "I see…were you able to see who it was?"

"I couldn't make her out. It was too dark."

Haruhi appeared to regain some composure after I said that. "Well, it's only a dream, so get over it."

I sighed after she said that. Was she just going to pretend it didn't happen? Maybe that's what I should do, too. Yeah, that's exactly what I should do. Last night I found out Haruhi has feeling for me…okay, maybe I always knew, but I couldn't lie to myself about it anymore. But you know what? I don't need to. She likes me…so what? She hasn't confessed to me or anything like that. I'm sure if I just act like it never happened that things will go back to the way they were, and my life can stay that much less complicated. As long as she doesn't actually confess, than I don't have to acknowledge her feelings. Yep, I'm feeling better already. Haruhi's advice was right on the mark…

That kiss is still invading my head though…maybe in time it'll go away…

We eventually made it to the first apartment. I hit the button to the apartment and waited. After waiting for a minute, I didn't get a response. I hit it again and waited…still no response.

"I guess he's not home," said Haruhi.

I pushed the button one last time and waited. Finally, someone response. "Who is it?"

"Hi, I'm here responding to your ad in the paper. I believe you were looking for a roommate?"

Soon after I said that, we were given access to the building. We made our way to the apartment that was advertised in the paper. After knocking on the door, it was soon answered by an extremely nerdy, extremely obese guy who smelled like he hadn't showered in a while.

"Sorry, I'm not usually up this early."

Early? What is he up all night? What could he possibly be doing all night long?

He then looked directly at Haruhi, and his eyes bulged enormously. I think I saw a small dribble of drool going down his potato chip encrusted face. "Oh my god, wait right here!" He then quickly ran inside for a few seconds, not even bothering to let us in. He runs right back with a cell phone and began to take pictures of Haruhi. "Wow, you're freaking hot!"

After about the fourth picture, Haruhi became annoyed at what he was doing. "Cut it out! Who said you could take pictures of me?!"

He stops taking pictures after she said something but kept ogling her. "Could you, like, cosplay for me?"

At this point, I'd grown quite annoyed at the freaks behavior and definitely knew I couldn't live with him. "We'll get back to you…"

Before I had started to walk away, Haruhi had managed to swipe the guy's cell phone from him. She then tossed it on the floor and stomped on it hard. "That'll teach you!"

Surprisingly, he didn't get mad. Instead, he gave a very creepy smile. "Oh my god, you're awesome!"

I'd had enough. He was really pissing me off, and if I didn't leave soon, I was going to deck him hard. I grabbed Haruhi by her hand and began to drag her towards the elevator.

"Let go of me, Kyon!" protested Haruhi. "I want to kick him in the face!"

"You better not. He might just enjoy it."

Haruhi blinked. "You got a point." She then looked at the fact that I had her by the hand and blushed a bit before pulling it away. "Who gave you permission to grab my hand like that?!"

"What? You grab me and pull me around all the time."

"That's because I'm the Brigade leader! You're only a lowly member! Being the leader affords me certain privileges!"

Like sneaking into people's room while they're sleeping and making out with them without permission? Damn, the image is back in my head again!

"Whatever," I said. "I'm moving onto the next place."

The next place we went to was a bit too far to walk, so we took the bus to a station that was nearby. Once we got off, we made our way to another set of apartments. These weren't locked so we were able to enter and go right to the door of the person renting the apartment.

After we knocked, the door was answered by a blond-haired woman. A rather good looking woman at that. "Can I help you?"

"I'm here because you had an advertisement for a roommate."

She smiled and opened up the door. "Oh, good! Come in!"

Haruhi and I entered her apartment, and I found the place to be…very feminine. The walls were painted pink, there were teddy bears sitting on the shelf on the wall in the living room, and the place had the fragrance of flowers in it. If I had to be honest…I hated it. I started to wonder if she was confused and thought Haruhi wanted to move in.

"So, you do realize that I'm the one asking to be a roommate, right?"

"Oh, yeah. You already said so, right?"

"Just making sure…"

The woman gave a ditzy smile directly to me. "I'm, like, totally cool with having a guy as a roommate and stuff." She then eyed me up and down and then looked at Haruhi. "Are you two together?"

Haruhi crossed her arms and looked away, while audibly grunting.

I nervously scratched the back of my head, getting the feeling things could quickly go wrong if I wasn't careful. "Um…no. Could you give the two of us a minute?"

After seeing the woman nod, motioned Haruhi outside the apartment to talk to her. "Do you have a problem with her?"

Haruhi looked away from me before answering. "Oh no. Why would I have a problem? If you want to move in with her, go ahead."

She's so obviously lying. I was quickly becoming worried that saying yes to moving in with her was a fastest means of pissing off Haruhi and putting the world in danger. Besides, I really wasn't comfortable with moving in with a girl I didn't know.

I walked back into the apartment and gave the woman a polite smile. "I'm thinking that this place isn't for me. Sorry."

"That other girl won't let you move in, huh?" asked the woman. "You shouldn't let her whip you like that. Didn't you say you weren't together?"

It's more complicated than that. You have no idea how bad things can get if I pissed her off.

She then moved closer to me and began to whisper. "Just forget about her. A guy as cute as you could definitely do better."

I never had time to respond. I watched as a foot came flying mere centimeters from me and collided with the face of the woman. She went flying back into the floor, bounced once, and came to a rest near her couch. She was out cold. I then felt a strong force being applied to my collar as I was soon dragged out of the room and all the way out of the apartment building. It wasn't until we were outside that I said anything.

"What the hell was that for? That's blatant assault! Do you want to be arrested?!"

"She couldn't be trusted, Kyon! She was a total skank!"

I facepalmed, feeling quite exasperated by her behavior. "I was going to say no to her. I didn't want to move in there, anyway."

"Didn't you notice how strong she was coming on to you, Kyon?! She barely knew you, and she was already hitting on you! It's despicable anyway for a guy to move in with a girl he's not in a committed relation with!"

I glared at her when she said that. It only took her a couple seconds before she realized the hypocrisy of her words.

"Well…In our case it's different because I already know you…and we're living with my parents too so it's okay…Shut up."

I sighed deeply before deciding to move on. There was no way I'd be moving into the woman's place now…

It's now four o'clock. Today was another disaster as we failed to find another decent place to move into.

The third place we tried was at a house. A house that was the dwelling of a creepy, radically devout Christian. Christianity has only about a small faction of the population worshipping it, but I get the feeling the vast majority of these guys weren't as weird as this guy. It was very frustrating talking to him when every word in his mouth was something about how Jesus loved me, and if I didn't accept him I'd go to hell. Now I don't know how I'd react to a guy like him before I met Haruhi, but since I spent almost every day of my life around an omnipotent being, I find the whole idea of any invisible god a little laughable. It wasn't long before we left.

The next place was an apartment that was resided by another student who went to North High. He was actually in the same class as Koizumi, which initially made me think he was a brainy know it all. He actually seemed nice enough, but main problem was during the entire time I was speaking with him. You see, Haruhi had been glaring at him menacingly the whole time. He was already fully aware of the reputation of the SOS Brigade and all of its members, and was becoming very nervous around us. He told me eventually that he had others that were also interested in moving in and that if things didn't work out with them he would call me.

He's so not going to call me…

So in the end, two of the people I met were complete weirdoes that I'd like to never meet again, and for the other two that weren't so bad, Haruhi ultimately sabotaged any chance for me to move in with them. I was definitely regretting taking her along.

The two of us finally decided to go home since we'd gone through the entire list of places I wanted to check out. I was getting hungry anyway and was hoping to make a quick snack to hold me over until dinner tonight. I think tonight was Middle Eastern, right? That'll be interesting.

Just as I made it through the front door, I was greeted by what was currently my least favorite person in the world.

"Are you up to anything, Kyon-kun?" asked Oruki.

Oh great. What does he want now? "Not really."

"I was thinking today would be a great day for you and me to go to the dojo and get some exercise. What do you think?"

Exercise? EXERCISE?! No! Absolutely not! The pain, trauma and humiliation I felt the last time you and I went for exercise will forever be seared into mind. I would rather be given a thousand paper cuts. I would rather be whipped till my skin was raw. I'd rather drink a gallon of your wife's protein shakes mixed with my horrible tea. Hell, I'd rather die. Of course, I'm not going to be so direct.

"Gee, I sure would love to, Oruki-san, but I think I hurt my knee walking all over town, so I…"

I had a chance to finish my sentence. Before I knew it, I was grabbed by the collar once again and dragged directly to Oruki's car, an obvious indication that he didn't listen to a word I said. Damn, his strength was ridiculous. He's far stronger than any man his size should be.

So now the two of us were now on our way towards the Dojo of Doom. I stared out of the window in despair, knowing my suffering was only just beginning.

It was then that Oruki surprised me by starting up a conversation. "So, how did the search go?"

He must have been referring to my search for a place to live. I reluctantly responded. "Horribly. Two people were freaks, and the other two…well…your daughter kind of ruined any chance I had in moving in with them."

"Then don't bring her along next time you start looking," said Oruki. He's definitely the kind of person who goes straight to the point.

"If I didn't ask, she'd force me to take her anyway."

"Tell her no," he said. "It's not like you two are dating or anything… Rrriiiiiiiggghhhhttt?!"

The way he worded the question made it seem that any answer other than "no, sir, we're not dating" would result in my immediate death. Of course, I would be telling the truth anyway, so there was no reason not to tell him what he wanted to hear.

"We're not…"

"Then what's the problem?"

"It's complicated."

"How so?" asked Oruki in a tone that was half curiosity and half annoyance.

Unfortunately, I couldn't tell him the truth. I wished I could. I would love to see the look on his face when I told him his daughter had the power to manipulate reality on a whim and that pissing her off was a great way to end said reality in an instant. He'd probably think I was nuts and maybe I am. Either way, I knew I could only give him a half-assed excuse. "She'd make my life miserable if told her no."

"You're totally whipped," said Oruki in a condescending tone. "Let me give you a little advice. If you ever want respect from women, you're going to have to learn to say no once in a while. Especially if it's a girl you like. No girl wants a guy who doesn't have any balls."

Thanks for that wonderful piece of unwanted advice. I'll keep it in mind. It's not like I don't occasionally stand up to her anyway. I just have to pick my battles carefully. Sometimes, I have to back down…

It was then that Oruki changed the subject. "By the way, what kind of books do you like?"

I found this question very odd and very out of the blue. "Uh…well I like to read manga."

"Idiot! I said books! Tell me what was the last book you've actually read."

I thought about the question as hard as I could. To be honest, it had been a while since I'd read an actual book. I then remembered the book Nagato gave me almost a year ago. "There was this science fiction novel a friend gave to me. I read it about a year ago."

Oruki was silent after I said that. His mind appeared deep in contemplation. I was beginning to become very confused. I remembered what Naru-san had said earlier today as well. What was up with them asking about books all of a sudden? I eventually put it to the back of my mind. They are Suzumiyas after all. Who the hell know what's going on in their heads?

When we arrived at the dojo, I was once again forcefully stripped and dressed in a gi. Oruki then ordered me to do various exercise drills that include running, sit-up, push-ups, up-downs, squat-thrusts, and many other excruciatingly exhausting activities. By the way, only I did these things. Damn you Oruki! I specifically remember you implying that we were both getting exercise…

Oruki then began to try and teach me some of the things he teaches his students for self defense. He showed me how to identify and use the various pressure points on the body (rather than just using them on me). He then showed me some simple submission holds that were easy to learn. Nevertheless, my exhaustion made it hard to pay attention, causing Oruki to yell at me.

"You should be more grateful, dammit! I'm giving a free lesson in self-defense! I usually charge ten thousand yen for this!"

I never asked for lessons in self-defense, free or otherwise! I just think you like to make me suffer.

Eventually, we finished and we made our way back home. When I got back, I collapsed on the couch, completely drained of all energy. Damn that Oruki!

Naru-san eventually approached me with a drink. "I figured you'd be thirsty after working so hard."

That honey-sweet smile of Naru-san. It sure is nice at least one person living here has some level of compassion. I decided to ask her why Oruki hated me so much.

She blinked in confusion when I asked the question. "Oruki doesn't hate you."

Really? He could have fooled me…

Naru-san smiled again in all her innocence. "Quite the contrary. I think he's taking a shine to you."

I raised my eyebrow at her, an obvious sign that I didn't believe her. "What?"

"I noticed it yesterday when he asked you to watch baseball. He would have never done that if he didn't like you."

I began to rub my arms, which were still quite tender from the exercise regimen. "He has a funny way of showing he likes someone."

"He's always been kind of rough that way. It's just how he is."

"He even gets under Haruhi's skin sometimes."

Naru-san became very quiet, as if she was contemplating something from the past. She seemed almost sad, even though she still kept up her smile. "There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not bothered by how much those two have drifted apart."

I blinked in surprise when she said this. "What? They used to be close or something?"

She nodded positively. "Oh yes, very much so. Before she went into junior high the two of them were inseparable." She then got up from the couch and went up to a book self and pulled out what looked like a photo album. She began to look though the album until she got to a certain selection of pictures. "They looked so wonderful together. Here, look."

She then handed me the album. There were several pictures of Haruhi as a kid along with her father. There was picture of them playing catch. There was another of the two of them running around along a beach. Probably the one that stood out the most was a simple picture of Haruhi and her dad smiling in front of the camera while hugging each other. It was a pretty warm picture and it was probably one of the few moments I've very seen Haruhi looking genuinely happy. Her father too, for that matter. I also had to admit that Haruhi was a pretty damn cute kid.

"When I first became pregnant, Oruki used to go around hoping we would have a boy. When the doctor told us we would be having a girl, he was really disappointed. But when she was finally born, I don't think you could find a prouder father in the whole world."

I finally handed the album back when I was done. I suddenly had the urge to want to look at some old photos of my own. Too bad all the photo albums were now with my folks up north…

"So what happened?" I asked.

Naru-san's smile slowly faded to the point where it was barely a smile at all. "It all started to change when Oruki decided to take all of us to a baseball game. I don't know what it was about that game, but something about it…She just…changed."

That's right. Haruhi told me about that baseball game. She told me about all the people she saw and how it made her feel insignificant. It was at that point that Haruhi decided to try everything in her power to be as unique a person as possible, so she could stand out among the billions in this world and say that she was the one person who was different. If only she knew how different she really was…

Naru-san continued with her story. "At first I thought that maybe she was just sad that our team had lost the game, but as time went on, it became obvious that something else had happened. She stopped enjoying all the things we used to do together, saying that they were boring. She started acting up a lot at school when she went into junior high. Did you ever hear about the time where she drew all of those weird shapes on the school property?"

I nodded after she asked. I heard about it alright. I was there. "I heard about that from on of our classmates that went to junior high with her. She broke into the school and used one of the line drawers to create some weird message." I wouldn't dare tell her that I was the one who actually drew the strange message.

"Oruki was never madder at her than when he found out about that. It was then that he started changing how he treated her. He started to become a lot stricter. He forced her to do martial arts and take piano lessons. He continually pushed her to try extra curricular activities. He did anything he could think of the try and get her to stop acting out. But it didn't work. And the harder he tried to hold her down, the larger the wedge became between them. Now they barely ever talk to each other. They're both just so stubborn."

I noticed a small tear form on her right eye. "I was worried she was going to become a delinquent, and she would ruin her life. But then she went into high school, and she started changing for the better. At first, I couldn't explain why she was changing. I thought maybe she was finally over her phase of being upset, but I eventually realized that the club she joined put her back on track. She must have finally met some wonderful people that allowed her the chance to be her old self again. Wonderful people like you Kyon-kun." I then watched that tear fall slowly down her cheek as she smiled at me. "Thank you, Kyon-kun…for saving my daughter…"

She looked so incredibly moe! She had the kind of motherly moe that a certain small percentage of the male population was infatuated with. I couldn't help but smile back. Man I wished her daughter could be as sweet her…

It was then that Naru-san nervously looked at the time. "Oh, I better check on dinner. We're having Middle Eastern tonight! Don't want to ruin it!" She then quickly hurried back into the kitchen. I continued to relax for the next few minutes while I waited for dinner to finish.

For dinner that night, we were served fried falafels and tahini served in pita bread. Once again I found myself become more cultured than ever, although I had to admit I was starting to miss Japanese food. Good thing tomorrow was Japanese night.

While we were cleaning up, Haruhi had asked me if I had done my homework. I reluctantly told her that I forgot to.

"Idiot! Why didn't you do it yesterday instead of reading a stupid magazine?!"

Okay, I'll admit I should have done it then, but I wasn't in the mood at the time.

"No more excuses! You're going to do it as soon as we're done cleaning up! I'm not allowing your poor grades to ruin the reputation of the…" Her voice then became quieter. "Brigade."

I found it odd that Haruhi had just referred to the Brigade in such a low voice. She normally would always announce it loud and clear. Never mind…I'm sure it's nothing.

After cleaning up, I grabbed my bag and started working on my homework in the dining room. Normally this wasn't a big deal, but Haruhi insisted on standing over my shoulder the whole time. She'd already done her homework, so all she had to do was ensure I did it right. This meant I had to withstand about an hours worth of verbal abuse as she continued to berate me every time I got an answer wrong. I probably would've finished my homework in half the time if I did it on my own. At least at the end I could say I understood the material.

After I finished my homework and put it away, I began to head for my room. I stopped on the way when I saw Oruki and Naru-san sitting on the couch watching a movie. Naru-san was snuggling with him, not really paying attention to the movie.

"I love you, love you, love you!"

Oruki appeared embarrassed when she said this. "I know, I know. You don't have to say it a million times." He put his arm around his wife anyway before looking at me. "What are you looking at?"

I quickly apologized and continued to my room. I can't even begin to imagine how a jerk like Oruki had gotten someone like Naru-san. And she said he's taken a shine to me. He sure has a strange way of showing it. Then again, he is Haruhi's father, so I guess it's not too much of a surprise.

By the time I finally got to my room, it was starting to get late, so I decided to lie down to go to bed. Strangely however, I found it extremely hard to fall asleep. The reason for this was that I was reminded of the night before when Haruhi…kiss me… The thought of it kept popping into my mind over and over, no matter how hard I tried to forget it. When it had become late enough that everyone would probably be in bed, I half-expected Haruhi to try and seek into my room to do it again. And for some reason, a part of me wanted her to. What the hell is wrong with me?! This is stupid…

She never did come into my room that night, though…