I couldn't wait to release the next chapter. I'm also very pleased to see that my story finally exceeded 100 reviews! Yay!!!!! ^^

Some of you guys are a lot more perceptive than I thought you would be. Oh well, that's what foreshadowing is for, I guess. I do regret not making it more subtle, though. I hope this chapter meets or exceeds your expectations. I was very excited to write it!

Chapter 9

I had to admit that I slept better last night than I did the night before. I mean, sure sleep hasn't been the most abundant resource I could find since moving into the Suzumiya residence, but I'll take what rest I could find.

As with more than ninety percent of my mornings, I could not enjoy the sensation of slowly getting out of bed. Sometime during the morning, I was disturbed by some kind of burning sensation inside my mouth. The feeling became more and more painful until I could no longer stay within the confines of the subconscious. I bolted from my sleep and immediately felt that something was in my mouth. In both fear and panic, I spat whatever was in my mouth out. I was dismayed to find that the excruciating pain in my mouth was still there, and on the floor was now a strange orange-colored…thing.

It was then that noticed Haruhi standing near the door, laughing her ass off. What the hell did you do to me?! I swear I'm going to deck you if you don't tell me! She then held up what appeared to be an orange colored pepper than had been cut in half. "Habanero."

It was another scheme by Haruhi to find an easy way to wake me up. After finally realizing what was going on, I bolted past her and went straight into the bathroom. I put my mouth in the sink and began to drink as much water as possible. Unfortunately, as soon as I swallowed some water, the fiery pain would surge back even worse than before.

Haruhi followed me into the bathroom looking somewhat annoyed. "Will you cut it out, Kyon? You're being a baby!"

"You put it in your mouth, then!" I yelled in between gulps of water.

Figuring that I was challenging her, Haruhi looked at the pepper that she held onto for a few seconds before doing just that. She bit hard into it and chewed it furiously before finally swallowing it. "See? …It's not so bad…"

Immediately after she said that, I watched as her face became increasingly redder and her eyes started to water. It wasn't long before she was obviously in tremendous pain herself. It was now my turn to crack up. I laughed at her while letting the water run through my mouth.

"Shut up…" said Haruhi as a large amount of drool flowed out of her mouth. She then pushed me aside so she too could relieve her pain with some water. Despite the pain, I couldn't help but keep laughing. Poetic justice at its finest.

Eventually it became obvious that water was not going to be enough to relieve our obvious pain. I recalled that milk and bread were decent remedies for relieving the pain caused by peppers. We both rushed down the stairs and went straight to the kitchen. I grabbed the milk first while Haruhi grabbed the bread. I quickly grabbed a large glass and poured it to the top before chugging it down. I was quickly dismayed when I found that this only relieved the pain slightly, so I had to pour another glass.

Meanwhile, Haruhi was quickly stuffing pieces of bread down her mouth to the point where her cheeks were bulging. I laughed again, causing some milk to come up into my nose. It was all I could do to not spit the milk out.

"Shu up, Kon! It's no funy!"

I most disagree. Seeing her like this was one of the highlights of my life. What I would give to have a camera right now!

However, Haruhi turned away from me and grunted, obviously upset that I was laughing at her. I went and grabbed a few slices of bread myself. "Look, I'll do it too if it'll make you feel better."

"It won't cause it's no funy!" said Haruhi, her mouth still packed.

I started stuffing my mouth with bread to the point where my mouth was also bulging. "Dere, how dat?"

Haruhi fought hard to not crack up, but she eventually lost the battle and started laugh a bit. She had to put a hand on her mouth to prevent the bread from spilling out. Eventually she swallowed the bread and went to grab a few more slices. "Okay, it's a little funny."

It was then that Oruki walked into the entrance of the kitchen. "Why is it that you two can never keep quiet in the morning?!"

He then saw Haruhi and I look back at him, our mouths still stuffed with bread. After staring at us for a few seconds, he facepalmed. "You know what? Forget it. I don't even want to know." He then turned around and started walking away.

The pain had finally started to subside for me, so I decided to get washed up first. Haruhi was not so fortunate, since she went as far as chewing and swallowing her half of the pepper. However, by the time I had managed to finish getting cleaned up and ready to leave, Haruhi was finally relieved of the pain. She took the time to make her lunch while she waited on me, so I decided to do the same. Since the two of us had already eaten nearly an entire loaf of bread between the two of us, we never bothered with breakfast.

Haruhi and I had left early enough that we weren't in a big rush. Despite the nasty incident earlier this morning, Haruhi was in a relatively good mood, and, to be honest, so was I. Mostly I just think that Haruhi's mood was infectious. She must be excited to announce her plans to go to Kyoto with the Brigade in less than three weeks…

Why'd I have to remind myself of that? It's going to be a disaster…

When the two of us finally made it to school, I went to my locker only to run into Taniguchi.

"Hey, Kyon! How's life treating ya?"

"Fine…" I said with as little enthusiasm as possible. There are few things that could ruin my morning more than running into him before class.

"What? You're not having any fun at Suzumiya-san's house?"

Fun? No, fun is not what I've been having at her house, unless you consider back breaking labor and mean spirited pranks to be fun, which I don't!

"It can't be all bad, can it?"

No, it's not all bad. There was Naru-san, who was an oasis in what seemed to be a desert of despair. Okay, Haruhi had a few moments where she was tolerable, even…nice? But she had plenty of moments where she treated me like crap. And then there was Oruki who, other than a few moments where he showed the slightest hint of humanity, was a total nightmare. So there was a summary of my first week living with Haruhi…

It was then that Taniguchi narrowed his eyes at me. "Did you remember it?'

"Remember what?" It then hit me. "Oh, right!" I then went into my bag and pulled out the magazine. I was only too happy to finally be rid of this thing.

"Finally!" said Taniguchi as he grabbed it. He then inspected it and noticed the mild damage it had, most of which was Haruhi's fault by the way. He then gave a goofy grin. "Ah, I see you really enjoyed looking at it!"

"I only looked at half of it."

"Sure…"

Dammit, why does nobody ever believe me about the stupid magazine? Hell, Haruhi had seen more of it than I did!

"Oh, so Suzumiya-san saw it, huh? She must've been pissed. Or maybe she liked it more than you did!" He then starts to elbow me in the side. God, this guy is such an idiot!

The two of us finally made our way to class after switching shoes. Haruhi had beaten me to class, likely because she wasn't slowed down by some sexually repressed moron. She was staring out the window with a neutral expression on her face. I get the feeling that she must know the details of the school grounds outside better than anyone else.

"Anxious about the Brigade meeting today?" I asked.

Haruhi's eyes turned to face me. She gave me a light smile. "Yup, I still need to give the others the announcement of our plans for Kyoto."

"I almost wish I didn't already know the details. Makes today meeting less exciting for me."

Haruhi narrowed her eyes slightly. "Well in that case, I won't give you sneak previews anymore." She then must've felt something itching her left eye, because she went to rub her eye with her finger. Her eye then involuntarily shut before she yelped in pain. "Ow!" She then continued to rub her eye with her sleeve. It watered profusely, and it became very red.

"What happened?" I asked, becoming concerned.

Haruhi's eye blinked repeatedly as it continued to water. She was obviously in some pain. "I think I still had some pepper juice on my fingers."

I was then that I started laughing really hard, like when I did seeing her mouth stuffed with bread.

Haruhi punched me in the back as hard as she could. "Shut up, Kyon! It's not funny!"

Despite the pain from the blow, I kept laughing for another ten seconds. I looked up and saw Kunikida, Taniguchi and a few other classmates looking at us with goofy smiles. They held back their laughs as best as they could, lest they too became victims of Haruhi's wrath. Nevertheless, I was extremely pleased to have seen not one but two classic Haruhi moments in one day, all because she foolishly underestimated the potency of the habanero.

It looks like today will be a good day…

Haruhi had cleaning duty today, so I went to the clubroom alone. It's all for the better I guess. Having it like this will make Haruhi's big announcement all the more dramatic. After being sure to knock, I entered to find the terrific trio all in their usual places. "Hey, guys."

"Good day, Kyon-kun," said Koizumi while in the middle of setting up the chess board. "You seem to be in a good mood."

"I can't complain too much. I got to laugh at Haruhi twice today. It's starting to feel like the best day I've had in weeks."

"And she wasn't bothered by that?"

"Well, on the outside she seemed pretty upset, but I'm sure she's fine. She has no one to blame but herself for her own stupidity."

"And what did she do exactly?" asked Koizumi, his plastic grin growing ever so slightly.

I explained the events of what happened earlier to everyone who bothered to listen. Koizumi gave a light chuckle when I finished. "I must admit I would have liked to see that. Capsaicin…Are you familiar with it?"

Yes, I'm very familiar with capsaicin. That's the stuff that makes peppers hot. I had a mouth full of it this morning.

Koizumi continued with what was obviously going to be another monologue. "Yes, indeed. Let me ask you this? Did you know that birds are not affected by capsaicin?" After seeing me shake my head, he continued. "You see, when birds eat the fruit of the different varieties of peppers, they also eat the seeds. They later excrete those seeds while flying, allowing the seeds to spread. However, if a mammal were to eat the seeds, the seeds die. So you can see, the 'hotness' of a pepper is just a mechanism designed to deter mammals from eating the fruit while allowing the birds to eat it unaffected."

"And where are you going with this?"

"I'm just saying that it's an amazing marvel of nature. In fact, one could make the argument that its design was not the result of evolution, but the purposeful intent of a being of great power."

"Isn't that what you esper people believe to be the truth about the whole universe?"

Koizumi's grin grew larger still. Personally, I found that the real amazing thing was the irony that the very design used to deter mammals from eating peppers is the very reason the supposedly smartest mammal in the world decides to eat them.

Asahina-san had begun to serve the tea. "Here you go, Kyon-kun!"

Ah, to taste Asahina-san's tea after such a long weekend, my day is now complete. Seeing her did remind me of something however. "By the way, Asahina-san. I just want you to know that I now understand what it's like to be you!"

Asahina-san blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You know when Haruhi forcefully strips and dresses you and stuff? Well…Haruhi's dad…" I couldn't finish the sentence.

Asahina-san nervously smiled, probably not sure as to what to say. "Well…that's too bad…I think…"

I sighed deeply. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. While sipping my tea, I was sure to note that Nagato-san what currently reading what appeared to be an old copy of The Canterbury Tales. She knows old English, too? What other ancient forgotten languages does she know? I'll laugh if she knows ancient Egyptian…

Koizumi and I started our chess game shortly after that and it wasn't long before I once again was gaining the upper hand on him. The game passed the time quickly and it wasn't long before I heard the door swing open violently. Oh boy, time for the big announcement. Better act surprised…or not…

"Yahoo! Greetings Brigade!" She then moved swiftly to the front of the room. She put her bag on the table and began to open it. She then pulled out what appeared to be several pieces of paper. Quickly, she was able find some tape and stick the papers together. It was soon obvious that it was a map that had been printed out on copy paper. She then taped the map onto the black board for all to see.

"Who here can tell me what city this map is for? And you're not allowed to answer, Kyon!"

I wasn't going to anyway, thank you.

After a few seconds, Koizumi spoke up. "I do believe that's a map of Kyoto."

"Correct! 1000 points to you Koizumi!"

What the hell are those points for anyway?

"As Koizumi said, this is a map of Kyoto. And can anyone tell me why we have a map of Kyoto up here?"

Everyone was silent for a short while until Asahina-san nervously spoke up. "Are we going to Kyoto?"

"Correct, Mikuru-chan!" yelled Haruhi before she darted over to where she was and began to snuggle up on her from behind. "But, can you tell me why?" Haruhi hugged Asahina-san tightly and began to sway her back and forth rhythmically. "Don't be shy. Tell me."

"I don't know…" said Asahina-san, scared of the consequences of her ignorance.

I raised my hand to answer. Haruhi sighed in annoyance when she saw my hand up. "Go ahead, Kyon."

"We're going to confront James Randi there."

"Zero points for you for already knowing the answer!"

Aw, come on. Why can't I get any of those imaginary and completely arbitrary points? Koizumi has got a huge lead on me on those.

Haruhi let go of Asahina-san and went back to the map. "As was mentioned by Kyon, we're going to confront James Randi in Kyoto." She then points to a specific spot on the map. "This is the location of the convention center that Randi-san himself is scheduled to speak at three weeks from yesterday!" She then grabs a marker and begins to write small numbers on each of the individual pieces of paper. "We're leaving Friday of that week, right after class. We'll be taking a train directly to the city, and we're expected to begin our search immediately after we arrive! Each of these numbers is a designated zone of the city you are expected to search!"

"Search for what?" asked Asahina-san.

Haruhi stood triumphantly, her million-watt smile in full display. "The same thing we're always searching for! Aliens, time-travelers, espers or anything else supernatural! We'll spend the rest of Friday and all of Saturday searching! And when we find something, we'll…" She then runs to the closet and grabs the camcorder we used to shoot our movie. "Use this to capture whatever we find as evidence! We will then show up at that convention and shove it down James Randi's throat! We'll publicly humiliate him and make ourselves world famous!"

"That sounds like an incredibly ambitious idea," said Koizumi, sounding quite impressed.

Personally, I think the idea of searching an entire city from top to bottom in a day and a half is an insane task, but I knew saying so would result in me being ignored. Still had to be somewhat awed by her confidence.

"I'm sure we'll even win that prize money from his stupid foundation. I say my share should be 40% and you four can split the rest!"

"Why should your share be so big?" I asked.

Haruhi glared at me in annoyance. "Because it was my idea, and I'm the leader!" After staring each other down for a few seconds, she finally relented. "Fine, we'll split it evenly. Money's not important to me anyway!"

And with that, the stage was set for what was going to be the titanic clash between the SOS Brigade and the JREF. I could even tell that Nagato-san was at least somewhat interested…maybe. Can you feel the excitement?

Yay…

Shortly after Haruhi finished with her announcement, she decided to let club activities end a little early. This meant that Haruhi and I were now on our way back to her place. I wasn't terribly excited to head back, since I suspected that Oruki would have some kind of horrible task for me to complete, one perhaps even more painful than the last.

Haruhi suddenly paused and turned towards me. "I don't feel like going home yet. Let's go find something to do."

"Like what?" I asked, being more than happy to delay having to do my chores. We did leave a little early so if we spent some time doing something, he'd probably never know we weren't at the school and wouldn't give me a hard time.

"I don't know. What do you want to do?"

I thought for a minute about the question. "A movie maybe?"

"I'm not in the mood for that. There's nothing interesting being shown in the movies right now."

We were silent for another minute. I was completely blanking on what we could do…Hey wait a minute. Why is it that Haruhi wants to do something with me so badly? Now that I think about it, I think this was the first time she's asked me to hang out with like this. I started to get a little nervous. I was reminded of the fact that Haruhi had semi-secret feelings for me. Was this her way of going on a date with me?

Eventually, Haruhi started to get impatient. "Come on! Can't you think of something?"

"You're the one that suggested we do something. Why can't you think of it?" Just as Haruhi was about to lose interest, I made a suggestion. "Let's just walk through town. Maybe we'll find something along the way."

Although she appeared unimpressed with the suggestion, she accepted anyway. "Fine, let's go."

The two of us made our way into town. I was sure to look at my watch while we were doing this as I really didn't want us to be out all day. I was sure to get an ear full if we didn't come back at a decent hour. Most of the places we passed on our way seemed inappropriate. The library? Nope, that's Nagato's favorite spot. The park? Nah, Haruhi would be bored to tears. The mall? Well, I did know that Haruhi did occasionally like to window shop. However, I knew I'd be bored to tears with that.

It was then that I saw a recreation center. I remembered the place had lots of things to do. I'd been there a few times with my sister in the past. I'm not sure if it'll suit Haruhi's fancy, but I figured it'd be worth a try. "How about there?"

Haruhi shrugged when she saw it. "Whatever…" She sure isn't treating this like a date. Maybe I should stop being so worried. We're just friends hanging out, right? Yeah…

The recreation center seemed to have plenty of people there, some of whom were people that were from our school. I started regretting picking this place, suspecting that some of the people here might see the two of us and get the wrong idea.

"Hey Kyon! What's up?!"

Including people like him... I turned towards the voice and saw Taniguchi and Kunikida approaching us.

"Fancy seeing you two here," said Taniguchi.

I mentally facepalmed when I saw the two of them. "What's up?"

"We're here to pick up some ladies!" said Taniguchi, trying desperately to look like a big shot.

"Well, he's looking," said Kunikida. "I'm just trying to kill some time."

I bet. It's not like the two of you have any serious chance of landing a girlfriend here, anyway.

It was then that Taniguchi leaned towards me a little too close. "You two here on a date, huh? I knew it."

Why can't I get a break? Seriously, I wish I could go at least one week without someone misinterpreting something I was doing. Is that asking too much?

"Well, we'll just leave you two alone. Wouldn't want to spoil your fun."

Just before the two of them could walk off, I grabbed them both by the collar. "Stick around. We're not on a date." At least, if they hang with us, I can convince myself that this isn't a date.

Haruhi had ignored the three of us while she began to look around for something to interest her. This place had bowling, miniature golf, batting cages, an arcade, and laser tag. But there was one thing that seemed to catch Haruhi's attention. A moment later she grabbed a hold of my tie and began to drag me towards whatever had her interest.

"Hey, where are we going?!"

"I know what I want to do! Over here!"

Moments later we were standing in line for the go-kart racing track. It looked like Haruhi was in the mood to race. I guess this works. It was exciting and competitive enough for Haruhi that I was sure she'd be content with it for a while. Taniguchi and Kunikida decided to follow us and get in line.

Taniguchi gave a cocky smile. "Go-kart racing, huh? Hope you guys know how to drive. I'm awesome at this!"

The idea that Taniguchi was awesome at anything was highly suspect. I certainly didn't take his boast seriously.

A couple minutes later, our turns to go on the go-karts had come. There was a minor issue.

"I can't pay for my ride," I said, since I still needed what little money I had to hopefully try and move to my own place someday.

"I'll take care of it," said Haruhi as she paid.

"I don't want to have to owe you again."

Haruhi smiled at while putting on her helmet. "Tell you what, Kyon. If you can beat me, we're even. Otherwise, you'll owe me double!"

Owe you double? What does that mean? Does that mean I have to do double of your chores? I already do all your chores when your dad isn't around. After giving it some more thought, I somehow decided that didn't want to know.

I will say this. Hearing Taniguchi mock me from behind my back for letting Haruhi pay for me was incredibly annoying. Damn him…

Eventually the four of us and four others got into our karts as we got ready to race. Someone had managed to get both of the go-karts in the front, which pissed Haruhi off pretty bad. I imagined she was going to make them pay for it later during the race. I picked a go-kart closer to the back, not really caring which go-kart I chose. Taniguchi picked the one next to me and Kunikida picked the one behind me. So that meant that Haruhi was starting in third, Taniguchi was starting in fifth, I was in sixth, and Kunikida was in last. After we were explained how to control the karts, we were ready for the race.

It took about a lap before I got a feel for how the go-kart rode. I had hoped that my experience riding a bike would translate into go-kart driving, but it really didn't. The track was somewhat narrow, so it was hard to pass people on it. Taniguchi was the first of the four of us to wipe out. A magnificent display of his awesome driving skills. Okay, to be fair it wasn't his fault. One of the other drivers wiped out and took him with him before he could react. With both Taniguchi and the other guy out of the way, this meant I was in fourth.

I soon realized I was right behind Haruhi…

She was being held up by both the first and second place racers who were also battling for first. With the three of them constantly trying to outmaneuver one another, they were slowly losing ground to me. I tried to be patient and ride the track, desperately trying to rely on my limited experience from racing games to pull through. Eventually, I caught up to Haruhi. Fortunately, she appeared too occupied with the go-karts in front of her to notice me. We eventually came up to a sharp right turn. The go-karts in first and second decided to slow down, but Haruhi didn't. She decided to ram the second place go-kart directly, hoping that this would mess him up and give her the chance she needed to get past him. Unfortunately for her, this didn't work the way she wanted to and it caused both her and the other driver to take the turn wider than they'd wanted to. I saw my chance. I carefully maneuvered my vehicle on the inside and overtook the both of them. I could hear Haruhi yelling at me from behind.

I did it! I actually got past Haruhi! I might actually beat her! I can't wait to end this race so I can rub it in her face!

I spoke too soon…

It wasn't long after I had passed her that I came to a hairpin turn. In my excitement, I had sped up too much and I wasn't able to make the turn. I wiped out against the foam padding, which only took some of the shock out of the impact. Feeling rattled, it was only seconds before I noticed Haruhi had managed to pass right by me again. She even had the nerve to pull her lower eyelid down and stick her tongue at me. That alone was painful enough for my pride, but what made it worse was when I saw Kunikida pass by me, too. I eventually was able to get back in the race, but it was too late. I wasn't able to catch up to those two.

In the end, Haruhi managed to snag first, Kunikida came in third, I came in fourth, and Taniguchi came in dead last. It was safe to say that Haruhi was feeling more than satisfied with herself.

"Yup, I have to admit I kicked butt!"

"I could have had you," I said.

"Only because I let you," said Haruhi smugly. "I knew you were going to blow it!"

Taniguchi once again proved to be the king of excuses. "That totally wasn't my fault. I got taken out by that crappy driver in front of me and then my car wouldn't drive right at all after that. No matter what I did it wouldn't handle right!"

I'm sure it was the car and not your complete and total lack of skill or luck, Taniguchi. I totally believe you.

After we were done discussing the race, Haruhi decided it was time to head back home before her parents got upset. I checked my watch and found it to be almost five. Yup, we better hurry. I'd hate to be late for whatever arduous task Oruki had in store for me.

While walking back, Haruhi excitedly talked about the idea of driving for real. "Maybe I should go for getting a license when I'm able to. I'd be able to drive the whole Brigade anywhere I'd want to go!" She then pretended she was driving while was continued to walk. "Maybe I'll be able to get a hold of a sports car and challenge people to street races!"

Oh please, none of that. I don't even want to know what you'd do to get your own car. Kidnap the family of some car dealer and hold them for ransom? I'm not so sure she wouldn't do that. And let's not even discuss the other problems that would come with her ever driving. The world would be a much better place as long as Haruhi doesn't get her own set of wheels.

Haruhi turned to me with a coy smile. "By the way, Kyon. Don't think I've forgotten that you owe me double for losing to me."

"What do you expect me to do to pay you back? I'm already doing your chores and I can't pay you back with money."

"Don't worry, I'll think of something!" She gave a quick wink before turning forward again. I almost dread what she's going to hatch up. I'm sure it'll be something horrible, once again.

Nevertheless, I couldn't help but smile. Today had been a pretty good day over all. I'd say it was the best day I've had in weeks. It seemed unlikely that anything could happen that would mess my day up now.

When we finally made it back to Haruhi's place, I was surprised to see Oruki waiting for us behind the door. He had his arms crossed and he appeared less than pleased. He immediately pointed towards the kitchen. "Both of you, in the kitchen. Now!"

What the hell was this all this about? Was he mad about the time we got back? It wasn't that much later than when we usually came home. Or maybe…maybe he somehow found out about the fact that Haruhi and I went to that recreation center together. It wasn't a date, I swear it! No…that can't be it. There's no way he'd know about that. Then what the hell is he upset about?

Haruhi and I soon took our seats in the kitchen. I noticed Naru-san standing in the corner of the room looking concerned. That was bad. I think that's only the second time I'd seen her not smile since I met her, the first time being when she was disappointed that her weird paper wards didn't attract ghosts.

Oruki soon followed us in while carrying a small box. He put the box on the kitchen table before he finally began to speak. "There is something I wanted to discuss with the both of you. You see, there has been something that has been bothering me since Kyon-kun here had first moved in. At first I tried hard not to think about it too much, but eventually I started to realize something wasn't adding up."

Now I was really confused. What the hell was he talking about? What could possibly have been bothering him since I first moved in? Why didn't he say something about it sooner? And what's with the box?

Oruki continued. "Then yesterday, I had a startling realization. I finally figured out that there was something the both of you were hiding from me."

Hiding? Hiding what? I haven't been hiding anything from Haruhi's parents. Okay, maybe I was hiding the whole god, aliens, time-travelers and espers thing, but I was hiding that from everyone, even Haruhi. There's no way they should suspect anything about that.

"I don't think you've been honest with me about your club."

What? The club? What about the club? It was then that I looked at Haruhi and noticed her face had become a few shades paler. And then it hit me. I remembered yesterday when Haruhi was yelling at me for not doing my homework. She said the word Brigade very quietly, as if she didn't want her parent to hear the word. I looked at Haruhi wide eyed.

You never told them, did you? You never told them about the SOS Brigade!

Oruki sat down at the table and rested his head on his hand while smiling smugly. "So, Kyon-kun. Tell me what you know about this club of yours."

Haruhi tried to answer. "Dad, our…"

She was quickly interrupted by her father. "No no no! I want Kyon-kun to answer me."

What the hell was I supposed to say? Obviously she didn't tell them the truth. What did she tell her parents then? It was then that I remembered something else from yesterday. I remembered Naru-san question about reading while drinking tea and Oruki's question about what books I read. I got it! She must have told them that she was in the Literary Club! Great, I'll just make up some stuff about the Literary Club, and we'll be off the hook.

"Our club is the Literary Club. Everyday we…"

I was soon interrupted, however. "Cut the crap!" It was then that Oruki reached into the box. "I took the liberty of looking through your stuff. Hope you don't mind."

You bastard! What right do you think you have to rummage through my belongings? That stuff is mine, dammit!

He then pulled out a book and tossed it in front of me. The very same book the Nagato gave to me when we had the party. "Out of all the things you had, this was the only real book you had in your possession." He then picked it up and opened it. "And it's quite obvious that this was a gift from someone and not something you bought yourself." He points to a message on the inside of the cover that was written by Nagato herself. "Not to mention the fact that the book is in near pristine condition, meaning that you haven't even read the damn thing yet! All of this plus the fact that you told me you barely ever read real books tells me that you're definitely not the type of person who would join the Literary Club!"

He had me there. If I had the choice, I definitely would've never joined the Literary Club. Heck, the fact that Nagato was the only Literary Club member two years running speaks volumes about the popularity of the club. Still, I had to try. I knew I couldn't tell him the truth.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm not much of a reader. I didn't join the Literary Club for the books." I laughed nervously as I tried to think of a reason I would join the club. "I…uh…I joined the club because of…the…the girls! Yeah…"

It was then that I heard Naru-san giggle. "Oh I doubt that, Kyon-kun. You're much too sweet."

I've been called a lot of things before, but sweet? Yeah right… By the way, Naru-san, you're not helping. Then again, you're not on my side this time, are you?

"I have to agree with my wife on this one," said Oruki. "In the short time I've known you, Kyon-kun, I've gotten to understand you a bit. And if there's one thing you are not it is a ladies man."

Yep, you're right. I can't even say that I'm a wannabe ladies man like Taniguchi. This was bad. I had to back track again and come up with a more believable explanation. I looked at Haruhi. Her head had lowered slightly, and her eyes had glazed over. I couldn't imagine the things that must've been running through her head that this moment. Her parents had singled me out, and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

I didn't give up, though. "Okay…the truth is that…the club was short on members. In order to keep the club alive, Haruhi forced me to join it." That was kinda sort of the truth anyway.

Oruki nodded his head after I said that. "I see…The funny thing is that I might have bought that explanation if it weren't for something else…" He then put his hand in the box again and pulled something else out. A red colored armband. The very same one that Haruhi gave me at the party. The words "Brigade Member #1" were still clearly legible on it. He then tossed it on the table. "I also remember hearing the word Brigade coming from my daughter more than once over the last year. I didn't think too much about it until I found this."

I looked at Haruhi again. Her eyes had become even wider and her skin even paler. I sensed her enormous fear when she learned of her father's discovery. "Dad, listen…"

"Quiet!" yelled Oruki before he once again rested his head on his hand. He was no longer smiling, however. "So tell me, Kyon-kun. What's this brigade all about?"

I was completely stumped as for what to say. This was the smoking gun in what had been an enormous lie that Haruhi had perpetrated for the last year, and if it weren't for me, she might have been able to get away with it.

I did what I could to try and explain away the armband. "Well…I…uh…the brigade thing is a bit of an inside joke. You see, we read this book in our club about…about the misadventures of this bumbling brigade full of goofballs, and we found it so hilarious that we nicknamed our club after it."

Oruki glared ominously at me. I was getting the feeling that he wasn't buying it. "I see, so you're telling me that the brigade thing comes from a book you guys read. It inspired you so much that you named your club after it. That's funny, because apparently this book you just told me about was so incredibly inspirational, that it just so happens that neither one of you two happen to own a copy of it. And don't try to give me anymore bull crap about the book being somewhere in Haruhi's room! I went through her stuff, too! Found some pretty interesting things in there as well!" He then put his hand in the box again and pulled out a few more things. One was the original copy of the Adventures of Mikuru Asahina DVD. Another was the mega-phone Haruhi used while filming the movie. Lastly, there was another armband with the words "Ultra Director" on it. "Care to explain that?"

He had me completely in a corner. He was like famous prosecuting attorney who was about to make a witness confess to a murder. His instincts and common sense were every bit as sharp as his daughters. I almost wondered if he'd missed his calling in life. Nevertheless, I was sweating profusely. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and my mouth was really dry. I could not think of anything to say. I was cooked, plain and simple. Sorry Haruhi…I tried…

Oruki was now showing obvious signs of anger on his face. He was no longer playing mind games with me. He wanted the truth, and wanted it now. He marched right up to me and grabbed me by the shirt. I could even make out the blood vessels in his eyes growing larger as he spoke. "Tell me the truth! What the hell is this brigade all about?!"

I swallowed hard and began to think about how to answer him. I was beginning to fear for my own safety, and I had not a leg to stand on. "Well…you're right…we're not in the Literary Club…"

"And!"

I continued to think about what to tell him. If I told him our club was about finding aliens, time-travelers, and espers, the club would be doomed. I struggled to think how to tell him the truth about our club in a way that would make it okay with him for us to continue going to it. It was then that I remembered the posters I put up in the school almost a year ago. I tried to make the school think that the SOS Brigade was a jack of all trades counseling club. The school rejected the idea, but I figured it was worth giving it a shot.

"Our club is the SOS Brigade. It stands for "Spreading cheer to Our Student body" Brigade. It's a jack of all trades student counseling club. We try our best to help solve the problems that some students have. We even help them solve mysteries and stuff…"

"Ooo that sounds like fun!" exclaimed Naru-san innocently. This really wasn't the time for her to be acting like that, seriously.

Oruki let go of my shirt and raised an eyebrow. "SOS Brigade?" After seeing me nod, he went and picked up the jewel case holding the copy of our movie. "And how do you explain this?"

"That's a movie that we made for the Cultural Festival last year to promote our club. Honest!"

Oruki looked confused. "Cultural Festival?" He then turned to Haruhi and glared at her angrily. "I thought you said your Cultural Festival had been cancelled last year?"

This must explain why Haruhi's parent never showed up to the school's Cultural Festival last year. Haruhi lied to them about it to prevent them from finding out about the Brigade. It was then that I looked at Haruhi once again. Her head was hung so low now that her eyes were now covered up by her bangs. She looked completely defeated and drained of energy. I had failed her and the Brigade.

"Nevertheless," said Oruki as he circled the table and stood next to Haruhi. "I must say that this SOS Brigade is quite different from what we were told the club was about, assuming that you have indeed told me the truth. Literary Club indeed." He then looked at me sharply. "You're excused, Kyon-kun. My daughter and I have some things we need to discuss."

I slowly got up from the chair and carefully grabbed my things. While walking away, I turned to look at Haruhi one last time. Her expression hadn't changed. Dammit, I screwed up bad. I could only hope that this doesn't end too badly.

I went back to my room, but I stood at the doorway and tried to listen carefully to what was going to be said. It wasn't long before the yelling and screaming had begun. I cringed as I listened to the enormous shouting match that ensued between Haruhi and her father. Numerous swears could be heard during the course of the argument. However, there was one thing that I heard that almost made my heart stop.

"You can kiss your stupid club goodbye! Gone! Forget it!"

I was more than smart enough to know what this meant. The SOS Brigade, the single most important thing in Haruhi's life since she first created it, was gone. For the past year she had put her entire heart and soul into the Brigade, and her father was ripping it away from her. Hell, even I had put a lot of myself into it. We all did. I was also going to sorely miss having the Brigade in my life.

But then I thought harder about it, and an enormous amount terror began to well up inside me. This wasn't a small matter about a simple club. No this was huge! The fate of the entire universe huge! It didn't take a whole lot of imagination to realize that taking the SOS Brigade away from Haruhi was one of the easiest means of causing her enough emotional turmoil to trigger her powers and cause a world reboot.

It was soon after I made this realization that the arguing had ended. I could hear Haruhi marching up the steps. She stormed right passed my door, tears beginning to roll down her eyes. She didn't even bother to look at me.

Was she mad at me? If she was, that was bad. Really bad! In the past, since the first near reboot of the world, I'd always figured that there was at least a high probability that if she ever decided to reboot the world again that I'd be the one person she'd bring along with her. Right now, I wasn't so sure about that.

It was only moments later that I heard my cell phone ring. I darted straight to it, knowing exactly who it was. "What's up, Koizumi?"

"Kyon-kun! What is happening?!" asked Koizumi, his voice only barely containing his fear.

I closed my door and lowered my voice before answering. "Haruhi's parents just found out about the SOS Brigade for the first time. Her father told her that she wasn't allowed to go to it anymore."

"I see. You're not joking, are you?"

"I wish I was," I said before asking him my own question. "How bad is it?"

Koizumi went straight to the point. "If your asking about the closed space, let me just say this. It's the largest and fastest growing one we've ever seen. Even more so than the one from the baseball tournament. There is absolutely nothing we can do to stop it."

I swallowed hard as I found my worst fears confirmed. "How long do we have?"

"Less than an hour. In that time, our world will end. It's growing far too fast for the Organization to handle it, and the higher ups are in absolute panic. You have to do something about this."

"What the hell do you expect me to do about it?!"

"I don't know. But right now, you are the only person in the entire world, no the entire universe, that can stop this. I know you can do it." He then hung up.

Save the universe again, huh? No problem. It's what we ordinary humans do best. I looked at the clock in my room. Less than an hour, huh? That's not a lot of time. And I don't have the slightest idea on how I can fix this. Should I talk to Haruhi? No, I doubt that would help. The way her mood is right now, I doubt she'd want to talk to anyone, including me. So what does that leave? That really leaves only one option.

I had to confront Haruhi's father, and somehow make him change his mind.

Doing this seemed like suicide. After all, I was sure Oruki was pretty damn pissed off at me, too. If this confrontation became physical, I would be decimated without effort. I would have to try to avoid that, but I wasn't sure if I could. I had not the slightest idea on what I would have to say to get him to change his mind. None of this mattered, though. I was going to do this anyway. My life was far less important than the fate of the universe. The worst case scenario was that I would be murdered and then the rest of the universe would promptly follow only minutes later. At least no one would say I didn't try.

I then opened my door and slowly and nervously walked out of my room and down the steps…

Man! How was that for a cliffhanger? I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writing it. Soon we shall find out what happens when Kyon confronts Oruki! Yay!