I want to thank everyone for giving an overwhelming amount of reviews! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We're almost there, so don't stop now, okay?!

The next couple chapters will have a lot more Kyon/Haruhi goodness, and not just because you asked for it. I was planning on doing this anyway, since I knew that the last few chapters didn't have a lot of romance scenes in them.

I apologize for any mistakes you might find. I had to rush the proof-reading, today. Please state any corrections you can find and I'll correct them as soon as possible.

Anyway, Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 15

You know what? I slept like a baby last night. In fact, it was the first time in a short while that I passed out right away. I had some nice dreams, too…too bad my memories of them had faded, with the exception of one.

It had the entire SOS Brigade together again, but this time we were in some weird blue and green colored van. We were all dressed in some weird 70's styled clothing. I was wearing a green shirt with brown bell bottoms. Koizumi was wearing a white shirt with blue pants and an orange ascot tie. Nagato had her glasses again, but they were huge and rectangle-shaped. She also had an orange sweater and skirt. Asahina-san wore this really cute lavender dress with purple stockings. And finally…there was Haruhi. What was she wearing? Believe it or not, she was cosplaying as a dog-girl. Don't ask me why. It was too bizarre.

Anyway, the five of us were out on the road solving mysteries. We eventually stopped at some hotel that was being terrorized by some kind of kappa. Not wanting to miss a chance to get to the bottom of this newest mystery, we set out to the inner depths of this hotel. During the course of trying to solve the mystery, our group eventually split up, and for some reason, I was paired with Haruhi. Normally, I probably would've loathed being paired with her, but for some reason I found the dog costume she wore to be surprisingly appealing (and not just because it was also somewhat revealing).

During our search for clues, we were attacked by the kappa several times. Each time, Haruhi and I would have to try and find some way to out smart the creature to get away. Along the way, we raided the kitchen of the hotel and made huge sandwiches which were both eaten by Haruhi before I could even take a bite. I even remember having to give her some kind of dog-treat at some point before she started smelling the ground for clues. I had to admit that watching her do this was very amusing.

Eventually, through a series of wild mishaps, we finally caught the kappa and were finally going to unmask it to find out who it really was. Unfortunately, this is where the dream ended, because I suddenly felt strong vibrations coming from a spot right next to me. I then felt another coming from a different location of the bed. This happened a few more times before I felt something heavy land right on my back.

My face was buried in the pillow at the time, so my scream of pain was muffled. However, I could no longer ignore the vibrations that came from different spots on my bed. Eventually figured out what they were then I felt something heavy land on my back again. No doubt that this was Haruhi, and she was jumping on my bed to wake me up, occasionally landing on me on purpose.

"Damn you, Kyon! Wake up! Don't think that just because the Brigade is no longer in jeopardy that you can just slack off! What the hell's the matter with you?! You had no problem waking up before me the last three days!"

Go away! I want to go back to sleep and find out who the kappa was! The mystery was almost solved, dammit!

It was then that Haruhi jumped up really high and slammed into my back with her shoulder.

"OW! Dammit! That hurt!"

"That's your punishment for being lazy, Kyon!" She then sat up and swung her leg to the other side of my body. "Giddy up horsey!" She even went and pulled on the collar of my shirt as if it were reins.

"Get off me! I'm not a horse!"

Haruhi pulled on my collar harder, enough to start to choke me. "Damn you! I said Giddy up! Up! Now!"

I reluctantly agreed and started to lift her while getting on my hands and knees. When I was younger, I used to do this kind of thing for my sister a lot, but my sister was just a little kid back then and not at all a seventeen year old. I didn't know which was worse, the fact that I was being completely dominated in this position or the fact that Haruhi was immature enough to still think this was fun.

By some miracle, I was able to get off my bed without falling on my face and slowly made it towards my door. Haruhi continuously pulled on my collar to egg me to go faster.

"Ow, stop it! That's enough. Get off!"

"Quiet! Horseys don't talk!"

I eventually made it to the hall, leaving what little self-respect I still had in my room.

"Faster, horsey! Faster! You're going too slow!"

She even had the nerve to slap me in the butt while riding me. Dammit, that's not okay! You definitely do not have permission to do that!

"Quiet horsey! Move it! Down the stairs!"

You want me to go down the stairs like this? I'll fall on my face for sure.

During all this, I noticed that we were about to pass back the bedroom that belonged to Haruhi's parents. I begged and pleaded with the heavens that neither one of them would come out of their room and see me like this.

Of course I can never be lucky enough to avoid humiliation. A second later, Naru-san opened the door and walked out. She immediately saw us and stared at us for a few seconds before she started to crack up. Oh man. Shoot me now. This horse is lame and needs to die.

"Oh my, that looks fun!" said Naru-san cheerfully. "Can I join, too?"

No! Please don't! I'm being tortured enough!

To my chagrin, Naru-san went and got on my back, too. The combined weight of the both of them was now unbearable, and I was only able to go a couple feet before I collapsed in exhaustion.

"Get up, horsey! No slacking!"

Please…get off…can't breathe…

After giving a loud huff, Haruhi finally got off of me, followed by her mother. "Stupid Kyon! You're the worst horsey ever!"

Thanks. Can I have my dignity back, please?

Thankfully, Naru-san was a little more considerate of my condition. "Are you alright, Kyon-kun?"

Do I even have to answer that?

Naru-san was nice enough to help me up off the floor. "There we go. Sorry if I hurt you."

Oh Naru-san, why couldn't you have passed down your kindness and consideration to your daughter? Or perhaps you did, and it's just buried under all of your husband's brass insensitivity. Yeah, that must be it…

Naru-san promised to make breakfast for us while we got ourselves ready. I let Haruhi take her shower first. While I waited on her, I went ahead and picked out my outfit for the day. I heard that today was going to be a scorcher, so I decided on something light since I knew I would out in the sun all day.

Eventually, the both of us got finished getting washed and dressed. We then went to the kitchen to see what Naru-san cooked up. She made some egg sandwiches with sausage and cheese, similar to those sandwiches made that fast food places except way better. I was about half-way done with my first sandwich when I noticed that Oruki still hadn't come down for breakfast.

"What's up with your husband? Doesn't he usually get up at the same time you do?"

"Oruki-kun isn't feeling well today," said Naru-san with a weak smile. "He needed to rest a bit longer."

No doubt he probably still didn't want to look his daughter in the face. I was really hoping he wasn't going to try and avoid her forever. He had to come to terms with the truth eventually, right?

I was roused from my thoughts when Naru-san asked a question. "Are you two going out somewhere today?"

"We're meeting up with the rest of our club downtown," answered Haruhi. "It's not enough for us to simply solve other people's mysteries. We must also go out and seek our own mysteries as well."

"That sounds like an awful lot of fun," said Naru-san with a pout. "I sure wish I could come."

"Sowwy mom," said Haruhi with a mouthful of sandwich. Can't you swallow before speaking? "But city wid searches ar fo Bigad members ony."

I facepalmed at Haruhi's manners. I just hoped that today wouldn't be a disaster.

When we finally finished our breakfast, we headed out for yet another of our city wide searches. As we made the trek down the streets, I was pleased to find that the air was still relatively cool. The trek was mostly downhill, too, which made it all the better in my opinion. Haruhi had made it a point to be ahead of me when we left, and she was walking at a slightly brisker pace than me. At first, I figured she was just being her usual take-charge self, but I noticed she would occasionally look behind her shoulder at me. I was confused at this at first, especially when her pace started to get faster and faster. Eventually, she was at a jog.

"Hey stop!" I yelled. "You're going to fast!"

"I won't be the last one!" she yelled as she then took off in a full sprint.

I then figured it out. She was trying to make sure that she wasn't the last one to show up to the meeting. I guess the rule of "whoever shows up last has to pay for everyone else" still applies. I reluctantly took off after her with the faint hope that I would be able to catch up to her…

I don't know why I even bothered to try. No matter how hard I pumped my legs and arms, I couldn't close the distance between myself and Haruhi. What made things worse was the fact that her stamina was better than mine. I wasn't able to chase her more than a few blocks before I was quickly tiring out and losing ground. Fortunately, by the time this happened we were almost there. Still, I unfortunately lost to her when we got there. And guess what. Nagato, Koizumi and Asahina-san were already there before us. Just once, I'd like to see one of them late. Why can't that ever happen?

I hunched over to try and regain my breath when we arrived. I looked at Haruhi, who was also trying to catch her breath too, but she wasn't nearly as winded as I was.

"Too bad, Kyon! You're late again!"

Oh boy, I'm late by a whole two seconds. Yay…

"And as you already know, being late means you're being charged with a penalty."

I guess some things never change. I secretly wondered what that penalty could be. Surely she knew I didn't have any money I could spend by now. Honestly, though, I was getting sick of not being able to use my money for anything. I have 40,000 yen burning a hole in my pocket, and I can't freaking spend it. It's maddening!

As usual, we made our way into the café that we always met at before we spilt up. Everyone ordered their drinks before Haruhi began her usual pre-search speech.

"As you all know, it's been a while since the last time we did this, so I want everyone to know that we must take extra effort to keep an eye out for the extraordinary!"

You say that, but we all know you're not really being serious. We always end up goofing off on these stupid searches anyway.

Haruhi did her usual ritual of picking five toothpicks and marking two of them. "Okay, get ready to pick. Concentrate on your destiny!"

How is concentrating supposed to affect what toothpick we pick? I'm sure as hell that it won't work with me.

Asahina-san, Koizumi and Nagato picked first. I was about to pick too, but just before I did, I noticed that Koizumi and Nagato already had marked toothpicks, making the act of picking a toothpick myself pointless. I sighed inwardly when I realized this. I had secretly hoped that I wouldn't get paired up with Haruhi. To be honest, I was hoping for a break from her. Guess that wouldn't happen. Oh well, it's not all bad. At least I'm also paired with Asahina-san, too. Her bubbling energy should be enough to perk me up.

"Okay, now that it's decided, we better not waste anymore time," said Haruhi while holding her drink in the air. "Finish up quickly! We have a lot of searching to do!"

Shortly afterward, we received the bill, which caused a moment of awkwardness between us. Technically, according to our rules, I had to pay. So if I couldn't pay, what would happen instead?

"Don't worry about it, Kyon," said Haruhi as she reached into her purse.

"What do you mean 'don't worry about it.' I know you. You're going to make me pay ten fold in some other way."

"Duh," said Haruhi rudely. "Rules are rules. If you can't pay in one way, I'll make you pay in another."

At this point, I realized that I really didn't want to find out how she was going to make me repay her. It was then that I made a decision that I would soon regret. "Forget it. I'll pay."

Haruhi blinked in surprised. "I thought you had to save your money."

"It's fine," I said as I pulled out my wallet. "It's not a big deal." I then proceeded to pay the bill, and we all left to parts unknown. I guess I could always sell my bike if I had to. It's not like I really use it anymore.

While my group decided to march off to the north side of town, Koizumi and Nagato were sent to "search" the south side. I knew that I was going to be bored out of my mind today. Why? Because when you have Haruhi and Asahina-san together in a group during our city-wide searches, this usually meant one thing. Window shopping. And being a typical guy, it was one of the last things I wanted to do.

Back in the day when we first started these searches, the idea of window shopping would have likely completely repulsed Haruhi, but as time progressed, she slowly gave in to the fact that she really was the kind of girl that enjoyed this kind of thing. In fact, if you were watching her right now without knowing a thing about her, you'd probably think she was like any other girl. I guess it wasn't that bad that she was like this. It just gives me nothing to do when she and Asahina-san entered a store.

During our travels in the local mall, Haruhi stopped briefly to use the bathroom, which gave me the opportunity to talk to Asahina-san about yesterday. I didn't get a chance to do so before since Haruhi was constantly around.

"Asahina-san. Do you know about what happened with Haruhi's parents?" I continued after she lightly nodded. "I'm a little worried that perhaps I made a mistake in letting them learn the truth. I mean, didn't you say yourself that they weren't supposed to find out?"

"Not exactly," said Asahina-san with a really cute smile. "What I said was that at the 'present-time' that they couldn't know. It was Wednesday when I said that."

"So you already knew that they were going to find out everything only days later, right?" Before she even opened her mouth, I interrupted. "Wait…let me guess…classified information?"

Asahina-san gave a guilty looking smile. "I'm sorry…"

I sighed inwardly just before Haruhi exited from the bathroom, yelling at us to continue on.

Eventually, the three of us entered a women's clothing store, much to my embarrassment. If any girls are reading this, please do us guys a favor. Don't take us to these places. It's incredibly uncomfortable for us…really. Standing in the middle of this place, I couldn't help but feel like every other girl in the store was staring at me, thinking that I'm either a stalker or that I have a penchant for cross-dressing.

I had to wait for Haruhi and Asahina-san as those two tried on some new outfits. It was probably only 15 minutes that I had to wait, but it felt like an eternity. I was relieved when they finally exited the changing room so I could see what they put on.

They were both wearing sleeveless dresses that were exactly the same, except that Haruhi's was yellow with sunflowers on it and Asahina-san was wearing pink with white roses.

"How do we look?" asked Haruhi with a bright smile.

"You both look great in that," I said. They really did. I relished Asahina-san's slight embarrassment when I said that. It's so damn cute.

Haruhi paused, as if she was almost disappointed with what I said. "And?"

"That's it. What else do you want me to say?"

Haruhi had a mild look of annoyance on her face before she grabbed Asahina-san by the wrist. "Let's try something else."

And once again, the two of them picked something out and went back into the changing while I was left contemplating what the hell I said wrong. I facepalmed as I continued to wait for those two to finish dressing.

Haruhi and Asahina-san once again exited the dressing room. This time they were both dressed in red and white halter tops respectively with short denim skirts. I noticed that Haruhi's smile was slightly more toned down this time.

"What do you think now?"

"Great. You both look fantastic."

Haruhi continued to glare at me, making me feel a bit nervous. I noticed Asahina-san getting increasingly nervous as well. What the hell does Haruhi want me to say? Would she be happier if I said she looked like crap? Did I not praise her enough? These were my thoughts as Haruhi grabbed Asahina-san again by the wrist and picked something else out.

It was at this point that they continued to try on new outfits. Each time they finished getting dressed, they would come out and show me and I would tell them how great they both looked. And as a result, Haruhi would become more and more irritated and force Asahina-san to find something else to wear. I noticed Asahina-san's anxiety was also steadily increasing with every trip back to the changing room. What the hell is wrong with Haruhi today?

Finally, the two of them had put on what was going to be the last outfit. I almost didn't want to respond at this point, knowing that I was going to piss her off even more. When asked again how they looked, Haruhi was no longer smiling. Her frustration was obvious and so was mine.

"Look, you both look great. What else do you want to say? Do you think I'm lying or something?"

Haruhi stared daggers at me one last time before turning around and heading to the changing room. "I'm done. Let's go." Asahina-san then reluctantly followed suit, and soon the both of them were back in what they were wearing before they came here, never bothering to purchase anything.

Haruhi made an announcement as soon as we walked out of the store. "We're going to the school real quick. I left something there that I need to grab."

"What could you have possibly left at the school that's so important that you can't wait until tomorrow to get it?"

"You'll see when we get there!"

"You do realize that the school's closed right now, right?"

"That doesn't matter! Don't waste my time with unimportant details!"

I'm pretty sure it's damn important. After all, the fact that you're going to trespass on school property during the weekend could mean that all three of us could get into serious trouble.

Of course, all of this mattered little to our Brigade Chief. For whatever reason, she felt it was imperative to break into the school on a weekend and grab something she forgot. What the hell could it be anyway? It's probably something in the clubroom, but what? I certainly don't remember her leaving anything important there. In fact, we haven't even been in that room since last Monday before Haruhi was banned from her club. If there was anything so important in there, couldn't she have gotten it last week when no one was in there?

Ultimately, I knew that none of my questions would be answered until we got there, if at all. I'd hoped beyond hope that all the doors would be locked, and Haruhi would be forced to give up on whatever she was planning. Then again, we're dealing with someone who can alter reality at a whim. It would just be my luck that one of the doors would just happen to be unlocked.

Soon we arrived at our destination, quite a distance away from our original designated search location. I watch hopelessly as Haruhi went up to each door one at a time and pulled on it. Fortunately, all of the front doors were locked tight. Thanks god for that.

Haruhi's frustration was beyond obvious. "Dammit! There must be a way inside. Maybe we can break a window."

"We're not going to damage school property just so you can grab whatever it is that you think is so damn important," I said as sternly as I could, hoping to deter her from her crazy mission. It's a bit rare, but every once in a while I'm able to influence her into not doing something incredibly stupid and illegal.

Haruhi reaction was less than amused. She stared heatedly at me for a half a minute before storming off around the building. "I'm not leaving until I try every door!"

And so Asahina-san and I continued to follow Haruhi while she walked the perimeter of the building, trying every door she could find. At first, it appeared that all the doors were in fact locked, and I was starting to feel a bit relieved. Unfortunately, when we got to the doors that lead directly into the athletic field, Haruhi found one that wasn't properly locked. Great…

"There we go," said Haruhi smugly. "Come on you two! Inside!"

"Why do we have to go in with you? Can't you grab whatever you need by yourself?"

"I said get inside!" yelled Haruhi. "That's a direct order!"

"S…Suzumiya-san…" said Asahina-san weakly. "I…I really don't want to get in trouble…"

"It's fine, Mikuru-chan," said Haruhi as she grabbed the red-head by the arm and rushed her inside. "We're just going to the clubroom to do something real quick. We're not going to vandalize or steal anything."

I'm pretty sure breaking and entering is a crime regardless of the perpetrator's motives. And if we do get caught, do you know what's going to happen? Your father's going to be pissed. And guess who he's going to blame? Me! And do you know what he'll do after that? He's going to kill me! Do you even care?! Dammit, I want to live…who am I kidding? We're going through with this anyway…It's not like this is our first time doing this…Wait a minute! Did she say that we're here to do something? I thought we were just grabbing something. What that hell is she up to?

By the time I had finished with my internal monologue, we were at the door to the clubroom. The first thing Haruhi did was stare at the note she had left on the door last week when she was banned from the club, announcing that Brigade activities were suspended until further notice. Obviously, this thing had to go. So Haruhi did the reasonable thing and began to rip the note into smaller and smaller piece. The grin on her face while she did this had an almost sadistic look of pleasure as she ripped it into pieces so small that they could no longer be ripped by human hands. It must've been quite therapeutic for her, but couldn't she at least have done this over a garbage can? Now there was paper all over the floor.

After she was done with making an unnecessary mess, she grabbed Asahina-san by the arm again and turned to me while opening the door. "Stay outside until I tell you!" She then dragged the near frightened senior into the room and closed the door.

I stood there completely baffled. What in all that is sane is she doing? It wasn't long before I heard audible screams coming from Asahina-san, indicating that she was forcefully being undressed. I facepalmed when I realized this. I had a rather strong urge to run away. I knew that none of this was going to lead to anything good. I decided that while I waited for those two to get done with whatever they were doing to try and clean up all the paper that was all over the floor. I wasn't able to collect it all, as there were too many little pieces everywhere, but I figured as long as most of the pieces were picked up it would be fine.

Just as I was getting done, I heard Haruhi yell for me to come in. I swallowed hard, dreading whatever she had in store for me. I reluctantly grabbed the doorknob and slowly opened the door…

I found both Haruhi and Asahina-san dressed in none other than their trademark bunny costumes…You've got to be kidding me. It all hit me like a ton of bricks. I remembered now that I had lied to Haruhi about what Asahina-san was talking to me about when she called me last Thursday evening. I told her that Asahina-san asked me who looked better in the bunny costume, and I said I didn't know. Haruhi insisted that I answer the question. She even bugged me about it a bit the next day, but I refused to answer. I also realized what was going on before in the clothing store. Haruhi was having the both of them put on similar outfits to find out which one looked better in them. And of course I kept saying they were both great rather than picking one over the other. I guess now I have no choice but to put this matter to rest.

"Well, Kyon!" said Haruhi with her hands on her hips. "Get a good look at us right now and make your decision. I demand complete and total honesty from you. No more excuses!"

Was this really necessary?! You break into the school and torment Asahina-san for this?! What were you thinking?!

I looked at Asahina-san, who was almost in tears at this point. I'm so sorry, Asahina-san. This is all my fault. I swear that I will do anything in my power to make this up to you after this is over. I'll even commit seppuku if you ask.

I began to get a good look at the both of them in their respective costumes. Haruhi even made the both of them turn around to get a better look at them. I suddenly realized that Haruhi was wearing a small ponytail while wearing the costume. Damn you, Haruhi! That's cheating!

"Well? Spit it out!" yelled Haruhi sternly.

Don't hurry me, dammit! It's hard enough to try and make a decision. Okay, let's try to make the comparison logically. No doubt that the both of them are stunningly beautiful. As a result, I needed to really think about this piece by piece. Obviously the chest is a good start. Clearly, Asahina-san was better endowed than Haruhi. This was one of the main reasons why Haruhi picked her to be the Brigades mascot. I'm not truly a breast only person, though, so that shouldn't be the deciding factor. Well, I guess I'll move down to the hips and butt. Both are pretty even, but I think Haruhi might have a very subtle advantage, especially her butt. Man, I hate thinking about these things. It so uncomfortable to think about these two like this. I almost feel dirty.

"Hurry up!" yelled Haruhi, obviously losing patience.

Don't rush me! This isn't as easy as it looks. Okay, moving onto the legs. Both have some great legs. Asahina-san's legs were lean and slender while Haruhi were more tone and athletic. Damn this was hard. Can I go home now? And that damn ponytail of Haruhi's and Asahina-san cute whimpering weren't making this easier. Okay, so thinking this through isn't working. Instead, I'll count to five and then blurt whatever comes to mind and be done with it. Here we go…one…two…three…four…five…I can't do it!

I watched as Haruhi's face slowly turned from an annoyed scowl into extreme disappointment. It was becoming obvious that she was starting to leap to conclusions as to why I wasn't able to answer. "So that how it is. I get it." Before I could say anything, she stormed past me and exited the room. I called out her name to try and stop her, but she ignored me.

Great, just what I needed. This'll end well. I turned to Asahina-san to see if she was okay. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," said Asahina-san while wiping her eyes. "You need to go after her."

I nodded in agreement once I was satisfied that she was okay. I ran out the door to pursue Haruhi. Unfortunately, when I looked out into the hall, I didn't see where she went. Not good. Where'd she go? I began to run through the halls in my desperate search. I knew that I wouldn't have long before her emotional state would result in some bad things happening. The best case scenario would be the creation of a close space, and hopefully not a world ending one. It hard to know sometimes just what's going on in that head of hers.

Searching the halls proved fruitless, so I started to think about where the best location to find her would be. I ultimately thought of two different places. She's either on the roof, or she's outside near that tree, the one she laid next to the day after that concert she did during the Culture Festival. Okay, which is more likely…think…I'll try the tree first. Of course, I could be wrong, and she's at neither place. That would suck…

Fortunately, my intuition was correct for a change, much to my relief. I saw her sitting on the grass by that very tree. By now, she'd taken off the bunny ears and undid the ponytail. She continued to sit there and sulk while I slowly approached her. When I came close, she turned her head to see that it was me.

"Go away! Leave me alone!"

"Hold on! Let me talk to you," I said in as soothing a tone as I could.

"About what?" asked Haruhi in a sour tone. "It's obvious that you like Mikuru-chan as a bunny better."

"About that…it's…" I tried my best to think of what to say to make her feel better. I knew if I told her she was the superior one, it would probably make her feel better, but wouldn't I be lying? I don't know.

"Stop trying to make me feel better," said Haruhi as she continued to sulk bitterly.

Why can't I just say it? Am I afraid that saying so will give her the wrong idea? I don't know. I already know that she has feelings for me for a while now. Obviously she really wanted me to pick her, but despite this, I get a sickly feeling in my stomach at the idea of just giving her what she wants. Am I an idiot?

As I continued to watch her stare at the grass, she would occasionally rip some of it out and toss some of it to the side. I then suddenly had a moment of clarity. Maybe I'm thinking about this the wrong way. This isn't about who was prettier or sexier or anything like that. It's way too hard to decide that without making me really uncomfortable. The question was "who was the better bunny girl?" In other words, this meant that I should also take personality into consideration, and when I take this into account, the answer came a lot easier. As cute and shy as Asahina-san is, I don't really think the bunny costume really suited her personality. Sure, she looked great wearing it, but it was always kinda awkward seeing her in it. The costume definitely suits someone with a more assertive personality better, and when I thought about it that way, Haruhi was the clear winner.

I was finally ready to answer. "Look Haruhi, the truth is…that…you're the better…bunny girl…"

Haruhi turned to me when I said that. "Really?" She then stood up and grabbed my shirt with both hands. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better, right?"

"I'm not," I said with a nervous smile. "I'm mean, sure Asahina-san looks good in the costume, too. But she's more of a maid or a nurse than a bunny girl. The bunny girl costume suits you way better. I…just didn't want to hurt Asahina-san's feelings. That's all."

Haruhi stared me down for about a minute before finally appearing satisfied with my answer. She grabbed the bunny ears and began to walk towards the door. "We should get going. We need to meet with the others soon."

I watched Haruhi until she entered the door. Just as she did, my cell phone went off. I groaned as I picked it up, knowing exactly who it was. "What's up, Koizumi?"

"I just wanted to check up on you. The truth is that I suddenly had the feeling that a closed space had formed, but it was gone just as fast as it came. At first, I thought it might have been my imagination. I just wanted to be sure."

"Everything's fine," I said, feeling a little annoyed that he constantly felt the need to pester me every time something wasn't going perfectly.

"That's good to hear. To be honest, Nagato-san insisted that we go to the library when we parted ways, and while it's not my ideal location to hang out, I was finding this place to be quite relaxing. It would've been a shame to have to stop so early."

Good for you. Can I go now? The truth is that it bothered me slightly that Nagato took Koizumi to the library. I'd always figured that spot would be reserved for the two of us. I was feeling slightly disappointed.

I said goodbye to him shortly after that, both of us knowing that we'd see each other soon enough. Personally, I was glad I averted another bad situation. I just wished I didn't have to do it every other day. Anyway, we'd all soon meet up for lunch and split up again for part two of the search. Hopefully, I'd get a chance to get away from Haruhi for a little while…

I have no luck. Seriously, I must've kicked a puppy in a past life or something. As you may have guessed, I'm once again paired up with Haruhi, and this time it's just the two of us. I was also forced to pay for everyone's lunch to boot, causing 4000 yen to magically fly out of my wallet.

By now, Haruhi was in a considerably better mood. I had yet to determine whether this was a good thing or a bad thing for me, as I knew that this ultimately meant that a happy Haruhi would mean a highly, energetic Haruhi. That would be exhausting.

We waved to the other three Brigade members as they took off to parts unknown. It didn't take long after that before Haruhi immediately grabbed my arm and began to drag me to where ever she felt like going.

Our first stop was the recreation center again. We ended up playing two more rounds of Go-kart racing in which both times I was forced to swallow my pride as I failed to beat Haruhi. Later, we went to an arcade and played both a zombie shooter and a dancing game. Haruhi absolutely refused to leave until she finished all the songs on the dance game and had beaten all the levels on the shooter. I also played along as best I could, but I was consistently out-competed by Haruhi every time. Finally, we went to the book store so Haruhi could try and find some manga to read. After spending a few minutes there, Haruhi had managed to find the latest copy of some psychic detective manga she seemed to enjoy. After all that, we were finally on out way back to our meeting spot to meet up with the rest of the Brigade.

Oh, and did I mention that I paid for all of it? ALL OF IT! The money that I had brought with me was quickly dwindling away. Why the hell didn't I leave it at home? What the hell was I thinking? I also couldn't help but feel like this had been another…date. It wasn't a date, dammit!

On our way back, Haruhi received a phone call from her mother. After having a brief conversation, I was informed that we would have to go food shopping before we went home. Wonderful…carrying a ton of groceries while walking several miles was always fun.

To summarize the next hour, we met up again at the café one last time before we were dismissed. We then made out way to the grocery store where we once again bought a bunch of odd ingredients along with the usual Japanese affair. After completing that, we were finally homeward bound, only this time I was forced to carry a ton of groceries. I was reminded of the fact that carrying so many heavy bags meant that my hands would soon be in tremendous pain as the plastic straps slowly dug themselves into my flesh.

Oh, and I had to pay for the groceries, too. I now had to deal with the fact that most of the money that my mother gave me to find a place to live was now gone after only a single day. I was seriously screwed. I not only had no chance of being able to find a place now, but I had nothing to pay Oruki with later when he finally lost patience with me and decided to ask for the money I owed him. This fact, combined with all the other nonsense I had to deal with today, made me incredibly irritable.

And the target of my irritation was none other Haruhi. Eventually, I had to stop and put the bags down since my hands hurt too much. When I did this, Haruhi yelled at me in annoyance.

"Hurry it up, Kyon! We need to get home! Stop slacking!"

It was then that I started to crack a bit. "Would it kill you to help me a bit?"

Haruhi narrowed her eyes at me. "Are you trying to undermine my authority? Have you forgotten that I am the leader and you are the grunt?"

"Whatever…" I said as I ignored her and rubbed my hands to relieve the pain.

"Don't ignore me! If you don't get your butt up and get moving, you'll face severe consequences!"

"I don't care!" I yelled, quickly losing my temper.

Haruhi's temper also seemed to flair up as well. "Why you ungrateful…what makes you think that you can act like that after all I've done for you?"

"And exactly what have you actually done for me?"

Haruhi held up her hand and began to point to her fingers one at a time. "Let's see, I helped you pack and move, threw you a party you didn't deserve, helped you with homework, bought you lunch on more than one occasion, and let's not forget the fact that you'd be on the streets if I hadn't had the heart to allow you to stay under my roof."

If she was going to play that game, so could I. "And what, I haven't done anything in return? Like doing your chores, or any other menial task you ask me to do over the last year? Not to mention the tens of thousands of yen I've spent on you and the rest of the Brigade over your stupid rule. Hell, I even stood up to your bastard of a father just to try and save the Brigade, and I got my ass handed to me for it. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"I never asked you to go and do that! You did it on your own!"

"Well, I never asked to live with you, either!" I yelled angrily. "In fact, I never even…" I stopped myself right there, realizing that I was about to say something really stupid. It was too late. Haruhi's eyes widened in horror when she figured out what I was about to say.

"Go ahead…finish what you were going to say."

"Forget it," I said as I picked up the bags again, trying to drop the subject.

It didn't work, though. I could see her eyes tear up ever so slightly. "I get it. Is that how it is?" She then turned around and started sprinting towards home. "Fine! Just go ahead and leave! Go move up north with your stupid family! What do I care?!"

"Haruhi, wait!" I screamed as she took off, but it was to no avail. I said something rather careless that I didn't really mean. I stomped the ground in frustration before I tried to follow. Catching up to her was impossible, even if I wasn't weighed down with bags full of groceries. I tried my best to hustle as much as I could but doing so was miserable work. I was about three blocks away from her house before my cell phone rang. I dropped the bags immediately and answered it with frustration, knowing exactly who it was again.

"Yes, that is a close space you're sensing! And yes, it's my fault that it's there! Are you happy? Go away!" is what I would have liked to have said, but I held myself in, knowing my anger had caused enough problems already. Instead, I answered with a simple hello.

"You sound as if you already know why I'm calling. You also sound a bit upset. I guess something happened between you and Suzumiya-san?"

I rubbed my eyes and groaned before answering. Today was not nearly as fun for me as it should have been. "How big is it? It's not world ending is it?"

"No, it's not, but it's rather large. You must've upset her quite a bit."

What makes him think that I upset her? Whatever…he's right anyway. "Sorry…" I said feeling somewhat defeated. I'm only human. I hated walking on eggshells with Haruhi.

"It's quite alright," said Koizumi. "I actually think I can take advantage of this. See you later Kyon-kun."

I was left confused when I hung up. What did he mean by taking advantage of this closed space? Forget it. I don't even want to know.

Stopping to talk to Koizumi gave my hands enough rest to walk the rest of the way while carrying the bags. When I finally entered the front door to the house, I was startled by Oruki's screaming.

"How the hell did you get my phone number?!"

My heart had jumped into my throat. I thought for sure for half a second that he was screaming at me for upsetting Haruhi. My relief quickly turned to curiosity when I noticed he was yelling into his cell phone.

"What are you talking about? Where? Why the hell would I do that? Trust you? I don't even know you!"

It took a second for me to put two and two together and realize that it was probably Koizumi on the other line. What he said about taking advantage of this situation suddenly made sense. Perhaps he figured that if he showed Haruhi's parents a closed space that it would give incentive for them to keep their mouths shut.

"Fine! I'll do it! But if you even think of trying anything funny, I'll break your neck!" He then hung up the phone with a growl before looking at me. "That was Mr. Smiles. He wants my wife and I to meet up with him somewhere. Do you know anything about this?"

I nodded before answering. "Yup. Just…try to stay calm when you see it. And let Koizumi and his buddies take care of everything."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "What do you mean by 'it?'"

"It's best if Koizumi explains it. You'll find out when you get there."

He glared at me suspiciously for a minute before letting out an audible sigh and turning towards the kitchen. "Naru-chan! We're going out!"

Naru-san peeked her head out of the kitchen excitedly when she heard him. "Where are we going?"

"I have no idea," said Oruki as he began to head for the door.

"Ooo, that sounds like fun!" exclaimed Naru-san as she bounded out of the kitchen. "Wait for me!"

Shortly after that, the two of them got into their car and left to wherever Koizumi asked to meet them. It was then that I realized that for the first time since I moved in here that I was alone with Haruhi in the house. This both bothered and relieved me at that same time. I'd much rather try and apologize to her without her parents nearby, but I was a bit worried she might try to get violent with me. I'm sure I pissed her off pretty good.

I walked upstairs towards my room and noticed the door to her room was closed. No doubt she was inside. I didn't bother to talk to her right away. I figured that maybe it would be best to wait for her to cool down a bit before I talked to her. An hour should be long enough. I'll just do homework until then.

After doing my homework for nearly an hour, I put it down on the floor and laid back. I wasn't quite ready to apologize to her yet, so I decided to close my eyes. After about a minute, I heard a weird noise right next to me. I turned towards my nightstand to find that the stupid, wooden turtle Oruki had let me have was staring at me with its creepy eyes. This sent a chill down my spine, so I turned it around to have it face away from me before closing my eyes again. I then heard a noise again and turned towards the turtle once more. It was once again facing me. What the hell? Did it just turn around?

I sat up after this and stared it down. To my horror, the turtle began to turn its head towards me before giving me an evil smile…

Sorry about the cliffhanger. This wasn't originally supposed to be the end of this chapter, but for reasons that shall remain only known to me, I decided to end the chapter here. It shouldn't be too long before I get the next chapter up.

Endless Eight is going to episode 6. Dammit, I want to see Sighs and Disappearance.

This will be the last time I ask you guys for reviews. I don't want to wear out my support as you guys have been awesome. See you next update!