As always, thank you once again for all your support. Your support makes this writing experience all the more fun.

BTW in Japan, "kissing cousins" is not as taboo as it is in many western countries and cultures. In the books, Kyon admitted to having a crush on one of his cousins when he was younger. If you think that's gross, I ask that you try not to judge by you own standards of what's okay. In many cultures, it's acceptable to marry a cousin. Oh, and "itoko" means "cousin" in Japan.

The beginning of this chapter references Valentine's Day and White Day in Japan. If you don't know anything about those holidays, I suggest you look them up. The Japanese version of Valentine's Day is a bit different from the American version.

Anyway as always, please enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 22

I once again had another strange dream. Actually, it was more like reliving a memory. I was a child again, and I was running through a field with my older cousin, the very same one who was the first girl I'd ever fallen for. The field we were in was the property of one of my uncles. I remember being there many times as a kid. They were some of the best memories of my life.

Anyway, the two of us eventually made our way towards a nearby pond. My cousin picked up a flat rock and skipped it across the water. It bounced off the water three times before it finally sunk. I tried to do that same, but the rock I used was large and round. It hit the water with a loud splash. I tried again with a smaller rock, but I was still unsuccessful.

I soon heard my cousin giggle at me. "Silly, you're doing it wrong." She then picked a nice, flat stone and put it in my hand. "Try this one." She then moved my fingers in the correct position to properly skip the rock. I remembered the feel of her hands. So soft.

"There. Now try again."

I complied and threw the rock as best I could. It managed to bounce once before sinking into the pond. At least it was an improvement. The two of us continued to do this for several more minutes, trying to beat our own personal best records for the number of skips. The best I could do was two skips compared to my cousin's five. I remembered feeling very disappointed.

The dream moved onto a scene a couple years later. It was Valentine's Day, and I was over at my cousin's house again. She was baby sitting me and my sister for my parents, who apparently wanted to have a nice evening together that night. I was sitting in the living room playing video games, trying to stave off boredom. It was then that my cousin stood at the entrance to the living room, obviously holding something behind her back.

"I got a surprise for you, Itoko-chan!"

I'd completely forgotten that it was Valentine's Day, so I had no idea what she had to give me. I paused the game and got up to see what she was going to give me. "What do you got?"

"Close you eyes and hold out your hand," she said sweetly.

Not sure if I should trust her, I closed my eyes reluctantly and held out my hand. I then felt something put onto my hand. I opened my eyes and found a box that had chocolate inside.

"I heard that you've never gotten a chocolate for Valentine's Day before, so I wanted to be the first."

I excitedly opened the box and pulled out a large, heart-shaped, chocolate candy. "Alright! A honmei-choco!"

My cousin laughed heartily. "Silly Itoko-chan! It's giri-choco."

I felt mildly disappointed to hear that it wasn't honmei-choco, but I tried not to show it. When I looked into her eyes, I swore at the time that she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. I think that was the moment I truly fell for her. It was too bad that the moment was ruined by my sister entering the room and begging me to give her some of my chocolate.

The scene then moved onto March 14th, a month later. It was White Day, and I was determined to get something for my cousin in return. All month, I saved up my allowance so that I could buy the biggest and most expensive bouquet of flowers I could get. When I left the flower shop, I remembered feeling extremely anxious. I couldn't wait to give her the flowers. My mind raced with all different kinds of scenarios, all of which ended with the two of us kissing. Unfortunately, the moment I exited the flower shop, I noticed that it was starting to rain. I panicked and jumped onto my bike as soon as I could. I had to make it to my cousin's house as soon as I could before the rain ruined the bouquet.

I pushed myself harder on my bike than I'd ever pushed myself. I'd never been much of an athlete, and this was especially true when I was a kid. The rain was pouring really hard now, and I was quickly getting soaked. I didn't care. All that mattered to me was getting these flowers to my cousin. My destiny awaited me.

When I finally made it to my cousin's house, I immediately jumped off my bike, ignoring my lungs desperate plea for more oxygen. I grabbed the bouquet of flowers, which were now sopping wet and were sagging a bit to one side. I bolted towards the front door as fast as I could and knock as hard as I could. Seconds later, my aunt (the same one that would later give me my infamous nickname) answered the door. She let me in, and I immediately kicked off my shoes before darting straight for my cousin's room.

"I'm here to give you your gift!" I yelled as I approached the door to her room. Just as I reached the door to her room, I heard laughing and giggling from inside. I wasn't bothered by this until I heard the voice of what was obviously a guy. My heart jumped into my throat. I slowly opened the door to her room as quietly as I could.

What I saw inside would cause me the most despair I'd ever experienced in my entire life. Inside, I saw my cousin lying on her bed next to some other guy I'd never met before. The two of them were looking into each other's eyes lovingly.

"Are you ready for your White Day present?" the guy asked.

"Sure," said my cousin elatedly.

The guy pulled out a small box from his pocket and handed it to her. She opened it to find a pair of beautiful matching earrings. "They're beautiful!"

"I've been saving my money all month to get you that," said the guy.

"Thank you," said my cousin affectionately.

I then watched as the two of them slowly came together and kissed. I felt like I was dying inside as I watched this happen. I dropped the flowers on the ground and began to walk away. I couldn't watch another second of it. I had to get as far away from her as I could.

I wasn't sure, but I must've been crying when I ran out the door, because I remember my aunt asking me if I was alright. I didn't answer her. I simply put my shoes back on and dashed out the door back into the rain. Before long, I was on my bike again and racing towards home as fast as I could go.

Without knowing it, my cousin had just ripped out my heart and stomped all over it. The heartache I felt was agonizing. Never in my whole of have I ever been more miserable. The rain was coming down so hard that the road had become incredibly slippery. Eventually, I hit a large rock in that was in the middle of the bike trail, and I lost control. I then fell off my bike and landed on the hard asphalt, tumbling a bit before coming to a stop. My body was pretty banged up from the fall, but even then the pain in my body couldn't compare to the pain in my heart. I remember not moving from that spot until the rain finally stopped. I simply didn't have the strength of will to do it.

I then woke up…and sighed deeply, relieved to be back in the present. It's been a long time since I last dreamt about my cousin. It's been quite a long time since I last saw her, too. Last I heard, she was still with that deadbeat. Not that I'm hung up over it anymore. She could have him for all I cared.

I sat up and gave a huge yawn. I then looked at my clock. Five minutes to seven. Hey, I woke up a little early. Well, having a bad dream could do that. I was just starting to rub out the crust from the corners of my eyes when I heard my door slowly open. I didn't bother to turn towards the door since I already knew who it was.

"Too bad, Haruhi. I'm already u-" I wasn't able to finish my sentence before I felt something jab into my neck. A familiar twitching pain could be felt, which forced me to jump back away from it. "Ow! What the hell?!"

Haruhi stood there with a smug grin on her face while she twirled around a pen in her hand. Wait, when did she get that thing back? "I bought another one yesterday. They're not that expensive, you know."

Great. Just great. So what she's really telling me is that no matter what I do, she'll always be able to just go and buy another trick pen and use it against me. That's so not fair. "Why the hell did you shock me anyway? I was awake."

Haruhi pointed the button of the pen a centimeter away from my face before answering. "I just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten about what you did yesterday, Kyon!"

Yes, yes, I get it! Now can you get out now so I can get dressed?

Haruhi merely gave an annoyed grunt and began to make her way towards the door. "We're having a city-wide search today, so you better get ready fast!"

After nodding and watching Haruhi leave my room, I went and got myself washed up and dressed. When I made my way down into the kitchen, I found that both of Haruhi's parents were already in the kitchen. Naru-san was happily making breakfast while Oruki was once again reading his newspaper. After I cheerfully greeted the both of them, I went into the refrigerator to pour myself a glass of milk.

"Oh, Kyon-kun!" said Naru-san. "Before I forget, you got a letter in the mail yesterday. I think it's from your mother." She then pointed to a letter lying on the counter.

"Oh, great!" I said as I excitedly grabbed the letter and opened it. I read the letter inside, feeling good to know that my mother was thinking of me and was glad I was doing okay. More importantly, there was actually 50,000 yen inside, much to my surprise. Apparently, my father got a pretty good pay raise up north, and my mother was able to send a little extra money. With this, I now had a total of 90,000 yen, which should definitely be enough to find a place of my own and even have some money left over. Needless to say that this definitely improved my mood.

Of course, there was someone that had to ruin the moment. "Got some money, huh? Good, now you can pay me what you owe for rent."

I turned to Oruki and sighed a bit. It figured he was going to bring that up now. Guess I couldn't blame him. I did still technically owe him. "How much?"

He raised an eyebrow at me and then shook his head disappointingly. "I was kidding. I told you already that I wasn't going to ask until you had a place of your own."

"Oh," said as I lightly chuckled. Who would've thought that Oruki had a sense of humor?

"So when the hell are you leaving?" asked Oruki as he turned a page in his newspaper. "I'm getting sick of you eating all my food."

"I had a place I wanted to look at today," I said as I took a swig of my milk.

"You do realize that your month is almost up, right?" asked Oruki.

"Don't worry," I said with an assuring tone. "I have a good feeling about this place I'm checking out."

"Do you now. Have you talked to manager of the place?"

I shook my head. "It's someone looking for a roommate. They're only asking for 35,000 yen a month, and in the ad they said that the apartment complex had a swimming pool and a game room."

"Ooo that sounds great!" said Naru-san cheerfully. "And so cheap."

Oruki didn't seem so enthusiastic. "Yeah, too cheap."

When I heard Oruki say that, I had to admit that my level of concern rose a bit. "Well, I'll find out what's going on when I go there."

"You should try calling them first," suggested Oruki just as Haruhi entered the kitchen.

"Sooooo hungry!" exclaimed Haruhi as she took a seat at the table.

"Breakfast will be right up, Haru-chan!" spoke her mother with a sweetness that rivaled the richest honey.

"You're right," I said to Oruki as I walked out of the kitchen. "I should call."

"Don't be long, Kyon!" yelled Haruhi. "We need to finish breakfast as soon as possible so we can meet up with the rest of the Brigade!"

"Alright," I said as I made my way upstairs and into my room. I grabbed my cellphone and the paper with the number on it (it still had all the creases from when Haruhi crumpled it up yesterday). I dialed the number and listened in, hoping someone would answer. Unfortunately, no one did, and I was rerouted to the voice mail system. I left a message stating that I saw their ad online and was interested in becoming a roommate. I left my number and said to call back if they needed to. After that, I hung up and put the paper in my pocket, feeling mildly disappointed. I also took the money I got from my mother and put 40,000 yen of it in my dresser for safe keeping.

As I made my way back downstairs, I had an ingenious idea hit me. I realized that if I were to go into the kitchen and eat breakfast, what would happen is that Haruhi and I would end up leaving at the same time. Without a doubt she would then race me towards the meeting place like last time and beat me there again. This would of course mean that I would be the last one there again, as the other three were never late…ever. Since I desperately didn't want to throw all my money away, I decided that if I had to leave, now was the time while Haruhi was distracted.

Snickering to myself while I snuck into the garage, I grabbed my bike and lifted the door to the garage. After I got outside and closed the garage door, I jumped onto my bike and took off. I didn't mind that I was missing out on breakfast. Since I actually had a little extra money today, I figured I'd just buy myself something to eat later. I had to admit that even though I was nowhere near as smart as Haruhi, Nagato or Koizumi, I could be damn clever sometimes.

I made it only halfway there before I heard my cellphone ringing away. I had a really good laugh, knowing exactly who it was that was calling. I ignored the ringing, which didn't stop until I finally arrived at the meeting place and answered it. By the way, I was the first one to arrive. "Hello?"

"You bastard!" yelled Haruhi on the other line. "How dare you ditch me like that?!"

"What? I just wanted to get here early," I answered teasingly.

"I can't believe you would just leave and let all the food my mom cooked for you go to waste! Do you have any idea how rude that is?!"

Of all the people to talk about rudeness. "Just tell your father that he can eat it. That guy's practically a bottomless pit anyway."

It was very faint, but I could barely hear Oruki say "I heard that, smart ass!"

"Kyon! I order you to get your ass back here immediately!"

"No! I'm already here. I'm not riding all the way back there just so you can beat me on the way back." I knew she was only trying to get out of being last and having to pay for everyone's drinks and lunch. "You know, the other three members aren't here yet. If you hurry, you might just be able to beat them here."

I could hear Haruhi growling on the other line. "You're so going to pay for this, Kyon!" She then hung up, leaving me leaning on a nearby post with a satisfied smile. It's fun messing with Haruhi sometimes, even if I knew she would make me pay for it later.

It wasn't long before I saw the other three members arrive. They all arrived at practically the same time, making me wonder if they synchronized their arrival times or something. Anyway, since they were now here, that meant that Haruhi was officially the last one. Poor, poor Haruhi.

Asahina-san was the first to greet me. "Hello, Kyon-kun! I'm surprised to see you here so early."

"Indeed," said Koizumi. "It's quite rare that you arrive before us, and I don't see Suzumiya-san anywhere. I can only assume that you left before she was ready."

"Yep," I replied, hiding none of my contentment.

"You do realize that as competitive as Suzumiya-san is she'll likely be upset."

"She'll get over it." She can't win all the time.

We were standing around making small talk for a good five minutes before I finally saw Haruhi come into view. She was running as fast as she could, likely still hoping that she could make it before any of the other three Brigade members. I also noticed that she was carrying a bag with her. When she finally arrived, I decided not to say anything, and instead, I beamed a smile at her.

After Haruhi caught her breath, she made an announcement. "Well, I understand that normally under the current rules that the last person is usually the person to pay, but since Kyon here has committed several severe acts of misconduct over the last couple days, he will be the one to pay today!"

"What?! Are you kidding me?!" I yelled while feeling outraged. "That's ridiculous!"

"You should be lucky that I'm being as lenient as I am!"

You left me on the roof during a severe rain storm! I could've gotten pneumonia or worse. Wasn't that punishment enough?

"I hardly think being outside and getting a little water on you comes even close to evening out what you've done, Kyon! There's nothing more disrespectful than violating someone's right to privacy!"

I sighed deeply, knowing that this wasn't an argument I was going to win. "Fine, whatever. Let's just move on."

Minutes later, we were all sitting down and waiting for our drinks. While we waited, Haruhi decided to use this time to go over the details of our trip to Kyoto. Haruhi pulled out a map of Kyoto and explained how the groups would be divided while we started our search. Haruhi even went through all the trouble of gathering the "equipment" we would need over the course of the few days that we were there. Apparently on the first day, Haruhi and the other two girls would be in charge of searching the spot marked as area one while Koizumi and I would search the part of the city labeled area two. After we were done searching that day, we were to meet up at the hotel.

"Koizumi-kun was able to hook us up with a great deal at this really nice hotel!" explained Haruhi excitedly. "I've already set up our reservations there!"

"A friend of my family's owns the hotel," said Koizumi. "So I was able to get us a discount on our rooms."

Haruhi slammed her hands on the table, her million-watt smile beaming. "We're getting rooms at a four star hotel at two star prices! Can you believe it?"

That's easy to believe when you know that a certain someone has connections to a powerful, underground, organization of espers. I already knew his explanation of how he got us the discount was a load of crap.

Haruhi then continued to explain that on Saturday that our group would be split up again during the first half of the day, with Haruhi, Nagato and I searching area three and Asahina-san and Koizumi searching area four. Then after lunch, we'd split up again with Haruhi and I searching area five and the rest searching area six.

Of course, I had a few objections to the way we were being split up. "By the way, why is it that we're not just randomly splitting up like we usually do for city-wide searches?"

"We can't waste any time deciding groups. We have a whole city to search and not a lot of time to do it. Deciding it ahead of time saves time."

"Okay, then why is it that you're not grouping yourself with Koizumi during this trip?"

"The Vice-chief is in charge of the second group during the trip," answered Haruhi.

"Wait a minute!" I yelled. "I thought I was going to be Vice-chief during the trip!"

Haruhi poked my nose with her finger. "You lost that privilege yesterday do to your inexcusable behavior! Besides, you lack the responsibility to lead the second group during this trip! Too much is riding on us finding the extraordinary to leave it to you!"

I placed a hand on my face and groaned. Just how much more was she going to make me suffer for using her computer? Okay, maybe I deserved it for looking at her diary, but she didn't know that I looked at it. At least, I didn't think she did…

Haruhi then explained something else. "I also went and took the liberty of buying everyone's train ticket. Be sure to bring your ID to the train station since they're electronic."

"How'd you buy tickets for the four of us?" I asked. "Wouldn't you need our personal information to do that?"

Haruhi looked confused at my question, perhaps wondering why I wanted to know. "I just called Mikuru-chan, Yuki-chan and Koizumi-kun and asked them."

"Then how'd you get my personal information? You never asked me."

"I just called your mother and asked her," responded Haruhi nonchalantly.

"You called my mom! Why didn't you ask me?" I had to admit that I was somewhat disturbed by the fact that my mother gave out my personal information so easily to Haruhi.

Haruhi narrowed her eyes at me before answering. "Because you were stuck up on the roof, and it was raining."

I give up. You win. Looking at her diary was not worth all this trouble.

Our drinks were served shortly after that. When we were finished, we drew toothpicks to find out who we were groups with today. I was relieved to find that I was grouped with Koizumi and Nagato. I definitely needed a break from Haruhi.

There was one thing about the meeting we just had that really bothered me. I noticed that I was going to be paired up with Haruhi all day this Saturday, and it was going to be just the two of us during the second half of the day. This, combined with my knowledge of the last diary entry, made me unbelievably uneasy. I was also reminded of what Tsuruya-san said to Haruhi after the mud wrestling contest…

"You're really going to do it?! Go for it, Haruhi-nyan! You gots my support!"

…That's what she said. Could it really mean what I think it means?

"You seem distracted."

The voice, which belonged to a certain esper who will remain nameless, startled me out of my thoughts. By now, we had already left the café and were already doing our rounds around the city, with Nagato leading the way. I was sure that Nagato was making her way towards the library, since the way she was going was definitely heading that way.

I turned to Koizumi, denying that anything was wrong. "I'm fine."

"That's good to hear," said Koizumi in a tone that told me that he didn't really believe me. "The truth is that I've sensed a growing anxiety within Suzumiya-san."

"Well, this trip's a pretty big deal. I'm sure anyone would feel anxious about it."

Koizumi presented an annoying smile. "True, and yet I cannot help but get the feeling that there's something more to it than that. Suzumiya-san does not strike me as the type who would be nervous about arguing with an old man."

I didn't bother to respond, somewhat afraid of what Koizumi might be alluding to.

"Remember that week in February? The one where we had the treasure hunt?"

"Yeah," I responded. How could I forget? That was a hell of a week. Dealing with Asahina-san suddenly popping up inside the broom closet, helping her do weird tasks all over town, meeting that sneering bastard, and looking for a treasure that I knew we'd never find. Plus, there was Asahina-san's kidnapping and that weird thing that Tsuruya-san dug up. Good times.

"You of course remember the real reason for the treasure hunt."

"Yep," It was all an elaborate scheme cooked up by Haruhi so she could give Koizumi and I Valentine's Day chocolates. It wasn't good enough for her to just give us the chocolates. She had to come up with some goofy, over the top way of giving them to us. Of course, Asahina-san and Nagato also gave us some chocolates, too, but it was all Haruhi's idea. "So what? You're saying Haruhi's using this whole trip as just another over-the-top ruse?"

"Perhaps, but I cannot say for sure," said Koizumi as he shrugged his shoulders. "You of all people should know how unpredictable she can be. However, I suspect that her reasons for having this trip are linked to you almost moving away a few weeks ago. Perhaps Suzumiya-san has finally realized that things cannot stay as they are forever. Things change, and if we don't embrace what we have right here in front of us, it might be gone in a flash. For a while, it was enough that you were right there beside her, no matter what she did. However, in the brief time since you moved in with her, she must have realized that she's no longer satisfied with only having you by her side. I think she realizes that if she doesn't act soon, she might just lose you for good, and then she would forever be filled with regret."

I didn't want to listen to what Koizumi said. I knew exactly what he was talking about, but it bothered the hell out of me to think about it. I didn't want to believe that what he was saying was true. I didn't want to go on this stupid trip to Kyoto. And…I definitely didn't want Haruhi to confess to me. Why I didn't want that, I couldn't say. Why did the idea of going out with Haruhi scare me so much? What was so bad about having her as a girlfriend? She was beautiful, charismatic, energetic, smart and athletic. Sure, her personality was…an acquired taste, but I've been around her long enough that I should be used to that now. Her parents got along with me, or at least her mother did. But even when I took all these things into account, there was still a part of me that couldn't accept it. The idea of dating Haruhi scared the crap out of me, and I didn't know why.

Anyway, I decided to put these thoughts into the back of my mind when we arrived at the library. The three of us decided to try and enjoy ourselves while we were there. I picked out a couple of manga I hadn't read before and gave them a try. Koizumi kept himself occupied by reading a few magazines, some involving current events, others involving computer technology. Apparently, according to the magazine he was reading, a team at Tokyo U had designed a computer with advanced translation software that could translate a person's words in real time from Japanese to English. It still had some bugs, but they'd hoped that it would be the precursor to handheld translators that could be used all over the world.

After a few hours, I looked at my watch and noticed it was time for us to go. I got up to go find Nagato. I found her in the foreign literature section reading Sir Thomas More's book Utopia.

"Enjoying yourself, Nagato?"

Nagato nodded without taking her eyes off the page.

"I'd hate to ruin your fun, but it's time for us to head back."

Nagato closed the book and put it under her arm, indicating that she intended to check it out. While heading to toward the front to check out the book, Nagato asked me a quick question. "Have you finished reading it?"

I took me a moment to figure out what she meant. "Oh, I've read most of it. I stopped right at this one point where I read this weird haiku. It looked out of place. Do you know what it was about?" I wasn't even sure if Nagato had even read the book before, so I wasn't sure if she could answer the question.

Nagato's answer took me by surprise. "Be sure to memorize it."

"Huh?" I responded. "You mean the haiku? Why?"

"It's important that you memorize it. You will know why later."

Never one to question the human interface's judgment, I told her I'd get to it as soon as possible.

The Brigade was once again together eating lunch (which I had to pay for). Haruhi and Asahina-san had a couple of shopping bags under their arms, a clear indication that the two of them had wasted time and money as well. While reaching into my pocket to pull out the money I needed to buy lunch, I also pulled out the paper that had the address to that place I wanted to look at. I realized that if I didn't go a take a look at it soon that I might miss out on my chance to do it. This was especially true since Haruhi announced that the Brigade was going to have a city-wide search everyday after school this week to get ourselves ready for the trip. Just as I was finishing up, I tapped Haruhi's shoulder to get her attention.

"What up?" she asked.

I held up the piece of paper with the address. "Listen, I need to get going and visit this address today. If I don't, I won't have a chance to later this week."

Haruhi narrowed her eyes, likely because leaving a city-wide search early was against Brigade rules, not to mention the fact that I obtained the address by illegally using her computer. "You've really been pushing your luck lately, Kyon! Why should I let you go?"

"Well, you do realize that the month that I was allowed to stay at your place is quickly coming to an end, right? I need a place to stay."

Haruhi took a deep breath before responding. "I'm coming with you then!"

No, I could not let her ruin this chance. "Doesn't the Brigade need you to finish today's city-wide search? I mean, we're so close to going to Kyoto and all, if you abandon the other three now, how can we expect them to be ready for the trip?" It was a really lame excuse, but I had to try. "Besides, there's a chance that the guy I'm meeting might be a weirdo again."

"All the more reason for me to come with you. I can't expect you to be able to handle someone like that by yourself."

"I'll be fine," I assured her. "This is something I need to do on my own."

Haruhi crossed her arms in front of her for a few seconds and grunted. "Fine, but if you get into trouble, you only have yourself to blame!"

I thanked her and said goodbye to the rest of the Brigade before I took off. I made my way to my bike and rode my way to the address. Since it was close to where I used to live, it was rather easy to find the place. Just like how the advertisement said, the apartment complex was really nice. I saw the pool while I made my way inside the apartment building. I also saw a couple girls in bikinis sun-tanning next to it. Oh man, I hope I'm able to move in here!

I was soon in front of the door that was on the advertisement. I knocked on the door and waited. It took a few seconds before the door opened. I was surprised to find that there was no one on the other side of the door. Stranger still, when I entered the apartment, it appeared to be completely empty. There wasn't even any furniture inside. The moment I realized this, I become extremely nervous. I tried to turn around to walk out when the door suddenly closed. It was then that I saw a familiar face.

It was Asahina-san, or to be more accurate, it was the older version of her. "Asahina-san?"

"Hello again, Kyon-kun," said the woman sweetly. "It's been a while, hasn't it? At least, it has been for you."

I was immediately suspicious of her presence. I'd figured out quite a while ago that Asahina-san (big) was the one giving the orders to Asahina-san (small). I also learned that the older time-traveler could be very manipulative, and I had to be cautious. "What do you want?"

"Straight to the point today, aren't we?" asked Asahina-san. "Well, I guess it's to be expected. I'm obviously here for reason." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm sorry for coming up with such a roundabout way of meeting you. Since you're currently living with Suzumiya-san, it's become a bit more difficult to find a good opportunity to meet with you alone."

"I take it then that there isn't anyone living here looking for a roommate." I should have known that the advertisement was too good to be true.

"I am sorry, Kyon-kun, but I'm afraid that advertisement was nothing more than a lure to get you to come meet me here."

"What would have happened if someone else took up the offer and came down here?"

"The advertisement was only up for the few minutes that you were looking online. It was removed immediately after it served its purpose. History stated that you were going to look at the advertisement at that time and see it, so we had to comply with how history was meant to unfold."

I sighed deeply and placed my hand to my face. It bothered me how everything that happened in the past was apparently destined to happen. I could understand why Nagato no longer allowed herself to synchronize with her future selves anymore. It took away her sense of free will.

"So why did you lead me here?" I asked.

"Right," said the older Asahina-san. "The truth is that I came here to warn you of future events."

"Again?" I asked. "What is it this time?"

"This upcoming weekend you and the rest of the Brigade are going to Kyoto, am I correct?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

Asahina-san walked towards the window and began to stare outside. Her face was filled with concern. "I'm afraid that something bad will happen during your trip in Kyoto."

You've got to kidding me. Can't the Brigade ever go out and do something without having to worry about something bad happening? "How bad are we talking here?"

"The whole world will be in danger, I'm afraid."

What other kind of danger could I expect other than the world-ending kind? I rubbed the bridge of my nose before continuing. "Let me guess. This involves Haruhi, right?"

Asahina-san didn't answer right away. She just continued to stare out the window, watching a nearby tree sway in the wind. Eventually, she turned towards me and gently smiled. "There's nothing more for me to tell you, except this. There will be a location that will be of great importance to Suzumiya-san out in Kyoto. You won't realize it right away, but I urge you to pay attention during your trip. When the time comes, you'll find her there."

"That's it?" I asked. Was that the best she could do? That was incredibly vague. What did she mean by "when the time comes?" I then suddenly realized something else. If my suspicions were correct, then it's possible that… "Asahina-san, does any of this…have to do with Haruhi…confessing…to me?"

Asahina-san giggled a bit before answering. "I'm afraid I can't say. You'll find out soon enough." She then gave me a light bow. "That's all I have to say, unfortunately. I have to go now. Please remember what I told you, okay?" She then walked out the door to the apartment.

I walked out the apartment door as well a couple seconds later, but by then she was gone. I was now left feeling very uneasy. Asahina-san told me that something bad was going to happen, and I'm fairly sure now that Haruhi was now going to confess to me during the trip in Kyoto. Were the two events…linked? Did something bad happen because she confessed to me? It seemed like the most likely scenario. I was now, more than ever, finding myself dreading the trip to Kyoto.

It wasn't long before I returned home. When I walked by the living room, I found that Haruhi had already returned home and was watching something on TV with her parents. I guessed that she must've ended the city-wide search early after I left.

To my surprise, I found that she was smiling proudly while watching the TV. I also noticed Naru-san looking enthralled with what she was watching, while Oruki was…speechless. It was only when I looked at the TV that I understood why the three of them looked like they did. They were watching the movie the Brigade made for the cultural festival last year.

I took a seat next to Haruhi and watched the move with them. Since her parents now knew about the Brigade, there was no reason not to show the movie off, other than the obvious reasons. With all the terrible acting, crappy special effects, and non-existent plot, it was a chore to watch the movie again. I wasn't watching this movie because it was any good. Far from it. I just wanted to see the reactions of Haruhi's parents when it was over.

They were up to the last scene of the movie, right at the point where Shamisen started talking.

"Oh my! Is it really talking?" asked Naru-san excitedly.

"It's ventriloquism," said Haruhi, a hint of disappointment in her voice. No, Haruhi. We don't need my cat to start talking again.

A few minutes later the movie was over and the credits were up, along with Haruhi's ridiculous disclaimer that I made her say. Naru-san leapt to her feet and clapped wildly. "That was awesome! I can't believe you guys made that!" It surprised no one that Naru-san liked the movie. I get the feeling that her standards have never been high.

Haruhi turned to her father next. "What'd you think? Pretty cool, huh?"

Oruki didn't respond immediately. His mouth hung down as he stared out into space. It was only after Haruhi called on him again that he responded. "Oh…uh…well…no one can say that my daughter doesn't have an incredible imagination." That was Oruki's way of saying the movie sucked without being mean about it. Fortunately, Haruhi seemed satisfied by what he said. He then looked at me. "Kyon, you were the cameraman, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Your camerawork sucks!"

"He's right, Kyon," said Haruhi, whilst poking me in the chest. "If it wasn't for your crappy camerawork, our movie could have been award winning!"

Oh, right. Of course it's my fault, and not the fault of the insane producer/director/screenplay writer who was actually dumb enough to actually think we could do a movie without a script.

Naru-san gave a light giggle. "I thought the clumsy camerawork was charming."

Thanks…I think…

It was then that Oruki decided to stand up. "Kyon-kun, I need a favor. I have some furniture that I built that I want to bring to the furniture store down the road. Can you give me a hand getting it in and out of the car?"

I decided to agree to help, knowing that saying no wasn't an option.

"Let's watch it again!" said Naru-san.

I decided to go down into the basement as fast as I could to avoid having to see that monstrosity again.

Oruki had two different tables and the dog house that I helped him build earlier that he wanted to sell. Of course, I was the one that had to do all the work of getting them out of the basement and placing them next to the car. Oruki was in charge of placing them in the car or tying them to the top of the car. Several times, he yelled at me for bumping into the walls, which wasn't really my fault. Most of the furniture was heavy and was really hard to handle.

After we were done getting the furniture in place, Oruki and I took off down to the furniture store. When we got there, I was forced to take all the furniture off the car while Oruki talked to the store owner. After I took it off, the store took a look at it all. He was willing to purchase the tables, but he wasn't interested in the dog house, saying that dog houses didn't have a market in this area. I was forced to put the dog house back on the car while Oruki tied it down. A few minutes later, we were on our way back.

"Well, at least you were able to sell the tables," I said, trying to be positive.

"Yeah," said Oruki, looking a tad disappointed. "I had a feeling that I wouldn't be able to sell the dog house. Only the wealthy ever have lawns large enough for it to be worth it."

I nodded my head, feeling the conversation starting to die off. I stared out the window, finding that the local area was starting to look more familiar to me.

"So were you able to check out that one place?" Oruki asked.

I knew he must've been talking about the place I told him about earlier this morning. I could've told him the truth that it was nothing but a ruse to allow a certain time-traveler to meet with me, but I decided I didn't want Oruki to worry about it. "It's no good. The guy already found a roommate."

"Too bad."

It was then that I realized that I wasn't going to be able to find the time to look for anymore places before the trip. I had to ask Oruki if it would be okay if I could stay a little longer to give me more time to find a place. "Listen, Oruki? You see, I haven't had a whole lot of luck finding my own place this last month, and with all that's going to happen this week, I'm not going to have time to keep looking. I was wondering if it was okay if maybe I could stay a bit longer so I could have more time. Is that okay?" Haruhi herself said that she was sure that he'd say yes if I asked.

It was then that Oruki pulled the car over. This made me a bit nervous, but even then I wasn't prepared for what he asked me next. "Let me ask you something. What do you think of my daughter?"

My heart jumped to my throat when he asked me that. I had no idea how to answer him. "What do you mean?"

"Do you like her?"

Now, given what I knew about the man, I knew there was only one correct answer to this question. "Well, I like her as a friend."

Oruki looked at me suspiciously. "And that's all?"

"Yeah," I said somewhat nervously. "She's my best friend. That's all."

Oruki nodded a bit before he started looking out the window in front of him. I couldn't help but notice that he looked…almost upset. After about a minute, he said this. "My answer is no."

I felt myself becoming weak when I heard him say that. "W…what?"

"You heard me! When you come back from your trip, you're out the door!"

I couldn't believe what he was saying. "B…but…"

"No buts! You had your chance! You decided to screw around rather than going out every day looking for a place to live! You have no one to blame but yourself!"

"But, if you kick me out, you do realize that'll upset your daughter, right?" Surely he wouldn't risk the world's safety just to make a point, right?

"Let me ask you this. What do you think is going to happen if you stay?"

I was confused by the question. "What do you mean?"

"Do you honestly think that Haruhi's just going to be fine with only being your friend forever?"

"What are you talking about?"

It was then that Oruki became visibly angry. "Don't you dare try to bull%$#^ me! I've known ever since I first laid eyes on you that she was in love with you! You can't tell me that you haven't noticed!"

I was completely taken aback by what he said. He knew? All this time? Of course he did. Very little ever gets by him.

Oruki continued his tirade. "You know what's going to happen if you stick around? I tell you what going to happen! You're going to break her heart! And then what do you think is going to happen to the world, smart guy!"

I had nothing to say. I felt myself slipping into deep despair. My eyes slowly descended to the floor of the car. What could I say? What could I do?

Oruki's voice softened a bit. "You already told me that you only liked her as a friend. If that's true, then…then it's best if you go now before it's too late."

I gathered all the emotional strength I had left to ask one last question. "Wouldn't she be mad at you if she knew that you kicked me out?"

"Probably," he said, much quieter now. "You don't worry about me. Besides, it'll be easier on her if you go…before you end up hurting her."

I buried my head in my hands. Now that Oruki basically told me that I was being kicked out of the house after I came back from the trip to Kyoto, I had no idea where I was going to go. I had completely failed in finding my own place to live. There were only two choices now. I'd either live on the streets…or move back with my parents up north.

After that, Oruki decided to start up the car and move on. We were home a couple minutes later…funny…I've been calling this place my home for a while now, even though it never really was my home. Oruki was nice enough to take the dog house inside by himself. I went inside and went upstairs.

When I entered the room, I saw the newspaper I was looking at yesterday on the floor. In anger, I decided to kick it. I couldn't believe it. After all I'd been through the last few weeks, I was right back where I started. I was now once again hit with the prospect of having to move up north, away from all my friends and away from Haruhi.

Why…why couldn't I just say that I loved her? Maybe he was right…maybe, I really didn't love her. And if that's the case, then perhaps it was best if I did leave. There was of course the fact that Haruhi was planning something during this trip to Kyoto. I had no idea how I was going to deal with that. Not to mention the warning Asahina-san (big) gave me. What was I going to do? It all felt so hopeless.

There was one thing I knew I had to do, unfortunately. I had to call my mother. I reluctantly picked up my phone and slowly dialed her number…

Well, what an unexpected turn of events. Now what is Kyon going to do? Why can't he just say he loves her? What the hell is wrong with him? Looks like this trip to Kyoto is going to be a lot more than Kyon originally bargained for. Surely there must be something he could do to turn this around.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll try to get the next chapter up by sometime this weekend. See ya then!