Here is the latest chapter, completed as a nice little Thanksgiving's Day present to all of my American friends (and to my non-American friends, too, even if you don't celebrate the holiday).
I decided to go ahead with this chapter anyway, even though I was unable to get into contact with James Randi. I was very disappointed that I failed, but I guess it's not the end of the world.
I was very surprised by the number of people who said that they thought James Randi was a fictional character. Well, he's very real, and I encourage all of you to check out his YouTube channel, called JamesRandiFoundation. It would make me happy to know that I've helped the man increase his fanbase.
Anyway, the story must go on, and I'm both extremely happy and very relieved that everyone loved the latest chapter. I hope that you guys enjoy the upcoming chapter just as much. The climax of the story is quickly approaching, and I know all of you are eager to read it.
And before I forget, I made a poll on my profile page. I'm hoping that some of you will take the time to answer it. I would appreciate it if you did.
Well, here you go…
Chapter 26
"...I love you, Kyon…and I have for a very long time…"
Why did she have to say that? Why couldn't she have chickened out on confessing her feelings like she had several times before? What did she hope to gain from it? I…I just didn't know.
I was now resting inside a local bath house, hoping the warm water would calm me down. It was about an hour after the confession now, and I was still an emotional mess. I breathed deeply as I watched the steam slowly rise from the warm water. I still had no idea as to what I was going to do. I still had some time to find some kind of solution, but I was pretty sure now that things were going to get a lot worse before they got better.
It was then that I noticed that someone else was approaching me and soon took a seat next to me. Seeing as this room was reserved only for men, by process of elimination, I knew exactly who it was before the person even spoke.
"So how did dinner turn out?" asked Koizumi.
I didn't bother to respond, mostly because I was still a little peeved about how he and the others left me behind. I knew by now that the three of them were in on the whole thing, and I felt a little betrayed.
"I take it that she went through with it," said Koizumi, looking almost amused. "I'll admit that we all knew what was going to happen before the trip. Suzumiya-san went and got together with the three of us about a week before the trip and told us her idea. We were all given instructions as to what we were expected to do over the last week. I was instructed by Suzumiya-san not the say anything, but I felt obligated to drop some hints about it. I probably would've done the same even if she never told us ahead of time."
I didn't have the will to respond. I lowered my head a bit more, letting the warmth of the water vapor hit my face.
For about a minute, the two of us were silent, perhaps because Koizumi noticed my anxiety and was unsure of what to say about it. He continued with his annoying smile, but he seemed to be rather reflective as well. "Remember that talk we had yesterday, before we returned to the hotel?"
It took me a second to remember what he meant. "What? You that parallel universe stuff you were prattling on about?"
"Yes, indeed," answered Koizumi. "As I had explained before, 'M' Theory is an explanation that gives the possibility that an infinite number of parallel universes exist. However, I had my own theory that I developed based upon what I learned about 'M' Theory. Care to listen?"
If you're doing this to try and get me to forget about the whole confession thing, thanks, but you're failing miserably. If you're doing it because you just like to hear yourself talk…never mind. Just go on.
"In any case, if there are in fact an infinite number of universes, and thus an infinite number of possibilities, then it follows that it's likely that any scenario that you could imagine in your mind has actually happened in at least one alternate universe. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
I didn't respond with words. Instead, I gave him a quick look with my eyes just to humor him.
Koizumi must've gotten the message that I heard him since he continued. "Now imagine that it's not a coincidence that our imaginative thoughts just happen to coincide with what has happened in another universe. What if instead that our imagination is in fact a kind of psychic link to parallel universes. What if the only reason we even have an imagination is because our brains are able to see into other worlds. If that's the case, then nothing we imagine is made up. Everything ever invented inside the human mind has actually happened in a parallel universe."
"I see," I responded, giving the idea some thought. "So are you saying there's really no such thing as imagination?"
"Well, I would put it that the word 'imagination' would simply need to be redefined. In any case, if this theory were true, it would mean that every story, every book, movie, television show, anime, manga and anything else involving story telling are actually just a retelling of events that actually occurred. They just didn't occur in our universe."
He then hit me with a bombshell. "It's even possible that someone is peering a look at us at this very moment, using what he believes to be fictional events for story telling purposes."
Who in there right mind would want to imagine the two of us, sitting in a bathhouse, talking about such nonsense. And if he's actually taking the time to write any of this down, he needs to go outside more. And what if he can see into my thoughts? Get out of my head, dammit!
"Unfortunately," said Koizumi. "The truth is that I can't actually prove this theory. In fact, since it can't be proven or disproven, it's not really a theory at all, at least not a scientific one. Nevertheless, it's fun to think about, is it not?"
I didn't answer him. If I had been in a better mood, I might have enjoyed hearing this theory of his a bit more. Unfortunately, my depression was far too deep for me to be able to. Now that I thought about it, I realized that Koizumi still didn't know as to what was happening. In all the time during the week, I decided against telling him what was happening, mostly because I feared that he and his Organization would interfere in some way. Thinking about it now, I realized that he needed to know, especially since things were starting to look really bleak.
"Koizumi, there's something I need to tell you."
Koizumi turned to me, his expression giving off a slight twinge of surprise. "What's that?"
I took a minute to think about how I would tell him the truth. Without looking him in the face, I began to speak. "I have some really bad news. It's…well…the truth is that I can't really return Haruhi's feelings. The reason is…Haruhi's father is kicking me out of the house when we return from this trip, and I'm being forced to have to move back with my parents up north. I've already bought the train ticket, and I'm leaving this Monday."
When my eyes moved up towards Koizumi's face, I noticed that his smile was now gone, and his eyes stared sharply at me for a moment. A second later, he turned away, trying his hardest to regain his composure. "I see…" He flicked a little bit of hair in front of his face before resting his chin on his hand. He was trying hard to hide it, but it was obvious that he was deeply disturbed by the news. "I…suppose you realize that Suzumiya-san will not take this news well."
"It's doubtful," I responded. "I had really hoped that Haruhi wouldn't confess to me. Now I feel even worse about it."
"This is much more serious than whether or not you feel bad about the situation. The moment Suzumiya-san finds out about this, it's almost certain that she will respond to the situation in a manner that will put this entire universe into great risk. You are aware of that, right?"
"The last time this happened, she didn't destroy the world over it. She did create some of those closed spaces, but those were manageable, weren't they?"
"In the month that has past since then, a lot has changed. It's almost certain that her feelings for you have grown stronger since then. The fact that she's finally revealed them to you is proof of that fact. We were fortunate that the last time that her reaction was relatively mild, but I guarantee you that things will be different this time around. There will much more than mere closed spaces to worry about when she finally finds out."
"What am I supposed to do then?" I asked a little harshly. I was upset partly because I knew he was right. The premonition that Asahina-san (Big) gave me was proof of that.
"The Organization can help you. If it's a place to stay, I'm certain I can arrange something."
"No!" I said in response. "I can't do that!"
"Why not?" asked Koizumi, doing all he could to hide his frustration. "Keeping Suzumiya-san happy is of the utmost priority. If that means keeping you around and giving her what she wants, then it must be so."
"Are you saying that I'm supposed to pretend to love her, even if I don't?"
The last words of my question hit him with a tremendous weight. It was all he could to retain the last remnants of his composure. "Are you saying that you don't love her?"
"I…don't know…" I responded as I put my hand on my face. "All I know is that if I don't love her, then all I'm doing by staying is delaying the inevitable. I'm going to hurt her eventually. What's the sense of trying to put off what we know will happen?"
Koizumi stared at me intensely for a good minute, as if he was studying me. "Why are you running?"
I looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"The way you're acting…you're not doing it for Suzumiya-san's sake, or the world's. You're acting this way because you're afraid of something."
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said in complete denial.
"I don't believe you," said Koizumi as he continued to stare me down. "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of the truth about how you really feel about her?"
Annoyed and frustrated with his question, I stood up and began to make my way out of the room. "I'm done. See you tomorrow…"
I didn't look back to see what his reaction was. It wasn't long before I had returned to my room to lie down. I had forgotten when I left the bath house that Koizumi and I were sharing the room, so when he returned an hour after I returned, there was an awkward silence between us. He didn't say anything to me. Instead, he simply got ready for bed and lied down for the night.
Although I didn't check, I got the feeling neither of us got much sleep that night…
The next sound I heard was that of loud knocking on my door, followed by the rattling of our door knob.
"Dammit you two!" came a voice obviously belonging to Haruhi from behind the door. "Get up now or we're going to be late!"
I stirred from my sleep a bit before I gave a large yawn and stretch. Koizumi had gotten up and answered the door before I did.
"My apologies, Suzumiya-san. The two of us had difficulty sleeping last night, and thus we had greater difficulty rousing ourselves from bed on time."
Haruhi's tone calmed slightly when she noticed it was Koizumi addressing her. "It's fine. Just hurry up and get dressed. We have a lot to do today!" She then eyed me as well before pointing a finger at me. "That includes you too, Kyon! Hurry up already! This day is way too important for you to screw up!" After that, she walked off back to her room.
"Jeez," I said in annoyance. "What's with her?" I looked at the clock and noticed it was only a quarter after nine. "The convention doesn't even start until twelve. Why is she in such a rush?"
"Well, I'm certain Suzumiya-san doesn't want to take any chances. The earlier the better, I suppose."
I couldn't help but notice that Koizumi's voice still had some very small traces of some of the negative feelings that he must've felt last night. No doubt that he must be expecting the worst to happen soon.
It was then that our door was rudely swung open again. "And don't you dare forget your armbands. It's super important that you bring them!"
Yes, Haruhi. We know…
A half hour later, we were all seated in the restaurant, preparing to eat breakfast. While we waited for our food, Haruhi decided now was a good time to go over our plan for today.
"As you know, we were unsuccessful in our search for the mysterious. Unfortunately, this means that we will not be able to collect our million dollar prize."
Was there ever any doubt that we'd fail? It's really too bad that you're not allowed to know the truth about your Brigade members. I'm sure five minutes with Nagato displaying her awesome reality bending powers would be more than enough to net us the cash.
"However, I had planned ahead for this, and I have developed a contingency plan. Granted, we won't be able to prove the old fart wrong, but instead we're going to confront him head on!"
She then went about and explained what we were going to do. After about five minutes, I was left with only one impression. This had to be one of the most asininely stupid and insane ideas I have ever heard.
"You…you're kidding me, right?"
Haruhi scowled at me in annoyance. "What are you talking about? I'm being completely serious! You better have been listening, Kyon! If you screw up your part of the plan, all our efforts will have been in vain!"
Wasn't the real reason that you even came out here was so you could confess to me? What difference does it make if this stupid plan succeeds? What the heck do we plan to get out of it?"
"Notoriety!" answered Haruhi cheerfully. "Our goal should be to make a name for ourselves and let the entire would know about the SOS Brigade! We maybe well known where we live, but that's not nearly enough. I won't be satisfied until every person on the planet has heard the name of our club!"
And then you'll hope you'll get elected as Grand Empress of the world, right? I don't even want to think about what you'd do if you ever had that kind of power.
Despite my complaints, I was somewhat relieved about one thing. I had worried that after Haruhi confessed to me that she would start acting weird around me. Instead, she acted like it never happened. It was almost enough to make me wonder if it had or not. Almost…
After we had finished our breakfast, we immediately left for the convention center. As you might have guessed, we were early. An hour and a half early! The doors were still closed, and there wasn't a soul besides us who were waiting for the doors to open. Despite this, Haruhi refused to allow us to go somewhere else while we waited. The wait was excruciating…
By the time we were finally allowed inside, Haruhi wasted no time in showing security our passes as we made our way into the convention hall where we would be seated. I had no idea where the hell she got the passes we needed, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know.
Our seats were right up in the front row, another miracle if you had asked me. I couldn't help but feel like that there were outside forces conspiring to ensure everything happened the way Haruhi would want to. Either that, or Haruhi herself was indirectly responsible. In either case, it made me feel like the whole moment was way too surreal.
Our seating arrangements were deliberate. Haruhi, of course, was in the middle. Sitting next to her was Asahina-san and Nagato. Koizumi and I were sitting on the opposite sides of the group, with me seated next to Nagato and Koizumi next to Asahina-san. Although I was certain that Haruhi would've preferred to sit next to me during the convention, for the sake of the plan, I was required to sit away from her. The reason for this would be made obvious soon enough.
It wasn't long before the other members of the audience began to arrive, and soon every seat was filled. I looked around us and noticed that most of the crowd consisted of people around our age, maybe a bit older. I soon realized that these people must be university students who came here specifically to see Randi. Our group was probably to only one who didn't consist of people going to college. I felt so out of place.
I watched as a young man walked up to the podium to give the introduction. "We have a very special guest here today. He resides in America, where he was formerly a famous magician. Since then, he became a world famous skeptic, using his time to debunk fraudsters and disprove many super-natural claims. He is the author of several books and is currently the head of an organization which is set out to give one million dollars to anyone who can prove any kind of paranormal phenomenon under a strict laboratory setting. To this day, no one has won the money yet. Of course, everyone here is welcome to try."
There was mild bit of laughter coming from the audience after that joke was made. He waited until it quiet before he continued.
"Everyone, please welcome 'The Amazing James Randi!'"
And there he was. The man that Haruhi had wanted to see for more than a month now. The very man that was now the SOS Brigade's "Public Enemy #1." The man who was the "official" reason as to why we came all the way out here. There…was James Randi…
As expected, he was a very old man, whose back was hunched slightly. He was bald, and he had a large, white beard on his face. His face also carried a rather large pair of glasses as well. He could pass for Santa Claus if only his gut were a bit larger. He made his way to the podium while the speaker who introduced him step back a bit, indicating to the audience that the man was going to act as our interpreter while Randi spoke.
I turned to Haruhi as he reached the podium. Her eyes burned with a fire brighter than any I had seen in a long time. I was half-worried that she would jump onto the stage and beat the crap of him. Fortunately, it seemed that Haruhi was going to be able to hold her composure, for now.
The old man cleared his throat as he began to speak. "I would like to apologize ahead of time before I begin. The truth is that I'm a long way from home, and I'm experiencing a great deal of jet lag. I've been having trouble getting a decent night's sleep since I got here. I've been thinking about taking something to help me sleep."
He then pulls out a box from under his coat. "What I have here is a box containing a homeopathic sleep aid." He then looks closely at the box. "According to the directions, I'm to take one pill of this right before I go to bed. Well, to be honest, I'm thinking that I could really, really use the sleep, so I'm going to take more than just one."
He then went and opened the box and proceeded to consume not one, or two, or even three of the pills inside, but all of them. As he struggled to eat them, he went and took a swig from his water bottle in order to help the pills down.
"Tastes like chalk," he said as he put the water away. "Of course, if any of you are familiar with homeopathy, and are as skeptical of it as I am, then you'll know that I'm not really in any real danger. This is not the first time I have attempted such a stunt before. However, if I am to suddenly become ill, I assure you that all of you will indeed be the first to know."
After a moment of him looking around at all the faces in the room, he went and continued his speech. "I would like to thank all of you for inviting me here to speak. It's not often that I am given the opportunity to speak outside of the U.S. Japan is an amazing nation. Despite its lack of natural resources, it's managed to build the second wealthiest nation on the planet. Fueling this drive and success is the same ingenuity and belief in scientific progress that helped many other nations create the great nations we have today. Many of you in this room will someday become the next great scientific minds that will help build upon the knowledge that your predecessors helped give you. That being said, the people of Japan are not immune to the foibles of their own superstitions as well…"
The lecture went on about how people all around the world go about their daily lives performing rituals in the hope that doing so would provide some kind benefit and fortune to their lives. I turned to Haruhi, noticing the intensity on her face. As someone who enjoys many of the traditional practices and rituals of our cultural, she certainly didn't appreciate any of the things the old man was saying.
Mr. Randi continued along with his speech. "I suppose if it gives you comfort to enjoy doing such things then feel free to do them. But if you truly believe doing such things actually affects the outcome of your life, then I have a million dollars for you if you can prove it."
What I would give for that kind of money. To think that if only Nagato or Koizumi would cooperate, I could be wealthy in no time. Sometimes it sucks to have to shoulder such responsibility.
"Unfortunately, I'm not an expert on the subject matter of Japanese culture, nor am I a scientist of any sort. I do, however, know a thing or two about some nonsense that people tend to believe in America. I'm hoping perhaps in talking about them that you will be able to draw your own conclusions about how you feel about some of the things people do everyday without thinking about it. First, I'd like to talk about homeopathy…"
He then went on to talk about all the principles of homeopathy, including the ideas of "like cures like," "water memory," and all the other crap that comes with it. I was rather amused when he told us that a solution of homeopathic medicine of "1500X" was like taking a drop of the active ingredient, mixing it evenly into a mass of water the size of our solar system, then taking a drop from that mass of water and repeating the process two billion times. As James Randi would put it, "Now that's dilute!"
Upon finishing his talk about homeopathy, James moved the subject matter to the fact that even scientists can be fooled be tricksters. "A lot of people within the scientific community tend to believe that just because they happen to have an advanced degree that they are immune to being fooled. This is of course not true, and I'm going to demonstrate why."
The old man then pulled out what appeared to be a deck of five large cards. On each of the cards were the following shapes: a plus sign, a circle, a star, three squiggly lines, and a square. He also pulled out a manila envelope. "I would appreciate it if I could get a volunteer from the audience. Anyone?"
Almost immediately, Haruhi's hand shot up obviously desperate to participate. Perhaps she suspected that this was some kind of trick and had hoped she might be able to ruin the trick if she was careful enough to watch what he was doing. Whatever her reasons were, she appeared to be successful in gaining the old man's attention. Since we were in the front row, it was much easier for any of us to be picked.
Mr. Randi pointed to Haruhi, indicating that she would be his volunteer. "Okay young lady. Go ahead and carefully follow my instructions. I want you to take these card and hold them face down. While holding them face down, try to mix them up as best you can."
It should be noted that while Haruhi was doing this, Mr. Randi was looking away from her, as if trying not to see how she was mixing up the cards. After a minute, he then hands Haruhi the manila envelope. "Now if you would just be so kind as to place three cards under your chair while taking the other two and putting them together so that the faces face inward. Then take those two cards and place them in the envelope. Let me know when you're done."
Haruhi complied with the instructions while giving the old man a look of suspicion. Since James was still looking away, he failed to notice her look. Once she had placed the cards in the envelope, she called out that she was done, giving the gentleman the chance to take the envelope.
As the man walked back towards the podium, he held up the envelope in the air. "So tell me, what are the odds that I could correctly guess what the first card is?"
Someone behind us responded with the answer "One in five."
"Okay. That sounds about right," said James Randi. "It's good to know that my audience knows basic math. You'd be surprised how much of my American audience would struggle with that question." The way he worded the statement made so that those who understood him gave off a mild chuckle. "Now who can tell me what the chances are that I'd get the second card correct as well?"
It was Koizumi who fielded the answer to this question, being sure to speak it in English. Damn show off. "I believe the answer would be one in twenty."
Mr. Randi appeared impressed that the question was answered in his native language. "Correct as well. I will go on to state, however, that for the purposes of this exercise, the order in which the cards are placed doesn't matter, so the real probability is one in ten. Now I will reveal my answer." He then took a marker from inside his jacket and marks one side of the envelope with a plus and the other with a circle. He then proceeded to open the envelope and pull out the cards. He then revealed to the audience that his guess was absolutely on the mark. Most of the audience clapped politely, impressed with the outcome.
James then went and put the envelope and cards down on the podium. "Unfortunately, the real odds that I would guess the cards correctly are not one in five or one in ten or even one in a million. The real odds are one in one. Why? Because it's a trick. I already knew the outcome of the trick before it even happened."
I began to desperately try in vain to figure out how he managed to pull off the trick. At no point did I see him take his hands off the envelope. It was almost a bit maddening. I turned to look at the others for their reactions. Asahina-san was easily the most amazed, obviously complete taken in by the trick. I wondered if magicians still exist in her time. I'm willing to bet they still do. Koizumi smiled politely, appearing a bit impressed by the trick. Haruhi appeared rather displeased, obviously upset that she failed to ruin his trick. The only one who didn't really react was, predictably, Nagato. If there was anyone that saw through the trick, it was her. I'll have to try and ask her later how his did that.
Mr. Randi returned to his spot behind the podium. "When dealing of those who are trying to trick you, it is foolish to think about the probability. No matter what you think the odds are in properly guessing these so-called phenomenon, when you're dealing with someone who is out to trick you, the odds are always going to be one in one. When I see these scientists and mathematicians trying to calculate the probability of a supposed psychic guessing someone's name correctly, it's ridiculous that the fact that they never suspect trickery in any of it. In fact, I actually have a theory about people who receive Ph.D.'s…"
Before Mr. Randi could continue with his lecture, Haruhi had stood up and stomped her foot loudly. That was signal that the four of us were told we'd be given earlier today. We all began to rise from our seats, prepared for the beginning of our operation. I placed a hand on my face while the five of us stood there, interrupting the lecture. It was all I could do to hide my humiliation.
Haruhi wasted no time in announcing her intentions. "We've had enough of your lies James Randi! I am Haruhi Suzumiya, and we members of the SOS Brigade hereby officially declare war on you and your foundation!"
The old man appeared confused by the young girl's sudden outburst and, seeing as he didn't actually understand what she said, was unable to respond. The interpreter on stage appeared reluctant to translate what Haruhi had just said. Fortunately (or unfortunately if you ask me), we were prepared for this inevitability, and soon Nagato had taken over the responsibility of being the interpreter.
Upon hearing what Nagato had said, James Randi smiled, appearing amused by Haruhi's statement. "I had no idea that I was so popular. I've never had anyone declare war on me before. I'm not really sure how I should respond. May I ask why you're declaring war on me and my organization?"
After hearing Nagato's interpretation, Haruhi responded. "We know that you're purposefully withholding the truth from the world! You are intentionally ensuring that no one is able to succeed at winning your so-called prize!"
"I see," answer Mr. Randi upon hearing the interpretation. "Well, since you seem so convinced that I'm not playing fair, perhaps you can take the opportunity and present to us some evidence that I am wrong. Hey, maybe you'll be the lucky ones to win the prize."
Haruhi appeared slightly disappointed that she didn't have anything to show him, thanks to our failure to find anything during our trip. "Don't worry! We'll find something someday! The very purpose of our club is to go and seek out mysterious phenomenon anywhere we can find them! One of these days we'll show you!"
It should be noted that at this point, a group of four security officers were now heading our way, two from my side and two of Koizumi's. This is where the strategic positioning of the two of us comes into play. Our job, quite simply, was to stall the security personnel for as long as we possibly could while Haruhi continued her banter with the famous skeptic. It wasn't a brilliant plan, seeing as all four men were easily bigger than either Koizumi or myself.
"Is that so?" asked James Randi who noticed the security guards approaching. "That's quite a club you've got."
In preparation for the assault that was about to begin, I braced myself by holding out my hands. As the guards reached me, one of them grabbed me by my arm while the other tried to get around me. I prevented this by grabbing onto his shirt with all my might.
"I can't accept that the world is as boring and ordinary as you say it is!" yelled Haruhi.
"What so wrong about the world the way it is?" retorted the old man.
Um, Haruhi? Can you please get to the point? I can't hold these guys off much longer. I found myself quickly becoming overpowered and my grip on the one security officer was beginning to weaken. I noticed that Koizumi was also struggling to hold off the two men. He maybe in better shape than me, but even he has his limits. Asahina-san began to cower at the sight of the two large men to whom Koizumi was failing to hold off.
Haruhi stared down the famous skeptic intensely before yelling one last thing. "Wouldn't the world be more interesting if there were things like psychics, magic, and aliens? Don't you ever wish that there was more to this world than what we see everyday?"
Mr. Randi's expression softened ever so slightly upon hearing the question. "I would agree. The world would be more interesting and exciting if those things existed, and sometimes I do wish that those things were real. Unfortunately, I've never seen any reason to believe that they are real, and I cannot assume that they are until I do."
If only you knew, Randi-san. If only you knew…
"If you truly feel inclined to search the world for the paranormal and supernatural, then I wish you the best of luck. And who knows. Maybe you'll succeed some day and make a million dollars in the process."
Haruhi appeared surprised by the old man's response and seemed unable to think of anything else to say. It was at this point that I lost my grip on the one security guard. He then went and grabbed Haruhi by her arm and began to pull her away. Before long, all five of us had been nabbed and were being escorted out of the convention hall.
"Be sure to thank our guests for their time," said Mr. Randi as we were dragged out the door, with the sound of laughter coming from the audience after the comment.
A minute later, the five of us were now standing outside the convention center. I was leaning against the wall to try and catch my breath. Haruhi stood triumphantly with a confident smirk on her face.
"I'd say that the mission was a complete success!"
"What are you talking about?" I asked. "What was so successful about that?"
"Didn't you hear what he said?" asked Haruhi. "He agreed with me when I said the world would be more interesting if the paranormal existed. He practically admitted defeat!"
I placed a hand on my face. Only a girl like her would think that we won anything by humiliating ourselves here in the convention center.
It was then Haruhi took out her phone to look at the time. "Well, we've done everything we've set out to do out here. The train is going to leave from here in a few hours. It's best if we get back to hotel and check out. The sooner we get back, the sooner we can rest before school tomorrow."
I couldn't help but notice that her voice sounded a bit disappointed that the trip was now over. A few minutes later, we made out way onto a bus and made our way back to the hotel.
The trip was now over, for the most part. Everyone had gathered their things and had checked out of the hotel. We were now on another bus heading towards the train station. My melancholy was now in full swing. Why? Because I knew what was going to happen when I returned from the trip. Haruhi was going to ask me about how I felt about her, and I was going to have to tell her the truth about me moving away the next day. No doubt that Haruhi was going to respond poorly to hearing the news, and the so-called terrible event that the older Asahina-san told me about would happen. The problem was that I didn't have a clue how I would fix things when everything finally fell apart.
There was one thing that had me confused, though. The older Asahina-san said that something bad was going to happen during the trip, not after it. It's unusual for her to get her facts mixed up, especially since her younger self was right here witnessing what was happening. Did she simply forget? It seemed weird. As far as I could tell, there was no reason to believe that anything would happen before we were to leave Kyoto.
We soon arrived at the bus station, and we all got off with our luggage in hand. As the five of us made our way towards the door, I heard the ringtone of Haruhi's cellphone going off.
Haruhi picked up the phone and looked at it. "It's my parents. They're probably just calling to check on me. You guys go on inside. I'll catch up."
We complied with Haruhi's wishes and made our way inside the train station. Once inside, I noticed Koizumi walking up next to me. "Have you figured out what you're going to do?"
I reluctantly told him my plan. "When we get back, I'm going to tell her that I'm moving. I'm hoping I can tell her in a way that'll soften the blow."
"Are you absolutely sure that's the best idea? It's not too late, you know? You still have other options."
"I can't," I replied weakly. "Now that Haruhi's confessed to me, I don't think things can ever really be the same. It's best if I leave before things get even worse."
Koizumi didn't reply. I didn't really expect him to. No doubt he expected the worst to happen when we returned. I felt bad that things had to be this way. No, bad is an understatement. It almost killed me inside to think that I was going to have to do this. Dammit, why couldn't things go back to the way they were before I found out my family was going to move? Life seemed so much simpler then.
I looked up to see the expression on Koizumi's face only to find a surprise. Koizumi was now looking out towards the entrance of the train station. His eyes had widened in a look of horror that I don't think I've ever seen on his face. What's more, both Asahina-san and Nagato were also staring towards the entrance. Asahina-san had appeared practically frightened. Nagato's expression wasn't as severe, but I could see that her eyes had widened ever so slightly more than usual. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong…
I then realized that the direction that the three of them were looking was right where Haruhi was standing outside when she got that phone call from her parents. I reacted immediately the moment I figured that out and bolted right for the door. When I got outside, I was disturbed to find that Haruhi was not there. I began to look around frantically for her, but she was nowhere to be seen.
It was then that I spotted something on the ground. It was Haruhi's cellphone. It picked it and checked to see of anyone was still on the line. When I realized that there wasn't, I went through her cellphone and immediately dialed the number to her parent's house. The phone only rang once before it was picked up.
"Haru-chan, is that you?" asked the sweet but obviously distraught voice of Naru-san.
"It's me," I answered. "What happened?"
From the sound of her voice, she sounded as if it was on the verge of tears. "K…Kyon-kun…I'm so sorry…"
I felt my heart racing upon hearing those words. What did you say to her, Naru-san? Please don't tell me you told her what I think you did…
"I…I let it slip. I told her that you're moving away tomorrow."
I felt my blood run cold. I couldn't believe she did that. How can anyone be so terrible at keeping their mouth shut? There was no doubt that Haruhi must have been feeling a tremendous amount of emotional pain right now. The look on the faces of the other Brigade members was proof of that.
"Where's Haru-chan? Is she okay? Where'd she go?"
"I'm sorry, Naru-san. I have to go," I said almost robotically as I hung up the phone and placed it in my pocket.
By now, the other three had caught up and were right behind me.
"What happened?" asked Koizumi.
I turned around and looked all three of them before responding. "Naru-san…accidentally let it slip while talking to Haruhi."
Asahina-san appeared confused. "Wha…what are you talking about, Kyon-kun? What did she let slip?"
I had completely forgotten that Asahina-san and Nagato were still in the dark about what was going on. I hung my head shamefully before answering. "Tomorrow…I'm moving back with my parents. Today was going to be the last day I was going to spend with you guys. I didn't bother to tell anyone because I didn't want to ruin the trip."
Asahina-san was in obvious shock when she heard the news. As my words were absorbed into her brain, I could see tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "Y…you…you meanie!" She then grabbed onto my shirt, tugging weakly on it. The tears began to flow from her eyes. "How could you do that to us? How could you not tell us the truth? How could you do that when you know how Suzumiya-san feels about you? How could you hurt her like that? How could you be so mean?"
Asahina-san words were like a dagger being driven into my chest. She was right. What I had done was pretty selfish. I real reason I didn't say anything wasn't for the sake of the Brigade, but because I couldn't find it within myself to be honest with everyone. The guilt and shame I had felt a moment ago had just gone up exponentially. I couldn't believe things could go this bad so quickly.
I tried my best to regain my composure. "We need to find her. She can't have gone far."
"We can't do that," responded Koizumi.
"Why not?" I yelled.
Koizumi turned towards Nagato, an indication that she must know something. A moment afterward, Nagato began to speak.
"Suzumiya-san is no longer contained with the boundaries of this three-dimensional space."
"Wait. What? What do you mean?" I asked.
"It's happening again. I can feel it," answered Koizumi. "Suzumiya-san is no longer a part of this world. Just like what happened one year ago, Suzumiya-san has gone and begun the process of recreating our world."
Are you kidding me? Already? Isn't she overreacting a bit?
"We don't have much time," said Koizumi as he stepped over to the edge of the street and help out his hand. A few seconds later, the same limousine from last night pulled up to us. "Get in."
Everyone quickly entered the vehicle. I couldn't see who was driving it, but it was only natural to assume that it was Arakawa-san again. Once the limousine began to take off I turned back to Koizumi with more questions. "Okay, so why the hell is Haruhi recreating the world? Isn't that a bit much?"
Koizumi folded his hands in front of him before answering. "Can you tell me what happened the last time Suzumiya-san decided she wanted to recreate the world?"
Sure. If I remember correctly, Haruhi got bored with the way the world was, and so she decided to bring me along with her into a brand new world that would be more to her liking…wait a minute! I then realized something disturbing.
"The last time Haruhi tried to recreate the world, she brought me along with her. Why am I not with her right now?"
Koizumi was silent for about a minute before he gave me as answer. "It's only speculation, but if I'm right, you're not going to like what I'm going to tell you."
What? What are you talking about? Just tell me already!
"The last time Suzumiya-san wanted to recreate the world, it was due to her dissatisfaction with this world. This time, her reasons are very different. When Suzumiya-san heard the truth about you moving away, there's no doubt that she must have felt deeply betrayed by your actions. She realizes now that she can't be with you and is starting to experience heartbreak for the first time in her life."
"What are you saying?" I asked, growing ever more fearful of his answer.
"Her pain is so great now that she's willing to do whatever it takes to remove herself from that pain, even if that means removing the very source of her pain from the universe."
I began to realize where he was going with his explanation, and the sensation of absolute terror began to work its way through my body. I felt my throat become dry, and my hands became wet. My heart was racing as my fight or flight response was now in full gear.
"In other words, she's going to remake the world…without you in it…"
Well that's not good. Boy Kyon, you sure screwed up this time. What the hell are you going to do now?
The next chapter should be a really short one, so hopefully it won't take long before I have it up. In any case, I hope you're excited for the climax. We're almost there!
Oh and don't forget about the poll on my profile page. Please be sure to vote! Thank you!