Disclaimer – I don't own The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi franchise, any of the characters, or scenarios. Haruhi and all related characters are the property of Nagaru Tanigawa. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made, thank you.
A/N – I have my doubts as to whether people even read this fic, let alone the Author's Notes.
Monday morning arrived far too quickly for Koizumi; he had been enjoying the two days of freedom the weekend offered. Roused from his slumber by the alarm his roommate had forced him to set the night before, he flung out an arm and effectively stopped the beeping.
"You do that's the fifth alarm clock you've broken this week, right?" Souta asked good-naturedly from his own bed. Koizumi turned his head and cracked an eye open to see the older boy sitting comfortably on his bed with his legs crossed, reading a book.
He looked at the time. "What? Eight O'clock? Are you serious? Why so early?" he muttered, glaring at the feebly flashing lights on the broken clock as though it was to blame for Souta's early rising tendencies.
"Well, I figured you'd want time to actually wake up. Can't have you performing on an empty stomach, or half asleep, right? What was it you said they're training you for again?" his roommate asked lightly.
"Becoming a bunny tamer. Let me sleep," Koizumi was unaffected by the so called surprise question, as Souta had been using the same tactic all weekend, hoping to shock an answer from his young friend.
"No can do, if I let you go to sleep now, you won't wake up until twelve. You don't really want to find out how they punish you, right?" Souta joked, although there was a serious undertone to his voice that Koizumi recognized, and he forced himself to sit up.
"I suppose you're right. Breakfast still on?" Koizumi rubbed his hands over his face, and upon receiving no response, looked over at the other boy. "What?"
Souta shook his head, shaking himself out of his apparent stupor.
"Sorry, I was just thinking how different you are now than you were when you came here," he answered, looking back at his book.
"Well, I suppose that's what a bed and regular meals will do to you, even if you are an unwilling pawn for some faceless boss," Koizumi muttered, ignoring Souta's questioning look.
He yawned widely and deliberately rolled out of bed, relying on the hard jolt that hitting the floor would give him to wake him up. Sure enough, Souta heard a grunt of pain from inside the now tangled pile of blankets on the floor, and snorted.
"Want some help?" he asked cheerfully. Far too cheerfully for this early in the morning, in Koizumi's opinion.
"No. I'm fine," the pile of blankets answered, as the boy hidden inside struggled to free himself from his own little cocoon.
"Hmm. Alright then," Souta hummed, choosing to ignore the increasingly violent movement on the floor, instead going back to his reading.
Eventually, a ruffled and annoyed Koizumi emerged, rolling his eyes at the perfectly composed boy calmly ignoring his actions.
"You didn't use up the hot water, did you?" he asked, having already become familiar with the habits of his roommate.
"I've been up for over an hour, you'll be fine," Souta waved his hand at the bathroom, sniggering as Koizumi almost tripped over the blankets he had left on the floor.
"Just don't take too long, you do want breakfast, right?" he added as the door slammed behind Koizumi. He received no answer. He chuckled to himself as he unfolded himself from the position he'd been in for the past hour, stretching and walking across the floor to pick up after his messy roommate.
* * * * *
After a hurried breakfast, due to the time he had taken to shower and get dressed, Koizumi walked nervously to the A wing he'd been told to report to. Walking into the empty study hall, his footsteps echoed loudly against the walls. He was struck with the strong urge to shout and test out how well that echo worked, but somehow managed to restrain himself.
"Koizumi Itsuki, I presume?" a female voice greeted from his left. He showed no sign of surprise, but turned to look at her. It was the same woman he had run into when he was first abducted into this place.
"Possibly, are you sure you aren't talking to somebody else?" Koizumi replied, making a jab at the fact that he was the only one here.
"Confirming your identity is a necessity that I am forced to adhere to," she answered briskly, walking towards him.
"I see. You don't recognize me? Honestly, I thought we had something special," he quipped, with all the grace a fourteen year old could muster.
She adjusted the glasses on her nose, looking at him carefully. "This is an irrelevant conversation. I am here to tutor you in personality development," she stated.
"There's something wrong with my personality?" he asked, slightly offended.
"Our aim is to have Suzumiya Haruhi become interested in you. It would also assist us if you were to be more cooperative," she answered, without directly addressing his question.
Koizumi flicked his hair from his eyes. "I see. Well, I guess you're making an offer I simply can't refuse. Where do we start?" he sneered, leaning up against the wall automatically.
"Stand up straight," the woman barked. Koizumi, shocked by her sudden change of tone, complied.
"You may start by addressing me as Usami-sensei. I expect your full attention at all times, unless you have been instructed differently. You have been chosen for this assignment merely due to your age," she rattled off. Koizumi frowned. He had the feeling that these sessions weren't to be very pleasant for him.
"These lessons will commence each Monday, from 10 AM until 12 PM, and on Thursdays from 3 PM until 5 PM. Do not miss a lesson. If you miss a lesson, you are required to have a believable excuse, and take my word for it, they won't believe you are ill unless you have actually checked in and been admitted to the infirmary," she looked over the top of her glasses at Koizumi's incredulous expression, and smiled slightly.
"Now that the formalities are complete, I shall explain to you the courses you will be undertaking," she waited for Koizumi to nod in acknowledgment before continuing.
"Our first course of action may not sound very pleasant, but it is put in place to change your attitude – I said it wasn't pleasant," she interrupted, as Koizumi opened his mouth to protest. He scowled. "Koizumi-kun, it is mere fact that you have what is commonly called a bad attitude problem. We simply mean to teach you a suitable level of social functionality. You will be taught how to act perfectly socially acceptable, and to adhere to Suzumiya-san's beliefs. Each lesson thereafter will relate back to this," she finished, and Koizumi stared at her blankly.
She sighed.
"You have heard of acting, yes?" he nodded. "Think of this as a continuous role until further notice."
"Okay. So, when are we going to start?" he asked, genuinely interested in the lessons ahead. Usami-sensei blinked. His willingness to participate was certainly not counted on, although it would make her job far easier. She smiled.
"Take a seat, Koizumi-kun," she instructed, gesturing towards a desk towards the far right wall. As he made himself comfortable, she admonished him.
"Sit straight. And stop scowling, Koizumi-kun. I'm sure you'd be a much more attractive boy if you put a smile on your face."
He felt as though this woman was acting as the mother he had never properly had, and, deciding to humour her, planted a blank smile on his face.
"Excellent. Now, first of all, there is to be no swearing…" the lesson finally commenced, Koizumi's new teacher beginning the long and arduous task of breaking down his personality and creating it anew.
* * * * *
"Koizumi-kun, how was your top secret new training?" Souta grinned as Koizumi walked into the physical training facilities, fresh from his new life lessons.
"Not so secret anymore, apparently," he answered tiredly, looking over at Kinjo who was attempting to eavesdrop.
Souta noticed Koizumi's gaze, and wisely decided to drop the conversation for now.
"So, what are we doing today?" Koizumi asked, looking around at the larger than usual room.
"Something about activating powers at full capacity…you only came here a few weeks ago, so you haven't got as much training, but obviously they think you'll handle it," Souta answered, talking from the corner of his mouth as their instructor walked into the room.
"I am here to demonstrate what fully activating your innate powers looks like. It will take several weeks to master and control," he announced, and, once he had the full attention of everybody in the room, a look of intense concentration came over his face. Koizumi raised his eyebrows cynically, but Souta was looking at the man with a look of focus on his own face. Rolling his eyes, Koizumi almost missed the moment when the older man began to gather an unearthly red glow about him, although this did manage to finally capture his full attention.
Over the next minute, the man glowed more and more brightly, until he was merely a red ball of energy hovering where he had once stood. The ball raised itself higher into the air, to the awed silence of the students.
"I expect you to work this out yourselves," the voice seemed to echo through all of their minds, and even Koizumi was impressed as the ball returned to the floor and resumed the shape of the instructor who had walked into the room at the beginning of their session.
Nodding at everyone gathered, the man then left, allowing them to go about their own methods of training.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Souta muttered, rubbing his eyes.
Koizumi blinked, and the light he had been staring at seemed to be imprinted onto the insides of his eyelids. He pressed his palms against his eyes, but that only made white spots dance in front of him. He reopened his eyes to see Souta staring at a wall, concentrating as though his life depended on it. He laughed quietly to himself.
He had no need to learn this for the Agency, since he felt no sense of duty towards them, but it did seem like an impressive thing to be able to do. Therefore, he focused all his energy on teaching himself what he had just been shown.