I love writing this stuff so much. That's one of the reasons I like to update so fast. That; and because I actually have willing readers for once. Enjoy this chapter, everyone!
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It's times like these where I notice exactly how athletic Haruhi Suzumiya really is.
She runs ridiculously fast! I didn't think I'd have to be running a marathon just to keep up with her!
It's all for the greater good, though. If I decided to be lazy and just let Suzumiya-san run off, then I would be granting passage to absolute destruction. Haruhi seemed hurt, jealous or angry by the fact that she saw me in what looked like an embrace with Ryoko Asakura. I'm still wondering why Suzumiya-san isn't shocked from seeing Asakura-san again. When Asakura-san had first disappeared, Haruhi had dragged me along in her search for the blue-haired alien after Nagato-san had caused her to "move to Canada". Curiosity was always one of Haruhi's prime personality traits, but she didn't even show the slightest hint of it when she first caught a glimpse of Ryoko.
Instead; she went off running like a scared child, and I can only imagine that she was not happy with what she had seen. In fact, I was imagining Haruhi nearly crying her eyes out. I don't know why, but something was making me feel like I had almost betrayed Suzumiya-san.
Again, this is probably a product of the combined amnesia and extreme déjà vu.
And so I am currently running after Haruhi, who has the tenacity and speed equal to an African gazelle. It's amazing how fast she can run. I'm literally about twenty feet behind her. She probably can run even faster than this! It's really starting to piss me off!
Back on topic, I can't seem to catch Haruhi! My feet are running with the power of a locomotive, but they just can't match Suzumiya-san's stronger and more in shape legs. I mean; just look at them! Their slender, curvy and she's got such flawless skin on them…
And I'm going way off topic again! Back to chasing Haruhi!
She's turned a corner now. The streets never seem to end in this city, and the fact that nighttime has come is making me afraid that I'll fall and land on my face. At the rate I'm running, it's very likely.
But I have to say that I'm glad I can't see anyone on the streets tonight. Wait. That's not good! When did the sky turn so gray?
Damn. It seems that in chasing Haruhi Suzumiya; I have found myself descending into the dreaded closed space. This is less than favorable.
Normally, I might have thought about just stopping and trying to find a way out. In any other situation, I would have given up and let Haruhi just go. But something was holding me to her. To say the least, something was attracting me to her. It wasn't that I had some inner feelings for her, was it?
No, that can't be it. It's just preposterous to think that I could ever feel that way about Suzumiya-san. She's beautiful and smart, but she's also a weirdo, as well as an overly bossy girl. What kind of guy would be attracted to that?
Nevertheless, Haruhi continues to remain ahead of me, and I can already feel my legs tiring. The lactic acid buildup is beginning to become unbearable, mostly because I am not used to such strenuous running as I am currently involved in. Suzumiya-san's brown hair bounces behind her as she sprints, and I watch to see her turn her head around in mid-run.
The look on her eyes is none other than hurt. In fact, it looked as if I had done something equal to breaking her heart. But I never felt that way about her in the first place, so there wouldn't be any heart to break, would there?
Gah, these thoughts are confusing. I just want to catch Suzmiya-san already and tell her that I'm s-
Wait! Are my eyes fooling me? No! Suzumiya-san has just tripped on the sidewalk only a few feet in front of me. My legs are in excruciating pain, but I think I can catch her. Yes! She's not getting up that easily! Is she hurt? Gah, I can't let her just run off again!
"Haruhi!" I exclaimed as I knelt beside the fallen Suzumiya-san, who seemed to just try and get up faster the closer I got. This was stupid in so many ways, but I took no time in grabbing Haruhi by the arm, just so I could make sure she wouldn't just run off.
"Get your hands off me, Kyon!" she shouted at me in anger, taking no time to literally punch me hard in the stomach. I reeled over in obvious pain, and Suzumiya-san quickly brushed herself off as she stood up, towering above my hurt form.
"Wait! Don't just leave again!" I protested to her as I looked up, one hand still clutching my slightly hurt stomach as I reached out for her. The sky really had turned gray around us, and there were no people in the streets at all. In fact, even the streetlights had gone completely out.
We were in a gray dreary world now. We were both in closed space.
"What's wrong with you!?!" Haruhi shouted down at me, her hands clenched into tight fists as she did so. Suzumiya-san's eyes were more dead serious than usual, but I could tell she was making an attempt to hold back tears.
"Me? I didn't do anything! You're the one who was running away from me!"
In any situation; Suzumiya-san always believes herself to be right, no matter what odds are against her. Even if the entire universe was to collapse if she did not admit herself to be wrong, she still would not do so. And the scary part is; that may very well happen soon enough.
"You're sleazy, Kyon! I can't believe you can just put yourself all over a girl like that! And I thought you had some decency!" Suzumiya-san said to me, shouting right in my face as I finally got the strength to stand up. Her voice was clearly filled with hurt. No matter how angry she tried to sound, I could easily tell she was sad.
"Haruhi….are you jealous?" I asked her, although nervously and in a low voice. This conversation wasn't turning out to be too much of a positive one, but it was at least keeping Haruhi from running off. That was certainly a good thing.
It seemed that Suzumiya-san had become befuddled by my question. She crossed her arms and put on a pouting mask, and it seemed like she was just trying to ignore what I asked her at first. Her eyes were looking everywhere except at me, just like they had when I tried to tell her I was John Smith back at school.
Finally, I heard Suzumiya-san say something in a low voice. It sounded like she was almost having trouble getting it out.
"I need you." She said as she narrowed her eyes and kept her arms tightly crossed. The expression on her face almost refused to change, but a red blush was showing on her cheeks. Haruhi had defied herself again by blushing.
She needs me? That doesn't mean…what it's supposed to mean; does it? Is Haruhi trying to say something to me? Wait a second…does Suzumiya-san…does she lo-
"You look stupid with that face, Kyon!" Haruhi exclaimed at me, breaking my train of thought. Apparently, she wasn't really content with letting me think for just a few seconds. She still refused to look at me directly, though; having gazed just about everywhere except at my face.
"Where are we, anyway?" Haruhi asked me, now looking at the sky, having let her arms fall to the side. The tension in her body was beginning to lessen, but the expression on her face wasn't changing much.
What was she so angry about? Is she infatuated with me or something?
Why does this all feel so goddamn familiar!?! I don't get it! Did this all happen before? What the hell is going on!?!
I sighed. It seemed like being direct with Haruhi was the only way to get her attention at this point. I shouldn't complain much about all this. At least I wasn't running like a dog trying to catch a speeding car. I was the dog and Haruhi was the car. What a surprise.
"What do you really think of me?" I asked her suddenly, with all the intention of sparking some sort of response out of her. I was sick of her pushing me around like she usually did. She was going to listen to me now!
"What? What kind of question is that?"
A typical Suzumiya-san response. At least; it's typical when it's something that Haruhi obviously doesn't want to answer. The tone in her voice easily signified that she was uncomfortable with answering such a question. But I wasn't going to let that deter me. She was going to answer this question whether she liked it or not! This amnesia has already caused enough problems, and I'm not just going to keep forgetting stuff so the universe can just end!
"Answer the question!"
I had to be pushy when I said that sentence. If I acted weak or unassertive right now, Haruhi would easily see through it, and I would end up getting absolutely nowhere with her.
This was yet another time where Haruhi looked as if she was in a state of pondering. Her face looked deep in a cute sort of thought process, and in any other situation, it might have even made me smile. But the fact that I wanted to anxiously know what she was going to say to this was severely deterring me from that.
"I think about you a lot. And not like a stupid Brigade member. It's those stupid feelings that all humans eventually get….I hate it." Haruhi said as she finally broke out of her thinking. The way she spoke clearly made it sound like she really did hate what she was admitting to me.
And what was what she was admitting to me? If I didn't know better; it sounded like Haruhi had a crush on me. Something is telling me that I shouldn't be really surprised though…
That's not it! This is familiar! The déjà vu is coming again, and it's becoming unbearable! Why does this all happen whenever Haruhi and I are getting this emotionally close? What the hell is the meaning of all of this?
It's quite lucky that I never speak out my internal thoughts, because I might look crazy to anyone else around me. Especially since I exclaim most things in the sanctity of my mind; a place where no one can penetrate. At least I hope no one can.
"So…you've got a crush on me? You actually think I'm cute or something?" I said to Haruhi, my voice at a more positive tone this time around. It was very strange, but something inside me liked all this.
Haruhi gave me a one word response, with all the indifference and annoyance she could muster in her voice as she struggled not to look at me.
"Sorta."
This is really something. Though it is quite familiar in ways I can't explain, I'm actually kind of fascinated that Haruhi Suzumiya has hidden feelings for me. I always thought that such things would never happen in a million years. Besides; she likes to treat me like a peon half the time. Why would she do that if she really likes me this much?
Wait, I should have just realized something already. This is Suzumiya-san I'm talking about. In no way is she like any other normal high school girl. She is anything but normal, in fact. In a world of sheer normalcy, she would definitely be the odd one out. But that's not so much the case, as she's obviously been catering this world for her eccentric needs for the last three years.
"That's…unexpected. But I guess I shouldn't complain. I never really get any good-looking girls to confess to me." I replied, purposefully adding the last part in a vain attempt to try and compliment Suzumiya-san. It was the least I could do right now.
Don't tell me I'm suddenly feeling something for this crazy girl? If I am….then I'm even more unreasonable than I previously thought.
Haruhi's expression was one of surprise, mostly because she probably didn't expect to be complimented by me. The blush came on her face again, and it's interesting to note that for a girl with such determination and stubbornness, she sure has trouble hiding her embarrassment.
I was getting ready to rejoice in Haruhi's sudden change of mood, but my hopes went crashing down when her mood exploded outward in a not-so-positive way.
"No! This is not a good thing! I hate it!"
There was heat already coming from Suzumiya-san. I was almost ready to back away when she fell to her knees, sprawled out on the sidewalk with angry tears streaming down her face. I had never seen Haruhi so sad. If she kept this up, I might just start crying too….
Get a hold of yourself, Kyon! You've got a universe to save!
Alright; that sounded really cheesy right there. Ugh; even my thoughts sound terrible sometimes.
"I don't want these stupid feelings! I don't want this boring world! I'm sick of it! I'm sick of everything!" Suzumiya-san exclaimed in through her tears. Her normally happy looking amber eyes had turned into eyes that showed obvious sadness and discontent. Suzumiya-san was very discontent right now. Only a true idiot would be unable to see that.
As I tried to get closer to Haruhi, I noticed a small droning sound by my ear. It started out low, but slowly began to get higher. I tried to ignore it, stepping closer to Suzumiya-san.
"I'm done! The SOS Brigade is over! I'm done with this stupidity!"
Haruhi's voice seemed to be getting louder by the second, as if she had vocal cords more suitable for an animal like a whale. I felt the force of her exclamation hit me like a gust of wind, but I did my best to hold my ground. I could tell that this wasn't turning out too good right now. The droning persisted to plague my eardrums, and I heard no other sounds around me besides it.
"Haruhi! You have to stop acting like this! You're going to mess a lot of things up!" I pleaded her as I tried moving closer to her fallen form, but every step felt like I was moving against a massive amount of gravity. The world was suddenly getting hard to move through, like air was made of tar.
"No! It's all useless! None of it matters anymore!"
When she said that phrase, I fell backward from a force emanating from her mouth. Whatever words she was letting come out had more power than even she realized. The changed gravity around me failed to subside even as I struggled to get up from the rough cement sidewalk. I looked towards Haruhi, who refused to calm down.
Right before my eyes, I began to witness what I assumed was the omniverse ending. It was as if I was in a room where the lights were slowly being dimmed. Everything was literally beginning to get blacker, as if night was washing over the entire world. There were no sounds except the mostly quiet sobbing coming from Haruhi. Either way; the darkness continued to envelop us, and I was beginning to lose sight of Suzumiya-san.
"Haruhi!" I shouted with truly genuine concern, my body pushing against the gravity as I reached out for Suzumiya-san. Every thought in my head was concerned at finding her in this darkness, and hugging her close to me. As close as I could get to her. I didn't even care if she punched me in the face afterwards.
I guess this is the time to admit that I probably felt more for her than I previously thought. I have a feeling that a lot of my déjà vu and amnesia has something to do with all of this as well. The droning was starting to get louder.
"It's over, Kyon. There's no point anymore."
I never heard her so defeated before. The darkness was threatening to encompass us completely, and the increasing droning sound was threatening to shatter my sanity. Still, I managed to finally push against the opposing gravity and grab Suzumiya-san by the hand. I could barely see her by now, but I moved close to her when I felt her delicate hand in mine. Close enough that we were now face to face, even though I couldn't really see her face.
"You have to get a hold of yourself! Where's the Brigade Chief I know? She wouldn't just give up like this! She wouldn't just be telling me that there was no point anymore! No: she would be going on about time travelers, aliens and espers. She would want to find as many as she possibly could in a single day. That's the Haruhi I know!"
It's safe to say that I sounded like I was coaching Suzumiya-san about something. But as I said these things, I suddenly noticed that a memory popped into my head. It came spontaneously and utterly, but as the blackness was almost completely over us, I had no choice but to say it to Suzumiya-san.
"You said that you weren't ever interested in normal humans. You commanded that anyone who was a time traveler, esper or alien would have to see you at once. You're still that same crazy girl, Haruhi. You're still the Brigade Chief that I know…and love."
The last part was unexpected, mostly because I didn't even intend to say it. In fact, I could have sworn that it just involuntarily came out. It felt like something from the past was deciding to show its face again. Something I still had amnesia about, of course.
I couldn't see Suzumiya-san's face, but something told me that I had said something meaningful. And as I said the last part of my sentence, everything just literally lit up again. I'm really not joking when I say it that way. One minute it was about to be complete darkness, and the next it turned back to the gray light that emanated from the closed space we were both still in.
Suzumiya-san sat in front of me, a look on her face that was in disbelief. That look was so familiar. The dread déjà vu had come once again.
But still; she was really beautiful right now. The tears had gone away, and it seemed like I was getting lost in Haruhi's amber eyes. They were a sight I was truly struggling to pull away from. I felt her beginning to move closer. Was I doing the same? I think I was.
But before either of us could move close enough to one another and before Haruhi could actually say anything, someone's voice cut off our touching reunion. That someone's voice was the same one I had heard only minutes ago.
"You just couldn't listen. You just had to ruin everything!"
It was surely none other than Asakura-san. I turned to look behind me, and I could see she was already striding towards the both of us, her face covered with a mask of unhappiness. She wasn't angry, but she certainly wasn't smiling. Ryoko's long blue hair waved behind her as she approached us.
Haruhi stood by me, holding onto my arm in worry. I was slightly enjoying it, but I was clearly more worried about the displeased human interface coming towards us.
"Isn't that Asakura-san? I thought she went away to Canada! I knew it was a lie!" Suzumiya-san said beside me, her voice showing the determination and gusto that she usually always had. She really changes her mood quickly.
It's great she's in a possibly good mindset and all; but she doesn't really understand the situation. If we just stand here; Ryoko Asakura is just going to kill us both. Or she's just going to kill me. I'd actually like to live…
Haruhi doesn't seem to understand all of this. She never understands. I couldn't help but sigh at the new problem in front of me, noting something important in the back of my mind. Even in the face of death, the usual workings of Haruhi Suzumiya never cease to show themselves. Why am I not surprised?
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Oooo...another little cliffhanger. Don't worry. The next one will come sooner than you think. You're just gonna have to wait. :)