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In my sleep I shifted side to side worrying about falling off my bed. I guess my body doesn't like changing it's habits, and I ended up taking up very little of the actual bed space. Switching to a new bed often brings about dreams, and I sure had a few. One of an adventurous type, another being a boring one of me just watching a Baseball game, but the last one... the last one was something I wouldn't tell a soul. All I remember was a scene of lust and moans from a beautiful girl. It was certainly a feeling that made me feel dirty, but there was a question on my mind. Who was the girl? She wasn't just a faceless person, because I recognized the voice. I just couldn't pinpoint it to a specific person. I guess matters like this are best left undisturbed.

I woke up, not to that of an alarm clock, but of a knock. As I opened my eyes I could hear a banging sound go against the door of the room. The house itself might be very traditional, but it's adopted many western inventions. I tried my best to ignore the pestering sound, but as my mind woke up I realized I was a guest of the house and it would have been rude not to respond. So, as I rose from the bed I said:

"Yes? Who is it?"

I started to become more and more aware of the environment. I noticed the large cabinet to my right, it was a sight of pure beauty. It's elegant carvings of the history of Japan. I could see carvings that depict pictures of multiple periods of time. The Kamakura period, Sengoku period, all the way up to Modern Japan you could see some kind of history engraved into it's wooden frame. To my right laid a dresser of excellent craftsmanship with a mirror above it. Overall it was bigger than any piece of furniture in my house and probably better made overall than any piece in my living quarters at home. How ever by doing this I almost missed the response to my question. I heard a voice say this.

"It's Tsuruya! Now get up, we don't have all day Kyon-kun!"

Her voice rang through the room and gave off a nice echo. It brought a nice sensation to my ears. It might have been the room, her voice, or the fact that I didn't have to wake up to an alarm clock. How ever all I knew was that I was being pampered and I was going to enjoy every moment of it.

"I'm coming Tsuruya. Just give me a moment to get dressed."

As I fumbled out of bed and went for the dresser, I was surprised to be greeted with my usual clothing. It gave the room a sense of like I was home, a much better furnished home albeit. As I starting changing into the school uniform I heard Tsuruya speak again.

"Do you need help Kyon-kun?"

I heard say this with that laughter of hers. To say the least I was embarrassed enough to show a blush, she would not and could not see it though.

"No thanks. I'll be quick."

I said this in a rushed tone which probably gave Tsuruya ammunition for teasing me and I do wish I could have said it in a more professional tone.

"What ever you say~nyoro!"

As she said this she walked away from my room and I was left to prepare myself. It took me 3 minutes to get dressed and another 2 to finish my daily personal hygienic practices. Even the bathroom was better than my home's bathroom. It had a full bath and shower with a sink, and granite flooring. I certainly envy anyone that can live in an environment like this one. As I walked out of the so called half bathroom I opened the door to the hallway. Even the hallways were well decorated in the Tsuruya estate. Paintings filled the walls along with many hallway furnishing pieces. How ever as I passed a clock in the hallway I noticed that I did not have time to take in the beauty of the surroundings and I had to hurry up.

I walked into the dining room and noticed Tsuruya was waiting for me. I notice that she waved to me to come sit by her, and I could tell which seat to sit in because the seat had a huge meal in front of it. As I sat down I couldn't help but notice the size of the meal. It certainly wasn't rice and a piece of toast. It had meat, fish, eggs, and some other food items I couldn't even name. The aroma of the meal made me realize how hungry I was, or I thought I was in this case. I quickly said thanks for the food and started eating. I forgot all about Tsuruya for the beginning of the meal until I heard one thing.

"Kyon-kun you sure can shovel down some food! You could become a champion food competitor at the pace you're eating. I can eat faster though!"

As I looked over to the right I noticed Tsuruya eating, no doesn't describe it, consuming her meal. How a girl like her could eat like that and keep a figure I don't know, but she did it anyways. The motion of my body stopped as she consumed a good 700 calories worth of food within a minute. I think it was a minute, but I couldn't keep up track of time being so focused on her. After her plate was empty she got out of her chair and started pulling mine out.

"We're going to be late, so let's get a move on!"

She took hold of my book bag and me with it. Dining room to hallway, hallway to living room, living room to garden, garden to the gate of her estate. It all seemed like a flash to me and as I was rushed off to a bus stop I only had one thought on my mind. I didn't even get to try the sausage.

As we waited for the bus to arrive I decided to start small talk with her.

"So who knows about the assassination attempts and who can I talk to it about?"

It certainly wasn't the run of the mill question, and it might have been inappropriate to talk about while waiting for the bus, but these were questions I needed to ask.

"The heads of Koizumi – san's organization, my mother and father, you, and myself. That's all who knows it and those are the only people you should talk to about this. If this were to get out that we know about it, then the assassins might plan to attack when we're not prepared. So, try to keep it a secret from everyone. Even the SOS brigade members need to remain in the dark."

As she said this the depressing mood came about and I could tell it made us both feel uncomfortable about the situation. I guess it's better to try and avoid the situation. My plans have changed though, I have no reason to mouth off Koizumi now seeing as he didn't know about it. It's going to be very difficult to keep a secret about Haruhi's well-being from the SOS brigade members though. I decided to digress to a friendlier topic.

"You're pretty much an ambassador of the SOS Brigade, so how come you don't just join us? I mean everybody enjoys your company and you have that magic ability to keep Haruhi's interest."

She looked up to the sky and for a solid 30 seconds just stared into the clouds. I don't know if this is how she thinks on hard questions, but she looked deep in thought. When I was about to ask her if she was okay, she responded.

"My family ends up taking up too much of my time and it's spontaneous when they need me. One week I might be in Sweden and another I might have nothing to do. With poor attendance for SOS Brigade meetings I think Haruhi-nyan would be quite mad. Why do you ask? Does Kyon-kun want me to join?"

She step toward my face and by the end of her answer and her question she was but an inch from my nose. The situation was getting a bit too awkward for me and I started to notice a noise coming from down the road.

"The bus is almost here Tsuruya. We should get ready to get on board."

And, with that I backed away and regained composure. This girl is certainly as brave as Haruhi, but luckily not as stubborn. So, the bus arrived and we both went inside the public transport.

There isn't much that went on in the ride to the school, we were mostly quiet except for the occasional remark by Tsuruya. It was either about the scenery or someone on the bus, and I tried to ignore any remarks that might have offended anyone on the bus.

Once we arrived at our destination which was 3 blocks away from the school, we got out of the vehicle and heard the bus drive off. We walked to the school's gate and I saw Taniguchi and Kunikida standing around the school gate. Usually they'd be in the class room or wondering the halls by now, but not today.

"Yo Kyon what took you so long to get to school?"

I heard him say this as he and Kunikida were walking to Tsuruya and I. As I was about to answer the question Kunikida spoke up .

"How come you are walking to school with Tsuruya today? Don't you live in the opposite direction from the school that she does?"

His question was of that of nonjudgmental descent, however I could not say the same for Taniguchi.

"What have you been doing with Tsuruya behind our backs Kyon? Anything that would make me envy you?"

Taniguchi's question annoyed me like they usually do and I didn't feel like amusing him. How ever I didn't know how to answer the question. I just couldn't say that I was under protective custody. This however was not a question I would not have to answer today.

"Kyon-kun is a guest at my home. You see Kyon-kun's room is being redone and I invited him to stay at my parent's estate until the work is finished."

The lie certainly couldn't hold up if Taniguchi pushed into it, but she said it so well that no one would believe that she was lying.

"Yeah yeah, what ever. That's boring. Well Kyon if anything interesting happens please let me be the first to know."

Any idiot could tell what he meant by that, but I decided not to press on the subject as he and Kunikida walked away.

"Well that was quick thinking Tsuruya? I had no idea what to say. I guess we better keep that story for who ever asks us, right?"

I asked this hoping to get a confirmation on it, and I did.

"Yes Kyon-kun, it would be bad if they thought we were doing perverted things!"

She said this while shaking her head up and down. She's definitely not ignorant of the hints Taniguchi gave off. This conversation ended and we continued into the school grounds. Soon we departed and I was in my classroom. As I sat down I heard Haruhi whisper something to me from behind.

"You better have some great ideas Kyon..."

I forgot all about the brainstorming of ideas for the SOS Brigade and I knew the wrath of Haruhi Suzumiya was much worse than any grade that I could get on any paper. So, I ended up focusing more on brainstorming than studying.

After my last class was over I packed up and started walking towards the SOS Brigade room. As I approached the door to our club room I turned the knob and started opening the door knowing my afternoon of normality had passed and that I was going to be thrown back into the shenanigans of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Once the door was opened I took a quick look in the room. I glanced at Koizumi, Nagato, Asahina-san, and Tsuruya. I wondered why Tsuruya was here, could it be a possible favor of Haruhi or could it be something else. As I walked into the room I started my greetings.

"Hello Koizumi, Nagato, Asahina-san, Tsuruya. How come you're here Tsuruya?"

Tsuruya's face lit up and she started to respond to my question.

"I wanted to help Haruhi-nyan with her mystery search~nyoro."

I could tell that was a lie for the SOS Brigade, so I would have to ask her about it later. I walked over to a chair adjacent to the SOS Brigade computer and sat in it. I glanced over at Koizumi's false smile, Nagato's blank face, Asahina-san's nervous posture, and Tsuruya's cheerful disposition. The room and the people in it became so much more detailed with the silence, but that was going to change.

"So what kind of ideas have you thought about Kyon-kun?"

The silence was broken by Tsuruya's question. I however could not answer the question, because I had no ideas. What ever I thought of I knew Haruhi would dismiss or just not pay attention. I answered the question in the most bold manner I could answer a question.

"I have no ideas at all."

I said it with such a straight face that could make me pop up smile. Tsuruya didn't just pop a smile though, she popped a mountain full of laughter.

"Kyon-kun you're not supposed to answer like that! It's killing me!"

As she laughed the keyword "killing" reminded me of what Tsuruya told me yesterday. It twisted my stomach into a knot, but my outward appearance did not change. Tsuruya kept laughing even after the door opened. Yes, Haruhi was now here.

"Hello everyone!"

With her eyes closed she gave a huge smile for the SOS Brigade which only meant one thing. She was going to have fun and pile most of the responsibilities on the members of the SOS Brigade.

"What are you doing here Tsuruya? And how come you're laughing?"

Tsuruya still continued laughing and it took her a solid minute to calm down enough to answer both of Haruhi's questions.

"Well Haruhi-nyan, I wanted to join your search for excitement, so I came by your club room. I hope I didn't intrude."

Haruhi's smile relaxed and she responded to Tsuruya's answer.

"Well it's okay this time, but next time ask me before you come to one of our meetings. Our club meetings are confidential and if information from our meetings were to leak out it would be horrible!"

What information is she talking about? Nothing in here is ever secret enough to cause harm if it got out. I guess she just wants to use her authority, because she does like her position as leader of the SOS Brigade.

Haruhi stood up in front of the white board and looked at all of us.

"Okay, so who wants to be first? How about you Kyon?"

Crap. I have no idea what to say to her. I can't tell her I have nothing and I can't just stay silent. My mind within a second was able to make up something and I opened my mouth to say:

"Well I have this idea about going to the-"

I was about to complete my sentence, but Haruhi had something else in mind.

"That's boring. Let's move on to Koizumi! What do you have?"

And like that I was let off the hook. It upsets me that I wasted today brainstorming ideas just so Haruhi could ignore them, albeit I had no ideas to bring to the table in reality.

"There is an abandoned mine an hour from here on foot. We could check it out."

Bad idea, bad idea. That's all that rang through my ear as he said that. I saw a flash of me being crushed by falling rock. This is the kind of thing that could turn bad quick. Please Haruhi, just turn that idea down.

"That's a great idea Koizumi! We will go tomorrow. Everyone bring what ever you need and meet here right after class. Dismissed!"

And like that she was out the door and going home. I guess my prior intuition was wrong, because I was going to have two afternoons without Haruhi. This is a blessing to me, so I wasn't going to complain.

Everyone packed up and started leaving. I heard Asahina-san give her farewells as she ran off, Nagato left us with no real departure saying and as I was walking with Tsuruya back to her home I heard Koizumi ask me something.

"How come you're going that way? Don't you live in the opposite direction Kyon?"

I didn't like lying to Koizumi and I think Koizumi could see straight through me. I felt like our secret was going to crumble apart any second now. However I was not required to answer this question.

"Kyon-kun is living with me for the time being! His room is being redone, so he's going to live with me until it's finished."

If that girl had a talent, it was lying. She could probably lie on a lie detector and the machine wouldn't be able to tell a difference.

"You could have asked me Kyon, I would have had a spare room for you. But, I guess you already have arrangements so I'll see you later. Just make sure Haruhi doesn't get any funny ideas. Okay?"

I nodded in response to his question and he was off to his home. The ride to Tsuruya's home wasn't that of any importance. She called for a taxi and the driver drove us to her house. He was a very talkative man, but his conversational topic was interesting. Apparently he knows 10 different languages of which he spoke to us. I was only able to pick up Japanese and English, but apparently he knew French, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Hebrew, Hindu, and Portuguese. This man wasn't just bilingual, he was multilingual. We soon arrived at the gates to her house and we got out. As she paid the driver I remembered how privileged I was to be a guest in this home, and I was certainly thankful for that.

As we entered the estate, servants were offering to carry our coats and bags of which I gave to them once I changed into indoor appropriate footwear. As I walked inside I sat down on a couch that was in the back of the room. Maybe it was the strain of carrying books or the strain of carrying things for Haruhi over the years, but my back was in pain. All I wanted to do was lay down on my stomach and snooze off the rest of the day. I was a guest at her house though and I was treating it a bit too much like home. So, as I was getting up I felt a weight on my legs. It was as if someone was sitting on me.

"Kyon-kun do you have a tired back? You know my father always said I could be a chiropractor and I had the hands for it. How about a massage?"

It could have been a combination of things, but what I said is something I wouldn't have normally said.

"Sure. I'd love one, Tsuruya."

At first I tried to resist noticing my inappropriate answer to the question, but her father was no liar. She really could be a chiropractor. Her hands went on my shoulder blades, against my ribs, and a few inches above my ass cheeks. It was truly a pleasure, and my feelings of regret turned to feelings of relief. I started to drift off into dreamland only once or twice hearing Tsuruya ask if I'd want to take my shirt off. I at least had the courtesy to answer no both times, how ever I couldn't help but fall into the best sleep of my life.

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Well that's it for this chapter. I ultimately decided to keep chapters short for about only 5 or so pages long. I don't like making them too long because revision gets tedious if a chapter is more than 5 pages long. Again please spot out any errors I can change, and please give positive or negative reviews.