Author: Time for the next installment~ First though, let me apologize. It's been almost a whole year since I last uploaded. I am ashamed of myself. I'm so lazy. Forgive this worthless piece of garbage. T.T

Disclaimer: I do not own the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. All rights belong to their respective owners. Thank you.

Over the next few days, Kyon was busy getting Yuki Nagato acquainted with everyday life around the clan boarding house. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. She seemed to absorb everything he told her. However, there was a fair share of problems. Like whenever somebody entered the room they were in, Nagato would either hide behind Kyon or throw on her shroud and hide where she stood. Every time, Kyon would patiently wait until the others would leave before resuming his explanation. So far, the new girl was proving to be quite interesting. The apprentice thing was going quite smoothly so far.

The following week at breakfast, Kyon was in the middle of his meal when he felt a strange aura emanating from his right. Kyon slowly turned his head to the right, only to find Taneguchi closely scrutinizing him. "I don't see it." Taneguchi said suddenly, and rather bluntly at that. Kyon was irritated by his friend's statement, but a mouthful of food kept his verbal riposte in check, so he raised his eyebrow to question the choice of words. Taneguchi closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and nodded. "Yep, I don't see it. What Tsuruya-san sees in you I mean." He opened his eyes again. "I'm glad I wasn't picked, but why did she pick you?"

Kyon managed to swallow his food and reply. "I don't know either. I've been wondering just as long as you have. There's obviously a reason and I intend to discover it, but right now, it's not one of my priorities. As you know, I've got I've got quite the task just looking out for this one." He said, pointing to his left at Yuki. He stopped talking for a minute to look at the girl. He noticed how carefully she chose the ingredients for her meal from the large bowls on the table. With every bite, a look of transcendence passed over her face. Was she a gourmet or something? Kyon returned his gaze to Taneguchi, who had begun stuffing his face with everything in front of him during the conversational lull. "Anyway, despite how lovely this conversation is, I really should be getting ready for work."

"Fine, fine…" Taneguchi replied, wiping small bits of food off his face. "Do a good job today, and if Tsuruya-san tells you anything, clue me in, will you?" At that, he returned to his meal. Kyon merely nodded as he stood and left the room, Nagato quickly following suit,

XXXXXXX

For the rest of the day, Kyon didn't expect much to happen., and he was correct in his assumption. Nagato was the only new thing in his life and he planned to keep it that way for as long as he could. He wandered around the local market with his apprentice, taking a look at the wares and foods the vendors had on display. Suddenly, Kyon remembered something. He swiveled his head around, looking for Nagato. She disappeared completely! Impossible! This was the first time Kyon ever felt panic-stricken. If he lost the girl, How would he face Tsuruya? She may be cheerful and energetic, but she isn't the leader of a ninja clan for nothing! She would skin him alive!

After pushing his way through the crowd and craning his neck in all directions, he finally spotted her. She was standing at a novelty stall, staring at several oni masks on display. "Nagato!" he shouted as he ran over to her. "What are you doing? You had me worried. I thought you had gotten lost…" She looked up at him and pointed to one of the masks. "What, you want one?" She nodded at him. Upon reflection, they had been partnered up for nearly a week now, and she had never actually spoken. Maybe she's a mute? "Ok," he finally said. "I think I still have a few extra coins around somewhere…" He fished a couple of silver Shu out of his coin-purse and paid the merchant, who in turn handed the mask to Nagato. "By the way," Kyon continued, "I have somebody I need to introduce to you. His shop isn't too far from here. This time, he grabbed Nagato by the hand to make sure he didn't lose her. Little did he know, as he was winding his way through the crowd, Nagato lowered her head to avoid exposing the fact that she was blushing just a little…

XXXXXXX

When they arrived at their destination, there was a sign hanging from the roof "Dream Interpretation and Medical Supplies". Kyon hesitated for a moment. "When did he start selling medical supplies?" After shrugging it off, he stepped through the doorway.

"Hello there, how may I help you today?" A soothing, friendly voice greeted their entry.

"Kunikida? It's me again."

"Oh, Kyon? Hello. I see you've brought a friend with you." Kunikida said as he stepped forward. He was around Kyon's age (not that many could tell because of his height and baby-face), wearing a dark blue work clothes that were a little big on him. The sleeves were long enough to have to be pinned back, and the pants were hemmed to avoid tripping him. He was wearing simple shoes made of cloth. "So, what brings you by again so soon?" he asked with a smile. "Same dream again?"

"Surprisingly, no." Kyon responded. "I just wanted to introduce you to Yuki Nagato, my apprentice and the newest inductee of the Tsuruya Ninja Clan." Kyon side-stepped and gestured towards Nagato, who was trying her best to stay hiding behind him.

"I see. Hello Miss Nagato. It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope we will be able to get along in the future." Kunikida greeted the girl with a bow. "Ah, right! Before I forget, I have some information for you regarding your dream, Kyon. A rather wealthy young woman with shoulder-length, dark brown hair came into the shop a few days ago. She had a yellow ribbon tied in her hair too. It was actually quite fetching. Anyway, I recorded a dream she had that shared some striking similarities with yours. I have it all written down in the back if you want to take a look." At that, the young man went into the back room to search through his pile of recordings. Kyon and Yuki stayed at the front counter, Kyon tapping his foot to expend a little pent up energy. He was beginning to feel antsy, which was a surefire signal that something was going to happen soon. Over the next ten minutes, the two waited, pacing through the shop. Kyon leafed through a few piles of paper lying around, mostly recordings and the occasional medical order form, all written neatly on papyrus paper. Nagato sat down in a corner and began reading everything every paper within reach.

"She sure likes to read, huh?" Kyon thought to himself. "I wonder what's taking Kunikida so long…" his curiosity in regards to his friend's whereabouts getting the best of him; Kyon went around the counter and into the back room. As he carefully wove his way around the many shelves filled with papers, he began calling for his friend. "Hey, Kunikida! What's taking you so long? What are you doing?" Kyon eventually found himself in the very back of the shop, next to a large desk. "Completely empty…" he absentmindedly muttered to himself. "There are no windows back here…and even if there were, he would have no reason to run away…" He carefully looked around, hoping to find something that would explain the sudden disappearance. He noticed a strange looking letter with a wax seal on it lying half-buried under paperwork on the desk. Kyon examined the seal closely; however it wasn't one he recognized. It did seem somewhat familiar though. He took his knife out of its sheath and slid the blade under the seal. "I'm not one to read other peoples' mail, but then again, this might not be his mail." He told himself in a feeble attempt to justify his reading of the letter.

To whom it may concern,

If you are reading this, you are either an authoritative body or just the

kind of rude person that goes through other peoples' things. In the case

of the former, we have taken the proprietor of the shop. We are demanding

10,000 Ryo in exchange for the hostage. The payment is to be left behind

the Tsuruya Shrine within three days. Failure to pay will result in prisoner

execution. In the case of the latter, stop reading letters not addressed to you,

you twit. -H.N.

"10,000 Ryo…They could be asking for more, considering the kinds of thing he knows about people in this town…" was Kyon's first thought. Suddenly, he felt something grab his arm. He instinctively grabbed his knife and, without turning, placed the point of the blade next to the suspect's throat. After his arm was released, he turned to face the culprit, only to find Yuki Nagato standing there, much to his embarrassment. To top it off, because she was easily half a foot shorter than him (if not more), his blade was placed between her eyes, instead of at her throat as he had intended. Nagato's eyes had widened significantly. Quickly turning red, Kyon hastily sheathed his knife and began apologizing profusely. "Sorry! I didn't realize it was you, Nagato! I'm so sorry!" After he finished his apologies, he handed his apprentice the letter he had picked up. He watched her eyes as they scanned down the paper faster than he thought was humanly possible. How could anybody read that fast? "Looks like we have a job ahead of us, eh?" Kyon asked when she finished reading. She simply nodded at him in response and the two set out.

Author's Note: As I have said, I'm so sorry to what very few fans of this story I have gathered. Please forgive me, but summer made me lazy, then my senior year of highschool started and is really taking a toll...I'm really sorry. I can't be sure when chapter 3 will be up. Or even written for that matter. Please bear with me. Thank you for your support. Please review if you have anything to suggest.