I'm standing here in front of the auto shop, staring in through the front window, wondering what I should do. I need to go in and tell Haruhi that Itsuki Koizumi wants to meet her, but if she sees me and Emiri she'll ask where Yuki is. Then I'll have to tell her that Yuki turned herself in to the police. Of course, then Haruhi will ask me why, and I just don't know the answer to that.

To further compound our problems, our hostess is in the hospital. I don't know if we should really leave while Asakura's not even here, not to mention Yuki. Haruhi's not going to want to leave so long as Yuki doesn't want to come along, and definitely not while she's in prison.

Standing beside me, staring up at me with blind green eyes, is Emiri Kimidori. She's in the same situation I am right now, with the exception of her actually knowing what's going on. I mean, I get that Haruhi wants her brigade back, and I understand that the brigade members are all aliens and time travelers and espers, but there's more going on that I don't think I'll ever understand.

For example, when Emiri reached up and put her hand on my cheek, it confused the heck out of me. Is she going to kiss me again?

By now, you'd think I'd have learned.

"I want to show you something."

I started preparing myself for another sequence of shared memories, faintly hoping that something would explain the previous ones she's shown me. Really, the only time I figured out what one meant was when Asakura was probing my mind to find out what Emiri had shown me. Emiri has had to explain the rest to me.

I closed my eyes, thinking I was as ready as I would ever be. Then her hand left my face. I opened my eyes to see her running towards the auto shop. She ran around the building, so I figured she wanted to show me something in the back. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that it's not a shared memory this time.

I followed her around to the back of the building. I hadn't been back there yet, so I was surprised to find that it was in fact a used car lot. Granted, all the cars were covered with snow except a few. One of the clean cars had an adorable little Emiri sitting on it, leaning back and facing up at the sky.

I called over to her. "Shouldn't we be going in and talking to Haruhi?"

She just patted the hood of the car she was sitting on. "Yuki spends most of her time back here taking care of these cars, you know."

I work with electronics and computers. Stuff like that. Cars aren't exactly my area, so I hardly care for them. Even so, I think it might maybe get on my nerves a bit if all three of these girls know too much about cars when I know so little. It could be just a little embarrassing.

Looking around at the cars, I could tell one thing about them for sure. "These are all pretty old, aren't they?"

She smiled. "We wouldn't be able to afford a newer car. Yuki fixes them often enough, but she doesn't really care for them. Ryoko is determined to use the ones we've got until they don't work anymore anyway."

"Have you tried selling any of them?"

She shook her head. "Most of them, Yuki bought herself. She would rather not sell them and, well, we can't really sell something that belongs to her."

Not really having anything else to say, I regret that I may have let the conversation stagnate at that point. I stood in silence for a minute or two, just watching her, before something broke the calm.

Haruhi must have just noticed us. She opened the back door and poked her head out. "Hey, when did you guys get back?" She glanced around a bit before asking another question. "Where's Yuki?"

Emiri frowned, but it looked like she was going to handle the explanation so I decided to let her. "Haruhi... Yuki called the police. She explained everything to them and turned herself in."

Haruhi stepped out all the way, and I could see the shock covering her face. "What? Why would she do that?"

Emiri slid herself off the hood of the car and stood to face Haruhi. "She attacked you with a lethal weapon. If Asakura hadn't stepped in the way, you could be in her place. Maybe worse."

"It doesn't matter! She's a member of my brigade! I have to go get her back!" She turned and went back inside, planning to do what? God knows. I don't.

I looked back to Emiri, who had walked closer to me. "Is she going to try and bust Yuki out?"

The green-haired woman shrugged. "She won't need to. Tsuruya's here, remember? I have a feeling she's here for a reason other than being a third message from Itsuki Koizumi."

I did the counting in my head. "Fourth. He sent me a dream before the letter and the phone call."

She blinked. "Oh, yes... I remember you mentioned that while you were on the phone." She looked up at me, almost fooling me into thinking she actually could see. "What did happen in that dream?"

Thinking back on it, I'm starting to wonder that exact same thing. I shook my head. "A lot happened, but I'm not really sure how to describe it. I think it was supposed to be the future, but... is that possible?"

Emiri sighed. "It would appear that Itsuki Koizumi has somehow come across the ability to know the future. It could be his esper powers, but I think it is more likely due to an allegiance with a time traveler. Possibly Mikuru Asahina, which would explain why Miss Tsuruya is working for him."

Yeah, speaking of Tsuruya... "What is she, anyway? Tsuruya. Is she an esper or time traveler?"

"No. As far as any of us ever knew, she was always a normal Human being." She motioned to the door. "You should go and tell Haruhi about Koizumi now. It will keep her mind off of Yuki for a while."

I nodded and headed to the door. "You gonna come and back me up?"

Emiri just smiled. "No, she'll believe you. I'm actually quite curious as to how it happened, but she seems to be clinging to you in much the same way she did with Kyon."

I stopped just before opening the door and turned back to her. "Yeah, why is that?"

"I honestly don't know. By all appearances, you would be completely insignificant to her. I'm sure you realized that back in high school, but she doesn't care much for normal people. It is natural for her to seek out the supernatural, so maybe there is more to you than we have suspected..."

Not to my knowledge, at least, but I'll humor her. "Was there more to Kyon than you suspected?"

She frowned. "Unfortunately, we never managed to determine why he had the effect on Haruhi Suzumiya that he did. Our best guess revolved around his being the John Smith that she met when she was thirteen, but she never identified him." She paused for a moment, then blushed lightly. "After you're done talking to Haruhi, could you come back out here? I believe there were a few more personal questions you wanted to ask me."

You got me. Yes, I do want to ask you a few questions. Some are personal, some not so much. I just shrugged. "Sure. Give me five minutes."

With that, I opened the door and went inside. As expected, Haruhi was running around getting ready to go out. At the speed she was moving, I estimated that I had twenty seconds to get her attention before she was gone. I tried standing in her way, but she zipped around me without a moment's hesitation.

Turning to follow her, I realized she was heading for the front door. I called out just in time to stop her. "Haruhi!"

She turned briefly. "Not right now! I have to go get Yuki!"

"You don't even know where the police station is." She blanched. I continued. "Besides, there's something else I need to tell you."

She sighed in defeat. "Alright. What is it?"

How do I put this so that she doesn't explode with excitement? "I got... contacted by Itsuki Koizumi."

Her eyes went wide. "Koizumi?! How'd he... where is he?!"

"He's in Paris. He called and told me that he wanted to meet you."

Surprisingly, she suddenly sobered up. "Oh, but I can't go without Yuki..."

"Emiri seems to think she'll be back pretty soon, so..."

She stopped me. "Wait... there's a Paris in Ontario."

What? Since when? Ontario is the part of Canada we're in right now, right? Whatever... "I think he meant France, Haruhi."

She threw her hands in the air. "How do you know? What if we go all the way there only to find out that he meant the Paris that's right here in Canada?"

Fair enough... wait, I think I know how to find out. Pretty simple, actually. "I can find out. He mailed me a map of the city. It should be easy enough to figure out if it's France or Canada."

I went into the room where I was staying and grabbed the folded map, bringing it out to Haruhi and opening it up. She looked at it and smiled, pointing to a specific spot. "It says Eiffel Tower. I'm pretty sure there isn't one of those in Canada." She punched the air. "I'm going to France! The SOS Brigade is coming together at last!"

I handed her the map. "You'll probably need this more than me. Anyway, I just thought I should let you know. Emiri's waiting out back for..."

Haruhi looked at me mischievously. "Is she now?" I stepped right on that land mine, didn't I? She grinned at me, and it was starting to make me uncomfortable.

I held up a hand, telling her not to go any further with this. "Let's just get this over with. Yes, Haruhi, I'm trying to get together with Emiri. Don't make a big deal over it, just leave it be. Please."

She frowned and crossed her arms. "Well, fine. But only because you asked. I won't say a word."

I knew it! She can abide by other people's wishes. "Thank you, Haruhi." She didn't answer, so I just turned and went back outside.

Out back, I found Emiri sitting on the hood of the same car again. She sat up when she heard me close the door. "Now all we have to do is figure out how we're going to keep him from telling her everything."

I put my hands in my pockets and stared at the ground. "Well, at least she's determined to wait for Yuki before she goes."

"That gives us a little time." She slid off the hood and walked over to me. "You have a few questions for me?"

I looked up at her and smiled. She must have sensed it somehow, as she smiled back. Time for questions, I take it. "Okay, let's start with this one. What happens if Koizumi tells Haruhi everything, and it turns out that Haruhi doesn't actually have her powers?"

Emiri laughed, a cute sound, and tapped her nose with her finger. "That's simple. If she really doesn't have any powers, then it will do nothing more than give her everything she's been looking for since she was a child. She'll have all the aliens, time travelers, and espers that she's always wanted to meet. I have to admit, I sort of wish we could tell her. I would do it in a heartbeat if only we knew for sure her powers were gone."

"I see..." Do I really? Whatever. "Next question. Didn't Miss Tsuruya's hair used to be green?"

She just nodded. "Yes it did." She kept a straight face for a good fifteen seconds before bursting out laughing.

"So, did she dye it, or was it dyed before? Basically I'm asking what her real hair color is."

Emiri shrugged. "I don't know. For all I know, she doesn't even remember."

Business question is out of the way. Silly question is also done. Next up is the romantic question. "Alright then, so... you and me...?" I think I'll leave it at that.

Her cheeks turned a bright red. "Ah... I, uh..." I reached out and took her hand in mine, making her turn even redder. She smiled nervously. "Well... um, I think... I'll say yes." She giggled girlishly, sending my instruments designed for cuteness detection far past the red zone.

This is really the last thing I want to say right now, but I have to. "I need you to tell me one more thing."

She was standing really close to me, staring up into my face. I have a feeling she's really going to hate this. She doesn't even know it's coming yet. "What's that?"

"Who killed Yuki's husband?" Her smile disappeared. She turned away from me and drifted a few steps, all previous happiness suddenly drained from her body. "I know you know who did it. That last memory you showed me. That was him."

"How would you know?"

Her voice had gone bitter. I'm sorry, Emiri, but if I'm going to trust you, then you need to trust me. I need to know why you're protecting this person. "Asakura recognized him."

"She looked into the memories I shared with you..."

Now she's starting to sound angry. I can't tell if she's angry at me or Asakura. "Look, she wants to know who did it just as much as I do. She just cares about Yuki. I just want to know I can trust you."

She spun around to look at me. There were tears in her eyes. "We were almost past this. We didn't need to go back to it. Yuki was better off with it behind her." She sniffed back the tears, and seemed to give in. "You can't tell her any of this. Yuki can't know."

I really would rather not do this, but I know a secret that shouldn't be kept a secret. "When Yuki gets back, I'm telling her that you know who did it. She deserves to know."

"Why would you..."

"I guess... because I believe that nothing should get in the way of the right thing to do."

She wiped her hand across her face, getting rid of as much of the tears as she could. "Nothing... not even me?"

Yuki is hurting, and I see something that might help her. If I can do it, then I will. That's all there is to it, isn't it? "I'm sorry."

She just collapsed onto her knees and buried her face in her hands. I knelt down in front of her. I didn't touch her. I didn't know how she might react to that. I just waited. By the time she spoke again, I realized it was starting to get dark. Was it really that late?

She peeked out from behind her hands. After a moment, she wiped her eyes and began to explain. "It... I, uh... a friend of mine... she fell in love with a man. He wasn't a good man... and he mistreated her. I told her to leave him. I told her over and over again, but she wouldn't listen. One day... I went to where he worked... and I killed him."

...

What? I misheard that, right? She didn't just say what I thought she said. She couldn't have. This is Emiri Kimidori we're talking about. The cute blind woman with green hair. She... she's an angel, for crying out loud. You can't expect me to believe what she just said...

"Please understand... I was only concerned for her... my friend... what I did was to protect her."

I think I do understand. Maybe not everything, but something else just clicked. "In the tattoo parlor... you were telling her that he was dead." Emiri nodded. "And you let her think it was someone else." She nodded again. "Then who did you let her go and take it out on?"

She shook her head. "I should have just told her right out, I know, but-"

"Now, wait a second." I wish I had a good way to confirm it, but I just thought of something else. The memory on the space elevator, with Matthew Benson. I remember looking down and seeing the city far below me. What I don't remember is that image being blurry. It's... not her memory. But I think I know whose it is. Emiri... she's really good at making it sound like it's her fault when it's not. "Who was it in the tattoo parlor? It wasn't Yuki. That person's the one who killed Yuki's husband, isn't she?"

"Don't..."

"I do understand, Emiri. You were just concerned for your friend. She was in danger, so you killed that man. Then she went and killed Yuki's husband. She's one of the only people you'd kill to protect, isn't she?"

Emiri leaned forward to cry into my shoulder. I let her. She deserves a little sympathy, doesn't she? She came to Earth with five others, and was forced to delete two of them. I can understand that she'd be willing to do just about anything to protect the other three, especially once they all became Human.

Emiri was sobbing, but I heard the words under it. "It was my fault... I'm sorry... I only wanted to keep you all safe..."

Suddenly sensing that there was someone standing behind me, I turned around with all the bad answers going through my head. It was Asakura, and given the circumstances, I think that was the best possibility. Haruhi would have thrown all kinds of fits and maybe destroyed the world, and Yuki would have probably killed someone.

Asakura just stood there. She had a bandage wrapped around her hand, and I imagine she might have stitches. She also looked a bit pale. I don't know if that was from her injury or from what she just heard. She looked like she wanted to say something, but was lost for words.

She eventually managed to speak. "I didn't know... you were just protecting her. I didn't know she was still alive." Her eyes lit up as if she had realized something. "We can't tell Yuki."

I nodded. "Yeah... you're right. I don't like it, but we can't tell her any of this. I think it's safe to say that someone's life depends on it." I lifted Emiri up, hoping for some form of confirmation from her.

Asakura answered for her. "I see it pretty much the same way Emiri does, I think. There's not many things she wouldn't do to protect the rest of us. I kept Yuki from making a big mistake already today. She did the same for me a long time ago, but I didn't realize that what I was trying to do was wrong until years later. I think Yuki realized it almost immediately."

A little off topic, but there's a question tingling at the back of my brain. "How did you get back here?"

Asakura looked up at me. "Oh, Yuki drove the car back. I told them I wasn't going to press charges, and someone payed the bail, so they let her go. You guys left the car at the hospital, so she stayed with me until the doctor said I was okay to leave, and then she drove us home. She's inside with Haruhi right now, apologizing over and over again."

"Shouldn't she be apologizing to you?"

Asakura grimaced. "She did. All the way home."

I stood up, hauling Emiri off her knees and supporting her with my arms. "She told you that Koizumi called, right?"

Asakura sighed. "Yes, she did. Between the two of them, there is no chance of quiet in there for a while. On the bright side, I don't think there will be any more attempted murder, so we can all rest a bit easier."

I looked over to Emiri, who was still hanging her head. "We should go in. Are you going to be okay?"

She sniffled a few times before slowly nodding. She didn't say anything, so I motioned for Asakura to go in ahead of us. She went in, leaving us alone again. I nudged Emiri carefully, trying to get her to respond to me with words.

She eventually came around. "I still killed someone... and Matthew is dead because of it. I might as well have done it myself."

I turned her around, letting her stand on her own but taking her hands. "It's not your fault what other people do." Before she could answer, I kissed her.

After the kiss, she smiled again. "I... I should... call Kuyou... and tell her that we're going to Paris. She'll want to come too. She is one of us, after all."

Author's Note: Raise you're hand if you saw all that coming. (my hands are down)