Aliens, espers, and time travelers. Yuki is sitting beside me, staring curiously at the person across from her. Koizumi is seated across from me, smiling like everything is going perfectly according to plan. Mikuru Asahina is sitting beside Koizumi, and across from Yuki, cradling her toddler daughter in her arms and smiling proudly. I am sitting in the back of a limousine with an alien, an esper, and a time traveler. Not long ago, I would have disbelieved it.

Of course, not long ago, I wouldn't have suspected a thing either. Miss Asahina is a perfectly normal Human being, and Yuki isn't too far off anymore. Even Koizumi could easily pass for being just a tad odd. However, in spite of appearances, I am the only normal person here. Everyone else is either not from Earth, not from the twenty-first century, or has super cool powers. Except for Arakawa, cause apparently he's perfectly normal. And maybe the baby.

Did I mention the baby? Mikuru Asahina's tiny little daughter. We've been told that she's almost a year old, but doesn't speak yet. She can walk a little, but we haven't seen it yet. Her name is Sakura, for those wondering. Imagine that.

So much has happened in the last few days that I'm hardly able to keep going. It's gotten to the point where, if no one was watching, I would go find somewhere warm and curl up in a ball for a few days. Unfortunately, I think they are watching. All of them seem to expect me to stick around, and I can't fathom why. Why am I worth so much to them, to Yuki, to Koizumi, to Haruhi? I'll leave Miss Asahina out because I don't know yet if she cares whether I stay or go.

We were in the limousine for several hours before it finally came to a stop, no one really saying anything. We could all feel the tense atmosphere, but I had no idea where it was coming from. I suspected that it might be between Yuki and Miss Asahina, but I thought they were over that. There couldn't still be something going on there. What sort of grudge could those two possibly hold?

We stopped on the curb in front of a small house in some residential area outside of Paris. We may well have been in a different city. I wasn't really looking out the window along the way. Miss Asahina looked out the window now, smiling softly as she looked up at the house we were parked in front of.

"It has been so long since I was here last. This is the house I was raised in after Fujiwara rescued me. Of course, that was twenty years from now. Starting today, and for the next twelve years, it will be where my daughter is raised."

Because Koizumi probably already knew, and Yuki wasn't going to ask, I had to ask the obvious question. "You're leaving your daughter in someone else's care? Who lives there right now?"

Her eyes turned down to the baby she was cradling. "She does."

It took me a moment to realize what she meant, and when I did I may have overreacted. "You're going to leave her here with a future version of herself? Isn't that a really bad idea? Have you seen any time travel movies?" I may not have overreacted as much as I thought I did.

She smiled up at me, and I expected to learn something about time travel. "I know of which time paradox you are thinking. I can assure you that it is not as bad as you think. Meeting your past self is no different than meeting anyone else in the past. It is only a problem if you do not remember it. The paradox can be averted entirely if one is unaware that it is themselves they are meeting. However, since Sakura will be in the care of her future self for many years, we cannot do this. If we did not tell her, then she would eventually notice on her own, and that could trigger the paradox. It is better that we get everything out in the open at the beginning so as to avoid any greater risks."

Well, when you put it that way, it makes a lot of sense. We would want the older one to know that she is caring for her younger self, so that she doesn't have the shock of matching up her own childhood to that of the girl she's caring for, thus likely changing her childhood entirely, thus creating a paradox.

To my surprise, Yuki was the one to speak next. "So it can be assumed that the same was done with the caretaker of this older version, then, that they knew they were caring for their younger self. But this one does not yet know this, and will not until we tell her."

Miss Asahina shook her head. "Not necessarily, I think. We must consider that she may already know, having been told at some point while growing up or when her mother, a previous version of myself, came to get her at the end of the twelve years."

This is making me dizzy. "If she's here at this age, she should at least know that she's traveled through time." I sure hope Miss Asahina was aware of that already. "So she might even know we're coming."

Yuki cut in again. "Well, we're never going to know so long as we sit around out here. Let's go in before she calls the cops about a limo hanging around in front of her house."

Koizumi opened the door and stepped out, closing the door before walking around the limo and opening the door for Miss Asahina. Yuki and I got out on our own. The two of us hung back while Koizumi and Miss Asahina walked to the front door of the house. I briefly saw a young woman's face peering out through the curtains in the front window. I imagine Yuki probably saw it too.

As Miss Asahina's arms were busy holding the baby, Koizumi knocked for her. We only waited a few seconds before the door opened, revealing a stunning young woman with long hair that matched Miss Asahina's perfectly. Looking at the two of them, I would have thought they were the same person. She was wearing that look one makes when they already know what they're going to agree to, but they're still going to try and resist.

That look only lasted a moment before she became overwhelmed by the cuteness of the infant in front of her. Undoubtedly she was very much just like Miss Asahina. Like mother like daughter. She stepped aside, showing her mother into the house. Koizumi turned and smiled to the two of us, beckoning us to follow. We started walking, and then I stopped.

It was the strangest little thought that made me stop. It was early in the morning now, and Koizumi had said on the way that they intended to stay until evening. They wanted to talk with Sakura Asahina a long time, explain what exactly they expected of her. They were going to tell her, and Yuki and myself at the same time, what we would be busy doing. I had been looking forward to finally having it all explained in detail.

But now something stopped me in my tracks. I just wondered... who the girl's father was. It's not what you think. I wondered that for all of a second, and then pushed it aside as unimportant. That's what made me stop. Why was it my instinct to dismiss that one little fact? I had wanted to know every little thing up to now. What was different here?

And then I realized it. I had invested so much into this. I made it my business to make sure Haruhi got to Toronto safely, and then that she found Yuki and the others. I made it my business to ensure that they all ended up getting along. I wanted to know why Yuki was mad at Haruhi, and Miss Asahina, and then I wanted to fix it. I traveled from Japan to Canada for Haruhi, and then I followed her to France. I wanted to know why Koizumi gave me that dream. I wanted to know how we were supposed to stop the end of the world, and I wanted to help. I wanted to stay by Ryoko's side in her last moments, and I wanted to obey her last wishes by apologizing to Kyon for her and by protecting Emiri. Now I wanted to know more about Miss Asahina, and I had made it my business to support her.

It all came down to one thing. I was trying to make my place in this story, and ultimately it was a story I didn't really belong in. The story I belonged in wasn't some story of time travelers and espers and aliens and obliviously all-powerful anomalies. My story wasn't one of running all over the world, trying to save it by ironically trying to rebuild what was once the bane of my existence. I cared about all this, yes, but it wasn't my story. I was running along with it all because it was so thrilling and unusual. I wanted to be here because it wasn't my story, and stories that aren't mine are fun. That's why people watch movies, read books, play video games. Because we want a story that is more than our own.

My story wasn't any of that, though. At best, my story was destined to be the story of a handyman, fixing electronics and programming that wasn't working right anymore. Maybe, somewhere down the line, I would find someone special and fall in love, and that would be the high point of my story. But that's just the thing, isn't it. Here I am chasing down someone else's story when I should be tending to my own. I have that special someone, and she's waiting for me back at our hotel. She's miles away, and here I am pursuing something that isn't for me.

Koizumi must have been looking at me, because Yuki seemed to notice something was up. She turned and looked back at me. "Yo, you okay?"

Something inside me just snapped. No, not my brain, I didn't suddenly go crazy. Well... maybe from a certain point of view, it might have looked like I just lost me marbles. I just came to the realization, quite suddenly, that this wasn't my place. This place I was standing it, the shoes I was filling, belonged to someone else. This was where Kyon should have been. I was filling Kyon's shoes, and you know what? Other people's shoes are gross.

I shook my head and turned to Yuki. I gave a small laugh and smiled at her. "Sorry, I... I just realized what I was supposed to be doing right now." I started backing towards the limo. "I'll, uh... I'll see you guys back at the hotel, okay?"

Yuki gave a lighthearted laugh, telling me that she understood. Koizumi made a confused look, but then shrugged and waved goodbye. I waved back, then got into the front seat of the limo. Arakawa seemed to understand right away, and started off immediately. We weren't even there long enough to see Yuki go through the front door.

I never really said anything to Arakawa while we were on our way back to Paris. He didn't seem terribly interested in saying anything, and I sort of fell asleep after a few minutes. It was a long and quiet drive, and I had nothing to really do. Not to mention how long I'd been awake by this point. I needed the sleep. When I woke up, we had parked.

Arakawa shook me awake and pointed to the front of the hotel. He finally spoke then. "I'd expect that she's waiting for you. I speak from experience when I say that you don't want to waste what time you could have with her. I never gave enough time to the woman I loved, and now I never can. Don't make that mistake."

It took me a moment to realize that he was giving me advice. I wondered what story was behind the knowledge he was giving. I mean, I know he's pretty much always been working with Koizumi, but what about his personal life? But then I stopped wondering that, because that was exactly why I was here. I was here because I wanted my life to point towards my happy ending. He wasn't asking me to hear his story. He was telling me not to waste any more time with stories that are not mine. He's telling me to go in there right now. I can do that. I will.

I got out of the limo, thanking Arakawa quickly, and ran up to the front door of the hotel. I closed the door once I was inside, because it was Winter, and ran up the stairs to Emiri's room. I knocked once and opened the door. There was no princess to rescue, no villain to vanquish, and no victory to achieve. No aliens, espers, or time travelers for me. All there was in that moment was Emiri.

One moment of poor judgment, and all there was was Emiri in a towel, having just gotten out of a bath. I immediately jumped back and closed the door, and only then realized that she wouldn't know who it was unless I said something. I tried to think of a way to tell her it was me without panicking. Of course, it took too long, and she ended up asking who it was through the door.

"Did someone knock? Who is it?"

I cleared my throat. "It's me. Um, sorry, I should have waited for you to answer. I'll, uh... wait for you to finish." I may have totally screwed this up.

A few moments passed, maybe as much as a minute before she responded again. "Come in."

I opened the door to find her sitting on the edge of the bed. She had slipped on her black sweater and a knee-length white skirt. Her hair was still wet, and she had a hairdryer in her hands, but she wasn't making any moves to use it. I closed the door and walked over, sitting down beside her. I waited for her to speak first.

When she finally said something, it sounded like she didn't know what to say or how to say it. "I don't... I don't think I care to... talk about everything that's happened."

I can relate. I put my hand on her shoulder. "If you don't want to talk about it, then don't." I figure she already knows about Ryoko. It has to hurt, and I can't blame her if she just doesn't want to talk at all. But of course I had to ask and make sure. "What do you want to talk about?"

She took a deep breath before answering. "What... why are you here?"

I had to think about that one. I had to think about exactly what the correct answer was, and then figure out how to say it right. I realized that she didn't need to know, and didn't want to know, where I was and what led to me coming here. She just wanted to know why I wanted to be here instead of wherever else.

"I want to be with you. No organizations, no paradoxes, no premonitions. I just want to spend some time here with you."

She leaned on me, resting her head on my shoulder. "Don't they need you?"

"Not really. Koizumi wanted me to bring Haruhi to Paris, and we're here. Now I really don't have any more reason to do anything. I'll stick around until they find Kyon, because I think Haruhi needs someone to drag around, but after that I don't see what they could need me to help with anymore."

I felt something wet on my shoulder. She was leaning into me, her eyes watering and tears starting to get through my shirt. She let it all out right there on my shoulder. Not just everything that had happened in the past day, but everything she had been building up for a long time. I don't know what all was in those tears, but it was a lot to bear. And she let it all out right there.

I pulled her closer, wrapping my arms around her and holding her close. We stayed that way for several minutes, I'm not sure exactly how long, just waiting for the pain and sadness to subside. It finally did, marked by an unexpected but very welcome sound. Emiri started laughing. It wasn't the cheerful laugh of someone who had remembered a joke, or the sad laugh of someone who didn't know why they were laughing, and no, before you think it, it wasn't mad laughter. It was the laugh someone makes when they're remembering something... distant. Something they miss. The sound of someone longing for something from the past that they don't think they'll ever have again.

"When we... when we were in school, I told Haruhi that I was your girlfriend."

I nodded gently, stroking her hair. "I know. Never thought it might actually happen, did you?" She had told me all this before, but now it was taking on a new meaning for me. I wonder if she really could have known.

Her hands clung to the front of my shirt. "Why did we have to change?"

I can only assume she's talking about herself, Yuki, Ryoko, and Kuyou. If that's the case, though, I have no answer. I don't know why they became Human. I don't know... "It could be simply because the Data Integration Thought Entity left, somehow a result of its departure. Or maybe it gave you that so you could all live normal lives. Maybe... now this is stretching, but maybe it was under attack from some other cosmic entity that wanted to completely destroy it and the only way for it to survive was to severe its connection with you and hide you, surviving through the four of you." I hope that's what she was talking about.

She sniffled a bit before saying anything else. "I don't think... it's that last one. Or the first one, really. I just don't understand why it left us here. It just disappeared and left us here all alone." She nestled her head into my neck. "Please don't leave me. Tell me you won't leave."

I can do that. My arms around her, I pulled back so I could look down at her. "I will never leave you, Emiri. I'll always be here for you."

She reached up and kissed me gently. I leaned into it, to the point of almost completely missing it when she moved herself to sitting in my lap. The kiss lasted, and her hands were beginning to wander. I didn't realize at the time what she was doing, but it started to make sense fairly quickly. I don't know for sure how it happened, I think she did it, but one moment we were kissing and the next her sweater was on the floor.

I moved away, laying kisses on her neck and shoulder until I was down to her breasts. I froze up, not exactly sure what to do there. She took over, pushing me down onto the bed and pressing her body against me. In barely any time at all she had taken my shirt off and promptly fallen asleep on top of me. She just lay there, smiling as she embraced me. She was still wearing her skirt, but the top half of her was bare so I reached down and grabbed the blanket, pulling it up over us.

Under the cover of the blanket, I moved my hands around her, caressing her arm and running my fingers down along her back until I let them rest on her hips. Her breasts pressed against me softly with every breath, so I let her sleep. Her face looked calm and happy for once, suitably lost in slumber. She was beautiful. She looked, sounded, and felt like an angel. Maybe she was.

I heard my name. Someone was calling my name. In the thick black fog, the voice calling my name was coming from a light somewhere ahead of me. I recognized the voice. It was Emiri. She was calling to me in my dreams, reaching out to me while I slept. Her arms reached out and took me in, holding me close as if she was afraid to let go.

"Why must there be so little time in the world?"

Can I answer? Am I capable of it? I'll try. "I don't know. But I will spend every moment of it with you from now on."

I could tell that she was smiling. "Then I will follow wherever you go."

"You know, they say that Paris is the city of love. I didn't think you guys would actually get to it, though!"

Emiri jumped up at the sound of the voice on the other side of the door. "Kya! Who's there?" Without waiting for an answer, she reached down to the floor and collected her sweater, slipping it back on. I hurried on my shirt, but remember, that's all I was missing.

The voice rang out again. "It's just me, you guys. Nyoro..."

Emiri pulled the door open, revealing Tsuruya. Emiri stepped back. "What do you want?"

Tsuruya looked past Emiri and straight at me. "There you are. I thought I might find you here. I have something I want to show you guys."

I looked to Emiri, who simply stared blankly up at me. I shrugged. "Well, okay."

Tsuruya nodded, her hands placed on her hips. "Nyaha! But first, I have one little question."

I sighed, getting a little tired of waiting. "Shoot."

She stormed over to me, staring up into my eyes. "What is... you're opinion on crickets?"

I blinked a few times, not really sure where that question came from. "I, uh... I don't know. I don't really think about them much."

Emiri made a face. Tsuruya squinted at me. "Hmm... maybe you should. You might remember something important. Think about crickets. Particularly giant crickets. Just think about that while were on our way to my car."

She turned and walked out of the room. Obviously, we're supposed to follow her, so I took Emiri's hand and made after the possibly deranged young woman. We followed her down to a garage underneath the hotel, where she stopped beside the shining chrome frame of nothing but a DeLorean.

I hadn't thought about the cricket thing at all, and now I was totally away from that. "Wait, let me guess. That's a time machine, right?"

Tsuruya made a funny face. "Nah, why would I have a time machine? I'm not a time traveler, you know." She ushered us into the back of the car, taking her place in the front seat.

Naturally, I was disappointed by what I saw. "What, not even a flux capacitor?"

Tsuruya grinned back at us. "Where we're going, we don't need a flux capacitor."