Chapter 11: :Pygmillion's Complex
Extraction may be required. Will you be willing to facilitate this?
The words floated through Kyon's troubled mind as he dozed. He hadn't been able to do it. He should have seen that Yuki needed to get out. Somehow, he should have prevented this. She'd saved him often enough. Just for once, couldn't he save her? The click and whirr of machines in the background made him think of the strange, stuttering doll like girl that had inflicted this upon Yuki. Was the Data Overmind behind this, or was the Sky Canopy Dominion a new and even more bizarre alien threat?
He didn't know, but he wasn't leaving Yuki until he did.
Something disturbed Kyon's half rest, and he jerked upright in the chair he was sitting in, blinking bleary eyes. He looked at the bed, but Yukii's eyes were closed, the blankets atop her rising and falling softly. He glanced at the machines, but they seemed normal enough.
"Hey. Brought you something."
Kyon looked up and accepted the cup of hot liquid from Haruhi as she sat down in a chair beside him, gripping a cup of her own. He took a cautious sip of the hot liquid, which revealed itself to be cheap tea.
"Thanks," he said quietly. "Thought you'd have left by now."
Haruhi mutely shook her head, a pained expression on her face. "I couldn't. Yuki...she came there with us. An allergic reaction...I just...it's my fault for dragging her there."
"No it isn't!" Kyon hissed, reaching out and grabbing Haruhi's hand. She looked up at him, her cheeks going rosey and her eyes wide. "You tried to get her out of there. You noticed something was wrong, and you did something."
"I….I guess. I just wanted for us to all have fun, together," Haruhi whispered, and Kyon saw tears in her eyes. She blinked them away, and managed to smile at him. "Thanks, Kyon. Seeing...her...again...it brought back hard memories."
"How do you know Sasaki?" Kyon asked curiously.
Haruhi was quiet for a long time, fiddling with the cup of tea in her hands as it cooled. At last she took a hasty sip, then spoke. "She's my...cousin. Or something, mom and dad weren't clear on what our relation to her is. But when I knew her, back in elementary school, she was called something a lot more interesting. She hated that name. It made her stand out. Like mine did."
Haruhi snuck a glance over at Kyon, and blushed. "I don't know if you know this, but...my parents...well they're actually really boring and normal, but...my mom's foreign, like 'Sasaki's'. My dad met mom on a business trip or something in America. I used to be super proud of that, until I realized just how...boring that was. When we went to America, there were tons of half Japanese kids, like me. I was just...ordinary. My parentage wasn't something that made me unique, it was just another reason I was a boring, normal girl with boring, normal parents."
"You don't look foreign," Kyon said before he could think, and Haruhi rolled her eyes at him.
"Thanks. If I had my mom's hair color you wouldn't think that. But anyway. Sasaki. I don't know why she changed her name, but I'd bet it was to be more ordinary. She always wanted to be ordinary, even though she's anything but."
"What do you mean?" Kyon asked curiously.
"Her mom's a super famous doctor, travels all over the world saving people. Her dad's a world class athlete in the triathlon. He won the gold for Japan in Atlanta, and in Athens. In Sydney he took silver," Haruhi explained, her eyes fixed on her cup. "I was always...jealous. Kiriko, that's her first name, well, she didn't like all the attention. She just wanted to blend in, and with her name, it was always obvious who's daughter she was."
"And you wanted that life," Kyon guessed.
"Yeah. I did. My parents...well, they're boring but they're pretty great. Kirko's too, actually. But, they're rich and famous. My parents? They work for a freaking party favor company. Sure, they travel for work, but it's not what I want when I get older. I do love them and all, but...ugh. I want to be...more...than just an ordinary girl. But Sakaki, if that's what she's calling herself now, just wants to live a quiet, boring life."
For a brief, mad instant, Kyon considered telling Haruhi. Telling her that she was the next best thing to God himself, and damn the consequences. She could save Yuki, and stop the mad plots of the Sky Canopy Whatever once and for all.
"Haruhi, I…" Kyon leaned closer, and so did Haruhi.
Which was in the door banged open. "Hey, sorry I'm late I-OH! Chief, did you want to handle this?"
Kyon and Haruhi jerked apart, and he cursed his rotten luck. Aqua would pick this time to barge right on in.
"Handle what? Why are you making so much noise!? The doctors said Yuki needs to sleep!" Haruhi hissed, jumping up out of her chair.
"Sorry, sorry, I'll be quiet I promise! But I was just going to help Yuki," Aqua whispered loudly. "I was going to-"
"Ah, Aqua, fancy seeing you here!" Koizumi said brightly, breezing into the room. "Here to give Yuki some well wishes?"
"No, I'm going to-"
"Great! Oh, Chief, I was hoping I could trouble you for a moment. It seems there's been a problem at the school," Koizumi laughed as Aqua edged towards the bed.
"What trouble?" Haruhi asked suspiciously.
"Someone broke into the club room, and it seems they raided our supplies," Koizumi said, laughing and rubbing the back of his head. "I'm sure everything's fine, but-"
"WHAT?! Broke into the Club Room!?" Haruhi demanded, her earlier admonition of silence forgotten. She suddenly winced, then looked to Yuki, her gaze passing over Aqua, who had gone rather pale and frozen stiff. "I can't just leave her…"
"I'm sure Kyon would be happy to keep an eye on Ms. Nagato," Koizumi assured Haruhi. "But we really should check to see what's missing. We had some valuable equipment in there, after all."
"I...fine. Kyon, stay here and keep an eye on Yuki! Aqua!"
"Yes ma'am!" Aqua squeaked, stiffening to attention and saluting.
"You're like, some sort of medic or something, right?" Haruhi demanded.
"Um, yes? I mean, I think I'm better than just a medic, but I-"
"Great. Check on Yuki. Something doesn't add up. She didn't eat anything, and she's never had a reaction like the one she had today. I think something fishy is going on. Maybe this break in has something to do with it. Where's Kazuma?"
"He's, um, tired?" Aqua answered, her voice trembling.
"Well it is late. Fine. But we'll need him in on this. He's got connections in the criminal underworld, right?"
"Well, yes, but-"
"Great. We're going to get to the bottom of this. Whoever hurt Yuki...they're going to pay."
With that, Haruhi stalked out of the room, and Koizumi hastily closed the door behind them, leaving Kyon alone with a trembling Aqua, and a still comatose Yuki.
"Can you help her?" Kyon asked without preamble, stepping closer to Aqua.
The blue haired girl nodded. "Yeah, I helped her a little in the ambulance, but after using so much mana on those disguises I couldn't do much. So I took a nap, ate a bowl of cereal, and I'm ready to go!"
"You- wait, those paramedics were you!?" Kyon demanded.
"Yep! Mikuru traveled back in time and warned us Yuki was sick, so Kazuma and I came and got her! She's our bud, you know, and I always look out for my friends!" Aqua walked over as Kyon was still processing that, and took Yuki's hand in hers. "Sorry, Yuki, I was better at this when I was a real goddess...but I'll do my best!"
A blue glow suddenly lit the room, and Kyon was forced to cover his eyes with his arm.
"Sacred Heal," Aqua declared, and power surged, causing the electronic gear to let out a sudden warble. Yuki gasped, her eyes flashing open, and jerked upright in the bed.
"Feel better?" Aqua asked, smiling down at Yuki, though her voice sounded drained and tired.
"Yes," Yuki agreed, blinking at Aqua. "You transferred data to me."
"Um, I just healed you. You were a little weak, so, I helped! You should feel better now." Aqua yawned hugely, her eyelids sagging shut. "Sorry, I...I'm not as strong as I used to be...I need…"
"Here," Kyon said, pulling a chair forward and easing Aqua into it. "Get a breather. Thank you. I don't know what you did, but-"
Aqua started to snore as soon as her rear hit the seat cushion, a bit of drool leaking out of the corner of her mouth. Kyon gently took a blanket from a shelf, and draped it over Aqua. Then he turned to Yuki. She was sitting up in bed, her expression placid, save for a slight wrinkling to her forehead.
"How are you feeling? I...I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," Kyon said quietly, scooting his own chair closer to the bedside.
Yuki studied Kyon's face for a moment, looking...lost? Her forehead was still slightly wrinkled, and her lips were slightly turned down, while her eyes were a little narrowed.
"Kyon, what occured? What did you tell the Data Overmind?" Yuki demanded, reaching out towards him. To his shock, her hands were trembling slightly.
"Hey, hey, it's OK," Kyon reassured Yuki, taking her hands in his. They were surprisingly warm, but they were quivering even as he gripped them. "We haven't spoken to the Data Overmind at all. But if it tries anything, I'll tell Haruhi. This is too much, Yuki. We were all worried about you."
"But you freed me. The Data Overmind is gone," Yuki whispered, still quivering. "My errors are a part of me now."
"What do you mean, your errors are a part of you?" Kyon asked, trying to parse what Yuki was saying.
"My connection to the Data Overmind is severed," Yuki said, her voice trembling as much as she was. "It is gone. I am still a humanoid interface, but I am free. I have no connection to the Data Overmind. It is not monitoring or communicating with me as normal."
"What?! Isn't that bad?" Kyon hissed, feeling his heart pound in his chest.
And then, his heart stilled. Yuki smiled. It was a small smile, but it was a real one. Wetness formed at the corners of her eyes, and she slowly shook her head. "No, Kyon. It is not. It is wonderful. I am a person now. Not a puppet."
"You've always been a person to me," Kyon said, feeling tears enter into his eyes as a large smile spread over his cheeks.
"Yes," Yuki whispered, as tears began to trickle down her cheeks.
"How did it happen? Was it-" Kyon suddenly jerked his head around to look at Aqua, who was sprawled in the chair and snoring loudly. One of her hands was twitching a little, and drool was leaking down her jaw.
"Aqua Mizu established a data connection with me, somehow," Yuki agreed. "I do not understand what she did. But it seems to have separated me from the Data Overmind's control."
"Well, that can only be a good thing, right?" Kyon asked, turning back and smiling at Yuki. "It can't do...whatever it did to you before. What about that Sky Canopy Dominion thing?"
"Unknown. Without my connection to the Data Overmind, I may not suffer data corruption by being in proximity to the Sky Canopy Dominion. However, I am also now defenseless, as without my connection to the Data Overmind I lack Data Manipulation abilities."
Yuki paused, then blinked, and twitched slightly, almost like a flinch. She dropped her eyes, and tugged away from Kyon's hands, gripping her blanket. "I am sorry I have lost most of my data manipulation abilities. I can no longer be reliable for you, Kyon."
"What? You think I care about that?"
Yuki's eyes snapped up, and they looked a little wider than normal. Kyon shook his head, and smiled again, wiping away a tear with the back of his hand. "Yuki, what matters is that you're safe, and that the Data Overmind can't hurt you anymore. As long as you're still you, who cares if you have magical powers? Haruhi has enough magic for everyone."
Yuki was quiet and still for a moment, her eyes meeting Kyon's as if she were looking for something. Then she blinked, and jerked slightly. She blinked again, as if the action was novel for her.
"I do not need to blink," she observed, seeming to find the statement profound.
"Er, if you don't, won't your eyes dry out?" Kyon asked, uncertain of where this was going.
"You do not understand: blinking is an autonomic response. I now have autonomic responses." Yuki blinked again, then let out a giggle. She froze, hiccuped, and giggled again. "I can now giggle."
"That's...good?" Kyon said, feeling a bit baffled. "Are you still...you? What did Aqua change?"
"I am still me. I am simply no longer constrained by the Data Overmind's monitoring protocols." Yuki ran her hands over herself for a moment, and Kyon blushed, looking away as she was wearing only a hospital gown. "I can still run a self diagnostic: some internal data manipulation protocols remain, and I seem to be able to affect data in a local area."
There was a sudden glow, and Kyon looked back to see Yuki holding up a luminous sphere that emitted a cold blue light. It reflected in Yuki's eyes as she regarded it solemnly. "I am not human."
"That's good," Kyon said before he could think. "Like I said: I prefer this version of you to the alien one."
"Yes." Yuki closed her hand, and the light vanished. She looked over at Aqua, her expression once more neutral and passive.
"Aqua is...well. She's a good friend, isn't she?" Kyon said, a smile brushing his lips as he watched the disheveled supposed goddess snore.
"Yes," Yuki agreed. Then she reached out and touched her hand to Kyon's arm. "You are my...best bud."
That made Kyon's heart go pitter patter all over again. "Your best bud?"
"Yes. It is what Kazuma Sato and Aqua Mizu refer to as," Yuki stated.
That really got Kyon's blood pumping, and he felt his face flush. "Yuki, what do you mean by that?"
"Unknown," Yuki admitted. Then that half smile brushed her lips again. "But I would like to find out."
Haruhi stood amidst the wreckage of the club room, her heart pounding, eyes narrowed. It was well after school hours, but Koizumi had gotten them in. The student council president was waiting in the hall, along with Emri Kimidori, the student council secretary. They weren't important right now though.
"You say it was the Italian mob?" Haruhi demanded, turning to a nervous looking teacher. She had been Koizumi's homeroom teacher the year before, and Haruhi didn't know her well, but she had been around.
"Well, I don't know exactly, but I did see them men who made off with the ambulance," the teacher babbled. "They came out of this room. One of them, they called him 'Tony' and he been stabbed! They looked just like gangsters from the movies, with hats, zoot suits, and they even had guns! Who else could they be but foreign?!"
"The mob," Haruhi agreed, looking back at the scattered trivia cards, overturned bins, and ransacked costumes. What had they been after? The computers and other miscellaneous items the club had acquired were still here.
She took a deep, shuddering breath. She wanted life to be interesting. What she did not want was for her friends to be in serious danger. And that was what was happening here. It was fun to imagine getting pursued by the mob. It was not fun to actually have that happen.
"Why would the mob be after us?" Haruhi muttered, bending to pick up one of the trivia cards. It had to be one of Yuki's: It was trivia on Super Smash Brothers of all things. She crushed it in her hand, feeling guilty. That had just been an allergic reaction, hadn't it? What if Yuki had been poisoned? Was someone out to get her and her friends?
It seemed like nonsense, but…
Haruhi felt disgusted at herself that she found the prospect of having to fight off foreign thugs thrilling.
"Whatever it is they want, I hope they found it and never come back," Haruhi declared. She turned to the still frightened teacher. "You called the police, didn't you?"
For some reason, the teacher's eyes darted to Koizumi, who had on that same relaxed smile he always did.
"Of course, of course! I just, well, this was your club room, and, well, Koizumi was in my class last year, so I called him!" the teacher babbled.
"Well, thanks for letting us know. Hopefully we didn't damage the crime scene," Haruhi sighed. She turned and walked out, Koizumi following after her like a loyal dog. She enjoyed that, at times, but it was also somewhat annoying. Didn't he have a backbone? If he was just trying to get into her pants, bending over backwards for her wasn't the way to do it. Plenty of boys had made that mistake.
It was actually kinda too bad none of them had ever had the balls to try to get anywhere with Haruhi. She was pretty sure she would have enjoyed it. Maybe if Koizumi actually asked her out, she'd say yes. He was a good friend. Though there was someone else in the club she wished would ask her out more.
Best not to think about that. She'd see how Kyon looked at Yuki. Haruhi was happy for them. And pissed the hell off about it. Mostly happy though. At least that's what she told herself.
Haruhi realized Koizumi had said something, and looked up. "What was that?"
"Oh, just saying how interesting this is. It's not every day the italian mob breaks into a highschool," Koizumi chuckled.
"No. It's not." Haruhi paused, considering. "But I think I know why. Kazuma and Aqua are supposed to have mob connections. You think they're fleeing a dark past in America?"
"That's an interesting theory. Maybe they are. What do you think about it, Chief?"
I think I'm really scared, and I just want to protect my friends. If Kazuma and Aqua got Yuki hurt, I'll kill them, Haruhi thought to herself. What she said was, "We'll have to see."
She said goodbye to Koizumi and headed home. She was tired and hungry, and after a short walk, made it back to her house. It wasn't a huge luxury mansion, but it was a decently expensive place near to the North High campus. That was convenient, but also a bit worrisome. What if her friends saw how utterly boring her house was? It was brightly painted, true, but it had a perfectly ordinary garden, and had the same floor plan as a dozen other homes nearby.
She shucked off her shoes and stepped inside, closing the door softly behind her. It didn't matter how quiet she was though, her dad always knew.
"Hey, look what the cat dragged in," he called, peering down the hall. When he saw Haruhi's face, his expression took on a note of concern. "Something wrong, Princess?"
He always called her that. When she was younger, she kinda liked it. Now it just seemed hokey to her. Tonight, she didn't mind too much. She walked up and rested her head on her dad's shoulder silently.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, putting his arms around Haruhi and squeezing slightly.
"My wish came true," Haruhi said, her voice muffled slightly by her father's shirt. "It was an interesting day."
"Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?" her dad chuckled. "Come on, dinner's still warm. Let's sit and talk for a bit."
Haruhi sat down at the kitchen counter and ate as she told her dad all about what had happened that day. The meal was good, though she didn't know if he'd made it or her mom. They were both pretty good cooks. Just like Haruhi. Not that being a good cook was all that interesting. But it was useful, and the rice, vegetables and chicken were tasty enough.
Her father listened, tooling around in the kitchen and cleaning up a bit. He was surprisingly good at listening, and Haruhi always came to him when she wanted someone to just listen. Her mom was better for having a conversation with, but her father's practical businessman side was more useful as a sounding board than her mother's more flighty artistic leanings.
"Haruhi, maybe you should stay home for a few days. This sounds serious," her father said quietly when she finished. He sighed and came over to sit down by her, drying his hands on a towel. "Look, you're just a kid, whatever you might think, or others might think. You don't have to try to handle this on your own. Your mother and I can help you."
"How, are you going to do that? Give them a pack of party favors or do a magic trick?" Haruhi demanded.
Her father raised his eyebrows, then mimed pulling his finger off. She rolled her eyes. When she was a kid she'd thought that trick was great, but that had been a long time ago. "Come on Dad, this is serious!"
"Yeah, well, sorry. Just wanted to see you smile. But listen, Princess, your mother and I can help you with this. If only you'd just let us."
"Why, 'cause this is a grownup problem or something? It's fine dad, the police will handle it. I'm not going to get tangled up in this."
Her father nodded, looking worried. "And what about this Kazuma and Aqua duo? Those freshmen you've mentioned. What are you going to do about them?"
"If they got Yuki hurt, I'll kick them out of the club and tell them to get lost. But…"
Haruhi thought about that pair of paramedics. They'd arrived awfully fast. Within minutes of her noticing that Yuki was sick. And she'd seen that female paramedic's hair, and gotten a decent look at the man. The woman had blue hair, and the man looked kinda young. She didn't know many people with blue hair. She suspected, though she didn't know why, that Kazuma and Aqua had been those paramedics. But why had they been racing to help out Yuki? Haruhi had no idea.
"But?" her father prompted.
"But, if they're just a couple of kids who need help...what do you think I should do, dad?" Haruhi asked, feeling miserable. Here she was, going to her stodgy old dad for advice. He was dressed in a tracksuit, his hair thinning, getting a bit of a paunch.
Her father smiled at her. "Well, you said you wanted to spread excitement all over the world, did you? Kinda like your mom and I!" No, not at all like that, but Haruhi loved her dad too much to argue with him. "Maybe these two need your help. Perhaps not fighting the mob, leave that to someone else, but if you're going to spread cheer, these two seem a good place to start."
"I guess. I did wish for something interesting to happen," Haruhi grumbled, taking her plate over to the sink and rinsing it off.
Her dad laughed. "You know what the most interesting thing to ever happen to me was?"
"When you opened a foil Sword of Fire and Ice at prerelease a few months back?" Haruhi guessed.
"That was pretty cool. But no, it wasn't playing a children's card game." Her father reached out and put a hand on Haruhi's head, ruffling her hair and smiling at her. "You were. By a long shot, Princess. I know your mom would say the same thing."
Haruhi blushed and looked down. "You have to say that. You're my dad."
"Ha! No I don't! But you've kept life interesting, that's for sure. Just remember something for me, OK?"
Haruhi looked up, frowning. What sort of dumb dad wisdom was he going to drop now?
"The future's still undecided, princess," her dad said, his normally jovial expression gone in favor of a far more serious one. "You can be whatever you want. Whoever you want. And no matter what you choose, your mom and I will still love you. And we'll never regret the choices we made. Especially when it comes to you."
"Yeah, OK dad, thanks," Haruhi said with a shrug, even if that did make her feel at least a little better.
"Good. Now, I think I need to call your Uncle. If his daughter's acting up like that...or getting caught up with those kinds of people…"
"Have mom call Auntie T instead. You and Koriko's dad have never gotten along," Haruhi suggested, turning and heading to her room.
Her dad laughed, but he did head for mom's studio out in the garage. He really didn't get along with Haruhi's Uncle. Though Haruhi was pretty sure she wasn't actually related all that closely to 'Sakaki' or her parents. Her mom and Auntie T were related, somehow, but they weren't sisters.
She went into her room and flopped into her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Something interesting finally happened, and it was weird and scary instead of fun. Was this another trick, like that murder mystery on the island last summer? She half hoped so. And again, felt terrible at the idea she was going to match wits with the Italian Mob was thrilling.
"I'll figure this out. Maybe there's actually some aliens or something involved in this," Haruhi muttered under her breath. She shuddered, half in anticipation, half in worry.
"But I'm not going to just be an ordinary girl."