Chapter 12: Smile Through the Pain
"Formation of closed space is holding relatively stable, despite current events. We're still monitoring the situation. Subjects Kazuma Sato and Aqua Mizu seem to have had an overall positive effect on Her emotional state."
Absently, Koizumi leaned forward in his chair, his dark glasses fixed on one of his flunkies from the Organization as they gave their daily report. In reality, his mind was drifting as he sat in the darkened conference room. He was weighing the reduced formation of closed space, but he was still deciding if he wanted Kazuma and Aqua around. Personally, he found them extremely grating. They were everything Koizumi detested. Lackadaisical. Disrespectful. Blunt. And worst of all, chaotic and uncontrollable.
"How are agents fairing in combating closed space? What's our latest esper count?" Koizumi asked, though he already knew the answers. He was more stalling for time as he mulled over what to do.
"We're keeping ahead of the game, and we're only deploying three teams at the moment," Mori reported, her tone crisp and clear as she leaned back in her sharp business suit. She was a perfect spy when she needed to be, able to blend into the background, and efficient second. Koizumi relied on her more than anyone else perhaps, and so far it had paid dividends.
"No further recruits in the past week. Things were slowing down, but they've stopped entirely," Arakawa said, tapping one of the papers in his hand. "We think that our rivals, calling themselves 'The Agency' may have something to do with it. We can bring in Kyouko Tachibana for questioning if you wish."
Koizumi suppressed a sigh. The Agency had one member as far as he was aware, and that was Kyouko herself. Why she had decided to run off and form her group, especially solo, Koizumi would never know.
Well, he had a good guess, but he couldn't allow himself to acknowledge it. He didn't have time for such foolishness.
"Leave Ms. Tachibana alone for the time being," Koizumi ordered. "If she does manage to find some recruits, perhaps we can move then. For now, she's harmless. She's obsessed with this 'Sakaki' girl. Do we have any information on her?"
Mori nodded, jotting something down on a legal pad. "Not much on her, but plenty on her parents. We're still trying to figure out why she's going by 'Sasaki' instead of her original name. Trouble at home, perhaps?"
"Look into it. We never did fully explore the relationship between Haruhi and her relatives. In fact, we know almost nothing about her parents, aside from the fact that the Suzumiya's both work for a party supply company, of all things," Koizumi said with a shake of his head.
They'd looked into the Suzumiyas before, and as far as they could tell, both of Haruhi's parents were perfectly normal. Her father was a graduate of a middling college with a business degree, while her mother had gone to a public university in America. They had met at a business conference, and hit it off, marrying not long after. They had no known living relatives aside from the mother's cousin or something, also an American woman who had married a Japanese man, though they had met at John Hopkins University and lived much more public lives.
The Suzimiyas were basically cyphers. No real distinguishing details, and no indication of how Haruhi could have received such great power from such ordinary people. Had Haruhi called her own parents into existence to fulfill some desire of her own? It was hard to know, records were sparse, and Mr. and Mrs. Suzumiya lived quiet, boring lives, rarely leaving their own home save for business trips and occasional family outings, often to what Koizumi considered otaku nonsense.
But that divine spark had come from somewhere. And Koizumi was still determined to find out where exactly.
"What of this business with the Italian Mob?" Koizumi demanded.
"You're not going to like this," Mori said, grimacing. "There were no gangsters at all. Look here."
Mori produced several photos, the first showing Kazuma and Aqua sneaking into a broom closet. Koizumi gave her a sour look. He did not care if those two were having quickies three times a day, and would prefer not to know.
"It's not what you think," Mori said quickly, and laid over a photo of what appeared to be two pest control workers exciting the broom closet, by the timestamp only a few minutes later. Koizumi picked up the photo, lowering his glasses and squinting. "Silver Masked Pest Control?"
"Yes. They headed for the club room," Mori said, laying out more pictures showing Kazuma and Aqua inside the SOS brigades club room, then taking out the bin of trivia cards and altering them.
"Of course," Koizumi groaned, running his hand over his face and feeling utterly exhausted. "They're the ones who sent us on a wild goose chase to Koyuouen."
"It seems likely," Mori agreed. "But that isn't the worst part. At 16:21, Mikuru Asahina appears in the girls bathroom in Building C, and runs to the Club room."
"I don't need to check my watch. That was right about the time we arrived at Koyuouen, wasn't it?" Koizumi asked, and Mori nodded.
"Yes. And watch what happens."
More pictures of Mikuru, now in tears, talking to Kazuma and Aqua. "They placed a call to EMS, requesting an ambulance for an injured student. And then...We didn't catch it on screen, but somehow, they assumed disguises as-"
"Italian Mobsters," Koizumi grunted, picking up a photo of three thick necked foreign thugs in cheap suits, one of which had a bloodstain on his shirt as though he'd been stabbed, hurrying through the school halls. "Interesting. So they're not active here?"
"There are a variety of organizations keeping an eye on Miss Suzumiya, from a dozen different countries, including a variety of local agencies and the Yakuza, but as far as we can tell, the Italian Mob is not one of them," Arakawa confirmed.
"Fantastic. So it wasn't gangsters, just idiots," Koizumi said, tossing the pictures onto the table in a heap. "I still don't like this. But closed space is down?"
"Only a moderate amount of closed space has been created tonight. We had extra teams on standby, but...nothing," Mori said with a shrug.
"Well, if that's all then?" Koizumi asked. His subordinates recognized the dismissal, and stood. "Wake me if anything new develops. For now, monitor our two new friends, but do nothing. She would be upset if we removed her new favorite toys from the board."
Once everyone was gone, Koizumi sighed heavily, massaging his temples. His face hurt from smiling all day, and he grimaced. Nothing for it. Haruhi wanted a pleasant, smiling subordinate, and Koizumi would play the role. He stood, dragging himself to the small adjacent room with a futon and stripping out of his school uniform. He didn't even bother with a shower, simply collapsing into bed and passing out.
In the morning, Koizumi did shower, then read his morning reports and two Japanese Papers, as well as various news sources his subordinates considered relevant. No major incidents over the night. That was good.
School for Koizumi was, by and large, a time to get some real work done. He was careful to have himself placed in a class with a teacher who was in the pocket of the Agency. He participated just enough in class not to draw notice, then worked quietly on filling out reports in the back row. He didn't actually have to worry about turning in homework, he had people to do it for him. He wondered occasionally if he was missing out on a proper education: After all, he really was only 17, and this was material he should be learning.
That, however, was a matter for boys who were not High Priests of fickle goddesses.
At lunch, Koizumi made an effort to always chat amiably with his classmates as he ate. It helped build his persona as a friendly and polite individual, even if it galled him to have to discuss things as banal as sports, movies, or heaven forbid, the romantic escapades of his classmates.
There was only one girl who he was concerned with the dating life of, and she hadn't made any moves in nearly a year romantically.
At times, Koizumi wondered if he was in love with Haruhi. He was certainly obsessed with her. But did he desire her carnally? Well, in a manner of speaking, yes, but only because he was a healthy young male, and she a nubile young woman. The same could be said of just about any of his classmates or even of Mikuru, or especially- no. No, he was not going to think of that. It had been foolish, it had been a waste of time, and it had nearly led to disaster.
Koizumi did not have time for romance. If Haruhi decided she wished to date Koizumi, he would become her adroit lover. But that wasn't what he sought. Instead, he sought to draw closer to the divine. To understand the nature of reality. And, above all, to preserve this world.
Someone had to, after all.
After school, Koizumi hurried to the club room, expecting to find the others there. Instead, he found only the worthless NEET lounging around. Koizumi kept his smile in place, and gave Kazuma a genial node.
"Good afternoon! Where are the others?"
"Hell if I know. Aqua's off with Mikuru or something, Yuki said she had something to take care of, and I don't care about anyone else," Kazuma answered, opening one eye. He'd been apparently trying to take a nap of all things.
"Ah well, that's too bad," Koizumi asid. He most missed Kyon's presence. Getting in some board games with the other boy was one of the highlights of his Koizumi's day. He had always enjoyed tabletop gaming, even the somewhat shameful more otaku TCGs. Still, perhaps he could use this chance to get to know his mysterious time traveling slider better. "Care for a game of Othello?"
"That crap's boring. No luck involved at all," Kazuma said, closing his eye again.
"Ah, well. If you prefer something luck based, I have a couple of Yu-Gi-Oh decks…?"
Kazuma opened both eyes and scowled. "That's alright. I saw some Magic cards in that crap. You got a commander deck?"
"I'm afraid I haven't heard of that," Koizumi admitted. "I think we have a few packs floating around somewhere, however. Haruhi bought them for her craft project."
"Hmm, scrounge up twelve and I'll play you at sealed," Kazuma agreed.
Despite himself, Koizumi was actually somewhat excited when he managed to find a dozen various unopened packs. They were older ones, from the last block, but Koizumi was familiar with their contents. It had, after all, been necessary to research such things, even if he had privately enjoyed them.
"Onslaught, huh? Huh. Don't know much about these cards, before my time," Kazuma mused as he grabbed six packs.
"Strong tribal themes and synergies, and if you can build it, the Cycling deck is rather strong," Koizumi said without thinking, then winced. He was usually more guarded. Something about Kazuma just got Koizumi's goat however, and he had been overly eager to show off what he knew that Kazuma didn't.
"Meh." Kazuma ripped open a pack, blinked, then cackled. "Oh shit, this was the Storm set!"
"Ah, yes, but that deck is heavily luck based, and not friendly to beginners," Koizumi advised solicitously.
"You let me worry about the luck, pal," Kazuma chuckled, and tore into the rest of his packs.
Koizumi shrugged, then opened his own cards. He picked out a strategy that favored heavy controlling elements; manipulating his opponents and the battlefield to win through cunning instead of raw strength or random chance. It was, he supposed, in line with his personality, but Koizumi usually allowed his true nature to express itself in games.
"So, that was quite the caper you and Miss Mizu pulled yesterday," Koizumi said jovially as he shuffled up his cards.
Kazuma's face became all too blank, save for a pulsing vein in his forehead. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"No need to be coy. I know you broke into the club room, then absconded in an ambulance. Though, I suppose Miss Asahina helped you with the last," Koizumi chuckled.
"Uh-huh," Kazuma scanned his cards, and his mask slipped into a malicious grin. He slammed down a weak and somewhat worthless goblin and ended his turn.
"What you did was quite reckless, you know. I assume you invented the game tournament?" Koizumi asked, his face carefully neutral as he played out his turn. A few hidden creatures, ready to reveal themselves at an opportune time for maximum advantage.
"Well it worked, didn't it?" Kazuma said, looking up with a scowl.
"Just because something works doesn't mean it wasn't foolish," Koizumi answered, still smiling. "Or at least, that's what I think."
"Well, I think you're a smug prick who can't talk straight," Kazuma said with a snort, and played yet another insignificant goblin, then failed to attack. What was his plan? Did he even have one, or was Kazuma firing from the hip again? Koizumi simply played a larger creature to shore up his defenses.
"Miss Nagato was gravely hurt. She could have been killed in her interactions with the Sky Canopy Dominion, which is yet another alien threat to this world. I should point out that Miss Nagato is one of our only lines of defense against such a being," Koizumi said, his jovial smile vanishing as he glared sternly at Kazuma.
"Yeah, well, it all worked out in the end, and now she doesn't have to worry about that anymore," Kazuma said, and again, played a goblin, and not even one of the worthwhile ones. He seemed to be in blue and red, why did he have so many goblins? That was hardly a winning strategy in those colors. Koizumi focused on the task at hand.
Not the card game, that was merely a ploy, and he certainly wasn't invested in it, even if his superior forces were chiping away at Kazuma. Rather, the interrogation.
"You think so? I think the Data Overmind and Sky Canopy Dominion are very much things we should be concerned about. After all, intergalactic powers focusing their attention on Earth is quite fascinating, don't you think? Even more so that they are engaging in warfare on our own soil."
"Nah. Not my problem. They leave me and my friends alone, and I don't care," Kazuma said with a shrug. More goblins. Koizumi decided either his opponent's deck wasn't working, or he was an idiot.
Possibly both.
"I am sad to hear you treat Miss Nagato so callously. She was grievously harmed yesterday," Koizumi said, his tone once more stern.
"Yeah, but we told the Data Overmind to take a hike, and now she doesn't have to worry about the Sky whatever either," Kazuma said, then grinned. "I win."
"What do you mean?" Koizumi demanded, looking at the board. He had several large fliers, while Kazuma was near death with only pathetic resistance. There were even several spells in Koizumi's hand to stop any sudden shenanigans from Kazuma.
Anyway, that wasn't' what he was talking about.
Kazuma made to play another card, but Koizumi held up a hand. "I was referring to Miss Nagato. Not our game."
"Oh, well, Aqua said it was mind controlling Yuki or something, so she broke the mind control and now Yuki's free or whatever, and the other alien can't bother her because Aqua turned her into a real girl or some Pinnochio crap. Anyway, I win."
Then Kazuma played out a completely ludicrous series of cards that sacrificed his entire board to power out a menagerie of spells. Koizumi tried to counter them, but it was in vain. Kazuma just played out more minor spells. Then, he suddenly played two Storm spells, which were normally weak and useless, but after Kazuma's sudden flurry of activity utterly devastated Koizumi's deck.
"That should be impossible. You had to draw just the right sequence of cards," Koizumi muttered. "I had you dead the next turn."
"Yeah, but it doesn't matter, because I won," Kazuma chuckled.
"Did you?" Koizumi demanded.
Kazuma blinked and looked at the board. "Yeah man, unless you can win on your next upkeep, you lose when you go to draw from an empty deck."
"I was referring to the sheer mind numbing idiocy of removing Yuki from the Data Overmind!" Koizumi hissed, leaning across and grabbing Kazuma by his lapels. "Are you without any sense whatsoever, or are you simply a moron!? Yuki was a known quantity, and loyal! If she is no longer a part of the Data Overmind, it will need to move other assets in to monitor Haruhi! Not to mention it could view her separation as an overtly hostile act, and simply level the planet! This is a being that ranks as a Type III on the Kardashev Scale! And you just...removed Yuki's connection?!"
"Yeah, basically, leggo," Kazuma growled. Taking Koizuim's hands and shoving him away.
Koizumi was panting now, a sense of dread and panic feeling him. "We could already be lost! What if that had killed Yuki!? What if it drove her mad and she attacked! What if the Data Overmind decides to-"
"Bro, you need to chill," Kazuma sighed, straightening his jacket then picking up his cards. "If it tries any of that, we'll just kick it's ass again. Aren't you like an esper or something? Fighting evil alien overlords is basically a part of your job description. And besides, Aqua smoked the Data Overmind without even trying. How tough can it be?"
"What about a Type III civilization do you not understand!?" Koizumi cried, now half hysterical.
"Basically all of it. Is that like, a protoss level civ, or maybe pre-fall Eldar or something?"
"Pre-fall Eldar were at best, a type II civilization and- WHY AM I EVEN TALKING ABOUT THIS WITH YOU!? We have to act, we have to-"
The door opened, and Yuki herself walked in with Kyon. The other boy looked up from his conversation with Yuki and smiled. "Oh, hey, Koizumi. Sorry we're late, Yuki and I decided to swing by the convenience store and grab something before we came in."
Koizumi's eyes darted to Yuki, who was holding a large soft drink and quietly drinking from a straw. She silently passed the cup to Kyon, who took a sip-FROM THE SAME STRAW?!
"My God, what have you done?" Koizumi whispered. It was over. It was all over.
"Relax, I only had 200 yen, so we're sharing. It doesn't mean anything," Kyon said, flushing slightly.
"In Japanese culture, sharing a drink or straw is considered to be roughly equivalent to kissing," Yuki stated. "Such an act is in line with our new status as 'best buds.'"
"We, uh, we're not dating or anything, just...look, it's none of your business," Kyon said defensively.
"Correct. We have not yet entered into a semi-formal romantic relationship," Yuki agreed. "Further data must be acquired, and I have been an independent actor for only 19 hours and 46 minutes," Yuki agreed.
"Kyon, may we speak privately?" Koizumi hissed, stepping closer to Kyon, his mind reeling. Didn't he understand!?
"I think if you have something to say, you can say it here and now," Kyon answered stiffly, folding his arms over his chest. Yuki sucked noisily on the straw, then quietly walked over and threw the empty drink in the trash can.
"I told you that Haruhi's emotional state is extremely fragile, and she views you as her prime romantic partner! If you-"
The door slammed open this time, and Haruhi breezed in, followed by a nervous looking Aqua and a frantic Mikuru.
"Great, you're all here already!' Haruhi laughed. "Now, we've got some hard questions to ask, but first, an important question. Koizumi!'
"Er, yes Chief?" Koizumi asked, plastering the fake smile back on and assuming his posture of obsequiousness once more.
"Hold the door, and don't let either of the new recruits escape," Haruhi said grimly.
"Chief, I told you, I swear, we don't know anything about-" Aqua babbled, but Haruhi pushed the blue haired girl into a chair beside Kazuma, who was looking rather sullen.
"I'm only going to ask this once," Haruhi growled. "Did you two have anything to do with getting Yuki sick, or hurting her?"
"What?!" Kazuma and Aqua shouted at the same time, and began babbling over one another.
"Yuki's our bud! We would never-"
"-got a lot of nerve accusing us, we were the ones who-"
"-help her! We don't know why she was sick, but we-"
"-saved her ass, and yours, Miss Bossy Pants, so back the f-"
"-stuck up for her!" Aqua finished.
Haruhi looked back and forth between the two suspiciously, then turned to Yuki. "Do you know if these two hurt you at all?"
Yuki silently shook her head.
"Hmph. Well, I guess since you did show up as a couple of paramedics and take her to the hospital, you were at least trying to help," Haruhi sniffed.
Koizumi did a double take. What?! The paramedics had been a woman with dark hair in her 30s, and a man who had a dark mustache. Neither of them had even looked close to Kazuma or Aqua how-
"Oh. Um, I guess you saw through my disguise, huh?" Aqua mumbled, looking down.
"Yeah, we were, and we'd do it again, and what are you going to do about it?" Kazuma demanded hotly.
"This." Haruhi pulled out two badges, and pinned them to the shirts of both Kazuma and Aqua. "Congratulations. I'm officially inducing both of you into the SOS Brigade as full members."
Koizumi wanted to scream. Instead, he smiled.