Snyderverse Neptunia Snippets

by Derald Snyder

Snippet 41- The Mannequin of Haruhi Suzumiya

Timeline- Shortly after 'The High School Turnabout'.

Classes had ended for the day, and while many students promptly headed for the doors to go home, several others headed for the clubrooms. Among the latter group was the student known as John Smith, his friend/love interest Yuki Nagato at his side. "Yare yare, algebra was brutal today..." John sighed, subconsciously pulling at the tie on his school uniform.

"Don't worry, I'll help you go over what you didn't understand," Yuki assured him.

"Yeah, you're probably the only reason I haven't fallen far behind everyone else," John nodded. "Reading lessons from a book just doesn't click with me, for whatever reason..."

As they approached the Literature Club, the two were greeted by their fellow club member and classmate Tsuruya. "Hey theres! Did math class break your brains again, John-kun?"

"Wow, how did you ever guess?" John Smith snarked, causing the greenette to burst into hyena-like laughter.

"Tsuruya, please don't tease John-kun like that," Yuki shook her head. "You know how difficult it is for him to study sometimes..."

"Aw, come on, Nagato-chi, he knows I don't mean anything evils by it, nyoro~!" Tsuruya replied. "Anyways, let's see what books we're going through todays..." So the trio entered the clubroom...

"Huh? What's that?" Yuki pointed at what appeared to be a human statue at the far corner of the room, dressed in the standard girl's uniform with a mop of brown hair held in place with a yellow headband and matching ribbons.

"It kinda looks like that goddess Haru-nyan, doesn't its?" Tsuruya observed.

"Yeah, but it's just a mannequin... Wait, there's a note attached to it," John said, walking up to the dummy and pulling the note taped to its chest, reading:

'Hello Kyon, Yuki, and Literature Club Members!'

'This is the avatar that I created when Yuki was wrongly accused of murder, modified to mannequin form! I didn't want to just destroy it after my business here was done, so I decided to leave it with you guys. Feel free to dress me up however you like! ;-)'

'P.S. Don't worry, I'll send a text alert to Kyon before I come to visit so I don't startle anybody by suddenly coming to life!'

'Goddess of the Animenga Cluster, Haruhi Suzumiya'

"Oooh, Haru-myan left us a dress-up doll, huh?" Tsuruya said with a grin. "Heh, I've already gots some idea for costumes we can dress her up ins, nyoro~!"

"Right, but let's keep them tasteful," John/Kyon demurred. "Don't want the other students thinking that Koizumi and I are perverts, after all..."

"Yes, I agree," Yuki nodded.

"Eh, don't worries~! I know how to keep it tastefuls!" Tsuruya dismissed their concerns. "I think it fills in that empty spaces in the corners quite nicely, actually!"

"Can't argue with that," John nodded.

*And so, a week later...*

Yuki was alone in the Literature Club at lunch hour, having just finished her food and now studying a language book... but suddenly she felt her eyelids drooping. (Why do I feel tired all of a sudden...? Classes haven't been that stressful...) She glanced over at the nearby Haruhi mannequin, now dressed in a cute maid's out fit, before checking the clock. "Well, I guess a five-minute nap wouldn't hurt..." With that, she set the timer on her cell phone, before leaning back in her seat and drifting off into slumber...

Suddenly, her ears picked up the sound of something pouring, her eyes, blinking back open to see tea being dispensed into a cup. "Here you are, milady." And holding the tea kettle was Maid Haruhi, no longer a mannequin, but flesh and blood!

"Waaaahhh!" Yuki leapt up from her seat in shock! "W-w-what are you doing here...?!"

"Hello, Yuki," Haruhi greeted warmly. "I just kinda wanted to talk to you in private for a bit, that's all..."

"Um, but there's only about ten minutes before classes resume..." Yuki pointed out.

"Time doesn't matter in this space," Haruhi said as she set the kettle down. "Oh, right, I should explain... you're actually still sleeping in your clubroom. From your perspective, this is a lucid dream of sorts..."

"Oh...?" That didn't really make Yuki feel any better. "B-but why would you t-take me while I'm sleeping...?"

"I told you, I wanted to talk to you in private, without anyone else butting in," Haruhi pouted, putting her hands on her hips.

"About what...?" Yuki ventured.

"About Kyon. Or rather, John Smith."

"EH? About J-John-kun...?!" Yuki gasped, shrinking away.

Haruhi sighed and shook her head. "Will you please stop acting like I'm going to smite you?! You weren't anything like this when we first met..."

"We were with others back then...!" Yuki pointed out. Despite this, she managed to straighten up somewhat. "W-why are you asking me about John-kun, anyway...?"

"Well, it's obvious you two are friends, right?" Haruhi stated.

"Y-yes..."

"Okay. Well, I was just curious if you ever thought of Kyon as more than just a friend..."

"More than...?" Yuki said hesitantly, before gasping and blushing deeply as the implications hit her. "I, um, I don't know... I, um, never really thought about it that much before..."

"And yet you're red as a tomato," Haruhi lightly teased. "It must have crossed your mind at some point..."

"O-only because Ryoko-chan teases me sometimes...!" Yuki shouted, before covering her face. "Actually, sh-she was the one who encouraged me t-to try talking to him when we first met..."

"Oh, a shipper on deck, huh?" Haruhi nodded to herself. "Well, that's nice, as long as she doesn't try to force it..."

"No, no, she doesn't," Yuki shook her head. "Honestly, Tsuruya teases us a lot more than Ryoko-chan does... Th-though I think sometimes she j-just does it f-for laughs..."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," Haruhi chuckled.

"Um, so..." Yuki dared to peek out over her hands. "W-what do you think about John-kun...? D-do you love him...?!"

"Do I...? Hmm..." Haruhi crossed her arms sat down in a nearby chair, her head lowered in thought. "I dunno if I would go that far... I mean, yeah, I like him, because he's one of very few who treats me like an equal, instead of cowering in fear, or being a boot-licker... And he IS kinda cute, especially when he makes that resigned 'yare yare' face... At the same time, though, I am a goddess with duties and responsibilities, and he's just a mortal boy who lives far outside my jurisdiction, so to speak..." She looked back up at Yuki. "You can see why I'm a bit conflicted..."

"R, right..." Yuki replied, uncovering her face and daring to move closer to Haruhi. "Because I'm so smart compared to most of the other students, getting straight A's in every subject, it's left me kind of isolated... s-some used to even c-call me an alien behind my back, before you and the other aliens arrived... But John-kun doesn't care about that, he's always been k-kind and respectful to me..."

"Sounds like Kyon to me," Haruhi nodded. "Yeah, I just kinda wanted to try and head off any weird 'love triangle' plots like I've seen on several worlds back home... Hell, my own Oracle was kinda-sorta in a love triangle herself before she, um, ascended..."

"But now her love interest is with the other girl...?" Yuki guessed.

"Yeah, though it's still kinda bumpy, from what we observed... I could tell Neon was sad at having to leave them behind, but she insisted she had no right to face them after her passivity nearly resulted in an apocalypse..."

"Apocalypse...?!" Yuki gasped.

"Yeah, I don't wanna get into it without her here, it's a long story," Haruhi shook her head with a frown. "She IS grateful that I gave her a second chance, so to speak, and she's embraced her new role... well, I don't wanna say 'with gusto', cause she's never been the energetic type, but you get what I mean, right?"

"I-I think so..." Yuki nodded slowly. "I remember John-kun saying that your Oracle and I would actually get along quite well if we were ever to meet..."

"Yeah, I do see a little bit of her in you," Haruhi concurred. "Maybe I can have her meet you next time I decide to come and visit, though I have no idea when that will be..."

"Y-yes, maybe having her along will smooth things over s-so we d-don't fall into love triangle p-plot, like you said," Yuki suggested.

"Alright, it's a deal," Haruhi agreed, smiling. "I'm glad we could have this talk, Yuki. I'll go ahead and send you back to your physical body now, okay?"

"Okay. Um..." Yuki hesitated. "Um, should I keep this talk secret...?"

"...You can tell Kyon if you want, but no one else, okay?" Haruhi allowed.

"A-all right."

"Good. Okay, see you later, Yuki!" With that, the student's vision faded to black...

*Back in reality...*

"Ah!" Yuki gasped as she abruptly awakened, her ears picking up the sound of her cell phone alarm going off. She reached over and silenced it before shaking her head to clear out the cobwebs. "I hope that doesn't become a normal thing with her..." Pushing her chair back and standing up, she prepared to gather her books and head back to class...

But then she spotted a steaming teacup in front of her. "Huh? I don't remember making tea..." She then recalled Haruhi pouring tea for her, looking over at the mannequin... its face had changed to a smile and a wink. "Oh, um, thank you," Yuki nodded to the puppet, taking the teacup in hand and sipping it...

Only to grimace in disgust. "Ugh, Lady Haruhi, with all due respect... your tea-making skills need work."

The mannequin's face shifted to a disappointed frown...

*Snippet 41-End*