Parachasers 1 and 2
Title: Parachasers OR The Unnatural Interests of Suzumiya Haruhi
Rating: PG-13 for Mikuru in revealing costumes and Itsuki sitting TOO CLOSE
Summery: Haruhi finds a new hobby, bad things happen to Kyon.
1.
I opened the door of the club room to a fantastic sight. A beautiful maid in black and white lace stood next to the portable cooking stove. My eyes were immediately drawn to her creamy thighs which peeped out from under many layers of ruffles. Her white stockings stopped just above her knees, leaving a beautiful expanse of bare skin between them and her skirt.
"Kyon?" Asahina asked weakly. She set a cup of tea before Nagato who was reading in her usual place, apparently oblivious to the stunning beauty holding the teapot.
I struggled to for words. "M-Mikuru? What- …what are you wearing?"
There was a huff of anger from the back of the room and Haruhi's head appeared from behind the computer. "It's a new maid costume obviously! She can't keep wearing that frumpy long skirt now that it's warming up!" Warming up? What kind of excuse is that? It's not even warm today. In fact it's kind of chilly!
"…you want her to wear that," I swallowed, "everyday from now on?"
"Of course!"
Now here is a moral dilemma. Do I attempt to save Asahina from embarrassment and the demise of her marriageable qualities? Or do I do nothing and savor the daily view of those sweet white-clad caves? And those delicate ankles… and those adorable black clad feet…
"Kyon?"
I looked into Asahina's sad eyes and shamefully turned away. There was no use arguing with Haruhi when it came to Asahina's outfits anyway. Our short skirt wearing maid sighed and returned to pouring the tea.
As I bowed my head I noticed that there was a large cardboard box on the ground next to the door. Glad for the distraction, I pushed it with my foot and found that it was very heavy.
"Um, what's this?"
"Sensitive equipment! Don't touch it!" said Haruhi, still sitting at the computer.
"Sensitive equipment for what?"
"For investigation!"
Seems that was all I would get out of Haruhi for now. Well, I'm sure she'd explain what it was eventually. Luckily, the box was too heavy to hold a new micro-mini skirt for Asahina. Or was that unfortunately?
I sat down at the table next to Nagato, who was naturally still engrossed in her book. The chess game Koizumi and I had been playing yesterday was still set out. We had barely started but it was clear that I would lose soon. I studied the board for a way to avoid being checkmated in three moves or less. Maybe I can talk Koizumi into playing checkers instead?
As if in response to my thoughts, Koizumi opened the door at that very moment. He smiled with his usual elegance. "Hello everyone, sorry I'm late!"
He noticed me sitting before the chess set and somehow managed to smile more intensely. "Ah, Kyon shall we continue our game?" Geez, you don't have to look so happy about it.
At this point, Haruhi cut in, saving me from making up a lame excuse not to play.
"There's no time for games!" she said, standing up from behind the computer. "Now that we're all here, we have work to do!"
"Work?" I said, feeling vaguely horrified. The only thing worse than a boring day in the SOS Brigade is an exciting day in the SOS Brigade. "What are you talking about?"
Haruhi placed her hands on her hips and smiled excitedly. She had obviously been looking forward to this. "Paranormal investigation!"
"Paranormal… you mean ghosts or something?"
"Exactly! Apparitions, poltergeists, hauntings, all that supernatural stuff! We're going to find and investigate them with the latest scientific technology!" Haruhi pointed towards the heavy box by the door, which was presumably held our new "technology."
The members of the SOS Brigade greeted this announcement with silent horror. Asahina gripped her tea tray tightly to her chest while Koizumi stared with an uncharacteristically stunned expression. Even Nagato looked up from her book.
Koizumi broke the silence with a nervous giggle. "Um, Suzumiya-san… you haven't been watching that new program… the one where they exorcize ghosts and things?"
"This is real science, Itsuki-kun, not TV!" Haruhi huffed angrily. "And also not like the school's ridiculous Supernatural Study Club! I've been researching this and I'm certain we'll be able to find something paranormal in no time! There are ghosts all over the place, people just never notice them because they don't have the right equipment."
"And what exactly," I asked, "is the right 'equipment?'"
Haruhi proudly walked to the cardboard box by the door and picked it up. She carried the box to the table and opened it there, sweeping the chessboard away to make room. We gathered round to look as Haruhi pointed dramatically inside and awaited our awestruck gasps.
"Our equipment is a bunch of wires and springs?" I said.
"Well, obviously it needs to be assembled! This here is a top-of-the-line combination Electromagnetic Field Detector and ambient thermometer with bonus compass and flashlight! Work quickly, we'll need to do baseline readings tomorrow before we can start a real investigation."
"I can't believe you paid money for this thing! How much did it cost?"
"You can't put a price on good tools! Now get started already, I told you it needs to be done by tomorrow!"
"Why don't you assemble it? It's your machine."
"I have research to do. Obviously we can't go investigating if we don't know of any places that need investigation!" Haruhi spun on her heels and marched back to the computer.
Thus Koizumi and I were left to turn that pile of junk into highly advanced ghost hunting technology. Nagato mostly ignored us, although twice she looked up from her book and gave us advice when we were stuck. For her part, Asahina kept our spirits high by providing delicious tea as well as a view of her cute round knees.
The jumbled wires, springs and circuits all had to be fitted together and inserted inside a surprisingly small plastic casing. The finished product looked something like an overlarge TV remote covered in dials and topped by a digital number display. The "bonus compass and flashlight" turned out to be a glorified keychain that could be attached to the end.
When we announced that we were finished, Haruhi happily marched over and snatched the paranormal remote from my hand. She switched it on and was gratified with the sight of the number display lighting up. She waved it about wildly while announcing the numbers to us. "The temperature is normal, 22 degrees. The EMF is quite high though, it's hovering around 4.5! That's right in the ghost range according to my research! That could be electrical interference though… Oh, did you know that our windows face the north?"
I wondered if the paranormal remote could detect aliens, time-travelers and espers. Hopefully Haruhi would just assume that it was broken if it went of every time she pointed it at a Brigade member who wasn't me.
While Haruhi was playing with her new toy, Nagato closed her book and stood. The rest of us took her cue and immediately began collecting our things. I wondered if we'd need to hold a "conference" on this new development. With Haruhi's abilities, it could be a real problem if she stayed interested in the paranormal for too long. I personally had no desire to be haunted by a vengeful spirit, or even a good-natured one.
Thankfully, Haruhi was not ready to leave the club room yet, although she excused the rest of us with a cheerful "Be ready for tomorrow!" Ready for what tomorrow? You still haven't told us what we're doing!
In the hallway I tried to talk to Nagato but she didn't answer my questions. She seemed distracted; perhaps she was already busy neutralizing the ghosts Haruhi's enthusiasm had created? Asahina could only sigh piteously and agree with me that this was a very bad development. The person I really needed to talk to, Koizumi, smiled apologetically and told me to wait until tomorrow as he hurried out. What was so important that he couldn't even spare me five minutes?
2.
The next day Haruhi was in a boisterous mood. She fidgeted excitedly through every lesson and vanished each free period. All day she was tapping and bouncing her foot against my chair with suppressed excitement. How annoying.
As soon as the bell rang at the end of the day she grabbed my collar and dragged me to the Cultural and Arts Club building. Inside the Literature Club room she grabbed the paranormal remote and handed it to me, along with a pad of paper and a pencil. "Okay, let's get started!"
"But the others haven't arrived yet-"
"I've already given them their tasks! Come on, we need to get a normal reading in a place with no supernatural activity, make sure you record everything the meter says, okay? We'll start on the top floor."
Haruhi marched out of the club room and back to the main building, stopping periodically to tell me to take down temperature and EMF readings. I had trouble juggling the remote and the pad of paper, so after a few stops she took the remote from me and began shouting numbers while I wrote.
"1.5 EMF Kyon! Temperature steady at 21.7 degrees! Make sure you write down where we are, too." Did she have to be so loud? The few students left in the hallways kept staring at us.
It was a relief when we climbed the fourth floor stairway to the roof. There was no one here to observe Haruhi's weirdness.
"EMF 2.3! Temperature 22.3! No, scratch that 22.9! Wait, it's rising, now it's at 23.3… now 24! Are you getting this? Wow, it's a hot spot! Maybe there really is a supernatural phenomenon in the school!"
I paused in my frantic scribbling to roll my eyes. "We're on the highest floor in the building in a place with no ventilation, of course it's hot. What kind of ghost would be haunting the school anyway?"
"It could be the memory of unhappy students who killed themselves after failing their exams. Or maybe a teacher who died on the job before retirement. Or-"
"Okay, whatever, shouldn't we keep moving? I thought you wanted to check out the entire building?"
With renewed determination Haruhi raced back down the staircase. She was no longer pausing when she read off numbers, just yelling them over her shoulder as she hurried up and down the corridors. My hand was aching by the time we reached the first floor. I was ready to return to the club room and find out what the others' "tasks" had been, but sadly Haruhi wasn't satisfied yet.
"We need to get readings in an outdoor environment, first going around the building and then over the yard and fields!" Outside? But there are lots of people outside!
Haruhi ignored my reluctance and went out the front entrance. Why didn't you tell me we were going out? You could have told me to bring my jacket at least!
Looking for ghosts felt even more ridiculous out in the spring sunshine. It was a pleasantly cool day, perfect weather for exercising outside, and all of the sports clubs were practicing. You could here them yelling out as they completed their exercises in all corners of the school's track and field. I was feeling pretty tired from my own physical exertion at that point and I paused to lean against the school while Haruhi yelled numbers from under the bleachers.
The wall and bleachers sheltered this area from the wind, making it feel agreeably warm in the sun. I sighed and closed my eyes, enjoying the moment of rest.
Haruhi interrupted my respite shortly "Geez, Kyon, I can't depend on you for anything! I can't believe you're sleeping on the job!"
Before I could protest that I hadn't been sleeping, Haruhi took the pencil and paper from my hands and walked off scribbling on it. She had clipped the remote's keychain to her skirt so that she could write and record at the same time. Fine, I guess she doesn't need me anymore. Still leaning against the wall, I sank down to sit in the grass. Guess I'll just wait here until she comes back.
It felt very good to close my eyes. So nice to just sit down and relax. To just close my eyes…. and…
I was in a rowboat. Rowing. Haruhi was there too. She was holding up a megaphone and yelling "One, two! One, two! One, two!" I tried to row in time with her shouts but she was going too fast. "One, two! One two! Keep it up!"
We were trying to reach the shore. There was a girl there. It was very important that we reach her. Was it Asahina? I could barely make out her dark silhouette on the shoreline.
Haruhi was annoyed now. She was waving her hands wildly as she yelled. "Pay attention! One, two! One, two! One, two!" If she kept that up she'd fall right out of the rowboat.
"One, two, Kyon! One, Kyon? Kyon-kun?"
Haruhi sounded weird. Was she using one of those megaphones that altered your voice?
"Kyon!" Haruhi stopped waving her arms and smiled in an odd way. Oh, that's what it is, she sounds like Koizumi.
Feeling confused, I shook my head and slowly blinked by eyes. The rowboat faded away and was replaced by the back side of the bleachers. Somewhere nearby, a team was yelling in unison as they exercised. "One, two! One, two!"
I rubbed by eyes to wake myself up and when I took my hand away Koizumi's face was RIGHT THERE
"Yah!" I jerked backwards to get away, except that the only thing to get away to was the wall. Ooow.
I rubbed my head and scooted back from where Koizumi was kneeling on the grass. He had a tape recorder and a pad of paper in his hands. Had that been his "task?" Koizumi smiled apologetically and said "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"Don't sneak up on sleeping people!" And don't put your face so close to mine!
Koizumi laughed and I could feel his breath on my face. Eeh!
"Sorry again, I thought you heard me. Did you lose Haruhi?"
"I didn't lose her, she ditched me." Why are you still so close?
"Ah" Koizumi turned elegantly around and seated himself against the wall next to me. Do you really have to sit so our shoulders are touching! What's someone going to think when they see this?
"Kyon-kun," Koizumi began, turning towards me. His face was now so close that I was going cross-eyed focusing on it. FREAKING ME OUT
"I'm sure you're just as worried as I am…" He's as worried as I am about looking totally homo? Somehow I doubt that.
"…about Haruhi, I mean." Oh, of course he meant Haruhi. He had promised to talk with me today.
"I'm sure you've realized," continued Koizumi, "that there's a very real possibility that her wish to see ghosts will cause them to actually appear."
"I just hope we don't get a mysterious ghost transfer student" I said.
Koizumi paused, apparently surprised by my joke, and then broke out into a bright smile. Hm, I never noticed Koizumi had dimples. Dammit, why must he sit so close!?
I casually leaned away from Koizumi, trying to make it look like I was just shifting my place while in deep thought. While I was doing that, an actual thought occurred to me.
"Even if a ghost does appear," I started, "Nagato-san will be able to protect us, won't she? And you too if we go into closed space."
"That is my hope, but it is possible that Haruhi's fixation on ghosts-beings who's very existence violates the laws of physics-could cause her to greatly alter the laws and constants of the universe. Unlike Haruhi, Nagato-san can only manipulate the data of our world within the constraints of reality. If those constraints are changed too far, Nagato-san will be as helpless as an ordinary human."
Why must you always look so cool and relaxed when you give me terrifying information? This was really frightening news, too. I had gotten used to thinking of Nagato as an all-powerful, magical being. It was jarring to remember that even Nagato and the Data Integrated Whatever had limits.
Koizumi continued talking while I was zoned out, "…do our best to keep the situation from reaching that point. You will have to work hard until this passes, I'm afraid."
"Me? What can I do?" If Nagato is helpless before Haruhi, surely I'll be no help!
Koizumi turned his smile up several notches. "The same thing you always do, Kyon-kun. Be Haruhi's voice of reason. Don't let her become so absorbed in fantasy that she looses sight of reality."
Easy for you to say.
I spent all morning at work Friday plotting this thing. (Hey, gotta think about something while I'm stuffing envelopes!) Hopefully I can keep the momentum up, part three is nearly finished already. No beta, just my own editing, so let me know if you find any misspellings, bad grammar, just plain weird sentences, etc.
Rating: PG-13 for Mikuru in revealing costumes and Itsuki sitting TOO CLOSE
Summery: Haruhi finds a new hobby, bad things happen to Kyon.
1.
I opened the door of the club room to a fantastic sight. A beautiful maid in black and white lace stood next to the portable cooking stove. My eyes were immediately drawn to her creamy thighs which peeped out from under many layers of ruffles. Her white stockings stopped just above her knees, leaving a beautiful expanse of bare skin between them and her skirt.
"Kyon?" Asahina asked weakly. She set a cup of tea before Nagato who was reading in her usual place, apparently oblivious to the stunning beauty holding the teapot.
I struggled to for words. "M-Mikuru? What- …what are you wearing?"
There was a huff of anger from the back of the room and Haruhi's head appeared from behind the computer. "It's a new maid costume obviously! She can't keep wearing that frumpy long skirt now that it's warming up!" Warming up? What kind of excuse is that? It's not even warm today. In fact it's kind of chilly!
"…you want her to wear that," I swallowed, "everyday from now on?"
"Of course!"
Now here is a moral dilemma. Do I attempt to save Asahina from embarrassment and the demise of her marriageable qualities? Or do I do nothing and savor the daily view of those sweet white-clad caves? And those delicate ankles… and those adorable black clad feet…
"Kyon?"
I looked into Asahina's sad eyes and shamefully turned away. There was no use arguing with Haruhi when it came to Asahina's outfits anyway. Our short skirt wearing maid sighed and returned to pouring the tea.
As I bowed my head I noticed that there was a large cardboard box on the ground next to the door. Glad for the distraction, I pushed it with my foot and found that it was very heavy.
"Um, what's this?"
"Sensitive equipment! Don't touch it!" said Haruhi, still sitting at the computer.
"Sensitive equipment for what?"
"For investigation!"
Seems that was all I would get out of Haruhi for now. Well, I'm sure she'd explain what it was eventually. Luckily, the box was too heavy to hold a new micro-mini skirt for Asahina. Or was that unfortunately?
I sat down at the table next to Nagato, who was naturally still engrossed in her book. The chess game Koizumi and I had been playing yesterday was still set out. We had barely started but it was clear that I would lose soon. I studied the board for a way to avoid being checkmated in three moves or less. Maybe I can talk Koizumi into playing checkers instead?
As if in response to my thoughts, Koizumi opened the door at that very moment. He smiled with his usual elegance. "Hello everyone, sorry I'm late!"
He noticed me sitting before the chess set and somehow managed to smile more intensely. "Ah, Kyon shall we continue our game?" Geez, you don't have to look so happy about it.
At this point, Haruhi cut in, saving me from making up a lame excuse not to play.
"There's no time for games!" she said, standing up from behind the computer. "Now that we're all here, we have work to do!"
"Work?" I said, feeling vaguely horrified. The only thing worse than a boring day in the SOS Brigade is an exciting day in the SOS Brigade. "What are you talking about?"
Haruhi placed her hands on her hips and smiled excitedly. She had obviously been looking forward to this. "Paranormal investigation!"
"Paranormal… you mean ghosts or something?"
"Exactly! Apparitions, poltergeists, hauntings, all that supernatural stuff! We're going to find and investigate them with the latest scientific technology!" Haruhi pointed towards the heavy box by the door, which was presumably held our new "technology."
The members of the SOS Brigade greeted this announcement with silent horror. Asahina gripped her tea tray tightly to her chest while Koizumi stared with an uncharacteristically stunned expression. Even Nagato looked up from her book.
Koizumi broke the silence with a nervous giggle. "Um, Suzumiya-san… you haven't been watching that new program… the one where they exorcize ghosts and things?"
"This is real science, Itsuki-kun, not TV!" Haruhi huffed angrily. "And also not like the school's ridiculous Supernatural Study Club! I've been researching this and I'm certain we'll be able to find something paranormal in no time! There are ghosts all over the place, people just never notice them because they don't have the right equipment."
"And what exactly," I asked, "is the right 'equipment?'"
Haruhi proudly walked to the cardboard box by the door and picked it up. She carried the box to the table and opened it there, sweeping the chessboard away to make room. We gathered round to look as Haruhi pointed dramatically inside and awaited our awestruck gasps.
"Our equipment is a bunch of wires and springs?" I said.
"Well, obviously it needs to be assembled! This here is a top-of-the-line combination Electromagnetic Field Detector and ambient thermometer with bonus compass and flashlight! Work quickly, we'll need to do baseline readings tomorrow before we can start a real investigation."
"I can't believe you paid money for this thing! How much did it cost?"
"You can't put a price on good tools! Now get started already, I told you it needs to be done by tomorrow!"
"Why don't you assemble it? It's your machine."
"I have research to do. Obviously we can't go investigating if we don't know of any places that need investigation!" Haruhi spun on her heels and marched back to the computer.
Thus Koizumi and I were left to turn that pile of junk into highly advanced ghost hunting technology. Nagato mostly ignored us, although twice she looked up from her book and gave us advice when we were stuck. For her part, Asahina kept our spirits high by providing delicious tea as well as a view of her cute round knees.
The jumbled wires, springs and circuits all had to be fitted together and inserted inside a surprisingly small plastic casing. The finished product looked something like an overlarge TV remote covered in dials and topped by a digital number display. The "bonus compass and flashlight" turned out to be a glorified keychain that could be attached to the end.
When we announced that we were finished, Haruhi happily marched over and snatched the paranormal remote from my hand. She switched it on and was gratified with the sight of the number display lighting up. She waved it about wildly while announcing the numbers to us. "The temperature is normal, 22 degrees. The EMF is quite high though, it's hovering around 4.5! That's right in the ghost range according to my research! That could be electrical interference though… Oh, did you know that our windows face the north?"
I wondered if the paranormal remote could detect aliens, time-travelers and espers. Hopefully Haruhi would just assume that it was broken if it went of every time she pointed it at a Brigade member who wasn't me.
While Haruhi was playing with her new toy, Nagato closed her book and stood. The rest of us took her cue and immediately began collecting our things. I wondered if we'd need to hold a "conference" on this new development. With Haruhi's abilities, it could be a real problem if she stayed interested in the paranormal for too long. I personally had no desire to be haunted by a vengeful spirit, or even a good-natured one.
Thankfully, Haruhi was not ready to leave the club room yet, although she excused the rest of us with a cheerful "Be ready for tomorrow!" Ready for what tomorrow? You still haven't told us what we're doing!
In the hallway I tried to talk to Nagato but she didn't answer my questions. She seemed distracted; perhaps she was already busy neutralizing the ghosts Haruhi's enthusiasm had created? Asahina could only sigh piteously and agree with me that this was a very bad development. The person I really needed to talk to, Koizumi, smiled apologetically and told me to wait until tomorrow as he hurried out. What was so important that he couldn't even spare me five minutes?
2.
The next day Haruhi was in a boisterous mood. She fidgeted excitedly through every lesson and vanished each free period. All day she was tapping and bouncing her foot against my chair with suppressed excitement. How annoying.
As soon as the bell rang at the end of the day she grabbed my collar and dragged me to the Cultural and Arts Club building. Inside the Literature Club room she grabbed the paranormal remote and handed it to me, along with a pad of paper and a pencil. "Okay, let's get started!"
"But the others haven't arrived yet-"
"I've already given them their tasks! Come on, we need to get a normal reading in a place with no supernatural activity, make sure you record everything the meter says, okay? We'll start on the top floor."
Haruhi marched out of the club room and back to the main building, stopping periodically to tell me to take down temperature and EMF readings. I had trouble juggling the remote and the pad of paper, so after a few stops she took the remote from me and began shouting numbers while I wrote.
"1.5 EMF Kyon! Temperature steady at 21.7 degrees! Make sure you write down where we are, too." Did she have to be so loud? The few students left in the hallways kept staring at us.
It was a relief when we climbed the fourth floor stairway to the roof. There was no one here to observe Haruhi's weirdness.
"EMF 2.3! Temperature 22.3! No, scratch that 22.9! Wait, it's rising, now it's at 23.3… now 24! Are you getting this? Wow, it's a hot spot! Maybe there really is a supernatural phenomenon in the school!"
I paused in my frantic scribbling to roll my eyes. "We're on the highest floor in the building in a place with no ventilation, of course it's hot. What kind of ghost would be haunting the school anyway?"
"It could be the memory of unhappy students who killed themselves after failing their exams. Or maybe a teacher who died on the job before retirement. Or-"
"Okay, whatever, shouldn't we keep moving? I thought you wanted to check out the entire building?"
With renewed determination Haruhi raced back down the staircase. She was no longer pausing when she read off numbers, just yelling them over her shoulder as she hurried up and down the corridors. My hand was aching by the time we reached the first floor. I was ready to return to the club room and find out what the others' "tasks" had been, but sadly Haruhi wasn't satisfied yet.
"We need to get readings in an outdoor environment, first going around the building and then over the yard and fields!" Outside? But there are lots of people outside!
Haruhi ignored my reluctance and went out the front entrance. Why didn't you tell me we were going out? You could have told me to bring my jacket at least!
Looking for ghosts felt even more ridiculous out in the spring sunshine. It was a pleasantly cool day, perfect weather for exercising outside, and all of the sports clubs were practicing. You could here them yelling out as they completed their exercises in all corners of the school's track and field. I was feeling pretty tired from my own physical exertion at that point and I paused to lean against the school while Haruhi yelled numbers from under the bleachers.
The wall and bleachers sheltered this area from the wind, making it feel agreeably warm in the sun. I sighed and closed my eyes, enjoying the moment of rest.
Haruhi interrupted my respite shortly "Geez, Kyon, I can't depend on you for anything! I can't believe you're sleeping on the job!"
Before I could protest that I hadn't been sleeping, Haruhi took the pencil and paper from my hands and walked off scribbling on it. She had clipped the remote's keychain to her skirt so that she could write and record at the same time. Fine, I guess she doesn't need me anymore. Still leaning against the wall, I sank down to sit in the grass. Guess I'll just wait here until she comes back.
It felt very good to close my eyes. So nice to just sit down and relax. To just close my eyes…. and…
I was in a rowboat. Rowing. Haruhi was there too. She was holding up a megaphone and yelling "One, two! One, two! One, two!" I tried to row in time with her shouts but she was going too fast. "One, two! One two! Keep it up!"
We were trying to reach the shore. There was a girl there. It was very important that we reach her. Was it Asahina? I could barely make out her dark silhouette on the shoreline.
Haruhi was annoyed now. She was waving her hands wildly as she yelled. "Pay attention! One, two! One, two! One, two!" If she kept that up she'd fall right out of the rowboat.
"One, two, Kyon! One, Kyon? Kyon-kun?"
Haruhi sounded weird. Was she using one of those megaphones that altered your voice?
"Kyon!" Haruhi stopped waving her arms and smiled in an odd way. Oh, that's what it is, she sounds like Koizumi.
Feeling confused, I shook my head and slowly blinked by eyes. The rowboat faded away and was replaced by the back side of the bleachers. Somewhere nearby, a team was yelling in unison as they exercised. "One, two! One, two!"
I rubbed by eyes to wake myself up and when I took my hand away Koizumi's face was RIGHT THERE
"Yah!" I jerked backwards to get away, except that the only thing to get away to was the wall. Ooow.
I rubbed my head and scooted back from where Koizumi was kneeling on the grass. He had a tape recorder and a pad of paper in his hands. Had that been his "task?" Koizumi smiled apologetically and said "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"Don't sneak up on sleeping people!" And don't put your face so close to mine!
Koizumi laughed and I could feel his breath on my face. Eeh!
"Sorry again, I thought you heard me. Did you lose Haruhi?"
"I didn't lose her, she ditched me." Why are you still so close?
"Ah" Koizumi turned elegantly around and seated himself against the wall next to me. Do you really have to sit so our shoulders are touching! What's someone going to think when they see this?
"Kyon-kun," Koizumi began, turning towards me. His face was now so close that I was going cross-eyed focusing on it. FREAKING ME OUT
"I'm sure you're just as worried as I am…" He's as worried as I am about looking totally homo? Somehow I doubt that.
"…about Haruhi, I mean." Oh, of course he meant Haruhi. He had promised to talk with me today.
"I'm sure you've realized," continued Koizumi, "that there's a very real possibility that her wish to see ghosts will cause them to actually appear."
"I just hope we don't get a mysterious ghost transfer student" I said.
Koizumi paused, apparently surprised by my joke, and then broke out into a bright smile. Hm, I never noticed Koizumi had dimples. Dammit, why must he sit so close!?
I casually leaned away from Koizumi, trying to make it look like I was just shifting my place while in deep thought. While I was doing that, an actual thought occurred to me.
"Even if a ghost does appear," I started, "Nagato-san will be able to protect us, won't she? And you too if we go into closed space."
"That is my hope, but it is possible that Haruhi's fixation on ghosts-beings who's very existence violates the laws of physics-could cause her to greatly alter the laws and constants of the universe. Unlike Haruhi, Nagato-san can only manipulate the data of our world within the constraints of reality. If those constraints are changed too far, Nagato-san will be as helpless as an ordinary human."
Why must you always look so cool and relaxed when you give me terrifying information? This was really frightening news, too. I had gotten used to thinking of Nagato as an all-powerful, magical being. It was jarring to remember that even Nagato and the Data Integrated Whatever had limits.
Koizumi continued talking while I was zoned out, "…do our best to keep the situation from reaching that point. You will have to work hard until this passes, I'm afraid."
"Me? What can I do?" If Nagato is helpless before Haruhi, surely I'll be no help!
Koizumi turned his smile up several notches. "The same thing you always do, Kyon-kun. Be Haruhi's voice of reason. Don't let her become so absorbed in fantasy that she looses sight of reality."
Easy for you to say.
I spent all morning at work Friday plotting this thing. (Hey, gotta think about something while I'm stuffing envelopes!) Hopefully I can keep the momentum up, part three is nearly finished already. No beta, just my own editing, so let me know if you find any misspellings, bad grammar, just plain weird sentences, etc.