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The Unwilling Slider [Azecreth & Wingshadow]

Asahina politely waited outside Kyon's house, her breaths forming brief puffs which vanished quickly in the cool, dry morning air. When Kyon joined her, she lit up brightly, her cheerful smile warming the chilly morning as if from her own personal store of sunshine. She gleefully walked beside him on the way to school, and that ever-present hill of torment felt significantly less unpleasant with her pleasant chatter in his ear. Mikuru reminiced a lot about their past together, although the conversation in that respect was markedly one-sided, "You know, I wouldn't mind it if you came by and woke me up instead sometime, like you did on my birthday last year..." Her flush reached the tips of her ears, "I mean, I know what we decided already, but... But I think it would be a good thing for us. I enjoy seeing that side of you, but, I want you to see different sides of me too, Kyon." She gave him a soft smile, "I'm sorry, I'm not making any sense at all this morning, am I?"

"I guess I was just thinking too much about what Koizumi said yesturday," Mikuru waved her mitten-covered hand dismissively, "So please don't pay it any mind..." She then attempted to change the subject entirely, "Say, did your sister ever give you any other nicknames other than Kyon? I mean, as long as I have known you, she's always called you that. Not that your name is bad, but I think Kyon suits you as well." She folded her hands together, her gaze turning down toward Kyon's own hand.
 
Kyon noted the cold outside, and was glad that he hadn't kept Asahina waiting too long, even if she didn't seem bothered by it. This was quite the unusual experience for him, but the trek of the hill was much more enjoyable when it was spent with her and her boundless reserve of optimism and good feelings, as opposed to being by his lonesome or with Tnaiguchi. The only problem was the conversation, but he tried to do his best to not clue her in that something was wrong, or leave a lot of dead air. He didn't want to do that to her.

The suggestion caught him by surprise, and he glanced over at her as she went through her fumbling explanation. Come to think of it, he didn't know if this Mikuru lived in the same place anyway as the one that he knew. "Hmm, I guess I could do that," he decided at last, though whether it came to be was another matter entirely. "But its fine, it made enough sense to me." Really, it was less complicated than some other things he had heard. This one didn't even include time travel!

At the next question, he couldn't help but sigh at the nickname he had been saddled with, before shaking his head. "Nope," he confirmed. "If she did I don't remember them." Really, he was fine with the nickname. It was just the fact that his sister was the one to always use it, even when they were siblings. He had a name dang it! Fortunately though they would soon be drawing near the school, and he could worry less about having to fake it until he made it.
 
"I... I see..." Mikuru seemed far too preoccupied with her own blissful thoughts when he agreed to her suggestion, the conversation more or less faded entirely. with the school gates rapidly approaching, this most likely was all for the best anyway. She hastily bid farewell to Kyon at the gates before rushing off in the direction of her own classroom, with Tsuruya joining her along the way. With Mikuru's promise of information from Tsuruya concerning Nagato still in the balance, hopefully the green-haired menice would cough up some useful intel that would hopefully set some framework for this universe's Yuki, assuming she existed at all in this time plane.

At the classroom, sure enough, Haruhi's watchful gaze met him as soon as he entered. She refrained from speaking to him directly at first, merely watching him as he took his seat in front of her before addressing her classmate, "Hey... You know how we didn't run into any fox fires last night?" She leaned back in her seat slightly, "I was thinking that we might be going about it the wrong way. Perhaps instead of trying to find the fox fires ourselves, we can just talk to someone who has already seen one. the sightings are still pretty rare, after all, and it makes sense that it would take a few days or weeks to actually run into one. I really want to get some good intel on them right away, and I don't want to wait that long to get it." Great, Haruhi was both impatient and demanding.

"So, be sure to talk to at least two people who have seen foxfires and bring me a written report on your findings by this Monday," Haruhi smiled, "I'll let the others know too so they can do the same." She then crossed her arms in front of her chest proudly and relaxed in her seat, satisfied with her ploy of unloading the burden of researching the strange phenomina on her lackeys while reaping all the benefits without having to lift a finger.

Haruhi's selfish behavior aside, the rest of the morning went without much of note, leaving the daily lunch meeting with Mikuru the next major event of the day...
 
While his promise might not have been the best or the most advised one given the circumstances, Kyon couldn't help but brighten up a bit at seeing how happy Mikuru was when he agreed o her suggestion. That radiant sun was one of the most warming things in the world, and to know that he was the source was of it was quite a heady feeling. If it would make her this happy in the future, then he supposed he could actually do it. Besides, it was a tantalizing window into her life, one that he would hardly pass up given the opportunity. Sure, the conversation lapsed away, but it was alight as the school drew near and they parted their separate waves, Kyon waving as Mikuru headed off with Tsuruya towards her classroom.

That done, he made his way to his own classroom, where Haruhi waited as usual. He was braced for whatever early morning idea came, though pleasantly it wasn't immediately said but rather after a minute or so so he could prepare for class. It was unusual at first, but it rapidly made sense as Haruhi explained that she wanted to do interviews, and then hoisted all of the work on to him. As per usual really, so he listened before accepting it in resignation.

"What? How am I supposed to find these people," he asked then as he turned back to look at her. It wasn't as if he could just go around asking everybody if they had seen a will-o-wisp. Though knowing Haruhi that was exactly what she wanted him to do. "And what will you be doing in the meanwhile?"

Regardless of what her answer was he would turn back forward as class began, doing his best to stay attentive and write good notes, if only to avoid her wrath. Yet soon enough she would be gone and he would be free to head up to the clubroom for what was apparently his daily routine with Mikuru. A much nicer alternative otherwise, and he was glad when it came time for it.
 
"How you find them is your job to figure out," Haruhi shrugged, "That's why I left it up to you to decide." Her eyes narrowed slightly, "I'm not going to sit on my hands if that's what you are implying. Who do you think is going to sort through all the reports and make sense of all those interviews? I have a lot on my plate, so don't disappoint me." As usual, Haruhi refused to take no for an answer, especially when she had already made up her mind how things would go. Thankfully, with the end of morning classes came a welcome respite from teachers, lectures, and Haruhi, as Kyon made his way over to keep his prior arrangement.

Mikuru had already set out a few things before he arrived, and she gave him a polite nod and a friendly smile as he stepped through the doorway, "Come on in, Kyon. I prepared a bit more than usual today, so I hope you are hungry." She gestured toward the quad-decker lunchbox before her on the table. Exactly how she had managed to bring such a massive lunchbox without him or anyone else noticing before was anyone's guess, but there it stood, both intimidating and enticing at the same time.

She wasted no time opening it, untying the napkin with her dainty fingers and spreading it out neatly before removing each layer and spreading them out on the table. From tamagoyaki to octopus sausages, everything practically sparkled from the blessing Mikuru's hands had bestowed upon them. She had even brought two sets of chopsticks, one of which she set down in front of Kyon before holding up her own, "Go ahead, I made plenty... Help yourself."
 
Unsurprisingly, it seemed that Haruhi would claim to be doing difficult work while leaving the actually hard stuff to him and the others. He was used to it, though he couldn't help but wish that she might stop claiming that administration and overseeing them was actually difficult work. There were only three people in the club after all, though if Asakura came back then it would be quite a bit different. But class went on, and he was quick to leave that behind with the first chance that he had.

Arriving in the clubroom, he wasn't surprised to see Asahina waiting for him with some food prepared and a quad decker lunchbox on the table. That earned a raised eyebrow as he looked on it, wondering just how it had gotten here in the first place. She most definitely hadn't had that with her on the way to school. Perhaps Tsuruya had brought it for her. Still, it was a nice surprise.

"Wow," he said in awed appreciation as he moved to the table, bag left off to the side as he sat down in the spread of food that was practically akin to a feast. He took the chopsticks and looked across to Mikuru as she did the same, impressed to quite a degree. "Thank you. Err, what did I do to deserve this?" It might have been from the goodness of her heart, but this was an awful lot of effort to go to just because she felt like it. He would have to make it up to her somehow. Yet he couldn't deny that it tasted good as he took a piece of food up in chopsticks, sticking it in his mouth and chewing before a groan of delight escaped. "This is really good, Mikuru"
 
"I-I'm not expecting you to repay me or anything," Mikuru waved her hands in the air in protest, "Its... Its more of my way of trying to show my appeal, I guess?" Her face turned a deeper shade of red upon realizing that she had spoken that last bit out loud. She began to quickly place bits of food into her own mouth piece by piece as an excuse to stop talking, although her large round eyes continued to bounce between the food before her and the boy seated beside her. When she finally calmed down, she once again turned to Kyon, "I think just being with you is enough, and I wanted to share some of that happiness with you."

The flowery mood practically vanished when a certain loud friend of Mikuru's burst into the room, her signature laugh reverberating off the walls, "Hey there! I know you asked me to wait until after lunch to fill you in on that intel you asked me for, but some of this stuff is just too good to keep quiet about, you know what I mean?" Perhaps Tsuruya and Koizumi had gone to the same seminar on how to instantly ruin the mood. She carried a stack of folders with her which she promptly set down onto the table with a loud thump.

"I mean, jeez, I don't even know where to begin, but this Nagato Yuki person certainly has made it hard to find anything out about her," Tsuruya laughed, "How did you even learn about her, Mikuru?"

"I... Uhm... Kyon asked me about her, actually," Mikuru deflected the subject, unintentionally unloading her friend's gaze onto him instead.

"Oh, is that so?" Tsuruya looked him over with interest, "I hope you aren't dragging cute little Mikuru into anything dangerous..." She then shrugged, "Anyway, this is all I have been able to dig up about this person over the last day. I put some of my best people on it, too." Exactly what sort of background support this girl commanded was sometimes rather intimidating to say the least. "But from what I can tell, Nagato is a world-class information technology expert and lead research director of some secret research development team. Well, Nagato's father is anyway... Yuki Nagato seems to have inhereted some of the family's brilliance and she was supposed to be attending our school this spring, but for some reason she has never shown up for class even once."

"What confuses me is why someone like her would even consider attending our school... I mean, the research facility her father works on probably isn't anywhere near here, and he's got to be rich from all those grants and what-not he must be getting, so why would he bother sending his daughter to some no-name school like ours?" Tsuruya shrugged, "Other than the name on the roster, I really can't find any evidence that she even exists, let alone anyone who has even met her in person."
 
"Huh?" Kyon looked at Mikuru in growing confusion and astonishment as she mentioned trying to show her appeal, among other things. Of course she seemed to realize what she had said with immediate embarrassment, but the damage had already been done. Now that Kyon had heard it he couldn't exactly unhear it. He gave her a bit to recover anyway before she finished, sampling some of the food in the meanwhile. "Did Haruhi suggest this," he asked then, zeroing in on the culprit he deemed responsible. Given what had happened and what had been said yesterday, it seemed possible if not likely.

Nonetheless he smiled, taking another bite as he sat across from his apparent childhood friend. "Thanks," he replied, some embarrassment of his own blossoming into existence. Fortunately, or not, he wouldn't have to go on as Tsuruya entered the room with a familiar laugh, saving him from making a fool out of himself even as she destroyed the mood. He wasn't sure whether to be happy or not, so he simply resigned himself as he relaxed.

"Oh, hey Tsuruya," he said with a nod, before perking up at the news that she was here to tell them what she had learned about Nagato. He already had some idea, of course, but hearing it straight from the green haired girl would be all the solid confirmation that he needed, and he watched as her presentation began, folders scattered on the table with careless regard.

He shook his head defensively, suddenly faced with Tsuruya's piercing and protective gaze as he shifted backwards, hands raised to defend himself. She had quite the punch, that much he knew for certain. "No, of course not," he replied, adding a verbal defense to that as Mikuru unintentionally deflected potential ire upon him. But it was alright. "It's just a long story, that's all." Longer than they could know, especially if Mikuru wasn't a time traveler like she seemed to be.

Having long since come to the determination that Tsuruya was connected to some sort of crime or yakuza family, Kyon was unsurprised to hear of her connections, and the lengths they had had to go to to track down the elusive alien. The background was interesting and Kyon had to wonder how much of it had been fabricated, or if Mr. Nagato actually existed. More concerning was the news that she had been meant to attend their class and yet hadn't. Was it the result of the Data Entity changing its mind, Asakuro, Haruhi, or something else entirely? The fact that even someone like Tsuruya couldn't find any trace of her actually existing was more than a bit worrying, as far as this whole thing meant.

"Thanks," he said once she had finished. "Sorry for taking you on a wild goose chase." Well, he didn't feel all that bad, but it wasn't the most pleasant news he could have gotten. Now he would have to figure out how to handle this while Nagato wasn't in this reality to help out. It would definitely be difficult.
 
"N-no... This has nothing to do with Ms. Suzumiya," Mikuru shook her head emphatically, "Why would you even think that? I mean... Even if it was Ms. Suzumiya who encouraged me at first, I'm here with you because I want to be." She seemed a little hurt that he would even suggest that her actions arose from anything other than sincere affection for him, but little time remained in which to dwell on the subject as Tsuruya crashed into the room with her intel report. She listened intently to her friend's words, but she seemed a bit uneasy throughout all of it.

"Who said it was a wild goose chase?" Tsuruya grinned, "I said I did not find any evidence that she exists, but that doesn't mean I didn't find a nice hint as to where she might be..." She held up a thin folder with the words top secret clearly stamped on the front cover. She probably added that little detail herself just to make it seem more genuine, "But that's all you'll get for free. I mean, sure I did all the work for Mikuru, but that was before I realized she was just going to turn around and hand it all over to you unconditionally."

She waved the folder around in the air, "If you really want it, then you'll have to offer me something in exchange... I promise you that you won't be disappointed, assuming you actually want to meet her that is."
 
While Kyon might have unintentionally offended, there was no chance to explain with Tsuruya's arrival. If he had, he probably would have cited that the sort of sentiment that Mikuru had expressed wasn't exactly typical of her, at least in his own experience. But that might have been another error, so it was another saving throw by the green haired girl, who seemed to have quite the remarkable sense of timing. Unsurprising, as he knew.

While he had resigned himself to going it alone, she quickly attracted his attention back with a folder marked 'Top Secret', presumably her own work, as she taunted him and made the promise of assistance that he might be able to use in his search. Again, not much of a surprise given her personality. He would just have to convince her to give it to him somehow, so he could get on the search for Nagato and unraveling this problem.

The request for the info though was quickly shot down, Tsuruya teasing him as she requested something in exchange. That earned a dull and disapproving look from him, features set as he sighed in slight disbelief. Well, what could he possibly offer her? Certainly not money, since he was fairly certain that she was richer than he was. "Okay, fine," he ceded at last. "What do you want? I don't have that much to give you for it." This was patent blackmail!, he raged, even as he recognized the irony of that coming from what might be a daughter of a crime family. Just his luck, it seemed.
 
"T-tsuruya-san, please stop teasing Kyon," Mikuru protested on his behalf, "I'm sure he has a very important reason for needing to see her." She looked over at her friend with pleading eyes, the sort of eyes that a puppy might give her master when begging for a treat. It was utterly irresistible, and as such even the mighty Tsuruya felt compelled to bow to her wishes.

"Oh, so you've decided to give me a blank check? Well, I hardly mind," Tsuruya sighed, "Just don't compain when I decide to cash it in... And I certainly do intend to, once I think of something particularly interesting to demand from you." She set the folder down onto the table and walked toward the door, waving to her friend just before leaving, "I really don't understand what you see in him, Mikuru, but that's your business and not mine. Take care, k?" And with that, the would-be crimelord vacated the premises.

Mikuru looked between the folder and Kyon, evidently rather curious concerning the contents. Submitting to Tsuruya's whims was a dangerous move, indeed. Hopefully whatever clue she had stored away in that folder would justify its steep cost.
 
Kyon ignored Mikuru for the moment, lest he fall afoul of whatever devious charms she could bring to bear to sway Tsuruya to do what she wished. He knew of the influence she had over her companion, even if it was simply platonic affection. He'd heard enough of that fan club to know that. Coincidentally, he was left to wonder if that fan club still existed in this universe, or if that was just in his original one.

"I'm sure I'm going to regret this," he replied matter of factly as Tsuruya lorded over the fact that she now had a blank check from him. It couldn't be that terrible, whatever he came up with, even if he knew that she would eventually turn to cashing it in. He would just have to be prepared for the time, assuming that it happened before he had solved the current problem that had her jumping dimensions. But it got the job done, and she departed with the folder still on the table.

He looked to the folder and then to Mikuru, smiling anew. "Thank you," he reiterated, glad for her assistance. He never would have gotten Tsuruya to do this otherwise. "Trust me, this is important." But with little else to stop him, he flipped open the folder and began to read, examining the contents and making sure that Mikuru could see. Just where in the world was Nagato?
 
((Edit: Somehow managed to mix up Nagato's clue with Mikuru's))

Inside the folder lay two pages, the first was a handwritten map centered on a certain street on the west side of town. A red circle had been drawn around one of the appartment buildings. It was not too far from where the Nagato from Kyon's world lived, but the housing in that particular area was not as nice as the accomidations his Nagato enjoyed. On the second page there was a single line of text, reading, "Sleeping Beauty"

Mikuru blinked and read over the two words a few times, but it never seemed to click in her mind exactly what significance they might have. "Sleeping Beauty... As in the story of Sleeping Beauty?" Mikuru inquired, although she did not seem to be asking anyone in particular. For Kyon, however, the words would not be meaningless. Sleeping Beauty had been the clue his own Nagato had sent him while Haruhi and he had been trapped in the other world. At the time, it was a vital clue to what he needed to do in order to prevent the world from ending, but what did it mean to him now? Furthermore, how had Tsuruya even gotten her hands on such a piece of information?

"Do you want to go visit Ms. Nagato this afternoon, perhaps?" Mikuru looked over at Kyon, making the reasonable assumption that the indicated location was her current place of residence.
 
Kyon had been expecting another report, but reacted calmly as he found a map inside instead. The map was handwritten indicating effort on someone's part, and it was centered on a particular street on the west side of town, a red circle demarking an apartment building. His eyes scanned the parchment, identifying the location and noting where it was in relation to where Nagato used to live. Interesting. But it was only until the second page that the shock kicked in. He froze, mind racing as he took it in, the implications present with just those two words.

Sleeping Beauty. A reminder of the last time the world had come crashing down, and had been remade by an alien to suit her own agenda as she broke down under the strain of over ten thousand months on repeat while being powerless to intervene. He had worried that Nagato wasn't here, but the presence of those two words abolished it in an instant. Mikuru might not get it, but he most certainly did.

at the question he broke out of his stupor, looking over to her before nodding. "Sure," he agreed. "If you want to come with anyway." He still wasn't sure how much of the truth she knew, but meeting Nagato might destroy all of that. It was not a decision to make lightly.
 
"I'm not sure what all of this is about, but..." Mikuru paused for a moment before continuing, "It sounds like it might be an adventure, the kind that Ms. Suzumiya talks about." her hands tightened into tense fists, "I don't know how much help I will be if I come along, but I would like to learn more about all of this..." Her eyes peered over at him with deeply-set interest, "Could you at least tell me what sort of person this Ms. Nagato is, and why you want to meet her so badly?"

Answered or not, Mikuru seemed determined to find her own answers to her questions, and to this end she decided to come along with him to the specified location. She might not have been a time traveler in this universe or have any real connection with Haruhi other than the mutual understanding they shared, but she certainly carried with her the same hessitant bravery with which she had followed the other brigade members during their misadventures in the other universe. Granted, she might not have been particularly useful in such instances as the camel cricket, but at least she put forth the effort.

As classes for the day ended, Haruhi left Kyon alone, presumably to give him time and space in which to interview, or interrogate, whatever passersby might have information concerning will-o-the-wisps. Kyon, however, had other matters on his mind, matters only somewhat related to the mysterious floating objects she had arbitrarily labeled fox fires or will-o-the-wisps.
 
The question Mikuru posed was difficult, if only because Kyon didn't know if she was the same in this reality as she was in his own Nonetheless, he would try to answer as best he could. "Well, she's smart but pretty emotionless, and doesn't care about herself all that much. She likes books and reading, and will usually lend a hand if capable of doing so." It was truthful enough, though he would be harder pressed to provide an explanation if she wanted to know how he knew that. His head bowed slightly then when it came to motivation, but he continued to try and do his best. "She does the same sort of thing that Koizumi does for Haruhi, just in a different manner. That's why I need to meet her."

Still, it seemed that Mikuru was set on her desire to join him, and he wouldn't deny her that. It would be useful to have her with, and given the relationship that they apparently had he couldn't deny her wish to come with. It would all work out, assuming that Nagato was actually there, and this wasn't some sort of trap created by Asakura to get rid of him. There was only one way to find out.

At last the day came to an end, soon enough, and he was glad to see Haruhi leaving him alone, presumably believing that he would be interviewing people like she had requested. He would do that soon enough, but for now he was distracted by the thoughts of what was going on, the looming meeting and the like. But there was one thing to handle first and he went to do that, headed to his shoe locker to heed the message of a particular will-o-wisp from last night in this universe. What had it wanted? Now he would learn.
 
"I don't really understand," Mikuru admitted, but left her observations at that. Perhaps she resolved that she would better understand the situation if she witnessed their interaction personally, so she held off passing judgement. In any case, she let the topic drop, instead turning her attention to their forgotten lunch which they would have to finish before the lunch break came to a close.

When Kyon reached his shoe locker, Mikuru stood at the front gate waiting for him to join her, giving him a measure of privacy when he looked over the wisp's message. The message took the form of a simple printed block of text which had been folded into thirds and placed into an unsealed envelope. From top to bottom it read:

"Dear Kyon,

The Data Observation Rift Entity sends you greetings, Kyon. If you are reading this, then it means you have taken the path to resolving the current crisis involving your universe and that of many others, and for that I would like to extend my personal thanks. My messengers promised you additional information and proof of my conclusion that Yuki Nagato is a threat to our success. I do not believe she is doing so at a concious level, nor do I wish to accuse her of intentionally placing the well being of millions of sentient beings at risk. However, I cannot ignore her involvement and the percived benefits she might perceive given the current circumstances.

First and foremost, Yuki Nagato esteems your happiness and satisfaction above that of members of the universe more significant than yourself, namely Haruhi Suzumiya and even her own superiors. Instances of this occuring are too numberous to point out and should by now be an understood fact. This in itself presents a problem, because it may directly conflict with the second drive behind her actions.

Secondly, she desires that you, as a person, care for her in the same way. However, in order to both satisfy her first and second drives simultaneously, she must ensure that your desires allign with hers, and to do this she must make it appear as if it is in your best interest to give your full attention and care to her.

I, as The Data Observation Rift Entity, care nothing for personal relationships or the involved parties. However, in this case it has full relevence. You are the primary mover in each of these universes that have become linked to each other, and as such you have become a highly influential and integral part of how each of the universes relate to each other by virtue of the fact that your conciousness literally forms the links between said universes. Emotional links between yourself and the same equivelent person in each universe will cause the universes to become more closely linked as they share more in common.

With this in mind, please proceed with caution. I will meet with you personally in two days' time from when you open this letter.

Sincerely, The Data Observation Rift Entity."
 
While he wasn't sure how he had missed it in the morning, Kyon took the envelope with growing interest. He flipped it open and began to read, wondering what it was that the Data Rift Entity wanted to say to him. After all, presumably it was behind the wisps in the three universes, so it was the one who wanted to talk to him. Hopefully he wouldn't have to do this another time in the other universe as well.

Yet as he read, he began to frown, paper crinkling in a tightening grip as he scanned the page down to the bottom. What was this? He could comprehend it, yet he didn't want to believe it. It seemed that the Rift Entity was determined to make Nagato out to be the enemy. Sure, he remembered what she had told him, but that was to help her get better, right? She wouldn't lie to him. But if the Rift Entity was right, then it wasn't even a conscious action on her part. Uncertainty grew, even as the situation complicated itself.

The news that they would meet in two days was all the more worrying for that, but there wasn't something he could do about it. He would just have to be prepared for the meeting, and hope that he could get answers when the time came. But for now he needed to find Nagato, and see how things stood in that regard in this universe. That would definitely have a major impact on what happened here.

With that done he folded the letter back up and slipped it into his bag, before making his way to the school gates. "Sorry for keeping you waiting," he said to Mikuru as he drew near, coming to a stop beside her. "Should we get going?"
 
"Oh, that's no problem at all," Mikuru smiled as he approached her, "I was hardly waiting at all, in fact." She nodded and stepped over to his side as the two set off for their destination. The trip itself was rather unremarkable, with Mikuru making occasional jabs at idle conversation in order to pass the time and ease the tension of anticipation. The path they took wound around side streets for the most part, as the more direct path cut down on traveling distance significantly.

As they turned one final corner, the appartment complex slid into view. Unremarkable in terms of size or design, the building itself resembled commonly-seen affordable residency at its most mundane. Still, the significance it bore gave it a somewhat uneasy presence, as if the most mundane could also be the most unnatural. The simple metal staircase stood before them, along with the realization that they had been given the location but not the appartment number of the one they sought.

"I'll check the appartments on the first floor," Mikuru suggested, "We can just check the name plates and see if Ms. Nagato lives here, or it is unmarked, we can take note of any missing name plates."
 
"That's good," Kyon replied with a smile and a nod as Mikuru reassured him that she hadn't been waiting long. He assumed that it was true for the most part, though he also knew that she probably wouldn't have complained all that much if it had actually been along time. Or perhaps she might have, with those cute eyes and that devastating pout of hers. Well, given that it hadn't come to pass there was n point in dwelling on it. Just another thing to be left for the sanctity of his mind and imagination. Or rather, the perversion as Haruhi would call it.

Together they set off, following side roads and headed towards the apartment complex that had been pointed out on the map. He did his best to maintain a conversation, though things that were more long term were harder to comment on even with the knowledge he had. Hopefully Mikuru didn't find too much of a problem with it, and Kyon promised himself that he would make it up to her when he got the chance.

At last they arrived at the apartment complex, finding it pretty unremarkable and low key as one might expect. Scanning the rooms, Kyon came to the same realization as Mikuru as he glanced back down at the message and the map. Well then, that was a problem wasn't it? "Alright," he agreed with a nod. "ill get the second floor. We meet back up at the entrance if we don't find anything." Together they could handle this easily, and the sooner they found Nagato the better.

With her agreement he would head off, climbing the stairs and heading down the spartan hallways to check name tags and the various rooms, searching for Nagato's name or something he recognized. they had come this far, so they couldn't just run into a dead end now.
 
The appartments themselves possessed no particularly exciting details, other than the rather advanced security locks affixed to each of the doors. Each number printed on each dwelling bore as little significance as the last, until Kyon came across one particular door. The room bore no nameplate, but the presence of a camera mounted just above the doorway would lead anyone to believe that the room either housed a particularly paranoid resident or served some auxiliary purpose.

In the mean time, Mikuru continued looking over the first set of appartments, her own search bearing no substancial leads. She walked in short, careful steps and looked down the long hallways left and right, her hands clutched tightly to her chest. Her wide eyes scanned from side to side, the tension and doubt beginning to build within her as she pressed on in the search. The air dipped in temperature as the sun continued to fall toward the horizon and its warm afternoon light began to fade, drawing long shadows across the city.
 
Kyon walked at a calm pace, quickly scanning the various name plates as he circled the entire second floor of the apartment complex. It seemed that there would be no immediate luck in his search, though he was quick to note the security camera positioned above one of the doors in a way that seemed uncharacteristic for this place. He stopped for a moment and made a note of it before moving on, resolving to come back once he had determined that Nagato wasn't actually in one of the other rooms.

At last he finished his sweep, confirming that Nagato wasn't on any of the name plates. With that he would drop back down to the first floor to find Mikuru, approaching her at a walk. "No sign of her name on any of the plates," he told her. "But I think I found her room." If she came with he would lead her to the second floor and the room with the security camera, indicating the importance of the person inside it.

He would glance over to his friend, seeking confirmation for what he thought before he stepped up to the door, rapping on it in a sharp burst of noise. "Yuki Nagato, are you there?"
 
Mikuru jumped a few inches when she heard footsteps approaching her, whereupon she quickly took refuge behind a nearby corner. Peering around it, she spotted Kyon's familiar silhouette and calmed herself before stepping out, whispering to herself as a verbal tension release, "Oh... Its just you..." A slight flush of emberassment still lingered on her cheeks, but otherwise she recovered rather quickly. She nodded in reply, following after him to the second floor without further note, her footsteps short and quick so as to keep pace and stay close to him.

Upon reaching the door, Mikuru's eyes widened, "I... I think I'll let you go first, ok?" She peeked out from over his shoulder as he approached the door and gave it a sound knocking, one that would doubtless alert any and all occupants. At first, nothing at all happened. Not the slightest sound gave an answer to his call. Then, abruptly, the deadbolt unlocked and the door creaked open to reveal a thin line of view, and the face of a certain alien he knew so well.

"I thought I told you that we could never meet in person," Yuki's voice whispered through the crack in the door, "But since you are already here, it must be important. Come inside." She stepped back from the door and granted the two of them entrance. Just past the doorway, none other than Yuki Nagato stood, wearing soft, fluffy pajamas. She also still wore her glasses, an indication that her battle with Asakura had not occured in this universe. She motioned toward the room just down the hall, the apartment itself only dimly lit. Past the entryway there was a small kitchen to the left, but Nagato instead led them to the general living area that also served as her bedroom. She sat down on the floor and motioned for Kyon and Mikuru to do the same.
 
It was slightly amusing to see how Kyon had managed to surprise Mikuru upon approach, but he didn't give it too much thought. Instead he would lead her to the room, allowing himself to take center stage in whatever happened next. It was his problem after all, so she shouldn't have to be the one to deal with this at the word go. However, he did forget that perhaps he shouldn't have come here with Mikuru after all, since now she might learn about his body jumping and that he wasn't the real Kyon, if she didn't expect already. Oh well.

Knocking, he was left to wait and to wonder if he had chosen the wrong room after all. If it was the case then this would be quite embarrassing, and beyond that it would leave them back at square one since they didn't have any other leads. But fortunately his pride was saved as the door swung open to reveal Nagato looking at him through a thin crack, still wearing her glasses and generally uninterested in his presence by appearance. But he was used to that sort of thing by now so he paid it no attention. He was more just hoping that she still was an alien, and not human.

"It is," he confirmed, taking the recovery offered to cover the fact that he didn't remember talking to Nagato or her telling him this in a different way. Well, it was. He was just confused as to why they couldn't have contact. More interference and worry about Haruhi, or was it something else?

With the gesture he entered the apartment, walking past the kitchen into the living room and sitting down there, waiting for Mikuru to do the same with the patience that he was known for. It was a strange environment, sure, but hopefully his confidence would be enough to get her inside. One would hope, anyway. Once she had, he would look back to Nagato, ready to begin this whole conversation. "So Nagato, I take it you know about the colliding universes already?"
 
"Yes, the current state of affairs demands our utmost attention," Nagato nodded, "However, as you have brought Ms. Asahina here, I assume you trust her judgement in handling the information we will be discussing today. Just to clearify, I will explain the situation briefly." She then turned to Mikuru, "I am Yuki Nagato, a humanoid interface assigned to observe Haruhi Suzumiya and the autoevolutionary data that she generates on a subconcious level. As the Data Integration Thought Entity possesses no direct means to communicate with humans, interfaces such as myself were created in order to more directly observe and interact with humans. For the past three years I have performed this function, yet the Data Integration Thought Entity has deemed it necessary that I maintain a distance from Haruhi in order to prevent errors from developing within my own data."

"With that established, a greater threat than has been recorded before has developed," Nagato explained, "For reasons unknown, several time planes have been drawn closer together, the ensuing conflicts from the time planes resulting in unstability, and if allowed to continue, their mutual destruction." She then turned back to Kyon, Mikuru's dazed expression showing that she had some difficulty processing everything Yuki had just told her, "I presume that it is this incident that has prompted your unexpected visit?"
 
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