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The Unwilling Slider [Azecreth & Wingshadow]

"Alright," Mikuru nodded, "I'll ask Ms. Tsuruya about it, then. I'm sure she will come up with something, so just leave it to me." She popped the last bit of her lunch into her mouth and stood up from her seat, waving to Kyon before excusing herself from the room. "I'll talk to you later, Kyon. Thanks for sharing your lunch with me," she gave him one last nod at the door, "I'll be sure to make it up to you soon..." Doubtless she had her own classes to attend, and arriving with mere seconds to spare certainly did not look good for one of the upperclassman students to do. With that, she stepped out and her light footsteps carried her down the hallway leading from the old school building.

Sure enough, the room appeared much like it had been the first time Haruhi had shown him when she first proposed the idea of her new club. It seemed that Nagato had not joined the literary club, and it had been disbanded without any new members, leaving it open and free for whoever decided to use it. Haruhi's absence during lunch, however, was not particularly odd as she had a habit of vanishing during said hour while going about whatever it was that occupied her mind at the moment.

Thankfully, Haruhi did not burst into the room in her usual fashion, or at least not during the lunch break as the time came to a close. Instead, by the time Kyon returned he would find her sitting quietly in her seat, in that deceptively quiet and normal manner. When she behaved in such a manner, it was often difficult to tell to the untrained eye that she was anything other than a beautiful, intelligent, and athletic young woman. Those calm eyes of hers foretold a storm, and who but Kyon would be caught in the center of it.
 
"Don't worry about it," Kyon said with a wave as Mikuru excused herself, soon leaving him alone in the empty clubroom. He would admit that while this place was strange, especially the lack of Nagato, it more than made up for it with his current relationship with Mikuru. It was a far cry from how standoffish the girl had always been before, due to her nature as a time traveler. And at least this way he didn't have to get accused of being a perv or something, and decked by Tsuruya, or something.

The room was...very empty. It reminded him of before the SOS Brigade had been formed, but without Nagato around to keep the Literary Club alive. Though if he had to be honest, even before the Brigade Nagato could really have passed for another decoration in the room, rather than a living being. And without her, there wasn't much of a change, though he was fairly certain that there were less books here than there would have been otherwise.

Eventually the lunch break came to an end, and Kyon packed up his finished lunch before returning to his classroom before the bell could ring. It was all part of the normal routine really, in spite of the change in location, and that was almost mirrored by the impression Haruhi gave off as he returned to his seat. But he knew better than that, and the way she was acting now meant that Kyon was in for it later, whether it be something personal, or a general scheme for the SOS Brigade. Either way, he was sure that he would find out soon. But for now, he would relax, enjoy his peace, and get through school as best he could.
 
With the end of classes came the beginning of troubles, as Haruhi stood up abruptly from her seat and approached him, drawing some bits of paper from her desk as she did so, "Hey, Kyon... Do you know those lights people keep seeing at night?" Her tone was more calm and even than expected, expression strangely blank as she continued, "They are called fox fires, or will-o-the-wisps, right?" She placed the papers down onto his desk and spread them out, each one a cutout from a seperate newspaper or magazine. "A lot of people have been seeing them lately. At first it was just in the local park and I really did not think much of them. After all, people see strange things every day but they don't usually think much of it. That's one of the reasons why the mysteries of this world are so hard to find... People pass by them without thinking twice about them."

Haruhi shook her head, "Anyway, the sightings have been spreading out into the city, too. See this one right here?" She pointed one out one article that listed a sighting by one of the students at their own school, "This one appeared close to school, even. The weird thing is, people only see them when they are in small groups, only one or two people or so, and nobody has ever gotten a picture of one. Pretty strange, right?" She continued to babble, getting more excited as she continued, "And you know what else is even more weird? Apparently the light they make doesn't even cast a shadow and people have even started seeing them in the more urban parts of town, not just the parks and forested areas. It makes you wonder if they are some sort of message from another world, right?" Her eyes began to sparkle, but all at once the shimmering faded.

"So... I was wondering if you wanted to go looking for them, the fox fires, that is," Haruhi asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "You know, just the two of us." The mere fact she did not simply grab him, threaten him, or force him to comply was odd enough as it was. Was this even the same Haruhi as he remembered?
 
Once classes had ended, Kyon was unsurprised to find himself approached by Haruhi about something, the girl producing papers to add to whatever it was she wanted. He was intrigued to find that it was the will-o-wisps, like from this morning, but there was plenty more to distract him from that slightly odd fact. Specifically, the way that Haruhi was acting as she talked to him about it.

It took practically all his effort to keep from staring with a dumbfounded look as she went about her explanation. There was a hint of the old Haruhi in there, mostly towards the end, but otherwise it was wildly out of the norm for her. There was logic, reasoning, evidence for the wild claims she was making, and in the end, even legitimately asking for his opinion! And without the use of force, threats, or simply ignoring everything he said! If it weren't for the fact that he was pretty sure this universe shouldn't exist, he might even say that this was an improvement above the norm, and not in the weird way that the universe Nagato had made before was.

Still, there was something off about it all, the dead look that Haruhi wore in her eyes. What had happened to do that sort of thing to her? Kyon had the feeling that if he could unravel that, it would go some way to explaining what had happened here. Though he had the nagging suspicion that it involved the lack of one 'John Smith', given the absence of time travelers in the SOS Brigade.

Well, unusual or not, he knew his place, and he wasn't about to let her unintentionally destroy the universe because she wasn't happy with how things were. So he rose from his seat and began to back up as he glanced over at her. "Tonight? Sure," he said then. He wasn't aware of anything going on, and Mikuru would have mentioned it before if they had plan for tonight. So he could devote the time to appeasing Haruhi, for everyone's sake.
 
Then it was Haruhi's turn to look dumbfounded, "What? So easily?" She blinked, as if expecting him to put up some amount of fight or at least protest. Haruhi then regained her composure almost instantly, a pleased smirk across her lips, "Well, I suppose that just goes to show that with enough effort, even Kyon will cave and admit that he likes this sort of stuff." She waved her hand in the air, placing the other at her hip, "Alright, then... Meet me at the street corner in front of the library in four hours, got that? If you are late again this time, then its the death penalty!" Haruhi's face practically lit up with joy as she bolted from the room, happiness pouring forth from her very being. If she had become any more pleased, perhaps the cherry blossom trees might have started blooming out of season again.

Even as Haruhi passed by, a certain someone watched the proceedings with interest, but did nothing for the time being. His right fist tightened by his side, a gesture that perhaps even he himself did not realize he made. Instead, he simply turned and watched as Haruhi skipped down the path leading to the school's front gates. Once her form had vanished completely, he placed both his hands into his pockets and tilted his head back, staring at the dull grey ceiling above him.

At the appointed time, Haruhi stood at the street corner, a rather large bag slung over her shoulder as she glanced about, watching and waiting for a certain high school student to appear. She had put a coat on over her school uniform, indicating that she perhaps planned on searching for these so-called "fox-fires" late into the night. The sun had already dipped below the horizon by then, the only visible lights being that of the street lights above her, lining each side of the road, and the distant moon, whose pale, almost ominous glow shimmered brightly amid the night sky.
 
"I have been swayed by your logic," Kyon admitted with a slight bow, the reaction he got leaving it less certain that it was simply the absence of John Smith that had resulted in this. The fact that she was surprised by being able to convince him so easily made it sound like he was more obstinate than his old world, whatever might come from that. He'd have to keep that in mind, going on. Still, the way she lit up was much more familiar to him, and he would admit to feeling a bit good at being the one to inspire such happiness. So long as it didn't go to her head, then it would be alright.

With her gone, he packed up his stuff and headed out of the classroom. It would be a long walk back to his house, and he wasn't quite looking forward to it. Still, he had to hope that it was the same, or else this would be awkward. The last thing he needed was to find out that the location of his house had been moved in the process. But that seemed to not be the case. And once finding out, he could prepare for later.

He would arrive at the street corner a few minutes after Haruhi, riding is bike like he usually did. He too, wore a coat over his clothes, since he knew enough about Haruhi's mindset to anticipate that they might be out a while looking for will-o-wisps. Experience had made this quite obvious to him. "Hey Haruhi," he called, once he had left his bke in a rack and made his way over to her. Time to get this over with, as far as he was concerned.
 
Haruhi's head turned in his direction when he called, a slight shimmer of light catching her eyes as she returned his greeting, "Hey, Kyon." She stepped over to him, placing her hands into her coat pockets as she did so, "Come on. Its not like we can keep them waiting forever, right?" A simple smile spread out over her lips as she said this, turning to walk along the sidewalk that ran alongside the empty road. Other than their footsteps and voices, not a sound could be heard. The wind had died down into complete stillness, the faintest of clouds above them starting to gather and cast a thin haze across the moon. It was as if the city itself had forgotten this place, forsaken by all but the two of them who against all rationale patrolled the area in the middle of the night. Perhaps the world had forgotten, but Haruhi certainly had not.

Haruhi set a casual pace, one that Kyon could easily match if he so wished. She walked in silence, as if the solitude and calm surrounding them had penetrated even her. Perhaps it hinted at something else entirely, however, with how much less boisterous this Haruhi was compared to the one Kyon had become more accustomed to. She glanced about the empty side streets and alleyways that they passed by, meeting neither human nor animal during their aimless wanderings. This was not particularly unusual considering the time of day, but something about it just felt off.

"Hey, Kyon..." Haruhi stopped abruptly, "Do you know where we are?" She drew her right hand out of her pocket and pointed to the street sign, "I keep trying to get back to a main road, but every time I turn left I end up crossing this same street again and again. I don't think we are going in circles, either. Pretty weird, right?" She looked over at Kyon, her expression a mixture of excitement and worry.
 
Kyon nodded in agreement, glad to have escaped the death penalty likeshe warned him about. Though thinking about it, his Haruhi would have slammed him for it even if he was but a minute late. It was another thing to add to the list of how weird she was being. But he kept that to himself, placing his hands in his coat pockets as he followed along, surprised yet grateful to see her moving at a pace that would allow a reasonable human being to keep up with her. "Right," he agreed as they set off, even if he was but humoring her.

The time afterwards was, more surprisingly, in silence as they walked along. He had expected her to be full of observations, musings, and the like, but she kept silent as they moved. While he did appreciate it, it only spurred more wonder in his head Haruhi, what happened to you? Whatever it was, it must have been big. Though he didn't think they would find anything here, he did his part, looking around for glimpses of that elusive fire, the will-o-wisps that she had said would be about. But for the moment though it seemed that they weren't attracted to skeptics.

He paused then as she did, a hum escaping as he glanced towards the indicated street sign. It was true that he had felt that something was off, but then again that had been fairly submerged in the general wrongness of this entire universe, which he knew wasn't the real thing. "We're by the library," he replied matter of factly, before following her question. "Are you sure you aren't just imagining things because you're trying to find something?" He hadn't noticed himself, but then again, he hadn't been looking. He would have to pay more attention.
 
Kyon's comment earned him Haruhi's scowl, and she then replied, "That is where we are supposed to be, idiot. I wouldn't get lost around here, either, since I come by here a lot." She turned and withdrew her hands from her pockets to place them at her hips, leaning forward slightly in order to further emphisize her displeasure, "And another thing, I don't like that tone of yours. If you did not want to come along, you did not have to. You agreed to come along, so quit complaining and try doing something useful for a change..." She sighed and pointed to the street sign once again, which defiantly displayed "Route 6142" for all to see, "Look, I'll to check something out and you stay right here until I get back. Don't you dare wander off by yourself again, you got that?" Without further ado, Haruhi ran down the street, crossing Route 6142 as her legs carried her out of sight remarkably quickly.

Kyon was left alone to his thoughts once again, as the thin mist began to thicken, the clouds above gathering until the moon could scarcely penetrate them, appearing as a simple dull glow like a flashlight hidden under a thick blanket. The air became colder too, or at least it felt colder, even though the wind remained absent, a continual reminder of just how empty the world appeared at the time. Then, as abrupt and unexpected as a flash of lightning in the middle of a summer day, something drifted just inside Kyon's field of vision.

It shimmered with a dull blue glow, shifting this way and that without any particular pattern or form. Centered within the glow was what appeared to be a snowflake shape which slowly rotated at his center point, ever turning at the same gradual pace. It approached Kyon, sliding back and forth first toward him, then away, but the forward movements were greater than the ones pushing it back, so that it slowly proceeded toward the hapless student. While appearing nothing at all like the usual form a fox fire or will-o-the-wisp would take, could this strange thing possibly be what the students had been seeing recently? Whatever the case may have been, it did not appear overtly hostile in the very least.
 
Now that was more like the usual Haruhi, and Kyon bore up with her as he usually did. It affirmed what he had suspected, that the girl he knew wasn't totally lost, just hidden away. It meant that things weren't totally different. Strangle, it provided a sense of comfort even as he was insulted. Which was less fun, but he had dealt with it before. And if he were to be honest, he was basically nitpicking anyway. She wouldn't have brought it up if there wasn't some credence to it, even on a subconscious level.

"Yeah, I got it," he replied nonchalantly, shrugging as she gestured to the sign and ordered him to stay in place. He doubted that it would come to anything, but at times like these he found it best to humor her. Then they could get on with their search, and to whatever ended up coming from it. Which would probably be nothing, but knowing Haruhi, all sorts of things might end up taking place.

So she ran off while he stood in place, settling further into his jacket as he glanced around, waiting for her to return. It was getting cold, and he couldn't help but notice the fog rolling in. That was very strange for this time of night, but he thought nothing of it. There was a reasonable explanation somewhere, even if he couldn't think of it himself. It wasn't as if he knew everything that there was to know around here, especially with time travelers, espers, and aliens to contend with .

Then, suddenly, it appeared. Kyon would have facepalmed for how obvious it was that things would happen once Haruhi had run off, but he was too busy being transfixed by the dull glowing object. He watched with increased nervousness as it drifted closer to him, seemingly intent in it's motions as it advanced towards him, inexorably and in an obvious pattern. Yet for the moment, it didn't seem to be hostile towards him, which he was grateful for. The last thing he needed was to run for his life.

"Hey, what are you," he asked then, the tint of fear in his tone as he shied back and away from it. Was this thing even intelligent? Could it communicate? Given that it had come from Haruhi's mind, there was a good bet that it was. So he would just have to try and see, before anything else happened. "Can you understand me?"
 
When Kyon spoke, it stopped abruptly, no longer drifting closer to him as it hung motionless in the air. It continued its slow rotation, however, casting its dull glow on its surroundings. To his first question, it offered no reply, but to his second a soft, emotionless tone issued from it, or at least it seemed to come from it in the very least.

"...Yes..."

It shimmered for a moment as the gentle voice spoke through the wisp, the light vanishing along with the voice. The fog continued to thicken at an almost alarming rate all the while as the temperature continued to plummet. "...Distance... Collapsing..." Breaths would form clouds of ice crystals before long, but even so the wisp continued to speak in short, broken words strung together with long pauses without any particular method to them.

"...Careful..."

"...Seem... Danger..."

After a long pause, it spoke once more.

"...Nagato..."

With that, it began to drift away from him, as if its sole purpose there had been accomplished, even without properly explaining anything at all. In fact, its broken words only raised more questions, most of all its parting word. How did Nagato have anything to do with this, especially when he had yet to even see her in this world?
 
Kyon wasn't sure what he had been expecting when he said those questions, but it definitely wasn't to have been actually answered. First it stopped in the air, which was surprising, but not to a serious extent. That mean that he had been right, and it could understand him and what he was saying. Which was good, as far as this whole state of affairs was concerned.

Then it spoke, prompting his eyes to widen as it addressed him. Sure, it was emotionless or whatever, but it didn't change the fact that it was speaking to him, and glowing brighter every time it did so. Around him he could feel the fog thicken, see his breath hanging on the air, but that didn't matter as he confronted what most definitely was not a will-o-wisp.

He listened on bated breath, trying to understand what it was saying as it spoke basically gibberish, something about danger (which wasn't a surprise), distance, and what he might usually expect in a situation such as this. IT seemed that Haruhi had gotten him used to such things.

Then the last word, causing blank shock to flash and hold his features. "Naga...to?" How? How was the name of the as-of-yet unseen alien on the lips of this being? Was she in some sort of danger? Or more likely, how was she involved in the situation at hand? The fact that he had yet to see her here definitely indicated, and this confirmed it more powerfully than he could have ever hoped for.

Before he could ask further though it began to float away, leaving him with many more questions. But he would not simply allow that. "Hey, come back," he called, starting to run after it if he was able to do so, fighting against the cold and lethargy in the process. "What about Nagato? Hey!"
 
The cold began to bite at him so intensely, it weighed down his shoulders and slowed his movements. The wisp moved quite slowly, however, so he could keep up with it relatively easily at first. As it continued to retreat, however, its pace gradually increased. When he called to it, it replied, but its words were much more faint than before making it difficult to piece the words together.

"...Fragments... Error..." its softly whispered replies issued forth, even as it began to drift from one side of the road to the other, "...Data incomplete..."

"...Kyon..."

"Shoelocker."

With that final word, the wisp simply vanished in time with Kyon's next blink, the frigid air and fog vanishing instantly alongside it, leaving Kyon once again completely alone in the empty street. Not long afterward, rapid footsteps drew closer to Kyon, indicating that a certain young woman had found her way back. Haruhi slid into view, a stern scowl across her features, "Hey, you idiot! Didn't I tell you not to wander off? Jeez..." She placed her hands onto her hips and sighed, "Whatever... It seems like they aren't going to come out tonight, and I'm cold and tired, so lets just call it a night..."
 
Kyon grunted with effort and exertion, his limbs feeling like they might freeze off even as he tried to keep up with the rapidly fleeing object. Dang it, this thing couldn't just drop that information on him and then run off! It was obvious that it knew something, so couldn't it at least give him an idea before taking off, something to follow or pursue to get on the path to setting the world right?

He grimaced, straining his hearing to try and figure out what it was saying. And in that, it took him by surprise yet again. 'Data incomplete'? That could mean all sorts of things, like it didn't know or something like that. And yet it knew his name, it knew who Nagato was. That meant that there had to be something of value there. Right?

Then that last directive, calling him to his shoelocker. Truly, it was a place where he seemed to communicate with the supernatural and unexplained, so he prepared to receive a note there tomorrow at school, even if he would have preferred answers now. But there was no time for that, as it vanished in the blink of an eye.

He looked around in surprise to find the fog and cold suddenly gone, seemingly and obviously related to whatever had just happened. And somehow he had the feeling that trying to call out for it wouldn't yield any results. He would simply have to wait for school tomorrow. But there wasn't so much time to think on that as he turned to see Haruhi running up, wearing a familiar scowl as she began to berate him for moving from his position. It earned a sigh as he bowed his head slightly, glad to be back to the usual.

"I didn't wander off," he protested. "I got cold too." And moving was the best cure for that. It was a lie that would suffice since he couldn't exactly tell her the truth. Even now it would be more difficult to tell her the truth of the SOS Brigade, and he had a feeling that she wouldn't believe him."If you say so," he then replied with a shrug. Admittedly he knew that they weren't going to find anything, but he had to keep up his act for Haruhi. She would expect no less.
 
"Fine," Haruhi shrugged, her patience having worn thin enough to accept whatever explanation he offered, "I'll see you at school tomorrow then..." She turned and struck off without another word for what one could assume was the direction of her house. Her back practically commanded Kyon not to follow her, her silent footsteps carrying her under the dull, starless night. In the wisp's absence, the air felt considerably warmer, but it still did not feel particularly comfortable. Some of the usual nighttime sounds began to emerge, as if returning from exile. The distant sound of a dog howling and insect wings mixed with the whispers of a gentle wind. All was as it should be, but at the same time nothing was.

Mikuru and Haruhi's relationship had changed, as had their respective relationships with Kyon. Koizumi remained the same smirking bystander as he always had been. Haruhi had changed the most, with some unknown shifts within her past. Nagato remained unseen, her whereabouts unknown. The exact reasons for these changes, and absence of changes, remained a mystery, one that was in some way related to these "fox fires" that Haruhi had wished into existence. As the day came to a close, however, no answers had revealed themselves, only more questions as the mystery continued to deepen...

----------------------------
 
"Of course," Kyon replied nonchalantly as Haruhi stomped off, still in that anger he was so familiar with. He watched her back for a little while until she turned out of sight, before shrugging to himself and moving towards their starting point, and his bike, as well. It was a bit cold, but bearable for now, as he began to bike home to get some sleep. With how later it was, that would definitely be welcome, as far as he was concerned.

As he rode along though, his mind turned to the matter at hand, and how strange this universe was. He and Mikuru were closer, since she presumably wasn't a time traveler. Haruhi was radically different for unexplained reasons. Meanwhile Koizumi was basically the same, Asakura was going to show up soon, and Nagato was nowhere to be found. It was definitely odd, and worrying. Well, he supposed that he could sleep on it. Maybe that would provide some inspiration.

Arriving home, he would get ready for bed, deal with his sister, set the alarm clock, and then head off to sleep. He had the feeling that it was going to be another busy day tomorrow.
 
-------------------------------

"Hey," a distant voice called out to him, one that was both oddly familiar and yet so out of place at the same time.

tap tap

Someone nudged Kyon on the shoulder, presumably the person to whom the voice from earlier belonged.

"Hey, you big idiot," the voice, undoubtedly Haruhi's by this point, continued to berate him, "You have some nerve..." When Kyon opened his eyes, he would find himself seated at his desk at school in the exact same pose he had been in the day before. Only this time, Haruhi's head happened to be resting on his desk, a playful smile playing on her lips as her nose rested mere inches from his. Had Haruhi orchestrated some sort of elaborate ploy to get back at him for his behavior earlier? Was Taniguchi hiding in the curtains silently laughing at him? Whatever the case may have been, it certainly was no laughing matter.

"Did you have a good nap?" Haruhi lifted her head off the desk and placed her hands onto her hips proudly, "I blocked no less than five eraser bits and three wads of paper for you during class. Aren't you glad?" Did she expect to be praised or something? Without pausing to hear his reply, she continued, a broad smile across her lips, "Come on, lets get going already!" Reaching out, she took hold of his arm in both of hers and began to tug him. Taniguchi, who sat nearby, simply gave the two of them a fatigued look, as if he had seen such a scene far too many times before. Some of the girls in the class glanced in their direction and giggled before gathering into groups to eat their lunches or out into the hallway to head over to the cafeteria.
 
Kyon groaned a bit as he heard the tone, unaccompanied by the heavy weight that would have been his little sister jumping on him, or the forceful removal of his blankets which otherwise would have taken place. Dully, he realized that that was because he wasn't in the bed that he had fallen asleep in, but rather...somewhere else.

His eyes flickered open, to find Haruhi bare inches from his face, wearing a playful smile at the same time, which he knew from so many experiences spelled doom for him. And yet he couldn't help but be confused, shown by his apparently total apathy at the moment. He was at school? How was this possible then? While initially he considered it as being just a prank, with all that had happened it seemed incredibly unlikely. It was just too weird for a simple prank organized by Taniguchi. His mind flew next to a time loop, like the one that had taken place in the end of summer, but he hadn't been able to remember those, and yet he could definitely remember going to sleep.

"I did," he replied matter of factly, trying to interpret what was going on. Haruhi was being a lot more playful this time, and not abusive towards him. Which was very odd, by her standards. And she had only called him an idiot thus far, which was less than he had expected. Fortunately some things were the same, such as a casual disregard for what he might have to say on things, though her comment about her success earned a look of confusion on his part. Haruhi had defended him? Nobody threw stuff at him in the first place! He wasn't remarkable enough for stuff like that anyway.

Rising from his seat, he quickly grabbed his stuff before he could be pulled away. "Haruhi, hold on," he protested, for what it was worth. What was going on here? Already he was missing the sweet day of kind and considerate Mikuru Asahina. Oh well. Though by the same token, he couldn't help but notice Taniguchi's look, even if he treated it the same as he usually did. It was either jealousy or pity, and he was used to both. So he wouldn't think too much of it as he followed after Haruhi. Time to see what she had planned this time.
 
"Resistance is futile!" Haruhi giggled, tugging Kyon along after her regardless. Even if her behavior had not strayed all that far from the norm with her demanding nature, her demeanor had some amount of gentleness to it, however, especially since she seemed to care enough to refrain from simply grabbing him by his tie and pulling him along like an owner dragging her dog without consent. In any case, Haruhi's goal became more or less evident when she took him along with her to the club room, only releasing him once they had passed through the doorway.

The club room had undergone yet another transformation, one that resembled the original room to a greater degree, as the computer, tea set, and cosplay outfits had made a miraculous return, but in other respects it had changed. The seat at the desk was far more luxurious, and there were bean bag chairs stacked up in the corner of the room that Yuki Nagato often occupied. Furthermore, there were pictures standing up on the desk, pictures that featured all the brigade members at various locations around Japan... All the brigade members except for a certain alien, that is.

Haruhi, however, had ideas other than considering the absence of a brigade member. She stepped over to the table and plopped herself down into one of the chairs, setting her lunchbox down in front of her in the process. Exactly when Haruhi began actually eating lunch at school remained a mystery, but here she was, insisting that Kyon of all people share the lunch break with her. Had sharing lunch break between the brigade members become some new trend?

"So, Kyon," Haruhi continued to beam at him with her energetic smile, "What do you think we should investigate this weekend? I did some research over the past few days and found some pretty promising leads." She spread out a number of magazine and newspaper clipping stacks, each one organized according to a particular supernatural phenomena. Notably, there were more than a few pages with foxfire sightings across the front. "The mysteriously disappearing flower pots sounds pretty tame, as it could just be someone messing around," Haruhi nodded, "But it could just as easily be something else entirely..." She popped a sausage into her mouth, watching Kyon intently, perhaps even playfully, "So... Anything catch your eye?"

As if on cue, Koizumi and Mikuru filed into the room at nearly the same time. "Oh... I see that Ms. Susumiya is punctual as always," Koizumi smiled, taking a seat at the table as well. Mikuru silently made her way over to the costume rack and picked out the maid outfit, slipping out before Haruhi had the chance to forcibly dress her. Thankfully for Mikuru's sake, Haruhi seemed far too occupied with Kyon at the moment to even notice her.

"Oh, hey," Haruhi waved to Koizumi once she finally acknowledged his presence, around the time Mikuru had returned in her frilled attire, "I suppose I should get your input as well." The timid girl started preparing tea at once, waving a silent hello to Kyon as she did so.

"Why, thank you," Koizumi smiled, picking up one of the magazine clips featuring a temple, "We took a day trip nearby here a few months ago, didn't we?"

"That's right..." Haruhi nodded, "But we didn't find anything all that interesting there. I mean, none of the monks even knew any secret techniques or how to form their ki into blasts."
 
Resigned to the current state of affairs, Kyon was hardly taken aback as they traced familiar pathways to the clubroom, as usual. Indeed, he was more surprised by the current lack of strangulation, as she contented herself with holding his arm rather than yanking him along by his necktie. He wasn't complaining, of course, but it served to add to the state of confusion that he felt like he was in constantly now. Just what was going on here?

Arriving in the clubroom, there was a bit of relief to see that it was back to normal for the most part Thank goodness. Such well thoughts were fleeting though, as he noted the changes. The chairs were nicer, there were a bunch of bean bag chairs, and also a bunch of photos. Which, to his consternation, did not contain the alien that he knew so well. That, in turn, only spurred further questions. What had happened to get rid of Nagato so thoroughly? For a moment he suspected that the Integrated Data Entity was involved, but he quickly dismissed that. They wouldn't have been so obvious about it, not after the threat he had made to them. Someone else had to be involved.

Like usual, Kyon moved to his traditional seat, taking a moment to enjoy the seat before he opened his lunch. Yet glancing across to Haruhi, he couldn't help but notice how surreal this was. He couldn't recall the last time he had seen her eating at school, and now here they were eating together. If this ended with a kiss, he might just do something else he wouldn't expect.

"Hm?" Kyon perked up a bit, albeit slightly, as he began to eat while listening to Haruhi. It was another odd thing to add, the fact that she was actually asking for his opinion beyond claiming to do so and then just making the choice that she wanted anyway. It was actually a bit nice, though he had a feeling that it wouldn't last.

Before he could answer though, Koizumi and Mikuru made their entrance together, the former coming to a rest near him, while Mikuru slipped into the traditional maid outfit that was such a comforting and warm sight. He waved back to her with a slight grin as she began to prepare tea, already looking forward to the delicious brew. Hopefully that was one thing that hadn't changed.

Then what Haruhi said registered, and he resisted the urge to rub his forehead in exasperation. Some things were the same indeed. "Because real life doesn't work like that," he pointed out in turn, even though he really shouldn't need to say something like that. But when it came to Haruhi, he was, as always, the lone sane man.

Looking over the newspaper clipping, recently memory filtered back as he fixed on one thing. The fox fires....Nagato...There had to be something there. Even if the other time hadn't worked out, maybe it would now. There was only one way to find out. "This looks interesting," he said at last, nonchalantly gesturing to the relevant articles and clippings in between eating. He just had to convince Haruhi that it was worth looking into, and he would be set.
 
"Well then, we just need to work harder to make real life more interesting for the common people," Haruhi shrugged, "If we let things go as they are, then nothing will ever change. We won't ever go into space or explore the edges of the universe with that sort of attitude." She smiled, "Come on, Kyon... You won't discover any of the mysteries of this world without putting some effort into it. That's why we are here, to inspire others to seek out and explore those mysteries and put them to work within the world." It seemed that the SOS Brigade's purpose had shifted somewhat, from an eclectic grouping of paranormal people to an organization with a purpose outside of preventing Haruhi from recreating the world at the mercy of her whims. Of course, this could still have simply been the stated and not the actual purpose of the club. Whatever the case may have been, the other club members posed no objections to her statements, as usual.

When Kyon uttered those few words in reply to Haruhi's question, Mikuru froze in place amid setting down a cup of tea for Kyon, almost as if she had been paralyzed by some unseen force. Her gaze turned upward, a look of confusion and worry clearly reflected in her eyes. Koizumi's eyebrows raised slightly, the conversation having taken an unexpected turn, but offered no verbal comment for the time being. Haruhi, however, leaned over the table, her eyes wide with excitement, "Oh? You think so? Explain your choice... Just what about this made it stand out from everything else I have gathered so far?" Her eyes shimmered, eagerly awaiting his reply as this was a rare opportunity when Kyon of all people actually expressed interest in such things.
 
Kyon grunted in a noncommitted manner as Haruhi went on one of her rants, berating him for his lack of faith or something like that. It sounded like the situation here was different, the SOS Brigade made for some more noble purpose than amusing Haruhi in order to keep the world intact. But he would believe it when he saw it. He knew better than to simply fall for her rhetoric, without actions to back them up. And in this new world, he most certainly did not have anything to do as such yet.

Of course, he couldn't help but notice the various reactions to his suggestion, but there wasn't much he could do to address Mikuru's strange look as Haruhi inquired further as to his reasoning. Did she know something about what was going on at the moment? He could only hope so. For now though he could only wait, and hope to talk to her later about it.

With that decided, he glanced down at the various articles, gesturing to it as he answered. "Fox fires are caused by natural gas deposits igniting above the surface, right?" Somehow he was getting very informed about that particular topic, though as of now it served to help him develop his argument. "I think it's petty unusual that all these places would have stuff like that that no one noticed before." The exact same reasoning that Haruhi had used on him before, he used on her now. Here was hoping that she was persuaded by it.
 
"Sure enough," Haruhi nodded before turning to the other two, "What do you think about it?" Mikuru quickly set down the cup of tea and retreated from the table, holding the tray up in front of her face with her eyes peering out from over it. Koizumi quickly spoke up, however, covering for her lack of responsiveness, "Well, if you think it is worth looking into, then it is certainly something we should investigate. I will ask my uncle if he has any leads, but we can start the ground work whenever you like."

"Excellent!" Haruhi beamed, "Clear your schedules for this weekend. We are going on a full-scale field operation, so be sure to come properly equipped. Our meeting place will be outside the city library, and we will patrol the entire area from nine until one in the morning. I'll fill you in on more of the details when we arrive. Until then, I expect all of you to keep your eyes and ears sharp for anything strange or unusual, even if it doesn't seem related to our current case, got that?"

"Of course," Koizumi nodded, always the agreeable one despite whatever fanciful nonsense Haruhi spouted. Mikuru simply nodded without replying verbally. The poor girl looked far too frightened to defy Haruhi, but at the same time did not feel comfortable with what she suggested they spend their precious weekend doing.

"I expect great results from you as well, Kyon," Haruhi grinned, "Don't think I'm letting you off the hook."
 
Kyon glanced over at the other two club members, still intrigued by why Mikuru was acting that way , as if there was something to be shy about. He'd ask when they were alone, but he had the feeling that he'd get a lot of 'Classified Information' if he asked, if she even knew what was going on. But for now he simply had to hope that they agreed. Which Koizumi did, after a fashion. That was just another good thing for him, it seemed. Now he could begin his investigation for real, to figure out what was going on here.

But then, in typical fashion, Haruhi decided that anything worth doing was worth overdoing, exercising her dictatorial right over his weekend schedule to get them for the entire weekend. Like usual, really. He'd have complained but he was used to it at this point. Instead, he merely grumbled in his head at how unjust it was. Why hadn't this changed with the nicer Haruhi?

"Got it," he replied in a resigned tone as she turned her authoritative gaze on him, demanding that he give it his best. Well, he would. Just not for the reason that she was probably expecting. With all that had happened, he needed answers. And it seemed that these things were the only way to get it. So for now he would settle back, to engage in idle conversation now that a decision had been reached, and to enjoy his lunch. It would all be fine, he was sure of it.
 
As the topic of discussion shifted, Mikuru calmed down sufficiently to join the others at the table after serving out the tea, without anything of note being discussed from that point on. In the very least, Haruhi did not demand full command of the conversation, allowing the others to have their time to bring up whatever topics they desired. In time, however, the lunch break began to pass them by and before long Mikuru and Koizumi stood up from the table and prepared to return to their respective classes.

"I should go get changed," Mikuru waved to Kyon, "I think I will head over to my class on the way back from the restroom, so don't wait up for me." With that, she nodded to Haruhi and Koizumi before slipping out, seemingly relieved to have an excuse to leave the room. Koizumi had a much more convincing reason to leave, as his own classroom was quite a walk from the clubroom, "I'd love to stay and chat a bit longer, but I really must be going as well. I will make the necessary preparations for our field work this weekend and report back to you when I have results."

"Good," Haruhi nodded, adding with a friendly wink, "I'm counting on you as henchmen number two."

"It will be my pleasure, as always," Koizumi nodded back to her, then at Kyon before leaving as well, leaving Haruhi and Kyon alone once more.

Haruhi, for one, wasted no time in capitalizing on this. In fact, she made her way over to Kyon's seat almost as soon as the door shut after him, placing one hand on the table and the other on his shoulder as she leaned forward, her face mere inches from his. She smiled, a gentle softness in her expression that rarely graced her features, "Hey, Kyon..." She leaned forward even further until her forehead touched his. Just what did she expect from him?
 
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