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The Unwilling Slider [Azecreth & Wingshadow]

"Fox fires?" Nagato blinked in evident confusion, "To my knowledge, no phenomena bearing a resemblance to 'fox fires' have been noted within the current plane. Perhaps it is a peculiarity present only in the other planes." Oddly enough, whatever the fox fires were, they had not drawn the attention of either the Data Integration Entity or Nagato.

She took note of his motions and returned to her seat, once again placing her hands on her lap, "If such a phenomina has a bearing upon our current circumstances, then it would be best if we understood the role they play. As the rifts strengthen over time, irregularities will begin to influence the flow and progression of data within the planes. This is merely conjecture, but perhaps these 'fox fires' are the first observable sign of such."

She lifted her right hand and waved to Kyon, giving him a slight nod, "Until we meet again..." Even with her parting words, she still watched him until he would leave her field of vision entirely.
 
Kyon frowned, both in confusion and worry. He knew what he had seen, what he had heard. And yet somehow Nagato nor her superiors had noticed it? How was that possible? To hear it definitely didn't sit well, but he had to leave it be for the moment, it seemed. If they didn't know, then there was nothing they could do. He would just have to investigate on his own, perhaps in the other planes, to see what he could turn up. Then they could begin working on a solution to this whole mess, however it came about.

"Alright, see you later," he said with the barest hint of hesitation, before waving to her and then stepping out the door. Given the lack of, well, Nagato, it didn't seem as though he would need to poke into the clubroom as well. Oh, and it was late as it was, so he might as well head home, and see what he could figure out in the meanwhile. With everything here concluded, he slung his bag over his shoulder and headed for the exit, to make the long trek down the hill and back home.
 
As Kyon headed home for a day, a figure watched him as he left. A calm, almost satisfied smile spread wide across the figures' face as he began his long trudge home as the sun began to dip below the distant horizon. No words, however, were to be spoken. After all, the circumstances demanded no words at all. With the day concluding, so did the cycle, and with it the circumstances surrounding Kyon would only become more bizarre...

--------------------------

"Hey," a distant voice called out to him, the pattern from before having become rather familiar to such an extent it had almost become routine. The universe, or whoever happened to be driving this crazy train of events, granted Kyon no space in which to relax.

tap tap

Another nudge, more insistent than before. The roughness felt similar to Haruhi's, but lacked that biting edge that had almost been forgotten. When Kyon opened his eyes, he would instead be met with Taniguchi's concerned stare. "Hey, man... What's wrong? You're a bit out of it today," Taniguchi sighed and shook his head, "How the hell are you such a deep sleeper? I mean, I'd assume you'd learn to sleep lightly with all the weirdness you've managed to get yourself into." Thankfully, he did not linger on the subject, placing his hands into his pockets before standing up straight, "Just try not to overdo it, man... Haruhi was glaring at you the entire class period." With that, he made a timely exit from the room, leaving Kyon to his own devices. Haruhi had already vacated the classroom, presumably unaware of the nuttiness surrounding her fellow classmate.
 
Groaning, Kyon found himself waking up for the third time in the middle of the day, with all he things that that entailed. If what Nagato had told him was right, he should be back in his starting point now, and the person waking him up, as well as what Taniguchi said, confirmed it. For better or for worse, he was in his original plane, with all the suffering and abuse that came with it. He'd barely been awake for a minute and already he missed the other two planes, where things were more oriented in his favor.

"Yeah, I know," he replied as Taniguchi left, sitting up and looking around the class room. The only bright spot was that he would be pretty good when it came time for the rest of school, if he could survive to that point. But with how angry Haruhi probably was at him, it seemed unlikely he would make it there. Actually, he was a bit surprised that she hadn't woken him up herself. But he wouldn't complain about that.

So, with that decided upon, he grabbed his bag and rose from his seat, making his way to the clubroom. Time to face the music, and Haruhi. Hopefully he could make his way through it so he could talk to Nagato, and get her working on the problem here. A man had to have pririties after all.
 
When Kyon entered the room, Haruhi stood behind Mikuru who had already donned her maid uniform, an oddity as Haruhi usually waited until after classes had ended before insisting upon it. Granted, Haruhi being in the club room at all during lunch was an odd enough change despite the familiarity of her surroundings. Koizumi sat across Mikuru at the table, playing a simple game of Othello while Haruhi stared ominously over her upperclassman's shoulder. The one remaining member of the SOS Brigade, Yuki Nagato, sat in her usual seat in the corner. Perhaps it may have simply been the way the midday sun streamed in through the window and blazed down upon her pale skin, but Nagato appeared somewhat frail, some of the color drained from her very being. When Kyon entered, she glanced up from her book, momentarily meeting his gaze before turning her attention once more to the book laid out before her.

"Hey, its about time," Haruhi turned to Kyon, "Take a seat... You all need to hear your marching orders for this afternoon." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, stepping over to her desk and sliding herself up onto it, legs crossed over each other as well in an authoritarian pose. Haruhi looked over her helpless minions, two high school boys and two highschool girls, with an air of superiority, "Alright... Koizumi has managed to pull together some supplies, so I'll be accelerating my plans somewhat. We will split into three teams, since the fox fires only appear to small groups of people. You'll be in charge of your own instruments, so be sure to learn how to use them properly so we can record the results of our search. If anyone happens to break any of the instruments, it will be the death penalty, so you better shape up... You got that, Kyon?" She stared directly at him for a moment before continuing, the monologue trailing off somewhat to different, unrelated topics before she finally tired of her speech and slid off her desk.

Haruhi then defiantly slammed a cup down onto the table, containing five toothpicks, "Let's draw for our teams now so we can be ready as soon as classes end today." As luck would have it, Haruhi once again was placed by herself, Mikuru with Koizumi, and Nagato with Kyon. This last straw compltely confounded Haruhi, and she tossed her blank toothpick aside in a thoughtless manner.

"Meet up at the library so we can divide the materials evenly, and you better not be late," Haruhi huffed, leaving the room without further ado. Nagato, having vacated her seat in order to draw her toothpick, slipped over to her seat silently without comment.
 
Arriving at the clubroom, Kyon was somewhat surprised by the state of affairs there, Mikuru already dressed up, Haruhi present, and something being....off, about Nagato. Well, actually, after the past tow iterations it wasn't that weird, but he didn't comment on that. Instead he took the time to admire Mikuru's outfit as he moved into the clubroom, muttering a greeting as he took a seat in his usual spot at the club table. From there his lunch was produced, which he was growing tired of at this point, and he sat down to wait for what he knew was coming.

It was the usual bombastic Haruhi plan, with little regard for the opinion of anyone else, as she laid out what it was that they would be doing this time to hunt the fox fires. He was motivated to see then, it was just that this did nothing to really kindle his enthusiasm. 'Yeah, I got it," he grumbled at her comment, ranting in his head. You think she would trust me with this sort of thing after we made that movie. Since he had been the camera person, he had to be good at it.

With that decided on unilaterally, they went on to pick out toothpicks to determine who the teams would be for this little search, and Kyon couldn't help the slight look of relief that flashed across his face as he found himself in a team with Nagato, rather than the whole draw being rigged so he would be with Haruhi. With the people here, he certainly would have expected it.

"Right," he replied at last as she warned them not to be late, before walking over to go do whatever it was she did during the lunch period. He turned to his lunch, taking it a bit quicker since he already knew what it would taste like and didn't feel the need to savor it as much, though he made an exception for any tea he got in the meanwhile. That heavenly brew was too good to waste so savagely.

After a few minute she paused, glancing back to look at the alien in their group. Thinking on it, she did seem a bit pale. Was she feeling under the weather? Could aliens feel under the weather? Or was it related to what he knew was going on? He would ask more in detail tonight, but for now he simply leaned back a bit in his seat as he turned to face her. "Hey Nagato, are you alright? You look like something's wrong."
 
Nagato slowly lifted her eyes from her book, which she had laid out in her lap as soon as she sat down. She had not seemed to have read any of it during the time between sitting down and Kyon's comment, however, as she had not flipped a single page since then. Her gaze slowly fixed upon Kyon, or rather they failed to fix upon Kyon, as she seemed to be staring right through him, her eyes lacking a clear focus. Briefly glancing in the general direction of first Mikuru then Koizumi, the humanoid interface replied, "Deviations are still within acceptable limits. There is no need to worry."

She blinked twice, and for a moment she stared at him with that same intense stare as the Nagato from the other universe had stared at him with. It only lingered for a moment, the space of time between her second and third blink, instead once again replaced by that dull, unfocused gaze. She then closed her book and stood up from her seat, making her way from the room with small steps carrying her as she closed the door behind her, book clutched to her chest. Mikuru looked back and forth, apparently completely at a loss of what had just transpired in the room. Out of the group, only Koizumi seemed to catch onto the more subtle nuances her actions implied.

"I suppose it is something she does not wish to speak of in front of the two of us," Koizumi once again flashed that irritating smile of his, "I wonder if it has something to do with Ms Suzumiya's sour mood." He folded his hands together on the table, "In any case, a little caution is always a good thing... I am a little hurt that Ms. Nagato does not feel like she can trust us. I would like to beleive that we are all on the same side here. Even if we all have different goals and interests, we have worked together before and I would like to continue to do so in the future." He rose from the table, slinging his book bag over his shoulder in the process, "She trusts your judgement, if our past adventures are any indication of her true feelings, and I certainly do as well. I just wonder what it could all be about... Fill me in on it later if you think I could be of any service." With that parting gesture, Koizumi as well vacated the room, leaving only Kyon and Mikuru in the clubroom.
 
Kyon's worry only intensified as details stood out, the fact that Nagato hadn't turned a single page in her book, then the look that she gave him which seemed to not recognize that he was present at all. At least, not in the way of the Nagato that he was used to. Even her claim that she was fine didn't inspire much confidence. "Hey, Nagato, hold on," he protested, only for her to completely ignore him as she left the room, book in hand, leaving the rest of them behind.

At least he wasn't the only one taken aback as he glanced over at the other two club members, who seemed just as confused as he was. Well, besides Koizumi, but Kyon knew how good he was at hiding his true feelings. As well, he found it hard to object to what Koizumi said, even though he was the most aware of the problem. Could the colliding planes be having some sort of adverse effect on this Nagato? It seemed the most reasonable and likely explanation, given everything else that had happened here.

Then Koizumi was gone, and with a sigh Kyon turned back to face Mikuru, who seemed somewhat lost as usual. "Well, I guess I'll talk to Nagato when we go exploring for those fox fires later today." It was fortuitous that that had been arranged, and now all he had to worry about was making sure that Nagato actually showed up to do it, and talked to him. No easy feat, but like usual it fell on him to do it.

With that said he went back to his lunch, eager to finish it before classes started once more. Time to do this all again.
 
Other than Haruhi's unpleasant glare focused on the back of Kyon's head, the afternoon period slid by without anything of note changing from the previous two itterations. She left without comment as soon as school had concluded, not that she often stopped to talk to Kyon but the difference in demeanor influenced everyone in the room to some extent. Sure, the two of them had been through rough patches, but it had never been quite so tangible before. Taniguchi offered an unsympathetic shrug before heading off, "Take care, man..." What was with people lately?

At the assigned meeting location, Haruhi had already divided the materials into backpacks, one for each team member. Mikuru and Koizumi's packs had already been adjusted accordingly, with the pretty girl taking a significantly lighter portion. Granted, exactly what she expected from a group of high school students remained a complete mystery, especially given that none of them were experts in this particular field of study. "You should have enough space on the camcorders to record any strange phenomina you find, so don't worry and just film whatever you come across. I'll look through it later frame-by-frame to make sure we don't miss anything." When she said "I" she likely had someone else entirely in mind for such a task.

Nagato had shown up as well, although she fared about as well as before, that drained look drawing concerned glances from the other brigade members present except for Haruhi. "The rest is pretty self-explanitory, so I won't go through that," Haruhi sighed, "Meet back here in two hours, and follow the routes I discussed earlier. If I don't see you back here at the assigned time, I'll hunt you down so don't even think about slacking off." Apparently Haruhi had slipped in directions at some point.

"Alright... Move out," she hoisted her own backpack onto her back and flipped the screen open on her camcorder before setting off south. Mikuru and Koizumi headed west, leaving Nagato and Kyon with either north or east. For what it was worth, Nagato simply looked over at Kyon blankly, perhaps realizing that she was in no physical shape to be lugging around a pack full of who knows what.
 
Fortunately for Kyon, the third repetition of class meant that it was relatively easy for him to deal with, at least in terms of getting down all the material. More annoying was the feeling he had like Haruhi was stabbing him in the back with daggers, though he didn't look back to check. Somehow he had the feeling that it would only end badly for him, so he would save himself the trouble. He'd find out sooner or later anyway.

"Thanks," he said to Taniguchi with the well wishes. It was odd though, at least from his viewpoint. Haruhi was unusually hostile for no reason that he could see, Nagato was acting weird, and Taniguchi seemed like he was apathetic. At the very least you'd think the guy would be celebrating the possibility of being with the hottest girl in class, though by this point he probably realized how bad of an idea that was. But some sympathy for a friend couldn't hurt, could it!

Meeting after school, he was unsurprised to find the bags already divided, with video cameras waiting. That was hardly unusual, and he was more concerned by Nagato's arrival, the alien still looking drained as ever. He wasn't the only one, but Haruhi continued to remain oblivious. Kyon idly found himself wishing for the other planes already, since at least she actually cared in them, unlike here.

"Alright, understood," he replied to Haruhi with all the mock enthusiasm he could muster,before the other groups walked off. That left it just him and Nagato, and he quickly realized, especially with that unnerving stare, that she wouldn't be doing anything at the moment. With a sigh, he picked up both bags, grunting beneath the weight. It was heavy, but he much preferred the inevitable back damage to Haruhi's wrath.

He would let them walk along for a few minutes before he spoke up, at last broaching the issue. "Nagato, I know about the colliding planes. I need your help," he said. As things stood though, he was worried that she might not be able to give it. Yet he had to ask, if only for his own sanity and belief in her.
 
Nagato allowed Kyon to hoist the two bags and carry them along with them on their journey. Thankfully, Nagato at least seemed to know where to go as she struck a path out for them to the east. She carried herself with her usual calm and somewhat aloof solemnety, which was only accentuated by her evident fatigue. Whatever had transpired had certainly taken a toll, one that she had not yet recovered from. This in itself held cause for concern, considering that she had sustained significant damage in her battle against Asakura yet managed to recover completely within a matter of minutes afterward.

When Kyon cut straight to the issue at hand, however, Nagato did not even flinch. She did not reply to his inquiry immediately either, however, only responding once the dull silence had hung in the air for some time. "My capacity to assist in resolving the current circumstances is limited. I have already attempted to sever the links drawing the planes together. However, there is another party involved, and they launched a counter-offensive as soon as they detected my program. They severed a portion of my attack matrix, and my self-repair algorithem has been compromised." She looked over her shoulder at Kyon as she walked, "In other words, the entity responsible for the links is keeping watch on our actions, ensuring that everything proceeds according to their wishes. Overt attacks are not advisable."

"However, I have gained valuable data concerning the entity as a result," Nagato continued, "It appears that the entity is a single being, with a limited span of attention and resources. While I am unable to launch another attack in my current state, if we can draw the entity's attention, I may be able to deploy an attack subroutine to undermine the linkages, one that may go undetected long enough to cause sufficient damage to the linkages to sever them." She stopped and turned to face Kyon more properly, perhaps to emphisize her point, "However, providing such a distraction is something I cannot do. The entity is drawn toward you. They have chosen you as the focal point."
 
Kyon grimaced against the weight but did his best, while making sure that he had the audio part of the video turned off 'on accident' so that Haruhi wouldn't be able to listen in on this conversation. That was the last thing they needed right now, even if he was distracted at the same time by Nagato and how she was doing. It seemed like she was sick or ill, yet from what he knew about ehr she shouldn't be. She had healed quickly before, so what was the problem now?

He waited patiently,giving Nagato the time that she needed, until at last she provided him with an answer. Yet it only served to heighten his worry, both for her, and the situation at hand. So there was someone else behind this after all? It wasn't an incredible surprise, yet the fact of what it had been able to do to Nagato was worrying in the extreme. If it could do that to her, what chance did he have of stopping it? It wasn't like Haruhi's monsters after all.

"I...see," he replied reluctantly, disturbed by all of this. So it was focused on him then? Well, he'd known that before but having this confirmation was less than pleasant. Still, at least it was something of a plan now, one that he could relay to the other planes when he had the chance to. It was better than nothing. "Well, I'll work on it. For now, you should focus on recovering alright? You're worrying me." He patted her shoulder carefully, as if scared that she would collapse under the gentle impact. It was unnerving to see her so fragile.

Kyon let them walk on for a bit longer, still no sign of anything, before he spoke up once more. "Oh, I did talk to the...other Nagatos in the other two planes. I'll let them know your plan." At the very least it might increase their chance of success, at least, one might hope. If she had any input, he wouldn't mind it.
 
"My condition is not critical," Nagato waved off his concern with her words, but in direct contradiction of them she rested her shoulder against his side lightly, a show of acceptance of his support, "There is no need to worry. I will only act when the circumstances demand it. Even if the chance of success is low, I will do all I can to stop it if we run out of time." Calm determination shimmered within those pale eyes, eyes which recovered a lively glow even as she spoke. "Also, do not worry about the recording. I am modifying the audio recording to contain dialouge that will not arouse Haruhi's suspicions." Nagato remained stalwart in her decision to do what she could, even if it was merely preventing additional complications.

When Kyon mentioned the other Nagatos, however, the one beside him blinked, her body tensing slightly, "The situation doubtless has caught their attention as well. Caution them concerning my efforts, but refrain from giving too many details. There may be better paths open to them that are closed to us, as there are key differences between the respective time planes." Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, "There is also something that concerns me about this entity's actions. Rather than delete the attack program that they severed from me, it has remained unactive at some remote location within the data. They may intend to study it and learn how to counter future attacks, but it may serve a different purpose entirely. Remain vigilent."

"The entity seeks to observe. Your actions within the other planes may provide them with something they lack, while other specifics may be deemed unnecessary," Nagato suggested.
 
Kyon was smart enough to not put an credence in what Nagato was saying, even if she insisted, and it was backed up as she leaned against him for support. It really was worrisome, and he could only help her as best he could, to ensure that she didn't have to invest any more energy in things besides recovering from what had been done to her than she needed to. He would be amiss to act otherwise, as far as he was concerned. "Oh, thanks," he added, when Nagato informed him that she was modifying the audio. Even like this, she was still looking out for him. It was nice.

"Right, I'll do that." He had expected as much, though he had planned to tell at least the one Nagato the entire story. He hadn't seen a reason to hide anything before, and it seemed as though sharing information would only make things easier. But if that was what she wanted then he supposed he would do his best to abide by it. It was more of a problem than the news about the attack program, though that had problems in and of itself. what if it tried to attack Nagato back? Given what had happened, he wasn't sure if she'd be able to fight it off, though he didn't voice that.

Another nod on his part then as they continued to walk along, his role in this affirmed. "I wonder why that is," he noted aloud. "Usually people focus on me because they want to get to Haruhi. But if this entity could fight you off and can manipulate the planes like this, why would it be interested in just me?" It wasn't as if he was something beyond a normal teenager attending school. Just another question that needed to be answered, it seemed.
 
"Simply because a person lacks significance based on an abritrary standard does not imply that they are altogether insignificant," Nagato countered, "I, for one, am able to comprehend such a concept." She then continued immediately afterward, giving him little time to contemplate whatever meaning might have been hidden within those words, "Out of the tens of thousands of individuals within Haruhi's immediate surroundings, she chose you out of all of them. This may imply similiarity of interest, but it may have other implications as well... In other words, you are a completely normal human, yet at the same time you are not by virtue of your circumstances."

"In the very least, you may be characterized as an unwilling slider," Nagato added, the extended pause perhaps hinting at the unexpressed amusement she may have felt upon uttering said line. She had little time to savor it, however, as something abruptly drew her attention. She pushed off from Kyon and took a few steps forward, positioning herself in front of him, just as something floated by swiftly, darting from side to side with only brief pale blue flashes announcing its presence.
 
"I know, I know," Kyon replied with a slight harrumph as Nagato pointed out the obvious with regards to his situation. It wasn't anything unusual, since he had heard this speech before, on several occasions in fact. It was hard to deny that, for all his normality, he was the one best able to affect Haruhi, and she had chosen him for whatever reason, if sch importance could be put into what might be a simple action. So he didn't really need Nagato to repeat it for him.

Another look of confusion was aimed Nagato's way, yet he couldn't help it as a light smile emerged. "I guess so." Maybe she had been more adversely affected by that attack than he had thought, if she was in the position of making jokes, which in and of itself was very un-Nagato like. Not that he was objecting to it, it was just the situation that made him nervous.

But there wasn't time to worry about that as Nagato suddenly moved, positioning herself in front of him as a blue light darted by in a flash, allowing him to catch only glimpses. "It's a will-o-wisp," he called out, stating the obvious even as he took a step forward. Wold this one try to converse with him like before, or was it just another natural phenomena? He could only wait and see what happened, he supposed.
 
"It is a data interface... However, I am unable to determine its origin," Nagato announced, as the wisp continued to dart back and forth, preventing Kyon from fully observing its form. A flash suddenly dove down from above, its decent aimed directly at Nagato, just as her lips moved in an abrupt blur. The bleam of light defelcted off an unseen field Nagato had deployed around them, crashing into a nearby wall as the wisp embedded itself in the cement. It popped out, its form identical to that of the wisp Kyon had seen in the other plane.

Nagato once again positioned herself between Kyon and the wisp, which hung motionless, slowly turning on its center. It bore an appearance distinctly that of a snowflake, its pale blue glow shimmering in the dim night haze. It moved once again, curving in a sweeping arc toward Nagato, an attack which she promptly deflected over and over again. Each time it never directly charged at her when Kyon stood behind her, instead focusing its efforts at driving the two of them apart.

"...Danger..." its soft voice murmured, "...Stand back..."

Nagato's lips began to move once again, her movements spiking in terms of speed and precision, "Initiating termination of data link to host entity..."

"...Danger..." the wisp repeated, not at all discouraged by Nagato's threat.
 
"Oh, I see," Kyon replied as he tried to see more of the will-o-wisp, trying to determine if it was like the one that he had seen before in the second plane. That would be the best way to figure out if it was something of important, and why the planes seemed to hinge around this event, at least at first. But with Nagato in the way it was hard going. Not that he would blame her for that.

Then suddenly there was a flash from above, a beam of light deflected off of an erected shield and sent embedding into a wall, where it revealed itself to be a wisp like the one that had he had seen before. So that was it! But such relief was short lived as the wisps started to attack Nagato, who nonetheless managed to deflect them all. It ended upl leaving Kyon even more confused though. Hadn't she said that whatever was responsible for this was just leaving the program there? Why were these things attacking Nagato? And what were they talking about?

"Nagato, wait," he called when she announced that she planned to eliminate the wisp, a hand raised as he took a step closer. He'd noticed the pattern as well, and it only made him more confused. But the best way to figure it out would be to talk to the wisp, which he couldn't do if Nagato killed it.

That worked out he turned his attention to the wisp, trying to speak to it. "What do you mean," he asked. "What danger? Why are you attacking Nagato?" Once more he would see if he could get answers, even f it came to nothing. At the very least he had to try, and that he did as he let his words hang in the air.
 
Nagato flinched upon hearing Kyon's command, the momentary pause sufficient for the wisp to dive in another swooping arc and strike her directly, sending her tumbling across the street. She quickly recovered her footing, jumping back up and standing firm within a few seconds, but by then it had succeeded in putting some distance between herself and Kyon. She suffered no visible wounds, but she held her arm by her side, staring blankly at the blue interface that separated the two. The wisp then instead focused upon the male student.

"...Relaying message," the wisp whispered, "The Data Observation Rift Entity sends you greetings, Kyon. The Data Observation Rift Entity desires to speak with you directly. However, this is currently impossible. This inferior messenger will relay the necessary information. Danger. Not all is as it seems. Hostile interfaces intend perpetuation of current state, and manipulate Kyon's actions accordingly. Hostile interfaces listed under name designation, Yuki Nagato. There are various errors in said interfaces' data, dividing own data into fragments which interfere with stated intentions and goals. These interfaces pose a great danger. Insufficent data to resolve corruption and spacial binding between planes. Requesting presence when able. Additional information placed at location shoe locker. End of message."

The wisp's brief message conveyed some rather sharp accusations concerning Nagato, labeling her as an imminent threat. She remained silent, however, simply gazing past the wisp at Kyon without comment.
 
"Nagato!" Kyon winced at the hit, honestly not having seen that coming. He had merely hoped to keep Nagato from destroying the thing, not intending her to get hurt in the process. Though it seemed like she wasn't harmed, he still felt bad about it. He took a step closer, ready to race over and assist her, only for the wisp to get between them, and he was more than smart enough to realize that while Nagato might be able to tank it, he probably could not survive a direct hit from that thing.

Coming to a stop, he had to strain a bit as the wisp began to relay a message from some 'Data Observation Rift Entity'. He had to assume that it was related to the Integrated Data Entity in some form, if only because that made sense in his mind. But he held his peace even as his worry grew, especially with growing horror as it named Nagato as a threat, and someone working to perpetuate the situation. But that couldn't be correct, could it? No, he refused to believe that that was the case. After all, she had no reason to destroy the planes, or cause a situation like this. Right?

When it finished, he looked past the wisp to the alien herself. "Hey Nagato, what's the 'Data Observation Rift Entity," he asked her. If anyone would know, it would be her. He'd prefer to know what he was getting into before he met this thing, and he wasn't about to throw distrust on the alien who had helped him so much since they had met.
 
"I have no information availible matching such a title," Nagato replied, her eyes staring past the wisp to Kyon directly, "It is possible that either the data entries availible to me are incomplete, or this particular entity has not yet been fully analyzed and understood by the Data Integration Thought Entity. The title it bears is likely one that it adopted of its own accord."

Nagato then continued, "The logic by which it has drawn stated conclusions remains unclear. Errors exist within my data. Abnormal behavior traits have begun to manifest themselves. These are indisputable facts. However, the corruption has not yet reached significant threat levels. The danger remains within acceptable limits." Once again, Nagato used that expression "within acceptable limits" with respect to her condition. Was she trying to hide something?

"I would advise against further contact with the Data Observation Rift Entity," Nagato continued, "The timing of its appearance cannot be ignored. It may have played a role, albeit unintentional, in our current circumstances. Furthermore, it has neither stated its intentions nor its purpose in contacting you."
 
"Ah, alright," Kyon replied with a nod. He found himself being swayed by what Nagato had said, especially without reason to think otherwise. The timing was awfully suspicious, and that fact that it had attacked Nagato was all the more worrying. He knew that she had deviated somewhat from what the Data Entity wanted for her, during that time when she had altered reality in the winter. He didn't need a reminder of that, though her continued insistence didn't help to ease his worry that something was more wrong than she was willing to let on.

He frowned then, looking between the wisp and Nagato. "Still, if it's willing to talk then that's good." It could provide the distraction that was needed for them to solve this, or if they were an unaligned faction now just emerging, they might have information that he could use. The effect of the wisps in the second plane was perhaps getting to him, but given that he was the one who had to solve this thing, he would use whatever resources as best he could to do it.

It wasn't hard to guess that he had to act fast, before the thing flew off again and left him to himself, given that he wouldn't have the chance to act on it before the next time he came around to this plane. "Can you talk with the other planes," he asked the wisp. Just as he had asked Nagato, it was important to know for his plans for the future.
 
In reply to Kyon's assertion, Nagato said nothing verbally, but as she swayed to the left then to the right, the unease of her stance conveyed a sense of discomfort and unease. Just what was it about this entity that put her so much on edge? Sure, beign attacked out of nowhere would put anyone in a bad mood, but her reactions bordered on paranoia.

"Error: Additional information necessary to answer inquiry," the wisp replied before slowly moving, apparently satisfied to leave Kyon and Nagato alone now that it had accomplished its purpose. Nagato for one made no effort to follow. In fact, as soon as it moved a sufficient distance away, she once again slid between him and the wisp, this time facing him instead with her arms held outward from her sides.

"Do not pursue," she advised him strongly, her intense gaze brimming with unvoiced concern, "Further divergence from our goal is unnecessary. If further contact is initiated on the data entity's part, I will resolve the situation myself." She seemed very insistant on this point, although her reasons for doing so remained ambiguous. The wisp, meanwhile had begun to drift aimlessly, sliding toward a nearby alleyway.
 
Kyon was disappointed to hear that the wisp couldn't answer his question, rendering it impossible to know if it could communicate between the planes in the first place. At that point there was no more time to talk as it began to float away, and before he could pursue Nagato had resumed her position between the two of them, ready to act against the wisp as need be. But this time she was facing him, and it seemed like she was more interested in preventing him from going after the thing than just stopping it.

Well, at this point he really had no choice but to give in, even as he gave Nagato a worried look once more. "Alright, I got it," he told her, waiting to see when she would be ready to resume walking on the route that Haruhi had laid out. Doubtlessly the tape would be altered so this encounter had never been recorded in the first place, and for now he could only watch as the wisp moved out of sight.

"I guess we should get going." Naturally Haruhi would punish him if they were late, and he'd like to avoid that if he could. So once the wisp was gone, and barring any objection by the alien, he would walk on. He was looking forward to getting this day over with. In the meanwhile, he had a lot to think about.
 
"Understood," Nagato allowed her arms to once again fall to her sides, her shoes turning to face toward the path before them. With the wisp gone, the circumstances no longer forced her to act so she resumed her usual passive acceptance. Her footsteps somehow sounded a bit heavier than before, the light sound of her body's weight tapping the cement below them reflecting the weight bearing down upon her. She cast a sidelong glance in his direction, her gaze lingering on his visage while walking beside him silently. The clouds of vapor from their breaths gradually faded along with the wisp's presence, but its words continued to linger.

"I will alter the data on the recording," Nagato declared blandly, "But doing so will require direct contact. Hand it over to me before we meet up with Miss Suzumiya." She blinked once, but made no effort to procure the camcorder from Kyon immediately. Given what he already knew about the extent of Nagato's powers, it probably went without saying that she would have no problem completing the modifications without Haruhi being any the wiser. Exactly why she made it a point to bring it up at this particular time remained unclear, however.

Once she finished speaking, she broke eye contact once again, her left hand reaching over to grasp her right forearm while her head turned slightly to the right as well. The peculiarity in her stance combined with her earlier comments promoted the notion that there were peculiarities developing within her behavior. Exactly how any of this related to their current circumstances was anyone's guess, however.
 
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