After a fight like that, I think that there are definitely still some things that need to be changed in order to get the perfect balance of the immediate mood, later implications and character-interaction consistency.
Spoiler:
We reached the stairs leading to the school entrance. I was even sort of grateful to Taniguchi, as the weather had sort of cooled down after my conversation with her. Must be all the hot air she uses talking.
In hot weather like this, even Haruki could only lie exhausted on his desk, looking at the hills in the distance, full of melancholy.
"Kyon, I'm hot!" he whined.
Really? So am I.
"Fan me with your book."
"Instead of fanning someone else, I'd rather fan myself. I don't have enough energy early in the morning to fan you. Besides, since when am I your slave, anyway?"
Since I joined the SOS Brigade?
Haruki, unresponsive, remained laying lazily on the desk, lacking his usual pompous energy.
"What do you think Mitsuuru-kun should wear next?" he asked all of a sudden.
Well, after the Chippendale and the maid outfit would be... Hey, wait a minute, there's going to be another costume!?
"Should it be a catboy? Or maybe I should upgrade him to a butler? Maybe I should have him cosplay as Hard Gay…?"
Images of Ashaina-senpai blushing furiously as his small wriggling body is forced into all sorts of costumes flashed through my mind. He’s just too cute!
Haruki, guessing what I was thinking, scowled at me. "You look stupid," he decided, flipping his hair out of his face.
Hey, weren't you the one bringing up the subject? I guess he’s right, though, so I won’t argue with him -- out loud.
While fanning the neck of his uniform with a textbook, Haruki blurted out, "I'm so bored," his mouth perfectly like a heno-ji. He looked like a character from a manga.
------
After school, as always, I headed towards the clubroom. Haruki was on duty this week, so my walk there was free of his depressing atmosphere. As usual, I knocked first and waited for a reply before entering. Immediately a cute maid greeted me with the brightest of smiles, like a sunflower greeting the sun. Ah, I feel so warm!
Nagato sat by the table reading a book, as cold and pure as the first snowfall of the year.
Ugh, what kind of comparisons am I making?
"I'll go and make tea." Putting on his headband, Asahina-senpai went to the side of the rusty table and carefully placed the tea leaves into the teapot.
I sat in the commander's seat, watching Asahina-senpai busying himself, when I suddenly remembered the SD card in my skirt pocket.
Thinking that I’d add the picture to my collection of photos from the other day, I turned on the computer and waited for the hard disk to boot up. Once the screen appeared, I opened up the folder labeled “MITSUURU” and entered my password. As expected, the processing speed was unbelievable on the Computer Club's new model. In an instant, pictures of Asahina-senpai's maid costume images appeared on the screen.
After I made sure Asahina-senpai was busy brewing tea, I plugged the SD card into the slot on the front of the computer and transferred Taniguchi’s picture to the MITSUURU folder.
Looking at the picture of Nagato and me… if that was shown to anyone ignorant of the situation, they’d definitely misunderstand.
It was at that moment that I remembered what the older Asahina-senpai had said to me in the clubroom yesterday. I clicked on one of Asahina-senpai’s photos, and enlarged it again and again.
It was from the time Asahina-senpai was being forced into weird poses by Haruki. His bare chest could be just seen, and there it was, a little black mark. I highlighted that mark and enlarged it further; the image was a bit fuzzy, but sure enough, there was a star-shaped birthmark.
"So that's it." I said to myself
"Did you find something?" Before Asahina-senpai placed the teacup on the desk, I swiftly closed all the image files. By the time Asahina-senpai stood by my side, he’d find nothing on the screen.
"Huh, what's this? What's inside this "MITSUURU" folder?"
Dammit! Why did I have to go and give that folder such a stupid name?
"Why does that folder have my name? What's inside it? Let me see, c'mon! Let me see!"
I jumped out of the commander’s chair. "Aggh, um, what's inside... I wonder? Probably nothing… In fact there’s definitely nothing!"
"Reeaally?" Asahina-senpai cheerfully plopped himself down in the commander’s chair and moved the cursor towards the folder’s icon. [b]Like I’d let that happen! I dived forward, trying to grab the mouse from him, [b]but he pulled away easily and I only ended up reaching over his shoulder.[b]
"Asahina-senpai, can you please just let go?"
"C'mon, just a peek!" Asahina-senpai, who seemed to be [b]enjoying himself[b], continued to fight with me for control of the mouse. I felt the situation was going from bad to worse.
At that moment, a hand reached from behind me and snatched up the mouse.
"What are you two doing?"
We were frozen by a voice colder than absolute zero. Haruki, standing before us, looked down on us as though he had just witnessed his dad assaulting an innocent girl.
How long has he been here?
I slowly got off of Asahina-senpai who, at the moment, was still frozen in shock.
“So, Mitsuuru-kun,” Haruki said quietly. “I see you have managed to become more bold. Good. Congratulations. You’ve leveled up.”
What?
“Now get out of my chair.”
At this command, the stunned Asahina-senpai began to move. He got out of the chair, retreated slowly, and then slowly sat down at the table like an ASIMO robot whose batteries were nearly dead. His pale face looked close to tears.
Haruki made a "humph" noise, and plopped himself down in front of the computer. I managed to breathe a sigh of relief, until…
“Huh? What’s this folder?”
Not again…
“Haruki, wait, that’s…” I tried to stop him, but too late, he clicked on it.
Upon viewing the lewd photos of Asahina-senpai inside, Haruki glanced at me. “I thought these photos were deleted…?”
He continued to scroll down through the photos, eventually getting to the photos of me in the bunny outfit. He gave me an icy smile.
“Heh. I guess this means you enjoyed wearing it? Maybe I should make it a rule that you should wear this in the clubroom from now on?”
“Yeah, sure, why not? Now how about you close that folder so I can—"
Too late, Haruki had seen the final image, the one that Taniguchi had snapped two days ago.
He froze. After a couple seconds, he got up out of the chair and turned towards me. "So, you're interested in serious bookish guys, huh?"
"What are you trying to say?" I responded, my eyes cast to the side.
Haruki plowed on unflinchingly, watching me react. “When was this taken?”
“T-two… two days ago…”
Haruki stared at me for a few seconds. “That was when you started wearing your hair differently. Did he tell you that it looks better on you that way?” He pointed angrily at Nagato, who was finally looking up from his book. “Because that’s—"
“Shut up, you moron!” I shouted suddenly. “Don’t misunderstand!”
This guy doesn’t know all crap that I’ve been through because of him! Of course not, since he’s too busy chasing time travelers and aliens! Well, Haruki, hurry up and realize that you’re pointing at one right now, you giant idiot!
Of course, Haruki couldn’t hear the thoughts going on through my head as much as he would’ve liked to and only looked at the ground. “So that’s how it is, huh….” His head snapped back up to face me, teeth bared. “Listen, you’re forbidden from doing anything like that ever again! This is your chief ordering you! I don’t want you to even so much as talk to him, understand?!”
“Shut up! You can’t tell me what to do!”
“Sure I can, I just—"
“Asshole! Stop acting like you’re special! You’re just an ordinary human being like everyone else, you can’t go making up rules however you feel like!”
<“You get NOTHING!” Lol, Bliss, ever watch Charlie and the Chocolate factory?
Haruki glared at me with wide eyes, biting his lip. Then, slowly, he stepped forward, his hands clenched into fists and without even realizing it, I took a step back. He took another step and this time I cringed, squeezing my eyes shut, waiting for him to strike. He never did. Haruki breezed by me, grabbed his schoolbag, and stormed out of the clubroom, slamming the door behind him.
I might have gone a bit too far myself there, but Haruki who didn’t understand anything, deserved it. Asahina-senpai, staring at the table, avoided looking at me. Nagato simply continued to read his book as if nothing happened.
At that moment, the door opened.
"Did I just see Suzumiya-san run down the hallway?”
Itsuko, who had just arrived, greeted everyone with her smile.
Since no one else was going to answer, I did. “He wasn’t feeling well. He decided to go home.” I said, still a little out of breath.
“Are you sure?” she said. “It looked more like he had just had a fight with somebody.”
“…”
I looked up at Itsuko, whose smile hadn’t wavered, and said finally, "Wanna play Othello?"
"Sure, I haven't played in quite a while." Itsuko, who took my non-sequitur in stride, sat down.
As black and white fought for control of the board, (I never thought that Itsuko, who could turn into a glowing sphere, would be so lousy at board games) Asahina-senpai got up and muttered something about making tea, while Nagato, of course, continued to indulge himself with his book.
I’m confused as to why we’re still here.
That's right, that day we conducted our SOS Brigade activities peacefully. Nothing associated with aliens from a different dimension, time travelers from the future, red giants, or blue glowing spheres happened at that time. No one wanted to do anything special, nor did anyone know what he or she should have been doing. We just allowed ourselves to ride on the flow of time, living our high school life idly. Everything seemed perfectly normal.
Even though I was dissatisfied with such a normal life, I'd always tell myself, "Why think so much? You've got so much time." And then I would once again look forward to the next day.
Even with the fight today, I cheered up a bit. I came aimlessly to this clubroom and watched Asahina-senpai work busily like a maid, Nagato sit like a Buddha statue, Itsuko with her bright smile, and Haruki with his energy and mood swings. All these things gave off an aura of complete normality, yet all these had become part of my surprisingly satisfying high school life. Though I've had the out-of-reality experiences of a classmate trying to murder me and seeing fierce monsters appearing in a grey world, at this moment they seem more like a dream than something that really happened.
I was still angry at Haruki for trying to boss me around, but I did have to thank him for letting me meet such interesting people. Although I can’t really appreciate the other more outrageous things… Putting aside the question of "Why me?” maybe someday there'd be normal humans like me who want to join this club.
But in the end, there’s no predicting him because only one person in the world can control Suzumiya Haruki.
And that someone is Suzumiya Haruki himself.
<Original edit in this part was a little too suggestive, took away a lot of the subtlety >
Spoiler for chpt 5: something about getting stabbed...:
I still didn't know what to say. Nagato now turned towards Asahina-san (big),
"Let me give you the space-time coordinates of the target."
"Oh, sure."
Asahina-san (big) stuck out his hand like a loyal dog eager to shake hands with its master.
"Go ahead..."
Nagato stood up and then suddenly with a deep voice...
"Were no strangers to love
You know the rules and so do i
A full commitments what Im thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand
never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
We've know each other for so long
Your hearts been aching
But you're too shy to say it
Inside we both know whats been going on
We know the game and were gonna play it
And if you ask me how I'm feeling
Don't tell me you're too blind to see
Give you up. give you up
Give you up, give you up
Never gonna give
Never gonna give, give you up
Never gonna give
Never gonna give, five you up
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand."
Nagato then jumped up flew around the room and did a barrel roll.
What the hell just happened here?
hides
__________________
I am never gonna say good bye,
never run around is my body, never desert you is my blood
unknown to telling lies, nor known to hurting you
have rolled the rick over nine thousand times
yet never gonna give you up
so as I sing, UNLIMITED RICKROLL WORKS
After a fight like that, I think that there are definitely still some things that need to be changed in order to get the perfect balance of the immediate mood, later implications and character-interaction consistency.
Spoiler:
We reached the stairs leading to the school entrance. I was even sort of grateful to Taniguchi, as the weather had sort of cooled down after my conversation with her. Must be all the hot air she uses talking.
In hot weather like this, even Haruki could only lie exhausted on his desk, looking at the hills in the distance, full of melancholy.
"Kyon, I'm hot!" he whined.
Really? So am I.
"Fan me with your book."
"Instead of fanning someone else, I'd rather fan myself. I don't have enough energy early in the morning to fan you. Besides, since when am I your slave, anyway?"
Since I joined the SOS Brigade?
Haruki, unresponsive, remained laying lazily on the desk, lacking his usual pompous energy.
"What do you think Mitsuuru-kun should wear next?" he asked all of a sudden.
Well, after the Chippendale and the maid outfit would be... Hey, wait a minute, there's going to be another costume!?
"Should it be a catboy? Or maybe I should upgrade him to a butler? Maybe I should have him cosplay as Hard Gay…?"
Images of Ashaina-senpai blushing furiously as his small wriggling body is forced into all sorts of costumes flashed through my mind. He’s just too cute!
Haruki, guessing what I was thinking, scowled at me. "You look stupid," he decided, flipping his hair out of his face.
Hey, weren't you the one bringing up the subject? I guess he’s right, though, so I won’t argue with him -- out loud.
While fanning the neck of his uniform with a textbook, Haruki blurted out, "I'm so bored," his mouth perfectly like a heno-ji. He looked like a character from a manga.
------
After school, as always, I headed towards the clubroom. Haruki was on duty this week, so my walk there was free of his depressing atmosphere. As usual, I knocked first and waited for a reply before entering. Immediately a cute maid greeted me with the brightest of smiles, like a sunflower greeting the sun. Ah, I feel so warm!
Nagato sat by the table reading a book, as cold and pure as the first snowfall of the year.
Ugh, what kind of comparisons am I making?
"I'll go and make tea." Putting on his headband, Asahina-senpai went to the side of the rusty table and carefully placed the tea leaves into the teapot.
I sat in the commander's seat, watching Asahina-senpai busying himself, when I suddenly remembered the SD card in my skirt pocket.
Thinking that I’d add the picture to my collection of photos from the other day, I turned on the computer and waited for the hard disk to boot up. Once the screen appeared, I opened up the folder labeled “MITSUURU” and entered my password. As expected, the processing speed was unbelievable on the Computer Club's new model. In an instant, pictures of Asahina-senpai's maid costume images appeared on the screen.
After I made sure Asahina-senpai was busy brewing tea, I plugged the SD card into the slot on the front of the computer and transferred Taniguchi’s picture to the MITSUURU folder.
Looking at the picture of Nagato and me… if that was shown to anyone ignorant of the situation, they’d definitely misunderstand.
It was at that moment that I remembered what the older Asahina-senpai had said to me in the clubroom yesterday. I clicked on one of Asahina-senpai’s photos, and enlarged it again and again.
It was from the time Asahina-senpai was being forced into weird poses by Haruki. His bare chest could be just seen, and there it was, a little black mark. I highlighted that mark and enlarged it further; the image was a bit fuzzy, but sure enough, there was a star-shaped birthmark.
"So that's it." I said to myself
"Did you find something?" Before Asahina-senpai placed the teacup on the desk, I swiftly closed all the image files. By the time Asahina-senpai stood by my side, he’d find nothing on the screen.
"Huh, what's this? What's inside this "MITSUURU" folder?"
Dammit! Why did I have to go and give that folder such a stupid name?
"Why does that folder have my name? What's inside it? Let me see, c'mon! Let me see!"
I jumped out of the commander’s chair. "Aggh, um, what's inside... I wonder? Probably nothing… In fact there’s definitely nothing!"
"Reeaally?" Asahina-senpai cheerfully plopped himself down in the commander’s chair and moved the cursor towards the folder’s icon. [b]Like I’d let that happen! I dived forward, trying to grab the mouse from him, [b]but he pulled away easily and I only ended up reaching over his shoulder.[b]
"Asahina-senpai, can you please just let go?"
"C'mon, just a peek!" Asahina-senpai, who seemed to be [b]enjoying himself[b], continued to fight with me for control of the mouse. I felt the situation was going from bad to worse.
At that moment, a hand reached from behind me and snatched up the mouse.
"What are you two doing?"
We were frozen by a voice colder than absolute zero. Haruki, standing before us, looked down on us as though he had just witnessed his dad assaulting an innocent girl.
How long has he been here?
I slowly got off of Asahina-senpai who, at the moment, was still frozen in shock.
“So, Mitsuuru-kun,” Haruki said quietly. “I see you have managed to become more bold. Good. Congratulations. You’ve leveled up.”
What?
“Now get out of my chair.”
At this command, the stunned Asahina-senpai began to move. He got out of the chair, retreated slowly, and then slowly sat down at the table like an ASIMO robot whose batteries were nearly dead. His pale face looked close to tears.
Haruki made a "humph" noise, and plopped himself down in front of the computer. I managed to breathe a sigh of relief, until…
“Huh? What’s this folder?”
Not again…
“Haruki, wait, that’s…” I tried to stop him, but too late, he clicked on it.
Upon viewing the lewd photos of Asahina-senpai inside, Haruki glanced at me. “I thought these photos were deleted…?”
He continued to scroll down through the photos, eventually getting to the photos of me in the bunny outfit. He gave me an icy smile.
“Heh. I guess this means you enjoyed wearing it? Maybe I should make it a rule that you should wear this in the clubroom from now on?”
“Yeah, sure, why not? Now how about you close that folder so I can—"
Too late, Haruki had seen the final image, the one that Taniguchi had snapped two days ago.
He froze. After a couple seconds, he got up out of the chair and turned towards me. "So, you're interested in serious bookish guys, huh?"
"What are you trying to say?" I responded, my eyes cast to the side.
Haruki plowed on unflinchingly, watching me react. “When was this taken?”
“T-two… two days ago…”
Haruki stared at me for a few seconds. “That was when you started wearing your hair differently. Did he tell you that it looks better on you that way?” He pointed angrily at Nagato, who was finally looking up from his book. “Because that’s—"
“Shut up, you moron!” I shouted suddenly. “Don’t misunderstand!”
This guy doesn’t know all crap that I’ve been through because of him! Of course not, since he’s too busy chasing time travelers and aliens! Well, Haruki, hurry up and realize that you’re pointing at one right now, you giant idiot!
Of course, Haruki couldn’t hear the thoughts going on through my head as much as he would’ve liked to and only looked at the ground. “So that’s how it is, huh….” His head snapped back up to face me, teeth bared. “Listen, you’re forbidden from doing anything like that ever again! This is your chief ordering you! I don’t want you to even so much as talk to him, understand?!”
“Shut up! You can’t tell me what to do!”
“Sure I can, I just—"
“Asshole! Stop acting like you’re special! You’re just an ordinary human being like everyone else, you can’t go making up rules however you feel like!”
<“You get NOTHING!” Lol, Bliss, ever watch Charlie and the Chocolate factory?
Haruki glared at me with wide eyes, biting his lip. Then, slowly, he stepped forward, his hands clenched into fists and without even realizing it, I took a step back. He took another step and this time I cringed, squeezing my eyes shut, waiting for him to strike. He never did. Haruki breezed by me, grabbed his schoolbag, and stormed out of the clubroom, slamming the door behind him.
I might have gone a bit too far myself there, but Haruki who didn’t understand anything, deserved it. Asahina-senpai, staring at the table, avoided looking at me. Nagato simply continued to read his book as if nothing happened.
At that moment, the door opened.
"Did I just see Suzumiya-san run down the hallway?”
Itsuko, who had just arrived, greeted everyone with her smile.
Since no one else was going to answer, I did. “He wasn’t feeling well. He decided to go home.” I said, still a little out of breath.
“Are you sure?” she said. “It looked more like he had just had a fight with somebody.”
“…”
I looked up at Itsuko, whose smile hadn’t wavered, and said finally, "Wanna play Othello?"
"Sure, I haven't played in quite a while." Itsuko, who took my non-sequitur in stride, sat down.
As black and white fought for control of the board, (I never thought that Itsuko, who could turn into a glowing sphere, would be so lousy at board games) Asahina-senpai got up and muttered something about making tea, while Nagato, of course, continued to indulge himself with his book.
I’m confused as to why we’re still here.
That's right, that day we conducted our SOS Brigade activities peacefully. Nothing associated with aliens from a different dimension, time travelers from the future, red giants, or blue glowing spheres happened at that time. No one wanted to do anything special, nor did anyone know what he or she should have been doing. We just allowed ourselves to ride on the flow of time, living our high school life idly. Everything seemed perfectly normal.
Even though I was dissatisfied with such a normal life, I'd always tell myself, "Why think so much? You've got so much time." And then I would once again look forward to the next day.
Even with the fight today, I cheered up a bit. I came aimlessly to this clubroom and watched Asahina-senpai work busily like a maid, Nagato sit like a Buddha statue, Itsuko with her bright smile, and Haruki with his energy and mood swings. All these things gave off an aura of complete normality, yet all these had become part of my surprisingly satisfying high school life. Though I've had the out-of-reality experiences of a classmate trying to murder me and seeing fierce monsters appearing in a grey world, at this moment they seem more like a dream than something that really happened.
I was still angry at Haruki for trying to boss me around, but I did have to thank him for letting me meet such interesting people. Although I can’t really appreciate the other more outrageous things… Putting aside the question of "Why me?” maybe someday there'd be normal humans like me who want to join this club.
But in the end, there’s no predicting him because only one person in the world can control Suzumiya Haruki.
And that someone is Suzumiya Haruki himself.
<Original edit in this part was a little too suggestive, took away a lot of the subtlety >
Wouldn't you think that she'd be a little concerned about what he might do to the universe after that fight, given that she knows his power?
Also, having Haruki scare her that much is a bad idea, I think.
My immediate solution to both those problems would be to change pretty much every major edit and keep it closer to the original.
However, I know that won't go.
Honestly, on your first point, I was thinking the exact same thing while I was reading your edit and Bliss's. From the way it was written, as if Kyonko was finally letting out all her anger and frustration at once, it didn't seem appropriate for it to be weak-hearted shouting match. And I even think that Kyonko summing up the situation like Kyon did doesn't go very well with the fact that they had such a huge fight. So to cut it short, what I'm trying to say is that if they're going to have a fight, I think it should be a full-blown fight or not have one at all.
If you're referring to my last edit concerning the subtlety of the situation, it's still kind of the same idea. If you want Kyonko to regret having fought with Haruki like that that I don't think it should be a side thought like it was in the original edit but full-out lamentation. Not-at-all or all-the-way.
As for Haruki's anger, it seemed like the only appropriate response from him after such humiliation. The original edit seemed like he kinda gave up too easy, bent backwards for Kyonko in contradiction to his personality. And I was very hesitant in making Haruki a physically intimidating person, but I thought that I didn't do it too much...
Guess not.
But I still think it's important to show an extremely angry response from Haruki after that moment.
@shaoron: Never thought I'd get rickroll'd in text format... LOL. And yes, surprisingly, I know half the lyrics to that song... really, what does that say about my browsing habits?
Spoiler for ...:
DO A BARREL ROLL!!!
We seem to have returned to some form of a topic now.
Why don't we cram everything in there at once? Then everybody's happy!!
We've always tried it before, but... here I know that won't work.
My immediate solution to both those problems would be to change pretty much every major edit and keep it closer to the original.
However, I know that won't go.
Honestly, on your first point, I was thinking the exact same thing while I was reading your edit and Bliss's. From the way it was written, as if Kyonko was finally letting out all her anger and frustration at once, it didn't seem appropriate for it to be weak-hearted shouting match. And I even think that Kyonko summing up the situation like Kyon did doesn't go very well with the fact that they had such a huge fight. So to cut it short, what I'm trying to say is that if they're going to have a fight, I think it should be a full-blown fight or not have one at all.
If you're referring to my last edit concerning the subtlety of the situation, it's still kind of the same idea. If you want Kyonko to regret having fought with Haruki like that that I don't think it should be a side thought like it was in the original edit but full-out lamentation. Not-at-all or all-the-way.
As for Haruki's anger, it seemed like the only appropriate response from him after such humiliation. The original edit seemed like he kinda gave up too easy, bent backwards for Kyonko in contradiction to his personality. And I was very hesitant in making Haruki a physically intimidating person, but I thought that I didn't do it too much...
Guess not.
But I still think it's important to show an extremely angry response from Haruki after that moment.
Spoiler for Disappearance Chapter 5: The death of Kyonko/Jane Smith (no rick-roll this time):
"......"
I still didn't know what to say. Nagato now turned towards Asahina-san (big),
"Let me give you the space-time coordinates of the target."
"Oh, sure."
Asahina-san (big) stuck out her hand like a loyal dog eager to shake hands with its master.
"Go ahead..."
Nagato softly tapped his finger on the back of Asahina-san's (big) palm, and then retracted it... That's it? It’s like you just did a double click with a mouse. Though Asahina-san (big) looked content with it.
"I understand now, Nagato-san. All we need to do is to go and mend 'him' up, right? That won't be hard, since 'he' wouldn't have any powers by then..."
The time traveler seemed determined as he clutched his fists, the alien then said,
"Please wait."
Not wearing any glasses, Nagato said,
"In this state, you too would be swept into the changes of the space-time continuum. Counteractive measures need to be applied."
He then stuck his hand out.
"Your hand."
What for? Does he want to shake hands? I obediently stuck out my right hand. Nagato's icy cold fingers grabbed my wrist, causing my heartbeat to go faster for a while.
"..."
Nagato suddenly moved his sullen-looking face towards my arm.
"Aaaah!"
I yelled involuntarily. It was an unavoidable reaction, I guess. Kneeling down, Nagato not only touched my wrist softly with his lips, he even revealed his teeth. It was like during the making of the movie, when he constantly assaulted Asahina-san and bit his. Those scenes were just wrong.
It didn't hurt, actually. It felt like one of those soft unhostile bites Shamisen would make whenever I caressed her. Though the canine teeth sinking into my skin felt a bit prickly, like being jabbed by something but not hurting at all. Maybe it was because Nagato's saliva contained some sort of anesthetic to numb the pain. It was more like being bitten by a mosquito. It felt kinda weird thou.
After biting my hand for about five to ten seconds, Nagato slowly lifted his head.
"Your body surface has been applied with a data-manipulating stealth barrier and protective shield,"
Nagato said without even blushing. On the other hand, cupping his mouth with his hands, Asahina-san (big) looked rather amazed. I felt a bit numb and looked at my wrist. On it were two small holes which looked like vampire bite marks. As I stared at them, the two small holes began to heal and disappeared without a trace. Like with Asahina-san during the making of the movie, my body was also injected with Nagato's nanomachines.
"You too."
Under Nagato's request, terrified Asahina-san stuck out her hand.
"...It's been a while since you've injected me. It must've been tough on you, back then..."
"This is my first time giving you an injection."
"Oh, yes, right. I forgot..."
Shutting his eyes tightly, the time traveler stuck out his wrist and accepted the alien's kissing baptism. The time it took for him to be injected with nanomachines was shorter than mine. Once it was over, he began to cough dryly.
"Well, let's go. Kyon-chan, the real thing starts now."
Really? The warm-up this time sure felt quite long! Then again, I was only doing my best to narrate this for everyone, even though I really didn't want to do this.
"Thanks."
I tried to remain calm as I gave thanks to the master of the apartment. The silent Nagato remained unresponsive. I could not find any form of self-awareness through his expression. Yet for some reason, I just felt Nagato, who was standing upright, felt very lonely. Was it really because he was lonely as I had speculated?
"Nagato, I'll see you then. Before Haruki and I arrive, make sure you wait for us in the Literature Club room until then."
Like a doll being injected with life, the alien-created organic being mechanically nodded her head.
"I will wait."
Such a sentence was enough to ignite a mysterious flame within my heart. Though it was only as bright as a cigarette butt that someone had forgotten to put out. As I was about to figure out where that little spark came from, Asahina-san (big) now said,
"Just to prevent you from getting uncomfortable,"
He tightly grabbed my shoulders and hugged me tightly in his chest. I could feel my face becoming flushed again.
"Can you please close your eyes?"
I followed as he instructed me to. Asahina-san (big) seemed to be standing right in front of me, holding my hands.
"Kyon-chan."
This soft chanting sounded just too pleasant. Was he going kiss me?
"Here we go."
Wait.. in front of Nagato? Umm… I’m not prepared yet. Please be gentle… As I was thinking about this...
The dramatic dizziness had begun. It was good that I had closed my eyes. Even if I had them opened, it would probably be pitch-black as though there was a power shortage. I now felt like sitting in a roller coaster with my seat-belt taken off; I was no longer sure whether the blood in me had left my body or was rushing towards my brain. The sense of floating weightlessness continued. Though I had closed my eyes, I still felt dizzy. The fact that I didn't lose consciousness was all thanks to the warmth felt through Asahina-san's (big) hands.
How many minutes has it been already? Or even how many hours? I lost all awareness of time and space. I can't hold on much longer. Asahina-san, I feel like throwing up...
As I was ungraciously trying to look for something that I could puke in...
"Um... We've arrived."
The long lost sensation of my feet standing on firm ground was back again. The coldness of the ground passed through my socks and into my body. My sense of gravity was back as well. Like an illusion, the urge to throw up also suddenly disappeared.
"You can open your eyes now. Thank goodness, this is the place that Nagato-san had directed us... And the time as well."
I lifted my head and saw glittering in the night sky a bunch of winter constellations. As the air was cleaner, the stars were much clearer than in the summer. I turned around and instantly recognized the roof of the North High complex looming above the residential housings.
I looked around me, trying to confirm where I was now. Though it was dark, I couldn't be mistaken. I was standing here just a few hours ago. I could still remember Haruki’s tied up hair and Koizumi in my PE uniform as well.
This was where Haruki and Koizumi had gotten changed. It should be a coincidence, I guess!
Now then, what time was it?
Looking at his watch, Asahina-san (big) told me,
"It's four forty-eight in the morning on the 18th of December. In about five minutes, the world will be changed."
From the moment I hit the "Enter" key on the 20th and traveled back three years in time, the 18th would be two days ago. On that day, I went to school as usual, unaware of what was about to happen, and I fell into a state of pandemonium as a result of seeing a North High that has completely changed. Haruki has suddenly disappeared, while Asakura had reappeared; and Asahina-san couldn't recognize me, while Nagato has become a completely different person altogether.
It all started here, I was now at the time period where the conversion took effect. In other words, I could also prevent it from happening, and that was why I was standing here now.
As I was getting fired up by the intense anticipation......
"Oh no! I forgot to bring my shoes!"
Asahina-san (big) exclaimed softly.
As we traveled directly from indoors, naturally we weren't wearing any shoes. As expected from Asahina-san, not even the passage of time could wear away his clumsiness.
"Would Nagato-san take good care of them for me?"
His anxiety briefly relieved me of my own nervousness. I'm sure he'd take good care of them. After all, he managed to preserve a tanzaku for three years. So he won't lose a pair of shoes so easily. You can always go to his apartment and check his cupboard......
As I calmly thought about these, an electric-like sensation went through my body all of a sudden.
That was because I wasn't wearing any shoes, not to mention having to leap from summer back to the freezing winter, so the cold felt even more intense. I put on my cardigan but for some reason it still felt very cold and I started to shiver.
“Put this on.”
Asahina-san (big) placed a jacket over my shoulder. I turned around to see him smiling at me, apparently proud of his own act of chivalry.
“Thanks. Sorry about that.”
Asahina-san (big) gave me a smile, which perfectly combined manliness and cuteness, and would soften the legs of more than half of the audience, then said seriously,
"It's almost time."
Maybe it was good that we forgot to wear our shoes, as we didn't make any sound while walking. Despite that, Asahina-san (big) and I still didn't dare to breathe loudly as we walked in small steps towards the entrance of North High. We stopped by the corner and like hunters following their prey, we only stuck our heads out and stared at the path ahead of us in the dark.
There weren't a lot of street lamps in this area, though there was one just outside the gate. Only the area under the light was illuminated. Though the light was dim, one could still make out whoever was standing under that lamp.
"Here he comes......"
A warm hand landed on my shoulder. I could feel Asahina-san's (big) intense yet sweet breathing blow into my ears. Normally, I would be spellbound by it, but I wasn't in the mood right now.
The space-time converter emerged from the shadows and into the light under the lamp.
A North High uniform. That was the person Nagato had mentioned. "That person" was the culprit who had altered our world, separated the members of the SOS Brigade and turned everyone into normal human beings. Only my memories remained, while the memories and history of everyone and everything else were totally changed.
Right now, "that person" had begun making his move.
I still couldn't rush out yet, I had to wait till everything has changed. That was the advice Nagato gave me. I must wait till that person had changed the world completely before I could inject the Restoration Program. Otherwise, the history where I activated the Escape Program would never have existed. I didn't quite understand what Nagato meant, though Nagato and Asahina-san (big) both seemed pretty clear about it. They must be pretty familiar with the flow of time, a person like me would never understand. Since I'll never get it, I might as well follow the advice of the professionals. That Nagato would never lie, she has always been standing by our side with a serious look on her face......
I tightly grabbed the short needle pistol Nagato gave me and waited silently.
Walking in regular strides, "that person" arrived before the gates of North High. He lifted his head to look at the school complex that was shrouded in darkness and stopped.
His uniform jacket flickered as the wind blew.
He didn't seem to notice us. This was all thanks to the nanomachines Nagato injected into us, creating a stealth barrier and protective shield on the surface of our bodies.
"That person" suddenly lifted one arm and made a gesture as though grabbing onto something in the air. It didn't look natural, it's as though he was being controlled, but I knew that wasn't the case.
"Amazing..." Asahina-san (big) exclaimed, "That was a powerful time quake. He actually had such power... I still find it hard to believe even after I've seen it with my own eyes,"
Even with my own eyes, I still don't see any changes. The night sky was still dark. Yet Asahina-san (big) seemed to have witnessed that person use some method to cause a massive change to the history of this world. He was from the future after all, so it's not surprising if he could see it.
Asahina-san (big) leaned himself tightly onto me. Originally, we too would have been swamped by "that person's" alteration of the world, but we were protected by having Nagato bite us. Nagato and Asahina-san (big) were indeed helpful, it seems the course of action I've taken was correct. What follows next would be the action needed to resolve this matter, I can't afford to screw up at the last hurdle.
I held my breath when I saw that person putting down his arm and suddenly turn his head in our direction. At first I thought he had discovered we were peeking on him, but it turns out he was only looking around.
"Don't worry, he hasn't discovered us. Right now he has been 'reborn.' The time quake... The alteration of the world has ended. Kyon-kun, it's our turn to move now,"
Asahina-san (big) said in a stiff and serious tone and gave me the signal.
I emerged from the darkness and headed towards the school gate. There was no need to hurry, as he was not going to run away. As expected, when "that person" noticed me standing under the street lamp, he was still standing in front of the school gate. The only change was the expression on his face. When I saw the astonished look on his face, I suddenly felt melancholic all of a sudden.
"Hi there,"
I called out to him. As though seeing a friend I haven't met for a long time, I approached him.
"It's me, we meet again,"
I was able to guess a bit from the tone of Asahina-san's (big) voice. Of the people that I knew, besides Haruki, only one person could make him feel so uneasy. Think about it. After the 18th, the secret personal profiles of the SOS Brigade members had suddenly vanished. Yet all their personalities remained intact, all save one, whose actions, expressions and mannerism had changed completely.
Under the dim night sky, wearing a North High uniform, the large but thin figure stood there not knowing what was going on. He didn't seem to understand why he was here, like someone suffering from sleepwalking who had suddenly woken up and begun to look around...
"Nagato,"
I said,
"This was all your doing, right?"
Wearing glasses, it was that Nagato. After the 18th, this Nagato Yuuki was just the mere remaining member of the Literature Club, he was neither an alien or any mysterious entity whatsoever, just a very shy bookworm.
The bespectacled Nagato now looked even more astonished, not understanding what was going on,
"...Why... why... are you here?"
"I was about to ask you that, do you even know why you're here?"
"...I'm taking a walk,"
Nagato said uneasily while widening his eyes. The glasses on the boy's face that I was looking at reflected the light of the street lamp. I looked at him like that and thought,
No, it's not like that, Nagato.
This boy was only feeling tired. Having to spend all day being turned around in circles by Haruki, while busy saving my life, as well as being secretly active in some unknown location behind our backs - it was only natural that he would become fatigued by it all.
A while ago in Nagato's apartment, this was what the Nagato three years ago told us:
"The erroneous files accumulated in my memory database will trigger an anomalous reaction. It can be foreseen that this is unavoidable. On December 18th three years from now, I will reconstruct the world."
He continued calmly,
"There are no counter-measures available, because I do not know how such errors could occur."
But I do.
I know the reason behind Nagato's unexplicable, abnormal action, and just what those erroneous files she had been accumulating were.
It was the most basic desire. Even for an artificial intelligence run by a complex program, even for an android interface who never had such stuff installed, after living for some time, it was natural for him to develop such a desire. You'll never understand, but I do. And probably Haruki does as well.
I continued to observe Nagato's troubled expression unreservedly. Yet the dream boy from the Literature Club now looked even more uncomfortable. Seeing how helpless he looked, I can't help but yell inside, Nagato! This is what we call emotions!
It is because you were designed not to have any emotions to begin with, the reaction felt from you was far greater. You probably felt like screaming, or going ballistic, or just yelling out loud, you stupid idiot! I've had enough of you! Right? No, even if he didn't think that way, what he did was totally understandable. His actions can be forgiven, because I was partly responsible, after all. I've become too reliant on him, having gotten used to letting Nagato take care of everything. I always thought that as long as Nagato was helping, I could switch off my brain. What an idiot I was, an even greater idiot than Haruki. So I had no right to condemn him for this.
That was why Nagato - this guy here, came up with the silly idea of changing the world.
So was it an anomalous reaction, or a programming error?
Boy, you sure are annoying, it's neither of the above.
This was what Nagato wished for - a normal world like this.
He only preserved my memories, while altering the memories of everyone else, including herself.
It was now that I finally understood the question that was puzzling me for the last few days.
Why was I the only one to remain unaffected?
The answer was simple, it was because the boy had wanted to let me make the choice.
Is the altered world better? Or is the original one better? Under his well crafted script, the final decision rests on me.
"Damn it,"
To hell with choosing! I never had a choice!
If I had only wanted the SOS Brigade, then I didn't have to return at all. I could just start over in the new world. Haruki and Koizumi may be studying in another high school, but that wouldn't be too much of an obstacle. We'll just treat it as an out-of-school hobby. This mysterious club can meet as usual at that coffee shop. Over there, Haruki would come up with some ridiculous stuff, while Koizumi would grin all the time; Asahina-san would look extremely distressed, and I would just look away with a scowl on my face... An image of that scene floated in my mind at once. The Nagato there would probably look troubled as well, of course he would still quietly read his book. Yet still...
That wouldn't be the SOS Brigade that I knew. Nagato isn't an alien, Asahina-san isn't a time traveler from the future, and Koizumi's just a normal person, while Haruki wouldn't possess any extraordinary powers. It would just be a simple, normal and happy club.
Am I fine with that? Isn't that even better?
How did I think about it at first? Just what did I make of Haruki's constant trouble-makings beyond the boundaries of common sense?
What a pain.
Enough already!
Are you an idiot!?
I've had enough with you!
"......"
My heart began to hurt.
A normal high school student who was forced to take part in many troublesome situations, constantly complaining to Haruki yet still managing to live to tell the tale. That was the role I've been playing all along.
Now then! Yes, Kyon! I'm talking to you! I've got to ask myself a very important question, so listen carefully and answer me. You can't refrain from answering. Just a single "yes" or "no" would do. Now listen up, here comes the question:
Don't you find such a weird and extraordinary school life fun?
Hurry up and answer, Kyon! Think carefully. Well? Can't I ask what you think of this? Hurry up and tell me. In a world where I was being turned around in circles by Haruki; attacked by aliens; hearing a time traveler explain wild theories; putting up with the philosophical babble with an esper; trapped in a Sealed Dimension where giants go on a rampage; living with a cat that speaks; making an incomprehensible leap through time; not to mention having to follow the strict rule of not letting Haruki know all of these, allowing the commander of the SOS Brigade to happily continue his pursuit of mysterious events, while completely oblivious that she has made a huge mess.
Don't you find such a world interesting?
Or did you think that was just too annoying, and had wanted to tell him enough is enough? Since you've always thought he was an idiot and had decided to ignore him. Well? Is it true? In other words? Is that what you really think?
That world was hardly interesting at all.
Are you sure? According to what you said, you find Haruki in the original world to be very annoying. No matter what wild ideas he would come up with, you would always feel melancholic. Of course it's natural that you wouldn't find such a world to be interesting. And don't tell me it's not true! You know it is.
Yet, in reality you're secretly enjoying all of this. Because that world is interesting.
You ask me why I say that?
Then let me tell you why,
Didn't you hit the "Enter" key?
You know, the one for the Emergency Escape Program that Nagato left for you.
Are you ready?
The answer you gave for that question then was a resolute "yes."
Am I right?
Our Great God Nagato went far out of his way to create a stable world for you, and you had to turn down his offer. Ever since you met Suzumiya Haruki back in April, you've taken that idiotic world for granted. You actually want to return to a crazy world where aliens, time travelers and espers wander freely in school. Why is that? Aren't you the one who was complaining all the time about how woeful you are?
If that were the case, then why didn't you ignore the Escape Program? By choosing to stay in this very normal world here, you'll know Haruki, Asahina-san, Koizumi and Nagato as ordinary high school students, and lead a happy life as usual under Haruki's leadership. Since Haruki doesn't have any powers, you could say goodbye to all those surreal experiences.
In that world, Haruki would just be a normal boy who likes to boss people around; Asahina-san would no longer have the attribute of being a time traveler from the future, he would just be a very cute character; Koizumi would be a normal high school student without any backing from some mysterious 'Organization'; and Nagato would just be a timid and humble bookish boy, not having to carry any burden or use any amazing powers to observe or protect someone. Oh yeah, though most of the time he would remain expressionless, he would still laugh heartily at some lame joke, and then blush furiously. Who knows, he could be a person who could slowly open himself up if I spend some time with him.
Such an idyllic life that would be, and yet you have forsaken it.
Just why is that?
I'll ask you one last time. Answer me truthfully.
Do you find Haruki the troublemaker and the nightmarish events that he causes to be interesting? Hurry up and answer!
"Of course I do,"
I answered as such,
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize it was fun. So don't ask me something so trivial anymore."
If someone had actually said they don't find that interesting, then that person would be a blithering idiot. His wits would be thirty times dimmer than Haruki's.
I mean, there are aliens, time travelers and espers out there!
Just one alone would be intriguing enough, but to have three sorts of interesting characters all at once! With Haruki included, some powerful force is bound to be triggered. At this rate, I'll never be bored. If someone had made any objections to that, I think I'd beat him to a pulp at once.
"So that's how it is,"
I said to myself. You could say I've finally been enlightened.
"I still prefer the original world. This world just doesn't suit me. I'm sorry, Nagato. I don't like the present you, I prefer the Nagato from before. Besides, I like you better without glasses,"
This Nagato looked at me with a very puzzled face,
"What are you talking about..."
The Nagato Yuuki I know would never say something like that.
This boy would have no knowledge of these three days, when I discovered something was wrong up to now. That was to be expected, because this Nagato had just been reborn, and so has never met me. He would have no memory of looking shocked as I barged into the Literature Club.
The only memory this Nagato had was the fabricated memory in the library. Besides that, the memory we share now all happened since he changed the world a while ago.
A few months ago, I was trapped in the grey Sealed Dimension with just Haruki. According to Koizumi, that was a new world created by Haruki.
Nagato was probably using that power. Somehow he managed to nick or steal that mysterious power from Haruki and used it to create this world.
That sure was a convenient power. No matter who it is, they will always have the thought of wanting to start all over, or wishing that things would go back to where it would be favorable for them.
Yet, a normal person would never be able to achieve such a wish. And it was better that they gave up that thought. I myself didn't want to start all over, which was why I returned from the Sealed Dimension with Haruki.
This incident was caused by the transferral of a god-like omnipotent power from Haruki to Nagato. Haruki was unaware of it all, while Nagato lost control and went forward to change the world.
"Nagato,"
I walked towards the stiff tiny figure standing there. Nagato remained motionless and stared back at me.
"No matter how many times I have to say this, my answer is the same. Please return everything to normal, including you as well. Let's live to fight another day in the club room. As long as you give the signal, I'll be there for you. Lately Haruki hasn't been going astray for no reason now, so there's no need for you to use such an unhealthy power to forcefully change the world. Just keep everything as it is."
The eyes under the glasses betray a sense of fear.
"Kyon-chan..."
Asahina-san grabbed my shoulder and said,
"It's useless trying to explain to this Nagato-san. Because even he has changed. This Nagato-san is just a normal boy without any powers..."
I suddenly thought of something.
The long haired Haruki in that world called me John. Without any god-like or demon-like powers, he was just an ordinary schoolboy who barged into North High without hesitation. His eyes glittered brightly as he showed great interest in my story about the SOS Brigade, while exclaiming, "Sounds like fun!"
Carrying a wide grin at all times, the Koizumi there said she fancies Haruki. Wearing my PE uniform, the straight A transfer student would show a complicated expression.
Giving me an invitation to join the Literature Club, this bespectacled Nagato would reminisce his fabricated memory together with me. The smile on his face was like the sun rising out of the horizon, I can't help but want to see that smile once again.
I realized I would never see these people again. To be honest, I kind of missed them. It's just that their existences were all fabricated. They were not the Haruki, Koizumi, Nagato and Asahina-san I knew. It was a pity I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to them, but I've already made up my mind. I want to go back to the Haruki, Koizumi, Nagato and Asahina-san I knew.
"I'm sorry."
I took the gun out and pointed it. Nagato instantly froze on the spot, seeing his reaction, I felt extremely criminal. But I've come this far, so there's no point in hesitating.
“Hey! That’s dangerous. It’s not a toy. Put that away before you hurt someone.”
I ignored this Nagato’s pleas.
"Everything would return to normal very soon. We'll be able to go to many different places again, have our Christmas hot pot, and then go to the mansion in the snow mountain. You can be the Great Detective this time. A Great Detective that could solve the case just when it has occurred, right? That'll be......"
"Kyon-chan! Look out... KYAA!!"
As Asahina-san screamed out, someone rammed into my back. Thud! A loud shudder caused me to shake, even the shadow under the street lamp was shaking. In that shadow was the silhouette of another person. What the? Who was it?
"I can't let you hurt Nagato-san!"
I turned my head over my shoulder and saw the pale face of a man.
Asakura Ryou.
"What the..."
Before I could say anything more, I suddenly felt something icy cold jabbed into my abdomen. It was a flat object that was thrusted deep into my body. So cold. The sense of disorientation far surpassed the sense of pain. Just what was going on? How can this be? Why was Asakura here?
"Hee hee,"
To me, his grin looked like that of an expressionless mask that has suddenly begun smiling. Asakura then backed off from me, pulling out the blood-soaked katana which he used to stab me.
Losing my balance, I fell to the ground like a spinning top. Standing before me all this time, Nagato's legs gave in as he slumped to the ground and said fearfully,
"Asakura...-san?"
As though greeting someone, Asakura-san waved the murder weapon that was drenched in my blood and said,
"Hi, Nagato-san. Don't you worry, as long as I'm here, I'll eliminate anyone that attempts to threaten you. That was the reason why I was created."
Asakura smiled and continued,
"It is what you have wished for, isn't it?"
That's a lie. Nagato would never have made such a wish. He's not the sort to kill a bird simply because it's not singing as he wants it to. Absolutely not. As Nagato began to act abnormally, this Asakura that was re-created was also acting in an abnormal way, basically becoming a shadow to Nagato......
Asakura's shadow slowly landed on my body. Very soon her silhouette blocked out the moon from my vision.
"Allow me to send you on your last journey. As long as you're dead, everything will be fine. It's your fault for making Nagato-san suffer in the first place. Does it hurt? I'm sure it does. Better enjoy it while it lasts, because that'll probably be the last sensation you'll ever feel. But now, I’ll end it in one quick swipe."
The tip of the katana was placed beside my neck. Asakura then lifted the sword above his head at an angle. Is he going to cut my head off? I was bleeding non-stop. Is this the end? ...I struggled to think as my mind became blurry. I was losing all sense of reality. So, Psycho Asakura, is this your mission? To act as back-up to Nagato Yuuki...
The katana began to move downwards...
In the blink of an eye, a hand stretched out from one side.
"...!!!"
Someone had stopped the blade of the katana, and with only two fingers as well.
"Who the...?"
Bare hands...!? Where have I seen this before?
My vision was becoming more and more blurry, so I couldn't tell who it was. There's not enough light, anyone mind turning up the light? He was standing in front of the bright street lamp, so I couldn't see his face properly. All I knew was that it was a tall short-haired guy...wearing a North High uniform...not wearing glasses...that's all I could see... Koizumi! ...Where's the guy in charge of lighting when you need her!?
"Huh...!?"
Exclaiming softly was Nagato, who was sitting on the ground. His glasses reflected the brightness of the street lamp, so I couldn't see his expression clearly. Was it fear? Or was it astonishment?
"Why? But you're...!? Why..."
Asakura yelled. He seemed to be talking to the guy who caught the blade with his fingers, but the guy remained silent and said nothing.
Asahina-san sounded as though he was right next to me,
"I'm so sorry... Kyon-chan, I should have known, but still..."
"Kyon-chan! Kyon-chan...... No! You can't!"
There seems to be two Asahina-sans. One was the adult Asahina-san, while the other was the shouta Asahina-san that I knew. Both had tears all over their faces, and were shaking my body. Hey, both of you, that hurts...
...Huh? What was Asahina-san (small) doing here? While I could still understand the adult Asahina-san holding me in her arms and crying, since he came here with me to this time period; but just where on earth did the little Asahina-san come from? Ah, I get it now. It's one of those illusions, a recollection of one's whole life as one reaches the end of his life...
Now this was scarier than the feeling of pain and seeing blood flow non-stop out of your body.
Damn it, I'm about to die.
As I wallow in regret for not having written a will, I felt someone appear above me. That person lifted me and picked up the needle-gun that Nagato made that had dropped to the ground.
A familiar voice, yet I could not remember whose, spoke,
"Sorry about that. I have my reasons for not rescuing you right away, but don't hate me for it. After all, it was painful for me as well. Anyway, we'll take care of the rest. No, I already know what to do now, and you will as well. So go get some sleep for now."
What's she talking about? And who was she talking to? Do what? And who's taking care of what? The images of Asakura's fatal strike, the bespectacled Nagato supporting himself with her arms while kneeling on the ground, the two Asahina-sans, and Haruki in a different school uniform had all now been fused together...
I gradually fell unconscious.
__________________
I am never gonna say good bye,
never run around is my body, never desert you is my blood
unknown to telling lies, nor known to hurting you
have rolled the rick over nine thousand times
yet never gonna give you up
so as I sing, UNLIMITED RICKROLL WORKS
While I could still understand the adult Asahina-san holding me in his arms and crying,
You forgot to genderswap a pronoun. (Note: I skipped ahead to that part of the chapter, and that was the only error that caught my eye, so this is only a proof for that one bit of sentence.)
Spoiler for chpt 5: something about getting stabbed...:
I still didn't know what to say. Nagato now turned towards Asahina-san (big),*snip*
hides
-_- ... Right now, I have no respect for you whatsoever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shaoron
Spoiler for Disappearance Chapter 5: The death of Kyonko/Jane Smith (no rick-roll this time):
"......"
I still didn't know what to say. Nagato now turned towards Asahina-san (big),
"Let me give you the space-time coordinates of the target."
"Oh, sure."
Asahina-san (big) stuck out her hand like a loyal dog eager to shake hands with its master.
"Go ahead..."
Nagato softly tapped his finger on the back of Asahina-san's (big) palm, and then retracted it... That's it? It’s like you just did a double click with a mouse. Though Asahina-san (big) looked content with it.
"I understand now, Nagato-san. All we need to do is to go and mend 'him' up, right? That won't be hard, since 'he' wouldn't have any powers by then..."
The time traveler seemed determined as he clutched his fists, the alien then said,
"Please wait."
Not wearing any glasses, Nagato said,
"In this state, you too would be swept into the changes of the space-time continuum. Counteractive measures need to be applied."
He then stuck his hand out.
"Your hand."
What for? Does he want to shake hands? I obediently stuck out my right hand. Nagato's icy cold fingers grabbed my wrist, causing my heartbeat to go faster for a while.
"..."
Nagato suddenly moved his sullen-looking face towards my arm.
"Aaaah!"
I yelled involuntarily. It was an unavoidable reaction, I guess. Kneeling down, Nagato not only touched my wrist softly with his lips, he even revealed his teeth. It was like during the making of the movie, when he constantly assaulted Asahina-san and bit his. Those scenes were just wrong.
It didn't hurt, actually. It felt like one of those soft unhostile bites Shamisen would make whenever I caressed her. Though the canine teeth sinking into my skin felt a bit prickly, like being jabbed by something but not hurting at all. Maybe it was because Nagato's saliva contained some sort of anesthetic to numb the pain. It was more like being bitten by a mosquito. It felt kinda weird thou.
After biting my hand for about five to ten seconds, Nagato slowly lifted his head.
"Your body surface has been applied with a data-manipulating stealth barrier and protective shield,"
Nagato said without even blushing. On the other hand, cupping his mouth with his hands, Asahina-san (big) looked rather amazed. I felt a bit numb and looked at my wrist. On it were two small holes which looked like vampire bite marks. As I stared at them, the two small holes began to heal and disappeared without a trace. Like with Asahina-san during the making of the movie, my body was also injected with Nagato's nanomachines.
"You too."
Under Nagato's request, terrified Asahina-san stuck out her hand.
"...It's been a while since you've injected me. It must've been tough on you, back then..."
"This is my first time giving you an injection."
"Oh, yes, right. I forgot..."
Shutting his eyes tightly, the time traveler stuck out his wrist and accepted the alien's kissing baptism. The time it took for him to be injected with nanomachines was shorter than mine. Once it was over, he began to cough dryly.
"Well, let's go. Kyon-chan, the real thing starts now."
Really? The warm-up this time sure felt quite long! Then again, I was only doing my best to narrate this for everyone, even though I really didn't want to do this.
"Thanks."
I tried to remain calm as I gave thanks to the master of the apartment. The silent Nagato remained unresponsive. I could not find any form of self-awareness through his expression. Yet for some reason, I just felt Nagato, who was standing upright, felt very lonely. Was it really because he was lonely as I had speculated?
"Nagato, I'll see you then. Before Haruki and I arrive, make sure you wait for us in the Literature Club room until then."
Like a doll being injected with life, the alien-created organic being mechanically nodded her head.
"I will wait."
Such a sentence was enough to ignite a mysterious flame within my heart. Though it was only as bright as a cigarette butt that someone had forgotten to put out. As I was about to figure out where that little spark came from, Asahina-san (big) now said,
"Just to prevent you from getting uncomfortable,"
He tightly grabbed my shoulders and hugged me tightly in his chest. I could feel my face becoming flushed again.
"Can you please close your eyes?"
I followed as he instructed me to. Asahina-san (big) seemed to be standing right in front of me, holding my hands.
"Kyon-chan."
This soft chanting sounded just too pleasant. Was he going kiss me?
"Here we go."
Wait.. in front of Nagato? Umm… I’m not prepared yet. Please be gentle… As I was thinking about this...
The dramatic dizziness had begun. It was good that I had closed my eyes. Even if I had them opened, it would probably be pitch-black as though there was a power shortage. I now felt like sitting in a roller coaster with my seat-belt taken off; I was no longer sure whether the blood in me had left my body or was rushing towards my brain. The sense of floating weightlessness continued. Though I had closed my eyes, I still felt dizzy. The fact that I didn't lose consciousness was all thanks to the warmth felt through Asahina-san's (big) hands.
How many minutes has it been already? Or even how many hours? I lost all awareness of time and space. I can't hold on much longer. Asahina-san, I feel like throwing up...
As I was ungraciously trying to look for something that I could puke in...
"Um... We've arrived."
The long lost sensation of my feet standing on firm ground was back again. The coldness of the ground passed through my socks and into my body. My sense of gravity was back as well. Like an illusion, the urge to throw up also suddenly disappeared.
"You can open your eyes now. Thank goodness, this is the place that Nagato-san had directed us... And the time as well."
I lifted my head and saw glittering in the night sky a bunch of winter constellations. As the air was cleaner, the stars were much clearer than in the summer. I turned around and instantly recognized the roof of the North High complex looming above the residential housings.
I looked around me, trying to confirm where I was now. Though it was dark, I couldn't be mistaken. I was standing here just a few hours ago. I could still remember Haruki’s tied up hair and Koizumi in my PE uniform as well.
This was where Haruki and Koizumi had gotten changed. It should be a coincidence, I guess!
Now then, what time was it?
Looking at his watch, Asahina-san (big) told me,
"It's four forty-eight in the morning on the 18th of December. In about five minutes, the world will be changed."
From the moment I hit the "Enter" key on the 20th and traveled back three years in time, the 18th would be two days ago. On that day, I went to school as usual, unaware of what was about to happen, and I fell into a state of pandemonium as a result of seeing a North High that has completely changed. Haruki has suddenly disappeared, while Asakura had reappeared; and Asahina-san couldn't recognize me, while Nagato has become a completely different person altogether.
It all started here, I was now at the time period where the conversion took effect. In other words, I could also prevent it from happening, and that was why I was standing here now.
As I was getting fired up by the intense anticipation......
"Oh no! I forgot to bring my shoes!"
Asahina-san (big) exclaimed softly.
As we traveled directly from indoors, naturally we weren't wearing any shoes. As expected from Asahina-san, not even the passage of time could wear away his clumsiness.
"Would Nagato-san take good care of them for me?"
His anxiety briefly relieved me of my own nervousness. I'm sure he'd take good care of them. After all, he managed to preserve a tanzaku for three years. So he won't lose a pair of shoes so easily. You can always go to his apartment and check his cupboard......
As I calmly thought about these, an electric-like sensation went through my body all of a sudden.
That was because I wasn't wearing any shoes, not to mention having to leap from summer back to the freezing winter, so the cold felt even more intense. I put on my cardigan but for some reason it still felt very cold and I started to shiver.
“Put this on.”
Asahina-san (big) placed a jacket over my shoulder. I turned around to see him smiling at me, apparently proud of his own act of chivalry.
“Thanks. Sorry about that.”
Asahina-san (big) gave me a smile, which perfectly combined manliness and cuteness, and would soften the legs of more than half of the audience, then said seriously,
"It's almost time."
Maybe it was good that we forgot to wear our shoes, as we didn't make any sound while walking. Despite that, Asahina-san (big) and I still didn't dare to breathe loudly as we walked in small steps towards the entrance of North High. We stopped by the corner and like hunters following their prey, we only stuck our heads out and stared at the path ahead of us in the dark.
There weren't a lot of street lamps in this area, though there was one just outside the gate. Only the area under the light was illuminated. Though the light was dim, one could still make out whoever was standing under that lamp.
"Here he comes......"
A warm hand landed on my shoulder. I could feel Asahina-san's (big) intense yet sweet breathing blow into my ears. Normally, I would be spellbound by it, but I wasn't in the mood right now.
The space-time converter emerged from the shadows and into the light under the lamp.
A North High uniform. That was the person Nagato had mentioned. "That person" was the culprit who had altered our world, separated the members of the SOS Brigade and turned everyone into normal human beings. Only my memories remained, while the memories and history of everyone and everything else were totally changed.
Right now, "that person" had begun making his move.
I still couldn't rush out yet, I had to wait till everything has changed. That was the advice Nagato gave me. I must wait till that person had changed the world completely before I could inject the Restoration Program. Otherwise, the history where I activated the Escape Program would never have existed. I didn't quite understand what Nagato meant, though Nagato and Asahina-san (big) both seemed pretty clear about it. They must be pretty familiar with the flow of time, a person like me would never understand. Since I'll never get it, I might as well follow the advice of the professionals. That Nagato would never lie, she has always been standing by our side with a serious look on her face......
I tightly grabbed the short needle pistol Nagato gave me and waited silently.
Walking in regular strides, "that person" arrived before the gates of North High. He lifted his head to look at the school complex that was shrouded in darkness and stopped.
His uniform jacket flickered as the wind blew.
He didn't seem to notice us. This was all thanks to the nanomachines Nagato injected into us, creating a stealth barrier and protective shield on the surface of our bodies.
"That person" suddenly lifted one arm and made a gesture as though grabbing onto something in the air. It didn't look natural, it's as though he was being controlled, but I knew that wasn't the case.
"Amazing..." Asahina-san (big) exclaimed, "That was a powerful time quake. He actually had such power... I still find it hard to believe even after I've seen it with my own eyes,"
Even with my own eyes, I still don't see any changes. The night sky was still dark. Yet Asahina-san (big) seemed to have witnessed that person use some method to cause a massive change to the history of this world. He was from the future after all, so it's not surprising if he could see it.
Asahina-san (big) leaned himself tightly onto me. Originally, we too would have been swamped by "that person's" alteration of the world, but we were protected by having Nagato bite us. Nagato and Asahina-san (big) were indeed helpful, it seems the course of action I've taken was correct. What follows next would be the action needed to resolve this matter, I can't afford to screw up at the last hurdle.
I held my breath when I saw that person putting down his arm and suddenly turn his head in our direction. At first I thought he had discovered we were peeking on him, but it turns out he was only looking around.
"Don't worry, he hasn't discovered us. Right now he has been 'reborn.' The time quake... The alteration of the world has ended. Kyon-kun, it's our turn to move now,"
Asahina-san (big) said in a stiff and serious tone and gave me the signal.
I emerged from the darkness and headed towards the school gate. There was no need to hurry, as he was not going to run away. As expected, when "that person" noticed me standing under the street lamp, he was still standing in front of the school gate. The only change was the expression on his face. When I saw the astonished look on his face, I suddenly felt melancholic all of a sudden.
"Hi there,"
I called out to him. As though seeing a friend I haven't met for a long time, I approached him.
"It's me, we meet again,"
I was able to guess a bit from the tone of Asahina-san's (big) voice. Of the people that I knew, besides Haruki, only one person could make him feel so uneasy. Think about it. After the 18th, the secret personal profiles of the SOS Brigade members had suddenly vanished. Yet all their personalities remained intact, all save one, whose actions, expressions and mannerism had changed completely.
Under the dim night sky, wearing a North High uniform, the large but thin figure stood there not knowing what was going on. He didn't seem to understand why he was here, like someone suffering from sleepwalking who had suddenly woken up and begun to look around...
"Nagato,"
I said,
"This was all your doing, right?"
Wearing glasses, it was that Nagato. After the 18th, this Nagato Yuuki was just the mere remaining member of the Literature Club, he was neither an alien or any mysterious entity whatsoever, just a very shy bookworm.
The bespectacled Nagato now looked even more astonished, not understanding what was going on,
"...Why... why... are you here?"
"I was about to ask you that, do you even know why you're here?"
"...I'm taking a walk,"
Nagato said uneasily while widening his eyes. The glasses on the boy's face that I was looking at reflected the light of the street lamp. I looked at him like that and thought,
No, it's not like that, Nagato.
This boy was only feeling tired. Having to spend all day being turned around in circles by Haruki, while busy saving my life, as well as being secretly active in some unknown location behind our backs - it was only natural that he would become fatigued by it all.
A while ago in Nagato's apartment, this was what the Nagato three years ago told us:
"The erroneous files accumulated in my memory database will trigger an anomalous reaction. It can be foreseen that this is unavoidable. On December 18th three years from now, I will reconstruct the world."
He continued calmly,
"There are no counter-measures available, because I do not know how such errors could occur."
But I do.
I know the reason behind Nagato's unexplicable, abnormal action, and just what those erroneous files she had been accumulating were.
It was the most basic desire. Even for an artificial intelligence run by a complex program, even for an android interface who never had such stuff installed, after living for some time, it was natural for him to develop such a desire. You'll never understand, but I do. And probably Haruki does as well.
I continued to observe Nagato's troubled expression unreservedly. Yet the dream boy from the Literature Club now looked even more uncomfortable. Seeing how helpless he looked, I can't help but yell inside, Nagato! This is what we call emotions!
It is because you were designed not to have any emotions to begin with, the reaction felt from you was far greater. You probably felt like screaming, or going ballistic, or just yelling out loud, you stupid idiot! I've had enough of you! Right? No, even if he didn't think that way, what he did was totally understandable. His actions can be forgiven, because I was partly responsible, after all. I've become too reliant on him, having gotten used to letting Nagato take care of everything. I always thought that as long as Nagato was helping, I could switch off my brain. What an idiot I was, an even greater idiot than Haruki. So I had no right to condemn him for this.
That was why Nagato - this guy here, came up with the silly idea of changing the world.
So was it an anomalous reaction, or a programming error?
Boy, you sure are annoying, it's neither of the above.
This was what Nagato wished for - a normal world like this.
He only preserved my memories, while altering the memories of everyone else, including herself.
It was now that I finally understood the question that was puzzling me for the last few days.
Why was I the only one to remain unaffected?
The answer was simple, it was because the boy had wanted to let me make the choice.
Is the altered world better? Or is the original one better? Under his well crafted script, the final decision rests on me.
"Damn it,"
To hell with choosing! I never had a choice!
If I had only wanted the SOS Brigade, then I didn't have to return at all. I could just start over in the new world. Haruki and Koizumi may be studying in another high school, but that wouldn't be too much of an obstacle. We'll just treat it as an out-of-school hobby. This mysterious club can meet as usual at that coffee shop. Over there, Haruki would come up with some ridiculous stuff, while Koizumi would grin all the time; Asahina-san would look extremely distressed, and I would just look away with a scowl on my face... An image of that scene floated in my mind at once. The Nagato there would probably look troubled as well, of course he would still quietly read his book. Yet still...
That wouldn't be the SOS Brigade that I knew. Nagato isn't an alien, Asahina-san isn't a time traveler from the future, and Koizumi's just a normal person, while Haruki wouldn't possess any extraordinary powers. It would just be a simple, normal and happy club.
Am I fine with that? Isn't that even better?
How did I think about it at first? Just what did I make of Haruki's constant trouble-makings beyond the boundaries of common sense?
What a pain.
Enough already!
Are you an idiot!?
I've had enough with you!
"......"
My heart began to hurt.
A normal high school student who was forced to take part in many troublesome situations, constantly complaining to Haruki yet still managing to live to tell the tale. That was the role I've been playing all along.
Now then! Yes, Kyon! I'm talking to you! I've got to ask myself a very important question, so listen carefully and answer me. You can't refrain from answering. Just a single "yes" or "no" would do. Now listen up, here comes the question:
Don't you find such a weird and extraordinary school life fun?
Hurry up and answer, Kyon! Think carefully. Well? Can't I ask what you think of this? Hurry up and tell me. In a world where I was being turned around in circles by Haruki; attacked by aliens; hearing a time traveler explain wild theories; putting up with the philosophical babble with an esper; trapped in a Sealed Dimension where giants go on a rampage; living with a cat that speaks; making an incomprehensible leap through time; not to mention having to follow the strict rule of not letting Haruki know all of these, allowing the commander of the SOS Brigade to happily continue his pursuit of mysterious events, while completely oblivious that she has made a huge mess.
Don't you find such a world interesting?
Or did you think that was just too annoying, and had wanted to tell him enough is enough? Since you've always thought he was an idiot and had decided to ignore him. Well? Is it true? In other words? Is that what you really think?
That world was hardly interesting at all.
Are you sure? According to what you said, you find Haruki in the original world to be very annoying. No matter what wild ideas he would come up with, you would always feel melancholic. Of course it's natural that you wouldn't find such a world to be interesting. And don't tell me it's not true! You know it is.
Yet, in reality you're secretly enjoying all of this. Because that world is interesting.
You ask me why I say that?
Then let me tell you why,
Didn't you hit the "Enter" key?
You know, the one for the Emergency Escape Program that Nagato left for you.
Are you ready?
The answer you gave for that question then was a resolute "yes."
Am I right?
Our Great God Nagato went far out of his way to create a stable world for you, and you had to turn down his offer. Ever since you met Suzumiya Haruki back in April, you've taken that idiotic world for granted. You actually want to return to a crazy world where aliens, time travelers and espers wander freely in school. Why is that? Aren't you the one who was complaining all the time about how woeful you are?
If that were the case, then why didn't you ignore the Escape Program? By choosing to stay in this very normal world here, you'll know Haruki, Asahina-san, Koizumi and Nagato as ordinary high school students, and lead a happy life as usual under Haruki's leadership. Since Haruki doesn't have any powers, you could say goodbye to all those surreal experiences.
In that world, Haruki would just be a normal boy who likes to boss people around; Asahina-san would no longer have the attribute of being a time traveler from the future, he would just be a very cute character; Koizumi would be a normal high school student without any backing from some mysterious 'Organization'; and Nagato would just be a timid and humble bookish boy, not having to carry any burden or use any amazing powers to observe or protect someone. Oh yeah, though most of the time he would remain expressionless, he would still laugh heartily at some lame joke, and then blush furiously. Who knows, he could be a person who could slowly open himself up if I spend some time with him.
Such an idyllic life that would be, and yet you have forsaken it.
Just why is that?
I'll ask you one last time. Answer me truthfully.
Do you find Haruki the troublemaker and the nightmarish events that he causes to be interesting? Hurry up and answer!
"Of course I do,"
I answered as such,
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize it was fun. So don't ask me something so trivial anymore."
If someone had actually said they don't find that interesting, then that person would be a blithering idiot. His wits would be thirty times dimmer than Haruki's.
I mean, there are aliens, time travelers and espers out there!
Just one alone would be intriguing enough, but to have three sorts of interesting characters all at once! With Haruki included, some powerful force is bound to be triggered. At this rate, I'll never be bored. If someone had made any objections to that, I think I'd beat him to a pulp at once.
"So that's how it is,"
I said to myself. You could say I've finally been enlightened.
"I still prefer the original world. This world just doesn't suit me. I'm sorry, Nagato. I don't like the present you, I prefer the Nagato from before. Besides, I like you better without glasses,"
This Nagato looked at me with a very puzzled face,
"What are you talking about..."
The Nagato Yuuki I know would never say something like that.
This boy would have no knowledge of these three days, when I discovered something was wrong up to now. That was to be expected, because this Nagato had just been reborn, and so has never met me. He would have no memory of looking shocked as I barged into the Literature Club.
The only memory this Nagato had was the fabricated memory in the library. Besides that, the memory we share now all happened since he changed the world a while ago.
A few months ago, I was trapped in the grey Sealed Dimension with just Haruki. According to Koizumi, that was a new world created by Haruki.
Nagato was probably using that power. Somehow he managed to nick or steal that mysterious power from Haruki and used it to create this world.
That sure was a convenient power. No matter who it is, they will always have the thought of wanting to start all over, or wishing that things would go back to where it would be favorable for them.
Yet, a normal person would never be able to achieve such a wish. And it was better that they gave up that thought. I myself didn't want to start all over, which was why I returned from the Sealed Dimension with Haruki.
This incident was caused by the transferral of a god-like omnipotent power from Haruki to Nagato. Haruki was unaware of it all, while Nagato lost control and went forward to change the world.
"Nagato,"
I walked towards the stiff tiny figure standing there. Nagato remained motionless and stared back at me.
"No matter how many times I have to say this, my answer is the same. Please return everything to normal, including you as well. Let's live to fight another day in the club room. As long as you give the signal, I'll be there for you. Lately Haruki hasn't been going astray for no reason now, so there's no need for you to use such an unhealthy power to forcefully change the world. Just keep everything as it is."
The eyes under the glasses betray a sense of fear.
"Kyon-chan..."
Asahina-san grabbed my shoulder and said,
"It's useless trying to explain to this Nagato-san. Because even he has changed. This Nagato-san is just a normal boy without any powers..."
I suddenly thought of something.
The long haired Haruki in that world called me John. Without any god-like or demon-like powers, he was just an ordinary schoolboy who barged into North High without hesitation. His eyes glittered brightly as he showed great interest in my story about the SOS Brigade, while exclaiming, "Sounds like fun!"
Carrying a wide grin at all times, the Koizumi there said she fancies Haruki. Wearing my PE uniform, the straight A transfer student would show a complicated expression.
Giving me an invitation to join the Literature Club, this bespectacled Nagato would reminisce his fabricated memory together with me. The smile on his face was like the sun rising out of the horizon, I can't help but want to see that smile once again.
I realized I would never see these people again. To be honest, I kind of missed them. It's just that their existences were all fabricated. They were not the Haruki, Koizumi, Nagato and Asahina-san I knew. It was a pity I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to them, but I've already made up my mind. I want to go back to the Haruki, Koizumi, Nagato and Asahina-san I knew.
"I'm sorry."
I took the gun out and pointed it. Nagato instantly froze on the spot, seeing his reaction, I felt extremely criminal. But I've come this far, so there's no point in hesitating.
“Hey! That’s dangerous. It’s not a toy. Put that away before you hurt someone.”
I ignored this Nagato’s pleas.
"Everything would return to normal very soon. We'll be able to go to many different places again, have our Christmas hot pot, and then go to the mansion in the snow mountain. You can be the Great Detective this time. A Great Detective that could solve the case just when it has occurred, right? That'll be......"
"Kyon-chan! Look out... KYAA!!"
As Asahina-san screamed out, someone rammed into my back. Thud! A loud shudder caused me to shake, even the shadow under the street lamp was shaking. In that shadow was the silhouette of another person. What the? Who was it?
"I can't let you hurt Nagato-san!"
I turned my head over my shoulder and saw the pale face of a man.
Asakura Ryou.
"What the..."
Before I could say anything more, I suddenly felt something icy cold jabbed into my abdomen. It was a flat object that was thrusted deep into my body. So cold. The sense of disorientation far surpassed the sense of pain. Just what was going on? How can this be? Why was Asakura here?
"Hee hee,"
To me, his grin looked like that of an expressionless mask that has suddenly begun smiling. Asakura then backed off from me, pulling out the blood-soaked katana which he used to stab me.
Losing my balance, I fell to the ground like a spinning top. Standing before me all this time, Nagato's legs gave in as he slumped to the ground and said fearfully,
"Asakura...-san?"
As though greeting someone, Asakura-san waved the murder weapon that was drenched in my blood and said,
"Hi, Nagato-san. Don't you worry, as long as I'm here, I'll eliminate anyone that attempts to threaten you. That was the reason why I was created."
Asakura smiled and continued,
"It is what you have wished for, isn't it?"
That's a lie. Nagato would never have made such a wish. He's not the sort to kill a bird simply because it's not singing as he wants it to. Absolutely not. As Nagato began to act abnormally, this Asakura that was re-created was also acting in an abnormal way, basically becoming a shadow to Nagato......
Asakura's shadow slowly landed on my body. Very soon her silhouette blocked out the moon from my vision.
"Allow me to send you on your last journey. As long as you're dead, everything will be fine. It's your fault for making Nagato-san suffer in the first place. Does it hurt? I'm sure it does. Better enjoy it while it lasts, because that'll probably be the last sensation you'll ever feel. But now, I’ll end it in one quick swipe."
The tip of the katana was placed beside my neck. Asakura then lifted the sword above his head at an angle. Is he going to cut my head off? I was bleeding non-stop. Is this the end? ...I struggled to think as my mind became blurry. I was losing all sense of reality. So, Psycho Asakura, is this your mission? To act as back-up to Nagato Yuuki...
The katana began to move downwards...
In the blink of an eye, a hand stretched out from one side.
"...!!!"
Someone had stopped the blade of the katana, and with only two fingers as well.
"Who the...?"
Bare hands...!? Where have I seen this before?
My vision was becoming more and more blurry, so I couldn't tell who it was. There's not enough light, anyone mind turning up the light? He was standing in front of the bright street lamp, so I couldn't see his face properly. All I knew was that it was a tall short-haired guy...wearing a North High uniform...not wearing glasses...that's all I could see... Koizumi! ...Where's the guy in charge of lighting when you need her!?
"Huh...!?"
Exclaiming softly was Nagato, who was sitting on the ground. His glasses reflected the brightness of the street lamp, so I couldn't see his expression clearly. Was it fear? Or was it astonishment?
"Why? But you're...!? Why..."
Asakura yelled. He seemed to be talking to the guy who caught the blade with his fingers, but the guy remained silent and said nothing.
Asahina-san sounded as though he was right next to me,
"I'm so sorry... Kyon-chan, I should have known, but still..."
"Kyon-chan! Kyon-chan...... No! You can't!"
There seems to be two Asahina-sans. One was the adult Asahina-san, while the other was the shouta Asahina-san that I knew. Both had tears all over their faces, and were shaking my body. Hey, both of you, that hurts...
...Huh? What was Asahina-san (small) doing here? While I could still understand the adult Asahina-san holding me in her arms and crying, since he came here with me to this time period; but just where on earth did the little Asahina-san come from? Ah, I get it now. It's one of those illusions, a recollection of one's whole life as one reaches the end of his life...
Now this was scarier than the feeling of pain and seeing blood flow non-stop out of your body.
Damn it, I'm about to die.
As I wallow in regret for not having written a will, I felt someone appear above me. That person lifted me and picked up the needle-gun that Nagato made that had dropped to the ground.
A familiar voice, yet I could not remember whose, spoke,
"Sorry about that. I have my reasons for not rescuing you right away, but don't hate me for it. After all, it was painful for me as well. Anyway, we'll take care of the rest. No, I already know what to do now, and you will as well. So go get some sleep for now."
What's she talking about? And who was she talking to? Do what? And who's taking care of what? The images of Asakura's fatal strike, the bespectacled Nagato supporting himself with her arms while kneeling on the ground, the two Asahina-sans, and Haruki in a different school uniform had all now been fused together...
I gradually fell unconscious.
Given that Asakura actally gets to stab Kyon this time, we might want to change to a knife for this chapter. Stab someone with a katana, and I imagine you practically disembowel them in one go; they're rather large.
May 30th:
- Further discussion on Alt. Yuuki
- T-Shirts and Hoods requested
- This quote [insert] sparks theological debate
- Vol. 4 Ch. 1 Pt. 3 edited (by Aebliss)
- Vol. 1 Ch. 2 Pt. 2 edited (by Molenir)
- -ism logos edited (by Kagedanji)
- A brief explanation of this project to Ultima Rasengan05
May 31st:
- Discussion on animation and copyrights
- Boredom Pt 7 written (by Kogetsu)
- Kang scans for Kyonko Doujinshis
- Sneak peek into Vol. 4 Ch. 2 Pt 1. (by Shaoron)
- Forceflow steals Cat Megex’s greeting
- Discussion on Alt. Yuuki asking Kyonko (or is it Kyonko asking Alt. Yuuki?)
- Everyone trying to tap into their inner fangirl to find the most erm… Fangirly reaction for Alt. Yuuki to have… um.
- Discussion on headbands/hair bands/headphones
June 1st:
- Discussion on headbands/hair bands/headphones
- Another Dango joins us… help
June 2nd:
- Discussion on Shamisen… wait a sec…
- I make the most STUPID suggestion ever… summarize the whole thread… really…
- Disappearance Ch. 2 Pt. 1 written (by Shaoron)
- Discussion on Kyonko’s breast size
- I, unfortunately, start contemplating my stupid suggestion…
- …and is given a mammoth new project. Summarize the entire thread. Thanks guys!
- Disappearance Ch. 2 Pt. 2 written (by Shaoron)
- Discussion on changing clothes
June 3rd:
- Discussion on changing clothes
- Discussion on Kyonko’s breast size
- Discussion on whether Haruki would do a choke hold
- Discussion on how to insult Taniguchi
- Discussion on what classifies as melonpan
- Discussion on Shamisen
- Disappearance Ch. 3 Pt. 1 written (by Shaoron)
- Disappearance Ch. 3 Pt. 2 written (by Shaoron)
June 4th:
- Vol. 1 Ch. 7 Pt. 2 written (by Kaisos)
- Vol. 1 Ch. 7 Pt. 2 edited (by Aebliss)
- Disappearance Ch. 2 Pt. 1 edited (by Aebliss)
- Disappearance Ch. 2 Pt. 2 edited (by Aebliss)
- Disappearance Ch. 3 Pt. 1 edited (by Aebliss)
- Disappearance Ch. 3 Pt. 2 edited (by Aebliss)
- Vol. 2 Ch. 1 Pt. 1 written (by Redlar)
- A nostalgic summary of the first 150 posts
June 5th:
- Discussion on replacement for ponytail moe
- Vol. 1 Ch. 7 Pt 3 written (by Aebliss)
- And the plot of the thread lost me about here
- 2nd 150 posts summarized
- Disappearance Ch. 3 written (by Shaoron)
- Replacement of John Smith discussed
- 10,000th post
Did I mention how refreshing a weekly is after summarizing the first 300 posts of the thread?
Last edited by Don't press enter; 2008-06-13 at 05:44.
-_- ... Right now, I have no respect for you whatsoever.
hey! i actually posted the real thing a few post later!!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aebliss
Given that Asakura actally gets to stab Kyon this time, we might want to change to a knife for this chapter. Stab someone with a katana, and I imagine you practically disembowel them in one go; they're rather large.
yay.. we're back to the same topic again....
NO!
Asakura wanted to make Kyonko feel pain before actually killing her. A light stab is all that's needed. no need to change the weapon. remember, he slowly pulled the blade out.. so no major disembowelment...
besides.. Asakura is obviously compensating for something...
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