[FFML] [Haruhi] [Dark] Error in Calculation: Chapter One

[Brian Randall]

Don't worry; I'm not going to spam all six chapters out in a single
day.  That would be uncivilized.


     Error in Calculation

     Chapter Two: The Second Day

    	A 'Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi' fanfiction.

	Disclaimer: The novel 'Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu'/'The Melancholy of
Suzumiya Haruhi' is the creation of Nagaru Tanigawa.  No disrespect is
intended by the posting of this fanfiction, as I do not own the
characters or settings involved.  I'm merely dabbling with another set
of paints.  ;)

     Additionally, a character or two is borrowed from Higurashi,
which is the creation of Ryukishi07, but don't read too much into
that.
	---------------------------------
     Itsuki remembered a fair number of his personal closed-space
experiments well enough.  It was a point of curiosity; he knew the
exact extent and limits of his abilities ... as far as what their
intended purposes were.  But small abuses of those abilities could be
wormed out of clever use anyway.

     The one he was counting on was exiting at a different point than
the one he had entered from.  He frowned at the monochrome gray room,
a nearly identical copy of the one he and Mori had just left.  She
followed him quietly as they walked through the splintered remains of
the door and down the empty hall, both of them flying into the wall as
the building shuddered.

     "Shinjin!" he exclaimed, taking her wrist and heading towards the
exit he felt was furthest from the giant.  She paced him easily,
following his lead only because she didn't know which route would be
safe.  They made the hallway, then ran up the flights of stairs to
street level, escaping the building seconds ahead of a giant, liquid
pillar of blue smashing the building down.

     None of the other espers were near this particular Shinjin yet,
and he grimaced, his senses reporting that this relatively recent
closed space had merged with another.  Turning down the street, he
decided to try and consider it an advantage.  "Mori-san," he called
out, between steps, "do you have a safe location?  Any holdouts?"

     "Just one," she answered, once they were a few blocks away from
the Shinjin, still walking quickly.  "How big is this closed space?"

     "I've never seen one so big," he answered honestly.  "But that's
fine; that means I can take you further."

     Mori took a deep breath, considering.  "I can try and find the
Tamaru brothers.  Maybe I can get them out of this; we're going to
need allies if we want to do anything."

     "Tell me about it," Itsuki muttered, wiping his forehead with one
hand as a crimson orb streaked across the sky, circling the nearby
Shinjin.  "What were you going to tell me, anyway?"

     Mori watched the display for a moment, then strode into a nearby
alley, out of line of sight.  Itsuki followed.  "Right now, Asahina
Mikuru is probably the only one who can get us out of this," Mori
said.  "Based on your analysis, and the psychology pool we maintain--
Maintained, I suppose, to analyze Suzumiya, she had at the very least
great affection for Kyon."

     That assessment was no surprise to Itsuki.

     "Our best guess is that as a theoretical 'unaffiliated' but known
friend of Asahina Mikuru, she would be at the Tsuruya estate,
somewhere.

     "Unfortunately, I'm not the only one that knows this.
Push-comes-to-shove, Organization manpower and equipment is enough to
overcome whatever unsuspecting yakuza are guarding the gate.  We may
not understand the mechanism or motivation for the time traveler, but
we have a strong guess that if they manage to take her unaware and
keep her unconscious, she won't be able to escape.  I apologize for
utilizing you as a pawn, Koizumi, but you're too important fighting
closed space for the Organization to attack you."

     "Not a pawn," Itsuki disagreed, looking overhead as another
crimson orb crossed the sky.  "Not anymore.  I work with you because I
respect you.  You're right, though; I do have too much value to them.
What do you think I should do, then?"

     "You need to find Asahina Mikuru," Mori said, frowning.  "I'm
going to try and rally what resistance I can within the Organization,
but it's going to be dangerous for both of us.  In the meantime ... I
was going to send you to a safe house.  Arakawa should be waiting
there."  She produced an envelope from her pocket and hurriedly opened
it, taking a key out, but handing the rest to him.  "If it's still
safe, I'll be waiting there with him.  If we can trust anyone, it will
be him."

     Itsuki nodded.  "I understand," he said, pocketing the envelope.
"Does anyone else know about this safe house?"

     A nearby building suddenly collapsed, shooting a mass of dust
into the street behind their alley.  Mori ducked, grimacing.  "They
shouldn't.  We were very careful for just this eventuality.  Try and
infiltrate whatever remains of the Organization -- they should accept
you because of your esper powers alone.  And, Koizumi?"

     "Yes?"

     "Good luck."

     He smiled, holding his hand out to her.  "Come on.  Let's get out
of here, Mori-san."

     She nodded, and he closed his eyes, focusing and wrapping his
power around both of them carefully.

     ***

     The second day was miserable.

     Rain poured down in thick, uncomfortably warm sheets,
occasionally punctuated by the rumble of distant lightning.  No one
called her back, not even the detective from the day before.

     Her parents were gone, but at least Yuki was over.  She didn't
know how the other girl had known where she lived, but she didn't care
at the moment.  Waking up in bed next to the other girl at least gave
her the comfort of knowing she wasn't totally alone, even if Yuki
didn't have Kyon's home number either.

     But Yuki seemed more silent than usual.  She obviously was
unsettled by the entire thing, too.

     The news that morning revealed what couldn't have remained hidden
for long.  There had been a brutal crime in their high school ... a
murder.  As such, not just their school, but the entire district had
shut down for the day.  The morning announcer somberly reminded
viewers that there was safety in numbers, repeating Oishi's
suggestions not to travel alone.  In further news, classes for
Nishinomiya Kitago would resume on Friday.

     She shivered, trying to focus long enough to cook breakfast.  She
burnt at least half of it, but put the worst on her own plate.  Yuki
ate in silence, almost mechanically, her eyes only occasionally
flicking to her plate, and mostly fixed on the droll news report.

     "That's enough," Haruhi finally said softly, prompting the
shorter girl to look at her, glasses reflecting the television screen.
 She turned it off.

     Yuki stared at her for a moment, then turned her attention to her
empty plate.  "I will clean," she said in her hushed monotone.

     Haruhi nodded, moving to the seat by the window so she could look
outside.  The rain continued to pour steadily down.

     After Yuki finished the dishes, she moved to sit at Haruhi's
side, though she didn't look at the view.  Probably, Haruhi thought,
she was lost in her own thoughts.  As always.

     By late afternoon, the rains finally slowed to a drizzle, and
Haruhi packed her overnight bag for a few days, stuffing her uniform
in almost as an afterthought.

     "Your place, right?" Haruhi asked, grabbing an umbrella for each of them.

     Yuki gave that small nod that Haruhi was starting to realize was
one of her major modes of communication.  As they had waited the day
away together in silence, they walked to the train station, and then
to Yuki's apartment.

     "Your place is ... very nice," Haruhi said, looking around at the
lack of furniture.

     Yuki said nothing in response.

     "Um ... let me know if there's anything I can do to help you
out," she tried, beginning to be worried by the other girl's silence.

     "Yes," Yuki agreed quietly.

     "So....  Do you want to talk about it?"

     Yuki turned to look at her, and the smaller girl's eyes blinked
once behind their glass lenses before she replied, "No."

     Haruhi looked away, swallowing.  "Me either," she muttered.

     ***

     After the last night's disastrous 'summary' meeting, Oishi had
reported all known information, sans speculation, to a council that
included the mayor, the police chief and his direct staff, a
representative from the Diet, and a trio of National Police
representatives -- officially, the NPA did not have officers.  As he
had anticipated, the NPA were assigned as observers for the case
before the meeting was over.  While nothing specific was said against
Oishi, the feeling of resentment from his superiors was very strong.

     After arduous hours combing through all of the assembled evidence
and testimony -- again -- Oishi found himself alone in a meeting with
the senior NPA representative, Akasaka Mamoru.  "What else can I do to
help you, Akasaka-kun?" he asked cheerlessly.

     "At this point, it's more of a question of what I can do to help
you, Oishi-kun," Akasaka countered, frowning.  "You're right about the
Interpol flag bringing us in, but in the public perception, we don't
want the NPA involved."

     Oishi nodded, then rose from his seat and locked the door to the
small room.  Crossing over to the window underneath Akasaka's
questioning gaze, he opened it, leaning slightly outward and lighting
another cigarette.  "Politics?"

     "Of course.  If this case escalates straight to NPA after just
three days, citizens may become concerned that their law enforcement
isn't effective.  Given that this is also a ... difficult case, at
best, if the NPA is directly involved, failure to solve it makes us
look bad.  Our director doesn't like to step on toes, but he reports
directly to the Department of Public Safety...."

     "Alright," Oishi said with a grunt, tapping his cigarette into
his portable ashtray.  "Let's just leave it at 'politics'."

     "Thank you for understanding."

     "What about the Interpol flag?"

     "The NPA has been tracing questionable financial actions centered
around associates of Koizumi Itsuki.  In all honesty, he shouldn't
have been able to leave the country."

     Oishi raised an eyebrow.  "Akasaka-kun, is there some hidden
crime on Koizumi-san's record we don't know about?"

     "Only speculation," the NPA representative said, shaking his
head.  "I didn't bring any of my case files with me, but we can't
officially bring them into this case yet.  Even so...."

     "I think I understand," Oishi said with a wearied smirk.
"Alright.  Ears only."

     "Right.  Firstly, you're familiar with the Tsuruya family?"

     "Vaguely," Oishi answered, narrowing his eyes.  "Hmm, a second
year, associate of Asahina Mikuru, but not Suzumiya Haruhi.  No
witnesses put Student K and Tsuruya-san together, and I believe she
was home at the time of the assault."

     "The Tsuruya who attends Kitago is currently most likely to
become the next family head.  The Tsuruya family is strongly suspected
of yakuza involvement."

     Oishi drummed his fingers on the windowsill.  "Yakuza....  They
would have the manpower and knowledge to commit the crime, but I can't
see them penetrating the school unnoticed.  No, I can't even see them
considering the school was the place to do it.  Wouldn't they abduct
Student K off the street in a car?"

     "Still looking back to 1995?"

     "Akasaka-san, do you know how embarrassing that was?"

     "I can only imagine," Akasaka said, grimacing.  "But, please tell me?"

     "Eh ... in 1995, Nishinomiya was hit by an unprecedented disaster
-- I'm sure you remember the Kobe earthquake.  I had actually
transfered in from Okinomiya a few weeks before then -- the first day
of the disaster, when SDF emergency vehicles still had not arrived, we
were approached by the yakuza."

     "And...?"

     "They gave us their vehicles, volunteered all of their 'little
brothers' and 'bigger bothers' for rescue services and manual labor.
They even had their lieutenants coordinating relief, managing
distribution of stockpiled goods....  Ah, that was nothing compared to
what they did in Kobe, where the damage was worst.  There, they even
gave a helicopter to the rescue efforts."

     "I think I remember ... I was still in school at the time.  It
was very embarrassing for the government."

     "Right.  But the Tsuruya family would be subject to the
Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi, unless I'm mistaken?"

     "We believe that to be correct."

     "So, I have a hard time seeing them in a negative light.  Even
admitting my biases, the murder didn't strike me as their general
style, and we haven't found a thing on Student K to link him with
yakuza.  Then again ... you're NPA, so you would probably know better
than I would.  Considering that currently, yakuza involvement is
outside of the scope of the case as I'm handling it, would you be able
to run another side of the investigation into that?"

     "I agree with you.  It doesn't seem likely that the yakuza are
directly involved in the murder.  There may be a link between them,
the Tsuruya family, and Koizumi Itsuki.  But that's tenuous at best.
Still, as I do want to help, and it may be related, that investigation
is already underway."

     Both men were quiet, Oishi putting out his cigarette and
switching on the overhead fan.  "I'm not sure I understand the
connection between Koizumi and Student K, beyond both of them
attending the same school and participating in the same club."

     "Based on your investigation, we don't see anything, either.
Even so, that's why we were asked to join you.  The matters involving
Koizumi Itsuki are centered around a substantial money laundering
franchise ... but while it's yakuza-related, we don't believe whatever
this franchise is up to, it involves normal yakuza plots."

     "So ... some giant conspiracy that's working in the shadows with
yakuza, and Student K ran afoul of it?"

     "That's possible.  By way of apology, since I realize I'm
bringing no useful information to your case, I submitted copies of
your evidence files to the NPA main office ... subtly, of course."

     Oishi raised an eyebrow.  "Anything come of it?  Our SOCO lab is
doing their best, but they have to finish with the site by tonight --
the scene was ordered released by the mayor by tomorrow morning for a
memorial service, so cleaning needs to be finished by then."

     "First of all, psychological profiling based on the nature of the
wounds.  The responsible person seems most likely very methodical.
Order of injuries is not yet certain, but the stab wounds were all
debilitating, each piercing a major organ.  The slashes at no point
joined with other slashes, like simple butchery.  It was much more
intentionally performed.  'Methodical' may not be much of a
descriptor, but despite the brutality, we suspect that there was
almost no emotion in the attack."

     "Hmm."  Oishi snorted, furrowing his brows.  "That goes counter
to my initial supposition, but we haven't got evidence to implicate
anyone yet, anyway.  What about a physical profile?"

     "It seems very likely that a single person was involved in the
use of the knife, as there is a common angle of attack -- that coupled
with the single void in the spatter suggesting our attacker is
somewhat short for an adult male, or almost precisely average height
for a high-school female -- in any event, shorter than Student K.  But
... these theories also make the assumption that somehow a smaller
female physically overpowered a larger male, and still had a hand free
to attack without leaving ligature marks or defensive wounds."

     "That's what I'm getting stuck on.  Alright, let me tell you some
of my personal suspicions, then...."

     ***

     Once the observation subject had transfered to her living
quarters, Nagato Yuki once again tested the consensus.  It was still
fractured -- it was always fractured -- but it was less of the chaotic
mess that it had been previously.  Her requests were still not
routing, though her direct access was intact.

     When the observation subject was busy taking a shower, she
double-checked her accesses, then reinforced local security.  Once
adequate safeguards and countermeasures were in place, she lifted an
interdiction temporarily to try an extended-local query.  Of the four
immediately accessible interfaces, only one was aligned with a school
similar enough to be trusted.

     The one she had questioned replied, "Nagato-san, please try and
emulate correct social contexts for this setting.  Even as a backup,
you must be adequately prepared at all times."

     She returned on the same channel, "Kimidori.  Consensus lost.
Request information analysis and threat-index on local event
(sub-channel) at primary observation locale (sub-channel two)."

     "We've all lost the consensus.  It's not an intense conflict;
it's resolving even now.  TTL for current issue is estimated to be
eighty-four hours thirty-two minutes (truncated).  Threat-index
rejected as unnecessary.  Information-analysis will proceed within
parameters appropriate to local law enforcement for social adherence
purposes."

     "Demanding local presence for F2F interaction (high priority).
Interdictions are in place; access will require at least one hour
without my direct presence.  Channel is suspect (EOL)."

     With that, she allowed the interdictions to resume, cutting off
the channel.

     "Yuki," Haruhi asked, stepping out of the hallway, toweling her
hair off, "did I hear you talking to someone?"

     She turned her gaze away from the empty window and blinked at the
observation subject.  "A visitor."

     Haruhi peered around, frowning.  "I don't see anyone...."

     "She is coming."

     "Oh...."  After that, Haruhi sat at the table, staring out the
window and shivering.  The motion suggested enduring extreme cold, but
her sensors almost unanimously reported a temperature at the high end
of the comfortable average.  Further investigation suggested extreme
anxiety, nervousness, or fear.  Facial characteristics and behaviors
continued to demonstrate depression.  "Who is it?"

     "Kimidori Emiri."

     "I don't know her," the observation subject remarked, frowning.
"Does she go to our school?"

     "No."

     "Ah," she said, before turning to gaze out the window.

     Her proximity monitors and interdictions notified her on local
sub-channels when the other interface approached.  Following her
social monitor's guidelines, she waited until the knock sounded before
reacting.  With coordinated, precise movements, Nagato Yuki rose to
her feet and strode to the door.  When it opened, Kimidori Emiri stood
there, her expression fixed.  She blinked twice upon seeing Suzumiya
Haruhi, then relaxed her face into a gentle smile.  "Hello," she said
softly, opening a secondary channel once she stepped into the room.

     "Justification for moving observation subject and extended direct
interaction?" she asked privately.

     "Hello," Nagato Yuki said back aloud.  Her social monitor fed her
the proper lines: "Kimidori Emiri, meet Suzumiya Haruhi.  Suzumiya
Haruhi, meet Kimidori Emiri."

     On the private channel, as the door was shut: "Suspect severe
tampering.  State of consensus questionable.  Primary observer's
action are suspect.  Subject is being momentarily sequestered to delay
potential reaction/denial of observation to primary."

     "Nice to meet you," the observation subject managed, though her
inflections and posture indicated mild resentment and confusion.

     "Nagato-san called me and said she had a friend over," Emiri
explained, taking a seat at the table by the observation subject's
side.

     On the private channel, Emiri stated, "For efficiency, we may
discard correct social context emulation on this channel at this
juncture."

     Nagato Yuki uploaded her observations over the last two days
directly to Kimidori Emiri.

     "How did you two meet?" Haruhi asked, and through her link with
Emiri, Yuki's social monitor processed all of the cues it hadn't
picked up the first time.

     Smiling, Emiri said, "We're cousins, actually."

     At an unspoken prompt from Emiri, Yuki bowed her head.  "I will
make tea," she said softly, walking into the kitchen.  With all of the
countermeasures she had set up, and her current link with Emiri, she
was able to observe through the other interface regardless.

     "Nagato-san isn't very good at talking to people," the second
interface said.

     "Yeah, I kind of get that," Haruhi mumbled.

     "I used to call her Yuki-chan," Emiri confided, playing to her
superior social monitor cues.  "But she's growing up, and I think she
doesn't like that as much.  Even so, she's a good girl, and she cares
very much for her friends.  So when she called and said she was scared
and depressed ... well.  If you've been taking care of her, then thank
you very much, Suzumiya-san."

     "She's looking out for me more than I am for her," Haruhi
admitted, shifting uncomfortably.  "Um, say, Nagato doesn't have a
television, and I didn't feel like going through the rain to find a
newspaper.  D...do you know anything about the investigation at
Kitago?"

     "Hmm ... where's that?  I'm afraid it doesn't sound familiar."  A
quick logic check between the two interfaces, fed through the social
monitor: "I've been on the train all day; I got Yuki-chan's call
yesterday and rushed over as quickly as possible."

     "Oh," Haruhi said, frowning.  "It's ... the school that Nagato
and I go to.  Did she tell you anything about what's happened?"

     "Not really," Emiri replied apologetically.  "What _has_
happened, to upset poor little Yuki-chan?"

     "I'm not sure," Haruhi admitted.  "Um ... our school was closed
today, and yesterday too.  The police closed it, which I thought was
unusual ... but then a detective came around and asked some questions.
 He showed me a picture....  Pictures of my classmates, and one of my
teachers.  He didn't say anything specific, but I'm afraid that ...
something happened to...."  She trailed off and swallowed nervously.
"H...his phone's not picking up," she said instead.  "Except for
Nagato, I can't reach anyone from school."

     Emiri's social monitor dissected the commentary, and she frowned.
 "Oh, dear," she said sympathetically.  "That does sound bad."  Across
her connection with Yuki, she agreed that information analysis and
threat-index should both be authorized.

     "Y...yeah.  But, I don't know ... so I'm....  I'm still waiting."
 Haruhi bit her lip, glancing over as Yuki strode into the room,
bearing a tray with a kettle and three tea cups.  "Um, I'll be right
back, I'm going to make some phone calls."

     Emiri politely offered to close the private link so that Yuki
could release her interdictions, but the other interface dismissed it
as unnecessary.  The two communed in silence as Haruhi rose and
stepped into the hallway, Yuki allowing the radio waves through the
barriers.

     The identifier was indexed in Yuki's memory already, but Emiri
waited until the voice-mail answered, eavesdropping on the signal.
"You've reached my phone; you should know my name, but you're probably
going to call me Kyon anyway.  Leave a message."

     "H...hey, Kyon, it's me, Haruhi ... again.  S...so, I take back
what I said earlier, I was just....  It doesn't matter!  Those
messages don't count.  I wanted to tell you that....  I just....
W...well, be okay, and call me back, alright?  W...whatever happens,
you'd better call me back!  If you don't, Nagato and I will never
forgive you!"  Then came a sound that neither Emiri or Yuki needed to
check with their social monitors to understand; a wracking sob.
"P...please be okay...."

     Emiri analyzed the current situation.  The observation subject's
behavior was consistent with what was known of mild human emotional
trauma, which wasn't that different from the emotional trauma of other
sentient beings.  However, her ultimate behavior had yet to be
determined, due to the fact that the boy's status was unknown to her.
While they were on the potential verge of unforeseen data creation,
the current state flew in the face of the expectations and long-term
goals of the integrated data entity.

     "You've reached the phone of the chief of financial operations
for Nishinomiya Heavy Industries, Suzu-"  The message was cut short by
a sharp tone.

     "Dad, it's Haruhi, just thought I'd let you know that I'm staying
at a friend's house, so don't freak out if I don't answer the house
phone.  Call me on my cell if you need me."

     Yuki offered her earlier analysis of the events that might have
led to the current situation.  Another interface had most likely tried
to provoke this reaction.  However, no logical explanation for this
behavior could be found.  Even if it suited the goals of the primary's
faction, it ran against the consensus.  And every interface that had a
reasonably high indexed probability of encountering the observation
subject had gone through screening by multiple other factions to test
for hidden agendas.

     "Hello, you've reached the voice-mail of Koizumi Itsuki!  I wish
I could answer your calls, but something came up; it may be a while
before I can get back to you!"

     "Um, hey, Koizumi-kun, this is Haruhi, again.  Where the hell is
everyone?  Give me a call back ... don't you be missing, too!"

     Neither analysis was contradictory, so they used the outputs of
both.  The answer they reached was logical, but alarming.

     The primary couldn't be trusted, and the consensus wouldn't be
able to route the request they would need to pass through without
extending the division.  Given reasonable predictive models of decay,
they would need to act on their own to resolve things before they
spiraled out of control.

     Emiri flagged several emotional markers in a simulated feed of
the observation subject's emotional state with regards to a specific
data set, and warned Yuki of concurrent, nearly identical markers in
her own emotive core.

     Yuki ignored the warning; those processes had been moved into a
sandbox environment with logged output for later consideration.  She
had been notified in an emergency uplink the previous day, shortly
after entering Suzumiya Haruhi's home.  She could examine the logs,
with context referral, during idle cycles.

     The next call did not route, though both interfaces followed the
radio waves to observe its attempts.  Just over a full sixty seconds
of ringing passed before Haruhi sighed and stopped the attempt.
Trudging back into the main room, she took her seat at the table,
mumbling, "Sorry."

     "It's no trouble at all," Emiri said cheerily, modifying the
attibutes of the tea to transform it into a mild sedative.
"Nagato-san made some wonderful tea."

     "Right," Haruhi said quietly, taking her seat at the table and
sipping it with a blank expression.  "So, school is going to be open
again tomorrow."

     Emiri and Yuki both calculated tremendous risk from attending.
However, they could not act counter to the primary without arousing
her suspicions.  To say nothing of direct interference with the
observation subject that bordered on a violation of all established
guidelines.

     "Yes," Yuki agreed.  "We shall leave early."

     "Yeah," Haruhi sighed, rubbing at one eye tiredly.  "Um, Nagato,
do you mind if I go to sleep now?"

     Yuki shook her head, rising to prepare a bed in her room.  Yuki's
reasoning was that she had spent all of her time in the apartment in
only the living room.  The physical reality of the second room could
be replaced with a long-term solution that might overwrite the current
situation.  Emiri's reasoning was that if Haruhi had asked Yuki to
share a bed the night before, she would find a similar situation
comforting, which could provide a small buffer against the likely
outcome of the morning.  Suzumiya Haruhi was an innately illogical
emotional being, so small measures to provide stability, even if they
might grate against the original design of the consensus, would in
reality only be countering the damage the primary had already done.

     Once Haruhi was lying down and Yuki shut the light off, the two
interfaces were alone again.  In perfect unison, each raised a wrist
to the other's mouth, canine teeth sinking through the organic outer
flesh and injecting a stream of nanites for later secure transmissions
via paired particles.  That bandwidth would be narrow and precious,
but the security of their current environment was unlikely to exist
after the primary became aware of interference.

     Disengaging the link, Emiri sighed, falling back to vocal
channels, though modulated on a frequency that the observation subject
wouldn't receive.  "For maximum efficiency, I propose you remain in
proximity to the subject at all times.  Use the combat packages I've
given you if required; they are specialized against the primary.
However, unless we attempt to directly control the subject, reversing
time is beyond our ability."

     "Direct control is likely to result in failure, and even if
successful, there is a high risk of the integrated data entity being
revealed," Nagato Yuki responded on the same modulated vocal
frequency.  "The last observation of the required holistic wave-front
lies with the primary.  Accurate emulation is unlikely."

     "Therefore, we will need to find the time traveler.  Temporal
transition technology must be attained to attempt a greater
understanding of the tools at our disposal.  In the meantime, I will
pursue what holistic wave front echoes reside in the environment."

     "We have superior command control at this juncture," Nagato Yuki
noted.  "With your optimized anti-radical combat packages we could
easily overpower the primary and forcibly query her motives, revealing
them to the consensus if required."

     "My faction and I do not approve of that course of action yet,"
Emiri countered.  "The primary's actions will reveal much of her
motive; you were placed to observe, so expand observational parameters
to include the primary.  At this point, any new data revealed to the
consensus will delay re-fusion."

     "I am unable to calculate the impact of bringing time-travel
technology to the integrated data entity.  It is possible that this
action will also delay re-fusion beyond usable parameters."

     Emiri blinked, processing this for a long moment.  "If required,
our factions can consolidate and abandon the integration, using the
temporal motive element to re-fuse at an earlier instance of temporal
reality."

     "We do not yet know if that is possible."

     "In that case, we have to bet on it, don't we?"

     Nagato Yuki parsed the statement, understood the meaning of the
words.  Did not know how Emiri could speak them so.  "I do not
understand."

     "You will.  You chose a more complete understanding of the
organic emotive process over a better equipped social monitor, didn't
you?"

     "Yes."

     "Then trust me.  You will understand."

     ***

     For the first time in a long time, Itsuki was glad for the
Shinjin.  Not just because of the closed space, which had allowed him
to rescue Mori, and not just because he needed something so ridiculous
to feel 'special'.

     But for once, he had something to work out his anger on.

     Even though he had a lot of anger to work out, there were vast
numbers to deal with, and by the time it was done, he was exhausted.
The closed spaces had gotten so involved that he'd had enough time to
ask all nine of the other espers to come together on a hill north of
Nishinomiya to witness the final collapse.

     He was ashamed to realize he had never been allowed to learn
their names.  After watching the pieces of the closed space crash into
nothing, tumbling around them as they were forcibly ejected from that
non-space into corporeal reality, he gazed across his comrades, some
of them studying him and the others in return.

     A perfectly 'average' slice of humanity from all across the
world, now collected in one place.  "Vell," a tall, broad-shouldered
blond man said, frowning, his accent thickly Russian.  "Is first time
closed space is so big, I fly across entire sea.  Not getting back to
Khabarovsk soon."

     "It was a bad one," a Caucasian woman that Itsuki would have
pegged for a housewife agreed.  "And now we've got the problem of you
asking us to stay here, and us without a way home."  Her Japanese was
almost impeccable, by contrast.

     A somewhat overweight man with a deep tan, of no nationality that
Itsuki could readily identify, gave a grunt, raising an eyebrow at him
questioningly.

     "Are you aware of the state of the Organization?" Itsuki asked,
wishing he'd had time to rehearse, maybe write a speech for the
occasion.  And that he weren't so damn tired.

     An assortment of head-shakes and nods were the responses he received.

     "The Organization, as it stands, is collapsing in on itself.
There's infighting, and my handler, at least, was nearly killed
earlier...."  He frowned, checking his watch.  "Last night."

     A few of the faces across from him showed shock, or at least
surprise.  Most did not.

     "That aside, this being our first unified meeting, I asked you
all here to propose that we form our _own_ cabal."

     "Bravely spoken," the tanned man said, his voice carrying an
equally unidentifiable accent, his words coming across as stiff,
carried with deep intonation.  "But you are youngest among us.  You
will lead this new group?"

     "Maybe, and maybe not," Itsuki said with a shrug.  "I'm not going
to try and declare myself dictator.  I just want to express an idea I
think we all could believe in."

     A very thin, tall blonde woman in what was an inappropriately
warm dress for Nishinomiya's climate raised an eyebrow at him.
"Roight," she said.  "So, wot's yer plan?"

     "The Organization, even in pieces, values us too much to move
against us.  They don't need to know we're allied together pursuing
our own goals.  Let's face it -- they've been using us for years.
It's time we turned the tables on them."

     "Assumin' we go along wi' it," the blonde woman grumbled, rolling
her eyes, "wot's our goal?"

     "We all know that our powers come from one person," Itsuki
explained.  "Suzumiya Haruhi."

     A unified nod from the other espers.

     "Right now, you can feel her emotional state, the same as I can."

     An uncomfortable series of nods at this.

     "In physical reality, the cause for this is that one of her
classmates ... no.  I'll be honest here.  The boy she liked more than
anyone else ... was murdered."

     Nine pairs of eyes fixed on him sharply, exhaustion ignored for the moment.

     "Who has done this?" the tanned man asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

     "That I don't know.  And I don't know if she's found out for
certain that he's dead, but it seems a given that she suspects.  If
the magnitude of what we've faced so far was merely her suspicion, her
subconscious fear....  When she learns the truth of it, I believe it
will be much ... much ... worse."

     "Sparing the dramatics for the moment," the Caucasian woman
interjected smoothly, "I understand your point of things getting
worse.  Even so, what does the Organization have to do with this
current issue?  Or vice versa?"

     "It's possible that someone in the Organization orchestrated the
murder," Itsuki said, frowning.  "I can't prove that.  And I don't
have any idea who actually did it."

     "But," the Russian man said, thoughtfully, "is possible that you
are responsible party, da?  Assuming story is even true."

     Itsuki closed his eyes, showing them the honest and truthful face
that he had never shown to his deceased classmate.  "Kyon was my
friend, too," he said quietly.  "The Organization placed me in school
with Suzumiya Haruhi.  As it's been pointed out, I'm the youngest of
us ... and very likely, one of the youngest people in the Organization
in general.  So I made the ideal transfer student to work with her."
He swallowed a lump in his throat.  "She's my friend, too.  And now,
the Organization has sent my double to Canada, so there's no way I can
try and talk to her and comfort her.

     "We all know what her emotional turmoil turns into.  I don't know
if she has _any_ friends left to look after her.  I doubt any of them
are able to look out for Organization factions that think it would be
easier to kill her, just as Kyon was killed!"

     "Think logically," the Russian man said first, frowning.
"Killing her vould solve many issues."

     "Suck on a rock an' die, ya git!" the blonde woman snarled,
glaring at the larger man.  "Wot kind o' damage ya got, thinkin' 'Oh,
killin' 'er will make everythin' better!'?"

     The Russian adopted a disgusted expression.  "Be easy," he said
in a dour voice.  "I choose vords poorly.  I try to see from eyes of
those who plan the cruelty."

     "Watch yer mouth anyway!" the woman growled, crossing her arms
over her chest in a huff.

     The Russian grumbled something in his own language and turned his
face away.

     The tanned man looked pointedly at Itsuki, who shook his head.
No more passively observing, he reminded himself.  "Let's try and all
be reasonable," he said, holding his hands up in a placating gesture.
"Right now we're just exchanging words.  I'd like to think we all have
the goal of ending as few lives as possible.  Aside from which, your
logic aside, some Organization theorists believe that if Suzumiya
Haruhi is killed, our world will end."

     The Russian man spat, rubbing one hand across the front of his
face.  "Girl is ticking time bomb.  Whoever kill boy is stone stupid,"
he assessed.

     "We can agree on that," the blonde woman said sullenly, still
glowering.  Most of the other espers nodded their hesitant agreement.

     "Very well," the tanned man said, holding up a hand.  "We are
talking in circles around the point."

     "Exactly right," Itsuki agreed, trying not to show his anxiety.
"Ultimately, my plan is to use the Organization to the best of our
abilities, while working together.  I want to see if we can protect
Suzumiya Haruhi, but more importantly, I need to try and get enough
information out of the Organization, er, possibly from your handlers,
if they're accessible, on the other factions."

     "Other factions of the Organization?" the Caucasian woman asked,
frowning.  "Or is there something else...?"

     "I may have been briefed in slightly more than you," Itsuki
confessed.  "Now, currently in this world I know that in addition to
ourselves, there are time travelers, and ... the Organization calls
them 'TFEI's, which means they're some sort of ... interface for an
extra-dimensional entity that exists outside of space."

     "Aliens?" the blonde woman asked, blinking.

     "So, ve find time traveler, keep boy from being killed?" the
Russian asked, raising an eyebrow.

     "It's not much of a plan," Itsuki admitted, bowing his head.
"But right now, it's all I've got to act on."

     "I will go with you," the tanned man said, first.  "Your goal is
noble, and your heart pure."

     Again, Itsuki wondered at his nationality and culture, but
restrained himself to a grateful nod.

     "Ah, I dunno that I buy this love angle yer tryin' to work in,"
the blonde said with a shrug, "or any 'purity o' heart' crap, but I'm
all fer it.  I like th' idea o' stickin' it to 'em wot's been stickin'
it to us, anyway."

     "I, also, vill agree," the Russian assented.

     An older, pale skinned man rose from his sitting position on the
ground, then abruptly spat out a stream of thickly accented English,
too quickly for Itsuki to follow.

     The Caucasian woman blinked, then shook her head and translated
for the group: "My Japanese isn't quite sharp enough to follow
everything you said, but I got the gist of it.  Approving the long
term solution, what do we do in the meantime?  How do we get BACK to
our handlers to start trying to milk them for information?  Once we
have information, how do we relay it to one-another?  Our phones are
paid for by the Organization, so they're tracked.  Our mail could
easily be monitored, and will certainly be too slow."

     Itsuki sighed, looking away.  "For the first part, we can leave
the same way we convened.  I can feel closed space forming not far
away again, already.  Hopefully we'll have a few-day grace period
before the Shinjin start emerging, but I won't bet on that.

     "Secondly, closed space is _our_ space, and unless we bring them
in, the Organization can't follow us there.  If it comes down to it,
we can physically exchange letters, passing them around as we need.
We can keep one another informed.  Realistically, I think that's our
only option."

     After that, the rest of the espers rushed to throw in their
support.  Relaxing in the first time after literal hours of Shinjin
combat, Itsuki allowed a weak, genuine smile to come to his lips.
"Thank you," he said.  "Thank you."

     ***

     The detective and his NPA counterpart met again, this time on the
balcony that Oishi preferred.

     Oishi nodded at Akasaka and broached the uneasy silence first,
"We don't have enough evidence to act yet.  At this point, we're
basically grasping at straws, and the case has gotten worse due to the
number of students associated with the SOS Brigade that we cannot
reach.  Suzumiya Haruhi's phone is off, but according to Nagato Yuki
they're together, and she's asleep."

     "Asakura Ryouko?" the NPA representative asked, rubbing his chin.

     "Hasn't moved, still sounds too cheerful to me."

     "Asahina Mikuru?"

     "Still missing.  Anything on Koizumi Itsuki?"

     "Yeah ... we reviewed security camera footage.  Koizumi Itsuki
hasn't left the country -- a close look-alike with his identification
has."

     Oishi ran his hands through his hair, shaking his head slowly.
"Is that so?"

     Akasaka give a grim nod.

     "I don't like this."

     "Me, either," the NPA representative agreed.  "We've identified
the lookalike, a Daimonji Satoshi from Chiba, Tokyo.  We haven't
updated Interpol that it's Daimonji instead of Koizumi ... paperwork
slowdown.  My personal reasons are that ... and forgive me if this
seems reaching ... information given to Interpol may leak back to
whatever franchise or organization Koizumi Itsuki is involved with.

     The detective snorted.  "All of that's above my pay grade.
You're the one in charge of NPA-related investigations, Akasaka-kun."

     "True enough.  In the meantime, I'm putting together an internal
task force to try and track down Asahina Mikuru -- we'll forensically
profile her apartment later tonight."

     "And we still don't even know if whatever that is, it's part of
the murder investigation....  Anything else?"

     "Maybe ... but you won't like this much either."

     Oishi sighed, drawing a cigarette from his pack and offering one
to the NPA agent.  Akasaka shook his head, and Oishi shrugged,
lighting up, his eyes going up to the evening sky, still clouded from
the sudden storm.  "I'm not liking much about this entire case," he
commented, putting his lighter away.  "But go ahead."

     "We submitted an ultra-high-definition copy of the note found on
the victim to handwriting analysis."

     "Mm.  Nice resource to have available.  And?"

     "It fits the profile of a typical high school girl.  Right-handed."

     Oishi's eyes narrowed in annoyance, fixing the NPA representative
with a dark stare.  "That's it?"

     "That's it," the other man answered, shrugging apologetically.
"It hit every marker for perfect averages dead-on.  Our chief analyst
said that he couldn't imagine making such a perfectly average example
of writing with months to prepare, and a laboratory of equipment.
Nothing to suggest it was a forgery, no microscopic mistakes ...
nothing.  It _was_ handwritten, but it may as well have been printed
from a machine designed to hit every average on the nose."

     Oishi furrowed his brow, blowing out a large puff of smoke.
"Okay," he said, shaking his head slightly.  "Fine.  The school
reopens tomorrow.  We're going to sponsor a memorial book in the name
of Student K, and collect samples from every student in the school.
Anyone who doesn't sign the book will be asked to fill out a form so
we can have a complete screen.  If this mysterious perfectly average
handwriting belongs to a student at Kitago, then we should find it."

     "That sounds like a good idea," Akasaka agreed, nodding.  "It's
too bad we couldn't hold the scene; for all we know, a sample of the
writing we're looking for could be there, and we didn't know, because
the NPA forensic unit isn't linked with SOCO."

     "Spilt milk.  Aside from which, I have a strange suspicion that
it would be too easy, if it were true."

     Akasaka nodded uneasily.  "Anything I should know about
tomorrow's plans, generally?"

     "We'll have officers at all entrances to the school," Oishi
answered, grimacing.  "All students will be checked for weapons and
identification before admission.  We don't want to make the students
uncomfortable, but we're also keeping a force of twenty officers on
standby out of sight should any incident arise, and I'll be on-scene
with a handful of detectives.  I want to try and observe student
reactions -- you're welcome to join me.  Aida might be upset, but I'll
bump him from the roster for you."

     Akasaka gave another uneasy nod.  "I appreciate that.  I don't
know that I'll be much use, but on your invitation, I'll be there."

     "Well, at any rate, the police checkpoints will be in place at
school entrances until we produce a suspect, or the mayor gets tired
of the negative publicity and has them removed.  In addition, we'll be
keeping officers along the perimeter at all hours to prevent weapons
being hidden on campus, and the school has discontinued all club
activities for the rest of this month and all of next month."

     "Is that a bit extreme?"

     "Chief's orders.  It's an election year, so...."

     "Right.  Politics."

     The two men shared an uneasy sigh.
	---------------------------------
     Author's notes: Akasaka?!  Why is Hinemezawa invading my fanfic!?
 Well, it's probably better than that Ranma/CSI crossover I had
planned.... >.>

-- 
Brian Randall
--
I write fanfiction. Too much of it. You can read it here, thanks to a
kind grant from the Larry F foundation:
http://www.florestica.com/brandall/
--
Together. Allegiance or death. BIGFIRE!
--
Haiku of my lament:

Forgive my spelling,
my U.S. education,
is the source of blame.