[FFML] [Higurashi/SHnY/Bokurano][Dark] Our Inevitable Fate 2/3

[Brian Randall]

     Our Inevitable Fate -- Part Two

     A Higurashi/Bokurano/Haruhi crossover/fusion.

     Disclaimer:  Higurashi was created by Ryukishi07.  The novel
series begun with 'Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu'/'The Melancholy of
Suzumiya Haruhi' is the creation of Nagaru Tanigawa.  The Bokura no
universe, as demonstrated here, was envisioned originally in the manga
by Mohiro Kitoh, and then adapted for the anime by Morita Hiroyuki.
I'm borrowing their paints (more Morita's than Mohira's).

     No disrespect is intended by the posting of this fanfiction, as I
do not own the characters or settings involved.  For fans of
Bokurano's characters specifically, I'll warn you now that not so many
of them show up (apologies).

     Note: I was told to keep this style on the back-burner for the
day I might use it again.  That day has just arrived.  Let's see if it
still works.
	------------------------------------------

     [[ Logical Progression ]]

     After assigning Nagato to watch over Haruhi, Kyon went outside to
the same spot he had paced the night before.

     "Why aren't you with your friend?" someone asked.

     He glanced over at the questioner ... Ryugu Rena.  Her expression
was almost completely blank, her mouth a perfectly flat line.  "I
wanted some air," he answered.  Probably, he thought, he should have
been surprised.  But lately it seemed the capacity for surprise had
gone beyond him.

     "Hmm....  You aren't watching her, maybe, because you think she did it?"

     He narrowed his eyes.  "I know what it looks like," he answered
her.  "But as long as I've known her, I have a hard time seeing her
doing something like that.  Even so, what's the point of telling you
not to believe what you saw?"

     She was silent for a moment, before she nodded.  "I appreciate
that.  So ... you think it was an accident?"

     "That's my strongest hope," he sighed, rubbing at the bridge of
his nose.  "But you heard what Nagato said, too."

     "How could she _know_ his heart had stopped before Suzumiya hit him?"

     "Nagato knows a lot of things," he replied.  "Then again, I did
tell you there was no point in not believing what you saw.  Answer me
this, then.  Is Keiichi the kind of person to fall without making a
sound?"

     Rena's face tilted slightly upward.  "That's one of the only real
things in her favor."  Some of the blankness had gone out of her
expression; her eyes were luminous in the starlight, watery with
unshed tears.  "That hit wasn't strong enough to knock him down like
that.  But even so...."

     "I didn't know him very well ... but he seemed like a nice guy,"
he said softly.  "I think he and Haruhi would really have gotten
along....  I think she was really starting to come around, even
though...."  He shrugged, turning to stare at the stars when her eyes
drifted shut, tears running down her cheeks.

     "Yeah," she said softly, her voice on the verge of breaking.
"That's the other thing in her favor."

     ***

     [ Closed Hearts ]

     Suzumiya stared fixedly at the floor in the hostel's common area,
shifting her shoulders uncomfortably.  Mion saw the way she leaned
slightly towards Kyon, the way he ignored it, trying to retain an aura
of impartiality despite her obvious need of him as an emotional
anchor.  Part of her raged at that, wanting to make _something_ happen
to him, to hurt her.  Another part coldly calculated how to make it
happen.

     The greater part of her, the one that had been chosen as
successor to the role of family head, tried to put those things behind
her.  She was the club president, after all.  Even so, everyone was
arrayed into neat factions, staring at one another across the room,
uncomfortable and silent tension building.

     Shion chewed her lower lip, brow furrowed as she kept a glare
locked on Haruhi.  Satoko looked dazed, occasionally leaning against
Shion, snapping the older girl out of her fury long enough to offer a
wordless murmur of comfort.  Rena's expression was downcast,
apparently deep in thought.  Rika's face was blank, her eyes focused
on some other point.

     To one side, Tsuruya sat with Kyon's little sister, her own face
distracted, but Sanae otherwise a perfect mirror of Satoko.

     Kyon sat in the central position of his club's side.  Suzumiya
knelt to one side, Nagato to the other.  Behind them, Asahina sat
against the wall, more shocked than Suzumiya in appearance, and
between Kyon and Asahina, Koizumi paced back and forth.

     "First of all," Kyon began, finally breaking the stiff silence,
"for good or ill, we were told that we can't back out of our
contracts.  We were also told it wasn't a game.  Are we agreed on
these points?"

     Mion glanced across her club, then nodded.  "That's true," she
allowed, struggling to retain her calm, remembering her role.

     Kyon nodded back at her.  "I think we all know that tensions are
high right now.  My personal beliefs on what happened aside, I would
like to suggest we wait until there's more evidence before acting
rashly."

     "What kind of evidence can possibly turn up now?" Shion spat.

     Improbably, it was Rena who answered: "On the basis of
impartiality, the fight went on for a while.  We ended up near that
coastal town, so plenty of people were able to see it.  It seems more
than likely that even though Zearth is gone, people will investigate.
With even the slightest bit of luck ... K...Keichi will be found.  And
if he's found...."  She trailed off there with a sad shrug.  "Then
we'll know."

     "I didn't...." Suzumiya began, not looking up, but unable to
complete the abortive attempt.  "I....  That couldn't have...."

     "Be that as it may," Mion said, closing her eyes, "for the time
being, I think we can agree to keep our distance from one another
until we _do_ know for certain."

     "Ummm," Tsuruya mumbled, nodding.  "I think we might go home ...
this is kind of not what we had been hoping for."

     "Running away?" Shion growled.

     Mion knew she should say something to try and curtail her
sister's fury, but couldn't find it in herself to do so.  "If you
prefer," Koizumi offered quietly, "we can remain here.  All the same,
if we're unwelcome, we wouldn't want to impose on you...."

     "So, a truce, then," Kyon said.  "Agreed?"

     Shion snarled wordlessly, but when she saw she was the only one
opposed, she spat, "For _now_."  Inwardly, Mion thanked her sister for
expressing the anger she couldn't.  Not right now, though; she had to
be the responsible one.

     Flatly, she echoed her sister: "For now."

     ***

     [ Fixed Minds ]

     "I don't see how you can be so calm," Shion said through clenched
teeth, pacing back and forth.

     "Neither do I," Mion murmured back.  "But, if it's true, and we
have to do this to defend the Earth from destruction...."

     "Then, what, we just let a _murderer_, someone who killed one of
our best friends -- the man you _love_ -- walk free!?"

     Rika saw the way Mion flinched as though her sister had slapped
her at those words, the way that tears flowed from her eyes without
even releasing sobs.

     "Shion," Rika said quietly, allowing a tiny bit of her mask to
slip, projecting some of the force she rarely used on her friends.
"We have to be calm.  Keiichi always tried to solve problems with
words first, not violence."

     "And that got him where, exactly?"

     "A wound that is picked at will never heal."

     "Heal!?  He hasn't even been--  Don't you want _justice_?"

     "Calm down," Rena said, her voice dreamlike, unfocused.  "Justice
comes after judgement.  I agree with you, though.  If we can prove
beyond a doubt that she did it, and it was on purpose ... there will
be justice."  Her eyes sharpened, pupils dilating.  "Nothing will stop
that justice, either.  But it will be _justice_, not mindless
retribution.  If you want to go on your own ... you'll be
outnumbered."

     "We've defeated worse odds before!"

     "Together.  You won't get far alone."

     Shion trembled with barely restrained rage, then spat out a long
stream of curses.

     "Did that help?" Rika asked, her mask completely discarded.  "Do
you feel better now?"

     The answer was soft, muted, with almost none of the fury left
behind it.  "No."

     ***

     "You've been quiet lately, Kyon-kun.  Yen for your thoughts?"

     He glanced at Itsuki, then away.  "It feels like a good time to
watch my mouth.  I have whole pages of dry one-liners about my
vacation being ruined.  But those are bad jokes compared to what those
girls are going through right now."

     "Which girls?"

     "All of them."

     Itsuki pursed his lips, then nodded slowly.  "You may be right,"
he allowed.  "I believe Sonozaki Mion-san is in charge of the other
club.  I know this may be difficult, but since you seem to be on the
best terms of anyone right now, I would like you to speak with her."

     His eyes closed.  "What about?"

     "Ryugu Rena-san mentioned police investigation.  If one comes up,
quite logically we will be questioned.  It would be ... inconvenient
for us not to have a consistent story for them."

     "Oh?  Well, if you wanted a snarky one-liner: Why is this always
_my_ problem?"

     "Ahaha....  I could try speaking with Ryugu-san ... but as I
said, I'm under the impression they're on best terms with you."

     "Even though you may say that, don't you think it's going to be
the _slightest_ bit suspicious?"

     "Well, I agree on that front.  But the issue is more that I don't
know if we wish to let the world at large know that we are responsible
for piloting Zearth."

     ***

     "You're brave to come alone," Shion muttered.

     Kyon shrugged, then said, "Koizumi pointed something out to me.
Obviously, the decision on how you handle this is up to you, but we've
decided we don't want the world at large to know we're responsible for
piloting the robot.  The news already says that during Mebara-san's
fight, waves and ground-tremors caused property damage."  And worse,
but he didn't voice that.  Rika nodded internally; it was much easier
to imagine the death toll as a distant number that had little to do
with the real world.

     "I can see the point of that," the other green-haired twin
mumbled.  "I'm guessing you have a cover story?"

     "Koizumi tried to give me one to sell you, but I didn't listen to it."

     "And you're the spokesman?"

     "Irony," he muttered.  More loudly, he added, "It was my thinking
that you would be happier deciding what the cover story was.
Something that doesn't come from us with our obvious biases.  My hope
is that it's neutral enough we can find out what happens if the police
_do_ question us without committing us to either path."

     "Hmm," Rena mused, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully.  "You're
putting a lot of trust in us to be fair."

     "You're putting a reasonable amount of trust in us to give us the
benefit of the doubt you've shown," he returned.  "In any case, we
should still work together.  I have enough enemies already."

     "Like who?"

     He blinked, then gave a rueful smile.  "Didn't mean to say that
aloud," he murmured.  "I'll be honest; I doubt you'd believe me.
Anyway, it has nothing to do with the situation we're in now.  Suffice
to say that I'd like us to be at least allies, if we can't be
friends."

     "Before we even try and come up with a story, answer me one
question, and be honest about it," Mion said, staring at him intently.

     He took a breath and steeled himself, then gave a sharp nod.  "Alright."

     "Rena tells me that you don't believe it was ... Suzumiya.  If
she were chosen as the pilot and positions were reversed, how would
you handle the offer you just gave us?"

     He blinked several times, then shook his head.  "I honestly don't
know," he said quietly.  "I would like to think that I'd be very
reasonable about things, as you've been."  He gave a weak, bitter
smile, then shrugged.  "But even I have a temper."

     She sighed, looking away.  "We'll get back to you, then."

     "That's more than I could reasonably expect right now," he replied, bowing.

     ***

     [ Speculation ]

     "Number ... three hundred sixty two: Mebara Keiichi.  What's the
report on this one?"

     "Most unusual one so far.  Found at sea near the area the robot
was last seen, no water in his lungs, some post-mortem injuries, and
no discernible cause of death."

     "Alright, that does sound unusual.  Anything else about him?"

     "Interviews with the other kids who were at the hostel with him.
They were questioned separately, but almost all of them demanded to
know how he died before they gave statements."

     "But the statements were uniform?"

     "Ah ... yes.  Evidently he was swept out to sea in one of the
waves the giant robots created while fighting."

     "Okay, we've got too many more to go through.  Release the body
to his family.  Strange as it is ... well.  We've got to finish
processing all these others."

     ***

     "I didn't really expect to see you here," Rena said quietly,
eyeing Koizumi.  He was wearing a relatively nice suit, one that
matched Tadamichi's.  The dark outfits of his friends and sister
matched, too, and Rena wondered if they'd been gotten just to attend
the funeral.

     Koizumi nodded at her weakly, glancing to where Suzumiya stood,
her eyes constantly going to the boy at her side.  "It was
Suzumiya-san's request," he said softly.  "Even though we've come to
an agreement on Mebara-san...."

     Rena nodded, raising her handkerchief to her eyes.  "One supposes
that there is no need to _be_ guilty to _feel_ guilty," she said
quietly.  "Suzumiya-san doesn't seem the type given to depression."

     "I've never seen her this unhappy," he responded.  "Kyon and I
were against this, thinking you might want more space ... but
Suzumiya-san insisted.  And ultimately, he is the only one I know who
can talk her out of anything."

     "But he didn't?"

     "Not this time.  I believe Kyon could have," he allowed.  "Ah,
forgive me.  I shouldn't be speaking of such things."

     "Hmm.  If he's your friend, why do you nickname him like a dog?"

     Koizumi blinked, his expression genuinely bewildered for a moment
before he re-assumed his false smile.  "Ah ... well, that's how
Suzumiya-san calls him, so...."

     "Why bow to her, when it seems he's the one who is actually in charge?"

     "You're sharp," he said quietly, turning to look at the front of
the Furude shrine.  For the day, it had been given over to the Mebara
family to host Keiichi's funeral.  "It's not that he's in charge, so
much as he's the only one who can control Suzumiya-san.  But, again, I
shouldn't be speaking of these things."

     "'No man is an island'," she quoted, shaking her head.  "Not you,
and not him.  Tadamichi-san spoke of alliances, which is well and
good.  But it takes more than just being an ally to overcome ... some
things.  No one of us should expect to stand through this alone."

     "What do you mean?"

     "I mean that I think if we're to succeed ... if we're to overcome
this and win, we'll need to have genuine bonds of trust.  If that
can't happen...."

     ***

     [ Consequences ]

     She didn't speak to him except when it was an emergency, even
now.  So when she came to the door of the room and and Koizumi shared
at the Hinamezawa inn, he let her in wordlessly, and the esper left
just as quietly.

     Without preamble, she rolled up the left sleeve of her shirt,
revealing the purple cross-hatched marks that appeared there.  "I am
to be the next pilot," she said.

     He sat on the edge of his bed, and she rolled the sleeve back
down, sitting next to him.  "Did you learn anything more?" he asked.

     "Yes," she answered.  "The call was a direct memetic
transmission.  In anticipation of the contact, the Integrated Data
Sentience Entity monitored and attempted to trace the source to
further discern the motives and methods of the responsible party.  The
attempt was successful, and we acquired self-motive data that spread
via memetic contamination.  The Entity was nearly destroyed by this
before control was reestablished."

     "So it's smarter and more powerful than your bosses?"

     She nodded.  "The Entity was able to discern little more.  The
presence of the contract emitted a reality-wide impulse that blocks
all temporal transference.  We are trapped in time; Asahina Mikuru's
situation is identical."

     "So they're from ... what, another reality?"

     "Or a distant possible future," she agreed.  "We have determined
that those responsible are not data-entities, though they are more
powerful than we are.  More may be discerned when I pilot."

     "Any idea how long we have?"

     "No."

     ***

     She closed her eyes the second she realized they were in the
cockpit again.  A familiar looking pipe folding chair was in the
indicator on the floor, this time.  Her own chair was further away,
next to Keiichi's empty seat.

     When her eyes opened, Yuki had taken her seat already.  Most of
the others were sitting, too, only herself, Kyon, and the small
purple-haired girl standing.  She walked to stand next to him, trying
to ignore the feeling of the other girls' eyes on her.

     "Looks like it's show-time again, kiddies," Koyemshi said,
floating overhead and angling to direct its face at Yuki.

     The view came in, quickly showing the city of Nishinomiya below
them.  "Where is this place?" Ryugu asked in surprise.

     "Our town," Haruhi answered, looking for familiar landmarks.  Far
below them, she could see their highschool, the top of the hill
shorter than the robot.  Zearth stood just off the coast in the
shallower water, while the enemy robot had appeared in the city
itself, a strange three-legged bulbous creature.

     "It's not moving?" Satoko observed.

     "Neither are we," Kyon said.  "Maybe it's for the best.  How many
people are in the town, anyway?"

     All around them, oval-shaped viewing portals winked open and shut
just as abruptly, each showing flashing images of panicking crowds,
people stunned or horrified at the towering monstrosities that had
appeared.  "Many," Yuki said quietly.

     "Let's wait a bit," Koizumi suggested, rubbing his chin.  "If the
other robot remains idle, there may be enough time for people to
evacuate."

     "The less people that are hurt the better," Haruhi agreed,
turning to look at Kyon.  Yuki nodded in agreement behind her, the
oval-shaped portals around the image of the enemy robot still
flickering quickly.

     "Easily distracted?" Koyemshi asked, circling slowly around Yuki.
 She ignored the creature, her eyes fixed on the enemy robot despite
the flickering portals.  "Well, don't take too long.  If the fight
goes on for forty-eight hours, you automatically lose."

     "Understood," Yuki said, not otherwise reacting.

     "Tsuruya-san," Kyon said, breaking the silence, "the way that
thing is built, I don't know if it could move across the city to us
without doing a lot of damage.  It looks pretty close to your estate.
If we have to, might it be possible for Nagato to lure it to your
family's land, so we can minimize casualties?"

     "Ooh!  Good thinking!  Yeah, absolutely do that, Nagato-chi!"

     "Understood," Yuki said again, blinking.  "Please observe my
battle closely.  There may not be another chance."

     "Boring," Koyemshi announced.

     ***

     Not long after sunset, the enemy robot finally began to move.  In
the intervening hours, they had all watched SDF forces move in and
begin evacuating people en-mass, hordes of helicopters and
ground-based searchlights illuminating major portions of both robots.
Wordlessly, Yuki sent Zearth into action, the robot swiftly jogging in
massive, ground-eating strides through the widest streets, each
footstep carefully placed to avoid abandoned vehicles, SDF emergency
crews, or the few remaining citizens.

     The enemy robot froze its advance, turning in place to watch as
she directed Zearth into the wooded area behind the city.  "Its
behavior is strange," Rena remarked, pensive.  "It seems to be trying
to avoid damaging buildings, too."

     "Good," Haruhi said quietly from where she sat on the floor near
Kyon.  He remained standing, watching the enemy robot, but offered a
silent nod.

     Soon enough, the robots were both clear of the city, the enemy
moving much more quickly without buildings to slow it down.  But it
was easily outmatched; Yuki moved Zearth even faster, a single
decisive strike reaching in through the carapace and tearing the vital
point free.  "Wow!" Mion exclaimed, startled.  "That easy?"

     "Not over yet," Koyemshi said with a chuckle.  "You have to crush
it, after all."

     The enemy robot was still mobile somehow, even with the metal
flower-bud exposed in Zearth's grip.  As one limb rose to try and free
the vital point, Zearth crushed it in the same burst of smoke and
crackling energy that they had seen before.

     "There you go!"

     The chairs lowered to the floor and the view of the outside faded
away.  Yuki blinked suddenly, her hands rising to her face as the
marks on her arms faded away.  "I will die in four minutes, fifteen
seconds," she announced.

     "What!?" the others cried out in alarm.

     Ignoring everyone else, Yuki rose from her seat and looked at
Kyon.  "Suzumiya Haruhi, I wish to borrow him for my remaining
lifespan."

     "Wh.... I....  O...of course," she managed, bewildered.

     Yuki nodded, walking to Kyon's side, though he looked just as
stunned as everyone else.  After taking his hand, she turned to
Koyemshi and added, "I wish to stand on the beach beneath the stars
when my life ends."

     "Say 'please'," the creature replied, rotating to hang upside down.

     "Please."

     "Fine, then," it allowed, as the two vanished in a circular
column of shifting light, and were gone.

     "W...what did she want with him, though?" she asked, turning to
look at Koizumi and Mikuru apprehensively.

     "Want to see?" Koyemshi asked, baring its teeth once more.  "No problem."

     Another oval-shaped portal irised open, revealing the pair
standing on the beach, not far from where Zearth had originally strode
to the shore.

     "Why is she going to die?" she managed to ask.

     "Oh, I forgot to mention that part," it answered.

     The portal either couldn't or didn't carry sound, as she saw Yuki
speak something to Kyon and tears shine in his eyes, but she heard
nothing.  Yuki took his wrist and made as though to kiss it, but he
pushed her hands away, seizing her shoulders and yelling something
before kissing her fully on the lips.  Haruhi screwed her eyes shut,
shaking her head and trembling, unwilling to watch.

     "No," Mikuru whimpered.  "Kyon-kun, no!"

     "I don't want to watch anymore," she said, opening her eyes and
relieved that the image was gone.

     "This robot is powered by your life-force," Koyemshi explained.
"When your fight is over, you die."

     Haruhi took a shuddering breath and looked around her at the
others, who stared at the creature in shock.  Finally, her eyes
settled on Kyon's sister, and she shook, realizing what that meant.

     ***

     [[ I Want to go home ]]

     After she had vanished into sparkling light, leaving him to weep
at the loss on the beach, he had remained there.  He didn't know how
long he had stayed, staring at the tiny, faint impressions that her
feet had left in the sand, but the sun was beginning to brighten the
horizon when a group of SDF forces finally found him, yelling about
evacuation zones and trying to find out if he was injured.

     It was hours after that when he finally returned to his home,
dropped off by an officer.  He stared at the door, then shook his head
and opened it, staggered when his sister flung herself at him,
sobbing.  "Kyon-kun!" she moaned.  "I'm so scared!"

     "I'm sorry," he managed.  It was all he could think to say.  "Where's Mom?"

     "She hasn't come back yet ... but Koyemshi sent me back here
after...."  Then she burst into a new round of tears.

     He found himself patting her head.  "It's okay," he soothed her.
"Come on.  Take a bath, then we'll get some sleep, alright?"

     ***

     [ I can fight too! ]

     He wasn't certain _how_ he knew, but he had known.  He wanted to
strangle someone, find some way or some weapon to destroy Koyemshi ...
but Nagato's last warnings to him told him about the futility of
trying something so obvious and direct.  Her trust in him.  The final
request that he, somehow, find a way to fix things.

     It had always come down on him, as little as he liked it.  But
even then, until now he'd always managed to keep his sister clear of
all true danger.

     Not anymore.  Six days of peace before she came to him, crying
again and pulling up her shirt to show the wavering green grid pattern
that wrapped around her lower torso.  He spent that time ignoring his
cell phone, not answering the door, and trying to grant any request
his sister might make of him.

     Even his mother had remarked that he paid too much attention to
his sister, but the two had decided early on that she didn't need to
know the truth.  He offered a series of increasingly lame excuses, and
at his sister's request, they re-watched every giant robot anime he
had ever collected while she stared in sad concentration.

     When the mark finally appeared, he asked, "Is there anything else
I can do for you, imouto-chan?"

     She couldn't meet his eyes.  "I just wanted to play with you."
Then her eyes did turn to his.  "Stand by me.  That's all I want now."

     ***

     As he had decided would be his custom until the day _he_ was
chosen, he stood in the center.  Rika once again stood at his side,
and he forced down his despair.  Until his sister was done, he would
be the figure she wanted; stoic and strong, someone she could rely on.

     The others were utterly silent in their seats, staring at him, or
his sister.  When the panoramic view banished the hated monochrome
surroundings, he saw that Zearth had appeared where it vanished last
time, on the hill north of the Tsuruya estate.  On another hill, a
kilometer or so distant, the enemy robot appeared, this time
resembling nothing so much as a giant grasshopper.

     Zearth took a trembling step forward, Sanae's face wrinkled in
concentration.  "Don't think about moving every part of it," he told
her, remembering Nagato's advice.  "Just think about it going in the
direction you want.  Think about what you want to happen, not about
how it gets done."

     "R...right," she managed, relaxing a tiny bit as Zearth's stride
smoothed out and sped up.  "It's about ... confidence and will, isn't
it?"

     He walked to her side, even though the chairs were now a meter
above the ground.  He reached out and took one of her trembling fists
in his hands.  "I believe in you, Imouto," he told her.

     Tears shone in her eyes, but she gave a weak, false smile.  "I
can fight too!" she exclaimed, Zearth launching into a sudden dash,
not nearly as fast as Nagato's ... but fast enough, he knew.  He
grinned so wide that his eyes closed into lines, trying to trap his
own tears in.

     ***

     "Koyemshi," she asked tiredly, "what happens to our bodies when we die?"

     "Mmm, that's up to you.  Want to go back to your family?  Or do
you want your body to be disposed of?  There's a million spaces in
this robot to hide it."

     Sobbing, she shook her head.  "I don't want my mom to know," she
rasped.  "Hide me somewhere."

     "Sanae," her brother said, his voice shaking with barely
maintained control.  "I'm so sorry."

     "Nii-san," she said quietly, reveling in the tiny joy that
bloomed in his eyes at the long-unused title.  Then, just before she
was gone, "Don't blame Haruhi...."

     ***

     [ Re-Organization ]

     He didn't have the strength to deliver Koizumi's half-assed
explanation on _why_ he was leaving, even with school resuming in a
few days, so demanded that the esper do it himself.  The normally
perfect, plastic smile was strained to the breaking point as Koizumi
tried to explain an obscure gift from the Tsuruya foundation, a chance
to participate in an advanced studies course at a private mountain
retreat.  That his sister was already supposed to be gone, sent
ahead....

     Naturally, there was paperwork from their schools, where
Koizumi's Organization had arranged whatever lies they told to appear
truthful enough.  He couldn't hug his mother goodbye, just nodding
sullenly and climbing into the van.  If he actually tried to speak
with her, he thought he would shatter; his nerves were frayed enough.

     He wasn't surprised to see Arakawa as the van's driver, or Mori
in the front passenger seat.  Kimidori Emiri's presence was less
expected.  She gave him an apologetic smile as Koizumi climbed in last
and shut the door behind them.

     "Hello," she said quietly.

     "What do you need to read the nanites?" he asked her, looking out
the front window as the van surged forward.

     "May I hold your hand?" she asked.

     He nodded stiffly, holding his left hand out to her.  She gently
clasped it with hands that were warmer than Nagato's.

     "So, what's going on, Koizumi?  I've been a bit ... distracted lately."

     "Not a problem," the esper assured him quietly.  "The
Organization is coordinating things with assistance from the TFEIs
that were already here.  The Sonozaki family has provided some
manpower to watch over us, and the Tsuruya family has donated a large
swath of private land.  It's been determined that Zearth will appear
near _us_, so by staying outside of the cities, we can minimize
damage."

     "Good," he allowed.  "We know at least one new thing."

     "Several new things, though few of them bring us enlightenment,"
Kimidori said.  "Nagato-san left a request with me to give you three
books which she thought might give you a better picture of the current
situation, and our best guess as to who ... or what ... is
responsible.  However, we must be discreet.  Your 'guide' will appear
if his name is spoken, and while we cannot be certain he is aware of
precisely what we are, he may be capable of destroying us."

     "Nagato got past him."

     "She was ... more human than we are.  In the end, that was a
strength we did not forsee working to her advantage."

     He shot her a baleful look.  "Are you done with my hand?"

     "A moment longer," she said, apologetically.

     He nodded stiffly and looked away.  "What are the books?"

     "'Illium', 'Olympos', and 'Lady of Mazes'," Kimidori replied,
releasing his hand.  "There is one other thing you should be aware of,
though I have arranged it so that Koizumi Itsuki and his allies do not
hear this."

     He blinked, then glanced back at her, unsurprised that her voice
continued, even without her moving her lips.

     "There is an unknown data-entity that appears to be aligned with
Furude Rika.  It shifts wavelengths enough so that we are aware of it,
but not able to directly observe it."

     He drummed his fingertips on his knees, furrowing his brow in
contemplation.  "Sky Canopy Domain," he murmured.

     "What was that?" Koizumi asked.

     "Nothing," he answered.

     "Negative.  It doesn't match their pattern, or the pattern
observed to be related to Zearth."

     He nodded, furrowing his brow in contemplation.  Something to
focus on aside from the inevitable.

     ***

     [ Unfamiliar Ceilings ]

     Haruhi stared at the peaked wooden ceiling of the room she and
Tsuruya shared in the mountain retreat, rubbing her sore cheek and
thinking back.  She knew it was too much to try and apologize for, and
she knew she wasn't good at apologizing.  Even so, Kyon was still
enigmatic, never responding _quite_ the way she had hoped ... or
expected.

     She'd told him she was sorry.  She told him she didn't know what
to say.  She told him she would try to do anything to make it up to
him--

     But then he'd slapped her.  Struck her so hard she crashed to the
floor, everyone else staring in stunned silence.  Koizumi either
couldn't, or just hadn't stopped him this time.  So she lay on the
floor, awaiting whatever anger or physical punishment he was going to
give her next.

     "Don't," he said stiffly.  "The Haruhi I know is strong enough to
stand on her own.  She won't beg for forgiveness, even if she is truly
sorry.  She might say it, but she's a symbol of confidence, more than
anything else.  She won't give up or admit defeat."

     Then he reached down and grabbed her wrist, hauling her to her
feet and clapping a hand on either shoulder.  "And that means that she
wouldn't just say she'd try to do anything to make up for what went
wrong.  She'd be willing to tear the universe itself apart to set
things right, if that's what she had to do.  And she'd let _nothing_
stop her until it was done.  But she wouldn't plead or cry -- she'd
_do_ something about it."

     And then he'd released her and turned around, walking to the room
he shared with Koizumi, tossing back the words, "That's something you
might want to think about."

     She'd wanted to call out to him, to say she was sorry again -- to
apologize for never knowing how much he'd cared about Yuki.  How
difficult was it for him to read that stupid love letter his friend
had written her, with his own feelings hidden so carefully...?  How
did he have the strength to remain so stoic, after she had condemned
his sister to die by dragging her into the cave, then standing in his
way so Sanae could register for the game?

     But even with all those questions, she was stunned by how right
he was.  Something amazing had happened.  Something terrible, too.
But it was something she had wished for, or very near it.  To collapse
into a weak, sobbing pile....

     "Heyas," Tsuruya said cautiously as she entered the room, her
habitual smile in place, even if it didn't fully reach her eyes.  "You
alright?  I can thump Kyon-kun pretty good, if you like-"

     "No," she said quietly, covering her eyes.  "He's right."

     "Really?  You think so?"

     "Yeah.  I don't always get him ... though I sometimes think I do.
 But sometimes I think he knows me better than I know myself."

     "Hehe ... well, in that case, if you're turning into one of those
crazy girls who likes guys who hits her, you better ask him out.  No
telling how many chances you'll get at this point, nyoro!"

     Her slapped cheek stung with the force of her blush.  "It's still
too soon for that," she whispered.

     ***

     "That must have been very difficult for you," Koizumi remarked.
"I was worried, but I must say ... well done."

     "Hey, Koizumi, can you do me a favor?"

     "Absolutely!  What would you like?"

     "Just shut up once in a while."

     "Aha....  Yes.  Right.  I'll leave you to your books, then."

     Kyon grunted in response, his eyes shadowed as he stared
intently, almost angrily at the first of the novels Kimidori had given
him.  Silently excusing himself from the room, Koizumi padded into the
hallway, the wooden floors creaking as he entered the large common
room.

     Ryugu and the Sonozaki twins sat at three sides of a low table,
shuffling some cards between them idly.  The one with her hair in a
ponytail glanced at him, then sharply away.  "Hello," the other one
said quietly.

     "May I join you?" he asked.  "I appear to have annoyed my roommate."

     "Really?" Ryugu asked, a pained smile touching to her lips.
"From what I know of him, that must have taken some effort.  But go
ahead, have a seat."

     "I appear to be gifted," he replied, taking the cards he was dealt.

     "I'm Mion," one of the sisters said, evidently able to guess he
couldn't tell them apart.  "We play Old Man, not Old Maid."

     "Very well," he agreed, thinking he remembered the rules.

     "I'm ... sorry," the other sister -- Shion -- mumbled.  "For ...
blaming Suzumiya for ... Keiichi."

     "At the risk of sounding cliche, perhaps it's best not to dwell,"
he said, smiling.  "This is difficult for all of us."

     Ryugu's eyes widened.  "I just had a great idea," she said
quietly.  "Mion, Shion, let's find Tsuruya!"

     ***

     [[ The "Best of All Worlds" Club ]]

     The maid and butler that Koizumi said he had 'borrowed' from a
rich uncle for their mountain retreat spent most of their time in the
kitchen, but allowed Rena to haul the trio of green-haired girls into
the large pantry behind it.  Once she turned on the light and closed
the door, the clinking sounds of dishes being washed cut off entirely.

     "So, what's the plan, nyoro?" Tsuruya asked, smiling brightly and
glancing between the other three.

     "We need to make a new club," Rena announced.

     "Eh ... is this really the time for that?" Shion asked, pained.

     "She's onto something," Mion disagreed.  "Think about it; this
was a meeting between two clubs and a few honorary members that became
... something more.  But this goes back to the idea of....  Remember
what Rika said?  This summer?"

     "It takes everyone working together to make a miracle," Shion
repeated, frowning.  "But we can't do that now; we don't _have_
everyone anymore."

     Tsuruya blinked, then asked, "You want us all to form a new club
to make sure we're all together?"

     "Yes!" Rena agreed, feeling the first real smile in a long time
come to her lips.  "But we're going to need some things, first...."

     ***

     [ Dress up ]

     Kyon joined the group in the main room, sprawling on one of the
two sofas and staring fixedly at his book.  Koizumi sat nearby, and
Rika and Satoko shared the other sofa.  Suzumiya stood with the other
girls, though her attention continued to drift to Kyon.

     "What's this all about?" she finally asked, glancing around.

     "We're a new club," Tsuruya announced.  "And to celebrate it,
we've got uniforms for everyone!"

     "Uniforms?" Kyon asked, lowering his book.  "Really?"

     "Yeah!  You first!  And, heya, this is the last time I call you
Kyon on purpose, as long as you agree to try it on, okay?"

     He looked doubtful, but nodded and rose from his seat, taking a
package from Tsuruya and retreating down the hall.

     "What are they?" Suzumiya asked, befuddled.  "I don't know that
this is the best time for dress-up...."

     "Humph!  Just you wait and see!"

     A few minutes later, he emerged, glancing down at himself with a
frown.  His new outfit was a clean, perfectly sized and fitted costume
that Rika thought was straight out of a samurai drama.  "I feel about
a thousand years out of date," he said, shifting his shoulders.  "It's
pretty comfortable, though.  Why this?"

     "It's based on the kind of clothes worn in Usui no Sadamitsu's
time!  Sadamitsu's real name was Tadamichi, just like yours,
Kyousuke."

     He blinked at that, then nodded, giving a small smile.
"Alright," he agreed.  "If you want me to wear this while we're in
Zearth, that's fine, then."

     "What's mine?" Suzumiya asked quickly, her attention going back
to Tsuruya.  Tsuruya's grin widened, and she handed a box to Haruhi.

     "Try it on!"

     When Suzumiya returned, she was dressed as a shrine maiden,
looking down at herself thoughtfully.  "Because my last name reads
like 'shrine bell', right?" she asked.

     "Exactlies!"

     "If it's good enough for Kyo...usuke, then it's good enough for
me," she affirmed, not looking at Kyon.  He seemed startled at the use
of his actual name, though his smile didn't lessen.

     Not all of the costumes were the same.  Rika found herself in
another shrine maiden costume, just like the one she wore for
Watanagashi.  Koizumi's costume was from the Meji period, the lines
slightly different from Kyon's, and a deeper blue color.  The rest of
the girls were in varying kimono from different periods.

     It was something to bring them together, Rika decided.  Not much,
but a good, small step.

     ***

     [-nakama-]

     "It's not just costumes," Rena continued.  "It's a symbol of us
working together -- as a team."

     "More importantly," Tsuruya added, "this is just the first step.
We've all got the same job, right?"

     "We basically decided that we'd make a club to try and make sure
that whoever gets chosen next, we do everything we can to make that
person happy before they have to go," Mion said.  "To remember what
we're fighting _for_, and to try not to be sad because....  Well.  We
can't give in, can we?"

     "Who's in charge?" Suzumiya asked cautiously, glancing across the
assembled group.

     "No one!" Tsuruya cried cheerfully.  "And everyone!  All of us
together, remember?"

     "This sounds like a grand idea," Koizumi agreed, straightening
the belt on his outfit.

     "Yes," Rena said, nodding happily, before she started suddenly.
"Did ... someone say my name?" she asked, a series of jagged red rings
appearing on one cheek.  She blinked, then shook her head, her smile
turning wistful.  "Ah....  It's me, is it?"

     "Rena," Mion whispered softly, the momentary cheer vanishing.

     ***

     [-strategy meeting-]

     "I...it's okay," Rena said, shaking her head.  "I mean ... that's
what our plan is all about ... right?"

     "Well," Koizumi said.  "What can we do to make you happy, then?"

     "Um....  Kyou...Kyousuke-san," she began, before he shook his
head, raising one hand.

     "Kyon is fine," he allowed.  "I know people think my name is difficult."

     "No, I'll say it.  So far you seem to understand what we should
do when piloting the best.  You gave advice to Keiichi and...."  She
smiled weakly.  "Will you advise me, too?  Even though we are without
a leader, officially, I think you're our best strategist."

     "Don't depend on me too much," he said, though he smiled, too.
"I could be next."

     "I can still depend on you, like I depend on all my friends," she
said.  "That's what I'd like."

     He nodded, bowing his head.  "I'll do it," he agreed.

     "There is another thing," she continued, her eyes going to the
circle of friends surrounding her.  "And ... we may not solve it
before I'm gone, but that's fine, too, as long as we can work out the
details eventually.  I want to know _why_ this is happening."

     After a thoughtful moment, Rika said, "I think Kyon knows the
most of that, too."

     ***

     [-a best guess-]

     "I don't _know_ much," the boy warned them, standing upright,
eyes going to the ceiling.  "I have a number of guesses.  I do want to
point out that thinking isn't my strong suit, despite the reputation I
appear to have earned.  Nagato left me some books ... which I've been
reading.  First of all, Zearth and the enemies aren't from our world."

     "That seemed somehow very likely," Mion said after a moment.

     "What, from another planet?" Satoko asked.

     "I believe further than that," Kyon said, somewhat cryptically.
"It's hard to say for certain.  I really am reaching with this, but
... the books I've been reading are science fiction.  They have a
common theme of something called 'post humans'."

     "Another level of evolution?" Suzumiya asked.

     He narrowed his eyes, then shrugged.  "Very close to that," he
allowed.  "But the evolution wasn't natural; it's made with ...
machines, genetic engineering ... there's a technological trick behind
it.  A normal human somehow _becomes_ a post-human; they aren't born
that way."

     "It sounds almost like magic," Rika mused aloud, her mask fallen
off as she considered it.  "Paying a price to turn a mortal into
something more?"

     "Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from
magic, isn't it?" Asahina remarked.

     "I hadn't heard that before...."  But it fit, somehow.  Was
Hanyuu a post human?

     "At any rate, these once-normal humans have achieved a higher
state of being through ... some method," Kyon continued.  "They exist
in a parallel reality, an alternate world maybe very like our own.
Maybe different.  I can only guess."

     "Then what do they want with us?  What's their motive?" Rena
asked, frowning.

     "I don't know," he said, shaking his head.  "There's more I can't
figure out."

     Koizumi raised a hand and asked, "Have we tried to consider the
technology at the disposal of the people who designed this?"

     "To be honest, I don't think the technology they use matters very
much," Suzumiya said, shaking her head.  "The beams that Zearth fires
move more slowly than light should.  So they're not really lasers.
The size of the robots -- each and every one of them -- violates the
cube-square law.  Even ignoring the fact that it should fall apart,
Zearth should sink waist deep or further into solid land given the
mass.  Instead, there's only tiny divots in the ground where it steps,
less than a handful of meters deep."

     "I agree," Kyon said, shrugging.  "Maybe you could get more out
of it, considering ... some sort of gravity control to work around
those things.  Knowing that may give you some advantage to controlling
Zearth, but it really seems that just thinking about what you want
done and not focusing on the details is best."

     "S...Suzumiya mentioned the other robots being like Zearth,"
Shion mumbled, not meeting her eyes.  "I noticed that, too.  Every
robot seemed to have one of those crests on it ... almost like a face.
 Did you notice that they all have glowing lights on them?"

     "I've been counting them," Rena allowed quietly.  "On Zearth, one
goes away after each fight."

     "You have amazing eyes," Tsuruya said, blinking.  "I never could
have seen that!"

     "One thing worries me a lot about this," Satoko said in a soft
voice.  "Those other robots ... with their own lights on their
crests...."

     "Then, when it's time, I'll solve at least that mystery," Rena swore.

     ***

     [ For me... ]

     "Why are we in a city?" Rena asked, trying to keep her voice from
panic.  "We went to the mountains to avoid this!"

     "Just something else I forgot to mention," Koyemshi said lazily.
"Some games are on your own Earth.  Some games are on other Earths.
There are infinite Earths, after all.  Consider this an 'away' game."

     "Even so," she said, glowering at the many-limbed enemy robot, "I
don't want to fight here!"

     "To our left," Kyousuke said, pointing.  "There's a mountain.
Unfortunately, the skyline is between us.  Otherwise, there's a
harbor, but it's full of ships."  Even as he remarked on it, the ships
in the harbor began to fire, explosions sounding across the robot's
hull from the impacts.

     "Rena!" Satoko yelped.

     "We're okay," she said, trying her best to dash towards the
skyline without knocking over too many buildings.  "The mountains...."

     Kyousuke turned to watch the enemy robot, while she focused on
maneuvering Zearth to the wooded area.  "This area looks almost like
Nishinomiya," he said slowly.  "But...."

     "An Earth that's minimally divergent from your own," Koyemshi clarified.

     "Ryugu-san -- duck!"

     Squeaking slightly in fear and alarm, she flinched in her seat,
Zearth crouching low as a series of long, narrow spikes shot out from
the enemy robot.  Zearth's abrupt motion crushed one of the
high-rises, sending out a huge plume of dust.  Shaking, Rena sent
Zearth frantically forward, wincing at the crushed buildings in their
wake.  The dust provided a brief screen, allowing a tiny break in the
incoming, but harmless fire from the battleships.

     "Hang in there, Rena," Rika said from Kyousuke's side.  While he
watched the enemy, she watched her friend.

     "It's got a lot of reach," Koizumi remarked.

     "That's quite an advantage over us," Satoko said, shaking her head.

     "Not so much," Kyousuke disagreed.  "It's also much slower.
Ryugu-san, once you get to the mountains, see if it follows.  If it
doesn't, we won't have any choice but to go on the offensive."

     "I understand," she said, sitting up straight in her chair and
drying her nervously damp palms on the kimono that she was wearing.
"How should I attack it?"

     "A gambit?" Koizumi asked.

     "Traps, huh?" Satoko mused, frowning.

     "Exactly," Kyousuke agreed, as Zearth broke free of the city and
began picking up speed, moving through the woods more quickly.  "When
it attacks with those spikes again, they're extended.  It won't be
able to attack again right away."

     "It'll take guts," Suzumiya said.  "And good timing.  What if it
can turn faster than it's acting like?  It's trying to move through
the city slowly to protect it."

     "No plan is flawless," the strategist said after a moment of thought.

     Rena allowed herself a small sigh of relief when the enemy robot
followed -- she could avoid fighting in the city, at least.

     "Anyway.  You can either try and dodge the spikes and then run
in, or charge directly and then suddenly change direction just as you
think you're in its striking range.  Either way, if you can close with
it without being in range of its spikes, it shouldn't be much of a
fight."

     "Yes," she breathed.  "I knew I was right to put my trust in you."

     "There's a reason he's our master strategist," Suzumiya said, a
tiny bit of the endless confidence she displayed before Keiichi's
death returning.

     "The only person to call me that was Mebara-san," Kyousuke said quietly.

     Rena slowed Zearth, studying the area around them thoughtfully.

     "Up that mountain," Satoko suggested, pointing.  "You can use the
slope to give you more speed when you charge."

     "Right," Rena agreed, directing the robot to the top of the
mountain.  At a guess, it would take the enemy at least ten minutes to
get in range.  She let Zearth idle, then wiped her palms on her kimono
again.  "Kyousuke-san, could I ask you a question?"

     He turned around, his stance slightly wider in his formal attire
than it had been in his casual clothing.  "Of course, Ryugu-san," he
said, nodding.

     "Why don't you call anyone by their first names?"

     He blinked several times, then shifted his shoulders and offered
an embarrassed smile.  "At a time like this?" he asked.

     "He calls me by my name," Suzumiya said, frowning.

     "I...if it's too personal, I don't need to know," Rena added, her
face coloring slightly.  "I just wanted to say that you could call me
Rena, if you like.  I really don't mind."

     "I told him he could call me Mikuru-chan," Asahina said with a
sad smile.  "But he doesn't."

     His own face coloring, Kyousuke scratched the back of his head.
"You think I could ignore a request from...."  He rubbed his face with
both hands and gave a terse nod.

     "It's a short enough story," he allowed.  "Let me start a bit
earlier.  Um ... my nickname was Kyon when I was younger.  Much
younger.  The story of how I got it ... not important.  But it went
away when I was eight or nine years old.  It wasn't until I was
thirteen or so that I went to visit my aunt and she said, 'Look at how
much Kyon has grown!'."

     He laughed weakly, shaking his head.  "Imouto-chan heard it and
remembered.  And from that day on, to her, I was 'Kyon-kun', not
'nii-san'."

     Turning to watch the approaching enemy robot, he spread his arms
in a shrug.  "It's no use saying how much I hated it.  Eventually, all
my middle school friends heard it too, and then I stopped being
anything else but 'Kyon'.  When I entered high school, I thought for
certain that I'd finally escape it ... but I didn't.  Even my teachers
call that nickname out when it's time for roll call.  So I decided
that I would try and be more polite to everyone else -- more formal.
No use throwing a temper tantrum because I didn't like what I was
called.  Though in retrospect, I realize now, my behavior was nothing
more than passive-aggressive retaliation.

     "There was....  I knew two people, ever, who recognized how much
I disliked that nickname.  One of them told me that they thought my
own name was 'too noble' for me, and called me 'Kyon' anyway."  He
snorted, shaking his head.  "The other never commented directly to me
about it.  That person never said my name, either, though; they just
called me 'you' or 'him'."  Turning back to face Rena, he added, "But,
you're right.  It's made me a stiff and formal person.  I must seem
terribly unapproachable.  You use my proper name, after all, so,
Rena-san, I should thank you for that."

     Suzumiya stared for a moment, then jumped down from her chair,
scowling.  "Kyousuke!" she snapped, not hesitating over his name this
time.

     He turned to look at her warily, raising an eyebrow.  "Haruhi?"

     "You hit me once, and ... I probably deserved it.  Maybe I
deserved--  Nevermind that now!  For this, you _will_ let me
apologize!"

     He stared at her for a moment, then burst into laughter, echoed
instantly by Tsuruya, and then more weakly by the others.

     Still scowling, she bowed to him, arms stiff at her side.  "I am
sorry!" she nearly yelled.  "Please forgive me!"

     "Y...you're embarrassing me, Haruhi," he said, scratching the
back of his head.  "I....  I should really be used to it, shouldn't
I?"

     "Aren't you a cheerful bunch," Koyemshi drawled.  "You may have
forty eight hours to settle your fight, but are you going to use them
all in banter?"

     "Thank you, Kyousuke-san," Rena said, smiling.  "Everyone ...
this is what I want us to have, in whatever precious moments we can
find!  If you can do this for me ... then I can win this battle."

     ***

     [ ...and for you ]

     As the dust was settling, Rena directed Zearth to pluck the vital
core from the enemy robot's remains.  "There are five lights on the
enemy's crest," she said, her voice shaking slightly.  "Rika-chan,
Satoko-chan, y...you might want to close your eyes."

     "I am fine," Rika said in a cold voice.  Her eyes were hard,
though her smile was gentle.

     "I'm strong too," Satoko added, her voice quavering only the tiniest bit.

     "Good fun!  Good fun!" Koyemshi cheered.

     "Shut up," Rena told the creature absently.

     "Humph," it grumbled, turning away where it hovered.

     Zearth's other arm splayed its pointed tip into three sharp
manipulative tines, which slowly pierced the top of the flower-bulb
like core.  She took a deep breath and watched the giant robot spread
the hardened metal 'petals' open.

     The burst of smoke appeared first, and when it settled ... the
view showed a group of five in their own cockpit, their own chairs
arrayed in the same circle as they glared upwards with shining eyes.

     Rena slumped in her seat, tears flowing down her cheeks.  "Why?"
she asked.  "Why do we have to do this!?  We've beaten them, so we can
stop here, right?"

     "Nope," Koyemshi said.  "I said it was crushing the vital point,
but really ... how you win is by killing the other pilots.  Otherwise,
if you try and let them get away, then eventually your time will run
out and both realities are destroyed."

     "What do the post-humans gain from this!?" she cried.  "What's
the purpose?"

     "Who?  I've never heard that word.  But the purpose is simple;
there are too many realities.  This weeds useless realities out."

     "But, you said there are infinite Earths.  This methodology is
inherently finite; there can be no meaningful subset of infinity,"
Koizumi remarked.  "I'm sorry, but that seems like a blatant lie."

     The boy found himself teleported several meters in the air, to
crash to the floor with a jarring impact, clutching one arm and
groaning weakly.  Rena gawked as Kyousuke and Suzumiya ran to his
side.

     "Who asked you, stupid ape?" Koyemshi snarled.  "I don't question
what I'm told, and neither should you!"  Turning to Rena, his face
still showed his teeth.  "Now finish this, or tell me you want to die.
 I'm fine with either, but this waiting is pissing me off!"

     "We will find a way to win," Rena swore, as Zearth's waiting
tines snapped together into a single point again, and a brilliant
discharge of energy flashed into the enemy cockpit.  She could tell by
the nods of the others that they understood she didn't mean just this
one fight.

     "Good!" Koyemshi chortled.  "Now you can watch their reality die!"

     "I don't want that," Rena said, shaking her head.  "Send me back,
Koyemshi.  I want to die breathing the air of the Earth I killed for."

     "Bah," the creature groused.  "The smart ones always make me so mad."

     Kyousuke hesitated, then said, "I'll stay and watch.  The rest of
you ... I'll be back.  I'm sorry, Rena-san.  It's easier for me to
watch these people, this world ... than to see another friend vanish
before me.  Goodbye."

     "I understand," she said quietly.  "Goodbye, Kyousuke-san."

     Then the transition occurred, and she was standing on the slope
above their mountain retreat with all of the others, save Kyousuke and
Rika.  Why Rika, she wondered, before dismissing it.  She stared up at
the stars in the heavens above, and felt a weak smile.  "Keiichi," she
murmured.  "I'll see you...."

     And then there was nothing.

     ***

     [[ I came to terms... ]]

     They met in the wooded area a kilometer from the lodge, beneath
the light of the stars and the waning moon.  "I probably don't need to
say a word," he remarked, holding his hand out for Kimidori to take.

     "You don't need to," she agreed, clasping the proffered hand in
her own.  "But if you like, it's fine."

     "I don't want to talk," he replied.  "Or think.  I'll save my
energy for your analysis."

     She held his hand in silence for long minutes before releasing it
with a sigh.  "There are gaps in the data," she said quietly.  "The
destruction of their reality was not fully recorded."

     "I thought that might be the case," he mumbled.  "Where to even
begin....  I can only say what it looked like.  The world turned gray,
then red.  Then it ... shattered, and faded.  The stars went out
forever, one by one.  Then there was nothing until we came back here.
I suppose you'll want me to watch it if it happens again?"

     "Yes."

     "I expected.  With everything else, my job is now to watch
realities die...  If it isn't to destroy them myself."

     "We would like to modify your nanites."

     "Will you need to bite me?"

     "It would be faster."

     He thrust his hand towards her once more.  "We can do it the slow
way," he said.

     ***

     [ ...long ago, but not so far away ]

     The call woke her up from a dream of Satoshi.  Not one of the old
dreams, where he had returned healthy and happy.  One of the newer
dreams, where she sat at his side in the secret medical ward in
Hinamezawa.

     She stared at the ceiling of their shared room in the darkness,
hearing her sister's soft breathing.  She smiled, and decided not to
wake her just yet.

     He had liked baseball, before things became too stressful for
him.  She wanted to read him books, stories of more wonderful things
than he had endured.  But it hurt, and felt like a sad escape.

     He remained unconscious anyway, so eventually she had discarded
the books and gone to Satoko.  Only because of her role as Satoko's
'nee-nee' was she allowed into the hallowed realm of Satoshi's room in
the old Houjou home.  The pair of them spent the better part of two
days cleaning the year and more worth of accumulated dust from his
things, then another day carefully picking through his scrapbooks and
memorabilia to determine his likes and dislikes.

     She wasn't certain what he _liked_.  He had seemed to be a fan of
the Fukuaoka Softbank Hawks, but Satoko was certain that he couldn't
stand the Hanshin Tigers.  So Shion had collected every article of
their defeats, and read those to Satoshi's slumbering form.

     ***

     Kyousuke had a lot to weigh on him, Shion decided.  Even so,
Shion could recognize him as an emotional anchor -- everyone else
relied on him, so she decided she would, too.

     The more pragmatic side of her cautioned that Kyousuke could
easily be next, so she had a backup, too.  Mikuru seemed a gentle
soul, though even she had hardened after all they'd seen together.
With Mion distracting Suzumiya and Satoko, Shion called the two into
her room and outlined her plan:

     "It's my job to take care of Satoko for her ... missing brother,"
she began.  Then she raised her skirt to show the deep blue
sword-shaped markings that lined her thighs.  "Maybe I'm a terrible
person, but I almost wish she were chosen first ... just so I could be
with her when it was her turn."

     Kyousuke bowed his head and covered his eyes with one hand.  "I'm
sorry," he said softly.

     "Oh, no," Mikuru murmured, her eyes watering.  "Sonozaki-san...."

     "It's fine," she said, forcing a smile.  "I'll be okay.  I'm
lucky ... Kyousuke-kun is going to be able to give me strategy advice,
too, right?"

     He sighed, but straightened himself up and nodded.  "I will do my
best for you, absolutely," he agreed.  "For all of us."

     "I ... know how hard it was," she continued, trying to be
delicate, "watching one little sister go."

     He said nothing, but offered a stiff nod, tears filling his own eyes.

     "B...but even so, I wanted to ask the both of you, when I'm gone,
can you watch over her for me?"

     "You don't need to ask that," Mikuru said, with a strength Shion
didn't know the other girl had.  "But if that's what you want to be
happy, then I promise you that I'll do my best."

     Kyousuke wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve and sniffled,
nodding.  "Sure," he choked out.  "I promise, too.  It's amazing that
this still hurts ... that it never gets any easier.  Not the slightest
bit."  Dropping his arm to his side he gave a bitter laugh.  "Sorry.
Please ignore me; you don't need to hear that right now."

     Shion laughed softly, amazed that she actually felt the tiny bit
of amusement.  "No," she told him.  "That's exactly what I needed.
You're a rock and an anchor to us all.  But you're still human, just
like the rest of us.  We _all_ need one another.  If you _didn't_ need
us ... that's what would scare me and make me feel bad.  Is that
strange?"

     "I don't think so," Mikuru murmured, smiling weakly.  "Is there
anything else you want?"

     "I...I'm going to see a friend in Hinamezawa, before I go," she
answered, shaking her head.  "Satoko will be coming with me."

     ***

     Shion's chair in Zearth was not a proper chair, but an adjustable
stool.  The seat next to Satoshi's bed.

     "Did I interrupt something?" Koyemshi drawled, as she allowed the
newspaper in her hand to fall to the floor.  The teleportation had
severed the top third of the sheets anyway.

     She smiled brightly, shaking her head.  "I'd just finished
reading about the Hanshin Tigers being crushed," she answered.

     "What do you have against my home team?" Kyousuke jibed with a
wry smile from his usual spot at Rika's side, in the middle of the
circle.

     She giggled, and the others managed their own nervous chuckles
and titters, not knowing the joke had been rehearsed.

     Zearth's view washed away the surrounding blankness, and Shion
shook her head with a frown.  Of course; she'd been in Hinamezawa when
the battle had been called.  She'd hoped somehow for an 'away' battle,
but if that wasn't to be the case....

     "Damn," she murmured.  The enemy robot was a giant cylinder,
looking like a massive grinder of some kind, with sharp curved edges
on all sides.  Zearth stood less than a kilometer away from the
clinic, directly opposite the enemy.  "Kyousuke-kun, I want to protect
that building," she declared, pointing at it.  Obligingly, Zearth
provided a zoomed-in oval portal showing it in more detail.  "What
should I do?"

     The enemy robot collapsed suddenly onto one side, and Kyousuke's
eyes widened.  "It rolls.  Lure it down a slope away from the
building," he said.  "Quickly, before it gains momentum."

     "Hmm, you're quite the crutch for your team," Koyemshi mused.
"It'll be a real pity for everyone else when your time is up."

     "Bigger pity for me," Kyousuke returned, not looking at the creature.

     "You're an amusing one, though, I'll grant that."

     "You're too kind," he said in the same dry voice.

     "Nee-nee!" Satoko said suddenly, her eyes widening.  "I see it!
One side of the enemy is bigger -- I bet it turns faster to our right
than to our left!  That's perfect -- lead it through the rice paddies
and into the swamp, then you can save Irie-sensei's clinic!"

     Shion grinned.  "You never had a chance against us," she said,
eyes fixed on the enemy robot.

     ***

     [ ...a yesterday many tomorrows from now ]

     When her name was called, she saw the curved golden star-burst
appear over her left eye in the mirror.  She gave a sad smile and
shook her head.  Girls smaller and younger than her hadn't run away or
given in to defeat.  Even Kyon -- Kyousuke, she reminded herself --
even his little sister had fought.

     As much as it scared her, she would too.  No matter the fact that
it violated so many of the rules she had been taught before being sent
to this timeplane ... somehow, though she wasn't certain _how_, this
ordeal managed to supersede that tiny little limiting factor of
temporal causality.  So she went to breakfast that morning with the
others as normal.

     ***

     Kyousuke had become more solemn since the trials began.  After
Rena, he had decided that once someone was marked, he'd spend every
day until the next battle in the 'uniform' that had been picked out
for him.  She had decided to follow suit, though the lovely ceremonial
kimono slowed her pace, preventing her from easily breaking into a
run.

     "Kyousuke-kun," she began while he paced slowly next to her,
through a short wooded path down the hill from the lodge, "have you
been angry at me recently?"

     "What?" he asked, staring at her in surprise, before realization
dawned on his face, and he looked away guiltily.  "Ah, sorry.  It's
... complicated."

     "What is it?  I can't imagine--"

     "It's classified," he answered, shaking his head.  "I know that's
a weak answer.  I can say this much: It concerns your superior ... the
one who gives you orders."

     "Y...you know my superior?"

     "You always did wonder why my requests went through without
delay, didn't you?"

     She could only stare at him in amazement.  Here she had thought
she was an experienced time traveler, sent to observe and occasionally
assist, or provoke changes indirectly.  Ever since that time she had
ended up being kidnapped, he'd seemed oddly more aware of time travel
than she had thought possible.  Even when he didn't _act_ it.

     "I once asked Nagato a question on the nature of paradox," he
continued, when she was silent.  "Of changes to the past giving rise
to different events in the future.  Something happened that seemed, to
me, to violate the rule of 'not changing' the past.  Of course, the
event in question ended up being the way things had _always_ been.
I'm sorry if this is vague; I don't want it to worry you, even if it
confuses me.  But the one thing I have learned about time-travel is
that it seems it _is_ possible to change the past ... but those
changes seem pre-determined to people who don't believe it."

     "I might understand," she said, offering a smile.  "That reminds
me of what ... that unpleasant person who didn't like me said,
though."

     "To hell with the Sneering Bastard," Kyousuke grumbled.  "For all
of his bitching and moaning, he believes in pre-determination, too.
He just resents it."  He shook his head.  "Anyway, I spent a stressful
week trying my damnedest to make sure I didn't cause a paradox, once.
That only happened because I happened to be given knowledge of what
_should_ happen.  Maybe it seems vague and pointless, so please
forgive me if I'm wandering.  The point is this:

     "What's happening right now violates future knowledge I possess.
I'm guessing it goes against yours, too?"

     "W...well, that's ... classified," she admitted, unable to keep
from smiling.  "But I guess you already knew that."

     "I did," he admitted.  "But all the same, I believe that because
I've never seen the _future_ altered, certain things are going to work
out.  That's the small rock I've been clinging to in this sea of
madness.  And I won't give up on that belief, because ... hell,
everyone is depending on me, these days.  I have to keep it together,
don't I?"

     "It's not just these days," Mikuru said quietly.  "We've all
_always_ depended on you.  And that's ... not fair.  I wanted to one
day be the one to save you ... to return the favor."

     He frowned, some thought occurring to him that he didn't voice,
and stopped walking.

     "Kyousuke-kun, could you close your eyes for a moment?"

     "Sure," he replied, doing as she had asked.  "Are we--  _Can_ we
travel through time, now?"

     She stepped before him and stood on her toes to plant a kiss on
his cheek.  "No," she whispered, settling back to her feet and leaning
into him as he reflexively embraced her, eyes startled and wide.  "I
... know I shouldn't do this, but it's one tiny thing I want to take
selfishly ... one small happiness we can share before...."

     ***

     "The people of this Earth don't want to die, either," Satoko
said, sadly.  "In a way, I have to admire their dedication ... it must
have taken quite a while to make this hole."

     "While you're busy being nice to them, you're losing," Koyemshi
noted.  "Makes no difference to me if you live or die, though."  The
enemy robot began to fill the pit trap that Zearth had fallen into
with corrosive acid.

     "Kyo...usuke," Mikuru asked, her voice shaking, "what do I do?"

     "It's not a question of strategy," he said, shaking his head.
"It's a question of confidence."

     "M...maybe I don't have enough confidence," she said weakly.

     "Hey," Mion protested.  "We can't give up here!"

     "Yeah, you've got to get a hold of yourself, Mikuru!" Haruhi
added, scowling.  "Come on, just like our movie -- blast him with your
beam attack and get out of this hole!"

     "I can fight," she cried.  "But I don't want to kill anyone!  I
don't want ... to destroy this Earth!"

     "If you're content to let your own Earth and all your friends
die," Koyemshi chuckled.  "That's fine, then.  Of course, you'll be
dead too."

     "It's not fine," Kyousuke countered, turning to face her again.
"Come on.  The Asahina-san I know is stronger than that."

     "I...I'm not that kind of person!" she protested, shaking her head.

     "You can be," he insisted.  "You're lucky; this _isn't_ our
Earth.  To you, these people are brief two-dimensional images pasted
into the real world; nothing more than paper dolls."

     Mikuru's tears shone on her face, but her eyes were suddenly dry.
 Haruhi wondered how those could be the perfect words for Kyousuke to
say, and more that he had known to say them.

     But it didn't matter.  Raising one hand to the star-burst pattern
that had surrounded her left eye, she whispered, as though in a
trance, "Just like the movie."

     The resultant explosion of beam energy melted through half the
enemy robot's upper torso.  Zearth surged up from the pit, acid
sloughing off.  Shaking in her chair at Mikuru's sudden change, Haruhi
felt her own eyes tear, but bit her lip and said nothing.

     "Asa--" he began, before cutting himself off.  "Mikuru," he said
more softly.  "You may not know it, but you already are the one who
saved me."  Haruhi swallowed, knowing she hadn't been meant to
overhear.

     ***

     [ ...with my friends ]

     "I'm sorry," Satoko murmured, looking away.  "I know you don't
like your nickname, but your name is hard for me to say."

     "I know," he said, nodding.  "I hear that a lot.  It's fine.  You
can call me Kyon."

     "I don't want another big brother or sister, just to lose them
again," she added.  "Or to lose myself.  Even if that's what nee-nee
thought...."

     He glanced to where Mion sat, watching with dull eyes.  Rika sat
not far away, though she seemed lost in thought herself.  "I
understand."

     "Then, for Rena-san, why don't we just be friends?" Itsuki
suggested.  "All of us should be that at least."

     She smiled wanly, holding up a hand wrapped in faint orange
stripes.  "Okay," she agreed.  "As friends."

     Mion roused herself and asked, "Your happiness?  What would you
like, Satoko-chan?"

     "I want to see my brother again," she answered quietly.  "Even if
he can't wake up ... I want to see him one last time.  But if we can't
have that ... I want what Rena did.  I agree with what Itsuki-san said
-- the answer we were given ... I don't like it.  I think there's more
to it than that."  She turned back to Kyousuke.  "Have you guessed
anything else?"

     He looked troubled, then, and shook his head.  "I'm trying," he
said with a weak smile.  "But this is hard."  After a heartbeat of
thought, he took a pad of paper from the common room table and
scribbled something on it, gesturing to Haruhi and Itsuki.  He handed
the paper over to them, then gave Satoko a nod.  "Let's go for a
walk."

     "Koyemshi," Itsuki called, as she hesitantly accepted Kyousuke's hand.

     "Hmm," the creature mused, appearing in the room and watching
Satoko and Kyousuke leave.  "What is it this time, ape?"

     "We had some questions," Haruhi said levelly.  "About the
circumstances we're in, and...."

     But then they were out of earshot, stepping out of the house.
Kyousuke led her on a path through the woods a short distance in
silence, then called suddenly, "Kimidori-san."

     A faint buzz and distortion of light wavered before them,
revealing an unfamiliar woman with light-green hair, her lips pursed
pensively.  "W...what?" Satoko asked, blinking.  "How-"

     "It's a lot to explain," Kyousuke interrupted, holding one hand
towards Kimidori.  "I'm sorry, but for now, let's leave it at
Kimidori-san being a ... close friend of Nagato's.  She's our friend
in this matter."

     Kimidori's eyes were unreadable, but she offered a genial smile
and took Kyousuke's hand.  "You were able to observe them destroying
another reality?" she asked.

     He nodded.  "Any closer to answers on your end?"

     Satoko's eyes widened in realization.  The two spoke of terms
that she couldn't follow, complex technical things she didn't think
she'd ever be able to understand ... but the meaning was clear.  They
had a great many more friends helping them out than she'd realized.
Finally, Kimidori said something she _could_ understand, but could
scarcely believe, just as she finished talking about some sort of
change to Kyousuke's 'banana knights' or something like that, and
released his hand.

     Kimidori turned to her and crouched to be closer to the same
height.  "Houjou-san, you have a brother, yes?"

     Kyousuke crossed his arms over his chest and watched warily.

     "Satoshi," she clarified, nodding.  "But he's ... not well.
Shion took me to see him...."

     "He's very unwell indeed," she replied with a sad smile.  "I do
have something for you, though.  Now that ... my friends and I are
aware of the situation, we can make him better, should you like it."

     ***

     "Do you think that was necessary?" Kimidori asked him, once
Satoko was out of earshot, running back to the lodge.  "Was it truly
needful?"

     "Is any of this?"

     Kimidori nodded slowly.  "I suppose minor abuses of what
influence you have must be tolerated, given your situation," she
allowed.  "Was Nagato-san's faith in you well placed?"

     "I'm working with an incomplete understanding," he said, turning
back to her.  "But I've got a plan.  And hope."

-- 
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.