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

[Brian Randall]

     Our Inevitable Fate -- Part Three

     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.
	------------------------------------------

     [[ Ain't Youth Great? ]]

     In a way, after watching the small blonde girl fight so
fearlessly, Tsuruya was relieved that she had been chosen next.  It
was getting harder, instead of easier, to watch friends vanish, even
if it was to save the Earth.

     ***

     [ Spread the joy ]

     "Okay!" Tsuruya chirped, grinning her widest and leaning towards
Haruhi in an almost leering manner.  "Haru-nyan~!"

     "W...what?" Haruhi asked, flinching back and finding herself
trapped against the wall behind her.  "Tsuruya-san, what's going on?"

     "I've been chosen!" she announced, standing perfectly straight
and spinning on one toe.  "My mark's a blue zig-zag, but it's in a
private place, so use your imagination, nyoro~!"

     "O...okay?"

     "Now!  You have to do something to make me happy, right?  That's
the rules?"

     "Yes?"

     "Okay!  Go make up with Kyousuke-kun!"  She suddenly turned
stern, though she didn't let her smile slip.  "And don't say something
that makes him try and smack you, or he's getting thumped.  I mean it,
Haru-nyan!  My last request to you is that you tell him how you feel!
Okay?"

     Haruhi worked her mouth silently, then finally gave in and nodded weakly.

     "Good!"

     ***

     "S...so, Kyousuke," she said, walking by his side, dressed up in
the official 'uniform', as he almost always did, now.  "You walk
through the woods a lot these days?"

     "Walking is mindless," he answered, nodding.  "Sometimes I like
to not think.  Sometimes I do think, and forget where I was going.
Once in a while, it makes me think of the hill below our school."

     She smirked at that, shaking her head.  "I don't really miss the
school at all," she murmured.  "But I asked you out here because I
want to ask you some questions."

     He glanced at her sidelong, then sighed.  "It always comes down
onto me," he groused.  "Fine.  What is it, Haruhi?"

     "How long were you and ... Yuki...."  She shrugged, not able to
find the words.

     "What?  What do you mean?"

     "When ... Yuki asked to be with you on the beach before she ...
died ... the guide-bug thing showed us.  Let us see...."

     "Ah," he said softly.  "Well.  Is that all he showed you?"

     "What else is there?" she asked, despairing about how to make
peace with him, for Tsuruya's sake.

     "Eh ... Mikuru kissed me, too, before her fight," he added.  "I
won't lie about it.  But even despite all that, it's not what it had
appeared.  With Nagato....  I may never be able to explain what Nagato
was to me.  Sometimes, she was like another sister.  After that stupid
love-letter debacle, the one you found, I admitted to myself that it
wasn't just seeing her as a sister, or something like that.  She _did_
shake the bell in my heart.  Even then, she was always emotionally
distant.  She wanted to be ... close with me, before the end.  It was
_my_ selfishness that made me kiss her, if that's what you saw.  I
cared about her -- a lot."  His voice had grown rough, and he stopped,
raising one sleeve over his eyes.  "I'm sorry," he said quietly.  "I'm
trying to be strong, for everyone."

     "You're probably afraid," she mumbled, staring at her feet.
"Because ... I always gave you crap about it, didn't I?  I'd give you
a hard time, make you feel guilty....  Let me admit something here,
Kyousuke.  I think you know it, because you know _me_, but I still
have to say it.  I don't understand you, but I really really l...like
you."  She heaved a sigh at the sudden weight lifted from her chest
when she spoke those words.  "I don't _get_ you.  But ... you mean a
lot to me.  And you probably knew I was getting jealous, even when I
couldn't admit it.  So, don't blame yourself for having your own
feelings when _I_ was just being part of the problem."

     He lowered his sleeve, though his eyes were red.  "This is all so
strange," he murmured.  "But, you're right.  Let's leave blame out of
this entirely."

     "A...anyway ... I'm not stupid, so I don't expect anything from
you.  I've come to terms with the fact that you liked someone else.
But ... I promised I would tell you.  And now that you know, I want to
be ... more like you.  Strong enough to stand through all of this.
Because I _do_ like you, I want to be someone _you_ can rely on.  I
don't think it's fair that you have to be the strong one.  I would
just get frustrated, or try and find something else to do....  But
there's no opting out of this contract.  Is that strange of me, too?"

     "A little strange," he agreed, reaching a hand forward to brush
his fingertips across her cheek.  "But I don't mind."

     She shivered at the contact, then smiled, glad she was able to
feel it.  "S...so, tell me about the girls you liked, Kyousuke.  Let's
start ... being real friends, and not just making you pick up the
pieces when I....  Well."

     He shook slightly, his eyes glistening.  "I..." he began
hesitantly, before shaking his head.  "I'm trying to be strong," he
repeated, licking his lips nervously.

     "Then depend on me, damn it!  Or is it my turn to slap you!?"

     He burst into laughter at that, tears streaming down his face.

     ***

     [ Share the love ]

     "Koizumi-kun~!" she caroled, once Haruhi had towed Kyousuke
outside for a 'talk'.  "My time's up, so I need you to do something
for me!"

     "Ah....  Of course," he said, looking up from one of the books
Kyousuke had brought with him, a bit puzzled.  "What can I do for
you?"

     "Mmm, there's six of us.  We're going to make sure we can make
Rika-chan and Mion-san smile, okies?"

     "Right," he agreed, setting the book down and rising from his
seat on the bed.  "That's ... what you would like for your happiness?"

     "Yep!  Kyou-nyan and Haru-nyan are going to be okay, so we only
need to really worry about the two of them."

     He frowned slightly, nodding.

     "Oh, that reminds me, you have a girlfriend, Koizumi-kun?"

     "Uh, no," he answered, blinking in surprise.  "What does that
have to do with Sonozaki-san and Furude-san?"

     "Don't worry about that!" she said brightly.  "Let's go ask them
what they want to do!"

     Shortly, he had been hauled to the common room, where Rika and
Mion sat at the table, playing Othello, and Tsuruya repeated her
question.

     "I don't know," Mion said slowly, looking around the room,
frowning.  "Um, you guys mentioned a movie a bunch of times, right?"

     "Haru-nyan's movie!" Tsuruya agreed, jumping to her feet.
"Almost forgot!  Did you want to see it?"

     "Yeah, that might be fun," Mion agreed.  "Are you in it?"

     "Is Kyousuke-san?" Rika asked, still struggling to pronounce his name.

     "Haha, yeah, I'm a terrible extra!" she agreed.  "Oh!  I'm
actually two of them!  But Kyousuke-kun was the camera-man and
narrator, so you don't see him.  He did the special effects, though!
And Koizumi-kun's an ultra-bishonen male lead, nyoro~!"

     Koizumi's face colored as Tsuruya rifled through the drawer
beneath the television until she produced a hand-made DVD.  "Here it
is!"

     ***

     "You don't understand, though," Kyousuke said, shaking his head.
"I had affection for Nagato.  I was attracted to Asahina-san.  But the
girl I _liked_...."

     Haruhi stared, puzzled.  Someone she didn't know?  Maybe from
before high school?  Certainly it couldn't be Tsuruya, or one of the
girls from Hinamezawa ... could it?

     "The girl I liked was too energetic for her own good, and took a
long time to learn that other people had feelings.  She'd cause
trouble recklessly, and occasionally, she'd do things that would drive
me utterly mad," he continued, turning his face upwards, towards the
late afternoon sky.  "And you're right.  I was ... no, I _am_ afraid.
I want to like her, to tell her how much she actually means to me, but
I'm terrified of changing her ... of the wrong word destroying the
entire world, as I know it."

     "I...it's not too late," she said blinking away the wetness in
her eyes.  "There's ... plenty of time.  After Tsuruya's fight, we can
find her, and you can-"

     He shook his head, eyes closing.  "She already _has_ changed,
though," he said.  "And our world still could be destroyed."

     She frowned, staring at the ground.

     "I want to see the glow of entire universes in her eyes.  I like
her more than her figure, or her intelligence, though those are
admirable.  I like her _despite_ her rough edges when we first met.
When she smiles, I know it means endless pain for me ... but most
days, it's worth it.  I know I may never see it again, but when her
hair was in a ponytail...."

     "K...Kyousuke," she said quietly, blinking.  "Who is it?  Asakura
Ryouko?  Did you and her ... before...."  Was _that_ the start of his
impenetrable stoicism?  Being separated from his lover, their affair
always being hidden....  It did explain so much.  Kyousuke would
complain about her to his girlfriend, then Asakura would speak to her
to try and cheer her up and get her to leave him alone.  When it was
time to investigate Asakura's disappearance, he didn't care in the
slightest -- because he'd already _known_ what happened.

     Laughing again, he stared her in the eyes, one hand brushing
through her hair.  "No," he said adamantly.  "I don't think I really
hate anyone, but she's about second on my list of people I'd like to
never see again.  Haruhi, stop playing dumb; it doesn't suit you.
It's _you_, and it always has been."

     Her eyes widened as she realized he was right; but she'd been so
afraid to hope....

     ***

     [ A borrowed smile ]

     The movie had left Mion and Rika speechless.  Kyousuke and Haruhi
had returned near the middle, just as it switched genres to a love
story.  "This ... is amazing," Mion said, struggling to keep from
exploding into laughter.  "Oh, _wow_."

     "Kyousuke-san's good at telling the story, too," Rika added.

     "Oh, _that_ movie?" he asked, incredulous.

     "It's high art!" Haruhi said, crossing her arms over her waist and nodding.

     "Join us," Mion said, snickering at Nagato's expression during
her 'confession' scene.  "Bwaahaha!"

     "Fine," Kyousuke grumbled, even though he smiled the entire time.

     Haruhi sat at his side, leaning into him.  "I always wanted to
make it a trilogy," she remarked.  "But I guess for now I should just
be proud of what we accomplished."

     "Mmm.  Where's Koizumi and Tsuruya-san?"

     "Kaede-chan said something about a date-" Mion began, before
cutting off into another bout of amazed, hysterical laughter.

     Rika looked back to see Kyousuke and Haruhi share a glance and a
shrug, then turned her attention back to the movie.  It _was_ amusing,
she had to admit.  "It's nice to remember carefree times, nii~paah!
We should all thank Tsuruya-san when she gets back."

     ***

     "Kyousuke-kun walks this way a lot," Tsuruya remarked.  She had
decided to follow his example, too; hell, for all she cared, they
could wear their uniforms all day.  It wasn't like the burden of
saving the world at the cost of their own lives shouldn't come with
_some_ benefits.  "I never took him for the naturey type!"

     "Hmm," Koizumi murmured, looking at the trees on either side of
the trail.  "I can't believe it's already Autumn."

     "Ehe.  I didn't really ask you to come with me for talking about
Kyousuke-kun, or nature ... or even Haru-nyan," Tsuruya said, softly.
"But you always seemed pretty sharp anyway.  To tell you the truth, my
plan was always to just be a bit character in the background.  I was
satisfied with that."

     "A calling such as the one we've received cannot be ignored,
though," he returned, shrugging.

     She eyed him sidelong, her soft smile shifting to a smirk.
"You've had one before, nyoro~?"

     "Ah ... well.  That's not important-"

     "Koizumi-kun, I want to ask you for something.  It's just for
today, so can I?"

     "What's that?"

     "Stop pretending.  Show me a real smile, huh?  I know it's hard,
but I want to know the real you."

     He stared at her, his smile fading.  "Am I so transparent?"

     "Nope~!  That's why I'm asking!"

     The smile he offered her next was much weaker.  "I ... will try,"
he allowed.

     "Good," she announced, before sweeping in unexpectedly and giving
him a peck on the lips.  "Eh-hehe....  _There's_ a real face!"

     ***

     [[ The Masterminds ]]

     "Tsuruya's gone," he said flatly, holding his hand out for
Kimidori to read once more.

     "I'm sorry."

     "Eh.  Eventually, we're all going to be dead, aren't we?  Nothing
to apologize for.  Sad as it is, I think at this point we've all come
to grips with it, pretty much."

     "If we can observe one more 'away' battle, it seems likely that
we can determine the nature of those who are behind this," she told
him.  "In that instance, if we were to gain the capability to act
against them, wouldn't the inevitability be lessened?"

     "You'd think that," he said, grimacing.

     ***

     [ Brighter than light ]

     Their presences were blinding; not just visibly, but in every
spectrum of perception, they flooded his awareness.  As the enemy
robot was destroyed, and the surroundings blurred to the destruction
of yet another world, he tried to look at Mion.  Tried to consider her
final words and thoughts.  Heard her say, "Sorry, Rena ... I'm coming
too, so we're going to be competing for him, now."

     She said something else, then, something to him, and to Haruhi.
He thought he nodded, but his world was being swept away -- not just
the world around them, that foreign Earth they had condemned to
destruction.  But _everything_ was consumed into a singular awareness,
surrounding him on every side, with every sense.

     He could _taste_ their austerity, _feel_ the disdain they felt
towards his daring to spy on them.  He couldn't handle it; his mind
retreated from their presence, scurried into comforting darkness,
chased by their laughter.  They weren't afraid ... or alarmed.  They
weren't surprised ... only amused.

     ***

     [ Stronger than force ]

     "More ape tricks?" Koyemshi growled.  "Really, now."

     He blinked several times, coming to his senses, his vision
restricted to the comforting view he usually held as he stared up into
the concerned eyes of Haruhi and Rika.  To one side, Koizumi gazed up
at Koyemshi, who was shrouded in shadow as it faced down at him, teeth
bared.

     "So, was it worth it?"

     "What happened?" Haruhi asked him, her face worried.

     "They call themselves gods," Rika answered, shaking her head.
"Maybe they even believe it."

     "Tsst!" Koyemshi hissed, rotating away through the air.  "You
apes make me _really_ mad!  I thought it was you, Kyon, but I see it
was the little brat, wasn't it?"

     "Who is a brat?" Rika asked, her voice sounding aged beyond her
years.  "Fighting for life isn't shameful."

     "The chairs are already moving," Koizumi murmured.  "Why so soon?"

     "Don't piss me off any further!" Koyemshi warned.  "You're going
to be next as it is."  Sure enough, when the chairs stopped spinning,
it was her mat in the loop.

     "Then-"

     "Stop," Kyousuke said, climbing to his feet with Haruhi's help.
"Furude-san, that's enough," he added, placing one hand on Rika's
shoulder.  "Koyemshi, we're done here.  Please send us back."

     ***

     [[ Echoes ]]

     Her sign was a blue wheel across her face.  It made her eyes look
unnaturally shadowed, haunted.  She gazed at her reflection in the
mirror and shook her head.  The other three were waiting for her ...
she was the last of her original friends, and all she had left were
three relatively comforting strangers and the ghostly form of Hanyuu.

     A sad smile came to her lips.  One way or another, she would try
and keep things together; the miracle couldn't occur if they didn't
all work as one.

     She wasn't ready to give up just yet.

     ***

     [ Let me borrow him, just a bit! ]

     "So," she said, her face slightly pink, "I won't get another
chance.  I know he's important to you, Suzumiya-san, but can I ask to
borrow him, just a bit?"

     "Sure," Haruhi answered, her eyes pained.  "I don't know how a
lug like him got so popular ... everyone always wants to have their
last walk with him."

     "If I'm chosen next, I would as well," Koizumi added.

     "Not exactly comforting," Kyousuke remarked, sliding a worn piece
of note paper to the two.  "Good luck."

     "Ah ... you as well," Koizumi returned.

     "On a 'date' with a girl that young!?" Haruhi said, glaring at
the pretty-boy.

     Rising, Kyousuke offered Rika a hand, and they took a step outside.

     ***

     [-recursion-]

     "You seem very comfortable in that outfit," he remarked, as they
strolled through the trees.

     "I've worn one many times before," she assured him, smiling weakly.

     "I don't know how long they can keep ... it ... distracted," he
added.  "So would you like to hear my story, or tell me yours?"

     "You're wise beyond your years," she remarked, discarding her
mask.  "I was trapped in a loop of repeating time ... going through
the same endlessly repeating June."

     He nodded sagely.  "This happened to me the August of last year,"
he told her.  "Two weeks, repeated over and over ... fifteen thousand
times.  Nearly six hundred years.

     She missed a step and tripped, but he caught her, then sat down
on the side of the path.  Uncertain, she sat beside him.  "W...were
you murdered at the end of every loop as well?"

     He started at that, eyes widening.  "No, not once," he said,
shaking his head.  "That I know of, anyway.  I don't remember those
loops directly ... there was just a strong sense of deja'vu, until I
finally broke it.  It sounds like you endured something infinitely
worse than I did.  In any case, the only one who remembered
everything, _everything_ was Nagato.  It ... wasn't good for her."

     "I believe I've been alive for over one hundred years, repeating
that month, until I too broke free," she said quietly.

     "I'd like you to meet a friend," he said without preamble.

     ***

     [-gods-]

     Rika blinked languidly at the young woman who had appeared before
them, giving a sad smile and brushing her pale green hair behind one
ear as the wind loosened it.  "This is Kimidori Emiri," Kyousuke said,
nodding at her.  "Sit with us," he added, holding a hand out to the
woman.

     She nodded, sitting at Kyousuke's side opposite Rika and taking
the proffered hand.  "Hello," Rika said hesitantly.  Bolstering her
strength, she shook her head, and said, "Hanyuu, show yourself."

     Kyousuke turned to look at the small god when she appeared and
bowed his head politely.  "You're the 'other data-entity' I've heard
about?"

     "Wha...wha...what's a data-entity?" Hanyuu asked, eyes flickering
nervously between Kyousuke and Kimidori.

     "My ... people are scientists," Kimidori said after a moment.
"We used that label because it most closely matched what we had known.
 Nagato was one of us ... probably our most powerful and skilled.
Since this began, we've been trying to do what we can to understand
the how and why of this situation, in hopes of resolving it."

     "You must understand," Kyousuke warned, "Haruhi does not know
this.  It doesn't work right _now_, because ... well ... I'm not
certain.  But Haruhi has the power to change reality.  So we hid
everything from her.  She didn't know that Nagato was an ... alien, or
that Asahina-san was a time-traveler.  She doesn't know that Koizumi
is an esper.  We probably shouldn't let her know about ... Hanyuu-san
right now, either; that might just be too much stress for her."

     "J...just Hanyuu is fine, Tadamichi-san," the horned girl
replied, blushing faintly, "it is so."

     "Then just Kyousuke is fine, too," he told her.  "But we're
digressing.  Did the nanites reveal anything else, Kimidori?"

     "Our information is as complete as it is likely to become," she
said, shaking her head.  "There are memetic gaps; you were able to
observe things that we are not able to record."

     "I saw them," he said, his voice suddenly hoarse.  "The ones
behind it all.  Did you, too, Furude-san?"

     "Rika," she whispered to him, smiling.  "But, yes.  Hanyuu and I
saw ... with you.  They think they are gods."

     "They were so remote ... shining ... powerful.  They knew we were
watching them."

     "They thought we were amusing."

     ***

     [ Deeper meaning ]

     "What are you calling me up for?" the creature asked, annoyed,
rotating between Haruhi and Itsuki.  "It better be important ... I'm
still in an unhappy mood!"

     "What's this for?" Koizumi asked.  "What's this really all about?"

     "You want to fall again?"

     "We're not saying you've lied to us," Haruhi said quickly,
crumpling the note that Kyousuke had left them up in one hand.  "We
just want to understand ... if there are an infinite number of Earths
and you divide that number by thirteen, how many will be left?"

     "Spare me your logic puzzles," Koyemshi growled.  "And the number
isn't always thirteen.  Some Earths are lucky ... and it's only
eleven.  Some are less lucky, and it's fifteen.  Or some number
between.  I've seen more realities than I can count destroyed.  We
jump through time as well as space.  You can say that an infinite
number will never be reduced, except when you consider the fact that
we have an infinite amount of time to do this.

     "Eventually, all realities will be merged into a manageable
handful in number.  Even those that are more divergent than the ones
you went to have their own battles, just like this one.  But more
importantly, with each reality that's destroyed, we harvest more
energy."

     "S...so, this is all about getting power?" Haruhi asked, staggered.

     "Of course not," the creature returned.  "But you've been pushing
my buttons long enough.  Next I'll _show_ you what you're asking."

     ***

     [ Inevitability ]

     Rika sighed, shaking her head, and took her seat, kneeling on her mat.

     "Koyemshi," Kyousuke said, frowning.  "Who are those shining
people I saw?  Why are they doing this?"

     "Shining people?  That sounds familiar.  Still don't know!  The
people who started this, maybe?  It doesn't matter!  What does matter
is that we go about our jobs and do what we're told!  Until some
_stupid_ apes muck things up.  Tell me, do you know how many fights
you've been through so far?"

     "Nine, not counting Kokopelli's," Koizumi answered.

     "His counts," Koyemshi replied.  "So, do some math."

     "One of us ... will survive?" Haruhi asked, eyes widening.

     "Bingo!  Except ... not Kyon, because of his stupid messing
around!  If your precious doll wins this battle, it's _his_ head on
the chopping block next!  That's what you get for poking your nose
where it doesn't belong!"

     Kyousuke strode to the center of the circle, walking past the
creature.  "That's fine," he said mildly.  "I am prepared.
Rika-chan?"

     "I'm not afraid either," she said.  "We will win."

     "Humph!  Well, you two may be condemned.  It's a real pity, Kyon!
 I had high hopes ... I was going to save you for last.  I was going
to let you win, because I found you amusing!"

     "Very kind of you," he said dryly.

     "Hah!  That's the stuff."

     "Are you saying you choose who goes next?" Koizumi asked.  "It's
not just the chairs that pick us?"

     "Of course not.

     "What happens to the one who survives, then?"

     "They become the next Kokopelli, or whatever they want to call
themselves.  They recruit the new pilots, show them the rules for the
first battle, then get to live the rest of their lives."  Turning to
face Haruhi, the creature suddenly changed the subject.  "I watch you
from here when you're not piloting, you know.  Say, Haruhi, did you
know how many other girls your boyfriend kissed?"

     "Yes," she returned mildly.  "And that's fine.  We aren't
boyfriend and girlfriend.  We're just _good_ friends.  I don't care
who he dates, as long as they make him happy."

     "AAAUGH!  You guys ... REALLY piss me off!  I want to see despair
and tears!  Rage!  I hope this next enemy kills you all!"  It flew
directly before Rika's face.  "Give in!" the creature shouted.  "Cry!
Beg for your life!"

     "I won't," Rika returned, smiling, radiating calm and confidence.
 "And we won't lose, so you don't get that satisfaction, either."

     "I _hate_ you!" Koyemshi roared, zipping high overhead before
suddenly freezing.  "Well.  Fine.  Do whatever."

     ***

     [[ I don't like this game anymore ]]

     After her victory, Rika had given a bright, genuinely happy
smile.  "I know I'll see you again," she said, before she faded into
light.

     "I'm tired of being strong," Haruhi said, her voice empty.  "I
want this to end."

     ***

     [ Stay with me... ]

     Kyousuke put one hand on her shoulder, flinching slightly.  "I've
been called," he told her.  "And I know you don't like it.  None of us
do.  But we can't give in.  Remember what I told you?"

     "I ... suppose," she said.  "And I said I wanted to be strong for
_you_.  But this is so hard...."

     "Well, the one who makes the rules probably has the most fun," he
said, shrugging.  "But that doesn't matter.  Listen to me closely,
alright?"

     "Yeah?"

     "More than anything, I believe in you.  It may sound stupid, but
I'm your strategist, or at least, that's what was decided, right?"

     She nodded, brushing his hand off her shoulder and stepping
directly into him, leaning her head on his chest.  "Keep talking," she
murmured.  "I don't want to lose another second of being close to
you."

     "Even when ... I'm gone, I'm going to be with you.  But I believe
you can make it.  This will probably seem crazy, but when things seem
darkest, when it seems like there's no way out ... when you _win_ and
you're ready to beat this thing once and for all ... when you need me,
call for me.  I _will_ be there."

     She rubbed her face against the front of his uniform robes,
wondering how many other tears it had already absorbed from the other
pilots.  "That is crazy," she said.  "And I will.  Is that the thing
you want to be happy, before you go?"

     He didn't answer, just hugging her against him.

     "Hey ... Kyousuke....  Stay with me tonight."

     He didn't say anything for a long while, just running his
fingertips up and down her back.  "Are you making that offer just
because you think it would make me happy?" he asked.

     "It's ... selfish of me.  It's for me, too.  Because I want it --
want _you_.  And ... maybe a little ... I want to try and make you
happy however I can."

     "Oh, hell," he finally muttered.  "I can't say no to that -- not _now_."

     ***

     [ An unlucky day ]

     "A 'home' game," he observed, frowning.  Sighing, he shook his
head and marched to his seat for what Haruhi thought was the first
time he'd ever used it in this space.

     "Oh, what a pity," Koyemshi remarked.  "It seems to be in your
hometown, Kyon, instead of your little mountain hideaway.  What a
strange quirk of fate!"

     "That's for sure," he replied.  "A strange coincidence indeed."

     "Does _anything_ make you mad?"

     "People molesting Mikuru," he said after a moment.  "People
picking on my sister.  Hmm.  In another strange coincidence, they're
not around, either."

     The enemy robot across from them was tall and slender, with four
blade-like limbs.  Without waiting for civilians to evacuate, the
enemy began charging immediately, spinning around and tilting forward
to create a cutting wall.

     Koizumi and Haruhi both gasped as Kyousuke yawned, Zearth leaping
into the air and flipping easily over the enemy.  "H...how?" Koizumi
asked, baffled.

     "Giant robot anime," he answered flippantly.  "Too much science fiction."

     Then he turned his attention to Koyemshi, as Zearth zipped
forward, before the enemy robot could right itself.  The enemy robot
was seized and flung into the hills behind the Tsuruya estate, still
scarred from earlier battles.  "More importantly, the realization that
all I need to do to win, is _want_ to win.  I know what you're
thinking, you flying piece of junk.  You think you can make me suffer
by telling me that before I die, you're going to make Haruhi the next
pilot."

     "Eh," Koyemshi managed, baring its teeth.  "All your tampering,
your attitude, and now this?  You're going to spend your last moments
falling from a long way up!"

     "Hehe ... yeah ... but I've realized that you can't touch me
_while_ I'm piloting."

     The creature's teeth vanished, and it turned away.  "Your
girlfriend will still be the next pilot."

     "And?" he asked, grinning.  "She knows as much as I do about
piloting this thing.  So you've just guaranteed that my reality
survives.  You lose, little monster; I get to die happy, and after,
we'll be together."

     "Y...yeah," Haruhi echoed, wiping tears from her eyes.  "Together."

     "Fine!" the creature roared, turning back and baring its teeth
once more.  "She DOESN'T!  Your pretty-boy pal can easily fail, and
your girlfriend has to move on to another reality and start this
entire thing over again!  She'll live out her life and die in a
reality that never touches yours!  Maybe she won't teach the other
pilots well enough, and she'll die the first time they actually
fight!"

     "Humph.  You're really trying, aren't you?  Well, fine.  I admit
that makes me a little sad."  Even as Zearth tore apart the enemy's
armor, searching for the vital point, his smile widened.  The vital
point came into view, clutched in the three crushing tines of one of
Zearth's massive arms.  "But only a little."

     "There's one thing I never told you," Koyemshi added.  "Even if
your pretty-boy pal wins ... your Earth is going to be forced to sell
off its life-force to survive.  Not that it'll be hard; your battles
play right into our hands."

     He snorted, shaking his head.  "That's what you think."

     "Kyousuke," Haruhi whimpered, as the core was crushed, and he
vanished instantly.

     ***

     [ The last challenger ]

     He had watched the lights on the robot's face.  There had been
three, for a while after the creature had teleported Kyousuke away.

     He'd held his breath and hoped....  But then there were only two.
 He tried not to think about the creature's final words, just standing
in the middle of the circle with Haruhi -- his place.  More-so than
his chair in the spinning ring.  Eventually it stopped, his own seat
in the loop.  He felt the call, very different from the awareness of
closed space.

     "I should be happy," he told her, then.  "This is the last fight.
 If we make it through this...."  He shrugged.

     She nodded at him dully, and he looked at the last image of
Zearth's crest, a smile coming to his lips as he counted the lights
again.  Then the viewing portal vanished, and both he and Haruhi were
teleported away.

     ***

     "Is there ... anything you want?" she asked him, not meeting his eyes.

     Oh, there had been, once.  Something she could have given him.
But now....  "I'm fine," he said confidently.  "I just want you to
remember what Kyousuke said."

     "So strange," she murmured, shaking her head.  "We called him by
that nickname for over a _year_, and he never actually complained to
us about it.  It took ... his sister....  It took...."  She sighed,
shaking her head again.  "I miss him," she said quietly.  "I don't
know if I want to go on."

     "Have faith in him," he told her.  "Absolute confidence.  He's
our strategist, isn't he?"

     "But...."

     "It doesn't matter that he's gone, right now.  He left us what we
needed to win."

     "What he needed for _me_ to win," she said, eyes tearing.  "In a
world without him!"

     "Suzumiya-san ... don't think like that.  Just remember what he
said.  In the meantime, hang in there.  It may sound a vague and empty
assurance ... but I believe in his plan."

     "_What_ plan!?"

     "I have to admit that I don't know.  I never could follow his
stratagems in chess.  I tried to think seven moves ahead of him,
calculating everything in my head, but when we played, he seemed to
know the outcome of the entire game within three moves.  I got
frustrated over not being able to ever do anything to him in Othello
... that's why I kept trying other games.

     "Occasionally, maybe he would be distracted, or feel guilty, and
he'd let me win.  But I knew he was letting me win.  Even then, I
couldn't grasp his stratagems, and it's no different here.  I don't
understand his plans.  Even so, I know they are good enough.  And I
know that part of his strategy was that he believed in _you_.  So, I
do too."

     ***

     [ The Prize ]

     "Well!" Koyemshi said cheerfully, as Koizumi vanished into light.
 "That's it!  You've won!  I gather you always wanted to go to new
worlds and meet new people?  This should be grand!  An entire new
alternate Earth awaits you!  Assuming you train the pilots well enough
that your new Earth isn't destroyed.  And that you live through the
demonstration battle, anyway."

     The viewing portals irised shut.

     "A little late for tears now, isn't it?" the creature asked her
dryly.  "The last trainer took the name of Kokopelli because I told
him that's what the trainer before _him_ called himself.  His actual
name was Seki.  But that doesn't matter now.  There was quite a lot of
trouble with the last Earth before this one!  I'll spare you the
details, but he crossed me, so he had to die after training you.  I'm
sure you'll be better behaved, but what nickname will you wear when
you gather the new pilots?"

     She blinked furiously, her vision wavering.  The bobbing creature
before her spun idly.

     "Quickly now," he said.  "We're about to leave your Earth ...
this will be the last time you ever see it!"

     "Kyon," she called weakly.

     "What?  That's what you're going to call yourself?"

     "No," she said, shaking her head, gathering her will.  "Kyousuke!"

     "What stupidity is...."  But anything else he was going to say
was cut off, somehow.

     She felt a pair of tiny hands on her shoulders, soft breath on
the back of her neck by one ear, and heard a gentle voice whisper,
"Time ... _STOP_!"  The creature and circle of chairs around her --
everything but herself, it seemed -- had turned monochrome gray.

     "Kyousuke, what do I do?" she asked, shaking.  "What's going on?"

     She looked up, and he was standing there in the center of the
circle as he always had, still wearing the robes that Rena and Tsuruya
had picked for him.  "This is it," he told her.  "The point where the
people behind this are most vulnerable.  But we can't do this alone;
we'll need everyone.  Call them, Haruhi."

     She nodded numbly, reaching in through the inner emotions she'd
accumulated, layered like the skin of an onion.  She reached deepest
first, guilt compelling her; selfishness had demanded she rely on
Kyousuke.  Now she'd do things _right_.  "Keiichi!"

     Dressed as he had been the day he died, he stepped from behind
Kyousuke, near the middle of the circle, an aluminum baseball bat in
one hand, cocked over one shoulder.  "Hah," he chuckled.  "I knew
there was a way past it."

     "Yuki!"

     She stepped from behind Kyousuke as well, standing on the
opposite side of Keiichi.  She nodded at Haruhi, saying nothing.

     "Sanae!"

     The girl appeared directly between herself and Haruhi.
"Nii-san!" she squealed, flinging herself at him and latching onto his
side.  He ruffled her hair with one hand, nodding at Haruhi
approvingly.

     "Rena!"

     "So, _this_ is the answer?" she mused, walking to stand beside
Keiichi, holding a double-handed cleaver and narrowing her eyes at the
frozen gray image of Koyemshi.  "That thing was just a puppet, too."

     "Shion!"

     She stood next to Nagato, crossing her arms over her chest.

     "Mikuru!"

     "I'm here!" she called from beside Haruhi, bewildered.  "But I
don't understand how or why!"

     "Satoko!"

     She appeared from behind Kyousuke, running to embrace Shion, who
knelt to catch her.

     "Kaede!"

     "I'm back, nyoro~!  That's a scary place, but I knew Haru-nyan
and Kyou-nyan would put things back together!"

     "Mion!"

     "Those weapons won't stop me!" she cried, leaping from behind
Kyousuke to seize Keiichi in a hug.

     "Rika!"

     The girl appeared right at Kyousuke's side, where she had always
stood when they fought ... until it was her turn.  She smiled, wisdom
beyond her years shining in her eyes.  "With all of us, the miracle
can still happen."

     "Koizumi!"

     He appeared before her as well.  "I'm glad you believed," he
said, bowing to her.

     "But, now what?" she asked, turning to Kyousuke, worried.

     "Behind you," he said.  "Her name is Hanyuu.  She's part of our
nakama as well."

     Haruhi turned slowly, surprised to see the blushing, floating
figure of a girl Rika's size, with violet hair and a pair of deep blue
horns.  "Hauuu..." she murmured in greeting, ducking her head.

     "Together," Kyousuke continued, "we can do this.  I know a little
about the nature of our enemies -- as much as anyone can know without
being destroyed or becoming them, I guess.  Remember, there are
_people_, post-human 'masterminds', behind this.  They made the
rules."

     "If the rules aren't right, and you don't like the rules..." Keiichi began.

     Shion picked up, yelling, "...use new rules!"

     ***

     [[ The nakama which trumps fate ]]

     "That's right!" she said, blinking suddenly.  "Why did I let
myself get stuck following their stupid rules for so long?  Something
this bad ... in an infinite number of realities it's inevitable that
something so horrible is real.  But why would I ever let myself become
trapped in this?  Why would anyone!?  Those so-called masterminds...."

     "The plot of 'weeding out' realities that we didn't need was
obviously a falsehood," Koizumi added.

     "Even their ploy to drain all the life force of the worlds that
'won' seems silly," Rena agreed.  "Destroying so much?  It couldn't be
needed!"

     "There's better ways to get what you want or need," Mion agreed,
nodding as well.

     "I don't believe they will succeed," Mikuru cried.  "They can't
do this everywhere, or every time -- there's a way to avoid them!"

     "No, no reason to hide," Shion disagreed.  "To let them prey on
all those Earths....  But we _can_ get past their defenses!"

     "Especially when the only reason they have to prey on others is
sadism," Rika whispered.  "They find our struggles amusing.  To them,
we are just a source of entertainment -- everything else we've been
told is a lie."

     "Even the 'guide' is a part of amusing them; a selected person is
turned into that thing to see how it reacts; how its behavior is
changed by being given immortality and the responsibility of keeping
those who watch amused," Nagato added.

     "Kyousuke," Haruhi said, looking across at him.  "We have to stop
them.  Forever."

     "That's right," he agreed, nodding.  He carefully broke away from
both Rika and his sister, then pulled Haruhi closer to the center of
the group.  "And we're ready to take the battle to them."

     "I will forgive no false gods," Hanyuu breathed.

     "And yet, we must," he countered, turning to look at the small
god.  "Even as we stop them, we must forgive them.  What else can we
do?  Go into their world and murder every last one of them?  That's
what they expect; that's what they're prepared for.  Hells, they might
even find it _entertaining_."

     "You think we can end this with simple words!?" Haruhi cried,
shaking her head.  "But--"  She cut herself off and smiled.  "If it's
your plan," she allowed, "then of course it will work.  When ... we go
... will you hold me?"

     He nodded, one arm going about her as he slipped behind her,
pulling her close to him.  She wasn't certain why, but the sense of
his left hand pressed gently against her belly flooded her with
courage.  She could do this.

     "But I won't be satisfied with just that," she said.  "They won't
be false gods, when we're done.  So you can forgive them too, Hanyuu."

     "They killed us!" Mion protested.  "We're just letting that go?"

     "Of course not," Rika said.  "We won't be dead when we're done."

     "I see it!" Keiichi shouted.  "All of us together -- prepare to
see the magician of words cast his strongest spell yet!  Great
strategist Kouysuke, what do you know about the masterminds?"

     "Enough," he said from behind Haruhi.  His breath tickled her
hair, and she could imagine his eyebrow twitching at the title.
Despite herself, she smiled.  "They are brighter than light, stronger
than force, and..."

     ***

     [ ...more brittle than diamond ]

     Zearth transitioned, guided by the will of all thirteen pilots,
arriving in a strange Earth filled with flying islands, ivory towers
and crystalline buildings.  Everything shone and glittered, colored
with a vibrancy that assaulted the senses.  Painfully deep blue skies
were fleeced with idealized clouds, the optimized sun beaming exactly
the right amount of light onto the world, in all of the perfect
wavelengths.

     "It's beautiful," Mion began slowly.

     Rena finished, "But empty."

     Abruptly an oval-shaped viewing portal zoomed onto a remote ivory
structure, revealing a single male figure in white robes, smiling
brightly at them.  "You can hear me," he said, "I know this.  You are
not the first to have come this far.  Many others have, too.  Your
fate will be no different from theirs."

     "It will be," Haruhi disagreed.  "You think you're gods, but
you're not.  You're spoiled brats using alternate realities as your
playthings -- and that ends _here_ and _now_!"

     "If you wish to contest us-"

     "We don't!  You don't understand!  After everything you've done,
everything you've found....  We forgive you."

     The man on the viewing portal looked mildly confused, his smile
slipping the tiniest amount.  "You ... _forgive_ us?"

     "Your expanded minds have become contaminated with the concept of
infinity," Nagato told him.  "It is not a fault of your own that you
began to devalue the existence of lives in those other realities.
Even though the toll was beyond comprehension, it is easy to
understand that you did not realize what you were doing."

     The man's face cracked, a dark fracture from the corner of his
mouth to one ear.  "You do not understand the meaning of the words you
utter."

     "The most devious master of traps occasionally makes a snare so
well designed ... she can fall for it herself," Satoko observed.
"It's the same for you."

     Another crack appeared on the man's face, splitting it
vertically.  Within the depths of the crack was a roiling darkness,
studded with sparkling lights, infinitely more vast than the man
himself.  "You believe that all we have done is an oversight?  A
miscalculation?"

     "It's understandable that you think you're knowledgeable enough
to avoid making a mistake," Asahina said, shaking her head.  "But
that's theory, for you; a way to go wrong with confidence."

     The man's entire image flickered, distorting with darkness and
glittering lights; a crack ran from his face to the sky behind him,
shattering one of the distant crystalline cities.  "Lies," he said,
though the sound was a buzzing whisper.

     "Anyone can make a mistake," Keiichi said, dropping his baseball
bat on the floor and looking solemn.  "In another world ... I went mad
and ... slaughtered ... the people I love.  The people I _love_!  If
simple madness can cause such a horrifying 'oversight', then that's
exactly what this is!  How else could beings with your power willingly
do this to their own cousins and brothers?  You came from humanity!
Even if you believe yourselves to be something else, now ... you are
human, through and through.

     "If there's _one_ thing I know, it's that humans make mistakes.
And that's why we're able to come here and defeat you.  Because we are
individual humans, and all of us make mistakes.  But as friends -- as
_nakama_ -- we work _together_."

     "Love?" Mion and Rena whispered together, turning their eyes to Keiichi.

     "Yeah," he said, nodding, eyes fixed on the viewing portal.  He
only smiled when each of the girls grabbed onto him, turning their
attention back on the broken image of the man.  "Because of the
friends I had -- and the new friends we've made -- I'm here.  I
shouldn't be, but we all stuck together as a group!  We tried to get
along and work together, to overcome every obstacle!

     "But every other Earth you visit, every life you touch ... you
have a chance to make strong bonds, build friendships, raise your
fellow man -- your family! -- above their limitations!  Instead, you
throw that away because you're _scared_ of that responsibility; it's
so much easier to just kill and try and laugh it off, convincing
yourself that you're superior, when you're no different from us at
all!  You just want to be normal people, and you're trapped in this
terrible cycle that you've created."

     "LIES!" the man screamed, his entire body shattering, leaving an
outline in the shape of it behind, filled with endless, infinite
darkness, and thousands of scattered jewels of shining light, like an
entire universe contained within one being.  Ivory and crystal
structures around him exploded, shattering into dust.  "You have _no_
understanding of what we are!  We are perfect!  Peerless!  We are
_gods_!"

     "_I_ am a being that has gone beyond man," Hanyuu said, her voice
cold, her eyes glowing black.  She threw her tiny arms wide.  "I hated
you once for all that you stood for and did!  But listening to these
mortals, I see you for what you are!  My heart aches fit to burst with
compassion for you."  Brilliant tears flowed from her unblinking eyes.
 "Give your sin unto me, and be forgiven!"

     "Until then, we're closing off your ability to touch other worlds
-- forever," Haruhi added.  "And while we're at it, we're going to
undo every single connection you've ever made with other realities --
so you can't even blame yourselves for all you've done ... because it
won't really have ever happened!"

     The thing on the screen screamed.  The world cracked, fire and
darkness flooding it; the stars wept plasma and radioactive flares;
the sun collapsed into a dark mote that absorbed all light; there was
nothing.

     ***

     [[ Fireside discussion ]]

     Tsuruya had hauled Kyousuke's little sister off to the hostel,
pleading sleepiness, when the others decided to stay on the beach and
talk.

     "Kyousuke," Keiichi began, broaching the silence first.  "What
happened?  Was it a dream, or...?"

     "It was real enough," he said, glancing to the girl at his side.
She shivered a bit, then he smiled.  "I'm afraid I'm going to need to
start with an explanation to Haruhi, first."

     "I chose to remember everything," she said quietly.  "I know we
all had the _choice_ to forget, but...."

     Kyousuke nodded, then turned to the fire pit that he and the
other two boys had dug.  After a long minute, the fire was started,
and just as the sun went down, Tsuruya returned.  "Hiyas~!" she said
brightly.  "Sanae's asleep.  All worn out from swimming!"  She dropped
several bags of skewers and marshmallows on a nearby towel.  "I miss
anything important?"

     "We were just starting," Kyousuke answered.  "So ... Haruhi ...
listen to me.  This is a lot to take in, but the world was already
wilder and more interesting than you knew ... even before Zearth
appeared."

     "How?" she asked, frowning, grabbing a bag of marshmallows and
preparing to roast one over the fire.

     "You didn't believe me ... but I told you that time travelers,
espers, and aliens exist?"

     "Yeah....  I remember.  Why?"

     "Well ... maybe it's cheating a bit ... but I knew we were going
to get through the Zearth trial from the moment Mikuru was chosen."

     "What?" she yelped, dropping her marshmallow into the fire.  "Why
didn't you _tell_ me!?"

     "It does seem like the kind of thing that could have been brought
up earlier," Rena remarked, smirking.

     "I _did_ tell you," he reproved her mildly, handing her his own
just-roasted marshmallow.  "Just not in those specific words.  I had
to find out what to say that wouldn't just let us live through this
... but would actually let us resolve this issue and get rid of the
'masterminds', while also finding a way to bring everyone back."

     "Truly," Koizumi said, shaking his head, "I fear the man who
creates a plan that includes his own death before the final stages."

     "Why did I get a penalty for losing strategy and bluffing games
to this guy?" Keiichi asked.  "I mean, seriously?"

     "But even that's not the point," Kyousuke continued.  "You have a
special gift, Haruhi.  A power.  And the _reason_ you have an alien,
an esper, and a time-traveler watching over you is because of that
power."

     "Ah, is this really the time for that?" Koizumi asked, suddenly
looking nervous.

     "I have a _power_?" she asked, dumbly.

     "That's what I wanted you to see," he said, shrugging.  "You are
... a being with the ability to manipulate reality around her.  What
you truly desire -- your subconscious thoughts -- already become
reality.  Did you know that it almost accidentally killed me when we
were filming your movie?  Several of your imagined 'Mikuru beams'
became real.  If it weren't for Nagato, I'd have been cooked--"  The
marshmallow on his skewer burst into flame suddenly.  "Like that!"  He
flicked the skewer and the flaming marshmallow vanished into the
flickering firepit.

     "Suddenly," Mion said, shivering, "that movie got a bit less funny."

     "Y...you mean ... _I_ am a post-human?" Haruhi asked, the color
draining from her face.  "Like ... the masterminds?  I ... threatened
you with my power without ever knowing it!?"

     "You saw how terrible a being like that can become," Kyousuke
said, shaking his head.  "It's not my job or anything, but
because...."  He coughed, his face coloring, even in the light of the
campfire.  "W...well, I want you to be better than that -- and I think
you've learned a lot about having fun _with_ other people, not at
their expense.  It's the most extreme example I can imagine, but I
wanted you to see them so you'd never become like them.  We've been
hiding this from you as long as the SOS Brigade has been around, and I
think it's time you knew the truth."

     "I never want to be like that," she said quietly.  "I don't know
what you mean, and I'm not certain how this works.  But if my desires
_really_ become reality, then you'll be able to stop me and make sure
I don't do anything I shouldn't."

     "Usually, that's about how it's been working so far."

     She looked up sharply and narrowed her eyes.  "It sounds like
you've got a lot of stories to tell me," she remarked.  "But stop
kidding around!  I do believe in you ... even if it's stupid ... I
really do."

     "So, she's like a god?" Satoko asked doubtfully.

     "That's not the way I think of it," Kyousuke said with a shrug.
"But I've heard others say that."

     "What am I to you, then?" Haruhi asked, shivering slightly.

     "You're a girl who had some trouble making friends, but is
quickly growing beyond that," he answered.  "You're the energetic,
unstoppable leader of the SOS Brigade.  You've gotten a lot of power,
but you're becoming a much more responsible person, so ... you're the
one I look out for."

     "Okay ... so ... I'll accept that ... for now."  Then she turned
to Hanyuu, quietly floating at Rika's side.  "But I don't understand
-- where did you come from, Hanyuu?"

     Hanyuu's eyes widened, and she squeaked in alarm.

     "If this is a moment for revelations and truths ... then she,
too, is a being with the power to manipulate reality, though I doubt
it works like yours," Rika answered.  She turned to Keiichi and looked
apologetic.  "I never spoke of this to you ... but before the events
last June ... I had relived that June, or one very similar to it,
hundreds, maybe even thousands of times.  The only companion I had
throughout was her.

     "She was killed a very long time ago.  And it was only when our
lives reached a point of crisis that she was able to step in and save
us.  Specifically, she is an ancestor of mine from over a thousand
years ago.  We are connected by blood."

     "How can you see me?" Hanyuu whimpered.  "We're not connected by
blood!  There's no link!"

     "Well," Kyousuke said, frowning, "just before Rika's fight,
Kimidori-san modified my genetic code to be within the correct
wavelength to see you -- she said it would help keep you here as an
observer by anchoring us together.  Something like that.  Remember?"

     Hanyuu nodded hesitantly.  "I didn't understand her words," she admitted.

     "She's here now?" Rena asked, glancing around.

     Hanyuu pouted and made a tiny gesture.

     "Ah!  Still SO CUTE!"

     "Kyousuke's blood was changed so he could see Hanyuu?" Keiichi
asked, scratching the back of his head.  "So, how did Haruhi get the
ability to see her, too?"

     Koizumi smiled widely.  Nagato stared studiously at her roasting
marshmallow.  Mikuru's face slowly turned incredibly brilliant red.
Kyousuke looked confused.  "That's a good question," he said.  "How
did that work?"

     Rena's eyes widened and her jaw dropped before she seemed to
teleport directly between Haruhi and the fire.  "So cute!" she
squealed.  Seizing both of Haruhi's hands, she shook them furiously.
"*Congratulations*!"

     Instantly, she switched positions and grabbed Kyousuke's hands.
"*Congratulations*!" she cried again.  "Ooh!  You'll let me see it,
right?  Once it's here?"

     "What..." Kyousuke began.

     "I don't..." Haruhi followed.

     "Oh!" Rika said in realization.  "Kyousuke, if we're related by
blood now, that means that we're like brother and sister!"

     "Uh ... I guess technically?" he managed.

     Rena moved to one side and leaned against Keiichi, both hands
balled into fists beneath her chin.  "Isn't it _romantic_?" she
purred, batting her eyelashes at Keiichi.

     "I don't get what's going on here," Keiichi said, shaking his head quickly.

     "Hey!" Mion protested, crawling into Keiichi's lap to try and pry
Rena away.  "What do you think you're doing?"

     "What--  Mion!  Watch where you're sitting!"

     "Gyah~!"

     "Kyousuke-nii-san," Rika said, patting him on the head, then
turning and beaming her brightest smile at Haruhi, "I'm going to be an
auntie!"

     ***

     After Haruhi fainted, the joking calmed down a little bit.
Nagato spoke, her first contribution to the conversation thus far:
"Well done."

     He wasn't certain if that was a good thing or not.  Haruhi came
to her senses quickly enough while he worriedly patted her wrist.

     "Kyousuke!" she roared, the second her eyes focused on him.  "Who
gave you permission to knock me up!?"

     "You did!" he babbled, wincing, cringing back from her inevitable
wrath.  "I mean, you asked -- that is, um, you were just so hot in
that miko outfit -- I mean, um, it was -- the world was going to be
destroyed -- I said we should find a -- you said we didn't have time
to get -- AUUGH!  Why didn't I keep my head together and say no?!  I
really tried to -- _Somebody shut me up_!"

     "Well, it's _done_ now!  So ... you'd better take responsibility!"

     "Oh my god," he groaned.  "My mom is going to kill whatever
pieces of me you don't!"

     "Wow," Shion said, grinning.  "The man stares at robots that can
destroy realities without batting an eye, sets a plan in motion to
destroy the masterminds behind the sadistic plot even after his own
death, and _this_ sends him over the edge?"

     "She'd better not!" Haruhi yelled.  "I'm going to need you!  Do
you know how much work it's going to be!?  And so embarrassing at
school!  Great, I'll be lucky to make it to Winter break before I'm
showing!"

     "Gurk!" Kyousuke gasped.

     "Well!?  Are you going to do it?  Are you willing to take responsibility?"

     "Yes!" he yelled back, his face red.  "Of course.  I am a man --
I'll do the right thing.  Whatever your choice, I'm behind it!"

     She suddenly lost the fury in her eyes and looked away.  "I ...
we've all seen too many lives vanish to lose another one.  So ...
Kyousuke ... since you told me my beliefs can change reality, I'm
going to believe that you're going to make a _great_ father!"

     He couldn't find any words to say in response to that.

     "Okay!" Tsuruya commanded, leaping to her feet.  "Ladies, with
me!  Boys, stay out of the way -- we must plan the wedding
immediately!"

     This, he could speak against: "But, there are laws, and-"

     "Nonsense!  The Tsuruya family has connections everywhere it's
needed!  Ever since we fixed that weird situation in Nerima, we've
kept the people in the department of the registry in our pocket --
there'll be no trouble getting the paperwork through!  You all enjoy
your guy talk for now, nyoro~!"

     The girls, as a group, slowly began working their way to the
hostel, Haruhi pausing long enough to give Kyousuke a deep, searching
kiss, and order Koizumi, "Don't let him run away or you get demoted!"

     Once they were out of earshot, Keiichi asked, "Was that part of
your strategy, too?"

     "Absolutely _not_!"

     "Hmm, so even master strategists can occasionally get tripped up."

     "It may be a once in a lifetime event," Koizumi remarked,
preparing another marshmallow.  "We should count ourselves fortunate
to have seen it."
	------------------------------------------
     Author's notes:  Not nearly as stylistic as Forging.  Also, at
nearly 180k, this thing weighed in muuuuch larger than intended.
Also, totally intentional that it didn't follow the guide in the last
few segments -- Haruhi got sick of it and broke the mold.  Zearth was
probably not a name that Haruhi would have agreed with, but I stuck
with the original name anyway for reader recognition; enough trouble
seeing 'Kyon' as 'Tadamichi Kyousuke'.

     Other departures: I know that the original Koyemshi was killed
(but they're all named Koyemshi).  Here, this was his chance at
'redemption' to the masterminds.  He redeemed them, alright.  He
redeemed them but GOOD.

-- 
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.