[FFML] [Haruhi] Sympathy Chapter Four

[Brian Randall]

And a chapter four.

#     Sympathy
##     A 'Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi' fanfiction

###     Chapter Four -- Millennium

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

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

     Nothing really exciting happens in club the next few days.  That's
fine, since we're gearing up for something this weekend.  Koizumi-kun
brings in some board games and card-games--  He tries to bring in some
handheld gaming systems too, but he and Kyon are annoying enough about
talking about video games all the time anyway, so I ban those before it can
take off.  Neither of them mind too much about that -- which is how I think
it should be.

     Anyway, what's the point of a game that only Kyon and Koizumi-kun
play?  Even Mikuru-chan and Yuki join in on the board games once in a
while.  I might join in once in a while too, if I weren't still annoyed
with Yuki.

     But she mostly keeps to herself and doesn't try to pull any other
pranks.

     I practice my sleight of hand with the toothpicks as much as I can,
but I really need other people to try it out _with_, and that's hard to
pull off without giving everything away....  I still think I have it down
pretty well, though.

     Better, everyone shows up when I expect them to--  Well, mostly.

     Yuki is waiting for _me_ when I show up at the train station --
Mikuru-chan doesn't take much longer.  Kyon manages to show up three
minutes late, and I give him a sharp glare, but it's Koizumi-kun who's the
last to arrive.

     "Penalty!" I declare, pointing between them.  Kyon looks at me,
frowning, and I relent, "Kyon, you can slide just this once."  He raises
his eyebrows at that, but he did help me out with my homework.  Not that
I'm about to say that in front of the others!  Anyway -- this makes us
square; I'm forgiving insubordination, here!  "Koizumi-kun, you were even
later--  That means you have to pay for our meals!"

     "Okay," he says with an easy grin, shrugging.  "I can do that."

     Well -- that seems fine to me, then.  Kyon gives Koizumi-kun a curious
look, but the boy with the mussed hair just says, "I did sleep in--  Up too
late last night playing 'Devil Survivor.'"

     "Oh, which ending are you going after?"

     Seems everyone's satisfied with that, then!

     ***

     This is not the first time that I've planned and plotted for something
to work out a specific way and then had it not turn out that way.  It's
been a while since I've let something trouble me this bad, but I thought I
had my sleight of hand down.

     I try after we finish enjoying breakfast on Koizumi-kun's dime.  He
doesn't seem to mind covering the expense, though I get a look from Kyon
when I criticize him

     It goes wrong from the beginning--  Kyon gets a marked toothpick
instead of an unmarked one.  Koizumi-kun draws the next marked toothpick,
and then Mikuru-chan draws an unmarked toothpick.  That's not ideal, but
being in a group with Koizumi-kun and Kyon is alright.  It lets me keep
them from being distracted by talking about video games.

     That's my _thought_, until Yuki plucks the third marked toothpick.
 Alright -- I must have gotten some toothpicks switched, somehow.  I'll try
again after lunch.  Speaking of which:

     "This isn't an otaku convention of any kind," I warn the other three
sternly.  "I expect you to put real effort into this!  The three of you
better keep one-another on track for the investigation--  And pay
attention; whoever's last has to cover our lunch, as well!"

     I can't help but think it's going to be Kyon somehow.  That's fine,
though; I'm sure if I ding him with a single penalty he'll shape up and
stop ending up in a position where he can get them.  Otherwise, well, if he
can't put his heart into it entirely, it's not like I haven't already
invested enough of my own time and money into the club!  Those costumes
weren't cheap, after all.

     Mikuru-chan and I are in a group, and we leave the cafe, heading along
the riverbank as we begin our search.  I've checked the river out enough; I
still think alien spacecraft could hide at the bottom, but it's harder and
harder to imagine them pulling it off without anyone noticing.

     Mostly, I really want to see what the others find.  I hope it's
something, at least!

     With just myself, and Mikuru-chan following behind me, I start
thinking about what Yuki mentioned.  Should I have a vice commander for the
Brigade?  Yuki would have been a thought, but after her prank, she's out of
the running.  Koizumi-kun....

    If he hadn't been the latest one for our meeting, I'd have given him
more consideration.  If he's that bad about punctuality, I can't think he'd
be the best option, though.   Well--  If it's neither of those two, I
should consider Mikuru-chan.

     But, I don't know ... she's such a cute mascot, wouldn't it all go to
waste if I had her take the role of second-in-command?  Probably, I should
feel her out a little more.

     When I glance over, she's dropped her moe act again, looking
distracted by the trees, admiring the scenery like she's never had a chance
to see plants at close range before.  "So, Mikuru-chan," I say slowly,
thinking about that weird habit she has of just dropping her act.  "Who do
you think would make a good second-in-command for the Brigade?"

     She makes a disinterested, "Eh?" sound before turning to look at me.
 She looks momentarily taken aback, then shrugs.  "I don't think you'll
find someone better than Kyon-kun, really," she remarks.  "But Koizumi-kun
wouldn't be too bad, I suppose...."

     I frown, considering Koizumi-kun again.  Still--  "Why's Yuki off the
list?"

     "Oh, Nagato-san," Mikuru-chan says slowly, looking bothered --
irritated more than anything else.  "Well, I don't think she's demonstrated
that she's the most reliable."

     I think about that quietly for a minute.  I don't know what triggers
the switch between Mikuru-chan acting all moe or all indifferent....  She's
awfully frank, though.  "How does Yuki look unreliable?"

     "Um, I guess...."  Mikuru-chan trails off and looks thoughtful, then
shrugs.  "How has she shown herself to be reliable?"

     ...that actually sounds almost like antagonism, from Mikuru-chan!
 What reason does she have to not like Yuki?  Well--  Actually, if she
pulled anything off like she did with me....

     "I guess you're right on that count," I sigh, shaking my head.  "Arg!
 I'm still annoyed with her!"

     And then I find myself spending most of our 'mystery search' time
grousing about Yuki's stupid little prank.  Bah!  I wanted to tell....

     ...anyway, I finish up, grumbling, "Such a dumb prank!" after I relate
the entire thing to Mikuru-chan.  "So--  Unreliable is right!  I guess I
was just asking to see what you thought, but I don't want to make her vice
commander either, you know?"

     Mikuru-chan looks mostly nonplussed about the entire thing.  Almost
completely unsurprised.  "She told you that?" she finally asks, turning to
look away, across the glittering surface of the river.  "I didn't think
anyone from her faction would bother...."

     Yeah--  Wait--  "What?" I ask aloud, surprised.  "Her 'faction,' you
say?"

     Mikuru-chan looks at me -- and there's no trace of her moe-moe act
anymore.  She looks older, somehow pitying of me.  "Well--  If you didn't
believe her, then you're not likely to believe me, either.  Most of it's
classified, but if she's told you that much....

     "Myself, I'm a visitor from the future--  You could probably most
easily call me a time traveler.  As it happens, around the same time
Nagato-san's people say there was a 'spike of data,' there was an event
that confused the time streams, and prevents traveling back further in time.

     "This is something we believe is tied to Kyon-kun--"

     "Wait, wait," I protest, shaking my head.  "Why--  What--"  It's just
too much to process.  What, more of the same stupid prank?  "Okay, okay--
 First of all, prove that you're a time traveler to me!  Don't just say it,
give me some solid evidence!"

     "Why do you think I need to prove anything to you?" she returns,
shaking her head.  "Calm down and think for a minute; I'm not telling you
any of this because I need you to believe me."

     As much as I want to throw a thousand questions at her, I bite my
tongue.

     When she seems satisfied with my silence, she nods, giving me a glance
and then looking out across the river.  "There's so much I simply can't
tell you because it's classified....  I couldn't even _try_ to--  But all
the same, you're caught in the middle of something you can't understand."

     "What do you mean?"  I manage to keep myself from snapping over this
one for the time being.  What's the goal of this dumb prank, anyway?

     "Let's be clear," Mikuru-chan replies, looking tired, giving me that
same annoyingly superior look.  "None of us are in your club because it's
fun -- except maybe for Kyon-kun.  Did you _really_ think that members like
this would just come together for you?"

     "It didn't--  I had to search for my members!" I counter, scowling.
 "Like you, who I hunted down!"

     "And all it took was standing in the right place and looking lost in a
daydream," she returns, sighing.  "Just when you were hoping to find
someone....  Let's see--  Someone who looked 'cute' and 'harmless' --
someone non-threatening to you that still held appeal?  Someone that even
you thought that Kyon-kun would smile at?"

     ...that....  That may be _somewhat_ true--  But, no, I worked for that!

     "And before that, when you wanted a clubroom, someone else just
happened to have one, and raises no complaint when you take it over," she
continues, sounding annoyed with the idea already, examining her nails with
a particularly intent scowl.  "Then you need a fifth person to fill up your
club, and someone shows up who happens to cater to the interest of the most
important person in your club, hmm?"

     That shuts me up pretty good.

     I'm not sure if it's this whole new face that Mikuru is showing, or
what she's saying--

     I never said Kyon was important in my club!  I mean ... he is....
 He's -- not that I want to tell him -- responsible for inspiring me to
make it!  He's a constant reminder of everything I--

     That's not important right now, though!  "So, what do you want with
him, then?" I ask.  "If--  If that's true!  If I could believe this--  So,
he's important.  What are you trying to _do_?"

     "Let me just say this much," Mikuru returns, giving me a smile that
looks strangely sympathetic.  "If you're not careful, you make my
assignment ... _very_ easy."  She gives me a doe-eyed look at that,
sniffling, slipping _right_ back into her moe-mode, and for the first time
ever, I think I have a negative reaction to cuteness.

     Putting up an act to be cuter is one thing.  Covering up something
not-at-all-cute....

     I just don't know how to react to that!  Another....  Another prank,
right?

     Except--  Except, ignoring the time traveler and alien nonsense, both
of these girls have a strange way of acting around Kyon for his benefit.
 And one way or another, he _is_ at the center of both their stories.

     What the _hell_?  What is _really_ going on, here?

     ...I don't find anything worth reporting to the others by the time our
search window ends, though.

     ***

     I haven't figured out what to make of Mikuru's little reveal by the
time we get to where we were meeting up for lunch.  It takes almost ten
minutes for Kyon's group to show up, but before I can even lay into them,
Koizumi-kun volunteers himself for the penalty.

     "I got caught up window-shopping!" he admits, grinning and giving a
guilty shrug, hefting a bag from some electronic supply store.  "If I
weren't buying the latest Golden Sun game, we would have been on time.  I
suppose the penalty must be mine!"

     ...how can I adequately judge Kyon if you're always getting penalties
like that, Koizumi-kun?

     I sigh and shake my head.  Whatever ... if I get the toothpicks to go
my way after we finish eating, I can put that all behind me.  Certainly,
Koizumi-kun seems to have some money if he's not upset about getting all
these penalties _and_ he bought a game.  Maybe even despite his tardiness
he wouldn't be the worst vice commander?

     Thinking about that distracts me.  Or else, I must be doing something
wrong--  Kyon and Koizumi-kun are in a group again.

     Ugh.

     When I end up stuck with Yuki, I can't complain -- better her than
Mikuru!

     ...not my ideal group, I admit.  I'm actually at a loss on this one; I
can hardly chide Mikuru to keep the other two focused, and Koizumi-kun's
too tardy to be the best example.  So, it's actually _Kyon_ I talk to when
sending the other group off.  "Be sure to keep those two from getting
distracted," I order him.

     He seems surprised to be directly addressed, but both Koizumi-kun and
Mikuru flash him big smiles, as though awaiting his orders.  He shrugs in
response, and then motions the others to follow as he sets out on the last
leg of today's planned investigation.  The weirdest part is that ... Kyon
is probably the best bet for vice commander of the lot so far.

     Mikuru and Yuki are out on account of their stupid prank.
 Koizumi-kun's just not reliable enough ... so what other choices do I have?

     Better just be quiet about the entire thing, I guess -- not bother
mentioning he's the vice commander until I've had him taking care of the
vice commander's duties for a while.

     Still!  I'm trying to puzzle out what the heck the real story behind
this 'data creation' and 'temporal anomaly' business is.  When Yuki's pace
sputters to a crawl and she falls behind to stare at the sign of the
library we're walking past, I walk on a good dozen yards before realizing I
lost her.

     I swing back and give her a sharp look.  She gives me a totally bland
stare in response.

     "What?" I finally snap.

     After a moment searching for the right word, her entire response is,
"Unfamiliar."

     "What, you've never been to a library before?" I return, a little
incredulous.  No _way_ can a girl read like her and not know about the
_library_!

     But--  She shakes her head in response.  It's the kind of head shake
you'd need to be staring at her to catch.

     "That's kind of amazing," I return, somewhat acidly.  "We're on a
mission today; you'll have to figure it out some other time."

     Her head bows the slightest distance.  Weirdly, I recall her
expression when I stormed out of her apartment a few days ago.  I bite my
tongue as I lead her further away from the library, and we continue our
search.

     I could take some pity on the girl, show her what a library is and how
it works--  But she owes me an apology or an explanation for that prank,
first.  Until I get that, why should I go out of my way to be nicer to her?

     ***

     We all gather for the final meeting of the day.  I've got nothing to
show for all my searching.  Unless I count Mikuru's whole revelation, which
I'm _still_ trying to figure out.  The others have nothing, either, and
under Kyon's leadership, his group got back on time, making Yuki the last
arrival.  Kyon gives me an astounded expression at that, complaining, "She
wasn't even late!"

     "She was still the last to arrive," I counter.  "If people were
punished for being _late_ instead of _last_, then you would be in trouble
from this morning!"

     "It is fine," Yuki cuts in, when Kyon looks about to protest further.

     What, Kyon doesn't mind a guy paying for the girls, but a girl paying
for the guys bothers him?  Anyway--  We go back to the cafe and order our
dinners.  Despite Kyon looking like he's about to protest, he doesn't stop
her.

     But ignoring all of that, for an entire day of searching, we've found
nothing at all interesting.

     Unless I count Mikuru's story.  I'm not happy with the way things
turned out, so as we're leaving, I warn everyone, "We're going to review
this again tomorrow!  We didn't find a single thing?"  Sure, I was
distracted, but what's Kyon's excuse?  How do he and Koizumi-kun do in
groups, anyway?

     Bah--  We'll find out tomorrow!

     ***

     Class goes pretty slowly after the weekend.  Without anything better
to do than mull over the search, I try and think back to Mikuru and Yuki's
stories.

     Kyon as some kind of super-important guy.  That was the main thing
they agreed on, anyway.  How could someone so boring _really_ be so
important?

     I guess part of me wouldn't mind if it were _true_.  Mostly, I just
think that it's so hard to believe because ... well....  Because it's Kyon!

     I don't really want to pick on Yuki because I already took her room.
 Mikuru, though, doesn't have a very good excuse at all.  Given that, and
how her moe act is just an act, I decide to dig a bit.

     Evading Sakanaka and Yanagimoto, I quickly track Mikuru down to an
empty classroom--  The same one I found her in the first time, actually.
 She's got the same dreamy, distracted expression on her face, too.

     "Alright," I bark at her, slamming my cafeteria tray on an empty desk
next to hers.

     She startles a little, then gives me a curious look.

     "Tell me more about time travel," I order her.

     "Oh," she answers after a moment, smoothing her skirt and giving me a
puzzled look.  "That's all classified.  There's nothing I can _really_ tell
you.  You have to realize -- generally, the only information I can give you
is information that doesn't change anything.  You can't think I'd be
allowed to risk altering the timeline, do you?"

     At least she and Yuki seem to have thought out their excuses for not
being able to show proof.

     "Tell me about Yuki," I stay instead.  It's a long shot, but if I can
get her to give me holes in Yuki's story -- or the other way around -- at
least I can _disprove_ it and set things to rest.

     "I really can't tell you anything you don't already know," Mikuru
answers smoothly, now looking slightly amused at my expression.  "Even if I
wanted to, as soon as I tried to say anything, I'd just end up saying,
'classified information.'"

     "Well, I didn't know you were claiming to be a time traveler," I
counter.  "You told me that just fine!"

     "Because that wouldn't change anything," she agrees, shrugging, the
gesture seeming somehow rough from her.  "And now maybe you're ready to
believe -- or would just pass things on to someone else.  So, now I can't
tell you anything else!"

     ...I'm beginning to really hate this stupid game.  I liked her moe-moe
act just fine when it wasn't so _creepy_.  I'd have been happier if she
really _was_ that way instead of just _pretending_.  Now it's starting to
piss me off!

     ***

     By the time club rolls around, I'm still ticked off at Mikuru.  Hey,
it's not like it's unprovoked!  Of course, I got so caught up in it that I
totally forgot my plans, until Kyon asks me, "So, today is review for
yesterday, is it?"

     I don't want to be unreliable or inconsistent.  I especially don't
like letting a bad precedent slide!  But I'm not in a good mindset to
search the city today.  I guess I could try doing it alone, but that'd take
longer.  While I wouldn't mind getting away from Mikuru for a bit and
thinking about things, I also don't like the idea of doing that -- it feels
too much like letting her win.

     "I decided to let it pass since it was our first review," I grumble.
 Or, no, wait--  I have a better idea!  "We'll just do the same one again
next week, and keep our eyes sharper!"

     "Is that so?" Kyon muses, looking at me curiously, giving me an
annoyingly indulgent smile.

     Ugh.  "Mikuru-chan, you look great in that outfit," I tell our mascot,
which gets her to give me a tiny, vapid smile of her own from where she's
huddling near the tea set.  I'm not really into her act, but if it's just
an act, I think there's no problem with working on sexier, more interesting
pictures for the website.

     Come to think of it--  "You've got to amp up the moe a bit, though; if
you're carrying the tea perfectly and never spilling it, you're not dojiko
enough!  There's still some parts of your act that you could pick up!"

     "Huh?" she noises in confusion, just as Kyon snags his drink from the
tray, looking at me dubiously.

     "Mm, yeah," I continue, nodding.  A little bit, yeah, I'm picking on
Mikuru.  But this is nothing considering to the game her and Yuki are
trying to have at my expense!  "You need to spill the tea at least two out
of every five times!  You must practice getting really good at it, until
you can make the cup flip over and over -- and then land upside-down on
Kyon's head!"

     She stares at me blankly, so I swipe the serving tray from her and
then snatch the teacup as soon as Kyon sets it down.

     "H...how do you mean?" she asks in that innocent, oblivious way she's
cultivated.

     I top off Kyon's teacup to show her, then hold up the tray on the palm
of one hand and set Kyon's cup on it.  I turn around to demonstrate, but
Kyon's already standing behind there, plucking the cup off the tray before
I can even start.

     "Hey!" I can't help but snap, shooting him a scowl.  Where's his sense
of fun?

     He returns a level look, raising his eyebrows.  "I don't _want_ hot
tea dumped on my head, Suzumiya," he returns.  "If you're so eager for
Asahina-san to learn something dumb like that, let her practice on you."

     "At least then you'd be active in _doing_ something involving the
club," I grumble, looking away.  How can he call it _dumb_?  Does he not
realize it's an _act_?  Maybe he's just unhappy because he thinks that it's
at his expense?  One tiny little cup of spilled tea?

     That's nothing, considering what Mikuru and Yuki put _me_ through!

     "More pictures for the website," I decide, nodding.  Yeah--  If we're
not amping up that moe act, we might as well do something productive for
the club!  I'll get some pictures of Mikuru in her bunny-girl costume, and
then once she's done playing up her reluctant act, I'll wear mine, too!  I
think pictures of us should be fine!  The pictures of both of us together
will be the final act of that little slide-show -- I think those will bring
in _tons_ of hits!

     Yuki would probably be who I should hand the camera to, but maybe I'll
let Kyon do it, instead?  I can just say for the website that Mikuru took
all the pictures of me.  Guys love the idea of girls doing stuff like that,
right?  Come for the moe, stay for the sexy -- and then get suckered into
finding out how awesome the Brigade really is!

     Yeah!  That sounds like a good plan--

     Of course, it doesn't even _get_ that far, because as soon as I go to
start taking Mikuru's costume off, Kyon doesn't just complain, he actually
grabs my hand and drags me away!  I shoot him a glare and try to pull away
a little bit.  He's still stronger than me, though, so as much as it sucks,
there's _nothing_ I can do about it!

     So unfair....  I can't help but be angry at that--  That he's choosing
_now_ to totally buy into Mikuru's moe-moe act?  Of course, you _would_
side with her, wouldn't you, Kyon?  I thought you were on _my_ side!  And
now you throw it all away for a helpless act and a pretty face?

     I don't even realize what's going on until he shoots me a dark look,
like he's not really sure what to say, then just grumbles, "You need to
respect Asahina-san more."  After that, he crosses his arms and looks
dissatisfied, letting go of my wrist and not meeting my eyes.

     Hey--  Respect is a two way street, and her act this weekend was _not_
a good start with me!  As irritated as I am about things, I stop trying to
go after Mikuru's costume and tell Kyon, "You buy into her act too much--
 Or you're just putting up an _act_ of looking out for her, yourself!"

     He falls silent and looks away at that--

     Yeah, that's his weak point, alright.  That Mikuru plays up the moe,
and he was too slow to properly play 'hero' for her earlier?  When I look
over, his attention is on the floor, and weirdly enough, instead of looking
offended, Mikuru looks more ... I dunno ... sad for me than anything else?
 Why would she pity me?

     That's the part I can't make sense of at all, but that's not important
at the moment.  "It's a bit late to try and play the 'white knight' card
now!" I snap, glaring at him.  "But if you two are both so phony, at least
you're a matched set that way!"

     He looks about ready to snap something back, but instead of saying
anything, he just gives a small shake of his head and leaves the room.

     The second he's out of sight, Koizumi-kun sighs, checking his
cell-phone and excusing himself with an absent-sounding mumble.  He doesn't
even wait for me to acknowledge his departure!

     As if there weren't enough people telling me that Kyon was the real
center of my club--  With him gone, Mikuru's act is dried up, and she just
shakes her head sadly at me -- like _I_ screwed up by calling Kyon out?
 Yuki watches me quietly, Koizumi-kun obviously couldn't have cared less
since he's already gone....

     I don't bother with orders -- Mikuru can change herself, and Yuki
doesn't need my help to lock up.

     The day's a waste anyway, but maybe if I leave early enough I can
review at least half of the weekend assignment and salvage some of the
review.  The fact that I can avoid my mom a little longer is really just a
bonus.

     It's not until it's late, when it's almost dark that I realize ... I
just spent the rest of my time outside of club retracing Kyon's footsteps
anyway.

     He really _is_ at the middle of everything.  If I believe just that
one small part of what Yuki and Mikuru were saying....

     ---------------------------------
-- 
Brian Randall
--
Yrne awaits those with the courage to seek it.
--
I write fanfiction. Too much of it. You can read it here, on my terrible
webpage:
http://pishoque.net/brian/
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