Chapter 3: Rules to Follow
From Worldsofharuhi
Contents |
Morning Routine
GONG~!!GONG~!
“Ah! Stop! I’ll get up!” Another day starts with this wind gong racket. Honestly, I'm getting really tired of this.
“Please, can you try waking me up without using that thing?” I protested. I've never had a good night sleep time ever since I stepped foot in this house.
Haruhi set down her wind gong then frowned. “I did try waking you up without this. At first I tried shaking you up then worked my way up from noise maker to megaphone. In the end I had to use this baby again.” I looked around the living room, there was indeed a noise maker and a megaphone lying around the floor.
Haruhi sighed. "Waking you up every morning is is turning out to be a real pain, and don't think that I forgot about the alarm clock you broke yesterday."
"I’m sure you’ll buy me a nice new clock because you have a job, isn’t that right?”
Just like yesterday I was forced to go morning jogging with Haruhi. “No breakfast if you don’t come along.” With such an enormous consequences, I had to give in.
Still, as Haruhi implied, the fresh morning air was actually not that bad. Also, I did not really mind the jogging itself; it was only the getting up part that was annoying.
Haruhi jogged in front of me. She was just like endless power plant; she was always full of energy and life. ‘While I am…’ I thought. My feelings told me that even the previous Alan before he lost his memories would never be dedicated enough to jog like this every morning full of energy. I felt a bit jealous of Haruhi who had such a lively personality.
‘No matter how much one tried, you cannot truly change the personality that you were born with.’ That was what I believed, so I could only blame my own personality for myself being too ordinary. That was one of the reasons that I was jealous of Haruhi.
“Hmm, you sure are quiet today, no complaints about how long and tiring this run is?” Haruhi asked. “It is tiring, but thinking about that delicious breakfast to come after, I cannot refuse.” It was true. Whatever Haruhi made so we can eat after we came back from the run, it smelt fabulous.
“What do you mean? I didn’t…” It took Haruhi few seconds to realize what I was talking about. “Oh, that’s just the bento I made for myself. The breakfast is actually just rice and some miso soup.” Haruhi proclaimed the death sentence to me as I collapsed. Sole purpose for why I came passionately along for this run was gone.
“Hey… Haruhi where are we? How far do we have to run?” I asked in a defeated voice. After successfully destroying my hopes and dreams, Haruhi answered. “Just couple of kilometres, give it your best!”
Morning at Sliders House
Kanata woke up early as always today. All stores near this marketplace had to open by 7:00. That meant she had to get up as early as 5 so she could prepare for the opening. She was checking all the new orders of clothes that needed to be organized when Saya came down all sleepy eyed. Saya was dragging a huge trunk used for traveling behind her.
“Good Morning, Kanata-san…” Saya stayed up late last night because she had to pack for her trip. Saya had got a good lead on a certain wanted criminal. The unfortunate thing was that the criminal was hiding somewhere at Hawaii. So she had to take all the trouble of organizing this ‘vacation’ to Hawaii.
“Good morning Saya-chan, your plane leaves at about 7 is that right?” Kanata and Saya were close friends back from Celestia. But, after being on this mission for few years with each other, they became more like families. “Yea that’s right, the lead better be correct, or I’ll be wasting money only on plane tickets.” Saya said while opening the fridge up to grab a bottle of milk.
“You should enjoy yourself there either your lead is true or not. I mean this is a ‘vacation’ right?” Kanata said gently. “I’d feel sorry for you and Fuuko if I was the only one enjoying myself.” Saya finished the whole bottle of milk. She then walked up near Kanata and looked at the clothes catalogue that Kanata was organizing.
“Are you going to be ok? I won’t be back until near the O-bon festival. You know how busy things get then.” Saya remembered last O-bon festival and all the yukatas that she had to organize and sell. “It was still ok last year because two people were working on it but, to think of one person handling all that load of work… Maybe I shouldn’t go.” Saya said with worried tone in her voice.
“It’s ok I won’t be alone this year. Fuu-chan can help if things get overloaded, and we even have Alan-kun. So do your best on your job; and don’t forget to have fun.”
Saya recalled Alan suddenly barging in yesterday and asking for a job. Just what did Haruhi say to him? Saya smiled as she thought of the possible words that would actually make guy like Alan want to work. “I guess its ok. But shouldn’t we rather have him stick closer to Haruhi and her club rather than work here? I mean, he would actually be safer that way right?” Saya asked.
So far, Alan didn’t show any signs that indicated him as a slider. Thus, it would actually be safer for him to be closer to the main casts of this world since he would not be targeted by otherworld related threats.
Kanata seemed like she remembered something she forgot. “Oh yes, Saya-chan, I forgot to tell you about this because I was so busy.” Then Kanata told Saya about Fuuko and Alan’s encounter about celestial last day.
“So he is a slider after all? But what kind of power just absorbs the impact along with its whole arm?” Saya tried to identify what kind of power would that be.
“I can’t say for sure what power it is until I see it myself. So, I’m thinking of teaching him how to utilize his powers.” Kanata planned to teach Alan about his power when he came to work later today.
“I think that’s a good idea, since it would make him safer in either side if he could protect himself.” Saya said then added. “Too bad I won’t be able to see how you will train him. Ah, do you realize how many students back in Celestia would want to be trained by you?”
“Well, I’m not very good at teaching, that’s why I never took up that job.” Kanata said.
However, Saya disagreed. “You’ll do fine, I mean look how Fuuko’s doing. She’s learned enough that she is even able to prank me!”
Saya then noticed that it was time to go. “Maybe I’ll invest a bit in Alan-kun’s training also.” Saya said as she opened a tiny portal so she could take out something from his trunk. It was a blue armband.
“Give this to him; he’ll probably need some kind of object to practice right?” Saya said as she moved towards the door. “Thanks. Take care, and don’t worry about here.” “Alright, then I’ll be off(Itekimasu~!)”
School Morning
“Do any of you know why they built this school up that hill? This is ridiculous; all the students are going to get exhausted by the time they reach the summit.” I complained. After breakfast, Haruhi and I headed to school.
We met Kyon on the way and were heading to school together.
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s to pick off weak people who complain like you.” Haruhi answered.
“…” I couldn’t clearly remember about where his old school was located, but I was sure that it wasn’t located up on a hill.
“Don’t worry about it too much. After few days it all becomes part of daily routine.” Kyon told me. But I wasn’t sure.
If it becomes a routine, it meant I would have to climb this hill every day. I didn’t like the sound that.
Haruhi, Kyon and I reached the classroom. Kyon and Haruhi sat down at their respective seats. About 15 minutes till the homeroom…
“What should I do…?”
Talk to Kyon & Haruhi
“Maybe I should talk with Haruhi and Kyon. Yeah, maybe I should.” I turned my chair towards the two of them, who’re already chatting.
“Hey, both of you, can I join in on the conversation?” I asked.
“Well, sure, I don’t mind, since we’re discussing club activities anyway.” Haruhi answered briefly, before returning to speaking. It was mostly Haruhi speaking, while Kyon just looked at her blankly and replied once in a while; I didn’t even get a chance to speak. Then...
“Still, why couldn’t this school offer more mystery? I know every school has their own 7 mysteries, but North High’s are just sad: They’re all fake! I’ve went to check out every single one after hearing about them from some upperclassmen, only to find out that they’re all hoax!” Haruhi frowned as she complained.
“I wouldn’t want to think about any of them becoming real though,” Kyon replied.
“Oh? 7 mysteries, what’s that?” I asked, interested.
“It’s not something worth mentioning, really, but I suppose I could tell you what they are,” Kyon answered.
“There’s still no fun in fake mysteries if you ask me...” Haruhi, still frowning, added.
Kyon continued. “The first mystery takes place in the arts room. Some thirty years ago, there was this girl in her third year that happened to be in the school’s art club. Her drawing skills were extremely good, and the teacher in charge of the art club decided to enter her into a competition. The reward was a large sum of funding for college for the winner."
"Then, Japan’s economy weren’t very well, and this girl intended to go to college, but her family wasn’t able to afford the cost of studying in college, so this competition appealed to her as a big chance to enter college. It was also rumored that the girl had a forbidden relationship with the teacher-in-charge, who was a good looking man in his twenties and was popular with the girls of the school."
"This caused the other girls to view her as a common enemy. During the evening before the submission dateline of entry works, the girl stood behind to add some finishing touches to her entry project. Then, a bunch of other girls entered the art room to bully the girl. Well, things went too far, and one of the other girls ruined her entry project. Dreams and hope crushed, she was enraged. She picked up a sculpting knife and murdered every other girl in the room. Realizing what she had done, she committed suicide on the spot."
"Ever since that day, if you enter the room during evening, you would be taken back to the past and witness the murder scene taking place. The ghost of the girl would also mistaken you as one of the other girls that bullied her, whether or not you’re male or female, and kill you too. What would be left in the clubroom after you went in is a pool of blood, belonging to you. No body, no clothes, just a pool of blood.” Kyon finished speaking.
“I’ve went to try it out before, it doesn’t work. I even stayed until the sun had set!” Haruhi exclaimed.
“Was this ever proven? It sounds interesting, but I can’t help but felt that there’s some hole in this story, especially the murdering part.” Though I said that, I’m pretty sure my eyes are glimmering with sparks.
“Oh, so you’re interested in the occult too, Alan?” Haruhi looked at me, somewhat happy. Just to be clear, I’m not as crazy as Haruhi in terms of finding ghost and monsters interesting. At the very least I don’t run around places trying to find them. Just before Kyon could start on the second mystery, Okabe-sensei walked into the classroom.
“We’ll continue this during lunch,” Kyon told me, and turned back to the front.
Lunch time it is then, I guess.
Talk to Myself
Talk to myself? Seriously? Well, this will be more like just daydreaming. So, let’s organize and think about what’s been happening.
First, let’s think about how far I can remember. The time that I lost my memories is probably when I arrived at this world. According to Kanata-san’s explanation, I’m at the fictional realm where every fiction created by mankind exists. Now, providing that I came from other fictional world, what can I remember about my life in that world?
Ok… I can’t remember much. I was in an airport, on my way to Japan. I got in the airplane. Then… Then Wah~! What exactly did happen to me?! What kind of setting is an airport?! Author who created me must be a terrible writer.
Let’s see what I can remember about myself. Name: Alan, likes strawberry milk, also likes mysteries. I sometimes can be lazy, but would never ignore necessary duties.
These facts don’t help at all. How about my relationship with people from my world?
About that, there's one thing that's been bugging me all this time. I'm sure people can have same dreams that they had before from time to time. It's totally causal circumstance. However, I've been having only that one dream ever since I arrived in this world. Maybe I'll ask Kanata-san later. I'm working in her store starting today anyways.
Hmm? what's this?
I noticed two 10 yen coins in my desk shelf. There was also a note. What does it say?
'Charm for free strawberry milk. Put two coins vertically on top of each other then chant "Ritafuni kousoku lita" three times'
Haha this interesting. There's no way this charm will work right? These things are for little children who still believe in superstitions. But raining, milk...
Heck, I'll give it a go.
For next five minutes, I tried to get the two coins on top on each other vertically with no success. This is harder than I thought, I need that free milk to replenish my energy from the morning jog. God, please I'll even share my milk with others if you help me with these coins.
As soon as I finished my prayer of desperation, the coins were perfectly aligned on top of one another. "Hahaha, god you are so funny." I mutter to myself; my words filled with sarcasm. If I break my promise of sharing my milk with someone, these coins will probably collapse. Then who do I share it with?
- Haruhi
- Kyon (Required for GB ending)
- Itsuki (Required for GB ending)
- Mikuru
- Nagato
- Fuuko
- Kanata
- Saya
Lunch Break
Haruhi and Kyon, Part 2
(continued flag from here only if chosen before)
Clubroom
Walk Around
The fourth class was over, which meant that I had a whole lunch period to myself to enjoy whatever I want to do till the next class. I wasn't starving at the time. I had a pouch of milk and nice weather to enjoy it with. Without thinking, I wandered to the other side of the school, while gazing out the windows, where I met Koizumi in the hallway. Looks like I'm not the only one who likes to go on walks in my free time. Smiling as usual he waved.
"Hello Alan, I don't usually see you in this part of the school. What might you be up to?"
"Nothing, I was just on taking a stroll around the school."
"Then I'll join you. The weather's quite nice today. Shall we head outside?"
We walked out into school grounds. Sunny with a few clouds. I took out my straw and started sipping.
"Did you already have lunch?" Koizumi asked.
"No, I'm not too hungry at the moment, what about you?"
"I'm not hungry either. Unfortunately I don't have a steady eating schedule."
We headed towards the outdoor tables and met Tsuruya who appeared to be searching for something around this area.
"Hey! What's up Alan?!" She examined Koizumi, her eyes running up and down his tidy uniform.
"And you're Itsuki!"
"That's right."
"What are you doing outside alone?" I asked.
"I'm looking for Mikuru. she said she had a few things to do and promised to meet somewhere out here to have lunch. She's probably lost." she laughed.
"You're friends with Mikuru?"
"Yeps!"
That makes sense.
"How's she doing in the Brigade? Is she having loads of fun?"
"She's having the ride of her life. Why do you ask? I thought Mikuru tells you a lot about these things."
"She does, I'm just making sure. With her club activities and all, I usually head home alone and I'm always wondering what she might be doing at the moment."
"There's nothing to worry about, what can possibly happen?"
"Then take good care of her! I better get going! See you, Alan, Itsuki." She went back inside the school.
She seems to be awfully bored after school. If she had her own club to go to she might be able to go home with Mikuru more often.
"She's a very energetic upperclassmen." Koizumi smiled.
"She should get into club activities herself. She'll do great in whatever."
"I believe she'll be excellent in a sports related club."
"She'd do excellent in anything that involves fun. Her charisma's contagious."
"Very similar to Suzumiya." Koizumi smiled.
"At the same time almost completely different. At least she isn't looking for any Aliens, Espers, and Time Travelers like Haruhi always is."
"Even so I think she'll have lots of fun being a full member regardless. You and Kyon share no similar intentions with Suzumiya but you both seem content with being in the Brigade."
I glared at Koizumi who just shrugged.
"I'm the last thing from content. Tsuruya would be bored out of her mind. There's virtually nothing worth doing in the clubroom anyway."
If Koizumi had the ability to change his expression, he'd have a frown.
"Not that I don't enjoy playing hours of Othello with you. I'm just saying it's not Tsuruya's type of 'fun'." the gloomy aura around Koizumi was restored to it's eerie smiling feel.
"There's the weekend mystery hunt and the rare occasion Suzumiya decides to do some other activity. She'll enjoy that."
"I guess... Nobody really looks for anything anyways. I'm sure she wouldn't care. Even if we did find a mystery of some sort, it wouldn't matter as long as she's having fun. All the more to enjoy for her."
"I agree, but what would you do if we really do find something worth classifying as a mystery? Something along the lines of an Alien, Esper, or Time Traveler."
His question made me aware that I had finished half of my milk. I'll save this half for later. In response I firmly set the milk carton down on the table and replied...
What's the Point?
"What does it matter? We won't find anything anyway." Said with a sarcastic tone.
"That may be, but Suzumiya won't and cannot do anything else but to keep looking. I'm sure she's trying with all her might to keep that negativity out of her head." Koizumi gave a not-so-natural smile.
Let's Wait it Out
I thought for a moment, then decided: "We'll leave that to time. If Haruhi's willing to take away every weekend for the rest of my life I hope we find something worth while in return. I have no plans with any mysteries at the moment."
"That might mean some work for me... I hope it's not anything that might encourage her to alter reality. It might end up being something worse than closed space." He looked hesitant for a moment, then resumed his smiling facade. *KOIZUMI +1*
Mysterious Koizumi?
I looked at him intensely. "Koizumi... You, are a mystery."
He shrugs, and gives a sincere grin. *KOIZUMI +2*
P.E. Class
Our next class was P.E. I remember when I used to enjoy this subject when I was young. Now that we were actually putting the ‘physical’ next to the ‘education’ I find it tiring and painful. Just my luck, we were supposed to try out field hockey today. After a small explanation from sensei and a few practice drills, we were ready to play a real game of hockey. We split into two teams, our team having the majority of my classmates who were already worn from just the drills. The worst part being, Haruhi was on the opposing side. Our team with just a notable Taniguchi and not so athletic Kunikida, were armed with just centimeters of useless protective padding and a few minutes worth of experience to use on Haruhi who does just about everything like she’s majored in it for her entire life. Oh boy, you wouldn’t guess what had happened next...
We had lost the hockey match miserably and because Haruhi and her team had done so well to smash us to dust under her heel, sensei was moved close to tears at her performance. It didn’t even take much time for us to lose. The class was dismissed ten minutes early and the winning team received free time while the losers had to run extra laps and do drills. I forgot to mention that my left shoulder had been shattered by Haruhi’s almighty tackle blowing me off my feet and sending me flying into my team’s goal post along with the puck. The air was full with sensei’s pity, I almost expected it to condense in the air and form a rain cloud over my head. I had to avoid so I didn’t choke on the sheer thickness of it. He/She excused me from the drills and instead, on behalf of my ‘injury’ (whether it was physical or emotional) sent me to put away the equipment before class ended.
The game started. First team to five points wins. I noticed Haruhi had called her team to huddle up. I expect she was telling the team about strategies, formations, plays and what not. I looked around at my team. Kunikida was on defense. He looked tired and I don’t think he’ll do much good in this game. I turned to Taniguchi who was holding his stick the wrong way. The rest of my team was no good. I was probably the best. If I really am from Canada I expect to have some sort of experience with hockey.
The game began, Haruhi and her team rushed forward with paralyzing force in a formation that looked sure to get past our defenders. Without having much choice I had to go support our offense that had no chance of stealing the puck. I got there just in time to confront the opposing offense but noticed that the puck was far behind me in the possession of no other than Haruhi. She shot into the goal and I wasn’t surprised to see it go flying past our goalie and into the post almost ripping the net apart with its speed.
“C’mon Alan, don’t tell me you’re going to lose to a girl!” Haruhi laughed.
Haruhi was the type of person who was the closest to gender oblivious as anyone can get. She dislikes it when boys look down on girls. She was taunting me purposely and it was working.
I had trouble moving around, although the stick moved swiftly in my hand. The same couldn’t be said for my feet. Then it hit me, I must’ve only played ice hockey back in Canada, I don’t know anything about field hockey. My legs were apparently used to ice skating; they had a hard time running the field instead. I was quickly tiring out. The puck moved at lightning speed and no matter how hard I tried to intercept it, it was no use. The irritating part was that the other team only passed to Haruhi who had an almost 100% of getting it in.
We couldn’t get across half the field because our offense was too weak. Kyon was practically sleeping at his goal post. Kunikida kept having the puck stolen from him and Taniguchi hit the puck in the opposite direction putting in a goal for the other team. Only one point left for the other team. I felt like I was about to collapse.
I came to my senses just in time to see Haruhi coming right at me with the puck, ready to put in the last point. I ran forward to try to stop her. I knew there was no use in trying to steal her puck. I might as well block her physically with a tackle. That’s legal in hockey if memory serves.
“Move out of the way Alan!” Haruhi yelled.
“Not a chance!” I yelled back.
We were going right at each other. I braced myself for impact. I shut my eyes.
After The Game
We had lost the hockey match miserably and because Haruhi and her team had done so well to smash us to dust under her heel, sensei was moved close to tears at her performance. It didn’t even take much time for us to lose. The class was dismissed ten minutes early and the winning team received free time while the losers had to run extra laps and do drills. I forgot to mention that my left shoulder had been shattered by Haruhi’s almighty tackle blowing me off my feet and sending me flying into my team’s goal post along with the puck. The air was full with sensei’s pity, I almost expected it to condense in the air and form a rain cloud over my head. I had to avoid so I didn’t choke on the sheer thickness of it. He/She excused me from the drills and instead, on behalf of my ‘injury’ (whether it was physical or emotional) sent me to put away the equipment before class ended.
I have a few minutes to kill so...
(parts "P.E. Class" and "After the Game" are not final!)
Haruhi Route
Mikuru Route
Nagato Route
Itsuko Route
Kyonko Route
Fuuko Route
Kanata Route
Saya Route
Clubroom After School
Walk to Work
Haruhi doubts my sense of direction, but I’m pretty sure this way is the fastest way to Kanata-san’s shop.
...At least, that's what I was thinking to myself before I got completely lost.
“Ah, this is just great. Why is there so many blocks that look the same?!” Kanata-san said that I should be there at six o’clock, but the big digital clock in the store across the street is telling me it’s six right now. By the time I find the store it’ll be time for dinner and I’ll be too hungry to work. Definitely not good.
I start to walk towards the nearby convenience store for some change in mood. Maybe getting some refreshments will help me remember where her store was.
Oddly enough, there was not many people inside the store. Not thinking much about it, I headed to the section where they kept all the milk.
...
I scream in horror.
“Oh no!!! All strawberry flavored ones are sold out!!”
Sighing deeply, I grab the banana flavored ones instead. I’d never drink the plain milk, it’s taste is akin to something coming out of a cow's bottom. If it was not loaded with artificial flavoring...
Sulking, I walk over to the cash register, place the milk there, and waited for the clerk to process my purchase.
...
Huh. The sales clerk seems to be ignoring me.
“Hello? I’d like to buy this-”
I stopped as I noticed that the sales clerk was actually completely frozen. I looked around the shop. Everyone who was shopping was completely unmoving. I quickly turned towards the door on instinct. The place the door was supposed to be… the door was replaced by a concrete wall. There was no exit.
Then, all of a sudden all the lights in the store were shut off.
The only thing I could see was the lights coming off the monitor of a cash register.
“Huh? What the hell is going on here? Is this some kind of prank?”
Few seconds pass, and my eyes began to get accustomed to the dark. Then amongst the unmoving shadows of the shoppers, I sighted one moving figure. As the mysterious figure moved closer, I stood still and tried hard to identify the person moving towards me.
Finally, the face of the person was illuminated by light given off the cash register’s monitor.
“Nagato?”
Encounter with Nagato
What a relief, thank goodness I meet you of all people here...
“Nagato! What's going on? Is this some kind of prank? This isn't any good, you'll have to be more creative than-” I stopped, Nagato held up her hand in my direction, her fingers directed at me like she was about to fire out lasers out of each of them.
Suddenly Nagato's palm flashed, blinding me. Perhaps I played too many FPS games before I lost my memory. I quickly ducked thanks to my reflexes. If you've seen many science fiction movies you all know what a light saber looks like. Nagato's hand was replaced by a long slender spike of light. She made a quick jab and skewered the cash register behind me, sending coins flying in all directions.
“Wah! What're you doing?! ”
Saya, Mr. Blue Giant, Nagato. That's three now, scientifically speaking I should be at least two times better at escaping- WAH!!!
Nagato had divided the counter in half, barely missing cutting me right down the middle like a fresh birthday cake.
My mind was racing, I remembered what Kanata –san said before.
“The members of the SOS-brigade consists of very interesting individuals very much like us sliders…”
I can't believe this, I won't.
Slice, dodge, crash.
Too interesting! Too interesting! Too interesting! I kept running in circles while the debris around me continued to divide in halves.
“Stop! Tell me why before you try to kill me like that!”
“Your existence is a hindrance.” Nagato blankly said, she stopped to explain. “Suzumiya Haruhi is the only specimen for potential auto evolution. If we let you exist we won't know for sure if another specimen will present itself. You are endangering our auto evolution.”
“…”
“This isn't working! Put that things away first before we have a proper conversation!”.
The spike retracted into her sleeve and was replaced by her hand.
“Alright, now let's take it from the beginning. What are you? Explain it with as less words as you can.”
“Alien.”
That's nice, I'm a dimensional slider.
“Why are you trying to kill me?”
Nagato raised both of her arms. I legged it
I hid behind one of the shelves trying to catch my breath. I pulled out the bracelet and card that Fuuko gave me this morning. This is a messed up toy, this is a messed up situation. Fuuko said activate the card and equip the bracelet then I’ll be able to fire flames out of my hands just like Saya did. I put on the bracelet.
I slowly looked up in horror to see Nagato’s impassive face staring through the slashes of the bookcase.
“Escape is impossible, your sliding abilities will not be able to penetrate my spacial barriers.”
If you've ever blown at a dandelion and all it's feathery seeds are swept away by the wind, imagine this scene. Everything broke down into pieces of little white light.
The cloud of white specks cleared to reveal my surroundings. I was in a desert.
“Where's the store?! And the people?! Did you kill them too?”
“They're were no people. We are the only ones here.” Nagato said raising her arms up in the air again. Chanting some squibble squabble during the movement.
My body felt like trying to swim across a lake with a rock tied to my leg. Make that a hundred rocks. Time to act! i raised my 100kg arm.
“Sorry Nagato! I'm just evening the playing field, don't take it personally.” I chanted the name of the card to activate it.
“World Card, Kampfer!” I said dramatically.
I too the next minute straining to shoot fire from my hand. However, nothing happened.
"Phooey..."
Angry and red in the face, I picked up some nearby sand and tossed it at Nagato. As it hit, I swear I saw a 0 jump up in front of Nagato.
“It is ineffective.” Nagato said it in a monotone voice.
“Do you really want to kill me? Think about it. Does that make you happy?” I don't have any idea what human psychology would do to a cold hard alien. Better than sand if you ask me.
“I’m a humanoid interface, I conduct orders issued Integrated Data Entity. I am just doing my job.”
“Do you like your job?!”
“You jeopardize the safety of everyone else in this dimensional plane. Your disappearance will be a benefit for everyone all around. It is the most logical option for all parties. It is for the greater good.”
Only logical option you say… If everyone is endangered because of me then... then... I considered throwing more sand.
Nagato's Conclusion
(this flag is only obtainable if player continued from here)
Normal Conclusion
(if the any other option was chosen, follow this route)
For some reason, the world around us began changing again. I gasped when the change was finished. I was in Kanata-san’s place.
Kanata-san was sitting across the table. She smiled. “You shouldn’t be late for your first day of work.” “Wha- I was just in a weird place, where’s Nagato?” I looked around the room and found Nagato. Since Nagato is here too, all that wasn’t a dream.
“World Card is just another cross dimensional technology developed by us sliders. Of course; because of it being a technology, your kind can easily decrypt its purpose and neutralize its effect am I right?” Kanata-san spoke in a very calm manner.
“Yes, the card that Alan Kurayami was holding can simulate different dimensions. If that were to happen it would sever the main link between me and the Integrated Data Entity.” Nagato explained. “Well, is the link established right now?” Kanata-san asked.
Nagato paused for a moment then spoke. “Main link is severed, however communications can be made.”
“This room is always under the influence of the world called Lucky Star. It’s the world where I come from. In that world no real Aliens can exist. So if you want to kill Alan-kun that badly, you’ll have to do it using normal methods. Hmm… maybe something like a knife?”
“Please refrain from say those kinds of things…” I pleaded.
However it seemed to have some reaction on Nagato. Although it was very minuscule, I was pretty sure looked a bit saddened.
Kanata-san noticed this as well and motioned everyone to sit down. “Let’s sit down see if we can settle this matter by talking, ok?” Nagato and I both sat down.
“After synchronizing, I’ve realized that Alan Kurayami does not exist in any other time planes other than this one.” Nagato started her explanation.
“Well, that’d be the case since he’s not originally from this world.” Kanata said while pouring a cup of tea into Nagato’s cup.
“Integrated Data Entity concluded that his continuous involvement with Suzumiya Haruhi would result in her unstable state again.”
“Ah, so that’s it Alan could cause pretty serious confusion to Suzumiya-san if things go wrong.” Kanata-san said to herself. I did not understand anything so just listened quietly. So I can cause confusion to Haruhi? It surely does not look that way when you see how she treats me.
“Nagato-san, you said the link between you and the Integrated Data Entity hasn’t been severed completely right?” Nagato nodded.
“Then relay this message, this person here possibly possess the power that can cancel out Suzumiya Haruhi’s.” Kanata–san looked at me. What? By ‘this person’ does she mean me?
What? I have such power? Then how come I’ve been dragged around by Haruhi everywhere?
“Message has been relayed, Integrated Data Entity decided to put a halt to the elimination for now.” Nagato stood up to leave.
“You’re leaving already?” Kanata-san asked.
“Integrated Data Entity wants to re establish the severed link as soon as possible.” Nagato explained.
“Well, then see you sometimes soon.” Kanata-san waved goodbye. Nagato left through the door.
“Thank you for saving me…” I breathed a sigh of relief.
Kanata-san looked a bit disappointed. “You know Alan-kun, all this wouldn’t have happened if you had set the right flags.”
“Flags?”
“Just think of them as choices you make.” Kanata stopped to take a sip of her tea.
“So I was attacked by Nagato because I made some wrong choices?”
“Attack would have happened anyways, but I getting involved could have been avoided.”
So I could have gotten out of that situation on my own? Yeah, right...
“Ah, ok…”
“I’m pretty sure Nagato-san didn’t want to hurt you. However, I’m guessing she’s more worried about safety of one person rather than a newcomer.”
“Who is this one person? Haruhi?”
“That will be your homework to find out.” Kanata-san smiled.
Work at Kanata's Shop
“Fuuko told me about what happened at school yesterday. It was a terrible joke for her to drag you into that dream world. You could have gotten seriously injured” Kanata-san explained while I recalled the event where I almost got turned into a flat tortilla by the huge blue giant. Kanata-san’s gaze turned sharply towards the room across from us. I saw Fuuko disappear into the room really quickly. “She's already had her share of scolding. What happened yesterday won’t happen again” Kanata said while sighing. “Well… Fuuko did get me into that situation, but she also got me out of it. I’m fine with that result” I said in Fuuko's defense. Only looking at the result of the event, I was never hurt. On a positive note, it was a valuable experience for me that taught me not to fall asleep during classes; because the threat of being crushed is always a good incentive. “Fuuko didn’t get you out of that situation. You did that yourself” Kanata-san said in rather serious manner. “Pardon?” “When the Celestial attacked you, you somehow managed to create a shield in front of you that dissolved away its entire arm” continued Kanata-san while I remained silent. “Remember how we said you had no innate powers? Maybe we were wrong.” “Really? Maybe it was by some chance. I don’t know how to use that shield thing again; even if I wanted to.” “That’s part of the reason that I allowed you to work here. I’m not exactly sure what your power is, but I can help you learn how to use it.” I didn’t know how to reply so I just looked around the room nervously. My gaze randomly passed the clock. Kanata, who was following my gaze stared at the clock as well. Kanata-san stopped her explanation and stood up. “It’s this late already? The work that I hired you for comes first though. I’ll talk about your power in more detail later. Please follow me this way” Kanata-san said as she walked out to the back yard. I followed curiously. I followed Kanata into a storage house where they kept all the extra clothing and costumes. The storage house didn’t look very big from the outside but, when I entered, I was surprised to find out that the space inside of the storage house was as big as Kanata-san’s store. “It’s just one of the space allocation technologies that we sliders use” Kanata-san explained. Various kinds of clothing were hung from each wall. Some of the clothing were located to places so far above that I couldn’t reach them without a ladder. “Your job is to organize all the new deliveries that came in today” Kanata-san said as she pointed to the mountain of boxes that was labelled ‘Netherworld Shopping Channel’. Netherworld Shopping Channel? Really? I thought, as I stared at the pile of boxes, that this will take an eternity to unpack. “Usually, I’ll have to do all of this by myself but, since you’re here, I can finally relax” Kanata-san said as she unpacked one of the boxes. She took out a witch’s costume that was probably used for Halloween. She placed the costume in the shelf labelled ‘Mischievous’. The labels caught my attention. All of the labels read ‘Shy’, ‘Tomboy’, ‘Cheerful’, ‘Elegant’ and many other personality traits. “What a person wears can tell much about their personality. It’s only fitting that you wear something that matches your personality right?” Kanata-san said offering her opinion. She smiled and handed over the next costume to me. “Put each of the clothes in what you feel like is the matching label. That’s all you have to do for today. Any questions?” “But, it’s not like everyone has the same view on what clothing matches a certain personality right?” I asked, confused. “That wouldn’t matter so much; just place them in what you think is appropriate” answered Kanata-san while she smiled. “Then I’ll go enjoy this free time. Thank you for your help Alan-kun” Kanata-san said to me as she exited the storage house. I stared at the boxes of clothing that I was supposed to sort. Well, the great journey starts with a single step. I thought as I picked up the magical girl costume, looking around to see if there was a "Young at Heart" shelf.
(Time passes....)
I feel like I’ve been sorting costumes forever. At least I’m almost done. I stared at the handful of remaining boxes; still not sure if I’m sorting them right. I feel like I haven’t worked this seriously in a long time. It’d be nice if I knew how long has it been since I last worked.
“All done~” I said aloud as I placed the last yukata with a tuna pattern in the ‘Likes Marine Life’ shelf. I closed the storage door and stepped outside to see that it was already dark. The lights inside the shop were off. Maybe it was past closing time? I walked back into the store to tell Kanata-san that I was done. Inside the living room, Kanata-san was sleeping with her face down on the desk. There were a bunch of papers scattered around the desk. One paper right in front of Kanata-san read ‘Order Catalogue’ and the paper right beside that one contained complicated information about current sales. I found myself saying, "What did you mean by free time? You’re still loaded with work..." Sleeping Kanata-san looked surprisingly cute. It’s still hard to believe that she’s an adult. “You shouldn’t wake her up” I heard Fuuko whisper from her room. I gave Fuuko a nod saying that I understood. However, face-down to the desk wasn’t the best posture to sleep in. I carefully lifted Kanata-san up and lay her down near the sofa. This was all done without waking Kanata-san up; partially thanks to Kanata-san being so lightweight. “Well then, I should leave I guess. Have a nice evening Fuuko.” Fuuko frowned and retreated into her room. Maybe she’s still angry about Kanata-san scolding her? Maybe I should have a talk with Fuuko later about how I don’t mind that much about that incident. I carefully moved towards the store entrance trying not to wake Kanata-san. “Alan~ Are you here?” A huge knock; well...more like the sound of a battering ram came from the entrance followed by Haruhi’s loud voice. I quickly turned around to see Kanata-san wake up slowly. Damn, you have no sense of timing at all don’t you, Haruhi? “Oh no, I fell asleep” Kanata-san said as she sat up. Kanata-san then saw me trying to sneak out of the store. “My, my where are you going Alan-kun? Did you finish your work?” Kanata-san asked with suspicion. “Yea, it looked like you were sleeping so I thought it’d be better not to wake you up” I replied. “Thanks for your work today, Alan-kun. Thanks to you, I finished all these documents a lot sooner.” Kanata-san gave a sleepy smile. “Alan! Come out if you’re in there!” Haruhi kept on knocking at the door. “You should go before she knocks the door down” Kanata-san said as she lay back down on the sofa. She still looked very tired. “No kidding. It'd be bad if my first paycheck went into repairing that door” I said as I turned towards the door. “Don’t work too hard Kanata-san” I added as I left.
Encounter with Kyonko
“You came all the way out here to get me? I never thought you were that considerate” I said as I walked out of Kanata’s shop. Haruhi stood outside the door with two folded umbrellas in each hand.
“I couldn’t help it; you haven’t been around here long enough that you’d know your way around here very well. I could have enjoyed you trying to struggle to find your way home all alone, but they said it’s going to rain heavily tonight. So I changed my mind.”
Indeed, the sky was covered in thick clouds. You couldn’t see any traces of the stars or the moon. Good thing humans invented electric lights or I wouldn’t be able to see anything. There was already a small amount of rain drizzling down.
“Here.” Haruhi pushed the green umbrella towards me. I almost dropped it. “What are you waiting for? Let’s get a move on before it starts pouring down."
“Yea.”
“So, how was your first day at work?” Haruhi asked. She seemed quite interested. “There wasn’t that much to do really. All I did was sort out new costumes in the storage. Although, I must say there are so many weird costumes in there...”
“That’s why I love that shop. There are so many unique and interesting costumes there. Not only that, but their selection of costumes changes every few weeks. It’s almost become a hobby for some maniacs to collect every single type of costumes that they had out.”
“Really? Are you one of those maniacs?”
Haruhi stopped and blushed a bit. Then she turned away from me.
“Stupid, there’s no way I’d do something like that. I only buy costumes there for the sake of brigade activities.” “Is that so… I do remember the maid uniform that you told me to buy. Was that solely for Asahina-san or did you want to add that to your collection as well?” “Ah- well, that’s… hey did you also meet the shop owner’s daughter? She also goes to North High.” Haruhi was obviously trying to change the subject to hide her custom costume collecting hobby. Sometimes, she can be pretty easy to read. I could have made fun of Haruhi even more, but I decided to stop.
So, Fuuko goes to school under the alias of Kanata-san’s daughter…Oh well, they seem close enough and they do live under one roof.
“You mean Fuuko? Do you know her as well?” “Of course I know Fuuko-chan. She’s quite famous at our school. She’s so small for her age. I thought that kind of character only showed up in anime or manga.” That sentence is quite ironic if you take into account that we’re all fictional characters from anime or manga (except me...(?). Rain was falling down heavily now. The noise of raindrops hitting my umbrella was getting more frequent. “Say, where are your parents? I didn’t see them at home. Do you live alone?” This has been bothering me for a while now. Is it really okay for me to stay at Haruhi’s house without her parent’s permission? “Ah, they’re out enjoying their summer vacation right now. They won’t be back until the end of summer. So I can do whatever I want with the house until they come back.” “I see. But shouldn’t you phone and ask them if it’s okay for me to continue staying over? It’d be a problem if they came back and found an unknown person staying at their house.” “I already did that. They said it’s ok as long as you didn’t blow up the house or something extreme like that.” What kind of parents does this girl have?
We were moving along the shortcut that we went through yesterday. I didn’t lose sight of Haruhi this time because her umbrella was white and it stood out in the dark. I still don’t know how she navigates through this darkness. Does she have night vision or something?
“Say Alan…have you been sleeping alright lately?” Haruhi asked all of a sudden in rather serious tone.
“I sleep fine when no one wakes me up. Why do you ask?”
“That’s good if you say its fine. I was worried a bit because the first time I found you sleeping on that bench it looked like you were having something more than your average nightmare.”
“Really? Did I say anything while sleeping?”
“I think you were saying something along the lines of ‘where is it?’ Did you lose something?”
“I don’t really remember losing anything. Nor do I remember having a dream like that.” Although I did lose my memories...
“I see, it’s fine as long as you aren’t having those dreams anymore.” Haruhi returned to her usual cheerful tone.
We were now nearing the nearby streetlight. I could finally see a little bit of where I was going. Haruhi suddenly stopped walking and I almost crashed into her. “What’s wrong?” However I could also see why Haruhi had stopped. There was a girl laying on the ground, all drenched in rain. “Hey! Are you ok?!” Haruhi quickly ran up to the girl and shook her to check if she was conscious. The girl didn’t respond. “Alan, hurry and call the ambulance” Haruhi said as she examined the girl’s pulse. “I don’t have a cell phone.” “Use mine then.” Haruhi tossed her cell phone towards me. “It’s weird; she seems to be perfectly healthy.” Haruhi said as she tried to slap the girl awake. “Hun-gry…” The girl said faintly. That was followed by the loud sound of her stomach growling. I closed Haruhi’s cell phone and sighed in relief. So it wasn’t something serious. Apparently Haruhi didn’t think the same. “Alan, this is an emergency so carry her all the way home.” “Why me?”
“Because you are a man and it’s a man’s job to help ladies in need.” “What happened to equality?” “Don’t argue; hurry up or no dinner for you and on top of that you will be sleeping outside tonight.” I don’t want to end up like this girl. I folded up my umbrella and carried the girl on my back. Haruhi held up the umbrella for us so we didn’t get wet. It’s a good thing that this girl wasn’t very heavy.
We rushed home as quickly as we could. When we got home, Haruhi immediately started to prepare dinner. Haruhi got the girl out of her rain drenched uniform and was now wearing some spare clothing that Haruhi brought out. While waiting for dinner, I examined the girl who was still laying half unconscious on the sofa. One long ponytail and typical build for girls around her age. I didn’t find anything strange about her and yet, I somehow felt that I had seen this person before. All these thoughts flew out of the window as Haruhi brought the dinner. I’ve actually done some work today so I was extra hungry. Trying my hardest to stop the drool flowing out of my mouth, I started to dig in. The girl with ponytail was also gobbling up pretty much everything in front of her. No surprise since she was starving to death just a while ago. It didn’t take long for the entire table full of food to disappear into our stomachs. “So you’re fine now?” Haruhi asked the girl. “Yes, thank you very much.” “What exactly happened to you? It’s not really common to see someone just knocked out in the middle of the road like that” Haruhi asked, her eyes filled with curiosity. For a girl like Haruhi, this unusual event should be more than enough to get her all worked up. The girl looked hesitant to answer. Was it because of Haruhi’s intense stares or was there some other unknown reason? I didn't really know. But I myself was quite curious about this mysterious girl as well. After a few moment of tension she finally answered. “Um… well, I don’t really remember. I think I was looking for someone so I came all the way here. But on the way, I got so hungry that I passed out.” “Hmm, memory loss huh? That’s quite common for mysterious characters that suddenly pop out of nowhere” Haruhi said rather professionally. No... Those kinds of settings are only possible in fiction. Oh wait, we are in fictional setting. Feigning amnesia? I didn’t think that would work on Haruhi. However, Haruhi looked pretty convinced. “Don’t worry; I’ll help you out until you get your memories back. Of course, you’ll be staying here in the meanwhile” Haruhi assured the girl. “Oh, I don’t want to be a bother” The girl said awkwardly. It was too late for her to escape from Haruhi now. Whenever Haruhi finds anything out of the ordinary, she will not let it go. “No problem. My parents are out for another month and I already have this guy living here anyways. One more tenant wouldn’t hurt” Haruhi said. “Ok, if that’s alright with you…” the girl said weakly. This girl must have sensed that there will be no way to escape. “My name is Suzumiya Haruhi, nice to meet you” Haruhi said as she introduced herself. Then she looked at me, telling me to introduce myself as well. “Name’s Alan, I’m also lodging here.” I introduced myself quickly. I noticed the girl staring at me in quite a confused manner. “Is there something wrong?” I asked. The girl snapped out of whatever trance that she was in, and then she bowed and introduced herself. “My name is Kyonko. Please take care of me from now on.”
(this route is only available if Kyon or Itsuki were chosen at this point; otherwise, gameplay continues to next chapter)
