Here I am, back at it again! I hope you like this new story…

Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I own The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, or Haruhi Suzumiya No Yuuutsu, I'd FINALLY put Kyon and Haruhi together. Sigh, I wish I owned it…

Summary: What goes through Haruhi's mind when Kyon does not get to be with her during the first city-wide search for anything mysterious?

As you might have guessed, this is in Haruhi's POV. I might be lifting exact lines from the novel itself, so please do not be surprised if you see awfully familiar lines…oh, I credited the novels, so this isn't plagiarism…right?

-0-

Finally!

That idiot, Kyon, came walking down the street with that stupid, bored grin on his face. The nerve! And to top it all off, he's late!

Koizumi-kun, Mikuru-chan, and even Yuki-chan came already! Sure, I said we were to meet at nine, but-!

"You're late! You've got to be fined!"

"But it's not nine yet."

"Even if you didn't arrive late, the last person to arrive still has to be punished. That's the rule!"

"How come I never heard that rule before?"

"Because I just thought it up!"

I managed to smile as I thought up of the new rule I could make Kyon do.

"You'll have to treat all of us to drinks."

Suprisingly, Kyon agreed to do the thing. Oh thank goodness, I don't have much money with me. If he didn't accept, I'd have to pay from my own money.

We headed towards the nearby café, which was filled with people. Normal, dull, boring people. People you'd see off the streets and not give a damn about.

Why do you think I'd prefer an alien anyday?

I scanned my grand army, the SOS brigade, as they sat down at their seats and began telling their orders to the accommodating waitress.

Hm, Mikuru-chan looks cute. Maybe I should have forced her into some outfit. A nurse costume, maybe?

Koizumi-kun, on the other hand, looked pretty formal in his outfit. Is he heading to some posh dinner party? Hey! Maybe some sliders would appear there!

Yuki, the quiet member of my grand club, still wears her uniform on Saturdays? Maybe she digs them.

And of course, Kyon.

-0-

I found it weird when Kyon suddenly talked to me that first day. At first, I answered because I thought he was some esper or an alien who was interested in my speech. I was really excited about that. Turns out, he was just like other humans; dull, boring, and unimaginative.

But still, he kept on talking to me. He said he was surprised at my speech.

By the way, he seemed kind of familiar. I think I met somebody just like him three years ago…when was that? I think it was the tanabata festival.

I asked him about it, but he said no.

Hmph, figures. That guy I met helped me try and contact aliens, after all. Not like this guy who's so boring.

But still, I have to admit, it is pretty nice seeing someone try and talk to you despite you trying to avoid talking to him. Out of a whim, I answered most of his normal questions, just because he talked to me.

Unlike other people, I found talking to Kyon…quite fun, actually; In fact, he inspired me to create the SOS brigade, and is my loyal slave, er, minion!

But back then, I just wanted to be left alone so one day, when Kyon asked me about my hairstyle, I decided to cut my hair short, just so he would think I didn't care about what he thinks. He STILL didn't leave me!

Heh, pretty brave. Useful as a minion.

So I dragged him in and made him join the SOS brigade. What? It's illegal? Hell no!

-0-

After getting our drinks and Kyon had paid, I had decided on my way of deciding how we would go about on this city wide search.

Seeing as there were five of us, and our city IS large, I decided we would be split up into two parties, and those parties would split up to go searching. Brilliant, no? We would contact the other party if we find anything mysterious.

A few minutes ago, I swiped five toothpicks from the café, and after borrowing a pen from the kind waitress, I marked two of them. Those who would pick the two marked toothpicks would go together.

For some strange reason, I found myself wishing Kyon and I would pick the marked toothpicks.

Argh, what's happening to me?

"Now, let's draw lots!"

I held the toothpicks beneath my fists, hiding the marked parts to make sure no one cheats. Kyon picked first.

It was marked.

Mikuru-chan picked next, and unluckily, it was marked also.

Wait…unluckily?!

"Hmm, what a combination, huh…"

What a combination?!

I gave Kyon a stare, trying to figure out why he said that.

I also looked at Mikuru too. For some reason, I felt a pang of…jealousy. Why am I getting jealous of Mikuru-chan? Wait, I do get jealous of her…who doesn't?! that extremely cute face can turn anybody into mush. Oh, it sure will be fun to play with her all day-!

It seemed that Kyon caught me looking, so he looked back, too.

Busted! I had to give some sort of excuse, or else he'll suspect something!

"Kyon, you listen, this is not a date! Be serious, you understand?"

"OK already!"

We glared at each other for a few seconds before Koizumi-kun intervened.

"What exactly are we looking for?"

Ah, Koizumi. Your cheerful and smiling face, and your enthusiasm for our club, is just the thing Kyon needs!

I took one last sip of my iced tea and waved the hair on the back of my hair.

"Anything that looks suspicious. Anything or anyone that looks funny. Also look for portals that can lead to a different dimensions and aliens disguised as humans."

I could have sworn I saw Kyon and Mikuru-chan gag. Did I say something funny?

"I see. So, all we need to do is to look for aliens, time travelers and espers with super-natural powers, and the traces they left behind on earth. I fully understand."

Yes, Koizumi! You're the perfect person for this club!

"That's right! You really are a bright person, Koizumi! It's just like you said! Kyon, you should learn from him!"

Kyon glanced darkly at Koizumi. What? Kyon, it's true! It's not my fault you're as incompetent as Koizumi-kun here!

"Alright! Let's go!"

I gave the bill to Kyon. Heh, poor him.

"Oh boy…"

Hm, who said that?

-0-

The question Koizumi raised distracted me for the moment. Distracted me from what, you ask?

To tell the truth, it's the fact that I wasn't able to be with Kyon.

What's wrong with me? Why do I suddenly want to be with that idiot? It's not like he's handsome or anything! In fact, he's just a plain, dull guy; same like all the others who would court me back in junior high.

The only problem is, he isn't trying to court me, and I can't take away that feeling of jealousy away! Argh!

"Suzumiya-san, is there a problem?"

"What? No! I'm just trying to figure out where we should start looking!"

Koizumi, with his smiling and cheery face, only nodded, and so did Yuki. So I was leading this, eh? I can do that.

Sigh…I wish Kyon was here.

-0-

"This is so frustrating!"

We had spent the whole morning interviewing people if they experienced some weird happenings, but beside this kid who said his pet was missing, nothing was weird, and none was interesting!

Hm, those guys are good. They probably won't show themselves on the first day, would they? I have to admit, that's smart thinking.

"Perhaps, Suzumiya-san, it would be best to meet up. After all, it's nearing lunch."

"Wonderful idea, Koizumi-kun! You'll get a merit for this!"

I grabbed my cell phone and dialed Kyon's number.

"Hello?"

"We'll meet at noon, at the station where we met this morning."

I hung up afterwards.

Koizumi only stood at a corner, looking at me, while Yuki stared into the empty space in the sky.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

-0-

Not again!

I tapped my foot against the hard cement floor in annoyance as I kept on glancing at my watch. 4:10. Damn! They're late!

…they went to a date, hadn't they? They came running towards us, hand in hand. Isn't that quite obvious?!

I decided to let it slip, and instead, ask Kyon about how their search went. They better not tell me they didn't do anything but walk around!

"Did you find anything?"

"Nothing."

"Did you really even look? You didn't just stroll around, did you? What about Mikuru-chan?"

Asahina shook her head. Damn, this was frustrating! Those two just strolled around, I can tell!

…why should I care? After all, I'm pretty sure they did try…did they…?

"Then what have you guys found?"

That hit a sore spot. Despite all my search, there was nothing we three found, so I didn't reply.

This was harder than I thought. After a few moments of silence, I felt my stomach growl. Great. Lunch time.

"Let's have lunch first then we'll continue after that."

Kyon seemed to give me a look that said "What the hell?! You want to continue?!" What's wrong with that, Kyon?

-0-

We decided to eat at a burger shop. After having our brief lunch, I decided we should split up into different teams again.

God, I can't believe this is still boring. Is the world that boring?

I took out five more toothpicks I took from the earlier café and made them pick again.

This time, Koizumi picked first, drawing an unmarked toothpick. Mikuru, the next one, also drew an unmarked one! Seriously! What are the chances.

"What about Kyon-kun?"

"Sadly, mine is marked."

Yuki better pick an unmarked one!

…sigh…what's wrong with me?

"Come on, Yuki! Get your toothpick already!"

I admit, I was a bit hasty and moody at the girl. I don't know why I felt so damn pissed, I couldn't understand it!

She drew an unmarked one.

-0-

"..."

I can't believe I got the unmarked one.

God, this is so annoying! Why is this feeling of annoyance welling up inside me, like a volcano about to explode?! I can't be feeling jealous, can I?

In the end, it was still pretty useless. I told Kyon and Yuki we were to meet at four at the station.

…and here we are, waiting yet again for them. It's half past four already. I am going to call Kyon and give him a piece of my mind!

I punched in the numbers angrily…too angrily. Sure, he was late, but it's not like were running out of time! Why am I so moody today?

"You idiot! What have you been doing!?"

I screamed the last sentence at the top of my voice.

"What time do you think it is now?"

"Sorry, I just woke up just now!"

"What!? You dumbass!"

You've been sleeping? Where? With Yuki? If I find out you did anything funny, I'm going to chop you up into a million tiny pieces and feed you to the birds!

Once again, I have no idea why I'm far more irritable than usual. I mean, I don't get this mad at class!

"Get your asses over here at once! I give you thirty seconds!"

-0-

Kyon came dragging along Yuki, who was carrying a large hardback book. They must've been at a library. I tried to compress the overwhelming (if not too unreasonable) anger I felt at Kyon.

"You're late; pay the fine!"

-0-

Uh, it was a useless day.

I watched broodingly as Mikuru whispered something in Kyon's ear, before turning to Koizumi who said some things to Kyon as well.

Kyon, once again, caught my stare. So I decided to ask him once again.

"What have you been doing all day today?"

"Hmm, what have I been doing today?"

"You can't go on like that!"

Argh, this pisses me off!

"Oh yeah, what about you? You found anything interesting?"

That was bad. I was reprimanding Kyon about not finding anything, but I didn't find anything interesting myself! I bit my lips in annoyance.

"Well, it's not like they'd be so careless as to let you discover them in one day."

I turned my eyes away from Kyon.

"We'll have a debriefing the day after tomorrow, in school."

I began walking amidst the crowd of boring and dull people as I headed towards home.

My dull and boring home.

-0-

Lately, I have felt that school is far more interesting than home.

After all, there was the SOS brigade, and all of its unique members. Well, most of them are. The notable exception is Kyon. Besides sarcastic and witty remarks, he isn't much unique. Why I recruited him in the first place, I will never know.

Just like the fact I couldn't sleep that night, brooding about the search. And why I was more pissed that usual at this dull world!

Uh, I wish this world would end.

School the following day was extremely hot. I hoped we could change into our summer uniforms already! I felt a heatstroke approach me…

I was late in waking up, thanks to a certain someone, and I had to run most of the way, so as I tossed my bag onto my desk, I asked Kyon to fan me too.

"I'd like to be fanned, too."

"Do it yourself!"

I frowned at him. Can't you listen to your leader for once?

Just then, Kyon asked me a rather strange question. I brushed him off, turning towards the outside as our sensei entered the room.

I never felt more bored and depressed about this world than today. I found everything dreadfully boring. The school, the people, even the SOS brigade was slowly becoming a tedious and not a fun task. Uh.

I decided to go back and recheck the places we had visited.

-0-

I leaned my back against a wall as I reassessed what happened.

I went around the town again, not minding the fact my SOS brigade members were expecting a debriefing today, only to find that it was true, there was nothing interesting.

Honestly! Is it so hard to find anything interesting nowadays? I miss the days of the Roswell incidents.

I sighed. Why was I this moody these past few days?

Even if I was like this back at East High, I've never felt like this. Sure, I feel the world is boring, but there was always something that made me hope that the next day would finally bring something interesting to me.

…just what was that, anyway? Why did I always feel that same thing? Well, it was probably for him. The North High guy who helped me, three years ago. In fact, he was the reason I went to North High anyway. Of course, he'd be gone by now, but I still felt hopes…

And now that I'm in, I've never felt so dreadfully…bored. I mean, I don't have anything to look forward to! I feel as if I'm losing hope…

In those moments, one name escaped my lips. I could not believe they were the words I uttered.

"…Kyon…"

-0-

Let us skip to a few days later.

My mood seemed to have changed from dreadfully bored to somewhat positive again. Just a few nights ago, I had this same dream where I was with Kyon in school. It was real freaky. We were the only two people there, and we couldn't get out!

There, I saw the strangest thing. Blue giants were demolishing the school! Can you believe that?

And yet, Kyon seemed not to be surprised, but instead, told me he wanted to go back! What an idiot!

Then, the strangest thing happened.

He pulled me into his line of vision, and said the strangest thing. I could still remember the words.

"What now..."

"You know, I really like you in a ponytail."

"What?"

"I don't know when, but since then, I can't stop thinking of you in a ponytail. I think that suits you best."

"What're you trying to pull?"

He pulled me close, and kissed me in the lips. My eyes were open in shock the whole time. My heart began to beat wildly.

In an instant, all the boredom, pain, anxiety, anger, all those emotions I've had the last few days washed away, to be replaced with bubbling joy and happiness.

That moment, I had only wanted to hold him tight, to hug him as those blue giants began to attack us, but I was too shocked to reply.

I then woke up to realize it was just a dream.

But it felt so real!

I paced around my bedroom for a few minutes, trying to make heads or tails of what just happened.

My palms were still warm, ostensibly from dream Kyon's touch. My heart was still racing.

Well, if it was dream, it was the best dream I've had for ages. It felt…good.

-0-

And here I am…thinking about that dream as I headed towards the station to wait for Kyon. He's probably late again. We have another city wide search to do, you know.

In that moment, I felt special. Although it was only a dream, I felt as if I was special…at least in dream Kyon's eyes, I guess. I felt so damn happy.

I'm telling you, I don't understand it myself! I just felt that way!

Wait, don't tell me-!

In the distance, I saw a figure standing at out meeting spot. I couldn't believe it.

Kyon came ahead of me!

Today Mikuru, Yuki, and even Koizumi all said they couldn't come as they had something important to do. It means it was just Kyon and me.

I felt happy again. Of course, I couldn't tell him that, can I? I'd seem weak and vulnerable to all my enemies everywhere.

So instead, I scowled. The fact that he came ahead of me was pretty annoying anyway.

…I guess I'm paying for this one, huh? Well, it's just Kyon and me.

Well, I guess I have time to figure out all these strange emotions I've felt ever since meeting the guy that sat in front of me. The guy who approached me despite others. His name, well, we all call him Kyon.

Right now, all I have to think about is...

...what to say to get out of paying for the drinks today!

-0-

Uh…sorry if you think Haruhi seemed OOC, ok? I just felt this was what Haruhi's mindset really is; despite that tough façade, she still feels vulnerable and unsure of her emotions on the inside… so did you like it? Please give your suggestions and comments so I can do better next time!

And on a side note, I didn't plagiarize…right? I credited the novels for the lines I lifted from the novels, so it isn't illegal…. I hope. I better get running before the law catches me though. Later! I'll have a new story for you in the near future; hopefully!