A Tale of Six Years

On December 30, 2006, I decided to write a fanfiction based on 'The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi'. It was supposed to be a story full of wit, intrigue, and occasional shock. Or so, that's what I believe.

If I could go back in time and ask myself what type of story this was, I have no doubt that the me of the past would tilt his head and say something like 'who are you' and avoid the subject completely. That is to say, the 'me' of the past and the 'me' of the present might as well be considered two different people and would probably not get along. Oddly, despite being the person who should know myself best, I can't even imagine why or how my mind worked when I was younger.

Times have changed. Presidents came, went, and stayed. *ySpace died. *acebook became a thing. *acebook became a thing that started to suck. And me, I suppose I changed too. Maybe too much.

...

I doubt many people who had first read this story six years ago are eagerly waiting for an update as of now. If there is someone, I'll compliment you on your patience. But unfortunately, this story won't have a proper ending. The present me isn't really up to the task of finishing up a piece of fanfiction I made six years ago. However, rather than letting this story rot without conclusion, I wanted to relay a message. A message from my previous self. Of how he wanted this to go out.

I guess this is more of a parting gift to my past self than it is to any readers out there.

...

Well then, getting started...

Chapter 7

Going off from the cliffhanger in Chapter 6, this would start with the confrontation between Kyon and Asakura Ryouko. I say 'confrontation' but there isn't really any 'fight'.

In the scene, Kyon isn't so much surprised at her reappearance, as it has become obvious to him that the current world he was in wasn't 'reality'. ( From Chapter 6, the entire world was strange to begin with. ) Having figured out something supernatural took place, he asks her if she was the one who buried him underground, and in reply she reveals that she did not. However, thanks to whoever did, she was able to finally to meet up with him. ( It's revealed that Asakura Ryouko made multiple attempts trying to transfer him into this closed off dimension. This was hinted previously towards the end of Chapters 4 where he starts seeing things and in the beginning of Chapter 5 where his perception becomes defunct. The events between 4 and 5 are unclear, but there's more to it than Kyon perceives. )

The two briefly discuss their situation, with Kyon wanting answers and Asakura being happy to oblige. In this, Kyon doesn't really have a clue what to ask, but rather is just stalling for time before someone comes to rescue him. This is, of course, just a hope. Having nothing else to say after a series of inconsequential questions, Kyon makes a last ditch effort and tries to pull out the 'gun' from Chapter 5, but is unable to due to suddenly being restricted. ( With the way the scene is supposed to be played out, I suppose I wanted to convey the feeling of fear and anxiety while being ironically humorous. Kyon knows that Asakura wants to kill him and really has no way of stopping her, so there's this odd tension in the air. )

Asakura muses that maybe a certain someone might break through the wall at the very moment, but she's confident that it won't happen for some reason. With no one to stop her, she fulfills the purpose of bringing Kyon to this place. She steps in, and in a horrifyingly event, kisses him. Calling him 'pathetic' and 'a person who is losing their value', she encourages him to stop being a static object. Kyon's vision fades as she leaves the room, and shortly after, he finds himself lying awake on a park bench.

By himself, Kyon scolds Asakura for telling him what he already knows.

...

In the second part of Chapter 7, Kyon is searching for Haruhi. After making various phone calls from any phone available, he finds out that she hasn't returned home from school that day. He runs out into the streets thinking that maybe she's still on school grounds. While running, he monologues to himself: despite being told from various people to go after Haruhi for whatever backhand reason, it was all redundant. Seeing Haruhi wasn't something he had to do. It was something he wanted to do. It was something he planned on doing sooner or later, and he's aggravated on how everyone is nagging on him for not doing it immediately. Even at that moment, he finds it illogical to be dashing out like an idiot.

...

After making it to the school, he finds a scene that shakes him. Remember Koizumi's words in Chapter 2 ( On how he might have to take action if Kyon doesn't ), he realizes what he meant.

The chapter ends on a somber note, as Kyon quietly leaves unnoticed, putting off the meeting further.

Chapter 8

From the very end of Chapter 7 and throughout Chapter 8, a torrent of rain has swept the area, echoing Taniguchi's words in Chapter 1 ( That's right, this chapter was planned from the very beginning. )

From the onset, Kyon is sick from walking home in the rain, and likely stress from the previous day had something to do with it as well. Throughout the day, he does mundane things to keep himself entertained and wonders if this is how it would be if he never joined the SOS.

...

Hearing a loud banging noise, he find Haruhi at his front door.

...

This is actually written out, so I'll post it the chapter below. Depending on what I would write in Chapter 7, I wanted to change certain details, but since that won't happen, I'll leave it as it is in its unedited version. Keep in mind, this is something I wrote six years ago and written right after I did Chapter 1, so don't expect it to be written well.

Chapter 8 (full text)

The following day proceeded without my beckoning. If it were up to me, I would've made it so that tomorrow would be stalled a few more hours than regular. I was exhausted and I needed the extra sleep. Even as I lay in bed right now, I feel like I should stay here at least five more minutes before getting up.

Currently, half the school day should be over by now. That's what I think anyway. It's been awhile since I've last looked at my clock. As for why I'm not at school, I'll explain it simply. I'm sick. People tend to get sick when they walk in the rain without an umbrella. It's kind of pathetic if you think about it.

After coming home from school, I went directly to bed with saying a word to my family. The morning after, I was dry-eyed and coughing. And so, I was designated to stay home and rest while everyone else went off to do whatever their supposed to do. Though I'm prone to complain about it, but, shouldn't they care more about me? I did, after all, come home completely soaked with rainwater. Jeez, I get no respect, but then again, it may be better off this way. If they knew what I went through on a daily bases and what I've done to ensure the existence of mankind, their heads explode just from bewilderment.

Well, they won't have to worry about it now.

I was officially out of the SOS Brigade. Practically all the ties that held me to the world of time travelers, espers, and aliens were broken, and now, I could live my life normally.

The ground felt a little too cold against the soles of my feet. Then again, this is to be expected, considering the weather outside. Compared with last night, the thick drizzle had turned into a heavy downpour. It was the kind of rain that was louder than it looked, splattering hard against the already wet pavement.

I shuffled my feet into a pair of slippers and headed out of my room.

As expected, there was no else at home except me. It was kind of depressing. I was sick and alone in a dreary house while it was raining. This was the perfect sulking atmosphere. But, I wasn't about to sulk. Sulking is for people who are biased and confused, and I'm not either. I know the situation somewhat, and I understand. I understood the moment when Haruhi kicked me out.

Instead of "sulk", you can replace that word with "resign", as in "to submit one's mind passively". ...yeah, that's the word.

...I resigned myself into the kitchen.

I was starving. This made sense, since I skipped dinner last night. And with the added hours to my lifespan with that time jump, that pretty much enforces why I was so hungry. It was a real inconvenience for me, and it was the only reason why I got out of bed.

Inside the fridge, I spotted a plastic wrapped dish of foodstuff with a note card that had my nickname scrawled on it. From the various doodled smiley faces and cartoon drawings of Shamisen's face, it was apparent that my sister had taken the effort to make this for me. Well, maybe just the note card anyway, but, at least there's one person who genuinely cares about me.

I took out the dish and looked through its contents. There was some hard looking meat with a gelatinized sauce around it, along with an assortment of steamed, but now dehydrated, vegetables. If I'd cared, I'd have to say these were last night's leftovers, but food was food, and it'd be a waste of food to waste food.

…clearly, being sick has taken its toll on my mind, but that doesn't matter. I put the dish in the microwave and headed out to the living room.

I turned on the television, and surfed through the various channels of blue screens. This, of course, was due to the rain. I gave up, and instead, reclined myself to the sofa. I leaned my head back into the back frame and stretched my neck.

Heh…just yesterday a kid came by and told me I was going die on this couch. What a disappointment this turned out to be. Speaking of which, he also drugged me and put me in a coffin. Man, if ever I see him again, I'll rip his eyes out. But, that's probably not going to happen.

The rain hammered down on the roof, each drop clearly stringing a different note and forming patterns of noises. They harmonized in a hard orchestrated pitter-patter, and I felt bored. This must've been how she felt on a daily bases. I could almost sympathize with her, with her acts of transgression against the world. "Almost" being the key word there.

…I really don't know why I was so intent on finding her. It wasn't like I had something to say to her. Sure, I could've said something about Asahina-san disappearing into the time stream, or about how Nagato was presumably dead after fighting off humanoid interfaces, but…what then? She'd never believe me. She'd probably think I was making fun of her. It was like Koizumi said. She was becoming more rational. Plus, it probably would've made things worse off for me, considering how I left things off with her. So, why did I want to see her so much?

Well, the answer has no significance. I'm sure if I asked my past self this, I would reply with an "I'm not sure myself." What matters now is that the part of me that belonged to the SOS Brigade is over.

Hey, this might actually be a good thing for me. I don't have to burden the world's weight anymore. You can leave all that to Koizumi. As for me, maybe I'll start focusing on my studies. Maybe I'll get myself a girlfriend. Maybe I can start living like a normal high school student. That shouldn't be hard, should it?

…but, that's a tad boring, isn't it?

I heaved a sigh. It seems like she rubbed off on me a lot more than I thought. It was useless to think of these things now. I better start getting myself together. My life wasn't going to change on its own, and now's a good as a time than ever.

Well Haruhi, I hope you'll have a long and prosperous life… without me.

I made a toast to her inside my head and stood up. I turned off the television and made my way towards the opposite end of the living room.

…then, there was a knock.

It was barely audible against the rolling rain, and it could've easily been confused with a soft crash of thunder in the distance, but I heard it. To further prove it wasn't the weather outside, the sound repeated itself.

Use the doorbell idiot.

I walked over to the door, but stopped myself before I reached the door handle. It was a brief moment of hesitation that overcame me.

Now, for what reason did I want to open the door? I was sick, and, originally, no one was supposed to be at home. Plus, this was a very obscure situation here. It was in the middle of a school day, so it shouldn't be any of my classmates just checking up on me. If it were a sunny day, I might've considered the possibility that the person on the other side could be an old-timey door-to-door salesman, but it was raining, and those sorts of people should've been shot by the judicial force. So, who was on the other side?

Jeez, I'll just open it and see who it is. Worse case scenario, the person on the other side is an assassin out to get me.

…actually, that's a pretty good reason to not open the door…

Aw, to hell with this.

I swung open the door and accepted fate as it came.

…this is a joke, right?

Nope, apparently not.

And it still isn't.

C'mon! You've got to be kidding me. I just adjusted my mindset to a life of complete normality. What, is she here to rub it my face or something?

Haruhi glared up at me from underneath an umbrella, and I stared back. This was an event that I hadn't really prepared myself for, so, I must've looked pretty stupid just standing there.

A full-fledged minute passed before I took the initiative to say something.

"Do you…want to come inside?"

It's odd for a guy to be asking a girl to go inside his home when he's alone, but, I think this circumstance called for it. The rain was like a blaring firecracker, so, if she wanted to say something to me, it would've been best to do it in a more silent atmosphere, and plus, it was cold. Though I was wearing pajamas and a bathrobe, I felt a clear drop in temperature when I opened the door. I probably couldn't imagine the discomfort Haruhi felt from just wearing her sailor uniform. So, don't think I had any perverted intentions when I asked this.

Haruhi unraveled her umbrella and tossed it harshly to me. Needless to say, I got wet, but she didn't seem to mind as she strolled right past me, like she owned the place.

Now, why was it that I felt sorry for her? I forgot.

Haruhi made her way to a recliner and dusted the seat before sitting on it. After that, she crossed her arms and patiently waited for me, all the while keeping the same pissed off expression on her face.

You might say that she was still angry with me, but this was a sharp contrast with how things really were. At a closer glance, Haruhi seemed to be almost timid to speak with me, and, judging from the time, she must've run directly to my house when the lunch bell rang. I'm not sure whether to feel angry or flattered, but, it was apparent that Haruhi had something to say.

I sat down in the chair opposite to Haruhi and laid the umbrella next to me. If one would take the time to notice, this umbrella would also happen to be the same one that me and Haruhi walked under some day in the rain last year. I don't remember much about that day, but I remember carrying a heater, and getting wet, since Haruhi hogged the most of the umbrella all to herself. It was one of the SOS Brigade's less eventful days, but that was all okay with me.

Haruhi kept silent, like a baby refusing to eat a spoonful of mashed carrots. With this, I can't help but to feel exasperated.

"You're not at school."

I stated blatantly.

"Neither are you."

"I'm sick."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

"That's too bad then."

Well, that's a good start. Though our sentences spanned less than five words, she's at least talking to me. I might as well talk to her about the weather before she brings up why the hell she came here in the first place.

I had half a mind to tell her what had happened yesterday. Maybe if were a little more egocentric I would've, but I didn't. I wasn't the kind of guy that would risk catastrophe just because he was frustrated. If the situation was reversed, I'm sure Haruhi would have no trouble telling me, but, unfortunately, it wasn't, so I'm probably going to have to burden this for the rest of my life.

"Can you wait for a second?"

I stood up and started walking to the opposite end of the room. Before I could continue this charade of silence any longer, there was something in the back of my mind that had to be taken care of. I had almost reached the kitchen door, until Haruhi sidestep me and blocked me from proceeding any further. She opened her mouth.

Her face contorted angrily and she started grinding her teeth. Watching her do this made me feel like she was going to blow up on me any second. Or minute…damn it, Haruhi. If you're going to get in my way, say something. This silent treatment is just too ridiculous.

"…Kyon…"

She forced those words out of her mouth. Her hard gaze softened and she sighed.

"Look…"

Haruhi said, turning her head to the side. She scratched the back of her neck and continued mumbling.

"Me and Koizumi…yesterday…we talked."

Yeah, among other things too I bet.

"And…I, uh…realized that…I…may have…overreacted."

Wait, what was happening here? Could it be that she's…no, never. That's impossible. It would never happen. Chances of the sun blotting out are way more likely.

"I was…wrong…to try to…force you out of your…date. And I perfectly understand that…you…have a life."

She said generically.

"So…"

Haruhi sucked in the stale air from between her teeth before letting out an unforgettable phrase.

"I'm…sorry."

She immediately coughed and cleared her throat, as if she were trying cover up that one comment.

…wow. Just, wow. That was…wow. Am I dreaming right now? It sure seems like it. It seems cloudy enough. Personally, I have never heard her apologize before. In fact, I think this is the first time she's ever apologized. This is just…wow. That's all I can say.

Haruhi stared down at her feet and swiveled her foot, like she was stepping on a cigarette.

"With that aside, I would like for you to come back."

She murmured. She tilted her head up and we made eye contact. Haruhi didn't so angry anymore, but more…well, there isn't a word that does justice to how Haruhi looked to me.

"So, how about it?"

I put my hand on her shoulder. Ever since Haruhi had entered my home, I felt like I was missing something. But…now, I realized what it was. And I realized it was more important than me, the SOS Brigade, and possibly, maybe even the world. Well, at that instance, it was to me. And, it was right before my eyes too. So, I did something that I regretted I didn't do earlier.

"Shit!"

I pushed Haruhi to the side and ran through the kitchen door. The whole room was filled with a heavy black smoke which emitted from a bright orange flame where the microwave was supposed to be. My heart started racing, and I stood in shock for a few seconds.

"Shit!"

I yelled that colorful word as I realized how much of an idiot I was being for just standing there. I rushed over to the kitchen sink and pulled out a tub from the cupboard below. I turned on the water to full blast and dashed across the room to open the windows. Once I was done, I got the tub from the sink and lifted it out. I got in front of the microwave and swayed my arms to prepare myself to throw the water, but I stopped myself before I was able to. My mind had finally kicked back into gear and reminded something important: Electrical fire Water Even worse situation you moron.

"Shit!"

I dropped the tub to the ground and quickly started to open the all the cabinets and drawers. It was completely ironic. It was practically flooding outside, but not a drop of water could help me. What would really be useful right now would be a damn fire extinguisher, but I don't even know if there is one in the house.

"Shit!"

To no avail, opening all the cupboards and drawers had been proven useless. There was no fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Damn it! Am I not looking hard enough? Why wouldn't a fire extinguisher be in the kitchen? Am I going to catch on fire while sleeping in my room? No! The fire extinguisher has to be kitchen, that is, if we there even is one. If not, well, I'm doomed then.

Perhaps it was from sick, or more likely, it was from breathing in too much smoke, but I started coughing violently. It was the kind of hoarse cough that would burn the back of your throat. The pain was excruciatingly bad for me. I felt like someone forced me to drink battery acid, but then have it caught in your throat. I dropped down on all fours and started to heave in the clearer air towards the ground.

Man, I wished I would've paid more attention to those safety lectures at school. If I did, maybe I'd know what to do now. Hey, I have an idea. Why don't I pour some dirt over the fire just like how campers take out their fires? I'm sure there's a bag of dry dirt somewhere around…oh, what the hell am I thinking? Is this some sort of adverse effect of the lack of oxygen in this room? Damn it, there's a fire right in front of me, and I'm doing nothing to stop it! There's…there's something wrong with me.

Before I could get any further into that, Haruhi busted through the door with a fire extinguisher.

Well, you can guess what happened next.

Surprisingly enough, I had forgotten that Haruhi was still in the house. In the duration of the two minutes I was running around in the kitchen, she had seen the smoke and sprung into action. Haruhi had searched through the house looking for a fire extinguisher, something I didn't realize until the latter of the two minutes, and found one. After that, she became my so-called "knight in shining armor".

…I really find it hard to believe this. It's all a little coincidental, don't you think? The same day the microwave oven shorted out also happened to be the day the batteries in the fire detector ran out. Also, Haruhi just happened to be here when this occurred, and she just randomly opened a door and found a fire extinguisher just lying around. Is that how it happened?

"You ought to consider yourself lucky, Kyon. If I wasn't here to save your butt, you would've burned your house down."

Lucky me, huh?

Haruhi sat on the counter next to me and held up a high and mighty cocky grin as I cleaned up the soot leftover from my breakfast. Though the fire hadn't lasted long and damage had been kept to a minimum, a microwave which would no doubt come out of my allowance, the fact remains the same: Haruhi blew up my microwave. I would also like to think that my inability to act was caused by her, but that could've gone both ways.

"You know, guys shouldn't push girls down. It's not proper etiquette."

In proper etiquette, girls don't usually prance around in bunny suits or go around groping other people's breasts too, but you seem to be an exception to those rules.

Haruhi struck me in the head with her fist.

"What's with that tone? Is this how you treat your savior?"

It's kind of hard to be thankful when my "savior" was the one who caught my kitchen on fire in the first place. And physically abusing me isn't going to help your matter whatsoever. But…

I stood up after scraping the leftover ashes into a pan and then sighed.

"Thanks," I heard myself murmur, "I don't know what I would've done without you, Haruhi."

It was a lie. I knew what would've happened if she hadn't come. If she hadn't knocked on my door, nothing would've happened, but the lie was a lot better than the truth, wasn't it? And for Haruhi to subconsciously stage this whole scenario so I'd be indebt to her, it must've meant that she really did want me to come back. It's almost sweet... except not really.

After meeting my glance, Haruhi seemed to be a little surprised. She jumped off the counter and quickly turned her back to me.

"D-Don't thank me! I just did what you were supposed to do, stupid!"

As always, she's too stubborn to even take any gratitude. Ah, well, I expected no less from her.

I dumped the soot into a trashcan and proceeded to scrape more ash.

"…say, Kyon, are you hungry?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

Haruhi suddenly turned around, radiating a bright smile from her face. If I knew any better, I'd say she was plotting something.

"I'll make something."

She stated cheerfully.

I'm sorry, what did she just say? Did she just offer to cook me food? That's unusually…nice of her. I've tasted a few of her delicacies in past. The hotpot during Christmas, the sandwiches in the snow mountain, futomaki on the Spring Setsubun, and the obligatory chocolates on Valentines, hell, I'd say she enjoys cooking, but is it really okay for her to do this? From her point of view, she just saved my life. I ought to be the one serving her, not that I'm complaining.

Haruhi started to rattle through the open pantries and looked through their contents.

"Uh…Haruhi, you don't really have to-"

"Aha!"

She yelled out in triumph. Haruhi spun around and proudly held up an object like the main character in a video game after finding an item. And this item, in question, was…a box of instant noodles.

Honestly, if you're just going to make that…

"What are you complaining for? You're lucky that I'm even offering after saving your life."

So why are you?

"It's not like I'm doing this just for you," she shot back, "It's already halfway through lunchtime at school right now, and I'm hungry. So, if you don't mind, I'll be taking some of your food."

Even if I did mind, I doubt you'd listen to me.

Wait…does this mean the whole fire scenario was just constructed so that you'd be able to score free ramen? Jeez, if that's true, then you're a lot more shallow than I give you credit for.

I watched as Haruhi got out a pot and filled it with water, since the alternative had melted into a surrealistic piece of artwork that looked like belonged to a deranged child. She moved to the stovetop and started to heat up the water. Maybe a minute or so passed before we said anything to each other.

"…Kyon."

She cleared her throat and called my nickname.

"…you didn't give me an answer."

Eh? Was she really still worried about that? After all that's happened, does she think I'd just say no? Just, how much of a jerk do I come across as in Haruhi's eyes? From my perspective, I really don't have much of a choice here. But... it's not like I'd want it any other way.

"…sure, apology accepted."

I don't know if it was from not eating for more than twenty-four hours, but that ramen Haruhi made was the best I've eaten.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9 would be a series of events interacting with several characters separately.

Nagato reveals was had been temporarily put on standby after Haruhi kicked him out of the club. But even so, from that state she was attempting to hinder and analyze anomalous behavior that was directed at Kyon two days prior. Kyon realizes this is the reason why it took Asakura so long to get hold of him. And speaking of her, it doesn't appear Nagato knows that it was her who caused the anomalous behavior. Kyon briefly remembers his meeting with Asakura and decides to write it off.

Koizumi reveals to Kyon that he attempted to comfort Haruhi while she was in distress. It didn't seem like she took his to his kindness well and affirms that this sort of job is best suited for Kyon. Despite this, Kyon thanks Koizumi thinking that if hadn't acted, things between him and Haruhi would probably be different. Though, there seems to be a bit of hostility between the two of them.

Asahina reveals that she's been gone for the last few days and has no idea what happened the days prior or anything about a date, leaving Kyon bewildered. In speculation, he thinks that maybe an Asahina from the future had taken her place sometime without him noticing. He decides not to talk about the previous events with her.

And filling in the gap for the time traveling side, the boy makes another appearance to take Kyon's 'gun'. Though, it appears to be a boy from a 'different' time. He reveals the gun was filled with blanks and that he was in no danger whatsoever. He admits that he was wrong from his previous guess regarding Asahana, and makes another guess about the events between Chapter 4 and 5. After being shot at, Kyon for some reason went into prolonged shock ( Due to one of Asakura's failed attempts ). While he was out, Asahina, thinking that he was hurt, panicked and took him into the future. After realizing, he was okay, she took him back into the present and returned to the future. Kyon asks him about the grave, and boy doesn't seem to know what he's talking about, but gathers that it's something he'll take care of eventually.

After he leaves, Kyon notices he's walking with a limp, leading him to think that perhaps he was punished in some way. This could be considered a 'win' for him, as it's apparent he did something would need punishing, and that perhaps time travel with all its complexities had a margin of error.

At the very end of Chapter 9, Haruhi would introduce Kyon as a 'new member' of the SOS Brigade.

And that's the end. When I think about it, 'End of the World' isn't exactly a proper title for this story, is it now? Well, reading back over it, there are parts I liked and parts I didn't like, but giving credit where credit is due, I believe my younger self did a good job crafting a story with some intriguing twists and turns.

To anyone who's read to the end, thank you. Please wish me luck in my future endeavors.

So long, I. Run. E.