Hey guys! The epilogue is here, and I'd like to thank everyone for reading the third installment of my fan-verse worth of fics, The Revelations of Haruhi Suzumiya. I'm certainly inspired enough to get thinking for the fourth. Enjoy the ending to this!
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Above it all, life seems to continue on as normal. Well, that always depends on what your definition of normal is. When I last looked up normal in the dictionary, I came up with this…
"Conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm."
Now that makes sense and all, but it certainly doesn't fit my personal definition of normal. If you asked me exactly what the definition of normal is regarding my life, I would present you with this slightly altered definition…
"Conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level that is suitable for Haruhi Suzumiya's tastes."
Basically, my normal is whatever Haruhi makes it. There are no alternatives, and certainly no other ways of describing it besides what I've just told you. Our Brigade Chief makes sure that everything completely conforms in the way she wants it to conform.
It's been days since we'd escaped that "simulation", and saved Haruhi in the process. The entire fiasco had remained relatively forgotten by all of us, except occasionally when Haruhi might mention how dumb the game had been.
It's safe to say that our lives are slowly getting back to normal. The Computer Research Society President proved to be alive, as he managed to wake up in his apartment without a clue as to what happened to him. That was a good thing, I think, because he would probably only have more spite and hate towards Haruhi if he had any idea that she was the cause of the entire predicament.
Haruhi changed quite a bit since those events. Her mood became calmer, and she didn't exhibit the same kind of vicious anger she had shown us before, when the Antithesis still had a connection to her. In fact, I noticed that she had some changes for the better, as she actually took the time to give the Computer Research Society their copy of Day of Sagittarius IV back. I say good riddance to the damn thing, and I wonder if Haruhi gave it back for the same reason. Even still, she believes that we were in a simulation, so perhaps she's giving it back out of "the goodness of her heart".
I had initially forgotten about school and such things when were trapped in that game, so my memory got a nice jumpstart when I was told that our final examinations for second year were right on the horizon.
Let's just say one thing. I was not prepared at all. I couldn't help but be worried about my grades, but I figured that I had at least passed. And passing was all that I truly cared about. It's not like I'm a star student or anything.
Haruhi, on the other hand, had declared to me more than once that she wasn't worrying about the finals at all. To her, everything was just a given, and that included her surprisingly good grades. It was times like these were I detested the girls amazing ability to be a super-utility.
Otherwise, my life just went along on its relative course. There was little change, and most of my days involved doing meeting in the clubroom with the rest of the SOS Brigade after school. Summer was approaching, and Haruhi seemed to want to use the last few Brigade meetings as the way for us to plan her "perfect summer."
Obviously, her main goal was to have a better summer than last year, and it was a fact that really worried me quite a lot. Last summer, we had entered an endless recursion of time that Haruhi had created because she wasn't satisfied with what we had accomplished when the summer ended. The reason she had not been satisfied was quite insignificant, but it was also very embarrassing on my part, so I'd rather not discuss it.
Today, I was heading to my last day of classes before our summer vacation began. It seemed to light me up inside, knowing that today would be the last time I would have to see people like Taniguchi or Kunikida for four whole weeks. It's not that I hate the two or anything; it's just that four week break from them sounds really nice.
And on top of that, I was going to have a nice break from this daily hike which has always plagued me so. I trekked along at my usual pace, my bag slung over my shoulder, and this time around, I managed to get caught by one of the only people who were ever able to find me this easily whenever I'm on my way to school.
"Kyon! What's good, man?" Taniguchi said as he ran up beside me, a grin on his face. Normally, I might have groaned at the expression, but I guess I wasn't in the kind of mood where I could be annoyed easily. Instead, I decided I might just satiate whatever talking needs Taniguchi had at the moment.
"Nothing much. I'll be happier when I don't have to wake up this early and walk to school for a full four weeks." I replied, my own expression indifferent.
"You're going to be spending that summer with Suzumiya and her crew right? Sounds like you'll be having yourself a very enjoyable summer." Taniguchi commented, with sly intentions in the last part of his second sentence.
"Eh?"
"Don't act dumb, Kyon. I know you're just like the rest of us. You just can't wait to get to third base with Suzumiya. In fact, you'll be the first one. Most guys haven't even gotten to kiss her. She's an enigma, you know."
I'm surprised you know such a word. And thanks for reminding me about the "relationship" that supposed to be between myself and Haruhi. It's something that essentially fell apart when I was trapped in the Day of Sagittarius IV game, and come to think of it, neither I nor Haruhi took the time to rebuild it. We were broken up, and neither one of us have expressed an interest in reconciliation.
Should I tell Taniguchi something like this? It might just give him idiotic ideas if I do. Ideas that could very well have him end up in bodily harm as before. You know what? I think I'll tell him. People are going to find out somehow anyway.
"Haruhi and I took a break. I guess we're too different." I choked out, and it was obvious that saying something like that was actually very hard.
This is normal, right? Breaking up with people and moving on is normal in high school, so why was it so hard for me to say such a thing when it involved Haruhi? Don't tell me that I'm going to end up having a hard time not thinking about her. I sighed, though only to myself.
"Are you serious? That sucks, man. I guess you didn't get as far as we all thought you would. Suzumiya just threw you aside like the rest of them, right? I told you in the first place that it was a bad idea. Remember what I said? She goes through guys like a piranha. You should have just taken my advice, Kyon." Taniguchi said to me, his voice overflowing with the notion that he had been right the whole time. This was the point in time where I just had to shut him up. He was sincerely asking for it.
"I broke up with her. She didn't really treat me all that great."
Just as I had thought, the once talkative Taniguchi completely shut up, and merely continued to walk along with me in silence until we reached North High and split our separate ways from there. Even still, what I had said to him was still hurting some part of me. It was like every time I mentioned breaking up with Haruhi, a hot spike drove itself right into the back of my spine.
Was it even the smartest move? I couldn't help but continue to inner-monologue as I went up the flight of stairs that led to my homeroom classroom. It was the same homeroom where Haruhi sat in the seat right behind me, and it was the place where she had first experienced the revelation that eventually led her to creating the SOS Brigade. If I hadn't been one of the first people to show an interest in speaking to her during the first days of high school, then there probably wouldn't have been an SOS Brigade in the first place.
So essentially, it's my entire fault. There would have been no SOS Brigade without the inclusion of me. If there's anyone to blame, it's me. Funny how things seem to just work that way. Still, I keep wondering if breaking up with Haruhi was such a good idea…
Entering my classroom, I see a usual scene in front of me. Haruhi Suzumiya is looking out the window with a blatantly bored expression on her face, and I can't help but wonder why she always seems to be like this in the mornings. Maybe it's only sometimes that she's actually doing this, but to me, it feels like all the time. Still, my daily routine continues without interruption, and I sit down in front of her, trying my best to sound alive this morning.
"Good morning." I say in my most energetic tone, which for me is not every energetic at all. Haruhi's response is to always turn and face me, and then she usually ends up saying something that makes it seems like she's extremely bored. This time, however, her face lit up when she could see that I had arrived. And I think I know exactly why.
"Kyon! Look more excited! Today is the last day of classes, and know we have a whole four weeks of summer to look forward to again. And this summer is going to be the best one yet!" Haruhi exclaimed, leaning over her desk so I could hear her more than well enough.
"Sounds exciting. Is it going to involve me waking up at the crack of dawn?"
"If necessary, then yes! I don't like waking up that early, but it will have to be done if it needs to be done. This summer is going to be ten times better than before! I'm going to do everything in my power to make it the best SOS Brigade summer that the world has ever seen!"
How can it be the best one if the world hasn't even seen one in the first place? I can't say I'm not glad to be hearing from the old Haruhi again, though. It's certainly better than hearing from the angry and irritated Haruhi that tried to rape me some time ago.
"I've got the whole list right here." Haruhi said, bringing out a piece of paper that I couldn't help but look at almost immediately. I raised an eyebrow when I was able to clearly see it.
"There's nothing written on it."
"Well, yeah. I still need to think it all up. Once I do, then we'll be all set to go." Haruhi replied, crossing her arms and putting on a very confident expression.
Whatever you say, Haruhi. I'm not going to go questioning your way of thinking. I've got more than enough experience now to know not to do that.
"Hey Haruhi."
"What?"
"You remember that book you were reading? It was called the Bible, right? Did you ever finish it?"
"Are you crazy, Kyon? I threw that away days ago! It was a piece of junk! All they ever talked about was this one guy who could do all these crazy things. It got boring and repetitive, so I just tossed it into the garbage." Haruhi blatantly replied, without giving a thought to just how many people she might be insulting.
I sighed in relief. Truth be told, I was beginning to hate the Bible. Now, I could forget about it, because the same book that had caused Haruhi to create the Antithesis in the first place was now safely on its way to a landfill. It was a nice thought.
After that, the rest of the day seemed to go by quite quickly, and surprisingly, I shared an almost pleasant lunch period with Haruhi, in which I listened to her discuss various ideas for what we could do on our summer break. She obviously had a lot on her mind.
"You think Keiichi-san would invite us to his island again?" Haruhi asked before she took a bite of fried shrimp.
"If you asked Koizumi nice enough, then he probably would. I wonder if my family wants to actually go away this summer…" I commented, my mind beginning to trail off.
"Well, they better not be, because I need you here. I would start freeing up your days now, Kyon." Haruhi said, with a dead serious look on her eyes. This kind of thing coming from her should have been expected from the start.
After my lunch, the rest of my classes went slow. I drudged through them as best as possible, mostly because my brain was already unwinding from the fact that this was our last day of school for quite awhile. Sure there would be summer homework that I would no doubt be procrastinating on, but at least I would now have a lot of free time on my hands. Free time that would be sucked away by my time with the SOS Brigade, of course.
Now, I was on my way to none other than the clubroom, where hopefully the rest of the Brigade's members waited for me. I can't think of any good reason why any of them would be absent on the last day, so I automatically figured that they would all in fact be present.
And when I opened the door the clubroom, I found that I was in fact right. Nagato was in the corner, reading another novel as always. Mikuru was in her maid outfit, and I wondered how she was not sweating in that thing in this weather. Itsuki was being served tea by our resident time traveler, and the Brigade Chief, Haruhi Suzumiya, was scribbling stuff on a piece of paper in front of the desktop computer.
"Yo." I said, not expecting a response of any kind.
And I was right. I got no response of any kind. And so I ignored the utter silence, and sat down in my usual seat in front of Koizumi's. There was no chess game set up, so I didn't have to worry about potentially losing a game against him, even though he was in fact terrible at bored games.
For a few seconds, we sat in silence. The silence was broken by Asahina-san, who came up behind me with tea.
"Would you like some, Kyon-kun?" she asked in a sweet voice that could make anyone's heart sing.
"Of course."
As Asahina-san poured me a cup of tea with her delicate little hands, Koizumi already had a smile on his face. Nagato ignored the majority of what was going on around her, and Haruhi was too busy scribbling on that piece of paper to care about what anyone else was doing.
"We never properly thanked you, you know." Koizumi said, in a voice that sounded surprisingly genuine and honest. I raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Haruhi, who seemed to still be ignoring everyone else as she continued to furiously write.
I knew exactly what Koizumi was talking about, of course. He was talking about the fact that I essentially saved everyone in this room from certain doom, including the same esper boy who I always thought felt like he was the greatest thing since white rice. Of course, he was wrong, and I couldn't help but be happy when I heard him admit that he was wrong.
"Thank you for everything, Kyon." Itsuki said, bowing to me as he did so.
"It's nothing." I replied, before taking a sip of Mikuru's delicious tea. If there was one thing I might miss over this summer, it would be Asahina-san's amazing tea. Of course, I could always hope that perhaps Haruhi would find a way to access the clubroom over the summer. Knowing her, anything is possible.
"Alright everyone! I'm leaving, and I expect you to do the same. I can't concentrate on this list of things to do for the summer if you're going to start talking and everything." Haruhi exclaimed all of a sudden, getting up from her chair with piece of paper in one of her hands.
"I'll contact you all if we're doing anything tomorrow. Otherwise, you can have the first day of summer off. Consider yourselves rewarded for all your hard work."
I don't think there was much more to talk about beyond that. I had some questions still going on in the back of my brain, especially concerning the recent events of a few days ago, but in the end, they would just remain unanswered. I should have figured this much. Without further ado, the clubroom was vacated as we said our various goodbyes, and surprisingly, I was the last one to leave, so I locked up, putting the clubroom key into one of my pockets.
When I was in the process of locking the door, I could see Haruhi in the distance, walking slowly down the hallway. Something clicked in the back of my brain, and I locked the door quickly, so I could actually catch up with our Brigade Chief at the end of the hallway.
"Still thinking about what we're going to be doing?" I asked the brown-haired girl who seemed like she was concentrating on her piece of paper. Now that we were truly alone, it seemed that Haruhi's mindset towards me was beginning to change.
"Yeah. Don't worry about it. I'll have it all figured out soon." She said as we walked along, and there remained to be a silence between us until we got outside of the school.
The sun hadn't begun to set yet, so plenty of sunlight permeated across the streets. Haruhi and I walked side by side, although we did not hold hands as I thought we might of. It's been a crazy few months, I must say. I'm still debating with myself if breaking up with Haruhi was such a good idea. And it's a wonder that she hasn't even mentioned a thing about it. Did she even care? Maybe Taniguchi was right for once in his pathetic existence. Maybe I was just "another boring human" to her.
In the end, Haruhi and I didn't actually say much to one another as we walked towards our houses. Hers was right on the corner of my street, so I would invariably have to drop her off before heading home myself. The silence was awkward, and although it gave me a lot of time to think, I felt like thoughts were irrelevant at a time like this.
After a few more minutes of walking, we finally arrived at Haruhi's house and the splitting up seemed even more awkward. Haruhi stood beside me, her head down, and I couldn't see the expression on her face. Something didn't feel right.
"Haruhi?"
Without warning, Haruhi Suzumiya came forward, and wrapped arms around me in a surprisingly strong hug. I didn't know what she was feeling at the moment, but her hug was telling me that she felt bad about something, or she was missing something. I certainly didn't expect it.
"Is something wrong?" I said, surprised, and I guess the urge came over me to hug Haruhi back. This kind of affection I never really expected from Haruhi. It was something I didn't even think she had the heart to do. I was obviously wrong.
"I'm sorry, Kyon."
That hit me hard. In all the time I've spent around Haruhi, I never expected her to say such a phrase to me. And the weirdest part was that it sounded like she actually meant it. And even weirder was the fact that I knew exactly what she was saying sorry about.
It seems that Haruhi might have actually realized what kind of emotional damage she caused with all that anger of hers. Not that it was her fault, but not knowing this connection she had with the orb, she probably believed it to be all her fault.
I couldn't just let Haruhi feel so bad like this. For as difficult as she was recently, I knew that somewhere inside me, there was still something there for her. The problem was, I had to be bigger than that, and I had to realize what might be the best thing for the both of us.
"Haruhi…I think a break is good for the two of us." I said, after our Brigade Chief had let me free from her hug. I didn't see tears on her face, but her expression was nonetheless sad.
"You have a point. The Brigade Chief shouldn't have distractions over the summer…"
I guess Haruhi is trying to take it all as best as she can. I really don't like doing this kind of stuff, but at a time like this, it's almost necessary. I put both hands on Haruhi's shoulders, and she looked up at me, a surprised expression on her face.
"Let's just not worry about it for now. Focus on this summer, and all the things you have planned for the Brigade. We can always talk about this in more detail when the time comes. It's just too stressful to think about right now." I told Haruhi, and to my surprise, she actually seemed to understand.
"You're right. I need to get this list done, Kyon! Prepare yourself! This will be the most action-packed summer yet!" Haruhi exclaimed to me, her mindset and tone completely changing before she turned tail and made a sprint to her front door.
I was left standing there in a state of wonder. It couldn't have been that easy. Haruhi couldn't have just simply listened to something I had said, and then acted on it. I didn't just convince our Brigade Chief to listen to someone else for once, did I?
But the truth was, I think I did. Haruhi heard me out, listened, and seemed to take my advice. We were apart now, and perhaps it was for the better. Perhaps there would be less stress on Haruhi, and not to mention less stress on myself as well. Now we could all focus on a hopefully fun-filled summer with the rest of the Brigade. There was already a spark in the back of my mind that couldn't wait for the summer break to begin.
Still, Haruhi had obviously begun to change for the better. Or maybe this orb had influence on her longer than we might have thought. No. I don't think that's the case. It just managed to make here more pissed off and angrier than usual. Maybe I wouldn't have broken up with her if it hadn't done such a thing.
You know, something tells me things will get better. Can Haruhi and I stay separated like this forever? If I wanted to answer truthfully, I'd definitely say no. So I should cherish this time. It's time I get to spend on my own again, as just a member of the SOS Brigade.
I took one last glance at Haruhi's house, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going on in that mind of hers. Supposedly I had been in it some time ago, but it still didn't give me too much insight to her true emotions. I really hope she's just as happy as she puts out, but I of course can never be to sure. In the end, I do just want her to be happy. I guess I care about the girl in more ways than one.
And with that last thought, I decided to head home.
Tomorrow would be the start of our summer, and I had a feeling it would be the best one yet. Whenever Haruhi Suzumiya is part of the equation, the phrase "anything is possible" really does have precedence in my usually normal existence. It's wonder I don't take the time to count myself lucky in more ways than one...
THE END
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Well hello reader! If you're reading this, than you've succesfully survived THREE entire fanfics of mine. I hope it wasn't a hard road, and if it was, I'm telling you now that it's not even close to over. As anyone might infer, I'm not ending these stories until the end of the SOS Brigade's third year, where high school will officially end for them. There are tons and tons of possibilites with all that time in my hands, and I assure you that I'm going to make the best of it. I'd like to thank everyone for reading and reviewing this once again, and although I don't consider this story to be the best one yet, I still think it was a relative success. But enough about that, and onward with bigger and better things.
The title for the next story has alreay been decided, and I'm calling it, The Normalcy of Haruhi Suzumiya. You might think that Kyon and Haruhi's relationship will remain broken, but you may very well be wrong. The next story will be much more romantic, because I have quite A LOT of stuff planned. So thanks for reading everyone. My break between this story and the next will be an undecided amount of time, but rest assured I will not take forever, and the time is mainly for a bit of break and a lot of brainstorming. Stay tuned everyone. :)