There are only two hours left in the morning and all I accomplished for the day was eating breakfast. That's no good. At this rate, my snowman will melt too much, and then where will I be? I carry that troublesome thought with me all the way to the front window while treading through a minefield of my sister's school supplies. Unfortunately for her, one of her crayons snapped to the pressure of my hasty heel.

Thank goodness. It is still snowing. In addition, my beloved snowman also displays her wellness by waving her right branch in response to my presence. Even though it does not appear to be necessary, I decide to go outside and perform some maintenance on her.

"Thank you," beamed the snowman.

"No need to thank me, Yuki. You're my responsibility after all."

"I see you two are getting along just as good as ever."

An irritating voice startles me. That dumb black bird always camoflauges itself on Yuki's witch hat. Or maybe I'm the dumb one for never checking if Krozumi is present..

"Be careful not to knock off Yuki's hat," I warned him while adding more fresh snow to the round body.

The distracting noise of broken glass suddenly interrupts my work. What's even more unsettling is the fact that the glass that broke turns out to be my front window! But there's not a meddlesome child in sight.

"What light breaks the yonder window?" Krozumi commented. "It is the Sun, and Suzumiya is rising from the East."

I don't think that's how the line goes...

"Yahoo!" bellows Solari Suzumiya, the excitable Sun.

"It's too early in the morning to deal with you."

Solari stuck out her blazing tongue before replying, "Blame your stinky planet, not me!"

As the impudent pain blows a raspberry, Krozumi and I frantically avoid her droplets of salava. The Sun's recklessness costed Yuki a piece of her torso.

"Yuki! Are you okay?" the Crow and I call together.

"I'm fine," she confirms flatly. "However, it appears as though I am at risk of melting."

"Hey! Solari, not so close!" I shouted out of necessity.

"What's the big deal?" she replies. "If she melts, you can just build a new one in minutes."

"Why you..."

Just when I nearly reach the end of my rope, a good friend of mine intervenes to shed a little... darkness on the situation.

Krozumi greeted the newcomer by saying "Well this is an interesting development."

"It is not so much of an interesting development as it is a rare occasion. After all, the times of which I arrive are all predetermined. Isn't that right, Miss Suzumiya?"

"Tch.."

Lunasaki, the rational Moon, has obstructed everyone's view of our obnoxious sun via eclipse.

"Please excuse Solari's brash actions. As you know, she means no intentional harm. With that being said, we will proceed with our scheduled meeting now. Please excuse us."

She gives a dignified nod and turns away from our direction. The odd morning is likely to continue like this. This is as good of a time as any to repair Yuki's damages.

"U-um... excuse me, Mister," called a familiar meek voice. "Do you have a carrot to spare by any chance?"

I could tell who was nudging on the toe of my shoe. Mikusagi, the timid Rabbit, always has more trouble finding food for the cold season. This is around the time where I help her out as much as I can.

"I will give you my nose," Yuki offered as always.

"Waah! A-Are you sure?"

Yuki nodded. "The freshness of this carrot is only guarnteed for approximately forty more hours. Therefore, now is the best time to consider replacing my facial decor."

Following through with Yuki's consent, I plucked the carrot off of her face and dusted the snow off its base. After uncovering the carrot's face, she looked me in the eye with a wry smile.

"I may be inexperienced, but please be gentle," said Ryoko Asakarot.

"Don't mix up awkward lines!" I shouted while tossing the food to Mikusagi.

"Thank you very much!"

"Yahoo! Lunch time, nyara!" said a tabby cat that popped out of an unnoticed snow hill. This troublesome stray is definitely Tsurunya. She pounces Mikusagi's gift with herbivorous eyes. The two of them argue over Asakarot until a loud rumble shakes the edge of the street. The monstrous vehicle charging dangerously towards us appears to be... a steamroller?

"Oh noes!" cries Tsurunya. "Mr. Driver forgot he's supposed to start driving the snowplow!"

That's hardly the problem!

...

That's about as much detail as I can recall right here, in my room. Lately, I have been the victim of very bizarre dreams, but last night's sequence was the most memorable one I've had in a while. I called Nagato on impulse after words, attempting to explain that nonsensical series of events.

"You should record as much of the dream as you can remember on paper," she suggested. "I am interested in viewing the contents of this dream in detail."

I didn't expect that kind of response from Nagato, so naturally I would try to meet her request. Looking back at what I've written, I don't think anyone would take a morbid tale like this seriously. Then again, that was never the point to begin with.. at least I don't think so.

"What do you think?"

"..."

I directed that question towards someone who is not likely to answer. Ever since we met, this ghost-alien that is always draped in a bedsheet randomly decides to show up at various parts of the house. Luckily, I have yet to catch it lurking around in the bathroom. Besides me, Shamisen is the only one that has proven to notice its presence. Despite its existence being moderately eerie, it has yet to be a nuisance. On the contrary, the few times I can get it to say anything have wound up helpful. For example...

"Say, have you seen my English book lately?"

The ghost turns slowly to face me before replying, "The book is... one-hundred sixty-seven degrees from your facing, twenty-six centimeters apart from your distance with no difference in elevation."

Translation: The book is under my bed. Pretty handy, if I do say so myself. Now if only it were portable. I can't even approach it closer than arm's reach without it evading me, and before anyone suggests attempting to corner the ghost, phasing through walls is part of its capabilities. Believe me, I tried... more than once. I can deal with that much. However...

Does this thing even have a name?

Haruhi GD: Flailing Through Sleep - Part 1

"As far as dreams go, this dream of your's is far more detailed and interesting than anything I have ever dreamt," admitted Koizumi.

"Why was I so pompous and obnoxious in your dream..?" Haruhi wonders while rising her eyebrow.

Your guess is as good as mine...

"I've been dressed up as a bunny in front of you for so long that now..." Asahina whimpers. "I'm a bunny in your permanant mental image of me!"

"No that's not it, Asahina, I swear!"

If anything, it would be that daily maid outfit..

"..."

I see that smirk. No mind reading, Yuki!

Before I knew it, I wound up reading my dream aloud to the SOS Brigade like a grade schooler doing show and tell. Haruhi caught a glimpse of the paper in the morning before I got to show it to Nagato, so I figured: Why not humor the club that barely does anything productive?

"Jokes aside," Koizumi continued. "That is quite the intricate dream you've interpreted. Have you considered seeking the meaning behind it?"

"The meaning?"

"I think.. that most dreams you can remember may carry a powerful message," Asahina added. "..I'm pretty sure a dream that complex would have a deeper meaning to it."

So I should avoid active steamrollers and make sure I don't get sunburns. Got it.

"The dream starts off strange and slowly develops into a nightmare," says Haruhi after a long period of deep thought. "If you've been having several bizarre dreams like this, maybe there's a malevolent outside force haunting you in your sleep. A very interesting case indeed – and to think it's from one of our very own members.."

"I wouldn't read too deeply into it," I replied instantly. Although.. now that I think about it, I shouldn't completely rule out that possibility since I practically have a supernatural entity living with me. I think the odd dreams have started some time before becoming acquainted with the ghost. But perhaps...

Haruhi lightly squeezed at her chin before continuing. "It may not be anything to worry about, but it wouldn't hurt to take precautions just in case... Alright, it's decided!"

With one whopping vote, apparently.

"The SOS Brigade is officially on an emergency mission! Our destination is the Hirota Shrine. Once Mikuru changes into her Miko, we will all move out on the double!"

Wouldn't it be a bad idea to wear Miko cosplay at an actual shrine unless you're associated with them? However...

"I understand."

If no one else cares, neither should I. On an unrelated note, Asahina seems unusually enthusiastic about all of this. Can it be that all the chaos that develops around us is starting to taint her pure demeanor now? At this rate, we're going to run out of static characters. What a pain...

...

Ah, the memories of this place. Like the time Haruhi physically altered the pigeons' feather colors from grey-to white.. or the time where she fearlessly unloaded a few pellets at one of the shrine elders.. What? No one said the memories had to be good ones. Actually, I probably would have forgotten about them if it wasn't for the familiar old man who welcomed us inside. Judging by the gentle way he inquires our purpose, one can assume that he does not seem to remember the incident very easily. But what's our status going to be after today..?

"We're here to check out this shrine's omamori," said Haruhi "Can we please see your inventory?"

Is this Haruhi's sudden idea? It can't be. There's nothing abnormal about purchasing omamori from a shrine at all. Either way, how long has it been since I mixed around with these good luck charms? I'd say it was at least a year before I met Haruhi for the first time.. and even then, I was never truly into them. The way Haruhi is examining each sample omamori like a quality inspector suggests that she likes these types of things.

"None of these look like they will get the job done," Haruhi sighs in disappointment. "It looks like we'll have order a custom."

Why would something like that be necessary? The only reason we're doing this is because of one bizarre dream. Something like this probably isn't even worth the most basic of omamori. Speaking of which.. how much is this going to cost me?

"In case you're wondering, this one's on me," Haruhi answered on some odd cue. "I can just have you work off the bill later."

"..Your kindness knows no bounds."

"No need to thank me!"

No need to detect sarcasm either..

The old man admitted Haruhi to the back of the store where he would show her the process and the pricing of custom omamori. Nagato and Asahina appeared to be engaged in conversation at the farther side of the shop. That leaves me with Koizumi and a youthful looking cashier observing all the commotion. The guy's been twiddling his single brown bang ever since Haruhi started opening her mouth. I wouldn't be surprised if he's afraid to deal with us directly by now.

"You'll have to excuse Haruhi," I said to the young worker. "When Haruhi gets this excited, it's hard to calm her down. And to think this is all over something like omamori.."

The cashier gives a shy smile before replying, "Your friend sure does care a lot about you."

"If that's what you call it. It seems like she's just finding an excuse to have a good time."

"Might I ask..." the boy continued. "Do you dislike omamori?"

"I can't say I really have a problem with them. It's just that I haven't really dealt with them since junior high. Dealing with them now feels a little... how do you say... disjointed?"

Koizumi decided to casually enter the conversation. "This man here is a natural-born skeptic. After knowing Kyon for so long, I had the feeling that he wouldn't be so enthusiastic over something like this."

"Hmm, that's a shame, but I admit I do see where he's coming from," the cashier agreed. "When you get right down to it, an omamori is nothing but a small message placed inside of a neatly designed pouch. When one assumes that perspective, it really is nothing to get worked up over. However, I believe that the potency of an omamori is not just from the power of its creator, but the will of those who buy one. Buying one for oneself is a symbol of one's own ambition and self-respect."

"And buying one for others is a symbol a profound interest and/or concern for the receiving party," Koizumi added with a sly smile.

"Well said, sir! Oh, may I have your names? You can call me Fumio."

As soon as the three of us finished exchanging our identities, Haruhi returned to everyone while eyeing paper slip with a serious expression. I assume it's the price estimate?

Haruhi speaks after a low hum. "You know what, I just remembered my mother used to do these. If mom didn't throw away the materials by now, we can try asking her instead. It should be a lot cheaper that way."

What a fruitful trip this turned out to be. In the end, we gained nothing but a new acquaintance. Typical Haruhi is typical. Eventually, everyone retreated back to North High, mostly so Asahina can stop drawing unnecessary attention and change back into her school uniform. As expected, a large chunk of the bus passengers have their eyes on Asahina and her fitting miko. She retaliates with a brave smile that relatively suggests that she is trying very hard to mask the embarassment of the situation. After all those similar situations, it's possible that she's gotten used to it, but no one in their right minds would want to embrace such things outright..

"Unfortunately, once we get back, I will have to call it a day from here," announced Koizumi. "A test is coming up tomorrow, and there is some studying I would like to get done before it gets too late."

"I also need to make final preparations for my history project," Mikuru added.

"That leaves just you and Yuki. At the very least, you have to come, Kyon."

I figured as much.. Honestly though, I always did wonder what kind of brave soul would it take to parent someone like Haruhi. Then again, there's no guarantee that either of them mentally survived the peak of her adolesence..

Once we returned to the school, Mikuru and Itsuki stuck to their agendas and left early. Haruhi, Yuki, and I left the school with Haruhi's house as the destination. After another long-winded hike, a typical two floored, western-styled house with white colored siding came into view. One can assume that our destination has been reached as Haruhi carelessly travels through the front lawn and onto the porch. Just as Haruhi was about to grab the brass knob, she hesitated.

"I just remembered," Haruhi muttered. "Now might not be a good time to do this."

Yuki tilted her head to the side. "Why not?"

"How do I explain it.. earlier this morning, my mother randomly decided to do an oracle card reading. Today, my mother predicted that she would be surrounded by my friends. I never brought anyone home like this, even as a child, so I naturally told her that it's impossible."

"Our presence here would bring animation to your mother's hypothesis," deduced Yuki.

"Exactly! It would certainly make her happy, but if she gets TOO encouraged with her hobbies, it would mean – H-hey Kyon! What do you think you're doing!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied while ringing the doorbell.

"Idiot! Were you listening at all! I just said that I don't want to do this right n-"

Haruhi's sentence was cut off by the sound of the door opening. Sorry, Haruhi, but there's no way in hell we're wasting two long trips in a row. The fearful look on Haruhi's face is priceless enough to make this whole day worth it. All that's left to do now is face the door and bear witness the parental figure that stands there.

"Ah!"

Almost instantly after we looked each other in the eye, the woman at the door embraced me ecstaticly. She displays an uncanny level of happiness while squeezing me tightly.

"Mom!" Haruhi shouted. "What on earth are you doing!"

"Amazing.. you two really did find each other after all!"

That line caused everything to hit me at once.. This is the same woman that I dragged away from the middle of the street a while back. So the random quirky woman, who witnessed the true, unstable nature of the Gamma Dimension back then... is Haruhi's mother..?

Once Haruhi's mother decided to stop smothering me, Haruhi's speechless expression made it clear that a few things need explaining. For example, how I met Haruhi's mother before this moment. She appeared wildly, like a random encounter, on the same day I found Haruhi by the pond. She was the one that convinced me to go there, when I had no clue where to find her. Now that I think about it, that was one heck of a coincidence.

"Please say hello for me!"

Or was it..?

The interior of the Suzumiya household turns out to be even cleaner than my own. I guess that's to be expected since Haruhi is an only child. The traffic here must be very light in general. The living room has a lot of baseball paraphernalia. I can only assume that Haruhi's father is a baseball fan. It would be surprising if Naru is the one into it. By the way, Naru Suzumiya is the name of Haruhi's mother. The father figure, Oruki Suzumiya, is at work according to her. Seeing the mother and daughter like this is making me want to kick myself for not making the connection earlier. Naru's hair extends much like Haruhi's did when we first met. Perhaps I ruled out the possibility last time because Naru always dresses in a more womanly fashion than her offspring. I make this comparison once I noticed that Haruhi has changed into comfortable-looking summer shorts and a red T-shirt.

"Oh, what an incredible dream!" Naru exclaimed after listening to my bizarre story. "You make such a great tsukkomi! I think I understand now. Because of this strange dream, along with a series of others, you are under the the belief that there may be a spirit or two messing with you in your sleep?"

Haruhi nodded enthusiastically. So Mrs. Suzumiya is the type of person that would reach these types of conclusions? The family resemblance is becoming more and more apparent...

"May I see the dream summary you wrote? I think I can figure something out about this dream."

I don't quite understand what Naru meant by that, but I obeyed her regardless. Naru carefully read through the paper as if it were an important document. Nagato has yet to take her eyes off of Naru. Judging by her look, it seems as though she's fascinated by her. Haruhi, on the other hand, doesn't know where to look. She seems mildly embarrassed for whatever reason.

"I see..." Naru started. "If there really is a mysterious creature probing through your dreams, there is almost no doubt that it is observing you and all of your friends. With all of these concrete components written here, it has found out a lot. For example... The fact that Ms. Nagato was a snowman that slightly melted means that she has acknowledged deeply repressed emotions very recently."

"That is... correct..."

Nagato barely mustered to confirm that shockingly accurate deduction. As for me, I'm completely speechless.

"Krozumi the Crow is a symbol of darker truths in a relationship or inner character that are often difficult to accept." (I wound up impulsively attacking Itsuki in response to one of those 'darker truths')..

"A sun's rising represents a new beginning. A sun's eclipse represents self doubts and fears." (The Gamma Dimension developed from me deciding to move Haruhi's power. I doubt I could ever fully convince myself that I made the right choice).

"Generally, dreaming of a rabbit suggests good luck while dreaming of a cat suggests bad luck. The fact that both Tsurunya and Mikusagi are playing 'tug of war' with each other has several meanings. Let's see... maybe it means that luck or fate has little to do with your situation. Perhaps the dream is hinting that you are always the one in control of your most important decisions?"

It was at this point that I started to see Naru in an entirely different light. Literally.. Her existence began to emit a glow finer than the living room's floral pattern lamp. Her long blue gown almost seemed to flow unnaturally with the non-existent wind. That settles it. I must be slightly tired.

Naru enthusiastically scans the paper as she goes on. "Several aspects of this dream tie together rather nicely, but it still feels like I'm missing something important.."

"We don't need a full-blown reading, mom. Kyon just needs the omamori so these weird dreams will stop happening."

"Oh, that's right," Naru pouted, softly as the light surrounding her appeared to fade. "Dear me, I think I got carried away. I'm sorry, Kyon!"

"No need to apologize," I assured her. "Although I wonder.. what would you make of the broken window?"

"H-hey!" Haruhi whispered harshly.

"Oh, that's right! The broken glass was one of the only bad omens in this dream. I think I forgot to address that because I can't connect that component to any other part of the dream. It may very well be irrelevant, but... Ah! I think I got it!"

"What is it?" asked Yuki.

"Oh my goodness, I overlooked this component until now!" Naru continued. "Kyon stepped on a crayon before the rest of the dream took place! If I connect it to the rest of the events, the crayon refers to a very important past memory, ranging anywhere from your childhood to several years ago. Kyon. I believe this invader may have taken interest in something that happened to you several years ago."

I can't even remember the last time I heard that line.. although something sounds different than before.

"Suppose I know what time frame the crayon might be referring to. Would knowing that make a difference in finding out the dream's meaning?"

Naru meditated over the question briefly. Once she was ready to answer, she snapped her eyes open and needlessly pointed in my direction.

"Yes. But that alone is insufficient!"

"What do you mean?"

"The missing link in this dream is most definitely the crayon that you stepped on," she continued. "Do you, by any chance... remember what color that crayon was?"

For whatever reason, that simple question had an unreasonable impact on me. I spent a good moment in amazement before I could produce my answer. The last time anyone's thought processes impressed me this thoroughly was during my first impressions of Haruhi, ironically enough. But anyways..

"I neglected to write the color down.. but I'm pretty sure it was black."

"Alright, the discussion ends here!" Naru responds abruptly. "If that's the case, then there's no more time to waste. I will start working on the pouch immediately after supper and it should be ready by tomorrow morning."

After some light chat and plans for the next day, we left the house, along with Haruhi, who walked us outside. We stand on the front porch for a moment in silence. Haruhi's listless stare into the early evening sun clearly suggests that she has something on her mind. You could say that I have a vague feeling.

"Who would have thought that being interesting is hereditary?"

"..." Looks like I hit the mark. "My mother and I have different, yet similar interests in the supernatural. Even though mother is more into more traditional occult things like ghosts and demons, chances are I really do take after her."

I wonder what would happen if I told Naru about the ghost in my house? I should try doing that next time..

"Anyways, mother really likes you," Haruhi continues. "I knew she would help you regardless, but she hasn't been this excited since forever. You should be feel lucky right about now."

I'm starting to understand...

"Buying omamori for oneself is a symbol of one's own ambition and self-respect... and buying one for others is a symbol a profound interest and/or concern for the receiving party."

Add to the fact that Naru is making one for me by hand, and I really do feel the need to appreciate the people I know more often. Even if everyone is overreacting over this lucky charm, the fact of the matter is that everyone is willing to do this for me.

"More than that; I feel a little blessed. Please let your mother know that I really appreciate this."

"Yeah, yeah," replied Haruhi followed by a brief pause. "I'm going back inside now. Yuki, you can come over any time in the morning since you'll be picking up the omamori. Mother is almost always up and running when the sun is."

"I understand."

After a highly charming smile aimed at my direction, Haruhi vanishes behind her front door. I wrap my arm around Yuki's shoulder, signaling that it's time for us to start heading back.

"Haruhi Suzumiya has become very happy because of the events that just took place," Yuki stated three blocks into the walk.

"I noticed that, however, she was slightly edgy earlier today as well. Haruhi usually isn't very prone to mood swings."

"It is because Haruhi Suzumiya has assumed a vulnerable state since the discussion with Naru Suzumiya and the two of us began," Nagato continued while leaning on me. "We are among the first of Haruhi Suzumiya's acquaintances that has also met her mother."

"Ha. Are you implying that Haruhi is worried about what her friends would think of her mother?"

"Yes."

"But that requires a sense of humility and the remote possibility of being cute."

"..."

I guess when you get right down to it, Haruhi really is a girl after all. But still...

"Even if that's true, Haruhi has nothing to worry about. Her mother is practically as interesting as she is. It takes a high amount of imagination to come up with that kind of story based off of a random dream."

Yuki hesitated before replying, "I would like to visit your house on Sunday to confirm."

"Sure, that shouldn't be a problem, Yuki. But what is there to confirm?"

Now.. before I reveal Yuki's response to the previous question, I would like to stress something slightly relevant. There are times in life where a simple series of words carry the power to influence the rest of your day. The following sentence would make one heck of an example:

"The Suzumiyas' belief that a third-party source is affecting your sleep patterns may be a plausible theory."

Author's Notes:

'Naru,' is an Original Character from "Meet the Suzumiyas," created by user, Jonbob0008. I have officially requested her inclusion prior to the publication of this chapter!

'Fumio,' is an Original Character from "The Aging of Haruhi Suzumiya," created by user, nagatoismylover. May the day come where that classic continues!

Okay, so here lies Part One of what should be a three-part arc! I hope you had some fun with this part, as this one took much longer than usual. I'll explain why in my 4-11-2012 journal entry, which can be found on my profile. Be on the lookout for the other parts! The next one will probably show up some time next month, since I will be going to the Acen Anime Convention in the latter half of this month. That's it for this part. Thanks for reading!