"Everything goes back to normal the next day"—that's what Rin wanted to say, what he wished he could say. But the world of Haruhi Suzumiya, it seemed, had a peculiar aversion to normalcy. The first sign that today would be anything but ordinary arrived in the form of Ryoko Asakura.
She was popular, effortlessly charming, and always had a bright smile for everyone. Yet, today, something about her was subtly off. It wasn't anything overt, just tiny inconsistencies. A flicker in her eyes that lasted a fraction of a second too long, a slight pause before a perfectly natural response, a subtle shift in her posture that felt… rehearsed. Rin, with his heightened senses and honed observational skills, picked up on every single one of these minute deviations. They made him increasingly uneasy, a quiet hum of discord beneath the surface of her cheerful facade.
Unlike Yuki, whose mind remained an impenetrable void, Ryoko's thoughts were an open book to him. And what he read sent a shiver, not of fear, but of cold fascination, down his spine. Ryoko Asakura was also a "humanoid interface," just like Yuki. But she wasn't from the same faction of the Data Integration Thought Entity. Hers was a more radical group, one that believed the best way to observe Haruhi's immense, unconscious powers was to push them to their absolute limit. Even if that meant causing widespread chaos.
Her plan, laid out in chillingly logical steps within her mind, was to attempt to kill him. Rin. She believed his death would create a strong enough emotional stimulus in Haruhi to trigger a massive, universe-altering outburst of her powers. He almost chuckled. When that moment came, she would be sorely disappointed. Rin was not, by any stretch of the imagination, an ordinary person. His Tier III maxed status made him a walking fortress, and any attempt on his life would be met with an anticlimactic failure on her part.
For now, he didn't stop her. He let her continue her subtle, almost imperceptible "off-ness." The main reason, though he'd never admit it aloud, was the occasional, seemingly accidental touch of her body against his. A brush of her hand when passing a textbook, a slight lean into him during a conversation, the casual bump of her hip in the crowded hallway. It was a minor, almost negligible perk, but a perk nonetheless. He was a man, after all, and even a being of his power could appreciate such small, fleeting pleasures.
Today, the usual school gossip centered on a new topic: a transfer student. The whispers spread like wildfire through the classrooms, reaching Haruhi's ears almost immediately. She, of course, cornered Rin the moment she saw him.
"Rin! Did you hear? A transfer student! We have to recruit them for the SOS Brigade! This is perfect!" Her eyes gleamed with renewed purpose, the bunny-suit debacle of yesterday already a distant memory.
Later that day, the new transfer student made his appearance. Itsuki Koizumi. He was tall, impeccably dressed, and possessed a calm, almost serene demeanor that seemed utterly out of place in Haruhi's orbit. Haruhi, true to her word, wasted no time. She practically dragged him into the clubroom during lunch, introducing him with her usual boisterous enthusiasm. Itsuki, with a polite smile, gave a standard, unassuming introduction, his eyes briefly meeting Rin's before sweeping over Yuki and Mikuru.
As Rin had wanted to say earlier, everything was normal—unfortunately, it was not. The school day ended, and the usual exodus began. Haruhi, surprisingly, was the first to leave, declaring she had "important SOS Brigade business" to attend to, which likely meant scouting for more bizarre activities. This left a peculiar quartet in the clubroom: Mikuru Asahina, Itsuki Koizumi, Yuki Nagato, and Rin.
The air in the room, usually filled with Haruhi's boundless energy or Yuki's quiet presence, suddenly thickened. Itsuki was the first to break the silence, his polite smile fading into a serious expression. He turned directly to Rin.
"I am an esper," he stated, his voice calm, direct.
Then, Yuki, without looking up from her book, added, "I am an alien."
Mikuru Asahina, her face flushing a deep red, wrung her hands. "A-and I… I'm a time traveler." Her voice was barely a whisper, filled with embarrassment and a hint of fear.
Rin simply looked at them, his expression unreadable. He wasn't surprised. Not even a little. He had known, of course. His Mind Reader, his observations, his very existence in this world had confirmed it long ago. But his lack of reaction, the complete absence of shock or disbelief on his face, caused a slight, almost imperceptible shift in the expressions of the three supernatural beings before him. A flicker of confusion, perhaps, or a reassessment of his own nature.
Normally, these three would never have confessed their true identities to a 'normal' person, let alone to each other, in such a direct, collective manner. This, Rin realized, was Asahina's plan. Or rather, the future Asahina's orders to her past self. She had evidently told Itsuki and Yuki that Rin was an anomaly, someone who "supposed to be not someone to be exist in this world." Yuki, of course, had already known this, having observed him since their first encounter. Itsuki, being new to the Haruhi phenomenon, had needed more context. The three of them, though not truly knowing each other beyond their shared connection to Haruhi, had decided to converse earlier, before asking Rin to stay behind.
Itsuki's gaze sharpened, a subtle challenge in his eyes. He clearly wanted to know how much Rin knew, how he could possibly be so unfazed. But Mikuru, ever the empathetic and timid one, shifted uneasily, her discomfort at the thought of any confrontation palpable. She was too weak to see someone get beaten, even if it was just a verbal sparring match. Itsuki, sensing her distress, decided against pushing the issue for now. As for Yuki, she simply continued her observation, her eyes scanning the pages of her book, her mind still an unreadable void.
"I have some kind of idea who you are," Rin finally said, his voice even, "and that's why I'm not surprised." It was a partial truth, enough to satisfy them for the moment without revealing the full extent of his knowledge or power.
Itsuki's eyes narrowed infinitesimally. He clearly thought Rin was lying, or at least withholding information. But he had no way to prove it, no leverage. And besides, Haruhi's attention, for now, was firmly fixed on him, Koizumi, the newest member of her bizarre brigade. He let it go.
The heavy atmosphere, thick with unspoken questions and hidden agendas, slowly dissipated. They decided to leave now, the silence that followed them out the door feeling less like an end and more like a prelude. This was not the end. Not by a long shot.