godbent | 44th: The Catastrophe of Haruhi Suzumiya

[ Haruhi gets up early today, like she does every day. The first thing she does is get Sekai's room open so he can free roam the house. After that, she feeds Pogo and gets to work making breakfast. Frankly, it's more than a little awkward to be cooking for four, particularly because though she's never been as close as she probably should be with Rhyme or Beat, she really doesn't know how to handle them since Rhyme died in the draft. But still, they're Shiki's friends, and Shiki's her best friend. She insisted, and here she is.

Sigh.

It's a Sunday, so she might do something with Winry today, particularly now that she thinks the girl's boyfriend is back to normal...? That whole thing with the monster animals was odd, she doesn't even know for sure because she's been disconnected. Ever since Minato decided to up and vanish just as she was resolved to like him, and resolved to date him in spite of the complications with Kyon. And he leaves, leaving her with a letter that says "I'm sorry," finally apologizing - post mortem - for all the trouble he caused her.

Or maybe she's just been domestic, going through the motions, lately.

There's another matter though, that she hasn't seen a few members of her Brigade in a while. Oswald fell behind on Hydra Social and she meant to order someone else to handle it, so she thinks of him first. But Kyon's been laying low too... the more callous part of her casually hopes he hasn't been kidnapped (again). As it is, once she finishes the miso and the rice, instead of making the next dish, she decides she'll just go check on Oswald's apartment. She didn't do a morning run yet anyway. So she goes to knock on Shiki's door, feeling something is weird about the hallway and--

It's when she opens the door that she realizes what is so wrong. All her designs which has begun to clutter the walls of the hallway leading to their rooms are gone. The stuff in her room is gone. She is gone.

The next hour or so is a blurr. Rhyme or Beat probably woke up, and maybe she tried to ping Neku only to find that the filter broke and he's no longer here either. She doesn't care about either of those, she only cares about that empty room, and that he best friend is gone. And what's worse, she left a treasure trove of stuff. A small box's worth in her room filled with letters (hah, at least a third of these are for her) and then clothes and other things in the back room of All Passions. (hah).

It's mid-afternoon by the time she collects herself and all but insists she handle this-]

[Voice]

[Her voice is more ragged than usual, but also dull. It's lacking in vibrancy to a degree she hasn't really felt since... when? Maybe the break up, a little over a year ago.]

Shiki Misaki's back in Shibuya now, and I'm pretty sure Neku is too. [She feels like there was a third person-- oh who cares] Shiki's got a ton of stuff because she was stupid and sentimental like that, so if you knew her, you probably got something from her. [How can she end this. She hasn't even cried yet, reall-- oh, duh]

Joshua, don't you dare reply to this.

[There, over.

If you want action, Haruhi'll be up on the roof of House 10, one of her prime moping spots, most of the day. She can also see people going to get stuff Shiki left them at House 10 from there too]

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Yeah, it is. [She sighs] Neku's left a bunch of times, and I always had to help Shiki out with that. I guess it's good he's gone too.

So who is left in the house?

Me, Sekai, and then Shiki's friends Beat and Rhyme. [Who she just has to look after now, she guesses. Sigh]

Oh, so you aren't alone. That's good.

[But they're Shiki's friends, not hers. Winry would invite Haruhi to stay with her and Ed, but... that would probably be a bad idea.]

Yeah, I'm not.

[She sighs] ... I'm never going to leave this house, while I'm here. It's mine. [But now that Shiki - who has been in here for what feels like forever now - makes it feel that much larger. Too large] Besides, they're-- younger than me.

Yeah, I... I get that.

[She gently leans in on Haruhi. Just to be together. Touching.]

[Of course she does, Elicia and all. She knows better than Haruhi does by a long shot. She leans into Winry as well, sighing a little. She feels like she should be crying or something. She probably will soon enough]

[Winry begins to softly hum a lullaby. She's not sure if words can help at this point, but at least she can be here for her friend.]

[That's so stupid - but that's a thought which only lasts a moment until she closes her eyes and just decides to listen. Even if she actively knows this baby-ish comfort is stupid, she still loves and appreciates Winry doing it for her. She smiles to herself in spite of it all as a result]

[Honestly there's not much else she can do other than be here for comfort. Baby-ish or not, it's an effective method. Winry's hand reaches out to touch Haruhi's. She'll be here if you need her.]

[Ugh... Her smile remains a moment, but eventually she finally frowns deeper, and balls the hand that Winry is touching into a small fist. She was her best friend. She is her best friend...] I didn't think she'd go home.

Yeah, I didn't think she would either. She had been around for a pretty long time, huh?

Almost as long as me, probably.

Yeah, that's... amazing, actually.

Yeah. I guess she's more amazing, she never went home before now.

I wonder if she'll come back.

Who knows? [Rena] It's probable she will, just probably in months and with different memories.

Maybe. But you don't know that. Sometimes people come back almost the same.

Yeah, but it's rarer unless it's immediate. Or more like two years apart.

Either way there's a chance this might not be the end.

That's just wishful thinking. [A beat, and...] Or just mean spirited, I guess, if you look at it like she shouldn't be here.

Haruhi, why do you actively search for ways to dismantle my attempts to comfort you?

Sorry? ...Sorry! I guess it's just habit. [And she really is sorry, because a part of her does know it makes it difficult for other people this many years after. But it's also her defensive mechanism to let her just pout]

I don't know what else to say.

What do you say? I wouldn't have any good words for if Elicia or Ed went home either.

[Which Elicia will six days from this post. Irony]

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installing - 2013-06-25 14:22 (UTC) - Expand

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