Endless Eight Ball

Quick authors notes, yes this is endless eight all over again. Spoilers if you haven't seen a single episode. If you've seen one, this won't spoil the ending at all. If you've watched all eight, dear God, and what's just one more anyways. And this time, it'll be a little different, I promise.

Chapter 1, Breaking the pattern


Kyon felt his body melting in to the couch, the air conditioning fighting a loosing battle with the summer heat. Time slowed down as the heat made everything shimmer and shine, the world through the window was noting but a sea of floating mirages. The TV flickered in the corner, displaying a baseball game that didn't really matter to Kyon, it just helped time pass by a little faster. The players on the screen seemed like ants running back and forth on hot asphalt. Summer was starting to get to him, each day hotter than the last. Each day running in to the next, time itself blurring together. Cheers from the TV caught his attention, deja vu swept over him as a familiar player was shown running on screen, but Kyon dismissed it as the announcer said it was the player's second home run of the game. The boredom and heat making each day drag on exactly like the last. It was hard for Kyon to know which day of the week it was, it was hard for him to remember what he had done the day before. Kyon's cell phone rang, the sound snapping him from his heat induced trance.

“Kyon-kun, your phone.” His little sister pointed out, her eyes still glued on the game.

Thankful for her ability to point out the obvious, Kyon stated kindly, “You don't have to tell me that.”

Haruhi's excited voice rang loudly in his ear, “You're free today, right? We're meeting in front of the station at 2. Be sure to come.” Without giving him a chance to respond, she hung up as sudden as she called.

Kyon shook his head in disbelief, amazed at just how easily Haruhi treated him like a puppet, like a dog. And he was amazed at how little he protested, for he had learned long ago how fruitless it was to resist Haruhi's will.

His phone rang again, irritating him further. He answered it with a sharp, “What is it?”

Unfazed by his negative tone, Haruhi quickly blurted out, “I forgot to tell you what to bring. Bring your swimwear and plenty of money. Also, be sure to come on your bike. Over.”

Again, he wasn't given a chance to complain. He wasn't even given a chance to confirm her orders. She just expected everyone to do anything she said, it never even occurred to her that people might not want to follow her blindly. It probably didn't occur to her that people had their own thoughts or even free will. To Haruhi, the world was there for her to enjoy. And in a way, it was.

Kyon reluctantly left the sanity of his home and headed for the train station, knowing the horrors that would come to him if he didn't. After reaching the train station and being criticized by Haruhi for being late, the group headed to a local swimming pool. It was crowded, hot and smelled of strong chemicals, but getting to see Mikuru in a swimsuit made up for it. Each step caused her body to jiggle under her two piece, water clung to her body like a work of art. Kyon smiled as Mikuru waved at him from the pool. Haruhi noticed this and wrinkled her nose up in disgust. Kyon noticed that Haruhi's swimsuit wasn't something to over look either, if only she wasn't such a pain to be around...

Koizumi pulled himself out of the pool and sat down next to Kyon. Kyon winced as water dripped on to him. With his usual nonchalant and effeminate voice, Koizumi said, “She seemed to be having fun.”

By she, Kyon knew Koizumi was talking about Haruhi. She was all they ever talked about, but thankfully this time, the world wasn't in danger. Without taking his eyes off of his own privet show, Kyon replied, “Looks like it.”

The other, quieter club member sat alone reading a book. Kyon had noticed that Nagato had seemed a little more distant than normal, but maybe it was just the heat. It was getting hot. Kyon jumped in to the pool, drowning his worries in the cool water.

Day turned to dusk, and they said their good byes. The club members split up and started headed home. Kyon watched as Nagato turned to leave, but something about her body language bothered him. He walked after her calling out, “Nagato.”

She stopped and turned around, her face was blank as always. Kyon suddenly didn't know why he had called out to her. In a apologetic voice he explained, “Well, it's nothing, but... How have you been recently? Is everything alright?”

She looked at him, her voice empty as she replied, “I'm fine.”

Kyon laughed, relived. He responding, “That's good.”

Nagato turned away, saying, “I see...”

Kyon could feel her screaming out to him, begging for something, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Her eyes were filled with pain, her body limp with sorrow. His mind raced, looking for any hint, anything he could do to help her, but he found nothing. Slowly he apologized, “Sorry for stopping you. My bad,” and painfully walked away.

Days went by, but the feelings were still there. Kyon watched Nagato out of the corner of his eye, watched as she hid from the world, watched as she dragged her feet behind them. Kyon knew that she was quiet, but never this quiet. Even as Haruhi forced the club in to doing everything she could think of, from watching fireworks to working part time at a local shop, Nagato's demeanor didn't change. Kyon wished that she would just tell him what was bothering her, but it wasn't in her nature to ask others for help. He reluctantly crawled in to bed, letting his worries drift away as he slowly... fell... asleep...

PANIC!!! Kyon bolt out of bed, looking for what woke him so suddenly. His cell phone vibrated then rang. Anger filled him as he snatched up the phone, thinking it was Haruhi steeling even more of his beauty sleep. He was wrong.

“Kyon... kun” A weak voice stuttered out as it cried on the other end of the line.

“Mikuru?” Kyon asked, praying everything was alright.

“Yes, it's me. Something very bad has... If this keep up, I'll... What should I do...” Her voice was full of worry.

Kyon couldn't figure out what she was trying to tell him. Desperate to say anything he muttered, “Um...”

Kyon was cut off by another voice on the line saying, “Hello, it's Koizumi.”

Kyon got pissed, “Why are you with Mikuru, and why is she crying.”

Koizumi answered in his normal, ever pleasant, nonchalant voice, “Something has come up, you should get over here as soon as possible.”

Kyon threw on his clothes and headed off in to the night.


Running most of the way, Kyon arrived at the train station out of breath. “What's going on here? Mikuru, are you alright.”

Mikuru lowered her head, sobbing. In a panicked rush she blurted out, “It's not working... I can't travel back... I'm, I can't even contact my time... I don't know...”

Koizumi smiled, his calm body stood out given all the panic. “Let me explain,” he said, “It seems like we are stuck in time. An endless loop, if you will. Mikuru here couldn't travel back to her own time, or even call them, so, she called me. We've been here trying to figure out what's going on. Also Nagato is here.”

Planting his foot firmly on the ground, Kyon protested, “You should have called me sooner. And what do you mean by an endless loop?”

Koizumi smiled, clearly enjoying the situation. Waving his hand flamboyantly at Mikuru, he explained, “An endless loop, two weeks long. Mikuru can't go any further that that. It's as if, this section of time has been cut out from the normal time line. We've been reliving this summer over and over again.”

Overwhelmed by the magnitude of the situation, Kyon could only ask, “Reliving it over and over... how come I don't remember any of it?”

Koizumi smiled and got closer to Kyon, whispering in his ear, “Oh, come on... you've felt it right? Deja vu? I've been feeling it all summer. I think that, when time resets, our minds are reset too. But something was left behind in our minds. Like a hole, an imprint.”

Kyon laughed to himself, wondering how he always gets stuck in situations like this. Cautiously he asked, “Do you know what's causing this?”

Koizumi smiled, “Isn't it obvious? Haruhi of course. She must feel like she missed out on something this summer, and she wants another chance. That's why when summer ends, it begins again. But, back to what I was saying, I think there's someone here who's mind hasn't been altered. Someone who remembers everythings that has happened.”

“Who?” Kyon asked, but he already knew the answer. Koizumi nodded, as Kyon's eyes turned to Nagato.

His voice shaking, Kyon asked, “Is... is this true?”

Without turning to look at him, her eyes still on the ground, Nagato replied, “Yes.”

Panic filled him as everything he heard was just confirmed. Kyon bleakly asked, “So it's true. And you remember everything?”

Still focused on the ground, Nagato replied, “Yes.”

Kyon suddenly realized why she had been so distant all summer. Afraid of the answer, Kyon slowly asked, “How many times have we gone through this loop?”

“Two thousand three hundred forty three times.” Nagato replied, this time turning to face Kyon.

Kyon was baffled, 2,343 was much higher than he expected. Ten, maybe twenty, but two thousand? Kyon felt the world spinning out of control. Desperately he asked, “What can we do to fix this?”

Koizumi answered, “If we knew that, we wouldn't be here right now.” Mikuru sobbed harder in the corner.

Ignoring Koizumi, Kyon turned back to Nagato, he asked, “What have we tried so far?”

Nagato's eyes lit up, she quickly answered. “Suzumiya Haruhi has a list of summer activities for the club to do. Every cycle, we have accomplished everything on the list. Other than that, we haven't tired any other method.”

Leaning in close, Koizumi added, “You could try walking up behind her, hugging her tight, and whispering the words, I love you, in to her ear. Maybe our little Haruhi just wants a summer romance.”

Kyon pushed him away in disgust. “No thanks, there must be something more pleasant to try. Nagato?”

Pleading to him with her eyes, Nagato pointed out, “You haven't tried that method yet. There is a chance it might work.”

Walking away in disbelief, Kyon cursed the world that put him in to situations like this.


Sitting alone in his room, staring at his cell phone, Kyon wondered if he had enough courage to actually call her. Wondered what would happen if he was wrong. Wondered how Nagato could have gone through so many cycles, two thousand times. Two thousand by fourteen days is twenty eight thousand days, divided by three hundred sixty five days, is five and a half years? Jesus Christ! Nagato had been reliving the same things for five and a half years, it's no wonder why she had seemed so distant. All of his worries, all of his wondering, was stopped short as his phone light up on his desk. Time stopped as it began to vibrate. His heart stopped beating as it began to ring, a dark ominous tone. Kyon wondered why he picked such a stupid ring tone as he reached for it.

“Hello?” Kyon breathed nervously in to the phone.

“Kyon.” Haruhi's excited voice blared on the other end of the line. “Kyon, are you doing right now.”

Slightly irritated, he replied, “I was sleeping.” Kyon wasn't sure why he had just lied.

“Oh, well, you don't sound tired... so meet me by the school gate in ten minutes.” She hung up before Kyon had a chance to answer. Again. So Kyon threw on his shoes and headed off in to the night, again.

Not as concerned as the night before, Kyon took his time getting there. Haruhi was standing by the school entrance, alone, tapping her foot in irritation. The school was dark, empty, but by now Kyon was used to being dragged on campus after hours by Haruhi's shenanigans. The wind blew cold, making Kyon wish he had put on a jacket. The street lights were dim, making him wish he had brought a flash light. And, Haruhi seemed pissed, which made him hope the other club members would get there soon.

“You're late!” Haruhi called out to him. Her voice bitter and cold like the weather.

Kyon cursed her name under his breath and replied, “Sorry, it wasn't easy with such a short notice. Where are the others?”

Haruhi looked puzzled, “Others...” she said, “I never said anything about anyone else coming here.”

Kyon cursed her name again. “So then what are we doing?”

Grabbing his hand she led him through the gate, explaining, “I just wanted to check out the school at night. You know, do some exploring. They say some mysterious things happen at this school...”

Kyon wondered who 'they' were, thinking she had just made it all up. But Kyon knew better than to question someone who had the power to ruin his life without even breaking a sweat. So, he reluctantly followed her, praying that he could get back home soon, and without getting in to any trouble. Haruhi led them through the school grounds, changing directions every few minutes, as if she really didn't know where to go. As they passed the soccer field, Kyon remembered the last time he was there at school after dark. That time, the would almost came to an end. It was also the first time Kyon kissed Haruhi and confessed his love for her, so it wasn't all bad. Not that it really happened, it was more of a bad dream, as far as Haruhi knew.

Haruhi slipped her arm around his, locking elbows. With an uncharacteristic tone, Haruhi looked off in to the distance and asked nobody in particular, “Do you ever read romance novels?”

Kyon's heart skipped a beat, well actually, it tried to escape from his chest, not wanting any part of what she said. Kyon nervously said, “Um... not really. What do you mean?”

Almost cheerfully, Haruhi explained, “Well, in situations like this, two people wandering around school at night, they would have a summer encounter. You know, like something scares the girl, and she jumps in to his arms... dumb stuff like that.”

As if the world had heard her, a ghostly figure appeared in a window above them on the second floor. Haruhi didn't jump in to Kyon's arms, she didn't even think about the sentence she just finished. Yelling out, “Did you see that,” Haruhi pulled Kyon behind her, running towards the front door. Throwing open the mysteriously unlocked door, Haruhi pulled them through the shoe locker room and headed for the stair well.

As they slowly crept up the stairs, Kyon whispered, “I don't think we should be in here right now...”

Haruhi shushed him, whispering back, “Quit beings a baby, I know you saw that ghost.”

Kyon's body trembled at the thought. “I don't know what I saw, and I meant I don't think we are aloud in here after hours...”
Ignoring his statement, Haruhi shushed him again, and pulled him to the classroom where the light had come from. She threw open the door, flipped on the light and saw... nothing, no ghost, no mysterious light, nothing. Noticing that it was their classroom, Haruhi headed over to her desk and sat down disappointed. She rocked back and forth in her chair, saying, “I thought I was going to meet a ghost. Damn, and I had so many questions to ask it...”

Kyon looked around the classroom, silently thanking the gods that there wasn't a real ghost or anything. Their classroom, like many, was being used for storage during the summer months. Most of the desks had been pushed together against the wall, all except for Haruhi's desk, which had been left alone out of fear. Besides the desks there were a few empty easels from the art department and a stack of foam mats from the judo club.

The mats, Haruhi's novels, Koizumi's suggestion... everything fell in to place in Kyon's mind. Mustering up all the courage he had left, Kyon nonchalantly pointed out, “You know, those dumb summer encounters don't always happen...”

Haruhi's deer in the head light's eyes flashed over to him, “What are you talking about?”

Kyon smiled at just how smoothly he managed to say his last sentence. He justed hoped his next one would be as easy. “Well, look at us... alone, at night... and we saw that ghost... but there's nothing going on between us... right.”

Haruhi slowly closed the distance between them, breathlessly saying, “Yeah... nothing at all...”

Kyon could feel it in the air, he could tell that she was lying, too embarrassed to speak her mind. He knew he would have to break the ice somehow, but he too was embarrassed. Desperate for words, and the weight of the world bearing down on him. Panic ran through his veins as he silently mouthed the words, “Yeah nothing at all...” Leaning in to kiss her.

As their lips met, Haruhi's eyes shot wide open, too surprised to do anything else but let Kyon kiss her. The world outside turned to chaos, lights flickering, the wind swirling trees around like a tornado. Kyon could feel tears falling from Haruhi's eyes, trickling down her cheeks, dripping on to his face. As he pulled away, the world settled down, and so did Haruhi.

Quickly she hid her emotions and snapped at Kyon, “What the hell was that?”

Kyon unconsciously licked his lips, still tingling from their kiss. “Sorry, I just thought you wanted a summer encounter or something.”

Furious, she shouted at him, “Not like this.”

Kyon, cursing the world, and driven by panic, asked, “Then how do you want one?”

Unsure on how how to answer, Haruhi leaned over and kissed him back, holding his bottom lip between her own. She pondered for a moment, then said, “I don't know. It's just, after talking about it, it makes it not mean anything... you know. It's like that kiss wasn't special because the situation was too cliché.”

And with that, she turned and left him alone with his thoughts. Kyon was hurt, hearing that his kiss meant nothing to her. But, he knew that was just who she was. He knew that she couldn't be satisfied with something she might consider normal. Wondering how the hell he was going to come up with something extraordinary before the world reset again, Kyon slowly walked home, his head hung in failure. And, from the window in the classroom he just left, the ghostly figure watched him, knowing too that it had failed.

To be continued.

Authors notes

First off, I'm sorry that there was no adult-ness in this chapter, I promise there will be some in every chapter after this. And also if you made it this far, thank you, really. I didn't think anyone would want to read something from endless eight. I loved this season, but people really didn't like to see the same thing over and over and over and over... Also, I promise, that I won't retell the same story every chapter.

Anyways... If there is a section you think I should cut out, because you've watched it too many time, let me know. And I'm open to any other suggestions.

I also wanted to thank Narshe Delvar for the review left for a different story I wrote, Yuki. N Lessons. I really tired to use your advice when I wrote this, about not starting each sentence with the “He did this” or “Kyon grabbed that.” I'm not sure if I did it right, but I tried. If you have any other suggestions, please, tell me.

As always, thanks to
megadeth425
Anonelbe
Raelax Darkmoon (and your roommate)
anonymous
Rommel
Juy Juka
SuperMutant
Imasuky Lomae
EBlair
sw-01
ninesenshi
Narshe Delvar

I guess I'm turning in to more of a romance writer, not a smut writer. But if you can bear with me for a few more paragraphs about hearts beating wildly and time standing still for to lovers, so that they could hold on to the moment for as long as they could. If you can bear with me through all that, there will be smutty goodness after that. Like the chocolaty center of a tootsie pop. Only it's more like a creamy filling... he he he.

Anyways, thanks for reading and remember, have any pets you find spayed or neutered.
Even if you don't know the owner.