The Awakening of John Smith: Chapter Six
Feb. 1st, 2026 11:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
madimpossibledreamerSo, this chapter has been nearly finished since the last time I posted this. I just wasn’t sure how to end it. It’s a kind of open ending, but I realized that going through the whole story would require a lot of chapters that I don’t know that I have in me. I can give you the identity of the one who stabbed him: it was another Walker that had taken on Kyon’s memories, as he was supposed to leave and be replaced, and hadn’t dealt with it as well. So basically evil Kyon. It still doesn’t feel quite right, but it’s probably as good as it’s going to be, and it does feel good to finish this one off after all this time.
Main Points: Haruhi Suzumiya AU
Chapter Summary: For once, they're all working together to put an end to this threat.
Word Count: 1211
Rating: T
So, it’s time for our little War Room. We haven’t got the backing of the Walkers (despite the fact that there’s probably a rogue Walker on the loose, my defection won’t be seen as an excusable offense, even for as long as it takes to track him or her down). Given the actions of the Espers so far, they’ll probably help out. Probably. They’re the most reliable, even if I don’t trust most of them. Not sure why the people of the future didn’t already know about this, but I’d guess they’re from a different, alternate future, where I wasn’t pulled out or nearly winked out of existence, but continued being the role I’d been chosen for for…a while. This completely set this world on a different track, and I don’t know where it’s heading.
Has their future already obviously changed? Is it in flux? Or it in quiet, subtle ways, ways that they wouldn’t notice because they changed along with it? Most of it’s classified, so I don’t know, but it’s a good thing to ask anyway, especially if they’re not questions they know to ask, yet.
I’ve been avoiding thinking about my sister. I’m a stranger to her now. That hurts.
It’s weird that Haruhi Suzumiya’s the only person who knows me, now.
Meanwhile, Haruhi’s looking put out. She’s putting on a brave front, but she’s upset, like she’d wanted everything, after everything she’s put us through, to turn out to be just childish fantasies. Sorry. I sympathize, I really do, but I like the interplay between the normal and the anything but normal making up Reality with a capital R.
Miss Asahina is, at least, entirely sympathetic. I wonder how her older self feels about the whole thing. Not that she’d let me know. She enjoys being cryptic.
Yuki, for once, is easy to read. Not that she’s showing any emotion on her face, but she way she’s watching me, unblinking, taking in every little move and gesture is telling. She’s probably trying to reconcile the data.
I take the tea from Miss Asahina with a smile.
“What next?” Koizumi asks. He’s already less smiley than usual. I would’ve said I would’ve preferred that, before all of this, but I find I’m actually missing the normalcy of all our strangeness. The club really is a haven for all of us weirdoes to fit right in, isn’t it?
I decide to try to lighten the mood. “Well, I’d like to vote, for starters, that I not be stabbed again.”
“Don’t joke about that!” Haruhi hisses before instantly looking thoughtful. “When I…” She gulps, balling up her hands. “When I found you, and you were dying. You mentioned something about dying again. You’ve died before?”
It actually takes me a minute to think about that one. I blow on the tea to cool it down as I think about it. “Well, I had to have,” I answer slowly. “Sometimes assignments end in death. But it’s just death of one body, so it’s not permanent—though losing your personality every time and having everyone forget about you might actually be worse, in the end.” I shake my head, re-focusing on the here and now. I realize I’ve actually been avoiding thinking about it, about what some foreign show called the death of personality, because now that I have something that I’m willing to fight to protect I’m scared to death of losing it. Of losing this, of losing my sense of self, of losing all my friends. “In this world—well, a very close parallel one that occurred after—” I pause. Should I really mention Yuki here? “Your people, Nagato. The faction that wanted a reaction. They’d tried several different methods, and eventually Asakura-san just stabbed me. Which was painful enough the first time, when I wasn’t dragging myself along or trying to talk.”
She nods as if something just clicked together. At least, I assume that’s what that look meant. Her expressions don’t change much, so I work with what I have. “I vaguely remember that one, though you two,” I nod at the other two. Miss Asahina at least looks a little sheepish, “…tried to make me think it was a dream. I’m not sure how you brought me back. Though I suspect you’ll say it’s classified.” She finishes the sentence with me with a bright smile.
“You really do know us,” she continues.
I nod, suddenly feeling a stab of loss, and Haruhi grabs my hand as if she sensed my feelings. That’s unusually observant of her, but now that she knows there’s something to see she has been working on paying attention I guess.
“Hey, I still remember you,” she states fiercely, “…and the Brigade can form all new memories together!”
I quirk a smile. “Great. Just what I always wanted.”
She swats me, and I realize that while I would’ve whined about her violent tendencies before, now I have a better pain tolerance than a human. It’s a disconcerting thought.
“More seriously…” I shrug. I honestly don’t have a good enough grasp of what’s coming after us to have a clue of what the best plan of action is. All I have is a discarded knowledge of manga and a disregarded imagination. Between all of our powers, though, we should be able to do something. “I think you all should express the danger to this world when you talk to your Organizations, and stress the necessity of working together. We have the ability to stabilize a world. I have no idea if the opposite could be true, but…” I shrug, and even Koizumi looks properly disconcerted. “I don’t think Haruhi or I are properly placed to be your generals, considering I still have no idea what a lot of the things you can do are. I would like to know that you’re all working all in to try to find out what’s going on, and help us, because I don’t want someone at my back I don’t know I can trust.”
“You’ve got my word.” I stare at the Esper, shocked. Out of all the people here, I wouldn’t think he’d be the most gung-ho. “I didn’t want these powers in the first place,” he continues fiercely. “I used to think you were selfish, Haruhi-san.”
“I didn’t try to be,” she snaps, pouting. “If I had been literally anybody else, this wouldn’t have been a problem! I can’t help being me.”
“You may be demanding and selfish, but you truly care about us,” he continues.
“What do you think of the tea?” Asahina asks me, and something in my brain stutters at the question. Instantly her expression falls. “You didn’t like it?”
“I haven’t thought about it, really. I haven’t really thought about any of my preferences, not honestly. I’m still trying to figure out what is me and what is…programmed I guess?” I consider the thought briefly and then add, “...Well, Haruhi might be right there. I can figure that out as I go. As we work together on this one.”
Yuki nods, and for someone as quiet as her, that says everything. Of course Haruhi then insists on improvising some sort of cheer, but it’s not like I have anything better to do.
Main Points: Haruhi Suzumiya AU
Chapter Summary: For once, they're all working together to put an end to this threat.
Word Count: 1211
Rating: T
So, it’s time for our little War Room. We haven’t got the backing of the Walkers (despite the fact that there’s probably a rogue Walker on the loose, my defection won’t be seen as an excusable offense, even for as long as it takes to track him or her down). Given the actions of the Espers so far, they’ll probably help out. Probably. They’re the most reliable, even if I don’t trust most of them. Not sure why the people of the future didn’t already know about this, but I’d guess they’re from a different, alternate future, where I wasn’t pulled out or nearly winked out of existence, but continued being the role I’d been chosen for for…a while. This completely set this world on a different track, and I don’t know where it’s heading.
Has their future already obviously changed? Is it in flux? Or it in quiet, subtle ways, ways that they wouldn’t notice because they changed along with it? Most of it’s classified, so I don’t know, but it’s a good thing to ask anyway, especially if they’re not questions they know to ask, yet.
I’ve been avoiding thinking about my sister. I’m a stranger to her now. That hurts.
It’s weird that Haruhi Suzumiya’s the only person who knows me, now.
Meanwhile, Haruhi’s looking put out. She’s putting on a brave front, but she’s upset, like she’d wanted everything, after everything she’s put us through, to turn out to be just childish fantasies. Sorry. I sympathize, I really do, but I like the interplay between the normal and the anything but normal making up Reality with a capital R.
Miss Asahina is, at least, entirely sympathetic. I wonder how her older self feels about the whole thing. Not that she’d let me know. She enjoys being cryptic.
Yuki, for once, is easy to read. Not that she’s showing any emotion on her face, but she way she’s watching me, unblinking, taking in every little move and gesture is telling. She’s probably trying to reconcile the data.
I take the tea from Miss Asahina with a smile.
“What next?” Koizumi asks. He’s already less smiley than usual. I would’ve said I would’ve preferred that, before all of this, but I find I’m actually missing the normalcy of all our strangeness. The club really is a haven for all of us weirdoes to fit right in, isn’t it?
I decide to try to lighten the mood. “Well, I’d like to vote, for starters, that I not be stabbed again.”
“Don’t joke about that!” Haruhi hisses before instantly looking thoughtful. “When I…” She gulps, balling up her hands. “When I found you, and you were dying. You mentioned something about dying again. You’ve died before?”
It actually takes me a minute to think about that one. I blow on the tea to cool it down as I think about it. “Well, I had to have,” I answer slowly. “Sometimes assignments end in death. But it’s just death of one body, so it’s not permanent—though losing your personality every time and having everyone forget about you might actually be worse, in the end.” I shake my head, re-focusing on the here and now. I realize I’ve actually been avoiding thinking about it, about what some foreign show called the death of personality, because now that I have something that I’m willing to fight to protect I’m scared to death of losing it. Of losing this, of losing my sense of self, of losing all my friends. “In this world—well, a very close parallel one that occurred after—” I pause. Should I really mention Yuki here? “Your people, Nagato. The faction that wanted a reaction. They’d tried several different methods, and eventually Asakura-san just stabbed me. Which was painful enough the first time, when I wasn’t dragging myself along or trying to talk.”
She nods as if something just clicked together. At least, I assume that’s what that look meant. Her expressions don’t change much, so I work with what I have. “I vaguely remember that one, though you two,” I nod at the other two. Miss Asahina at least looks a little sheepish, “…tried to make me think it was a dream. I’m not sure how you brought me back. Though I suspect you’ll say it’s classified.” She finishes the sentence with me with a bright smile.
“You really do know us,” she continues.
I nod, suddenly feeling a stab of loss, and Haruhi grabs my hand as if she sensed my feelings. That’s unusually observant of her, but now that she knows there’s something to see she has been working on paying attention I guess.
“Hey, I still remember you,” she states fiercely, “…and the Brigade can form all new memories together!”
I quirk a smile. “Great. Just what I always wanted.”
She swats me, and I realize that while I would’ve whined about her violent tendencies before, now I have a better pain tolerance than a human. It’s a disconcerting thought.
“More seriously…” I shrug. I honestly don’t have a good enough grasp of what’s coming after us to have a clue of what the best plan of action is. All I have is a discarded knowledge of manga and a disregarded imagination. Between all of our powers, though, we should be able to do something. “I think you all should express the danger to this world when you talk to your Organizations, and stress the necessity of working together. We have the ability to stabilize a world. I have no idea if the opposite could be true, but…” I shrug, and even Koizumi looks properly disconcerted. “I don’t think Haruhi or I are properly placed to be your generals, considering I still have no idea what a lot of the things you can do are. I would like to know that you’re all working all in to try to find out what’s going on, and help us, because I don’t want someone at my back I don’t know I can trust.”
“You’ve got my word.” I stare at the Esper, shocked. Out of all the people here, I wouldn’t think he’d be the most gung-ho. “I didn’t want these powers in the first place,” he continues fiercely. “I used to think you were selfish, Haruhi-san.”
“I didn’t try to be,” she snaps, pouting. “If I had been literally anybody else, this wouldn’t have been a problem! I can’t help being me.”
“You may be demanding and selfish, but you truly care about us,” he continues.
“What do you think of the tea?” Asahina asks me, and something in my brain stutters at the question. Instantly her expression falls. “You didn’t like it?”
“I haven’t thought about it, really. I haven’t really thought about any of my preferences, not honestly. I’m still trying to figure out what is me and what is…programmed I guess?” I consider the thought briefly and then add, “...Well, Haruhi might be right there. I can figure that out as I go. As we work together on this one.”
Yuki nods, and for someone as quiet as her, that says everything. Of course Haruhi then insists on improvising some sort of cheer, but it’s not like I have anything better to do.
