Chiyoko has to swallow hard again before she can speak and she looks from Maya to Bubblegum and then finally makes herself look at Haruhi. Maya's reaction, her choking sobs, her horror, lined up with her perfectly normal behaviour the last few days...

There's been no strangeness from Maya. No delusions. Maybe she hadn't been looking close enough, but...

She sucks in a deep breath and shakes her head.

"Maya didn't do this," she says softly, starting to chew the inside of her mouth. "It was someone else. But it wasn't Maya."