The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Page 12

  “Nagato, sorry about bothering you again, but could you at least hear me out?”

  How much had the “me” in the adjacent room told her? The history of the SOS Brigade up till the Tanabata fiasco. Then I simply needed to pick up from there. A tale spanning half a year or so, which started from a spring of melancholy, led to a parade of activities for alleviating Haruhi’s boredom, and concluded with the film shooting that forced me to sigh. Yes, you were also there, Nagato. You were a big help at times, though you also gave me a few scares. Until two days ago. For some reason, none of that had ever happened, which was why I came here. With the help of a Nagato-made emergency escape program.

  It would have taken a few hours to explain if I went into detail, so I gave her the same digest I’d given Haruhi. Skipped over the nitty-gritty stuff and gave her the general storyline. That should be enough for her.

  “… And so I managed to make it back here, thanks to you.”

  The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so I took the bookmark from my pocket. I felt like I was handing a talisman to a ghost as I showed it to Nagato.

  “…”

  Nagato took the bookmark in her fingertips and ignored the illustration of a flower as her eyes fell on the writing on the back. Her scrutiny was what I’d expect from an archaeologist who had just dug up an LCD TV from a Cretaceous stratum. I had no idea how long she was going to stare at the thing, so I interrupted her inspection with a question.

  “What should we do?”

  “I-I believe that we should normalize this abnormal space-time.”

  Asahina (Big)’s voice sounded as nervous as if she were confessing her love to the man of her dreams. Asahina had a tendency to act like a nervous wreck around Nagato, and it seemed as though that hadn’t changed years later. That was the impression I got.

  “Nagato… We need your help. You are the only one who can restore this altered time plane. Please…”

  Asahina (Big) had her hands clasped together and eyes shut tight, as though she were praying at a shrine. I’ll join in the prayer to the great goddess Nagato. Return the world to one where Asahina would make tea for us in the clubroom, which I would savor while playing a board game with Koizumi, and you would be sitting as still as a statue next to us while reading a book until Haruhi came flying through the door. That was my wish.

  “…”

  Nagato looked up from the bookmark to stare at empty space with earnest eyes. I could understand why Asahina was so nervous. We had no chance of winning if Nagato disagreed. Was there anybody in this world who could stand against Nagato? Maybe Haruhi.

  We couldn’t hear any outside noise in the soundproofed apartment room. It was as quiet as if time had stopped. Nagato’s eyes met mine. A gesture of acceptance. The one where her chin moved a few millimeters.

  “Confirming,” Nagato said, shutting her eyes before I could ask what she was confirming.

  “…”

  Her eyes immediately reopened as she turned eyes the color of night toward me.

  “Unable to synchronize.”

  Another short phrase as she stared at me. Her face looked slightly different, and it probably wasn’t an optical illusion. This face was the product of everything that had happened since spring and over the summer. Koizumi had also noticed. The culmination of all the minuscule changes to Nagato’s expression since we first met. However, this wasn’t how Nagato had been by winter.

  Her thin lips parted slightly.

  “I am unable to access that time continuum. The system is equipped with a protection that selectively rejects my requests.”

  I didn’t understand what that meant, but I was pretty worried. Hey, hold on a sec. Don’t tell me that there’s nothing you can do.

  Nagato paid no heed to my fears.

  “But the situation has been understood. Restoration is possible.”

  She slowly traced the words on the bookmark with her finger. And then she began to explain in a voice that sounded like newly accumulating snowfall.

  “The party responsible for the space-time alteration manipulated Haruhi Suzumiya’s data creation ability to partially transform the data composition of the world.”

  The soft voice I was used to hearing. It soothed my heart the way a music-box tune soothed me as a baby.

  “As a result, Haruhi Suzumiya was left powerless after the alteration. She no longer has the power to create data. The Data Overmind does not exist in that space-time.”

  I didn’t get it, but that sounded pretty ominous, since the past had been rewritten for every person around Haruhi, except me. An all-girls school had been turned into a coed one, a number of North High students had been shifted to that school, all related parties had had their memories altered accordingly, the members of the Agency, Nagato the alien, and Asahina the time traveler were all living different lives, Asakura was back in action, and Haruhi had been erased from the memories of the students at North High. Asakura had been added in and Haruhi taken out. Even Nagato’s boss was gone.

  What a mess.

  “The power stolen from Haruhi Suzumiya allowed the perpetrator to modify three hundred sixty-five days’ worth of memory data.”

  So the period from December of last year—going by my original time—to December seventeenth of the current year had been modified. The Tanabata three years earlier—which would be today—had been left untouched. Now there’s a lifesaver. I only made it this far because Haruhi still remembered what had happened on Tanabata. Still, who was the fool who did something as stupid as something Haruhi would do?

  Nagato was still staring at me.

  “Restoring the world will require traveling to December eighteenth three years from now and running the repair program immediately after the perpetrator alters space-time.”

  So you’re going to travel through time with us? Since you’re the one who’s doing the repairing?

  “I cannot go.”

  Why not?

  “Because,” Nagato answered as she pointed to the guest room, “I cannot leave them.”

  Her explanation was that she couldn’t leave this space-time while keeping time frozen for Asahina and me, sleeping in the next room. Nagato continued in an announcer-like tone.

  “Emergency mode.”

  “So what are we supposed to do?” I asked, feeling a little anxious.

  “Mixing.”

  As usual, she failed to make any sense.

  Nagato slowly removed her glasses and held them in both hands. The glasses then levitated above her palms, as though they were being held up by invisible strings. If this had been a normal person, there probably would have been invisible strings involved, but I shouldn’t have to tell you that Nagato doesn’t do normal.

  Squish.

  The lenses and frame twisted into a weird whirlpool for a moment before the glasses transformed into something completely different. A shape I recognized. One that most people would prefer to avoid. A tool that humans instinctively feared.

  I hesitantly offered my view.

  “It looks like a giant syringe…”

  “Yes.”

  It was filled with a colorless, transparent liquid. What are we supposed to do with that, and to whom?

  “Inject the repair program into the perpetrator.”

  I glanced at the sharp needle protruding from the syringe before reflexively looking away.

  “Uh… Isn’t there a more peaceful way to go about this? I’m sorry to say that I’m not licensed for any of that stuff. It might get ugly if I hit the wrong spot.”

  Nagato turned to the syringe clenched in her hands with eyes the color of a powered-off LCD screen.

  “I see.”

  Her hands opened to reveal the syringe swirling into something else. I recognized the shape and gulped.

  “That’s a dangerous item you’ve got there…”

  It was a handgun this time. However, the barrel was especially small and appeared to be stainless steel.

  Nagato offered the sh
iny metallic model-gun-like pistol to me.

  “Probability of success remains high through clothing, but a direct discharge to the skin is preferred.”

  “What about bullets? Don’t tell me you’re using live ammunition.”

  Going by the appearance of the fake-looking gun, they were either aluminum or plastic.

  “Needle gun. The program has been applied to the tip of the needle.”

  Mentally more acceptable than a giant syringe. I took the gun and was surprised by how light it was.

  “By the way…”

  I finally asked the question I’d been avoiding.

  “Who’s responsible? Who changed the world? Who besides Haruhi could it be? Tell me.”

  I could hear Asahina (Big) sigh softly.

  Nagato’s lips parted as she nonchalantly told me that person’s name.

  CHAPTER 5

  “…”

  I was struggling to find an appropriate response when Nagato turned to Asahina (Big).

  “Transmitting target space-time coordinates.”

  “Oh, yes.”

  Asahina (Big) stuck out her hand as though she were a large, loyal dog.

  “Go ahead…”

  Nagato’s finger lightly touched the back of Asahina (Big)’s hand before it was slowly retracted…. That was it? However, that appeared to be enough for Asahina (Big).

  “I understand, Nagato. We simply have to go to that point and repair ‘her.’ It shouldn’t be difficult. Since that version of ‘her’ won’t have any power to speak of…”

  The time traveler clenched her fists in determination as she spoke to the alien.

  “Wait.”

  The removal of Nagato’s glasses had left her face bare, though still unruffled.

  “As of now, you would be caught in the space-time transformation. Applying countermeasure.”

  She extended her arm without a sound.

  “Your hand.”

  What? You want to shake hands or something? I obediently stuck my right hand out and Nagato grabbed my wrist with her cold fingers, giving me a scare.

  “…”

  Nagato’s somber face turned to my arm.

  “Whoa!”

  I let out a cry without meaning to. But you couldn’t blame me for reacting that way. Nagato had leaned over to place her lips on my wrist and bite down, even. The way I’d seen her bite Asahina multiple times while shooting the movie.

  It was a soft bite without any animosity, like the ones Shamisen gave me when we were playing around. But the sensation of her cuspids on my skin was a little itchy. The penetration certainly didn’t hurt, but Nagato might have had something in her saliva to numb the pain, the way a mosquito did.

  Nagato’s teeth remained planted in my wrist for five or ten seconds before she slowly looked up.

  “An operational counter-data screen and protective field have been applied to the surface of your body.”

  Nagato didn’t turn red or blush. Asahina (Big) was the one covering her mouth with both hands in surprise. I looked at my wrist, which still felt slightly numb. There were two tiny holes, as if I’d been attacked by a vampire, that were closing up before my eyes. So Nagato’s special nanomachines had been injected into my body, like what had happened to Asahina during the film shoot.

  “And you.”

  Asahina timidly extended a trembling arm in response to Nagato’s solicitation.

  “… It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced this. Sorry about all the trouble I caused back then…”

  “This is my first time.”

  “Ah. Th-that’s right. I wasn’t thinking…”

  The time traveler kept her eyes shut tight as the alien kissed her wrist and injected the suspect nanomachines for what felt like a shorter period of time than I had endured, before coughing when it was all done.

  “Then let’s go, Kyon. Time for the main event.”

  The introduction was way too long then, if that’s the case. Still, I’ve done my best to narrate the chain of events. Though I never want to do it again.

  “Thanks.”

  I voiced my gratitude to the composed owner of the room. Nagato, silence incarnate, didn’t reply. No sign of emotion on her face. Yet for some reason Nagato, standing tall and erect, looked lonely somehow. Was that how it was? My guess had been right?

  “See you later, Nagato. Sit tight in the literary club until Haruhi and I show up.”

  Like a china doll come to life, the alien-made organic life-form nodded her head in a mechanical motion.

  “I will be waiting.”

  Her soft voice left a funny feeling in my chest. But I didn’t get a chance to identify this hazy-like-cigarette-smoke feeling because Asahina (Big) cut in.

  “We don’t want you to get temporal sickness.”

  She poked me in the shoulder.

  “Close your eyes.”

  I did as she said. I could sense Asahina (Big) standing in front of me. She grabbed my wrists.

  “Kyon…”

  Her soft, whispering voice was sweet music to my ears. Shouldn’t she throw in a kiss as an extra bonus?

  “Here I go.”

  Go right on ahead. As many intense ones as you’d like, and the moment that thought was out of my head—

  I was hit by a dramatic wave of dizziness. Good thing my eyes were closed. I probably would have blacked out if they’d been open. This was like riding a roller coaster without wearing seat belts. I couldn’t tell if I was feeling light-headed or if blood was rushing into my head. I felt like I was floating in zero gravity as my head spun around despite the fact that my eyes were closed. I hadn’t lost consciousness only because of the warm sensation of Asahina (Big)’s skin against my arm.

  How many minutes passed? How many hours? I was losing my sense of time and space. I’ve reached my limit. I’m about to throw up, Asahina…

  I fumbled around for something to serve as a substitute for a sick bag.

  “Okay… we’re here.”

  The sensation of standing on solid ground had returned. I could feel the cold ground through my shoes. And at the same time my entire body was once again at the mercy of the Earth’s gravity. My urge to puke was gone like it had never existed.

  “You can open your eyes now. That’s a relief. We’ve arrived at the place and… time Nagato indicated.”

  I looked up. I could see winter constellations sparkling in the night sky. The air was cleaner, which meant that the stars were more lucid than they were in summer. I turned my head to spot the top of the North High school building sticking out above the houses.

  I looked around to check our current position. It was dark in the dead of night, but I knew for sure where we were. I’d been here a few hours ago. I could even remember Haruhi with a ponytail and Koizumi in gym clothes standing here.

  By coincidence, we were at the spot where Haruhi and Koizumi had changed clothes. A coincidence—I think.

  So when was this?

  Asahina (Big) checked her watch and told me.

  “Four eighteen AM on December eighteenth. The world will change in five minutes.”

  Going from the twentieth, when I pressed the Enter key to be sent three years back in time, the eighteenth would be two days earlier. On that day I had woken up and gone to school like always, without a care, before finding myself in a panic because North High had completely changed. Haruhi no longer existed, Asakura had returned, Asahina didn’t know me, and Nagato was an ordinary human.

  This was when it all began. I was currently at the moment when it would begin. In that case, I had a chance to prevent it from happening. That was why I was here right now.

  I was feeling all serious and determined when…

  “Oh, my shoes. I forgot them,” Asahina (Big) murmured in a flustered voice.

  Since we had come directly from the living room without putting our shoes on. That’s Asahina for you. Years later, and she was still a klutz.

  “I wonder if Nagato will hold on to them
for me.”

  I had to smile upon hearing her anxious voice. You shouldn’t need to worry. She held on to that card for three years, so she probably wouldn’t throw away shoes. I’ll check her shoe stand the next time I visit her room…

  As soon as I finished with that line of thought, my body shook as if I’d been hit by lightning.

  Jumping barefoot from summer to the middle of winter had left me feeling really cold. I was about to put on the jacket I was carrying when I noticed that Asahina (Big) was hugging herself against the cold. Well, she was probably freezing, since she was wearing a blouse and miniskirt in this temperature.

  “Here, take this.”

  I laid my jacket on her trembling shoulder. The chivalrous act helped to boost my ego.

  “Th-thank you. Sorry about that.”

  It’s no big deal. I was able to make it back here because you were waiting for me three years ago. From that perspective, I’d be willing to give up every article of clothing I’m wearing.

  Asahina (Big) giggled as she presented me with a sexy and cute smile that was dazzling enough to send half of the human race to its knees, before getting a serious look on her face.

  “It’s almost time.”

  It was probably a good thing that we had forgotten our shoes. We needed to walk without making any sound. Still, Asahina and I kept our breathing to a minimum as we crept toward the entrance to North High. We stopped at the corner and glanced around the dark street surreptitiously, as though we were stalking prey.

  There weren’t many streetlights around, but there happened to be one right in front of the gate. It illuminated that particular area like a diffused spotlight. There wasn’t much light, but it was bright enough for us to tell that someone was standing there.

  “There she is…”

  A warm hand fell upon my shoulder. Asahina (Big) was nervously breathing softly into my ear, which normally would have left me entranced, but in this situation I had to banish those thoughts from my mind.

  The perpetrator emerged from the night as she walked near the streetlight.

  A North High uniform. The person whom Nagato had named. She was the one who had changed our world and scattered the members of the SOS Brigade while turning them into normal people. The one who had left my memories intact while changing history for every other person.