The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Page 8

  “You weren’t the only one who sneaked into school that night. You were with a guy who was carrying Asahina… a girl on his back, and you had him draw the pictograph for you. It was a message to Hikoboshi and Orihime. The meaning was ‘I am here’ or something—”

  I didn’t get a chance to continue.

  Haruhi’s right hand shot out to grab my necktie and pull as hard as she could. Her fearsome strength pulled me so hard that I went flying forward and my forehead smacked right into Haruhi’s hard head.

  “That hurt!”

  I was about to scowl at her and lodge a complaint when I noticed her glaring back at me. She was right up in my face, staring straight at me with a sharp glint in her eyes. Feels like it’s been forever since I’ve gotten to see Haruhi’s livid face.

  The girl on the verge of snapping asked me in a puzzled voice, “How do you know about that? Who’d you hear it from? No, I never told anybody about what happened when—”

  Haruhi abruptly stopped talking as her expression changed and she focused on my uniform.

  “North High… it couldn’t be…. Say, what’s your name?”

  Her hold on me was making it hard to breathe. Stupid girl. But I didn’t have time right now to feel nostalgic about the same old Haruhi power. My name. Am I supposed to give my real name, which she hasn’t used a single time, or the stupid nickname that’s managed to stick?

  No, neither would mean anything to her right now. She wouldn’t recognize either one of them. In that case, there was only one name for me to use.

  “John Smith.”

  I tried to stay composed as I said it, but I mean, she was practically holding me up in midair. The pain was becoming so unbearable that I was really hoping she’d loosen her grip… but the next thing I knew, the strong pressure on my chest was gone.

  “… John Smith?”

  Haruhi loosened her grip on my necktie as she stood with a dumbfounded look on her face and her arm frozen in midair. Now, this is a really rare sight. Haruhi Suzumiya had her mouth opened in surprise as though her soul had just been taken by the reaper.

  “You? You mean to say that you’re that John? The weird high school student… who helped me out… at East Middle…”

  Haruhi suddenly staggered back. Her long jet-black hair flew across her face as she swayed before Koizumi grabbed her arm to steady her.

  I’d found the link.

  Helped you out? I’m pretty sure that I basically did all the work—but I had no intention of wasting time on arguing that point. I had finally found a lead. The one person in this messed-up world who remembered something the way I did.

  So it really is you, huh?

  The one and only Haruhi Suzumiya.

  If this Haruhi had met me on Tanabata three years earlier, this current present would have to be connected to that point. This wasn’t a total reset. Asahina and I had traveled back in time three years and returned to the present with Nagato’s assistance. That part of history remained. I still didn’t know when the world had begun to change, but this world had been the world I knew three years earlier.

  What could have happened to leave me the only sane person in this world?

  Still, I’d have to wait till later to think about it.

  I enjoyed the unusual sight of a speechless Haruhi as I continued to speak.

  “I’d like to give you a thorough explanation. Do you have time right now? It’s a pretty long story…”

  The three of us were walking along when Haruhi spoke.

  “I met John Smith twice. Afterward, while I was on my way home, he called to me from behind. What was it that he said… oh, right! Yeah, ‘Cheers to saving the world by overloading it with fun with John Smith!’ was what he shouted. What was that supposed to mean?”

  I never did that. Once I made sure that Haruhi was out of sight, I woke Asahina up and we hurried off to Nagato’s apartment. Was there another John Smith? Still, why did that John Smith have to pick those particular words?

  It was almost like he was trying to give Haruhi an unnecessary hint.

  “Was it the same guy you met at East Middle?”

  “He was far away. And it was dark. I don’t remember either of their faces. But in terms of voice and demeanor, yeah, he was similar to you. Plus, he was wearing a North High uniform.”

  This was getting complicated. I thought I’d found a link, but was it still off?

  In any case, we went into a nearby café for the moment. It would have been more appropriate to use the usual café in front of the station where the SOS Brigade always met up, but it was too far away.

  “The you I know goes to North High and said the following on the first day of school…”

  I introduced myself with my real name, not the silly moniker “John Smith,” and began my explanation before our order had even arrived and managed to finish my comprehensive digest by the time our café au lait had cooled down enough to drink in one gulp. The SOS Brigade with its alien, time traveler, and esper. The literary club room.

  I made sure to give an extensively thorough explanation of the trip through time on Tanabata, since that seemed to be the most critical part.

  I glossed over the stuff about Haruhi’s being a god, a time warp, or a girl who had the potential for autoevolution, since I wasn’t sure about which one was true. I simply said that Haruhi had this odd latent power, an irregular ability to change the world.

  Still, it appeared to have been enough to grab her attention, as she sat in deep thought before finally opening her mouth.

  “How were you able to read the alien language I came up with? Though it’s true that I meant to say that I am here so show yourselves already.”

  “There was someone to translate for me.”

  “Was it the alien?”

  “An alien-made human contact–purpose humanoid interface… to be exact, I think.”

  I told them everything I knew about Yuki Nagato. I first thought her to be a bonus thrown in with the literary club, but it turned out that the impassive bookworm had a surprising secret. I also told them about Asahina, the life-size dress-up doll/mascot/PR machine/clubroom maid who was actually from the future. I’d traveled through time with her to that Tanabata night three years ago. Nagato had taken care of our return.

  “So the John I met then was you, huh? Yep, I’m willing to believe that. I see. Time travel, huh…?”

  Haruhi stared at me as though she wanted to see what a time traveler looked like before nodding.

  She was being awfully reasonable about this. I hadn’t expected her to believe me so readily. I mean, back when the two of us did magical mystery searches by ourselves, you didn’t believe a word I said when we met up in the usual café.

  “That version must have been really stupid. I believe you.”

  Haruhi leaned forward.

  “Because it’s a lot more fun that way!” she added.

  The familiar sight of a smile blossoming on her face. The first smile I’d ever seen from Haruhi. The hundred-watt smile she’d displayed during English class when she came up with the idea of starting the SOS Brigade.

  “Besides, I checked out all the students at North High afterward. I even staked the place out. But I never saw anyone like John. I was a little upset with myself for not paying more attention to what he looked like. Right, you weren’t at North High three years ago…”

  There were two versions of me at the time. One was living an aimless middle-school life. The other was frozen in time with Asahina in Nagato’s guest room.

  I figured I might as well tell them about the guy here while I was at it.

  “Koizumi over there was an esper. You were a pretty big help. Though you also caused a lot of trouble.”

  “If what you say is true, I would have to be shocked.”

  Koizumi was holding his cup elegantly as he gave me a skeptical look.

  I turned back to Haruhi.

  “Why didn’t you go to North High?”

  “There wasn’t an
y particular reason. I was a little interested in the place after what happened on Tanabata, but John would have graduated by the time I got there. Besides, I wasn’t able to find him. And my middle-school homeroom teacher kept bugging me to go to Kouyouen because of the higher percentage of college-bound graduates. I was getting sick of it so I agreed. Any high school would have worked, as far as I was concerned.”

  I switched my attention to Koizumi.

  “What about you? Why did you choose to transfer to this school?”

  “My reason would be the same as Suzumiya’s. I chose a school that was appropriate for my academic level. I don’t mean to speak ill of North High, but Kouyouen Academy has superior facilities.”

  Since North High doesn’t even have air-conditioning.

  Haruhi sighed.

  “The SOS Brigade, huh…? That sounds really fun.”

  All thanks to you.

  “If we assume that your story is true,” Koizumi interjected with a smug face that attempted to suppress a shrewd smile, “there can be only two possible explanations, given the information you’ve told us.”

  That really sounded like Koizumi.

  “The first would be that you’ve moved to a parallel world. From your original world to this one. The second explanation would be that the entire world, aside from you, has somehow changed.”

  I already considered that.

  “However, both explanations leave unanswered questions. In the case of the former, the mystery would be the whereabouts of the other version of you, while in the case of the latter, it wouldn’t make sense for you to be the only person left out. It might make sense if you happened to possess some kind of magical power.”

  Nope. I can assure you of that. I got nothing.

  Koizumi shrugged with an irritatingly stylish flair.

  “If you have moved to a parallel world, it would be necessary for you to devise a plan for returning to your original world. If the world has been changed, you must find a method to return this world to the way it was. In either case, the fastest way to solve this problem would be to find the person who made it happen. After all, that person would most likely know how to return everything to normal.”

  Who would there be besides Haruhi?

  “I wouldn’t know. Invaders from another world may be using the Earth as the stage for their little game. It’s entirely possible that an evil-looking enemy character will make an appearance.”

  It was obvious that he wasn’t serious about what he was saying. Koizumi was talking in a clearly insolent tone. However, Haruhi must not have noticed, since her eyes were shining, blazing even.

  “I want to meet these Nagato and Asahina people. That’s right. I also want to check out that clubroom. I might be able to remember something there if I was the one who changed the world. Right, John? You’re fine with the idea, right?”

  Well, I guess. I have no reason to object. If she was actually the one responsible for this phenomenon—that’s what I wanted to believe—then she might be able to learn something. Nagato or Asahina might remember me as well. If the alien and time traveler came back to their senses, we’d be able to deal with this current situation. And was that John supposed to be me?

  “Kyon, was it? Isn’t this one a lot better? At least John sounds like a human name. It’s found everywhere in Western countries. Who came up with that name? Kyon is such a lame nickname. You must have a lot of people looking down on you.”

  The name came from an aunt, and my sister spread it around. Still, why does Haruhi’s abuse feel so comforting? It hasn’t been that long.

  “Well, let’s get going.”

  Haruhi paid no heed to the Darjeeling tea she had barely touched as she grabbed her Kouyouen Academy schoolbag.

  I figured I might as well ask.

  “Now? Go where?”

  Haruhi came to a stop and looked down at me before exclaiming in a haughty voice.

  “North High, obviously!”

  And after that quick announcement, Haruhi skipped out of the café at a power-walking speed. She was so psyched that she could barely wait for the automatic doors to slide open.

  Typical Haruhi behavior, which was incredibly reassuring.

  You’re really something, Haruhi. That’s how you always were. Taking action two seconds after you think of something. That’s how you’re supposed to be. Every time, you would show up at the clubroom after practically kicking the door in to tell us about another decision without warning. Nagato would be the only one who wasn’t surprised…

  “Shoot.”

  I glanced at my watch. Class was long over. I’d forgotten about the promise I made at Nagato’s apartment last night. I said that I’d go to the clubroom today, except I’m already late. I could picture Nagato sitting dejectedly as she waited all alone for a knock on the door. Hold on. I’ll be right there.

  Koizumi scooped up the bill on the table.

  “You realize that I’ll only be paying for Suzumiya and myself?”

  If you pay for me, I’ll tell you something extra.

  “Oh? What might that be?”

  I regurgitated the whole spiel he’d given me. An abridged version. The theory about Haruhi’s being a god, which involved the anthropic principle. His eagerness to anticipate Haruhi’s actions. The charade on the remote island.

  I let Koizumi mull over that for a bit before I asked another question.

  “Was Haruhi responsible, or is there someone else who’s capable of creating this situation? Which do you think is correct?”

  “Perhaps, if the Suzumiya you speak of truly possesses godlike powers, she may be responsible.”

  Since I couldn’t think of anyone else. Still, that would mean that Haruhi kept Koizumi by her side while ignoring me, Nagato, and Asahina. This may sound conceited, but I really doubted that Haruhi was more attached to Koizumi than to the rest of us. Or was this another one of Haruhi’s unconscious moves?

  “I suppose I should feel honored about being selected.”

  Koizumi chuckled.

  “After all, I… yes. I’m attracted to Suzumiya.”

  “… Are you sane?”

  You must be joking.

  “I find her to be a charming person.”

  I’ve heard that line before.

  Koizumi continued in a serious voice. “However, Suzumiya is only interested in my classification. She only spoke to me because I was a transfer student. And since I’m an ordinary transfer student, she’s begun to lose interest in me. What was your classification in the SOS Brigade, I believe it was called? If you didn’t have one, that would mean that Suzumiya was truly fond of you. Assuming that your Suzumiya has the same personality as the one I know.”

  There’s nothing on my record to indicate that I belong in an institute. Besides the useless ability to get dragged into weird stuff without realizing it.

  Haruhi stuck her head through the door with a dazzling smile on her face as she shouted.

  “What are you doing? Hurry it up!”

  After waiting for Koizumi to pay the bill for our drinks, I took the first step out of the warm and comfortable café and into the cold outdoors.

  There was a taxi stopped in front of the café. It seemed that Haruhi had flagged it down. She must have been in a real hurry to get to North High. I should mention that it wasn’t the familiar black taxi that Koizumi and I occasionally rode in. It was a normal yellow cab.

  “North High. Step on it!”

  The words were out of Haruhi’s mouth before she even sat down in the car. I followed suit, and Koizumi was the last to climb into the backseat. The middle-aged driver didn’t show any signs of being upset about a little girl’s ordering him around. He smiled wryly and slowly stepped on the gas pedal.

  “There’s nothing wrong with going to North High,” I said from my spot next to Haruhi, “but you’re going to stand out in those clothes. A student from a different school needs some kind of reason to get inside. There could be a problem if a teacher spots you
.”

  Haruhi was wearing a black blazer, while Koizumi was in his traditional uniform. Class had been shortened that day, so there wouldn’t be many students left that afternoon. Still, these two were going to stick out like sore thumbs when mixed in with the sailor uniforms and navy blue blazers.

  “You have a point…”

  Haruhi spent three seconds in thought.

  “John, did you have gym class today? No, it doesn’t matter. Did you leave your gym uniform in the classroom?”

  We happened to have soccer during first period today.

  “So you have your gym uniform and tracksuit?”

  Yeah, but why does it matter?

  Haruhi had a satisfied smile on her face.

  “I’ll tell you my plan. John, Koizumi, huddle up.”

  Did it really matter if the taxi driver heard us? Either way, we huddled up as Haruhi whispered her so-called plan.

  “Sounds like something you’d do,” I replied as Koizumi’s brow creased with a look of discomfort.

  I got out of the cab and headed for my classroom to prepare for Haruhi’s plan for infiltrating North High.

  Incidentally, the taxi fare was picked up by Koizumi. It seemed that he served as Haruhi’s wallet in this world. That’s pretty rough when you consider how it isn’t necessary punishment. Is this guy seriously romantically interested in Haruhi? I’d love to ask what he sees in her, but I do recall Taniguchi’s mentioning that she was popular in middle school, despite her bizarre behavior. Well, it’s entirely possible that Haruhi would have shot down a whole parade of potential suitors at North High if she hadn’t started the SOS Brigade. In that case, the SOS Brigade served as an effective layer of defense. Her role as the leader of our bizarre club would convince most guys with common sense to avoid her the way a batter would avoid a wild throw. I’d much rather take a walk than strike out or get hit by a pitch.

  By the time I finished with that line of thought, I had reached the top floor.

  There weren’t many people in the building, but at the same time it wasn’t entirely empty. I could see a few people here and there who had nothing to do at home or no club activities to deal with. Fortunately, there wasn’t anyone in class 1-5, which reminded me that I’d be in trouble if homeroom teacher Okabe found me. If he found out that I had come crawling back after leaving early without permission, he’d surely have some questions for me.