Haruhi - Chapter 7
Nhãn:
Light Novel
Chapter 7
An artificial human who claimed to be created by aliens, a girl who traveled from the future, and
a young esper warrior have all shown me proof of their identities in order to gain my trust. They
revolve around Haruhi for three different reasons. Honestly, it's not too bad at all. No, it is bad.
Because I still can't understand one thing.
Why me?
Koizumi said the reason aliens, time travelers, and espers all gather around Haruhi is because she
wished for it.
Then, what about me?
Why am I involved in all of this? I'm just a human being. One hundred percent normal. I don't
have any sudden memories of a strange past life, or any unspeakable powers. Just a superbly
normal high school student!
Who on earth wrote the script for this story anyway?
Or has someone drugged me and caused me to hallucinate all of this? Or maybe I've been struck
by a toxic electric wave? Who the hell got me stuck in all this?
Is it you, Haruhi?
Just kidding.
I don't really know anything.
Why am I so troubled? It seems all the answers rest with Haruhi. She should be the one
worrying. Why do I have to be frustrated for her as well? This doesn't make sense! I've decided
so! If things are as Nagato, Koizumi and Asahina say, then you guys should just tell Haruhi
herself! Whatever becomes of the world then, that's her responsibility; I have nothing to do with
it.
Just put her on your merry-go-round! Leave me out of this!
As the days counted down to summer, I walked sweatily up the slope, wiping my sweat off with
my jacket, while pulling my tie and opening my third shirt button. It was already this hot in the
morning, and it would become hellish by noon. As I was gritting my teeth and walking on the
slope to school, someone slapped my shoulder. As I yelled "Don't touch me! It's hot!" and turned
around, Taniguchi's face came into view.
"Yo!"
Taniguchi, walking side by side with me now, was also in a sweat. "How annoying, my wellprepared
hairdo is ruined by all this sweat." Though he said that, he still looked so cheerful.
"Say, Taniguchi," I cut in as Taniguchi went on bragging nonsensically about how his dog was
doing, "I'm a normal high schooler, right?"
"What?"
Taniguchi gave a laugh as though he'd heard a very funny joke.
"Maybe you should define what 'normal' is. Otherwise this conversation won't make sense."
"Really?"
I regretted having asked him that question.
"Just kidding! You, normal? I don't think a normal high schooler would push down a girl in an
empty classroom!"
Of course, Taniguchi wouldn't forget such things.
"I'm a guy as well, so I know my limits. Your secret is safe with me, you get what I mean?"
I didn't get it at all.
"When did you and she have such a relationship? Nagato Yuki is what I would grade as an A-!"
So, Nagato is an A- by his grading. I tried to explain to Taniguchi,
"That's because..."
I suppose Taniguchi's mind right now is full of unrealistic desires and fantasies. So, I decided to
use the following explanation.
Poor Nagato is the victim of Haruhi's unreasonable occupation of the Literature Club room. She
was very troubled at not being able to hold activities for her own club, so she came to me for
help. She asked me if there was any way to make Haruhi give up the Literature Club room and
go somewhere else. I was moved by her sincerity, so I decided to help the poor girl, and
discussed it with her in a place where Haruhi wouldn't find out about it. As we talked about what
to do in the classroom after Haruhi had left, Nagato fainted as a result of her anemia. I managed
to catch her before she fell to the floor, and then you came barging in. It's really nothing!
"Yeah right!"
He even kicked me after saying that. Damn it! It took me a long time to come up with such a
perfect cover story! I can't believe I couldn't fool him!
"Let's say I believe that bullshit; I still don't think you're normal. You actually managed to have
the nearly unsociable Nagato Yuki come to you for help, and that's really something."
"Please, is Nagato really that famous?"
"Besides, you're Suzumiya's subordinate. If you're a normal high schooler, then I'm as normal as
a flea."
Then I asked, "Taniguchi, do you have any superpowers?"
"Wha-?"
The already foolish look on his face went up a notch. He looked like a nanpa, the kind young
schoolgirls have to be careful of.
He said, "I see, so even you aren't immune to Suzumiya's toxins... Though we don't spend a lot of
time together, you really are a nice person. So please try not to stick too close to me; I don't want
to be infected with Suzumiya's virus as well."
I punched Taniguchi softly, causing him to laugh uncontrollably. Ha, if this guy's an esper, then
from today, I'm the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
As I reached the stairs leading to the school entrance, I was sort of grateful to Taniguchi for
having a conversation with me, as the heat had cooled down after talking to him.
In such hot weather, even Haruhi could only lie exhausted on her desk, looking sorrowfully at
the hills in the distance.
"Kyon, I'm hot!"
Really? So am I.
"Fan me with your book."
"Instead of fanning someone else, I'd rather fan myself. I don't have enough energy early in the
morning to help you."
Haruhi remained lying lazily on the desk, without her usual pompous and articulate aura.
"What do you think Mikuru-chan should wear next?"
After bunny girl and maid costumes would be......wait a minute, there's going to be another
costume!?
"Should it be cat ears? Or a nurse? Maybe she should dress up as a queen this time?"
Images of Asahina flashed through my mind: of her blushing furiously with her small figure
wriggling and being forced to wear all sorts of costumes. I'm beginning to get dizzy. Ah, she's
just too cute.
Haruhi seemed to guess what I was thinking and scowled at me. She then lightly flipped her hair
behind her ears.
"You look like an idiot," Haruhi decided.
Hey, weren't you the one bringing up the subject? But perhaps she was right, so there's no point
in arguing with her.
While fanning the neck of her uniform with a textbook, she blurts out, "I'm so bored!"
Haruhi's mouth was perfectly like a heno-ji. She looked like a comic book character.
Even under the intense radiation of the sun's rays, we managed to survive the hellish afternoon
PE session. After class, everyone was cursing "Damn that Okabe! Having us run a marathon for
two whole hours!", while taking off our PE uniforms, which had become pieces of wet cloth, in
the Sixth Class room, before returning to the Fifth Class room.
Most of the girls had already changed, but as the last session was homeroom, there were some
who belonged to sports clubs who remained dressed in their PE uniforms for their after-school
activities. Yet what puzzled me was why Haruhi, who was not associated with any sports club,
was also dressed in her PE uniform.
"It's too hot!"
That's right, that's her reason.
"What does it matter? I'm still going to have to change when I get to the club room! Not to
mention I'm on duty this week, and I can move better in this."
Haruhi held her chin with her hand and looked out at the gathering rain clouds outside.
"That's not a bad idea."
Having a PE uniform as the next cosplay theme isn't a bad idea! What? 'Cosplay' isn't the right
word? I don't know what she's up to, but right now she's trying her best cosplaying as a high
school girl!
"Just what on earth are you thinking about?"
Haruhi's accurate guess made me wonder if she could read minds.
"Before I arrive at the club room, I forbid you from doing anything funny to Mikuru-chan."
Does that mean I can do something funny to her after you arrive?
I kept that thought to myself and I raised my arms roughly like a criminal at the point of a
sheriff's gun in a Western movie.
As usual, I knocked first and waited for a reply before entering. Like a doll sitting on a chair, a
cute maid greeted me with the brightest of smiles, like a sunflower greeting the sun. Ah, I feel so
warm!
Nagato sat by the table reading her book, like a Camellia blossoming in spring. Argh, what kind
of comparisons am I making?
"I'll go and make tea."
Putting on her headband, Asahina went to the side of the rusty table and carefully placed the tea
leaves into the teapot.
I sat in the commander's seat, happily watching Asahina busying herself, when I suddenly
thought of something.
I quickly turned on the computer and waited for the hard disk to boot. Once the screen appeared,
I opened a file and entered the password "MIKURU". As expected, the processing speed was
unbelievable on the Computer Study Group's new model. In an instant, Asahina's maid costume
images appeared on the screen.
After I made sure Asahina was busy brewing tea, I enlarged one of the images again and again.
That image was from the time Asahina was being forced into sexy poses by Haruhi. Her
seductive cleavage could be seen, and there on her enticing left breast was a little black mark. I
highlighted that mark and enlarged it further; the image was a bit fuzzy, but sure enough, there
was a star-shaped birthmark.
"So that's the one."
"Did you find something?"
Before Asahina placed the teacup on the desk, I swiftly closed all the image files. I'm pretty
meticulous when it comes to this stuff. Of course, by the time Asahina came by my side, she
would find nothing on the screen.
"Huh, what's this? What's inside this "MIKURU" file?"
Oh no! I was too careless!
"Why does that file have my name? What's inside it? Let me see, c'mon! Let me see!"
"Er, what's inside... huh? I wonder? I don't think there's anything. Yup, that's it, there's nothing
inside."
"Liar!"
Asahina cheerfully stuck out her arm and leaned over me as she tried to grab the mouse from my
right hand. No way, Jose! I held onto the mouse, refusing to let go. Asahina then draped her soft
body over me, trying to crawl over my shoulder. I could smell her sweet scent close to my face.
"Asahina-san, can you please let me go..."
"C'mon, just a peek!"
Asahina, who was placing her left hand on my shoulder while reaching out for the mouse with
her right, was now completely on me; I felt the situation was going from bad to worse.
Her sweet laughter softly trickled into my ear. Unable to resist such temptation, my hand
released its grasp, and at this moment...
"What are you two doing?"
We were frozen by an icy, minus 273 degree Celsius voice. Haruhi, wearing her PE uniform and
carrying her bag, had a scary expression as though she had just witnessed her dad assaulting an
innocent girl.
The next instant, the stunned Asahina began to move. She clumsily got off my back, retreated
slowly, and then sat slowly on the chair like an ASIMO robot whose batteries were nearly dead.
Her pale face was now close to tears.
Haruhi made a "humph", and strode to the desk glancing down at me.
"So, you're interested in maid costumes?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"We need to change."
Suit yourself! I'm just going to quietly sip the tea Asahina brewed for me.
"Didn't I say we need to change?"
So?
"SO GET OUT!!!"
I was pretty much kicked out and fell on the corridor, with the door behind me banging shut.
"What the hell was that for!?"
I didn't even have time to put down my cup. I wiped the spilled tea off my shirt with my fingers
and then leaned on the door.
That's funny. Something's not right.
"Ah, that's right!"
Normally Haruhi would openly change clothes in the classroom, but now she's actually driven
me from the room.
It seems she's begun to change. Perhaps she's reached the age where she becomes embarrassed
by such stuff? Because the guys in Fifth Class would always rush out of the classroom once the
PE session bell rings, no one's really noticed that she's changed. Oh yeah, the person who got the
guys into this habit of rushing out before PE, Asakura, is no longer with us.
I sat outside the door for a while. The sound of clothes slithering had stopped, but I still hadn't
heard anyone calling me in. And so I sat and waited for ten whole minutes.
"Please come in..."
Asahina's small voice came from behind the door. As the impeccable maid opened the door for
me, beyond her shoulders I saw Haruhi sitting gloomily at the desk with her white legs on the
table. She wore a pair of long bunny ears on her head while wearing that nostalgic bunny girl
suit. Maybe she couldn't be bothered because she wasn't wearing her cuffs or necktie. She wasn't
even wearing any stockings.
"Though the arms and the back are a bit cool, this costume is actually quite tight."
Having said that, Haruhi picked up her teacup and drank her tea as though she were enjoying it,
while Nagato went on reading her book.
Being surrounded by a maid and a bunny girl, I didn't know how to react. If I brought these two
girls out to attract customers, I'd definitely make a profit. As I was thinking this...
"Whoa, what's this?"
Koizumi suddenly let out a strange noise as he greeted everyone with his smile.
"Is there a costume party today? Apologies for not wearing one today."
Cut the crap, you don't want to make things any more complicated.
"Mikuru-chan, you sit here."
Haruhi pointed to the chair ahead of her. Asahina sat obediently in front, looking terrified of the
scary Haruhi. I wondered what Haruhi was going to do, only to see her making a ponytail with
Asahina's brown curly hair.
At first glance, it seemed like an elder sister tidying her younger sister's hair. But since Asahina
was petrified while Haruhi's expression was blank, it made what was supposed to be a warm
scene very awkward. Apparently Haruhi was only trying to make a ponytail for Asahina the
maid, and that was all.
I looked at Koizumi, who was smiling the whole time while looking at this scene, and said
finally,
"Wanna play Othello?"
"Sure, I haven't played for ages."
As black and white fought for control of the board, (I never thought that Koizumi, who could
turn into a glowing sphere, would be so lousy at board games) Haruhi tied a ponytail with
Asahina's hair, then loosened it, then tied two ponytails, and a hairbun...
(Each time Haruhi touched Asahina, she would tremble all over) while Nagato continued
indulging herself in her book.
I'm getting more and more confused as to what this gathering is all about!
That's right, that day we conducted our SOS Brigade activities peacefully. Nothing associated
with aliens from a different dimension, time travelers from the future, blue giants, or red glowing
spheres happened at that time. No one wanted to do anything special, nor did anyone know what
they should have been doing. We just allowed ourselves to ride on the flow of time, living our
high school life idly. Everything seemed perfectly normal.
Even though I was dissatisfied with such a normal life, I'd always tell myself, "Why think so
much? You've got so much time." And then I would once again look forward to the next day.
Even then, I was quite happy. I came aimlessly to this club room and watched Asahina work
busily like a real maid, Nagato sit like a Buddha statue, Koizumi with his bright smile, and
Haruhi with her mood swings. All these things gave off an aura of complete normality, yet all
these had become part of my surprisingly satisfying high school life. Though I've had the out-ofreality
experiences of a classmate trying to murder me and seeing fierce monsters appearing in a
gray world, I was not certain that they were not figments of my imagination, a result of
hypnotism, or even some hallucination.
I was still sort of pissed at Haruhi for dragging me into her club, but from a deeper perspective, it
was only because of her that I could hang out peacefully with such interesting people. Putting
aside the question of "Why me?", maybe someday there'd be other normal humans like me who
wanted to join this club.
Yes, I'd been thinking about this problem for some time now.
Anyone would have thought about this, right?
Yet there's still someone who has never thought about this.
That's right, that someone is Suzumiya Haruhi.
That night, after having dinner and a bath, and finishing my revision of tomorrow's English
lesson, I looked at the time and discovered it was time for bed. I lay on my bed and opened the
thick hardback book Nagato had stuffed into my arms. I thought a quick read wouldn't hurt, so I
casually read the first few pages. The story was surprisingly interesting, so I continued page after
page. You really have to read through one to understand how enjoyable a book can be. Reading's
not so bad after all!
Yet it's impossible to finish such a thick book in one night, so I put down the book after reading a
very long monologue by one of the protagonists. Sleep overcame me, and after placing the
bookmark with Nagato's handwriting into the book, I switched off the lights and crept
underneath my blanket. In a few minutes, I was in dreamland.
Do you know why humans have dreams? Sleeping is divided into Rapid Eye Movement (REM)
and Non Rapid Eye Movement (NREM), and they go in periodic cycles. NREM occurs for the
first few hours after a person falls asleep, with the brain usually in a stasis-like state during this
stage. The stage in which the body is unconscious, while the brain becomes slightly active is
known as REM, and dreams will occur in this stage. By morning, REM will have increased in
frequency, meaning almost everyone will dream until they wake up. I dream every night, but as I
usually wake up late every time, I'm in such a hurry to go to school that I usually forget what I've
dreamed. Yet sometimes I'll suddenly remember a long forgotten dream I had years ago. It's
really amazing how a human's memories are structured.
Alright, enough casual talk. Actually, I don't give a damn.
I felt someone slapping my face. Go away! I'm tired! Don't disturb my dreams!
"......Kyon."
The alarm clock hadn't even rung yet. Even if it had, I would have turned it off at once, and it
was still some time before mom would send my sister to drag me out of bed.
"Wake up already."
No! I want to sleep some more. I don't have time for strange dreams.
"I said wake up! Can't you hear me?"
The hands around my neck now shook me ceaselessly. I finally opened my eyes when I felt the
back of my head banging against the hard floor.
Hard floor?
I sat upright, looking confused. Haruhi was looking down at me and backed off to avoid
bumping our heads together.
"You finally awake?"
Kneeling beside me was Haruhi in her sailor uniform. Her white face displayed an expression of
anxiety.
"Do you know where this is?"
Of course I do; we're at North High, the school we go to, and right now we're at the staircase
ahead of the shoe lockers by the school entrance. There were no lights on, and the school at night
appeared gray before us......
No, something's wrong.
There was no night sky above.
Just a wide gray horizon. A monotonous sky. There was no moon or stars, not even a single
cloud. Only a sky as gray as the concrete walls.
The world is covered in silence and darkness.
This is a Sealed Reality.
I slowly got up. I was amazed that I was not wearing my pajamas, but my school uniform.
"When I woke up, I found myself here, then you by my side. What's going on here? Why're we at
school?"
Haruhi asked in an abnormally soft voice. I didn't answer her at once, instead reaching my arms
out to feel my way. From the pain of pinching the back of my hand, to the feel of my uniform on
my body, it didn't feel like a dream. I pulled two of my hairs out. I found out that really hurts.
"Haruhi, are we the only ones here?"
"Yeah, I was supposed to be asleep under my blanket. Why did we appear here? And the sky
looks strange......"
"Have you seen Koizumi?"
"No......why'd you mention him?"
"Nothing, just asking."
If this Sealed Reality was created by a quake in the dimensional faultline or by external factors,
there ought to be a glowing giant and Koizumi in here as well.
"Anyway, let's leave the school now! Maybe we'll run into someone."
"How come you don't look anxious at all?"
I am most certainly anxious, especially seeing that you're here as well. Isn't this a playground for
the giants you create? Or am I being oversensitive and just dreaming all of this? All alone with
Haruhi in an empty Reality......If Sigmund Freud were here, he could have analyzed all this for
me!
I remained at a distance from Haruhi as we walked towards the school entrance, when we were
blocked by an invisible wall. I still remember the elastic feel of this wall. It could be pushed
inwards a bit, but soon after, another harder wall would block any attempts to penetrate further.
"......What is this?"
Haruhi reached her arms out and tried to push this invisible wall, while asking with her eyes
wide open. I walked along the track field and traced the wall.
It seems that we're trapped inside the school.
"There doesn't seem to be a way out of the school."
I couldn't feel any breeze. It was as though even the air had stopped flowing.
"Let's try the back entrance!"
"Oh yeah, is there any way we can contact anyone? Let's look for a phone. I didn't bring my cell
phone."
If this was the Sealed Reality Koizumi told me about, then finding a phone would be useless.
Despite that, we still decided to go inside the school building to have a look. There should be a
phone in the staff room.
The school looked eerie in the dark with all the lights off. We passed by the shoe lockers and
silently entered the school building. Along the way, we turned on the lights for the first floor, and
the ceiling lamps lit up at once. Even though they were cold, artificial lights, they were enough to
elicit a sigh of relief from me and Haruhi.
After making sure there was no one in the classrooms on that floor, we headed to the staff room.
Naturally, the staff room was locked, so I picked up a nearby fire extinguisher, smashed the
window open, and entered through there.
"......Doesn't seem to work."
Haruhi held the phone to her ear, but could hear nothing. She tried to dial some numbers, but
nothing came of it.
We left the staff room, turning on all the lamps along the way, and went up the stairs, since
Haruhi had suggested we return to our classroom. As the Fifth Class room for first years was
located at the top floor, maybe we could figure out something by looking down from above.
Haruhi kept holding onto my jacket as we walked along the corridor. Don't count on me; I don't
have any supernatural powers at all. If you're that scared, then grab onto my arm! It looks more
natural that way!
"Idiot!"
Haruhi scowled at me, but her fingers never let go of my jacket.
There was no change in the Fifth Class room; it was just as we'd left it after school.
"......Kyon, look......"
Haruhi went silent after walking towards the windows. I walked to her side and looked down at
the situation.
All around was a deep gray world. Looking down from the fourth floor at the top of the hill, I
could even see the horizon beyond the shore. It was all darkness within the panorama, without
even a single light on. It was like the end of the world.
"What is this place......"
It wasn't the whole population that disappeared, but rather, we who had disappeared. It seemed
that we had stumbled onto this Sealed Reality by accident.
"This feels strange."
Haruhi touched her shoulder and murmured.
As we didn't know where else to go, we returned to the club room where we had just spent the
afternoon before. As I'd already stolen the keys from the staff room, we were able to unlock the
door and enter.
Both of us breathed a sigh of relief at returning to a familiar, well-lit room.
We turned on the radio, but we couldn't even hear any static. The club room was so quiet that
only the sound of me pouring tea could be heard. I'm not that interested in changing tea leaves,
so I brewed the tea using thoroughly overused and tasteless tea leaves. Haruhi stood beside me
gazing vividly at the gray world outside.
"You want some tea?"
"No."
I took my teacup, pulled out a chair, and sat down. I took a sip. Sigh, the tea brewed by Asahina
is so much better than this.
"Just what is going on here!? I don't get it! What is this place? Why am I here?"
Haruhi stood by the window and faced outside; her silhouette looked very frail.
"And, why am I with you of all people?"
"How the hell should I know!?" Haruhi just flicked her hair and scowled at my response.
"I'm going outside to have a look." She said and proceeded to leave the room. Just as I was about
to stand up as well......
"You stay here, I'll be right back."
She left the room right away after saying that. That is so like Haruhi to do that! While hearing
Haruhi's energetic footsteps disappearing and sipping my tasteless warm tea, that thing appeared.
It was a small glowing red sphere. At first it was the size of a table tennis ball, then slowly the
sphere grew larger, shining like a firefly before finally taking on a humanoid shape.
"Koizumi, is that you?"
Before me was a glowing humanoid, but I could not see Koizumi's appearance clearly, including
his eyes, nose, and mouth.
"Hi there." A relaxed voice came from within the glowing object.
"Took you long enough! I thought you would appear in your human form......"
"Things are getting a bit complicated, so it's going to take some time to explain. I'll be honest;
this is an abnormal event!" The red light flickered a bit. "If it were a normal Sealed Reality, I
could have penetrated easily, but not this time. I had to appear in this incomplete form, and as I
needed some help from my companions before I could finally enter here, I can't even remain in
this state for too long. Our powers are disappearing slowly, even as we speak."
"Just what's going on? Is it just me and Haruhi here?"
"Yes," Koizumi answered.
"This means what we had feared is finally happening. Suzumiya-san has grown tired of this
reality, and she has decided to create a new one."
"......"
"Our superiors are now in total panic. No one knows what the world will become when its god
has disappeared. Though it's possible the world will survive as long as Suzumiya-san decides to
have mercy upon it, it is also possible that it'll vanish in an instant."
"What are you trying to say......?"
"To put it simply," the red light now flickered like a flame, "You and Suzumiya-san have now
disappeared from our world. This world is not a Sealed Reality but rather a brand new reality
created by Suzumiya-san. The Sealed Realities we've seen before were probably just drills before
she decided to re-create the world for real."
Such an interesting joke, but I don't know how to laugh now. Ha ha ha.
"I'm not joking. This world is probably closest to the world which Suzumiya-san desires. We're
still not sure what kind of world she desires, but we should have an answer to that soon."
"Let's leave that aside, the real problem is why am I here?"
"Do you really not know? You are the person chosen by Suzumiya-san. You are the only person
in our world that Suzumiya-san wants to be with. I thought you'd have discovered that by now."
The light around Koizumi now glimmered like a torch running out of batteries, its brightness
clearly diminishing. "I'm close to my limit now. At this rate, I'll never be able to see you again;
on the other hand though, I'm kind of relieved since I no longer have to go hunting for those
Avatars anymore."
"Must I live alone with Haruhi in such a gray world?"
"In this world, you're like Adam and Eve. Just work hard on re-populating the world, and it'll be
fine."
"......I'm so gonna beat the crap out of you."
"Just kidding! Right now this sealed state is probably only temporary, but very soon it'll become
similar to the world you know. Yet this world will be completely different from the world we're
from. As of right now, this world could be considered as the real world, while the original reality
ought to be considered a Sealed Reality. As for what differences there are between these two
worlds, unfortunately we do not know. If I'm fortunate enough to be reborn in the new reality,
I'm counting on you to show me around."
At this moment, Koizumi the glowing humanoid object began to slowly disintegrate and then,
like a star running out of fuel, now shrank to its original table tennis ball size.
"Is it impossible for us to return to the original world?"
"As long as Suzumiya-san wishes for it, it might still be possible. I only knew you for a short
while; it's a pity really, but I did enjoy my time with the SOS Brigade......Ah, yes, I nearly forgot,
I have to relay both Asahina Mikuru and Nagato Yuki's messages to you."
Before Koizumi disappeared completely, he left this message.
"Asahina Mikuru asked me to apologize in her stead: she said, 'I'm sorry, it's all my fault.' Also,
Nagato Yuki tells you to 'Remember to turn on the computer.'"
After the message, he vanished like a candle flame blown out by the wind.
I don't know why Asahina had to apologize to me. Had Asahina done something wrong to me?
But I decided not to think about that now; rather, I followed Nagato's request and switched on
the computer. After the hard disk makes a beep sound, the OS trademark should start appearing
on the screen......That's strange, why is nothing being shown? The OS screen which was
supposed to appear after a few seconds didn't appear; the screen was pitch black with only a
white typing cursor flashing in the upper left corner of the screen. Then, the cursor started
moving silently, and a line of cold words appeared.
YUKI.N > Can you read this?
I was stunned for a moment, and then I pulled the keyboard closer and started typing.
'Yes.'
YUKI.N > Right now I have not completely lost contact with the world you are
in.
But that is only a matter of time, since the disconnection should occur very
soon.
If that is true, this will be our final conversation.
'What should I do?'
YUKI.N > I do not know either. The abnormal data spurt has disappeared
completely over here.
The Integrated Data Sentient Entity is very disappointed with this,
because they will lose the possibility to evolve.
'What do you mean by the possibility to evolve? Just how is Haruhi
evolving?'
YUKI.N > Being highly sentient means being able to process data quickly and
accurately.
Sentient organic lifeforms are limited by the excessive inaccurate and
mixed-up data streams
caused by their physical bodies, and are unable to process data quickly and
accurately.
So after evolving to a certain stage, organic lifeforms will cease to
evolve.
'Is it possible to evolve even without a physical body?'
YUKI.N > The Integrated Data Sentient Entity is also created from data.
They too had believed that their ability to process data would increase
infinitely
until the universe overheated itself. But they were wrong.
As with the universe having an edge, their evolution also has a limit,
at least for sentient entities relying on data to survive.
'What about Suzumiya?'
YUKI.N > Suzumiya Haruhi possesses the ability to create massive amounts of
data out of nothing.
That is the ability that the Integrated Data Sentient Entity doesn't have.
She can release data that could never be processed by a human,
a mere organic lifeform, in its lifetime. The Integrated Data Sentient
Entity believes
if this data-creating ability is analyzed, then they will be able
to find clues to how to auto-evolve.
The cursor flashed momentarily. Perhaps Nagato was hesitating on what words to use. The next
second, the words flowed like water.
YUKI.N > I'm betting everything on you.
'Betting on me for what?'
YUKI.N > I hope that you can both return to this world.
Suzumiya Haruhi is an important observation target,
an important treasure that might only appear once in this universe.
Besides that, I myself also wish for you to return.
The color of the words began to fade as the electricity supply got weaker. The cursor continued
to type out words.
YUKI.N > Let us go to the library again next time.
The words grew darker; even trying to adjust the screen brightness didn't help. Finally, Nagato
typed the following two words.
YUKI.N > sleeping beauty
Brrr The sound of the hard disk spinning had me jumping from my seat. The light on the CPU
flickered, and the familiar OS trademark screen appeared. The sound of the computer fan
spinning was all that could be heard in this world.
"What should I do? Koizumi! Nagato!"
I sighed deeply and turned my head despondently towards the window.
A blue light shone from outside the window.
A glowing giant now stood in the school courtyard. Because it was so close, it looked like a huge
blue wall.
Haruhi rushed into the room.
"Kyon! Something's appeared!"
Haruhi saw that she was about to bump into me, who was standing by the window, and quickly
stopped and stood beside me.
"What is that? It's huge! Is it a monster? It doesn't seem like an illusion."
Haruhi sounded very excited. Her depressed anxiety from a while ago had disappeared. Right
now, her eyes glimmered with enthusiasm. No fear could be found in them.
"You think that's an alien? Or it could be a superweapon created by the ancients, waking up from
its long slumber? Is that thing the reason we can't escape from school?"
The blue wall moved. The image of the giant smashing the buildings with ease flashed through
my mind. I hurriedly grabbed Haruhi's hand and bolted out of the club room.
"Wait! Wait up, what're you doing!?"
As we rushed to the corridor, nearly falling down, a loud tremor vibrated through the air; I
quickly pushed Haruhi down onto the floor and shielded her with my body. The clubs complex
shook violently. The sound and vibration of a hard, heavy object stomping on the ground was
transmitted to my ears. From this I knew the giant's target was not the clubs complex but rather
the school complex opposite.
I grabbed Haruhi, who was so shocked that her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, and
started running. Amazingly, Haruhi obediently followed me and ran.
My palms were getting sweaty. So were Haruhi's.
The old clubs complex was devoid of dust. With all my strength, I ran with Haruhi in tow
towards the staircase. The sound of the giant causing more destruction could be heard.
I ran down the stairs while feeling Haruhi's body heat being transmitted between our palms.
After crossing the courtyard, we headed past the slope and towards the trackfield. At this
moment I took a quick glance at Haruhi. I might have been mistaken, but she seemed quite
happy. It was like seeing a child waking up on Christmas morning and finding out the presents
she had wanted all along were now by her bedside.
After running quite a distance from the school buildings, we turned and looked upwards, and
discovered how huge the giant was. The giant inside the Sealed Reality Koizumi showed me was
just as huge as this, almost as tall as a building.
The giant waved its hand, and the school building collapsed. As the four story complex was
already ripped open from its previous strike, it now fell easily. The debris fell and scattered in all
directions along with the deafening noise it created.
We ran frantically to the center of the two hundred meter trackfield before stopping. An
unbelievable blue giant has now appeared in the dark monotonous school.
If you want to take pictures, you should be taking these, and not pictures of the president of the
Computer Study Group groping Asahina's breasts, and definitely not pictures of Asahina wearing
all sorts of costumes. The website ought to have pictures like what we're seeing now!
As I was thinking about this, Haruhi quickly said in my ear,
"Do you think he'll attack us? I don't think he's evil at all, what do you think?"
"I dunno."
As I answered Haruhi, I was thinking at the same time about what Koizumi told me when he
brought me into that Sealed Reality. If we let these "Avatars" continue their rampage, then after
the destruction, the Sealed Reality will replace the real world, meaning this gray world will
replace the world we came from, and then......
What will become of our world?
According to what Koizumi just told me, Haruhi seems to be creating a brand new world. Will
the Asahina and Nagato I know be in this new world? Or will it be a surreal world where these
"Avatars" walk around freely, and aliens, time travelers, and espers become commonplace?
If the world really becomes like that, what role will I be playing?
Argh, forget it, it's useless trying to think anymore, because I just don't get it. I don't get what
Haruhi's thinking, and I don't possess any telepathic power that allows me to read what others
think.
At this instant, I heard Haruhi speaking to me,
"What exactly is going on here? Whether it's this world or that giant, it's all very strange!"
Those things were all created by you, missy! I should be the one asking, why'd you drag me into
all of this!? What Adam and Eve? That is just stupid! I won't believe in such a crappy story!
Never!
"Don't you want to return to the original world?"
I asked calmly.
"What did you say?"
Haruhi turned towards me. Her face was smoothly white even in this gray world, and her
glimmering eyes were now shrouded in darkness.
"We can't just stay here forever! There's not a single shop, so there's nowhere to eat when we get
hungry. Besides, the school's surrounded by an invisible wall: there's no way out of here. At this
rate we'll starve to death."
"Hmm, it is all strange, but I don't care. Things will eventually get sorted out. For some reason, I
just feel very happy."
"Then what about the SOS Brigade? You created that club! You're just gonna leave it?"
"I really don't give a damn anymore, because I'm already experiencing something exciting now;
there's no need for me to go out and search for mysterious events."
"But, I want to return to the original world."
The giant momentarily stopped its demolition of the school.
"Before we ended up in this strange situation, I didn't realize how much I liked my life the way it
was. There I have the idiot Taniguchi, Kunikida, Koizumi, Nagato, and Asahina, and even the
long-vanished Asakura."
"......What are you talking about?"
"I really want to see those friends again. I have many things I want to tell them."
Haruhi lowered her head, and then continued after a while,
"We'll see them; this world won't be forever covered in darkness. Once morning comes, the sun
will come up. I'm sure of that."
"It's not like that. This world is not what you think it is. I really want to see those friends in the
original world."
"I don't get what you're talking about."
Haruhi scowled at me, like a kid who's had her treasured present snatched away, revealing her
anger and sadness.
"Aren't you sick and tired of that boring world as well? That world is so normal that there's
nothing special at all. Don't you want to experience something interesting as well?"
"I used to think like that."
The giant started moving. He kicked off the remaining parts of the school complex and headed
for the courtyard. On the way, he swiped at the school corridor with his arm, then gave the clubs
complex a huge kick. The school is slowly being flattened, including our club room.
I looked over Haruhi's shoulder and was astonished to find other glowing blue walls around.
One, two, three......when I got to five, I decided to give up counting.
Without the red glowing spheres in the way, the glowing blue giants now began their destruction
of this gray world without delay. I don't get what's so interesting about all this destruction. Every
time they moved their arms and legs, everything that they touched disappeared instantly.
Moments later, half the school was gone.
I couldn't tell how large this Sealed Reality was, and I didn't know if this dimension would
expand and become another reality. At this moment, my mind was full of uncertainty. If at this
instant, an old drunkard sitting beside me in a train had said to me, "Let me tell you something,
but don't tell anyone! I'm actually an alien," I would have believed him right away. Because the
number of mysterious events I've experienced has now tripled compared to a month ago.
What exactly could I do? If it were a month ago maybe I wouldn't have thought of anything, but
right now I believed I could. Because I've already received a few hints.
Once I'd decided, I said the following,
"Haruhi, these last few days, I've gone through some very interesting things. Though you may
not know it, there are all sorts of people who are very concerned about you. It's not ridiculous to
say that the world literally revolves around you. Everyone believes you are a very special person,
and they've tried to back up those beliefs with actions. You may not know it, but the world is
headed in a very interesting direction."
As I grabbed onto Haruhi's shoulders, I realized I was still holding her hand, while Haruhi
looked at me with a face that said, "What's gotten into you?"
And then, she moved her eyes away from me and towards the rampaging blue giants, with a
matter-of-fact expression.
Looking at her young and smooth face, I remembered Nagato's "evolution possibility", Asahina's
"temporal distortion", and Koizumi treating Haruhi as "God". But as for me, what is Haruhi to
me? Just what do I treat her as?
Haruhi is Haruhi, what else is there to say? I didn't intend to just answer like that though. Yet, I
didn't have a definite answer. I knew it'd come to this, right? If you had pointed at the classmate
behind me and asked, "What does she represent to you?" - how do you think I would answer?
......This, I'm sorry. I'm going in circles again! To me, Haruhi's not just an ordinary classmate,
and certainly not any "evolution possibility", "temporal distortion" or even "God".
The giant turned towards the trackfield. He's not supposed to have any eyes, yet I could vividly
feel his vision. He took one step in our direction. His single step was most likely a couple of
meters, or he wouldn't have shortened the distance between us so quickly despite walking so
slowly!
I got it! Didn't Asahina say something about it? That prophecy! And Nagato's last message.
Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Please, even I know what Sleeping Beauty means! What is the
similarity between these two stories? In our dire situation, the answer was practically shouting
out loud.
Man, this is so lame.
It's way too lame! Asahina, Nagato. I'll never accept such a development! Never!
My rationality insisted on that. But humans were never a lifeform that relied only on reason to
survive. Maybe they needed a bit of what Nagato called "mixed-up data". I let go of Haruhi's
hand, grabbed her shoulder, and turned her towards me.
"What now......"
"You know, I really like you in a ponytail."
"What?"
"I don't know when, but since then, I can't stop thinking of you in a ponytail. I think that suits
you best."
"What're you trying to pull?"
I ignored Haruhi's protests and kissed her on the lips... I grabbed her hand and held on tightly, not
wanting to let go yet.
Her black eyes resisted me. I ignored Haruhi's protests and kissed her on the lips. It's more polite
to close your eyes at times like this, so I closed mine. And so, I didn't know what expression
Haruhi had. Were her eyes open from the shock? Or did she close her eyes as well? Or did she
try to raise her hand and slap me? But even if she did slap me it didn't matter, since I was betting
everything on this. If anyone else did this to Haruhi, they would know how I felt then. I grabbed
her hand and held on tightly, not wanting to let go yet.
I could still hear the rumbling in the distance; it seemed the giant was still destroying the
campus. Just as I was thinking that, I suddenly lost my balance and fell downwards, and then
everything turned upside down. There was a hard impact upon my left side. No matter what I
did, I couldn't keep my balance. When I tried to sit up and open my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling
above my head and was stunned.
I was in my room, and turning around, I realized I had fallen out of bed onto the floor. Of course,
I was wearing my pajamas. Half of the messed-up blanket lay on the floor. I placed my hand
behind my back, opening my mouth like an idiot.
It was some time before I could think again.
Under a half dreamlike state, I slowly stood up, opened the window, and looked outside. I saw a
few twinkling stars and the shining street lamps. I confirmed there were lights coming from other
people's windows and occasional silhouettes moving behind them.
Was it a dream? Had I been dreaming all of this?
I had a dream where I fell into a surreal world with a girl I knew, and then ended up kissing her!
A dream so easy to understand that even Sigmund Freud would laugh out loud.
Urgh, I really wanted to hang myself right away.
Maybe I should be grateful that this country has outlawed guns, or I would've grabbed a fully
automatic gun and aimed it at my head without hesitation. If it were with Asahina, then I could
have at least gotten some sort of well-detailed personality analysis from this dream, but I had to
dream of myself kissing Haruhi, of all people! What on earth was my subconscious thinking!?
I sat wearily on the floor and held my head, thinking if this were all a dream, why did it feel so
real? The sweaty right hand, and the warmth left on my lips......
......Does this...does this mean that this is no longer the original world? Is this a brand new world
created by Haruhi? Is there a way for me to confirm this?
There isn't, no matter how hard I thought. Or rather, I never wanted to think about such a
problem. If I had to admit that all of that was a dream because my brain was out of order, then I'd
rather believe that the world had been destroyed. Besides, right now I'm in denial.
I looked at my alarm clock. Two thirty in the morning.
......I'm going back to sleep.
I pulled my blanket over my head, asking my already clear mind to give me some deep sleep.
I couldn't sleep.
That's why right now I'm so exhausted that I almost need to crawl in order to climb up the slope.
This is killing me, to be honest. I'm just glad I didn't meet Taniguchi on the way, or I'd be forced
to hear him go on and on. The sun continued to release the heat from its endless nuclear fusion.
Mr Sunshine, I beg of you, can't you occasionally take a break? I'm going to fry to death!
Refusing to come when I needed it, the sleep demon now circled around my head when I least
wanted it. If this goes on, I don't know how long I can stay awake in the first class.
When I saw the school complex, I stopped and looked at the crummy old four story building.
The sweaty students all crawled into the school buildings like a bunch of ants.
I dragged my feet up the stairs, and then into the familiar first year Fifth Class room, stopping
three steps from the window.
There, sitting in the back by the window, I saw the back of Haruhi's head. How should I say this?
She had her chin resting on her hands as usual and stared outside with a wooden expression.
From her back, I could see a small tail hanging from her hair onto her shoulder. Her hair was a
bit too short now to tie a ponytail, so I guess she only tied that randomly?
"Yo, how's it been?"
I placed my bag on the desk.
"Miserable! I just had a terrible nightmare last night."
Haruhi said in a calm tone. Hey, you actually just went through a really incredible event last
night!
"That's why I couldn't sleep all night. I wanted to take sick leave, but then my attendance rate
would have gotten too low."
"I see."
I sat down on the hard chair and studied Haruhi's face. Her hair covered the side of her face from
her ear downwards, so I couldn't clearly see her expression. In any case, she was in a bad mood.
At least her face told me so.
"Say, Haruhi."
"What?"
I said to Haruhi, whose eyes were still staring outside,
"You look great in that ponytail."
An artificial human who claimed to be created by aliens, a girl who traveled from the future, and
a young esper warrior have all shown me proof of their identities in order to gain my trust. They
revolve around Haruhi for three different reasons. Honestly, it's not too bad at all. No, it is bad.
Because I still can't understand one thing.
Why me?
Koizumi said the reason aliens, time travelers, and espers all gather around Haruhi is because she
wished for it.
Then, what about me?
Why am I involved in all of this? I'm just a human being. One hundred percent normal. I don't
have any sudden memories of a strange past life, or any unspeakable powers. Just a superbly
normal high school student!
Who on earth wrote the script for this story anyway?
Or has someone drugged me and caused me to hallucinate all of this? Or maybe I've been struck
by a toxic electric wave? Who the hell got me stuck in all this?
Is it you, Haruhi?
Just kidding.
I don't really know anything.
Why am I so troubled? It seems all the answers rest with Haruhi. She should be the one
worrying. Why do I have to be frustrated for her as well? This doesn't make sense! I've decided
so! If things are as Nagato, Koizumi and Asahina say, then you guys should just tell Haruhi
herself! Whatever becomes of the world then, that's her responsibility; I have nothing to do with
it.
Just put her on your merry-go-round! Leave me out of this!
As the days counted down to summer, I walked sweatily up the slope, wiping my sweat off with
my jacket, while pulling my tie and opening my third shirt button. It was already this hot in the
morning, and it would become hellish by noon. As I was gritting my teeth and walking on the
slope to school, someone slapped my shoulder. As I yelled "Don't touch me! It's hot!" and turned
around, Taniguchi's face came into view.
"Yo!"
Taniguchi, walking side by side with me now, was also in a sweat. "How annoying, my wellprepared
hairdo is ruined by all this sweat." Though he said that, he still looked so cheerful.
"Say, Taniguchi," I cut in as Taniguchi went on bragging nonsensically about how his dog was
doing, "I'm a normal high schooler, right?"
"What?"
Taniguchi gave a laugh as though he'd heard a very funny joke.
"Maybe you should define what 'normal' is. Otherwise this conversation won't make sense."
"Really?"
I regretted having asked him that question.
"Just kidding! You, normal? I don't think a normal high schooler would push down a girl in an
empty classroom!"
Of course, Taniguchi wouldn't forget such things.
"I'm a guy as well, so I know my limits. Your secret is safe with me, you get what I mean?"
I didn't get it at all.
"When did you and she have such a relationship? Nagato Yuki is what I would grade as an A-!"
So, Nagato is an A- by his grading. I tried to explain to Taniguchi,
"That's because..."
I suppose Taniguchi's mind right now is full of unrealistic desires and fantasies. So, I decided to
use the following explanation.
Poor Nagato is the victim of Haruhi's unreasonable occupation of the Literature Club room. She
was very troubled at not being able to hold activities for her own club, so she came to me for
help. She asked me if there was any way to make Haruhi give up the Literature Club room and
go somewhere else. I was moved by her sincerity, so I decided to help the poor girl, and
discussed it with her in a place where Haruhi wouldn't find out about it. As we talked about what
to do in the classroom after Haruhi had left, Nagato fainted as a result of her anemia. I managed
to catch her before she fell to the floor, and then you came barging in. It's really nothing!
"Yeah right!"
He even kicked me after saying that. Damn it! It took me a long time to come up with such a
perfect cover story! I can't believe I couldn't fool him!
"Let's say I believe that bullshit; I still don't think you're normal. You actually managed to have
the nearly unsociable Nagato Yuki come to you for help, and that's really something."
"Please, is Nagato really that famous?"
"Besides, you're Suzumiya's subordinate. If you're a normal high schooler, then I'm as normal as
a flea."
Then I asked, "Taniguchi, do you have any superpowers?"
"Wha-?"
The already foolish look on his face went up a notch. He looked like a nanpa, the kind young
schoolgirls have to be careful of.
He said, "I see, so even you aren't immune to Suzumiya's toxins... Though we don't spend a lot of
time together, you really are a nice person. So please try not to stick too close to me; I don't want
to be infected with Suzumiya's virus as well."
I punched Taniguchi softly, causing him to laugh uncontrollably. Ha, if this guy's an esper, then
from today, I'm the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
As I reached the stairs leading to the school entrance, I was sort of grateful to Taniguchi for
having a conversation with me, as the heat had cooled down after talking to him.
In such hot weather, even Haruhi could only lie exhausted on her desk, looking sorrowfully at
the hills in the distance.
"Kyon, I'm hot!"
Really? So am I.
"Fan me with your book."
"Instead of fanning someone else, I'd rather fan myself. I don't have enough energy early in the
morning to help you."
Haruhi remained lying lazily on the desk, without her usual pompous and articulate aura.
"What do you think Mikuru-chan should wear next?"
After bunny girl and maid costumes would be......wait a minute, there's going to be another
costume!?
"Should it be cat ears? Or a nurse? Maybe she should dress up as a queen this time?"
Images of Asahina flashed through my mind: of her blushing furiously with her small figure
wriggling and being forced to wear all sorts of costumes. I'm beginning to get dizzy. Ah, she's
just too cute.
Haruhi seemed to guess what I was thinking and scowled at me. She then lightly flipped her hair
behind her ears.
"You look like an idiot," Haruhi decided.
Hey, weren't you the one bringing up the subject? But perhaps she was right, so there's no point
in arguing with her.
While fanning the neck of her uniform with a textbook, she blurts out, "I'm so bored!"
Haruhi's mouth was perfectly like a heno-ji. She looked like a comic book character.
Even under the intense radiation of the sun's rays, we managed to survive the hellish afternoon
PE session. After class, everyone was cursing "Damn that Okabe! Having us run a marathon for
two whole hours!", while taking off our PE uniforms, which had become pieces of wet cloth, in
the Sixth Class room, before returning to the Fifth Class room.
Most of the girls had already changed, but as the last session was homeroom, there were some
who belonged to sports clubs who remained dressed in their PE uniforms for their after-school
activities. Yet what puzzled me was why Haruhi, who was not associated with any sports club,
was also dressed in her PE uniform.
"It's too hot!"
That's right, that's her reason.
"What does it matter? I'm still going to have to change when I get to the club room! Not to
mention I'm on duty this week, and I can move better in this."
Haruhi held her chin with her hand and looked out at the gathering rain clouds outside.
"That's not a bad idea."
Having a PE uniform as the next cosplay theme isn't a bad idea! What? 'Cosplay' isn't the right
word? I don't know what she's up to, but right now she's trying her best cosplaying as a high
school girl!
"Just what on earth are you thinking about?"
Haruhi's accurate guess made me wonder if she could read minds.
"Before I arrive at the club room, I forbid you from doing anything funny to Mikuru-chan."
Does that mean I can do something funny to her after you arrive?
I kept that thought to myself and I raised my arms roughly like a criminal at the point of a
sheriff's gun in a Western movie.
As usual, I knocked first and waited for a reply before entering. Like a doll sitting on a chair, a
cute maid greeted me with the brightest of smiles, like a sunflower greeting the sun. Ah, I feel so
warm!
Nagato sat by the table reading her book, like a Camellia blossoming in spring. Argh, what kind
of comparisons am I making?
"I'll go and make tea."
Putting on her headband, Asahina went to the side of the rusty table and carefully placed the tea
leaves into the teapot.
I sat in the commander's seat, happily watching Asahina busying herself, when I suddenly
thought of something.
I quickly turned on the computer and waited for the hard disk to boot. Once the screen appeared,
I opened a file and entered the password "MIKURU". As expected, the processing speed was
unbelievable on the Computer Study Group's new model. In an instant, Asahina's maid costume
images appeared on the screen.
After I made sure Asahina was busy brewing tea, I enlarged one of the images again and again.
That image was from the time Asahina was being forced into sexy poses by Haruhi. Her
seductive cleavage could be seen, and there on her enticing left breast was a little black mark. I
highlighted that mark and enlarged it further; the image was a bit fuzzy, but sure enough, there
was a star-shaped birthmark.
"So that's the one."
"Did you find something?"
Before Asahina placed the teacup on the desk, I swiftly closed all the image files. I'm pretty
meticulous when it comes to this stuff. Of course, by the time Asahina came by my side, she
would find nothing on the screen.
"Huh, what's this? What's inside this "MIKURU" file?"
Oh no! I was too careless!
"Why does that file have my name? What's inside it? Let me see, c'mon! Let me see!"
"Er, what's inside... huh? I wonder? I don't think there's anything. Yup, that's it, there's nothing
inside."
"Liar!"
Asahina cheerfully stuck out her arm and leaned over me as she tried to grab the mouse from my
right hand. No way, Jose! I held onto the mouse, refusing to let go. Asahina then draped her soft
body over me, trying to crawl over my shoulder. I could smell her sweet scent close to my face.
"Asahina-san, can you please let me go..."
"C'mon, just a peek!"
Asahina, who was placing her left hand on my shoulder while reaching out for the mouse with
her right, was now completely on me; I felt the situation was going from bad to worse.
Her sweet laughter softly trickled into my ear. Unable to resist such temptation, my hand
released its grasp, and at this moment...
"What are you two doing?"
We were frozen by an icy, minus 273 degree Celsius voice. Haruhi, wearing her PE uniform and
carrying her bag, had a scary expression as though she had just witnessed her dad assaulting an
innocent girl.
The next instant, the stunned Asahina began to move. She clumsily got off my back, retreated
slowly, and then sat slowly on the chair like an ASIMO robot whose batteries were nearly dead.
Her pale face was now close to tears.
Haruhi made a "humph", and strode to the desk glancing down at me.
"So, you're interested in maid costumes?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"We need to change."
Suit yourself! I'm just going to quietly sip the tea Asahina brewed for me.
"Didn't I say we need to change?"
So?
"SO GET OUT!!!"
I was pretty much kicked out and fell on the corridor, with the door behind me banging shut.
"What the hell was that for!?"
I didn't even have time to put down my cup. I wiped the spilled tea off my shirt with my fingers
and then leaned on the door.
That's funny. Something's not right.
"Ah, that's right!"
Normally Haruhi would openly change clothes in the classroom, but now she's actually driven
me from the room.
It seems she's begun to change. Perhaps she's reached the age where she becomes embarrassed
by such stuff? Because the guys in Fifth Class would always rush out of the classroom once the
PE session bell rings, no one's really noticed that she's changed. Oh yeah, the person who got the
guys into this habit of rushing out before PE, Asakura, is no longer with us.
I sat outside the door for a while. The sound of clothes slithering had stopped, but I still hadn't
heard anyone calling me in. And so I sat and waited for ten whole minutes.
"Please come in..."
Asahina's small voice came from behind the door. As the impeccable maid opened the door for
me, beyond her shoulders I saw Haruhi sitting gloomily at the desk with her white legs on the
table. She wore a pair of long bunny ears on her head while wearing that nostalgic bunny girl
suit. Maybe she couldn't be bothered because she wasn't wearing her cuffs or necktie. She wasn't
even wearing any stockings.
"Though the arms and the back are a bit cool, this costume is actually quite tight."
Having said that, Haruhi picked up her teacup and drank her tea as though she were enjoying it,
while Nagato went on reading her book.
Being surrounded by a maid and a bunny girl, I didn't know how to react. If I brought these two
girls out to attract customers, I'd definitely make a profit. As I was thinking this...
"Whoa, what's this?"
Koizumi suddenly let out a strange noise as he greeted everyone with his smile.
"Is there a costume party today? Apologies for not wearing one today."
Cut the crap, you don't want to make things any more complicated.
"Mikuru-chan, you sit here."
Haruhi pointed to the chair ahead of her. Asahina sat obediently in front, looking terrified of the
scary Haruhi. I wondered what Haruhi was going to do, only to see her making a ponytail with
Asahina's brown curly hair.
At first glance, it seemed like an elder sister tidying her younger sister's hair. But since Asahina
was petrified while Haruhi's expression was blank, it made what was supposed to be a warm
scene very awkward. Apparently Haruhi was only trying to make a ponytail for Asahina the
maid, and that was all.
I looked at Koizumi, who was smiling the whole time while looking at this scene, and said
finally,
"Wanna play Othello?"
"Sure, I haven't played for ages."
As black and white fought for control of the board, (I never thought that Koizumi, who could
turn into a glowing sphere, would be so lousy at board games) Haruhi tied a ponytail with
Asahina's hair, then loosened it, then tied two ponytails, and a hairbun...
(Each time Haruhi touched Asahina, she would tremble all over) while Nagato continued
indulging herself in her book.
I'm getting more and more confused as to what this gathering is all about!
That's right, that day we conducted our SOS Brigade activities peacefully. Nothing associated
with aliens from a different dimension, time travelers from the future, blue giants, or red glowing
spheres happened at that time. No one wanted to do anything special, nor did anyone know what
they should have been doing. We just allowed ourselves to ride on the flow of time, living our
high school life idly. Everything seemed perfectly normal.
Even though I was dissatisfied with such a normal life, I'd always tell myself, "Why think so
much? You've got so much time." And then I would once again look forward to the next day.
Even then, I was quite happy. I came aimlessly to this club room and watched Asahina work
busily like a real maid, Nagato sit like a Buddha statue, Koizumi with his bright smile, and
Haruhi with her mood swings. All these things gave off an aura of complete normality, yet all
these had become part of my surprisingly satisfying high school life. Though I've had the out-ofreality
experiences of a classmate trying to murder me and seeing fierce monsters appearing in a
gray world, I was not certain that they were not figments of my imagination, a result of
hypnotism, or even some hallucination.
I was still sort of pissed at Haruhi for dragging me into her club, but from a deeper perspective, it
was only because of her that I could hang out peacefully with such interesting people. Putting
aside the question of "Why me?", maybe someday there'd be other normal humans like me who
wanted to join this club.
Yes, I'd been thinking about this problem for some time now.
Anyone would have thought about this, right?
Yet there's still someone who has never thought about this.
That's right, that someone is Suzumiya Haruhi.
That night, after having dinner and a bath, and finishing my revision of tomorrow's English
lesson, I looked at the time and discovered it was time for bed. I lay on my bed and opened the
thick hardback book Nagato had stuffed into my arms. I thought a quick read wouldn't hurt, so I
casually read the first few pages. The story was surprisingly interesting, so I continued page after
page. You really have to read through one to understand how enjoyable a book can be. Reading's
not so bad after all!
Yet it's impossible to finish such a thick book in one night, so I put down the book after reading a
very long monologue by one of the protagonists. Sleep overcame me, and after placing the
bookmark with Nagato's handwriting into the book, I switched off the lights and crept
underneath my blanket. In a few minutes, I was in dreamland.
Do you know why humans have dreams? Sleeping is divided into Rapid Eye Movement (REM)
and Non Rapid Eye Movement (NREM), and they go in periodic cycles. NREM occurs for the
first few hours after a person falls asleep, with the brain usually in a stasis-like state during this
stage. The stage in which the body is unconscious, while the brain becomes slightly active is
known as REM, and dreams will occur in this stage. By morning, REM will have increased in
frequency, meaning almost everyone will dream until they wake up. I dream every night, but as I
usually wake up late every time, I'm in such a hurry to go to school that I usually forget what I've
dreamed. Yet sometimes I'll suddenly remember a long forgotten dream I had years ago. It's
really amazing how a human's memories are structured.
Alright, enough casual talk. Actually, I don't give a damn.
I felt someone slapping my face. Go away! I'm tired! Don't disturb my dreams!
"......Kyon."
The alarm clock hadn't even rung yet. Even if it had, I would have turned it off at once, and it
was still some time before mom would send my sister to drag me out of bed.
"Wake up already."
No! I want to sleep some more. I don't have time for strange dreams.
"I said wake up! Can't you hear me?"
The hands around my neck now shook me ceaselessly. I finally opened my eyes when I felt the
back of my head banging against the hard floor.
Hard floor?
I sat upright, looking confused. Haruhi was looking down at me and backed off to avoid
bumping our heads together.
"You finally awake?"
Kneeling beside me was Haruhi in her sailor uniform. Her white face displayed an expression of
anxiety.
"Do you know where this is?"
Of course I do; we're at North High, the school we go to, and right now we're at the staircase
ahead of the shoe lockers by the school entrance. There were no lights on, and the school at night
appeared gray before us......
No, something's wrong.
There was no night sky above.
Just a wide gray horizon. A monotonous sky. There was no moon or stars, not even a single
cloud. Only a sky as gray as the concrete walls.
The world is covered in silence and darkness.
This is a Sealed Reality.
I slowly got up. I was amazed that I was not wearing my pajamas, but my school uniform.
"When I woke up, I found myself here, then you by my side. What's going on here? Why're we at
school?"
Haruhi asked in an abnormally soft voice. I didn't answer her at once, instead reaching my arms
out to feel my way. From the pain of pinching the back of my hand, to the feel of my uniform on
my body, it didn't feel like a dream. I pulled two of my hairs out. I found out that really hurts.
"Haruhi, are we the only ones here?"
"Yeah, I was supposed to be asleep under my blanket. Why did we appear here? And the sky
looks strange......"
"Have you seen Koizumi?"
"No......why'd you mention him?"
"Nothing, just asking."
If this Sealed Reality was created by a quake in the dimensional faultline or by external factors,
there ought to be a glowing giant and Koizumi in here as well.
"Anyway, let's leave the school now! Maybe we'll run into someone."
"How come you don't look anxious at all?"
I am most certainly anxious, especially seeing that you're here as well. Isn't this a playground for
the giants you create? Or am I being oversensitive and just dreaming all of this? All alone with
Haruhi in an empty Reality......If Sigmund Freud were here, he could have analyzed all this for
me!
I remained at a distance from Haruhi as we walked towards the school entrance, when we were
blocked by an invisible wall. I still remember the elastic feel of this wall. It could be pushed
inwards a bit, but soon after, another harder wall would block any attempts to penetrate further.
"......What is this?"
Haruhi reached her arms out and tried to push this invisible wall, while asking with her eyes
wide open. I walked along the track field and traced the wall.
It seems that we're trapped inside the school.
"There doesn't seem to be a way out of the school."
I couldn't feel any breeze. It was as though even the air had stopped flowing.
"Let's try the back entrance!"
"Oh yeah, is there any way we can contact anyone? Let's look for a phone. I didn't bring my cell
phone."
If this was the Sealed Reality Koizumi told me about, then finding a phone would be useless.
Despite that, we still decided to go inside the school building to have a look. There should be a
phone in the staff room.
The school looked eerie in the dark with all the lights off. We passed by the shoe lockers and
silently entered the school building. Along the way, we turned on the lights for the first floor, and
the ceiling lamps lit up at once. Even though they were cold, artificial lights, they were enough to
elicit a sigh of relief from me and Haruhi.
After making sure there was no one in the classrooms on that floor, we headed to the staff room.
Naturally, the staff room was locked, so I picked up a nearby fire extinguisher, smashed the
window open, and entered through there.
"......Doesn't seem to work."
Haruhi held the phone to her ear, but could hear nothing. She tried to dial some numbers, but
nothing came of it.
We left the staff room, turning on all the lamps along the way, and went up the stairs, since
Haruhi had suggested we return to our classroom. As the Fifth Class room for first years was
located at the top floor, maybe we could figure out something by looking down from above.
Haruhi kept holding onto my jacket as we walked along the corridor. Don't count on me; I don't
have any supernatural powers at all. If you're that scared, then grab onto my arm! It looks more
natural that way!
"Idiot!"
Haruhi scowled at me, but her fingers never let go of my jacket.
There was no change in the Fifth Class room; it was just as we'd left it after school.
"......Kyon, look......"
Haruhi went silent after walking towards the windows. I walked to her side and looked down at
the situation.
All around was a deep gray world. Looking down from the fourth floor at the top of the hill, I
could even see the horizon beyond the shore. It was all darkness within the panorama, without
even a single light on. It was like the end of the world.
"What is this place......"
It wasn't the whole population that disappeared, but rather, we who had disappeared. It seemed
that we had stumbled onto this Sealed Reality by accident.
"This feels strange."
Haruhi touched her shoulder and murmured.
As we didn't know where else to go, we returned to the club room where we had just spent the
afternoon before. As I'd already stolen the keys from the staff room, we were able to unlock the
door and enter.
Both of us breathed a sigh of relief at returning to a familiar, well-lit room.
We turned on the radio, but we couldn't even hear any static. The club room was so quiet that
only the sound of me pouring tea could be heard. I'm not that interested in changing tea leaves,
so I brewed the tea using thoroughly overused and tasteless tea leaves. Haruhi stood beside me
gazing vividly at the gray world outside.
"You want some tea?"
"No."
I took my teacup, pulled out a chair, and sat down. I took a sip. Sigh, the tea brewed by Asahina
is so much better than this.
"Just what is going on here!? I don't get it! What is this place? Why am I here?"
Haruhi stood by the window and faced outside; her silhouette looked very frail.
"And, why am I with you of all people?"
"How the hell should I know!?" Haruhi just flicked her hair and scowled at my response.
"I'm going outside to have a look." She said and proceeded to leave the room. Just as I was about
to stand up as well......
"You stay here, I'll be right back."
She left the room right away after saying that. That is so like Haruhi to do that! While hearing
Haruhi's energetic footsteps disappearing and sipping my tasteless warm tea, that thing appeared.
It was a small glowing red sphere. At first it was the size of a table tennis ball, then slowly the
sphere grew larger, shining like a firefly before finally taking on a humanoid shape.
"Koizumi, is that you?"
Before me was a glowing humanoid, but I could not see Koizumi's appearance clearly, including
his eyes, nose, and mouth.
"Hi there." A relaxed voice came from within the glowing object.
"Took you long enough! I thought you would appear in your human form......"
"Things are getting a bit complicated, so it's going to take some time to explain. I'll be honest;
this is an abnormal event!" The red light flickered a bit. "If it were a normal Sealed Reality, I
could have penetrated easily, but not this time. I had to appear in this incomplete form, and as I
needed some help from my companions before I could finally enter here, I can't even remain in
this state for too long. Our powers are disappearing slowly, even as we speak."
"Just what's going on? Is it just me and Haruhi here?"
"Yes," Koizumi answered.
"This means what we had feared is finally happening. Suzumiya-san has grown tired of this
reality, and she has decided to create a new one."
"......"
"Our superiors are now in total panic. No one knows what the world will become when its god
has disappeared. Though it's possible the world will survive as long as Suzumiya-san decides to
have mercy upon it, it is also possible that it'll vanish in an instant."
"What are you trying to say......?"
"To put it simply," the red light now flickered like a flame, "You and Suzumiya-san have now
disappeared from our world. This world is not a Sealed Reality but rather a brand new reality
created by Suzumiya-san. The Sealed Realities we've seen before were probably just drills before
she decided to re-create the world for real."
Such an interesting joke, but I don't know how to laugh now. Ha ha ha.
"I'm not joking. This world is probably closest to the world which Suzumiya-san desires. We're
still not sure what kind of world she desires, but we should have an answer to that soon."
"Let's leave that aside, the real problem is why am I here?"
"Do you really not know? You are the person chosen by Suzumiya-san. You are the only person
in our world that Suzumiya-san wants to be with. I thought you'd have discovered that by now."
The light around Koizumi now glimmered like a torch running out of batteries, its brightness
clearly diminishing. "I'm close to my limit now. At this rate, I'll never be able to see you again;
on the other hand though, I'm kind of relieved since I no longer have to go hunting for those
Avatars anymore."
"Must I live alone with Haruhi in such a gray world?"
"In this world, you're like Adam and Eve. Just work hard on re-populating the world, and it'll be
fine."
"......I'm so gonna beat the crap out of you."
"Just kidding! Right now this sealed state is probably only temporary, but very soon it'll become
similar to the world you know. Yet this world will be completely different from the world we're
from. As of right now, this world could be considered as the real world, while the original reality
ought to be considered a Sealed Reality. As for what differences there are between these two
worlds, unfortunately we do not know. If I'm fortunate enough to be reborn in the new reality,
I'm counting on you to show me around."
At this moment, Koizumi the glowing humanoid object began to slowly disintegrate and then,
like a star running out of fuel, now shrank to its original table tennis ball size.
"Is it impossible for us to return to the original world?"
"As long as Suzumiya-san wishes for it, it might still be possible. I only knew you for a short
while; it's a pity really, but I did enjoy my time with the SOS Brigade......Ah, yes, I nearly forgot,
I have to relay both Asahina Mikuru and Nagato Yuki's messages to you."
Before Koizumi disappeared completely, he left this message.
"Asahina Mikuru asked me to apologize in her stead: she said, 'I'm sorry, it's all my fault.' Also,
Nagato Yuki tells you to 'Remember to turn on the computer.'"
After the message, he vanished like a candle flame blown out by the wind.
I don't know why Asahina had to apologize to me. Had Asahina done something wrong to me?
But I decided not to think about that now; rather, I followed Nagato's request and switched on
the computer. After the hard disk makes a beep sound, the OS trademark should start appearing
on the screen......That's strange, why is nothing being shown? The OS screen which was
supposed to appear after a few seconds didn't appear; the screen was pitch black with only a
white typing cursor flashing in the upper left corner of the screen. Then, the cursor started
moving silently, and a line of cold words appeared.
YUKI.N > Can you read this?
I was stunned for a moment, and then I pulled the keyboard closer and started typing.
'Yes.'
YUKI.N > Right now I have not completely lost contact with the world you are
in.
But that is only a matter of time, since the disconnection should occur very
soon.
If that is true, this will be our final conversation.
'What should I do?'
YUKI.N > I do not know either. The abnormal data spurt has disappeared
completely over here.
The Integrated Data Sentient Entity is very disappointed with this,
because they will lose the possibility to evolve.
'What do you mean by the possibility to evolve? Just how is Haruhi
evolving?'
YUKI.N > Being highly sentient means being able to process data quickly and
accurately.
Sentient organic lifeforms are limited by the excessive inaccurate and
mixed-up data streams
caused by their physical bodies, and are unable to process data quickly and
accurately.
So after evolving to a certain stage, organic lifeforms will cease to
evolve.
'Is it possible to evolve even without a physical body?'
YUKI.N > The Integrated Data Sentient Entity is also created from data.
They too had believed that their ability to process data would increase
infinitely
until the universe overheated itself. But they were wrong.
As with the universe having an edge, their evolution also has a limit,
at least for sentient entities relying on data to survive.
'What about Suzumiya?'
YUKI.N > Suzumiya Haruhi possesses the ability to create massive amounts of
data out of nothing.
That is the ability that the Integrated Data Sentient Entity doesn't have.
She can release data that could never be processed by a human,
a mere organic lifeform, in its lifetime. The Integrated Data Sentient
Entity believes
if this data-creating ability is analyzed, then they will be able
to find clues to how to auto-evolve.
The cursor flashed momentarily. Perhaps Nagato was hesitating on what words to use. The next
second, the words flowed like water.
YUKI.N > I'm betting everything on you.
'Betting on me for what?'
YUKI.N > I hope that you can both return to this world.
Suzumiya Haruhi is an important observation target,
an important treasure that might only appear once in this universe.
Besides that, I myself also wish for you to return.
The color of the words began to fade as the electricity supply got weaker. The cursor continued
to type out words.
YUKI.N > Let us go to the library again next time.
The words grew darker; even trying to adjust the screen brightness didn't help. Finally, Nagato
typed the following two words.
YUKI.N > sleeping beauty
Brrr The sound of the hard disk spinning had me jumping from my seat. The light on the CPU
flickered, and the familiar OS trademark screen appeared. The sound of the computer fan
spinning was all that could be heard in this world.
"What should I do? Koizumi! Nagato!"
I sighed deeply and turned my head despondently towards the window.
A blue light shone from outside the window.
A glowing giant now stood in the school courtyard. Because it was so close, it looked like a huge
blue wall.
Haruhi rushed into the room.
"Kyon! Something's appeared!"
Haruhi saw that she was about to bump into me, who was standing by the window, and quickly
stopped and stood beside me.
"What is that? It's huge! Is it a monster? It doesn't seem like an illusion."
Haruhi sounded very excited. Her depressed anxiety from a while ago had disappeared. Right
now, her eyes glimmered with enthusiasm. No fear could be found in them.
"You think that's an alien? Or it could be a superweapon created by the ancients, waking up from
its long slumber? Is that thing the reason we can't escape from school?"
The blue wall moved. The image of the giant smashing the buildings with ease flashed through
my mind. I hurriedly grabbed Haruhi's hand and bolted out of the club room.
"Wait! Wait up, what're you doing!?"
As we rushed to the corridor, nearly falling down, a loud tremor vibrated through the air; I
quickly pushed Haruhi down onto the floor and shielded her with my body. The clubs complex
shook violently. The sound and vibration of a hard, heavy object stomping on the ground was
transmitted to my ears. From this I knew the giant's target was not the clubs complex but rather
the school complex opposite.
I grabbed Haruhi, who was so shocked that her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, and
started running. Amazingly, Haruhi obediently followed me and ran.
My palms were getting sweaty. So were Haruhi's.
The old clubs complex was devoid of dust. With all my strength, I ran with Haruhi in tow
towards the staircase. The sound of the giant causing more destruction could be heard.
I ran down the stairs while feeling Haruhi's body heat being transmitted between our palms.
After crossing the courtyard, we headed past the slope and towards the trackfield. At this
moment I took a quick glance at Haruhi. I might have been mistaken, but she seemed quite
happy. It was like seeing a child waking up on Christmas morning and finding out the presents
she had wanted all along were now by her bedside.
After running quite a distance from the school buildings, we turned and looked upwards, and
discovered how huge the giant was. The giant inside the Sealed Reality Koizumi showed me was
just as huge as this, almost as tall as a building.
The giant waved its hand, and the school building collapsed. As the four story complex was
already ripped open from its previous strike, it now fell easily. The debris fell and scattered in all
directions along with the deafening noise it created.
We ran frantically to the center of the two hundred meter trackfield before stopping. An
unbelievable blue giant has now appeared in the dark monotonous school.
If you want to take pictures, you should be taking these, and not pictures of the president of the
Computer Study Group groping Asahina's breasts, and definitely not pictures of Asahina wearing
all sorts of costumes. The website ought to have pictures like what we're seeing now!
As I was thinking about this, Haruhi quickly said in my ear,
"Do you think he'll attack us? I don't think he's evil at all, what do you think?"
"I dunno."
As I answered Haruhi, I was thinking at the same time about what Koizumi told me when he
brought me into that Sealed Reality. If we let these "Avatars" continue their rampage, then after
the destruction, the Sealed Reality will replace the real world, meaning this gray world will
replace the world we came from, and then......
What will become of our world?
According to what Koizumi just told me, Haruhi seems to be creating a brand new world. Will
the Asahina and Nagato I know be in this new world? Or will it be a surreal world where these
"Avatars" walk around freely, and aliens, time travelers, and espers become commonplace?
If the world really becomes like that, what role will I be playing?
Argh, forget it, it's useless trying to think anymore, because I just don't get it. I don't get what
Haruhi's thinking, and I don't possess any telepathic power that allows me to read what others
think.
At this instant, I heard Haruhi speaking to me,
"What exactly is going on here? Whether it's this world or that giant, it's all very strange!"
Those things were all created by you, missy! I should be the one asking, why'd you drag me into
all of this!? What Adam and Eve? That is just stupid! I won't believe in such a crappy story!
Never!
"Don't you want to return to the original world?"
I asked calmly.
"What did you say?"
Haruhi turned towards me. Her face was smoothly white even in this gray world, and her
glimmering eyes were now shrouded in darkness.
"We can't just stay here forever! There's not a single shop, so there's nowhere to eat when we get
hungry. Besides, the school's surrounded by an invisible wall: there's no way out of here. At this
rate we'll starve to death."
"Hmm, it is all strange, but I don't care. Things will eventually get sorted out. For some reason, I
just feel very happy."
"Then what about the SOS Brigade? You created that club! You're just gonna leave it?"
"I really don't give a damn anymore, because I'm already experiencing something exciting now;
there's no need for me to go out and search for mysterious events."
"But, I want to return to the original world."
The giant momentarily stopped its demolition of the school.
"Before we ended up in this strange situation, I didn't realize how much I liked my life the way it
was. There I have the idiot Taniguchi, Kunikida, Koizumi, Nagato, and Asahina, and even the
long-vanished Asakura."
"......What are you talking about?"
"I really want to see those friends again. I have many things I want to tell them."
Haruhi lowered her head, and then continued after a while,
"We'll see them; this world won't be forever covered in darkness. Once morning comes, the sun
will come up. I'm sure of that."
"It's not like that. This world is not what you think it is. I really want to see those friends in the
original world."
"I don't get what you're talking about."
Haruhi scowled at me, like a kid who's had her treasured present snatched away, revealing her
anger and sadness.
"Aren't you sick and tired of that boring world as well? That world is so normal that there's
nothing special at all. Don't you want to experience something interesting as well?"
"I used to think like that."
The giant started moving. He kicked off the remaining parts of the school complex and headed
for the courtyard. On the way, he swiped at the school corridor with his arm, then gave the clubs
complex a huge kick. The school is slowly being flattened, including our club room.
I looked over Haruhi's shoulder and was astonished to find other glowing blue walls around.
One, two, three......when I got to five, I decided to give up counting.
Without the red glowing spheres in the way, the glowing blue giants now began their destruction
of this gray world without delay. I don't get what's so interesting about all this destruction. Every
time they moved their arms and legs, everything that they touched disappeared instantly.
Moments later, half the school was gone.
I couldn't tell how large this Sealed Reality was, and I didn't know if this dimension would
expand and become another reality. At this moment, my mind was full of uncertainty. If at this
instant, an old drunkard sitting beside me in a train had said to me, "Let me tell you something,
but don't tell anyone! I'm actually an alien," I would have believed him right away. Because the
number of mysterious events I've experienced has now tripled compared to a month ago.
What exactly could I do? If it were a month ago maybe I wouldn't have thought of anything, but
right now I believed I could. Because I've already received a few hints.
Once I'd decided, I said the following,
"Haruhi, these last few days, I've gone through some very interesting things. Though you may
not know it, there are all sorts of people who are very concerned about you. It's not ridiculous to
say that the world literally revolves around you. Everyone believes you are a very special person,
and they've tried to back up those beliefs with actions. You may not know it, but the world is
headed in a very interesting direction."
As I grabbed onto Haruhi's shoulders, I realized I was still holding her hand, while Haruhi
looked at me with a face that said, "What's gotten into you?"
And then, she moved her eyes away from me and towards the rampaging blue giants, with a
matter-of-fact expression.
Looking at her young and smooth face, I remembered Nagato's "evolution possibility", Asahina's
"temporal distortion", and Koizumi treating Haruhi as "God". But as for me, what is Haruhi to
me? Just what do I treat her as?
Haruhi is Haruhi, what else is there to say? I didn't intend to just answer like that though. Yet, I
didn't have a definite answer. I knew it'd come to this, right? If you had pointed at the classmate
behind me and asked, "What does she represent to you?" - how do you think I would answer?
......This, I'm sorry. I'm going in circles again! To me, Haruhi's not just an ordinary classmate,
and certainly not any "evolution possibility", "temporal distortion" or even "God".
The giant turned towards the trackfield. He's not supposed to have any eyes, yet I could vividly
feel his vision. He took one step in our direction. His single step was most likely a couple of
meters, or he wouldn't have shortened the distance between us so quickly despite walking so
slowly!
I got it! Didn't Asahina say something about it? That prophecy! And Nagato's last message.
Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. Please, even I know what Sleeping Beauty means! What is the
similarity between these two stories? In our dire situation, the answer was practically shouting
out loud.
Man, this is so lame.
It's way too lame! Asahina, Nagato. I'll never accept such a development! Never!
My rationality insisted on that. But humans were never a lifeform that relied only on reason to
survive. Maybe they needed a bit of what Nagato called "mixed-up data". I let go of Haruhi's
hand, grabbed her shoulder, and turned her towards me.
"What now......"
"You know, I really like you in a ponytail."
"What?"
"I don't know when, but since then, I can't stop thinking of you in a ponytail. I think that suits
you best."
"What're you trying to pull?"
I ignored Haruhi's protests and kissed her on the lips... I grabbed her hand and held on tightly, not
wanting to let go yet.
Her black eyes resisted me. I ignored Haruhi's protests and kissed her on the lips. It's more polite
to close your eyes at times like this, so I closed mine. And so, I didn't know what expression
Haruhi had. Were her eyes open from the shock? Or did she close her eyes as well? Or did she
try to raise her hand and slap me? But even if she did slap me it didn't matter, since I was betting
everything on this. If anyone else did this to Haruhi, they would know how I felt then. I grabbed
her hand and held on tightly, not wanting to let go yet.
I could still hear the rumbling in the distance; it seemed the giant was still destroying the
campus. Just as I was thinking that, I suddenly lost my balance and fell downwards, and then
everything turned upside down. There was a hard impact upon my left side. No matter what I
did, I couldn't keep my balance. When I tried to sit up and open my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling
above my head and was stunned.
I was in my room, and turning around, I realized I had fallen out of bed onto the floor. Of course,
I was wearing my pajamas. Half of the messed-up blanket lay on the floor. I placed my hand
behind my back, opening my mouth like an idiot.
It was some time before I could think again.
Under a half dreamlike state, I slowly stood up, opened the window, and looked outside. I saw a
few twinkling stars and the shining street lamps. I confirmed there were lights coming from other
people's windows and occasional silhouettes moving behind them.
Was it a dream? Had I been dreaming all of this?
I had a dream where I fell into a surreal world with a girl I knew, and then ended up kissing her!
A dream so easy to understand that even Sigmund Freud would laugh out loud.
Urgh, I really wanted to hang myself right away.
Maybe I should be grateful that this country has outlawed guns, or I would've grabbed a fully
automatic gun and aimed it at my head without hesitation. If it were with Asahina, then I could
have at least gotten some sort of well-detailed personality analysis from this dream, but I had to
dream of myself kissing Haruhi, of all people! What on earth was my subconscious thinking!?
I sat wearily on the floor and held my head, thinking if this were all a dream, why did it feel so
real? The sweaty right hand, and the warmth left on my lips......
......Does this...does this mean that this is no longer the original world? Is this a brand new world
created by Haruhi? Is there a way for me to confirm this?
There isn't, no matter how hard I thought. Or rather, I never wanted to think about such a
problem. If I had to admit that all of that was a dream because my brain was out of order, then I'd
rather believe that the world had been destroyed. Besides, right now I'm in denial.
I looked at my alarm clock. Two thirty in the morning.
......I'm going back to sleep.
I pulled my blanket over my head, asking my already clear mind to give me some deep sleep.
I couldn't sleep.
That's why right now I'm so exhausted that I almost need to crawl in order to climb up the slope.
This is killing me, to be honest. I'm just glad I didn't meet Taniguchi on the way, or I'd be forced
to hear him go on and on. The sun continued to release the heat from its endless nuclear fusion.
Mr Sunshine, I beg of you, can't you occasionally take a break? I'm going to fry to death!
Refusing to come when I needed it, the sleep demon now circled around my head when I least
wanted it. If this goes on, I don't know how long I can stay awake in the first class.
When I saw the school complex, I stopped and looked at the crummy old four story building.
The sweaty students all crawled into the school buildings like a bunch of ants.
I dragged my feet up the stairs, and then into the familiar first year Fifth Class room, stopping
three steps from the window.
There, sitting in the back by the window, I saw the back of Haruhi's head. How should I say this?
She had her chin resting on her hands as usual and stared outside with a wooden expression.
From her back, I could see a small tail hanging from her hair onto her shoulder. Her hair was a
bit too short now to tie a ponytail, so I guess she only tied that randomly?
"Yo, how's it been?"
I placed my bag on the desk.
"Miserable! I just had a terrible nightmare last night."
Haruhi said in a calm tone. Hey, you actually just went through a really incredible event last
night!
"That's why I couldn't sleep all night. I wanted to take sick leave, but then my attendance rate
would have gotten too low."
"I see."
I sat down on the hard chair and studied Haruhi's face. Her hair covered the side of her face from
her ear downwards, so I couldn't clearly see her expression. In any case, she was in a bad mood.
At least her face told me so.
"Say, Haruhi."
"What?"
I said to Haruhi, whose eyes were still staring outside,
"You look great in that ponytail."
0 nhận xét:
Post a Comment