The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (12 page)

I readjusted the bundled jacket with their bags under my arm.

“I’ll show you the way. Follow me.”

“Hold on.”

I was about to step forward when Haruhi stopped me. Her fingers were entwined in the tip of her ponytail, unconsciously, I guess.

“The alien known as Nagato is in the literary club?”

At this point she’d be the high school student formerly known to be an alien. Still, she was probably waiting all alone for me to show up.

“That Nagato is unlikely to run away from us. We should secure the time traveler, Asahina, first. Where is she?”

She probably went home already… but then I remembered. I guess I still have some inspiration left in me. I didn’t need to jog my memory much. The Asahina who said she didn’t know me
had been carrying a calligraphy set, right? And she had belonged to the calligraphy club before she was abducted into the SOS Brigade. In that case, she should still be there at this very moment.

“Got it. This way.”

Sorry, Nagato. Hold on a little longer. We have to drop by the calligraphy club first. I prayed for there to be a calligraphy club meeting today as I gradually began to pick up the pace.

Haruhi was the one who opened the door to the clubroom. She didn’t understand concepts like modesty or knocking on the door and I didn’t have the time to instruct her on how to be polite. Koizumi was standing out in the hallway with an uncomfortable look on his face.

There were three girls in the calligraphy club room, and they appeared to be practicing for New Year’s.

“Which one is Asahina?”

The conspicuously smaller member of the three wide-eyed girls answered in an unsure voice. “… Yes? What do you want…?”

Asahina was seated in a chair with a brush in her hand, which was frozen in midair.

I looked over Haruhi’s shoulder to check the room. I was relieved to find that Tsuruya wasn’t around. I guess she wasn’t in the calligraphy club?

Haruhi was whispering into my ear.

“That’s her? Is she really a second-year? She looks like she’s in middle school.”

“I would agree, but that’s her. She is most definitely Mikuru Asahina.”

Upon hearing that, Haruhi stomped over to tell lies to the petite angel who was frozen in place with brush in hand.

“I’m Suzumiya, head of the student council intelligence service. Mikuru Asahina, we have a few questions for you. We’ll need you to come with us for a moment.”

How can you say that with a straight face when you’re wearing a T-shirt and track pants?

Asahina was blinking rapidly as she spoke in an uneasy voice.

“Student council… intelligence service? What is that… I haven’t done anything…”

“Don’t worry. Don’t worry.”

Haruhi grabbed Asahina’s brush and placed it on the sheet of paper before grabbing her arm and pulling her up. The other members were either scared or shocked, since they didn’t say a word. We may have witnessed an epic battle involving different martial arts if Tsuruya had been around, but Haruhi secured her arm around Asahina and took her away without waiting for a response.

“Hmm… You’ve got a great body. Yep, plenty of character. I like you.”

Haruhi sounded pretty happy as she checked out the upperclassman from another school.

“Eep! Wah, um… ah!?”

Asahina’s eyes widened further when she noticed me waiting by the door. She was probably shocked to run into that sicko again. She also looked at Koizumi in surprise as he rubbed his hands together in the hallway to stay warm. Koizumi glanced at Asahina without any sign of recognition.

“I’m actually not a suspicious person. Honestly.”

You can’t pretend that you’re not involved after coming all this way in that getup, Koizumi.

Haruhi was holding on to the struggling Asahina like a mother holding back a child trying to run away from a trip to the dentist.

“Come on, John. Only that Nagato person is left. Take us to her.”

Don’t need you to tell me that.

We needed to make our way there before I got spotted by a sharp-eyed classmate or teacher who knew about my unauthorized escape.

To the third floor of the clubhouse, also known as the old shack, where we would find the SOS Brigade headquarters, officially known as the literary club room.

I knocked on the door before opening it this time.

“Yo, Nagato.”

A spectacled face looked up from the hardcover library book she was reading, which was on the table.

“Ah…”

Nagato sighed in relief when she saw me.

“Huh?”

Then her eyes grew wide upon seeing Haruhi walk in behind me.

“… Eh?”

Her jaw dropped when she saw Haruhi drag Asahina in.

“…”

By the time Koizumi walked through the door, she was speechless.

“Hello,” Haruhi said with a smile as she checked that everyone had entered the room before locking the door. Nagato and Asahina both reacted the same way, jumping in response to the click of the door.

“What is this?”

Asahina was almost in tears, just like before.

“Where are we? Why did you bring me here? Why are you l-locking the door? What are you…?”

Her practically identical reaction almost brought tears to my eyes. Ah, the memories.

“Be quiet.”

Just as before, Haruhi laid down the law as she looked around the room.

“Is the girl with glasses Nagato? Heya! I’m Haruhi Suzumiya! The guy in the gym uniform is Koizumi, and the little girl with a big chest is Asahina. And you know this guy, right? John Smith.”

“John Smith…?”

Nagato pushed her glasses up with a dubious look on her face as she gave me an incredulous glance. I shrugged and accepted the dumb nickname. There wasn’t much difference between Kyon and John.

“Hmm, so this is the place. The SOS Brigade, huh? Room’s pretty empty, but it’s nice. Plenty of space for bringing stuff in.”

Haruhi paced the entire length of the clubroom, like a cat checking out her new digs, as she peeked out the window and studied the contents of the bookshelves before she finally turned to me.

“So, what do we do now?”

You came all the way here without a plan? You really are Haruhi, huh?

“I’m all for making this clubroom our base, but the commute’s inconvenient. It’ll take time to come here after school’s over. Our school and North High don’t have much interaction. Right, why don’t we choose a time to meet up at the café in front of the station?”

Her sudden outburst wasn’t making any sense to the other people in this room, excluding me.

Nagato was frozen like a doll with a look of confusion on her face, Asahina was cowering while making strange motions, and Koizumi was opting for silence.

I was about to say whatever first came to mind when—

Beep.

Out of nowhere, the computer my hand was resting on made a sound. Nagato reflexively turned her head.

“Eep?”

I was barely able to notice Asahina’s legs giving out on her. The rest of my situational awareness was focused wholly on the computer.

The old CRT monitor flickered audibly as it slowly brightened. I could see the light reflected in Nagato’s glasses.

The hard drive began whirring, as though in response to the monitor—but it didn’t last long. This has happened before… No, I actually pressed the power button that time… I’ve been through an experience where the computer failed to boot up, but something still showed up on the monitor…

“Move over a sec.”

My body moved by itself. I pushed Haruhi aside as I circled around at full speed to the front of the monitor.

Words were silently appearing on the dark gray screen.

YUKI.N> By the time you read this message, I will no longer be myself.

… Yeah. That’s right, Nagato…

“Whoa? Nobody turned the power on. This is a real surprise.”

“It may have been set to a timer. Nevertheless, this is quite an ancient computer. It’s virtually an antique.”

I wasn’t listening to Haruhi’s and Koizumi’s conversation behind me. I couldn’t afford to miss a single letter, a single word. No time to blink. I could hear my heart tap dancing as I stared at the screen.

YUKI.N> If this message is on the screen, you, me, Haruhi Suzumiya, Mikuru Asahina, and Itsuki Koizumi must all be standing there.

The cursor scrolled along in a plain font at a speed that almost seemed to match my reading speed.

YUKI.N> Those are the keys. You have found the answer.

I didn’t come up with the answer. Haruhi was the one who came crashing in with Koizumi in tow. This Haruhi can also make herself useful… Still, Nagato, haven’t seen you in a few days.

I felt a little warm and fuzzy as I read the words on the monitor. I didn’t read them out loud, but in my heart I could hear every word in Nagato’s quiet voice. The cursor continued to scroll.

YUKI.N> This is an emergency escape program. If you wish to execute, press Enter. Otherwise, press any other key. Once the program is executed, you will be given a chance to correct space-time. However, success is not guaranteed. Neither is your safe return.

Emergency escape program. This. This computer.

YUKI.N> This program can only be executed a single time. Once it starts, it will be deleted. If you have chosen not to
run the program, it will delete itself without executing. Ready?

That was it. The blinking cursor sat at the end of the line.

Enter key or any other key, huh?

I turned to find Haruhi peeking at the screen from behind me.

“What does this mean? Is there some kind of trick involved? John, were you just teasing me? Explain yourself.”

I ignored Haruhi, Koizumi, and Asahina. I didn’t have time to look at Haruhi with a ponytail or Koizumi in my gym uniform or Asahina, cute as always. My focus was on the computer and one single person in this room. I turned to the spectacled girl with a look of surprise on her face.

“Nagato, do you know anything about this?”

“… No.”

“You really don’t?”

“Why?”

I wanted to reply to her denial of any involvement by saying that she was the one who had typed this message… but that would only confuse this Nagato.

I reread the last part again.

A message left by Nagato. The Nagato I knew. I didn’t understand what an emergency escape program did exactly. The stuff about no guarantee was a little unnerving.

However, it was too late to start worrying about that stuff. Nagato had my full confidence. She still has my full confidence. She would never do anything that was a mistake. I mean, we’re talking about Yuki Nagato, the docile and soft-spoken alien-made organic humanoid interface who’s saved me from danger so many times. I would question my own head before I questioned her words.

“Hey, John. What’s wrong? You have a funny look on your face again.”

Even Haruhi’s voice sounded distant.

“Shut up for a second. I need to organize my thoughts.”

Time to think. Haruhi and Koizumi going to a different high school, an Asahina who wasn’t from the future, a Nagato who knew nothing at all. I once again realized that those weren’t the issues I should be concerned about.

Nagato had expressed herself on the monitor. There was no reason for me to doubt her message.

I stretched and took a deep breath.

Yes—

There was one thing I knew for sure. I wanted to get out of this world. I missed the SOS Brigade, the members of the SOS Brigade, who had become a part of my everyday life. The Haruhi, Asahina, Koizumi, and Nagato here weren’t the ones I knew. There would be no Agency or Data Overmind or visits from a grown-up Asahina. That’s just wrong.

It didn’t take very long for me to make up my mind.

I drew a crumpled-up piece of paper from my pocket.

“Sorry, Nagato. I’ll have to return this.”

Nagato’s pale fingers slowly stretched out to receive the blank application. She failed once before successfully grabbing hold. I released my grip and the application form began to quiver, despite the absence of any wind.

“I see…”

Even Nagato’s voice was quivering as her eyelashes concealed whatever emotion her eyes might hold.

“However,” I said in a rush, “I was already a resident of this room to begin with, quite frankly. There isn’t any need for me to join the literary club. After all—”

Haruhi, Koizumi, and Asahina were looking at me as though I had a few screws loose. Nagato’s face was hidden by her hair so I couldn’t tell. Doesn’t matter. Don’t worry, Nagato. No
matter what happens next, I’ll be sure to come back to this clubroom.

“After all, I’m SOS Brigade member number one.”

Ready?

Okay. Bring it on.

I reached out with my finger and pressed the Enter key.

Immediately afterward—

“Whoa?”

I was hit by an intense spell of dizziness as I reached out for the table to steady myself. And then everything began spinning around me. My ears were ringing. I could hear the distant sound of somebody speaking. Growing darker. I’ve lost my sense of up and down. It felt like I was floating. Like a leaf caught up in the wind. Spinning round and round. The voices calling to me grew more distant. What are they saying? John? Kyon? I couldn’t tell. It sounded like Haruhi’s voice, but not quite. Dark. Was I falling? Where? Falling where?

My mind was a jumbled mess. Were my eyes open? I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t hear anything now. It felt like I was drifting along. Where was my body? What about Haruhi? Everything’s distorted. Koizumi. Asahina. Where am I? Where am I going? Emergency escape program. Where will the escape lead me?

Nagato—

“Whoa!”

I cried out again as I practically shattered my knees. Then I noticed that I was standing up.

“What…?”

My surroundings were dark, but not completely dark. It was okay. I could still see.

“This is…”

I used the faint light from the window to check my location. This was a room of some sort and my hands were on a table. There was an old computer on the table…

“The literary club room.”