Swish, swish. A swishing sound whisked past my ear.
As I slowly regained consciousness, my mind groggily began to think.
Maybe it was all a dream? From what I remember, it seemed like a very interesting dream. Usually when you wake up, you find a dream interesting for about five minutes, but when you begin to brush your teeth, the details start to become blurry, and by the time breakfast is ready, you'll have forgotten about it completely. Before you realize it, all that's left in your mind is the impression “that sure was an interesting dream.” I've been through that experience many times.
Then there are the times when I've had dreams that were hardly interesting, but the details were crystal clear, and remained etched in my mind for quite some time. Maybe those were more dream-like experiences, just like that night when I was trapped in Closed Space with Haruki, an experience that really occurred, but had subconsciously been treated as non-existent.
That was the first thing that came to mind when I opened my eyes.
The ceiling was white, so I wasn't in my own room. Translucent orange sunlight dyed the walls (which were as white as the ceiling) all sorts of colors. I wondered if it were morning or evening.
“My, my.”
For a mind that had just started to clear, this voice sounded as pleasant as church bells would sound to a faithfully religious person.
“You're finally awake. You were sleeping quite comfortably.”
I turned my head to look for the owner of the voice. There she sat, on a chair next to my bed, using a kitchen knife to slice the apple in her hand. Swish swish- the apple skin peeled off smoothly, drooping downwards.
“Normally, I would say good morning, but the sun's setting right now.” Itsuko Koizumi revealed a gentle smile. She put the apple slices onto a tray and placed it on my bedside table. Itsuko then took another apple from a paper bag and smiled again as she said to me, “Thank goodness you've finally woken up. I was really at a loss for what to do. Ah... you look quite confused. Do you not recognize me?”
“I was about to ask you the same. Do you know who I am?”
“What a strange question. Of course I do.”
It was easy to tell which Itsuko this one was just by looking at her clothes.
She was wearing a sailor uniform.
It belonged to North High.
One of my arms was on top of the blanket. Nearby hung a bag with some kind of fluid inside it, which was currently flowing into my arm. I looked at the contraption and asked, “What day is it today?”
Itsuko revealed an expression that, for her at least, was one of astonishment. “Is that really the first question you are going to ask after waking up? It seems like you already have an idea of your own situation. As for your answer, it is now past five in the afternoon on the 21st of December.”
“The twenty-first, huh...”
“Yes, today is the third day since you went into a coma.”
Third day? Coma?
“Where is this place?”
“A private hospital.”
I took a look around. It was an impressive single-bed ward. For me to actually be checked into a single-bed ward, my family must be quite rich. I never realized.
“A friend of my aunt happens to be the warden of this hospital, so you're getting the special treatment.”
Turns out my family isn't rich after all.
“Well, thanks to the intervention of the Organization, you can stay here at a low expense for a year with no questions asked. That said, I'm relieved that it only took you three days to wake up again. No, no, it has nothing to do with money. My superiors practically tore me apart for allowing something like this to happen to you while under my observation. I even have to prepare a letter expressing my remorse.”
Three days ago... that'd be the 18th. What was I doing on that day? ...Ah, I remember. I was on the verge of death due to massive blood loss, and so they must have sent me to the hospital... No wait, something isn't right about that.
I anxiously looked at the hospital gown I was wearing, then placed my hand on the right side of my abdomen.
I couldn't feel anything. Normally a wound would feel numb, but it hardly even itched. It'd be impossible to recover from such a horrifying wound in three days.
“What was the reason for my hospitalization? Because of the coma?”
“So you have forgotten. Well, I suppose I can't really blame you for it, as you took quite a heavy blow to your head.”
I touched my head. All I can feel is my hair; there's no bandage or even any protective netting on it.
“What is most amazing is that you didn't suffer any external injuries nor any internal bleeding. Your brain functions were, or rather, are working normally as well. Even the doctors were baffled. They did not know what was wrong with you.
“But...,” Itsuko continued, “We witnessed how you fell down the flight of stairs. It certainly looked horrible then, and to be honest, I think all our faces went white. The sound of you crashing to the ground was so loud that I would not have been surprised if you had fallen unconscious for good... would you like to hear how it happened?”
“Go ahead.”
Accordingly, as I was walking down the stairs of the club complex, I tripped or something, and tumbled downwards, landing on my head. Wham! I then stopped moving. The way Itsuko described it sounded as though it really did happen.
“Things were pretty chaotic after that. We had to call an ambulance and get the unconscious you to the hospital. Suzumiya-san's face was all pale: it was the first time I ever saw him with that expression. Oh, the one who called the ambulance was Nagato-san. It was his calm reaction that saved your life.”
“...How did Asahina-senpai react?”
Itsuko shrugged her shoulders and said, “He reacted pretty much how you'd expect. He grabbed hold of you and cried while calling your name over and over.”
“So what time on the 18th did all that happen? Which stairway was it?”
I fired out questions in rapid succession. The 18th was the day the world had changed and I went into a panic, after all.
“You even forgot about that as well? It was right after noon, just after the SOS Brigade had finished its meeting. It happened just as the five of us were about to go out shopping.”
Shopping?
“You don't even recall that? Are you sure you are not faking your amnesia?”
“It's not important. Just continue, please.”
The smile on Itsuko's lips became gentle. “The agenda for the meeting, hmm, was for what to do on Christmas Day. Suzumiya-san said there was a party for small children near his place, and that the SOS Brigade would make for a guest performance there. This was so that Asahina-san's reindeer costume could be put to good use; according to Suzumiya-san, he's going to dress up as a, ah, 'sexy reindeer' and hand out presents to the children.”
Are, are you sure that's really an appropriate thing to have at a children's party?
“Yet, it wouldn't be realistic to just have a reindeer, and since Suzumiya-san is busy helping to host the party, he decided to let one of the other members dress up as Santa Claus and ride Asahina-san onto the scene. In the end we had to draw lots... who do you think was the lucky winner? Do you remember now?”
I have absolutely no recollection of it at all. If a person could remember something that doesn't even exist in her memories, then she'd be an impressive liar. She'd need to be checked into another hospital. I guess it's pointless trying to tell Itsuko that, though.
“Well, never mind, just know that you were the lucky one. As we had convinced Suzumiya-san to make the reindeer costume 'less sexy', we had to go out to buy materials, and it was when we were walking down the stairs that you fell.”
“That makes me sound really stupid.”
Hearing me say that, Itsuko raised her eyebrows. “As you were walking at the back of the group, no one really saw how you fell. We only saw you falling from the side, like this,” Itsuko demonstrated by deliberately letting the apple fall from her right hand before catching it with her left, “you tumbled over and over.” She continued to peel the apple skin. “We quickly rushed towards you, who had become motionless. Suzumiya-san said he felt there was someone at the top of the stairs. He said he saw someone's leg disappear behind the corner there, but it disappeared thereafter. I found it strange as well, so I did a bit of research. At that time, there was no one else in the building besides us. Even Nagato-san shook his head when I asked. Whoever it was, they disappeared like a phantom. We've been waiting for you to wake up all this time so we could ask you who it was that pushed you...”
I definitely didn't remember that. At this moment, I'm sure that would be the most appropriate answer. It was just a normal accident. I was careless, all I can say is 'tough luck for me!' I guess I'll leave it at that.
“...Only you came to visit me?” Where is Haruki? I had wanted to ask, but in the end didn't.
However, Itsuko chuckled and said, “You've been looking around the room all this time. Are you looking for someone? Don't you worry, we've been taking turns looking after you. There's always been someone by your side... ah, I think it's about time for Asahina-san to arrive.”
I was unsettled by Itsuko's gaze; she looks as though she's talking to someone who actually believed her April Fool's joke, and is lost for words as a result. What is she trying to insinuate?
“Oh, well, nothing really. I was just feeling a little envious. You could say that was a stare of envy.”
Why are you saying this to a patient who hit her head?
“While we regular members are taking it in rotation to watch over, the Commander sees it as part of his responsibility to worry about the safety of his members...”
Itsuko had elegantly peeled off all the skin from the apple. She then sculpted it into a rabbit shape before placing it on the tray on the bedside table.
“Suzumiya-san has been here all along. Since you were admitted three days ago, he has never left this room.”
I turned towards the other side of the bed, where Itsuko was pointing.
“...”
And there he was.
Wrapped tightly inside a large sleeping bag was Haruki, his mouth slightly agape as he snoozed away.
“We were worried about you, both him and I.” She sounded so sad; it felt like some soap opera.
“You should have seen how distressed Suzumiya-san looked... No, we'll leave that for next time. Anyway, is there not something you need to do right now?”
Why does everyone love ordering me around like that!? Asahina-senpai (big) did it, and now even Itsuko... but I won't begrudge them. I couldn't care less if all those apples Itsuko sliced up were an offering to some deity.
“Yeah,” I said.
I really feel like drawing on his face. Maybe next time I'll have the chance to do that.
I sat up straight and stretched out my arm to touch that seemingly angry looking face of his.
The Haruki in the other world still had long hair, while this one keeps cutting it short. I think it's sort of a waste... and as if to interrupt my feelings of nostalgia, the head beneath that short dark hair began to move.
Haruhi had woken up.
“...Nnn...hnn?” Haruki groaned as he struggled to open his eyes, and by the time he realized who was pinching his face... “WAH!?” He tried to jump up at once, but failed miserably as he had forgotten that he had zipped herself inside the sleeping bag. He rolled and crawled about like an caterpillar, but eventually managed to get himself free, proceeding to point a finger at me and started cursing, “Kyon! Damn you! Damn youuuuuuu! Why couldn't you let me know when you're going to wake me up!? Ah, damn it, now that was a shock...”
That's asking for the impossible. Still, seeing you yelling and cursing about is more effective than any medicine for me.
“Haruki.”
“What?!”
“Wipe your drool off.”
Haruki's face twitched, he quickly wiped his chin, and then stared at me with that scowl of his. “You... you drew something on my face, didn't you!? Admit it.”
I was tempted to.
“Bah. Well, whatever. Don't you have anything to say?”
I gave him the reply he was expecting, “Sorry to make you worry.”
“Well, I'm glad you are. After all, worrying about the well-being of the brigade members is one of the responsibilities of the commander!” Haruki's angry yelling sounded to me like a chorus of angels. At that moment, someone in the hallway softly knocked on the door. Itsuko instinctively got up and pulled it open.
As my third visitor standing outside saw me, “Ah, ahh, aaahhhh...” He proceeded to make a series of frantic sounding noises. Standing there with a vase in his hands, was none other than the second-year North High schoolboy whose childish appearance made him look as though he belonged in middle school.
“Hey... Senpai, hey there,” I wasn't sure whether I should say 'long time no see'. For me, at least, I don't know how long it's been.
“Sniff...” Tears started to trickle from Asahina-senpai's eyes, “Oh geeze... Nee-chan... I... Oh...”
I really wanted to give him a big hug. Asahina-senpai was probably thinking the same thing, but he seems to have forgotten to put down the vase, and only stood there crying.
“Aren't you overdoing it a little? She just bumped her head and fainted. I knew from the start that Kyon wouldn't sleep forever.” A sense of relief could be heard within Haruki's voice, and she continued without even looking at me,
“As I've already mentioned before, the SOS Brigade works 365 days a year! Nobody is allowed to take a day off. I'll never accept a lame excuse like bashing one's head on the stairs and going into a coma, absolutely never. Do you understand, Kyon? The price for going AWOL for three days is very high. You'll be fined! Not just a regular fine, oh no, but there's overdue charges on top of that as well!”
Itsuko began chuckling, Asahina-senpai's giant tear drops trickled endlessly to the ground, while Haruki turned her face away. At first glance, you'd think that he looked pissed off.
Looking at them, I nodded my head and shrugged my shoulders, saying, “All right then, including the overdue fine, how much do I need to pay in total?”
Haruki turned to stare at me, the smile on her face beaming so brightly that it was hard to believe he was angry a second ago. He really is a simple guy.
In the end it was decided that I'd have to pay everyone's bill in the coffee shop for three consecutive days. As I pondered whether to terminate my existing time deposit...
“One more thing...”
There's more?
“Yup. I still haven't gotten around to the compensation for all the trauma you've caused. Oh, okay, I got it. I'm gonna buy you a 'sexy Santa' outfit, and you're gonna wear it at our Christmas party! You have to act extra cute while wearing it, okay? If you refuse, I'll kick you into an alternate dimension! You're wearing that to the kids' party too, you hear me!?”
With a gaze as bright as the light from a prism, Haruki once again began ordering me about.
I didn't mind it at all.
Being awake didn't mean I could get discharged right away. After the doctor came to have a look at me, I was sent to be examined on all sorts of machines. It was so annoyingly complicated that it felt as though they were trying to remake me into a cyborg. After spending the rest of the day on all kinds of checkups, they told me that I'd have to spend another night here. Tonight will be the first night I've spent in a hosptial, and I guess it's worth experiencing that at least once in my life.
Haruki, Itsuko, and Asahina-senpai were just about to leave when my dad and brother came to visit me. Haruki was very courteous when speaking to them. I never knew he could be polite like that. It's kind of surprising.
While I spent time talking to my family, my mind was occupied with various thoughts.
If things continued the way they were, what would've happened next? Nagato, Itsuko, Haruki, and Asahina-senpai would just be regular human beings without any supernatural background whatsoever. Perhaps even then an interesting tale could be written, but there would no longer be any need to learn about the truth of this world, nor would there be any need to worry about any changes caused. It would just be a normal story without any connection to the current dysfunctional world.
I probably wouldn't play any role in that story. All I could do there was just peacefully live my normal high school life and graduate without incident.
'Which world would I be happier with?' I think I know the answer to that now.
It was only in this, the present world, that I could be happy. Otherwise, why would I risk losing my life just to come back here in the first place?
What about you? Which world would you choose? I'm sure the answer would be pretty obvious, right? I can't be the only one that would come this conclusion.
After my family went home and the lights in the ward went out, the only thing I could do was stare at the ceiling. After a few minutes of this, I decided to close my eyes.
I had apparently spent the past three days, in this world that is, sleeping.
In that case... if the world had become like that, that meant that it'd been changed.
This world had already been changed twice. The world that was distorted by Nagato had changed once again to the original world as it is now. So, who was it that made the second change?
It couldn't be Haruki. For those three days, Haruki didn't have such powers, and for that matter the Haruki of this world didn't even know the world had changed. Who, then, could it be?
Well, there's only one person who could have saved my life by grabbing Asakura's sword with his hands... that would be Nagato.
That aside, before I lost consciousness, I saw two Asahina-senpais. The second one wasn't the adult Asahina-senpai, but my senior, Asahina-senpai, the adorable little upperclassman from the future.
There was also another person, the owner of the mysterious voice that spoke to me near the end. I knew I'd heard that voice before. I tried to recall who it was, but very quickly I realized I didn't even need to bother.
That was my own voice.
“I see, so that's how it is.”
In that case... I would have to travel back to that time period again. I'd have to go back to the early morning of December 18th, and I had to go with the Asahina-senpai and Nagato of this time period. Only then could the world be restored to its present state.
Asahina-senpai would be responsible for bringing me and Nagato back to that time period, while Nagato's mission would be to amend his past self, who had gone astray for the past three days. Although, I don't know whether he'd use Haruki's powers or the powers of the Data Overmind.
'I too had a role to play in this as well' is what I thought anyway. If I hadn't heard myself speaking back then, I wouldn't be here today. In order to preserve my present existence, I would need to go back and say this to my past self: “Sorry about that. I have my reasons for not rescuing you right away, but don't hate me for it. After all, it was painful for me too, you know? Anyway, we'll take care of the rest. No, I already know what to do now, and you will as well. So go get some sleep.”
I repeated these lines over and over again in my head, making sure to memorize them. While I couldn't guarantee that they were exactly what I said to myself back then, the meaning should come across.
In place of the me who got run through by a katana, my role I was fated to play was the one who used the needle gun.
As for the reason why I couldn't save my past self from being impaled by Asakura, I understood that as well; from the tone of my future self's voice, it didn't sound like I ran over in a hurry. Asahina-senpai, Nagato and I must have hidden somewhere nearby beforehand. We had to be sure that we didn't move too early or too late: we had to wait until I got stabbed by Asakura. Why was that? Well, you see, because to my past self, that was something that had already happened. To paraphrase Asahina-senpai, “it is a predetermined event”.
It was now very late at night, but I wasn't in the mood to sleep. Instead, I was waiting.
Waiting for what, you ask? I was waiting for the only person in the SOS Brigade who had yet to visit me, of course! It'd be a joke if he didn't come.
I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time. It was only much later, when visiting hours were long over, that my patience was rewarded.
The door to my private room slowly opened, the light from the corridor casting the shadow of a tall, thin figure on the floor. Standing there was the last person to come visit me, Yuuki Nagato.
As always, Nagato spoke without any emotion. “I am responsible for everything that has happened,” he said.
For some reason, hearing this voice made me feel nostalgic.
“My punishment is currently being assessed.”
I lifted my head and asked, “Assessed by whom?”
“The Data Overmind,” Nagato said calmly, as though it had all happened to someone else.
The thing is, Nagato had known for a long time that he would create a ruckus on the morning of December 18th, because I had gone to visit him three years ago with the adult Asahina-senpai. He knew all along, and he tried his damnedest to prevent it from happening. Yet there was no way to stop the tide. Sometimes, even if you know what's going to happen, you can't avoid it. But couldn't it have been possible to avert it...?
I suddenly thought of the behaviour and mannerisms that Nagato had displayed after the summer, which had been slightly different from before. “But, Nagato,” I said, “if you knew you were going to go astray since three years ago, you could've told me at any time, couldn't you? Whether it was after the school festival, or before the baseball tournament, I would've been able to take action earlier than that specific time on December 18th. All that would've needed to be done would be to call everyone and travel back to three years ago again.”
Nagato's expression was as cold as ice. “If I had told you prior to the incident, my astray self would still have been able to erase all your memories concerning said incident and alter the world. In any case, no one can guarantee that something that hasn't happened will ever occur. The best I could do was to keep you in your original state when December 18th arrived.”
“Didn't you leave an Escape Program for me? That was more than enough already!” As I was thanking him, I began to grow angry, but my anger wasn't directed at Nagato, nor at myself.
His blank voice echoed through the walls of the ward, “I cannot guarantee that I will not go astray again in the future. As long as I continue to exist, my internal errors will continue to accumulate. This is a very dangerous possibility.”
“BULLSHIT! Relay this message for me.”
Hearing my yell, Nagato's head tilted back about two centimetres. He even blinked.
I reached out and grabbed that ghostly pale hand of his. Nagato didn't resist.
“Listen carefully, because I want you to tell this to your boss. If he ever thinks of making you disappear, then I'm going to let all hell break loose. I'm gonna get you back, no matter what it takes. I may not have any powers, but I'm pretty good at provoking Haruki.”
I did indeed have a trump card in provoking Haruki. All I needed to do was tell him the following:
“My name is Joan Smith.”
That's right. While I have no special abilities to speak of, that great idiot Haruki is possessed of enormous power. If Nagato disappeared, I'd tell that moron everything. I'd tell him until he believed me, and then we'd embark on a journey to rescue Nagato. Even if Nagato's boss hid him away or eliminated him entirely, Haruki'd think of some way to turn the tables. Hell, I'd make him think of a way! Itsuko and Asahina-senpai could even lend a hand! With all of us together, who'd give a damn about the opinion of some data being or other at the edge of the universe!?
Nagato is our friend. If someone from the SOS Brigade was to go missing, Haruki would never let the matter rest. Not just Nagato, but if Koizumi, Asahina-senpai, or I had suddenly left, even by our own volition, an idiot like Haruki wouldn't give us up so easily. He'd resort to anything to bring us back. That's Haruki Suzumiya, the pushy, self-centred, inconsiderate and troublesome God-King of the SOS Brigade!
I glared furiously at Nagato, “If your boss even tries to do anything funny, then I'll make Haruki recreate the world from scratch! We'll create a world similar to the one from the past three days, where you exist but the Data Overmind doesn't. I bet they'll be damn disappointed if that happens! Observation target? Observation my ass!”
My anger intensified as I spoke. I had no idea how big an Overmind this thing had, but he'd be pretty smart, right? He was probably one of those people that could calculate pi to the hundred millionth decimal point in just two seconds and do all sorts of advanced math tricks and stuff.
Assuming that's true, then I have something else to tell him.
I'm sure it'd be a piece of cake to give Nagato a more human-like personality. Before he turned into a psycho killer, Asakura was quite popular, not to mention being open and friendly. He'd even hang out with his friends over the holidays. If you could create someone like him, why did you make Nagato a lonely bookworm sitting and reading by himself in the Literature Club? What, were you thinking that if his personality wasn't like that, then, then it wouldn't look like a Literature Club, therefore he wouldn't have attracted Haruki's attention? Who made a decision like that!?
At this point I noticed I was practically crushing Nagato's fingers, yet the book-loving Humanoid Interface didn't begrudge me at all.
Nagato simply looked straight at me, and then slowly nodded his head, “I will relay the message.”
His calm voice then quietly added, “Thank you.”