Hold on, what do you mean, 'helped you!?' You practically had me do everything, even though you were already bigger than I was... but I wasn't going to waste my time arguing with him. I've finally found a clue! In this completely altered world, there was one person, and only one person, who shared a memory with me.
So it is you after all.
That person was none other than Haruki Suzumiya.
If this Haruki has met me on Tanabata three years ago, then this world three years later could be traced back to that point in time. Not everything had disappeared without a trace. That part of history where I travelled back three years with Asahina-senpai, and returned to the present with the help of Nagato's power did indeed exist. I don't know what had happened since, but at least three years ago, this world was the same world as the one I had always known.
Just what went wrong? Why was I the only one with my original memories?
I guess I'll think about this later.
I looked at Haruki, who had finally stopped laughing, and was gazing at me as though he had seen one of the wonders of the world, and said to him, "I'll explain everything. Do you have time? Because it's going to be a long story..."
As the three of us walked shoulder to shoulder, Haruki spoke, "I've seen Joan Smith twice. When I was on my way home from East Junior that night, I heard someone shout behind me, uh, what did she say...... oh, right! Something like, 'Please take good care of the Joan Smith who will spread excitement all over the world!' I've always wondered, what is that supposed to mean?"
I never said any such thing. After making sure Haruki was out of sight, I went and woke up Senpai and hurried towards Nagato's apartment. Could there be another Joan Smith? If so, just what the hell was that John Smith talking about?
It sounded as though he was trying to give some hint to Haruki.
"Was that Joan the same girl you saw at East Junior?"
"She was too far away, plus, well, it was dark. I can't remember either of their faces very well. But her voice sounded like yours, and she was wearing the North High uniform."
Things seem to be getting more and more complicated. Just when I thought I had found a link, the details didn't match up.
We looked for a coffee shop nearby and went inside. I had wanted to go to the usual coffee shop we at the SOS Brigade used for our meetings, since it was like our reunion, after all. Too bad it was a bit far from where we were.
"This other you that I knew attended North High, instead, and on the first day of school, he said the following......"
I began my story right away, before our orders even arrived. By the time my cafe au lait had cooled down to the point that I could drink it all in one gulp, I had told Haruki and Itsuko the compressed version of everything that has happened so far, without holding back. Like, for example, how an alien, a time traveller and an esper came together in the SOS Brigade, and how our clubroom was actually the Literature Club's room.
I made sure to tell them in detail about my time travelling adventure during Tanabata, as I thought that was the most important part.
I also gave Haruki a general picture about how he was supposed to be either a god, a time distortion, or an evolutionary possibility, as none of these theories were confirmed. I only told him that he had an incredible power hidden within himself, and how this unknown power could even alter the face of reality.
Just telling him this was enough to get Haruki very interested. He kept going in and out of deep thought, and then finally said, "How come you could read the alien language I completely made up? It is true that those symbols meant 'I am here, come look for me'?"
"Someone translated that for me."
"You mean that alien?"
"To be precise, a Living Humanoid Interface created by the aliens in order to interact with humans. I think that's how he put it."
I told them everything about Yuuki Nagato. At first glance he seemed like some sort of gift from the Literature Club, but he's actually only set up as an expressionless quiet bookworm. I then told them about Asahina-senpai, how our public relations officer and the brigade's exclusive tea-serving butler was actually a time traveller from the future. It was him that I travelled back with to the Tanabata three years ago, and it was thanks to Nagato that we managed to return.
"So that means he was the one with Joan, huh? I guess I'll believe you, since it can't hurt. You were time travelling back then, eh..."
Haruki looked at me with eyes used to examine a time traveller and nodded his head.
Aren't you being a bit too trusting? I never thought you were one to believe someone so easily. That time I told you in the coffee shop, when it was just the two of us on that Search For Mysterious Events, you thought I was an idiot.
"That other me is an idiot, but I believe you," Haruki leaned forward and added, "Believing, you see, is more fun!"
I was familiar with this brilliant smile which was like the rising of a hundred suns. This was the smile Haruki had when I saw him smile for the first time. It was the million watt smile he had when she suddenly thought about setting up the SOS Brigade during that one English class.
"Since the day we first met, I went and investigated everyone from North High. I even infiltrated the place for a while, but I never saw anybody who looked like Joan. I was so pissed at myself for not remembering her, er, your face properly, but now it makes sense, since you weren't even enrolled there three years ago..."
There were two versions of myself back then, one was living as a carefree middle schoolgirl, the other one being me frozen in time with Asahina-senpai inside Nagato's guest room.
Well I'm at it, I might as well explain the ordeals of Wonder Girl here, "In that world Itsuko is an esper. You helped me a great deal, but you've also given me a lot of trouble," although the other you would never have done something like kick me in the shins.
"If all this is true, then that's pretty incredible," Itsuko said with a half-suspicious glance, while drinking her tea elegantly.
I turned once again towards Haruki, "Why didn't you come to North High?"
"No real reason, really. I was only interested in North High because of that incident on Tanabata, but by the time I entered high school, Joan would have graduated already, and I hadn't managed to find her anyway. Besides, Kouyouen has a higher university entrance rate, and my homeroom teacher at junior high kept nagging me to enroll there, so I simply followed his advice just to shut him the hell up. Actually it doesn't really matter which high school I go to, come to think of it."
I decided to ask Itsuko as well, "What about you? Why were you transferred here?"
"You're asking me? Well, my answer's pretty much the same as Suzumiya-san's. I simply went to where my academic abilities led me. Besides, and I'm not saying North High's in any way bad, but Kouyouen was just so much better in terms of campus facilities."
True enough, North High doesn't even have air conditioning.
Haruki, sighing, rested his head in his hands and said, "The SOS Brigade, huh? ...Sounds like fun,"
All thanks to you.
"If, and only if what you say is true," cutting in was Itsuko, who had now toned down her fake smile and said with an amused look, "Judging from your story, there exist two possibilities."
Now that really sounds like something Itsuko would say.
"The first would be that you have entered a parallel universe, in which you have arrived from your world to this world; the second would be that the whole world has been changed except for yourself."
I've thought about that as well.
"Yet, no matter which one it is, there are still questions to be answered. If it's the former, then where did your counterpart in this world go to? If it's the latter, it's puzzling as to why you are the only one who remained unchanged. Unless you happen to possess some incredible power, of course. That would explain a lot."
I don't, and this I can guarantee.
Itsuko shrugged her shoulders gracefully, one of her annoying trademark expressions, and continued, "If you have entered a parallel universe, then you must find a way to return to the world from where you came from. If it's the world being completely altered, then you must find a way to restore the world to its original form. No matter which possibility it is, in order to resolve this, you have to find the culprit behind all this, since it's possible that they would know how to return things to normal."
Who else could it be besides Haruki?
"Who knows? Maybe it's some invader from an alternate universe using Earth as a gaming platform. There might even be some evil mastermind that will appear sooner or later."
It's obvious from her tone that she's full of shit. In fact, I'm pretty sure she's making fun of me. Haruki, however, didn't notice this at all, and his eyes glinted as he said, "You know, I'd sure like to meet this Nagato-san and this Asahina-san. I'd also want to have a look at that club room. If I'm really responsible for this change, then maybe I'd remember something if we all met up. Right, Joan?"
Why not? I had no reason to object. If this guy really is behind all this - or at least that's what I think, anyway - then maybe it could trigger something within him, and then Nagato and Asahina-senpai might be able to remember me. Once the alien and time traveler return to normal, then everything else can be resolved easily. Wait, hang on, did he just call me Joan?
"You said you're called Kyon, right? That's really stupid. Joan sounds better, since it feels more like a person's name. Wasn't there some Western historical figure called that? Whatever. Just who gave you that Kyon nickname? It sounds as though people don't respect you at all."
It was my uncle who gave me that nickname, while my brother was responsible for spreading it all over the place. Despite this, I felt very satisfied at this Suzumiya complaining about it. I wonder why... it hasn't been that long since I last heard that nickname.
"Then, let's go."
I might as well try asking, "Now? Where to?"
Haruki had already stood up and yelled boastfully at me, "To North High, of course!"
In a blink of an eye, Haruki, who couldn't even stand waiting for the automatic door to open, had already rushed out of the coffee shop.
That was so Haruki of him. I was very relieved to see that.
You sure are something, Haruki. Once something sticks in your head, you take action in less than two seconds. Whenever you kick the clubroom door open with that bullheaded attitude, we'd know immediately that you had some crazy new idea to announce. Nagato was the only one who never seemed to react... wait, Nagato...
"Aw, hell!"
I looked at my watch. It way past the end of the school day. I had completely forgotten about the promise I made while I was at Nagato's apartment last night; I had said I'd be at the clubroom the next day, and yet here I am, late. An image of a depressed Nagato, alone, reading a book, waiting for a knock at the door floated into my brain. Please wait a little longer, Nagato-san. I'm on my way.
Itsuko picked up the bill, which Haruki had left behind and said, "I'll be paying for Suzumiya-san, I suppose."
You should pay for me as well, to make up for that kick earlier. That still hurts.
"I was merely trying to protect Suzumiya-san from a dangerous person. You can't blame me for that, can you?"
Fine, then I'll tell you about stuff I didn't even tell Haruki. Stuff about you.
"Oh? Very well then, I'm all ears."
I regurgitated everything that this esper girl had ever told me. Things like the anthropic principle, or how Haruki is supposed to be God, and about how she had went to great lengths to stage a murder mystery on a lone island in order to keep Haruki entertained.
Seeing Itsuko going into deep thought, I asked her, "Could Haruki be behind this, or is it someone else altogether? What do you think?"
"If the Suzumiya-san that you mention really does possess omnipotence, then it's possible that it could be his doing, yes."
I couldn't think of anyone else it could be. If that's the case, though, this meant that Haruki had kept Itsuko around him while casting myself and the other two aside. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but I don't believe that Haruki prefers Itsuko over any one of us. Was this part of Haruki's unconscious power as well?
"Does that mean I should be feeling honoured at being chosen by Suzumiya-san?" Itsuko giggled and continued, "After all, I...... yes, you could say that I'm... interested in him."
"..Are you serious!?" You must be joking, right? Right?
"I think he's an incredibly captivating person."
Now, where have I heard that before?
Itsuko went on in a serious tone, "Yet, Suzumiya-san is only interested in my superficial attributes. Ah, I don't mean my body or anything. He said it was only because I'm a transfer student that he bothered speaking to me in the first place. As I'm just an ordinary transfer student, he seems to be getting bored of me lately. In that SOS Brigade that you mentioned, what sort of special attributes did you have? If you have none, then that means Suzumiya-san is very fond of you, that is if that Suzumiya-san is the same person as the Suzumiya-san I know."
Yeah, I don't think I've written into my resume any skills that would get me sent straight to a funny farm, besides the pretty useless skill of getting myself unwittingly dragged into mysterious events.
Haruki stuck his head inside the cafe and yelled at us with a bright smile on his face, "Why're you two still here? Hurry up already!"
While Itsuko waited at the counter for the waitress to finish counting out her change, I took my first step from the warmth-filled coffee shop back into the cold outdoors where even a single breath becomes visible.
A taxi awaited us outside the entrance; seems like Haruki had flagged it down. It looked like he wanted to get to North High as soon as possible. By the way, just to clarify, this wasn't the mysterious black cab that Itsuko and I would occasionally ride in, but a normal yellow cab.
"To North High, full speed ahead!" Haruki ordered the driver as he leapt into the cab. I followed with Itsuko and sat in the back seat. The middle-aged driver, surprisingly, didn't flinch when the large boy bellowed into his ear, but merely smiled squeamishly and stepped on the gas pedal.
"I don't really mind if you barge into North High," I said to the side of Haruki's face, "But your uniform stands out too much. Students from other schools need a reason to get in, and we'd be in trouble if the teachers found out."
"Hm, that's..." Haruki thought for three seconds, then said, "Joan, did you have phys ed today? Well, it doesn't even matter. You store your gym uniforms in your classroom, right?"
Well, we had PE first period today.
"So you bring your gym uniform and track suit?"
I did, but why?
Haruki smiled enigmatically, "I will now explain the plan for today's mission. Joan, Koizumi-san, lend me your ears."
Does it really matter if the taxi driver overhears everything? Yet we still obediently leaned forward and listened as Haruki quietly laid out his mission briefing.
"That really sounds like something you'd do," I replied, and took a glance at Itsuko, who gave a complicated grimace.
I got off the cab near North High first and went back to my classroom in order to prepare for Haruki's infiltration of the school.
By the way, the cab fare was also paid for by Itsuko. This version of her is basically Haruki's living wallet, isn't she? I don't know what she did to him to deserve such treatment. Could her feelings for Haruki really be romantic? I'd love to know what she sees in him. Still, like Taniguchi said, despite being utterly mad, Haruki was quite popular with the girls in junior high. I guess it's his height? Anyway, if he hadn't created the SOS Brigade, then he'd probably have kept busy breaking the hearts of every girl to send him a love letter. Come to think of it, the SOS Brigade is kind of like his sanctuary, isn't it? By becoming the undisputed leader of such a weird club, any girl with sense would automatically avoid him, like a batter dodging a powerful pitch. Instead of being struck out three times and getting hit on the head by the ball, most people would prefer avoiding the ball altogether and taking it easy while walking towards the first base.
I thought all this to myself while heading towards the top floor.
There weren't a lot of people in the main complex, but it wasn't entirely empty: students who decided to stay for their club activities because they had nothing better to do at home were scattered here and there. Fortunately for me, the 1-5 classroom was empty. I was quite afraid of being caught by Okabe-sensei; if I were her, I'd want to know why someone who had decided to take the rest of the day off would want to sneak back into their classroom.
I was wondering where my books and stationery had gone, but turns out they were put back inside my desk. Probably by Asakura, which made me feel sorry for what I was about to do to him. Only my bag hung on one side of the desk, while the leather shoes that I was looking for were hung on the other side.
"He sure has everything thought out." I sighed at Haruki's meticulousness as I took out the bag containing my PE uniform. Inside this huge sports bag was a short sleeve PE shirt, a pair of bloomers, and my jacket and sweat pants, all of which I'd worn during PE in first period. The infiltration plan that Haruki thought up of in the cab was obviously 'disguising as North High students'. "Koizumi-san'll wear your regular gym uniform, and I'll wear your sweats. Then we'll run through the front gate. Everyone will just think we're from the Athletics Club, having finished jogging. Perfect, no?"
When I pointed out that my sweats would never, ever fit him, he told me to grab someone's else's intead, which is why I am now rifling through Asakura's desk. Anyone who caught me in the act would probably think me a pervert.... At least it was better than randomly grabbing a guy and a girl from North High on their way home and taking their clothes off.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea," said Haruki who had been waiting for me at a street corner some distance from the school gate. "How come you never mentioned this before? It'll be even less likely that they'll suspect something if we wear normal uniforms."
That'd be mugging them! How could I be expected to do something like that!?
Haruki untied the ropes on my sports bag and mercilessly turned it upside down, emptying its all over the road.
"These are washed, right?"
About a week ago. Asakura probably cleans his daily. Except today, luckily for us.
"Excuse me, Suzumiya-san," Itsuko looked at my muddy PE uniform like a desert mouse staring desperately at a Mongolian tiger that had forced it into a corner, and said, "So, ah, where do we get changed? Is there some hidden place nearby?"
"We can change here," Haruki replied quickly, and grabbed the sweatpants at once. "There aren't many people here, and it won't be that cold if you change quickly. Don't worry, I'll turn around. Joan, you turn around as well, we'll cover for her,"
And how about you, brigade leader?
"Like I care if people see my boxers," he grinned, then proceeded to unbutton his slacks. I looked away immediately.
"This guy's shorter than me, huh. Guess I'll need to roll these up a little so it doesn't look weird." I heard noises that were probably him doing just that. To my left, I heard Itsuko muttering to herself and shivering.
"So who'd you steal these from?" Haruki asked me.
If you must know, they belong to our class president.
"Hah! You sure have guts. By the way, you can turn back now." Wearing a short-sleeved plain white T-shirt and a pair of rolled-up sweats, Haruki stood there proudly, his hair fluttering in the wind.
Looks the part, I guess, but what about me? I don't really look like an athletics club member.
"You got a ponytail. That's good enough," Haruki gave me a wink. "By the way, it looks really great on you."
"..." I looked away again.
Though it took a while longer, Itsuko, too, had finished changing. Must be tough on her to wear nothing but a t-shirt and bloomers in this cold weather.
"Not to mention that it's a little tight around the chest and the hips."
I'll kill you.
Shivering and covered in goosebumps, Itsuko asked, "Suzumiya-san, you're not going to wear the jacket, right? Mind if I were to borrow it?"
Haruki was also wearing short sleeves, yet wearing a smile bright enough to drive away the cold, he said, "Nope. We need the jacket to hide our bags. We've already come this far, I'm not going to let one bag ruin it."
Indeed, the schoolbags for Kouyouen Academy and North High were slightly different in their exterior design. Haruki opened up the track suit jacket like a table cloth, wrapped it around his and Itsuko's bags, and then ordered me to carry the whole lot. He then stuffed all the leftover clothes into my gym bag, and asked me to carry that as well.
"Now," Haruki placed his hands on his hips and said, "Now we look like we just came back from marathon practice. Not bad, huh?"
Again, what about me? In what school could you find an Athletics Club member carrying a lot of stuff while going on marathon training in regular uniform at the same time?
"Just think of yourself as our manager! And now! One, two, fight! One, two, fight! Woo!"
As this overenthusiastic team captain ran off, I exchanged glances with Itsuko. We shrugged our shoulders at the same time and followed after him.
Both this Itsuko and I knew very well that it was tremendously, impossibly difficult to stop Haruki from running around like a maniac, no matter what the circumstances. Chasing after him was the only thing that we could do.
It's always been like that, hasn't it?
I don't know if you could consider it a good or bad thing, but unlike Kouyouen, the gates at North High are always open. Guards are nowhere to be found. Everything was going according to plan; Haruhi's phony marathon run while shouting slogans came to an end quickly as we safely arrived at our destination, the entrance hall. I never thought it would have taken so much work just to get Haruki and Itsuko into my school; they had been able to come and go as they pleased three days ago.
"Such an old complex! Seriously, why are the walls all prefab? Are prefectural schools really that poor? It was the right decision not to enrol here." I listened to his perfectly accurate statement while turning my gaze away from the rows of shoe lockers. I had already changed into my indoor shoes, but just when I was wondering where we kept the slippers for guests, Haruki had already casually opened the locker nearest to him and was holding some random student's shoes.
It's just like him to do that, too. I instinctively made a strange smile.
"What are you smiling for? That looks stupid. It's not like I did anything funny." I removed my smile after he said that; he's right, no matter what laws Haruki might break, now was not the time to be smiling.
I figured Taniguchi's shoe size was probably about the same as Itsuko's, so I went and stole Taniguchi's shoes and gave them to her.
"Sorry for the trouble." With a tone that didn't sound sorry at all, Itsuko thanked me politely and put on the shoes. I stuffed the sneakers she had been wearing into Taniguchi's locker.
I then took their bags, still wrapped under the jacket, and carried them under my arm again. "I'll lead the way, follow me."
"Hold it!" As I was about to walk off, Haruhi stopped me by grabbing my ponytail like a leash. This, too, is nostalgic, but please don't do it anyway. "That alien Nagato-san, he's in the Literature Club, right?"
To be more precise, the current Nagato is a normal student who used to be an alien. He's probably still waiting for me.
"This Nagato-san probably won't just run off. Let's go get that time traveller Asahina-san. Where is he?"
At this time of day, he's probably gone home... wait. Suddenly a thought came to my mind. My instincts weren't just for show, huh? I didn't even need to try and remember it; I can say confidently that this Asahina-senpai who doesn't know me was carrying some calligraphy tools with him. Before he got dragged into the SOS Brigade, he was a member of the Calligraphy Club. So that means he's still at school right now.
"All right then, this way." I'm sorry, Nagato. Please wait just a little longer. Silently praying that the Calligraphy Club was meeting today, I started walking a little faster.
Haruki was the one who opened the door of the Calligraphy Club's room. He simply had no concept of the etiquette of knocking, no matter what Haruki he is. I wasn't in the mood to lecture him on such minor details, while Itsuko stood uneasily in the corridor.
There were three guys in the clubroom; it looked like they were practising their calligraphy for writing New Year greetings.
"Which one of you here is Asahina-san?"
"...Can I help you?" The smallest of the guys widened her eyes said while raising his hand timidly. "What do you want...?" He had paused, holding his brush in mid-air.
I leaned around Haruki's bulk and inspected the interior of the room. Tsuruya-senpai wasn't here. I breathed a sigh of relief, remembering that he wasn't in the Calligraphy Club.
Haruki leaned down and whispered in my ear, "That's him, right? Is he really a second-year? Looks more like he should be in junior high."
"That's what I thought, too, but no, that's our Senpai."
After hearing that, Haruki stepped forward in huge strides and began to spout bullshit at the little cherub of a calligrapher, whose fingers had stiffened on his brush,
"I'm Suzumiya of the Student Council's Information Division. Asahina-san, the reason I've come is because there's something I need to ask you. Do you have a moment?"
You ought to come up with some better lies, especially when you're dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants!
Asahina-senpai blinked his eyes several times and said nervously, "Student Council... Information Division? What's that... besides, I don't know anything."
"It doesn't matter, just come with us!" Haruki grabbed his brush and threw it by the side of the calligraphy paper, then grabbed Asahina-senpai's arm and forcefully pulled him to his feet. The other club members were too stunned and frightened to be able to say anything. If Tsuruya-senpai were here, I get the feeling I might have been able to observe an interesting, out-of-this-world fight between him and Haruki. Right now though, the latter just wrapped his arms around Asahina-senpai's waist and simply abducted him without giving an explanation.
"Dude, you're so tiny.... and... adorable. I like it!" Haruki said cheerfully as he molested the body of an upperclassman from another school.
"Ahh! Wah! Wh... wha... d-don't touch me like that! ...Huh!?" Noticing me standing by the door, Asahina-senpai's eyes widened even further. He was probably thinking, 'Oh no! It's that rotten girl from the other day!' Asahina-senpai looked fearfully as well at Itsuko, who was having to stand on one foot to keep warm as she was waiting in the corridor. Itsuko looked at Asahina-senpai as though looking at a complete stranger and said, "I'm not a bad person, honest."
Stop trying to act as though you have nothing to do with it, especially when you're dressed like that, Itsuko. It won't work.
Like a parent trying to stop a child from running away once told he had to go to the dentist, Haruki dragged a struggling Asahina-senpai along and said, "Hey, Joan, that just leaves Nagato-san. Hurry up and take me to him."
I don't need you to tell me that. We have to hurry along before some keen-eyed student or teacher who knows I skipped class finds me here.
We arrived at the place located on the third floor of the complex known as the Old Shack, the headquarters of the SOS Brigade, which is officially known as the club room for the Literature Club.
This time I knocked on the door before opening it.
"Hey, Nagato."
The bespectacled guy looked up from the thick hardcover library book on the table, "Ah, I was waiting for..." Seeing it was me, Nagato breathed a sigh of relief, "Huh?" When he saw Haruki following me in, his eyes widened, "...Huh?" Seeing Asahina-senpai being dragged in by Haruki, his jaw dropped, "..." And when she saw Itsuko entering last, he was speechless.
"Yo. 'Sup?" Haruki smiled brilliantly. After making sure everyone had entered the room, he went and locked the door. Click! Upon hearing this sound, both Nagato and Asahina-senpai had the same reaction - their bodies stiffened up in fear.
"W-What are you doing?" It was just like the day we first met. Asahina-san was close to tears. "Where is this place? Why did you bring me here? And, w-w-why are you locking the door? What do you want with me? Are you kidnappers or something?!"
It was the exact same reaction. I was moved to tears
"Silence!" Just like before, Haruki got the situation under control immediately. He then turned to inspect the whole room. "So this four-eyes is Nagato-san? What's up? I'm Haruki Suzumiya! The girl in the too-small bloomers here is Koizumi-san; while the cute little elementary schooler here is Asahina-san. As for this chick, you should know her, right? She's John Smith!"
"Joan... Smith?" Nagato, stunned, pushed up his glasses and looked at me in disbelief. I shrugged my shoulders and accepted the stupid name. Both Kyon and Joan sound stupid anyway.
"So... this is the SOS Brigade, huh? There's not a lot in here, but it's not a bad room. It's worth bringing some stuff over to liven it up a little." Like a curious cat being brought to visit an unfamiliar home, Haruki wandered around the room, looked out of the window, examined the books on the bookshelf with an interested look, and then said to me, "So, what do we do next?"
Don't tell me you didn't think of that before deciding to launch your invasion? I know I'm repeating myself at this point, but that's so like Haruki.
"I'm all for making this room our headquarters, but it's damn inconvenient to get here. It'll be a waste of time to come over after school, so... yeah, why don't we just set a time and meet at the coffee shop in front of the station?"
After he said this, no one besides me and the one who was talking knew what was going on.
Nagato looked like a mannequin with a troubled expression; Asahina-senpai was giving everyone strange looks while trembling in fear; while Itsuko tried to shrug while pulling down her shirt simultaneously.
I've got to say something. However, before I was able to speak...
Ding!
Suddenly, the computer, which no one had touched, made some electronic noises. Nagato instinctively turned his head with a "Huh?"
I had to stand on my tiptoes to see what was going on. This strange computer was contradicting all my knowledge about how these machines work.
The ancient CRT screen made a static noise, and slowly illuminated, which I could see from the reflection on Nagato's glasses.
This was supposed to be accompanied by the sound of the hard disk spinning, yet no such sound could be heard. I've seen this happen before... no, I remember, back then I had to turn the machine on first. The OS logo did not appear, but instead the screen had an appearance that looked very familiar...
"Let me have a look," I said as my body moved on its own. I squeezed past Haruki and moved in front of the computer.
Silently displayed on the dark gray monitor was a line of words.
YUUKI.N > If you are reading this, I am probably no longer myself.
...Yes, that's it, Nagato.
"What the hell? No one's typing anything, it's freaky!"
"Well, maybe it was programmed to turn on at a certain time? But this machine looks ancient... that must be a lot of work for something so old."
I didn't pay attention to anything Haruki and Itsuko said behind me. I didn't even dare to blink, for fear of missing a single word or sentence. I could hear my heart thumping in my ears as I stared at the screen.
YUUKI.N > When this message appears, it means that you, me, Haruki Suzumiya,
Mitsuuru Asahina and Itsuko Koizumi have all been gathered here.
It was as if the words were moving to match my reading speed. Without any decorative description, the cursor then typed out the following:
YUUKI.N > This is the key. You have found the answer.
I didn't exactly find the answer. It was more like me stumbling into the answer while being dragged around by Haruki. This Haruki sure is useful... By the way, Nagato, it's been a while.
I watched the words on the screen with a nostalgic feeling. Though the lines were silent, inside my heart I could hear Nagato reading each word in that monotonous tone. The cursor continued to move:
YUUKI.N > This is the Emergency Escape Program. To activate it, hit the "Enter" key, otherwise,
hit any other key. Once activated, you will be given a chance to repair the space-time continuum.
However, neither success nor your safe return can be guaranteed.
Emergency Escape... Program. That's it! It's in this computer!
YUUKI.N > This program can only be executed once. Once it is executed, it will be deactivated.
Should you choose not to activate it, it will also be deactivated. Are you ready?
This was the last line of words. The cursor at the end blinked unstoppingly.
...Should I hit "Enter"? Or should I hit some other key?
When I came to my senses, I realized Haruki was peeking over my shoulder.
"So what does it all mean? Is it some secret organization? Joan, stop fooling around and explain already!"
I completely ignored Haruki, Itsuko and Asahina-senpai. During this moment, my eyes were neither fixed on the overbearing Haruki, Itsuko in my PE uniform, nor the adorable little Asahina-senpai. I was giving all my attention to this computer and the only other person in this room. I said to the boy in glasses, who was staring at the screen looking stunned: "Nagato, do you have any recollection of this?"
"...No."
"Are you sure?"
"Why are you asking again?"
Why was he in such a hurry to deny any involvement? 'It's you who's typing those words', I wanted to say, but if I did, Nagato would probably freak out.
I decided to examine the last part of the message once again.
This was a message Nagato left for me. It was the Nagato I had always known that wrote it. To be honest, I didn't really understand what this Emergency Escape Program meant, and the disclaimer about success not being completely guaranteed unsettled me. Yet, I've come this far, and there's no point worrying about it now. I used to place my entire trust in that Nagato, and I could only rely on him again now. He rarely makes mistakes. If I couldn't trust Nagato, the silent alien-created Living Humanoid Interface who saved my life numerous times, who else could I trust? If I were to doubt even what he says, then I should start doubting myself instead.
"Hey, Joan. What's wrong? You look strange." Haruki's voice sounded as if it came from a long distance away.
"Please leave me alone for a while. I'm trying to organize my thoughts." Right now, I really needed to think things over. A Haruki and Itsuko who study in a different school, an Asahina-senpai who wasn't a time traveller, and a Nagato who doesn't seem to know anything at all. After thinking about these things, I realized they weren't even worth considering right now.
The words written by Nagato on the screen were his personal thoughts. The genuineness of that message cannot be doubted.
I stretched my arms and took a deep breath. That's it... The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to get out of this world. I wanted to see the SOS Brigade once again, who had become a part of my everyday life. I wanted to see everyone else in that world. The Haruki, Asahina-senpai, Itsuko and Nagato here weren't the ones that I knew. There was no 'Organization' or Data Overmind here, and the adult version of Asahina-senpai would never visit this world. Everything's so messed up.
It didn't take me long to make up my mind. I took out a crumpled piece of paper from my jacket... "I'm sorry, Nagato, but you can have this back."
Nagato's pale fingers slowly reached out to receive the blank club application form. Once I let go, the application form fluttered about, though there was hardly any breeze in the room. After missing his grip once, he finally grabbed hold of it the second time around.
"This..." Nagato's voice shook slightly, his eyes concealed by the glare from the monitor.
"Look," I quickly explained, "To tell the truth, I was already a member here to begin with. There was no need for me to join the Literature Club, because, well..."
The other three all looked and me and thought, 'What the hell is she talking about?'
Nagato's expression had frozen, so I had no idea what he was thinking. It doesn't matter. Don't worry, Nagato. No matter what happens next, I'll definitely return to this room.
"Because I'm a member of the SOS Brigade."
Are you ready?
You bet.
I stretched out my finger and hit the "Enter" key.
In the next moment...
"Wha-!?"
When I stood up, I was hit by a very intense dizziness. I involuntarily grabbed hold of the desk as my vision spun. I could feel my ears buzzing as I heard the sounds of people talking coming from afar. Everything went black. I lost all sense of balance. I felt as though I was drifting around, like a tree leaf that had fallen into a rapid, spinning forever non-stop. The voices calling me started to drift away, what were they trying to say? Was it Joan or Kyon? I wasn't sure myself. It didn't sound like Haruki's voice.
It's so dark, am I falling? Where was I falling? Someone should at least tell me.
My thoughts were in complete chaos. Were my eyes really open? I couldn't see anything, nor could I hear anything. I could only feel myself floating. Just where was my body? What about Haruki? Everything's twisted. Itsuko, Senpai, where am I? Just where was I going? Just what awaits me in this Emergency Escape Program?
Nagato...
"Aahh!?" I yelled once again, nearly twisting my ankles as I barely managed to keep upright. It was only then I realized I was still standing.
"What the hell...?" It was dark everywhere, though so dark that you couldn't see your own fingers. That relieved me a little.
"Where am I..." Looking out at the dim lights shining through the window, I confirmed my location. This looks like a room, and I seem to be holding on to a table. On top of the table was an old computer... "The Literature Clubroom!"
It was the Literature Clubroom from before.
Yet Nagato wasn't here. Haruki, Asahina-senpai and Itsuko had also vanished. Only I remained. The sun seems to have set already, even though sunlight was shining through the window a moment ago. It's gone dark rather a bit too quickly. I looked through the window and into the sparsely populated night skies, seeing the glitter of the first few stars. Time sure flies.
The room was exactly the same as before. There was a bookshelf, a long table, and an old computer. I understood at once just by seeing these. I hadn't returned to my original world, since there wasn't anything belonging to the SOS Brigade. The Commander's Desk wasn't here, neither was Asahina-senpai's cosplay wardrobe. It was still an empty Literature Clubroom ...but...
The sweat on my forehead dripped into my eyes. I promptly wiped it with the sleeves of my jacket.
Something's not right.
Just what was this feeling of disorientation? I already knew where I was. This was indeed the Literature Clubroom. Are you a taiko drum? I suddenly remembered what Taniguchi had said earlier, but that's not the problem. Yes, the problem wasn't about where this place was.
"This is..." Suddenly, I figured it out. My body temperature felt as though it has risen sharply, but that wasn't it. The truth is that the surrounding temperature was already high, hence my body temperature had risen as well. It wasn't just an illusion.
Being unable to take the heat any longer, I took off my jacket. All the pores in my body opened up at once and started sweating I then took off my cardigan and rolled up the sleeves of my blouse, yet that barely dispersed the heat in the room
"It's way too hot!" I grumbled. "It feels as hot as..." A hot summer's night.
In that case, there was only one question I should be asking right now:
What season is it right now?