Volume 6 - The Wavering of Suzumiya Haruhi

by Tanigawa Nagaru

  Asahina-san’s actions were absolutely suspicious.

  I suddenly felt a sense of nostalgia, as I slowed down my steps.

  No, nostalgia shouldn’t be the word to use, since I was used to playing here ever since I was born. I should have been sick of the same scenery by now, but why—

  “Ahh…”

  Now I get it.

  Ever since I had begun walking here from the train station, I had felt a sense of familiarity, as well as one of nostalgia. I finally understood why.

  I mean, the first city-wide search for mysterious events conducted by Haruhi was one event that remained deeply etched into my mind even today. Especially the memory of Asahina-san and I being paired together, now that was sweet. Even if I fractured my skull and had amnesia, I would still be unable to forget that memorable incident.

  That’s right. That was the same path as the one I was walking down now, of course I would feel nostalgic! Even the circumstances were similar! Although it hadn’t even been a year since that incident I felt as if 800 years had passed since then.

  Asahina-san’s true identity as a time-traveler was already set into solid stone right now, but back then I didn’t have a single clue. Not until she revealed it to me as we sat on the benches by the cherry blossom trees did I realize she wasn’t the simple, innocent, doll-faced, well-endowed SOS Brigade mascot she had appeared to be.

  That was all now a thing of the past. No wonder I had felt nostalgic.

  Just like I expected, Asahina-san was indeed headed to the place I had in mind. The only difference from before is that aside from glancing side to side like a herbivore looking out for predators, she was now earnestly looking at her watch.

  Even if I had called out to her, I feared that it would have no effect whatsoever on her, as she continued her zombie-like stroll.

  Breathing out countless white clouds from our mouths, the both of us silently made our way forward, until we had finally reached our destination.

  The path of cherry blossoms by the river bank.

  Even if there was some chance the cherry trees could manage to keep their flowers until summer, it would take a miracle for cherry blossoms to blossom during winter.

  Although our bodies made contact, Asahina-san seemed not to care. Even after passing the bench where she dropped that “I am a time traveler” bombshell last year, she seemed not to care. It was obvious Asahina-san had lots of things on her mind right now. Just what was troubling her?

  Feeling lonely all of a sudden, I then heard a soft muttering:

  “Isn’t it time yet……”

  Asahina-san once again looked at her watch.

  “It should happen any time now, but…”

  Seeming to not realize that she was talking to her self, Asahina-san let out a sigh, and once again continued to look to her left and her right.

  I pretended to not notice, and concentrated on the path below me instead.

  Sigh. All of a sudden, all the enthusiasm I had for this date had completely vanished, even though a romantic stroll was supposed to be a lovers’ rendezvous. Ah forget it. I suppose that’s what life’s about anyway.

  Forget the cherry blossoms, not even a single leaf could be found on the cherry blossom trees. Soon, even the trees themselves were far behind us.

  Asahina-san continued to walk forward in the upstream direction. Should we continue along this path, Nagato’s apartment would undoubtedly come into view. Should we go even further, we may even reach North High.

  Thanks to our “walk”, my body had begun to feel warm. It’s a pity that the warmth wasn’t induced by having Asahina-san beside me.

  Finally, we left the river bank, and proceeded in the direction of the train tracks. Oh yes, I remember walking together with Haruhi along this route too.

  With memories constantly resurfacing in my mind, even I had begun to feel a little uneasy.

  “Kyon-kun, over here!”

  “Huh?”

  If Asahina-san hadn’t tugged at my sleeve, I would have probably kept walking straight and not even noticed.

  “We need to wait to cross the street.”

  Without realizing it, we had already arrived at the crossroads situated near the train tracks. Asahina-san pointed to the opposite side of the street. The pedestrian traffic light by the zebra crossings showed a red figure.

  “Oh… I’m sorry.”

  I immediately apologized, as I returned to Asahina-san’s side. Even though the road was quiet and devoid of any cars, Asahina-san had insisted on waiting until the light turned green. Ah, now that was more like the Asahina-san I knew.

  Not even 10 seconds later, the traffic lights turned from green to red, as the pedestrian light flashed a healthy green.

  Asahina-san and I made it across the road at the same time.

  Just then—-

  A dark shadow suddenly appeared behind my back.

  “Ahh…”

  This small scream was made by Asahina-san.

  The shadow ignored us and ran onto the zebra crossings. From the looks of it, it was probably an elementary school kid, who should be around my sister’s age – A bespectacled, feisty fourth or fifth grader.

  “Ahh!!”

  This loud scream was also made by Asahina-san, and was also accompanied by a series of loud and chaotic noises which made my eyes bulge.

  A large vehicle was coming down the center of the road at high speed, with its tires firmly glued to the ground. Even if the traffic lights were currently a blaring red, the vehicle (an emerald green van) was sharply juxtaposing the color of the traffic lights the driver had conveniently failed to notice, as he continued to speed forward into the zebra crossing, with absolutely no signs of slowing down.

  At that time —-

  The school kid who had charged into the middle of the road finally noticed that he was in danger, as he stopped dead in his tracks.

  The vehicle was fast approaching. The driver, who had decided to ignore the traffic lights, had apparently no respect for traffic rules either. An image of the young kid being run over by the van flashed into my mind, but at the same time, my body was already leaping into action.

  “You bastard!”

  I have no idea if the insult was directed at the kid or the driver. All I know is that I had rushed forward, as the world around me slowed down as if in bullet time. From a third person’s point of view, however, everything probably happened in an instant.

  “Uwaaaaa!”

  It was a good thing I got there in time. Grabbing the motionless boy by the collar, I slung him forward with full force. Devoid of momentum, I fell down to the pavement.

  The furiously speeding van was past me in a flash.

  I could feel cold sweat trickling down my face.

  That was close, too close for comfort. The renegade van had missed me by mere centimeters. If I had been only the slightest bit closer, my foot would probably be as flat as the bottom of my shoe right now.

  Throughout winter, my body had barely sweated. Now, no thanks to the driver, I found my whole body sweating furiously. It was too hot to bear.

  “You f@#%ing bastard!!”

  Even though I didn’t know who was driving the van, I felt my temper rising all the way to my temple, as I shot a killer glance at the speeding van and swore loudly.

  “Don’t you know how to drive?! It’s bad enough to beat the red lights, but accelerating in a pedestrian crossing zone? Are you retarded? Are you trying to kill someone or something? Asahina-san, did you happen to see his license plate number?”

  Since I was too busy falling together with the young boy, it was only natural that I failed to see his license plate. I looked at Asahina-san, hoping that she had noticed—-

  “Now I see…”

  Huh? See what?

  A dumbstruck Asahina-san stood there with her eyes opened wide, not even moving an inch. Oh well, that’s to be expected. It’s only natural that one would be shocked witnessing an accident first hand. But that’s not wh
at surprised me.

  What surprised me was that Asahina-san not only wore an expression of shock, but also…

  “Now I see… So that’s why… That’s why I was sent here…”

  Mumbling to herself, Asahina-san looked at the young lad who had nearly lost his life.

  Her angelic features were mingled with relief, as if finally understanding everything.

  Not knowing what was going on, I continued to lie on the road, as Asahina-san strode over to us like a zombie, her face as pale as a sheet. It’s a pity she wasn’t headed towards me. Her gaze was fixed on the young chap beside me, who too had his buttocks glued to the ground.

  Perhaps it was due to that close encounter, the bespectacled young boy also wore an expression full of shock, his face as pale as Asahina-sans’. It was not until Asahina-san approached him that he blinked in surprise.

  “Are you hurt?”

  Asahina-san knelt beside us on the road, and placed her hands on the boy. The boy slowly shook his head like an android. Asahina-san’s next question, though, caught me totally off-guard.

  “If so, can you tell me your name?”

  I had no idea why Asahina-san was interested in knowing his name. After all, what was the point of it? The boy, though, honestly answered her question.

  I’m pretty sure I had not heard his name before, as I hadn’t the faintest memory of him or his name. Asahina-san, however, seemed to have different ears than mine.

  Even before he had finished mentioning his name, Asahina-san had stopped breathing; she did a faithful parody of Nagato, kneeling there without moving, her eyes staring directly at the boy’s face. It wasn’t until he had finished that Asahina-san take a deep breath, and said:

  “I see, so you are…”

  The young boy’s mouth hung wide open. After narrowly avoiding being run over by a renegade truck, he was now approached by a beautiful girl who asked him for his name. No matter who it was, the experience was enough to freak anybody out. I understand what you’re going through, glasses-boy.

  However, Asahina-san appeared dead serious.

  “Then, you have to promise me—-”

  The look of anxiety she wore on her face was one I had never seen before.

  “No matter what happens, you have to look out for cars. Be it on the road, or when boarding a public vehicle, or in an airplane, or a train, or even a boat… Be careful not to trip or fall… And don’t drown. Please, no matter where or when, be sure to take care of yourself, okay? Can you promise me that much?”

  The boy must have been shocked, because I certainly was. You don’t have to be that direct, Asahina-san, and even if you did, couldn’t you have at least toned it down a little?

  “Pretty please…?”

  Hearing a tear-faced Asahina-san trying to sound as sincere as possible, I made up my mind to shout “YES, MADAM!” in the young lad’s place. Just as I was about to do so……

  “Okay,”

  The young boy nodded and promised her. He continued to stare at Asahina-san, looking as confused as I was.

  “I’ll be careful.”

  He said each word stiffly, as his head bobbed up and down endlessly, which resembled Humpty-Dumpty sitting on his wall.

  Asahina-san was apparently still not satisfied, as she stretched out her pinky.

  “Let’s make a pinky promise then.”

  Looking at a stuttering boy make a pinky promise with Asahina-san, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I believe it was something called jealousy. I had privately hoped and wished that I was the only person allowed to do that. But seeing that he was just a kid after all, I decided not to fake a fall in order to disturb them. I breathed a sigh of relief as Asahina-san finally stood up. It seems I’m far from reaching maturity, after all. Is that good or bad? Don’t ask me, even I don’t know.

  But just then, I thought of another way to disturb them. Pointing at the traffic light, I said:

  “Asahina-san, the light’s turning green anytime soon. It’s dangerous to remain in the center of the road.

  The green pedestrian light had begun to flash rapidly.

  “Ok.”

  Even as she stood up, Asahina-san continued to eye the bespectacled boy. As if realizing this, the young boy lowered his head and avoided her gaze.

  “Thanks for saving me at the nick of time. I’ll be careful in the future.”

  Then, with an air of politeness, he said,

  “Well then, I should get going soon.”

  After bowing from his waist towards us, he trotted across the street, and disappeared without a trace.

  Asahina-san stood there unmoving. Her eyes were still glued to her precious little gemstone, as she continued to look in his direction even after he had disappeared from our sight.

  I couldn’t take it any longer.

  “Asahina-san, the light has already turned red. We should hurry.”

  I forcefully pulled the beauty dressed in a winter outfit off the street. As I slowly shook her by her shoulder, I realized that her soft body was similar to that of Shamisens’, who had for some reason decided to share a bed with me. Wrapping my arms tightly around her must undoubtedly feel great, especially in a moment like this. But of course I wouldn’t do something like that.

  As the light turned completely red—-

  “Sob…”

  The sound came from somewhere positioned diagonally below me. The source was Asahina-san, and the reason it came out all muffled was probably due to her burying her face on my shoulder.

  What the? —- This was what I first thought.

  Asahina-san’s face was buried on my shoulder, as her own shoulders trembled furiously. It didn’t seem like she was laughing.

  “Sob, sob…”

  A trail of crystal clear tears flowed out of her tightly shut eyes, moistening my shirt. Asahina-san then grabbed on to me like a little girl, her tears flowing continuously down her porcelain cheeks.

  “Wh… What’s the matter, Asahina-san?! Say something! Asahina-san?!”

  I had been in a couple of sticky situations in the past, but this was undoubtedly the stickiest situation I had ever been in. Why is Asahina-san crying? That young boy was saved, isn’t that supposed to be a good thing? It’s not like anyone died… You should be happy now, not crying your eyes out. Or was the impact of the entire incident too great for Asahina-san to bear? Is she developing symptoms of shock?

  “That’s not it.”

  Asahina-san said through her sobs.

  “…… I feel useless. I k-know nothing… I c-can’t do a-anything…”

  I’m even more confused now.

  Even then all she did was cry furiously, as if losing all will to speak. Just like how Shamisen clawed at me whenever I picked him up in fear of falling, Asahina-san clawed at my shirt, clinging on to it tightly, as she continued to bury her face in it.

  What’s going on here?

  My brain resembled a miniature whirlpool. There was only one thing I was certain of.

  Today’s activities had finally come to an end. This date-like invitation initiated by Asahina-san herself had finally gone in a huge circle, and ended where it had started, in a grand fashion.

  This was a conclusion anyone could reach, even without the deductive mind of Koizumi Itsuki.

  I knew that I couldn’t stand there forever, being clawed by a crying sempai under the winter sky.

  This was because many casual pedestrians had already slowed down their steps, and directed their gaze to the odd couple standing by the street. What are you people doing outside in this cold weather?

  “Asahina-san, we should find a place to sit, a place where you can calm down… Err, can you walk on your own?”

  Although she still insisted on burying her face on my shoulder, she nevertheless gave a weak nod.

  I stepped very carefully, trying my best to match Asahina-san’s depressed footsteps. Walking beside a sniveling Asahina-san, I slowed down my footsteps, while silently lamenting my fate. It was what I al
ways wanted, and not. Sigh. Now the only thing I hope for is to not be noticed by any boys from North High. If word got out that I made Asahina-san cry, the whole Asahina Mikuru cult following might very well be after my head.

  “Where should we go then…”

  A place where we would not draw too much attention, get a good rest as well as get out of the cold, did such a place exist? The only place that I could think of would be the café. However, sitting opposite a crying girl in a café was almost the equivalent of suicide.

  Actually, I had noticed that the building near the street where this entire incident took place happened to be Nagato’s apartment. If I were to ask her, she would have probably opened the door for us, but my instincts told me it was better not to do so.

  So, there was only one place left to go. The holy grounds located near Nagato’s apartment, the park which held many fond memories. Seeing that we had already passed the bench by the river bank, and the urgency of the situation, it would only be appropriate that we use that OTHER bench, which held even more memories.

  At least we would be able to rest our tired legs there. Who knows, maybe someone would even pop out from the bushes behind.

  With weather cold enough to freeze anyone to death, it’s no wonder no one bothered to visit the park. As expected, that bench remained empty, enjoying the harsh winter winds by itself.

  I sat Asahina-san down on the bench, before sitting down beside her, ensuring that there was a small gap between us. Sneaking a glance at her face, I noticed that she still had two trails of tears down her porcelain face.

  I rummaged through my pockets, searching for a handkerchief, but alas, all my hands felt were the fabric used to make my clothes. Damn, how could I forget to bring them today? What could I use in place of a handkerchief to wipe away Asahina-san’s pearl-like tears? Just as I was panicking, and on the verge of tearing off my sleeve—-