Sakanaka-san said, nodding earnestly.
“So, see you in school then!” Haruhi said as she waved to our classmate happily. As I followed her from behind, I suddenly thought:
If Haruhi and Sakanaka-san could be classmates again next year, that would be a good thing too.
Haruhi seems to have already forgotten all about the ‘spirits’ incident, as she chats merrily away with Asahina-san about dogs while we walk towards the station. That’s a good thing for me. At least I don’t have to think up an excuse for the whole incident.
When we reached the station, we decided to call it a day. Haruhi, Nagato and Asahina-san decided to get off the train one stop earlier, since it would be closer to their houses that way. Even though it was already noon, perhaps it was due to having consumed so many treats already, I didn’t want to enter a restaurant. Either that or I didn’t want to bring Shamisen into one. So with that, today’s SOS Brigade activities came to a close.
Koizumi and I passed through the automated gates, and exited the station.
Since the normally noisy girls of the SOS Brigade had already left, things seemed unusually quiet as the esper and I walked on the streets.
“What a day.”
Even though Koizumi said so while facing me, I had a feeling that he was actually saying it to himself.
“Since this was a pretty difficult problem to handle, we had no choice but to ask for Shamisen’s cooperation. Nagato-san is really something, eh? Come to think of it, something like this happened last year too, when Kimidori-san came to us for help. It was thanks to Nagato-san that we were able to rescue the Computer Society President from those data lifeforms… It seems that Nagato is connected to each of our clients, don’t you agree?
“What are you trying to say?”
“That Nagato-san has truly become an irreplaceable member of the SOS Brigade. However, this is merely my opinion. Compared to this, I think you’re the one with something to say, am I right?”
Unfortunately, I’m not someone who loves to talk as much as you. The only thing I wanted to know was why kamadoumas and cosmic viruses alike were so attracted to our planet, as if it were a magnet or something. Maybe Nagato knows the answer for this. But nah, Nagato only came to Earth a few years ago to observe Haruhi—-
I suddenly froze on the spot.
Haruhi.
That couldn’t possibly be the answer, could it? Because of a massive ‘data flare’, the Integrated Data Sentient Entity sent Nagato here. So does this mean that the kamadouma in the Computer Society president’s case, as well as the cosmic viruses this time, were actually attracted to Haruhi? But that can’t be so, can it? After all, Nagato said that the former had already come to Earth millions of years ago.
Now if Haruhi’s powers could unconsciously break the boundaries of time, then that would be too extreme, wouldn’t it? However, Asahina-san is a time traveler… Someone from the future who had crossed the boundaries of time and arrived in our time plane…
I began thinking seriously, like the time when the concept of time was messing around seriously in my head.
“Do you think it’s all a coincidence?”
Be quiet, won’t you? Koizumi resembled a waiter that was reciting his customer’s order again and again. I had a feeling that I knew what he was going to say.
“Stop beating around the bush. I’ve got no time to be playing mind games here with you.”
“Those cosmic life forms happened to land on this street near our houses, and even attached themselves onto a North High Student’s dog. The said student then consulted the SOS Brigade, and had us take action… The truth was finally uncovered by Nagato, who in turn cleaned up the entire mess. For everything to happen so smoothly as I outlined to be a coincidence, the only time it’ll ever happen is when it’s the plot of a fiction novel.”
Even though he had a point, this was one time where I couldn’t just let laziness get the better of me and not make a retort. This doesn’t mean that I’m on Haruhi’s side, though.
“To hell with fiction probabilities. We do have two different cosmic entities appearing before us at the same time. What’s the probability of that happening? If you’re not going to label it coincidence, what else are you going to call it? Just like how you came up with your own detective script last winter, why can’t you let Nagato come up with her own script once in a while?”
“That should be impossible. I think the one that’s truly scripting everything is probably the Information Data Sentient Entity, or some other cosmic entity we haven’t met till now. And I can guarantee this is not something Suzumiya-san wishes for.”
What are you trying to say actually? Why are you still overworking your mind thinking about these pointless probabilities when it’s almost spring break now? Plus, everything’s over for the moment. Just let it rest.
“I’ve said it before, haven’t I? Suzumiya-san’s mind is gradually stabilizing. As happy as I am about it, there are also others who are undoubtedly disappointed with the current state of affairs. This is where the problem lies.”
I remained quiet, signaling for Koizumi to go on. Koizumi placed a finger on his lips, and said:
“There may even be some who think that things would be meaningless if Suzumiya-san continues to stabilize. Be it a data flare, a time quake, or a dimensional disruption, I think that there are people who are secretly manipulating things in the shadows, trying to evoke Suzumiya-san’s unbelievable powers.
I suddenly noticed that Koizumi’s smile had begun to look very odd, eerily resembling the one Asakura Ryouko had on her face the day she tried to kill me.
“That’s why, what I’m saying is, this incident may only be the prologue to something even more sinister.”
What are you talking about? If everything could be predicted, as you seem to suggest, someone would undoubtedly run a predicting service, and become the next Nostradamus.
Koizumi’s smile suddenly turned bitter.
“These cosmic entities suddenly landing on Earth, and right before our eyes too – I don’t think it’s something you can dismiss with a mere ‘coincidence’. You should know the truth better than anyone. These ‘aliens’ could actually be hidden right before us. There might be other cosmic intelligent lifeforms here on Earth aside from human interfaces.”
“Hmph.”
I didn’t want to mask my words any longer. You know Koizumi, it’s hard for me to accept what you’re saying after you’ve occasionally revealed to me that deceptive side of yours. If you want to call Nagato a human interface, then do so right to her face. I don’t really mind, seeing that it’s the truth anyway, but:
“What I do mind are these ‘other aliens’ you just mentioned.”
“There have been reports from within the ‘Organization’, that is why I know a little more than you do. Even though I don’t know everything about them yet, I think it’s sufficient to say that I know them quite well.”
Koizumi’s smile finally returned to normal.
“Let’s just leave the other aliens to Nagato. I’ve decided that my priorities are to help the ‘Organization’ in combating its rivals. Similarly, if there are any rival time travelers, then I leave it to Asahina-san. I have a feeling that something is about to happen.”
From Koizumi’s expression, I could tell that he was serious, because his thoughts were exactly the same as mine. The only thing I disagreed with him was to leave the fighting to Asahina-san. That should be left to the other Asahina-san in the far future. I didn’t worry about Nagato at all, since I was sure there was nothing that had greater willpower than she did. Oh and Koizumi, I hope you haven’t forgotten the promise you made during the snow mountain incident.
“Of course I haven’t. It’s always been in my mind. But even if I do forget, I’m sure you’ll be there to remind me, no?”
Koizumi laughed as he waved goodbye.
“Then, we’ll save the chatting for another day.”
“Ah, you’re back Kyon-kun!�
�
When I reached home, I found my sister sprawled on my bed, happily reading my manga.
“Where did you take Shamy to?”
I didn’t say anything, as I lifted Shamisen out of the box. Upon being released, the tri-colored cat immediately leapt onto my sister’s back, and began walking up and down her spine, as if giving her a massage. My sister laughed as she waved her legs in midair.
“Kyon-kun, get Shamy off me, I can’t stand it!”
I gently picked Shamisen off my sister’s back, and placed him by her side. The fifth-and-soon-to-be sixth grader put down the manga in her hands, and proceeded to stroke Shamisen’s back, while playfully tickling his nose.
“I smell something yummy —- What is it?”
I gave my sister the bag of treats Sakanaka-san’s mother had prepared, before going to pick up a thick, hardcover book on my desk.
About a week ago, after the end of the end of term exams, I had borrowed this book from Nagato. “Are there any interesting books here? Books that suit my current feelings?” I asked her. Nagato stood before the bookshelf for approximately 5 minutes before slowly picking the book that now lay before me. After reading about half of the book, I found out that it was a simple high school love story between a boy and girl. There were no traces of science fiction, nor were there any annoying deductions – just a normal story set in a normal world. However, because of various unexplainable reasons, I found this novel to be extremely suitable for me. That’s why I don’t think Nagato should become an astronomer or a vet. She should become a librarian instead.
I lay down on my bed, and started to pick up where I had previously left off. My sister had already brought the treats downstairs, and was probably busy finding something to drink.
I had no idea how much time had passed when —-
I suddenly noticed Shamisen scratching at the room door. He was probably signaling for me to open it up and let him out of the room. I usually left my room door half open for his convenience, but I suppose that my sister had accidentally closed it tight when she left my room earlier.
I inserted a bookmark into the novel I was reading, then got up to open the door for Shamisen. Shamisen immediately darted out of my room, and all of a sudden turned back and meowed at me. Is this his method of saying ‘thank you’?
However, when Shamisen began looking over my shoulder, I felt uncomfortable and too turned around.
All I saw was a corner of the ceiling. There was nothing else.
Shamisen’s round eyes were locked on the ceiling, before they slowly moved, finally landing on the wall outside my room. His eyes seemed to trace a path in the air, as if trying to tell me that something I couldn’t see had traveled from the ceiling to the outer wall.
“Hey.”
Even though I called out to Shamisen, he remained in that pose for a couple of seconds, before waving his tail in midair and strolling off. He was most probably headed to the kitchen to find something to eat. I left my door half closed, just wide enough for a cat to squeeze in, before giving Shamisen’s actions more thought. Animals would usually pay attention to things that humans would mostly ignore. Even small noises outside would sometimes distract them.
But what if Shamisen had seen something I couldn’t just a moment ago? What if something invisible had attached itself to my ceiling, before slowly floating past my wall and out of my room?
—- A spirit?
—- I think it’s better not to think about it.
What if some data lifeforms had arrived on Earth billions and billions of years ago, and chose humans as hosts instead of dogs? What if humans had a totally different reaction to them? Is this how the early humans gained their huge intelligence leaps?
If that were the case, then all Nagato’s bosses needed to do to overcome their evolutionary dead end would to be to attach some of these lifeforms onto themselves. Of course, this would mean that they hadn’t achieved evolution on their own, but rather through the help of some other worldly beings.
I wonder if the Information Data Sentient Entity had actually considered that possibility before. Even though it would be against the way of nature, maybe some cosmic entities had actually infected primates billions of years ago, which in turn caused them to develop their superior intelligence and evolve to the modern human now. If that was the case, then all queries regarding evolution would have been solved.
“What am I saying?”
I was already mumbling to myself. How could something as preposterous as that possibly happen? We should not think about things that exceed our brain capacity. I should just leave all these difficult scientific questions to Koizumi, just like how he wanted to leave aliens to Nagato. When the day that I finally understand what his sentences mean comes, I’ll be sure to prepare a suitable counterattack.
Even if Koizumi was really occupied with his ‘Organization’, to the point that he couldn’t spare me some time, I would still have others to turn to. The first person I would ask help from would be Tsuruya-san. If I manage to sway that cheery senpai to our side, I’m sure even the higher ups in the ‘Organization’ would be in a fix.
What should I do if such a situation ever arose, or what new situations would be brought into play, these I had never thought of before. You know what they say. ‘We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it’.
“… Ah forget it. Thinking’s not my specialty, after all.”
All I needed to do was to focus on being good old me. I was I, no more, no less.
Actually, if the time ever comes, I guess I’ll contribute a little to thinking. But that’s in the future. If you tell me to think any more before that happens, then I might just as well ignore you.
Just as I was in the middle of these random thoughts, my cell phone on the desk began to vibrate. Would it be from some unknown entity from an unknown time? As I picked my cell phone up, I saw it display the caller as ‘Haruhi’.
“What is it?”
“I forgot something important, Kyon!”
Cutting straight to the chase without bothering to even say ‘Hello’, that was exactly what Haruhi would do, all right.
“Even though I’m happy that JJ and Michael are all right, don’t you think the illness is kind of strange? I believe that they were scared stiff after seeing a spirit!”
Now do you understand why I’m so frustrated when it comes to thinking, Koizumi? Haruhi is one very annoying girl who likes to think about pointless stuff, and to top it off, share those thoughts with me.
“I think it’s due to that path that we took a week ago. According to my deductions, they may still be lurking there, floating around like wandering shadows.”
“Even though I’m not sure what kind of spirits they are, we should exorcise them as soon as possible!”
“So all members are to gather in front of the station again tomorrow! I’m going to take a photo of the spirits this time for sure!”
“How in the world are you planning to take pictures of spirits?”
“Since it’s impossible to take them in the morning, we’ll just have to take them at night! We’ll sniff out those spirit-infested areas, and take a couple of photos of them! If we’re lucky we may even manage to net 2 or 3 photos!”
Haruhi then proceeded to tell me the time and venue we were supposed to meet, and promptly hung up. It was as if she had never once considered whether I had any plans for Sunday. I assumed that a few seconds later, some other brigade member got the exact same call from her. I had a feeling that the next day’s ‘city-wide search for mysterious events’ would turn out to be a ‘close-encounter with midnight spirits’ event.
I put down my phone, glanced at one corner of the room, and was soon lost in thought.
Sakanaka-san’s ‘spirits’ case had finally been solved thanks to Nagato. I believe that spirits don’t exist in this world, and I’m sure Koizumi is of a similar opinion. The problem was that Haruhi did believe in them, and indeed hoped that they would come to pay her a visit every f
ew hours. It seems that our brigade commander’s wishes have escalated from aliens, time travelers and espers to spirits now.
The task of mapping out ‘spirit hotspots’ I leave to Koizumi. Oh and if we do snap any pictures of spirits, Koizumi, do me a favor and whip up some scientific excuse on the spot. What was I going to be in charge of, you ask? That’s simple. I’ll be the one in charge of hugging Asahina-san if she ever screams out in the dark.
Walking about in the dark while mysteriously snapping photos, that seems mighty suspicious all right. I’m sure it would seem weird if we were to tell some bystander that we were trying to take a picture of a spirit that we didn’t even know what it might look like. And if we did really run into an emergency, all we needed to do was have Asahina-san put on a miko costume and start chanting out some Buddhist Scriptures. Maybe that will satisfy Haruhi’s ‘exorcising mission’.
But even if spirits really do exist in this world, I’m sure that we won’t bump into them simply by taking a walk in the dark. Plus, I don’t think Haruhi really wants to run into any spirits either.
After being with her for almost an entire year now, I’m sure that everyone understands, right? What that girl wishes for is not spirits, but rather the process of trying to find them together with everyone.
Then, what do I think about it, you ask?
“Oh well, let’s just treat it as a night outing.”
I looked at the ceiling Shamisen was looking at not long ago while talking to myself. After that, I continued reading my book, which was set in a world that was much more normal than the one I was currently living in now. Even so, I didn’t envy that normal world one bit, or at least that’s what the current me thinks now.
Author’s Notes
About books.
A few days ago, for no particular reason, I raided the cardboard box that holds those sorted junks. Inside of them are the books that I have read in the past.
By the way, I don’t have the habit of disposing items easily. That said, I don’t have a lot of boxes filed away since I tend to think about what I want before I buy. Although these books have been around for close to a decade, looking at them feels like looking at myself of the past, and it gives me a feeling of saying that “ahh, it’s alright”.
Volume 8 - The Indignation of Suzumiya Haruhi Page 20