Volume 7 - The Intrigues of Suzumiya Haruhi

by Tanigawa Nagaru

  Feels as though she’s asking me to give her a prank call. Does this mean I have to think up of a joke every time I call her? Seeing me looking troubled, Haruhi and Asahina-san began to giggle quietly.

  After lunch, Haruhi happily called it a day. I’d already heard from Asahina (Michiru)-san, but to dismiss the band after just a few hours in the morning… I guess having activities for two consecutive days was finally taking its toll on Haruhi as well, although she still remained as energetic as ever.

  As we parted ways, Asahina-san smiled gently at me; Nagato remained expressionless; while Koizumi looked relaxed as though he’d seen it all.

  I walked for a while before turning and calling out to Koizumi,

  “I guess I owe you one.”

  “Oh don’t mention it. I was merely taking precautionary measures, and I’m not confident that they’re adequate. I was pretty much redundant during the car pursuit.”

  Were those cops in the police car really the Tamaru brothers? I somehow doubt that they’re even brothers.

  “Well you could say they’re my colleagues that sometimes pretend to be brothers who own a lone island mansion and run an investment enterprise, and sometimes pretend to be a pair of cops… would that do?”

  What about Mori-san and Arakawa-san…? Especially Mori-san, I’m beginning to suspect what her true identity is.

  “Is your organization working together with Asahina-san’s and Nagato’s bosses?”

  “We aren’t directly working together, yet for some time we seem to have created an understanding with each other, and have even joined forces unknowingly. The world is now headed in a direction which I’m no longer familiar with, and it may be some time before everyone within the ‘Organization’ can be united in understanding and intent.”

  As we continued to walk along the path, Koizumi shrugged his shoulders and said,

  “There are some among us who actually hold the extremist view that Nagato-san and Asahina-san are just pitiful delusional girls who think they’re an alien or a time-traveler, and that there are no such things as aliens or time-travelers.”

  Boy, they sure are stubborn even at this stage. These guys should come attached with a warranty for stubbornness.

  “Well, they could argue that Nagato-san’s magical-like abilities and Asahina-san’s ability to travel through time are all triggered by Suzumiya-san, causing them to believe they’re an alien or a time-traveler… What do you think about that?”

  If they can say even that, then what couldn’t they deny?

  “Maybe the one with omnipotent powers isn’t Suzumiya-san after all, but rather someone else?”

  Koizumi’s probably trying to add some sarcasm to his smile, yet all I saw was his usual grin.

  “The eye of the storm is very calm, yet it is surrounded by calamity. Maybe there are some that decide to watch from the sidelines and see how all this unfolds. You sure have been kept busy as well, would a scriptwriter play such a tiring character himself?”

  There he goes with his ambiguous statements again, but since I owe him one, I might as well listen. Though I can’t guarantee that I can remember everything, because if I could my grades would’ve improved by now.

  “To be honest, I’m beginning to be marginalized. If you ask me where I belong, then I would have to say it’s with the SOS Brigade. My feelings tell me that rather than the ‘Organization’, the SOS Brigade is where I truly belong. I’ve thought about it before, should the ‘Organization’ come into conflict with the SOS Brigade, would I be stuck in a dilemma? You know what I mean?”

  Just when I was preparing for one of Koizumi’s long-winded speeches, this time he chose to finish it with his question and part company with me.

  After I got home, I sat on the floor of my room, now completely covered with Shamisen’s fur. The project with Asahina (Michiru)-san was over, but the project with Asahina-san (small) has only just begun. In other words, I still have work to do!

  I also still had Letter #6 from the future:

  “When everything is all over, please come to the park…”

  I’ve already followed Letter #5’s instruction and sent Asahina (Michiru)-san back to her time period where she came from, that just leaves Letter #6. But then what…

  Was it really all over? I felt like something’s stuck in my mind, but I couldn’t think what it was, just like getting choked by a fish bone and not being able to spit it out.

  It was pointless trying to squeeze dry a brain that’s already empty, so I went back and read all of Asahina-san’s (big) letters. The problem was that they were all so cryptic, I just couldn’t guess what good following the instructions would bring, yet…

  “Except this one,”

  “Please head to the mountain. There lies a rock that stands out from the rest. Please move it three meters west of its original position. As for the exact location, Asahina Mikuru will know…”

  Only this was linked with Haruhi, and this was the only place where everyone in the SOS Brigade had gathered. A fruitless treasure hunt, though I already knew the outcome beforehand…

  As I was about to link all the missing pieces together, my sister charged in saying it was time for dinner. Reluctantly, I left my room. I decided to forget everything as I washed my hair in the shower. By the time I dipped my chin into the bath water, my mind will only be thinking of quickly getting some sleep.

  As if right on cue, today’s instruction finally arrived, save that it’s from Haruhi instead of some time traveler, and instead of a letter in a shoe locker, the instruction came via the phone in my sister’s hand.

  “Kyon-kun, your phone. It’s from Haru-nyan,”

  My sister barged into the bathroom holding the cordless receiver, I quickly waved my hand and drove her out while placing the phone by my ear,

  “Hello?”

  “Oh, you’re taking a bath?”

  Haruhi’s voice echoed through the bathroom walls. Yeah, I’m taking a bath, so don’t go around getting any funny ideas now.

  “Of course I wouldn’t, you idiot. Anyway, as usual, we’ll meet tomorrow in front of the station, got it?”

  Now you tell me, why couldn’t you say that when you dismissed the team earlier today?

  “Well, I was sort of busy myself as well.”

  I don’t remember you being considerate about other people’s free time.

  “Shut up! Let’s meet in the afternoon, um… two o’clock would do. You can come empty handed,”

  What about you?

  “That’s none of your business. Remember, two o’clock tomorrow, if you dare stay away I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your life. Be punctual! See ya.”

  Haruhi has always been swiftly straightforward when talking on the phone. I stepped out of the bathtub with the phone in my hand and thought as I dried myself with the towel.

  “Here we go again, what is she up to this time?” Ever since entering into sulking mode in the beginning of February, Haruhi had gone through throwing soy beans in Setsubun, treasure hunting, and two consecutive days of mystery searching. Does she intend to end this all with a bang?

  Hang on, how come I never heard any of this from Asahina (Michiru)-san? Meeting in front of the station tomorrow wasn’t included in her itinerary. Did she have anything to do with it, or did she know nothing about it, or maybe she was deliberately hiding this from me?

  Please don’t tell me that this part of history never existed…

  Yet arriving at the specified location at the specified time was becoming a habit for me. There were still five minutes remaining when I arrived in front of the station that afternoon, but the scene of seeing everybody already there waiting was more reliable than seeing the seasons changing from winter to spring.

  The sun must be rising in the west! Not only did Haruhi not blame me for my late arrival, she didn’t lead us into the coffee shop either. We walked together to the bus depot, there Haruhi shoved me onto the bus as though escorting a prisoner.

  I w
as becoming aware of Asahina-san’s constant yawns and attempts to cover her mouth quickly afterwards. I then noticed Haruhi also seemed to be lacking sleep as she kept rubbing her eyes. When she realized I was watching her, she quickly glared menacingly at me and turned her face away with a scowl to look at the scenery outside, which was becoming greener as the bus went along.

  The bus drove towards the mountain, it was the same road we took when we went treasure hunting on Tsuruya-san’s private hill.

  We even got off the same bus stop. Don’t tell me we’re climbing Tsuruya Hill using the same route we took last time?

  “That is actually the longer and less direct path. This time we’re going to climb from the south side on the other side of the hill.”

  Haruhi walked with steady footsteps, followed by Asahina-san and Nagato as they climbed the hill for the second time without hesitation. Koizumi rubbed his chin and said,

  “Let’s go. We’re here already, so there’s no point in retreating anyway,”

  While chortling like a pigeon.

  Haruhi walked around the outer range of the hill and began climbing from the south side. I was now aware where we were headed, as I had been there for two consecutive days not long ago.

  Besides the mountain forest, a dried grassy field appeared before our eyes. The first time I climbed this way was with Asahina (Michiru)-san, the second time I came down the hill this way with the SOS Brigade.

  Haruhi led the way, picking the shortest route as she led her brigade to the gourd-shaped rock.

  “So that’s why…”

  On the day when I moved the rock, the reason Asahina-san was able to guide me directly to the destination was because she had already climbed this hill many times.

  And right now this Asahina-san was walking haphazardly while being dragged by Haruhi, with Nagato acting as her guardian and preventing her from falling.

  Very soon we arrived at our destination. Haruhi quickly rushed onto the plateau, and as though finding a seat, sat right on top of the gourd-shaped rock,

  “Kyon, Koizumi-kun, we now begin the second phase of the treasure hunt! Think carefully, we were too impatient to give up after digging for only one day, we can’t just leave empty handed!”

  Haruhi revealed a bright sunshine smile as she took out two small shovels normally used for gardening from her coat pocket and threw them towards me and Koizumi.

  “I had wanted you to dig using those large shovels like last time, so I’m letting you off the hook this time! There’s only one place we need to dig this time, and it’s right here!”

  Haruhi pointed right in front of where she was sitting, at the side of the gourd-shaped rock. That was exactly where Koizumi and I had spent our life force digging as much as to two meters deep. Before I could say “We’ve already dug there before”, Haruhi spoke again,

  “Isn’t it common that the things that people desperately want to find are actually lying in places which they’ve already gone through? The same goes for treasures, if you want to find them, you’ll have to go through the same spot carefully. When I say there’s treasure, then there has to be.”

  Haruhi’s confidence is greater than the loyal dog of the Old Man who Made the Trees Blossom. Asahina-san nods her head and smiles in agreement, while Nagato doesn’t even move an eyebrow. In that case, I decide not to daydream while holding the shovel in my hand, and I began to understand why Koizumi was grinning.

  I didn’t spend a lot of time or energy while digging, as the dirt that we piled back in was already quite soft, so even digging with a small shovel was easy. Not to mention as I just stuck the shovel in the dirt, it immediately hit something hard.

  19 A senbei is a cracker made from rice.

  Basking under the evil smile of Haruhi, I wiped the dirt away with my hands and picked up the object the shovel hit. The box I held didn’t seem to be from the Genroku period, it was more like a senbei[19] or cookie container. As I didn’t remember seeing this when digging with Koizumi three days ago, someone must have placed it in here during that time, but I didn’t have time to think of who it was that put it in.

  “Well, open it,”

  20 Shita-kiri Suzume (舌切り雀) is a traditional Japanese fable, telling of a kind old man, his avaricious wife, and an injured sparrow. The story explores the effects of greed, friendship, and jealousy on the characters.

  Haruhi’s expression is like that of the Tongue-Cut Sparrow[20] when the kind old man who came to visit him chose his smaller present.

  I held tight to the box and pulled the lid open with a “clang” sound,

  “…”

  There was no gold, not even a Koban coin[21]. But I don’t think anyone would complain if I said there was indeed treasure inside.

  21 The koban (小判) was an oval gold coin used in the Edo period.

  There were six little boxes wrapped delicately with shiny wrappings, with a ribbon on top on each of them to boot.

  Finally, as now was the most appropriate time to use the word “finally”,

  I suddenly remembered what day it was today. Instead of remembering, it was more like noticing. For some guys, this day was far more meaningful than July 7th.

  Today was February 14th.

  Valentine’s Day.

  “I made them myself,”

  Haruhi leaned forward and explained,

  “Last night, I’ve been working all night with Mikuru-chan and Yuki and even had to spend the night at Yuki’s place. We had originally wanted to use just cocoa powder to make chocolates, but we thought that was too grandiose. So in the end we decided to make chocolate cakes instead!”

  On each box wrapping there was a sticker with the name of myself or Koizumi handwritten by the girls; we both got three of these each.

  Koizumi put down his shovel and picked up one of the boxes after elegantly wiping his hands free of dust. On top it was labeled “For Koizumi-kun - From Mikuru-chan”. Now that’s a treasure, made by the very hands of Asahina-san!

  Like a machine gun, Haruhi began to fire away,

  “Of course it is! We made it specifically for you guys, it was fun and exhausting when we made it, but we’re fine. I had been feeling uneasy about this secret plan, as I had wanted to laugh at you guys for falling for it, but what’s the point? In the end, this has become a well-accepted tradition after all. Though there are still some that insist that this is all some conspiracy conjured up by the confectionery industry, seriously are they nuts? Anyway, I had fun making these with Yuki and Mikuru-chan, we even thought of adding pepper inside at first. Well, what’s with that face of yours?”

  “Oh it’s nothing, I’m actually so grateful I could weep.” That’s what I truly thought, since I had completely forgotten about the very day that all the men in the country had been so looking forward to. If I had known then I would have prepared some charming words, but this had come all so suddenly that I was at a loss on what to say to the three female brigade members. I was neither good enough to make an elegant response, nor was I prepared to act embarrassed. Perhaps that means I’ve still got lots to learn in life.

  My whole body relaxed, now everything makes sense. Haruhi’s irregular behavior at the beginning of February, the Asahina-san that traveled from the future not revealing any further details concerning the true nature of the treasure hunt, and Taniguchi’s sudden dumping by his girlfriend…

  Haruhi sure is something, so she was bothered by how she could give chocolates to me all this time, but she just wouldn’t admit it. She could’ve just gave them to me in the classroom, but instead she had to come up with treasure hunting as an excuse, just so we could dig a hole for her to bury the chocolates inside, that’s how indirect she is. Does that mean Tsuruya-san was an accomplice to this as well? The treasure map was probably fake as well, the fact that Haruhi gave up the hunt so easily meant she knew there was no treasure all along. That was because the treasure she mentioned had not yet been buried until the suitable time. So it was this treasure - the three
pieces of chocolate cake Koizumi and I each received - that made Haruhi so uneasy, she even dragged Asahina-san and Nagato into it as well.

  Now how should I say this…

  “You stupid idiot!” That was for both Haruhi, who had planned this, and for myself, who had not figured this out earlier.

  “They’re just obligation chocolates! They should be obligation chocolates, sort of! Actually I don’t know why they have to call it obligation chocolates. Chocolates and chocolate cakes are both made of cocoa anyway,”

  Haruhi sounded like one of those strange insects chirping in the autumn grass fields. I slowly made an effort to lift my head up.

  What I saw was Haruhi’s eyes looking glaringly at me, Asahina-san smiling gracefully like an adorable girl who just did some mischief, and Nagato looking blankly at my hands.

  What I saw was Haruhi’s eyes looking glaringly at me, Asahina-san smiling gracefully like an adorable girl who just did some mischief, and Nagato looking blankly at my hands.

  “I’m extremely grateful for this gift. I’ll definitely enjoy it,”

  Koizumi spoke before I could… Haruhi twitched her lips and said,

  “I hope you quickly finish them all when you get home, even better if you do it before dinner! Don’t take them as offerings to some shrine!”

  Haruhi hurriedly turned her head away, and then quickly stood up,

  “Let’s go home. If we don’t leave after the activity ends, we’ll get stuck in a traffic jam on the way back. Boy, I feel sleepy, we worked all the way till sunrise, you know? And we had to come and bury them here afterwards, so by the time I got back to Yuki’s place I only slept for two hours. Mikuru-chan and Yuki as well!”

  On the return trip, when we were waiting for the bus at the bus stop, Haruhi stood furthest away from me and stared at the skies, totally avoiding eye contact with me. Oh boy.