CHAPTER 4

If you’ve ever walked through a school at night, you know how creepy it feels.

I slung my jacket over my shoulder as I slipped out of the clubroom. I tried to avoid making any sound as I descended the stairs, acting all ninja-like, and slowly checking every corner before moving on. That really tired me out mentally. I still didn’t know when or where this North High was, but I knew I couldn’t be seen by a teacher on night watch. I wouldn’t be able to explain myself. I’m the one who needs an explanation.

The humid air had me sweating as I made my way through the building before I finally reached the entrance.

“Well, what’s going to happen now…?”

And with that, I opened my shoe locker to find that it contained someone else’s indoor shoes. They certainly weren’t mine. I immediately dismissed the possibility that someone had placed his shoes in the wrong locker. It was the middle of summer. I’d been sent to a different space-time. My mind was able to connect the dots. In this world or time, this shoe locker was someone else’s, not mine. I wasn’t as surprised as I should have been, either because I’d grown accustomed to weird stuff happening or because I was numb after everything I’d been through.

“Guess I don’t have a choice.”

I didn’t have time to gripe about how lame I would look if I went outside wearing indoor shoes. I needed to get out of the school building. The school entrance was locked securely at night, as expected. I made my way to a nearby window, unlocked it, and opened it very carefully. I could smell grass on the night breeze as I placed my foot on the window frame and jumped through to land on the paved ground. I was near the spot where Haruhi had woken me up when we were in closed space.

After ten seconds of staying still, I made sure that no one was watching and began to move.

It was just as hot outside. A smothering, humid heat that was typical of summer in Japan. I’d just come from a frigid winter so my sweat glands were in full gear. I used the winter blazer to wipe the sweat dripping from my face as I headed for the school gate.

It was a simple job to climb over the gate while avoiding the iron spikes, which had me thanking our school’s sloppy security. Once I landed outside school grounds I picked up the jacket I had thrown over beforehand and stared at the stars as I planned my next move.

First I needed to figure out what month, what day, and what time it was. There was a huge difference between its being the past or the future.

I figured I might as well start on my way down the hill. There should be a convenience store on the way. A high school student bursting into someone’s home to ask what day it was would probably be reported to the proper authorities. So I should probably head for a place where I could learn the time and date.

“Still, it sure is hot…”

I was basically stuck wearing winter clothes and my legs were all sweaty, which made those long pants very uncomfortable. I really hated the inventor of polyester at this point. Besides, this uniform didn’t feel that warm in the winter. Seriously, this was one half-assed uniform.

This line of thought suggested that my mind had recovered its ability to function properly. Personally, I’d prefer fanning myself in the summer heat as I griped to waiting in the winter chill for spring to come. Besides, my first summer as a high school student had been a memorable one. Though I’d been exhausted, drained, and disgusted at times, in retrospect, they had all been pleasant experiences. I even got to see Asahina in a swimsuit. The SOS Brigade hasn’t done any winter activities yet.

I spent the fifteen-minute descent thinking about how the hot pot might have tasted before I finally spotted the light I’d been looking for. The convenience store I occasionally dropped by on my way home to buy a snack. So I could at least be sure that I’d been sent to a time that wasn’t before the store first opened or after it went out of business.

I impatiently waited for the automatic doors to slide open, and as soon as I stepped inside I looked up at the wall. It took a while to get used to the feel of air-conditioning. In the meantime I stared at the analog clock on the wall.

Eight thirty.

PM obviously, since it was night.

What about the date, then? What year, month, and day was it? An assortment of newspapers was on display before the counter. Any one would do. I pulled out a sports paper that happened to be in front and spread it open super-fast. I didn’t care about headlines. I’m pretty sure that even a shameless tabloid wouldn’t be printed with a fake date at the top of the page.

My eyes darted around before locking on a spot, which was when I saw it…

A set of identical numbers universally considered to be lucky.

From what year? I carefully checked the number on the paper. The guy behind the counter was giving me an irritated look. I couldn’t care less.

I kept rechecking the four-digit number. I subtracted the year on the sports paper from the year of the December I had just come from. Simple arithmetic. A child could do it.

“So that’s how it is, Nagato…”

I looked up from the newspaper and sighed deeply as I looked up at the ceiling.

Tanabata Day, celebrated nationwide.

It was July seventh, three years ago.

Tanabata three years ago. What happened on this day?

On the Tanabata “this year,” which was rather rhapsodic, we had finished writing our wishes on the cards and afterward Asahina had invited me to travel back in time with her to this moment. I was then reunited with the adult version of Asahina and directed to head to East Middle School at night. That was where I ran into a seventh-grade Haruhi plastered to the school gate and found myself drawing a message to outer space with lime on the school grounds.

After that, the high school Asahina, Asahina (Small), lost her TPDD, which was something like a time machine, so I took her to Nagato’s apartment, where the two of us were put to sleep for three years and returned to our original time…

“Which means that…”

This was simpler than subtraction. I just had to remember what I could. Yeah, I finally had what I needed. The circumstances necessary for returning this crazy world to the way it had been.

I mean, right?

My legs weren’t shaking because of fear. That’s right. They were shaking with excitement.

Three years ago. Tanabata. East Middle. Pictograph. John Smith.

I went through the various factors in my mind before finally reaching a conclusion. A simple and clear conclusion. I’ll say it again.

“Which means that…”

They would be here.

The enthralling and voluptuous adult Asahina—Asahina (Big)—and Yuki Nagato in standby mode.

There were two people in this time who could give me help.

I instantly dropped the newspaper and shot out of the convenience store. Then I began to think as I ran.

During my first trip to three years ago—now—Asahina had said that it was around nine PM when I woke up on the bench in the park in front of Kouyouen Station. I could make it there in thirty minutes if I ran. The problem would be if the changes to the world had affected this time as well. If that was the case, I couldn’t possibly be here. I absolutely had to make contact with Asahina (Big) or Nagato in her apartment. Or both, possibly. Which meant there were two places I needed to go, but for now I should head there.

I could go find Nagato in her apartment later. But I’d only be able to find Asahina (Big) at that time and place.

The grown-up Asahina, who was dressed like a teacher. The future Asahina, who gave me the Snow White hint before leaving immediately afterward. I could still remember, as though it had happened yesterday, her poking the cheek of the sleeping beauty Asahina (Small) with a smile on her face.

That Asahina would be able to recognize me. I’m sure of it.

The park wasn’t very far from the station, yet there were barely any people passing by. Maybe because it was night. That would be why it’s such a convenient place for suspicious people who pop out after dark. Like a mecca for weirdos—that was how I had felt on that Tanabata. I still feel the same way.

I couldn’t make my appearance just yet so I walked along the concrete wall to try to blend into the night. Though the wall itself was only waist-high, there was a wire screen that went up to my head or so. Still, there were trees and bushes all around so it was simple enough to find a place to hide out at night, if not during the day. In fact, I should be more concerned about any people walking behind me giving me funny looks.

I tried to remember the location of the bench I had woken up on as I moved along the wall. I needed to find a suitable spot.

It was almost nine PM.

I was literally peeping through the cracks, I guess. I stuck my head through the bushes to find the scene I had been searching for.

“… That’s it, huh?”

It was like watching myself act in a movie, or some kind of dream where I had a third-person perspective.

“Still, this is pretty…”

The bench, under the light from the lamppost, stood out in the darkness as though it were in a spotlight. Even from this far away there was no mistaking it. Both people were wearing North High uniforms. Everything was just as I remembered.

Asahina and I from the past were right there.

That version of me was lying on the bench asleep with his head in Asahina’s lap. I’d be lying if I were to say that any dream I’d had in that situation was PG. My head was resting on the most valuable item on the planet. If that didn’t lead to a healthy respite, then there was no such thing as sound sleep in this world.

Asahina was peering into my face, which was resting on her thigh, as she blew into my ear and tugged at it. Lucky bastard… wait, that’d be me.

For a moment I was tempted to drag “me” out of there so I could take his place, but I suppressed that urge. “I” hadn’t run into a different me at the time. In that case, we’d have a little paradox on our hands if I were to run out there right now—I think? In any case, there wasn’t any reason for me to screw up the space-time continuum any further.

I restrained my body’s attempt to move against my will as I continued to play a Peeping Tom (or a voyeur, to be more concise). My ability to control myself under these bizarre circumstances spoke well of my character, relatively. I felt like bragging to someone.

And with that in mind I continued my observation when Asahina’s lips moved like she was saying something and “I” twitched slightly before sitting up. I couldn’t hear their voices from my location but I could still remember. Asahina had just asked if I was awake.

Asahina and “I” appeared to be engaged in small talk, but soon enough Asahina leaned over with the side of her body coming to a rest on “me” with a soft plop—

The bushes behind the bench rustled and that person came out.

I could never forget the long-sleeved white blouse and tight, deep blue miniskirt that made her look like a teacher.

Around the end of May, she had used a letter to set up a meeting and give me the Snow White hint. She also told me about the location of her star-shaped mole. And on this day, Tanabata, she put Asahina (Small) to sleep and instructed me to go to Haruhi before turning and leaving…

The adult version of Asahina.

Her height and body had developed a few more years. An Asahina who came from a future beyond the first Asahina’s future. Asahina (Big).

She looked the same as she had then.

This was the verification I needed. It was on that Tanabata day three years ago. Everything was as I remembered.

Asahina (Big) said a few words to “me” before squatting down to poke Asahina (Small) in the cheek and gently pat her back. Then she stood back up and turned to “me” to say something.

—It was her role to guide you to this point. It is my role to guide you from here on.

—Uh… What’s going on here…

That was how the conversation went.

“I” stood dumbfounded as Asahina (Big) finished what she needed to say and began walking out of the park without any sign of reluctance. She made her exit from the illuminated spot. For the first time I noticed that she was headed for the park exit on the opposite side from East Middle.

“I” was still spaced out, staring down at the face of the sleeping beauty Asahina (Small) while appearing to be lost in thought. After a few seconds of trying to remember what I had been thinking about, I gave up on jogging through my memory. I couldn’t afford to lose sight of Asahina (Big).

I moved from my hiding spot and hurried out of the park. There was no longer any need to hide because “I” never saw me when I was “me” in this situation. The “me” at this time never saw another me from a different time. Never thought that I might. Of course. The past “me” could never have imagined how my space-time would go to hell. I ran off without another look back at the “me” who was so focused on the Asahina behind him that he couldn’t think about anything else.

I turned the corner of the park to find her standing about a hundred meters ahead of me. She was walking with her back to me. Her high heels were clicking in a measured beat. She didn’t seem to be in a hurry, but unfortunately I was. Everything I’d done to make it to this point would be for nothing if I lost sight of her now.

I began to run again. As I closed in, I could see her beautiful arms and legs and wavy medium-length hair almost shine under the faint light in the night. From behind, I could tell that it was definitely her.

I quickly caught up and called out.

“Asahina!”

She froze. The soft tapping from her heels stopped. Her soft chestnut hair blew across her back. It was like everything was moving in slow motion. She turned around gradually.

I tried to predict what she would say.

—Why? Didn’t we just part ways?

—You chased after me… or I suppose not.

—Hmm? What happened to the other me?

The answer was none of the above.

“Good evening, Kyon.”

She greeted me with a captivating smile on a face just as beautiful as I remembered.

“I haven’t seen you in a while.”

The adult version of Asahina winked as she said that. It’s been a little over five months since I’ve seen this smile.

Asahina (Big) had a look on her face like a child breathing a sigh of relief.

“Still, I’m glad that we were able to meet here. I was a little worried. After all, I couldn’t be sure I hadn’t made any mistakes. I still screw up all the time,” Asahina said as she stuck out her tongue adorably.

That gesture was lovely enough to make me melt, but I’d lose everything if I gave in now.

This Asahina knew what I needed to do next.

I did my best to hold back my flapping tongue.

“Asahina, you knew that I’d be back… You knew that I would return to this place at this time, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Asahina said. “Since it was established information.”

“You were the one who arranged for the small Asahina and me to go back three years in time on that Tanabata… in other words, to this time.”

“Yes. It was absolutely necessary. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here now, right?”

If I hadn’t drawn the geoglyph on the East Middle school grounds, I would never have named myself to the seventh-grade Haruhi as John Smith. Naturally, the freshman Haruhi at Kouyouen Academy wouldn’t have recognized the name. Which meant that I wouldn’t have been able to find a link, since there had been absolutely nothing else to connect that Haruhi to me. And as a result, the five of us wouldn’t have assembled in the clubroom and the escape program wouldn’t have done its thing.

This was when a question came up. The other John Smith… it couldn’t be.

“It was you. Kyon. The present you.”

Asahina (Big) smiled at me like a white rose.

“It’s rather tiring to talk while standing, so why don’t we go find a place to sit down? We still have time.”

Her smile and words held enough power to dispel the shroud of unease and confusion surrounding me.

If Asahina (Big) was here, the future still existed. And it wasn’t a future that had gone out of whack on the eighteenth. It was the future where I and the Haruhi and Asahina I knew belonged.

It was going to be okay.

I now felt confident enough to calm down. She continued to bolster that confidence.

---

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“It is my role to guide you from here on. However, after that, you’ll be on your own. I can only follow your lead.”

And then she shut one eye. A perfect wink that almost sent me to my knees.

We went back to the park and sat down on the bench where Asahina (Small) and “I” had been sitting. Before we sat down, Asahina (Big) gently caressed the bench as though it were an ancestral relic, which left me feeling solemn as I sat down. The bench was still warm. The warmth from the Asahina and me who had traveled back three years in time five months ago.

I immediately broke the silence.

“What’s up with the flow of time? I can understand how this Tanabata is connected to the time I just came from. Or else I wouldn’t have made it here. In that case, Asahina… wouldn’t that mean your future was also connected to that altered time?”

“I can’t tell you any details.”

Figured as much. It was probably classified information.

“No.”

Asahina (Big) shook her head.

“I wouldn’t be able to explain it in a way you could understand. Our space-time continuum theory is based on a unique concept. I wouldn’t be able to convey the idea through words. Do you remember when I first confessed my true identity?”

I recalled the shocking revelation by the cherry blossom trees along the river when Asahina, who I’d thought to be an adorable upperclassman, declared that she was from the future.

“My explanation didn’t make much sense, did it? That’s the best I can do. I’ll only confuse you if I try.”

Asahina (Big) tapped herself on the side of her head with her fist as she winked. Every little gesture she made felt so sensual.

“A concept cannot be explained through words when the necessary terms don’t exist yet. Do you understand that?”

How could I? My head was spinning as Asahina spoke to me as if she were trying to teach a preschooler differential equations.

“Uh-huh. Still, you’ll understand soon enough. I’m sure. That’s all I can say for now.”

I’ll understand soon enough—pretty sure that someone else said something similar to that before summer vacation. Right, Nagato said something along those lines… Wait.

A flash of electricity ran through my synapses as I replied.

“Before summer vacation… the stuff Nagato mentioned during the incident with the cave cricket… About how computers in the future weren’t anything like the ones now, was that…”

“Ah, that’s a sharp observation. You still remember? That’s right. The system in our time that serves as a computer or network does not rely on any material substance. It exists within our minds in an abstract form. The TPDD is also that way.”

The thing she lost that was supposed to be impossible to lose.

“Is that a time machine?”

“Time Plane Destroid Device.”

Shouldn’t that be classified information?

“Yes, it was for me back then. The restrictions on me are slightly more relaxed now. Since I’ve worked very hard to come this far.”

Asahina puffed up her chest, which almost sent a button flying off her blouse. Her physically impossible body proportions were impressed on me in a beguiling fashion, but unfortunately my mind was unable to find optical refuge in that sight.

I asked, “What was the cause? I understand the future I was in had been changed. But when did it change?”

“It would be better to ask the Nagato in this time period for the details. But I can tell you one thing. Your time plane was altered three years from ‘now’ on the morning of December eighteenth.”

That would be two days ago for me. Alteration to the time plane, huh? Which meant that… I tried to remember the two interpretations Koizumi had come up with. I guess that the one that didn’t involve parallel worlds was correct.

“Yes. STC data… um, the entire world was changed overnight. Only your memories remained untouched. It was an incredible timequake that could be observed from the distant future.”

It wasn’t that I had no interest in technical terms like “STC” or “timequake,” but I didn’t have time to waste on trivial matters. There were other more pressing questions to deal with.

“If you were waiting here for me, Asahina, does that mean you’ll also be dealing with the disaster that has befallen my future?”

“I cannot deal with it alone,” she replied with a glum look on her face. “We need Nagato’s help. And you also have to be with us.”

“Who’s responsible for this? I’m guessing it was Haruhi.”

“It wasn’t.”

Asahina’s smile faded as she continued in a soft voice.

“It wasn’t Suzumiya. Someone else was responsible for this.”

“A new character? Some freak who came crashing in from another dimension—”

“No.”

Asahina almost sounded wistful as she interrupted me.

“It was someone you know very well.”

Asahina (Big) checked her watch and noted that we still had some time, so we began reminiscing about the SOS Brigade. In my case, less than a year had passed, but I got the impression that it had been many years for her. Starting with Haruhi carrying her away to the clubroom, forcing her to dress up like a bunny girl, the wishes on Tanabata, the murder show on the island, wearing a summer kimono for the Bon Dance, doing summer homework with everyone else in the brigade, filming the movie… Asahina (Big) began talking more slowly as she reached the parts that were still fresh in my mind.

I was waiting for her to accidentally reveal a story that would be in my future, but this Asahina was cautious. Our conversation was limited to minor chitchat.

“It was quite an ordeal, but they were all fond memories.”

And after that final observation, Asahina shut her mouth. She continued to stare at me in silence.

I was wondering if I should make an appropriate comment when something soft and warm landed on my shoulder. It was the head belonging to Asahina (Big), but I couldn’t even imagine what this action was supposed to mean, as the body pressing against mine was certainly worth its weight in gold and my mind was a total mess because the sweet fragrance and sensation were incapacitating me. I could feel the soft warmth of her body through the cloth of her shirt. What was she trying to say? Was she trying to sense something from my body? Asahina (Big) had her eyes shut as she leaned her face into my shoulder and her lips moved without making a sound. She was saying something inaudibly. I wonder what.

No way, I thought in a daze. Don’t tell me that this Asahina is going to fall asleep and then another Asahina will show up from behind to confuse me with more weird talk. And then I’d just keep on running into Asahinas from different times forever—no, I was starting to think in circles like laundry spinning round in a dryer. Hey, what am I doing here? Somebody tell me.

Asahina (Big) was nestled against me for about a minute.

“Hehe.”

She smiled as though reading my thoughts.

“It’s almost time. Let’s go.”

She stood up as though nothing had happened. Sadly, I had to return to my senses. That’s right. I needed to go. Uh, where are we going?

To my second destination.

Asahina’s wristwatch told us that it was a little before ten PM. That would be after “I” had finished defacing East Middle’s school grounds with the seventh-grade Haruhi and dragged a weeping Asahina to Nagato’s apartment. Around the time when “I” had my time frozen.

I needed to ask Nagato for help again.

“But first,” Asahina said, as a heartwarming smile hit her face like a starry sky, “there’s something else you must do, right?”

We left the park and soon found ourselves inside a residential area.

I followed Asahina’s cue and headed down an alley.

I could see a small shadow marching at the end of the dark street. The thin arms and legs that extended from her T-shirt and shorts swished around with her somewhat long hair as she walked.

“Hey!”

I could see the short shadow in T-shirt and shorts turn around in the distance. Once I was sure that she had seen me, I cupped my hands like a megaphone and shouted. Loud enough to blow off some steam.

“Cheers to saving the world by overloading it with fun with John Smith!”

The seventh-grade girl appeared to be staring my way before turning in a huff and stomping off.

She must have thought that there wasn’t any hurry, since she’d be able to find me at North High later on, which was why she walked away without any hesitation. As I watched her somewhat long, black hair depart, I added in a soft voice, “Please remember the name John Smith, Haruhi…”

I prayed from the bottom of my heart to a twelve-year-old Haruhi, a Haruhi who would continue to run wild at East Middle.

Please don’t forget. That I was here.

I could probably have made my way to the fancy apartment blindfolded, since I’d practically memorized the path by now. Asahina (Big) was walking behind me to the side in a subdued manner as I looked up at the brand-new building I had just visited around twenty hours ago. Asahina (Big) seemed to be hiding her nice body behind me as though she was expecting someone to show up.

“… Kyon, I have a favor to ask.”

I had no reason to turn down her pleas. I wasn’t cruel enough to ignore a request from any Asahina from any time.

“Sorry. I’m still uncomfortable around Nagato…”

Right, Asahina (Small) was acting the same way when we came here last time. Haruhi aside, Koizumi was the only one who was able to conduct himself in a neutral manner around aliens and time travelers.

“Well, I can understand how you feel.”

I tried to sound considerate as I entered 708 into the keypad and pressed the button to ring the bell.

After a few seconds I heard a click over the intercom.

I was greeted by a duet of wordless and soundless.

“Nagato, it’s me.”

—Silence.

“Sorry, it’s a little hard to explain, but I’m back from the future. Asahina’s also here. The grown-up one. Uh, yeah, her time-divergent variant, was it?”

—Silence.

“I need your help. Or actually, the future you sent me here.”

—Silence.

“Asahina and I should be up there. Asleep in your guest room with our time frozen…”

There was a click as the entrance was unlocked.

“Come in.”

The sound of Nagato’s voice through the intercom was comforting to hear. It was her usual flat voice, cool and soft. There seemed to be a subtle twinge of wonder and surprise mixed in, but it was probably just my imagination. The sky was the limit once Nagato took over. She’ll be able to do something about this situation. Or I’m screwed.

Asahina’s fingers were hooked in my belt, and she appeared as nervous as if she were walking on a fence in high heels. The elevator doors opened and inhaled us before heading up…

To the now-familiar room 708.

There was a doorbell, but I wasn’t in the mood. I knocked on the door without a word. I couldn’t sense anybody on the other side, but the metal door soon opened.

“…”

A small spectacled face peeked through the crack in the door. She stared at me and swiveled her head to focus on Asahina (Big) before returning her gaze to me.

“…”

The empty reaction with no expression on her face or words spoken almost made me want to beg her to say something, anything at all. This was vintage Nagato. The Nagato from when we first met. The one who’d been aloof back during spring. The one “I” had asked for help “three years ago.”

“May we come in?”

After a moment of silent thought, Nagato’s chin dipped about a millimeter and she retreated into the room. I’m guessing that’s a yes. I turned to the tense beauty behind me.

“Let’s go, Asahina.”

“Yes… You’re right. It should be fine.”

She sounded like she was trying to reassure herself.

Still, how many times have I entered this room? Four times in total, but only twice if I counted chronologically? My sense of time was a train wreck. I was surprised that my biological clock hadn’t gone haywire yet. My body should have collapsed after jumping from winter to summer and going back in time three years twice, but everything was functioning normally for now. In fact, I was tempted to say that my mind had never been clearer. Because I’d gotten used to it? Maybe after going through all these surreal experiences, I’d managed to fry the nerves that recognized what was normal.

Nagato’s room was just as empty as I’d remembered, without any signs of being inhabited. Just the way it’d been “three years ago.” Just the way it’d been when I first visited back in May.

I was able to relax because this Yuki Nagato was the one I knew. No expression on her face, no emotion shown. A completely infallible alien who never acted confused.

I took off my shoes and made my way through the narrow hallway to reach the living room. Nagato was waiting there. Standing all alone with her eyes fixed on Asahina and me in silence. Even if she was surprised, I wouldn’t be able to tell by looking at her face. It was possible that this Nagato saw me visit from the future on a regular basis, though I doubt that I’ll be traveling through time to this day that many times.

“We shouldn’t need to introduce ourselves, right?”

Nagato had yet to sit down, so Asahina and I also remained standing.

“This is the adult version of Asahina. You’ve met her before,” I said before remembering that it wouldn’t happen for another three years. “I mean, you’re going to meet her. Yeah, she’s definitely Asahina, so it’s fine.”

Nagato stared at Asahina (Big) the way you’d stare at a Math IIB problem on an entrance exam and let her eyes drift toward the guest room before returning to stare at the well-endowed body hiding behind me.

“Understood.”

She nodded without a single hair’s moving.

As I followed Nagato’s gaze, I couldn’t help finding myself drawn to that special partitioned-off room next to the living room.

“Can I open it?”

I pointed to the guest room and Nagato shook her head.

“It will not open. The room structure has been frozen along with time.”

That brought on a mixture of regret and relief.

I felt a warm breath on the back of my neck. Asahina (Big) had let out a soft sigh. She apparently felt the same way I did. I wondered how Asahina (Big) would feel if she saw herself sleeping next to me. I was tempted to ask, but I needed to explain the situation first.

“Nagato, sorry about bothering you again, but could you at least hear me out?”

How much had the “me” in the adjacent room told her? The history of the SOS Brigade up till the Tanabata fiasco. Then I simply needed to pick up from there. A tale spanning half a year or so, which started from a spring of melancholy, led to a parade of activities for alleviating Haruhi’s boredom, and concluded with the film shooting that forced me to sigh. Yes, you were also there, Nagato. You were a big help at times, though you also gave me a few scares. Until two days ago. For some reason, none of that had ever happened, which was why I came here. With the help of a Nagato-made emergency escape program.

It would have taken a few hours to explain if I went into detail, so I gave her the same digest I’d given Haruhi. Skipped over the nitty-gritty stuff and gave her the general storyline. That should be enough for her.

“… And so I managed to make it back here, thanks to you.”

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so I took the bookmark from my pocket. I felt like I was handing a talisman to a ghost as I showed it to Nagato.

“…”

Nagato took the bookmark in her fingertips and ignored the illustration of a flower as her eyes fell on the writing on the back. Her scrutiny was what I’d expect from an archaeologist who had just dug up an LCD TV from a Cretaceous stratum. I had no idea how long she was going to stare at the thing, so I interrupted her inspection with a question.

“What should we do?”

“I-I believe that we should normalize this abnormal space-time.”

Asahina (Big)’s voice sounded as nervous as if she were confessing her love to the man of her dreams. Asahina had a tendency to act like a nervous wreck around Nagato, and it seemed as though that hadn’t changed years later. That was the impression I got.

“Nagato… We need your help. You are the only one who can restore this altered time plane. Please…”

Asahina (Big) had her hands clasped together and eyes shut tight, as though she were praying at a shrine. I’ll join in the prayer to the great goddess Nagato. Return the world to one where Asahina would make tea for us in the clubroom, which I would savor while playing a board game with Koizumi, and you would be sitting as still as a statue next to us while reading a book until Haruhi came flying through the door. That was my wish.

“…”

Nagato looked up from the bookmark to stare at empty space with earnest eyes. I could understand why Asahina was so nervous. We had no chance of winning if Nagato disagreed. Was there anybody in this world who could stand against Nagato? Maybe Haruhi.

We couldn’t hear any outside noise in the soundproofed apartment room. It was as quiet as if time had stopped. Nagato’s eyes met mine. A gesture of acceptance. The one where her chin moved a few millimeters.

“Confirming,” Nagato said, shutting her eyes before I could ask what she was confirming.

“…”

Her eyes immediately reopened as she turned eyes the color of night toward me.

“Unable to synchronize.”

Another short phrase as she stared at me. Her face looked slightly different, and it probably wasn’t an optical illusion. This face was the product of everything that had happened since spring and over the summer. Koizumi had also noticed. The culmination of all the minuscule changes to Nagato’s expression since we first met. However, this wasn’t how Nagato had been by winter.

Her thin lips parted slightly.

“I am unable to access that time continuum. The system is equipped with a protection that selectively rejects my requests.”

I didn’t understand what that meant, but I was pretty worried. Hey, hold on a sec. Don’t tell me that there’s nothing you can do.

Nagato paid no heed to my fears.

“But the situation has been understood. Restoration is possible.”

She slowly traced the words on the bookmark with her finger. And then she began to explain in a voice that sounded like newly accumulating snowfall.

“The party responsible for the space-time alteration manipulated Haruhi Suzumiya’s data creation ability to partially transform the data composition of the world.”

The soft voice I was used to hearing. It soothed my heart the way a music-box tune soothed me as a baby.

“As a result, Haruhi Suzumiya was left powerless after the alteration. She no longer has the power to create data. The Data Overmind does not exist in that space-time.”

I didn’t get it, but that sounded pretty ominous, since the past had been rewritten for every person around Haruhi, except me. An all-girls school had been turned into a coed one, a number of North High students had been shifted to that school, all related parties had had their memories altered accordingly, the members of the Agency, Nagato the alien, and Asahina the time traveler were all living different lives, Asakura was back in action, and Haruhi had been erased from the memories of the students at North High. Asakura had been added in and Haruhi taken out. Even Nagato’s boss was gone.

What a mess.

“The power stolen from Haruhi Suzumiya allowed the perpetrator to modify three hundred sixty-five days’ worth of memory data.”

So the period from December of last year—going by my original time—to December seventeenth of the current year had been modified. The Tanabata three years earlier—which would be today—had been left untouched. Now there’s a lifesaver. I only made it this far because Haruhi still remembered what had happened on Tanabata. Still, who was the fool who did something as stupid as something Haruhi would do?

Nagato was still staring at me.

“Restoring the world will require traveling to December eighteenth three years from now and running the repair program immediately after the perpetrator alters space-time.”

So you’re going to travel through time with us? Since you’re the one who’s doing the repairing?

“I cannot go.”

Why not?

“Because,” Nagato answered as she pointed to the guest room, “I cannot leave them.”

Her explanation was that she couldn’t leave this space-time while keeping time frozen for Asahina and me, sleeping in the next room. Nagato continued in an announcer-like tone.

“Emergency mode.”

“So what are we supposed to do?” I asked, feeling a little anxious.

“Mixing.”

As usual, she failed to make any sense.

Nagato slowly removed her glasses and held them in both hands. The glasses then levitated above her palms, as though they were being held up by invisible strings. If this had been a normal person, there probably would have been invisible strings involved, but I shouldn’t have to tell you that Nagato doesn’t do normal.

Squish.

The lenses and frame twisted into a weird whirlpool for a moment before the glasses transformed into something completely different. A shape I recognized. One that most people would prefer to avoid. A tool that humans instinctively feared.

I hesitantly offered my view.

“It looks like a giant syringe…”

“Yes.”

It was filled with a colorless, transparent liquid. What are we supposed to do with that, and to whom?

“Inject the repair program into the perpetrator.”

I glanced at the sharp needle protruding from the syringe before reflexively looking away.

“Uh… Isn’t there a more peaceful way to go about this? I’m sorry to say that I’m not licensed for any of that stuff. It might get ugly if I hit the wrong spot.”

Nagato turned to the syringe clenched in her hands with eyes the color of a powered-off LCD screen.

“I see.”

Her hands opened to reveal the syringe swirling into something else. I recognized the shape and gulped.

“That’s a dangerous item you’ve got there…”

It was a handgun this time. However, the barrel was especially small and appeared to be stainless steel.

Nagato offered the shiny metallic model-gun-like pistol to me.

“Probability of success remains high through clothing, but a direct discharge to the skin is preferred.”

“What about bullets? Don’t tell me you’re using live ammunition.”

Going by the appearance of the fake-looking gun, they were either aluminum or plastic.

“Needle gun. The program has been applied to the tip of the needle.”

Mentally more acceptable than a giant syringe. I took the gun and was surprised by how light it was.

“By the way…”

I finally asked the question I’d been avoiding.

“Who’s responsible? Who changed the world? Who besides Haruhi could it be? Tell me.”

I could hear Asahina (Big) sigh softly.

Nagato’s lips parted as she nonchalantly told me that person’s name.