The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa Read Free Book Online Page A

Haruhi’s black hair as it bounced around.
    Ever since I met her, ever since the SOS Brigade was formed, someone had decided that it would be my job to babysit Haruhi. No idea who it was, so I’ll have to control my urge to vent, but let me say this at least.
    Don’t overestimate me. I’m just your typical average Joe.
    Hollow words at this point.
    Asahina was a confused mess. Koizumi only ever smiled. Nagato only ever observed.
    So I had to do something about Haruhi.
    But what was I supposed to do?
    Only Haruhi would know the answer, but she didn’t even realize there was a problem.
    “Mikuru, you don’t need to swing the bat! Practice bunting. It’s not like you’re going to hit the ball if you swing. You want the ball to roll on the ground after it hits the bat. Ah, don’t pop it up!”
    I guess that baseball tournament had left a lasting impression on Haruhi. Don’t tell me that she plans on entering again next year.
    Haruhi was hogging the eighty-mph batting cage as she hit one fastball after another. She seemed to be enjoying herself so much that I found myself cheering up. This girl is really something. She must have a higher mitochondrial count than your average person. Wonder where all her energy comes from. If only she would use it for the greater good.
       
    After that, Haruhi moved through her schedule so fast that nobody had time to hit the Pause button, as we were constantly on the move every day.
    We even went to see a full-blown fireworks display. Aerial shells launched down by the shore. The three girls got back in their summer kimonos to be delighted (only Haruhi was delighted) by fireworks soaring into the sky before bursting into a fiery bloom, and to laugh at the failed attempts at making caricatures out of fireworks. Haruhi really enjoyed anything that was unnecessarily flashy. She had such an innocent smile when she was having a good time, and it made her look younger than her actual age, so I found myself averting my eyes. If I stare at her too long, I might get some weird ideas. Well, not that I know what those weird ideas might be. Still, I did understand the importance of dressing for the occasion.
    On a different day we entered an open goby fishing contest on a river near the district border. We didn’t catch a single goby—we kept reeling in these tiny fish that I’d never seen before—so we weren’t able to participate in the measuring. Haruhi seemed to be interested in the casting motion itself, so we didn’t have to deal with drastic penalties for losing or ego battles. I was very relieved and grateful that I didn’t have to worry about anyone’s accidentally fishing up a coelacanth, leaving me to savor the lunch that had been made by Asahina, who had turned pale upon seeing the worms used for bait and run off into the distance.
    By this point Haruhi and I were burned to a crisp, in sharp contrast with Koizumi and Asahina, who had used UV protection. Nagato could probably stand there for days without tanning, which was fine with me, since a brown Nagato would be a surreal sight.
    And yes, I realized that this wasn’t the time to be enjoying myself.
       
    The days flashed by as we raced along our set path.
    Haruhi was full of energy. I was greatly distressed. Asahina had turned a deeper shade of blue. Koizumi’s forced smile showed that he had resigned himself to this fate. Nagato was the only one who hadn’t changed.
    In retrospect, we did a lot of stuff over the past two weeks.
    We were approaching the time limit. Today was August thirtieth. Tomorrow would be our last day of summer vacation. I had to do something today or tomorrow, but I had no idea what to do. Summer sun, chirping cicadas—everything related to summer was a source of anxiety. And a high school baseball team had been crowned champion while I wasn’t paying attention. Wish this could all last a little longer.
    Until Haruhi was finally satisfied.
       
    Haruhi used the pen in her hand to cross off the