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

items on her list.
    Yesterday we waited till the dead of night to head to a large cemetery with candles in hand for our last recreational event, a test of courage. There weren’t any ghosts popping out to greet us or disembodied souls floating around. The only notable highlight was Asahina whimpering timidly in vain.
    “We’ve finished our list.”
    It was August thirty-first, a little past noon. We were at the usual café in front of the station.
    Haruhi was staring at her sheet of paper as if the location of the lost treasures of Tokugawa were written on there in pen. Her expression was a mixture of satisfaction and regret. Under normal circumstances I would have felt a similar regret, since we had only one day of summer vacation left. Under normal circumstances.
    I was seriously doubting that summer vacation would actually end. Only natural for me to be skeptical. I’d have to be, after spending months in the SOS Brigade, a ridiculous organization led by an emotionally unstable brigade chief. Makes me wish I were more shallow. Able to assume the simple mind-set that it’s all good if Asahina is around…well, I’ll stop there. It’s possible to have too much of a good thing (the key is to use lingo that isn’t necessarily applicable).
    “Hmm. Was this enough?”
    Haruhi seemed to be wavering as she used her straw to poke at the vanilla ice cream in her cola float.
    “But yeah. I guess that’s all there is. Is there anything else you want to do?”
    Nagato made no response as she stared at the lemon slice in her black tea. Asahina had her fists clenched tightly above her knees, looking like a puppy that was being scolded. Koizumi merely smiled as he lifted his cup of Vienna coffee to his lips.
    As for me, I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I just sat there sullenly with my arms crossed as I tried to come up with something.
    “Oh, well. We managed to get a lot of stuff done this summer. We visited a bunch of places, got to wear summer kimonos, and caught lots of cicadas too.”
    It sounded to me like Haruhi was trying to convince herself that we’d done enough. That’s not the case here. It’s not enough. Deep down, Haruhi doesn’t want summer vacation to end yet. She may say it, but that won’t change how she feels on the inside. ’Cause if we dig deep down, way deep down there, she isn’t satisfied yet.
    “I guess that’s”—Haruhi handed me the bill—“all for today. I had tomorrow set aside in case, but you can just rest at home. I’ll see you all in the clubroom in two days, then.”
    Haruhi stood up and moved away from the table as I started to panic.
    I couldn’t let Haruhi leave. That would solve nothing. The two-week repetition, discovered by Koizumi and confirmed by Nagato, will enter its 15,499th iteration.
    But what was I supposed to do?
    Haruhi was walking away in slow motion.
    That was when, out of the blue with no warning at all—
    It hit me.
    A completely jumbled-up “Wait, I’ve seen this happen before…” kind of thing. However, this comes with a sense of vertigo like none before. An overpowering sensation of déjà vu that’s stronger than anything else so far. I recognize this. Memories from the ten-thousand-plus times we’ve repeated this scene. August thirty-first. One day left.
    There should have been some kind of hint in what Haruhi said. What was it, what was it, what was it?
    “Is something wrong?”
    Someone was talking. Koizumi must have mentioned something as well. Something I was worried about that I kept putting off…
    Haruhi was ready to leave the way she’s done thousands of times. I can’t let her leave. Nothing will change. What methods have I tried before? Memories began flashing before my eyes. Everything our predecessors had tried…
    And—everything they hadn’t tried.
    No time to think. Say something. Make a wild guess.
    “My list isn’t finished yet!”
    I didn’t need to make a big deal about it, though. Looking back later after I had