Suzumiya Haruhi:Volume2 Chapter2

From Baka-Tsuki

Chapter 2

It's already autumn, yet for some reason, the weather's hardly cool. It's as if the planet has its seasons all wrong and had forgotten to bring autumn over to Japan. The summer heat has now been indefinitely extended, and unless someone comes and hits a home run, it's unlikely this will end soon. Even if it does, one gets the feeling that autumn would still be shoved aside by winter anyway when it comes.

"We might be late already." Haruhi said, so we packed our bags and left the school. Haruhi hurriedly ran along the long winding slope. Just where is she headed? I would understand if we were headed for the Computer Study Group since, after all, we're a mysterious club that has existed for six months without anyone even knowing what the founding principle is. Being driven out would be a logical end for us.

We descended from the hill and rode on the local suburban railway. Three stops later, we've arrived at the area with the cherry blossom path that Asahina and I had walked along together at one time. This place contains a supermarket complex and a shopping street, and because of such, is quite a busy and crowded spot.

"Right here."

Haruhi finally stopped and pointed to an electronics store.

"I see," I replied.

She's probably going to blackmail the store for their movie equipment.

I wonder how she's going to do it?

"You two wait here, while I go in and negotiate."

Haruhi shoved her bag at me and walked into the glass-covered store without any hesitation.

Asahina hid behind me, constantly peeking at the store, which was illuminated by all the lighting equipment. She was like a shy elementary school kid visiting her friend's place for the first time. As I look at the back of Haruhi, waving her arms and talking to what seemed to be the store manager, my desire to protect Asahina became strong. If Haruhi tries anything funny, I'm going to carry Asahina under my arms and run off at once.

Through the glass, Haruhi talked and pointed her finger first at the equipment, then at herself, and then at the manager. Meanwhile the manager nodded nonstop. I wonder whether I should warn him to not believe what she says so easily?

After a while, Haruhi turned around and pointed her finger towards us, who were already prepared to escape if anything went wrong. She then gave a warm smile, waved her arms, and continued her presentation.

"What is she doing...?" Asahina asked, as she stood behind me, sticking her head out and retracting it again. If even Asahina, a time traveler from the future, doesn't know the answer, then there's no chance that I would know.

"Who knows? Probably demanding for them to hand her their best digital camera for free."

She's the sort of person who can do such a thing without even flinching. Since she truly believes herself to be the center of the universe with everything else revolving around her.

"What a bother."

I remember discussing something similar with Nagato before.

Haruhi believes her values and judgment to be absolute. She does not understand what others think, or realize that they may think differently, or rather, it has never occurred to her that her way of thinking may be completely different from others’ since the beginning.

If people want to achieve time travel, just put Haruhi on a spaceship. Since she probably wouldn't give a damn about the Theory of Relativity anyway.

As I mentioned this to Nagato, all that the silent alien said was, "Your opinion may be correct."

For Nagato, this is very meaningful. For others, Suzumiya Haruhi is a joke.

"Oh, it seems like they're done."

Asahina's whisper brought me back to reality from my daydreams.

Haruhi emerged from the electronics store with a satisfied look, carrying a small box in her arms. There was a picture of the product by the side of the box with a brand name. If I'm not mistaken, that was a camera all right.

Just what threats did she use to intimidate the opposition?

Did she threaten to burn the store down? Or maybe start a boycott campaign? Or perhaps to send them prank faxes all night? Or to start a tantrum right there? Could she even have threatened to blow herself up along with the store?

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm not the sort to resort to blackmail!"

Haruhi walked along happily, under the glass roof of the shopping street.

"We've now completed the first step! This is too easy!"

I was forced to carry the box containing the camera while I followed Haruhi. I looked at Haruhi's hair flowing behind her back and asked, "How did you manage to obtain such an expensive item? Is it because you discovered the manager's dirty secrets?"

Indeed, the first words Haruhi said when she emerged from the store were, "We got it!" If the manager was so willing to give things away, I'm willing to queue up as well. So please, tell me the magic words you used!

Haruhi turned and smiled, "It was nothing really! I said I wanted to make a movie and needed a camera, and he said ‘Okay.’ There was no problem at all."

I felt that even though things were going smoothly now, it wouldn't end so easily. Could I be worrying too much?

"Don't sweat the small stuff, just happily be my servant and things will be fine!"

Unfortunately, up until now, I still held the uneasy feeling from this spring, of boarding a cruise ship called the Titanic. I wanted to send out an SOS signal, but sadly, I don't know Morse code, and I'm not the sort of person who can be glad at being called a servant.

"All right! Now for the next store!"

In the bustling crowd, Haruhi waved her arms and strode forward. I exchanged glances with Asahina, and then hurriedly followed along behind Haruhi.

Haruhi next visited a toy and model store.

As before, Asahina and I were left outside while she went in to negotiate. I was beginning to have an idea of what she was up to, since every time she pointed out towards us, her finger was always directed towards Asahina. If I’m guessing correctly, she must be using Asahina as some sort of bargaining chip. Asahina has yet to realize this, as she was curiously studying a globe on display in the window.

A few minutes later, Haruhi came out carrying a huge box with her. What is it this time?

"A weapon," Haruhi replied, and shoved the box to me. I looked carefully and saw it was a plastic model; it looks like a gun-shaped weapon. What does she want with this stuff?

"We'll need this for the action scenes, the gun fights that is! An intense battle is the basic ingredient for any entertaining movie. If it's possible, I want to blow up an entire building as well. Do you know where they sell explosives? I wonder if the hardware store has them."

How the hell should I know? At least I know you won't find them in the convenience stores or on the internet. Maybe they have some in the stone quarry... I had wanted to remind Haruhi of this, but quickly dispelled the thought, mainly because she would probably go there in the middle of the night and steal some dynamite and wires for herself.

I lowered the camera and plastic model boxes and shook my head.

"What should we do with these boxes?"

"You take them home first, and then bring them to the club room tomorrow. It's too troublesome taking it back to school now."

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

Haruhi crossed her arms and gave a benevolent expression. That was a smile rarely seen in the classroom, and reserved only for the SOS Brigade, and every time Haruhi makes such a smile, I always had to take care of the rest. Just what was I to her?

"Excuse me..."

Asahina politely raised her arm,

"What should I be doing...?"

"You can go home now, Mikuru-chan. Your work is done for today."

Asahina blinked her eyes and had the look some one that had just been possessed by a fox. Since all Asahina ever did today was blindly follow Haruhi and me, she probably doesn't know why Haruhi had asked her to come along, though I could guess what Haruhi was up to.

Haruhi walked energetically like a gym instructor and led us to the station. It seems like today's Haruhi-ist activity was coming to an end. The loot included a camera and a few toy guns. Rather than by skillful negotiation, Haruhi probably obtained these through very unorthodox means. The expenses were zero. In other words, we got them for free.

There used to be a saying, "There's nothing more terrifying than not needing to pay." The thing is, Haruhi doesn't seem to care. If someone knows something that would make her terrified, please, do let me know.

The next day, besides my bag, I had to carry some excess baggage up the slope.

"Hey, Kyon! What are you carrying? Some present for a certain model student?"

Running towards my side is Taniguchi, a classmate of Haruhi's and mine, a very simple single-celled organism, and as normal a high school student as you can find anywhere. Normal is such a great description for him. Right now, for me, normalcy is a rare commodity since this word represents the magic of the language used in reality.

I hesitated for a while, and then stuffed the lighter of the two supermarket bags into Taniguchi's arms.

"What the hell's this, a toy gun? I didn't know you had such hobbies."

"It's not my hobby, it's Haruhi's."

I then gave Taniguchi a brief explanation, but Taniguchi was quite right in treating this as an odd hobby.

"I find it hard to imagine Suzumiya breaking this up and then reassembling and preserving it."

I too, found it hard to imagine, so who else besides Haruhi can break up and reassemble these things? I might as well tell everyone that when I was young, I attempted to assemble a toy robot, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't attach its right shoulder and I threw it away out of frustration.

"You sure have it tough."

Taniguchi said in a tone that didn't sound sympathetic at all,

"Up to now, the only person capable of protecting Suzumiya has been you. This I can guarantee, so you'd better stick with her."

What the hell are you talking about? There's no way I would want to stick with Haruhi! The one I should be sticking around with is Asahina. I'm sure everyone would feel the same.

Taniguchi giggled like a gremlin.

"Ah, that won't do, after all, she's the little angel of North High, the solace for the hearts of all the guys. If you don't want to be stuffed in a sack by half of the school, I suggest that you'd better watch your step. I don't suppose you'd like for me to stab you in the back with a knife, would you?"

All right, then I'll go with the second best and pick Nagato.

"That won't do either. She may not look like it, but she has a lot of hidden admirers. How come she stopped wearing glasses? Has she switched to contacts?"

"Hmm… why don't you ask her yourself?"

"Ask? Up to now, no matter how hard I tried, she has ignored everything I've said. Everyone in Nagato's class firmly believes that a single word she says is enough to determine the fate of the day."

Stop treating Nagato like a god. What sort of superstition is this? She may not be ordinary, but for her standards, she's actually quite normal. Though I don't really know what her standards are.

"Anyway, you fit well with Suzumiya. Only you can carry out a decent conversation with that idiot. So keep a good eye on her and minimize the casualties to as low as possible. Oh yeah, the school festival is coming up, what huge event are you guys planning for then?"

"Don't ask me."

I'm not the spokesperson for the SOS Brigade, but Taniguchi continued, "Even if I asked Suzumiya, she would just answer with something cryptic, and if I don't time my question correctly, I might even get attacked by her. As for Nagato Yuki, you won't get anything out of her no matter what’s being asked, while Asahina is off limits, as I'll probably be lynched by a mob if I tried to talk with her. So in the end, I had to ask you."

He sure is good at making excuses. According to him, I'm just mister nice guy.

"Aren't you? You look like the sort of person who would continue walking forward with her, even when you know a cliff awaits you ahead."

As we got near the school entrance, I snatched the bag from Taniguchi's arms while looking quite irritated.

I don't know what lies ahead in the midst of Haruhi's madness, but I don't think it can be anything good. Yet, I'm not the only one walking with Haruhi in this perilous journey. There are at least three others with me. Two of them can probably take care of themselves, but Asahina would be in great danger since she has no idea what to expect. It's as though she isn't from the future at all. But that's also where her charm lies.

"Which is why," I explained to Taniguchi, "Someone needs to protect her."

Ah, that's more like what a male protagonist should be saying. Though I'm just protecting her from Haruhi's sexual harassment. That's all.

I calmly continued, "Since I was given this chance, I have to protect her. I don't care what the rest of the guys in school say, be my guest if you want to form a gentleman's alliance or something like that."

Taniguchi continued to giggle like a gremlin.

"You'd better tread carefully, since every month is a new month."

After leaving the sort of blackmail threat a conniving thief would use, Taniguchi walked past the school entrance.

As I carried my baggage and headed towards the corridor outside the classroom, I saw Haruhi stuffing her things into her locker. I proceeded to put the camera equipment and model toy guns into my stainless steel locker as well.

"Kyon, we're gonna be busy today."

Without even saying good morning, Haruhi slammed her locker door and gave me a smile as warm as early spring.

"Mikuru-chan, Yuki, and even Koizumi-kun, I won't allow you guys to have any complaints! The movie script in my mind has now neared completion. I can even hear it rumble; now all that remains is to just put it on screen."

"Really?"

I casually replied, and entered the classroom. My seat is the second from last of the row. Since the school term began, we've changed seats many times already, but so far I've never been allocated the seat in the back since Haruhi always ends up sitting there behind me. I'm beginning to feel that it's too unnatural to be coincidental, yet I still wanted to believe that it was all just a coincidence.

If I don't tell myself that, I would lose faith in the word "coincidence," I sure am kind. I'm sure anyone who gets involved with Haruhi would believe the same as I do. I'm like a midfielder in charge of intercepting any ball that's not controlled by either side, while Haruhi is a hyper-attacking striker standing in an offside position and running towards the goal. She's probably so offside that the nearest opponent is miles away, so even if she does get the ball, the linesman would have no choice but to raise the offside flag.

For Haruhi, she'd probably say that's the linesman's mistake. She would say with a straight face that something is wrong with the rules and then proceed to pick up the ball, run past the goal posts, and declare that she's scored a point. If that's the case, I suggest she stay away from rugby.

In order to deal with her inconsiderate attitude, the best way is to just pretend nothing ever happened and quietly leave the crime scene. Or to just give up on struggling and obey whatever she says.

Besides me, most of the classmates have chosen the former option.

So after the sixth session, with one more class to go, Okabe-sensei and the other students all had nothing to say about the seat behind me being empty. Did they not notice? Or did they choose not to notice? Or perhaps they just couldn't be bothered to waste their time worrying about such things? At any rate, everyone has agreed that it's best to leave her alone, so it's no longer important to know why.

I walked towards the clubroom with an ominous feeling, carrying the bag containing the boxes, and stopping before the Literature Club room.

I thought I heard something. The "Ahh’s!" are the cute screams of Asahina, while the "Waah’s!" are the chilling yells of Haruhi. Here we go again.

If I opened the door now, I would probably see very pleasant scenery, but as a man with common sense, I held back my desires and quietly waited outside.

After about five minutes, the soft screams of resistance have finally subsided, as it always ends with Haruhi putting her arms on her waist and smiling victoriously. Like a rabbit that can never defeat a snake, there's no way Asahina can ever defeat Haruhi.

I knocked the door.

"Come in!"

Haruhi's energetic reply echoed through the door. I tried to guess what was contained within the paper bags that she brought this morning, while opening the door, and entering the clubroom. As expected, Haruhi's victorious smile greeted me, but I was already tired of that expression. I turned my gaze towards the person sitting before Haruhi on a steel chair, and I felt my temperature rising instantly.

A waitress was sitting right there, looking at me with watery eyes.

"..."

Her hair a bit messy, the waitress lowered her head and kept silent like Nagato. Haruhi had the waitress's brown hair tied into two ponytails. Amazingly, Nagato was nowhere to be seen.

"So how is it?"

Haruhi snorted and asked me. What's with that face telling me it's all thanks to you? Asahina's cuteness is a god-given gift, yet...

I actually think she looks great in this costume. I wonder what Asahina thinks? She wouldn't disagree with me having such thoughts, would she? Though, isn't her skirt a bit too short?

Like 100% pure fruit juice, Asahina the waitress clutched her hands and placed them tightly on her fists and sat stiffly.

This costume looks perfect on you; it's as if it were made especially for you. Thanks to this, I silently stared at Asahina for thirty seconds. Suddenly someone patted my shoulders and nearly had me jumping in fright.

"Sorry about yesterday. We still have to revise the script today, but I insisted on leaving early since I didn't have the opportunity to prepare with you guys from beginning to end yesterday."

Koizumi smiled with his handsome face and then glanced in the clubroom over my shoulder.

"Hi."

He smiled cheerfully.

"This costume..."

Koizumi walked past me, placed his bag on the table and sat down on one of the steel chairs.

"Suits you wonderfully."

He gave his most direct opinion. Well, everyone knows about that. What I don't understand is what is a waitress is doing here in a crummy old room instead of in a cafe or restaurant.

"That's because," Haruhi said, "I wanted Mikuru-chan to wear this costume in the movie."

What’s wrong with the maid costume?

"Maids only do certain tasks for the rich in their mansions. Waitresses are different, they appear on the street corner, or in some store, and provide all sorts of services to the mass public at an hourly rate of 730 Yen."

I don't know if that hourly rate is considered high or low, but at any rate, I don't think Asahina would dress up as a maid just so she can work in some mansion. It's a different story if Haruhi actually pays for her services though.

"Stop picking at the small details! It all has to do with how you feel, and I feel this looks good." You may think so, but what about Asahina?

"Umm... Suzumiya-san... I think this costume is a bit small for me..."

Asahina's probably worried about her panties showing, since she's tightly pressing the edge of her skirt down. But doing this only serves to unsettle me further, and before I knew it, my eyes were transfixed upon that spot.

"I think this suits you just fine."

It took a lot of effort to move my gaze away and fix it towards Haruhi, who was smiling like a beautiful flower blossoming in the middle of a forest. Haruhi aimed her pupils, which can only see what's before them, to me.

"The concept for our movie this time is..."

She pointed towards Asahina's shivering back.

"This."

What do you mean "this”? You want to make a documentary of a girl working part-time in a teashop?

"No! There's not much fun in making a candid camera show of Mikuru-chan's daily life. We've got to make a movie about the daily life of an extraordinary person, only then can the movie be attractive. Making a documentary about the daily life of an ordinary high school student is just satisfying one's ego."

I don't think that Asahina would be satisfied by making this movie. I believe someone else needs to have their ego satisfied, and I believe that Asahina's daily life is already extraordinary enough, but I decided to keep quiet.

"As the director of the SOS Brigade, I will carry out the mission to entertain the masses. Just you wait! I will make everyone give me a standing ovation!"

Looking carefully, I realized Haruhi's "Commander" armband had now been replaced with the word "Director." Such a meticulous person.

An excited female director, a depressed lead actress, and a lead actor smiling enigmatically as though he's only a bystander, I really don't know how to describe this scene. At this moment, the clubroom door opened.

“…”

I thought it was someone else, and for a moment my mind was filled with terror. I thought my short life had finally come to an end, since even Death had come to receive me. I even thought I was in the backstage of the movie where Salieri slowly destroyed Mozart as he composed his Requiem.

“…”

Nagato's usual pale face silently emerged from the doorway. She only showed her face, while her body was shrouded in darkness.

I wasn't the only one frightened into silence, Haruhi and Asahina weren't any better, even Koizumi's usual smile carried a bit of fearfulness in it. Nagato was wearing a strange costume that even Asahina would feel startled in. She had covered herself with a black cloak, wearing an equally pitch black pointed hat, a recognizable witch outfit.

Under our petrified gaze, Nagato, who was dressed like Death, silently walked to her reserved seat by the corner, took out her bag and hard-back book from under her cloak, and placed it on the table.

Ignoring our stunned glances, she began to read her book.

Looks like this would be the costume used for divinations for her class during the school festival.

Being the first to recover from the shock, Haruhi bombarded Nagato with a series of questions. From her monosyllabic replies, we came to this conclusion: there must be a talented fashion designer in her class to be able to make Nagato enjoy wearing this costume around.

Nagato entered the room in such a terrifying doll-like costume, has she secretly decided to compete with Asahina-san in her own way? Her logic is even harder to understand than Haruhi's!

Under this silent atmosphere which no dared to speak, only Haruhi exclaimed excitedly,

"So you've finally got the hang of it, Yuki? This costume is excellent!"

Nagato slowly moved her eyes towards Haruhi and then returned her gaze to her book.

"This costume matches exactly with my character concept! Do tell me later who designed this costume for you, I'd like to send him a telegraph to thank him for his efforts!"

Oh please, sending him a congratulatory telegraph would just make him even more suspicious, worrying whether there's some hidden meaning to it. Can't you objectively notice how everyone else thinks of you?

Haruhi was already in seventh heaven. Humming the Turkish Rondo, she opened her bag and took out a few pieces of printed paper. She then handed the papers to each of us, while beaming like Kintarou who had just beaten the black bear.

I had no choice but to direct my gaze towards the piece of paper.

On it was scribbled the following:

  "Battle Waitress - The Adventures of Asahina Mikuru (Working Title)"
  - Cast
  - Asahina Mikuru - the Battle Waitress from the future
  - Koizumi Itsuki - the Esper youth
  - Nagato Yuki - the evil alien
  - Extras - everyone else

......Oh god, what on earth is this? She actually guessed them all correctly.

I was totally shocked. I did not know whether she had amazing skills of deductions, or she simply guessed blindly and got them all correct. I even suspected that she pretended not to know. To be able to make such correct judgments out of the blue, just what kind of power was that?

I was speechless for a moment, and only came to my senses when I heard someone giggling besides me. That could only be Koizumi,

"Oh, I see......"

He seemed rather pleased; I really am envious of him.

"How should I say this? As expected from Suzumiya-san perhaps? Only Suzumiya-san could have come up with such characters, simply amazing."

Don't smile at me like that, you're making me uncomfortable.

Asahina-san gripped the stack of A4 paper with her hands, which were trembling as she stared at the contents.

"Ah......"

She exclaimed softly and looked at me, carrying an expression as though asking to be rescued. I looked carefully and noticed her eyes carried a sense of extreme sadness with a bit of reproachfulness, like a kind big sister berating a young kid for pulling a naughty prank......Ah, now I remember. After what happened six months ago, I told Haruhi about their true identities.

Um, oh dear. Was it my fault?

I frantically looked at Nagato, and saw that the alien-created Living Humanoid Interface, wearing her black cloak and pointy hat......

"......"

Was still silently reading her book.

"It's not that big of a problem."

Koizumi said optimistically, I wasn't even in the mood to laugh.

"I know it's not funny, but it's not all that gloomy."

"How do you know?"

"Because this is only a character allocation for the movie. Suzumiya-san doesn't really believe that I'm an esper, it's only in the fictional movie world that the character Koizumi Itsuki, played by me, happens to be an esper."

Koizumi sounded like a personal tutor lecturing at a student with a short-term memory.

"The Koizumi Itsuki in the real world and this 'Koizumi Itsuki' are two different people. I don't suppose that you would confuse me with the character I play. Even if someone were to confuse between the two, it wouldn't be Suzumiya-san."

"I just can't relax. No one can guarantee that what you say is correct."

"If she had confused the real world with a fictional one, this world would have become a science fiction realm already. I've said it before, Suzumiya-san may not look like it, but she does think logically within the confines of reality."

Of course I also knew that because Haruhi's way of thinking was always in half-fantasy mode, that was why I always got involved in all sorts of peculiar events. To top it all, the perpetrator Haruhi was not even aware of it herself.

"Because we offered no proof."

Koizumi said calmly,

"Perhaps one day things will develop to an extent where her awareness will become inevitable, but that's not the case now. It's good that the forces Asahina-san and Nagato-san represent think the same way as well, so I believe it's fine if we keep it like this forever."

I thought so too, since I don't want to see the world getting messed up. It would be a pity if the world ends before I could even have a chance of beating the video game that comes out next week.

Koizumi continued smiling,

"Instead of worrying about the world, you should take care of yourself more. It's possible for me and Nagato-san to be replaced with someone else easily, but not you."

In order not to let Koizumi see my now complex thoughts, I pretended to concentrate on loading the toy gun.

Today, Haruhi spent the time having Asahina-san try out the costume, announced the character allocation for everyone, and then called it a day. In fact, she had planned to drag Asahina-san, dressed in her waitress costume, everywhere around school, and then open a press conference to promote her movie. But as Asahina-san was close to tears, I tried everything to make her drop that idea. I told her in this high school, there was no News Society, or Journalist Society, and definitely no Advertising Society. Haruhi looked at me, her lips sticking out like a bird's beak, and looked down and said,

"Yeah, you're right."

I never thought she would back off so quickly.

"It's better to keep things secret until the last moment. Kyon, you're quite smart for your level of intelligence. It'll be troublesome if things were to leak out beforehand."

This isn't some Hollywood or Hong Kong action movie; no one would be interested in stealing your weird ideas.

"Then Kyon, you're responsible for making sure that gun is up and ready by today, because shooting starts tomorrow. You need to learn how to use a camera as well. Oh yeah, you need to look for software that could upload the video clip onto the computer for digital editing, and......"

And so, Haruhi shoved a whole load of work to me and went home humming the tune of "The Great Escape."

She really knows how to give people a lot of trouble no matter how they are feeling. Seriously!

So right now, Koizumi and I are busy reading the instruction manual and figuring out how to fire the BB bullets from the toy gun.

After changing, Asahina-san went home with her shoulders drooped low. Nagato also disappeared without even taking her bag in that witch costume as though being invited for the Sabbath. Looks like Nagato only came to show us her costume. Judging by her style, there may be some meaning for her to do that, though it's also possible she only came just to visit. She's probably busy doing something in her classroom, like predicting the future with her crystal ball.

I had a feeling the school was getting livelier day after day. Every day after school, the trumpets in the third-rate orchestra stopped going out of tune and began to be in synch; there were also people cutting up plywood and balsa in every hidden corner of the school; while the number of students dressed up in weird costumes like Nagato's was increasing every day.

Yet, this was only a school activity held by a simple prefectural high school, it doesn't seem like it would be a big thrill. In my opinion, only half the school at most were still trying hard to make their school life more enjoyable. Our class, 1-5, on the other hand, had long abandoned trying to have fun at the festival. Those students without any club affiliations would probably have plenty of time to spare by then, and Taniguchi and Kunikida were perfect representatives of the "Go Home After School Club."

"This school festival,"

Taniguchi began.

It was during lunch break, I was hanging out with these two insignificant side characters as we ate our boxed lunches.

"What about the school festival?"

Kunikida asked, Taniguchi revealed a smile that was pathetically hideous compared to Koizumi's elegant smile,

"Sure is a super event."

Could you please not sound like Haruhi!? The smile from Taniguchi's face faded suddenly,

"Yet it has nothing to do with me, that sure pisses me off."

"Why is that?"

Kunikida asked.

"I don't think it's fun at all. And those people that look busy sure tick me off, especially those where the guys are paired with the girls. Makes me want to kill them!"

I guess this is what they call a jealous rage?

"What about our class? Holding a survey? Hmph! That's way too boring! It's just going to be stupid questions about what's your favourite colours! What's the point of collecting such information anyway?"

If you're so dissatisfied, why don't you suggest something else then? Maybe then Haruhi wouldn't have had the time to go make a movie.

Taniguchi swallowed a sausage and said,

"I'm not going to get myself in trouble by making such suggestions. Sigh, I don't mind making suggestions, it's just that I would be put in charge of the event if the suggestion is followed."

Kunikida stopped cutting his rolled cake and said, "You're right."

"It's only the foolish that would dare come out with any suggestions, or those with a strong sense of responsibility, like if Asakura-san were still here."

He mentioned the name of the student that had moved to Canada. I would still break a cold sweat every time I hear that name. Though it was Nagato that made Asakura disappear, I was the cause of her departure. I also did nothing to prevent her from disappearing back then, so it's too late to regret it now.

"Man, this is such a pity," Taniguchi said, "Why did that perfect, bright student leave us? She was the sole reason I felt grateful for being in this class. Damn, I wonder if it's too late to request to move to a different class?"

"Which class do you have in mind?" Kunikida asked, "Nagato's class? Oh, speaking of which, I saw her wandering around dressed like a wizard, just what was that all about?"

Well, I'm not sure myself.

"Nagato, huh......"

Taniguchi looked at me, his face suddenly looked as though he had to face a math pop quiz, and said as though realizing something,

"So when did it begin? I saw you embracing her in the classroom back then. That's probably one of Suzumiya's scripts. You did that to scare me on purpose, right? You can't fool me."

It's a good thing Taniguchi misinterpreted the whole thing, the weight on my shoulders was instantly lifted at once. ......Wait a minute, didn't you come in the classroom because you forgot to bring something? How were we supposed to know you were coming? ......Of course, I didn't tell him about this. Taniguchi is an idiot, and there's really no point in telling an idiot that he's an idiot. Sometimes I'm even grateful that the gods have made Taniguchi an idiot at birth.

"Speaking of which, that sure was nonsense,"

Taniguchi said gratefully, Kunikida was busy eating, while I looked behind me. Haruhi's seat was empty, just what was she up to now?

"I was looking around the school for places where I could shoot the movie,"

Haruhi said,

"But there was no suitable location. There's just no way we could create any atmosphere inside the school, let's go outside!"

She may not like the atmosphere in the school, but she didn't have to go through the trouble of finding a lively spot outside just because of that. She seemed determined to make it big.

"Um...... D... Do I have to go, too?"

Asahina-san asked in a terrified tone.

"Of course. We can't be without our star."

"I... In this costume?"

Asahina-san shivered, since like yesterday, today she was again forced to wear that waitress costume, which I have no idea how Haruhi obtained it.

"Well, of course."

Haruhi nodded as a matter-of-factly, Asahina-san embraced herself and squirmed.

"Wouldn't it be too bothersome if you have to change all the time? We might not be able to find a place to change there anyway. So you might as well wear that all day, right? C'mon! Let's go!"

"At least let me wear something on top......"

Asahina-san pleaded.

"No!"

"But it's too embarrassing."

"You have to feel embarassed in order to portray that subtle shy feeling! How do you expect to win the Golden Globe like that?"

Wasn't our objective just to win the best event for the school festival?

Today everyone in the brigade was gathered in the club room. Koizumi came as well, his class' theatre script being sorted out already, smiling at the one-sided interaction between Haruhi and Asahina-san. Nagato was here as well, though she posed another problem.

"......"

She was silent as usual, that was nothing, but she looked strange today. For some reason, she was again dressed in that wizard outfit that she came to show us yesterday. Actually she could just wear that on the day of the school festival, she didn't have to start wearing it now.

Haruhi looked really fond of Nagato's black cloak and pointed hat.

"Your role is now the 'Evil Alien Magician!'"

In no time she had already altered the script. I watched as Haruhi stuffed into Nagato's hand a conductor rod, which on its tip was fitted a decorative star, the sort usually used to decorate Christmas trees, while Nagato stood motionless. For some reason, even I had no problem with this silent bookworm playing the role of an alien magician. Maybe this role would suit Nagato better than the so-called Integrated Data Entity, because she could indeed wield magical powers, at least for my eyes, so it can't be wrong.

Nagato suddenly pushed up the brim of her hat and looked at me with her expressionless eyes.

"......"

I had concerns about how Haruhi decided on her own to use costumes originally designed for other classes' activities for her movie, but for her, such problems simply do not exist.

"Kyon! Have you prepared the camera? Koizumi-kun, I'm counting on you to carry the equipment there. Mikuru-chan! Why are you still grabbing the table? Hurry up and move on!"

Asahina-san's weak resistance was futile. Haruhi simply grabbed the back of the waitress's collar and dragged her tiny figure towards the door as she whimpered nonstop. Nagato followed behind dragging the tail of her cloak, while Koizumi went last, winked at me, and then disappeared into the corridor.

Just as I was thinking whether it was still possible for me to not go......

"Hey! We can't make a movie without a cameraman!"

Haruhi stuck her upper torso in the opened door and yelled loudly at me with her mouth wide open. Seeing the words "Great Director" written on the armband on Haruhi's left arm, I suddenly had an ominous feeling.

It seemed this girl was dead serious about it.

Haruhi the self-proclaimed "Great Director," despite not having any prior directorial experience before, led the way; the cute waitress lowered her head and followed, while the gloomy young witch trailed behind like a shadow. Koizumi carried the paper bags and smiled brightly...... I tried my best to stay as far away as possible while following this eccentric group.

Already capturing the attention of the school as it walked along, this Halloween costume entourage became the focus of attention as it stepped outside of school. Asahina walked dejectedly amongst us. After two minutes of walking, she hung her head down low, three minutes and she was already blushing furiously, five minutes later, she was basically floating on thin air like a depressed ghost.

Haruhi walked ahead beaming brightly as though the heavens are about to shake, humming the theme song of "Heaven and Hell." I don't know when she had it prepared, as I saw her carrying in her right hand a yellow loudspeaker, and in her left hand a director's chair, striding gallantly like the Mongol hordes marching west across the grassy plains. As I was wondering where she was about to strike next, I noticed we had reached the train station. Haruhi bought five tickets and handed one to each of us, then marched on as a matter-of-factly towards the ticket turnstiles.

"Hold it."

I gave my objection before Asahina-san could even speak. I pointed towards the waitress in a mini-skirt, who was drawing all the gazes from everywhere, and the black cloaked witch, who was standing like a bystander, and said,

"You're going to let them ride the train dressed like that?"

"Is there a problem?" Haruhi pretended not to understand and countered, "If they didn't wear anything, they might get arrested. But they're dressed just fine! Or are you thinking that a bunny-girl costume would be better? Then why didn't you say so earlier? I wouldn't mind changing the working title to 'Battle Bunny-Girl!'"

This shouldn't come from someone deliberately bringing a person in a waitress costume...... By the way, I thought you said you had the concept of the movie thought out already? I'm not too sure about this, but can you just alter the concept of the movie whenever you please?

I tried my hardest to guess what on earth our director was thinking.

"The ability to adapt to circumstances is vital. That's how life on earth evolved to this day through survival of the fittest. You'll go extinct if you stop thinking! We must learn how to adapt in order to survive!"

Adapt to what? If mother nature were sentient, I'm sure the first thing she would do was to drive Haruhi out of the atmosphere of the earth.

Koizumi was reduced to a smiling slave in charge of carrying the equipment, Nagato remained silent, while Asahina-san was too worn out to say anything. In other words, I was the only one doing all the talking.

How I wish someone would think of a way out of this.

It now looks like Haruhi has interpreted our silence as us being moved to deep thought by her speech.

"Ah, here comes the train! Mikuru-chan, let's go! The show's about to begin!"

Like a police officer dragging a female criminal whose motive was worthy of sympathy, Haruhi pushed Asahina-san's shoulders towards the turnstiles.

Coming out of the station, I noticed it was the station we had been to the other day, as the shopping street was right ahead. Before I could even suspect, I realized Haruhi had even come to the exact same store that she had visited. It was the electronic store where she managed to obtain the camera.

"I came as promised!"

Haruhi entered energetically, the owner stuck his head out and landed his gaze onto Asahina-san.

"Hoho."

The owner stared at the lead actress with a horny looking smile, while Asahina-san stood stiff like one of those combat game characters who had just used up all her special moves. The owner then said,

"She's the girl from the day before? She really looks different today, hoho. Then we're counting on you."

Counting on what? I had instinctively wanted to move forward one step and shield Asahina-san, who was trembling, behind my back, but I got pushed back by Haruhi before I could do that.

"The meeting will now begin, everyone listen up."

With the same smile that she had after winning the inter-class relay race during sports day, Haruhi announced,

"We shall now start shooting the commercials!"

"T... the owner of this store, um, he's very generous and kind. This store has been opened by the owner Eijirou-san's grandfather, and they sell everything from dry batteries to refrigerators. Oh, and...... um......"

The waitress smiled stiffly as she tried her best to read from the script, while Nagato stood beside her holding up a plastic banner that read "Oomori Electronics." The two of them were now captured into the viewing window of my camera.

Asahina-san gave a very clumsy looking smile, carrying a microphone that was not even plugged in.

Koizumi stood beside me and smiled wryly as he carried the placards with the script written on them. The placards were basically a sketch book in which Haruhi wrote the script without even thinking a while ago. Koizumi flipped the pages of the sketch book in accordance with Asahina-san's reading speed.

We stood outside the entrance to the electronic store, which was right in the middle of the shopping street.

Haruhi sat on the director's chair crossing her legs, and frowned at Asahina-san's acting.

"OK, cut!"

She slapped her loudspeaker onto her palm and said,

"That was entirely devoid of any emotion. Why can't you convey it? There's just no feeling of 'that's it.'"

She said while biting her nails.

Looking stunned, I stopped recording. Clutching the microphone with both her hands, Asahina-san also stopped what she was doing. Nagato was motionless since the beginning, while all Koizumi could do was smile.

The pedestrians walking on the shopping street have now gathered behind us out of curiosity.

"Mikuru-chan, your expression was too stiff. You need to smile more naturally from the bottom of your heart. Think of something happy, aren't you happy right now? You're chosen as the female lead after all! There can't be anything happier than this in your whole life!"

I really wanted to just tell her, Stop being ridiculous already!

If I had to compress the conversation between Haruhi and the store owner into two lines, I believe it would be like this:

"During the shooting of the movie, we'll make a commercial for this store as well. So can you lend us a camera?"

"Sure, no problem."

The owner was deluded to actually believing Haruhi's sweet words, while Haruhi was simply nuts to think of putting a commercial inside a movie. I had never seen a movie where the female lead had to become a spokesperson for a commercial product. I wouldn't have minded if it were just simple product placement by shooting the name of the store in the background of some scenes, but now we're shooting an advertisement instead of a movie.

"I know!"

Haruhi suddenly shouted. What is it that you know now!?

"It just feels strange to see a waitress coming out of an electronic store."

Maybe it's because of the costume you chose?

"Koizumi-kun, give me that bag. The smaller one over there."

Haruhi received the paper bag Koizumi handed her, then grabbed the dreamy Asahina-san by the hand and strode towards the store.

"Manager! Is there a place where you can change? Um, anywhere would do. Even the bathroom. Really? Then we'll use the storeroom!"

Without even flinching, she then dragged Asahina-san and disappeared into the store. Poor Asahina-san didn't even have the strength to resist, and could only follow awkwardly as she got dragged by Haruhi's incredible strength. Maybe she was prepared to do anything Haruhi asked as long as she could get out of that costume.

Koizumi, Nagato and I were left standing outside with nothing to do. Nagato wore her black costume and continued to hold up her plastic banner while staring at the camera. It's quite amazing that her arms never get tired.

Koizumi smiled softly at me.

"It seems like I won't be performing anytime soon. I was only in the class play because everyone voted to have me in, it's already exhausting trying to memorize all the lines, so I do hope there aren't that many lines for this role I'm playing. ......How about it? Why don't you try being the male lead?"

Haruhi's the one who decides who plays what, so you'll have to go ask her.

"Do you think I am capable of taking on such a frightening task? I dare not imagine an actor telling the executive producer and director what to do, since Suzumiya-san's orders are absolute. I don't even want to think what retaliatory moves she would have against me if I did that."

Well, neither do I! Are you saying that's the reason why I'm willing to be a cameraman? Besides, we aren't even shooting a movie, but a regional advert for a local store. There's a limit to showing your sense of belonging to the neighbourhood.

I'm guessing a frantic scene was being played right now at the back of the store. I can imagine the look on Haruhi's face as she strips the clothes off a defenseless Asahina-san. I wonder what she would have Asahina-san wear this time, why doesn't she wear them herself? Her figure is just as stunning as Asahina-san's anyway, has she never thought of starring in the movie herself?

"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Of the two people coming out of the store, Haruhi remained in her uniform of course, while the sight of the other instantly gave me a trip down memory lane. Has it been six months already? How time flies by! So many things have happened since then! Amateur baseball tournament, lone island mansion...... Now that I think about it, these have all become happy memories. ......How was this possible?

That was Asahina-san's debut performance, the one that made Asahina-san and Haruhi the talk of the school instantly. It was the extremely revealing costume that left Asahina-san emotionally scarred.

The impeccable, perfect bunny-girl blushed bright red with tears in her eyes, and followed timidly behind Haruhi as her bunny ears swung to and fro.

"Yes, now that's perfect. It's better after all to do an advertisement in a bunny-girl costume,"

Haruhi said ambiguously and studied Asahina-san, giving a satisfied smile. Asahina-san simply looked traumatized, as though half of her soul had flown out of her half-opened cherry red lips.

"Mikuru-chan, let's start over again. You've memorized the script already, I'm sure. Kyon, roll the tape."

Who would have the mood to listen to her when she's dressed like that? When this movie plays, I'm sure the audience would be paying attention to the bunny-girl played by Asahina-san instead. It would be fortunate if the screen didn't get burned by the staring gazes of the audiences.

"And, take 2!"

Haruhi yelled and slapped her loudspeaker sharply.

Finally, the shooting of the electronic store advertisement starring Asahina-san, who was smiling and crying at the same time while being toyed around by Haruhi, was complete. The whole thing felt like watching a foreign wrestler being manipulated by an evil agent in every match.

But, having gotten to this point, I realized we had visited another store before. I didn't even need to speculate, as Haruhi was already thinking of making a commercial for them as well.

Asahina went "Ah~!" and "Kyaa~!" cutely as she got dragged along by Haruhi down the shopping street. Meanwhile Nagato followed slowly behind Koizumi and me like a phantom in her usual flat wizard expression.

I placed my jacket over Asahina-san's exposed back, trying to console her. Perhaps doing so only increased the attention from the onlookers even more. After all, this world is populated by people with strange tastes. Let me make it clear by the way, those are not my tastes.

We went to the second model toy store and repeated what we had done before. Under the watchful eyes of the curious bystanders, Asahina-san looked tearfully at me - the lens of the camera, that is.

"Th... This model toy store was opened by Yamatsuchi Keiji-san, age 28, who ignored the objections of his parents and left his life as a white-collar worker...... In order to fulfill his dreams...... As expected, the sales didn't grow as planned. Sales for the first half of this year was only 80% of last year's, and the sales curve have fallen towards the lower right corner of the chart...... That's why... Please do come and take a look around!"

Asahina-san's speech was totally unconvincing. Would the owner Yamatsuchi-san even accept such an advertisement? He would probably be even more dejected than he was now. Who would want to be treated to such a speech by a high school student anyway?

The bunny-girl was now being forced to aim the model rifle she was holding upwards.

"Please don't aim this at people, try it on empty cans instead!"

Nagato stood behind staring blankly forward, holding up a plastic banner that read "Yamatsuchi Model Store." It was such a surreal sight. As Asakura Ryoko looked like a normal person with emotions, that meant not all the alien-created humanoid interfaces behaved like robots. I think Nagato only behaved like that simply because she was programmed that way in the beginning.

Asahina-san now aimed the rifle towards the empty cans laying on the ground and fired at them.

"Ah! I think this would hurt if you get hit! Ahhh~~!!!"

Asahina-san yelled timidly as the aluminum cans slowly became dented like a beehive. This shooting demonstration caused a commotion among the bystanders, though Asahina-san's aim accuracy was only 1%.

Somehow I just felt that shooting all these scenes into the DV recording camera was a complete waste. I felt sorry for both Asahina-san and the guy that designed this camera, since this camera wasn't supposed to be made to shoot such silly scenes.

And so the day ended after shooting of the stupid commercials had ended.

We returned to school first to listen to Haruhi announce the upcoming shooting schedule.

"As tomorrow, Saturday, is a holiday, everyone must come early. We meet at nine in front of Kitaguchi station, you hear?"

But, the commercials alone were already 15 minutes long. Just how long was the movie going to be? No one is going to be able to finish a three-hour movie shown in a school festival, and I'm not optimistic about the box-office receipts either.

I thought this to myself while noticing how depressed Asahina-san was. She rode the train dressed as a waitress when going out, and returned as a bunny-girl. Right now, changed back into her uniform, she now knelt on the ground looking completely worn out. At this rate, the female lead is going to fall asleep during shooting.

I finished drinking the Genbi tea that Koizumi made in place of Asahina-san, who rested her head on the table looking tired, and said,

"Haruhi, can't you think of any other costumes Asahina-san can wear? Aren't there any other battle costumes that suit the occasion better? Like some military costumes or cheerleader costumes?"

Haruhi waved her conductor rod fitted with a star at its end and said,

"There's no originality in wearing such costumes. It is only by dressing as a waitress that the audience can go 'Ooohhh~~~!' It's important to grasp what the audience is thinking. That's what they call concept!"

I really wonder whether she even understood what a concept is, as all I could do was sigh.

"Forget it...... Let's leave that aside. Why must the female protagonist be set as coming from the future? I don't see what difference it makes to the story!"

Asahina-san shuddered a bit while lying on the table. Haruhi didn't notice that, obviously she's not giving up,

"We'll consider that sort of stuff later, we'll worry about it when someone voices a concern."

Didn't I just voice a concern!? Answer the question!!!

"If an answer can't be thought out after consideration, then it's best to leave it alone! It doesn't matter anyway. What matters is that it's interesting!"

Provided you can make it interesting. What are the chances of you making a movie that's interesting? What's the point in making a movie for which only the director feels an interest? Are you trying to get nominated for the Golden Raspberry Awards?

"What on earth's that? I only have one objective, that is to get voted the best event of the school festival! If possible, I wouldn't mind getting a Golden Globe. In order to achieve that goal, it's important that Mikuru-chan wears the right costumes!"

I don't see how anyone could fret over such stuff. I have a feeling Haruhi was compelled to do this after getting pissed off watching a crap movie that somehow won the Golden Globe awards.

I sighed again and looked towards the side. Dressed all in black, Nagato had returned to her corner in the club room and once again was indulging herself in her world of books. What was wrong with her? Would she die if she wasn't reading something in this room?

"Hang on."

Looking at the alien who loved reading, I suddenly thought of something,

"Hey, I still haven't seen the script yet."

It's not just the script that's missing, I don't even know what the story is. All I knew was that Asahina-san was a waitress from the future, Koizumi was an esper youth, while Nagato was an evil alien magician.

"It's not necessary."

Just what was Haruhi thinking!? She suddenly closed her eyes and pointed to her forehead with the star on her conductor's staff,

"Because e~~verything is in here, the script and the storyboard. You don't have to worry about anything, I'll think of all the scenes that need to be filmed for you."

A bold statement. You should be the one who need not do any thinking and can just stare out the window. If you looked a bit more gentle and serious, you could compete with Asahina-san with no problem at all.

"Tomorrow guys! Let's march bravely forward. In order to obtain glory, one must start on the mental side. It is the fastest way to victory without ever spending any money! When you free yourself from the cage of your mind, you'll be able release your potential that you never even knew you had. That's the way!"

That would probably work in those combat comics, but no matter how hard you try to spew out how to control your state of mind or how to go international, it's still going to be a long way before the Japanese soccer team could win the World Cup.

"That's it for today! Let's look forward to tomorrow! Kyon, don't forget the camera, equipment and costumes. Be punctual everyone!"

Haruhi then grabbed up her bag with all her force and bolted out of the room. As the humming of the "Rocky" theme song diminished down the corridor, I looked resentfully at the pile of equipment that I had to carry. Just to which society do I complain about the tyrannical actions of this director?

So far today, our school life had been as normal as it gets, just that it got spiced up, to the level of nearly losing control, by Haruhi's over-enthusiasm in the making of her movie. If a survey were conducted on the high schools on the whole nation, I'm sure there are other people who are just as eccentric as us. In other words, they're all living a "normal" life.

I wasn't attacked by Nagato's people; I didn't go time traveling with Asahina-san; and I didn't encounter any giants that shone like a glowing piece of blue mold; lastly, I never experienced any murder mysteries with a ridiculous truth hidden inside.

It was a normal school life.

As the school festival approaches, Haruhi's excitement was now reaching boiling point. The endorphins in her mind now spin as quickly as a hamster on an exercise wheel, whipped to run at near Mach speed.

Anyway, all that was normal.

......So far, that is.

Thinking carefully, I'm sure Haruhi had probably began to control herself in her own way. Thinking further, I realized we hadn't even shot a single frame for the movie. All that the digital camera contained were video clips of Asahina-san dressed as a bunny-girl advertising for the local electronics and toy model stores. The SOS Brigade movie directed by Haruhi did not even have a framework; even the story was a mystery.

Perhaps it was better if it remained a mystery.

Even if we ended up showing a documentary of Asahina-san introducing the shops in the local shopping district, it would not be a problem at all. Actually, wouldn't this sort of movie attract audiences better? Besides, it's beneficial to the local economy of the shopping district, so that's two birds with one stone. Ah yes, let's make an Asahina Mikuru advertisement special! I think I'd like this better. As her cameraman, I mean what I say.

But, knowing Haruhi better than anyone, she's not going to be satisfied with that. She's going to press on, doing what she said she intends to do. She's not the sort of person to give up halfway. Such a troublesome girl who sticks to her principles!

And so, from the second day onwards, we once again found ourselves in a strange and dire situation. I don't know how to describe this... How did Haruhi phrase it again?

When you free yourself from the boundaries of your mind, you'll be able release your potential that you never even knew you had. ......Something like that.

Makes sense.

But, Haruhi,

Why is it that you are the only one whose potential got released?

And you aren't even aware of it yourself.

(Chapter 2 End)

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