Suzumiya Haruhi:Volume7 Chapter 3

From Baka-Tsuki

The next day.

“Please scale the mountain. There you will encounter an oddly shaped rock. Move this rock approximately three meters to the west and leave it there. Asahina Mikuru knows what to do. Since it will be pitch dark after nightfall, it is advised that you go there before the sun sets.”

After tearing open yet another letter in the washroom, I was once again greeted with more strange instructions. Similar to yesterday’s letter, there were strange scribbles beneath it, and the word “rock” was circled, as if emphasizing that specific word.

So I decided that today I would head straight back home.

“Even though it’s fine with me…”

But what in the world was this? Rocks atop mountains? What mountain? What rock? The only mountain I had heard from Asahina-san recently was…

I started to feel my head spin.

“That damned treasure hunt.”

According to Asahina-san, we would spend our holidays treasure-hunting. And that would be the day after tomorrow. Tsuruya-san was said to have a mountain behind her house, and if that was so, she would still be involved. That girl bought the story of the two Asahina-sans without question, as she continued to smile before me and Haruhi. That’s what worries me the most. Even if it was a sticky matter for Koizumi, I could still ignore it for the time being, and that’s exactly what I did.

“So that is to say that Haruhi should be back to her usual self some time soon.”

I walked to the classroom as I predicted her reaction. The map was currently in Tsuruya-san’s possession, and two days later we would be on a treasure hunt. That means that Haruhi would probably obtain this map within two days time, most likely tomorrow. I hadn’t detected any sense of excitement in Tsuruya-san last evening. Does this mean that she hadn’t found the map yet? Or was she just keeping quiet? Knowing Tsuruya-san, she would be one to give me the map for safe keeping, and tell me to pass it to Haruhi, if she had already found it.

“Hey, Haruhi.”

Just as I expected, she was already in the classroom, still as quiet as Nagato, like a normal high school student full of melancholy.

“How’s Shamisen?”

She didn’t even bother to look at me as she continued to stare outside the window. She didn’t look too happy.

“Oh, he’s still okay.”

“Is that so. Well, that’s good I guess.”

Her breath condensed on the window and made it cloudy. Using her index finger, she began tracing patterns on the window.

That’s weird. Being able to have a normal conversation like this with Haruhi is even more rare than seeing Nagato not reading in the club room. This makes me feel anxious, as if some unknown peril might be slowly creeping up on me. It couldn’t be the doing of some unknown aliens, could it?

“What’s the matter? You look down.”

Haruhi snorted in reply.

“What are you talking about; I’ve always been like this. It’s just that I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. Tomor…”

Just as I was expecting her to go on, she abruptly shut her mouth and stared at me.

“You’re one to ask. Not coming to the club room again today?”

Haruhi revealed a face that clearly said, 'it doesn’t matter whether you come or not.' I don’t care, though. To me, it's a great opportunity to chat with her.

“Shamisen’s easily bored. And since I can’t entrust him to my sister, I’ll have to take full responsibility of taking him to the vet again.”

“Hmm, I think that’s great.”

Even more surprising was that even though Haruhi wore a scowl on her face, I could sense that she was in a pretty good mood.

“When you’re sick, it’s only natural to rely on someone. When he’s all better, be sure to take him out to play. I too wish to play with a fully recovered Shamisen soon.”

To Haruhi, Shamisen might have very well have become a brigade member already. Asking me to take care of him and then bring him out when she feels like playing with him, that's Haruhi for you, all right. Still, I think it would be a good experience for both Shamisen and me to let him go over to her place for a week.

“I’ll think about it.”

Looking up at the sky, Haruhi once again began blowing at the window pane.

Since everyone wishes for lessons to end faster anyways, I didn’t feel how slow the flow of time really was.

All I did was silently pray under my breath that my teachers not ask me to answer any questions, as I mechanically flipped the pages, not paying attention to what was going on. Thinking back about it, it was normal to showcase such behavior. Even though it wasn’t a good thing to do, and was probably the reason why my grades suffered so phenomenally, it was nevertheless typical. Feeling dread about the troublesome things I had to do after school, I consoled myself by thinking about how bad Taniguchi’s results were compared to mine. Hey, give me a break already.

I placed my textbooks in my desk’s drawer, knowing that they would very well gather dust in my room anyway. My bag felt remarkably lighter, as I made my way out of the class room. Just then, Taniguchi, who was on class duty, patted my shoulder and said,

“Yo, Kyon.”

For some reason, Taniguchi looked at me with eyes that had seemed to have lost their light. I didn’t have the time to be fooling around with him. Asahina-san was waiting for me. If he understood what I was feeling, he would have let me go.

But Taniguchi stood there as if blocking the door, and pointed the broom he was holding towards me.

“How I admire you.”

There was an air of spite in his voice. I racked my brain as I thought of what could have possibly inspired his admiration. I couldn’t find anything.

“Is that so.” Taniguchi replied slowly, and sighed.

I wonder if Haruhi’s melancholy had affected Taniguchi, too. Maybe it was some kind of sickness that could be transferred via the air.

“Hey, Taniguchi.”

Kunikida suddenly appeared and stared at Taniguchi’s face.

“You look like someone who just got dumped by his girlfriend, looking very depressed lately. What’s the matter? Don’t tell me you two really did break up.”

Kunikida asked while busy operating the vacuum cleaner.

“Is that so, is that so…”

I smiled as I patted Taniguchi’s back. Speaking of his girlfriend, I heard it was some girl from Kouyouen he got to know during Christmas. Unfortunately, I was busy eating Haruhi’s hot pot during Christmas, so too bad, Taniguchi.

“Seeing your face, it looks like you got dumped. I see, I see.”

“This can’t be.”

My friend, who had obviously been fishing for sympathy earlier on, put on another depressed face as the broom fell from his hands. It was painfully clear that he was still very sad.

“You should get going, you’re disturbing my cleaning.”

Kunikida forced out a sympathetic smile.

“Even if it hurts, I’m sure that it’s only a matter of time, Taniguchi. Pardon me for being honest, but even though I never once met your girlfriend, from your words I could tell that she wasn’t really serious from the start.”

“How could you know if the both of you have never met? Oh, forget it. It’s not like I was expecting you to understand anyway---”

“Truthfully speaking, don’t you think it’s a bit too weird to become lovers before the two of you even started off as friends?”

“Bah, don’t mention this anymore. I really want to get over it as soon as possible.”

I really wanted to stay, just to see how a typical high school drama unfolds in real life. Unfortunately for me, real life does not permit me to stay here any longer, and I needed to take my leave soon.

“Oh well, don’t think about it too much. A good lad like you will surely meet a fine lass one of these days. Until then, just be patient!”

After making my statement, I hurried out of the classroom before Taniguchi could think of a reply. At least I tried to console him. I’m not that kind of guy that would make fun of someone who’s just got dumped. Truthfully speaking, I really sympathize with you, but at the same time, I’m relieved to see one of my good buddies once again come back to accompany me at the starting line. Let’s try harder in the future, okay?

But why did he admire me so?

As I opened my shoe locker, I suddenly thought of many things. If Taniguchi’s melancholy was due to love, could the same thing be said for Haruhi too? If Taniguchi was acting all melancholic because of the end of his love life, could Haruhi be acting the same due to her lack of one?

Thinking about this, I suddenly felt scared, before I laughed out loud to myself.

“Impossible.”

Thinking that Haruhi’s melancholy was due to love problems was just plain stupid. The possibility of that happening was roughly equal to me being selected to join the national baseball league. And even if it did happen, I wouldn’t be happy, just like the current situation. Even if it was totally unrelated to my current problems, I wanted to know what Haruhi was really thinking. It was hard to imagine a world without Haruhi, who was presumably sulking alone in the club room beside the heater right now.

“Just forget it.”

Now’s not the time to be thinking of such things. I mean, it’s Haruhi we’re talking about. She’ll be okay in no time. If she knew about our treasure hunt, she’d be in high spirits instantly. Since I already knew what was going to happen, there was no need to worry anymore. Nor was there any need to try to find out any further. Because there was always the possibility of making a mistake, and endangering the entire SOS Brigade in the process. Just like a harmless germ, if exposed to laser radiation, it might very well mutate into some life-threatening organism. Even though I could learn a lot from this specific “germ”, the risks of it mutating were too high, and therefore I decided it was best to leave it alone. Was it the right choice to play it safe, or a foolish decision to forsake the opportunity to find out more? There’s only a blurry line between what’s right and what’s wrong.

“I’ll just do what I can for the future before me, before worrying about the distant future.”

Someone once said that the only thing certain about the future is the uncertainty it brings. But for me, there was something sure about the future, and that was that Asahina-san existed, and therefore so did the future.

After returning home briefly, I got on to my trusty bike, and pedaled all the way to Tsuruya-san’s mansion.

What I had in mind was to telephone Tsuruya-san’s house, and tell Asahina-san to come out and meet me. But since Tsuruya-san wasn’t home yet, things were a little tricky. I thought of asking one of Tsuruya-san’s maids to relay my message to Asahina-san, but after thinking that it would probably take a long time for me to get my message through, and an even longer time for them to relay it, I gave up upon the idea. Unable to decide, I finally telephoned the Tsuruya residence, and decided to just let the future play itself out.

It was, as I expected, one of Tsuruya-san’s maids who picked up the phone. It seemed that Asahina-san was already expecting my call, as the maid didn’t ask any further question other than what my name was. Before I even said “Hello” to Asahina-san, she said, “I’ll go and meet you right away. Please wait for me”, as if totally understanding what I wanted to say. If she happened to become my secretary in the future, I’m sure she would display a great deal of potential.

Just like Tsuruya-san, Asahina-san was a respectable sempai. Instead of conveying everything through the phone, why shouldn't I just let Asahina-san read the message? That would save me a lot of time trying to explain to her the various symbols. Now why hadn’t I thought of that earlier?

Within my pockets were the said letter and a flashlight, just in case something happened. Because I had been to Tsuruya-san’s house too many times for me to remember, I instinctively knew where to go. Even though it wasn’t snowing, knowing the cold February, it would probably snow any time soon. While my ears and nose were turning numb from the cold winter wind, I continued to pedal furiously, until I finally reached Tsuruya-san’s house.

Asahina-san’s face emerged cautiously from between the doors.

“Kyon-kun.”

Asahina-san let out a relieved smile, as she stepped out from Tsuruya-san’s house. She wasn’t dressed in her sailor uniform like she was yesterday. Instead, she was dressed in long pants and a thick, furry jacket.

“I borrowed some clothes from Tsuruya-san.”

As if noticing my blank stare, Asahina-san tightened her collar, and said:

“Because I can’t go back home to retrieve my own clothes.”

“So you have no memory of losing clothes?”

I asked stupidly while sitting on my bike. It was painfully obvious, but that was all I could think of at that moment.

Asahina-san didn’t look too good, as she said,

“Erm… I can’t really remember if I lost any garments… Because I never once thought of going through them to search if any of them went missing… Even if I did lose some I doubt I would notice… But that’s not to say that I have too many outfits to choose from… umm…”

You need not worry too much. If it were me, I wouldn’t have noticed if a pair of my pants suddenly went missing and even if I did, I couldn’t go around blindly accusing people of stealing them. If that really did happen, all I would do was stay quiet. Not like I would really mind anyway.

I gently looked at Asahina-san. It doesn’t matter whether those clothes are yours or not, anything would look great on you.

“N-no… T-there’s no such thing…”

Asahina-san shook her hands in embarrassment.

“The sleeves are too long for me, and…”

Asahina-san reached for her chest, and gently laid her fingers on them. Her face blushed bright red, as her movements stopped.

“I-I-I-It’s okay… R-really… Ahahahaha!”

After a moment of silence, my heart finally calmed down. Tsuruya-san may have had longer hands and feet, as well as a taller figure, but on Asahina-san, there were also places that were too tight. At one glance, anyone could see which part was too small for Asahina-san. I knew that beneath the jacket lay a hot figure. It was too bad that I couldn’t see it without the jacket. But then again, I was sure that I would be able to in the future.

I took out the letter I found in my shoe locker this morning.

“It seems that this time we have to do it no matter what. Do you know why?”

Scale a mountain. Move a rock. This seemed like those RPGs, where the main character would be given a rather pointless mission, without any explanation why he had to do it. And there wasn’t any mentioning of what he would obtain should he follow the instructions given either. Worse, there wasn’t any guarantee that even if the hero did oblige, he would obtain something good.

“Hmm… Is it that mountain? It’s the only mountain I know. Oddly-shaped rock? Rocks… Hmm… Ah, could it be…?”

Asahina-san softly muttered to herself while she read the letter, which was gently caressed by the wind. She was thinking aloud, just like a little lost mouse who had forgotten the way back to his little hole.

“I have a general idea of where we’re supposed to go. It should be the site of the treasure hunt. In other words, it’s the only place I know.”

I nodded. It made sense.

“But, what should we do?”

Obviously, I had no clue. But I did have an idea.

“Asahina-san, did we really not find anything?”

“Yes… I mean, no, we didn’t.”

My hands were slowly turning numb from the cold. Asahina-san folded the letter, and I suddenly felt uneasy. What was this feeling?

“Doesn’t it seem strange? No matter how you look at it, this order has something to do with treasure hunting.”

“W-well…”

Asahina-san lowered her head.

“What does this mean? Hmm…”

Not knowing whether ignorance is bliss or not knowing anything was not good, Asahina-san shook her head and looked at me.

“I still can’t seem to make out anything. I guess it's best that we head to the mountain. Maybe I’ll remember something there…”

“That makes sense.”

Anyhow, we should first head there to have a look. Haruhi would undoubtedly be unhappy if she were to find out that I’d been there ahead of her, but I suppose that I could always pretend that I’d never been to the place before, should she ask.

I got onto my bike, and persuaded Asahina-san to sit behind me. Afraid of falling off, Asahina-san wrapped her hands tightly around my waist. I suddenly recalled last night.

“What’s the matter?”

Asahina-san asked me softly, just as I was identifying left and right.

“Nah, it’s nothing.”

I replied simply, as I began pedaling. My mind, however, was silently thinking about something else.

Was that guy last night Koizumi? Or was it merely someone who looked like him? I hadn’t really got a good glance at him, and it was dark too.

I shunned those thoughts from of my mind, and continued to head for the mountain.

Maybe it was due to Tsuruya-san’s mansion being too big, but I soon lost all sense of direction.

Tsuruya-san’s private mountain was located east of North High. Instead of being called a mountain, it should be called a hill, as it wasn’t really as high as a mountain above sea level. As I scanned the area around me, I was disappointed to not find any monuments left behind by some ancient civilization. Looking up high, all I could see were trees, trees, and more trees. Be it a mountain, a cliff, a dune, or a sleeping volcano, scaling it was no easy task. The same could be said for this hill. There were no specially-made paths for ascension. It would take equal amounts of time and energy to ascend or descend, or simply put, to go up and down the hill. Even a grizzly bear would feel tired climbing this steep hill.

“It’s this place alright. Let’s start climbing.”

Following Asahina-san’s directions, I silently pushed my bike uphill, and scaled the hill. The sun was already beginning to set. As I looked down, vast vegetable fields came into view, but there wasn’t a single soul in sight.

“Are you sure it’s alright to just climb someone else’s mountain? We’re technically trespassing on private property you know.”

I said as I wearily made my way to the top of the hill. Asahina-san suddenly let out a soft laugh. “Tsuruya-san said it’s alright. Kyaa~ That’s what I heard her say a few days ago… Oh no, wait… That should be tomorrow… She should be telling you this tomorrow.”

I felt as if I had finally grasped the situation. It may seem like the past to Asahina-san, but to me it was the future. I only hoped that she would shed more light on what I should do.

“Erm… That’s all I can tell you for now… The treasure hunt and city patrol should happen pretty soon now…”

Then what about the lucky draw?

“A-ah... T-that…”

Asahina-san was immediately thrown into a state of panic, as she blushed furiously. Hmm, anything else?

“W-well… T-that…”

Was Asahina-san panicking because she was hiding something? Classified information?

“Y-yes! That’s it, classified information… Well, at least classified for now.”

From the look on her face, I couldn’t feel any sense of superiority at all. Even though I didn’t know if she knew about any big, cataclysmic secrets about the future, I was confident that she at least knew about some events from the recent future, events that she was concealing from me. So does that mean that the only one who knows absolutely nothing is Asahina-san (Mikuru)? Gah this is frustrating. If put in inequalities, it would probably be:

Asahina-san (Big) > Asahina-san (Michiru) > Asahina-san (Mikuru)

I sighed loudly. Upon hearing this, Asahina-san became even more anxious than before.

“Erm… Kyon-kun…?”

Asahina-san said with her back faced to me. From her voice, I was sure that her eyes were filled with tears. If she stared at me with those pitiful eyes, I was sure that I couldn’t answer her question calmly. I admit that I had no evil intentions at that time, but even so, my mind was filled with immense feelings of love that had somehow exploded out from somewhere and were fast overfilling my soul. My face crumpled like Shamisen’s belly under her magical touch, as I forced myself to say:

“Oh, it’s alright, there’s no need to worry. Even if you don’t say anything, I think I’ll understand everything in a few days time.”

If what Asahina-san said was true, then I would know everything after eight days. To her it seemed like the past, but in reality it was my future. I could know everything that would happen within these 8 days if I were to ask Asahina-san, but then again, I would still know what would happen even if I didn’t ask her. All I needed to do was wait. Time will tell, or so they say. Now if time didn’t tell, wouldn’t that be stranger still?

“Let’s finish what we’re here for before nightfall.”

I said as I gently placed my arms around Asahina-san’s shoulders. Asahina-san looked at me with puppy-like eyes, and slowly nodded her head.

“Oh, ok. Let me lead the way. We need to go further up, before we start climbing.”

So, the both of us hiked through the dense jungles. I had originally planned to take the lead, hacking away at the dangerous twigs and tree roots, but after taking into consideration that Asahina-san might slip and roll downhill anytime, I quickly changed my mind. Since it was still winter, all snakes of any sort would be busy hibernating, so I guess it wasn’t that dangerous after all. This way, even if Asahina-san were to slip, I would be able to catch her in my arms and protect her.

“A-Ah… Oops…”

No matter how you look at it, Asahina-san + steep mountain always equals danger. Add to the above equation that this was no ordinary mountain, and you get the picture. While scaling a mountain, one would usually zigzag along like a snake, but due to excessive stones and tree branches, things were more complicated than usual.

I lost count of how many times Asahina-san nearly slipped and fell. Even though I had to arch my back to protect her, a smile was always on my face whenever that happened. We were walking in a mountain unfit for humans, no doubt, but no matter where we went, there was always a “correct” path leading deeper into the mountains. By “path” I mean a route that wild beasts probably also found better to follow. But even so, I was happy. If this were a “normal” mountain, then there wouldn’t be any need for Asahina-san to walk in front of me, would there?

After a good ten minutes of walking, a small, even patch of land soon came into view.

“Yes, this is the place. Even though it’s been dug like this, the stone’s still here.”

Asahina-san panted, as she arched her back and placed her hands on her knees.

I followed suit, standing beside Asahina-san.

“Huh?”

There were various slopes on the mountain, but this was the first time I had come across flat land. There was thick overgrowth growing everywhere, save a small patch of land that was shaped like a semi-circle, no larger than 10 meters in diameter. The grass there was sparse, and from the looks of it, it was as if someone had shaved away a whole part of the mountain via a landslide long long ago. It didn’t seem like it had happened recently.

After our breathing returned to normal, I looked at the direction Asahina-san was pointing at.

“If it’s a rock we’re talking about, I think it’s that one… It looks exactly the same as the one in the drawing…”

“A gourd shaped rock.”

A… rock?

“Erm, isn’t that a little too big to be called a rock?

And aren’t you exaggerating too much? How is this any bit identical to the drawing? If it weren’t for Asahina-san, even if I searched till sunrise, I doubt I would have spotted it.

“Well, it does slightly resemble a gourd…”

The rock was not evenly shaped. The side facing me was flat, so from my point of view, it resembled a turtle’s back more than a gourd. And due to the excessive overgrowth surrounding the rock, it was hard to make it out from its surroundings. It was no easy task spotting this rock, all right.

I double-checked the orders on the letter.

“Shift this rock three meters to the west, eh?”

It had already begun to turn dark. If we stayed here any longer, things might turn dangerous. After all, who knew what lingered in these woods? Plus, if we were to slip as we made our way down, the both of us would inevitably be pulled down the mountain, so I knew I had to make pace.

I passed my flashlight to Asahina-san and asked her to help me illuminate my surroundings. Here’s to hoping that I can manage to lift this rock up.

“Damn, this is heavy.”

That wasn’t all. Only after I had begun lifting the rock up did I realize that one third of it was still buried in the ground. This has officially broken the definitions of “rock”. It should be labeled as “boulder” instead.

After much effort, I finally managed to hoist the rock out of the ground. Only then did I realize that it really did resemble a gourd. It was only because one third of it was buried in the ground that I failed to notice.

I once again lifted the rock, and headed to my west. Pulling with all my strength, I made four giant paces to my right. That should be around three meters.

“I think you’re slightly beyond three meters.”

Asahina-san said as she pointed at the rock. From her point of view, she should have a better estimate of how far three meters was.

“That’s it. Just place it there.”

After following Asahina-san’s instructions, I placed the rock down on the ground, as it made a thundering noise, before sinking into deeper into the ground. That should allow it to resume its original posture.

“That rock… It’s standing…”

Asahina-san said through surprised eyes.

“Just like… A symbol…”

I looked at the rock I had just moved.

A symbol.

From this angle, the strange rock was really obvious. What kind of rock it was, this I had no idea, all I knew was that it was snow-white. This snow-white stone, standing in the midst of pure darkness, was really a sight to behold. A white, gourd-shaped rock. If I were to spread the word, I’m sure many would think of it as some ancient ruin.

“Asahina-san, don’t tell me Haruhi plans to dig beneath this rock?”

“Yes. The ones who will do the digging would be Kyon-kun and Koizumi-kun.”

And we didn’t find anything? Honest?

“Yes.”

Asahina-san said as she lowered her head, “There were no treasures or the sort…”

I sighed as I clapped my filthy hands together.

Then, what was I doing now? Come to think of it, I had been following strange orders for two days in a row. Yesterday it was the prank, and to top it off, someone actually fell for it. Why we did that, even Asahina-san didn’t know. The only person who probably knew what was going on would be Asahina-san (Big). I have to remember to ask her why, should I meet her again. The next time something like this happens again, I’ll definitely not play along.

I once again looked at the rock. There was something not right about it. The rock had originally slanted towards its side, thus it was only natural that half of it be covered with dirt. Since I had just removed it from the ground, there was a huge, glaring portion that was dirty, while the other half of it was sparkling clean. It was painfully obvious that someone had just moved it not long ago.

“That crater is too obvious; anyone would realize it.”

The “crater” was where the rock originally was. The soil there was a dark black, and curved inward. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

“How was the crater like when you last visited the mountain?”

Asahina-san revealed an expression that appeared to be deep in thought.

“Erm… Since no one said anything, I myself didn’t notice it. The only one who talked was Suzumiya-san, and all she did was talk about digging holes…”

If so, let’s just ignore the plot holes for the time being, and see what can we do to minimize the errors.

Asahina-san and I searched for dry twigs, vines and leaves, before placing them atop the crater. After we had filled the crater, the both of us took turns stamping on it. The results were far from convincing, since it had taken the rock years of weathering to achieve such conditions, but it was better than nothing.

The sky was already rapidly darkening, and soon we had trouble seeing even if we squinted our eyes. I decided to call it a day.

“Let’s head back home, Asahina-san.”

This time, it was I who took the lead. I was grateful that I remembered to bring along a flashlight. The ancients once feared the darkness and worshipped the light like a divine entity. Now, thanks to modern day science, there was no longer the need to do so, as I carried the divine entity in my own hands.

Compared to scaling the mountain, heading down was a breeze. There were many times Asahina-san missed her footing, and each time she stumbled, she would cling on to me for her dear life. Not that I’m complaining or anything.

By the time we had reached the foot of the mountain, it was truly nightfall. Both of us sighed simultaneously.

“Ah,”

Asahina-san said as she looked upwards towards the sky.

“It’s raining.”

Within five minutes, the small drizzle had already escalated into a downpour.

Riding my bike as fast as I could, with Asahina-san sitting behind me, I sped towards Tsuruya-san’s residence. At first, I was really grateful for such an opportunity to befall me. Riding down a slope on a bike in the rain, with a goddess behind me, what’s there not to be grateful about?

Barely halfway towards Tsuruya-san’s house, however, I felt as if I had only one third of my energy left. As I pedaled furiously in the rain, Tsuruya-san’s house finally came into sight. It was only then did I notice someone was already there awaiting us.

“Aha, welcome back nyoro~”

Just like yesterday, Tsuruya-san was dressed in a long kimono, as she carried an umbrella above her head, smiling energetically as she opened the door, awaiting our return.

“Where have the both of you been? Ah forget it; it must be due to some reason that you can’t tell me, right? Don’t worry, I’m not such a busybody anyways. Who, Miku--- I mean, Michiru, you’re filthy all over! Let’s go take a bath, shall we?”

Tsuruya-san said the above in a single breath.

“It’s cold outside, isn’t it? Come on in and have a bath first! That’s right, a bath! Kyon, would you like to join us too? I’ll scrub your back for you nyoro~”

Even though I was moved by the suggestion, I knew that Tsuruya-san was just pulling my leg. Haruhi loved to blurt out some serious suggestions while putting on a look that suggested she was just kidding. Tsuruya-san, on the other hand, loved to crack out jokes while putting on a straight face.

“I think I’ll head home. Well, please take care of Asahina Michiru for me.”

As I turned to leave, Tsuruya-san caught hold of my sleeve.

“Wait just a second.”

Tsuruya-san said as she reached for her lap.

“Here is something I promised Haruhi. Would you please hand it over to her?”

Tsuruya-san produced a thick sheet of curled up paper. Studying it carefully, I noticed that it was made out of ancient, Japanese paper, so old and worn out that it resembled a papyrus. There were mosquito bites all over it too. It didn’t take a genius to find out that this was the “treasure map” in question.

“What’s this?”

I asked, playing along.

“Erm, it’s a treasure map.”

Tsuruya-san replied, just as I expected.

“It’s an ancient custom that all treasure maps be kept in rattan cages. I happened to stumble upon this one not long ago. I’ve wanted to pass it to Haruhi for quite some time now, but for some reason I keep forgetting to do so.”

Is it okay to just give away a treasure map? I mean, it’s buried treasure, Tsuruya-san. TREASURE.

“It’s alright. I couldn’t be bothered to hike all the way up some old mountain just to spend half a day there digging. If there really is treasure buried there, all I want is one tenth of the entire lot. God knows how long that treasure has been buried! Based on ancient records, the treasure was left by one of my ancestors who particularly liked to play tricks. This might be a trick conceived by that devious old trickster to fool us descendants. After digging for half a day, only to not find anything, that sounds like a grand trick he would pull to fool stupid humans!”

It looks like we’re the “stupid humans” in question here.

“But look on the bright side. There’s a chance that something is really buried there.”

I tried my best to put on a face that seemed as if I was honored, as I took the map from Tsuruya-san. It was something that Tsuruya-san had dug up especially for us, but somehow, I didn’t feel the least bit thrilled.

“Be sure to pass that to Haruhi, okay?”

Tsuruya-san said as she winked at me, before laughing madly. Asahina-san had a stoic expression on her face, as she alternated her glance between the treasure map and me. Upon noticing that I was staring straight at her, she lowered her head.

What’s going on? I wanted to question out loudly. What was it with the treasure hunt? Why was Asahina-san sent back to the past? Did it have any connection with the treasure hunt? I’ll be damned if it doesn’t. It seemed to me that this treasure hunt was nothing but good news, both to me and Asahina-san.

“Ah, Kyon, take this umbrella. Be sure to watch your step, okay? Bye bye!”

Tsuruya-san said as she waved wildly, before disappearing together with Asahina-san into that huge mansion of hers.

All that was left was me, standing in the midst of the rain, with an umbrella above my head, along with a crumpled roll of parchment.

For some reason, I wanted to take a shower, nay, a bath. I felt a sense of immense loneliness. Was it due to someone as cheerful as Tsuruya-san suddenly leaving my side? I felt as if a ceremony had ended… or something like that.

“It’s cold out here.”

I placed the umbrella on my shivering shoulders as I started to pedal back home.

Be it Haruhi, Asahina-san or even Nagato, each of them had the power to drive me nuts.

“Gah, I’m hungry.”

I didn’t meet Koizumi this time on my way back home. That’s too bad, because if I did, I would definitely do what he likes to do the most – talk.

The day the other Asahina-san showed up in the broom closet, the clouds were already beginning to move far north. Today, the weather was pretty pleasant. It wasn’t too cold, but it wasn't too hot either.

As usual, I climbed up the slope to school, and due to the nice weather, I felt thoroughly warm as I reached the gates of North High. Compared to the usual weather, where I would barely break a sweat after being cooped up in a heatless class room, today was much better.

After walking past the school gates, and promptly the school doors, I arrived at my shoe locker. Before opening it, I drew a deep breath. I had a strange feeling of foreboding. I knew that my “orders” from the future would continue, and so I dreaded opening the shoe locker. I knew that once I opened it, a letter would be readily awaiting me, a letter that was delivered by God-knows-who, during God-knows-when. But there wasn’t a choice, was there? I needed to open the shoe locker to change my shoes, after all.

As I expected, there was a letter in there.

Alongside two identical letters.

“You can’t be serious, Asahina-san…”

Once again, the letters were typed out using clear font. On each of the letters were the numbers #3, #4 and #6, along with the letters “three”, “four” and… “six”?

“So does that mean the previous two were #1 and #2? And the first note was number zero?”

But why did the numbers skip to six right after four? Where was number five? Was it a typo?

I stuffed all three letters into my pocket, and charged towards the washroom. I was beginning to get used to this routine already.

Inside the washroom, I opened each and every one of those letters according to their numbers.

There wasn’t much time to the bell, so I briefly read each of those letters, before heading out of the cubicle, and looking straight into the mirror. From my reflection, I could see the weird expression plastered on my face.

What in the world was Asahina-san (Big) trying to say? No, before that, what purpose did sending an unknown man to the hospital and moving an unknown rock have? I greatly wanted to know what would happen next.

Wearing a mystified expression on my face, I entered the classroom, only to find a girl who couldn’t calm down waiting for me.

“Kyon!”

The girl that ran towards me while shouting out my name would be Suzumiya Haruhi, who was up until yesterday still in a fit of melancholy.

“Hurry up and show it to me!”

For a moment, I wondered what to show Haruhi, who was flashing me her million-watt trademark smile.

“Don’t tell me you forgot all about it? That thing Tsuruya-san asked you to safeguard? How could you forget something so important?”

The sudden change in Haruhi’s mood surprised me completely. There was absolutely no trace of melancholy left in her already. What happened to the melancholic, soft-spoken you that sat behind me yesterday? Don’t tell me that was an impostor I met yesterday?

“What are you mumbling about? I’m always like this. Where else in the world would you find someone like me?”

Haruhi said airily as she swept her hair upwards, smiling brightly at the same time.

“Come on, stop fooling around. Let me have a look at that thing right now! If you’ve forgotten it, let’s hurry up and take a cab back home to retrieve it!”

Alright, alright, I get it. Just settle down for a moment. Everyone in class is starting to look at the both of us now. Geez, and here I was wishing for a normal school life.

“Such a boring goal should be placed onto a paper airplane and flown down from the school roof. An attractive lifestyle or even a socially-withdrawn hikkikomori would be better than your so-called ‘normal’, boring lifestyle. And if you’re going to talk about your life, please do that only three seconds before you die.”

I don’t think my life can be condensed into three seconds of speech, nor do I intend to live one that is able to. Sighing, I reached into my bag and withdrew the roll of parchment. Unsurprisingly, it vanished from my clutches two seconds later.

Unwinding the scroll at superhuman speed, Haruhi asked me,

“Have you read it already?”

“No.”

“Really?”

Yes. From the moment it reached my hands, there wasn’t any intention at all to open it.

“But it’s a treasure map, for crying out loud! Doesn’t the sound of buried treasure get you all excited?”

What’s there to be excited about treasure that I know I won’t be able to find? All that awaits me atop that mountain is a backache, and if things are worse, a couple of bruises and sprains. What I wanted to hear was Haruhi’s reason for her excitement. All I had in mind while I pocketed Tsuruya-san’s “gift” was to hand it over to Haruhi. There wasn’t the least bit interest in digging up some ancient buried treasure. Truthfully speaking, I really wanted to tell Haruhi, ‘Hey, let’s just forget all about this treasure hunting business, okay?’, but alas, Haruhi was already busy studying the map.

“Humph, Tsuruya-san shouldn’t have done that. She should have handed it straight to me, instead of giving it to you for safekeeping. Even though it would mean that I would be able to get my hands on the map sooner, I would have preferred it if she gave it to me as a surprise…”

Haruhi said as she turned her back towards me and headed back to her seat. She then proceeded to take out her pencil case and textbooks to use them as paperweights, as she once again studied the map closely.

I too headed back towards my seat, a renewed sense of curiosity springing up within me.

“Hey, Haruhi.”

“What is it?”

Haruhi said as she flicked her eyes upwards.

“How did you know that Tsuruya-san passed the map to me?”

“Tsuruya-san phoned me yesterday.”

Haruhi replied, this time not even bothering to look up at me.

“You took Shamisen for a walk, didn’t you? You passed by Tsuruya-san’s house as you took him for a walk, that’s how she passed the map to you. It seems that Shamisen is feeling better already, that’s good news!”

It was probably Tsuruya-san who had thought of that lie. I’ve never heard of anybody bringing a cat out for a walk amidst this cold weather, and to top it off, it was raining last night. For you to believe such lousy lies, what are you thinking about, Haruhi?

I pretended to look serious, and acted as if nothing even happened. Haruhi looked as if the school had announced that today was a holiday, as her eyes shone with excitement. “Look, Kyon, this must be where the treasure is buried! It says so right here!”

My gaze fell on the map, which was lying on Haruhi’s table.

The map was so old, it could probably be sold to a museum as an antique. There were numerous sentences written in black ink, before being signed with a large signature. I gave up trying to decipher the writings, as I looked at the drawings beneath it. There was a mountain, which was no doubt the one I had scaled yesterday, and probably would scale again tomorrow. The map was drawn using black ink, and was very simple, but it succeeded in describing the looks of the mountain perfectly. The words were probably written in ancient writing, but to me, it seemed more like an alien textbook than a map. I probably wouldn’t understand these rich pieces of literature anyway.

Haruhi probably did, however, as she translated it out loud to me:

“On this mountain, there is something very valuable, something that only my descendants may acquire. It is something that I am sure would make them happy. Whoever seeks the treasure, please dig here.”

Beneath the text was signed: “15 Genroku, Tsuruya.”

I had no idea which ancestor this was to Tsuruya-san, but he sure did a lot of redundant stuff. What was so important that it required it to be buried in the ground? If it was really as Tsuruya-san said, wouldn’t this be a great prank that escalated over the centuries? It was already several hundred years since the Genroku period. Surely someone in the Tsuruya house must have already dug the treasure up by now?

“Where on Earth is the treasure buried?”

Haruhi said to the uninterested me as she traced her finger all over the map.

“It isn’t stated anywhere in here, and there’s no ‘X’ sign either! Even though we know it’s a mountain, we still don’t know where to search!”

“Oh, forget it.”

Haruhi looked at me, clearly stressed by the ordeal.

“If we put our hearts into it, I’m sure we’ll manage to find it.”

Who do you mean by ‘we’? Are you going to rally the townsfolk?

“Of course not, stupid.” Haruhi said as she rolled the map back to its original state, before tying a knot and putting it safely on her desk.

“It’s just the few of us, of course! You’re in charge of distributing the tasks. Or are you not satisfied with that?”

If I really had a choice, I would have chosen to not participate in this stupid event. I didn’t even know how many tasks there were, or who should I assign each task to. Just as my heart was sighing, the bell rang, as the homeroom teacher Okabe-sensei stepped into class.

“Meet in the clubroom after class.”

Haruhi said as she poked my back with her mechanical pencil.

“I want you to keep this a secret from everyone else. Let it be a surprise. When I announce my find, I want you to pretend to be shocked, too. If only Tsuruya-san had…”

Haruhi’s voice began to grow louder, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of all the other students standing up and paying respect to the teacher.

Someone please tell me how the heck do you pay attention in class! I’ll admit that I’m an easily distracted person, so if anyone has a way to memorize everything being said in class, please let me know. It doesn’t matter if it’s only half of what’s being taught, it’s always better than not knowing anything at all. I know that notes are the way to go, but even so, there must be some catch to being able to sit down quietly and take down notes. Anyone know the trick here?

This is what someone once told me: “There’s no need to pay attention in class, all you have to do is not think about anything else unrelated to class”, or something of the sort. In other words, all I had to do was to not think of anything else. Since my ears would definitely be bored by then, they would have no choice but to listen to what the teacher had to say, and hence I would be able to understand what the teacher was trying to convey. It seems logical, right?

Well, I guess it’s worth a shot. After all, the one who had passed down this sacred technique to me was none other than Haruhi herself and it was probably a technique from the long-lost Hiten-Haruhi-Ryu.

The catch was this: I was fine with not paying attention in class, but it was almost impossible to not think of anything else, and even if I did, would life be happy that way? I don’t think Haruhi would want to lead that kind of boring, mundane life. As I started to gradually doubt her words, I suddenly recalled that her results were top notch, a huge contrast with reality.

Trying not to think of anything else right now was plainly futile. Admittedly, I had one less problem to worry about now thanks to that scroll of old parchment. Haruhi’s melancholy had magically evaporated after receiving that old map, thus saving the world from huge blue giants was something that I did not need to worry about.

What I did need to think about, though, were those three letters from Asahina-san (Big). It was something that concerned both Asahina-san (Future) and me, something that we needed to accomplish before the designated day. It wasn’t something that I could idle about, and even if I were to rush out of the classroom right now, it would be the first thing on my mind that I had to accomplish…

Gah, with such thoughts in mind, how can you blame me for not understanding what the teacher had to say?

After school, Haruhi forcefully dragged me into the club room, just like a fish being dragged away by a fisherman’s net.

Thanks to Tsuruya-san, I couldn’t use Shamisen as an excuse to skip club activities anymore. And since I had no other matters today, I was forced to follow her into the club room.

The orders from the future explicitly stated that I would be very free for today and for tomorrow. It was only the day after tomorrow, and the day after that, that I would be very busy. It was easy to see why. There were two days of holidays, followed by a Sunday, making it a consecutive three days without the need to go to school. And since there was an extra day that students didn’t need to come to school because of the entrance exams, it meant that I would have a long, four day holiday period.

Time travelers seemed to like using shoe lockers as mailboxes. Was there a problem with handing the letters directly to me? I had many questions to ask Asahina-san (Big), after all.

I had thought of the above problems while I was in class, and I hadn’t thought of a solution even as I now gradually approached the literature club.

“Yo! Sorry for the wait!”

With an energetic shout, Haruhi pushed open the doors to the club room, while dragging me by the collar. For some reason, I felt extremely nostalgic at that gesture, as if I hadn’t experienced it in a long, long time. Perhaps it was due to my three days absence from the club room. Even if it was only three days, I had started to miss this place like an old exile yearning for his homeland. Once I entered the club room, I felt like I was finally back home.

With an energetic shout, Haruhi pushed open the doors to the club room, while dragging me by the collar.

Trying to shake off these weird feelings, I closed the doors that Haruhi had conveniently left open, and looked at each brigade member’s face.

The first person I saw was the sailor-uniform clad first year, who was sitting in the corner reading a book, just like always.

Nagato looked at Haruhi and me with her expressionless poker face, before turning back to her book. No extra gestures or “welcome back” speeches, this was the Nagato I had come to know, the goddess silently sitting in a corner of the club room reading a book.

“Hey, long time no see.”

Sitting by the table and playing with a carom board all by himself was Koizumi, the one who always wore a smile, and whose words you never knew when to trust. “How’s Shamisen-One? If it’s possible, I would like to arrange for one of my friend’s relatives to see him. You see, my friend’s relative in question operates an animal clinic, and I’ve heard it’s a very good one.”

Like I’m going to buy that. It’s not like the first day I’ve met you anyway.

“Hmm, it seems that you’ve got many friends in various fields, Koizumi.”

Koizumi gently flicked a carom piece with his finger. “That’s how legends are created, right? From the friends I’ve known, and from the friends my friends have known, the only friends I don’t have are…”

Koizumi gracefully retraced his hands and said elegantly, as if rehearsing for a play:

“People who are not native to this world.”

Come off it. I’ve already known of aliens, time travelers and espers. With such a wide social circle, I really think I’m better off not knowing of any sliders, because the appearance of one would be sure to give me a headache.

Koizumi gave me a soft laugh, signaling the end of our conversation. Even Haruhi had begun to turn her head in our direction in amusement.

“I heard that there would be a meeting today.”

“Yes, you’re right. An emergency meeting, for that matter.”

Haruhi said as she took her place by the Brigade Commander’s table.

“Mikuru-chan, tea.”

“Okay.”

With a pitter-patter, Asahina-san came running to Haruhi dressed in her cute maid uniform. It was Asahina-san, alright.

Wait, that’s strange. Shouldn’t it only be natural that I see Asahina-san here at the club room? Hmm…

“Erm…” I stuttered.

It seems that I need some time to reorganize the cluttered thoughts in my brain. The Asahina-san standing here is different from the current Asahina-san sitting in Tsuruya-san’s house. This is not the Asahina-san from further in the future, but rather the Asahina-san from the closer future.

“Erm… Kyon-kun…”

Asahina-san said while clumsily filling the kettle with hot water. She looked at me with a look of concern. It was exactly the same look that the other Asahina-san had given me three days ago. Wait, that’s to be expected since they’re one and the same. Oh, what am I saying? I pushed those thoughts out of my mind as I braced myself for what Asahina-san had to say.

“How’s Shamisen? Was he sick because we brought him to a place too cold for him when it was already cold enough outside?”

“Well, no…”

I could finally confirm that this Asahina-san knew nothing about the future, or at least, until… Erm… The evening five days later. After that, she would probably have to face an entire set of ordeals.

How do you put it, it was already meant to be? Gah, this is annoying.

“Shamisen’s already okay. He’s been better since yesterday, seeing that he was already rolling around energetically by that time.”

“Is that so? That’s just great.”

Asahina-san said as she revealed a beautiful smile. Seeing this made me even more uneasy. Shamisen’s illness was just a big fat lie, this I’m sure Asahina-san (Michiru) knew. But since she didn’t say anything, this Asahina-san probably had no clue it was just a lie. I felt as if I had betrayed her trust, and had a sudden sense to apologize to her immediately.

“Let me play with him a little bit more. Shamisen’s just so cute.”

There’s nothing cuter than you. Even if you were locked in some dark corner of the Milky Way for five hundred years, you would still be just as cute. But if you’re going to use Shamisen as an excuse to come visit my home, you’re more than welcome. Besides, Shamisen has been frequently bringing that black cat he calls his girlfriend back home lately. Maybe they were using visiting me as an excuse?

“Ah, well… That’s just fine… Ah!”

Asahina-san yelped as she suddenly jumped.

“The tea spilt…”

Overflowed would be the word. Since she was too busy talking with me about Shamisen, Asahina-san hadn’t noticed that the kettle was already full. However, this seemed to suit Haruhi’s “clumsy maid” idea, as she looked at Asahina-san with her arms crossed, apparently glad at the sight of her cleaning up the spilt tea.

I pulled out one of those steel foldable chairs, and took my seat by Koizumi’s side. Haruhi radiated an aura of superiority, but was oddly quiet, as if she had wanted to wait until we had all settled down before making her grand announcement.

“Sorry for the wait.”

Asahina-san said as she placed two steaming cups of tea onto the tray, before handing them to both me and Haruhi. I had a feeling that Haruhi would wait until I had finished drinking my tea before making her announcement, since she had no intention of standing up. After downing her steaming tea, Haruhi leaned back on her chair as she turned the computer on, and while waiting for the computer to boot, flipped some magazines on the table. Both of us locked eyes once in a while, and every time we did so, she would have a different expression on her face. She would sometimes seem strict and sometimes laugh evilly. Talk about having a hundred faces. Was this the dreaded calm before the storm?

Koizumi had an expression that suggested he knew nothing at all, as he reorganized the pieces on the carom board; Nagato had the same expression from the start – which is to say none at all; Asahina-san was busy preparing the second round of tea. Everything seemed like it used to be, so normal, so… Perfect. That was what made it seem odd. What was it that made Haruhi decide to just let time pass like this? What about the treasure hunt?

After a few minutes of fruitless thinking, I decided to not think about it, and let my mind wander wherever it liked.

Not long afterwards, that brief moment of peace was broken. It wasn’t by Haruhi’s shouting, or by announcements forcing students to go home, but by a series of knocks on the front door. “Yes, here it is! Come in!”

Haruhi yelled in response to the knockings, as she stood up from the chair at bullet speed.

“I’ve been waiting for you! Please, do come in!”

It was rare to see the Brigade Commander open the door for anyone, especially for a guest.

“Aha, it’s Mikuru-chan and the other Brigade members! Long time no see! Oh wait, Kyon, we just met yesterday! Shamisen’s such a playful little thing, next time be sure to bring him over to play!”

Tsuruya-san shouted loudly as she entered. Placing her arms around Haruhi’s shoulders, the both of them began to dance wildly. Here we go again.

“Hmm, that’s it. The map. It should be an ancient treasure around 300 years old, probably some old Genroku period coins. It would be great if we could find it!”

Tsuruya-san announced loudly as she sat by the table and began chewing down the prawn crackers that were served on the table.

“This old, worn out paper is one of my family heirlooms. The buried treasure in question could be anything at all. That day, after cleaning up the store room, I found this priceless piece of treasure buried under a bunch of worthless trash, rattan case still intact ~nyoro!”

After spitting out each and every one of those words at bullet-train speed, Tsuruya-san downed Asahina-san’s tea, stood up, and pointed at the whiteboard.

The old map was pinned down by its edges by four large magnets. Standing nearby the board was Haruhi, who was busy scratching her back with a cane and had a very pleased look on her face.

“This mountain used to be government property before it came into my family’s possession. We shouldn’t take my ancestor’s words lightly! Something must be buried there, right? Oh, great ancestor…”

Tsuruya-san clasped her hands together and bowed towards the setting sun. Haruhi took this opportunity to tap the whiteboard with her cane.

“That is it.”

That is it? Right now, all I’ve heard is Tsuruya-san explaining the map’s history.

“And that’s all. Why her ancestor left this great treasure to her, and what it contains, are up to us to discover. I hereby forbid any one of you to reveal this matter to anyone outside the SOS Brigade, save Tsuruya-san.”

Haruhi said with her mouth opened wide, revealing a row of snow-white teeth.

“Tomorrow we shall set out to search for buried treasure! If we continue dilly-dallying, someone else might just go and dig it all up, so tomorrow we meet at the usual spot at nine sharp! Let’s head for the mountains! And don’t worry, leave the equipment to me.”

Needless to say, I wasn’t the least bit surprised. Three days ago, I had heard of the entire treasure hunt from Asahina-san. Yesterday, Tsuruya-san gave me the map for safe keeping. This morning, I had again heard of the treasure hunt from Haruhi. I really have no faith that I’ll be able to pull off a shocked face. I guess it can’t be helped then. Placing the empty teacup by my lips, I pretended to continue drinking my already finished tea.

I guess there wasn’t a need for that, for the only person who was shocked…

“E-Eh, t-treasure hunting? T-tomorrow? Up a h-hill? T-then we’ll n-need bentos…”

… was Asahina-san.

Nagato looked up at Haruhi with her book still placed open in her laps.

“Hmm… We might make a great discovery that will further propel the reaches of archaeology. I can’t wait!”

As always, Koizumi was the first one to kiss Haruhi’s ass.

If Haruhi wanted looks of extreme shock plastered on everyone’s face, she would have been sorely disappointed. Tell you the truth, I don’t think anyone was surprised, not even Asahina-san.

“That’s the spirit! If we really do find buried treasure, we’ll split everything up into equal portions! Of course, Tsuruya-san who has kindly provided us the map will receive a share of our treasure too.”

“That’s great!!”

Tsuruya-san shouted energetically.

“If we do find gold or the sort, I suppose I could give you guys 90% of the entire loot. Since my great great great great great grand father lived during the Genroku period, the only thing that would be able to make his grand children happy even after a few hundred years would probably be gold. I’d like to make the best of his good intentions, but unfortunately, I have something to attend to tomorrow, so I’ll leave the treasure hunting to you guys.”

For some reason, Tsuruya-san’s gaze seemed oddly weird to me at that moment. Just after she shifted her gaze from me, Asahina-san looked at me and laughed. It seemed that Tsuruya-san had kept her promise after all. The most she would do was probably communicate with Asahina-san via body language. There was no way she would tell Asahina-san the truth. I can’t go on suspecting Tsuruya-san like this.

However…

For someone that was unrelated to the SOS Brigade, Tsuruya-san seemed oddly involved, be it the baseball tournament or the snow mountain. But that was only because we asked her to. This time, though, she had approached Haruhi willingly, as if wanting to keep close ties with us. There was no way of knowing what was going on in her head. Don’t tell me this is another scheme she cooked up just to make Haruhi happy. But come to think of it, why would she want to make Haruhi happy? Just for fun and laughter?

Let’s first cast my suspicions about Tsuruya-san, who was merrily chewing on the prawn crackers laid on the table while making a face that suggested she had successfully pulled a prank, aside.

The one who was making an even weirder expression was Koizumi. Come to think of it, Tsuruya-san had visited the club room quite often, but I had no memory of Koizumi meeting her there. Tsuruya-san’s wave of a hand could very well equal an order from the “Organization”. To be in such close quarters with someone of such high superiority must be troubling, Koizumi.

And…

I slowly thought of my shadowy conversation with Koizumi that night before, as I stared right into his generic smile. Although I had no idea which parts of his conversation were genuine and which parts weren’t, I had a feeling that the house of Tsuruya and the “Organization” were closely tied. Heck, Tsuruya-san’s mansion may very well be the secret headquarters of Koizumi’s “Organization”. Tsuruya-san and Koizumi may not be working for the same faction, but they were definitely tied to each other, this I could tell. What their relationship was, and how superior Tsuruya-san was to Koizumi, this I had no clue.

Tsuruya-san appeared to have no idea of Koizumi, Nagato and Asahina-san’s true identities. Although she could tell that the three of them --- and Haruhi, for that matter --- were not ordinary humans, she apparently didn’t poke or pry for more information, at least not openly. I strongly believe what Tsuruya-san had said that day before at her mansion, and also bits of what Koizumi had said. “Leave the troublesome things to the Organization”, eh? It’s just like Nagato locking her synchronization abilities.

“… Kyon! Are you listening?!”

A shrill cry pierced my ears, as I found myself staring into the sharp tip of a cane. Glancing up the cane, I found Haruhi’s angry face awaiting me.

“Listen up; tomorrow be sure to dress plainly! All of you should wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. As for Kyon and Koizumi, the both of you can come empty handed. Here’s a list of the things we need.”

Haruhi barked at Asahina-san to fetch a marker.

Still dressed in her maid outfit, Asahina-san hurriedly fetched a marker and began writing down everything Haruhi had said with child-like enthusiasm.

“First we’ll need two steel shovels, but you can leave this to me. Next, we’ll need bentos. Mikuru-chan, you know what to do. Then we’ll require compasses, flash lights and a map. No, not the treasure map, but a real, accurate map of Japan. Oh, and if possible, please remember to prepare emergency canned food, and a flare launcher too.

Which mountain are you planning to climb? This isn’t even a mountain, it’s barely a hill. Unless we run into some strange phenomena again, like a sudden snowstorm, we should be alright. And if by chance we really did run into some strange phenomena, what use would compasses and flare launchers be of? The incident that happened during the end of last year suddenly came into mind.

Nagato’s black pupils were fixed directly on Asahina-san’s neat writing. As I confirmed what was on the board, I couldn’t help but sigh.

From what Asahina-san (Michiru) said, there was no need to bring any flare launchers or emergency canned food, since we would be back peacefully. Heck, there was no need to climb that darned mountain either, since we would come back empty-handed. However, Asahina-san had told me to take care, as something important would happen then. I wonder what it was.

Going up a hill, savoring Asahina-san’s bentos, and going down the hill; Sounds like a picnic to me. Oh and there would be an extra “workout” session for Koizumi and me too.

I knew without a doubt that it would be boring. Maybe it would have been better if I hadn’t asked Asahina-san about it. But alas, I had to do it in order to maintain the delicate balance between the past and the future, since it was decided a long time ago that the SOS Brigade would have an activity this weekend.

Now going on that stupid treasure hunt just for the sake of maintaining the balance, this I can understand. What Asahina-san (Big)’s orders were for, however, this I could not fathom. I was sure that Asahina-san (Michiru) didn’t understand them either. Oh whatever. If put in terms of loss and gain, we would probably end up with a neutral zero anyway – the loss would balance out the gain.

Wait a second. I think the loss outweighs the gain.

Trying very hard to keep my emotions in check, I sat at the table without uttering a single word.

Haruhi, who was by now completely obsessed with mountains, was still busy adding items to the already massive list of equipment. The entire white board was so full that Asahina-san was having a hard time squeezing in the items Haruhi mentioned.

“Haruhi, we’re not planning to scale the Himalayas. The most we’d probably need is a GPS tracker. It would enable us to communicate with the outer world in terms of danger, and make rescue operations swifter by pin-pointing our exact location.”

Tsuruya-san laughed as she said: “I remember that I used to run around that mountain when I was young. It’s perfectly safe ~nyoro! There aren’t even grizzly bears there!”

Haruhi flashed Tsuruya-san a smile as she replied: “Thanks a lot, Tsuruya-san. We’ll be counting on you should we run into any trouble.”

So you weren’t serious about all that stuff after all?

Haruhi spun the cane in her hand as she said:

“Everyone, I think that’s all for the preparations. We should definitely work harder for Tsuruya-san’s sake, and unearth the great treasure her great-grand-ancestor left for us!”

For some strange reason, I felt oddly calm. Perhaps it was due to Haruhi’s melancholy disappearing as she once again looked at me with those bright, sparkling eyes. I felt strangely at peace with myself, as if all feelings of anxiety had suddenly evaporated. But was that all? Why in the world would I feel so relaxed even though I knew I would go on a fruitless treasure hunt tomorrow?

Oh well, I can’t afford to put too much thought into it. As long as it makes me feel better, who cares what the reason is.

Haruhi must have decided on this treasure hunt long before the meeting, as she had borrowed an entire lot of books, brochures and even novels about the warring periods. According to Tsuruya-san, her ancestor was also filthy rich (I think he was the village chief or a famous salesman). Having nothing better to do, we all began speculating as to what the buried treasure could have been.

Actually, our “speculation” was no more than simple discussion and guess work, but before we knew it, an hour had already passed, and so today’s emergency meeting came to a close.

And since we’re on the topic of speculations, Haruhi’s speculations were “If it were really some old Genroku period coins, I would be bored beyond belief! Let’s all hope it’s something interesting!” and that kind of mumble-jumble.

When Nagato shut her book tight, all of us knew that it was time for today’s activities to come to a close. All of us brigade members, together with Tsuruya-san, then proceeded to make our way back home. As we walked down the hill, I tried valiantly to start a conversation with Tsuruya-san, but to no avail. Haruhi and Tsuruya-san were both walking up front, as they energetically discussed about the mountain. Shortly behind them was Asahina-san, followed by the silent Nagato, before ending with me and Koizumi at the back. I had wanted to ask Tsuruya-san about how Asahina-san (Michiru) was doing, but I didn’t want Haruhi to overhear it.

Ah, forget it. I’ll have to call Asahina-san later anyway. And since none of those three letters could be conveyed fully through speech, it was only logical that I pay her a visit, seeing that one of those letters required us to do a little preparation. Thinking about this, I felt as if acid had burned a large hole through my wallet. It always seemed that there was only cash flowing out; none ever flowed in.

I was really impressed with Tsuruya-san. Her ability to strike up conversations with Haruhi and Asahina-san, while not spilling the beans about how an exact double was sitting right in her house, was just remarkable. I guess that’s to be expected of Tsuruya-san. So that’s what it’s like to be a sempai, huh.

As Nagato’s apartment loomed near, I knew that it was time to say goodbye, seeing that this was the regular spot where SOS Brigade members parted.

“See you guys tomorrow! The last one to arrive will be punished!”

Waving furiously, Haruhi said her goodbyes, as each of us headed in our separate directions. Now all that was left was to fake going home.

I walked until I was far beyond anyone’s sight before I took out my cell phone. Just to be safe, I hid in one of those dark alleys behind houses as I punched in Tsuruya-san’s residence number.

After notifying the maid of my name, Asahina-san was put on the line shortly after.

“Hello, Kyon-kun? It’s me.”

I thought of Asahina-san’s figure as she sat alone in Tsuruya-san’s large residence.

“I got more of those things again. You know, the letters?”

“Umm, yeah… What are we supposed to do this time…?”

From the way she ended her sentence, I could tell that she was very nervous.

“Well, about that, I thought that maybe it would be better if you and I had a little chat about it, since it states that I’ll be free for today and tomorrow. I’m going to be really busy after that, though.”

“Oh… It’s alright, I understand…”

So what do I do next?

“There’s another city-wide search on Saturday and Sunday. If memory serves me right, you were acting pretty strange then, Kyon-kun…”

I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that. I’ll probably be really tired after tomorrow, so I don’t think I’ll have enough energy remaining to force myself to act weird.

“We’ll talk about this later. I’ll head over to your place right now. Tsuruya-san should be home any time now.”

After that, I hung up, as I quickened my pace to Tsuruya-san’s residence, ushered on by the piercing cold winter wind.

The person to answer the doorbell today was yet again Tsuruya-san. She was still clad in her sailor uniform, apparently not even bothered to change as she reached home.

“I had a feeling you would come.”

Tsuruya-san said as she waved at me while opening the door, revealing a large grin on her face.

“What are you planning to do? She can’t be staring at my house’s ceiling forever you know.”

Well, I know it sounds weird, but please bear with it for a few more days. Asahina-san should be able to go back to where she came from after that.

“Oh don’t get me wrong. I’m fine with having her in my house. She’s just so cute! Compared to the Mikuru in school, she’s so much cuter! Don’t you think so? She’s so cute that I want to hug her as I sleep ~nyoro.”

Don’t tell me Tsuruya-san already did that. Oh, how I admire her!

“That’s not all. Michiru’s so cute that you just want to bathe together with her. But whenever I say so, all she does is make a pained expression and say ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea…’ That just makes her even cuter than usual! Although you kinda sympathize with her afterwards. But I guess that’s nothing to worry about.”

Tsuruya-san then brought me to the koya. Just like I expected, Asahina-san was inside. What I didn’t expect, though, was her wearing a woven kimono while kneeling down on the Tatami mats.

“Kyon-kun…”

Upon seeing me, Asahina-san revealed a relieved expression. Now that’s a pretty cute expression too. As she got up and bowed towards me, I felt that there was nothing more beautiful than that scene in the entire world.

As I tried my best to wrench my eyes away from that sight and close the door behind me, I suddenly heard Tsuruya-san’s evil monomaniacal laughter ring out from behind. From her looks, I knew that she had lots of questions to ask me. So…

“Tsuruya-san, I’m sorry, but could you give the two of us a moment, please? A little while will do.”

“Hmm…?”

Tsuruya-san said as she peered over my shoulders at Asahina-san.

“The both of you? Alone? Together? In such a small space? Hohoho, I’m fine with that ~nyoro.”

Upon hearing Tsuruya-san’s words, Asahina-san’s face blushed bright red. Apparently this was the effect Tsuruya-san was waiting for, as she patted my shoulders and said:

“Well then, I guess I’ll go and change then. Fufufu, have fun chatting ~nyoro.”

And with that, Tsuruya-san strode elegantly towards the main house, leaving the both of us behind. After I had confirmed that she had indeed left, I plopped down on the floor, my body feeling as stiff as the very mats I was sitting on. Come on now, relax.

Now’s not the time to think of that. For now, let’s just concentrate on what we came here for.

“These are the letters I mentioned earlier on the phone. I just received them this morning.”

I said as I took out the letters #3 and #4. I wouldn’t show her #6 for the time being, since I was the only recipient mentioned in the letter. I’m guessing that #6 is the last letter. There probably wouldn’t be any other letters in the future. Oh and as for #5, let’s just forget about that for the moment.

This is what #3 had to say:

“Two days later (Saturday), please head to the footbridge on ** street in ** district before dusk and face south. You should see some common stock growing there. Please pick up the object beneath it and send it to the following address anonymously. Just so you know, that object is a mini transmitter.”

There was a separate paper attached, and on it was an address far away. There was also a drawing of what appeared to be the transmitter in question. By looking at the drawing alone, I wondered exactly what kind of transmitter this was. It didn’t look like something a normal human would draw.

Now for #4:

“Near the stream with the cherry blossom trees, you should recall a very familiar bench. Go there before 10.45 am on Sunday. Bring along a small turtle with you. Before 10.50 am, throw the aforementioned turtle into the lake. The turtle’s species doesn’t matter, but smaller ones are preferred.”

There was yet another paper attached with this letter too. This time, there was a picture of a cute little turtle blowing bubbles while waving towards me. On it were the words “Please take good care of me~”. The entire picture was done in a cartoonish style.

There was another thing #3 and #4 had in common: Both of them shared a same postscript. P/S: Remember to bring Asahina Michiru with you, and make sure it’s only the two of you. Finally, there was the line of orders only Asahina-san could understand.

Asahina-san studied both letters carefully. After finishing the second page of #4, she sighed.

“I don’t understand… Why turtles?”

What the heck was throwing a turtle into a stream in such cold weather supposed to mean? Whoever understood that must not be normal. The only thing that I knew was the bench, the one that Asahina-san had confessed to me about being a time traveler.

“But, we’ve got no choice…”

Asahina-san said as she studied the contents carefully again, before raising her head in determination.

“We don’t know what’s going on now, but there has to be a reason we’ve been asked to do this. If we don’t do it…”

For a moment, I detected a glimpse of sadness in Asahina-san’s eyes.

I could guess what came after “If we don’t do it…” That’s right, if we don’t do it, what purpose would sending Asahina-san back in time serve?

I wanted to hug Asahina-san tightly and tell her everything was alright, but in the end I didn’t do it. One of the reasons was due to my conscience. Another was due to Tsuruya-san’s needle-like stares suddenly popping out in my mind.

“Erm, you know, Asahina-san…” I mumbled, trying to drive away all evil intent from my mind.

“There’s another city-wide search this Saturday and Sunday right? If so, how am I supposed to follow these orders?”

Before dusk, huh. What a miserably fuzzy time. No one in the SOS Brigade was weird enough to mention such a time. How was I supposed to excuse myself?

“So should I find an excuse not to go?”

“No, Kyon-kun. You were present that day too.”

Asahina-san said as she folded away the very important letter.

“As usual, we were separated into two teams by drawing lots. I just remembered… Nagato-san, Suzumiya-san and I were paired together on Saturday morning and Kyon-kun with Koizumi-kun, while Suzumiya-san, Koizumi-kun and I were paired together during Saturday afternoon and Kyon-kun with Nagato-san…”

Asahina-san said as she nodded her head gently, as if confirming her memories.

“During Sunday morning, Suzumiya-san, Koizumi-san and I were once again paired up, while Kyon-kun was again paired with Nagato-san. Since we each went our separate ways before noon, there wouldn’t be a second draw… Eh?”

Asahina-san stopped abruptly through her speech, as if sharing the same thoughts as I did.

It was too perfect to be called a coincidence. What was the possibility of that happening anyway?

If what Asahina-san said was true, then I would be paired together with Nagato twice. Since we had five members, two of us were destined to be paired together in a two-people group. I needed to be paired in one of those two-people groups at least twice in three tries. I’m not going to start calculating the probability of that happening, but even so, I knew that it was pretty low.

Speaking of which, I was sure that Nagato knew a little about the situation. If it’s drawing lots, I’m sure it would be no big deal for Nagato. All I have to do is ask her while she places her order at the café.

“So, what should we do?”

Asahina-san said as she revealed a face that severely lacked confidence.

But if things don’t go according to what Asahina-san said, then I would be in a bigger mess than I was currently in now. Was it really okay to ask Nagato to help me? Or rather, was it really necessary? According to Asahina-san’s memories, a time traveler that came from one week into the future, I would be paired in a two-person group all three times. Would it be possible for things to turn up different than what she said? Or would everything happen naturally? Even if I just sat back and relaxed, would I still be paired together with Nagato in a two-person group? Or did that happen because I requested for it to happen?

Gah, what am I worrying about. Asahina-san probably had no way of knowing if my future self had requested help from Nagato before, so…

“We’ll go ask Nagato for help.” I said. “Even though it’s not fair asking for her assistance while concealing something behind our backs, we have no choice. The slightest mistake may result in large consequences, so it’s better to be on the safe side. I’m sure Nagato understands.”

“That’s what I had in mind too.”

Asahina-san said while agreeing readily.

“During the city-wide patrol, Kyon-kun, you had a weird expression on your face. I think I now know why. You must have been thinking about the drawing of the lots.”

What did “weird” refer to anyway? What expression should I wear then?

“Erm… You know… Weird as in… Weird.”

Asahina-san answer still left me in the dark, but I don’t blame her. How are you going to describe “what type of weird” anyway?

“I’m sorry; I have no idea how to explain it to you…”

There’s no need to apologize, Asahina-san. Besides, this is a pretty trivial matter.

“But… Oh wait, I just remembered something. During the Sunday search, while Suzumiya-san, Koizumi-kun and I were at the book store…”

Whatever Asahina-san had to say seemed pretty important, as she placed her fingers on her forehead, trying her best to recall the incident.

“Suzumiya-san received a prank call.”

Who called her?

“Kyon-kun, you did.”

I did? During desperate times like this, my future self still had the time to prank call Haruhi?

“Ah, Suzumiya-san said something like, ‘That Kyon, calling me all of a sudden just to tell me a lame joke!’ after she hung up, at around 11 am.”

So I did another weird thing, eh. That is to say after I chucked a poor little turtle into the stream, I would prank call Haruhi and tell her some lousy joke.

“What did the joke sound like? Did Haruhi say anything?”

“She didn’t say anything about it, but as we gathered for lunch, you apologized to her about it, Kyon-kun.”

So I go from performing weird acts to betraying my own moral code, eh? Why in the world would I apologize to Haruhi?

“Kyon-kun, you said ‘I’m sorry for cracking such a lame joke.’”

This is getting even weirder. Bowing my head, apologizing so sincerely to Haruhi… What could possibly make that happen?

When I tried to press for further information, all Asahina-san did was shake her head. It appeared that Haruhi didn’t continue pressing the matter anymore, as we then proceeded to chat about other events.

I give up. Knowing that I would commit such unthinkable acts in the future was bad enough, but not knowing why I had to do them was even worse. Can someone please piece together the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle and tell me what is going on?

“Now about that turtle…”

I said as I held letter #4.

“During a time like this, it’s practically impossible to find a turtle crawling around on the road or something. How are we supposed to find one?”

I didn’t have the heart to dig up a hibernating turtle from beneath the ground. I would probably have enough digging to do tomorrow. Or did it so happen that we stumbled upon a hibernating turtle instead of buried treasure?

“No. We didn’t find anything that day, be it treasure or turtles.”

So that is to say our merry treasure hunt tomorrow would turn out to be nothing more than a hike, eh.

“We have no other choice but to purchase one.”

I suddenly recalled that there was a pet store in the local supermarket nearby. It was the same pet shop I would frequent to buy Shamisen’s food. I remember seeing turtles that were meant to be used for experiments being sold in there before. Why not purchase one on my way home? But wait, there was no way I could bring a turtle together with me while the SOS Brigade gathers, could I? Oh well, guess that can’t be helped. I’ll just have to leave it in Asahina-san’s care then.

Thinking of the many preparations I would have to do over this weekend, I suddenly felt as if my weekend had vanished into thin air.

After that, Asahina-san and I discussed where and when we should meet on Saturday and Sunday. After all of our basic preparations were complete, I slowly got up.

Asahina-san walked me to the door, which, upon opening, revealed a plain-clothed Tsuruya-san standing outside in the cold waiting for us.

“Ara, ara, that little moment sure was long! Let’s not mince words, shall we? Spit it out, Kyon-kun, did you do anything in there?”

Tsuruya-san said as she laughed madly. She couldn’t have peeped through the doors, could she? It’s a good thing she didn’t continue to press on any further. Hiding things from women is just not my specialty.

I pretended to smile as I quickly made my leave. Asahina-san’s beet red face continued to remain in my mind, even after the Tsuruya Residence had long disappeared from my sight.

(End of Chapter 3)