Read Online The Intrigues of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa - Free Book Online
Authors: Nagaru Tanigawa
Ads: Link
looking like a greyhound’s right after a grueling dog race.
I’d had no choice but to invite her over. Asahina’s sorrow was deep, and the situation was completely mystifying. I had no idea what was going to happen, and I didn’t really want to know. And then, my sister, who had nothing to do with our current troubles, jumped out at Asahina.
“Hey, it’s Mikuru!”
My sister had been trying to drag Shamisen the cat out from under my bed, but no sooner did we open the door to my room than she slammed into Asahina, causing the beautiful object of every male North High student’s desire to stumble backward.
“S-sorry to disturb you!”
“Hey, wait—it’s just Kyon and Mikuru? Where’s Haruhi?”
My little sister looked up at Asahina with shining eyes before I grabbed the eleven-year-old fifth grader by her collar.
“Haruhi’s still at school. And I told you not to go into my room uninvited.”
I knew it was pointless no matter how many times I told her. Which meant finding hiding places for things I didn’t want found was a huge pain.
“But Shami wouldn’t come out!” My sister clung to Asahina’sskirt, giggling. “Where’s Yuki? And Koizumi? And Tsuruya? Aren’t they coming too?”
She tended to call everybody by the names she heard other people call them, which was obviously why she’d started calling me “Kyon.” An elementary school kid with no concept of respect for her elders—that was my little sister. All I wanted was for somebody to call me “big brother” once in a while. Was that so much to ask?
“Oh! Is this a date? Hey—”
I kicked her out of my room and shut the door before she got any further.
“Well then,” I said, sitting down and facing Asahina. “Can you give me an idea of what happens this week?”
“Hmm.” Asahina puzzled over it. “Eight days ago… which would be today, I went back to the clubroom and noticed that the heater was on, even though nobody was in the room.”
I’d seen that happen.
“And then when I was changing, Nagato came in, and then she took me over to the bottom of the emergency stairs.”
I’d seen the first half of that.
“When I came back to the clubroom, your bag was gone, and Koizumi was there.”
Which meant we’d escaped in the nick of time.
“About half an hour later, Suzumiya came.”
Her guidance counseling must have run long. I needn’t have worried about running into her, apparently.
“She seemed kind of angry.”
Maybe she’d gotten into some kind of argument during counseling. There weren’t exactly application forms for the kind of careers she probably had in mind. And if there were, I wanted one too.
“She just glared out the window with a scary look on her face and drank three cups of tea in a—oh!”
Asahina’s eyes went wide, as though she’d caught a glimpse of a ghost in the corner of the room.
“Suzumiya realized you weren’t there and…”
Realized?
“… And she called you—”
The instant Asahina said those words, my phone rang.
Crap.
When I really thought about it, what Asahina was talking about was prerecorded, but for me it was a live broadcast. I didn’t have time to listen to her dithering recollections. I still hadn’t come up with a good excuse for skipping out on the brigade meeting. I should’ve left my phone on vibrate. If I didn’t answer, it would only seem more suspicious to Haruhi. But before I answered, I had to ask something.
“Asahina, do you remember if I answered?”
“Um, yes, it seemed like you did.”
I guessed I’d better answer.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?” Haruhi’s voice already sounded highly irritated. I answered truthfully.
“I’m at home in my room.”
“What, you’re ditching?”
“Something came up.” Here’s where I would have to start lying.
“What do you mean, ‘something came up’?”
“Uh…” Just then, my eyes lit upon Shamisen crawling out from under my bed. “Y’know, Shamisen got sick, so I took him
I’d had no choice but to invite her over. Asahina’s sorrow was deep, and the situation was completely mystifying. I had no idea what was going to happen, and I didn’t really want to know. And then, my sister, who had nothing to do with our current troubles, jumped out at Asahina.
“Hey, it’s Mikuru!”
My sister had been trying to drag Shamisen the cat out from under my bed, but no sooner did we open the door to my room than she slammed into Asahina, causing the beautiful object of every male North High student’s desire to stumble backward.
“S-sorry to disturb you!”
“Hey, wait—it’s just Kyon and Mikuru? Where’s Haruhi?”
My little sister looked up at Asahina with shining eyes before I grabbed the eleven-year-old fifth grader by her collar.
“Haruhi’s still at school. And I told you not to go into my room uninvited.”
I knew it was pointless no matter how many times I told her. Which meant finding hiding places for things I didn’t want found was a huge pain.
“But Shami wouldn’t come out!” My sister clung to Asahina’sskirt, giggling. “Where’s Yuki? And Koizumi? And Tsuruya? Aren’t they coming too?”
She tended to call everybody by the names she heard other people call them, which was obviously why she’d started calling me “Kyon.” An elementary school kid with no concept of respect for her elders—that was my little sister. All I wanted was for somebody to call me “big brother” once in a while. Was that so much to ask?
“Oh! Is this a date? Hey—”
I kicked her out of my room and shut the door before she got any further.
“Well then,” I said, sitting down and facing Asahina. “Can you give me an idea of what happens this week?”
“Hmm.” Asahina puzzled over it. “Eight days ago… which would be today, I went back to the clubroom and noticed that the heater was on, even though nobody was in the room.”
I’d seen that happen.
“And then when I was changing, Nagato came in, and then she took me over to the bottom of the emergency stairs.”
I’d seen the first half of that.
“When I came back to the clubroom, your bag was gone, and Koizumi was there.”
Which meant we’d escaped in the nick of time.
“About half an hour later, Suzumiya came.”
Her guidance counseling must have run long. I needn’t have worried about running into her, apparently.
“She seemed kind of angry.”
Maybe she’d gotten into some kind of argument during counseling. There weren’t exactly application forms for the kind of careers she probably had in mind. And if there were, I wanted one too.
“She just glared out the window with a scary look on her face and drank three cups of tea in a—oh!”
Asahina’s eyes went wide, as though she’d caught a glimpse of a ghost in the corner of the room.
“Suzumiya realized you weren’t there and…”
Realized?
“… And she called you—”
The instant Asahina said those words, my phone rang.
Crap.
When I really thought about it, what Asahina was talking about was prerecorded, but for me it was a live broadcast. I didn’t have time to listen to her dithering recollections. I still hadn’t come up with a good excuse for skipping out on the brigade meeting. I should’ve left my phone on vibrate. If I didn’t answer, it would only seem more suspicious to Haruhi. But before I answered, I had to ask something.
“Asahina, do you remember if I answered?”
“Um, yes, it seemed like you did.”
I guessed I’d better answer.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?” Haruhi’s voice already sounded highly irritated. I answered truthfully.
“I’m at home in my room.”
“What, you’re ditching?”
“Something came up.” Here’s where I would have to start lying.
“What do you mean, ‘something came up’?”
“Uh…” Just then, my eyes lit upon Shamisen crawling out from under my bed. “Y’know, Shamisen got sick, so I took him
Similar Books
