off?
Our puzzling group of five entered the café through the revolving door and sat in the back. We gave our respective orders to the waitress, except for Nagato, who stared at the menu with unfathomable intensity—but without any expression on her face—and couldn’t seem to make up her mind. After enough time had passed to have made a cup of instant ramen…
“Apricot,” she announced.
I’m the one paying anyway.
This was Haruhi’s plan:
We would now split up into two groups and search the city. If one group found any mysterious phenomena, it was to contact the other group via cell phone while continuing the search. Then regroup at the meeting spot and discuss what to do next.
That was all.
“Let’s draw for it then.”
Haruhi took five toothpicks from the container on the table, marked two of them with a pen she borrowed from the café, and held them toward us with only the heads sticking out for us to draw. I drew marked. Asahina also drew marked. The other three drew unmarked.
“Hmm, so these are the groups….”
For some reason, Haruhi alternated glares between Asahina and me before sticking her nose in the air.
“Kyon. This isn’t a date. Be serious about it. Understand?”
“I know.”
I guess I was looking a little pleased with myself. Lucky me. Asahina held one hand against her flushed cheeks as she gazed at the tip of her toothpick. Excellent. Excellent indeed.
“What exactly should we be looking for?” Koizumi asked rather blithely. Next to him was Nagato, who was periodically moving her cup to her mouth.
Haruhi slurped up the last few drops of her iced coffee before brushing her hair behind her ear.
“Anything that defies common sense. Anything that looks suspect. Any person that seems mysterious. Yes, discovering the location of a distortion in space-time, or an alien masquerading as a human would be good.”
I almost spit out the mint tea in my mouth. Oh? Asahina had a similar expression next to me. Nagato looked the same as always, though.
“I see,” Koizumi said.
Do you really understand?
“So basically, we should search for actual aliens, time travelers, and espers or any signs they may have left behind. I understand perfectly.” Koizumi’s face looked rather cheerful.
“Yes! You show promise, Koizumi. That’s exactly right. Kyon, you should learn to be as understanding as he is.”
Don’t feed his ego too much. Koizumi returned my hateful glare with a smile.
“Then shall we get going?”
Leaving the bill in my hand, Haruhi strode out of the café.
I don’t remember how many times I’ve said this already, but I’ll say it again:
“Good grief.”
With a “This seriously isn’t a date! If you go off somewhere to play, I’ll strangle you!” for a farewell, Haruhi marched off with Koizumi and Nagato following behind her. Using the station as a base, the Haruhi team went east, while Asahina and I were supposed to search west. Search for what?
“What do we do?”
Asahina held her purse as she watched the other three leave before looking up at me. I wanted to take her home with me right then. I pretended to think it over.
“Hmm. Well, there’s no point in standing here, so why don’t we just walk around somewhere?”
“OK.”
She obediently followed me. The way she quickly jumped away when our shoulders accidentally brushed as she hesitantly walked alongside me painted quite the picture of innocence.
We walked north along a nearby riverbed for no particular reason. The cherry trees would have been pink with petals a month ago, but now there was just a disheartening riverside path.
The place was perfect for strolling along the river, so we passed a number of families and couples. From a stranger’s point of view, we would have looked to be a close pair of lovers. They wouldn’t expect us to be a couple of fools on a search who don’t even know what they’re looking for.
“This is the first time I’ve ever walked around like
Our puzzling group of five entered the café through the revolving door and sat in the back. We gave our respective orders to the waitress, except for Nagato, who stared at the menu with unfathomable intensity—but without any expression on her face—and couldn’t seem to make up her mind. After enough time had passed to have made a cup of instant ramen…
“Apricot,” she announced.
I’m the one paying anyway.
This was Haruhi’s plan:
We would now split up into two groups and search the city. If one group found any mysterious phenomena, it was to contact the other group via cell phone while continuing the search. Then regroup at the meeting spot and discuss what to do next.
That was all.
“Let’s draw for it then.”
Haruhi took five toothpicks from the container on the table, marked two of them with a pen she borrowed from the café, and held them toward us with only the heads sticking out for us to draw. I drew marked. Asahina also drew marked. The other three drew unmarked.
“Hmm, so these are the groups….”
For some reason, Haruhi alternated glares between Asahina and me before sticking her nose in the air.
“Kyon. This isn’t a date. Be serious about it. Understand?”
“I know.”
I guess I was looking a little pleased with myself. Lucky me. Asahina held one hand against her flushed cheeks as she gazed at the tip of her toothpick. Excellent. Excellent indeed.
“What exactly should we be looking for?” Koizumi asked rather blithely. Next to him was Nagato, who was periodically moving her cup to her mouth.
Haruhi slurped up the last few drops of her iced coffee before brushing her hair behind her ear.
“Anything that defies common sense. Anything that looks suspect. Any person that seems mysterious. Yes, discovering the location of a distortion in space-time, or an alien masquerading as a human would be good.”
I almost spit out the mint tea in my mouth. Oh? Asahina had a similar expression next to me. Nagato looked the same as always, though.
“I see,” Koizumi said.
Do you really understand?
“So basically, we should search for actual aliens, time travelers, and espers or any signs they may have left behind. I understand perfectly.” Koizumi’s face looked rather cheerful.
“Yes! You show promise, Koizumi. That’s exactly right. Kyon, you should learn to be as understanding as he is.”
Don’t feed his ego too much. Koizumi returned my hateful glare with a smile.
“Then shall we get going?”
Leaving the bill in my hand, Haruhi strode out of the café.
I don’t remember how many times I’ve said this already, but I’ll say it again:
“Good grief.”
With a “This seriously isn’t a date! If you go off somewhere to play, I’ll strangle you!” for a farewell, Haruhi marched off with Koizumi and Nagato following behind her. Using the station as a base, the Haruhi team went east, while Asahina and I were supposed to search west. Search for what?
“What do we do?”
Asahina held her purse as she watched the other three leave before looking up at me. I wanted to take her home with me right then. I pretended to think it over.
“Hmm. Well, there’s no point in standing here, so why don’t we just walk around somewhere?”
“OK.”
She obediently followed me. The way she quickly jumped away when our shoulders accidentally brushed as she hesitantly walked alongside me painted quite the picture of innocence.
We walked north along a nearby riverbed for no particular reason. The cherry trees would have been pink with petals a month ago, but now there was just a disheartening riverside path.
The place was perfect for strolling along the river, so we passed a number of families and couples. From a stranger’s point of view, we would have looked to be a close pair of lovers. They wouldn’t expect us to be a couple of fools on a search who don’t even know what they’re looking for.
“This is the first time I’ve ever walked around like
Similar Books
