Haruhi>19. Endless Eight Ⅷ

Kyon:
Something's wrong. That's what it felt like anyway.
I didn't care about the baseball game on TV because it was between some other schools.
For some reason, I got into anyway, and started rooting for the losing team.
And that's when I got a feeling Haruhi was gonna call.
What does she want?

Kyon's sister:
Your phone's ringing, Kyon.

Kyon:
I know. You don't have to tell me.

Haruhi:
Hey, you're free, right? Good!
Meet us at two o'clock in front of the station.
And don't be late!

Kyon:
I didn't have a chance to say anything.

Now, what?

Haruhi:
I forgot to tell you, make sure to bring your swim trunks and some money too.
Oh, wait. And your bike. Definitely bring your bike.
That's it, over and out!

Kyon:
Well, that was weird. It was like I knew what Haruhi was gonna say before she even said anything.
Yeah, no. Actually, it felt like we had the exact same conversation before.
Like deja vu or something.

Summer's almost over.



Haruhi:
You are late again, Kyon!
Where's your motivation, huh?

Kyon:
Yeah, yeah.
You're the only reason I showed up anyway.

Mikuru:
Thanks. That's very sweet.

Haruhi:
Now that we're all present and accounted for, we can get going.

Kyon:
Where to?

Haruhi:
To the public swimming pool! Where do you think?

Kyon:
That figures, considering the stuff I brought.

Haruhi:
We've got lots of summer vacation-y things to do during our summer break!
But we've only got so much time because once it's gone, it's gone for good!
We'll have to do what we can while we can during our one and only summer as tenth graders.
It's up to Kyon and Koizumi to get us to the pool.

Kyon:
I know I'm gonna hate asking this, but what did you mean by the last thing?

Haruhi:
You guys are taking us there on your bikes.


Haruhi:
Hmm! Can you smell the chlorine?
That really makes it feel like summer!

Kyon:
Restrain thyself! Canst thou not see even the "No Diving" signs?

Haruhi:
Hurry up and get in, guys! The water is warm. It's perfect!


Koizumi:
Doesn't that look like fun?
I mean, seeing Miss Suzumiya enjoy the day in such a normal fashion, it's rather charming, don't you think?

Kyon:
First, she called me up and told me what to bring, and then she demanded I meet her without telling me what was going on.
I'm sorry but I don't see anything charming or normal about that.

Koizumi:
Well, when she gets an idea, she tends to "strike while the iron's hot."

Kyon:
Yeah. But every time she strikes, something goes wrong.
And by "wrong," I mean, "nightmarishly wrong."

Koizumi:
You have a point, but it's peaceful enough around here.
And as long as Miss Suzumiya's laughing and having a good time, we don't have to worry about any Earth shattering events.
Huh...?

Kyon:
Now what is it?

Koizumi:
It's nothing. Just my imagination, I guess.
With everything that's happened since we met, you could say I've become a slightly paranoid.


Haruhi:
Let's race one more time!


Haruhi:
It's like...

Mikuru:
Ah!

Haruhi:
Huh?


Kyon:
Yum! It's strawberry-licious!


Haruhi:
Hey! Get it!

Kyon:
Geez. Now I know why they call it a public swimming pool--seems like everyone in town's here today.
I wonder why Haruhi chose this place.
Hm...? There's that weird feeling again.
It's like I've seen this happen before... Nagato sitting there all alone looking bored...

Haruhi:
Kyon!

Kyon:
Yeah, and then, Haruhi shows up and says:

Kyon and Haruhi:
So, these two guys are my brigade members.
They do what I say, so if you want something, ask them!

Girls:
Okay!

Haruhi:
Time for some fun! Let's go play water soccer!

Kyon:
Yeah, sure.

Oh well, sometimes deja vus happen.



Haruhi:
I've been thinking of some fun things to do.
So, I came up with this.

Kyon:
What is that thing for?

Haruhi:
It's the schedule of how we're gonna spend the rest of our summer vacation.

Kyon:
A schedule for who?

Haruhi:
For us, that's who!
We've only got two weeks of vacation left. That fact alone blew me away.
We've done a lot of cool things, but we're running out of time.
There's still a bazillion more things left for us to do.
I say we gotta pick up the pace.

Kyon:
Two weeks to do all that?

Haruhi:
Mikuru, is there anything else you wanna do?

Mikuru:
Umm... I think I'd like try goldfish scooping.

Haruhi:
Okay! Goldfish scooping, it is.

Koizumi:
Could I see that?
Okay, thanks.

Haruhi:
We'll start the list tomorrow.
Do you guys know if there's a Bon festival happening anywhere, or a place to see fireworks?

Kyon:
Why don't you find that stuff yourself?

Koizumi:
I can check around for those.
I'll call you if I find anything.

Haruhi:
Perfect! I'll leave it up to you.


Haruhi:
That's it for today. See ya!

Kyon:
Hey, Nagato?
Uh well, it's nothing important or anything, but... I was just wondering.
Is everything okay?

Yuki:
It is.

Kyon:
That's good to hear.

Yuki:
Yes.

Kyon:
Hm, okay...
That's it. You can go. Sorry to keep you.

What was that? Why'd I wanna talk to her?



Kyon:
And just like that, Koizume managed to find a Bon festival happening the very next day.


Mikuru:
Wow! So, this is what festivals were like back in this time.

Kyon:
I guess I shouldn't be surprised it's so crowded.
Ugh...

Haruhi:
Look, Mikuru! They've got goldfish scooping over there just like you wanted!
Let's catch a ton and break some scoopers!

Kyon:
Don't break the scoopers.


Kyon:
I didn't know you were into stuff like that.
I got it.

Yuki:
No.
That one.

Stallkeeper:
Okay, it's yours for 800 yen!
Thanks!

Kyon:
I wish she would've let me buy that for her.
It's the least I could do after all she's done for us.


Haruhi:
What an unbelievable haul!
But I don't have room for all this fish, so I just kept two for us.
Anyway, let's go shoot off some fireworks.
It's the perfect way to end the day!

Kyon:
Come on, don't you ever get tired?

Oh well, if anything, Haruhi's endless energy is one of her better qualities.

Reckless is always...

It was summer, and summer vacation.
And I guess that's why I wanted to forget about it.
Truth was, I couldn't ignore it any longer.

Haruhi:
Tomorrow, we're gonna catch some bugs.

Kyon:
I don't wanna spoil your fun, but have you finished your homework yet?

Haruhi:
You gotta be kidding me. That stuff's totally easy. You can finish it in like three days.

Kyon:
Three days!?

Haruhi:
You have to get rid of that junk first, so you can spend the rest of your summer having fun and not worrying about it.
That's the only way to get the most out of your vacation.

Kyon:
Why does she have to be so smart?
The folks upstairs weren't terribly fair when they were divvying up the stats for us.

Haruhi:
So anyway, tomorrow we're gonna go bug catching.
And the prize for catching the most bugs is gonna be...
Umm... The winner gets to be Brigade Leader for a day!

Kyon:
That's the last thing I'd wanna be!

Koizumi:
That sounds like a lot of fun.
But can we catch just any random bug?

Haruhi:
No... Only cicadas!
That's it, I'm calling it the SOS Brigade's Cicada Catching Contest!



Kyon:
The next day was another beautiful day, sunny and bright.
And the winner of the contest ended up being, you guessed it, Haruhi.

Haruhi:
It's important to follow the spirit of catch-and-release with these guys.
I mean, if we let 'em go this time, they might come back and return the favor.

Kyon:
If something were to come back and return the favor off being random captured and released, I'd say they have to be as dumb as a bug.

Haruhi:
Hurry! Go back to the mountains!



Mikuru:
W-Welcome to our store.

Kyon:
The next day, our fearless leader got us some part-time jobs.

Koizumi:
Would you like a balloon? No?

Yuki:
Take it.

Kid:
Give me!

Kyon:
Sure.

Kid:
Thank you!

Kyon:
Wearing a costumes in heat like this isn't a job, it's more like a test of endurance.


Kyon and Mikuru:
Huh?

Haruhi:
Like I said, our pay is the costume Mikuru's wearing.
I've had my eye on this little guy for a long time now.
The manager gave it to us 'cause Mikuru looks so cute in it.

Kyon:
We worked in the sun, sweat pouring down our foreheads, for that?

Haruhi:
We'll keep this froggy in the clubroom as a souvenir.
And, Mikuru, you can wear him whenever you want to, okay?
You have my permission.



Kyon:
Uh, oh... Damn it... Hello?

Mikuru:
Ahh...

Kyon:
Argh!

Mikuru:
Kyon...

Kyon:
Miss Asahina? Is that you?

Mikuru:
Yes, it's me... Something... really... bad... I don't know well... I don't...

Kyon:
Is this really Miss Asahina?

Koizumi:
Oh, hello, it's Koizumi.

Kyon:
How about you tell me what you're doing with her at this hour?

Koizumi:
We have a bit of situation here.
And it's pretty dire one on that.
You can even say it's an emergency.


Koizumi:
Sorry we had to call you out so late.

Kyon:
Miss Asahina! What happened? I'm gonna kill you, Koizumi!

Mikuru:
Oh, Kyon... I...Can't... I can't go back to the future!


Mikuru:
Because I have to "classified information", I use "classified information" to get in touch with the future.
I haven't gotten any "classified information" for about a week, and I started think how weird it was, and I...
I was so surprised, I "classified information," I really did.
But it was "classified information," too... I don't know, I don't know what to do...

Kyon:
Are all the "classified information" things you're talking about stuff you can't say on TV?

Koizumi:
I'll explain it the best I can.
We're stuck in a time loop that seems to be infinite.

Kyon:
Huh!?

Koizumi:
We were repeating every day between August the seventeeth through the thirty-first.
You see, time doesn't exist after September the first.
It's only natural Miss Asahina can't go back to the future when there's no future to go, too.

Kyon:
There's nothing natural about not having a future.
I mean, who's gonna believe such a thing?

Koizumi:
Actually, we were sort of hoping you would believe it.

Kyon:
They say "believe and you'll be saved," but I have yet to be saved from anything, even once.

Well, what's causing this to happen? Got any ideas?

Koizumi:
Wait, you mean you don't already know?

Kyon:
I don't want to. So there.

Koizumi:
It's Miss Suzumiya.

Kyon:
Ugh...!

Koizumi:
I'm sure she doesn't even realize it's happening.
It's the result of her subconscious desires. She wants summer vacation to last forever.

Kyon:
You kidding. She still hasn't had enough fun?

Koizumi:
That's what I think.
Perhaps she feels there's something else that needs to happen before our summer vacation can really be over.

Kyon:
Oh man, the trouble she gets us into was always galactic in scale.

Koizumi:
Well anyway, at least now I have an explanation for all those weird feelings of deja vu I've been having.

Kyon:
You too?
Do you think it's possible other people are having the same feelings?

Koizumi:
I doubt it. But you and I are different.
The only people who can sense this strange thing happening are the ones who are the closest to Miss Suzumiya.
However, there's someone who doesn't seem to be affected by these feelings of deja vu.
As a matter of fact, this person remembers everything that's happened.

Kyon:
Well, you're gonna tell me who it is or what.

Koizumi:
I think you already know that, too.

Kyon:
Is that true?

Yuki:
It is.

Kyon:
You can remember everything.

Yuki:
I can.

Kyon:
Then, how many times has this happened to us?

Yuki:
This would be 15,532 times so far.

Kyon:
15,532?

Nagato, I'm having a hard time processing all this.
But are you serious?

Yuki:
I am.

Kyon:
You're saying we've done the exact same things every time that many times?

Yuki:
Not necessarily.
Throughout 15,532 repetitions, we did not attend a Bon festival the 2,391st time and 11,054th time.
We went to a Bon festival but did not go to a goldfish scooping booth 437 times.
We obtained part-time jobs 9,056 times, and performed six different types of jobs.
In addition to handing out balloons, we worked as movers, cashiers...

Kyon:
Stop! ...Okay, I got it.

15,532 times, that's what Nagato said, times two weeks, that's, uh... 595 years!
She's the only one who remembers everything we've done.
And she had to repeat those same things over and over again.
Nagato, what's it like to relive the same things that many times?

That's gotta be the craziest story ever.



Kyon:
The next night, we went stargazing.
We're on the balcony of Nagato's apartment.
And at first, Haruhi was all over the telescope, but eventually...

Oh man, I wish I knew what else she wants to do?

Koizumi:
That's the question, isn't it?
If we knew the answer, we'd be well on our way to solving this thing.
I have an idea we can try if you want.
What if someone were to grab Miss Suzumiya from behind, and then whispered "I love you" right into her ear?

Kyon:
And who's gonna be doing this?

Koizumi:
Can you think of anyone better suited for that role?

Kyon:
My turn! I summon my veto card.

Koizumi:
All right, how about if I do it?
I'm just kidding.
I don't think I can pull that role off anyway.
Besides, it would just confuse Miss Suzumiya.



Kyon:
We chugged along doing all kinds of summer vacation things.
We went to a real firework show, and we even signed up for a goby fishing tournament.
We did the test of courage, watched some movies, went to the beach, bowling, even karaoke.
We were always doing something, always on the move.
And the whole time, all I could think was that none of that was going to be enough for Haruhi.
But I couldn't do anything about it.
So, I just bit my lip and watched the last days of our summer vacation went by.
And then, before I knew it, August the thirtieth was here...



Haruhi:
Well, that's it. We've finished everything on our list.
Hmm... I know we did a lot, but now I wonder if we did enough.
Oh well. Yeah, I guess we did do a lot... unless there's something else you guys wanna do.
Hmm... Oh, okay then. We pretty much did everything we set out to do this summer, so I guess that's enough.

Kyon:
No, it's not. You're still not satisfied.

Haruhi:
I guess that's it for today.
I set tomorrow aside just in case, but I guess you can take the day off now.
I'll see you guys at the clubroom on Monday.

Kyon:
Uh... Wait, Haruhi...!

There's that feeling again. And it's stronger than all the others!
Now I know we've done this ten thousand times before.
I can't let Haruhi leave.
If I let her walk out the door, we'll end up reliving the past two weeks again and again.
But what should I do?
There must have been a clue in something Haruhi said.
What? What? What!?
Come on, remember!
It's something I'm worried about, but I'm putting it off for some reason.
If I don't do something now, she'll go home. I can't let that happen.
If I do, nothing will change!
Try to remember. What have we done up to now? What didn't we do?
There's no time to think about it anymore.
It doesn't matter if it doesn't work, just say something, anything!

Hang on a second! We're not done yet!

Haruhi:
Huh?

Kyon:
Homework! Homework!

Haruhi:
What are you talking about?

Kyon:
None of my homework's done, I haven't even started it yet.
My summer can't be over until I finish it!

Haruhi:
Are you nuts?

Kyon:
Koizumi, did you finish your homework?

Koizumi:
No. Uh, we were so busy, I'm only halfway done with it.

Kyon:
Let's do it together!
You too, Nagato. I bet you're not done yet.
And you're coming with us, Miss Asahina!

Mikuru:
Uh, where are we going?

Kyon:
We're all gonna meet at my house.
Bring all your notebooks and textbooks, and we'll work on it together.
We'll finish our summer activities once and for all!
Nagato, Koizumi, I need to copy whatever you've got.

Koizumi:
Roger that.

Kyon:
We're gonna start first thing tomorrow morning.
And we're gonna go all day until we finish!

Haruhi:
Hold it right there!
How dare you get the orders?!
I'm the brigade leader. And as your superior, you'll need to get my permission first!
Who do you think you are, huh? Acting without my permission is against the rules!
I wanna come over, too!



Kyon:
It looks like I hit the jackpot.


Koizumi:
Miss Suzumiya is a smart and talented person. She's always been that way and she always will be.
And that's probably why it never occurred to her that summer homework could also be a bit of pain for others... since she's never had to do this study group thing before.
I can see how she'd overlook an opportunity like that.

Kyon:
It was the first day of a new term, I should've gone home by now, but I ended up coming here instead.
Koizumi showed up, too, probably for the same reason.
It was weird, though, Nagato wasn't there.
I couldn't tell by looking at her but... I bet she must have been pretty exhausted.

The thought of us reliving the past two weeks tens of thousands of times seems like a bad dream.

Koizumi:
I'm not at all surprised you feel that way.
We don't share any memories with the versions of "us" who had to go through 15,531 time loops.
That's because on the 15,532nd time, we snapped back into the normal time flow.
How about a game of poker?

Kyon:
Hm? Yeah, sure. Why not?
I don't have any money, though.

Koizumi:
Then, we'll play for fun.

Kyon:
I did get a lot of hints.
Hints like those feelings of deja vu, especially the last one, I wonder if it could've been a memory sent by one of the previous versions of us.
I'm here because of all the "us"-es, if that's even a word, who had to repeat those last two weeks.
That's the way I have to think about it, so there was no often nothing.
If I did forget, then I'd be like Haruhi, who's unaware those summers even happened.

Hm?

Koizumi:
How many?

Kyon:
I'm good.

Koizumi:
Then, so am I.

Kyon:
If I had a chance to live today all over again...

Koizumi:
Wow!

Kyon:
I hope I remember to put some cash down on this hand.