Kyon: Something's wrong. That's what it felt like anyway. The game on TV was between schools from another town. I had nothing to do with either school, but because I tend to sympathize with underdogs, I found myself rooting for the losing team. And it was right about then that I suddenly got a feeling Haruhi was going to call. What does she want?
Kyon's sister: Your phone's ringing, Kyon.
Kyon: I know, I know.
Haruhi: Hey, you're free, right? Good. Meet us at two o'clock in front of the station. Don't be late!
Kyon: I didn't even have a chance to say anything.
What?
Haruhi: I forgot to tell you 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: Uh, no. That was weird. It was like I knew what Haruhi was gonna say before she said it. Yeah, no. Actually, it felt like we had the exact same conversation before--like deja vu or something.
Kyon: Summer's almost over, isn't it?
Haruhi: You're late, Kyon! Where's your motivation, huh?
Kyon: Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry to keep you waiting.
Mikuru: Oh, I just got here too.
Haruhi: Now that we're all present and accounted for, we can go!
Kyon: Where?
Haruhi: To the public pool! Where do you think?
Kyon: Figures, considering what I brought.
Haruhi: We've got lots of summer vacation-y things to do during our break! But there's only so much time and once it's gone, it's gone for good! So we're gonna do everything we can while we can during our one and only summer as tenth graders. And for starters, we're gonna ride bikes over to the pool!
Kyon: So, did everyone ride their bikes today?
Koizumi: No, the only bikes we have to take are the ones you and I brought.
Kyon: Huh?
Haruhi: All right, Kyon. Don't let Koizumi beat you over there! Come on! Full speed ahead!
Kyon: Boost!
Haruhi: Come on, guys! Hurry up and park your bikes already. We're trying to have fun, Kyon. Stop acting like you're tired!
Kyon: And whose fault is that?
Haruhi: Ah... can you smell the chlorine? That really makes it feel like summer!
Hurry up and get in! The water's all warm, it's perfect!
Kyon: Can't she see the "No Diving" signs? They're everywhere.
Koizumi: Doesn't that look like fun? In a way, it makes me smile. Such a peaceful scene, isn't it? I mean, seeing Miss Suzumiya enjoy the day in a normal fashion, it's rather charming, don't you think?
Kyon: She called me, told me what to bring and ordered me to meet her without telling me what was going on. There's nothing charming or normal about it.
Koizumi: Well, if you ask me, none of what you mention is anything that makes such a fuss over. As long as Miss Suzumiya's having a good time, we don't have to worry about any Earth shattering events.
(Haruhi: Come on! The water feels great.
Mikuru: It's too cool.
Haruhi: That's xxx front of me. (xxx)
Mikuru: Oh it's xxx ... Aaah! )
Kyon: I hope you're right.
Koizumi: Hmm?
Kyon: Something wrong?
Koizumi: No. It's just my imagination. With everything that's happened since we met, you could say I've become slightly paranoid.
Kyon: Hm?
Kyon: Hot! Hot! So hot!
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.
Haruhi: Here comes, guys!
Kyon: Hm? There's that feeling again. It's like I've seen this happen once before... with Nagato looking kind of bored like that... alone...
Haruhi: Kyon!
Kyon: Uh-huh. And then Haruhi's supposed to say something like...
Haruhi: These two guys are my brigade members. And they do what I say, so if you want something, you can ask them! It's time to have some fun! Let's all go play water soccer!
Kyon: Yeah, yeah. Oh well, sometimes deja vus happen.
Haruhi: Here comes, Mikuru!
Mikuru: Okay.
Haruhi: I have a couple of ideas about the rest of our vacation. Check it out!
Kyon: Two weeks to do all of that?
Haruhi: Is there anything you wanna do, Mikuru?
Mikuru: Umm... I'd like to try goldfish scooping.
Haruhi: Okay! Goldfish scooping it is!
Koizumi: Could I see that? Thank you.
Haruhi: We'll start the list tomorrow! Does anyone know if there's a Bon festival happening close-by or a fireworks show?
Koizumi: I can check and see if there's anything.
Haruhi: Don't forget about goldfish scooping. It's Mikuru's only request.
Koizumi: I'll get right on it.
Kyon: I always get stuck with the bill.
Haruhi: Well, that's it! See ya!
Koizumi: I'm off too.
Mikuru: Bye-bye.
Kyon: Nagato! Uh, it's... I guess it's nothing important. Anyway, how have you been? Is, uh, everything okay?
Yuki: I am fine.
Kyon: Well, that's good to hear.
Yuki: Yes.
Kyon: What the heck? Why'd I wanna talk to her?
Kyon: The next morning, I was waken from my peaceful slumber by a call from Haruhi. She said they found a Bon festival. It was happening tonight at a park somewhere.
Haruhi: We're all gonna go buy yukatas!
Kyon: So, we went to a clothing outlet. Haruhi picked up yukatas for Miss Asahina and Nagato, then march them straight into the changing rooms. After making us wait about an hour or so, they all three finally came out. Wow!
Koizumi: You look wonderful in those.
Haruhi: Of course we do! I picked 'em out myself! Especially, Mikuru's. Look at you, you're so cute! I must be a genius!
Mikuru: Uh, yes.
Kyon: The blushing makes her cuter!
Mikuru: Wow!
Kyon: A Bon festival, huh? It figures that there'd be so crowded. Hm? I haven't been to a Bon festival in a while, but it feels like I just went to one. That tower, those venders...
Haruhi: Look, Mikuru. They've got goldfish scooping, just like you wanted! You're gonna catch a ton!
Koizumi: Do you wanna go scoop some fish? We could have a contest.
Kyon: I think I'll pass. How about you, Nagato? Wanna get some food?
Hm? Don't tell me you're actually into this kind of stuff. I got it.
Yuki: No. That.
Stallkeeper:
It's yours for 800 yen.
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: Wow, what an unbelievable haul! But I only kept one 'cause I don't have any place to keep 'em. And I gave one to Mikuru.
Kyon: Hm?
Haruhi: Go ahead and have one, but only one.
Kyon: Okay. Thanks.
Haruhi: Hey, Yuki. What's up with the mask, huh?
Yuki: I bought it.
Haruhi: Oh, okay. Fireworks! That's what we're gonna do next! We'll go set off some fireworks!
Kyon: Do you even understand the meaning of the word "moderation"?
It was summer, and summer vacation. And I guess that's why I wanted to forget about it. The truth was, I couldn't ignore it any longer.
Haruhi: Tomorrow we're gonna catch some bugs!
Kyon: Haruhi, I don't wanna spoil your fun, but have you finished your homework?
Haruhi: Are you kidding? 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 really 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: Listen up! We're gonna go bug catching tomorrow. And whoever catches the most bugs is gonna get to be Brigade Leader for a whole day!
Kyon: No thanks.
Koizumi: That sounds like fun. But can we catch just any bugs?
Haruhi: Hmm, no... Only cicadas! That's it, I'm calling it the SOS Brigade's Cicada Catching Contest!
Kyon: The next day was beautiful, sunny and bright. And although everyone caught bugs the best way they knew how, 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. You never know, if we let 'em go now, they might return the favor sometime.
Kyon: Now what could a cicada possibly do for me?
Haruhi: Hurry! Go back to the mountains!
Kyon: For some reason, I kind of feel like Pandora opening her box.
Mikuru: W-Welcome to our store!
Kyon: We met the next day even though we had no idea what was going on. Our cluelessness continued as we were made to wear frog costumes and hand balloons out in front of the local supermarket. Welcome to our part-time job.
Mikuru: Whew...
Haruhi: Good work, you guys!
Kyon: What's with that special treatment?
Haruhi: You're the best! The manager's super grateful for all the hard work.
Kyon: Who cares how grateful he is? What about our pay?
Haruhi: That's it.
Kyon: Huh?
Haruhi: I've had my eye on this little guy for a while. The manager gave it to us 'cause Mikuru looks so cute in it.
Kyon: We were working, sweat pouring down our foreheads, for that?
Haruhi: We'll keep him in the clubroom as a souvenir. Mikuru, you have my permission to wear him whenever you want. Isn't he the greatest?
Kyon: Huh...
Kyon: Later that night, my peaceful slumber was interrupted by a phone call.
Dammit.
Mikuru: Ah... Kyon...
Kyon: Miss Asahina?
Mikuru: Yes, it's me. Something really bad... I don't know what to do...
Kyon: What...?
Koizumi: Hello, it's Koizumi.
Kyon: Why are you with Miss Asahina in the middle of the night?
Koizumi: We have a situation here. Do you think you could come meet us right now?
Kyon: Absolutely. Where?
Kyon: Miss Asahina! What happened?
Mikuru: Uh, Kyon... I can't... I can't go back to the future!
Koizumi: I'll explain it the best I can. Currently, we're stuck in a time loop that seems to be infinite.
Kyon: It's hard to believe you're serious with that smile on your face. Come on, Koizumi. Do you realize what you just said?
Koizumi: Of course, I do, more than I want to. Believe me. Earlier, I was having a word with Miss Asahina.
Kyon: Next time, call me when you have a word with her!
Koizumi: And that was when we both realized that something seemed a little off about the current flow of time. Actually, Miss Asahina discovered it. Thanks to her, my suspicions were confirmed.
Kyon: What kind of suspicions?
Koizumi: That we've been reliving the same period of time over and over again.
Kyon: You already said that.
Koizumi: We've been repeating the days between August the seventeenth through the thirty-first. It's a never-ending endless summer. The future doesn't exist in this world anymore. Time stops at September the first. That's the reason Miss Asahina can't travel back to the future. It's only natural.
Kyon: There's nothing natural about not having a future. Who's gonna believe such a thing?
Koizumi: Well, for starters, we were sort of hoping you would believe it.
Mikuru: I can try to help explain it. Here goes. Because I had to "classified information" and used "classified information" to get in touch with the future. But the thing is, I haven't gotten any "classified information" for about a week and I started to think how weird that was. I was so surprised, I "classified information," I really did. But it was "classified information" too. I don't know what to do.
Kyon: I don't know how to help you but I'm wondering, are all the "classified information" things you're talking about stuff you can't say on TV? What about those closed spaces you were talking about before? Maybe we're trapped in one of those?
Koizumi: Uh-uh. It's not one of those. A specific section of time has been torn away. At exactly midnight on August the thirty-first, everything resets. And then time reverts straight back to the morning of August the seventeenth. That's the process.
Kyon: What about our... Wait! What about the whole world's memories?
Koizumi: Their memories reset. Everyone's memory starts over from the beginning.
Kyon: Another problem involving time... Perfect. I guess that figures when there's a time traveler around.
Koizumi: No, Miss Asahina didn't have anything to do with this.
Kyon: Then, what's causing it?
Koizumi: Miss Suzumiya.
Kyon: *sigh*
Koizumi: Somewhere inside her, there's a desire to have summer vacation last forever. I'm sure she doesn't even realize it.
Kyon: Oh, come on! You mean, she still hasn't had enough fun?
Koizumi: That's what it looks like. Perhaps she feels that there's something else that needs to happen before our summer vacation is over.
Kyon: Man, the trouble she gets us into is always galactic in scale. All right, what do you want me to do?
Koizumi: If I knew that, we'd have this problem solved by now.
Kyon: You're too close.
You seem like you're enjoying this. You wanna tell me why?
Koizumi: Please don't take it the wrong way. But this explains the feelings of deja vu I've had, and ones you've been having as well. Now that I think about it, there were most likely the residuum of our memories from every instance where time had been reset.
Kyon: Are we the only ones, or can other people feel this too?
Koizumi: I doubt that. You and I are exceptions to the rule though. The only people who can sense this strangeness are the ones closest to Miss Suzumiya.
Kyon: What about Haruhi? Does she even know this stuff is happening?
Koizumi: No, I don't think so. Besides, it would be very bad for us if she did. However, there is someone who's unaffected by feelings of deja vu. As a matter of fact, this person remembers everything that's happened.
Kyon: Oh, yeah. Who would that person be?
Koizumi: You already know, it's Miss Nagato. The Data Integration Thought Entity transcends space and time, and so does she.
Kyon: Is that true?
Yuki: Yes.
Kyon: Then, you remember everything?
Yuki: Yes.
Kyon: Really. So how many times has this happened to us?
Yuki: This would be 15,498 times.
Kyon: 15,498? What do you mean 15,498? What're you saying, Nagato?
And you're being completely serious.
Yuki: Yes.
Kyon: So you're saying we've done the exact same things every time that many times?
Yuki: Not necessarily. Throughout 15,498 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 9,025 times, and there were six different...
Kyon: Okay, I got it.
15,498, that's what she said... times two weeks, that's... 594 years! She's the only one who remembers everything we did all those times. And she had to repeat them over and over again. Nagato, I can't even begin to imagine what it's been like for you. That's gotta be the craziest story ever.
Kyon: The next night, we went stargazing. We were on the balcony of Nagato's apartment, since her place had the best view. Koizumi brought a telescope.
Haruhi: I wonder if they are real.
Kyon: What's real?
Haruhi: Martians.
Kyon: I kinda hope they aren't.
Haruhi: I can't see anyone on the surface. You know, I bet they're a reserved race of beings, living underground. They're probably friendly, too.
Kyon: Yeah, dream on.
Haruhi: Whenever us humans finally land on Mars, I'm sure that Martians will pop out from wherever they're hiding and say "Welcome to Mars!" or something.
Kyon: It'll get mistaken for an attack.
Haruhi: I'm bored. I'm gonna look for UFOs now.
Kyon: I wish I knew what else she wanted to do?
Koizumi: Yes, what indeed? If we knew that, we'd be on our way to solving this problem. Here's something. Why don't we try this? What if someone were to grab Miss Suzumiya from behind? And then they whisper "I love you" right into her ear.
Kyon: And who's gonna be doing this?
Koizumi: Who else could play that role other than you?
Kyon: I'm vetoing that idea!
Koizumi: All right. Shall I give it a try? No, I'm just kidding. That isn't a role I can play. Besides, it would just confuse Miss Suzumiya.
Kyon: The next day, we swung for the fences at the batting cages.
Hey, Nagato.
You know about this time loop we're in way before Miss Asahina figured it out, didn't you?
Yuki: Yes.
Kyon: So, how come you didn't say anything about it?
Yuki: My function is to observe.
Kyon: Right...
Kyon: We kept chugging along doing all kinds of summer vacation things. We just kept going and going and doing stuff. And the whole time, all I could think was that none of that was going to be enough for Haruhi. What could I do about it? Nothing... So we ended up like we always did at August the thirtieth...
Haruhi: That's it. We've done everything on our list. Hmm... But now I'm wondering if we did enough. If... No, I guess we did. Hey, is there anything else you wanna do? Oh, okay... I guess we did everything we wanted to do this summer, so... that's enough.
Kyon: No, it's not. Not by a long shot. You're still not satisfied.
Haruhi: Okay, we're done for today. I set tomorrow aside just in case, but you can take the day off, I guess. I'll see you guys at the clubroom on Monday.
Kyon: No, wait, Haruhi! There's such a feeling again. It's strong, stronger than all the others. I can't let Haruhi leave. If I let her walk out that door, we'll end up reliving the past two weeks again and again for a thousand more times. But, what should I do? What should I say? There must have been a clue in something Haruhi said. But, what was it? What's she been saying all this time? I don't know... I can't remember...
Kyon: It's August thirty-first. And I still haven't touched my homework yet. Whatever, doesn't matter. There's no point doing it. I mean, we're just gonna keep reliving the last couple of weeks. Whatever happens next, whether tomorrow comes or not, a different version of me will have to do with it.
Something's wrong. That's what it felt like anyway.
The game on TV was between schools from another town.
I had nothing to do with either school, but because I tend to sympathize with underdogs, I found myself rooting for the losing team.
And it was right about then that I suddenly got a feeling Haruhi was going to call.
What does she want?
Kyon's sister:
Your phone's ringing, Kyon.
Kyon:
I know, I know.
Haruhi:
Hey, you're free, right? Good.
Meet us at two o'clock in front of the station.
Don't be late!
Kyon:
I didn't even have a chance to say anything.
What?
Haruhi:
I forgot to tell you 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:
Uh, no.
That was weird. It was like I knew what Haruhi was gonna say before she said it.
Yeah, no. Actually, it felt like we had the exact same conversation before--like deja vu or something.
Kyon:
Summer's almost over, isn't it?
Haruhi:
You're late, Kyon!
Where's your motivation, huh?
Kyon:
Yeah, yeah.
I'm sorry to keep you waiting.
Mikuru:
Oh, I just got here too.
Haruhi:
Now that we're all present and accounted for, we can go!
Kyon:
Where?
Haruhi:
To the public pool! Where do you think?
Kyon:
Figures, considering what I brought.
Haruhi:
We've got lots of summer vacation-y things to do during our break!
But there's only so much time and once it's gone, it's gone for good!
So we're gonna do everything we can while we can during our one and only summer as tenth graders.
And for starters, we're gonna ride bikes over to the pool!
Kyon:
So, did everyone ride their bikes today?
Koizumi:
No, the only bikes we have to take are the ones you and I brought.
Kyon:
Huh?
Haruhi:
All right, Kyon.
Don't let Koizumi beat you over there!
Come on! Full speed ahead!
Kyon:
Boost!
Haruhi:
Come on, guys!
Hurry up and park your bikes already.
We're trying to have fun, Kyon.
Stop acting like you're tired!
Kyon:
And whose fault is that?
Haruhi:
Ah... can you smell the chlorine?
That really makes it feel like summer!
Hurry up and get in!
The water's all warm, it's perfect!
Kyon:
Can't she see the "No Diving" signs? They're everywhere.
Koizumi:
Doesn't that look like fun?
In a way, it makes me smile.
Such a peaceful scene, isn't it?
I mean, seeing Miss Suzumiya enjoy the day in a normal fashion, it's rather charming, don't you think?
Kyon:
She called me, told me what to bring and ordered me to meet her without telling me what was going on.
There's nothing charming or normal about it.
Koizumi:
Well, if you ask me, none of what you mention is anything that makes such a fuss over.
As long as Miss Suzumiya's having a good time, we don't have to worry about any Earth shattering events.
(Haruhi:
Come on! The water feels great.
Mikuru:
It's too cool.
Haruhi:
That's xxx front of me. (xxx)
Mikuru:
Oh it's xxx ... Aaah! )
Kyon:
I hope you're right.
Koizumi:
Hmm?
Kyon:
Something wrong?
Koizumi:
No. It's just my imagination.
With everything that's happened since we met, you could say I've become slightly paranoid.
Kyon:
Hm?
Kyon:
Hot! Hot! So hot!
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.
Haruhi:
Here comes, guys!
Kyon:
Hm?
There's that feeling again.
It's like I've seen this happen once before... with Nagato looking kind of bored like that... alone...
Haruhi:
Kyon!
Kyon:
Uh-huh.
And then Haruhi's supposed to say something like...
Haruhi:
These two guys are my brigade members.
And they do what I say, so if you want something, you can ask them!
It's time to have some fun!
Let's all go play water soccer!
Kyon:
Yeah, yeah.
Oh well, sometimes deja vus happen.
Haruhi:
Here comes, Mikuru!
Mikuru:
Okay.
Haruhi:
I have a couple of ideas about the rest of our vacation.
Check it out!
Kyon:
Two weeks to do all of that?
Haruhi:
Is there anything you wanna do, Mikuru?
Mikuru:
Umm... I'd like to try goldfish scooping.
Haruhi:
Okay! Goldfish scooping it is!
Koizumi:
Could I see that?
Thank you.
Haruhi:
We'll start the list tomorrow!
Does anyone know if there's a Bon festival happening close-by or a fireworks show?
Koizumi:
I can check and see if there's anything.
Haruhi:
Don't forget about goldfish scooping.
It's Mikuru's only request.
Koizumi:
I'll get right on it.
Kyon:
I always get stuck with the bill.
Haruhi:
Well, that's it! See ya!
Koizumi:
I'm off too.
Mikuru:
Bye-bye.
Kyon:
Nagato!
Uh, it's... I guess it's nothing important.
Anyway, how have you been?
Is, uh, everything okay?
Yuki:
I am fine.
Kyon:
Well, that's good to hear.
Yuki:
Yes.
Kyon:
What the heck?
Why'd I wanna talk to her?
Kyon:
The next morning, I was waken from my peaceful slumber by a call from Haruhi.
She said they found a Bon festival.
It was happening tonight at a park somewhere.
Haruhi:
We're all gonna go buy yukatas!
Kyon:
So, we went to a clothing outlet.
Haruhi picked up yukatas for Miss Asahina and Nagato, then march them straight into the changing rooms.
After making us wait about an hour or so, they all three finally came out.
Wow!
Koizumi:
You look wonderful in those.
Haruhi:
Of course we do! I picked 'em out myself!
Especially, Mikuru's.
Look at you, you're so cute! I must be a genius!
Mikuru:
Uh, yes.
Kyon:
The blushing makes her cuter!
Mikuru:
Wow!
Kyon:
A Bon festival, huh?
It figures that there'd be so crowded. Hm?
I haven't been to a Bon festival in a while, but it feels like I just went to one.
That tower, those venders...
Haruhi:
Look, Mikuru. They've got goldfish scooping, just like you wanted!
You're gonna catch a ton!
Koizumi:
Do you wanna go scoop some fish?
We could have a contest.
Kyon:
I think I'll pass.
How about you, Nagato? Wanna get some food?
Hm?
Don't tell me you're actually into this kind of stuff.
I got it.
Yuki:
No.
That.
Stallkeeper:
It's yours for 800 yen.
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:
Wow, what an unbelievable haul!
But I only kept one 'cause I don't have any place to keep 'em.
And I gave one to Mikuru.
Kyon:
Hm?
Haruhi:
Go ahead and have one, but only one.
Kyon:
Okay. Thanks.
Haruhi:
Hey, Yuki.
What's up with the mask, huh?
Yuki:
I bought it.
Haruhi:
Oh, okay.
Fireworks! That's what we're gonna do next!
We'll go set off some fireworks!
Kyon:
Do you even understand the meaning of the word "moderation"?
It was summer, and summer vacation.
And I guess that's why I wanted to forget about it.
The truth was, I couldn't ignore it any longer.
Haruhi:
Tomorrow we're gonna catch some bugs!
Kyon:
Haruhi, I don't wanna spoil your fun, but have you finished your homework?
Haruhi:
Are you kidding? 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 really 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:
Listen up! We're gonna go bug catching tomorrow.
And whoever catches the most bugs is gonna get to be Brigade Leader for a whole day!
Kyon:
No thanks.
Koizumi:
That sounds like fun.
But can we catch just any bugs?
Haruhi:
Hmm, no... Only cicadas!
That's it, I'm calling it the SOS Brigade's Cicada Catching Contest!
Kyon:
The next day was beautiful, sunny and bright.
And although everyone caught bugs the best way they knew how, 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.
You never know, if we let 'em go now, they might return the favor sometime.
Kyon:
Now what could a cicada possibly do for me?
Haruhi:
Hurry! Go back to the mountains!
Kyon:
For some reason, I kind of feel like Pandora opening her box.
Mikuru:
W-Welcome to our store!
Kyon:
We met the next day even though we had no idea what was going on.
Our cluelessness continued as we were made to wear frog costumes and hand balloons out in front of the local supermarket.
Welcome to our part-time job.
Mikuru:
Whew...
Haruhi:
Good work, you guys!
Kyon:
What's with that special treatment?
Haruhi:
You're the best! The manager's super grateful for all the hard work.
Kyon:
Who cares how grateful he is? What about our pay?
Haruhi:
That's it.
Kyon:
Huh?
Haruhi:
I've had my eye on this little guy for a while.
The manager gave it to us 'cause Mikuru looks so cute in it.
Kyon:
We were working, sweat pouring down our foreheads, for that?
Haruhi:
We'll keep him in the clubroom as a souvenir.
Mikuru, you have my permission to wear him whenever you want.
Isn't he the greatest?
Kyon:
Huh...
Kyon:
Later that night, my peaceful slumber was interrupted by a phone call.
Dammit.
Mikuru:
Ah... Kyon...
Kyon:
Miss Asahina?
Mikuru:
Yes, it's me.
Something really bad... I don't know what to do...
Kyon:
What...?
Koizumi:
Hello, it's Koizumi.
Kyon:
Why are you with Miss Asahina in the middle of the night?
Koizumi:
We have a situation here.
Do you think you could come meet us right now?
Kyon:
Absolutely. Where?
Kyon:
Miss Asahina! What happened?
Mikuru:
Uh, Kyon... I can't...
I can't go back to the future!
Koizumi:
I'll explain it the best I can.
Currently, we're stuck in a time loop that seems to be infinite.
Kyon:
It's hard to believe you're serious with that smile on your face.
Come on, Koizumi. Do you realize what you just said?
Koizumi:
Of course, I do, more than I want to. Believe me.
Earlier, I was having a word with Miss Asahina.
Kyon:
Next time, call me when you have a word with her!
Koizumi:
And that was when we both realized that something seemed a little off about the current flow of time.
Actually, Miss Asahina discovered it.
Thanks to her, my suspicions were confirmed.
Kyon:
What kind of suspicions?
Koizumi:
That we've been reliving the same period of time over and over again.
Kyon:
You already said that.
Koizumi:
We've been repeating the days between August the seventeenth through the thirty-first.
It's a never-ending endless summer.
The future doesn't exist in this world anymore.
Time stops at September the first.
That's the reason Miss Asahina can't travel back to the future.
It's only natural.
Kyon:
There's nothing natural about not having a future.
Who's gonna believe such a thing?
Koizumi:
Well, for starters, we were sort of hoping you would believe it.
Mikuru:
I can try to help explain it. Here goes.
Because I had to "classified information" and used "classified information" to get in touch with the future.
But the thing is, I haven't gotten any "classified information" for about a week and I started to think how weird that was.
I was so surprised, I "classified information," I really did.
But it was "classified information" too.
I don't know what to do.
Kyon:
I don't know how to help you but I'm wondering, are all the "classified information" things you're talking about stuff you can't say on TV?
What about those closed spaces you were talking about before?
Maybe we're trapped in one of those?
Koizumi:
Uh-uh. It's not one of those.
A specific section of time has been torn away.
At exactly midnight on August the thirty-first, everything resets.
And then time reverts straight back to the morning of August the seventeenth.
That's the process.
Kyon:
What about our... Wait!
What about the whole world's memories?
Koizumi:
Their memories reset.
Everyone's memory starts over from the beginning.
Kyon:
Another problem involving time... Perfect.
I guess that figures when there's a time traveler around.
Koizumi:
No, Miss Asahina didn't have anything to do with this.
Kyon:
Then, what's causing it?
Koizumi:
Miss Suzumiya.
Kyon:
*sigh*
Koizumi:
Somewhere inside her, there's a desire to have summer vacation last forever.
I'm sure she doesn't even realize it.
Kyon:
Oh, come on! You mean, she still hasn't had enough fun?
Koizumi:
That's what it looks like.
Perhaps she feels that there's something else that needs to happen before our summer vacation is over.
Kyon:
Man, the trouble she gets us into is always galactic in scale.
All right, what do you want me to do?
Koizumi:
If I knew that, we'd have this problem solved by now.
Kyon:
You're too close.
You seem like you're enjoying this.
You wanna tell me why?
Koizumi:
Please don't take it the wrong way.
But this explains the feelings of deja vu I've had, and ones you've been having as well.
Now that I think about it, there were most likely the residuum of our memories from every instance where time had been reset.
Kyon:
Are we the only ones, or can other people feel this too?
Koizumi:
I doubt that. You and I are exceptions to the rule though.
The only people who can sense this strangeness are the ones closest to Miss Suzumiya.
Kyon:
What about Haruhi? Does she even know this stuff is happening?
Koizumi:
No, I don't think so. Besides, it would be very bad for us if she did.
However, there is someone who's unaffected by feelings of deja vu.
As a matter of fact, this person remembers everything that's happened.
Kyon:
Oh, yeah. Who would that person be?
Koizumi:
You already know, it's Miss Nagato.
The Data Integration Thought Entity transcends space and time, and so does she.
Kyon:
Is that true?
Yuki:
Yes.
Kyon:
Then, you remember everything?
Yuki:
Yes.
Kyon:
Really. So how many times has this happened to us?
Yuki:
This would be 15,498 times.
Kyon:
15,498? What do you mean 15,498? What're you saying, Nagato?
And you're being completely serious.
Yuki:
Yes.
Kyon:
So you're saying we've done the exact same things every time that many times?
Yuki:
Not necessarily.
Throughout 15,498 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 9,025 times, and there were six different...
Kyon:
Okay, I got it.
15,498, that's what she said... times two weeks, that's... 594 years!
She's the only one who remembers everything we did all those times.
And she had to repeat them over and over again.
Nagato, I can't even begin to imagine what it's been like for you.
That's gotta be the craziest story ever.
Kyon:
The next night, we went stargazing.
We were on the balcony of Nagato's apartment, since her place had the best view.
Koizumi brought a telescope.
Haruhi:
I wonder if they are real.
Kyon:
What's real?
Haruhi:
Martians.
Kyon:
I kinda hope they aren't.
Haruhi:
I can't see anyone on the surface.
You know, I bet they're a reserved race of beings, living underground.
They're probably friendly, too.
Kyon:
Yeah, dream on.
Haruhi:
Whenever us humans finally land on Mars, I'm sure that Martians will pop out from wherever they're hiding and say "Welcome to Mars!" or something.
Kyon:
It'll get mistaken for an attack.
Haruhi:
I'm bored. I'm gonna look for UFOs now.
Kyon:
I wish I knew what else she wanted to do?
Koizumi:
Yes, what indeed?
If we knew that, we'd be on our way to solving this problem.
Here's something. Why don't we try this?
What if someone were to grab Miss Suzumiya from behind?
And then they whisper "I love you" right into her ear.
Kyon:
And who's gonna be doing this?
Koizumi:
Who else could play that role other than you?
Kyon:
I'm vetoing that idea!
Koizumi:
All right. Shall I give it a try?
No, I'm just kidding. That isn't a role I can play.
Besides, it would just confuse Miss Suzumiya.
Kyon:
The next day, we swung for the fences at the batting cages.
Hey, Nagato.
You know about this time loop we're in way before Miss Asahina figured it out, didn't you?
Yuki:
Yes.
Kyon:
So, how come you didn't say anything about it?
Yuki:
My function is to observe.
Kyon:
Right...
Kyon:
We kept chugging along doing all kinds of summer vacation things.
We just kept going and going and doing stuff.
And the whole time, all I could think was that none of that was going to be enough for Haruhi.
What could I do about it? Nothing...
So we ended up like we always did at August the thirtieth...
Haruhi:
That's it. We've done everything on our list.
Hmm... But now I'm wondering if we did enough.
If... No, I guess we did.
Hey, is there anything else you wanna do?
Oh, okay...
I guess we did everything we wanted to do this summer, so... that's enough.
Kyon:
No, it's not. Not by a long shot. You're still not satisfied.
Haruhi:
Okay, we're done for today.
I set tomorrow aside just in case, but you can take the day off, I guess.
I'll see you guys at the clubroom on Monday.
Kyon:
No, wait, Haruhi!
There's such a feeling again. It's strong, stronger than all the others.
I can't let Haruhi leave.
If I let her walk out that door, we'll end up reliving the past two weeks again and again for a thousand more times.
But, what should I do? What should I say?
There must have been a clue in something Haruhi said.
But, what was it? What's she been saying all this time?
I don't know... I can't remember...
Kyon:
It's August thirty-first.
And I still haven't touched my homework yet.
Whatever, doesn't matter.
There's no point doing it.
I mean, we're just gonna keep reliving the last couple of weeks.
Whatever happens next, whether tomorrow comes or not, a different version of me will have to do with it.