The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Read Online Free PDF Page B

jab to my spine brought me back as I listened in a daze to the voice of a biology teacher who reminded me of the Marshmallow Man.
    “What are you doing? Class already started. Return to your classroom.”
    Guess I was so out of it that I didn’t even hear the bell. Nobody else was in the hallway as the teacher’s voice rang out from the 1-7 classroom.
    I slowly began to move. No more time for confirming the omen.It had already happened. A person was here who shouldn’t be. People who should be here weren’t. Swapping Asakura for Haruhi, Koizumi, and everybody else in class 1-9 couldn’t be considered a fair trade.
    “What the heck?”
    If I hadn’t gone crazy, the world had.
    Who was responsible?
    Was it you, Haruhi?
    As a result, I wasn’t listening to a single word during my afternoon classes. Every voice and sound passed right through my ears without leaving any data in my brain cells. The next thing I knew homeroom was over, and so was class for the day.
    I was frightened. Not by Asakura, scribbling away with a mechanical pencil in the seat behind mine, but by the fact that Haruhi and Koizumi weren’t at school. I was too scared to even ask other people for confirmation. Every time I heard the words “Don’t recognize that name,” I found myself sinking deeper into a bottomless swamp. I couldn’t muster the energy to lift myself from my chair.
    Taniguchi immediately left the classroom with Kunikida, who was probably worried about me, while Asakura walked out with a group of laughing girls. She turned to me as she went out the door with a look of genuine concern for a classmate who wasn’t well. That only made my head hurt more. This was wrong. Everything was wrong.
    I finally grabbed my bag and stepped into the hallway as I followed the people on cleaning duty out of the classroom.
    Either way, this wasn’t where I should be after school.
    I trudged down the stairs in low spirits and when I reached the first floor, I spotted a glimmer of hope and took off running.
    “Asahina!”
    Nothing could have made me happier. My goddess/eye-balm was walking toward me. Even better, the baby-faced and well-endowed beauty was accompanied by Tsuruya. I was overwhelmed with joy.
    —I’m pretty sure that I should have been a little more careful.
    I raced over to the two upperclassmen at an incredible speed and grabbed the wide-eyed Asahina by her shoulders.
    “Wah!”
    I saw the surprise on her face, but my mouth had a mind of its own.
    “Haruhi’s gone! Koizumi’s been
Drifting Classroom
ed! I haven’t checked on Nagato yet, but Asakura’s here and the entire school is weird. You are my Asahina, right?”
    Slip, slam.
That was the sound of Asahina’s bag and calligraphy set hitting the floor.
    “What? Ah, um. Wait. Er. Huh…”
    “I mean, you’re the Asahina from the future, right?”
    Then came Asahina’s response.
    “… Future? What do you mean? Could you please let me… go?”
    I could feel my stomach turn as Asahina looked at me the way a domesticated impala would look at a wild jaguar. She was clearly frightened. The last sight I ever wanted to see.
    As I stood dumbfounded, my arm was twisted upward. I heard some disturbing sounds from my joints. That hurts.
    “Hold on a minute, young man!”
    Tsuruya was using some kind of ancient martial arts technique on my arm.
    “You gotta take it slower. Look, our Mikuru’s all scared now.”
    Her tone was light, but her eyes were like daggers. On a closer look, Asahina was certainly backing away with teary eyes.



“Are you a freshman in the Mikuru Fan Club? Everything has a certain procedure to follow. You shouldn’t rush things.”
    That would be the umpteenth chill down my spine today. My arm was still locked by hers.
    “Uh, Tsuruya…?”
    Tsuruya stared at me as if I were a complete stranger.
    Et tu
, Tsuruya?
    “Hmm? You know me? And who are you anyway? An acquaintance of Mikuru’s?”
    I refused to believe my eyes. Asahina hiding behind Tsuruya