Interation 9,183
"This would be the 9,183rd time." Nagato planely said. Diziness set in. We've gone through these same two weeks over nine thousand times?
""The same two weeks have repeated for more than nine thousand times. Assuming any layperson could feel that they were trapped in this loop and memory accumulated, they would break down. As for the memories of Suzumiya-san, I suspect that they must have been wiped much more thoroughly than ours." Koizumi theorized. No doubt. If I were to repeat the same two weeks over and over, no doubt it would take a heavy toll on my already strained sanity.
Wasn't there a movie about such a person? I believe it was a comedy with some American actor, a large rodent, and the 2nd of February…
"I can't think of anything positive to come of experiencing such an ordeal so many times." I sighed.
"Well, now, I wouldn't put it that way. If you did remember all that occurred, we could ensure that no mistakes or misfortunes would occur." The smiling philosopher began. "And, if we knew the summer would definitely change, than any action we took would lack long term consequences."
Okay, I admit, the thought of doing whatever I wished appealed to me a tad. Maybe on the thirtieth, I'll visit Koizumi's house and staple his always smiling mouth shut. Nagato looked at Koizumi with a strange variation of the emotionaless face she wears.
"Regardless, we need a way to fix this before we go insane…"
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My motionless body stared off into space as I lay on my bed. Even with the knowledge of what we were going to do these past few days, it didn't stop it from being that much exhausting. How could Haruhi desire for more? I barely had enough energy to crawl into bed last night. Thank goodness she allowed us the last day of summer to rest. Lazily, I let my head fall in the direction of my mountain of homework, still untouched. What a pain. Should I even bother? Odds are Haruhi's just going to reset the summer clock again.
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I stayed in my room until my sister dragged me to dinner. Afterwords, my cell rang. What could it be now? Can't I just enjoy my last few hours in peace before I do it all over again? I flipped open my phone and listened.
"…"
"Hello?"
"…" A dead silence was on the other end. That could only mean one person.
"That you, Nagato?"
"Yes." She replied.
"Is there something wrong?" I wondered. I didn't know if I had the energy for anything else.
"There is nothing the matter. However, I would like your presence." That's odd. Usually a call from Nagato meant some sort of disaster that for some reason only I could avert. But after all I owe that alien, there was no way I could deny her anything.
"Alright, I'll be right over." I told her. I imagined her nodding once before she hung up. Groaning in fatigue, I raised my body from my bed and headed for the door.
It took me a bit longer to reach Nagato's apartment complex than usual. Once there, I pressed the intercom for room 708. "Yo, Nagato." A buzzing was heard and I made my way inside. All the while I was thinking: What could she want? There must be something the matter, or she would have never have contacted me. I wonder if she called Asahina-san and Koizumi too?
The door opened as soon as I reached it. As per usual, Yuki was in her school uniform and cardigan. I have no clue how she can stand wearing so many layers in this summer heat. She turned around, signaling me to follow. "So, what's up?"
"I have been considering what Itsuki Koizumi said on the afternoon of August 22nd." Let's see… that was the day we discovered the timeloop, right? But Koizumi said a LOT of things that day. What specifically? "About the absence of long-term consequences for actions taken."
Okay, what about it? She couldn't possibly think I'd actually do something rash and risk aggrivating Haruhi's power? Even if we were to reset to the 17th, I don't think I'd be willing to risk that. Nagato was still, looking at me with a conflicted gaze. The silence stood for about five minutes. "Is… is there something you want?"
Nagato lowered her eyes to a book resting on the table between us. "…Read with me?" She asked purely.
I confess, I was aastonished. Nagato has never been this active in anything. Could this be because of what Koizumi was talking about earlier? Could it be that Nagato wanted to do somehting she knew no one would remember?
Doesn't that include me? I gazed at the still goddess, whos eyes were still avoiding mine. Right now, at this moment, she seemed very human. And she looked so beautiful this way. Who am I to refuse such a request?
"Sure thing." I smiled. Nagato looked up, calmly took the book and walked over to my side of the table, sitting down right next to me, practically on my lap. Opening the book, she looked up at me. I was reminded of that gaze when I held her in my arms after she saved me from Asakura.
Taking a hint, I held the book and we began reading. When I finished a page, Nagato let me know it was okay to flip. She probably read at a much higher speed than me anyways. The story was a standard highschool slice of life plot, with normal students living a normal life. Despite that, it was actually pretty entertaining.
Although, I was finding it difficult to concentrate on the book. Nagato was helping me hold the tome, and her small cool hand gently supported mine. Somehow, she got closer to me, and I put my arm around her so we could both see the pages comfortably. This of course, tucked the small girl against my side, thus adding more fuel to my burning flames of passion. After all, Nagato was by no means unattractive. And with her head leaning against my shoulder, her thighs resting agianst mine (and due to her skirt, mainly exposed…), I couldn't control my pounding heart.
I have never known Nagato to be this… affectionate. Then again, I've never known her to actively express her desires either. Usually I have to go by subtle eyelash changes to know what she wants. I glanced down at her pure face, and I could tell that she was the happiest she's ever been. I couldn't resist tightening my grip on her, giving her a resemblence of a hug.
We were nearing the end of the light novel when Nagato spoke. "It is time." Time? Oh crap! I lost all track of it! I was practically midnight, and no doubt my mother would be furious. "No need. In 12.4 seconds, Haruhi Suzumiya will be distorting the temporal flow with 100% certainty." She said. Oh, I suppose I could calm down then. Nagato looked up at me with that new familiar expresion. "… Thank you for tonight." She almost whispered and leaned up to me.
Her lips, like her hands, felt refreshingly cool against mine. I went wide-eyed for a moment, but since I only had about 2 seconds before everything reset, I decided not to think and instinctfully returned the kiss.
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"This would be the 9,184th time."
""The same two weeks have repeated for more than nine thousand times. Assuming any layperson could feel that they were trapped in this loop and memory accumulated, they would break down. As for the memories of Suzumiya-san, I suspect that they must have been wiped much more thoroughly than ours." Koizumi theorized.
"I can't think of anything positive to come of experiencing such an ordeal so many times." I sighed.
"Well, now, I wouldn't put it that way. If you did remember all that occurred, we could ensure that no mistakes or misfortunes would occur." The smiling philosopher began. "And, if we knew the summer would definitely change, than any action we took would lack long term consequences."
I wonder how many times we've had this conversation? I wonder how many times Nagato had to deal with this. I glanced over at the still alien, and instead of her usual blank stare of boredom, when Koizumi finished speaking, she looked… lonely. Very sad, and very lonely. But, was there another emotion of hapiness mixed in that still face too? It's probably just my imagination.
End