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Six Characters in Search of Suzumiya Haruhi – Act One

3

"I see you're back to your usual self again," said Morimura.

"Uh-huh." I beamed at him before taking my sign and strolling away to the shop entrance. There was a faint musical sound in the air. I wondered what it was, and then realised that I had unconsciously been humming the same tune I had picked up from Ryouko the night before. Well, it was certainly catchy.

Throughout the morning, at odd intervals I caught myself humming again, and had to stop and remind myself that I was at work. Fortunately, the customers never seemed to mind; I got a few surprised looks, but mostly they just greeted me with their usual friendly smiles.

At the end of the day, Morimura grinned at me as he gave me my pay. "Take care of yourself, won't you, Mikuru-chan?" he said. "I want to keep seeing your smile."

"You will," I said. "I promise."

Ryouko and her friend Tomomi were outside the shop, waiting for me. I must admit, I was relieved that no-one else was joining us; with someone as popular as Ryouko, I felt you could never be quite sure. I bowed to them both, and smiled, keeping my eyes on Tomomi; I couldn't help remembering how Ryouko's other friends had laughed at me. But Tomomi seemed content and carefree; and when Ryouko greeted me with a beaming smile, my worries faded like sakura petals in the wind.

This time, although we started down the main road that led towards the Tower, we turned left long before we came near it. A long road stretched out ahead of us, the buildings around it rising higher and higher as it receded towards the city centre in the distance. Above us, the top floors were painted in bright reds and blues with names I had never heard of, strange words that might have come from a magical incantation. Down below, all along the road were shop fronts, so many of them, and each one stretched out so far that it was hard to take it all in. Suddenly I understood why our little shopping strip was having so much difficulty attracting customers.

"Come on!" Ryouko called out. She was almost skipping ahead, she seemed so eager.

I tried to keep up with her. But I felt like my heart was being wrenched away, dragged back towards the shop windows with their bewildering array of colours, a rainbow of hats and dresses and notebooks and watch-straps. The sounds of the street faded away as I stood there, mesmerised.

And then Ryouko's voice beside me brought me back.

"Don't worry. We're going somewhere that's even more exciting."

"Really?"

"Trust me."

I followed in silence, still half in a trance. And then, suddenly appearing in between two rather dull shops full of cameras and music players, I caught sight of a display of dolls, elegant and amazingly lifelike down to the ribbons in their hair, the folds in their dresses and the markings on their swords. I gasped in awe and threw myself at the window, crouching so I could gaze into their tiny, beautiful eyes.

Ryouko tapped me on the shoulder. "Come on."

"But... they're so beautiful..."

"Liking dolls at your age isn't cool, Mikuru-chan."

I couldn't look round. "Does that matter? I don't feel very cool..."

"You'll learn," she said. "That's what we're here for – right, Tomomi?"

"Right!" cried the other girl. "Your own mother won't know you after we've given you a makeover!"

"I don't have a mother..."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tomomi said casually. "Who do you live with, then?"

"With Suzuki-san at the stationery shop."

"Suzuki-san? Is that your grandfather or something?"

"Um... I don't think he is..."

Tomomi and Ryouko shared a baffled glance. Fortunately, Ryouko seemed to decide it was high time I was spared from Tomomi's barrage of questions.

"Now, where shall we go first?" she said to herself. "The first thing is to get you some decent clothes..."

"Let's take her to Oomaru," said Tomomi.

"Of course!" Ryouko clapped her hands with delight.

"Oomaru?" I said. "Where's that?"

Ryouko laughed. "Oh, just you wait and see!"

We came to a bridge over a little canal. I stopped, and leant over the parapet for a while, staring at the water as it made its way in slow ripples, going west toward the sea. It was an eerie reminder of just how small my world was: we had not been walking for half an hour, and already we were further from home than I had ever been in my life.

Ryouko stopped and waited beside me. She was patient, but I knew she wanted us to keep moving. And yet, I hesitated. Somehow, I felt as if stepping over the bridge would be an irrevocable step into a world that was not mine, in which I would be an alien. And I just couldn't be sure whether this was really what I wanted.

"Come on, you guys!" Tomomi called after us.

And just like that, I felt my feet hurrying onward, and the bridge was behind us.

I could tell that we were nearing our destination: the crowds of shoppers grew thick around us, and Ryouko and Tomomi seemed about to break into a run as their excitement welled up. At the next junction, they slid to a halt, and Ryouko grabbed me and turned me towards the west. "Isn't it gorgeous?" she said.

I was looking down a vast street – compared to this, the Iwaigawa Shopping Strip may as well have been a small village store. The street was crammed – mostly with young people, scurrying up and down and bouncing each other like pachinko bumpers with bunches of bags that sprouted from their hips and shoulders. To either side of the street were the shop-fronts, enormous walls of glass, their displays so vibrant with colour that it hurt to look at them. And in between the shops, stairways ran up to yet more shops, drawing the eye in all directions until I was so absorbed that I forgot I was still standing on the street, watching from a distance. It was as if the whole city had transformed around me.

And then I felt Ryouko's touch on my hand, and she was dragging me into the miasma, genially calling out "Sumimasen!" to the startled shoppers as we passed, in a way that clearly meant, "Don't mind my clumsy friend – she's new here, so please be nice to her!"

Then we came to an intersection. Stretched around the corner to our left was a gleaming golden shop, light beaming out of rows of narrow windows like the ranks of a gigantic pipe organ. Above the entrance was the name "Oomaru". Ryouko drew a deep breath as she took in the sight; and then we were running forward. The doorman bowed to us, and the doors opened with a slow and ominous creak.

"Just feel this!" Ryouko cried, pushing a swath of electric blue fabric into my face. I felt it. It was smooth and sensuous, like running your fingers over a particularly fine peach as you prepare to savour it.

"How much...," I stammered. I was going to ask, how much should I be paying just to be allowed to touch this; but I couldn't get any more out. It would have sounded silly.

"And this!" Ryouko was already out of sight, her voice sinking into a sea of fabric. "Feel it! Smell it! Over here, Mikuru-chan!"

I did my best to follow. I even tried to look round for Tomomi, thinking she might be slightly more cool-headed than Ryouko, or at least than this version of Ryouko. But there was no sign of her.

When I finally caught up with Ryouko, she was so deep inside the store that I could no longer see the windows. She stood with a belt in her hands, a black leather belt with silver rings around the buckle-holes.

"Are you going to buy that, Ryouko-chan?"

"I mustn't," she said. "But if I just hold it a while, so that some of my love flows into it, then it's a little bit mine, isn't it?"

I tried to think of a response; fortunately, I was saved by Tomomi's reappearance. She glided towards us, with red ribbons flowing all around her. They were attached to some sort of bodice made of sun-coloured bands, wrapped around each other like the bandages of an Egyptian mummy. Below this was a green and yellow skirt, ripped apart to leave one leg showing, its lower edge jagged like a child's drawing of a flower.

"Impressive," said Ryouko. "You bought that just now?"

"Yeah. I've had my eye on it for a long time."

"It's very cool. But don't forget that we're here for Mikuru-chan."

"Oh yeah."

Ryouko stood, holding the belt, for a long while.

"We're here for Mikuru-chan," she said again. And she put the belt back on its hook, and drifted away with a dazed look in her eyes.

"They have some nice tops on the second floor, Mikuru-chan," said Tomomi. "I think that might be more your thing..."

"Um... are they expensive?"

"That doesn't matter," Ryouko said quickly. "This is our treat."

"But... but I can't let you..."

Ryouko sighed. "Listen. It's not uncool to accept whatever help you can get in life. That's how most of us got to where we are. The ones who try to go it alone are the ones who don't make it."

I said nothing.

We came to the top of the escalator, and I looked around. There was so much to see that I had no idea how Tomomi could make sense of it all, could even know where to begin looking.

"Over here," said Tomomi. She leafed through a clothing rack, and pulled out a black-and-white maid costume. "Ryouko-chan, don't you think this would suit our Mikuru?"

"Perhaps a bit too well," said Ryouko.

I just stared into the distance. I couldn't bear to look at that thing or think about wearing it. But I didn't feel I could say anything, when they were being so kind – they had even insisted on paying for me.

Tomomi was unfazed. "Well, how about this, then?" She drew out a shrine maiden's outfit, white shirt and red trousers.

"Nice one." Ryouko looked from the costume to me, and from me back to the costume again. "Nah, Mikuru doesn't really give me that spiritual vibe, if you know what I mean."

Tomomi looked disappointed, but she nodded and bent down to have another look along the rail. "Well, how about this, then?"

This turned out to be a pink-and-white frilly apron, with a padded front to emphasise the wearer's breasts. I squirmed.

"Perfect!" cried Ryouko. "The ideal blend of strong and sexy – combat waitress Mikuru-chan!" Her voice plummeted like a solemn gong. "Buy it."

"But..."

Tomomi never heard me. She was already miles away.

"Now, what else?" said Ryouko, glancing around. "We'll have to get you some new shoes. And then there's make-up, jewellery..."

"Ryouko-chan!"

She looked back at me. "Yes?"

"I... I can't let you do all this!"

"Why not?" She looked bewildered. "Don't you understand, Mikuru-chan? I love shopping, but even I get tired of it when I'm only buying things for myself. Can't you see that sometimes, I have the urge to do something for someone else... someone who'd really appreciate it?"

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't deny that I really did appreciate her kindness. At the same time, I was horribly conscious that if I'd had the amount of money she was preparing to spend on me, I certainly wouldn't have chosen to spend it on clothes. What would I have liked to buy? I had no idea. I didn't know what I wanted. And, listening to Ryouko expound her love of clothes, I realised for the first time that not to know what one wants is not to know who one truly is.

"Hey, you look sad," said Ryouko. "How about a chocolate parfait before we go to the next shop?"

And how could I refuse an offer like that?

The next Saturday was the day chosen for my formal induction into Ryouko's group of friends – I wasn't sure whether to call it a gang or a club. I would have loved to ask Ryouko for more details, in the hope that it would make me less nervous; but I hadn't seen her since our shopping expedition. However, she had promised to call for me as soon as I finished work on Saturday; and somehow, I knew she would be there. Sure enough, no sooner had my shift finished and I had gone to collect my pay than she was there, smiling in the doorway, waiting patiently.

As we went back together to my apartment, I kept glancing nervously at the bag she was carrying; I knew what had to be in it. One or twice, Ryouko caught me doing this, and grinned.

"Would you like some tea?" I said when we reached my room.

But Ryouko wasn't to be put off her purpose. She knelt down gracefully, and got out the combat waitress outfit. I stared at it for a while in silence.

"Is something wrong?" said Ryouko.

"No... it's just... well, I don't know if it really suits me, if you know what I mean..."

"I know that feeling," said Ryouko. "It's often like that when you get something new. But I promise you, you'll soon get used to it."

"But... why do I have to? Can't I just..." I trailed off as I saw the disappointed look in Ryouko's eyes.

"Mikuru-chan, how many times have I told you? You have to be cool."

I sighed, and reached across to take the waitress costume. I held it up to the light, and looked it over once more. "Ryouko-chan," I said, "this just doesn't look cool to me..."

"It's all in the way you wear it," Ryouko said firmly.

"Well, in that case, couldn't I wear my bunny girl outfit in the same way?"

Ryouko shook her head. "You've been wearing it for work all day. You'd have to change into a different mindset to wear it for the evening, and that's much more difficult than just changing clothes. I'm not saying work clothes can't be cool, Mikuru-chan, but it takes a lot of effort."

"All right," I said uneasily. I didn't understand what Ryouko was saying, but one thing was abundantly clear, and that was that I had no real choice. Perhaps her world would always be beyond my comprehension.

So I closed my eyes and allowed her to dress me, which she did with much talk about straps and buckles that vanished from my memory as soon as it went in. Finally, she was finished, and stepped back to take a good look at me. I could do nothing but stand still and wait for the verdict.

"Perfect!" she said at last.

"You... you really think so?"

"I do. It's astounding. You're really going to wow the crowds, Mikuru-chan!"

"Well, if you say so," I said. "Um... let's go, then."

"Don't you want to have a look in the mirror?"

I shook my head firmly. I knew that if I did, I just wouldn't have the courage to set foot through the door.

Ryouko seemed disappointed, but she still took my arm and gave me one of those warm smiles of hers that made me feel sure things were going to be all right.

"Let's go, then," she said.

We went once more down the main road, but again we did not take the turning that led towards the Tower. Instead, we continued past the railway station, until we reached an intersection with another road that ran steeply downhill to the right. Just before the slope fell away, there was the gate of a temple, an arch of dark brown wood carved in byzantine curves. To my astonishment, Ryouko went straight through this gate and up the stairs beyond.

"Ryouko-chan?" I said. "Is this temple..."

"This is our meeting-place. Come on inside!"

I had misgivings about entering such a sacred space, especially in my waitress costume; but Ryouko's words were a clear invitation. I took off my shoes and followed her inside.

We came into a wide square hall; a raised platform stood in the centre, and a brazier of red gold stood on it and provided the room with a mellow light. Around the platform, kneeling in the shadows, were a hundred boys and girls – though I noticed there were no adults. All of them were clothed in garments of fantastic colours, some in ceremonial robes, others in casual clothes or even fancy costumes. It was a most bewildering sight.

Ryouko found us a space in the middle of the crowd, and we waited, like the rest of the room, in silence.

After no more than a minute, a door at the back of the room opened, and two girls came in. Everyone bowed their heads, and I quickly did the same. Of the two girls, the one in front wore a smart cream shirt and brown trousers that went well with her gold-coloured hair. She was not stunningly beautiful, not in the same way Ryouko was; but her pale face was lit up by a childlike smile that gave her a most pleasant aura. The other girl was dressed in a school uniform; she had green hair, and carried a sheaf of official-looking papers.

"Thank you," the first girl said to the room in general. She had a lovely melodious voice.

All around me, I sensed that the others were lifting themselves up from their obeisance. I did the same.

The girl clapped her hands.

"This meeting of the Senshi of Style Brigade will now begin!"