Free The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa

real?”
    “For real.”
    She had a serious look on her face.
    That was awfully simple. But I’m not naive enough to takeeverything she says at face value. I need some kind of confirmation. Maybe I should check the time.
    I was about to mention this when I suddenly noticed a weight on my left shoulder. I flinched. Asahina’s head rested on my shoulder. A sound-asleep Asahina was leaning on me. What exactly does she mean by this?
    “Asahina?”
    No response.
    “Excuse me…”
    “Zzz…”
    Zzz?
    I turned my head about eighty-five degrees to the left to find Asahina with her lips half-parted and breathing softly as she slept. What the what?
    Rustle, rustle
—
    Out of nowhere, the bushes behind me began to rustle and my heart began to pound. What the what?
    “Is she sound asleep?”
    The person who spoke as she emerged from the dark foliage was… another Asahina.
    “Ah, Kyon. Good evening.”
    It was the gorgeous version of Asahina. The Asahina who had developed in all sorts of places and was a number of years older than the one sleeping next to me. A young, beautiful woman who retained her adorability despite filling out in a positive way. I’d met her once before. As she walked toward us, she wore the same white blouse and tight deep blue miniskirt she had back then.
    “He-he. From this perspective…”
    The adult version of Asahina poked the sleeping Asahina’s cheek.
    “I look like a child.”
    Asahina (Big) reached her hand out to familiarly touch Asahina (Small)’s sailor uniform.
    “Was this how I looked back then?”
    As I felt Asahina (Small) softly breathing on my arm, I could only look up at Asahina (Big) in a daze without moving a muscle.
    “It was her role to guide you to this point. It is my role to guide you from here on.”
    I stupidly attempted to question the smiling and voluptuous Asahina.
    “Uh… What’s going on here…?”
    “I can’t give you any details. Because they’re classified. So I can only ask nicely.”
    I turned to look at the snoozing Asahina leaning against me.
    “I put her to sleep. I couldn’t allow her to see me.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I didn’t run into myself when I was at this point in time.”
    Reasoning that sort of made sense, but not really. The alluring Asahina winked at me.
    “If you follow those train tracks south, you’ll come across a school. A public middle school. I want you to assist the person you find there. Could you go right away? As for the other me, sorry, but could you carry her there? She shouldn’t weigh very much.”
    She sounds like a villager in some role-playing game. “What kind of item will I get in return?”
    “What will you get in return…? Let’s see, hmm—”
    The adult version of Asahina tapped her finely shaped chin as she stood deep in thought before smiling knowingly.
    “I can’t personally offer you anything. However, you can kiss the me that’s sleeping over there, but nothing more. And only while she’s asleep, okay?”
    Very attractive terms. Enough to make me want to pump myfist. The sight of Asahina sleeping was lovely enough to make me lose control. But…
    “That’s a bit…”
    It goes against my policy, both mentally and circumstantially. This is when I really start to hate my rational personality.
    “It’s time. I have to go.”
    That’s all the advice I get this time?
    “Oh, and please keep me a secret from her. Promise, okay? Want to pinky swear?”
    Asahina (Big) stuck out her pinky and I unconsciously hooked mine with hers. We stood there like that for about a minute.
    “Good-bye, Kyon. I’ll see you again.”
    And with that bright farewell, Asahina (Big) walked off into the darkness, disappearing out of sight in no time. She had no trouble leaving this time.
    Well, I thought to myself. I wonder how much time has passed for the adult version of Asahina since she last saw me. It didn’t seem like she’d changed at all since our previous encounter when she’d given me that bizarre hint.