The next day, we gathered in front of the station yet again. The only difference would be that there had been a switch in members. In addition to the SOS Brigade members, there were three new faces standing before me. They were the underling characters Haruhi had mentioned.
“Hey, Kyon. This isn’t how you said it would be.”
Taniguchi was filing some sort of protest.
“Where’s the lovely Asahina? I only came ’cause you said she’d be here to greet us. She’s not here, chief.”
Exactly. The scheduled time had passed and Asahina still hadn’t shown up. She’s most likely cooped up inside her room, refusing to go outside, considering how much she went through yesterday and the day before.
“I came here for the eye candy. And what’s this? All I’ve seen so far is Suzumiya’s pissed-off face. This is a scam.”
Shut up. Why don’t you look at Nagato or something?
“In any case, that outfit really suits Nagato,” Kunikida commented in a carefree tone. He would be the second underling after Taniguchi. The night before, I had just gotten into the bathtub when Haruhi called. I took the phone from my sister and answered it as I washed my hair.
“That moron Taniguchi and the other one… I can’t remember his name, but anyway, your friend. Bring the two of them with you tomorrow. We’ll be using them for underlings.”
And with that she hung up. Didn’t even say hello. When you ask people to do something for you, you should try sounding more appealing—the way Asahina sounds—instead of just barking out orders.
Once I was done with my bath, I called Taniguchi and Kunikida to ask if they had any plans for the weekend, and the bored side duo immediately consented to come. What do you guys usually do on the weekend?
Maybe Haruhi thought that two guys by themselves wouldn’t make for much of a shot, but whatever the case, she had prepared another extra. That person was currently bent over, peering into Nagato’s face under her wide-brimmed hat. With a toss of her long hair, she stood straight and turned to greet me with a smile.
“Kyon, what happened to Mikuru?”
The cheerful girl was Tsuruya, Asahina’s classmate. According to Asahina, she was “a friend from this time period,” so I would assume she doesn’t have a weird background. Back in June when Haruhi was like “Let’s enter a baseball tournament” and we needed more people, Asahina brought this normal second-year female high-schooler. Oh yeah, Taniguchi and Kunikida were also around for that one. My sister too, while we’re at it.
Tsuruya bared her healthy white teeth for all to see.
“So, what’re we doing? I was told to come if I happened to be free. What’s it say on Suzumiya’s armband? Whatcha gonna do with that video camera? Why’s Yuki dressed like that?”
She fired the stream of questions in rapid succession. By the time I had opened my mouth to respond, Tsuruya had already moved on to Koizumi.
“Whoa, Koizumi! Looking sharp today.”
Busy person.
Still, Haruhi could give Tsuruya a run for her money when it comes to hyperactivity. Pretty impressive how she could yell at her cell phone so loudly this early in the morning.
“What are you talking about? You’re the star! Thirty percent of this movie’s success is riding on you! Though the other seventy percent depends on my talent. Whatever! What was that? Your stomach hurts? Stupid! That excuse is only going to work in grade school! Get your ass down here right now! Within thirty seconds!”
It would appear that Asahina’s suffering from an onset of hikikomori syndrome. It was inevitable. Wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if the mere thought of having to endure yet another day of torture would be enough to emotionally induce stomach pains. Since she’s a timid person.
“Sheesh!”
Haruhi hung up in a rage with a look on her face like a butler about to scold a child for not using proper table manners.
“She needs to be punished!”
Don’t be like that. Asahina, unlike you, just wants to live a quiet life. You could leave her in peace on Sunday, at least, that’s what I think.
Of course, Haruhi wasn’t going to listen to any selfish requests from her leading actress. This female director kept a short leash on her star, even when she wasn’t paying her a penny.
“I’ll go pick her up. Hand me that bag over there.”
She snatched a clear bag containing the costumes and sprinted off to the taxi stand. She then pounded on the window of a parked taxi until the door was opened, before jumping in and riding off somewhere.