Haruhi Suzumiya

Dreams

Sometimes I really wonder just how Haruhi's mind works. I wonder how it could see a place as decrepit and overtly dangerous as that abandoned school building and think, "Gosh, this would be a great place to spend the night! Maybe I'll bring my friends."

The first sign that we were getting into something bad was a literal sign, attached to the fence surrounding the building. It used lots of very stern words, such as "Danger!," "no trespassing," "condemned," and "to the fullest extent of the law."

And yet what was Haruhi's reply when I pointed all this out? Well, she promptly tore the sign down and proceeded to crawl through a hole in the mesh fence, one that appeared to be cut recently.

Still to this day I'm impressed by Haruhi's unabashed delinquency.

"Fun and adventure don't obey signs," she said, once standing on the other side.

I really wanted to point out that while fun and adventure might be above the law, the five of us were not, and I really didn't want to get arrested while wearing a cat costume.

But what would be the point. I would be crossing that fence one way or the other, even if it meant Haruhi had to knock me out and toss me over herself.

When we entered the main hall of the building, I immediately noticed the plethora of sharp metal objects and jagged pieces of broken stone cluttering up the floor. To make matters worse, the sun had just set, so we already needed our flashlights just to see where we were going.

I looked at Asahina-san. I hoped the poor clumsy girl would just turn and leave before she suffered the inevitable fall she was bound to take in this place, but even in the dim light of our flashlights, something seemed weird about her. I figured she was just scared. Maybe I'll get lucky and she'll latch onto my arm like she did on the cave trip. I always wanted to lead a princess through a dark and dangerous dungeon.

"I don't think I have all the proper vaccinations to stay the night here, Haruhi," I said, really just wanting to break the silence of the place.

"Vaccinations are for the weak," she replied, still moving forward.

Is that so? I'll call my family physician immediately and let him know about Dr. Suzumiya's new discovery.

Dr. Suzumiya-the idea alone terrifies me.

"I think this will be a perfect place to tell our stories. It has a very creepy atmosphere," Koizumi said, and of course, I hated him for it.

"That's exactly why I chose it," Haruhi said.

No, you chose it because you're insane. Also, you have no sense of danger or compassion for your fellow man. If you disagree, I have pair of cat ears that indicate otherwise.

"What do you think, Nagato-san?" I asked.

As always, Yuki had been walking along silently, obeying all of Haruhi's orders, an alien guarding over her assignment.

"Atmosphere can positively or negatively affect the severity of fear," she replied. I assumed that meant she had been researching what makes people scared.

I was about to ask Nagato-san a follow up question, but Haruhi interrupted.

"That's the spirit, Yuki! That's the reason we're here in the first place." I thought she might go on, but instead she stopped walking. "This is it. This is where we'll sleep."

We didn't really go that far into the building before Haruhi decided on the spot we would be spending the night. It was far enough in that we couldn't see the entrance (and I likely couldn't find it in the dark), but the building went a lot deeper.

The place we settled on was a hallway next to a staircase. I questioned the choice, wondering just why we needed to sleep next to a staircase in a foreign, dark building, but such is the leadership of Haruhi Suzumiya.

We were also near some classrooms, the doors of which were all standing ajar. Part of me kind of wanted to go check the rooms or at least close the doors. Who knows what animals might be living in this place?

But honestly, it wasn't really that scary. I couldn't picture the school as haunted, no matter how hard I tried. You could tell by the building materials and some of the desks that the school wasn't that old, so ghosts were a long shot. I also figured no hideous catastrophe had happened here, like all the students disappearing or some kind of cult sacrificing victims in the basement. If something like that had happened, we would have heard of it, and you can bet Haruhi would have had us out here months ago combing every inch of this place in search of the paranormal.

The building really only ever seemed dangerous, which, while noteworthy, wasn't going to make our stories any better.

I don't think anyone else thought it was scary either. Even Asahina-san, who I expected would be latched on to me by now, was still looking around with a calmness that was uncharacteristic of her. Could it be she actually likes it here?

No, that's impossible. I'm just not seeing things properly in the dark.

After locating a good spot and making sure it was clear of any debris, we laid out what would be our beds for the night, and Haruhi set up a lantern in the middle of the circle so we could turn off our flashlights and still have light to tell the stories by.

I don't know why we didn't bother setting up a campfire. Might as well as burn ourselves while we're in this labyrinth of rust and concrete.

"What Haruhi? No campfire? Or would that be too dangerous?" I asked.

One thing I've learned that I just can't seemed to put into action is this: Haruhi doesn't like sarcastic comments, especially when they're mocking her.

And somehow, I didn't see her reaction coming. If I had, I could have moved to stop it. She reached over, grabbed my flashlight, and chucked as hard as she could down the nearby flight of stairs.

I could hear the glass shatter and watched the light blink off forever.

"Good luck going to the bathroom in the middle of the night!" she said, obviously feeling very proud of her impulse action. "And that reminds me. Guys have to go outside to use the bathroom."

Hearing that, I sighed, which is apparently also something Haruhi doesn't like.

"And just for that, you have to tell your story first!"