What on Earth Happened

"Good grief, why is it still like this?" Jiu Ming tapped his forehead. The memories that had been "forced" on him seemed to be playing a joke on him. Whenever they piled up to a certain point, they always grew veiled and obscure, leaving him frustrated and troubled.

"Little shopkeeper... what kind of disaster have you run into?"

When they met again, Yakumo Yukari noticed Jiu Ming was in a bad way, and toned down her teasing. What puzzled her was the strange look in his eyes when he saw her!

Though, to be fair, the gloomy aura around him was already strange enough.

"Hm? Another forty seconds... Miss, come sit with me for a bit." Jiu Ming shook his head, which felt ready to split, then glanced at the time and waved to Yakumo Yukari, who had arrived out of the blue. Putting everything else aside, he could hardly believe his own willpower. He'd somehow held out for more than a day!!

Once every two minutes, he'd been subjected to that noisy, chaotic experience nearly a thousand times over the past day or so!!

"Little shopkeeper, do you know who you're joking around with?"

"...Sorry. I've run into some things lately, and I'm a little on edge. You can hit me if that bothers you." Jiu Ming pressed his fingers to his brow and let out a long breath. Then his tone abruptly changed. "If you've got nothing else, hurry up and leave. Something might happen in a moment."

A Curiosity Demon couldn't help herself. Jiu Ming's well-meant warning only made her stay, and she sat down right beside him. Ten seconds left.

Up close, Yakumo Yukari could sense just how abnormal Jiu Ming's state was. His entire Soul Body was in a violent state of agitation, giving her a deeply unsettling feeling. Unfortunately, there wasn't much time. Before she could figure out what was going on, a noisy, chaotic sensation made Yakumo Yukari's expression shift.

This was... She felt the timeline around her suddenly stretch out...

"You... what?"

Once the same noisy, chaotic sensation that Jiu Ming had experienced passed, Yakumo Yukari was standing instead of sitting. The furniture around them looked as though something had swept through it, leaving everything in disarray, and Jiu Ming's Soul Body had grown noticeably more transparent.

"Phew... We've got a minute now. If you're all right, could you leave for a bit?" Jiu Ming exhaled. The hazy memories had gained a few new details, added because Yakumo Yukari had joined him. As a result, the memories that had been gradually coming into focus had grown a little hazier again.

This was the worst!

Yakumo Yukari stared blankly. "If I remember correctly, I just fought you a moment ago?"

"Huh? You remember? Good. I've been wondering about how weak I feel right now." Jiu Ming raised his arm. It had grown much more transparent.

"Some parts are hazy. Time passed so quickly just now. Is that what you've been going through?" For some reason, Yakumo Yukari didn't explain exactly what had happened. "Anyway, little shopkeeper, I gave you a kind warning. Don't keep pushing yourself like this. You may be tough, but you won't be able to endure the side effects of this experience much longer."

"If I'm not mistaken, only part of the area is experiencing accelerated time. Time in this place as a whole hasn't changed. So after that experience ends, the time your body has gone through will differ from the time this place has experienced. The effects of that discrepancy will last until the time gap between you and this place has evened out."

"You should be glad you're not human."

Her explanation... Well, it was like the side effects of someone's Time Control.

"So I'm not immune?"

"Of course not. Unless you have a special ability related to time that lets you ignore these side effects, you'd have to be strong enough to withstand time's pressure." Yakumo Yukari smiled lightly, seemingly unaffected by what had just happened, and spoke with a hint of mockery. "And it seems little shopkeeper, you've got neither."

"Nonsense... I've been through it nearly a thousand times..." Naturally offended at being underestimated, Jiu Ming rummaged through the shattered furniture and pulled out the Little Notebook that had survived. At the same time, the damaged furniture quickly returned to normal.

"Look, each tally here represents five times!" The marks were tiny, but several pages were crammed with them.

"I underestimated you." Yakumo Yukari blinked in surprise, then briefly closed her eyes as if waiting for something. "Admirable dedication to... killing yourself. No wonder you seem a little 'stronger' than before. Time's up."

When things returned to normal again, Jiu Ming's weakness had disappeared. He'd recovered during that stretch of abnormally accelerated time. But in Yakumo Yukari's eyes, even though he'd returned to normal, the fluctuations of his Soul Body had grown more violent. The pressure caused by the clash between the two different rates of time had seriously damaged him.

Even if he had "plenty" of time to recover during each bout of extreme acceleration, a little damage always remained. As it accumulated, it was like a hidden injury. If it ever erupted, Jiu Ming would be praying that he'd merely died again, instead of having his soul scattered.

He himself didn't seem to realize how serious the problem was.

"Hey, you didn't have to go through it with me, did you?" Jiu Ming rubbed his head. The memories from that abnormal stretch of time had grown a little hazier again.

"Heh heh, little shopkeeper, I was planning to kindly take care of the source of all this for you." This time, Yakumo Yukari stared at her palm in a daze. A few cracks had appeared in her slightly pointed nails.

"Nonsense. You were obviously planning to kill them all... Wait, what? You stayed here because you were planning to do that?" Jiu Ming blurted out without thinking. A few hazy memories suddenly came into focus.

"I'm a youkai. Isn't killing and eating people perfectly normal? That little girl called Nagato Yuki is no ordinary child." Yakumo Yukari rose from her seat beside Jiu Ming. "I'm getting a little bored. If this keeps up... you'll die! You must have a way to leave here. Why not come visit my place? It's been a long time since I've had an outsider over."

"I still have a promise to keep. Maybe next time." Jiu Ming shook his head. He had considered leaving the Mysterious Shop to escape for a while.

"With those humans!?" A few traces of killing intent showed in Yakumo Yukari's eyes. "Forget it! The next time I see you, I hope you're still alive!"

"Come to think of it, something's strange." Jiu Ming tapped his forehead. If he was spending a long time in that abnormal accelerated environment each time, then the accumulated memories should be enormous. But he'd noticed that the hazy memories were accumulating... very slowly!

It seemed... the repeated parts weren't accumulating at all.

Honestly, Jiu Ming wanted to get out of there right now and find somewhere to sleep properly!!

Even though he didn't feel particularly tired, Yakumo Yukari's warning had unsettled him. If this went on, would he really die?

"Damn it. Once I figure out those hazy memories, I'll find a way to visit her world... and see what kind of disturbance is going on!!"

Without any outside interference, the hazy memories continued to grow, and the parts that had been stuck in place gradually came into focus. But what he remembered was a huge letdown. It was all meaningless chatter and everyday stuff!

Things like going to a swimming pool to play, attending the Bon Festival, catching cicadas... What was any of that supposed to be? For those hazy impressions to have deepened so much, it was obvious that they'd repeated over and over during that endless period of "time anomalies."

Then there was Nagato Yuki, who seemed to grow lonelier and lonelier.

By the time those memories had become this clear, another three days had passed. In total, it had been about five days.

"If this keeps up, I really might die...?" Looking at his hand, Jiu Ming could faintly see wisps of fine gray "gas" slowly evaporating from it. It was much like the process of having his soul scattered. Then he thought about those memories that had gradually grown clearer and felt it wasn't worth it!!!

All for memories of meaningless family chatter!

Thinking of the lonelier and lonelier little figure that stood out most clearly in his memories, he sighed. "Ah..."

Jiu Ming let out a long breath and rubbed his forehead, unable to make sense of any of it. The extremely slow wisps of gray "gas" evaporating from his body left him feeling restless. But time was up again.

This time, Jiu Ming found a note. This round seemed to be following a different pattern from the last one.

Jiu Ming picked up the note and glanced at it. His face immediately darkened. It was from Yuki, but the message...

"Thank you for staying with me. Your condition is very dangerous. Please leave this whirlpool for a while..."

"I can't make sense of it. If only the rest of those hazy memories would come into focus, too." Jiu Ming shook his head and put the note away. A whirlpool?

If he wanted to leave, it would be simple. He just had to step away from the Mysterious Shop for a while.

But doing that somehow felt irresponsible. Still, if things continued like this... he really might be done for!

The rate at which his Soul Body dispersed had become imperceptibly faster. And the High-Energy Crystals?

They'd turned into a pile of powder two days ago. Brutal.

Jiu Ming couldn't believe he'd held out this long, but he was nearing his limit.

"I can't keep this up. If I stay passive, I'm going to drag myself into this mess!!" Jiu Ming rubbed his face hard, then sprang to his feet, psyching himself up. Getting killed without even knowing why was way too humiliating. He had to figure this out!!

He'd go to her world and find out what Suzumiya Haruhi was doing to cause this! If it had happened, fine, but she didn't have to drag him into it!

Jiu Ming had given up hope of figuring everything out from those hazy memories. It was a vicious cycle. Each time, a little more new, hazy memory was added. By the time he figured out the earlier parts, he had no idea how much more would have piled up. The cycle went on and on. He'd be dying an undeserved death!

Instead of passively letting it happen, he'd take the initiative and get to the bottom of it, breaking the cycle. Thinking about it, his earlier approach had been really stupid!? Oh well, he'd just consider it a special kind of training. It really had made him a lot tougher than before.