"Cough, cough, I'm dying, I'm dying." Two young men about the same age lay on the floor, groaning. Having their stamina drained dry in such a short time was simply lethal. They lay there for a long while before barely finding the strength to stand again.
Afterward, they noticed what Jiu Ming was fiddling with nearby. "Mm... what's that?"
"A DSLR... If you can stand, hurry up and get in position. Leave a memento." Chances for everyone to be gathered like this would not come often. Though a few people were still missing, there would always be another chance. With a click, an incomprehensible-looking group photo was added to the SOS Brigade's clubroom...
All right. Whether now or in the future, the odds of anyone irrelevant getting to see that photo were practically zero.
"...Hey, is this Regiment Leader's luck really that good?" Haruhi shot Jiu Ming a sidelong glance, her tone impossible to read.
"Perhaps." Jiu Ming wore an equally strange expression as he looked at the little girl who had rolled her way inside. She wore a red bellyband, her hair tied into symmetrical buns on either side. A seven-foot-long red sash drifted around her without wind, and in her right hand she held a glittering golden... hula hoop?
Uh, it was a little small.
In any case, that outfit was far too evocative!
"This look seems a little familiar to me," Haruhi said casually to Jiu Ming as she looked the little girl up and down. Blood still stained her body. "You mean?"
"That's right." Jiu Ming nodded, likewise studying the little girl, whose lively eyes spun restlessly in their sockets. One look was enough to tell she was no trouble-free kid!
Especially the expression she made upon seeing Haruhi—it was as if she had seen a