FLCL

wouldn't help her in any way. In the end, whatever was going to happen would happen. Yes, calm down and take a good look around. You're bound to find something good, meow, Ninamori thought. This house is full of surprises: that maid, cat ears, a father who makes scandalous magazines, and a TV walkman.

'How's the water?'

Ninamori panicked when she heard Kamon speaking to her from behind the glass partition. No way! she thought, but it was true—Kamon had opened the glass door and peeked in without even asking. Flustered, she crossed her arms over her chest, becoming more frightened as she felt the perverted man's eyes scan her skin. What do I do? My first impression was correct! This old man is a perv like I thought. That's why he wanted me to take a bath!

'Do you think I'm a bad person?'

Ninamori sat shuddering in silence.

'You don't resent me, do you?'

Resent you? Ninamori said to herself.

'You don't, right?'

'Because of you, that horrible secretary finally left my house.'

'Little Eri, you really are a grown-up,' Kamon declared admiringly.

Little Eri… Naota's father spoke in a creepy tone as if he were talking to a cat.

Kamon stretched out his hand and offered Ninamori something. 'Here, use this.'

Although she was slightly hesitant, Ninamori covered her chest with one arm and reached out with the other to retrieve the offered item. It was a child's shower hat.

When Naota opened the door to his room, Ninamori was fresh out of the bath, sitting on the chair in Naota's pajamas. Her legs and arms were longer than Naota's, so the pajamas were too short and didn't cover her wrists or ankles.

'You're wearing glasses,' Naota noticed. He'd never seen the class president wearing glasses, so he was surprised. He had no idea her eyes were bad. She must've worn contacts normally.

'Our secret.'

'You have something to hide?'

Ninamori had worn glasses since around the time she'd modeled for the ad. Maybe she felt more averse to people knowing about her wearing glasses than she did about them knowing about her father's scandal. There was something special about only Naota knowing such a deep secret of hers, though.

'You do, too.'

'What?'

'Well, I'm in your room, wearing your pajamas.' Ninamori looked smug, as though she were victorious. 'It's pretty weird, huh?'

'Really?' Naota sat on the bed with a carefree face, but he was panicking on the inside. Ninamori, straight out of the bath, was in his pajamas and in his room. As she'd pointed out, it was pretty weird. Sharing a secret was the first step to having a relationship beyond the ordinary. They'd suddenly entered into one such special relationship.

This isn't good. This really is not good, Naota thought.

'You'd better not tell anyone else in class,' Ninamori warned.

'Of course not,' Naota replied, instinctively raising his voice. 'If people found out, who knows what they'd say. Starting tomorrow, you shouldn't come near me for a while.'

'But tonight, it's okay.' For some inexplicable reason, Ninamori got up from the chair and sat next to Naota.

His heart pounding at being alone on a bed with a girl, Naota thought he was in a dangerous situation. Tonight it's okay? What does that mean?

'I'll sleep downstairs,' Naota said coldly and stood up.

Ninamori grabbed his arm. 'Wait. Stay here a little longer. I didn't mean it like that. It's an unfamiliar room and I only need to relax a little.'

How did I get myself into this situation? This is so not cool. Worried that he and Ninamori would become the gossip of the school, Naota knocked her hand away.

'Go home. This isn't okay. It's too weird,' Naota insisted.

Ninamori, somewhat annoyed, decided to play her final card. 'What's weird is what you have on your head.'

Naota instinctively pulled his hat on tighter. He'd been wearing it the entire time he'd been in the house. She's seen my cat ears. It must've been when the bike hit me earlier. Damn! This really isn't good.

'You saw it?' Naota asked.

'What is it?'

'What is it you saw?'

'Cat ears—perfect for playing a cat!'

'I told you, I'm not doing the play. Anyway, why was I chosen to play a cat?' Naota moaned.

'You didn't notice I rigged the voting, huh?' Ninamori replied with a sharp smile.

'What?'

'No one suspected that I, the class president, would do such a thing, right?'

'You mean the class vote on who would play…?'

'I'm the lead role—and you're the cat.'

Naota had thought it was strange at the time. It was a bit unlikely that the class would have chosen the cool Naota to play the cat. There was no reason someone like him should play such a comic character. Things made more sense knowing they'd been altered by trickery, though. Even so, Naota still couldn't understand why Ninamori was so obsessed with the play.

'You're not mad, are you?' she asked.

'Why did I have to be the cat? And why did you want to play the lead role so bad?'

'The Marquis de Carabas deceives the princess for happiness, never once revealing who he really is. He lives the lie and finds happiness. The lie becomes the truth. Isn't that nice?'

Just as Ninamori said, Puss in Boots is the tale of a poor young man who borrows a cat's wisdom and becomes a success story. The hero, who gets close to the princess under false pretences, is, to put it unkindly, a con artist.

Suddenly, the pair heard a girl's voice: 'Is that really okay, meow?'

Glancing up, they noticed that at some point, Haruko had laid down on the top bunk.

'You were there before?' Ninamori asked.

'I was here, meow,' Haruko replied.

'You've been listening the entire time?'

'Not really. Why would I care that you cheated to get the lead role, meow?'

'It isn't as if I hurt anyone!' Ninamori insisted in a defensive tone that belied her inner guilt.

'You hurt me!' Naota argued.

'I'll keep your secret, meow, if you keep his, meow,' Haruko proposed.

'Who is your maid?' Ninamori inquired all of a sudden.

It was a question that Naota wanted the answer to, as well. Really, who is she?

'Where does your maid sleep?'

'Here, meow.'

'You sleep there every night?'

'Yes, right here—every night with Takkun. Ahhhh!' Haruko replied, pulling off Naota's hat and stroking his cat ears.

'Stop that! Don't touch them! They…' Although Naota attempted to protest, he appeared to be somewhat