FLCL

'I hate spicy food,' Naota replied. The only thing Naota could manage was Star Prince Curry.

'She really seems interested in you. Are you aware of that?'

Naota wondered if the man was someone from the police. Off the top of his head, Naota could count about ten or twenty crimes that Haruko had committed. It wouldn't surprise him if the authorities were now watching her. The thing that was most surprising was that she hadn't been caught until now.

When Naota failed to say anything, the man smiled. 'Keeping your mouth shut. Clever. It's best you don't let too many people know about her. You'll know soon—she is no ordinary woman.'

Naota still couldn't force out a reply.

'You should give up older women anyway. They cause nothing but pain.' After uttering his final words, the man paid for the bread and left.

'Give up older women'? Naota repeated to himself. The man must have assumed Naota was currently involved with an older woman. You must be kidding me.

Who could ever like that untrustworthy witch? Naota felt angry when he thought back to what had happened the night before, but Mamimi paid it no mind as she embraced him from behind.

'I'm going to leave my mark on you!'

Naota hadn't forgotten that on the night of the fire, he'd decided to stay by Mamimi's side forever. Today, they were together, their bodies attached; however, ironically, though touching each other, Naota could sense Mamimi had no particular attachment to him. He was a substitute—and a tragic one at that.

It probably wouldn't bother Mamimi if Naota liked someone else.

Like always, Mamimi pushed Naota down into the grass and started nibbling on his earlobes.

White steam from the MM factory slowly drifted across the red sky above them.

Because it was autumn, the sun set rapidly and the streets were already getting dark.

After he finished playing with Mamimi, Naota headed home, feeling slightly guilty. I really am a bad person, he thought.

One day back in kindergarten, Naota's teacher had decided the class was going to play a stupid game where each of the kindergartners confessed the name of someone he or she liked from the opposite sex. Even in kindergarten, children liked one another.

Naota, who'd already matured by the age of five, resented this infringement on his human rights. That sort of rage had been limited to Naota, though. All the girls had kept their mouths shut while the boys sat on the edges of their seats and said aloud the name of the girls they liked, blushing. It probably would've been better to remain quiet or swear there wasn't anyone they liked, but the boys were too simple. If one of them hadn't said a name, there was a danger he wouldn't have been considered manly.

It'd finally been Naota's turn, and there was a girl Naota fancied in the same class. When Naota was asked, however, he didn't say the name of the girl he actually liked. Instead, he named the girl who occasionally sat next to him. He hadn't once noticed the girl next to him, and he definitely hadn't interacted with her enough to like her. Why had he named her? Anyone would've done it. The girl had occasionally sat by him, so hers was the first name that had come to mind.

Naota could've been scared of people knowing the name of the girl he really liked. Even when he was very young, he was the kind of boy who didn't like people knowing his true feelings. He basically used the girl who sat next to him; it was quite a cowardly thing to do.

One day, not long after the game, the girl who sat next to Naota asked him to play, and Naota ditched weeding the kindergarten yard. They hid together in the closet, eating candy the girl had snuck in her pocket. With sweets stuffed in their mouths, they didn't say anything, simply gazing at each other, smiling. For some reason, it'd felt extremely comfortable.

After that day, the person Naota was keen on became the girl who sat next to him. He couldn't remember the girl's name any longer, but he remembered it happening.

Kindergarten was such an easy time. Even as a boy, Naota had tended to go with the flow of love. So, what was this guilt Naota was feeling now?

When Naota returned home, Haruko was in front of the shop swinging her bat. There was another game between the Martians and the Fragments the next day. It appeared as though she were preparing for that. Her swings cut sharply through the wind. As Naota studied the way Haruko swung the bat, he had to admit that she was good. She was the only person who he admired almost as much as his brother.

'Been practicing your swing all day?' Haruko asked, noticing that Naota had been carrying around Tasuku's bat again.

Considering he hadn't hit the ball once in the last game, Naota felt Haruko was being sarcastic, so he ignored her and tried to enter the house. This is a girl who might get with my dad. I'm not bothering with her anymore.

'Why are you ignoring me?'

'Don't talk to me anymore. You've been getting close to my dad, right?'

Haruko pointed to Naota's neck. 'You've been playing around, too.'

Naota quickly tried to cover his neck, where there was a fresh love bite. Although this girl told me she came to this house because of me, she isn't bothered by Mamimi and me. Anyway, doesn't what she just said mean she admits to messing around with my dad?

'I'll coach you. I'm good.'

'Don't need it.'

'You could hit a home run and be better than your brother.'

Haruko's swing was still burned into the back of Naota's mind. He'd always wanted to be as good at batting as his brother, so he decided to let her coach him right then and there.

Naota took a few swings with the bat in front of Haruko, who dropped her normally blithe expression and watched with a highly unusual earnestness.

'Drop your hips a bit more and relax your stance,' Haruko instructed.

Naota did what he was told and tried to pay attention to keeping his lower half steady. The sincere tone in Haruko's voice had helped alleviate any initial skepticism he had. Just as he had in kindergarten, Naota was going with the flow.

Surprisingly, this girl's kind of a good person, Naota thought.

'See, better already!' Haruko cheered, holding Naota's bat from behind and casually putting her hands on top of his.

Naota was very sensitive to the feeling of Haruko's hands touching him. Although he did much more sensual things with Mamimi on a regular basis, this felt even more thrilling than those things had.

Perhaps… Naota thought, I don't hate Haruko?

'Try swinging,' Haruko suggested. 'Hit it into the sky. A true slugger imagines creating an arch right before he hits the ball.'

Maybe I'm over-thinking what's going on between Haruko and my dad, Naota speculated. Haruko was always playing around like that with people. To get jealous over such a thing was childish.

Suddenly, what Haruko had said to Naota the day before came rushing back into his mind. 'What did you mean by, 'If you swing, people will know you're not special'?' Naota asked. 'Were you suggesting that I think I'm special?'

Haruko laughed. 'You do think you're special, don't you?'

Naota didn't know how to respond.

'Whatever happens, if you don't swing the bat, you'll be special, but you'll also be running away.' Pointing to one of the stars shining in the night sky, Haruko asked, 'See that star? Swing for that. It feels better if you swing the bat for all you're worth.'

Strangely, the star that Haruko had chosen appeared to be flickering. It really was flickering!

'Um… doesn't that star appear to be moving?'

'You think so?' Haruko smiled happily as she gazed up at the flickering star.