FLCL

city…'

'Oh?'

'Hit back the Lord of Fear and saved the city?'

She must have been referring to when he'd hit the satellite bomb. Mamimi must have known about that, as well.

Indeed, at the time of the incident, Canti had been with Mamimi, and had somehow shown her the same images from Amarao's spy cameras, so Mamimi had seen the whole thing.

'You're really amazing now, Takkun.'

'No, it's no big deal…'

Masashi and the others seem to have known, too; perhaps rumors about the whole satellite incident have spread all over the town, Naota thought. Maybe there had been people watching it. Well, whatever, as long as my success is spreading.

He was starting to feel very satisfied with himself when Mamimi suddenly approached Naota from behind. She was probably going to cuddle him as always.

Although he knew that it couldn't go on forever, at the moment, he couldn't stop this 'play.' Ever since Tasuku had left for America, Naota had 'played' with Mamimi on this bank, countless times. He wondered how much longer it would go on.

'Ouch!'

In contrast to his sweet expectations, Naota felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. Mamimi had fired the airgun she was holding.

'What are you doing?'

If fired at this close a distance, BB bullets were pretty painful. Naota had been wearing his parka hood, which had protected him from a direct hit. Now, to make sure that the hidden horn wasn't revealed, Naota quickly covered his head with it again.

'Is it Fooly Cooly under your hood again?' Mamimi asked. 'Takkun, you're just too amazing. You do furry wurry and lumpy bumpy. When did you become like this, Takkun? It was when Haruko came, huh?'

'Hey, are you…'

I knew it, Naota thought. I knew it. Mamimi is jealous. This pain in the back of my head must be proof that I'm a popular guy.

He looked at Mamimi's lips. Naota didn't know the taste of those alluring lips. Kissing them was the only thing that Mamimi had firmly objected to, that she hadn't let him do.

But those faraway lips could be close so soon. Today. Today, they were going to be his.

Naota grabbed Mamimi's hand. He stood up and pulled her away from the river. 'Come on!'

'Don't come near me!'

Finally having managed to stand in a shallow part of the river, Kitsurubami took a small hand pistol from her waterproof holster. The mouth of the gun was directed at none other than the robot Canti, who was standing on the riverbank.

Canti was motionless like a statue, looking straight at Kitsurubami.

I'm scared…

Kitsurubami hadn't been planning to do anything more than snipe at a distance. Now, when unexpectedly encountering the target at close range, she was overwhelmed by the threat, and having almost no real battlefield experience, she instinctively pulled on the pistol trigger. Although all her bullets hit dead on, they merely made dull metallic sounds. The robot's blue body was built with a resistant quality that bullets could not impact.

Kitsurubami had looked through the robot's data file, of course, considering it was her target. She knew that it couldn't be defeated by a pistol's bullets, so she had prepared her favorite anti-tank rifle. But after that lethal rifle had been lost somewhere on the riverbed, she'd had to try feebly attacking it with a powerless pistol to make it clear that she was an enemy.

It was a terrible situation to be in, but it wasn't entirely unsurprising. Although she regarded herself as a fully fledged soldier, Kitsurubami didn't have any formal training. She was simply playing make-believe at being a soldier.

And as she continued frantically pulling the trigger, she quickly ran out of bullets.

The expressionless monitor head of the robot faced her as Canti took a step toward Kitsurubami, who was still standing in the river.

'Argh!'

Fear pierced her entire body. She regretted getting ahead of herself. A strong enemy was closing in on her. Unarmed, she could do nothing but tremble. What kind of vengeance would it take?

Now is the retaliation. I'm done for!

With no hope of escape, she felt weak at the knees. It was hardly noticeable on her wet body, but something warm spread down between her legs. The pistol fell from her fingers and dropped into the river. And Kitsurubami, resigned to her fate, closed her eyes.

'Kitsurubami! Kitsurubami, hey! What happened?'

Amarao was still in the hair salon in town. As he was being shampooed, he was reclining, his body covered by a sheet and his face hidden by a gauze.

'Answer me. Hey, Kitsurubami!

'Hot, hot, HOT!' Suddenly, he screamed in pain. The water they were using to rinse his head was too hot.

Without apologizing, the hairdresser asked him, 'What hair color would you like today? Your normal chestnut brown color? Or would you rather Fooly Cooly color?'

It couldn't be! Amarao recognized that stylist's voice. Panicked, he swiped the gauze from his face—and saw Haruko standing there.

'When did you…?!

'Thought the clean cut would make the chicks dig you?'

'What are you doing here?!'

'Thought you'd send your minion to get me?' Amarao jumped up quickly, grabbing his pistol. Then, with one hand, he reflexively checked to see if his eyebrows were still on his forehead.

'Huh?'

Kitsurubami felt her body being carried gently. She opened her eyes.

The robot had lifted her up with its large hands, saving her from the cold river water; now, it was helping her stand up on the bank.

And then, to her surprise, as if to say 'sorry,' it gently patted her on the head.

Kitsurubami's pulse quickened—but not out of fear. She felt her heart accelerate and her blood warm in an instant.

In truth, the late-bloomer Kitsurubami had dated only three guys up until that point. The first had been an assistant professor when she was attending university. The second had been a workplace romance with a superior. And the other had been a man who'd been fooling around, cheating on his wife; he had wooed her, and then they had started dating. She had finally told the married man she'd wanted to break up, claiming it had been because they went out only when it suited him, but the real reason that she'd broken up with him was because men just weren't enough for her. Now, for the first time, she felt like she understood what men had been lacking.

So gentle.

She felt a mysterious aura, and the warm surge enveloped her.

She touched the silent robot.

This was Kitsurubami's first love.

'That robot is too dangerous.'

Aiming his gun at Haruko, Amarao slowly got up from his seat. It was like he was trying to move a wild beast into a pen—gently, so as not to excite it.