FLCL

'You hadn't heard? Recently, over on the national freeway, people have been seeing a Vespa-riding girl carrying a guitar pretty frequently.'

'What's a 'light-speed Vespa'?' asked Ninamori.

'A Vespa is, well, a Vespa. It's a scooter. That goes fast.'

'A light-speed Vespa…' Naota said.

Without a doubt, Naota was recalling his encounter with the girl from the previous day, who had given him a curry-flavored kiss. It had to be her. If that outrageous girl had been turning up all over town, of course she would have become the subject of conversation.

'According to the rumors, she always appears in front of people who are doing things they shouldn't,' continued Gaku. 'She stole a spicy curry roll from Kumiko in class and—'

'A curry roll? What was it she shouldn't have been doing?'

Gaku grinned suggestively before whispering, 'Kumiko was sharing a diary with Koji from Class Three.'

'Is that supposed to be pervy?'

'Anyway, the story goes that if the light-speed Vespa touches a person who's being a pervert, then the 'devil's mark' appears on that person's body somewhere. Kumiko said she hasn't experienced anything like that, but it's still weird. People with the mark eventually will be destroyed by the light-speed Vespa girl.'

The devil's mark?

This was terrifying information. Generally, Naota wasn't one to listen to such crude urban myths; but this time, the circumstances were entirely different.

The devil's mark. Could it be the horn that had appeared on his head…?

Suddenly, Ninamori pointed at Naota's neck and asked, 'Hey, what's that?'

'The devil's mark?' Gaku said, sneaking a look.

'Of course not. That's ridiculous.'

They were looking at the love bite Mamimi had given him yesterday. Normally, he would have tried to hide it—but today, with a horn growing out of his head, it had managed to have slipped his mind.

'Have you been doing something you shouldn't have?'

'What do you mean? Of course not.'

People being perverted? Don't be absurd. Mamimi and I do that kind of thing all the time, Naota thought to himself. It isn't the devil's mark…

Naota pulled up his collar to hide his neck. Ninamori glanced at Naota's bandage, but she didn't say anything about it in front of Gaku.

Several classmates asked about his bandage, but Naota gave appropriate excuses and was able to endure a normal school day.

After school, Naota ran out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang. He started walking home alone, taking a different road than usual.

Naota had two routes he typically took home. One was the normal after-school route. This was the 'children, please don't loiter along the road, be sure not to talk to strangers, and go straight home' path. The other way, passing Mabase Bridge, was the road he took for his rendezvous with Mamimi.

In truth, the two of them never made plans to meet up. Sometimes, when Naota went to the bridge, Mamimi would be there also. And if Mamimi went to the bridge, then Naota coincidentally might be there, too. If, on a whim, they decided to come to the bridge, then, occasionally, they would hang out.

The bridge had become their rock, their safety zone.

There had been many times when Mamimi hadn't shown up, and Naota had spent the time alone on the river bank; conversely, there were days when Mamimi had spent time there on her own.

Obviously, the real reason either of them went there was to see the other… but if they made a promise to meet, their relationship would take a strange turn. Naota and Mamimi both feared that kind of commitment, though they were only half aware of this.

Today, however, Naota hadn't chosen either of these paths.

I think I'll go to the hospital after all.

He didn't have much hope that they could get rid of his horn at the hospital. To tell the truth, he wouldn't have been surprised in the least if there wasn't a name for his condition. Naota didn't know what else to do, though. He prayed it might be a simple sickness, something with a cure.

Naota already had prepared for this trip before leaving home that morning, taking his health insurance card with him. Now, he headed to the largest hospital in the city.

As he waited at the crosswalk, a honking train passed in front of Naota.

The barrier lifted, and Naota heard the sound of a bike engine idling right next to him. He stiffened. Reflexively, the color drained from his face, and he sucked in a breath. A jolt of fear ran down his spine. Just as he'd dreaded, it was the Vespa girl from the previous day. Yesterday, he had been in complete shock during their encounter. Today, however, he had the fear of a child who, already having been stung previously, now came across another wasp.

This particular wasp took a bite of her spicy curry roll. There could be no mistake: This had to be the light- speed Vespa girl that Gaku had been talking about. If the rumors were true, then that had to be the food she had taken from the kid.

The barrier had risen, but Naota remained stationary. After all, it might be a mistake to rile up an opponent such as this one.

'Hey, there,' she said with an overly familiar manner, 'did anything happen after yesterday afternoon? Anything weird?'

You were the weirdest thing, Naota thought.

'Something did, didn't it?'

'What are you talking about—something 'weird'?' he asked.

The girl noticed the bandage on Naota's forehead, and she seemed delighted. 'Then, what's with the bandage?'

'You hit me yesterday! Remember?'

'That looks awfully strange. It doesn't suit you.' The girl eyed Naota's forehead with suspicion, repeating the same thing that Ninamori had said that morning: 'Looks to me like you're hiding something.'

He couldn't speak. Does she know about the horn?

For a moment, Naota hesitated, considering whether he should ask the girl about the changes taking place in his body. However, he had second thoughts when he spied the guitar on her back.

No, he had to get away as quickly as possible. If he spoke to her further, then she might turn violent on him again. This time, she might beat him to death! She was a total maniac.

Once again, the warning bell for the train crossing sounded, and the barrier began to descend. Seizing the opportunity, Naota waited for the barrier to lower almost completely before running across.

Turning, he saw that the girl was still in the same place, watching Naota, her hand shielding her eyes.

The train passed by, separating them.

Look at you now!

Naota fled as fast as he could.

The MM-affiliated hospital was Mabase's largest medical center.

The MM company proclaimed itself the world's leader in groundbreaking medical technology, and its hospital facilities were the best in the country. They had twenty beds in the ER alone, and the intensive care unit contained thirty beds. These facilities far exceeded the requirements of Mabase's population of sixty thousand.

Light flooded through the skylight, filtering into the sparkling clean lobby.

Neurology, internal medicine, orthopedic surgery… Naota paused for a moment, deciding what department to try. Eventually, he went to reception and signed in for a cerebral surgery appointment before entering the diagnosis room.

Looking around at the room's high-tech equipment (such as the CT scanner and the MRI machine), his heart filled with hope. This really was a technological medical machinery manufacturer's hospital. He felt reassured. Here,