Roulette.
Video chatting with strangers sounded stupid and pointless to Naota until a chance encounter made it very meaningful (Naota x Haruko)
"So Naota, have you seen it?"
Naota looked up from his lunch. "Seen what?" he asked in a monotone voice. His eyes were totally indifferent, the same as they were every time Gaku brought up the latest rumor.
"That new website. The one where you can video chat with random people all over the world! There are hot girls EVERYWHERE on that site. SMOOCH! SMOOOOOCH!"
Naota rolled his eyes. "Sounds stupid. Like, really stupid," he said picking up a cherry tomato and popping it lazily in his mouth. Naota had no interest in talking to people he didn't know. Most of the time, he didn't even want to talk to the idiots he did know.
The cafeteria was emptying out as students headed back to their classes early or walked off campus for their afternoon cigarettes. Despite harping on Mamimi about her smoking when he was a kid, he had picked up the habit the previous year as another of many ways to stifle the boredom that so defined life in Mabase. He pulled a fresh pack of Mild Sevens out of his hoodie pocket and began to pack them.
"Hey baby! Wanna party?" he heard Gaku say to his laptop screen. Naota glanced over to see a pretty blond looking repulsed. Gaku was licking his lips and winking at her.
"Um…no" he heard her say in English. She clicked out of the chat and Gaku was redirected.
Naota couldn't help but snort derisively. "You know Gaku, if you don't quit acting like a pervert you can't expect anybody to…aw gross!" he shrieked. Gaku's newest chat partner was an old man masturbating in front of the camera. He reached over and clicked "next chat." There was another creep playing with himself for the camera.
"Dude, turn that crap off." Naota said irritably. "You wanna get your internet privileges revoked?
Gaku wasn't listening. He kept clicking through chat partners, hoping to find a pretty girl to talk to.
"You should try this site Naota! I mean, once you get past all the creepy dudes, there're a lot of cute girls on here hoping to make a connection with studs like me! You might not do too bad yourself!" Gaku said with a grin.
Noata rolled his eyes again. "No thanks." He decided to bite back his remark about Gaku being one of "the creepy dudes."
"WHOA! Speaking of hot babes! Check this out!" he said turning the screen into Naota's view.
Naota's throat tightened. There, on the webcam, was none other than Haruhara Haruko. "HARUKO?!" Naota yelled in shock, dropping his fork.
Haruko looked surprised. "Is…Is that you Ta-kun?" the pink haired woman asked weakly.
Time seemed to slow down for Noata as he saw Gaku try to switch to another chat. He shoved his friend hard away from the computer, knocking him off the bench, much to the other teen's chagrin.
Tears welled up in the Naota's eyes. It had been five years since he had seen her, and she didn't appear to have aged a day. She still wore the same red hoodie and leather pants, which were now slightly out of style. Her hair was shorter, cut to her ears in a neat bob. She grinned mischievously.
"Of all the chat partners in all the world. Crazy odds," she cooed. "You're looking very manly Ta-kun. You've gone and grown up. The disaffected high school kid look really suits you. "
Naota couldn't speak. He couldn't even believe his eyes. "Please…tell me it's really you."
She smiled again, this time, genuinely. "It's really me Ta-kun. Are you still in Mabase?"
He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. "You're on earth?"
She laughed a bit. "Nah. I'm only a few galaxies away from you though. My ship can pick up earth's Internet signals, so I've been surfing away the boredom. Interstellar travel can be pretty mundane at times…"
He could only nod. "I…I miss you so much…Ever since you've left…it's sucked."
Haruko smiled. "I got him. Atomsk. His power is mine."
Naota was in shock. "HOW?"
She laughed. "It wasn't so hard. I just caught up with him about a month ago. He might be powerful, but the sucker just couldn't swing the bat when it came down to it. Not like you Ta-kun."
"…Haruko…I…I'm glad…you finally got what you wanted." He said.
Gaku stood back up and sat back down next to him "Hey Naota, lunch ends in five minutes. I need my computer back." Then he finally realized whom it was that Naota was talking to.
"AGH! It's the vespa woman! SMOOOOOOCH!"
Haruko winked at him and gave the boy a nosebleed. He promptly passed out. She smiled at Noata.
"Speaking of boredom…Now that I've absorbed Atomsk, there's not really anything fun going on. I've been thinking…maybe it's time for me to drop by and see Ta-kun again. And here you are."
Naota blushed. "…Would you really do that?"
Haruko shrugged. "I dunno. I'm kinda on the run from the GSPB right now. They didn't take to kindly to me turning on them and attacking their forces on earth. I might not be able to stay long…my life is like roulette, I land where I land. Sometimes on the red, sometimes on the black. You know that. I've already hit the jackpot, but that doesn't mean I can stop playing."
Naota looked down. "Oh." He said weakly.
"Tell ya what. I'll stop by. It'll take me a week to reach that backwater swamp of yours. I'll stop by the house when I get there. It'll be nice to hear how good you've gotten with my bass."
Naota's heart skipped a beat. "…O…Ok."
"I'll see you soon Ta-kun. Try not to fall over dead from excitement before I'm there. Otherwise I'll have to give you CPR." Haruko said with a grin. She blew him a kiss.
Naota blushed furiously. "I…uh…I'll see you soon Haruko…I love you. That hasn't changed."
For the first time in the conversation, a hint of a blush appeared on Haruko's face as well. "I…I'm glad." She said. "I'll be there soon. Bye."
Just like that, Haruko quit the session, and Naota was redirected to another pervert touching himself. He shut the laptop's lid and all the emotions he'd pent up over the past five years came rushing out of his eyes. He cried openly, and honestly, and didn't give a shit what it did to his reputation. It was as if a baseball bomb had come hurtling out of the sky and blown his carefully constructed composure to smithereens.
A/n: This may not be the best thing I've ever written, but after re-watching FLCL about five times I felt like I absolutely had to write something. I kept thinking over and over again about who Haruko is, and I came to the conclusion that she really did care about Naota, but that her mission was top priority and that she would not be redirected until it was accomplished. However, I wanted to think about what would happen if she was put back in contact with Naota after all was said and done.
I might continue this if at least a couple people want me to. It'll be part fluff, part action, and hopefully, very FLCL. Please review, good or bad!