Addict by Khursten Santos

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Disclaimer: FLCL is copyrighted to Gainax. All the characters used in this story are only for fanfiction purposes. The author holds no personal right to the characters, but the story stays true to be hers and only hers. Any signs of plaigiarism won't be tolerated.
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2nd State : Crazy Sunshine

"Ichi ni! Ichi ni! Iku yo Canti!"

Mabase's morning was hazy as usual. The clouds showed a big threat to the supposedly sunny spring days of Mabase. Like that ever really happened.

Naota grabbed his coat and ran downstairs.

"I'm going." He yelped, grabbing piece of bread by the counter.

"ITTERASSHAIMASUUU~~!" he heard a youthful voice scream in reply. "Niyao~~ go home early, Ta-kun~~~! I'm making Highland Curry!"

"Hai." Naota hopped on to his vespa and went to school. The low clouds seem to have gone up the mountains, and the early morning fog was slowly disappearing. Naota looked ahead as shops passed in and out of his sight. Naota's face lightened pretty much like grass becoming greener as the sun rose above the mountains. Today was different. Much more different than other days. Haruko was definitely back. And that made Naota's day brighter.

Like a boy who has found a lost loved toy, Naota smiled happily, greeting everyone in his path. This was even better than the day that he had gotten his vespa as a gift. Haruko was back! Haruko was home.

-

"Naota! Is it true? Is it true?! Your old maid's back in your house!?" his conspicuous classmate, Gaku asked. Naota dropped his bag and eagerly sat in his seat to tell his story.

"Yup. Haruko's back." He answered with much enthusiasm. Naota had actually longed for this moment. He had often dreamt about seeing her again and being with her again. And ere she was. Naota narrated to his classmates about Haruko's comeback, which made an impression on Gaku.

"Ah! The longing for the older woman! Does she still have the vespa? Is she still knocking things with her vespa and guitar?" Gaku asked much too many questions to which Naota had no answer to but various renditions of "I don't know."

From her seat, Ninamori stared at her notebook, scribbling nonsense and subtle words of hatred towards Naota.

"Baka. Baka. Baka. Baka. Baka…" she endlessly mumbled as she went on with her scribbles.

"So Naota, did you hit it with her last night? Did she sleep in your room again? I bet this time you didn't let her sleep in your brother's bed again, eh? Naota, you pervert!"

A cracking noise silenced the room. Half of the room looked at Naota. The others looked at Ninamori.

"Eri-chan! Your hand is bleeding!" cried one of their classmates.

The sharper edge of Ninamori's pencil had pierced partly through her left palm. Ninamori lifted her hand and looked at it with much interest.

"Oh." She mumbled as she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Come, I'll accompany you to the clinic." Naota reached out his elbow in her aid. Ninamori looked surprised; nonetheless, it was a lot better than going there with one of the girls.

-

Things like this were unspoken between the two of them. It was something they had just understood among themselves. It had actually started with Ninamori.

The day when Mabase stood still, the first one to come by Naota's aid was Ninamori.

"We all go through this. You just have to grow up and deal with it." She spoke in her casual opinionated tone. It was Ninamori who had brought stability back in him. She was the one responsible luring him back to reality. He was rather grateful for that. Had he not grown up, he wouldn't have found his inner strength.

"You always had it in you." She said once. "You're just too stupid to admit you have it."

Quite frankly, Naota isn't keen on Ninamori's sarcasm. Then again it's that sarcasm that made him grow fond of her. In a way, they both lived in dissatisfaction, always finding something wrong in things. In a way, both of them manage to tolerate and find happiness with what they have. Then again, everyone in Mabase was like that. Everyone just appeared to be satisfied.

"Just change the bandages when you get home." Naota spoke as he taped the gauze on Ninamori's hand.

"Thanks, Naota-kun." She uttered with a grateful smile on her face.

"Ah… It's… It's nothing! Really! The nurse isn't here, better off I do this myself-" Naota's cheeks flushed to red as he felt Ninamori's lips. For a while, he was hesitant… then again this was something both of them have done before and both of them had understood. Ninamori leaned on Naota and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Naota-kun, are you happy?" she asked.

"What the hell is with that question?"

"Are you happy because Haruko's back, or are you happy because I'm here?"

Naota sat in silence, finding no answer best fit for the situation. Yes, he was happy that Haruko was back. And yes, he too was happy to have known Ninamori. There was nothing more than to date a politician's daughter. More even to date one of the most sought after girls in school. But Naota knew that his relationship with Ninamori was more than what others had perceived of it. Naota didn't know how to explain it… but certainly, it wasn't love. He loved Haruko. That alone proves enough to why he was happier to the thought of Haruko being home. Ninamori. She may be just someone special.

The school bell rang disturbing the silence that clamored over the clinic.

"We better get back in the classroom. Miyagi-sensei might think something worse could have happened to you." Naota lifted Ninamori's arms around his neck and stood up. Ninamori sat as she watched him pace towards the door. With that, she knew she was again on the sidelines. Just that someone he knew. Ninamori wiped the welling tears in her eyes and hurriedly walked out of the clinic.

"Ah-! Ninamori!" Naota called as he was left standing by the door of the clinic.

-

"Welcome Home!" Canti's monitor flashed as he brought in bags of flour into the bakery.

"Where's Haruko?" Naota asked as he dropped his bags in the living room. He sat on the tatami and turned on the TV. Canti brought him tea and flashed on his screen "She went out to buy you highland curry."

Naota sat in thought about things that had transpired for the past hours. Ninamori was having another of those moody temperaments. At first, Naota didn't mind, until Gaku pointed out that Ninamori might be jealous of Haruko.

"Jealous, huh?" Naota smirked at the thought because for one, it wasn't as though Ninamori was his girlfriend.

Ninamori was never his girlfriend. She was just someone special. Someone close to him. Like Mamimi.

Mamimi. Naota hadn't really heard from her. Although he knew that Mamimi was responsible for all the anonymous photographs that he's been receiving every now and then. Wherever she was, she's happy. That's enough for Naota to know.

Canti approached Naota carrying some dried squid. "Squid?" Naota read from Canti's monitor. Naota smiled at Canti and gave his monitor a rub. In that brief moment, Canti's monitor turned red, flashing a luminescent symbol Naota knew well.

"Na, Canti. Do you have any idea why Haruko's here?" Naota asked as he chomped on his squid.

Canti answered Naota with a blank monitor. As much as he longed to see Haruko again, he never really imagined seeing Haruko once again. He would often look in the stars wondering which galaxy Haruko was in. Maybe in another Medical Mechanica factory, looking for another "Taro-kun". He had questions to ask to Haruko, questions that perhaps may lessen his worry. Naota cupped his teacup in his hands and peacefully took a sip by their garden.

"TADAIMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~~!!" the Nandaba household shook in horror as the roaring engine of a vespa plummets like a meteor in the center garden.

"OI~~~! MATTTTEEEEEEEEEEE~~ VESPAAAAAAAA~~~~!!"

Naota looked from above to see an outlandish Haruko falling down from the sky. Had he not seen, there she was once more, her red Stratocaster aiming towards his head.

"TARGET!"

"AIM!"

"WAIT! HARUKO~~!!"

"FIRE!" Haruko threw her guitar with great force, the tuning keys aiming directly towards Naota's forehead. Naota tried to scream for dear life, but had found no other action to counter the impact at 5… 4… 3… 2… 1.

"MISSION INITIATED!" A harrowing laugh was heard around the Nandaba household, disturbing Miu Miu from her endless sleep.