FLCL: Unseal
Chapter One – "FLCL/Introductions"
"Come on, 'Takkun! You know you want to!"
"N-no I don't!" The poor boy struggled vainly to escape, but Mamimi held on to him too tightly. Ninamori sat a few feet away, sipping on a bottle of Cherio. The girl was wearing her red-rimmed glasses, and had recently cut her hair short.
"Chichi wo kuri kuri!" Mamimi whispered into Naota's ear.
"L-lemme go! I-don't-want-to-fondle-your-stupid-breasts!" with the last exclamation, Naota broke free, and stumbled away. "Why do you always do that?" he demanded crossly.
"It's because- oh, you know. If I don't, I might overflow."
"Overflow?" Ninamori spoke up. It was the first the new member of the small group had heard. "What'll happen?"
"Probably… something amazing." Mamimi may have been serious for a change, but Naota mouthed the words along with her, sarcastically.
"Really?" surprisingly, Ninamori seemed to believe her, and Naota shook his head. All girls seem to think alike…
"Why do I hang out with you two all the time, anyways?" he asked the sky. "I have plenty of other things to do."
"Like keeping your father out of people's pants?" Ninamori asked.
"Yes!- Er, no!" Naota blushed. "I mean…"
***
Up on a hill above the three, a lone woman seated atop a Vespa watched the three, tearing into a package of some obscure Japanese snack, munching loudly as she refocused her binoculars. The three were moving out from under the bridge, stopping at a couple of vending machines for snacks.
With a roar, the woman kicked her Vespa into gear. This was her chance. She'd free Atomsk somehow, and one of those kids down there was the key.
***
Thunk.
"Hey!" Naota protested. "I told you, I don't like sour drinks!"
Mamimi ignored him, and pulled the can of Lemon Squash out of the vending machine. Popping the top, she took a long pull at it, and then handed the can to Naota. "This is yours, isn't it?"
"I..." Naota stared at the opening of the can, blushing. An image of mamimi's lips flashed in his head. "I…"
Something firmed his resolve. "Mamimi…" he started again. "how much do you like my brother?"
"Why, is something-"
"LUNCH TIIIIIIIME! HERE I COME!"
"What the-"
With an explosion of dust and smoke thrown up by her Vespa, a woman dressed in a red vest, a riding helmet, and a scarf roared down the hill and onto the bridge. With a large crash and a shower of sparks, the bass slung on her back slid out of its casing and into her hand, scraping along the ground.
The woman leapt from her Vespa, landing solidly and safely as the damned machine smashed into an empty can and hurled itself into the air, spinning head over heel until…
…Until…
Until it smashed into Naota sending him flying, end over end into the guardrail.
"TAKKUN!" Mamimi shouted, dashing for the down, out, and drooling boy. "How could you-"
"Stop!"
"Huh?"
"Stop the native girl!" The strange woman held up hand, which somehow was twirling around. "Taro-kun hit his head, so you shouldn't move him!"
"But he didn-"
"Did I ask you for an opinion?"
"No, but-"
"I'm a registered nurse. Beat it."
Ninamori popped up behind her, and tapped the mysterious motorbike rider on the shoulder. "Who are you, and why'd you hi-"
The woman spun around. "ANOTHER ONE!"
"What the- AAAH!"
The woman pulled a ripcord attached to her bass, and the thing started up with a roar. Then, with a discordant note, she slammed the instrument into Ninamori's forehead. The girl screamed and went flying head over heels to the ground, down and out.
"Ninamori!" Mamimi cried, and the assailant turned her attention back to Naota.
"Why have one when you can have two!?" and with another discordant note, Naota went flying head over heels.
"Yo ishou!" she grabbed Naota by the feet, and shook him expectantly. Nothing happened, aside from a few yen pieces falling out of the poor boy's pockets. "Where is it?" She shook harder. Still nothing. "Why isn't he coming out?" No answer.
The woman dropped Naota and turned to Ninamori, but the girl was already sitting up, clutching at her forehead. "That hurt!" the girl cried, still holding her head. "What was that for, anyways?"
The older woman shrugged. Naota sat up, clutching his head. "What was that for!?" he shouted.
"You're useless!" she shouted back.
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?"
"NYAAAAAAA!" sticking out her tongue at the poor boy, she hopped on her Vespa. "You're both Useless!"
And with a roar, she was gone.
***
"Are you okay?" Mamimi asked Naota, who was clutching his head. "You want to go to the hospital? You probably should." She looked a Ninamori, who was also holding her head, although a big bump was starting to show from between her hands. "Both of you."
"No."
"Huh?" Mamimi looked back at him.
"Stupid adults who can't grow up… I said I'm fine!"'
Ninamori blinked. "Well, I'm going…"
"Suit yourself, Ninamo-chan."
"Ara-" she blinked again. "H-hey! I TOLD you, I don't like that nickname!" She stumbled to her feet, still holding her head. "Y-you're coming to the hospital with me!"
"No I'm not." Naota picked up his baseball bat, grabbed his backpack – which was almost falling through one o the guardrail gaps – and walked away. Ninamori made a rude gesture to Naota's back, and then turned to head towards the Medical Mechania Surgery Branch.
***
Naota frowned at the mirror. No matter how he looked at it, this just wasn't normal. No one grows horns, unless they're a sheep or a cow or something.
And yet, here he was, growing a horn. A big, ugly, skin-covered boxy horn. The sixth grader had already figured out that if he kept a constant pressure on it, it would stay in his head. He had also found out that if it was allowed to just pop right back out, it hurt. A LOT.
"If I can just figure out a way to keep it in…" he trailed off as he spotted a first-aid kit on a shelf in his closet. Why it was there, he didn't know. "A bandage! Of COURSE!" It was perfect!
Naota slowly let the horn pop back out, and then got up from his desk and grabbed the first-aid kit. He pulled a wad of gauze from the kit, slapped some tape on it, shoved the horn in, and firmly attached the band-aid over the spot. Problem solved.
Now, back to the homework…
***
Ninamori wished the doctor would finish the examination. To be honest, the woman freaked her out, what with her unusually yellow eyes and strange voice and all.
"nnn…" the doctor murmered. "nnn nnn.."
"do you know what it is?"
"It's Fliktonic Klictonia."
Ninamori sat up. "the what-now? FLi? Kli?"
"It's a brain hardening and shriveling syndrome many kids experience when they live too close to a Medical Mechania Plant-"
***
"Her name is Haruhara Haruko – at least, that's the name she gave when passing through the Immigration offices. We're not sure if it's her real name or not, but…"
"What's she doing to those poor kids?"
"My superiors aren't really sure. However, several years ago, the Medical Mechania Company sealed the Pirate-king Atomsk up in an effort to keep it from destroying the plants they had constructed. I think Haruko might be a former member of his pirates."
"So she's using the children as a Channel to summon Atomsk?"
"I think so, yes."
"…" Those… eyebrows…
"Did you say something?-"
***
"But the real question is… why is it on YOUR head?"
"Huh?"
"Here I COME!"
Ninamori screamed and rolled out of the way as Haruko's guitar slammed into the inspection table. "What the-"
"Stand still!" Haruko raised her guitar for another swing, but the squarish horn on Ninamori's head pulsed, once.
"What the-!? Itai! Itatatatatatatata…"
***
In the middle of the city, a siren went off.
~Fin Chapter one.
Author's Notes: My, this is really the first project of mine I've been really motivated to finish. Though the first chapter of this story bears remarkable resemblance to episode one of FLCL, it is about here that I plan to make some major changes to the story. Some changes you may have noticed: (1) Ninamori and Naota were BOTH struck by Haruko, resulting in not one, but TWO possible "gates" for Atomsk. (2) Several characters not introduced until episode four will be making a much sooner entry. (3) Well… wait and see. (I'll admit it, there are not 3 that I can think of off the top of my head. However, more will come in the ensuing episodes… Each of which you can consider the equivalent of about fifteen minutes of show time. Until next time, readers… !
-Lelldorin