While Shuutaro Mendou usually rides his sports bike as fast as he could when traveling the streets of Tomobiki, he decided to take his time today.
There really was no real need to be rushing into things as it's only Monday after all.
The year 2022 did look bright for him back in January. His plan was to spend a year closer to the people his family had been calling 'peasants.' He'd be going to the same school as them and shop in the same stores. This way, he can stand out from a crowd. Both rich and poor. He'll take any opportunity if it means achieving that.
Nothing could prepare him for what happened in April, however.
Seemingly overnight, The Mendou Conglomerate has faced an unforeseen number of hardships due to the Oniboshi alien invasion. Wealth had decreased significantly; meaning funding had to be cut for everything across the board. Jet fuel had been labeled by the multitude of accountants as an 'unnecessary expense.' Which is why he rides a sports bike everywhere.
School life isn't much better. Every single minute of every day he spends in that building, he has to endure being close to the man he hates most in the world.
Ataru Moroboshi.
If the whole concept of luck were to manifest itself into a person, it'd be Ataru. There's just no other way to explain it.
Luck was the simple reason why he has what he has today. Nearly a billion people in their late teens in the world and he is the one who is chosen. If that isn't luck, then nothing is.
Mendou may have been lucky enough to have been born into a rich family, but at least he knows the value of hard work. Money had kept the world spinning for as long as it had existed. Capitalism is what separates humans from the animals. Microeconomics. Macroeconomics. Anybody who doesn't have a basic understanding of these things aren't entitled to a better life. He'll defend that statement to the death.
All that hard work he's put in over his teenage years is on its way to proving itself fruitless down the line because of Ataru Moroboshi.
One could say that he's come up with a new goal for his lie. Aside from restoring the honor of the Mendou family, he'd get back at Ataru for changing the world. He'll reverse it back to its former glory. Before the aliens made themselves known.
Any future plan that he could come up with would require a massive amount of brainpower. It also requires food and a lot of it.
In the distance, he couldn't help but notice a growing crowd of people gathering around a restaurant that he was looking forward to visiting.
Confused, he stops his bike and gets off of it. Wanting to see what this commotion is about.
He takes his time making his way through the crowd and that's when he sees it.
A monster would be the quickest term used to describe what was sitting down in front of him right now. It looks to be nearly five meters in length. Despite its menacing statute, it seems to not want to do anything else except eat anything in its sight.
He looks over to the side and sees about two dozen empty plates that he assumes were once filled high with food. Whatever this creature is, it seems to have an endless stomach.
As soon as he got closer to see this beast, he must have somehow captured its attention as it began sniffing the air around it.
Unexpectedly, it turned around and looked him over before rushing towards him.
"WHOA!" Mendou yelled out as the beast kept sniffing him. He didn't know whether or not to run away or fight. He knows for sure he definitely doesn't want to anger whatever this thing is.
In a cruel, sinister voice, it spoke to him. "Lamu…"
Not sure how to react to that, Mendou talks back. "No, I'm Mendou…"
The beast then cackled a little before shrinking in size right in front of him.
He was quick to realize that it wasn't just shrinking, it was morphing into a more human shape.
He couldn't help but take a step back. "What… in… the…"
What once was a beast has now transformed into a handsome man with green hair and horns. For a moment, he had thought of a certain Disney film: Beauty and the Beast.
He can only hope that he isn't fulfilling the role of Gaston. The similarities are scary enough.
If this man in front of him is anything like Prince Adam, he's screwed.
The man takes out what he can only describe as a small balloon and begins to inflate it. When it takes its shape, he can clearly see it for what it is.
The man spoke again. This same name as before. "Lamu…"
The balloon was in the shape of the alien princess that Mendou thinks about every day. It's every bit as beautiful as the real thing.
He smiles. "You're… attracted to Lum the Invader… You've been sniffing me because you can smell her on me."
The man nodded as he began to hug the balloon.
Then, without warning, he transforms into his beastly form again. This time, having a goofy smile on his face.
This proved to be too much for the Lum balloon he was holding, as it burst open and flew away from him.
The look on the beast's face was enough to make Mendou laugh.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Now how are you going to get her to like you!? You can't even make that balloon stay with you! Hehe."
Ataru felt the cool wind caress his face as he rode the Oniboshi airbike far above the streets.
Right beside him, Lum is also flying. Making sure that he goes the same pace as she is.
He speaks to her. "Everybody looks like ants from up here."
Lum smiles at him. "Now you see what I've been seeing everyday."
Something below then caught Ataru's attention. "Is… that… Mendou?"
Lum was quick to stop flying. "Oh no… He's come back, hasn't he?"
Out of nowhere, they both heard a loud yell coming from inside the restaurant. "LAMUUU!"
Ataru sighs. "Rei's back…"
They both see the beast exit the building. He then shouted down at him. "You should have stayed in Korea, my dude!"
Mendou was quick to look up at Ataru.
"Wait… You know this beast?"
Now it's Lum's turn to shout at Rei.
"So you still haven't given up on me!? After all this time!? You have the freedom to leave Earth at any time and yet you stay! Find somebody else to love!
And PLEASE stop calling me Lamu! You KNOW I hate that name!"
Now transformed into his human form, Rei shook his head.
"Lamu! Lamu! LAMU! PLEASE… Please cook for me… for the rest… of my life! Is that asking… too much!?"
Hearing that, Ataru couldn't help but hold back a laugh.
"The first full sentence I hear from this guy and it's a proposal. Not even a good one, either."
His perverted self speaks in his head.
"I remember us getting slapped for saying less!" "WHEN!?"
Lum, however, isn't surprised by any of it.
"You must have looked into one of those cheap, self-study guides while you were overseas! Darling can speak two languages too!"
Rei and Mendou look at Ataru, who smiles at them.
"Sodesu… Ah, watashi wa… fukusu no gengo o hanasu. Shigoto o tsudzukereba; jozu ni narudeshou." He spoke in a clear tone.
Lum giggles. "That was Nihongo!"
Rei was used to hearing complicated human languages everyday, but the moment it passed the lips of the one who claims Lamu as his own were enough to make his blood boil.
He had lost control last time they met, so this time, he made sure to have some degree of control when he transforms. Maybe if he proposes to Lamu again and again, she'll cave in and say yes.
His plan has to work. After all, he came up with it.
The next thing he knew; he ended up starting a chase. If there's one thing he loves almost as much as food, it was chasing.
"Oh Kami! What on Earth did I do to deserve this!?" The one running alongside the two (Mendou) shouted.
"Say, Shinobu, what's happening between you and Moroboshi?"
"What's there for me to say? We're growing further apart by the day."
With all her schoolwork done for the day, Shinobu was having a conversation with a rather curious friend on her way home.
She looks up at the sky. "I don't feel sad about it at all. He has his own life to live and I have mine! Besides… there's someone else I'm interested in."
"Shinobu!"
It was as soon as she thought about the man known as Shuutaro Mendou, he walks right back into her life.
Or, in this case, is sitting on top of his cool, black sports bike.
"Oh, Mendou-san!" She yells as she began to wave at him.
Mendou, however, isn't sharing her feelings. "RUN! HE'S COMING! RUN!"
This only confuses her. "Huh? Run? Why do I need to run? Who's coming?"
It was then that Rei, in his human form, came up from out of nowhere and hugged her.
"Please cook for me for the rest of my life!"
A handsome man was hugging her. She couldn't help but feel intertwined by his embrace.
Without thinking, she began talking to herself.
"I'll have to talk with my parents and I'm afraid of leaving Earth! I'm not sure if I can be happy living with an alien, but I guess if Ataru-kun could do it… Our children… What would our children look like?"
Mendou just sat there with his mouth hanging wide open. He remembers the love letter this particular girl had sent to him the day they first met and now here she is fantasizing about having children with an alien.
His thoughts weren't so quiet about it.
"I swear to GOD! If I get passed over one more time by anybody today, I'm gonna jump off a damn bridge!"
Meanwhile, Ataru, who is witnessing the whole thing from above on his airbike, has the same expression.
His perverted half speaks to him. "Just let her go, man. She's made her choice."
Ataru ignored him and started to yell out. "SHINO-"
He couldn't finish. The pervert inside shut him up.
"Ah! Ah! Don't say anything! Just let her go! She's not yours anymore! Accept that and move on! Move on with your life!"
Rei, seeing that he's hugging a woman who isn't Lamu, lets go of her. "Sorry sorry!" He runs off to continue chasing after the one he really wants.
Shinobu, in disbelief, fell to her knees. "What… just… happened?"
Itsuka has no idea about what he's ever done to deserve a day that's as great as this one.
He'd only met Ayumi Tokida recently, but she is already the greatest person to have ever entered his life.
All the time he's spent with her, has been the happiest he's ever been in a long time.
He used to believe that there's no such thing as a 'perfect girlfriend,' but that's what Ayumi is.
They're sitting on a park bench doing nothing but being close. They'd just finished taking a trip around the shopping center.
He had insisted that he buy her some things a few times, but she refused. She kept telling him that the time he spent with her is a good enough present.
He's in the middle of telling one of the stories in his life, as she gave him her undivided attention.
She rests her head on his shoulder while one of his arms is behind her neck. "Hehe… I can't believe I'm saying this, but you may be the most interesting person I've ever met." She says to him.
Itsuka scratches the back of his head. "Well… I ended up cutting ties with all my friends. Some of them cut ties with me first. I moved on with my life. You know? It is what it is."
Ayumi giggles again. "Hehe… I don't think I'd be able to move on that easily… After all that."
"I didn't say it was easy." Said Itsuka. "I miss them every day. I don't know where they are now, but I wish them the best."
He was about to lean close and kiss her, but found himself interrupted by the voices of Lum and Ataru above him.
"Darling! Protect me!" "Protect you!? How!?"
He lets out a sigh. Every time he looks away from Ataru for more than two seconds, it's like every crazy thing that can happen will happen to him and anybody else who's around him.
Then, out of nowhere, a familiar face gets in between him and Ayumi. "Hey man! What's the big idea!?"
Rei paid him no mind. Instead, he embraces Ayumi in a hug and looks her in the face.
"Please cook for me for the-"
He stops talking when he picks up her scent. In addition to not belonging to Lamu, it's composed of what he calls 'bad air.'
Not the kind of bad air that food makes when he excretes it out of his body. This is the kind of bad air exclusive only from those who are more than capable of maiming, if not killing him.
One of her eyes is covered by her hair. It was only for a second, but he's pretty sure whatever she's hiding isn't that of a normal Earthling's eye.
Those were his last thoughts before Ayumi slapped him in the face and sent him flying before crashing headfirst on the hard ground below.
Itsuka stood up; having a hard time believing what had just happened. "Whoa!"
Almost instantly, Ayumi faces him. He can see a blush forming on her face. "I'm so sorry you had to see that, Itsuka! Please don't be afraid of me! He was only coming in between us!"
Itsuka couldn't help but smile. "Are you kidding me? That was awesome!"
Ataru glared behind him for a second and pieced together what had happened.
"Hey Lum!? I don't think Rei's gonna keep following us!"
WIth a distraught look on his face, Rei took his time standing up. He couldn't remember being in this much pain before. He's hurt. He's tired. He's hungry. Now that he thinks about it, he's a little homesick. He speaks into a wristwatch he's wearing.
"Rei… I am Rei… Phone… Phone home!"
At the other end of the line, another voice can be heard.
"This is Channel Ten to Channel Rei. Channel Ten to Channel Rei. I hear you loud and clear. Sending transport to your location. Please stand by."
Within the timespan of five seconds, an Oniboshi spacecraft hovers over Tomobiki's park specifically to pick up Rei.
Before activating the teleport button on his wristwatch, he takes a moment to stare at Ataru. Mendou is in the distance witnessing the whole thing.
What Ataru didn't expect was for Rei to give him a thumbs up before leaving. Both Tomobiki and the planet. He breathes out a sigh of relief. Rei's gone. The end of an era.
He remains silent for a little while before speaking to Lum.
"A thumbs up is a sign of respect on your planet, right?"