Episode 6: Add Mission
Kitsurubami sat at a long metallic table, opposite of Commander Amarao. In his hand, he held a neat stack of papers stapled to the inside of a manila folder. His eyes skimmed roughly over the typed words.
Amarao: This is your report?
Kitsurubami: Yes, Commander.
Amarao: All of it?
Kitsurubami: Yes.
Amarao: Hmm...
Kitsurubami: I don't get it, Commander. I thought that once Atomsk left a body, it would return to its normal limitations. Could it be possible that there were residual affect we overlooked?
Amarao: Maybe...
Kitsurubami: So, what do we do now...
Amarao: The only thing we really can do; keep an eye on the kid...
Kitsurubami: ...
Amarao: It would also appear that the N. O. gate is still open. I wonder why that is... And that robot...
Kitsurubami: Do you think Medical Mechanica...?
Amarao: No, its too soon. Even they couldn't regroup that quickly after all the damage the Pirate King caused... Unless they were getting outside help...
Kitsurubami: But our satellite surveillance would have picked up any activity in and around this quadrant.
Amarao: You forget. Our technology isn't nearly as developed as most planet's... It wouldn't be that hard to sneak in, unseen... This is bad.
Amarao turned, dramatically, and looked off twitched his left eyebrow a bit. Though this annoyed the young lieutenant to no end, she remained silent.
Kitsurubami: ...
Amarao: Kitsurubami, right?
Kitsurubami: Yes, Commander.
Amarao dropped the folder onto the table, revealing a picture of Naota paper-clipped to a copy of his personal information. The Commander leaned over the table, staring down at the mug shot. His left eyebrow twitched again.
Amarao: Right. I want you to stick close to that kid for a while... All of your other duties come secondary...
Kitsurubami: Yes, sir ... but, why me?
Amarao: He trusts you.
Kitsurubami: Oh.
Amarao: You're our only shot at an inside look at this thing...
Kitsurubami: Yes, sir.
With that, the lieutenant was dismissed. She her time getting back to her office, mulling over what the Commander had told her. she couldn't help but feel that this was all wrong.
Kitsurubami: (thinking) Isn't that like... using him?
(Nandaba House)
After getting home, Naota went straight up to his room and went to bed. He wasn't actually trying to get to sleep, but he usually found comfort in his bed. He rolled over onto his back and gently ran an index finger over his forehead.
Naota: (thinking) Still hurts...
After an hour or so, Naota did end up nodding off. He dreamt that he was in an empty stadium. The sky was streaked with red clouds. Gradually, the clouds began to swirl together, forming a vortex. The whirlpool churned and churned. Naota stared up at the marvel, spellbound.
His awe was abruptly shattered by shock as what appeared to be an enormous baseball broke through the center and came barreling down toward him. Naota gasped and stumbled backwards as he studied the surface of the sphere, and there ... he could see it... Haruko's face carved into the front of the ball. Her glowing red eyes accented her maniacal grin.
Naota: (in a strained whisper) Haruko...!
Naota jerked into an upright sitting position on his bed. Cold sweat ran from his matted hair, down his face and neck. His T-shirt clung to his torso. When Naota's frantic gasping subsided, he glanced around his room, as if reassuring himself that he was actually awake.
Naota: Just a dream...
Naota's relieve expression quickly dropped into a look of mild horror.
Naota: No... A nightmare...
Naota slowly climbed out of bed and head downstairs to the kitchen. He ignored Canti, who was in the living room, watching some late night show on TV. After he poured himself a glass of cold milk, Naota took a seat at the counter.
Naota: (thinking) That was... weird... (pause) I... I don't get it ... when Haruko left, I thought that... No... But... Am I in love with Haruko ... or am I afraid of her...? It doesn't make any since... A month ago, I would have given ... anything ... just to see her one more time... But now ... am I actually afraid of the idea of her coming back...?
Naota paused again and chugged his glass of milk, then rested his head on his folded arms.
Naota: (thinking) Do... do I really want her back?
Naota finally got tired of thinking and made his way back to his room.
Naota: Whatever...
The next day, school was just as boring as it had always been. Naota slept through the first half, due to the fact that his sleep the night before had been pretty restless. School let out, but Naota took his time leaving. He stopped at his locker to grab his jacket (it'd been in there for close to three months and it really needed to be washed). Just as he closed his locker door, a voice from behind startled him.
Eri: Look who it is.
Naota: ...
Eri: Rough night?
Naota stood and turned slowly to face her. his mouth was a short, straight line over the lower half of his face.
Eri: We need to talk.
Naota: About what...?
Eri: Look, I'm sure that we both said things to each other that we really didn't mean...
Naota: Speak for yourself.
Eri flinched slightly, but took the hit in stride. She regained composure and looked Naota straight in the eye.
Eri: If I came off as harsh or push, I apologize. I worry about you sometimes, that's all.
Naota: (thinking) The day the "Princess of Mabase" apologizes, whoa...
Eri: So, I won't bother you anymore. If you want ever want to talk, I'll be around okay?
With that, she turned and began walking away in a calm steady pace.
Naota: (suddenly) Hey.
Eri stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn around.
Naota: Maybe ... one day ... we could get together and do something...
Eri: Maybe.
She turned her head just enough to flash Naota a smug grin before she disappeared around the corner. Naota sighed and walked in the opposite direction. To Naota's surprise, Kitsurubami was waiting for him in the parking lot. He stopped at the top steps of the now empty school entrance and raised an eyebrow.
Kitsurubami: I called, but you had already left for school.
Naota slowly nodded in understanding. An eerie wave of silence swept over them, leaving an air of discomfort in its wake.
Kitsurubami: Come on. Let's take a ride.
Rather than looking out of the window as he usually did, Naota found himself talking much more openly to Kitsurubami. He told her about how boring school was. How much he hated the teachers. He even went off into which students he couldn't stand to be around. Kitsurubami let out a tiny chuckle, forcing Naota to glance over at her. when he realized how out of character he had become, he blushed lightly and turned to the window.
Naota: But ... whatever...
Kitsurubami: You know, it's nice to here you talk like that.
Naota: Huh?
Kitsurubami: I mean, you don't seem to be the type of person to just start a conversation with people, but when you do, you can be a really interesting person.
Naota: Oh.
Kitsurubami: Yeah.
They finally stopped at a place that Naota noticed all to well. It was the beach that he had once gone to with Haruko. Slowly, he took in the salty autumn breeze.
For a while, they just stood by the car, reminiscing about prior visits to the beach. When he glanced up, Kitsurubami was already a distance down the shore. Naota walked briskly to catch up. When he finally reached her, she was sitting on a bench on the pier overlooking the water. Rather than take a seat beside her, Naota hopped up onto the rail and settled himself there.
Everything remained quiet for five minutes or so, the only sounds being the sea gulls overhead and the gentle crashing of the waves on the shore.
Kitsurubami: (suddenly) So... what you did yesterday... destroying that robot... That was pretty amazing.
Naota cast his face down to hide the fact that he was blushing.
Naota: It wasn't like it was a big deal or something...
Kitsurubami: On the contrary...
Naota: ...?
Kitsurubami: You almost looked like her up there...
Naota's shoulders slumped a bit and his voice dropped to a much more subdued tone.
Naota: No ... nothing that fantastic...
Kitsurubami: Well... I thought so.
Naota looked back up at her. She eyed him carefully, as if waiting for him to say something. instead, he glanced out at the water, thoughtfully.
Kitsurubami: When I look at you... I see a lot of her in you...
There was a long silence.
Naota: ...
Kitsurubami: ... So...
Naota turned back to her, a look of mild confusion washing over his features.
Kitsurubami: How...
Kitsurubami was cut off by the sound of a nearby explosion. Naota and Kitsurubami spun around
Kitsurubami: What the...?!
Naota: Huh?!
Out of the smoke, something very much resembling a mechanical sting ray emerged from the billowing darkness and took to the sky. Sand, rocks and debris blew all over the place. Stunned, Kitsurubami watched in silent awe.
Kitsurubami: (thinking) again!? Where are these things coming from?! This doesn't make sense! If Medical Mechanica is still out of commission here on Earth, how can these things be here?! And even if they are being brought in from the outside, what would be their motivation...?!
As she finished her thought, a barrage of laser fire began blasting the pier to bits. Without hesitation, Naota, reached into his forehead and came out with Haruko's trusty Rickenbacker. He placed one foot at the bottom tip of the body and held the neck with one hand, holding it in place. With his other hand, he pulled the cord, starting the motor on the back of the guitar. Naota turned back to her and yelled out above the explosions and the roaring of the guitar motor.
Naota: Grab on!
Kitsurubami: Right!
As Naota took off on the guitar, surfing style, Kitsurubami lunged at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.
Kitsurubami: (thinking) Now's not the time be modest!
The guitar zoomed through the air, dodging the laser shots with ease. The air friction beat at Naota's clothes as he picked up speed. The mechanical menace was soon on their tail, firing off blast after blast of searing lasers.
Naota threw his weight to the back of the guitar, forcing the front up, throwing them into a vertical loop. Kitsurubami screamed in fear as she caught the aftermath of the change in direction. This was really too much for her. The robot mimicked the maneuver with a bit more grace and was once again upon them.
Naota jerked to the side, sending them flying off to the right. He went off into a series of raunchy zigzags. Because of its size and build, the robot wasn't able to follow through with those kind of moves, so it settled for a string of slow, similar turns. Having slowed it down, Naota spun around and glided backwards, facing the robot. Naota lifted his right arm and roughly plunged it back into his forehead and proceeded to grope around.
Kitsurubami watched in shock and wonder as he seemingly found what he was looking for and drug out a new guitar. this one was painted white with a green marble pattern. Naota abruptly flipped it into the air and caught it. Holding it shotgun style, he aimed at the oncoming monstrosity.
Kitsurubami: (thinking) What's he waiting for?! Shoot the thing! Shoot it before it...!
By the time she blinked, the thing was only a few meters from them. She could plainly see five sets of red "eyes" on its slanted "face." In white paint "MM" was tattooed just above the top set of "eyes." Kitsurubami shut her eyes tightly and waited for her impending doom.
Suddenly a loud explosion and the sound of metal debris made her open them again. Everything seemed to slow down as the shot fired from the "barrel" of Naota's second guitar cleaved the thing right down the middle, from "nose" to "tail." Metal parts went everywhere. The gunshot was quickly followed up by an explosion engulfing the seemingly floating remains of the metal monster. And as Kitsurubami stared up at Naota's stern and confident face, she knew that she was perfectly safe.
---------------------
RIDE ON SHOOTING STAR
ORANGE no SLIDE utsusu sora
SPONGE no PRIDE burasakete
SPIDER
kike totta sono yokan wa
kakusanakuta tte ii n da
iro no tsuita yume mitai na
Ride on Shooting Star
kokoro no koe de sandanjû no yô ni
utai tsutzuketa
GRUNGE no HAMSTER otona bite
REVENGE no LOBSTER hiki tsurete
SNIPER
fuchi totta sono sekai ni
nani ga mieru tte iu n da
nerau mae ni sawaritai na
Ride on Shooting Star
kimi o sagashite kindanshôjô chû
uso o tsuita
Ride on Shooting Star
kokoro no koe de sandanjû no yô ni
utai tsutzuketa
---------------------
Haruko: Is it me, or does that guy from .Hack//Sign sound suspiciously like Sanosuke Sagara...? Come to think of it, they even look alike, save the hair color and obvious outfit differences... Just a thought. Next on Fooly Cooly; Episode 7: Ouka Raba!
Kitsurubami sat at a long metallic table, opposite of Commander Amarao. In his hand, he held a neat stack of papers stapled to the inside of a manila folder. His eyes skimmed roughly over the typed words.
Amarao: This is your report?
Kitsurubami: Yes, Commander.
Amarao: All of it?
Kitsurubami: Yes.
Amarao: Hmm...
Kitsurubami: I don't get it, Commander. I thought that once Atomsk left a body, it would return to its normal limitations. Could it be possible that there were residual affect we overlooked?
Amarao: Maybe...
Kitsurubami: So, what do we do now...
Amarao: The only thing we really can do; keep an eye on the kid...
Kitsurubami: ...
Amarao: It would also appear that the N. O. gate is still open. I wonder why that is... And that robot...
Kitsurubami: Do you think Medical Mechanica...?
Amarao: No, its too soon. Even they couldn't regroup that quickly after all the damage the Pirate King caused... Unless they were getting outside help...
Kitsurubami: But our satellite surveillance would have picked up any activity in and around this quadrant.
Amarao: You forget. Our technology isn't nearly as developed as most planet's... It wouldn't be that hard to sneak in, unseen... This is bad.
Amarao turned, dramatically, and looked off twitched his left eyebrow a bit. Though this annoyed the young lieutenant to no end, she remained silent.
Kitsurubami: ...
Amarao: Kitsurubami, right?
Kitsurubami: Yes, Commander.
Amarao dropped the folder onto the table, revealing a picture of Naota paper-clipped to a copy of his personal information. The Commander leaned over the table, staring down at the mug shot. His left eyebrow twitched again.
Amarao: Right. I want you to stick close to that kid for a while... All of your other duties come secondary...
Kitsurubami: Yes, sir ... but, why me?
Amarao: He trusts you.
Kitsurubami: Oh.
Amarao: You're our only shot at an inside look at this thing...
Kitsurubami: Yes, sir.
With that, the lieutenant was dismissed. She her time getting back to her office, mulling over what the Commander had told her. she couldn't help but feel that this was all wrong.
Kitsurubami: (thinking) Isn't that like... using him?
(Nandaba House)
After getting home, Naota went straight up to his room and went to bed. He wasn't actually trying to get to sleep, but he usually found comfort in his bed. He rolled over onto his back and gently ran an index finger over his forehead.
Naota: (thinking) Still hurts...
After an hour or so, Naota did end up nodding off. He dreamt that he was in an empty stadium. The sky was streaked with red clouds. Gradually, the clouds began to swirl together, forming a vortex. The whirlpool churned and churned. Naota stared up at the marvel, spellbound.
His awe was abruptly shattered by shock as what appeared to be an enormous baseball broke through the center and came barreling down toward him. Naota gasped and stumbled backwards as he studied the surface of the sphere, and there ... he could see it... Haruko's face carved into the front of the ball. Her glowing red eyes accented her maniacal grin.
Naota: (in a strained whisper) Haruko...!
Naota jerked into an upright sitting position on his bed. Cold sweat ran from his matted hair, down his face and neck. His T-shirt clung to his torso. When Naota's frantic gasping subsided, he glanced around his room, as if reassuring himself that he was actually awake.
Naota: Just a dream...
Naota's relieve expression quickly dropped into a look of mild horror.
Naota: No... A nightmare...
Naota slowly climbed out of bed and head downstairs to the kitchen. He ignored Canti, who was in the living room, watching some late night show on TV. After he poured himself a glass of cold milk, Naota took a seat at the counter.
Naota: (thinking) That was... weird... (pause) I... I don't get it ... when Haruko left, I thought that... No... But... Am I in love with Haruko ... or am I afraid of her...? It doesn't make any since... A month ago, I would have given ... anything ... just to see her one more time... But now ... am I actually afraid of the idea of her coming back...?
Naota paused again and chugged his glass of milk, then rested his head on his folded arms.
Naota: (thinking) Do... do I really want her back?
Naota finally got tired of thinking and made his way back to his room.
Naota: Whatever...
The next day, school was just as boring as it had always been. Naota slept through the first half, due to the fact that his sleep the night before had been pretty restless. School let out, but Naota took his time leaving. He stopped at his locker to grab his jacket (it'd been in there for close to three months and it really needed to be washed). Just as he closed his locker door, a voice from behind startled him.
Eri: Look who it is.
Naota: ...
Eri: Rough night?
Naota stood and turned slowly to face her. his mouth was a short, straight line over the lower half of his face.
Eri: We need to talk.
Naota: About what...?
Eri: Look, I'm sure that we both said things to each other that we really didn't mean...
Naota: Speak for yourself.
Eri flinched slightly, but took the hit in stride. She regained composure and looked Naota straight in the eye.
Eri: If I came off as harsh or push, I apologize. I worry about you sometimes, that's all.
Naota: (thinking) The day the "Princess of Mabase" apologizes, whoa...
Eri: So, I won't bother you anymore. If you want ever want to talk, I'll be around okay?
With that, she turned and began walking away in a calm steady pace.
Naota: (suddenly) Hey.
Eri stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn around.
Naota: Maybe ... one day ... we could get together and do something...
Eri: Maybe.
She turned her head just enough to flash Naota a smug grin before she disappeared around the corner. Naota sighed and walked in the opposite direction. To Naota's surprise, Kitsurubami was waiting for him in the parking lot. He stopped at the top steps of the now empty school entrance and raised an eyebrow.
Kitsurubami: I called, but you had already left for school.
Naota slowly nodded in understanding. An eerie wave of silence swept over them, leaving an air of discomfort in its wake.
Kitsurubami: Come on. Let's take a ride.
Rather than looking out of the window as he usually did, Naota found himself talking much more openly to Kitsurubami. He told her about how boring school was. How much he hated the teachers. He even went off into which students he couldn't stand to be around. Kitsurubami let out a tiny chuckle, forcing Naota to glance over at her. when he realized how out of character he had become, he blushed lightly and turned to the window.
Naota: But ... whatever...
Kitsurubami: You know, it's nice to here you talk like that.
Naota: Huh?
Kitsurubami: I mean, you don't seem to be the type of person to just start a conversation with people, but when you do, you can be a really interesting person.
Naota: Oh.
Kitsurubami: Yeah.
They finally stopped at a place that Naota noticed all to well. It was the beach that he had once gone to with Haruko. Slowly, he took in the salty autumn breeze.
For a while, they just stood by the car, reminiscing about prior visits to the beach. When he glanced up, Kitsurubami was already a distance down the shore. Naota walked briskly to catch up. When he finally reached her, she was sitting on a bench on the pier overlooking the water. Rather than take a seat beside her, Naota hopped up onto the rail and settled himself there.
Everything remained quiet for five minutes or so, the only sounds being the sea gulls overhead and the gentle crashing of the waves on the shore.
Kitsurubami: (suddenly) So... what you did yesterday... destroying that robot... That was pretty amazing.
Naota cast his face down to hide the fact that he was blushing.
Naota: It wasn't like it was a big deal or something...
Kitsurubami: On the contrary...
Naota: ...?
Kitsurubami: You almost looked like her up there...
Naota's shoulders slumped a bit and his voice dropped to a much more subdued tone.
Naota: No ... nothing that fantastic...
Kitsurubami: Well... I thought so.
Naota looked back up at her. She eyed him carefully, as if waiting for him to say something. instead, he glanced out at the water, thoughtfully.
Kitsurubami: When I look at you... I see a lot of her in you...
There was a long silence.
Naota: ...
Kitsurubami: ... So...
Naota turned back to her, a look of mild confusion washing over his features.
Kitsurubami: How...
Kitsurubami was cut off by the sound of a nearby explosion. Naota and Kitsurubami spun around
Kitsurubami: What the...?!
Naota: Huh?!
Out of the smoke, something very much resembling a mechanical sting ray emerged from the billowing darkness and took to the sky. Sand, rocks and debris blew all over the place. Stunned, Kitsurubami watched in silent awe.
Kitsurubami: (thinking) again!? Where are these things coming from?! This doesn't make sense! If Medical Mechanica is still out of commission here on Earth, how can these things be here?! And even if they are being brought in from the outside, what would be their motivation...?!
As she finished her thought, a barrage of laser fire began blasting the pier to bits. Without hesitation, Naota, reached into his forehead and came out with Haruko's trusty Rickenbacker. He placed one foot at the bottom tip of the body and held the neck with one hand, holding it in place. With his other hand, he pulled the cord, starting the motor on the back of the guitar. Naota turned back to her and yelled out above the explosions and the roaring of the guitar motor.
Naota: Grab on!
Kitsurubami: Right!
As Naota took off on the guitar, surfing style, Kitsurubami lunged at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.
Kitsurubami: (thinking) Now's not the time be modest!
The guitar zoomed through the air, dodging the laser shots with ease. The air friction beat at Naota's clothes as he picked up speed. The mechanical menace was soon on their tail, firing off blast after blast of searing lasers.
Naota threw his weight to the back of the guitar, forcing the front up, throwing them into a vertical loop. Kitsurubami screamed in fear as she caught the aftermath of the change in direction. This was really too much for her. The robot mimicked the maneuver with a bit more grace and was once again upon them.
Naota jerked to the side, sending them flying off to the right. He went off into a series of raunchy zigzags. Because of its size and build, the robot wasn't able to follow through with those kind of moves, so it settled for a string of slow, similar turns. Having slowed it down, Naota spun around and glided backwards, facing the robot. Naota lifted his right arm and roughly plunged it back into his forehead and proceeded to grope around.
Kitsurubami watched in shock and wonder as he seemingly found what he was looking for and drug out a new guitar. this one was painted white with a green marble pattern. Naota abruptly flipped it into the air and caught it. Holding it shotgun style, he aimed at the oncoming monstrosity.
Kitsurubami: (thinking) What's he waiting for?! Shoot the thing! Shoot it before it...!
By the time she blinked, the thing was only a few meters from them. She could plainly see five sets of red "eyes" on its slanted "face." In white paint "MM" was tattooed just above the top set of "eyes." Kitsurubami shut her eyes tightly and waited for her impending doom.
Suddenly a loud explosion and the sound of metal debris made her open them again. Everything seemed to slow down as the shot fired from the "barrel" of Naota's second guitar cleaved the thing right down the middle, from "nose" to "tail." Metal parts went everywhere. The gunshot was quickly followed up by an explosion engulfing the seemingly floating remains of the metal monster. And as Kitsurubami stared up at Naota's stern and confident face, she knew that she was perfectly safe.
---------------------
RIDE ON SHOOTING STAR
ORANGE no SLIDE utsusu sora
SPONGE no PRIDE burasakete
SPIDER
kike totta sono yokan wa
kakusanakuta tte ii n da
iro no tsuita yume mitai na
Ride on Shooting Star
kokoro no koe de sandanjû no yô ni
utai tsutzuketa
GRUNGE no HAMSTER otona bite
REVENGE no LOBSTER hiki tsurete
SNIPER
fuchi totta sono sekai ni
nani ga mieru tte iu n da
nerau mae ni sawaritai na
Ride on Shooting Star
kimi o sagashite kindanshôjô chû
uso o tsuita
Ride on Shooting Star
kokoro no koe de sandanjû no yô ni
utai tsutzuketa
---------------------
Haruko: Is it me, or does that guy from .Hack//Sign sound suspiciously like Sanosuke Sagara...? Come to think of it, they even look alike, save the hair color and obvious outfit differences... Just a thought. Next on Fooly Cooly; Episode 7: Ouka Raba!