WGYWKY
By the Unknowner
00000010: Robots Playing Poker
Naota woke up with a start. The clock on his nightstand was going off,
and it wasn't yet 3 A.M. That wasn't what had awoken him though - it was the
fact that his lights had spontaneously turned on. And the civil defense sirens
going off all over the city. And the fact that every electronic appliance
nearby was going berzerk. The radio on top of his bunk bed, the computer whose
components were scattered over the corner, and even his amplifier screeched in
electronic cacaphony. For a few seconds, he thought his eardrums would explode.
Then... it stopped. As quickly as it began, the sirens dimmed, the lights shut
themselves off, and everything else quieted - except for the neighbors, who he
could hear running into the streets. Naota leaned out the window, squinting at
the horizon. What was that light... A shooting star....?
No.
VERY no.
Grabbing a clean pair of pants, his jacket, and after a moment's thought,
his Rickenbacker, Naota sprinted out the door, looking upwards. Half the town was
probably standing in front of their houses too, staring up above the horizon. A
gleaming, gold-green streak, growing brighter by the second, hung in the sky in
much the same way as a seagull flying against the wind at the ocean. Within a
minute it seemed half as large as the sun. Naota's eyes widened.
The bridge.
He didn't know how, he didn't know why - but he knew it was coming down
on the bridge. Soon. He broke into a dead sprint, his mind almost blank. Why was
he going to the impact point... and why the heck did he know something was...
BOOOOM.
With a hideous blaze of light, the object landed. Naota could already
hear the sirens going off in the distance. But was he... yes, he was right. A
long, pale grey shape lay entrenched in the bridge's asphalt, the ditch it plowed
still hissing. As he grew closer, Naota could smell the molten tarmac. But neither
that nor the heat could keep him from forging on. Closer he grew, until he could see
the entirety of the thing that had crashed. It looked vaguely like a huge egg, but
longer, more stretched out. As he watched, a long, thin crack blistered outward,
followed by a loud snapping noise. Then the walls of the oblong rock burst outward,
as a yellow Vespa motorscooter exploded from its hollow inside, landing beside him.
Next was a violet Les Paul and amplifier, followed by three largish suitcases. Then
the inevitable happened...
Haruko Haruhara leapt from the hole in the object, landing atop her scooter
as if it was the most natural thing in the world to fall from the sky. Naota gaped
unabashedly. It couldn't be... could it...? She was exactly the same as he remembered -
the same goofy, maddening grin, the same salmon hair, same day-glo vest...
"Hey. Ta-kun."
"Eyawhaba.... huuuuh?" (Oh, real smooth,) He thought to himself.
"You gonna help me with my luggage or what?" Naota's jaw hit the floor. No
hello? No 'Hey how are ya sorry I went into space and left you in this suffocating
town'? No-
WHAAAAAAAAAANG.
Naota staggered backwards, clutching his head. Yep. It was Haruko - the only
person in the universe with a penchant for smashing him in the head with a guitar.
"Now... are you gonna help me with my luggage or not?"
"After you hit me again?!"
"Well, you weren't answering..."
"...And now something *else* is gonna grow out of my head! I don't believe this!"
"Heh. Believe it." There was a quiet 'thumpf' as Haruko swept Naota into a bear
hug from behind, promptly ending his rant. "I missed ya."
Naota blushed, but didn't answer. How the heck could someone be so infuriating and
endearing at the same time... and how could he admit that he had almost missed getting
whacked by a guitar on a daily basis?
************************************************************************************
CLiKCLiKCLiK...
Mamimi grinned ecstatically. Genuine pics of a UFO landing... perfect!
***************************************************************************************
"She's back." It was a statement, not a question. Eri Ninamori poked at Naota's
fresh head bandage, her expression half-dissapointed, half-sad.
"Yup." He didn't see any reason to lie - the truth would out sooner or later
anyway. After all, Eri could read him like a book... and Haruko was far from inconspicuous...
The two lapsed into a deep silence. She was afraid of anything she said coming out completely
wrong, while he was just... exhausted. Lugging suitcases inside at 3 A.M. through the back
alley so the neighbors didn't find out was NOT his idea of a quiet evening. Eventually, Eri
sighed and spoke.
"...Why... did she come back...?"
"I dunno. Everyone seems to be coming back here."
"Everyone?"
"Mamimi showed up yesterday..." Eri let out a small miffed noise. "Relax, I got
over her ages ago."
"Mamimi or Haruko?" The question was harsh and pointed, and Naota had to think a
moment before he answered.
"...I don't think I ever though of Haruko... in that way..."
"Oh, come on!" Eri almost exploded, launching up from the bench. "After you practically
declare your love to her in front of the entire world?!?"
"I was young and stupid! I didn't even really know what love was... She was just... an
escape."
"An escape...?
"From... here." He glanced down, rubbing his head as if unsure of his own thoughts.
"This place... it's not just a town. It's a way of thinking... it swallows you up. Almost
like you're drowning..." He sat back, eyes blank. "Let's just say that if Medical Mechanica
had actually processed this world... I think everywhere on earth would be just like this place..."
"...I see.." Eri slowly sat back down, leaning her head on his shoulder. "And Mamimi?"
He laughed, putting his hands behind his head.
"There was never anything to Mamimi and me... we just goofed off a lot."
"Hm. Well, as long as there's *absolutely* nothing going on with that Vespa woman..."
"Abo-frickin-loutley nothing. Cross my heart." He smiled, and after a beat, so did she.
"Alright, you knucklehead. Come on, I have to rent that video for Film class... maybe
we can watch it at your place tomorrow." Eri stood and began to walk away, unaware that Naota
hadn't gotten up yet.
"...My place..."
*******************************************************************************************
"HARUKO! I'm home..." Naota blinked and looked around. There was no sign of her in the
kitchen... or living room... so she had to be upstairs. As he hit the top step, he felt a soft
thunk on his head - the grate to the nearby air vent had somehow popped off. Leaning in, he stared
at the hole, squinting into the darkness. Was that -
"Wiggiwikki, Taco?" Naota nearly tumbled downstairs as a short, pigtailed blonde popped
from the hole where the heat register had been.
"Who - who the heck are you?" Haruko popped her head out of the upstairs bedroom door,
looking over a pair of John Lennon-esque reading glasses.
"Oh, Ta-kun? This is my sister... she'll be staying with us a while.
"Your sister?!?"
"Eeeeyup!" The blonde intruder burst from the vent, tackling Naota. She was only two-thirds
his size, but between the fact that he was off-balance and surprised, he still went down. Hard.
"I'm Momo and it's nice ta meetcha and I like your robots and your TV and is your name really Taco?"
"Taco..? It's Ta-ku- I mean, Naota!"
"Awww... I like Taco better..."
"Where the heck did you come from?"
"Well, rumor has it the stork brought me..." Haruko chuckled.
"She was in the Vespa." Naota winced.
"How the heck can you fit inside a motorscooter...?"
"It's bigger on the inside than on the outside... kinda like a Winnebago."
"Winnebagos don't violate the laws of physics!" Naota struggled his way to his feet, then
plopped onto his bunk - noticing only a few seconds later that the sheets had been changed to a
frilly pink bedspread. "AAAAK! What's this?"
"Well... there's three of us, and only two bunks..."
"So you comandeered my bed?"
"Unless you want to sleep with one of us." Haruko grinned evilly.
************************************************************************************************
(Sleeping on the floor. What a disgrace...) Naota shuffled in his sleeping bag, unable to
get comfortable. It was far more than the hard floor - the whole situation left a bitter taste in
his mouth. Here he was, living with four robots, two alien gi-
FLOP.
Naota flinched as his train of thought was interrupted. Rolling over, he saw Momo - laying
on the floor beside him, dangerously close, and still fast asleep. She'd rolled out of bed. Naota
blinked, trying to scoot away - but she'd landed on the bag, and he was caught - worse, her floppy
bedshirt was coming undone at the top! Naota clenched his eyes shut, trying not to look, or worse,
to wake her up, when he heard her mumble something in her sleep.
"Tmgcmmu..." His eyes opened slowly. What- "Mmm... Taaaaco..."
CHOMP.
************************************************************************************************
Kanchi looked down at his cards, then shook his head and leaned to one side. Nothing.
A pair of disgusted beeps followed as the Stereo and GC tossed in their cards, and the Blender
danced and whirred happily, his straight flush displayed prominently on the tabletop.
"EEEEEEEYOOOOOOOOOWWWW!"
All four robot's heads swiveled towards the upstairs, then back to the center of the
table. One collective shrug later, the poker game resumed.
***********************************************************************************************
Why did Haruko come back?
How will Naota's night with Eri go?
What's going to grow from his head THIS time?
These are all very good questions, but will any of them be answered next time?
Eh. Probably. Find out yerself.
TBC...
By the Unknowner
00000010: Robots Playing Poker
Naota woke up with a start. The clock on his nightstand was going off,
and it wasn't yet 3 A.M. That wasn't what had awoken him though - it was the
fact that his lights had spontaneously turned on. And the civil defense sirens
going off all over the city. And the fact that every electronic appliance
nearby was going berzerk. The radio on top of his bunk bed, the computer whose
components were scattered over the corner, and even his amplifier screeched in
electronic cacaphony. For a few seconds, he thought his eardrums would explode.
Then... it stopped. As quickly as it began, the sirens dimmed, the lights shut
themselves off, and everything else quieted - except for the neighbors, who he
could hear running into the streets. Naota leaned out the window, squinting at
the horizon. What was that light... A shooting star....?
No.
VERY no.
Grabbing a clean pair of pants, his jacket, and after a moment's thought,
his Rickenbacker, Naota sprinted out the door, looking upwards. Half the town was
probably standing in front of their houses too, staring up above the horizon. A
gleaming, gold-green streak, growing brighter by the second, hung in the sky in
much the same way as a seagull flying against the wind at the ocean. Within a
minute it seemed half as large as the sun. Naota's eyes widened.
The bridge.
He didn't know how, he didn't know why - but he knew it was coming down
on the bridge. Soon. He broke into a dead sprint, his mind almost blank. Why was
he going to the impact point... and why the heck did he know something was...
BOOOOM.
With a hideous blaze of light, the object landed. Naota could already
hear the sirens going off in the distance. But was he... yes, he was right. A
long, pale grey shape lay entrenched in the bridge's asphalt, the ditch it plowed
still hissing. As he grew closer, Naota could smell the molten tarmac. But neither
that nor the heat could keep him from forging on. Closer he grew, until he could see
the entirety of the thing that had crashed. It looked vaguely like a huge egg, but
longer, more stretched out. As he watched, a long, thin crack blistered outward,
followed by a loud snapping noise. Then the walls of the oblong rock burst outward,
as a yellow Vespa motorscooter exploded from its hollow inside, landing beside him.
Next was a violet Les Paul and amplifier, followed by three largish suitcases. Then
the inevitable happened...
Haruko Haruhara leapt from the hole in the object, landing atop her scooter
as if it was the most natural thing in the world to fall from the sky. Naota gaped
unabashedly. It couldn't be... could it...? She was exactly the same as he remembered -
the same goofy, maddening grin, the same salmon hair, same day-glo vest...
"Hey. Ta-kun."
"Eyawhaba.... huuuuh?" (Oh, real smooth,) He thought to himself.
"You gonna help me with my luggage or what?" Naota's jaw hit the floor. No
hello? No 'Hey how are ya sorry I went into space and left you in this suffocating
town'? No-
WHAAAAAAAAAANG.
Naota staggered backwards, clutching his head. Yep. It was Haruko - the only
person in the universe with a penchant for smashing him in the head with a guitar.
"Now... are you gonna help me with my luggage or not?"
"After you hit me again?!"
"Well, you weren't answering..."
"...And now something *else* is gonna grow out of my head! I don't believe this!"
"Heh. Believe it." There was a quiet 'thumpf' as Haruko swept Naota into a bear
hug from behind, promptly ending his rant. "I missed ya."
Naota blushed, but didn't answer. How the heck could someone be so infuriating and
endearing at the same time... and how could he admit that he had almost missed getting
whacked by a guitar on a daily basis?
************************************************************************************
CLiKCLiKCLiK...
Mamimi grinned ecstatically. Genuine pics of a UFO landing... perfect!
***************************************************************************************
"She's back." It was a statement, not a question. Eri Ninamori poked at Naota's
fresh head bandage, her expression half-dissapointed, half-sad.
"Yup." He didn't see any reason to lie - the truth would out sooner or later
anyway. After all, Eri could read him like a book... and Haruko was far from inconspicuous...
The two lapsed into a deep silence. She was afraid of anything she said coming out completely
wrong, while he was just... exhausted. Lugging suitcases inside at 3 A.M. through the back
alley so the neighbors didn't find out was NOT his idea of a quiet evening. Eventually, Eri
sighed and spoke.
"...Why... did she come back...?"
"I dunno. Everyone seems to be coming back here."
"Everyone?"
"Mamimi showed up yesterday..." Eri let out a small miffed noise. "Relax, I got
over her ages ago."
"Mamimi or Haruko?" The question was harsh and pointed, and Naota had to think a
moment before he answered.
"...I don't think I ever though of Haruko... in that way..."
"Oh, come on!" Eri almost exploded, launching up from the bench. "After you practically
declare your love to her in front of the entire world?!?"
"I was young and stupid! I didn't even really know what love was... She was just... an
escape."
"An escape...?
"From... here." He glanced down, rubbing his head as if unsure of his own thoughts.
"This place... it's not just a town. It's a way of thinking... it swallows you up. Almost
like you're drowning..." He sat back, eyes blank. "Let's just say that if Medical Mechanica
had actually processed this world... I think everywhere on earth would be just like this place..."
"...I see.." Eri slowly sat back down, leaning her head on his shoulder. "And Mamimi?"
He laughed, putting his hands behind his head.
"There was never anything to Mamimi and me... we just goofed off a lot."
"Hm. Well, as long as there's *absolutely* nothing going on with that Vespa woman..."
"Abo-frickin-loutley nothing. Cross my heart." He smiled, and after a beat, so did she.
"Alright, you knucklehead. Come on, I have to rent that video for Film class... maybe
we can watch it at your place tomorrow." Eri stood and began to walk away, unaware that Naota
hadn't gotten up yet.
"...My place..."
*******************************************************************************************
"HARUKO! I'm home..." Naota blinked and looked around. There was no sign of her in the
kitchen... or living room... so she had to be upstairs. As he hit the top step, he felt a soft
thunk on his head - the grate to the nearby air vent had somehow popped off. Leaning in, he stared
at the hole, squinting into the darkness. Was that -
"Wiggiwikki, Taco?" Naota nearly tumbled downstairs as a short, pigtailed blonde popped
from the hole where the heat register had been.
"Who - who the heck are you?" Haruko popped her head out of the upstairs bedroom door,
looking over a pair of John Lennon-esque reading glasses.
"Oh, Ta-kun? This is my sister... she'll be staying with us a while.
"Your sister?!?"
"Eeeeyup!" The blonde intruder burst from the vent, tackling Naota. She was only two-thirds
his size, but between the fact that he was off-balance and surprised, he still went down. Hard.
"I'm Momo and it's nice ta meetcha and I like your robots and your TV and is your name really Taco?"
"Taco..? It's Ta-ku- I mean, Naota!"
"Awww... I like Taco better..."
"Where the heck did you come from?"
"Well, rumor has it the stork brought me..." Haruko chuckled.
"She was in the Vespa." Naota winced.
"How the heck can you fit inside a motorscooter...?"
"It's bigger on the inside than on the outside... kinda like a Winnebago."
"Winnebagos don't violate the laws of physics!" Naota struggled his way to his feet, then
plopped onto his bunk - noticing only a few seconds later that the sheets had been changed to a
frilly pink bedspread. "AAAAK! What's this?"
"Well... there's three of us, and only two bunks..."
"So you comandeered my bed?"
"Unless you want to sleep with one of us." Haruko grinned evilly.
************************************************************************************************
(Sleeping on the floor. What a disgrace...) Naota shuffled in his sleeping bag, unable to
get comfortable. It was far more than the hard floor - the whole situation left a bitter taste in
his mouth. Here he was, living with four robots, two alien gi-
FLOP.
Naota flinched as his train of thought was interrupted. Rolling over, he saw Momo - laying
on the floor beside him, dangerously close, and still fast asleep. She'd rolled out of bed. Naota
blinked, trying to scoot away - but she'd landed on the bag, and he was caught - worse, her floppy
bedshirt was coming undone at the top! Naota clenched his eyes shut, trying not to look, or worse,
to wake her up, when he heard her mumble something in her sleep.
"Tmgcmmu..." His eyes opened slowly. What- "Mmm... Taaaaco..."
CHOMP.
************************************************************************************************
Kanchi looked down at his cards, then shook his head and leaned to one side. Nothing.
A pair of disgusted beeps followed as the Stereo and GC tossed in their cards, and the Blender
danced and whirred happily, his straight flush displayed prominently on the tabletop.
"EEEEEEEYOOOOOOOOOWWWW!"
All four robot's heads swiveled towards the upstairs, then back to the center of the
table. One collective shrug later, the poker game resumed.
***********************************************************************************************
Why did Haruko come back?
How will Naota's night with Eri go?
What's going to grow from his head THIS time?
These are all very good questions, but will any of them be answered next time?
Eh. Probably. Find out yerself.
TBC...