A cold flood of water in the face shocked Naota out of his feinting
spell. He found himself being dunked into his own sink, up to his neck in
the water. He tried to yell, but only made bubbles. He thrashed and
writhed until Haruko let him go and he fell to the floor gasping for
breath.
"W-why did you do that?" he said as he looked up at Haruko. She threw him an odd look, as if her motivations were obvious.
"Well, you feinted. I had to wake you up somehow. Whatsamatta, did I scare you?"
"Just a little..."
"Aaaaaw!" she shouted before he could finish, "Little Takun was surprised to see me! Come here you!" she hauled him to his feet and gave him another Haruko sized glomp, this time mashing his face into a not unimpressive set of cleavage. Naota found himself struggling for air a second time.
"Haruko..." he said after he managed to tear himself from her grasp, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"What? You're not happy to see me?" her eyes became glassy and her lip trembled slightly.
"All right! Cut that out!" Naota shouted. Haruko's face instantly returned to its normal expression. At least, as normal as Haruko got.
"Damn, maybe you've gotten too smart for me to mess with you anymore" she said, sounding truly regretful. She sauntered from the kitchen into the small living room and flopped down onto the couch. "Now, to answer your question...well after I left earth to chase Atomsk, at first everything was fine. But after a while, I kind of started to miss you and..." she stopped when she saw Naota was giving her a rather dirty look. She let out a sigh and decided to try the real truth. "All right, all right. I screwed up while I was chasing Atomsk. Instead of taking all that power for myself, I ended up losing every little bit of it. My bosses were pretty pissed at me for it, and they fired me, so I had nowhere else to go."
"But why come to me?" Naota shouted, exasperated by her explanation.
"Becaaaauuuuse, you said you loved me, so I knew you couldn't say no." She hopped up off the couch, walked over to him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gazed into his eyes and whispered seductively, "So, how bout we stop the explaining and get down to some fun, big boy?"
"Haruko...get off me," Naota said reluctantly as he pushed her arms off him. He walked over to the window and leaned against the wall, gazing out over the city. "That was a long time ago, Haruko. I've changed..."
"No you haven't" she said as she came up behind him, "You're still that cute little guy who slept in the bed below me, let me teach him to swing, who fell in love with me..." she wrapped her arms around him from behind and nuzzled her face against his shoulder. Naota stiffened for a moment, and then felt his temper suddenly rise. He spun around, pushed her away from him, and glowered at her.
"And you haven't changed either! You're still the same manipulative, lying, back stabbing witch you were then!" He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. Haruko took a step back, as if his words had struck her physically. She started at him in disbelief, and then turned, running for the door. "Haruko!" Naota shouted, "Wait..." he sighed and looked at his feet, waiting to hear the sound of the door slam. Instead, when he looked up, he found himself looking straight into Haruko's green eyes, her face looking as hopeful as a child on Christmas morning.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah???"
Eri sighed and rubbed her temples. She had a splitting headache and was so tired she could sleep for ages. She gathered up her papers into her briefcase and locked her office door on the way out.
As she stood in the elevator, riding down to the lobby, she could not help but chuckle at her current situation. Whoever believed the life of a corporate executive was glamorous or exciting should be shot. Or at least sued.
The fact of the matter was, while she made more money than her father, the mayor of a small town, ever had, her life was hectic, stressful, and above all, lonely. A crammed schedule left little time for any type of romantic overtures, and she felt secluded and alone almost all the time.
She took a deep, relaxing breath as she stepped out into the night air. The air was cool and brisk, and she eased up her shoulders, which had been drawn up almost to hear ears through the course of the day. Right now, her mind was on a quiet dinner and a soothing shower.
As she started to step into the street, the sound of an approaching vehicle flew into her senses, and she leapt out of the way seconds before the motorcycle went ripping past her.
"Hey jerk, watch where you're going!" she shouted, shaking a fist in the air. The reckless driver jabbed his middle finger up at her before disappearing around a bed.
Eri groaned, and set about picking up the papers that had flown in all directions when she dropped her briefcase...
"You mean it! I can stay here?" Haruko shouted happily as she hopped from foot to foot with excitement. Naota could not tell if she was faking it this time, and rubbed the back of his neck as he nodded his head. Haruko let out a squeal and threw her arms around him, picked him up off the floor, and spin around the room with him.
"Hey, hey!" he shouted as he struggled out of her arms. When she put him down, he raised his hand up to emphasize what he said next. "But, there are some rules first. One; you will not make anything come leaping out of my head like before. Two; you will not interrupt my studying or upset my neighbors. And three; no humiliating me in front of my friends."
"Aw, take all the fun out of my life" Haruko muttered. "All right, all right" she hurried to say when she saw the look Naota threw her.
"And this is just until you find someplace of your own. This is not permanent."
"Okay Takun, okay. Hey, can we get something to eat? I'm starved!" She rubbed her stomach and grinned innocently at him. Naota groaned and reluctantly agreed.
They stepped out of his building in the night. Her Vespa was parked on the corner. She hopped around him like a hyperactive child as he slowly walked down the street. When they were almost to her scooter, the sound of an approaching motorcycle shook Naota out of his thoughts. A maniacal laughing rose above the sound of the roaring engine. Naota grunted and rubbed his forehead, it was throbbing suddenly. He looked at Haruko and found her looking positively petrified. "Oh no..." she said in a hoarse whisper.
Before Naota could ask her what was wrong, the motorcycle tore around the corner and came rocketing toward them. In a move that stunned Naota, the driver of the bike released the handlebars, leapt up onto the seat, and then pounced into the air, landing clean on his feet near them. He was one of the most bizarre looking people Naota had ever seen; from head to foot he was clothed in black; a pair of black biker boots led up to some very new looking black jeans, which were lopped by a belt with metal studs. These were followed by a black turtleneck, covered more by a black leather coat. An earring shaped like a planet dangled from one of his ears. His yellow eyes blazed at them, and his sneer revealed some unusually sharp looking canine teeth. He reached into his jacket, his arm disappearing up to the elbow, and when he withdrew it, it was holding double-headed guitar.
"Haruko!" he screamed in a voice that Naota had only heard before in his nightmares. "Our fight this morning was just round one! Round two just began!"
"W-why did you do that?" he said as he looked up at Haruko. She threw him an odd look, as if her motivations were obvious.
"Well, you feinted. I had to wake you up somehow. Whatsamatta, did I scare you?"
"Just a little..."
"Aaaaaw!" she shouted before he could finish, "Little Takun was surprised to see me! Come here you!" she hauled him to his feet and gave him another Haruko sized glomp, this time mashing his face into a not unimpressive set of cleavage. Naota found himself struggling for air a second time.
"Haruko..." he said after he managed to tear himself from her grasp, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"What? You're not happy to see me?" her eyes became glassy and her lip trembled slightly.
"All right! Cut that out!" Naota shouted. Haruko's face instantly returned to its normal expression. At least, as normal as Haruko got.
"Damn, maybe you've gotten too smart for me to mess with you anymore" she said, sounding truly regretful. She sauntered from the kitchen into the small living room and flopped down onto the couch. "Now, to answer your question...well after I left earth to chase Atomsk, at first everything was fine. But after a while, I kind of started to miss you and..." she stopped when she saw Naota was giving her a rather dirty look. She let out a sigh and decided to try the real truth. "All right, all right. I screwed up while I was chasing Atomsk. Instead of taking all that power for myself, I ended up losing every little bit of it. My bosses were pretty pissed at me for it, and they fired me, so I had nowhere else to go."
"But why come to me?" Naota shouted, exasperated by her explanation.
"Becaaaauuuuse, you said you loved me, so I knew you couldn't say no." She hopped up off the couch, walked over to him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gazed into his eyes and whispered seductively, "So, how bout we stop the explaining and get down to some fun, big boy?"
"Haruko...get off me," Naota said reluctantly as he pushed her arms off him. He walked over to the window and leaned against the wall, gazing out over the city. "That was a long time ago, Haruko. I've changed..."
"No you haven't" she said as she came up behind him, "You're still that cute little guy who slept in the bed below me, let me teach him to swing, who fell in love with me..." she wrapped her arms around him from behind and nuzzled her face against his shoulder. Naota stiffened for a moment, and then felt his temper suddenly rise. He spun around, pushed her away from him, and glowered at her.
"And you haven't changed either! You're still the same manipulative, lying, back stabbing witch you were then!" He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. Haruko took a step back, as if his words had struck her physically. She started at him in disbelief, and then turned, running for the door. "Haruko!" Naota shouted, "Wait..." he sighed and looked at his feet, waiting to hear the sound of the door slam. Instead, when he looked up, he found himself looking straight into Haruko's green eyes, her face looking as hopeful as a child on Christmas morning.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah???"
Eri sighed and rubbed her temples. She had a splitting headache and was so tired she could sleep for ages. She gathered up her papers into her briefcase and locked her office door on the way out.
As she stood in the elevator, riding down to the lobby, she could not help but chuckle at her current situation. Whoever believed the life of a corporate executive was glamorous or exciting should be shot. Or at least sued.
The fact of the matter was, while she made more money than her father, the mayor of a small town, ever had, her life was hectic, stressful, and above all, lonely. A crammed schedule left little time for any type of romantic overtures, and she felt secluded and alone almost all the time.
She took a deep, relaxing breath as she stepped out into the night air. The air was cool and brisk, and she eased up her shoulders, which had been drawn up almost to hear ears through the course of the day. Right now, her mind was on a quiet dinner and a soothing shower.
As she started to step into the street, the sound of an approaching vehicle flew into her senses, and she leapt out of the way seconds before the motorcycle went ripping past her.
"Hey jerk, watch where you're going!" she shouted, shaking a fist in the air. The reckless driver jabbed his middle finger up at her before disappearing around a bed.
Eri groaned, and set about picking up the papers that had flown in all directions when she dropped her briefcase...
"You mean it! I can stay here?" Haruko shouted happily as she hopped from foot to foot with excitement. Naota could not tell if she was faking it this time, and rubbed the back of his neck as he nodded his head. Haruko let out a squeal and threw her arms around him, picked him up off the floor, and spin around the room with him.
"Hey, hey!" he shouted as he struggled out of her arms. When she put him down, he raised his hand up to emphasize what he said next. "But, there are some rules first. One; you will not make anything come leaping out of my head like before. Two; you will not interrupt my studying or upset my neighbors. And three; no humiliating me in front of my friends."
"Aw, take all the fun out of my life" Haruko muttered. "All right, all right" she hurried to say when she saw the look Naota threw her.
"And this is just until you find someplace of your own. This is not permanent."
"Okay Takun, okay. Hey, can we get something to eat? I'm starved!" She rubbed her stomach and grinned innocently at him. Naota groaned and reluctantly agreed.
They stepped out of his building in the night. Her Vespa was parked on the corner. She hopped around him like a hyperactive child as he slowly walked down the street. When they were almost to her scooter, the sound of an approaching motorcycle shook Naota out of his thoughts. A maniacal laughing rose above the sound of the roaring engine. Naota grunted and rubbed his forehead, it was throbbing suddenly. He looked at Haruko and found her looking positively petrified. "Oh no..." she said in a hoarse whisper.
Before Naota could ask her what was wrong, the motorcycle tore around the corner and came rocketing toward them. In a move that stunned Naota, the driver of the bike released the handlebars, leapt up onto the seat, and then pounced into the air, landing clean on his feet near them. He was one of the most bizarre looking people Naota had ever seen; from head to foot he was clothed in black; a pair of black biker boots led up to some very new looking black jeans, which were lopped by a belt with metal studs. These were followed by a black turtleneck, covered more by a black leather coat. An earring shaped like a planet dangled from one of his ears. His yellow eyes blazed at them, and his sneer revealed some unusually sharp looking canine teeth. He reached into his jacket, his arm disappearing up to the elbow, and when he withdrew it, it was holding double-headed guitar.
"Haruko!" he screamed in a voice that Naota had only heard before in his nightmares. "Our fight this morning was just round one! Round two just began!"
