Naota awoke with a surge of pain throbbing in his forehead. "Itai! Itai itai itai itai itai..."

"Awake I see..." The voice came out of nowhere as it from a broken stereo at first, but gradually faded into the normal voice of the speaker. "Nothing. Yet." Haruko fell onto Naota's bed with such force, it sent the boy jumping up and knocking against the top bunk of the beds, slightly enlarging the bump on the forehead.

"Haruko?" asked Naota, "What happened?"

It took a few moments before the alien would respond. "I whacked you in the head."

"But... why?"

"You don't need to know. I mean, it's pretty obvious why..."

Flashbacks of last night's happening flooded into Naota's mind. Canti. The truck. Haruko. The... "Your guitar!"

"Eh?"

"You struck me with your stupid guitar!"

"Wrong."

"You gave me this fricken bruise!"

"It's not a bruise."

"Err... Why did you come back?"

"It's more of a giant pimple, you see..." Haruko was sort of too caught up in the moment to realize that Naota had changed the subject. "If it was a bruise... whatever that is... then it would be all black because of all of those strings in your brain... So it would be more of a giant pimple because... well... it just looks like one..."

Naota turned around at those words. How can she just be like this? He then spotted the blue bass lying under the window. Thoughts and choices invaded his mind at that moment. Attack her or leave... Break the guitar so none of this will ever happen again... Give her one of her own bumps to worry of... Break the guitar... Break the guitar... Break the guitar! The boy involuntarily walked towards the blue bass and picked it up as if it were a fragile piece of treasure. Break the guitar... As if a demon or spirit of some sort was controlling him, Naota raised the guitar as Haruko did the previous night.

"Naota?" A new voice filled the now silent room. "Naota!" The door swung open, revealing a boy who looked similar to Naota, but older. "Hey!"

Naota could not utter a word out as far as he knew it. The sight of this boy was almost too much to bear. "Tasuku..." "

What's that on your head?"

"When did you come back..."

"It looks kinda bad."

"Why did you come back..."

"Need some ointment or such?"

"Why did you leave Mamimi with me..."

"I got this from America! My girlfriend told me it was called neo-something... Neopollen... Neorin... Ahh well...I still can't read english yet."

"Why did you leave Mamimi with me.."

"Here. Try it." The older brother threw a yellow object at Naota. "Catch!"

"Nii! Why did you leave Mamimi with me?" The yellow object struck Naota on his bump, then landed on the floor.

"... Why bring up Samejima all of a sudden?"

"Why did you leave her with me?"

Haruko interupted, just noticing that Tasuku had enter the room. "Oy! You're that guy I saw in that picture!" Tasuku stared blankly at Haruko, not knowing she was lying on the bed when he entered. He stared at the green eyes of the alien, drawn to it as if hypnotized.

Naota noticed the eager look in Haruko's expression. "Don't you dare strike him with that damn guitar of yours!"

"I'm not going to hit him with my guitar... I'm going to use yours..." Out of the blue, Haruko pulled out a guitar, the one Naota had that combined when he emerged from Canti's screen. Tasuku didn't notice anything until Haruko was a mere two feet away. "I just have to have your head..." Naota wanted to hurt Tasuku for leaving Mamimi here alone with him, but he didn't want Haruko to do it. Naota wanted to do it himself.

Just before the bat could reach its target, a new one emerged out of nowhere. Haruko was slightly shocked. "Takkun?"

Tasuku then broke out of his trance and saw his little brother laying on the floor. "Naota?" He stared back and forth between Naota's crumpled body and Haruko. "D-Dad! Grampa! You should come see this!" Kamon and Shigekuni rushed upstairs and into the boys' room. Shigekuni cried out at Haruko. "

Haruko-san! Let us continue our conversation! ... kuri kuri is like this..." He started to make small motions with his hands. "Around there and..." Shigekuni was too stupid to notice or care for the Naota that lay on the floor.

"Tasuku. What did you do?"

did nothing!"

"'Cause I have been dying to smack him in the head ever since those manga scenes on the last episode! Anime just sucks with it. Very stressful."

"Manga? Anime?"

"Just like your brother... I can't believe that you two do now know what anime is..."

"... Right..."The elder brother bagan to think that his fatherhas gone mental.

"So, how was the plane ride home?"

"I'm not home. Just dissed baseball for a few. I brought my girlfriend! She's somewhere..."

At the baseball diamond, a blonde girl screams at a strange boy, Gaku, as he pokes at her hair. "Who has yellow hair like this?"

Masashi cried, "Americans! Aren't you suppose to be smart?"

The argument was not understandable to the blonde girl, for she didn't understand a single word of japanese. Luckily for her, Gaku and Masashi were too into their conversation to notice her run away.

"Since when did you get yourself a girl?" asked the father.

"Didn't you see the picture I sent you guys?"

"Picture?" chimed the two elders.

Haruko chipped in. "It said 'I got myself a blonde gal!', right?"

Kamon and shigekuni were still confused. "Blonde gal?"

Naota awoke again with a start. He hopped up and rushed to the window and searched frantically for the instrument. "The guitar! Where is it?"

Tasuku asked, "Since when did you get a guitar? You don't even know how to play."

"Shut up! Where is it..."

"Which one?" Haruko asked as she held up the two instruments. "Yours or mine?"

"Gimme that!" Naota rushed over to Haruko and jumped up as Haruko held both instruments in the air.

"Still short, eh?"

"Gimme those!" Naota continued jumping for the guitars.

"What's in it for me, Takkun?" The alien smirked as she watched Naota leap up into the air.

She is making fun of me... How could she do that, I would wonder. She was just older than me by 7 years... It's not enough to boss me around.

Naota shut his eyes and leaped with his strength in to the air and grabbed one of the instruments. With his eyes still shut, He lifted his knee and jammed the handle of the instrument against it, breaking the handle off. He smirked with victory and opened his eyelids. "Ha! Now you can't hit me anymore!"

"What are you talking about, Takkun?" Naota stared at Haruko in disbelief. How could she remain so calm when he had just broken her beloved bat? He couldn't figure it out, until he looked down at his hand. The handle, just about the same as any other handle would be. He looked up and spotted white. Now, at his feet, was the conjoined instrument. His own guitar. His sign of maturity.

"Takkun..."

"What? Isn't it enough that I broke my own bat?"

"No. I just need to pull that out of your head." Haruko motioned towards his forehead. Tasuku couldn't believe his eyes. "Naota! You're growning a horn!"