Ride on a Shooting Star

Chapter One: Return of an old friend

((This is my first fic, so bear with me if it sucks...))

Disclaimer: I don't own FLCL or anything like that...So please don't sue...

"Owch."

"Nao, it's time for dinner!"

"Okay, just a sec!"

This is so weird...Why do I have another horn coming out of my head? She left a year ago, and I haven't been hit in the head with a guitar since...What's going on? "Owch! I can't make it go away...I'll just wear my beanie to cover it up like I did before," Naota muttered to himself. He pulled his grey beanie over his head, walked out of his bedroom, and down the stairs into the dining room.

"Hey, Chief!"

"What!" Naota's eyes widened.

At the end of the table, with a small camera beside her sat Mamimi with a happy-go-lucky expression on her face.

"Naota, Mamimi's come back to Mabase." Kamon explained, "I thought it would be a nice surprise for you so I didn't tell you."

"Oh. Okay," replied Naota as he sat down, he was still slightly suprised.

"So how have you been Chief?" Mamimi asked as she took a quick picture of Naota with her camera.

"Okay, I guess," answered Naota.

"Hey, where's Canti?" Mamimi asked suddenly as she looked around her.

"Oh, he's outside chopping wood," replied Kamon, "Canti, come back in! We have a guest!" Seconds later the robot with a T.V. for a head opened the back door and walked into the dining room; he was still wearing that white apron, except there were now countless stains covering it.

Mamimi beamed, "Hi Canti! Remember me?" Canti waved to Mamimi and looked back at Kamon.

"Come, Canti. I'll help you prepare dinner," Kamon instructed, and with that, he and Canti went into the kitchen to leave Naota and Mamimi alone to talk. Naota tilted his head down in thought.

"...Why'd you come back Mamimi?"

"Well, I was getting along okay by selling my photographs to magazines; that one I took of you with Haruko's guitar was my favorite one," Naota shrugged at the sound of her name, "But lately I haven't gotten any business, so I decided to come back and see you," she finished.

"You came back just for me? Why?" Naota questioned as he lifted his head back up. There was a long silence before Mamimi rose from where she sat and positioned herself right behind Naota where she sat back down and gave him a big hug from behind.

"I missed you Chief," she whispered in his ear.

Just then Kamon came back into the room with Canti right behind him holding a large bowl of curry. Naota immediately shifted away from Mamimi; his dad usually acted weird when things like this happened.

"I see, Mamimi has just come back and you two are already fooly coolying with each other..." Kamon teased, his glasses glinting from the ceiling lights.

"Wha-! No we weren't! We were just talking; that's right! Right Mamimi?" Naota protested frantically. Mamimi was silent.

"Calm down, Naota. I knew there was always something between you and Mamimi," interjected Kamon, "First Haruko and now Mamimi..."

"Nuh-uh! Me and Haruko never foolied or coolied and me and Mamimi aren't now!"

This frantic incident was later followed by a silent, awkward dinner, during which it was decided that Mamimi could stay in Naota's room, on the top bunk. Some time later, Naota could be found sitting on the edge of his bed playing a little tune on the bass guitar Haruko left him and Mamimi was sitting upon the floor playing with Naota's cat.

"So..." Mamimi began, "Have you heard from Tasuku lately?"

"Yeah, he told me on the phone he broke his arm playing baseball. And since he can't play with a broken arm, he's coming back to Mabase to visit while he recovers," replied Naota. Mamimi paid great attention to Naota while he talked. She had always had a crush on Tasuku, ever since he saved her from a fire when she was little. At one point she even called herself his girlfriend, but because she was always hanging out with Naota, everyone thought she was with him instead. Naota's friends, Gaku and Masashi always referred to Mamimi as Naota's wife, so that too helped support the rumor that Mamimi and Naota where together; that was, until she left Mabase to be a photographer.

"I forgot to ask earlier...what's with that hat? You aren't hiding anything, are you?" Mamimi inquired as she pointed at Naota's beanie. Naota winced a bit, then quickly turned away.

"No... I... just like to wear my beanie, that's all." Naota was beginning to blush.

"Come on, let me see!" Mamimi cried as she attempted to pry the beanie from Naota's head.

"Hey, stop!"

The two wrestled around for a moment until Mamimi finally got the beanie off. At first there was nothing abnormal about Naota's head, but after a moment, a sharp-looking, skin-colored horn emerged from Naota's forehead, "Owch! That hurts!" Naota winced as he tried to cover it with his hand.

"Wow, you're like a unicorn, but you're not a horse. It's just like when Haru-san was here." Naota's face turned red again.

"I know...But the weird thing is, I haven't seen her since she left a year ago." Naota's mind wandered back to the day he fought Haruko with the Pirate King, Atomsk's powers, and how Atomsk himself came out of his head and nearly devastated the city. Naota looked out the window to look at the destroyed Medical Machanica plant; it looked like a giant clothing iron. In fact, that iron was what every robot who came out of his head wanted. They all looked like some kind of hand and each and every time they attempted to grab the iron to smooth out the wrinkles as captain Amarao put it.

"It's late, and I have 7th grade graduation tomorrow, so let's go to bed." Naota muttered, still looking out the window. Mamimi climbed the ladder to the top bunk and crawled into bed, as Naota did the same. "Goodnight, Mamimi."

"Goodnight...Horn Boy." Mamimi giggled

"Hey!"