'Ello 'ello! OS9 singing in! We've got quite a show today! It's spiffy!
To both of my reviewers (so far), THANK YOU! I pratically run off reviews. Can't keep typing without 'em.
Incidentaly, today's chapter involves the events after what I had dubbed "Martial Mechanica" (has a nice ring to it, don't it?) But anyway, I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Unless my wildest dreams come true, there's no way I own FLCL.
The Search for Haruko
#2-A
Memory
"Oh my god!"
-"Osaka"
So he left. Just like that. Maybe I should have gone with him.
Too late now.
This is what I get for waiting too long.
But, Naota has changed. Ever since Haruko came. All he ever does is ride that scooter.
Well, at least now I know why. It flies. I guess I should have expected something like that to happen. It was Haruko's after all. But, it's still not fair, y'know. She left, and I didn't. Both of them left... But anyways...
...After MM was destroyed, we spent the better part of a year just fixing people's homes. It was tough, and Naota had a nasty fall at one point. Nearly put a nail through his foot. But I got him to the "Hospital" in time. Our hospital was really just a big tarp with poles to raise it above the ground, but that worked. He didn't die or get tetanus or some other kind of disease.
That wasn't even the difficult part. The press was swarming everywhere. Like insects. But I never saw anything from out of town. Not even Tokyo Morning News. Or those guys who investigate "supernatural phenomina".
It's like the world ends outside Mabase.
Naota and I, we had fun. They were good times. Hard ones, but good. I even thought he kinda liked it when I dragged him to school. I never did ask him to be in another play, though. Oh well.
No use just sitting around whining.
Ninamori got up. She had been lying in the grass, by the river. Naota had always hung around near there. It lended her a bit of comfort. Now, of course, it was just a force of habit. Walking through the town and looking idley at the various forms of reconstruction, consisting of everything from steel to cardboard, she wondered what happened to Sameji.
Mamimi roamed the city, looking for interesting things to photograph. It was her favorite part of town, the industrial area that had been under construction for over three years. Yesterday she had gotten a great shot of the city after climbing the girders. The sun hadseemed to hang in place as it waited for her to photograph it's setting. She was sitting on one of the more complete areas, in that it had a stable floor, and was eating curry picked up from a guy and his cart.
A crunching sound could be heard, as someone walked over the remains of Firestarter, which Mamimi had thrown away upon arriving. It had made a great picture, falling through the air.
The owner of the foot, a man with absurdly large eyebrows, looked, and seeing Sameji, climbed the steel frame untill he was level with her.
Mamimi turned. The curry dropped, falling down three stories to the dirt and gravel below. Amarao stood solemly. He looked at her sternly and said
"Where is Naota?"
A name Mamimi had not heard in a long time.
"I don't know."
"That's fine, I was just wondering if you knew."
"What."
"He's gone. Naota went to find Haruko."
"How...?"
"The Vespa."
"Haruko?"
"No, the scooter, not the woman."
"It flies?"
"Yeah. Naota figured out how to use it. He's gotten himself in a bit of trouble in the Outer Rim."
"Outer..."
"Doesn't matter. Do you know where Canti is? Ninamori?"
"Have they left too?"
"No, it was a real question."
"Then...Mabase?"
"Sounds right." He turned to leave "Are you coming?"
"No."
"Suit yourself. Then take this." Amarao tossed her a small black square. "You can call Canti with it. If you ever change your mind."
As Amarao left, Mamimi stared at the small object. Holding it out, she let it slide through her fingers, down to the ground. With the curry, and Firestarter.
#2-A END
Lotsa talkin'. But perhaps it explains a few things. For those of you symbolic types, the last few sentences are very important. I appreciate reviews and reviewers, so review me. It's the cool thing to do. Next chapter Amarao meets up with Ninamori and Canti. Space travel ensues. Naota reappears in the story. Many things happen.