Chapter 2

*cut music*

School's over. I can go home. And stay there for a while. I do my homework, then play multiplayer RedSteel with my dad & Canti. Then, we have dinner.

"Hey, Naota. My book on the mayor's scandal is completely famous on the internet." My father's talking about the book he made on Ninamori's father. We sit and eat. Tonight's special: Manhattan-style Curry. My father got the recipe from Haruko when she was here. He plans to eat it once every week 'til his stomach adapts to it. So far, the curry still wins. "It's not nice to make books like those." I said, defending Ninamori.

"It's just a book on how corrupt the government is." He said. "Don't let it get to you. Speaking of government, look at America. Tasuku says the taxes there are outrageous. Good thing we live here."

I ignored my father, gave the dishes to Canti, said "I'm going somewhere.", & left. I heard my father say "Come back before 1 AM!"

I stared at the stars above me. I was at the bridge. I yearned for Haruko to come back. And then I remembered the fight. The one she & I had over Atomsk's power. That reminded me of how she's a greedy, self-centered bitch. Part of me hated her. That was the part that loved Mamimi. But she's in a relationship with my big brother. So I couldn't love any girl because I didn't have any one that I liked. It made me feel lonely. That's what love does to you, I guess. "Love sucks." I said. Then, it happened.

A bright light flew straight into town. And then, it hit me. An object flew right out of the sky & hit my forehead. I noticed that it was a guitar. A Les Paul Recording. The same type Les Paul himself used. I was amazed. I didn't know what it was, but my mind looked at the only possibility it could have been: Haruko. I ran to the site of the crash.

It landed in the ashes of Mamimi's elementary school. The one she burned down. I saw a lock of hair. I thought it was Haruko, but something had caught my eye. The hair color was yellow green. It couldn't have been Haruko. Her hair color was pink or peach. Either way, I tried to move the planks over. After I moved a few planks, I saw her face. It looked beautiful. She had purple eye color & the same hair style as Mamimi but her hair was longer. She was in a blue dress. I removed some of the wood. Then, I carried her to a hospital. I felt a lot like my brother when he saved Mamimi.

They said she had no injuries but she was knocked out cold by something, so I waited there for her to wake up. I was listening to Bon Jovi's "It's My Life". An hour later, she woke up. The first thing she saw was me with her guitar. "Excuse me." she said. Her voice sounded chime-like. I was embarrassed. Then, she cleared her throat to expose her real voice.

"Get your hands off my guitar, please." It sounded like Haruko, but it wasn't Haruko. Maybe like some spoiled weirdo. But that's exactly like Haruko. It sounded more like a "hi" than a "ko". I slowly put the guitar down on the floor. "Thank you." She said. "Now, what's your name?"

"Naota Nandaba" I replied. "I found your guitar. It hit me when you…um…fell."

"Oh, really." she said. "My name is Aya Hirayuchi. I was traveling here with a friend, but my acceleration was too high. I crash-landed. Sorry about your forehead."

Oh crap. Not this again. I reached for my forehead and felt a horn-like bump. The same one Haruko gave me. "Not again…" I said.

"But it is." That voice sounded familiar.

"IT'S YOU!" Haruko was standing in the doorway. She was leaning on a double-neck neon red Gibson EDS-1275. I stared in surprise, shock, & a SLIGHT amount of joy. She was drinking Coke out of a bottle & had a half-eaten Choco-Cornet. "I told you to slow down!" she said to Aya. "Earth's gravity force is stronger than normal." She turned to me. "Hey, how's your 6 months been? You still look the same."

I didn't know what to say except "Mamimi left me for my brother." I knew she'd make fun of me. I managed to make the word "Fine." come out of my mouth.

After I recovered from shock, I asked her some questions. "Why'd you come back?" She replied with "'Cause I wanted to, Takkun."

"What happened to chasing down Atomsk?"

"I failed to get control of him. I was chasing him down. I happened to pass by Earth, so I figured that if I can't find Atomsk, I'll lure him down."

"With what? Some kind of big source of N.O.?"

"Yes. You."

I nearly fainted. I couldn't imagine me being a mousetrap for such a huge being. I was outraged also. "Keep me out of your schemes!" I still remember being a guinea pig for Haruko's plan in capturing Atomsk.

"Calm down. I'm just going to take Canti & use him as a big source of N.O. I'll send him away to gather sources of N.O. 'til it's big enough to lure Atomsk. I will need a place to stay though…"

"Oh, no. No. No-no. Don't even think about it. I'm not going to let you stay over!"