Chapter 4

*cue music: Stalker*

My head started to ache & my horn grew larger. I tried to get out before it emerged. Once I got to the middle of the street, the robot emerged from my head. It was green, looked like Canti only taller, & carried around two maces that he attached together to make a staff. My brother watched in terror & shock. He tried to defend me by attacking the robot, but it didn't work. He threw him up in the air. "Tasuku!" Mamimi, my dad, & I had said it simultaneously. I immediately called Canti and ran into his mouth as he appeared.

Now for the cool part.

*cut music/cue music: Advice*

I flew up to my brother & caught him right as he was about halfway down from the peak of height he reached. Then, I landed on the ground & put him there. Then, I faced the robot, took out the cannon, & fired at it. It deflected it with the stick. This is the smartest one I've seen since that one that used shotguns & stuff. I reloaded & then tried something new with my N.O.: rapid fire. I tried to reload & fire as fast as I could until he was too slow to dodge. I ran in a circle & tried to run faster. The faster I ran & the faster I fired my ammo, the easier it would be to beat him. But he's faster than I thought. He kept deflecting. Then, I tried a new tactic. I jumped up & tried to spiral downward into the ground. I made a U-turn once I hit the ground, aimed up, & fired. My tactic worked. I split him in two. I dug my way back up & defused with Canti.

*cut music*

My brother, my father, & Aya stared at me like I was the Grim Reaper. Mamimi congratulated me & Haruko grabbed my hand & kept giving it high fives. As for me, I wondered how to explain it to him.

*End of Episode 7/Beginning of Episode 8*

"So, this Haruko girl is an alien?"

"Yes."

"I wouldn't say 'alien'." Haruko said.

"And this Canti thing came out of your head through a portal?"

"Yes."

"And Haruko left you for some all-powerful lord & then randomly came back?"

"Yes."

"And you say this has happened to you ever since you got this FLCL crap?"

"Bingo."

Tasuku got up & suddenly left the room. I went after him. He was in my room. "Hey, why'd you ditch us like that?"

He sighed. "You're not the same anymore. You look the same, but you're not the little brother I know. You always used to hang out with me & now you're too cool for me."

"Hey, don't say that. You & I are best friends. I'm still the same person inside. You just have to realize that I'm older now."

He looked at me. "Wow. I guess I'm not as smart as I think. You're right. We're still best buds after all."

"Yeah. C'mon. Let's go back downstairs."

Suddenly, the door burst open. I found Mamimi, my father, & Haruko piled on top of each other looking at us.

"Do you mind?" We both said. They ran back down.

I also explained to Mamimi why Haruko came back. The good thing was that she was still the same inside. That made me smile. I introduced them to Aya. She was sitting on the couch watching Lucky Star. She's been watching a lot of anime since she arrived. Haruko snuck upstairs with the cat. I guess she still works for those Galaxy Space Patrol guys. Canti was washing dishes. It felt like I've gone back in time but also fell into a slightly alternate universe. The only changes are that Aya's living here as another maid & Tasuku & Mamimi are visiting over. My life has gone back to ordinary.

I called Ninamori about it. She kinda liked the fact that Haruko came back. She didn't really like all the boredom in this town. I didn't either. I decided to pull a manga from a shelf and thought about how life would be if I went with Haruko on her bike to outer space as I looked at how Light demonstrated his trapdoor to Ryuk. I like to read Death Note. The main character never gets involved in a romantic relationship. I read a few novels until my brother appeared at the door.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"It's time for dinner."

"Oh. Fine."

As I went downstairs, I knew what to expect. Obviously, the craziness of Haruko.

"GOOD AFTERNOON, AUDIENCE!" Haruko said.

"There's no audience. Only us." I said.

"Tonight, we'll cook a home favorite…fried chicken!"

"I don't like fried chicken. It's too oily…"

"Don't like fried chicken? Too bad. We were paid to do it."

"Who pays you?"

"That's classified information! Now first we…"

As Haruko, in her maid suit, prepared the chicken, I noticed a camera in the corner. We never had cameras in our house. Maybe Haruko installed them. I assumed that until I saw something below it. Tiny print. Reading manga can help you see small things. The print said "Property of the Department of Interstellar Immigration." What it really meant was "Hey, kid. We're spying on you to see anything weird about you. My leader is also spying on you to see how to get the power of 'manliness'. Don't blame us. We're just interested in your ways. Your 'acquaintance', Kitsurubami."

Great. The Man-And-Lady-in-Black are stalking me. What else can go wrong? I thought about what they saw & heard until Haruko put my plate down in front of me. "I said it's too oily."

"It's Shake 'n' Bake." she said.

"Wha-?"

"Just eat it."

"Fine." I felt a bit appreciated at the fact that Haruko actually listened. And that happens rarely. I ate my fried chicken as Tasuku talked about how he won the World Series. Mamimi talked about her job working for MAD Magazine. My father seemed to take interest in both stories. My grandfather ignored Mamimi & focused his eyes & ears on Tasuku. Haruko told Aya about all of us. After I finished my chicken, I decided to excuse myself. I went to go & make sure that nothing else was falling from the sky. After that, I went to my bed & thought about how strange my life is. Then, the door flew open. "Mind if I come in?"

It was Aya. "No." I said. "Come on in."

She asked me about my life. I said that life was the same before Haruko arrived & when Haruko left. "I used to feel deep affection for her. But now she just annoys me."

" I feel the same way."

When I heard that, I didn't understand her at first. "I meant the whole annoying thing." She said.

"Oh…..Does she…"

"Drive me crazy? Yes. But she's an OK friend."

"Yeah. How long have you been friends?"

"Since high school."

They have high school in outer space? Cool. "And how old are you now?"

"Sixteen. I met Haruha when she ran me over with her Vespa. She said she was looking for something. Ever since then, she stayed at my place for a while. It took me a while to realize that she was really nicer than you thought. I really didn't have any friends. I considered her as my first friend. One night, I told her that I decided to join the Galaxy Space Patrol & help her find Atomsk. Why's she so special to you?"

"…I…fell in love with her."

"Really? I couldn't imagine Raharu-san being attractive to anybody. She must have been very special to you."

"Yeah. Well…"

And we sat there and talked…and talked…and talked. And we talked until we fell asleep.