Marquis de Carabas

When had Eri Ninamori noticed she wasn't an ordinary girl?

No, that's not quite the right way to phrase the question. There wasn't a point at which she'd noticed; she'd been special since the moment she was born. Actually, she'd been special even before she was born.

Ninamori was the tallest girl in the sixth grade at Mabase Elementary. That wasn't anything special, though especially considering there were a few girls in the fifth grade who were taller than she was. There was another reason Ninamori was special: She was the only one out of all the girls in the class who'd caught a snake or a lizard with her hands. Of course, that didn't mean she was special, either, but she thought reptiles were cute. She really couldn't see why they were anything to be afraid of. The reason Ninamori was special had to do with something entirely different.

Four years ago just as she was beginning her second year of elementary school Ninamori had modeled for an advertisement for a study desk. All she had to do was open her textbooks on the desk and grin for the cameraman. The ad ended up running in all the education journals across the entire country.

The response from adults to Ninamori's modeling had been very positive, ranging from, "The way she smiles is so professional" and "She could be a top model" to "So pretty!" and "She should go out for some modeling auditions."

Although Ninamori had really enjoyed herself, she hadn't done any other modeling work since then. She knew the adults who were lavishly praising her were only seeking her father's favor.

The real reason Ninamori had been chosen for that modeling job was because of her father's position. "We've chosen you to do it" and "please do this for us" were two completely different things. To top it off, the finished photos for the ad weren't that good. The lighting in the shot they used was subpar; and all in all, Ninamori could've

been made to appear much cuter. The girl on the magazine page struck her as an idiot with her wide-open, toothy grin. Maybe I'm not very special , she thought. Getting praised by the foolish adults who'd made the photo was meaningless. The reason Ninamori was special lay somewhere else.

Ninamori was aware she was pretty, and she didn't have any of the typical complexes a girl of her towering height usually had. In fact, on days she wasn't at school, she'd wear shoes or sandals with amazingly tall heels to make herself appear taller than she was. At least half the boys in her class had a crush on her. After all, she was the girl who shined the brightest. Maybe I'm not very special. Ninamori was pretty, smart, and she was class president. All the counselors and teachers thought she was special. Maybe I'm not very special. Above all, her father was the mayor of Mabase. Maybe I'm not very special. Maybe I'm not very special. Maybe …

SHUT UP!

Occasionally, Ninamori would hear that annoying voice. Every once in a while, there were annoying things in the world annoying actions, annoying people.

That morning, Ninamori was on her way to school in the car. Going to and from school in a car was forbidden by the school unless you were sick or had broken something but if you went to a side street where no one could see you getting out, there wasn't a problem. Of course, Ninamori took care that no one saw her.

The traffic light turned red, and the woman who was driving put her foot on the brake. A second later, the woman pulled out her compact, slapped on some makeup, and quickly sprayed herself with perfume. Ninamori, who was sitting in the back, assumed an expression of disgust as she opened the window.

Every once in a while, there were annoying things in the world annoying actions, annoying people.

The woman who was driving Ninamori was Ninamori's father's secretary. For the past two years, her father's secretary had always been by his side. She was a woman with gaudy makeup a woman who put on too much perfume and who clearly had a bad sense of smell.

"I'm impressed." The annoying woman had an equally annoying voice. "You listened calmly. The mayor had been worried."

The previous night, Ninamori had heard from her father that he might be leaving her mother.

"Daddy still loves Mommy, but they don't go so well together anymore,"

Ninamori's father had explained. "Because Daddy's the mayor now, he can't publicly divorce her it'd cause too much of a fuss. So, for now, they're going to live separately in different houses. It's an adult thing. You understand, don't you, sweetie?"

Ninamori's father had tried to put on an apologetic face, but he still seemed happy.

The thing Ninamori hated most was that when her father had told her about him and her mother, that secretary woman had been right by his side, as she always was.

"It's between my father and mother," Ninamori muttered disinterestedly.

"You're so clever, aren't you?" the secretary replied. "When I was Miss Eri's age, I was so much more childish."

"Well, if they want to split up, there isn't anything I can do about it."

The light turned green and the woman put the car into gear, speeding forward.

Watching the woman's hand operate the gear stick made Ninamori feel like throwing up. The truth was that Ninamori hadn't wanted to ride in the car with this woman, but when Ninamori opened her front door, the woman had been waiting there with a cheerful smile on her face.

"I'll drive you to school," the woman offered. It seemed as though she was pleased by the fact Ninamori hadn't raised any objections to her parents' separation.

Why do you have to be the one driving me? Gross! Ninamori thought to herself, although she really wanted to scream it at the top of her lungs. She grew more annoyed when she observed the woman driving with a self-satisfied look.

Ninamori's father had bought the car a month before, intending it to be the family car. However, the woman had started driving it around as if it were her own.

She'd put her own CDs in it, decorated it with ugly toys, and marked it with her perfume.

Take me to school? You must be kidding! You're my hired driver nothing more than an employee. You still have to do what I say . With that in mind, Ninamori got into the backseat instead of the passenger seat. Of course, the idiotic woman hadn't taken Ninamori's hint at all. She really believed Ninamori had no idea that she'd been a part of Ninamori's parents' separation.

"You're holding up so well," praised the secretary. "Don't worry, I won't do anything to damage your father's image."

"That's a relief, secretary. I have faith in your abilities," Ninamori replied with blatant sarcasm. "You stayed over last night, but you're wearing a different suit than you were yesterday."

"Oh, you're very observant."

Once again, the secretary had failed to recognize Ninamori's sarcasm and instead gave her a broad smile.

Ninamori knew her father's secretary had been in his room all night. The reason for her parents' separation was, without a doubt, all because of this woman.

Remembering the sight of her father holding her mother's hand when he'd first been elected mayor, Ninamori could hear him thank her mother all over again.

Ninamori's parents had been very close. Any small thing could bring them closer together. If her parents could only enjoy something together again, they'd definitely go back to being a family like they had been before. If this woman weren't in the way, that is.

"You have a change of clothes, too? Why's that?" the woman asked after noticing the paper bag filled with clothes near Ninamori's feet.

It was Ninamori's costume for the Marquis de Carabas. "I'm doing a play for the school fair. I'm the lead role," she explained.

It's at the most painful times that people grow up. The most painful few days of Ninamori's life were about to begin.

This is the story of the girl who pretended to be the Marquis de Carabas.

The thing is… although the types of happiness one can experience are limited, there are unlimited variations of misfortune. One of Ninamori's classmates understood this better than she did. In fact, he'd considered himself the most

unfortunate person in the world for the past month.

The boy was none other than Naota Nandaba.

Naota left the house to go to school with a backpack slung over his back and a baseball cap on his head. Naota had become better acquainted with misfortune because of what was under that baseball cap.

Naota's house was a bakery, but in the mornings when there should've been customers, there wasn't a single person to be seen. Shigekuni Bakery wasn't particularly popular.

In the shop's small parking lot, there was a Vespa and a girl crouched next to it, whistling happily. She was examining her beloved scooter carefully for any problems.

It was Haruko Haruhara. The other day, she'd moved into the Nandaba house as a hired housekeeper.

"Hey, wannabe housekeeper," Naota called out to Haruko.

Although she must've heard, Haruko acted as if she hadn't, turning on the Vespa's motor. Engaging in an over-the-top display of revving her engine and turning her ear to the engine noise, Haruko seemed to be teasing Naota. Her actions clearly indicated that she wasn't going to acknowledge his presence at all.

"Cleaning lady!" Naota yelled out, enraged by the fact that he was being ignored. In class, Naota played it cool, but when it came to Haruko, he became angry very quickly. "Maid!" he continued mockingly.

Haruko revved the engine again as though she still hadn't noticed Naota was there.

"Alien!" Naota shouted, half ready to give up.

Finally, Haruko turned around. When Naota shouted, "Alien!" he'd actually meant, "weird girl who might as well be an alien"; but Haruko, who tended to have a horribly stubborn attitude, reacted in a rather peculiar way. "Yes?" she asked.

"Clean up my room, will you?"

Since Haruko had come to board at the Nandaba house, she'd been staying in Naota's room, taking the top bunk of the bed. Now, the room was scattered with all the bike parts that Haruko had brought with her. There literally wasn't space left to walk.

"What's the big problem?" Haruko asked. "The room matches the store in that way."

When Naota scanned the area, he saw that the empty bakery was, indeed, piled high with cardboard boxes. Every box bore the mark of a printing house.

Naota stared at the boxes, letting out an extended sigh. More fanzines that didn't sell?

"Mon-chan said he's a journalist," Haruko said.

"Mon-chan?" Naota replied.

It sounded as if Haruko were referring to Naota's father, Kamon. Before he'd come to the suburbs of Mabase, Naota's father had worked as an editor at a publishing house in Central. Although Kamon was now working in the bakery, it seemed as though he hadn't completely given up his former career and was publishing things himself. Naota thought it was a complete waste of money and effort.

Employing Haruko was a prime example of wasting money.

Whatever you do, please stop with the "Mon-chan," thought Naota.

The idling Vespa engine emitted a small explosion, spewed out black smoke, and stopped. Haruko crouched over her scooter once again and started fiddling with engine parts. "I don't understand why such quality parts are malfunctioning…"

"Junk heap," Naota spat out as a parting shot before heading toward school.

Haruko's greasy arms suddenly reached out from behind, grabbing Naota by the collar.

"That hurts!" Naota yelped.

"You're going to school in that really ugly hat again?" Haruko asked, pulling the hat off Naota's head.

A new horn a double one, no less had been growing under Naota's hat. The pair of horns resembled cat ears and were most unusual appendages, which made Naota the most unfortunate person in the world.

It'd happened a couple nights before; the horns had started growing out of nowhere. To hide them, Naota had worn a hat for the entirety of the previous day.

He'd even slept with it on. It was annoying, but if he didn't keep the horns pressed down, they'd grow even more.

This was actually the third time this had happened to Naota. No matter how much one traveled the world, one wouldn't find another boy with cat ears growing out of his head.

"I can't get enough of them. They're so soft and cute and so therapeutic to stroke!" Haruko squealed.

"D-don't touch them!" Naota pleaded.

As Haruko continued to admiringly stroke the cat ears, Naota sank down on the ground. It seemed that whenever his newly acquired ears were touched, he lost control over his body but in a feel-good kind of way.

"See you tonight," Haruko waved, returning the hat to Naota's head.

"Tonight?"

"You're coming shopping with me, right?"

"Shopping?"

What is she talking about? Naota wondered.

"You want your normal curry, don't you?"

Naota suddenly realized what Haruko was talking about. The night before, they'd eaten curry for dinner, but at Haruko's request, the curry roux used hadn't been their normal one. It was super spicy, making it troublesome for Naota to eat.

Actually, it was so spicy that he couldn't even manage a mouthful. The only curry Naota could digest was the least spicy curry roux sold, Star Prince Curry, which could only be purchased at a small supermarket outside of town.

"Fine, show me where the supermarket is," Naota recalled Haruko telling him.

He was surprised that Haruko really wanted to go shopping with him. He hadn't actually seen her do any housework not even once. The previous night's curry had been made by the robot, Canti, according to Haruko's orders.

Surprisingly, the Nandaba household had a robot in it, too a humanoid robot with a TV set for a head. The robot had emerged from the first horn that had come

out of Naota's head.

A few days earlier, a horn that had grown out of Naota's head had turned out to be a section of a robot that proceeded to separate itself from Naota. Indeed, the kinds of happiness are limited, but the variations of misfortune are limitless.

The absurd robot, named Canti, did more housework than Haruko. Even now, it was standing on the balcony airing the bed sheets while staring down at Haruko and Naota.

"You're late!"

According to the clock on the classroom wall, Naota was only a little late; but the moment he put his bag down on the desk, Ninamori scolded him. She seemed genuinely annoyed.

"You seem to be in a bad mood this morning, Class President," Naota observed.

"I told you yesterday, turn up to morning practice on time," Ninamori replied scathingly.

"Oh…"

Naota's class had decided on a play for the forthcoming school fair, which was three days away. However, Naota, who'd intended to skip practices and push the responsibility onto someone else, had only been half listening. He thought that because only about ten people would actually perform, there wasn't any real reason he should participate. Naota had important business after class, anyway.

"Don't you get it? You're the main part," Ninamori informed Naota.

"You're the main part. Anyone can do my bit. I don't want to."

"We voted on it. You're the cat, Naota."

Suddenly reminded of his cat ears, Naota touched his cap with his hand. He didn't intend to remove his hat in class at any point during the day because it was his

"horn hider." He'd told his homeroom teacher that he'd injured his head.

Cat … Naota grumbled.

Ninamori was right: The class had decided by a vote that Naota would play the cat.

Was it because I have to be the cat that these horns started growing? Naota asked himself.

"You'd better not skip the after-school practices," Ninamori warned.

Class plays are so stupid! Why would she get so worked up about them? Naota wondered . Is it because she feels responsible as class president?

The first class of the day was Japanese, the boring, sleep-inducing subject during which one's energy was spent on deciding the direction and quality of little cartoons drawn in the corners of the textbook. If a student became too focused on his craft, he'd end up working at Gainax or Production I.G. (Taking it too far? Okay, okay…) From a seat in front of the classroom, Masashi passed Naota a small booklet when the teacher wasn't looking. It was a small, cheap-looking mini-comic with

" Come on Mabase " printed on the front.

"Third page," Masashi whispered.

Gaku, who was sitting diagonally opposite, flashed Naota an expression that

said, "Take a peek and you'll be surprised." Gaku was probably the person who'd found the mini-comic and brought it to school in the first place. He was always bringing stupid things onto campus; no doubt, this comic was the same as the rest.

Upon opening the comic to the recommended page, Naota frowned. "This…"

The contents of what was printed were far more dangerous than Naota had expected, and they certainly weren't anything that should've been passed around that particular class. It was an article exposing the corruption and personal scandal of Mabase's current mayor Ninamori's father.

Without thinking, Naota glanced over at the class president, who was seated a short distance from him.

"Amazing, huh?" Masashi exclaimed. "I found it at that Moniwa shop."

"Moniwa?"

"You know, that shop run by the old lady who always appears as if she's sleeping and is packed with Crystal Pepsi."

"Crystal Pepsi?"

"What are you doing over there?" When Naota's homeroom teacher Miyaji saw him and Masashi talking, Naota thought they were in for it. It wasn't that Naota was worried about being scolded for passing stuff in class he was worried about having to hand over the comic to Miyaji.

Miyaji, who was in charge of Naota's class, was still a novice teacher. Her constant enthusiasm was good, but her inflexibility and denseness were not. In some ways, she was very much like a child.

"What's this?" After Miyaji flipped through the booklet she'd taken from Naota's hand, her face went red. "Oh, this is awful. All the students who read this, stand up!"

Gaku, Masashi, and Naota stood up.

There were more students who must've seen it, but it was a rule that in situations like these, only those who'd been caught had to answer to the crime. There was no way any of them would mention anyone else's name.

Staring at the three pitiful students standing up, other students who hadn't been involved giggled.

After scanning the comic, Miyaji was at a loss for words. As expected, it was too intense for such a princess teacher. "This is not allowed! No, no! From today, class one of the sixth grade is prohibited from bringing in vulgar material!"

The girls in the class tittered, thinking the suspects had been caught with a pervy comic. Ninamori smiled, too.

Please… is all Naota felt in his heart . Please lock that magazine up somewhere.

We look foolish standing up here as it is. Just don't let Ninamori see that magazine.

Naota didn't normally care so much for Ninamori, but he didn't want her to be hurt by all her classmates should they find out what was inside the comic. Suddenly overcome with anger, he wondered what kind of senseless idiot would make such a horrid magazine.

"Reading crude material like this is an insult to Ninamori!" Miyaji blurted out, just as Naota had dreaded. His teacher was merely a child, after all. She was the type who'd talk in a loud voice on a battlefield and give away her position to the enemy.

Not surprisingly, Ninamori immediately realized that she or rather, her father

was the topic of the magazine. She was a clever girl.

"Anything of value was taken by your brother, and all that was left was the cat.

Now, you're thinking, 'What am I going to do with a cat?' Don't be so stressed. Calm down and take a good look around. You're bound to find something good. Meow."

What transpired after school was just as interesting.

In the end, Miyaji didn't show the confiscated magazine to anyone. Ninamori still felt as though she had to see it, however; so after practicing for the play, she headed toward the area where Moniwa was located. Gaku and Masashi had become tongue-tied, but Ninamori had gotten the other boys in the class to tell her where to find the mini-comic. It was right where she'd been told it would be, too in a small shop that appeared as if it would collapse at any moment, with an old sign that read,

"Moniwa Confectioners."

There was a car stopped in front of the shop, and it appeared as though the man driving was discussing something with the shop lady. Actually, it seemed as if the man were ranting at her more than he was talking to her. He was a suspicious-looking middle-aged guy who had a vicious glint in his eyes.

"Great response, right? I predicted that, didn't I? Investigative journalism is needed. Demand for my mini-comic of justice, Come on Mabase , is going to be so great tomorrow you'll probably have enough customers to sell all your out-of-date Crystal Pepsi."

"We don't stock any out-of-date items here."

"How about it? Won't you take a few more? A hundred? Eighty?"

That man had to be the creator of the mini-comic.

Noticing Ninamori shooting him a dirty look, the man said, "Ah, princess, I bet this is what you're after," handing her one of the magazines with a smug smile.

"Takkun ditched school, too, meow! You're becoming a bad kid, too, meow!

Yum," Mamimi purred, nibbling the nape of Naota's neck.

They were at a levee near Mabase Bridge. For some reason, Naota and Mamimi had started to meet at the bridge after school the night following the fire. Once again, their peculiar relationship had been reinstated. This was the "important appointment"

for which Naota had skipped play rehearsal. Almost every day, Mamimi kissed Naota's cheek, licked and nibbled his neck, and left love bites on him.

"I didn't ditch school. That rehearsal doesn't have anything to do with my grades," Naota insisted.

"I was in a school play once. It was so embarrassing, but it made me happy, too."

"Why did it make you happy?"

"Dad and Mom came to see me together, so I remember it very well."

"What did you play?"

"When I was in kindergarten, Sailor Mars; in elementary school, the Little

Match Girl; and in middle school, Carrie."

"Why are they all about burning things?"

A vision of the fire remained in the back of Naota's mind. Naturally, he recalled what had happened to the two of them that night. In the end, the police never caught Mamimi for starting the fire. They were still looking for the culprit, but there hadn't been any fires since, so it seemed as though the case would never be solved.

No, it can't happen. They mustn't catch the criminal! Naota thought to himself.

"Takkun, you saved me, didn't you?" Mamimi muttered in a serious tone.

"What?"

"That night. You drove Lord Canti. It was so cool."

"Yeah…" Naota replied, attempting to duck the issue.

Although Naota had thought he and Mamimi should talk about it, the fact was that neither of them had bothered to mention what had happened that night until now.

A robot coming out of Naota's head, Mamimi starting the fires they hadn't spoken about any of it, in favor of "playing around." However, this was to be expected. The pair were too used to enjoying their days without speaking about important things.

That was precisely why they'd started this "play" to escape the important things on their minds. Of course, anything having to do with Tasuku had been put on hold ever since.

Mamimi must know by now that my brother has a girlfriend in America . Naota didn't have the courage to find out for sure today, but it was quite possible that Mamimi knew and was bluffing that she didn't. Mamimi might even know everything .

The only thing was that Mamimi had a gross misunderstanding about what had happened that night. Or perhaps it wasn't a misunderstanding as such. To be fair, Naota didn't really understand what had happened either.

Mamimi thought Naota had been operating Canti that night, and it seemed as though she thought he'd done so to save her.

Mamimi's words "You drove Lord Canti. It was so cool" rang in Naota's ears.

However, in reality, Naota didn't even remember that night clearly. From the moment he'd been sucked into Canti, Naota had wanted to protect Mamimi from the one-armed robot. He'd panicked because of his desire to protect her.

Naota wanted to believe his thoughts were heard by God (or something like God) and that the deity would become one with him to defeat the violent robot. He wanted to believe that he'd fought for Mamimi's safety. Unfortunately, after Naota had been sucked into Canti, Naota didn't have many solid memories. He'd felt his body stiffen bit by bit in the blackness. Everything about the experience was vague.

"Thank you," Mamimi said, under the impression that Naota had done something heroic.

Naota, who didn't feel bad about being thanked, started to think that because his memory was vague, perhaps he really had controlled Canti and saved Mamimi. At least he'd wanted to save Mamimi in his heart.

After that night, Mamimi had stopped following Canti around as much as she had previously. It seemed as though she still considered Canti an important friend, but the thrill had finally worn off, and most of her interest was back with Naota. The result was that the love bites on Naota's neck were increasing in number. In all

honesty, though, Naota was quite fond of the whole situation.

Mamimi yanked off Naota's hat.

Naota panicked, trying to cover his cat ears, but it was too late, as Mamimi's eyes had already spotted them.

Damn! Naota thought to himself.

Within a second, Mamimi's expression had turned to one of fascination, and she started to say things like, "What are those?" and "They're so cute," as well as "So adorable!" as she smothered Naota's cat ears with love. "They're so soft… so much fun!"

Naota felt that the world had lost all common sense when people didn't bother to question the presence of cat ears on his head.

Ninamori's footsteps were heavy as she walked home with a copy of Come on Mabase in her hands.

That shady-looking man had no way of knowing Ninamori was the daughter of the mayor of Mabase. Regardless, to give a girl carrying a schoolbag on her back that kind of tasteless comic meant something must've been wrong with the man either way.

The magazine had even worse things than she'd imagined in it. It was almost as if the writer hated her father or wanted revenge, because it delved into scandals in both his private and business life. The first topic covered was the work scandal. It was reported that Ninamori's father had cooperated with a property company to lure the MM Factory to Mabase, and that he'd also received illegal income. At that time, the current Mabase mayor had merely been an upstart in an unknown city, who'd earned his money buying and selling land illegally. He'd ultimately used that dirty money to buy his way into the mayorship of Mabase.

As for Ninamori's father's personal life, the comic featured an exposé on the affair he was having with his secretary, accusing the mayor of being unscrupulous, using pictures of the two of them leaving his house as evidence.

Ninamori felt sicker with every word of the article she read, but she assumed that pretty much all the things it asserted were true. It was a melancholy feeling. The magazine had been passed around the classroom and everyone in the class was now aware of her father's ugly scandal. Naota had seen it, too. Naota had seen it, too! It was unbearable.

At the very least, the situation had made Ninamori want to chase that horrid woman out of her home. Ninamori remembered that very morning the woman had said she was a skilled secretary and wouldn't ruin Ninamori's father's image. But all it required was one look at the comic to see how badly the woman had messed up.

Ninamori was going to chase her out today, and she was going to get revenge. She almost wanted to thank the horrible man who'd written the magazine.

After having nearly reached her house, Ninamori glanced up, stopping in her tracks. "What?"

There was a large crowd of people gathered in front of her front door dozens of them and they all appeared to be reporters. There were several cameramen, too. Like lunatics, the horde swarmed around Ninamori's front door.

As Ninamori stood frozen with astonishment, a girl strolled along the road, quickly heading toward her. It was the secretary, wearing sunglasses as if to disguise herself. The woman's unforgettably revolting perfume hung in the air.

The secretary came to a stop after noticing Ninamori standing there. "Oh, this is ridiculous. I can't even use the back door anymore."

Ninamori peered intently at the woman.

"It's dangerous for you to stay here, too," the secretary added.

"I see you're very skilled at running away," Ninamori observed bitterly.

"Of course. I'm a grown-up," the secretary answered before she fled.

Ninamori watched her leave with hatred in her heart . Grownup? What does being a grown-up mean? A stupid adult who's all talk? Perfumed hag.

The woman Ninamori had wanted to kick out had beaten her to it by running away. Ninamori had felt the woman was no good from the moment she'd met her, and that first impression really cut to the core of what the woman truly was. Speaking of true colors, when the woman had been caught for breaking the speed limit the month before, she'd ranted on and on about how it was her first demerit. As Ninamori's dad comforted her, the woman had kept repeating how she'd never caused an accident or committed a crime, sulking like a child. Despite the fact that the secretary was so weak that being scolded by the police for her misdemeanor shocked her, Ninamori's father had happily entered into a relationship with her.

Ninamori understood the woman's attitude to an extent. Perhaps that was the biggest reason Ninamori disliked her. The secretary unabashedly believed that she alone was more special than everyone else.

When Ninamori scanned the photos in the magazine, staring at the face of the woman who was linking arms with her father and laughing with her mouth open wide; it reminded her of the study desk ad she'd been in. The woman wore the same idiotic smile.

Maybe I'm not very special, Ninamori thought.

Ninamori had nowhere to escape, but she wisely left that place before being spotted by the paparazzi.

The sun slowly sank behind the MM factory, which had apparently been built under the guidance of Ninamori's father.

Ninamori predicted that when night fell, the journalists would also disperse or that her father would do something to make them leave.

In an effort to avoid her house, and with nothing else to do but waste time, Ninamori had been loitering around town. Feeling just miserable enough to think calmly about everything, she almost started to cry. She was dejected and angry, wondering whether her father would regret anything if she were to die that night.

When Ninamori imagined her father bawling and repenting, she felt a little better but then she reconsidered. No, if that happened, it would make the crazed journalists even happier.

Reports of Ninamori's father's scandal were probably already on the evening news. As she walked amid the pedestrians at dusk, Ninamori suspected that all the people she passed were staring at her. She felt an unbearable weight, as if she were a

fugitive.

Ninamori decided that she needed to be where no one else was present until it got dark. The riverbank would be perfect, considering it was deserted and quiet, as well. On the way to the river, she bought a curry roll and a Crystal Pepsi. Her father had always told her, "junk food is bad; good girls don't eat that," but today was the right day for a minor rebellion.

As Ninamori had predicted, the riverbank was devoid of people at dusk. Sitting down on the concrete bank, she put down her school bag. "I don't have a home to go to anymore. All I have left is this useless cat…"

Suddenly, words Ninamori had memorized for the play came spilling from her mouth. She recalled the tragic hero, lost, with no place to go. She felt as though the protagonists circumstances somewhat matched her situation now, and that made her even sadder. Far more tragic than the play was the reality that Ninamori had no one on her side. She didn't even have a cat.

I can't lose, Ninamori thought . I'm special. I'm a special girl. A scandal like this only makes me more special.

Holding back the tears that threatened to trickle down her face, Ninamori took a huge bite out of her curry bread. She resolved that there was no way she was going to cry today. Hmm, this is pretty cool. I'm much cooler right now than that mouthy secretary who ran away.

"The class president shouldn't be eating junk food," proclaimed a familiar voice coming from behind Ninamori.

When Ninamori turned around, Naota was standing right behind her. She was utterly confused as to why Naota was there, but the sight of a familiar classmate made her feel better. Naota's unexpected appearance must've been the work of God.

Keeping her thoughts to herself, Ninamori addressed Naota in the tone she always used as class president. "You skipped rehearsal. What were you doing?"

Naota pointed to the curry bread in Ninamori's hand. "Junk food! I'm going to tell Miyaji."

"Naota, sometimes I think you're a delinquent."

"Well," Naota replied with satisfaction.

"That hat looks awful on you," Ninamori blurted out, although she thought Naota was quite cute when he pouted his lips.

"Perhaps," Naota started, sitting next to Ninamori, "something's happened at home?"

"It doesn't have anything to do with you," Ninamori asserted.

With Naota sitting next to her, Ninamori really did feel stronger. Despite the fact that she'd been trapped in an unpleasant flow, like an escalator descending slowly toward sorrow, she now felt as though things were returning to normal little by little.

BE HERE. SIT HERE. STAY WITH ME FOREVER! Ninamori shouted in her head.

"Don't worry about that gossipy article," Naota urged.

"All of it was pretty much true," Ninamori replied.

It's all right, though, she thought. I'm not going to lose. And Naota, you're with me now, too.

Of course, Ninamori wasn't aware of the kind of play Naota and Mamimi had recently engaged in.

A bus passed the two of them, stopping at the nearby bus stop. It was already getting dark, and the bus lights seemed to create a small opening into another world.

Where do I want to go? Ninamori pondered. She didn't want to be where she was any longer. She wanted to go somewhere else, together with Naota, as she was at that moment.

"I have a lot of money. I'm the mayor's daughter," Ninamori declared. Her next words flowed from her mouth so naturally: "Hey, do you want to go somewhere?"

"Now?" Naota asked, a little annoyed. "Where?"

Ninamori immediately regretted her spur-of-the-moment words. Cmon, what was I thinking?

"Naota, you're Puss in Boots, right?" Ninamori inquired to cover up her embarrassment. "Therefore, you have to listen to what your master says."

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Oh, who?"

"Our housekeeper," Naota replied.

It was true. Naota was meeting Haruko to show her the way to the supermarket where she could buy Star Prince Curry.

That means you'll go away? Ninamori wondered in horror.

As Ninamori fell silent, overcome by the sadness of being left on her own again, she and Naota heard the sound of a motorbike.

"She's here," Naota said, standing up.

Glancing in the direction of the sound, Ninamori saw a Vespa speeding down the small path cut into the bank, and she assumed that the girl riding it must've been Naota's housekeeper.

The approaching scooter was traveling at an amazing speed, and Naota couldn't help but remember the scene of Haruko fixing her bike this morning. "This isn't good…"

It wasn't by design that Haruko was whizzing toward the duo at breakneck speed. It was because the brakes on her Vespa didn't work.

Sensing the obvious danger, Ninamori stood up. The approaching headlamps illuminated her and Naota's figures right before the quiet riverside became the scene of a riotous accident.

"Get out the way!" Haruko's penetrating yell overlapped with the sound of the explosion that echoed throughout the area.

As Naota had expected, the Vespa's brakes were stuck, and it was barreling directly toward him and Ninamori.

How many times has this happened? Naota asked himself as he soared through the air. Humans sure can get used anything!

Naota and Ninamori simultaneously rolled onto the bank. Due to the force of the explosion and the rough landing, Naota's hat blew off, revealing his cat ears underneath. As he bumped heads with Ninamori, there was a momentary flash of light. The Vespa had chaotically tumbled away after launching the pair to their new location.

Grumbling, the girl got up. "Ugh! I should've died."

"Ouch!" Ninamori winced as she touched her hand to her head in the spot it'd been hit. There was a large bump. She really did feel as though this day was the worst day of her entire life.

Gazing in front of her, Ninamori saw that Naota was still spread out on the ground and hadn't come around.

Could it be…? she wondered.

"Naota!" Clinging to Naota's body, the first thing Ninamori noticed even before checking if he was okay or not were the cat ears on his head. "What are these?"

"Don't touch them!" the Vespa girl ordered.

"Eh?"

"An underage girl mustn't touch such things!"

Unfortunately, Ninamori was already firmly gripping the fluffy things protruding from Naota's head. She was the only girl in her class who would hold a snake or a lizard, so something like a pair of cat ears felt completely harmless to her.

Cat ears aside, who is this tall girl? Ninamori asked herself. Naota's housekeeper? Did she just run over Naota and me with her bike?

Haruko didn't seem the least bit flustered about knocking over Ninamori and Naota as she picked up Ninamori's curry bread and started biting into it happily.

"Hey, this is yummy!"

She's weird, Ninamori thought . I don't know who she is, but this girl is weird.

She may be really, really dangerous. She doesn't act like an ordinary person at all.

"When are you going to let go of those?" Haruko asked.

Ninamori still had Naota's cat ears in her hands. They had a strange feel to them, but upon closer inspection, they were indeed growing straight out of Naota's head.

Cat ears are growing out of Naota's head?

"What are these?" Ninamori inquired.

"Well, you've given me no choice now that you've seen them," the tall girl said coldly, taking another bite.

Three people riding a single Vespa headed through the darkness toward the Nandaba residence. Ninamori was on the rear of the motorbike, but not on the Vespa's seat, so she was forced to cling to Haruko, who was driving. They were traveling at an extremely fast speed, and to make matters worse, neither Ninamori nor Naota was wearing a helmet.

"If someone sees us, you're going to get written up," Ninamori informed the driver.

"It'll be fine," Haruko replied. "I don't have a license."

"Well, you've given me no choice now that you've seen them." After Haruko Haruhara uttered that grim line, Ninamori had thought she was going to be eliminated for the sake of preserving Naota's secret. She'd pegged the Vespa girl for that kind of dangerous adversary.

Seizing the unconscious Naota by the collar, Haruko had made him stand up.

After putting his fallen hat back on his head, she then proceeded to slap him violently a couple of times, out of the blue. It seemed as though this type of violence was typical for Haruko. When Naota finally had come to, she'd studied his neck closely and then laughed, saying that he'd been doing naughty stuff again.

"Shut up already," Naota had muttered to the girl.

Such argumentative attitudes seemed to be standard between the two of them.

"Are you okay?" Ninamori had asked.

Naota had panicked and felt his head, worried that Ninamori had seen his cat ears. Not realizing his hat had come off earlier, he found that his hat was on his head and then, with an expression of fake concern, had asked if Ninamori was okay.

"Well, we ran her over, and it's not as if we can leave her. How about taking her in for a while?" Haruko suggested.

"Where are we going?" Ninamori asked.

"Takkun's house." Haruko called Naota "Takkun," as did the high school girl who'd been waiting for Naota outside school the other day.

Takkun , Ninamori had whispered to herself.

Haruko had picked up the fallen Vespa. "Get on."

"Three people on the bike again?" Naota had complained. "I thought your brakes were broken."

"It isn't a problem. I'll make it listen to me this time. Hey, girlie, you too."

"I…" Ninamori uttered.

"You're coming, aren't you? It's a shoddy bakery, but it's Takkun's home."

It almost felt as if Haruko had decided for Ninamori after she'd read Ninamori's true feelings.

Long story short, Ninamori had ended up carrying three people on her scooter, heading for the Nandaba home. Ninamori hadn't been forced to go, though.

Well, I guess if I don't have anywhere else to go, I may as well go to Naota's, Ninamori had said to herself.

"I'll go," she'd declared aloud.

"You're coming, too?" Naota had whined.

Somehow, Ninamori found Naota's peevish attitude cute. She already knew that his house was a bakery, as she'd been around Shigekuni Bread before. At the time, there hadn't seemed to be anyone around, and she hadn't ascertained whether it was still open for business; however, her purpose for being there hadn't been to buy bread, anyway.

When did I start noticing Naota? Ninamori tried to recall.

It wasn't as though Ninamori liked Naota he was merely a boy she was interested in. He was sweet, cocky, and above all else, clever. She thought he was a special boy and deemed him a suitable friend for a special girl like herself.

Ninamori had become increasingly curious about Naota. He was different than the other boys and was rather mysterious. There were so many unsolved questions about him, though: the high school girl who'd waited for him at the school gate; his violent maid; and, if there was no mistaking what Ninamori had just seen, Naota had cat ears growing out of his head. Naota Nandaba had cat ears!

What was that? What happened? Ninamori wondered, hoping she could get to

the bottom of it if she went to Naota's home.

All these questions whizzed through Ninamori's mind as she held onto Haruko, driving the scooter. Once Ninamori realized she'd completely forgotten all her own problems for a short while, she smirked.

When the trio reached the front of the Shigekuni bakery, Haruko screamed,

"Stop!" as she kicked the side of the Vespa with the heel of her boot. As if surprised, the Vespa stood up on its back tire, doing a wheelie of sorts, before it suddenly came to a halt. It almost seemed as if the Vespa had listened to Haruko.

Naota and Ninamori thought Haruko's driving was haphazard at best, and although her method of stopping the bike seemed abnormal, it didn't occur to them that it completely ignored the laws of physics in the third dimension.

Breathing in the strong smell of curry permeating the shop, Naota complained that he didn't want to eat the previous day's leftovers.

"You'll eat." Without waiting for an answer, Haruko pushed Ninamori into the living room.

Ninamori, who had nowhere to go for a while, was grateful for the offer.

Gathered around the table were people who seemed as though they could be Naota's father and grandfather.

Ninamori bowed. "Good evening." When she raised her head and saw Naota's father's face, she let out a yelp. It was definitely the shady man who'd handed her the magazine earlier.

"Ah, it's you," Kamon said. "Well, sit down. It's not much, but it's dinner."

What's going on? Ninamori wondered . I thought he was really dodgy but now it turns out he's Naota's father.

"Naota's girlfriend?" Shigekuni asked. "Not bad."

"Haruko ran her over," Naota explained.

Kamon wore an uneasy expression and seemed so unnerved that it was almost funny. "What do you mean, 'Ran her over'?"

"Hey hey, let's not worry about the details," Haruko suggested. "Let's eat!"

With that, they all found their seats and started dinner.

A family dinner was a little unusual for Ninamori, as sitting down as a family for an evening meal had become a thing of the past for her. She wasn't terribly fond of the magazine man, but she'd told herself to behave for the time being.

Although she was on her best behavior, Ninamori suddenly started crying. It wasn't out of sadness, however; it was because of the spiciness of the curry. Spicy!

Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot! Ninamori moaned to herself.

It was as painfully spicy as Naota had warned it would be, and must have been several no, many, many levels beyond Ninamori's curry bread in spiciness. It well exceeded the limits of what humans could tolerate.

Through her tears, Ninamori forced a smile. When she thought about it, though, it was funny. She'd managed to hold back her tears the entire day and hadn't imagined that such a stupid thing would make her cry. There was no withstanding this, however. Ninamori simply ignored the tears that flowed freely and continued to partake of the strong spiciness that even made her head hurt.

"You're doing pretty well there, Shigekuni," Kamon remarked, shoving his spoon in his mouth as though he, too, were forcing himself to eat the curry.

Shigekuni appeared to be pained, but kept eating nonetheless. "You know, I think even Indian people would be surprised by this!"

The reason Kamon and Shigekuni were eating without making a single complaint was because Haruko was watching them. Like longtime romantic rivals, they couldn't disagree when she asked if the curry was good.

"You like spicy foods, right?" Haruko asked Ninamori. "It's Manhattan-flavor

'Star Prince Goes to New York' curry!"

"You didn't have to go as far as New York," Naota grumbled. He was the only one who hadn't touched the curry. He'd eaten only the white rice and pickles his way of protesting, apparently.

"You're such a kid! It's an adult flavor," Ninamori explained to Naota before putting some into her mouth. To tout how much more mature she was than her classmate, the Marquis de Carabas gobbled the spicy curry, pretending it was completely normal.

"Hey, w-water…" Shigekuni stammered.

Immediately following Shigekuni's plea, there was a noise in the nearby kitchen, meaning that someone else was there.

Who is it? Could it be that high school girl, Mamimi? Ninamori wondered.

It turned out to be Canti, who was carrying some cups on a tray into the dining room.

Ninamori was more surprised than when she'd first seen Kamon here. "What is that?"

Who could blame her reaction? It was a robot, after all a two-legged, two-armed humanoid robot. Plus, it was wearing an old jacket and was acting unusually human.

The robot handed a cup of water to Shigekuni.

"Wh-what is that?" Ninamori asked.

"It's our television," Kamon explained.

It was true that its head resembled a television.

"But why is it walking around?"

"Because it's a TV walkman, of course," Kamon replied dubiously.

TV walkman? Does Sony sell that kind of stuff in stores now? Ninamori wondered.

"Anyway," Kamon said to Ninamori, "how are you feeling, Little Miss Mayor?"

Ninamori was taken aback, realizing the meaning behind Kamon's words.

Naota's father had known she was the mayor's daughter all along, and with that knowledge, he'd still handed her the magazine revealing her father's scandal.

Ninamori felt even more disgusted by him. If she hadn't known he was Naota's father, she would've run off immediately.

"You know a lot about Ninamori," Naota remarked, slightly surprised. "How do you know her?"

It came as a surprise to Naota that Kamon knew anything about Ninamori. He had no idea that it was his own father who'd produced that magazine. The name of Kamon's serialized mini-comic magazine, Come on Mabase , was meant to mimic

"Kamon Mabase."

Wearing a shady expression, Kamon asked Ninamori, "You're pretty famous now, aren't you?"

Ninamori could only stare in horror. The reason she was "pretty famous now"

was all because of that comic. That Kamon could say those words with such a calm face proved that he was a pretty disgusting excuse for a man. However, the Marquis de Carabas wouldn't lower herself to such levels. "No, it isn't really a big deal or anything," she replied modestly.

"Don't go spreading rumors about being hit by the bakery bike, okay?" Haruko urged lightheartedly.

"H-hitting a pedestrian…" Kamon stammered as his abominable expression turned to one of unease.

Haruko's words seemed to have shot down Kamon's proud attitude. Having published the mayor's scandal out of self-righteousness, Kamon felt disheartened that his own housekeeper had been involved in an accident with the mayor's daughter.

Ninamori had been bailed out ever so slightly. As she began to come to terms with the fact that she'd, indeed, been run over, she wondered exactly who this strange girl who made Kamon uneasy was. In her head, Ninamori compared the girl with the secretary who'd fooled around with her father. They were about the same age, but the girl was completely different.

"Why don't you stay here tonight?" Kamon suddenly suggested. "Forget all the terrible things at home, right?"

"It isn't a big deal," Ninamori replied.

"No, no, no. You must stay with us tonight. I'll give your parents a call. You can sleep soundly and forget about all the bad things like getting run over."

"Thank you very much, but you don't have to phone them."

"But it would be a bit "

"It's all right."

"They don't know where you are…"

"My parents are my parents. I'm me," Ninamori asserted. "If my father gets arrested by the police or divorces my mother, it has absolutely nothing to do with me!"

Canti stared worriedly at the girl as she spat out her words.

After dinner, Kamon half suggested, half forced Ninamori to take a bath at the Nandaba house. "It's been a bad day, hasn't it? You should at least take a bath to relax. When I wanted to escape my home life, I used to take a bath to get over everything," Kamon revealed.

Because Ninamori really was worn out, and because this was none other than Naota's bathroom, she decided to take a bath, if only to satisfy her curiosity.

The Nandabas' home was an old wooden house, and the bathroom was well used. Compared to the one Ninamori had at home, it was pretty small. Even so, when she got into the hot tub, she felt herself relax a little. (The after-effects of that super spicy curry that'd brought tears to her eyes started to subside, too.) After letting out a drawn-out sigh, Ninamori began to reflect on her day in the

unfamiliar bathtub. As she began to feel a little better, she started to realize that lamenting over the unfortunate things that had befallen her wouldn't help her in any way. In the end, whatever was going to happen would happen. Yes, calm down and take a good look around. You're bound to find something good, meow, Ninamori thought. This house is full of surprises: that maid, cat ears, a father who makes scandalous magazines, and a TV walkman.

"How's the water?"

Ninamori panicked when she heard Kamon speaking to her from behind the glass partition. No way! she thought, but it was true Kamon had opened the glass door and peeked in without even asking. Flustered, she crossed her arms over her chest, becoming more frightened as she felt the perverted man's eyes scan her skin. What do I do? My first impression was correct! This old man is a perv like I thought. That's why he wanted me to take a bath!

"Do you think I'm a bad person?"

Ninamori sat shuddering in silence.

"You don't resent me, do you?"

Resent you? Ninamori said to herself.

"You don't, right?"

"Because of you, that horrible secretary finally left my house."

"Little Eri, you really are a grown-up," Kamon declared admiringly.

Little Eri … Naota's father spoke in a creepy tone as if he were talking to a cat.

Kamon stretched out his hand and offered Ninamori something. "Here, use this."

Although she was slightly hesitant, Ninamori covered her chest with one arm and reached out with the other to retrieve the offered item. It was a child's shower hat.

When Naota opened the door to his room, Ninamori was fresh out of the bath, sitting on the chair in Naota's pajamas. Her legs and arms were longer than Naota's, so the pajamas were too short and didn't cover her wrists or ankles.

"You're wearing glasses," Naota noticed. He'd never seen the class president wearing glasses, so he was surprised. He had no idea her eyes were bad. She must've worn contacts normally.

"Our secret."

"You have something to hide?"

Ninamori had worn glasses since around the time she'd modeled for the ad.

Maybe she felt more averse to people knowing about her wearing glasses than she did about them knowing about her father's scandal. There was something special about only Naota knowing such a deep secret of hers, though.

"You do, too."

"What?"

"Well, I'm in your room, wearing your pajamas." Ninamori looked smug, as though she were victorious. "It's pretty weird, huh?"

"Really?" Naota sat on the bed with a carefree face, but he was panicking on the inside. Ninamori, straight out of the bath, was in his pajamas and in his room. As she'd pointed out, it was pretty weird. Sharing a secret was the first step to having a relationship beyond the ordinary. They'd suddenly entered into one such special

relationship.

This isn't good. This really is not good , Naota thought.

"You'd better not tell anyone else in class," Ninamori warned.

"Of course not," Naota replied, instinctively raising his voice. "If people found out, who knows what they'd say. Starting tomorrow, you shouldn't come near me for a while."

"But tonight, it's okay." For some inexplicable reason, Ninamori got up from the chair and sat next to Naota.

His heart pounding at being alone on a bed with a girl, Naota thought he was in a dangerous situation. Tonight it's okay? What does that mean?

"I'll sleep downstairs," Naota said coldly and stood up.

Ninamori grabbed his arm. "Wait. Stay here a little longer. I didn't mean it like that. It's an unfamiliar room and I only need to relax a little."

How did I get myself into this situation? This is so not cool. Worried that he and Ninamori would become the gossip of the school, Naota knocked her hand away.

"Go home. This isn't okay. It's too weird," Naota insisted.

Ninamori, somewhat annoyed, decided to play her final card. "What's weird is what you have on your head."

Naota instinctively pulled his hat on tighter. He'd been wearing it the entire time he'd been in the house. She's seen my cat ears. It must've been when the bike hit me earlier. Damn! This really isn't good.

"You saw it?" Naota asked.

"What is it?"

"What is it you saw?"

"Cat ears perfect for playing a cat!"

"I told you, I'm not doing the play. Anyway, why was I chosen to play a cat?"

Naota moaned.

"You didn't notice I rigged the voting, huh?" Ninamori replied with a sharp smile.

"What?"

"No one suspected that I, the class president, would do such a thing, right?"

"You mean the class vote on who would play…?"

"I'm the lead role and you're the cat."

Naota had thought it was strange at the time. It was a bit unlikely that the class would have chosen the cool Naota to play the cat. There was no reason someone like him should play such a comic character. Things made more sense knowing they'd been altered by trickery, though. Even so, Naota still couldn't understand why Ninamori was so obsessed with the play.

"You're not mad, are you?" she asked.

"Why did I have to be the cat? And why did you want to play the lead role so bad?"

"The Marquis de Carabas deceives the princess for happiness, never once revealing who he really is. He lives the lie and finds happiness. The lie becomes the truth. Isn't that nice?"

Just as Ninamori said, Puss in Boots is the tale of a poor young man who

borrows a cat's wisdom and becomes a success story. The hero, who gets close to the princess under false pretences, is, to put it unkindly, a con artist.

Suddenly, the pair heard a girl's voice: "Is that really okay, meow?"

Glancing up, they noticed that at some point, Haruko had laid down on the top bunk.

"You were there before?" Ninamori asked.

"I was here, meow," Haruko replied.

"You've been listening the entire time?"

"Not really. Why would I care that you cheated to get the lead role, meow?"

"It isn't as if I hurt anyone!" Ninamori insisted in a defensive tone that belied her inner guilt.

"You hurt me!" Naota argued.

"I'll keep your secret, meow, if you keep his, meow," Haruko proposed.

"Who is your maid?" Ninamori inquired all of a sudden.

It was a question that Naota wanted the answer to, as well. Really, who is she?

"Where does your maid sleep?"

"Here, meow."

"You sleep there every night?"

"Yes, right here every night with Takkun. Ahhhh!" Haruko replied, pulling off Naota's hat and stroking his cat ears.

"Stop that! Don't touch them! They…" Although Naota attempted to protest, he appeared to be somewhat happy.

This woman was a completely different kettle of fish compared to the secretary, but as Ninamori watched Haruko and Naota play, she knew she was up against another enemy.

It was dark again. There was no light no one there. Time had stopped. He stood in a dark place, but he'd been to this dark place before.

Yes, he knew it well. This was the darkness in which he mustn't turn around the darkness in which he couldn't turn around. If he turned around, that girl would never come back again.

Girl? What girl?

If he listened closely, he could hear something a murmuring.

There seemed to be a river flowing in front of him. At the center of the darkness, the surface of the river had gradually lit up.

There happened to be something floating in the river. It was a cat floating in a cardboard box.

He ran out quickly. He had to help her. There wasn't any time. He couldn't catch her, though, and the box with the cat in it had begun disappearing into the darkness.

Although he knew it was futile, he chased the cat as fast as his legs would allow, because if he couldn't save it, the cat would be carried to the depths of the never-ending darkness, swallowed by the abyss.

He had to catch up… had to catch up. He had to save her. In spite of the

urgency, he started to tire and finally collapsed in the darkness.

It wasn't any good. He couldn't chase any longer. The cat had already disappeared and the river was also disappearing. Once again, everything was becoming utter blackness.

"You came all this way, didn't you, Your Highness?"

Standing in front of him was Miyu Miyu, wearing boots.

"I'm not Your Highness," he answered as the Nandaba pet cat shook its head.

"No, you are, Your Highness the proof of that being your ears are donkey ears."

"I don't have donkey ears."

"Remove the crown you're wearing from your head and see for yourself."

"My head… a crown?

But I can't take this off. I can't take this off! he panicked.

"Why can't you take off the crown? If you don't have donkey ears, why can't you take it off? Your Highness, you're a liar. As punishment, you will be food for the man-eating demon."

"Man-eating demon?" He asked, sensing someone. Before he knew it, the man-eating demon was coming at him from behind. When he turned around, the man-eating demon was a girl riding a Vespa and carrying a metal guitar. She had a bloodthirsty laugh, and her red mouth was wide open.

"Stop it! Stop!" he yelled with all his might, but the man-eating demon closed in on him.

Smooch! Haruko kissed Naota's sleeping face, which caused all his classmates around him to start giggling.

Having been asleep for half an hour, Naota lifted his head from his desk, finally noticing the presence of Haruko and Canti in front of him. What?

Naota was in a classroom after school on a Saturday. He'd been searching for an opportunity to escape so he could skip rehearsal, but he must have fallen asleep at some point. Why are Haruko and Canti here? he wondered.

Holding ukuleles and other stage props, Naota's classmates stood in a semicircle, watching him from a short distance. Among the crowd was Ninamori, who'd stayed over at the Nandaba residence the night before. She wore a foul expression and was glaring at Naota and Haruko.

"Sh-she just smooched him, didn't she?"

"It's a robot!"

"Is someone in it?"

"Who's that lady who smooched him?"

Hearing the voices of his peers, Naota finally grasped the situation. He realized it hadn't been a dream when someone had kissed him, prompting him to touch his cheek instinctively a moment ago. What's going on?

It seemed that Haruko and Canti had come together, Haruko kissing Naota while he was sleeping, with all his classmates watching.

What's going on?

"What are you doing? Here's your lunch," Haruko said as she took the lunchbox Canti had been carrying and offered it to Naota. "Saturday rehearsal, huh? I'm such a

good housemaid, aren't I?"

"Ugh, whatever. I'm not doing any dumb rehearsal."

"Well, you still need to eat lunch."

"I don't need it. I'm out of here."

"No, you can't ditch today."

In an overt display of strictness, Ninamori cut in between Naota and Haruko.

"Everyone decided this was how we were going to do it!"

Ninamori's voice was loud, but her classmates didn't find it odd that she had reacted so emotionally. No one said anything, although everyone now knew about her father's scandal and had noticed Ninamori was paying more attention to Naota recently.

"I won't let you go," Ninamori insisted, grabbing Naota's arm. That she would do such a thing to prevent him from skipping rehearsal was a reasonable thing for a responsible class president to do.

As for the other students, the question at the moment wasn't whether Naota would skip class, but the identity of the girl who'd kissed him so shamelessly and the story behind the robot she'd brought with her.

"More important, what's with the robot?"

"Isn't that the Vespa girl?"

"No way…"

Haruko and Canti, who'd suddenly appeared in the classroom, made quite an impressive combo. However, Ninamori was blasé about the maid and the TV

walkman, having stayed at the Nandabas' house the night before. As Haruko and Canti were familiar characters to her, she was far more stressed over Naota.

"You have to do what we decided!" Ninamori ordered Naota.

"You must be joking! I have things to do!"

"Everyone is coming."

"No one will come to see this play!"

"They will!"

"They won't!"

"I want them to see it!"

"Because you're a show-off!"

"My father and mother are coming to see it together!"

It's so embarrassing, but it makes me happy when Dad and Mom come together to see me, too. Now I see Ninamori is looking forward to her parents enjoying the play together, Naota thought.

Unfortunately, Naota had already gotten caught up in the emotion of the moment and shouted, "School plays are for kids!"

" You're a kid! You can't even eat spicy foods!"

"Playing a cat is embarrassing!"

Enraged, Ninamori pulled off Naota's hat. "How can you say that when you have a head like this?"

As a result of Ninamori's ruthlessness, everyone got to take a close look at Naota's head, and of course, everyone saw that he had cat ears.

They saw them! Naota thought in horror. Although he'd taken great care to hide

them, everyone had found out that he had cat ears growing out of his head. He hoped that if he covered the unsightly things with his hands, no one would believe from merely a glimpse that he actually had cat ears. They all would simply shake their heads, wondering why someone as cool as Naota would want to wear such an ugly hat on his head. They'll think they didn't see properly , Naota assured himself. There was always a way out… always a way out.

In mid-panic, Naota let his mouth get away from him. "You're one to talk.

You're the one who rigged the votes so you could play the lead role!"

Ninamori's face froze and turned white.

Within seconds, the classmates' eyes moved from Haruko to Canti to Naota's cat ears, before stopping and staring at Ninamori or so she felt.

"Argh!" the class president screamed, clutching her head and doubling over.

At the same time, Haruko's chain link that was attached to the bracelet on her left hand started to move, reacting strongly like a magnet, and then pointing toward Ninamori. Haruko's green eyes became unusually serious and had a cruel glint to them.

Ninamori's body started to convulse, and suddenly, all the onlookers noticed a strange change: Her pores started to ooze out sweat before their eyes.

Several girls ran to Ninamori and screamed into her face.

"Eri? Are you okay?"

"Get her to the nurse!"

"Owww!" Ninamori screamed in pain.

Much to her classmates' horror, Ninamori began to transform. Somehow, cat ears suddenly started to grow from Ninamori's head.

"A magic trick?" asked one of the girls who'd rushed over.

The person who was most surprised, however, was Naota. The cat ears that were now growing out of Ninamori's head matched his exactly. But when Naota put his hands to his head, his cat ears were gone.

Meanwhile, at the MM factory, which Ninamori's father had lured to the city back when he was committing fraud, the battle watch commenced once again. It was a Saturday, so there wasn't a single person working in the building. The warning siren blared to no one. In one of the rooms, the host computer started to receive battle reports.

«MMR Class [L].PS, whose appearance was halted at the cranium, has found another exit that has opened at close distance. At short notice, testing the change in approach. 13:13.

In addition, presence of MMR Class [K].001 Atomsk is confirmed at the expected area of emergence. 13:13.

Executing the capture or destruction of [K] 13:13.

Good luck to PS in executing battle strategy. 13:13.»

Ninamori screamed as the insuppressible transformation took over her body.

Not knowing what was going on, her classmates stood there dumbfounded. Only Naota understood what was happening to Ninamori's body.

The spectacle was analogous to seeing a monster jump out of someone's head.

Naota guessed that, at the moment, Ninamori was probably hearing a loud ringing in her ears and was having to deal with the horrible feeling of her own head pulsing. He'd experienced it twice in recent past, after all. The first time, the robot Canti, who was standing beside him, had jumped out; and the second time, the one-armed robot Canti ultimately damaged had jumped out.

Wait, Naota thought . Does this mean a strange robot is going to leap out of Ninamori's head in the middle of the day, in the classroom?

Ninamori's cat ears were extending up to the ceiling in the form of long metal arms. The bits everyone assumed were ears were actually more like foam pads attached to the tips of the arms. There weren't only two arms, either. Another one resembling the first two had appeared at the back of Ninamori's head, making a total of three.

Each arm bent at the joints, and the suction pads at the ends latched onto the classroom floor. It was very reminiscent of a camera tripod a gigantic tripod, actually.

Ninamori's head attached at the center, where the three legs joined, and her body suspended in midair. Extending from her gym shorts, her long legs didn't touch the floor and were violently kicking the air with all their might.

No one continued to think this was some sort of magic trick.

Suddenly, an elongated egg-shaped metal ball popped out from Ninamori's head at the center of the three legs, causing gasps of surprise from her classmates. Well, of course the metal ball was several times larger than the girl's head. This was the first time Naota had witnessed such a large metal monster appear from such a small portal.

It was an absolutely grotesque scene. It seemed as though "they" were able to distort space to pass through.

The robot revealed itself completely. It was probably a robot, anyway, as it wasn't human-shaped. Its form resembled a three-legged octopus more than anything else. The three legs bent considerably, no doubt because the thing had to stoop down on account of the classroom ceiling being too low.

Lemon squeezer , Naota thought. On the only occasion he'd visited Mamimi's house with his brother, Naota remembered Mamimi's family had a lemon squeezer that looked very similar.

Everything above Ninamori's nose was melded into the robot's rounded body.

As if she'd lost all power to fight back, her legs and arms were covered in sweat and dangling limply. The only things that moved were her lips to breathe.

I have to do something. I have to separate Ninamori from this lemon squeezer thing , Naota told himself.

When the one-armed robot had appeared, Naota's head hadn't fully separated either, and he'd lingered on the border between life and death for a short while.

Ninamori's situation felt a lot more urgent, though. The lemon squeezer was treating Ninamori as if she were part of its own body.

«PS has integrated the route device as part of its own body 13:14.

No problems with battle movement. 13:14.

Possibility that the route device's conscience will interfere with the control systems…»

Ninamori's classmates stared, speechless, at the transformed body of their class president.

All of a sudden, the lemon squeezer started moving, heading straight for Naota.

"Argh!" Naota grimaced, finding himself pinned against the wall by the monster's amazingly quick movements.

For some reason, the lemon squeezer was trying to push a part of its metal body onto Naota's mouth. It almost appeared as if it were trying to kiss him.

"What are you doing? Stop that now, Ninamori!"

The class' homeroom teacher, Miyaji, screamed hysterically, and the lemon squeezer immediately stopped moving. Miyaji, who'd come to oversee the play rehearsal, had observed the chaos and decided it was Ninamori's doing.

"If I'd known it was going to turn out like this…" Haruko gave a little tut that she hadn't brought her guitar weapon with her, but she was relieved when she noticed one of the boys nearby had a ukulele in his hand that he'd been using as a stage prop.

"Let me borrow that," Haruko demanded, snatching the ukulele and raising it high above her head.

Unfortunately, simply because Haruko held the ukulele in her hand didn't mean it was going to turn into a super weapon. The moment she brought the instrument down on the metal robot's body, it splintered into tiny bits. "Ukulele no good." After uttering such a nonsensical statement, Haruko whistled with all her might.

In a flash, the Vespa that had been parked outside Shigekuni Bread started its engine, turned on its lights, and drove off.

There wasn't anyone on the scooter, so it had to have been summoned by Haruko's whistle.

The driverless Vespa headed straight for Mabase Elementary School.

The classroom had descended into a panic.

The lemon squeezer had integrated Ninamori's body as a functioning part of its own and was running wild.

Moving like a bug's jaw, the two pale schoolgirl legs gnawed at Naota's body.

"Let me go!" Naota insisted, trying to pry apart Ninamori's legs, which were wrapped around him tightly.

Haruko snickered cheerfully as she looked on. "Ooooh, that looks dirty!"

With Naota still in its grips, the lemon squeezer aimed its sensor eye at Canti. It seemed the control system had merged with an impure entity and had meaninglessly captured the young boy; however, it suddenly remembered what its original prey was.

With an exaggerated holler, Haruko jumped into the corridor with Canti by her

side.

Still holding onto Naota, the lemon squeezer used its remaining three legs to chase the antagonistic duo.

"Let me go!" echoed Naota's futile scream down the corridor.

After kicking open the metal hatchway and exiting onto the roof, the lemon squeezer searched the surroundings for its fugitive prey.

"Up here!" yelled Haruko, gazing down from the water tower. Behind her, like a faithful dog, was her Vespa. Haruko smiled cruelly before opening the Vespa seat and retrieving her guitar-shaped, time-space interference weapon from the storage space. "Better get ready. Time to meet your maker!"

"Stop!" Naota screamed, still in the lemon squeezer's clutches. He already assumed Haruko wouldn't spare a thought for him or Ninamori and would go all out in her attack on the lemon squeezer.

Naota was right. With an evil smirk, Haruko started the hand-operated generator on her weapon.

Sensing the threat from its opponent's shining weapon, the lemon squeezer took a few steps back and prepared to fling Naota in the direction of Haruko. Ninamori's long legs hurled Naota's body, turning it into a weapon.

"Waaahhh!" Naota screamed as he shot through the air.

"Get out of my way!" Haruko demanded, mercilessly knocking Naota aside. It was only a halfhearted swing, but it nevertheless sent Naota's body high up into the air like a fly ball. That guitar was a terrifying weapon.

"Hiii-ya!" With her super weapon in hand, Haruko leapt from the water tower and used all her strength to inflict a blow on the lemon squeezer's round body.

All of a sudden, a lightning-like bolt illuminated the midday roof. Immediately afterward, the lemon squeezer began to emit a cranking sound as though something wasn't working properly, and it then began to move irregularly, stumbling around the rooftop without direction. It appeared to be in great pain.

"Uggghhh!" Practically in sync with the lemon squeezer's groans of pain, Ninamori began shrieking in anguish. Her legs thrashed about, and her body twisted and squirmed as if she were being administered electric shock treatment. The violent thrashing alone would've been enough to break her bones, but fortunately, the struggling girl managed to separate her body from the lemon squeezer before falling limply to the ground.

Haruko smiled boldly.

In the meantime, Naota, who'd been thrown high into the air, was thinking that he must be the most unfortunate person in the entire world. His misfortunes seemed to have infinite variations. After Naota reached the apex of his flight, his body made a small arch and was pulled down by gravity.

Canti stood on the roof at Naota's exact point of landing, as if the robot had been predicting the boy's course all along. Opening up a part of his frame, the robot gobbled up Naota's flying body. It was a nice catch.

In an instant, Canti's dark blue body changed to a deep crimson, and his humanoid appearance once again evolved into a giant cannon, the form it took when

he was in autonomic gun mode.

The fight was decided in a single shot. At light speed, a red laser shot out from near Canti's cannon mouth, locking onto the position of the lemon squeezer. With a great blast, the cannon ball pierced straight through the middle of the lemon squeezer's metal body, destroying it, and proceeding to create a gigantic hole in the roof of the school gymnasium on the other side.

"Oh, that takes me back. I was in a play when I was in middle school. This is the picture my father took of me in the lead role. The cat boy he was my first love. He's kind of cute, isn't he? It's nice that you can say such things lightly as you get older.

Oh and that that's not a spotlight. When we did a performance, there was a big hole in the gymnasium roof, and that's the light coming in. I look pretty tall, don't I? I was the tallest in the class then, you know. And the glasses, they were…"

A couple of days later, class one of the sixth grade at Mabase Elementary School performed Puss in Boots .

The tension mounted as the sound of the announcer's voice and the echo of applause filled the hall.

Ninamori was at the side of the stage dressed in costume, waiting for her entrance. In the end, it was decided that the play would be performed with Ninamori in the lead role. No one in the class ever mentioned the rigging of the votes again.

There wasn't sufficient evidence to prosecute Ninamori's father, either, so he continued as city mayor. Ninamori didn't completely object to her father's shameless attitude, however. She was his daughter, so she would grow up more brazen than her father ever was.

"You cheated to get the lead role?"

"You became a robotic monster and ran amuck?"

Ninamori's father had told her she should transfer if she didn't like all the rumors that were going around, but Ninamori stayed in town. That was Eri Ninamori's decision at the age of twelve.

"You'll do wonderfully, Ninamori," Miyaji encouraged her.

Ninamori nodded.

Dressed as the cat, Naota seemed surprised when he saw Ninamori's face. She was wearing glasses. The role of the Marquis de Carabas didn't require glasses, so why was she performing wearing the very glasses she'd tried to hide before?

Ninamori poked her finger through the rim of the glasses, showing Naota there were no lenses. They were fake.

Why? Not understanding, Naota cocked his head.

Suddenly, a bell rang and the curtain lifted.

Ready to play the part she'd rehearsed to perfection, Ninamori took a step out onto the stage.