Brittle Bullet

Huff, huff, huff. Naota's heavy breath condensed before dispersing into the autumn evening air.

Next to him, Haruko huddled up.

That day, that afternoon, that moment, on the bank near Mabase Bridge, sixth-grader Naota and housemaid Haruko were crouched down in the long grass, hiding themselves and keeping vigilant.

The air around them was full of danger. The situation was serious, and they were feeling the anxiety of the hunted.

Damn, they've got us!

At that moment, Naota and Haruko were being targeted by a sniper and were trapped in their position.

Only moments ago, they had exchanged numerous deadly bullets, the dry sound of gunshots ringing out emotionlessly. And in their hands, they clutched guns that glistened an ill-fated black. Naota was holding an Mil Ingram; Haruko had a bigger Uzi submachine gun.

This was a battlefield.

The area around Mabase Bridge had turned into the front of a dangerous battle.

And although the air was cool, the handle of Naota's gun was dripping with sweat.

The only noise now was the quiet babbling of the river, which only increased Naota's disconcertion. Don't panic. Don't be scared , Naota told himself, holding his breath.

Haruko tapped Naota softly on the shoulder. She was squinting at a thicket in front of her. "Look over there." She indicated the base of the concrete pillar holding up the bridge.

That was definitely where the enemy was hiding. He could sense their presence.

His anxiety on the battlefield had proven to be unusually perceptive… of course.

After all, the moment he let down his guard, he would end up part of that other world.

With the mouth of the machine gun, Haruko signaled for Naota to go first.

"Am I your decoy?!"

Haruko shot Naota an annoyed expression in response to his complaint. And then, she kicked the boy flying. "Go! Die for our love!"

"WAAAAHHHH!"

Naota lamented his bad luck at falling into this situation. Why did this have to happen to me?

It all had started the night before.

The night before, around dinnertime, Natota was practicing his swing in the backyard, which was buzzing with crickets. His batting form didn't look as though it had improved at all, but Naota's expression now bore a confidence that hadn't been there a few days before.

In this very special baseball season, Naota had gained confidence to the point that he was feeling a little high. The basis for Naota's confidence was that he had saved the town with his batting. That was, of course, when the satellite bomb had fallen to Earth, and Naota had knocked it out of the atmosphere with a guitar.

My batting saved this town. Perhaps I'm already a great man, an equal to my brother. No. My brother never would've been able to hit a falling satellite bomb with a guitar. I'm already stronger than my brother!

When it came down to it, Naota had indeed saved Mabase from ultimate destruction; however, he couldn't deny that Haruko, that superhuman girl, also had been a part of the equation. Remembering that fact, Naota doubted that he'd surpassed his well-admired brother, and that thinking so was just his imagination gone wild.

When you're happy, though, you don't notice that you're mostly just pleased with yourself. Having some confidence in oneself is not such a bad thing, of course; after all, if you don't believe in yourself enough to meet new challenges, then you'll never grow. True confidence is not simply the result of growing older, though; for true confidence, one must possess grace. And true diligence is needed for someone to believe he really has tried his best.

For Naota to realize that kind of true confidence, it would take some more time still.

"Good swing."

"Grandpa!"

Although Naota had been unaware of it, Shigekuni had been watching the boy's swing from the balcony.

"Haruko said so, too. You have potential."

"Yeah?"

Looking at his grandson with an expression that wasn't all that dissatisfied, the old man nodded.

Now, coming from Shigekuni, those words didn't actually mean Naota's grandpa was impressed with Naota's batting. In fact, when Shigekuni compared the boy to his older brother, batting genius Tasuku, the Martians' veteran coach could see that the younger child was nothing more than second-rate when it came to baseball.

But though he suspected Naota would never live up to his older brother's promise, this grandson of Shigekuni was still only twelve, too young for his grandpa to second-guess what lay in store for him. And watching him practice his swing, it seemed as if he wasn't adverse to baseball. And he continued to train even though he was bad, which wasn't entirely a wasted effort after all, he could learn a lot from team play. At any rate, the old man was satisfied that Naota had some interest in baseball; he would just have to nurture him with a lot of praise. Or so thought Shigekuni, who had built his whole life around baseball.

It was a picturesque scene, the old man who loved baseball watching his grandson play.

The problem lay in what happened next.

After practicing his swing to his heart's content, Naota cheerfully made his way up to the second floor, walking into his room without thinking twice, and stopping dead in his tracks. There, in his room, was Haruko. Haruko had been sharing a room with him for a while now, so it wasn't surprising that she was there; what was surprising was her appearance.

Naota was confused about where to direct his gaze. Haruko was wrapped up in her towel as though she'd just gotten out of the bath, and it looked like she'd just

moments ago put on her underwear. This was the first time since they'd started living together that Naota had seen her like this. Plus though he had merely dismissed her as a ridiculous girl in the beginning, Naota had found himself having other thoughts recently when he'd casually glanced at her body.

"Me, have personal feelings for him?" Haruko, clad only in her underwear and a towel, was pacing up and down, and talking to someone who wasn't there again.

"That's not true. That's not the reason this mission is taking so long. The N.O.

channel is still open, so it doesn't make a difference if I like him or not… Oh, hey, were you listening?"

Haruko finally noticed Naota. Of course, she didn't care at all that he was there while she was half-naked. Instead, she took off her bath towel and started adjusting her bra.

Naota averted his eyes from her naked skin and looked around the room. Only Miyu Miyu was present, sitting on the desk, so Haruko had been talking to no one again.

But today, rather than worrying about her talking to herself, the contents of what Haruko had said were on Naota's mind.

Haruko had said, "Me, have personal feelings for him?"

"Is there… anyone?" Naota asked, pretending to be calm.

"What?"

"Anyone you like?"

Me, have personal feelings for him? Him. Maybe that person was himself.

Haruko had come to live here because of him, after all.

"Do you like it? The way I smell straight out of the bath? Here, sniff me."

Instead of answering Naota's question, Haruko laughed provocatively and suddenly pushed out her breasts, covered only by her bra, toward Naota. She was a childish girl.

As she aggressively pressed her body against him, Naota brushed off Haruko with words: "Put on some clothes."

"You're blushing. You should grow up some more."

"Who are you to talk?"

Embarrassed, he forcefully pushed away Haruko's arms, which hugged him from behind but then, he lost his balance and fell over. His feet got tripped up, and he fell face up, coming directly into contact with Haruko's clean skin. It almost seemed like he had been pushed over.

Suddenly, their faces were right next to each other. Feeling as though those green eyes could see straight into him and sense his hidden desire, Naota went pale.

"Want me to teach you guitar?" Haruko asked.

Guitar?

"Why?"

"Why doesn't Takkun try using his guitar again? Bam! You were so great last time."

As she said that, it almost looked as if Haruko blushed but perhaps that was just Naota's imagination acting up again.

No, Haruko definitely just praised me. She definitely praised me!

His heart started to thump wildly. It was a weird sensation, as though he were being enveloped by a powerful magnetism coming from Haruko's eyes, mouth, and breasts. The scent released by her bare skin seemed to assault Naota's senses.

From the back of the boy's head, another bump suddenly popped out. And as the force of the horn pushed him forward, his lips pressed against Haruko's.

Mouth to mouth, the feeling of Haruko's lips…

"Oh, Takkun, that's it!" Haruko beamed deliberately.

"No, the horn, it"

"My first kiss…"

"Liar! You've done it loads!"

"… with Takkun. Ah!"

"No, it was the horn!"

While attempting to push in the horn that was coming from the back of his head, Naota desperately tried to explain. It was because of the horn that he had kissed her.

Explaining that he hadn't done it of his own volition seemed to be more important to him than the new horn at that moment.

"Naota!"

Suddenly, Kamon screamed from outside the window.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"That's what I wanted to ask!"

Oh no, Naota thought. Apparently, Kamon had been out on the balcony, spying on them. He'd probably been watching Haruko change. It was unfortunate or perhaps fortunate that his father couldn't see the horn growing out of Naota's head from the balcony. All Kamon must have seen was Naota giving Haruko a real kiss.

Kamon's expression was one of pure jealousy.

"Naota, you and I will duel for Haruko."

"I'm in!" Haruko answered.

For such a stupid reason…

Now, on this day, this afternoon, this moment, everything depended on what happened in the match between him and his father. After Kamon's strongly worded challenge, they had decided upon a survival game.

A survival game… otherwise known as Airsoft or a BB gun war. Surely, everyone knows what a survival game is a game that came to Japan in the early '80s from America, wherein the participants armed themselves with toy air guns and split into two teams to battle it out.

Kamon had been really into the sport when it first came over to Japan, and he was the reason everyone was fully dressed up in goggles, boots, and gloves today. He himself was completely covered from head to toe in camouflage clothing.

Apparently, Kamon held a very strict aesthetic with regards to toys. For example, he had a fair collection of air guns, but he made fun of those who collected model guns. (By way of explanation to those not in the know: The difference between air guns and model guns is the ability to fire bullets. Air guns have the capability to shoot out little plastic balls called BBs, whereas model guns are things that exist only to be looked at; though very realistic-looking, they have no working parts.)

According to Kamon, an air gun was a "real toy," but a model gun was a "fake gun." It was his policy that function was more important than appearance when it came to the toys.

Naota thought this was idiotic. Whether a real toy or a fake gun, they both were toys when it came down to it, and not something an adult should be into.

He thought of himself as grown up, but Naota eventually had agreed to participate in this survival game per Kamon's conditions because Naota didn't entirely dislike this kind of game himself.

It would be helpful to note that the rules of a survival game are not totally fixed; rather, the rules of combat are dependent on the participant and the region. The ones that Kamon had selected that day were standard rules used in a match up called Center Flag, a simple game wherein the participants divided into two teams, and the first team to capture the flag in the center of the field would win.

Naota and Haruko were the blue team, and Canti and Kamon were the opposing red team.

Kamon had objected to the pairing, but Haruko wasn't going to concede. It seemed she had wanted it to be dramatic, with Naota protecting her from being reclaimed by Kamon.

And so, Haruko and Naota wore blue headbands, Canti and Kamon wore red ones, and they fought. Only, Naota was covering his head with the hood of his parka, considering that as of the day before, a horn was growing there one much different from all the others. Even when Naota pushed on it, it wouldn't go back in.

The horn this time very much resembled the hammer of a pistol.

"Hurry and go!" Haruko shouted, kicking Naota in the back.

"Stop it!"

Pushed into the open, Naota quickly tried to hide himself in the grass again, but Haruko wasn't going to allow that. She pushed him out again.

"Don't use me as a human shield."

"Then, was that kiss just a game?"

Mouth to mouth… Haruko's lips…

"What's the matter, Naota?" Kamon called from somewhere. "Be a man! Come out and fight me face-to-face!"

Bullets came flying at Naota, narrowly missing him.

In a survival game, there is a strict rule whereupon if an enemy bullet hits you, you have to declare it out loud and then sit out for the rest of the game as a "corpse."

In other words, you say, "dead," and then fall to the ground without another word. It is a terrifying game.

"Come on, what's the matter, son?" Kamon called again. "If you run away scared, then your dad is going to take Haruko from you."

"Oh no, Takkun." Her voice very helpless, Haruko clung to Naota.

"Cut it out, already!" But even as Naota said that, he looked kind of happy.

Their bodies close, he was surrounded by the scent of Haruko again the scent of Haruko, who was in love with him.

Nothing I can do, I guess, I'll have to protect her.

"Wait here."

"Oh, you're so amazing, Takkun."

Gripping the gun, he carefully and quickly scuttled toward the clump of grass where Kamon's voice was coming from, keeping his upper body down low. He felt pretty confident Naota had this one in the bag.

Kamon had lost by calling out and revealing his position. If Naota could use the element of surprise, he would win. He already had the big advantage of stealth thanks to his smaller body, but he couldn't let his guard down, as Canti could be waiting somewhere to ambush him.

He saw a shadow coming from the other side of the tuft of grass camouflage gear. It was Kamon, and it didn't look like he had noticed Naota yet.

I've got you! Naota leapt into the grass to catch his father from behind. Without a moment's hesitation, he pulled the trigger of his Ingram. Four shots, five shots, bullets that would hit their target without fail…

However, what Naota had shot was a decoy. It was a log dummy dressed in camouflage gear.

"Too easy!" A speaker from next to the dummy suddenly screamed. "You're just too easy, Naota."

Sensing the danger, Naota tried to flee but suddenly, the ground underneath his feet disappeared. A hole! It was a trap that Kamon had set. He'd probably prepared it the night before.

Naota was barely able to cling to the edge of the pit and heave himself out from the deep, well-like, which even an adult would find difficult to get out of. The bottom of the hole was dark, the sun unable to reach it.

He went this far…?

Kamon loved survival games, and he was obsessed with Haruko. For these two reasons, he was not treating this game as a laughing matter.

Right then, enemy bullets came flying toward Naota, who jumped feverishly back into the thicket.

Unbeknownst to the players, there was someone secretly watching the entire survival game through a scope from a car parked on top of the bridge… a young woman.

When the woman finally caught Canti in her scope, she took out a large military transceiver and flicked the switch.

"Target sight confirmed," she reported. "It's blue. Repeat: blue."

"So, it isn't red," confirmed a male voice that sounded as if it could be her superior. It was the voice of Commander Amarao.

The woman who was watching Canti through the scope was an officer of the Department of Interstellar Immigration. She was one of the operators who'd been in the monitor room beside Amarao at the time of the falling satellite bomb incident.

She had a childlike face, but she was in her twenties. The dark, freckled woman was called Kitsurubami.

"They're just playing a game. Looks pretty stupid. I think I can do this myself."

Having given that report to her superior, Kitsurubami got down off the car and pulled out some equipment. She looked pretty happy to do so.

The truth was that Kitsurubami had long wished for this kind of front-line work.

This was her ideal job. What she removed from her car was an oversized, long-barreled, black firearm a Degtyaryov sniper rifle, which made a perfect addition to this battle.

Hers, however, was no toy.

Situated on the top of the hill, Medical Mechanica had decided to show its true form and take action.

Canti's escape combined with the intervention of the brotherhood had MM more alarmed than it had ever been before. Recently, there had even been signs that MM

was going to ignore the treaty and try to capture Canti, because the robot threatened planetary security. Under normal circumstances, MM facilities the resident factory would just observe, but to MM, Canti's capture was more important than observing a treaty.

Therefore, given the emergency situation, it was essential for the Department of Interstellar Immigration to capture Canti before MM could.

Things have gotten pretty hairy.

As he pondered the instability of the situation, Commander Amarao sat in a beauty salon in town. His surroundings were in contrast to the danger of the situation as his head stuck out of a white cloth and a stylist combed his hair.

Communicating through a neck charm, Amarao gave orders to Kitsurubami.

"Okay, if we screw this up, then MM is going to get involved for real, so wait until I get there. And whatever you do, don't mess with Raharu it'll just get even more complicated.

"I have a lot of work to do, so make it a quick cut, please. I want to look good, though I want to look dignified for a girl I haven't seen in a while… dependable, if you know what I mean."

The latter half of Amarao's speech did not consist of orders to his subordinate, rather directions to the hairdresser next to him.

As Kitsurubami hung up the connection, those incomprehensible words echoed in her ears. "A girl he hasn't seen in a while?"

She suspected that he was talking about Raharu, also known as Haruko.

She'd wondered why Amarao had made time to go to the hairdresser when they were about to begin battle plans for the urgent situation that had developed but if the reason was Haruko, Kitsurubami could understand; Amarao was a bit more concerned with Raharu than was absolutely necessary.

According to rumors, he had worked with Haruko before. And then, ever since that girl had showed him her special power, he'd been afraid of her. But it wasn't just Kitsurubami's imagination that underneath his fear, Amarao seemed to have an admiration for Haruko. Most likely, Amarao had gone to the salon in anticipation of finally coming in contact with Haruko again.

Well whatever, Kitsurubami thought . It doesn't matter to me.

Still looking through the scope, she refitted the large receiver to her belt in a habituated manner. She didn't use the standard issue one that was designed to look like an ordinary mass-market cell phone, instead preferring to employ this large Russian military-use transceiver. Similarly, the Degtyaryov sniper rifle she wielded was not issued by her organization, rather something she owned because of her own personal hobbies.

Three months earlier, Amarao had been dispatched by the center to be a part of the special immigration team situated in Mabase. And because of that dispatch, the recently admitted Kitsurubami was now able to realize her desire to become a field agent, a wish that derived from her military hobbies.

Guns those beautiful, heavy, metal machines, cool things that could kill a person and the senselessness in using them… Indeed, her passion for her job didn't came from patriotism or responsibility, but instead from her interest in using military weapons in a real fight.

Her current task was to watch a robot that had escaped from MM. But if she had intended only to watch, then she wouldn't have brought a personal battle rifle with her.

Amarao had told her to wait until he got there; however, if the robot's body color changed to anything besides blue, then she had been given permission to act as the situation demanded. All it took was a change of color and she was the only one there.

She had plenty of excuses she could use.

She could see that the target robot was hidden in the grass.

While looking through the Degtyaryov's sniper scope with a self-satisfied look on her face, she slowly pressed the trigger.

The enemy bullets attacked endlessly, and Naota was the only one countering.

No longer able to tolerate Haruko relaxing next to him, he screamed at her. "What are you doing? Do something! This is a shootout!"

"What's shooting out?"

Haruko lazily pointed the barrel of her Uzi in no particular direction, pulling the trigger. Rat tat tat came the dry sound of gunfire.

Then, Haruko saw Kitsurubami aiming for Canti from the top of the bridge.

Several bullets hit the railing of the bridge, right beside where Kitsurubami was stationed. Kitsurubami, who had been about to pull the trigger on her rifle, knew that she had just been threatened with a terrifyingly accurate attack.

Panicking, she looked through the scope in the direction of fire. There was Haruko, looking her way with a bold smile on her face.

Haruko's position was several meters from the bridge where Kitsurubami was, quite a distance farther than the effective range of an air gun. That meant the gun Haruko had was the real thing; the bullets had hit dead on, burying themselves in the bridge's concrete barricade. Kitsurubami shuddered. She was afraid, not so much of the fact that Haruko had a real gun, rather of the marksmanship that Haruko had displayed. Haruko was not an enemy to be taken lightly.

But when Kitsurubami touched the unfamiliar bullets buried in the barrier, her

fear turned to confusion.

They were BB bullets! The things that had managed to get buried into the barrier were small plastic balls for use in an air gun.

What's going on?

Confused by the impossibility of this, Kitsurubami forgot for a moment that she was still holding onto the heavy sniper rifle as she leaned over the bridge railing. The moment she noticed, it was too late: Her world tilted.

"Eh!"

Losing her balance, Kitsurubami fell into the river along with her beloved gun.

Her fall was followed by an "ugh" the strange yelp of a man. The place where she'd fallen, right into a patch of tall reeds, coincidentally happened to be where the unlucky Kamon was hiding. Kitsurubami had landed right on top of him.

The two rolled into the deep section of the river and were swept away by the fast water current.

Kamon's fighting spirit with regards to survival games was indomitable, though; perhaps his battle spirit even surpassed Kitsurubami's in that respect. So, having suddenly been involved in an accident, even as he was being washed away, he yelled out a parting cheer for his teammate: "I'm leaving the rest to you, TV

boooooyyyyyy…"

When it heard its teammate's parting words, Canti jumped out from the grass where it had been hiding to challenge Naota head on. Although Canti was in fact equipped with a laser sight, it had put it away without anyone instructing it to do so, simply having decided that kind of thing wouldn't be chivalrous in today's game.

Indeed, it was a robot with sense and reason.

"Damn!" Naota panicked. The enemy had caught him from behind.

Unfortunately for Canti, who was at the point of certain victory, the only thing that came from his air gun was the lonely clicking sound of the trigger. It had run out of bullets after its previous full-on assault.

With this development, the certain victory clearly reversed to Naota.

"Heh heh, I win!" Naota praised himself and turned his guns on Canti.

The robot realized it was in a bad spot and so quickly fled.

It was a "center flag" match, so the game could be decided if someone stole the flag from the middle of the field but Naota had decided to win by way of the gun, and thus chased after Canti. It seemed he'd discovered the joy of this game as it had progressed.

Elated, Naota chased Canti over the dry riverbed. However, when he turned the corner at a small boathouse…

"Waaaahhhhh!"

Naota was thrown into confusion.

Canti, whom he'd thought was unarmed, ambushed him with a new air gun in its hand.

Having planned meticulously for this battle, Kamon had prepped by hiding guns in that small boathouse. Once again, the tables had turned.

With a loaded air gun right in his face, Naota was up against a wall.

"Timeout, timeout! I said timeout!" Naota yelled. "We get three timeouts."

Upon hearing this new rule, Canti protested unhappily, but without words.

There's no such thing as timeouts , it seemed to say with its silence.

"Don't give me that look," Naota shot back without hesitation. "Okay! I just made it up right now."

It was at that moment that a three-wheeled truck approached the boathouse from a riverside road and honked its horn.

"Hey, Naota," Naota's classmate Gaku waved from the passenger side. Their classmate Masashi sat in the driver's seat.

What? Naota played it cool, but on the inside, he was surprised. Since when did Masashi start driving that car?

"We're helping at the shop," Masashi said nonchalantly.

"Delivery. Part-time job," Gaku added casually.

No way!

On the truck were the words "Masamune's Sake." Naota knew that Masashi was the son of a sake storeowner; he had even heard that Masashi helped out by delivering goods. But to actually be at the wheel of a truck…

"It's okay! We won't get caught. We only drive beside the river."

Masashi's calm explanation made Naota all the more surprised. Does he… does he do this all the time?

"You look pretty cool." A girl's voice spoke.

When Naota looked for its owner, he saw Eri Ninamori relaxing on the back of the truck, sucking on a popsicle.

You're in on this, too? This was behavior unbecoming of the class president.

"But," she asked casually, "it's only a toy, right? Does it shoot bullets?"

When Ninamori had said Naota looked "cool" only a second before, she must have been referring to the air gun Naota was holding. Naota now felt awkward and tried to hide his gun, flustered.

What's going on? he panicked.

His classmates, who were doing really grown-up things like driving a car and working part-time delivery jobs, must have been wondering if Naota Nandaba liked playing war.

Well I don't really like it…

"No, I mean. This is, well, I mean… Oh, Canti… go and get us some drinks."

Trying to cover up the fact that he had been playing with a toy gun, Naota turned to Canti at his side, trying to shift focus to the robot. However, Naota's confused brain didn't really handle this very well, and his attempt to hide his embarrassment became terribly obvious.

The domesticated housekeeper robot launched upward immediately in response to Naota's stammered request.

Canti always had the ability to fly through its gravitational controls but once again, it had chosen not to use this advantage during the survival game. If there was work to be done, though, the robot would immediately change modes.

Of course, Naota's classmates knew what Naota was trying to do; they could see it as clear as day. But it wasn't as though Gaku, Masashi, and Ninamori were making

fun of Naota. They were actually thinking, "Oh, survival game. Looks cool." Naoto's worrying was really just a product of his personal pride, and it came from his insecurity and shame. He wanted to believe that he was more adult than anyone else, cooler than everyone.

When Canti received Naota's order and flew off, it surprised his classmates.

Indeed, Naota had gotten used to living with this robot, so giving Canti orders, like telling it to buy something, had become an everyday thing to Naoto. But wasn't controlling this robot as he wished so much more amazing than driving a car?

"Did you hear, Naota?" Gaku asked as watched the robot fly off, using an unusually calm tone for Gaku.

"What?"

"The rumors?"

"What rumors?"

Gaku exchanged looks with Masashi at his side. They seemed to be using their eyes to consult with each other about how much they should ask. Ninamori, who kept sucking on her popsicle, quietly glanced at Naota from the side.

Naota felt an eerie mood descend; it felt like there was something that only he didn't know, something that involved him being hidden from him.

"What? What rumors?"

"You know, that satellite thing that happened?" Gaku said. "Everyone is saying that it was you who saved the city. And didn't you interact with the robot that time at the school, too? Everyone's saying you can pilot the robot!"

The time at the school when they'd been practicing for the class play, a robot had come out of Ninamori's head and run amuck.

Naota already knew there were rumors going around that Canti had crushed that violent robot. It seemed those rumors had grown, and now it was going around that the person who controlled Canti and had resolved the satellite crisis was Naota.

Hmm. It's not entirely untrue, Naota thought.

To be more precise, Naota hadn't used Canti to resolve the satellite crisis; rather, he'd smacked the sphere back with a guitar in his own hands meaning Naota was more a hero than they thought. And, well, it was kind of true that he had operated Canti; Naota had become a part of Canti and smashed wild robots twice now. Just as the rumors said, he had operated the robot and saved the city.

However, Naoto had taken a secret pride in the fact that he couldn't disclose these details to people. He knew that no one would've believed him if he'd said, he'd hit a bomb back into space with a guitar during the satellite crisis. But now that those events had entered the realm of rumor, all bets were off.

"Oh, I didn't know you guys knew so much."

"So, you really did save the city then?" Masashi confirmed.

"Really, really?" Gaku was pretty excited. "That's pretty amazing!"

"Well, you know…" Naota beamed proudly.

Yeah, I guess I really am something. The impatience he had been feeling immediately changed to an air of coolness. I guess I really am amazing.

But then, with a "hey, hey, hey," Haruko suddenly appeared behind the beaming Naota, embracing him and recklessly grabbing his groin.

"Look, Takkun."

"Hey, stop that. Don't touch me."

"Doesn't it feel good?"

"That's not the point!"

"Hey, we won the game!" Haruko was holding the game flag in her hand. "With this, I'm all Takkun's!"

"I told you not to touch me!"

Seeing this open display of indecency with a minor, Gaku and Masashi could only stare transfixed. They thought to themselves that this housekeeper of Naota's was no ordinary person, after all, but their minds didn't make the connection between this sensual girl and the light-speed Vespa woman who they had once told scary stories about at school.

"Huh?'

Ninamori spotted a shadow over the embankment. It was a high school girl who was gazing toward Naota and Haruko with a sad air.

Mamimi Samejima.

Haruko noticed Mamimi and waved the flag cheerily. "Hey! Mamimi!"

Having been called to, Mamimi looked perplexed. She had planned to stand there unnoticed, but having been spotted, she had nowhere to run.

Naota also raised his head as he looked up at Mamimi. However, considering he was being embraced by Haruko, Naota felt awkward, as well.

For a moment, Naota and Mamimi met each other's eyes, and then they both quickly looked away.

What kind of disaster are those three involved in? Ninamori thought.

Having separated from Naota and the others, they were once again driving the Masamune's Sake truck alongside the river.

"Bye! See you in school!" they'd said. "We still have some deliveries to make, so we'd better get going." But the truth was that they didn't really have any work left to do; Masashi simply had the good sense to get out of there.

It was a wise decision. When Mamimi turned up, the atmosphere had become quite uncomfortable.

Ninamori's feelings toward Naota had changed from before, though; even with Haruko and Naota frolicking around in such an indecent manner right next to her, she hadn't felt a thing.

I gave up being the Marquis de Carabas.

During the school play, the reason Ninamori had worn fake glasses over her contact lenses was that she'd wanted to pretend she was a child. In real life, she'd pretended to be an adult, maintaining that appearance with contact lenses. So when she'd worn glasses on stage, she'd actually showed her true face, that of a simple child. That's how Ninamori made sense of it in her head.

In her mind, those who pretended to be grown up were children, so to prove that she had indeed grown up, she'd pretended to be a child by wearing glasses in the

school play, it wasn't until a little while after the play was over that she'd realized she didn't have to pretend to be a child.

I really am still a child. When I want to cry, then it's okay to cry. I can enjoy riding in a truck with my classmates. And I can enjoy eating this soda-flavored popsicle as much as I want to.

When she looked at the stick from the popsicle she had just finished eating, she noticed there was something written on it. Ninamori had bought the popsicle at Masamune's Sake shop, so she extended her hand into the front seat and showed it to Masashi, who was driving.

"Look. I won."

"Oh yeah, you did. Wait a second."

Masashi took a small paper bag out of a box on the front seat, offering it to Ninamori.

"What is it?"

"Free gift. Hope you like it."

Ninamori took out a small item from the paper bag a water pistol. It was a toy, a water gun made out of transparent green plastic.

"It's pretty."

She smiled and held the water gun up to the sun. It cast a bright-colored, translucent shadow across her face.

With one eye closed, she looked through her newly acquired jewel at the world beyond. The green world spread into the girl's eyes: Green sky. Green clouds. Green river. Through the plastic, everything looked like she was in another world. Ninamori was now on a green planet in another universe.

"That high school girl," Masashi said from the front seat, "that's Naota's brother's girlfriend."

That was news to Ninamori. So, Mamimi Samejima was the girlfriend of Naota's brother, who was playing baseball in America. Somehow, Masashi knew this, as did Gaku.

"But you know," Gaku said, "that maid likes Naota more. That touchy-feely girl really seems to like Naota. Naota's, like, popular."

Is that really right ? Ninamori thought. Wasn't it dangerous for a high school girl and an adult female to hold special feelings for the same sixth grade boy?

Pointing her water pistol into the sky, Ninamori aimed at the sun and fired.

Well, Haruko and Mamimi both seem pretty dangerous.

Naota drank some canned juice Canti had bought for them. Right after Canti had delivered it, the robot had disappeared somewhere. And then, Haruko, the person who'd created this disaster by calling to Mamimi, also disappeared somewhere. So, now it was just Naota and Mamimi left by the river near Mabase Bridge, the area that had until just a while ago been the scene of the survival game.

Naota was sitting on the bank as he always did. Mamimi was holding Naota's air gun, playing with it while she rambled off nonsense with no train of logic. She seemed to be pretending she was a gunman she'd seen on TV.

"This body here will be the defense, continuing to neutralize the AT field. We

have to defend from their dissolving solution. Backup, move down. Withdraw your rifles, and hand to the offense. Now, offense fire together, destroy target… NOW!"

"Don't point it at me; it's dangerous."

"You got the one with bits in it."

Naota was startled. Mamimi was commenting at the can of juice in Naota's hand, having noticed that it was orange juice with pulp in it.

"You've been getting the ones with pulp in nowadays?"

"Well, I don't like the bitter drinks."

"She likes the pulp, too Haru."

Now that she'd said it, Naota noticed for the first time that he had only drunk canned coffee previously. It was true that he had started to enjoy drinking the pulpy juice that was mixed with bits of fruit only recently… and that it was Haruko's drink of choice. Without him knowing it, Haruko had made an impact on him at least, as far as his choice of cold drinks.

"I was watching," Mamimi said. "I was watching."

"You noticed that?"

She must have been talking about the disaster, when Haruko had gotten caught up in animal lust.

Of course, Naota felt a little guilty that Mamimi had seen him messing around like that with Haruko. It had been careless. How much had Mamimi seen? It wasn't as though he had looked very happy about it, had he?

"I don't really think anything about Haruko." Naota's voice sounded apologetic.

"Haruko was just really happy and was just jumping all over me; that's what she always does. Well, what I mean is, that's what she's always like; I don't mean that she's always doing that kind of stuff."

Mamimi looked at Naota with sadness hers was the troubled face of an abandoned cat.

Naota was strangely embarrassed, but also happy. Why? Because a truth had become clear. The reason Mamimi had noticed and been bothered by the pulpy juice was obvious! Mamimi was feeling jealous over him.

Mamimi is jealous! It's tough being so popular, Naota said to himself internally.

"You're really amazing," Mamimi said. "You drove Canti, you hit back the Lord of Fear and saved the city…"

"Oh?"

"Hit back the Lord of Fear and saved the city?"

She must have been referring to when he'd hit the satellite bomb. Mamimi must have known about that, as well.

Indeed, at the time of the incident, Canti had been with Mamimi, and had somehow shown her the same images from Amarao's spy cameras, so Mamimi had seen the whole thing.

"You're really amazing now, Takkun."

"No, it's no big deal…"

Masashi and the others seem to have known, too; perhaps rumors about the whole satellite incident have spread all over the town, Naota thought. Maybe there had been people watching it. Well, whatever, as long as my success is spreading.

He was starting to feel very satisfied with himself when Mamimi suddenly approached Naota from behind. She was probably going to cuddle him as always.

Although he knew that it couldn't go on forever, at the moment, he couldn't stop this "play." Ever since Tasuku had left for America, Naota had "played" with Mamimi on this bank, countless times. He wondered how much longer it would go on.

"Ouch!"

In contrast to his sweet expectations, Naota felt a sharp pain at the back of his head. Mamimi had fired the airgun she was holding.

"What are you doing?"

If fired at this close a distance, BB bullets were pretty painful. Naota had been wearing his parka hood, which had protected him from a direct hit. Now, to make sure that the hidden horn wasn't revealed, Naota quickly covered his head with it again.

"Is it Fooly Cooly under your hood again?" Mamimi asked. "Takkun, you're just too amazing. You do furry wurry and lumpy bumpy. When did you become like this, Takkun? It was when Haruko came, huh?"

"Hey, are you…"

I knew it, Naota thought . I knew it. Mamimi is jealous. This pain in the back of my head must be proof that I'm a popular guy.

He looked at Mamimi's lips. Naota didn't know the taste of those alluring lips.

Kissing them was the only thing that Mamimi had firmly objected to, that she hadn't let him do.

But those faraway lips could be close so soon. Today. Today, they were going to be his.

Naota grabbed Mamimi's hand. He stood up and pulled her away from the river.

"Come on!"

"Don't come near me!"

Finally having managed to stand in a shallow part of the river, Kitsurubami took a small hand pistol from her waterproof holster. The mouth of the gun was directed at none other than the robot Canti, who was standing on the riverbank.

Canti was motionless like a statue, looking straight at Kitsurubami.

I'm scared…

Kitsurubami hadn't been planning to do anything more than snipe at a distance.

Now, when unexpectedly encountering the target at close range, she was overwhelmed by the threat, and having almost no real battlefield experience, she instinctively pulled on the pistol trigger. Although all her bullets hit dead on, they merely made dull metallic sounds. The robot's blue body was built with a resistant quality that bullets could not impact.

Kitsurubami had looked through the robot's data file, of course, considering it was her target. She knew that it couldn't be defeated by a pistol's bullets, so she had prepared her favorite anti-tank rifle. But after that lethal rifle had been lost somewhere on the riverbed, she'd had to try feebly attacking it with a powerless pistol to make it clear that she was an enemy.

It was a terrible situation to be in, but it wasn't entirely unsurprising. Although she regarded herself as a fully fledged soldier, Kitsurubami didn't have any formal training. She was simply playing make-believe at being a soldier.

And as she continued frantically pulling the trigger, she quickly ran out of bullets.

The expressionless monitor head of the robot faced her as Canti took a step toward Kitsurubami, who was still standing in the river.

"Argh!"

Fear pierced her entire body. She regretted getting ahead of herself. A strong enemy was closing in on her. Unarmed, she could do nothing but tremble. What kind of vengeance would it take?

Now is the retaliation. I'm done for!

With no hope of escape, she felt weak at the knees. It was hardly noticeable on her wet body, but something warm spread down between her legs. The pistol fell from her fingers and dropped into the river. And Kitsurubami, resigned to her fate, closed her eyes.

"Kitsurubami! Kitsurubami, hey! What happened?"

Amarao was still in the hair salon in town. As he was being shampooed, he was reclining, his body covered by a sheet and his face hidden by a gauze.

"Answer me. Hey, Kitsurubami!

"Hot, hot, HOT!" Suddenly, he screamed in pain. The water they were using to rinse his head was too hot.

Without apologizing, the hairdresser asked him, "What hair color would you like today? Your normal chestnut brown color? Or would you rather Fooly Cooly color?"

It couldn't be! Amarao recognized that stylist's voice. Panicked, he swiped the gauze from his face and saw Haruko standing there.

"When did you…?!

"Thought the clean cut would make the chicks dig you?"

"What are you doing here?!"

"Thought you'd send your minion to get me?" Amarao jumped up quickly, grabbing his pistol. Then, with one hand, he reflexively checked to see if his eyebrows were still on his forehead.

"Huh?"

Kitsurubami felt her body being carried gently. She opened her eyes.

The robot had lifted her up with its large hands, saving her from the cold river water; now, it was helping her stand up on the bank.

And then, to her surprise, as if to say "sorry," it gently patted her on the head.

Kitsurubami's pulse quickened but not out of fear. She felt her heart accelerate and her blood warm in an instant.

In truth, the late-bloomer Kitsurubami had dated only three guys up until that point. The first had been an assistant professor when she was attending university.

The second had been a workplace romance with a superior. And the other had been a man who'd been fooling around, cheating on his wife; he had wooed her, and then

they had started dating. She had finally told the married man she'd wanted to break up, claiming it had been because they went out only when it suited him, but the real reason that she'd broken up with him was because men just weren't enough for her.

Now, for the first time, she felt like she understood what men had been lacking.

So gentle.

She felt a mysterious aura, and the warm surge enveloped her.

She touched the silent robot.

This was Kitsurubami's first love.

"That robot is too dangerous."

Aiming his gun at Haruko, Amarao slowly got up from his seat. It was like he was trying to move a wild beast into a pen gently, so as not to excite it.

Just as Kitsurubami had predicted, the reason Amarao had gone to the hairdresser was to prepare to meet Haruko. The woman he'd told the stylist he hadn't seen for a long time was, in fact, Haruko. Although he had a strong attraction to Haruko, though, she also was a source of fear for him.

"You must have noticed," Amarao said reasonably, "that when the robot turns red, it has some connection with Atomsk. If we don't do something soon, MM is going to make a move. They're ready to destroy this planet."

"So what?"

Just hearing her rude words set off Amarao's primal fear, and he ran outside on impulse. It was no good. He couldn't take her alone.

Seeing their boss running out the building for his life, the subordinates who had been waiting outside the hair salon grabbed their own guns.

"Wait!" Amarao screamed, but his subordinates fired at Haruko when she showed herself at the shop entrance. It seemed all the people who worked under Amarao were lacking in battle experience.

Suddenly being shot at, Haruko smiled boldly and waved some metallic object in her hand.

Amarao and his inferiors watched. In front of their eyes, all the bullets had been cut cleanly in two and were now laying on the floor.

Haruko wore the cruel smile of a carnivorous beast.

The metal object in her hand was a razor that had been on the hair stylist's counter.

Amarao was reminded of how terrifying this woman truly was.

"She's really something."

"She's nothing," Naota assessed Haruko as he pulled Mamimi along by the arm to the front of the station. "She's nothing but an idiot."

"That hurts! Why are you pulling me?"

Naota had kept a tight grip on Mamimi ever since they'd left the riverbank, and she'd complained about it again and again, but Naota hadn't paid attention to her protests at all. It was like none of Mamimi's words reached Naota's ears.

"Seriously, since she came, she's been nothing but trouble. We haven't been able to spend time alone, just the two us, for ages. It was better before."

Today, Mamimi is going to be mine.

That's how much he liked Mamimi he'd decided the girl he had always been thinking of was going to be his. Naota was excited. Three months ago, he had made a decision about his relationship with Mamimi. He didn't like his position of being his brother's substitute, and he was going to tell Mamimi the truth: Mamimi's ideal partner Naota's brother, Tasuku Nandaba already had a girlfriend in America. Naota was going to come clean with the hidden reality.

As a result, even Naota didn't know what would happen to his own relationship with Mamimi. He thought that perhaps all the time they had spent together up until now might mean nothing. He knew that she didn't have any particular attraction to him. Yet Naota came to understand that he couldn't just stay being a substitute. Still, Naota had become stuck on his final decision, and had kept playing around with Mamimi to put it off.

Now, however, the situation had changed: Haruko Haruhara had appeared.

Amid the unpredictable chaos and disaster that had surrounded him ever since she'd arrived, Naota had held on to the ill-defined situation with Mamimi… and bit by bit, something between them had changed.

Probably, above all, he himself had changed, Naota felt. He was stronger.

Different from before. Tougher. More manly. He had saved the town. He had grown up, and the world had opened to him. Now, Mamimi was jealous of his relationship with Haruko. Mamimi was in love with him. Now… now, he was going to be able to pursue his relationship with Mamimi.

"How about here?"

Finally, Naota stopped in front of a small coffee shop. Of course, elementary school kids couldn't go into coffee shops unaccompanied. But that was why Naota had chosen a coffee shop. He was going to break the school rules and shatter the stagnant situation, all with one stone. He was going to do today all the things he hadn't done, the things he wasn't allowed to do. He was going to become someone new. His heart was pounding, but he opened the door to the coffee shop, maintaining the pretense of being cool.

"Are we going in?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Why this coffee shop?"

"You came here with my brother, didn't you?"

A coffee shop a place Naota considered to be where real lovers spent time together and shared real words of love together. If they could spend time here together, then it would mean they were real lovers.

Though Naota's thinking was a bit humorous, the fact was that it wasn't that far from the truth. You might say it was unexpectedly accurate.

By the river, the two of them had played around like lovers but only when they were on the riverbank. The pair had never had anything more than a riverbank relationship. Naota had noticed at some point that the riverbank was simply the place where Mamimi spent time with her "substitute" boyfriend. That was part of the reason Naota had brought her to this coffee shop. Today; we're going to go from a riverbank relationship to a coffee shop relationship.

But at about this time, Mamimi managed to break loose from Naota's grip.

Angrily, she said, "What are you doing?"

"What?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"But don't you " like me, was what he was about to say, but he suddenly got nervous and couldn't say it.

Mamimi looked really angry. She was really angry that he had brought her to a coffee shop. She looked as though she didn't like this.

Naota grew anxious. Was he wrong? Did Mamimi not like him? But then why was she jealous of Haruko?

"This is because of Haru, isn't it?" Mamimi asked.

Naota managed to get a little of his confidence back when he heard that. He'd been right: Mamimi was jealous of Haruko. She did like him. Yeah, she likes me, so there's no point in being nervous.

"Don't worry," Naota said. "I'm not involved with her."

"How much do you like Haru?"

"No, I like "

"Takkun, you like Haru, don't you?"

What are you saying?

Mamimi was looking at Naota sadly. Behind her eyes were thoughts that Naota couldn't comprehend. In the overconfident state that Naota was now in, he wasn't able to understand the meaning of the loneliness in her eyes.

Mamimi had watched Naota messing around with Haruko on the riverbank with sadness but it wasn't with a jealous heart as Naota had suspected; Naota had it wrong.

The truth was that, as she'd watched him hit the satellite, Mamimi had seen a certain kind of manliness in Naota. And although seeing something more manly in Naota had improved her opinion of him as a man, it didn't mean that she now desired him. In fact, it was precisely the opposite: Manly Naota was not what she wanted.

What Mamimi needed was a substitute Takkun.

Naota had lost interest in being a substitute, but Mamimi didn't need him as anything but a substitute. She didn't need a manly Naota, because to Mamimi, a real man was someone who might throw her away..

Of course, that was Mamimi's made-up logic. It would have been useless to try to explain to Naota.

Mamimi looked down at Naota silently; however, Naota could see only Mamimi's soft lips. There they were, a boy and a girl, each with thoughts not understood by the other.

Naota stood on his tiptoes… Naota stood on his tiptoes, grabbed Mamimi, and tried to kiss her.

But Mamimi turned her face away and refused him.

"What's the matter?" Naota yelled at her. "You like me, don't you?"

The loneliness was in Mamimi's eyes.

And at that moment KACHIN! the horn inside the hood at the back of his head, the hammer of a double action-type pistol, moved.

The time was 3:32 pm.

With a loud pistol shot, something unnatural fired out from between Naota's eyebrows.

That was the beginning of the massive transformation.

What had fired out from was not a small thing like a bullet; rather, what flew from his forehead with incredible force was a liquid metal not unlike a jet of water from a fire engine's water cannon.

All Naota's previous strange horns were robots that had used Naota's head as a route, allowing them to pop out from the other side. Those past experiences hasn't been particularly pleasant. Naota expected this one would turn out to be the same kind of humanoid robot as the others, and he prepared himself for that horrible feeling once more.

But… this time things were a bit different from his other extraordinary experiences.

"It's overflowing from Takkun!"

Even Mamimi, who had witnessed such a thing happen before, was sitting down on the ground and staring dumbfounded in amazement. She wasn't incredulous in regard to the incident happening, but she was blown away by the size of the incident.

This new projection was already a lot larger than the past robots that had come out, and it just kept on coming from Naota's head with incomparable momentum and speed. The thing was of an unimaginable scale, and it just kept coming and coming, like a never-ending snake firework.

That liquid metallic snake firework soared into the sky above Mabase, where it started to gather into a giant ball before morphing into a particular shape. It was a weird sight, almost like watching a clay model of a skyscraper take form.

And because of its size, the spectacle could be seen from anywhere in Mabase.

At the riverbank, Kitsurubami, who had been doting over Canti, opened her eyes wide with surprise. "What is that?"

Engaging his gravitational controls, Canti suddenly floated up and flew off into the sky.

The Masamune truck that Naota's classmates had been driving by the side of the river came to a sudden stopped. Intuitively, Masashi had hit the brakes. The three truck passengers sucked in their breath at the huge shape they saw developing in the sky.

"Let's go take a look," Ninamori said to the boys.

Realizing the danger, the city residents started to evacuate. But a massive blackout, caused the traffic lights to go out on the chaotic roads, resulting in traffic jams near the intersections. People started climbed out of their cars and running which would've caused a much greater panic if Mabase hadn't been blessed with a small resident population.

In the sky above the chaos, the MM factory siren blared out.

Inside the MM Mabase Factory, a medical machinery site with the exterior shape of an iron that was situated on a large hill in Mabase, a host computer started receiving battle reports.

«MMR Class [B].GH manifested in Mabase. Manifestation configuration M mode. 15:33.

Manifestation area is 1600 meters from Mabase plant 15:33.

From now, GM mode commences movement on ground through walking 15:33.

PS, this is to lure MMR Class [K].001 ATOMSK 15:33.

End 15:33.

Good luck to GH in executing battle strategy 15:33.»

The fluid metal jet kept shooting out, and the giant coagulating structure in the sky continued growing, becoming a towering metal obelisk as it ate up the endless stream.

Amarao and Haruko watched the scene with serious looks on their faces but Amarao's inferiors fled out of terror.

Still in her hairdresser's uniform, Haruko watched the drama unfold. Needless to say, she knew where that giant snake firework was coming from; the chain link on the bracelet she wore on her left arm was receiving some kind of special energy, reacting like a magnet. It was probably indicating Naota's location.

Finally, the liquid metal stream stopped spewing. It seemed it had all come out, right down to the very last drop. But that enormous fluid thing was stilling changing shape in the sky. What in the world could it be?

When the solidifying body finally finished arranging itself, its true form appeared above the skies of Mabase: Thrusting into the heavens like a giant tower, the monster still had two legs. With the exception of the head portion, its entire body was covered in a thin, gleaming, metallic sheet. It looked exactly like a giant wearing a poncho or a giant long cactus. Only the two feet at the bottom of the poncho and huge manipulator arms hinted at a humanoid shape. Any way you described it, though, it was absolutely enormous.

The head towered above the tallest building in Mabase. If it was a robot, how was this giant thing going to move?

"Look!" Amarao pointed at the enormous robot and pleaded, "MM is sending those monsters! They're going to destroy this planet! It's over. That's a Class B

robot."

But Haruko didn't act at all daunted as she regarded her enemy; she simply took the bass guitar from her back.

Amarao already had lost all his composure. "You're responsible for all this."

"Shut up and watch, Sir Eyebrows." (She meant Amarao by "Sir Eyebrows")

"That guitar is not up to it!"

"You, SHUT UP! You're a hundred years under-evolved, primitive MONKEY!"

"That's derogatory language toward people of developing planets!"

Haruko looked like she was disgusted with this fussing man next to her, and she started to wave her guitar angrily. She made only a light swing through the air as if she were waving a tennis racket, but

"Uwagh!" As if he had been stuck by an invisible impact, Amarao flew back and landed on the floor. At the same time, those very peculiar eyebrows were torn off his face and sent flying somewhere. Those unnaturally fat eyebrows which had looked as though they'd been drawn on actually were thick black stickers.

"My eyebrows!"

When he realized his eyebrow stickers had fallen off, Amarao's face went pale.

He went into a panic so frenzied that it was comical. He always had been frightened of Haruko, but now he was so scared that he looked like an herbivore plucked up by the claws of a natural predator. Apparently, those eyebrow stickers were precious to him. He was more shaken by the loss of his eyebrows than by the menace of the enormous robot that had just appeared.

Amarao looked up at Haruko from the spot where he was sitting on the road.

When she took a pose with her guitar in hand, his body began to tremble from the fear. "No… you can't!"

"Fooly Cooly Fooly Coola, Fooly Cooly Fooly Coola…"

Haruko suddenly started chanting words like a curse. And as she chanted, she spun the guitar at the ends of her fingers as if it were a cheerleader baton. Then…

Through some incomprehensible technology, the rotating guitar started emitting light, which spread into shimmering particles and scattered through the vicinity. It seemed that Haruko's "dance" was for the express purpose of causing this phenomenon.

Those shining particles surrounded and enveloped Haruko, who hoisted her arms high and closed her eyes.

It was a beautiful, heavenly sight. Haruko's tall, perfectly proportioned body was adorned with countless fragments of light like rays of the sun. She was a miraculous image, like a star in space surrounded by an aurora.

Then, as if reacting to the swirling particles of light, Haruko's body itself started emitting light.

"Ah… No… No!" Amarao groaned. Apparently, he found Haruko's heavenly condition to be utterly terrifying. Even so, he couldn't take his eyes off her newly developed beauty and light.

Finally, what stood in front of Amarao was a transformed Haruko.

How does one begin to explain that new form? Like a peacock spreading its feathers, her new form had the purpose of attracting men, fanning their sexual fantasies. The act of showing bare skin for sex appeal is called "display" in the animal world, and Haruko's new form was, in short, a display.

"Eyebrows… I don't have my eyebrows… Ah, the horn!"

From Amarao's forehead, now without fake eyebrow stickers, a horn had popped out. It was a miniscule horn in the shape of a Y.

The truth was, the reason Amarao had stuck those eyebrow stickers on was to keep this horn sealed in. He had cruel memories of when he'd met Haruko before and

when he'd seen her sexy display, this horn had grown. Vowing that he wouldn't make the same mistake again, he'd plastered those eyebrow stickers to his head.

"Small, as usual." With one finger, Haruko grasped the horn sticking out of the frozen Amarao's forehead. When she pulled out that small, Y-shaped stick, it turned out to be… a small, Y-shaped stick.

"Takkun's is much bigger. Well, I guess I'll try it out, anyway."

Having said this, display-mode Haruko activated the hand-powered generator on the back of her guitar.

"Curses! I've been played like a fool again!" Amarao spat out bitterly. "What does that kid have that I don't?"

When the projection from his forehead finally stopped, Naota was struck dumb as he looked up at the robot that had come out of his own head.

Mamimi was still sitting next to him on the concrete. And the sun having been blocked by the monstrosity, both Naota and Mamimi were encompassed by a giant shadow.

It was like a building, but it was a robot.

GON GON GON…

They could hear complicated mechanical movements from deep inside it.

"It's going to move," Mamimi whispered, still in awe of its size.

And then, the enormous robot took a step and walked. When one of its enormous feet hit the street, the sheer weight of it caused large earth tremors.

Mamimi and Naota were nothing but ants next to that enormous foot.

The enormous robot took one step and then another.

As they supported an incalculable weight, every time its feet met the ground, a boom rang out across the city that was loud enough to shake one's very insides.

The robot made its way farther down that same road, shattering all the windows of every building it passed and trampling over pedestrian walkways. It continued forward unopposed, heading from the city to the hill. It must have been heading for MM Factory.

Amarao watched the enormous robot from where Haruko had left him. "This is bad. It's headed for the plant. It's going to activate the plant!"

Amarao knew what would happen if that enormous robot touched the MM

factory. Indeed, this was a situation that threatened the entire human race.

It was at that very moment that a high-speed flying object approached the robot in attack mode.

«Hostile approaching Galaxy Space Police Brotherhood agent.

13:37.

Caution required. Crosscheck with biological reaction reveals that space life form holds the record for fighting with Red Pirate King. 13:37.

Until present time, the biological reaction has been hidden by

some method. It has probably been concealed in Mabase. 13:37.

Emergency security measures. 13:37.»

The approaching flying object that soared through the blue sky was Haruko, in display mode, made over in a red leotard suit, high heels, a butterfly tie choker, and bunny ears… in other words, her display-mode transformation had resulted in none other than a bunny-girl outfit! [Ha ha ha ha. Here's where you laugh. I'm laughing as I write this, so you all should laugh, too.]

Using her signature guitar as a flying surfboard, Haruko zipped through the air like she was sky surfing. And to keep her balance, the flying bunny girl stuck out her butt, which had a bunny tail attached. It was a cute sight.

"DAICON V!" With those cryptic words, Haruko fired the weapon in her hand.

Her time-space interference weapon guitar was currently under her feet, so she was using the Y-shaped stick that she'd pulled from Amarao's head as a weapon. By attaching a string to the top end of the Y, she'd turned it into a makeshift slingshot.

Her target was huge, so the slingshot bullets the bullets she'd fired from those plastic BB guns earlier all found their target.

And when peppered by those plastic BBs, the gigantic robot suffered damaging blows equivalent to cruise missile strikes. It lost its balance, tipped over, and fell.

Because it was so huge, the buildings it collided into were destroyed, and concrete was shed everywhere. In other words, as a direct result of Haruko's attack, the damage to the town was increasing manifold.

"Look out!"

Next to Mamimi and Naota, wreckage fell to the concrete, including pieces that were the size of cars. If they were hit by debris that size, they'd be beyond saving.

Naota instinctively covered Mamimi in his arms. She was trembling with fear but she was nothing more than an ordinary high school girl, so it was normal for her to be frightened and trembling when caught up a catastrophe of this magnitude.

Naota was outraged. Damn! What is this?! But Naota's rage wasn't directed at the enormous robot destroying the city, rather at the shuddering Mamimi.

In Naota's arms, Mamimi had her eyes shut and was repeatedly muttering as if it were a chant: "Help me, Tasuku, Tasuku, Tasuku…"

For the moment, the rain of debris had stopped. But the fallen robot was getting up again.

Hell, I was the one who saved the city! She knows that! So why doesn't she see how amazing I am?!

"I'm not my brother! Got it? I'm the one who's going to save you!"

Mamimi looked at Naota with a surprise expression that indicated she didn't understand what Takkun was saying.

That made Takkun angrier. Mamimi, this girl, she really thinks of me only as some pet, as my brother's substitute. She doesn't see me as a man.

"Look at me. I'm going to save you."

I'm going to save you!

From above them came a violent gust. At some point, Canti had arrived, and it now hovered over Naota's head. Apparently, it had come for its pilot. It was a smart robot.

Good, Naota thought . This is my opportunity, my chance to show Mamimi how great I am. I'm going to show her that I can pilot Canti and defeat this giant enemy.

With that resolve, Naota shouted as loud as possible: "CANTI!"

As ordered, the robot landed next to Naota, and its abdominal area opened up wide like a cockpit hatch.

Naota looked at Mamimi and asserted, "You got it? I'm Naota. Never call me

'Takkun' again!" And then, he jumped inside Canti.

As soon as the gap closed, the robot's body changed to a crimson color.

"Uraagh!" Not letting up, the bunny-outfitted Haruko let loose another slingshot barrage.

The bullets once again found their target but with just a slight shift in stance, the robot was able to easily withstand the slingshot bullets that had caused such an impact earlier.

At some point, the metallic sheet poncho that covered the robot's body had changed color subtly, and the slingshot bullets probably had stopped working because of something to do with that.

MM used a seventh generation alloy in the bodies of its products, the culmination of human-subject testing wherein the alloy had been transplanted into joints, organs, blood, and living bodies. The final product was a miraculous metallic material than could become plasticlike and, in response to neutrino signals, could change into several patterns based on heat, electricity, conductivity, insulation, acid resistance, luster, solidity, catalysis, and mass. It was the same type of metal that made up Canti's body, allowing it to change color.

When the giant robot had taken Haruko's first attack, it had instantly devised a countermeasure based on the weapon's makeup, sending the data to its covering sheet.

"Drat." Realizing that it was having no effect, Haruko threw away the weapon in her hand without a second thought.

Conversely, the enormous robot had taken what looked like a handgun from under its sheet. Although the weapon held by the arm manipulator was in the shape of a gun, because of its size, it was more like a missile launcher, with a gun barrel that measured almost two meters wide.

Surprisingly quick on the trigger, the giant took aim and fired at the soaring Haruko. Twice. Thrice. The gunshots shook the air above the city, but they did not hit. Haruko's movements were just a little faster. And aiming at her was much like trying to shoot a fly with a gun.

"Heh, you suck." Haruko laughed boldly, but without a weapon, all she could do was run away. Just when she thought she would have to call for her Vespa, the bracelet on her left arm started to react again.

Something red was flying her way Canti.

"Just my luck!" Haruko approached and leapt on top of Canti in midair; then,

she took the guitar, which had been under her feet until now, in her hands. It was the guitar-shaped time-space interference weapon, an ideal choice in this situation.

The robot swiftly aimed for the approaching bunny girl riding on top of Canti; it fired, but could not hit because of the nimble, zigzagging flying maneuvers. Haruko had been amazing, but with its ability to close in and dodge bullets, Canti's flying skills were godlike.

Is that Takkun? Mamimi wondered as she watched this battle. Is Takkun really piloting that?

When they reached a close range, Haruko jumped from Canti's back. Her bunny ears streamed against the sky. She then fearlessly landed on the gun that the giant robot was holding or rather, she landed on its barrel. Using the momentum of the speeding Canti, she had leapt over fifty meters.

Haruko calmly ran up the robot's manipulator arm and unleashed a blow on its chest area with all her strength.

White sparks flew out and the smell of ion filled the air.

Haruko kicked off the robot's body and retreated, placing the guitar underneath her feet, and once again sliding through the air as though riding a surfboard. With one guitar alone, she'd been able to engage in full aerial combat.

Haruko's attack did not result in victory, though. Indeed, the sheet area around the spot she'd hit had burned away, but that was all. The opponent was simply too large.

As Haruko tutted, Canti, who had been circling around, signaled with its thumb as if to say my turn to attack .

In midair, Canti transformed into a crimson cannon, its autonomic gun mode.

Apparently, judging that there was no way to miss an opponent of that size at that distance, it didn't even use its laser sight, instead firing immediately. Of course, the result was a direct hit. Though the robot avoided getting pierced straight through by the bullet, it sustained heavy damage this time, staggering backward. The strike seemed be have been effective.

The unleashed bullet changed direction and, as always, returned back to Canti's gun barrel. It was a recyclable bullet.

Without a moment's hesitation, Canti fired again.

However, the giant robot also aimed its gun, firing as it was falling down.

The two weapons made simultaneous blast sounds, and then the two bullets collided in midair. They both had been unleashed at the same exact angle and with the same exact timing. There was an instant explosion, obliterating the bullet the giant robot had fired. While that bullet scattered to fragments, Canti's bullet, having been knocked off course, slammed into the side of a building close to where Mamimi was. Though the impact wasn't enormous, it still caused concrete debris to scatter across the vicinity.

Despite that, Mamimi continued to stand in place, without dodging the debris, transfixed by the bullet that was buried into the wall.

Its cannon mode having failed, Canti returned back to humanoid form and continued flying. It seemed it didn't have spare bullets, having always recycled that

one shot. When it lost its one bullet, the cannon was no longer of any use.

However, bright light started spewing forth from Canti's face monitor. Then, from the face of that shining monitor, a protrusion appeared. Canti gripped the horn coming from its face and quickly pulled it out.

"That's…" From where she'd hid on a rooftop to shield herself from the blast, Haruko saw the protrusion coming from Canti's monitor. She watched in shock.

It was a guitar. No, it was probably the same as Haruko's a guitar-shaped superweapon. But they way it differed from hers in shape was what made Haruko unable to believe her eyes.

"A Gibson EB-0!"

This was the first time she'd been this surprised since coming to Mabase.

Watching the battle unfold, Amarao also was shocked when he saw Canti's weapon. It seemed the weapon Canti had pulled out was highly recognizable for everyone involved.

With a stunned expression on his eyebrow-less face, Amarao whispered, "It's him. It's the real Pirate King."

With the guitar in hand, the crimson Canti took off like a flash Land in the next instant, it swung into the giant robot's body. It was a magnificent, lightning-quick attack, with beautiful, elegant movement.

The belly of the giant robot flew up, and its internal parts scattered through the sky. It seemed that Canti's one hit had destroyed it, because it no longer made any response, and the sound of its internal machinery ceased completely. Its balance controls must have stopped working, as well, because as it flew back, it flipped and went completely upside down.

Just barely grazing the tops of civilian homes, what used to be the head of the robot sank into ground and caused a local earthquake.

And then, the sheet that had covered its entire body dropped.

It was a warm gaze. With flush cheeks, Haruko looked up at the brave figure of crimson Canti. Haruko Haruhara had become a simple girl in love with the one she loved right in front of her.

The girl whispered the name of her beloved: "Atomsk."

The truck that Gaku, Masashi, and Ninamori were riding in finally reached the area where the action had unfolded. And because all the adults had been thrown into complete panic, there was nobody to stop the children for operating a vehicle without a license.

When they came across Mamimi, she was still staring at the side of the building.

And when they turned their gaze in the direction of hers, they also became captivated by the bullet that had sunken into the side of the building.

The embedded bullet slowly peeled away from the wall and fell to the earth, making a heavy sound on the asphalt.

That "bullet" was Naota Nandaba.

As the cellular stiffening mode dissipated, Naota sprawled out untidily in that place, his eyes still closed. From his light breathing, they knew he wasn't dead.

Mamimi muttered, "Looks painful."

The MM factory on top of the hill spewed out white smoke. Usually, this was only momentary, but today, the gushing did not stop. Mabase was immediately enveloped in that smoke, reducing the field of vision.

And within that mist, a large, eerie shadow became visible. As the upside-down sheet peeled off, the entire giant robot was revealed and what appeared within the mist was a giant hand.