FLCL Fan Fiction ❯ Emotions and Monsters ❯ Choices ( Chapter 4 )

was snapped back into the present by the crunch of gravel as Haruko landed on the beach behind me. "So, Takkun, did you miss me?" the pink haired woman asked smugly as she began to circle around to stand in front of me.

Across the river, I could see that Kanchi had Eri in his arms and was about to come back over to this side. The other woman had disappeared, probably really freaked out by the quick battle.

Haruko leaned in close, giving my face a quick once-over as Kanchi and Eri landed nearby. Eri crossed her arms across her chest and looked angrily at the alien woman. "You aren't saying anything," Haruko said with a smirk. "Maybe you aren't breathing. Should I give you CPR?"

The angry look on Eri's face turned into a look of open hostility. I tried to keep my face neutral. "I'm breathing fine, Rahuro," I answered, emphasizing her real name.

The alien woman stood in front of me with her fists on her hips. "That's good," she replied with a smirk. "Although I have to admit I would rather give you some mouth-to-mouth like you are now as compared to last time."

Now Eri was looking positively pissed off. "No way," she muttered under her breath.

Haruko noticed Eri only after she spoke. "And who's this, Takkun?" she asked me, stepping in front of Eri and inspecting her. To her credit, Eri didn't flinch when Haruko leaned in close to her.

"Rahuro," I said, "you remember Eri Ninamori. She had the problem when you tried to give me ears, remember?" I was determined to use Haruko's real name until she came to grips with the fact that I wasn't particularly happy to see her.

The alien woman grunted, then turned back to me. "Well, Takkun," she said, "I need to talk to you. Can I stay at your place for a while? Your dad would probably be happy to see me."

I glared at her. "My father doesn't live near here anymore," I answered. "And there's no room: we're renting out our spare space."

"Well," the pink haired woman said slowly, "can we get together to talk for a while this afternoon?"

Now I was starting to feel desperate. I really needed some time to think before I would feel ready to face Haruko in conversation, so I blurted the first excuse that came to my mind. "Not this afternoon," I stuttered, desperately trying to sound convincing, "I promised to spend the afternoon with Eri."

"Oh," Haruko said slyly, drawing out the word. She peered at me, then leaned in close to Eri and gave her a coy once-over. "Is she your girlfriend?"

The teenage woman gave her a smile so cold, I thought for a moment that it would freeze the river. "Something like that," she answered, the tone of her voice just as frosty as her smile.

In a move that surprised all three of us, I stepped over next to Eri and put my arm around her. I figured that I had to do something to convince Haruko that there was something between Eri and me.

For a brief moment, Eri stiffened at my touch. Then, in a move that surprised me just as much as my own, she leaned against me.

Haruko, fortunately, didn't notice our hesitation or surprise. She herself looked somewhat taken aback. "When should I come by to see you, then?" she asked.

My heart was beating at an extremely fast tempo as I struggled to think of an answer. "Don't, uh, don't worry about when. Try to find me tomorrow night. I should, uh, be patrolling somewhere."

The alien stood up to her full height, which was several inches shorter than mine, and reached up to ruffle my hair. "Later then, Takkun," was all she said before jumping from the beach back up onto the bridge.

I glare after her. "My name is Naota!" I shouted.

Eri and I stood there, looking up at the bridge, long after the sound of Haruko's Vespa had faded. Kanchi was still standing somewhere behind us, not moving. Several minutes passed before I realized that I was still holding Eri against me. I let my arm drop, but wasn't able to step away before she grabbed my hand.

"So, you're spending the rest of the afternoon with me?" she asked me hopefully.

I opened my mouth to tell her that I just said that to get some time to think, but my brain kicked in before the words could come out. Looking at her face, I realized that she really was hoping I would spend the rest of my day with her.

Damn it. Now I was confused AGAIN. And I still had no clue as to how to clear my mind. "Uh, well, yeah," I stammered.

The dark haired girl let go of my hand, then threw her arms around my neck and pulled me down to give me a hug tight enough to make me see spots. Although Eri was tall for a girl her age, I was still a good seven inches taller than her. That, coupled with my lack of experience giving or receiving hugs from a woman made me feel rather awkward.

Feeling a little uncomfortable, I put my hands on her waist. "So," she asked when she pulled back slightly, holding her face only about six inches from mine, "what do you want to do?"

She acts all happy, then puts me on the spot like that? I nearly choked. "Well, uh, what do you want to do?"

Eri looked at my face for another long moment, then leaned her head against my chest. Right about now, I was getting ready to run; friend or no friend, there's only so much weird I can take at any given moment.

"How about," she suggested in a slow, shy tone of voice, "we just sit here for a while and you play your guitar?"

I nodded once, and she let go of me to sit down. She hugged her knees to her chest, and patted the beach next to her.

Well. I was confused over how Eri was acting, I was confused about how I was acting, and I was confused about how Eri could go from being mean to shy. Boy, did I have a long afternoon of thinking ahead of me.

After sitting down next to Eri, I played three or four songs before either of us spoke. Eri was the first one to say anything.

"So," she began, interrupting my rendition of the Goo Goo Doll's song Iris. "Did you love her?"

Her question was so sudden that I missed a couple of chords in the song. I had to stop playing, and lay the guitar across my lap to think for a moment. "I think," I answered, "that I did."

I could hear Eri sigh as she leaned her chin against her knees. "Oh."

"But," I continued, "the more I think about it, the more I realize that I didn't love her. I didn't love love her, I loved her almost like a parent."

With my head bowed, I ran my hands through my hair. Without looking, I knew there was an uncertain look on Eri's face. "What do you mean?"

I scratched the back of my neck as I thought for another moment. "When Haruko arrived, she tried to act like she was interested in me. She kept saying she was, but really, all she wanted from me was to use my head. Eventually, she really did play the role of a house keeper. Even though it was hard to tell sometimes, I think she really did care about us. About me. But from the view of a mother."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Eri hug her knees tighter. "Oh," was all she said.

The rest of the afternoon wore on in silence, with me playing my guitar and Eri hugging her knees and staring at the river. Kanchi had disappeared soon after Haruko left, so I thought that he was out with her. When the sun started to set, I got up.

Eri didn't notice, so I touched her on the shoulder. She jumped a little at the contact. "Come on," I said. "It's probably a good time to head home."

She gave me a big smile, stood up, and followed me back to my Moped. The drive home seemed to take longer than the drive to the beach, but I didn't mind. I was starting to feel comfortable with her arms around me, and for once it didn't scare me.

Dinner was ready when we got back, and we ate with Grandpa in silence. Eri and I finished eating at the same time, and headed up the stairs together.

During the last half of the afternoon and dinner, I had managed to clear my mind up. I realized why, when most of my friends had left, I was comfortable with just Eri Ninamori; I had come to grips with how she seemed to feel about me, and I realized that I actually felt the same about her.

Now for the hard part. We were just coming up to the door to Eri's room, and she stopped and turned toward it. I made my move.

I reached out and tapped her shoulder, prompting her to turn towards me. "What?" she asked.

In answer, I said nothing. Instead, I leaned forward and gently kissed her. For a split second, she stiffened, and I was afraid I had done something wrong. My fears were dispelled when she put her arms around my neck.

As embarrassed as I would be to admit it, it was an awkward kiss. Really, I had only kissed girls a half-dozen times in the past, and most of those were accidents. This was one of the first initiated-by-me, and not rejected kisses that I had experienced.

When our kiss ended, Eri gave me one of those looks she used whenever she beat me at a game. "Good night," she said softly, reaching up to touch my cheek.

"N-n-night," I stammered. I wasn't confused anymore, but I felt like I was in a state of shock. I knew that in the morning, everything would change; I was feeling like it would change for the better, but I still wasn't sure what I was getting into.