Kamon had been putting the robot to hard work at the shop. Now, the android was carrying in some kind of printed materials from the car. From the look of things, it appeared Kamon had not abandoned his hopes of becoming a famous author, and he had written some kind of fan fiction. Of course, Naota, who had no interest in such materials, hadn't read it.
"The neighbors have eyes, you know!" Naota objected.
His father was unabashed about using the robot outdoors in the middle of the day, despite Naota's instructions that he not let it out where other people could see.
"Just because you found it, that means you can hog it?" Kamon seemed completely unconcerned. "Isn't that a little selfish?"
"It's weird. Who else owns a robot?"
"Why shouldn't we have one? A house with a robot—think of the significance of such impossible science or technology. Here, we have a humanoid robot combined with a human household. Doesn't it speak to the loss of father figures and the supplementation of lacking family relationships? What's your take on the symbolism and perception of this mechanical robot mixed into a normal family household?"
Naota sighed, not saying a word. His father's one published book was about a robotic machine: The Mysteries and Meanings of Evangelion. Unsold copies still lined the Nandaba household's bookshelves.
"Wasn't he walking around on his own last night, too? That dumb robot!" Naota growled.
"He wanted a breath of fresh air. Isn't that right, TV-boy?"
Because of its monitor-like head, Kamon had started calling the robot "TV-boy."
"You've heard about all the fires around here recently, haven't you?" Naota asked. "If it wanders around suspiciously, people are going to start thinking it's the one starting the fires."
As soon as Naota had finished the sentence, he had a sudden thought: This isn't a fire-spewing robot, is it?
The fires had begun around the time the robot had emerged from Naota's head. And now, it was walking around on its own in the middle of the night. There were a lot of worrisome things about its behavior.
No, wait a second, Naota thought. He'd realized it was also true that the fires had started after Haruko arrived. The robot was odd, but all things considered, that coarse, maniacal woman was far, far more suspicious.
He couldn't say it was beyond her. No, in truth, it wasn't hard to believe it had been her. There was simply too much evidence not to suspect that she might be the fire starter.
Damn…
She had brought more bad luck with her than he could have imagined. Because of Haruko, Naota's life was at the lowest point ever.
The shop's phone rang.
When Naota picked up the receiver, he heard the insolent girl say, "Hey, Takkun. It's me, Haruko. I don't suppose you could come and get me? They've kind of caught me…"
Contrary to Naota's expectations, it wasn't the police who had apprehended her. The place where she was being held was a guard station in the MM factory compound.
She had instructed him to bring one of the bike parts from her room (that is to say, Naota's room) when he came.
I can't believe this. She's nothing but trouble.
He thought about ignoring her, but then he thought back to what Haruko had said to him when she'd given him the bandana:
"Hey, it really suits you. You look good."
I guess I have to go. Damn!
He walked twenty minutes and arrived at the MM building, which resembled a clothes iron. As ordered, Naota went to a small office near the entrance gate. Inside, he saw the Vespa and Haruko crouching over it, fiddling with a part that looked like it had been damaged in an accident.
Opening the door, he addressed a middle-aged man who was dressed in a guard's uniform and sitting on a chair, "Excuse me, I received a phone call earlier."
"Hey, this kid is your guarantor?" the guard asked skeptically, looking Naota up and down.
"Did you bring it?" Haruko asked nonchalantly.
When Naota proffered the bike part, Haruko took the part and inserted it into the Vespa without so much as a "thank you."
"Is this girl completely brainless?" the guard asked. "She's acts so suspicious. Anyway, it hasn't been safe around here lately. I heard last night's fire on Second Street was arson."
Naota felt uneasy inside. "Attempted arson?"
"Yeah. That's why I called the police. She hit the fence with that bike. She's a menace."
Yeah, I know.
After Naota's name and address were taken down on a thin notepad, the guard allowed him to take her home.
"The fence wasn't permanently damaged, so it's okay this once; next time I see her, I'm calling the cops right away."
This is so depressing.
"You're a grown-up," said Naota. "What do you think you were doing?"
"He probably wondered why I had a junior high schooler as my guarantor."
"You have absolutely no common sense."
"You came anyway." Haruko beamed at Naota, her expression unexpectedly innocent. "You came all this way, so I'm going to thank you."
"What kind of thank you?"
"Something more fun than CPR." Haruko gave a meaningful smile.
Hey, don't make me more depressed than I already am.
As they passed through a cluster of trees, they took in the view of the wide ocean. They saw the sky sparkling with sunlight and the fresh blue of the sea.
Haruko and Naota were riding the Vespa along a coastal road. Taking the full brunt of the wind, Naota sat in front of Haruko, who was driving.
"How's the sea?" Haruko asked, sounding satisfied.
"This isn't the season for sightseeing," Naota replied, but the sound of the engine and the wind drowned out his voice, and his words didn't reach Haruko's ears.
She drove at a terrifying speed, zigzagging across the road. As carefree as the expansive sky and the wide sea, she ignored all the rules, wavering left and right at whim.
"Careful!" Naota yelled at her.
Haruko, who must have heard him, twisted the accelerator instead, shouting, "Rider's high!"
"Seriously, you're freaking me out! This is dangerous, and I'm not wearing a helmet!"
However, Naota didn't look entirely unhappy as the wind rushed over his face. After all, this was the first time Naota had ridden on a motorbike. And it was the first time in his life he'd felt the wind like this.
"You have no brain, so what are you worried about?" Haruko laughed.
Then, the Vespa sped up all the more.
The cool autumn air blew straight over him. The stimulating breeze whisked past, exhilarating him.
This feels amazing!
Maybe he enjoyed the feel of the wind rushing past because his head really was empty, exactly like Haruko had said.
Chapter 2
Naota walked down the incline, careful not to slip on the rain-soaked ground.
Mamimi had taken shelter from the rain beneath the bridge.
She sat directly on the concrete, holding a stray cat on her lap. Playing a handheld game, she splashed her legs around in the shallows, although the river wasn't really shallow anymore. Because of the rain, the river had swelled.
It had been raining since that morning. At daybreak, the sky had been gray and cloudy; by afternoon, a heavy downpour had begun.
After walking through the annoying rain, Naota had arrived home from school just in time to get a call from Mamimi.
"I'm at the bridge," she'd said. "My shoes got washed away in the river, so could you come and meet me here?"
Naota had thought to himself that he'd been getting a lot of calls asking him to do things lately. First, it had been Haruko's bike parts; now, it was Mamimi's sandals. However, while he told himself he wasn't going to become anybody's slave, he proceeded to put some sandals in a bag and set out, an umbrella in hand.