"No, I don't want to play basketball," Naota declined. "I'm going to start a club of my own."
Ninamori, who had been listening to the conversation that was going on right next to her, immediately guessed correctly the club Naota would want to start. "Easy listening, right?"
Naota thought that women were very astute.
In Naota's room, the guitar she had left was still leaning there. Naota was waiting for an opportunity to use it. It was the only thing she'd left behind when she disappeared… from this city… from this planet.
Out of nowhere, from above their heads, a bright light appeared. A red light. The source of that red light spoke to Naota.
"Are you okay with this?"
It was the first time Naota had heard this male voice, but he felt as though it were strangely familiar, as if it were a voice he'd heard many times before. So, Naota wasn't suspicious of the red light source, and instead he answered its question.
"Yes, I'm fine with this."
This is what I chose. If I had chosen another option, then the result would have been different—but when it came down to it, this was the only thing I could choose.
Naota sensed that the red light was laughing. And in the next moment, the light source shone even brighter. The source of the red light was getting closer to him.
In that same moment, Naota lost his future memories, and he was once again returned to the moment when he'd been gobbled up by Canti.
Canti's face monitor continued shining—and from its red light, something was coming out.
Amarao thought it was going to be another guitar super weapon; instead, it was the body of a child. It was Naota.
He was emitting some kind of glow like a red aura—and this Red Naota kicked up with all his might against the palm of the giant hand, which weighed the equivalent of a mountain.
And with that one attack—really, just with that one attack—Red Naota managed to kick away the entire body of the towering hand. It was an unbelievable sight.
Afterward, Red Naota simply stood sedately on top of Canti's head.
Still clinging to the part of the hand that had been moving toward the iron just a moment ago, Amarao gazed at Naota with a stunned expression.
"That kid… he's the Pirate King!"
From Canti's head, which was still at his feet, Red Naota pulled at two guitars; with one neck grasped in each hand, he separated the guitars from the robot's head, and then he merged them with each other, creating a double-neck guitar.
Red Naota kicked off Canti's head and flew. (It appeared he now could fly freely.) And with the guitar in hand, he hit at the still-turning enemy body that he had kicked away moments ago.
There was a flash of blinding light. Instantly, the towering hand stopped moving, almost as though it been petrified.
This was no fight. This was an adult using silent force to punish a child.
It was then that a red shining insignia appeared on Red Naota's head—the Pirate King's insignia. Somehow, the Pirate King's power was inside Naota now.
As Haruko watched Red Naota, she wore a cold expression that hid a terrifying rage. With a bloodthirsty voice, she called out, "Takkun, you can't do that! That power is mine!"
With her guitar in hand, Haruko was in fierce pursuit of Naota, who had landed on a fingertip of the hand. But Naota easily stopped her attacks.
Amarao was stunned by what he was seeing—but at the same time, he realized this was their chance.
Naota felt betrayed by Haruko, and he was suffering greatly because of this. Amarao could feel Naota's passionate rage in response to Haruko's treatment of him. And Naota definitely held the power of the Pirate King; he had skillfully defeated the giant MM robot, and now, if he could defeat Haruko, the Earth would be secure. Yes, this was their best chance—in one move, they could eliminate all the extra terrestrials.
"I won't let you get in the way of what I want!"
Haruko and Red Naota continued their violent clashing of guitars on the fingers of the halted hand, sending bright white sparks flying with the amazing energy of their battle.
Haruko swung her guitar wildly, but Red Naota was able to blow her away with his lightning fast attacks. And with a loud metallic sound, Haruko's guitar went soaring high into the air.
He did it! Amarao screamed internally with delight. The boy did it! He's the world's hero! This is the last attack. Show that selfish girl your rage!
In the next moment, however, Amarao stood frozen to the spot in fear.
Robbed of her weapon, Haruko glared at Red Naota with fervent fury. Her strong feelings had saturated her consciousness and become thought waves, which now spread into the surrounding area. Those strong thoughts spread to the opposing Naota who stood before her, and then to Amarao, and even to the unconscious Mamimi, who opened her eyes. They all could feel the pure rage.
To be defeated by you… you, who took the power I wanted so bad and fought me with it. There's nothing that can be done about it now; because I used you, you betrayed me, but I don't regret doing it. I knew how senseless the things I've done were, and I did them anyway. I don't expect to be forgiven, but no one has the power to forgive me, anyway. No one has the power to punish me. The way of the brotherhood is to live by one's own values. That's the difference between that evil MM and us: We both do bad things, but they make up excuses for their evil deeds. Their machines have a weak spirit with their forgiveness of others, their unsatisfactory value system, and their inside-out, obsessive, extremist equality. So, Takkun, do what you will—under the name of your justice, turn that super weapon against me.
"Do it!" Amarao screamed. If he hadn't screamed, then he wouldn't have been able to hold up against her intense thoughts. Amarao was swamped by the primitive fear of a person who had angered the gods; he screamed so as not to lose control, and his entire body was invigorated.
"She's not going to do anything about MM! She's too dangerous to this world… You must recognize it!"
Red Naota looked straight into Haruko's eyes for a moment, gripping the double guitar in his hand. A few tense seconds passed.
Then, the red aura around Naota's body disappeared.
The insignia on his forehead also dissipated, and Naota returned to his normal self.
It was then that Naota offered the Pirate King's guitar to Haruko.
What are you doing? Amarao couldn't believe his eyes.
I can't believe it, Naota Nandaba! Have you betrayed the entire planet? You threw away an opportunity to save the planet from danger! And why didn't you take revenge on the woman who betrayed you? Why did you hand it over to her?
As she accepted the guitar, Haruko seemed confused by it all, as well, evidenced by the fact that the thought waves around her had vanished. Had Naota escaped from becoming the Pirate King by his own conscious decision? If so, why? Not understanding his reasoning, she regarded Naota with a baffled expression.
Naota had lost the red aura, but his cheeks now were red for another reason. He then uttered the simple words that he'd been wanting to say to her all that week—no, since much farther back than that: "I like you."
He kissed the puzzled Haruko, mouth to mouth. It was a rich kiss, without hesitation and prolonged.
The observers gaped at the two of them, and among them, Amarao stood dumbfound. Still a prisoner of the terminal core, the recently revived Mamimi watched their kiss with cold eyes.
How much time passed, no one could say. But in the moment when Naota finally took his lips off Haruko's, it appeared—from Naota's head.