Naota ducked behind the nearest pile of rubble.
Behind him, a couple of the site staff were resuscitating the unconscious teenager.
I don’t need to stick around and get caught for this.
He looked at the path through the rubble, someone had used a large plow to make these paths from the work area out into the rubble. The paths were mostly straight, until they reached something truely large that obstructed their path.
Maybe this path meets up with another one and I can loop my way back to the work area without getting noticed?
Naota stumbled forwards over the scattered concrete. He followed a bend in the path and put his back to the butt of a shell casing the size of a bus.
Did I really just fight a highschooler? And Win? And what was up with my strength?
Naota touched his eyebrows, but hesitated to remove them.
“Meow.”
A fat cat was frozen in place watching Naota.
“Sorry Kitty, did I startle you?” Naota said and held out his hand in the international sign that he was friendly to cats.
The cat watched him uncertain if it would allow the boy to pet it, but eventually the swishing of his fingers broke through its resistances and the cat sauntered over to climb into Naota’s lap.
Stupid furyo, attacking people out of nowhere. I’m never going to be that crazy.
He stared up at the giant iron as he absentmindedly scratched the car behind its ears.
Is medical mechanica gone? Atamsk left, and Haruko went after him. Did they leave too?
“Meow.” The cat stood up and stretched its legs.
“All done Kitty?”
The cat gave Naota a look and bound away. It stopped a few feet away and looked back at Naota and signaled for him to follow along.
“Where are you going?” Naota asked, but the cat did not answer. It sauntered along deeper into the construction site.
Might as well follow it.
The cat led him over destroyed buildings, under smashed cars, and through a section of overturned sewer pipe.
Naota struggled to keep up over the rough terrain.
“How much farther are we going?”
The cat gave him an annoyed huff and bound up and over a wall and was gone. He was stranded somewhere in the middle of the disaster zone. This area used to be corporate office buildings, but it was reduced to rubble.
“Well that’s great. Now that it’s lead me here, how do I find my way back?”
Naota listened for the sounds of people, or any sign of which way to go.
The sun is nearly overhead, doesn’t that mean it’s lunch time?
Naota’s head throbbed. He sat down on a chunk of debris. It looked like someone had torn a dishwasher out of the counter and smashed it together with a shortwave radio, and then tied all that up with power cables as thick as his wrist.
“I’ve got a hammer, a headache and no idea which way to go.”
His head pulsed again. The power cables beneath his feet twitched. They coiled around themselves, lifting and shifting the terminal core under him.
“What??” Naota cried, leaping off the wobbling device. “Is it a robot??”
The terminal core reached for him with jerky movements. Naota scrambled back out of the way.
“Why is there a robot out here?” Naota said and readied his hammer.
Another wire rolled out towards him and Naota smashed it with the hammer. Wire after wire reached for him as he kited the terminal core in a circle. It could not quite keep up with his shifting location.
“This isn’t getting me anywhere.” Naota said.
He removed his eyebrows and stuffed them into his pocket.
As N0 flooded his body the terminal core took on a whole new attitude. It charged him, using its thick wires like a hermit crab, skittering on long legs.
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“Oh shit!” Naota said. He ran out of the way, his increased speed keeping him just out of the robot’s reach.
The terminal core leaped and its body opened a charred mouth full of fangs.
It’s just like that big robot that activated the iron! Is medical mechanica still sending robots?
Naota threw his hammer and it connected with the robot‘s body. The robot landed poorly in a daze and Naota grabbed two of its leg-wires and pulled the robot over to a busted I-beam sticking up straight from the ground. It had been the foundation of a building once, and now it would hold the robot in place.
“Got you!” Naota gloated as he tied the wires to a knot around the I-beam.
“Not bad.” He said as he admired his work.
The terminal core came to its senses and screeched. One of its other wires swung around and smacked Naota. He flew and rolled across the ground.
“Ouch, it hits hard.” Naota said.
The terminal core was tugging and pulling frantically at the I-beam, unable to free itself.
Naota picked himself up and ran to grab his hammer.
It’s not a guitar but it will have to work.
He charged the terminal core and hit it repeatedly in the vacuum tubes. The robot screeches in pain folding over on itself to grip its shattered tubes.
“Ha! Serves you right! Trying to flatten the town!” Naota shouted.
He pictured his last fight with that highschooler. He beat the robot until his vision turned red.
His mind filled up with everything that happened. The last words he said before Mamimi left town. That night they had a sleepover and Ninamori wore her fake glasses. His fight with Haruko on top of the iron replays in his head.
Naota dropped to his knees as his headache surged. The robot was dead. He fumbled in his pocket with shakey hands.
He pulled out his eyebrows and slapped them onto his face.
Naota wheezed, just trying to catch his breath and calm down. He can feel the N0 fizzle across his neck and shoulders. The last of the energy coalesced into the center of his forehead.
His vision slowly returned to normal and his headache dropped an octave until it was bearable again.
“Now how can I bring this back to turn it in?”
Naota pulled on the wires and untied the terminal core from the I-beam.
The casing fell open easily. There were two toys inside: a Gundam robot toy and a Diacon girl figurine from Daicon IV.
Haruko was alway buying these kind of kid toys to fix her bike.
“Kamon never got the bakery a bike. We’ve already got the family car.” Naota said. “He didn’t want a bike because it can’t hold as many of his zeens, when they don’t sell.”
Kamon harbored an alien, and intergalactic criminal, why isn’t he doing this volunteer work too?
Naota out the two toys in his other pocket. Something about putting them in the same pocket as the red chip felt wrong.
With the terminal core broken in half he was able to drag it much easier.
“But which way do I go?”
-
Naota finally found a cleared path to follow. He had take a few winding turns, dragging the chuck of wires along with him made the trip that much harder.
He had to take frequent brakes, the long wires of the terminal core bounced on the hard ground. Their twanging snagged at his frazzled brain, arousing his N0 despite the eyebrows calming effect.
After his third short rest Natoa imagined his stamina had improved.
Maybe I’ll get buff after a summer like this?
It wasn’t as hard to pull the weight of the robot, and he could go a little longer between breaks before he was out of breath.
When he saw the construction site he nearly cheered.
Finally!
People were sitting and eating their lunches here and there.
“Oh! Mr. Nandaba. You are working too hard.” The site supervisor said as he rushed over to Naota. “It is lunch time.”
“Oh it’s no big deal. I fought- found this chunk of robot. Just wanted to bring it back.” He said.
“That’s splendid. But be careful we already had someone pass out from exhaustion.” He said with the appropriate level of concern. “Here. Take this soda. It will refresh you.”
The site supervisor handed Naota a bottle of Crystal Pepsi and sent him to eat lunch.
I think I got away with it. That furyo punk won’t tattle on me either. How embarrassing to lose to a middle school kid when you are in highschool.
Someone had set up several folding tables, the type that were 4 feet on each side with vinyl tops. They had also set up pup shades so the tables were not in the sun.
Naota sat down at the closest table. At the table beside him was a spry old man, easily in his 80’s. He had long silver hair tinted purple with a long beard and a muscular build.
“Shitsurei Shima.” Naota said politely to the ojisan as he sat.
“Dozo, dozo young man.”
Naota unpacked his lunch and spread out a napkin for his two mochi cookies and sandwich. He opened his juice and snuck a peak at the ojisan’s lunch.
He is eating riceballs with seaweed and spicy chili sauce. And I’m snacking like a little kid.
Someone bumped into Naota from behind, rattling the table and spilling his juice.
“Did your mommy make that for you? Little baby lunch.” The highschooler said.
It’s that other lackey of Kawaii Senpai’s. Does he want to fight too?
“My mother is dead.” Naota said, he looked around and saw that the agent was watching them.
“Oh boo hoo. Guess you are going to cry about it? Need a tissue?”
The old man watched passively and didn’t step in.
“I don’t have time for your petty childish crap. Leave me alone and grow up already.” Naota said.
He turned his back and let the pudgy teen fume. The highschooler opened and closed his mouth like a fish, then stomped away.
“Good riddance.” Ojisam said. “I can see why little Eri-chan cares what you think.”
Eri Ninamori?
“We have not met before I’m Erik Nakadai. Eri, with Kazu for Harmony.“ he said with a smile. “I’m Eri’s grandfather.”
“I am Naota Nandaba, pleased to meet you.”
”Likewise. You can put that pop on your head.” He said.
Naota stared back at him in confusion.
”The crystal Pepsi. It will help calm you down.” He said.
Oh! Because it’s so cold.
Naota held the cold soda against his head and it did help.
Ojisama nodded and ate another rice ball.
“You know I saw your play, puss in Boots.” He said. “You did well. There was a chemistry there on the stage.”
Naota blushed while he ate. He remembered the excitement around the play. And the rehearsals.
Except Ninamori was faking. She just wanted to get me to be in the play.
“Little Eri had so much fun, I thought she would be in more plays. But then all this happened.”
“A lot has happened.” Naota said. “There’s time for more plays in middle school.”
“Very true. I cannot help but feel like my precious granddaughter is growing up too fast.”
She is fast. But not as fast as Haruko.
“Ninamori is very responsible. I could learn a lot from her.”
“Alright everyone.” The site supervisor said. He clapped his hands brightly a few times and walked to the center of the area.”
“Time to clean up and get back to work. This rubble will not clean itself up.” He said cheerfully. “Don’t forget to drink plenty of water!”
How much slice of life should this story be?
