Hey, I said I was going to do yet another Haruko / Naota one. This is a little more in char, but less romace. Notice how they cancel each other out? Sucks hey?

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Thumpin' Head

by Stewie

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Naota silently rubbed the spot on the side of his head where the latest horn had just "popped" and vanished. Although while he was quiet when entering his shared room, Haruko Haruhara was swinging and spinning madly behind him, as quiet as a car backfiring. "That was fun Ta-kun! Did ya see when that thing tried to run but you were still stuck to it? It was pricless! Im glad there was a camera shop nearby..."

Naota flopped on his bottom bunk while trying to drown out Haruko's words. He wasn't surprised that Haruko left him with a robot half embedded in his head while she went to take a photo, but it hurt that she did none-the- less. So instead of listening to her giggle at his expense, he went back to rubbing his head. { Why the hell does it still hurt...? } After a moment or two of rubbing he felt a bump where the horn once was. Definatly new, but he remembered that when the robot didn't leave his head fully Haruko got "bored of waiting." In short, she hit him right where the robot was joined with her guitar.

As Haruko clambered under the sheets of her top bunk with a "Night Ta-kun", Naota lay there, staring upwards while rubbing his sore. After 5 minutes with no lights on, he threw his sheets off and left a sleeping Haruhara in the room. Making his way downstairs to the fridge, he took a nearby towel and wrapped a bag of frozen peas from the freezer in it, holding it to his head. Sighing as the icy pack eased the swelling, he leaned back against the wall for awhile and just let the peas take their toll. After a few minutes in silent thought at that night, he shook his head and wandered out of the kitchen, muttering about how something else would happen soon anyway.

Putting his hand on the handrail of the stairs, Naota stood and looked at the many steps leading up the second floor. If he went back to bed, he wouldn't get to sleep. It was one of those nights, like when you forgot something and only remember it the night before it's due. You stay up worrying. And tonight just seemed like one of them. Stumbling away from the staircase, he shuffled into the living room and switched the tv on to a blocked out station until he turned the volumn down, then channel surfed until he found something to watch.

It was almost an hour later when Naota started to drift off to sleep. By this stage his frozen pack was melting and had soaked his head. The t.v. hadn't had anything worth while on that late at night, and the flashing images of the premier movie were steadily putting him to sleep. Too tired to go up to his bed, he turned the t.v. off and rested his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. "Aww, I was watching that Ta!" Above him, Haruko playfully scolded the light sleeping boy, taking great pleasure watching his eyes fly open in shock while a silent reflex made him jerk away.

After watching Naota gasp in surprise for a little while, her anime-like face fell when she saw him glare angrilly at her. "Something I said there, Taro?" Instead of answering her, Naota turned his back, feeling his matted wet heair over his bump for something to do to pass time. Jumping from the staircase over the rail, Haruko landed next to him, already peering at the side of his head. "Oohhh, Ta-kun hit himself again, ne?" After a few silent minutes, Naota replied "Didn't have to. You did it." "Aw.." she cooed, grabbing him by the head in a bear hug with the sore spot under her chin. "..did naughty me hurt little Ta-kun? You never complained when I hit you before."

Pulling away from her, Naota looked away from Haruko in a defiant sitting- stance. "Quit it. You don't even give a damn..." he muttered. Behind him, Haruko's expression turned from giggles to confusion and then anger. "Hey!" she yelled, spinning him around to face her. "That was low Naota. You know I do." This time it was the boy's turn to be confused, but more at her words than her sudden anger. "Yeah? Well you know what?" he asked, leening towards her. "You have a stupid way of showing it, Haruko." Thats when she saw it, in his eyes. Pain. That deep painful look that makes you either want to pity the person or hate them for believeing life is always like that. And in this case, she didn't know which one to think of him as.

Sighing, Haruko merely slung an arm over the boy, expecting resistance. When Naota didn't even react, she leaned over and looked him right in the face. "Thats what I think is funny with you humans. You think everything has to make sense. You should furi yourself up a bit" Haruko watched one of Naota's eyes look up at her face, the same paining look was in them but this time there was a curious part of it. "Now take that father of yours Ta- kun..." she said, all the while one of her fingers were now playing with some of his short hair over his ear. "Now personally, no offence to you and all, but i think he's a lecherous old monkey." Both of them chuckled lightly for a few seconds at the remark before silence settled back between them again.

"But anyway" she started again. "Think, why the hell would you be bothered acting serious around that guy?" Smiling to herself, she cast glance back down at the young Nandaba under her arm. The angst ridden face had softened somehow, but both of them knew she had avoided the whole subject. Bringing his hand up, he rubbed his bump again, wondering how long it could possibly ache. After a moment, Haruko grabbed his wrist and pulled it away from his head while gently rubbing the bump instead. "Y'know sometimes Im sorry I did this to you. You think it would have been better if it was someone else I ended up thwacking with my guitar? Some other kid's stable life messed up? Maybe I should hav-" "No!" Haruko glanced down. Naota was looking at her with almost fearful eyes. "Hey, you said it yourself Ta-kun. I've fucked your life up something severe. You can't say to me you like it." Sitting up, Naota looked her in the face. "Your wrong" he said, licking his lips. " I can say it." He could too. She saw it, the honesty in his words were plastered all over his features. Despite everything she had put him through, having her leave would be worse than anything growing in his empty head.

"You so sure about that now Naota?" Haruko looked at him doubtfully until he swung an arm over her belly similiar to the way her arm was drapped over his shoulder. Murmuring the word definatly against her stomache, he felt the sore spot on his head lightly being rubbed. "Oohh, Ta-kun's going all melty on me" she giggled, glad that Naota took it lightly as well when she heard a light laugh on her abdomen. A comfortable scilence stayed between the pair for a few minutes until Naota stirred and started sit to up, only to have Haruko roughly pin him down where he was. "And whats up with you now?" she asked, a phoney suspicious gleam in her eyes. Blinking at her, Naota answered about how he thought it was late enough to go back to bed when Haruko cleared the back of her throat like she was going to scoff at the idea. "Up all THOSE stairs? Screw that, Im all nice n' comfy here now" she replied, yawning loudly. "Besides, where your lying now is makimg me all warm and tired, so unless your gonna CARRY me up them stairs to the top bunk, forget it mister. Your staying right here."

After giving her a dazed look, Haruko smirked and whispered out "Besides, I wanna see how many shades of red your dad's gonna turn when he wakes up tomorrow." Giggling, she pulled his head back down again. "Now stay put. Im getting cold now cause you sat up, and it's making me grumpy." Feeling another laugh echo against her shirt, she leaned back, murmering some old lyrics about the whole night as she felt Naota drift off to sleep, his breath against her naval.

"Woke up this morning with a thumpin head, Not from the drink, but the things I said."

After awhile Haruko closed her eyes and slept with an arm stil draped over Naota.

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