Continued from here.
Though he would never dare admit it out loud the first girl Ataru's thoughts went towards were inevitable once he started long term planning. The cute alien oni that swept into his life like a hurricane and demanded all of his love and affection. But he had too much to be contained by merely one woman! Never mind one that thunderbolts him all the time, and winds up dragging him into all sorts of wacky hijinks. Sure, it wasn't just Lum's fault... And sure, more often than not he could've easily avoided the trouble by reigning in his impulsive nature but that was about as likely to happen as - um, come to think of it that was a metaphor he'd rather not finish. Knowing his luck, he'd say something like "the moon turning to cheese" or "elephants learning to fly" and then wackiness would result in that actually happening before his very eyes.
He was considered the unluckiest boy in Japan for a reason.
Ah, but that was before and this is now. Apparently he was developing the ability to understand the girls around him. With a passing glance he knew their names, hobbies and sizes. With a further look he could figure out what they were looking for in a boyfriend. Further still and he could see how to play upon their emotions to make them dance to his very tune. Ataru knew all too well that it wouldn't be that easy, however. That was why his thoughts were turning towards Lum first, obviously. She would complicate things, interfere with him having fun, maybe notice his new skill and try to fix it somehow. It wasn't because he liked her or anything. Perish the thought!
So: Problem identified. Ataru looked over at Lum out of the corner of his eye. Studying furiously, even though most of what she was learning in this classroom was even more useless to her than it would be to anyone else. How best to draw Lum out of "problem" and into "assistant"? He stared at her and focused, trying to unravel a particularly knotty problem...
Whenever he chased other girls and she noticed, Lum would shock Ataru every time. Why? Jealousy. Anger that he wouldn't pursue her. Attempts at conditioning him out of the behaviour. It wasn't just one answer, it wasn't quite as simple as all that. If he could somehow make Lum accepting of him chasing other girls then things would be so much easier. So much more fun! But how? How could he make her accept something like that?
Ataru had learned that he could read girls like a book, and even edit a few of the pages using what he was reading. But to accomplish such a tremendous feat! To convince a girl pursuing a relationship with him that there was nothing wrong with him pursuing other girls! Tricky. The ultimate test of his new powers. If he could manage this much, then the sky really was the limit.
A chill went down the spine of every girl in class simultaneously, though none of them particularly thought too much about it. If any of them had, they might have connected it to the smile growing over Ataru's face as he developed a plan.
Lum floated slightly above her darling's head as they walked home after another day of school. She looked down at him and the worry she felt must be radiating off her. Where most might have been concerned for the man they loved when they were sad or morose, she was worried because he seemed just a little too happy, a little too energetic. Which meant trouble on the horizon. There was little doubt that he was Up To Something, and she would have to drag it out of him like blood from a sto-
"The Principal has put me in charge of an inter-school project," Ataru said, with a little more spring in his step. "Our school is gonna work with Furinkan High School to make a movie. And I get to direct!"
"Ah, I see! That's wonderful!" Lum squealed in delight. She'd enjoyed making that last movie with him. It was so much fun to work with him on a project for once!
"Well, to be honest... I didn't really know what I wanted to do after school, you know?"
"Don't be silly, darling! After school, we're getting married!"
He was silent for a moment, glanced up at her, and then said "I didn't mean that. I meant - Uh, Lum, are you okay?"
Was she okay? What sort of question was that? A statement like that was the closest he'd ever gotten to admitting that he would indeed marry her one day. A passing breeze could have knocked her from the sky at this point. A feather could send her into orbit. "I'm - I'm fine," she said, floating over to catch up with him. "What were you saying?"
"I was saying that I didn't know what sort of career I wanted to go into. Maybe if this directing thing pans out, maybe that's the sort of thing I could do."
That made a tremendous amount of sense, if she was quite honest. Darling needed some direction in his life, and he did appear to enjoy directing. Perhaps because it gave him a sense of control where he usually had very little? If this was what he intended to do with his life, then Lum resolved to support him in it.
Unnoticed by Lum was the triumphant smirk growing on Ataru's features as she made the decision.
"I'm already trying to work out what I'll need to make this project work," Ataru said, but then he sighed. "Which means I'll need to talk to the Furinkan students as well. I don't know them nearly well enough to plan ahead all that much."
"That makes sense, I suppose... " Lum mused. "Then, you'll need to talk to them as soon as possible, won't you?"
"I plan to do so tomorrow," Ataru conceded. "But, I have to admit, I'm a little worried."
"About what?"
"That you'll get the wrong idea."
Wrong idea? Wrong idea about what? Lum landed in front of him, genuinely confused by the direction he was going with. Look at him, nervously scratching the back of his head as though he'd been caught doing something wrong, when for once he was blameless. "Darling, I can't help you if you don't talk to me about your problem."
"Ah... Alright. But promise you won't get mad!"
"Don't give me a reason to," Lum replied, leaning over to give him a better look at her cutest smile. "But if you don't tell me, I'll have to assume the worst, won't I?"
"I guess... Well... As director I have certain responsibilities, you know? I have to cast roles both onscreen and off, make sure everything is organised, make sure everyone knows what they're doing..."
"Yes, of course," Lum said, though honestly she wasn't entirely sure of what a director's job entailed. It was rather a human concept, and she still didn't quite have a handle on all of their customs. She was getting there! But... Not quite sure about this.
"That means I'll need to talk to a lot of students to get a feel for what they're good at. Also, I'll need to make sure all their costumes fit correctly, and I'll need to be able to contact them to make sure everybody is up to speed."
Lum nodded. That still made perfect sense, but for some reason she was starting to feel a little bit dizzy. Since she didn't really know what a director did, she would have to take darling's word for it that a director would do all these things.
"A lot of those students are gonna have to be girls," Ataru said, wincing a little bit. "Which means I'll need to ask them for their name, sizes, phone numbers and addresses."
"Sort of like what you ask for when you're girl chasing," Lum said, suddenly feeling a need to lie down. Where had this dizzy spell come from?
"Yep. And I'm worried that you'll see that and think that's all I'm doing, when in truth I'm engaging in my directorial duties. Don't feel much like being zapped for something I don't deserve!"
"Darling, I - I..." Lum shook her head, and rubbed at her temple. She could feel her pulse pounding throughout her head. Darling was concerned she'd get the wrong idea. He was worried that she would zap him for something that was part of his job. For something that would lead to his later happiness, to a career choice he would be content with for the rest of their lives. It... That... That must be what was making her feel unwell. She was... guilty. Yes. That made sense. She was feeling guilty. "I give you permission to chase girls," she said, and with those words her headache vanished into the ether as though it had never been there at all. "Chase all the girls you want, I won't get mad."
"You promise?"
Lum nodded, and the two of them continued on their way home. There was a little bit of extra spring in Ataru's step, which made sense given that a concern like that had been lifted from him. But still. Why did Lum feel like her entire world had been turned on its head?
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