It was a custom that when a child reached their fifteenth birthday, they'd be sent down to Earth. This custom was so that they would become independent, and figure out which planet they'd like to live on. Oftentimes it meant for the rest of their lives.

This particular child had already chosen his Earth name long ago. Leo, because he'd already picked out a region to live in. He'd noticed that his eyes were similar to the Earth animal known as a cat, and thought that the popular name would be a good way to make friends.

It wasn't until a few weeks before the trip did Leo realize that he'd gotten the wrong language into his head. It wasn't the Japanese language as he had intended but rather the English language. The fault for this would fall with the fact that when he selected the language, he'd been distracted by a big red dot in the center of the screen.

It was easier to blame the machinery malfunctioning. His species' natural enemy, the space goat, was quite a foe in chewing up important wires.

Nevertheless, he refused to back down from going to Japan and soon his implanted Earth memories showed that he was a transfer student from America.

It was all taken care of. Leo definitely did not get hit in the head by an asteroid when he descended to Earth with his peers.

The first few days in an Earth school were rough. Leo was not allowed to get up whenever he pleased. Batting at a student's ponytail was considered rude. And falling out of a window and landing on his feet caused a lot more trouble than it was worth.

But there was a girl, Maemi, a new friend that helped him out whenever some trouble arose. She was pretty level-headed and understanding.

She helped him get a bird to rest on his fingers. It was a very cute, yellow bird that nipped at his fingers. She encouraged him to talk to the other students. They were very excited to meet him, and asked him many questions about his life in America.

It was weird to talk about memories that never happened.

He soon made new memories, however. Leo joined many clubs and found that there were a lot of activities and responsibilities.

One evening, Leo and Maemi were working on a poster for the Igo Soccer team. Leo cut along the edges with the utility knife, and it grazed against the side of his hand.

He made a few pained sounds, when Maemi told him to wait. She dug around in her bag and held out her hand. Leo thought that she'd given him a band-aid.

She told him to give his hand, and he'd panicked, flustered, before finally relenting. She'd carefully wrapped up the hand in a bandage and smiled, telling him to be careful.

It was a new memory that was undeniably precious.

A/N: Originally posted on AO3 on June 26 2018

My favorite segments were the "Like Love" shorts. And this particular one caught my eye. The unnamed boy's eyes looked very different compared to everyone else. He said, "Thank you," in a noticeable way. So, "Is he a transfer student?" but that seems too ordinary for Nichijou.

The gist is that I adore Nichijou, and I'm very excited to get my hands on Arawi's new work, CITY, when I get the chance.