The sun was already high in the bright, blue sky as the girl prepared herself to set off for the day. With school starting in a week, she realized she needed some new clothes and supplies, not to mention groceries. She slipped on her black flip-flops and gathered her things before walking out of her small, yet comfortable apartment. Ah, I'll have to check the mail when I get back, she thought as she exited her building, heading toward the mall, I hope I get another letter from him!
She was not the friendliest of girls, and her face was usually blank. Today, however, eighteen-year-old Niu Koujo had a slight spring in her step. She loved shopping, especially for things like books and clothes. She scowled, pulling slightly on her black baggy cargo pants, as she looked up at all the Gothic/Lolita clothing hanging on the wall. Ugh, I'm way too ugly for these, she thought, sadly, even though there were a few things she desperately wanted. Her attention turned to a pointy-collared black cape at the end of the row. He might like that, though... Looking at the price tag, she sighed. It was way out of her price range. Oh, well, she thought, I'm sure I can get some more money when he comes back. She stopped by a few other stores, but decided to only pick up her new school uniform, as well as an Italian language book. The rest, she decided, would be spent on food. She had taken all of the money she had earned herself when she left China, which was not very much. Thankfully, her love had a job and quite a bit of money, and it was him who actually owned the apartment in which she was staying.
It was evening before she knew it. Niu had spent the last few hours in the park, doing keepie-uppies with the soccer ball she had brought with her. She had a habit of flitting from one activity to the next, becoming very good at them before suddenly switching to a new one. She had already won a trophy for her martial arts ability, and had written (but never published) a small collection of short stories. Her new, current "obsession" was soccer, which was helped along by Japan's national women's team winning the World Cup very recently. Niu had not been in Japan, or at the local high school, for long, but already the various clubs were begging her to join them. She refused them all, her reason simply being she didn't want to. Her ongoing "obsession," though, was language, and she committed herself to learning her love's (seemingly) first language, Italian. However, she did not know as much Japanese as the regular Japanese person, even though she knew enough to get by. She also knew she would have to learn English at some point, as well. For now, however, she was content playing soccer.
As she practiced under the oddly blood-red cherry blossom trees, two little kids ran past, their mom yelling behind them. "Ryu, don't run!" she was yelling, but the boy (Ryu) was running anyway. Kids, Niu thought, annoyed, and ignored them. Almost immediately, the boy tripped and took a rather hard fall, which was what Niu had been expecting to happen. He sat up and cried loudly, holding his arm. "Are you okay?" Niu asked, looking down and the boy and, presumably, his sister. Their mom came scurrying to their side. "I'm sorry!" she said, slightly out of breath, "I'm going to go get him a bandage!" She ran off a little ways, probably looking for her purse. The boy sniffed and hiccuped on the ground, his sister on the verge of crying herself. Aw, man... Niu thought, annoyed, but not wanting to watch little kids cry. She bent down, now eye level with the boy.
"That's a pretty nasty bump you got there," she said as gently as she could, pointing at the boy's arm. It was red, but the skin had not broken, thankfully. The kid sniffed, his attention now slightly more focused on Niu. "I had a bump like that on my arm, too," she said, smiling, pointing at her arm, "Only mine was much worse." The boy quivered, now seemingly interested in what she had to say. "What..what happened?" he asked. "I slid off the banister at home," she said matter-of-factly, "I...didn't do too well! Now it hurts when I do this..." She held up her left arm and cocked it in a silly position, which did, in fact, make it hurt quite a bit, though she never let the kids see that. To them, it was an entertaining story, and it seemed to calm the boy down considerably.
The mom came back soon after that, and bandaged the boy. She also chewed them out a bit, and thanked Niu for watching them. "No problem," she said, giving a small smile. It was now about dinnertime, and Niu was eager to get back home and have a humble meal. She sauntered back home, reflecting on what she had told the two kids, especially the bannister part. Her grip tightened on her bags as she remembered her childhood, growing up in a mostly middle-class neighborhood in Chengdu, the capital of China's Sichuan province. That old trip down the bannister (which were uncommon there) had permanently injured her left arm, leaving it usable, but still weaker, than her right. Her adventurous spirit was one of the things that annoyed her parents, who owned a tea shop, the most. She sighed, opening the small box that was marked with her name. There was only an envelope inside, addressed to her, from Europe. Her eyes widened, and her spirits immediately lifted. She grabbed it, closed the box, and tore up the stairs to her room, eager to read it.
It was a loving letter from her more-or-less boyfriend, although they had never done more than kissing. He had written to keep her up on events in his life, and to tell her that he missed her greatly. The biggest surprise was that he would be there in a few days. He did not want to miss her first day of school. She giggled as she got to the end of the letter, which was signed "Gio D.R.V.". In a rare display of extreme excitement, she threw her arms up and let out a great, big "WHOOP!" She daydreamed excessively over dinner, now very much waiting for her new school year to begin.
Thank you for Helping out the Final Fantasy Wiki. You have proven yourself a loyal servant of this wiki and an all around fine fellow. Pat yourself on the back and shout from the rooftops about how awesome you are. Go out and kiss the first chick you see, once you have received this honor you will be irresistible to all women. This medal is also legal tender in Burkina Faso. Q?
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