Wednesday//December 21//Late Morning//Home

[lovely_warumono]

Slowly, Ai opened her unusually sad eyes as she laid on her western style bed. She was feeling horribly homesick once again, and she had only been in Tokyo for a day now. Just thinking about Junpei, her grandmother, or Kyoto in general made her want to curl up and cry. To make matters worse, her bedroom walls still remained disgustingly bare and

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[kyouuchi]

"It seems everyone wants to move to Tokyo. Well, I know I did when I was a child, then I kind of gave up hope, but here I am now!" The look on Ai's face made Kyou want to laugh, but not out of spite. She looked so excited to be taking to Kyou, like she was deprived of human contact. "Thank you! Not many people do, so it's refreshing to hear that."

"I'm 15. I've been enrolled into 10th grade at Gakuin High, although I don't start until after the Christmas break. I like candy, but I don't love it. It's just like any other food to me." She paused a moment, chewing the inside of her lip before replying. "What I've seen of China, yes! All I've really seen of it is the small village that my Grandmother lives in, but it's a very cozy place. Everyone knows everyone and they all seem to get on so well. It's so different from life in the city."

Kyou was starting to feel excited herself, Ai's good mood was contagious. "My family is so...Strange. My parents speak to one another, and to me in Mandarin, but they talk to my little sister Yuuhi in Japanese. They decided to just raise her to speak Japanese, and her inability to speak Chinese has never really bothered her."

She tried to think up some original questions for the other girl, but failed. "The same to you, although you don't have to answer about whether China's pretty or not." She laughed for a moment, raising her hand to cover her mouth while she did so.

[lovely_warumono]

Ai could feel her jaw literally drop. 'There's no way...' she thought, staring at Kyou in disbelief. Pinching a small part of one hand with the thumb and index fingers of her other, Ai let out a small yelp; she wasn't dreaming.

Without a second thought, Ai launched herself at Kyou, wrapped her arms around the other's neck, and hugged her like no tomorrow. She had never felt so happy about meeting another person as she did with Kyou. Realizing her actions, though, Ai gasped and parted herself from Kyou.

"I'm so sorry. Please don't be offended," Ai pleaded, falling into a low bow with her forehead almost touching the blanket beneath her. Raising her head, she peaked a look at Kyou's face, afraid she might not want to be friends with her anymore.

"Its just, I've been so homesick these last few days and I miss my friend and grandma in Kyoto so much...and then you said that you were going to Gakuin and I've been so afraid that the students would think I'm strange and not want to be my friend..." Ai trailed off, her eyes brimming with fresh tears.

[kyouuchi]

Kyou let out a small 'squeak' when she felt Ai hug her. She didn't expect it at all, but it didn't bother either.

"Oh, no, don't worry about it!" She said rushedly, trying to reassure the other female. "It's no problem, I'm not offended. It takes an awful lot to offend me, and hugs are nice. Hugs aren't even on the offensive scale for me. Not even a tiny, tiny bit."

Kyou saw the tears in Ai's eyes, and started digging around her bag for the packet of hand tissues she always carried. She found them and pulled one out, passing it to the tearful girl with an even warmer smile than she'd had earlier. "You're going to Gakuin too...? That's great!" She placed one of her hands on Ai's shoulder reassuringly

[lovely_warumono]

"You weren't offended? Are we still friends then?" Ai looked up at Kyou, hoping she would reply with a 'yes.'

Raising herself from the bowing stance, she gently took the tissue that Kyou held out to her. With a sniffle, she wiped her eyes. Kyou's hand was warm on her shoulder, making Ai feel relaxed as she nodded her head 'yes' to Kyou's question.

"I'm suppose to start after winter break, too. I'll be in the tenth grade. Its wierd, changing schools at third term, but my dad got a promotion and we had to move here," Ai sniffled, explaining the situation as she stared at her knees.

"I'm sorry for crying. I just really like you and you're the first person I've met since being here, and I thought you wouldn't like me for hugging you," Ai apologized, looking up at Kyou again. Her smile was so warm and kind, Ai couldn't help but feel calm under the gaze.

[kyouuchi]

"Of course we're still friends." She said, nodding. "Don't worry about crying, we all do it sometimes. It's nothing that you need to apologize about." Kyou thought for a moment, petting Momo with her spare hand while she replied.

"I think my parents just wanted a change. They never really went into too much detail of why they moved. They probably just wanted to live life in the fast lane, the big city, the big smoke, the city that never sleeps..." She rattled off a list of clichés.

"You seem kinda homesick. Just look forward to when you'll next get to see your friends again, then you won't feel so bad. I always feel a little empty and dull after I return from China, but when I focus on my next visit, it doesn't feel so hard anymore.

[lovely_warumono]

Ai began to smile again as Kyou reassured their friendship. She didn't think she'd be able to keep it together if Kyou did decide not to be her friend. Ai was thankful, and hoped that the friendship would last for ever.

"Oh! I know!" Ai said as an idea developed. "When Junpei comes to visit, you could hang out with us! Junpei is really nice, and is fun to be around. We've been friends since I was in grade school. I bet he'd like you, too. As a friend, I mean." Ai was smiling from ear to ear again, looking forward to being with Junpei and Kyou.

A light melody reached Ai's ears then, and she noticed her phone ringing in her back pocket. Opening the phone, she read over the text she had just recieved. 'Where are you, baby?' the text read, from her mother. Checking the time, Ai gasped. She and Momo had been out for a good couple of hours, and she hadn't even noticed.

"Gah~! I'm sorry, Kyou-chan. My parents are wondering where I am, so I should probably head back home now," Ai explained, sad to leave her friend. Latching the leash to Momo's collar again, Ai stood and picked up the sleeping, worn-out puppy.

"Oh, wait. Do you have a pen? I'll give you my phone number; its xxxx x xxxx. We should get together again during break, ok? It was really nice meeting you, again, Kyou-chan. Bye-bye!" With that, Ai headed back home. She couldn't wait to tell her parents about her new friend. Even more, she couldn't wait to hang out with Kyou again.

[kyouuchi]

Kyou scribbled down Ai's phone number onto her hand as she watched the girl walk away with Momo wandering along beside her. "That was interesting." She said to herself in Mandarin, picking her headphones back up and putting them in her ears. After a few minutes, she tapped out a message to Ai on her phone and sent it.

"Hey, it's Kyou! This is just to tell you my number. See you soon! ヽ(*^ｰ^)人(^ｰ^*)ノ"

((I'm assuming that's the end? That was fun~!))