Love Nikki: Chapter One

~2~

   "Queen Nanari?" I call again, my throat feeling raw. Momo glares at me, as though saying, shut it already! I sigh. "Oh, all right. But only because we've probably walked a few miles already, anyway." I turn away from him and continue to hike on. "She's probably at her castle by now." Momo doesn't answer. Not that he should. He's only a cat, after all.
   After the queen disappeared, I searched for her for a while before giving up. I continued to yell for her as we headed north, though. Not because I thought she would come. I have a feeling she headed in the opposite direction. I was hoping someone else would hear me and come rescue me, because I'm just as lost as before.
   We left the forest at least an hour ago, maybe more. Looking around, it's just miles and miles of green fields stretching as far as I can see. "How much farther do you think we have to go, Momo?" I ask. Momo meows. "Really? If it were that far away, we would probably see it by now, wouldn't we?" He doesn't answer. I almost laugh at myself. I'm talking to a cat. And, on top of that, I'm pretending he can talk back! Maybe I've been in the sun too long.
   "Wait..." I murmur, squinting at something. My heart leaps in my chest, and I break into a run. Momo yowls at me. I know I should slow down for him, but I can't. After running with a screaming Momo trailing me for a few minutes, I stop on a dirt path. "Look, Momo!" I cry. "It's a path! We just have to follow the path!" Momo arrives beside me. I sit down to catch my breath, panting. "We're almost there!" I grin at him, hoping for some sort of positive reaction. He struts to the other side of the path and settles down, then gives me death eyes. "Oh, come on! It was just a small run." He turns his back to me. "You're such a diva." As if trying to prove my point, he begins to clean himself. I sigh. Whatever. At least we have a chance to catch our breath before moving again.
   I set the suitcase to the side, which has begun to bother me quite a bit. It's rather large, and not convenient for travelling. I wonder why Nanari couldn't have given me a walking-friendly bag. Like a backpack, or a duffel bag. I lay back onto the dirt, pondering to myself. I watch fat white clouds drift leisurely across the sky. One of them has two points. I chuckle to myself, imagining Momo as a cloud.
   As I follow the trails of fluff, I hear feet crunch on gravel. I rise to my feet and brush dirt off my skirt. A young girl is jogging towards us, brown pigtails bouncing with her steps. She is wearing light clothes, and has a cat bag strapped over her shoulder. As she approaches me, she slows down.
   "Hello. Do you know where the nearest town is?" I inquire eagerly. The first step to regaining my memory is to find a town, and perhaps this girl can help me.
   "Are you lost?" the girl asks.
   "You could say that," I reply. "We've never been around here before."
   The girl furrows her eyebrows. "We?" I point at Momo, who is now dozing in the sun. The girl gasps. "What a cute cat!"
   "His name is Momo," I tell her.
   "Oh, a handsome cat with a handsome name!" she coos. Momo blinks lazily at her. "I'm Aron," she says, turning back to me.
   "I'm Nikki." I smile at Aron. She smiles back. "So, what are the directions to the nearest town, Aron?"
   "I'm going for a jog right now, but I can turn back early to take you to Wheat Field, if you want," she offers.
   "You don't have to."
   "Oh, but I want to! It's fine!" She turns around and starts heading back the way she came. "Come on," she calls.
   I pick up my suitcase and start to follow her. "Momo! We're going!" Momo studies me, before flopping down again. "Momo!" I groan.
   Aron turns around and jogs over. "I can carry this silly cat," she tells me. She scoops Momo into her arms. He yowls in surprise, but then snuggles into her elbow and purrs. "Oh, what a handsome cat!"
   "I'm sorry, he's not normally like this." Momo starts to snore. "I think." I shake my head.
   "No, it's fine!" Aron looks at my suitcase. "Say, are you a stylist?"
   I look at her, then the suitcase. A stylist? Then it clicks. She must think I'm a model of some sort. "Oh, no, I'm not." I laugh. "Though it does interest me." I think of Queen Nanari's dress. If all clothes here are that beautiful, styling has definitely caught my attention. I know there's something more that pulls me to styling, but whatever it is remains just out of my grasp. I feel a connection to it, like I've done it before.
   "Really? Hey, when we get to Wheat Field, you can practise with me! I've been working on my sports style. That can be our theme!" She watches me expectantly.
   "I..."
   "Since you're a beginner, I can go easy on you if you want."
   "I only have two outfits. Neither of them are sporty."
   Aron tries to shrug. Momo shifts uncomfortably at the movement. "I can take you shopping."
   I beam. "That would be amazing!"
   "No biggie."
   Eventually, we reach the edge of a town. Stout white houses with pinkish red roofs line the street. Children run and laugh on the road, while men and women hurry down the sidewalks with phones and briefcases. As we make our way further into the city, Momo starts to grow restless and leaps from Aron's arms to gait beside us.
   "Here," says Aron, tapping my shoulder. We've stopped in front of a white store with a beige tint and pale green roof. "This is the best place to buy sports clothes in all of Wheat Field," she explains. "I do all of my shopping here."
   The bell rings as we step inside. A short man at the counter greets us. "Aron! How're ya doin'?" His voice is high pitched, which heavily contradicts his blocky body.
   "Good, Mr. H.! I'm taking Nikki shopping." Mr H. looks at me. I feel out of place, but I wave anyways. "It's her first time in Wheat Field," Aron adds.
   "Well, welcome ta Wheat Field, Nikki! Hope ya find what yer lookin' for," he replies cheerfully.
   Aron tugs on my hand and pulls me towards the back of the store. "This is the women's section. Have a look around and pick something out!" We are surrounded by racks filled with jerseys, sports bras, leggings, hats, and sneakers. I walk around, bearing our competition in mind. I realize, looking around, there's no point, as the theme is sports. I decide to go with a green jersey with black shorts and pink graffitied platform shoes. For a finishing touch, I also select a black graffitied cap.
   We walk to the counter. "Picked something out, have ye?"
   I nod. "You have such a large selection, Mr H." It's true. The store looks tiny on the outside, but is rather large once you head in.
   He swats a hand at the air. "Aw, yer too kind!" He goes through my choices, muttering something under his breath. "That'll be forty coins."
   My smile falls. I don't have any money. How did I forget? I can't buy anything without coins, and I feel morally against stealing. It's just wrong to take something you haven't earned. I open my mouth to explain to Mr. H when Aron snatches my suitcase. "Hey!" I exclaim. She clicks it open. "What are-" I freeze. Inside is a small beige pouch, fat with its contents. I try to think of when I got it, but I don't remember Nanari giving it to me.
   Aron picks it up and fishes inside, the bag clinking metallically. She resurfaces with a hand full of gold coins and puts them on the counter. "Thank you, Mr H.!" she says, stuffing my clothes into the suitcase.
   "Not a problem. Enjoy yer stay, Nikki!" he calls as we exit the store. Aron hands me the suitcase, and starts walking down the street. I quickly catch up.
   "Thank you, Aron. How can I repay you?"
   She turns her head to give me a quizzical stare. "For what?"
   Now it's my turn to be confused. "Paying for my clothes."
   "What do you mean? It was your money. You were taking so long, I assumed you thought you forgot it." She smirks at me. "But I heard the clinking in your suitcase earlier, and realized you had simply misplaced it."
   There had been clinking in the suitcase? I hadn't realized. Perhaps Nanari was more prepared than I thought. But that doesn't explain why the pouch wasn't in there earlier. I furrow my brows as I remember the other clothes that used to be stuffed in the suitcase. I wonder what happened to those, as well. "Yes. That seems to be it. I had simply misplaced it."
   Aron stops abruptly, and I bump into her. "Owtch!"
   "Sorry! Are you ok?" I check her over.
   "Yes, I'm fine. But look!" I follow her finger. She is pointing at a street performer doing magic tricks. He has a small crowd gathered around him as he shows off his skills. We watch silently as he puts a small rubber ball in his ear, then a kid pulls the same ball from his pocket. People applaud as he moves on to his next trick, this time including some birds and a hula hoop.
   "He's very talented," I note. "You like magic tricks?"
   "It reminds me of real magic, and someone I used to know." I bite back a shout of surprise. Magic is real in Miraland? That clarifies all of Nanari's disappearing and appearing things. I wonder how it works. Is the performer a real magician, hiding his magic behind down to earth tricks?
   Aron shakes her head. "That's a story for another time. For now, our competition!" Her dark violet eyes sparkle with anticipation.
   "Right here? In the open?"
   "Where else would we do it?" She laughs, as if I were making a joke. I laugh nervously along. "Just use a changing station, then meet me out here." She pauses. "Do you have Giftys?" she asks. I nod, remembering the duck like creatures in my suitcase. I also remember running with the suitcase. Has all the jumbling hurt them? Or has Nanari used some sort of magic on the suitcase to protect them? "Ok! Change quickly! I want to see how good you are."
   Aron leads me over to a booth with a little sign on it that says Styling Station: Courtesy of the Apple Federation Apparel Group. When we first entered the city, I thought these were simply cute orange phone booths. Stepping inside, I see hangers and a tall mirror. No phone. I set my suitcase down and click it open.
   "I'll play with Momo while you change," Aron tells me.
   "Are you not changing as well?" I ask her.
   "No, I think this outfit is perfect for the theme. We'll be waiting!" She jogs over to Momo and coos at him. He purrs and rubs against her legs, not even glancing at me. I roll my eyes and close the door. He's a silly cat, getting so mad at me for that quick run a while ago. He'll get over it.
   After changing into my new clothes, I leave the booth with my suitcase in hand. My Giftys trail behind me, clucking to each other. They must have some sort of contest radar, for when I had fished changing, they instantly popped out with excited chirps. We join Aron and Momo. Momo appears to have fallen asleep in Aron's lap. When she sees me, Aron gently transfers Momo to the bench they were sitting on. I realize that she was right about her outfit earlier. She wears a light pink coat with white cat heads patterned across it, along with shorts and a sporty blue shirt. Pink cat print sneakers seal the deal.
   "Are you ready?"she asks me.
   I force a smile, worried. I've only done this once before, and it was obvious Queen Nanari was going easy on me. I have a feeling Aron and Queen Nanari have different defintions of "going easy". But the more matches I win, the closer I get to figuring out what is going on. "As ready as I'll ever be," I reply.
   Aron giggles. "Alright! And don't feel bad if you don't win. After all, you are new to this," she points out. She stoops over to let her Giftys out of her cat bag. They hop out. My Giftys and hers converge to mingle for a moment before lining up in front of us. "Before we begin, do you have any questions?"
   "Yes, actually." Queen Nanari said each Gifty had their own style. Maybe Aron can explain them to me. "Can you explain styles to me?"
   "There are ten styles, each in five pairs. Every pair contradicts each other. For example, warm and cool. Two different styles that are paired together because they are opposites," she tells me. "The five pairs are simple and gorgeous, elegant and lively, mature and cute, sexy and pure, and, finally, warm and cool."
   "And every competition uses one style from each pair," I finish.
   "Exactly!"
   It only makes sense. You can't be warm and cool at once, unless you've got some terrible cold. But you can't design one item of clothing that's warm and cool at the same time.
   "Anything else?" Aron inquires.
   I shake my head, feeling confident in my understanding of the styles. "I'm ready now," I reply. I turn to my succession Giftys, who are whispering to each other.
   "Alright. Let's begin!" Aron exclaims eagerly.
   The first Gifty's lifts a grey-blue sign. "Which Gifty is that?" I whisper to Aron.
   "That's the simple Gifty," she whispers back. "And that," she begins as a Gifty with a yellow sign steps forward, "is lively Gifty." She tells me each name as the Giftys take turns. The pink sign Gifty is the cute judge. Light blue is cool Gifty, and green for pure Gifty.
   Just like back in the forest, the Giftys huddle and murmur to each other. Finally, my simple Gifty runs up, joined by Aron's lively Gifty. They hoist their signs into the air. Aron's sign says 23000. My sign says 19000.
   "Oh, I'm sorry, Nikki." Aron turns to me. "Would you like some pointers for the next time you do a theme like this?"
   I lost. My heart falls. I don't know why I expected to win. This is clearly Aron's expertise, and I'm just a beginner. But Nanari said I had talent, didn't she? She wouldn't have chosen me if I weren't a good stylist. Here I am, having lost my first real competition. I've let her down. I narrow my eyes. No. I haven't let anyone down. I did this competition to learn, and that's what I'm going to do. "Yes. I would really appreciate that."
   "I think your shoes and hat really had a toll on your score," she tells me, ushering her Giftys back into her bag. "Those have a much more harajuku style than sports style." I don't know what she means by harajuku, but when I examine the two pieces, I see what she means. The hat was made for cute styles, when I should have gone with a more practical ball cap. I don't know what I was thinking when picking shoes, because it's no secret that platform shoes don't fit sports very well. "Other than that, it's a good sports style," Aron reassures.
  "Thank you, Aron. I think I'll do better next time I tackle this style."
   "It was nothing, really." Aron looks at a watch on her wrist. "Gee, I'm sorry, Nikki, but I have to go! Best of luck with your styling. I hope we see each other again someday." She gives Momo one last pat.
   "Thanks again for all your help, Aron." I hug her. She seems startled at first, but hugs me back. "I'm sure our paths will cross again." We drop the embrace. Aron starts to jog away, waving. I wave back. Momo watches her leave, and I expect him to care even a little. But he returns to cleaning his face a moment later, so I don't know what to think.
   I make sure my suitcase is shut, then join Momo on his bench. "What do you think we do now?" I ask him. He sits up and looks around, as if trying to find an answer to my question. He opens his mouth in a mewl, but my stomach grumbles and drowns him out. "Maybe we should get something to eat." Momo's ears perk up. His head snaps to me with owl eyes. I laugh. "I guess we know what to do now, huh, bud?" His tail flicks, eyes still trained on me.
   "Sorry to bother you." I look up at the new voice. "I heard you were new here. Need a friend to help you out?"