Love Nikki: Chapter One

~7~

   "She's not in there, either." Bobo crosses her arms tightly as she walks over from the store she searched. A breeze whistles through the darkening sky, raising goosebumps on my arms. "Could she have already found the thief?"
   I shrug. "Maybe? She did say she thought she knew who it was." The street light above us flickers to life, other lights down the street quickly following suit. I sigh. My watch reads 20:34, and the sky darkens faster with every second we stay out. "Maybe we should head back. It's getting late."
   "Yeah."
   Momo meows quietly in agreement, stretching jaws wide in a yawn. I scoop him into my arms. Bobo walks ahead of us, peeking through store windows as we pass. I look with her.
   A small voice whispers behind us. I pause and turn, heart pounding. The street is empty. But the whispering continues. I put Momo down and start going back. "Nikki? Where-?" Bobo's question cuts off as she hears the voice. She quickly runs up to me, looking around hopefully. "Is that Lunar?"
   "I don't know."
   "Who's Lunar?"
   I jump, Bobo screams. We turn to the voice. A girl in a school uniform laughs at us. "Gee, sorry!" She stifles her snickers. "Are you looking for someone?"
   "We heard a voice. We thought it might have been our friend," Bobo explains.
   "Ah, that was me. I'm studying for tomorrow's test." She pulls a black braid over her shoulder. "Who is Lunar?"
   "A friend," Bobo replies. She pulls my hand. "Come on, Nikki. Let's get back."
   "Bobo, wait. She might've seen her." She drops my arm, huffing. "Have you seen a Cloud girl? She has purple hair, wears blue?" I ask the school girl.
   Her blue eyes light up. "I have! I know exactly where she is."
   "Great!"
   She smiles at us. After a moment, Bobo prompts her, "So, where is she?"
   "Oh, that will cost you a styling contest."
   "Uh, we really need to see her," I chuckle hesitantly. "Can the contest wait?"
   "Yeah, just tell us. We don't have the time for this." Bobo taps her foot.
   The girl shrugs. "No contest, no Lunar. Sorry."
   Bobo gasps. She stumbles over words, face reddening. I interject before she starts to yell at the school girl, a forced smile plastered on my face. "Alright, what's the theme?" Bobo glares at the girl, muttering under her breath.
   "Hmm. Well, how about a beautiful school girl!" She giggles. "Believe it or not, most girls in my class can't pull off the beautiful part."
   "Deal," I say.
   "No stakes, though. Win or lose, I'll tell you Lunar's location."
   "Thank you." I grab Bobo and pull her to the side. "What's with people always styling in their obvious strengths?" I shake my head.
   "Why would someone choose any theme other than their best?"
   "To grow? And learn?"
   Bobo snickers. "Yeah, like that's what people want. Everyone just wants to look good, Nikki, they're not about to just offer a theme they suck at," she says, struggling not to laugh at me. I roll my eyes. Like wanting to improve is that hilarious.
   "Anyways, what do you have that might work?" I set my suitcase on a bench and open it. We sit down to work through my clothes together. While searching for Lunar, Bobo convinced me to stop and buy a few pieces. "Maybe she's in here. And if she isn't, maybe she'll come in when we're paying," she had said more than once. I hope the time we spent shopping wasn't wasted. Maybe I had grabbed something that will work well here.
   After a few moments of silently considering my options with me, Bobo speaks up. "Alright, here's what I'm thinking." She shows me her line up. "This wig, the plaid skirt, and the sailor top. These sneakers should finish the look."
   I set the braided brown wig beside me, along with the yellow skirt and blue shirt. "I think instead of these sneakers, I should do buckled shoes. Like these ones." I hold up a pair a brown shoes. "And shouldn't we add at least some accessories?"
   "We're pretty much being blackmailed into this contest, and win or not, we get what we want. Let's not make this more complicated than it needs to be."
   "I don't think blackmailed is the word I would use. And, also, this is practice! I want to put in at least some effort." I grab a blue ribbon from my suitcase and a pink notebook. "This ribbon can go around my head."
   I watch Bobo expectantly. I may be styling the outfit, but Bobo is far more experienced than I am.
   "Fine. But let's hurry up, before Lunar moves."
   I hug her and run to the nearest changing booth. After quickly changing into the clothes and giving myself one last check in the mirror, I join Momo and Bobo on the bench.
Looking around, I realize the school girl has disappeared. "Hey, where'd she go?"
   Bobo's head snaps up. "She was just here!" She leaps to her feet. "She tricked us! Great-"
   "What's the matter?" The girl appears beside me, peering around. "What are you looking for?"
   Bobo stare daggers at the girl. She opens her mouth, likely with a snappy remark on the tip of her tongue, but I step in. "Nothing. Can we do the contest now?"
   The girl nods, though she doesn't seem to have heard what I said. "Your clothes are beautiful! Are you a stylist?"
   I cough, taken aback. Everyone keeps thinking I'm a stylist. Maybe I 'm better at this than I thought. Maybe she's just trying to be polite, but the remark still sets off fireworks in my head. "No, I'm not." I glance at Bobo. "I'm a... an aspiring stylist, though."
   "The Apple Apparel Group would definitely be interested in your future as a stylist."
   I instantly remember the little signs on the changing stations. They mentioned an Apple Federation Apparel Group. It must be a company of sorts, related with styling or designing. I make a mental note to ask Bobo about it later.
   The girl prepares her Giftys, and I prepare mine. As they line up to judge, one of mine seems to smile at me. When I look again, they've all resumed their monotone faces. One by one, they do their judging. The school girl's Giftys seem to be having fun, jumping, twirling, and chirping at their turn.
   At the end of the judging, the Giftys rush to their consulting circles. I turn to the girl. "I'm Nikki, by the way."
   The school girl holds out her hand to shake. I take it. "Timi."
   "Nice to meet you, Timi."
   "And you." She grabs her two braids and leans in. "Hey, earlier, I said I was studying. I wasn't actually studying. I was just out late."
   "Talking to yourself, too, huh?" I chuckle, memories of trudging to Wheat Field in my head.
   She shakes her head. "I actually don't know what you were hearing. I didn't hear any voices, and I wasn't talking."
   "You- what?" Vivi's earlier panic about the Iron Rose comes back to me. Had someone heard us talking to her? I glance around uneasily.
   "Oh, they have our scores!" I push my fears to the side. We can worry about the Iron Rose once we've found Lunar.
   Timi's Gifty waves a blue sign in the air, and my Gifty a yellow sign. The blue sign read 18450. Mine reads 24601. Even though the outcome has no real consequence or reward, I still feel a sense of excitement. This is my first won battle since Nanari, and it inflates me with warmth and pride.
   Bobo woots and applauds. "Yay, Nikki!"
   I laugh and turn to Timi. "That was fun. Thanks."
   I expect the school girl to be bummed or disappointed, but she meets me with a grin. "You're so talented! You really should apply to Apple Apparel Group, they would not turn you down."
   "Maybe."
   Bobo joins us, Momo dragging his feet beside her. "Great, we've done your contest. So where is Lunar?" Her face is all business.
   "What Bobo means to say is, we are pressed on time and would appreciate to go get our friend." I shoot Bobo a glare, which she promptly returns.
   "Of course, right! She was down by the fountain with the gargoyles. She headed into Yinkton's." She shrugs. "Some kind of bar, I think."
   Bobo squeals. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Nikki, let's go." She's already running down the street, Momo slowly plodding behind her.
   "Bye, Timi!" I call, racing after her.
   "Bye! Hope to see you again!"
   I catch up to Momo pretty quickly. Reluctantly, he too adopts a speeding pace. Bobo doesn't slow down until we get to the fountain, and even then, she doesn't stop. Soon, I'm beside her.
   "Hey! What bar were we looking for? Ink... no, it was-"
   Bobo points at a building across the street. "Yinkton's."
   I follow her finger. "Well, let's go check it out, then."
   "Wait! How old are you?" Bobo questions.
   "Why?"
   Bobo rolls her eyes. "It's a bar. Legally, you need to be eighteen."
   "Oh! Right," I reply. "I'm nineteen." There's a pause. "I'm... not sure how I knew that."
   "Well, you said you knew Momo's name, didn't you? Maybe you didn't forget everything." Bobo makes a good point. "And don't worry about me, I can pass for eighteen."
   "You- wait, you're not eighteen?" I smile playfully. "Guess you'll just have to wait out here, huh?"
   "Oh, shut up. I'm almost eighteen, but if you keep talking about it, I won't be able to get in. So just shush," she laughs.
   "Why did you even bother asking if you're just gonna sneak in, anyway?" I laugh. She opens her mouth, but says nothing. She instead laughs nervously. "What?"
   She waves her hand. "Nevermind. We should hurry." I agree, but my mind lingers on her nervous laughter. Something about it was off putting, and I can't help but feel like she's hiding something. Whatever it is, I decide I'll forget it. She can keep secrets. We all have secrets, even if I can't remember any of mine. Even so, the odd gesture claws at my mind as we approach the door.
   We head in. There's a few men watching the door. They stop Bobo, and ask for ID. They haven't seen me. I realize that I don't have any ID on me, having, as Bobo put it, fallen from the sky only recently, and silently sneak past. After a moment, I'm joined by Bobo. "How-"
   "Fake ID."
   "Oh." I look at her. "I think you're still gonna need ID when you're thirty." She glares at me. "Hey, that's a compliment, isn't it? You look young."
   She scoffs. "Thanks. Let's just get Lunar and get out of here."
   I look to the floor. "Come on, Mo-" I stop. "Hey, where's Momo?"
   Bobo sighs. "They aren't about to let a cat into a bar, Nikki. Do you know how much chaos he'd cause? Besides," she points to the men who let us in, "I think he'll be fine." I look over and, sure enough, Momo is rubbing against their legs. I roll my eyes.
   "Well, alright. But what do you mean by chaos? All he would do is sleep on the floor, anyway."
   "Uh, hello?" Bobo shakes her head. "That laziness is all an act. You saw what happened with Vivi earlier."
   Momo flashing claws and angry screeching comes to mind instantly. "Right."
   "Forget about Momo. We'll come get him once we've done what we actually came here for, which is finding Lunar."
   The bar is filled with people laughing and drinking. A few dance to a band that's playing on the stage. We weave our way through the crowds to the back, where some spare stools are shoved against a wall. The floor is sticky, making me cringe every time I move my feet. Bobo climbs onto a rickety stool and stands to see above the sea of heads. I quickly move to her left so she can place a hand on my shoulder.
   "See her?" I almost have to shout over the music. Bobo shakes her head, peering around. She puts her hand on my shoulder for extra balance, making me relax a little.
   I turn my head to watch the band. The singer and guitar player is kicking her feet and spinning in circles. It's getting the crowd riled up, some of the more drunk ones trying and failing to imitate her.
   I smile at all the people, grins spread wide across their face. With their friends. People they've known for their whole lives. My smile fades. I wonder if I have any friends like that. Two women are screaming and whispering together, constantly falling into fits of giggles. My face burns when one of them looks over and catches me staring, and I quickly avert my eyes. Something hot stirs inside of me. I know I have Bobo and Momo. Lunar and Aron. I'd even count Vivi as somewhat of a friend. But these relationships have been short and fleeting. I've only known Bobo for a couple days. These people have real bonds, strong ones.
   Bobo excitedly hits my shoulder, leaping from the stool. It shakes me from my thoughts. "I saw her! She's being all Lunar-y, over this way," she shouts, grabbing my hand and launching us forward.
   "Lunar-y? What's that supposed to mean?" I shout back. We reach the screaming crowd and start squeezing past. "Sorry," I mutter.
   "She's all serious and interrogating everyone, what else would I mean?"
   "Oh, I- Sorry- I see," I respond, bumping into more people. They don't even notice.
   Bobo pulls us out of the jostling crowd. I look around, then spot misty purple hair. The person is wearing cool blue robes that swish at her feet as she angrily points at someone she's talking to. "Lunar-" I try to point her out to Bobo, but Bobo already sees her. We hurry over.
   "-know you've seen her!" We come up to Lunar, the person she's yelling at seeming rather flustered.
   "I don't know who that is! I've never even heard that name before!" His eyes are dark and narrowed. "Now, like I already said, would you just leave me alone."
   "You're lying. She comes here all the time!"
   The man opens his mouth to answer. "I'm telling you, lady, I've-"
   "Don't even try to weasel your way out of this one, mister!" Bobo shouts. Both the man and Lunar spin to face us.
   The man instantly goes from an angry red to pale. "B-Bobo?"
   "That's right. And I remember you, too. Now. You are going to kindly tell my friend exactly what she wants to know." She raises an eyebrow. "Aren't you?"
   He chuckles nervously. "Now, no need to do any of this." Her eyes narrow. "Alright, alright, I'm talking! Just, just don't do it! Please!" He sighs. "Yes, she comes here. Today's her last day in Wheat field, then she'll be headed to somewhere off in Pigeon tomorrow evening."
   "That's not what I'm asking," Lunar growls. "When will she be here?"
   He holds up his hands. "I don't know! It's different all the time. Usually around 10, or sometimes 12, but," he turns to Bobo, "just keep quiet. Please."
   Bobo just turns to Lunar. "Got everything you needed?"
   "Yes, I do," she sighs.
   The man goes to leave, but turns to Bobo before he goes. "I'd be more careful if I were you." He gives both Lunar and I pointed glances, as if to prove a point. Then, he stalks away.
   Bobo smiles at me. "Easy peasy."
   "Who was that? Why was he so afraid of you?" I ask.
   "Oh, just something he did behind his wife's back." She shrugs. "Knowing things gets you places."
   I look to where the man disappeared in the crowd. Something still bugs me. I think about what he said to Bobo. What did he mean? And what does it have to do with Lunar, or me?
   "What are you two doing here?" Lunar hisses. "I've already told you that this is dangerous. You can't just get involved."
   "Why not?" Bobo retorts.
   "Because the Iron Rose is involved."
   "So we should let you deal with this alone?" I shake my head. "No way, Lunar. You're stuck with us."
   Lunar is quiet. "If I say no, will you keep chasing me?"
   "Duh!" Bobo grabs Lunar's shoulders. "Like Nikki would let you run off on your own. Are you hearing yourself?"
   She sighs. "Fine. But don't do anyhting stupid." A small smile comes to her lips. "I'll admit, I kind of missed you guys."
   I laugh. "Aw, thanks. So, who are we looking for?"
   "Yeah, who is this mysterious 'she'?" Bobo chimes in, leaning closer. "And how will we know when we find her?"
   "Her name is Mela," Lunar says. "I've seen her before. I thought she was just wearing any old rose pin, but now that I think about it," she shakes her head at herself, "it must have been a variant of the Iron Rose rose." Her face adopts a determined glare. "I won't let her slip past now. We need that design back."
   "What does she look like again?"
   "Blonde hair. She typically wears a sexy and mature style. Trust me, when you see her, you'll know it." Lunar turns to watch the door. "She's usually one to command a room." Bobo and I exchange a glance, then let our gaze follow Lunar's.
   We have our thief. Now, she just needs to walk through that door.