爱情

"Draw, draw, draw!" I-Pin exclaimed, taking your hand and pulling you downwards to her level. A smile touched your lips as you bobbed your head up and down in agreement. She scrambled over to a drawer and pulled it out with a bit of a struggle. It flew open, revealing a set of inks, four paintbrushes and a thick pad of paper – everything you needed to draw, draw, draw.

Ever since I-Pin learned that you had visited China, she'd been attached to you, badgering you about all of the details. The trip had been a fond memory, so you didn't mind going on and on about it, especially to a girl with I-Pin's enthusiasm. She retrieved two brushes and two ink containers, one blue and the other black. I-Pin scurried over to the table and sat down in her usual chair topped with two thick dictionaries. You brought a bowl of clear water to the table and sat down next to her.

"China, China, China!" She demanded, dipping a paintbrush into the black ink. She held it perpendicular against the smooth paper and started to write, something you could never master. How could holding it up perfectly vertical on the thin tip of the brush create such perfect characters? Her characters were thick at the right places and angled just perfectly, an indication of years and years of practice. Chinese was so difficult, similar to Japanese kanji. Now she drew a figure you were familiar with.

月. Moon! The Chinese character and the Japanese kanji for it was exactly the same, so that was easy for you. You picked up a brush and dipped it into the blue ink. You brought it to the paper and drew a large crescent moon. I-Pin giggled as you started to tell her all of the things you saw in China. You had stayed in Shanghai for a couple of weeks, so you told her all about it. The sights, the scents, the sounds.

The roads were filled with cars, bikes, motorbikes and taxis, zooming around with a place to go. The people hurried across the sidewalks, chattering to each other or on cellphones, seemingly too busy to stop and smell the coffee. A sweet scent.

The air was filled with the scent of gasoline and various odors wafting from the myriad of restaurants lining the streets. The stale air.

You described the sounds to her, taxis beeping constantly, cars zooming by, the melody to the hustling and bustling of the city and the people in it. The soundtrack of the city.

Being from the more rural areas of China, I-Pin reveled in your stories, vowing someday, to see the animated city with her own eyes. She treasured these stories with you, for time together was hard and few. You were almost always busy working on geeky things to enhance the base with Gianni, and she was… she was usually with Lambo or the other women. The time you shared with I-Pin was special and you always saved a place in your heart for her. You picked up your brush and in Japanese, scribbled out a prompt.

Love is…

She stared at it for a moment, her mind trying its best to process the Japanese. She read very little Japanese, so it took her a couple of moments to understand what you were trying to stay. After she did understand, she picked up her own brush, and in her impeccable writing, finished off your sentence.

Love is… 爱情.

"Where are the rest of the herbivores?"

Your eyes widened as you and I-Pin's gaze rested upon Hibari's long, lone figure. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God. I-Pin's cheeks turned red before the symbols on her forehead started to appear. DAMN YOU, HIBARI! You thought before jumping up and picking her up. You rushed past Hibari and ran into the hallway as she exclaimed in her happy voice,

"Love is 爱情!"