"Good afternoon, Little Hua! Wasn't this morning your graduation ceremony? How come you've already changed into your dojo uniform and are out for a run?"
"Hey, Ah Hua, I heard from your father that he's enrolled you in a good high school over in Sapphire. I think that's for the best. Who even practices martial arts these days? You're a young woman; focusing on your studies is a much more promising path."
"Little Hua, Little Hua! The sun's so high and you're running so fast. Have you had lunch? Want to come over to Granny's for a bowl of noodles?"
The voices of the neighbors drifted past her ears, but Fu Hua could no longer hear them.
She ran, sprinting under the blazing sun.
She tried to empty her mind, but she couldn't forget the words her father had just spoken.
She had to leave the dojo?
She had to leave the city where she had lived for more than a decade?
A flicker of confusion crossed Fu Hua's eyes. She knew she couldn't change this.
And so, the teenage girl could only pour all her frustrations into a full-out sprint.
"You don't want to go to Sapphire?"
A gentle, masculine voice sounded beside her.
Fu Hua turned her head. The scenery around her was a blur, receding rapidly as she ran, yet a single figure kept pace right alongside her.
It was Otto, running at her side.
She glanced at him but said nothing, simply continuing to race forward.
But no matter how hard she pushed herself, Otto always remained effortlessly by her side.
This was, of course, inevitable.
Because Otto was shamelessly using the power of Wind.
---o---
A long while later, Fu Hua finally slowed her pace beneath a large tree, gradually coming to a stop.
Standing in the shade, she looked at Otto, who had been with her the entire time. She wiped the sweat from her brow; the prolonged sprint had taken its toll on her, yet Otto wasn't even breathing heavily.
"I can't even outrun you."
A sense of defeat welled up inside her. She had trained in martial arts since childhood, and the man before her didn't look much older, yet his skill and stamina far surpassed her own.
"But your running form is strange. Is it from a particular school?"
Compared to Fu Hua's, Otto's running posture was completely unorthodox and should have wasted far more energy.
Otto cracked a smile.
"I am of the Fling Style."
"Fling? I've never heard of it." Fu Hua scratched her head, trying to recall any formidable martial arts school by that name.
"I'm its only disciple, so it's normal that you haven't," Otto said. "But, Little Hua, do you feel any better now that you've had a run?"
The corner of Otto's mouth curled up. He was using the same nickname her father used for her.
If he dared to call the Celestial that out in the real world, she'd probably cave his head in.
"Mmm…"
Fu Hua looked up at the lush canopy of the tree.
"From the day I was born until now, I've lived my whole life in the lower district of this metropolis. I'm the country folk of the city, and the city folk of the countryside."
"But I've never once stepped outside of it."
"It's like when I first started training as a child. If the sun was too strong, I would hide under this very tree, never daring to leave its shadow."
Now, only Otto and Fu Hua stood beneath it.
Otto gazed at her profile. This version of Fu Hua lacked the immortal aura of the Celestial, nor did she possess the unapproachable coldness of the A-Rank Valkyrie.
"But when it rains, you eventually have to leave the shelter of the tree," Otto said softly.
"You can't bear to leave your family?"
"No."
"Can't bear to leave the dojo?"
"No."
"Can't bear to leave the place you've called home for over a decade?"
"No."
"Actually, I'd still recommend you go and study in Sapphire."
"Huh?"
Fu Hua turned her head to look at him.
"While it's not my place to meddle in your family's affairs, you've only just graduated from middle school. Do you really think you can manage a dojo on your own?"
"Your father may want to close it, but that doesn't mean you can't reopen it in the future."
"Go to Sapphire, learn a few things. Once you've graduated from high school and university, you can apply everything you've learned to running the dojo."
"By then, your father probably won't have any objections."
"Besides, travel is so convenient these days. You can always come home for the holidays."
He had no intention of stopping the illusionary Fu Hua from going to Sapphire. Keeping her here didn't seem like the correct way to break this illusion.
So, let what is fated to happen, happen.
Then, when the Honkai Eruption devastates the city, he would first protect Fu Hua's family before she could fall into despair, and then he would save her friends.
In doing so, he would become Fu Hua's savior within this illusionary world.
Heh.
At that moment…
My old friend, it wouldn't be too much to ask for a kowtow, would it?
"Mmm…"
Fu Hua had to admit that Otto had a point. She was still young. If she talked about inheriting the dojo now, her father would only dismiss it as childish fantasy.
But after she graduated from university, if she wanted to reopen the dojo, her father wouldn't be able to stop her.
And by then, she would be far more capable of reviving it.
"Thank you."
The confusion in her eyes had mostly vanished. Fu Hua bowed to Otto; he had shown her a new perspective.
"I should head home. Father must be worried."
"Perfect. I'll walk back with you."
"Hmm?" Fu Hua tilted her head, confused. "Didn't Father say he wasn't accepting any more students?"
"Well, actually…" Otto feigned an embarrassed expression. "I've been wandering for a while now, and I was wondering if your dojo might have a room I could borrow for a time."
"Ah, and I don't have any money, so it would be even better if you could provide food and lodging."
Otto stated his request without a trace of shame.
A wanderer?
He doesn't look like one.
Fu Hua eyed Otto's pristine attire. The white clothes he wore looked expensive at a glance; they would surely fetch a handsome price at a pawn shop.
"Alright, then. I can talk to Dad for you. We used to have students who boarded here, so there are still plenty of guest rooms."
After a moment's thought, Fu Hua agreed.
She had her own selfish reasons, after all.
If someone as skilled as Big Brother Otto were to hang around her father, it might just reignite his desire to train and compete. Maybe then, the dojo wouldn't have to close after all.
"Then I thank you in advance, Little Hua."
Otto said with a smile.
It was only then that Fu Hua truly registered the nickname. It was what her father and the neighbors always called her.
But hearing it from Otto, who didn't seem much older than her, felt a little strange.
"Big Brother Otto, you can just call me HUA."
Otto nodded.
"Alright, Little Hua."
"…It's HUA."
"Understood, Little Hua."
Hearing his deliberate reply, Fu Hua's eyebrow twitched.
She was suddenly beginning to realize that Otto was just a little bit mischievous.