Chapter 1
Later that week, I’d gone to cram school after classes at my normal school had ended.
“I need your advice on something, Sekiya-san...” I began, out of breath, as soon as I saw him.
“What is it this time? Everything’s settled between you and Kurose-san now, yeah?” he replied.
As usual, we sat at a table in the cram school’s lounge located on the top floor. There was still natural light coming into the room at this time of day. Students who had yet to take their shot at college entrance exams were starting to gather here now since their normal classes were over, but I’d already made sure that Kurose-san wasn’t among them.
“I told my girlfriend I wanted to have sex and she was like, ‘I can’t take it,’ and ran away...”
Sekiya-san sighed, seeing me speak as I maintained a pose like Ikari Gendo. His reply was half-hearted. “It’s so nice to be in your second year of high school. You still have time to worry about stuff like that.”
Judging by the way he acted, he’d yet to get a passing grade on any exam.
“If she ‘can’t take it,’ then you’re shit out of luck. Just throw in the towel and break up,” he added in an offhand manner.
“I-It wasn’t like a rejection or anything...” I hurriedly said.
“Then what was the issue?”
“It was like she was too shy.”
Sekiya-san sighed at that.
“And she ran away from me,” I added.
“Oh yeah?”
“When do you think we’ll be able to do it?” I asked, returning to the Gendo pose and sighing.
“How would I know...?” Sekiya-san said. He sounded like he really didn’t care one bit.
Looking in front of me, I saw him reclining all the way back in his chair. He was staring up at the ceiling. Once he noticed that I’d looked up at him, he stood up.
“I can’t take this,” he said. “Can’t take you. You’re getting on my nerves too much. Get lost.”
“Isn’t that a bit much?!”
“Don’t you have your answer already? Her ‘I can’t take it’ means ‘I’m embarrassed,’ right? So all you gotta do is either wait until she’s not feeling that way anymore or make it so it’s no longer embarrassing for her.”
“H-How would I do that?” I asked.
“How would I know?! I don’t have time for this right now.”
There seemed to be genuine irritation in his voice. He had a sharp tongue even on a normal day, but perhaps this was indicating just how dire things were with his exams. I’d assumed he had contingencies and simply hadn’t told me that he’d secured a spot at a college or two that were easy to get into, but it looked like he really hadn’t gotten into anywhere. And that meant he wouldn’t be getting in touch with his girlfriend, Yamana-san, anytime soon. I started to feel bad for talking to him about this subject.
“Besides, you’ve been dating for, what, over half a year? Maybe almost a full year? Either way, it’s unbelievable to me that you still haven’t had sex after all this time,” Sekiya-san added, his tone now calmer. “Doesn’t being with your girlfriend make you wanna bang? Even if you’re not dating her just for sex.”
“W-Well, it does, sure...”
“I get it, okay? I get that it ended up like this because there’s something more important to you than sex. But I wouldn’t understand something like that, so I can’t give you any advice there.”
As I sat there with nothing to say back to him, Sekiya-san looked at me with sincerity. “Well, since you’ve managed to hold out this long, is there really a need to get impatient now?”
“Huh?”
“You wanna marry her, no? All married couples stop fucking eventually anyway.”
I blushed at the sudden appearance of that strong word.
Sekiya-san continued, looking unconcerned. “You should see my parents. They’re the fakest married couple around. Always have been and for as long as I can remember. Dad’s been cheating like there’s no tomorrow since forever and Mom gave up on him long ago. She doesn’t leave him since she apparently doesn’t want to abandon her status as the wife of a private clinician.”
The muscles in my face went stiff as Sekiya-san suddenly revealed his family’s circumstances.
He went on, not looking at me. “Just a few months ago, it came to light that Dad had his hands all over a receptionist and that girl lost her job. That guy’s such an idiot. His wife’s close with an old lady working in his office—of course she’d find out if he got himself a mistress at the clinic. He even did it with a nurse before.”
“I-I see...” I said, finally managing to say something in response.
This was quite the story. Between his and Runa’s family circumstances, perhaps married couples cheated on each other more often than I’d thought. My parents weren’t exactly all over each other, but as far as I knew, nothing like that had transpired between them in all the years they’d been together. It made my heart pound to have people close to me talk so normally about situations I’d expect to find in a soap opera.
“Ever since I was a kid, I respected my dad as a doctor...but I didn’t wanna be like him.”
When I saw Sekiya-san say that with a distant look in his eye, something occurred to me. When he’d gotten into high school and became popular with girls, he’d dumped Yamana-san for a strange reason: he hadn’t wanted to two-time her. If you were to ask me, it was just a “Just don’t, then?” kind of situation...but perhaps his peculiar fastidiousness on the subject came from the way he felt toward his father.
“What were we talking about, again? Anyway, you’re just talking about your wonderful love life like always. Go to hell,” he said.
Despite his foul language, Sekiya-san had given me something resembling advice, so I figured he was a good person at heart.
I sighed. “Sorry,” I said, trying to dispel the increasingly heavy mood.
Sekiya-san frowned at me. “You’re not really sorry, are you?”
“I am, although I might do this again...”
“That means you’re not sorry.”
“Good to know.”
“You messing with me?”
It was a little relieving to see him smile again. I couldn’t help but wish for spring to come soon, along with the day that his smile would be directed at Yamana-san.
***
But I couldn’t afford to be wishing for others’ happiness all the time.
During homeroom at the end of classes one day at the end of February, we were given career aspiration surveys.
“As you’ve been told before, your answers on these surveys will be used to assign you to a third-year class. Please take this seriously,” said the teacher in charge of our class.
I could hear students around me reacting.
“Seriously...?”
“It’s too early...”
I looked down at the survey on my desk. Under the “higher education” and “employment” areas, there were three spots for us to write down a prioritized list of the colleges or jobs we were aiming for.
If I put “Houo University” there, would they believe I was being serious?
As I sat there in nervous contemplation...
A sunny girl sitting in front of Runa turned around and said, “Hey, Runa, what’re your plans for the future?”
“Well... I haven’t decided yet...” Runa replied, appearing to be thinking it over.
We were walking our own paths, facing forward and aiming high, but it seemed like we were looking at a steep climb to become our ideal selves.
***
On Sunday later that week, Runa and I were studying at McDonald’s near Station A. We were preparing for our final exams, which would be starting the next day.
I had my eyes mostly pointing at my notebook, but I stole glances at Runa across the table from me. She sat there and stared down at her textbook.
Sekiya-san had accused me of talking about my “wonderful love life,” and he’d been right—I didn’t see Runa having said that she couldn’t take it as something all that serious. I more saw it as her having seriously considered what it would be like to have sex with me and having gotten too embarrassed as a result. It was probably what had actually happened.
Still...
“Need help with anything?” I asked.
Runa glanced at me for a moment. “Huh?!” She then immediately averted her eyes and her cheeks grew flushed. “N-Not really... I’m okay... Okay, maybe not...”
“So you do?”
“B-But if I start asking for help, I’d need help with too much stuff...”
“Let’s go through things one by one, as long as they’re things I understand myself. Can you show me?”
“Oh, nah, it’s okay... C’mon, I’d feel bad to distract you from your studies!” Runa said, flustered and red in the face. Her eyes wandered all over the place.
“But we’re studying together, so might as well. What do you need help with?” I asked.
I got up and sat next to Runa. As I did, our elbows lightly touched through our uniforms.
“Ahh!” Runa cried out.
She immediately pulled her arm away, along with the rest of her body. It was like she had been zapped by electricity. Runa then looked at me with a blush on her face. Her expression was as timid as that of a fawn, and her eyes looked slightly moist.
“That was so sudden... You should warn me first...”
“S-Sorry...” I said on impulse and moved a bit farther away.
It had been like this ever since that day when Runa had told me she “couldn’t take it” and ran away. If I tried to take her hand, she’d cry out cutely, get all bashful, and move away from me. Simply coming close to her was enough to make her restless and turn as red as a tomato. She didn’t look me in the eye much either.
If I thought of it as her seeing me as a member of the opposite sex more than before, it didn’t seem so bad. But honestly, I didn’t know what to do. It left me at a bit of a loss.
With things being the way they were, I couldn’t just invite her to my room to study together like we always had. So instead, we’d come here for the first time in a while.
As if to do something about the awkwardness of the situation, Runa reached out for an apple pie box on the table. She took the pie out and began to eat it—she’d previously left it unfinished because she’d apparently been full after the hamburger she’d had first.
“Apple pies are good...” she began after chewing for a bit. “But I like the cake your mom always serves us.”
“Ah, those from ‘Champs de Fleurs.’”
When Runa came over to study for tests, my mother would often buy sweets from a local patisserie for us.
“Our entire neighborhood probably serves cakes from that place when they have guests,” I replied. “The shop owner studied in France. He even brags about how he’s been on state TV before.”
“It’s pretty crazy, yeah. It’s that cake shop on the way to your place, right? The really fancy one.”
“That’s right. He said he’d go all out next time you came over...”
Whoops. This was almost like I was urging her to come to my place to study for exams.
As expected, Runa blushed and hung her head. We’d finally managed to have a nice conversation going, and I’d gone and ruined it. Sighing inwardly, I brought my eyes to the textbook.
Still... How long would this go on for?
“Her ‘I can’t take it’ means ‘I’m embarrassed,’ right? So all you gotta do is either wait until she’s not feeling that way anymore or make it so it’s no longer embarrassing for her.”
Sekiya-san’s advice kept running through my head. He’d said to make it so it’d no longer be embarrassing for her... I wished I could. I really did... But how?
Unlike the English grammar problem in the textbook in front of me, my kind of problem didn’t have a sample answer written anywhere. It made it all the more difficult for me to solve.
The mood got heavy and I looked up. It was a Sunday afternoon in late February, and as far as I could see, practically all the seats here were occupied. There were multiple people at each table and the counter was nearly full too—packed with students studying for finals and people using their laptops. If I strained my ears, I could hear what sounded like foreign pop music quietly playing in the background under the moderate noise of this place.
As I lowered my gaze a bit, Runa’s fair thighs, peeking out from under her skirt hem, entered my field of vision.
Looking back on it, when we’d come here to study for our end-of-term tests together right after we’d started dating, I’d been too nervous to actually study. The fact that I had been sitting here with my admired Shirakawa-san shoulder to shoulder, as boyfriend and girlfriend... That alone had been enough to make my heart pound. Her scent had jumbled my thoughts. I’d wanted to look at her gorgeous profile forever... My heart hadn’t been able to calm down at all.
In retrospect, back then, I might’ve been acting similarly to how Runa was today. Losing my composure when she came close to me, blushing, acting all weird...
I’d wanted to get close to her but had been too nervous to do so.
Did that mean I needed to act the way Runa had acted back then? She’d always been cheerful and energetic with me. No matter how creepy I’d ended up looking when my nervousness had gotten to me, she hadn’t minded it. Instead, she’d continued to proactively try to talk to me.
“Gotcha!”
Just like that, she’d given me my first kiss on that boat at that park. My head had been filled with thoughts of sharing physical intimacy with her. I must’ve been worried stiff, and she’d dissolved that nervousness.
Of course, kissing her here was out of the question. I wasn’t such a free spirit.
Still, that was probably the key here.
I couldn’t afford to be confused. I needed to keep trying to talk to her, in my own way.
After all, I’d actually wanted to get close to her back then too. But since I’d been too unused to girls and had too little confidence, I hadn’t been able to act naturally as Runa’s boyfriend.
I couldn’t say for sure why Runa was the way she was now, but if shyness was the reason, then it probably wasn’t because she didn’t like me anymore. I must’ve been on the right track.
“Anyway, I’ll help you with those problems,” I said, drawing closer to her again.
Runa put herself on guard for a moment. “Oh, i-it’s okay!”
“I want to, though. Is it this problem?” I asked, pointing at what she appeared to have been looking at.
Runa replied with a nod, her cheeks rosy.
“Okay, so in this one, you have to fill in the gaps...”
There was a line written in English:
( ) he ( ) ( ) failed the test, she ( ) ( ) ( ) happier.
A Japanese translation was nearby:
If he had not failed the test, she would have been happier.
“English has a word used when talking about conditions or possibilities. Do you know what goes in that first bracket?”
“Hmmm... ‘If’?”
“That’s right. So if you remember what we learned about the subjunctive mood...”
As I explained things, Runa’s expression clouded over and she deeply hung her head.
“Runa...?”
When I called out to her, she looked at me. “Oh... I’m listening. Go on.”
“O-Okay... So, we know that the ‘he’ in this sentence actually failed the test, right?”
“Yeah...”
“Now, this sentence suggests things that differ from what actually happened in the past, so you have to use the subjunctive past perfect...”
I stopped there because Runa was acting undeniably strange.
At that point, she looked up at me. “Ryuto?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know if Sekiya-san managed to get accepted anywhere?”
“Huh?”
I was taken aback for a moment, not having expected her to ask such a thing.
“No... I still haven’t heard anything about that,” I said. I saw a worried look starting to appear on Runa’s face, so I hurriedly added, “B-But considering how much he studies every day, I’m sure he’ll get into somewhere.”
Runa’s expression brightened up. “Yeah, that’s gotta be it!”
“R-Right.”
“It’s just, when I saw this problem, I remembered Nicole and got all worried...” she said, sounding a bit downcast.
The sight of her filled me with emotion. “You’re considerate of your friends,” I said.
At that, Runa looked at me for a moment, but she averted her eyes right away. I kept looking at her, trying to get the conversation going again.
A few moments ago, I’d made up my mind. Even if she was embarrassed, I’d keep trying to talk to her.
“I really...like that...about you...” I managed to get out. While it might not have come out very smoothly, I’d tried to say it and that made me relieved.
I looked at Runa again and found her gazing at me with a red face. However, once our eyes met, she averted hers again, hung her head, and started to fidget.
My first thought was that this wasn’t going to work, but Runa’s cheeks stayed rosy and she kept glancing at me. She seemed less nervous compared to before, and there was happiness in her expression too.
“Um, Ryuto...” she began, shyly but happily.
“Hm?”
“You wanna go shopping after finals?” she asked.
It had been a while since Runa had spoken to me while actually looking me in the eye. I was so happy about it that I was about to agree without thinking, but I checked my mental calendar first.
“Okay...” I said. “You mean before our school trip?”
Once finals ended on Friday, we would have time off to recover from exams until Thursday the following week. Then, on that Friday, there would be an end-of-term ceremony and we’d get our finals results. After that, it would officially be spring break.
We second-years had a school trip that week, starting the Monday after the ceremony. I was prepared for it, but since this was what the people in charge had decided for us, I couldn’t help but think it was a waste of a spring break.
“Yeah,” replied Runa. “Right after finals are over. How about Sunday?”
“Right...”
I was about to accept, but before I could, Runa hurriedly added, “Also, Akari will be there too. Is that okay?”
“Huh? S-Sure...but why?” I asked. I found myself at a loss from an unexpected name popping up in our conversation.
“She asked me to go shopping with her first. Akari wants to be a stylist and is gunning for a technical school specializing in that stuff, but since she’s P-size, shopping is difficult for her. Apparently, she’s been feeling a little uncertain about what to do after graduating lately.”
“What’s P-size?”
“It’s the same as ‘petite.’ S-size is for slim people, but since those clothes are designed for people who are average height, S-size is too big for short girls.”
“I-I see...”
“Anyway, since I’m average height, she said she’d like me to try things on. She wants to feel the fun of putting together outfits with different pieces and reaffirm her dream.”
“I get that, but then why not go as just the two of you?” I asked. “Sure, I guess I could carry things for you, but wouldn’t I just be in the way...?”
...of their girl talk.
In fact, I thought it would be kinda awkward to hang out as a group of three there with Tanikita-san.
As I thought that, Runa’s eyes started to dart around. I had no idea what this was all about.
However, she looked relieved and lowered her voice. “Um, actually... I wanted you to invite Ijichi-kun.”
“Icchi?” I was highly surprised by another unexpected name coming up. “You mean...like a double date? Did Tanikita-san suggest that?”
“There’s no way she would!” Runa said. “It’ll be a surprise for her. It’s just...he’s on her mind so much. But because she rejected him before, she can’t be honest and tell him how she feels, you know? I was thinking that if they got closer now, things might go nicely between them on the school trip.”
“Hmm...”
Would it really go so well? Even if Tanikita-san was feeling like that, Icchi only had KEN on his mind at the moment. The matter filled me with worry, but just as I’d told Runa a moment ago, I liked how considerate she was of her friends. If there was some way I could help, I wanted to.
“Okay. I’ll try inviting him.”
Runa’s face lit up even further at my reply. “Hooray!” Raising her hands a bit, she hopped toward the other end of the seat, away from me. “Thanks, Ryuto— Whoa!”
I heard something fall on the floor, but Runa picked it up in a hurry.
It was my backpack. Since this was a table for two, I’d put my belongings on the bench. It seemed like Runa had just knocked it onto the floor.
“Sorryyy... Oh, did this hole open just now?” she asked after she looked at my backpack. She then showed me the bottom.
My backpack was made of cloth—canvas, specifically, which was a pretty durable material. However, textbook corners tended to rub against the bottom of the backpack, and eventually, it had ripped in one spot.
“Ah, no. That hole’s been there since around the start of the year,” I replied, scratching my head. “It’s the only bag I really have. I walked to cram school and back with several textbooks in it every day during winter break and the weight made it wear out. I do think I should buy a better one...”
For people with no interest in fashion like me, buying accessories was a total pain and really brought your mood down. I’d been putting off replacing my backpack since I could still use it, and this was where that had gotten me. It was embarrassing to have my girlfriend see that my backpack had a hole, and I worried that she might’ve been put off by it. Those two things left me unsure what to say.
“Huh...” Runa seemed to be in thought.
“Sorry. It’s lame, right?”
My humility was met with a light shake of her head. “No, not at all. It just shows how hard you’ve been working, having to carry so many study materials around, right?”
“Well, I guess...”
I couldn’t tell if I’d grown fully accustomed to it, but it was true that I was carrying heavy textbooks between my place and cram school all the time.
“I’d better follow your example, at least a little,” said Runa with a smile. She looked significantly more relaxed than before.
I didn’t know if my approach was bearing fruit, but either way, I figured we’d keep moving forward like this, no matter how slowly.
***
Two days after our finals had come to an end, it was Sunday, and Icchi and I went to Shibuya.
Icchi frowned at the crowd at the ticket gates. “You really have changed, Kasshi... Only normies go to Shibuya, you know. So, tell me, why do I have to walk alone with another guy through such crowded streets just to get some food?” he complained.
If I’d told Icchi up front that we were going shopping with Tanikita-san and Runa, he might’ve refused to come, and I hadn’t wanted that to happen. So, I’d instead said that there was a cheap café with great food and asked if he wanted to have lunch together. Of course, he’d suggested that we invite Nisshi as well, but I’d told him that Nisshi had said he was broke and that we should go without him. To be on the safe side, I had actually told Nisshi what was going on to make sure he’d tell the same story if Icchi asked him.
“Yeah, well, what can I say...? Anyway, thanks for coming, Icchi. Sorry...”
He’d find out the truth shortly, but I apologized beforehand, just in case.
That aside...something had been bothering me way too much for a good while now.
“Say, what’s with that getup...?” I asked.
When I’d met up with Icchi today, his absolutely crazy outfit had made me do a double take.
A shabby T-shirt. Pilled, gray track pants. Worn-out sneakers. Such a look just barely sufficed for a trip to the local convenience store.
I was rather ignorant of fashion too, but even I didn’t have the courage to go to Shibuya in a tracksuit that I wore at home.
Icchi had always been far removed from the concept of fashion, but why of all things did he have to show up in such an extreme outfit to a double date with Tanikita-san—a highly fashionable girl who aspired to become a stylist? The sight of him even made me flinch, and I was a guy.
“Me? And what’s with you?” Icchi asked. “Are you suddenly trying to be fashionable? This is a T-shirt I always wear, you know.”
Icchi seemed a bit angry—maybe he was hungry.
Now that he had mentioned it, the black T-shirt he was wearing with its generic English line of “Do your best” and some strange character drawn on it did look quite familiar. Still, I seemed to remember it being not as loose on him before...
Then, it hit me: the shirt probably looked so shabby because it didn’t fit him anymore. Now that he’d lost an extreme amount of weight, his T-shirt—which was probably at least an XL—was far too big for him.
“Then...what about those pants? There’s no way you should leave the house in those, right?”
“Well, with how much weight I suddenly lost, the only things that still fit are track pants. These have an elastic waistband, so I just tighten that and they won’t fall off no matter how loose they are.”
“Oh...”
That explained it. This was how things ended up if a guy had lost weight and changed his appearance but didn’t care for said appearance.
“Still, Kasshi,” he said.
“Hm?”
“Now that I’m skinny, it’s a bit cold.”
Sure enough, it was March right now. We’d been promised relatively warm weather, but almost nobody was walking around in just a T-shirt and nothing over it. The temperature was such that even I was wearing a denim jacket over my hoodie.
“Up until now, I would wear just a windbreaker over a T-shirt, even in the middle of winter. I don’t even have anything with long sleeves to wear indoors.”
“Then you should buy new clothes, man...”
Would Tanikita-san be disappointed if she saw him like this...? On the other hand, if this made her disillusioned with him and she fell out of love, maybe that would be a more peaceful outcome for both of them...
I was a little worried and all those thoughts kept popping up in my head, but I led us to the statue of Hachiko where we were supposed to meet up with Runa and Tanikita-san.
With it being the weekend, the area in front of the statue was teeming with people. It was almost lunchtime, so maybe a lot of the people here were meeting up with someone for a meal.
“Hey, Kasshi, where’s that café? Where are we going?”
“I-I’m a little lost...”
The weather was fine, but there was kind of a lot of clouds overhead. I was getting swallowed up by the huge waves of people moving due to the walk light, but I looked for Runa’s head in the crowd while avoiding Icchi’s suspicious gaze.
“Ah, there you are! Over here, Ryuto!”
Looking toward where Runa’s voice came from, I finally found her. Nimbly snaking through the crowd, she made her way over to me.
“I gotta say, Ijichi-kun, you stand out!” Runa said. “It’s convenient in these crowds! How tall are you again?”
Startled by Runa’s sudden appearance, Icchi, who was behind me, lost his cool as he tried to answer the question.
“Wh-When they measured me at the nurse’s office the other day, I was a hundred and eighty-two...”
“Wow, you’re still growing! That’s amazing! Maybe you’ll end up two meters tall!”
I couldn’t tell if Runa was joking or being serious, but either way, Icchi quickly went silent. He just couldn’t keep up with her.
“Nah, even guys don’t grow that much at our age. Right, Icchi?” I asked, doing my best to sound cheerful.
Icchi gave me a hell of a look. “K-Kasshi?! Why is Shirakawa-san here?!” he asked quietly but pressingly.
“Well, that’s...” I began, looking at Runa while trying to find something to say.
“Are you trying to torture a loner like me by showing off how nicely you two get along?! If you wanna spend time with your girlfriend, why bring someone else?!” Icchi was grinding his teeth and looked about to cry.
“W-Well, it wouldn’t have been just two of us here...”
Saying that, I glanced behind Runa. Icchi raised his head to follow my line of sight.
She was small and tended to get swallowed up in the crowd, so I hadn’t noticed her at first either. But there she was...Tanikita-san.
“Ahhhh!!!” Icchi exclaimed upon seeing her. His face looked like he’d just seen a ghost. The surprise left him speechless, and he could only keep opening and closing his mouth.
Meanwhile, Tanikita-san was flabbergasted too—from seeing just how extreme Icchi’s getup was.
“Sorry, Ijichi-kun. I wanted to go shopping with Akari and Ryuto. It would be pretty unbalanced if it was just the three of us, right? So I wanted you to come too... Like a surprise, I guess.”
I couldn’t tell if Runa’s words had registered with Icchi as he stood there with a pale face.
“We’ll all be on that school trip together, right? Things should get fun!”
Runa’s cheerful encouragement proved futile, however, and disappeared into the noise of Shibuya.
***
Thus, everyone was here now, but I would’ve felt bad for Icchi if we’d gone shopping right away after I’d made it sound like we were going for lunch. We all went to an all-you-can-eat pizza place in Center Gai.
The brick patterns and red accent color of the interior made it look Italian, probably. We sat at a table for four by the window and silently ate the pizza slices each of us had taken from the counter.
According to Runa, this was a popular all-you-can-eat place with cheap and delicious food that was always crowded on Saturdays. Since it was still a bit early for lunch, I could see some empty tables.
Given that there were many groups of young people here, the place was filled with lively conversation. That made our group stand out a bit.
Runa and Tanikita-san sat on the bench placed against the window, and me and Icchi sat across from them.
Tanikita-san was focused on the slice in her hands. She occasionally sneaked glances at Icchi, at which point she’d blush and nibble on her food. It made her look like a small animal, which was cute.
I’d been worried about her reaction to Icchi’s extreme getup, but it didn’t look like it’d had any effect on her affections for him whatsoever.
Icchi, being Icchi, stiffly pulled in his chin and looked only at the pizza in front of him as he ate single-mindedly.
Now what...? Where are things headed here?
With that internal remark, I looked over to Runa and saw that she too had a stiff expression on her face as she ate her pizza.
When Runa went to the counter to get another slice, I got up with my plate too.
“Has Tanikita-san ever had a boyfriend?” I asked as we stood side by side, refilling our plates.
Runa tilted her head slightly. “Well, I dunno. She doesn’t like talking about stuff like that. I’ve always assumed she wasn’t interested in dating any of the guys in her vicinity.”
Basically, she probably had no experience in that area. Neither did Icchi, of course, so we probably couldn’t expect either of them to take the lead.
This was looking to be a hell of a day already... Our double date with Yamana-san and Sekiya-san had been a hundred times more fun in comparison. Well, setting aside what had happened between them at the end...
With thoughts like that in my head, I already felt like I wanted to escape reality.
We somehow got through lunch and finally set out to go shopping.
Runa and Tanikita-san weaved through the congested traffic without hesitation, disappearing into a building with a cylindrical shape towering high above us that had “109” written at the top—Shibuya’s symbolic fashion landmark. Even I was familiar with it.
Stepping inside, we were greeted with just the kind of resplendent view that I had imagined. It was lined with clothing brand stores for young women.
Glancing a bit behind me for no particular reason, I saw Icchi casting weird looks all over the place like he was some kind of pervert. I was nervous too, so I knew how he felt.
“You usually buy pretty-style gyaru stuff, Runy, so I wanted to try making outfits in different styles today,” Tanikita-san explained to Runa standing next to her.
I supposed it should’ve been expected that Tanikita-san would liven up as soon as she was back in her element.
“Let’s go to the fifth floor first! There’s some stuff I’m curious to try but I can’t really wear myself,” continued Tanikita-san.
With that, she led us to a store named “GYDA,” but I couldn’t tell you what that meant, of course. It was full of clothing in chic colors that gave off an “older girl from the city” kind of vibe. You’d be hard-pressed to find a place that would be more difficult for an introverted guy to go anywhere near.
“As long as it accentuates your curves, an outfit can make you look both healthy and sexy even if it covers a lot of skin,” Tanikita-san began, speaking fluently as she appraised different articles of clothing with great care. “This is a good choice for the bottom. So that means your top should be like this... This and this should be good too.”
“What, really?! I wonder if this’ll suit me...” Runa said.
“You’ll be fine! Go try it on!”
“’Kay!”
Taking the clothes from Tanikita-san, Runa went into the dressing room after getting permission from a staff member.
And, after a few restless minutes of waiting together with the still-uncomfortable Icchi...
“How do I look?” asked Runa.
She had stepped out wearing a style that was different from the gyaru outfits I was used to seeing her in.
A tight, short tank top resembling a sports bra. Full-length pants, like ones from a tracksuit. The lines going down the side of them stood out due to the brand logo appearing on them against a white background. Even if her pants were made out of the same absorbent fabric as the ones Icchi was wearing, they gave off an entirely different vibe. They were tight, like a wet suit, and clearly showed off the shape of her butt and thighs. It didn’t feel very erotic, however, even with her exposed belly and shoulders—it was probably because she also wore a checkered shirt that hung from her arms like an angel’s raiment. On top of all that, Runa wore a hat and sunglasses in a subtle shade. It was only natural that she gave off a different impression from usual.
“This is great! You look just like the kinda sporty girl I’d expect to find on the American West Coast!” Tanikita-san exclaimed, clapping her hands. Evidently, Runa’s outfit had turned out better than she’d imagined.
“Eh, is it okay? Did I get it right? I’ve never worn anything like this before,” Runa replied.
“It really suits you! Right, Kashima-kun?”
I nodded at the nervous-looking Runa. “Y-Yeah... It looks extremely fashionable.”
Her cheeks flushed at that. It felt like her eyes were a bit moist too as they peeked out from behind her sunglasses.
“R-Really...?”
Wow, she’s being bashful... How adorable...
Up until now, when I’d complimented Runa, she’d be more like, “Really? Thanks!” This reaction felt fresh and cute.
It was still rare for her to make eye contact with me, and she was acting distant, but I figured it wasn’t all bad.
“A’ight, let’s go somewhere else! Excuse me, we wanna see lots of stuff today, so we’re gonna go for now!” Tanikita-san said to a staff member.
“Have a good day! We’ll be waiting for you to come back!” came their cheerful reply.
This exchange shocked me—I’d assumed you had to buy the things you tried on.
“Let’s go to LIZ LISA next!” said Tanikita-san.
“What, seriously?!” replied Runa, startled. “You realize that’s not my style, right?! I’ve never worn any of that stuff before!”
Once we got to that store, I understood why she’d said that. The display cases were overflowing with frills and ribbons. The number of pink and monotone items here stood out.
“Doesn’t this kinda stuff make you think of Mia? If it suits her, wouldn’t it suit you too? Since you’re twins?” Tanikita-san asked.
Now that she mentioned it, this style did seem to have something in common with what I’d seen Kurose-san wear several times when she hadn’t been in her uniform. The clothes here gave off a slightly more showy and gyaru-like vibe, though, so if Runa wore them, it might be a truly exquisite sight.
“Ehh...? This is a first for me, you know. I wonder if it’ll suit me...”
Looking nervous, Runa nonetheless took the things Tanikita-san had picked out for her and headed for the dressing room.
Several minutes later, Runa still hadn’t come out. She was taking her time.
“How’s it going, Runy?” Tanikita-san asked from outside the dressing room.
“Well...”
“What’s wrong? It’s the correct size, right?” With that, she narrowly opened the curtain and stuck her head in. “Oh hey, you did put it on! Come on out!”
“Eh, but...”
“C’mon!”
The curtain was pulled open and Runa appeared before us.
Her face was beet red. And as for her outfit itself...
She had on a flashy white blouse that was adorned with ribbons and frills on the collar and chest. Below it was a frilly pink miniskirt with suspenders. Something about it rang “gothic lolita” while also being similar to a maid outfit. Since I’d seen her in one at the photo sticker shop the other day, it didn’t feel all that strange.
“Isn’t it surprisingly good? Whatcha think, Kashima-kun?” Tanikita-san asked me.
Nodding my stiff head, I replied, “Y-Yeah, she’s cute.” My bashfulness was making me act a little weird. I also hadn’t wanted Icchi to hear me, so I’d said it in a barely audible voice.
Whichever way Runa took my reply, she looked ruffled. “I-It’s not weird?” she asked. “This kinda stuff would look better on a pure and proper girl, like Maria...”
“That’s not true! Hime gyaru was pioneered by hostesses, so it’s okay to have showy hair too,” Tanikita-san immediately retorted.
“Hmm, I see...”
Runa still didn’t sound confident. She sneaked peek after peek at me while averting her eyes right away.
Seeing her like that, I recalled the resolution I’d made the other day: I was going to proactively try to talk to her. It was going to be embarrassing in front of Tanikita-san and Icchi, but I had to try.
“You...” I began.
This really was embarrassing. Doing it was out of character for me to begin with, and I was in a place like this, with people around me to boot.
“You look...cute.”
It didn’t come out very smoothly, but I managed to say it louder than I’d done earlier.
“Whaa...?!” Flustered and red as a tomato, Runa uneasily made her way back to the dressing room, taking extra steps to do so. “I-I’ll go change!” she exclaimed and closed the curtain.
And then...
“Kasshi... You’ve really changed,” Icchi said. “Never thought I’d see you say the kind of generic lines you’d expect from some cheap flirt...” He looked at me with reproach in his eyes.
Runa’s fashion show, as produced by Tanikita-san, continued after that. At the next store, she tried on another unusual getup: a top with large sleeves and a tight, high-waisted miniskirt made of synthetic leather.
“Here comes an adultlike gyaru wearing EMODA!” exclaimed Tanikita-san when she saw her outfit. Then, at the next store, she said, “A short top with puff sleeves and bootcut jeans—Y2K fashion! It’s like BLACKPINK, so it’s really cool, don’tcha think?!”
At this point, I could barely understand what she was saying anymore.
“B-Black pink...?”
I hadn’t heard her very well. Maybe it was another K-pop idol, as usual.
One thing I was sure of, however, was that despite how different all these outfits were from what Runa wore normally, they all suited her well. It surprised me. It went without saying that Tanikita-san’s sense of fashion had a lot to do with it, but I was once again astonished at just how good Runa’s figure was.
“You’re so lucky, Runy. Anything looks good on you,” Tanikita-san said as she watched Runa in the dressing room. It was as if she’d been thinking the same thing as me. “If I had a figure like yours, I’d probably be all over these stores and in their dressing rooms every day. Hey, you should become a model.”
“Eh, no way! Bubble tea turns my stomach to jelly.”
“Well, just put up with it! You could be a model!”
“Ehh, not a chance!”
Runa was being as cheerful as always as she talked to Tanikita-san. It frustrated me a bit to see her like that. Our hearts were supposed to be getting closer, no matter how slowly, and yet I felt a distance between us.
“Hold on, Akari, are we gonna keep doing this? And aren’t the guys getting tired?” said Runa. She suddenly looked our way and blinked several times.
I blinked repeatedly in reaction to it. “Nah, we’re just watching, after all...”
Then, I turned my eyes toward Icchi next to me and saw that he looked relieved. His eyes had been lifeless ever since we’d entered the building, and his happiness that things were finally coming to an end seemed to be plainly written on his face.
Tanikita-san took out her phone. “Wow, you’re right. We’ve been at this for two hours!” she said, eyes wide in surprise. “Thanks for keeping me company, everyone! Okay, I’m pretty satisfied, so let’s take a break for a bit. My treat!” She was visibly in a good mood.
“Before that, though...” Runa began timidly. “Mind if I go buy some stuff I tried on earlier once I change?”
“What, really?! There was something you liked?! I’m so happy! Which store was it?”
Runa blushed at that. “Um... Well... LIZ LISA...” Her voice trailed off completely.
“Seriously?! Didn’t see that coming! Runy, you’re gonna make your debut as a hime gyaru?!”
Since I didn’t remember any of the brand names, it was only at this point that I realized what store they were talking about. That outfit that had looked like a maid’s... It was certainly unexpected, considering she’d been more embarrassed about wearing that than anything else.
***
Thus, with Runa carrying a shopping bag from LIZ LISA, we headed to a family restaurant located on the third floor of a nearby building.
While it was crowded inside, we got some drinks from the self-service drink area and took a breather. Sitting at a table by the window, we could see people walking around Dogenzaka down below.
“That was really fun,” said Tanikita-san, still in high spirits as she drank her hot chocolate. “The only problem with trying stuff on is that you can only match pieces from the same brand.”
“Yeah, true,” replied Runa.
“It must be nice to be a stylist... You get to borrow stuff from different brands...”
While Tanikita-san and Runa sat across the table from us and talked excitedly, I sneaked a peek at Icchi next to me. He was sipping his cola and looked just as bored as he had before.
If things went on like this, then why had we even brought him along? We needed to get him to talk to Tanikita-san at least a little...
I figured that it would be difficult for Icchi to join the conversation if I wasn’t part of it, so with that in mind, I timidly started to talk to her myself.
“Tanikita-san, do you have any other careers in mind besides being a stylist?” I asked.
“Hm? Yeah, well, there’s a bunch of things,” she said, replying to me without hesitation. “I’ve always wanted to be a stylist, but recently, I’ve been thinking that making clothes would be nice too.”
“Yeah, she’s real good at it!” said Runa. “The cultural festival outfits used by class D when we were freshmen—they were your work, right?”
Tanikita-san smiled with a hint of pride. “Well, I can do it as long as I have the patterns. I often make simple cosplay outfits for my geek friends too.”
“You can make those yourself?” I asked.
“Oh hey, I wanna see them!” added Runa.
Faced with our looks of respect, Tanikita-san smiled. “Really? Okay, I’ll bring something that’ll probably suit you some other time, so you’d better try it on.”
“You’re kidding! Man, that’s kinda exciting!”
While Runa was in high spirits, Tanikita-san looked a bit dejected. “Still, I don’t just want to be somebody who makes clothes by hand. I wanna be one of those people who make clothes in a broad sense. Like that’s their job title. A designer, a fashion director... Something like that.”
“Huh...”
Now that she had my and Runa’s attention, Tanikita-san got to the heart of the matter. “There are times when you walk into a store and just fall in love with some clothes at first sight, but those clothes won’t fit you. I wanna make it so those sad kinds of experiences won’t happen as often.” The look in her eyes was unusually serious as she spoke. “Most clothes for girls are only size S or M. It’s not uncommon that a brand will only make clothes in one size too. So for small girls like me, as well as bigger ones, it’s hard to buy trendy clothes.”
“Now that you mention it...” replied Runa. “I wonder why they don’t make clothes in more kinds of sizes?”
“Because it would raise their costs in many ways. Big companies like Uniqlo can expect even less common sizes to sell to some degree, so they can afford to make clothes in many different sizes. But that’s probably too much to ask of smaller brands.”
“Makes sense...”
Tanikita-san kinda appeared wise now. As I sat there, impressed, she lowered her gaze.
“I’m the smallest in our class. Say we had twenty girls in class—I’d still be a one-in-twenty minority among them. There are only so many clothes you can sell if you cater to people like me, so businesses write us off. That’s because if you make clothes for people of average height, you can sell them to ten out of those twenty people. About half of the population might buy your products.” As she spoke, it felt like her many years of suffering appeared on her face. “Even an S-size is too big for me. Because I’m into K-pop right now, I’ve been wearing shorts and miniskirts all the time, but it sucks how oversize and long items have been a part of Japanese mainstream fashion for the past ten years or so. I keep getting frustrated in dressing rooms. Like, ‘Oh, if this skirt was just three centimeters shorter, it wouldn’t drag behind me...’ Because of the way many things are designed, you can’t modify them yourself either.”
“I see...” said Runa. It seemed like this was the first time Tanikita-san had explained this.
“B-But wait...” I said, desperate to reenter the conversation to give Icchi a chance to join it too, even if the mood wasn’t really right for it anymore. “If you became a designer, wouldn’t you end up having to make clothes for average-height people for business’s sake?”
Tanikita-san raised her head. “Pretty much,” she said in a clear voice. “So, if I have my own brand, I want to only target small people.”
“Hey, that sounds good!” Runa replied happily, clapping her hands. “I’d guess there’s a demand for it.”
Tanikita-san nodded. “Yeah. There are some P-size brands already, but their presence in the clothing market is too limited. I have a hard time finding stuff in the right styles and designs that I want, so if I make clothes myself, that wouldn’t be a problem anymore either,” Tanikita-san said cheerfully before hanging her head a bit. “I like fashion, but the only mannequin I can dress up as I like is my P-sized self. So I was thinking that if I became a stylist, I could dress up beautiful women with good figures, coordinating outfits for them as long as I like until they come out perfect. But as a designer, I could make it so there’s more clothing in the world that suits me. So that would be nice too.”
“I see...” I replied.
“That’s so cool! I’ll support you no matter what you choose, Akari!” Runa added excitedly.
At that, a dreamy look appeared in Tanikita-san’s eyes. “If I become a designer, I wanna make bags too! Bags are seriously great. It’s one of the few fashion items that you can have that are exactly as the designer ideated, regardless of your figure.”
“‘Ideated’...?”
Tanikita-san had used a difficult word and I was having trouble keeping up, but she didn’t wait for me and went on instead.
“You know how Western-style clothes, no matter how amazing their design might be, can look all wrong on you if you don’t match the body type they’re made for?”
“Yeah...” replied Runa.
I’d often heard people say they liked how some clothing looked on models or mannequins, but when they tried them on themselves, the clothes didn’t suit them at all.
Tanikita-san went on. “That’s not a problem with bags,” she explained. “What more could a fashionista ask for than something that looks perfect because it’s exactly as the designer envisioned?”
Seeing her like this, it occurred to me that regardless of whether you were an introvert or a gyaru, it was normal to end up talking quickly when you were speaking about your favorite things.
“And not just any bag, but a designer bag,” she went on. “Hermès and Chanel are the obvious big names. Vuitton’s OnTheGo has a godlike design too. But for myself, I’d want a Dior or a CELINE. After I graduate, I’m gonna save up some money from my part-time job and buy a Dior phone holder.”
Her words made me recall how she’d previously told me that Runa might’ve had a sugar daddy after she had seen Runa with a brand-name bag she’d received from her grandmother. I realized now that she’d noticed the brand of someone else’s bag because she had a great interest in them.
“Speaking of Dior, I haven’t seen you carry yours around recently, Runy. Though I see you have a Gucci today.”
“Oh, that one?” Runa said. “I gave it away to Maria. Figured it suited her style more.” As she said that, she pulled out her phone, tapped on the screen, and showed it to Tanikita-san. “See? Isn’t she cute?”
“Wow, seriously?! That’s way too generous of you! I’ve seen similar ones go for over three hundred thousand yen, you know?!” exclaimed Tanikita-san, eyes wide open.
Runa smiled awkwardly and played with her hair. “Yeah, well, apparently my grandma bought it twenty years ago when she was abroad on a trip. At the time, it was about a hundred thousand without tax, but when she took it to a pawnshop the other day, she was told that since that design was out of production and the bag itself wasn’t in good condition, they would only give her five thousand for it. She was disappointed and gave it to me. I guess that’s kinda what I did too.”
“What?! That pawnbroker had no idea what he was looking at! There are fans of vintage stuff who like older designs! Why don’t you put it on Mercari?! It might sell for what your grandma bought it for!”
“Nah, she’s using it now.”
“Oh, okay.”
While I listened to their conversation, I was looking at Runa’s phone as it sat on the table.
I could see a picture of Runa and Kurose-san close together while wearing casual clothes. It was probably a selfie of Runa’s. She wasn’t fully in the frame. She was smiling, and so was Kurose-san, who was leaning against Runa’s arm. Anyone could tell by looking at them that they were very good friends.
Not even a month had passed since their reconciliation around Valentine’s Day, but they were already starting to go back to being sisters. The thought of it warmed my heart.
“So, are you going to become a designer? Or a stylist? We’re here today so you could make that choice, right?”
I looked up when I heard Runa ask that only to see Tanikita-san looking out the window with a difficult look on her face.
“Well...” she began.
It felt like the people walking around Shibuya at this hour on weekends somehow had a relaxed gait.
“Maybe I’ll give it some more thought before deciding. It could be that there’s no wrong option here... There are people who start their own brands after making a lot of money as stylists. For now, I’ll put ‘stylistics’ as my first choice for higher education, and ‘fashion design’ second, I guess.”
“I see. That’s for the best.” Runa’s expression cleared up too once her friend had made up her mind.
Suddenly, a serious look appeared on Tanikita-san’s face. “Still, there’s one thing I did make sure of today.” As Runa and I watched her, she looked back at me, then at Runa, before smiling. “Looks like I really do love fashion. I definitely wanna work in the field.” Her eyes were burning and her voice trembled with the strength of her feelings. “Thanks for coming with me, Runy. Kashima-kun. And...Ijichi-kun,” she said, looking at each of us in turn. When she looked at Icchi at the end, she did so with somewhat downcast eyes and a blush on her cheeks.
Icchi couldn’t bring himself to look at Tanikita-san and made himself small as he fidgeted.
This pair isn’t getting anywhere, are they?
Icchi still wasn’t joining the conversation at all. If I didn’t do something before the mood dictated we call it a day, bringing Icchi along would end up having been pointless.
“It’s nice when you have something you can be so passionate about,” I said, to make sure the conversation didn’t end there.
“But Ryuto, you love gameplay videos, don’t you?” asked Runa. “And Ijichi-kun, you build some amazing stuff. I watched some of it.”
Thanks for the assist, Runa. In actuality, she might’ve only just now remembered today’s secret objective.
Icchi continued to fidget. “Oh, uh, right...”
“You should check it out too, Akari. He’s really amazing.”
Tanikita-san was staring at one spot on the table, her lips pursed. Somehow, I got the feeling she’d actually already seen the footage long ago.
“I-I’m gonna go get some more to drink!” she said, getting up with her cup in hand.
“Ah, Akari! I’ll go too!” said Runa, getting up as well with her glass of iced tea that still had a bit left at the bottom. She followed Akari in a hurry.
Being suddenly left alone with Icchi, I didn’t know what to talk about. But he spoke up to me instead, and in an unexpectedly lively manner.
“Speaking of videos, some people who watch are asking to see my face. What do you think? Should I go for it?”
“Huh?”
While I did think it was like him to not say anything about our current situation and instead start talking about something like that, I couldn’t really keep up with him. Was he excited because Runa had praised his building skills?
“W-Well... You should decide that on your own, I think,” I replied.
“I know, but just be straight with me here. I’m not that ugly now that I’ve lost weight, right? Like, objectively, what do you think?” he asked.
“Y-Yeah... B-But I don’t know about your clothes. It’s pretty crazy to go shopping in Shibuya in a tracksuit you wear at home...”
“Well, I simply thought we were going to have lunch and that was all.”
“S-Sure, I guess... But don’t you think it’s about time you bought something in a different size?”
“I don’t know much about clothes, though. Like, where do I buy them and how do I match things? I don’t even have the right clothes to go buy clothes in the first place,” he said. “Hey, didn’t you used to be like that too? Even if you’ve started looking a bit better recently.”
“Well, that’s thanks to Runa... I mean, Shirakawa-san...”
The fact that I’d called Runa by her name in front of Icchi had shaken me up, but my friend just sighed.
“You can stop that, you know. Don’t you two call each other by your names when you’re alone together? Why not do it in front of us too?” he asked.
“O-Okay...” Embarrassing as it was, I decided to do as he’d said. “I don’t know anything about fashion either, but these days, Runa...looks at clothes for me too when we go shopping.”
At that point, she and Tanikita-san returned from the self-service drink area.
“Oh yeah! Why don’t you have Tanikita-san pick out some clothes for you while we’re at it? She’s a future stylist, so she should be good at that, right?!”
As I immediately shared the brilliant idea that had suddenly appeared in my head aloud, Runa’s eyes began to sparkle.
“That’s right, Ijichi-kun! Whatcha think, Akari? What kinda clothes would suit him?”
“Whaaat?!” Tanikita-san replied, clearly confused by this development. She hadn’t sat down yet and was standing next to the table with a glass in hand. “Wh-Why do I have to choose clothes for him?!”
“Aren’t you—”
“What’re you talking about, Runy?!” Tanikita-san yelled, interrupting her. Perhaps she’d thought Runa was about to reveal her romantic interest to everyone.
“I haven’t the slightest bit of interest in Ijichi-kun!”
She’d shouted that so loudly that the people around us turned to look.
Runa and I, as well as Icchi, all stared at her without a word. Icchi looked confused—he must’ve been wondering why a girl who’d already rejected him once was saying such things now.
Tanikita-san went pale. Icchi’s reaction seemed to have brought her back to her senses. In the next moment, she went red in the face and proceeded to slurp down her melon soda in one go without even sitting down.
“That’s right! Zero interest!” she said. “None at all... But come with me for a minute!” Forcefully slamming her empty glass down on the table, she reached for Icchi’s chest and grabbed his T-shirt.
“Whoa!” he exclaimed.
Although she’d been the one to pull him toward herself, Tanikita-san was blushing at having his face so close to hers. She glared at him with as self-assured an expression as she could muster.
“I know a lot about men’s fashion too!” she insisted. “Someone great like me wouldn’t have the slightest bit of interest in you, but I’ll make an exception and pick out some clothes! You better be grateful!”
Icchi was shaking, completely unable to speak. Our part of the restaurant was abuzz over the unnatural sight of a guy who stood over 180 cm tall freezing up as a girl more than thirty centimeters shorter than him maintained a tight grip on his shirt.
What are we supposed to do about this development...?
As I looked at Runa in confusion, she turned to look at me at the same time. Our eyes met.
“Aha... Aha ha... I wonder how things ended up like this,” she said with a stiff smile on her face.
I figured I had the same expression on too.
And so, Tanikita-san headed to the register, dragging Icchi behind her. It took us a moment to get ready to leave, but we chased after them in a hurry.
***
Tanikita-san pulled Icchi by the arm as she left the restaurant behind. She walked briskly, making her way back to the vicinity of 109. She then cut across Center Gai and headed to a white, three-story building with ZARA written on the outside. There was a line of fashionable mannequins in the store’s windows. It was the kind of place you’d naturally expect many fashionable people to visit. What was a bit relieving for me, however, was the fact that this was the first time today that I’d been brought to a store of a clothing brand that even I recognized.
As we stepped inside, Tanikita-san checked the directory and got on the escalator. We followed her and found ourselves in a men’s section on the third floor.
“Hmph!” Tanikita-san huffed, and she finally let go of Icchi’s arm. Her face was still red as a tomato. “Why am I even...?!” she said as she went around checking the clothing displays. “Anything would look fine with how tall you are!” She quickly checked some tops that were hanging up and picked one of them out. “I guess you can try this one!”
Then, she speedily moved to the corner with pants and once again, without any hesitation, picked out a pair.
“And those!”
She followed that up with some outerwear.
“I bet even this would suit you, because of course it would!”
The pile of clothes in Icchi’s arms that Tanikita-san had chosen continued to grow.
“What’re you standing around for?! Get in the dressing room already!”
Her shouts couldn’t get Icchi to move, however. He just stood there, dumbfounded and motionless. She seemed to have overwhelmed him.
“Okay, Icchi, why don’t you go try that stuff on?” I suggested, giving him a push on the back. “You don’t get an opportunity like this every day. I’ll keep you company and stand near the dressing room! It’s not like you have what it takes to buy clothes at a place like this all by yourself, right?!”
“Y-Yeah, I guess you’re right...”
Somehow, I had managed to get Icchi to agree to this. I walked slowly and led him to the dressing rooms.
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