57 Chapter 57 Yumeko and Michiko
Meanwhile, back in Tatsurou's apartment, in the kitchen to be precise...
"I think it's done...let's see..." Shirayuki, that was wearing her usual shrine maiden clothes, said as she stood close to the stove and stirred a pot with leftovers from yesterday's dinner, and after Shirayuki stirred a bit more, she raised the spoon close to her mouth and sipped on it.
"Hmm! It's ready!" Shirayuki said as she placed the spoon back inside the pot and poured some of the leftovers into a plate she took from a cupboard and after that, she turned the stove off and took a seat on a chair of the kitchen table.
"Well then...time to eat!" Shirayuki said with a happy tone, as she placed her hands together, but Shirayuki didn't eat right away, instead, she looked at her food for a bit.
"I wish, Tatsurou and Marie were here...maybe I'll go ask Wise, if she wants to eat with me!" Shirayuki said as she got up from her chair and prepared to go ask Wise if she wanted to eat lunch with her, but she was interrupted by the door of the apartment opening...
"Were home!" Tatsurou and Marie said at the same time, as they entered the apartment and made their way to the kitchen.
"Hi, Shirayuki!" Tatsurou said as he entered the kitchen with Marie.
"Oh! You two came home early today!" Shirayuki said with a surprised tone as she looked at the watch on the wall then at Tatsurou and Marie.
"We sure did!" Marie said with a happy tone as she got close to Shirayuki and smiled.
"This is quite unusual, is everything alright?" Shirayuki asked with a curious and worried tone, as she looked at Tatsurou and Marie.
"Don't worry, Yumeko, just had a meeting to attend, so we were discharged for today..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he smiled a bit.
"Really? Thank goodness and here I was, thinking that something bad happened...but I should have guessed that you two coming home early, had to be something along those lines..." Shirayuki said with a relieved tone as she placed her hand on her chest.
"Say, you two ate lunch already?" Shirayuki asked with a curious tone as she got close to Tatsurou and Marie.
"Actually, we haven't eaten yet..." Tatsurou said as he scratched his cheek a bit.
"I see, then go put your school bags away, while I get you something!" Shirayuki said with a happy tone, as she turned towards the cupboards to get a plate for Tatsurou and Marie.
"Wait, Shirayuki let me help...Tatsurou, you don't mind putting my bag away?" Marie asked as she turned to Tatsurou.
"I don't mind..." As Tatsurou said this Marie handed him her school bag, then Tatsurou went to the living room where he placed the schoolbags close to the couch and meanwhile in the kitchen, Marie took two plates out of the cupboard and handed one of them to Shirayuki in which she poured some leftovers from the pot.
"Shirayuki, I'm going to ask Tatsurou, about what we talked about the other day, ok?" Marie said silently, while she grabbed a plate with food and handed an other empty plate to Shirayuki as she looked at Tatsurou, that finished placing their school bags close to the couch, from over her shoulder.
"Sure!" Shirayuki said also silently, as she grabbed the empty plate and filled it with leftovers and with that, Tatsurou entered the kitchen where he made his way to a cupboard from where took three cups, while Marie placed one of the plates next to Shirayuki's and took a seat.
"What do you two, want to drink?" Tatsurou asked as he placed a cup in front of Shirayuki's plate and one in front of Marie's.
"Water, please!" Shirayuki and Marie said at the same time and Tatsurou turned to the fridge to get a bottle of water, Shirayuki meanwhile put a plate on the place Tatsurou was going to seat, she then proceeded to take her seat, next to Marie.
"Here it is..." Tatsurou said as he placed the bottle of water in the middle of the table and placed the last cup in front of his plate, while he took his seat.
"Well then, let's eat!" Tatsurou said as he adjusted his chair a bit, he then he placed his hands together with Shirayuki and Marie doing the same, and after that, they began eating...
"I wasn't expecting you two to come home so soon! So how was your day?" Shirayuki asked with a curious tone, as she grabbed the water bottle.
"It was pretty normal for the most part...well, until Tatsurou got caught dozing off in class again, by Kuroiwa-sensei..." Marie said with a joking tone, as she laughed a bit.
"Heh, really?" Shirayuki asked with a curious tone as she poured water in Marie's cup, then in her's.
"Thanks...yes, but at least the punishment wasn't that bad...Kuroiwa-sensei was pretty gentle this time when she hit Tatsurou's head with the textbook..." Marie said as she laughed a bit more.
"I see...but Tatsurou, you shouldn't doze off in class, you know..." Shirayuki said as she laughed a bit, while she poured water on Tatsurou's cup.
"Thanks...I know Shirayuki I'm sorry...and Marie, you could cut me some slack, I was a bit tired and I'm not a big fan of history class, it never fails to make me doze off..." Tatsurou said as he laughed and sighed a bit.
"Now that you mention it, it was partially my fault that you didn't get enough sleep...I'm really sorry to have bothered you with all those questions about my phone..." Marie said with an apologetic tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.
"Don't worry about it...I should have gone to bed, after teaching you, so it's mostly my fault...oh! And you can ask me, if you have any more questions about your phone, no problem!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone as he smiled.
"I will..." Marie said with a happy tone as she smiled a bit.
"Speaking of which, Tatsurou...about the favor I asked earlier..." Marie said with a faintly embarrassed tone, as she scratched her cheek a bit.
"Yes, what is it?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he looked at Marie.
"Well...since we don't have classes...why don't we all go out today?" Marie asked with an embarrassed tone, as she looked a bit away from Tatsurou.
"I don't really mind going out, is there somewhere specific, you want to go too?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone.
"If I had to guess, you want to go buy some new clothes, right, Marie?" Shirayuki asked as she looked at Marie.
"Yes, that's right, I want to go and get a new dress or two, so do you want to come with us?" Marie asked with a curious tone, as she placed her hands together.
"Sure, we can do that no problem!" As Tatsurou said this, Shirayuki and Marie briefly held hands under the table without Tatsurou noticing, to celebrate a bit.
"Ok...now I wonder, should I change? Or do I go with my school uniform?" Marie asked as she pulled on the top of her sailor fuku a bit.
"Well we can go in our school uniforms, we won't get in trouble because of it, so you don't have to worry about that, Marie..." Tatsurou said as he grabbed his cup and took a sip.
"I see, then I'll go, with my school uniform...honestly I can't wait to go!" Marie said with a happy tone as she smiled.
"But first of all, you should eat your food before it gets cold, Marie..." Shirayuki said also with a happy tone, as she laughed a bit.
"Don't worry Shirayuki, I would postpone every shopping trip if it meant eating your cooking!" Marie said with an honest tone as she smiled.
"I second that!" Tatsurou also said with an honest tone as he smiled and soon enough Shirayuki was blushing from their commentaries.
"Come on, you two..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone, as she smiled and with that, they kept eating and talking about trivial things mostly...
And meanwhile, as this was happening, Yumeko arrived in the old town of district 4, behind the wheel of her blue Rx-7, and she was in the process of parking in a parking lot, close to Michiko's apartment...
"I swear...the parking spots in this place, are almost non-existent...good thing this one is close to the apartment at least..." Yumeko thought while she let out a sigh, as she finally parked the car in the mostly abandoned parking lot.
"Let's see, groceries bag, those light novels Michiko asked for, and of course the eclairs...I can't forget those..." Yumeko said as she looked at two plastic bags with groceries, another bag with light novels, and a small box with eclairs, that were standing on the passenger seat.
"Ok then, Yumeko, today is the day I convince, Michiko, to come live with me! So put your game face on!" Yumeko said with a determined tone, as she gently slaped her cheeks, before grabbing all of those things in the passenger's seat and getting out of her car, she then proceeded to walk towards Michiko's apartment...
And so, a few moments later after a rather fast walk, Yumeko was now standing in front of Michiko's door...
"Michiko! It's me...open up!" Yumeko said as she rang the bell next to the door, but Michiko didn't answer, so she rang the bell once more, but once again, no answer.
"Weird, is she playing with headphones on, again? Michiko! Open up!" Yumeko said with a worried tone, as she knocked on the door a bit aggressively, but once again she didn't get an answer.
"Please don't tell me...she went outside alone..." Yumeko thought a bit panicked, as she placed her hand on her pocket and out of it she took a pair of keys, she then proceeded to open the door of the apartement.
"Michiko! Are you in here?" Yumeko asked with a worried tone as she came inside the apartment and looked to all sides to find Michiko.
"God, this place is even messier than usual..." Yumeko said as she arrived at the living room and saw dust flying in the air and all the computer towers and screens spread across it, like a fight had broken out in the living room.
"Michiko's not here...please don't tell me...no,no, calm down, Yuemko, she's here, I just know it, but where exactly..." Yumeko thought scared and panicked, as she now looked at the kitchen and saw the table, with a tablecloth placed on it.
"That's rather unusual...don't tell me?" As Yumeko said this, she gently shook the box with eclairs and the tablecloth briefly moved and Yumeko let out a relieved sigh.
"Honestly, is she a cat now?" Yumeko thought as she got close to the table and placed the things she brought for Michiko on it, she then squatted and lifted the table cloth.
"Michiko...what are you doing?" Yumeko asked with a curious stoic tone, as she saw, Michiko, that was hiding under it with her hands on top of her head.
"H-Hey there...Y-Yume-chan..." Michiko, that was wearing a hoodie dress and had her messy hair tied into a folded ponytail, said with a nervous tone, as she saw Yumeko.
"Michiko, please, get out from under the table and explain to me, what you were doing..." As Yumeko said this, Michiko quickly got from under the table.
"Well...you see...I knew that you were coming to visit today, so I tried...to tidy up a bit since you like to see everything clean and organized...but as you can see, it didn't go as I planned..." Michiko said with an embarrassed tone, as she adjusted her Hoodie dress that was dirty with dust while she laughed a bit.
"Hmm, I see, I see..." Yumeko said with a stoic tone that didn't last long, as she gave Michiko a head-flick.
"Ow! What was that for, Yume-chan!" Michiko asked with an angry tone, as she placed her hands on her forehead.
"That's my line! Do you know how much of a scare you gave me, just now!?" Yumeko asked with an angry tone as she placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward.
"I-I know that I scared you, but...I messed up the place more than usual, trying to clean it and I was a bit scared of your reaction...and I was afraid you would punish me..." Michiko said with an embarrassed tone, as she fidgeted while looking a bit away from Yumeko.
"I understand that you were scared...but Michiko, I prefer that your honest with me rather than hiding...I was really scared...I thought you went out on your own or worse when I saw how the living room was!" Yumeko said with a worried tone, as she now crossed her arms.
"I'm sorry...but you know that I would never go out, without you or Kuro-chan!" Michiko said with a reassuring tone as she looked at Yumeko.
"I know...but I was still scared, so the next time you screw up like this, I want you to be honest and tell me what happened, instead of hiding, ok?" Yumeko asked with a worried tone, as she looked at Michiko.
"Ok...I promise..." Michiko said with an embarrassed tone as she looked a bit down.
"Come on, it's alright now, Michiko..." Yumeko said with a reassuring tone as she gently head patted Michiko for a bit.
"Well, with that said...let's clean up the place!" Yumeko said with a determined tone as she stooped head patting Michiko and took off her blazer.
"Sure thing!" Michiko said also with a determined tone as she prepared to join, but...
"I think you already did a bit too much cleaning, Michiko...it would be better if you took a bath while I clean up..." Yumeko said as she looked at Michiko's hoodie dress and face that was dirty with dust, while she folded and placed her blazer in one of the chairs.
"I think, I'll take you up on that offer, Yume-chan..." Michiko said as she laughed a bit while she made her way towards the bathroom.
"I'll go and get you some fresh clothes! And I'll so take the chance to make you something to eat!" Yumeko said as she rolled up the sleeves of her shirt.
"Cool, Yume-chan's homemade noodle soup!" Michiko said with a happy tone as she got inside the bathroom, Yumeko just smiled as she heard her.
"How did she...nevermind, let's start..." As Yumeko said this, 3 vermilion magic circles appeared behind her, and out of each came a pair of hands, one pair grabbed the cleaning utensils from the small cleaning cabinet in the kitchen, the other pair went to organize the towers and computer screens and the last pair went to Michiko's room to get her some clean clothes.
"Well then, while you do your magic, I'll do mine in the kitchen..." Yumeko said with a happy tone, as she grabbed the groceries bag on the kitchen table to prepare lunch for Michiko...
And so, few moments later...
"That bath felt really good!" Michiko, that was now wearing a dark blue sleeveless dress and was drying her hair with a towel, said as she went towards the kitchen, but she suddenly stooped as she saw the kitchen and the living room, sparkling clean and all of her towers and computer screens organized.
"Whoa there, Yume-chan! What did you do with my old place?" Michiko asked with an impressed tone and expression, as she looked at Yumeko that was placing a pot on the kitchen table.
"Well, I only did the cooking here, you have to thank these guys here, they were the ones that did all the heavy lifting..." Yumeko said with a happy tone, as she glanced at the 3 pairs of hands that returned back inside of their magic circles, but not without first giving a high-five to each other, before vanishing.
"Your magic really comes in handy for housework!" Michiko said with an impressed and joking tone, as she took a seat at the table.
"It does come in handy to clean houses...and to clean up bad guys from the streets!" Yumeko said with a smug tone, as she grabbed a bowl and poured noodles in it.
"Yume-chan...you have to work on your jokes a bit...that one was really bad..." Michiko said with a stoic tone as she looked at Yumeko that blushed with Michiko's remark.
"It wasn't that bad! Here you go...my homemade noodle soup!" Yumeko said with a embarrassed tone that turned into a happy one, as she handed the bowl and chopsticks to Michiko.
"Thanks, Yume-chan! And don't worry practice makes perfect!" Michiko said with a joking tone, as she grabbed the bowl and the chopsticks.
"This is so good! I never get tired of your noodle soup!" Michiko said with a very happy tone as she slurped the noodles away.
"No need to tell me that..." Yumeko said as she got close to Michiko and went behind her.
"Hmm...your hair is almost dry...I'll gently brush it, while you eat..." Yumeko said as she drew a magic circle with her right hand and out of it she took a hairbrush, she then proceeded to gently brush Michiko's hair, and after a while...
"Done! You look even cuter now, Michiko!" Yumeko said as she stooped brushing Michiko's hair, which was now straight instead of messy and made Michiko, look like a little porcelain doll.
"Don't get used to it..." As Michiko said this, her straight hair suddenly became messy once again, without anyone touching it.
"What the!" Yumeko said with a surprised tone and expression, as she grabbed and looked at Michiko's hair.
"You better not try again, Yume-chan, it's useless my hair as a mind of its own and it refuses to stay straight..." Michiko said with a stoic tone as she grabbed the bowl and began drinking the broth.
"God damn it..." Yumeko said as she sighed and went to take her seat.
"This was really good! Can I have seconds?" Michiko asked as she finished drinking the broth and handed Yumeko the bowl.
"Sure, but you can only eat one eclair after it..." Yumeko said with a joking tone as she grabbed the bowl and poured some more noodles in it, and handed it back to Michiko.
"Come on, don't say that..." Michiko said with a faint depressed tone, as she grabbed the bowl and began eating again.
"I seriously don't understand her obsession with eclairs and noodle soup..." Yumeko thought as she took her seat and saw Michiko eating with a smile on her face.
"Is my cooking, that good?" Yumeko asked with a curious tone, as she placed her hand on her cheek and tilted her head.
"It's the best! I just can't get enough of it!" Michiko said with a happy tone as she smiled.
"I see...but Michiko you know that...if you start living with me you could eat my cooking every day, right?" As Yumeko said this, Michiko became silent as she stooped eating and began to look away from Yumeko.
"Come on, Michiko...we already talked about this, didn't we? I would love to have you living with me! My house is big, you can eat my cooking every day, we can do a lot of things together and you won't be alone! So what do you say? I already have a room ready for you and everything!" Yumeko said with a happy tone, as she looked at Michiko that kept silent.
"I'm sorry...Yume-chan...I know that you're worried, but...I'm ok here...this place is better for hacking and to work in general, but more important than that, I just don't want to cause you any more trouble...especially like the troubles I caused, when we met..." Michiko said with a sad tone as she looked down.
"Michiko still feels guilty for what happened back then...but at least today she didn't outright refuse the idea of living with me...I got to push forward some more!" Yumeko thought as she got up from the chair.
"I already told you didn't I, Michiko? Even if you cause trouble and screw up, I don't mind...I would rather have you close to me and cause trouble than having you staying here all by yourself..." Yumeko said with a comforting and calm tone, as she got close to Michiko and head patted her.
"I know...but..." Michiko said while she kept looking down and fidgeted a bit.
"Time to go for the kill! Here goes my ace!" Yumeko thought as she stooped head patting Michiko and placed her hand on her shoulder.
"No buts here and think about it! My place is close to Tatsurou's so if you start living with me, you could spend more time with him! Wouldn't that be really great?" Yumeko asked with a happy tone as she looked at Michiko, that began to blush extremely.
"W-W-Why...did you bring Kuro-chan into this?!" Michiko asked with a very embarrassed tone and expression as she kept blushing, while she looked at Yumeko.
"Michiko... you're a bit too obvious, you know? And besides that, you thought I wouldn't notice that "seducing techniques" book you ordered with those light novels that came delivered to my place?" Yumeko asked with a smug tone and expression as she looked at Michiko.
"Y-You got it all wrong! I just wanted to see...why so many people were leaving good reviews on it and nothing else! And, who told you to look!" Michiko said with an embarrassed tone as she pouted while she turned her back to Yumeko, something that made her laugh a bit.
"Come on, I was just joking a bit...but be honest with me, wouldn't you like to live and spend more time with Tatsurou and me, Michiko?" Yumeko asked with a curious tone as she calmed with the laughs while she placed her hands on Michiko's shoulders.
"I...would be lying if I said that I didn't want that...but I don't want to be a bother and a burden to both Kuro-chan or you and...I also don't want to cause you more trouble, than I already have..." Michiko said with an embarrassed tone as she blushed.
"Michiko...you won't cause any trouble and your not a bother nor a burden for me or Tatsurou, and you'll never be!" Yumeko said with a honest and reassuring tone as she now hugged Michiko from behind.
"Y-Yume-chan..." Michiko said as she became silent for a bit.
"Alright then...Yume-chan...I accept, but...I don't want to be just a freeloader, you have to let me help around the house...and if I'm a bother or a nuisance...I want you to tell me..." Michiko said with an embarrassed tone as she looked a bit away from Yumeko that became speechless for a bit.
"Michiko! You don't have to worry about helping around the house! You already do a lot, by getting me info when I need it and I already said it and I'll say it again! Your not a bother and you'll never be!" Yumeko said with a happy and relieved tone as she looked at Michiko, that began to blush.
"I finally did it! I can't wait to tell, Tatsurou!" Yumeko thought as she hugged Michiko tight.
"Yume-chan... you're hurting me a bit here..." Michiko said with a happy stoic tone, as she looked at Yumeko.
"Sorry, Michiko...I'm just...really happy that you accepted to living, with me, I'm so happy that I'll allow you to eat 2 eclairs now!" Yumeko said with a happy tone as she stooped hugging Michiko and smiled.
"C-Can't you...raise it to 3?" Michiko asked with an embarrassed tone while she fidgeted and looked at Yumeko then away.
"I'll think about it...but first finish up your noodles, ok?" Yumeko said as she let out a sigh and she didn't need to say this twice as Michiko began eating her noddles again with a smile on her face.
"This girl, I swear..." Yumeko thought as she looked at Michiko with a big smile on her face...
And as this was happening, meanwhile in district 4's shopping square, in the mall to be precise Tatsurou, Shirayuki, and Marie, walked in the direction of the clothes store...
"So, what are you planning on buying, Marie?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he looked at Marie.
"Well like I said during lunch, I was thinking about buying a new dress or something along those lines...nothing too fancy either..." Marie said as she raised her index finger a bit.
"I see...then we should go to the one, I went with Shirayuki once..." Tatsurou said as he rubbed his chin a bit.
"Good idea, Tatsurou, that store has a lot of cute dresses!" Shirayuki said with a happy tone as her ahoge wiggled around a bit and with that Tatsurou, Shirayuki, and Marie arrived at the clothes store.
"Wow! You were right, Shirayuki, there are so many cute dresses here!" Marie said with an impressed tone as she entered the store and looked around it.
"Told you!" Shirayuki said while she laughed and looked at Marie's reaction.
"Shirayuki, come choose some dresses, with me!" Marie said with an excited tone as she grabbed Shirayuki's hand and walked towards a clothes hanger with various dresses.
"W-Wait, Marie..." Shirayuki said this to no avail, as Marie was too concentrated on what to choose, to then take with her to the changing rooms.
"Girls really like their dresses, don't they..." Tatsurou thought as he laughed a bit while he followed Marie and Shirayuki...
And so a bit later in the store's changing rooms...
"Alright! Time to try on some of these! I'll be real quick!" Marie said with a happy tone, as she went inside the changing room with the dresses she chose.
"So, what did you two pick?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone as he looked at Shirayuki.
"That's a little secret..." Shirayuki said as she smiled.
"Oh...now I'm even more curious..." Tatsurou said as he glanced at Shirayuki and so a few moments later, Marie came out with a light blue, long-sleeved short dress.
"So, what do you think?" Marie asked with a curious tone as she did a twirl to show off the dress.
"I think, it's pretty cute! But it's a bit too short for me..." Shirayuki said as she placed her hands together.
"Agreed...it's a bit on the short side, but pretty cute..." Tatsurou said with a faintly embarrassed tone, as he averted his eyes a bit.
"That dress is not just short...it's dangerously short...I even got a glance of Marie's panties when she did that twirl..." Tatsurou thought a bit embarrassed as he looked at Marie then away.
"I see...then I'll try another one!" Marie said as she got inside the changing room again and a few moments later she came out again, wearing a white one-piece summer dress that showed a bit of cleavage from Marie's ample chest.
"How about this one? After all, summer is around the corner, and having one of these is obligatory, right?" Marie asked with a curious tone as she leaned a bit forward with her arms behind her back, something that made the cleavage stand out even more.
"Marie is showing off, for Tatsurou..." Shirayuki thought a bit jealous as she pouted a bit, something that didn't last long.
"I think it's cute and with summer right around the corner, it's a good option!" Shirayuki said with a happy tone as her ahoge wiggled around a bit.
"I think...that it looks good and it's also...very cute..." Tatsurou said again with an embarrassed tone, as he averted his eyes once more.
"Marie can choose which dress she likes the most...but if she takes that one...I won't know where to look! What's with designers these days making dresses with so much cleavage or too short!" Tatsurou thought a bit embarrassed as he looked at Marie then away, once again.
"Looks like this one is taking the lead! I'll go try the last one, ok?" Marie said as she went inside the changing room once more.
"I hope Marie doesn't come out with something too "extreme" but after showing us those two dresses...I'm a bit scared..." Tatsurou thought as he did a mental sigh.
"Is everything alright, Tatsurou?" Shirayuki asked with a worried tone as she looked at Tatsurou.
"Hmm? Nothings wrong, why are you asking?" Tatsurou asked also with a curious tone.
"Well...I was just thinking that, Marie and I were boring you by asking you to come and buy clothes with us..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone as he ahoge pointed down, something Tatsurou didn't let her do for too long.
"Shirayuki...I would never get bored by spending time with you and Marie...in fact, I really love to spend time with both of you!" Tatsurou said with an honest and reassuring tone as he, gently head patted Shirayuki.
"I was just thinking, that perhaps, I wasn't the best choice to come here with you and Marie since I'm not very in the know when it comes to clothes and...I don't think my opinion is that important, as long as you two are happy, I'm also happy..." Tatsurou said as he laughed a bit, while he stooped head patting Shirayuki.
"No, Tatsurou! Your opinion is important for me and Marie, be it for clothes or anything else!" Shirayuki said with a determined tone that surprised Tatsurou quite a bit.
"I-I mean...we really...value your opinion, because your our friend and you give them, always with best of intentions in mind..." Shirayuki said with an embarrassed tone as she looked a bit away from Tatsurou, upon realizing what she said.
"W-What was I thinking...saying something like that out of the blue..." Shirayuki thought still embarrassed.
"I-I see...thanks..." Tatsurou said with an impressed and surprised tone, as he looked at Shirayuki for a bit.
"Sorry for the wait!" As Marie said this she pulled the curtain of the changing room and came out wearing a black off-shoulder sweater dress that reached more or less to her knees and she also wore equally black leggings under it, this dress was also a bit baggy but even so, it showed Marie's beautiful and enviable curves a bit without showing to much, she looked like a magazine model, in all honesty.
"Well, it's a bit off-season for this type of clothes and I was thinking of the dress only...but I the leggings make for a nice addition...is something wrong?" Marie asked with a curious and worried tone to both Tatsurou and Shirayuki that couldn't take their eyes of Marie.
"N-No Marie...it's just that it's a very beautiful dress with or without the off-season part!" Shirayuki said with an honest tone as her ahoge wiggled around.
"I see, thanks Shirayuki! And what do you think...Tatsurou?" Marie asked with a curious but also embarrassed tone as she looked at Tatsurou, that was still mesmerized.
"I think...that it suits you perfectly, Marie, the black color was a good choice, since it makes your beautiful aqua-colored hair and silver eyes really stand out..." Tatsurou said this with an honest tone that surprised both Shirayuki and Marie a bit.
"I see..." Marie said with an embarrassed tone as she looked a bit away while she blushed, something that made Tatsurou a bit embarrassed as he replayed what he just said to Marie, in his head.
"Wait, Marie...I mean that dress suits you perfectly...in fact all of them really suit you...but this one stands out for me the most..." Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone as he looked a bit away from Marie.
"Fufu...I see...then I'll take this one!" Marie said as she laughed a bit.
"O-Ok...if you two don't mind, I'll go wait outside..." Tatsurou said still with his embarrassed tone as he quickly made his way out of the dressing rooms.
"We will be right there with you..." Shirayuki said as she saw Tatsurou leaving and when he was finally gone.
"Did you hear that, Shirayuki!" Marie said with a very happy tone as she placed her hands together.
"I sure did!" Shirayuki said as she got close to Marie and held her hands and soon enough they were hopping around a bit, something that made a saleswoman look at them a bit confused.
"I'm so happy that we came here today! I'll take this dress, no questions asked!" Marie said with a happy tone as she smiled.
"But I'll also take the summer dress too! Summer is knocking on the door after all, and I forgot to bring one..." Marie said with a happy tone, as she let go of Shirayuki's hands and made her way to the changing room but as she got close to them...
"Say, Shirayuki, do you want a dress for you too?" Marie asked with a curious tone as she looked at Shirayuki.
"You don't need to Marie...but thanks for the offer!" Shirayuki said as she smiled but Marie on the other hand...
"No way! You helped me with this, so it's my turn now! Let's see, how about the first dress I used? I think it would look good on you!" Marie said with an excited tone as she got close to Shirayuki again.
"Y-You don't need to and like I said that dress is a bit too short for me..." Shirayuki said with a faintly embarrassed tone, as she moved her hands a bit.
"No excuses here, you got some great legs, you have to show them off! Let me get changed and we'll go get you one on your size!" Marie said with a determined tone as she went inside the changing room.
"Wait, Marie, already said that you don't need to do that!" Shirayuki said but it was mostly useless as Marie wasn't taking a, no, as an answer.
And in the meantime, inside the clothes store, close to the entrance...
"I'm such an idiot sometimes..." Tatsurou said with an embarrassed tone as he let out a sigh.
"I won't lie...Marie looked really beautiful and cute with that sweater dress...but if I have to be honest, anything looks good on her and she's already beautiful and cute, to begin with..." Tatsurou thought as he remembered how Marie looked, but it didn't last long as he replayed what he just thought in his head and remembered what he said to Marie.
"W-What am I even thinking! I'm such an idiot! Shirayuki and Marie probably think I'm a weirdo...I should just vanish already..." Tatsurou said with a very embarrassed tone as he placed his hands in front of his face and blushed quite a lot, so much so, that two worried saleswomen were about to go and ask him what was wrong.
"Well, what's done, is done and I'll just have to be more careful next time and think before I speak...but for now, I'll just see, what Shirayuki and Marie are doing..." Tatsurou thought as he let out a sigh, as he went to look for Shirayuki and Marie, while he cursed himself for speaking without thinking first...
