Chapter 72: Three Hours

When Kannin woke up the next day, his heart was on overdrive. He scoured his wardrobe for some nice, non-martial clothing, at which point he realized that he didn't really have any. All of his nice clothes were at least three sizes too small, and the only stuff that fit him anymore was the combat suit, body armor, and cloak he wore on the battlefield.

'I really need to up my fashion game.' He thought with frown

Recognizing his dreadful lack of fashion, he hurried out to town with his money purse in hand, barefoot and just wearing a white t-shirt and navy blue shorts. Slamming the door to the nearest clothing shop, he searched the whole place for something good, and in his colors. Kannin had always been partial to blues and greys, unlike the more uncouth oranges, olives, and tans most of the other shinobi in Konoha went for.

'Now that I think about it, Kakashi's really the only one who gets style points in my eyes,' Kannin thought to himself, 'Well, Minato too now that he has the jacket I gave him.'

Kannin flipped through the racks, muttering 'No, no, maybe, no...' as he went along. This went on for about 30 minutes before one of the shopkeepers shuffled up to him and asked in a sing-song voice,

"Looking for anything in particular there, young man?"

Kannin looked the employee up and down, seeing a middle aged lady with black hair tied up in a bun, wearing a floral yukata type clothing. He racked his brain for a moment before sheepishly saying

"Well...I have a date tonight and I realized I didn't have any good clothes..."

The lady's face brightened with a playful smile and said

"Oh, we get your type around here a lot. Tell me, what colors do you like? If you're specific enough, and pay enough, you could walk out of here with a fantastic outfit for your date!" The lady quickly produced measuring tape and pins and said, "Alright now follow me to the booth here and I'll get your measurements..."

Kannin couldn't help but be swept away by the old lady's insistence and passion for her craft. Like a whirlwind, she poked him and spread his arms, mummified his body in measuring tape to the point he felt a little like Mu. A mere ten minutes later, the lady retreated into the back of the shop. What followed was a series of terrible grinding and slashing noises.

A few minutes of this followed before the lady peeked her head out again and quickly said,

"Give me the colors, kid!"

Taken aback for a moment, Kannin spat out before he could really think about it

"Dark blue and silver."

The lady returned to the back, where the cartoonish whirring and clanging sounds resumed, making Kannin wonder exactly what was going on back there. He found himself tempted to look behind the curtain, nearly overcome with curiosity, but his sense of propriety kept him still.

10 minutes later, Kannin was almost worried that something had gone wrong, when suddenly the sound ceased, and Kannin's ears were spared the coarse and horrible screeching. The lady returned from the back with a pile of cloth dangling from a hanger.

The lady first handed him the check for the purchase, which he learned he had already made. His eyes widened at the price--which had been ballooned by the "express service" they provided by making it in house the day of. Thankfully, Kannin's wallet had grown due to his services as an officer in the war, so he could pay it without sweating too much, still, he hadn't meant to spend that much money today.

When he got home and tried the outfit on, he found it looked quite good on him. It consisted of a blank white undergarment, which was covered by a deep, navy blue kimono which cut off just below the knees. Overtop the kimono went a silvery grey haori, which seemed to be made of some metallic fiber given the way is almost sparkled in the right lighting. When he tied it all together with a thin, white rope belt and put on some nice shoes, he didn't look to bad, though his hair needed some taming--something that didn't escape the notice of his mother.

Usagi had heard Kannin scramble out the door in the morning, and waited for him to return in the living room, where she saw him scramble back with an expensive looking outfit in hand.

'Oh, so that's what it was...' she thought with a smirk.

She peered through his door after he changed into it, and saw that her son looked as handsome as his father did at his age. There was some sadness to that, but Usagi had grown over the years. Seeing her husband in her son was no longer a mark of terror, at least not as much of one, but rather had become far more a mark of pride. That man she had loved so deeply wasn't truly gone, not so long as the boy in front of her lived.

"You look dashing, Kannin." She said once he had adjusted it right

"You think?" Kannin said with an embarrassed smile

"Well," Usagi said with a grin, "it could use a little touching up here or there, but overall it's quite nice."

"Do not ruin my look, mom." Kannin said seriously

"Oh I won't ruin it, I swear," she said, "I'm just exercising my motherly right to make sure you don't look like a slob on your first date."

Usagi sat her son down in front of the mirror with a pair of scissors and began to tame his now wild and overgrown hair.

"Did you cut your hair at all during the war?" She said incredulously

"...I just forgot about it, I guess" Kannin said sheepishly

'Good lord, this kid...'

"By the way, when is your date?" Usagi asked

"If that clock is right," Kannin said, "in a little fewer than three hours."

Usagi's eyes widened at the imprudence of her child, and her face quickly soured to a Kushina-esque fury

"YOU GOT YOUR OUTFIT THE DAY OF? ARE YOU INSANE!?"

"Mom," Kannin whined, "you're gonna ruin my hair..."