Tsugumi's View

///Tsugumi's POV\\\

Upon entering a sizable store—which was filled with quite a sizable number of people as well—her first reaction was one of bewilderment.

"—w-what should I do?" she asked herself in confusion.

She had once visited a place like this with Kirisaki, and seen her eagerly picking out her favorite outfit, but she personally didn't know much about what she liked other than the practical ones. Instinctively, she turned her head towards Yoshikawa, hoping he would know what to do.

Yoshikawa looked around with an unusual expression— at least for him. There was no sign of the usual laid-back guy, but that didn't mean he had a negative look. His expression was simply close to blank.

"There are those who usually give advice, specifically from the shop staff," he said eventually, his tone was rather flat. "You can ask them if you're confused."

[Did something happen to him?] She wondered by reflex. 

Yoshikawa wasn't like this before entering the store, but for some reason, he seemed lackluster now.

She took a gander at her surroundings, and realized that there were a number of clerks on duty just as he had referred to. However, she didn't have the intention to call them out.

"...Does Yoshikawa-kun have any suggestions? P-personally, I mean," she inquired.

She invited Yoshikawa because she wanted to hear his suggestions. She had that strange wish in her heart, and when she consulted with Kirisaki, she said, "Why don't you just go along with it? Follow your own heart!"

Tsugumi considered it and followed it after some deliberations.

She requested Claude for permission for time off and managed to secure it. [—he seems to know who Yoshikawa-kun is.]

The man in question seemed a little confused by her question, then frowned faintly.

Tsugumi panicked. "Y-Yoshikawa-kun doesn't have to force himself if he doesn't want to!" 

"...that's not the problem," Yoshikawa sighed, staring at the available clothes, his lips twitching. "...I just have too many suggestions for you."

Without waiting for her to reply, he began pointing to the nearest outfit. "I'd like you to try on that, and then to that, then the one behind that, next to it, and over there, also there, and—"

"Wh—" Tsugumi was speechless. 

Yoshikawa appeared to be disinterested as he pointed at all the clothes, but she noticed that his eyes indicated otherwise. As a matter of fact, his behavior matched her mistress's fervor.

[—he's definitely different from usual,] Tsugumi thought.

She realized this after constantly interacting with Yoshikawa, that he seemed to restrain himself in many ways, even in his daily behavior at school or outside. Tsugumi didn't think Yoshikawa's polite charm was a lie, but she also didn't think that was all there was.

[Could it be… he's thinking of being more open? Is this how he usually acts?] Somehow, that thought made her happy.

"—well, that's all," Yoshikawa finally finished. "Since it's my personal opinion, some probably won't be to your taste, but I think the rest will be pretty good."

He smiled proudly, his white teeth visible.

Tsugumi recalled all the suggestions he had made. Most of them were indeed fine for daily attire, formal dress, home clothing, sports, and more. Yoshikawa was thorough in his selection, and he had chose them quickly from the moment they entered this store.

"I didn't know Yoshikawa-kun was that passionate," Tsugumi chuckled softly. "I wish I could buy all of them, but then it would be hard to carry them home."

Yoshikawa smiled slightly. "How about trying some of them to decide?"

Tsugumi nodded. "I was thinking of doing that. I would love for you to judge honestly, Yoshikawa-kun."

"'Course, though you're already pretty to begin with, so my judgment will probably be biased."

"D-don't say that kind of thing out of the blue," she felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment.

He snickered. "Sadly, that'd be a bit hard. Seeing your reaction right now is quite a treat, see?"

Although she knew it wasn't a lie, and she herself wanted his honest opinion, Tsugumi still felt a great sense of embarrassment. 

She then realized that Yoshikawa was likely a teasing man. At the same time, she recalled how capable he was in martial arts, how he beat the crap out of the yakuza with indifferent manners. He could also hide himself well. He could creep onto other people's backs quickly by making careful use of the situation. It was like he used to do that.

"Hm?" Yoshikawa directed his gaze to his pants pocket, reaching his hand inside to pull out his phone. "Ohh, it seems that a number of people have already commented."

Tsugumi perked up. "You mean the ones with my picture?"

"Yep, that one."

Tsugumi leaned in closer before he could, bending over to look at the comments in question.

She remembered all the names and faces of her classmates, but the names the commenters used were quite strange some, and their profile pictures were sometimes not the user's, so she couldn't tell. 

But first, Yoshikawa's post about her were having likes from quite a lot of people that outnumber their classmates.

"—hundred likes?" Tsugumi muttered in disbelief.

"Oh, that," Yoshikawa seemed to remember something. "Seems like a lot of people have started following me since the incident on the first day of the school. I can't do anything about it. Sorry for not telling you earlier."

"N-No, it's not a major problem. It's just that I didn't expect there to be that many likes, and the comments…"

"...were pretty positive, right?" he grinned.

Tsugumi nodded in embarrassment.

The caption Yoshikawa had put up was simply "Wondering on how she looks. Have any opinions?"

For the comments:

"—I chose it for her, so of course it's pretty."

"Isn't that Gumi-chan with Yoshi-kun? It looks cute on you, Gumi-chan...! :)"

"Here's Tokumune thinks it's pretty alright ^_^"

"Hirosha-kun, why are you getting acquainted with so many pretty girls o_o"

***

Tsugumi unintentionally let out a smile at the positive comments thrown by them.

Yoshikawa moved slightly away from her. Tsugumi only realized by that point that she had practically glued her body to his. She quickly moved away frantically.

"I-I'm sorry…!"

"Nah, you don't have to," Yoshikawa dismissed her lightly, smiling faintly. "I felt a bit glad, in fact."

She blushed. "I think you've become a bit of a tease, Yoshikawa-kun."

He laughed in clear amusement. "Do you hate me, then?"

"I can't hate you," she mumbled, looking away.

To distract herself, Tsugumi thought about something that had caught her eye in the comment section earlier. "The person who called you by your first name... Is it the same person who broke down the classroom door on the first day?"

Tsugumi was interested in that comment with the most likes. She knew she was famous. Still, she didn't know how famous she was.

Yoshikawa gave a small nod. "I honestly just found out that she has an Insta."

Tsugumi was a bit jealous that she could call her by her first name so closely.

Obviously, she wouldn't ask him to call him by first names. That would be embarrassing.

"Hey."

"?!"

Yoshikawa poked her cheek out of nowhere, startling her.

When Tsugumi looked up at him, he gave her a smile. "What are you staring at? Let's try on your clothes. Time's not limited, you know?"

[...I'll repay this tease someday.]

"R-Right," Tsugumi composed herself, feeling like digging a hole for herself to enter. [But why am I always this nervous around him to begin with?]