Yuki didn’t know what kind of stores to go to for girl clothes. Or really, she didn’t know where to go for stylish ones. Style wasn’t something Yuki normally worried about when it dealt with herself, but now things had changed. If she was going to walk around with Akira and Erica, she was going to need to look good doing it.
‘It’s more for me than anyone,’ Yuki thought ruefully. ‘As a guy, it didn’t matter. But if Akira and Erica are near me, I’m going to look like a boring slab of stone compared to them.’
Erica had taken the liberty of guiding them to what she called her favorite apparel store in Junction. She warned that it was a bit pricey, but Yuki didn’t mind. The best things were rarely cheap.
The place she took Yuki and Akira was within a large department store that advertised itself as the largest in all of Ethros. All around them, people were out and about shopping. Some seemed to be by themselves while others were in large groups that chatted loudly with one another.
‘This is a lively place.’
“Here it is,” Erica announced, presenting the place with her arms as if she owned it. “Sketchbook. I promise that if you are looking for something, they’ll have it here.”
“It’s quite big,” Yuki commented. She walked in and fingered a shirt that a holographic mannequin wore. “This feels nice.”
“Of course, they use high quality materials,” Erica smiled. “And what I like is that for a price, you can ask them to tailor things for you. So if they don’t have it, they can make it.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” Erica puffed her chest out and Yuki laughed. “You seem quite proud of a store that isn’t yours.”
“Come on,” Akira said, tugging Yuki’s t-shirt. “Let’s look around.”
“No need to do that,” Erica interrupted. “Let me show you two something amazing.”
She grabbed their wrists and half dragged them with her as she wove around a few racks of clothing. She stopped in front of a desk with a woman neatly dressed in a dress suit. There were two hallways on either side of the desk that were signified by hanging signs as dressing rooms.
“Hello there, Erica. Back again?” the woman said greeted with a practiced smile. Her eyes went past her and seemed to stick on Yuki who gave her a small smile in return. “Brought some friends today.”
“Hi Julie,” Erica greeted in return. “Yeah, this is Akira and this Yuki. We’re going to be using a dressing room to try out some things.”
“Go ahead,” Julie nodded. “There should be a few open rooms. I’ll notify you three if you need to wrap up.”
“Thanks,” Erica said with a wave. “Come on you two.”
She ushered them into a relatively small room that had benches along the side for people to sit on. Yuki took a few steps around the room, taking in what she could. There seem to be projectors of sorts everywhere in the room. The glass panel embedded in a wall was probably where one would control the projectors.
“What does this place do?” Yuki asked, turning to Erica.
“Let me show you,” Erica replied with a grin. She grabbed Yuki’s shoulders and moved her to the center of the room. “Watch and see.”
Yuki watched her with curious eyes as she went to the glass panel and began tapping on it. The room darkened and the hologram projectors turned on. They shined their light down on Yuki, bathing her in light.
“First we’re going to take your measurements,” Erica said, tapping a button.
A net was projected around Yuki, molding to fit her. Yuki lifted her arms to make the process go by quicker. When they finished, a small chime went off. Erica read the measurements on the screen and frowned.
“Erm, I think it messed up a measurement,” she said.
“Which one?” Yuki asked.
“Your, um. Bust. I think your baggy t-shirt is the reason.”
“Oh. Then do it again? I’ll hold my shirt tighter.”
She grabbed the loose sides of the t-shirt she wore and bunched them together until it tightened around her. The holographic net wrapped around her again and gave off another chime as it finished.
“Alright, this seems to be better,” Erica nodded. “You’re bigger than I thought.”
“Thanks?”
Akira went over and read the measurements as well. She frowned.
“You’re bigger than me,” she pouted. “How does that work?”
Yuki wasn’t sure how to answer that. She decided to change the topic.
“Erica, mind showing me what this all is about?” Yuki asked.
“Of course. Let me blow your mind.”
With a few more taps, the projectors flared again and Yuki was bathed in light once again. She looked down and found herself wearing a flowery dress, its skirt going down to her knees. It looked so real that if it wasn’t for the fact that Yuki could still feel the baggy t-shirt and jeans she wore, she would have thought that she was wearing the dress in real life.
“Wow,” Yuki breathed.
She took a step and the holographic dress followed her seamlessly down to the physics of the folding cloth. A few more steps. Then Yuki looked into a mirror and found her reflection. A pretty girl with silver hair stared back, a small smile on her face. She turned her body a bit, watching the skirt of the dress twirl. Then the other way.
“Like it?” Erica asked behind her.
Yuki turned, a twinkle in her eye, and smiled.
“Let’s try some more out,” she replied.
For the next few hours, Erica and Akira fiddled with the controls of the room, pulling up outfit after outfit for Yuki to try on. With every change, Yuki commented on what she thought, judging them and giving them grades. Some outfits were weird and extravagant, drawing out laughter from the three of them. Others were simple and cute, Akira taking a particular liking to them. The more sensual ones had Erica pitching for Yuki to buy them.
Yuki’s personal preferences were darker colored outfits that conformed to her figure more, but didn’t show off as much skin much to Erica’s disappointment. But even after finding a few that Yuki liked, they stayed in that room, taking turns at trying out outfits until the woman at the desk, Julie, told them that it was time to leave.
“What’s this?” Akira asked. Yuki peeked over at her and saw her holding up a school uniform. “Did you buy a uniform?”
Yuki tilted her head and grabbed the uniform, running her fingers through the material. It looked familiar. The design of the blazer, the top, the green plaid skirt, and the tie that matched. It looked like something from Earth.
‘Oh. Elementary school in the States.’
She remembered now. Taking the uniform, she folded it and sat down on her bed, staring at it. Her hands stroked it as something familiar began to bubble up within her. Loss.
“Yuki?” Akira said, taking a seat beside her.
“I think I bought it by accident,” Yuki said, her voice quiet.
“Should we return it then?”
“No,” Yuki replied immediately. “No. It’s fine.”
She stared at it longer, the loss within her growing as the seconds ticked. She knew why her hands had clicked buy, even if her mind wasn’t attentive at the time.
“Is there a reason why you want to keep it?” Akira asked. Yuki didn’t say anything, but she felt that she didn’t need to say anything for Akira to understand. “Does it remind you of something?”
“Someone,” Yuki whispered.
“Who?”
“I’ve never told you about Samantha, have I.” Akira’s silence told Yuki the answer to that. “It reminds me of her.”
“Tell me about her.”
“Well. She was kind, energetic. The type of girl you couldn’t help but like. I avoided her at first, but she grew on me. I would go to her house, or she would come to mine, and we would play or just talk for hours on end. Then she disappeared.”
Yuki lifted the uniform and stared at it.
“This almost looks exactly like the uniform my elementary school had. It just needs the patch and it would be an exact replica,” Yuki said. She fingered the collar of the blazer. “She was looking so forward to wearing this.”
“Samantha?” Akira asked gently.
“Yes. Sam said that she was going to be transferring to my school. She had bought a uniform and everything already.” Yuki quieted as she remembered the day Sam told her. “It made me happy. A friend I could talk to the whole day. Then she tried to get me to wear the uniform.”
A rueful smile appeared on Yuki’s lips.
“We argued over that. Jokingly. I still didn’t wear it though, and she didn’t want to push me. That was the last time I saw her.”
“Do you know what happened?” Akira said.
“No. No one told me anything. I only ever asked one person about it. My aunt.”
“And what did she say?”
“She said that Sam had left and that I wouldn’t be able to see her again,” Yuki whispered. “That didn’t make sense. I remembered Sam crying one day, telling me that she didn’t want to leave me alone. I asked her what she meant, but she didn’t explain. It wasn’t brought up again after that. She seemed fine, so I never thought to ask again.”
Akira didn’t say anything.
“Maybe she’s happier now. Wherever she is. Maybe she’s at a school, laughing with friends, going out with them. Maybe she has a boyfriend or a girlfriend that she hugs at night. Maybe she’s forgotten about me.”
“Yuki.”
“Let me believe that,” Yuki cut her off, looking down. A cold dread clawed up at her. “Please. Let that be the truth. It’s better than the alternative.”
A warm palm cupped Yuki’s face. Akira’s thumb brushed Yuki’s eyes, wiping away tears that Yuki didn’t know had formed. She blinked, trying to hold them in.
“It’s fine,” Akira said softly. “Let them out. I’m here.”
She pulled Yuki into her and held her tightly. The warmth melted Yuki’s thin resistance and she cried freely, the tears pouring out. Akira whispered words of comfort into her ear.
“I’m here,” she said.
The tears took their time to dry.
Yuki didn’t know what kind of stores to go to for girl clothes. Or really, she didn’t know where to go for stylish ones. Style wasn’t something Yuki normally worried about when it dealt with herself, but now things had changed. If she was going to walk around with Akira and Erica, she was going to need to look good doing it.
‘It’s more for me than anyone,’ Yuki thought ruefully. ‘As a guy, it didn’t matter. But if Akira and Erica are near me, I’m going to look like a boring slab of stone compared to them.’
Erica had taken the liberty of guiding them to what she called her favorite apparel store in Junction. She warned that it was a bit pricey, but Yuki didn’t mind. The best things were rarely cheap.
The place she took Yuki and Akira was within a large department store that advertised itself as the largest in all of Ethros. All around them, people were out and about shopping. Some seemed to be by themselves while others were in large groups that chatted loudly with one another.
‘This is a lively place.’
“Here it is,” Erica announced, presenting the place with her arms as if she owned it. “Sketchbook. I promise that if you are looking for something, they’ll have it here.”
“It’s quite big,” Yuki commented. She walked in and fingered a shirt that a holographic mannequin wore. “This feels nice.”
“Of course, they use high quality materials,” Erica smiled. “And what I like is that for a price, you can ask them to tailor things for you. So if they don’t have it, they can make it.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” Erica puffed her chest out and Yuki laughed. “You seem quite proud of a store that isn’t yours.”
“Come on,” Akira said, tugging Yuki’s t-shirt. “Let’s look around.”
“No need to do that,” Erica interrupted. “Let me show you two something amazing.”
She grabbed their wrists and half dragged them with her as she wove around a few racks of clothing. She stopped in front of a desk with a woman neatly dressed in a dress suit. There were two hallways on either side of the desk that were signified by hanging signs as dressing rooms.
“Hello there, Erica. Back again?” the woman said greeted with a practiced smile. Her eyes went past her and seemed to stick on Yuki who gave her a small smile in return. “Brought some friends today.”
“Hi Julie,” Erica greeted in return. “Yeah, this is Akira and this Yuki. We’re going to be using a dressing room to try out some things.”
“Go ahead,” Julie nodded. “There should be a few open rooms. I’ll notify you three if you need to wrap up.”
“Thanks,” Erica said with a wave. “Come on you two.”
She ushered them into a relatively small room that had benches along the side for people to sit on. Yuki took a few steps around the room, taking in what she could. There seem to be projectors of sorts everywhere in the room. The glass panel embedded in a wall was probably where one would control the projectors.
“What does this place do?” Yuki asked, turning to Erica.
“Let me show you,” Erica replied with a grin. She grabbed Yuki’s shoulders and moved her to the center of the room. “Watch and see.”
Yuki watched her with curious eyes as she went to the glass panel and began tapping on it. The room darkened and the hologram projectors turned on. They shined their light down on Yuki, bathing her in light.
“First we’re going to take your measurements,” Erica said, tapping a button.
A net was projected around Yuki, molding to fit her. Yuki lifted her arms to make the process go by quicker. When they finished, a small chime went off. Erica read the measurements on the screen and frowned.
“Erm, I think it messed up a measurement,” she said.
“Which one?” Yuki asked.
“Your, um. Bust. I think your baggy t-shirt is the reason.”
“Oh. Then do it again? I’ll hold my shirt tighter.”
She grabbed the loose sides of the t-shirt she wore and bunched them together until it tightened around her. The holographic net wrapped around her again and gave off another chime as it finished.
“Alright, this seems to be better,” Erica nodded. “You’re bigger than I thought.”
“Thanks?”
Akira went over and read the measurements as well. She frowned.
“You’re bigger than me,” she pouted. “How does that work?”
Yuki wasn’t sure how to answer that. She decided to change the topic.
“Erica, mind showing me what this all is about?” Yuki asked.
“Of course. Let me blow your mind.”
With a few more taps, the projectors flared again and Yuki was bathed in light once again. She looked down and found herself wearing a flowery dress, its skirt going down to her knees. It looked so real that if it wasn’t for the fact that Yuki could still feel the baggy t-shirt and jeans she wore, she would have thought that she was wearing the dress in real life.
“Wow,” Yuki breathed.
She took a step and the holographic dress followed her seamlessly down to the physics of the folding cloth. A few more steps. Then Yuki looked into a mirror and found her reflection. A pretty girl with silver hair stared back, a small smile on her face. She turned her body a bit, watching the skirt of the dress twirl. Then the other way.
“Like it?” Erica asked behind her.
Yuki turned, a twinkle in her eye, and smiled.
“Let’s try some more out,” she replied.
For the next few hours, Erica and Akira fiddled with the controls of the room, pulling up outfit after outfit for Yuki to try on. With every change, Yuki commented on what she thought, judging them and giving them grades. Some outfits were weird and extravagant, drawing out laughter from the three of them. Others were simple and cute, Akira taking a particular liking to them. The more sensual ones had Erica pitching for Yuki to buy them.
Yuki’s personal preferences were darker colored outfits that conformed to her figure more, but didn’t show off as much skin much to Erica’s disappointment. But even after finding a few that Yuki liked, they stayed in that room, taking turns at trying out outfits until the woman at the desk, Julie, told them that it was time to leave.
“What’s this?” Akira asked. Yuki peeked over at her and saw her holding up a school uniform. “Did you buy a uniform?”
Yuki tilted her head and grabbed the uniform, running her fingers through the material. It looked familiar. The design of the blazer, the top, the green plaid skirt, and the tie that matched. It looked like something from Earth.
‘Oh. Elementary school in the States.’
She remembered now. Taking the uniform, she folded it and sat down on her bed, staring at it. Her hands stroked it as something familiar began to bubble up within her. Loss.
“Yuki?” Akira said, taking a seat beside her.
“I think I bought it by accident,” Yuki said, her voice quiet.
“Should we return it then?”
“No,” Yuki replied immediately. “No. It’s fine.”
She stared at it longer, the loss within her growing as the seconds ticked. She knew why her hands had clicked buy, even if her mind wasn’t attentive at the time.
“Is there a reason why you want to keep it?” Akira asked. Yuki didn’t say anything, but she felt that she didn’t need to say anything for Akira to understand. “Does it remind you of something?”
“Someone,” Yuki whispered.
“Who?”
“I’ve never told you about Samantha, have I.” Akira’s silence told Yuki the answer to that. “It reminds me of her.”
“Tell me about her.”
“Well. She was kind, energetic. The type of girl you couldn’t help but like. I avoided her at first, but she grew on me. I would go to her house, or she would come to mine, and we would play or just talk for hours on end. Then she disappeared.”
Yuki lifted the uniform and stared at it.
“This almost looks exactly like the uniform my elementary school had. It just needs the patch and it would be an exact replica,” Yuki said. She fingered the collar of the blazer. “She was looking so forward to wearing this.”
“Samantha?” Akira asked gently.
“Yes. Sam said that she was going to be transferring to my school. She had bought a uniform and everything already.” Yuki quieted as she remembered the day Sam told her. “It made me happy. A friend I could talk to the whole day. Then she tried to get me to wear the uniform.”
A rueful smile appeared on Yuki’s lips.
“We argued over that. Jokingly. I still didn’t wear it though, and she didn’t want to push me. That was the last time I saw her.”
“Do you know what happened?” Akira said.
“No. No one told me anything. I only ever asked one person about it. My aunt.”
“And what did she say?”
“She said that Sam had left and that I wouldn’t be able to see her again,” Yuki whispered. “That didn’t make sense. I remembered Sam crying one day, telling me that she didn’t want to leave me alone. I asked her what she meant, but she didn’t explain. It wasn’t brought up again after that. She seemed fine, so I never thought to ask again.”
Akira didn’t say anything.
“Maybe she’s happier now. Wherever she is. Maybe she’s at a school, laughing with friends, going out with them. Maybe she has a boyfriend or a girlfriend that she hugs at night. Maybe she’s forgotten about me.”
“Yuki.”
“Let me believe that,” Yuki cut her off, looking down. A cold dread clawed up at her. “Please. Let that be the truth. It’s better than the alternative.”
A warm palm cupped Yuki’s face. Akira’s thumb brushed Yuki’s eyes, wiping away tears that Yuki didn’t know had formed. She blinked, trying to hold them in.
“It’s fine,” Akira said softly. “Let them out. I’m here.”
She pulled Yuki into her and held her tightly. The warmth melted Yuki’s thin resistance and she cried freely, the tears pouring out. Akira whispered words of comfort into her ear.
“I’m here,” she said.
The tears took their time to dry.
