arc1 · 014-ch14

Episode 14: Shopping

Side: Soramine Umi

Three days had passed since then. Maybe because there's a big event coming up this weekend, Takako and her crew haven't been bothering me much. More importantly, today is the day Onii-chan goes to his first job.

I can't go with him since I have school, but seeing him working harder and more energetically than ever before is a secret reason I think we can manage together, even if this job doesn't work out.

That day too, I came home right after school, but unfortunately Onii-chan wasn't there. I did laundry and cleaning while waiting for him, but he never came home, so I made dinner for two, ate by myself, and went to bed.

The next day was Saturday, so no school, but since Onii-chan's friend was over from the morning, I stayed quietly in my room.

Onii-chan only has one friend. His childhood friend, Himehana-chan. Since she's Onii-chan's friend, I don't want to speak badly of her, but Himehana-chan is dangerous. After all, she's super cute. Her personality is bright and she's kind to everyone, so Onii-chan might get tricked. I need to keep a close watch.

But even though Onii-chan and Himehana-chan shouldn't have been in contact since he stopped going to school, what brought her here all of a sudden? And Onii-chan seems to be accepting her normally too. Don't tell me they've been communicating again!? This needs attention!

I tried my best to listen to what they were talking about, but they'd occasionally shout, get excited, or go quiet, so I couldn't figure out what they were discussing. But after Himehana-chan left, Onii-chan told me work was going well, so I was relieved.

So Himehana-chan didn't come to flirt with Onii-chan—she came for work!

And when I told him I was going out tomorrow, he actually gave me some allowance! I tried to refuse since we need money for Mama's medicine, but Onii-chan said "Leave Mom's medicine to me!" He was super cool!

Knowing that Onii-chan cares about me that much, I couldn't help but cry.

That said, I was worried about receiving so much allowance. After all, it was two ten-thousand-yen bills!? I'd never even gotten one before, and now I have two—can't I buy anything? But since dinner that night was curry with pork, I knew work really was going well and was able to sleep peacefully.

▽▽▽

The next morning, Onii-chan was still sleeping, so I heated up yesterday's leftover curry rice, changed into my usual clothes, and headed to the school where we were meeting up. In my worn-out small pink wallet, I had two ten-thousand-yen bills and a little bit of change I'd saved from previous allowances. Ah, I'm nervous.

"Good morning."

"Morning!"

"Ah, g-good morning, Umi-chan!?"

"Umi-chan!? G-good morning!?"

"Huh? U-U-Umi-chan!?"

Everyone was already gathered when I arrived, so I said "good morning," but the boys, except for Satsuki, seemed surprised to see me. I guess it is unusual for me to be in a situation like this, but am I not welcome...?

"Oh my, I never thought you'd actually come! Today is going to be fun!"

Takako reacted with amusement after seeing our exchange. Even though she's the one who invited me.

"Can't believe you came in that outfit! Fugh!"

"It's the only one I have, so there's nothing I can do!"

Lackeys A and B immediately jumped in to agree with whatever Takako said. But the three boys seemed a bit put off by those three. Hehehe, serves them right! Actually, it seems like they didn't tell the boys I was invited. How rude.

"Well then, everyone's here! Time to head out!"

For some reason, Takako, who was acting like she was in charge, took the lead and started walking, so everyone else vaguely followed behind. Our destination was a large department store two train stations away.

Honestly, I don't think this group is great, but the situation of going shopping with my first-ever allowance had me a little excited. With twenty thousand yen, how much stuff could I buy? I can't even imagine.

"Hey, hey, you seem to be in a good mood—did something good happen?"

Satsuki asked, seeming to see right through my heart. Way to go, Satsuki. That's my best friend for you.

"Just a little bit!"

"Ehh, meanie! Tell me properly!"

While I was having that exchange with Satsuki, I felt like someone was watching us. When I quickly looked around, I met eyes with the three boys who had been staring at us. The three of them hurriedly looked away. So these three were watching Satsuki, huh. Satsuki is pretty and has a good personality, so they must be interested.

That said, these three boys were apparently quite popular in our class too. Takashi who plays baseball, Rei who's good at soccer, and Hayato who's funny and smart—I'm impressed they managed to gather these three.

It probably wouldn't have worked with just Takako and her lackeys, so this is definitely thanks to Satsuki-chan. But compared to our Onii-chan, these three still have a long way to go. They need to work harder to become good men.

While thinking about that, we arrived at the station. Being careful not to let the ten-thousand-yen bills fall out of my wallet, I carefully took out some change and bought a ticket.

"Oh my, Umi-san. Do you have enough money for a ticket? If not, I could pay for you. Ohohohoho!"

She saw me buying a ticket and said something nasty. Maybe she wanted to look good in front of the boys, but it seems to have backfired. Usually her mean comments irritate me, but seeing the boys' shocked expressions made me feel a little sorry for Takako.

That said, I used to think train tickets were pretty expensive, but thinking about the two ten-thousand-yen bills in my wallet somehow makes it seem cheap. This is a dangerous sign. I need to be careful.

After successfully buying my ticket, I boarded the train and arrived at the station two stops away in about twenty minutes. The department store we were heading to was right next to the station, so even a child's legs could get there in no time.

"Now then, first we're going to the accessory shop!"

"I'm following you, Takako-sama! Fugh!"

"I want a bunny keychain."

As soon as we arrived at the department store, Takako hopped on the escalator heading for the accessory shop on a fairly high floor. Apparently, she's going to buy trendy bunny character goods. But I'm not very interested. More importantly, I need to use the allowance Onii-chan gave me to buy clothes.

"I'm not really interested, so I'll go to the clothing store."

I was planning to tell everyone first before going to the clothing store alone, but—

"Ah, I actually had a T-shirt I wanted to buy too."

"I have a hole in my sock, so I need to go buy new ones."

"I'm pretty sure that clothing store over there sells hats. Maybe I should go check them out."

For some reason, the three boys said they had business at the clothing store too. What a coincidence.

"Well then, I guess I'll go look at clothes too."

In the end, Satsuki came with me too, so we ended up splitting into two groups—Takako's group and our group.

"W-w-wait just a moment! In that case, we'll also—"

Takako turned around on the escalator and was shouting something, but it was crowded so I couldn't hear what she was saying. Well, we set a meeting place and time, so it should be fine.

We took the elevator to the floor with the clothing store.

"Hey, hey, this is cute!"

When I told Satsuki about getting allowance from Onii-chan, she found me some cute and affordable clothes. A set with a beige short-sleeve shirt and skirt, super cute, and the price—just four thousand yen for the set! Honestly, I have no fashion sense, so this is really helpful. The skirt is a little short, which is a bit concerning, but it looks easy to move in and nice.

I bought this set along with a T-shirt and half-pants, plus some underwear and socks, and went to pay. My hand was trembling when I took out a ten-thousand-yen bill from my wallet for the first time. I was a little nervous since it had been a while since I'd gone shopping, but if this is what shopping feels like, I'm all for it!

"Would you like to wear the clothes you just purchased?"

When I finished paying, the clerk asked me. It's true the clothes I'm wearing now don't fit properly, so maybe I should change into the new ones.

"Yes, I'll wear them!"

When I answered energetically, the clerk guided me to the fitting room. I changed there and put my old clothes in the bag I'd received.

"Wow, you look adorable! It really suits you! Right?"

Satsuki, who had been waiting for me in front of the fitting room, praised my appearance when she saw me. Even if it's just flattery, it makes me happy!

"Y-yeah, um... I think it suits you."

"Huh, ah, cu-cute..."

"......Hah!? Um, well, it lo-looks good on you."

Before I knew it, the boys were there too, and even though Satsuki suddenly put them on the spot making them stammer, they still praised me. Honestly, getting nervous just because Satsuki talked to you—you'll never win her over like that!

Since we'd all bought what we wanted, we decided to head to the meeting place to rejoin Takako's group.