After finishing shopping for Hiyorin’s clothes, we arrived at the men’s section. The floor contained a wide range of brands, from well-known ones to emerging brands I had never heard of.
I had already decided on what to buy, but as soon as we arrived, Hiyorin made a suggestion.
“Souma-kun, I’ll choose your clothes for you.” (Hiyori)
With that said, I ended up being led around by Hiyorin. Although, Hiyorin didn’t seem to be aimlessly wandering around, rather, it appears that she is looking for something specific.
“Oh!” (Hiyori)
Hiyorin suddenly rushed over and picked up something. It was just a regular sports hoodie. It seemed that she was searching for this, but the hoodie didn’t look particularly special to me. Even after I held it in my hand, my impression remained the same. I hadn’t heard of the brand either. Maybe it was some brand that quietly became trendy among voice actors?
“Hmm, I wonder if the size is okay,” (Hiyori)
Hiyorin pushed the yellow hoodie she was holding onto me and carefully inspected the shoulder line while checking the sleeves and hem with a serious expression. It was as if she had nestled into my chest, and my heart began to itch. A sweet fragrance wafted from her silky hair, and for some reason, a random thought popped into my head that if I were an insect, I would probably stick to Hiyorin.
“…Yeah, it looks good. Let’s go with this one.” (Hiyori)
Hiyorin placed the hoodie in the basket she was carrying. I hastily interjected. Yellow wasn’t a color I particularly liked.
“Um, I was thinking maybe the light blue one instead—” (Souma)
“Did you say something?” (Hiyori)
“Oh, no, it’s nothing…” (Souma)
Overwhelmed by Hiyorin’s intimidating yet compelling smile directed at me, I quickly backed down. I didn’t understand why she was so insistent on yellow, but I figured it must be the color that she preferred. If my oshi voice actress was picking out clothes for me, I didn’t have the heart to argue.
“Alright, we still need some innerwear… Souma-kun, you don’t have any, right?” (Hiyori)
“Yes, that’s right. I was planning to buy some.” (Souma)
“Got it. Then shall we go?” (Hiyori)
Hiyorin started walking with a cheerful demeanor, lightly shaking the basket she was holding. I was relieved to see her in such high spirits. I had been worried that maybe she was finding our time together boring because we weren’t having any engaging conversations.
By the way, I had intended to carry the basket myself, but Hiyorin adamantly refused. Maybe she felt embarrassed because it contained women’s clothing. Even though we were often quite close, I guess it’s better to think of normal Hiyorin and drunk Hiyorin as two different people.
…
Unable to gaze at Hiyorin’s back, my eyes wandered aimlessly to the swaying basket. At the very top of it, of course, was the yellow hoodie that was placed inside. Below that were Hiyorin’s sports wear which we decided on. And beneath that, was Hiyorin’s lemon yellow hoodie that she had initially chosen. It formed a color combination like a tiger’s stripes, with yellow sandwiched between black.
“Hmm…?” (Souma)
…Something felt off.
The absence of any variety felt oddly unsettling. I found the color scheme to resemble that of a tiger because the two yellows appeared to be of the same hue. But that couldn’t be right. Yellow, in all likelihood, came in various shades. Yet, the two pieces in the basket seemed to be exactly the same color.
As if they were the same thing.
◆
“…Seriously?” (Souma)
I bit down on the words that came out of my mouth.
For better or worse, the unease I felt had hit the mark. The young woman at the cash register was looking at the two hoodies and had a warm smile on her face.
“Matching! Are you two a couple?” (Cashier)
At the register, the two yellow hoodies were almost identical in design except for the presence/absence of chest bulges. Because of this, we were mistaken for a couple. I felt awkward and let my gaze fall on a sign next to the register that said, “One bag for 3 yen.” I couldn’t bring myself to look at the cashier or Hiyorin’s face. Being mistaken for a couple was something neither of us would find amusing.
However, shocking words came from Hiyorin’s mouth.
“Yes, we are. We plan to go running together.” (Hiyori)
“!?” (Souma)
“That’s nice; it’s lovely.” (Cashier)
“Hehe, thank you.” (Hiyori)
After hearing words I couldn’t ignore, I unintentionally raised my head to look at Hiyorin’s face. Hiyorin had placed her credit card on the counter with a calm expression. Seeing this, I hurriedly took out my wallet.
“Hiyorin-san, the money—” (Souma)
I tried taking out the bill, Hiyorin gently shook her head, using her hand to stop me, and wore a serene expression filled with an adult’s composure, as if she were dating a younger boyfriend.
“Let your onee-chan handle this. It’s a thank-you for always taking care of me.” (Hiyori)
“Well, but…” (Souma)
I couldn’t easily back down, and my hand wandered aimlessly in the air while holding the cash. I knew that it was polite to let her treat me if she wanted to, but today’s bill had completely exceeded the limit of what I considered acceptable. After all, it wasn’t just hoodies that we bought. Taking into account the innerwear and running shoes, the total had long exceeded five digits.
“Will you be paying with a card?” (Cashier)
“Yes, please.” (Hiyori)
“I’ll take your card.” (Cashier)
The exchange proceeded smoothly, but all I could do was awkwardly clutch my cash and watch. My body doesn’t seem to know what to do as I find myself unable to hand the money to Hiyorin or put it back in my wallet. As I stood there, Hiyorin turned her gaze towards me and spoke.
“It’s just that… I’m constantly showing you my embarrassing side, right? So, can you let me show off a bit occasionally? You’re even keeping me company even though you don’t have to. I can’t bear to make you pay because of my selfishness.” (Hiyori)
“…I understand.” (Souma)
Certainly, if the roles were reversed, I’d probably want to treat her as well. Of course, I felt guilty for accepting her generosity, but I could understand that it was better for me to yield in this situation.
“In that case… Thank you, Hiyorin-san.” (Souma)
“Mmm. But in return, you have to accompany me properly, okay?” (Hiyori)
I nodded. When I slowly raised my head, I noticed that the cashier’s cheeks had turned red.
…Embarrassing, but not in the way she probably imagined!
TL Notes:
Thanks for reading!
I wonder if Shizuka and Mafuyu are gonna go buy the same matching hoodie lol. Imagine the cashier’s reaction when two other girls buy the same thing soon after.
I think the conversation towards the end was supposed to be a bit more suggestive of “accompanying in bed”, hence the cashier’s reaction. I think there is a better way to phrase it to achieve this but I just can’t think of it.
Thanks for the update ~~