When we finished paying and left the shop, there were more people than before.
“Where should we go next?”
“Umm…”
I think a little and look around.
Suddenly, a cute shop catching my eye is selling clothes with frills and other details.
Hiyori chose clothes for me that I would never usually wear, but I still think that kind of girly style suits Hiyori.
“…Do you want to check out that place?”
When I point at the shop, Hiyori looks blank for a second, and then her face brightens up.
“That sounds nice! I like that kind of thing.”
This time, I take Hiyori’s hand and pull her into the shop. Holding hands was completely unconscious, though.
This is also a shop I would never enter on my own. I seriously cannot imagine myself looking good in these clothes.
I browse through clothes decorated with frills and ribbons.
…What should I do. I am in trouble because all of them look like they would suit Hiyori…
While browsing the store for a while, a single dress catches my eye. It is another dress, but it looks like it would suit Hiyori very well.
A light pink dress made of lace fabric. It is decorated casually with ribbons and is very cute.
“How about this one? I think it would suit you.”
When I hand her that dress, Hiyori nods deeply.
“I will go try it on.”
Saying that, she goes into the fitting room.
Hiyori wearing that dress must be super cute…
While imagining that and browsing through clothes near the fitting room for a while, Hiyori calls out to me.
“Um… Koto-senpai…”
“Hm? Were you able to change?”
“Ah, no… that is not it…”
Hiyori trails off, hesitating.
What is wrong?
Did it not fit? Or maybe she did not like it.
As I tilt my head, Hiyori murmurs in a small voice.
“I cannot zip up the back… Is it okay for you to come inside… and zip it up for me?”
—…Eh?
My thoughts stop for a second.
The fitting room. The back zipper. It is okay to come inside.
The words echo in my head, and it takes a little while for them to connect into meaning.
“Ah… u-um. Got it.”
My voice sounds strained.
When I open the curtain just a little bit, Hiyori is standing with her back facing me. She has swept her hair forward.
The nape of her neck, usually hidden by her hair, catches my eye first, and just that makes my heart skip a beat.
Wanting to look away from it, I lower my gaze, but that is just digging my own grave.
The zipper pulled up halfway, a pure white back, and the hook of a pink bra.
Even though I know I should not look closely, I cannot look away.
After staring for a while, Hiyori calls out in a small voice.
“Koto-senpai…?”
That snaps me back to reality.
“S-Sorry.”
I step inside the fitting room and put my hand on the zipper. Hiyori’s shoulder gives a start.
The sound of the zipper going up, the sound of my fast heartbeat, and the sound of my ragged breathing echo in my ears.
The moment the zipper reaches the very top, I pull my hand away quickly.
“Thank you.”
Hiyori turns around as if dancing and faces me.
“How is it? Does it suit me?”
I can only nod slightly.
It suits her so much.
Cute, cute, cute.
I am losing my vocabulary. I almost do not want to show her to anyone else. I was super flustered, but I am glad I came inside the fitting room.
“It suits you, a lot. Like, you are super cute.”
When I say that in a raspy voice, Hiyori smiles brightly.
The pink color stands out nicely against Hiyori’s pure white skin. It almost makes me hallucinate that this clothing was born just for her.
As I stare blankly at her appearance, Hiyori eventually gives a bitter smile.
“Koto-senpai, um… I want to change back…”
Coming to my senses, I step back in a panic.
“S-Sorry! I’m leaving right away!”
When I close the curtain and go outside, I press my chest and let out a big sigh.
…That was dangerous. In every sense of the word.
“Hahhhhh…”
Outside the fitting room, I hold my head and sigh.
After a while, Hiyori comes out of the fitting room holding the dress, and heads straight to the register.
When she finishes paying, she runs over to me quickly.
“Koto-senpai, thank you for picking it out. I love it a lot.”
“I am glad to hear that.”
Hiyori walks out of the shop just like that. I follow behind her back.
Are we not going to hold hands like before?
I feel a little lonely.
But I do not have the courage to reach out myself, and I can only stare at Hiyori’s hand from behind.
Then Hiyori turns around to face me.
“Koto-senpai, next is————…”
When she stops talking there, I raise my gaze from her hand to wonder what is wrong, and see Hiyori grinning.
“Koto-senpai, you keep staring at my hands… Do you want to hold hands?”
My shoulders jump with a start. I cannot believe she found out…
I can feel my face turning red.
I look away from Hiyori. Then Hiyori steps closer and intertwines her fingers with mine.
Holding hands like lovers, just like before.
“If you want to hold hands, you should just say from the beginning that you want to hold hands. You are not very honest.”
Saying that, Hiyori squeezes my hand tightly and lines up next to me.
“That is… I am sorry…”
When I mutter that shyly, Hiyori smiles, pulls my hand, and starts walking.
♢
After that, we eat lunch together and window-shop, and the fun time passes in a flash until it is almost time to go home.
Actually, we could stay a bit longer, but Hiyori says she has a first-period class tomorrow so she has to go home early.
“We have to go home soon, huh.”
“…I guess so.”
I feel like Hiyori’s energy is dropping, even if just a little.
Seeing Hiyori looking so obviously downcast, my heart aches a little bit. It would have been nice if we could stay just a little longer…
If we were lovers, maybe I could have said, “Do you want to come over to my house?” and stayed a bit longer.
I shift my gaze. Then, a cute accessory shop catches my eye. It is a famous affordable brand, and it looks like something Hiyori would like.
“Hey, can we go in there at the very end?”
When I point at the shop, Hiyori’s face brightens right up and she nods deeply.
Inside the accessory shop, small lights are twinkling brilliantly.
Necklaces, earrings, and rings are neatly lined up, and all of them look cute.
From the moment she steps inside, Hiyori’s eyes sparkle as she goes back and forth in front of the accessories.
“Waa… cute…”
Her profile looks so happy that I cannot help but watch her.
Seeing Hiyori in front of small trinkets like this feels age-appropriate, honest, and cute.
“Ah, this one looks like it would suit you, Hiyori.”
I point at a necklace.
It is a cute silver necklace with a heart-shaped jewel motif.
“Isn’t this a little too childish?”
“Eh… you think so?”
Even while saying that, Hiyori picks up the necklace, holds it against her neck, and looks in the mirror.
“It suits you. Really.”
To be fair, the design might be just a little childish. But I was certain that it would definitely suit Hiyori.
Hiyori glares at the mirror for a while. After a moment, she smiles with satisfaction and says,
“If Koto-senpai says so…”
before gripping the necklace tightly.
Then she picks up some earrings placed next to the necklace. They have a heart-shaped jewel, matching the necklace she chose.
I thought maybe she wears matching sets, but Hiyori does not have pierced ears. Thinking she might have mistaken them for clip-on earrings, Hiyori hands those earrings over to me instead.
“Then please wear these, Koto-senpai. It is a matching set.”
“……Eh?”
A vacant voice slips out before I can stop it.
“A matching set.”
Hiyori says it once more, looking straight into my eyes.
I am surprised because I never expected her to say something like that.
The sound of the word “matching” makes me so happy that my hand reaches for the earrings before I can think.
“Matching, huh.”
When I take the earrings from Hiyori’s hand, Hiyori smiles happily.
We head to the register together just like that and pay.
We leave the shop holding a small paper bag.
“Koto-senpai, please make sure to wear them starting tomorrow, okay?”
“Hiyori, you too.”
Then Hiyori smiles a little shyly and looks away from me.
“Of course. Every time you look at those earrings, please remember today and me, okay?”
She says something so cute that I feel like I am going to ascend to heaven.
I pat Hiyori’s head and gently smile back.
“Even without something like this, I will remember today forever.”
When I say that, Hiyori makes a slightly taken-aback face before wearing a full-blown smile.
Then, taking my hand as if it is the most natural thing in the world, she heads toward the exit of the shopping mall.