Department Store Date

So I "used" Aso, did I...

"That's right. I did use Aso."

"Huh?"

"Whatever the case may be, she is sorely lacking in many ways — but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Aso is something like a disciple to me, and I, in turn, am something like a teacher to her. Is that not so?"

"I-is that so?"

"I found myself in a difficult situation, you see, and sought her aid for a time. In turn, should anything ever befall our disciple-something-or-other, then as long as this hand can reach, I shall help her."

A something-disciple, then. Perhaps that was much the same as being an outer disciple. Having taken only a single disciple in my entire life, it was only natural that I felt unsure how to treat her — and yet, watching her stare up at me with what looked for all the world like being deeply moved...

I decided I didn't much care.

"Now, though we have time, it is not infinite. Aso, let us go wherever it is you wish."

"Yes...!"

Following Aso through the downtown streets, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it struck me that exposure had risen for men and women alike. Men strutted along in short pants and sleeveless shirts, their clothes cut to flatter every line of their figures, while the women — was the skin they bared not greater than the skin they covered?

Of course, not everyone dressed so, but such folk numbered far more than one or two... Prosperous age or no, surely this was going too far.

"How sublime..."

It was disorienting enough that I might mistake this street for a pleasure quarter. I suspected I could walk down such a road a hundred times and never grow accustomed to it — though at least the Aso beside me was decently dressed. For that much, I suppose I should be grateful.

"It is a blessing that you are here."

Yes — how others chose to dress was no concern of mine. So long as the one beside me was decent, that was enough.

"Hehe..."

"Now, where was it we were headed?"

"Ah, we're on our way to the department store."

A department store... If my hazy memories served, that was a place where all manner of shops and facilities gathered under one roof. But if we went somewhere so crowded, would the broadcast not be disturbed?

"Are you certain it is fine to take the broadcast to such a place?"

"Yeah, well... you'll be there, Teach."

What was that supposed to mean? For some reason, I doubted it was anything good.

"Well, I imagine you have your reasons."

But the stares were getting to me. Walk down the street beside Aso, and gazes gathered upon us in a way that defied all explanation.

Was Aso that famous, or had I become so? Yet unlike the stares fixed upon a celebrity, these felt more like people marveling at some strange curiosity.

"Do they bother you?"

"Frankly, yes. Why do they gawk at us so?"

This was no pleasant feeling, I must say.

"Wha — you seriously don't know?"

From her reaction, Aso tilted her head as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. What on earth was going on? I hadn't the faintest idea.

"Indeed. I haven't the slightest notion what you mean."

"Is it the clothing?"

The clothing? I had simply dressed as I always did... Hmm. Now that I considered it...

Suppressing my discomfort, I glanced around — and certainly, this getup did stand out as alien.

"So my usual attire was the problem."

"You wear that... on a normal day?"

Would I walk the streets in clothes I couldn't wear on a normal day? A moment's thought was all it took to see the answer.

"I do. These are the clothes that have spent most of my hours with me."

"I see... You must really treasure them."

"They were a gift."

A gift from someone I will never see again... Along with my sword, they were garments I held dear.

"Hmm... then follow me!"

Aso tugged at my sleeve without a shred of hesitation, and I resolved, for the moment, to simply follow.

"Where are you taking me?"

"That's a secret~ you'll see when we get there."

Goodness — wherever had she learned to make that face? It was downright cloying. Why on earth did she twist one eye shut like that? Had my expression really looked like that just now without my noticing? It didn't look enjoyable in the least.

"Here we are!"

The place where she finally released my sleeve, declaring our arrival, was the entrance of a menswear shop.

Menswear — did she mean the sort ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of clothing I'd seen out on the street? If so, I would have refused on the spot.

"It's nothing weird, so don't worry. That stuff out there is basically cosplay anyway."

So ran Aso's excuse that was barely an excuse at all.

"Hmm... If it is clothing like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this, I suppose I can accept it."

The outfit Aso handed me was utterly unremarkable. A white shirt and black trousers — that was the whole of it.

It had been far too long since I'd worn such modern dress, and the strange texture of the fabric felt oddly foreign. I stepped out of the fitting room and made my way toward her—

"Wow... it really, really suits you."

Something in there suggested I'd glimpsed words I was never meant to see... But what in the world was a "lookbook"? Let me think — perhaps a broadcast where one changes clothes for the camera?

"Wow, it's so different..."

Hm? Different, was it?

"N-no, absolutely, absolutely not saying your old clothes look bad, they're just — different, it's just, how do I put it, doesn't the setting clash a little? No, wait, that's not it either."

"Fear not, I take no offense. Certainly, my martial garb would be a stranger in a place like this..."

"I-it suits you too, though! Really! But still, this is... well, it's kind of like a date... isn't it?"

A something-like-a-date, was it... For the third time today, I found myself thinking what a curious relationship this was.

A something-like-a-teacher and a something-like-a-disciple, off on a something-like-a-date.

"What a remarkably ambiguous arrangement we have."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Nothing at all. Now — where might I retrieve the martial garb I came in? It would trouble me greatly to lose it."

"Oh, it's right here."

Opening the bag Aso handed over, I found my garb folded neatly within.

"My thanks."

Yet when I turned to the mirror, something felt off.

Perhaps because I'd changed into modern dress, my long, flowing hair now nagged at me. In my martial garb it had never once bothered me — but strangely, now I couldn't stop noticing it.

"Might you happen to have a hair tie?"

"A hair tie? I do, actually. Want me to lend you one?"

"That would be appreciated."

Gathering my hair back with the tie she handed me—

"Hm. Much improved."

"...!"

Keep your mouth hanging open like that and a bug will fly in. What on earth was there to gawk at so vacantly?

"Close your mouth. Now — where to next?"

"A-ah, yes, yes sir... Next, um..."

"Would you... like to watch a movie?"

"A movie."

A film... It had been a long while, but that could be enjoyable. And yet a faint, instinctive wariness crept over me — I would have to steer well clear of romance.

"Anything without romance will do. Ah — that's right. I despise martial arts films as well."

"Got it! Then how about action?"

"Action, hm."

I had grown weary of fighting. But surely nothing on that screen would amount to true combat — at most a trifle playing at the edges. It would be fine.

"Ah... right, that's a thing."

"It's fine. Let's go see one."

"O-oh, okay!"

Looking down at myself, the clothes I had once worn so casually — now so unfamiliar — gave me a peculiar, wistful feeling.

"I'll take this one, please."

At the voice, I turned my head to find Aso handing her card across the counter.

"I shall pay."

"What? No, I told you, this is a gift from me."

"Ah... so I did agree to that."

She had indeed said she would give it to me as a present.

"It's not anything expensive, but... it'd make me happy if you thought of it as something precious."

"Very well... I shall treasure it."

My first gift since arriving in this world. Of course I would treasure it.

With the purchase settled, we made for the cinema. Even after changing clothes the stares kept coming, and there was nothing to be done about it, so I simply ignored them — until at last we arrived, and—

"Would you like some popcorn?"

— Aso asked if I wanted popcorn.

Popcorn, hm... A food steeped in nostalgia. Ah, that's right — on occasions like this, wasn't it customary for me to be the one buying the tickets?

"I shall buy the tickets. You buy the popcorn."