But it was new for her to be going with more than just him. She wasn't used to it yet, but she was pretty sure that she'd learn to deal with it. Of course, there was little chance of her having more than a say with Ash in the matter, but then that was not going to change anyway. He was such a nice and caring guy that he just didn't think of doing something else than consulting her on things. It was wonderful, and she knew how lucky she was to be with him.
Which it seemed that these girls were still on their way to realising. There were hungry looks in the eyes at least two of them, and she could tell that it wasn't for food. She'd seen it too many times to miss it, and had even felt it when she was starting out with Ash. They even hovered near him as the group walked to the market as if he would suddenly vanish on them. There wasn't a clear idea of what they were planning on doing, but she knew that they weren't about to give up the chance to stay out of the re-education facilities.
She just hope that things wouldn't end badly for any of them.
"Okay now... Ya know what?" Ash said as he looked around at all the racks and racks of feminine attire that had surrounded him as they'd walked through the store. "Ya guys just pick out somethin', and we'll get that."
Michiru looked up from where she'd been fingering a blouse and blinked. "Are you saying that you want us to pick out our own outfits?"
"Well... yeah. This sorta stuff ain't my strong suit. I thought that was just what I said. But don't go crazy. It ain't like the money's gonna last forever."
"Yes, I understand that all too well."
"Then what are ya waitin' for? Find somethin'."
"Of course," the sea green haired girl replied as she turned back to seeing the clothing on the racks. It was different than the days when she'd been able to go to a boutique and get immediately waited on, but this was still all too wonderful. The simple idea of having clothing that wasn't institutional in nature was something that she'd dreamed of for a long time. To have an outfit that was all her own, one that made her look good and stand out from the others was too nice for words.
Then again, there were some she wasn't sure could ever master women's clothing. Looking at the blonde brute, she wondered if the girl even knew which direction she should put her bra on. It was a bit of a nasty thought, and likely a bit much, but she knew that the girl wasn't the most feminine individual. Sure she had a nice figure, and would likely clean up nicely, but she was too... mannish to pull off true grace. She even began to formulate a comment to that direction.
But she bit her tounge and pressed her lips together into a thin line. While it would be fine enough to enjoy herself at the other's expense, she knew that she'd be risking setting a bad precedent. If she started now, she could go into a sniping relationship with the girl, which could possibly reflect badly on her. She'd seen enough of that sort of girl come to be 'educated' and they rarely stayed that way.
Having no wish to be sent off, she held herself back, at least until she could be sure of the ramifications, and went back to looking over the items that were for sale. Perhaps she could find something that would be both cheap enough, and still make her look the way she would want.
If there were somethings that Haruka knew, they didn't include how to buy women's clothing. Sure she knew how to wear them, and how she might be looking good in them. That was something that had been conditioned into her, and was giving her some guidance in her picks. But she'd never really had a selection before, and no one had let her pick out her own clothing to buy before.
A part of her was drawn to the pants area, and she saw several likely pairs that would fit her own personal likes. They were clean lined, good in color, and were not all pretty. They would still hug her backside and legs, and she knew that she could do much with such garments. But then another section of her mind made her wonder if she should go for a skirt. She wasn't a fan of them, what with growing up a boy, but she knew that guys liked them.
Either way, she knew that she had to do something. So she resolved it by going to the only section that she knew that she would have to buy from.
She went to the underwear section. And there found that her problems were still in force. There were all sorts of different styles that were before her, and she knew that they would be a possible problem. The rather plain ones were out, as she knew that they were way too close to what she had just left for comfort. Then there were really cutesy ones that she wouldn't ever expect a girl above grade school to wear. However, there were ones in between the two, and there were a lot of them. From athletic ones, to ones definately made more for a male to see, there were a lot of choices.
Picking one up, she looked and saw how it was nicely laced on the edges, but was mainly satin. It was definately feminine, but more in a... dignified way by her own opinion. She just wasn't sure that it was the way that she wanted to go.
Peering out of the corner of her eye, she saw the rich girl making fast headway through the racks. Obviously she had no problem making it through the buying process, probably because she done it a hundred times before. Heck, she likely thought of it as a pasttime, and was enjoying herself. Well, Haruka wasn't about to give up, and knew that she had to do something about it.
Her first urge to confront the other girl was squashed since she didn't want to get into trouble. However, she knew that she could do her own best to try and look twice as good as that snob. So she was sure that she wasn't going to be beaten, and added another condition to her outfit buying.
"Hmmm..," Setsuna murmured as she looked over the blazer that she was standing in front of. It wasn't the best looking thing, but she knew that she did have some skill that would let her fix it to her liking. She just wasn't sure that she wanted to do it to this particular one.
"Ya seem ta be deep in thought," said a male voice, and when she turned, she saw Ash looking back at her.
"Umm... yes..."
"Ah... I see. What were ya thinkin' 'bout? Seemed like ya were workin' somethin' out."
"I was. I was thinking that if I brought this piece here, I could work with it, but I'm not sure it would be worth it.
He glanced over at the blazer and frowned. "That's a bit much, ain't it? I mean, ain't ya gonna be uncomfortable wearin' that all the time?"
"Oh, no. I wasn't think of that. You see, I realised that we will need to look... professional once and a while. I may be more of someone who stays behind, but still? I mean how many secretaries or drivers or helpers work wearing sweats?"
"Hmm. I gotcha. But ya do realise that I don't really need some fancy clothing? Just as long as we've got outfits that'll look good enough, I ain't gonna worry."
"That's understandable," she replied. After all, they didn't have to get suits or anything, and she knew that there wasn't an endless amount of money.
"Ya sew, right? And have that dressmakin' stuff?"
"Yes, I do."
"Then let's just get ya some cloth and supplies when we can. Ya can make outfits that'll be good, and we'll only have ta pay for material. And ya guys can have it be in a style ya'll like."
"That... it sounds good."
"Hey, then it's a plan," he said with a shrug. "Still, we need some outfits now, and we've gotta pay for 'em soon. Ya got yours picked out?"
"I do."
"Then let's go pay for them."
She nodded and trailed after him, noticing that the others did as she was. It was like a signal had been sent out, and now they were ready to go. She could understand it, as it would have been natural even if they hadn't been conditioned or given to him. After all, when informed that it was time to do something that they knew and were going to do regardless, then they'd have no problem doing it.
However, she was too busy with her other thoughts to comprehend the assessing looks the other girls gave her while:
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(Posted Fri, 23 Jul 2004 17:34)
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