Xiren woke up and carefully disentangled herself from the muscular man sharing her bed. Valentine's Day was coming up and she wanted some time to do her shopping without a certain possessive wolf to look over her shoulder and 'protect her from other men'. Quietly, the dark haired woman slid from the bed and headed to her closet. Her outfit was already laid out so she could find it in the dark. This early in the morning none of the others in the house would be awake except possibly Atraiyuu who awoke very early to practice his music. Clothes in hand the fashionista glanced over at the sleeping figure on the bed before slipping out the door. Carefully, she made her way past the stair landing and to the spare room under the staircase. Without turning on any lights Xiren made her way to the adjoining bathroom.
The woman removed her nightgown and turned on the hot water long enough to wet herself and rinse off rather than scrub down. She'd take a thorough when she returned home and didn't run the risk of waking anyone. Stepping from the shower she toweled down her hair and body and then picked up her outfit. Before leaving the bathroom the fashionista checked her appearance. The beige sweater she wore had heart shaped patterns woven into the fabric and to match she wore a pair of light colored shorts with beige leggings that had the same pattern as the sweater. The accent piece for the outfit was the white half calf boots with fur lining. The boots were wedge heeled and had heart shaped rhinestones sewn into them as well as heart shaped charms dangling from the laces.
With an approving nod, she quietly gathered her nightgown and tossed it into the hamper before leaving the room. Careful steps led Xiren to the kitchen to set four bowls, four spoons, and some boxes of cereal from the cabinet. She set these items on the table for her boys and wrote a note stating she left early and they could have cereal or eat out for breakfast. She took a piece of string from a drawer by the back door and taped it to the note. Grabbing a bagel from the bread box, Xiren headed to the kitchen entrance and reached up on her tiptoes to tape the other end of the string to the door frame.
With everything set, the fashionable woman quietly took a white purse matching her shoes from the entryway closet and headed out the door. Waiting for her at the end of the walk way was the white limo she used to get around town. "Good morning Alina." Xiren smiled and waved at her driver. "Let's get going before the boys decide to wake up."
"Yes ma'am." Alina shut the door for the dark haired woman and got in the driver's seat. "Men can be capable like zose boys and not get by without woman to attend zeir basic needs." She laughed heartily as she started the limo and pulled from the driveway.
"Haha so true. Those boys can turn the world inside out, but ask them to boil water or put the laundry in the wash and they fall apart." Xiren smiled as she held a conversation with her driver over her boys and her driver's husband. Alina and her husband were wanted criminals that Xiren hired since they wouldn't be scared off by her boy's tastes in activities. Alina's husband was a retired serial killer so he wasn't squeamish if Naiki decided to remove someone's eyes in the back of the limo, or Kouta decided to gut something or someone for his voodoo rituals, or if Ryu beat up or murdered, or whatever someone who owed him a favor. Alina wasn't a saint either as she was a pro con artist, but the couple made the perfect pair to chauffer her delinquents around without causing problems. Besides they had a steady pay, a warm house over the limo garage, and no one came looking for them.
Alina pulled the limo into the candy land style section of town and parked in the parking garage at the center of shops. This area only had candy stores and confectionaries for people to shop from. "I wait here?" Alina asked as she parked the limo.
"Thank you Alia, but I might be awhile so I'll call you when I'm done. Feel free to shop or just look around." Xiren smiled as she got out of the limo.
"Thank you ma'am. I'll get Viktor Valentine's gift." The driver closed the door behind Xiren and the two went their separate ways. Xiren had several items to pick up for her boys and friends, but she'd called the stores in advance since several of the items were custom made so this was just a pick up trip. Xiren walked from the parking garage and pulled a list from her purse. The list had all of the shops she'd ordered from with their addresses and order numbers. She'd already plotted her course for pickups and headed to the first one on the list.
The first shop on Xiren's list was a shop that held her valentine for Ryu. With purpose to her step she headed down the street and did her best to avoid looking at the student-teacher couples along the way. Being a fashionista she often had strong opinions about the clothes teachers wore and dressed their students in and she didn't want to start any arguments or show any facial expressions that would betray her inner thoughts. Keeping her eyes straight ahead and focused on her destination she made her way to the first shop. The store front had displays of various boxes of chocolates shaped like weapons. With a smile Xiren opened the door and entered the store.
"Welcome how can I help you?" The store clerk greeted Xiren. The clerk was wearing an overly frilly red dress with turquoise hearts stamped along the hem. Her white stockings had red hearts patterned into them and the shoes were terribly clunky red little girl shoes with big turquoise heart shapes clipped to them.
'Let me fix your wardrobe maybe?' The fashionista thought to herself before plastering a smile on her face and trying to ignore the clashing colors on the outfit. "I'm here to pick up an order."
"Oh what is the name on the order?" The poorly dressed girl smiled.
"Xiren." She gave her name as the girl disappeared behind the counter.
"Xiren? The fashion designer?" The girl's eyes lit up at the name and Xiren resisted the urge to groan. "Do you like this dress? I made it myself." The girl twirled to display her work and the fashionista sighed.
"It's uh… well the turquoise is the wrong color for the red you have and the dress needs less frills." She pulled her sketchbook from her purse and a pencil. Setting the book on the counter she started sketching a remake of the outfit to show her. "Something like this would work better."
"Oh…" The girl looked the sketch over then glanced down at her dress with a blush. She didn't say anything more as she pulled the order off the shelf and handed it to the fashionista. Xiren refrained from sighing again. This was why she hated when people showed off their stuff since most of them didn't want constructive criticism; they just wanted to hear how great their idea was. The dark haired woman opened the boxes to examine the contents and make sure the order was correct. She smiled as she saw the peanut butter filled chocolate gun lying in the bottom of the first box. Ryu loved peanut butter and a soft smile spread across the tattooed woman's lips as she thought about the expression on her lover's face when he received the gift.
The second box contained a similar piece of candy. This one however was a whip instead of a gun and made from licorice instead of chocolate. Luna's lover Shinx should appreciate the innuendo of the candy and find it amusing. "This is perfect. Ryu'll love it and I'm sure Shinx will appreciate his." Xiren smiled at the girl who refused to make eye contact anymore. The would be fashionista sullenly rang up the charge and Xiren thanked the girl before leaving the shop. She didn't bother looking back because she knew the girl would either run and change clothes or she'd tear up the sketch and mutter who knows what about the fashionista.
Leaving the store Xiren crossed Ryu and Shinx's names off the list by folding the paper down and moved on to her next item of business. Luna's student Sasori was the next person the fashion savvy woman wanted to get a Valentine's gift for. The spunky cat student dreamed of finding a cute girl he could fall in love with, but the cat had a few issues due to some poor treatment from his previous teacher. Sasori deserved a little love on a holiday meant to show your appreciation for your friends and loved ones. Xiren didn't know much about the red headed cat student, but her own student Atraiyuu often spend time playing with the cat before he started dating the demon Jinx. Atraiyuu and Sasori chased butterflies and played board games together so Xiren took her inspiration from that.
Just as she was about to enter the next shop a horrid sight caught the esteemed fashion designer's eyes. Coming out of the shop door was a teacher with three horridly dressed students. The teacher wore a simple button up coat with light blue jeans and simple black winter boots, but her students were dressed in anything and everything she could throw on them. Xiren tried to avoid eye contact with the teacher or her students so she wouldn't be forced to discuss the horrid outfits.
"Hi there." The teacher smiled and greeted the dark haired woman. Xiren mentally groaned and smiled back.
"Afternoon." Xiren tried to bypass the group, but with four people in her way that wasn't going to happen.
"I'm Yuzu and these troublemakers are my students." She giggled and used the current 'in' way to introduce her students. "This is Shuhei and he's my lover." A blush crossed the simply dressed woman's face as she pointed her red head wolf with a wannabe bad boy look. The poor wolf student had spikey red hair, white demon-like horns, black checkered glasses, a tribal tattoo on his face, small batwings protruded from his back, he had a black bicker jacket, and a pair of katana at his hips while butterflies flitted around him. "This my second student Izuru." The woman patted the arm of the brown haired dog student. This student could have been one of Kouta's pups. Violet eyes matched his purple uniform, a black fedora with brilliant green accents sat on his head and he had a clashing neon blue robot dog at his side. "And this is my baby Muramasa." The woman hugged the dark haired cat student. Demonic eyes shone from underneath the hideous mask covering his face. At least this one was dressed in a simple purple kimono. The overall look of the students at Yuzu's side was a cluttered mish mash of poorly copied students.
"I'm Xiren and it's a pleasure to meet you." Xiren returned the greeting and waited for the teacher and her students to pass.
"Xiren? Oh that teacher." Yuzu's tone changed from her cutesy how do you do to the subtly standoffish tones people use to mask their jealousy. "Maybe sometime we can compare styles." The woman suggested with a very light huff.
"Probably not. I don't like comparing styles because if you aren't open to criticism you'll just end up angry."
"Well it's not like your boys are perfect." The woman attached herself to Shuhei and pulled her students down the street. Xiren let the group pass and finally entered the shop.
"Xiren! Welcome." A well-dressed store clerk came up to the fashion designer and greeted her warmly.
"Good afternoon Kia. You are looking very sharp today." Xiren returned the greeting and took note of the elegant suit and simple accents. The rabbit student wore a classic white suite with a gold pocket accent and silver bobby pins to hold the student's blond hair from his face.
"Thank you. My teacher and I learned a lot from you." Kia smiled and moved to show off his outfit. "So what brings you to the store today?"
"I'm here to pick up an order."
"Right this way then." Kia led Xiren to the counter and pulled out two brightly decorated boxes. The fashionista opened the one box to examine the contents and smiled as she saw the two hard candy butterflies. The butterflies should at least amuse Sasori and if nothing else his housemates could shine light through them for the cat student to chase. Giggling a little at the thought of the red head chasing rainbows of light, the dark haired woman opened the second box. The second box held a pair of hard candy red shoes. These were meant to be a gift for Alyera and red shoes seemed like an appropriate gift. They displayed elegance and the red color implicated the teacher's other side. Xiren just hoped they tasted like they were supposed to.
"They look beautiful." She admired the store's work as Kia rang up the purchase and put the box in the bag with the other gift. The student waved as Xiren left the store and the woman folded more names from her list.
Moving through the town Xiren folded off more names and made mental note of the common styles around her. She picked up some gifts for fellow teachers before continuing on with her list of her own students. For Wendy she picked up some chocolate cats and for her students she picked out some generic chocolates, for Tiffany's students she picked up chocolate instruments, and for Alyera's students she picked up several custom shaped assorted chocolate boxes.
Next up on her set of stops were Luna and Jinx. Deciding what to get her fellow teacher took some time, but considering the two of them had similar tastes Xiren decided she would ultimately end up picking out something she'd like. Walking up to the store front for a slightly seedy looking place she shook her head before opening the door.
"Welcome how can I assist you in finding your desires this afternoon?" A shop clerk in a sleek red dress strode up to the fashionista. Xiren glanced at the clerk and nodded approvingly at the faux leather outfit. She made a mental note of the sliming and slightly provocative design to recreate it when she had a moment at home.
"I have an order for pick up." Xiren informed the clerk.
"I see. Right this way then." The sultry dressed girl led Xiren to the counter. "The name on the order?"
"Xiren."
"Oh, you are Kouta's teacher aren't you?" The woman's eyes lit up as she pulled two boxes from the shelves and placed them on the counter so Xiren could inspect the contents. Xiren smiled slightly at the expression from the clerk. Kouta certainly got around. She opened the boxes and was satisfied to see both boxes contained chocolate handcuffs with a hard candy center to make them difficult to break. The gift suited Jinx and would probably be used on Atraiyuu, but Luna should be able to use hers on Shinx. Though, to be sure Luna could get full fun from the gift she'd get Kouta to enchant them so Shinx'd be entranced and Luna could put them on the demon.
"These are perfect. Thank you." The dark haired woman smiled to the clerk as the purchases were rung up and added to her now full bag of gifts. "And yes I am Kouta's teacher. Did you need his number to set up a date?"
The clerk looked at Xiren with wide, hopeful eyes. "Well…I don't think he'd go on a date with me…"
"Yeah he would. Here." She wrote her flirtatious student's number down for the girl and handed to her. "Just tell him you got the number from me."
The girl took the paper and held it to her chest with a dreamy smile. "Oh thank you." Xiren shook her head and waved to the girl as she left. Kouta would break yet another girl's heart, but at least her student would be happy. Folding her list to cross off two more names, Xiren strode a few stores down to her next destination.
A whimsical doorway lead to a cute shop full of stuffed toys holding boxes of chocolate and Xiren smiled lightly as she entered the cute shop. "Welcome how can I assist you?" A very bouncy fox clerk with green hair came up to her. The student looked more like a Christmas display than a Valentine's look with his red suit and green hair. At least the outfit and accents matched so the look wasn't horrible, just a felt a little miss-festive.
"I have an order for pick up. The name is Xiren." She informed the peppy clerk.
"Oh, then let me get that for you." The fox made his way to the counter with quick bouncy steps and pulled two stuffed toys from below the counter. The first toy was a brown cat holding a microphone shaped chocolate box. A perfect gift for her fellow teacher Tiffany since the woman seemed fond of cats and was a good representation of her lover. The second toy was a black wolf holding a sword shaped chocolate box for Atraiyuu. Since her angelic student was dating Jinx, Xiren thought the wolf toy represented his lover and the angel would appreciate it.
"Thank you these are so cute." The fashionista smiled happily and put the toys in a bag the clerk handed to her before ringing up the items. With the exchange complete, Xiren waved to the excitable young man and folded her list again. The dark haired woman crossed the street and headed back the way she came. Along the way she stopped at a coffee shop and grabbed a latte before continuing on her shopping trip.
The next shop she needed was a ways away from her current location so she sipped her latte and tried to distract her mind from the sight of poorly dressed students and teachers. Along the way a few teachers recognized her and gave her a smile and wave which she returned. The current fashion trends were slapped on sets of winter clothes and pop musician clothes. Trends often followed the special clothes and communal events so it wasn't too surprising to see the current trends. Still, Xiren felt there could be a little more variety to the trends.
After an uneventful walk, the fashion designer came to a small store front with various colorful chocolate oddities in the window. The sign on the door indicated the shop could create any unique item you wanted and with a purposeful tug Xiren opened the door. The shop had lots of bright lights and various shop assistants in a myriad of colors. Aside from the blinding assault of color to the eyes, the uniforms of the shop clerks were reasonably functionally designed. The girls wore loose fitting skirts with clashing leggings and loose tops in another clashing color while the boys wore clashing slacks and loose fitting shirts.
"Hi can I help you find something?" The high pitched voice of one of the female store clerks snapped Xiren from her moment of shock.
"Uh yes I have an order for pick up. The name is Xiren." Eager to get away from the offending assailment of color, she gave as much information as she could.
"Well then right this way." The colorful clerk led Xiren to the counter and pulled out two bright boxes. The clerk opened them for appraisal and the fashionista examined the contents. These boxes contained the gifts for Naiki and Mix. One box held a set of clear hard candy vials filled with a raspberry sauce and a chocolate microscope. The other box contained various hard candy medical instruments and body parts.
"These are perfect thank you." She smiled as the clerk closed the box lids and rang up the purchase. Xiren put the boxes in the bag with the last few boxes and hurried out of the bright shop. Once outside of the shop, she double checked her list and smiled as she only had one name left on the paper. She only had Kouta left on the list and this holiday was almost made for him so it was easy to find a gift for him.
Walking a little ways further down the street, she turned down a back alley and to a secluded little shop with a dark aura and blackened windows. Normally the fashionista didn't frequent shops like this, but since they were doing Valentine's candy making and had what she needed for the birthday gift for her dog student. With a sigh the woman opened the door and headed into the poorly lit shop.
"How can we best serve your needs this afternoon?" A soft voice called from behind the counter. Xiren moved toward the counter and glanced over the clerk's outfit. The man was dressed in a deep hooded cloak that covered most of his body.
"I have an order I need to pick up. The name on the order is Xiren." She answered the question.
"Oh yes, you are Kouta's teacher. I heard you were dating your other student Ryu. Have you changed tastes?" The clerk pulled two boxes from behind the counter. The first was obviously a box of assorted chocolate and the other was longer and painted black.
"No. Valentine's Day happens to be Kouta's birthday so the chocolates are his Valentine's gift and the voodoo tools are his birthday present. He's been trying so hard to work out magic involving emotions I decided to get him some stuff to help out." Xiren explained before the clerk could get any strange ideas in his head.
"I see. So Kouta is still available?" The man's face flushed slightly under his hood.
"Kouta is always available. Just give him a call and he'll gladly entertain you for several hours." Xiren shook her head slightly as he rang up her purchase and she added the boxes to her now full second bag of gifts.
"I'll have to give him a call then." The man's eyes were thoughtful and bright as Xiren left the store. Once outside, the woman pulled out her phone and called her limo driver to let her know she was done with her shopping. The walk back to the limo was uneventful and since it was just past lunch, most teachers and students were inside and dining instead of out walking around and doing their shopping. Thus, the fashionista was saved from the eyesore of bad styles.
A long walk took Xiren back to the parking garage and to the white limo waiting for her. "Shopping go well?" Alia asked as she opened the door for her employer.
"Yes I got everything I needed. Were you able to get a gift for Viktor?" The two talked about their shopping experiences on the ride home. The ride was smooth and didn't take too long. Once home, Alia helped Xiren carry her bags into the house and hide them in the closet of the spare room. With the gifts put away Alia left to put the limo away and Xiren decided she better get some stuff ready for lunch. The house was oddly quiet and she figured the boys must be out doing who knows what. Laughing softly at the thoughts of what her students would be doing she walked into her kitchen to prepare some food.
At the kitchen entryway Xiren stopped and looked on wide eyed at the sight before her. A substance she could only imagine was chocolate was smeared over the walls and dripping from the ceiling. Dishes were strewn across the counters and the floor and there were char marks on the stove and surrounding appliances indicating either a fire on the stove or Ryu got angry. "…I told them to make cereal… not whatever this is." She sighed as she stepped over puddles of dark spots of chocolate and dishes to get to the cleaning supplies.