Features Female Mika.
At 10 am, Shinoa gathered everyone in the living room without telling them why. Now everyone was sitting there, wondering what Shinoa wanted. Said girl was standing in front of everyone, watching them from head to toes. She then said: "Let's go shopping!" Everyone now looked at her with confusion obvious in their eyes. "I found an abandoned mall nearby and thought that we should go find some new clothes. With our old uniforms, we would be way too noticeable. And we're not even in the army anymore so our uniforms are not actually necessary anymore. So what about we go find ourselves some civilian clothes?" A few seconds passed as the others were thinking about Shinoa's words. Their uniforms, for the most part, were stained or damaged by the battles and had become uncomfortable. And the idea of wearing normal clothes was indeed appealing. And for Mika, it meant to wear clothes other than the livestock uniform (during her time as a human in Sanguinem) and her military uniform. So the answer was obvious: "Yeah, let's do it." Shinoa smiled, glad that the others agreed with her idea. So, soon after the humans had eaten, they left for the mall.
Of course, no one except Shinoa knew where that mall was so they followed the lavender-haired girl to their destination. The place was a bit far from where they lived since they were kinda in the middle of nowhere, so every town and village were not exactly close. And during the whole journey, Shinoa chatted happily with the group. Yuu and Mika were behind the rest of the group, ignoring the small girl, busy with their own conversation. And after around 15 minutes, they got to their destination. And what they didn't expect was the size of the place. It was a huge, two-floored building, who took much of the land, with parking, some of them occupied by cars. Though, of course, it was just as ruined as everything around it. But even in this state, they could certainly find what they wanted, especially with its size. And maybe what they were going to do would be considered as shoplifting, and if they were not living in a ruined world, that would be a crime. But in the world they lived in, things such as stealing didn't really matter anymore.
They walked inside and ended up in the lobby, where there were several benches for sitting. Shinoa stood in front of the others, leading the group. "Okay, everyone! We will meet back here in two hours! You have that time to find clothes or anything that you like. We'll also need food. Non-perishable so that it would last. Oh, and you might need a bag to carry all this. Well, with that, see you later!" After that, everyone began to explore the mall.
Shinoa dragged both blondes with her to the second floor, to a female clothing shop. "There is a lot of clothes there so you can pick anything you like and that fit you." She left with the other two standing in the front of the shop. Well, since they were there, they might as well look for clothes. That was the main purpose of coming here, after all. Mika and Mitsuba started to look around the shop. Mika made a mental list of what she would need and started by the underwear. After finding a few that she liked, she went to find some new clothes. And as she was looking through the clothes, she heard a voice coming from behind her: "Mika-san, I found something for you to try!" The vampire turned around to meet with Shinoa. It was then that she saw the piece of clothing in her hands. It was a white dress with puffy sleeves and a pink ribbon at the chest. The skirt was made of several layers of frills with a with a pink gradient. "That's cute, I guess... But that's also really impractical. I can't fight in that kind of clothes." The lavender-haired girl simply smiled. "So, what? Try it!" She then murmured: "I bet Yuu-san would find you pretty in that dress." Mika blushed, imagining Yuu's reaction to seeing her in that dress. And that was enough to convince her. "Fine, I'll try it," she said, taking the dress from Shinoa's hand. The other smiled. The first part of her little plan was done. Now, it was time for the second part.
Meanwhile, on Yuu's side, the young man was looking around the mall when he came across a toy store, with a small teddy bear in the shop window. It was really cute and looked a lot like the one they had as children. After making sure that no one was there, he walked inside the store and put the plushy in his bag, intending to give it to Mika when they would be back home. But on his way back, he bumped into Shinoa. "Oh, Yuu-san! Just who I was looking for!" Yuu looked at the short girl, confused. "You were looking for me?" He had a bad feeling about it. With a smile, she said: "Yep! I had something to show you." The boy still didn't understand but followed her anyway. He then saw that she was leading him to the female clothing store. "Wait... Why are you taking me there?" The girl simply smiled and dragged him to the fitting rooms. "Mika-san! Come out and show us how lovely you are!" Mika...? A short while passed before the door opened.
The beautiful blonde walked out, wearing the dress Shinoa had picked for her earlier. She was as pretty as ever, with her long, flowing blond hair, her beautiful eyes, who were still pretty even though they were no longer blue but red, and her slim body. Mika was already pretty as a child, and that didn't change. Mika was beautiful, both outside and inside. And that dress... It looked perfect on her. The top of the dress was form-fitting, hugging her curves, and tight below her breasts. It was feminine and cute, just like Mika. Yuu blushed, not saying anything, just looking at the blonde. Seeing Yuu, Mika had a light blush on her cheeks, embarrassed. "Yuu-chan... Why are you there?" She blushed even harder and quickly went back into the room. "Mika..." Yuu stood there, silent, not knowing what to do. Did he do something to upset her? He hoped that his childhood friend wasn't mad at him.
He waited a few minutes and the blonde walked out of the fitting room, now dressed in a white sweater and a jeans skirt. She had white tights, a pair of short black boots, and a brown coat. Yuu also noticed that she was still blushing a little, looking down. Yuu walked toward her and said: "You know, Mika, I think you looked pretty in that dress. You should wear that kind of clothes sometimes." Mika suddenly blushed even harder. Did Yuu just say that she was pretty? "Re... Really?" While they both expected some comment from Shinoa, there were none. The small leader had already left. "Do you doubt my words, Mika? Because I'm speaking with pure honesty. You've always been pretty, inside and outside. Even if you don't believe it yourself." Mika didn't know what to say to this so she chose to remain silent. She was then kissed on the forehead by Yuu, who still smiled. "See you later, Mika-chan." He then left, leaving Mika standing where she was, blushing hard. And discreetly, she took the dress and put it in her bag. Yuu said she was pretty in this, so maybe she could keep it and wear it sometime. When they were alone.
At the end of the two hours, the little group was back in the mall's lobby, dressed in their new clothes. Each of them also had a bag with spare clothes. Kimizuki and Narumi were bringing some food and blankets. Yoichi had found some games and books. After all, even though they were living on the run, they could still enjoy the little moments of life. They could forget their situation and live a somewhat normal life.
A few hours later, as Mika was getting ready to go to bed, dressed in a nightgown, Yuu walked inside the room, dressed in his new night clothes. Mika, who was sitting on her bed, looked up to see that Yuu had his arms behind his back. "Yuu-chan? What are you hiding?" Without a word, Yuu showed the blonde the thing that was in his hands. It was a small, brown teddy bear with a blue ribbon around its neck. "It's for you. I found it when we were shopping." He gave it to Mika took it in her hands, looking at it. And as she looked at its face, memories of the times spent with her family came to her and she felt a wave of nostalgia. "This is… Just like the one we had."
Yuu smiled. "That's why I picked it up. It remembered me of the one we had and I wanted you to have something to make you remember all the happy moments we had." And it did. Mika could see memories from years ago flash in her head; Yuu and Mika playing with the kids, Mika reading them a story, Mika and Akane cooking together, and that teddy bear they had. While their death still affected both Yuu and Mika, who were still alive, their happy memories survived with them. She smiled, a smile that only Yuu could see. "Thank you, Yuu-chan. I really like it." There were no lies in Mika's words. It was the best gift she got in years. Not only because it came from Yuu, but also because it made her remember her family and all the happy memories shared with them. "Glad you like it." Yuu's smile was warm and bright like the sun, his smile that she rarely saw during their time in Sanguinem.
After that, they both went to sleep in their own bed, Mika sleeping with the teddy bear in her arms and dreaming of happy memories. Yuu's gift, which was given to her with love, was certainly something she would cherish for a long time.