Black Friday

Traditions or the lack of them aside, a sale was a sale and Umetarou Nozaki has been compiling his list of supplies for two weeks now, eager to get everything discounted even if it meant nearly completely exhausting his supply of screen tones before restocking.

Thankfully the deadline for the next chapter was on Sunday evening, meaning Monday morning in practice. He could gather his helpers over the weekend, first Hori and Wakamatsu on Saturday afternoon then Mikoshiba and Sakura on Sunday morning, and finish everything with the supplies he has bought on the Black Friday sales. He would even have Sunday evening to go through the finished chapter calmly, to make sure that no mistakes have slipped through. The plan was perfect and completely fool-proof.

Except Mikoto Mikoshiba, who has kindly offered to go with him and help him carry everything back home in exchange for an evening of gaming, arrived at the shoe lockers with Yuu Kashima. A very curious Yuu Kashima, who immediately proclaimed that she too wanted to go shopping and they should simply go all together. Nozaki didn't care much, but Mikoshiba was as adamant as Hori that Kashima doesn't find out about the manga making.

'What the hell, Kashima, we're not going to buy girly stuff,' Mikoshiba protested. Nozaki raised an eyebrow at him, but chose not to comment. Instead he observed how Mikoshiba stammered when Kashima asked what they were planning to buy. An idea about Mamiko going to buy a new dress in secret, to impress Suzuki, popped into his head. Perhaps including the Black Friday sales into the next chapter wasn't such a bad idea, he thought.

'Anyway, there are far more cool shirts for guys, so I'm fine going with you,' the Prince commented before Mikoshiba could come up with an excuse. 'Let's have a competition to see who can pull off the craziest shirt better,' she suggested, nearly sparkling in her enthusiasm.

A disturbing idea of Suzuki trying on girly dresses to compete with Mamiko violently reminded Nozaki why he still wasn't using Kashima as inspiration.

'You're so on, my little princeling. I'll show you what a true man is like,' Mikoshiba replied in his most seductive voice, completely forgetting the problem at hand.

'Please sweep me off my feet,' Kashima replied in kind, taking a step closer to Mikoshiba and grabbing his hand, pulling it up to her lips. Nozaki could imagine the sparkling flowers Mikoshiba would draw around himself and Kashima if this was a box in a shoujo manga. And, despite his reluctance to use Kashima as a model, he whipped out his notebook and roughly sketched Mamiko and Suzuki in the same pose.

"After Mamiko guiltily admits she was going to buy a dress to impress Suzuki," he wrote on the side and turned back to the real people in front of him, right on time to see Mikoshiba sink to his knees, hiding his red face in his hands, completely defeated by the Prince's charm. Or cheesiness. It was always difficult to tell with those two interacting.

'Really though, you really want to come?' he asked as Kashima stepped away from Mikoshiba, cackling gleefully. 'Isn't it better to take some girls and go shopping for girly stuff?' he added, struck by a sudden inspiration as to how he could discourage Kashima from following Mikoshiba and, consequently, keep the latter to help him carry stuff.

And of course, Chiyo Sakura chose the worst moment possible to join them, a bright smile on her face as she looked up at Nozaki.

'Ready to go shopping?' she asked, her tone matching her smile. Funny how she seemingly hasn't noticed the situation for once, Nozaki thought. Usually she was pretty good with reading the situation. He didn't have the time to react in any way, however, before Kashima wrapped an arm around Sakura's shoulders, her smile blindingly bright.

'I'll take Chiyo and go shopping with you all, yey! Let's hang out Chiyo! It'll be so much fun. Mikoshiba and I agreed to make a shirt competition, do you want to join? I bet you could pull it off well. Hey, how about that: we could all try outrageous shirts and see who looks the best? And the looser should buy ice-cream for others. And if we try men's shirts then maybe the boys should try women's shirts as well, what do you think?' Kashima barely paused, briefly glancing around before continuing with doubled enthusiasm: 'Oh, Hori-senpai! You arrive right on time. Let's go shopping all together! If we make all the guys try skirts and dresses you won't have to feel bad ab- ow!'

Masayuki Hori silenced Kashima with a whack on the back of her head. While she rubbed her head with a pout, he glanced at the group and Nozaki wondered whether his arrival was a coincident or if Kashima's voice was like a magnet for him. Then again they were at the school's exit.

'It's true that it would be fun to go shopping all together,' Sakura noted, completely ignoring Mikoshiba's betrayed expression. Nozaki smiled with pride: at least one of them wasn't ashamed of helping him with the manga. 'I like the idea of fashion competition,' she added brightly, turning to Kashima. Nozaki's smile fell: she was trying to get out of the manga shopping.

'I was thinking to get-' Hori paused, glancing briefly at Kashima, then at Mikoshiba. He sighed. 'A new shirt anyway,' he finished, not sounding at all awkward even though he must have invented it on the spot to cover for his near "slip".

Ah damn, Nozaki thought, Hori and Mikoshiba didn't know they were both helping with manga and were both stupidly stubborn that the other doesn't find out to not let it slip to Kashima. And with the actual cause of this charade present, it would be impossible to have them as much as look towards the art supply corner of the shop.

'I want to buy the same shirt as senpai,' Kashima proclaimed gleefully, stepping aside to avoid another whack on the back of her head.

She actually did it. Sakura couldn't get over her amazement at seeing Kashima casually walk into the men's trying room to try the same, blue, fitted shirt her beloved senpai has just taken to try and buying it when Hori bought his with only a small, tired sigh. Like it was no big deal, she thought, watching Kashima laugh that wearing the new shirt to her Sunday date would be almost like taking Hori-chan-senpai with her.

'Do you think I want to go on your dates with your princesses?' Hori exclaimed, annoyed. He didn't even blush when Kashima leaned near him, turning up her charm to maximum, to ask whether he would prefer a one-on-one date with her instead. 'Don't be an idiot,' he grumbled instead, stepping away.

'It wouldn't work so well with you and Nozaki, it's a shame, isn't it?' Mikoshiba's question, asked right into Sakura's ear, made her jump in surprise. He laughed. 'If you took the same size of shirt as Nozaki it'd look like some sort of weird dress on you,' he added, amused.

Wearing Nozaki's shirt, Sakura thought, feeling her face grow incredibly hot. Mikoshiba was suggesting she wore Nozaki's shirt. Mikoshiba was giving her a shirt to try. Oh my god, dared she do it? What would Nozaki say?

'I'm curious,' said the mangaka, face completely impassive. Sakura nearly swooned. He was holding a shirt the same colour as the one Mikoshiba pushed into Sakura's hands. On shaky legs, she followed him to the trying rooms, trying to not think too much, to not imagine wearing the same shirt-

She was politely refused access to men's changing room. Apparently it was against the shop's policy to let women use men's trying rooms. Nozaki looked good in the shirt and decided to buy it, since it was on sale, but it wasn't the same. Even if Sakura went to the women's trying room now, with the shirt, it wouldn't be the same.

'Haha, that's why we brought some clothes here,' announced Yuzuki Seo, snapping Sakura out of her misery. She turned to see her friend, approaching together with a beaming Kashima, dragging Wakamatsu by the tie. 'Heya guys! Kashima tells me we're having fun with clothes,' she greeted the others. Only then did Sakura notice that both Kashima and Yuzuki had hands full of clothes. Surprisingly sparkly clothes.

Was it Sakura or did Hori actually take a step back?

'Hori-chan-senpai! I chose the nicest dress in the shop for you to try,' the Prince announced, loud enough for the people in three meter radius to turn to look. 'Well, the nicest Yuzuki would let me, anyway,' she added much quieter.

'The deal is to wear the most outrageous stuff, right?' Seo asked, throwing a hot-pink, sequin-covered dress straight into Nozaki's face. 'Waka agreed to try this green, glitter mermaid dress when I told him Lorelei would love it,' she laughed.

Somehow, Sakura thought that Wakamatsu's expression didn't really look like he "agreed".

'We have something for you too, Mikoshiba,' Kashima exclaimed. She waved two dresses, one pastel blue and another blood red. Sakura blinked. Wait, didn't the blue one look a bit like Frozen's Elsa's icy gown? Somewhat pale on the face, Hori took another step back, but Mikoshiba and Nozaki grabbed him by the shoulders.

'No way, man, we're in this together,' they said in unison. The president of the drama club struggled weakly.

'Then let's get out of it together,' he hissed. 'It's not like they can catch us,' he pointed out.

'I want to see Wakamatsu's dress,' Nozaki countered. What the hell? Not Mikorin? Sakura wanted to see Mikoshiba in the blood red, frilly dress Kashima pushed into his free hand as she arrived.

'It's Kashima and Seo, senpai, weigh your words carefully,' Mikoshiba pointed out. Anyway, Seo and Kashima have arrived, so it was too late. And Sakura only pretended to be reluctant in helping them herd Wakamatsu, Hori and Mikoshiba into the trying rooms, because if she focused on acting she would not have to consider how willingly Nozaki turned around and led the way.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the shop was also against men trying out dresses.