Chapter 3: Practically in Drag

So he was ready for some new clothes… but now what?

That was the main thought on Karsh's mind as he wandered aimlessly around the more shopping-oriented part of Termina. He felt lost next to all the obvious fashion addicts, who hurried straight to their favorite stores like they were on some kind of mission. He honestly didn't know where to start with this new look business. Sure, he'd lived in this town all his life, but he hadn't exactly spent his childhood checking out clothes. Had there always been this many shops?

How did anyone find what they wanted in this damn maze?

Maybe he'd just try that place in the corner. With all the people hanging around it, there had to be something good in there, and he was tired of walking around in circles and having other shoppers stare at him like he was some kind of dumbass.

He pushed his way through the crowd, and the second he passed the door, he knew he'd come to the wrong place. It was a little specialty shop full of wild outfits—costumes, almost. Stuff you only saw on performers, prostitutes, and the occasional attention-seeking bargoer.

The mannequins sure weren't wearing much, he couldn't help but notice. A feathered pink bikini, a red fishnet… thing, a short black leather dress. Without even thinking, he pictured Riddel in the black one. It was naughty, revealing, and downright wrong—definitely not something she'd ever consider wearing. It'd make her gasp, blush furiously, maybe even faint if anyone ever suggested she put that thing on. He thought of this as he forced the picture out of his mind, though a part of him still argued that she'd look damn good as a dominatrix.

Trying to rid himself of the obviously inappropriate idea, Karsh looked over in the direction that everyone seemed to be pointing. So that was why so many people were there. They were all trying not to look like huge stalkers as they watched this girl, probably some celebrity, buy a pair of ridiculously high-heeled red shoes. She seemed not to notice all the attention, probably having gotten used to it by now.

She turned from the counter and waved at… him?

"Hey, I know you!" she called, sauntering over like the celebrated superstar he figured she had to be. She wore a ton of makeup. Stage makeup, he bet. You sure didn't see everyday girls going around like that.

"Well, I'm pretty well-known around here," he told her, not trying to be arrogant. His position in the dragoons made him a familiar face to just about everybody. "I'm Karsh, from the Devas."

"Well, I knew that! I mean, I've met you! Through Serge, remember?"

Uh, not exactly.

He didn't even try to remember everyone he'd met through junior. So many people had joined the kid's cause, he probably had enough followers to populate a small village by now. No wonder Serge wasn't much of a talker. It saved him from having to remember all those names.

"I guess you do look familiar," Karsh conceded, even if it was only vaguely. "Sorry, what's your name again?"

The girl looked a bit shocked. "I'm Miki, from the Magical Dreamers!"

Oh, that band in town. All Karsh knew about them was that they were so famous it was starting to get annoying, and the huge crowds of their fans who'd come for the Viper Festival were a major pain in the ass. They clogged up the streets and practically rendered him deaf with their piercing cries of "Nikkiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" whenever that guy in the heels showed up.

After a long pause, Miki finally spoke, having looked like she'd been debating over whether or not to say something. "I don't mean to be a diva or anything, but, wow. I don't meet a lot of people who don't know who I am these days."

"Do I look like a pop music fan to you?"

She laughed. "I guess not. So what are you doing here, anyway?"

Obviously, Acacia dragoons weren't known to hang around the hot store of the moment shopping for studded belts all day.

"Here?" Karsh didn't exactly want to admit to anyone that he was looking for a change in fashion. He'd been hoping to buy something fast and get the hell out of there. But what else could he say now? That he was lost?

"I wanted a new look, I guess."

"You? A dragoon?" He expected a laugh, but oddly enough, Miki let out a sigh instead. "Everybody's becoming so superficial these days."

Working in entertainment, she knew this all too well. She and Nikki tried to convey important messages with their music, but most of their fans only liked them for the visuals. It was kind of sad, when she thought about it.

Karsh was a bit stunned. Superficial was not something he'd ever expected to be called, especially not by someone dressed like that. "Believe me, I ain't doing this out of vanity. And hey, you're the one buying the ridiculous shoes here."

"They're to enhance the overall impact of our performance," she explained, giving him a "duh" look. "And you're… what, planning to intimidate opponents with your sense of style?"

Karsh chuckled. "Nah, it's… well, it's kind of for someone else more than anything."

She got a curious gleam in her extremely made-up eyes. "Oooooh. So who's the lucky girl you're after?"

"Who said I was after a girl?" He'd rather not tell the whole world that he was making himself over to get Riddel to notice him, just because the old lady fortuneteller had hinted that it might work. It didn't exactly sound like the most rational thing in the world.

"…You aren't?" After a moment of confusion, Miki finally realized what he might mean. She mentally berated herself for thinking he was necessarily into girls in this day and age. Way to be so thirty years ago. "Hey, I'm really sorry I assumed. You just didn't seem like you were… you know…"

"I'm not!" Karsh shook his head like mad. He sure as hell wasn't gay. "Okay, fine, it's for a girl! But don't ask who. Forget it." Orlha and Marcy knowing about this was bad enough.

"A dragoon Deva like you needs help picking up girls. Imagine that." Miki put a hand over her mouth to cover a giggle that Karsh was sure she could have stopped in their first place, if she'd really wanted to. At this rate, he was going to be blatantly mocked by everyone he'd ever met before he found a new look.

"Quit it, will ya? If I wanted just any girl, it'd be no problem."

Miki looked skeptical. "So you think some new clothes are going to make some unattainable dream girl finally fall for you?"

"If the fortuneteller's right, then, yeah, I guess so." When she put it that way, it sounded kind of stupid. He waited for Miki to fall to the floor laughing or something like that, but it didn't happen.

"You mean the one here?" Karsh nodded. "Oh my god, I went to her too! She told me I'd broaden my horizons, and I ended up going all the way to Marbule!" she gushed. "I believe it." So apparently Miki didn't think his idea was so ridiculous. Thank the gods. Being teased relentlessly was starting to get a little tiring. "So what kind of a look did you have in mind?"

"I don't know, you think I know about clothes?" Just walking around the area had made him realize how seriously people took this fashion business. "Well, definitely something more traditional than the stuff in this place," he said, remembering what Marcy had told him about Riddel liking that kind of thing.

Miki stared at the obviously clueless Deva. "Now I know you're not superficial. The traditional look has been over for years."

"I'm sorry I don't keep up with the latest styles between missions," Karsh retorted sarcastically. He hadn't come for a lecture.

"I'll tell you what. You're a friend of a friend, why don't I help you out a bit? You definitely sound like you could use it."

"Sure, might as well." Though he was iffy about taking advice from a member of a band known for their crazy outlandish costumes, something told him he wasn't going to get very far here on his own.

His unenthusiastic consent was somehow enough to get him dragged all the way to the Magical Dreamers' ship by a very excited Miki. Karsh was starting to second-guess his decision to let her get involved. Girls got way too excited over all this clothing junk.

"I'm gonna give you some of Nikki's new costumes. Never been worn!"

"You sure about this?" This didn't sound too good. He'd seen posters of that guy, and Karsh wouldn't be caught dead in those kind of clothes. Hopefully, he had some more… normal ones around.

"Oh, it'll be fine. He's got a ton of them, and he's totally preoccupied lately." Miki sighed. "He's had some family stuff to deal with and… well, never mind, it's not your business.

Considering he was currently stationed with Nikki's long-lost sister on Nikki's father's pirate ship, he probably knew a heck of a lot more than she thought.

"Anyway, I promise you, he'll never notice." She opened a trunk. It was full of… oh god. Leather and suspenders and makeup. What the hell?

"I thought I told you I wasn't gay!"

"Okay, okay, I realize Nikki's costumes are a bit… flamboyant," she conceded. "But he's the most popular heartthrob in the world right now. If anyone knows how to get girls, it's him. He must be doing something right."

Girls went for that? "You gotta be kidding me! There's no frickin' way I'm gonna dress practically in drag!"

"Do you want the girl or not?"

Well, Nikki did have a constant trail of female fans begging for his attention, she wasn't lying about that. If he could get Riddel to like him even half that much…

"You better be sure about this."

"Thousands of screaming fangirls can't be wrong."