04 - The Store
"I-I haven't thanked you for earlier." She replied meekly.
He looked at her standing under the streetlight. He didn't clearly see her face earlier in the dark, but now that her features were in full view, he realized that she was also the same lady he had almost bumped into when he sprinted through the emergency stairs earlier in the day.
She seemed to be a few years younger than him. Not by much, though. He also noted how her long vermillion locks fell in a disarray over her face and the innocent pair of deep blue eyes peeking out of those strands. She also didn't seem to harbour any bad intentions, but he wasn't looking for company to take care of, either, especially with his line of work as a ronin.
"No need. Just go back." He pointed in the direction of the hospital.
"I-I don't want to." She admitted.
"Do you have family you can live with?"
Her eyes shifted to the ground. "I don't have any relatives left."
"Friends?" He continued.
"Do friends I've made in the hospital count?"
Sougo looked at her with a complicated expression.
"I won't force you to go back." He understood that a psychiatric hospital wasn't really the most comfortable place to live in. "But, do you know what you're gonna do from now on?"
She shook her petite head vigorously.
"You're free now. Live life how you want. Get a job, travel. Anything goes. Best of luck with whatever it is. Let's part ways, okay?"
Sougo turned his back on her and continued to walk. He missed seeing the brief smile that passed through Kagura's lips. It was as if she finally heard the words that she wanted to hear the most.
Just when he thought that he was finally free of her, he heard her footsteps start behind him again.
"What are you doing?" He asked, visibly irked.
"I'm living life how I want." She mimicked him.
Upon hearing her response, Sougo felt his knees give out. He used both hands to support himself against a nearby wall. He felt the urge to knock his head against it. He should've chosen his words more carefully.
Sougo sighed and looked at her from the side. She stood there, clearly worried about him. He could read her face like a book. She was too innocent, ah.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to follow strange men?" He asked.
"Yes. But, Mami also told me it was okay to follow handsome men."
Sougo blinked twice at that statement. What was her mother teaching her?
Sensing how stubborn she was, he gave in. He did need a date for the wedding. Although, this isn't quite what he imagined.
"Just don't regret it afterwards." He warned her.
He turned his back on her, lowered himself to a squat and extended his arms in expectation.
"What are you doing?" She eyed his back curiously.
"Get on. I can't have you walking around in your bare feet."
Kagura clumsily climbed on his back.
"Thanks, mister." This was the first time she had a piggyback ride so the view from above his head made her feel giddy as if she was the queen of this district.
Meanwhile, Sougo couldn't deny the presence of her chest hitting his back. He could tell that she was quite well-endowed. He felt a bit guilty of taking advantage of her innocence as if he had just kidnapped her to be his date even though her actions were voluntary.
Sougo inwardly sighed.
Women were so troublesome.
He decided to talk about something else to stop such thoughts from entering his head.
"The hospital never banned patients from wearing shoes. Why don't you wear any?"
"I-I don't like shoes." She admitted.
From the lack of further explanation, Sougo sensed that it was a sensitive subject.
"So, where are we going?" Kagura mentioned, trying to change the subject.
"Department store. We need to get you some shoes and probably a few outfits too. You'll attend my sister's wedding with me."
Kagura gasped in surprise. This will be her first time attending a wedding. Her mother had a shotgun wedding so she didn't know much about the actual ceremony but she was always curious about how it was like from the happy expressions that couples displayed on television. In other words, she was excited.
"Since you followed me voluntarily, I won't accept no for an answer." Sougo was relieved that he had one less problem to deal with. He wasn't going to let her get away easily.
"No worries. I've always wanted to go to a wedding. But, mister, do you not have anyone else to go with?"
Sougo stopped. For someone as naive as her to be so keen at a time like this surprised him.
"I'm not gonna answer that." He continued to walk again.
"So I guess you're kind of like me, then...By the way, can I know the name of Mr. Lonely?"
"It's Sougo. Okita Sougo." He corrected.
"You can call me Kagura-chan, Mr. Lonely."
"Cut it out or I'll drop you." Sougo threatened.
"Oh-kay." She reluctantly stopped with her teasing.
The two chat idly on the way to an open clothing store. Their conversation centered on Sougo explaining anything that Kagura was pointing at. She had very little knowledge of the outside world. He assumed that the poor girl's parents had mainly kept her indoors most of her life due to her disorder.
[ooo]
Oedo Mart was the name of the store they had entered. Kagura was initially blinded at the bright lights but grew visibly excited at everything she saw. A few heads turned their way when they walked through the aisles. Sougo felt that their clothes made them stand out a bit too much, mainly the girl on his back.
They headed to the fitting rooms where a sales assistant stood, looking at them dubiously from afar. She was unsure if the girl was an actual patient or the couple was cosplaying.
"Couples these days, ha. No virtue, at all." She mumbled under her breath before quickly pulling out her business smile once they came closer. "Hello. How may I help you?"
Sougo placed Kagura on the ground and let her stretch.
"We need a few new outfits for her." Sougo mentioned, pointing his head towards Kagura.
"Hi, Miss Tae!" Kagura enthusiastically greeted as she read the woman's name tag. "You're so pretty."
"Oh, this suit is just a work uniform." Tae blushed, quickly changing her opinion of the two. After getting flattered, Tae grew passionate with her work.
"You should see what I'll get for you. On that note, what kind of event will you be attending?"
"Wedding." He answered.
"Are you two getting married?" The saleslady held a skeptical look on her face.
"It's my sister's wedding." Sougo clarified with the nosy saleslady as he felt his phone buzz in his right pocket, signalling that a text message had just been received.
"I have some business to take care of first so I'll be right back." He mentioned to Kagura, before turning one last time towards to the saleslady. "Add in a few day-to-day outfits, too. Ones that make it easy to run in."
After he left for the store's entrance, Tae took a good look at her young customer to measure out her three sizes. She was quite envious of the young girl's body, but she kept the business smile plastered on her face.
"Let's start with the dress for the wedding. Is there anything in particular that you like to wear?" Tae asked as she pulled a rack filled with dresses that fit the young girl's size well.
While Kagura riffled through the dresses, she couldn't help but notice the price tags.
"One, two, three...Six zeroes!" She counted. It wasn't just one of the clothes, it was the whole rack.
"Umm, Miss Tae. As pretty as these clothes are, aren't they...umm...expensive?"
"Tsk. Tsk. It seems you don't know much about men, miss. One way to see how much a man loves you is through his wallet. This is a test. If he's willing to spend this much, it means that he really likes you."
Kagura felt that there was something not quite right about that statement.
"It's not like that. We just met recently. I'm not his girlfriend." She blushed at the word "girlfriend".
"Not his girlfriend and he's already inviting you to see his family? He moves fast. I suggest you watch out for him. All men are wolves. Except for mine, mine is a gorilla."
A gorilla?
With Tae ranting about her gorilla fiancée, Kagura grew more confused at the meaning behind the word "love". Was it the same feeling you have towards a pet?
Kagura resumed looking at each of the dresses hanging in front of her until she spotted a white cheongsam. Tae noticed that her customer's eyes lingered on that dress, but made no attempt to pick it up.
"Do you want to try this one?" Tae asked.
"Oh. Uh. No. It just reminded me of someone."
"There's no need to be shy." Tae pulled off the dress from the hanger and handed it to her customer. "Go on. Change into it and we'll see how it looks. I have a good eye for these things. I think it'll suit you."
After being pushed into one of the fitting rooms, Kagura pulled off her white medical gown, slipped into her new white dress and pulled her hair back before looking at the mirror. As expected, she resembled her late mother.
The dress was a bit fancier than the one her mother wore in her memories. There was a small opening at the center of her chest bordered by three, small red roses connected to a red stitch that traversed to her left hip then to her right thigh and finally, descended to the hem of her dress. The outlines of red roses and gold leaves appeared to grow in size as they followed the red stitch down.
This short-sleeved dress was also smooth to the touch. Most likely, it was made out of silk. The last notable difference was the appearance of only one long slit on the right side of her dress, revealing just one of her slender legs.
Before gloomy feelings could return at the thought of her late mother, a certain lonely man's voice entered her head.
"You're free now. Live life how you want. Get a job, travel. Anything goes..."
He's right. I can't live like I'm stuck in the past anymore.
"How is it?" Tae asked from the other side of the door, wondering why her customer was taking so long to appear. "Does it fit properly? Are there any areas you'd like to adjust?"
"Ah. No. It fits well." Kagura opened the door and stepped out.
Tae circled around her. "It looks like it was tailored just for you!"
"Thanks." Kagura blushed.
"By the way, is there a secret as to how you get those?" Tae asked while poking at Kagura's chest.
Kagura let out a moan as Tae grew more curious and started to explore the chest in front of her with both hands.
"Seeing that they're so bouncy. They're real right?"
"Ugh. Yes. Could you-could you please stop, Miss Tae?"
"Ahem." A familiar man's voice interrupted the two. "I leave you alone for a few minutes and you're already in trouble."
Tae, still fondling Kagura, looked behind her and spotted Sougo with an irritated look.
"I recall asking for customer service, but not this type of service. Do I have to report you, Miss?"
"Ah. No. We were just kidding around. Besides, it's not like you haven't thought of touching these melons yourself."
Well, I can't deny that.
While Sougo contemplated on what to say next, Kagura's face grew a deeper shade of red. With Tae distracted, she finally escaped this surprisingly strong woman's grasp and quickly ran into the fitting room, locking the door behind her. She took off her dress and changed back into her medical gown as fast as possible. She liked the new dress, but she was slightly fearful at what might happen again if she wore it.
"So, uh, are you two done with the outfits?" Sougo asked.
"Not quite. There's still the day-to-day outfit, shoes and other lady necessities."
"Try to hurry it up. We still have to make it in time for the bus at eight tonight. It's almost seven."
After being rushed by Sougo, Tae hastily completed the wedding outfit with a pair of gold high heels and earrings with red crystals, then picked a plain red dress that resembled the white dress, along with black pants and black slip-on shoes that even Kagura felt inclined to wear.
"How is it?" Kagura asked as she twirled in her new day-to-day outfit.
"Not bad. Not bad at all." He casually answered.
Sougo wasn't too fond of shopping and wanted to quickly head out so he simply answered with the first thing on his mind.
Tae couldn't just stand to watch the naive couple so she whispered something in Sougo's ear.
"If you're not careful, I might just take her away from you."
[ooo]
Up Next: The Ride
[ooo]
Deleted Scene 03:
(While filming the scene where Sougo gives Kagura a piggy back ride...)
"Hey Sadist! Aren't your hands a little too low?" Kagura asked.
"Hmm. Is it?" Sougo gives Kagura's bottom a good squeeze. "Nope, feels just right."
Kagura starts to bite Sougo's head off.
"Are you giving me a hickey?" He teased.
"Pah." Kagura wiped her mouth. "You taste awful."
"Really? Well, you'll get used to the taste after awhile."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly as it sounds." Sougo grinned.
Deleted Scene 04:
(As a consequence of the first deleted scene..)
"On that note, what kind of event will you be attending?" Tae asked.
"Funeral." Kagura answered before Sougo could. "His, to be exact."
Deleted Scene 05:
(More of Kagura's revenge on set...)
While Sougo stood at the spot that the two women left him, he received some strange looks from the passing customers. He looked around him and realized that he'd been standing in front of a mannequin wearing a shirt that said "I'm with stupid" and an arrow pointing in his direction.
"The f&*%, who changed the set again?" Sougo yelled.
Q & A with the author and Kagura:
Author: Thoughts on love?
Kagura: What's "love"? Is that something edible?
Author: My poor, poor child. I've made you suffer, haven't I? It's okay. I'll make it up to you...
Kagura: O-kay. I only agreed to this interview for the sukonbu. Where is it?
The author pulls out sukonbu & watches Kagura take the bait.
Author: [pats head] I'm gonna miss innocent Kagura, ah.