Chapter 4

"Hurry up, tama! I wanna get my paws over all the yummy festival food...," drooled Tamazo.

"Not yet, we have to wait for Tiger," warned Ace. "The festival doesn't even begin for another hour." He and Charo sat outside a dressing room, and Tiger's enthusiastic hums could be clearly heard from within.

"How about this one?! I think it totally says 'this guy is hot stuff!'" Tiger emerged from the changing room and flounced around in a boldly patterned black and gold jinbei. Emblazoned on the back was a fierce looking dragon surrounded by mist. His fiery red hair was held back by a tightly wound bandana.

"Just hurry up and pick one, tama!" Tamazo impatiently growled.

"I think that one looks quite nice on you, Tiger," offered Charo.

Tiger pouted. "Charo... you said something similar about the last six I tried."

"It doesn't have to be perfect, it's just one night. ...Who might you be trying to impress?" joked Ace. "Also don't you have festival wear from any previous years?"

"I change it each year. Wearing the same thing each year is just bland," said Tiger, matter-of-factly. As if he didn't wear the same gaudy clothes every other day.

"Why not choose something that represents your style?" suggested Charo. "I chose something green because it represents Libria and my team. I also think it's a very peaceful color."

"So then... something red and fiery could represent my burning passion and Geyser! Charo, you're a genius!" Tiger exclaimed. "N-not that I wouldn't have figured it out myself," he quickly added. He dashed off to find more clothes to try. Charo giggled, watching him go.

Charo wore a simple floral yukata of a gradient green fabric with a yellow obi (waist tie) and wore an ornamental pin in his hair. Ace wore a burgundy jinbei with an arrow pattern.

"Wouldn't it have made more sense for him to invite us to the festival after he had picked out his clothes? Especially if he was going to take this long," whined Ace.

"I doubt he thought that far ahead," whispered Tamazo, rather loudly. "Seems that way," agreed Ace, laughing.

"I really think he looked best with the first one he picked out... it matched his true style the best. He only started to look for others when our reaction to it wasn't enthusiastic."

Ace sat up. "Why didn't you tell him, then?"

Charo blushed. "I can't! If I go back to the first one after all this time and tell him it was the best after all, he might think that I'm lying, or trying to get him to choose sooner, or...! ...I have a really hard time talking to him sometimes..."

"Well, we're going to be stuck here until you tell him which one you like."

"Which one... I like? What about your opinion?" Charo trembled a little.

"I could care less what he wears, it's just for a day. You're the one who liked his first choice of clothes, right? It should be you who tells him." Ace crossed his arms.

"I'll tell him, tama!" said Tamazo cheerfully.

"No." and "No!" said Ace and Charo simultaneously.

Charo buried his face in his hands and sighed resignedly.

"How about this one?" Tiger jogged back and held up a red jinbei with a fiery pattern on it. "Or maybe this one?" He held up another darker red jinbei with dark stripes. "Eh, maybe this one is too similar to Ace's."

"Um, Tiger?" Charo said quietly. "Could you try on... the first one again? The very first one you tried on. I think with some adjustments... it would... look perfect." Charo nearly melted.

"Why didn't you say so sooner, Charo?" laughed Tiger. "I'll go get it."

"Thank you, Ace," whispered Charo.

"Huh? What for?" Ace cocked his head to one side.

"I don't know. I felt a little braver just now."

"Oh... you're welcome, I guess," said Ace, sheepishly. Then, more deviously, "You know, lots of people go to festivals as couples. It makes a great dating spot, I hear."

Charo nearly had a stroke. "Wh-wh-what are you talking about so suddenly, Ace!?"

"Oh, I don't know... I hear Tiger's single... I'm sure he'd say yes pretty easily if you asked him... he's not the type to get embarrassed, either." Ace thought back to Tiger's infamous cardboard armor.

"B-b-but then... even if I do...!" Charo was redder as a tomato. "Where will you go, Ace? I won't make it on my own with just Tiger! I'll die for sure!" wailed Charo.

Tiger came back out to find a very flustered Charo and a smug-looking Ace. When Tiger asked how he looked, Charo could do nothing but nod furiously and give him a thumbs up.

Ace still had the word "couple" and "date" stuck in his mind, trying to ignore the familiar silhouette that appeared...