Chapter 6

Oathkeeper said he rarely wakes up before noon if he didn't have to wake up for school, and Aubade told me he wouldn't wake up until much later. I started everyday at 8 o'clock in the morning because I didn't do a lot of active things at all. After I took a shower, dressed and had breakfast, I took the train to Harajuku Station. Just like any other day, the city of Shibuya was bustling with people. When I got out the exit of the station, I saw Ominous Blight staring at his phone right underneath the sign that said Takeshita Street.

Contrary to his avatar, he was not tall nor muscly. Although we didn't see each other in real life as much as we used to, he still enjoyed being well-dressed. It was as if he was born in a suit, and today he wore a brown vest over a shirt that matched his dark blue suit. He had rolled the bottom of his slacks to reveal red socks and black sneakers. He was only two inches taller than me and just as thin as I was. He had a brown mop of curly hair and glasses like his father, Francesco Calliano, and a round face like his mother, Hikaru Utada. Because of his father's Italian background, Maguro Calliano stood out from most Japanese boys his age and was therefore very popular among the girls.

I also agreed that he was becoming attractive, and his easy-going and charismatic air topped it off, as they say. However, he was turning 18 in two months and I knew he only saw me as a little sister. I crossed the road and walked straight towards him. He noticed me when I was about a meter away from him, and he put his phone away. "Hey, Teru-chan," He grinned with ease, speaking in English to try and make me practice.

"Hi, Magu-kun," I said simply. On closer inspection, his square-rimmed glasses framed his boyish face and his bright blue eyes. "Where's Junko-san?"

"She'll meet us at Yoyogi Park when I take you back home," He answered, "Too many people around here so things might get a bit crazy."

Junko Calliano was Magu-kun's younger sister by two years. She was named after Hikaru-san's grandmother, and became more famous than either of them. She is now one of the biggest Japanese idols and is currently on a world tour. Magu-kun, on the other hand, was named after Maguro Taniguchi from the Japanese band Kana-Boon. Magu-kun didn't want to be a musician, but he's training to be an Audio Engineer for games while he works in KHO. "So where are we going?" I asked.

"In here," Magu-kun beckoned.

"But I don't have much money on me." "You don't need to worry about that, I'll shout you," He gleamed with excitement.

"What does that mean?" I frowned. "I'm paying for anything you want." "Are you sure? I'm not much of a shopper…"

"Yes I'm sure," He quickly got up behind me and started pushing me forward, making me walk into the entrance of Takeshita Street. I couldn't help but laugh at his silliness. He stopped after a lot of people were looking at us, and ran around to face me. "Now where do you wanna go?"

"Uh… I'm not sure," I looked around at all the small shops along the street. The pathway in-between the stores was only wide enough to fit pedestrians. "I haven't grown since I was 13, so I never felt the need to buy anything new for myself," I added.

"Then I shall be your stylist for today," He beamed and started to walk around me with deep observation from head to toe. Magu-kun was so passionate about the loud Tokyo Street fashion, it was a wonder that he chose to be a professional gamer over a personal stylist. He was wearing one of his milder outfits today, which wasn't necessary seeing as he was in the big city. If he wasn't such a lady's man, I might have assumed he was gay. Magu-kun muttered to himself, head in his hands, "Your theme is Lolita, but should I pick gothic or sweet?"

"Why are you putting me in Lolita?" I asked, slightly worried.

"Because I've never seen you wear a dress, and I know you'll hate me if I make you wear the really trendy stuff right now," He circled me one more time. Suddenly, he clicked his fingers, "That's it! I'll style you with classic Lolita. Come on."

We started walking down the street, and he turned his head to every little corner to find what he wanted. I didn't know much about Lolita, let alone fashion in general, but I knew he was going to make me wear a frilly dress. I would have refused if he wasn't so insistent on buying me something new. "How is Midori-senpai doing?" Magu-kun asked.

"I keep telling him to take it easy so his brain can recover," I harrumphed, "But he wants to get back to work as usual."

"He's stubborn," He grinned, then nudged me, "like someone else I know."

I bawled my fists in annoyance, but composed myself. He was only teasing. I took a deep breath and asked, "How is your family?"

"Dad is still going strong with the nightclub he runs, Mom is on tour with Junko," He spoke with pride, which was rather cute, "and well, Junko is being Junko — ooh, look! Let's go into that store."

I wasn't sure whether I was shocked that he didn't give the usual honorific to Junko-san or at his random outburst. I hoped that his lack of using honorific was because he wanted me to practice using English. Magu-kun practically waltzed into some clothing store, and I followed in tow. Many Lolita dresses were modeled on mannequins around the store, and the store itself was not much bigger than my room. Other than that, the store was made up of a few clothing racks, a change room and the lady standing behind a desk with a cash register.

Magu-kun went to each mannequin and compared it's dress to me, while I was trying to look interested at the shoes on display. "Teru-chan, I found the right dress for you!" Magu-kun called. I turned to see him pointing to a button-up, long-sleeved dress which was blue for the top half and cut in a straight line to show creamy material for the skirt. The end of the sleeves were ruffled with the same material used for the skirt, and the back of the dress showed that the blue half curved three quarters of the way down. The dress had a square plunge which would show my collarbones, and there were ribbons on either side of the plunge. "Do you like it?" Magu-kun asked.

"As long as it's not too revealing and you don't make me look like a Barbie doll," I shrugged.

"But you already are a doll," He winked. I rolled my eyes to hide my face warming up. After he paid for the dress, he implored, "Put it on!"

"Now?"

"Yes now," Magu-kun nodded, "I would push you into the change room, but I'll get kicked out of this store for being a pervert, and I am anything but."

Magu-kun handed me the paper bag holding the dress, and I unbuttoned it as I walked towards the change room. Once inside, I stripped off my sweater and shorts. I kept my black tights and undergarments on and stepped into the dress and slipped it on. The dress felt smooth and fitted like a second skin. I used the mirror in front of me to button up the front, and I gasped. I can't remember the last time I wore a dress, but I didn't expect to look so…nice? The simplicity of the dress made me feel good. It was like Magu-kun knew that I would refuse to wear anything flashy or loud.

Speaking of which, I could hear his loud, cheerful voice outside. I could also hear the store employee giggling. I leaned against the door and stared at my sneakers. A wave of disappointment came over me. I should have known better than to think Magu-kun was buying me clothes because he liked me in that way. I wasn't good enough for him, and I never would be. He felt sorry for me, because I didn't have any other friends. I was a loner in the real world, and nothing could change that. It made me want to finish our outing, and to only contact each other in KHO. But then, why would he want to spend time with me if I wasn't good enough for him?

I glanced at the mirror again, and it reminded me of something important. I was the gamer Oblivion, who brought justice upon Chaos Ripper and saved the players of KHO. I wasn't some lovesick girl who was waiting to be rescued by her prince! I shook my head to get rid of the negative thoughts, put my old clothes into the bag and picked up my belongings. When I walked outside, the store employee noticed me and stopped speaking to Magu-kun, who in turn stopped speaking to her and faced me.

I had never seen him look at me like that before; the look on his face was strange. His glasses couldn't hide the intensity in his blue eyes, and I stared back at him nervously. He was always so expressive with his face and his gestures, but this time I didn't understand what emotion he was trying to show. It wasn't disgust or annoyance. It wasn't joy or humor. It was as if he was seeing me for the first time. "What do you think?" I asked him.

"Would you like to buy a pair of shoes to go with that dress?" The store employee asked in Japanese, breaking our gaze. Magu-kun snapped his head to my shoes and snorted.

"What's so funny?" I frowned. What was wrong with wearing Nike shoes?

"Those shoes with that dress? Nah-Uh!" He shook his head once, flicking his hair to the side. He spent another 5 minutes looking in the shoes section when he picked up a pair of black lace-up boots. "How about these?" He asked me.

"Sure, why not?" I shrugged. After Magu-kun paid for them, I regretted those words. I didn't realize the boots had heels, so standing on my own two feet was a struggle. I almost stumbled as I walked out on to the street. Magu-kun suppressed a giggle and held out his arm for support. I quickly intertwined my arm with his from the bend of our elbows, and noticed the color of his suit next to my sleeve. It was the exact same shade of blue. I had heard about couples dressing up to match each other. Was this a date? "Of course it is," Magu-kun grinned; I didn't know I let my thoughts slip from my mouth. He then winked, "I'll take you to a love hotel afterwards."

I couldn't hide my blushing face this time. I felt safe with his touch. But he was so full of himself! With us walking arm-in-arm, we looked like any other couple. If we were walking any closer to each other, it would discomfort the public. "I think we should stop for lunch instead," I muttered helplessly.

He nodded, "I know you get cranky when you're hungry, so that sounds like a good idea."

We stopped at Marion Crêpes. I guess you could say it was our "thing" to do from when I was the age of 5. Magu-kun's father would sometimes take us out to Harajuku to get away from the indoors of the Bunka Quint Building, and we started coming here by ourselves 2 years after. I ordered a crêpe filled with Nutella and banana slices, and Magu-kun ordered one with something fancy called Dulce de Leche. "What's that?" I asked.

"It's condensed milk basically," He shrugged, "You can try some if you want."

When we were given our crêpes, we swapped with each other like we used to. I took a small bite of the thin pancake and tasted Dulce de Leche. "It's a bit too sweet," I scrunched up my face in disgust. I forgot about Magu-kun's big sweet tooth. We swapped crêpes again, "Where are you taking me next?"

"Now that your outfit is complete, we're going to Yoyogi Park," He led me outside the entrance of Takeshita Street.

I asked him, "So you're not taking me to a love hotel?"

"You thought I was serious?"

I tightened my lips to stop myself from answering, and he burst into laughter. Why did he always mess around with me like that?

Disclaimer: Around July 2015, there was news that reported Hikaru Utada had a baby boy with her husband Francesco Calliano. I was not able to find out the name of their son, and I'm not predicting anything about the rest of their family. This was the same reason why I did not use Tetsuya Nomura as a character in this fanfic.