I'd just like to remind everyone that this story is rated M. I trust that you are smart enough to draw the connection between that rating and this reminder.
I Have not Seen as Others Saw
"Can you hug shopping?" Ophis asked, an adorable look of confusion and overall innocence on her face.
Chuckling at Ophis' adorable remark, Shigeru stood from the table, collecting the plates and chopsticks along the way. "No, you can't hug shopping, unfortunately" he responded, as he led the now standing Ophis into the kitchen. "Shopping is less a thing you can hold and more something you do," he gently instructed as he put the plates in his dishwasher and the chopsticks on a rack by the sink. "In today's case, we're going to be stocking up on some food and getting you some necessities."
"I have Shi!" Ophis retorted, not necessarily heatedly, but with a note of intensity that had been absent over her previous utterances. "I don't need anything else," She continued while placing her hands on her hips, almost pouting.
Turning towards her and sighing, Shigeru squatted to bring himself down to Ophis' eye level and put his hand on her shoulder. Her face immediately lit up at the contact. "You asked me to care for you right?" He gently asked while making eye contact with the girl.
"Yes, you will care for me." Came the immediate reply. "My place is here with you, and nowhere else." Ophis seemed certain that the words she spoke were true. She knew she was where she belonged. A bit softer she muttered, "I only need you."
"You trust me, right Ophis," Shigeru asked soothingly, though with an edge of apprehension worming its way into the back of his mind. This was the first time he and Ophis had disagreed about something. Seeing the girl nod in front of him, Shigeru moved his arm to her back and started gently moving it up in down in what he hoped to be a comforting motion. "Then please trust me to take care of you as you asked. The best way I know how to do that means you having at least a couple of things of your own."
"Why?" was Ophis' only response. It seemed like she was a bit lost in the hand petting her back at the moment.
Scrambling for how best to explain himself, Shigeru replied, "I never want you to think you're a burden on me, you're welcome here as long as you wish, and what's mine is yours, 100 percent… but it would make things much easier for me if you let me get what I'm thinking of for you."
"What do you think I need?" Ophis inquired almost sleepily. Shigeru hoped she didn't fall asleep. He still needed her to agree to go shopping after all.
"Oh, mostly just some clothes and a few other necessities. Nothing too big." He would try to keep the volume to a minimum, seeing how against the idea she had initially been. "Oh, and food too. I had only been stocking the fridge for one, but with you here now I'll need to pick up some more." The food had almost slipped his mind.
"Mmm… food…" Ophis whispered, "More food good." Looks like at least one part of the shopping trip appealed to her.
"Well, I can't get the food if we don't go shopping. I promise we'll be as quick as we can, and I'll make a big dinner tonight if you agree to let me buy you some clothes." Shigeru hoped the prospect of a good meal would successfully bribe the girl into agreeing to the trip. Underhanded? Perhaps. Necessary? Most likely, yes.
Ophis looked up from where she had been dozing off, into Shigeru's eyes once more. After a moment, she spoke, "Alright. We will go shopping." She nodded, sealing her commitment. She looked nervous and not entirely happy, but Shigeru would accept the progress.
Relieved with her acceptance, Shigeru brought his other arm up and around Ophis' back and pulled her to his chest, her head filling the space over his shoulder given his squatting position. "Thank you," he intoned while holding the girl. The embrace was as much a reward for him as it was for her and judging by the pleased smile Shigeru could see on her face, it was quite pleasant for both of them. Neither would want to be anywhere else for a good long while.
As the embrace drew on into its fifth minute, with Ophis having brought her own arms around Shigeru's back, Shigeru finally resolved to get the show on the road. He finally broke the embrace with sheer willpower and immediately missed its warmth. He could not imagine Ophis felt any differently. There were places to be though, and time didn't stop just because you were in paradise.
Ophis followed as Shigeru walked to the shoe rack by the door and retrieved his tennis shoes – no point in dressing fancily for a simple shopping trip. As he finished tying the knot on the second shoe, he looked over to Ophis and with resignation examined her feet. 'Of course, they're bare, she didn't have shoes on her last night when you put her to bed' he reminded himself.
"You don't have shoes, do you?" Knowing the answer he was likely to receive, but asking the question anyway, Shigeru was ready for the words that came next from his adorable roommate.
"I have Shi" She replied, confirming that she did not have shoes.
"Yes, yes you do have me" came the tired but no less loving reply. "What's one more store to visit?"
The pair left for the shopping district, one with feet covered, the other bare. They had a long day ahead of them.
I Have not Seen as Others Saw
Walking down the street, Ophis by his side, Shigeru could tell that he was drawing some less than approving glances from the other passers-by. He couldn't blame them really. It wasn't every day that you saw a young man and a young, barefoot girl walking around together after all. That's not to say that anyone did anything about it though. The Japanese aversion to dealing with troublesome situations – preferring instead to pretend the situations didn't exist – kept most everyone from even looking in the pair's direction.
A few people were muttering amongst themselves about how improper it was, but muttering was all they did. Shigeru wasn't all that concerned about strangers' opinions about him. He was never likely to see any of these people again anyway, and besides, whatever half-cocked theories anyone might have, nothing improper was going on between him and Ophis in the first place.
It seemed Ophis too had noticed the attention they were receiving, but she seemed to be taking it a bit less well than Shigeru. There was no obvious reaction; nothing the girl did was particularly obvious. No, the subtle tenseness of her shoulders and the darting of her eyes told Shigeru that Ophis was not particularly comfortable right now. Reaching out to the girl, he took her hand in his own, which seemed to calm her down a bit. "It's alright Ophis, they don't matter". He whispered, trying to soothe her.
Ophis latched onto his hand and held it tight, not wanting to let it go. She was adorable like that. Feeling his pocket one more time to make sure he did indeed have his wallet, Shigeru had to decide where he going to be taking Ophis first. Between his realization that Ophis was going to need shoes and leaving the apartment, Shigeru had not only retrieved his wallet, but also a bag with a pair of spare socks for the girl and some water, in case anyone got too thirsty. 'Walking around in the summer's sun is not as easy as you might expect.'
Breaking out of his reminiscence, Shigeru got back to deciding what was the most important thing to get Ophis first. Thinking logically, the choice came down to either clothes or shoes. Deciding to let Ophis choose what she wanted to do he asked, "So Ophis, would you like to look for shoes or clothes first?" He was quite surprised when he got an actual answer.
"Shoes," Ophis Responded after a moment of consideration. Come to think of it, Shigeru had never even thought that she might be hurting herself walking on the pavement with bare feet. It wasn't that warm out, only about twenty-four degrees Celsius, but still, he knew that pavement was very good at absorbing heat. He had burned his own feet more than once walking on asphalt in the summer after all.
"You're not burning your feet right now, are you?" He asked quickly, ready and willing to carry the girl to a shoe store if that's what it came to. He wouldn't let her hurt herself just because he made a stupid mistake.
"…No" After another few moments of consideration, Ophis responded in the negative. "My feet are fine. Shoes sound less noisy than clothes though" She offered in the way of explanation for her choice. Shigeru did not understand but elected not to comment for the time being. He would have plenty of time to explore Ophis' idiosyncrasies over their hopefully long time together. No point trying to rush it now.
Arriving in the shopping district, Shigeru steered the pair to where he vaguely guessed the women's apparel stores would be. He had never had a reason to visit them before, so he wasn't entirely sure where they were. A helpful signboard with a map of the shopping district directed them the rest of the way there.
Even as the stores around him became more and more feminine, Shigeru still didn't know which of them would sell shoes – either those in Ophis' size or in general. There was no point in just standing around though. They would just have to walk around until they found something. "Tell me if you see anything about shoes, ok?" Shigeru gently instructed Ophis. She nodded in response.
After a few more minutes of wandering, Shigeru felt Ophis' hand tighten around his own. He saw her point across the street, a good way away, towards a nondescript building. Not able to make out particular in that direction, besides more stores, "Do you see something over there?" he asked.
Nodding her head Ophis replied "Shoes," still pointing in the same direction. Trusting his companion, Shigeru led the pair across the street, and when they reached the location, sure enough, there was a shop called "Shoes".
"A bit on the nose, don't you think…" Shigeru mumbled to himself on seeing the name. It was a bit shady, not having any sort of branding beyond what was sold… but it wasn't like they had an abundance of shoe shops to choose from.
"No, your nose is clean," Ophis said as the pair entered the store. He hadn't expected her to be able to hear that… Come to think of it, she had also seen the store from pretty far away, hadn't she?
"You have really good senses, don't you Ophis?" Shigeru asked, nodding Idly to the store clerk sitting behind the counter. He was reading some manual it looked like, looking up only to return the nod before returning to his reading. 'Not going to be getting too much help out of him' Shigeru thought looking around.
"Yes." Ophis quietly responded to Shigeru's question. He filed that bit of information away for later. What he needed to find now was a sizing guide – a Brannock Device his memory helpfully told him. He had looked up what the thing pretty much every shoe shop ever used for sizing feet was called while bored at some point, and apparently his brain decided to remember it. 'Gee thanks, really good use of storage space on that one, guy' he thought still searching for one of the damn things.
He finally found them in the back corner of the store, all piled neatly by one of the benches. "Can you sit down there for me Ophis?" He asked softly, disappointed when the girl's hand left his own after a moment and she went to take a seat.
As Shigeru retrieved the socks from his bag, Ophis swung her feet back and forth as she watched him. He hadn't wanted Ophis to get the socks too dirty on the way to the store, and not wanting her putting her feet in shoes that others might have already tried on, bringing socks for her to put on at the store seemed like the best option.
Handing the footwear to Ophis, he asked her to, "please put those on" before returning his focus to the Brannock Device for a moment. He missed Ophis looking between the socks in her hands and himself in confusion. After a moment of contemplation, not knowing what on earth she was meant to do with the darn things, she guessed, and 'put them on.'
"Alright, now I'm going to measure your feet, it might feel a bit weird but please hold still." Shigeru began as he turned around. What met him was the sight of Ophis with the socks on her hands, opening and closing them like sock puppets. Overcome by the cuteness, Shigeru took her in a hug right then and there. After a moment, Ophis reciprocated, snuggling her face into his chest.
After a moment, Shigeru broke the hug – much to Ophis' chagrin – and chuckling informed her that "Socks go on your feet, not your hands." After a moment he continued "here, let me help you," and taking the sock from her right hand began working it onto her right foot. He repeated the process with the left, and finished, he brought her foot to the foot sizer.
"You know, if I had another pair, I would have let you keep a sock puppet" Shigeru stated as he worked out Ophis' shoe size. Seeing her look of confusion, he continued "what you were just doing with the socks on your hands right now." Seeing Ophis nodding a bit he returned it, "Well I'll get you one tonight, you can decorate it and everything." Seeing Ophis' lip tick up in approval as she once again nodded, Shigeru knew he had made the right choice in making the offer.
Finished with sizing Ophis' feet –she ended up being a size six in the American system, which for some reason was the only size on this store's sizers – Shigeru stood up from his position at her feet and gestured for her to follow him. "We're looking for something that says Size Six on the box, Ok? Tell me if you see anything you think would work."
"Ok, size six," was her response, as she began looking intently at the boxes on the store's shelves.
As Ophis' browsing drew into its seventh minute without reacting to any of the footwear positively and recalling the sock puppets from a few minutes earlier, Shigeru decided it would be best to be sure Ophis knew what shoes were for before things dragged on too much further. "Ophis," he called, getting her attention, "Shoes are worn on your feet, over your socks."
Seeing comprehension dawn on her face, Shigeru simply shook his head in contentment. Ophis immediately turned and returned to one of the boxes she had already inspected and picked it from the shelf before returning to him with them. "These." She intoned as she handed the box to him. Looking at the picture on the side of the box, they were indeed size six and looked to be a pair of black dress flats. No laces, the foot would just slip inside and be held in by the shape of the shoe.
There didn't seem to be any decoration on them, but Shigeru thought that was fitting for Ophis. Handing the box back to her, he began, "These are nice, why don't you go try these on – on your feet, remember – just to make sure they fit." Deciding to select walking shoes for her, he continued, "While you're doing that, I'll go find you a pair of shoes good for walking around in." Ophis nodded as the shoes once again changed hands, and after a second, she sat herself down on the floor and opened the box.
Looking at the tennis shoes on the shelf opposite the flats, Shigeru saw this and felt his heart melt just a little more. 'I guess she didn't want to let me out of her sight' he thought, trying to decide between two shoe options. In truth, it was one option in two different color schemes, a pair of tennis shoes claiming to be good for walking in either white with red accents or in black. Thinking on it for a second longer, the answer was obvious.
Picking the box with the black shoes from the shelf, Shigeru turned his attention once more to Ophis, who by then had both shoes on her feet, and was moving to stand once again. Placing the tennis shoes by the box for the flats, he examined the shoes as she wore them. They looked fine, but there was only one good way to find out if they would work.
"Could you walk up and down the aisle for a bit?" he asked Ophis, "Just to make sure they are comfortable for you" He clarified. Ophis accented and began to pace the aisle. "Well, how do they feel?" Shigeru inquired as she stopped next to him.
"They work." Came the customary short reply, though not a very convincing one, at least in wording.
"Please, tell me if they aren't comfortable" Shigeru responded. "I don't want you hurting yourself just because you didn't get the right shoes on the first try. I never want to see you hurt…" He trailed off as he ran a hand through Ophis' hair. "So, tell me, are they comfortable for you?"
"Yes, these shoes are comfortable for me, Shi" Ophis assured him, even going so far as to use his name this time. "They are comfortable, and therefore they work."
"In that case, you can keep them then." Shigeru acquiesced. That was one pair of shoes taken care of – a nice option in case Ophis ever needed to be formal – leaving the daily wear to go. "Here, take those off and put them in the box," He instructed gesturing to Ophis' new flats. Picking up the tennis shoes, he continued, "Then you can try these on. These will be a lot nicer to walk around in day to day than your flats, but they aren't quite as fancy. They have laces though, so I will probably need to tie them for you."
"Alright," Ophis accepted, once again sitting down to gain access to her feet. As the flats came off and went back into their box, the tennis shoes came out. Ophis seemed interested in the laces for a moment, playing with the strings for a second before losing interest and putting the shoes on her feet.
As Shigeru expected, rather than going to tie the laces as one familiar with them would, Ophis simply looked up from her feet to his eyes, as If asking what to do next. Resolving to teach her to tie her shoes at some point, Shigeru began "Some shoes, like the ones you had on earlier," he explained gesturing to the flats box, "don't have any way of keeping your feet inside the shoe."
Pulling the laces tight on the right shoe he continued "A lot of shoes, including the ones currently on your feet, use laces to keep your foot inside." Shigeru quickly tied a double knot on the right shoe and moved to the left. "I'll teach you the knot to tie them yourself soon, but for now I can tie your shoes for you," he promised as he finished tying the left. "I'm all done tying them for you now, so they should stay in place for a while, could you walk around a bit in this pair as well?"
As Ophis paced the aisle, Shigeru recalled his time with his mother buying shoes. He remembered a lot more crying and difficulty in the process. Maybe Ophis was just a better shoe shopper than him. As said better show shopper came to a stop once again in front of him, "Soft." She reported, referring to the shoes. "They will work." She repeated her confirmation that the shoes were comfortable and would be acceptable to walk around in.
"Alright then, all I need to do is pay. Could you grab the other box?" Shigeru requested as he made his way to the clerk at the front. Ophis followed behind, having retrieved the box with the flats. Drawing the attention of the clerk from his manual, Shigeru laid the tennis shoebox on the table and taking the box of flats from Ophis, laid it next to its companion.
"She's wearing the tennis shoes out," Shigeru responded to the unasked question on the clerk's face upon feeling the lack of weight in the box. Looking mildly exasperated, the clerk simply shook his head and continued ringing him up.
"That will be sixteen thousand five hundred- and fifty-yen, sir." Fishing his wallet out of his pocket, Shigeru inserted his credit card into the reader, paying the bill as both boxes were bagged together by the clerk. "Thank you, sir," the clerk continued, "would you like your receipt?"
"Yes of course, please just put it in the bag" Shigeru responded. Taking the bag, now with receipt, from the clerk in one hand and Ophis' hand in the other, he led the pair back out of the store, two pairs of shoes better off. 'No more looks… for Ophis not having shoes anyway' Shigeru concluded.
Feeling a bit thirsty and remembering the water he had packed in his backpack; Shigeru offered the bag with the boxes of shoes to Ophis. "Could you hold these for a second?" he asked as Ophis accepted the bag. His hands freed, Shigeru reached into his bag for his water bottle. Taking a swig, he made sure to return it to one of the easier to access outside pockets meant for granting easy access to bottles. As for why it hadn't been there in the first place, well, he'd chalk it up to being in a rush that morning.
Reaching to take back the shoe bag from Ophis, Shigeru was surprised when rather than handing the bag back to him, Ophis instead moved it away from his approaching hand. "Don't want to let me carry the shoes?" he inquired of the girl walking next to him. "That's usually how these things work out you know…" Not that Shigeru would know himself. He had never been shopping with someone else before, much less clothes shopping with a girl. He had seen enough media portrayals of shopping trips though to know that the man carrying the bags was a stereotype – one he suspected was at least somewhat true.
"No, I will carry them," replied Ophis with a surprising amount of conviction.
"Are you sure, it might get heavy, we've still got a long day ahead of us today," Shigeru tried to reason with her. He didn't have a problem with Ophis carrying the bag, of course, it was just a bit surprising.
"Yes, I am sure." Ophis once again affirmed her commitment to holding the bag. "I will carry Shi's gift to me." Ah, so that's what it was then. If she wanted to hold onto her 'gifts', there was no harm in that.
"Well, all right then." Shigeru caved. No point in arguing about something you didn't disagree with in the first place. "That's shoe shopping done. Now it's time to go to clothes… where do you buy women's clothes?"
There was a lot of wandering to be had that day.
I Have not Seen as Others Saw
Finally finding a promising option, Shigeru led Ophis towards the storefront. A bit more decorated than "Shoes," the sign above the door read "Little Women." 'They'll probably have something in Ophis' size, guessing by the name,' he thought as the pair walked through the door. 'Though I could have sworn that I read 'Little Women' in English in third year.' Shaking the stray thought from his head, he began looking about for the store clerk.
Finally finding her – at the back of the store near the dressing rooms rather than the front – Shigeru turned to Ophis, who still had a hold on his hand, and began, "Ok Ophis, go ahead and find some shirts you like." Then, just to be safe, he leaned down, took the sleeve of her shirt between his fingers, and whispering to her told her, "This is a shirt. They come in lots of colors, and some with designs on them."
Seeing Ophis nod in what he hoped was comprehension, he brought her into a quick hug, before standing back up and repeating, "Just make sure it's something you like, alright?" at his normal speaking volume once again. After a moment of contemplation and looking Shigeru in the eye, Ophis nodded, and turning, walked down the second aisle – surprisingly enough the one with shirts.
Now free to talk to the clerk about some sensitive subjects, Shigeru approached her counter. On closer inspection of the woman, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, he found her distracted by her phone and with her earbuds in. When the usual clearing of his throat failed to grab her attention, Shigeru noted the bell sat on the countertop. 'Ring here for service hmm?' Shigeru considered it for a moment. 'Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained' he thought, even if dealing with this woman was just about the last thing he wanted to be doing at the moment.
Ringing the bell, the clerk startled a bit, quickly removing her earbuds and hiding her phone under the counter. "Welcome to Little Women… How can I help you today… sir?" She quickly got out the canned greeting she was clearly given by the store. She stumbled a bit over the end though, Likely not expecting a man to be in her shop. "We only carry women's clothing here sir, are you here to pick something up for someone or did you get the wrong store?" She continued a bit coldly. A bit of a strange tone to take with a potential customer, but Shigeru honestly couldn't have cared less about this woman.
"Yes, I am here with someone, I was speaking to her right here a minute ago." He replied, seeing the woman scowl a bit as she realized that being on her phone, she had missed the pair coming in. Not caring in the slightest about the clerk's reaction, he elaborated, "the woman I came in with, she just got out of a bad situation, and she doesn't have much in the way of clothing right now."
Of course, Shigeru didn't know whereOphis came from or her situation before she found him the previous day, but the story he told the clerk seemed about as believable as any other he could come up with, and it would get him the results he wanted if everything went to plan.
Slightly softening her tone, the clerk seemed to have bought his story, "Oh poor thing," She crooned towards Shigeru. "What can I do to help?"
'Now for the embarrassing part of this conversation' Shigeru thought as he worked up the will to say what needed to be said. 'Here goes nothing' Shigeru sighed and gesturing towards the direction Ophis was currently browsing in lower his voice slightly and replied, "She doesn't exactly have much in the way of underwear right now… so I was hoping she could wear some of what we buy here today out of the store…" he trailed off. He could feel the blush deepening on his face as he talked about how Ophis needed new underwear. Ugh, he did not want to think about her breasts, covered only with a thin layer of tape –
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Shigeru caught the clerk's exasperated reply, "Oh, that's what you want? Ugh. Fine. But you need to pay for it before she puts it on if she's going to wear it out of the store." Rolling her eyes, the clerk seemed to lose interest in helping Shigeru and Ophis after that.
"Thank you" Shigeru countered, trying to maintain at least a semblance of politeness. "I'll be back with some stuff in a minute for you to scan."
"Yeah yeah, you do that. I wouldn't normally let you do this… but at least you asked first, so I'll let it slide today." Done monologuing, the clerk returned her attention to her phone, placing her earbuds back in her ears. She wasn't going to be any help finding anything.
'Real nice person there, exactly the personality you want for customer service, prickly.' Shigeru chuckled nervously as he set about his task. 'How does women's underwear work again?' He idly thought as he began looking for sports bras.
I Have not Seen as Others Saw
"Just make sure it's something you like," Her void commanded as he broke away from their hug. Robbed of the warm embrace of her home, Ophis took a moment to mourn the loss. Satisfied that she had paid her obligation to the hug collective – for surely something so powerful to hold sway over even her had a deity of its own, lurking about in a plane above them all – she nodded and turned to search for 'something she liked' among the various mortal garments.
Choosing the aisle with the shirts, she silently thanked Shi for his foresight in explaining what a shirt actually was. How should she know what such a silly thing was? It's not like she had any use in covering her body as the mortals were so obsessed with doing. Thinking back to the incident in the shoe store, her putting the socks on the wrong set of appendages, Ophis would forever deny that she blushed. Infinite Dragon Gods didn't blush dammit! She removed the biological mechanism for that the first time Kuro – the traitorous cat had tried to touch her chest.
Be that as it may, Ophis did at least have enough self-awareness to admit that she felt some shame in failing to put the socks on correctly. A part of her pride told her that she should be able to navigate something as simple as human clothing without any issue… but it was all just so complicated. 'Noisy' Ophis agreed with herself. Yes, the mortals were noisy – except for her Shi, of course, he was silent, but he was special. Their cities were noisy, their bodies were noisy, and their clothes were noisy. Though if the best way Shi thought he could care for her involved putting her in some of those clothes, she would agree… until he moved past his own body at least.
Considering Shi for a moment, Ophis already was missing being in his direct presence. She could hold out for him though as he had his conversation with the storekeeper. While she may have been naïve to most things mortal, dismissing people to have private conversations was one area in which she was privy. Yes, Shi wanted to speak to the shopkeeper, and for whatever reason, he wanted to do it alone. She would give him the semblance of privacy she could offer.
Perusing the Shirts hanging from the rack in front of her, Ophis had to consider a very important question. 'What does 'something I like' look like?' She hadn't liked much of anything since leaving the dimensional gap… until she found Shi of course. Recalling that he had said some shirts came with pictures on them, the prospect of a shirt with Shi emblazoned on the front came to her mind.
Before she could get too excited at having discovered the pinnacle of fashion, however, Ophis realized something critical. Such a shirt would be far too high quality for a store as small and pedestrian as the one she found herself in now. 'Too small' she reasoned. So, the Shi-Shirt fell to the back of Ophis' mind. The events of the rest of the day ensured that the idea fell out of her memory completely. Alas, the Shi-Shirt was not to be.
Considering a more practical option, Ophis decided to take inspiration from the shirt that she had been gifted by Shi already. It was something she liked – no, more than liked. The shirt she now wore was something she would treasure for the rest of her existence, the first gift her Shi had given her in his care. Gripping the bottom of the relic in her hands, she lifted it to get a better look at its characteristics.
The shirt didn't seem to have a picture or design on the front, simply consisting of a majority light green body color and a purple trim. Yes, Ophis adored the artifact, and truthfully found both colors quite appealing, but between the two, purple was the preferred choice. 'Like the silence' she reminisced. Now armed with the knowledge of a color that she liked, Ophis could more effectively find a shirt that appealed to her.
Picking a purple shirt from the rack, Ophis was satisfied that she had found 'something she liked.' It didn't have an image on the front or back, and neither did it have any sort of frills or ribbons. No, it was just a plain old shirt. 'Quiet.' She thought. Having completed her task, Ophis finally allowed herself to understand the conversation happening on the other end of the store. Shi hadn't asked her to leave the store or anything, and with hearing as good as hers, she may as well have been right beside him.
Still, though, it seemed that the two were talking about silly mortal things. 'Underwear?' she wondered, unsure what about the word Shi was using. Speaking of Shi… it had been too long since she had been with him. Sure, it had only been six minutes… and sure they were still in the same store, but seeing him with her own eyes, being in his direct presence… it was still better than simply knowing he was there.
Having realized how long it had been, Ophis began to get worried. Nothing obvious, but she would not be comfortable until she was back with Shi. And be back with him she would. She began creeping towards him, where he had returned to the back of the store, with the clerk, having gone forward at one point to pick up something of his own. Coming to the end of the Aisle, Ophis peaked her head around the corner.
I Have not Seen as Others Saw
"That will be three thousand two-hundred-yen, sir," Droned the clerk as Shigeru dug his wallet out of his pocket in search of his card. Inserting the card into the reader, Shigeru considered the items he had just purchased. Now, Shigeru wasn't exactly easily embarrassed, but even his cheeks grew a bit red as he looked at the sports bra and pack of panties sitting on the counter.
"Thank you, Come again." The clerk stated by rote as the transaction completed, before once again returning her attention to her phone and slipping her earbuds in. His card back in his wallet, Shigeru picked up the underwear and placed it in a bag.
'Management probably wouldn't be happy with her performance, making me bag my own purchase," Shigeru thought, before banishing the thought from his mind. That was none of his business, and honestly the less he interacted with this lady, the better as far as he was concerned.
Not knowing Ophis' exact size – beyond "not large" or "Petite" – he had elected to get the girl a sports bra for the moment, relying on the fact that they were supposed to be elastic, and thus appropriate for a wider range of sizes. Visually, it wasn't particularly striking, just some grey elastic fabric with two straps, and some fairly subtle branding. The panties were in much the same boat, being simple white cotton panties in what he assumed to be the standard cut. They were definitely intended to be functional rather than arousing. 'Not that anyone would be seeing what Ophis' bra or panties looked like any time soon anyway thank you very much,' he furiously thought trying to dislodge the image of a half-naked Ophis from his head.
Shigeru's intention was for Ophis to put on the sports bra so he could then more comfortably take her measurements with the seamstress measuring tape he had brought along, which he could then use to buy her some more fitting clothes. Why did he have a seamstress's measuring tape? 'It pays to be prepared,' he thought smugly.
Speaking of Ophis, Shigeru could feel her eyes on his back. Turning around to face the racks, he could see her peeking her head around the Aisle she had gone down previously, a purple shirt in hand. Approaching her, he could tell that she wasn't feeling great about something, though it seemed to dissipate as he got closer. The implication that she was getting separation anxiety from being away from him for maybe six minutes and in the same room, while troublesome, was overridden for now in his consideration by his overwhelming need to comfort her.
Drawing the girl into a hug, Shigeru whispered in her ear, "good job finding a shirt, it looks nice." Ophis preened at the praise, in her own subtle way at least, the corner of her lip ticked up slightly as she drew the embrace slightly tighter.
Breaking the embrace and immediately missing its warmth, Shigeru pointed Ophis towards the dressing rooms. "Alright, I have some things for you to put so I can measure you. Let's go to the dressing rooms."
"Ok." She replied, following his lead towards the row of doored-off spaces at the back of the shop. The clerk paid them no mind as they passed, too absorbed in her phone to notice their presence. Opening one of the doors, Shigeru gestured for Ophis to go inside.
"Alright Ophis, I need to measure you so we can get you a full outfit, but to do that you'll need to be in as little clothes as possible to get accurate measurements," he explained, a slight blush creeping onto his face as he basically told his companion to strip. Handing her the bra, he continued "What I need you to do now is get out of your shirt and put this on, and then take off your skirt." Ophis nodded, and closing the door, she reminded her "I'll be out here waiting for you, don't worry" hoping to ease her anxiety.
Finding a chair outside the dressing room, Shigeru sat and began to wait. And wait, and wait some more, until finally after almost five minutes he heard Ophis call "Shi?" Standing from his seat, he walked closer to the door to better be able to hold a conversation through it.
"Are you ready now Ophis? He inquired, ready to get the next and even more embarrassing part of this over with.
"…Yes?" came her uncertain reply after a few moments. 'What am I getting myself into?' Shigeru thought as he reached for the door handle.
"Alright then, I'm coming in." He informed her as he opened the door to the small room, ready for all manner of things, from Ophis in her underwear as he expected, to her with the bra on backward and inside out. What he saw though as he entered the room surprised him.
"Ophis… what have you been doing for the last five minutes?" Shigeru asked as gently as he could, not wanting to let the slight annoyance he was feeling show. Why was he annoyed? Well, Ophis was standing in front of him… dressed exactly the same way she had been before entering the room.
"I need help." Came her short reply, and between what that implied and the look on her face, Shigeru simply didn't have it in him to be annoyed any longer.
"You need help getting undressed?" He asked for confirmation, just to be sure he didn't assume something and cross any lines. At her nod in response, he let out a sigh. "You should have said something then. I'm happy to help you with whatever you need, but I need you to tell me you need help if I'm going to give it to you." He gently explained as he pulled Ophis into another all too brief embrace.
"I will try," Ophis responded as the two came apart.
"Thank you, that's all I ask," He responded rubbing her arm. "Well, now that I'm here, Let's get started then," Shigeru proclaimed as he directed Ophis to the bench that ran around the small room. "Have a seat here so I can get off your shoes." He directed as he knelt before her and began working off the shoe on her left foot. "You'll be trying on a lot of clothes for a bit, so you might as well leave them off," He explained, earning a nod from his companion in response.
Looking around the changing room, the walls were covered in mirrors on three sides, with hooks for holding garments in the corners. 'A bit heavy on the mirrors, but it might be a woman thing' Shigeru concluded as he finished removing Ophis' right shoe.
'Now comes the hard – difficult – part,' Shigeru corrected himself as he stood. 'There is nothing sexual about this, there is nothing sexual about this, there is nothing sexual about this.' He repeated in his mind as he helped Ophis up with him. "Alright Ophis… I'm going to take off your shirt now… so could you lift your arms for me?" he requested as he took the bottom hem of her shirt in his fingers. Seeing her nod and comply with his request, he bit the bullet and pulled the shirt up over her head.
If Shigeru hadn't been blushing before, he certainly was now. Sure, he had seen Ophis' breasts, nipple tape and all, the previous night before he had covered her… but that was different than undressing her himself!
Deciding to just get it out of the way now rather than prolonging this rapidly deteriorating situation, he decided to rip off the other band-aid as well while it was in reach. "I'm going to take off your skirt now as well Ophis," he informed her with forced calm.
"Alright" She responded, captivated by the infinite hallway effect of the mirrors on the opposite sides of the room. Making sure to keep his eyes pointed… well – somewhere safe wasn't exactly an option given all of the blasted mirrors, so somewhere less bad would have to do. Eyes on Ophis midriff, Shigeru's hands undid the button on the front of Ophis Skirt, allowing it to fall to the floor. His task done; Shigeru began to stand up…
And immediately spun on his feet as he looked down to ensure his balance. "Ophis… please get one of the pairs of panties out of the bag and put them on for me…" He pleaded. At this point, he had his eyes fully closed, covered with one of his hands. With the mirrors in the room, there was no place safe to look.
She wasn't wearing panties. Ophis wasn't wearing panties under her skirt. Why hadn't he been expecting that? 'I already knew she didn't have a proper bra, so why did I think she would be wearing panties too?' he berated himself for his oversight.
"Pan…ties?" Came Ophis' halting reply. She didn't know what panties were by the sound of her confusion. Taking deep breaths to calm himself down, Shigeru felt himself coming down from the embarrassment-driven adrenaline rush he had just embarked on.
"Panties are a piece of clothing worn on one's lower body, typically by women but also by some men. Usually worn under an outer layer of clothes, Panties are referred to as underwear." Reciting from memory the dictionary entry for panties, Shigeru hoped Ophis would figure out what he was talking about. "I bought a pack of them already and brought them in with me." He began instructing, feeling capable of actual thought again. "They are sitting on the bench along the wall, please, take a pair out and put them on."
"How?" Ophis responded, dashing any hope of an easy resolution. Shigeru slipped back into a panic.
I Have not Seen as Others Saw
Shi was being strange, and for the life of her, Ophis couldn't figure out why. All he had done was take off the shirt he had gifted her and her skirt, so she really didn't know what the problem was. She was feeling great in fact, free from the confines of her clothes. While she would have liked to go without clothes more often, she found that her former associates often got too distracted to get any actual work done when she did. So, she caved and started wearing the skirt as well as the coverings over her breasts.
Shi had been the one to take the skirt off of her though, so she couldn't understand why he would have a problem with her being without it. He had mentioned something about 'pan tees' and how they were another piece of clothing worn beneath regular clothes… but she did not understand. 'Clothes… under clothes?' What was the point of that she wondered? No matter. These 'pan tees' would not be the solution to whatever Shi's problem was.
Considering the possible causes, Ophis first considered that he may have started s̶̫̐ë̷̬́ê̴͍ī̶̗n̷͈̅g̵͚͂ her more fully, before discarding the idea. Not only should he have been protected from the effects of her presence, even if he could somehow see through her current form, but the reaction would also have been different as well. Far less… tame than simply averting and covering his eyes. 'As if that would be enough to protect him.'
Perhaps his eyes simply needed to be closed for some amount of time during the day? 'Not impossible,' She concluded. The humans did have a massive, and very noisy fusion reaction constantly going off to worry about after all, and so nearby too. 'No, none of the others were affected like this,' She realized – recalling her time around other humans – and discarded that idea as well.
Perhaps it had something to do with her then, the physical manifestation she had chosen. Ophis had chosen the form she was in now – similar to that of a human youngling – as she found people more likely to do what she wanted while she took that appearance. 'Perhaps there is a problem?' She wondered, not certain why her form would be an issue, but feeling unnaturally sure that she had found the root cause of Shi's behavior.
With that knowledge in hand, Ophis had two paths before her. Either she could attempt to convince Shi that her appearance was not, in fact, a problem – which it wasn't of course – or she could alter her appearance to alleviate whatever issue Shi had convinced himself existed.
Always better with her shapeshifting skills than her convincing skills, Ophis opted to alter herself for Shi's benefit. She was fond of her current form though, so she decided to – for once in an Aeon – take a subtle approach to her changes, rather than brute-forcing her way through them as she normally might. Yes, Ophis liked her current manifestation. It was in this form that she had finally settled on preferring to be well… a she after all. She could of course take any form she wanted, male or female, neither or both, and any option possible for a body beyond human form.
Many years ago, she had taken the form of an old man, thinking it may lend her an air of wisdom and respect. The fools were too busy squabbling to pay her much mind. After that, at the foundation of the Khaos Brigade, she had chosen her current form, and the rest was history, until today.
Considering what changes may alleviate Shi's concerns, Ophis began with her face. Making slight adjustments, though careful to keep the overall image as close to the original as possible she got to work, slightly lengthening one bone there, a bit less fat on the cheeks there, until her face, though still very closely resembling what it had been previously could no longer be mistaken for a child's –under close examination at least. A passing glance from someone untrained in observing the body would still identify her as a child rather than an adult, likely missing that any change had been made in the first place.
Next, Ophis considered the rest of her body. She would not make any changes to her chest. The compact, firm mounds she had already, though smaller than some others were quite enough; she did not need massive sacks of fat hanging off her front, thank you. 'Heavy' She thought as she dismissed the idea once again.
Her hips though, she supposed she could make a few adjustments there. Again, aiming for subtlety, Ophis slightly widened her hips, adding perhaps two centimeters to their circumference. The overall effect was again subtle but would push a human mind to consider her body as less of a child, and more a small adult.
Satisfied with the visible changes she had made, Ophis began to manipulate one final area of her body: her pheromones. Carefully changing the mixture of the chemicals her body excreted into the air around her, the desired result was to subtly influence those around her– in this case, Shi – to again see her in a more developed light, without influencing their other reactions towards her. This would of course be the actual result of the change as well, given who was making the adjustments.
Satisfied that her changes would work as intended, Ophis called out to her void, saying, "Shi. Look at me."
I Have not Seen as Others Saw
Hearing Ophis shifting about behind him, Shigeru could only hope that Ophis had figured out how to put on the panties he had gotten her. His problem wasn't necessarily that his companion was naked. Oh yes, that was extremely embarrassing to think about, considering that he was a complete virgin, but he could be clinical enough to disregard his embarrassment for a moment if that was what was necessary to care for Ophis.
No, the problem that was currently shutting down Shigeru's brain was that as far as he could tell, Ophis was a child, or prepubescent at the very least. For all that his instincts may have been screaming at him that the form of his companion was insignificant, irrelevant to his current situation, he had absolutely no desire to see or interact with in any way a child's sex. He could struggle his way through dealing with her breasts; Japan wasn't quite as prudish in its view of women's chests as America after all, but he drew the line well before interacting with the genitals of a child.
Hearing Ophis' movements finally come to an end, Shigeru took a deep breath, hoping to calm himself down once again. 'If she didn't get them on, I'll have to do it myself' he resolved. As hard as it would be, they were at a bit of an impasse. Either Ophis put on panties, and he could feel comfortable continuing the day… or she didn't, and he would be stuck in this dressing room for the rest of his life. He had no intention of starving to death in a dressing room because he couldn't get his charge to wear panties dammit!
"Shi, look at me." Startling a bit at Ophis' request, Shigeru decided first to voice his own question, so he could better prepare himself for the task at hand.
"Did you get the p-panties on, Ophis?" He asked with a bit more apprehension leaking into his voice than he would have preferred. Her answer would… probably not change much, but it would be nice to know what he was getting himself into before diving into it.
"No," Came her response, causing Shigeru's confidence to waver slightly before his resolve took hold once again. "Please, look at me" Ophis repeated her request that he look at her.
'Alright… this was going to happen eventually,' he consoled himself, justifying in his mind what he was about to do. He was perhaps more amenable to her request than he would have been a minute ago, but he needed to get this done, and any help would be appreciated. Making sure to look up, hopefully towards Ophis' face, he removed the hand covering his eyes, and cracked them open saw…
"O…Ophis?" He questioned, indeed having aimed his vision correctly, her face in view… but something was different. It was subtle… but Ophis definitely appeared to be slightly more mature than she had been when he closed his eyes. "Ophis… did you…" He trailed off, not sure what question to even ask in this situation.
She appeared to understand what he was getting at though, as she nodded in response to his unfinished question. 'Well… this is convenient…' He pondered, considering that something else might be going on here. Before he could go too far down that trail of thought though, he simply lost it, there were more important things to focus on right now, like the changes that had been made to his companion.
Eyes drifting downward, it appeared to Shigeru that, unlike the face, Ophis' breasts – still covered by her nipple tape – hadn't been altered at all. Something inside of him approved. Eyes drifting further downwards still to her hips, he could have sworn they were just slightly wider than they had been before. Yes, there was a thin line between the body of a child and that of a small adult, especially one with a petite body type. Somehow, inexplicably, Ophis had crossed that line while he had had his eyes closed.
The mechanics of that transformation he could investigate another day, for now, he had a job to do. His focus returning to him, Shigeru realized where he had been looking while he pondered… and immediately spun around once again. Sure, Ophis wasn't in a child's body anymore… but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be embarrassed by her nudity when he hadn't had time to prepare for it.
Keeping his eyes to the floor this time, Shigeru began working his way towards where he knew he left the pack of panties when he entered. "Alright Ophis, I will help you put on your panties" he stated, perhaps more for his benefit than for hers. Reaching the pack, he tore it open at the top, careful to preserve the resealable portion of the bag. 'Spilling panties all over the street is the last thing I need today,' he shuddered at the thought.
Taking one of the undergarments from the bag and carefully resealing the three pairs that remained, Shigeru turned towards Ophis, eyes still cast towards the floor. "Ok, I'm going to need you to lift one foot at a time so I can get these on," he instructed as he approached her from behind. Once again crouching down, he placed the panties low in front of Ophis, and one by one she placed her feet into the holes. "Good job" he congratulated as he began to work the underwear up her legs, gripping the elastic at the top.
Finally working Ophis' panties into position, Shigeru removed his hands from where they ended up on her waist. Considering for a moment what else he had to do, he missed Ophis' hands drifting towards the garment he had just put on her. "Ah yes, your bra," he remembered, moving to retrieve the upper undergarment from its bag. It was a much easier process when he could actually look for it with his eyes, the main visual danger taken care of for the moment. "I'll need to put your arms above your head for this one Ophis" he instructed as he turned around, bra in hand.
"Yes, Shi" Ophis responded as she complied with his request, removing her hands from their grasp on her panties and lifting them up as Shigeru requested. Analyzing Ophis' breasts – small, but perky and enough to cup, a traitorous part of his mind noted – in the mirror in front of him, Shigeru had a choice to make regarding her nipple tape. Either he could remove it now… or he could leave it to be future him's problem.
Considering the situation for a moment, he concluded that 'it can stay for now." He would likely be having her try on some cupped bras as well… and he preferred that she still had some covering on, even if it didn't do much to hide anything.
As he began to pull the grey sports bra over Ophis' arms, he noticed that she was squirming a bit in front of him, making it a bit difficult to get the bra onto her. "Please hold still Ophis, this will go faster if you do." He gently asked her. Again, she complied going still as he worked the bra the rest of the way onto her. It was perhaps a bit small, but it was elastic it wouldn't be too much of a problem.
Glad that Ophis was finally at least partially dressed – or at least covered as it were –Shigeru put his arms around Ophis' waist, hugging her from behind. "Thank you for being good" He whispered to her as he held the embrace.
When he finally broke the hug though, rather than simply standing there or coming to face him as he had come to expect of her, Ophis' hands raced to her panties and began scrabbling at the fabric, as if she was trying to take them off. Concerned, Shigeru stepped around towards Ophis' front, and kneeling, in front of her, "Is something wrong, Ophis?" he inquired.
I Have not Seen as Others Saw
"Panties. Huh. Don't like panties" Ophis panted as she continued pawing at the fabric between her legs. It was wrong. They didn't belong.
As Shi sighed, bringing her back into his warm embrace, she calmed slightly. Her hands stopped their movements, and her breathing calmed down. Shi was here… it was alright. Now all she had to do was get him to take the panties off of her. "Please, take them off" She requested, pulling back a bit in the embrace to look her Shi in the eye.
"I'm sorry Ophis… but you need to wear them," Shi responded after a moment, dashing her hopes that he would be helpful. Why? Why would she need to wear a piece of cloth between her legs?
"Why?" She voiced her question, hoping to find a way to convince him to her side, or at the very least get a satisfactory reason for why she needed to suffer.
Sighing and tightening the hug once more, Shi began to explain it to her. "Do you remember how I said that it would be easier for me to care for you if I got you some things from the store today?" Nodding her head against Shi's chest in the affirmative – yes, she did remember that – her void continued his explanation. "Well, the panties are one of the most important things… If someone found you without them and traced you back to me… I could get in a lot of trouble."
That didn't make sense. Why would anyone care about whether or not she wore a piece of fabric between her legs? "Why?" she again repeated, not yet satisfied with the answers she had been given.
"You know I won't hurt you," Shi began, this time drawing back to look her in the eyes himself. "But not everyone would see it that way. They would only be trying to protect you… to protect children… but some people wouldn't take kindly to a man like me letting you run around without undergarments." Holding her close once more, he whispered, "So at the very least outside the apartment – where we were this morning and where you found me – can you wear panties for me?" He asked, pleading only a step away.
She still didn't fully understand his reasoning, or why someone would try to protect her from her home, but she could see the conviction in her Shi's eyes. For whatever reason he had, he truly believed that her wearing panties would make it easier for him to care for her. 'That can be corrected with time,' she consoled herself, as she began to speak. "Ok. I will wear panties," she acquiesced. Feeling Shi tighten the embrace once again, she quickly continued "But only outside, never in the apartment." No, she wouldn't wear the cloth in her Shi's sanctum, never. They would be protected from the "others" he spoke of there, so there was no need.
Chuckling to himself, Shi replied, "I guess that's all I can ask," Before releasing her from the embrace. As he went to retrieve something from his bag, Ophis heard him wonder, "What exactly am I getting myself into?"
I Have not Seen as Others Saw
Pulling the measuring tape away from Ophis' hips while marking 'H – 72' on his notepad, Shigeru sighed in contentment. This was much nicer than existential dread about panties or naked girls. Measurements were safe. So was Ophis of course, but even dealing with her could be quite the handful. Drawing the measuring tape around her waist, he again took the measurement down, this time noting 'W-53'.
Moving to take the final measurement – Ophis' bust – Shigeru decided to ask something that had been bothering him ever since Ophis had expressed her… distaste… for panties, his cheeks heating a bit at the memory. "Say Ophis," He began while wrapping the measuring tape around her chest, "Are you going to complain about your bra like you did your panties?" He inquired as he noted the number he had taken. Although the tape read sixty-six centimeters, he noted down 'B – 68' to account for the compressive effect the slightly too small bra had on Ophis' breasts. They were quite firm, he idly noted, though not enough to fully resist the sports bra's elastic.
Taking a moment to consider the question and turn to face him – in which time Shigeru returned his notepad and pencil to his pocket and measuring tape to his bag, Ophis responded, "No… my bra is like… a hug from Shi. The panties are… not." Her speech was a bit halting, it was as if she was trying to figure out what she was trying to say as she was saying it.
"Well, if you're bra is good, then surely it can't compare to the real thing" Shigeru retorted, taking her into an embrace. A bit of an odd reason to like having an extra garment on as far as he was concerned, and "I doubt most women would agree with you about a bra being like a hug" he whispered past Ophis' ear, considering what he recalled of his female relatives and their disdain for the garment, they might go a bit further than not agreeing.
Pulling away from the embrace, measurements in hand, Shigeru sought the shirt and skirt he had earlier had Ophis discard. "Alright, we have your measurements, let's go find you some real clothes Ophis."
Two hours later, the pair exited the store, bags in hand… or well Ophis' hands. She had once again insisted on carrying the bags. Now rather than her lack of shoes, it was the positive plethora of things she was carrying without any sign of a struggle that drew onlookers' eyes. Having resigned himself to the oddity already, Shigeru ignored it, focusing instead on the slight rumble of his stomach. "Say Ophis," He began, turning to his companion, "I'm feeling a bit hungry, do you think we should go find some food?"
"Food, yes," Ophis replied, nodding her head. Decision made, Shigeru led them off, ready to start a new adventure in search of something to satisfy their stomachs.
I Have not Seen as Others Saw
"Ne Ophis, do you want Hamburgers?" Shigeru inquired as he spied a hamburger restaurant down the street. They'd been looking for something to eat for a while, but there weren't that many restaurants in the core of the shopping district.
"Hamburgers… Food?" Ophis wondered aloud from her spot at Shigeru's side. He would have taken her hand in his… but they were a bit occupied with the fruits of their previous purchases for that.
"Yes Ophis, Hamburgers are food," Shigeru explained putting his hand on her back. "They come from the west, so they're a bit over-hyped, but they're still good. Would you like to try some?" Ophis was once again wearing her grey-black skirt and the light green shirt he had given her. She had put the garments back on with little fuss when they had finished their shopping for her attire.
Seeing Ophis' enthusiastic nod, Shigeru led her into the establishment. Entering the burger house and requesting two seats, he considered the purchases they had made while perusing the menu. First of all, he had gotten her an additional pack of panties. Like them or not, he wanted her to have at least a full week's worth, and the packs only came in fours. The same was true of her bras, though they were each bought individually.
They decided on an additional four sports bras, two the same grey color as the one she was currently wearing under her shirt, and two more in a dark purple. For the final two bras, bringing the total to seven, Shigeru had decided that since he had the correct measuring tools handy, he might as well get her a pair of cupped bras. They were again grey and purple, Ophis' favorite colors if the rest of their purchases were anything to go by. Having had Ophis try them on as well, they seemed to fit properly, with Ophis not having anything bad to say about their fit. Time would tell if that was correct.
Browsing the menu and not seeing anything that particularly interested him, Shigeru decided to go back to basics and get a simple cheeseburger. Seeing Ophis staring intently at her menu like it contained the secrets to the universe, "Would you just like to get what I get, Ophis?" he hinted at the option of simply copying his order.
"Ah… Yes, what Shi will have." She concurred, looking up at him briefly from her seat next to him before returning her gaze to the menu. Calling over the waitress, Shigeru placed an order for two cheeseburgers and two glasses of water. He hadn't seen Ophis drink anything at all that day, and he didn't want her getting dehydrated. As the server left, he put his arm around Ophis, and she leaned her head up against his shoulder. They sat like that while they waited for their food.
As they waited, Shigeru's mind drifted back towards the clothes he had bought Ophis. Besides underwear, he had also procured a week's worth of lower and upper wear for the girl, as well as plenty of pairs of socks. As far as bottoms were concerned, it was a mix of skirts and shorts in dark colors once again. Purple, black, and even dark red were represented this time. He was a bit concerned that no longer pants had been picked up, but it was the middle of summer, they had plenty of time for that.
The shirts were more of the same, light garments meant for warm weather. He had trusted Ophis to pick out the shirts she wanted herself, and she ended up with six dark t-shirts and one white button-down. Agreeing with her selection, Shigeru found her one more T-shirt and an additional button-down, rounding out the week. Yes, he could see a couple of nice outfits for Ophis in his mind. They had done a good job finding her clothes. 'Sure, it cost almost forty-thousand yen,' he thought undisturbed by the cost, 'but Ophis is more important than some money.' It's not like forty-thousand yen was going to break Shigeru's bank anyway.
Hearing plates being placed on the table in front of him, Shigeru broke out of his reflection, and turning to thank the server, he simultaneously passed Ophis her plate. Yes, it was a cheeseburger alright. 'Itadakimasu" he intoned, before lifting his burger to his lips. Watching Ophis out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ophis take a small bite of the burger as if judging its taste, just like she had the omelet that morning.
Expecting her to engulf the remainder of her meal once again, Shigeru was surprised to see Ophis simply shake her head and shove her plate away. Biting down on his own burger, he can't say he blamed her. Not only was it very overdone, but it was also over seasoned. It was like someone dumped four burgers worth of seasoning into his one. Tasting some of the fries, those at least seemed to be alright. Nothing special, but not seasoned heavily enough to give his mouth a chemical burn either, unlike the burgers. "Not much of a fan I take it?" He finally asked, before taking a sip of his water to wash out his mouth.
"No, bad," Ophis agreed, pushing her plate a bit further away from herself. Well, he was one for two on feeding her good meals at this point. Not great, not terrible. 'At least I made the good one' he consoled himself.
"Yeah… I can't say I disagree; these really aren't great." He concurred, pushing his own plate away. "Still though, you should eat something. The fries aren't too terrible, and you should drink your water as well."
"Ok." Came Ophis' response. The two split the fries between themselves after that. After quickly drinking their water, Shigeru called over the waiter for the check. After paying, they quickly took their leave, bags in hand.
"That really wasn't a good showing for hamburgers there. Tell you what, how about I make you some real hamburgers for dinner tonight. Does that sound good?" Shigeru didn't want to scare Ophis off of any foods just because she had a bad batch from a restaurant he would never be going to again.
"Mm. Shi's food. Good." Taking that as agreement, Shigeru added a few more items to the grocery list.
"Alright then," He started, "We've got one more stop, then we can go pick up the groceries, and after that, we can head home." Shigeru was really enjoying the day out with Ophis, but he wanted to be sure that she was feeling good about it as well. "How are you holding up Ophis?" He questioned as they walked towards their next destination.
"Good." She replied, though to Shigeru's eye it looked like she was getting a bit tired. Not wanting to keep her on her feet for too much longer – it had been a few hours already – Shigeru committed to wrapping up the trip soon.
"Come on them, we're almost done, just a little bit longer."
Fifteen minutes later, they were at their next destination. Placing the toothbrush and toothpaste into his basket, Shigeru continued moving down the aisle. He had already picked a shampoo and a conditioner for Ophis, as well as a comb and a brush. The shampoo and conditioner were separate of course, none of the two and one slop so many men liked to use, especially not for hair like Ophis'.
He had brought them to the general store now, hoping to find Ophis the basic toiletries she would need, but that one wouldn't necessarily think about on the first day. So that meant tooth care, deodorant, hair care, and the like. Turning into the next aisle, Shigeru saw what looked to be cleaning supplies. The layout of this store was a bit all over the place, but it sold pretty much everything… if you could find it. Browsing the goods, Ophis suddenly stopped and started batting at something, 'It seems something's caught her attention' Shigeru thought as he looked over her shoulder at what she had.
"What do you have there, Ophis?" Shigeru asked, even though he could see what she was playing with. It looked like an old feather duster. 'Why that's in stock I'll never know, but hey, at least Ophis is getting a kick out of it' Shigeru decided.
'Fluffy" Ophis responded, once again batting at the feathery thing. Pulling the duster off its rack, Shigeru handed it to Ophis. Sure, he was getting her the basic necessities, but that could include some things to keep her entertained as well… even if her choice of toys was a bit… strange.
"Alright then, I can get you your fluffy" Shigeru chuckled as he patted her head. "Just be sure to give it to me so I can pay for it when we're at the checkout alright?" he requested. He could have told her that it was called a duster… but Ophis walking around with her fluffy was a much cuter picture than Ophis walking around with a tool for collecting dead skin cells.
Turning the corner into the next Aisle once again, Shigeru came face to face with the… feminine hygiene products. 'Ah joy, another landmine. Best just rip the band-aid off of this one before it can escalate.' Gathering his resolve, He turned to Ophis as she came around the corner – fluffy still in hand – and asked, "Alright Ophis, do you menstruate?" He was fully expecting to get a non-answer in return.
"…Ah, no, I do not bleed." So, when Ophis not only answered his question directly but in a way that also proved she actually understood what he was talking about… it left him quite confused.
"I swear, the things you do and don't understand don't make any sense Ophis" Shigeru muttered, as he pulled a box of tampons and pads into the bag regardless of Ophis' answer. 'Better safe than sorry around things involving blood.' He reasoned, before continuing, "But if you say so, I believe you."
"You should" came Ophis' response, earning her a hug around her shoulder. Checking off items on his list, Shigeru believed that they had gotten everything out of the general store, leaving only the grocery store to go.
"Alright Ophis, I think we're done here." Shigeru proclaimed leading the pair towards the check-out aisles. "Only one more store to go, then we can go home, alright?" After the grocery store, Shigeru planned on trudging home, sitting in his chair, and taking a break. It had been a long day by that point. It was almost two o'clock; they had been out and about for almost four and a half hours, and simply put, Shigeru was tired.
Yawning, Ophis nodded her agreement, before affirming, "Home, good." Shigeru was not the only one getting a bit tired it seemed.
I Have not Seen as Others Saw
As Shi continued digging through the pile of leaves in the chiller – he called them lettuce –Ophis concluded that this 'grocery store' was where he acquired his food. She would have to make sure nothing happened to it, she needed Shi to be able to cook for her after all.
The 'hamburger' at lunch had been less than appealing to her, but it appeared that Shi's own meal had not been particularly appealing to him either. For that reason, she would attribute the defect in her lunch to an error by the chef who had made it rather than an inherent flaw in these 'hamburgers'. She was eager to try Shi's version of the dish that night as he had promised.
In fact, he was gathering the ingredients he said he needed for it right now. He had already gathered what he called 'buns', 'tomatoes', and 'ground beef'. She was quite pleased to see that Shi was already accepting eating things that had been on the ground. 'Progress already.' She mused, quite proud of Shi's open-mindedness. 'Though I didn't see him take it from the ground… must come later,' She concluded.
"Ah, this one looks good!" Shi exclaimed as he extracted one of the lettuces from the pile and placed it in his cart next to the rice, beans, and fish he had acquired earlier. Those wouldn't be for the hamburgers, Shi had explained, but rather for meals later in the week. He had said something about 'stocking up', whatever that meant. Ophis didn't really have a concept of not eating everything available in one sitting, preferring to eat everything in front of her in one go.
Her tendency to be a bit of a bottomless pit had caused quite a few problems for the kidnapped chefs one of her many supposedly 'subordinate' groups used to feed the Khaos Brigade, or at least those who congregated around the hideout that had become her 'headquarters'. There were many days where those chefs would show up to empty stock rooms that had been full the previous night. Much yelling ensued. None of them had bothered to explain what 'stocking up' was to her though, so she had never learned to try it. She would try to let Shi 'stock up' on food and would resist the urge to eat everything in his cabinets or try to at least.
Done with the 'Lettuce', Shi moved on from the plant section of the store, leading her towards their next stop. "Say Ophis, do you want to pick out the cheese?" he questioned as he came to a stop in front of yet another display. This one seemed to be refrigerated as well, containing what looked like wheels of some sort, colored white or orange and some with a red band around the outside.
Ophis knew what cheese was, having had a 'cheeseburger' for lunch that day, but she did not know how to pick one. 'Pick cheese?' She wondered. 'What would even make a cheese a good choice?' She trusted that Shi would tell her if she made a mistake though, so rather than freezing up, she simply pointed to the one that looked interesting. That ended up being one of the white cheeses, with holes covering its surface.
"Swiss hmm?" Shi considered with a smile on his face. "It's a good choice, Good job" he congratulated, rubbing her head before turning to speak to the man behind the counter, presumably to get some of this 'Swiss Cheese'. She didn't know why it was a good choice, but the fact that she had chosen well and made Shi happy still made her feel good. "Alright, I think that's just about everything from here Ophis," Shi informed her, returning from the counter a bag of the cheese she had selected in hand. "All we need to do now is check out, then we can get back home."
"Home, good," Ophis replied nodding. It had been nice spending the day with Shi, but she was feeling oddly tired. 'Strange.' She had wandered for days on end without getting tired before meeting Shi… so why was it that she was tired after only one day out with him now? She would ponder that mystery later.
After Shi 'paid' for their groceries by inserting his strange flat card into the machine on the counter, Ophis taking the bags, of course, he led the pair out of the store, placing his arm around her shoulder. Not as nice as a real hug, she concluded, but it would do while she had her arms occupied with all of the bags. Even she could recognize that she was a comical sight at this point, carrying far more than her body would suggest she should have been able to. She drew a few looks from the others – the ones who might try to punish Shi – but she disregarded them. 'They do not matter' she concluded dismissing the importance of everyone who wasn't her Shi.
"Now all we have to do is walk back," Shi informed her as he began leading her away from the 'grocery store'. It seemed he was taking a different route back than the one they had taken to get there, but then again, they had come from other stores, not Home, so it made sense. As they walked, a certain building came into Ophis' view. 'Quiet' She realized as they approached more closely. The building was like 'Shoes' in that it didn't have any annoying decorations on the front, simply a name. None of the flashing lights or colorful posters just a sign reading…
The Dragon's Den
Adult Store
…hanging over the door. Intrigued, Ophis stopped in her path, with Shi following suit soon after. Pointing in the direction of this 'Lion's Den' She asked her void, "What do they sell?"
Spluttering, Shi took a moment to answer, and not in the way she would have hoped. "I… I'll tell you later Ophis… let's just get home for now." Shi was being weird again.
"I'll just have to wait for 'later' then," Ophis replied, turning back towards the path to Shi's apartment. "But yes, let us return home."
Sighing, Shi made to follow her, muttering quietly, "Ophis, you really are a handful… but you're my handful."
I Have not Seen as Others Saw
o-AN-o
Well… huh. This isn't the end of chapter two… so why am I in an Author's note? Check's word count. Oh, right. This chapter is already the longest I've ever written by far, and I still have multiple scenes for 'Chapter 2' remaining. So, once again this chapter is being split. I promise that come hell or high water, the next chapter will wrap up Chapter 2, and with it Shigeru and Ophis' first day together.
That's right, we're still on the first day and will be in Ch 2 Part III as well. 24k+ words to cover less than twenty-four hours? Why not. Truth be told, a lot has happened during that day, and it deserves the detail. That being said, I know some of you would prefer me to have just posted the full chapter, regardless of word count, but seriously, that wouldn't be a good idea. Why? Because I'm only one guy, and I can only edit so much. 15k words is pretty much the upper limit of what I can realistically edit to my standards in a reasonable amount of time. If I had a beta, that number might go up some, but I don't. (If you're interested, PM me. I have no idea how that process works, so I won't bother trying to start it without a push).
Onto the content though, we see some more Ophis cuteness mixed in with her general naiveite. We also get Shigeru exposed to her shapeshifting in the dressing room scene, though his brain is actively suppressing reactions to that information for now. Trust me, he will have everything that's been going on come crashing down on him soon… just not yet.
On the topic of the dressing room, that is what I was referencing with the reminder about the rating. Yes, it is tame for now, only going as far as descriptions of nudity, but eh, better safe than sorry. Additional details about Ophis' general lack of taboo around nudity, her physiology with the mention that she 'does not bleed (menstruate)', and dislike of wearing panties are the kinds of things that I enjoy writing; finding places to fill out characters where the original authors fell short (Thanks Ishibumi.)
As far as Ophis' appearance goes, you can pretty much keep whatever conception of her you already have. The changes she made to herself were subtle to the point of being unnoticeable. Really, it was the pheromone change that had the most effect on Shigeru. That being said, I am operating with an Ophis that isn't completely flat. Yes, her breasts are small, but they are certainly there. If you want to see the reference images I'm using for Ophis, head to /VH-Share. The one labeled Ophis Purple is closer proportionally to what I am envisioning but is still a bit oversizing her. Side note, I just realized I made Shigeru basically a knock-off Kiritsugu with straight hair… just a bit younger and wearing less black. Make of that what you will.
Oh, and if it's not yet clear, I don't care about staying canon-compliant.
As always, thank you for following, favoriting, and reviewing. It's quite motivating seeing you all interacting with the story… so if you want to see more of this story sooner, you know what to do. Reviews especially are helpful; if you have anything to say about the story, positive, negative, or otherwise, I'd love to hear it.
I don't know when the next chapter will be out, but I'll be starting to work on it pretty much the day after this is published. I look forward to getting it out to you but until then,
Best
-PDes