Caboose stared at the three members of MON sitting around the cafe table in front of him. "You had something to tell me?" he asked curiously.

Tio, Zombina, and Manako exchanged uneasy glances. Eventually, Zombina grinned. "Sorry to spring this on you...but you're going on dates with all of us tomorrow!"

"I thought I was anyway?" Caboose asked in confusion, causing all three of them to blink. "I thought the plan was for me to go on dates with all the sexiful girls who I want to be my marriage friends, starting with Kuku. I've been preparing for our dates, and the date with Doppel!"

Tio's eyes widened as her cheeks pinked slightly. Manako pulled her hat down to hide her face as her cheeks turned tomato red. Zombina stared open-mouthed, unsure what to say. "Uh…" Hoping to shift the conversation enough that she could regain her composure, she handed Caboose the second 'D' letter they'd received. "Read this…"

Caboose unfolded the letter, then turned it back and forth. "...I can't read squiggles," he allowed finally, indicating the Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji the letter was written in. "At least, not these squiggles."

[Engaging translation,] Caboose's Freckle intoned. [Projecting translation of poem onto letter.] His optic glowed, and the translation appeared on the paper.

I will grant you death.

Again and again the Reaper has been forestalled,

But he comes for every man, one way or another.

At the end of your short life, I will grant you death.

I shall send you to the oblivion of your own making.

This life is like a mirage disappearing in the wind.

I am the servant of Death.

From D

"That sounds really pretty," Caboose offered happily.

"You...realize someone's threatening to kill you, right?" Tio asked in concern.

"Really?" Caboose asked, tilting his head in confusion. He looked at the poem again. "...if you say so…"

"Anyway, this time we're gonna find the culprit!" Zombina insisted firmly. "Because we're all gonna have our eyes out for them, and even your date will be able to take them down!"

"But what about Doppel?" Caboose asked in confusion.

"She went home," Manako offered softly. "She said it wasn't her scene."

"...okay!" Caboose allowed happily. "Who first?"

"I call dibs!" Tio declared happily. "I've already got my Freckle, after all!"

[Date time!] Tio's Freckle declared happily.

"KYAAAA!" Tio called out happily as she raced along the street towards a shop. "Those clothes are so cute!"

"Cute clothes!" Caboose called happily as he easily kept pace with her, hand in hand.

"They've got a new kind of candy!" Tio suddenly declared, charging off to a different store.

"Candy!" Caboose called eagerly as he started towing Tio along.

"ANM48 has a new single out?" Tio declared as she took another turn. "I gotta buy-EEP!" She barely kept her feet as she was dragged along behind Caboose.

"Candy!"

"But Mr. Boyfriend!" Tio whined. "The new single!"

"But we aren't single!" Caboose pointed out. "We're on a date!"

"The music!" Tio pointed out with a whimper.

"...oh!" Caboose declared in understanding. "I like music!" He raced with Tio over to the music store. "And then candy?"

"Then candy!" Tio agreed.

Eventually, they found their way back to the clothing boutique as Tio began trying outfits on. "So what do you think, Mr. Boyfriend?" she asked eagerly, spinning around as she showed off a tight white blouse, dark blue jacket, and flower print skirt.

"It looks very good on you," Caboose replied readily, "but the jacket is a little short for the look you're going for and should be lengthened. The skirt looks too tight to get on and off easily, so the waistband should be let out and possibly lengthened just a bit for a train. The blouse is also far too tight across your ample chest unless you intend to use it in place of a bra for support, in which case you should add a wrap just in case it gets cold because it's not fashionable to have nipples poking through." Noticing Tio staring at him in shock, Caboose continued, "I have no idea what that last part means, but it's what my super fashion sister always said. 17 sisters meant a lot of cloth shopping when we had money, and I was always watching over them all to keep them safe, so I learned a lot. What's a nipple?"

Tio giggled happily. "It's always amazing how much you actually know, Mr. Boyfriend!" Tio declared happily. She then blinked as she took another part of what he said in. "Wait...clothes can be altered?"

"Yup!" Caboose confirmed eagerly. "I'm really good at that. I've been doing alterations for all the girls, especially Papi, since human clothes aren't really sized for non-human frames like wings and the like."

Tio pulled Caboose into a fierce embrace. "It's always been so hard clothes shopping because I can never find clothes in my size! Thanks so much, Mr. Boyfriend!"

Caboose happily returned the embrace. When he was released, he handed over another bundle of clothing. "Here, try this on!"

"Okay!" Tio responded happily, ducking back into the changing room. After a time, she paused. "Uh...Mr. Boyfriend?"

"Yes?" Caboose asked curiously.

"You were right about the skirt," Tio whimpered softly. "It's...it's stuck…please help…"

Caboose happily stepped into the changing room. "Here we go!" he said as he took hold of the skirt hem, carefully inserting his fingers between the skirt and Tio's panties, using his armor's computer to aim the fingers with laser precision before pulling down. "There you go!" he declared, paying no attention to Tio's undergarments as he stepped back out.

After a time, Tio stepped out. "How do I look?" she asked, giving another twirl. "I'm amazed you found clothes that fit me so well!"

She was wearing a bright blue blouse with flared sleeves, tailored to support her ample bosom without overly accentuating it. It tapered down at the waist, transitioning into a skirt that was in a wave pattern of sky blue and sea blue, as though she were wearing a piece of the ocean. A night sky blue jacket completed the look, reaching all the way to her waist.

"It looks great on you!" Caboose declared happily. "I'm glad I got the measurements right!"

Tio's eyes widened. "You got…?"

"I knew getting the right sizes would be hard for you," Caboose explained, "since the other girls have trouble too. So I made you a Blue outfit, since you're a part of my Blue team!"

Tio stared at him in awe. "You...you're really serious about us being your marriage friends too, aren't you?" she whispered.

"Of course!" Caboose declared happily. "That's why I went all out on these dates for all of you!"

Tio quickly brushed tears out of her eyes before pulling Caboose into a tight hug. "Thank you, Mr. Fiance!" she declared happily, the declaration getting a round of applause from the store's other patrons.