A/N- Sorryy that it took so long to finish this chapter! I've been really busy getting ready for a family reunion, and haven't found much useful time to write. But it's here, and it's longer then the other chapters. Good for you! The next chapter will be a while, because I'll be gone at least four days, and won't have any chance to work on Chapter 6.
So, Emiko visits a store in this chapter called Hot Topic. This is one of my favorite stores, and is exactly the kind of place that Emiko would shop. The only problem is, Hot Topic is a chain of stores in America, with its only international stores in Canada. So, it's imagination time.
Disclaimer- I don't own Fruits Basket, or any of it's characters, blah, blah, blah, we all know the drill. I only own Emiko and Ryuu.
And now a bunch of nameless sales people…
Chapter 5-
Emiko's POV-
Emiko and Shigure both walked slowly out to his car.
"Shigure-san? Where do you want me to put my bag?" Emiko asked.
He went to the back and unlocked the trunk. "We'll put your things in here. Hopefully all the things you buy will fit," he said with a playful smile.
She put her bag in the trunk with a laugh, "I hope so, too!"
Shigure got a weird look on his face as he shut the trunk and moved over to the driver-side door. "Shigure-san? Are you okay?" Emiko asked as she slid into the passenger seat.
"Hmm, oh, yeah, I'm fine." he said, as a grin grew on his face.
"Okay then," Emiko said skeptically.
Shigure started the car, and they drove for a few minutes before threw silence became uncomfortable.
"So, Shigure-san, I'm not exactly sure where to go, I've only lived here for a little while, you know. Where do you think we should go?" Emiko asked.
Still driving, he looked over at her, and a smile slowly spread across his face, "I know just the place."
Curiosity piqued, she tilted her head to the side, "Where?"
He smiled, and raised a finger to his lips, "Nope. It's a surprise."
She struggled to contain a laugh, and then made the puppy face, "Please tell me, Shigure-san."
Shigure chuckled, "Nope, not telling."
"Fine," she said, pretending, to be pouty. But she was smiling.
"Are you angry with me?" Shigure asked playfully.
"Yes," Emiko said in false annoyance. "Aww, come on, you know you'll appreciate the fact that it's a surprise once we get there," he joked.
"No I won't," he raised an eyebrow, "I hate surprises," she struggled not to laugh.
"Please forgive me!" he begged jokingly.
"No," she said. Then the giggles burst out. She laughed so hard tears started running down her face.
Shigure glanced over at her, and started laughing himself, "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"
Still laughing, she struggled out, "Yes."
Shigure smiled at her, "That's good, because we're here."
Forcing her laughter into submission, she asked, "Really?"
"Yes, really," he said, walking around the car and opening her door for her.
"Thank you," she said, getting out of the car. She turned and looked at the store. Her face lit up with excitement, "Hot Topic! But I thought they hadn't expanded to Japan yet."
"The store only opened recently. I didn't know you'd ever spouted at a Hot Topic before," Shigure said, faint sadness on his face.
"Yeah, they're all over the US. Hot Topic is probably my favorite store," she said with a smile. The sadness left his expression, to be replaced with a smile. ~I wonder what he was sad about.~
They went into the store in companionable silence. Slowly, they browsed through the store, picking things up for her to try on. Skirts, shirts, pants, sweaters, dresses, she picked up tons.
Soon, they were browsing through band shirts, and Shigure held one up, "What do you think, Emiko-Chan?" Looking at the shirt, she stated, "I don't know who Depeche Mode is, Shigure-san."
The shirt dropped to the floor as the hanger slipped through his fingers, "What do you mean, you don't know who Depeche Mode is?"
She looked at Shigure, "I've never heard of them. Are they any good?"
"Okay, here's how we will solve this. You will try on the shirt, just like all the other clothes you've picked up," Emiko got a scandalized look on her face, "Yes, Emiko, I know that you don't wear shirts for bands you don't know. I will keep the shirt until you have listened to them enough that you feel comfortable wearing it. Deal?" Shigure stuck out his hand.
"Do you really think I'll like them?" Emiko said, hesitating to stick out her hand.
"I really think you will, Emiko-chan," he said. Emiko took his hand and shook it. At the same moment, Shigure smiled.
Emiko felt her cheeks turn pink, so, grabbing all the clothes she needed to try on, including the shirt, she said, "I'm ready to go try these on, Shigure-san." Then, she bolted for the dressing rooms.
After locking the door, Emiko sat on the bench, ~I'm such a fool. All he did was shake my hand. So, why is my heart pounding?~ With a shake of her head, Emiko stood up to start putting on the clothes.
Shigure's POV-
It had been almost ten minutes since Emiko had gone into the dressing room, and Shigure was starting to get a little worried. He stood up from the bench outside the dressing rooms, walked over to the room Emiko was in, and knocked, "Are you okay in there? You're not drowning in those clothes, are you?"
"I'll be out in just a minute!" came a muffled shout. A minute later, Emiko emerged from the room, tugging on the hem of the dress she had on. The strapless dress came to mid-thigh. It was black, with purple edges, and a purple sash. It had white skulls and crossbones, and in one corner there was a heart with another skull in it.
"What do you think, Shigure-san?" Emiko asked with a smile.
~I think that dress isn't fair...~ Shigure thought, heart pounding, "It looks good."
Emiko smiled, and then went back into the changing room. About five minutes later, she came back out. She was wearing a pair of dark skinny jeans that showed her legs off to perfection, and an off-the-shoulder t-shirt, that said, 'I'm not with stupid anymore'.
"This one?" she asked.
"Good," he replied.
They went through outfit after outfit, most of them getting a yes from Shigure. At the end of the pile, Emiko came out with all the rejects so she could hang them on the rack, "Would you mind going and getting all the ones we're getting, Shigure-san?"
"No problem," he said. He turned and entered the dressing room, exciting with them about half of them, "I can't carry them all, but this is what I could carry. I'll go bring these to the counter, then go get the car."
"Sounds like a plan," she replied, entering the dressing rooms.
He carried the clothes that Emiko was going to purchase up to the counter, "The girl I'm with will be bringing the rest up in just a moment." As if proving his point, Emiko walked up with the rest of the clothes, and a smile. "I'm going to go get the car, alright?"
"Sure," she said with a smile, "See you in a few minutes."
Giving her a smile, he walked away, with a surprising amount of pain in his heart.
Emiko's POV-
"You know, your boyfriend is a really nice guy. I know my boyfriend won't go shopping with me," the girl running the check out counter said.
"Oh no, he's not my boyfriend," Emiko said, "He's just doing me the favor of being my second opinion. I'm still a little confused that he wanted to come today."
The girl looked a little shocked, "Really? I thought for sure that he was. You guys just seemed really close."
"No, we're not dating," she said with a small smile.
"Okay, then," the girl said, ringing up Emiko's purchases.
When she was done, Emiko paid, and carried her purchases outside. Shigure was waiting outside with the car. Shigure smiled, and unlocked the trunk, "That's a lot of bags, Emiko-chan,"
"Yes it is, Shigure-san," Emiko said, putting her bags into the trunk, where they barely fit. She looked at her watch. 11:28 "Care for an early lunch, Shigure-san?"
"I could go for lunch. Shopping is far more exhausting then I thought it was," he said, causing Emiko to laugh, and locking the trunk and car, "I know a really good sushi place. We could walk there in less then ten minutes."
"Okay, then," she said, starting to walk in the direction of the restaurant. They walked for a few minutes, both thinking about the clothes she had just bought. ~Maybe now would be a good time to apologize for trying to kiss him?~
"Umm, Shigure-san?" she said.
He turned and looked at her questioningly, "Is something wrong, Emiko-chan?"
She bit her lip, "I'm sorry… about the other day… Shigure-san."
There was a pause in their conversation, and then Shigure said, "I don't know what you're talking about, Emiko-chan."
She felt her face turn bright pink, "When I tried to kiss you, Shigure-san."
Shigure stared at her in shock, "What do you mean, you're sorry? I started it."
Smiling sadly, she turned to look at him, "Shigure-san, you don't have to say that to be nice. I know that I told you I liked you, and then tried to kiss you."
"You only told me that you liked me after I told you that I liked you, Emiko-chan," Shigure said.
Emiko opened her mouth to deny what he had said, then closed it in thought. A few seconds later, she said, "Are you sure, Shigure-san?" ~If that's true, then I don't have any reason to feel guilty, and can just enjoy today.~
Shigure smiled, "Yes, Emiko-chan, I'm sure."
Emiko felt a relieved smile spread across her face. "So, does that mean you forgive me?" she asked playfully.
Still smiling, "There's nothing to forgive."
They walked in silence for a few minutes, and were almost to the restaurant, when Shigure stopped walking. "Emiko-chan, come look at this dress."
Turning around, and taking a couple of steps backwards, she looked at the dress. The, obviously silk, dress had a sweetheart neckline and no straps. It was a pale gold color, with a beautiful dark green sash. It was adorably clingy on the top, but the bottom half was slightly poofy. The dress would come to just about her knees.
"It's really pretty, Shigure-san, but where would I ever wear something like that?" Emiko said, a wistful smile on her face.
Shigure smiled. "Who says you need a reason to try it on? Come on," he winked, then pulled her inside, and looked around for a sales person. Once he spotted one, he walked over to them, still tugging her along with him, "Excuse me, my friend would like to try on the dress in the window."
The slightly annoyed sales representative walked over to the window, and took the dress off the mannequin. Walking back, the harried man said, "When you're done trying this on, if you don't wish to buy it, please find me so I can put it back." The man handed the dress to Shigure and walked away.
Shigure turned to her with a smile, and handed her the dress, "Go try it on, Emiko-chan."
Emiko smiled and rolled her eyes, "Fine, fine, I'm going." She walked to the dressing rooms, and entered the first empty one. Quickly, she removed her clothes, and slid into the dress. Reaching behind her, she pulled the zipper up, until she no longer could. Turning so her back was to the mirror, she looked at how much more needed to be zipped. With a sigh, she unlocked the door, and stuck her head out, "Shigure-san?"
Shigure stood up from the chair he was sitting on, "Are you ready?"
Emiko stepped out, and turned so her back was to him, "Could you zip me up?"
"Sure," Emiko heard, before feeling Shigure's warm hands slowly slide the zipper up her back. Once the zipper was at the top, she felt his hands hesitate before leaving her spine, "There you go."
Emiko turned, "So how do I look?" Her answer was written all over his face. For the first time today, she knew that he loved the way she looked. For the first time today, she wanted him to see her in this dress again. And for the first time today, she didn't feel like a socially awkward outcast, a child. She felt like a woman.
Shigure swallowed, "You look… great, Emiko-chan."
She looked at the price tag. She could buy it. "I'm going to get it." Then she turned and walked back into the dressing room, changed back to her clothes, and walked back out. Shigure smiled at her, and then they went and paid for the beautiful dress.
Once back on the street, they walked the last block to the restaurant. They were quickly seated, and placed their orders. At the table next to them, an older couple paid and stood up to leave.
The woman looked at Shigure, and then turned to Emiko, "He's a keeper, honey." She winked and left. Shigure and Emiko shared a shocked, yet amused look, and burst out laughing. They quickly stopped laughing when everyone around them started looking at them funnily, but they couldn't control their smiles.
Turning thoughtful, Emiko looked out the window, "You know, the girl at the counter at Hot Topic thought we were a couple, too."
Shigure looked at her with a funny expression, "She did?"
"Yes," Emiko said at the exact same moment that a slightly nasally voice called from the other end of the restaurant, "Hey, Emiko!"
Emiko felt her face go pale as she turned to look at Ryuu crossing the restaurant to her. Ryuu looked at her, with a smile.
"Hi, Ryuu," she said with a forced smile.
"I didn't expect to see you here. What are you doing?" he looked around and noticed Shigure. His hurt eyes turned back to Emiko, and said in a politely friendly voice, "I'm so sorry. I can see I'm interrupting." He turned and walked away.
She put her head down on the table. ~Why do I feel so guilty? It's not like we're dating… But I still feel so bad…~
She felt Shigure's hand on her shoulder, and he said in a gentle voice, "Are you okay, Miko-chan?"
She looked up to tell him she was fine, but once she saw him, she felt her guilt triple. "Can you take me home, Shigure-san?"
He nodded, and flagged a waitress. He paid for the meal, and they walked back to the car.
Shigure's POV-
He glanced over at Emiko, and wondered what about the boy who had talked to her at the restaurant had made her so sad, "Miko-chan, we're here."
Emiko looked up, and smiled faintly, "Thank you for driving me home, Shigure-san." She got out of the car and walked to the trunk. Shigure walked to the back and unlocked it. She got all of her bags, and Shigure walked her into the building, and to her apartment door, which was on the first floor.
At the door, he said, "I had a good time today, Miko-chan. If you ever need a shopping partner again, I'd be happy to go with you."
She smiled sadly, "With all of these, I doubt that I'll be going shopping anytime soon." She slowly and carefully set down her bags, and got out her key. After unlocking the door, she looked at him, smiled, and turned to go into the apartment.
~She can't go yet!~ a small part of Shigure screamed. The rest of him agreed, causing him to say the first thing that came to mind, "What, no goodbye kiss?"
Emiko's head snapped back to look at him, and her sad expression had turned partially happy, partially shocked, and partially playful.
"Is that why you walked me to the door?" she asked playfully.
"I walked you to the door because I wanted to," Shigure said truthfully.
For a second, her face showed pure happiness, "Then, I guess after all you did today, you disserve a goodbye kiss."
Swallowing, Shigure leaned in at the same time as Emiko. Their lips were getting closer, closer, closer until there was she gave a sharp gasp, and fell against him. Looking down as they fell, he saw that her foot had tangled in the shopping bags as she had taken a step closer to kiss him. If the situation hadn't been so serious, he would have found it hilarious.
Shigure had only one thought as they landed, chest pressed to chest, ~Oh, shit…~