Too Chicken for Panda

Hibiya seriously questioned his wardrobe choices sometimes. Of course, it's not as if Hibiya's usual wardrobe was the most nondescript at the best of times, but going through his closet, there were a few… choice items that he'd become very aware of, like the panda pajamas, or the maid costume. If anyone saw them, Hibiya seriously feared for his social life, not that he had much of one amongst people his age. Hibiya had had it hard enough to convince his parents in the first place to let him keep a pointlessly fluffy panda suit, let alone the maid outfit.

The real question was what to do with the… interesting articles of clothing Hibiya owned. He had only bought them because Momo had insisted, and her paying for every bit hadn't exactly helped either. Hibiya had never, not since the day it'd been purchased, worn either of the two. It was too embarrassing, too lewd, and just too wrong. Just wearing them reminded Hibiya of the old lady's smile, and that was something he wanted to stay away from. If Hibiya had ever learned anything from Shintaro Kisaragi, it was that the old lady smiling was a horrible thing.

Ignoring his mental warnings, the big red 'X' in his mind, Hibiya took out the panda pajamas. It really wasn't much of a pajama, to be honest, more of a sweater or full body suit, but by the gods about and beyond, Hibiya was never going to wear this in public or reveal its existence to anyone. Hibiya fancied himself a 'cool' teen, as learned in modern culture as he was. Yet, despite all the red flags that the suit gave off, Hibiya waved them away, knowing that in the Dan, at least half of the members would care about his privacy. That 50% guarantee was good enough for him.

Perhaps it was a bad thing to trust in the rest of the Dan, because in the short half year Hibiya had lived with them, they always managed to change his perception of things. Breakfast? Gotta set things on fire! Casually going to an orientation in the big city? Need to be chaperoned by one of the most conspicuous figures in J-pop! It would've been pointless to say this to anyone, but Hibiya had to go through some really troublesome things because of that grandlady.

At least Hibiya didn't have to pay for the rent, which was great when living in a huge city like Mekaku. Nor did he need to work for food, as that was graciously provided by Seto and Konoha, both of which worked the days away. At times Hibiya almost felt bad for leeching off the Dan just to go to a school in the big city. Then one of his classmates would leap into his path, demanding for a signed piece of undies from the ol' hag. Did they not understand that Hibiya's relationship with the famed Momo Kisaragi wasn't an excuse for signed underwear?

Hibiya grumbled under his breath. How did he put the panda suit on again? A zipper seemed the most likely option, although the grandlady had helped Hibiya into it the last time he'd worn it, way way back. The white fabric might even be a little tight on Hibiya, since he'd grown a whole five centimeters since then. 'Course, it had been pretty loose, from Hibiya's imperfect memory of the old scene.

There. Hibiya located the correct zipper, because god knew how many there were on the thing, and paused, uncertain. Was Hibiya really about to put on… a panda suit? Was that what he had been reduced to? A young teen who spends his free time dressing up and frolicking in the fields of flowers as a maiden panda?

Noting that minute risk, Hibiya plunged his limbs deep into the soft fabric, which somehow retained its texture after years of being packed away. It was better to find out now if Hibiya was going to eventually become a menace to society. Oh but what he grew attached to the panda suit and Hibiya ended up wearing it everyday? It would be a true tragedy.

The suit came on easier than expected, and that may have just killed a bit of Hibiya's pride in the process. The ease at which Hibiya put on the suit just meant that he hadn't grown much, if at all. Those five centimeters that Hibiya had been so proud of, they had barely changed anything. Hibiya wasn't even taller than Marry, and Marry hadn't grown whatsoever since they first met.

Or maybe Hibiya was overthinking things. Surely, surely the panda suit had no ulterior motives hidden behind it. After all, it was just a costume that the ol' hag picked out while trying to cheer him up. Hibiya didn't need to think about all the subtext, the lines between the lines of the fineprint's back hidden in the fineprint on the envelope's stamp's insignia. That was Shintaro's job, the resident 'Genius'.

Hibiya stared at his reflection in the mirror, pulling himself to his full 145cm. It wasn't much, nor was it very intimidating, an effect magnified by the well… panda themed attachments on the full body suit. Did Hibiya look innocent? Cute maybe? Being so short was another thing, but the panda pj's just made Hibiya think twice about his self-assured 'cool teen' image. Even to himself, Hibiya looked like a child, an elementary school student or something.

Maybe… maybe it wasn't that bad, to change into something different, something new. Perhaps doing something bold, even in the closed confines of one's own room, would be good for the soul. Hibiya took a few deep breaths, examining himself from head to toe. He didn't look half bad.

Then, on spur of the moment, Hibiya posed; doing the fancy vogues he would see from time to time in the fashion magazines the grandlady was 'forced' to take home. The grandlady never bothered to read them, but instead claimed that her manager wanted her to 'reconsider her public image' or something of that sort. Of course, Hibiya, not wanting to waste perfectly good material, adopted the magazines into his room, for ah, personal use.

"Work it." Hibiya grunted at himself, strutting back and forth in front of the mirror. It was very very odd, to see himself in this outfit making these shapes with his body. Hibiya wasn't quite sure why, but it was strangely addicting. Hibiya found himself laughing at the poses, the faces, the images he could present with his body that Hibiya had never bothered to try to create before.

Then Hibiya felt an animalistic impulse, the instinct, the drive. Hibiya knew something bad was about to happen, he felt it in his (now) very fashionable soul. A bad omen, an ill tiding. Something, somewhere, someone, whatever was about to happen, it was going to go horribly. That was what Hibiya felt just before he heard the door click.

"Hibiya, Mo-" The familiar voice of Shintaro began, never finishing his statement. Hibiya swiveled his head in horror, staring head on at the former NEET's fascinating facial expression. A moment of silence passed, neither side moving.

"I'm sorry, I'll come back later." Shintaro finally said, breaking the silence.

"Ah, wait!" Hibiya called out, shattered out of his reverie. Still, it was too late, and Shintaro had already closed the door.

PROMPT: Write about something you got for free.

This one's a little meh. I don't think Hibiya would ever want to wear any of those... outfits ever again, but who knows. A lot of people do out of character actions behind closed doors.

This one was probably even more rushed than the others (if that's possible) maybe taking me roughly thirty minutes of work? Haha... what is editing...