Mitsuha couldn't take it anymore. She had tolerated it for close to a week now, but seeing him like this… Today will be the day she set things straight. Right after she placed Zuzu-chan into the handmade cage, she ordered Taki to strip.

Naturally, Taki freaked out, but his protests fell on deaf ears as she quickly set her bag on the table and started searching all over the house. How did it come to this? He had just got off work over an hour ago, met up with her for dinner and dropped by the hedgehog cafe to buy Zuzu. Then they had an uneventful trip back to her place, where they had planned to welcome Zuzu to his new home, when she ordered him to strip.

"Hurry up already!" Mitsuha called out as she rummaged through her belongings, pulling out a variety of small, colourful and occasionally sharp items Taki sincerely hoped she wasn't planning to use on him.

"Wait, I…" His voice faltered as Mitsuha turned around to face him, her fingers wrapped around a pair of scissors. She calmly stood before him, sizing him up, her eyes narrowed in concentration - A look that meant business.

Not planning on meeting the business end of the scissors, Taki nervously started unbuttoning the top of his two-piece suit as Mitsuha continued looking through her apartment. What on earth is she looking for, he thought as he tracked her movement, and more importantly, the scissors she was still holding on to.

As Taki's fingers closed in on the last button, Mitsuha came to an epiphany and walked over to the table, searching through her day bag. As her hands closed in on the mysterious object, she set the scissors on the table and glanced at Taki, who was pulling off his jacket.

Oh crap, she's staring at me. Taki quickly shifted his gaze to the ceiling.

This is too much. Calm down, deep breaths. Yes, that's right, just comply and pull off the jacket for now, nothing's going to happen...

Then Mitsuha threw her arms around his chest.

"?!"

"..te...ri.." Mitsuha murmured to herself.

He had no idea what she just said, and that wasn't helping. His arms were still caught in his sleeves, so he was defenceless against her sudden onslaught. The natural thing to do was to free himself, but the only action his body permitted at the moment was breathing as her hands danced across his chest and back in a complex manoeuvre he couldn't comprehend. However, his breathing became a problem, as the only thing he was inhaling was her perfume. Taki's willpower was crumbling, his five senses going into overdrive as he felt every instance of her fingers brushing across his chest, that intoxicating scent, the melodious choir of their breaths. The last part could just be his frenzied mind finally giving in, as he slowly shifted his gaze from the ceiling down to her.

Then, Mitsuha lowered herself to waist level, her arms and hands wrapped around his abdomen.

Taki felt her fringe tickling his abdomen, her warm breath through the fabric of his shirt. He could no longer smell her perfume, but the damage has been done. He could feel his brain shutting down as his body redirected the blood flow away from the upper extremities to the lower extremities.

".i..ee…" came her voice again. On instinct, Taki dropped his head to looked at her. She was holding a tape measure in one hand, a pen in the other, and her focus was on a piece of paper with several numbers written on it.

She was taking his measurements, Taki realised as his mind returned to life. A flood of emotions came pouring out, which consisted of 20% relief and 80% disappointment.

Mitsuha's moments were deft and meticulous, as befitting of a pattern cutter such as herself. Within a minute she had taken down the rest of his measurements necessary for the altercation of his jacket, and was already doing some quick calculations on her notebook.

Taki quickly excused himself and bade his time in her bathroom, trying to regain his composure. It wasn't working, but at least he managed to restore the flow of blood back to its natural state. His mind just went somewhere horrible, and he wasn't ready to face her yet.

"I'm a terrible person…" he scolded himself as he washed his face. Still, he couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Mitsuha was attacking his jacket with a needle and some string when he finally left the toilet. As he sat down on the opposite side of the table, he became mesmerised by her movements as she quietly made the altercation. Realising that he was probably staring rather intently at her, Taki decided to play with Zuzu-chan instead. He turned around to face the cage, but the hedgehog was nowhere to be found. He searched the makeshift playground and found Zuzu hiding in a small PVC pipe that doubled as a makeshift tunnel.

"Come here, you…"

He reached out, and the hedgehog responded by curling into a defensive ball. No matter what Taki tried, Zuzu refused to budge. After a full minute, Taki decided to try a different approach, namely through the stomach.

He must be terrified, Taki thought as he walked over to the kitchen and grabbed some hedgehog food. He placed the food and poured some water a little distance away from the pipe before turning to face Mitsuha, who has been observing his antics.

"He's a little scared of me."
"He's still a baby. It'll take a while before he's ready to play."
"I guess. Anyway, what are you doing to my jacket? It wasn't cheap, you know."
"Sorry, I had to do something about it, it looked so bad on you."

Yup, she's definitely related to Yotsuha, Taki thought, as he watched her continue brutalising the jacket. Also, that hurts - why does everyone pick on my suit?

"Besides, I've got the equipment right here. I figured I might as well do a quick alteration right now."
"Did you always plan to enter this industry?"
"Eh, not really, no. I've been doing this since I was a kid though, so it's pretty much second nature for me."
"I see… hey, does it really look that bad?"
"Hmm… I think I only noticed you on that train because of how bad it was."

Taki laughed as Mitsuha smiled.

"Well now I know why you chased me down then. Now I've got to come up with a reason why I chased you down."
"You really can't think of one?"
"Hmm, I think it's because of your hair."
"Haaah?!"
"What can I say, your hair is beautiful."
"Aww, that's sweet. I can't say the same for your suit though."
"You're not the first to tell me that."
"Well, I'll be the last then." Mitsuha concluded with a smile.

As she continued to work quietly, Taki observed her apartment. It was small, but homely. She evidently has gotten used to living alone, judging by the amount of personal effects as well as the general cleanliness of the place. When asked, she mentioned that her grandmother was the one who encouraged her to live alone after she graduated.

"Grandma told me to take this chance to learn more about myself, to live for myself instead of the family, so here I am."

Taki didn't know what to make of her words, so he dropped the subject and decided to play with Zuzu instead. He turned around to face the cage again. The little rascal had already taken a few large bites of food and had retreated into the safety of the pipe. Taki cautiously reached out for the hedgehog, who responded this time by sniffing his fingers, before curling into a ball again. Smiling ruefully, Taki decided to leave the hedgehog alone. One day, you will acknowledge me!

He turned to see Mitsuha holding out his jacket. She had a satisfied look on her face as she helped him into it while smoothing out the creases on his sleeves.

"How is it?"

"It's a much better fit," Taki replied as he admired her handiwork.

"Hold on, I'll get a mirror."

Mitsuha walked over to her wardrobe and pulled open a door, revealing a large mirror on the other side.

"Here, take a look. What do you think?"

Taki observed his reflection in the mirror. He had to admit, he looked much better, especially around the waist area, which now complemented his slim build.

"Wow, what a difference, especially around the waist! I already feel slimmer!"
"See? I couldn't let you walk around like that for another day."

As he admired her handiwork, he was distracted by a blue dress hanging inside the wardrobe. Upon closer inspection, he realised it wasn't a dress, but a blue yukata…!

"Taki, you alright?"
"That yukata…"
"Huh? Wait, why are you looking into my wardrobe? You pervert!"
"No wait, that yukata… I…"

What am I going to tell her? I don't like it? Why would I say that? But why does it give me the chills, like I'm looking at a bad omen?"

"I don't think blue looks good on you."
"Huh?"

I just didn't want her to wear it. The mere thought of her wearing it sent my mind into a spiral. I cannot let her wear it, I can't-!

"Taki, you're being really weird. It's just a yukata," Mitsuha commented as she closed the wardrobe.
"I'm sorry, I just think you'd look much better in yellow, since it matches your eyes."

Mitsuha simply looked at him, her brow raised. She had detected a note of urgency and desperation in his voice, and his eyes were still wide, as if he had seen a ghost. All over a yukata. However, Taki quickly returned to his normal self as they returned to the table and she poured him some tea.

"Do you not like blue or something?"
"No… I just don't like that yukata, that's all..."
"That's odd… I've never actually worn it before."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I've been saving for a special occasion, but I never actually got the chance to wear it. It's just sitting there all this time."
"I see… well, sorry for my sudden fashionista outburst. I'll try to control myself next time."
"Alright then. Say Taki, do you want to leave your jacket here? I can make a few more adjustments to it overnight".
"Ah, sure. I'll leave it to you then."
"Hmm… do you want me to alter your pants as well?"
"Eh? Even my pants?"
"Yeah, could you stand up for a moment?"
"Eh? Alright."
"Yeah, they're a little baggy towards the bottom. Won't take too long to taper those, maybe 10 minutes."

Mitsuha started towards the tape measure.

"Hold still there for a moment, Taki."
"Wait, hold on, what are you-"

She cut him off by pressing the tape measure against his thigh. She was dangerously close, to the point where he really couldn't afford to let his pants get any tighter than they already were. Still, he endured. There is no possibility of misunderstanding here.

"Take off your pants."
"HAHHH?"

!
Woah, Deja Vu.

"Come on, hurry up!"
"Wait, can't you do it like this?"
"What? No! Just take them off already! I won't look!"
"I - wait - NO!"

"Oh come on, it's not like I've never seen them befo…!"

The look on Mitsuha's face could only be described as dynamic. It shifted from a laugh to a look of utter terror, before settling on a look that can be comparable to a tomato. Taki too followed a similar pattern, originating from a look of shock and surprise, to a look of confusion, before settling on a vivid crimson similar to Mitsuha.

Once again, Taki found himself kicked out of her apartment for something he wasn't sure was actually his fault.

Mitsuha did not even give him a chance to grab his jacket. She simply shoved his bag in his arms before unceremoniously pushing him out and locking the door behind her and making a beeline for her bed.

As Mitsuha tried to bury herself in her bed, she couldn't help but curse her luck. As with all the other sudden and random flashbacks, it had come and left her as quickly as the rest.

Still, of all the random and unpredictable flashbacks, why did THAT one have to be so vivid for that 2 seconds?!