Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Rosario Vampire. I am merely twisting the creator's vision into my own dream. If the supernatural, sexuality, or violence is offensive to you, than you should not read this.

Chapter 271

The shopping center never stood a chance. The six women arrived with a mission and all the seriousness of a commando team. Kasumi and Ageha, the senior members of the Shopping Assault Squad, were every bit as excited as their younger companions. Moka, Kurumu, Ruby, and Inari were all smiles and cheerfulness, but there was no doubt that there was a small touch of rivalry driving them. There was shopping to be done, and each one of the young women wanted to find something that Tsukune would see them in and take notice.

The shopping trip was going to be an all day event. It had taken a week to plan out because of everybody's different schedules. There would be no man-like decisions, like going to just the dress shop and leaving. Six women were going to be doing things the right way.

The first thing they did was make a quick investigation of the shopping center to collect information. This was done making a circuit of the mall. Then it was time to stop for morning coffee while they worked out their plans of attack. After fueling up, it was time to start building the looks they wanted. Manicures and pedicures were essential for creating a total look.

Kasumi might have thought of herself as plane, and maybe even a little frumpy compared to her companions, but the glamorous and beautiful women with her admired her for her work in raising Tsukune and liked her for her bright humor. She received the same star-like treatment as Kurumu, who idolized the housewife. The women that were shaping and painting nails were too professional to gush over the Sweetheart Chef, too much, but there was no way the missed the idol calling both of the older women 'mother.' The other young women called one of the older women 'mother,' but they called the other one 'aunty.' The implication that one of the two older women, likely the one that was not carrying a a fifty thousand yen designer purse, was the mother of the Sweetheart Chef's infamous sweetheart could not be missed.

When they left the nail salon, the shopping party was ready to make their main attack on the shopping center. It was time to find the right dresses for the wedding. Behind them, the girls of the nail salon were smiling and talking excitedly. The discrete pictures captured by cellphones were shared as they speculated about the people who had just left. The people who, as it turned out, were very generous tippers.

Choosing just the right dress could take any woman more than an hour easily. While only the younger women would be attending the wedding, all six members to the party were involved in the shopping process. The first dress shop had just been a practice run for the Shopping Assault Squad. The young women pulled dresses from the racks and held them up to their bodies, and each other, and looked in the mirrors. They compared fabrics and colors, but never got around to trying anything on.

The second store was better able to withstand the raid. Two attendants and the manager were working the sales floor as the six women arrived. It took hours, wearing the staff down, for the right dresses to be found. The size, cut, fabric, and color of each dress had to be examined, debated, tested, and evaluated. The most successful dresses were set aside. When everything had been considered, the dresses that had passed the first round had to be gone over a second time. While the younger women tried on dresses and debated their merits, Kasumi and Ageha looked at some things for themselves.

The store manager was happy to see the six women leave her shop. The racks were pulled apart. The restock rack was overflowing. The sails women looked ready to drop. The manager was seriously thinking of closing the store for the rest of the day just so they could get it back in order. Of course with the sales they had just made, the store could afford a few hours to recover.

XxX

The restaurant manager knew he was in trouble when he saw the six women entering. They were carrying large shopping bags and talking happily. It was after the lunchtime rush, but still a busy time for the restaurant. It was clear that the group that had just arrived was going to require a lot of attention, and an extra table for their bags. All of that would have been bad enough, but one of the group was a known food critic. The Sweetheart Chef my not be big enough of a celebrity to make or break a restaurant, but she had enough popularity for her to be able to influence how business could go for the next few months. The way the young woman was bubbly and chatty with her companions did not fill the manager with confidence in her ability to properly assess his restaurant. He hoped that she would be so caught up in her shopping with friends that she would forget visiting the restaurant all together.

In spite of his hopes and fears, the manager took on the task of serving the six women the way he would any other group that descended on his restaurant. He reminded his staff to be polite and professional, and let it be know that to ask for an autograph was to be unemployed by nightfall. There was a right way to do things after all.

xXx

Lunch was just a break in the shopping mission. It was a chance for the women to rest their legs and arms and recharge their bodies. Kurumu, with her supernatural awareness, honed by the demands of her profession, was aware of the restaurant manager watching her from the moment she had arrived. For her the break for lunch became an opportunity to practice her trade. She read through the menu with a sharp eye. From appetizer to dessert, every detail of the food was examined.

Kurumu also took advantage of lunch to impress on her companions that she knew her stuff. She was about to get her degree in nutrition science after all. She was able to point out to Moka what items on the menu had the highest iron and protein content, not just by ingredients but also considering the way to was prepared. For Inari, who had the most physically demanding work of all of them, Kurumu suggested a meal with a high complex carbohydrate content.

The mothers praised Kurumu for her education and encouraged her. Moka listened politely to what her friend had to say. Inari accepted the advice, but playfully accused Kurumu of trying to make her fat.

"I am just doing you a favor," Kurumu replied. "Besides, I happen to know that Tsukune likes a woman with curves."

"Tsukune had never complained about my figure," Inari declared.

"Inari," Moka joined in. "You should know by now that Tsukune would never complain when it comes to somebody he cares about."

Inari was left with a sour frown after that exchange. She had no way of know how far she was just being teased, or if maybe there was something about her body that Tsukune was unsatisfied about. The worst part was trying to figure out if she could get him to tell her even if she asked.

X

Once lunch was over it was time to resume shopping. The Shopping Assault Squad had a mission to complete. Now that the young women had their dresses, it was time to accessorize.

The first thing on the agenda was something absolutely crucial. When putting together just the right look everything had to be planned out. Nothing could be overlooked. Five shoe stores later every woman in the group had a new pair of shoes on. Ageha also had some really cute boots. The young women had the shoes for the wedding safely tucked into their bags. Kasumi found a pair of sandals that she just could not pass up.

No detail was ignored as the woman continued their shopping. Jewelry, makeup, and perfumes were examined and tested and debated. Each woman had to have the right soaps and lotions for when they were going to be getting ready for the wedding. And it went without saying that no outfit would be complete without the right underwear.

XxxxxxxX

Tsukune sat at a borrowed desk as he worked his way through stacks of records. It was the kind of mind numbing work that most people thought computers did. The unfortunate truth was that while computers were great when it came to searching out information, not all records were set up for computers to use. Many offices still used plenty of forms and had written records. There were a lot of older records that simply had not yet been added to some computer file or another yet.

As Tsukune worked away his cell phone chirped in his pocket.

"Are you going to check that?" Asked Tanaka Ito from another desk where he was working on another pile of records.

"I don't think I should just yet," Tsukune said without looking up.

"Why not?" Tanaka asked.

"Right now four of the people that might be interested in sending me a message are out shopping," Tsukune answered. "And given that the one person most likely to send me a message is incredibly happy right now it is probably safest if I don't know what is going on."

"That is a strange thing to say," Tanaka observed.

"And when Mrs. Tanaka wants advice on shoes," Tsukune challenged. "What do you tell her?"

"Point taken," Tanaka said in total understanding. "Wait... You said four people..." He turned from his work to give Tsukune his full attention. "How many girlfriends do you have?"

"It's complicated," Tsukune said.

"Is this one of those... other things?" Tanaka asked.

"Yes," Tsukune said quickly. "Oh yes. It is one of the things I had to learn to deal with."

"Don't tell Ross," Ito suggested. "He would be unbearable if he thought there was a way he could be more popular with women."

"While I doubt he would like the price he would have to pay," Tsukune said, turning to the other man. "He is going to find out soon enough as it is."

"What?" Ito blinked.

"You know Ross' son is getting married soon, right?" Tsukune asked.

"Jessie, right? Yeah, Ross told me," Tanaka nodded.

"Jessie is marrying Yuki," Tsukune explained. "Who is a cousin of Mizore, one of my girlfriends. And because I set it up for them to meet, I am invited to the wedding. Naturally Mizore is going to be there as a member of the family. My fiance is also one of Mizore's friends, and then... Well it kind of goes from there. So I will be there, with all of them."

"Does Jessie know what he is doing?" Ito asked.

"When you got married, did you know what you were doing?" Tsukune challenged.

"Good point," Ito smiled. "But what I mean..."

"Yuki told him everything," Tsukune answered. "He is going ahead with full knowledge."

"Well that's good," Tanaka nodded with a little relief.

"Now if we could just get rid of Tate no Kai in time," Tsukune turned back to his work. "We could enjoy the wedding.

XxxxxxX

"What is wrong with him?" Kurumu sighed as she carried her shopping bags into her apartment.

"What's wrong with whom dear?" Ageha asked as she followed her daughter through the door.

"Tsukune," Kurumu rolled her eyes at the obviousness of who she would be talking about.

"What has he done now?" Ageha asked.

"He hasn't answered any of my messages today," Kurumu complained.

"Oh my..." Ageha exclaimed. "I wonder what could have him so distracted." She gave her daughter a knowing smile. "When you went to the trouble of taking pictures of yourself trying on underwear and sending them to him and everything."

"Mother..." Kurumu protested.

"Oh ho ho," Ageha chortled. "To think that my sweet little girl would do something so shameless."

"Mother..." Kurumu glared. "How did you know what I was doing?"

"Honey," Ageha smiled. "It was only obvious. After all, I would do the same thing in your place." A merry giggle escaped her and she hid her smile with her hand. Her eyes sparkled with a mischievous light as she continued. "In fact, I may have sent him a picture or two myself."

"MOTHER!" Kurumu shouted

Ageha erupted in peals of ringing laughter.