Act 2, Chapter 9 - Old Friends, New Memories (Part 3)
Elsewhere inside the penthouse...
"Here. Try this white one out, Matsuura." Kinuho suggested.
"Please, it's just Kanan." The dark blue haired girl smiles towards the heiress.
While Articho retired to his bedroom, Kinuho is doing what she can to help the girls find the right clothes to wear and wash up before Maaya asks for her assistance in cooking up breakfast.
"This one's cute!" Ruby said about one outfit, but was immediately denied by her sister.
"That one attracts too much attention, Ruby." Dia disapproves before showing her younger sister another outfit that suits her more. "Try this instead."
"Same Dia as always." Chika chuckles.
"Chika, come look at this!" Yō calls out from across the dressing room.
"Coming!" The coral orange haired girl responds, running up to her childhood friend.
When she did, Chika's eyes widened at what Yō had found. It was a red and black dress with an opened skirt that showcases black shorts above the thighs, paired with white stockings and red pumps. It's almost as if it's meant for a school idol to wear.
"So… cute!" Chika and Yō squealed in awe and admiration.
"And look at these white stockings and red pumps!" Chika points out with her face up close to the items. "They're perfect!"
"This outfit must've been made for a girl with a more slender body than ours." Yō criticizes. "Like a goddess would."
"Something like that." The French-American giggled. "If only you knew."
"Huh?" The childhood duo from Uchiura blinked their eyes at her before looking at each other in confusion.
"Are there any sexy lingerie for me to try out?" Mari asks out loud.
"Mari!" Dia gasps in disgust.
"Oh shut up, Dia." The blond Italian-American pouted childishly. "I'm eighteen, which is also the same age you and Kanan are already. I can wear whatever clothes I want, thank you very much."
"Well, it seems that we have a bold one here." Kinuho deduced. "That's what happens when you're an American first and Japanese later."
"See?" She agrees with her with a smirk on her face.
"Oh come on!" Dia argues. "That's obviously racist, you know."
"I wasn't being racist." She shrugs. "It's joke."
"It wasn't a funny one." The black haired girl scoffs.
"Well, maybe a little." Kinuho answers, before whispering to the blonde. "I'll hook you up later."
"Thanks." Mari winks with her tongue sticking out.
In the kitchen...
Maaya hums as she cooks up a decent breakfast everyone can enjoy. Wearing her light blue summer dress - above the knees and sleeveless, exposing the skin on her shoulders - with a pair of light blue espadrille wedges covering her beautiful feet, the Shinobi Princess flips a pancake in a frying pan with her spatula while simultaneously cooking up eggs and bacon separately in different pans. Of course, she always wears an apron at all times when cooking.
"Do you need help setting up the table?" Arisa asks, offering her assistance as she enters the kitchen with her three year old daughter Juliet in her arms.
"So… got denied this morning?" Maaya guesses, holding back a smirk while adding another cooked pancake on a large plate.
"Good guess." Arisa sighs. "I'm that easy to read, huh?"
"I don't need to always sense your ki to figure out what you're feeling, Arisa." She shrugs. "Any requests for breakfast?"
"Just the usual." The former popstar says, grabbing a few plates and utensils at a time to set up at the dining room table. "By the way, I don't see your kids around at the penthouse very often. Since you chose to graduate from Tokiwadai Academy alongside Kinuho early to help out our husband resolve incidents across the multiverse, it would be nice if you'd spend more time with them."
"Arisa, we've talked about this." The indigo haired girl sighs in annoyance, adding the cooked bacon and eggs separately in two big bowls. "Having my children in one place will only put them in danger."
"But you don't want to admit what I'm saying is true." She points out. "It's been what? Almost six months since you've last visited them?"
"Stop." Maaya warns her with a threatening frown, nearly breaking the spatula handle with her Saiyan strength that she's holding back. "Just stop."
The pink haired girl opens her mouth before closing it.
"Forgive me." Maaya quickly apologizes. "I-I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. It's just because-"
"Maaya, it's okay." Arisa told her. "I understand."
"I doubt that." Was all the Shinobi Princess quietly uttered to herself.
"Y-You want me to try this on?" Kanan stammers at the piece of clothing that's in front of her eyes, as she and her friends are still inside the dressing room.
"Why not?" Kinuho curiously wonders, holding the attire meant for the midnight blue haired girl. "It'll look great on you."
"Well, the fact is..." She tried to explain but then blushed out of shyness and embarrassment.
"Hold on... you've never worn a dress as casual clothes before?" Leah questions with a slightly shocked expression.
"And I thought I was the one being socially awkward here." Dia mumbled while eye rolling at Kanan, earning an angry glare from her childhood friend whose blush turns even redder.
"Don't judge me!" Kanan snaps, her face turning even more red.
"Hey Dia." Mari mischievously grins. "What do you say we put Kanan in her place for a change?"
"I agree, Mari." Dia also grins as she and the blond rich girl have their hands out as they move closer to their childhood friend. "It's about time we get a little payback for making us go through what happened in high school for two painstaking years."
"H-Hold on a minute!" Kanan stammers, backing up to a corner with nowhere to run. "I thought the three of us were past all of that! Can't we just talk this out, guys?!"
"Since we've only been school idols for less than a year with Chika-chi and the others, consider wearing this dress out in public as your punishment." Mari continues to grin, giving off a creepy dark aura as she holds the outfit their new friend offered the dark blue haired girl to try on.
Chika and the other girls, minus Kinuho, all scoot away out of fear from the blonde girl.
"She's so scary, zura!" Hanamaru whimpers as Ruby cutely squeals in agreement.
"Someone help me!" The dark blue haired girl screams as she dashed to the door for a quick exit.
"Grab her!" Dia yells as both she and Mari tackle her.
"No!" Kanan screams in defeat.
"Who's screaming?" Arisa asks, hearing it from outside the kitchen.
"It must have been our guests." Maaya deduced.
"Wait a minute." The pink haired girl says, noticing someone else missing in the kitchen. "Where's Febrie?"
"You can come out of there, Kanan." Mari says as she and Dia are leaning on opposite sides of one of the changing stalls with their arms crossed.
"I don't wanna." Kanan childishly whines from the inside. "It's too embarrassing."
"Don't be such a baby." The black haired girl rolled her eyes. "Just get your ass out here already."
After a five second pause, the curtains opens up to reveal the young woman. All of the girls gasped in awe as Kanan slowly walked out of the stall, wearing a white strapless summer dress and a pair of white 4-inch open toe block heels that are very comfortable for her feet. All of which are suitable for her ponytail hairstyle.
"Kanan, you look beautiful!" Chika compliments with a beaming smile.
"I have to agree." Riko comments. "It suits you."
"T-Thank you." She blushed deeply, rubbing her feet together. "Though, I still feel ridiculous."
"Nonsense!" Yoshiko shook her head, chuckling and striking a pose. "Perhaps it's a divine blessing gifted by the gods!"
"Or perhaps she's just self-conscious about what she wears." A little girls voice speaks out.
Everyone turns around to see none other than Febrie, as they but Kinuho instinctively became defensive at first before lowering it with relief.
"Sorry." Kanan apologizes with a sigh. "You scared us."
"I apologize as well." The blonde haired child bows.
"Well, I'm Kanan." She steps forward and crouches to the 7 year old girl's height. "And these are my friends."
"It's nice to meet you all." Febrie acknowledges again. "Maaya may need your help in the kitchen, Kinuho."
"I'll be right there." Kinuho nods at her stepdaughter. "Can you entertain our guests until breakfast is ready?"
"Sure." Her stepdaughter nods. "Though I can see that you're still in your armor."
"Whoops." The light chestnut haired girl giggles upon realization that she forgot to have the opportunity to take it off and change into her casual clothes. "Don't worry. I'll head to my room and put on something comfortable for me to wear."
Soon after Kinuho left the room, everyone all focused their eyes on Febrie.
"You're not... from around here, are you?" Febrie questions, tilting her head curiously.
"No." Kanan shakes her head with a smile. "You're the first person in this city to figure that out."
"I'm a smart girl." She answers as her two cow licks on her head started twitching. "OH. By the way, I'm Febrie."
"That's a pretty name." Dia gushed. "And how old are you?"
"Seven." She answers. "My birthday was just last week."
"Awwww!" The former idol group squealed. "Happy Birthday!"
Kinuho stepped inside her bedroom, before closing the door.After that was done, her armor was removed and she is now standing in the middle of her room fully naked.
"Okay, let's get started." She sighs, walking towards her wardrobe. "What to wear, what to wear, what to wear?"
Scouring through the hanged or folded clothes inside with her hands, she was stumped on what to wear when her husband is awake. And with morning wood as well.
"I see that you've awakened." Kinuho smiles and turns around to see none other than Articho himself, who has surprisingly finished sleeping in record time.
"Nice ass." Articho smiles back, walking towards her. "However, it would seem that you're struggling to find the right set of clothes to wear. Again."
"Well, look who's talking." His wife remarks, raising her eyebrow. "You should probably change as well. Your body stinks. And you're activated."
Articho looks down at the tent of his pants and fails to hide a blush from his light chestnut haired wife.
"It's not my fault that my Saiyan body has a mind of its own!" He argues. 'Damn it, Arisa! You just had to get me aroused, you perverted time goddess!'
"Go hop in the shower and put on some new threads with the clothes beam." She points at her bathroom that's part of her bedroom. "And then, you're going to help me pick out what to wear today."
"Fine." He slouches in depression. "Still love the white polish on your finger and toenails, Kinuho."
"Thank you." She smiles as the couple kissed, before the Pathfinder swatted her ass. "Although, perhaps I should paint a different color for my toenails. Mix things up a little."
"Oh!" He snaps his fingers. "Like with Carrie Bradshaw in those promotional wallpapers for season one? Her fingers were white and her toes were turquoise."
"Now you're getting it." She winks her right eye, still smiling. "And don't worry, Febrie is keeping an eye on our new friends for the time being."
"Thanks for the heads up." He deadpans. "She's always been a bit of a rebel though."
"And look where she got it from." She smirks. "Definitely your greatest creation, alright."
"Laugh it up, Queens Girl." He mocks. "Or is it LA? I don't know. I always get confused about it."
"Can it, Forest Monkey!" Kinuho snaps with a fist clenched up to her husband's face.
"But you're a monkey, too." Articho points out with a smug grin. "Just took the words out of your own mouth right there."
"Duuu—" Her jaw dropped as her eyes twitched in humiliation.
"Hahahahahaha!" He bursts out laughing, pointing his finger at her stupid mistake she made. "They don't call me or my ancestor Son Goku for nothing!"
"With 'junior' added at the end of your birth name." She roasts back with a smug grin of her own as payback.
"Thank you for killing the moment." He sarcastically rolls his eyes before walking to his wife's bathroom. "I'm hitting the shower."
"Articho, wait." Kinuho tried to apologize as she ran up to him, hugging his body and pressing her naked self against him. "On the streets. Those weren't headaches you got from your battle with the Rancor, was it? Do you... know those girls by any chance?"
"What? You're not jealous of them, are you?" He turns his head with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course not." She shakes her head. "Well maybe a little bit. But those girls sounded heartbroken when you told them that they've mistaken you for someone else."
"Kinuho, I literally have no idea who they are." He truthfully answers. "Honest. But these... flashes in my mind. Maybe I used to be well acquainted with them. Shit, I don't know. With how many times I've defied fate from alternate futures and nearly died from reading the Book of Destiny, I may have already broken reality into pieces to the point that it's difficult to come down to a solid conclusion."
"That sounds like a plausible explanation." She sighs in agreement. "Perhaps Arisa could help piece those memory fragments of yours back together."
"How?" He questions in confusion.
"Remember the whole Endymion fiasco almost three years back?" She asks.
"Of course." He scoffs at that particular event. "How could I forget?"
"It was also the same time Shutaura had her suppressed memories restored." She adds. "If she was able to help your sister, then she might do the same for you."
"With the power of miracles?" He deadpans. "How the hell's that even remotely a thing?"
"As much as Imagine Breaker not even being a science or magic-based ability?" She remarks.
"Point taken." He facepalms. "Guess anything's possible with the multiverse."
"Absolutely!" She giggles, pressing her exposed C-cup breasts and its pastel pink nipples down hard on Articho's back.
"On second thought…" He groaned in lust. "Come with me."
Kinuho giggles again in response and lets go of Articho before following him inside her bathroom.
Thanks to Febrie's help, the teenage girls - except Kanan - in the penthouse's dressing room found and tried out the new clothes that best suit their individual personalities. As they walk down a hallway, Febrie and Kanan are currently holding a conversation.
"Kanan, you remind me of my aunt Kaori." Febrie says. "Because of you sharing the same ponytail as her that is."
"That so?" Kanan smiled, playing with a strand of her hair. "Tell me more."
As Kanan and Febrie continue to talk, Chika, Yō, and Riko have questions regarding the little girl they and their friends know very little about.
"Just who is this little girl?" Riko suspiciously stares at the child up front with Kanan.
"I'm not sure, but she does look familiar." Yō admits, sharing her friend's optimism.
"What do you mean?" Chika questions. "She doesn't look familiar to me."
"I'm talking about her personality." The greyish-brown haired girl points out. "I mean, take a good look at her! Doesn't she remind you of someone we know or used to know?"
"Sorry, but I clearly don't understand the question here." The coral orange haired girl sheepishly grins, rubbing the back of her head admittedly.
"Yō's talking about Articho, Chika." The bergundy haired girl deadpans, speaking on Yō's behalf.
"OOOHHHHH." The clueless girl now realized. "Whoopsie! How silly of me."
"Good grief." Riko sighs in amusement. "If your sister Mito was here, she would obviously mark you with 'stupid Chika' on the forehead."
At first, Chika was pierced by an imaginary arrow into the heart at how cruel the Riko's comeback is since it's true. However, she felt her heart empty all of a sudden when her friend brought up that name.
Mito. Shima. Her mother. Shiitake and her pups. Oh, how she misses them already.
"Chika?" Yō asks, noticing the change of her usual cheery expression.
"You okay?" Riko asked as well.
Chika has once again started shedding tears as they hit the floor.
"M-M-My family…" Chika sniffles. "They must be so devastated with all of us gone. Specifically with me. Damn it. Maybe I am stupid after all."
"Don't say that." Riko disapproves, shaking her head. "You know that's not true."
"BUT IT IS!" Chika snaps as she stops walking, getting everyone's attention at her sudden outburst.
There was an awkward silence at that very moment, as the girls were shocked and left speechless. Even the small Saiyan girl and she felt real sympathy towards the coral orange haired girl.
Febrie then walks up to Chika drowning in her own despair as she quietly sobs.
"It's okay to cry." Febrie says with a heartwarming smile. "You just have to be willing to accept the past and move forward. That's what being human means. We make mistakes. And out of those mistakes come the most amazing things in our lives. But you have something that no one else has. Something that pushes you to keep going and never look back."
"What?" Chika sniffles, avoiding eye contact with the small girl.
"Hope." She simply answers.
Those special words moved Chika as her watery, pink eyes widened. To think that a child like Febrie could have such wisdom at such a young age. And much as she doesn't want to admit it, she kinda envies her for having that kind of determination.
"Thank you." Chika says, wiping her tears away. "You're very wise for a little girl, you know."
Slow clapping was heard out of nowhere, as it came from none other than Articho who is now wearing a dark grey short-sleeved shirt tucked in his pants with a belt fastened around and is also wearing a pair of combat boots.
"Leave it to Febrie who knows how to bring happiness to anyone." Articho applauds for his eldest daughter out of pride before he stopped clapping.
Febrie turns around and smiles happily at her father before running up to him. He smiles back at her and then ruffles her hair a bit, receiving a positive reaction in return.
"How long have you been standing there?" Dia questions.
"Long enough." Was the Pathfinder's answer.
"So, um, who's the kid here?" Yoshiko asks with her arms crossed when she and her friends see him pick the small blonde girl up and carry her on his shoulder. "You babysitting her for somebody?"
"She's my daughter." He casually answers with a laid back grin that's plastered on his face.
"EEEHHH?!"The teenage girls' reacted in shock and disbelief as some of them jaw dropped with triangle-shaped mouths.