Takeshi hung his blushing head.
He was inside a tailor's shop in Mikado City's shopping district. One made an order in the front room and the clothing was made in the back room. That left a fair amount of time spent waiting around, but there was tea and food prepared to help pass the time.
He was currently waiting for his clothing that needed its size altered for a proper fit.
...I had to hand over my jacket and had to change into shorts so they could take the measurements, so the tatami mats are kind of ticklish.
Suzume and Toby of his own squad and Shor Squad altogether were apparently already preparing for the next match that would be coming up between them, but the final squad involved were taking longer because the members wanted to do something for him.
They needed to hurry, but they wanted to avoid rushing and forgetting something. The next round of the B-Rank Wars that would soon take place would not be for another day, so it was now up to them.
Mikado City tailor-made clothing was quick and reliable at times like this, and he had something to do while waiting for the clothes to be made.
...I-I need to choose a scarf design..."
Maya and Asano peered at him from the side.
He was selecting a scarf to replace the one lost in a fit of rage against his former captain. As expected, the two girls were with him. Suzume and Kakizaki had come too, but...
"Heh heh. Look, Take. Isn't this design of clothing really cute?"
...What is going on here!?
.
Takeshi assessed his options while sweating nervously for a number of reasons.
Inside an open tatami mat room, he was looking at the row of scarves an employee had brought out.
"U-um, Asano-san, what about this?"
He held out one of the samples and Asano stared at both the scarf and at Takeshi.
"Right. That one is cowhide, isn't it? I would think one with a less processed surface would be more delicious."
"I'm pretty sure that would be too hard."
"Now, now," said Asano. "I have determined this is the foundational symbol of your new relationships with people, so please take this seriously."
Asano tapped her captain's shoulder a few times and then spoke to her.
"Listen. It needs to be cowhide. Nothing else really matters. Kotowari is easily swayed by meat, after all. Oh, and it has to be of high quality."
...That's fairly true, but I'm not sure it applies to clothing.
At any rate, it was now her turn.
"This one with a decorative design fits your overall image pretty well, don't you think?"
"Y-yes, that sounds good."
"Oh, but you move a lot, so this one with a simple silver decoration on one side might be better."
"Y-yes, that sounds good."
"Oh? Look, look. This one's got a Mikado logo. That's so cool!"
"Y-yes, that sounds good too."
...Does everything sound good to me!?
He supposedly had the final say here, but as time passed, he seemed to be losing his individuality. And...
"Takeshi, can you lift your neck up?"
On occasion, she would casually place her fingers around his neck to put a scarf on him. The shaking of his hair when her hands touched it and the rubbing at his throat felt ticklish, so a voice nearly escaped his lips.
...Kh! R-resist! Resist!
"C'mon, stay still."
She suddenly scratched at his throat.
.
"...!"
A ticklish scratching reached his throat.
She was treating him like a cat and it had been a surprise, but he also felt a mixture of animalistic fear at having his defenseless throat scratched and a newly found natural subservience telling him to allow it. Also...
...Ah.
I've seen this happen in some of Suzume-senpai's doujinshi. Yes, this is, um, yes, quite dangerous. Or should I say it feels good? Um...
"...!"
He was filled with a mixture of the discovery that he had a weak point, the realization that she was scratching at it, and the determination to resist it. He did his very best to not let it show.
"Good boy. Now stay like that. Stay."
Her fingers suddenly slid down to the bottom of his throat. The sensation surprised him, and...
…Hiin!
He distinctly sensed something being secreted in the area deep below his navel. Sultry sweat poured from his body, a tremor ran through his body, and his throat, mouth, and tongue went a little limp.
…Hyahh!
He nearly passed out. He had three options: collapse limply to the floor, collapse onto her and rub his throat against her, or desperately resist by pounding his hands against the floor. But as the ticklish and itchy attack on his throat continued...
"If there was a tail here, would it be wagging like crazy right now? But cats don't tend to do that sort of thing."
Behind him, Suzume suddenly stuck her hand down along the line leading into Takeshi's butt.
…Hh!
.
Takeshi's butt reflexively hopped up to escape, and that caused his body to collapse forward.
He tried to support himself on the girl sitting in front of him, but he did not make it in time and could not reach her.
"Gh..."
So he ended up lying on the floor, hiding the tremor running from his throat to his lower stomach. His lower body was propped up on his knees, which embarrassingly raised his butt into the air, but he felt that making any odd movements now would make his insides go crazy. So he pressed his knees together and tensed his inner thighs to bear with it.
"Good boy. Good boy."
A hand stroked his head.
"Are you okay? Are you so nervous about what will happen that you're feeling bad?"
...I'm not feeling bad! This is the exact opposite!
But now Asano was stroking his head too.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa."
…That's for horses! Have I gotten so low that I'm like Toby now!?
Despite his mental complaints, having his head rubbed was not unpleasant. He did not like being treated like a cat or a dog, but other than that, this was the same as social grooming and he kind of liked it. But...
"..."
He made sure to maintain a displeased expression as he got up.
"Ohh," said the Attacker and Shooter as he fixed his disheveled hair and took a breath.
…Oh?
He used the mirror next to him to check on the scarf she had put on him.
.
It looked a lot like the one he had worn before. It was simple and it had decorative points resembling tails. He traced his fingers along it and his mirror image touched the ends of it.
…I-it's a little too simple, but it might be just right with some things added on.
As he tried to decide what to do, the Attacker peered into the mirror next to him.
"Is it too plain? I was also considering some flashier and rougher ones."
"Did you not think those would suit me?"
"It isn't that. I thought something really cool would be nice since you and Toby looked out for my brother during the invasion."
...D-did that happen?
Asano started to remove a tatami mat instead of the wall for her new gag, so they stopped her. Takeshi realized Suzume and Kakizaki were smiling his way, so he used both hands to gently lift up the scarf around his neck.
While showing it off to then, he wished he could have been smiling.
"I'll go with this one. I want it to be well-made, so even if I order it now, I doubt it will be ready for a while."