"How bout these!?" Rena smiled as she held up matching pajama sets.
"Rena," Rosa sighed, still holding Maria. "I told you I have my own stuff to sleep in."
"But they're not kyute!" Rena frowned.
To say Rena was excited to have a sleepover with Rosa and Maria was an understatement. When Rosa told her she could spend the night, Rena instantly had ideas about what to do during the sleepover. One of these included getting matching pajamas for both of them.
"I had no idea you would have this reaction after seeing my clothes." Rosa facepalmed.
"You buy kyute outfits for Maria, so why not have kyute outfits of your own." Rena smiled.
"Fine, just pick whatever." Rosa dropped her shoulders and sighed.
"How bout these?" Rena held up a new pajama set for Rosa to see.
It was a two-piece satin set with a button-up, short-sleeved shirt, and shorts. The set Rena was holding was white, with pink trim and buttons.
"I think you'd look cute in that." Rosa smiled.
"I found one for you too." Rena smiled as she held another set. This one was red with white trim and buttons instead. "I think red is more your color."
"Thanks for that." Rosa giggled. "Anything else you need to grab from here?"
"No, that's it." Rena started walking over to the register to check out, and Rosa followed behind her.
After checking out, Rosa thought she and Rena would go to her apartment. However, as Rosa started to walk that way, Rena grabbed her wrist and dragged her to a convenience store.
"Rena," Rosa said as she watched Rena grabbing snacks. "Don't you think this is overdoing it?"
"What do you mean?" Rena turned to look at her. Rosa just pointed at the basket that was almost overflowing. Rena nervously laughed as she saw it and scratched the back of her head. "You may have a point."
"What am I going to do with you?" Rosa rolled her eyes and smiled.
"I guess I got too excited about the sleepover idea." Rena started to place a lot of the snacks back on the shelf.
"It's fine. Just remember it is only us two." Rosa giggled.
"And Maria." Rena smiled as she patted Maria's head. "Can't forget about her."
"Yeah, but I don't think she's going to be able to help with eating all those snacks." Rosa giggled.
"True." Rena giggled back as she raised the basket higher. "You think this would be enough?"
"I think that's enough for a two-person sleepover." Rosa looked inside the basket. "Ready to head out then?"
"I think so." Rena nodded as they went to pay for everything Rena grabbed.
As they left the store, the sun was starting to set as they made their way to Rosa's hotel. It was as hot as Rosa's first day there, but the change in clothing made it more tolerable now. The street was also empty as they kept walking.
"So, are you enjoying Hinamizawa so far?" Rena turned her head as she walked with shopping bags.
"I am." Rosa smiled as she turned to look at Rena while holding Maria. "I'd wager Maria is also enjoying being here as well."
"I'm happy to hear that." Rena giggled.
"Aren't you going to tell me to move here?" Rosa raised an eyebrow. "Whenever I say I'm enjoying my vacation, all of you immediately say, 'You should move here then.'"
"After hearing you say you'd spend the day with Satoko to hear all the reasons you should, I figured that was enough." Rena giggled again. "Plus, I was worried it was starting to annoy you to hear that repeatedly."
"Good thing you're not like Shion then." Rosa sighed. "She seems to enjoy that."
"That's because she likes you so much," Rena replied. "Especially after seeing how much you care about Satoko."
"Yeah, Satoko." Rosa frowned as she looked down.
"Is something wrong, wrong?" Rena dropped her smile.
"I know you probably didn't want me to know this," Rosa said before taking a deep breath. "But Rika told me everything about Satoko before she moved in with her."
"She did?" Rena frowned.
"Yeah." Rosa dropped her shoulders. "Including everything about her uncle and her brother."
"You must think we're horrible." Rena looked down as she stopped.
"Rena," Rosa said as she stopped and turned to her. "If I thought you were all horrible for what happened to Satoko, I wouldn't have invited you to my room for a sleepover or let you hold Maria."
"Really?" Rena turned to Rosa.
"Yes, really," Rosa replied. "I don't blame any of you for what happened; none of you should blame yourself."
"I know, but," Rena dropped her shoulders and looked down again. "I feel like we let both Satoko and Satoshi down. We could have done something and never did."
"And I could have found a better man who didn't leave me after promising he'd return before our daughter was born." Rosa sighed.
"Left you?" Rena looked up, realizing what Rosa just said. She started to tear up. "I'm sorry, I didn't know…"
"It's fine, Rena. Sometimes things don't go the way you want." Rosa smiled as she looked down and patted Maria's head. "And if I hadn't met him, Maria wouldn't be here. I'm not saying that makes anything terrible that happened to Satoko okay. Just, sometimes, things happen for a reason."
"I guess," Rena said, still frowning. "But I still feel bad."
"I have something to help with that." Rosa giggled as she held up Maria in front of Rena's face.
"Rena." Maria smiled as she reached out for her
Rena smiled back as she sat the bags down and lifted Maria out of Rosa's arms. She cradled her as the both of them kept looking at each other.
"I had a feeling that would work." Rosa smiled as she took the bags from the ground. "So, ready to continue?"
"Of course." Rena nodded as the both of them started walking back to the hotel.