The trip to the local mall, by all rights should have been an easy trip. And fairly uneventful as well. Unfortunately, that was not the case this time.

For starters, when you walk around with three absolutely stunning specimens of male perfection...you're bound to draw all kinds of attention.

Ichigo- for better or worse- was used to attention of one kind or another. Her looks were simply too unique to others not to get a reaction of some kind. But in this instance, she was pretty happy to not find herself swarmed by people. Not like her companions were anyways.

It was a little bit funny to her, that no sooner had any of them stepped through the door of the mall- than the demon men had found themselves surrounded by curious and lustful people of both genders. She sympathized with the guys. Truly she did. But she was also rather happy with the fact that they were all distracted since it meant that she could walk off and grab some of her things without being missed.

She walked away, partially expecting that it would take more than a few minutes for the others to catch up to her. Which was why she was so startled when she suddenly felt a large hand grasp her hand and stop her. Turning her head to see who had her, she came face to face with Conrad.

And he looked upset.

"Where are you going?" He demanded, though not in a harsh tone. His usually laughing eyes conveying that he was angry with her for leaving his side. "I can't protect you if you walk away and I can't find you."

Ichigo didn't speak for a second, instead her face flushed with mortification, and she pointed to the shop that she had been heading for. He followed her finger with his eyes and took a second to take in the barley dressed female mannequins before finally looking back at her with wide eyes.

"Oh." Was all that he seemed able to say as he slowly released her hand from his grasp and covered his mouth with one hand and frowned down at her.

"Having men around makes it hard to get things like that," She finally said after a heartbeat or so. "I was planning to grab some things from there first. And then work on the other stuff."

"I would imagine so," He finally uttered with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Forgive me. That...did not occur to me, your majesty."

"I figured that might be the case." Ichigo said with a shrug.

"I-Is it okay if I wait outside the shop?" Conrad asked awkwardly.

"I would appreciate that, thank you." She said kindly as he smiled at her and stepped back. Ichigo started walking again, this time very much aware of the fact that he was walking close by. His keen eyes scanning the various people around them for any sign of a threat to her as they reached the shop and Conrad placed himself with his back to one of the large windows, out of the way while she stepped into the store and made a beeline for one of the underwear displays to get what she wanted.

All in all, it didn't take her very long to grab two packs of ten pairs of underwear in her size as well as five bras figuring that that should tide her over for the time being. At least this way she wouldn't have to worry much. And could at least be comfortable until she fully adapted to life in the other world.

"How about this one, your majesty. Isn't it just lovely?" Yozak suggested as he held up a champaign colored evening dress for her to see the intricate beading along the bodice more clearly as she smiled nervously at him and took a step back. Trying her best not to snap at him while remaining kind about her refusal to add said gown to her clothing pile.

This had been going on for quite a while now.

Ever since they had escaped the attentions of the large crowd, and the ginger haired man had seemed to automatically zero in on several clothing shops, and boutiques. Then he had all but dragged her into one of them with his friends close on their heels.

The other two men were obviously curious about what was going to happen next. And once in the shop each of them began to systematically go through every clothing rack in sight and just to find her something pretty enough to buy and take with her to their world.

Honestly it kind of set Ichigo's teeth on edge.

Almost as much as Yozak's sudden bizarre desire to completely to giving her current clothing style an entire makeover. With or without her permission on the matter.

And Ichigo...well she didn't exactly want to cause a scene by trying to run away. She wasn't a child anymore after all.

Besides, she was pretty sure that she wouldn't get very far even if she did run anyway since Conrad and Gunter were both watching her like a couple of hawks watched a rabbit. And she was already well aware of the fact that the second that she tried to run, one of them- probably Conrad again- would stop her.

So, she really had no choice for the moment but to smile and politely refuse the clothing that Yozak was trying to force on her.

But the second that she did, the ginger haired man's happy expression fell, and he simply seemed to become more determined than ever at his self-appointed task as he grinned at her and then promised her that he'd find something even more stunning for her before walking off for the umpteenth time.

The second that he was gone, Ichigo sighed and went back to looking at some of the nice clothes hanging on one of the racks in front of her. It wasn't as if she disliked nice clothing or anything.

It was just...that dresses were too feminine for her. They simply didn't suit her. So, she preferred other things.

There wasn't anything wrong with that. Right? Although she knew that Yozak had a bit of a point. She couldn't continue to dress in loose clothing, or like a boy, or like a... peasant?

Was that the right word?

Granted, she had already found some more shirts just like her bunny night shirt to sleep in. Mainly because she liked them, and they catered to her twisted sense of humor.

But everything else, she was well aware would have to be different. More high class, less...her.

It was a bit maddening to her though. But she had already decided to do this. To take this particular mission- so she knew that she had to do other things to do the job correctly.

Especially if she didn't want to embarrass anyone.

"My, I've never seen Yozak so hell bent on shopping for someone else before," Conrad chuckled as he came over to where she was standing and looked down at her. His good humor evaporating automatically once he saw the unhappy expression on her face. "Is something wrong, Ichigo?" He asked with a frown.

She sighed and turned so that he couldn't see her face anymore and then muttered, "No. Everything is fine." And then to prevent him from asking her any more questions, she gave him a task. "Do you think you can help me find some things in pale purple, aquamarine, dark blue, red and maybe some black?"

She'd found something nice while looking through the clothing in front of her, something classier than her usual stuff, and simply needed it in a certain color to make her find perfect.

Conrad tilted his head to the side a bit as she picked the piece of clothing up for him to see it. Understanding lit up his expression and he quickly got to work. And after a few minutes of searching various clothing rack's, he actually managed to find the same piece of clothing in several colors that would be quite fetching on her in his opinion.

He draped each of the clothing over one of his arms and began searching for more things in the colors that she had requested as well as in similar styles to what she had shown him.

And by the time he was finished, he had quite a bit of a haul to hand over.

Returning to the others, he found Yozak was no longer trying to get Ichigo to approve of some of the dresses that he had been bringing her. Instead, the man was grumbling under his breath about people who were 'impossible to please' as Conrad passed him and went straight to Ichigo and showed her everything that he had found.

Ichigo seemed to be in a much better mood by then and was more than pleased by his finds if her expression was anything to go by. And after that they spent the next few minutes going through everything while she decided on what she wanted to get and what she didn't.

Then once they were finished with that, she collected everything in her 'buy' pile and went to pay for them. Something that they should have done since they were the ones supposed to care for her. Something that had temporarily slipped each of their minds. But wasn't likely to do so again as she came back to them carrying several large bags in both of her hands.

"Okay, I've just got to get the other things that I need." She said happily as she mentally went over her list.

Okay, she had her underwear and bras- which Gunter had been valiantly protecting for her. Like the nice man that he was. She had some more sleep wear and classier clothing. Though she might actually need to get a few sweater dresses and leggings to meet Yozak halfway and maybe make him stop glaring at her. After that she would also need a pair of nice sturdy shoes and a pair of thick soled boots.

Maybe something steel toed? Just in case it was needed.

"Alright, Ichigo where do we go next?" Yozak asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. He was still looking a tad bit mutinous to her.

Sighing because she wasn't sure about her idea of sweater dresses, she lifted a hand and rubbed her nape and then said slowly, and somewhat reluctantly. "There's a store over there," She pointed towards the left. "Just outside of this one. We can find..." She suddenly found herself sweating bullets under the trio's curious gazes. "Sweater dresses there. Y-You can help me find some of those okay, Yozak."

The ginger haired man stared at her for all of three seconds before cracking a devious grin and grabbed her so that she couldn't escape his grasp and hollered, "You heard the lady boys! Let's go find her some sweater dresses!"

Both Conrad and Gunter stood at attention and said, "Sir, yes sir!"

The search for her sweater dresses had been going on for more than an hour.

And Ichigo was fairly certain that there was enough of them hanging from both Gunter's arms and Conrad's too. But no matter what she said to Yozak, the ginger man merely disagreed with her, booping her on the nose playfully and said jovially, "A girl can never have enough pretty things, Ichigo."

It was then that she knew that he was screwing with her. And enjoying every moment of it too.

But she supposed that she couldn't argue with the results. There were some really nice ones in each of the dress piles.

There was one in the pile that looked like it was made of captured fire that was just stunning even to Ichigo. There was another one that was a pretty citrine color as well. Both of which would make her hair, and eyes really pop according to Yozak.

Not that she would know since things like that really weren't her thing.

Still, after an hour of going through the entire store and finding so many dresses already, Yozak wasn't showing any sign whatsoever of stopping any time soon. And Ichigo was starting to get upset by how long things were taking since she was more of a 'get in and get out' sort of person. Instead of a 'I'm here now and I'll die here' sort of person.

She preferred short shopping trips to the ones that lasted hours upon hours.

Finally unable to contain herself anymore she asked, "Don't you think I have enough sweater dresses yet, Yozak?" The man paused his present search to turn his blue eyes on her.

"Do you think you have enough?" He asked, arching a brow at her.

Ichigo took a deep breath and then said, "Yes."

"Then you still don't have enough," He said as he then turned and started looking again and made a sound of triumph when he pulled a cream colored one from the rack and held it up. "Don't you think this would look cute on Ichigo guys?"

Both Conrad and Gunter practically cooed and Ichigo decided that she was never going shopping with any of these men ever again.

It took another thirty minutes before Yozak was completely finished. And by then Ichigo just wanted to go home but couldn't. However, since they had spent so much time inside of this specific shop, once everything was paid for and in hand, she decided that they should take a break and eat something.

Something that Gunter was rather happy about considering that he was carrying a fair bit of her purchases himself. The poor guy.

So, with that she led the three men to the food court and then asked them what they were in the mood for while taking a few minutes to point out the various food venders. As well as advising them on which foods were actually good and which ones were a potential health risk for them.

Once a decision was made, she then led them to the vender that they wished to get food from. It was a small Chinese place, but the food was great in her opinion. After that the men spent the next twenty minutes trying to read the menu and decide what they wanted. While Ichigo went ahead and placed her own order since she always ate the same thing when she got food from here.

Sweet and sour chicken with stir fried rice and a sweet tea.

It might not be the best food to others, but Ichigo had grown up on things like this when she'd still been a small child, and visiting the place whenever she was out gave her a chance to remember sweet memories of her family before her mother's passing. So, eating it didn't tend to bother her at all.

She was however a tad bit worried about what the others might think of it as she went and found a table and sat down with her food. After a few more minutes longer, the three finally placed their orders and then once their food was ready for them, collected it and then came over to join her.

"Were you so hungry that you had to leave us, Ichigo?" Conrad asked in amusement, watching her pause what she was doing in mid motion just to hear her say.

"Yes." And then take a bite of her food.

He and Yozak both sniggered while Gunter took several moments to unburden himself of her many, many, many bags. She took a moment to finish chewing and swallowing her food before asking him if he was okay. After all, even clothing could be heavy if there was enough of it.

She knew this from being dragged out on shopping sprees with Rangiku.

And after Yozak's spat in that last store...she could easily imagine that some of those bags weighed quite a bit. At least enough to hurt Gunter's hands, arms, shoulders, and back anyway. She would have to grab some large duffle bags before they left the mall so that she would be able to repack everything so that it'd be easier to carry.

"Where would you like to go next, your majesty?" Conrad asked in a low tone so as not to be overheard by any of the many, many mall goer's milling around them.

She thought for a second before finally replying. "Home, I think. I can place an order online for the rest and it would be delivered to the house in an hour."

To say that each of the men looked startled or even downright shocked would be an understatement. It was as if she had just told them that the world was ending while a black hole sucked everything up into it outside or something. They looked a combination of confused and disbelieving.

"Unless you three want to look at some things." She amended as she looked from one face to another. This time, it was Gunter who suggested that they look through some of the other stores. Which Conrad and Yozak both appeared to agree with, however...the stores that he had in mind weren't what Ichigo was expecting.

Of all the things that she had been expecting- books, music, movies- the one thing chosen by Gunter was jewelry. And when she asked him why he was so interested in the stuff, he merely made a tsking sound and waggled a finger at her before explaining.

"As our Queen you will have many baubles and trinkets to begin with, and even more than enough money to purchase your own if need be. However, I've noticed that many of the diamonds and gems of this world are a much better quality than some of our own creations. Therefore, we shall find you some trinkets to take with you when you leave. Perhaps some that will match your fiery personality. Or even some to match your new clothing."

Ichigo blanched a little bit and began to try and edge herself back away from them but was caught in an instant when Conrad wrapped an arm around her shoulders and smiled down at her as he chided. "Now, now, don't do that. You'll hurt Gunter's feelings if you run now."

She just made a whining sound that had him sniggering as he pulled her back towards the store.