[Warning 15+]
Part Five
―Even If, I Can't Treat You with That Same Energy Anymore
Chapter 193
Um, By Any Chance...?
―Even If, I Can't Treat You with That Same Energy Anymore
Chapter 193
Um, By Any Chance...?
A riot of colors, a profusion of bloomin' flowers—each one just as breathtakin' as the last.
The colorful yukatas displayed as far as the eye could see looked just like flowers in full bloom.
Both Saki and Himeko were like butterflies drawn to those allurin' flowers, flittin' here and there as they carefully inspected the yukatas.
Btw, since the sales area was so huge, they had decided to split up into the middle school girls group and the high school girls group to do their shoppin'.
"Saki-chan, Saki-chan, how about somethin' like this!?"
"Wh-Whoa, this one's gorgeous too~! But isn't the vibe a bit too sweet for me?"
"No way!"
"H-Hime-chan?"
"Sure, Saki-chan is used to wearin' shrine maiden robes, so you have that neat and crisp image. But I totally think this kind of style would look amazin' on you too. Plus there's that gap appeal, and it's a Festival after all!"
"I-Is that so?"
"Well, let's just make this one of the options for now."
"Yeah."
Himeko gave an enthusiastic huff as she passionately made her case.
Pushed along by Himeko's energy, Saki reflexively took the yukata and dropped it into the basket at her feet. And just like that, another basket was filled to the brim with potential yukatas. This was already the second basket, and every single one had been picked out together with Himeko just for Saki.
Saki gave a dry smile, thinkin' this might honestly be way too much.
"We've really piled up a ton of candidates, though~"
"True, maybe it's time we start narrowin' them down."
So many of them had awesome designs.
Saki's eyes had definitely wandered every which way, but it wasn't like she could buy them all. Pickin' just one from all these was gonna take some real effort.
And right then, Saki suddenly realized somethin'.
"BTW, what about yours, Hime-chan—?"
"Oh! That one over there looks good too!"
"—Oh."
Right as Saki was about to finish her sentence, Himeko, havin' spotted somethin' else that caught her attention, zoomed off once again.
Left behind all by herself, Saki let out a dry laugh, thinkin' 'Oh, here Hime-chan goes again'.
Then, after starin' down at the three baskets at her feet, Saki looked around and spotted a full-length mirror.
Carryin' the baskets in both hands, Saki nervously approached it and pulled out a yukata.
"Every single one of these is so cute."
Saki couldn't help lettin' out a soft sigh.
Holdin' various yukatas up against herself, Saki tried to picture what she'd look like wearin' them.
After all, just lookin' at pictures online was world's apart from actually holdin' them up and trying them on in person.
"How about this one... ...a bit too childish?"
The one Saki was holdin' up right now was from a feminine brand featurin' strikin', vivid pastel colors that brought out a youthful innocence.
"This one... ...is cute, but maybe a bit too flashy?"
Next, Saki tried holdin' up one from a gyaru brand with bright shades, aggressively decked out in huge red spider lily patterns.
Both were cute and had their own charm.
However, both were styles Saki hadn't really messed with until now.
Would they actually look good on Saki? Could she pull them off?
Saki was well aware that she was a countryside bumpkin.
After all, it had only been about a month since Saki left lush, green Tsukinose for the big city.
Even Saki's braided pigtails from way back were originally just tied up so her lighter hair color wouldn't stand out too much around others.
Still, Saki suddenly tried imaginin' puttin' on these yukatas, turnin' into a different version of herself, and standin' in front of Hayato.
Would Hayato's heart skip a beat?
Would Hayato be surprised?
Would Hayato think Saki was cute?
Or would Hayato think it was weird and didn't suit Saki, just givin' her a dry chuckle?
Imaginin' all kinds of reactions from Hayato, Saki turned bright red then pale, her face constantly shiftin' through a whirlwind of emotions.
Just then, someone hesitantly called out to Saki from behind.
"U-Um..."
"H-Hyah!?"
Gettin' suddenly called out to while in that state made Saki jump right out of her skin in surprise.
"S-Sorry!?"
"N-No, I mean, um..."
The girl who spoke up was also taken aback by Saki's over-the-top reaction, lowerin' her head with an apologetic bow. Saki hurriedly bowed back out of reflex.
And only then did Saki realize she'd been hoggin' the full-length mirror while cyclin' through all sorts of weird expressions. Wonderin' if she looked like a total creep, her cheeks flushed bright red.
An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment, and then both of them let out dry "Ahaha" laughs to brush it off.
Lookin' up, Saki checked out the girl who had called out to her.
Saki's first impression was that somethin' about the girl felt pretty mismatched.
Her brightly dyed hair was pulled back tightly, paired with a plain hat and glasses. But even so, it couldn't hide her well-defined features.
Even her outfit was in the same vein as the yukata Saki was holdin' right now, and she was pullin' it off flawlessly.
Though she was clearly tryin' to keep a low profile, she was still a gorgeous girl. Saki couldn't help lettin' out an awestruck sigh.
As for the girl, she was fidgetin' awkwardly, lookin' like she was havin' a hard time spittin' somethin' out.
What on Earth did she want with Saki?
Saki's eyes darted between the yukata in her hands, the girl, and her own outfit.
Could Saki's choice or way of matchin' stuff be so off that this girl felt compelled to say somethin'?
Not just this girl, but most of the people around here looked super stylish too. Saki started feelin' self-conscious.
Just as Saki's mind was spiralin' in a somewhat negative direction, an unexpected question suddenly popped out of the girl's mouth.
"Um, by any chance... ...do you have someone you like?"
"...Eh?"
Saki's eyes went wide, and she caught her breath.