• 3. Shopping

    “I have to wear, what?” I asked desperately. “Don’t you have any female clothes in there?”
    Tokyemaru laughed at my reaction. “They won’t look big on you. And anyways, we’ll quickly buy a t-shirt and shorts so that you can change into them.” He sounded so calm, completely the opposite of my emotion.
    This morning, he suggested that I wear his clothes, just until we find a store that would allow me to change into outfits that I buy. I didn’t want to wear his clothes, but I had no other choice. After a couple of minutes, I finally grabbed his clothes, a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and changed in the washroom.
    When I finished changing, I checked myself on the mirror. I didn’t look that bad, in fact, it almost fit me. I quickly ran out of the room. I wanted to see what Tokyemaru’s reaction was. He stood, leaning against the wall outside of the washroom, his arms folded. He stood so close that I almost bumped into him.
    He looked at me with blank emotion, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he looked away, a bit mad.
    “Are you okay?” I asked, confused. “Should I go change back?”
    “No,” he said, still turned away. “Let’s go.” His voice sounded gruff.
    I was confused but stayed quiet, not wanting to raise his temper, and walked with him down to the lobby.
    The lobby looked the same as I had last entered through it, but the entertainment room was the only thing that felt missing. Through the revolving glass doors, I saw a navy blue Mercedes Benz.
    “Mr. Ikiotsu, your date with Ms. Takemoto is today.” A young woman instructed. “Have you forgotten?” The woman wore a uniform. She was probably his manager, but she looked really pretty and young. She looked like in her early 20’s.
    “Tell her, I can’t go. I’m taking the day off.” Tokyemaru replied. His voice was firm but calm.
    The woman looked at him and then turned her gaze at me. I could tell that she tried to force a smile. “Have a good day, then.” She nodded and then walked off to the reception table.
    The whole time, I kept quiet as we walked to the car and as Tokyemaru drove off.
    “I could tell, that she likes you, you know.” I said, breaking the silence. I didn’t have any emotion in me as I said this. In fact, I sounded playful.
    He just laughed, but kept quiet.

    • • • • • • •

    The mall was huge. It was almost as big as the hotel, and it stretched, for what looked like a mile.
    “Never been to a mall before?” Tokyemaru teased.
    “Not as big as this.” I replied. I looked at the stores around me and then remembered our first goal, to get me some clothes. “Let’s go to that store.” I pointed at the first store that had a manikin wearing a trendy outfit.
    “Okay, then.” Tokyemaru replied.
    We walked over to the store, it wasn’t far, and bought the clothes, a light pink, plaid, knee-length skirt matching with a deep purple. Along with the outfit were white legwarmers and light purple, ankle-cut Converse. I loved it.
    The whole time we were in the store, people stared and whispered to one another. All of them took pictures, either with their camera or cell phone. A few girls even came up and asked for an autograph from Tokyemaru. He acted calm but I could sense that he was starting to get annoyed.
    “I’ll… uh… change into these.” I instructed him.
    He looked around, ignoring the adoring fans. “Yeah, sure, I’ll wait outside.”
    I nodded, as he walked past the crowd.

    • • • • • • •

    I changed in silence for a few minutes, but then got interrupted.
    “Can you believe he was here?” a girl’s voice pierced.
    “No, I can’t,” another voice replied. “Though, Mika, who was that girl with him? I thought Tokyemaru is still with Hidemi.”
    “She doesn’t suit him, you know.” the girl named Mika retorted, her mood turning sour. “That girl, she can’t be his girlfriend. She’s too simple. And even if she is his girlfriend, there’s no way, they’d last long.” Even when the stall door blocked my sight from her, I knew she was smirking. They talked about Tokyemaru for a few more minutes and then left.
    After minutes of silence, I came to remember that someone was waiting for me, and I left the stall, changed.
    “What took you so long?” Tokyemaru asked, annoyed. “I had to sit here, while people stared and took pictures of me. Do you know how awkward that feels? I don’t come here often, so I’m not used to people acting like that at a public area.” He glared at me, but when he saw disappointment in my eyes, he looked away.
    “I’m sorry.” I whispered.

    • • • • • • •

    We roamed the mall for an hour already, but I knew that we haven’t even covered half the building. Other than the people watching us, stalking us is more like it, my mood was pretty good. We bought bubble tea, bought four outfits, and the atmosphere was really calm.
    “Hey, Tokyemaru,” an unfamiliar voice called out behind us. “You catch on fast, huh?”
    I curiously turned around to see who it was, and standing in front of me were four appealing teenagers. They looked so attractive and perfect that for a moment I thought they were a poster. In their group, two were girls while the others boys. Maybe they’re models, too.
    Tokyemaru walked calmly to them. “What are you guys doing here?” he asked, expressionless.
    The stranger that called out to Tokyemaru snickered. “That’s what we should be asking you, Mr. Ikiotsu.” He grinned. “By the way, who’s the kid?”
    While all this was happening, I was quiet, and was still awestruck by their faces. They looked almost as appealing as Tokyemaru. But when he called me a “kid,” my body started reacting.
    “Tch, for your information, I’m 16!” I retorted, feeling raged.
    One of the girls giggled. “Tokyemaru, introduce us.” She whispered.
    Tokyemaru sighed, the kind of sigh that people who are having a bad day sigh, and rolled his eyes, but forced on a crooked smile. “Youri, these are four of my many friends.” He pointed at a girl from the right. “This is Samura Ai, age sixteen, younger sister of Samura Ryuu and manager daughter of a five star hotel.” Next, he pointed at the guy beside her, the person that called me a kid. “Tazuma Ren, age 16, single child and future owner to over 30 international companies.” Tokyemaru inhaled a deep breath and then continued with the person next to Ren. “Haruna Rina, age 16, daughter of a lawyer and a doctor, has been going out with Ryuu for more than two years, and our professional chef.” Tokyemaru inhaled again. “And lastly, Samura Ryuu, age 17, older brother of Ai and two year boyfriend of Rina.” At last, Tokyemaru began informing them about me. “Mikatsu Youri, age 16… and that is all the major information I know about her.”
    “Are you Tokyemaru’s girlfriend?” Ai asked. “Because, if you are, you’re being cheated on, not that he lies to people. Just to let you know.”
    “She’s my… uh… mother’s friend’s twice removed daughter, from a foreign country.” Tokyemaru muttered. No one would believe you, is what I wanted to yell. “She’ll be starting school in Rokku High.”
    Ren grinned wickedly, though he still looked charming. “Youri is it?” he asked. “I hope you’ll have fun, staying here in Japan.”

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