She was in an enclosed space smaller than a beach shower, with only a full-length mirror for company and a paper-thin curtain blocking off the outside world. Midori had obviously been in a fitting room more times than she could count, but this time was different.
After all, on the other side of that single piece of cloth was a man!
The curtain didn’t reach all the way to the ground, or the ceiling, for that matter, and there was a small gap above and below. It wasn’t enough that she risked being seen, but even just being in the same air felt wrong. She was going to undress, completely, while staring at her likeness in a mirror the whole time.
Her face was flushed bright red with embarrassment, and she didn’t want to see that reflected back at her, either.
“Aaa. Aaa. Arrrgh!”
She bit her trembling lip, but it wasn’t enough to control her churning emotions. In fact, it only made the drops at the corners of her eyes swell even larger. Midori felt trapped, and she took a few deep breaths to regain her focus. Her frilly bikini top, carefully chosen to hide her slim physique, was the first to go. She placed her fingers beneath its straps and slid it off.
Next, she bent down for her miniskirt…but instead of removing it, she reached underneath and slowly pulled down her bikini bottom. The sequence was a little out of order, reminiscent of how she would change into her swimsuit under a towel at school.
“There we—Huh? My leg’s caught…!”
Midori wobbled on one foot, trying to keep her balance. A voice came from beyond the curtain.
“Midori?”
“Bwah! It’s nothing! I’m fine!!”
Her face was as bright and red as a traffic signal.
What would happen, she thought, if she were to fall over and tumble backside-first through the curtain? The most ridiculous developments raced through her mind unbidden, raising the girl’s body temperature.
She stepped out of her bikini and immediately felt like there was no going back. Her face was searing hot, but down below it was refreshingly cool. After removing her miniskirt, Midori couldn’t help but steal a glance at the mirror, confronting her own naked body.
…She hadn’t had a lot of time back then to fiddle with the character creator, but Midori still regretted not putting in a little extra effort.
Though if I had, I’m sure I’d feel self-conscious about it.
She picked up the dress in both hands and held it over herself. Not bad…, she thought, admiring it in the mirror. She would have liked to add some flowers around the chest area to puff out her silhouette, but how was she going to ask Kaname for that without him realizing why?
Just as she was racking her brains over this, she heard it again—a voice from beyond the curtain. This time, it was the nice old lady who ran the shop.
“Looks like things are about to get ugly. Come to the back, please, Mr. Suou.”
…The back? Midori thought. But that’s where I am. By the time she’d realized this, the situation had already moved beyond her control.
✦ ✦ ✦
Kaname Suou immediately tore back the curtain and sealed himself in the fitting room alongside her.
✦ ✦ ✦
“………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Huh?”
Another person was in here with her.
Anger would have been the natural response, but Midori was so thrown, she couldn’t even manage to get angry. It was like the wires in her brain had shorted.
“Wha—?! Hey, what do you think you’re—? Gmph!”
“Quiet.”
Midori was still grasping the dress for dear life, but otherwise she was stark naked. Kaname wrapped an arm around her and put the other over her small mouth.
“Mmph… Why did you burst in here?! You knew I was changing!”
“I didn’t think you’d actually take off your swimsuit. You can just wear it underneath. This is only a fitting, you know.”
“Hey, don’t look!! Rargh!!”
However, Kaname’s attention seemed more focused on the shop beyond the curtain. Now they could hear the voice of a girl even younger than Midori… Was it an elementary schooler?
“Hey there, old lady. Just the cutest little bouncer on the block, back doin’ her rounds.”
“My, Smash Daughter. Walking around in a school regulation swimsuit again, I see. I don’t suppose I could interest you in one of my excellent dresses?”
“Thanks, but no thanks. None of that frilly shit ever looks good on me. I’m just makin’ sure you ain’t seen anyone up to no good ’round these parts. I do what I can, but I don’t have eyes in the back of my head. It’s a dangerous world for noncombative Dealers like you!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Everything’s been quiet around here, young lady. Very few Dealers are foolish enough to cause trouble while your sticker is on the front door. They’d have a better chance holding up a bank protected by PMCs.”
Midori didn’t know the girl, but her voice sounded familiar. Red-faced, with only the dress between her bare skin and Kaname, she asked, “S-Smash Daughter? What’s she doing here…?”
“Shh! I don’t want her to notice me. We’re not exactly on speaking terms at the moment.”
For the half-naked Midori, this game of hide-and-seek was no laughing matter. If it ended with Smash Daughter pulling back the curtain, Kaname wouldn’t be the only one inconvenienced. How was Midori supposed to explain being undressed in a fitting room with an older boy?
“…I’ve never heard Smash Daughter sound so amiable,” Kaname remarked. “If only she could talk to Mother Loose like that, it would solve a lot of problems.”
“Ugh. It’s fine, I don’t think he saw anything…!!”
“Hmm?”
Midori was praying with all her might…but she seemed to have forgotten something. Although she was covering up her front with the dress, behind her was a full-length mirror. If Kaname so much as turned around, there would be little left to the imagination, and once Midori realized that, she’d probably faint on the spot.
Beyond the curtain, the friendly conversation was still going… Perhaps it was the girl on the other side who would faint if she knew what was happening in here.
“Phah! I just can’t get enough of your barley tea, granny! Oh yeah, I saw his coupe parked outside nearby. You haven’t seen Kaname Suou around, have you?”
“Not to my knowledge, dear.”
“Next time I see that guy I’m gonna beat him to a pulp…”
“You mustn’t talk like that, Smash Daughter. You’re going to make this dear old lady worry.”
“Urgh. You don’t know what he did to me. He tricked me! I knew that deal was too good to be true, but I didn’t expect him to force me into the bath!! I’ve never been so humiliated. I’ll never forget it as long as I live…!!”
Without a word, Midori retrieved her self-defense pistol, pressing it into Kaname’s side through the paper-thin layer of her dress. She cocked the hammer with her thumb.
“What exactly did you do to that little girl???” she asked icily.
“It was necessary for our plan, I swear! I’ll explain it all later!”