The Mysterious Transfer Student

Reika
It seemed to be the same, humdrum day at school. The teacher possessed a smile that was glaringly obviously practiced for an hour in a mirror as she came forward and presented herself to the class. Explaining, she was the physical education teacher and likewise the handball team coach, then babbled on about things like "that time when I was in college and played handball", that she even won the championship and that the school lacked good players so anyone who joined the team would become a permanent player, and then continued with things like "handball is the most interesting sport in the world." Just when Arata thought it would never end, she suddenly exclaimed:

"Now we will introduce everyone."

This kind of thing was quite common, so he wasn't really surprised. One by one, starting with the people on the left of the class, people began to appear, raising their hands, then saying their name, the name of their former schools and things that were trivial like their hobbies or favorite food. Most people just mumbled their introductions, a few had something interesting to say, while others tried some jokes that seriously lowered the temperature around the room by several degrees. While the rest were presenting, Arata's turn was approaching; he was starting to get nervous—people should understand how he felt.

After finishing his short and carefully thought out introduction, which he tried to keep to a minimum broken sentences, Arata proceeded to sit, feeling like the typical relief one would feel after they would have finished something unpleasant but necessary. Suddenly, an all-too-familiar figure burst in, prompting the teacher to inform the class, "This is the new transfer student. Reika Gimansha." Arata's eyes widened in shock; it was that same raven-haired person from before. Their stunning azure and crimson eyes shone vibrantly, burning into his memory. Their skin was a vampire porcelain white; something he could never forget. While the rest of the class watched, their friendly face was full of daring and bravery. Their serious determination shone through their flashing eyes and long eyelashes. Their little lips were tightly closed.

Arata, almost uncharacteristically, raised his arm, suggesting, "Reika can sit next to me!" To tell the truth, he wasn't sure why he said such a thing; he just…did. In Arata's eyes, Reika was a rather stunning person—he couldn't take his eyes off Reika. Reika, in response, merely smiled gently, before taking a seat next to Arata. Unsubtly, Reika moved the desk closer to Arata's; to the point that it seemed as if they were practically joined at the hip. Right about now, Arata was regretting his decision—by this one gesture, and by hearing Gai's horror stories of a certain yandere, he knew that he screwed up big time.

Arata sighed. Never before had he seen somebody so beautiful. He still remembered the pale glow of Reika's neck from yesterday; Reika was so pretty; he couldn't take his eyes off the figure in front of him. Slowly, Reika's eyes focused upon Arata, jesting lightly, "…Ahaha, this must be awkward for you."

"…No kidding," –Arata scratched his head- "You honestly don't look like a high school student. Why are you here, anyway?"

Reika scoffed, "Well, ya see…" He blinked. "But first, my three sizes are 80-58-80." Reika leaned in closer, mentioning such stupid trivia so lackadaisically.

Arata was taken aback by such an utterly ridiculous statement—guys couldn't have three sizes. "…Don't fool around, please. It's highly improbable—no, impossible that you possess three sizes."

Reika playfully poked Arata in the forehead with his pointer finger, remarking, "Oh, you don't know that for sure. You really must be ignorant of things beyond the conventional genders…" Reika glanced down, eyes becoming dull husks of their former selves, "…You really couldn't understand…" Snapping back to his usual demeanor as if he were bipolar, he continued, "…Anyway, in a few moments, this class will be dismissed. How about you and I go into town for a bit, eh?"

To be honest, Arata wasn't really sure what to say—he'd known Reika for what, 10 minutes? Not to mention, there seemed to be a lot more to Reika Gimansha than meets the eye. With a gaze riddled with doubt, Arata slowly spoke, "Uhm, yeah…sure, I guess."

It's Not A Date No Matter How You Look At It
"You do know, I'm going to watch a movie as reference for the script we have to do—you can come along if you want, Arata. It's just a movie and it's not like it's gonna be withdrawn anytime soon. There's absolutely no need for me to go with you, but…it's just that if you feel like watching a movie, I think it's okay for me to accompany you. If you have no interest in movies, I don't mind going alone." Reika stammered as a faint shade of crimson crossed his face. What he'd told Arata was just him beating around the bush; to put it simply, Reika really wanted Arata to go to the movies with him—since they were supposed to write a script, it made sense that they needed references of sorts.

That was how Arata Yaguruma and Reika Gimansha went to watch a movie in that break. Reika slung on a jersey…Arata was worried, but he never thought Reika would dress as such; there were many types of jerseys, some of them attractive, though what Reika wore was an absolutely toneless, pitch black jersey. Arata thought even Primary or High School jerseys looked trendier. Truth to be told, it wasn't rare to occasionally spot students in cool-looking sport club jerseys, but Reika's pitch black form really stood out in a crowd. "…Are you planning to dress like this?" Arata questioned, half-hopelessly, half-disappointingly, to which Reika nodded unfazed,

"Of course. Come on, let's go."

"Haa..." Seeing Reika march forward determinedly, Arata had no choice but to sigh and follow him. After walking fifteen minutes from the station, they reached the street where the cinema was located. There were boutiques and gift shops, bookshops and cafes - it seemed like a very wholesome street indeed. There were no huge franchises or branch stores, only small, humble sized shop lots, each of them giving off a retro feel. There were also shops whose windows were obscured with blinds. There weren't many pedestrians either.

Arata often passed by this street while taking public transport to school, but it was the first time he'd ever been here on foot, so he had no idea there was a cinema here either. Reika, on the other hand, walked by Arata's side, seeming rather spirited. "You usually come here?" Arata questioned.

"Once in a while…There's not much of a crowd here." It seemed that he was really in a good mood, as Reika replied cheerfully. 'He can't stand crowds huh…' Compared to the hectic, bustling street where the bus station was located, it's not surprising that one would come to prefer such deserted streets instead. Plus, it could be said that this place had a peaceful, relaxing atmosphere.

"So what movie are we watching today?" Arata questioned in a perfectly innocuous tone.

"I haven't decided yet. Let's just find one that's about to start."

"Is that alright?"

"I've always decided things like this, based on instinct."

In Arata's opinion, such an exquisite person possessing such movie standards was rare indeed. Compared to those students who chased after commercials and had endless movie topics to talk about… "Speaking of which, do you usually watch movies, Reika?"

"Ahh…occasionally." For some reason, Reika replied in a low voice, as if he was blushing. Five minutes later, they reached the cinema. It was an old theater, completely devoid of modern traces. From the poster near the entrance, it seemed that a movie was about to begin in a few minutes. From the looks of it, this would be a movie that Giri would recommend; at that point, Arata realized something was up.

From the poster near the entrance, it seemed that a movie was about to begin in a few minutes. It was a French film whose title Arata had never heard of. The poster depicted a forest in the middle of autumn, a thirty-year-old-ish couple was staring at each other face to face, it was an epic…No actually, it seemed way too common. Those two should be the main protagonists he guessed, but neither of them looked too appealing. To be completely honest, it was definitely not his type. Arata basically only watched movies on television. He preferred animated films or stunning CG films; it was a plus if the movie made him feel good afterwards.

"Hmm…The time's just right. Let's watch this then." Upon hearing Reika decide, Arata's face crinkled up, causing Reika to glance over at him, questioning, "…You don't feel like watching this?"

"Ahh…Uhm, how do I put this…" As Arata struggled to put his thoughts in words, Reika suggested plainly. "How about we look for others? There's another two theaters nearby."

Arata shook his head. "Nah, this is fine." Occasionally watching something he disliked could be viewed as a challenge too. And who knows, he may actually like it. That was what he thought when he bought the tickets. The inside of the cinema was as bare as he expected. All the seats were free seating, so Arata and Reika chose the middle seats. They didn't buy any food or drinks; as Reika said, first no carbonated drinks, so sodas were eliminated; second, he didn't like orange juice or lime juice, he didn't like the flavor of tea either; third, popcorn only made him thirsty, and he didn't really like it either.

... To be honest, Arata didn't think Reika was suitable for cinemas; he was initially thinking of what to buy, since this was a rare opportunity and all, but in the end he decided against it since everything was too pricey. Arata was never really fond of junk food anyway. Having to pay out extra for something he didn't particularly like - as the one in charge of household expenses it was an obvious no go for me.

... Maybe Arata wasn't too suitable for cinemas himself. The screen soon started playing a long list of movies that were to be shown. Just as he was starting to get bored and thinking "What a long list... When are they going to start..." the movie started. Because he never read the synopsis, he never knew what kind of movie it was until it started. Now he realized it was a romance movie.

The protagonists in question were a married couple, they were aged around thirty or so and already had kids. Due to this it was hard for Arata, as a high school male student, to really get into the movie. Aside from the climax where his extra-marital affair was discovered by his family, the entire movie was just a plain illustration of his and her daily lives.

Due to the script being too plain, Arata had no idea how the protagonists were feeling, or how much they grew as characters. It's not because Arata liked that stuff in real life, but even if it was fictitious, he hoped that there would be more easily relatable moments, or moments that made his heart beat faster in excitement or fear. They should have watched a different movie after all... Because reading subtitles became too much of a chore, he regrettably looked away from the screen to Reika, who was seated next to him. For some reason, he was looking at the protagonists with eyes full of animosity.

He really hated the movie that much huh. So even fictitious relationships irked him that much, eh. If that was the case even entertainment media would lose their amusement value. How long will this continue... Arata was falling asleep already...

Just as he was thinking so, that happened.

By that - an H-scene.

"HUH...!?" Because he wasn't paying attention most the time, Arata didn't know how the script progressed to such a level (though even if he was paying attention he doubted he would have known). Anyway, the main protagonists were kissing deeply in the middle of the street (with moving cars on both sides too). Then the scene abruptly changed to a room, and those scenes begun.

Because it was a normal movie and not an adult film or porno, the depictions weren't that obvious, and the scene was also dimmed. But it was obvious that the big screen was showing a nude guy on top of a nude girl doing perverted stuff to her. It was okay if Arata was watching alone, but seated next to him was somebody he liked the same age as he was - this was way too awkward! As he wiped cold sweat off his brow, he stole a quick glance at Reika. Even in the dark cinema it was obvious Reika's face was bright red. Although his face was lowered, his eyes were still glued to the screen.

After the movie ended, Reika and Arata exited the cinema in silence. The main protagonists actually did it four times before the movie ended. "E-er…S-so how useful was that for the script?" Arata fumbled.

"As if that could be counted as a reference, idiot!" Reika yelled back angrily in response. "A movie that starts by introducing the main characters is terrible and as expected of a terrible movie the plot was terrible and the story direction was an even more terrible pile of shit and not to mention they had... L-lewd scenes..."

Reika blushed and continued, "...M-maa, perhaps it can be used as reference by others. We're high school students, we can't use such shameless products as reference, we need to created something more wholesome, something more happy, more fulfilling befitting of a high school entertainment product!"

"T-that' right! I think so too!" Arata agreed with him loudly.

Just then, "S-speaking of which, Arata, do you fantasize about doing those…things?" Reika lowered his head and shifted his gaze upwards looking at Arata, mumbling something softly.

"Huh? You were saying?"

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOTHING AT ALL!!! Alright, let's write a wholesome script!" Reika once again declared, as if to cover up something, to which Arata responded with "Yeah, do your best", or something to that extent.

Adoption for Dummies
And so, about an hour passed as Arata Yaguruma and Reika Gimansha sat down in a café in the food court on the 12th floor in a nearby shopping mall. Reika had an annoyed frown on his face, as a small bag with a bunch of movies laid by Arata's feet. He bought not one movie, but two. How couldn't he? They were half off if he bought two…two for the price of one, what a steal! He even bought a new frying pan for Kurenai since it was rare that he went out. "Uehehe…" Arata smiled goofily.

"…Ugh, gross…" Reika's frown intensified upon seeing the smile he let leak out. "Sheesh…Why did I have to spend an hour waiting for you to finish shopping…Isn't it usually the other way around!?"

"Sorry…" Arata apologized to Reika profusely, who was clearly irritated. Arata blamed it on that kitchen knife section right next to the D-Four one. Thanks to that, he spent an hour entranced by all the items for sale, completely forgetting about Reika. Arata let it go this time due to his budget constraints, but he was so buying that Chinese kitchen knife next time he saw it.

"You're making that stupid grin again…" Reika gave him a look of disgust. "…Answer me this, what's so fun about looking at frying pans…"

"Hey now, don't go putting a Demeyere Apollo frying pan on the same level as some other brand's. Here, let me tell you why Demeyere Apollo's are so special." Arata was about to explain—

"No thanks."

"Oh, okay…" Too bad. Reika looked like he was pouting as he took a sip of his soda that had some fruit and ice cream piled into it, and then let out a small sigh.

"You are seriously, like…weird, you know that…?" Reika said, in a strangely meaningful tone of voice.

"W-what's it matter if I like cookware?" Arata stammered, embarrassed.

"...That's obviously not the only thing I'm talking about here, idiot."

"? What do you mean?" Arata was now completely worried that he'd done something to alienate Reika.

"Who knows?" Reika poked at his ice cream as he feigned ignorance, before smiling, "…But I like that about you, Arata."

"Uhh…" Arata sipped some of his lemon squash, wanting to know what Reika was getting at.

Meanwhile, a few tables off from those two, Gaillardia Nagareboshi sat down—placing the trenchcoat of the Captain-Commander on the chair, and taking off the commander's cap, he sighed. Turned out there was a change of schedule—he had another day off. Though since everyone else was thinking he didn't, and Arata had a stand-up contest on tomorrow, he couldn't show his face around his family.

Quickly as if naturally, an androgynous, effeminate, and slender young man, whose outward appearance projected an extremely tranquil and gentle atmosphere to those who observe him rushed towards him, taking the seat opposite him instantly. His features were almost completely feminine in appearance. He also had wide hips and long legs. His eyes were large and droopy, and he had heterochromia; that is to say, his left eye was blue and his right was red. His blonde-colored hair was worn in a bun which spiked up slightly at the top, gently flowing out to the left side, with several strands of hair sticking out at the sides of the bun as sort of waves. He wore a Lycrois flower on the right side of his hair. Gai couldn't help but sigh. "…Yuuki…what are you doing here?"

"Gai, so you've adopted a kid? I suppose you need help with that, then?" Yuuki affectionately prodded, causing Gai to apply his palm to his forehead in exasperation.

"…Nah. I'm sure he's fine. …Then again, it's his birthday coming up…" Gai stroked his chin in contemplation.

"Oooh! I have an idea! Since you're not here all too much, why don't you let me look after him in return for help with gift shopping?" Yuuki questioned in an enthusiastic and overly-hopeful tone. Gai really had no other options. His family had things coming up—Giri was too incompetent, and Eimi was too young to look after a kid by herself.

"…Tch, fine…" He sighed. He immediately realized, this would send him to hell.

"Hmm... What kind of present do you think would raise Arata's affection level the most? Some kind of Avalark goods probably, right?" Yuuki questioned.

"Don't say stupid crap like 'affection level', this isn't a visual novel." Gai gave a quick retort, and then said, "Well, it's true he collects Avalark stuff, but I think he's already got everything he wants. I already reserved that new game that's coming out for him too."

"I see…I don't really know how much a normal high school kid gets for their allowance, but does he really have enough to buy everything he wants?"

"I suppose he does get more than average…But yeah, Mitsuru dotes on Arata like you wouldn't believe. Whenever he asks for a game or a DVD or something Mitsuru will buy it for him no questions asked; that's how he got most of his stuff. He doesn't spend a whole lot of his own money though, so I'm pretty sure he's got quite a bit saved up." Gai responded, half-bitterly. He wanted Mitsuru to spend more time with him. He was worried that Mitsuru spoiled Arata too much, but when he thought about how he probably only does it to make up for how Gai himself isn't able to be at home with them much, it was hard for Gai to fault him for it. And he meant, it was Gai who taught Arata that he could get Mitsuru to buy anything he wanted just by making a face and looking cute.

"Ehehehe…Mitsuru's really grown into the kind of guy I could have a good drink with, with Arata as our side-dish…" A big grin found its way to Yuuki's face.

"You know, you're…" Gai sighed.

"T-that was just a slip of the tongue, okay? I don't drink alcohol, geez." Yuuki stammered.

"I don't care about the alcohol; just don't go making Arata into your 'side-dish'." Gai growled at Yuuki—he was serious about the alcohol, as well. Yuuki was scary normally; he dreaded seeing him piss-drunk.

"Hmm…If just getting him something expensive won't work, then…How about something rare? Like a limited edition figure or something." Yuuki questioned.

"Can you get something like that in time for his birthday?" Gai demanded urgently.

"I don't know, but if somebody I can manipulate has it I can make him give it to me as a tribute." Yuuki casually said, as though he were some kind of queen.

"…Hm, but if I remember right, Arata doesn't really like figures."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He likes games, CDs, manga, etc. because you can play with them, but I don't think he really cares about decoration-type stuff." Like adopted 'mother', like son, as they say. Gai had piles upon piles of videogames, music, and manga stashed in his office, hidden behind all those books.

"Ahh…Then what on earth do I get him… I had a feeling the Arata route wasn't going to be easy…He already has all the DVDs and character songs, right? I wonder what other Avalark goods there are—"

"…Hey, why not go for something that isn't related to Avalark?" Yuuki's eyes widened at Gai's proposal.

"You do have a point there…Then how do you think I should pick a gift?"

"I dunno…maybe get him something that you'd like…?" Gai really did suck at these kinds of things, that was for sure.

"Something I'd like!? Obviously I'd want Arata!" Yuuki exclaimed, causing Arata's ears to perk up nearby.

"You're not getting him." Gai coldly replied to Yuuki, whose eyes were sparkling.

"What about like in a visual novel? They have events where the girl puts herself in a box with ribbons wrapped around her, and then pops out and says 'I've got your present~ Ri~ght Here~♥'" Yuuki excitedly inquired with hearts in his eyes.

"You know there's a one hundred percent chance Arata would start crying and run for the goddamn hills if you actually did that, right?" Yuuki would totally creep him out too if he did that to Gai.

"I'm confident that I'd totally make a 'mistake' if I got a box that had Arata inside wearing nothing but a ribbon!"

"Nobody cares about your stupid fantasies!" Gai snapped.

"Ahh, geez! Why is Arata so cute…I wish Arata was my kid instead…" Yuuki gazed off into space for a moment.

"Yuuki~ Come back to us here in reality~" Gai chimed in a very devil woman-esque voice, half-bemused.

"Oh be quiet, I am looking at reality. I am super seriously considering realistic methods for making Arata mine, got it!?" Yuuki snapped.

"That's even worse!" Gai thought, maybe he should give up on trying on having Yuuki help him find a present…

"Hey~ hey~ there's gotta be something, right? What other kinda stuff does Arata like?" Yuuki asked, innocently. He was happily looking up at Gai with his head cocked to the side a bit, and honestly, his desires for Arata hidden inside that head of his aside, he looked really cute in Gai's eyes. So much so, that he accidentally let himself be captivated by his looks, before remembering what happened last time that happened—which he went straight back to repressing.

"…Ahh, I got it. I know something Arata would like for sure." Gai declared calmly.

"Eh, what is it!?"

He then bluntly stated to Yuuki, whose eyes were sparkling in anticipation, "Meat."

"Eh!?" Yuuki made a ridiculously happy face for some reason.

Once Gai realized why that was, "No-no-no-no, not you! Obviously I meant the kind you can eat!" Yuuki had acquired the nickname 'Meat' due to being rather…well-endowed down there. Yuuki wasn't happy about it for obvious reasons, but eventually, the nickname stuck.

"I-I know that…" Yuuki said while blushing. …No, he definitely thought Gai meant him just now. Gai had a feeling due to the word 'meat' and it's association with you-know-what, this little conversation was about to get a hella awkward.

"Arata's loved meat for as long as I can remember—Again, I ain't talking about you!" Gai had to interrupt himself to yell at Yuuki, who'd just made another stupid grin on his face after hearing what he'd just said.

"I-I told you I know that! But, it's like…my face just grins on its own…" Gai honestly didn't know if there was any hope for Yuuki Kaburagi—he then sighed and continued from where he left off.

"…Arata will eat any kind of meat. Cow, pig, chicken, horse, sheep, you name it. As for cooking, hamburger patties, steak, roast beef, fried chicken, boiled fish, hot dogs…yeah, he'll pretty much devour any meat dish, too. He loves anything if it has meat in it. I'd totally get him meat for his birthday. I think some high grade beef would be especially good myself. The ones with the best seasoning have a bit too much fat though, and I don't—I mean, Arata doesn't really like it that way, so I think going one grade lower is probably a good idea."

"You think…? You sure that isn't just something that you want to eat?" Yuuki retorted to Gai, with his eyes squinted in doubt.

"…Well, yeah, but Arata really does love meat—not you! …He really likes eating meat." Gai explained.

"Meat…huh…" Yuuki made a face that looked like he was deep in thought for some reason. "…Now that you mention it, he did react that time I invited him to the amusement park when I told him I'd get him some tasty hamburger meat a few years ago…"

"See? I'm telling you, he'll totally love it."

"But Gai, calm down and really think this over."

"…Wha?"

"…Who gets somebody food for their birthday?"

"Ah, crap." Gai had to have Yuuki point out something so obvious to him. It felt like he just lost at something.

"Well, I don't think food is a bad idea if it makes Arata happy, but... It's like, I want to give him something to remember me by…Something he can keep by his side whenever I'm not around would be nice…It'd be with him all the time, even when he's in the bath, or sleeping…Uheh…" Gai thought Yuuki actually had a good idea there, aside from the creepy laugh at the end.

"Anyway, food can be like my last resort. Let's go look around the department store for now, okay? We might end up finding something good."

"Yeah, we might." And so, Gai and Yuuki began walking towards the train station building.

At Last
Suddenly, a text from Kurenai came. "…Aw, c'mon. How does she know that I'm not at work?" Gai sighed, reading the message, "…Says she and a few friends are headed to the first floor…"

Yuuki was now clearly completely disinterested, muttering in disappointment, "…Okay, we should go, too, then." The elevator came at the exact same time Yuuki finished his sentence, and they got into it as though flowing along the line of people who were waiting. The inside of the elevator was incredibly crowded, and in the end, Gai never got to ask Yuuki what he meant by that.

They left the shopping mall, and arrived at the plaza in front of the building's entrance, which was where they agreed to meet up with Kurenai's group. Gai found Kurenai, Haruko, and Hizashi among the crowd, and went t—

"H…H… Hizashiiiiiiiiii…!" Once he was able to see Hizashi, the look on Yuuki's face changed in an instant as he ran over to her. "Hizashi! You, wha—Seriously, you're so—That's! Come on! You are just, so—!"

"Shut up, Meat…Your yelling is making me feel even worse…" Hizashi made a truly displeased look on her pale face at Yuuki, who'd run up to her.

"A…A jumper…?" Gai felt worn out too. Hizashi was wearing a black jumper—in the summer, no less. It was a completely black plain jumper that wasn't sexy or fashionable in the least.

Yuuki stared at Hizashi and ground his teeth, half in tears for some reason. "I was all excited to see what kind of cute clothes you'd pick after agreeing to stop wearing that same over-extravagant uniform every waking moment of the day, but this…What the heck is that ridiculous outfit that looks like something a soccer mom would wear on her way home after picking her kids up after their crushing defeat!?"

"That was actually pretty clever, Yuuki…" Haruko made a wry smile, her face just as pale as Hizashi's.

"You had the chance to go shopping out here, so why, why would you…buy that…!?" Yuuki stammered.

"I found it in the sportswear section. Pretty nice, isn't it? I liked how none of the salespeople come talk to you like they do in a clothes store, too." Hizashi casually said with a sullen expression on her face. It looked like she just picked the first thing she saw in Gai's eyes.

"I tried to stop her, but..." Haruko sighed with a tired look on her face. As for what Haruko was wearing, she was wearing an ethnic-looking one piece and cardigan combination. The whole outfit had a very fall-like color to it, which matched her hairstyle quite well, and gave her a slightly more mature look than usual.

"W-what do you think, Gai? I just bought what the salesperson recommended to me, so I'm not too sure." Haruko noticed his gaze, and asked with a faint tint of red to her cheeks while looking up at him. Honestly, she looked really cute.

"Ah, well, how to put it, umm…" Crap, he could feel his face heating up. "Umm…it's like…'You can do it if you try!' or something."

"…I'll take that as a compliment." Haruko made a slightly complicated look on her face while acting all shy—it was rare that Gai saw Haruko in such a state; displaying emotions was so unlike her.

A familiar figure questioned sweetly, "…Gai. You do know that Arata has been clamoring to see you again? I should tell him that you're gallivanting around like you don't have a care in the world." She sighed, her scarlet hair fluttering in the breeze. "…Anyway, what do you think?" Kurenai was wearing the clothes Nika had had on one time. It was that pair of hot pants that showed off a ton of leg, and that short shirt that left the belly button uncovered. She'd also changed her shoes from the high-heels to a pair of sneakers.

"I received it from Nika's dresser." Kurenai must've been embarrassed to show off her legs or something, because she was fidgeting with her hands in front of her.

"Kurenai…Kurenai, you…"

"…Gai?" Kurenai tilted her head in confusion, her cheeks a shade of red.

"Good job!" Gai unintentionally yelled in response to her. The people around them turned around to look, causing Gai to panic and lower his voice. "Ah, umm…It looks good on you." He stuttered. The clothes were just Nika's old ones, but he was still pretty excited in spite of that, because this was the first time he'd ever seen Kurenai in a cute, girly outfit.

"Thank you very much, Gai." Gai's heart skipped a beat after seeing that tender smile from Kurenai.

"Ehh…This is way different than when you saw my clothes…" Yuuki snapped in displeasure.

"More importantly, we're finally all together, so let's hurry up and go find some presents to buy." Right after Yuuki said that,

"I'm going home." Hizashi declared all of a sudden.

"Hahh!?" Yuuki exclaimed.

"…This place isn't suited for me. I'll just find something decent at a local store."

"Sorry, I wanna go home now, too." Haruko said, following Hizashi's example.

While thinking to himself that there was nothing he could do about it, considering they're the 'bad with crowds combo', "...Sorry Yuuki, I want to go home too. I don't wanna walk around with heavy bags."

"Too bad, it's your own fault for wanting to buy something!" Yuuki screamed at him, and then let out a big sigh with a face that looked like he was about to cry. "Ghhh…! Geez, you're all so… Seriously! Geez! Seriously!!! Why are you all so pathetiiiiiiiicc!?" …In the end, Yuuki came home with the four. Hence, although they weren't going home empty-handed, they bid farewell to Seireitei without buying any of the birthday presents for Arata they went there to get in the first place—or the meat for tonight's dinner.