Trial of Underwear

"Why is this block so big!?"

Mira finds herself on unsteady feet as the two of us stand in the parking lot of a massive superstore. The rabbit girl can't even find the capacity to be afraid of the hundreds of cars surrounding us, the building itself is just too much for her to handle. It's the weekend as well, so there are at least two or three times as many people here as there are cars.

"We won't be here for long, we just need one thing."

"Ah, wait for me, Noa!"

Mira runs to catch up as I walk ahead. She's walking so close to me that I won't be able to stop without her crashing into me. If she were a car, I would be hearing nonstop honking until I reach my destination.

The store has basically anything a person could need. From basic food necessities to things like bedding and furniture, this place has it all. It's not uncommon to see people or families finding ways to fill up an entire shopping cart with goods and walking out with a hefty number on their receipts. It just makes sense to grab everything in one place while you're here. I would be here more often as well if I had a vehicle to transport my load from here to the apartment.

Due to my lack of experience with these aisles it takes several minutes to find the women's apparel. The entire time, Mira is overloaded with information and at some point gives up on processing everything. Her expression is blank with zero thoughts behind those empty eyes.

"Okay, I think we found it…"

I knew that underwear was our target, but it definitely feels less than comfortable being surrounded by bras and panties. Every time we pass an aisle in this section, I'm flashed by an image advertising the products. It feels like I shouldn't be here, which makes sense given I should never need to be in this section.

"Mira, help me find you underwear."

I shake the rabbit to consciousness. The functions appear to have resumed in her brain, but it doesn't help our case. She looks around with somehow more confusion than me.

"What should I look for?"

"Er…you know…like panties…"

"What do those look like?"

"Argh!"

I grip my hair roughly when Mira tilts her head in confusion. I don't even know why I'm getting surprised, I'm basically talking to a foreigner here. My hands move from preempting my baldness to pointing at one of the promotional images.

"Look! Like what this lady is wearing!"

"Woah, there are even clothes like this! Noa, can I dress like that?"

"Of course not! You wear those under your clothes!"

Our yelling has the unwanted side effect of drawing the attention of everybody within earshot. Normal people could not hope to understand our conversation and can only look with confusion. The thought of a girl the size of Mira not knowing about the basics of undergarments is simply too much for a developed human brain to comprehend. If I could explain our situation, I would.

Regardless, I feel my face heat up under the stares.

"O-Okay, forget it! I'll just grab whatever I can find!"

I dive into one of the aisles and find what appears to be a wall of packaged underwear. Unfortunately, I'm not alone in the aisle.

A strange girl is reading a pack of underwear with a roll of soft measuring tape hanging from one arm and a notebook lodged beneath the other. Barely taller than Mira, she wears some kind of long and flowy dress reminiscent of those worn in classical Greece. The fabric starts at her shoulders, is caught at her waist by a white belt, and flows down such that you can barely see her ankles. Anchoring her to our modern age is a white jacket concealing her arms whilst keeping her front visible from the unbuttoned centre.

To add to the overwhelming amount of white, her hair is a snow white colour and flows the entire way down her back. Parts of it seem slightly unkempt and two thick strands stem from the top of her head and hang off to the sides. The only point of contrast on her person is the pair of glasses resting closely in front of her eyes. Its lenses are a thick red that make discerning her actual eye colour a challenge.

I stand off to the side so as not to bother the girl and reach toward the shelf for a variety pack of panties. As my eyes properly focus on the items in front of me, my hand stops.

"Why are there so many sizes…"

I said that I was going to be decisive, but I didn't expect the selection process to be this challenging. Not only do the packs come with all kinds of colours, but all kinds of sizes and designs. Words I barely understand are printed on the packaging, creating a distinction between items that look exactly the same to my eyes. Grabbing a size or shape that doesn't work for Mira is less than ideal. I'm not going through the social torture of returning an opened package of women's underwear to the service counter.

Mira walks to my side and stares at my stressed face.

"What's wrong, Noa?"

"The world has it out for me…"

I bring my voice down to a whisper, one that a rabbit could hear but a human could not.

"Which one do you think would fit you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, which one looks comfortable to wear down there?"

Mira's gaze sweeps across the shelves and through the various sizes. None of the numbers have any meaning to her, causing her to struggle as well. Eventually, an idea pops into her head.

"Noa's shirt was nice and roomy, so maybe the larger size?"

"Okay, I can see that. Too loose is probably better than too tight…"

My uncertainty causes me to swallow and check back to the embarrassing images at the end of the aisle. No matter how you look at it, these things are worn as form fitting as possible.

I return to Mira and we continue to stare at the packages of underwear.

"But it would be a bit of a problem if they slipped off. Maybe aiming tighter would be better."

"Ehhh, but I don't like having anything down there! Tight ones would press too much!"

"Don't look so upset about wearing panties! You'll get used to wearing them everyday."

At my words, Mira jumps in front of me with distraught eyes. We're still whispering, but I can't imagine us being as quiet as I had intended.

"I have to wear these things everyday!?"

"Of course you do! People don't just walk around commando! What would you do if your dress was raised by something and revealed everything!?"

"What's wrong with that!? Rabbits don't wear anything to begin with! Everything is always visible!"

The two of us angrily glare at each other, neither of us willing to give up. No matter how much Mira complains, I'm going to make her wear underwear if it's the last thing I do.

"Pffft!"

A sound off to the side places a pause on our standoff.

The girl in white has her face turned away from us, but the shaking of her body betrays her laughter. I know that we stopped being quiet fairly quickly, but she shouldn't have been able to understand exactly what we were saying.

After only a few seconds, she straightens her glasses and turns towards our confused faces. Her laughter feels like an illusion when seeing her stone cold expression.

"That won't do."

Her white sandals click against the floor as she walks towards us. Her eyes, red from the lenses of her glasses, are directed at Mira and her small hand is placed on the rabbit's shoulder.

"A girl needs undergarments for more than just coverage."

The girl is barely a couple of centimetres taller than Mira, but the atmosphere she creates can't be more different. Her voice matches her physique but still manages to sound more mature, so much so that I can imagine a world where she's older than me. If she removed the awkwardly coloured glasses, I can see her easily being an absolute eye-catcher.

Even more surprising than the girl's approach is Mira's lack of reaction. The two are able to make eye contact without Mira being startled, something I have yet to see since she arrived. It isn't even a matter of guys being more scary, since she'll still cower behind me as women pass by on the sidewalk. Yet for this girl, Mira isn't even looking to me for help with the interaction.

"There are other reasons?"

"Of course. Underwear provides comfort and cushioning from less than comfortable clothes. They also help keep these other items clean from other natural functions."

Her speaking is kind of monotone, reminiscent of an old lecturer at school, but you can still hear a softness behind her words. Whether Mira understands the reasoning or not, I'm not sure. Regardless, she's listening intently.

"But they look so uncomfortable…"

"Don't worry, you just need the right size and you will barely notice it."

Mira's eyes no longer hold that reluctant barrier that had halted progress previously. Strangely enough, I feel like I'm more excited by this sudden series of events.

I speak up to the girl in white.

"Sorry, but can I ask you for a favour?"

"Hm?"

Despite the thick red lenses, I feel my heart skip a beat when her eyes turn to make contact with mine. Beauty will be beauty even if some things are out of place. Speaking to a girl like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Unfortunately, I'm not the one who really needs her attention right now.

"I don't know how all of this works, so could you help Mira find her underwear?"

I scratch the back of my head from embarrassment, both from her gaze and from my failed attempt to resolve this issue myself.

"Don't worry about price or anything like that. I just want her to have the things she needs."

I try to maintain eye contact, but eventually have to avert my gaze due to rising body heat. I'm not sure what I expected her to say, but the words I do hear are like a wish being granted to my ears.

"Leave her to me."

I manage to catch a glimpse of the subtlest of smiles before she begins the task of getting Mira fitted.