Shopping Not-Date

The gentle rocking of the train as the landscape flew by was a tad bit calming. However, only a tad. It wasn’t enough to distract Nitsuki from her current predicament, nor prevent her from feeling quite uncomfortable with how close Tachibana was. The two of them were seated right next to each other with their thighs basically touching.

She was trying her best to stay calm, but that didn’t make the whole situation any less awkward. Her body tensed whenever his arm would brush against her, or when their legs bumped into each other as the train shifted.

How did things end up like this?

This morning after waking up, the two of them had grabbed something quick from the konbini to put a little something in their stomachs. From there, Nitsuki thought they were just going to go drop by the one grocery store in Hoshimura with the polite but secretly disgusted store clerk that worked there, buy their stuff, and then head straight home. Simple.

But no.

Tachibana had to go and say that groceries wouldn't be the only thing they needed; they needed to go into town. Which meant taking a bus to the train, then a thirty-minute ride in an enclosed space with a bunch of strangers.

Not that there was anything wrong with public transportation. She had no issues with the idea of it, but her anxiety always went through the roof when she had to be crammed into a tiny, cramped space with a bunch of people, especially if there were a few too many eyes lingering over her. Did they suspect what she was? Did they know she was 'different'?

She'd never find out since she'd rather not waste her time using her gift here, but the possibility of the answer being yes made her skin crawl.

"Uh, Nia? You doing okay?" Tachibana asked.

Nitsuki jolted and turned to him. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About?" He raised an eyebrow. "You were really out of it for a while there." There was a hint of his usual cheeriness in his voice, but it was clear he was worried.

Her eyes fell to the floor. Should she tell him? Would he think she was being weird?

"Hey, uh, Tachibana. Can I ask a question?"

"Shoot," he replied.

She hesitated and took a deep breath before whispering, "Do I look... feminine?"

"Feminine?"

"Yeah. Like a girl." Her voice was barely audible so that no one else could hear her. "Do you think that… maybe some people can tell?"

"Tell? About what? That you're cute?"

Cute. The word echoed in her brain and set off a few neurons. He always used it so damn casually, even though she knew that he didn't actually mean it that way.

Her cheeks burned as her brain struggled to form coherent thoughts, but she managed to push through and continue her question. "I-I mean that I… that I'm… trans." The last word almost didn't come out with how soft it was.

She stared at Tachibana, waiting for his response. A wave of embarrassment washed over her. What was she doing? This wasn't a conversation they should be having on a public train. She needed to end this before he got the wrong idea—

"No," he finally answered, his tone gentle. "And even if they did, I don't really see the big deal. You're still a woman regardless of your attributes. Like, a woman with brown hair is a woman just as much as a woman with red hair. Same applies to you."

"I… look, I don't think that's exactly comparable. My attributes are a bit more, uh… defining than that. Um, anyway, why don't we just drop the—"

He gave her a look before realization popped in his eyes. "Oh. Oh! You meant that. Sorry, Nia. I'm a bit dense sometimes. Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Small-breasted women in my eyes are absolutely beautiful. In fact, I'd go so far to say that I prefer them!"

Nitsuki blinked, processing his words as some of the neighboring passengers looked over. Why did he have to respond to her so loud?! That wasn't even what she had meant!!!

"T-Tachibana. Please, you're being a bit too—"

He shook his head at her. "You shouldn't feel self-conscious about it, honestly. There's nothing wrong with you. And if anyone thinks differently—that your boobs aren't 'big' enough to make you a woman—then they can answer to me."

Nitsuki's face turned beet-red. "W-w-what?! No, T-T-Tachibana, stop!" Everyone was looking now. This was mortifying.

Someone kill her right here on this train, please.

Tachibana looked confused before his spatial awareness kicked in. His face turned bright red, and he buried his face in his hands, groaning in mortification.

"Sorry. I might have gotten a little bit too… passionate," he muttered into his palms.

"Ya think?" Nitsuki retorted. She was still flustered from the embarrassment, and her heart was beating faster than it ever had before. It didn't help that her brain was screaming at her, saying that he had implied she was a beautiful woman.

Some whispers and giggles from the other passengers in their vicinity reached her ears. She glanced around nervously. Some of them were still staring at them. Crap, had they heard everything? Did they realize she was—

"Sheesh, young people. So dramatic."

"Those two are adorable."

"Kids these days and their strange ideas of romance."

"Ah, the passion of youth~"

Nitsuki's brain froze as she processed their comments, and her face heated up even more. Wait, what?! Did they just assume they were a couple?! And had they really not figured her out?!

"O-oh. Looks like we'll be at our stop soon," Tachibana said, breaking the awkward silence between the two. "L-let's get ready, Nia."

She nodded, her head still a whirlwind of thoughts. She stood up on shaky legs and followed him towards the doors as the train came to a stop.

He liked… small boobs?

She tapped her cheeks. Ugh, stop it! Stop thinking about that!!!

Tachibana's cheeks were still slightly pink, but he wore a small smile. "Hehe, uh, sorry. I guess I kinda went on a tirade back there."

"…" She wanted to feel anything aside from embarrassment and elation, but she couldn't. His words had genuinely made her happy regardless of how stupidly he had acted.

"You're such an idiot, Tachibana."

His expression relaxed a bit. "Hey, don't give me that! I was just trying to cheer you up!" He paused as he took stock of their surroundings. "Anyway, let's get going, shall we?"

"I guess we should— Wait, hold on…" Her voice trailed off as she squinted at the station sign right above them.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Uh, Tachibana… You reading what I'm reading?"

"What do you mean—?"

"Look at the damn sign."

He followed her finger to the station's name, his eyes scanning the characters.

"…You're right. I am an idiot."

***

Half an hour later, the two of them just about collapsed on a bench as they caught their breath. After their wonderful mishap, they had no choice but to walk the rest of the way. Well, technically, they could've just waited for the next train, but considering that their stop wasn't too far away, neither had wanted to waste more money.

Nitsuki was sweating from their journey. Her body ached in places she didn't even know existed. Moving inventory around in the back of the shop was one thing, but walking for a long period of time in the heat of early summer was a different beast entirely. She needed to exercise more.

"Let's take a short break," Tachibana said, his voice raspy. He was clearly in no better shape than she was. Maybe they'd gotten too reliant on driving around in a car or on a scooter. Either way, now was a time to rest and maybe get something cold to drink. Thankfully, there was a vending machine nearby.

"Here, I'll grab us some water." She stood up and walked over to the machine.

"Thanks, Nia."

"It's no big deal. I have to admit, we're both pretty pathetic if just a little bit of walking has got us this winded," she mused as she tapped the button for two water bottles.

Tachibana chuckled. "Yeah. We should probably exercise more. I bet Gramps is gonna make me start running around in the mountains or something when I tell him about this."

She returned and handed him a bottle. "I mean, you don't have to tell him. What the old man doesn't know won't hurt him, right?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I tell him just about everything. I mean, I haven't told him anything that's secret between us obviously, but otherwise, he knows just about every dumb thing that's ever happened to me."

"Every dumb thing?"

"Yeah, it helps just being able to talk to someone. He's been doing that for years, listening and giving advice. And, well, I'm not gonna be able to talk to him in person as much since I'm staying with you, so I gotta convey something to him to make up for it."

Nitsuki stared at him. "I mean, I suppose. I get it, I think. Talking to someone can sort of help."

"Exactly," he grinned, taking a swig of his water.

"…"

The two sat on the bench, quietly watching the people walk past them as they cooled down and rested their tired muscles. The sun was high in the sky, and the heat of the day was beginning to set in, though thankfully the temperature was nowhere near as scorching as it probably could've been.

This was actually kind of nice. Sure, a part of may have preferred just lounging around at home, but this was nice too. 

She'd never really done stuff like this before with Tachibana. Every time she'd had to go into town was just a quick solo trip for some harder to find groceries, or the occasional visit to a department or electronics store. It'd been that way ever since Maya had graduated high school and gone off to university.

Oh. Maya.

Her chest tightened a little as her mind wandered to her sister. Nitsuki had always acted as the guardian on their trips out, but in reality, Maya was the one who protected her. Whenever there were stares or looks, Maya was the one who shielded her from them with her smile and some idle chatter about the VNs she played.

"Something wrong, Nia?"

She blinked and shook her head. "Ah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Well, you just kinda went quiet," Tachibana said. "You admiring the scenery or something?"

"…Just remembering when Maya and I used to come here." She sighed. "Nothing else really."

"Oh, I see." He himself let out a breath in… relief? "Well, you can always talk to me, you know? I'll listen to whatever you wanna share about her. Or even just your thoughts."

"…" She paused, thinking about his offer. Perhaps she should. Repressing everything hadn't exactly been working well for her.

"Perhaps, although you seemed a little relieved just now, Tachibana. Any reason why?"

He tensed. "Uh. I was just glad you weren't thinking about… you know. I was worried maybe your thoughts were beginning to wander to that place again… Please don't try to kill yourself."

Her heart squeezed slightly at the little addendum he muttered. "S-sheesh, you big softie. Don't worry. I'm not going to go back to those thoughts anytime soon." She was telling the truth. Even though she had felt a twinge of sadness at remembering her sister, it hadn't felt suffocating.

Tachibana smiled, though his face still showed hints of concern. "That's good. Now then, shall we get back to it? We've still got shopping to do, after all."

"Yeah, I guess," Nitsuki said as she stood from the bench. The grocery store would probably be the last place on their list to visit since the perishables would have to survive the return train ride home. "So, the first item we're going to buy is—?"

"Bedding," he said, his expression dead serious.

Her cheeks heated up at his words. Oh no, down girl. This wasn't the time or place to be fantasizing.

"A-ah. Yeah, bedding," she muttered, trying to clear her thoughts of the tempting image of—ACK! NO! Stop it, you damn monkey brain! No sexy thoughts about the handsome man that's gonna be sleeping under the same roof as us!

Wait, did she seriously just call him handsome?

Agh!

Tachibana, oblivious to the war inside her head, continued. "I appreciate the sheets and blankets from last night, but I don't think they're in great condition. Plus, we can try our hand at repopulating your plushie army. I remember you sending me a picture of like, twenty of them."

Nitsuki's cheeks burned even brighter. Crap, she had forgotten she had sent him that stupid photo.

She wanted to crawl into a hole and scream.

"L-let's just get going, okay?" She stood up, brushing herself off and forcing herself to ignore his grin.

"Sure, sure. After you, Nia."