Already Taken

The air-conditioned atmosphere of the department store was a welcome relief from the summer heat. Nitsuki and Tachibana took a moment to shuffle beneath one of the vents and enjoy the bliss of cool air as they wandered around.

Aaah. This was the life~

Looking around, there was a lot of interesting stuff to buy throughout the store's various floors if one had the money: dazzling outfits that she'd never be brave enough to wear in public, fancy makeup she'd only seen in videos online, and even a display full of expensive electronics that had her drooling.

However, right now, they needed to focus on getting the rest of the bedding and, erm, some very necessary plushies. Yes. Very necessary.

They'd already gotten some extra sheets and blankets so far at least—Tachibana had stuffed them into the shopping basket he was carrying. There probably wouldn't be too much more before they moved on.

"Anything else we need to get in this section?" Nitsuki asked as they strolled past an assortment of colorful comforters.

"Perhaps some clean pillows," Tachibana said. "The ones you have are roughly the right amount of soft that I like, but uh, they're sorta dusty."

Nitsuki cringed at the thought. Right, even though she had put clean pillowcases on them, the spare pillows themselves hadn't been used in a long, long time.

"You didn't have any trouble sleeping last night, did you? I know how you are with dust and stuff."

His lower lip migrated upward as he awkwardly looked away. "Uh… well…"

"Tachibana, please don't lie to me. If I need to buy an air filter or something, I will. I don't want to make you sick."

He relaxed a little and smiled at her. "Alright, I admit that I did have a little bit of sniffles. However, I'll be the one to get the air filter." His eyes darted across the aisle to see one on display. "Like that one right there. That's the kind I have at home."

"…That's a pretty pricey one. You sure you can afford another one?"

"Yeah, I should. Besides, I'd rather not get sick and then risk getting you sick. That'd be bad for both of us."

"I mean, I suppose." Nitsuki frowned, still feeling guilty even if this was all technically happening because of him. "How about this; we'll split the cost of that, and I'll buy the sheets and stuff? Does that sound good?"

Tachibana paused. "I mean, I'd prefer if you didn't spend money at all, but that's a fair compromise."

"That's good to—wait, hold on just a sec. What do you mean by not spending money at all? Are you saying you were already planning on paying for more than just the air filter?"

His eyes darted around as he nervously grinned. "Ah, ha. Oh, well would you look at that. We're going to need a cart to put all this stuff in—basket isn't big enough. Hold on just a moment, I'll be right back."

"H-hey, don't run from me!" Nitsuki shouted, but it was too late. Tachibana had already dashed off towards the entrance. She sighed to herself and facepalmed in exasperation. "Seriously?"

Tachibana couldn't have had that much money considering they worked essentially the same job at the same place. Well, it was possible Koji was paying him a bit extra since he was related, but it couldn't have been by much. Regardless, she didn't want him to bankrupt himself to buy furnishings for her house of all things.

After a moment of waiting and eyeing a rather cute looking accent pillow, Nitsuki heard footsteps approaching from behind. She turned around and let out a resigned breath. That was quick.

"Hey, Tachibana. I've thought about it, and I'd rather you let me pay for… everything…" Nitsuki paused as her brain registered the fact the person she had turned to was not, in fact, Tachibana. Instead, it was a young man she had never met before. "Erm, sorry. I thought you were someone else."

The man's eyes crinkled slightly as he flashed her a smile. He looked to be roughly the same age as her, perhaps a little bit younger. He was tall, probably taller than Tachibana, and had a lean build beneath a fitted button-down shirt. He had short black hair and sharp eyes that locked with hers before sheepishly glancing away.

"Ah, um… it's fine," he said, his smile faltering as his cheeks reddened. "Sorry, if I'm bothering you. I just, um… thought I'd say hello. My name is Akinari."

"Uh… hi, Mr. Akinari," Nitsuki awkwardly replied, unsure how to react. She was terrible at socializing with strangers. "I'm Amano."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Amano."

"Y-yeah. Likewise." Nitsuki's body tensed. "Erm, is there any reason in particular that you decided to say hi to me?" she asked, a hint of suspicion entering her voice. She was in town. No one here should recognize her, so why—

"Ah, apologies!" he blurted. "I, um… I just thought that you were pretty." Akinari's cheeks flushed further as his eyes drifted to the floor.

"…" Oh. This couldn't be right. She had to have misheard that.

"Sorry! Maybe that was a little too forward!" Akinari quickly amended, waving his hands in front of him. "I-I just… I've never met someone like you before. I'm sorry. I should've said that differently. What I meant to say was that I was, um, drawn to the way you carried yourself."

Nitsuki blinked.

Was she getting hit on?

She looked around to see if there was literally anyone else that he could've been referring to, but nope. Nobody. She had to be the only one in his line of sight.

"Um. Thank you, Mr. Akinari," she managed to say, still trying to wrap her head around what was happening. Was this a prank or something? She didn't see a mic on him or any cameras, but that didn't necessarily mean there wasn't one somewhere.

The young man's eyes lit up. "Of course. I mean, I'm sure you're pretty used to hearing stuff like that, but I just figured I'd say it—might regret it if I never…"

"Uh… I wouldn't say I'm that used to it, but, uh… thanks, again."

He shuffled in place, looking slightly more nervous. "It doesn't have to be now, but if you would ever like, would you like to go grab a coffee?" He fumbled around in his pocket before pulling out a business card and handing it to her.

She hesitantly took it and glanced at some of the info before tucking it away in her bag. "I'll, um, keep that in mind. I'm a little busy, though. Sorry." She gave a polite bow to try and hide the redness that was creeping onto her cheeks. "I also don't have a business card of my own to give you."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Akinari reassured her. He looked around. "I just realized. Uh, you're not here with anyone, are you? I mean, it wouldn't be surprising considering how beautiful you are. If you're already taken, I hope you can forgive me."

Nitsuki's cheeks reddened more. She was dreaming, right? She had to be. Maybe she'd collapsed from heat stroke and was in some fever dream. That was the only logical conclusion.

"Uh, about that," she answered, her brain still not fully functioning. "I'm flattered. Like, really flattered. But—"

"She's taken. By me."

Nitsuki tensed. The voice had come from directly behind her. A hand gently gripped her shoulder before Tachibana made his appearance next to her, cart pulled behind him in his other hand.

Akinari looked between the two of them before letting out a defeated breath. "Ah, of course. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

"Erm, um!" Nitsuki stammered, her brain still trying to catch up to what was going on.

Tachibana gave a thin, not-very-pleased-with-you smile. "Apologies. I was just looking for her, and I couldn't help but overhear. You're forgiven."

Akinari nodded. "Well, I won't take up any more of your time then. Once again, very sorry!" He gave a deep bow before turning on his heel and briskly walking away.

The two of them watched him go, and Tachibana's expression softened a bit.

"Sorry. I know it's kind of a jerk move to butt in, but I saw you were er… uncomfortable? Yeah, uncomfortable." He quirked his lips. "And I just figured I'd… jump in."

"…" She hadn't been really. She had just been surprised. Very, very surprised. Still was. "Tachibana, I think you might've gotten the wrong idea."

He lightly coughed. "Erm, what do you mean?"

"I mean," she took a deep breath, "he appeared out of nowhere, but he was very polite and respectful." She couldn't help the small smile that crept onto her lips. "That was the first time I've ever really been hit on. It was kind of nice, even if it was sudden. Plus, I think he was probably just nervous."

Nitsuki looked at him and noticed he was frowning very noticeably, almost like a pout. "Woah, uh, Tachibana? What's that look for?"

He looked away, his grip on the shopping cart tightening. "Nothing. But are you absolutely certain that it's your first time getting hit on, Nia?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I think I'd remember something like that."

"…" His frown morphed into a slight scowl. "Nia, I know for a fact that you've been flirted with before."

Nitsuki blinked. "Wait, what? When?"

He looked like a popped balloon for a second, his face blank, before he let out a sigh. "Never mind. I'm just glad that you're not upset about me saying you're… 'taken' by me." He murmured the last part.

"Oh, no, it's fine." Her face went a little red, but the ache in her heart grounded her. "I mean, I already know that you only said that to erm, help me. It's not like you would ever actually be interested in me." She awkwardly smiled. Oh wow, that actually hurt a little to say.

"…" Tachibana stared at her weirdly. His expression was indecipherable, and he was strangely silent. "Nia, I…" He trailed off.

"Uh, Tachibana? You okay?" Now it was her turn to be worried. Had she messed up and said something wrong?

"Honestly? Only sort of. I just think… I think we should talk after we finish up shopping here. Is that alright?" His face was still hard to read. It almost seemed like he was in some sort of shock—like his mind had just short circuited.

"O-okay…?"

He shook his head before giving her a smile. "Sorry for being weird, but anyway, I got the cart. So uh, let's get a move on."

"Right…"

For the next half hour or so, the two of them continued to pile in everything they needed until it was time to check out.

Well, technically not everything.

Unfortunately for Nitsuki, she'd realized that there was no way they'd be able to bring back plushies considering the decent amount of stuff they had to carry—and that wasn't even taking into consideration the groceries they'd yet to buy.

Instead, they were now sitting somewhere isolated in a park after storing their purchases in a locker nearby. Thankfully the department store was pretty close to the train station—that had been rendered rather null on the way here, but whatever—so it'd be convenient to grab their stuff after they'd eaten and once the groceries were all bought and accounted for.

Tachibana was currently wolfing down some french fries and staring awkwardly at a tree. He'd been rather strange for a little while now and hadn't said much since his little episode back in the bedding aisle.

Nitsuki picked at her salad as she watched him. Hopefully he'd get back to normal soon. This was probably the quietest he'd been around her in a long time.

"Tachibana, are you okay?" she finally asked.

He flinched at her voice and turned to face her. "Erm, yeah. Just fueling myself before I face one of the biggest mountains I've ever had to climb."

"Mountain? What do you mean?"

His mouth quirked as he swallowed down the last of his french fries. Then, a string of words suddenly flowed from his mouth.

"Nia, there's something that needs to be said. And it's not gonna be easy, because I've been avoiding it for a long time. I'm just trying to psych myself up, and I'm sorry if it feels like I've been distant, but this is kind of an all-or-nothing thing. And it's a risk, a big risk. A huge risk. Probably the biggest risk I've ever taken in my entire life."

She blinked at him. What the hell was he rambling about?

"Okay…?" she replied. "Whatever you want to talk about, we can talk about. And if you need to take a moment to 'psych yourself up', that's fine."

He clutched his hand over his heart. "Thanks. I really appreciate it." He took a few moments to breathe. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. Oh wow, he was really psyching himself up.

Finally, after what seemed like a solid minute, he turned to face her fully, his jaw clenched tight. "Alright. Let's do this."

"You going to say something about my finances?" Nitsuki mused. "Because if you are, you should be well aware that I'm not going to let you reimburse or whatever."

He shook his head. "That's not it. I mean, yeah, that's been on my mind too, but that's not what this is about."

"Then what is it?"

He hesitated for a moment, but then his gaze locked onto her.

"Nia. I like you."