Price of a Smile

Various folded and hung clothing surrounded Nitsuki like a dragon's horde in the changing room. There was a fair amount of them, way more than any one person should’ve been considering buying, but that was a rather moot point considering the situation.

Nitsuki’s eyes snapped open as the most recent vision faded away, her lips still curled in a smile. "Ehe, his reaction was even cuter than the last outfit," she murmured to herself.

She looked around. Each section of the room was designated by reaction: her own personal rating system.

Outfits that Tachibana wouldn't react much to, or ones that she didn't really find flattering, were in one large pile she deemed 'No.' The outfits that she personally liked and the ones he would have an okay or good reaction seeing were tossed in the 'Yes' section. The final pile—the smallest and most important of all—was the 'Hell Yes' section.

One didn't need to elaborate too much on what those were; his reactions to those outfits had been priceless.

She stifled another round of cackles as she looked over the three outfits in her 'Hell Yes' section with a wide grin. She had no idea why he liked the ones that showed off her wide, boyish shoulders so much, but either way, it was adorable to see him react to them in her visions.

Satisfied with the results of her 'market research,' Nitsuki stepped back and admired the piles of clothing. "Now, to decide which ones to take home."

She hummed to herself, picking out several outfits from the 'Yes' and 'Hell Yes' piles before putting them on the hooks that lined the wall. Those would be the ones she'd include alongside the several more unisex looking clothes she'd picked out from earlier. After everything was organized and hung neatly back on the hangars—she knew the pain of retail all too well, even if this was a different kind—she allowed herself to stand triumphantly over her work.

"This is going to be fun~"

If she were honest with herself, spending the past half hour of her life more or less getting a constant stream of validation from future Tachibana had done wonders for her self-esteem. She felt dangerously confident right now, like she had the power and courage to do anything—even wear one of her more feminine picks outside.

Nitsuki froze. Erm, that was a dangerous thought. Maybe she was getting a little too ahead of herself.

After putting the tiniest of dampeners on her mood, she grabbed her picks and gently moved the remainders to the return rack before stepping out and heading toward the register.

"That was faster than I expected," Miss Hasegawa said as Nitsuki set down the clothes on the counter. There was a knowing, smug grin on her face, which Nitsuki promptly ignored. "I'm assuming you took my advice then? You must have an eye for quality."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll just take these."

The older woman nodded, her grin still plastered on her face as she started scanning the items. Her gaze kept flicking back and forth between the clothes and Nitsuki's face, which was starting to get a bit irritating. "You're going to look so cute in these, dear. Especially that one." She pointed at a dress that had been in her 'Yes' pile.

"Sure. Thanks." Nitsuki tried her best to sound casual. It was difficult, considering how giddy she was. Slight annoyance from Hasegawa aside, this was probably one of the best shopping experiences she'd ever had outside the one where she and Tachibana had gotten together.

Abusing her gift was definitely the way to go.

"Alrighty, that'll be ¥3,300," Hasegawa said, her eyes twinkling. "Remember, once you bag it, there's no refunds."

"I know, I know. Here's the money." She pulled out the cash and handed it to her.

Miss Hasegawa counted out the bills and placed them into the register before handing her new bundled-up clothes. "Thank you for choosing our store. Don't forget to tell me what happens when he sees these~"

Nitsuki sighed and waved her off as she headed toward the exit. She really needed to get out of here before she got any more annoyed.

She didn’t want anything to ruin her current high.

***

The walk to the grocery store had been uneventful. The entire time, Nitsuki had felt a little spring in her steps as her bag of new clothes swung merrily at her side.

Right now, the grocery store was in sight, so she started messaging away to Tachibana with her free hand.

 > Just finished up clothes shopping. I'm in front of the grocery shop now. (^^)

*bring* An almost immediate answer.

 >> Ah! That was fast! (°ロ°) !

 >> I'm uh, still in the produce section. (´ ∀ ` *)

She raised an eyebrow. She'd thought he would’ve been done by this point.

 > Did you get lost in the aisles or something?

 >> Hey! I'm not THAT stupid. (＃￣ω￣)

 >> … But I did sorta lose track of time. (￣▽￣*)ゞ

 >> Ah! Before you say anything, I'll make up for it!

 >> You like those expensive rice noodles, right?

 >> I’ll get double the amount!

 >> Thank you for being so understanding, my love! ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡

Her entire face had cycled from unamused, to disbelief, to now flushed beet red. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand, trying her best to keep herself from making any weird noises.

 > You are so cheesy (._.;)

 > Be glad that I am merciful.

 >> I shall forever be. I’m a lucky boyfriend.

 >> Thank you, my beloved! (*_ _)人

She let out an involuntary squeak before sending off a quick response and pocketing her device.

They hadn't really been messaging each other recently considering they were under the same roof now half the time. She’d nearly forgotten how affectionate he could get when it came to stuff like this.

"Tch. I'm eating this up way too much, aren't I?"

She glanced around, having just arrived in front of the grocery store’s parking lot. There were a few people out on the street and hanging by the front entrance, but thankfully, nobody seemed to have noticed her yet.

Fine by her.

Nitsuki quickly shuffled over toward a shaded bench that was nestled behind one of the trees nearby. It was close enough to where she could keep an eye on the entrance, but far away enough that she’d likely remain hidden.

Satisfied, she plopped herself down, trying to calm down her racing heart.

She was looking forward to tonight. Not only was dinner shaping up to be even better than she’d thought it’d be, but she couldn't wait until her future visions became reality.

She’d need to wash the clothing of course and then dry it, but if they got back quick enough, she could feasibly show off some of them to Tachibana.

The thought of his blushing and happy face made her flutter kick her feet.

Once the giddiness died down a little, she leaned back in the bench and stared up into the foliage above.

She’d become such a needy, lovesick woman, hadn't she? Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, far from it. She wouldn’t mind if things kept going like this.

Hm, what else could she and Tachibana do once they were back? There was a fair amount of time left in the day, so perhaps they could watch something together or—

"…That’s nothing. Did you hear? The Amano boy and the Tachibana boy are living together!"

Nitsuki’s thoughts immediately halted. The voice was quiet, but it had carried over from the front of the store. She leaned forward and looked around the corner of the tree, spotting a pair of middle-aged women chatting near the entrance.

"Yes, yes, of course. So immoral. And after all the time and effort Yumiko put into him… I guess no amount of good influence could keep him from becoming a bad seed," the other woman said in response.

"Agreed. What kind of grandson decides to throw away their manhood, just to go and play pretend as a girl? To think that's the kind of influence the Tachibana boy is allowing into their family's business!"

The other woman nodded. "Indeed."

The first woman sighed and continued. "That's not even the worst of it. Inoue said that when she went to enlist Amano to help out at the stargazing festival, the poor thing had to deal with him being incredibly hostile and disrespectful. He even twisted Koji into taking his side."

The second woman clicked her tongue in disapproval. "To think Amano would talk to the Vice-President of our beloved Community Association like that. What a troublesome, ungrateful child. I swear, ever since he went and pretended to be a woman, he's been nothing but a burden on our community. Yumiko and the boy's parents must be rolling over in their graves…"

"…" Nitsuki took a shaky breath as their words faded into the back of her mind. Her hands were clenched so tight that they were almost turning pale.

What the hell were these women saying? And who the hell did Inoue think she was to just brazenly spread absolute bullshit?!

No. It was fine. She was fine. She just had to calm down and breathe.

Nitsuki was used to the whispers; she'd already told herself that many times over. She'd survived a lot of things before this and heard way worse about her. So this? This was nothing. No matter what kind of slander they threw her way, she would come out on the other side just fine—

"…and to think he managed to turn Koji's grandkid into a f*g."

Her mind went blank.

She had to have heard that wrong. She had to. There was no way, absolutely no way that she had heard that right.

She tried composing herself as she listened for a reply.

"I know. Poor Koji must be beside himself. I can't imagine having a f*g for a grandson. All because that Amano boy wanted to go around and be a freak of nature. It's disgusting—"

She punched the bench beneath her, unwilling to hear anything else.

She saw nothing but red.

Inoue and the rest of her cronies could throw all the damn insults and slurs they wanted at her, but Tachibana? HIM?!

He was a brightest, kindest, sweetest man she'd ever known, and he had done nothing but treat the people of this town with the upmost respect his entire life. He even believed in them—their goodness, their kindness—and yet they still DARED to slander him?!

It took everything in her not to get up, walk over to them, and slap the ever-loving daylights out of them. It took even more to dissuade the screaming part of her that was suggesting she try use her gift to ruin their lives or futures.

"…" Nitsuki sat, stewing in her anger. Her chest was heavy, her breathing ragged, and her body shook from the emotions that ran rampant in her veins.

She couldn't do this. She just couldn't. She wouldn't let herself be dragged down to their level.

She needed to leave. She had to calm herself down.

Shakily, she took out her phone and typed a quick message to Tachibana.

 > Are you almost done? I want to leave. Now.

 > Don't worry about the groceries. We'll figure something out.

She sent the message and waited for his response. He wouldn't understand why, but he'd know that something was wrong and come find her, and when he did, she would hug him, hold him tight, and tell him how much she loved him and appreciated him and—

A sudden, horrifying thought interrupted her, and Nitsuki froze in dread.

In all of their years of being friends, she'd NEVER heard a single slur directed at Tachibana. Not one person in Hoshimura dared utter a derogatory word at him. He'd been the shining model of a good, upstanding man in their community: the one who was earnest, the one who was kind, respectful, and helpful, and the one whose example would supposedly 'set Amano straight.'

So why had that changed?

"…No, this isn't fair," she mumbled to herself as her body trembled and the pit in her stomach grew deeper. "Please, God, please don't—don't do this to him."

Her eyes began to water, and her throat was starting to tighten.

She could live with being a social pariah. She could live knowing the town despised her. She could deal with all of that, she really could.

But if it meant sacrificing the one man she cared about more than anything else in the universe? If it meant that he would suffer for the sake of her own selfish happiness…?

Nitsuki glanced over to the store entrance to see Tachibana walking out with a bag in his hand. His expression was full of worry, and his gaze frantically swept back and forth looking for her.

"Nia?" he called out until finally spotting her. His face immediately shifted to relief once he did. "There you are!"

Nitsuki's chest tightened. She forced her tears away and gave the best damn smile she could manage, even as the two women by the store entrance watched him with disgusted eyes.

Without saying anything, she hugged him tight and did her best to suppress the growing guilt in her heart.

What had she done?

From now on, Tachibana would be living through hell with her.