Chapter 6:

Devil in a New Dress

I Planted a Girlfriend


"I’m not even close to being finished, so you better not even think of sneaking a peek!!”

The only thing that separates Minato and this mystery woman is a thin brown door. For a Saturday afternoon, the clothing store they’re in is surprisingly barren. The only other customers are a group of girls quietly gossiping amongst each other about him. “Hey, that’s Minato from Class A isn’t it? What’s he doing waiting around outside of a dressing room? Is he some kind of pervert or something?” One of the girls whispers into her friend's ear.

“I wouldn’t put it past him, I’ve heard stories about him being caught playing hentai games in the computer lab. I don’t think he’s here to perv on anyone though. We should just leave him alone for now until we can confirm he’s done something. Besides, I heard him talking to the girl that went into that dressing room a couple of minutes ago. For all we know, they could be on a date or something. Either that, or he’s just a massive simp who is stuck paying for her expenses.”

The end of this conversation is enough to make Minato’s muscles tense up. Closing his eyes, he turns to face the wall. Through gritted teeth, he requests. “Can you hurry it up already!? We need to get back to the store so that we can pick out what kind of plants to showcase tomorrow! I’d rather not wait out here all day! I’m starting to get weird stares!” Minato shouts, not realizing that she has already opened the door during his rant.

“So I was wondering something. How much longer do you plan on talking to that wall? Don’t you think you’d have much more fun talking to the cute girl in front of you?” She asks in a playful, yet curious tone. Turning to face the door, Minato’s heart rate increases, and his eyes widen the moment he sees her.

The girl standing before him is Sakura.

With her hands on her hips, she leans forward, flashing him a grin. Her long green hair has been tied into an elegant ponytail, with her bangs slightly parted in the middle. She is wearing an all-black kimono, styled with a beautiful pattern of red spider lilies crescendoing down the middle. Wrapped tightly around her waist is a dark green obi belt. From a glance, it’d be hard for anybody to tell that it is composed of banana leaves.

“Behold! The new and improved Sakura Chiba! What do you think, my dearest Minato? I’m totally going to be the cutest at the festival huh? I can already see it now! It’s going to be my first time experiencing something like this!” Triumphantly, Sakura turns to the side and brushes her ponytail back. Dearest…? Minato thinks. Her smile carries a different energy than it usually does. Her expression is that of someone experiencing true happiness. A result of her finally being able to be herself. It’s kinda hard to believe that something as small as shopping for new clothes at the mall means this much to her.

For a brief moment, Minato struggles to think of the right words to say, and just stares, awestruck by Sakura’s appearance. I can’t believe how beautiful Sakura looks in a kimono! This is a far cry from the hand me downs and cosplay that I’m so used to seeing her in. It’s kind of a breath of fresh air. She looks like a legitimate princess! I think I could get used to this. Realizing that his mind has wandered too far, his face flushes a bright red, and he turns away in an attempt to hide his attraction. “You look great, I guess… I suppose anyone would after it takes them hours to decide on an outfit.” He states in a relaxed tone, a slight grin on his face.

“We should get some lunch and head home for the day. It’s getting late, and you don’t need to decide what you want today. You can slowly take your time to decide what you want to wear for the festival. We still have about three months.” Suggests Minato, referencing the annual Tanabata fireworks show at the beginning of July.

“Can you cut a girl a break? It’s literally been years since I’ve had such a vast variety of clothing to choose from!”

Digging his hands in his pockets, he has no choice but to acquiesce. “Yeah, I guess there’s not really a way to argue against that. So that’s my bad, I guess. I really should have been more considerate.” he apologizes, leaving the store. “Let’s just find a place to eat before we go, okay? I’m starving.” He suggests, as she carefully follows behind him.

Sakura’s a bit of a wildcard and I still don’t know what to think of her. He begins to think to himself. One day she’s teasing me and acting like she’s the cream of the crop, and the next she’s doing everything she can to act like any regular girl. There’s nothing wrong with that by any means. Hell, I actually encourage her to do so. There’s just one thing that has been confusing me though. It’s the fact that she always goes out of her way to be around me. Like, I’ve done literally nothing special since we met, but she seems to be happiest whenever we spend time together like this. It’s a good feeling, but I don’t think it means anything… Right?

As they make their way through the mall in search of somewhere to eat. The pair is clueless to the fact that someone has had their eye on them from a distance, ever since they left the clothing store.

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“You know Minato, I really am surprised at what your species deems edible. There’s so much grease in this, that I’m almost positive that just me holding it this close to my face is going to be enough to kill me!” Sakura suggests, struggling to hold up the cheeseburger. As she steadily attempts to examine it, grease oozes out of the sides, and covers her hands, making her wince in disgust, in turn her grip loosens. With a hefty plop, chunks of hamburger meat, two loose tomatoes, and pickles fall onto the tray. Minato look’s up from his dessert, and is unable to hold in his laughter.

“Wait, are you seriously trying to tell me that you’ve never had a sandwich before!? I would have thought that burgers of all things are a timeless delicacy. I mean, it’s literally just bread, meat, and assorted toppings! You can’t really go wrong with one, no matter the quality.”

Sighing, Sakura lifts up a napkin and wipes the gristle away from her hands.

“Of course I’ve never had a ‘sandwich.’ The name itself sounds barbaric! It’s like you’re just forcing things together and hoping that they work. I’ve always had to hunt for my own food, so at the end of the day, I guess I’m just not used to stuff like this.”

Her eyes begin to glimmer with excitement as her gaze shifts Minato’s plate.

“What do you call the dish that you ordered for yourself? I’ve been eyeing it since we sat down. The smell is intoxicating! It’s kind of hard to believe that you’ve hardly touched it at all.” In front of Minato is a hefty serving of pancakes, topped with a mahogany brown maple syrup, a mountain of whipped cream, and finished with a red bean paste topping.

She seriously can’t be getting this excited over pancakes, right? He thinks to himself, noticing Sakura’s loving gaze is fixated on the stack.

Though they have been sitting idle since they found the table, the pancakes are still hot, and the steam permeates their sweet fragrance through the air.

“It’s all yours,” Minato chuckles, pushing the plate closer to Sakura. Without any hesitation, she grabs hold of her fork and knife, and shovels the food into her mouth. As she chows down, Minato can’t help but watch in amazement. Call me crazy, but I think I’m starting to really enjoy her company. It feels like it was just yesterday that I took in this mysterious girl that I found raiding my kitchen, and chugging down a gallon of water like it was nothing. And here I am on practically what is our first date. I know I probably shouldn’t see it as a date, but what else would I call this?

He thinks to himself, taking a moment to eye her down. We were originally supposed to just stop by the mall to scout out things that we could use for summer, but we ended up doing so much more. I didn’t think the kimono would catch her eye. It’s still very early, but I guess it wouldn’t be so bad to buy her something for her first summer festival. Sure, it’s going to hurt the bank considering the outfit I got her was expensive, but it made her happy so I don’t think that price should matter when it comes to stuff like that. I never thought that I’d be able to enjoy spending time with anyone this much, let alone a co-worker, but here we are. I’ve teased the idea before, but it’s unbelievable that she can still manage to look gorgeous to me, even when she’s shoveling food down her throat.

“Hey Minato?” Her sudden words snap him out of his thought process.

“Yeah, what's up?” he replies.

“Do you have feelings for anyone?”

It takes less than a millisecond for Minato to process such a question. “What?! What kind of question is that!? That’s so sudden, you can’t just ask a guy that!”

Swallowing her second to last bite, Sakura gently stabs at the last piece of pancake. “And why can’t I exactly? It’s a simple question, and I feel as though I have every right to know. Besides, do you really think that I haven’t noticed all the times you’ve been checking me out? You’re not really good at hiding it y’know?” Minato wants to object, but she quickly silences him, placing her thumb to his lips. “Shh, you don’t have to say a word. I already know your answer. So why don’t you just sit back, open wide, and say aah for me. Okay?”

Crawling halfway onto the table, Sakura leans closer, and steers the fork towards Minato’s mouth. His face blushes a bright red, and his bottom lip quivers. He’s reluctant, but the closer the fork gets to his mouth, the more obedient he becomes. Minato’s lips part, and just as he’s about to give in and let the sweet treat fill his orifice, Sakura reels back.

“HA! You should see the look on your face just now!” She drops the fork and falls back. Tears form in the corners of her eyes as she grips tightly at her stomach, attempting to contain her laughter, writhing around in the booth, and stomping her feet.

Embarrassment washes over Minato as he looks around to see that due to her loud outburst, passerby have all stopped to watch. Some have their phones out, ready to record the pair's next actions. Minato looks down at the table, and digs his fingernails into his pants. This is an absolute nightmare… He thinks to himself, sinking deeper into the booth.

“Hey Minato, are you okay? You know I was just teasing you right? How come you have such a serious expression on your face?” Her laughter finally comes to a halt, and she asks innocently. Minato however can’t bring himself to say a word to her, instead, she looks up surprised when he abruptly stands from the booth. “Wait, where are you going? We aren’t even finished with our meals yet?” She asks warily, reaching out to grab his hand. The moment she does, he slips through her finger tips. She is stunned by the amount of heat radiating off of Minato’s skin, bringing her hand to her chest, she watches as he begins to make his way toward the exit.

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Their long walk has been accompanied by an eerie silence between the two. The two have been caught at an impasse. Minato refuses to say a thing to her, scared that his response may come off too negatively. Though deep down her actions have made him furious, he doesn’t want her to feel bad. Carefully balling his hands into fists, he attempts to fight off the looming embarrassment that surrounds him.

Looking to the ground, Sakura carefully follows behind, clenching her hands together, an immense feeling of guilt has finally overcome her.

“Hey… Minato?” She asks, as they make their way through the revolving exit door, having decided that now is the time to finally break the silence.

“Yeah?” He responds coolly, stopping to face her.

“I know I took it too far today…” She stammers. “Hell, I take a lot of things too far. I’m still not used to how your society perceives things, but that’s no excuse for my behavior in the slightest. I caused a scene today and I hope that you’re able to find it in your heart to forgive me for my behavior.” Without saying a word, Minato grabs hold of Sakura and pulls her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her. “H-hey! Cut that out! Just what do you think you’re trying to-” The words catch in her throat, and her breathing falls cold, as Minato gently places a hand on the back of her head.

“It’s called a hug, and It’s my way of trying to let you know that I forgive you.” She eases her muscles, letting her arms fall to the side. It’s the first time that she’s experienced such a thing, and she doesn’t want this moment to end.

“Minato… There’s something that I need to tell you. I was waiting to say something tomorrow, but I…” Before she can continue, something in her peripheral catches her attention. “Look out!” She screams.

“Hey! What the hell are y-” Minato tries to choke out, only for Sakura to thrust her arms forward, launching him a nearby pile of trash bags resting against a dumpster.

Minato’s body stiffens, watching in horror as a circular arrow head smashes straight into Sakura’s torso with enough force to knock her down. “Sakura!” Minato cries out. He tries to stand, but doing so shifts the weight, and his body collapses under the mountain of trash. The crudely made projectile falls, and the arrowhead crumbles. Vibrant pink puffs of smoke billow out, enshrouding the storefront.

“Ugh…”

A series of lights pierce their way through the vast fog, revealing a group of silhouettes of various sizes standing adjacent from each other, standing on what appears to be cars of various different colors. They all pose idly, with their hands on their hips, awaiting further instruction.

“Mm…” Sakura winces in pain, attempting to lift herself up, but struggling due to the immense pain in her chest. She looks down, and her eyes widen to the realization that the attack managed to tear a hole in her new outfit, ripping it just enough to expose her abdominal muscles.

The smoke gradually dissipates, revealing her assailants to be five masked vigilantes. They all vary in shape and size, and are adorned with skin tight clothing, rain boots, and helmets. Each of them has a variation of the same outfit, the only differences being the color, the elemental symbol plastered across their chests, and the kind of weapon each wields. “Just who the hell are you guys supposed to be anyways?” Sakura asks, confused at the sight. “Especially the pink guy in the middle! You don’t even look like you fit in the group!” His figure appears to be more masculine than the rest. It appears as though his outfit has been haphazardly thrown on. His helmet only covers half of his face, exposing his less than chiseled jawline, while covering up his nose. This forces him to breathe through his mouth. A pit forms in Sakura’s stomach as she lowers her sights to spot a protrusion. It turns out to just be his thick belly bulging out of the front.

With their hands on their hips, swaying in a back-and-forth motion, one of the braver of the bunch leads the charge.

“Trooper of Sodium, Yellow~” They declare in a sultry voice.

The more feminine of the bunch follows their lead. Leaning forward, she places her finger and her thumb on her forehead in the shape of an L, in an attempt to taunt Sakura.

“Trooper of Lithium, Red!”

The blue trooper however seems to be distracted. His fingers tremble as his eyes finally readjust to spot his opponent. Due to recognizing her, he’s reluctant to say his lines.

“T-Trooper of copper, Blue!” He declares through his shaky voice. Sakura’s eyes narrowing in on him leaves him unable to find the courage to strike a pose.

The green trooper only scoffs at the blues failure to take action.

“Please, must you always be scared of the simplest things, Takahashi?” Says Green

“Y-you idiot, don’t say my name! It totally beats the purpose of the whole masked vigilante thing!”

Blue throws his hands to the side of his head, worried that his cover has been blown.

“Hmph, whatever.”

Green states, tossing a blue hydrangea towards Sakura.

“Trooper of Barium, Green!”

Before it can make contact with her face, its color changes to pink, and it fizzles into a flurry of petals.

With everybody introduced, the only one left is their leader. “Trooper of potassium, Pink!” The stout warrior cries out, fidgeting with his pocket watch. “We are the Elemental Troopers! Protectors of this world! And after recent events, we are under the suspicion that you pose the biggest threat to earth’s freedom! We are here to eliminate you before you can endanger any more lives!” He smiles brightly, having found what he was looking for. Reeling his hand back, the trooper slams down on his watch, detonating the canisters of gas behind the cars. An eruption of multicolored smoke and flames erupt into the air behind them. “On my lead, team!” he declares, only to be met by silence in the place of their usual war cries.

“T-team?” The smoke clears, and he tilts his head, his shoulders stiffening to the sight. The four other members of his team have all collapsed onto the hoods of their respective vehicles. They are still breathing, but they’re unconscious. No doubt a reaction to inhaling the burnt fumes of sodium, potassium, barium, lithium, and copper all at once. “It doesn’t matter! Even if my team has fallen, I’ll take you down myself!” Though he feels confident in his ability to fight alone, the pink trooper's body grows weak, his knees feeling as though they’ll collapse at any moment. It’s a miracle that he’s conscious at all. “It’s time that I show you just what we earthlings are capable of, monster!” Removing his helmet, he reveals himself to be none other than Fushigi Taro.

“Monster, huh? I’d be lying if I told you that’s the first time that I’ve heard that line. As much as I’d like to reclaim it… You should know that you’re dealing with something far worse than any old fairytale beast.” Sakura’s wicked smile only grows wider as she slams the palms of her hands together, gripping tightly as a two-handed blade manifests in them. “You’re dealing with the devil herself!” She screams, charging toward him. Fushigi is unnerved by this, but grits down on his teeth. “I know I can’t beat her alone, but I have to do this! Otherwise the planet is doomed!”

Closing his eyes, Fushigi extends his fist weakly, and turns his face away from the incoming threat. To his surprise, the warm pounding of flesh slams into his fist. “Wait… what?” Opening his eyes, he’s shocked to see that his opponent managed to somehow run into his fist. “I-I won? I actually won, that easily!?” Fushigi asks himself, looking at his now bruised fist, then back to the now knocked out Sakura to confirm his victory. “Hmph” He snorts, raising the same fist victoriously. “Of course I won! The Elemental Troopers have never taken a loss in their forty-six-season run-time! I shouldn’t have even doubted that we’d be an exception for a moment!”

“Should we say something? The big one has been talking to himself for quite a while now.” Squirming below them, Fushigi keeps muttering the phrase “I won.” over and over. “I’d call the cops, but Shin’s with them for whatever reason.” Minato thinks, turning his attention to the student who has taken up the identity of the blue trooper, disappointed. “I kinda feel that just leaving them here like this is an embarrassing enough punishment. Don't ya think, Sakura?” Minato asks, gently tapping Fushigi’s unconscious body with his shoe. He and his group of ‘troopers’ have all been stripped of their outfits, and makeshift explosives, leaving them with nothing but the school uniforms they wore underneath, and their helmets. After the explosion, Fushigi was the first of the troopers to fall off of their vehicles. Due to his stature, he ended up rolling just beyond the hood and onto the concrete, his helmet splitting down the middle upon impact.

Holding a hand outward, her palm begins to glow a vibrant yellow. Though they all tried to attack her, Sakura couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the group. Based on their words alone, she came to realize that they all fight for the same cause as her. They all want the ability to live in a world where they can be free. Free to be themselves, even if being themselves entails dressing up and playing vigilante. In a way, she sees herself in the group. So with a flick of her wrist, she propels a surge of energy forward, imbuing them all with enough to heal their injuries.

“They’ve already been through enough. Let’s just get home already. If we leave now, I may have enough time to fix the hole they made in my new clothes.”

As the two begin to turn away from the group, Sakura’s caught off guard the moment she feels a hand weakly tug at the brim of her kimono. She looks down to see Fushigi. His eyes are drooping, though he has just regained consciousness, his vision is quickly fading.

“Thank you.” He whispers weakly, passing back out.




John Lee H. Wu
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