Her Mysterious Smile

[Nayt]

"Hmmmm . . ." Akizets hummed as she fell to deep thought.

Eld had a point. This would really hurt Sarah's ranch! But if she remembered correctly, Sarah's family was doing just fine. Her parents kept the place funded and stocked and comfortable, and neither Sarah nor Emily were really working themselves to the bone. That meant they had to be doing something else on the side than keeping and renting out horses-- which was super important, because there was all these talk lately about these horseless carriages, and if they were really all people talked them up to be, that'd put a huge dent in the business of ranch owners!

Akizetsumei couldn't even pretend to know much about economics or money or any of that stuff. Truth be told, she didn't really like money that much. So many people seemed completely controlled by wealth and all that. It actually kind of bugged her.

So she changed the subject.

"Ummm, do you mind if we just look around a little?" Akizets asked once they reached the market. It was so easy to tell when they arrived, as it suddenly became a bit harder to walk without practically holding hands to keep from getting separated. It was almost like half of Hillcrest was out all at once. "I don't really have any money or stuff like that. I just wanna look is all."

[Zach Kaiser]

"Sure, that's fine." He completely failed to notice that she was changing the subject. It was sometimes hard to tell when she was thinking hard about something and when she was just spacing out.

Not that he minded either way; it was cute, the way her brow furrowed when she was deep in thought.

Ah, I was doing so well today too.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked, taking her hand to prevent them from being separated in the thick crowd. Akizets was kind of small; finding her if she got away from him would be exceedingly difficult.

[Nayt]

Here in the comfort of her home town, Akizets didn't feel the nervousness and anxiety as she did in the woods at night. She didn't feel the instinctive need to cling to Eld. She gave the notion the same degree of thought that she would on any other day. More specifically, it felt like she suddenly stopped breathing when Eld offered his hand to her.

But she took it. Happily. And without realizing it, she did more than just simply hold his hand. She threaded her fingers with his like she did up on the cliffside a week ago.

She only let go of his hand when they stopped at a stall or a cart. Merchants set up their shops at mobile camps, and the most of them tried to advertise their wears by setting some out in front. It was easier than wasting one's breath calling folk out to come check out their stall.

If there was one guilty pleasure Akizetsumei had, it was a love for clothes. During this time of year-- this fairly warm Summer they were having --it didn't matter so much. She always wore light clothes like this--shorts, skirts, and thin sleeveless tops--during summer, and rarely deviated that much. During spring, fall, and winter, she had all sorts of obscure clothes that she loved to wear. And that was just it, really; Akizetsumei's love for fashion was little more than an extension of an appreciation for things that just looked blissfully out of place.

Today, though, she wasn't looking around for any fall or winter outfits. She had something relevant for summer in mind.

Akizets stopped at a cart that seemed to be set in the middle of the street. It was devoted to summer wear. More specifically, swim wear. Akizetsumei hadn't anyone to go swimming with for years and she had it in her mind to ask if Eld wanted to go to the lake with her sometime. For that, though, she'd need a swimsuit of some sort. The vendor-ess carried a fair stock of them, all fairly assorted. There were one pieces and two pieces all hung up on racks, and Akizets circled the cart numerous times trying to get a good look at all of them. She was trying to imagine what she'd look like in bathing suits like these, though her mental images were all over-exaggerated. She consistently thought she had a larger frame than she actually had. She didn't think she was fat, she just had a bad habit of assuming her bust size, for example, was a bit more generous than it was in reality, as well as her hips and thighs. It often led to her picking up clothes and wearing clothes that were a tad bit large on her.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld didn't exactly keep up with fashion himself; while he liked to look neat and clean, if he was ever stylish it was usually by accident. Even so, he didn't mind following Akizetsumei as she looked around for clothes, especially since she seemed drawn to more interesting and unusual clothing.

However, reservations began once she started to look at swimsuits. While imagining what she'd look like in most of the other clothing she looked at was fairly benign (Eld wondered if she owned a kimono), it was difficult not to do the same for the swimming wear. Especially as she seemed determined to examine every single suit on the cart, regardless of whether or not it would reasonably fit her.

"So, do you go swimming a lot?" he asked, attempting to keep his mind occupied with conversation rather than imagination.

[Nayt]

"No, not really," she replied without much thought, nor did she look away from the cart.

She reached for the swimsuits held up on hangers and started to sift through them. Now that she'd gotten the hang of the styles of them, she just needed to look for one that would fit.

"I don't really got anyone to swim with, you know? Only Reru ever wants to go and . . . I dunno, it's not as fun when it's just with your little brother," Akizets reasoned as she continued to sift through. Then she paused, stared curiously, and fumbled a bit with one of the hangers. "Hey, Eldridge?"

Akizets withdrew from the rack of bathing suits one that seemed reasonably her size. It wasn't quite modest, though, nor was it particularly immodest. It was a dark tan bikini with a pink flower motif.

"What do you think of this one?" she asked as she held it against her in the proper locales, the top against her chest and the bottom over her hips. It was fairly close to what would probably fit her, but it was still a bikini. It'd keep her modest, yet still reveal a lot more skin than she normally showed-- whilst socially acceptable, to boot.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld nodded. Kyo didn't seem to care for swimming, which meant that if he went it was usually just him and the girls. Which he supposed made him luckier than he tended to give himself credit for.

When Akizetsumei held the swimsuit up, as usual he couldn't help but imagine her in it. This one seemed like it would fit her reasonably well, and it showed about as much skin as a swimsuit could without standing out for showing too much. Fortunately, he was getting a better handle on...well...not acting like a flustered teenager when confronted with something like this.

"I think it'd look fine," he replied, managing to keep the blushing to a minimum. Even if she didn't catch on, sooner or later someone was going to see him and make a connection if he was always blushing and stammering around her in public.

[Nayt]

"Okay!" Akizets exclaimed cheerily.

If Eld liked it, then it was a must-buy! Akizets turned around to the older woman that owned this stall. The somewhat heavy set aged lady sat resting on a stool several feet from her cart, keeping an eye out to make sure nothing was stolen, whilst still accessible in case someone wanted to buy.

"Ummm, how much for this one?" she asked the older woman.

The older woman leaned in to investigate the set before nodding to herself. She remembered this one and what she'd priced it as. "One gold piece and two silver pieces," she replied.

Akizets suddenly remember that she'd come here to window shop and nothing more. She also remembered that she didn't have that much money on her at all, not at her home and not for the next week, either.

"A-ahhh, ummmm," Akizets laughed nervously, "Ummmm, c-could you, um, c-could you hold this for me? Ummm m-my parents get paid tonight and I get my allowance then and then I'd . . ."

She trailed off nervously. Truth be told, Akizets was kind of telling a lie, and Eld would be able to spot this from a mile away. Her parents weren't getting paid tonight and she wasn't going to have the money for this bathing suit by tomorrow. Her parents probably weren't even coming home tonight, and she probably didn't even get an allowance in the first place. The older lady looked like she saw through the lie, too, but didn't have the heart to say it.

"Well," she replied, "I'm just about to close up shop. It's just getting too hot to sit out here. If you come by tomorrow morning, I'm sure I'll still have it."

Akizets smiled, though her nervousness was still clear. She didn't know how bad of a liar she was. "O-okay! Ummm, thankyou."

With a mild amount of hesitation, she turned to the rack of bathing suits again and slipped the one she'd picked out back onto it. Maybe she could find some money tonight or something. Maybe. If her parents came home, she could ask--or she could ask to borrow some from Tou. That might work.

[Zach Kaiser]

Indeed, it was painfully obvious that Akizetsumei had no money on her, and no real way to get any short of possibly begging some off of her family.

He considered his options. On one hand, he was supposed to be saving most of his money for school. But on the other, he did keep some set aside for spending, and he hardly ever used it.

Who was he kidding? There was only one choice from the beginning, as much as he wanted to pretend otherwise. As Akizetsumei reached out to put it back, Eld stopped her before reaching into his pockets and withdrawing the required amount of coins.

"One gold, two silver, right? Here," he said, handing it to the merchant woman.

[Nayt]

When Eld stopped her from putting the swimsuit away, Akizetsumei was mostly surprised. She looked up to him, confused, and at first hadn't the slightest clue what he intended. But then it turned out he had money in his hand.

"E-Eldridge . . ." Akizets whispered in shock. She looked away from him. This weird feeling crept up inside her heart and she didn't know what to say.

The aged lady reached for Eld's hand and graciously accepted his business. She smiled and said to him, "Thank you very much, young man."

This left Akizets standing awkwardly, still facing the rack of bathing suits. She hadn't the slightest clue what to say--if only because this didn't happen. It never happened. Boys didn't go out of their way to spend their hard earned money on her, allowance or savings or not. She didn't know how to react-- and so, Akizets said the first thing that came to mind.

"Y-you didn't haveta do that . . ." Akizets whispered

And yet, before Eld would even have the chance to respond, there was another voice-- but not one from one of his friends or even an enemy of his. Rather, it was the older woman that spoke.

"No, no he did not," she remarked-- but rather than sounding invasive and annoyed, she actually sounded fairly cheerful. "It was probably just out of the kindness of his heart! You should really thank your boyfriend for that, little miss."

B-boyfriend?! The word send a chill of panic down Akizetsumei's spine. This panic spread all throughout, and she felt something of a warm chill attacking her heart and lungs and brain and fingers and toes--and soon her cheeks were invaded with a reddish blush and burning feeling, as she looked down and felt far too nervous to make eye contact with Eld. She could only look at his shoes, really.

"Th-thankyouEldridge," she whispered meekly.

[Zach Kaiser]

Eld opened his mouth to correct the shopkeeper, explain that they weren't dating, but was cut off by Akizetsumei's thank you before he could. Now he couldn't help but blush a little, though he tried his best to play it cool. "It's not a big deal," he said, rubbing the back of his head.

Do we really look like we could be a couple? He figured most people would have assumed that he was an older relative or otherwise taking care of her; but maybe the gap in age that seems large to him doesn't to others.

"Well, it looks like most places are closing up shop," he observed. "What do you want to do?" There were a few places still open if she wanted to look around some more, but it wouldn't be long before everyone went home.

[Nayt]

Akizets probably wasn't going to stop blushing for the rest of the day, at this rate. She just kept thinking of the word boyfriend and how it could apply to Eld. Could it, really? Would it? And-- and what it would be like? What would she do if he were her boyfriend? What would he do if she were his girlfriend? Would they be all weird together? Or-- or would she cuddle up to him regularly and feel his warmth, and would he hold her and sit together in a quiet, safe place for hours on end, just the two of them?

She couldn't stop thinking about it. Those images just kept running through her mind on repeat and she couldn't stop it. It was the first time she'd ever thought about it. About Eld like that. About boyfriends. She'd just wanted to be close friends with Eld, right? That was all, wasn't it?

"I-- I, um, I-- I dunno, ummm . . ." Akizets whispered. She was so nervous it almost hurt her to speak.

She look up to Eld, saw his face just once, and immediately looked back down at his shoes as if something had startled her. What could he be thinking right now? Was it the same thoughts as her? Was he thinking "what would it be like with Akizetsumei as my girlfriend," or what he just shrugging it off?

"Heeeey!" a more familiar (female) voice chimed.

This sincerely startled the girl, as she suddenly felt a pat on her back. Akizets felt ready to jump out of her skin right then and there. She looked to her side once, though, and found that it was Emily, standing behind Eld and Akizets both. She had her arms around the both of them in a friendly sort of way. She was short and scrawny, a lot like Akizets, but Akizets was a little bit taller than her. It made Emily's pose seem just a little bit awkward, but she didn't seem to care too much about that.

"Shopping for swimwear?" the girl asked smilingly.

[Zach Kaiser]

"Oh, hey Em." He was a little nervous, but it seemed like she hadn't seen him just buy Akizetsumei the swimsuit. He'd no doubt get teased if he she had, probably also about the two of them going out, but...

He felt like he was on the verge of figuring something out, if he'd just get a bit more time to think about it.

"Y-Yeah, Akizetsumei just got a swimsuit. What brings you here?" he asked. Em seemed to spend most of her free time tinkering in her room when she wasn't with friends, so seeing her here alone was a bit of an oddity.

[Nayt]

"Oh really?" Emily looked over Akizetsumei's shoulder.

Akizets, still stricken with nervousness, hesitantly raised her new bathing suit for Emily to see. All this nervousness, though--it had nothing to do with Emily. She scared Akziets a bit when she showed up, but she hadn't perpetuated any of this. Her thoughts were the same as they were a minute ago, and her cheeks were still just as red.

"Oh," Emily stepped back to give Akizets some space, "That's cute."

Anyone that knew Emily well enough might have considered the possibility that she was being sarcastic--but no, she wasn't. She sincerely meant that.

The girl cleared her throat before she addressed Eld. "I'm just shopping for seeds. It sucks, though. There's nothing around. Nothing that I don't have. And all the little planters and packaged seeds they have are sub-par compared to what I could get in Galaens."

But that wasn't important!

"So, she gonna try it on for you, Eld?" Emily asked with a grin.

[Zach Kaiser]

"Well, if you need someone to take you to Galaens, I'm usually around," Eld offered. Em wasn't terribly good with horses herself, so it was much easier if someone went with her, but Sarah was busy sometimes, Maya was even worse with animals than Em, and Em spending any time alone with Kyo was disaster waiting to happen.

It took him a second to realize the implication in her last comment. "W-What are you talking about?" he asked, trying to resist turning red. Well, he did want to see her in it, but really wasn't thinking that would happen immediately, so he thought he'd be safe. If Akizetsumei invited him to go swimming, he'd have a little time to prepare, most likely.

"Do you see anywhere to change around here?" he asked rhetorically. It was avoiding the issue to be sure, but he doubted he could address it directly without making things worse.

[Nayt]

All this talk of trying the suit on-- it just made Akizets feel enough more nervous. Now Emily was starting to add to her anxieties! But why did it make her feel so nervous? Maybe . . . maybe it was the way Emily asked. It was like she hadn't asked Akizetsumei. She'd asked Eld.

"Hmmm . . ." Emily hummed as she thought. "Oh! How about my place?"

It was only the logical option. Emily didn't know how often Akizets went to Eld's house and she simply didn't want to have the displeasure of seeing Toushikyo's face right now. Emily's house was one mostly dominated by women, in any case. The only male in her family was her father, and he seemed well acquainted with the pecking order--that he was the minority and aside from attempting to have a boy with his wife, there was no changing that fact. And even then, there was a 50/50 chance that it'd backfire on him and make things even worse.

Needless to say, he stayed out of their way.

"Y-your house . . .?" Akizets asked nervously. She still didn't know why she should try on her bathing suit right away, and it was fairly obvious in her tone by now.

"Yeah," Em nodded, "You have to see if it fits, you know? If it doesn't-- well, you have to come get your money back right away. Besides . . ."

Emily smirked as she looked at Eld again.

"I'm sure Eld here would fight a hobo for the chance to see you in a cute thing like that."