Vol. 2 Chapter 12: Day one. — Part 3

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one’s older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

“Now then, we’re going to break into groups and start free time. As the name suggests, you may go wherever you want, but just don’t bother anyone and be back by 8 PM. Not adhering to these conditions will net you an in-depth, Tale of Genji tour with me. Is that clear?”

As soon as Kotoriyu-sensei said that, every single student went to their respective groups and scattered in droves. We were no exception and started walking.

“Where to first?”

“Hmm, me and my bro have been eyeing this thrift shop. Thoughts?” He said, showing the screen of his phone.

Both Iwashiro and Asakawa like to dress up, so there’s no indication they might say no. Still, I wondered if they would.

“Huh, I think it’ll be fun. Good idea.”

“Wow, I wanna go too.”

“‘Kay, let’s go then!”

The proposal passed without a hitch and we were on our way to Five People. Trying her hardest not to let show, a sliver of excitement flickered out of Iwashiro as if her heart was secretly racing.

After about 20 minutes of riding to Kyoto Station, we reached our stop. Shrugging off some hesitation, we left the train and walked up the stairs toward our destination.

Then, the calm townscape flipped drastically. Large department stores and smaller ones lined the streets, and countless people walked by to and from every direction.

“Wow, this looks like a messy game of chess.”

“Sure does. There are souvenir shops, restaurants, and even apparel stores here.”

Kyoto Station was amazing, but you could notice that it was extremely busy. There were so many fascinating parts at every corner that we could just stroll around here the whole trip and always have somewhere to go. Still, a place this busy was easy to make us get carried away. We had somewhere to go, after all.

“Katayama, where’s the store?”

“Straight down the street, then turn at the first left.”

“Thanks. Huh, looks like it’s relatively close.”

With him and the GPS map in his phone, Katayama led the way to the vintage clothing store. After a two-minute walk, we arrived at a building with a distinctive white exterior and a yellow sign in front of the store that read “Five People”.

“This place is kinda cool. Not fancy though.”

“Agreed. Miyamoto, why don’t we snap a pic on that bench later?”

“A picture? I don’t mind.”

Speaking of which, I should snap some to send to Kurosaki. One of Asakawa and I would probably upset her, so I’ll just take a selfie, as embarrassing as that is.

With this conversation going on, we finally entered the store. After a short walk up a white wooden staircase, we found ourselves inside a surprisingly spacious area, dotted with racks full of used clothing left and right.

“Yo, this is amazing! Sorry guys, I’mma check some clothes out!”

“I–I’m off too!”

As soon as they saw the grandeur of the store, perhaps motivated by the passion that every clothing piece elicited, Katayama and Iwashiro rushed off to a place they both craved to go.

“They’re kindred spirits, I guess.”

“Yeah, they’re both cray-cray.”

“…Hey, why don’t we shop for some clothes together?” Asakawa asked me. “I’ll help you find something that fits.”

“If you insist.”

We decided to do our own thing and check out the items we were interested in from the end.

Besides simple shirts and pants, it was fun just to look at the wide selection of band T-shirts with wacky logos that must have been purchased from overseas, military jackets, and so on.

What I found in the middle of all that was a slim black shirt coat. It was still warm at the end of September, but many thick-skinned pieces were lined up as prep for the coming winter.

“…Asakawa, isn’t this one good?”

“Really? Let me try it.”

She slowly put her arms inside the sleeves, wearing the piece. It looked great donning a slender and stylish girl like her.

“I like it. That piece is good for fall, and it might also go well under a heavier coat during winter.”

“Yeah, I like it too,” I said.

“…I’m happy. Well, I’ll buy it.”

It makes me happy—somewhat ticklish—to have someone wear the clothes I’ve chosen.

“…Hehe, I love picking clothes with you.”

“Y, yeah, sure.”

The cute smile on her face, atypical of someone who always wears a poker face, inadvertently made my heart beat faster. Come to think of it, when I was in junior high, I had no interest in fashion whatsoever and never went inside any of these stores.

“Oh yeah, I wonder if those two are still looking at clothes.”

“Let’s check on them.”

As I searched through the store for the pair, I found them both looking at every single piece in the store, one by one, with dead-serious looks on their faces. Not surprising, though.

“…Well, let’s leave the two alone.”

“Yeah. If we go up to them now, they might get annoyed.”

We got ourselves together and decided to parade around the store. After another few moments, I heard a slightly bouncy voice.

“Miyamoto, I think it’ll look great on you.”

Saying so, Asakawa handed me a dark brown setup.

“Really?”

“Mhm. This will pair well with a neutral white shirt, for sure.”

“I’ll try it on then.”

I asked one of the clerks walking by to show me where the fitting room was. I went straight inside one and tried her recommended jacket, together with some wide pants. The velour fabrics used for the jackets and wide pants gave them a luxurious feel, which is good.

I decided to open the curtains and show the outfit to Asakawa.

“So?”

“You look cool. It’s a great combo!”

“Gotcha. I’ll get this one then, thanks.”

“No need to thank me. You can just wear that next time we go on a date together.”

After that, I changed back into my clothes and we both walked to the cashier pay for our new outfits, Asakawa and I. Even though we finished shopping, we still wandered inside the store for another half an hour.

Still, there was no indication that Katayama and Iwashiro’s second-hand clothing exploration would be over anytime soon. So, despite feeling sorry, I decided to put a stop to it.