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Nearly an hour had passed since the beginning of their small meeting. During that time, I killed time by trying on new clothes and switching hats.

“Onee-san, come here a sec.” Karen nonchalantly called me with my newly designated familiar title, and I was ushered into a changing room. “Then, go change.” She said that and closed the curtain.

A western-style outfit had been hung inside the changing room. She must be telling me to wear this. I could sense the presence of three people in front of the room. It didn’t seem like I would be coming out until I wore them. Resigning to my fate, I took the clothes.

I didn’t encounter any difficulty wearing it, although I wasn’t sure whether to be happy about it or not.
After I finished changing, I called out to them.

“I, I’ve changed…”
“Okay.”

Karen replied and immediately opened the curtain.

‘Hey! At least hesitate a little!’ I was about to say that, but I gulped back my words when I saw their astonished faces.

“U, umm… I don’t think this suits me, but I will just ask, okay? Does this suit me?”

Well, it’s a boy wearing a girl’s article, so it is odd that I asked in the first place. However, as they say, there’s a beauty in following the pattern.¹ I asked their opinion only to follow the pattern, but they instead remained frozen.

I was wearing a white one-piece with a black outergarment. Rather than exuding a clean impression, it leaned a little more towards punk instead. Personally, I would have liked the design of the outergarment if it wasn’t ladies’ wear, but… yep. I must look bad. They were frozen in place after all.

“L, looks like it doesn’t suit me. I will go change, okay?”
I reached out to close the curtain after saying that, but my hand was seized by three of them with terrifying speed.

“Hiieee!”
I shrieked from their speed.

“Sis. We are buying it, so just keep wearing them as is.”
“Yes, Kurona-san. We will buy this right here, right now.”
“I agree. Dear esteemed customer, please keep it on as is.”

I cringed from their bloodcurdling sight.

“Eh, well, I didn’t bring that much money…”
“It’s fine, then I will foot the bill for you.”
“But then, Karen, you wouldn’t be able to buy anything else, would you?”
“That’s okay.”
“Eh, ehhhhh…”

I was cornered by the rarely-occurring pressure from Karen.

“If that’s a problem, then it shall be on the house,” said the staff.
“Eh, no, even if you say so…”
“No, it is merely an investment. Please don’t worry.”
“An investment?”
“Yes. Actually, I’m the manager of this store, and also a designer.”
“Eh, really!?”

Oh no, I thought she was just a normal staff member…

“Dear esteemed customer, I would like you to wear our clothes by any means. With the degree of your beauty, it would be an excellent advertisement for our store.”
“No, even so…”

I had taken a peek at the price of the clothes I was wearing beforehand, and each piece was as expensive as expected. An adult could buy them without hesitating, but for a high schooler like myself, they were quite expensive. Even though I would get them for free in exchange for advertising, I was still a little uncomfortable with the idea.

“In that case, let’s do it this way. Can you be a model for our shop’s poster? Just one-time only.”
“Isn’t that a good deal, Kurona-san! You can’t pass on it!”
“I agree. My sis would be a very good model.” Those two, rather than me, were the ones that agreed strongly to her proposal.
“I want to see Kurona-san’s poster!”
“I want to see it too.”
“Eh, ehhhhhh…”

In my opinion, I wasn’t attractive enough to be a model… However, I couldn’t voice such an objection to those two who were looking at me with sparkling eyes.

Hmm, me as a model, huh… if I am going to be a model, then naturally, I should be modeling men’s wear. On that topic, Shin would be a good person to ask. His figure is good, he would look smart in any clothes, and most of all, he has an established reputation. However, I was the one who was asked, and Shin had nothing to do with this.

Furthermore, today was supposed to be the day I reconciled with Karen.

Looking at Karen’s sparkling eyes, I couldn’t see even a shadow of her previous bad mood. In that case, this would be a good chance to reconcile with her. I don’t like crossdressing, but I’ll bear with it, me, bear with it!

“…I understand. I will take the modeling gig.”
“Thank you very much. In that case, let us exchange our contact information.”
“Okay.”

After I consented, Karen and Sakura-chan beside me high-fived each other, saying “yay.”
I still didn’t think I would be a good model though.
In any case, I ended up spending the rest of my day crossdressing.
I simply sighed in resignation.

I exchanged contact information with the manager, and after the two finished shopping, we left the store.

By the way, the two of them were also invited to be models, although the manager wasn’t as eager with them as with me. Well, in my case, it was part of a term of barter, so she had a necessity with me.

That aside, walking inside a mall crossdressing was incredibly embarrassing… it felt like the gazes from earlier only multiplied. While I was thinking that, I heard a stomach bug making a cute rumble, “Ku~.”

Looking at the source of the sound, I found Sakura-chan blushing shyly.

“Ehehe… I’m getting hungry.”
I instinctively smiled at the bashful and shy Sakura-chan, “In that case, let’s go have lunch.”
“Yes!”
“Un.”
“Although looking at the time, should it be snack time instead?”

The time was three-thirty. It was too late to be calling it lunch.

“Ah, you’re right…”
“I didn’t notice the time…”

Both of them were too engrossed that they didn’t notice their hunger either.

Anyhow, it was decided that our next agenda item would be to have a late lunch. While I was thinking where to eat, I remembered that both of their allowances had been severely diminished by their lavish clothes shopping. So, we decided to head to the food court to have fast food for lunch.

As we arrived at the food court.

“Ah, let me wash my hands a sec.”
“Nn, okay.”
“Then, we will wait here.”
“Un, I will be right back.”

Karen walked into a nearby toilet in the lobby in front of the food court.

And so, I waited with Sakura-chan. Now that I thought about it, I had never been alone with her before, so I didn’t know whether to start chatting or to stay silent. There was a shared interest in Black Rose, but it would be a long chat if it ever started… oh right, I hadn’t thanked her properly yet. The opportunity was here, so let’s thank her.

“Sakura-chan, thanks.”
“Yes?”

When I thanked her, she tilted her head with a curious expression.
Eh, had she forgotten the purpose of today’s excursion?

“Um, it’s about the favor, taking me and Karen out together…”
“Ah, right! You’re right, we were doing that!”
‘I forgot!’ said the bewildered Sakura-chan, ‘awawawa’.
“I, I apologize! I had so much fun that I forgot!”

Sakura-chan repeatedly bowed her head in apology.

“You don’t need to apologize that much! On the contrary, I’m already thankful that I can hang out with Karen, despite how icy our relationship was. I’m really thankful. So, thanks.”
“…Kurona-san.”
“Yes?”
“Kurona-san, were you trying to make up with Karen-chan?”

Sakura-chan asked me while wearing a serious mien. There was a tint of surprise in that serious mien too that I couldn’t reply to her immediately.

“I do. In that respect, both of you are more friendly with each other than I am with her.”
“Is that so.”

Hearing my reply, Sakura-chan nodded with determination on her face.

“In that case, Kurona-san, you should express your bare thoughts to her!”
“Of course, I intend to do that.”

I went out today exactly for this reason. As Shin said, I will tell her my thoughts, and only my thoughts.

“Hehe, what a coincidence. Both of you are thinking of the same thing.”
“Eh, do you mean…”

Looking at Sakura-chan’s subtle smile, I gulped the rest of my words.
The same? Mine and Karen’s?

“Yes. To tell the truth, Karen-chan also came to me. She said, ‘I have said some horrible things to him. What should I do?'”
“So that’s the case…”

When I heard that, I was overwhelmed with joy and relief.
I’m glad. Karen didn’t hate me…
I haven’t heard it directly from Karen, yet I’m very relieved.

“Yes. Hehe, both of you are actually very close with each other!”

Sakura-chan teased me after seeing that I was relieved beyond the limit from hearing her words. However, from that tease, I felt validated by a third-party confirmation that Karen and I get along very well, so I took her words literally.

“I’m happy in that case. We are siblings living alone with only each other, so I want to make up with her.”

I said that, and I unwittingly smiled from relief.

“Yes, yes. I teased you, but apparently the effect is null.”
“Hehe. I’m too relieved to respond to that.”

I didn’t have any capacity to feel embarrassed, I was full of relief.
Sakura-chan looked a little bored after seeing I couldn’t be teased, but she immediately smiled vigorously again.

“Then, you two should express your real feelings after this! It will be fine! The end result has been decided! Be fearless, lay your thoughts bare!”
“Yes, thanks.”

Receiving Sakura-chan’s encouragement, I felt my depleted courage reinvigorated. I did feel like I cheated, but as long as we can make up, it’s fine. If we can laugh about this moment together later, that’s good enough.

“Sorry for waiting, I’m back.”
“No, it’s fine!”

Karen-chan jogged back with small light steps. Sakura-chan replied with high spirits.

Looking at the current Sakura-chan, Karen tilted her head.

“Sakura, did something good happen?”
“No, nothing happened!”
“…is that so?”

She doubted her, but if Sakura-chan said so, then that must be the case, so her doubt was dispelled.

“Now then, let’s go to the food court.”
“Wait! Before that! It seems like Kurona-san has something to say to you!”
“Eh?”
“H, hey, Sakura-chan!?”

I, who understood her intention, pathetically panicked. I get her reasoning. Now that she knows that both of us mutually want to make up, she wants to accelerate the operation, right? I get it, but!

“W, y- you’re too sudden! My heart isn’t ready yet!”
“Your heart will never be ready! Just say what is in your mind!”
“E, ehh!?”

Sakura-chan walked up behind me and pushed me towards Karen.

“B, brother?”

Karen looked perplexed, but she also looked at me expectantly. Now that she looked at me like that, I understood that she also wanted to make up with me.

Karen is scared too. ‘What can I say to him? What words would resonate with him?’ That kind of fear. I understand. The speaker is scared, so is the listener. The desire for reconciliation only compounded that fear further. It is the wish to hear the reply you want to hear that makes you fear the opposite.

…in that case, I can’t keep Karen waiting. I’m Karen’s big brother after all. I’m a pathetic brother, but I can at least say this coolly.

“Karen, I—”
“Yep, I’m going to stop you there, Meh.”

The moment I spoke, a harrowing, deep voice could be heard.
The premonition that I had came true, and I was suddenly assaulted with an impact.
At the next moment, I was sent flying by the strong impact.²

1. A short Japanese vocabulary lesson, primarily to explain to you what I mean but secondarily to explain to myself what I mean. The word used here is 様式美. This has two meanings, but the meaning that we are interested in is the definition that young people usually use, which is “beauty in following the pattern”. This is used in context of, for example, the expected flow of a manzai routine between a tsukkomi and boke, or the expected, and repeated development in an anime or drama.(In other words, repeated pattern). Read more about the word here. It is short, so don’t expect an essay about the word or anything. https://biz.trans-suite.jp/88951
2. ED: And here it is, a clifffffhanger!