[X] Join Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi in going to the mall
-[X] What are you doing once you get there?
--[X] Buy everyone a pretty new dress
--[X] Visit a music shop
"Hey Homura, you wanna come to the mall with us?" The voice is Sayaka's, and joining her are Madoka and Hitomi. Madoka looks on you with expectant eyes. Sayaka, for her part, sounds much less upset than she did this morning, or even at lunch. "Come on, it'll be fun! What'd'ya say?"
Your mind was made for you the instant you saw Madoka looking at you expectantly, but you withhold your answer from Sayaka, waiting until she can take waiting no longer before saying. "Well, I don't have archery practice today, so I suppose I'd have time to go to the mall with you all."
Madoka is the first of you to smile, saying "Ah, you will? That's great!"
"It just wouldn't be the same without you, ya know?" Sayaka claps you on the back as you stand to join your friends. "But since you're coming with us, now we're really gonna have a good time!"
"I'm sure we will."
"Oh wow, look at this one," Sayaka says, holding the dress out in front of her at arm's length. It's black with a light grey trim and violet ribbons strategically placed for decoration. "Your colours exactly, Homura. Madoka picked this one out just for you, you know, so you'd better like it!"
While it would have been faster to walk to the station closer to Tomoe-san's apartment and to take the northwest-heading train into Downtown from there, doing so would have risked causing your party of friends to come into contact with Kure Kirika. Taking Sayaka's dislike of her into account, as well as the desire shared by the four of you to drop your school bags off at your apartment so as to shop unencumbered, you wisely decided to route the group's travel to your apartment, and take the southeast train into Downtown from there.
You take the dress from Sayaka, turning it around in your hands a few times to examine it. "If Madoka picked it out, then I'm sure that I'll like it."
Sayaka was the one who suggested that your group go clothes shopping. You have a sneaking suspicion that her suggestion was largely for her own benefit, seeing as she's picked out the most items of any of you. Mostly boys' clothing, it seems; band shirts and jeans, though "Hey, Hitomi-" there is one feminine article of clothing that Sayaka has sought out. "Can you help me pick out some new bras? I think my old ones are getting a little tight."
Hitomi hesitates, at first saying "But, why me, Sayaka-san? Aren't you able to-" But as an expression of dawning realization spreads across her face, she changes her tune. "Ah, of course I'll help you. Proper support is an important element to any lady's wardrobe, after all."
With a dastardly smile and a naughty look thrown your way, Sayaka grabs Hitomi by the hand and takes off. By the time you've emerged from the changing stall, it's just you and Madoka. Upon seeing you in the attire she's chosen, Madoka's face flushes red, and she fidgets as she says to you "You look really cute in that, Homura-chan. The colours look good on you, and it, um, accentuates your curves really well."
"I, um, I'm glad you decided to come with us today, Homura-chan, and I'm glad you came over last night. I've really missed spending time with you lately."
"I've felt the same way. That's why I decided to come with you today." A few moments of awkward silence follows your words, as you and Madoka can do little more than stare at one another. "I saw a dress that I thought would look good on you, before I went into the changing stall."
There's something nostalgic, you think, watching Madoka step out of the changing room wearing the all-white sundress you picked out for her. Madoka spins in place, allowing you to see what all sides of her look like in pure white, unblemished by the blood-stained fate that awaits to all who form a contract with the Incubator.
"Well, Homura-chan, does it still look good now that I'm wearing it?"
Something right in this world.
"You look beautiful."
Madoka's hands shoot up to her face, and through her desperate attempt to hide her blush from you she manages to stammer out "I think you look the same, Homura-chan."
An arm belonging to a certain blue-haired troublemaker wraps itself around Madoka's shoulder. "You two girls having fun yet, or what?" Sayaka asks, smiling slyly at the two of you. To her side stands Hitomi, silent and stoic.
"Sayaka-chan!" Madoka sqeaks, almost jumping out of her skin at the surprise touch of her friend. "That's not very nice, the way you sneak up on us like that."
"Ah, what can I say, you and Homura just look so cute when you're flustered! Now come here, I need to talk to ya for a second, okay?" Before Madoka has a chance to protest, Sayaka has dragged her off.
It's just you and Hitomi now. "Are you enjoying yourself?" you ask; Hitomi responds with a nod. "Have you found anything that caught your eye?"
"What do you mean, you didn't kiss her?"
"Not particularly, no. My mother took me shopping just the past Sunday, so there's nothing here that I haven't already looked at." Hitomi offers you a smile, adding "Oh, but don't get me wrong. I'm enjoying myself just being here with my friends. You don't need to worry that I'll feel left out if I don't buy anything."
"I'm sorry, Sayaka-chan. The opportunity never came up."
"That's good. I know you said that you've been feeling left out lately, so I'm glad to hear that's not the case today."
"I gave you plenty of time. How are you going to say that the opportunity never came up?"
Hitomi's eyes dart from side to side, scanning to make sure that the nearby aisles are clear before saying "Actually, in regards to the other thing we talked about last night, are you sure that my keeping an open eye will be enough? Last time, I had- Well, I hate to call it my benefit, given how many people we're talking about, but I had the benefit of two dozen missing persons for my sample size. Assuming I let you know when the first person disappears, do you really believe that will be enough?"
"I'm sorry, okay? I know you gave me plenty of time; I just couldn't bring myself to do it."
"I'd like to believe it will be. One of my allies has... A unique ability, that should come in handy even if there's only one person for us to go by."
"Geez, Madoka, you're never going to get there at this rate."
"That's good. This city has been through so much in the past few weeks, and I'm glad to know that my efforts are helpful, even if it's just a small part."
"And, we're back!" Sayaka announces, dragging an embarrassed-looking Madoka along with her. "Sorry that took so long, I just had something I needed to say to Madoka in private." A very obvious wink directed towards Hitomi tells you all that you need to know. Sayaka is up to no good, and you're probably going to be the one on the receiving end of whatever her scheme might be.
Still, you've got your own ways of getting back at her; preemptively, even. "Look at this one," you say to Sayaka, grabbing a perfectly girly dress off the rack and holding it out for her. It's robin's egg blue, with plenty of frills and bows. "I think you'd look perfect in this."
Sayaka balks, Hitomi has to stifle a laugh, and Madoka's face erupts in a brilliant smile. "That's adorable, Homura-chan! Sayaka-chan, you've got to try it on right away!"
The pout on Sayaka's face seems to have become a permanent fixture after you and Madoka all but forced her to try on that girly dress. "Geez, I can't believe you two would do that to me," she grouses, arms crossed over her chest as the four of you browse the aisles of the music store. "And here I thought we were friends, too."
"Oh, lighten up, Sayaka-san, let them have their fun." Hitomi says, thumbing through a stack of CDs. "Personally, I'm just glad to see Akemi-san enjoying herself so much. It's such a far cry from when she first transferred into our class, isn't it?"
"Yeah. I guess that's what falling in love does to ya."
While you can hear what Sayaka and Hitomi are saying, your ears aren't pointed in their direction. Rather, as you stretch a pair of the store's headphones over to Madoka, your ears are pointed towards
the latest Kalafina release. "Do you want to listen?" Madoka nods, joining you underneath the headphones, which are now stretched to their maximum in order to accommodate the both of you. Your ears are pressed against one another, and your hands are, too.
When the song ends, some five minutes later, and you both lift off the headphones together, you ask "Did you enjoy that?"
Madoka nods; you're glad. "Well, it's a very different sort of sound than the music I usually listen to, but if Homura-chan likes it then I'm sure it can't be bad."
You hear the sounds of a ruckus brewing as Sayaka forcefully places a CD case back on the shelf. "Stupid idiot," you hear her grumbling. That angry tone is back.
"Sayaka-san, what's wrong? I thought you liked Kitamura Eri."
"I do, but look!" Sayaka picks the CD case back up, shoving it in Hitomi's face. "It's the same stupid song I sang with that idiot when we all went to karaoke together!"
"Ma'am, if you're going to cause a scene, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The employee speaks with a calm, professional tone, directing Sayaka towards the exit with an outstretched hand.
"Fine." Sayaka once again places the CD case back on the rack, and storms out of the music store.
And bumps into Mikuni Oriko on her way out.
[ ] Wat do?
