"This heats getting out of hand," I say breathing heavily after running. "With all this sweating I'm sure to get a rash under my prosthetics.."
 
The bright summer sun beats down upon my twin-tailed head, causing my forehead to cascade with beads of sweat.  Graduation is in just over a month, so I want to be as fit as possible.
 
After finishing my cooldown lap, I grab my gym bag and head back to the dormitory for a shower, remembering that I have to go to town to get groceries with Rin. After dressing myself I go next door to see a note tacked to Rin's door saying "Gone shopping, be back later. - Rin." Now two thoughts cross my mind, the first one being upset that she left without me, and the other asking myself how the heck she got that on the door in the first place.
 
I go for a stroll outside for some fresh air while I contemplate my free time. It's noon and I have nothing really special to do now that my day's freed up. As I stroll towards the entrance way of the Academy, I see Misha and Hisao going down the hill arm in arm. Probably another date at Shanghai. I envy Shiina, being able to catch him and keep his attention.
 
I turn and see a familiar ponytail standing at the bus stop. It's Lilly, probably going into the city to visit her sister. I walk up and before I know it, she's turning and beginning to speak.
 
"Oh, hello Emi." She says. I'm astounded by how she knew it was me.
 
"Erm.. Hi. How did you know?" I asked, absolutely stumped.
 
"You move very lightly when you're not running. The only other person who walks like that is Hanako, and she's in newspaper club." She says, laughing lightly.
       
"Ahh, I see. Going to see... Uhm..."
 
"Yes, I'm going to visit Akira. Would you like to join us?" I'm floored by this for some reason. Why would she want to hang out with me?
       
"Erm... Sure." I respond, right as the bus pulls up. "Your sister won't mind, right?" She laughs.
       
"To her, you're just another person to help her relax. It'll be fine."
 
Moments later after a bit of casual small talk, the bus arrives. We board the bus and continue the conversation. We discuss our night ahead of us, she had planned out shopping, dinner, and then finally a Jazz club. Before we know it, the bus comes to a halt in the city, but Lilly's androgynous sister is no where to be seen.
 
"Hey sis!" I hear a voice yell. "Who's your friend?"
       
Lilly turns to respond, "Oh, hello Akira. This is Emi, our local Track Star at Yamaku. She'll be joining us for our little excursion today."
 
I blush lightly at the compliment. Akira doesn't look like her normal self, or at least not from what I've seen of her. She's wearing a dark blue tank top with some cut-offs and a pair of cork sandals. She actually looks like a girl, and not some business man.
 
"Nice to meet you, I'm Akira, but I'm sure you already know that." She says.
 
"Likewise, and what's with the outfit? Too hot for that suit of yours." She shoots that same pout Lilly has sometimes.
 
"Yes, and...." She mumbles for a moment. I immediately change into teaser mode.
 
"Aaaaand?" I draw out, catty look on my face.
 
"And my boyfriend thinks it looks cute on me!" She yells back red of face.
 
Lilly and I share a laugh while Akira slumps her shoulders looking defeated.
 
"Well are we going to discuss clothes all day or are we going to actually get some?" Akira says, still red as the evening sun.
     
"My my, Akira, aren't you bossy?" Lilly says, giggling.
     
"Yeah yeah, let's just get going." Akira replies, sticking her tongue out at her blind sister. I suppose you could get away with that.
 
Our first stop is a dress store, courtesy of Lilly. She strolls through the aisles feeling the textures and having Akira describe the designs before taking a few to try on.
 
I wander into the summer section and see a white summer dress completely covered in strawberries. I make a girly squee noise before taking it to the nearest dressing room and trying it on. Just my size, and just barely falls on to my knees. I check the price tag. Only 4200 Yen. I take the tag off the dress, smiling widely. I walk up to the counter, seeing Lilly buy a few dresses herself.
 
Akira takes sight of the dress and grins evilly. "Well well, who are you trying to impress? Another member of track?" It seems the tables have turned.
     
"N-No! I just really like strawberries!" I say, red as the berries on my dress. If I'd said I wanted Hisao to think I was more than just a running partner, she'd call me out on being selfish.
 
"Well, if you're going to wear a dress like that, let your hair down. Here, I'll do it." She passes behind me, and undoes the ties holding my moderately long hair up and brushes it even with her fingers.
 
"There, now you look like the young woman you should be," She says finally. I look in the hair, the only time my hair is down is when I'm showering, but with this dress, my light blonde hair complimenting the dress nicely.
 
We pay for our clothes and walk off, all talking about what we got. Akira got a floral dress for when her and her boyfriend go out to the country together. I compliment her taste, and she shoots me a happy smile as a reply. Lilly got herself a short skirted red dress, which she chose to wear out, along with two other bags filled with various skirts and dresses. We pass by a cafe as we walk to our next location, and are immediately drawn in by all the lovely aromas.
 
Not seconds after we get our seats, our waiter appears. A handsome young man dressed in a short sleeved button up with a black tie, hair slicked back with some fancy hair gel.
     
"Welcome ladies, today's specialty is double berry cheesecake. I am your waiter, Takeya." He says, getting to the point before I could even ask what sounded good..
       
"Mmm, that sounds good. We'll each have a slice!" Akira chimes in with a sing-song voice. Neither of us protest to this.
       
"Excellent choice, and what will you have to drink?" He says, writing on his notepad.
 
"I'll have some iced tea, please." Lilly says, in her soft voice.
       
"Some water will be just fine for me, thank you." I say to Takeya.
       
"You know what I'll be having~" Akira says, a daydreamy look in her eye.
"Of course I do," He replies happily. "Your order will be out shortly." Why are they looking at each other like that? Time for some snooping.
 
"Akira, why are you giving him the googly eyes? Don't you have a boyfriend?" I hear Lilly laugh lightly, apparently I'm missing something.
     
"My my, isn't it obvious Emi? That IS her boyfriend." She says. I really am oblivious at times...
       
"Yeeaahhhh. Isn't he the cutest in his work outfit?" Akira says happily. She's really acting girly today.
       
Before long, our cheese cake pieces arrives, covered by a compote of raspberries and blueberries. Then one by one, Takeya puts our drinks down one by one, cutely winking at Akira before leaving back to his duties.
 
We all start to mingle and small talk amongst ourselves, taking small bites out of our cheese cake every so often. Before we know it, our food and drinks are gone, and as if summoned Takeya waltzes over with our bill. 1700 Yen, That's not bad. Swiftly, Akira takes out 3000 Yen, and leaves it on the table. A certainly generous tip for someone your most likely sleeping with.
 
After Takeya takes our bill to the register, we start making our way out of the Cafe, but not after Akira waves goodbye and blows him a kiss. Now she's REALLY acting girly, but if this is how she spends her free time, I won't pry at her.
 
Now we find a store we can all agree on. Shoe store. After walking in, Akira immediately strolls towards the dressier section, probably needs new shoes for her suit. As Lilly lightly caresses the flats and other shoes, I head on to the sports section. Those new Nikes came out, and they're supposed to have great arch support for running, not that it really matters. I poke through the boxes and to no avail, I cannot seem to find a pair in my size, or women's at all. I shrug in defeat before going to look at summer sandals.
 
"Tadaa! How do they look?" Akira says, showing off a pair of ruby pumps to match her eyes. "Takeya told me to get shoes for the upcoming company banquet, so I did."
"Wow, I'm impressed. I assume you have a dress in line for that as well?" I reply, gawking at the pair of shoes.
"Mm, yeah. My aunt is a fashion designer, she's getting one all ready for me." Oh that's right, They're Shizune's cousins. I would die for a Hakamichi Dress.
"Are we all done here? I've got mine picked out." Lilly says, in her soothing voice. She just got some open toed sandals and some shoe polish for her uniform shoes.
"Mhm, let's get this paid for." Akira replies with a nod.
 
We leave the store before Lilly and I make the shocking realization. We have class tomorrow, and the sun is going down. Hurriedly, we rush off to the bus station, Akira groaning about having to go to the Jazz club alone until Takeya gets off work. After a seemingly short ride and some interchanged small talk, we arrive at Yamaku. I guide Lilly up into our dormitories by letting her hold onto my shoulder, who of course complimented my soft hair every time it touched her pail hand. We exchange good byes and retreat into our rooms, and head to bed after our long day.
 
The next morning I wake up to hear a rapping at my door, by a certain bubbly interpreter.
"Wahaha, Good morning Emi! Akira dropped this off for you! See you later~!" Misha says before bouncing off.
 
I open the envelope to see a piece of paper with a note on it, written by Akira.
'Hey Emi! I had fun hanging out with you yesterday. Let me know if you want to do it again sometime soon! PS, I prefer cash.' ...What did she mean. I look into the bottom of the envelope to see a piece of paper with the amount of money Akira spent on me yesterday. 20,000 Yen.... Is what I owe her. I fall back onto my bed. Suddenly staying sick in bed doesn't sound like such a bad idea.
 
===========================================================================================================
 
Written by Amateur Write Faggot
Edited/Proofread by SirDakishi.