"G-granmother what are you doing here?" Shunsuke stuttered upon seeing his Grandmother enter the house. I jumped back and hid behind the wall. I knew Shunsuke wouldn't want her to see me.
"I wanted to say good bye before you left," she said. I could hear her walking into the room, and she probably sat down.
I pushed off against the wall and headed back upstairs to get dressed. All my clothes were torn and tattered. Nothing I could wear outside. I grabbed my more revealing clothes and hoped they would do for now. Looking at myself in the mirror, I could just barely see the scars under my corset-like top. But, if he wasn't looking for them, he wouldn't notice. My black mini skirt was shorter than the plaid skirts I had gotten used to as well.
"That was close," Shunsuke said as he entered the room. "If she saw you she would twist the whole thing around." He smiled at me. "Want to go eat? My treat." he grinned, knowing I could never turn down a good meal.
"Alright," I agreed.
"Good,then after that I will show you the apartment," he said. Then, as he eyed my attire, continued, "If you need us to stop at the mall so you can find some decent clothes, we can do that too." he turned and we headed back downstairs quietly so his grandmother wouldn't see me. It seemed she was outside, so we snuck out the back door and ran down the alley before getting back on the main sidewalk.
"Mall?" I asked, quizzically after we had fallen into a rhythm. "Is this the market place you humans go to?"
He chuckled. "Something like that. I'll show you. We'll make a day out of it. Just the two of us."
I smiled. Dia spoke up from her necklace, "Like a date?"
I tilted my head. "A date? What is that?" I asked.
Shunsuke's face turned a deep scarlet. Whatever it was seemed to be embarrassing. He looked away towards the giant buildings that loomed around us. This was the first time he had taken me this far into the city. It was kinda nice.
"What's a date?" I repeated.
"It's when two people go out and do something together," Shunsuke said quickly, his face deepening in color.
"But we do that all the time. What's the big deal? You've never had a problem with it before," I pointed out. I didn't see where the problem lied, but it must be more of a deal than I thought it was.
"A date is different," Dia answered. "It's when a man and woman go out together to enjoy each other's company because they like each other. It's like courting, my Lady."
My own face turned pink. So, did this mean that Shunsuke was courting me? I wondered as I moved aside as a human couple, holding hands, walked by us. I looked at the people flooding the city. Most of the humans were with their partners and were all holding hands. I looked up at Shunsuke, who was avoiding eye contact with me.
Did he want to hold my hand too. Is that how couples here showed their affection? Was it to show everyone else that we were together? Was it some sort of ritual to ward off all other would be courters? Should I go for his hand since he was obviously too nervous to grab mine.
I saw a couple on the other side of the street. The girl was holding the guys hand and leaning into him at the same time as they walked in harmony. Smiling, I grabbed Shunsuke's hand, looking away. I suddenly felt slightly embarrassed. Now everyone knew we were together.
"W'we're here," he mumbled. "This is the mall."
It was a giant structure with huge archways right before the doors. Staring at it all in amazement, we walked through the doors. Hand-in-hand.
