Come Into My Parlour.... [Asuka, Paper Dolls]
The day Kureno had officially been reinstated as a jounin - like, officially officially, not in-name-only - was the day Asuka had promised to take him out somewhere fancy. He'd named the place, and she'd made the reservation only a day or two later for a month in advance: the first Saturday of September. It was at a set time, a set day, a set place, and everything was ready to go.
So she thought. Until she did the required scouting (that is, actually taking a look at the Gold Crane) late one night after training, and finally saw exactly what the clientèle was like and what they wore.
Um.
Damn. She was going to have to get a dress. A nice dress. A... cocktail dress, if that was what it was called. Something formal. Damnit, Kureno had warned her, and she'd agreed to it, but somewhere in her heart of hearts Asuka had hoped it was just an exaggeration - that she could get away with a nice blouse and some slacks and just do it low-key.
But no. That... was definitely not going to work.
So she had to find a dress. A cocktail dress. No big deal, there were places all over town she could look in. Places where people knew who she was, would recognize her, would approach her, would ask her why she was getting a dress, and then the rumor mill would go crazy. It was bad enough that she'd confessed to told Kiba about this, but at least Kiba would keep it to her team.
She hoped.
So the best course of action, it seemed, was to avoid all the places that knew her while still going to places that would sell the kind of clothing she would need. Thankfully, this was not as hard as it would seem. The district the Gold Crane was located in was crawling with girly retail stores, all devoted to fancy clothes and jewelry and shoes and makeup and more shoes, AND it was a district Asuka wasn't known in. In fact, this was probably only the second time she'd ever stepped foot in it outside a battle/wartime situation. This was good.
Well, except for the fact that she had no idea what she was doing.
Asuka sighed, wishing for the millionth time that Rin had agreed to let her smoke. Two weeks training with no smoking, then he'd think about it. Two weeks would be up in just a few days. You can make it that far without killing yourself or anyone else. You can do it. It's just a little clothing shopping.
.... why hadn't she dragged Inosuke along for advice? This was way more up his alley than hers. If only... oh, right. Rumor mill. Nevermind.
Another heavy sigh escaped her as she trudged down the street, peering through shop windows as she passed store by store. More than one had been appealing, and she'd marked them on her mental map, but so far she had entered none. Most of them closed at five, anyway, and since it was approaching six it was too late to get into those that were closed. Until this one - it was definitely a girly shop, with the aforementioned clothing and jewelry and makeup and shoes, and it was open past five. Interesting. ... and those were some pretty scarves up by the cash register.
Intrigued, Asuka pushed open the door and let herself inside, her arrival marked by the tinkle of tiny bells... completely missing the sign hanging above the door:
Paper Dolls.
So she thought. Until she did the required scouting (that is, actually taking a look at the Gold Crane) late one night after training, and finally saw exactly what the clientèle was like and what they wore.
Um.
Damn. She was going to have to get a dress. A nice dress. A... cocktail dress, if that was what it was called. Something formal. Damnit, Kureno had warned her, and she'd agreed to it, but somewhere in her heart of hearts Asuka had hoped it was just an exaggeration - that she could get away with a nice blouse and some slacks and just do it low-key.
But no. That... was definitely not going to work.
So she had to find a dress. A cocktail dress. No big deal, there were places all over town she could look in. Places where people knew who she was, would recognize her, would approach her, would ask her why she was getting a dress, and then the rumor mill would go crazy. It was bad enough that she'd confessed to told Kiba about this, but at least Kiba would keep it to her team.
She hoped.
So the best course of action, it seemed, was to avoid all the places that knew her while still going to places that would sell the kind of clothing she would need. Thankfully, this was not as hard as it would seem. The district the Gold Crane was located in was crawling with girly retail stores, all devoted to fancy clothes and jewelry and shoes and makeup and more shoes, AND it was a district Asuka wasn't known in. In fact, this was probably only the second time she'd ever stepped foot in it outside a battle/wartime situation. This was good.
Well, except for the fact that she had no idea what she was doing.
Asuka sighed, wishing for the millionth time that Rin had agreed to let her smoke. Two weeks training with no smoking, then he'd think about it. Two weeks would be up in just a few days. You can make it that far without killing yourself or anyone else. You can do it. It's just a little clothing shopping.
.... why hadn't she dragged Inosuke along for advice? This was way more up his alley than hers. If only... oh, right. Rumor mill. Nevermind.
Another heavy sigh escaped her as she trudged down the street, peering through shop windows as she passed store by store. More than one had been appealing, and she'd marked them on her mental map, but so far she had entered none. Most of them closed at five, anyway, and since it was approaching six it was too late to get into those that were closed. Until this one - it was definitely a girly shop, with the aforementioned clothing and jewelry and makeup and shoes, and it was open past five. Interesting. ... and those were some pretty scarves up by the cash register.
Intrigued, Asuka pushed open the door and let herself inside, her arrival marked by the tinkle of tiny bells... completely missing the sign hanging above the door:
Paper Dolls.