After their outdoor excursion, things returned mostly to normal. It could only be stated as mostly because of the fact that Tahiko and Amasa were more distant from one another than ever before. They always were, but it usually seemed they were close enough due to his incessant and constant attempts to chat with her casually. Now that he wasn’t doing that today, things became eerily silent in their little corner of the world.

Amasa felt a bit bad about getting him feeling down now. That wasn’t her intention. She was just blowing off some steam from his attempts to go against what she wished for. So to her, it was necessary to speak her mind that night.

“Hey, Tahiko.” As classes came to an end, Fukuna took her shot to asking the boy out for a little fun. “My friends are gonna go shopping at the mall. You should totally join us.”

“I suppose I could.” He responded, turning his head towards Amasa to see that girl’s reaction. She wasn’t looking at them, instead choosing to stare out the window as those two talked. “As long as it’s no problem.”

“I’m not going to stop you from living your life.” Amasa replied, not turning her head. The girl’s reflection on the glass was the only way he could see her face. “Don’t worry, I’ll just tell mom and dad that you’re just hanging out with friends.” She began getting her stuff packed into her bag and got up. “Well, I’ll be going home now. See you later.”

“Yeah…” He spoke, making no attempts to ask or convince her to join. “I’ll see you later.”

“Now come on, let’s go.” Fukuna paid little mind on their growing tension for there was something more important for her. “I bet this will be the first time you’ll get to enjoy this.” Knowing that Enatis likely had no malls, and even if they did a knight likely wouldn’t have shopped there. She was correct in this being his first experience in going to a mall.

“Of course, I already said I’ll go.” He was impressed with this girl’s enthusiasm over something he had no knowledge of. It must’ve been viewed as a fun activity in this world. “But let’s not leave your friends behind as well.”

“Ah, don’t worry they’ll meet us there.” She answered and led him out of the classroom. There however, they ran into someone Fukuna really wished they hadn’t. Chisa.

“H-hi.” Since it was the weekend, that girl was also planning on seeing him as well. “I was going to ask you something, but I can see you’re busy.” Seeing him with Fukuna made her lose any semblance of bravery she had in even walking to his classroom. “I’ll just see you later.”

“If you wished to spend time with me, then I see no problem if you’d like to join us at the mall then.” He said, more than happy to see her.

“I can think of one.” Fukuna muttered to herself in frustration of her bad luck. Why did this girl have to run into their path right now? But she didn’t reject the idea due to not wanting to seem suspicious. “But sure, you can come if you want.” She was hoping her tone might send the hint to that girl she didn’t want her to join them.

“Um… Sure, I’ll come.” Unfortunately, that message was not received. So the trio then headed towards the shopping mall that was a simple walk away from the school. Along the way, it was some normal chatting as usual, but Tahiko was a bit quieter than they had gotten used to.

“Where are your friends?” He asked as they arrived.

“Oh shoot, they just messaged me saying they can’t make it.” She replied, looking at her phone. They were never going to be here in the first place, that was just her excuse to get him to join her in what she thought was just going to be the two of them. So that it would technically be a date, but she couldn’t say that out loud to Chisa or even Tahiko seeing as he likely didn’t understand the concept.

“Ah well, with the three of us it shouldn’t be a problem.” He didn’t notice the lie and moved on. “So what do you normally do in a mall?”

“You’ve never been to one?” Chisa asked, confused that someone from Tokyo of all places wouldn’t know what was in a shopping mall.

“Um, it has been a while.” He quickly responded, realizing that his ignorance could give him away. “Anyway, how about Fukuna lead the way for us? She seems to spend a lot of time here.”

“It’s my pleasure.” She glowed in pride as the girl took them to her favorite spot in the mall. That just being one of the many clothing stores set up around here. As she went about checking on cute skirts and blouses, Tahiko found himself disinterested in seeing what this activity was all about. So he went to sit down on one of the many benches scattered around the room.

“The people here are so odd.” He quietly whispered to himself. “How can going out for necessities be considered a fun activity?” As he continued to sit on his own, Chisa was feeling a bit like a fish out of water in this situation. She had never gone out to shop for clothes on a whim. Usually the girl went to a more modest store to pick up less fashionable designs to wear in public. And by public, it was more accurate things she only wore inside at home.

“Aw… Maybe I shouldn’t have come with them.” She murmured to herself as she pulled out one of the skirts and placed it over her waist to see how it might look. These just weren’t her style and she felt like some kind of third wheel when a person like Fukuna was here. Yet at the same time, she didn’t want to say no to him. No one had ever invited her to hang out like this on a whim, and he had been nothing but kind to her since they had met. But at this point it just seemed like she was forcing herself to keep up.

Not to mention she was beginning to get the feeling Fukuna might be interested in him. Either that, or she just didn’t like Chisa given she felt the cold glare from that girl coming out from time to time. So even though she personally wanted to stop looking at clothes and sit by Tahiko. She didn’t want to dare do that while that other girl was busy.

“So, what do you think?” After some time had passed, Fukuna came out of the changing room with a new outfit. It was a lovely light blue summer dress. “You like it?”

“Hmm, it makes you look like a princess.” He complimented, but lacked energy in his voice. His feelings and words were true, but it seemed a bit disingenuous with the manner he spoke.

“It doesn’t sound like it.” She was offended of his lack of enthusiasm.

“Are you feeling all right?” Chisa asked, concerned seeing as he hadn’t been his usual self ever since that conversation with Amasa.

“It’s just that I don’t know how to navigate myself with Amasa anymore.”

“Ugh, not her again.” Fukuna had gotten tired of his constant need to bring that girl along everywhere. “How many times do I have to tell you it’s just a waste of time?”

“It may seem that way to you, but I only want to make sure she can be happy.” That was why he hadn’t talked to her normally in a while. It wasn’t that the boy was respecting her wishes about leaving her alone. He simply just wanted the next time he bothered her to not be a bother.

“Why don’t you try to get to learn about her hobbies?” Chisa offered. Since she didn’t know that girl well, it wasn’t as if she could give a full answer. However, knowing that these two were still learning about the other due to his adoption. It wouldn’t surprise her if he had failed to get to know her well enough. She knew that he hadn’t done that in their personal relationship.

“I’m gonna have to agree with her.” Said Fukuna. “I know you’re still new, but we all hardly know a thing about each other.”

“I see…” He gave a deep thought to their words. “I’ve been so focused on getting her to do things my way, I never considered how she did things herself.”

“Good to see we’ve gotten that squared away.” She responded, not as pumped up about this revelation as him. Though Chisa was more supportive on the endeavor, she did agree that he should focus on what was in front of him. “Now, how about we enjoy the rest of the day?”

“I can’t just do that with this on my mind.” Unfortunately, he went against their wishes and leaped right up from his seat. There was only one target and goal on his mind as the boy rushed out of the store. “I’m sorry, but I promise to make this up to the two of you someday!”

“Oh come on.” Fukuna sighed as he exited their view. “At least wait until I pay for my clothes.”

“I guess we should follow him.” Chisa suggested, which earned a stare from the girl. “Um, you know because if he gets her feeling better… She might want to be our friend.”

“Fine.” She relented. “We’ll go to their house as soon as possible.”