"I've already signed up; I'll start classes in a couple of days. There are so many things to buy..."
Mentioning Kendo gave Yuno Gasai a headache.
She had thought it would be something fun, but before it even started, the girl was already worrying about the styles of various protective gear.
"How about a white Dogi?" Yuno Gasai took out her phone and showed the shopping interface to Sen Getsusa.
Sen Getsusa was bending over to sort the ingredients she had bought, and when she looked up, she saw a super expensive figure.
"Is it really okay for a beginner to buy such expensive clothes?" Sen Getsusa shook her head.
Although she didn't usually look at prices when buying things herself, this was Kendo—she'd be learning with others, right?
If she showed up wearing such expensive clothes right away, wouldn't she be ostracized?
"It's a good way to filter out those annoying flies."
Yuno Gasai placed her phone on the table, also wanting to help sort the ingredients. She carried the bags to the kitchen and dumped everything onto the floor in one go for convenience.
"Once they see the girl's protective gear and clothes and calculate the price, they'll keep a respectful distance. Boys this age already know that saying."
Yuno Gasai smiled. "We're just not from the same World."
After putting a few bottles of drinks in the freezer and starting to thaw the beef she bought, she checked the time; Aoyama Nanami was about to arrive.
While Yuno Gasai was still hesitating over the clothes and gear, Sen Getsusa thought for a moment. "I actually don't think so. If it were me, I might consider—"
"'Oh, a young lady from a wealthy family! If I can get her, won't I save myself twenty years of hard work?'"
Sen Getsusa laughed after finishing her own sentence. "Forget it, just buy that one. After all this picking, I bet you won't even wear it many times."
She took the phone, preparing to place the order for Yuno Gasai, but the latter suddenly seemed to have a fit, muttering terms about various schools and styles while gesturing around her hair with long chopsticks.
"Yuno..."
Sen Getsusa helplessly tapped the other's shoulder. Unexpectedly, Yuno Gasai suddenly turned her head, lifted her pink braids, wrapped them around the chopsticks, and recited lines from some TV drama with a sharp gaze.
"From this day forth, I shall cut short my long hair and cast aside my womanhood! For my subjects!"
"Cut it short! Cast aside my womanhood!"
The girl slid the chopsticks back and forth over the ends of her braids like she was playing a violin, looking quite ridiculous... Sen Getsusa glanced at the other's curvaceous figure.
I reckon your womanhood doesn't have much to do with your hair...?
The girl rolled her eyes and crossly pulled the chopsticks from the other's hand, lightly pinching her cheek. "Have you bought the Do, Tare, Men, and Kote yet?"
Yuno Gasai nodded and listlessly let down her braids. "They'll arrive tomorrow. The others were too ugly, so I just bought the most expensive ones."
Fine, this girl didn't seem suited for Kendo anyway; maybe it was just a sudden whim to play around, so it didn't really matter what kind of protective gear she bought.
Sen Getsusa felt that Yuno Gasai would most likely not continue once school started.
Ding-dong.
Sen Getsusa:?
Yuno Gasai, shuffling in her slippers, padded over from a distance, and Sen Getsusa, with her bare feet, looked toward the hallway with her.
On the intercom monitor, a huge plastic bag appeared; the spherical package was being easily held by Machida Mariko.
Behind her, Aoyama Nanami was holding only their two phones, waving excitedly toward the camera.
Sen Getsusa:...Even though this girl is indeed very strong, you could at least make a token effort to help, Miss Aoyama Nanami.
She opened the door and let the two little ones in.
As soon as they entered, Sen Getsusa quickly took over the bundle of 'ingredients'—to be honest, this package wasn't much effort for her. But thinking that she wasn't an ordinary human, while Machida Mariko was... "Mariko, have you ever thought about training your sports-related Ability?"
"At your age, you could try something like weightlifting."
Aoyama Nanami pulled Machida Mariko to take off their shoes, and the two of them stepped onto the floor in their socks.
Before she could even marvel at the house, Aoyama Nanami, hearing Sen Getsusa's words, was moved to angry laughter. "Recommending a girl to practice weightlifting the moment she walks in? Sen Getsusa!"
Sen Getsusa also realized she had misspoken. "No, I mean, Mariko's strength is really great. Maybe she could even win some glory or something..."
Having said that, she stuck out her tongue and looked apologetically at Machida Mariko. "Sorry, Mariko. I'm having a bit of period pain today, and my tongue is out of control..."
Aoyama Nanami:...At least find a decent excuse.
Machida Mariko seemed to have heard such things many times; her expression didn't change much as she smiled, revealing two dimples. "I'd rather not... Besides, I just have a bit of strength. I couldn't handle real professional athlete training."
"But thank you, Sister Yuesha. I can call you that, right?"
Sen Getsusa nodded and happily pulled the two of them into the room.
At the entrance to the living room, in front of the three of them, Yuno Gasai stood there gracefully, wearing a proper short-sleeved top and a skirt, with her hands behind her back.
"This is Yuno Gasai, and this is Machida Mariko."
Yuno Gasai maintained her elegant posture, no longer the lunatic who wanted to cut her hair and cast aside her womanhood. Her pink hair was combed into two strands behind her, and her clothes were neat.
She bowed slightly to the dimpled girl. "We parted in a hurry last time. This counts as our first real meeting, right? Miss Mariko, I am Yuno Gasai. Please look after me."
Machida Mariko did have some impression of Yuno Gasai; ever since she started working part-time at the convenience store, Aoyama Nanami had given her a full rundown of her friends:
For example, Kamiigusa Misaki-senpai, whom she met through her work as a voice actor and who would initially tease her about her Kansai dialect;
For example, Sen Getsusa, with her beautiful big waves, who was sometimes sexy, mature, and charming, and at other times... 'That bastard, I want to kill her, that airheaded woman should just go die, ahhh...';
—And then there was Yuno Gasai, who came from a wealthy family, was proficient in many skills, had the attributes of a top student, and was gentle and cute.
So, besides Kamiigusa Misaki, these two were people Machida Mariko had truly heard about many times.
"Miss Yuno is a senior. I heard that before I came, Nanami and Yuno Gasai were always the star employees of the store, the two most hardworking people."
The few of them sat on the sofa, and Machida Mariko turned to speak to Yuno Gasai.
"I had a pretty good time then, thanks to Aoyama Nanami." Yuno Gasai replied formally. "I haven't officially thanked you yet, Nanami-chan. You and Tsukisa helped me escape that sea of misery!"
*For Sen Getsusa's sake, I'll reluctantly thank you.*
Incidentally, the delivery of this sentence was heavily monotone.
Aoyama Nanami and Machida Mariko sat on the sofa, quietly listening to Yuno Gasai recount (fabricate) how she lived, how she was saved by Sen Getsusa falling from the sky, and then how Sen Getsusa heroically scolded her parents, gripped her hand, and pulled her away from that hell.
In short, with the beginning and end trimmed, it was practically "A Record of Sen Getsusa's Heroic Deeds in Saving People."
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