Secret Valentine: Erika Karisawa

[unicornhunter]

Erika squealed, then was super quick to ask someone who worked there if she could try on the outfit. They seemed taken aback by her excitement, so it took them a few moments to pull themselves together long enough to pull out the measuring tape and checked to see which of their sizes would fit - or if she was going to have to order a custom-size in order to try it on at all.

Erika hadn't really expected that, so she got a bit nervous as they asked her to lift her arms, so that they could measure her bust and waist and hips. She hadn't really . . . though that was going to be necessary.... Her face was turning red, but she didn't say anything. She simply swallowed and mentally counted down to ten to help calm herself down....

Soon the measurements were done, and they went into the back to get her size.

She didn't realize she was having trouble breathing until they left, then she laughed nervously, embarrassed about the whole thing.

"Is there anything you want to try on, Iza-Iza?" she asked, wanting to get her mind off of it.

[UndergroundGod]

Izaya stood to one side as he watched the flurry of action required just to try something on. Honestly, he thought that that was a little bit much. Shouldn't they have sizes just available for people to try on without going through the entire measurement process? He saw the enthusiasm quickly fall from Erika's face as they took her measurements, moving the measuring tape from place to place all over.

Izaya had had his measurement taken before. One didn't buy a several thousand dollar suit without having it custom-tailored, and he remembered how the tailor had needed to measure everything and touch pretty much everywhere. He understood why Erika looked so uncomfortable after everything that had happened to her, but it was over in just a few minutes and as they went to grab an outfit in her size, she moved back to his side.

He shook his head slightly in reply, explaining simply, "No, I don't think anything here is really my style."

[unicornhunter]

"Awwww, well, we should go to a place with stuff you'd like next!" Erika said, smiling at him.

They came back with an outfit for her - it was size S, so she really didn't know why they needed to measure her - and they directed her to the changing room. She locked the door behind her and started changing into it.

She was getting back to her original level of excitement when she saw the outfit. This was really quality material, and the fact that she found it in a lolita shop was incredible! Lolita tries really, really hard to separate itself from otaku culture, especially abroad, and Alois Trancy did dress in a way that wasn't really in the spirit of lolita.... But she didn't care. If anything, that made it easier for her to try it on.

It took her a while to get into it - and the ribbons caused her the most trouble - but she came back out to model it off for Izaya, spinning around in it. "How do I look~?" she asked, grinning.

[UndergroundGod]

Izaya wasn't sure how to respond to Erika's comment. He really wasn't much of a shopper, and he usually didn't go through the process of trying things on. He wore mostly tee shirts and jeans, and obviously, pajamas. The whole shopping experience was a bit of a mystery to him, he had to admit, though he couldn't say he wasn't interested in all of this.

The store employee returned just a second later with an outfit for her and Erika excitedly hopped off to the dressing room to try it on while Izaya lingered nearby the changing room area. His eyes continued to trail around the store, observing the various outfits and people scattered about.

He hadn't really expected Erika to pop out a few minutes later to model the outfit for him, so when she did, he was at first taken aback as she did a little spin for him. It was definitely an interesting outfit on a girlish figure, Izaya supposed, and had the shorts been a skirt it would probably be considered a grade s zettai ryouiki. Under the circumstances, Izaya was just left to respond with a mildly impressed, "Wow."

[unicornhunter]

Erika giggled, giving Izaya a smirk as she imitated Alois's posture for a moment. "I look that good, huh?" Keeping in character, she stuck her tongue out at him, then remembered Izaya just wasn't going to get the joke. That only made her laugh. Going back to being herself, she turned around to look in the mirror to see how it looked.

It really was awfully accurate and well made. If Walker was here . . . .

Her smile faltered a little, thinking back to before she made friends with Izaya, back to when she was still just pretending it had never happened at all. Walker had always looked a bit disappointed when she wouldn't even try to wear stuff like this.... Would he be jealous of Izaya right now?

She shook her head, snapping herself out of it, then turned back around to face Izaya. "It's cute, right?"

[UndergroundGod]

Erika suddenly took on a posture and tone of voice that wasn't quite like her, sticking her tongue out at him. Initially, Izaya was a bit perplexed by the sudden change, unsure of where it had come from… until he thought to himself that perhaps she was imitating the character. Since Izaya hadn't seen the show, he didn't really know what the character was like to compare, but it was the most sensible conclusion. Why else would Erika suddenly do something so random and silly, unless it wasn't actually that random at all (though it was still a little silly)?

Then she asked him if the outfit was cute… and Izaya supposed it was. He gave her a little nod and a grin, though he wasn't sure how much more he should give her. Usually he only used compliments for the sake of manipulation and anything beyond that that might sound like a compliment was just an observation of some sort.

She did seem to enjoy wearing it though, or at least she seemed rather tickled by it. He asked her casually, "Do you like it?"

[unicornhunter]

"Yeah, I do!" Erika twirled around in it once more, adding a bit of a tap dance to the spin. She lost her balance a little and tried to regain it, but she wasn't able to put herself upright until her back hit the mirror. Giggling and blushing a little, she pushed off the mirror.

For the first time since her worries brought her to Izaya, she felt really carefree. Like she didn't have a single worry in the world.... It was a feeling she had really, really missed.

But this was also the first time this feeling had come to her when she wasn't around Walker, Kadota, and Togusa. Ordinarily, it was one, two, or all three of them who made her concerns melt away. Walker brought her into a better life. Kadota gave her a chance to relief her guilt. Togusa provided a path back down to Earth....

So . . . what was Izaya?

"I like it a lot!" Because it was cosplay, but really because he was there with her.

[UndergroundGod]

He couldn’t help but be amused by her antics. It was far too easy to remember their time spent together under the looming threat of her psychotic father--that was easily the first real exposure he’d had to her after all, besides passing glances. During that experience, a carefree smile had been non-existent, and even a forced one had been a bit rare. There was something particularly nice about her silly grin now, though Izaya couldn’t put his finger on why that was.

Regardless, as soon as she said she liked the outfit, he made the mental decision to buy it for her. He had a feeling she might try to protest, but he’d already made his mind up. Some part of him desperately wanted to spoil her and though he was only partially sure as to why, it didn’t mean his resolve to do so was any less.

He leaned back against the wall casually, smiling at her with a touch of amusement. “You certainly seem excited.”

[unicornhunter]

Erika grinned at him and spun around in the costume. "I am~!" She then started going on a rant about what the outfit meant to her in terms of otaku culture and cosplay as a hobby - the backstory of Alois, how the second anime came about in the first place, and basically she somehow got onto the topic of the history of Black Butler, going on and on and on and on. She even somehow knew a lot about how the English dub was worked on, despite having no good reason to know about it. Her obsession just went that far.

As she was still talking, she went back into the changing room, then took off the clothes and put them back on their proper hangar. She held onto the hangar as she came out and continued to talk. She didn't really pause in any part of her long explanation, even as she gave it back to the man who had brought it out.

She only took a break from talking to thank the man and smile at him, though it was clear that she wasn't thinking of buying it and just wanted to try it on. She didn't expect Izaya to buy it for her, and she knew she didn't have the money for it, especially if she was going to pay for Izaya's things later.