"Fair point. Then I'd better take this seriously and aim for perfection."
Kitagawa Kai smoothed the girl's hair, adjusted the headband a few times, and tied its ends into a neat, symmetrical bow.
"How does it feel?"
Ichinose Honami tilted her head in front of the mirror, then touched the headband. "It's even neater and prettier than I expected. You're surprisingly talented at this, Kai-kun."
"Skills carry over. I've always been a fast learner."
"Then it's only fair I return the favor. My turn."
"Hm?"
Ichinose took a pair of antlers from a nearby shelf and beckoned to him.
"Kai-kun, lower your head."
Kitagawa Kai bent down as asked, and the fuzzy brown antlers settled firmly on his head.
He looked up at the mirror.
The girl wore an elegant burgundy headband, while a pair of endearingly goofy antlers stuck up from his head. Standing side by side, they made quite a charming picture.
"We look especially good together."
Ichinose Honami straightened his antlers and smiled at their reflection. "I suppose that makes you my deer husband today."
"Didn't you say you'd be afraid of drawing a crowd if you wore something like this?"
"That's why you're wearing it, Kai-kun. Everyone will look at you and forget to look at me."
"So I'm useful for that, too."
"You don't want to?"
"I do. Of course I do."
Kitagawa Kai adjusted the antlers and headed straight for the register.
"Then I'll wear them while we shop. Everyone can see Honami's good taste."
He had never cared about harmless stares from strangers. He was hardly the sort to live by what other people saw or said.
"Hey, wait!"
Ichinose Honami hurriedly caught his sleeve. "All right, all right. I just wanted you to try them on. I didn't mean for you to