After leaving the Palette, Uesugi Hara strolled through the Commercial District.
He realized he had been at school for almost a week, yet the only clothes he had worn were his school uniform. So he headed for the clothing section.
As soon as he reached the entrance, a striking white figure caught his eye. A little silver-haired girl was stepping out of a stylish clothing store. Her short hair, which fell just past her ears, fluttered in the breeze, and a delicate lace bow was pinned beside her beret.
She was playing with a newly opened box of hair accessories. Behind her, the little maid had her arms full of shopping bags emblazoned with various brand logos, with the corner of a silk skirt peeking out from one of them.
It was Sakayanagi Arisu and Kamuro Masumi.
Uesugi Hara had meant to pretend he hadn't seen them and turn around, but Sakayanagi Arisu's teasing voice rang out behind him. "Uesugi-kun, you run into someone you know and leave without even saying hello?"
He stopped and turned around, his face already composed into a suitably calm expression. "Oh, Miss Arisu. I didn't get a good look just now, so I thought I must have mistaken you for someone else."
"Hehe—" Sakayanagi Arisu lightly covered the corner of her mouth with one hand, then looked him over. "Are you going shopping for clothes, Uesugi-kun? I've just finished browsing. Would you like me to help you pick something out?"
Uesugi Hara knew there was clearly no getting out of this. With a helpless sigh, he dipped his head slightly. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Miss Arisu."
At that, Sakayanagi Arisu's ice-blue eyes lingered on him for a moment. As her gaze passed over the unruly strands hanging in front of his eyes, the corners of her lips suddenly curved upward. "Before we pick out clothes, perhaps there's something else you should take care of first, Uesugi-kun."
Uesugi Hara raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Miss Arisu?"
"Your hair." She lightly tapped the hair at her temple with a fingertip, her tone tinged with amusement. "Those long strands are covering your eyes and making you look rather gloomy. There's a salon just up ahead, and they do excellent work. Why not get it trimmed first?"
Uesugi Hara instinctively lifted a hand to brush his bangs aside. They were getting in the way, and he hadn't bothered to take care of them over the past few months, when he'd been in a bad mood. He glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu's impeccably groomed silver hair, then at Kamuro Masumi's neatly kept long hair, and sighed helplessly. "If you put it that way, Miss Arisu, I suppose I should get it tidied up."
"Hehe, that's more like it." Sakayanagi Arisu nodded in satisfaction and motioned for Kamuro Masumi to follow. "Kamuro, leave the shopping bags at the service desk up ahead. Uesugi-kun, let's go to the salon first. Once your hair is neat, it'll be easier to choose clothes."
Kamuro Masumi immediately answered, "Yes," then hurried toward the service desk with the bags. Watching Sakayanagi Arisu stride ahead, Uesugi Hara could only resign himself to following. It seemed that today she'd be "supervising" his clothes shopping—and getting involved in his hair, too.
A faint scent of incense hung in the salon, and the full-length mirrors made the space look especially bright. Sakayanagi Arisu took a seat by the window, while Kamuro Masumi, having just returned from leaving the bags at the service desk, stood quietly behind her.
"Please have the manager handle it," Sakayanagi Arisu said with a light smile to the approaching stylist, though she looked through the mirror at Uesugi Hara, who had just sat down. "Nothing too fancy. Just trim it so his eyes are visible. Something neat would suit Uesugi-kun's style."
Uesugi Hara leaned back in the chair and let the manager comb his hair. As the scissors snipped softly, Sakayanagi Arisu occasionally offered a suggestion. "A little shorter on the left? That'll make the lines of his profile clearer." Kamuro Masumi, meanwhile, brought him a cup of warm water at just the right moment.
The haircut was finished in barely ten minutes. Uesugi Hara glanced up at the mirror. His bangs had been trimmed, revealing the eyes they'd covered. He did look less gloomy and a little more refreshed.
"What do you think?" Sakayanagi Arisu twirled a hair tie around her finger, sounding rather pleased with herself. "Now we can pick out clothes and get the best results."
Uesugi Hara touched his hair, his fingertips brushing the neat ends. For once, he didn't object. "It's definitely more comfortable than before."
"Then let's go." Sakayanagi Arisu stood, her silver-gray skirt swishing around her. "We can head to that clothing store now. I guarantee that after today, no one will think you look 'gloomy' anymore, Uesugi-kun."
As they left the salon, the setting sun fell across Uesugi Hara's freshly trimmed hair. With his bangs no longer in the way, even his gaze seemed clearer.
Sakayanagi Arisu glanced sideways at him, the curve of her smile deepening. "You look much more refreshed. Now that's more like it."
Kamuro Masumi had already retrieved the shopping bags and followed at a suitable distance, as before.
The group reached the clothing store they'd visited earlier. Sakayanagi Arisu walked straight inside, and the staff immediately recognized the customer who had just made a hefty purchase. They hurried over to greet her.
"Bring out the charcoal-gray suit I looked at earlier," she instructed the staff, then lifted her chin toward Uesugi Hara. "Go try it on?"
Uesugi Hara took the suit and went into the fitting room. As the fabric rested against his body, he could feel its fine quality. It was clearly far beyond his budget.
When he came out in the suit, even Kamuro Masumi couldn't help taking a second look. The fitted cut outlined his shoulders and back perfectly, giving his somewhat somber appearance a sharper edge. The man in the mirror looked much more spirited than before.
"It suits you." Sakayanagi Arisu lightly tapped the tabletop with her fingertip, then pointed to a shirt nearby. "Change into an ivory one underneath. The stripes look too deliberate."
She seemed to be a born stylist. A few casual remarks were all it took to set the look, and she even explained exactly how many centimeters of his cuffs should show.
Uesugi Hara looked at himself in the mirror, then at Sakayanagi Arisu's expression, which seemed to say, "I knew I was right." He suddenly felt that being "dragged into this" hadn't been so bad after all.
Only when the staff had folded the new clothes and packed them into a bag did he remember to ask the price. Sakayanagi Arisu cut him off with a breezy, "Put it on my tab."
"Miss Arisu—"
"Just think of it as a gift to celebrate Uesugi-kun's 'new look.'" She interrupted him, her silver-white hair glowing softly under the lights. "We can't have you without a decent suit and embarrassing our school, can we?"
Uesugi Hara's fingers paused on the shopping bag. In the end, he could only sigh helplessly. "Then I won't refuse."
"Hehe, that's more like it." Sakayanagi Arisu turned to leave, and Kamuro Masumi immediately followed. "Now that we're done shopping, would you like to sit at the café next door for a while? I hear their tiramisu is very good."
Watching her walk away, Uesugi Hara knew there was no point pretending this wasn't another proposal he couldn't refuse.
He followed with his new clothes in hand, silently thinking that there was no hope of getting back to the dorm early today.
By the time they left the clothing store, dusk had spread across the Commercial District's skyline. The orange-red glow painted the glass facades in warm hues, and the streetlights came on one after another, casting long pools of light across the pavement.
Uesugi Hara walked alongside the others, carrying the bag of new clothes. The fabric brushed his fingertips, still stiff from its packaging.
The sunset gilded Sakayanagi Arisu's silver hair. She suddenly stopped at the intersection and looked across the street. "The outdoor café over there has a lovely view. We can watch the sunset from there."
Kamuro Masumi immediately stepped forward. "I'll check for a table." Before she had even finished speaking, she hurried across the crosswalk. A moment later, she waved to them from the other side.
"Let's go." Sakayanagi Arisu set off first, her cane striking the stone pavement with a crisp sound. "We can't let Kamuro's trip go to waste."
The wicker chairs at the café were still warm from the sun. As soon as Sakayanagi Arisu sat down, Kamuro Masumi handed her a menu.
Her fingertip paused over the words "tiramisu." Then she looked up at Uesugi Hara. "What would you like to drink, Uesugi-kun? Their pour-over coffee is quite good."
Uesugi Hara watched the sunset sinking behind the buildings in the distance and answered casually, "I'll have the same as you."
By the time the coffee arrived, only the last traces of sunlight remained. Sakayanagi Arisu gently scooped up a piece of cake with her spoon and suddenly smiled. "You're much easier on the eyes now than when we first met, Uesugi-kun."
"That's thanks to you, Miss Arisu." Uesugi Hara took a sip of coffee, its bitterness giving way to a lingering sweetness.
"Then should I keep an eye on you from now on?" The corners of her eyes curved, the darkening sky reflected in her ice-blue pupils. "For instance, next time you should get a suitable pair of shoes. Your sneakers don't go with your new suit."
Uesugi Hara smiled helplessly. It seemed his days of being "kept an eye on" wouldn't be ending anytime soon.
As he watched the streetlights gradually join into a band of light, he suddenly felt that the dusk wasn't so hard to bear after all.
By the time the last warmth had faded from the bottom of his coffee cup, it was completely dark outside. Neon lights left the café's outdoor seating half-lit and half-shadowed.
Sakayanagi Arisu set down her spoon and lightly dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin. "That was good. Kamuro, make a note of it so we can come back."
"Yes." Kamuro Masumi immediately jotted down the address in her little notebook.
By then, Uesugi Hara had stood up and raised a hand to the waiter. "The bill, please."
Sakayanagi Arisu raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to insist on paying, Uesugi-kun?"
"I can't keep letting you pay, Miss Arisu." Uesugi Hara took out his Terminal, his fingers pausing over the screen. "You've already treated me to the clothes, so let me pay for this coffee." His voice was calm but firm, leaving no room for argument. He was more accustomed to keeping things even than to owing someone a favor.
The waiter had just reached for the Terminal Sakayanagi Arisu offered when Uesugi Hara held his out. The waiter hesitated, unsure which one to take.
"If you insist, Uesugi-kun, I won't refuse." Sakayanagi Arisu withdrew her hand, a deeper smile in her ice-blue eyes. "But that doesn't mean we're even. If I think of a suitable 'return gift' next time, I'll come looking for you again."
Uesugi Hara's hand paused as he signed the bill. When he looked up, he met her teasing gaze and could only respond helplessly, "I'll be waiting."
When they left the café, the evening breeze carried a slight chill. Kamuro Masumi followed behind with the shopping bags, now carrying a gift bag as well. Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly stopped. "That's enough for today. Kamuro, take me back."
She turned to Uesugi Hara, her silver hair catching the cold light of the streetlamps. "You should head back to the dorm early too, Uesugi-kun. Don't waste your new hairstyle and clothes."
"Take care on your way home, Miss Arisu."
Watching them disappear around the corner, Uesugi Hara looked down at the shopping bag in his hand, then touched the receipt in his pocket. He'd been "managed" for several hours, and his original plan to buy casual clothes had turned into buying a suit. But the new clothes and the bill he'd just paid gave him a sense that he really was "living properly."
He headed toward a nearby side street, intending to browse a little longer. When the evening breeze lifted the hem of his clothes, he felt considerably lighter.