Chapter 45 – Wardrobe Change

"Hey, Takei?"

"Mmm?"

"Why do you always wear the same outfits?"

"..."

"Okay, that's it. We're going shopping today!"

A short and abrupt conversation began and ended before Takei could even voice his opinion of resisting.

The disinterested black haired teenager wasn't at all interested in the current fashion trends that were happening amongst most students.

He would honestly rather spend his money on video games or on anime and manga, in order to feed his otaku addiction.

Takei really wanted to deny Akari's proposal to go to the mall for clothes shopping, but he couldn't even manage to slip a word in during the high octane conversation that they were having. Akari was moving at her own pace and as a result, Takei couldn't keep up with how fast she was talking.

Well, that was usually what happened so there was not much of a difference.

Deciding that there was no way of escaping this situation, Takei planned on imposing a single condition on this trip.

"I'll go, but on one condition."

"What is it?" The goddess asked, surprised to see Takei give up this fast.

"You have to buy clothes too," Takei cheekily said.

Indeed, the condition Takei decided to impose on Akari was to ensure that she would have to suffer the same fate he did. Well, "suffer" may or may not be the correct word for her feelings in this situation. Obviously as a girl, Akari would enjoy shopping for clothes, but Takei decided to consciously ignore that thought in favor of being able to see the goddess in some new cute attire.

As per usual, Akari was able to read what Takei's true intentions were.

Deciding to play along, Akari pouted and acted like she was displeased about the idea. "Fine, I'll go..."

And so, a new legendary story was about to unravel between the goddess and her employee.

***

They ended up going to the closest shopping mall that was only a short distance from Takei's house.

Due to time constraints during the day, it was the only choice since all the more trendy malls were quite a distance away.

Takei didn't care that much about it though, since he wasn't particularly excited to go to the mall anyways.

Either way, he was now stuck shopping hand-in-hand with a literal goddess.

Akari wouldn't let him off with just a shopping trip, instead she adamantly insisted that Takei had to hold her hand or else she would get lost.

In the face of such a bold-faced lie, Takei sighed and resigned himself to the fate that was being controlled by the goddess.

"Nothing I can do anyways," Takei mumbled.

The first store that they decided to go shop at was a men's place that specialized in cool and refreshing outfits that helped enhance the charisma of the wearer. At least, that was what the rumors were amongst the students of the school.

In reality, the store just had an overabundance of sleek and youthful outfits that any teenager could wear. This was mainly the reason why Akari brought him to this store.

"You definitely have to try this!"

Akari picked out an outfit and thrusted it into Takei's hands, while also pushing him into a dressing room.

"What a troublesome girl," Takei smirked.

For all the complaining he did, there was not a single time that he truly thought Akari was troublesome. Rather, he enjoyed her company and her random ideas that would push him forward.

Takei was truly happy and grateful for Akari being in his life.

Putting aside that gratitude, Takei finished putting on the outfit that was given to him.

It was an all black outfit that was specifically picked by Akari since she knew he liked darker colors in general. Deep dark black jeans paired with a midnight black denim jacket along with a white undershirt was the bad boy look that she was going for.

Takei stepped out of the changing boothe and looked around for Akari.

He spotted Akari sitting at a nearby bench, so he went up to her and asked for her opinion of the outfit.

"How is it?" Takei asked.

Akari blushed slightly and nervously glanced at him. "You look really cool and handsome..."

At the sight of such an innocent girl blushing madly at his appearance, Takei's mind entered the realm of no return.

He wanted nothing more than to spoil her right now. Sadly for him, it would have to wait since they were out in public.

In order to dispel the awkward air, Takei thanked Akari for her compliment and tried to brush the recent event aside.

"Ah, um, thank you... I think I'll buy this outfit, so let's keep on shopping."

The goddess looked at him, with a slight tinge of red still lingering on his face, and nodded her head gently.

Soon after, many outfits were bought with the future in mind. Casual getups, classy outfits, spring wear, summer wear, and many more different types of clothes were purchased.

The price was not a big problem since Takei received an allowance from his parents. Usually, he would either use it on otaku stuff or save it just in case for any special ordeals. This just so happened to be one of those special ordeals so he decided to go all out with the intention of impressing Akari with his new looks.

Once the large shopping haul was done, Akari looked a little bit guilty about forcing him to buy all of these clothes.

"I'm sorry for getting out of hand..."

In response to such a pitiable goddess, Takei rubbed her back gently.

"It's okay, I needed new clothes anyways. In reality, I got all of these to impress you," he stated.

Akari looked confused at what Takei was trying to imply. "Impress me?"

"It's a boy's pride to impress the girl he likes," Takei nonchalantly said.

If Takei was asked if he liked Akari or hated her, the obvious answer would be that he liked her. That right there is where the problem lies though. Takei doesn't know if he likes her romantically or as just a friend yet. As a result, an easily misunderstood sentence was said.

"T-the girl he l-l-likes?!" Akari sputtered.

Poof!

Steam could be seen coming out of the goddess's ears, as her normally elegant face turned a bright shade of strawberry red.

---

Akari's Affection Meter: 65 -> 70%

Seeing Takei in many different outfits has awakened something primal within her.