Shibuya

[Bloodedge]

"Good first impression, huh─" Yugi muttered. That wasn't much of a first impression at all, though Yugi himself was the only reason to remember at the time. Did Kimiko remember now? Time would tell, he thought. Little did he even realize, something telling would soon pass his own lips. "Your first impressions aren't as bad as you think. If I had to guess, I'd say you're just too caught up thinking about them. Your best first impression is when you're meeting someone brand new, and the first thing out of your mouth tells pretty much everything about you," he said, unknowingly saying a very similar phrase to one he'd spoken some years ago. When first hearing Ashikaga Kimiko speak, without even knowing who he was speaking to, he commented on how her introduction told her life's story and all she enjoyed. It was once a habit of Yugi's to analyze people that way, before he developed a much-needed social filter. Without missing a beat though, he nonchalantly slipped into the next topic. "It was pretty weird, yeah. I realized I was sounding something like that dumb tutorial bot games like to throw at players. I didn't let myself live that down for a while; I almost beat myself over the head for it at that tavern. Well... you embarrassing yourself just before that took the edge off a good bit~"

What if she wanted to send him things while they were out together? That didn't make much sense. Poor Yugi. He wasn't even thinking about it the right way. In fact, his thought process was even worse than one might expect. "I mean, Discord is available as a smartphone app as we─..." He didn't even finish the sentence before realization struck him. Still, it wasn't a full realization of what Kimiko implied. "Right. That would also require a smartphone. I still don't much see the point, but you're not even listening to the part where I'm saying no, are you?" he wondered aloud, sighing as he did so. While Kimiko explained her perspective on what he deemed as needless purchases, Yugi took note of the other customers glancing his way. This was always fated to happen when a random guy entered a lingerie store. No matter what, he'd have to make it clear that he wasn't just some creep walking around in here alone; he'd have to stay close. He could be saved from most embarrassment in that case, but then, there was Kimiko holding up a pair of undergarments as if he was to comment on them. Pink in the face, he coughed gently. "Ahem. That's fair and all, but it feels wrong to me. I've had to spend responsibly for ages, so I'm almost hardwired against splurging on anything that isn't something celebratory. Y'know, like buying steaks after getting bonus pay or something. . ."

[Apollymi]

Yes. A good first impression was something Kimiko had tried for upon entering the other world. Of course, it went without saying that eventually it came to pass that she seemed to have pulled that off, only to embarrass herself, but what Yugi had to say about it was much more telling. His claim was that she wasn't as bad at making first impressions as she thought. He went on to say a string of words in an order which triggered her memory a bit. "I really might think about it a lot, but... it's a bit hard not to..." she said managing to soften just a bit. Her embarrassing moment was mentioned soon after causing her cheeks to tint just a tad. "Oi oi, don't remind me. There are very few times I've actually managed to embarrass myself in front of people and that one is burned into my memory as a horrible moment." Kimiko said of her previous moments in the tavern. "Still it had the best possible outcome so I can't say I mind it after the fact," she said seeming to have made peace with the moment already. Moving on...

"Wait wait wait..." she said her mind was traveling down several corridors to get to the memory triggered by Yugi's previously spoken words. "I've heard that before, when I was a kid sometime... oh short cake day!" she said thinking about it for a few more seconds. "Were you prone to wearing masks as a kid, Yugi?" she asked of the boy in front of her. Whatever his answer their conversation would eventually continue. Apparently he took issue with the idea that she wasn't even listening to his words. "I am listening to you, Yugi. I hear and comprehend your 'no', but you haven't fully grasped what I am saying just yet~ Oh about a minute and a half and the rest of it will hit you~" she said with a chuckle. Yes, she wasn't going to fully explain that part. What was the point of being coy, if you still had to beat someone with a stick over the implications? Well she wasn't going to dwell on it too long. She'd gotten tepid approval of her underwear choice complete with a blush on the lad's face. She wondered if he felt out of sorts in a place like this, well he was rather close perhaps he thought to avoid any misconceptions about being here? Whatever the case he claimed to only splurge for special occasions due to his previous need to conserve. "Sou ka, well proper budgeting is an admirable skill. I count it as an ability... but this could easily be considered celebratory," she said with a devious light appearing in her eyes. "It could be a house-warming or celebration of the acquisition of something rather exquisite. Oh, or a commemoration, yeah, something like that. Definitely a day worth remembering, so worth celebrating~" she justified partly just to tease, but partly to make clear the point that any random thing was worth celebrating at this junction. Having picked out enough pieces to feel comfortable that she wouldn't need any for a while, she went about heading to the register with a smile on her face and Yugi in tow.

[Bloodedge]

Whoops. As the girl spoke, Yugi came to realize he'd muttered a bit too much. She was catching on─ of this there was no doubt. Maybe he could keep going with the topic of her embarrassment, and the weird times of his past could be overlooked? "It's not all bad, right? If nothing else, I think that was a huge icebreaker for us. Kudos to you for dealing with me while I was Kou; everything was such a struggle as him early on." Sadly, this would accomplish nothing. Kimiko caught on just as he expected, and she wasn't keen on letting it slip her mind. Instead of pointing things out directly, she questioned his wearing of masks during childhood. Yugi had a thing for masks now, that was true... but the same didn't apply in his younger years. "It was more forced than anything. I just got used to it over the years. Yumi, not so much."

One minute and thirty seconds would be all it took for Yugi's mind to register Kimiko's implications? Nonsense. He considered it obvious that she simply wasn't taking no for an answer, but the deviant thoughts weren't catching up to him. Actually, they were drowned out by other such thoughts. They were in a lingerie store, and she'd been picking up several articles─ none of which evaded his gaze. He could almost see each piece equipped and being put to very good use right here in the store, but ah... he couldn't let anyone see his mind wandering so easily, could he? "I think there's only one thing 'hitting' me right now," he said frankly. With that, he was being dragged along again, straight to the register. Of course Kimiko hadn't checked the price tag of a single item, though she was purchasing multiple. If she insisted upon treating upcoming purchases as celebratory things, he doubted she would accept much argument over it. And so, begrudgingly, he would have to accept eventually. "It can't be helped, can it? You're just going to keep finding excuses to make me get things. I guess there are a couple of recent things I should consider worth memorializing."

[Apollymi]

Kimiko found herself putting all the things she wanted up on the counter, flashing a quick smile to the clerk and removing her phone from her pocket while the items she picked up were put into the system for purchase. She hadn't even bothered looking at them when she'd picked them out, the cost of these items was inconsequential. Instead she was more focused on Yugi and his words concerning her dealing with him in the form of his most skittish Avatar. "I mean I will be the first to admit it wasn't all bad. I might have ended up with a slight complex but it definitely wasn't the worst experience," she said of Kou and his mannerisms. "Besides, I can't really complain, the softest form I have was just easily flustered and incapable of being direct, so it was at least partly my fault," she said more than willing to share both blame and appreciation for the pair of them managing to deal with each other as not their actual selves. According to the lad, he'd gotten used to masks as a child though they were forced upon him. Yumi the name of his younger sister, had not apparently liked them so much. "Sou ka, what I am remembering of that encounter makes me wonder if I shouldn't apologize. I was a pretty pushy kid too..." she said thinking about it a bit. While pulling out a black credit card from the case on her smartphone and swiping for the roughly 66,700 yen she'd just used for just undergarments.

Moreover he claimed only one thing was hitting his brain right at the moment. "Ah, yes... but that's just right now. What about later? What about when we've gotten together to do something and I want to send you a message or two? What about when I want your opinion before I pop up for the day? For someone who overthinks, you're leaving out the fun part~" she mused. None of that was truly direct but all led back to why she wanted him to have a phone. Ah, the privacy of a quick racy text, a pic of her hipbone with cute panties and no subtext, a shadow and a short skirt. Not to mention the great number of internet challenges to be completed and sent from multiple angles. Yugi's mind hadn't traveled far enough just yet. But he was at least on the right track for the shopping trip, though he'd taken quite a bit longer to get there. "It cannot be helped. It's better that you allow this, lest you waste a potentially hard stance on something that can only benefit you~" she smiled at him in that same devious manner she always did. Oh, there were a thousand and one dirty things crossing her mind just for the phone. Everything else was icing on the proverbial cake of a good day.

[Bloodedge]

"What's a complex in the face of an epic memory. Yeah, maybe it's only epic for me, but... that still counts, yeah?" he said, somewhat teasing. They both had to deal with each other's more timid sides since their beginning in the other world, and both were better for it in the long haul. If Yugi could go back, he wouldn't change a thing... aside from a few embarrassing moments, of course. "Hmm. I should get Karna back for that stunt he pulled, now that I'm thinking about it. Damn that was terrible," he commented. There were a great many things he needed payback for regarding interactions he had with Kimiko's various forms, but that could all come later so long as the memory didn't fade. Speaking of memories, it seemed Kimiko had a decent amount regarding their first meeting in childhood. She thought she was pushy then, but he didn't see things the same way. "Honest. You weren't pushy. You were honest. It was more surprising than weird; I wasn't used to meeting genuine people back then."

Yes yes, there was always the chance of Kimiko wanting to send the lad a message or something. He could see that being fun and all, even though he couldn't see it being worth the cost of a smartphone─ those prices were ridiculous nowadays! Kimiko's true point continued to go over his head, even now. "Hai hai, it's fine. I'll take the phone, but I'm still gonna bitch about it even while giving an opinion on your new outfit or whatever," he said, being accidentally clear that he didn't have a clue what her true meaning was. What a shame; his deviance was failing him after all this time. Regardless, he would cave on the subject of phone purchases. The matter of clothes was something entirely different, but for now, he was content to move out of the current store and onto one less weird for a young man to be seen in. "Besides, you're too set on this for me to keep arguing anyway. At this point, I'd expect you to sneak off and buy one just to secretly drop it in my room later."

[Apollymi]

"I mean, it might count. I'll out grow it sometime... maybe," there was a pause as Kimiko came to realize that she'd likely develop a different kind complex dealing with a lad like this. Oh, and he brought it up, albeit indirectly. The stunt that Karna had pulled when they'd gone to retrieve the egg that would grow to be their future Filolial was nothing short of epic. Yugi was obviously embarrassed by it as Kou and planned apparently to take revenge upon Karna for pulling down his pants in front of an easily embarrassed Miki. "Ah, yeah, Karna's a bit..." another pause came from Kimiko as she tried to find the right word. "Annoying. Yeah, that one works. Don't feel bad, but get your revenge as you see fit," she mentioned with a quick nod of her head. "Also I definitely enjoyed the show... even if I'd already had a preview~" she mused. Oh, it was her turn to slip up. No one else knew she'd managed to freak herself out touching his junk only a few weeks prior to his accidentally being pants'ed in front of her. Whatever the case, she moved right along, picking up her bag and turning after her charges cleared as they always would. Moving right along, it seemed that it wasn't necessary for her to apologize for her younger self. She'd apparently not been totally insufferable but instead her personality was classified as genuine and only strange because Yugi had not encountered anyone like that before hand. Kimiko's face gained a reddish hue as she managed to look legitimately sheepish. "Sou ka, well... if you say so, I guess that's fine," she finally managed to put together though she'd only feel more appreciated by such a statement.

Soon she was turning, extending a hand to the lad, after placing her phone and card back in her pocket and picking up the bag of lingerie she'd so recently bought. She'd extended it in offering to Yugi so they could head to a different store, but his lack of understanding of her previous mention of his need for a phone wouldn't go unnoticed. "Oh? You are a bit slow on the uptake today. I take it back... Now I'll have to wait and see how long it takes your brain to catch up, Yugi~" she mentioned though she still wasn't being forthcoming. "Also I doubt you'll actually be upset about anything, just a bit of intuition on my part~" she said offering the lad a playful wink as she planned to move towards the exit of this store. All the while, the lad explained what he thought would happen if he denied the thing she was offering him. He wasn't wrong about his assumption at all, a huge smile crossed her face. "Hm, well... I definitely would do something like that~" she agreed without even the slightest hint of shame. It was best he realize what she was like long before it as problem, though he seemed to be missing half her motives right now. She couldn't help but wonder how a lad so very perverse as this one missed the real use of a smartphone in this day and age.

[Bloodedge]

"I'm sure you will. I outgrew mine... sort of. Mostly. Almost." Yugi's clause ended with the clearing of his throat. In truth, the only thing that kept him out of the embarrassment of that moment currently, was the fact that they'd now been connected by the loins. If not for that, he'd be shrinking into a corner at this very moment. It also, of course, helped that Kimiko claimed to enjoy the 'show' they were speaking of in hindsight. Strangely though, she mentioned having a preview before that moment? What could that have meant? Saved from flushing, Yugi was instead rendered curious and... slightly confused. "Eh?" he uttered. "Preview? What, did you catch me popping a boner before that? I thought I was pretty good at hiding it─"

He was indeed quite slow on the uptake. Still, he didn't get it. He wasn't going to be getting it, no matter how much time passed. After all, how could he? His mind was flooded, and there were few ways he could ever fix that. Perhaps it was best for him to just... give up even trying to think of the answer. Kimiko's promises never led him astray before, and he was sure they wouldn't now. "I'll take you at your word. Let's just get out of here," he said, clearly incapable of dealing with the lingerie shop any further. Luckily for him, Kimiko was one step ahead. Her purchase was done, and she was leading him out by the hand. Yugi heaved a sigh of relief en route to the exit. In dragging him along, Kimiko also took the time to confirm his earlier assumption about her nature. Another sigh came, though not of relief at all. "Of course you would. To be honest, I don't even think I could be mad if you did. I'd do the same, if I were the one getting you something." Ever the doting individual was Yugi once bonds were properly formed. He'd spoiled his younger sister until the day she died, as best he could. Time and fate would one day coalesce until he did the same to Kimiko.

[Apollymi]

"Uh-huh, you're not sounding too sure about that~" she said in her usual teasing tone. Ah, one of her new greatest joys was teasing this lad and not being taken completely seriously at every turn. It was quite a relief, so much so... that she found herself doing it at any turn which she could enjoy. But, such indulgences came with obvious risks. One such risk was mad obvious by the fact that she managed to overshare while trying to ease the lad of his embarrassment in a teasing manner. The preview made him curious if he'd managed to show his arousal at some random point. Apparently, he'd been careful of that fact, but there was at least once instance where Kimiko had managed to wake before him in the other world. "Whoops, foiled by my own self. I'd planned to take that one with me to the deep secret place. Maybe only confessing in some drunken moment were we both black out and forget about it..." she muttered with an increased bit of sarcasm. Still, she was only truly embarrassed as that Avatar. "So, I totally wasn't being a creeper or anything, but that day I threw myself out of that hammock in the Fairy Forest, I originally woke up because I was being poked. And I may or may not have grabbed the offender while half sleep before realizing what I was doing. I also might have woken up properly, immediately after realizing what I was handling and freaked right the fuck out..." she said seeming a tad sheepish. "I died of embarrassment that day."

Yes, well... admittances were made. It was hardly something she could manage to be upset about now. She wondered over Yugi's reaction to such a thing, but it was rather clearly in the past for both of them... if it was a problem, she'd deal with it later. Whatever the case, she'd already taken him by the hand, and given that he wanted out of this place she was content to lead him out as such. He even claimed to trust her most recent promise, which made her happy considering his previous argument, still she'd just give an affirmative nod as they moved on. Hand in hand, with her recently purchased lingerie in a bag, she walked along with him, taking in more and more stores, with a general idea of where the cellphone place she used was located. "Oh? Might take that as permission too. Don't worry, Yugi. You're pretty clever I'm sure you'll figure out your own kind of sneaky gifts~" she mused. He was worried about nothing as far as she was concerned, money was nothing she spent like she was dying everyday. Meanwhile, the experience, just like this one was worth its weight in gold, she was pretty sure she'd mentioned that way back in Atlantis while they were planning their outing with Fiona.

[Bloodedge]

"Oh, I'm totally sure about it... most times~" Yugi added. He may have still been caught up on that matter from time to time, but he was alright with it for the most part. Moving onward, Kimiko admitted to ruining her own otherwise well-kept secret. It wasn't specifically that he'd been caught while erect in an earlier moment... well, not during his waking hours at least. She'd felt his member while they were sleeping, woke, and proceeded to place her hand upon it. Interesting. Despite how embarrassing that had to be on the other side, Yugi in his present state found it quite... laughable. "Pfft! I guarantee even Kou wouldn't have done anything to stop you if you'd just... y'know... made something of that situation~" he teased. True enough, even his most timid form wouldn't have been able to resist waking up to an old-fashioned handjob─ even if he did freak out about it. Oh well; it was probably for the best that no such thing happened that day.

Kimiko took his statement as permission, and she most certainly should have. At this point, she could essentially do whatever she wanted, even if he argued against it. Such was the sort of dynamic they shared earlier this very day, even if it was the other way around. She was very right as well; he would figure out sneaky presents of his own. It would take time due to the desire to top previous gifts, but he'd make things work in due time. Even so, he would act as if he had no such intentions. "Maybe something'll come to mind here and there. Inspiration is hard to come by, y'know? If the mood strikes, you'll be the first to find out~" he said jokingly while his eyes wandered the expanses of the mall. What sort of place did Kimiko intend to visit next? He wondered, though he imagined that smartphone was something she'd be keen to get out of the way sooner rather than later. . .

[Apollymi]

"Oh? Most times, he says~" Kimiko had nothing but quick quips for such statements. Of course, all of the things she said presently were in good fun, she had no intention of being bad company nor of teasing too much. Besides, her previous mistakes were the ones which were currently on the chopping block. It seemed that her most well guarded secret was out now and it was met by laughter. Of course it was, it even came with the statement that she could have gone about making that situation worse and even Kou the most skittish Avatar wouldn't have stopped her. "Well, yeah... but that was also the softest me. Embarrassed and trying to be good. Can't open the door with, 'Excuse me guy I just met and partnered with, sleepy me wants to molest you in your sleep'..." she said in her general snarky manner. Still it was all in good fun. As they passed by more stores, she found herself looking into windows and seeming to be amused despite the gentle red tint on her face. She might not have been truly embarrassed of her actions anymore, but she still came off a bit softer than normal. She was sort of happy she'd not been too pushy at first, it wouldn't have done well to be that way given what he was like then. Their progress wasn't exceedingly fast, but she was quite certain about it, which was a comfort she wouldn't have rushed for anything.

Whatever the case, it seemed they were both in agreement that they would do as they pleased in each others presence. No arguments that were lodged against the other seemed to come from a place that couldn't be negotiated. As far as Kimiko was concerned, Yugi was free to do as he liked, having already earned her trust. In the meantime, they came to the store where she'd acquire his smartphone, while having a chat about his potential future gift-giving. "Oh? Well, inspiration is pretty hard to come by. You just make sure you take advantage when the moods strike~" she said happily. She'd had such a random striking of inspiration while they were in Atlantis. Such a thing, seemed so far away now, but it was like the true start of their relationship for her... a point of certainty she hadn't been capable of ascertaining before that very moment. Now, they would enter the smartphone store and get him situated. "Hm, do you have a preference in color?" she asked. Having already decided to simply get him the same model of phone she had to avoid any inconsistencies. She'd all but forgotten she was being followed by the cops, at present she was far too busy enjoying Yugi's company.