A Brush with the Past

'I Hope My Palms Aren't Sweaty With All This Hand-Holding.'~

You and Emma walk hand in hand to the left of Elden, while Percy leads you all through the city. It seemed to be a perpetually grey here. The buildings. The sky. The people. Grey. And it wasn't like there were 'multiple looming storm clouds,' no, there wasn't a single cloud out.

"Neesan!" Emma yanks you to a window with multiple dresses on show. 'No Manikins. Hmm.' You hear a bell chime as Percy opens the door.

Inside there are women's dresses, skirts, blouses, coats, etc. along the walls. Towards the back are petticoats, corsets, and bloomers. 'Yay.' A plump, middle-aged woman barrels up to me, smiling big and knocking a few clothes to the ground with her pronounced bum.

"G'day madam! Do you need any help?"

"Yes she does. She would like to be measured head to toe. Is that possible?" Percy buts in, shocking her but she nods eagerly. She grabs my free hand and pulls me to a red curtain in the back. Sadly, I had to tell Emma to wait out with her father. She was unamused.

"Strip to your bloomers please." She tells me, before walking out of the room. 'I don't even know your name. This is all to sudden. Wait, do I even have on bloomers?!?' You pull up your skirt and petticoat to find grey bloomers. 'Close one.' You finish removing your dress, petticoat, and corset as she steps in with a plethora of measuring tapes, pins, and samples of fabric. Now looking at her smile and sewing materials, she reminds me of a feminine Mad Hater. Her frizzy black curls are lazily pinned away from her face in a bun thingy, creating a strange dome of fuzz. Her large, wrinkled brown eyes are a bit wild and her smile is huge. She sets her pile of supplies down next to me, all of it scattering. You unwrap the gauze off of your body rapidly. Thin, light pink lines are in place of the gashes from yesterday. 'Fast healing, that's a norm for demons...Right Elden?'

'For a majority. If one hasn't had a meal in a long period of time, their healing rate is lower than an average demon. Like that purple-haired maid.' 'kay' The robust woman pops back up in front of you with a measuring tape.

~Yet another child has prayed to their mother...oops, wrong fandom. Props to who gets the reference. Anyways, a time skip that was filled an epic measurement montage. Sorta like a building or training montage.~

She scribbles away at her notebook for the last time, documenting ALL of your measurements. Its been an hour by now, you felt like sitting.

"Get dressed and meet me at the lounge area when finished. We have to discuss clothes!" She seemed a bit too excited over clothes. You grudgingly get dressed into the uncomfortable dress. You slip on the dress and walk out. Percy is sitting in a plush chair with his arms wrapped around Emma, who is sitting in his lap. He is playing with the ends of her fingers making her giggle. Elden is standing awkwardly behind them with his arms crossed. Toots is sitting across from Percy and there is an empty chair between them. You speed walk to the seat and plop down.

"So, um, what is your name again?" The woman inquires. You realize you don't know hers either.

"(F/N). And yours?" You say. 'Man, I sound all fancy with these well structured sentences.' Elden makes a 'pfft' sound at you. You whip your head towards him and pout.

"Call me Mary. Anyways (F/N), what sort of clothing items are you interested in getting?"

"The basics. And then some." 'Be more clear.'

"Okay, I know. I need a corset, a few pairs of bloomers, three skirts, a pair of boots, four blouses, and a few pairs of socks. Oh and a garter belt." She smiles and nods while documenting the new information. Percy sort of gasps and Emma begins whispering into his ear.

"They are, well, a belt that holds up socks."

"Why can't I wear them?"

"Because, because they don't come small enough for you." He looked uber-uncomfortable. 'Ciel wears garter belts. Everyday ones that are just below the knee and in the Book of Circus, Smile wears them. I shouldn't use him as a argument defender.' Emma pouts and looks to you for help. You shrug to her.

"Oh, a lady that knows exactly what she wants. I love it! Now, what style are we gonna go for?" 'Hmmm. should I go for the common wear of women. Or for what I want to wear? Both? Both.'

~Another time skip. I had written this part out and its fucking boring. The pictures are what you got except the garter belt, the socks, four blouses, and the bloomers. They don't really matter and the blouses are up to your imagination. Color, style, cut, all yours.~

Click. Click. Click. Your new black boots make the soothing melody on the sidewalk. You decided to change into the ruffled charcoal skirt, a pair of black thigh-highs, and a (Whatever color and style floats your boat) blouse. Emma was holding your hand but this time you led the way. Percy and Elden were somewhere behind you. It seems they are discussing things in a hush-hush tone. Percy apparently needed a few new art supplies if I was to shadow him. You were hoping to walk by a book store so you had something to go by when tutoring Emma.

"Psst." You whip around to your left to see a hunched over shadowed figure. 'Elden, are you seeing this?'

"Are you alright (F/N)?" Elden slithers up behind you and snakes an arm around your waist. (BAD DUM TSS)

"I don't see anything." He whispers into your ear. The figure tilts its head up to you revealing multiple yellowed, crooked teeth showcased in a sinister smile. 'Its right there, looking at me. Its even smiling. Please don't be joking around, your not funny.' Elden just lets go of your waist and clasps your hand, pulling back to the flood of citizens.

'Now you have me worried. What if something is wrong with your well-being? Its understandable but I had worked concluded this realm would be best.' He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. You squeeze his gloved hand harder to bring him comfort. 'Sorry, don't worry so much. I'm content here, I mean, you remember the blood-loss situation in the store from before?' He looks down at your pleased expression and sniggers. Emma snatches your other hand and you swing it back and forth. 'Where's Percy?' Percy is staring at the ground intently and seems to be mumbling to himself.

"Tch." You sound to him, trying to call him to you. He snaps out of his daze and jogs up to you.

"Yes?" He shyly asks.

"Walk with us, okay?"

______A/N_________________

Buongiorno Principessa!!! Look up this adorable scene. Do it.

Anyways....If you noticed, there is a new title. @melanie448 came up with it and many thanks to you! I think it will most definitely work with the story, which still hasn't picked up...sorry. The next chapter will not be filled with the boring shopping spree. The last two chapters have been fillers, as if you didn't notice.

I accept any and all tips, requests, random thoughts, bullshiting, and tomfoolery. Song ideas would be nice because I don't know whether to put stuff I'm listening while writing or stuff that goes with the story(which is harder to do than I thought).

Tambien- Ahora hablo un poco de español, pero quiero entender mucho más.

Rough Translation: I currently speak a little spanish but, I want to understand a lot more. (I'm not native but my dad's parents are from Cuba and Ecuador (or Equador, however you wanna spell it).