Lose-Lose Situation

When Pisti strutted into the meeting room in the White Aries Tower with her lower shirt flung open and fluttering behind her as she walked, no one was surprised. No one, that is, except for Sharrkan, who was quickly burdened with rather prominent blush.

"Sorry I'm late. The shopkeeper insisted that I try on his new items. He said I was a perfect model for them." Pisti laughed airily. Ja'far shook his head, standing up to scold her.

"Pisti, you're always late. Somehow I'm beginning to think that you're doing it on purpose."

"Of course I'm not! Do you r-really think I'd do something like that, J-Ja'far-san?" Crocodile tears spilled from Pisti's eyes at an alarming rate. Ja'far only sighed and sat back down, narrowing his eyes as the tears dried up almost instantaneously. Pisti seated herself between Spartos and Sinbad victoriously.

Hinahoho, during all this, noticed Sharrkan's averted eyes and red face and leaned over to the Heliohaptian seated next to him to whisper, "What's wrong?" Sharrkan shook his head quickly, quivering as he looked to the side. He bit down on his bottom lip.

"It's... Pisti."

"Well, as Ja'far-san pointed out, Pisti is late all the time. It's nothing to worry about."

"No no no, not that. Her... outfit."

Hinahoho thought hard for a moment, before it clicked.

"Ah, I'd nearly forgotten you were raised in Heliohapt. And you still adhere to their customs, I'm guessing?"

"I still adhere to the customs of my country? Remember how Spartos acted when he first got here? Remember how he still acts?"

"Touché."

". . ."

"About Pisti..."

"It's fine. As long as she doesn't dress like this every day, I can suffer through it." Hinahoho nodded.

-

Sharrkan cried.

A grown man, in his bedroom in the Purple Leo Tower, crying.

Yes, it was a pitiful sight.

Three weeks of Pisti exposing her stomach for the world to see had finally broken him. And when Sinbad showed up in only swimming shorts and suggested everyone take a break and go for a swim in the ocean with him, Sharrkan had shrieked and run off, as that had been the straw that broke the camel's back.

Masrur cracked open the door after about an hour of Sharrkan's absence.

"Senpai, do you need anything?" Sharrkan sniffed in a not-at-all-manly sort of way, and shook his head, the tears welling up again.

"No, thank you Masrur, you're such a good boy!!" Sharrkan cried, standing on tip-toe to fling his arms around Masrur's neck in an affectionate hug. Masrur's expression remained the same.

"Okay, if you say so." After he pried Sharrkan off, Masrur left.

Not long after, Ja'far burst into the room, dressed in only trousers.

"SINBAD!! YOU CAN RUN, BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE!" Ja'far yelled at Sharrkan's closet as he threw it open. "TELL ME WHERE YOU PUT ALL MY CLOTHES!!"

Sharrkan was visibly shaken, and his face was growing hot again. Ja'far noticed him a moment later after determining that Sinbad was in fact not hiding in Sharrkan's closet.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sharrkan. Please excuse me." He gently shut the closet and left the room.

Sharrkan fainted.