Grass

Street Shops

Okuyasu's hand squeezed yours in reassurance as your face twisted in bewilderment at the world around you.

Shops lined the small two way street, that maybe you could recall from long ago, the scent of fresh foods wafting out from some, and friendly faces setting up tables outside of others. All the people roaming in and out of the shops were dressed in styles unfamiliar to you, much more simple than the bizarre fashion shown on the television. Even more strange were the objects these people carried about. Baubles and sweets you thought were hard to get. To you, this seemed to be a street of rich people, opening their collections to the sale of more common people like you and Okuyasu.

Well, that is what you assumed until their faces began to light up when Okuyasu waved at them. They called to him and beamed grins of gratitude and joy in his direction, even if he was simply shooting them a "yo." Even more confused with this area, you grabbed his arm with your other hand and tried to hide closer to him.

"Hey, Wus wrong?" Okuyasu turned to you and gave you a reassuring look. "All these people 'ere are friends of mine. And now that yer my friend they're yours too." He smiled and ruffled your hair.

You feel better for a moment, but he makes a beeline for a specific shop, where a man was sweeping outside. His face lit up when he saw Okuyasu heading his way. "How're you, Nijimura? Who's this lady?"

"Hey let's keep this quick, aight? I need some clothes for her. It's a bit of a story." Okuyasu was quick to follow the man inside, him complying with no further explanation.

You were beginning to wonder if Okuyasu and his friend were in a gang or something similar, seeing as everyone seemed to be on his good side. But from what you knew, gangsters and mobsters of the like were not nice like Okuyasu, nor acted like him. But... he did look intimidating.

Oku led you to a room and gently handed you clothes before trying to close the door in front of you, and you panicked. As much as you trusted his friends, you were still scared of being alone in such a foreign place. You grabbed the door and tried not to cry.

"Oku..." His expression turned shocked. "I don't want to be in here alone."

His face slowly tinted red. "A-are you sure?"

You nodded.

He slipped in and closed the door behind him, staring at you nervously. "Uh, I'm gonna turn around... just go ahead." He turned the other way and sweated over being there.

You quickly changed and grabbed his hand while he was still facing the other way, jerking him to reality. Okuyasu smiled at you warily and led you back out the room, where the shop owner was standing with a pair of shoes and socks.

The socks, which you slipped on with ease, were plain grey and soft, but the shoes were bright white. You fumbled with the laces for a moment before Okuyasu leaned down and began tying them for you. The sight of him knelt down under you made your heart run laps in your chest.

He straightened himself up and grabbed your hand once more. "Thank you Mr. Akiyama. I'll repay you later." The man nodded and waved it off as the two of you left the shop.

Out on the sidewalk stood Josuke who looked skeptical. "Nijimura. Let's go."