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It's with a heavy sigh that Akito has to admit that on the list of casualties in a fight with a Gangler, his clothes are a pretty low priority. Though he can't help but be annoyed when he and the others get back to the office from a particularly gnarly fight- one with a piece of the collection that made it far too hard to get a clean shot- and his pants have a tear up the side. It's definitely too damaged to be repaired or patched cleanly at this point, so he's going to have to buy a new pair entirely. He almost feels like half his paycheck goes towards buying new clothes at this point. He drags a hand down his face as he kicks off his shoes, slipping into something more casual and less battle-ready, grateful that he has the foresight to keep an extra set of clothes here.
As he leaves the restroom to their makeshift office space he can see the other detectives typing out their parts of the post-fight reports. Haruka is detailing the Gangler's powers- and now its piece of the Lupin Collection, given those thieves shout out its name in the heat of battle- and what other incidents may be related to it. Kanade had taken names of any injured during the fight itself, and is filing any incident reports for those involved. Himself and An are supposed to tackle property damage reports together, but...
"Don't you think Mr. Taiga should give us uniforms or something if they're gonna get shredded half the time?" He scowls, tossing his ruined clothes in the trash with a sigh.
An leans over the back of her chair with a laugh, raising an eyebrow. "You think Uncle Taiga wants to spend that kind of money on uniforms for us? Besides, we're supposed to be doing work in street clothes. It'd be kind of obvious who we are if we were in uniforms."
"That may be true, but..." Haruka pauses her own typing, frowning a little in thought. She looks up from her own laptop, glancing between the two. "It may not be a bad idea to invest in some clothes specifically for fighting. Even when we're not transformed, a uniform would be a good idea."
It's a bit of a shock to hear Haruka agree with the idea, always thinking of the practical. Akito raises his eyebrows, leaning forward onto the table. He takes a glance over at her report, noticing how close to done it is. "Hey, you're always trying to get the budget as low as possible. Why'd you agree here?"
She actually laughs a little at that, gently knocking the back of her hand against his shoulder to get him to lean back. "Our transformations serve as a good indicator of where the danger may be, or tell civilians who to talk to if we're guiding an evacuation- having uniforms when we're not transformed would serve the same purpose. It conveys information efficiently and wordlessly in an emergency. Think of it like the red cross you see on first aid kits. Plus, there's the additional benefit that if we custom-order uniforms, we may be able to specify padding and reinforcement in areas prone to damage."
"...That would be helpful," Kanade holds up her report that she'd been printing, before moving to carefully bind it and start slotting it into a file to deliver to Asahina. Her voice is as softspoken as ever, but there's a determination to it as she continues. "There were more injuries than usual today. Nothing too bad... I followed up at the hospital afterwards. No one needed any serious treatment, but... I think some of those people could have been saved if we had been able to guide them away easier. Maybe it's a good idea."
"Oh, really?" At the mood shift, An sits up, a little more tuned into the conversation. "Then, if we're willing to divide the work of the reports differently, we could start looking into the budget for it? Custom-order might be hard to afford, but we might be able to afford something off the rack and then alter it ourselves..."
Akito swings his arms over his head, stretching. "There's a shop that opened up down Main recently. Prices looked a little too real to be true. If you guys figure out a budget, I could go scope the place out. See if anything's in our budget, and if they do custom-made pieces."
"You just want to go out for a run," An says, rolling her eyes. "Not a bad idea, though. Is it in that building that used to be the old arcade?"
He nods. "Mmmmhm. My partner was pretty sad to see that place go, so I've been keeping my eye on the place. I was wondering what was going to go in there. A boutique popped up... I want to say a few months ago?"
"That could explain the unreal prices. Trying to establish a customer base before they've taken off. There's a chance we could cut a deal with them," Haruka says, glancing between the two. She's no stranger to the area, but she trusts their judgements far more. "If they're looking to have reliable clientele, we're the type that are going to have to repair and order new clothing on a consistent basis. They may be willing to give us custom clothing for a price within our budget. Since you offered, would you be willing to go ask about the prospect, Akito?"
"Mmm. Yeah, I'll head on out. If you three are still at it when I'm on my way back, I'll ask if you want me to bring back food."
He can hear all three of his colleagues giving their thanks as he leaves, tugging on his boots and heading out the door. The path to the shop comes to him easily- he may not have been to this particular boutique, but he knows the area well. Besides, he hadn't lied to An. His partner had been taking him along to that arcade since they were in high school. Finding his way there wouldn't be hard, especially given that it wasn't far from the agency.
It's a brisk walk, giving him time to listen to some of the new releases he hasn't had time to listen to, and he's nearing the building. Surely enough, where he remembers the arcade is now a hand-painted sign that reads Boutique En Rose. He had glanced in the windows before, but none of the styling stood out to him beforehand. It may have been something Ena would be interested in- their tastes in fashion differed so much- but with hours as vague as open when staff is on hand... he figured he may not bother with her schedule. Shopping for work uniforms is a bit different than shopping for himself, however, and he has been sent on a mission. So he opens the door with one last sigh, pushing it with his shoulder.
It's dim enough that he has to let his eyes adjust, blinking away the spots as he looks through the boutique. A quick glance at the mannequin closest to him shows that the quality of the clothes inside is quite high. He wasn't entirely sure what to expect with their prices what they are, but Haruka may have been right on the money. The clothes are gorgeous, though, and the fabric itself feels strong between his fingers. He glances around for another moment before realizing that the shop is oddly empty, and wonders if this was one of their closed due to staffing times, and someone had just forgotten to lock the door. He leans over the counter, glancing to see if anyone is behind, before giving an idle hum and knocking his fingers against the glass as he thinks. Going back empty-handed would feel stupid, but he can't exactly loiter in an empty shop.
It's just as he's pulling out his phone to ask for orders that he hears a sharp intake of breath- quickly followed by a shriek of, "Mizuki! Shizuku-chan!" piercing enough to make him drop his phone and cover his ears. At the stairway are two people- who look about his age- that look almost alarmed to see him there. It's convincing enough that he has to check that he's still in the boutique and he's not going crazy.
"Saki-chan? What's going on?"
As he's convincing himself that he hasn't lost his mind entirely, two more join the others. Mizuki and Shizuku, presumably. He rubs at the bag of his neck, wincing at how quickly a simple trip to the store has become a pain. There's a moment of tension before the tallest of the group- who had been sizing him up, it seems, glances towards the other that joined her, and steps forward from the stairs.
"Can we help you, sir?" She asks, tilting her head to the side a little. He can tell she's cautious of him. He can't fathom why she would be, but the easy smile she gives him with a nod feels forced somehow.
He kicks at the floor a little, grabbing his phone and tucking it back into his pocket. "...This is a shop, isn't it? Is there a clerk I can talk to or something?"
It seems to take a moment for the question to register for all three of them before recognition lights up in their eyes. The other that had come later- the one he keeps thinking of how pink they are- springs up, a smile spreading onto their face as soon as it clicks.
"Yup, yup! This is a fashion boutique, my friend!" They spring forward, grabbing him by the shoulders and throwing him off kilter. It's a miracle and a testament to his training that he keeps his balance, stumbling back towards a mannequin as they wrestle him around. "What'cha looking for, my friend? We don't exactly carry things in your style- unless you're shopping for a friend? A lover?"
"No."
"Mmmhm! Do they want something frilly? Something cute? Something romant-"
The girl who had yelled before- a blonde, that he can swear something feels so familiar about her- laughs, shaking her head. "Mizuki! Be nice! He's here to shop, don't scare him away!"
"Right, right." They laugh again, brushing themselves off as they pull away. "I'll leave it to you, then. I'd better get back to work, huh? Hope to see you around, loverboy!"
Despite their protests, the other three can't hide their smiles or laughter. Akito lets out a small breath, running a hand down his face as the blonde and her friend come to ask him what he needs. The others really owe him for this bargaining, when he gets back. At the very least a round of free pancakes. To make up for his wounded pride. Still... the shop is nice. He may have to come back to tell Ena about it, after all.