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Desscaras insists on a girl's day out, just her and Kumugi. It's definitely an amazing idea, after all they've barely had any time to just relax and hang out without Ichi or Gokuraku. Normally, Ichi would insist on joining them- he somehow manages to find every excuse to hang out with Kumugi and Gokuraku is never far behind Ichi, sticking to him like gum on concrete. It's funny, watching the three of them get along so smoothly.
Desscaras is a little jealous, but she's got Togeice to hang out with and it's not like they don't all hang out as a team. But Desscaras wants more one-on-one time with Kumugi. So to solve the problem of Ichi following her around like a lost dog, she demands that he and Gokuraku go out and race hoverboards all day at the Association's hoverboard training course. Her tactic works like a charm and Desscaras get's Kumugi all to herself for a day.
Kumugi is happy to go out with her- Desscaras thinks that she's grateful for the break from Ichi. The poor girl can barely go to bed without Ichi or Gokuraku barging in and causing chaos. Desscaras would never do that, she has much more decorum than those two brutes.
Kumugi is woken up by Desscaras barging into her room noisily.
Used to this by now, she sits up and rubs the sleep from her eyes. Desscaras wishes her a good morning before throwing open Kumugi's closet and rummaging through her clothes. She doesn't question it, instead she stretches, trying to soothe the ache in her neck and shoulders. I should probably stop hunching over when I write...
She gets out of bed, joining Desscaras at her closet, watching at the older witch pulls out various clothes only to put them back.
"Desscaras," Kumugi tries to interrupt. Desscaras doesn't stop, just humming in response as she holds up a cute dress to Kumugi's body, "What's going on?"
"We're going out," Desscaras states, putting the dress to the side before walking away to look at Kumugi's shoes. "Do you have shoes to go with that dress?"
"Oh, okay," Kumugi mumbles. I definitely don't have a choice. "Uh, yeah, I think I do."
"Cool, then get dressed," Desscaras ruffles her hair before walking out of her room, leaving no time for Kumugi to say anything else.
Great.
Kumugi sighs and holds up the dress Desscaras picked out. She has been meaning to wear it out.
Natali is a large city and despite living in it since she started going to the Academy, Kumugi hasn't really been around much. She's never had a reason to- most of her time has been spent inside, either studying of writing reports. She has to make up for her lack of magical prowess elsewhere.
Desscaras, on the other hand, has been around Natali. A lot, actually. Or at least that's what Kumugi assumes, following the witch around the winding roads as she dodges market vendors, fans, and other solicitors. It's a miracle they manage to make it around the city without being swarmed. Desscaras must love the attention; Kumugi wishes she wasn't so close to getting trampled every few minutes.
Their first stop is a cafe. It's interior is cute and cozy-- not at all like the extravagant venue Kumugi expected. The woman running the shop gets them a table immediately upon recognizing Desscaras-- maybe her fame can be a good thing.
They settle into a window seat-- front and center for any passing citizen to see Desscaras-- and Kumugi feels awkward. They've never hung out like this before, she's not sure what to say. So she opens the menu and hides inside the laminated paper.
"Mugi-chan," Desscaras pushes Kumugi's menu down, "What are you gonna get? Because I wanna try a bunch and Ichi tells me I shouldn't be so wasteful."
"Oh, um..." Kumugi looks down at the menu and back up at Desscaras, "I don't know what I want yet."
"Hmm..." Desscaras leans back and strokes an invisible beard, thinking. "Look at the menu and tell me what you want and I'll order it- I just want a bite, please."
Kumugi nods and looks back through the menu, there's a lot of items and they all look delicious. Kumugi can understand why Desscaras has a hard time choosing. She settles on a delicious looking tart and a fancy melon flavored iced tea.
True to her word Desscaras orders everything. It's a fight to keep her jaw from dropping at what Desscaras gets which (including what Kumugi wants and not counting their drinks) ends up being about ten items.
"Desscaras," Kumugi says after their waiter leaves, "are you going to actually finish all that?"
"Ya calling me fat Mugi?" Kumugi immediately panics, shaking her head as she tries to stutter out a defense when Desscaras laughs at her. "I'm kidding, we're going to share. Obviously."
Kumugi's jaw drops at that statement. "Wait--"
"It'll be super delicious, that tart thing you wanted looks really yummy!"
"I didn't think--"
"Oh, and their berry cake is supposed to be to die for."
"Desscaras, I don't think--"
"And the macrons look so cute! You can see them in the display over there--"
Kumugi smacks her hand on the table, effectively shutting Desscaras up. "I don't think I can eat that much."
"Oh." A lightbulb seems to go off above Desscaras' head. "That's fine we can just take some of them to go and save them for tonight."
Kumugi doesn't want to ask but she has to. "Tonight?"
"Yeah, we're having a sleepover, keep up Mugi."
Desscaras keeps talking, rattling off a list of what she got and what can be saved for later, but Kumugi doesn't hear any of it. She's too preoccupied by the notion of them spending all day together-- not that Kumugi has a problem with it at all-- it's just, well, Kumugi would have never thought in a million years that she could spend all day with a friend. The fact that her friend is the strongest witch alive also makes Kumugi's head spin.
She's never had many friends, or any at all as a matter of fact. It's always just been acquaintances, the idea of a sleepover feels like a made up thing to Kumugi. It's one of those things that belongs to Spica-- sleepovers and having friends are her thing, not Kumugi's.
It feels nice to have it for herself.
Desscaras asks Kumugi where she wants to go next, because she's super considerate like that. It's a little surprising when Kumugi leads her to a clothing store. Kumugi dresses cute, Desscaras can admit it, but for some reason she didn't expect this to be their next stop. She's never been one to complain about shopping, though.
"I thought we could, uh, get cute PJs for tonight..." Kumugi mumbles as they enter the store.
This girls is a genius, Desscaras thinks. "Great idea!"
They browse the racks and shelves for a while, pointing out various cute clothes. Desscaras is liberal with what she grabs off the racks, taking whatever she thinks could look good on her or Kumugi. Kumugi also picks out a few things, though she sticks her mission of finding cute pajamas for the both of them.
Desscaras grabs a fitting room for them and sorts out the different clothes she picked out. Hopefully she got Kumugi's size right.
Kumugi is checking out a dress on the shopping floor when Desscaras goes to find her. It's one that she's already picked out, which brings a smile to her face. I'm so good at this.
"Mugi," Desscaras sing-songs, draping an arm around her shoulders, "I got a dressing room, lets try on everything I picked out, yeah?"
"Oh, okay," Kumugi spares another glance at the dress on display, "I want to try this one on, I think..."
Desscaras drags Kumugi towards the dressing room as she speaks, "don't worry your cute lil' head about it. I already grabbed that one for you!"
Desscaras doesn't pay any more attention to what Kumugi says after, her focus is solely on pushing Kumugi into the dressing room. She doesn't fight back, but Kumugi does look confused as Desscaras swings the door shut.
"I want to see everything too!" Desscaras shouts before turning to sit on one of the chairs in the hallway section.
"Uh, okay?" Kumugi replies.
The next hour passes quickly.
Desscaras enjoys their little fashion show, and manages to convince Kumugi to buy the dress she was looking at earlier. The pajamas that Kumugi picked out are super cute and super comfy. There's clothes that Kumugi likes but has to think about first. Desscaras asks her to tell her when she comes back so she can tag along. There's a good selection here, maybe they'll have something that speaks to her next time.
Desscaras looks at her watch and sighs. It's getting late but Desscaras has one more place she wants to go. Kumugi looks ready to head back to the Association but one adorable puppy dog look from Desscaras is enough to convince her otherwise.
There's one store on their way back that sells various oils, lotions, and enough beauty products to make a literal piece of shit look stunning. Desscaras wants to get some things for her hair and maybe a bottle of perfume for Ichi... He's been smelling better now that Gokuraku has been making sure he properly cleans in the baths, but he somehow works up so much sweat during the day it renders his baths useless.
Kumugi stops a few feet from the entrance of the store to take in it's glory. It's a small place on the bottom floor of one of the townhouses that line the main road. While it looks like every other shop on the street from the outside the large windows out front reveal the glimmering interior.
Desscaras leads Kumugi in and can't help but smirk as she watches Kumugi take in the grand shop. There's three floors filled top to bottom with a wide array of makeup and other beauty products. Shimmering bottles of various lotions, scents, oils, and whatever else have been charmed to float around the store. Women and men peruse the shelves, eyes glimmering at the prospect of being able to buy something here.
When Desscaras turns to look back at Kumugi she's not there.
Instead, Kumugi stands trembling outside the store clutching her bag close to her chest like it's the only thing keeping her alive.
Desscaras walks back out and stand in front of Kumugi, leaning over to look her in the eye.
"Do you not like it?" Desscaras asks.
Kumugi steps back, putting space between them. "The smell is too strong..."
Desscaras stands straighter, looking Kumugi up and down once more. Her face is pale with a sickly tint and beads of sweat slowly make their way down her skin. Her body also wobbles every so slightly.
"Oh," Desscaras gasps, "I'll be quick then!"
Desscaras turns and enters the store with a mission.
Kumugi feels bad she wasn't able to go shopping with Desscaras at the last shop, but the moment she stepped inside her nostrils were assaulted by so many different clashing scents she was sure staying inside for another second would have ended up with puke all over Desscaras.
Desscaras is kind enough to do her shopping quickly before they leave.
The journey back to their home feels shorter somehow. It's not that it takes less time (actually it takes longer to get back) but it feels like time flies by quicker. Desscaras tells her a story from her academy days and Kumugi laughs so much she can feel her face start to cramp up.
The scent of fish curry wafts through the halls as they approach their living quarters. Ichi is cooking dinner and as per usual it smells to die for. The strong spice and distinct brackish funk of cooked fish makes Kumugi's stomach growl loudly. She's not the only one, Desscaras' stomach makes a similar noise from beside her.
"If there's anything he can do well besides hunt it's cook," Desscaras compliments somewhat begrudgingly. "Don't tell him i said that."
"My lips are sealed," Kumugi assures.
A small smile graces Kumugi's lips; Desscaras would have never come to mind when she thought about a good family, but she's surprisingly soft when it comes to those she loves. Kumugi is lucky enough to be able to see that side of her.
Desscaras barges into the common area, kicking open the door for dramatic effect. Ichi sticks his head out of the kitchen to greet them, he's holding a wooden spoon which he uses to wave.
"Food'll be done soon!" He announces.
"Cool, lemme into the kitchen for a sec," Desscaras demands.
Ichi tries to block her from passing. It wouldn't be such an issue if Desscaras wasn't trying to keep her bag of desserts safe. She pushes against him holding the bag in the air. This could very easily turn into a disaster.
"Ichi," Kumugi tries to interject, to no avail, "Desscaras is just trying to put her food away."
"Yeah, move it brat," Desscaras sticks her tongue out at him. "Kumugi said so."
"Hmph."
Ichi lets Desscaras through, tailing her the entire time she's in the kitchen. Kumugi finds it a little funny, but she knows how bad things can go if Desscaras is let loose near any sort of cooking. Kumugi shivers at the thought of what happened last time they had her cook on her own-- there's probably still rice and burnt eggs stuck on the ceiling.
Desscaras comes back out of the kitchen with a victorious look on her face and drapes herself over Kumugi, pulling her along to where their rooms are. Kumugi can see Desscaras making faces at Ichi from the corner of her eye.
Kumugi and Desscaras get changed into their matching pajamas so they can settle in and relax for the rest of the night. Kumugi looks at herself in the mirror again, it's cute. The tank top and shorts are both made of a light cotton fabric with a subtle silver sparkling star pattern, the straps on the top and the hem on the bottom of the shorts have the same intricately delicate lace pattern; Kumugi pajamas are a deep cooler toned green color and Desscaras got hers in black.
Kumugi turns in the mirror to admire how cute her new clothes are. Desscaras comes up behind her and pulls her into a bone crushing hug.
"Aww," Desscaras coos, rubbing her face against Kumugi's like a cat, "we look super cute together!"
"Yeah we do," Kumugi agrees, smiling as she looks at their reflections in the mirror.
Ichi's voice echoes through the halls, cutting their conversation short. Desscaras groans, but she moves first heading to the common area to eat. Kumugi follows along, eager to have some food.
Ichi's dinners are always delicious, tonight is no exception. Kumugi has no idea how Ichi is the only person living here that can cook, but nobody will ever hear her complain about it.
The table is set with plates and utensils for everyone. Gokuraku and Ichi are already eating, not bothering to wait for them. Kumugi smells the food before she sees it, and even though Ichi is not one for fancy plating but the sight of it alone makes Kumugi drool a little.
She takes her seat quickly, serving herself a plate as Desscaras starts to devour her own food. There's still a lot left in the pan, but she knows between Gokuraku and Ichi that won't last long. Kumugi quickly thanks Ichi for the meal before digging in herself.
Her first bite tastes like heaven after a long day of walking around and eating nothing but sweets. The curry sauce is hearty and just spicy enough to leave a lingering burn on her tongue. The fish is masterfully cooked, flaky and juicy but not overdone despite being cooked in the sauce. The vegetables inside are soft and toothsome, not a single one is overcooked.
Kumugi eats slowly, savoring the dish. The others are disinclined to do the same. Gokuraku is already nearly done with his second plate, Ichi is in the process of reserving himself, and Desscaras is just about finished with her first plate.
Ichi talks with his mouth open, detailing his day racing hoverboards with Gokuraku. Kumugi tires to pay attention but she can't focus on anything Ichi says because she's too distracted by how gross it is. Gokuraku and Desscaras were, thankfully, raised with manners and continuously tell him to swallow his food before talking.
Dinner passes as quickly as the rest of the day has felt. Kumugi misses the time already, wishing she could slow everything down to appreciate it even more. Her hand itches for a pen.
"Okay," Desscaras announces, clapping her hands together, "you two stinky guys get out, we're doing girl's night."
"Aw, but Desscaras," Ichi whines, "We haven't seen Kumugi or you at all today."
"Exactly, that's the point of a girl's night."
"But you already had Mugi-Mugi all day," Gokuraku argues, crossing his arms and pouting like a giant toddler.
"Yeah! Gokuraku is right!" Ichi agrees, mirroring Gokuraku's actions.
Desscaras groans and points towards Ichi and Gokuraku's rooms across the room, "Go do something without us, it's my night with Mugi."
Ichi and Gokuraku boo at Desscaras as she rolls her eyes. "I think it could be fun if we all did a girl's night together," Kumugi says. Ichi doing girly things like braiding hair or makeup is so foreign Kumugi thinks there will never be another opportunity like this ever again.
"See," Ichi retorts, pointing at Kumugi. "Kumugi says we can join!"
Desscaras finally budges and lets the boys join them. They make full use of the common space and Desscaras pulls out her array of desserts she got earlier in the day. They still look good, though a little shaken up from being lugged around all day. They share the sweets as Desscaras and Gokuraku try to explain what all the beauty products they have out are to Ichi.
He looks completely lost but nods along like he understands anyways- Kumugi can tell, he gets the same look on his face during Togeice's lectures.
After a long explanation, they decide to just move on and Gokuraku offers to teach Ichi how to braid hair. Gokuraku decides the best way to teach Ichi is to show him an example using Kumugi as the model. However, due to his missing hand, Desscaras is the one to braid Kumugi's hair. It puts her more at ease. Kumugi is still a little intimidated by Gokuraku.
The night flies by. They all do facemasks before starting their hair styling endeavor. Desscaras does a fantastic job and Ichi manages not to pull all of Gokuraku's hair out of his head. Ichi paints Kumugi's nails and while the first few are sloppy Ichi actually does a good job once he's figured it out. Kumugi also applies a fresh coat to Gokuraku's chipped nails for him.
By the end of the night the boys have passed out on the nest of blankets they set up on the floor. Kumugi and Desscaras stay up a bit later, swapping funny stories of when they were younger in hushed voices. Kumugi fights to stay awake, she doesn't want this day to end just yet.
Desscaras smiles at the scene in front of her. Her eyes droop and the darkness between her blinks gets longer and longer, but she commits everything to memory.
Ichi is sprawled out like a starfish with drool leaking from his open mouth. Gokuraku sleeps with his arm draped over his head, his legs long enough to go under the coffee table and out the other side. Kumugi fell asleep talking to Desscaras, her head is resting on the couch in a way that Desscaras knows will be uncomfortable when Kumugi wakes up. Desscaras would help Kumugi out, but her eyes refuse to stay open any longer as she joins her family in a deep slumber.