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Ever since Choso had spent that night stargazing with Yuki, he knew he wanted to give her something special in return. Sure, she was
He texted her, “What time will you be here?”
Yuki replied, “I’ll be there at 12:30, unless something crazy happens.”
Choso texted back a thumbs-up and heart emojis before checking on the food he was preparing: Yuki’s favorite, chicken burritos.
“BTW, don’t get lunch first,” he texted, “Will cook for you.”
Choso took a whiff of the chicken frying in the pan. It smelled rich and spicy.
He thought, I already want some.
Then, he double checked the beans he had on the stove. They were soft and tender, just like the recipe said they’d be, and pleasantly savory. He decided to scoop himself a little bowl and nibble on them while checking on a review of a new makeup line.
I wonder if Yuki would like that.
Choso set the thought to the side and rummaged through his fridge. He pulled out a tomato and some lettuce, chopping them up finely as the last little bit of toppings (alongside some salsa he made the night before, of course.)
“It should be ready now. Now all I need is her.”
And just like that, Yuki sent a message saying, “I’ll be there in 5 min.”
Choso waited by the door for her, thinking about his whole plan for the day. First, they’d have lunch together. Then, they’d go to the mall and pick up some beauty products, which would then lead into his final idea: doing her makeup and giving her a little manicure and pedicure.
He paced around his apartment, going between the kitchen, the bathroom (which he had prepared for the makeover,) and the doorway.
His mind swirled with a mix of excitement and nervousness. He could only hope that
But before Choso could worry too hard, he heard a knock at the door.
She’s here!
He swung the door wide open and immediately gave Yuki a big hug. She squeezed him so tightly that it startled him, though she just as easily calmed him back down with a little kiss on the cheek.
Choso asked, “How have you been?”
She said, “My day’s been fine enough.”
His brows furrowed in concern as he slowly pulled away from her.
“Fine enough?”
“I had to sit through some boring meeting this morning,” she grumbled, “And I mean it was really boring, and I had to be there at 7 in the morning.”
Choso nodded with an understanding look in his eyes. While Choso hadn’t spent as much time as a sorcerer as Yuki had, he too had been stuck going to several tedious meetings with the higher-ups over the last few months. One to determine whether he should become a sorcerer (given his background,) several to establish a legal identity (since he had only been incarnated for a few months,) one to get permission to travel with Yuki. And it felt like they all dragged on with constant blabbering about protocols and policies that Choso was vaguely familiar with at best.
Thank goodness I had Yuji and the others to help, Choso thought.
He cleared his throat.
“Well, I’ve got lunch ready first,” he said with a little smile, “I think you’ll like it.”
“Man, I can’t wait! I’m starving!”
Yuki caught a whiff of spice as she followed Choso inside. Her mouth immediately watered as memories of her time spent
“Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes, I made burritos. Took me a few tries to get everything right, but they should be good now.”
“Wow, you remembered that, huh?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I mean, we only had Mexican food one time.”
Yuki grabbed one of the tortillas, but Choso was the one that scooped out the fillings and carefully wrapped it shut. A little bit fell out, but Yuki quickly snatched it up and popped it into her mouth when Choso wasn’t looking.
Meanwhile, Choso poured Yuki her favorite beer into one of his glasses. Then, they sat down with their food.
“Thank you for the food!”
Yuki took a big bite.
“Mmm, that’s good! Did you make all of this?”
He waved his hand side to side, “Well, I bought the tortillas, but I made everything else.”
She gave him a pat on the back.
“Dang! You’re a way better cook than I am. I can never make half-decent beans, but you knocked it out of the park.”
The burritos were spicier than the stuff Choso usually made, but they were delicious. He finished it off and scooped himself a little extra helping of the rice and beans.
The two of them chatted about how things had been in the last couple of weeks. Choso had been very busy since he went home a couple of weeks ago.
“Thankfully, Yuji was able to convince them to let me have today off.”
Meanwhile, Yuki had started to look into getting some more assistance with her research on souls and cursed energy. Ever since Yuji and the others used her research on souls to help free Megumi from Sukuna’s possession, people started to actually take it seriously.
“So yeah, that’s why I had that meeting this morning. The higher-ups said they’ll assign a pair of people to work as research assistants. And apparently, they’re both interested in the job.”
Choso almost dropped his burrito in shock.
“They will?”
Yuki beamed in delight as she pulled up a message on her phone. Sure enough, there was a summarized document that included the people who’d soon work with Yuki.
Choso zoomed in and muttered to himself, “Hana Kurusu, huh? She’s Megumi’s friend, right?”
“Yep! She and the Angel are hoping it might stop other forced incarnations from happening in the future. Apparently, the other guy was in the Osaka colony, so that’s probably why I hadn’t heard about him.”
She took another bite of her food before continuing.
“Though, Hana’s only going to be there on weekends, since she has school. The other guy’s an adult, so he’ll be there whenever.”
Choso gasped, “That’s wonderful news!”
“Oh, and I asked if you could come with me,” Yuki said with a twinkle in her eye, “They might send you to the research team, but only if you want to join.”
She rubbed his hand.
“I know you also want to be there for your brother, so I’ll let you decide.”
Choso felt a little overwhelmed at the thought. He loved spending those weeks alongside Yuki, but she was right: Yuji was still in school, learning with his friends and getting stronger. Choso knew he’d probably miss Yuji if he left, but he knew just as well that he’d miss spending time with Yuki if he stayed in Tokyo.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“I’ll think about it.”
The two of them spent the rest of their lunch talking about Yuki’s research plans, as well as Choso’s work on his missions. It felt like time flew by as they chatted and shared their food.
Midway through the meal, Yuki went back for seconds and devoured the burrito like it was nothing.
She patted him on the back and said, “Thanks for the food, Cho.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, “I think we both needed that.”
“Damn right we did,” she sighed happily.
Choso stood up to go wash the dishes, but Yuki stepped in to help.
He told her, “You don’t need to help. You’re a guest.”
“And you gave me a gift on Valentine’s even though you didn’t have to. I figure I can lighten your load a bit.”
Sure enough, the two of them were able to clean everything up and pack away a whole bunch of leftovers more quickly than Choso had expected. He already couldn’t wait to have a little extra later, once he wasn’t so full (unless Yuki were to take it all.)
Once things had settled down in the apartment, Choso grabbed his jacket off the rack and slipped on his trusty combat boots.
He asked, “Are you ready to head out?”
Yuki called out, “Heck yeah, I am!”
She put her own jacket back on and fixed her hair in the mirror. Yuki even slipped on the little sunglasses and star-shaped necklace Choso had given her for Valentine’s Day.
Meanwhile, she wondered what exactly Choso had in mind for her. Was he going to take her out to watch a movie? Or maybe visit a museum? Or heck, maybe even visit that arcade that he told her about a few weeks ago?
“So, what are we doing,” she asked while slipping her purse back on.
Choso gestured vaguely as he said, “I remembered something you said a while ago, and that gave me an idea.”
“Hm?”
He gestured at his face in the mirror.
“Well, you wanted to know how I did my makeup, right?”
Yuki looked at him enviously.
“You always look so cool with your makeup, but I look like a clown if I put on anything more than like… some lipgloss and maybe a bit of mascara. I just can’t get it to look quite right.”
Choso offered, “Well, how about we go shopping? Then, I’ll do your makeup for you.”
At first, Yuki’s eyes widened in surprise, but a smile soon crept on your face. She gave him a thumbs-up.
“Sounds good!”
“Well, let’s go. There’s a place I’ve wanted to visit for a while now.”
They went out to the mall where Yuji and his friends usually shopped. Choso walked past several random stores until he found a cosmetics store. It wasn’t the one he usually went to, but he had heard that it had a pretty good selection.
“Here’s the one I wanted to visit.”
“Oh, hey, I think one of my friends told me she shops here,” Yuki added, “Though I bet she’s pretty busy right now.”
She held his hand as they walked inside. There were a couple of men buying last-minute gifts for their partners, but it was otherwise pretty quiet. Choso slowly walked around with a puzzled look on his face, muttering something under his breath.
Yuki admitted, “I mean, it is a weekday, you know?”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about that.”
A saleswoman noticed them almost right afterwards and walked up to the two of them.
She bowed down and asked Choso, “Hello, are you looking for something for your girlfriend?”
“Yes, she wanted to know how I did my makeup,” he answered with a nod, “I’ve never been here before, but we’ve both heard good things.”
The saleswoman’s stance shifted a little as she cleared her throat.
She exaggerated her chipper customer service voice as she said, “Oh, I see. We have a service to do makeup if you two are interested.”
She then looked Yuki in the eye and said, “It’ll be the perfect White Day gift for you, miss. Our makeup service is even on sale this week, so it’s a steal.”
Yuki shook her head.
“Nah, he’ll know what he’s doing. I’m the one who’s clueless about this stuff.”
The saleswoman blinked in confusion before giving a little apologetic bow.
“Oh, pardon me,” she said, “Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?”
She was about to go into a sales pitch for a new face mask and some fancy perfume, but Choso shook his head.
“No, I’d like to just look for now. I’ll let you know if I need help.”
“Okay! Have a nice day, sir!”
Choso and Yuki quickly walked away from her. His face was scrunched in annoyance, but he held his tongue.
“Geez, she was laying it on thick at the end there, wasn’t she,” Yuki grumbled.
“Something about her seemed off.”
“Yeah, no kidding. Like, couldn’t she see the way you look? I think it’s pretty obvious you know what you’re doing.”
Choso sighed to himself. He could only hope that the store would at least be worth the trip, despite the weird saleswoman. If nothing else, he spotted a bunch of popular brands as well as some decently niche ones, so he knew that part of the reviews was accurate.
Yuki pointed at a display of anti-acne toners that were on sale.
She asked, “Hey, you use that stuff, right?”
Choso nodded, but he kept on walking past them.
He said, “My skin gets oily if I don’t take care of it, and that toner helps.”
He rubbed a finger along Yuki’s cheek.
“However, you’re lucky to have very clear skin, and I have a full bottle at home. So, we don’t need it.”
Yuki asked, “So, what do you have in mind for me then?”
He hummed to himself and shrugged vaguely.
“Being mysterious, huh,” Yuki teased.
“I’ve got to have a few surprises, right?”
Choso suddenly turned around and walked towards a display near the corner of the store. It was his usual brand of choice, one that was smooth, not too heavy, and had a nice range of options but not too expensive.
“Here’s a brand I like,” he said.
However, Choso didn’t grab anything right away. Instead, he rubbed his chin as he glanced at Yuki. His skin was much paler (and had a cooler tone) than hers, so he couldn’t just grab his usual shade of foundation. Thankfully, it looked like they had test bottles for most of the range.
“Hold out your arm,” he said, “I want to see which of these is the best match.”
He tested three different shades on her arm. The middle one was a perfect match: not too fair but not tan either, just a good neutral peach tone. He grabbed one of them and placed it in the basket, nodding along.
Then, he looked at a couple of the eyeshadow palettes. One of them was his usual, a color palette that emphasized more dark, purple, and reddish tones. Another one had more soft cool tones like blues and purples, which he thought would fit her warmer skin tone better.
Choso wondered to himself, Would she want to match me?
He showed her the colors and asked, “Which one do you like more?”
Yuki pointed at the cool-toned palette without the slightest bit of hesitation.
“That one.”
“I figured you’d go with that,” he said while placing the palette in his basket, “I think it’ll look good on you.”
Choso’s basket got full rather quickly, between the makeup for Yuki, the stuff he found on sale, and a few gifts for their friends. Choso also grabbed a few other secret items when Yuki wasn’t looking (namely, some scented products for the foot bath.)
She’ll like this.
The two of them wandered around, getting a bunch of goodies for themselves. Choso bought Yuki some special White Day-themed mochi from a snack shop, she bought him a music album that he had been eying from the store window, and they unintentionally bought a matching set of clothes. They even got a bag of novelty candy for Yuji and his friends to try later.
He glanced at the time, which was now 4 PM.
It’s that time already?
As they got ready to leave the mall, Choso and Yuki noticed Hana and Megumi holding hands and sharing a boba tea. The moment they crossed paths, Hana’s eyes lit up and she waved at Yuki energetically.
Hana said, “Hey, Miss Tsukumo! I just heard the news, and I’m so excited.”
Megumi cocked his head in confusion.
“What news, Hana?”
Hana stared back at him.
“Huh, I didn’t tell you? I’m going to get the chance to help Miss Tsukumo out with her soul research.”
The Angel chimed in, “I believe our power will be useful.”
Yuki reassured Megumi, “It’ll just be part-time on the weekends, don’t worry. I know she still has to go to school”
Megumi and Choso’s faces both turned beet-red in surprise. Megumi looked embarrassed as he apologized to his girlfriend, while Choso was shocked to find out that Hana and Megumi were even dating in the first place.
Hana said to Choso, “Oh, this is my third date with Megumi, but I’m still so excited! We’re going to watch a movie together!”
Megumi had a small smile on his lips as he gave his girlfriend a hug.
“Have fun,” Choso said.
Everyone waved goodbye before going their own ways.
And with that, Choso and Yuki headed back to his apartment. He carried all of the bags in, though he made sure to hand Yuki the mochi.
Choso pulled out a box of face masks and asked, “Would you like a face mask?”
“Sure!”
First, Yuki washed her face clean with a basic face cleanser she had in her travel bag. Choso glanced at the ingredient list on the back, just to make sure there wasn’t anything too harsh. Thankfully, it all looked good to him.
Then, he carefully opened up one of the masks and pressed it onto her face. It was cool to the touch and pleasantly moist. Yuki caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, which made her snort in amusement.
She asked Choso, “Do you do this every day?”
He shook his head.
“That would be way too much. Besides, you have to wait at least 10 minutes before you can take it off.”
In the meantime, Yuki pulled out the box of mochi that Choso had given her. They were filled with a creamy vanilla and white chocolate custard, which she found very fitting for the whole theme of the holiday.
She tried to sneak a peek at the stuff Choso bought, but he quickly shut the bag and shook his finger. However, that wasn’t enough to stop her curiosity completely.
“So, what do you have in there?”
Choso winked.
“You’ll just have to find out.”
She laughed, “Hah, you sound just like me there.”
Choso’s eyes had an amused glow as he said, “I guess we’re rubbing off on each other.”
Yuki gave Choso one of the mochis, but he found them too sweet for his liking. Instead, he decided to nibble on some dark chocolate.
Once the ten minutes had passed, Yuki followed Choso into his bathroom. While she peeled off her mask, he slowly unpacked all of the goodies (except the stuff for the manicure and pedicure) and sorted them out. Choso even told Yuki which ones he was going to give her for later.
“Now, let’s begin,” he whispered.
Now for the skin care.
First, he pulled out a little white bottle of facial moisturizer.
“This one’s a good moisturizer,” he said, “It’s also got SPF.”
Yuki asked, “SPF, huh? Are we going out?”
Choso gestured at his face vaguely.
“Oh yeah, you especially have to worry about that stuff.”
He nodded, “Exactly.”
Then, Choso glanced out at the window and said to himself, “And maybe we’ll go out.”
I’m not sure.
Choso pumped some of the moisturizer onto his finger and massaged it on her face. It felt cool and smooth to the touch, but not super heavy either. Yuki could see why Choso liked it, especially when the weather was warm.
“That feels nice,” she whispered.
He whispered back with a smile, “I knew you’d like that.”
He then gestured downwards and said, “Now, close your eyes, my love. I want to give you a surprise.”
She closed her eyes and rested her arms on her lap.
Then, he put on a thin layer of primer, followed by foundation. He applied tiny dabs on what looked like a tiny metal spatula, which he used to spread them on her face.
He whispered, “Just a little bit…”
Yuki leaned back in the chair and held her face up.
She felt a tingle down the back of her neck at the sound of his voice. It was soft and gentle, yet so deliciously deep as he almost hummed his words. He noticed her cheeks turn a little rosy as he went through the steps.
He froze up for a moment and asked, “Are you okay?”
“Oh, I’m fine, babe. Just keep whispering while you work.”
“Is it really that interesting?”
She laughed to herself before saying, “Oh, I just like hearing you whisper.”
He nodded lightly and said, “Okay, I’ll keep whispering.”
Choso spent a good while whispering about whatever he could think of, which turned more into a ramble as his mind wandered around. His brows furrowed ever-so-slightly as he tried to focus, though he could still hear Yuki’s delighted hums.
Midway through the process, Choso grabbed one of the brushes and applied blush to her cheeks. He made sure to apply it evenly to get a nice rosy tint without looking too aggressively pink.
Then, he brushed everything in to blend the color, even going near the nose. Yuki’s nose twitched a little bit and she looked like she was trying to stifle a laugh.
She said, “That feels funny.”
He chuckled, “You look like a bunny doing that.”
She must be ticklish.
Yuki put a hand on her hip and pretended to be offended.
“Hey!”
However, Choso set the brush back down.
“Do you want me to slow down,” he offered, “Or take a break?”
Yuki shook her head.
“Nah, keep going. I can handle it.”
And with that, Choso went back to his work. He then applied a lip gloss to make Yuki’s lips look pleasantly shiny before moving onto the last few little details on the edges of her face. His touch felt more gentle than it had even moments ago, now that he was working on finer details. Then, he decided to take a break.
Yuki asked, “Can I look now?”
He shook his head.
“Not yet. There’s still a couple more things I want to do.”
Choso said, “Now close your eyes once more.”
He carefully drew on a little pair of wings with his eyeliner. Nothing too dramatic, but just enough to give them a fun shape. Then, Choso rubbed some soft blue eyeshadow along the crease of her eyes, blending it until it was nice and smooth. The color reminded him of the blue hydrangeas he had seen at a nearby shop the day before, which felt just right for spring.
This’ll look lovely, he thought.
Then, Choso applied a bit of mascara to her lashes. Choso almost considered using the lash curler he had bought, but he wasn’t sure if Yuki would like that feeling since the makeup brush made her nose twitch. Still, the mascara was enough to make her lashes look full and luscious.
Choso grabbed a mirror off of the counter and held it out in front of her.
He applied a final bit of setting spray and held out a little handheld mirror.
“Open your eyes,” he whispered.
Yuki leaned back up and stared at herself in the mirror. The eyeshadow made her look soft, but not too soft thanks to the winged eyeliner. It was quite a bit different than the look Choso usually gave himself, one that highlighted the warmth of her skin and made her seem to glow. And yet, it was just right.
“Whoa, you’re amazing.”
He gave her a kiss on the hand.
Choso added, “I also recorded a video, in case I’m not here. You can keep it simple if you just want to practice.”
She noticed her phone buzz.
Sure enough, Choso had emailed her a set of videos titled, “Basic makeup routine” and “Full Makeup Routine.”
She set her phone back down and said, “Wow, thank you.”
She was about to stand up, but Choso rested a hand on her chest.
“Oh?”
“That’s not all. I wanted to spoil you today, just like how you spoiled me last time.”
He pulled out a mini foot spa from the box, and then he pulled out some salt, a scrub, some lotion, and a bottle of nail oil and blue nail polish that matched Yuki’s eyeshadow.
“Thanks for teaching me how to paint my nails,” Choso said, “Now I want to do yours.”
First, Choso turned on the sink and dipped Yuki’s hands in the water before scooping out a bit of scrub. He rubbed it along her hands, making sure to get every last bit of dry skin off.
Once they were all dried off, Choso rubbed on some hand lotion, making sure to get into every little crease.
All of a sudden, Choso realized that he had forgotten to ask what color Yuki wanted her nails to be. However, she patted him on the back and told him that the blue was fine.
Choso asked, “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I trust you.”
First, Choso applied some cuticle oil on her cuticles since the store had it on sale. Then, he put on a clear base coat, applying a bit of spray so it would dry faster.
Then, Choso filled up the tub and dissolved the salt in it. The water was pleasantly warm and soothing, and Yuki noticed a floral scent. She wondered if this was something that he had bought while they were out shopping. Either way, she loved it already.
Yuki could feel the pain and tension in her feet melt away thanks to the massager at the bottom of the spa. He applied a coat of blue polish and waited for it to dry.
Choso and Yuki spent a long while relaxing and chatting, making sure all of the nail polish layers were smooth and that they dried well (including the ones he applied to her toes as well.)
Once everything was perfect, Choso bowed down and kissed her hand the way he had seen noblemen in movies kiss the hands of a queen.
She laughed, “Treating me like a princess, eh?”
“Indeed I am.”
She tilted his chin back up and said, “Well, look me in the eyes then, my prince.”
His cheeks turned a rosy pink as he stared into her eyes. A part of him was half-tempted to cover her in kisses right then and there, but he didn’t want to mess up the makeup he had just put on.
Yuki whispered, “I’m so lucky to have a boyfriend like you.”
He hummed happily as she brushed his cheek.
“I’m lucky too, my love.”
Yuki slowly sat back up and stretched her arms and legs out. Neither of them really knew how much time had passed, but they knew it had to be a while.
“Now, how about we go somewhere,” Yuki asked.
Choso blinked in confusion.
“Where?”
Yuki waved her hand and said, “Come on, you went through all the trouble of dolling me up, we might as show off, huh? Besides, I know a spot.”
“But I don’t have a reservation anywhere.”
She winked.
“Oh, I know a spot. Follow me.”
Choso was more than happy too. Soon enough, he and Yuki decided to put on a pair of matching outfits and walk down the city streets for dinner. And as they stared into each other’s nights, they knew the rest of the night was going to be wonderful.