Chapter 3: Shopping for Women’s Clothes

──Kanata’s View

I was driving my car toward the station near my parents’ house to pick up my little sister. Nobuchika was in the passenger seat, having no clue where we were going or what we were going to do.

"This way leads toward my and your folks’ place, Kanata. Where are you taking me?"

"Good guess. Yeah, we’re heading near your parents’ place, Nobu. Gonna go introduce myself and ask them for their daughter’s hand in marriage."

"Huh!? Wait, you’re kidding, right!? I thought we agreed no stuff like that! And besides, even if it’s you, Kanata, that’s impossible! No way! Stop the car!"

Nobu started thrashing around after my explanation. I was joking, of course. Marriage isn’t something I even want to think about right now.

"Calm down, I’m kidding. Kidding, okay? We’re not stopping by your folks’ place, relax. Just picking something up real quick."

"…You better be joking. I swear, if we get anywhere near my parents’ house, I’m bolting."

"Relax, relax. Still, it’s been a while since you last saw them, huh?"

Saying that, I reached out and softly patted Nobu’s head.

"…Quit touching my head."

"Maybe it’s just easier now since you got smaller."

"You idiot… I’m not a kid, you know."

Nobu brushed my hand away. Back in the day, I’d casually throw an arm around his shoulder or pat his back and head without a second thought, but now that he’s brushing me off… yeah, it stings a little.

"Come on, you’re totally a kid. You’re sixteen, aren’t you?"

"Physically, yeah. Mentally though, I’m the same thirty-year-old old man as you!"

"That’s good to hear. Otherwise, this would count as harassment."

"Nah, this is harassment. Yep. Harassment."

"Oh, come on. It’s not like I’m trying to grope you or anything, so it’s fine. It’s the same as back when I’d just put my hand on your shoulder or back."

"Kanata, listen to me carefully: you can’t just casually touch the shoulders, back, or head of a sixteen-year-old girl. That’ll cost you big time, you know."

"Seriously, I don’t mean it like that, Nobu. No harassment vibes here, promise."

"…Fine, fine. Guess I’ll allow some touching. We’re best friends, after all."

That’s Nobu for you. Truly overflowing with mercy.

"Alright then, let’s start with this…"

Grope grope.

Ah, yeah. As expected, they’re big. And young. And firm. Perfectly soft, too. Man, they feel so good it’s honestly making it hard to focus on driving.

"!? —‘Let’s start with this,’ my ass! Why the hell are you groping my chest like it’s normal?!"

"Oh, sorry, sorry. I thought it was your back."

"If it was my back, then— wait, no! There’s no way you could possibly mistake these for my back!!"

"Don’t get so mad. You gave me permission to touch, didn’t you? Think of it as a little playful roughhousing."

"I didn’t give you that much permission! Focus on driving, idiot! And let go already!"

"Yeah, yeah."

…Man, this vibe. Brings back memories of our school days. Feels nostalgic.

Thinking about how we’ll get to spend every day close together from now on actually makes me kinda happy.

"What part of you is supposed to be ‘bad with women’ anyway…? And what’s with that stupid grin?"

"Ah, sorry. This back-and-forth, it just reminds me of the old days. Makes me happy. And hey, this is just friendly roughhousing. I wouldn’t do this with anyone else."

"Of course you wouldn’t! You’d get arrested! …Well, yeah, I guess this is exactly what we were like back in school. Haah… damn it, when you put it like that, I can’t even stay mad. Seriously, Kanata, you’re so unfair sometimes…"

Unfair, huh? Maybe so. But it’s the truth.

Honestly, I wish we could go back to those days.

And, well… it’s not like I want to do anything Nobu actually hates. I want us to stay best friends forever.

"But seriously, Nobu. If there’s ever something you really don’t like, you better tell me straight. I don’t want things getting awkward between us."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

Our friendship had always been like this — me teasing Nobu, treating him like a toy, and him getting me back for it sometimes. We were genuinely close.

We were the kind of friends who weren’t shy about skinship either, which actually got us some rumors among a few girls back then.

Man… if only we could go back to those days.

Anyway, we finally arrived at the station. I shot my sister a quick message so she’d come out.

"Eeeehhh!!!? No way, is that really Nobu-chan!? You look so young and cute!! I’m so jealous~!"

This loudmouth was my little sister, Haguro Ibuki — twenty-seven years old, single. She’s partly responsible for my distrust of women thanks to her serial cheating habits.

That said, since I only see her as a sister and nothing else, we actually get along just fine.

Ibuki also knows I have issues with women, so she tries not to show me her “feminine” side too much.

I quickly ushered Ibuki into the backseat, and we drove off.

"Why’s Ibuki-chan coming along?"

"Didn’t I tell you? We’re going clothes shopping for you, Nobu."

"You did not! And you should have!"

"This is for both our sakes, okay? Look, you’re sixteen now, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Exactly. I’m thirty, you’re sixteen. If we’re living together, that’s kinda pushing it. People talk, you know? But if we make you look eighteen, it’s way more believable. Don’t you think that’s better?"

"Mm… yeah, I guess that’s better than looking sixteen. Still a huge age gap though."

"That’s why you need better clothes, to make you look older. I already asked Ibuki to coordinate you so you’ll at least pass for eighteen."

Looking like a minor would be bad, so we’re making sure Nobu at least appears eighteen.

And since I know jack about women’s clothes, I left the entire selection to Ibuki. Already explained the key points to her.

She’s picking out everything, including underwear. On my dime.

And when I told her that, Ibuki agreed instantly and happily — way too happily, if you ask me. Go easy on my wallet, sis.

She also seemed excited about seeing Nobu as a girl for the first time, which, well… good for her, I guess.

By the way, she’s been calling him “Nobu-chan” since way before this. Funny how it finally fits now.

"So that’s the deal, Nobu-chan. Big sis here’s gonna help you with everything, okay? How long have you been a girl now?"

"Ah… a little over a month, I guess."

"Perfect! I’ll teach you makeup and skincare from scratch then. Your hair’s amazing too, so I’ll help with that as well~. Gonna make you so stunning you’ll leave big bro here speechless."

"…Huh?"

"Stunning, huh? I like the sound of that."

Sounded fun, so I decided to play along too.

"No way, that's not happening! Seriously, it's not! We don't need any of that!"

"We're gonna be living together, right? So, you know, accidents might happen. Kinda exciting, huh? Anyway, either way, we should make you look a bit more mature and pretty—like you’re around eighteen or so."

"Accidents, huh… yeah, I guess they might happen."
"Nice to meet you, Ibuki-chan."

Ah, Nobuchika just completely ignored me there.

"They said big bro’s covering the wallet, so we can pick whatever we want without holding back!"

"Eh? That’s… I’d feel bad, though."

"It’s fine. Nobu, I’m forcing him to pay, so let him cover at least this much. But in exchange, you better wear it properly, alright?"

"Hmm… if you put it like that, fine, but I’m choosing my own stuff!"

"Don’t worry, I’ll pick you something cute and mature-looking, so you better look forward to it, big bro!"

"Right, if you actually make it mature-looking and accomplish the goal, then I’m fine with it."

"Wait, Kana, your idea of ‘mature-looking’ doesn’t sound like what I’m thinking of."

"It’s fine, it’s fine! Leave it to your big sis here!"

"Ah, o-okay, please do…"

Nobu isn’t used to dealing with girls, so it seems Ibuki’s just steamrolling him completely. I wonder if he’ll even get to choose clothes he actually wants, or if he’ll just get swallowed up by Ibuki’s pace.

It was autumn, the weather slowly cooling down, time to swap out the wardrobe. Ibuki and Nobu headed straight into a women’s lingerie specialty shop first, putting off the autumn and winter clothes sections for later.

On a whim, I called out to Ibuki.
"Hey, mind if I come along too?"

Ibuki thought for a moment, then smiled.
"Mm, sure, come on in~"

…And yeah, she’s definitely thinking something bad right now.

"Wait, hold up! Why the hell are you coming too, Kana?!"

"What’s the problem? I’m the sponsor here."

"Ibuki, that’s exactly right! See, I’ll even help you choose."

"No way! There’s no way you’d pick anything decent!"

"What are you talking about? Of course I’d pick something perfect for Nobu!"

"Yeah right, you’d definitely prioritize something sexy over anything else."
"I’ll pick something proper, alright? And hey, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to wear it."

"…No, come on, I can’t do that. If you buy it for me, it’d feel wrong not to wear it."
"Nobu…"

Man, Nobu’s such a sincere, gentle guy. A good dude, really… which probably explains why I end up messing with him so much.

"Okay, you two~ stop flirting already, will you? We haven’t even measured your size yet. Come on, Nobu-chan, let’s go!"

And just like that, Princess Nobuchika was dragged off by Ibuki. …Come to think of it, he really is a girl right now, so jokes like that aren’t even jokes anymore.

Later, we found out Nobu’s a G-cup. Way too big, seriously. According to Ibuki, Nobu’s height is 152 cm, bust size G65, with a top measurement of 90 cm. Is this what they call a "transistor glamour"? Wait, no, that’s supposed to involve long legs and a small face too, right? Eh, whatever. Either way, it’s the kind of figure guys go crazy for.

Naturally, Nobu rejected every single one of the see-through lingerie sets and string-like underwear I tried to pick out. Still, I secretly slipped a few of my favorites to Ibuki and had her buy them on the side.

"Alright, how about we grab lunch now? My treat, so don’t worry."

"Yay~ big bro’s paying! What should we eat, I wonder?"

"Hold up, seriously? Letting you treat us for lunch too feels wrong. You’ve already covered the clothes, the picking, the transport, everything—we’re relying on you for all of it, and I’m not giving back anything? That makes me feel even worse, so at least let me pay for lunch."

I get how Nobu feels. Today’s been nothing but leaning on us brothers. As a friend, he probably just wants to give something back, even a little, to balance things out.

"Fair enough. Then lunch’s on Nobu."

"Nobu-chan’s treat, huh? Ooh, what should I get~?"

We ended up at an Italian restaurant for lunch, with pasta and proper pizza. Over the meal, we got nostalgic, reminiscing about old times, laughing about memories from way back, and thinking about just how long we’ve been friends—it’s been twenty years already, huh? It really hit me how grateful I am to still be able to sit here together, even like this.

I just hope… when Nobuchika finds a job, we’ll still be able to spend time together. But I know it won’t be that simple. Nobu’s got his own life, romance, marriage someday… I can’t just force my selfishness onto him.

So, for now, I’ll just enjoy this, cherishing every moment we get to spend together like we did back in our student days—at least until Nobu finds his job and moves on.

When it came to outerwear, I left everything completely up to Ibuki. Women’s fashion is apparently something you have to coordinate as a whole, so I figured it was better if I didn’t butt in. As expected, Nobu ended up like a dress-up doll, but surprisingly, not only was Ibuki enjoying herself, Nobu gradually started getting into it too. He didn’t seem to hate it as much as I thought he would. Well, Nobu’s got good looks to begin with; the only tricky part was dealing with that overly large chest.

Every now and then, I’d hear words like "big bro" or "Kana" coming from them. No idea what they were whispering about.

Maybe this’ll be the start of Nobu awakening to the joys of wearing nice clothes and cute outfits. With his face and figure, he’d probably be able to pull off anything once he gets used to it.

We went on to buy accessories, hair clips, small pouches, bags, and other little things, which ended up costing way more than I’d imagined.

Just when I thought we were finally done, nope—there was still more. Next up came cosmetics, skincare products, shampoo, conditioner… the whole set.

By the time we wrapped everything up, Nobuchika was completely wiped out—and honestly, so was Ibuki. I guess trying to get everything done in one day was a bit much.

"Ibuki, thanks for today. You really helped us out. I might ask for your advice again sometime, so… I’ll count on you then."

"Ibuki-chan, thanks a lot for today too. I’ll ask if I get stuck on something."

"Mm, leave it to me! Ask me anything, okay?"

After that, we drove Ibuki home, dropped her off, and said our goodbyes.

"See you later then, big bro, Nobu-chan. ──You two really suit each other, you know!"

"Ibuki-chan! What the heck are you saying…!"

And with that, she went inside her house. That girl just says whatever she wants…

"Haha, she says we ‘suit each other.’"

"Yeah right. A thirty-year-old and a sixteen-year-old—there’s no way. Come on, let’s go."

"…Yeah. From the outside, it just looks like a lolicon and a pitifully cute girl, huh?"

"Nobu… seriously…"

"What? I’m just stating facts."

Damn it, Ibuki, saying unnecessary stuff like that…

"We bought all this stuff today so it wouldn’t look like that, remember? Come on, get in the car."

"Yeah, yeah. Well, I guess I’ve got time, so I’ll study up on all this too."

We chatted about all sorts of things on the drive back home. Once we got there, we had to make several trips between the car and the room just to unload everything, only to realize we had nowhere to put it all. In the end, we decided to hold off on unpacking and wait until next Friday to deal with it.