Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item Chapter1 (section)

===Part 2===

“Ah hah hah!! In the end, I’ve always been the bullied one when it comes to chest size, but we’ve finally found someone who makes even my clothing look baggy!!”

“…”

Frenda Seivelun held her sides and laughed with tears in her eyes while Kinuhata the newcomer pouted. Kinuhata had borrowed some clothes since she couldn’t stay in only a towel forever and this was the treatment she got. It was all the worse because she had thought the two of them weren’t all that different in size.

Fifteen Bells was roughly divided between the luxury apartments on the upper floors, the offices on the midlevel floors, and the fashionable brand-name shopping mall on the lower floors. Kinuhata Saiai had been forced into a too-big summer dress with one of the shoulder straps slipping down and now she found herself in an aisle of a luxury brand shop where even one of its empty boxes would net you some cash at a pawnshop.

It was 10 in the morning and the mall’s front glass doors didn’t open until 11, but this was a secret time when only the residents of the apartments above could shop. The truly wealthy did not fight through crowds or enter online drawings to buy the products they wanted.

“Can we super really shop at a place like this? Aren’t you a criminal group that gets paid dirty money for illicit work?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine. In the end, we just completed a big job, right? Our pay is deposited immediately upon completion, so there’s nothing to worry about. Now, it’s time for a shopping spree with the black card of your dreams!! It’s time to throw money around to transform an innocent young girl into my very own dress-up doll!!!”

It didn’t sound like Frenda was willing to listen to a reasonable argument. She hadn’t even bothered denying they were a criminal group.

Next to Kinuhata Saiai, the pink track suit girl named Takitsubo Rikou was staring into the distance.

The air conditioning must have been a bit chilly in her shorts that left the full length of her thighs bare because she occasionally rubbed her legs together.

“Is this super weirdo always like this?” Kinuhata whispered to Takitsubo.

“Frenda normally uses her sister as a dress-up doll, but that sister is down with a summer cold. Frenda said she was going to explode if she didn’t find some other outlet to relieve the pressure.”

How were you supposed to respond to that?

Frenda herself didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Anyway, I bought a few things to celebrate, but do you have any requests? In the end, I’ll choose for you if you don’t.”

“If possible, I’d super like something easier to move in. I don’t mind if it’s short, but a bunch of loose frills and stuff ''that catches on the air'' would be super annoying.”

“So in the end you prefer boyish clothes?”

“I super don’t care about that distinction.”

The three argued as they walked through mall. At a spot similar to a public square, several clerks had a thick tarp laid out on the floor. They were apparently doing watermelon splitting as a seasonal event. There were paper bags smaller than a light novel gathered in one corner, which appeared to be the prizes for anyone who got it in one hit. As small as they were, they were still brand-name products that hosts and hostesses would swarm like puppies.

The girls arbitrarily chose a shop with a sporty look and entered. Kinuhata chose a garment that looked easy to move in and easy to maintain, but her cheeks stiffened when she saw all the zeroes on the price tag. ''Hold on. Has Japan become a country where you need a stack of cash to buy a single pen?

Meanwhile, Frenda and Takitsubo didn’t mind at all.

“Huh. In the end, France really is the country to go with for bicycle stuff. C’mon, Takitsubo! It’s time you said goodbye to that track suit! How about we cover your curves with a formfitting road bike suit!?”

“Oh, no. Not one of those colorful skintight suits the female pilots wear in robot anime.”

“Wouldn’t it be more like the female member on a Sentai show? On Sunday mornings, my sister prefers tokusatsu shows like Kabuto Driver over anime. She’s 7, so it’s not easy keeping up on that stuff so I can discuss it with her. Anyway, take this formfitting suit!!”

“Hey, hey, hey!!” quickly cut in Kinuhata. “Maybe look at all the zeroes on the tag before playing around with this stuff! One super careless tear and you’re in serious trouble!!”

“Don’t underestimate the criminally wealthy just after getting paid for a job, newbie. In the end, did you find something you want to wear? Is that what you’re holding?”

“Eh? Um, super, uh, this is way too expensive.”

“Then let’s get to the fitting room! In the end, it’s time for the thrillingly embarrassing experience of changing behind a single cloth so flimsy it feels like the air conditioning is going to blow it out of the way!”

“I said it’s too expensive! I’m super terrified to wear this!!”

Her complaints went ignored, so Frenda and Takitsubo grabbed her arms and dragged her into the fitting room. Just like a captured alien. She was confident in her strength, but she didn’t dare struggle and tear the clothing.

“In the end, if you don’t shut the curtain yourself, everyone will be able to see you, just like someone who didn’t set their social media profile to friends only.”

“I super get it already!!”

She yanked the curtain shut.

Track suit Takitsubo Rikou’s gaze lazily wandered through empty air before landing on Frenda.

“You’re having fun.”

“Wah hah hah!! In the end, this is tradition. The newest member of Item is doomed to be the dress-up doll of the second-newest!”

This meant Takitsubo had done this to Frenda and Mugino to Takitsubo. Frenda was still traumatized after experiencing minor gestaltzerfall when that girl had lined up 72 colors of plain track suits and quietly pressured her to choose one.

And eventually…

“I’ve super put it on.”

The curtain opened and Kinuhata Saiai emerged.

Her outfit consisted of a hoodie dress, a shoulder-baring top, and leggings. It suited her a lot better than the fancy dress that had been forced onto her.

“Ohh.”

“You’re a new type for Item.”

Kinuhata looked uncomfortable at the attention from the other two.

Frenda crossed her arms and nodded twice for some reason.

“We can use this as a starting point and try out some other genres. Let’s head to the other shops so you can try on a wide variety of styles.”

“Wait, um, you’re super buying this!? But the zeroes!!”

“Frenda, you need to buy Kinuhata’s underwear too.”

“Hold off on that because I’m saving the best for last. Yay, yay! In the end, which will you find more embarrassing: adult lingerie that makes it look like you lost a bet or kiddy ones with a big kitten face printed on the butt?”

“Eh? You mean Kinuhata isn’t wearing any underwear under there? That’s a problem.”

“~ ~ ~!?”

Kinuhata blushed red and trembled. Really, it was the athletic shop’s fault for not selling underwear. But without an official identity, address, or student ID (or clothing), she would have nowhere to go if she left now. And she would probably be naked again. So in that sense, Frenda and the unlimited black card she was waving around were still the most reliable “umbrella” here.

“Excuse me, she’ll be wearing this home, so we’d like to check out.”

In Academy City, crime was not the result of poverty. Kinuhata took a detached stance as she noted that you couldn’t escape the dark side even if you had such a large pile of cash you could die in a money avalanche.

“Umm.”

The popular clerk with a gyaru look had to be terrified of upsetting such a good customer because her fear was almost palpable as she spoke to Frenda.

“I don’t know how to say this, but our reader can’t seem to approve your card. I checked and it isn’t an error with the card’s chip or the reader, so it must be the account it’s linked to.”

The clerk seemed legitimately distressed, so it didn’t appear to be a joke.

Time froze.

Frenda Seivelun hesitantly looked back.

The blonde girl was trembling as she witnessed a situation far worse than she had expected.

“Whoa, where did you super get those scissors from?”

“Kinuhata, you need to remove the tags if you’re going to wear this. There, all cut off. Now these clothes are yours.”

“Did you super cut off the washing instructions too? Ugh, and memorizing those is a super pain.”

“Ah ha ha. Now you can’t return these.”

Frenda couldn’t bring herself to intrude on that heartwarming scene.

She didn’t have the courage to count the zeroes on the price tags fluttering to the ground.