The first thing that would come to mind if someone saw my wardrobe, is that It isn't exactly extravagant, sure I have some "nice clothes" but those were saved for really fancy events, plus I haven't washed them in a while so they were covered in a thin layer of dust, so I would have to wear something more, sentimental rather than fancy. Of course I could wear the outfit I had on when we first hung out at my house (Excluding when she barged into my home uninvited), that set of attire was ok but lacked any real flavor for me, or at least in my opinion it didn't. Then my mind wandered to Hana, the girl who I had known for almost 2 years. When it came to her I would do anything for her, being homeschooled from elementary to middle school had really screwed up my social life in many aspects, it was the same for Hana for all different reasons, she moved around so much to the point where she thought it was pointless to seek out friends and this wasn't speculation, she in fact told me that herself.She had given me friendship and someone to rely on, and she had even encouraged me to come out of my house and participate in a club, which allowed me to be in a small circle of even more friends. I thought back to that day, when I had first had a real conversation with her outside of the online world, in her place of work.
"Oh, that might work."
I had a somewhat ok-ish idea of what to wear, it would be more acceptable than a dusty dress shirt and pants but I'm not sure if she would find it acceptable. I was going to wear what I wore when I first truly met her.
*****
Denim clothes tends to draw a lot of attention when you go to a fancy shopping center like I was in, as most people tend to associate sleeveless jackets with delinquents, or people in generally who looked for trouble, the only thing that was different about my outfit compared to the first day of school was the t-shirt, instead I replaced it for a long-sleeve one, because movie theaters tended to be colder than most establishments like stores or restaurants. Unlike last time I noticed Hana before she noticed me, but that was mainly because she stuck out like a sore thumb, kind of like me actually. She was beautiful, she wore a dark purple skirt that spanned around the length of her knees, she also wore a dark purple blouse, despite being a good 100 feet away she was visibly wearing make-up, she was looking around for me with such a confidence that I had never seen in her before, I was tempted to sit up but before I did someone sat next to me, my jaw dropped, this was the last person I was expecting to see today, It was none other than my father, in the flesh.
"What are you doing all the way out here Masaichi? you're a 2 hour walk away from home."
He spoke to me in a stern, authoritative manner, which was not surprising due to his military background, but it still shook me nonetheless.
"I-"
I paused, had my mother forgotten to inform my father that I was on a date with Hana?
"I was going to the movies with a friend of mine."
My father stared at me up and down, as if he was trying to detect if I was lying or not.
"You're in the photography club, is it one of those friends?"
"No, it's someone else."
"Hm."
My father squinted his eyes, and tugged on my sleeveless denim jacket
"What's with the attire, it looks like you're a part of a gang."
"I'm not, I just needed to wear something nice."
"Something nice, so this is a date?"
"Yes."
"Who are you-"
My dad was suddenly interrupted by someone. It was Hana.
"Me."
Suddenly Yamada walked up to my father and held her hand out to my father.
"Nice to meet you sir, I'm Yamada Hana."
My father rarely looked taken off guard, but this was one of the few occasions where it showed, and very obviously it showed, his whole stone hard facade quickly crumbled as he realized he was talking to his son's date, he soon quickly realized she was trying to offer him a handshake and took it after a few awkward moments.
"Yeah, you're my son's friend I assume?"
"That's right, I have heard a lot about you from his mother, I think the work you do everyday is amazing."
"Thank you."
Hana suddenly turned her gaze towards me and slightly the corners of her mother raised into a slight grin.
"Is it ok if I take Masaichi now, our movie starts really soon."
"For sure, yeah."
"Thank you, sir."
I have never once seen Hana be this formal, until now, and she was a completely different person.
As we were walking away my father stood up and walked in the opposite direction of us, clearly he didn't want to disturb what we had going on. Suddenly what formality Hana had quickly peeled away, as she sat down with me and quickly pulled me into a side hug.
"Consider this your payment for me getting you out of that situation, I watched it happen for a good minute before stepping in."
My limbs went stiff for a second as she suddenly showed this display of affection, but then it quickly followed with my muscles reluctantly relaxing, and just accepting it.
Then something extremely bold escaped my lips.
"You look really pretty."
"Hm?"
Hana's head perked up and she quickly snapped her head to my direction. Unlike the last few times she has acted like this she didn't try to hide it, as a reddish blush rose on her face she spoke in a quiet monotone voice.
"And you look…"
She paused, she looked like she was struggling to maintain what little composure she had managed to gather.
"Acceptable."
Exactly the words I used, to describe what I was wearing.