[Open]

[thirdbeauty]

Who: Natsuru Senou & You! (closed prompt for Maria Cadenzavna Eve)
When: October 9
Where: Around the Far Shore temples; Near Shore, shopping districts
What: A strange boy wandering the heavens and cluelessly shopping for clothes in Japan. Or: Natsuru has (re)discovered a magical artifact(?) in her possession and is really unsure about the results.

[A: Nuada Airgetlám's temple - Closed to Maria]

[This morning while looking through her jewelry and accessories, Natsuru had rediscovered a blue bracelet that she can't remember buying. Like the rest of the things she'd arrived wearing, it just got buried and forgotten. There's not exactly a lot of situations that call for the kind of outfit she'd worn that first day... maybe an idol performance, now that she's doing that? But the bracelet is innocuous enough, and it would probably go well with a simple, casual outfit. With that in mind, she'd tried it on again to see how she liked it.

She couldn't say why, but something felt so natural about wearing it. So she'd kept it on as she went through her morning routine. Until, suddenly, there's a shriek heard all throughout the temple. A shriek that sounds very different from the voice Maria has come to associate with Natsuru, but is definitely coming from near Natsuru's bedroom. A moment later, it's followed by a shout of:]

MARIA-SAMA???!!!

[The short-haired boy in Natsuru's pink shorts-and-cami pajama set sits trembling on the floor, wide-eyed with shock. Is this like that time they all changed ages?! Is Maria a guy now too?!!! Clearly this can't have anything to do with that weird flash of light off the bracelet...]

[B: The Far Shore, Early]

[After the initial shock, Natsuru seems to take to being in a male body fairly well, or at least better than expected. It still feels really awkward, though. He didn't even have any clothes that a guy could wear, and had to borrow some simple, casual stuff from Maria. The lightly distressed jeans and white 3/4-sleeve blouse look close enough to guy clothes, if one doesn't look too closely. They'd still fit his original girl form better, but at least he doesn't stand out too much like this.

The biggest thing that stands out is the blue bracelet still on his right wrist. That, and the fact that no one's seen this boy version of Natsuru around the Far Shore before. Do you approach the stranger who seems to be poking his nose around other people's temples? Or, perhaps, he's accidentally bumped into you and quickly jumped to apologize...]

Ah-! S-Sorry! Excuse me...

[If you're one of those people he's bumped into, he's waving his hand apologetically and smiling a very sheepish smile.]

[C: The Near Shore, men's clothing departments/stores]

[If he's going to be like this for now, it only makes sense to get some proper guy clothes. So, much like his first trips to the Near Shore as a girl, Natsuru now finds himself going on a quick shopping expedition for some basic essentials. He thinks he has a pretty good idea of what's needed - it's not that different from shopping as a girl! So, despite his uncertainty, he manages to browse through the pants and shirts and shoes. He even makes a few tentative selections, based on the aesthetic Maria had gone for when giving him some boyish-enough things to borrow.

The true challenge, though... is underwear. He knew the basic kinds of men's underwear, of course, but he'd never had to consider which to wear! He picks a pair of boxers off the rack, examining the garment from various angles.]

How can guys even wear this...?!

[Even just imagining it is making him blush. It's just a loose pair of shorts! Everything would be... moving... in there...]

M-Maybe not-!

[He forcefully shoves the offending garment back onto the rack and immediately recoils, sighing. This is harder than he'd thought it would be!]

Comments

A

[declamando]

[Maria's first assumption hearing that yell is that someone fell through the roof, though after a few moments, she recognises that it came from Natsuru's room. As unusual as it is, she hops out of the hanging chair she was reading in on a balcony and heads down a ladder to the level of the tree that bedroom is on.

When she throws open the door, she initially looks like she's ready to confront an intruder, but even with the obvious change in physique, the hair and eyes and reaction make it difficult not to recognise the person on the floor as Natsuru. After a few more moments of confusion, Maria steps forward a little hesitantly and offers a hand to him.]

...What happened, Natsuru?

[thirdbeauty]

[Maria's voice snaps him out of the completely zoned-out shock, and he jumps as he looks up to her.]

I... don't know...

[It's only after he's automatically reached for the offered hand that he blinks, realization dawning.]

Wait... you're still...?

[That means he's the only one that was affected?! Hold on, though, that's not even the most surprising thing.]

You recognized me?!

[declamando]

[Maria moves to lift Natsuru off the floor as he makes that realisation, though she seems a little confused at his surprise she recognised him so easily. She indicates around her own face.]

You still look very similar, even as a boy. The colour of your hair and eyes and the shape of your face are all about the same, and since you have your hair up so often, even that doesn't look all that different.

[It mostly just looks like someone cut the ponytail and longer bangs off.]

Did you just wake up like this?

how could i pick anything but C

[priforprince]

In emergencies, they make acceptable bedwear.

[ Guess whose polteageist spilled ink all down her pajamas? Guess who custom-orders those so she's left without anything to wear in the evenings, because that same polteageist has hidden all the rest of them in her unnecessarily large amusement park of a temple? Guess who looked for pajamas first but found them all lacking so she's resorting to undergarments?

Guess who's standing here, not really paying attention, examining the tag on a pair of boxers to see if they're solid silk, and if so, where the silk came from?

Hint: she brought tea. ]

[thirdbeauty]

That sounds more normal, yeah.

[Hibiki caught Natsuru so deep in thought that he doesn't realize who had come up alongside him. There's a brief pause before he turns, and then it strikes.]

Eh?! H-Hibiki-sa-...?!

[Suddenly, he clasps a hand over his mouth, realizing he may have said too much already. He doesn't want Hibiki figuring out who he is like Maria did!!!]

[priforprince]

Hm?

[ That voice - for a moment -

Hibiki turns with a pensive frown. How bizarre. She doesn't recognize this individual, despite their seeming familiar. What about someone could make them notable enough that she feels like she knows them, but nondescript enough a genius failed to emblazon them in her memory....?

Her eyes track over this figure. Up. And down. ]

B

[sweetdeath]

Whoa! [Tsuzuki's in a white undershirt and scuffed jeans, rake in one hand and grabbing for the fence with the other -- he's sleepy! Sleepy, and, okay, a little hung over as he's raking some fallen leaves away from the front yard of Sakura's temple.

He laughs as he catches his balance, and rubs the back of his neck, straightening back up.]

No, it's fine. Are you looking for something?

[The kid's new, or at least he's not anyone Tsuzuki's seen around before. Maybe he's lost.]

[thirdbeauty]

[Whoops. Not only does Natsuru not recognize this guy, he doesn't even recognize this temple. Had he wandered too far?]

Er... no... not really.

[He blinks a couple of times, glancing between the man and the temple nearby.]

Um, which... temple is this?

[sweetdeath]

[Tsuzuki leans on his rake, smiling cheerfully.]

Well, good to meet you anyway. New around here? This is Konohanasakuya-hime's temple.

C is for Clueless

[justclaws]

[He isn't alone.

[Kija, admittedly, has one advantage over Natsuru right now: he's at least not trying to work out how to dress a brand-new body he really doesn't think he should be anywhere near. He still isn't anywhere near comfortable with what passes for clothing around these parts but, since he's still here and the year is growing old, his wardrobe is about to become even more inadequate. So, third time lucky, he has decided to make yet another trip to the Near Shore in an attempt to find something to wear that isn't too weird.

[One of the manifold things Kija doesn't understand is how in the world anyone navigates these places. They're far too big and far too wide and yet one cannot walk anywhere without running into racks and racks of clothing. What he wants is Gentlemen's Outerwear and, stranded between undergarments and rows of socks of greater or lesser degrees of ugliness, he is very definitely nowhere near it.

[He is just deciding that this could always be worse (this is at least men's intimates; he is at least on the right floor) when he catches Natsuru's eye. And this is a good thing because Natsuru looks every inch as lost as he feels and you know what they say about problems shared.]

I believe they are worn beneath your clothing?

[thirdbeauty]

I know that!

[Whyever could this boy be blushing and avoiding looking directly at the interloping stranger over something so trivial?]

It's just that it's... I've never...

[Crap. There's no way he can explain that doesn't get into the whole 'I'm not supposed to be a guy right now' thing, is there?]

It's not... what I'm used to.

C

[koukai_kirai]

[The fashion in this shop is a little bit young for Hijikata, honestly -- he might have died at 34, but it was a world-weary, overly-mature sort of 34 -- but he's vain enough to like keeping an eye on the current trends nonetheless. Besides, certain staples don't really seem to be things one ages out of, so there's no harm browsing a bit in, say, the underwear section.]

[A comment catches his ear, and he glances over from where he's been examining some slightly pricier briefs, eyebrows lifting slightly in confusion. He guesses the kid's just... trying to branch out with his style?]

If it's uncomfortable, just wear something you're more used to.

[Then, not expecting to have really been heard, he goes back to looking for the briefs in his hand in black.]

[thirdbeauty]

[Even a less world-weary 34 is pretty old next to the teenage Natsuru. He's not exactly avoiding the older gentleman nearby, but he sure is embarrassed enough to keep himself facing away while he... looks at underwear he never thought he'd be considering buying.

The man speaking up gets his attention, though he blinks in confusion for a second. Uncomfortable? He hasn't even tried anything yet...

Then the second part hits him.]

I can't do that!

[......]

Er, I mean... that's the problem...

C

[spes_phthisica]

[Souji is drawing a few confused looks, since his loose understanding of gendered western clothing and "I don't give a heck" attitude about it means that he's walking around among the men's underwear in a tunic dress and leggings. All that long hair and his boyish voice probably doesn't help - not that Souji notices. He's also there to buy underwear, still preferring the the stuff made for men because they're, well, roomier.

He looks up in surprise at the blushing younger man, and can only come to one conclusion.]

You usually don't wear underwear?

[RIP Natsuru.]

[thirdbeauty]

[The person nearby is ambiguous enough that Natsuru hadn't really taken notice of them one way or the other. It's hearing that youthful but definitely boyish voice that makes him turn with a small start.]

Eh? W-Wait, I didn't say that!!!

[Oh god, how does he explain.]

I just need... something that fits better! That's all!

B

[alchemists]

[ This person seems oddly familiar ]

It's my fault for not looking where I was going.

[thirdbeauty]

[Oh no, it's Elfnein! Natsuru looks twice as apologetic now.]

It's not your fault! I should have been more careful...

[Now that he's said that, though, he looks around to see where his wanderings have taken him.]

Huh? Did I come all the way to your temple?

[The fact that Elfnein probably won't recognize him is pushed to the back of his mind in the face of this concern. For some reason.]

C

[heptagram]

[Let's just assume they both have to go shopping at the same department store.

Anyway, Patchouli hears a voice and doesn't quite hear what the person who has it is saying. She must not be far away.

There's not much of anyone around. She goes to investigate.]

Are you having an issue? [He kinda looks familiar, but she can't place it.]

[thirdbeauty]

Wha-?

[If Patchouli's observant enough, she'll notice a flash of recognition in the boy's eyes along with slight panic. What's Patchouli even doing in this department???]

N-No, not at all! I mean... it's nothing!

[So convincing.]

b

[nopixiedust]

[It should be absolutely no surprise that Wendy is hanging around Apollo's temple, or that she's taken to enjoying the fresh air. With a few exceptions, the Far Shore has pretty nice weather, and it's fun to just go out while having some music play really loudly.]

[Of course, but then there's some weirdo nosing around near the front... Abandoning her radio, Wendy heads straight for him with no care for the local foliage.]

Who are you?

[thirdbeauty]

[Naturally, Natsuru at least briefly considered going to Apollo's temple. But that'd be weird, wouldn't it? Maybe he'll get lucky and this thing that's happening today will get fixed soon, and then nobody here would ever have to know!

His satisfaction at this thought is interrupted by the sound of a voice nearby.]

Wha-?!

[He whirls around, his gaze drawn downward as he notices a familiar small girl standing there.]

W-Wendy-chan???

[Whoops. That just slipped out before he could even think. Did she just ask who he was? Um... crap, how is he going to answer that???]

C

[nolittlesecret]

Easily. You just put it on.

[Look, Nari thinks it's amusing and a little weird that a fellow guy doesn't know how boxers work.]

But if you're worried about movement, there's boxer briefs. Those are more like a underwear, just longer legs, and pretty snug. It depends on your preference.

[Boxer briefs are comfy.] Totally also depends on how big you are. [Okay... maybe now it's getting to the "messing with Natsuru" portion already.]

[thirdbeauty]

You know what I mean-!

[He snaps back automatically, and then blushes because that phrase has so many implications he didn't think through. And then it turns out the person he's responding to is Nari, making him blush even more.]

You mean these here?

[He's noticed a couple of packages labeled 'boxer briefs'. Those do look a lot better, in terms of... keeping everything in. It's like boyshorts for guys? Maybe that's even why they call them boyshorts in the first place!

That train of thought distracts him from Nari's last comment for a full second. Then he starts to turn red.]

Nobody asked about that!

[pure_radiantics]

[Kairi had been staring up at the sky looking for Nimbus to arrive after calling it to go riding around awhile running errands. In the time she's waiting for it, Natsuru bumps into her and she loses her footing.]

AH--??

[She's falling, but then...

Nimbus catches her, cushioning her enough it looks like she just fell into a bean-bag chair on the ground, staring up at the young man she doesn't recognize.]

Oh, I was so distracted! My bad.

sorry this is so late! D:

[thirdbeauty]

Ah-!

[He exclaims almost in unison with Kairi, reflexively reaching out to her just a little too late. This body feels so awkward and uncoordinated by comparison to what he's used to...

But the girl seems to fall back onto... something that swooped in to cushion her fall? Only then does he realize he recognizes her.]

Eh?! A-Are you alright?!

[At least this time, he managed to stop himself from saying someone's name when they clearly won't recognize him?]