"Alright, then."

He cocks an eyebrow at them, then swaps the guns with a nod. "¥5,400 then."

Ann nods to the clerk and pays, then unslings her pack and starts putting the boxed weapons into it.

The shotgun looks like it might not fit. She looks over at Ryuji. "Want to handle your own Levinson?" she asks.

He nods and fits the box into his pack with room to spare.

"Alright!" Akira grins. "Let's go shop for clothes. Ryuji, you don't have to come along for this part if you don't want to."

He starts to look conflicted on the question, as they head out onto the street. After a long moment, he shakes his head. "I'd probably slow y'all down. I dunno anything about fashion."

"Alright. Then good luck. Keep that Levinson safe and don't bring it to school directly; last thing we need is for someone to mistake it for a real weapon. Find a safe place to stash it in your house and go pick it up again after school tomorrow, I'll find an excuse to be out for a while that's believable."

She looks over at Ann. "Let's go shop!"

"Alright!" Ann smiles. "We can keep it quick, just drop by Lapin Angelique for a few moments and look around, then stop by Jupiter of the Monkey to buy something. It shouldn't take too long, and then you can get back home."

Ryuji nods and heads off. "See ya!"

Morgana hops up to sit on Akira's bag as the girls shop. "Normal people can't hear me, by the way. Only people who've been to the Metaverse can."

"Oh good, I almost panicked about that when you spoke up."

Akira ducks her head and smiles. "Alright, Ann, let's go."

She's going shopping with a real girl!

"Alright then. Lapin Angelique is just around the corner. Let's go browse!"

And Ann shoulders her pack and leads Akira off down the street.

The storefront for Lapin Angelique is shady and quiet, with several large dresses in the window that drip with lace. 

Inside it's full of goth-influenced clothing, ranging from corsetted dresses to maid headbands and platform boots. There's even a small fascinator in the shape of a crown on one of the clothing racks. It's all gorgeous, elegant fashion at the height of counterculture. 

The clerk looks up as the pair come in; she's dressed from head to toe in black and violet, and smiles at both of them. "Welcome to Lapin Angelique!" she chirps.

"Thanks! For now we're just browsing," Ann shoots back. 

She looks over at Akira and lowers her voice. "And we'll definitely just be browsing. The prices here are ridiculous."

Akira steps over to one of the racks, where a gorgeous red-and-black two-layered midi skirt hangs up. 

She winces when she checks the price tag. It's ¥17,630. Almost as much as all the airsoft guns together, including the Peacemaker. 

"Yeah," she says. "I can see why you're only window shopping."

Ann keeps her voice low, as if letting Akira in on a secret. 

"Sometimes," she says, "I come here just to try on dresses in the mirror and then put them back again. I like them, but... I don't seventeen thousand yen like them, you know?"

Akira laughs. "Yeah, I hear you. And when would you ever get to wear something like this in real life, seriously? It's gorgeous, but I wouldn't want my guardian to catch me wearing it." 

She tilts her head. "Well, some of the skirts might be okay. But it's really event-wear, you know?"

"You can wear anything in real life if you're brave enough," Ann says. "But I see your point. Want to move on, or...?"

"I mean, I've hardly seen things. I'd like to browse a little bit. But it can be just a few minutes."

It's all gorgeous, and it's fun to imagine herself in it someday. Maybe someday, if she gets enough money from killing Shadows.

"Alright!" Ann smiles.

Even if it's just window-shopping, it's fun to spend time with Akira. She's surprisingly personable as well as kind.

"I don't know anything about fashion, but these are really pretty."

"Yeah, me neither. I always used to think about these before I —" 

She cuts herself off. Before she knew she was a girl. 

It almost slipped out entirely, that's how comfortable she is around Ann already. But she doesn't really know her. And she seems to have been stealth all this time. So Ann probably thinks she's cis, and — she doesn't really want to correct her on that. 

"Before you what?"

Great, Ann's noticed. That's not good at all.

"Before I... It doesn't matter." Her thoughts are all a jumble.

"Look, if it has to do with the rumors that have been flying around about you at school, I think that it's pretty clear that they're false at this point. You've helped so much already. You've asked me to trust you — shouldn't you trust me in return?"

She really, really hopes it's not time for the story of Akira And The Train.