Saiyan, Tuffle & The Tailor of Secrets [Cheri]

His gaze briefly looked up when she thanked him. It sounded pretty good to his ears, albeit he expected a different response perhaps. He was not sure why, however, but he did briefly observe; would she accept it?

That she did! Of course the taste was something Nasu could not imagine or comprehend honestly, albeit he was quite tempted to go on a rampage for food before leaving Earth. They really sold a lot on the food, apparently. It was nearly everywhere.

He queried a brow: what did she mean that he was already going to support them? He believed he did hear something similar but all the same it was not certain for sure. Did Cheri have some kind of master mind where she would know if those she would approach were already going to join them? Probably not but he could trust her.

“If you say so. I really do not understand politics then.”

She spoke of the conversation even making the chances of him helping them higher but honestly at this point Nasu had given up on understanding one bit of it, he preferred being relinquished to his simple world of non-politics.

'Is everything all right?'

That was her question, indeed. But a good one of a question, he thought to himself. Briefly as he stared at her for perhaps longer than he should have, but he soon looked up once more.

All in all, it was true he had also been thinking about how he could better himself from such a silly confrontation but all in all, he wondered if he had, in all of this, disgraced Cheri’s work. That would have been unforgivable, no doubt. He could not have walked besides this person any longer while keeping a straight face if he knew he had ruined what she wished to accomplish.

So, in truth, most of his weird mood was mostly in concern as to what Cheri thought. But he was not entirely relieved of it yet, he knew he had some work to do regardless so he could hope to achieve better relations with other people in the future. Still, he now basically tossed the gelato in his mouth, eagerly tasting its fruit taste.

“Hmm. The Earthlings make good food…”

And he had not tasted anything just yet, only this one thing. It was true that it was melting but it only made it easier for him to taste and enjoy, but he soon pulled it out. His lips were brazen not in color or cream, but they looked a little wet now and his very breath was ice cold. He exhaled deeply before he looked down at Cheri again.

“Yeah. Thanks to you, everything is alright.”

He walked ahead, his head interrupted the eyesight of the Tuffle and instead allowed his very eyes to gaze upon the orange sky: it had truly been a long, eventful day.

His thoughts were now slowly melting away, with the fact itself that Cheri was fine he did not seem to possibly be that silent anymore, and instead a glee of happiness in his soul shined on. Once more he looked towards her, at the pinkette.

“Is it good at least? I don't really know what those drinks are, but it looked satisfying.”

A sense of honesty came from him, now the man looked more talkative and more in his usual state of being than he was earlier. Did Nasu really care that much about what Cheri thought? Or was it something else? He did get quite upset at Azoth, after all.

But surely, it was all down, past the river. Again, though, another question came to his mind: where were they going even? He had been following Cheri as she was easily the smartest out of the two, he expected her to probably have half an idea about Earth geography.

Or that scanner of hers could have probably taken information from some intergalactic network. Who knew. So he definitely rested the faith of the trip upon Cheri’s shoulders. All the while, with quick pace, he was eating his gelato.

“So, where are we going? We have some time before the tournament, we could do something together.”

If anything Cheri seemed to appreciate ‘a new experience’ like any other, but of course the Saiyan was led to wonder what was her meaning of a new experience, too. He could not know what kind of stuff she was used to drinking, so he wondered if perhaps it did not just suit her tastes.

“Hm.”

He hummed just briefly to her response but of course, she also soon implied that she couldn’t drink that much, and therefore offered it to Nasu; once more with his tail he grasped that very cocktail and looked it up in his eyes. He had to be somewhat honest with Cheri, he was not quite sure about drinks at all but honestly. It could not have been that bad right? As personally, he did not really have any issue about food and drinks being a Saiyan.

“Do not worry. I understand. It would be troublesome if I had to carry you around on our first day on Earth.”

The man chuckled briefly, for that was also hilarious as a sight, admittedly. But of course he decided to follow her suggestion and enjoy a bit of it himself.

He lifted the glass from the same side she was earlier drinking from and sipped, as he lowered the glass down, he proceeded to blink uncontrollably. What was this? He gulped it down. It was… odd, but it surely made his body feel a little warmer at least. He was not really that easy to get drunk with all that mass. But of course he just gulped the rest of it down and tried to follow her example in putting away the glass in a trash can.

“Yeah. It was a bit new… but I would have liked it better if it was stronger.”

Nasu smiled when he realized the two were going to at least spend some time at ease, without really having to worry about politics but suddenly she stopped too. He suddenly also did so, and blinked, trying to realize what was the deal as he glanced at her briefly. But he soon of course also heard her words and had him somewhat surprised: she wanted… to change his clothing?

That was… nice, he guessed. If she cared that much for his image. Or was it something wrong with her whenever that happened for some reason? Too many questions all at once, too many to figure out but of course he was still happy. As he eyed the tailor shop ahead with a curious gaze.

His face perked up a little at the touch in his hand; she pretty much held herself into it and began leading him, while he eyed her widely — he surely did not expect it. He guessed Cheri was much different from when she introduced herself to others, a very serious and respectful person of her work. He liked that. She was no young gal or girl who did not know what she was up to, but a mature person with a goal in mind. He was not a soldier but he saw the way Cheri lived that reality as a very honorable thing, at that.

“Are you sure? I think that could be a little bit of a challenge.”

He said, ironically. He had been somewhere before and most of the men's pieces they had were tight like this, although maybe Cheri could find something that worked much better for him. And so he just decided to follow her, not like he had a choice, but he figured it could be a good time, too. The man was amused for certain.

“Maybe we should get something for you, too.”

Funny enough the man embraced the hand and stepped forward, almost as if he tried to be the one leading them forward and inside, walking through the halls as suddenly they would be blinded by hundreds and hundreds of colors. Various sizes, styles, hoodies, shirts and whatnot. But of course there were for any kind: men, women, and children.

Nasu was a bit lost admittedly, wagging his tail.

He smiled to himself briefly. Such a lengthy way to say that no challenge was truly impossible, otherwise it wasn’t one to begin with — it was encouraging to some point, but did it not mean there were indeed impossible things? That could have also been the case, but still Cheri looked lively enough to the point where he could just agree with it.

“Yeah. But I am saying finding clothes that don’t shred for me is a little bit of a predicament, as in impossibility. Rather than a challenge, maybe. But who knows, maybe you will find a solution to turn the impossible… — possible.”

The fact he proposed getting her something was mostly a way for him to be chivalrous as ever but he figured she did not feel the need — or well, perhaps it was just more important keeping Nasu dressed. He wondered why, however. Did he look that bad without a shirt? Ah well. He nodded and soon, he narrowed his eyes and smiled plainly — weren’t they the same? He figured all those colors and shirts meant they also made clothes.

“So they are… two different things?”

Nasu questioned before he just let his sight off the shop and walked back. He felt a bit awkward no less but he followed her, of course, to the other shop. One that, ever since his first sight, lit an odd fire within his mind. It was not excitement but admittedly, something felt weird about it. The man was pretty sure it was not supposed to be there — did his eyes deceive him earlier, when they were walking? Ahead he was pretty sure he had only seen that one shop, so it left him… quite confused.

“R-right… that one.”

He said and proceeded to follow her, albeit confused still. Silently they came to the very bland shop, the structure itself was not bad and as they entered inside, they found a room that was pretty… normal, in design. At least. The wood and all, it was fine but yet he could not help but watch the sewing machines work… on their own? He blinked and yet immediately Cheri assumed it was the norm for a magical shop. This was magic? Since when was magic put in the middle of anything?

“Since when did those things pop out?”

He was sure he couldn’t hear all this noise in his ears until the two stepped inside, he blinked but soon enough Cheri also pulled out a slip that seemed to come from nowhere, even. What was the meaning of this? Immediately Nasu felt even more lost than he was in the clothes shop, blinking but soon enough Cheri came to him, asking for the permission of using that tape of hers. He blinked, quietly. He snapped back to reality and nodded, walking to the center of the room to give her some space to breathe— he spread himself just a little bit so she could begin doing her work.

“Do not worry. Take as much time as you need.”

If he had to be honest, however, he was still quite concerned. Who was this Pavlova even? Or did Pavlova mean something else? It did not feel like it had a real meaning, it just sounded strange. Unless this stranger was an alien, of course. Cultural and language barriers were vast.

He stood in the middle of the room. Seemingly, they were alone, of course. But something was not right, a very trepid feeling down the temple of Nasu slowly shivered down; he could not sense or perceive anything, odd. He believed, at least. There was nothing that could possibly scream for danger or anything alike within the walls they currently stood between, right? Yet, admittedly, even then he felt somewhat nervous. His very expression did not eye or wait for Cheri to say anything, his sight just went back and forth.

Finally, however, his sight met the very entrance door. A peephole? The two had entered not too long ago, the very burning image of the door was still in his mind— how did it have one? Was it perhaps half-finished? The man looked at it but yet, he possessed no super sight or zoom capabilities, there was no chance he could have checked the peephole to see if it was truly a thing. Perhaps a trick?

Who knew, maybe something outside the door looked like wood but was in reality reinforced glass to cover the hole. He did not put that chance aside, however the more time passed the more his heart began to beat — to the point where even Cheri, at the distance both of them were at, due to the situation they were in, could begin hearing it.

He gave it a few moments but soon he eyed Cheri once more with a frown, and soon looked away once more. The Saiyan felt like this situation was way too dramatic, perhaps it was much like a machine except… magical. It would do everything automatically, craft the suit and so on but… how odd. What struck him the most was the ‘staff’ door. If it truly was a magic mechanism that would have done all by itself, why did it need a staff door? What laid over there?

“Are you sure this place is safe? I do not mind magic, but something feels wrong here.”

He waited for Cheri to stop or either be done with his measures before he turned his back on her and began heading for the staff room; he wanted to see if there was truly something or anything behind there, because as far as he was concerned, this place was giving him some kind of signals that it was not completely alright.

“Excuse me. I must check myself.”

Nasu knocked upon it, blinking. Would anyone respond or was it empty? Was it even locked? He could have checked but he did not feel like going against his moral code as to trying to sneak behind a door. He looked behind, hoping to once more find Cheri before him.

He knocked. One, two, one two. It did knock, it was loud and clear to his ears even. But there was something odd — the door… it was unlocked all this time?! Or did somebody behind said gate decide to let it open? Truly there was no way to find out besides walking in and investigating, he would have done so already, if it wasn’t that the gate itself did not just open but also reveal its contents. There was a moment of confusion no less, as he was pretty sure that in the midst of the room all he could see was a bright light.

A screen no less. It was big, he could hear tapping and tapping and tapping but it did come to a stop by the time Nasu broke in, he stood there silently. There was somebody in there no less, it had to be the owner of the shop, of course. But in the end, it looked like… his expectations were quite off. As the very person revealed itself as a person that left much to be desired as an actual ‘vile’, instead. If anything, he was relieved, of course.

The man expected that some kind of magical trickery to harm both of them was going to take place but this man in particular looked quite easygoing and just a serious person doing his job. Of course, though, silently the Saiyan also realized that made himself the invader and nuisance in all of this. There was no need for himself to think it over or trying to find a way where he did not have to be the bad guy in this, but he did feel a little bit bad now.

“...Sorry.”

With a little bit of regrets over in his mind, he once more held the doorknob and slowly let it come to a close. As it did shut, his eyes also did and followed. He tried to process all that was going on and soon the embarrassment himself of having ruined the party disappeared. But well, of course now it was back to the clothing business.

By the moment and time that Nasu turned back and put all of these feelings aside, when it came to the oddity and possible danger of the shop, he was surprised to find that the very air was now filled with clothes! Not literally, but they were floating no less. Flying even, and the man slowly began to approach the scene with curious eyes. What was this? In a way, he believed something magical was truly going to happen — oh wait, this place was filled with magic. He had almost forgotten, but of course his sight slowly looked towards each and every one of them.

They looked quite normal. Some of them were Earthling, others were more alien. No less the guy on the other side did know something about intergalactic style but now the true issue at hand was to understand what kind of clothing he sought. It could have been the suit he had to bear and wear for a good amount of his life, therefore he wished to make a great choice, no less.

Of course, though, one eye could not help but suddenly catch sight of something… very familiar. Slowly and yet then again for certain, he was sure there was no mistake: the man had just witnessed a sight from the past, one that led him to slowly come before a piece of clothing. It was a long ‘vest-like’ piece in a sense. A long yellow jacket and a large crimson cloth that served as a belt.

Nasu approached it and a hand grazed what it would have been its cloth, if these were real at all. But of course, he just eyed it silently, for a moment. Those were very familiar to him for a reason: they were the clothes he wore as a young Knight in training, when he was still not a mountain of muscles but a teenager trying to please both his parents and hoping to make his grandfather proud. Back when everything was literally heaven. Truly beautiful times, that almost made the man wish portals through time were actually viable.

But soon enough, of course, he snapped back to reality. The very words of Cheri did, as he looked towards her shortly. He would have probably just acted confused or ignored the bare comment, but instead he felt a little more open — perhaps it was due to how easy it felt talking with the Tuffle, or the fact that a memory from the past had softened his heart but he soon formed something the pinkette may had not seen before from him: a grin.

“Are you saying I look that bad when I am bare? I will have to remember that.”

A hint of a joke before it soon faded from his features, leaving only half a smile. His sight soon once came to the clothing before he turned away, in truth, if he looked around: he could see other types of clothing from his world that he recognized; they were truly very similar to the likes of medieval work. Very simple flat or nearly pastel-like color at times. Floreal and natural themes for casual clothing, while the ones that felt more fitting for a Saiyan looked like a gladiator’s attire.

“Hm. I think I know what I want…”

Nasu soon enough shut his eyes: there was no way the mage would have known where the Saiyan came from, therefore he assumed the person could at least do something such as reading his mind if anything. Therefore, as he closed his eyes, he made sure to picture the very vest he wanted.

A grey, long vest that reached down and over his knees only on the front, that left both his legs exposed. It needed some golden patterns, of course.

A crimson line that came down the collar, all the way to the end of the very vest and came together with a belt of the same color. Below his vest, he would wear the very same clothes he put on up until before — an undershirt, black pants and boots that were similar to his, except with more grey.

The man eyed Cheri, unsure of what she was on about; what did it mean she wanted to get him in the habit of being fully dressed? Was he not dressed most of the time? He guessed they had started with a funny foot given the fact he ripped off his own shirt on their first meeting, but that was mostly because it had already been ruined. She had a point but of course he did not want to just purposefully rip it off.

“Ah then, if you say so.”

He could have made another joke about it but he decided to just end it there.

His tail could not quite help but wiggle a bit once he heard Cheri say it was nice. He was not too surprised when she didn’t like his previous garb, it was obviously not the best in the slightest of course — and not practical at all for when it came to combat but he also knew that in the end her opinion did matter to him.

The man also turned his head around, he looked at her: did she want to know the reasoning? In a way, he guessed it was only fair. Nasu did think it up with very little time, but at the same time he wondered if it was reasonable at all (the reason he chose this style).

She soon asked if this was something he wore back then. Was it? Nasu eyed the garb, not quite. It was a close match perhaps, but not really remotely close to anything he wore, therefore the man soon shook his head and looked towards Cheri with a faint smile.

“No, not quite. It is a fusion of several things, really.”

Nasu mentioned before he figured he would also explain himself, not to leave things in the dark rather as the Saiyan soon beckoned her to come closer. As she did, his hand could slowly trace the features of the vest and nodded over, each time, almost as if he was pointing out things.

“I do not know what being raised on Plant is like for the Vegeteans. But back home, we used to live in our own castle. It was large, big and with lots of gardens and trees. The people of Kryysta were beautiful — their hair ranged from any sort of color. The people of the stars, they called themselves.”

His very memory could not quite recall exactly every single day of his childhood but he pointed away at the light orange garb he was seeing before, there was no doubt: that was from his very past.

“That's what I wore when I was a kid. It was my Knight training garb. I used to carry a pair of dual swords with me all the time when I had that one on — my very childhood was mostly related to that. Training, studies and at times I would get assigned a real task. Nothing really that great, it could be as easy as helping an old woman find her pet. But I felt like even those small things helped me.”

He soon returned his sight to the vest that he instead chose to wear.

“Even back then I had always felt like something was wrong with my father. That he was not a righteous person, but it always was masked under the fact that he was part of my birth. So I just pushed it all away. This vest itself does have a connection to my past, but it is mostly connected to my grandfather Retasu and Shiso, my brother.”

The man smiled briefly at the recollection of their names. He proceeded to explain how Retasu looked like, and perhaps, if the Shinjin was to help, even an image could perhaps come to life of him; a man with a long tail closed in a ponytail, with a beard even. He was big and burly, but shorter than Nasu.

He did look like a Saiyan alright with his long, grey tail. His dress was long but with amazing, red blood colors in contrast with small, green details. Some plaques of white in ancient Saiyan fashion as well.

“He was my hero. I did not spend a lot of time with my father, but instead my grandfather put a lot of faith in me. As the second born I was made to be part of the noble caste, but not a true King, unlike Shiso, my brother.”

At the mention of Shiso, a young man with darker hair— it was not a hairdo as big as Nasu’s, but rather it was short and hair locks fell on top of his shoulders. He wore shiny and golden armors that could make anyone wonder if he did not just come out of a gold forge with all the gold having melted around him.

“As children we were pretty close. But I was made to be a Knight and become their leader… while my brother had to become a King, one day. So we grew isolated from one another early on, after we had played for so long together. Honestly, as an adult, I could not stand him but I never leashed against him. I still loved him, no matter what.”

Nasu smiled briefly, but soon all those mental images were gone and looked down to Cheri. If she had paid attention, that vest was simply a fusion of many little characteristics such as the use of gold, the lengthy dress from his grandfather but yet it looked very different in color, the undershirt and the use of gold as being a mere decoration.

“I can not go back to wearing what I used to back then even if I wanted to. You are making me into a different and better man, Cheri. So I wish to represent a man that you can count on and that people may recognize as not from the middle ages.”

He chuckled briefly: middle ages. Yeah. He picked that one up from the museum time. And so even the symbolism was explained, he wanted to wear a mixture of old being overwritten and overridden by the new; in hopes of moving on, together with his new allies and friends. Nasu’s features softened a little, he gave Cheri somewhat of a curious look.

“Now that I think about it… I do not think I have ever asked anything about you, right? However I really want to know more about you.”

Stolen Tuffle accomodation? He did wonder what Vegetean cities were like at some point but as she spoke, he figured out it was probably a Tuffle’s settlement that was brutally conquered and taken over as their city. He was not too surprised, however, he did not ever remember visiting that city. Albeit it would have been easy for him to disguise himself (with no need whatsoever with him being a Saiyan) and take a look, he did not feel like honestly seeing a Vegetean until the day the war sparked. He knew that if they were to know a Saiyan was helping the Tuffles, they could possibly try and do something petty against the Tuffles.

He did not really want his curiosity to hurt them, after all. But he did know that Cheri was right when she said they were not fussy, they were of course Saiyans and most of them were minimalist in certain ways due to how little some things mattered compared to the many things that gave them life. He guessed Vegetans put strength above all.

“Yet they can not bear to live on the same planet as another species.”

Nasu briefly mentioned, with a faint smile. He kind of saw it as funny, how they could not really stand Tuffles at all. While Cheri had some kind of patience with Nasu even back then, it was like she either was just that good of a soul or perhaps she had to have had some experience with Saiyans before. The very images of the two familiar members did not show them particularly smile, Retasu himself looked quite grumpy honestly, while his brother had a look of overconfidence and arrogance across his eyes that he was probably looking down on to you.

Not a great mental image for Shiso, but sadly that was what he turned into, eventually. Soon enough and more importantly, however, Cheri complimented his choice. Even the Tuffle could see him wagging a bit from the praise, and soon he nodded slowly. He was not only grateful to the design but the fact that she listened was very important to him. But of course Cheri was hungry for even more information and Nasu decided to welcome this, as he soon began telling the rest of the tale.

“My bad. I thought you had already known most of it. But… well. In my adult years I was made to wed with a Kryystan woman. It was simply part of trying to keep a family caste that I had to, but sadly my previous years spent only as a Knight left me without time to find that someone.”

He spoke briefly. It was sad in a way, made to marry somebody but in a way he did not mind how things had played out in the end so he did not consider himself unlucky or whatnot, but he retorted soon of course to make it clear.

“It was awkward for me. At first she was interested, I clearly was not… but things just happened, three kids came along the way as well. Not exactly a bad background, but of course, if you do remember… I did mention when my grandfather found this planet, he did so with a larger platoon. Yet not everyone agreed with this way of life, split up and left. For the longest time I suppose he believed those Saiyans had left the planet, instead they lived far away, rotting away in their brute way of life.”

Nasu paused briefly, and sighed. Surely the story was about to get darker, even. A little more dark, but in pieces he did already kind of explain to Cheri what had happened. But the man did never really go into details before. This was his first time talking about his past at all, too. He did still remember finding that place on that very day, before once more a firm look returned as he continued. He wanted to finish this tale.

“My father was one of those, and had married my mother by now I believe to just get the chance of destroying all of the kingdom. It is hard to believe, but he waited forty years apparently before one night he approached me. He made an offer to me. If I were to slaughter my brother, he promised me we would have ruled together and that I would have been the successor.”

Nasu frowned at the memory of that, it disgusted him even; it was as vile as it could get. The very reason he hated betrayal and villainy was both due to his training as a Knight and that experience alone, even if he did not have a great relationship with his father, he still saw it as a figure he could trust because of his role in the family. And yet, there was only treachery to be remembered in that man.

“You can imagine how I reacted to that. I told him off. But I believed it was only a trial, a test or perhaps even a joke. I spoke so little with my father in my life that I did not know, but I just walked away and tried to go and sleep. Therefore, he decided to dispose of me. Maybe he was afraid I would have spoken about that encounter and backstabbed me, throwing me off the castle’s tallest tower.”

The man cleared his throat, and slowly his fingers began undoing his shirt right in front of Cheri. Wait, what? Surely he was undressing but he did not seem to offer any explanation as to why, only until later. He took off the white shirt and brought it together, he twisted it in his grasp and made a towel of about… half a foot? What was he doing exactly? Hopefully Cheri was not going to have a problem about it.

“I woke up, far away from the town as I had fallen into a flowing river. With only a piece of cloth that was this big, that I could use to cover my wounds.”

Aahh, so that was why he took off his clothes. He was making an example with his shirt. He soon once more let go of the grip on the shirt and briefly slammed it in the air, to make it loose again before he put on the sleeves again but did not do his buttons, leaving most of his chest’s definition visible. I mean, he was getting his new suit done so he had to change anyways. Actually no. Cheri said she wanted him dressed. He nodded to himself and began doing at least half his buttons, half plus one, actually.

“But yes. In my travels to find my town again I picked up on a few tricks, such as sensing energy. And soon I did find Saiyans, but it was that particular group of rascals I mentioned earlier. Seemingly my father had informed them it was time to strike. I disguised myself amongst them and returned to the kingdom, and then… that crude day took place. I lost my wife, my children, my brother… the only one who was still alive was my grandfather.”

One hand to his temple, he jabbed it briefly with a pair of fingers; the index and middle one, and massaged it before he shut his eyes. It was painful, really. He could probably still remember the roaring, the screaming and even more. He just was strong enough not to succumb to any of those things, but it was not pretty for one to remember that much alone. Before he had come to Plant, he believed he would have lost his mind eventually and therefore it made his exile only worse.

“It is true I said I did not remember most of it. But in reality, it is because most of it was like being thrown in a cage of raging gorillas. As my Saiyan Knights fought the invaders, both in great apes I saw from afar that my Knights were… relenting. Not in the way that they enjoyed the fight, but they began battling one another. Friendly fire, without even realizing it. They began enjoying the destruction themselves and by that point I was fighting so many foes I could not even tell if I was still in one piece or not.”

Nasu smiled briefly. It was not a good time, perhaps was it a hysterical smile? No, not really. His mind was all in one piece, still, but of course he could not be smiling for such a reason. In reality, it was for what happened next and surely Cheri would realize it soon herself knowing how much he admired a single man, Retasu. He paused shortly just to give her enough time to elaborate the information but he resumed shortly after.

“It was my grandfather who survived that night. He put me into a pod and sent me off, as the surviving Kryystan began the execution of every single Saiyan on the planet. Ever since then I had been in exile for many years. I lived in space from one station to the other. In a mix of emotions, really. I didn't even know what I felt like. You are the first and only one I have opened up to, Cheri. Back then I would have broken a sweat, but with you it is not even that. Thank you.”

He smiled now to Cheri, she did not offer so much of a story but the fact alone she was a serious worker earned a smile from Nasu. It was all in Nasu’s ethics of hard work; it was what made people feel alive, he was sure of it. He had given up on doing anything and felt worthless, but then Cheri snapped him back to reality, on Plant. And ever since then he began feeling better every day. He believed it was very honorable, honestly. He nodded soon.

“I am sorry about your parents… but I am glad you are the way you are.”

The man spoke before soon enough he caught sight of Cheri, looking and not looking at him. He slowly began to grow a little concerned, what was going on in her mind? Was something wrong at all? Did she feel something? Was it his compliment? Because, by all means, while Nasu was a warrior he was a man no less. And a previously married one with children, so he would not have been surprised. Thus far he had just not realized a thing about him being shirtless due to how good Cheri was at hiding her game.

There was one more thing. But yet just one more thing, could not she just mention it together with the other things? That was obviously the question Nasu asked himself in the back of his mind but he soon proceeded to believe that if she did not talk about it right away… it could have been something a little more important. It was true that in a way Nasu did find a lot in Cheri, it was like things felt that easygoing and well when around her. But even Cheri was a little hesitant on speaking up on that thing. Therefore, the man looked at her and nodded his head. He could not know what it was, but he had already sworn to remain faithful to Cheri before. Even if it was bad, he was resolute in keeping his promise to the Tuffle.

“You can speak up, do not worry. It is not like I will change my mind about you whatever it will be. I have sworn to you, so feel as free as a bird.”

The man said with, of course, little to no idea as to what she could possibly be holding under wraps. In the meanwhile the very images of his family disappeared into nothingness, gone now and soon the very sewing machines began working without stop. He blinked briefly as the noise picked up once again, he turned towards them shortly before he once more looked at Cheri, his arms folded over his chest as he patiently waited for either the machines to finish or Cheri to spill the beans.