World Tree MUSH

    After all the adventures and troubles a certain Runaway Princess had come across, she did eventually manage to, with the help(?) of her brave(?) travelling companion eventually leave her World through the Vines.
    After all that, Shirou Emiya did still keep in touch with her. While he did promise to help her through her journey, as far as he was concerned... that journey didn't quite end just with her leaving her World.
    And truly, Shirou just could not ignore a girl with the potential to get into trouble either, no matter how well versed she is in handling herself. Thats... just the kind of guy Shirou is, you know?
    After some time of the two being seperated, though, one particular text ended up creating a reason to meet between the two:
    'Did you ever get Off-World clothes?'
    And all that leads our brave heroes to their next task! A perilous journey to... shopping!
    ... Okay, so it's not the most epic of quests.
    Either way. Shirou had sent her the directions to one of the big hubs of cross-world activity in the Tree -- a sprawling city, mostly contemporary in nature, though with the occasional sighting of futuristic technology imported over from worlds where things like space travel is just another tuesday.
    And the red-haired boy waits for her, thus, at the mouth of an outdoor mall, dressed up in a grey hoodie-jacket, with a tube-shaped pack slung by one strap to his back. Gee, wonder what's in that.
    A bit curiously, though? There's a hint of bandage-wrapping peeking out just past the end of the left sleeve of the jacket, and a bit more so from underneath his shirt towards his sleft shoulder when the neckline of it moves just right.

    That's just the kind of guy Shirou isn't he? Well, there's a few moments of silence in response to that initial text before Anna finishes up whatever had her distracted, to pull out her phone and reply.
    'No. ... Should I?"
    Poor girl is probably so out of her element offworld that she wouldn't know a thing about offworld styles and fashions, wearing those frilly dresses straight out of a medieval kingdom.
    So it goes, that now she must embark on a great journey with Shirou once again. ... To a mall.
    The youth doesn't have to wait long before the princes arrives, axe hidden away in her backpack slung on her back, still dressed in tht noble finery.
    "Um. Hi, Shirou." She greets, lips pursing.

    The crowds this time of day aren't overwhelming, but Shirou probably still ends up hearing Anna before he actually spots her. And when he does, he's quickly turning to facing her, and drawing his (apparently bandaged?) arm up to give a casual wave.
    "Hey, Anna!" He offers, in good nature, even stepping up a bit closer to her so there's no need for raised voices in public. "How are you doing? It's been a hot second, huh? You haven't run into any trouble since we left your World, have you?"

    No sooner than Shirou raises his arm, Anna spots the... Is that a bandage? Well, she answers first before leaping to any questions of her own... Has she run into any trouble.
    Briefly her mind turns to the squad of bloodletters that attacked her just this morning, and bites her lip.
    "Nothing I couldn't handle." She answers before drawing nearer. "And you? What happened to your arm?" She asks in a hushed tone."

    "Yeah? That's--" Whatever compliment Shirou was about to give, he ends up drifting off from it when she asks that question.
    "Hm? Oh, uh--" He lifts that arm up again a bit, and reaches with his other hand to pull the sleeve back a bit... showing the bandaging that more or less seems to cover the whole limb from the wrist up. "...I ran into a bit of trouble," he admits. "It's better now though! Just, uh... there was this scary lady..."
    There must have been a better way to word that, Shirou.
    "But I'm okay, really! Anyway... any thoughts on what kind of clothes you might like?"
    Is he trying to divert the conversation?!

    "Trouble? What kind of trouble?" Anna is quick to press, and then her eyes narrow. "Scary lady?" The princess wants details it seems as her fingers ball into tight fists. "Who did this to you, Shirou?" She's locked in on that topic a little hard. There probably was a better way to word that and Shirou failed.
    "Mmmmmm..." But if the youth says he's okay... Anna will grudgingly accept it at that.
    For now.
    "Ah... Um. I'm not quite sure. ... Probably something light and easy to move in?"

    "O-oh..." Shirou actually looks a little taken aback by the reaction that ended up drawing from Anna-- his eyes flicking a bit nervously to her balled fists for a few seconds before he offers an akward smile to her. But he can't really avoid the topic too much now though, can he?
    "It was... some woman who called herself 'Frost' or something? I thought she was getting attacked by some gangers, but, uh... let's just say she, er, dealt with them. And thought I was with them."
    He gives a brief pat to his arm in indication. "This kind of happened while I was defending myself. She had some kind of ice magic. It's healing pretty well, though!"
    But he is very much happy to move on when he is given the chance for it, though!
    "Well, we can look around and see if anything catches your eye," he suggests, quickly turning to face the entryway to the outdoor mall.

    "Frost..." Anna muses, turning the name over on her tongue for a beat and committing it to memory. If she ever encounters this Frost she may have words for her. ... Words and an axe to grind.
    But that's for later as she narrows her eyes and accepts, for now, that Shirou is alright and healing.
    Ahem... On to the legendary search for clothes. Anna turns to follow the youth, jade eyes glancing left and right at everything the mall has to offer.
    "... I... Have no idea where to begin."

    Unfortunately, Shirou doesn't even think about the seed of a grudge that he may or may not have planted into Anna's mind with this particular conversation.
    That's indeed going to be a problem for later.
    The mall itself has stores of all kinds spread through it. The clothing stores probably aren't even concentrated right next to each other either, so the two youths would pass by some other stores, too-- cafes, little restaurants, electronics stores... But Shirou himself keeps eyeing over the clothing stores mostly.
    "Well, you wanted something easy to move in, so probably nothing too fancy," he suggests, just as they pass a store that sells some highly expensive fashion clothes for women. "Maybe something sporty? The sports equipment stores usually sell things that are easy to move in and comfy, but they are typically pretty plain in terms of looks. Unless you don't care about that stuff?"

    Oh Shirou. That seed is planted. Anna now has an axe to grind. But that is a problem for the future. The problem for right now is to figure out something for Anna to wear.
    Designer fashion is right out the window, Anna already makes a face at the sight of the high fashion store where the clothes are all form, no function.
    "Sporty..." She muses. "Sporty, sporty... That... That sounds like a good idea." She considers after a beat of thought. "Honestly, the less I stick out, I think would be for the better."

    "I think all of us are going to end up sticking out in *some* world regardless of what we wear," Shirou points out. "I mean, what I'm wearing blends in really well in places like this, but not so much in a place like your world, or some super high-tech world... But, hm."
    The red-head considers a sporting goods store a few ways down. They would all be easy to move in, but... let's be honest, he's not entirely sure how Anna would look in a windbreaker or something.
    "Oh, hey, what about over here?" He suddenly pipes up, and without really even thinking about it, reaches over to give a brief, light tug on Anna's hand to urge her to follow along when he suddenly makes that turn. A turn that brings him - and her by proxy - towards a middle-range clothing store targeted primarily for women. It's all largely casual wear for everyday use. Most of them seems pretty comfy, and still some designer work slipped in without putting form over function.
    "These look kind of nice, right?" He suggests, even if he is... a *little* out of his element. He's not going to admit to it, since he's somehow ended up taking the guiding role here, but Shirou really isn't at all knowledgeable on fashion things either.
    "Oh, how do you feel about jackets? How about this?" He reaches over to one of the racks of clothing, and brings out a slim, black leather jacket. Though with that price-tag it's probably faux-leather instead of genuine, but nevermind that.

    "And look at me now." Anna points out. "Do I not stick out here?" She says motioning at her elegant frilly dress. "I meant, I do not want to look like I am from back home. So anything would make me look less conspicuous, thinking about it..."
    Then Shirou takes her by the hand.
    "U-uwah..." Into the store they go.
    Anna's brow furrows as the youth starts to pull garments off the racks.
    "Ah... A jacket would be a good start." Murmured thoughtfully. "Hm." She considers the faux leather jacket before something else catches her eye. While the leather could be considered light armor in its own way she gravitated to a white and black windbreaker. "... Oh this one is nice."

    Shirou probably just doesn't think about the things he does. Like how it may or may not have looked when he more or less walked hand-in-hand with Anna, even if it was just for a few seconds.
    He holds the leather jacket in display, though-- but when she indicates something else, he returns it to the rack and turns to bring his attention to where she's looking. "Hmm? Oh, let's see..."
    The white-and-black, hooded windbreaker is pulled out by the boy, and he holds it out-- as if trying to judge how she might look with it. "It looks... kind of big for you. Wait, actually. I think it's designed like that?" His other hand tugs lightly at the very end of one sleeve. "There's tighteners at the wrists... I guess it's supposed to look a little puffy? Here, why don't you try it on and see how it feels while I look for something that might work with it?" He offers this, as he holds the jacket out for her to take.

    Oh it sure looked like something alright. Anna is doing. her best to play off the slight pink tinge to her cheeks. A few seconds or not, he was still holding her hand. But when Shirou holds up the windbreaker Anna snatches it right up. It's an easy decision.
    "We'll start with this." Now to find things that go with it, as she tries it on and finds it...
    "A good fit~."

    "Good!" Shirou declares with a thumb-up sent her way, but he's already browsing through the racks again... and then something catches his eye. Oh. Well. If she wants to blend in... she does look just about the right age to be a schoolgirl in a place like this, right? So maybe...
    "...How about this?" He calls to her, as he pulls out... a black sailor uniform top. Very much like the stereotypical japanese school uniform, but with a bit of a stylized collar, and a decorative belt that runs along the midsection and up towards the collar from the sides.
    "What do you think? I figure it would look..." He trails off a bit.
    Don't say cute. Don't say cute. Do *not* say cute!
    "...Good with the jacket."
    Nice save.

    How about this, Shirou says, prompting Anna to glance up.
    Anna snatches it up right away, holding the outfit up scrutinizingly.
    "Only good?" She asks, nose scrunching slightly. "Well you are right, it would look good with the jacket." She decides after a moment, hooking it over her arm and adding it to the collection of princess-approved garments. Looks like it's a keeper.

    Anna doesnt seem entirely convinced by Shirou's assessment, and the boy coughs uncertainly. "I mean-- yeah. Really good, you know? I think it fits really well with it, and... stuff. Yeah..." Stuff, huh.
    "Anyway, let's... Oh. Hold on, I think this is actually sold with it as a package?" He yanks out a new article, and-- oh, it's a skirt of the same color as the sailor top, definitely looks like it would go well as an ensemble with it. Just...
    "Uh... Its a little short, I guess?" He notes, as he holds it out between himself and Anna in an effort to judge the size in relation to her, and he swallows a bit nervously. "Is... that okay?"

    And there's the skirt to go with the top. Anna holds it to her waist to test the length. "I... Think it should be fine?" She decides in regards to the length after a moment.
    "That just leaves... Footwear." She says after a beat of consideration.
    "I think it's coming together nicely, though."

    "I think they sell some shoes in here, though I think we'd be best off going to an actual footwear shop so you get the most comfortable ones for you," Shirou suggests, giving a slow look over the clothes she has gathered up over her arm now. "...Probably white sneakers? The kind with some good heel and ankle support, since you move around a lot."
    The red-haired youth considers this in thought, rubbing at his chin, while he looks over the rest of the store, towards the wall with some shoes racked over thataway. But he spots something else. "...Hey."
    He steps over to a big vertical reck with a bunch of accessorizing items hung from it, and... he draws out a necklace kind of thing... or is it a bow? It's a cufflink from handcuffs, but instead of a link connecting it to another cuff, it instead has smooth, orange length of cloth coming out as a loop from within, with a wider a necktie-like length hanging down from the cuff itself.
    "Hmm..." Shirou holds that item out, aligning it with Anna's image... and he can't help but smile a little. "This would look cute on you, no?" Well, there. He said it. He *does* realize what he said right after, and he coughs sheepishly. "I m-mean... It would fit well with the other clothes, right?"

    "We'll figure something out, then." Anna says in regards to sneakers. But Shirou's suggestion does track. Sneakers will work, and Anna adds them to the list of things she's holding in her grasp when he picks out the cuff and tie.
    And then he says it.
    He says the cute word.
    "A-ah..."
    "Y-yes! Yes it would fit nicely." She huffs.
    Yeah, it's a new outfit.