"Is there nothing you like?"
At this moment, Yukinoshita Shizuku also came over to Tsushima Kagami's side and asked.
Tsushima Kagami looked at the rows upon rows of kimono in all sorts of styles, his gaze lingering a bit longer when it fell on a Taisho-era kimono.
In truth, he had no special fetish for kimono, nor did he find them particularly pretty.
But for Taisho kimono alone, he held a particular fondness.
Kimono of the Taisho era could be said to be a refined product born from blending traditional kimono with Western-style dress.
A typical product of [Japanese-Western Fusion].
Upon the foundation of traditional kimono styles, quite a few elements of Western dress had been added.
Ko-furisode, andon hakama, ribbon hair accessories, Western boots—this mix-and-match style was an epitome of the spirit of the women of that era as they strode toward modernity and pursued freedom.
It formed a unique style that was both classical and trendy.
Unfortunately, after the Taisho era came to an end, it was as though it screeched to a halt right along with the democratic process of that time.
Taisho kimono gradually reverted back to traditional-style kimono.
Nowadays they can mostly only be glimpsed in films and TV dramas, in ACG, and in some Taisho-themed cafés.
In real life, apart from perhaps seeing them at graduation ceremonies, for formal occasions such as major ceremonies and banquets, most people still opt for more traditional kimono styles.
"What, do you like this kind?"
Yukinoshita Shizuku had watched Tsushima Kagami's gaze linger noticeably on this Taisho kimono.
"It's alright, I guess."
"It feels a bit prettier than the others."
Tsushima Kagami nodded and admitted it outright.
"?"
"I thought you liked the kind Mother usually wears."
Yukinoshita Shizuku said suddenly.
"How could you tell?"
Tsushima Kagami asked right back.
"Do I even need to look to know?"
"Whenever Mother puts on that kuro-tomesode, your eyes practically glue themselves to it!"
The kuro-tomesode, for instance, is the typical formal-occasion garment for married women.
That is, the widow's outfit everyone knows so well.
Whereas unmarried women all wear furisode.
Besides those, there's also the houmongi, the visiting kimono that both married and unmarried women can wear.
"Can't be helped."
"Mother's bearing and that kuro-tomesode complement each other perfectly."
"It just makes a person unable to resist a few extra glances."
"Have you ever seen me stare when other people wear it?"
Once Tsushima Kagami finished saying this, the look in Yukinoshita Shizuku's eyes as she watched him suddenly turned more complicated.
"What are you looking at me like that for?"
Tsushima Kagami also noticed that the way Yukinoshita Shizuku was eyeing him was off.
"It's nothing."
Yukinoshita Shizuku withdrew her gaze and didn't say anything more.
At this point, Shimizu Nayotake, standing behind Tsushima Kagami, also reached out and gave this Taisho kimono a few touches.
"Huh, do you like Taisho kimono too, Nayotake?"
Yukinoshita Shizuku was the first to speak up and ask.
Shimizu Nayotake looked it over, then nodded.
Tsushima Kagami now also looked at Shimizu Nayotake, then glanced at this Taisho kimono.
It felt a little familiar.
He had been wondering all this time just who Shimizu Nayotake was.
In the cross-anime parallel world he had transmigrated into, he remembered all the characters around him.
Only Shimizu Nayotake left him with no impression, yet he also felt he'd heard this name somewhere.
Later he realized that, in fact, everyone deviated to some degree from their counterparts in the original anime—and for some, the deviation was even quite large.
So gradually, Tsushima Kagami stopped treating everyone as characters from a cross-anime world.
He simply regarded them as normal, independent individuals of another real world.
And so he no longer fretted over exactly which anime Shimizu Nayotake was a character from.
But today, he suddenly felt this sense of déjà vu grow stronger.
What was the reason?
As Tsushima Kagami pondered, he suddenly looked at the Taisho kimono beside him.
"Nayotake, could you put on this kimono and let me have a look?"
The three nearby who had been browsing other clothes—Hiratsuka Shizuka, Sayuri, and Ijichi Seika—were also drawn over by Tsushima Kagami's words.
Hearing what Tsushima Kagami said, Yukinoshita Shizuku, too, looked at him in puzzlement.
As for Shimizu Nayotake, she just nodded, and right as she was about to pick up the garment to go change.
Tsushima Kagami spoke up again.
"Never mind, changing into it is too much hassle."
"Just hold it like this."
Tsushima Kagami took the kimono down and had Shimizu Nayotake hold it up in her hands.
The way one normally tries clothes on.
Held in her left hand was a blue-and-white ko-furisode in an arrow-feather pattern.
In front of everyone, Shimizu Nayotake pressed it up against the front of her neck.
In her right hand she held a crimson andon hakama against her upper waist.
Then she looked toward Tsushima Kagami, who had been lost in who-knows-what thoughts.
Tsushima Kagami felt it was right on the tip of his memory—he was just a hair short.
At this moment he noticed there was still a crimson ribbon that Shimizu Nayotake hadn't tied on yet.
He simply picked up that ribbon and walked behind Shimizu Nayotake.
Looking at her long hair, which now grew past her shoulders, he used the ribbon to gather it up and tie it into a butterfly-bow ponytail.
Only then, satisfied, did he walk around to the front of Nayotake.
Taking another look like this.
Ara, isn't this Shinomiya Kaguya?
No, it should be Shinomiya Kaguya's mom!
No wonder she'd felt so familiar all along.
Tsushima Kagami hadn't originally known this name.
Because back when he was following the manga it hadn't finished yet, and later, after the Yakisoba War God incident, it pretty much rotted its way to the end.
He never picked it back up to catch up on the later chapters.
So he hadn't seen the parts later on that mentioned Shinomiya Kaguya's mother.
But later he occasionally scrolled past discussions about the plotline of Shinomiya Kaguya's mother passing away.
That was how he learned there was such a character.
But it didn't matter anymore. Although this world had many cross-anime characters.
It also had many differing deviations.
For instance, this world was closer to the real world from before he transmigrated.
There was no fictional Shinomiya Conglomerate, nor any Shuchiin.
One supposes Shinomiya Kaguya wouldn't be born either.
Because Tsushima Kagami had also discovered that this world was full of mother-generation veterans.
What a pity—this way, I won't get to meet my wife, Hayasaka Ai!
Though a 2D character turning 3D would be no fun anyway.
But then again, looking at Hayasaka Ai's mother, Hayasaka Nao, she's still got plenty of charm to her.
Haah, suppressed again.
The 2D world really is no good thing!
Tsushima Kagami finally snapped back to his senses.
Looking at Shimizu Nayotake, he said with a smile.
"Thanks, that's enough, Nayotake."
Only then did Shimizu Nayotake nod, put the clothes back, and then give the ribbon at the back of her hair a tug, letting it come loose at once.
Tsushima Kagami saw that the others were still staring at him.
"What are you all looking at me like that for?"
"How are you so practiced at it?"
Yukinoshita Shizuku suddenly asked.
Hiratsuka Shizuka and Sayuri, off to the side, also leaned in beside Yukinoshita Shizuku and asked.
"Has Kagami ever tied a hair ribbon for you?"
Yukinoshita Shizuku looked at Tsushima Kagami and shook her head.
"Ara, come on, spill it—which girls have you secretly tied hair ribbons for!"
Sayuri suddenly shouted at Tsushima Kagami.
"You're crazy."
"When I draw manga, don't I sometimes have to draw the step-by-step details of girls tying up their hair and the like."
"So it's perfectly normal that I'd try it out myself with props, isn't it."
"Thinking nonsense all day long!"
When Yukinoshita Shizuku and Hiratsuka Shizuka thought about it that way, it did seem to make sense, and they nodded at each other.
At this point Tsushima Kagami looked over at Sayuri again.
"Not only can I tie hair ribbons for girls, I can also undo clasps one-handed!"
"Wh... what clasp?"
Sayuri asked, a bit uncertain.
"Ara, though I suppose Sayuri wouldn't have any use for that."
Tsushima Kagami glanced at Sayuri, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly.
Sayuri subconsciously covered her chest.
"Wh... what are you talking about?"
"Ara, after all, a little camisole is plenty for Sayuri~"
"Baka, hentai, urusai!"
For the first time, Sayuri, flushed with shame and indignation, hurled her little fists at Tsushima Kagami.
____
👻🔥+40 ch: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Path of Elation in Warhammer 40K
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