And just like that, Aeris got dragged into a car by Mrs. Briefs and hauled off at full speed.
Aeris swore on everything sacred that Mrs. Briefs was the single hardest person she had ever dealt with in her entire life.
No competition.
Also, why the hell was she the one driving again?
Weren't you the one who invited me?
Aeris grumbled to herself internally.
"By the way, Aeris, where did you get your hair dyed? It suits you so well. Tell big sis, okay? I want to get mine done there too…"
Aeris could only brush it off by saying she dyed it herself. If she didn't give at least some kind of explanation, Mrs. Briefs would definitely keep asking question after question until Aeris mentally collapsed on the spot.
So Aeris drove while answering Mrs. Briefs's nonstop questions.
Then, the moment Mrs. Briefs spotted a clothing store, her eyes practically glued themselves to it.
Aeris could only pull over in silence.
She knew this would happen.
That was exactly why she had deliberately taken a small detour.
Who knew there'd still be one here too?
"As expected of Aeris, you really understand me. Come on, come on, let's go look around there for a bit before heading to the other place."
Mrs. Briefs said that cheerfully from the side.
Aeris, meanwhile, was pretty sure that by the time they finished "looking around for a bit," Mrs. Briefs would completely forget the original destination.
In the end, Aeris found a place to park.
The second the car stopped, she was immediately dragged into the clothing store.
"Aeris, Aeris, look! This one would suit you so well. Go try it on."
Mrs. Briefs stuffed a dress into Aeris's arms and pushed her toward the fitting room. Then she grabbed an outfit for herself too and disappeared into another changing room.
Aeris changed awkwardly and stepped out, her little face flushed red.
She had genuinely never worn a dress before.
Then she saw that Mrs. Briefs had already changed too.
And to make matters worse, it was the exact same style.
Standing side by side like that, they looked like a pair of sisters.
Who would believe Mrs. Briefs was already seventy?
Aeris pressed a hand to her forehead.
She knew this was going to happen.
Then Mrs. Briefs excitedly went to grab another outfit. This time it was a short-sleeved shirt and overalls, and once again she ordered Aeris to go change.
Aeris could only go along with it helplessly.
The moment she finished changing, another new outfit got shoved into her hands.
And just like that, she kept going in and out of the fitting room over and over again.
"Mrs. Br—"
Before she could even finish, another outfit got stuffed into her arms.
Aeris could only close her mouth and go change again.
After being tormented in that store for more than an hour…
"The outfits she just tried on, I'll take two of each. One set in my size, and the other set in the sizes she just wore. Deliver them to the Capsule Corp residential area. Someone there will handle the payment."
After saying that, Mrs. Briefs grabbed Aeris again and marched her toward another clothing store.
"Mrs. Briefs… this…"
"Hm?"
Aeris swallowed.
She could hear the threat hidden in that one soft little sound.
"Sis… big sis… didn't we already buy a lot just now? That should be enough, right…"
Aeris surrendered instantly.
She had no choice.
She genuinely had no way to deal with this family.
"A lot? Look at it this way. One outfit a day, maybe two or three changes if needed. If you calculate it properly, it's not even enough for a month, Aeris."
And whether Aeris agreed or not, Mrs. Briefs continued picking out clothes and jewelry for her.
They shopped until evening.
By the time Aeris got home, she was carrying a mountain of things in her arms.
And her legs were shaking.
When Bulma saw her like that, she looked confused.
"You… got dragged into…"
Before Bulma could finish, Mrs. Briefs cut in.
"So Bulma finally decided to come out of her lab, hm? Do you know how long it's been since you went shopping with your mother? As expected, Aeris understands my heart much better."
Mrs. Briefs stroked her cheek dramatically while talking to Bulma, then hugged Aeris and pinched her face.
"As expected, Aeris is the one who treats big sis the best. She actually goes shopping with me. Unlike Bulma… honestly, you break my heart…"
Then she started fake crying.
The things in Aeris's arms dropped all over the floor as she panicked and rushed to comfort her.
Even though she knew perfectly well the woman was acting.
"Big sis, don't be sad. Next time you want to go, just come find me…"
The moment Mrs. Briefs heard that, she dropped the act instantly and grabbed Aeris's arm, ready to drag her right back out for round two.
Bulma immediately stepped in with an excuse to stop her.
She had already noticed Aeris's trembling legs. If Mrs. Briefs took her back out now, Aeris would probably have to crawl home.
"Uh, Mom, dinner's almost ready. Let's eat first. Aeris is probably hungry too."
Aeris nodded so hard it was almost violent.
"Yes, yes… that's right, big sis, I'm hungry. Why don't we eat first? We can go again tomorrow, okay…"
Aeris knew that if she didn't come up with something fast, she was finished.
Mrs. Briefs's shopping stamina was horrifying.
The fact that a full-blooded Saiyan couldn't keep up with it was honestly devastating to think about.
"What a shame… but since Aeris says so, we'll go together next time."
Mrs. Briefs said that with a smile.
Aeris finally let out a breath of relief.
As long as it wasn't right now, she could live with it.
Bulma watched Aeris visibly relax and found it a little funny.
Who would've thought that someone as terrifyingly strong as Aeris would be scared of shopping?
Or more accurately—
Scared of being dragged shopping by her mother.
Mrs. Briefs, meanwhile, paid no attention to their little exchange. She simply sat down on the sofa and started admiring the things she had bought today.
Then she pulled out a mirror and started admiring herself too.
Bulma could only shake her head helplessly.
Her mother's personality was way too jumpy. It didn't suit her age at all.
No exaggeration—she acted like an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old girl.
Which made her the complete opposite of Bulma's calm, steady father.
Then again…
The second Bulma thought of her dad, she started doubting that statement.
Because honestly, sometimes her old man was even less reliable than her chaotic mother.
Really, there wasn't a single reliable person in this house.
Aeris didn't count.
Now that things had quieted down, Aeris sat on another sofa and rubbed her legs, mentally deciding that she absolutely had to eat extra tonight or there was no way she'd recover from this.
While she was still rubbing them, she suddenly felt someone tug at her.
She looked up and saw Mrs. Briefs.
Aeris looked at her in confusion, wondering what she was doing now.
Then she watched as Mrs. Briefs took a necklace in her hands and gently fastened it around Aeris's neck.
"It really suits you, Aeris. Well? Do you like it? This is the one I was happiest with when I picked everything out…"
Mrs. Briefs looked at Aeris with a bright smile, then gently stroked her little head.
Her voice was soft.
Warm.
And for some reason…
Aeris suddenly felt her nose sting.
Why did it feel like she was about to cry?
In that instant, she suddenly felt so jealous of Bulma.
Sure, the woman in front of her was a little unreliable sometimes.
A lot, even.
But there were also so many moments when she made Aeris feel—just for a second—that this place was her home too.
Home.
What a distant word that was.
She had never seen her parents.
Never been loved by them.
Never been cherished by them.
Even her own name was something she only vaguely remembered from the fog of her earliest memories.
A voice in those memories had told her that she…
Was called Aeris.
When she was little, she used to ask Anaga over and over again whether she had parents.
Why had she never seen them?
Where were they?
Anaga would always tell her that of course her parents loved her—otherwise, why would they have brought her into the world?
But once she grew older and understood a little more, she realized what had really happened.
She had been abandoned.
She just didn't know why.
Maybe that was just fate.
At that moment, Aeris closed her eyes and quietly leaned into Mrs. Briefs's touch.
Forgive her…
Forgive her for selfishly imagining that Mrs. Briefs was the mother she had never met.
Just once.
Only once.
Even if it was only for this one moment…
Then that would be enough.
...
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