********* (I Love You) Interlude XI: Butouhuku (Dresses)Follow

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Now that the dust has settled upon Alla, I shall start to post my stories again^^

Previous chapters, aki, and Interludes

Part I - Connection (Enishi)

Kasho II - Kodoku (Solitude)

Part III - Reunion (Saikai)

Kasho IV- Suriyoru (Closer)

Part V- Secrets (Hiou)

Kasho VI- Hanarebanare (Apart)
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(Chapter XLV)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35;mid=1131636452150807743;num=4;page=1

(Interlude IX)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35;mid=1133800951265217703;num=2;page=1

(Aki XLVI)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=113501144625653958#1135182494202893613

(Chapter XLVII)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35&mid=1138039094120547425

(Aki XLVIII)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=35;mid=114115196869295116;num=2;page=1

(Interlude X)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=1141306825158258628

(Chapter XLIX)
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/forum.html?forum=10&mid=114679612984309647#1146852071109322421
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Bonus Story: Rainfall Memories

Read and review if you wish. I don’t own FFXI or anything related to it…that’s all SE’s property.

Dedicated to Teppie...too much dress shopping with her, gah ><;

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Interlude XI: Butouhuku (Dresses)
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"Hello...I want to buy dress."

The saleslady looked up from her book, her eyeglasses sliding partly down the bridge of her nose as she did so. Her hair was in a tight bun that only served to make her look somewhat older than she probably was. With two of her long slender fingers, she bent down the corner of the top-right page to mark her place before closing the book and setting it aside below the register.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

I fidgeted slightly, my fingers locking between themselves.

"I...I...need dress...for ball..."

With that, the lady’s mouth split into a wide smile and she moved from behind the counter towards me. She lightly tapped my shoulder in suggestion for me to follow her around the store.

"Ah! A dress for the Yule Ball? Come follow me then, please."

We walked a short distance before she suddenly stopped and plucked a bright pink dress off of a random nearby rack. "What do you think of this one?," she said with a genuine interest in my opinion as she held it up against my body and motioned me in front of one of many wall mirrors that lined the store.

The dress was glittery with a short bottom, and plenty of ruffles and lace along the neck and arms. It was quite a complex and busy piece of clothing, and one that I honestly couldn’t see myself in for anything save for a Windurstian tea party.

"No...Something simple if all possible kudasai..."

"Simple eh? Not a problem." The lady immediately shoved the pink frock back into the folds of the dress racks, and then led me across the store to another section. There, she grabbed a dress, and once again had me pose in front of a mirror with it.

This one was dark red, made of material that was quite smooth to the touch. It was rather simple, with a back of criss-crossing strips of material. It seemed perfect...but...

"I can't show cleavage."

With that, the saleslady’s elvaan ears perked up. "No cleavage?..." she said, obviously abit dumbfounded.

Instantly, my mind flashed back to various memories from my past where I had been topless and the reaction that I had gotten for it, the most recent one being on Sarutabaruta fields. "Yes", I replied with a subdued voice, "I have ugly birthmark on my left breast that I would not want seen. Do you have any dresses that won’t show?"

The saleslady tapped her slightly pointed chin gently and closed her eyes partway for a couple of moments. "Yes, yes...I think we might...just wait here for a moment." With that she glided away towards the rear of the store and disappeared between two swinging wooden doors into the backroom, leaving me to my own devices. After a few minutes, the clerk reemerged from the darkness, with a single dress dangling from a hook in a slight flourish.

"What do you think of this one?..." she said as she handed the dress to me to look at. Holding it up in front of the mirror, I then started to smile.

"Perfect."

With that, the saleslady gave a slight nod of satisfaction. "Good. Then, would you care to try it on in the changing room please, so we may make any necessary adjustments to it’s length to fit you?" After I nodded my simple assent, she led me to a dressing room that was inset against a corner of the store. After locking the room’s door I started to change, dumping my old clothes into a rattan wood basket and then wiggling my way into the dress.

From outside the stall door, I could hear her voice in an attempt to make some small talk. "If you’re shopping for the Yule Ball, I assume you’re from the military...tell me, do you know anything about a recent secret delivery to the Tavnazian government? There’s a rumor going around among the streets that some sheathed sword was recently given to the Marquisat as a gift from San d’ Oria..."

At that I shook my head even though I knew she couldn’t see it on the otherside of the door. "I am only a simple soldier, I am afraid to say...they don’t tell us anything about happening in government. Sorry I cannot help you."

With that, I exited the room, with the bottom of my dress dragging along the carpeted floor. The lady looked me up and down, and then grabbed her limp measuring tape and started to wrap it around various parts of my body, noting down various numbers upon a small spiraled notebook that laid next to her.

"Nah, it’s no problem...", she said as she placed the measurer around my waist and then marked down a couple more numbers.

"Just couldn’t help but wonder, ya know? It always seems like the state government is keeping something from us these days…first it was some official from the Ducal Guard of Jeuno coming here to help train the troops –WHICH the government hasn’t even bothered to officially confirm or release his name to the public yet- and now this. Makes one wonder if you can trust those in power, especially with the war slowly heading towards our direction..."

I didn’t pay any attention to the rest of what she said, my mind having instantly latched upon two words that she had said.

Ducal Guard?

No, it can’t be.

A sudden prick against my body brought my mind back out of a haze and back to the present.

“Hey miss, do you mind loosening those muscles up abit? I can’t get accurate measurements of your body if you are all tense like that.” The salesclerk had a semi-stern look upon her face as I looked down to where she was knelt upon her knees, and I could see that she had poked me with one of her fake fingernails in my left calf.

At that, I blushed slightly and tried to relax my body some, even though I didn’t really feel like it anymore.

-fin Interlude XI: Butouhuku (Dresses)