We arranged for the two of us to meet next weekend at noon. If was a little hard to explain to Mom and Dad where I was going without spilling the beans. Luckily, I managed to convince them it was to work on the project, which, wasn't a complete lie. Just a small one. I was worried about the upcoming experience. I wasn't unpopular at my older schools, but I wasn't experienced to say the least. I arrived a little early, around 11:50. My Mom knew I was going to be with a girl so she kept imploring me to let her dress me. She isn't my real Mom, she's my Step Mom, and my Sister is really my Step Sister. My Dad got remarried after he split with my Mom, the marriage was when I was about 11. Because of that, I'm still not completely used to her company, but this little bit of her getting me new clothes and things was fun, albeit a bit dull since I was just a dog on a leash being led around a mall on Thursday. While I was waiting for Ai's arrival, I noticed several glances from some other women. Mom always said I was handsome, but I always saw it as flattery, but I guess she was right. Not to mention she's a clothes designer, so she clearly worked some magic on me.
I noticed Ai approaching. She seemed to be looking down a bit, red faced.
"Hey, how're you doing?" I asked.
"I'm alright... so, um, what do we do now?"
Our lack of any real experience with this sort of thing was clearly showing. Painfully clearly. Regardless, we set out to the mall. The experience itself wasn't half bad. But, I noticed she had a little friend for most of it. It was just window shopping, so it looked like she wanted more. She glanced at the local dress shop. A place for casual dresses to full on marriage dresses.
"Wanna take a look?" I asked. I could tell she wanted a look-see.
"Um, if you don't mind. I haven't gone clothes shopping with anyone but my Mom. She chooses my clothes."
"Well, then it'll be a learning experience for once you're out in the wild, yeah?"
We had a bit of a fun time. She ended up buying a really nice casual summer dress. A little sized up so it can be used once summer comes. We forgot this was some test for the future until we left.
As we left we saw Jupiter, Mars and Venus. That's when we remembered the whole test thing.
"Well done." Jupiter chirped. "Your compatibility in battle seems great. But your next training is gonna be a lot more intensive."
By the look of her face, we could tell hell was coming.