"¡Ayuda, no hablo japonés!"

"Ah, excelente!" she said, turning to the boy and thanking him. "Thank you, uh, Nick. If you want, you can shop with me. It is— it is... oh, yes. Sorry. I always forget words!" she said sheepishly, giving herself a few taps on the head, to illustrate that. "It is least I can do for thanking you." she said, putting emphasis on the word she had just remembered. "I am sure I can find the way from here, but maybe you have recommendations for me?" she said, shrugging before walking towards the entrance.

"Your choice, mi amigo." she said, excited to start shopping. She needed a new tank top, because she had torn her old white one, and she wasn't about to sew that up. The fabric was way too thin and hard to work with. Oh, and a cute new t-shirt would be good, too! Maybe new shorts... well, she would have to see how much everything was, first!

Thank goodness that numbers are the same everywhere.

Bringing her to the requested store gave Nick a bit of satisfaction. He liked to help people and it was a plus if if was a cute woman. Her English was a bit more broken that Nick previously thought, though... English was definitely hard to master, but Karmina knew enough at the least to get around.

"I can stay with you." Nick scratches the back of his head. "I came to the mall to look around anyway." He looks around for a moment before walking into the clothing store with her. He stands behind her with hands in pockets and a smile on his face as he watches her.

Karmina smiled warmly, and walked inside with her new shopping partner. The store was one of those big, two storied department stores— except, in this one, the only department was clothing! It was like paradise for the spendthrifty Argie, and she went from clothing rack to clothing rack, looking at the shirts and pants, sampling them occasionally

After a couple of minutes of looking around, she found a white, strapless top with a monochrome picture of a kitten on it, and gasped. Perfect! Adorable! Just what she wanted. She grabbed it off of the rack, held it to her torso, and asked Nick for his opinion. "Good? No good?" she asked, smiling like a child.

Nuck follows quietly. He makes a few inquisitive hums when looking at some of the clothing himself. It always seemed that women got the more vibrant colors of purple and orange. But that was fine to the man who wore mostly black. The store was definitely a big one, Nick doing a literal 360 to see everything.

Karmina regrabs his attention by asking his opinion on a shirt. It was a good thing Nick had opted out of wearing his mechanical dog ears. For several reasons, in fact...

"I like it. It suits you well."

"Gracias!" Karmina said, hanging it over her arm and continuing to browse. She was happy to have Nick with her, so she felt like she owed him something. Perhaps she would buy him some clothes. In the meantime, she would try to make small talk.

"Sooo... what you do for fun?" the Argie asked, walking towards a display of short shorts, surveying a few. A pair of jean shorts caught her fancy, so she did the same thing she had done with the top— she held them in front of her, but this time before her crotch. "Are these good?"

"Well..." Nick turns his head away for a moment. "I wrestle in the AFW. But uh...I ain't no good at it. I like to tinker with electronics. Uh...I have a side job looking for lost pets. Mostly cats." He walks with her over to the shorts, watching her survey a pair. He looks down only to gain opinion. Quickly, Nick looks back up at Karmina. "They look good."

"Oh, what coincidence!" she said after draping the shorts over her arm with the shirt. "So do I! Do not worry, mi amigo, I am sure that you are very good." she said, punching him lightly in the arm. "But looking for lost kitties? That is very nice. I am like cats." she said, alluding to the cat-themed top she had bought just a little earlier. "Would you like a shirt, or something? I have money— and I would not mind to buying the gift." she said, gesturing at what looked like the men's section of the department store.

How does Nick meetbthese women? How does he get himself into these situations with beautiful women?

He plays it off with a small laugh. "I-I see...Well trust me, Im pretty bad." He looks over to the men's section via her gesture. But Nick didn't need any of that. He looks back to Karmina and shakes his head. "I'm fine. But thank you for the offer."

"If that is what you say, amigo." Karmina said, shrugging and continuing to shop. "No? You want nothing?" the Argentine asked. Nick was an awfully humble guy, it seemed. Every chance she had given him to accept thanks, he had refused. She supposed it wasn't too bad, though. After all, Isabel probably wouldn't be happy if Karmina went out and bough some expensive thing for a stranger.

So her shopping trip continued. She wandered through the clothing sections, occasionally stopping to feel some fabric or sample a shirt with Nick. To her, clothes shopping was close to zen, a place where she could just relax... and maybe tweak her style a little, too. As they shopped, Karmina had an idea. She smiled a little. Now, Nick was cute— nobody was denying that. And he also seemed quite easily embarrassed, judging from how he had reacted when she asked his opinion on the shorts which she was now carrying.

She didn't need a swimsuit, but it might be worth it just to see how Nick would react. "Ey, Nick. Come on— I am think that I want bikini..." she said, smiling slyly. "Do you know where is the section?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I'm all good. I don't need too much anyway." He follows her once again as she did her shopping. Definitely beats a day of going home to do...Well, nothing. And nothing was boring. At least that's how Nick saw his day going until he met Karmina.

His face couldn't help but blush a light pink when she aksed about a bikini. Nick's mind was still a man's mind, and that's what popped intoned head. But he didn't say anything about it out loud. He nodded and points over to the section. "Y-Yeah...Over there..."