SPY X FAMILY [jshk/tbhk au]

nine

Hi! I'm Haruto! Today, me, Mama and Papa are gonna get me measured! Measured for what, you say? Well, for my school uniform! I'm going to school soon! I'm super excited!

"9 point... 5! Oh, you've gotten 2 millimeters bigger since the last time you came here." The seamstress said with a smile, measuring Haruto's arm.

"I'm bigger now, Papa!" Haruto piped up with a big smile, flapping his free arm up and down.

"Is that so? It's probably just an error." Amane replied. The seamstress chuckled.

"Don't you know? Children are always growing."

Nene gave a nod in return. "That's right. It's like what they say, kids grow up too fast, or something like that."

"Well, in that case, could you make it a little bigger? To account for his growth."

"Sure. But geez, Nene-chan, to think you've gone up and married right behind my back. You could have told me the last time you came here. But in retrospect, it was rather obvious you two were already together by then."

Heat rushed up to Nene's cheeks at what the seamstress said. That wasn't the first time anyone had told them she and Amane complemented each other as a couple very well. Did they really look like the real deal that much?

I really need to get myself together...

"It's really amazing that your son's going to Eden Academy of all places! Are you an Eden alumnus too, sir?"

Amane shook his head. "No, I went to a third-rate rural school..."

"Is that so?" Suddenly, the atmosphere became dark, as a serious expression formed on the seamstress' face.

"You better be careful, then. It's a school built around tradition. There's quite a divide between the old blood and the rest. Those kinds of attitudes spread across the students, which lead to bullying and discrimination. Not to mention, they also look down upon scholarship students, and there's also strife between boarders and commuters."

Is that kind of thing even allowed in Eden, much less any school at all? Amane thought. He knew Eden could be quite notorious, but if what the seamstress said was true, he worried about how Haruto would fare once he went there.

"And speaking of commuters, it's not entirely uncommon for them to be kidnapped for ransom, either, since it's guaranteed that the parents of Eden Academy's students are rich folks." The seamstress sighed, shaking her head.

Meanwhile, Haruto trembled in fear. Kidnappers? What if he was snatched by some bad guys while he went to school? What if they tried to hurt him and his parents?

"I... I don't wanna go to school anymore..." He croaked out in a small voice to his father.

The seamstress laughed, patting his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Don't worry, young man, there's plenty of fun waiting for you there."

You could have just said that to him before scaring him half to death. Amane wanted to say, but for obvious reasons, kept his mouth shut.

"Alright, so order comes out to one uniform, one winter coat, one sweater vest and three other pieces. Since you're a regular here, I'll make the final adjustments as fast as I can. Oh, and there's a shop around the corner where you can get the rest of your designated school supplies."

"Thank you!" Nene called back before they all left the shop, with the bell above the door letting out a loud clang as they shut it close.

Haruto remained glued to Amane's leg, looking around his surroundings. "Is something wrong?" His father asked.