Unconventional Lessons

by BHS

"Kirara? What is this?"

Kirara Amanogawa leaned back in her chair with a playful sigh. Even after almost a month of living together, she still heard variations of that phrase a minimum of once a week from her roommate.

True, her roommate was more unusual than most transfer students. Hidden underneath her vivid red curls were a pair of pointy, elfin ears that marked Towa Akagi as not of this world. In truth, she was the Hope Kingdom's princess, once thought to be lost forever, now recovered thanks in part to the sacrifice of her devoted older brother, Prince Kanata.

With the doorway to Hope Kingdom now destroyed, there was no way for Towa to return to her homeland. Even if there was, the kingdom was still corrupted and locked in the grip of Dyspear, the Witch of Despair, its populace sealed away behind the Dark Gate... the Princess Precure were not nearly strong enough yet to reclaim the land from Dysdark.

So for the time being, Princess Towa was Towa Akagi, a new transfer student at the prestigious Noble Academy. A stranger transfer student than most, given that she still expressed ignorance of perfectly ordinary things such as television, cars, and parking meters... but there were more than enough eccentrics at Noble Academy for her to be passed off as just a little strange. As long as no one saw her ears, there was no real cause for concern.

As her roommate, it was Kirara's job to teach Towa about the human world. She was a quick study, with a child's boundless curiosity, and every day her knowledge grew... but the constant repetitions of "What is this?" were Kirara's reminders that there was always more that needed to be explained.

Today's new entry on the list of Human Things Towa Doesn't Understand appeared to be a fashion magazine. Strange, Kirara thought, she should be familiar with those by now. She tilted her head and examined the cover... oh. "Um, that's a swimsuit issue. They usually put those out in early spring, so that girls will know what kind of swimsuits are going to be in style that summer."

"Ah, I see." Towa flipped through a few pages, her ruby eyes widening. "Kirara, these girls are quite underdressed..."

"Well, yeah." The corner of Kirara's lip curled upward. "That's kind of the point. To show some skin."

"Skin?"

Hoo boy. This explanation was going to take longer than usual. Kirara shifted herself to straddle her chair, resting her chin on the back. "Most of the time, girls go around with their clothes covering them up, right? Normally, people don't get to see midriffs or butts or anything like that. Swimsuits are supposed to give people a look at what they normally can't see."

Towa's lips pursed into a cute little frown. "Is that not improper?"

"I- Look, being proper isn't an issue. It's about teasing."

Now the cute little frown was accompanied by a cute little wrinkled nose. "I was always taught that teasing other people is a horrible thing to do."

"Oh jeez," Kirara sighed. "This is a different kind of teasing. It's not to be mean, it's to show off."

"By exposing parts of a lady's person that would normally be covered by her modesty?"

"Yeah, that's it!"

"Why in the world would anyone want to do that?"

"It's..." Kirara paused, momentarily struck dumb. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. "It's fashion, Towa-chi. By wearing cute clothes and looking beautiful for other people, you feel better about yourself. It's empowering."

There was silence from Towa for a few moments as she read through the magazine again, scanning each page and then turning it with such agonizing slowness that Kirara wanted to scream. Finally, after a small eternity: "Have you ever posed for one of these... swimsuit issues?"

Cringe. A vein bulged in Kirara's forehead. "Uh, no, I haven't. Not yet. I don't have the, uh, figure they want for those. Still got some growing to do."

"Figure?" Towa stared at her, baffled.

"I'm not really filled out."

Staaaaare.

"Oh jeez!" A blast of air from Kirara's lips ruffled the perfectly straight line of her bangs. "Why me?! L-look, just... look through the magazine one more time."

Towa did, even more slowly this time.

"Do you notice anything that all those models have in common?"

"... They all seem underfed."

"That's-" Kirara's fingers dug into the chair's padding. "Okay, maybe that's true, but try again."

"None of them are wearing shoes."

"You generally don't, at the beach. Keep looking."

"They..." Towa's head tilted to one side. "They all lack body hair?"

Kirara's forehead made a soft clunk as it collided with the back of the chair. "You're going to make me come out and say it, aren't you. Oh jeez..."

A note of distress from the other girl. "Am I upsetting you? Oh dear... I apologize for my impropriety, Kirara."

"You're fine, it's not you, it's just-" Kirara's eyes darted from side to side, checking both the door and the window. Both were clear, and securely locked for the night. Good. If Puff or Aroma were to barge in at the moment, she might die of embarrassment. "Towa-chi, I-" Just to be safe, she dropped her voice to a whisper. "All of the girls in that magazine have big... big breasts, okay? I don't." Her cheeks grew hot. "Big boobs sell magazines, and I don't have 'em. Sometimes you can sell small boobs to the 'special interests', but that's still not popular enough for most of the high-end magazines. Do you get it now?"

Far from understanding, now Towa seemed even more confused. "Your... pillows... are not large enough?" She mouthed the word rather than speaking it aloud.

"Don't get me wrong, I like myself the way I am, but-!"

"I have never thought your... pillows... were particularly small."

Well then. Kirara thought her face might now burst into flames. "Um. Th-thanks, Towa-chi..."

"I see them often when you are changing, and I find their shape and size quite pleasing to the eye."

Kirara pressed her hands to her brow. "Thanks, Towa-chi."

"But I still do not understand..."

Groan. "Of course you don't."

"Why is the size of a lady's... pillows... important?"

"They're... well, uh-"

"As long as they function well enough to nurse children, it should not matter whether they are large or small, correct?"

"Er."

"Therefore, if you are a skilled enough model, I do not see why the size of your... pillows... should keep you from appearing in these sorts of issues. If that is indeed what you desire."

"Well..." Kirara nervously scratched her cheek. "Honestly, I wouldn't say no if they offered, but-"

"Then what is the problem?"

Was this really happening? Was she really having this conversation with the Princess of Hope Kingdom, or was this some sort of bizarre dream? Kirara pinched her arm to be sure. Nope, not a dream. "The problem is..." Deep breaths, Kirara. "The problem is... boys, Towa-chi."

Towa blinked. "Boys?"

Oh jeez, here we go. "Boys, as a rule, like big boobs better than small ones."

Towa blinked again. "... I was not aware that boys purchased clothes such as these."

"They don't."

"So why would it matter to them?"

"Because boys buy swimsuit magazines."

"Why would they do that if they are not interested in purchasing clothes?"

"Towa-chi," said Kirara, staring her roommate right in the eye, "didn't your brother ever explain any of this to you? Boys and girls, the birds and the bees, anything?"

"No." Towa sat back and cocked her head to one side. "Should he have?"

"I give up." Throwing her hands in the air, Kirara climbed up the ladder and into her bunk bed. "Sorry, Towa-chi, I just... don't know how to answer you right now."

Towa remained seated, completely lost. "I apologize if I upset you, Kirara."

A hand appeared over the side of the bunk, waving in her general direction. "S'aright, you're fine. I just need some sleep. I've got a big shoot tomorrow."

"I see. Good night, Kirara."

"G'night, Towa-chi."

"Sleep well."

"I'll try."

Silence. Then... "Kirara?"

"Hmm?"

"Are my... pillows... large enough?"

Kirara pulled her blankets over her burning red face, trying not to scream. Yes, some part of her wanted to answer, for God's sake, yes, yours are fantastic, not like it matters. Boys and girls go nuts for you just because you're you, and you don't even have to try. Way to go, Princess. "They're fine," she said aloud. "Good night, Towa-chi."

"Good night."

*****

The next day was Sunday, so while Kirara went to her photo shoot, Towa was left alone in the dorm. Her violin practice was done, and her chores were finished early... her homework was complete and neatly stacked by subject on her desk, her meals for the next few days were made and packed into lunch boxes, and she had delivered her laundry into the mouth of one of the horrible, noisy metal creatures in the basement. Now she sat in silence, with nothing to do but think.

Normally, Towa quite liked her solitude, but today something nagged at her. For some reason, Kirara was still flustered about their conversation last night... she laughed nervously and changed the subject when Towa tried to bring it up again over breakfast. It frustrated her to no end, being so ignorant of things that should come naturally to someone her age... how was she supposed to be a proper princess without sufficient knowledge of the world, whether it be Earth or the Hope Kingdom?

Before she understood what was happening, she found herself with the fashion magazine from last night in her lap. Once more, she turned the pages, studying the glossy pictures of each beautiful human girl as they frolicked in the sand and surf. She was missing something important, that much was clear. There was nothing for it but to do more research. Nodding to herself, Towa set her lip and began at the front cover.

Boutique, read the magazine's title in large, flashy print. And underneath, Special Summer Swimsuit Edition! That much made sense. There followed brief descriptions of the articles and features therein, some of them accompanied by the names of particular models.

Towa reached for a notepad and a red pen from her desk before she went on.

Rei Masuda, age 18, said the first photo spread she came across. Rei Masuda seemed to be quite enjoying herself... she was captured in mid-air, arms raised, taking a flying leap into an oncoming wave. Rei-chan loves shopping, K-dramas, and soft serve ice cream. Suit by Lycrex.

Rei Masuda, 18, Lycrex, wrote Towa in neat script on her pad. Ice cream.

With that done, she stared intently at Rei's image, willing her to give up her secrets. What was it about her that made her more worthy of this magazine than Kirara? It certainly wasn't the quality of her attire, in Towa's opinion. The swimming costume she wore seemed far too tight for easy movement... not to mention it offered very little in terms of protection from the sun. The poor girl was risking dreadful burns in hard-to-reach places.

Pillows, Towa thought suddenly. She narrowed her focus to Rei Masuda's chest. Clearly, modesty was not her concern... the neck of her costume was cut low, exposing the cleft between her considerable feminine assets. It must be something about the pillows.

*****

Hours later, she felt no closer to the answer than before, despite half a notepad full of detailed observations on every model in the magazine. It was tempting to simply give up and ask Kirara about it again... or, failing that, she could talk to Haruka, Minami, or Yui. However... something about this ignited a flame of stubbornness in the young princess. How could she learn if she didn't figure it out for herself?

Her eyes fell upon Kirara's laptop, sitting quietly on the edge of her desk. A slowly brightening and fading light on its side indicated that the machine was in a resting state. Surely Kirara would not mind, she thought, as long as I do not linger.

Towa edged her chair over to the desk, pressed her fingertip against the machine's clasp, and gingerly lifted its lid to the open position. A startled "Oh!" escaped her as its screen blinked to life on its own. Windows, it said over a colorful design.

She had seen her roommate using this device before. Kirara had even offered to teach her how to use it, but Towa politely declined... such things were a bit too much like the horrible laundry-eating machines in the basement for her tastes. In this case, though, she would chance it... Now its screen seemed to have settled itself, displaying a picturesque field and several colorful symbols. Nothing else for it, I suppose, she thought, taking a deep breath.

"Windows," she said, in as proper a fashion as she could, "show me pictures of young ladies wearing swimming clothes, please."

Silence. The laptop's screen remained unchanged.

Perhaps it did not hear her. Towa had seen Kirara talking to an image of her mother on its screen before... perhaps there was some sort of special command it needed? "Windows," she said again, more firmly this time, "if you would please display pictures of young ladies wearing swimming clothes."

Again, silence.

Towa frowned, then gave the machine her best smile as she leaned forward. "Windows, if you please, would you mind showing me images of-"

"What are you doing, ~pafu?" said a voice from the door.

It was quite fortunate that Towa kept her grip on the laptop... sending it tumbling to the floor would not have endeared her to Kirara one bit. "Puff!" she gasped, putting a hand over her heart. "I did not hear you come in..."

The dog-like fairy's eyes wavered. "I'm sorry, Towa-sama! Did I scare you? I'm sorry, ~pafu!"

"It is quite all right," said Towa gently. She closed the lid of the unhelpful machine and placed it back on the desk, then patted her thighs. "Come here."

Letting out a joyful bark, Puff scampered across the floor and took a flying leap into Towa's lap. She closed her eyes and sighed in pleasure when Towa began scratching her behind one long, floppy ear, in the good place. "Pafuuuu~..."

An idea struck Towa... a way to satisfy her curiosity that she could manage, and that didn't require negotiating with stubborn machines. "Puff, if you would not mind..."

Instantly, Puff sat up, wagging her tail. "Of course not, Towa-sama! What do you need, pafu~?"

"Could you fetch me the Princess Lesson Pad, please?"

*****

"Good day to you, everyooooooone~!" crooned Miss Siamour as she emerged from the Lesson Pad in a streak of light. The cat fairy gave her stick a theatrical flourish this time, and bowed deeply in anticipation of the usual chorus of "Oooooh!"ing voices...

... only to find just a single pair of hands applauding her appearance. Her twinge of annoyance was swiftly buried once she saw who those hands belonged to, however. "T-T-Towa-sama! What a delightful surprise! How can I help you?"

"Good day to you, Miss Siamour," said Towa. "You have many different types of clothing at your disposal, correct?"

"Oh yes, my Princess~!" Miss Siamour couldn't help but grin smugly, striking a pose atop the pad. "I have every kind of fabulous dress you could possibly want!"

This was more like it! Towa beamed her most radiant smile at her. "Excellent! Please show me the most immodest clothing you have."

Miss Siamour nearly fell off her perch in shock.

*****

What a day. Normally, photo shoots energized Kirara... even when they went on for hours, the thrill of doing good work made it worthwhile. Days like today, though... Kneading her brow, she went over it again in her mind. For one thing, the shipment from Fairy Drop got lost in the mail. Though her manager screamed through her phone at the store's representative, at the postal service customer assistance line, and at life in general, nothing could be done to get the new denim skirts there in time. That was before lunch. After lunch presented a whole new set of problems: the rapid rearranging of her schedule to shoot without the skirts, the run in her stocking and the subsequent mad rush to fix it, the intern tripping and spilling coffee all over a showcase Andromeda lemon chiffon top... days like this put years on a model.

I wonder how Mom handles it when everything goes wrong, she thought as she placed her hand on the doorknob. She must know how to deal with disasters by now. I'll call tonight and ask her. Gotta check on the time, though. She's in Paris this week, isn't she? How many hours behind us is France, again? I can't remember.

"I'm home," she mumbled as she stepped in the door.

"Welcome back, Kirara," said Towa brightly. "Please excuse me, I shall be finished momentarily."

Kirara turned her weary eyes upward. "Finished with wha-" She stopped, all tiredness vanishing, her jaw falling open in a way that would make her etiquette teacher faint.

Towa Akagi stood in front of the folding mirror, wearing nothing but a black micro string bikini and a smile. Emphasis on "micro"... nearly every inch of her flawless white skin was on full display. As Kirara watched, stupefied, the elegant, refined princess of Hope Kingdom turned around and struck a pose straight out of Vogue: arms crossed under her ample chest, eyes half-lidded, looking back over her shoulder and jutting her lower lip forward in a pout. The effect was lessened a bit when she looked back to the mirror with an anxious expression, carefully studying a photo torn from the Boutique swimsuit issue that was taped to the glass. Closer inspection revealed at least a dozen notes written on the photo in red ink, all in Towa's neat script. "Hmm," she said, her brows knitting together. "No, I believe her left leg is actually a few centimeters higher and to the right. More like this." She demonstrated, flexing a silky smooth leg and placing the ball of her foot against the floor at an angle as she resumed her pose. "Much better. You may continue, Puff."

"Smile, ~pafu!" said a high-pitched voice from the floor, followed by the click of a shutter and a bright flash.

Some part of Kirara briefly wondered if she had the wrong room... given how tired she was, that was quite possible. It was also possible that she was having some kind of bizarre dream, either as a result of overworking herself, or from one too many of those new fudge banana cremes from Marble Donuts, or both. Or, as a third possibility, the universe had simply gone mad. "What..." she said, finally finding her voice. "... what... are you doing?!"

Towa stood up, beaming at her. Damn, but that smile of hers really was spectacular. "I believe I am beginning to understand summer fashion! Miss Siamour and Puff have been helping me."

"It says this card is full," said Puff, checking the camera looped around her neck. "Towa-sama, wait just a minute! I'll be back with a new one, ~pafu!" She raced through Kirara's legs and out the open door... the inevitable thump-squeak-crash of her tripping over her own floppy ears came seconds later.

"I-" said Kirara. "You're... what?!"

"Yes," said Towa, radiantly happy. "The goal is to abandon all modesty and to prominently display one's pillows, correct?" At least she said the word aloud this time.

"Um-"

"Do you think mine are sufficiently displayed?" Towa looked down to check, adjusting her bikini top and causing her "pillows" to move in a way that brought Kirara's cheeks to a burn. "I considered asking Haruka or Minami, but-"

"They're fine," said Kirara, smiling genuinely for the first time in hours and putting her hands on her roommate's bare shoulders. "They're gorgeous. You're gorgeous."

Now it was Towa's turn to blush. "I... I am happy you think so..."

"In fact, Towa-chi..." A sly smile crept onto Kirara's lips. "You're just what I needed after today."

"I am?"

"Yeah." Taking a chance, Kirara reached up and brushed some of those red curls aside, and ran her fingertips over the point of Towa's ear.

Trembling and gasping, Towa fell into her arms, ruby eyes wide. "Ki-Kirara...?"

"See, it's about more than the clothes," she said softly, putting an arm around the princess's waist. "Summer fashion is... well, it's kind of a chance to show off for boys."

"Boys?" Towa blinked.

"They like seeing us dressed this way," said Kirara. "It gives them a thrill. Some of them wait all year long just to see cute girls wearing swimsuits, in fact..."

"They do?"

"And I'll let you in on a secret." Leaning close, Kirara whispered in one of those pointed ears. "It's not just boys who like it. Not always."

That sentence bounced back and forth in Towa's mind, in search of meaning. "I... I don't understand. Kirara, what is this?"

"After my shower, you'll find out~."

END

Author's Note: This is not a new story. I wrote it in a frenzy of inspiration back in 2015, after seeing episode 24 of Go! Princess, which firmly cemented KiraTowa as my OTP for that series. I never posted it here because I was planning a special, expanded version for AO3... but that never really panned out, I'm sad to say. I'm uploading it here to celebrate the gorgeous illustration that I received as a surprise gift this morning... thank you to Bukichi Nadeara (user/7777 on Pixiv) for the stunning artwork and to Female Trouble for making it happen in the first place.

Please enjoy this little bit of fluff and humor, hopefully it brightens your day.

All characters from Go! Princess Precure belong to Toei Animation and their respective owners. This is a fan work, and I made no profit from it.