"Then there's no doubt... you... you womanizer, would never give up on meat that's already delivered to your mouth." Shermie pouted, then asked the question that had been bugging her, "How much bigger is she than me?"
"A little bit." Aiden measured with his fingers.
"Is that an estimate, or did you use your hands to check?" Shermie didn't believe him. She was used to others being jealous of her, she wasn't about to be the jealous one.
"Estimated." Aiden answered honestly.
"Then next time use your hands and give me an accurate number." Shermie said seriously.
"Alright!" Aiden nodded hard. He had already wanted to test that for a long time.
Although Aiden and Shermie had lowered their voices, fighters had excellent hearing. The Brown-haired girl sitting across from them, Marie Rose, heard every word of their conversation clearly.
Hearing the two talk so casually about who had the better figure, even the usually bold and straightforward Marie couldn't help but feel embarrassed for them.
Especially when she heard Shermie telling Aiden to use his hands to compare hers with Nyotengu's, it left her completely dumbfounded.
Glancing at Shermie's red hair, the Brown-haired girl couldn't help thinking, 'Foreign women really are wild. Even bolder than me.'
'But… is there really someone with a better figure than hers?'
Thinking that, Marie found herself staring at Shermie's chest, completely lost in thought.
If it were a man looking at Shermie like that, Aiden wouldn't have said a word, he'd have just gouged his eyes out. But since it was a beautiful woman doing the staring, Aiden didn't mind. In fact, he was also looking at her.
A fair trade, really.
And truth be told, in the Dead or Alive series, Marie Rose was one of Aiden's favorite female characters. Known as "Marie-sister," she was an older-sister type, confident, open, bold, with a teasing, mischievous edge. Add to that her perfect figure and the tear mole that hit his exact type, it was impossible for him not to like her.
But liking was one thing, he was just looking. He didn't plan to go strike up a conversation. Not with Shermie beside him; it would feel wrong to flirt with another woman right in front of her.
And even if he wanted to, he didn't have a reason, what was he supposed to say? "Hey beautiful, wanna grab a drink?" That'd sound way too sleazy.
Still, judging by past experience, Aiden was certain he'd have a chance to meet Marie properly later, it was just a matter of when.
While he was thinking that, Shermie suddenly waved at Marie with a teasing smile and said softly, "Come sit over here, you'll get a better look."
Hearing that, Aiden was a bit stunned. You don't even know her. Even if she's open-minded, no way she'll actually come over after hearing that.
But he was quickly proven wrong, Marie really got up and came over, sitting right next to Shermie in the recently vacated seat.
"Hi, I'm Marie. I'm here applying for the fashion designer position." Marie introduced herself politely after sitting down.
"I'm Shermie. Same reason as you." Shermie replied with a smile.
"And you?"
When Shermie finished, Marie turned to look at Aiden.
Aiden hadn't expected to start talking to Marie this quickly, but he didn't show any excitement, just replied calmly, "I'm Aiden. I came to accompany her for the interview."
"Oh, I see." Marie nodded politely, then turned back to Shermie, and dropped a bombshell, "Miss Shermie, what do you usually eat? How are you… that big?"
Shermie's response was even more savage. She smiled, gave Aiden a sly glance, then said lightly, "I don't really eat anything special. Mostly… it's because I have a boyfriend."
Aiden couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.
Especially since the look she gave him right before she said it could only be interpreted one way, unless someone was pure as snow, it was impossible not to take it the wrong way.
Marie clearly wasn't pure as snow. Even though she'd overheard their earlier conversation and mentally prepared herself, she still froze, her cheeks flushing red.
She'd clearly imagined a certain… not-so-PG scene.
Still, Marie was the mature, composed type, so her expression soon returned to normal. After adjusting her thoughts, she leaned closer and quietly asked, "Does that… really work?"
Marie took her figure very seriously. Besides being a fighter and fashion designer, she'd also worked as a model before. In that way, she and Shermie were quite similar, Shermie had also modeled back in college.
"If you don't believe me, you can find a man to test it with." Shermie said with a completely serious tone.
"Ahem… I don't have a boyfriend." Marie coughed lightly.
"Oh really? Then how about I lend you my boyfriend for a few days?" Shermie said that with a straight face this time.
"Ahem!"
This time, it was Aiden who started coughing. He frowned and said, "Shermie, what nonsense are you saying?"
Though deep down, he did kind of like the sound of it, but she didn't have to be that direct, right?
Marie, meanwhile, looked confused and flustered. "Miss Shermie, isn't that… not good? He's your boyfriend, after all."
She looked at Aiden curiously, trying to see what kind of man could make such a beautiful, perfect woman say something like that.
"He is my boyfriend, sure, but what's wrong with that? You also heard earlier, he's got plenty of girlfriends. One more won't make a difference." Shermie said with a sly grin.
"I don't mind, anyway."
At that, Marie gave Aiden a scrutinizing look. Thanks to what she'd overheard earlier, her gaze had a hint of so-you're-that-kind-of-guy in it, but deep down, she had to admit, just by appearance alone, he was totally her type. The kind of man who'd make a woman like him at first sight.
And as a fashion designer, Marie definitely appreciated good looks, she was a full-fledged member of the pretty face appreciation society. So as she kept looking, she zoned out again, completely missing what Shermie said next.
Shermie waved her hand in front of her face and asked, "Miss Marie, are you even listening to me?"
"Huh?" Marie blinked back to reality, saw Shermie's mischievous smirk, and quickly turned her gaze away from Aiden. "Sorry, could you repeat that? I didn't catch it."
So Shermie repeated what she'd said before.
After hearing it again, Marie looked at her oddly. This woman's way too straightforward…
By now, Aiden had heard enough. He frowned and said, annoyed, "Shermie, stop joking around."
He really didn't want Marie to get the wrong idea about him, though, to be fair, she already had.
"Oh my, you noticed?" Shermie suddenly dropped her teasing smile and said seriously to Marie, "Sorry. It's my first time at a company interview, I'm a bit nervous, so I made a joke. Hope you don't mind."
"Just… a joke?" Marie blinked, staring at her. For some reason, she felt a little… dissatisfied.
'What the hell? After all that, it was just a joke? Too cruel, seriously!'
So Marie thought to herself, 'Since you said it was a joke… sorry, but this Miss is taking it seriously.'
But while the Brown-haired girl had decided in her heart to take it seriously, putting that into action wasn't so easy. Just as she was thinking about what to do, the job interview suddenly began.
A bit disappointed, Marie refocused, though she was confident she'd do well. After all, she was the genius Miss Marie.
One by one, the applicants entered the interview room, and soon it was Shermie's turn. Though Shermie was confident too, she acted nervous on purpose and gave Aiden a pleading look.
Of course Aiden knew what she wanted. He cooperatively gave her a hug, whispering "good luck" before she went in.
Once she was gone, Marie subtly slid over to Shermie's previous seat and stared directly at Aiden.
She kept looking, and looking, until Aiden started feeling uncomfortable. Then she took out her phone and said, "Wanna exchange contact info?"
'Hmm…'
Aiden looked at her, a little surprised. 'Of course I want to, but doing this right after Shermie just left… isn't this kinda bad?'
Still, though he thought that, his body acted on its own. He pulled out his phone and gave her his number.
Ring~ Ring~
Aiden's phone buzzed a few times.
"All set!" Marie nodded in satisfaction after saving his number. "Remember to stay in touch, okay?"
Before Aiden could respond, she got up and headed toward the interview room. Judging by the timing, Shermie should be finishing up.
Sure enough, just as Marie reached the door, Shermie walked out. Seeing her, Shermie said politely, "I hope we'll be colleagues starting tomorrow."
"Sure!" Marie flashed her a bright smile, but in her mind, she snorted coldly. Then she walked straight into the office.
"When do you start?" Aiden asked, standing up and pulling Shermie into his arms.
"Tomorrow." Shermie pecked his lips and said expectantly, "Shouldn't we celebrate?"
"Sure."
After a brief hesitation, Aiden nodded. It didn't matter if he was a bit late to Mai Shiranui's place, or skipped lunch entirely. He'd just call to let her know.
After leaving the company, the two went shopping nearby. Shermie hadn't brought much when she came to Japan. Though she'd already bought some essentials over the past few days, those were all daily necessities. Now that she had a new job, she needed new clothes too.
After shopping, they had dinner to celebrate, and Aiden drove her back to the apartment before heading to the Shiranui dojo.
———
By the time he arrived, it was nearly 2 p.m. After all this time, Mai Shiranui still hadn't taken in any new students, or maybe she just didn't want to. The dusty recruitment sign hanging by the entrance made that clear.
Yet, just a few days ago, Mai had told Aiden she wanted to expand the Shiranui dojo. The contradiction was obvious.
After standing at the entrance for a moment, Aiden finally went inside. Immediately, he could hear the sharp, rhythmic cries of three women training hard.
The tournament was drawing near, and even if it was too late for a major breakthrough, a little last-minute practice was always worthwhile.