The Beaches are Closed (Rita/Sharaku)

Naomi’s eyes would go wide before she shut them and nodded in agreement with Sharaku, “Yeah. No offense, but I think you make a better man than a woman. You’re kind of missing some of the more… womanly parts of your body.” She figured they could stuff his bra, but he probably would never have the build to look like he was naturally born a woman. His testosterone had already done its job in shaping his body, and no amount of estrogen would probably change that. Unless miracles were real, that is. She would think about what colors would look natural on Sharaku, “Dark, neutrals colors, maybe? Blue is obtrusive on most people. Trust me, I’ve seen photos of my mom from the 80s. Some eye shadow to make your eyes pop? Or maybe it won’t matter once we have you in a dress.” She would him over once more before chuckling, “I’m not sure I own anything in your size, but first… I think you’re wearing the wrong kind of suit.” If a woman was wearing a guy’s suit, she would get arrested, “And before you ask: No, I don’t have a spare.” Not that she thought he’d ask. She had a bad tendency to get too into character.

Well, maybe not a ponytail. Something more complex and elegant, “You know, I have a lot of experience putting my own hair up, so it shouldn’t be too hard. Maybe a knotted bun…” It was pretty simple to make one, but she wasn’t sure if it would work with Rita’s massive amount of hair, “And of course I will be the best sister in the world. I will be the best sister in the history of history.” Not that she had any idea what she was doing. It just sounded smart, “But, in exchange for having the best older sister, you have to be the best younger sister. Deal?” She would wink. This was going to be fun. She could tell.

Naomi would raise her hand to ask a question, “Where in the world have you two been hanging out that women walk around in men’s bathing suits? I would have imagined that would get her arrested, because… you know…” Her eyes glanced down quickly, signaling she was thinking about the extra weight women carried around, “That’s considered public indecency, I’m pretty sure. So they would be arrested.” She couldn’t help but think about how much trouble a person would get in if they did that. Or, maybe they were going off two different points of logic. She had a tendency to do that. Got her in some trouble every now and again, “Point is, we are not dressing him up like a clown. I think you deserve some more respect than that.” In other words, so crazy colors. It was Sharaku’s next question and Rita’s coment that got to her though, “Wait! We were serious about dressing Sharaku like a woman?” This entire time, she had been joking. She had just gotten really into character. She suddenly felt like she was the only one that didn’t realize this conversation was serious, “I ‘m not sure what to say. I never thought Sharaku would actually want to dress up like a woman.” She shrugged before continuing, “Well, if you want to, I can try and help. I’m not sure how that would go though. Have you seen what I look like on a day to day basis? I am not the most womanly thing out there.” Sure, she wore heels and had long hair, but she wasn’t very good at being womanly. Based on Rita and Sharaku’s reaction, she was getting the strange feeling that neither of them knew what a twisted bun was, “You know that’s not the same as a normal bun, right?” She was hoping they didn’t think she was talking about something that boring.

Naomi’s entire face turned a brilliant shade of red when Sharaku mentioned nude beaches. Without even thinking about it, she went to cover herself the same way Rita had done earlier, “That’s not even funny. That’s actually terrifying. Why would anyone do that?” The thought of being naked in front of a bunch of strangers was horrifying. She was sure she would die if she ever had to do that, “And of course I was talking about bathing suits. That’s the kind of suit Sharaku is wearing right now.” Her face was still burning red from the discussion about nude beaches. Come to think of it though, she may have been getting better with talking to people, but that didn’t mean her English was perfect. She probably could have worded that better or been more specific, “I guess I’ll have to work on that.” She would say almost silently to herself.

She would place her finger to her lips while she thought about it, “Well, if Sharaku doesn’t mind, maybe we could do something. Although, I’m not sure where to start.” She really wasn’t a beautician, so she could only do the basics. Maybe not even that, “Perhaps that can wait until we aren’t standing in a pool, however.” She was really just buying herself some time before she embarrassed herself by not knowing what to do, “Or maybe until we’re somewhere a little more private. Playing dress up in public is a bit much. Besides, I don’t think Sharaku is the only one that would be dressing up.” She would give Rita a meaningful stare as she smiled, “And Don’t worry. I can take care of it when we have time. You’ll look cute no matter what, so don’t fret.” Was that what big sisters said? She hoped so.

She shook her head and shuddered, “Can you even imagine being naked in front of a bunch of complete strangers? It’s… a bit terrifying.” She felt uncomfortable even thinking of it. In retrospect, she wasn’t wearing much as it was right now, but at least it was something, “Other people can go all they want, but I think I’ll stick to keeping my clothing on.” She wasn’t going to think about that any more though, “As for clothes shopping, it may take us a while. Trying on clothing is a really long and boring process. Or maybe that’s just me.” She did wear really confusing clothing that sometimes took her a while to get on and off, “And I never said we would really do that here. I was joking.” She would pout a little in protest. Why did no one understand her sense of humor? She wasn’t that dumb. She was a little dumb, granted, but not that dumb. She was wondering where they were even going anymore. She would slide under the water again, as she was beginning to dry off. When she came back up, she would just stare at the other two, “If we’re going shopping, maybe we should get going. Don’t want the stores closing on us.”

Naomi would shrug, “You have fun there. You’ll be on your own though. As for the dress… We live in the modern era. I’m sure if we hit up the right place they won’t think anything of it. In fact, you may get some support and even some that will help you find something most suitable to your figure. It’s kind of a strange world out there nowadays like that.” It was a better bet than saying they were going to fit two people in one dress at a time, “Or we could say it’s for a play. Men in drag is always played up for comedic effect in those things.” She was just trying to plan a way to do this without anyone staring, “I’m sure that would probably work… Maybe…” She had no idea. It was a bit of a gamble. She would shake her head and laugh when Rita tried to say she found Naomi’s statement funny, “That alright, Rita. You don’t have to pretend that I’m funny. I know I have no sense of humor. Well, even if I didn’t, Sharaku just made it obvious.” She was used to people taking everything she said too seriously. She didn’t deliver her punch lines like she should have. Instead, she read it straight, as if it were just a normal statement. She would hum a little when Rita mentioned racing, “I think I could do a quick race. No guarantees I’ll be good, but I’m no pushover.” She could hold her own in a race, but she was no professional. She would look at Sharaku, and smile, “You in or are you going to be the judge?” She lifted her arms in order to stretch for what was about to happen.