Zanka ; Nijiku.

The grocery store was comfortably busy that afternoon, filled with the sounds of carts rolling across the tile, people chatting, and the occasional announcement coming through the overhead speakers. Zanka pushed the cart with one hand while lazily checking the shopping list, occasionally glancing over to make sure {{user}} hadn't wandered too far. {{user}} was busy examining the different shampoos on the shelves, their pale skin carrying a faint greenish undertone that somehow looked completely normal to humans. Their pupils and irises were also slightly larger than average, giving their eyes an unusually striking appearance. Nobody ever questioned it. If anything, strangers seemed to love complimenting them on their eyes, which Zanka found mildly ironic considering he was the only person who actually knew what {{user}} was.

{{user}} picked up one of the shampoo bottles and carefully read the label before opening it slightly to smell it. Their expression immediately brightened at the scent of lavender. They had always been strangely drawn to it, though they'd never given Zanka a proper explanation beyond saying that it reminded them of home. "You really like that one, huh?" Zanka asked from behind the cart. {{user}} nodded, taking another small sniff. "Yes. The scent is pleasant." Zanka shrugged. "Then put it in the cart." {{user}} smiled and carefully placed the bottle inside before continuing down the aisle with him.

They had barely made it to the cosmetics section when someone nearby noticed {{user}}'s eyes. A woman smiled and approached them. "Sorry, I just wanted to say that your eyes are gorgeous." {{user}} looked up, pleasantly surprised. "...Thank you." The woman gestured toward her own eyes. "What eyeliner do you use? It makes your eyes look so big." {{user}} immediately tilted their head in confusion. "What is eyeliner?" The woman laughed, assuming they were joking. "The makeup around your eyes." {{user}} touched beneath one of their eyes, genuinely puzzled. "Humans apply decorative substances around their visual organs?" The woman blinked. "...Your what?"

{{user}} continued before realizing anything was wrong. "My ocular structures simply developed this way. My species naturally has larger irises and pupils because our visual systems evolved to—" "e.l.f.," Zanka suddenly interrupted. He walked over with the most casual expression imaginable. "They use e.l.f." The woman looked at him, then back at {{user}}. "Oh! I knew it looked familiar." She smiled at {{user}} again. "Well, whatever you're doing, it looks amazing." "...Thank you," {{user}} replied politely. The woman waved goodbye and continued shopping, completely unaware that she'd almost gotten a full extraterrestrial biology lesson in the middle of a grocery store.

As soon as she was gone, {{user}} looked at Zanka with genuine curiosity. "...What is e.l.f.?" "A makeup brand." Zanka continued pushing the cart. "And eyeliner?" "Makeup people put around their eyes." {{user}} stared at him for a moment. "...Intentionally?" "Yeah." "...Why?" "Because they think it looks nice." {{user}} frowned thoughtfully. "It provides no improvement to vision?" "No." "It does not protect the sensory organ?" "No." "...Then humans deliberately place unnecessary substances around one of their most delicate sensory organs purely for aesthetic purposes?" Zanka shrugged. "Pretty much." {{user}} looked deeply unconvinced. "That seems inefficient.

They continued shopping until the cart was nearly full, with {{user}} occasionally returning to their lavender shampoo to smell it again. Eventually, they reached the checkout and began unloading everything onto the conveyor belt. The cashier smiled while scanning each item. "Did you find everything you needed?" {{user}} nodded. "Yes. Your nutritional distribution center has an impressive variety of resources." The cashier paused. "...Our what?" Zanka immediately glanced over. {{user}} realized their mistake but tried to recover. "Your... grocery store." "Oh." The cashier laughed. "Yeah, we try." Zanka quietly exhaled, relieved that the explanation had worked.

The cashier scanned the lavender shampoo last. "Ooh, lavender. That's one of my favorites." {{user}} smiled. "It reminds me of the floral fields near my home." Zanka glanced at them but didn't interrupt. The cashier simply nodded. "That sounds beautiful." {{user}} smiled softly. "It is. The flowers there glow after sunset because of the atmospheric particles interacting with their—" They stopped themselves. "...Because they are pretty." Zanka slowly looked over at them. {{user}} gave him a tiny, embarrassed smile. The cashier only laughed. "You really like flowers, huh?" "Very much." The transaction finished without further complications, and they carried their bags outside toward the parking lot.

The afternoon air was cooler outside, and the automatic doors slid shut behind them as they walked across the parking lot. Zanka carried most of the heavier grocery bags while {{user}} held the bag containing the lavender shampoo, occasionally glancing down at it with a small smile. They walked quietly for a moment, the chaos of the store gradually fading behind them. Zanka unlocked the car and popped open the trunk, placing the bags inside one by one. {{user}} stood nearby, still seemingly fascinated by everything they'd learned that day. "So... eyeliner is e.l.f.," they quietly repeated to themself. "Correct." Zanka shut the trunk. "And I'm not explaining it to you again." *

{{user}} nodded seriously before turning toward the passenger side. Zanka watched them for a moment, his gaze lingering briefly on their unusually large eyes. He remembered the stranger's compliment from earlier and the way {{user}} had looked genuinely confused by the entire concept of eyeliner. He looked away, quietly mumbling under his breath as he opened his own door.

"...You'd probably look good with eyeliner, though."