When Issei brought up the issue of clothes, and her identification, she was not expecting much of a response from either one of her parents, but they certainly had something in mind. It wasn't like Issei was particularly identifiable, having pretty average grades, and barely socializing outside of her friend Shidou, who had left the country by now. It was also a good thing that her school didn't really have ID cards yet, being that it was a pretty old fashioned elementary school.
When they finished lunch, they were ready to go. Her mother made sure for Issei to dress up in something okay and not at all identifiable. The evening when they went to the park would still be fresh in the minds of the locals, and someone would probably spread rumours about them if she dressed in Nobunaga's usual attire. Gossip goes in chains after all, and it wouldn't take long for the knowledge that the eccentric young girl they saw in the park was walking around still, and in a shopping center at that. That was attention they didn't want whatsoever.
She dressed up, ready to go. They walked into the car, and as she waited for them to arrive at the department store, Issei asked Nobunaga. "Did you come up with that speech yourself?" Nobunaga knew why Issei was asking her this, the heartfelt conversation they had with Serafall was a genuine thing, and Issei did her best to reflect her feelings but couldn't. Taking a moment to consider, Nobunaga replied. "To be honest? I took most of the idea from you. You did most of the job, to be honest. I just brought those feelings to the surface."
With that said and done, they continued onwards. Her father noticed her seemingly talking to herself, and asked if there was anything wrong. Issei shook her head as a negative, and waved her father away to focus on driving. The lesser he knew, the better.
The actual shopping trip didn't take very long at all. Although Issei's parents were regulars as far as she could tell, the shopkeepers and managers of the various establishments they went to didn't seem to care or know much about the little boy (girl...?) that was walking side by side with them. The simple reason why was because Issei didn't shop on his own until then. Anytime they did, the people manning the stands didn't connect the dots that the little kid was theirs because Issei went there on his own or with Shidou. As far as they could tell, Issei's as she was was indeed the child of Mr. and Mrs. Hyoudou. It was a correct statement either way, but the distinguishing factor here was how little she actually looked like her parents now.
The shopping list was filled with everything they needed. There were new groceries, a tray of eggs, a few pounds of beef and pork and non-perishable items. The mother was ready to prepare something special for dinner, it seemed. Issei's new sets of clothes went both sides of the gender spectrum, and although she didn't like the idea of her wearing skirts and girly tank tops, there wasn't much of a choice there, something that Nobunaga agreed. In any case, she wouldn't be wearing them unless she needed to go incognito. The masculine ones, actually fitting properly for once, should suffice for everyday usage. A few girls at her school wore them all the time anyway.
She took a moment to notice something that was on top of the supplies they bought that day. It was an innocent looking box, filled to the brim with stuff she didn't know how to describe; it looked rigid, made of cotton or something like that, with a piece of string attached to the other end. She saw her mother have a box full of these in her parents' room, and something inside her told her that she'd probably using it for whatever ailment her mother gets every now and then, if the loud screaming from her parents' room was any indication. She would ask Nobunaga, but her mental image of the demon king somehow created one showing a sheepish looking smile.
Gathering up some courage to finally ask her what they were, she finally asked her mother who was now looking at her with an unreadable face. "Mama... What are these for exactly?" Issei gestured to the box of tampons (a term she didn't actually know yet), smiling weakly.
Her mother smiled with little emotion on her face, considering her words very carefully. "I'll tell you when you're a little older, Issei. They're called tampons, by the way." Having avoided the land mine, she faced the windshield of the car once more as Issei mulled over her thoughts on the matter. Issei's mother mostly bought the box for herself, really, but wasn't it a good idea to at least prepare herself for the inevitable future of her newly christened daughter? That's why she bought a few extra boxes this time around, and maybe a few other packs of other feminine hygiene equipment that I refuse to name. Besides shampoo, soaps and the like of course.
It was close to dusk when they arrived home, the clock ticking just a little past 4:30 PM. The family made sure to identify which stuff were theirs, put the food in the fridge that they didn't need just yet, and dividing the clothes by order of their owner for the washer. At this point Issei sprung back to her room, writing down a schedule of training and work out exercises they could do for the foreseeable future. This was done with Nobunaga's help who pretty much had first dibs considering whose body Issei's was modeled on. A few moments had passed, and on Nobunaga's part she wrote down most of it.
It was already decided at that point that normal exercise wouldn't do much for her, at least outside of making it seem like Issei really was well built and powerful underneath all of those clothing. The typical motions, a few suggestions from Nobunaga and now she felt more refreshed than ever. They were both ready to finish the day at that point, eating dinner and fixing Issei's bags to make sure all of the things she needed were prepared for school already. School would be the turning point, and she would make sure that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Thank goodness it was only the beginning of the semester.
Taking a close look at her bags, she noticed something next to it. On the shelf it was leaning on, Nobunaga's sword, her sword as well now that she thought about it, rested on top of it. Issei was certain that her parents put it there after realizing the existential threat that could come back at any moment, trusting her to protect them in much the same way they did to her for so long. Her heart warmed, butterflies on her stomach as she gripped it, a sense of familiarity and comfort coming from the action.
Issei thought of something for a moment, taking the blade and putting it on the other side of the room. She asked Nobunaga, "Is there a way to get the sword to float on my hand like you did a few days' back? And that time you did this morning to prove a point?" It was certainly a start to get Issei get used to Nobunaga's other powers at least, even if this was the most basic thing in her arsenal.
Nobunaga replied immediately, using her mouth no less. "Oh, that old thing? You should start 'feeling' the sword from a distance. Let it know you want her; just watch me!" She suddenly felt her hand feel fuzzy once more, and then bam.
In a snap, the hilt flew directly to her hands, a wide grin on her face, still controlled directly by Nobunaga. "See? Easy!" Very quickly she set the katana back to its original resting position, and as she slowly allowed Issei control once more, she told her follow the motions. "You try it!"
Just like that!? Issei thought in an exasperated tone. She barely felt anything, she didn't know the motions and she simply didn't know what to do. Whatever magnetic feeling that awesome gesture that Nobunaga used wasn't simply replicated since she didn't know what kind of magic trick it was in the first place. But then, she did feel something like another force flowing around her, and they did feel like what Nobunaga just did with her hands... And if anything, they wide grin on her eyes was still locked into place, having forgotten that it was like that in the first place, as if Nobunaga was waiting patiently for her to do her own take on the technique.
She breathed and exhaled, her eyes shut and mouth in a thoughtful frown. If most of the things that Nobunaga were already learned, just locked underneath years of skill and other miscellaneous stuff, then the best way to do that was do the same thing she did and hope that her instincts didn't fail her. Breathing again, she considered another thing; that the energy she felt around her palm was just mana, magic pooling around her to do what she wants. She didn't know how to describe it, but somehow she could feel the air around her, ready to do her bidding.
She let her intentions be heard, and yet here there was no need to say the incantations. Opening her palm, she felt it come toward her, and closed it immediately. She opened her eyes and looked at it, her eyes widening as she saw her fist wrapped around the hilt, the blade pointing at the window.
"It worked... It worked!" Issei jumped up and down in joy, her first step in understanding the nature of her powers complete. It wasn't a particularly high step, mind you, but beggars can't be choosers. You had to start somewhere, and Nobunaga could only agree. She smiled, looking at the reflection in the blade, and felt no fear at the reflection. She didn't have to anymore.
Hey kid, good job! That was better than I expected, heck, I thought the blade would be poking out on you instead! Nobunaga said in their shared inner mind, looking at the blade herself. To Issei, it was almost like seeing her reflection talk back to her, which was disconcerting but ultimately nothing problematic. Nobunaga's nonchalant thoughts on her possible dismemberment has scared her more than a little bit, though. Next time we'll try even harder, okay? Something else for you to do so that you can do most of this stuff on your own. Issei nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.
I'm thinking you could do something with the guns instead, materializing at least one of them and mastering the art of using them should give you a basic idea of how I fight normally. Nobunaga replied, though before she could continue the two were interrupted by Issei's mother peeking through the door, looking at the blade she was holding on her hand. She then shifted her attention to Issei herself, an eyebrow raised at the action she was doing at the moment.
"Is everything alright, honey?" The mother asked to her. Her mother pointed at the sword she was staring at earlier, the very same one her mother and father agreed to give back to her just that morning. Issei quickly moved to set it where it was before, hand still on the hilt, and replied, "No, not quite ma."
"Good. The food's almost ready, so get ready for supper alright? And for school, your bags still need to be fixed up." She walked down a little bit, still looking at the open door.
Issei looked at her reflection once more, waiting for a response. Nobunaga replied, I'm thinking you could do something like that in the future instead of now. Go eat dinner, because you, and by extension me, are hungry right now. The mental image gestured for every listed phrase, and Issei's stomach growled. The girl took a moment to process the response, as both of them laughed it off.
The girl nods and had the blade set down on the desk, and followed after her mother. "What's for dinner anyway?" She asked her mother, who smiled.
"It's a slow roasted pork belly with gravy on the side. You'll see it later, just another 15 minutes before it's done in the oven, okay...?" That said and done, the two walked down the stairs, mother and daughter hand in hand to the dinner table.
The rest of the night went smoothly. They had a great time eating together as a family for once, the only sign of dissent being Issei's occasional frustrated thought about her classes the next morning. There wasn't much to be done as it is, so Issei let it be for the night. She slept easily this time around, any worried feelings swept away by the warm embrace of her blanket.