The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Maple Leaf wandered through the aisle of the hardware store, its head tilted high, until its neck started to ache.

There was just so much stuff here. Large power tools, hundreds of pieces of timber, furniture, buckets full of pipe parts, real buckets of water, canned and bottled paint, gardening supplies, and an area full of lights, all of which were on, with dozens of chandeliers hanging overhead, creating a dazzling tunnel of light.

However, Maple Leaf has a budget, and she doesn't want to spend all her money here.

So she tried to concentrate and put those distracting thoughts aside.

That's right, if she combined that chandelier with that drill, she could turn it into a rotating strobe light device. Of course, using those pipe fittings, she could also make the discounted pressure washer capable of cutting cement, but that wasn't why she was here.

Her mind was like a surging, uncontrollable river, with countless streams converging together, but she was trying to build a dam to hold back all thoughts and keep herself focused.

Sienna and Sam followed behind her, pushing a shopping cart. Maple knew she might look a little embarrassed jumping between the shelves.

She suppressed those thoughts. She'd feel embarrassed about her anxious heart later.

“So, what are we looking for?” Sienna asked.

"hammer."

Sienna nodded, and the two of them pretended not to hear Sam's hum.

She found a hammer. Unfortunately, there were other hammers next to it that looked much cooler. There were wooden mallets, sledgehammers, and even rabbit-eared hammers; some had wooden handles, some had rubber handles, and some even had shock-absorbing features.

Maple Leaf looked at the hammers, her superpowers subtly revealing themselves as they demonstrated the various things that could be made with them. "I don't know which one to choose," she admitted.

Sienna moved closer and then squatted down beside the maple leaf. "Hmm. How about this one?" She pointed to a smaller hammer with a wooden handle. The back of the hammer was slightly angled, and it lacked the ram's horn used for pulling nails.

"Looks good, doesn't it?"

Maple Leaf nodded, picked up the hammer, stood on tiptoe, and put it into the shopping basket.

Of course, a hammer alone isn't enough to make what she wants to make for Teddy, but it's a very important part of it... a weapon? a gift? a tool? In short, it's what she wants to make for Teddy.

“Okay,” she said, “I also need some springs, dials and a small pressure gauge.”

As a result, they spent more than an hour browsing in the store, picking up one item here and another there, always knowing in their hearts that some of the items they picked up were quite expensive.

With each purchase, she could feel her budget shrinking.

This was a completely new kind of anxiety, but she was determined to get through it.

Finally, when they checked out and left, their shopping cart wasn't even a quarter full, but they had already spent more than half of the $500 Sienna had given them.

"Oh... okay, I need more." There's still a lot to go.

Fortunately, the next stop was a dollar store. Unfortunately, nothing there was a dollar. She still picked out a few clocks, some simple wind-up toys, and a few cleaning supplies.

Another large sum of money was spent, and the purchases were packed in two bags, which Sam helped her carry.

They embarked on a long journey to an electronics store, where Maple Leaf worried that the items would be the most expensive.

Maple Leaf decided to put the pressure aside for a while, and the best way to do that was to distract herself. She walked between Sienna and Sam, tilting her head slightly to listen to their conversation.

They had stopped talking about charity plans and were now chatting enthusiastically about training.

“This is not a bad idea,” Sienna said. “We always encounter various situations, and then I have to come up with a solution on the spot.”

It's difficult, stressful, and I never know if I'm doing it right.

Sometimes I lie in bed and imagine all sorts of crazy scenarios, trying to think about what I would do in those situations, but it never helps.

"Do you do this often?" Sam asked.

"Lying in bed worrying?" Maple Leaf's eldest sister shrugged. "Yeah, I used to dream a lot about chatting with new friends and stuff like that. I would plan out the whole conversation."

Strangely enough, I don't do that anymore. Being a…hero is too stressful; I don't have as much time to worry about that kind of social anxiety I used to have, you know?

“I don’t really understand,” Sam said, “but I get what you mean. It’s an interesting way to deal with difficulties communicating with people.”

“I don’t think this is a good approach,” Sienna said. “Anyway, back to training. I think if we turn training into a game, they’ll definitely participate without any problems.”

“It depends on what you’re training,” Sam said. “However, I think most training can be turned into games. Hide-and-seek can train stealth, tag can train cardiovascular fitness, and you can also learn how to run better.”

I think I have a new follower who's really into fitness. He could open a crash course in muscle building.

“Is this, uh, suitable for the children?” Sienna asked.

“I don’t know either,” Sam said. “There are climbing frames in the park for kids. They can be used to learn basic parkour skills.”

Sienna shook her head. "Do you think we'll need parkour?"

Sam glanced at Sienna. "Obviously. You know you have to participate yourself. I saw you looking exhausted the other day."

Sienna groaned, but didn't deny it. Maple Leaf found Sam's training plan interesting. She wasn't quite sure what parkour was, but the rest sounded promising.

“I think I can enroll your whole team in a martial arts class for a fairly low price,” Sam said. “There are a few classes for girls near the college.”

They teach self-defense techniques. Strictly speaking, it's not martial arts, just very basic self-defense skills. I imagine those classes are either free or very cheap.

If it goes well, you might want to try wrestling training or something similar.

Sienna nodded slowly. "Hmm, that makes sense. I'm just not sure if I want to suffer like that, but... well, I don't want to get hurt either. And the girls will definitely like it."

“Hey, on the bright side, this will exhaust them,” Sam said. “Maybe. There’s a 50% chance that if they’re exhausted enough, they’ll just collapse into bed as soon as they get home.”

“Oh, that sounds really good,” Sienna agreed.

“I can make something that helps people fall asleep,” Maple Leaf said.

Sienna blinked, then smiled. She shifted the bag in her hand, freeing one hand to gently pat Maple Leaf's head.

"Thank you, Maple Leaf. But I think we're fine. I don't think your sisters need help falling asleep. But it would be nice if they woke up one day and found their beds weren't full of people."

Maple Leaf didn't understand. Sleeping snuggled up with her sisters was the most comfortable way to sleep. It was both warm and made her feel safe.

Unless she wakes up and needs to use the restroom, which would be terrible because she would have to climb over a lot of other women.

Especially when Teddy is holding her, she can hardly get out because she can't wake Teddy up at all, and she is also very strong.

Also, if she wakes up one of the Trinity, the whole Trinity will wake up, which is a bit annoying.

But it's all worth it.

“Hey, let’s stop and buy some drinks for the road,” Sam said, pointing to a juice shop.

Maple Leaf, of course, wouldn't object. So the three of them went into the juice shop, and she ordered a medium-sized strawberry drink. It was icy and sweet, and she drank it too quickly, which gave her a terrible headache. It wasn't until Sienna told her to drink it slowly that she felt better.

After that, the atmosphere in the electronics store seemed less tense, even though nothing actually changed.

She picked out a few items, and when she went to pay at the cashier, she noticed she was five dollars over her budget and frowned. But Sister Sienna didn't even blink and paid the difference.

Maple Leaf, holding a drink in one hand and linking arms with Sienna in the other, walked out of the store. Part of her mind was on what she would do with these things when she got home, while the other part was immersed in happiness.

Today may have been a little stressful, but it was also very wonderful.

She bet her friends would be incredibly envious when they found out, but she'd make them some amazing gifts, and then everything would be perfect!