"Kazu-chan, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying... I just... I can't just stay friends with you forever, Karin-sama.."
"What?" I gasped, taking a step back.

"Don't get me wrong, It's because.. I.."

Kazune gently touched my shoulders and stared deeply into my eyes. Surprised, I watched with widened eyes as he leaned in closer. I slowly looked down to see his slightly parted lips were about to touch mine.

"Kazu-chan..?"

As I suddenly woke from my embarrassing dream that had felt so real, I slapped my hands over my mouth and muffled my startled yelp. Confused as to why I'd have a dream like that and coming close enough to have shared at kiss with Kazune, my cheeks turned red.

Don't tell me... I actually have some sort of desire to do that?

I set the dream aside for a moment to remember what happened last night. I had transformed into a more mature woman and sang on stage in order to stop the Black Cats from trying to toy with the world's minds..!

"Oh, I really hope no one recognized me..." I sighed, then realized I was alone.

What happened after I got home...? All I remember is seeing all of my friends had turned into rabbits.. and then we talked a little bit... and... did I fall asleep?
I looked down at myself. I was still in the outfit I'd worn to the concert.

"Where did they all go after that?" I frowned, pulling myself to the edge of my bed and throwing the covers off of me.

I was standing in the mirror in my bathroom and trying to fix my messy blond hair when I heard the low hum of voices. I pulled my hair into a ponytail instead and hurriedly changed into a tee shirt and shorts. After a quick once over, I walked out of my room downstairs.

When I got to the end of the stairs and turned the corner to cross the living room to the kitchen, I realized the room was full of people I knew and didn't know.

My aunt sat on the couch next to Micchi and Miyon, while Himeka and Kazune sat on a couch opposite them. The people I did not know were 2 men dressed in black, wearing sunglasses and sitting in chairs that were apparently pulled from the dining room table.

"Morning!" Kazune looked up at me and waved, a bright smile on his face. Miyon and Micchi waved while Himeka jumped up and ran over to hug me.

"Waah, Karin-chan, thank goodness! You slept so long, we thought you were dead!"

"You should have told me you'd be getting home so late, I got worried." Auntie sighed and set her tea down. My eyes wandered over to the men, who had stood up and were taking off their glasses and staring at me in disbelief.

"Uh, Himeka-chan, are they... the police?" I whispered, never taking my eyes off of them. Himeka only laughed.

Oh, no, I can't go to jail! Why is she laughing?

"Are you sure this is her?" One of the men asked.

"She looks a bit younger than we thought she would.."

"Make up can change you a lot." Himeka said, and after I recalled my sudden transformation last night, I realized she was lying. I kept my mouth shut, knowing she was probably lying for a reason.

One of them men cleared his throat and started speaking.

"We apologize for the intrusion this early in the morning, we were sent her to find you and speak to you immediately."

"Speak to me?" I asked.

They nodded in unison.

"There have been groups of people coming together to try and find you... your surprise appearance left quite an impression."

"What do you mean?"

Himeka gently led me over to the couch, where she sat next to me. The men adjusted their glasses and motioned toward my aunt to turn on the TV. She flipped through a few channels at first before stopping on the News.

A reporter stood in between a crowd of excited fangirls and boys who were holding up signs labeled "Mystery Goddess."

She spoke over the screaming and shouting, "Last night, a woman made a surprise appearance during a concert in a famous Tokyo stadium. Though this mysterious singer is unknown, her voice touched many of us and we are now in continuous search of her! Who could this woman be? A foreigner? Was it a prank? Looks like Japan could care less!"
The camera turned to an excited girl as the reporter shoved a mic in her face.

"Tell us about the concert last night," said the reporter.

The girl's eyes got wide as she looked into the camera, "Oh my gosh! First, I was like, just watching one of my favorite music group singing - uh, yeah, I already forgot their name... and then - BAM! This random cat guy jumps out on stage and threatens to take over our minds... and then ... this beautiful girl comes out on stage and just starts singing! It was all so random! But her voice was so beautiful, It was like some sort of spell - I couldn't think of anything else and hearing her voice made me so happy! I have to hear her sing again!"
One by one, the reporters asked random teenagers about me. The boys said they were in love, the girls said I was their favorite singer, and even old people who were passing by were asked questions.

Apparently I was liked by all ages.

I never thought I'd get this much attention... I was just trying to stop Chesire..

"Well... what happens next?" I asked the men as my Aunt muted the TV.

"We came to ask you if you would like to sign a contract."

My eyes got wide, "Y-You mean, like... for me to be an actual singer?!"

"I don't understand what's going on." I whispered to Miyon.

"They want you to become a professional singer, of course! All of Tokyo is expecting to see you on stage again."

"B-But... I'm not sure.."
"This is a good thing! If you have a frequent opportunity to sing live, we'll be able to fight off the Black Neko's!"

"Uh... I guess..."

This is all too sudden, I thought as we sped down the street in the bodyguard's car.

Me, a singer? Recording songs and singing on stage? I don't think I'd have the confidence... I'd get so much attention..! I've got way too much attention now!

"Don't worry! I'll be your manager, Himeka will be your stylist, Micchi will be your producer, and Kazune will be your personal bodyguard!"

Kazune? My bodyguard...?

My cheeks began to flush out of nowhere. I wondered if it was because that meant Kazune would have a reason to be by my side every second of my day. It wouldn't be bad, I had to admit...

Still... I should be able to think about this a bit more...

We arrived shortly at a tall building to meet with my future employer.

Not much happened after that..

There was a man Miyon and I spoke with for quite some time. His name was Mr. Tachibana.

He lost my attention along the way, but Miyon spoke for me, and quite calmly, actually. She would make agreements with him and would tell him about the kind of things to put on the contract for me, like how my shows had to be at midnight and comfortable places for me to record songs...

I stayed silent the whole time, debating over whether I should try and decide somehow.

I want to protect everyone... but... I'm too scared to be on stage so often... I don't think I have the courage

It was at the moment the contract was placed in front of me that I snapped out of my thoughts and bit my lip as I stared.

Miyon placed a pen in my hand as the room went silent and Mr. Tachibana waited for me to sign.

"Come on, Karin-chan. Go ahead and sign.." Miyon encouraged me.

I stared down at the places marked for me to write my signature, unblinking as my heart hammered at my chest. There were so many expectations... so many rules... I even had a curfew and set dates for performances this month. When I signed this, I wouldn't have my regular life cooped up in my house all the time..

"There's no reason to worry," Mr. Tachibana said in his deep voice, " We have agreed to keep your true identity a secret. From now on, we will call you Princess Athena."

Princess... Athena...

"Karin-chan. " Miyon said in a more urgent voice, "We don't want to keep Mr. Tachibana waiting."
"Mm. I'm sorry, but I have someone waiting to meet me in just a few minutes..."
I never took my eyes off of the paper.

Just sign.. it's okay, right...

"I need time to think...!" I yelled as I jumped up from the couch and dodged Miyon's hand.

I tore out of the room, went down to the first floor of the building, and out of the doors.

I'm not sure where I was wanting to go- it just had to be away from that building and that piece of paper.

I'd been running with my head down for so long that I wasn't paying attention to where I was going.

Where I ended up next, I had no idea.

I'd never been to this part of town before. It was quiet, and the clouds seemed to gather atop this particular part of the city.

There were rarely any people that I could see near me, but when I could make out figures through the fog, there were people who looked.. well... tough. They had dirty faces and gave each other dirty looks... and there were really loud weirdos in the area, too.

I stopped walking and hugged myself, my stomach twisting in worried knots.

What the heck? What's with this place, it's so creepy...

Oh, no, I've gotten lost again.

By 'again,' I mean that I used to wander off a lot when I was younger, too. Often, I was chasing something, or someone, and my Aunt would get so worried and so scared that she would give me early curfews and keep me in the house most of the time.

When I was younger, I was pretty brave and keeping me in the house was like torture... but now, I guess I got so used to it that I wanted to stay inside.

"Uh, um, excuse me?" I tried asking someone where we were, putting my hand on a random man's shoulder. He turned around and gave me a dirty look.

"Who are you?" He spat out, pulling away from me, "Do you go around grabbing people like that all the time?"

I blushed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean.."
"Hmm...?" the man turned around and gave me an up-down. A greedy smile that made my stomach lurch crossed his face, and for a moment, his eyes flashed, "You're pretty cute... Would you like to be my girlfriend?!"

"Uh?!" I stepped back in shock, staring at him as if he'd grown two extra heads.

Ew! He looks like he's in his 60s!

"Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt ya.." one of his dirty hands reached out toward me.

Someone help..!

Too scared to move, I shut my eyes tightly and pulled my arms into my chest. I was so stupid to run off like that, and especially in a town like this where it seems so unsafe! I have no one here to help me and I'm not able to protect myself.

"Hey."

I opened my eyes at the familiar voice of Kazune. A hand reached out from next to me and caught the stranger's wrist before he could touch me. I turned around and saw who I was hoping to see.

"Kazu-chan!" I gasped, glad to see a familiar face. He glared blue daggers at the man in front of me, his expression stone-like. I watched the man as he stepped back with a nervous look on his face. Kazune pulled me into his chest suddenly as the man ran off.

"Thank goodness, you're alright... The last time something like this happened, it took so long to find you." Kazune whispered, wrapping his arms around me. I squeezed him back gently.

That's right... the last time I got lost was just before Kazune left those many years ago...

"How did you find me?" I asked, pulling away to look up at him.

"Micchi and I were waiting outside the building. You weren't paying attention to anything else when you tore out of the doors, huh? I followed you since then because I got worried, of course. You were only running in a straight line this whole time." he laughed.

So all I had to do was turn around and keep walking in the opposite direction?

"Geez... I'm sorry for worrying you."

"I'm not the only one that got worried! Miyon was right behind you, but I had to stop her so she wouldn't get lost herself. Is this about the contract?"
"Y-Yeah.." I looked down at my shoes.

"I knew it would be difficult for you to just decide... you don't have to do all this so suddenly." Kazune slid his hand into mine comfortingly and turned to pull me along in the direction back to a more familiar part of Japan.

"Miyon said it was a good opportunity, and I can understand it would make it easier for me to sing so I can stop the Black Nekos, but... it was just too much..."
"You don't have to run away! You should have just told them you didn't want to do it."

I looked up at Kazune in surprise. "Forget the contract? But... made so many agreements... It's a good chance, isn't it?"
"It doesn't matter that you have a contract. All of Japan wants to see you perform. Even the people who own the auditorium wouldn't care as long as they had you on stage."

"You really think so?"

"Of course I do! Come on, let's go cancel the contract! I'll be there with you this time, so it's okay."
"R-right!" I giggled, squeezing Kazune's hand back.

"Miyon's going to be a little sad though since agreeing to the contract was her first act as a manager... I'm sure she'll understand."

Boy, was he wrong.

Was Miyon chasing after me because she was worried, or was she chasing me because she was angry?

Not exactly a cliffy, heh heh.

I wanted to update before school started. *Sigh.*

I'd say it would be more difficult to update after school is starting again, but now that I think about it, I'm probably going to start updating more frequently...

If it makes sense, I have a laptop in front of me for 3 whole months, I don't update as much. But, since school's starting, I won't HAVE the laptop as often, therefore my mind will be flooding with ideas and I'll want to write MORE.

Hopefully this theory of mine is correct.

Anyway, I know you may be busy reading the chapter, but please leave a review, I'd appreciate it, really!