A/N: Just as I was finishing this chapter up I got swamped with work and it took a while before I could return to this. Thought to make it longer but worried it'd be another few weeks before I finished. Thanks to everyone for waiting! And thanks to Silversun XD, claraowl, guest, and Marenza412 for reviewing. Marenza412, I am glad you feel that way because that is how I approached this story. It's rewarding to hear that it's working. ^^

recap:

The lights were out in the Darumaya, and Kyoko was emotionally and physically exhausted, but her mind kept her wide awake. She contemplated the day's events as she lay in her futon. Looking back now, she could hardly believe how well it all worked out, just as Moko-san had said earlier. However, what irritated her most of all was the way she froze at the start.

Now Kyoko's mind was assaulted by memories she'd forgotten lately, of her mother smashing every pot with flower decor, and yelling every time she set eyes on her daughter those first weeks following Lord Mogami's death. Kyoko couldn't even remember the first time her mother had raised a hand against her; it had happened so many times after that she couldn't think of them all.

"For a parent to hate their child..." Kyoko spoke softly into the darkness and groaned. She was the biggest hypocrite here.

Early the next morning there was a knock on her door. Kyoko started awake and her hand clenched her nightshift around the incomplete curse mark on her chest. Her fingers loosened and she shivered as the cool air around her seemed to sink straight through her sweat-soaked clothes.

"Kyoko-chan?" came the muffled voice, as the knocking became a bit more insistent. "Kyoko-chan, are you there?"

Wearily, Kyoko looked round the room. There were her shifts, her boots...her gaze wandered back to the pink rose. It was still in its vase, but it had begun to wilt. How appropriate, she thought and sighed. "Okami-san? Is there something the matter?"

"Oh, good. You're awake," the older woman was relieved that she'd finally heard from her boarder. "I apologize for waking you so early, but there's someone looking for you at the door. He said something about a message, and that it must be delivered privately."

"It's not a problem, I assure you!" Kyoko called back. "H–hold on a moment! Let me change into something quickly."

"Alright, dear."

The Okami-san's footsteps faded away and Kyoko made a face as she pushed back her damp covers. If anything, she was grateful to the woman for forcing her awake. That bastard Reino had been messing with her again, and for some reason she couldn't seem to shake him off on her own this time around... But there was no time for thinking about that. She shook her head and bustled around the room, but not before she'd knelt on the ground, pressing her forehead onto her diary and forcing herself to breathe.

Only a few minutes had passed when she hurried down the stairs and found the Okami-san in the kitchen.

"Kyoko-chan, good morning!" she smiled, then frowned. "Dear, you look a bit pale. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Kyoko waved a hand in denial. "There's a message for me?"

"Well, if you're sure..." she gestured towards the back door. "Your visitor is waiting out back."

"Who could it be?" Kyoko wondered aloud as she stepped around the corner and undid the latch. To her surprise, it was no one she recognized. Her visitor was a rather tall, dark-skinned man dressed in the local attire of an informant or merchant, but it was very obvious to Kyoko that he was of a more sophisticated class. Or rather, he was the servant or butler of someone who could afford one.

"Miss Mogami," the tall man nodded. "The President has sent me to relay a message. He would like to see you later this morning at nine o'clock."

"The President?" Kyoko's eyes widened.

"Yes, Miss Mogami. Nine o'clock on the front doorstep of his home," the man confirmed. "If you cannot see him at that time, I can communicate that to him as well and another time can be arranged."

"There's no need," Kyoko spoke up. "I should be available."

"It is the building behind the library, but it is designed to look more like a back than a front. Find the door that looks different from the rest."

The man bowed his head slightly and was turning to leave when she called out, "Thank you, Sebastian!"

He turned round briefly, but the door had already closed. There was a rare, genuine quirk to the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, what could it be?" Kyoko murmured as she padded back up the stairs. Well, first things first, and she needed a bath. Despite her protests, the Okami-san helped her fill the tub with hot water. When Kyoko was finally alone she sunk beneath the foamy surface and squeezed her eyes tight, more to rid herself of the remnants of her horrible nightmare than keep the soap out of her eyes. She had a bad feeling about it, almost like Reino was close-by and biding his time.

'Sebastian' stood before his master's desk and watched as Lory sparred with an imaginary opponent. Today he was a fencer and was showing no mercy on the couches and drapes. Finally, he tucked his foil into his belt and murmured while nodding to himself, "This is excellent! Everything is lining up!" Immediately, he'd whipped out his foil once more and lunged at Sebastian.

His butler sighed before joining the romp. It couldn't be helped. Since Maria's heart had finally begun to heal, the President couldn't be contained. Not that anyone had managed to contain him before. Also, with the pranks the President was pulling, Miss Kotonami would likely have some words to say about it to Miss Mogami when they saw each other next.

Suddenly, there was an opening in Lory's defense. Both master and butler were surprised. Sebastian hesitated in his instinctual thrust and Lory threw himself out of the way, backwards against a plush couch. They stared at each other, frozen in a moment, then Lory righted himself and began tilting his head as if he were trying to sense something.

"President," Sebastian started.

Lory held up a hand, "Not yet." First he went to the window and peered out the panes. "Hmm..." he put his hand on the drapes and drew them closed despite the beautiful morning weather, and waved for Sebastian who nodded and began closing the rest. "Something's coming."

He paced back and forth, and finally walked briskly towards the exit to his study only for the door to be thrown open before him. A small figure dashed forward and threw its thin arms round him.

"Jelly?" Lory spluttered.

"Oh!" the petite woman let go and backed up as if remembering herself. "S–surprise!" she laughed sheepishly. "How have you been? I've wanted to see you. I need to tell you something impor–"

"What are you doing here?" Lory exclaimed.

It wasn't often that the President was surprised. Sebastian quietly excused himself from the study.

"Darling..." Jelly was shocked by her love's expression, which quickly disappeared under a smiling mask when the door burst open once more.

"Ten!" Maria ran into her arms. "Grandfather said you wouldn't be coming back!" Maria gave her grandfather a sour look before embracing her again.

The tense atmosphere quickly dispersed as Jelly turned her attention onto Maria. "How can you be so tall already, Maria-chan? I thought I told you not to grow anymore," she scolded as she fussed with Maria's rumpled clothes and wild hair. It seemed that Maria had only just woken. "Let's fix you up, shall we? The makeup witch won't let you escape this time," she grinned as she pulled her out, up the stairs, and to the powder room.

Lory stared at the wooden panels on the door before backing up and sinking slowly into a chair. Sebastian slipped back into the room and waited in the corner for his master to say something. Muffled feminine laughter began echoing inside the building and at least thirty minutes had passed before Lory returned to his desk to grab his pipe.

"President," Sebastian appeared at his elbow. "She brought a bag this time."

"Do you know what's in it?" Lory puffed.

"I didn't think it appropriate to look, but nothing dangerous."

Lory glared at his aide and blew smoke into his face. "Ten would never bring something 'dangerous' into this place." Unless, of course, she is the dangerous thing this time around...

Sebastian replied, "In your right mind you would never request of me to open an enchantress's bag."

Before Lory could say anything in return, Sebastian straightened, "Shall I open the windows again?"

The President sighed. His aid was too entrenched in formality, to ask such a question when he already knew the answer. "No. Not until we know why she's here. We have no idea if something followed her or not."

"Very well. Miss Mogami should be approaching the door at any moment now."

"9 o'clock already?" Lory checked his pocket watch. "You know the drill. Bring her in. Quietly."

By this time the house had quieted down a bit, but before Sebastian had disappeared from sight, Jelly nervously entered the room, "Um..." The silence between them was eerie and uncomfortable. The room had darkened considerably once the drapes had been closed, and it seemed that they were even farther apart than ever though they were standing in the same room. "I mightn't have come if I'd known you'd be so upset to see me," she laughed lightly. "But I wouldn't have come without reason."

"Is Maria-chan still upstairs?"

"Y–yes."

"I apologize, Ten," the President stood from his chair. "I did not intend to show or feel any upset. I will of course hear what you have to say to me, but I have a meeting that will begin shortly."

"Oh!" Jelly was both relieved that he'd called her by nickname this time and disappointed he was using business language with her. "I'm sorry as well. Perhaps my timing was inconvenient–" her voice cut off suddenly.

"Ten?" Lory asked, wondering why she had frozen up.

Just then there was a knock on the door. "Excuse me!" Kyoko stepped into the room. Surprised to find two people in the rather lavishly-furnished room—which only confirmed that the President was indeed in the league of the bourgeoisie—she quickly tried to excuse herself. "I apologize! I didn't realize you were already in a meeting."

The President's demeanor returned to normal as if light had suddenly entered the dark room. "No, no! This is wonderful timing, Mogami-san! Come in and meet my good friend Jelly Woods."

Kyoko bowed, "Nice to meet you, Miss Woods."

Jelly simply nodded and stared intently. Lory found this strange since he had thought she might be more enthusiastic to meet someone like Kyoko, especially if Maria had said anything to her about the events of yesterday, but didn't question it. Kyoko probably found it stranger regardless.

"Mogami-san," he re-directed her attention, "you have done a wonderful job. Maria-chan has been much more happy recently and I called you here last minute because I have an additional proposal for you."

"Yes?" Kyoko asked cautiously, a little wary of whatever she was going to hear next.

"I wish to assign you another task, but assign it to you officially. The last task was more of an informal run, but I am convinced now that you can be trusted and you will be able to find what you're looking for with the opportunities I give you. What do you say, Mogami-san? Will you be part of the LoveMe group?"

"...The what?"

"LoveMe!" the President exclaimed and Sebastian appeared at his side with a small bundle. He unwrapped it and pulled out...the brightest apron Kyoko had ever seen.

"Pink for the color of love, hearts, and roses!" the President spun round with an armful of apron, but suddenly became serious. "Mogami-san," he frowned, "I could tell by what you said to me before that you have lost the emotion of love. And in order to regain it, you must be put in situations that are difficult but will be accomplished through your missing emotion. If you don't cultivate the heart to respect and be considerate to others, I am worried that in your darkest moments you will be in grave danger."

Danger? Kyoko worried. Could 'danger' refer to Reino? And why pink of all colors? But she had promised herself recently that she'd overcome her trauma. Besides, she could use all the help she could get, and clearly Lory Takarada was someone with influence and knowledge. The restricted books in his library were one such resource. Speaking of which... "That reminds me, President. Since I managed to reach Maria's heart, may I pick a book from your shelves sometime?"

"Ah, yes. There is that," he remembered. "I'm quite busy today, but come by some other time and I'll let you take a look. I did make a deal with you, after all," he smiled kindly.

Kyoko nodded, smiling a bit in return.

"Well, what do you think?" the President brought the original topic back around. "Do you have the confidence to do a good job being loved by others?"

"Is that a job description?" she asked.

"In a sentence, yes."

"Absolutely not."

The President blinked.

"But..." Kyoko looked down at her hands clasped before her, "in the past, I used to be a person like that. For the sake of others' happiness I could even give up my lifestyle. At that time I was ridiculously enthusiastic and optimistic—the most stupid woman in the world..." A sigh in front of her cut through and Kyoko flinched, thinking she had disappointed him again, when she looked up and saw that this wasn't the case.

"I suppose it's best to just tell you..." the President paced slowly, drawing the tension out. He finally stood still and began speaking slowly, carefully, "I know this may come as a shock to you, but I hope you take my words seriously. I am, after all, someone who knows a little of witchcraft and would hate to see something bad happen." He held up a hand to stop Kyoko near mid-yelp. "I am not a wizard, but I have my ways. There is something coming, something bad." Something other than Ten, he thought. "And I don't know if it relates to you, but it's better to be on the safe side."

To everyone's surprise, Jelly broke her silence by reaching out and grabbing Kyoko's hands earnestly. "It's alright, Kyoko-chan," she insisted. "With Darling, you'll be in good hands."

Darling? Who? Kyoko was still quite flustered.

"I'm sorry for not responding as I usually do when we were first introduced. Maria has told me so much about everything you've done for her and I think you're wonderfully brave!"

Who is this woman anyway? Kyoko wondered. "Uh, Miss Woods, I–"

"Oh, please don't call me that. It makes me feel so old!" Jelly waved a hand. "Call me Ten, Kyoko-chan," she winked.

They were getting distracted. "What is your decision?" the President called out.

Do I have a choice? Kyoko sighed inwardly. If she was truly going to overcome her fears, and it would only happen a step at time. She might as well begin somewhere, right? Kyoko shook her head and spoke hesitantly, "I may have been stupid in the past, but I feel that the things I had accomplished in the past...somehow I can be cured!"

The occupants in the room stared. It's not like getting sick or wounded...

Kyoko bowed deep at the waist, "I beg you! Please help me regain my important emotion!"

The President smiled softly and stepped forward to hand her the obnoxiously pink apron. The moment she took it, he whipped out his sword as Sebastian unleashed curled ribbons into the air. Kyoko gasped as Ten laughed.

"It's decided then!" the President, her new Boss, exclaimed as he brandished the foil in the air. "You are the first official LoveMe member! Now all that's left is to get verbal confirmation from Kotonami-san—she was here earlier this morning," he explained, then he folded his arms. "I wonder why she didn't like the idea," he thought aloud.

Kyoko giggled. Surely he must be joking. If Moko-san's visit had been anything like this one, then she probably wouldn't have let him get past the pink apron. "You said you had a proposal for me?"

"Yes!" he finally sheathed his foil and rested a hand on the handle. "I have heard you can sew, Mogami-san. Is this true?" When she nodded, he grinned, "Have you heard of Ruriko Matsunai? She's a famous seamstress."

Maybe if Kyoko hadn't been stuck on Shotarou's ship she would have been more aware of the fashion trends, but then again, maybe not. The last time Kyoko had truly had an idea of the latest trendsetters was during the time she still lived with her step sisters, and their taste had surely been questionable. "No, I haven't," she answered.

The President stroked his chin, "Well, that is of no consequence, though I recommend that you don't mention it and instead familiarize yourself with her work beforehand. I will help you in that respect. In short, she has a rather tall order coming in," he chuckled for no reason apparent to Kyoko. "She's traveling out here to the country at such an odd time of year but I believe she would benefit from having an assistant since the coat must be completed as soon as possible. Can I rely on you for this important task?"

Kyoko wasn't sure she could be trusted to work on such a prestigious-sounding job, but agreed. "I will do my best," she bowed again. "Please take care of me."

"Wonderful! She won't be here for another day or so, but I will send you notice when she arrives in Totoshi." The President gestured for Sebastian who handed Kyoko a small box. "Inside are some pictures of Ruriko's work and a small pamphlet with some seals and wax. She will know what to do with them. Do you have any other questions?"

"Just one. I've accepted your proposal, but I'm already working at the Darumaya. May I check with them first?"

"Of course," the President smiled.

Kyoko bowed again and quickly took her leave. She had much to think about.

"Ah!" Lory exclaimed. "Perhaps Maria would have liked to see her. Oh well," he sat back down at his desk and began looking at papers.

"Darling!" Jelly rushed forward, nearly bursting with excitement. "You fox, setting them up like that! Do you realize what this could mean? She's the one, the one who can break his curse!"

Lory at first looked confused, then his eyes widened in understanding. He sighed. "If you're that sure, then there's no mistaking it. But I haven't seen the boy for some time now. He could have gotten worse. For all I know, he will botch the whole exploration."

"Darling, do try to be more optimistic?" Jelly frowned. "I froze earlier because I wasn't sure if I was sensing things right... But she's a witch, isn't she?" She stepped back, much calmer as she thought aloud. "How peculiar...I simply must see things through..." Muttering to herself, she ran from the study and the President was left with Sebastian.

"That woman still hasn't rid herself of that muttering, meddling habit, has she? She didn't even explain why she's here," Lory sighed as he shuffled his papers. "What do you think of that, hmm?" He looked up at Sebastian who kept silent. "No thoughts? Suit yourself."

Outside the sun was still shining. The brightness was a bit overwhelming after being immersed in the dim light in the President's study. Why had the curtains been drawn anyway? Kyoko walked back to the Darumaya in a slight daze.

Today had confirmed that she hadn't been seeing things that day in the library when she tried to gain access to the books. The President hadn't really confirmed anything, but at least she knew now that he had some kind of knowledge, and that she would be safe in his care. But who was Jelly Woods anyway? At first she seemed to dislike her presence, and then she suddenly was very happy to see her. What was that about?

Furthermore, while it was true that Kyoko had been mending clothes consistently for years, they had all been for sailors or for herself, and that wasn't much experience to go off of. Ruriko Matsunai...would she really be alright? Well, the President had made her sound as if Ruriko was perfectly aware of her position in society, so it couldn't be worse than dealing with her step sisters, couldn't it?

As Kyoko walked, she was so drawn into her own thoughts that she failed to notice the villagers eyeing her. As soon as she passed by, they'd bunch into groups, whispering the latest gossip.

"See that girl? They say there's something between her and Hikaru..."

"The fisherman? Surely not!"

"Why not? They're both of the proper age and I've seen her behind the counter at the Darumaya. Obviously, she's better than your average cook if she can please the old Taisho. And most girls in the village have been vying for Hikaru's attention at least subtly."

"But did none of you see her sass Kijima? Now that was a sight to see."

In the shadows, protected from the morning sun, the Bimbettes eyed the huddles of villagers passively. Usually they were the ones engaging in the rumors, not acting as bystanders though they did start most of the gossip around Kyoko Mogami. At first they'd thought to make it something about Hikaru, but he had grown up in Totoshi and was well-liked by the villagers. Any rumor spread about him and Kyoko would be met with favorable eyes.

"She befriended the Ice Queen, you know?"

"Now that is a lie if I ever heard one."

"They even went to that rundown library. That Takarada-character is suspicious, I say."

"Strange man, he is. I say anyone who's had dealings with him is strange."

As much as the Bimbettes disliked Kanae for attracting Kanae's attentions, she was loved by the villagers despite her cold personality because they could see she had a kind heart. Was there no negative rumor they could spread about Kyoko besides the fact that she was 'strange'? Claudette sighed. There was no way Kijima would go after that girl, plain-looking as she was. They knew that. But Kijima had been acting differently lately. She gestured to her sisters to follow her. They were going to have another talk with that Kyoko Mogami.

A/N: Uh-oh. Until next time! Referenced canon chapter 8 and 9. Thought Kyoko's ending comment to last canon chapter update was rather Naruto-esque...which I am okay with, haha! Anyways, R&R, plz&ty!