Chapter 3

When the four came together, there were many inward sighs of frustration. Kyoko didn't feel she was quite up to par with Ren to be wearing a matching costume at a party with him yet. It could definitely give people the wrong idea about them. They weren't dating. She and Ren both made it abundantly clear that something like that wasn't going to happen in the near future; although, it was getting pretty hard to just stand by and watch as other women ogled him lately. In fact, it was quite painful in her heart and made her feel even more out-classed than before. Not that she didn't have other men interested in her, but she was starting to feel that perhaps she was falling into that pit she was in when she was around Sho. She never wanted to be that way again, so she was actually starting to pull away from him and focusing more on her career.

Ren couldn't stop staring at her. Yes, they had both agreed not to act on their feelings, but it was getting more and more difficult each day and he could clearly see that she seemed to be drifting away from him. It was as if she was made of a mist that as soon as he reached out to her, she would disappear in an instant. He was starting to worry that it had been a mistake to tell her that he didn't wish to date her. He wanted to kick himself for thinking that giving her his necklace would be enough to lay a claim, when he didn't contribute anything else. She was beautiful, talented, and everything he ever wanted in a woman. She was now even able to rise above it all when the rumors and fans came at her. He wanted to be more than just a Senpai, but he had publicly pigeon-holed himself in that position after Kana came out of the closet and now there were even rumors that he was gay too, especially when she admitted that he had done that for her as a friend.

Yukihito and Kanae were frustrated with their besties for a variety of reasons. Yukihito was irritated due to the fact that even though he knew that Ren was protecting Kyoko from his fans, or so that was the excuse, he had many excuses not to pursue Kyoko after he had given her that necklace months ago. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch. The only thing he would do is get irritated when someone else had more ambition to go after Kyoko than he did. Not that she would accept or even notice that there was a pursuit in the first place, but that really wasn't the point. What happened to the guy that chased her through TBM?

Kanae was irritated, because she could clearly see that Kyoko was miserable. Anything was better than leaving Kyoko hanging by a thread. Shit or get off the pot. It was seriously pissing her off that he would tell her he liked/loved her, but wouldn't do anything about it. Her best friend deserved better. She deserved devotion and the truth. She deserved to be treated with love and care, not like a treasure that was locked in a vault never to be seen again after it had been found. Which was precisely why she had been encouraging her lately to put her energies somewhere more deserving, whether it was in another man that would be more attentive towards her or in her jobs in general. Anything was better than Kyoko being trapped in limbo, waiting for a man that was never going to give her what Kanae believed that Kyoko deserved.

"I see he got you too." Ren chuckled a little nervously. His ears and tail twitched.

Kanae rolled her eyes and huffed inwardly. Her tail, and ears twitched.

Yukihito gave an embarrassed smile. His tail drooped and his ears flattened.

"We somewhat expected it. We are in the LoveME Section." There was something in her voice that sent a shiver up everyone's spines and the look she gave Ren made his palms a little sweaty. Her ears were perked and her tail swished lazily behind her.

Kanae looked at Kyoko a little shocked. Did I just hear her purr? She questioned internally, with a furrowed brow. Yukihito's eyes were wide, wondering the same.

Amazing. I never expected those costumes to look so… real. Maria thought as she spied on the two couples from behind a large potted plant near the bar. It didn't say anything on the website about the tails and ears. She let out a quiet little giggle as she watched Kyoko's tail swish back and forth behind her.

I wonder what the costume feels like. Maria pondered as she sneakily inched closer to her Onee-sama and those that were with her. Once she finally gripped the furry appendage… her mind went blank. It was warm, soft and smooth, and more worrisome than that… she could feel the bones.

Kyoko glanced behind her when she felt the strange sensation race up her spine. There stood little Maria with her hand tightly gripped around her tail, and eyes as big as saucers. "Oh! Maria-chan, you look wonderful." Kyoko grinned a smile filled with sharp teeth at the little costumed witch.

She honestly didn't know how to respond to this situation. She was still shocked by the warm appendage still in her small hand. Then she heard a giggle.

"Maria-chan, would you mind letting go of my tail?" Kyoko asked politely. "If you tug too hard, it may come off."

A look of anxiety flashed onto her small face and she immediately released Kyoko's tail. "I'm so sorry, Onee-sama." She answered a little flustered with tears brimming in the corners of her eyes. No, she wasn't apologizing for holding the tail, she was apologizing for this entire situation. Everything was too life-like. Fur was too silky. Ears and tails worked too well. Teeth looked far too real. "I'm so, so sorry." She exclaimed and rushed off. "I'll fix this! I promise!"

Kyoko stood stunned. She didn't mean to upset Maria. "What did she mean?"

"She'll be fine. You know how she is." Kanae reassured her. Children of that age always misinterpreted things. Kyoko only needed to wait for her to pop up again to console the little sprite.

"Maria-chan's always been that way." Ren agreed.

404 error. Page not found. The page you are looking for cannot be found.

"WHAT?!" Maria shrieked as she sat on the floor in her closet. "NO, no, no, no! This isn't possible. I even saved the link. It has to be there." She navigated through her browser history and clicked on the link again. To her horror, the same page popped up. She typed in the site name and hit search. It was as if the site never existed. She was now in full panic mode. She had purchased six costumes. She would have bought her witch costume from the site, but they didn't have any for children. She wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse at this point.

"Wait! Oh my god! Oji-chan and Ten-sama are wearing theirs tonight." At that realization, she paled and could barely breathe. She sprung up from where she was sitting and raced to Lory's costume room. The package had to be there. There had to be something with the company information or information about the costume included in the packaging.

She was in a rush to find what she needed the most at the moment; therefore, she didn't bother with sneaking around or being quiet. She hurried into his room and made a beeline for the box that had clearly contained his costume, laying on the floor next to a small waste-basket. Finally, after much digging, she had what she needed in her possession, the outer wrapping and a small note that had been included.

"No return address…" She mumbled in despair.

The only costume that will change your life.
Welcome to a new world, Lory Takarada.

"Wh-What?! I-I never gave his name. H-How is this possible?" She questioned with a considerable amount of fear in her quiet little voice.

She quickly raced back to her room and dove into the items that she herself had purchased from the same website. Just as the costumes, there had been no return address. The only two things she was able to find had been a small, sealed envelope and a hand-written purchase order with no distinguishing details that could have been purchased at any office supply store and used.

She quickly opened the envelope to find a small note.

Maria Takarada,
Study well and do not dabble.
The tower will be watching.
-Grand Wizard

She felt a chill slide up her little spine as she stared at the glowing letters of the note before it brightly flashed and turned to ashes. Something reminiscent of 'This message will self-destruct.'. How could she have possibly known that they had been trying to bring the Takarada clan under their wings for centuries? The family that was well known in the community for their proficiency in Love Magic.