Nico stared at the mess in front of her. Not only had her and Nozomi made a massive mountain of boxes right in front of the door, but there were also takeout boxes with little leftover pieces of Chinese food sitting on the table. She pushed away the thoughts of her annihilated closet, which Nozomi had helped pack up, furthering her problem.

She had a date tonight, but no clothes.

"I think we screwed up, Nico."

"I think so, too, Nozomi."

The pair looked at each other, and Nozomi lifted up a box cutter, extending the blade, then smiled nervously. Nico let her shoulders fall, sighing before she grabbed the first box. Half an hour later, they'd managed to dump all of Nico's clothing on her bed, even shoes, to find her something to wear.

"You gotta find something fashionable, Nicocchi, this is the founder of Promise you're going out to dinner with!" Nozomi cheered, sorting through Nico's underwear.

"Eli is the founder? And why are you digging through my underwear?!"

"Of course she is. And, because, you never know how the night will end!" Nozomi dug around a little more, "Oooh! Wear this set!"

She held up the light pink bra, the one covered in white lace with a bow and a pink jewel in the center that paired with the white thong. Nozomi had also fished out a pair of thigh highs, the pair that was sheer white with lace at the top.

The color drained from Nico's face, "Y-You want me to wear that? You want me to wear a thong to a dinner date?"

"Yep."

Nico facepalmed, "Fine… But I need actual clothes to wear with it."

"Ooh, right… Oh! How about this skirt?" Nozomi showed Nico a sparkly, sheer black shirt. Its edges were frilly, multiple layers of the sheer fabric used to build opacity.

"I suppose we could use this coat, too, it goes with the thigh highs, right?" Nico held up a white coat, fringe on the pockets and upper arms, along with big loops and big buttons to close it. She tossed clothes to the floor for a while, looking for a shirt, Nozomi keeping a hold of all of the clothes they'd agreed upon. White shirt? No. Dark pink shirt? No. Ruffled light pink shirt? Yes!

"What time is it, Nozomi?"

"5:30…"

"What?! Ah! I've gotta get dressed now!" Nico quickly put on the lingerie, using a white garter belt to keep the thigh highs up, then put her black hair in pigtails, using red ribbon to secure them. She'd thrown her coat on, almost out the door, when she realized something.

No shoes.

"Oh. My. God. Nozomi, I need shoes!"

The two of them ran back into the bed, rummaging around. Nico finally grabbed a pair of medium pink Mary Janes, slipping them on right as she heard a honking noise outside. Nozomi dropped everything, and ran outside. Nico touched up her makeup quickly, brushing on a little mascara, then puckering up and putting on light pink lipstick.

Slipping her phone into her pocket, she ran out of her apartment, slowing down to stare at the blue sports car in front of her. Nico walked over to the car slowly, Nozomi popping up from beside the driver's window.

"Good luck, Nicocchi, and have fun~"

"T-Thanks, Nozomi."

Nozomi opened the passenger door, letting Nico in. They waved goodbye to each other, Nozomi skipping along. Nico watched her go, then finally remembered what she was doing.

"So… where are we going?"

"To an Italian restaurant," Eli stated. Nico turned her head, her hair whipping the headrest, staring at Eli in awe. The blonde had her hair down, a tight blue dress on over fishnet and sheer tights with white heels and a white fur coat.

"Y-You're driving me?"

"Oh? Umi got to you first? Fufufufu… at least I got to see you naked first," Eli winked, giggling as she changed gears and drove them to the restaurant. Her driving made Nico uncomfortably safe, as it was steady, following the rules set by the government, unlike Nozomi.

Once they arrived at the restaurant, which Nico couldn't even read due to the logo's font, they were taken to a table in the non-smoking section, sitting down. Their waiter came back shortly after that, introducing himself fully, giving them menus, and two glasses of water. Nico tried her best to look elegant, glancing through the menu. All of the prices were outrageous, a salad costing $30.

"Pinot Noir will do, thank you," Eli confirmed, "What would you like to eat, Nico?"

Nico looked up nervously from the menu, clearing her throat, "Um… a salad will do..."

Eli scoffed, "Maybe as a side. Anything else you would like?"

"P-Perhaps the chicken breast on a bed of alfredo pasta..."

"Perfect, that goes beautifully with Pinot Noir!" Eli flagged down the waiter, "We'll take the goat cheese salad, some roasted tomato bruschetta, the cheese sampler, alfredo chicken, and the lamb and ricotta ravioli in pesto. Dessert will come later. Thank you."

"Yes, ma'am. I will be right back with your wine."

There was an awkward silence; Eli waiting for the wine, Nico trying to calculate how much this one dinner would cost. Finally, the waiter came back with the salad and wine, pouring the wine for them once he set down their salad plates, then pouring vinaigrette onto the salads.

"Enjoy, ladies, your bruschetta will be out momentarily."

Eli and Nico both took a bite of the salad, amazed with its flavor. The bruschetta arrived a minute later, steam rising from its tomato topping. Eli set her head in her hand, a mysterious smile forming, and she grabbed a piece of bruschetta. She blew on it for a bit, then stretched her arm out to Nico.

"Say ahhh~"

Nico blushed, taking a bite of the crunchy appetizer, Eli taking the second half of it, "Mmmmm, delicious!"

Eli tapped her fingers against the table, watching Nico grab several pieces of bruschetta and quietly grabbing chunks of salad, stuffing all of it in her mouth. It was quite amusing to Eli, but made her happy at the same time, happy to know that Nico felt comfortable. She grabbed a piece of bruschetta for herself, savoring each of the two bites.

"So… what is it you wanted to discuss?" Nico asked.

"Ah, yes, that… You realize you aren't my only… girlfriend, yes? Or Maki's, Umi's."

"Yes, but I'm sure I'll do fine with the other girls, whoever they are. I already do well with Nozomi, so..."

"Nozomi is the only other girl you'll have to get along with, for me, anyway."

"Oh… How many girls do Umi and Maki have?"

"Maki has two, Umi has three."

"O-Okay… When will I get to meet them?"

"You already have," the main dishes arrived, Eli taking a bite of one her ravioli.

Nico thought about all of the models she had met in the past month, which was… a lot. She cut off a bite of chicken, swirling the fork to pick up some pasta, and ate it. The chicken was juicy and well seasoned, the pasta tender and well coated in the cheesy alfredo sauce.

Nico took a sip of wine, "Will I get to meet them again? Like… all together?"

"Probably. That's up to Maki and Umi," Eli picked up a piece of ravioli, holding it over her left hand, "Try this, Nico~"

Once again, Nico nervously took the bite, finding it packed with delicious flavor, "Yummy!" She quickly slapped her hands over her mouth, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment over her immature vocabulary.

Eli giggled, "Such a cutie!"

Nico nervously sipped at her wine, "When can I move into my condo? How much is the rent?"

"Rent?"

"Y-Yeah, monthly payments..."

"It's already paid for, you can move in as soon as you're completely packed. Just let me know, okay? You can have time off for it, vacation time or something like that."

"… I don't have to pay you anything?"

"..."

"Right..."

Perhaps Nozomi can help me find some new furniture, her condo looked big, Nico thought, continuing to slowly eat her chicken and pasta. Halfway through, she realized that she hadn't given a bite to Eli, and decided to repay Eli's kindness. Cutting a small bite and swirling it in pasta, she offered it to the blonde.

"Please, have a bite."

"Why, thank you, Nico." Eli happily ate the small piece of chicken, then took a sip of wine afterwards. They continued to eat for a little while longer, somehow maintaining enough room for dessert at the end.

Eli flagged down the waiter again, "I'll take tiramisu, please."

"And I would like some panna cotta, thank you," Nico added.

"As well as two dozen canoli to go," Eli said, "and some champagne."

The waiter left, looking uncomfortable with the amount of canoli, and brought back two glasses of champagne a few minutes later. Not long after that, the tiramisu and panna cotta arrived, gently set down, and two boxes of canoli were set on the table. He bowed, then walked away.

"How was Promise founded, Eli? Were all of you friends before?" Nico asked, eating a small spoonful of panna cotta.

"That's a very long story, Nico. And, no, I'd never met the other two before I created Promise."

Nico looked down, then back up to Eli, watching her eat tiramisu, "Aren't dates good times for long stories?"

"After-sex cuddles are good times for long stories. But those aren't planned for tonight, not yet."

"How'd you meet them, though?" Nico didn't touch on the after-sex cuddles, nervous to think about it.

"Maki came to me, born and raised a rich girl, thinking Promise was a lucrative business. Umi came on a few months before, freshly in control of her life, wanting to expand her life experiences, a family business under her reign."

"So you are the founder."

"Yes, I'm guessing Nozomi told you and you didn't believe her." Nico looked down at her panna cotta, nervously taking another bite, feeling blood rush into her cheeks. Eli giggled, finishing her tiramisu and sipping at her champagne.

From out of nowhere, Beethoven's 4th Symphony started playing, Eli growing a look of frustration, "Pardon me, I must take this call," she picked up the phone, listening to the person on the other end for a while, "I see..." she hung up, clenching her fists, "Those damn Sirens!"

"Is something wrong?" Nico asked.

Eli cleared her throat, finishing her champagne, "My apologies, Nico. Unfortunately, this appears to be the end of our date, something has come up. May I take you home?"

"Oh, sure..."

Eli grabbed the two boxes of canoli, then paid for their meal. Walking out to Eli's car, they got in and drove back to Nico's half-packed apartment, where she didn't even know if Nozomi was still there. Once they arrived, Eli turned to face her again.

"I'm very sorry we had to cut our night short, you almost got a story out of me."

"It's fi-" Nico was interrupted by Eli kissing her, only lasting a few seconds, nothing super special happening.

"Goodnight, Nico, and thank you."

"Goodnight to you, too, Eli, and thank you..."

Nico walked to her apartment, looking back to watch Eli drive away, then kicked a small rock all the way to the stairs. She sighed, and went into her apartment, finding Nozomi on the couch, watching something on her phone. A magazine was on the table.

Nozomi pulled one of her earbuds out, "Hey, Nicocchi! How'd it go?"

"It was… amazing. She took me to an Italian restaurant, the food was so delicious! Oh! And I've got canoli!"

"Ooh, if I know the place you're talking about, their canoli is good."

"Let's share some, okay?"

"Yay! Oh, your issue of Promise magazine arrived today, since it's almost March."

"My issue? Does that mean you didn't get in it?"

"Nope, I got in, it was just sent to my condo. Here! Look! Look!"

The picture was of Kotori and Nico, with Kotori leaning against the frame of the Chinese arch, holding her parasol out towards the ground, Nico smiling with her arms outstretched, both in their cheongsams. Nico smiled, incredibly happy. They flipped through the pages, eating canoli. Fuu Saiki had an advertisement for a sports drink in there, featuring her in a bottle of the liquid, Hanayo had the photo of her with her butt in the air, Rika Kamiya and Yuri Mido wore paintball inspired overalls, Isabella had a black and white shot wearing military inspired clothing, Honoka and Nozomi had a shot of them playing tennis to advertise the newest tenniswear, and Rin had a closeup shot from the shoot she did with Honoka. There were many more pages, but Nico was amazed at how amazing all of the models did.

With one final canoli each, they decided to keep packing, but one thing stuck in Nico's mind.

Who were the Sirens?


Announcement:

In the coming updates to Promise, the rating will be changed to M. I have thought long and hard about such a change, debating whether or not to put smut into this story or not. As a solution to those who do not desire smut in the story, there will be something that signals the beginning and the end of the smut. However, the rating will be changing to M for more than just smut, as Promise was intended to be a dark, rather serious story from the beginning. This story is not innocent, it is not fluffy; it will be getting darker and contain some mature themes, themes of which do not pertain to sexual situations at all. Unfortunately, I am unable to divulge exactly what these themes are, as they would spoil certain parts of the future story.

Thank you, and I sincerely hope you continue to read Promise.