Chapter 2 - Part III

As soon as the briefing was over, Sayaka Mihashi and Minori Kikuchi escorted Mirai to the Cosplay Club whose clubroom was located in a four storey building on the opposite side of the Academy grounds.

As they departed, Kanata warned them not to dally. She expected to see them all back in the Faery Pit within an hour. As a consequence, Mirai and the girls had to run to the club building.

As she ran down the paved paths, avoiding the growing number of people trickling into the Academy for the impending Faery Knight Summer Tournament, Mirai wondered what horrible fate awaited her at the hands of the Cosplay Club. Sayaka refused to elucidate on the details of her bet with the Cosplay Club President, so Mirai was left to wonder and fear in the dark.

Arriving at the building, the girls quickly hurried inside, with Sayaka leading the way up the stairs to the fourth floor. Since running wasn’t allowed inside the building, the girls walked at a brisk pace to the Cosplay Club’s rooms. Sayaka did explain that the club had a dress making room and a fitting room, making them one of the few clubs to occupy more than one room.

The trio came to a stop at a door adorned with a life size printed poster of a girl clad in a sleek outfit that made her look like an animation character. Knocking on it a few times, Sayaka tried to open the sliding door but found it locked. Growling under her breath, she banged on the door until someone inside the room opened up for her.

A girl with pastel lavender hair poked her head out of the room. “Who are you—ah, Sayaka-chan! You’re late.”

An arm snaked out and grabbed Sayaka, pulling her into the room before the she could utter a squeak.

Then the door slammed shut.

Mirai and Minori stared it, then shared a look.

Minori shrugged, then knocked on the door.

It slid open, and a girl with bright crimson hair greeted her.

“Yes? Who are you?”

Minori pointed at herself and Mirai. “We’re here with Sayaka’s replacement.”

From inside the room came the sounds of a struggle, and Mirai could hear Sayaka yelling loudly.

“I’m telling you to stop and listen to me! Stop trying to undress me! Hey, don’t pull on my skirt! Hitomi—I swear I’m going to hurt you!”

“Sayaka-chan, stop complaining. We don’t have much time—”

“I’m not cosplaying for you and that’s final.”

“A deal is a deal, Sayaka-chan. I won. You lost.”

“That’s why I brought Mirai. She’s a better candidate than I am!”

The sounds of a struggle eased quickly into silence.

“Mirai? You mean, Orange Flavored Mirai? That Mirai?”

“Yes. She’s waiting outside. Now give me back my clothes?”

At the sound of fast footsteps heading for the open doorway, Mirai grew anxious, yet resisted the urge to turn and flee.

This is for Eiji, she reminded herself, steeling her resolve to face whatever hardship came her way in the name of love.

Eiji, you’d better appreciate what I do for you—whatever that may be!

A heartbeat later a young girl with emerald green hair – probably a wig since anyone sporting such hair would be automatically be suspended from the Academy – emerged quickly out of the clubroom and into the corridor. She wore glasses that Mirai doubted were real since the Thread inside a person’s body corrected genetic anomalies and deficiencies such as poor eyesight. Dressed in a white coat that resembled a lab coat, the girl studied Mirai blatantly from head to toes, then back again before affixing her gaze on Mirai’s chest.

Without warning, the girl leapt forward and cupped Mirai’s bust. A cross between a squeak and a gasp escaped Mirai’s lips, and she came close to fainting as the girl’s hands kneaded Mirai’s goods.

“Hmm,” the girl hummed to herself. “Nice and firm. Good. They won’t need much support and the cups should hold them nicely.”

She stepped back and released Mirai’s chest, the latter unable to respond beyond trembling on her feet. The girl crossed her arms and regarded her victim for a short while longer, before nodding firmly in satisfaction. As she did, Sayaka brushed past the girl with crimson hair standing at the door, and peeked out into the corridor.

“Well?” she asked.

The girl with glasses gave Sayaka a thumbs-up. “She’s perfect.”

“So she’s not too big for the outfit?”

“She’ll be fine. The material stretches after all.”

Sayaka sulked. “Oh, I’m sure it does. Not that I would know.”

“Of course not,” glasses girl replied.

Sayaka looked ready to lay into the girl. “Hitomi, I swear I’m going to hit you.”

Hitomi waved a hand dismissively. “You say that all the time.” Turning to face Mirai, Hitomi asked, “Suenaga, have you ever cosplayed before?”

Mirai had mostly recovered by then. “Ah…no….”

“Okay dokay. Then we have work to do. Let’s go.” Snapping her fingers, Hitomi commanded, “Bring her inside.”

Mirai felt Minori’s hands on her, and the girl with crimson hair pushed the door open all the way, affording them easy entry into the room.

Stepping into the clubroom, Mirai was immediately assaulted by the sight of a plethora of costumes hanging off numerous clothing racks. They ranged from dark to bright, from the spacey to the fairy tale in style. Sweeping her gaze to and fro over the racks, she saw several dresses that reminded her of the ancient story of Cinderella.

“Wow….”

Hitomi grinned at her. “Wow indeed.”

“I had no idea there were this many different dresses,” Mirai admitted, her eyes wide.

The girl pushed up her glasses. “Well, we don’t just make cosplay attire. We also make dresses for the Drama Club. In fact, it was with their co-operation that we managed to secure two rooms on this floor.” She waved a hand at table with elaborate looking sewing machines and cutters. “We also get help from the Sewing Club who use us to skill up. Call it a mutually beneficially relationship.”

Minori smirked. “Sounds more like a threesome.”

Hitomi replied with a wide grin. “Precisely.”

A loud sigh cut into the conversation, then Sayaka grumbled, “You girls are so indecent.”

“I’m not indecent,” Mirai protested while pointing at herself.

Minori nodded and struck a pose. “We’re not indecent, we’re liberated.”

Hitomi shook her head. “No, no, no. We’re empowered. We’re women of the new age. The age of man has come to an end. Women now rule.”

Mirai frowned at Hitomi, feeling a flicker of anger within her chest. “Are you saying there’s no place for men?”

Hitomi hesitated visibly, before waving a placating hand. “No. Not at all. I’m saying women play a more prominent role now. Men will always be important.”

Mirai’s expression hardened. “I don’t like the way you say that.”

“Ah—” Hitomi swallowed and glanced at Minori for help but the pretty girl just giggled.

“I have a boyfriend,” Minori said, “and he treats me like a princess. I have no problem leaving things to him.”

Hitomi looked at Sayaka for help, but the girl sighed loudly again. “Hitomi, stop putting your foot in your mouth.”

Waving a finger about, Hitomi appeared to agree. “Indeed. Indeed. My bad.” She coughed and cleared her throat for effect. When she spoke again, she sounded slightly subdued. “Back to business. We need to turn Orange Mirai into Crimson Mirai. Or better still, the Crimson Rapier Virtuoso.”

Mirai shelved her flickering animosity and frowned at the girl. “Crimson Rapier? You mean that children’s show?”

“It’s young adult entertainment,” Hitomi corrected. “Haven’t you ever watched it?”

Mirai shook her head faintly as she shrugged weakly. “No. Not really. Haruka is a fan, though.”

“Well, we need to get you measured up and outfitted.” With a clap, Hitomi gathered her girls. “Ladies, listen up. We have a mission to turn Mirai into Alice, the Crimson Rapier Virtuoso.”

The girls studied Mirai, one of them commenting, “She’s a lot bigger than Alice. I mean a lot bigger.”

Another girl nodded. “True. With a bust that size she’ll be exposing a lot of skin.”

A third girl grimaced in thought. “Crimson Rapier Virtuoso is rated Parental Guidance Recommended.”

Hitomi raised a questioning eyebrow. “Yes it is. So what?”

“Well if Orange Mirai was playing the part, the show would be more like Mature Audience Only.”

A fourth girl with her hair cut into a stylish bob muttered loudly as she peered at Mirai from various angles. “Too much cleavage. Way too much cleavage. And those look pretty heavy. I don’t think the material will hold.”

“We’ll need to change the inside cups,” another mentioned.

Hitomi shook her head. “That will take too long.”

“Then we’ll need to make a whole new bodice.”

Hitomi began to scowl. “That will take too long as well.”

The girls gave their club president irate looks, and the short girl with the stylish bob pointed directly at Mirai’s chest. “If we don’t do something about that, she’s going to suffer a wardrobe malfunction.”

“That material is strong enough,” Hitomi retorted. “I will attest to it.”

“How?” the girl questioned. “You’re not as big as she is. Not even close.”

Looking humiliated, Hitomi pressed her lips into a thin line, before blurting out, “I had Kanata test it out for me.”

“Huh?” Sayaka blurted out as the girls fell silent. “Did you say Kanata? Did she cosplay for you?”

Hitomi’s eyes widened as she realized her verbal slip. “I never said that.”

“So how did she test out the material?” Sayaka inquired with a chill in her eyes.

“I don’t recall,” Hitomi replied while averting her gaze.

“What?”

“I said I don’t recall.”

“You’re sounding like a shifty Senate politician,” Sayaka hissed.

With all the attention on her chest, Mirai was feeling more than a little self-conscious. She started backing away but bumped into Minori who for all intents and purposes appeared to be guarding her.

Minori grabbed Mirai’s shoulders. “No running away.”

“What? Seriously?” Mirai complained.

Minori leaned toward her from behind. “Mirai. Are you forgetting why you’re here?”

Mirai swallowed loudly a couple of times. “I’m doing this for Eiji.”

“Precisely. So what’s wrong with showing a little cleavage, especially if it’s for Eiji?”

Mirai swallowed again, and the thought of Eiji seeing her cosplay made a slow blush break out across her cheeks.

Minori smiled knowingly at her but remained silent.

Shaking her head curtly, Sayaka folded her arms. “Hitomi, we don’t have much time. Kanata-sama wants us all back at the Faery Nest within”—she glanced at her slender wristwatch—“forty minutes.”

Hitomi whirled upon her. “No, no, no. Not possible. Simply not possible.”

“It’s not open for discussion.”

Hitomi waved her arms about. “You don’t understand. What we do here is art. Art! And one does not rush art!”

“As I said, it’s not open for discussion.”

The girl began walking a tight circle, pushing her glasses up repeatedly while biting a thumbnail. “No. This won’t do. This won’t do at all.” She stopped and snapped her fingers as a sharp thought lanced through her brain. “I know. I’ll just have to use that.”

Sayaka leaned forward a little. “Use what?”

Pulling out her palm-slate, Hitomi thumbed through its menus.

“What are you doing?” Sayaka asked, edging closer to the girl in order to peer over her shoulder.

“Sending Kana-chan a counter proposal,” Hitomi replied with a cake-eating grin.

“What does that mean?”

Hitomi turned to face Sayaka and held up her palm-slate for the girl to see. “Fine. I’ll admit it. I had Kana-chan model for me. See? Doesn’t she look gorgeous?”

Sayaka’s gaze was fixated on the device’s display. “Oh…wow….”

“And now we hit send.” Hitomi tapped the screen. “And now we wait.”

They didn’t have to wait long.

Some ten seconds later, the girl’s palm-slate began to sing a popular song.

Hitomi tapped the palm-slate’s surface and answered the call. “Moshi mosh.”

“Are you blackmailing me?”

The girl smiled like a cat as she held the device away from her ear. Tapping the screen, she switched on the speaker function so that everyone nearby could hear the conversation. “Blackmail is such an ugly word, Kana-chan.”

“I want Mirai back here now!”

“No can do. Mirai is perfect for the part. She’ll make the Cosplay Club the talk of the town. I’ll be guaranteed more members by the end of the week.”

“That isn’t going to happen.”

“Very well. Then I’ll just send that private collection off to the Newspaper Club.”

“I’ll sue you.”

“For what? You never signed an agreement with me forbidding their use. Those are mine. I own them. I paid you for your time. Or have you forgotten those discount vouchers I gave you for your favorite opera?”

“Gah! How dare you!”

“I have tickets for a La Traviata.”

“...what...?”

“I said, I have tickets for La Traviata. Does it strike your fancy?”

“…you wench….”

“I’m hanging up.”

“Fine! Fine. You can have Mirai. But I need her back in time for the ceremony. Is that clear?”

Mirai had the sinking impression that she’d just been sold to the highest bidder.

Hitomi pumped a fist in the air. “Plenty of time. Rest assured, she will be a feast for the eyes.” Then she dropped her weight onto a hip. “Besides, Alice is the Crimson Rapier Virtuoso. She’s perfect for the Crimson Force Team. I’m sure this will make Midorikawa of the Lunar Force green with envy.”

Hitomi aimed her left ear at the palm-slate as she listened eagerly for Kanata’s response.

For a short while there was silence on the line, and Mirai could hear soft breathing.

Then Hoshikawa spoke up. “If Mirai isn’t perfect, I’m going to burn your clubroom down. Do hear me? I want that girl to be the perfect Alice von Reizner, the Crimson Rapier.”

“I see. I see. Not a problem. Leave it to me and my girls.”

“Are Sayaka and Minori with you? If they are, send them back. I need them here now.”

Hitomi glanced at the girls in question who shrugged and nodded respectively.

Breaking into a wide smile, Hitomi said, “Kana-chan, as always it’s a pleasure doing business with you.”

Hoshikawa ended the call with a loud huff, and Hitomi turned off the speaker function on her slate before dropping the device into a coat pocket.

Turning to face Mirai with a hungry look, the girl pushed up her glasses.

“Now then. We have work to do.”

A shiver ran through Mirai as she read the girl’s feelings on the Ether. Even though the Ether was flowing weakly through the building, courtesy of the Reflectors, Mirai was able to read Hitomi’s emotions quite simply because the latter wasn’t bothering to hide them by employing her Empath Weaver talent. Hitomi was quite simply too enraptured at the prospect of dressing up Mirai to worry about her leaking feelings.

Gripped firmly by Minori, there was little hope of escape for Mirai who began to tremble like a frightened kitten.

A model of Mirai's cosplay can be found here.

http://www.pridesfamiliarsmaidens.com/?page_id=897