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"And the winner is... Kuroha!" Gen motioned me to the front of the stage, handing me a tiara and a bouquet of mochi, while I looked out to the audience, all cheering for me!

I looked behind me at the losers, Mobuko, Mobumi, Mobuha maybe, was there a Mobushina? I didn't remember their names, that wasn't important, I had won! And all eyes were on me!

"Congratulations, Kuroha!" Tsutsuji cheered from the audience. "I wish I could've entered, but I knew I was ugly, and would uglify the pageant, so I knew my place was down here." I'm glad you acknowledged that, Tsutsuji.

Then Yuzuriha appeared in front of me. "But I'm far more beautiful than you, so I'm going to eat your face now. Sorry about that."

I shrugged. "It happens."

***

And my alarm went off, right before my face got eaten off... why was I so calm about that? Anyway, I'm Kuroha, a 20-year old participating in the Miss DQN pageant, for the most beautiful, most intelligent, most all-around perfect young woman, which was naturally me!

Well, mostly... I did have one minor issue. I get these... I wouldn't hallucinations, really, but I do get lost in my own little world from time to time. I have an overly vivid imagination, I suppose. I'm lucky to have supportive family and friends, but it really does get to me, and I know not everyone is accepting.

"Great, I'm awake, too." That was my older brother Gen, grumbling about nothing. Annoying, but a good guy. "Do you have to wake up so early?"

"If I'm going to make myself beautiful, yes. I have a competition to win, after all." I went to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

"Next week." Gen was still talking through the door. "Why did you have to wake me up today?"

"It's not my fault you're a light sleeper." I was washing my face, looking in the mirror. "And we're getting ready today, going over some things, getting things confirmed, making sure everyone is on the same page about everything, it's a lot of work!"

"Yes, I'm sure you need a lot of practice for standing there while wearing an outfit." I couldn't see Gen, but I could just feel him rolling his eyes through the door.

"I'll have you know the Miss DQN pageant takes more than just looking good. We also need to have talent, and intelligence. If I win, I can be an inspiration to girls country-wide, others will see what they can become, and will want to become a DQN girl just like their hero." Wait, that sounded wrong. "I mean DQN in the good way!"

"And I'm sure the ten million yen, you don't care about that. I'm sure you'll give that to charity, as an inspiration to all the little DQN girls out there."

"Hell no, I'm keeping it all! Anyway, with my dedication, I'm sure to win, just like Erika last year, or Erika from the year before."

"The same person won twice?"

How stupid are you, Gen? "No, two different Erikas. But I'm not worried, because there are no Erikas competing this year!" I pumped my fist, but in truth, I did have some real competition. Most of my fellow competitors shouldn't be a problem, but there was one that concerned me...

***

When I arrived at the theatre where the pageant would ultimately be, there was a small group standing outside. I recognized a lot of them, we went to the same college. Their leader seemed to be a girl with short black hair named Karin. I wasn't a big fan.

"Kuroha!" Karin looked happy to see me, but I had a bad feeling of where this was going. "You decided to join our protest?"

I blinked. "Protest?" I had a bad feeling about this.

"Right, we're protesting the Miss DQN beauty contest. It's degrading toward women. We need to fight against things like this that try to push us down!" Other than you?

I shook my head. "No, I'm competing."

"You don't have to do that, Kuroha. It's what's on the inside that counts." No Karin, that's Miss Autopsy.

"I'll think about it." I pulled away, and entered the theatre. God, she's annoying.

***

Inside the theatre I ran into Hiiragi, who was the MC for the pageant. "Fashionably late I see, Kuroha." Hiiragi winked. "But I think we can forgive that from someone so beautiful." If Hiiragi weren't so handsome I would be upset with kissing my hand like that, but he is, so all is forgiven! Also, not late, fifteen minutes ahead of time... but I didn't want to argue with Hiiragi. "Let me take you to the dressing room. Hisame is quite lovely today, if I may say so." She's not interested, Hiiragi, give it up. I headed back to the dressing room with Hiiragi, where my competition was already getting ready.

"Your late." One of my competitors, Azami, was irritated, and pointing to an imaginary watch on her wrist. "Time is money, you know."

I sighed. "I'm fifteen minutes early."

"Less than an hour early is late!" Azami, you don't always have to be so uptight... she really wasn't so bad, though.

In this room were the eight of us, all competing for the Miss DQN crown. For fun, we divided ourselves into two teams, whichever does better has to buy dinner for the other team. My team is the Amazoness Quartet... or Amazoness Trio, since one member doesn't like the name and doesn't want to be called that.

First is me, naturally. I'm easily the frontrunner, not to brag... OK, maybe brag a little. I can't help it that I'm beautiful, it would be patronizing of me not to acknowledge it! No one likes those pretty girls who always complain about how ugly they are, right?

Next is Hisame. Little flashier than my style, but she looks great, really. She's something like the mom of the group, even though she hates being called that, but she's great!

Then there's Wasabi. Honestly a little surprised someone like her would enter the pageant. She's not ugly--she's cute even--but not exactly the kind of person you'd expect to see competing in a beauty contest. Plus her voice, it's... cute. It's honestly adorable, just not a voice you expect to come out of a pageant contestant.

And finally, there's Momo. It's not her real name, which she's ashamed of, but she goes by Momo, and it's a cute name for a cute girl! She really doesn't like the Amazoness name though, and prefers that the other two and I don't lump her in with that team name. Still, we see her as one of us!

And our competitors are Team Etra. I'm not even sure what an Etra is, apparently some anime Azami was a fan of? Anyway, let's start with her, Azami. She's somewhat irritable and nagging, but she really is beautiful deep down. And even though she looks plain most of the time, when she takes off her glasses and pulls out her hair bun, she can and will transform into a beautiful woman! Really, Azami is the bomb!

Next is Suzuran, a rich girl who's surprisingly friendly. Probably because she's not actually rich, but pretends to be. Like she doesn't brag about it, she just talks about how elegant she is, and how she wants the rest of us to be elegant to, like she's really supportive of everyone being their best.

Then, Akane, who... yeah, honestly have a bit of a girl crush on her. She's cheerful and carefree and really brightens the mood where ever she goes. And maybe she's not quite as beautiful as I, but she's still beautiful as well, on the flashier side, like Hisame.

But finally, there's Yuzuriha. If there's one person who could beat me in this pageant, it's her. She is truly stunning, and has this commanding aura to her that draws everyone in. As beautiful as I know I am, even I can't deny that Yuzuriha will probably win this pageant handily. Even her talent, doing impressions, is spot-on, she's even got wigs made for the people she's pretending to be!

"Just make her have an little... 'accident'." Uh oh... I looked to my left, and sure enough, it was Kasumi, my shoulder devil. She looked all kind, had a sweet smile, while telling me something horrible! And wearing a headband with horns for some reason? Why didn't she have the horns naturally on her head?

"Kasumi, leave me alone." I tried to be forceful.

"You know you want to." Kasumi had a smug smile as she took out a straw doll with a Yuzuriha wig on it.

I looked to my right should. "I could really use some help right about now." And finally, my shoulder... mochi appeared.

"You should never harm a mochi, mochi!"

...OK? "Yeah, that's not really relevant to this particular situation."

The mochi looked confused. "Mochi go great with strawberries."

I sighed. This was hopeless. I waved the mochi off. "Please, just go."

"Mochi." The mochi shed a tear, then poofed out of existence.

Kasumi, on the other hand... err, shoulder, looked confused. "What was that? Your angel and I were meant to have an epic battle of wits, fighting for your very soul, and I get stuck with a mochi?!" Kasumi extended her hands out in disbelief. "I'm sorry, that was truly embarrassing." Kasumi put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Where ever she is, I'm disappointed in her. I can't believe she was a no-show. She's supposed to be the good one!"

I blinked. "I'm... sorry?"

Kasumi sighed. "No, it's not your fault. I'm going to take my leave, just remember what I told you and injure Yuzuriha to take her out of the contest." And with that, Kasumi poofed away.

"Kuroha, are you OK?" Hisame asked, with a look of concern on her face. I... did it again, didn't I? Are you OK? Do you need to sit down?"

I sat down on the floor carefully. "I'm sorry, I'm OK."

Akane hugged me. Tight. "I'm glad you're OK. We were all worried." Yeah, apparently everyone saw me talking to invisible people... or mochi.

"Do you need water?" Azami handed me a cup of water. "As long as you're OK."

"She needs space." Yuzuriha was serious, but concerned... I did kind of like the hug from Akane, though. Yuzuriha was just looking after me, though, trying to give me space.

I smiled. "I'm good, but thank you. I really appreciate it."

"Oh ho ho ho!" Suzuran had her hand to her mouth. "It would be unbecoming of us not to care about our competition, after all."

"Wasa!" I wasn't quite sure what that meant, but I'm pretty sure Wasabi was happy that I was all right.

"I'm glad you're OK." Momo smiled bright, really was a sweet girl deserving of a sweet name like Momo! And after that we all got ready. Even if it was a dry run, we wanted to look our best and shine!"

The Miss DQN pageant is called that because it's sponsored by DQN Industries, not because you have to be a bad person to enter. Heaven knows that I'm surrounded by seven amazing girls here, not just beautiful on the outside, but amazing human beings on the inside. They'd seen me talking to seemingly no one before, it sometimes happens when I'm feeling stressed. It really is amazing how understanding everyone here is, though.

Akane was standing next to me, smiling. "Do you want help with your hair?"

I smiled. "Yes, please!"

***

I was walking around the backstage, looking for a bathroom. I probably should've asked someone. But suddenly I heard a loud crash, coming from... the stairs, leading down to the basement! I hurried over there, it couldn't have taken me too long. I thought I might've seen someone running away... I got to the stairs, I looked, and gasped.

Yuzuriha was at the bottom of the stairs, looking awful--she'd fallen!

"Yuzuriha!" I called out! "Are you all right?!"

"Fuck no, I need an ambulance!" Sorry, sorry, should've been obvious.

"What's going on here?!" Hiiragi suddenly rushed over, then screamed. "Did you push Yuzuriha down the stairs?!"

"What, no!" Oh no, oh no, oh no.

"I heard a noise, what happened?!" Hisame was rushing toward me, followed closely by the others.

"I was pushed down the fucking stairs!" Yuzuriha was probably in unimaginable pain right now, so the swearing was understandable, albeit shocking coming from her of all people. And she confirmed she was pushed, and didn't just trip... but no one was around. How was she pushed?

Hiiragi pointed at me frantically. "She was the only one around! It had to be you, Kuroha!"

"It was Kuroha?" Wasabi asked confused. "Wasa wouldn't do that... would she?" Did Wasabi really think it could be me?

Suzuran looked wide-eyed. "That would certainly be not very elegant of her."

"I don't know who the fuck did it, but they will pay!" Thank you for not assuming it was me, Yuzuriha.

Hisame shoved the crowd aside. "No, no, we are not doing this, we are NOT starting a witch hurt here. We don't know who did it, or even IF someone pushed her, so we will not be doing this."

Akane hugged me. "I'm sorry, Kuroha. I know you wouldn't do that." As much as I appreciate Akane's support, did she really know I didn't do it? How could she know?"

***

The dry run was cut very short. Yuzuriha was taken to the hospital, and it looked like she wouldn't be competing.

"Well done." I knew that smug voice... Kasumi was on my shoulder again, wasn't she, the little devil. She was slow clapping. "Pushing Yuzuriha down the stairs, the only person who had any real shot of beating you, all without even getting caught." Kasumi put on a bright, innocent smile. "You're a shoe-in now to win!"

"I didn't want to win like this!"

Kasumi yawned. "Would you stop pretending to be a goody two-shoes already? I've looked deep within your soul. You're the kind of girl who would steal her sister's fiancé, and then her actual wedding. You're the kind of girl who would stalk a guy who already had a girlfriend and try to kill her."

"No I wouldn't!"

Kasumi laughed. "You'd probably even pretend to befriend a popular girl just to make it look like she's bullying you and you can become the new popular girl!"

"I'd never do that!"

"Don't worry, my friend." Finally, it seemed the... kappa arrived? "As long as you have a cucumber offering, all will be forgiven."

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "What is even going on, I can't have a battle of wits against a kappa. It wouldn't be any fun." Kasumi crossed her arms over her chest and 'hmph'd.

"It's OK, Kuroha, we're here." The kappa was holding my shoulder.

"Thank you, kappa." I smiled... and realized it was Hisame.

Hisame laughed a little. "Sorry about that, but it's OK. I guess this situation is pretty stressful." Hisame rolled her eyes. "And Hiiragi hitting on me again doesn't help make it less stressful." Hiiragi is pretty hot, but I guess he's just not Hisame's type, so I can see that bothering her.

Akane was sitting nearby. "Yeah, I think we all need a little rest today."

Hisame had a serious look on her face. "The other girls are a bit suspicious, though." Hisame sighed. "I wish Hiiragi would be more responsible and not jump to conclusions like he did."

Akane puffed her cheeks. "It was probably Hiiragi, anyway. Did he have a favorite girl?"

Hisame shook her head. "Let's please not jump to more conclusions. And he did have a favorite girl. Me." Hisame shuddered. "I definitely do not feel the same way. He creeps me out."

Akane stuck out her tongue. "What happened to not jumping to conclusions."

"I said he was a creep, not violent!" Hisame put her hand on her forehead. "Sheesh."

I put my finger to my mouth. "What about security footage? Wasn't there a camera around there."

"The camera was broken." Hisame put her fist to her mouth. "Too convenient, if you ask me."

Akane had a wide grin growing on her face. "Maybe somebody can solve this mystery."

Hisame blinked, then pointed at Akane. "You?"

"No. Us." Akane stuck out her chest and pointed her nose into the air... which was really long for some reason, was I imagining that? I do have that habit, after all. She then took out a deerskin cap and pipe, lit the pipe in her mouth, and went into an immediate coughing fit.

"Are you OK?" I was worried about Akane.

Akane pounded her chest and coughed a bit more. "I'm OK, I'm OK... how do people smoke those things?"

"Maybe let's lose the pipe." I tossed the pipe into a nearby bin. "The hat is enough for the Holmes look." I winked at Akane, who giggled... then coughed again. I'm pretty sure she was OK, anyway.

***

Akane, Hisame, and I were at the top of the stairs where Yuzuriha fell, looking for clues... though I had no idea what, exactly.

"We were all here." Hisame had her arms over her chest. "I'm not sure what we can find that will point to a specific culprit, rather than the many of us who were here earlier."

"Aha!" Akane held up a finger on her raised hand, while picking something up with a pair of tweezers in her other hand. "A black hair!"

Hisame sighed. "That doesn't really help us clear Kuroha's name." That was certainly not going to help, considering I had black hair myself.

Akane shook her head. "No, it's short black hair! This belonged to someone with shorter black hair."

I pointed to my forehead. "Like bangs?"

Akane smiled a sheepish grin. "OK, forgot about that." Akane looked down. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to help."

I smiled. "I know. It's OK. You're trying, and I appreciate that."

Hisame looked down the stairs. "I suppose there could be something down there."

I nodded and pumped my fist. "Won't hurt to take a look-see."

"Unless the perpetrator pushes us down the stairs, too." Akane laughed a bit... then stopped, looking down, to the side. "I'm sorry, I was trying to lighten the mood a bit... maybe I should go."

I giggled a bit. "I'm sorry, I'm a bit stressed out, but thank you."

Hisame smiled a bit. "I thought it was a little funny."

"Yay!" Akane cheered, then hurried down the stairs, with Hisame and me following.

I looked around. "It's dark down here."

"There's gotta' be something down here." Akane had out a magnifying glass, searching the area where Yuzuriha had fallen.

And there was something... something horrifying. "Over there, watch out!"

Akane, Hisame, and I looked over toward something... something truly frightful.

"Mochi!" a mochi said. Oh, nevermind, it was only a mochi.

Hisame recoiled in disgust. "Someone's got to clean this basement, there're mochi running about." OK, so I didn't just imagine that one, anyway.

"At least it wasn't G." Akane shuddered at her own remark, then picked up something with tweezers. "It looks like a piece of cloth."

I looked at the cloth. Yellow. None of the three of us were wearing yellow, but who was? Suzuran... no, this fabric looked thinner than the sweater she had on.

Hisame put her chin on her fist, looking deep in thought. "I don't know who had a shirt like that, and it may not even be who pushed Yuzuriha. It could just be from a maintenance worker or something."

"Kuroha, are you down there?" I heard a voice from the top of the stairs... Momo, I think. I wasn't sure what she wanted, though.

"Yes, I'm down here." I was a bit worried what she wanted me for, but maybe it wasn't anything bad.

"Sorry, I'm sorry." Momo headed down the stairs, then bowed her head. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

I blinked, confused. "I don't remember you saying anything."

Momo shook her head. "Maybe not to you, but I was suspicious, and I'm sorry."

Akane whispered into my ear "who was she again?"

I smiled. "Thank you, Momo. I'm hoping to clear up this misunderstanding."

Momo looked around. "I guess you three are trying to figure out what happened."

I nodded. "We are."

Momo nervously rubbed her arm. "I really hope you can figure that out. I'm just... I don't know." Momo looked like she was about to hug me, but stopped herself. Maybe she was still trying to convince herself that I was innocent? I really wasn't sure. "I'll go back and talk to the others. They're suspicious, but I think they want to believe you didn't do anything wrong."

I smiled. "Thank you. I really do appreciate it."

Momo nodded, then turned to Akane and Hisame giving the Sailor Mochi finger salute. "I'm glad she's got you two looking out for her." Momo then headed back up the stairs.

I turned to Akane and Hisame. "I really can't blame them. I am the crazy girl, I mean. I'd probably be suspicious of me, too."

Hisame grabbed one of my shoulders. "You're sick, not violent. You didn't do this."

Akane grabbed my other shoulder. "That's right! We've got your back!"

I started tearing up. "You girls, thank you."

***

Hisame, Akane, and I explored a bit more, but didn't really find much, aside from the torn piece of yellow cloth. Momo was friendly, even if she did seem to keep some distance. Suzuran, Azami, Wasabi, they were... politely friendly. Suzuran made it abundantly clear that she worried for Hisame's and Akane's safety around me, which... I couldn't blame her too much. I wasn't sure I necessarily wasn't capable of doing something so terrible to someone. I mean, I didn't this time, but was I really sure I would never do it in the future?

I was at the hospital to see Yuzuriha. I checked with the nurse, who said it was OK to see her. I knocked on the door, and Yuzuriha invited me in.

"Hello, Yuzuriha." I bowed my head. "I'm really sorry for what happened."

Yuzuriha looked serious. "It's OK. I didn't get hurt too bad."

"Hello, Kuroha."

I then realized that Yuzuriha was not along in the room, but was with Tsutsuji. Tsutsuji was my senior back in college, and she really was a sweet girl... one who I always compared myself to. Tsutsuji really is cute, but I was beautiful, and always put Tsutsuji down in my own mind as being ugly and undeserving of the close friends she had. That was just jealousy on my part, though. Even if she wasn't as beautiful as I, she was far from ugly, and as naturally kind as she was, it's no wonder people were drawn to her. I hated how I always mentally insulted her. "Hello, Tsutsuji. I'm... friends with Yuzuriha?"

Yuzuriha nodded. "We are friends." Yuzuriha motioned to Tsutsuji. "And this is Tsutsuji. She's my very special friend." Tsutsuji looked down and blushed, playing with her fingers.

I smiled. "I knew Tsutsuji from college. She was a few years ahead of me."

Tsutsuji turned even brighter red as she hid behind her hands. "You knew who I was? But I was nobody!"

Yuzuriha glared at Tsutsuji. "Now don't say that about yourself. You are not 'nobody,' you're a generous kind-hearted person!" A lot better than me, really.

"You had friends, I remember." Also I was jealous of you having friends. As beautiful as I was, I didn't really have much in the way of actual friends, just my lame brother and one girl who is really annoying. It wasn't until this pageant that I started making some real friends, and even there half of them don't really like me much.

Yuzuriha had a soft smile. "I appreciate you coming to visit. It's a shame it seems I'll miss the pageant."

I put my hand behind my head, nervous. "Well, some of us are trying to figure out who pushed you down those stairs. I don't suppose you know who it might have been."

Yuzuriha put her hand to her chin. "I have a theory, but I don't want to spread accusations. You're probably dealing with enough of that as it is."

"You knew."

Yuzuriha smirked. "My, I could hear perfectly well, the commotion going on at the top of the stairs." Yuzuriha looked at her fingers. "I can easily imagine Hisame trying to keep the others from killing you."

"Well, Akane is helping a lot, too."

Yuzuriha looked surprised for a split second, before returning to a warm smile. "I see. I'm glad you aren't isolated there."

Tsutsuji had a warm smile. "Yuzuriha really has said good things about you. I'm sorry I didn't get to know you back in school."

I smiled bright. "I don't know how much we'll see each other after the pageant, but I hope I can run into you again, Tsutsuji."

Yuzuriha laughed a bit. "Don't worry, you will."

We said our goodbyes and I saw someone out at the front of the hospital... someone I really did not want to see, and I was hoping she wouldn't see me, either--"

"Hey, Kuroha!"

Nevermind, she spotted me. "Hi, Karin... what brings you here?"

"I wanted to see Yuzuriha. The staff didn't want more people back there at once, though."

"Wait, you know Yuzuriha?"

Karin put her hand behind her head. "Yeah, we were friends back in high school. We still keep in touch." Karin chuckled to herself. "She owes me a new shirt, though." Karin pulled out her yellow shirt, which had a significant tear in it... so was that fabric from Karin's shirt? "Just kidding, Yuzuriha grabbed on to me when she fell, it's a pretty cheap shirt anyway."

"Wait, did you see who pushed her?"

"She was pushed?" Karin looked surprised, but then looked in thought. "Actually, that doesn't seem too surprising. Maybe I was in too much shock to notice, and Yuzuriha was in so much pain and yelling at me to call an ambulance--she's got quite the mouth on her!" Karin chuckled to herself. "I can get like that too, though, so I certainly can't hold that against her." Karin put her hands to her side and sighed. "I really don't know most of you well, so I don't know who might've pushed her. But I know you, and I know you wouldn't do that."

I blinked. "Thank you... I don't know how you could be sure of that, though." I mean, we aren't friends.

"Because we're friends." Karin smiled... I didn't get what she was saying, though. Why did she think we were friends? "I know you probably wish I'd leave things alone sometimes, like the pageant, but I really do want to make this world a better place, you know? And I don't like the idea of a contest based on good genetics." Karin nodded. "You're beautiful, Kuroha, and you don't need a stupid contest to tell you that."

I puffed my cheeks. "I know I'm beautiful, but it's also about talent, and intelligence, and oh yeah, ten million yen!" I backed down, rubbing my hands nervously. "I could really use that money."

"Ten million yen?" Karin seemed surprised again... did she think this was all for bragging rights? "Damn... I really could've used that myself. My mom is sick, and I've been struggling." Karin was nervously tugging on her arm. "I don't like what DQN Industries stands for, but if I'd known about that prize, I might've signed up myself."

I was tapping my finger on my chin. "If Yuzuriha is out, there may be an open slot."

Karin blushed and waved her hands in front of her face. "What? No, no! I mean, look at me! Look at you, then look at me! Kuroha, you're beautiful, like the picture perfect Japanese girl. And I practically look like a boy!"

I stuck out my tongue. "Karin, you're really pretty. Sure, you're no Yamato Nadeshiko, but you're beautiful... and why am I telling you this, I don't need the competition!"

Karin was holding her hands together and looked down. "Do you really think so?"

I put my hand to my heart. "Yes. After everything I've done to you, it's the least I could do."

Karin raised an eyebrow. "Everything you've done to me? But you've never done anything to me?" Oh right, guess that was all just my own intrusive thoughts.

I put my hand on Karin's shoulder. "Just ask Yuzuriha about it. Tell her I gave you the idea. If she recovers in time, she can still do it, but if not, you can be like her alternate, it's perfect!"

"No, it is not perfect!" Ugh, Kasumi again. "Are you an idiot? Why are you making this competition into an actual competition? With Yuzuriha out of the way, you were THIS CLOSE to victory!"

I rolled my eyes and turned to my left shoulder. "Hush, you."

"Arf!" That was a dog. Where was my angel?

Kasumi sighed, looking defeated. "Monataro, go away. We want the angel, not a dog."

I grinned. "But aren't all dogs angels, really?"

"They are, but I've got a cat instead, Sora." Oh, that was Karin, I was talking to my devil and... not devil again apparently.

"Sora's a nice name for a cat."

Karin laughed. "She even knows her name. Sometimes she'll just go 'meow, I am Cat Sora!" I laughed a bit myself.

I took out my phone. "Anyway, I'm headed home, so you can probably go see Yuzuriha now. But if you don't mind, we could exchange contact info. It would be nice to keep in touch more easily, being friends and such." Kuroha, why were you doing this to yourself? Karin will drive you mad, you will regret this!

...actually, I'm already mad, it was too late for that! "Thank you, Karin." I smiled bright. "Also, I don't think you pushed Yuzuriha, either."

Karin looked startled, and put her hand behind her head. "Uh, thanks."

***

"Are you OK?" Gen looked concerned as I entered our home. "Is Yuzuriha OK? I made dinner, so you don't have to worry about that." I was surprised by Gen's reaction. I'd texted him about what was going on, but he didn't react much. It seems like he was concerned, though.

...it's just too bad that Gen wasn't a very good cook. I wasn't sure what I was eating, just kind of a grey blob. At least it tasted better than it looked... not that it was good, mind you, but it was edible, at least, and I appreciate the effort, I didn't want to have to cook today. We were both at the table, eating. "Thank you, Gen. I'm doing all right, and Yuzuriha will be OK, but I don't think she is going to be able to compete."

Gen shook his head. "That's a shame, one fewer beauty for me to admire." Gen laughed. "Kidding, kidding, really though, that's got to hurt, working so hard for this, only to have everything come crashing down."

"Literally," I added, then laughed at my own stupid joke. "OK, that was kind of mean, but it was too perfect of a setup, so really it's kind of your fault for making me say it." I stuck out my tongue. "We might be able to get someone to take Yuzuriha's place, though."

"Well that's too bad." Gen took a sip of tea. "More competition and all."

"Hmph," I hmph'd. "Well I personally asked her if she might like to consider it, so if I lose, I it's my own fault!"

Gen raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you had any friends you felt that close to who weren't already competing."

"Well it's Karin, actually."

Gen looked like he was trying to think of something. "Well, I had a teacher named Karin back in school, but I don't think you knew her. The only other Karin I can think of is that girl you say is ugly and always complain to me about how annoying she is."

I nervously tapped my fingers together. "I never called her ugly."

"Well you said something like her being less pretty than you, or something like... wait, that Karin? You asked that Karin to compete?"

I had a nervous smile. "Yes?"

Gen was tapping his chin, looking deep in thought, when he suddenly hit his fist into the palm of his other hand. "I've got it! You did this so you could humiliate her at the pageant, right?"

I buried my head in my hands. "Do you really think I'd do something that cruel?

Gen took out his phone and showed it toward me. "Well, you did supposedly push your biggest competition down the stairs for an easy victory."

"What?! Who's saying that?!"

"It looks like a lot of the other contestants want you gone and are making posts about it. Shirayuki, Haru, Ram..."

"I have never heard of any of those people."

Gen nodded. "Figured, they're all new accounts.

I rolled my eyes. "So it's one person who doesn't like me, and wants it to seem like a lot of people don't like me, but if this spreads more, a lot of people may legitimately not like me."

Gen had a look of concern. "Could the person behind these accounts be the same one who pushed Yuzuriha down the stairs?"

I tapped my finger on the table. "If that's the case, they must have wanted to get rid of both me and Yuzuriha."

"Well, I've heard you say, over and over, that you believed Yuzuriha was the only one who could beat you. Maybe someone believed they could win by getting rid of both her and you. Do you know who might think that?"

"I do." I shook my head. "And I don't believe for one second she would have done that." I know Hisame was likely second runner-up, and I'm sure she knows it to. But she would not hurt anyone... at least no one innocent. I would not be surprised if she hurt someone who deserved it in the past, though.

Gen smiled softly. "You know these girls better than I do. I just wanted to bring that up as a possibility."

I started rubbing my chin. "Actually, you might be onto something, though..."

A little after dinner, I got a call from Karin. "Hello."

"Hello, Kuroha. I wanted to let you know that Yuzuriha gave her approval for me to take her place in the pageant."

"That's great!"

"I hope so... I'm a bit nervous about what I'm going to wear."

"The other girls and I can help with that, you'll do great!" I was smiling bright, I was really happy to have Karin join the DQN side, mwa ha ha, we're going to corrupt her yet!

"I hope I won't stand out too much. I feel like I won't really belong, but I'll do my best!" Karin then sighed. "So, any ideas about who pushed Yuzuriha?"

"I have an idea, but I don't know how to prove it."

I heard some talking that I couldn't make out for a few moments before Karin got back to me. "Actually, Yuzuriha's here. She might have an idea if you want to tell us who you think did it."

Yuzuriha is pretty smart... this might work. "All right, then."

***
***

I'm Hiiragi, and I was sitting in my own dressing room at the theatre, playing on my phone. I was selected to be this year's master of ceremonies, because the women watching deserve their own eye candy as well, and there is no man more beautiful than I. At the moment, I was making a post online as 'Kanade,' complaining about Kuroha and how she should be banned from the pageant, maybe even arrested. Honestly, I couldn't care less, as long as she left this pageant.

So I may have 'accidentally' pushed Yuzuriha down the stairs, but if I can get enough public outcry to blame Kuroha, then Hisame will be all set to win this pageant, and then I could win her heart... and maybe some of her ten million yen, too! Oh, Hiiragi, you are a genius, ha ha ha!

And at that moment, someone knocked on the door. "Come in."

An ugly, mannish-looking girl walked in, the one who was with Yuzuriha yesterday... I don't really remember her name. I don't think she saw that it was me who pushed Yuzuriha... but then, why was she here?

"Hi, I'm Karin. Yuzuriha was my friend. I wanted to take her place in the pageant. Are there papers to fill out, or..."

Oh, that's all she wanted. "You'll need to talk to the officials about that, I'm afraid."

Ka... something hit herself in the forehead. "I'm sorry, I'm not used to this sort of stuff... you're the host, Hiiragi, right?"

"Correct." Why was she still here?

Kaka hit her fist into the palm of her other hand. "So you're the one the pink-haired girl had the crush on!" Wait, she does? Has Hisame finally fallen for me? It doesn't sound like the two of them are friends, though.

"Where did you hear about this, if I may ask?"

"I noticed her talking to herself down in the basement." Kaka shrugged. "I don't think she noticed me, though."

"By any chance, is she still there?"

Kaka shrugged. "Probably? I don't really know."

I smiled. "Thank you for letting me know, Kaka. You can take your leave now."

"Kaka?" I guess that wasn't her name then. Whoever she was, she finally left... and then means I would also leave. If Hisame was by herself in the basement, and she had a crush on me, I had to take advantage of this golden opportunity!

I hurried on over to the basement, and sure enough, Hisame was down there. I wasn't sure why she would have been down there, but I didn't want to question it. "Hello, Hisame, your knight in shining armor has arrived!"

Hisame blushed, then covered her face. "Hiiragi, you're here, now?!"

I took one of Hisame's hands, who then blushed even harder. "It's OK, my darling. I know how you feel."

Hisame looked surprised, then gave me bedroom eyes. This seemed to be going well. "Hiiragi, I do like you, but..."

But? But? "But what, my sweet?"

"But this video." Hisame took out her phone, which showed me pushing Yuzuriha down the stairs... how? How did she get this? I was very careful, no one was around... no one was there to record this! "I had recorded this on my phone, and I had some concerns."

I waved my hands in front of my face. "No, no, I did this for you!"

Hisame looked puzzled. "You did this for me? How was pushing Yuzuriha down the stairs doing this for me?"

OK, she was looking for an explanation. Understandable, she's all beauty, no brains, after all, so I'm sure she'll understand once I explain it. "I was trying to help you win the pageant, my love."

Hisame blinked. "How does pushing Yuzuriha down the stairs help me win the pageant?"

"Because Yuzuriha was going to win... she needed to be taken out. She couldn't compete so you could win!"

Hisame put a finger to her chin. "I'm still not sure I could win against Kuroha, though. She's definitely going to beat me, still."

I shook my head. So brainless. It's a good thing Hisame had looks. "That's why I needed to frame her for pushing Yuzuriha down the stairs. Whether she was forced to drop from the pageant, or even if she got arrested for it, the important thing was getting both Yuzuriha and Kuroha out of the way, and you would practically be a shoe-in for victory!"

Hisame gasped in shock. "Oh my, so you were trying to help me win! That's so... thoughtful."

I took Hisame's hand and kissed it. "I do try to be a prince for my fair maiden."

"So it was you after all." That was... oh. Oh no. I looked up the stairs, and saw Kuroha standing there, with her arms crossed, with Akane, that girl with the 'sparkling' name, and that Kaka girl behind her.

***
***

"Back to Kuroha's point of view," Kasumi said, on my left shoulder as usual. Was that supposed to be an evil thing? Isn't everything I see from my point of view? I didn't get it. "You go and take care of Hiiragi." Kasumi took out a straw doll. "I have my own way of dealing with him."

I was a bit confused. "Aren't you my shoulder devil? Aren't you supposed to be on the side of evil and stuff?"

Kasumi clicked her tongue. "I'm YOUR devil, it's my job to get YOU to commit evil, which will be a lot harder if Hiiragi puts you in prison." Kasumi then put on the sweetest smile and poked her cheek. "Duh!"

Hiiragi looked confused. "Shoulder devil? What are you talking about?"

I frantically waved my hands in front of my face. "Oh, sorry, sorry! It's nothing... point is that you're going down."

"Sorry, we didn't really rehearse this." Akane sounded embarrassed.

"But we're Kuroha's friends." That was Momo, I really appreciated her support. "We're not going to let you hurt her."

I could hear Karin cracking her knuckles. "Hiiragi, you're going down." I really misjudged you, Karin, thank you!

Hisame took out her phone. "We got the whole confession recorded."

Hiiragi looked confused. "But you already had the video. Why did you need my confession?"

I smirked. "Did you forget Yuzuriha's talent?" I slapped my face, pretending to be surprised. "Oh, of course you did! You were only interested in Hisame, only pretended to care about the rest of us. Yuzuriha's talent was impressions, and she had a whole supply of wigs for us to borrow!"

Akane put on an aqua-colored wig and put two fingers to her eyes. "I make for a pretty good Yuzuriha, huh?"

Momo put on a light purple wig. "And I make for a pretty dashing Hiiragi, ha ha!"

"And I... well, I played Karin. Or 'Kaka,' if you prefer." Kaka? Where did that nickname come from?

I continued smirking, with my arms crossed over my chest. "That video would've never held up in court. Too hard to tell who anyone was aside from Karin, conveniently out in front... but good enough to trick you into thinking it was real."

Hisame suddenly put on a lovey-dovey expression. "And I knew if I confessed my feelings for you, you wouldn't question it, you'd do what you could to close the deal with me." Hisame put an innocent finger to her lip. "And you probably thought I was just some brainless bimbo." Hisame then... her hair turned into snakes? Pretty sure I was imagining that. That slap she gave to Hiiragi certainly seemed real, though. "You idiot! The girls look up to me and call me 'Mom' for a reason!" Hisame then turned to us, with a large, uncomfortable smile. "By the way, please stop calling me Mom, thank you." After this, we owe you that much, Hisame.

Hiiragi looked up to the ceiling and put his hands on the sides of his head. "NOOOO!!!"

"Police are on their way." Thank you, Gen. I had my brother stationed nearby as well to call the police, as well as tackle Hiiragi if he tried to escape, though that didn't seem to happen, thank goodness.

***

The police had come and taken Hiiragi away, who was babbling about misunderstood love and magnificent thrones, whatever that meant. The rest of us were all standing around, along with Azami, Suzuran, and Wasabi.

"I'm so deeply sorry." Suzuran got on the ground before us on her knees. "That was very not elegant of me, to blindly believe the rumors. If you like, I shall drop out of the pageant, my behavior in unworthy of being crowned Miss DQN."

I sighed. "You didn't do anything wrong, though. You didn't do anything to me, or act out, or spread rumors about me, you just didn't blindly trust me, and I don't hold that against you. Sometimes I have to fight the temptation to do bad things." Yes, Kasumi, I'm talking about you, Ms. Temptation.

Suzuran stood up, dusting herself off. "OK, but it was still unbecoming of me." I guess I can accept that.

"I'm sorry, too." Azami bowed her head, thank you for not getting on the floor as well, by the way. "Even if we didn't actually hurt you, we should've been more supportive."

"Wasa sorry too." Wasabi also bowed her head.

And Momo started crying. "And I played the middle too much, I wish I'd been stronger in my support from the start."

I waved dismissively. "What are you talking about, Momo? You were standing with me just now when we confronted Hiiragi!"

Momo looked away. "I still feel bad about it."

I started tearing up. "No one is perfect. That's what it means to be Miss DQN, after all, the idea that even a DQN can change and become a better person, not to let that label of being seen as a villain by others define us, that we can rise above it and become an inspiration to others. Others who feel they may be going down the DQN path, but to see what we can overcome our vices and become good people in the end!"

Karin put her hand behind her head. "Actually, it's called Miss DQN because it's sponsored by DQN Industries, called that because they were once proud to be the blackest of black companies... like seriously, that used to be their slogan. They started this pageant when they started getting a bad reputation because of that."

"Wait, really?" That was news to me. "I... guess I never really did much research into their history. And you still wanted to sign up?"

Karin shrugged. "Well they have cleaned up their act... somewhat." Karin nervously looked down. "And I need the money, I'm a total sellout."

I hugged Karin, probably a bit tighter than I meant to. "No you're not, you're just human, like all of us!"

Hisame blushed. "Why do you think I try so hard to be so protective of everyone? I'm trying to protect you all from people like I used to be!"

Akane looked down, nervously pointing her fingers together. "I may have been mean to this girl when we were kids... she was older than me, though, but I still wonder how much I might've hurt her."

Momo smiled and pumped her fist. "I used to make fun of this girl who had a boring name, while bragging about my own name... and then I learned what my name actually meant. It humbled me a lot."

Karin looked interested. "Oh? What is your name?"

Momo stuck out her tongue. "You can call me Momo, you don't need to know my real name."

Karin nodded. "Fair enough."

Gen sighed while leaning against a wall. "I guess I could be nicer to my sister. She's not completely terrible." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"So, Kuroha's brother..." Akane nervously started talking to Gen. "I wanted to find out some things..." I wonder if she was talking about me... Akane liked me, right? She's been really flirty with me... I wasn't reading too much into that, was I?

Suddenly I was being dragged away by Karin. "Look, I don't really know... Akane, was it? But you like her, don't you?"

Um... yes? How? "How did you know?"

Karin had a smile... I wasn't quite sure how to read it, though. "I could see it written all over your face. You should tell her."

I sighed. "That's easier said than done."

"Believe me, I know." Karin grabbed my forearms and looked at me. "But even if she turns you down, you're still friends, and if she starts ignoring you or bullying you, then she didn't deserve someone like you, anyway!"

I wiped a tear from my eye. "Thanks. You know, you're right. I should tell her." I looked back at the crowd. "Maybe when there're fewer people around, though?"

Karin nodded. "I'd do it that way as well."

***

A little late, I saw Akane sitting next to Gen and talking, excited about something... maybe telling him that she liked me? No, no, probably not that... but I needed to do this before I wimped out. "Akane!"

Akane then looked at me and smiled bright. "Kuroha!" She then jumped up and gave me a tight hug. "I'm so happy to see you!"

I hugged back. "I am too. In fact, there's something I wanted to tell you!"

Akane looked at me with wide eyes. "No way! I wanted to tell you something to!" Akane then let go and backed up slightly. "You can go first if you want."

"I feel like I won't ever say it if I don't, so OK, I'll go first!" I took in a deep breath. "Akane, I like you, like a lot."

Akane smiled bright. "I like you a lot, too!"

"So I wanted to ask you out."

Akane's smile suddenly turned... somewhat forced. "Oh."

Oh? That's... that's it? I looked down. "Oh."

Akane waved her hands in front of her face. "Oh no no no no no! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Akane started hugging me again. "I'm sorry, I'm just not into girls like that, but I really really hope we can still be friends!"

Gen laughed. "With all the hugging, I can see how my dense sister got confused."

Akane let go with a nervous smile. "Oh, mixed messages... yeah, sorry about that."

I tried to smile. "No, it's OK... you can still hug me and such. I mean, I know now just not to read too much into it."

Akane had a soft smile. "I guess I do get a bit touchy feely with my friends." Akane nervously put her hand behind her head. "Anyway, what I wanted to tell you is that I was interested in your brother, Gen. He really seems like a good guy and he really cares about you." Akane nervously put her pointer fingers together. "But if it's too awkward with... this..."

"If you like my brother, go for it!" I chuckled a bit. "Quite frankly I'm amazed someone is actually interested in him."

"I can hear you, you know!" Gen stuck his tongue out at me. I stuck out my tongue back. And Akane was just laughing her head off.

***

I really was happy for Akane and my brother... but at the same time, I was feeling down about it, because I'm an awful, selfish person. I was off by myself, sitting on the floor.

"You should get revenge on Akane." I looked to my left shoulder, and sure enough my devil, Kasumi, was there. "You could drop a washtub on her head, or slam a door in her face, or... or... you're not in the mood for this, huh?"

I shook my head. "Akane is a good person. I'm not doing anything to her."

Kasumi sat down holding her knees, with an unusually concerned expression. "I'm sorry. I thought it might make you feel better... that's not what you need now though, huh."

I rolled my eyes. "So what evil deed are you trying to tempt me into committing today?"

Kasumi shook her head. "None. I'm worried about you."

"You're a shoulder devil. You don't care about me."

"Of course I care!" Kasumi stood back up with fire in her eyes... literal fire, guess it's a devil thing. "I need to cheer you up so you'll want to commit evil deeds!" Kasumi then turned around and crossed her arms over her chest. "And that's all, I don't care about your well being or anything, so don't read too much into it!"

I smirked. "I guess everyone really does have some good in them."

Kasumi wasn't facing me, but I could still see her face going red. "I am not 'someone,' I am a demonic entity! We are completely and utterly evil! Evil is what we literally are!" Kasumi then poofed away with a "hmph." I think I got to her there.

And... I just realized Hisame and Karin were standing in front of me, looking confused, then Hisame knelt down, followed by Karin. "Are you OK?" Hisame asked. "You... said something about Akane."

And I just broke down then and there. I sounded like a mess, and probably looked like a mess too. Hisame and Karin both comforted me.

***

I just needed a good cry. I told Hisame and Karin about what had happened. Karin felt guilty about encouraging me to go for it, but I assured her I was glad to have it out, and Akane still wanted to be friends. Hisame felt guilty too for not noticing my feelings before, and would've helped me through my feelings if she'd known.

We all got a good bit of practice in the following days. With Hiiragi gone, Akane and I convinced Gen to take over hosting duties, and he was nervous at first, but I think he's really got the hang of it. Way to go, big bro!

Azami, Suzuran, Wasabi, they've all been really sweet and apologetic for believing that I pushed Yuzuriha down the stairs. Really, they're harder on themselves than anyone else is. And Momo has been really close herself, even apologizing when she heard about my confession, and apologizing that she too wasn't interested in girls to take Akane's place. It's OK, Momo, I promise, I'm all right now!

And Karin was officially entered into the pageant to stand in for Yuzuriha. And... I really think she's got a good chance to win. She may not be as conventionally beautiful as me, but she's still beautiful in her own way, and honestly, when she tries to pretty herself up she is absolutely stunning! To think a few days ago I couldn't stand her... I really was mad!

***

But finally came the day of the pageant. We were all so happy to see Yuzuriha was allowed to come to see us, she was up front in the audience, and all of us cheered for her hopefully quick recovery. And Tsutsuji was seated next to her... I wish I had that kind of relationship.

We all had our gorgeous formalwear. Our sexy swimsuits... to my surprise, Karin seemed more comfortable with the swimsuit than her fancy dress. We all had our talents. I did a dance on the stage. Karin did a stand-up routine... as much of a stick-in-the-mud I'd seen her as, she really did have a sense of humor that I didn't even bother to notice before. And the interview questions... I think I did well... I don't know how Wasabi did though, she just said 'wasa' over and over, and I'm not quite sure what it all meant. But Karin surprised me, just how sharp she was, with her question about working conditions. She knew her stuff.

In the end, Karin, Hisame, and I were the three finalists on stage. Hisame and I, absolutely predicted here. Karin... I suppose she really was filling in for Yuzuriha here! Gen was standing at the front of the stage, microphone in hand, as he opened the envelope. "Second runner up is Miss Hisame!"

Karin and I hugged Hisame as she congratulated the two of us. "You two deserve this. Good luck!" And Hisame walked over to the other contestants.

Gen talked into the microphone again as he opened another envelope. "And first runner up, who shall take the winner's place, should for any reason the winner need to step down... is Miss Kuroha, the winner is Miss Karin!" I lost. I lost because I opened my stupid mouth and convinced Karin to take Yuzuriha's place in the pageant.

And I couldn't be happier. "I knew you could do it!" I hugged Karin, and the other contestants came up to hug Karin as well. We were all such good people, really, worthy of being called DQN girls... I mean DQN in the good way, that really was a terrible name!

After hopefully not too long, we let go of Karin enough for her to walk up to the microphone and receive her tiara and her bouquet of lilies. Unusual flower choice. "Thank you, everyone." Karin looked back to us and pointed her hand. "I'd like to thank my fellow competitors, who really helped me to blossom on this stage. I could not have done this without them!" And most of the audience probably didn't realize just how true those words were. I could see Yuzuriha and Tsutsuji in the audience, both looking especially happy.

"My my, you were incredible, Karin." Yuzuriha had a warm smile. "I'm glad I was allowed to see you in action."

"Congratulations, Karin!" Tsutsuji cheered from the audience. "I wish I could've entered, but I didn't feel pretty enough... maybe I could have anyway, though."

Karin had a warm smile. "Absolutely, you could."

***

"Congratulations, Karin!" Hisame had a warm smile.

Akane was hugging Karin. "You really shined bright out there."

Momo was practically vibrating in place. "I wish I were more like you, Karin!"

"Why, you're even more elegant than moi." Suzuran put her hand to the side of her mouth. "Oh-ho-ho-ho!"

"Wasa wasa!" Wasabi hugged Karin too.

Azami pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "If you want financial help, I can help you invest your winnings." OK, not quite the spirit of everyone else, but we all know Azami, she really is good with money, though that probably hurt her in the talent portion. We all tried to warn her against financial planning as a talent!

"You were absolutely gorgeous out there!" I hugged Karin too, I couldn't help it! "And smart, and funny, and really, you were the epitome of what a DQN girl could be!"

Karin smirked. "In the good way, right?"

I nodded. "In the good way."

Azami pushed her glasses up her nose again. "Well, since a member of Team Etra won, that means you four have to buy us dinner tonight."

"But she's not a real member of Team Etra, wasa!" Yeah, we know those are crocodile tears, Wasabi.

Akane winked and made a peace sign by her eyes. "Karin is as much an Etra girl as Yuzuriha was. We're not letting you get out of this!"

Karin laughed. "A promise is a promise, after all!"

Momo puffed her cheeks. "Fine, fine, just please don't order the most expensive dishes!"

Akane laughed. "Technically Gen isn't part of Team Etra, so I'll make sure he pays his share as well." Akane winked, then started leaving the dressing room. "Speaking of Gen, I don't want to keep him waiting!" And with that everyone started exiting the dressing room, headed for the restaurant, though I was collecting my thoughts a bit first. Karin also wasn't quite leaving yet... and Hisame paused a bit before leaving.

"Good luck, I'm rooting for you two!" Hisame smiled and gave two thumbs up before leaving. I wasn't quite sure what that was about...

"Kuroha." Karin looked nervous and put her hand behind her head. "I know you used to find me annoying... maybe you still do."

I grabbed Karin's shoulders, looked her fiercely in the eye. "I promise I do not find you annoying at all." I felt a nervous smile come on my face. "Not anymore, at least."

Karin laughed slightly. "I thought so. I always did see you as a friend, though. You really are a great person, and I know I can be a bit pushy sometimes, but I really do care about everyone, and care about my friends."

"Thank you. I really do appreciate that."

"Also, you are very... you're pretty." And Karin blushed. "I know you liked Akane, and I'm truly sorry Akane didn't feel the same way."

"We're still besties, though!" I had a big smile, because I realized we were still really close... and she might even become my sister-in-law one day! Gen, if you screw this up with Akane, I will kill you.

"I know, but..." Karin bit her lip for a moment. "I like you, and if--"

"YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!" I was jumping up and down for a bit before calming myself down. "I'm sorry about that, do go on."

Karin started giggling. It was cute, really. "I would like to go out with you, but if you don't want to, either because you're not over Akane, or I'm not pretty enough, I'd understand..." Karin had a knowing smile on her face. "But I think I already know your answer."

And I hugged and tackled Karin to the floor. "YES!" I started crying. "I was honestly feeling a bit torn between you and Akane after I got to know you, but I didn't really think you liked me like that, and I was close with Akane for longer, so I just... didn't think about it, but oh god, YES!" And I kissed, and she kissed back... it felt really nice... but we could have more fun later, we needed to get to the restaurant. I picked myself and Karin back up, and dusted ourselves off. "I'm sorry about that... got a little excited."

"I'll say." Karin gave me a kiss on my cheek. "See you at the restaurant! Just need to make a phone call first." And Karin walked out of the dressing room, and I was standing there alone, trying to get out of my stunned state so I could start walking.

"You did it!" Ah, Kasumi, I looked over to my shoulder and there Kasumi was. "I really shouldn't be saying this, I could lose my job and all, but I am happy for you, really." Kasumi winked. "I just hope she isn't too much of a good influence on you."

I shook my head. "I'm still the same messed up girl... just hopefully a little better."

"But not too much." Kasumi had a sneaky grin. "So what kind of bad things are you and Karin going to do tonight?" Kasumi was rubbing her hands together.

"You don't have to answer!" I looked over to my other shoulder, and there was a brown-haired woman with a braid, wearing a wire with a halo on top. Must've been my actual shoulder angel. And she was drenched and covered in seaweed for some reason. The woman pointed at Kasumi. "And YOU, you threw me in a safe and tried to drown me!" So I guess that explains her absence.

Kasumi was moving her hand like a puppet. "Oh Kurumi, you talk too much. You need to learn to lighten up and let Kuroha live and have fun! She just got a new girlfriend!"

Kurumi then smiled sweetly at me. "Oh, that's wonderful! Congratulations, Kuroha!" Kurumi then glared at Kasumi and pointed her halo down, and took out a bat filled with nails, patting it in the palm of her other hand. "But YOU, Kasumi, I am going to teach you to be a kind demonic entity even if I have to kill you."

Kasumi then took out a straw doll with brown hair and a braid, Kurumi apparently. "And I will teach you to let Kuroha have fun, even if you have to suffer a fate worse than death!" Ah, good to have my angel back... maybe? I wasn't sure.

"Kuroha, are you coming?" Karin peeked her head in the door.

"Sorry about that, be right there!" I took Karin's hand and left.