Neko Mimi 4- The Copy Catgirl
Here you go, everyone. I hope you all enjoy the next Neko Mimi chapter, which is in part inspired by the third file in the Neko Mimi hypno series. Any constructive criticism is welcome, and I hope you enjoy!
"Are you ready for this, Aerilla?" S.A.R.A. asked me as I peered out from behind my hiding place. Rachel was scanning the crowds looking for me(well, Dan, who is also me.), looking worried and confused.
"As much as I can be." I let out a long sigh as I leaned back against the mall directory. I knew I'd have to come out of the superhero closet at some point, but less than two months after joining the Sentella was a lot sooner than I planned. "How are your repairs going?"
"Slowly." S.A.R.A. looked over some of the wounds on her body, bites and cuts from the various spiders that had attacked her when she tripped a virus that was on my team-mates phones. She held one of her attackers in a pink sphere in one paw, the hairy brown spider trying to break free of the quarantine while she tended to her wounds with the other. "I will need Vixie to complete full repairs."
"Great, and I can't go to ANY of the girls right now." I took one last deep breath; here goes nothing... "Hi there!"
I can't really blame Rachel for the look of shock and confusion on her face as I stepped out from behind the directory, smiling and waving. Today was just supposed to be a simple day of shopping, a movie and some quality gaming time with her friend Dan; now he had suddenly dropped out of sight while she was looking for a new smart phone, and this strange catgirl she'd never met before was suddenly coming up to her. She looked around after a moment to make sure I wasn't talking to anybody else, but there was no one other than a couple of curious onlookers.
"Um, hello..." Rachel tilted her head a little as she looked me over. The white blouse, flared pink miniskirt and pink heels were the first outfit I've worn as a catgirl other than my normal Sentella uniform, and I think I wore it very well. It was also the first time I'd changed my hairstyle, tying back my normally free flowing hair into a ponytail with the Ribbon Whip. She didn't cause a scene or run away at seeing the orange cat ears, tail or pink collar and heart shaped pendant around my neck, and I let out a little sigh of relief in my head for having dodged the worst end result of revealing my other side to Rachel.
"Do I know you?" Not that she still didn't seem uncomfortable; I was still a strange looking girl who she'd never seen before, after all.
"Nope, but I know you!" I swished my tail back and forth, keeping up my bright smile and positive tone of voice.
"You do?" Rachel shifted her purse behind her. She tried to move slowly and keep it casual as she kept her voice calm, but I could tell she was searching for something in her purse. "I'm sorry, but I don't know yo-"
"You're Dan's friend, Rachel!"
"Huh?" I had her full attention when she heard my human name. "You know Dan? Is he O.K? Did something happen to him? We were just shopping together, and he was looking at the TV's, and when I went to find him he was gone. Did he get hurt?"
"Oh no, he's fine. I..."
I am him, Rachel. I know, it's really weird, but I need you to help me right now. Something's gone really wrong, and I could be in a lot of trouble, and I really didn't want to do this to you, but I knew I'd have to at some point, and I hope you understand.
"I just met him. He went off to work."
Sigh; and the lies just keep on coming.
"Let me introduce myself. My name's Aerilla, and I'm with the Sentella." I dug into the small pink clutch purse studded with plastic white hearts at my side and pulled out my official Sentella I.D. card, holding it out for Rachel to see. "We're a group of girls who are trying to protect the Earth from the Shadowed One's that are trying to enslave the planet."
"I see. And did you meet Dan during your duties?" Rachel asked. She seemed to be taking me seriously, although she still didn't look too comfortable.
"Well, sorta. Today's my day off, but I'm never really off duty. I saw your friend a little while ago looking kinda upset, so I asked him what was wrong. He said he just a phone call from his job, and they needed him right away. He said something about, 'those morons that are my co-workers' had messed something up bad, and they needed him in right away to fix it."
"That does sound like something he'd say." Rachel admitted with a slight nod of her head. "So did you help him somehow?"
"Yup! I used my magic to teleport him to his job so he can help them right away. But he said he didn't just want to leave his friend behind, either. I couldn't do his job for him, but I promised I would look after his friend in his place, so here I am!" I smiled, then tilted my head a little at seeing Rachel's concerned look. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Oh, no, I don't mind." Rachel sighed a little. "I mean, I do mind that Dan just left without talking to me, but I guess it can't be helped now."
"I'm sorry, Rachel." My ears folded back a little as I apologized.
"Hmm? Why are you sorry, Aerilla? You were just trying to help."
"Huh? Oh! That's what Dan said, that he was sorry!" I blushed a little as I tried to recover. "He swore he'd make it up to you later."
Rachel smiled a little. "Yeah, he's pretty good about that. Do you mind waiting out here for a minute, Aerilla? I just need to finish up talking with the sales guy about my new phone, and you can pick up where Dan left off with our shopping."
"Sure, no problem!" Rachel made her way back into the Must Buy as I kept up my big smile and swishing tail. It was only when she was fully out of sight that I let out a big sigh of relief.
I pulled out my Sentella phone, watching S.A.R.A continue to make her repairs as I hoped my crazy plan would work.
It had all started yesterday. I was in the middle of my shift when I felt my Crystal Star pulsing, and Sera's voice summoning me to help with a new Shadowed One. It was the busiest part of the workday, and I knew I needed a good excuse to leave. The best I could come up with was claiming to be sick(I used, "explosive" to describe what I had. Let your mind fill in the details).
They did end up letting me go, but only after I finished all my work in front of me, and that took a while. By the time I got out, transformed and joined the rest of the team, they were being sealed up in web cocoons by a giant, hairy brown spider. I've never been a big fan of bugs, so I had no problem sending a couple of blasts to the back of its head before it even realized I was there. Silver showed up on the scene soon after while I tried my best to keep the spider away from my team-mates, his sword making quick work of the web. Once the Sentella was back at full strength, we squished that spider with ease.
After that and all the training and battling I've been doing the past couple of weeks, the rest of the Sentella agreed that I could use a day off to spend with Rachel, and that they'd only call for me if they really needed me. I'd taken my Crystal Star with me today anyway just in case of an emergency. Thank the gods and goddesses I did, because I was in the middle of one hell of an emergency now.
While Rachel was getting a new phone and I was off drooling over the 60+ inch HDTV's, my Crystal Star started to pulse and glow. The promotional video on the TV in front of me suddenly changed to a local news station that was covering an interesting story. Apparently somewhere on the other side of the city, a cat burglar was running around robbing stores and stealing valuables, and causing quite a scene doing it. There was an emphasis on the, "cat", part of that statement, which witness descriptions and a sketch of the suspect quickly offering an explanation.
It was me! It couldn't be me, but the sketch and description was a perfect match to Aerilla; a early to mid 20's blond haired woman with a pink dress, orange cat ears and tail, and firing, "pink laser beams", as one witnessed described. No one had been seriously injured, but the police were combing the area for the suspect. S.A.R.A. had immediately tried to contact the rest of the Sentella, and that's when she'd run into the virus.
"So we're pretty sure that virus infected the rest of the team's phones while they were caught up in that spider web, right S.A.R.A.?" I asked as I pulled my phone out again, checking on my holographic helper. I'd modified her original look from being a mirror opposite of the catgirl me to a golden furred kitsune woman. She wore a dress similar to my usual Sentella uniform. It was the same pink color and had the same design on the upper half of her body, though the lower half was extended almost all the way down to her feet; mine barely goes past my butt. She was also barefoot, standing on a pair of slightly oversized paw-like feet.
"That does seem to be the case. The fact that the virus attacked my GPS chip and its history first supports that theory." S.A.R.A. looked with distain at the spider trapped in her sphere. "And the virus is also a psychic one, making contacting them through your Crystal Star dangerous as well. It seems the Shadowed One's are trying their best to make you look guilty in the eyes of your team mates."
"Right, and we discussed a couple different ways about how to handle it. We decided trying to confront the clone right away was the worst idea. If I got spotted as Aerilla running around in the same area as the clone, people would probably think I was the guilty one and send the cops after me." Not to mention that I've never confronted a Shadowed One on my own before, and I wasn't keen to start with a Shadow Servant for my first solo battle. From what Vixie has told me, the big, ugly monsters are actually the easiest type of enemy we can face. More humanoid enemies are direct servants of the Shadow Queen, and it takes much more dark energy for them to teleport onto the planet than to summon a mindless beast. The tradeoff is that Servants are much more intelligent and powerful.
"And trying just to hide or run will not work either. It would only make you look more guilty, and in my damaged state, I can offer no evidence to prove you were elsewhere when the incidents took place. That's when I suggested we use Rachel to help."
That did seem like the best plan. As a huge crime show and mystery buff, I've noticed that when someone gets set up for a crime they didn't commit, they fall under suspicion because they have a crummy alibi and no one to back it up. If proving my innocence was going to be impossible, the next best thing I could do was bulletproof my alibi.
But then S.A.R.A. bought up the potential flaws with that plan. If I steered my team-mates toward Rachel, her word probably wouldn't mean much if she said she was with Dan the whole time. It wouldn't be a stretch to think one friend would lie to protect another. Plus, how the hell would I explain to Rachel later why a group of magical girls were asking about where her friend was in the first place? She's no dummy; at the very least she would have questions. I doubt she'd figure out her friend Dan was really a magical catgirl, but she'd have questions and think I was hiding something from her. I am, but I don't want her to think I am.
After mulling that over for a minute, I got an idea. It was desperate, and there's a lot that could go wrong, but it's also just crazy enough to work. Having Rachel find out I was a part-time magical catgirl is the last thing I wanted to have happen, and my team-mates know that. While it wouldn't mean much to have Rachel say that she was with her friend, the Sentella would know something was really weird if Rachel said she was with Aerilla, and would make my claims that it's my evil clone doing all those crimes seem not so crazy.
So after confirming there were no phone booths available, I headed for a nearby men's room. After checking to make sure I was alone, I locked the door and transformed. S.A.R.A. activated while I was transforming, and modified the energy that makes up my Sentella uniform into the current outfit I was wearing. While the cat ears and tail might make me stick out a bit, wearing a different outfit than the catgirl being pursued would help keep me from being mistaken for the culprit and back up my story with Rachel that I just ran into her friend while I was shopping. Once I finished transforming, I quickly made my way back toward Rachel. Part of that was to get to her before she started to really worry, but losing sight of all the people staring at the strange girl who just came out of the men's room offered a little extra motivation.
"O.K., so I got back together with Rachel. Now I'm just gonna hang out with her for a while, get my alibi solidified, then go after the clone." S.A.R.A. nodded her confirmation of my summary. While I wasn't thrilled to be using Rachel like this, I didn't really have much of a choice. I needed someone I could trust to help me, and it wasn't like I was asking her to battle a Shadowed One with me. And while it might seem odd to her that Aerilla appeared at the same time Dan disappeared, it would be a lot easier to explain that away than try to convince her that there's no reason to worry about why a strange group of girls were asking about where her friend was.
RING-RING-RING! RING-RING-RING! PHONE CALL! PHONE CALL!
"Myah!" Note to self; need new ringtones. "S.A.R.A, didn't you say that virus would block the Sentella's phone calls to me?"
"It is. This call is being forwarded to your Sentella-phone from your normal cell phone. Rachel is trying to contact Dan."
"Uh-oh!" Selling Rachel on the idea that Dan and Aerilla are two separate people was going to be kinda hard if Aerilla answered his phone. "What do I do?!"
"Why don't you have Dan answer?"
S.A.R.A. appeared to reach behind herself for a moment before holding out her free hand to me. Floating above her hand was a little red bow-tie which started to rotate around. As it turned, I noticed the back part of it had strange dials on the back of it, as well as miniature speakers. It was a strange looking thing, but somehow it struck me as familiar. I don't wear a lot of ties, and none of them are bow-ties, so where have I... oh!
"A voice modulator! Awesome; thank you, S.A.R.A!"
S.A.R.A. smiled a little as she dropped the bow-tie, becoming an icon on my phone where it landed. "I thought you would appreciate it. I am designed to meet the unique needs of each Sentella member. As the only one whose gender changes upon accessing your powers, something that allows you to sound like your human self while in Sentella form would be highly beneficial. I got the idea from your favorite mystery manga series."
"Great! Quick, how do I use it?" S.A.R.A. gave me instructions as I tapped the icon. A spectrograph appeared on the screen, with the name Dan on the top of the screen.
"Dan? Dan! Are you there?!" Rachel sounded half annoyed and half worried when I finally picked up.
"Yeah, Rachel, it's me." As I spoke, the spectrograph reacted to my voice. After a slight pause, my words were replayed back to Rachel in my human voice. "Awesome, it works!"
"Huh? What works?"
"Er, nothing." I stepped back behind the mall directory as I continued the conversation. I doubt Rachel could see me from the store, but better safe than sorry. "I take it that you're calling because you met Aerilla, right?"
"Yeah. You know, you could have told me yourself that your job called you. You had me really worried for a few minutes."
"I'm sorry..." I scrambled to piece together a viable story as I apologized. "She came up to me as soon as I hung up with work. She seemed really concerned, and she offered to help when I told her work needed me right away. The next thing I knew, I was there. Then I told her about you, and she offered to stay with you in my place and make sure you got everything you needed. She seems a little over-enthusiastic, but I think she's a good person."
"That's true. A little odd, maybe, but she does seem nice. It's just been so long since we've had some time to hang out together. Can't they leave you alone once in a while?" Rachel asked.
"I ask myself that every day. I really need the money, though, so it's hard to say no to work."
"I know. Tell them to leave you alone next time we hang out, O.K? We barely ever get to do that anymore."
"I will, Rachel, I promise." I sighed a little. "Listen, I better go. How they hell did they even do this?..."
"Alright. Good bye, Dan."
"Bye, Rachel." I hung up and sighed again as S.A.R.A. re-emerged on my phone.
"I know it hurts to lie, but you're doing it for her protection." She tried to reassure me. "And perhaps her spending time with Aerilla will help advance your relationship with Rachel."
"Really?" I tilted my head as I looked down at her. "How so?"
"You do eventually plan to tell Rachel the whole truth one day, correct?" I nodded. "Then it may be easier for her to accept the idea of Aerilla and Dan being the same person if she establishes a relationship with Aerilla."
"I hope so. She means so much to me, and if I lost her, lost her friendship..." I shook my head, trying to banish those thoughts from my head. "I don't wanna think about it."
"I understand. But what about the person you designed my current form off of? You said that it was based off someone close to you, although you've not given any details about it. Do you not have a strong relationship with her?"
"It's... complicated." I smiled gently, my finger gently stroking the head of my assistant. She really does look just like her..."She does have a strong connection to me, and in some ways she means even more to me than Rachel. But being with her like I want to be with Rachel is impossible, and it'd be wrong on a number of levels to think otherwise."
"Aerilla!"
I put away my Sentella phone when I heard Rachel calling for me and went back to her as she emerged from the Must Buy.
"All set?"
Rachel nodded, holding out her new smart-phone. "It's all activated and ready to go."
"Great! So, where do you want to head to now?" I asked.
"Well, I was gonna pick up some new clothes, but..."
"But what?"
"Nothing, it's just... I'm sure you're a busy woman, Aerilla, and I doubt having to babysit me is what you wanted to do on your day off. If you have something else you'd rather be doing, I'll be O.K. I am a grown woman after all; I can take care of myself." Rachel tried to reassure me.
"I'm sure you can, but I made a promise to your friend that I would be here for you in his place. A good hero always does her best to keep her promises!" My tail swished back and forth as I smiled.
"Well, alright. You sound pretty determined, and it's not like I could stop you if you followed me anyway. Come on; the Fashion Lady is down this way." Rachel took the lead down the walkway while I bought up the rear a few steps behind her.
I was surprised by the overall lack of attention we seemed to be gathering as we entered the boutique. There were a couple of glances here and there, but apparently cat ears and a tail on an otherwise human girl didn't register more than a blip on most people's radar. Maybe it was the magic of my Crystal Star, or maybe people are more jaded than I thought.
"So, Aerilla..." Rachel turned to me as we stepped into the store. "Did you have your eye on any new outfits?"
"Outfits?" I blinked as I looked over the wide range of feminine clothes and accessories on display. Usually when Rachel wants to go in these kind of stores I either wait outside or go to another store and meet up with her later. "Not really, no."
"No?" Rachel looked a little puzzled at my response. "Well, you should look around a bit. This store has a pretty wide selection."
"Sure, I'll take a look." Rachel started off on her own, quickly grabbing a couple of tops from a nearby rack. After a little more hesitation, I stepped in and started to check some things out myself.
My initial intention was to just grab one or two things; a new shirt, maybe a pair of pants, nothing more than that. At least that's how I planned to go about it. Before I knew it, though, I had almost a dozen different pieces of clothing I was taking back to the dressing rooms to try on. While my current outfit was nice, I couldn't wear the same thing every day. A couple new tops, a few pairs of pants, and I did see a cute black dress out there. It probably costs way too much, and the one out there didn't really look like my size, but I should ask if they have anymore in the back. A beautiful girl should have some beautiful clothes, right?
"I am a beautiful girl, aren't I?" I studied the mirror in front of me as I slipped out of a pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt. Just in my panties and bra(pink, of course), I took a good, long look at myself. This was the first time I've ever turned into Aerilla for some reason other than battling a monster or training with my teammates. Sometimes we'll have tea and snacks after training, or I'll answer their questions they have about Earth, but we've never had a girl's night out or anything like that. Maybe it was fate that my first social activity as a girl was with the girl I care about the most.
That may have helped, but somehow I knew it was more than Rachel's company that was keeping this from being overwhelming weird. I've always kept my personal life, work life and family life pretty well separated from one another, and this was just one more thing to manage. It helps too that I've had a number of different characters and personas(and fursonas) throughout the years that I've played as. In some ways Aerilla was really just another persona, albeit one with an actual body, powers and responsibilities to go along with it. I smiled a little to myself as I started to get back into my blouse and skirt.
"Yeah, I am beautiful, and I make these clothes look good. Dan..." I looked in the mirror briefly once I was redressed. A quick image flashed through my mind of what my human self would've looked like in this outfit, and I had to fight down the rising taste of bile in my throat. It wasn't so much the idea of being a guy wearing girl's clothes, but the thought of a 6 foot, 200 pound guy trying to wear the same thing a girl 4 inches shorter and 50 pounds or more lighter than him that made me shudder in repulsion. "...Dan, not so much."
Shaking that image from my mind, I gathered up my purchases and went back into the store to find Rachel standing on the end of the line.
"Well, it looks like you found some things after all." Rachel noted as I quickly moved into line behind her.
"Yeah, you were right about this place." I showed her a couple of the things I had picked out. "I'm just not used to wearing clothes like this, so I guess I was a little unsure of what I was doing at first."
"Not used to it? Do you mean you don't shop here normally?"
I nodded. "Normally I don't look too good in this kind of stuff."
"I see." Rachel glanced over as a cashier called her over. "Guess it's my turn."
"You mean our turn!" I followed Rachel up to the register, pulling out my Universal(accepted literally anywhere in the universe, according to the promotion) credit card. "Put it all on this, please."
"Aerilla, that's too generous of you." Rachel shook her head as the clerk gave my card a strange look. "I've got a lot of stuff here, and we just met-"
"Please, I insist!" I gently waved Rachel off as she started to reach into her purse for her wallet. "It's the least I could do for my friend."
"Your friend?" Rachel seemed a little taken aback by that statement. "Oh... well, thank you, Aerilla."
"You're welcome! I'm just glad I could help." Plus this will create a paper trail for my alibi in case your word isn't enough for the Sentella, I added silently.
The clerk finished ringing our purchases and seemed a little surprised when my card was accepted. She handed it back, along with our purchases. As we left the store, we decided that we'd stop by the Moondollars coffee shop.
Rachel led the way, allowing me to staring longingly after her without her noticing. It's a common activity for me when we hang out, although this was the first time I was doing it as a girl myself. Damn it, why I can't I tell her the truth? I'm willing to do anything for her, give up anything to be with her, but every time I try to say any of that my throat tightens up, my hands get cold and clammy, and my heart starts to race.
My crippling shyness aside, it doesn't help that Rachel and I are nearly polar opposites in terms of physical attractiveness. I'm not in great shape as a guy, and rather plain otherwise in terms of looks. By contrast, she always looks beautiful with almost no effort. Some of my female co-workers will spend an hour getting all dolled up just to come to work, but I've never had to wait more than five minutes for Rachel to get herself put together to hang out. Sure, she doesn't have super-model curves or dress in suggestive or racy outfits, but no one would consider her ugly. Knowing that there was a beautiful soul behind her beautiful face just made her all the more desirable.
"Why don't you grab a table, Aerilla? I'll place our orders." Rachel offered as we entered the coffee shop.
"Sure. I'll take a large latte with lots of milk and sugar." She nodded and went to place our order while I found a table for us.
I gave a brief scan of the shop as I settled in my seat, noticing that several people seemed to be staring at something in my direction. Glancing out the window of the coffee shop didn't show anything strange or interesting going on behind me, so what had their attention?
"Our drinks will be ready in a minute, Aerilla." Rachel look of confusion matched my own. "What's wrong, Aerilla?"
"I dunno, but everyone keeps looking this way. Did I not see something?" I asked, still looking for what had everyone's attention.
"You mean you really don't know?" I shook my head at Rachel's question. "They're looking at you, Aerilla."
"M-Me?!" I fought down a blush as I felt my tail curl around my leg nervously. "Why me?!"
"You're a very beautiful looking girl, Aerilla. Most people like to look at beautiful things."
"I know, but I'm not used to people looking like that at ME, though."
"... You're really not, are you?" Rachel sat down with me as I squirmed nervously in my chair, torn between trying to shrink into my seat or straightening up so everyone could get a better look. "I almost thought you were exaggerating at first, but you're really not used to all this attention."
"N-No, I'm not." Most of the eyes on me belong to guys, though there were a few girls mixed in as well. I gave them all a little wave as I tried to stay calm. I thought I made for a very beautiful girl, but it's a lot different when someone else feels the same way about you. Conversations with Silver haven't been too deep(we're usually too busy fighting for our lives to chit-chat), but even his simple compliments cause a little spike in my heart rate.
"I think our drinks are ready. Are you going to be alright?" I nodded and watched as Rachel left to grab our orders.
I tried my best to look cheerful and confident as I waited. According to Sera, one of the reasons us Sentella members look so beautiful is to inspire others. The Shadows feed off the darkness in people's hearts to gain power and followers. Seeing us fighting for them and showing the true ugliness of the darkness helps inspire people and resist the dark whispers of the Shadows. It's as much a battle for hearts and minds as it is a physical battle.
"Aerilla, I'm sorry if this sounds weird, but I have to ask. Are those real?"
"Huh?" Rachel's question caught me off guard as she put my drink down in front of me.
"I'm sorry, but they're just so big, I didn't think they could be real. I thought for sure they were some kind of implant, but they seem totally natural for you. They are real, aren't they?" Rachel asked as she took her seat.
"W-What?!" I thought they were kinda big, but I didn't think they were so big you'd think they were fake... "Why would you think they were fake?"
"Well, it's not everyday you see someone with cat ears. I couldn't help but be a little suspicious." Rachel blushed a little as she explained herself. "It sounds weird to ask, I know..."
"My ears? Oh! My ears!" They folded down a little, then went back to their normal position as I kept my hands on my coffee cup. "Yup, they're all real!"
"I see." Rachel tilted her head a little. "Did you think I was talking about something else?"
"Um..." I glanced down briefly at my chest before looking back to her. "Nope!"
After how things ended after my first two battles, I kind of suspected I would be getting to know this body a lot more intimately. So far that hasn't really panned out. I do feel kind of weird using my super hero form just for sex, so the only times I've transformed were to battle or train. A battle to the death against an ugly monster isn't much of a turn on, and I'm usually too busy trying to survive my group training sessions to think much about sex.
Solo training sessions with Regina are just about as hard to survive, but sometimes more primal thoughts sneak their way into my head. When I have a beautiful blue eyed girl with long brown hair and wolf ears literally an inch from my face as she pins me to the floor, telling me how I need to focus and be prepared for our enemy to use anything to get an advantage over me, it's tough to block out those feelings entirely. Even more so when I can feel her nails through my uniform as she slowly traces the outline of my body. With her chest pressed against mine, she told me that our enemy will have their way with me if I'm defeated, and finished up by telling me that right now, she was my enemy.
So, yeah, sometimes I get a little worked up. And while I've never transformed just to play with myself, there have been a couple of times when I get back late to my apartment after a battle or training session, and I'm alone, and... well, I don't transform back to normal right away.
Rachel and I chatted for a while, getting to know each other a bit better. We went over a lot of old ground for me, like how Rachel worked as a substitute teacher at a local elementary school and how she lived in an apartment a few blocks down from my own place. I couldn't exactly tell her the whole truth about myself, but I tried to be as honest as possible. I told her about how becoming a member of the Sentella just kinda fell into my lap, and that it was really weird and dangerous but also really exciting. I told her a bit about the rest of the Sentella and Silver Wolf, and admitted to how tough it was to juggle being a superhero and a normal girl(I had to catch myself from saying normal guy), and how it didn't really leave a lot of time for much else, including relationships.
"So there's no one special in your life right now?" Rachel asked. "That Silver Wolf guy you were telling me about sounds kinda cute. Not really my type, but cute."
"Yeah he is..." I blushed a little as I nodded. "He doesn't stick around too long after a battle, though, so I really don't know much about him."
"Maybe you know more than you think." Rachel suggested after taking a sip of her drink. "If this were like your average magical girl anime, Silver Wolf's secret identity would be somebody really close to you, someone you probably never really thought of before."
"That would mean Silver Wolf would have to be..." I looked Rachel over for a moment, giggling slightly and shaking my head. "I don't think that's the case."
"If you say so." Rachel shrugged as she finished up her drink. "We've been here for a while. Do you have anywhere you want to go, Aerilla?
"Aerilla." S.A.R.A. called to me from my purse. S.A.R.A. is designed so that only me or other Sentella members can see or hear her, so Rachel was unaware anyone else was a part of our conversation. "I believe we have gathered enough evidence to prove your innocence. Perhaps we should move to find the clone."
She was probably right. I had Rachel as an alibi, a list of purchases, and plenty of witnesses. I should probably move to confront the clone before she did any serious damage to my reputation or any innocent civilians.
After a pause, I nodded. "Let's go to the bookstore. Just give me a second to use the bathroom."
I could her S.A.R.A's protests as I made my way to the coffee shops restroom. I quickly pulled out my Sentella-phone once I close the door behind me.
"Aerilla, we can not ignore the threat of this clone. Your alibi is secured. Your priority should be stopping the Shadowed One." S.A.R.A. chastised me as she rose from the phone.
"I know, I know..." I sighed, then shook my head. "But we don't know exactly where the clone is, and Rachel really seems to like Aerilla. I don't want to run around on some wild goose chase that may not even help us find the clone."
"I understand your point, and I know this has been hard on you. You want to spend as much time with Rachel as you can, but your Sentella duties must come first. Your friendship will mean little if the Shadow's take over your world."
"They will come first, I promise. Your TV and radio functions still work, right?" S.A.R.A. confirmed that with a nod. "Monitor them and let me know if you get an exact location on the clone. I promise, the second you pin down her location, I'll go after her."
"Alright. I will alert you as soon as I hear something. Be ready to leave at any moment." S.A.R.A. returned into the Sentella-phone, and I returned to Rachel.
Rachel and I continued our shopping trip, all of which I put on the Sentella's tab. Books, games, sunglasses, and perfumes were added to the collection of clothes we'd gathered earlier. I offered to carry some of her stuff for her when I saw it was starting to weigh her down a little. She started to say something about how she wasn't sure I could handle anymore weight and that she was fine, at which point I set my things down on a nearby bench. Her protests were cut short when I lifted the bench clear over my head with only the slightest of exertion. While she got over her shock, I set it back down and grabbed her things and my own.
"Oh! Let's go there!" I pointed to Bahama-Momma's Day Spa. It had a reputation for being super expensive, but also worth every penny. Rachel's always wanted to check it out, but never could justify the cost.
"Aerilla, please. This is way to-whoa!" She tried to dig her feet in as I moved behind her and started pushing her towards the spa entrance. "Aerilla, stop!"
"I'm not taking no for an answer. You're my friend, and I'm gonna treat you everything you deserve." The staff looked confused and slightly alarmed at the sight of a catgirl loaded down with shopping bags pushing another girl into the spa. When I dropped my card on the front desk and told them I wanted the works for me and my friend, any concern or alarm was replaced by eager anticipation. Money can buy a whole lot of acceptance.
Before I knew it I was on a massage table with only a towel across my butt for clothing. The elderly Asian woman attending to me worked magic on my body, her hands slowly massaging and working out kinks I didn't even know I had.
"Kitty like?" The woman asked as I practically melted under her touch.
"Purrr..." I nodded my approval, casting a casual glance over at Rachel. She was being attending to by a pair of good looking guys as she got a mud facial and a mani-pedi combo. "Kitty like..."
After what seemed like a blissful eternity, a fluffy white bathrobe was slipped over me. We switched places, Rachel offering me a silent, "Thank you" as we passed each other.
Years of working retail have meant that I've dealt with plenty of assholes and jerks, and I've had to quash many a knee-jerk reaction to return the favor or worse. An asshole to me could be the most important person in the world to someone else, and it's not up to me to choose who gets saved and who doesn't. If I was going to proud of myself for being a real hero, I would have to serve and protect everyone, jerks and all.
As I watched the spa staff attending to our every want and desire, I had to admit it did feel good to be the one being attended and served to for the moment.
A mud facial and a set of freshly trimmed nails later, I redressed and retied my hair before being called over to a chair by a young lady with a large selection of nail polishes.
"Why don't you go with the hot pink?" Rachel suggested as she walked by when she saw my hesitation. "It'd look really cute on you."
"It would?" Well, if she thinks it will be..."O.K., let's go with the pink then!"
"Aerilla, listen to this." S.A.R.A. emerged from my nearby Sentella phone as the woman went to work painting my fingernails. She waved forward a T.V news report that was playing behind her for me to see.
"We've received an update on the cat burglar that has been terrorizing the city." The overly-done woman read from behind her news desk. "Local authorities have lost sight of the suspect. Reports indicate she is heading for the local mall. Citizens are urged to contact the police if they come across the thief."
"She's here?!" I gave the lady painting my nails quite a start as I practically jumped out of the chair, grabbing my Sentella phone and purse. "Alright, I'm going after her!"
"Ma'am, I've only done two of your nails!" The nail technician protested.
"No time! I gotta go to work!" I yelled to her as I quickly got back into my heels. "Rachel, stay here!"
I could hear Rachel calling after me as I ran outside. It didn't take long for the sound of breaking glass and alarms to reach my sensitive ears, and I moved quickly to confront my clone.