Chapter 1

The inky tentacles yanked harshly, pulling Magical Starry to her knees on the wet concrete. She bit her lip, ignoring the errant, tickling feeling of them wandering up her thighs to focus on the real danger here. The woman approaching her smirked.

"Not on your game today, are you Star Girl?" Vincenza taunted. The rings on her fingers glimmered in the dim light from the streetlights as she commanded the tentacles with a flick. They wiggled up under her skirt and rubbed along Starry’s pussy, coating her panties in slime.

"Oh, fuck you," The magical girl muttered - as much as she struggled against the restraining tentacles, they didn't budge, and the wiggling only served to make her body hotter and her panties wetter. The skin burned and tingled against the contact, despite the thin barrier of fabric. As they slid over her clit, she twitched, trying to keep her head straight.

Vinceza stopped before her prone form. Even if she'd been standing, the other woman was much taller than Starry; but on her knees like this, the villian truly towered over her, nearly six feet of immaculately-dressed gentlewoman against a tiny schoolgirl, her blue and white costume disheveled and dirty, pigtails tangled and sweaty.

"You're still talking pretty big, considering your situation," Vincenza said, running her tongue over her bottom lip and flipping her short black hair to the side. She made another motion with her hand, and the tentacle at Starry’s panties slipped under them, rubbing against her bare flesh, teasing at her entrance. The magical girl made an undignified squeak, her cheeks turning new shades of red. Vincenza laughed.

"You're not going to get away with this," Magical Starry said, gritting her teeth against the rising pleasure between her legs. "I won't let you." The tentacle ran circled around the ringed flesh, occasionally gently poking at her entrance with a slimy thin tip.

Vincenza laughed. "That's not what it looks like, now does it?" She snapped his fingers, the sharp sound triggering the tentacle to penetrate. Starry shrieked, mind reeling as it quickly went to work, surging to fill her pussy just enough to stretch her, then slapping in and out with no remorse.

"This is the end, Magical Starry."

Magical Starry struggled to keep her mind focused through the barrage of sensation. The thrusts of the tentacle rang through her head like a bell, scattering her thoughts as they went - despite herself, she let out small gasps and moans as it fucked her, her nerves afire. Every thrust felt like just a bit more than she could bear, slowly pulling her apart with pleasure. She had to keep together -- just follow the plan ---

"B- Blair! Now!"

Vincenza whipped around as a gold and blue blur shot by her - as the wand flew towards her, the tentacles loosened just enough to her to grab it. In a bright light, they were cast off, leaving a glowing Magical Starry. The wand expanded to its full staff form, the inner star spinning with energy. She pointed it at the woman before her.

"I've got you this time! Starry Purification!" A blast of blue and gold energy shot out, blinding her with her own power. Wings of light wrapped around the targeted area, and exploded into sparkling stars ...

But when they cleared, no one was there. Magical Starry cursed, looking around frantically. A chuckle drew her eyes upwards to the balcony of a nearby building, where Vincenza leaned with a smug expression.

"Good try, girl. You almost fooled me." She said. Starry jumped to follow her, floating on her spectral wings, but Vincenza flash-stepped to the roof, her rings glimmering in the moonlight. "See you next time." She called, and continued her escape across the rooftops.

"Don't run away, damnit! Fight me!" Starry yelled, throwing a bolt of magic after the retreating form - but it missed, and once she jumped to the roof to follow her, her enemy was barely a flickering speck in the distance.

Starry clenched her fists and prepared to follow it anyway - but as she did, a small white cat jumped on her shoulder, knocking her off balance and landing her ass-first. "Don't waste your time. She's gone." It said, tail wrapping around her shoulder.

"Damnit," she cursed. As much as she hated to admit it, Blair was right - Vincenza had gotten away from her, again. It’d been a good chance, too. "How am I supposed to catch her, anyway? Stupid teleporting asshole."

"We had a good tactic this time. Just didn't have the timing right." Blair said. "Furthermore, you were supposed to do a hand signal for your wand, not yell at me."

Starry blushed. "Well, um -- I was a little out of it, alright?! You try focusing on hand signals with a tentacle in your vag sometime!"

The cat's ears twitched. "I'll put it on my list," he said dryly, and hopped down. "The area is clear, by the way."

Taking the hint, Starry floated down from the roof to the alley and transformed back to her normal form. Where there once was a magical girl, ethereal in shades of baby blue, white, and gold, there was now a mere woman, just 20. Her hair went from twintails decorated with stars to a lazy ponytail, the color from a pastel blue to a blue-black - her eyes turned from a spectacular gold to a plain brown, though a blue sparkle remained to them. Her elaborate outfit changed to a well-worn cardigan and jeans. Her body shape in general stayed the same; her B-cup breasts kept their shape, and she was no more or less curvy elsewhere. Unfortunately, this also left her pussy dripping, making a mess of her normal panties.

No longer a hero of justice, Hoshiko let out a sigh and stretched - she was itching to fap and her back was stiff, but there wasn't time for that now. The sun would be up in about an hour.

Blair rubbed against her leg. "Are you nervous about today?"

Hoshiko started off in no particular direction. True to Blair's word, this area of town was conveniently free of civilians at this time of night - not even a police officer to question her nighttime walk. "Of course I am." She said. "But it's our only option, right?"

"I'm sure there were others," Blair said.

"And what are they?" She asked. The cat said nothing in reply, merely looked away. "That's what I thought. It doesn't count if you don't know what they are.” She let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through her hair. “Look, have you ever heard of a homeless magical girl? I haven’t. I can handle spongebathing a creepy old lady or whatever if that’s what it takes to have a roof over our heads.”

“I’m just saying its dangerous.” He responded, padding along beside her. “You don’t know anything about this woman or her mansion. What’s to say something won’t go wrong?”

“There’s only one old creep in this city that I couldn’t blast to bits, Blair, and you know it. If push comes to shove…”

“Should you really kill civilians?”

“If they cross the line with me, they’re not a civilian anymore.” Hoshiko said casually, pocketing her compact.

Blair sighed – or at least, he made the motion of doing so, which looked rather silly on his cat body. “Poor decorum. No wonder you…”

“-Hm?” She shot him a glare, and the cat fell quiet. "I thought so. Now let's get a bite to eat and head over. McDragan's should have tossed their trash by now." Before either could make a bitter complaint about the sad frequency of their dumpster diving, their stomachs growled and they continued on their way. ⋆

The plan had come together a week prior, in the flickering fluorescent lights of the local social services building. In a place like Grand City, the States welfare services were well worn and underfunded: and yet, the cubicle of one Miss Freeman were vaguely chipper, packed with brightly colored cat statues and pictures of happy families in macaroni craft frames.

Sadly, not even the solar power dancing flower (bobbing happily, with no sunlight in sight) on her desk could ease the news.

"I'm sorry," she said, with an honest look of sadness showing on her face. "I checked every subsidized housing complex in town and the surrounding suburb. None will allow cats."

Hoshiko slumped in her chair, sharing a complicated look with her mascot on her lap. It was as they'd expected, but that didn't make it any better to hear. "None at all?" She confirmed.

"None at all." Freeman answered with a frown. "I asked every single one, and even begged if they'd grant any exception. If it was a dog, I might have been able to convince them... But cats aren't legal service animals here, so there's no string to pull with disability either."

Magical Heartish wouldn't have had this problem. Blair butted his head against her hand comfortingly, as if sensing her thoughts. "Are you sure I can't just sneak him in?" Hoshiko asked.

"I'm sure. The government housings are pretty strict on such things. If you want to keep your cat, I'm afraid Grand City can't house you."

Hoshiko sighed, running a hand through her bangs. "Great," she muttered. She couldn't keep a job, she didn't have any money, and even the homeless shelter was getting impatient at her shenanigans. This had been her last shot, and she'd screwed herself over here too. At home, being a magical girl was celebrated; they were government sanctioned and supported, paid for their services to the city. Here, keeping a cat with you everywhere and needing to leave at all hours was just a liability. She couldn't even tell them she was a superhero without risk of getting sent back home.

But she couldn't go back anymore. And if she stopped being a magical girl... What would she have left?

Her stomach growled, reminding her of the more physical side of this equation. She hadn't eaten this morning, and to get to the soup kitchen she'd have to start walking there now. Blair hated to see her use her powers for non-hero purposes.

"Well, thank you for trying," Hoshiko said, standing up. Blair, in practiced style, jumped into her open backpack before she zipped it halfway and slung it over her shoulder. "I'll, uh, keep looking I guess. If anything comes up or you have more temp work, leave a message with the shelter and I'll get it eventually--"

"-- Wait!"

Hoshiko turned back. Freeman held out to her a newspaper clipping.

Live-in Personal Assistant wanted. Looking for female 18-30 to look after house and provide miscellaneous services. Room and board paid, plus generous allowance. No experience necessary. For details contact Ms. Moretti, number 316-XXX-XXXX.

"While I understand it's atypical... And maybe not ideal," she started, "It is a legitimate offer. I happen to be friends with this Ms. Moretti's niece. She said she could get you the position. If you're interested, of course."

Hoshiko stared at the paper in her hands. It sounded more like a personal ad than a job offer. What did miscellaneous services entail, anyway? If it was a man asking, her first thought would be dick-polishing. (What was the vaginal version of dick polishing, anyway? Clit waxing?)

Still, something seemed off about this. She looked up to the caring face of Miss Freeman. "Why do you care so much? I'm just another unemployed immigrant." She said suspiciously.

Freeman smiled earnestly from behind her tacky cat-eye glasses. "Oh, I'm just a bit fond of you. Your kitty, too." She said, giving another smile to the cat peeking out of her bag. "I'm a cat lover, after all."

Hoshiko grinned back. Maybe being a magical girl had its perks after all. "Well then. Tell your friend I'll take it."

"Great!" Miss Freeman said, a twinkle in her eyes. "I'll call up Dawn today and we'll get the paperwork together. Oh gosh, I'm so happy I could help!"

Freeman talked her through the rest of the process, keeping her long after the close tie of the soup kitchen. The entire plan sounded sketchy as fuck, and Hoshiko could feel Blair glaring daggers the whole time, but she didn't say a thing about it.

If there was one thing she knew, it was that sometimes she had to settle. ⋆

Still, as she stood in front of the doors of the veritable mansion before her, she couldn't help but start to feel a bit excited. While still well integrated into the city and bordered on both sides by other buildings, the walls encompassed an impressive grounds, carefully landscaped for both privacy and appearances. The building itself was three stories tall from what she could see, and built out of a subtly marbled stone. While the design and structure of the house was decidedly old-fashioned, the fixings were quite modern and neat.

Preparing herself, Hoshiko took a deep breath and stepped forward to ring the doorbell - just in time to receive a tap on the shoulder. She turned around to see the woman she recognized as Dawn Moretti, smiling brightly. "Hoshiko! You're here!" She said, pulling the smaller girl into an overly friendly hug and pushing her into her chest. A pretty woman with a pleasantly rounded body, she was about Hoshiko's age but a good half foot taller and three cup sizes bigger. Her hair matched her name just as much as her disposition, in a bright shade of (obviously dyed) blonde. Today, like most days, she wore denim overalls and a bright T-shirt, grass stains on the knees a reminder of her landscaping job. There was a smear of dirt across her nose - Hoshiko considered wiping it off for her for a moment before dismissing it hurriedly.

"Oh, I'm so happy you're moving in! It'll be so nice to have someone closer to my age around here... and we'll have a pet now too!" Dawn said cheerfully, squatting to give the Blair a few friendly scratches. "The extra helping hand won't hurt either, of course. We've needed a new maid here for a while. I've been doing all the work around here since I moved in."

Hoshiko took another look at the towering house before her. "When did you sleep?" She asked, provoking a fit of bubbly laughter.

"Not often enough, I'll tell you that. I cut what corners I could, but there wasn't too much I could get away with. Zietta' s such a slave driver sometimes..." Dawn replied, running a hand through her hair. "But with two of us, it shouldn’t be too terrible. I'll take care of the outdoors, as well as cooking, shopping and repairs. You just need to keep the place clean and tidy on the inside. It’s still a big job, but it’s doable. I'll teach you what you need to know."

Hoshiko nodded and smiled back. She wasn't expecting a cakewalk, but with Dawn around to guide her this job was looking quite manageable.

"Are you ready for the tour?" Dawn asked.

"Lead away." Hoshiko replied.

"Great!" She produced two keys from one of her many pockets and handed both to Hoshiko. "This big one's to the house, it'll get you in all the outside doors. The little bronze one's to your room and bathroom. I have a spare if you ever lock yourself out." She giggled at Hoshiko's brief slip of expression. "Don't worry, I'm not a snoop! You can leave your own room as messy as you want."

It wasn’t mess she was worried about, but Hoshiko quietly blessed Dawn's innocent thoughts as the other woman swung open the heavy door to her new home.

The interior was definitely fancy in architecture, but furnished more in the style of a typical family house; while the various furniture was definitely quality, they all looked quite lived in. Antiques, maybe? The effect was surprisingly comfortable for how much she thought it might cost.

"This is the first floor, of course. We’ve got a lot of annoying stuff to clean here, since Zietta kept all of the ‘family heirloom’ furniture." Dawn explained, slipping off her workers sandals. “Down here's mostly facilities - kitchens, storage, recreation... Den's over here, if you're ever bored. We hang out here pretty often."

A spiraling open staircase lead to the second floor. "Up here's the bedrooms, for the most part." Hoshiko gave her a confused look. "Well - you and I have our rooms here. Zietta and the other renter have theirs up on the next floor, but they keep their rooms clean themselves, you just need to clean the hallway."

"Sounds good," Hoshiko said. She didn’t know there was another renter, but figured they’d all meet eventually.

"I'll walk you through a bit better later to show you the ropes, but in the meantime..." Dawn grinned widely and gestured to a door. "You wanna see your room?"

Hoshiko suddenly felt quite conscious of her lack of luggage. It was move-in day and her backpack held nothing but her ID, some toiletries and extra panties. Blair rubbed against her leg protectively. Well, they did know who they were hiring. They'll just have to deal until I can get more clothes. She thought. As long as there's a roof over my head, I'll be fine. I'll survive until first paycheck. Looking back up at Dawn, she nodded.

Dawn swung open the door. "Ta da!" She said excitedly.

The room inside was clean and neat, centerpieced by a queen bed with a teddy bear tucked in to sleep. A wood drawer was pushed up to the side of the bed, next to a nice-looking writing desk with a laptop, flip phone, and stationary set on it. Hoshiko stared blankly at the sight before her.

Before Hoshiko could gather her thoughts and say anything, Dawn piped up. "Check the dresser!"

Still a little shell shocked by the idea of a nice bed, Hoshiko complied. She opened the drawer to find it stocked with clothes, of relatively fashion and quality. She looked at Dawn incredulously, trying in vain how to phrase her questions, to find the other girl grinning wildly.

"I told zietta about your situation and she send me out to get you the essentials. The laptop and phone are yours too! They're not top of the line or anything, but she wanted to make sure you had everything you needed." She said his all with the expression of someone having the absolute time of their life. "There's a litterbox and cat bowls in the bathroom too. I even got you some little mousies, Blair!" Blair meowed back, but Hoshiko was silent, staring at the room - her room, of all things. Tears came to her eyes. She hadn't had anyone be this nice to her before - not like this, and especially not since coming here. She couldn't believe it, or even trust it - but here it was. She swallowed awkwardly and looked to the floor.

"Thank you," she said, voice choking a little. Dawn ran over and pulled her into a close hug.

"It’s no problem. Really." She said reassuringly. "You'll be here for a while, right? We want you to be comfortable." Hoshiko rubbed at her eyes and gave her smile back. "I know she doesn't look it -- or really show it at all for that matter - but my aunt really is a nice person at heart. If you need anything, just ask one of us and we'll help out."

Hoshiko nodded, still not trusting herself to speak. Maybe she'd been too worried about this Zietta person. Creepy personal ad or no, she had lifted her out of homelessness in just one signature... and more. Maybe, for once in her trainwreck of life, she'd really lucked out.

Blair rubbed against her leg, more urgently this time. A slamming door prompted Dawn to let her go.

"Oh, that must be her! Here, let's go meet her, okay?" She grabbed Hoshiko’s hand, pulling her out the doorway before she could even react. "Vicenza!"

-- wait, what?

She was pulled along to the stairway, looking down on the front door. A tall older woman hung her coat on the rack, the sun glimmering off of the many rings on her fingers. Hoshiko felt the blood leave her face.

“Good morning, Dawn." Vincenza said. "Is that the new maid?"

"Yep! I just showed her her new bedroom. You should have seen her face" Dawn said, pulling Hoshiko in by the shoulder. "Hoshiko, meet my zietta , Vincenza! Oh, I guess she's Ms. Moretti to you though."

"Master would be even better," Ms. Moretti replied inattentively, attention more focused on changing out of his shoes than the two of them. Hoshiko couldn’t tell if it was a joke or not. "It was a long night, so I’ll go catch some sleep. Can dinner be done around 5?"

"Of course! It's curry tonight." Dawn continued cheerfully.

"As long as you don't over-spice it this time." Vincenza casually walked up the stairs, each inch closer driving Hoshiko further into a cold sweat. Her hand clutched her transformation brooch in her pocket, the metal heating in her palm. Her new employer stopped before her, looking her up and down in a decidedly businesslike fashion, like a boss considering a new advertising proposal.

"She's cute, huh?" Dawn piped in, arm still around her.

Vincenza shrugged. “Was expecting cuter," she replied half-heartedly, and walked past them. Hoshiko couldn't even manage a comeback, staring at the floor in horror as Dawn yelled back a defense.

On second thought, her luck hadn't changed a damn bit.