Chapter 2

The day’s lesson in the care of the house went by in a blur. Cleaning wasn't a completely foreign job to Hoshiko, but she buried herself in the lessons of what cleaner to use and what corners to check with incredible seriousness. Dawn made a decent trainer and partner, and with the two of them combined, they found the house clean well before dinner, leaving Hoshiko quite suddenly out of excuses to not think about her own terrible mistakes.

"You're welcome to eat with us, of course!" Dawn said, brushing her hands on her stained overalls. "If you're not busy or anything. No pressure."

Regardless, Hoshiko felt the pressure. "Well... maybe. It's been a pretty long day," Hoshiko said sympathetically. "Right now, I need a shower."

Before Dawn could unintentionally guilt her anymore, she ducked apologetically and ran back upstairs to her new room and locked the door behind her. She took a deep breath, giving Blair a very meaningful look, and then set to work.

First step: look for cameras. She searched the room high and low and found nothing suspiciously high-tech. Next, the computer and phone; upon inspection, both seemed to be as Dawn had said - brand new, not even past the basic steps of setup. A closer search might be warranted later, but for now they seemed quite normal. She stuck a piece of tape from the stationary kit over the cameras of both, just in case. Then, the windows – seemed normal. The door – seemed normal. She even had Blair meow while she stood in the adjacent guest room to see how the soundproofing was – this too seemed normal. Locking herself again in the room and reviewing the day’s memories in her mind, Hoshiko reluctantly came to one conclusion: that her identity probably wasn’t compromised.

Of course, under all other circumstances, that much should have been believable. After all, her magical girl form came with appearance cloaking abilities that should have kept people from recognizing her in plainclothes for exactly this sort of reason. Even if someone had gone for a more high-tech route, as a (previously) homeless illegal immigrant, there shouldn’t be much on a Hoshiko Aozora to find, especially in a place as chaotic as Grand City.

It should have been believable that she was unexposed. It would be, in literally any other circumstance. But admitting it was cheer coincidence that she’d been hired by Vincenza, of all people – that was almost too absurd a pill to swallow. Hoshiko flopped onto her new bed, groaning audibly as she sunk into the soft comforter.

“I told you this was a bad idea,” Blair said, hopping up with and licking his paws in the kind of I-told-you-so smugness that only a talking cat could pull off.

“I knoooow,” she whined, burying her face in a pillow. “Just – what are the chances?”

“Higher than you’d expect. It’s like I told you.” He said. “While you remain a magical girl, your destiny remains –“

“- ever complicated and tied to fate.” She knew the vow by heart. “I know that. But I always expected that to be… you know, just a reminder me I have to fight evil and all that. Not that I’d get screwed over at every turn for my entire life.”

“That would be far too simple. Fate has other plans for you.” Blair answered.

Hoshiko groaned and rolled over. “What are you, a sphinx? Can’t you give me a straight answer for once?” Blair didn’t reply to that except to walk over her back on his way to perch on the pillows at the headboard and take a nap. These were the times she really wished she had gotten a magical dog instead.

She laid there for a few minutes in silence, mind swimming, until she finally pulled herself up. No matter how deep in shit she was, she did still have to shower. After a second time checking the bathroom for cameras, she changed out of her dirty clothes and turned on the water. It heated up quickly, and she stepped under it. The pressure and hot water drew a heavy sigh and smile out of her – it’d been so long since she’d had a decent shower. Quickly she turned to the soap, lathering herself up and washing away the grime of a night’s crime-fighting and a day’s work. It was high quality stuff, with a gentle soothing smell of lavender. The shampoo was more of an almond scent, but thick and creamy, leaving her hair feeling cleaner than it had in months. For a brief moment, she felt nothing but simple peace and comfort. Maybe this wasn’t so bad.

You know, other than the living with her arch-enemy bit.

Drawn out of her reverie by that thought, she turned off the water bitterly and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel. She optimistically checked the drawers, and was rewarded with a hairdryer. Plugging it in and setting to work, she stared in the mirror and considered her situation.

Before today, she could list on her fingers the things she knew about Vincenza. One, she had powers that seemed to be powered by, and controlled with, the rings on her fingers. Two, these powers included minor teleportation, some sort of mild mind control (that her magical constitution made her almost completely resistant to), and tentacles with some sort of terribly obnoxious aphrodisiac. Third, as far as Hoshiko knew, Vincenza used these powers for what seemed to amount to quite petty crime. Compared to the guys she fought back at home, this Grand City’s villain’s plans seemed completely inscrutable - especially seeing how clearly well-established she was. Who gave her powers just to steal jewelry and wreck laundromats?

Maybe, Hoshiko thought, blowing out her hair, she should just treat this as a spy operation. Today alone she’d already learned Vincenza’s last name, her home address, and that she had a niece... Living together like this, especially as her cleaner, would give Hoshiko an excellent excuse to snoop around and learn a bit more about her, maybe even find some weakness -- or motive, at very least.

Turning off the blow-dryer, she grabbed a brush off the counter and ran out to Blair. “Hey, I was thinking –“

“You intend to spy on her?” the cat said, looking up from his own grooming.

“You don’t have to steal my thunder, you know.” Hoshiko said, pouting and plopping onto the bed.

“It’s the only way to salvage the situation. If you didn’t suggest it, I’d have to question your intelligence.” Hoshiko spared a moment to pet his fur backwards in revenge. Blair glared, properly disciplined, and set back to licking it back into place.

“Anyway, it’s a perfect plan! I’ll just be polite and quiet until I fade into the background for her… all while listening and watching and investigating. No problem!” She smiled, returning to brushing her hair out. “I guess I should head down to dinner in a bit, then. Make a good impression.”

Hoshiko finished with her hair and got dressed in some of her new clothes. She was mildly concerned at how well everything fit her for a moment, before waving it off as Ms. Freeman’s assistance. (She had handled the clothes charity, after all.) Tying her hair up, she took a moment to admire herself in the mirror. To be fair, she still looked a bit scruffy – but it was amazing how much a good shower and some new clothes could work magic. She grinned at her reflection.

“Hoshiko?” Blair called.

“Yes?” She didn’t look over at him, still busy making faces in the mirror.

“Have you ever taken an acting class?”

“Hmm, I don’t think so. Maybe as a kid?” She gave her a ponytail a final vain toss and checked the clock. “Seeya after dinner, Blair! I’ll feed you then too, so don’t worry.” Tapping a pair of new shoes on, she gave a wave and pranced out the door confidently, closing and locking it behind her. Blair watched her retreat with the eyes of a long suffering companion, before curling up on the bed to wait for her return. *

The dining room was maybe the most resplendent room in the mansion. While other rooms were indeed nice, all of them had an air of comfort over looks, like they had been furnished based on what antiques they had available versus any particular theme. Not the dining room. Built to entertain, it was centered around a long, hard oak table, set with individual placemats. A chandelier hung over the center, a sight to behold even unlit. The table could seat eight people, at least, with plenty of space – and as Dawn had pointed out earlier today, there was a complement fold out table and extra chairs in the attached closet. This wasn’t even its final form. It was a room for throwing parties, no doubt – though Hoshiko couldn’t quite imagine Vincenza having friends, much less in excess of eight of them.

Today, only three of the places were set, and they certainly not with fine china. Dawn looked up from her work, putting the last fork in front of Vincenza. “Ah, you did come!” She said brightly.

“I was wondering if we’d just be making conversation with your place-setting tonight.” Vincenza said, a hint of a pleasant smile. It felt a little wrong to see her not doing something other than tentacle fucking or robbery. Hoshiko clenched her fists. Just act natural...

“I thought it’d be nice. Uh, since we live together now.” She sputtered. There were three set spots; one on either side, and the end where Vincenza sat. She swallowed and took the closest. Unfortunately for her, the chairs seemed to be made for taller people than her; it only increased the feeling of being a child at an adult’s dinner.

“Food will be right out! I just need to make plates,” Dawn said, turning back towards the kitchen.

Hoshiko nearly jumped up. “Do you need help?”

“Oh, you sit down!” Dawn was cheerful and oblivious as ever. “You already took most of my work, huh? Let me do a little for you.” Hoshiko mumbled what was supposed to be a sorry and sat back down. Dawn laughed it off and left for the kitchen, leaving the two alone.

It was quiet. Hoshiko studied her placemat. It was certainly quite detailed. She looked up at Vincenza, who was checking her phone. Still, she noticed her gaze and looked up – prompting Hoshiko to look back down again. It was like having a middle school crush again, except with much more memories of hatesex.

“Are you moved into your new room yet?” Vincenza asked.

“Huh? Oh—yes.” Hoshiko fumbled, finally looking up from the place mat. “I, uh, I didn’t have much to move in.” She cursed herself for the less than elegant conversation, but at least it was going somewhere.

“I guess so.” She replied, setting her phone down. “Is your cat settling well, then?”

For a moment, she blanked. “—How did you—“ She paused before finishing her own question in her head, blushing like an idiot. What, did she think Ms. Freeman never mentioned it, after all that trouble?

Vincenza simply laughed. “What, were you planning to sneak it in?”

“O-of course not!” Hoshiko’s cheeks were burning. Luckily, Dawn came in balancing three plates and glasses on a platter to save her – or more accurately, serve her.

“I’m glad you guys are already getting along.” She said, giving them their food. Hoshiko mumbled weakly and Vincenza just laughed again.

The food was a welcome reprieve from conversation; sure, the silence was awkward, but at least now she could pretend instead to be focused on eating. It was, to Dawn’s credit, delicious food – Hoshiko had never been a big fan of curry before, but this batch was delicious, if not a bit too spicy for her tastes. But she couldn’t truly focus on it; not with Vincenza so close to her.

After a few false starts to initiate conversation with her, Dawn gave up and just talked with her uncle instead, asking vague questions about work and her day that got vague responses in return. Hoshiko wondered how much Dawn knew, listening to their chat - if she did, she sure wasn’t saying anything now. Did Vincenza even have a day job? She wondered. Even at the dinner table, she wore her rings of power; occasionally they would catch light and glimmer, but only with the light of normal metal or stone. No magic came from them. Did Dawn know about that, too? Or was she just an aunt with an extravagant taste in jewelry?

Despite the talk, Vincenza ate relatively quickly, and finished just before Hoshiko. “Well, I should make at least some dent in paperwork tonight.” She said, standing up and stretching her neck. “Thanks for dinner, Dawn. And it was nice to meet you, Hoshiko.”

“No problem~!” Dawn answered cheerfully.

“N-no problem,” Hoshiko answered awkwardly, a beat too late. She could swear she heard a chuckle as he left the room. She swallowed.

“There’s no need to be so nervous! I know she looks intimidating, but that’s just a lawyer thing. She’s really not scary once you know her.” Dawn said. She didn’t seem near as talented in the act of talking while eating, and still had quite a bit of food to go.

Hoshiko gulped down one of her last few bites. “I’m not nervous,” she said, taking a swig of her lemonade with sweaty palms.

“Really…” Dawn said, noncommittally smiling. “Well, normally you’d be doing the dishes, but since I’m taking my time here –“

“- It’s no rush!” Hoshiko protested, forcing down another over-sized bite of curry.

“Either way, I’ll take care of it tonight. Tomorrow’s your first real day! I know it’s a bit early, but you should go and rest up.” She said, then conspiratorially looked around and lowered her voice; “Besides, zietta works from home tomorrow. She’ll probably be checking your work, so you’ll have to be really careful on the details.”

Her last swallow of food went down like an iron ball. “Is… is that so?”

Dawn laughed. “Really, don’t be so nervous! She’s not going to kill you or anything, she just gets a bit annoyed. And annoying.”

“I’m not nervous.” Hoshiko repeated, deliberately setting her fork down and standing up, her life enthusiasm at an all time low. She faked an utterly unconvincing smile. “See you tomorrow!”

“Good night, Hoshiko!”

Hoshiko retreated to her room and carefully locked the door behind her. Once she was securely inside again, she plopped on her bed in exhaustion and relief. Blair looked up at her with typical catlike indifference. “How was dinner?”

“Terrible. But I did it.” She said. “I was a little bit nervous, but that’s fine. It’s normal to be nervous around new people, right?”

“Depends on the level of nervous, but I suppose so.” The cat answered, and stretched himself out. “I don’t suppose you’re up for patrol tonight?”

The mere idea made her groan. “Nooooo…” she grumbled, sitting up to give Blair a pitiful look. She was acutely aware she hadn’t slept in over 24 hours now, on top of doing manual labor; while she did have improved stamina from her powers, another night’s patrol would leave her pretty well out for tomorrow.

“I figured you’d say that.” He said, and jumped to the windowsill. “Don’t worry about tonight. With us living here, I can just watch the premises and wake you if the “master of the house” leaves.”

“Really?!” Hoshiko said, snapping up in excitement. “You mean I don’t need to patrol anymore?”

“Not exactly,” Blair said. “You should still patrol once and a while, just in case –“

“What, something new shows up?” Hoshiko finished. “It’s been just Vincenza and petty crime all summer, Blair. I think that we’ve hit Grand City’s magical girl activity quota.”

Blair sighed. “You might be right. But we should be prepared, just in case. You wouldn’t want to be caught unaware.”

“I guess,” she said with a halfhearted shrug. “Well, some sleep is better than no sleep. We can work out a schedule for that tomorrow night, then. I’m beat.” She opened the window beside her bed just enough for Blair to come and go. “If you’re not here by the time I get up, I’m closing it.”

“I don’t think it’ll be an issue, the way you sleep,” Blair said, and jumped away before Hoshiko could respond. With a reluctant yawn, she went to get ready for bed. ⋆

Hoshiko started bright and early the next morning. Her new job itself was unavoidably physical labor, with the adjustment softened only by her own relative physical fitness. As Dawn informed her, every room needed a “deep clean” about once a month (or once a week, in the case of the kitchen) and then a once-over each day for basic tasks such as vacuuming, dusting, etc. With the number of the rooms in the house, Dawn suggested she deep clean at least one room every other day, possibly doubling up on easy-to-clean or small rooms to save time. “But don’t worry too much. As long as you’re trying your best, we’ll give you time to work things out.” She had finished, with her usual bright smile.

Hoshiko held that in mind as she set to work, hoping desperately Dawn was right. The tips and schedule she had been given were invaluable in making sense of the house and their expectations, but a house this size was still overwhelming as a first cleaning job. Faced with over 20 rooms to tidy, her ideal of glamorous mansion living was quickly crushed.

Of course, that wasn’t the only issue. As she had been informed, Vincenza worked from home sometimes - and to her disappointment, that wasn’t (just) a cover for sleeping off nighttime crime sprees. As far as she could tell, the woman genuinely was working on… something. Something involving paperwork. Which, at the moment, she was flipping through on the couch, oblivious to her new maid staring her down while meticulously dusting the bookshelves of the den.

She supposed everyone needed a day job. She only wished Vincenza had one where she was away from the house – preferably as far away as possible.

Eventually satisfied she couldn’t keep pretending to dust the now quite spotless shelf, Hoshiko swallowed her groans and walked over to work on the TV cabinet in front of Vincenza. The woman didn’t look up, seemingly engrossed in the pile of papers in front of her. Hoshiko let out a silent sigh of relief and set to work. The screen was turned on to some sort of midday travel program on beaches of the world, featuring equal parts women in skimpy swimsuits and actual scenery, accompanied with music more appropriate to a low-budget 90s porno. She averted her eyes, focusing on the work before her instead the fanservice.

She dusted the collection of DVDs (mostly Dawn’s, as she’d learned earlier) off with nervous speed and as little body movement as she could, hoping not to draw attention. However, after the first few shelves with no response from Vincenza – not even a raised head, as she reaffirmed every 30 seconds – Hoshiko calmed down, her shoulders relaxing.

“Adjusting to your well so far?”

Hoshiko lurched, nearly knocking over the TV in her surprise. Vincenza smiled politely, papers settled in her lap. It took self-control not to slap her in across her smug face.

“Y- yeah. Dawn helped a lot.” Hoshiko replied, forcing her face into a smile.

“That’s good. She did a decent job keeping this place in order, considering everything else I had her doing on top of it.” She had a particularly unnerving stare – of course, Hoshiko had noticed this in battle before, but it was even worse when they were standing still and just looking at each other, instead of in battle. “Of course, I’ll have to hold you to a higher standard. This is your only job, after all. You aren’t my niece either.”

What, is “not related to you” the extent of your standards? Hoshiko bit back her comment. “Of course. I’ll be doing my best.”

“Excellent.” She replied. “Well, don’t let me keep you from your work. Continue on.”

“Right,” Hoshiko said, but stood for a moment – Vincenza wasn’t looking away. With a frown, she turned around anyway, returning to her work. Whatever stupid power play she was up to, Hoshiko wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of playing along. She finished up with the shelves and moved along to the television itself.

“Make sure you get the bottom,” Vincenza added. “It collects lots of dust.”

Hoshiko looked down. It didn’t look that bad to her, but rich people did have different standards. She bent over, dusting the bottom, and then carefully leaning in, trying to get the area behind it, closer to the wall –

Hoshiko stopped suddenly, realizing the position she was put in – bent over, ass out. She looked back at Vincenza, who looked at her with barely contained smugness.

Before she could even open her mouth, the other woman shrugged nonchalantly. “You’re blocking the screen,” she said innocently. Hoshiko took a glance up to catch the trail end of a car commercial.

“Alright,” she replied through gritted teeth, going back to her work. It’s fine. Whatever. She thought, trying to keep her composure. We’re both girls, right? And even if that IS what she’s looking for, I’m wearing pants, so she isn’t getting a peek of anything... I’ve got a job to do… I’ll be done with this room soon… By the time she finished, her hands hurt from the death grip she had on the duster, but she felt significantly relieved. Next was the vacuuming – something it was impossible to hold a conversation while doing. She was (almost) in the clear.

She gave a final look around the room (eyes carefully avoiding the couch) to check if she missed anything. If Vincenza’s presence had any benefit, it was that it forced her to notice every detail of the room that wasn’t in immediate view of the couch. The den was spotless. Smiling at her own handiwork, she turned, walking off to grab the vacuum – only for a flurry of papers to explode from the couch.

“Oh, shit. Could you help me with those?” Vinceza asked. Hoshiko’s eyes narrowed. For someone who just dropped and scattered an entire stack of paper, she was remarkably calm, still holding that same smug smile.

Still, bound by propriety, she knelt to help, picking up the papers from the floor. The papers were dense with text, too much for her to glean much from even as she played at trying to put them in the correct order for him. The best she could catch was a bolded name – Solo Mio. A restaurant? She scrambled the papers into a pile. “Here you go, Miss–“

Knelt in front of her like this, Vincenza looking directly down on her, Hoshiko froze. Fear rose in the back of her throat, the instinct to make distance, suddenly hyperaware that she wasn’t transformed or ready to fight back. She swallowed. No, I’m safe. Even she wouldn’t mess with a civilian like that… right? She’d never personally witnessed Vincenza involve a civilian (beyond a harmless knock-out to avoid detection, something she couldn’t say she was totally innocent of herself), and did she seem to keep Dawn out of her night job… but she was a villain, after all. Hoshiko’d learned her lesson on trusting villains to follow rules a long time ago – why would it be any different here in Grand City, where they didn’t even have a system for heroes?

Vincenza took the papers from her hand, seemingly oblivious to her new employee’s inner conflicts. “Thank you.” In a brief moment Hoshiko considered this might have been some other plot to leer at her, but suddenly couldn’t find it in her to care. With a trembling smile, she nodded and stood up, leaving the room. The vacuuming would have to wait for later. ⋆

The cool evening air running through her hair, Hoshiko let the stress of the day leave her with an exhaled breath. Blair brushed against her side. “It’s getting colder,” he noted casually. “You found a place just in time.”

“Yeah,” she replied, staring out into the night. Still, somehow, sitting on a roof in the middle of the night, she was the most comfortable she’d been all day. Maybe she’d been out on the street too long – or maybe it was just that, despite all odds, her new home was more of a war ground than the streets of Grand City had ever been before.

Tonight might even be quiet, if she was lucky. As they left, Vincenza was still home. They’d even checked, and saw her through the window of the study, chatting on the phone with a serious look on her face. Hoshiko couldn’t hear a word and had no idea what was being discussed, important or not – but today, she just couldn’t bring herself to care that much.

Hoshiko leaned back, staring at the sky and kicking her feet off the edge of the building. In the city, she couldn’t see many stars – just a few, sprinkled conservatively through the sky – but she didn’t mind. Something about the absence made the few she could see so much more special, their glimmering occasionally joined by the lights of planes and satellites. She sat and watched them for a long time, letting time peacefully slip by.

“Detecting magical signature, 3 blocks west.” Blair said.

Hoshiko blinked, shaking herself out of her reverie and standing up, falling into her routine without a second thought. “On it.” She took off, scooping up Blair and jumping from roof to roof with the assisted lift of her magical wings.

“A few buildings over,” he directed as she hopped. It was a middle class part of town, only a block from some of the slummier parts of town. Most of the area was businesses at the moment, smaller ones – mom and pop places that couldn’t afford rent anywhere too nice, but attracted a decent mix of clientele. She had been in the area a few times on patrol, but didn’t tend to head there otherwise. It was a good walk from the shelter, and there were better places to dumpster dive.

Blair patted her. “There – across the street.”

She stopped, looking at the building. It was a bit cleaner than the others on the street, owing to a fresh paint job, but otherwise didn’t seem to stand out. She had to squint a little to read its unlit neon sign, turned out for the night like many others around it –

“Solo Mio.” She said aloud.

“Signature faded.” Blair replied, jumping from her arms. “I’m not seeing any obvious signs of break in… Are you going to go in?”

A smirk crept onto Hoshiko’s face. This trainwreck was paying off after all. “No, actually.” She said, crossing her arms. “I think I’m going to try something new.”