Bonus Chapter - A Pastel Love Spell

"I'm positive. I mean, I found the spell online, but I'm pretty sure it's going to work. The last one worked, sooo…"

    "Weren't you just making that up? How often do your spells **actually** work? It seems to me that it isn't a very scientific process…" Mariya picked up the shiny shell I'd set in between us - abalone, to help balance Ai's emotional energy - and coughed at the incense that drifted into her face. "You know, you're not supposed to burn that stuff in the dorm. It's against the-"

    "Magic doesn't obey the rules of the dorm! Magic does what it wants. Besides, this is for Ai. I'm sure nobody will mind."

    "Song-sama minded."

    "That's why we're doing it while she's gone. Just don't mention it when we get to the concert. She just didn't want to do it because we're all supposed to pretend we don't know about her big crush on… um… Hey Ai, you'd better close your eyes for a sec."

    "Huh? Her crush on who? Hey! Wait!"

    Ai closed her eyes just in time to keep the rosewater out of them. Though, rosewater doesn't burn or anything. At least… No, roses are cute and romantic. Why would they burn?

    "Erika-chan, are you ready?"

    "Yes, Peterson-sama. I ate the entire orange. What next?"

    "I need a piece of the peel."

    "I ate an orange too." Mariya offered, unprompted.

    "I just need a *little* pinch of the peel…"

    "I know, but I like oranges, and Erika-chan's smelled good."

    "Eyes closed, Ai."

    "I n-never opened- Ah!" Ai flinched as I crushed the peel between thumb and forefinger and traced the magic symbol on her forehead with the oil. "There, now you've been anointed in the sacred oils. Everyone hold hands and we'll do the last part."

    Once everyone had linked hands, I let my inner idol take over to add the real magic to the spell.

    "Great spirits of idols past and future, angels of destiny, hear our plea! We come to you seeking the power of LOVE! Infuse this potion with your magic so that our friend Ai can impress the one she loves the most! So say we all!"

    My friends repeated the last line exactly as I had instructed them, completing the incantation.

    "Now Ai, drink the potion. All of it in one gulp, or it won't work."

    Shaking slightly, Ai lifted the cup with both hands, closed her eyes, and drank down the concoction.

    "Wh-What was that?"

    "Strawberry milk!" Shouted the girl on my left.

    "With a little instant coffee mixed in for color." Added the girl on my right.

    "It was really good… Was… Was that it? Did it work?"

    "I think so. Now you just have to be really careful. It's a *really powerful* spell, so don't activate it until you're ready. If it goes off on the wrong person, the consequences could be *disastrous*."

    "Yeah, Ai. Save it until you're looking directly at your kamioshi. I don't want to hear Tae complaining if you accidentally make Dam-Bi fall in love with you." Mariya chuckled to herself, betraying that perhaps she would actually find that really funny.

    "Okay. I'll be really careful…"

    "Now for our next order of business, we need to get ready for the concert tonight." As usual, Mariya was all business. Normally I like that about her, but it wouldn't hurt to let us bask in the magic a little bit, would it?

    "I thought we were already dressed for the concert…" Ai glanced down at her ever-present pastel pullover, thrown on over her usual Kinmokusei uniform. Mariya and I were dressed identically except for the sweatshirt, as per Tae-Eun's very strict instructions. We were under orders to, and I quote, "not upstage my best friend's group's premiere", so instead of our cutest outfits we were wearing our school uniforms. That's as far as we were willing to go though. We *are* all models, and it's hardly our fault if we can make even these black and yellow monstrosities cute. Erika-chan was the exception, wearing one of her faux uniforms - this one in a pastel purple with navy blue accents - which was the chief problem we had to address.

    "Erika-chan, are you ready to change yet?" Asked Mariya, delicately tiptoeing around the subject.

    "I don't need to change, Akiyama-sama, because I'm not going."

    "Aw, come on Erika-chan. We really want to go as a group to support Tae-Eun's friend. Plus it should be a really great show! We should all go."

    "I'm not going for two very important reasons."

    None of us really wanted to ask what those were, but Ai eventually stepped up and asked for elaboration. "Wh-What reasons?"

    "As one of Starsphere's premier talents, it sets a bad example if I'm spotted at an event sponsored by a rival agency. It sets an especially bad precedent when it's the agency I used to belong to. Horie Rule of Publicity number five: Never give them a bad reason to gossip. Good gossip only."

    "That's why nobody will be able to tell who you are. We already figured it out. You're going to go in disguise."

    "Peterson-sama, no spell exists which can hide my natural cuteness."

    Hmph. I bet it does, and I bet I could cast it. Little yokai…

    "You can still be super cute." Our leader said excitedly. "You just need to not look like yourself. Ai still has her Katsura uniform, and it's right about your size. Kohaku can put your hair up so you can hide it under one of your hats, and Tae has a pair of costume glasses I tricked her into buying. You'll look like one of our cute little sisters."

    Erika seems to have never considered this before, opening her mouth to respond but closing it again before she said anything. She thought for a minute, during which Mariya kept eye contact, before answering.

    "There's still the second reason." She said with a determined forcefulness.

    "I don't think that will be a problem…" I added a little bit nervously. "We know you don't like Ei… We know you don't like one of the girls, but she'll probably be easy to ignore. She's only one of seven girls. How much time could she get to herself on stage?"

    "And even if she was mean to you when she was younger, she has to be different now, right? There's no way anyone who isn't really nice would get into Interlunium…"

    Erika crossed her arms and pouted adorably. "I'm still not going."

    "We have backstage passes." Mariya got ready to play our trump card. Tae-Eun managed to get us five tickets and five backstage passes as soon as they went on sale, and we've been planning this ever since. At least whenever we've been brave enough to bring it up to Erika. "Ai says that Chiyo takes her pet hamster everywhere she goes. If you come, you may get to meet Momo backstage. Maybe she'll even give you an autograph?”

    This seemed to get through to our junior, as she went all starry-eyed at the thought.

    "I could meet Momo-sama…?"

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