Gentles all:   The following story contains reference to a form of Japanese street fashion, the adherents to which refer to as Elegant Gothic Lolita. Note, that the term “Lolita” refers to this style of clothing. This, with Gabi's kind help, is a revised and illustrated version of the story that originally appeared on Crystal’s Storysite.

Hansel and Gretel: A Fairytale. Act 2. By Sarah Lynn Morgan

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Act II

 
 

     The cab deposited them at the Hilton, where Noriko quickly checked into their room and arranged to put the fourth small case into the Hotel safe. The man at the desk seemed a little put out by its size, but somehow ‘managed’ to accommodate her.

      John paid little attention to any of this, because, walking into the hotel lobby had been just about the hardest thing he had ever done. If it had not been for the other cosplayers in the lobby, he was not sure if he could have done it at all.

      As it was, the fact that several of the other convention goers actually called out how great they looked, distracted him from his fears more than a little. The positive attention was even more strange than the costume. One girl on seeing him exclaimed “Oh look at the beautiful Chii!”, as she clapped and bounced up and down. For reasons John could not understand it made him feel much better. He just smiled back at the girl, very beautiful herself in a sailor moon costume, and waived. Many of the pretty girls there, waved at him or each other and said hello. A few more just smiled; but, quite a few came right up, asking if he were planning be at the convention center that night, to which ‘Aya’ nodded often..

      It was a new and powerful experience for someone who was usually ignored by all such beautiful young women, and it clearly showed on John’s face.

      At the counter, a driver asked them if they were ready to go to the convention center, because his mini-bus was getting ready to leave. Noriko shook her head saying they’d not checked in yet, at which the friendly man smiled, and told him he would meet them at the front door in about forty minutes. He then made a point of winking at John in a fatherly way, he walked quickly off toward the front.

      The bellhop was not as good. He took the luggage from several people on the floor up to their rooms, but it was obvious that he was trying to watch ‘Aya’ out of the corner of his eye. It made John’s skin crawl, and he spent most of the time in the elevator staring at the most amazing pattern he found on the carpet.

      “So, you off to the convention.” He asked John, ignoring the other two who’d been separated from John when the hop pushed his cart into the car.

      John instantly wanted to tell him no, that his dentist only worked on weekends, and for some reason insisted he dress up like Chobits before every visit, but on seeing his sister grinning at him behind the guy’s back, he only smiled slightly at the man and nodded.

      Elevator control panels, John found, can be quite fascinating also. It was funny how the little lights move quickly up the numbers, even as he could feel the heat rising in his face.

      “Will you be staying on after the convention, or are you just here for the CosCon?” The man continued to try and draw John out. “Great costume, by the way.” He finished, as he reached out to touch the sleeve of the dress slightly.

      John wanted to throw himself bodily back to the wall of the car, but somehow managed to shy away just enough to give the man a clear message; thankfully, causing him to drop his hand. Feeling faint, John could only smile at him weakly, and shook his head, never saying a word before he turned to inspect the seam between the doors, searching intently for any flaw in their perfectly parallel lines.

      “Well if…”

      The tone sounded for their floor, causing John to jump and heave an involuntary sigh, which thankfully went unnoticed as the bag man looked up at the panel to confirm his floor. Never had the term ‘saved by the bell’ meant so much to John.

 
 

      In the room, Noriko and Maggie watched him freshen his makeup by himself. When he turned to see them smiling at him, he just said “What?” accusingly.

      “Well! Aya.” Noriko said with a little humor in her tone, “ to tell you the truth, I was considering the wisdom of just holding up here till tomorrow, and getting you go out to the airport from here. After that…, performance, and the way you handled the bellboy, I don’t see any reason why we might be just as safe going to the convention after all. I’m not sure what would be best, but I think it would look unusual for us to arrive in costume, and not go to the convention center with the other cosplayers.”

      John was floored. He had not even considered the option of staying in the room; probably because he was so nervous about how he was dressed. His slowly expanding eyes showed the girls how deeply he was shocked. “Now hold on just one minute you two! You mean that I …”

 
 

      A half hour later, at seven-thirty, they were on their way to the convention center in a small bus full of people who were almost all dressed more strangely than was typical, even for a Friday night in New York.

      Noriko, who was just then looking out the windows across the street from the convention, had begun to show a little excitement along with Maggie at being on their way to the center. Since they were sitting behind the driver, she leaned up and asked “Excuse me, but if we buy a few things, can we send it back to our room at the hotel with you?”

      “Yes, you can. People do that all the time.” The driver said this while weaving his way through the cars leading in, and while quickly pointing out a marker he had on the dashboard. “You just mark your name and room number on the bags with that, and I hand them over the concierge when I get back. People do it all the time, and we never lost one yet.”

      “Thank you,” Noriko said, “and how often are you back here?”

      “We should be here every twenty minutes or half hour. Tomorrow, at noon, we will start running to the airport as well, but we will have six busses in the loop by then, so it should still be about a half hour.” With that Noriko thanked the man, who smiled in a friendly way as they got off.

      Once off, Noriko gently took John by the elbow, and steered him to a quiet corner of the sidewalk. To an outsider, it looked like an adult giving last minute instructions to a younger sister. In fact that was what it was.

      “Are you Ok, John?” Noriko asked quietly.

      John’s answer was very breathy and soft: “No.”

      Smiling Noriko continued, “Listen John, this will be just like the lobby only more so, so just remember to smile and do the best you can to have a good time. If you completely forget about why you are here, you will be all that much safer from standing out, do you understand?”

      John nodded. He knew that hiding in corners and watching the exits like some spy in a cheap novel would be his worse mistake.

      “Ok, then lets, go. Just stick close to Maggie and I…, and John?”

      “Yeah?” His breath wheezed softly.

      “I don’t want to make you nervous, but I just have to say this. You are the most beautiful little Chii I’ve ever seen and I’ve been doing this for many years. Try not to get pregnant!”

      Aya was moaning piteously, as they both steered him into the convention center, and helped him off with his cape.

 
 

      John was in for quite a shock. Somehow he’d expected to be in a large room with some flimsy white handmade posters, and a lot of people dressed up in silly costumes. His vision had been one of the only Halloween party he’d ever been to when he was eight. He was right. The room was large…

      John stopped, overwhelmed by a thousand people talking in excited voices under huge lighted posters and displays. Several displays were twenty feet high, while others floated over the heads of the people below. All looked like they came out of Tokyo or Hollywood. In several places about the hall, large screens were showing clips of animated features, none of which could be heard over the excited murmur of the cloud of voices. Everywhere there were flashes.

      He just stood there, at the top of the stair, until they were all startled when an excited girl grabbed his arm, causing him to start violently.

      “Amy! you did co…,” the girl had spun him, to see his face, instantly in shock. “Sorry.” She smiled. “You look just like my best friend. Great costume though, Everyone’s going to want to take you home to be their own persacomp!” She smiled weakly in apology, even as she giggled softly at him.

      She was gone as quickly as she’d arrived, but not so the flushed look he saw on his companion’s faces. They had been badly startled too.

      The convention hall was packed. Even though they expected the majority of the crowd there on Saturday, when all of the contest events were planned, it looked like many of the people had shown up on Friday anyway. It was John’s worst fear, but then again, it was not.

      Just as he had feared, John felt more like the center of attention that he would have cared to, and this was fortunate; as at first his fear kept his throat so tight that he was unable to say much of anything at all. Then, something happened that would have thought impossible; if he had been able to clear his mind long enough to consider just what was happening as he moved out onto the floor.

      Many pretty girls had quickly surrounded him, all complementing him on how beautiful he looked, and on how wonderful his costume had turned out. Before he realized it, he was so taken up in genuine gratitude that he almost forgot everything else, except to say that his big sister had made it for him, and that he had only helped a little by standing still under the threat of death. It always brought a knowing giggle from the other cosplay girls. For over an hour, he found himself posing for one picture after another, during which time he thought more about the enchanting scene about him, than himself.

      To Maggie’s horror, she found herself being pulled away by her own throng of Visual Kei admirers. She had intended to stay right beside ‘Aya’, but that proved impossible. Now she was surrounded in her own right by admirers, and by the other vintage Malice Mizer Cosplayers. They wanted to have her pose with all the Kozi’s, Gackt’s, Klaha’s, and Yuki’s, which given how many there were, took quite some time. Since she was closer to Noriko she could see that she was attracting a lot of attention as well, but to her dismay, it was nothing like the furor her little brother had started. All she could do was to hope he stayed calm.

      A little later, when Noriko finally came close enough to her to talk. She grabbed Maggie to whispered into her ear that she’d just lost sight of Aya. Maggie could only grimace weakly, and point behind her across the hall. It took very little time to spot ‘Aya’, and see her smiling little brother was having the time of his life. ‘She’ was surrounded by all manner of Chobits, sailor solders, and cute anime and Manga characters of every sort. It was over ten minutes before they could get over to him. Where as they drew close, they could hear an excited girl holding his arm and saying, “Really! You live in the city! That’s great! My friends and I…”

      Taking him by the hand, Maggie pulled him toward Noriko. Seeing how flushed, he was she held up her hand to two more girls who were trying to get closer to John. “Are you, Ok?” she asked.

      On seeing an older girl and woman leaning over Aya, the girls turned their attention away for a few moments.

      “Yeah, I think so. Wow, that was something, Huh?”

      Maggie wanted to hit him, but did not dare. Smiling weakly, Maggie said, “You scared me, Aya.”

      “I did!” John gasped, “It wasn’t me. I thought I was about to finally either loose my virginity, or give a couple of those girls the surprise of their lives! Did you see that pretty girl in the Sailor Uranus costume, she was kissing my cheek while her friends took pictures!” he finished in a low but earnest voice.

      Noriko stepped in, “You look like you need a rest, little one. Are you feeling, Ok?”

      “I could use a drink and a bathroom break.”

      Noriko steered them both to the concession area.

      Once there, only Noriko’s strong grip kept him from blowing it as he was steered firmly away from the men’s room door. His nervousness fortunately fit right in with the general level of excitement, so the only attention he gained was the same well-intended admiration.

      When he finally got to a stall, Noriko bent to whisper in his ear to remember to sit down, and then darted into one just opened up of her own. John had a difficult moment keeping his clothes in good order while using the necessary, but the short skirt helped a lot, as he realized he needed very little undressing to be able to pee. The seat was still warm.

      Later, his confidence having grown exponentially with the complements, he moved to the mirror to quickly freshen his makeup, much to Noriko’s, and Maggie’s amazement. If any of his motions looked a little unnatural, then the other girls in the bathroom still complementing and joking around with him masked them.

      At the concession stand, John ordered iced water, because he was afraid to eat with the makeup on, and sat for a while making small talk. Noriko and Maggie were as excited as he was at their reception, and were all also busy watching the other cosplayers as much as talking amongst themselves. When they were finished he began to feel a little ill at what he had to tell them.

      “Err, Noriko?”

      Looking at him, He could see that she wasn’t enjoying herself as much as he had been She was also watching, but more often over the heads of the conventioneers. She tried to smile, but her face darkened with concerned at his expression. “Problem?” she asked.

      “I think so. I think I made a mistake.” He had the complete attention of both women.

      “Did someone figure out you are a boy?” Maggie asked earnestly.

      “What? No. Not that.” John said softly, managing to sound both pleased and hurt by that realization. He showed a small smile in spite of himself as he thought that one over He had not even been worried about that for the past hour. He continued “while I was having my picture taken with everyone, a lady came by with some forms, and kind’ a signed me up for the costume contest.” Biting his lower lip, (rather prettily Noriko thought), he waited for the blast.

      Both girls were silent for a moment when Noriko asked “The pretty dark haired girl with the glasses and red sweater?”

      John’s eyes opened a little wider as he said laughing out loud, “Yeah, that’s the one”

      Noriko continued to nod, “Well don’t worry about it, she got me too. She was very persistent.”

      Surprised, he looked at Maggie, and her expression left little doubt that she had her appointment on stage tomorrow morning as well. “That’s the way to fit in Aya.” His sister, was shaking her head at him too. “I’m, so proud of you.”

      They all were tired, and decided it would be best to just go.

      On the way to the sidewalk they were wished a friendly goodnight by dozens of people, with many looking forward to seeing them tomorrow. Unfortunately, they arrived on the sidewalk just in time to see the buss to their hotel pull away, so Noriko remembering an intention, took them to visit the shops across the street, quickly steered them to a walkway designed for the purpose.

      There were girls in almost every shop, pressed against the large glass windows. Once inside it was the same story, the shop-girls were almost as bad as the people in the convention itself had been. They were very interested in the costumes they could see across the way, and since they were stuck working, they had had little opportunity to see them up close.

      Two of them quickly surrounded Aya and began asking questions about his costume. Fortunately, he’d seen Chobits a couple of times, which he’d never before admitted, believing it to be intended only for girls.

      With a lot of help from Noriko and Maggie, he finally pulled away, only to be more worried as they quickly picked out a pair of nice black jeans, and a pink knit top for their little sister, Aya. Given their state of dress, they thankfully did not make her try it on, but John was still left with the impression that shopping for clothes with them would be an experience in itself.

      The shop-girls promised that if they found it did not fit, they would quickly exchange it for them tomorrow, but both of them quickly confirmed that the outfit looked like it should be a perfect fit on their ‘adorable little sister.’ They were all back out a half hour later, waiting for the minibus as it pulled up.

      None of them talked, other than to smile and wave at a few of the other conventioneers around them, until they were finally in the room. John felt himself relaxing a little after a very long and emotional day, and went to flop on the small couch, causing Noriko to hurry over and grab him before he could wrinkle the dress.

      Still excited, he began to babble about how well it had worked, about how great the conventions were, and how wonderful it had all been. Maggie was amazed at the change in him, but Noriko was more ready for it. She just smiled at her young friend’s excitement, as she handed him a set of pink girl’s pajamas, before she ordered some late dinner, and some snacks from the menu on the table.

      They all began to get comfortable as the tension of the day drained from them, in their room that seemed so remote from the troubles in their own neighborhood, and told of what they had seen as they avoided completely the subject of gangsters.

      Later, comfortable in hotel robes over their pajamas, they ate the excellent dinner and watched a little of an old movie before each began falling asleep. All except for Noriko.

      Noriko noted, that John seemed to be smiling to himself as he slept soundly in the other bed. As she looked at him, her stomach turned. Had she done the right thing? Poor Maggie-chan, she thought, and was surprised by the tear that formed in her eye. If anything were to happen to John, her young friend would never survive. Noriko had watched them grow; done what she could; and now had to face the nagging doubts.

      It was the end of a very long day, but sleep would not come for Noriko. For two years she had let out the seems on the suits and dresses of her successful clients, and listened to them complain about what they were forced to pay the tong, and how the police were impotent. The children were afraid to be sure, but it was nothing like her fear for the young ones she had tried so hard to help raise. She lay quietly on the bed she shared with Maggie for some time before her parade of worried thoughts drifted unnoticeably into a broken sleep.

 
 

o O o
 
 

     Saturday morning, the building super in Noriko’s apartment walked through the service area in the basement as he’d done on every Saturday for the past seventeen years. He was a widower.

      His two boys did not start till nine on Saturday, and he would not be there that late, except that he had a plumber coming in on a repair in 206. As he walked to his office to wait, he noticed that the trash bin was over-filled again, but that was normal. The boys would take care of it. He didn’t actually think very much of them, but that wasn’t unusual. What was, was the fact that they usually showed up.

      He neither knew, nor cared, that both of them had already been approached, and offered a reward for the red and black bag. They were thus far more likely to notice the pieces of it that had spilled out of the bag as it had fallen on the floor beside the dumpster…

 
 

o O o
 
 

     John awoke to the feel of his sister’s hand on his shoulder as usual. Sitting up, he pulled his robe about him before the silky fabric of the pajama’s he was wearing caught his attention. Noriko pretended not to notice John running his hand over them as he struggled to wake up.

      “How do you feel this morning, Princess?” Maggie asked. “Did you sleep well?” she asked brightly while she watched him in the mirror. He smiled warmly back at her, and said “Great, really great. I had a really good dream even…” then what she called him had dawned on him.

      “Hay! Who are you calling princess?”

Noriko just smiled and said, “Who else, dear Aya-chin!” as she passed Maggie in the doorway to the bathroom.

      John signed for their breakfast, and almost signed his own last name after having remembered to sign Aya. He had time for a muffin and Juice before it was his turn for the shower. He walked past Noriko into the shower area, as she stood at the sink brushing her teeth. His skin heated profoundly when he looked up from Noriko’s body to see her watching him in the mirror. “Sorry.” He muttered, but Noriko just laughed.

      “You know John, when I was a little girl, it was still common for whole families to go down to the public baths and to bathe there in full view of other families from our neighborhood. We even had complete strangers there sometimes.”

      “Oh?” John even impressed himself with the insight and brilliance of the remark.

      As he quickly entered the stall, softly he heard from the door of the shower area. “Thank you, Aya, I think you are very pretty too.” John had begun to realize then that Noriko was very special, and in fact was just about the coolest adult he had ever met.

      Instead of getting ready faster, as John had expected, this time it took much longer. Noriko, after first calling the airline to find that there were no earlier flights to be had, she broke down, and began fussing over them all. To keep her mind clear of fear, she had to be sure that every aspect of their costumes and makeup were just so.

      Less than half way through, put off by her attention, he suggested that they could just go to the airport and try.

      Noriko did not pick up on the joke. She simply said, “The standby flights are all being filled. We’d just stand at the airport, and never get on a quicker flight. The convention, with all the people, is our best choice.”

      To John’s amazement, the extra effort showed. He thought that the girls were just beautiful. Words like gorgeous, and breathtaking, words he never had felt the need to use before, came to mind. He told them so, only to be assured by both of them, that they thought he was the most beautiful of all. Looking in the mirror, his mind was just beginning to grasp what he saw, and accept that for the first time in his life he felt that he looked very good, really weird, but very good. It gave him a funny calm, and a confidence that he could not begin to describe, especially since was still so nervous to be standing in a dress and makeup.

      At Nine, Noriko and his sister ushered him out as if he was some kind of royal. At first he just accepted it, and then asked them to knock it off. Noriko and Maggie, just looked at each other, and broke out laughing, again.

      “Come on guys, enough is enough, OK. I’m already feeling really scared.”

      Noriko then cleared her throat softly, and said into his ear. “Ahm, Aya? Don’t lean on the door, dear. Aya, I think you need to prepare yourself a little.”

      “I can handle the people I think, as long as we don’t have to stay all day.”

      “That is not quite what I mean, John.” She answered, saying ‘John’ very softly. “We spoke to a lot of the folks last night, and a lot of them think that you may just win a prize in the costume contests.”

      “What?” he asked, and looked to Maggie, who was solemnly nodding her head in agreement at him.

      “Oh, no way…” he said and began to back away.

      “Your sister and I believe that you have a really good shot at it too.”

      John was silent for the ride down. “Then why go through this? We should just go!” “I thought about it,” Noriko answered thoughtfully, “ but it is too late for that. You see, Aya, we just wanted to make sure you fit it. We had no real idea of just how well you would turn out. By the time we realized what was happening in the convention hall, well it was too late. Too many people had seen you. Now, you have to go. If we hide out here, too many people will miss us, and no one would believe we would not show up.”

      “After thinking about it a little, it was good that you signed up. No one would expect you to do anything else, and if you had not you would have looked very out of place. Since you did, I have to believe that no one would ever think to look for you up on the stage with the other top cosplayers.”

      John had a moment to think about it. He could see the logic. He could also figure out for himself that to get an earlier flight, they would have to go to the airport and hang around trying to get a flight. That would be the last place they could go, since both the good and bad guys were surely watching it. Chances are they could not get another flight together, and he dared not be separated from them. If they went in looking for a flight to anywhere else, they would stick out like a sore thumb. No, she was right, and he was stuck.

      Resigned, he looked at Noriko and said, “We can’t get out before tonight right?”

      “That’s Right Aya.” She reassured him softly. “I realized last night that I could have just rented a car and gotten you both out that way. I’ve just lived in the city for so long without one, that I never thought of it.”

      Maggie had turned from a hallway mirror, where she was working on her hair. “Well we could do that now, then?

      Noriko shook her head sadly. “No. Last night we may have been able to get away, but now, I’m not so sure. These gangs…,” She struggled for the right words so as not to pass along the terror she herself felt. “they know how to look for people. They could see us on the way out of town. They have no way of knowing who I am, but they surely have many places being watched. Probably more than the police.”

      They were quiet for a while. They only began to move again after Maggie turned back toward the mirror.

      John spoke first. “Well in that case, do you really think I have a chance to win one of the prizes?”

      Noriko just stared into his wide brown eyes, floored by the question.

      Margaret coming to stand beside Noriko broke the silence by muttering to Noriko, “My god, do you realize what you have done? You’ve created a monster!” Then looking at John, she smiled and said even more softly, in the sweetest voice he’d ever heard from her, “Bitch!”

      By then, both she and Noriko were laughing, at which John was beginning to get a little annoyed. After all, no one was laughing at them.

      When the doors opened to the lobby, Noriko continued, “You are right Aya, we have to wait, but I intend to get us out of there as soon as possible. OK?”

      John nodded.

      “And in answer to your question, I think that both Maggie-chan and I have a fair chance to win prizes, but I think you will win one for sure.”

      John’s knees were shaking, this time with a little excitement as well as fear.

      He almost fainted when a man standing behind them called Noriko to a halt.

      It was the hotel concierge. He had a photographer there, and wanted to take some pictures of the guests in their costumes in the lobby for their future brochure aimed at future Cosplay conventioneers. He confided that he had been waiting for them in particular, because several other patrons had tipped him off that Aya would probably walk away with one of the top honors. He ended by telling them that if the would agree, that not only would he make sure that they got to the convention on time in a hotel limousine, but that they would be the guests of the hotel for a fine dinner that evening.

      Noriko had no need to speak. One glance was enough to tell either of the
Children that she believed that they had drawn far too much attention to just slip away.

      Genuinely flattered however, and seeing no rational way out, they agreed, and it was all over very quickly.

      The photographer and another guy were discussing shots and poses, along with possible captions for the photos. In several shots of ‘Aya’ alone, taken on the presumption that she might win, they even had a fully uniformed hotel maid in black dress and white apron, fussing over his costume. After about fifteen minutes, he found himself escorted by the concierge to the limousine while people standing watching ooh’d and awe’d. The concierge even kissed his hand before ushering Aya Yokoshira into the rear seat, much to the older girls’ amusement.

      Their constant amusement at his plight, was definitely getting on his nerves.

      As the driver made his way through traffic to the convention center, John looked at them and said, “I know you guys think this is some kind of fairytale, but the swear the first one who calls me Cinderella is going to get it.”

      It worked just so well. They were laughing again.

 
 

o O o
 
 

     On the sidewalk, the limousine caused a little stir, and gained them all a couple of notches in social status as the bystanders all wondered who they might be. Many who might not have noticed them at all did.

      Inside, the buzz was much like it was before, only louder, as the girls were all pulled away for the judging. Being on stage was not as frightening as he thought it would be. Some of the judges made him nervous at first, but several of them, on making a close inspection said things like “Lovely” to him. In the end, he was deeply shocked to realize that he was mostly nervous about not falling apart if he won, rather than being afraid for being in public in the very sexy dress.

      After the judging, he was standing beside Noriko, when to his surprise he realized that the pretty girl dressed as Dark Chii walking up to him was none other than Miyu. She greeted Noriko warmly, and then began to stare at John.

      Noriko began to speak after a pause. “Miyu-sama, I would like you to meet my cousin, Aya Yokoshira.” Noriko said with audible nervousness in her voice. Clearly, she had not anticipated the obvious attraction that the two characters would have for each other, and in retrospect, the certainty that they would be thrown together at some point. She had just completely missed it.

      Miyu just stood very still and stared directly at John without saying a word. To their frightened dismay, they could almost see the realization dawn on her face. She was visibly vacillating between uncertainty and realization when finally she asked very softly “John?”

      Not knowing what else to do, John could only nod his head ever so slightly, and ever so helplessly.

      His eyes had already dropped to the floor in humiliation, so he like everyone else nearby were taken in complete surprise at the loud squeal that escaped Miyu as she plunged herself onto him. If Noriko had not instinctively moved in behind him when she’d seen Miyu, they would have both ended up on the floor. He unconsciously held on to her as the nearly hysterical girl bounced up and down, babbling rapidly in excited Japanese and English for a full minute.

      It took him that long to find out to his relief, that Miyu was hysterically happy, which she told John after she had calmed down.

      All of this excitement from the two little Chii characters greatly amusing all present.

      For several long minutes all she could do was complement him on how beautiful he looked, and tell him over an over how much she loved his costume. She thought he was so brave, and how most of all, how he made such a pretty Chii.

      She was so excited that John was hardly able to understand that she was excited to find out that he also loved doing cosplay, and she had no idea that one of the shy American boys in her class would not only be a kindred, but brave enough to take it to such amazing limits.

      If Noriko had not whispered in his ear when she’d said things like “Haru!” (“beautiful”), and “Hime!” (“Princess”), and “Kwaii!” (“cute”). He’d never have been able to fully understand her. It was amazing. She was nothing like she was at his school, where she seldom even smiled. Now, they could hardly calm her down.

      Of course, she was also attracting a significant amount of attention from a crowd of amused bystanders.

      Noriko was finally able to pull her aside for a moment, and explain that John was to be called Aya, and that no one had as yet figured out he was male. Miyu loved it, and went along beautifully, calling John her little Aya-chan, and her little Chii. For the rest of the morning, she and Aya were inseparable, much to the delight of the crowd, who delighted even more in taking pictures of them together.

      Aya and Miyu won the two top prizes for anime. Maggie got fourth in the visual Kei category, one of only two Malice Mizer cosplayers to win, and Noriko won third; both loosing to another girl called Princess in a Gardenia Mana costume, who took second place.

      It was mostly a blur, in which John found himself holding on to Miyu as much for attachment, as for support. It was almost as much as much as she held on to him.

      In the end, they were finally allowed off stage, where for a time pictures and questions came even more rapidly than before. Fortunately most of the questions were answered with just a nod and a smile. The best news may have been that the one person who was curious to know if John was Miyu’s boyfriend, was only overheard talking to another girl, who thought she was crazy.

      Noriko was asked for her card by so many people, that the contest organizer who signed them up the night before put Noriko’s email address on a poster by the awards with pictures of all four winning costumes…

 
 

o O o
 
 

     Across town, Noriko’s building super was long gone for the day. He was not there to see his two workers on the phone in the office, trying to get tickets to the concert in Jersey that night. It seemed that they had unexpectedly come into some money. He was also long gone by the time several strangers, mostly Asian men, made their way up and down the halls of the building knocking on doors and disturbing tenants by asking questions nobody wanted to answer. That was, undoubtedly why someone else made an anonymous call to complain to the police.

 
 

o O o
 
 

     John was tired, and although he was still genuinely excited by the time Maggie came for him. He was more than ready to leave. Miyu, calling her parents on her cell, got permission to go back to the hotel for dinner with Noriko and her cousins, while Noriko had gone to pick up their trophies and have them brought out to the front. She Might have been able to make some excuse to gently shuffle Miyu off, had she been there, but her excitement was irrepressible.

      Noriko couldn’t risk telling her more, and putting her at danger too.

      Just then, in another big surprise of the day, a hotel limousine met them at the front entrance, where a small crowd applauded for all four as they were ushered in. The only thing that they could figure out was that the concierge had contacts with the convention center, and he had been tipped off. Still, although it was the type of thing a good concierge does, it took them all by surprise.

      It whisked them back to the hotel, just about the time several men entered the hall from the other side, and began moving about the hall, and occasionally asking questions.

 
 

o O o
 
 

     Of course, when they got to the hotel, the concierge also wanted a couple more pictures with the trophies. I took only a minute, fortunately, because Noriko only allowed them two.

      Back at the room, John was very glad to get out of the Chii costume. With Miyu there, he desperately wished for a comfortable boy’s shirt and a pair of jeans so that he could face her, but they had none. In the end, he had tried for the jeans that Noriko had bought for him, but Miyu and Noriko both insisted he wear a black jumper with a white blouse for dinner. So with only a hot shower, and a half hour in the robe, he was forced to go through having his own hair styled in a short but cute and feminine style, and then put up with Maggie and Noriko redoing his makeup for the trip out.

      Everyone loved the new outfit, and the black jumper over the ornate blouse looked very stylish on him. He thought it was because it looked so…, elegant and serine. Standing in front of the mirror, he stopped himself from smoothing down the jumper with his hands for the forth time, when he realized that three very amused girls were watching him intently.

      It was Miyu who got to wear his new Jeans and top, when she and Maggie began to talk about popping down stairs to the boutique to buy a dress for Miyu to change into. It was soon decided however, that Miyu and she would just pick up a few other things they needed. Their departure gave Noriko a chance to talk to John, as she got ready.

      John had once again drifted unconsciously over to the Mirror to smooth his jumper, not wanting to get it wrinkled before dinner. Noriko, smiling to herself, asked in a level voice, “Do you like the dress?”

      John jumped like he had been kicked. “Hum, Yeah, I guess so.” He said looking at the floor. Taking pity on him, Noriko came over and put her hand on his shoulder saying, “John, don’t worry about it. It doesn’t mean anything.

      She wished he’d look at her, so that she could see his eyes.

      She sighed, and tried further to assuage his worry. “Everyone likes to think that they look nice, and they like it even more if other people think they look nice too! You don’t have to worry about that. You’ll be ok!”

      After a moment, he said, “Noriko, I’m beginning to think that something may be wrong with me.” He said it far too sadly. Noriko just smiled compassionately. She pulled him over to the table, and they sat down for a talk.

      They didn’t have long, but spoke mostly about how uncomfortable John was feeling; the situation he was in, and about Miyu too. She explained him that his dress was very beautiful, that it had come from Mana’s own shop, and that many Lolita’s would jump at the chance to wear it. Well, Kill to get the chance, actually. She even told him that girls in Japan, who could not get the dresses they wanted because they were so limited, would buy smaller or larger sizes, just to hand on the wall, and to dress their boyfriends and little brothers.

      “Really?” he asked openly surprised.

      Noriko just nodded her head.

      By the time Maggie and Miyu had returned from their quick trip down stairs, John’s spirits had been lifted a little, even if his confusion had not. Noriko’s reassurance that he was doing well enough to fool his own family did much to ease his mind. But then, it also worried him in other ways. Her assurance that it was doing no permanent damage helped even more.

      Maggie surprised them both with a pair of black patent Mary Jane’s in his size, which also turned out to be Maggie’s size for now.

Miyu came over and gave him a hug, and again whispered to him that she loved how beautiful he looked. Noriko asked Maggie to help her get into her skirt, and the girls disappeared into the dressing room. Now much of Johns, nervousness came back for a short time, but he was finding that he simply could not maintain a high level of fear with everything else that was going on. More and more he was feeling very resigned, and tired…, and a little hungry.

Miyu and John sat together on the sofa.

“I’m glad you came to dinner.” He almost whispered.

“OH, me too, Aya.” She said in a tone that caused him to look at her.

She was just looking at him, and smiling. All he could think was that she looked so adorable in his pink top and jeans. It looked very dressy on her, especially now that she’d taken a moment or two to make herself look more mature with some of the makeup she borrowed from the girls.

“You seem different than you do at school.” He said, instantly surprised, because he’d not actually meant to say that at all.

For the first time a pained expression crossed her face. When she did speak, she knew she was upset, because her English, which was usually fine, if very sparse, was more broken than usual.

“I’m sorry, Aya-chan. I know the others…” She struggled for the words. “don’t understand me.” She was looking at her hands now. “I miss my home. My father, he’s in London, or Paris. Last year, we live Berlin.”
John began to understand. It had been so obvious.

“I miss my friends. I try to talk here, but girls think I’m cute or silly. I did not know anyone who liked what I do. I thought you were nice, but you don’t speak. Next term, I will go to Northwood School. There are girls there like me, who travel from Japan. None here…”

Then to his surprise she smiled at him.

“…until I find you. You like what I do.”

He felt Miyu’s hand slip tentatively into his, and hold on while Maggie and Noriko got ready.

John asked Miyu if she might like him dressed in boy’s clothes, and Miyu shyly called him silly, and told him of course she would, acting as if it were the silliest question she’d ever heard.

      John asked her to the dance, and she gave him an enthusiastic yes. Then she told him that she had been hoping he would ask, and had almost asked him.

      John could hardly pay attention as Miyu was explaining that many of her old and new friends would just be green with envy when they got sight of John in his beautiful Lolita dress. She wanted to take him out with them.

      John was surprised to learn that she was already spending much of her time with the students of the private school north of the city. She told him that many of the children there were children of Japanese businessmen, in this country for their jobs. It seemed, that she had even been signed up for classes and activities them.

      John was doing a fair job of trying to convince her that this was a once in a lifetime thing. The fact that she did not seem to fully understand that it was not his idea, and that he couldn’t exactly tell her that it was not didn’t help at all; but then, nor did she accept that he could get out of going out with her friends.

      They were still talking when Noriko and Maggie came out of the dressing area. Noriko had changed into a long gray skirt, and Jacket, under which she wore a high necked, black lace blouse. It looked elegant and very aristocratic. At her chest was a large cross, which matched a pair of earrings she had put on.

      When John told her how beautiful and elegant she looked, she told him that it to was once again outfit patterned after one worn by Mana, and she promised to show him pictures at a later time.

      After they were all ready, Noriko took them down stairs to the dining room. At Noriko’s request, they were seated in an out of the way corner, as far away from the door as they could find.

 
 

      To John’s continued surprise, both he and Maggie received many appreciative looks, and not a few compliments on their dresses. Many people from the convention were having dinner before evening flights, and recognized their beautiful Lolita dresses for what they were.

      Where John’s dress was fairly plain in a more aristocratic style, Maggie had worn one comprised mostly of lace, a favorite that Noriko had brought along for her. It was white lace, with just a touch of lavender ribbon at her throat, and on her headpiece. Two people had even asked to take their picture again before they got seated, which they of course agreed to.

      Soon however, they were allowed to eat the wonderful meal in quiet, all of the girls enjoying the attentiveness that the wait staff had for the quartet of pretty and elegant young ladies. Three of them were starved from missing meals over the last days.

      The staff were so attentive, and the meal so delicious, that they were all soon lost in the stories told by Noriko. She told them of how her father had been a landscape artist, and how she used to go with him to visit many of the most beautiful gardens in Japan. It had been as if she had grown up in a city of gardens. Except for the occasional tear in Noriko’s eye, it was a perfect and idyllic picture. They could even smell the blossoms, for a time…

 
 

o O o
 
 

     A t about that time, in the front lobby, the concierge noted two Asian men, and an Asian woman standing together by the front entry. Being very good at his job, there was very little that escaped his notice. What he noticed now were the eyes of the larger of the Asian man…, Chinese he would say.

      His eyes move constantly around the lobby, as if he had every reason to suspect that a tiger would jump out of the potted plants. The concierge had seen too much in his years to be overly worried, but he continued to watch the trio surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye. He had just made up his mind to call for security to help him keep an eye on the trio, when the woman moved to the reservation counter.

      He smiled slightly to himself, assuming he had finally diagnosed the cause of their suspicious behavior. Two of them, and the only one man enough to get the room was the woman. Well he hoped she found it worth it.

      That the trio had begun to exhibit more normal “hotel” behavior helped to ease his mind; but to be honest, the fact that there were severe thunderstorms moving across the South from Savannah to Dallas did far more to allay his suspicions.

      Within ten minutes of the U.S. Meteorological services revised forecasts, every major carrier had called trying to secure space for passengers who as yet had no idea that they were about to spend one more night in New York. The Concierge like, many of the senior staff was just too busy calling in any staff member who could be reached to start turning rooms as fast as possible. He did not notice that the trio took three separate routes upstairs. If he had…

 
 

o O o
 
 

      After dinner, Noriko said she was going to wait with Miyu in the lobby for Miyu’s father who was due to arrive to pick her up at any minute. John wanted to stay with Miyu as well, but Noriko thought it would be best for him to go back to the room, and get ready for the flight out.

     John and Maggie were beginning to look as tired as Noriko felt. Miyu gave him a warm hug, and then to his extreme surprise, a warm and gentle kiss on his lips. He knew from Noriko, that many traditional Japanese girls never do this in public. It was surely because Miyu had lived all over, the world, and had picked up a few new habits, which they had all found out as she came out of her shell. Her father was in charge if investment relations for his company, and thus spend his time in many large western cities in America and in Europe.

      “Call me tomorrow, Aya-chan,” she whispered to him just before she broke the hug. John even like the startled looks on the faces of the diners nearby who had seen her kissing ‘Aya.’ In fact the only downside was the smirk on Maggie and Noriko’s faces. Noriko pressed her card key into Maggie’s hand, and Miyu and Noriko then excused themselves to the ladies room.

      John and Margaret walked slowly to the elevator. It was a chance for them to talk alone for the first time since they had been in Noriko’s apartment.

      “Do you think we should call the folks?” John asked carefully.

      He had not realized that it had been bothering Maggie too, until she told him, “To be completely honest, I don’t know.” She continued, “I mean, at first I thought to hell with them. As time goes by, though, I realize that no matter what they’ve been like, just up and disappearing is cruel. It’s just that I don’t even know if calling then would just be putting them at higher risk.” She looked worried.

      John was silent for a few moments, and then said, “Mags, I honestly thought the fact that we had just disappeared on them would be the best protection for everyone. Now, I think that having them going nuts looking for us will just lead anyone else to us that much quicker. When Noriko comes up we need to talk about it. I think we should use your cell to call them.”

      Maggie said to him softly. “Have you noticed that neither of them have called me?” Neither spoke after that.

      When the Elevator opened to let them in there were two older women, obviously sisters, and obviously way over the far side retired, who were waiting to get off. On catching site of ‘Aya and Mia’, one sister grabbed the other by the arm and said “Oh my!, Erin dear, look at the pretty girls. Aren’t they just lovely!” Then turning to face John and Margaret, the elderly woman asked, “Are you girls going to a party?”

      At this point Margaret was about to answer, when the one called Erin actually reached out, and began to fondle the lace at her collar, which both surprise and distracted Maggie to say the least.

      The woman who first spoke turned to John and asked, “I’m Sephrena girls, and what is your name, dear?”

     John almost told her before he caught himself. Then, in a soft voice, which was genuinely soft because he was speaking from shock, “I’m Aya, and this is my sister, Mia, Ma’am.”

      “Oh, aren’t those pretty names for two pretty young ladies. Are you girls on your way to a party?”

      Shocked at the attention that the two elderly ladies were giving them, John felt like telling them it was none of their business, but it was obvious that Maggie was taking it much better.

      John had seen it before; older women seemed to be attracted to her in direct proportion to the amount of lace she was wearing. “No, Ma’am. Our parents are strict, and we just dress like this every day.” He said.

      Beside him, Maggie made a soft choking sound, that may have been a stifled giggle, but John was not sure. Either way, the mild sarcasm went right past the two women, and the other sister answered. “Well isn’t that wonderful, Sephrena. More people should be that way. I hope you young ladies realize what wonderful parents you have. My, my, you both look so lovely, I wish I had my camera.” With that, Erin began to dig in her purse, which due to the fact that it was the size of a suitcase and was packed with enough supplies for a UN peacekeeping mission, guaranteed that she would find nothing fast.

      At this point, Maggie began to speak, as fast she took ‘Aya’ by the arm, and began to steer him into the now empty car. She said loudly, “Come along, little sister, we had better get back upstairs before Mommy and Daddy send the National Guard after us…

      Thank you ladies, we appreciate the complements, and I’ll be sure to tell Momma what nice things you said about her…, she sews all our dresses… Bye now”, she had him in the car, and the door just would not close on the two women, who were still standing and grinning at them.

      Then the ladies began to wave good-by, like they were getting on a damned ocean liner headed to Europe, instead of an elevator. Not knowing what else to do, John took the hem of his jumper in each hand, and curtsied quickly. Maggie was so shocked by the move, that she just stared at him open mouthed and wide-eyed until the doors closed

 
 

      Once the doors closed, John made every attempt to stand primly, not looking at his sister, but the fierce blush in his cheeks was a dead give away. Maggie fell apart, which was the end for John as well. They were both laughing so hard that they were crying. Again, only the fact that Maggie grabbed his hands prevented him from rubbing his eyes by reflex.

      “Don’t rub you little doofus. That stuff is waterproof, but if you smear it your goanna look like a freak.”

      “Oh yeah,” he answered while laughing and flipping the hem of his jumper up, “lets not do anything to make me look like a freak, by all means.”

      They were just gaining control again, when the car stopped at a floor several levels below theirs. A younger couple got on the car, and punched the button for the next floor up. John leaned closer to Maggie and asked, “So is it always like that?”

      “Ah Hum,” Maggie answered, “It is. No matter what, when I’m dressed Lolita, the old ladies are always like that. It happens all the time. Sometimes they have kids our age; dressed in some grunge shit, and the kids will be looking at you like you are some kind of dangerous bug. Meanwhile, the whole time the grandmother is having a hissy-fit over how pretty you are, and about how much she wishes her grandchildren could dress properly… yada, yada, yada. Its hysterical. If they had a clue, they might know that I’m a three times the freak than their own grandkids are any day of the week.”

      Needless to say, the conversation got some funny looks from the twenties something couple in the car, but they quickly got off the elevator with just one ‘look at the weirdo’s’ glare that the woman gave them over her shoulder.

      “See what I mean,” Maggie said, as she dropped a short curtsy to the departing female, which, of course, lead Aya to immediately followed suit. Her look had John and Maggie falling apart all over again.

      The doors opened at their floor, and John started to step out, only to bump strait into a large man getting into the car. He looked up to say excuse me, just as Maggie grabbed his arm and squeezed it hard enough hurt. John did not mind though, as he was busy looking at the face of a largest Chinese man he’d ever seen.

      For a second or two, John thought he would pee himself. For several seconds after that, he thought that he had.

      After a moment of staring back and forth, John tried to recover by taking Maggie’s hand and saying “Come on sis, Mom is waiting for us,” before starting out the door.

      Somehow he made his legs move, but they felt so much like rubber, that he actually stumbled into the man as he brushed past him. He made it to the hallway, where he came face to face with the woman who had shot at him.

      He tried to say, “Excuse us”; thinking that if he could just get a step past the woman he could run. No noise would come. Nothing at all.

      The woman was not looking at him at all thought. She was staring straight at Maggie. “That’s her,” she said calmly. When John glanced back the man had his hand on his sister’s shoulder.

      The woman asked Maggie, “Where is your brother, Margaret, we found his school bag, and we want to give it back to him.”

      It was the same voice that John remember shrieking behind him, and even in the close to normal tones, it made the hairs on his neck stand taught.

      When she spoke, Maggie looked with a start from where she had been staring at the man’s face to the woman’s face. “My, My…” she stuttered unable to get anything out.

      John could not take his eyes off of the woman from the car now. He saw her eyes narrow as she continued to stare at Maggie. She never even looked at him once.

      After what seemed like an eternity, “Take her,” was all she said.

      At that point, John was almost lifted off of the floor as the man grabbed his arm at the shoulder. “What about this one,” he asked.

      The woman glanced at his face for only the second time, but then looked quickly back to Maggie. “Yah, take her too. She’s a witness. We’ll figure out what to do with her later.”

      “What about the one on the board, the woman who makes the costumes” One of the thugs asked in a thick voice.

      “I don’t know.” Ling said, obviously annoyed at the question. “If it hadn’t taken hours for you to see it there, we might have gotten her too. These are the two we want, now hurry.”

      John started to turn and pull away but it was no use. It was like trying to wrestle with a fireplug. They were pushed back into the car roughly, making Maggie stumble backwards and hit her head on the back wall. John began to fight, trying to hit the man, but he was shoved into the side of the car violently. He could see Maggie holding the back of her head, with a stunned look on her face.

      John thought that Maggie was about to scream, and obviously the thug thought so too, because he brutally clamped his massive hand on her mouth with a meaty thump. John once again started toward the men, when a cloth was clamped over his face that burned his lips and eyes. He tried to struggle as he heard the woman say “parking level,” but he couldn’t seem to get his feet under him well enough to pull away from the woman’s grip on his face.

      All he could think of was the terror in Maggie’s eyes, and how much he wanted to tell her not to be afraid.
 

End of Act II

 
 

By

Sarah Lynn Morgan

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