Fortunately, we were able to get into the city with only a passing glance from the guards. Kei quickly located an inn and secured a room for the night. She and my sister had decided they would ask Robin for a trip back since they’d be free to go once Alec and I had gotten home. We were taking a moment to rest before heading to the shrine.

“Maybe we should have asked Robin for some extra clothes,” Nina mused. “Drenched or not, we look pretty out of place with the locals.”

“I’m pretty sure any travelers would look out of place,” Alec pointed out. “Everyone here is dressed so… traditionally.”

“But some of the yukatas are really pretty!” I added. “Maybe we can go find a shop to buy some?”

Kei clasped her hands together. “Oh, no wonder the port is so busy! Today’s probably the harvest festival.”

My ears twitched at the news. “A festival!? I’ve always wanted to go to a festival! Can we go, pleaseee?” It took me a few moments to realize I’d jumped off the bed, giving my tail free rein to swish around excitedly. I cleared my throat before awkwardly sitting back down.

Nina reached over and ruffled my hair. “Easy there, sis. Getting you and Alec home is our first priority, remember?”

“Yeah, I know, but-”

“Well, if the harvest festival really is today, then chances are the shrine is closed until the offerings tonight as well,” Kei mentioned casually.

“Does that mean…?” My fox parts were moving on their own again. Jeez, how’d Nina keep these things under control?

“I suppose that means we have some free time,” Kei continued. There was a smile tugging at her lips. “Why don’t we check out the festival?”

“YES!” I jumped onto Kei and gave her a big hug. “Thank you, thank you!”

“Don’t thank me!” she protested. “The timing just happened to work out, that’s all!”

“Hey Syl, you wanna check it out together?” Alec asked.

“Sure!” I replied eagerly. “Let’s go together with everyone!” There was a collective sigh from the rest of the room, though I wasn’t sure why. Did I say something stupid again?

“Sis, you’re too pure,” Nina said.

Kei pulled away from my hug. “Anyways… Alec, get out.”

“Wait, why? What’d I do?”

“Just go,” she ordered. “Go and get some food downstairs or something.”

Alec started to argue, but a stern glance from Kei was all it took for him to shut his mouth. “Okay… I’ll be back later, I guess.”

As Alec left the room, I asked, “Why does he have to leave?”

“Because if I’m right about the festival, Robin probably has us covered,” Kei replied. In one fluid motion, she opened up her console and grabbed the captain’s gift from her inventory. She was too tall for me to see over her shoulder, so I watched as she began laying out clothes on the bed. One, no, two jinbei, and...

“Yukatas!” I exclaimed. “We get to wear festival clothes! Yes!” I rushed to the bed, grabbing the first one that caught my eye. Unfolding it rather unceremoniously, a slight gasp escaped my lips. It was a pure white yukata decorated with a delicate patterning of pink cherry blossoms. The flowers wrapped around the fabric like they were being scattered from above, gathering around the flowy sleeves and bottom of the yukata. The sash that came with it was a darker pink color, complimenting the sakura blossoms nicely. It was perfect.

“I want this one!” I exclaimed.

Nina stifled a laugh. “Slow down sis! You’re gonna run out of energy before we even get to the festival at this rate.”

“Nuh-uh! I’m not a little kid anymore!”

“Oh really?” Kei prodded. “How old are you?”

“Twel-” Urk, the wrong set of memories were taking over. Maybe I was getting a little carried away. “Nineteen,” I amended. “Sorry for um… whatever that just was.”

Nina giggled, “It’s alright! I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. I’ll help you get ready. You want to look your best for Alec, don’t you?”

“N-no!” I replied immediately. Well, actually, I guess I cared what he thought. Just a little. “I, uh, n-not necessarily for him…”

“Oh, come on, admit it! You two have been flirting all week!”

“That wasn’t-! He was just-”

“There’s probably going to be fireworks tonight, you know. Wouldn’t be so romantic if he confessed to you then?”

“C-confess!?” I felt blood rushing to my face. Did he really think about me like that? 

Thankfully, Kei came to my rescue. “Nina, you’ll break the poor girl. Stop messing with her.”

“Fine,” she conceded. “But I’m still making her as cute as possible. Come’re, sis.”

***

We were in there for almost an hour. In my excitement, I’d forgotten to consider my tail when it came time to put everything on. Thankfully, the clothes here seemed to adjust to their wearer, so I was saved from an evening of my tail stuffed uncomfortably behind me. Nina helped me get everything on and tied my sash in a big double-tailed bow that was apparently called a ‘love story’ knot. I was sure she’d picked that one on purpose, but she waved it off as a coincidence.

That was followed by my sister sitting me down in front of a mirror with a small makeup kit that she evidently carried around in her inventory. I was trying to watch what she was doing carefully, but I ended up losing track of the steps about halfway through. One moment I saw the face I’d come to know as mine, and the next Nina had magically added a light blush to my complexion, along with some additional witchery that made my eyes look a little bigger and my lashes a little longer. She’d also taken care of my hair again, though this time she left it down instead of my usual twintails. There was a slight natural waviness to it at the ends, and it made my pink hair look extra silky.

Nina and Kei had gotten changed too, of course. My sister had picked the other kimono, a dark blue color patterned with cranes flying over ocean waves up and over the white sash she’d tied in a wide fan bow. She’d left her hair down as well, and used the same makeup witchery on herself that she did for me. Her hair was a bit wavier than mine though, which gave it a much fuller appearance. When I saw the two of us all fancied up, I couldn’t help but smile at the fact that we really did look like sisters.

Kei picked the Jinbei that matched Nina’s outfit. It was a dark forest green, patterned with a slightly different wave pattern than Nina’s, though the two still looked similar enough to match. She didn’t spend nearly as much time in the bathroom as my sister and I did, citing something about ‘not wanting to steal the spotlight.’ Personally, I thought she looked as pretty as Nina did, just in her own unique style.

After Nina had finished with me, I headed back to the main room where Kei was relaxing on one of the beds. I had just sat down on the other bed when Alec knocked on the door. “Can I come in yet?” He asked. “The heck you’ve been doing in there for an hour anyways?”

“Let him in,” Nina called from the bathroom. “I’m finishing up!”

Kei suddenly bolted up from her resting position. “Could you go get him, Syl?” She asked. “I just realized there was something I forgot to do.” Before I could respond, Kei headed back into the bathroom.

With a sigh, I pushed myself off the bed and headed to the door to open it for Alec.

“Finally!” He said. “What haaaa…” His voice trailed off as he gaped at me, glancing at me up and down. I was very self-conscious all of a sudden.

“D-does it look ok?” I asked him. Why was I suddenly so embarrassed? My voice was all weird too. It sounded about an octave higher than it usually was. 

Alec fumbled for an answer as his cheeks grew redder. “N-no! I mean, yes! It- uh, you, look really pretty. And cute. Um…”

If he said anything else, I didn’t hear it. My face was very hot all of a sudden. I tried to thank him, but my voice had stopped working.

A few poorly suppressed giggles from inside caught my attention. I glanced behind me to see Nina and Kei peeking out of the bathroom door, watching the entire debacle. Wait a second…

“You set us up!” I accused.

“And it was worth it,” Kei laughed. “Your clothes are on the bed, Alec. Come find us downstairs when you’re ready.”

“I, uh, ok…” He stammered in reply. I had to admit, seeing Alec all flustered was pretty funny, but still wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about the fact that I was the reason he couldn’t think straight. It gave me this weird fluttery feeling in my stomach. Weird, but not entirely uncomfortable.

“Oh! Wait, before we go…” Nina fumbled through her console and inventory, pulling out a set of necklaces. “Here! I have gifts for everyone!”

She held out her hand, revealing four identical crescent moon pendants attached to thin metal chains. They were no bigger than an inch and shone with a silver glean. Several intricate symbols had been artistically engraved on it that occasionally gave off a soft blue glow.

“I grabbed these from the guildhall. They’re attuned to each other, so you can sense the direction of the other ones when you wear it. This way we can find each other in the crowds later!”

“Good, now we don’t have to worry about Sylvie getting lost,” Alec joked.

Nina gave him a sideways glance. “It’s just for extra safety. After all, you’d never lose track of my cute little sister, right, Alec?” My sister’s friendly malice sent a chill down my spine. 

Alec had clearly gotten the worst of it. He was trembling slightly as he said, “N-no, ma’am…”

“Good! Well, you can come get my sister downstairs whenever you’re ready!” My sister whisked me away from the room before he could say anything else.

…What just happened?