A tale of the dark past and lost memories (Private || Rackie and Arc || NSFW)

"Ad-lib master, the one and only, eheheh..." Yurio said, awkwardly laughing at the end of his sentence, scratching at the back of his hood-covered head. "Wait, why does us being alone matter?" he asked, having had come no closer to a conclusion about what the secret costume was.

"They're a pair of dorks," Ana said, still shaking off the last vestiges of the mirth that Yurio had caused in her. "But yeah, I guess they are, although," she looked at Luna, a smirk playing upon her lips. "Nowhere near as cute as you, even combined."

Luna's face turned red at Ana's compliment. "O-Oh Ana... Y-you're the best..." She said, trying to somehow hide her embarrassment caused by her partner. Without success. "Uhm... y-you call me c-cute a-and I think y-you're the prettiest..." Luna added, trying to make Ana blush more.

A while later, the door to the changing room slowly opened and Aurora stepped out of it, to show Yurio why exactly privacy was needed. She was wearing a sexy black bunny with black stockings underneath it. Her feet covered black heels and she had a headband with bunny ears attached to it. Around her neck there was a red bow-tie. "So... what do you think about this one, Yurio~?" Aurora asked, smirking at him in a somewhat flirtatious way.

Luna was successful. The red tinge to her cheeks returned in full force while a goofy, happy smile crept onto her features. "I'm glad you think so. You saying that about me is just the greatest."

Yurio's jaw almost dropped when Aurora came out of the changing room looking like that. He looked away for just a moment in embarrassment, though he looked back soon enough, since the sight was just too enticing. Red as he was, he probably resembled that bow-tie a little. "Uhm..." he began, searching for some words. "Kinda makes me wish we were home..." he finally said, quietly, looking off into empty space once again.

Luna giggled happily. "Ah... I'm s-so lucky to be with you..." She whispered smiling in a somewhat similar way to Ana. "S-So... uhm... we're buying all c-costumes right?" Luna finally asked, to make sure. She wanted them all. She was even making plans on how to use them. Of course, for their party, she would wear the second panda one. The kigurumi, Luna wanted to use for a sleepover with Ana, if there ever was an opportunity for one, of course.

Aurora giggled upon seeing his reaction, but also blushed slightly. There was a smirk on her face as she approached him slowly, trying to sway her hips a little. "Oh don't you worry... I'm definitely planning to wear it at home~!" She whispered into his ear, before planting a kiss on his cheek. Then, she took a step backward and giggled again. "Well, it seems you like it! Great! I'm definitely buying it." Aurora said, dropping the flirtatious act. She behaved as if she was wearing normal-looking clothes, but the bright blush forming on her cheeks betrayed what she was really feeling.

"We're both lucky," Ana said. She briefly put her arm around Luna's shoulders to give her a quick squeeze as they walked. Doing so for long probably wasn't safe while carrying a bunch of costumes, too, so she let go of her. "Yeah, all of them," she confirmed.

"Mmm... Looking forward to it," he said, back to oogling her on the down low while he thought. "Is there, like, a guy equivalent of something like that..?" he finally asked, since he couldn't think of anything personally.

When they approached the counter, Luna spotted familiar faces. It seemed like the team of outcasts had also completed their hunt for costumes. With... really strange results. The first thing that should be noted was that all of them were already wearing their costumes. The second thing were the costumes themselves: For some reason, Raccoon was wearing a colorful jester outfit and he didn't seem happy about it. Angela was wearing something that resembled a strange mish-mash of angel and devil costumes - she had both a halo and red horns, she was wearing a short white dress and red knee-socks. She also didn't seem too happy. The only person seemingly satisfied with their costume was Kira, who was wearing a maid dress. The issue with it was that the dress was short. She didn't seem to mind though.
Luna was staring at the bizarre trio, feeling extremely confused. What had happened to them?

"Well, I don't think so. I mean... I'm not sure there is an equivalent that stays within my comfort zone..." Aurora commented, realizing that seeing Yurio in a similar outfit would be a bit ridiculous. "Some girls do like men in suits, though!" She said, winking at him as if she was hinting at something. Ready to go back and change into her clothes, she leaned against a wall and smirked at Yurio. Her blush was getting brighter and brighter, due to Yurio's ogling mostly. "S-so, should I go change into my clothes now?" Aurora asked, still trying to keep her calm, seemingly relaxed act. Well, she was hiding her embarrassment quite well.

"I bet Kira strongarmed both of you," Ana commented on that instead of how ridiculous they looked, shaking her head at the ridiculous display as she prepared to buy her costumes. "Hey, hand me your stuff," she said to Luna, rather clearly as the beginning of an attempt to pay for her. Ana dearly hoped that Luna didn't have a card that could be used in another country, because she was sure not to have and Australian Dollarydoos...

"Suits, huh?" Yurio said thoughtfully. Yurio didn't have any of his own and they were sort of something he couldn't steal from Glyndwr, considering how well-fitted they have to be to look good. "Uh, please do," he said, looking away again. Realising that he was also still in the lion getup, he also went back to his booth.

"I've lost a bet" The three of us said in a perfect unison. Yes. There were three bets. All of them lost. Now we have to wear these ridiculous things. What were the bets about? Perhaps I'll tell you some other time. Also, while Angela and I sounded somewhat annoyed, Kira sounded happy. Damn that little devil! She should be wearing Angela's costume!

"Oh, yeah, I've noticed something! Raccoon, you dummy! You took 'em all on a trip to another country! What if they don't have local currency... or a card?" Kira asked me, clearly thinking I made a mistake. I just smirked and looked at one of the cashiers. "Excuse me, can our friends use The US dollars here?" I asked politely.
The cashier looked at me in silence for a moment, before confirming that it was an option.
"Have you forgotten, dear sister, that sometimes you can pay in a shop in a foreign country using a stronger currency? That's how stores keep tourists happy." I replied, clearly giving Luna hope. ... ... ... Oh come on!

"M-Maybe I could pay for everything this time..?" Luna suggested, smiling innocently at Ana. Deep inside she was relieved that she didn't have to rely on her on the paying matter. It would make her feel extremely uncomfortable.

Aurora quickly returned into the changing room, to put her regular clothes back on. She made a mental note that Yurio probably needed a suit too. Perhaps it was time to plan a bigger shopping trip for him? After all, sometimes it seemed like he was borrowing clothes from Glyndwr. Not that Aurora had any proofs of that actually being the case. It was just a feeling. A hunch.

Ana glared at Raccoon with all the ill will that she could possibly muster before she just paid for her own stuff, using the aforementioned card. She stepped away from the register holding her costumes, still glaring, sulking, and simmering like he had done it to personally slight her.

A simple lion costume meant that taking it off was just as easy as getting it on, so he was done before Aurora was. Once he had his costumes collected in a manageable manner, he waited outside Aurora's changing room. He thought about going ahead, but decided against it. Staying with Aurora as long as was possible was certainly the more popular choice here.

I just looked at Ana and shook my head. What's more important? Your pride or Luna's comfort? Anyway, it seemed like Ana would get an opportunity to be triumphant anyway.
That's when Kira stepped in to ruin everything. She approached Ana and pointed to Luna. "Look." She told her briefly, smiling widely as she winked at her. It seemed like fate would give Ana a chance to satisfy her desire anyway.

Apparently, Luna didn't have enough money on her to get both costumes. She could pick one or the other. How clumsy of her not to notice the prizes of those costumes! The girl started searching through her pockets desperately trying to find enough to get both after all. To no success.

"Go save the day." Kira told Ana almost whispering into her ear, before stepping away and giggling.

When Aurora was ready, she stepped out of the changing room and stretched her body a bit, while holding all of the costumes under her arm. "Now I really have to get used to heels..." Aurora said trying to move one of her feet a little. She was obviously implying something by those words. "Well, let's go! Time to use a card, I guess" Aurora said before she started making her way out of the changing zone.

The balance shifted and between Raccoon's meddling and Kira's obvious but still well appreciated play, Kira in Ana's mind came out just a little bit higher than the decidedly meddlesome sorcerer. Ana wordlessly took the cheaper of the two costumes from Luna, thinking just a little bit about how she felt here, and quickly bought it before she could stop her. Really, buying stuff was probably the only thing Ana wanted to do for Luna that Luna didn't like. Luna had her Academy allowance, while Ana had a pair of well off parents that all things considered kind of spoiled their children.

"You do look good in them," Yurio said, kind of missing Aurora's point but agreeing nonetheless. Yurio followed Aurora for only a little while before he transferred all of his stuff to one arm so he could hold her hand.

I just watched the entire scene with my hands crossed on my chest. I shook my head. Well, at least Kira managed to satisfy everyone in the end.
Kira had a huge satisfied grin on her face. She rested her elbow on her brother's shoulder and started humming under her nose.
While Luna was really embarrassed by the fact that Ana still had to save her in the end, she still appreciated the fact that thanks to her beloved one she could have two costumes and that her plan of using the kigurumi one in the future remained unchanged. "Thank you, Ana..." She said quietly, with a bright blush on her cheeks.

"Hm, I do?" Aurora asked Yurio, smiling at him, as she squeezed his hand gently. "Well then. Perhaps now I must get used to wearing them." She said and giggled. The counter was right on the horizon.

"No problem," Ana said, as she once more fell back to petting Luna on the head casually, while waiting for the remaining two shoppers to get back from trying stuff on.

"Did she do this?" Yurio asked, pointing to Kira once he took a look at the trio and how each seemed to be feeling about their costumes. Though without waiting for an answer, he went off to pay for his costumes. "USD should be fine, right?" Yurio asked, as if it was the most natural thing. He was used to travel, even if not as far as Australia.

"Seriously, what happened to you?" Aurora asked the trio before approaching the counter.
"Each... one of us lost a bet..." Angela said, without getting into details.
The cashier nodded and confirmed that they could pay in USD. Apparently, they were not the first tourists in the store's history who wanted to use foreign currencies. Aurora paid for her costumes using her newly made debit card. It was quite a luxury really. Working in her mother's cafe really solved a lot of her financial insecurities.

"So, everyone's ready to go back, right?" Ana asked, since everyone was here having had purchased their costumes.

"I am, here," Yurio said, while standing by and waiting.

I stretched my arms looking at everyone present. "Alright then. I'm opening a portal." I told them, before pointing my hands towards the exit from the store. I started muttering my mantra and then the spell itself. Not soon after that, the magical portal appeared in front of the door leading out of the store. "Let's go before the staff starts asking me questions." I told them with an amused grin present on my face.

From petting her head, Ana moved her hand to instead push Luna onward towards the portal.

With the portal open, Yurio moved towards it with haste, as advised by Raccoon.

Just to speed this up not to spend a few posts describing how everyone went through the portal...
Luna took Ana's hand and gently and walked through the portal. She seemed really satisfied with their little shopping trip.
Aurora jumped into the portal, not to waste time. So did Angela. Only Kira kept staring at the portal, considering her options. "Meh! I'll give you this satisfaction, brother." She told Raccoon before going through his portal.
I, of course, would be the last person to go through the portal.

"Lets go find somewhere to get changed," Ana said, now that everyone was back through the portal, as she led Luna by the hand, as usual.

"Dibs on the cafe back room!" Yurio announced loudly as he dragged Aurora past the other unchanged pair.

Angela shrugged. "You can easily get changed in the toilets. They should be big enough. Besides, I've cleaned there today, so it should be clean enough too." Angela told Ana, before walking behind the counter to pour herself a glass of cola. Team of outcasts needn't change into their costumes, so they were free to do whatever they wanted.

"I love the atmosphere of this cafe. Now I see that at night it's even better!" Kira commented as she looked around the place. It was clear it wasn't her first visit to Nine-Tails.
"You love everything in this world, don't you?" I asked, feeling that Kira was too big of a fan of this universe.
"Well... I don't like evil or painful things, but everything else is amazing." She replied without hesitation.

Aurora followed Yurio smirking. Well, the back room was the perfect place to get changed. After all, that's where the staff of Nine-Tails always put their uniforms on.

As suggested, Ana took Luna to the bathrooms, letting her go once inside. She quickly went into a stall, looking to get back to their party as soon as possible.

Yurio, on the other hand, started changing almost as soon as he found a place to set his stuff down. Since it was just Aurora, and since it was unlikely that anyone else would come in, he didn't think it worth it to do anything else.

Luna also went into one of the stalls and started undressing. She decided to pun on the panda costume that Ana had picked for her. Unlike her partner, Luna decided to take her time to, enjoying the feeling of new clothes. She hummed, fixing her hair a bit with her fingers.

Just to make sure Aurora locked the door to the staff room and started taking her clothes off, right next to Yurio. The only issue was that she wasn't really sure which outfit to pick for the party. In the end, she came to the conclusion that she could pick something that both looked amazing and would make Yurio happy. So, she put the cat costume on.

Yurio started to put on the lion costume, figuring that matching somewhat was better; that and it was quite comfortable, so he thought it'd be better for this sort of party. "Damnit," he said, partway, tutting, while unashamedly watching Aurora put her own costume on. "I should have had you try on a dragon costume, for the hell of it..."

Ana, figuring that Luna wasn't going to pick the kigurimi, put on the wolf-themed dress. Since Luna was taking her time, Ana waited for her just beside the door to the toilets.

Aurora was in the middle of putting the top part of her costume on when she heard Yurio realizing a small mistake. She laughed at his sudden realization and then shook her head, all while standing with only her bra covering her chest. "Yeah, you should have! Well... maybe next time?" She said and winked at him as if she wanted to assure him that he would see her in a dragon costume, eventually, someday. After finally putting the top of her costume on, Aurora smirked at Yurio before striking a cat-girl pose. "How do I look, nya?" She asked him.

When Luna was finally sure that her attire couldn't look any better, she finally walked out of the stall and joined Ana. "L-Let's go~!" She said cheerfully, taking one of Ana's hands into her both hands.

"There's gotta be a costume shop in Death City somewhere, so maybe if we're ever out shopping?" Yurio mused, quickly finishing up with his own costume. "Equal parts cute and sexy, so, basically, amazing," he gave her his flirtatious praise just prior to taking her hand and heading out to the cafe proper, obviously following unlocking the door.

Ana gave a single nod in affirmation, then leading her out of the toilets and into the cafe.