Ringo Noyamano

And if that wasn't enough, Kathy had bought more makeup. She had no idea what either Ringo or Alluka had in their rooms and it just seemed easier to bring hers along rather than have to run out for more.

"Hey there!" she called out. "Who wants help getting ready?"

She'd also brought her own gown along, figuring she'd get changed along with them and they could head out as a group before she met up with Dante and Anders.

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"Kathy!" Alluka looked at her beseechingly from where she was sorting through a bunch of dresses. "I was at work all day today and now I don't know what to wear anymore."

Help her, Kathy! Please!

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"That's why I'm here," Kathy soothed, going over to wrap Alluka in a hug. "We'll get you sorted with your dress and your hair and even some makeup so you feel like a princess tonight, okay?"

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Alluka hugged her back tightly, feeling better already. Kathy always had the answers.

"I would like to look like a princess tonight," Alluka admitted. "Are you going to have the time to look like one too thought?"

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"I should," Kathy said, showing Alluka the bright red gown she's brought with her to change into. "But tonight is about the two of you."

She'd had more proms than she'd really had any right to and had squandered two of them. Which was why she was here now, making sure that both Alluka and Ringo made the most of theirs.

"That reminds me though. I have presents."

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"Ahhhh, your dress is so--"

Soory, Kathy, but Alluka had heard the best word ever.

"Presents?! For us?!"

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Pfft, like Kathy didn't know her audience.

"Presents," she said. "For you."

The first thing she pulled out of her oversized bag was a big box of fancy chocolates. "I know I like to make sure you eat more than just chocolate," she said, "but today is a fancy occasion. So we're going to eat chocolate and drink sparkling apple cider--" she pulled out several bottles of that, as well as plastic glasses that looked like champagne flutes, "--and just be really fancy while we get dressed and ready to go."

She looked at Alluka and winked. "So long as we can all do that neatly, especially once our makeup is on."

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If Alluka's eyes got any bigger they'd fall out of her head.

"Kathy, Kathy you're the best."

Could Kathy hear the squee in Alluka's voice? Because she was squeeing.

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"See, and you're saying that without getting the best part," Kathy teased, reaching into her bag once again.

And pulling out a slender box with a little clasp in front. "Here," she said, passing it over to Alluka. "See what's inside."

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"Oh, oh, Kathy!" Ringo spun and dived at Kathy for a big hug. Someone had been missed.

"What did you bring?" Goodies!

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"Hi Ringo," Kathy said, hugging her back tightly. She was glad she'd thought of this; she'd missed her girls. "I brought some extra makeup and a couple of presents along with me. It's your first prom, I wanted to make sure it was special."

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"Presents!" Ringo beamed and clapped her hands.

She shot Kathy a sort of happy smirk. "And, come on, you know I'd make it special all by myself if I had to." Her expression softened slightly. "But you being here makes it more special." So don't go anywhere.

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Kathy had no plans to be anywhere but right here for the rest of the afternoon.

After that, well, things got hazy, but she was still going to try. "Yeah, I know you would have," Kathy said fondly, giving Ringo a kiss on the side of her temple. "But I'm your senpai. And that means that sometimes, I show up to make things special, just so you don't have to."

There was a small pause while Kathy gave Ringo a warm smile.

"...And also to show you how it's done."

Brat!

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"Pffft." Ringo stuck out her tongue.

"We'll just see who shows who what!"

It was Kathy. Kathy was going to teach you how to do your make-up properly, Ringo. And you weren't fooling anyone.

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"Well, I know how to do this thing in style, for one," Kathy said, gesturing to the chocolates and sparkling cider she'd already taken out to show Alluka. "And then I'm gonna show you how to do your hair and makeup, too."

And then she had a special gift for Ringo, the way she'd had the tiara for Alluka, but she was going to wait to give it to her. Because, again, brat.

"So let me pour us all something to drink and open up these chocolates while you show me what you're going to wear tonight."

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"Yay chocolate and cider!" Ringo grinned, then her face fell slightly and she flushed a bit. "I, um, haven't exactly decided yet?" She looked over at her closet. "I, um, didn't buy a whole bunch of new dresses," unlike some people named Alluka, "but, I, uh, already have a ton."

She glanced over at Kathy. "Um... fashion show?"

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Kathy flashed her Victory fingers. "Hell yeah, fashion show," she said, grabbing a few chocolates and a flute of cider and reclining on the bed like it was hers. "Let's see what you got!"

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Ringo laughed at Kathy's posing, but still went over to her closet.

"So I know this one's not really a perfect fit," Ringo warned as she changed into a bight red dress. "But I just love the colors and the patterns and swirls and stuff." Even if it was very obviously cut for someone who was a little (or a lot) less curvy than Ringo was.

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Kathy was a lot less tactful about it than Alluka had been. "Boobs, Ringo," she said. "You've got them."

Kathy was, in fact, more than a little jealous of how bountifully Ringo had been blessed in that department.

"And tonight you're gonna flaunt them. No high collars and ponytails for you. Senpai's orders."

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"I know," Ringo said, managing to combine a laugh and a sigh in the same breath. "I just really keep wanting to be able to wear something like this and have it work."

"I mean, you'd probably look amazing in it! Especially with how long your legs are."

Everyone always wanted what they didn't have.

She shrugged, turning back to her closet. "But I'm pretty sure I've got at least a couple of dresses in here that will earn senpai's approval."

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"You've got great legs, too," Kathy told her. "All that ATing. We just gotta find that perfect dress that highlights your assets without making you feel too self-conscious to pull it off."

In another minute or so, she'd probably be in Ringo's closet, too, looking for something to put her kohai in.

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Ringo laughed. "If it helps, I've gotten a little bit better about being self-conscious?" Not that she was going to be comfortable in anything too extreme, but it was still progress.

She grabbed another dress from her closet and changed into it.

"What about something like this?" Ringo asked with a grin. "It's, like, off the shoulder and everything!"

How daring!

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"Oooh, that's cute," Kathy declared, giving that dress an approving nod. "Put it in the 'maybe' pile. I'll have to see it on you, and I'm betting you have better ones, but that's at least a start."

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Ringo wrinkled her nose and started a 'maybe' a pile on her bed.

"Fine. I've got just the thing."

She was totally going to show Kathy how daring she could be!

Pulling another red dress out of her closet, she pulled it on. "What do you think?" Ringo asked as she turned around, practically declaring look how daring I am! Though the effect was slightly spoiled by the fact that she was just wearing a regular bra.

But, still! Look at the neckline! Weren't you impressed, Kathy?

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