Takara looked at herself in the mirror with a beam that could fill even Achlys’ heart with joy. Her turquoise wig was carefully combed for meticulous accuracy. Her makeup made her look just like the character and he violet and bright blue costume was made out of the most exquisite materials her money could buy. Suddenly the hours spent working in a restaurant did not seem so gruelling after all.
She prayed that no one would make fun of her for cosplaying as a light-skinned character despite having African heritage.
She looked at the image of her favourite anime character on her laptop. “Oh,” she said. She searched her vanity table for her red pendant. She eventually found it underneath a beanie. She hurriedly fastened it around her neck as she heard her mother call out to her.
She raced down the stairs, tripping every few steps. She slammed her head in the door before opening it. Her mother laughed, placing a dark-skinned hand over her own mouth.
“Is that part of your character?” she asked. Takara pouted, entering the car at the same time as her mother. “So what anime’s this from?”
“Can’t you tell? It’s Megumi from Merry Merry Megumi.”
“How am I supposed to know that? I don’t watch the stuff. So what’s it about?”
“An angel falls down from the sky and loses her memory. She is looked after by this nerdy girl and they both can change into magical girls. They fight the monsters made by the person who pushed Megumi from the sky. Megumi has cloud powers and the other girl has earth powers.”
“That sounds like a children’s show.”
“W-well, it is, but it’s really good. A lot of adult men watch it.”
Takara’s mother almost spit in her coffee. “Why would a grown man want to watch it?” Awkward silence filled the car. Takara peered out the window as the buildings appeared to push themselves backwards, occasionally revealing a clear sky.
The air inside and outside the car was pleasantly warm. As if Tawhiri decided that the day was too perfect to not throw some chaos into the mix, the wind outside her window blew with infuriating strength.
Half an hour passed before the car arrived at the Tokyo International Exhibition Center. Takara’s mother laughed. “Nope, there’s no way I’m going to find a parking spot here.”
Takara frowned, her chin rested in her hand, as her mother drove several blocks until she found a spot. “Bye, sweetie. Ring me when you’re ready to go home.” Takara nodded and inhaled slowly, preparing to walk all the way to the convention from the spot with heels that whichever god created her did not intend for her to wear.
“Damn you, Mum.”
She tripped over no less than three times. The third time was when she had almost reached the building. She closed her eyes and prepared for her face to hit the concrete. When her face felt no sensations, she opened her eyes and looked up.
Her arms were being held by a girl in a similar but different costume to Takara’s. It was green with traces of gold. The girl’s wig was long, black and in a princess cut.
“Are you okay?” the girl asked in a deep and smooth voice. Takara nodded. “I thought Megumi was light on her feet.”
Takara blushed and gritted her teeth. “Well, isn’t Junko supposed to protect Megumi without asking questions?”
“That’s not official. Did you make that up?”
“Huh. I must have read a lot of Megunko doujinshi.”
The girl laughed and Takara smiled. “So have I. Isn’t that pairing the best? That moment when Junko says that she’s glad she knows Megumi and Megumi blushes is just the cutest!”
Takara was taken aback by the girl’s sudden change in demeanour to a coolheaded young lady to a bubbly fangirl. She smiled, hoping that the girl would keep showing this side of her.
“Not as cute as that episode when the two have a sleepover and sleep in the same futon!”
“How could I forget?” The girl took Takara by the arm and began lightly pulling her into the building. “I wish the pairing was more popular. Why on earth would people support Megumi and Hotaka? He’s the villain!”
“I always thought that was weird. So what doujin are you planning on buying?”
“Lots and lots of yuri,” the girl replied with a small but genuine laugh. “Oh, we haven’t introduced ourselves, unless you want us to just call each other by our character names. I’m Tsubaki.”
“Takara.” The two shook hands.
The lines were long and the judgemental eyes on Takara made the experience tiresome, but the two new friends were able to pass the time by chatting about anime, especially yuri. “Everyone at school thinks it’s weird that I like yuri so much,” Takara said.
“What’s so weird about it?” Tsubaki asked. “You shouldn’t care about what they think. Well, I guess that’s hypocritical of me since no one else knows about me liking it. Everyone assumes I’m not into anime.”
“So what do you talk about with other people?”
“Sport, usually.”
Takara scanned her eyes up and down Tsubaki, noticing her well-defined arm and leg muscles. “That makes sense,” she whispered.
Tsubaki stared at her with an amused smirk. “Are you done looking at me like that?” Takara nodded.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
Takara began to sweat underneath her costume due to the bodies pushing past her to enter lines. Tsubaki appeared to be unfazed by the rising heat of the building, much to Takara’s admiration and jealousy.
The two decided to have a food break. “Why is everything so expensive here?” Tsubaki asked as she sipped her ice tea. She tapped her fingers on the table and leaned forward so as not to spill anything on her long dress.
“Haven’t you been to a convention before?” Takara responded, taking a doujinshi from her bag. Tsubaki shook her head. Takara began reading the doujinshi in her hands.
“Haven’t you ever talked with another human being before? You’re not supposed to read when having a chat with someone.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
The two ate their food and continued to discuss the merits of magical girl anime. Out the corner of Takara’s eye was a man wearing a chillingly precise cosplay of Hotaka. She grabbed her camera and ran to the man. Tsubaki followed her, asking her where she was going and receiving no immediate answer.
“Can… Can I take a picture with you?” Takara requested. The man nodded and Takara gave the camera to Tsubaki.
Takara froze in a fighting pose. The man leaned back, his hands up in surrender. Click! The two changed their poses to Takara pointing at the man as if giving him a speech. Click! The final pose was another battle, but Takara struggled to keep balance on one leg as she pretended to be kicking Hotaka. She quickly toppled over.
Tsubaki honked with laughter before hastily covering her mouth. “I have the worst laugh,” she said softly.
Takara gave her a reassuring smile as she was helped up by her new friend. “I think it’s fine.”
The man sniggered when he saw how close the two were and suggested they take a few yuri cosplay photos together. Takara asked Tsubaki if she’d feel comfortable doing this and the latter nodded her head. Takara handed the camera over to the man.
The two girls were unsure of what poses to do. They started by holding hands and facing the camera. Click! They turned towards each other and looked in each other’s eyes, raising their hands upwards until they were at the same level as their chests. Click!
Tsubaki decided to risk embarrassment and touch the other girl’s cheek. Takara put her hand on Tsubaki’s and leaned into the latter’s hand, closing her eyes. Click!
“I’m sorry,” Tsubaki told Takara. “That was rude of me.”
“Don’t be.” The two chortled and the man remarked on how beautiful the photos were. Takara thanked the man and took the camera, taking a look at each image. “He’s right. These are really nice. Can I put them on World Cosplay? I can include you in the description if you want”
“Of course. I don’t have a World Cosplay account, though. I haven’t even heard of that site. Sorry. You can just post these photos without mentioning me.”
“If you insist. I can at least get your email address so we can chat some time, right?” The two exchanged emails.
Tsubaki heard her cell phone ring and walked outside to answer the call. Takara followed her. Tsubaki’s smile transformed into a gloomy long face faster than Hermes could deliver a message.
“I’ve got to get home. It was nice meeting you.”
The two gave each other a quick and uncomfortable embrace. “Bye,” Takara muttered. “I already can’t wait to see you again.” Her whisper died in the wind.
As Tsubaki wave goodbye, Takara stood, shivering in the now cool air, with crimson cheeks and a rapidly beating heart.
“So this is how main characters in yuri anime feel,” she said to herself, her chuckles swirling around the air with nowhere to go.
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