“Um... Well, I’m not really happy, but we can’t let the others in the collab doujin project down,” Kobory said. “......I’ll do my best!”
“Yes, that’s the way! I bought you waffles from ORANGE to say I’m sorry! Let’s do our best! ...Hey, is this your co-worker, Salama-san?” All three of them turned to me, staring at me curiously.
“Ah... hey,” I said.
“Waaah! It’s her! It’s really her!” Suddenly, their eyes were sparkling.
“I saw your commentary last night!”
“I’ve been following you forever!”
“You’re so harsh, but I love it! I’m a total fan!” they gushed, one after another. I felt a little bit intimidated by all the sudden attention. I was glad it was all positive, at least, but what was with these people?
The three of them were gabbing as they headed for the elevator. I stayed behind and whispered to Kobory, “Um, what kind of friends are these?”
“...my art group friends.” Kobory said hesitantly. “Please don’t tell anyone, but I draw fan comics for a hobby.”
“I... I see.”
“The doujinshi fair is in two days. We’d finished the work on the booklet we were putting out... but I just found out we still have to do the collab doujin.”
“What’s a collab doujin?” I wanted to know.
“You bring together creators from various groups to create a single book,” Kobory explained. “But there’s been a lot of phone tag and missed contacts, and as a result, it fell off the radar... It’s been a series of, ‘What? Nobody told me.’ You see it a lot with Tricen-san and Macaron-san and them... You know. It makes me so angry that I want to use a Daitengu Masaie to cut someone in half! But I don’t have a choice. I can’t make trouble for the other groups. Fortunately, the others have done the storyboards, so as lead artist, if I work all night... I think we can finish it.”
“Ahh,” I said. Her explanation didn’t really clarify things at all. “What’s a Daitengu Masaie?”
“It’s the name of a katana,” Kobory said. “Of course, I don’t really have one... Don’t worry about it.”
“I see.”
“Incidentally, my quota is four pages. Even though I’m not a pro. It’s pretty harsh...” she sighed. “I don’t think I’ll get any sleep tonight.”
“I... see.”
“By the way, Salama-san, do you know how to use CS?” Kobory asked.
“Use what?”
“Oh, okay,” she sighed. “I didn’t think you did...”
“Seriously, what is it?”
“Comic Studio, it’s software you use for drawing manga. I was going to ask you to help me if you could, but... sorry. You should probably just go to sleep.”
“R-Right...” I agreed.
Of course, I couldn’t sleep after that. Kobory and her art group friends were crazy busy drawing their manga. They’d let me use the bedroom next door, but I couldn’t help overhearing their stressed out exchanges in the living room.
“Um, do you think 60L10% is okay for this tone?”
“...Didn’t I tell you to use gradation for the nipples? That’s a screentone!”
“Ah, right... sorry.”
There was no way I was sleeping like this. They insisted that it was just a hobby, but that tone in their voices... The tension... This was work! I don’t know why, but I felt like I was skipping out on work to sleep, and I felt really guilty about it!
I couldn’t take it. I snapped to my feet and left the bedroom. It was 2:30 in the morning. I’d planned to just tell them I needed a glass of water and head right back in; I said hi to Kobory, but she was so laser-focused on her tablet that she didn’t even notice. It was honestly incredible; I’d never seen her that focused during dance practice. Maybe this kind of work was more her speed?
Incidentally, Kobory’s assistant friends didn’t seem to be doing anything. They’d initially been helping out on Kobory’s secondary PC and the laptops they’d brought from home, but when I came out, they were just messing around. One of them was even doing some sewing. Why was she sewing at this time of night?
“It’s for cosplay!” the sewing girl declared when she noticed me squinting at her. “It’s a booth costume. You know the comic we were drawing? There’s this one character in it who’s featured! See? Cute, huh?”
She showed me the picture of the character. I thought it was a girl at first, but it was actually a boy in girls’ clothing.
Wuh. Weird. ...Or so I’d wished was my reaction, but he actually was pretty cute. It was a really nice picture, too. The lines were delicate, and it had a strange allure. Whoever drew this was amazing. And this was a boy? Yeah, I kinda liked it. I wondered what the boy’s name was.
“Salama-san, do you want to wear it?!” the girl asked excitedly.
Huh?
“Yeah! I bet it’d look great on you! You’ve got such a masculine energy!”
Um. Excuse me?
“You don’t have to wear it on the day of the show!” she said. “Just for now! For now!”
Just for now? Well, um, but... While groping for an answer, I cast a glance at Kobory. She was so focused on her drawing that she didn’t even seem to hear our conversation. She wasn’t looking. She wasn’t listening.
I was feeling a little loopy, too, probably due to lack of sleep. If I turned the girl down now, it might crash the mood even worse, which would make it even harder for me to sleep, and... “Ah, um. Well...”
Ten minutes later...
I got changed in the bedroom so I wouldn’t get in Kobory’s way, and when her assistant friends saw me, they started squealing with joy.
“Yeeee!”
“It’s great! It’s so great! I knew it’d be great!”
“You’re a princess! There’s a princess among us!” the girls shouted in excitement.
I was wearing a, um... magical girl (boy) costume? Kind of thing... It was actually a lot less revealing than the stage costume I wore all the time, with long sleeves and knee socks. It looked a little bit like Isuzu-chan’s winter uniform, actually. But even so... Why did I feel so embarrassed?
Pastel pink. Frills. It was so girly. And they even made me hold this magic stick thing... I would have loved to wear something like this as a kid, but I was a grown-up now. It just felt like a weird fetish! I felt like a 40-something with high school-aged kids, dressing in a sailor-style school uniform! When I expressed my reservations, they all denied it vehemently.
“No, no, no! You’re wrong!”
“It looks great on you!”
“And the shame just makes it better! I love it!”
“R-Really?” I asked. Despite my doubts, I gave a twirl. The pleated miniskirt flared out and the three screamed even louder.
“Oh, gosh! Oh, gosh! Salama-san, you’re too good!”
“Someone shy and mean playing a pure character is incredibly powerful!”
Ignoring my discomfort, they took out smartphones and started taking pictures. Wait a minute, I thought. I didn’t agree to a photoshoot! Hey!
“Salama-san! Do one more twirl!”
“Ah, okay...” I found myself doing it. I showed off all the frills. The girls were delighted.
“This is great! It’s great!”
“It’s criminal! Just crazy!”
“Salama-san! Keep it up! Keep it up! Arch your back and hold out the stick!”
“Huh?” I asked. “Huh?”
“Like this! Like this!” The girl in the track suit showed me, and I did it. I held up the magical stick (it was also really well made) and posed with my fingertip on my chin.
“Yes, perfect! Now the catchphrase! ‘My stem cells are in top gear!’”
Um, what? I wondered suspiciously. What kind of story is this?
“Salama-san, please!” the assistant begged. “Please please please please!”
“But...” I tried to protest.
“If you can’t do that, just say ‘stem cells, yeah!’”
That makes less sense! What kind of story is this character in?!
“Anyway, at least say... at least say ‘stem cells!’ That’s the one thing we desperately need!”
You don’t need it! I thought. What is this stem cell obsession?!
“Yes. Good luck, Salama-san!”
“Make it sound cute! Come on! ‘Stem cells!’”
“S-Stem cells...” I stuttered weakly.
“Do it cuter!” the assistant demanded. “And don’t forget the pose!”
“S-Stem cells...” I said.
“Yes, yes! That’s the way! With the cute pose! One more time! One, two...”
“Stem cells!” I held up the magic stick, twirled my miniskirt, and shouted the line with a beaming smile. The three took picture after picture, shrieking in delight.