Kotobuki had an average-sized room, about ten square meters. This was Kai’s first time seeing the inside of a girl’s bedroom; he had been over Jun’s house before, but he didn’t dare enter her room while under Royalteach’s stern watch.
Every spot the eye could see, from the walls to the ceiling, was covered in edge-to-edge anime posters. As such, it was far from a bland room, but it was almost devoid of anything of substance; her bookshelf was small and wasn’t decorated with figures or any kind of anime merchandise.
There wasn’t even anything typically girly there, like stuffed animals (though Kai might just be following stereotypes here). On the other hand, that made the lavish, yet rather aged vanity stick out all the more. It was probably a hand-me-down from her family.
The last things Kai’s eyes were drawn to were the screen of a giant, over fifty-inch wide TV and the seemingly high-tech video recorder under it. From Kotobuki’s typical demeanor, Kai could assume that she wasn’t given much of an allowance, making the lack of merchandise despite her otaku credentials perfectly understandable. Her enthusiast-grade audio setup was probably something her parents bought for her. One could assume that they were pretty understanding when it came to watching anime.
“Please don’t stare so much... It’s embarrassing...”
“Oh, sorry...”
Kai straightened up quickly after Kotobuki’s pouty request. They faced each other while sitting on their knees atop floor cushions. Kotobuki was, incidentally, still in her cosplay. Kai was told not to look around her room, so he had no choice but to focus his staring on her. Hestia was a character known for her large breasts, a feature Kotobuki seemed to recreate; her normally modest and unassuming bust was now prominently filled out.
“The blue ribbon looks nice on you.”
“I do not appreciate that.”
Kai’s roundabout way of asking what was up with her tits didn’t go smoothly, but she still gave him an answer as her eyes shifted from side to side.
“I put in four pads.”
“Four?”
“I do not appreciate that.”
Another comment that failed to go over smoothly.
“If you were to ask me,” continued Kotobuki while still pouting, “a slender body type is far more suited to cosplaying. It’s simple to add what isn’t there, but quite difficult to remove what already is.”
“Do you...like cosplaying?” asked Kai in a show of agreement with her theory.
“...Yes,” answered Kotobuki faintly. She must have been mortified. She frequently cast her eyes downward or in any direction away from Kai. “To be perfectly honest, I do.”
“I hadn’t the faintest idea,” said Kai boisterously in an attempt to cheer her up.
“Because I hid it. Though I intended to reveal the truth slowly over time.”
“Ah, so that’s where the Guild Girl on our date came from.”
“Yes, that’s right. I chose to start small.”
“I can’t imagine there would have been any issue with being upfront.”
“I-I was scared of getting laughed at if I dropped it all at once... I don’t even tell my friends at school.”
Ah yes, the true form of an emotional trainwreck.
“Well, I wouldn’t laugh. I think it’s a fantastic hobby.”
“You may not laugh, but that grin on your face is dangerously close to laughter!”
“This is not done out of disrespect for your hobby, but rather out of how it’s touched my heart.”
“Y-Your heart?”
“Though your reactions tickle my funny bone.”
“I do not appreciate that.”
Kai had to chuckle at how smoothly his comments were not going over.
“Is cosplay what you typically spend your money on?” Kai was aware that cosplaying was expensive, and definitely a cost-prohibitive hobby for your average high schooler. It would also explain Kotobuki’s frequent complaints about her financial situation, or so he thought.
“Oh, not at all. My mother makes the costumes I wear.”
“My, you have quite the understanding mother!”
“I do. My mother began as a cosplayer who created her own costumes, after all. She quit when she gave birth to me, but she put the skills she developed from her hobby to work by opening this dressmaking shop.”
“I see. She is quite young.” Moms these days were on another level. Kai was jealous.
“What? My mother turns forty-five this year. She often brags about being among the first generation of cosplayers.”
“That’s six years older than my mom!”
“I’m afraid she’s quite skilled at makeup.”
“Man, there oughta be limits to that...” Kai didn’t see any part of her that looked older than her thirties. Was she not human? “So, have you cosplayed with your mother before?”
“Sadly, not even once. She merely puts me in an outfit, joyfully takes photos, and that’s the end of that.”
“Did those photos happen to end up online?”
“No, my mother forbids that, as she does with going to cosplay events. She won’t allow either until I’m an adult.”
It made sense; a daughter like this needed a mother like that. Mrs. Hotei might have seemed carefree, but she was strict where it mattered. It wasn’t hard to imagine that cosplay photos of someone as beautiful as Kotobuki would attract an incredibly creepy crowd if they were uploaded to Twitter and the like. As for events, while the majority of people attending are practitioners of the craft, the amount of unsavory folks among the crowds are by no means zero. Kai had heard some credible rumors about the trouble some people encountered. Mrs. Hotei probably figured that her daughter could make her own choices as an adult but still needed her protection as a student.
“Then I take it you typically enjoy your cosplays at home?”
“Yes, as a cold and lonely activity.”
“Now, now, nobody’s judging, so you needn’t be so hard on yourself.”
For one thing, just about all otaku hobbies were enjoyed alone in one’s house. Kai smiled, and Kotobuki smiled with him.
I feel silly for worrying so much, thought Kai as he watched his coworker grin. All those fears about being hated or driven away were clearly figments of his imagination. Once they met each other again, they talked like nothing had changed. He had Jun to thank for pushing him to come here.
“I feel I must apologize for ignoring your messages and not answering your calls,” said Kotobuki, apparently sensing why Kai had come over. She bowed her head to reiterate her apology.
“Please, raise your head. It’s no longer of any concern to me. But may I ask the reason why?”
“Very well,” said Kotobuki. She seemed like she had made the tough decision to answer. But she was still an emotional trainwreck, so her explanation came cautiously.
“The truth is...I was fully prepared for you to reject me last night. And I willed myself to keep trying for as many times as it would take if you did.” Kotobuki candidly explained the emotions she felt as she pressured Kai into that kiss. That was probably one of the things she was apologizing for.
“However, I failed to consider anything beyond that. I didn’t realize the consequences of my actions until you pointed out that we wouldn’t be able to see each other again because of them. I’m truly such a child...so much so that I merely wanted to crawl into a corner.”
“And once you got in there, you couldn’t work up the courage to make your way out?”
“Correct. With how certain I was that you’d lost all respect for me or grown sick of my presence, it was hard to know how I could face you again.”
Kai couldn’t laugh off her concerns or say she didn’t need to go that far. The only reason he figured it wasn’t a big deal was because he knew his own emotions; it must have been terrifying for Kotobuki, who had no way of knowing what he was thinking. In that regard, Kai was no different; until he finally spoke with Kotobuki face-to-face and learned how she truly felt, he had just been agonizing at home.
“I would never grow sick of you, Kotobuki. I always hold you in high regard.”
“...Can I truly believe those words?”
“Of course. If anything, I was the one who had been fretting that I’d burned my bridge with you.”
“That’s preposterous! A-After all, N-Nakamura, I lo-lo-lo...” Kotobuki’s cheeks grew visibly flushed, preventing her from finishing that sentence.
“I-I understand,” said Kai as he butted in. He was getting unseemingly embarrassed as well. “You needn’t repeat yourself, really!”
But that just made Kotobuki even more determined to speak her mind.
“I wuv you, even after all this.”
Sadly, she flubbed it. On the one word that really mattered, at that. Kai quickly tried to avoid reacting and pretended not to notice, but there was no hiding from someone whose perception was as skillfully honed as Kotobuki’s.
“That’s all,” said Kotobuki with her eyes wide open. “That’s why I ignored your calls.”
“I see, that explains everything. It was worth coming just to confirm that neither of us have grown depressed over it.”
Kai followed her lead and wrapped up the conversation as gently as he could. His consideration seemed to pay off as Kotobuki’s expression softened before she continued.
“It was. And having you come to my rescue when I was too cowardly to visit you made me very...very happy.”
Like a bud blooming into a flower, her lips spread into a lovely smile. It was a grin that suited her so well that it could sweep anyone off their feet. Kai was convinced that working up the courage to barge in was worth it for just this sight alone.