Kai returned home early that evening. Mrs. Hotei said he could hang around later if he wanted, but Kai decided to be considerate for his first visit to this (girl!) friend’s house. Once he made it home, he immediately called up Jun.
“...And that’s what we talked about. So, wanna cosplay with us?”
“I do!” responded Jun. As Kai expected, she didn’t think twice.
“Okay then, we’ll meet up at Kotobuki’s place after school tomorrow and plan it out. We’ve gotta get her mom to take our measurements and then decide what characters we wanna cosplay. And quickly too, since it’ll probably take a while to get the costumes ready.”
“Hmmmm, so many options... I dunno how to decide...”
“I feel that. It’s something I’ve wanted to try for a long time, but now that I’ve got the actual opportunity, well...”
“Yeah, I get greedy thinking about all the characters I wanna try.”
“But according to Kotobuki’s mom, she can make two costumes in a day if they’re not ridiculously complex designs.”
“For real?! That fast?!”
“She’s not selling suits for six figures, so she has to work that fast to turn a profit. She’s a pro, after all. And apparently, the quick people can work even faster than that.”
“Pros are so sick!”
“I know, right? Anyway, we’ve got about two weeks to prepare, and since she’s got existing jobs to take care of, you and I can probably get around five or six costumes each.”
“That’s overkill! I gotta thank her!”
“Yeah, me too. That said...it’s probably best to pick characters that match the costumes Kotobuki already has. And characters who need complicated props like the Blue Rose Sword are out by default. That goes double for characters with clunky suits of armor, like Goblin Slayer.”
“Mhm. What about wigs? I think those take a while.”
“Kotobuki said her dad could get the company to prepare those. They’ve got specialty shops for them and they can get pro stylists to do the haircuts, so it wouldn’t take as long as you’d think. Then again, that’s because they can afford it!”
“Wow, I love cosplaying on someone else’s dime!”
“Hey now, let’s not say anything unprofessional here. Even if it’s true.”
So went their discussion.
Mrs. Hotei also asked them to make sure they got their parents’ permission first. Kai’s parents valued their children’s independence, so they agreed. Jun’s parents (as well as her creepily protective brothers) also agreed under the condition that she not dress in anything too provocative and that they could oversee the finalized pictures for approval.
The next day, they were at the Hotei residence working out the details with Kotobuki while getting their measurements taken. All that was left was to ask Kotobuki’s parents to make the costumes and wait until they were finished. Their photo shoot would take place on June 8th (a Sunday), so Kai and Jun had about two weeks to wait in excitement.
Of course, they weren’t going to just be twiddling their thumbs. Even men should apply makeup if they’re going to cosplay, but Kai had spent his life having nothing to do with the stuff, so he’d need to practice under Jun’s tutelage. Meanwhile, Jun had long hair, so she’d need to tie it tightly behind her head and secure it with a hairpin if she wanted to wear a wig. That was difficult to do alone, so Kai needed to practice doing that for her.
I never thought the day would come where I’d help a girl style her hair, he thought. He was struck with awe plenty of times as he fiddled with her fragrant, silky-smooth hair. You never know where life takes you.
And so, the day of truth arrived. Kai and Jun were giddy with excitement as they gathered at the Hotei residence at 9 a.m. Mrs. Hotei then drove the three to the photo shoot location.
“It’s an empty house that some relatives lived in until a year ago,” explained Mrs. Hotei. “There’s enough space to get changed and take pictures in peace. It’s got western-style rooms, Japanese-style rooms, and a wide garden, so you’ll have options for backgrounds.”
“We simply can’t thank you enough.”
“Thanks a ton!”
Kai and Jun both bowed their heads to the driver’s seat from the backseat of the car. Tokyo had plenty of rental studios for cosplayers, but when they looked up the prices, they found they were shockingly expensive (for high schoolers). Even if they split the costs, a mere two-hour rental would be brutal. But now, they were getting to borrow an empty house for free.
“Oh no,” said Mrs. Hotei, laughing as though it was no big deal. “If anything, I should be thanking you for helping with my husband’s work. Oh, and give us some feedback on how the place is for photos! There’s been talk of renovating it into a rental studio if this cosplay business takes off.”
She certainly had a saleswoman’s spirit.
The empty house in question was a freestanding building in the mountains on the outskirts of Sakata City. In fact, you could practically call it a mansion.
“I think it was built a good fifty years ago, so it’s getting up there in age, and it ain’t getting any closer to the city. That’s why my relatives moved to a freshly built apartment by a train station.” In between her laughter, Mrs. Hotei gave them permission to tear the place a new one since it was family property that wasn’t getting used any time soon. Kai and Jun gracefully took her at her word.
“Anyway, I’ve gotta tend to the store, so give me a call when you’re done.” Mrs. Hotei took the steering wheel and left for home. The fledgling cosplayers entered the property with the luggage case they took from the trunk in tow.
Kotobuki unlocked the front door and entered the foyer, remarking about how...well, big the house was. The estate consisted of a single story building with heavily Japanese architecture and a two-story Western-style building erected next to it. They were feeling a bit adventurous and decided to explore all around the mansion, but soon lost count of how many rooms there were. Mr. Hotei had the power and water service restored the other day, so they weren’t in want of any modern conveniences. The old furniture was all left as it was, including two vanities with full-length mirrors—just like the one in Kotobuki’s room.
They realized they should start getting changed into their outfits, so the girls moved to split up from Kai.