After Kokoro made a brief trip to the restroom (she had to fix her hair and makeup), we all went to the diner where Yuya and his friend were waiting. On our way there, the three girls were so busy chatting among themselves that I was worried the day would end without me being able to speak to Elena at all.
“This should be the place,” Kokoro said, stopping in front of the diner that Yuya had told her about. She didn’t move a muscle, standing like a statue in front of the entrance.
“Oh, come ooon! Are you going in or not?” I asked her.
Kokoro was the only one who knew the cosplayer well enough to instantly recognize him, so she had to be the first to step inside.
“I-I’m going in!” she finally said, pushing open the door and walking up to a familiar face.
“H-Hello!” she said to Yuya.
“Oh, hey!” he replied.
This was my first chance to take a good, close-up look at him. He was, beyond any doubt, handsome. You could tell at a glance that he was a popular guy. Sitting across the table from him was his equally handsome friend, who was already busy eating.
I didn’t like having to sit next to men who—unlike me—were good-looking, popular, and most likely extroverted. I was already regretting my suggestion.
As I looked at Yuya, I realized that he was very different from the other guys that Kokoro had so far described as handsome. Both Kusumi, who had worked with us at the maid café, and Bambi had more of a homely handsomeness. Sure, you wouldn’t guess they were otaku, but once you knew that, you’d just label them “handsome otaku” and call it a day.
This Yuya though... He was in another category altogether. Kokoro’s type were thin, smart-looking guys with black hair, and he looked nothing like that. He had quite a bit of muscle on him, his hair was much lighter in color, and all in all he looked like the kind of person I’d never be able to make friends with at school.
This guy is an otaku?! They make them like this?!
For some reason, he looked just as startled when he looked at me as I was looking at him. He quickly switched to a smile, but I was left feeling very confused.
“Please, have a seat!” he said, inviting Kokoro and the rest of us over to the four seats they’d saved for us.
“Th-Thank you!” she replied.
We sat down without thinking too much about who we were near, and I somehow ended up sitting right next to Yuya. I did think about swiftly moving to another seat, but Kokoro was already sitting on a chair in front of me. On her left was Yuya’s friend, and on her right was Kisaki. So I had the cosplayer on one side, and on the other... I had Elena.
Did she sit next to me by accident?
I cursed my own stupidity for picking a seat without thinking about it first. I couldn’t have chosen a more awkward place to sit. I had to keep an eye on Yuya, but I also wanted to have a conversation with Elena... Not to mention that I was worried about Kokoro and Kisaki. My roommate looked exceedingly nervous and my sister knew less than half the people there.
If it’d only been the four of us, speaking to Elena wouldn’t have felt this difficult. It would have still been difficult, granted, but not this much.
Those of us without food checked out the menu and placed our orders, and then Kokoro started speaking.
“S-So... Maybe I should introduce us! I’m Two-Heart, and I cosplay! Over there’s Ichigaya and Minami. We all go to the same school. And this is Ichigaya’s little sister, Kisaki! Ichigaya and I are here to help her sell her doujinshi today.”
That stupid nickname again? I thought as I listened to the very anxious Kokoro. She could at least just use “Heart” like she did when she worked as a maid...
“O-Oh, so, I’m Yuya! This is my friend Masahiro from university. He’s cosplaying with me today,” Yuya said in a way that sounded polite, but also strangely nervous.
Huh, so he’s a university student...
“Awesome!” Masahiro said, turning immediately to Kokoro. “We were cosplaying Toppo and Hipumi from HypMic today, but I wasn’t around when Yuya got to see your cosplay, Two-Heart. Who’d you come as?”
This guy seemed much less polite than his friend—he looked like your standard-issue university student who parties a lot.
How? How did this guy turn into an otaku?!
“I-I was cosplaying Arimu from IMS...”
“Really?! I love Arimu! I must see a picture of your cosplay! Come on, you’ve gotta have a picture somewhere!”
Yup. Just the kind of guy I thought he was. He’s wasting no time going after Nishina. I wonder what she thinks of him...
“S-Sure, let me find one...” she replied, taking out her phone while looking tenser than ever.
“So you live in India?” a soft voice asked next to me.
“Yes! I came back to Japan for Comiket. By the way, I’ve heard you’re a voice actress!”
Kisaki and Elena, meanwhile, were already chatting with each other.
There goes the stereotype of otaku being too introverted to talk to strangers. Now I can’t speak to Minami—it’d be rude to butt into a conversation between two girls. Wait, does this mean I’m the only one being left out? I was worried about the girls, but it turns out I’m the one who’s having the hardest time...
Since Kisaki and Elena seemed to be doing more than fine, I decided to focus on Yuya to get a better sense of what kind of person he was.
“Cool! Your costume’s amazing!” Masahiro said—or yelled, rather—upon seeing Kokoro’s selfie.
“Th-Thank you...”
“May I see i—” Yuya started saying something, but he was interrupted by his friend.
“What other characters do you usually cosplay?” Masahiro asked.
“I, um... Unithorn from Adore Lane, Yumeno☆Saki—”
“Whoa! I wish I could see all of them! Actually, wait, I’ve got a better idea! We should cosplay together sometime!”
Whoa yourself! Slow down there, buddy! The one she’s after is Yuya... Dammit, I should’ve let Nishina sit next to him!
“O-Oh! That’s a great idea! We could do a group cosplay!” Yuya timidly suggested.
“A group cosplay?! That’d be totally amazing!” Kokoro replied. Her twinkling eyes, however, were clearly aimed at Yuya, and not at Masahiro, who had originally proposed the idea. This was enough evidence to confirm that she wasn’t interested in the latter.
“Ah... What about you... Ichigaya, was it? Do you also cosplay?” Yuya asked me, possibly as a kind gesture, since I’d been completely cut out of the conversation.
“Huh? Me? N-No, not really...” I replied, shocked by how kind he was being to me, a boy and complete stranger. He really is a good guy, I guess...
“Oh, so you don’t cosplay with her?”
“Nah, we’re just, um, otaku friends who happen to go to the same school...”
“Oh, but that’s just as cool! Being friends with an otaku girl at school sounds amazing. So you’re an otaku but also popular with girls... I wish I were you!” he said.