It will only be weeks until the OtakuMania contest, and I'm lacking manpower. I won't be provoking the audience effect of my choice if I didn't request a commission from Madame. I kept kissing Mom's foot for the payment, and I'm glad she cooperated in exchange for being hit by a frying pan on my butt.
In times of war, information decides who will win. Since the commission for Madame started, I spent my days visiting Wuthering Weaves to help craft Sera's clothing. This is the only day that I stayed in school to check the sewing club for progress.
I was near the clubroom when I witnessed three students, who might be seniors judging from their uniform, exiting the room, laughing with their eyes open. As they passed through me, I couldn't help but overhear their bullying.
"Rise's doing something crazy again! Using the club's tools to do something so stupid should be banned."
"Yeah, right! It's so cringe; I can't help but spill my drink on it. She's not just ugly on the outside, but on the inside too."
"It wasn't very demure at all! Like… Why does a woman like her have the hobbies of a creep? Too much yuck!"
I halted my steps and took a deep breath. My shoulders oscillated, my fists clenched. These clout chasers don't even have the hearts to sympathize with passion and art. They don't even realize that compared to Rise, who dreams of a future, they're only gold diggers relying on strangers. How unfair could this world get?
"You're the cringiest of all…" I muttered, accompanied by noisy breathing. My arms trembled out of rage, my visible teeth grinding. If they're going to insult Otakus, it should just be me. It would be a different story if others were involved.
I expect them to escalate the situation, but no. They only directed their insults at me and walked away.
"Who is that? Another creepy guy?"
"Don't bother. He's just a non-existent extra here. Let him find their own social circle."
I closed my eyes as I sigh, and when I opened it, I saw Rise peeking out of the clubroom door, her eyes were as wide as a tarsier's. "S–Sugiyama-kun…"
"So this is what happened? Those devils…" I uttered, my gaze bouncing at every tainted part of her costume. Her seniors intentionally spilled their tea on her table while she was sewing. Their laughter didn't even have an ounce of sympathy in it.
"N–Now you see what I'm crafting…"
I pulled a piece of the clothing, that is when I realized the cloth's original quality. "This… This is Marionette Sari's clothing from Demon Gaiden Extras! Look at those backstitches! I know how patient you are to do this because I could feel its durability just by looking at it. You also measured the seam allowance accurately. You could be hired as an expert in Wuthering Weaves with this technique."
I'm honest with my cloth reviews. However, the damage done to the cloth coloring is a huge disaster. With most silk composition, this would be hard to wash, and cleaning it hastily before the event happens would cause discoloration. Even in high praise, with the same expert mind as mine, she knew that this damage is irreparable.
Rise's chin was lowered onto her chest, her gaze avoided the costume at all cost. With her head shaking, she whispered, "I should withdraw from the contest… I need to win, but I… I have no chance of winning against Sera." I'd seen her fist closed over her chest.
If she quit, there's a high chance that Sera will be picked in the elimination round. She has the potential to overtake the rankings, knowing how hard she worked for her costume. But for me… we'd only be stuck in comfort. If there's no challenge, what's for us to thrive? What's for us to learn? Fighting with a handicap would be quite unfair.
I tapped her shoulder, calling her attention. "You shouldn't withdraw."
She pursed her lips, looking away at my eyes, before uttering her words in a lethargic tone, "Then, what should I do? T–There's no one that could help me with this… strange hobby that I have."
"Strange? You think this–," I exclaimed, removing my hand from her shoulder and pinpointing her costume, "–is strange? If it is, judging you would be the last thing I'd do. I adore your passion, and I know how important it is for you to win this. I'll try to get this repaired and completed. You worked too hard for this, and it's nearly completed."
"N–No!" She rushed at her costume and rolled it on her arm. "In this contest, I'm… I'm supposed to be your enemy. You shouldn't be doing this."
"I won't accept a disagreement here, Amamiya-san." Gently, I unrolled the costume from her hand and hung it on my arm. "I want to fight fair and square."
At this moment, I could barely feel her resistance. I witnessed tears crawling down her cheeks while retaining her stunned face. Is this the first time someone offered her any help? I don't know. Her high defense won't let me pass though her walls, but with letting me help her, I could feel her trust in me increase.
"Y–You're too kind, Sugiyama-kun. I'm glad to be your friend."
With a slight smile, I went and opened the door. Before going out with her costume, I said, "I just can't stand anyone that drags down the image of Otakus. I'm bringing this for repair. You are welcome to tag along."
Since our school was near Market Street, we agreed to walk our way there. After some time of inaudible dead air, Rise opened a topic to me.
"Y–You see… When I first saw her, I really wanted to become Sera's friend… But seeing how pretty she was, it felt like she was unreachable. Even without her costume, it feels like she still emits the aura of the pinnacle, a blinding light that is too much for me to see. I couldn't feel my victory, because she should be the one winning the competition."
So this girl with stooped walking can initiate a conversation after all? She broke my expectations. Still, I'm glad she appreciates Sera's performance. "You deserve to win that. It's our fault that we got disqualified, and I already accepted that. Still… Overestimation. I couldn't deny it. I was like that at first."
"By the way, what's your relationship with her?"
Wait… I answer a little carelessly, and Sera's origin will be jinxed. I'm sorry for lying again. "I'm… I'm her brother, and it's only been recently when she came home from abroad. When I saw her, I first felt like I didn't deserve to be her brother. But later then, I realized… She's also human. Like me. Like us!"
She narrowed her eyes at me and asked, "W–what do you mean human? Of course, she is."
Was I being too obvious? What am I even saying? I nearly mentioned 'elf' there. " I mean… She's not perfect, Amamiya-san. Sera's the clumsiest person I've ever known. She always gets lost outside, and she doesn't comprehend monetary value well. But for everything she learns about Japan, her smile tells me she's enjoying every second of her life."
Giggling while covering her mouth, she responded. "You're a kind brother. I adore how good your relationship with Sera is. I would like to talk to her soon." Though with a stooped posture, I've felt her action very lady-like.
"I'll be glad to set you up with her. I'll let you know if we're free," I uttered, but this response was a conversation killer. With little to know about her, I'm still curious why she's not on good terms with Hina Satou. "By the way, if you don't mind, am I right if I think that you're hiding your face so Hina won't have trouble with hiding her personal life?"
It felt like the color around my world vanished when her smile turned flat. Her vision was locked forward, her walks became stiff. I soon realized that I might've crossed the line. I took it back slightly after she didn't respond immediately, "I–I'm not forcing you to answer. I'm sorry for stepping out of the line–"
"… Onee-san, Hina-nee, never liked Anime."
"W–What?"
We passed along an Anime store that displayed action figures on its glass window. Rise stopped and leaned forward, fixing her stare at an action figure of Asami, a character from The Heroic Witch. Like a child wanting to buy the toy, her smile seemed to glow radiantly.
"I still remember when we were younger… When I pass these stores, Nee-san would call me out and say, 'I still don't understand what makes them amazing. But I wouldn't bother. No matter how long I stare at these figures, my happiness never fades. More than anyone, she knew and respected how much I liked Anime."
"...Ever since we were kids, I already felt that we lived in different worlds. I watched Anime on our TV all day long, my eyes fully glimmering as far as I can remember, while she enjoyed playing fashion games with our neighbors. Still, every time she goes home, it would take almost an hour for her to tell me different trends on clothing, her warm smile showing joy in the things she liked. Makeup, stitching, she's the one who taught me how to become an adorable lady by her standards. Whenever I see her smiling, my dim world becomes bright. Her smile was genuine, not until…"
Halting her speech, she stood straight, far different from her stooped posture I was used to seeing. She walked forward without uttering a word.
"I understand," I responded while catching up to her. The cliffhanger in her story… That might be the reason why she needed to win the contest. A motivated enemy would be our worst threat, but it would give us a proper experience. "You deserve to be our opponent, Rise."