Cosplay.

The practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, video game, manga, or anime.

It doesn't sound like an activity that Kamukura Izuru should engage in. If he were to be honest, however, he has never really tried it before, so he can't formulate any valuable commentary yet. He predicts that it will soon be known to him, too easy, too natural, because that's just how it goes for someone like him who is loved by talent.

"Kamukura-kun?" He hears that sickly familiar voice from behind him, the voice that he hears every day, the voice that insists on starting conversations with him at least thrice a day. He didn't need to turn his head to know that it was Komaeda Nagito, his class's Super High School Level Good Luck. "Oh, I never expected to see you reading this magazine! Is Kamukura-kun perhaps interested in cosplay?"

"I am just curious." Kamukura closes the aforementioned magazine. Komaeda sits on the chair beside him, looking at him expectantly, so he decides to elaborate. "Nidai and Pekoyama asked me if they look like cosplayers, and it has reached my realizations that I am not very aware about cosplay."

"Oh!" Komaeda perked up. "I would love to assist you, Kamukura-kun, but I heard that the class below us has the Super High School Level Otaku, and I think that he'd be far more knowledgeable regarding this compared to someone like me."

Kamukura stares at him, his slight expression of disgust almost unnoticeable. "I have heard of that person. Do you sincerely expect me to associate myself with him?"

"Haha, sorry! Well, you seem to put up with Hanamura-kun just fine!"

Put up, he says… More like Kamukura doesn't even talk to Hanamura unless absolutely necessary, and since he's the Kamukura Izuru, he can think of a lot of ways to avoid that scenario.

"And it's not like I need assistance." Kamukura replies. "I can handle this just fine."

"Of course I know that, Kamukura-kun! You're the Super High School Level Hope—" That's Kamukura's usual cue to stop listening to Komaeda's words and direct his attention elsewhere. As soon as Komaeda starts with that, he'd continue speaking and saying things that Kamukura already has heard before.

You're the Super High School Level Hope! That means that you're the personification of hope, an absolutely great thing! There's nothing that you can't do! I know that someone like you won't even need the assistance of someone as measly as me, but haha, I still have the audacity to try and offer my help! What an impressive display of impertinence! As expected of someone like me, I really—

"—can't do anything right! That's why—"

Alright, so he's not done yet. Kamukura opens the magazine again, just so he can think of something else.

That's why I will understand if Kamukura-kun rejects my assistance! Someone like me who can't do anything right, I will most probably only get in the way! That's why it's disrespect in its highest form because I still hope that I might do something useful for you despite the evident difference in our abilities. I'm—

"—such a fool—"

Kamukura knows that it's stupidity at its finest if he waits for Komaeda to finish, and that's why—

"Very well, I shall permit you to assist me."

—that's why this always happens in the first place.

He always lets Komaeda assist (tag along with) him with any activity that he wants to learn more about at the moment. One of the most peaceful (and pleasant, but Kamukura won't admit that) activities that they tried together was reading, just plain simple reading where they seem like they just happened to sit next to each other during a study session. It was one of the rare times he saw Komaeda quiet, and it was an oddly relaxing situation.

If only Komaeda kept quiet more frequently…

"R-Really!?" Komaeda asked happily, leaning closer to him, almost too close for his comfort. "Why, this is a great honor! I'll make sure to do my best! I won't let you down, Kamukura-kun!"

Even those words are familiar to him already.

"So?" Kamukura turns to him. "What do you know about cosplay?"

"Haha, well, I'm no one too knowledgeable, as I said, but I have tried cosplaying once…"

Kamukura raises an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Komaeda nods. "See, Nanami-san once asked for my help regarding something, and of course, I thought, who am I to refuse? There was this convention that held a lottery as one of the events. Their prize is a newly-released game that time, and Nanami-san thought that we can get that quickly with my Super High School Level Good Luck. The thing is, haha, only those in cosplay are allowed to join the lottery, so…"

"So you had to cosplay."

"That's right. It was Nanami-san who assisted me though, so I suppose it was a better idea to consult her instead of me, after all…"

"As I said, I am not in need of assistance, and the only reason I am letting you come with me is because I want you to stop talking."

"That's a bit cold, Kamukura-kun…"

"Enough about that. Tell me about how this cosplay of yours went."

"Let's see… We cosplayed characters from this game that Nanami-san is playing. It's called Final Fantasy XIII. We chose that because she thought I'd like this character named Hope—"

"I told you to talk about the cosplay itself."

"Sorry…" Komaeda smiled sheepishly. "Hope reminded Nanami-san of me because he has silver hair like mine, and I mean, his name is Hope—"

"Talk about the cosplay itself."

"Hehe…" Komaeda scratches his cheek lightly, almost apologetic. "So as I was saying, his hair was silver like mine, so Nanami-san did her best to style my hair like his. She told me that using wigs will always be better because real hair looks dull in pictures compared to those, but I think she really did a great job making me look nice!"

"Oh?"

"Yep!" Komaeda accompanied his words with a nod. "She carefully used the right amount of wax to recreate Hope's hair using mine. He has blue-green eyes though, so I had to wear contact lenses… Haha, I was so stupid, I wore it wrong during my first time! It really hurts so much, Kamukura-kun! I thought that I'd go blind!"

"Ah, right… Contact lenses."

"Yep! Luckily, I found it easier to remove them compared to putting them on. Rest assured, however! I know the proper way now! I can help you if you want!"

"How about the clothes you used? Where did you get those?"

"Oh! About that, Nanami-san knows a lot of good cosplay shops that also do not cost too much! I think I can still remember the one we went to, so I can accompany Kamukura-kun whenever!"

"I don't remember saying that I will cosplay."

"Oh…" Komaeda giggles, still in that apologetic manner. "Sorry! I suppose I misunderstood and jumped to conclusions yet again! I assumed that Kamukura-kun wanted to do some hands-on approach, but I guess it was a grave mistake that someone like me even tried to anticipate your thoughts! How disrespectful can I be? I really—"

"Stop." Kamukura says, and Komaeda immediately quiets down. Oh? Why didn't he try that earlier? "I will try it myself, but not now. I will notify you when I'm ready."

Komaeda immediately lights up, nodding happily. "Again, I'll do my best to be of help!"

When Kamukura returned to the dorms that night, he decided to learn what he could about cosplay from the internet. He learned that the word was, in fact, a portmanteau for costume play, but he figured that out quite easily even without looking it up. Apparently, it's considered an art, and it was actually more popular than he thought.

Some cosplayers do their best to stay in character as well and "roleplay" the character that they're cosplaying. Kamukura supposes that it was like acting in that case? That's something that he already knows about, at least. He usually gets cast as one of the leads, whether it's a school play, a class play, or a simple task in one of their classes. Of course. That's only natural because he's talented.

Acting isn't even a challenge for him anymore. Memorizing lines and the occasional need to sing as well—they were all easy, too easy for him. So it wasn't far from reality that he'll probably find cosplaying easy too.

As he read on, he found out that cosplay has a kind called "crossplay", and that term is used when one crossdresses and cosplays at the same time. He knows he can pass off as a girl well if he wants to, since he can do anything excellently anyway, but the wonder is if he actually wants to. He brushes the thought off and continues reading, and he finds out about its etymology, practices, its spread to other countries…

Basically, he learned the theories, he learned what it is about, but that's all it is. Theory. It's nothing unless he applies it.

He had a page listing tips for beginners like him open when he decided to call Komaeda.

Even if Kamukura doesn't admit it nor does he act like it, Komaeda has been something like a… tolerable companion (friend?) to him because of his insistence to be around Kamukura. He's always tagging along with whatever Kamukura has in mind. Of course, Kamukura had to put up with some (repetitive) praises and self-deprecation, but he has gotten used to it.

Since he's basically the personification of talent, he can get used to things quite quickly.

What he himself doesn't understand, however, is why he lets Komaeda accompany him in the first place.

Despite the fact that he can predict Komaeda's thoughts, he always gets the feeling that somehow, there are still things that he doesn't know about. Because despite being able to predict what Komaeda will say, he still doesn't understand fully why he says them, not that he'd admit that out loud.

"Hello?" He hears Komaeda's cheery voice from the other side of the line. "It's so nice of you to call, Kamukura-kun! Is there anything I can do to help?"

For instance, he doesn't understand why Komaeda is so eager to assist all of them, especially him, actually. 'It's for the sake of hope, Kamukura-kun!' He can imagine Komaeda saying that, and while that sounds like a straightforward answer on its own, he somehow still can't completely comprehend. He doesn't understand Komaeda's over-the-top dedication to hope. 'Hope is an absolute good!' Again, he can imagine Komaeda saying that, but—

"Kamukura-kun?" Komaeda's voice snaps him out of his thoughts. "Haha, it's creepy that you're calling without saying anything, you know! But I suppose I have no right to say that. In that case, please forgive my impudence! If Kamukura-kun wishes to call and not say anything, surely, I'm not in the position—"

"Which fictional character do I remind you of?"

"Ah…" Komaeda abruptly pauses. "Oh… Is this because of cosplay, Kamukura-kun?"

"…"

"Sorry, I guess that was a stupid question! Of course Kamukura-kun was asking because of that!" Komaeda giggles. "Well, I don't really watch anime a lot nor do I play games frequently, but there is this one anime that I like. There's a character that really reminds me of you, Kamukura-kun."

"And?"

"His name is Yatogami Kuroh. He has a companion whose hair color is similar to mine, so if ever Kamukura-kun plans to try cosplaying Kuroh, it will be perfect!"

"Yatogami Kuroh." Kamukura repeats as he types the name in his search bar. Results of an anime character with long black hair like his showed up. Only, this Yatogami Kuroh character has his tied in a ponytail, and he has blue eyes, different from his red ones. He seems quiet and proper, or at least that's what Kamukura can judge from the pictures that showed up. "This character is…?"

"He reminds me of you, Kamukura-kun! Doesn't he resemble you? He's from an anime called K, though fans call it K Project too for easy googling. Ahh, isn't it amazing if the two of us cosplay K characters? We're Komaeda and Kamukura—"

"I get it." Kamukura interrupts. "Who's the white-haired companion that you mentioned? If his name is Shiro—"

"Haha, that's right, Kamukura-kun! Oh…" Komaeda pauses. "Have you watched K already?"

"No, it was a guess." Kamukura replies. "Yatogami is black-haired and is named Kuroh. You said he has a white-haired companion, so I guessed."

"Haha, I see! As expected of Kamukura-kun! How incredibly astute!" Komaeda giggles. "Shiro is just a nickname, though. The complete name is Isana Yashiro."

"Isana Yashiro." Kamukura repeats just like he did earlier, typing. Images of a white-haired boy, as Komaeda has mentioned, showed up. His eyes were amber, Kamukura observed. Seems Komaeda will have to wear contact lenses again if they decide to pursue this idea. "Hm, he reminds me of you, too."

"Already? Aren't you just looking at pictures right now, Kamukura-kun?"

"He seems annoying and noisy like you."

"That hurts, you know!" Or so he says, but he laughs anyway. "Shiro is really hopeful! He's nothing like me, a good-for-nothing—"

"Alright, I'm going to watch it."

"Oh?" Komaeda sounded genuinely surprised. Kamukura can tell, even just by over the phone. "I'm glad. I mean, I actually really liked that anime, haha… It's not perfect, and I don't know if it will be enough for Kamukura-kun, but I hope you like it too."

"Hm." Kamukura was about to just leave it at that, but he felt the need to add something. "…It does look promising."

Komaeda giggles. "I'm really glad! Well, then, please do tell me what you think about it when you're done watching, Kamukura-kun!"

"I will." Kamukura nods, despite the fact that that won't be seen anyway. "See you tomorrow, Komaeda."

K only had thirteen episodes, and it took Kamukura only around five hours to finish it.

It wasn't perfect, as Komaeda himself had said, but it had its own charm too. Kamukura thought that it was eye-candy—everything looked smooth and detailed, the colors were vibrant (though there were times when he thought they were too much, it's like looking at everything with ten filters), the characters all looked distinct. In short, it was a really visually appealing show, and he supposed that was why Komaeda liked it very much. Kamukura recalls him saying that he has a thing for beautiful things.

The soundtrack and other songs were okay— not good, not bad, just okay. Kamukura can feel that they just weren't in accordance to his tastes, though, so he won't complain much.

The characters, as he mentioned, all looked distinct from each other, and that wasn't bad, but they were too many. Even the side characters looked distinct, including those that aren't too important to the plot. It's no problem for someone like him, but he thinks that it can potentially be confusing to others. He doesn't feel like they were all developed properly too, considering that they were indeed quite numerous and there were only thirteen episodes. He has heard that it has a movie sequel and a wide array of side materials, so maybe that can improve.

He can't deny that he felt like the show's strong point was just being pretty, though.

Despite all that, what gave Kamukura an odd sense of satisfaction was the fact that he knew why Komaeda liked it.

But he'd never say that.

"I watched it." Kamukura says as soon as Komaeda sits next to him the next day.

Komaeda looked like he wanted to say something initially, but he seemed to have immediately forgotten about it upon hearing Kamukura's words. "You did! So how was it…? You didn't like it, did you…? I know, you probably regretted watching it, and you don't want to listen to the recommendation of trash—"

"Relax." Kamukura says, and Komaeda immediately stops. "Are you going to talk ill of your favorite show just because I possibly might not like it?"

"Well…" Komaeda looked sheepish. "Kamukura-kun's opinion is valuable, so…"

"It wasn't bad, so relax. It's okay to like it."

Komaeda instantly smiles. "So will Kamukura-kun cosplay Kuroh with me? I think you'd make a really good Kuroh, see…"

"Hm." Kamukura stares at him. Komaeda looks back expectantly.

But Kamukura doesn't say anything until Komaeda's expectant look starts looking confused… uncomfortable… embarrassed…

"Kamukura-kun… why are you staring at me like that?"

Kamukura lifts an eyebrow and diverts his attention elsewhere. "I think you'd make a good Shiro, too."

"Thank you…" Komaeda replies with a smile, flattered, but his smile disappears when he seems to have remembered something. "Wait… Does this mean that Kamukura-kun is agreeing? You'd do a hands-on approach?"

"Theory is nothing without practice."

"Ahh!" Komaeda happily places his hands on Kamukura's desk. Kamukura was almost startled. "This means a lot to me, Kamukura-kun! Kuroh is my favorite character, and seeing you dressed as him—it's too much good luck! I think I'll happily embrace any bad luck that will come my way afterwards! Ahh, I should thank Nidai-kun and Pekoyama-san! If it weren't for them, this wouldn't have happened!"

"He's your favorite?"

Komaeda nods. "He's very pretty! And besides…" He pauses. Kamukura notes that he seems to have blushed slightly. "He's really composed, tough, and dependable… much like Kamukura-kun."

So that's it.

Kamukura smiles a bit, just a bit, but Komaeda obviously notices as he smiles back, his slight blush deepening slightly. "About Shiro."

"Yes?" Komaeda looks eager, his whole attention focused on Kamukura.

"I think his carefree attitude is actually endearing."