I have made a very bad choice. I count at least eight hysterical fangirls crowded around me, while Mabo laughs his ass off a few feet away. Apparently I look like some obscure anime character, which would be a strange thing to learn under normal circumstances. The situation is still strange, but my alleged likeness to this "Yukishige" makes slightly more sense when you take into consideration the fanwork convention happening around us.
Mabo, for whatever idiotic reason decided it would be a good place to pick up girls, and I, through a remarkable lack of forethought, ended up dragging me here with him. I'll have to remember to get back at him somehow, later.
My mistake in joining Mabo is highlighted once again, when I see a familiar face bobbing through the crowd some ways away. I turn away to grab Mabo and get out of here as quickly as possible, but I almost see Kimura turn my way as I do so. The cluster of fangirls- which has grown since my last count- is impeding my progress, and by the time I get to Mabo, he taps me on the shoulder asking about someone I can't see. Dreading the sight that awaits me, I turn to find Kimura making her way to us, wearing a look of recognition different from that of the fangirls (a somewhat relieving difference, I have to admit). As she struggles to break through the growing wall of shrieking girls, I manage to regain my composure before reaching over to part the wall and pull Kimura close, saving her from the inevitable trampling.
"Are you alright?" I ask, trying (and failing) to show only the smallest bit of concern.
"Oh, yeah," she answers, only just realizing what's happened. "Thanks."
"You know this one?" Mabo questions, reminding me of his presence.
"Uh, yeah. We've met a few times," I answer.
"Ah, well then maybe I've got a shot then. No girl that knows Yamaken would choose him over another good looking guy like me."
"Sorry, delinquents aren't really my kind of guy," Kimura taunts him. "I prefer the blonde, bishonen types."
Mabo delivers a swift punch to my arm before throwing his hands in the air and marching off.
"I'm out of here, then. I'll go find a panel or something where Yamaken can't destroy my chances," he announces as he leaves.
"So, what brings you here?" Kimura asks, snapping me out of the daze caused by her earlier comments. "I didn't peg you an otaku."
"I wouldn't go to something like this, usually. I was wandering around nearby when I ran into that idiot. He wanted me to come hang out with him, and help him pick up girls. I didn't know he planned to raid a convention," I answer.
"And the crowd?" she asks, gesturing towards the steady crowd of people surrounding us.
"Apparently I look like some anime character. Yukishige, they called me?"
Kimura snickers, cover her mouth.
"What's so funny?" I question.
"Now that you mention it, you do look like him. He's from a BL manga though, which is another thing I'm having trouble picturing."
I'm caught somewhere between annoyed and relieved, although I'm not sure where the latter is coming from.
"So what about you? A girl like you at an event like this is pretty uncommon."
"Well, looks like you found my big secret. I'm actually a pretty big fan of all this stuff. I've been going to this particular convention since my first year of high school."
"So stuff like this is pretty standard for you, then?"
"It doesn't usually get this bad, unless a seiyuu shows up. There's not many big events this year, so your accidental cosplay is probably the most exciting thing happening at the moment. So did your friend seriously come here just to hit on girls?"
"He's an idiot, if you haven't noticed. He throws around money all the time to impress people."
"We might want to go find him, then. If he's not careful, he'll either get kicked out of the con or scammed into buying merch for some girl."
Kimura grabs my arm and drags me through the deforming circle of fans around us, leading me in a search for the moron that brought me here. By the time we find him, Mabo being "escorted" from the building by two large men, yelling something or other about the price of his admission ticket, as if he doesn't have enough cash on him to pay for half the attendants here.
"Hey, before you go, give me your email address," Kimura demands.
Despite her current lack manners, I decide that Kimura isn't quite as irritating as I had thought. In fact, something about her is strangely calming. I give in and swap emails with her, and I receive one before I even leave the building.
"Thanks for the fun, today! I'll see you around, Kenji! (*´ω`*)" - Ayane
Just for the record, Yamaken was indeed lost when he ran into Mabo. Also, Yukishige isn't an actual character, to my knowledge. I just used a random masculine name from a generator.
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