4

The next Monday, at school, I explained our plan to Ai.

“...which is why I’ll be going to WonFes with Nishina, who wants to meet other cosplayers.”

“Damn, that girl’s always trying something new, huh?”

She’s just that desperate. Not that I can blame her. I should be trying just as hard, since I have a deadline.

“Wait, don’t tell me you’re cosplaying too!”

“No way! I’m going to go with her as a cameraman of sorts. She said she wants pictures of her cosplaying, so—”

“You never come with me as my cameraman!” Ai said, puffing his cheeks with an audible Hmph!

Is he... jealous? That’s kind of cut—wait, never mind...

“Don’t you have that old dude as your cameraman anyway?” I asked him.

“Yeah, that’s true. You probably can’t even take pictures right anyway.”

“Hey!”

“Have you ever taken a proper photograph in your life? Do you even own a camera?”

“I—”

“And it’s not like Nishina’s the only one. It’s really obvious that you only want to go there as a cameraman so you can meet some cute cosplayer girl.”

He saw right through me!

“But if you go there asking girls for pictures with nothing but your phone, they’re gonna think you’re just another creep in the crowd.”

“R-Really? Nishina even told me to print business cards with my Twitter handle on them to exchange with cosplayers.”

“Huh? You’re not going there as a cosplayer though. What kind of business card would you need?”

“A cameraman business card...?”

“Huh? Are you trying to make me laugh? You might as well hand them cards saying, ‘I’m only here to meet girls!’” Ai joked, failing to hold back his grin.

“I’d better buy a camera before the event then. Even if it’s a cheap one.”

“You wanna borrow my DSLR?”

“C-Can I?!” I asked, surprised by the sudden offer.

“Sure. I’m not going to that event anyway, so I don’t need it.”

“Ai! Thank you so much!”

“But don’t think that having a good camera automatically means you can take good pictures.”

“Hmm, yeah. You’re right.”

“I guess I could teach you the basics...”

“Really? You’re serious?! Why are you helping me out so much all of a sudden?”

Being laughed at and called desperate had made me regret mentioning the event to Ai, but now I was more than glad that I had. After all, he could be kind sometimes. Rarely, but sometimes.

“Heh, it’s just so you can come with me as my cameraman if Honda isn’t available sometime.”

“Of course! I’ll come with you! Oh... actually, there’s another thing I want to ask you.”

“I cooperate with you the teeniest bit, and now you’re taking advantage of my kindness?”

“As a cosplayer, what kind of cameraman leaves you with a good impression?”

“Good impression, like, I really want to hire this cameraman?”

“No, no. Good impression, like, I really want to date this cameraman.”

“Why are you asking me that?! I only dress as a girl! I have no idea what girls think!”

“Hmm... you have a point. Try to channel your inner girl then,” I suggested. After all, Ai was, for most intents and purposes, basically a girl.

“Agh, then let’s see... I guess the most important things are having good manners and taking decent pictures. And by manners, I mean the obvious stuff, like asking before taking pictures and thanking the cosplayer afterwards, but also things like not getting too close, not touching the cosplayer, not trying to get panty shots, not taking up too much time, not going for sexy angles, et cetera, et cetera. Oh, there’s another very important one: sending the pictures after the event.”

“I see... Sending them to the cosplayer?”

“Exactly. Cosplayers want their pictures from that day, so that they can upload them on socials and the like. Ideally they want pictures that have been taken by talented cameramen with good cameras, but that goes without saying.”

“So that doesn’t apply to me...”

“It kind of does though. When a cameraman sends you your pictures, you tend to remember the guy. I just forget about the ones who don’t, anyway.”

“Okay,” I nodded along with his valuable cosplayer opinion, taking mental notes of everything.

“Then if you want to look like a good cameraman... As far as being actually attractive, I’d say that looking fresh and well groomed is the most important thing. Then, of course, being kind, well-behaved... the usual stuff. I’d say that being an excellent cameraman doesn’t even matter that much, as long as you at least have a proper camera. Also, you’ll want to give non-creepy compliments.”

“Meaning?”

“Obviously, things like ‘you look sexy’ are out of the question, but hearing ‘you’re cute’ from someone you’ve never met before is weird too. Things like ‘what a great costume,’ or ‘you look just like that character,’ or ‘that wig is so detailed’ are much better.”

This made enough sense that I should have been able to figure it out by myself, but it was useful information nonetheless.

“I see! You really do know what girls think after all! But still, being well groomed and kind and stuff... That doesn’t only go for cameramen, does it? Those are just ways to be attractive in general.”

“Of course they are.”

The teacher walked into the classroom, which marked the end to our conversation.

Just by having a short chat with Ai, not only had I found a camera, but I’d also learned how to behave like an attractive cameraman.

You have no idea how grateful I am.

The same day, after classes were over, Kokoro and I met Elena outside the main gate.

“Oh, hey, Minami!”

“Nishina, Ichigaya! Sorry to have kept you both waiting!”

It was time for us to go buy swimsuits together, since the only ones we owned were the plain, generic ones we used for PE. We needed something that actually looked good at the pool. I didn’t have a clue where to look for one, but Kokoro and Elena had researched our options beforehand.

“So, are we going to a sports supplies shop or something?” I asked.

“Sports?! Do you wanna buy another school swimsuit or something?” Kokoro grinned, barely holding back her laughter. “We’re going to 209 in Shibuya, where they actually have, you know, decent ones?”

“Shibuya? 209?” I parroted back, suddenly nervous. I’d never been to Shibuya before.

“I looked online for some two-pieces that don’t show too much, and I think something like this would be super cute,” she said, showing a picture on her phone to Elena.

“Ah, you’re right! That does look rather sweet!”

Weren’t they nervous about going to the pool? They look pretty excited about it to me. I’m the one feeling nervous right now. I’ll have to show off this skinny-yet-somehow-squishy body of mine at the pool, among loads of fit, handsome guys, and it’s way too late to start working out now.

The two girls continued showing each other pictures and chattering loudly all the way to Shibuya.

Despite it being a weekday, the station was absolutely packed. The Scramble Crossing was also terribly crowded, like it always is on TV. Think of it like Comiket that, instead of otaku, is attended by trendy, attractive people. A nightmare, basically.

We somehow fought our way through the ocean of pedestrians and made it to the 209 fashion mall, which the two girls said they’d already visited several times before. Sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder whether they were real otaku.

We found the swimsuit shop on the seventh floor.

All of the customers here are young girls... Am I even allowed inside?

“Look! Look! Awaaah, there are so many!”

“Oh, wow! Do you think a hat would be suitable for this kind of event? And sandals?!”

Unlike me, Kokoro and Elena were as enthusiastic as ever.

“If we find something cute, let’s try it on! Okay?”

“Sure!”

Looking at girls’ swimwear was the last thing I wanted to do with my time, so I swiftly left for the men’s section, trying to make myself as inconspicuous as possible. Being in this place was painful. If other girls saw me, they’d look at me in disgust, asking themselves why such a creepy, unattractive boy would come to this store.

I should have gotten one off Amazon, I thought to myself, before automatically pulling a pair of trunks from the rail and checking the price. Ten thousand yen?! That’s one more zero than I was expecting! Th-There must be cheaper ones, right? They can’t all be this expensive... right?!

I started to frantically pick up all the swimsuits around me, checking how much they cost.

“You look lovely, Nishina!” I could hear Elena’s excited squeaks from across the store. “Oh, Ichigaya, I was wondering where you’d gone! Come, take a look!”

“Huh...?”

I went over to Elena, who was standing outside one of the fitting rooms. Inside was Kokoro, already sporting a bikini. It had a white, ruffly top and a red floral pattern on the bottom. It wasn’t shaped like the run-of-the-mill bikinis that I often saw in anime: the ruffles on the top were stacked in two layers, going all the way to the sides and ending in a thin string that was tied around the back. The bottoms were more like a tiny skirt.

Is this the kind of thing that’s popular at pools?

It may have been less revealing than a normal bikini, but only slightly so. Her cleavage, shoulders, hips, arms, navel, and thighs were all perfectly in view, and keeping my eyes off all the off-limits zones was not an easy task.

You can’t tell when she’s wearing her normal clothes, but Nishina’s really fit. She’s got a decent chest, a narrow waist, and slim legs to boot. Her skin is so smooth... Ah! She’s going to kill me if I keep staring at her!

“I’m torn between this and this other one,” Kokoro said, picking up a different swimsuit. This one had a pink check pattern, and the bottom didn’t have a skirt-looking thing on it.

“That looks wonderful too! I’d love to see you wearing it!” Elena said.

“Really? Wait a sec then,” the impromptu model said, closing the fitting room curtain.

“Are you not trying anything on?” Elena asked me.

“Nah! Men’s swimsuits are just like any old shorts. Wh-What about you?”

“I will! I’m just waiting for Nishina to choose.”

I’ll get to see Nishina and Minami in swimsuits? Maybe coming here was worth it after all...

The curtain slid open.

“H-How does it look?” Kokoro asked, embarrassed.

This bikini looked even sexier. The top didn’t cover her cleavage at all, with only a thin piece of string connecting the cups over her breasts. The bottom too, was held together by strings on the hips.

This makes it even harder not to look at her skin...

“Ohhh! That’s so cute too! I can’t tell which one looks better on you! What do you think, Ichigaya?”

“M-Me?! Er...” I fumbled for words.

As a man, the second swimsuit was the one I’d rather be looking at, but that was way too creepy to tell her.

“S-Spit it out, Ichigaya! As a guy, which one do you like better? When I find a boyfriend, I wanna wear it and go to the pool with him...”

She’s right! What am I being all considerate for? This is what we’re supposed to help each other with!

“I-I think I’m speaking for all male otaku when I say that the one you’re wearing now looks better. The other one is trendy, but, you know... a bit too trendy. Otaku like cute but simple designs, like on this one. And this one also looks a bit more childish, which is always a plus for us...”

I conveniently forgot to mention how this one also shows more skin.

“Oh... I guess I’ll buy this one then. I liked it better to begin with! I’m not so comfortable with how uncovered I feel though,” she said, closing the curtain once again. To value my opinion so highly, Kokoro must have had some serious trust in me.

“I’ll try something on now then!” Elena said.

“O-Oh, cool...”

I wonder what kind of swimsuit she’s going to choose...

While I waited for Kokoro and Elena to change, I went back over to the men’s section. I’d checked all of the price tags, and even the cheapest one cost around five thousand yen—not crazy expensive, but definitely not cheap either.

To be honest, I didn’t really care that much about what I wore. This would likely be the only time I ever wore it, so I wanted to spend as little money as possible. On the other hand though, I didn’t want to be wearing something so uncool as to stand out at the pool.

After changing back into her everyday clothes, Kokoro came out of the fitting room.

“You choose one yet?”

“They’re all too expensive for what I’m ready to spend on a swimsuit...” I told her honestly.

“But you came all the way here!”

“I expected them to be cheaper.”

“What are you going to do then?”

“I’ll just get a cheap one off the internet, I guess.”

“Ugh, fine, but... try not to choose one that looks too bad. That’d make it embarrassing for us to be seen with you,” she said, making no attempt to hide the contempt in her eyes.

As much as it pained me to admit it, I agreed with her. Wearing a bad-looking swimsuit next to two fashionable, pretty girls would have been embarrassing for me too.

“If you’re going to buy it online, check out the trendy ones here, so you can look for ones that look kind of similar,” Kokoro said.

“Oh! That’s a good idea!”

Previously, I’d only looked at the price tags, but now I focused on how the trunks actually looked. Most were ridiculously gaudy, but there were also some simple striped ones with not-so-flashy colors. I obviously liked those ones better.

Kokoro went to the cashier to pay for her pink bikini, when all of a sudden...

“Looking for anything in particular, sir?”

“Wha—?”

A store clerk addressed me out of the blue, catching me by surprise. The guy was probably prepared to talk me into buying something I didn’t want, but I decided that the best course of action was to reply honestly anyway.

“I, well... I need something to wear at the pool at night.”

“In that case, you’re probably going to spend a lot of time around the pool rather than in it, so I suggest you go with a nice pair of surfers’ swimming trunks. That’s also what I personally wear!”

“Surfers’...?”

Are they different from normal swimming trunks?

“Yes! They’re made from a special fabric that dries much more quickly than normal trunks, and they can also be worn as shorts with a T-shirt. They’re very popular this year,” he explained.

If I could wear them as normal shorts, that’d definitely get me more mileage out of them. That pool event is probably the first and last time I’m actually going to use them to swim...

“There are even some that have an underwear layer built in, so you don’t need to wear anything else underneath,” the clerk said.

Wait, you’re supposed to wear underwear underneath your trunks...?

“These, for example! They’re our best-selling design,” he continued, holding up a pair of trunks with some kind of Hawaiian print on them. They were certainly eye-catching—in a bad way.

“Of course, you can also wear another layer underneath them just fine!”

“Another layer... of what?”

“Well, we have some specially made underwear for swimming, but normal briefs, or better yet boxers, work just fine. What do you say?”

Boxers?! Under a swimsuit?! I’m learning so much today...

“If possible I’d like something a bit more... low profile. But not too uncool, you know?” I said, despite knowing that continuing this conversation would lead to me being pressured into buying something.

“What about... this?” the clerk asked, showing me another pair. “This design is also trendy lately. Not too long, not too short. Just above the knee.”

These trunks had three wide stripes over a solid background, but were slightly longer—“not too long, not too short”—than the previous ones.

“Oh, not bad...”

Thinking that I could actually wear these in public, I checked the price tag—they were over ten thousand yen. Waaay too expensive.

“This one doesn’t have the built-in inner layer, so you would need something to wear under it. I recommend this!” the clerk continued, waving some boxers with an abstract oriental pattern in my face. I looked at the tag, and was just as shocked as last time: five thousand, five hundred yen.

More than five thousand yen for a pair of boxers?!

“Haha...”

Unable to find the words to refuse the clerk’s recommendations, I remained completely still, laughing to myself like an idiot.

“Oh, Ichigaya, there you are! Find anything good?” Kokoro, who had finished paying, came over to me.

“K-Kind of...”

“Oh! This looks nice!” she said, pointing at the trunks the clerk was holding.

“It’s this year’s best seller!” he swiftly replied.

“I see, I see. Well, we’ll look around a bit more before deciding.”

“Take your time. Let me know if I can be of any more help,” the clerk said, and then he hopped away with a polite smile on his face.

“Why did you...?” I asked Kokoro.

“Because you looked like a guy who was being persuaded to buy something way too expensive for him. Why didn’t you tell the clerk you were fine by yourself?”

“H-He just kept talking, and I didn’t know how to tell him I wasn’t interested.”

“C’mon, it’s his job! He’s used to being told off! Just say that you need more time to think and he’ll go bother someone else!”

“I see...”

In my heart, I thanked Kokoro for saving me. After all, the swimsuits that looked half-decent were all out of my budget.

“Did you at least decide what kind of trunks you’re going to look for?” she asked me.

“More or less, yeah. Talking with that guy actually taught me a lot.”

Thanks to that talkative clerk, I’d gone from knowing nothing about swimming trunks to knowing very little about swimming trunks, which was a significant improvement. I just needed to find the right one online.

“Good for you. What’s up with Minami anyway? She’s taking her sweet time. Is she okay?” Kokoro wondered, before heading toward the fitting room where Elena was still changing. “Minami! Is everything all right?”

“Y-Yes... I’m sorry I took so long. I’m done changing...” Elena’s voice came from inside the fitting room.

“Really? Great! Can I open the curtain?”

“Ah! I... er, I-I guess... I’m done changing, b-but...”

“Hm? I’m opening it!”

“Uh... O-Okay...”

Kokoro swiped open the curtain, revealing Elena in a sexy black swimsuit. The top did very little to conceal her large breasts, and the bottoms started even lower on her hips than a normal bikini would.

Elena’s proportions were worthy of a swimsuit model, if not better. Even in school uniform, she had a great figure (and a great chest), but it was almost too much to take in all at once.

Are those E cups? I’m pretty sure they’re D cups at the very least...

“Oh, whoa! That’s some body you’ve got, Minami!” Kokoro commented.

I agreed with her, but this was way too sexy. Showing up at the pool like this would have definitely stirred up a mess.

“I thought that, since I’ll have to wear that skimpy costume,” Elena explained, “I needed to choose a swimsuit on the sexier side, so that it’d actually help me get used to being so exposed. So I chose this and tried putting it on, but then I saw myself in the mirror and was a little bit shocked. I can’t bring myself to go to the pool in this...” she said, squirming in embarrassment as she tried to hide herself behind her arms.

Seeing Elena blushing so shyly made her look even sexier. Realizing that she probably didn’t want me to stare at her, I averted my gaze from the sight that had fully repaid me for the trouble of going to Shibuya.

“Maybe you should save that for another occasion, yeah? Let’s try another one!” Kokoro replied optimistically.

“Yes, let’s...”

Next up in the Elena collection was a light blue halterneck bikini with large ruffles, similar to the one Kokoro had tried on earlier. It wasn’t as daring as the previous one, but it still put her cleavage on display.

I’m starting to think it’s not the choice of swimsuit as much as her huge boobs making her look sexy...

It looked really good on her, and, while sexy, it still had a cute, innocent vibe to it.

“You look great! This is totally the one you should go for!”

“Th-Thank you, Nishina...”

“Ichigaya! Don’t be rude! Tell her how good it looks!”

“B-But I... I, um, am not... er...”

Stop asking me for my opinion! All I can give you are horny remarks about how cute and sexy every single swimsuit looks on the two of you!

“I-I think that this one... looks better than the previous one, maybe...”

The previous one had looked wonderful, but going to the pool wearing something like that would have had its share of dangers.

“Okay! I’ll buy this one then,” Elena said before changing back into her clothes and proceeding to the checkout.

“I’m so glad I was able to find something cute! It was kind of pricey though,” Kokoro said as we walked back to Shibuya station.

“There were so many nice ones that I had trouble choosing. Ichigaya, I don’t think I saw you try any swimsuits on. Did you end up buying one?” Elena asked me.

“Ah, yeah... that. That shop was too expensive, so I decided to just buy one online.”

“Oh, I see. That’s understandable.”

I just hoped that they didn’t think I only tagged along to see them trying on swimwear. At least, that wasn’t my original intention.

“So, as for the pool... We’ll go on the Sunday a week before the cosplay event. That works, right?” Kokoro asked.

“Yes! That would be perfect!”

“Oh, and before that, sometime this week, let’s go to Ikebukuro after school to get your wig and color contacts!”

“Can I really ask you to help me out that much?”

“Don’t worry! I actually need to buy some for myself too!”

“What character are you going as?”

“I’m thinking Unithorn from Adore Lane!”

“Awww, that’s such a cute choice! I’m sure you’ll look lovely cosplaying her!”

Once we reached the station, we parted ways with Elena and caught our train back home.

When we got in, I made myself comfortable on the couch and began scrolling through online clothing stores. There were a surprising number of cheap swimsuits, many more than at the store we’d visited in Shibuya.

I tried to recall the information that the overbearing clerk had given me: surfers’ trunks could be worn as normal pants, some trunks didn’t require underwear, and this year’s trend was wearing not-too-long, not-too-short trunks. Taking all that into consideration, I looked for something that looked cool without being flashy.

“What store are you checking out?” Kokoro asked, pulling up a chair in front of me.

“Rakuten. There’s so many options I have no idea what to look for.”

“Oh, I buy loads of stuff there. Sort the results by number of reviews, and find something that has a lot of ratings and a good average. And actually read the reviews!”

“I see!”

Following Kokoro’s expert advice, I sorted the list of results and found a few pairs of trunks that looked somewhat like the designs I’d seen at the store earlier today. I bookmarked the ones that seemed to fit the store clerk’s advice and that I actually thought looked okay.

By reading through the reviews of several pairs, I realized that most people suggested wearing something underneath them, even for the ones that didn’t strictly require it. I decided that I’d wear my own boxers at the pool just in case.

“I found a few good options. Could you take a look?”

“Sure,” Kokoro said, taking the phone I handed her.

“Hmm... I’d personally go with this one!”

When she gave the phone back to me, the screen showed a pair of surfers’ trunks with horizontal stripes. It looked similar to one of the designs I’d seen in the store, but it cost less than a third of the price. Since that’d have been my top pick too, I was relieved to have the fashion-savvy Kokoro agree with me.

“Perfect! I’ll get those then!”

I quickly ordered the trunks, mentally checking the chore off my to-do list.

The next day, before class.

“Here. My camera. And you’re very welcome.”

Ai handed me a large pouch containing his DSLR.

“Ohhh! Thanks!”

“Take it out, so I can teach you how to use it.”

“Right!”

Slightly nervous at handling something so expensive, I took the camera out of the pouch.

“You see it doesn’t have a lens, right? The lens is in a smaller pocket inside the case, and you need to mount it.”

“Okay...”

I carefully followed Ai’s instructions on how to mount the lens on the camera.

“Since you’re a beginner, I guess you can just leave it on auto.”

“Auto?”

“That just means the camera automatically chooses the best settings. There’s no way you can manage to learn about exposure, tone, and all that before the event, so this will have to do. You just need to worry about focusing the camera.”

“Really? It’s easier than I thought! Auto it is!” I took a couple of shots of the stuff on my desk as practice. “Wow! It even blurs the background automatically!”

“Well yeah, of course. That’s ’cause it’s a DSLR.”

I had to admit that taking pictures with a fancy camera was a lot of fun. I finally understood why some people were so passionate about photography.

“You’re just starting out, so don’t bother worrying about any complicated details. There’s only one important thing: making the cosplayer look good in pictures!”

“Yeah, that makes sense...”

“Right? But you wouldn’t believe how many cameramen can’t even do that. You have to look through the lens and find the perfect angle. And if you find a good angle, take several pictures! If you take a bunch, at least one is bound to be good! Got it?”

“Y-Yeah...” I said, finding Ai through the lens and shooting pictures of him from different angles. I took picture after picture of him, just as he’d said. Snap! Snap!

“This kind of depends on the individual, but most cosplayers like to have their pictures taken from above, since that makes them look cuter.”

“From above, uh-huh...”

I continued taking more pictures of him, this time from above. Snap! Snap!

“C-Can’t you find another subject?!” he scolded as I took yet another shot, looking an uncomfortable mix of perplexed and embarrassed.

I did want to meet cute cosplayers and exchange business cards, but first I had to take good pictures so that they’d at least like me as a cameraman. I still wasn’t sure if that would find me a date, but I had to try.

Later that week, Kokoro and Elena went to a cosplay shop to buy shoes and other accessories. Kokoro had asked me whether she could cut the wig at home, and since she told me she’d clean up after she was done, I’d said yes.

While she was busy trimming the purple hair, I got to work printing my business cards. They only had my name and Twitter handle on them.

I wish I had the confidence to put my photograph on them like Nishina did...

＊　＊　＊

Three days later.

When I arrived back from school, I noticed an extra pair of slip-ons in the entrance next to Kokoro’s. It only took me a moment to realize that Elena was here, and only one more moment to start feeling nervous about it.

Right... I guess they did say they’d be trimming and trying on their wigs today.

I opened the door to the living room and braved a step inside.

“I’m ho—”

I froze in place. Kokoro and Elena were there, as I was expecting, but, while the former was wearing her usual clothes, the latter was trying on an... interesting outfit.

“Eeeeek! I-Ichigaya?!” Elena shrieked, blushing.

She was standing in front of our full-length mirror wearing a costume that looked like a white bikini and a dangerously short skirt with white knee-high socks.

Why is she dressed like that?! I... I think I remember seeing that costume somewhere before. But where? Oh, that’s it! It’s the one she’s supposed to wear at WonFes! I know it looked skimpy from the character illustration she showed us, but this is barely an outfit at all!

The top barely covered half of her huge breasts, and the skirt served no purpose at all. Elena had told us they would make it longer for her, and maybe they had, but if she wore such an outfit on stage, she risked showing her undies to everyone in the crowd.

The fact that she’s got such an attractive body makes it look even sexier...

“I-I’m so sorry I’m dressed like this inside your house. The company recently sent me the costume and I, e-erm...”

“We just wanted to see how revealing it is, so she tried it on, y’know?” Kokoro explained.

“O-Oh, I see...”

“And it sure is revealing, huh? We’ve really gotta do something about it!”

Kokoro was right. This was no way for a young voice actress to show up in public—especially one trying to start a career.

“Y-Yes. Since we already trimmed the wig, can I put it on to see how it looks?” Elena asked.

“Sure! Go ahead!”

The wig she was talking about was long and pink, just like the hair of the character she’d shown us before. It was resting on a wig stand on the floor, on top of some old newspapers. Next to it was a plastic bag full of pink trimmings.

Elena bent down, picking up the wig stand with the wig with it. The only problem was that I was standing behind her, and was suddenly presented with a perfectly unobstructed view of her panties.

Oh! I... I, er, wasn’t expecting that. White... the color of purity and innocence. Beautiful...

“Eeeeeeek!” Elena squealed again, pulling down her skirt to hide her butt as she spun around to look at me. Her cheeks were now even redder. “I-Ichigaya! D-Did you...?”

“H-Huh?! N-No!”

“Ichigaya,” Kokoro said, her face as cold as stone. “Don’t tell me that you were looking at her panties!”

“No! Really! I-I-I...! Minami!”

“You pervert!” Kokoro yelled.

But it’s not my fault!

“No, it was all my fault! I should have been more careful!” Elena inexplicably apologized.

“What did I tell you?! This is why we need to do something about it! You have to wear shorts under it or something!”

“But they’d peek out beneath a skirt this short...”

“What about your swimsuit then? You can wear that, then wear skin-colored pantyhose over it and put on the socks on top of those. How does that sound?”

“That sounds perfect! I’ll do that!”

I was relieved that she would take the necessary precautions. Elena’s panties were a priceless sight, not to be shared with crowds of nameless otaku.

“What are you even wearing under that top?” Kokoro asked.

“Hm? Nothing in particular...”

“What?! No strapless bra? Not even pasties?!”

“I wasn’t sure what would work, so I haven’t bought anything yet...”

Her boobs’ only barrier from the outer world is that thin piece of fabric, I thought, unsuccessfully trying to hide my excitement. They’re way too big for that top anyway. One abrupt accident and out they come!

“When you go on stage, you need to wear one or the other, okay? You can even get them online! Like this one!” Kokoro held up her phone to Elena, showing her a strapless bra.

“I didn’t even know things like these existed. I’ll have to buy one!”

Kokoro sighed. “Okay. Now I’ll tell you how to put on the wig.”

“Thank you!”

“You see that net, right? You put that over your head and pull it down around your neck. Then you pull the front part up over your face until it’s only covering your hair. Got it?”

“Yes! I’ll go give it a try,” Elena said, glancing at me briefly as she made for the bathroom.

“We have a mirror in here. Why does she need to use the one in the bathroom?” I curiously asked Kokoro.

“When you’re putting on a wig net, you look super weird. Like, your face gets all squished up. She probably didn’t want you to see.”

“Oh, really?”

“Can’t you guess from how I just explained it?”

To be honest, I couldn’t. But that would explain the look Elena had given me on her way out of the room. That made me happy though, since it meant that Elena worried about not looking bad in front of me. She should be more worried about how sexy that outfit makes her look...

“I’m going to give her a hand,” Kokoro said, leaving me alone waiting.

When the two of them came back, Elena was wearing the pink wig. It looked really cute on her.

“Now you just need to do your makeup! We’ll cover your eyebrows with concealer, then pencil on some pink ones, like the character has. Also, you really wanna go all out on the eyes when you’re cosplaying. Eyeliner, eyeshadow, and fake lashes too. That’ll get you closer to the character.”

“Mm-hmm!”

“Ichigaya, we can’t focus with a guy around. Go to your room or something.”

“A’ight...”

“I’m sorry,” Elena said.

“You don’t need to apologize!” I replied, smiling on the outside, but inwardly cursing Kokoro, who could have done this in her own room instead of here.

Back in my room, I thought about how incredible Elena’s cosplay was. I couldn’t help it: even if I tried not to think about it, her sensual, scantily clad figure had been burnt forever into my brain.

“You can come down, Ichigaya!” Kokoro called after what felt like forever. I obediently went back down to the living room.

“O-Ohh!”

Elena’s cosplay was now absolutely perfect. Her makeup, as was usual for cosplayers, was thick, but it fit well with the overall gaudiness of the costume and pink hair.

“Isn’t she the cutest? It’s like she jumped straight out of an anime!” Kokoro commented, and I had to agree. Elena was cute, beautiful, and sexy. She looked perfect in every detail. I was so taken aback that I couldn’t even find the words to compliment her.

“Yeah...”

“It’s all thanks to your help. I’m so grateful,” Elena said, blushing as she thanked Kokoro.

“It was super easy, since you look so good to begin with! You’re built like an anime character, y’know?”

“I’m going to take a picture of the makeup you put on me so I can try to do the same on the day of the event,” Elena said.

“Okay! Lend me your phone. I’ll take it for you!” Kokoro replied.

“Thank you so much!”

“Oh, that reminds me. I actually borrowed Ai’s DSLR camera today,” I said.

“For real?! That’s perfect! You can take pictures of her and then send her the files! It’s going to be difficult to get decent pictures during the event, since she’ll be so far away on the stage.”

“Huh?”

Me? Take pictures of Minami’s cosplay?!

“A DSLR? Why would you...?” Elena asked.

“Oh, yeah. Ichigaya and I are going to the festival. I’m gonna be cosplaying, and Ichigaya will go as a cameraman. Do we need to register or buy tickets in advance to see you on stage there?”

“No, it’s free and open to anyone.”

“That’s great! We’ll be cheering on you!”

“Really?! You’re going to come to see me?! Knowing that both of you will be there makes me feel so much better. Thank you!”

It was nice to see her so enthusiastic about us going to see her performance. I just hadn’t expected to also become Elena’s cameraman.

“So,” she continued, “what was that about a DSLR?”

“He borrowed one from a friend so he can take good pictures of cosplayers at the festival. But since you’re all dressed up already, I figured we might as well snap a couple of pics of you right now.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful! Actually, taking pictures will be against the rules during the performance, and I thought it was a shame that I wouldn’t have anything to remember the cosplay by.”

“Perfect then! Let’s do it!”

“Wait, wait,” I said. “Slow down. I have the camera, but I’m still terrible at using it.”

I could hardly believe that I’d be allowed to take pictures of Elena in such an incredibly sexy costume, but that didn’t mean that I’d be any good at it.

“Stop messing around and bring the camera here!”

“U-Uh, sure...”

Following Kokoro’s orders, I brought the camera back from my room and put the lens on it like Ai had taught me.

“I’ll give it a try then. If that’s okay?” I asked Elena, pointing the shutter at her. My nervous hands were shaking the whole camera.

“Y-Yes! But, erm... How should I pose?”

“What about you start by looking over your shoulder? Your costume looks cute from behind too,” Kokoro suggested.

“That’s a great idea! One second, then,” Elena said, facing away from the camera and looking back over her shoulder.

I pressed the shutter button as deliberately as if I were pulling the trigger on a gun. I just hoped that all of my shaking didn’t end up blurring the picture.

“Why don’t you try sitting down next?” Kokoro continued, suggesting another pose to Elena. As for me, I was way too nervous to come up with any useful advice.

“Like this?”

Elena knelt on the floor, bending her knees outwards so that she could sit between the lower half of her legs, aaand I got another glimpse of her underwear.

Whew! Calm down, Kagetora! But, hm? They looked different from before...

“Minami,” Kokoro scolded. “Your swimsuit is showing!”

Swimsuit? Oh, she put her bikini on so that her panties don’t show...

“S-Sorry!” Elena rushed to pull her skirt down to keep her substitute panties safe from prying eyes.

“Ichigaya! Why were you staring?! They weren’t her panties, get it?! It’s just a swimsuit! Stop being a creep!”

“I-I didn’t even see anything,” I promptly lied.

I took more photos of Elena, then she told me her email address so that I could send her the files later. Kokoro asked her to stay for dinner, but she told us she didn’t want to intrude for so long. So, right after she’d changed, Kokoro and I saw her off.

“My costume is pretty much ready, and you’ve got your camera. We’re good to go! Maybe you should get a bit more practice taking pictures though. Your hands were shaking so much! Cosplayers are gonna laugh at you if that’s how you are when we’re there.”

“Ugh...”

I considered explaining that I’d just been nervous seeing Elena dressed like that, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. I didn’t want to be laughed at or called a creep again. That being said, she was right that practicing a bit more wouldn’t hurt.

“But even if I practiced taking pictures of things or landscapes, having to shoot a person is completely different,” I lamented.

“I guess that’s true, yeah. Do you want me to model for you? I need to practice my cosplay poses anyway. I still look way too stiff.”

“R-Really? You’d do that for me?”

“Sure, no problem! Let me go change!” Kokoro said, then ran up to her room.

I’d taken pictures of Kokoro in the past, but I never imagined that I would be doing it again, never mind with a proper camera. There was even more pressure to get a decent photograph than when I was using my smartphone, and as if that wasn’t enough, I had to improve myself in time for the festival.

After thirty long minutes, Kokoro finally walked back into the living room.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!”

“You sure took your time, Nishin—”

It was not Kokoro standing before me, but Unithorn from Adore Lane. The cosplay was as cute as it could possibly get, with her long, violet hair, white sleeveless dress, and horse plushie. She could have walked right out of the game.

“I thought it’d be better practice if I put on the wig and the makeup like I’ll have on at the festival. Of course, I’m going to have proper makeup on then though.”

This isn’t “proper” makeup? It looks perfect to me.

I feared that Kokoro’s cosplay would make me just as nervous as Elena’s had and make it impossible for me to focus on taking photographs. The upper half of her chest was completely exposed, and my eyes naturally strayed there.

“I started playing it because you told me that it’s popular with otaku guys, but I actually liked it so much that I’m playing it all the time now! I’ve been wanting to cosplay Unithorn for aaages!”

“Oh, so you actually like it? That’s going to score you points with the fans.”

“Hehe. I know, right? Okay then! Let’s try a few poses!”

Kokoro moved in front of the empty wall that we’d used as a background before, but stood there as straight as a scarecrow.

“Hm... I’m not really sure how to start.”

“Can’t you just try something? Anything will do!”

“I wouldn’t need to practice if it was that easy!”

“For what it’s worth, when I think of Unithorn, I think of her from the official art. You know, where she’s hugging the plushie against her chest.”

“Oh, you’re right! Like this?”

“Good,” I said, watching Kokoro squish the horse plushie. “I’m going to start then. Yeah?”

As I pointed the camera at Kokoro, I tried to remember what Ai had taught me: “The most important thing is making the cosplayer look good.” I tried out various different angles, and took a bunch of pictures from the best ones.

“Show me already!”

“All right, here you go.” I took the camera from around my neck and handed it to Kokoro.

“Hmm... I look weird.”

“What? How so?”

“I just don’t like how I look from up front. I’ll face this way, so shoot my left side next, okay? And you’re a bit too far away. Come closer next time.”

“S-Sure!”

I took back the camera and Kokoro posed again. This time, with much less blank space around the subject, the pictures looked a lot better. We then went through several cycles of taking pictures, looking at them to see which angle and pose would work best, then went back to taking more pictures.

“Come on, give me some input here! Tell me where to face or how to move. Only you can see what it looks like!”

“G-Got it. Then... turn a little bit that way.”

With Kokoro following my instructions, we started getting even better pictures. She eventually got used to posing in ways that looked good on camera, and I was getting better at finding flattering angles.

“Let’s try to take some while I’m sitting,” she said, sitting down just like Elena had done earlier. I remembered Ai telling me that a lot of cosplayers liked having their pictures taken from above, and I took the chance to do exactly that.

Ohhh! Hmm... Did Unithorn’s dress look this sexy in the game? If I shoot from this angle, it’s going to be a one-way ticket to cleavage city...

“What’s wrong? What are you waiting for?”

“I-It’s just that, um... This angle is... not good...”

I knew she was going to look at the pictures later, and I also knew that she’d be mad at me if I took one with her half-exposed boobs front and center.

“Huh? But I can’t take selfies from above like that! Please! I’m sure it’ll look good!”

“O-Okay...”

With Kokoro asking like that, who was I to refuse? I started taking pictures of her from above, still fully expecting her to be mad at me later. My hands, which had been nice and steady this whole time, started shaking again. Her boobs stared up at me, taunting me like soft, white marshmallows... I tried to keep my cool and snapped a picture.

“You got it? Show me!”

With no other choice, I handed her the camera. She took one look at the picture and froze, her face gradually becoming redder.

“Wh-What is...?! H-How do you...?!”

I had no idea what she was saying, but I understood the point she was trying to make.

“That’s why I told you that that angle was bad!”

“This is what you meant?!” She continued to stare down at the picture, shivering.

Oh no. OH NO. She’s going to snap...

“I deleted it! At least now I know that I have to be careful about pics from this angle when I’m at the festival,” she said, still blushing.

Maybe this was for the better. She probably didn’t want strangers taking pictures of her rack, and the one I’d taken was already taken care of.

That was enough practice for one day. We were starting to get hungry anyway, so we packed up the cosplay stuff and decided it was time for dinner.

That rehearsal is going to help both of us, I think. I’ll have to keep in mind what I’ve learned when I’m at the event. I’m going to give it my best!