Akihabara, the holy land of otakus, was also a gathering place for cosplayers whenever there was an event. Cosplayers from all kinds of series gathered here.
Today was no different.
People walked the streets dressed as characters from anime, games, and manga.
Someone pointed across the street.
"Hey, look! Asuka and Rei cosplay!"
Another voice followed.
"Wait, that Haruhi cosplay is really good. Let's ask them for a photo!"
Cameras flashed everywhere.
But then someone else suddenly spoke.
"Hey… look over there."
Several people turned.
"Is that Lyra?"
Another fan leaned forward.
"Whoa… that Lyra cosplay is perfect."
"I've never seen one this accurate before."
Someone else added excitedly,
"Lyra cosplay is rare. Is she here for the—"
"Sirius-sensei signing event?"
"Probably!"
"Let's take a photo!"
Phones were raised.
But then—
"Huh?"
"My camera isn't working."
"Mine too."
"What the… my phone is glitching."
"Did something happen?"
When the fans looked up again—
The Lyra cosplayer was gone.
In the distance, Erika walked away with a look that said she really wanted to kill someone.
Actually, not someone.
A very specific person.
The handbag in her hand slowly crumpled as she thought about the trouble that idiot had caused her.
Togi Shiro, who was walking behind her, looked at the fans whose phones had suddenly stopped working.
"Erika-san… did you do something?"
Erika replied calmly,
"I just disrupted their phones a little."
Shiro blinked.
"You can do that?"
Erika shrugged.
"I'm part vampire. This is just a basic skill."
Shiro nodded slowly.
"I see."
Then she tilted her head.
"Why is everyone saying you're cosplaying?"
Erika sighed and reached into her handbag.
"Here."
She took out a book and handed it to her.
Shiro looked at the cover.
"Why do the characters on the cover look like you and Akira-oniisan?"
She blinked.
"Wait… is this the book Akira-oniisan wrote?"
Erika sighed again.
"Yeah. He basically wrote his entire time traveling around the world into a book. He just changed the names and turned the places into planets."
She rubbed her temple.
"I still can't believe he put me on the cover. At least change my hairstyle or my ribbons."
She clenched her hand.
"But no. He just used it exactly like this."
Shiro looked back at the book.
"So that's why you didn't stay near the bookstore and left him alone?"
Erika nodded tiredly.
"Yes. Otherwise, it would cause even more trouble."
Erika's original idea had been simple.
She planned to sit somewhere near Akira's signing area, maybe a nearby café, so she could keep an eye on him. She had even brought Shiro with her to keep her company.
But the moment his fans saw her, they all assumed she was cosplaying.
Now she couldn't even walk around Akihabara normally.
"It's all his fault…" she muttered.
Just then, her phone buzzed.
Erika glanced at the screen.
Akira had sent her a message.
Erika, where are you?
Erika immediately felt her irritation spike.
She didn't even want to type.
Instead, she sent three emojis.
An angry face.
A knife.
And a skull.
"Yeah. That should send the message."
After sending it, Erika grinned slightly.
That idiot had caused her a lot of trouble today.
"Let's see how I punish him tonight."
Watching that grin on her face and remembering the way she and Akira had interacted earlier, Shiro finally asked quietly,
"Erika-san… are you and Akira-oniisan dating?"
Erika unconsciously smiled.
"Yes."
Shiro fell silent.
For a brief moment, her expression dimmed slightly.
She quickly lowered her gaze.
"…I see."
Then she looked up again and gave a small smile.
"Congratulations, Erika-san."
Erika stared at her for a moment.
Then she gently called out,
"Shiro-chan…"
But Shiro shook her head lightly.
"I'm happy for you."
Erika didn't say anything more.
Instead, she simply replied,
"…Thank you."
The two of them stood quietly for a moment.
Then suddenly Erika grabbed Shiro's hand and started walking again.
"Come on."
Shiro blinked.
"Where are we going?"
Erika smiled slightly.
"I still need to buy that idiot a gift."
Shiro tilted her head.
"You're buying Akira-oniichan a gift?"
Erika's expression softened just a little.
"…Yeah. I haven't bought him one since he returned."
She glanced down the street.
"And since we're already here, I want to buy him something."
Then she looked at Shiro.
"Help me choose one."
Shiro smiled.
"Okay."
So Erika and Shiro searched through shop after shop in Akihabara, trying to find the perfect gift for Akira.
But after some time, they still couldn't think of anything good.
Erika finally muttered out loud,
"What exactly do you think Akira likes here?"
Shiro thought for a moment.
"Akira-oniisan likes robots, right?"
Selena's voice echoed telepathically.
"More specifically, Gundams. But he does like other robots too."
Erika nodded.
"Yeah, I know he likes them. But he basically has all of them already, right?"
She sighed.
"I don't think he's missing any Gunpla models."
Selena replied casually.
"Yeah, you're right. He does have all of them."
Shiro, who couldn't hear Selena's telepathic voice, thought for a moment longer.
"Then why not give him some accessories or something like that?"
Erika shook her head slightly.
"I don't know. Akira isn't really the type to wear accessories."
She paused.
"Well… he does sometimes wear weird anime ones, but mostly he doesn't."
Shiro nodded.
"Then why not anime accessories?"
Erika tilted her head.
"Huh… I'm not sure."
She hummed softly.
"Hmmm… well, we'll see if we can find something."
So the two of them continued walking through the stores.
Then Selena spoke again.
"Try some second-hand anime stores too, like A-Stop."
Erika replied telepathically.
"Second-hand ones? Like A-Stop? But… I don't know. I wanted to give him something new."
Selena answered,
"You can find a lot of variety there. And the prices are much cheaper too."
She added,
"Some of them aren't even that old. Try it, you might find something cool."
Erika thought for a moment.
Then she nodded slightly.
"Alright."
She turned and walked into one of the second-hand anime stores.
A-Stop.
Erika pushed open the door of the shop Selena had pointed out.
A small bell rang above the entrance.
The inside of the store looked completely different from the shops they had visited before.
Instead of large shelves filled with merchandise, the walls were covered with hundreds of small glass display boxes stacked from floor to ceiling. Each box held different items, figures, keychains, badges, jewelry, and all kinds of anime merchandise.
Shiro's eyes widened as she looked around.
"…There are so many things."
Erika nodded slightly while glancing around the store.
"So this is A-STOP."
Selena's voice echoed in her mind.
"This place works a little differently from normal shops."
Erika walked slowly past one of the walls, examining the rows of display boxes.
Each box is rented out to collectors or small sellers, Selena explained. They put whatever merchandise they want inside and set their own price.
Erika leaned closer to look.
Some boxes were filled with anime figures.
Others contained trading cards, keychains, or rare limited goods that looked like they had been released years ago.
"So it's like hundreds of tiny shops inside one store," Erika muttered.
"Exactly", Selena replied.
Shiro leaned closer to one of the display boxes.
Inside were several small JoJo figures.
"Oh! Erika-san, look. These are from JoJo."
Erika glanced at them.
Before she could say anything, Selena answered in her mind.
"He lost interest after Stone Ocean, but he does like the previous parts. Though he's not that big of a fan."
They continued walking deeper into the store.
Shiro soon pointed at another display box.
"What about those?"
Inside were several Gundam models.
More specifically, a large Zaku unit.
Erika immediately shook her head.
"He already has Za-kun. A seven-foot Zaku robot. And many others too."
She sighed.
"In fact, he might even build an actual life-size working Gundam one day."
"But why hasn't he yet?" she wondered.
Selena answered,
"He didn't have time to build it before. He was basically traveling from one place to another." She sighed. "But now that he's settled back in Japan, he might actually make one."
They kept moving through the aisles.
At one display box, they spotted a toy lightsaber.
Erika glanced at it and shook her head again.
"He might have liked it before… but he already has a real one now."
They continued searching through the display boxes.
Anime figures. Accessories. Rare goods.
But nothing felt right.
Then suddenly.
Erika's eyes suddenly stopped on something.
Inside one of the display boxes was a silver wolf-head pendant.
The wolf's mouth was open in a fierce snarl, its sharp fangs visible. Its surface was polished silver, and its eyes were made from small purple crystals that glowed faintly under the shop lights.
Erika stared at it.
The first thought that came to her mind was immediate.
"This thing… it looks like Akira."
Shiro tilted her head.
"Really?"
Erika nodded.
"Yes."
Selena's voice appeared in her mind again.
"It's from the Witcher games."
She paused.
"But that's strange… it doesn't look like an authentic one. The eyes shouldn't be purple crystals; they should be hollow."
Erika didn't care.
"I don't care. It's definitely for Akira."
Shiro looked down at the price tag.
"¥32,800…"
Her eyes widened.
"Erika-san… can you even afford that?"
Erika also looked at the price and hesitated for a moment.
But then she nodded firmly.
"It's fine. I saved up a lot." She grinned a bit. "And Akira will definitely like it."
Selena sighed softly.
"He will probably like anything you give him."
And so Erika bought the wolf pendant.
After leaving the shop, she and Shiro began walking back toward the bookstore where Akira was holding his signing event.
As she imagined all the people who would think she was cosplaying again, Erika felt her irritation rising once more.
Once again.
She wanted to punish Akira.