The night before the Grand Prix, the four of us stood in Rina's room. The Amaterasu costume was complete, a divine entity of silk and gold standing proudly on its mannequin. The air was thick with the smell of success and the palpable tension of our collective anxieties.
"It's a masterpiece, Rina-chan," Hana said, her voice filled with awe.
"All our hard work paid off," Miki added, giving Rina's shoulder a supportive squeeze. She then shot a worried glance at me, then back at Rina.
The jokes and teasing had faded as the reality of the competition set in. Rina was standing there, wringing her hands, a genuine fear in her eyes.
"What if I lose?" she whispered. "What if I get up there and I'm a total failure?"
Before Miki or Hana could offer their reassurances, I stepped forward.
"That's impossible," I said, my voice quiet but firm. "Winning or losing the trophy doesn't matter. You've already won. You took a dream and you turned it into… this." I gestured to the goddess on the mannequin. "You are brilliant, and you are the most dedicated person I've ever met."
Miki and Hana stared, watching the exchange with wide eyes. They were seeing Starlight_Knight_01 emerge from behind the grumpy brother facade.
"I know you're scared," I continued, looking directly at Rina. "But you're not alone. We're all here for you."
Rina looked at me, her eyes welling up with tears of pure, unadulterated gratitude. "Thank you, Rui," she whispered.
And then, right in front of her two best friends, she launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck in a hug that was anything but a joke. It was a hug of desperation, of trust, of a deep and complicated affection.
I hesitated for only a second before my own arms came up to wrap around her, holding her tightly.
Miki and Hana exchanged a long, meaningful look. Miki sighed, a quiet sound of resignation. They had come here to support their friend in a cosplay competition. They had somehow ended up as front-row spectators to the most chaotic and forbidden love story of all time, feel like puked.