Mission accomplished

“So what is an anime convention like?”

“Well…for starters, there are a lot of people.” Like, an exceptionally large number of people. And for AnimeTokyo, one of the largest conventions of the year, the crowd is going to be huge. “Especially for this one, it’s going to be packed. And there’s going to be a large hall with dozens, no more like hundreds, of stalls and exhibits for different shows.”

“Oooh.” Sato listened with great curiosity.

“There are multiple stages there, so we’ll have to choose which of the shows to watch, obviously the cosplay contest, but also different movie screenings, voice-actor panels, live singing performances too…”

“I’m so excited! Ehee-” Sato gave the smallest of squeals at the end of her statement–cute. “Ah–” her hands stopped moving.

“What’s up?” I saw her intently observing the arm without moving a muscle.

“I think….”

“You think?”

“I think…that’s the last piece.” She raised the arm up, inspecting it. “It’s…completed.” She carefully placed the arm back on the table. She flipped the switch on the battery, testing the movements and electrical components until she was satisfied with the results. The arm was almost lifelike in its motions, mechanically flexing and extending digits, rotating along steel joints. And with the insulation, neither Sato nor I was getting shocked by it.

She powered off the arm and gently placed it back on the table. She got up from her seat. “We’re done, let’s go to the common room for a bit!”

I also got up, ready to congratulate her on all the hard work she put in over the past month.

Huh, she seems very calm about it, especially after such a long and arduous process. Following her out of the meeting room and into the common room, that question lingered a bit longer.

Maybe she’s used to these sorts of projects—

“LETS GOOO!!!!” She turned around and grabbed me by the hands, jumping up and down like she wanted to start bouncing off the walls. “WE DID IT!”

“We did! Sato, that was amazing–”

“Right! It all came together! I did improvise a few areas where the diagrams weren’t going to translate well, and there was the power issue at one point, but it works!! It really works,” she smiled brightly. While the grin on my face couldn’t possibly match hers, I shared a similar degree of satisfaction and relief at this project’s completion.

Suddenly, she went for a hug, catching me by surprise. As expected, my arms were outstretched and frozen in place as a wave of air rushed past me…again with this floral scent too…

“Thank you!”

“Eh? I should be thanking you,” I patted her on the back as my other arm lightly hugged her. “I mean, you did virtually all the assembling from start to finish–”

“True,” she let go, pointing at me. “But you believed in me from the start, right? Who brought me up to Elise to help?”

“I can’t argue with that…”

She smirked and changed her hand into a thumbs-up.

“Anyways, let’s let Elise know–”

“Let me know what?” a voice behind us asked. I turned around, seeing Lafon appear from the hallway. Perfect timing. If she had appeared fifteen seconds earlier…

“Elise!!” Sato ran over to hug her. “We finished!” As she cruised and almost collided with her, I couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“I can tell,” a small smile appeared on her lips as she returned the embrace. “Congrats, and thank you for all the hard work you two did–”

“Don’t thank us yet, you gotta try it on!”

She nodded. “Let me go change first–”

***

“Is it on properly?”

“Yep, and then just wiggle your fingers a bit closer to this bar here, then it should be snug!”

“I see.” Lafon adjusted her hand slightly, and it was a perfect fit. She wore a thin sleeve over her hand and right arm, matching the color of the metal, so it gave the illusion that her entire arm was also a part of the mechanical arm, like a metal core.

Once that was fitted, the rest of her dress was lifted back into position over the arm, completing the cosplay.

Even from a few feet away, she really did look like Azure. The dress spoke to the post-World War rise of French fashion on the modern international stage. The ingenuity of the dress, though–

Lafon demonstrated the second stage of the dress; with one swift motion, tearing the removable fabrics off, she revealed the metal arm from hand to shoulder.

In the series, Azure was a skilled fighter and part of the resistance, and at this phase, Lafon modelled her battle-torn features in the climactic final fight.

This was a contest winner, no doubt.

“Incredible,” Lafon moved around, impressed by how everything fit together. “I like it very much.”

“Yayy!!” Sato cheered, as I nodded with approval.

“Thank you both, I’m truly grateful for your help. It really means a lot to me for this weekend.” She got up and picked up her phone.

Looks like she wants to get a photo of herself now that the outfit is completed.

“Oh let us take a picture for you,” I suggested. Liking that idea, she handed the phone over and I took a couple photos of her in pose.

“Thank you,” she replied.

“Not quite social media worthy, I admit,” I scratched the back of my head.

“No, it looks good! Just sending it to a friend for now,” she continued, texting on her phone. “She’s actually going to be joining our program in the fall semester.

“Ooh!” Sato gleamed. “What’s her name? Is she also from France?”

“Her name’s Emilia Wagner,” she responded. “And she’s from Germany. We met…back in middle school one summer, yes.”

“Aw, a long-distance friendship!” Sato, France and Germany are not that far from each other–

“I mean, we lived like an hour away from each other, so it wasn't a very long distance.”

“What?”

“Sato-san, France and Germany are neighbors.” I looked at her, and she turned to me with her cheeks puffed out.

“I–I knew that! But Chloe and I are technically in neighboring countries, and we’re far away! And you need a passport, and a bunch of other–”

“Well, in the EU we can travel freely between France and Germany, so it was quite convenient.”

“That’s… a lot of driving too!”

“We have trains too…”

I got out my phone to mimic typing notes. “Geography, public transportation—”

“Iwasaki-kun!!” she stomped her foot. “I’ll have you know I passed all my midterms, including my Japanese midterm!”

I chuckled. “Yes, congratulations on that.”

She huffed. “Doesn’t sound very enthusiastic…”

“Oi, we have all Saturday to celebrate and cheer Lafon-san on!”

She turned her head away. “I guess…”

Oops, I might have pushed her a bit.

I suppose it’s only fair to celebrate tonight. “Let’s see…what time is it–”

“Time to go for a quick bite,” she finished my sentence. “Same place?” Her tone instantly brightened, as if she were now buzzing with joy. “Elise, you wanna come to?”

Lafon stared at Sato, thoroughly assessing her options. “Do they have–”

“--desserts? Yes. Are they good? Very!”

An irresistible proposal.

“I’ve been convinced.”

Of course. “Cool, we should also see if Watson-san’s free too.”

“Good idea–”

“Likely not,” Lafon tapped her phone. A voice started speaking…or rather shouting from her phone.

“Chat, would you pay a hundred dollars for a video game? This chatter says no, but people will give a hundred dollars in gifted subs. THAT’S RIGHT!”

That was certainly Watson streaming as ChocoNyan. That’s some dedication to her craft right there.

“We…can get her something to go?”

Sato giggled, giving a thumbs-up.