Chapter 58: A Declaration of War

The five minutes before we go on stage are the most tense, most horrifically awkward five minutes of my entire life. The green room, which felt spacious moments before, has now shrunk to the size of a closet, and it is filled with a suffocating, toxic atmosphere.

Haruka has completely ignored Rina, Miki, and Hana. She has made a beeline for me, her new "work colleague."

"I simply cannot believe this coincidence," she says, her voice a low, sultry purr as she pretends to inspect a piece of my shirt. "The two of us, chosen to be the faces of the biggest game of the year. It must be fate, do you not think?"

"It is a job," I say, my voice flat, trying to subtly move away from her. But she is like a heat-seeking missile of flirtation.

Rina is standing a few feet away, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She is in full costume, a literal goddess of light, and she is emanating an aura of pure, murderous rage. If she had her prop staff, I am fairly certain Haruka would be impaled by now.

Miki and Hana are trying to run interference, asking Rina last-minute questions about her presentation, desperately trying to distract her. Kenji is just staring back and forth between the two cosplayers, a look of horrified awe on his face. He is witnessing the clash of his two biggest idols, and it is breaking his tiny fanboy brain.

"I am so looking forward to our first photoshoot," Haruka continues, completely oblivious to the murderous intent of the goddess of light standing behind her. "The Dusk Queen and the loyal knight… it is such a romantic concept, is it not?"

"I am Ectiqa's handler, not yours," I say through clenched teeth.

"Oh, but we are a team now!" she insists. "Our fates are intertwined. You will be seeing a lot more of me, Rui-kun."

"That is enough, Ito-san," Rina's voice cuts in, as cold and sharp as a shard of ice. "My handler has work to do. He needs to prep me for the stage."

Haruka finally turns to face Rina, her sweet facade dropping to reveal the familiar, condescending smirk. "Of course, Ectiqa-sama. I would not want to get in the way of your… prep." The word is loaded with insinuation.

"Okay, ladies, Rui-kun, it is time!" the cheerful Nexus Games PR woman says, poking her head back in, completely oblivious to the near-declaration of war she has just walked into.

We walk towards the stage, Rina and Haruka on either side of me, a goddess of light on my right and a queen of darkness on my left. It should be the ultimate otaku fantasy. Instead, it feels like I am being escorted to my own execution.

We step out onto the brightly lit stage. The flash of a hundred cameras goes off at once. The crowd of journalists gasps, then erupts in a frenzy of excited shouting. The surprise has landed. Ectiqa and Hime-Hime. Together. It is the biggest story in the cosplay world in years.

Rina, the consummate professional, immediately plasters a bright, divine smile on her face, waving to the crowd. Haruka mirrors her with a dark, regal smirk. They are playing their parts.

But as they take their seats on the stage, Rina does something that is not in the script. She reaches out and takes my hand, lacing her fingers with mine, a clear, possessive gesture for all the cameras to see. It is a silent, public declaration.

He is mine.

Haruka sees it. Her eyes narrow, and the smirk on her face becomes a little more real, a little more dangerous. The game is on. The press conference has just begun, and the battle for my soul has already started.