Chapter 67: The Unlucky Queen

A week passes. Haruka is out of the clinic, hobbling around school on crutches, her pride far more wounded than her ankle. Her tsundere gratitude manifests in the form of slightly less venomous glares in Rina's direction. A fragile, unspoken truce seems to have formed, born from the shared trauma of the 'Cat Incident.'

It is into this new, calmer landscape that the next bombshell drops: the announcement of the 'Autumn Akiba Comic Fest,' a major one-day event that is a highlight of the cosplay calendar. And, of course, both Ectiqa and Hime-Hime are listed as featured guests.

"Another showdown!" Kenji declares dramatically when he hears the news. "The fated rivals meet again! This will be a battle for the ages!"

"It is not a battle," Rina says, though a competitive glint still shines in her eyes. "It is a professional appearance."

This time, however, the universe seems to have decided to rig the game. While Team Ectiqa's preparation for the Comic Fest is a model of smooth, professional efficiency, Haruka's prep is a one-woman comedy of errors. Her life becomes a cascade of minor, soul-crushing disasters.

It starts when the custom fabric she ordered for her new costume arrives in the wrong color. The ethereal silver she wanted is a sickly, dishwater gray. There is no time to reorder it. She is forced to spend two sleepless nights trying to color-correct the fabric herself, a process that leaves her exhausted and smelling faintly of chemical dye.

Then, two days before the event, as she is putting the finishing touches on her main prop- an intricate, beautifully crafted magic staff- she trips over a power cord in her room. She manages to catch herself, but the staff does not. It falls, hitting the corner of her desk with a sickening crack, shattering the delicate resin crystal at its tip.

I only hear about this because Kenji, in his relentless and misguided romantic pursuit, has started a "Daily Haruka Watch" and reports his findings to me.

"Dude, you will not believe this," he says, his voice a conspiratorial whisper over the phone. "I heard from one of her friends that Hime-Hime had a total meltdown last night. Something about a broken prop. She was, and I quote, 'inconsolable'."

Rina, who is shamelessly listening in on the conversation from the other side of the room, just smirks. A little bit of the old rivalry is still there. "Serves her right," she mutters under her breath.

The morning of the Comic Fest is the final nail in the coffin of Haruka's sanity. She wakes up late. In her rush, she spills a cup of coffee down the front of her non-cosplay clothes, forcing a frantic change. On her way out the door, she realizes she has forgotten the case with all her makeup and has to run back for it. By the time she finally arrives at the event hall, she is frazzled, exhausted, and running on pure, unadulterated stress.

Team Ectiqa, in stark contrast, is already there, our booth set up, our costumes prepped. We are a calm, professional oasis in the pre-event chaos. Rina is doing some last-minute stretches, looking every bit the confident, prepared goddess.

When Haruka finally arrives at her designated booth next to ours, she looks like a storm cloud of misery. Her hair is slightly frizzy, there is a frantic, panicked look in her eyes, and she is carrying her hastily repaired staff like it is a dead weight.

This is not the cool, calculating ice queen we are used to. This is a girl who is having the worst day of her life, and it is about to get a whole lot more public.