Chapter 68: An Unexpected Alliance

The doors to the Comic Fest open, and the hall is immediately flooded with a sea of excited fans. The atmosphere is electric. But at our adjacent booths, the energy is starkly different.

Our booth is a hub of activity. Rina is in her element, posing for photos, her smile radiant, her Seraphina costume practically glowing under the lights. Miki is efficiently managing the line, Hana is on standby for touch-ups, and Kenji is loudly proclaiming the virtues of Ectiqa to anyone who will listen.

Next door, Haruka's booth is a portrait of quiet despair. She is in her costume, which is still impressive despite the slightly-off color of the fabric. But her heart is clearly not in it. Her poses for photos are stiff, her smile is a brittle, forced thing, and her eyes have a distant, miserable look. She keeps fumbling with her repaired staff, which has a visible, ugly seam where the crystal was glued back together.

It is me who notices it first. I am watching her, not with rivalry, but with a strange, dawning sense of empathy. I remember her trying to save that cat. I remember her looking so small and pained in the clinic. This is not the powerful Hime-Hime. This is just a girl who is clearly struggling.

"Hey, Rina," I say, leaning over to her between photos. "Look at Ito-san. Does she seem… okay to you?"

Rina follows my gaze. She sees the forced smile, the slumped posture, the way Haruka flinches every time she looks at her broken prop. Rina’s own triumphant mood falters, replaced by the same reluctant concern she felt at the park.

"She looks like she is about to cry," Rina whispers back, her expression softening.

A few minutes later, there is a lull in the crowd at both our booths. Rina looks at me, and we have a silent, telepathic conversation. I give a slight nod. She takes a deep breath and does something that shocks me, her friends, and every fan who is watching.

She walks over to Haruka's booth.

Haruka sees her coming and immediately stiffens, her expression turning hostile, expecting an attack, a gloating remark. "What do you want, Hinamata?" she snaps.

Rina does not respond with hostility. She just looks at Haruka's broken staff. "That is a clean break," she says, her voice quiet and professional. "You used the wrong kind of adhesive. It will not hold up under the lights. You need an epoxy resin with a longer curing time."

Haruka just stares at her, completely thrown off guard.

"And your wig," Rina continues, her artist's eye taking over. "The humidity in here is making the fibers frizz. You need a silicone-based spray to seal it." She looks Haruka in the eye. "You look tired. You should take a break."

This unexpected, unadulterated act of professional kindness is the final blow. It is the one thing Haruka's armor is not prepared for. Her icy facade cracks. Her lower lip begins to tremble. Her eyes well up with tears.

"It is all a disaster," she whispers, her voice breaking. "The fabric is the wrong color, my staff is broken, I was late… everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I look like a joke next to you."

A single, hot tear escapes and rolls down her cheek, leaving a clean track through her perfect makeup. The ice queen is melting.

Before Rina can even respond, she does something even more shocking. She reaches into her own supply kit, pulls out a small, professional-grade bottle of anti-frizz wig spray, and holds it out to Haruka.

"Here," Rina says softly. "Use this."

Haruka just stares at the bottle, then at Rina's outstretched hand. The kindness, the complete lack of malice, is too much. A choked sob escapes her lips. She collapses onto the chair behind her, burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with the force of her pent-up misery.

Rina looks at me, a look of pure panic on her face. She has no idea how to handle a crying rival. I just sigh, grab a bottle of water, and walk over. The showdown has become a rescue mission.

In the middle of the crowded Comic Fest, surrounded by fans and flashing cameras, an unlikely, tentative alliance is being forged in the fires of a shared passion and a single, well-timed act of kindness. The rivalry is not over, but it has changed. And in its place, something new, and far more interesting, is beginning to grow.