Chapter 116: Operation: Deflection is Go!

The air in the convention hall crackles. Not with the residual energy of excited fans, but with the high-voltage, triple-pronged stare of Rina, Haruka, and Aiwa, all currently focused on me like I am the last pudding cup in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

"Rui," Rina repeats, her voice dangerously calm, the kind of calm that precedes a Category 5 typhoon. "Explain. Now. What was that… moment?"

My brain, which has been operating in panic mode for roughly 90% of the past few months, kicks into overdrive. Option 1: Tell the truth. Explain that Aiwa is LUNA, she is also the girl I made a childhood marriage promise to, and I just accidentally confirmed my identity to her using a coded phrase related to said promise. This option leads to immediate social implosion, possible dismemberment by my sister, and a lifetime of unbearable awkwardness. Option 2: Lie. Lie like my life depends on it. Lie like I have never lied before.

Option 2 it is.

"Look!" I say, my voice a little too loud, a little too high-pitched. I point dramatically at the pendant still clutched in Aiwa's hand. "It is the pendant! The 'Starlight Paladin' hero's crest! I recognized it!"

Rina and Haruka both look at the pendant, their expressions shifting from furious suspicion to confused annoyance.

"You caused all this drama… over a piece of anime merchandise?" Haruka asks, her voice dripping with disdain.

"It is not just merchandise!" I protest, seizing on this flimsy lifeline. "It looked exactly like the one LUNA was wearing during the Cosmode shoot! Remember? We all saw it! I just thought it was a weird coincidence that Matsuki-san had one too! I was asking her about it!"

Aiwa, standing frozen beside me, suddenly understands. Her eyes widen slightly as she catches my desperate, silent plea: 'Play along! Please, for the love of all that is holy, play along!'

She is a brilliant actress. The transformation is instantaneous. The tear-streaked confusion vanishes, replaced by a slightly flustered, nerdy enthusiasm.

"Oh! Yes! That is right!" Aiwa says, her voice regaining its usual soft, shy tone. "Hinamata-kun recognized the crest! It is from our favorite show. He was just surprised I had one." She looks down at the pendant, then back at me, a silent thank you in her eyes. "It is just a replica, of course," she adds quickly, reinforcing the lie. "I bought it online."

The explanation is weak. It is full of holes. But it is plausible. And in our world of secret identities and cosplay-fueled chaos, plausible is often good enough.

Rina and Haruka look back and forth between me and Aiwa. They are clearly not buying it entirely, but my explanation, combined with Aiwa's convincing performance, has muddied the waters enough to prevent immediate Armageddon.

"So," Rina says slowly, her eyes still narrowed suspiciously. "You two were having an intense, tearful, hand-holding moment… over a shared love for a twenty-year-old cartoon?"

"It is a very emotional show!" I insist, trying to project wounded artistic sensitivity. "The themes of heroism and sacrifice are timeless!"

Kenji, sensing his moment, chooses this opportunity to intervene. "He is right!" he declares, stepping forward with the air of a scholar defending his thesis. "'Starlight Paladin' is a masterpiece of early shojo storytelling! Its influence on the magical girl genre is-"

"Okay, okay, we get it," Haruka cuts him off, rolling her eyes. She looks back at me, her suspicion replaced by a familiar look of condescending pity. "You really are just a hopeless otaku, are you not, Rui-kun?"

"Yes! Exactly!" I seize on her insult like a drowning man grabbing a life raft. "Just a hopeless otaku, easily distracted by rare merchandise! Nothing else to see here!"

The crisis, for now, is averted. Rina and Haruka still look suspicious, but they have no smoking gun. Aiwa is safe. My secret memory is safe. But the look Aiwa gives me as we start packing up our booths is anything but simple relief. It is a look that says, 'We need to talk. For real this time.'