Chapter 117: Escape from Cosplay Alcatraz

Packing up after a convention is usually a straightforward, if exhausting, process. Tonight, however, it feels like orchestrating a prison break. Aiwa needs to talk to me. I need to talk to Aiwa. But Rina and Haruka have apparently declared martial law, and I am under constant surveillance.

Every time I try to drift towards Aiwa's booth, which is being efficiently dismantled by her professional handler, one of them materializes at my side.

"Onii-chan, can you help me coil this cable?" Rina will ask, her voice impossibly sweet.

"Rui-kun, I require your superior height to reach that box on the top shelf," Haruka will command a moment later.

They are working together, a terrifyingly efficient Cerberus guarding the gates of my social freedom. Kenji, Miki, and Hana are caught in the crossfire, trying their best to look busy and avoid making eye contact with anyone.

Aiwa tries her own approach. She "accidentally" drops a small prop near my feet. As I bend down to pick it up, she whispers frantically, "Meet me by the west exit in ten minutes!" before immediately scurrying away.

Ten minutes later, I make my move. "Okay, I think that is the last box," I announce, trying to sound casual. "I am just going to run to the restroom quickly before we head out."

"I will come with you!" Rina says instantly.

"Me too," Haruka adds, not missing a beat.

"You cannot both come to the men's restroom!" I protest, horrified.

"We will wait outside," Rina says, her smile unwavering. "To make sure you are safe."

"From what?!"

"Dehydration?" Haruka suggests innocently.

This is impossible. I am trapped. I look desperately towards Miki and Hana for help. Miki just sighs and adjusts her glasses, clearly having decided this is my problem to solve. Hana just offers me a sympathetic, helpless shrug.

Then, Kenji, my idiot best friend, inadvertently saves the day. He is trying to carry three large boxes at once, stacked precariously high. "Fear not, my queens!" he declares, puffing out his chest. "Your loyal knight Kenji shall transport these sacred relics!"

He takes two steps, trips over a stray power cord (possibly placed there strategically by Miki, I cannot be sure), and goes crashing down in a spectacular explosion of cardboard, packing peanuts, and flailing limbs.

"KENJI!" Hana shrieks, rushing over to help him.

The diversion is perfect. Rina and Haruka are momentarily distracted by the sheer, unadulterated chaos of Kenji's existence.

"Now is my chance," I mutter under my breath. While they are busy excavating Kenji from the debris, I make a break for it, sprinting towards the west exit like a man escaping a burning building.

I burst through the doors and into the cool night air, gasping for breath. Aiwa is waiting there, hidden in the shadows by a service entrance. She looks relieved to see me.

"That was close," she whispers, her voice back to its normal, soft pitch.

"You have no idea," I pant. "My life is a constant escape room, and my sister holds all the keys."

We stand there for a moment, catching our breath, the sounds of the convention hall a dull roar behind us. The adrenaline is fading, replaced by the heavy weight of the conversation we know we need to have.

"Rui-kun," she begins, her voice serious, "about what you said… about the promise…"

Before she can finish, the service door behind us bursts open. It is Kenji, covered in packing peanuts, followed closely by Rina and Haruka, their faces thunderous.

"Aha!" Kenji declares triumphantly. "The secret rendezvous! I knew it!"

My escape has lasted less than sixty seconds. Operation: Talk to Aiwa is, once again, a catastrophic failure.