Reflection

As Bobby said, the mask was a generic carnival one, so finding it in a store shouldn’t be hard. The risk resided on the fact that it had some details in black and gold, so if they just bought a generic one, they would have to paint it themselves. There was a good chance that it wouldn’t work out too well.

—We should look for one right now —said Eli. The sky was barely orange in the west, so if they hurried, maybe they would have time to check some shops.

—To win more time, we should split up —suggested Ken. He expected some disagreement from Mirena, but it wasn’t the case. He gave her money and the three of them went on different directions.

However, Ken had some other plans in hands. When he lost sight of Mirena, he called Eli.

—Ken? What happened?

—Can you go back to my apartment?

—Why?

—I have another idea. I just didn’t want Mirena to know it. I’ll explain to you why when you arrive.

—Uhm, okay… —she was confused, but she did as he wanted.

So while Mirena was going up and down the street, over and over, looking for a store, they went back to Bobby’s house and knocked the main door, since there were no noises coming from the garage at that time.

Nobody responded, even after knocking three times.

—Maybe he’s not at home —said Eli, disappointed.

—Yeah, maybe. Or maybe —he added, raising suddenly the voice—, he’s standing right next to the door.

At the moment he heard that, Bobby gasped. How did that guy knew exactly what he was doing?

“I don’t understand it” he thought. “I’ve been very careful and did no noises at all.”

—No, you didn’t make any noise at all —said Ken out loud, like if he had just obtained the ability to read minds. That made Bobby even more terrified and confused—. The thing is that I do exactly the same thing when there is someone at the door to whom I hesitate whether answer or not.

—What do you mean? —asked an also confused Eli.

—He knows why we are here, so he doesn’t want to open us. But in the other hand he wants to talk with us, because we’re Arthur friends, so he sees us as potential friends if we could talk a bit, or maybe he just doesn’t want to be rude with Arthur’s acquaintances.

—Why are you talking like if you have known him since a long time ago?

—I never met him before, but I’ve been living with someone like him since 21 years ago.

“And that’s the reason why I didn’t want Mirena to be here. Because, for the first time in a long time, I’m going to be honest.” He was scared by the fact of being honest in front of Eli, but he could handle it since he thought that he would never was going to see her again after the event. Well, there was a high chance of not seeing Mirena again either after the event, but she was different anyways.

The door was opened, and Bobby got surprised when he saw Ken wearing the wig. The real reason for him not wanting Mirena to be there was the described above, but the one he told to Eli was different:

“—I don’t want her to see me with the wig until the cosplay is completed, and I think she wants the same thing, since she didn’t looked at me at all while you were cutting it. She had the eyes right in the paper with the names all along” he had said.

—You don’t need to see María with any part of the costume to know that she’s perfect to cosplay Mirena, but maybe you needed a prove in my case. It’s not much, but I think the wig fits to me —he said to Bobby, and Ken could tell right away that he was agree.

—Like you say, I don’t want to be rude with you guys. But I just can’t…

—Then we can just talk, and you decide later —cut in to reply Eli. And that’s why Ken needed her there. If he were alone, he probably would have gotten frustrated easily and gone with the first no. But she was able to find a friendly response. Bobby sighed.

—My room is a disaster…

—You don’t need to lie, we’re all otakus here.

Bobby looked to Ken direct to the eyes. He was feeling very vulnerable, even naked. Indeed, he was lying. His house was decently clean, but it was full of anime merchandising. Ken deduced this since the main hallways wasn’t a disaster, and he seemed to live alone, so there was no way the room would be way more dirty than the other rooms. Again, Bobby sighed.

—Fine, come in.

Not even one tiny portion of the wall could be seen. It was absolutely covered by posters, featuring a lot of different characters. 90% were females, and from that 90%, maybe the half was just Sheskia, the second most important female character in Sekaunmei, only below Mirena.

It was a fairly big room. The bed was at one corner, with Sekaunmei sheets and a dakimakura of Sheskia as the pillow. There was also two furnitures with shelves full of anime merchandising. One was tinier, and it had the TV above. The other one was bigger, and the important things it had were drawers, the computer, and the mask.

—Whoaaa, you have to be rich to buy all this stuffs! —said Eli, absolutely amazed by that room.

“So he’s a Sheskia fan” Ken thought, on the other hand. “Maybe that’s why he didn’t want to help? I mean, Sheskia fans are pretty toxic… No, no, I’m not going to judge him just because of his tastes. Sheskia is a good girl too. Not the best, the best is Mirena, why would anyone think otherwise? But she’s decent.”

—So, you like Sheskia? —Bobby just nodded. He was clearly not used to talk openly about his likes in front of other people.

—Oh, I love her too —said Eli. Then she pointed to the body pillow—. Can I hug her?

—S-sure. Do you guys want something to drink.

—Yeah, it would be nice —Ken responded—. I’m helping you to bring the drinks, Eli you can stay here.

—Okii.

They both were alone in the kitchen. With Eli out of the way, maybe Bobby was feeling more confident to talk. That was Ken’s bet. If he was elusive anyways, he would have to give up.

—So, why do you appreciate that mask so much?

—You already know it, don’t you? —he said while serving soda into three glasses. Ken smiled.

—I can imagine it: Arthur is your only friend, and that’s the first, or the only gift he gave you so far. That’s it. Am I right?

—Absolutely. I’m sorry for being stubborn over a silly thing.

—I don’t think it’s silly. Probably I would react the same way; I’m just conjecturing, since I never got a gift from a friend before though. —That sentence seemed to soften Bobby’s soul.

—These two girls and Arthur are not…?

—I met Eli a few days ago, and María is my cousin, she doesn’t count. Also, our relationship wasn’t that good some weeks ago, since she wasn’t in this country to begin with. Eli is the kind of girl that uses the word “friend” very lightly, I only talked with Arthur once.

—I see.

—Anyways, sorry for bothering. I wanted to come just to say this. It’s fine if you don’t give us the mask, I understand it now.

Ken grabbed two glasses, ready to go back to the room, but Bobby stood still.

—What’s wrong?

—Yes, I love Sheskia —he said, apparently out of nowhere—. You asked me before, right? Now I can give you a proper answer. She’s the reason why I keep struggling, even the reason why I do exercise. I know she’s never going to incarnate in real world or something like that, I’m not delusional, but she represents my ideal partner. And that’s why I struggle, for and ideal life that I want to achieve.

Ken didn’t know exactly how to react to all this information, and he didn’t even know how to feel about it.

“Is it too pathetic? I mean, as long as he’s doing better, it’s fine I guess. But why is he telling me all this things?”

—I told you all this things —he said—, because you were so open with me so I thought it was the right thing. I would feel so embarrassed in your position otherwise.

“Looks like it’s my mind the one being read now” he thought happily.

—I see, thanks.

—Like you, I don’t use the word friend lightly. I reserve it only for Arthur. We know each other since elementary school. He’s my friend, but also my rival. He has everything I desire, and that’s also a reason why I keep struggling. The black and gold of the mask represents those things: my love and my envy.

—Chuuni.

—I’m opening to you and that’s your response?! —Ken laughed.

—Sorry, sorry. Take that as a compliment: I don’t make fun of people I don’t get along with.

—Oh, I see —he actually sounded flattered—. The point is that I’ll give you the mask.

—Eh? Really?

—Yes. I don’t need it anymore. I just have one condition: one day, when you find the right person, give away the mask. Let’s make a chain and see how long it goes.

—Ok, I accept the deal. And yeah, you don’t need that mask anymore, since from now on you’ll have more friends that will give you new gifts in the future.

They smiled to each other and then went back to the room. The three of them had a long talk, taking a time to know each other more.

Also yes, they completely forgot about Mirena, who walked on the streets like a tormented ghost until the night came and the last store was closed.