Under the bright summer sun, a long line of people stretched into the distance, and more people kept joining, making the line grow longer and longer.
"Oh ho~"
Wearing a red detective hat, Chika Fujiwara shaded her eyes with her hand, carefully observing the crowd.
"Ah! I see Ruri-chan and her boyfriend Hiroshi!"
"Kaguya-san, let's go over and meet up with Ruri-chan!"
Chika grabbed the blushing Kaguya Shinomiya by the arm, pulling her along like a wild horse, sprinting towards Ruri.
Shirogane Miyuki, left standing with an outstretched hand, watched as Kaguya was whisked away by Chika. He called out, "Kaguya!"
"President!"
Kaguya stretched her left hand out towards Shirogane, her expression turning more and more sorrowful as the distance between them grew.
"President!!!"
"Kaguya!!!"
"President..."
Pulling on Shirogane, who was shouting at the top of his lungs, Yuu Ishigami sighed at the growing crowd around them and tightened his grip.
"President! Get a hold of yourself! President!"
"Shirogane-senpai!!!"
"Huh?!"
Rubbing his left ear, which was ringing from the shouting, Shirogane looked confusedly at Ishigami and asked, "Ishigami, why are you shouting in my ear?"
"Because your behavior was too embarrassing!"
Grabbing Shirogane's arm, Ishigami's hair blew in the breeze, revealing his gentle face.
Striding towards the waving Chika Fujiwara, Ishigami said firmly, "President, please, next time in a public place like this, don't shout like that. It was really embarrassing, okay?!"
"Also!"
He stared seriously at the bewildered Shirogane. "If you want to hold Kaguya-senpai's hand, hurry up and do it. It made me anxious just watching you hesitate."
"Yes..."
"Louder!"
"YES!!!"
"Very good."
Nodding in satisfaction, Ishigami turned forward, leading Shirogane confidently.
"So cool!"
"That guy in front looks so gentle, but he's so manly, while the guy behind him looks fierce but seems soft."
"Ah~ I can't take it anymore! My inspiration is about to explode!!!"
"Ebina, stop it! Don't do that in public!"
Ignoring the surrounding whispers, Ishigami reached Kaguya's side, taking Shirogane's hand and placing it in hers.
Pushing his bangs away from his face, Ishigami wiped the sweat from his brow, then quietly moved to the back of the line, taking out a handheld console and squatting down to play.
Squatting beside him, Hiroshi gave him a thumbs-up and smiled. "Not bad, Ishigami. That was some cool move just now!"
"Senpai, please don't tease me."
Pulling his hair down over his eyes, Ishigami put on his headphones. "I'm just a gamer, nothing manly about me."
"But it's so hot..."
Watching the sweat drip from his forehead onto his console, Ishigami looked at the increasingly dense crowd and sighed.
"I really don't know how Gokou-san can wear that black gothic lolita outfit in this heat."
"It's probably because of her love for it. Ruri really loves that character, the Night Witch Queen. She even gave herself the title of 'Fallen Saint Black Cat.'"
Squatting beside Ishigami, Hiroshi looked at all the different cosplayers around and smiled. "I never thought I'd come to a convention with friends like this."
"Huh?!"
Ishigami looked at Hiroshi in surprise. "Senpai, did you used to go to conventions alone?"
"I never went; I just watched them online."
Hiroshi smiled as he looked up at the sky. "Back then, even just surviving was hard for me."
"I see."
Pressing his bangs down, Ishigami spoke in a low voice. "Looks like Senpai has had a difficult past."
"Hahaha."
Hiroshi patted Ishigami's shoulder. "It's all in the past. We live in the present, right? And someday, we'll meet someone who'll reach out to us. When that day comes, we just have to hold their hand tightly and protect them."
"Yeah."
Ishigami looked at Kaguya and Shirogane, both blushing as they stood together, and nodded.
"I will hold on and protect her."
"Um, can I ask you two a question?"
Hiroshi turned towards the girl squatting beside him. Her large glasses covered almost half her face, and her deep blue hair was tied with a yellow ribbon. She wore a plaid shirt that looked like men's clothing.
Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, Saori Makishima looked at Hiroshi. "I overheard your conversation earlier, and I apologize for eavesdropping.
"But I couldn't help my curiosity, and I wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?"
Putting down his handheld console, Ishigami looked curiously at the tall girl. "If it's something we can answer, we will."
"Thank you!"
Smiling brightly, Saori said, "You can call me Saori Bajeena, but Saori is fine. I wanted to ask, is your companion in the Night Witch Queen cosplay named Black Cat online?"
"My username is Black Cat."
Standing behind Saori, Ruri Gokou sighed. "I saw from a distance that you might be someone from the group. I didn't expect it to be you."
"Ah, it really is Black Cat-san!"
Standing up excitedly, Saori grabbed Ruri's hand and said, "Black Cat-san, you were always so active in the group, and you accepted my offline meetup invitation, but then you didn't show up."
"And after that, you disappeared from the group for a whole month without logging in. I was so worried! If you hadn't reappeared in the group, I almost called the police."
"Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine."
Ruri bowed slightly. "I just had some important things to take care of."
"Saori, who are you talking to?!"
"How long is this line gonna take? My feet are killing me."
"Hahaha."
Saori turned towards the fashionable girl behind her, pulling Ruri closer as she explained, "I ran into Black Cat-san and her friends, so I came over to say hi."
"Huh?! Black Cat?"
Looking Ruri up and down, Kirino Kosaka nodded. "That's exactly the outfit I imagined."
"No wonder she's always saying those cringey lines in the group. Her friends must be just as cringey. I kind of want to meet them."