Smoke Without Injury

Clothes were too expensive, so he usually made them himself.

Kitagawa Marin's eyes lit up. She had only been looking for something to talk about:

"You designed them yourself? Did you make those clothes all by yourself too, Kira Yoshikage?"

"Yes."

"Ah!"

Kitagawa Marin's breathing suddenly quickened, as if she had reached some kind of ecstatic climax.

She had always wanted to find someone like that—someone who could design and make COS costumes for her!

"Kira-kun, I..."

Kitagawa Marin was almost bursting to confide in Kira Yoshikage, but Miura Yumiko suddenly turned around, grabbed Kitagawa Marin by the arm, and said in a perfectly expressionless yet "gentle" tone:

"Come on, Haimon. If we don't hurry, we'll miss the train!"

"Whaaat? It doesn't matter if we miss it—we can take the next one! Let me finish what I was saying!"

"No!"

Miura Yumiko seemed to instantly return to her usual queenly demeanor and dragged Kitagawa Marin away.

Kira Yoshikage still followed them unhurriedly into the subway station and boarded the train bound for Koto Ward.

Although Akihabara in Chiyoda Ward was known as a paradise for otaku, large anime conventions were rarely held there. The main reason was the limited space. Akihabara simply did not have a venue large enough to support a major convention.

Therefore, whether it was CM or AJ, the venues were generally chosen in Koto Ward, at the Tokyo International Exhibition Center.

Though it was said to be in Koto Ward, it was actually in Odaiba.

Odaiba was a man-made island. Koto Ward lay to its north, Minato Ward to its west, and Shinagawa Ward to its southwest, with bridges connecting it to all three. Thanks to Odaiba's undeniable geographical advantages, it had also become Tokyo's newest entertainment hub, especially popular with young people.

When the four arrived at the venue, the sight before them could be summed up in one phrase—

A sea of people.

The Tokyo International Exhibition Center had a total exhibition area of more than 80,000 square meters, making it the largest exhibition venue in all of Japan. Yet in the face of the hundreds of thousands of visitors a major anime convention had to accommodate, it still seemed a little "small."

Fortunately, although the crowd looked overwhelming, it was not actually cramped.

They reached the entrance with ease, and after Kitagawa Mim presented the tickets, they entered without trouble.

"Ah~!"

Kitagawa Marin's eyes shone as she gazed at the many booths inside the venue. Her excitement was almost impossible to conceal.

Seeing her like this, Kira Yoshikage asked in confusion:

"Is this your first time here?"

"Mm!"

Kitagawa Marin nodded vigorously, her tone unusually excited:

"I've wanted to come ever since middle school, but I never had the chance."

As she spoke, Kitagawa Marin lowered her flushed face shyly:

"Sorry, am I acting a little strange?"

"Not really."

Kira Yoshikage glanced at the girl's hands and decided to be honest. "At least you didn't come wearing a COS costume."

Kitagawa Marin's eyes lit up, and she immediately picked up where she had been interrupted:

"I actually thought about it, but no one ever helped me make one, so could you..."

"Haimon, over here!"

Miura Yumiko suddenly gave Kitagawa Marin's arm a hard tug and led her toward a nearby booth.

Chapter 16: Smoke Without Injury

"Thank you~!"

"Ah~! This feels so good!"

Kitagawa Marin sat on the steps and took the iced milk tea Kira Yoshikage handed her, eagerly sucking down a large mouthful. A chill shot straight to her brain, making her narrow her eyes and let out a delicate moan that could easily be misunderstood.

"Anime conventions are the best!"

Miura Yumiko and Yuibihama Yui sat on either side of Kitagawa Marin, exchanging helpless glances. Unlike Kitagawa Marin, who made no attempt to conceal her feelings, they were not particularly interested in the convention. They had simply come to accompany her.

"I'm going to the restroom."

Kira Yoshikage handed the milk tea to the three girls, said this, and turned to leave.

A trace of cunning gleamed in Kitagawa Marin's eyes as she asked with a smile:

"Hey, Yumiko, do you regret it?"

"Of course not!"

Miura Yumiko denied it immediately.

"Regret what?"

Yuibihama Yui was rather puzzled. Not knowing what they were talking about, she silently lowered her head and drank her milk tea.

In fact.

Yuibihama Yui had not initially been invited. Kitagawa Marin had only asked Miura Yumiko to come. But Miura Yumiko did not want to create a smaller clique within their existing group, so she had taken it upon herself to bring Yuibihama Yui along.

When she learned that Kira Yoshikage would also be accompanying them to the convention, she regretted inviting Yuibihama Yui every moment. If Yuibihama Yui had not come, then while Kitagawa Marin excitedly explored the convention, would she and Kira Yoshikage not have been able to spend time alone together?

Perhaps she could even have drunk milk tea with Kira Yoshikage, just the two of them.

Instead of sitting on the steps like this, drinking milk tea side by side with everyone else...

"Mm~"

Miura Yumiko took a sip of milk tea, feeling rather downcast.

It was a lie to say she did not regret it. This had been such a wonderful opportunity—why had it turned out like this?

Yuibihama Yui watched the people passing by and asked softly:

"Of course!"

Kitagawa Marin raised her hand and said matter-of-factly:

"It's not easy to come to an anime convention. How could I not explore it to my heart's content?"

Miura Yumiko took a sip of milk tea:

"Let's go eat lunch when Kira-kun comes back."

"Mm, just in time..."

Kitagawa Marin rubbed her stomach. She was indeed getting a little hungry.

However, before they could leave, their eyes caught sight of a large Frog Mascot walking straight toward them. It handed the small Frog Plush in its hands to Kitagawa Marin.

"Huh? Is this for me? Thank you."

Kitagawa Marin froze for a moment, but instinctively accepted the plush and thanked it politely.

Before this, the Frog Mascot had already handed plush toys to many people, so she assumed it was simply a gift being distributed at the convention. She did not know why, but after giving away the last plush, the Frog Mascot hurriedly left.

Miura Yumiko commented speechlessly:

"It's so ugly."

Yuibihama Yui said quietly:

"Actually, it's pretty cute."

"I think it's pretty cute too."

Kitagawa Marin happily hugged the frog to her chest. It really was not very attractive, resembling a shoddily made handmade reject, and there was even a long "scar" across its belly. But since it was a gift from someone else, she could not say anything too hurtful.

Mm... This plush's belly is hard. It's poking me a little.

"Ah, Kira-kun, over here!"

Kitagawa Marin spotted Kira Yoshikage in the crowd and waved at him with a radiant smile.

But from a distance, she could already see that Kira Yoshikage was walking toward her without saying a word.

"Did something happen, Kira-kun?"

Kitagawa Marin asked in confusion.

"Let me see the plush."

Kira Yoshikage strode up to her and, before Kitagawa Marin could react, snatched the Frog Plush from her hands. He pulled so hard that Kitagawa Marin staggered with him.

If Miura Yumiko had not reacted quickly and caught her, Kitagawa Marin would probably have fallen to the ground.

"Kira-kun!"

Kitagawa Marin shouted angrily, but Kira Yoshikage ignored her. Instead, he gripped the Frog Plush and tore it open.

Riiip!

The "scar" sewn across the Frog Plush's belly was ripped open, revealing white stuffing and something inside that was ticking away...

"What is that?"

Kitagawa Marin stared blankly. Then her face instantly turned deathly pale, and terror filled her eyes.

Though the construction was crude, the electric heating wire and timer were highly distinctive. Combined with the detonators arranged into a rectangle below, it was clearly a homemade time bomb!

What terrified the girl most was the number displayed on it: a scarlet "2"!

That crimson number seemed to tick like a death god's summons in her heart!

Tick!

1!

As the number was about to reach zero, despair appeared in the eyes of Kitagawa Marin and Yuibihama Yui. Only Miura Yumiko, upon seeing the bomb, suddenly remembered something and murmured softly:

"It's all right."

Kira Yoshikage casually threw the plush away, but the less-than-one-second interval was obviously not enough to throw the bomb far enough to safety.

So—

"Killer Queen!"

A pink, catlike figure silently appeared beside Kira Yoshikage.

In the blink of an eye, it reached out and touched the Frog Plush that had been thrown away. At the same time, Kira Yoshikage pressed down with his thumb.

Snap!

At this critical moment between life and death, Kitagawa Marin's gaze remained fixed on the plush containing the time bomb.

Boom!!

Amid the explosion, she felt as if she had heard something, yet also as if she had heard nothing at all.

Everything happened too quickly. The time bomb seemed to have exploded, yet also seemed not to have exploded.

The Frog Plush containing the bomb exploded right before her eyes, and smoke and flames filled her vision. Yet the pain she expected from the blast never came.

The bomb was like a dud. There were flames and smoke, but it caused no actual harm.

It even made her wonder whether everything that had just happened had been an illusion.

"Ahh—!"

"There was a bomb! Quick, run!"

"Ahhh... It hurts so much... Somebody help me, please..."

Soon, terrified screams and cries from the surrounding crowd reached her ears, accompanied by an ear-splitting explosion that spread through the spacious hall.

Kitagawa Marin instinctively looked toward the direction of the blast. She saw the same smoke and flames, along with many people collapsed in pools of blood, their flesh mangled as they writhed in agony and screamed.

The pervasive smell of gunpowder and the heavy stench of blood assaulted the girl's senses. Kitagawa Marin covered her mouth and stared at everything happening before her in disbelief.

Why were there bombs at an anime convention?