Multi-Anime, Kira Yoshikage Yearns for a Peaceful Life

Buying clothes was too expensive, so he usually made them himself.

Kitagawa Marin, who had originally just been looking for a topic to keep the conversation going, lit up.

"Designed them yourself? So Kira Yoshikage made those clothes all on his own too?"

"Yeah."

"Ah!"

Kitagawa Marin's breathing suddenly grew rapid, as if she had reached some kind of peak climax.

She had always wanted to find someone like this—someone who could help her design and make cosplay costumes!

"Kira-kun, I..."

Kitagawa Marin almost desperately wanted to pour her heart out to Kira Yoshikage, but Miura Yumiko suddenly turned around, grabbed Kitagawa Marin's arm, and with a blank expression said in a 'gentle' tone:

"Hey, Marin, if we don't hurry, we'll miss the train!"

"Eh? Missing it's fine, we can just take the next one! Let me finish what I was saying!"

"No!"

Miura Yumiko seemed to instantly revert to her usual Queen demeanor, yanking Kitagawa Marin away.

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

Although Akihabara in Chiyoda Ward was known as the otaku holy land, large-scale conventions were rarely held there. This was mainly due to space limitations—Akihabara didn't have a venue large enough to support a big convention.

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

And while it was called Koto Ward, it was actually in Odaiba.

Odaiba was a man-made stretch of land, bordered by Koto Ward to the north, Minato Ward to the west, and Shinagawa Ward to the southwest, connected to all three by bridges. Because of Odaiba's undeniable geographical advantages, it had also become Tokyo's newest hub for entertainment venues, popular among people, especially the youth.

When the four of them arrived at the venue, the sight before them could only be described with one word—

A sea of people.

The Tokyo International Exhibition Center had a total exhibition area of over 80,000 square meters, making it the largest exhibition venue in all of Japan. Yet even so, it still felt somewhat 'cramped' in the face of the hundreds of thousands of visitors it had to accommodate during major conventions.

But fortunately, despite the overwhelming crowds, it wasn't actually that congested.

So they easily made it to the venue entrance, where Kitagawa Mim showed their tickets, and they entered smoothly.

"Ah~!"

Kitagawa Marin's eyes sparkled as she looked at the countless booths inside the venue, her excitement almost overflowing.

Seeing her like this, Kira Yoshikage asked curiously:

"Is this your first time?"

"Yeah!"

Kitagawa Marin nodded emphatically, her voice brimming with excitement:

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

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

"Sorry, am I acting a bit weird?"

"Not really."

Kira Yoshikage glanced at the girl's hands and decided to be honest, "At least you didn't come in cosplay."

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

"Actually, I thought about it, but since no one's ever been able to help me make the costumes, could you..."

"Marin, over here!"

Miura Yumiko suddenly yanked Kitagawa Marin's arm hard, pulling her toward a nearby booth.

Chapter 16: Smoke Without Injury

"Thank you~!"

"Ah~, that feels great!"

Kitagawa Marin sat on the steps, took the iced milk tea Kira Yoshikage handed her, and eagerly took a big sip. A chill shot straight to her head, making the girl squint her eyes and let out a breathy moan that could easily be misunderstood.

"Conventions are the best!"

Miura Yumiko and Yuibihama Yui sat side by side on either side of Kitagawa Marin, exchanging glances with expressions of mild helplessness. Compared to Kitagawa Marin, who made no effort to hide her feelings, they weren't really all that interested in the convention—they were just there to keep her company.

"I'm going to the restroom."

Kira Yoshikage handed the milk tea to the three of them, left a word, and turned to walk away.

Kitagawa Marin's eyes held a hint of mischief as she asked with a smile:

"Hey, Yumiko, do you regret it?"

"Not at all!"

Miura Yumiko flatly denied it.

"Regret what?"

Yuibihama Yui was a little puzzled, not knowing what they were talking about, so she could only silently lower her head and sip her milk tea.

In truth.

Yuibihama Yui hadn't actually received an invitation at first, because Kitagawa Marin had only called for Miura Yumiko alone. But Miura Yumiko didn't want to create another clique within their small group, so she took the liberty of bringing Yuibihama Yui along.

And when she found out that Kira Yoshikage would also be accompanying them to the convention, she regretted every moment why she had brought Yuibihama Yui. If not for Yuibihama Yui, then while Kitagawa Marin was excitedly browsing the convention, wouldn't she and Kira Yoshikage have been able to be alone?

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

Not like now, sitting side by side on the steps, drinking milk tea...

"Mmm~"

Miura Yumiko took a sip of her milk tea, feeling a bit down.

Saying she didn't regret it would be a lie. It was clearly such a good opportunity—why did it turn out like this?

Yuibihama Yui watched the bustling crowd and asked softly:

"Of course!"

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

"We finally made it to a convention—how could we not browse to our heart's content?"

Miura Yumiko took a sip of her milk tea:

"Let's go eat lunch once Kira-kun gets back."

"Mm, just in time..."

Kitagawa Marin touched her stomach—she really was a bit hungry.

But before they could leave, their eyes caught sight of a large frog mascot walking straight toward them, handing a small frog plush to Kitagawa Marin.

"Huh? For me? Thank you."

Kitagawa Marin was startled for a moment, but instinctively took the plush and politely thanked it.

Earlier, the frog mascot had given plushies to many people, so she just assumed it was a gift from the convention. But for some reason, after handing out the last plush, the frog mascot hurried away.

Miura Yumiko commented dryly:

"It's so ugly."

Yuibihama Yui said quietly:

"I think it's kind of cute too."

"I think it's cute too."

Kitagawa Marin smiled and hugged the frog to her chest. It really wasn't much to look at—like a shoddy handmade reject, with a long 'scar' on its belly. But since it was a gift from someone, she couldn't say anything too harsh.

Mmm~, but the plush's belly was hard, a bit uncomfortable against her chest.

"Ah, Kira-kun, over here!"

Kitagawa Marin spotted Kira Yoshikage's figure among the crowd and waved at him with a bright smile.

But from a distance, Kitagawa Marin saw Kira Yoshikage walking toward her without a word.

"Did something happen, Kira-kun?"

Kitagawa Marin asked, puzzled.

"Let me see the plush."

Kira Yoshikage strode up to her, and without waiting for Kitagawa Marin to react, snatched the frog plush from her hands. His force was so strong that Kitagawa Marin stumbled forward.

If Miura Yumiko hadn't been quick to catch her, Kitagawa Marin might have fallen to the ground.

"Kira-kun!"

Kitagawa Marin called out in annoyance, but Kira Yoshikage ignored her, instead gripping the frog plush and tearing it open.

Rip!

The stitched-up 'wound' on the frog plush's belly was torn open, revealing white cotton stuffing inside, along with something ticking...

"What is this?"

Kitagawa Marin was stunned, then her face turned deathly pale, her eyes filled with terror.

Though crude in appearance, the heating wires and timer on its surface were highly recognizable, and combined with the rectangular detonators beneath, it was clearly a homemade time bomb!

And what terrified the girl most was the number on it—a blood-red '2'!

That crimson number ticked away in the girl's heart like a death knell!

Tick!

1!

Seeing the number about to hit zero, Kitagawa Marin and Yuibihama Yui's eyes filled with despair. Only Miura Yumiko, the moment she saw the bomb, suddenly remembered something and murmured softly:

"It's fine."

Kira Yoshikage casually tossed the plushie away, but that fraction of a second was clearly not enough to throw the bomb a safe distance.

So—

"Killer Queen!"

The pink cat materialized silently beside Kira Yoshikage.

In an instant, it reached out to touch the thrown Frog Plush, while Kira Yoshikage simultaneously pressed his thumb down.

Snap!

At the critical moment of life and death, Kitagawa Marin's gaze was locked onto the plushie rigged with the Time Bomb.

Boom!!

In the explosion, she felt like she heard something, yet also like she heard nothing.

Everything happened too fast—the Time Bomb seemed to explode, yet also seemed not to.

The Frog Plush packed with the Time Bomb burst open right before her eyes, smoke and flames filling her vision. But the pain she had anticipated from the explosion never came.

That bomb was like a dud—only fire and smoke, no actual damage.

It even made her wonder if everything just now was an illusion.

"Aah—!"

"A bomb! Run, hurry, run!"

"Aaaah... it hurts... save me, someone save me..."

But soon, the terrified screams and shouts of the crowd around her reached her ears, accompanied by the deafening roar of explosions echoing through the empty hall.

Kitagawa Marin instinctively looked toward the source of the blasts, seeing the same smoke and flames, along with many people lying in pools of blood, their flesh mangled, writhing in agony and crying out in pain.

The pervasive smell of gunpowder and thick stench of blood assaulted the girl's senses, making Kitagawa Marin cover her mouth, unable to believe what was happening before her.

Why were there bombs at a convention?