"MAGI MAGI MAGICAL AZURA STAAAAAARTED!"
WOOAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
HOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
SERATAAAAAN!
HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
When the seiyuu that did Azutan's voice, Shitori Sera, faced the microphone and made that announcement, it sparked a huge amount of excited cheering, and signaled that the cosplay tournament had begun.
"She's really popular, isn't she…?"
"Ugh… What's with this bizarre atmosphere…? It's making my head spin…"
While Akeno and I were being bowled over by the atmosphere, we exchanged whispers. I had already been through Comiket, so I was a little more used to things like this, but this was Akeno's first otaku event, so she was having an extremely hard time with it.
"You alright…? Should we get away for a bit and take a break?"
"I'm fine… I already forced Neo-chan to go this far, so it would be rude if I didn't see this through to the very end."
"… I see." Even while her face paled, Akeno remained firm.
The weather was sunny. The inside of the UDX building had been decked out with a busy stage. Gaudy star-shaped lights sparkled around, and a horizontal banner with "The Second Magi Magical Azura Official Cosplay Tournament" written on it was hanging across the stage. And there were easily more than a hundred people in the audience.
"Umm… this is a children's anime, right? Why is this place filled with adult men?"
"Even if you ask me that…"
That's something that I really had a hard time answering. And exactly how many brave souls were there that could confidently answer that question anyways?
"Isn't it just because it's something that appeals to a diverse audience?"
"I… see…"
It was just as she thought—the people here in the audience were mostly adult men, the so-called 'old friends', the hardcore otaku. It was obvious just from looking. Everyone was wearing the same thing (a red hanten with Azutan's face printed on it), and in perfect unison, everyone was waving multicolored pen lights around in the air. It was like we were in the middle of an army rally or a religious cult. Also, you guys are way too happy about being here, aren't you!? People walking around here who don't understand the mood are severely confused, aren't they!? What the hell is up with this stark difference!?
"Everyone! Thanks for comiiiinngg!" Sera-tan waved her hand courteously in response to the cheering.
There was no doubt whatsoever that she was the cause of all this crazed enthusiasm. She was wearing a sleeveless, light-gray collared blouse with yellow trims and black thigh length skirt with yellow trim and black thigh-high socks that blend into her shoes, also with yellow trims. It was a very grounded, normal set of clothes. But for some reason, her sense of presence managed to rise higher than all the tumult being raised by the audience. Just by speaking on the stage, she caused even me to feel a bit excited. I could somewhat understand the feelings of the fans who had come here to see her.
"Alright, everyone. The long awaited day for the Second Magi Magical Azura Official Cosplay Tournament has finally come! This year there are… twenty-three cute girls who are in the tournament! They've transformed into Magi Magi Magical Azura characters and they're about to appear on stage! Look forward to it! And yes, this year, I, Shitori Sera, am very pleased to be your host again! Hello everyone!"
WOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Piii! Pii! SERA-TAN! HIHIHIHI! SERA-TAN! HIHIHIHI!
At any rate, the otaku seemed to be getting really into it. They were perfectly synchronized, to the point where I couldn't believe that they hadn't come here from an intensive choreography training camp. It was frightening how trained they seemed.
Akeno was very guardedly gazing at the otaku… when her gaze finally stopped and concentrated on one point.
"What's wrong?"
"Haruto-kun t-that… please look over there."
Following Akeno's line of sight, I gave out a huge groan. Because, right there was…
"Hyahooo! Se. Ra. Tan! Se. Ra. Tan! Haihaihaihai!"
Excitedly waving around a pen light, my sister was standing right there. Wearing a red hanten, she held a Azutan fan in her other hand. She completely fit into the otaku crowd.
Seeing her best friend in full otaku mode, Akeno seemed like she had seen a ghost, "T-t-that's… Naruko, right…? I'm not… just seeing things, right…?"
"Yeah, it is." I responded with a natural, gentle voice.
Frankly, I couldn't really even believe my eyes. But, actually, this makes sense! We had come here to get something that she really wanted, so it's nothing strange that Naruko would be here as well! In fact, we should consider ourselves lucky that the person herself didn't dress up and participate in the tournament! That would have been bad… this was a close call.
If Neo and Naruko had butted heads in the contestant waiting room, this situation would have spiraled way out of control…! We had managed to get things rolling this far already, but that girl was just bad news. I stroked down my chest in relief, when I heard Akeno let out a simultaneously agitated and relieved sigh next to me.
"I-it's good that I didn't participate… I would just die if Naruko saw me in that sketchy outfit."
"She really seems to be really having a great time, though."
"Did you just say something?"
"N-no, nothing…"
Right after I vaguely dodged the question, Sera-tan swiftly pointed to the ceiling.
"Alright, everyoooonnneeee! Please direct your attention at the huuuuge screen behind me! Tadaa, there you'll see today's grand prize, and trophy, the Golden Azura Special Figure'! There's only one in the world, and it's super extremely rare! Wow, amaaazing!"
AAAAAAAAAAAAA! AAAAAAAA!
The Azura figure appeared blown up on the screen, and the crowd raised an excited cheer as if they were in the ancient Macedonian Army or something.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh there's that form when Azutan goes Super Saiyan! It's there, it's there! I waaaaant itttttt! Dammiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittt! If I could find just one character I look like…!"
Naruko was also hugely excited. As I thought, if she thought she had a chance of winning, she would have gone into the tournament herself, wouldn't she? Ahh, that was close. I turned towards Akeno.
"Hey, Akeno, it seems like we really weren't wrong in picking this out as the present, were we?"
"… I suppose so."
Akeno looked rather torn. Well, there's no helping that, considering she's bearing witness to just how much her beloved friend desperately wanted that doll.
… Now then.
"I'm going to go warn Naruko a bit. She's acting like a lunatic right now because she probably doesn't expect to see anyone she knows."
I took a step into the crowd. Now that I've found Naruko here, it wouldn't do to just leave things be. Neo's going to be on stage in a minute, and when that happened, if Naruko got really surprised when she was like this, there's a possibility that Neo would realize that Naruko was here.
"Let's split up for the moment. If she saw us together here, it would be hard to explain away."
"That's true. Well then, let's meet up at the same place we met before, after the tournament is over."
"Got it."
"Here, give this to Naruko."
Akeno took off the hat she was wearing and passed it to me. She probably meant for me to give it to Naruko, so Naruko could hide herself from Neo. I received it gratefully, and parted from Akeno.
On the stage, Sera-tan was explaining the rules for the cosplay tournament.
"Including me, there will be five judges, and we'll decide the winner with everyone's vote! This cool machine over here measures the volume of your cheers, and the contestants can earn up to fifty points from that. Each judge also can award up to ten points, so there's a total possible of a hundred points! Everyone got iiiiiit?"
YEEEEEEEESSS. All the otaku obediently answered. Just like a kindergarten class would do. Meanwhile, I slowly waded my way through the huge crowd.
"Good response, everyone! Each cosplayer will have three minutes to perform for you. As long as you stay in that time, you can do anything you waaant. You can talk, or sing, or dance, everything is completely okay! Just get us excited! Good luck!"
"Yaaaay!" Naruko gave out a huge cheer with the other otaku. She probably didn't even imagine that she would be seen in this full-out otaku mode by a close friend. Well, she can just deal with that later. At that moment, I found that even though I could see my sister's excited face, I couldn't reach her.
Dammit… Comiket, and this place… it was way too crowded. Why the hell did otaku have to crowd together like this?
As I slowly inched forwards, the tournament continued.
"Well then, let's get right to entry number one! From all the way from Italy, here's Asia Argento-chan!"
Upon the entry of the competition favorite, the room erupted. Asia-chan was a cute girl around the same age as Neo.
"Asia-chan was the winner last time, and just like that time, she's cosplaying the Moon Princess Indra-! Cute, riiiiiight? And she looks just like In-chan."
Just as Sera-tan had introduced her, Asia-chan was wearing the same thing that this "In-chan," or "Indra," wore in the series. But while Azura s outfit was based in black and gold color, her costume was designed with black and red colors.
Her cosplay appearance was a young girl with a petite and slim figure. Her eyes are crimson red, and her skin is very fair. Her hair was a black color, it is kept mostly free, which reaches down to her waist. Her costume consists of a tight battle-suit, which was dominantly red with some touches of black lining. The top itself appears as swimsuit-like armor. The sleeves of this are detached, and reach all the way to her shoulder, with a pair of gauntlets being equipped on both of them, and mechanical like devices connecting the joint (elbow-forearm) of the sleeve. She also held a menacing giant fan in her hand.
So this was the one who had won last time… she was magnificent in the flesh. Asia-chan walked out to the middle of the stage, and without giving any sort of greeting to the audience, suddenly began her performance.
"Azura, I'm going to beat you this time!" With a shout of fluent Japanese, she began roleplaying Indra.
She readied her fan with practiced motions. With two hands, she swung her fan gracefully, and fell into a pose that was honestly way too flashy to be practical. However, it was charming, and looked pretty cool.
She held her stance for a moment, and then began to spin her fan from side to side. It was almost as if she was trying to deflect bullets that enemies had shot at her. She then took a step back, almost dancing, and crossed weapons with an invisible enemy.
Swshh! Swshhh swshhh! Swwwsshhh! Her fluid movements gradually increased in speed.
"Hah! Hah! Hyaaah!"
Asia-chan, with a small battle cry, crouched down and evaded her enemy's 'weapon', and then swept upwards with her own weapon, knocking her enemy flying. And then, she stepped down on the ground with all her might.
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"
At that moment, I could swear I saw trails of sakura petals and the form of her enemy being cut down by her return attack.
Everyone in the meeting hall probably felt the same. For a moment, everyone fell into silence, and then…
UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH
A dam broke, and a storm of cheering and applause broke out. I myself couldn't do much but take my hat off to her. It would be outrageous to say that she only looked like the character. That was a tremendous performance. It's possible that Neo couldn't even win against that. Before I noticed, I had also stopped moving and was applauding. Right in front of me, Naruko also was clapping and looked really excited.
"Kyaahhh! Moe! Moe Moe! I want to take her home and make her my little sisteeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrr!"
"Hey, cut it out you idiot!" Not being able to stand by watching any longer, I abruptly clapped the hat on my sister's head.
"Wha—… !? M-molester!?" She turned around, and immediately stomped down on my foot.
"Oww-! That hurts… y-you! Each. And. Every. Time! You don't even check who it is… ! It's me, dammit, me!"
"Huh!? What the hell are you saying, you molester!?"
"I'm not a molester! Dammit! Can't you recognize the voice of your own brother!?"
The pain caused a cold sweat to break out across my forehead, and when I took off my sunglasses, Naruko finally figured out who I was. Her eyes opened wide in surprise.
"W-why the hell are you here!?"
"That's a long story. I'll explain it to you eventually, so just don't worry about that right now."
"Huh?"
"Just listen. I'm doing this for your good, so just hide your face with this. You don't want your school friends to realize that you're here, right?"
"W-who's here?"
Naruko pulled the hat low over her eyes, and restlessly looked around. After all the commotion with Akeno, she was probably deathly afraid of any more of her friends catching wind of her hobby.
"I won't tell you the details, but one of the contest participants is someone you know."
"You're going to explain this to me after, alright?"
As Naruko and I exchanged whispers, the electric scoreboard displayed Asia-chan's score. Like a certain big costume competition, the score showed up as a gauge meter.
Duruduruduruduruduru… complete with a rather creepy sound effect in the background, the gauge meter filled up. Everyone watched that gauge with bated breath. And finally, Boonnngg! With the sound of a gong, Sera-tan read out her score.
"Ninety nine poiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnntts! Oh, too bad! But amazing! That's almost a perfect score! Well, if you think about it as the judges just secretly being nice to the other contestants, it really is a perfect score! This contest might already have been decided!"
Secretly being nice, you say… I mean, I understand what you mean. Just don't say something like that out loud, dammit.
And like that, the cosplay competition proceeded from contestant to contestant.
After that performance that seemed appropriate for the competition's favorite, Asia-chan, the mood of the place had suddenly reached a climax. The succeeding cosplayers, as might be expected from people who participated in an event like this, were all cute girls. The otaku and Naruko were all ecstatic. There were also plenty of high school students in the competition, and I watched the charming sight side by side with my sister.
Oh right, amongst the participants, there were also those who advertised the maid café where they worked or made announcements about their cosplay photo albums while they performed.
Hmm… so people also did things like that during these competitions. Eventually, around twenty contestants had finished their performances. But there were no scores that had beaten Asia-chan's score, and the charged atmosphere had subsided a bit.
"Hey… who's this person that I know? Did she already perform?"
"No, not yet… I won't even have to tell you, you'll know the minute she comes out…"
But, I couldn't help but grow more and more worried. No matter how much Neo looked like Azutan, if she acted like the damn brat she acted like before, she might just end up pissing off the Azutan fans… hm. I guess like this, the victory would naturally go to Asia-chan…
As my anxiety grew, with uncanny timing, Sera-tan called the person in question out.
"Entry number twenty-one! Haruno Neo-chan, come on out!"
"Alriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiggghht!"
And then, once 'Haruno Neo-chan' herself took the stage, the entire audience was taken completely aback. It wasn't only that the cosplayer who had now appeared on stage was the spitting image of Azutan. But when she trotted to stage center, the first thing she said put people further into shock.
"MAGI MAGI MAGICAL AZURA STAAAAAARTED!"
And then, the music started. Magi Magi Magical Azura OP song, "Connect," began to flow from the speakers. Azutan (Neo) began to step with the beat of the music, and at some point had gotten a microphone in her hands. As the intro segment of the song ended, she gave the audience a quick wink.
I won't forget the promise we made
I'll close my eyes and ascertain it
Shaking off the darkness that closed in on me, I advance on
When can I see again here the future that I lost?
Again and again, I'll tear apart the shadow of distress that spilled out and walk on in this world!
"Where the hell did she learn to sing so well!?" I yelled what I'm sure everyone was thinking at the top of my lungs.
Dammit! Her singing is even as good as Ruby's! But seriously, wasn't this weird!? Where the hell did she learn how to sing so well!? And she even looked like she had mastered the choreography!
The time that ticked away ceaselessly now announces the beginning
Putting my unchanging feelings into it I'll open the closed door!
Awoken heart has started to run, in order to draw the future
Even if I come to a standstill on a difficult road
The sky is always waiting for me in a beautiful blue
So I'm not scared
By now, no matter what happens, I won't get disheartened!
Azutan (Neo) threw the microphone up in the air at the climax of the song, and began to spin on stage. She neatly caught the mic as it spun up and down and fell to the earth, and gave the crowd a wink.
There was nothing I could say at this point. Having bore witness to such an impossible sight, all I could do was stand there, dumbfounded. In my place, the engrossed audience seemed to simultaneously come back to their senses.
"That's so adooorable! What is that?! CG?! Is it a CG?! A three-dimensional projection or something?!"
Calm down, you.
"Crap, I'm getting a nosebleed!"
Putting pressure on her nose with a tissue, Naruko seemed beside herself. You're getting way too excited! Is this how a girl's supposed to act? Look in a damn mirror!
"Thaaaaank you everyoooone."
Having finished her song, Neo gave everyone a content smile and held up her microphone.
Light glitter off the good sweat she had going on her forehead, her cheeks were flushed red, and she still had a childish, chuckling expression on her face. She probably just really liked it when people praised her. Call her an exhibitionist… or rather, just someone who really liked to be noticed. Surprisingly, I would say that she might have the stuff it takes to make it as an idol for the otaku.
And then, with a bloodied tissue in one hand, Naruko asked me wonderingly, "… When exactly is that person I know coming out?"
"Come on, just figure it out. Just realize that you were getting thrown into a frenzy by your kouhai!"
Like that, the "Magi Magi Magical Azura Official Cosplay Tournament" came to an end, and the victory was awarded to the one who had scored a magnificent 100 points, Neo-chan, aka Haruno Neo.
At the awards ceremony, Sera-tan passed Neo the grand prize and trophy, the Golden Azura Special Figure. Neo exchanged a firm handshake with the second-place finisher, Asia-chan.
Both of them had on cheek-to-cheek smiles. It was a refreshing little performance to acknowledge each other's efforts at the end of the competition. The theme of Magi Magi Magical Azura might have been 'friendship', but even in the show, Azura and Indra's relationship was probably somewhat like this.
Having successfully convinced Naruko to go home first, I managed to safely meet up with Akeno.
"See, what did I tell you?"
"Yeah… that was pretty incredible."
When I paid that compliment to Neo, Akeno put a hand lightly to her lips and gave me a coy chuckle.
"Ahaha, right? Neo-chan's quite amazing!"
I haven't seen her in such a great mood since the first time we met. She really did believe a lot in her friends. That's probably precisely why she got so angry when she found out about Naruko's hobby… honestly, it was rare to find someone like this who could have so much sincere faith in people.
"I'll go get Neo-chan's change of clothes, so please go on ahead."
"Got it."
I once again separated from Akeno, and finding myself in a pleasant mood, headed for the victor's waiting room, where Neo was waiting. Honestly, I see that brat in a new light now. To think she had such an amazing special talent lying in wait.
Wanting to give the victor my blessings, I opened the door to the waiting room.
"Ugh… can't do this anymore… what the hell is up with those ugly people 'Neo-chan is so cuuute~' 'Azutan moe moeee' and all that. I really can't humor those idiots anymore, honestly."
Azutan (Neo) was in a squat, smoking a cigarette.
… I was speechless. I just stood there with my mouth opened wide. Y-you… you… I take everything back! She's smoking a damn cigarette! That completely ruins the impression I had before! What the hell happened to that bright smile you had on earlier!?
In front of this suspect Azutan stood Asia-chan, still in her costume. Unlike the boldness of her earlier performance, she was cowering.
"N-Neo-chan… umm… you really… can't say things like that… everyone was supporting you… "
"Huh? What are you, a complete idiot?" With a puff, Neo breathed smoke out onto Asia-chan.
"Cough, cough. Ugh…" Tears began to overflow from Asia-chan's eyes. "Bueeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhh! Azutan turned into a tyrant?!"
Uttering what was actually quite a childish-sounding complaint, Asia-chan flew from the room. Watching all this happen, Neo uttered one, cruel thing.
"Annoying brat."
"You're the annoying brat! And w-what the hell are you doing!? Cut it out! Don't smoke!"
"Huh? What are you talking about? This is a chocolate cigarette."
"Where the hell do they make chocolate cigarettes that let you blow out smoke!?"
"Good point you have there."
She's beyond hope. She's just a damn brat… to the point where Naruko might even find it cute.
"Here, give me that." I snatched her cigarette away, and pushed it into the ashtray next to me.
"Hey, what the hell, you thief!? Also, why are you only saying that to me? Isn't that strange? Some contestants were also smoking earlier. Go lecture them too."
"Shut up! Live and let live! But don't smoke when you're just a kid!"
"Yes, Dad! But more importantly, how was my performance?"
She's not shy at all, is she? I scratched my head hard, but she was the one who brought the topic up, so I'll just ask what I had on my mind.
"… How exactly did you know that song? "
"Ahh, that?" Neo gave me a cocky grin. "I work part time at the karaoke place, so I have to know some popular anime songs. How's my performance? amazing, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, amazing." But your personality is the worst… "You looked like you were having so much fun on stage… was that a lie? Was it all an act? You were really just sneering at everyone from the inside?"
"No, it was fun. I like it when people call me cute. It feels good when people get into my singing or dancing. They seemed to be seriously worshiping me, so that part of it was pretty cute."
She laughed with an "heehee."
"… I see." Seeing that smile from this damn brat… it really made me think that she might be suited to being an idol. Although, before she could do that, no matter how good her sing or danced, she had to quit smoking.
"Hey, hand over the cigarette pack too. You're trying to take out another one, aren't you?"
"Tch… you're so annoying."
By the way, after that, Asia-chan came back with the police, and Neo was taken to the Manseibashi Police Station while still wearing her costume.
I just let things be, and saw to it that the Azura Figure got to where it needed to be… but I heard that later, with the headline "Magical Girl Arrested at Akihabara UDX," it managed to make the news…
Neo was subsequently questioned by the police, scolded by her older sister, smacked by Akeno, and forced to quit smoking.