Chapter 16: Cosplay Festival III

Evening. A sleek black car sat trapped in the festival traffic of City Z, barely moving forward an inch at a time. In the backseat lounged a boy in a leather jacket, oversized headphones hanging around his neck, and dark glasses he definitely didn’t need at night. He was just a middle-schooler, yet already a rich kid, obviously. Up front, his elderly butler gripped the wheel with quiet patience.

“Tch. This traffic is a joke,” the boy muttered, tapping his watch like it personally offended him. “At this rate, I’ll be ancient before we even move. I’m seriously running out of patience here.”

The butler’s voice drifted back, calm as ever. “Young Master Rey, forgive me for asking… but are you certain you still wish to attend the festival without informing The Chairman? And… it may become troublesome for someone of your status.”

Rey’s jaw tightened, and he kicked the seat in front of him lightly. “Of course I want to go, Jin. I’m bored out of my mind! Why does it always have to be like this? I can’t even make a simple decision without someone hovering over me!” His frustration boiled over, his hands balling into fists. “And… my friends will be there. That should be enough, shouldn’t it?”

“…They did say it wouldn’t be any fun without me,” he muttered, a sly grin tugging at his lips as his gaze drifted out the window.

Jin knuckles whitened on the wheel for a fraction of a second, a subtle acknowledgment of the truth in Rey’s words. But he remained silent, letting the boy’s small rebellion slide, knowing full well the weight of those friendships, and the little luxuries his status afforded him, would always pull Rey back into the world he often tried to escape.

The black car finally stopped near a small arcade. Rey didn’t wait for the engine to turn off. He opened the door and stepped out, his butler following slowly behind him.

Near a big game console, five friends were gathered: Tachibana, Maru, Hitoshi, Shin, and Saito. They were all crowded around the machine, mashing buttons as fast as they could.

Tachibana, the only girl in the group, had a messy ponytail and a hoodie half-zipped. She leaned forward with narrowed eyes, clearly tired of losing.

Hitoshi kept sighing loudly.

Maru stood with his hands behind his head, relaxed like he had nothing to worry about.

Shin looked focused but hopeless.

Saito was eating chips while accidentally pressing the wrong buttons.

Every few seconds, the screen flashed GAME OVER, and someone groaned.

“Bro, that’s our tenth loss,” Shin complained.

“Tenth?” Hitoshi snapped. “Feels like the hundredth.”

Near them, Hitoshi tried again to talk sense into Maru. “I’m telling you, don’t waste all your coins on this.”

Maru just laughed. “Chill. Rey’s almost here. If we run out of coins, he’ll cover it.” He said it casually, like it was obvious.

Tachibana smirked as another GAME OVER flashed. “You guys are hopeless.”

“You’re losing too,” Shin shot back.

“Yeah, but at least I look cool losing,” she said, tossing her hair.

Saito dropped a chip inside the console slot. “Oops.”

Everyone glared at him.

Rey walked closer, his dark glasses catching the arcade lights. He moved slowly, but the instant his friends noticed him, the whole group turned toward him like magnets.

“Finally!” Tachibana said, sounding relieved. “You took forever.”

Tachibana gave him a playful glare, but there was a tiny smile there too.

Maru grinned wide. “Welcome, boss. We were dying out here.”

Hitoshi crossed his arms. “We were starting to think you ditched us.”

Shin pointed at the console. “We can’t win this thing without you.”

Even Saito gave a lazy wave. “Yo. Hurry up. I’m bored.”

Rey gave a small smile. “…Of course. Can’t let you guys lose forever without me.” He closed the car door behind him and stepped closer.

The group shifted to make room for him, but only a little, like they didn’t want to lose their spots. A couple of them straightened up, pretending they hadn’t been struggling. Maru’s grin widened. Tachibana slipped her token into Rey’s side of the console without asking. Even Hitoshi, who tried to act cool, let out a breath he’d been holding.

Rey caught all these tiny reactions, but he didn’t comment. He just stepped forward like he always did.

He slid his headphones down around his neck.

“Well,” he said, “someone’s got to carry this team, right?”

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the festival…

Meai, Fumino, Sakura, and Rinn sat together on a bench, enjoying the lights and noise of the festival around them. Meai took slow bites of her candied apple, Fumino shivered as she ate her ice cream but refused to stop, Sakura picked at her takoyaki with happy little hums, and Rinn snapped photos of everything like she was documenting an important mission.

Sakura’s phone buzzed suddenly. She jumped a bit, then dug through her bag. “One sec, guys,” she said before walking a few steps away to answer.

The others kept chatting until she came back. Sakura held her phone close to her chest.. “Sorry… My boyfriend just called. He’s waiting for me at the station.”

Fumino smiled and lifted her cone. “Go. Seriously. Don’t worry about us.”

Meai leaned back with a grin. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t keep him waiting, Saku-chan.”

Rinn lowered her camera and nodded. “We’ll be fine. Go.”

Sakura relaxed a little at their reactions. “Thanks… really. I’ll get going then.”

Before she could walk off, Meai stood up. “Hey. Want us to walk you there?”

Sakura blinked, surprised by the offer. For a moment she looked unsure, then her shoulders softened. “Y-yeah. That… would be nice.”

At a crowded corner of the festival…

Anya sat alone on a bench under a large tree. People shouted, laughed, and bustled around her, but none of that noise reached her face. Her expression stayed blank, almost hollow.

She held her phone to her ear, calling Shina again.

“What is even happening… How did I end up here…” she murmured.

The ringing cut off. The screen flashed: Network not available.

“…Great. I’m lost.”

Earlier…

“Aaaagh… these bags are heavy and there are too many!” Memeko complained like a spoiled toddler, wobbling under a mountain of shopping bags.

“Who told you to buy all this?” Shina snapped, still trying to call Tokio. Her phone kept ringing with no result.

“These are souvenirs, Bossy.”

“For whom exactly?” Shina narrowed her eyes.

“Umm… for senpai and the others… obviously.” Memeko looked away like a guilty cat.

“But aren’t these just raw cup noodles and canned cabbage salad?” Anya asked, giving her a long stare. “And why do I have to carry your frying pan? This thing is dying. And heavy.”

“W-whaaat are you even saying, Anya-chan?” Memeko tried to laugh, waving her hands.

“You brought these to eat, didn’t you… I knew it,” Anya said.

Before she could continue, Shina suddenly snapped, “Tch. Aagh! Now Blade isn’t answering either!”

She hung up with a sharp, irritated click. Anya flinched at the sound, glancing over. Memeko quietly sighed in relief, saved from further questioning.

Shina let out a deep breath. “Unbelievable. First Tokio ignores me, now Blade. What are they even doing?”

Memeko tried to cheer her up. “M-maybe they’re… busy?”

“With what? Breathing?” Shina shot back.

Anya shifted the frying-pan bag to her other hand. The festival crowd surged around them, bright and loud like a slow-moving river.

Shina finally shook her head. “Whatever. Let’s move. We still need to meet up with the others.”

“Righty, righty~,” Memeko said, adjusting her pile of bags. “Anya-chan, stay close, okay? You look like you’ll float away.”

“I’m not a balloon,” Anya muttered.

They stepped into the flow of people. For a moment, they stayed together. Then the music blasted from a nearby speaker. Fireworks snapped in the distance. A group of kids ran past, bumping into Anya.

She stumbled back one step. Just one.

Shina and Memeko kept walking, not noticing.

People pushed between them like a moving wall. Voices, lights, and laughter blurred together.

“Memeko-chan?” Anya tried, her voice deadpan but a little tight.

They were already too far. She moved forward to catch up, but another group walked in front of her, blocking her path. By the time she stepped around them—

Shina and Memeko were gone.

The crowd had swallowed them whole.

Anya stood still, gripping the frying-pan bag, heartbeat rising just a little under her unchanged expression.

“…Why does this always happen…” she whispered.

She pulled out her phone, dialed Shina again.

No connection.

She lowered her hand slowly.

“…I guess… I’m lost.”

Anya stared at her phone for a second longer, expression flat but the pressure under her skin rising. She pushed herself off the bench with a small, annoyed grunt and tightened her grip on the frypan bag.

“Fine. I’ll find them myself,” she muttered, marching into the crowd like a tiny, irritated storm cloud.

People brushed past her, their voices loud, their excitement completely out of sync with Anya’s growing frustration. She kept weaving through the flow, eyes scanning for two familiar silhouettes that refused to appear.

At the same time, Memeko and Shina pushed through the crowd in the opposite direction, both looking around with rising urgency.

“Anya-chan!” Memeko called, stretching her neck like a meerkat.

Shina was already dialing her number. It rang for half a second… then: Network not available.

“Tch. Again?” Shina lowered the phone, brows furrowing.

“Lemme try!” Memeko said, tapping her own phone with frantic energy.

She pressed call; same result.

Memeko froze for a moment. “…Wait.”

“What now?” Shina snapped.

“Bossy… isn’t it weird that we both got the same error?” Memeko whispered.

Her eyes slowly darted around.

Other people were staring at their screens too, confused, frustrated.

Shina noticed it. A man smacked his phone. A girl tried reconnecting three times. A group of teens sighed and complained.

The tension in Shina’s jaw sharpened.

Memeko swallowed.

“Wait… is this… what I think… Bossy—”

“So, this must be it—” Shina muttered under her breath, voice low.

The music in the distance suddenly felt too loud. The air was too heavy.

The station was almost empty when Tokio, Blade, and Eyepatch arrived. Neon lights reflected off the dusty floor tiles, flickering like a bad omen.

Tokio scanned the area twice.

“No sign of them,” he said quietly.

Eyepatch sighed. “This place is a ghost town. They didn’t even pass through here.”

Blade was already pacing like an angry wolf, fists clenched.

“Tch… why isn’t she picking up…” He tried calling Shina again.

Network not available.

Blade stopped.

Stared at the screen.

Then hissed, “What the hell is going on?”

Tokio glanced at his own phone, brows knitting.

“Hold up.” He raised his head, eyes narrowing at the night air outside the station. “Something… doesn’t feel right.”

Eyepatch tilted his head. “I also feel the same.”

Tokio kept staring, as if the city itself was holding its breath.

“…Something’s moving behind this,” he murmured.

About half an hour later, Rey and his friends had drifted far from the arcade, swallowed by the evening crowd. The festival was louder now, brighter, the air thick with smoke from food stalls and the chatter of hundreds of people.

Tachibana stopped to check a mask stand, Maru was already bargaining over snacks he didn’t plan to pay for, Shin and Hitoshi argued about which game store to hit next, and Saito wandered like an idle spirit, eating whatever he picked up.

Rey walked a few steps behind them, hands in his pockets, headphones hanging loosely around his neck. His expression stayed unreadable, his pace slower than the rest.

Jin followed at a respectful distance, carrying a closed umbrella while quietly scanning the area, the way only an old butler with combat experience and far too much stress could.

They wandered deeper into the festival, where kids in masks ran past, and couples shared drinks under glowing paper lanterns.

Rey stopped by a candy stall as a little girl dropped her bag. He bent down without a word, picking it up before the wind could carry it away.

“Careful,” he said, handing it back. “City Z’s pavement likes to steal.”

The girl blinked up at him and smiled. “Thank you, mister!”

Jin walked beside Rey, his steps steady as always. “A rare gesture of kindness, Young Master.”

Rey stiffened slightly, making a face. “W-what are you even talking about?” he muttered, eyes fixed ahead as if the lanterns had suddenly become fascinating.

Jin didn’t reply, but the tiny amused curve at the corner of his mouth was hard to miss. Rey pretended not to see it and kept walking.

He rejoined the group.

Tachibana barely glanced at him. “Rey, can you buy—”

“Don’t say it,” Hitoshi groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “Please, don’t say it.”

Maru grinned anyway. “Fine, fine… I won’t say it.”

But his eyes drifted to Rey’s pocket all the same.

Rey didn’t react. Didn’t scold. Didn’t lecture. He’d gotten used to this dynamic years ago.

The lanterns swayed above him. The evening breeze carried distant fireworks. For a moment, everything felt normal—stupid, noisy, predictable.

Until Rey glanced up.

A cluster of festival-goers stared at their phones with identical confusion. Signal bars flickered. Some tapped their screens. Some complained.

Jin checked his own phone, eyebrows lifting.

But nothing more came of it. Not yet.

Jin looked back at the crowd.

“Strange,” he muttered.

Night settled heavier over the festival. Lanterns swayed overhead, laughter and music echoing through the streets, but in scattered corners of the city, something colder moved beneath the noise.

At the station…

Meai and Fumino lingered on the quiet platform after walking Sakura home. The station was nearly empty now, neon lights flickering tiredly over the worn tiles.

Rinn had already gone home; her parents never allowed her to stay out late.

Meai adjusted her bag with a small sigh, eyes drifting across the empty tracks.

Fumino fiddled with her phone, pretending not to be tense.

Across the station, on the opposite side, Tokio, Blade, and Eyepatch stepped through the entrance. They were focused entirely on their own search, unaware that Meai and Fumino were even in the same building.

Likewise, the girls didn’t notice them.

It was nothing but coincidence. A quiet overlap. Temporary.

Tokio scanned the shadows. Blade’s arms were crossed, jaw tight. Eyepatch followed behind with slow, careful steps. The air around them felt heavier, like the night was whispering warnings they couldn’t quite decipher.

At festival streets…

Elsewhere, the crowds still surged like ocean tides.

Anya moved through them with a determined deadpan, weaving around strangers as she tried to track down Shina and Memeko. Each turn led her into another wave of unfamiliar faces, but she didn’t stop.

A few streets over, Rey walked with his friends. Their laughter cut through the festival noise, carefree and loud. They pointed at stalls, made stupid jokes, and argued about snacks.

Rey followed just behind them, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable. He didn’t say much, but that was normal.

Jin, several steps back, watched the crowd with quiet, sharpening caution. His instincts hummed. Something in the air felt… off.

But Rey didn’t notice the tension. He wasn’t looking for danger. He was just trying to keep up with his group.

Somewhere in the crowd, Anya brushed past the other street, the two kids unknowingly separated by a river of people.

Near a mask stall…

Shina and Memeko rushed through another section of the festival, scanning every face.

“She couldn’t have gotten this far!” Memeko muttered, hopping on her toes to see over the crowd.

“Keep looking,” Shina said sharply, eyes darting fast.

Nearby, Kanako and Kisara stood at a tiny mask stall—Kanako mid-throw with a plastic ring, Kisara politely watching her partner’s nonsense while tracking every passerby with subtle precision.

Kanako squinted. “Bet I can hit that target with my eyes closed—”

Then—

A single, deafening crack tore through the night. Gunfire.

At the station…

Shots rang out near the entrance—close, sharp, echoing violently against concrete.

Meai flinched so hard her bag slipped from her shoulder. Fumino grabbed her arm, eyes wide, frozen in place.

Tokio spun toward the noise instantly. Blade’s posture changed like a switch had been flipped. Eyepatch tensed, hand hovering near his belt.

The emptiness of the station turned hostile in a heartbeat.

Near Rey…

Another shot. Close. Too close.

Rey stopped mid-step, blinking in confusion.

His friends fell silent for the first time all night.

“Did… did someone just—?” Maru whispered.

The crowd around them jolted like a ripple of electricity had passed through it.

Near the mask stall…

The sound reached them too—distant, muffled, but unmistakable.

Kanako froze mid-throw, the ring slipping from her fingers. Kisara’s polite expression vanished in an instant. Her eyes sharpened.

Shina went still. Memeko grabbed her sleeve.

“…That was a gunshot, right…?”

The music kept playing. The lanterns kept glowing. But the festival’s warmth felt like a lie.

For one silent heartbeat, three corners of the festival—station, streets, mask stall—were hit by the same shock.

The entire city felt it. The breath before panic.