Sunday evening.
The train carriage was quieter now, smelling faintly of old vinyl and cooling metal.
The last vestiges of the afternoon sun cast long shadows across the empty seats, providing a weary privacy for those returning from the convention.
Wakana Gojo leaned against the window, his posture relaxed but clearly exhausted.
On his right, a medium-sized suitcase, holding the precious Mirajane Strauss costume, sat pressed beside his leg.
Beside him, Marin Kitagawa was also back in her street clothes, a vibrant, oversized hoodie and ripped jeans, although her energy was also completely spent.
She sighed happily, leaning her head against the headrest.
"We're lucky we got seats on the train," Wakana said, his voice low and peaceful.
"Yup! I'm sooo tired," Marin mumbled, her eyelids feeling a little heavy.
She opened them wide again, forcing a burst of energy. "That cosplay event was so fun though, we met so many people cosplaying their favorite characters!"
Wakana smiled, closing his eyes briefly. "Yeah, and I got to see some unique references for making more of your costumes in the future."
Marin instantly snapped her head toward him, her fatigue momentarily forgotten. "Really, Gojo-kun?! You'll really help me make more of my cosplays in the future?!"
Wakana opened his eyes and looked at her, his expression warm and settled. "Of course, leave it to me."
"Yatta~!" Marin cheered, throwing her arms forward.
Before she could stop herself, she hugged his arm tightly, pressing her cheek against the crisp linen of his sleeve. "Thank you so much, Gojo-kun~!"
Wakana's smile widened at her outburst.
Her genuine, unrestrained happiness was his reward, easing the soreness in his feet and the dull ache of his recent sleep deprivation.
A moment later, Marin froze.
She realized the full, physical weight of her action.
Her face flushed a deep crimson, and she quickly released his arm, turning her gaze sharply toward the passing scenery.
"Umm… Sorry…" she stammered, fiddling with the frayed edge of her jeans. "I just got too excited."
Wakana chuckled softly, a tired sound that completely lacked judgment.
The tension in the air dissolved instantly.
The two went quiet for a while, the silence broken only by the rhythmic click of the train wheels.
Wakana Gojo, having walked around the whole day assisting Marin, finally succumbed to his exhaustion, deciding to close his eyes for just a moment.
Marin noticed the slight slackening of his shoulders and his labored breathing.
"Gojo-kun, if you're tired, you should just sleep," she suggested, her voice soft.
"Yes… Sorry," Wakana replied absently, already drifting off.
Marin shook her head and smiled tenderly.
"Thanks to you, Gojo-kun," she whispered, slowly turning her head to look at his handsome side profile framed by the window. "I was able to enjoy the cosplay event."
She continued, gazing out at the blur of the afternoon. "You helped me with my poses, assisted in taking photos, and even carried my stuff."
A thrill ran through her as she recalled the energy of the convention. "When it's full of people who genuinely enjoy what they do, I can't help but feel energized when I'm in that place."
Kitagawa's cheeks flushed from excitement, recalling the entire event.
"The hobby can be even something basic. I really like people who enjoy what they're doing."
She looked down at her lap, her voice full of awe. "It feels like they're shining brightly."
She began to wander off to different topics, the convention still dominating her thoughts.
"And I totally forgot to take photos of Android 18. Next time, we're definitely taking some~"
"Now that I think back, when we were at the venue, I saw several Mirajane Strauss cosplayers, too. I wish I had taken a photo with them as well!"
She turned her head towards Wakana, her eyes curved in a happy smile. "Isn't it amazing that they all look so beautiful?"
Wakana Gojo, now deeply in the space between waking and sleep, heard the last question.
His tired mind sifted through the noise and the memories of the day, settling on the clearest, most radiant image of all.
He didn't process the fact that she was asking about other cosplayers.
Wakana's mind wandered, and only thought about Marin in her Mirajane costume today.
He sighed contentedly, sinking deeper into the train's cushion.
"That's right… Marin… You were absolutely beautiful."
And then, he fell completely asleep.
Meanwhile, Marin froze, her body going stiff with shock.
She slowly recovered, her face getting increasingly crimson, the heat spreading rapidly up to her ears and neck.
"Eh…?"
"Ehhhhhhhhh…!!"
Her mind was reeling.
'What the heck is going on with me?!'
She took a quick peek towards Wakana Gojo, who was now peacefully sleeping, his breathing deep and steady.
'How can he say something so… embarrassing so easily!'
Then her thoughts shifted to her own recent behavior around him.
'I seem to be getting more and more aware of my actions around him…'
She remembered how bold she had been at the beginning, even allowing him to measure her body while she wore a bikini.
Now, simply realizing she had been hugging his arm caused her face to burn.
The look in her eyes softened, becoming more tender, as she kept her gaze fixed on the quiet figure beside her.
'Wakana…'
...
The next day.
Monday morning.
The high school classroom was buzzing with the usual Monday morning energy, a stark contrast to the overwhelming chaos of the convention the day before.
Marin Kitagawa, however, still carried a piece of that excitement with her.
She was currently seated next to Wakana Gojo, who was surrounded by their respective friend groups: Kensei Morita and Shiki Kashiwagi on his side, and Nowa Sugaya, Daia Yahiro, and Rune Yamauchi on hers.
"Gojo-kun, look at this..!" Marin exclaimed, pulling out her phone and raising it in front of Wakana.
"What is it?" Wakana leaned closer curiously, his eyes still holding a lingering tiredness from last weekend's hard work.
On the screen, Wakana saw a popular social media post.
It wasn't just a photo of Marin in her Mirajane Strauss cosplay; it was a carousel post that included the immaculate photos they had taken on Saturday when Marin went to his house for the fitting.
Crucially, the final image was a playful selfie of the two of them, and the post had tagged Wakana Gojo's personal account.
The girls around them gathered closer, their voices rising in volume.
"Wow~!" they cheered.
Nowa Sugaya commented first, her voice full of admiration. "Is this when you went to Gojo-kun's house? You both look so good, and your cosplay is seriously amazing, Marin!"
Daia Yahiro and Rune Yamauchi chimed in.
"You made this, Gojo-kun? You're really good at this!"
"Both of you look really close~"
However, Kensei and Shiki were focused on a different matter entirely.
"Kitagawa has been to your house again, Wakana?!" They both exclaimed at the same time, expressions of feigned outrage plastered on their faces.
Wakana looked at them with a confused expression, completely missing the implied double meaning. "Yeah, I had to make sure that the outfit would fit her well. What about it?"
Kensei jumped up and put his arm over Wakana's shoulder, shaking him playfully. "Bastard! You keep messing around with Kitagawa, you haven't invited both of us over..!"
Wakana played roughhouse with him, grabbing him on the waist. "What the heck are you on about?! This is official business!"
Shiki butted in and helped grab Wakana, laughing loudly.
The three of them continued to play along, roughhousing good-naturedly and making the other girls laugh, quickly becoming the focus of the class.
The general class murmur picked up, quickly turning into whispers.
"Looks like Gojo-kun is really popular, huh?"
"Of course, everyone in the school basically knows him. Even those in the high school department have been sneaking around, trying to get to know him."
"Ehh… really? I heard he's close with Kitagawa, though."
"Are they dating?"
"Most likely, she's the prettiest in school after all, they look good together!"
Although the whispering around them was discreet, except for Wakana and the other two boys roughhousing with him, Marin and the three other girls still heard every word.
The three girls immediately shot Marin a teasing look.
Daia teased her mercilessly. "They're not wrong… both of you look even closer today. It's a little hard not to think that you're dating, Marin~"
Nowa looked at her with gossipy, conspiratorial eyes and whispered, "Are you both going out, Marin?!"
Marin's face turned red at their teasing and questions. "You two…" she muttered, unable to form a coherent defense.
Rune smiled and struck the final nail in the coffin. "You should make a move sooner, Marin. What if a high school girl snagged Gojo-kun first? He's a hot commodity after all, and I heard some boys like older girls~"
Marin's face grew increasingly crimson, and she decided to shift the topic away immediately.
"Hey, you guys!" She called towards the three boys, Wakana, Shiki, and Kensei, gaining their attention. "Pay attention, you haven't even seen what I was talking about yet!"
She pulled her phone out again and pointed towards the initial Twitter post.
This time, the boys looked more attentive, trying to see what Marin was indicating.
The three other girls also leaned in carefully.
There, they noticed the number of likes the post had received.
"T-thirty thousand..?!" Shiki exclaimed.
"That's a lot!!" Kensei whistled.
The boys and girls cheered, genuinely impressed by the viral success.
Seeing them react this way, Marin smiled triumphantly.
Wakana also smiled back, happy for the girl and her successful debut.
Suddenly, Shiki pointed towards the comments under the post. "Look at the comments, though, it seems like most of them are talking about Wakana."
"Oh yeah, a lot of them are asking if he was a model or an actor," Kensei added, reading over Shiki's shoulder. "Hahaha, that's Gojo-kun for you..!"
Marin turned the phone back to herself and scrolled through the comments.
"..HUH?!"
Indeed, a massive number of the comments talked about Wakana, with some girls even directly @'ing her to ask for his personal contact information.
"Sorry about that," Wakana dryly laughed, slightly embarrassed by the attention. "You don't need to include me in your post next time."
"No!" Marin's cheeks puffed out in annoyance, her frustration palpable.
However, her annoyance wasn't directed at Wakana, but towards those girls in the comment section who dared to go as far as to ask her for his contact information.
'I was here first, okay?!' she thought fiercely.
In her mind, she decided right then and there to keep posting all of her photos with Wakana, wanting them to become incredibly jealous of her.
Daia took this opportunity to tease Marin again, whispering into her ear, "Looks like you have a lot of competition online as well."
Marin didn't say anything, but looking at her increasingly changing expression, the girls could easily guess her thoughts.
Meanwhile, the boys just looked at the four of them with a confused expression.
They couldn't quite figure out the source of the sudden, intense female tension.