While Yuria and I were "flirting"—or rather, bickering—a familiar voice suddenly rang out from behind us.
That childish yet oddly husky voice... it could only be one person!
"T-Tanaka!?" we both yelped in unison.
"Well, well. I spotted a perverted silhouette that looked suspiciously like Ryouta-kun standing next to a beautiful gyaru aura, so I thought I'd come closer. I never imagined the two of you would be out here having a lovers' spat."
Tanaka let out a dry cackle as she muttered those words.
She was dressed in a sleeveless, pure white shirt paired with denim salopettes and a pink shoulder pouch. It was a cutesy, mascot-like fashion style that perfectly suited her petite frame—basically the "Chiikawa" look.
As always, Tanaka was the one person who managed to ground me in the reality of the normal world.
"Heh... you have my thanks, Tanaka."
"I don't particularly care for your gratitude, Ryouta-kun. I'm much more interested in hearing exactly what you two were doing."
"W-well, we were just, you know... stuff? Ryouta said he wanted to work on his fashion sense, so I'm just showing him the ropes because he begged me," Yuria stammered.
She made sure to keep the cosplay photoshoot under wraps, speaking as if she were only hanging out with me out of pure obligation. Well, if we told Tanaka that Yuria was actually an otaku—let alone that we’d been taking photos of each other in cosplay—things would spiral out of control in an instant.
"T-that’s right! Yuria's helping me pick out some clothes today. Pretty slick, right?"
"Hmm... You certainly look much more stylish than usual, Ryouta-kun. But if you ask me? It still feels a bit too safe. You need more silver wrapped around your arms or something."
"I am not doing that! Since when did you become a Duelist—my 'other self'?"
If anyone was a Yu-Gi-Oh! character, she was definitely more of an Insector.
"Anyway, what are you doing here, Tanaka? Just shopping?"
"Yes. I came to purchase some steamy BL novels and some rather intense fujoshi manga that were released today."
"Both of those are BL! And your house isn't even in this neighborhood, is it? You came all the way to this shopping mall just for those?"
"I did. There's a bus stop right in front of my house, so I take the bus here quite often. This mall has specialized anime shops, after all."
As she spoke, Tanaka pointed toward the Anumate sign at the far end of the floor. So, her goal was a pilgrimage to the holy land of otaku goods.
"More importantly, Ryouta-kun, Ichinose-san was picking out your clothes, right? You two seemed to be arguing about something. What was it?"
"Eh? Oh, that. I was just telling Yuria she should try on a micro—"
Before I could finish, Yuria gave my sleeve a sharp, warning tug. The look on her face was lethal; her eyes were narrowed as if to say, Don't you dare say another word.
"Never mind that! Actually, we're headed to the Cocosco next door to grab some groceries for a barbecue at my place. Why don't you join us, Tanaka?"
"Wait, a barbecue? Are you sure it's okay for someone like me to join in on such an 'extroverted' activity?"
"What are you talking about? Of course it's okay. You're our friend, Tanaka. Besides, I was actually looking for a third person to join us. I was worried Ryouta would start sexually harassing me if we were alone."
Yuria shot me a mischievous smirk as she said this.
T-that traitor! She’s just making things up as she goes...!! When have I ever! Actually! Sexually harassed her!!
"So, come on, Tanaka. Join us?"
"Well... if you insist! It certainly sounds like a struggle to be left alone with a perverted, loner, sexual-harassment boy like Ryouta-kun. In that case, I'll gladly accept the invitation."
"You two really just say whatever you want, don't you?"
"You can't really complain, Ryouta-kun, considering how you behave on a daily basis."
I was left completely speechless, unable to fire back a single word.