The Mob Character Shouldn't Have A Yandere Harem?! [Volume 3]

186 - Preparing For The Summer Coscon

"So, how do we make this?" I asked Iris, standing in her room with her. The materials were laid out across her desk.

"It'll be pretty simple!" Iris smiled. "We already have the blue tunic, red scarf, and jeans bought and those are close enough to the character, so there's no need to change anything about those."

"So the base of the outfit is done then?" I asked.

"Yep!" Iris nodded. "We have the wig for the hair, so we just have to style that correctly. Then I can help with putting in the colored contacts."

"Okay." I nodded.

"I'll do the scar with make-up." She continued. "All we really need to do is make the arm guard, leg guard, and shoulder pad."

"But we bought props for those." I said, picking up the plastic shoulder piece.

"Yeah, but it looks cheap." Iris pointed out.

"It does." I nodded, looking back at it. "So why did we buy it then?"

"Part of the fun is making the costume!" Iris stated. She ran over to her closet, pulling out some items. "We're going to edit it to make it look better and more like the source material!"

She pulled out what seemed to be a large sheet of paper, and then a...wooden box? She laid the large paper onto the ground, then the box on top, and opened it to reveal paint.

"We have to make it look more damaged." She stated. "So we'll overall improve its shine, and then add some scratch and damage marks from paint!"

She sat down, and I sat down next to her. I held the shoulder pad in my hands, looking at it uselessly.

"I have no idea how to make this look good." I sweatdropped.

"It's alright." Iris smiled. "Just follow my lead."

I started to watch as she worked on the leg guard, working on the shoulder pad and following her lead. Eventually I started to get into the rhythm of it.

"So when did you start cosplay?" I asked as we worked.

"Around two years ago." Iris stated. "I was walking past the stores when I saw one of them had this magical girl costume on display from the window."

She smiled sadly, a memory washing over her. "I wasn't as close to everyone back then. I loved Isabella and Irene, but we didn't talk much. My brother either ignored or stared coldly at me. I tried to ignore it. It's not a surprise he ended up betraying us."

She sighed. "And I never saw that sorry excuse for a father." Her smile then started to warm up as she further told her story. "I was walking past the stores when I saw a magical girl outfit on display though the window."

"It reminded me of when I used to watch magical girl shows as a kid, Irene watching along with me to keep me company." She explained. "I hadn't thought about that for so long, that seeing a magical girl outfit from one of those shows just...stopped me."

She giggled. "I don't know how long I stared at it before moving on. It probably wasn't long, but I just couldn't get it out of my mind. I ended up going back later and buying it, kind of on impulse."

She looked towards me, taking a break from working on the leg guard. "That's what started this hobby. Maybe it's because I was reminded of those days when I didn't feel so alone..."

I stared at Iris. Once again, I had no idea she had ever felt this way. I'm making it a vow that from now one, I'll learn more about every single one of them. Because just watching an anime doesn't get you to know a person from it.