The roaring crowd and the flashing lights.
All attention was focused on her.
The thin panel slowly rose and everyone held their breath as the face of the famous singer was seconds away from being shown to the crowd of cheering fans.
Her heart pounde...
"Wow, you truly are a master of disguise." Mina said, she looked genuinely impressed with Aiko.
The class was going to the mall, but Aiko didn't really feel like dealing with the crowds that she attracted. So she had an idea.
"Well I've been cosplaying for years. It's just a hobby and I'm not the great at it..." Aiko said, securing the long black wig she had on. "But I have plenty of things to hide my identity." She said.
She had contoured her nose and cheek bones to change what her face looked like from a far. She had a long straight black wig. Obviously she would never do anything to lighten her skin, but she did have blue contacts in.
"Uh yeah! You look great!" Mina said, looking at Aiko from behind. "So what's your name?"
"I'm not making up an entire new identity." Aiko rolled her eyes and then began applying eyeshadow and liner.
"Why not?! You... you look like an Ava! Yeah, Ava... Sho! Your name is Ava Sho and you're a second year at MSOTA! You're studying filmmaking and you're going to be a famous director one day!" Mina said from Aikos bed, kicking her legs in the air.
"The whole point of this fit, it to NOT be famous." Aiko pointed out, grabbing some sunglasses. "So, how's the outfit?"
"It's cute, but definitely not something I'd expect to see A.Z wearing." Mina said with a shrug.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Aiko put on her beanie to cover up the slight lumps under her wig.
"I see you're wearing a Hoax shirt..." Mina said raising her eyebrows. "What's up with that huh?"
"Mina, I've had this shirt for forever." Aiko rolled her eyes. Actually it wasn't even her shirt. It had actually been Tora's, she had been a big fan.
It still felt like Aiko was just borrowing it from Tora though. She didn't bring this up, Mina would end up feeling bad for commenting on it and then it would get awkward.
Aiko didn't really understand why people felt bad for that kind of stuff. Bringing up something related to a deceased loved one. Aiko supposed it was because they felt bad for reminding them about it.
But it's not like Aiko had forgotten, the moment she looked at the shirt the had thought of Tora. Anytime she saw anything related to the Hoax she thought of her sister. Even when she was hanging out with Kato she had been thinking of how happy that experience would have made her.
"Because you're alive Aiko."
Unlike most dreams that hadn't fully faded. It was always in the courner of Aiko's mind. Had it just been imagination? Probably. But Aiko liked to think Tora was somewhere in the universe, living on a beach that they loved. And maybe, one day Aiko could join her.
One day.
"You ready to go?" Aiko asked Mina who jumped up. Mina had decided to come over to hang out before they went shopping, Aiko was pretty sure it was because she liked hanging out on a mansion and catching rides in a limo, but she could be wrong about that.
"Yep!"
💖💖💖
Aiko looked through the books in the small bookstore of the mall. She had everything she needed and at this point she was just killing time. She didn't read a lot, rarely had the time for it. But she still liked to look through books to see if there was anything that interested her.
She flipped through a manga, she had watched a few episodes of the anime based off of it and it had been pretty cute. She likes skimming through the mangas and looking through the pictures.
She touched the spines of a few books as she read the titles.
"Hey."
A familiar male voice said from behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Was he talking to her?
"Hey, I haven't seen you around here." He said, walking closer.
Aiko covered her mouth. Trying to hold in her laugh. "What?" She asked through her hand.
"I'm just saying you're kinda cute, can I have your number?" He said, leaning against the bookshelf and looking at her with a charming smile.
She snickered and hid her face. Her giggling turning into a full blown laugh.
"Wow, okay you didn't have to be mean about it." The blonde mumbled with a pout. "A 'no' would have been fine."
He turned to leave but Aiko grabbed his sleeve. "No!" She said through a few laughs. He stopped and stared at her as she turned to face him again. "W-wait..." she wheezed. This was absolutely hilarious to her.
The blonde deadpanned at the girl he currently thought was a stranger.
"M-Monoma it's me." She wheezed, taking off her glasses. "Aiko, I'm cosplaying a a regular person." She whispered, wiping her eyes. Glad she was wearing waterproof mascara.
"Oh fuck-" He backed up and covered his mouth with his hand. Eyes wide. Aiko giggled and used the bookshelf to stabilize herself. "Stop laughing! I didn't know it was you!"
Aiko giggled. "I know! T-thats why it's funny!" She snorted slightly, in a very unladylike manner.
That made Monoma laugh. "Asshole." He mumbled, trying to hide his smile. "Though the get up is impressive, I'll give you that."
"Thanks, according to Mina my new name is Ava Sho and I'm studying film." Aiko said, putting the book she had been looking at back into it's spot.
"Well, nice to meet you Ava." He said with a small chuckle and head nod. "Sorry for bothering you." Monoma said, turning to leave her be.
That was nice, Aiko was glad they could talk like this. That they no longer had to be at odds. They had both moved on, she was glad they could be pleasant with each other after everything.
The negative memories of him had been fading, making his face tolerable. Not that she would EVER get back with him. But she was happy to at least be a friendly acquaintance. Monoma had been someone she had been very close with, Aiko didn't let go of attachments easily.
He would always hold a special place in her heart, he had been her first boyfriend. Not to mention her first kiss.
It might sound silly, but she just didn't like the idea of hating him.
