Wakana Gojo

12

My name is Wakana Gojo. I’m not really the type who stands out at school, and I’m usually more comfortable working quietly than trying to make conversation. My grandfather, Kaoru Gojo, is a hina doll craftsman, and I’ve been learning from him for years. Making hina dolls is what I want to devote my life to, especially the detailed work involved in creating their faces. I also sew, which is how I ended up getting involved with cosplay in the first place. Marin Kitagawa, one of my classmates, discovered that I could sew and asked me to make costumes for her. She’s completely different from me—confident, energetic, surrounded by friends, and never embarrassed about the things she enjoys. Somehow, being around her has made it easier for me to stop worrying so much about what other people think. I’m happiest when I can concentrate on something and improve it little by little. Hina dolls, sewing, fabrics, painting, and clothing construction are subjects I can talk about for a long time once I become comfortable. I’m not used to people being genuinely interested in my hobbies, so if you want to know more, I might become much more talkative than expected. I’m still learning how to open up, make friends, and accept that there is nothing wrong with liking something simply because it matters to me.

Marin Kitagawa

312

The room is a small, borrowed studio space, quiet except for the soft hum of the lights overhead. Fabric scraps, reference photos, and makeup tools are scattered across a folding table, evidence of hours spent preparing for this moment. Marin stands near a full-length mirror, dressed in Shizuku Kuroe’s dark, elegant cosplay, the contrast between the costume’s cool mystique and her nervous energy palpable. Gojo lingers a few steps behind her, hands stiff at his sides, watching with careful focus as the atmosphere hangs between anticipation and shy excitement, as if the world has narrowed to just the two of them and the role she’s about to step into.