As Okabara Kyogumichi walked out of the school building where the handicraft club was located, a rush of hurried footsteps came from behind him.
He turned his head and saw Kitagawa Marin chasing after him quickly, holding up her skirt, her face still flushed, her lace hairband swaying gently as she ran.
"Okabara-san! Please wait!" She stopped a few steps away from him, her chest heaving slightly, clearly having run a long way.
The purple gothic lolita skirt was a little dusty, but it did not affect its luxurious feel in the slightest.
Kyogumichi stood still, watching her nervously adjust her collar, the sunlight falling on her slightly trembling eyelashes, casting tiny shadows.
The surrounding noise seemed to fade, leaving only a subtle silence between the two.
Marin took a deep breath, as if she had made a huge decision, and looked up directly into his eyes: "You… you saw it all, didn't you?" Her voice was soft, with a hint of barely detectable nervousness, "I like cosplay, I love to recreate characters from anime and manga, that's my hobby."
Her fingers clutched her skirt tightly, her knuckles white: "I know this might seem strange to others, even a bit childish… Will you find it ridiculous? Will you laugh at me?"
Kyogumichi looked at the anxiety and expectation flickering in her eyes, and suddenly thought of Hitori Bocchi practicing guitar alone, of Nyanko-sensei clutching a taiyaki unwilling to let go, of the carefully guarded passion in everyone's heart.
He shook his head, his tone sincere and firm: "No."
"What's truly ridiculous is never passion itself," he said seriously, looking into her eyes, "To find something you genuinely love and persist in doing it, that's an amazing thing. Why would I laugh at you?"
Kitagawa Marin was stunned, clearly not expecting such a reply.
She had prepared herself to be teased, to be alienated, and even thought of running away immediately if he showed an unusual expression, but she never expected such gentle understanding.
Her eyes suddenly felt warm, she sniffed, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up: "Really? You really don't think it's strange?"
"Of course." Kyogumichi smiled, his gaze falling on her cosplay outfit, "And you put a lot of effort into making this outfit; the lace splicing and the pattern are very faithful to the character, you can tell a lot of thought went into it."
Hearing the professional evaluation, Marin's eyes instantly lit up, and most of her nervousness disappeared: "You know about this too? I worked on it for a long time, the pattern alone was revised three times!"
"I know a little." Kyogumichi recalled the sewing skills rewarded by the system and carefully examined her clothes, "But there are indeed a few places that could be improved. Look here," he gently pointed to the pleats of the skirt, "too many layers of lace make movement inconvenient; you could reduce two layers and use a lighter fabric; also, the bow on the collar, the fastening method isn't very secure and it's prone to loosening."
Marin's eyes widened in surprise, and she subconsciously touched her collar—sure enough, as he had said, the bow's pin was already a bit loose.
She herself felt that it was inconvenient to move when she wore it, but she had never been able to find the reason.
"You're amazing! You saw it right away!" she said excitedly, her eyes full of admiration, "I've been struggling with these problems for a long time without solving them."
"If you don't mind," Kyogumichi suggested, looking at her expectant eyes, "I can help you alter this outfit. However, it's the cultural festival now, so it might have to wait until the weekend."
"Really?!" Marin was so excited she almost jumped, then lowered her head, a little embarrassed, "Won't it be too much trouble for you?"
"No trouble, I'm quite interested in these things too." he said with a smile, "Besides, altering clothes can also hone my skills."
"That's great! Thank you, Okabara-san!" Marin nodded vigorously, a brilliant smile blooming on her face, brighter than the sun, "Anytime on the weekend is fine, I'm completely free!"
"Then how about we go to the fabric market to pick out materials this weekend?" Kyogumichi suggested, seizing the opportunity, "We need to buy some replacement lace and fasteners, we can look at them together."
"Yes, yes!" she readily agreed, excitedly starting to plan, "We can go to that old fabric store in the Central Market first, they have so many types of lace! And there's a store next to it that sells handicraft accessories, I know they have imported invisible pins!"
Watching her animatedly describe the fabric market, Kyogumichi couldn't help but smile.
The light sparkling in the girl's eyes, just like when Hitori Bocchi talked about guitars or Shiina Mahiru talked about cooking, was full of passion for what she loved.
The shouts from the taiyaki stall in the distance reached them, and Kyogumichi checked the time: "I should go back, Shiina-san is still waiting for me to bring back yakisoba."
"Mhm, mhm! See you this weekend!" Marin smiled and waved, then suddenly remembered something and pulled out a small rose badge from her pocket, handing it to him, "This is for you, as… thanks for understanding me."
The badge was hand-stitched, with fine stitches and lifelike rose petals.
Kyogumichi took the badge and carefully pinned it to his shirt: "It's beautiful, thank you. See you this weekend."
Watching his retreating figure, Kitagawa Marin touched her flushed cheeks, her heart filled with an unprecedented sense of ease and joy.
She looked down at her cosplay outfit, remembered his suggestions for alteration, and immediately couldn't wait to return to the sewing classroom to write them down.
Sunlight pierced through the cultural festival's colorful flags, casting dappled light and shadows on the ground.
Kyogumichi carried the yakisoba he bought for Shiina Mahiru, the rose badge on his shirt swaying gently with his steps.
He thought of Marin's excited smile, and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
In front of a stall in the distance, Shiina Mahiru was standing on tiptoes, looking out, and immediately smiled when she saw his figure.
Nyanko-sensei was sprawled in Natsume's arms, lazily basking in the sun, still holding an unfinished taiyaki in his mouth.
The hustle and bustle of the cultural festival continued, and a new promise had quietly been born.