The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

164 Making Masks

After being friends with Emma and the others, Rachel’s introverted nature changed a bit. Maybe it was because she had realized that she wasn’t as bad and scary as the other girls said. Emma, ??Kathy, and Poppy brought Rachel’s long-buried self-confidence back to life.

While opening her coffee can, Rachel glanced at Elisa who was busy with a cloth and sewing kit in her hands. Rachel had already used to what the girl would usually do when the mini market was quiet like this. Elisa was always busy sewing an outfit that Rachel didn’t really care about. But this time, Rachel had little interest in seeing her longer.

Feeling a tall girl named Rachel kept watching her, made Elisa turn around because she felt little goosebumps. She thought Rachel was scary. Rachel’s face was fierce and her body was a little bigger than normal females. She always looked at Elisa with a sharp gaze and never chatted with her.

Rachel immediately smiled faintly as Elisa turned slowly to her. The white-haired girl in two pigtails also smiled stiffly. She looked awkward.

Feeling a little curious, Rachel finally got up the courage to talk to the girl who had been her partner since the first time she worked at the mini-market, “Sorry to disturb you. But, may I know what are you doing?” Rachel asked carefully.

Elisa looked a little surprised because Rachel suddenly asked her to talk about something that wasn’t about work. She cleared her throat slightly, “Ah.. T-This is a costume,”

“Oh.. A costume, huh?” Rachel mumbled and nodded, “Is that the unfinished work of your day job?”

Elisa shook her head slowly, “Not really. During the day, I go to school. This is just my hobby, I guess,”

Rachel was silent a moment. Slowly, she noticed Elisa’s style which she thought was pretty unique. Her bag, her jacket and her hairstyle. Yes, Rachel had seen something like that on the internet. It seemed that Elisa likes fantasy 2D animation and likes to imitate their styles.

.....

“Is it could be that your hobby is making costumes after cartoon characters?” Rachel asked doubtfully.

Rachel’s question made Elisa smile. She nodded, “You’re right. I like Anime and do cosplay.”

Rachel’s face looked confused. Anime and cosplay were something she never heard of, or perhaps, never caught her eyes.

“Anime is Japanese 2D animation. Cosplay stands for Costume Play, which is imitating the clothes, makeup and body styles of characters in an Anime, comics, movie or game.” It was clear that Elisa noticed the confused look on Rachel’s face. As someone who really loved Anime, Elisa was very passionate about sharing her hobby with others.

“Oh.. Sorry, I’ve never heard of that before. Now I know it, so it’s thanks to you.” Rachel said.

Elisa shook her head, “No need to think about it. Would you like to see my works?” She asked in her light, childlike voice.

Rachel nodded with a gentle smile. She did not expect that Elisa had a cheerful nature when she was being approached first. It seemed that the two of them had misunderstood each other so they continued to be too careful with each other.

Elisa took her cell phone which she placed on the table and checked it for a while before showing Rachel a picture, “This is one of the best costumes I’ve ever made. From this, I got four thousand likes on social media. My social media name is Ms Sunny Day . If you would like, you can follow me, tho..” she giggled.

“Oh.. I’m so sorry, I happen to not have social media.” Rachel replied uncomfortably, “But your costumes are really cool. Did you make them all yourself?”

“Each of them, Rachel.” She answered. Then she shook her head thoughtfully, “My bad. Actually, for some complicated accessories, I asked one of my friends to help make them. But I did all the designs. You can scroll the pictures,”

“Wow, you’re so talented.” Rachel complimented her by continuing to scroll through the pictures on Elisa’s phone gallery.

While scrolling through the pictures, a picture appeared which Rachel thought was unique. In the photo, Elisa was seen wearing a costume like a female knight, standing side by side with a man wearing a very cool costume.

What attracted Rachel was the costume the man was wearing. It was a fictional knight suit in black with dragon scales detailing. And the man was wearing a mask that covered his entire head.

The mask had a shape that resembled a ski mask, but appeared to be made of synthetic leather. The eyes spaces were hollow, so the man’s black irises were still visible. However, on the mouth was attached an additional mouthpiece that was large enough to cover up to the nose. It was as if he was wearing a special mask that allowed him to breathe in the poisonous air.

Rachel immediately returned the cell phone to the owner, “The costume this man wears is so cool, especially the mask. Do you think you know where I can get a mask like this?” Rachel asked quickly.

“Yes, it is cool. He is Otsuka Kun. Just like me, he makes his own costumes.” Elisha explained.

“Oh.. So.. it can’t be bought, huh?” Rachel mumbled weakly. She was so excited at first, thinking that she’d found the perfect mask for her and Emma to wear in action.

“Do you really need it, Rachel? Actually, Otsuka Kun made the mask himself. He’s the one who made all my accessories. Would you like me to introduce you to him?” She offered.

“You can? That’s good news,” Rachel replied with a sigh of relief. Then she nodded, “Of course, I will if it doesn’t bother you.”

Elisa shook her head, “Not a bother at all, Rachel. It seems you’re also interested in cosplay, don’t you? Do you want me to recommend you a good Anime recommendation?”

“Eum.. That’s fine. But, maybe I don’t have the free time to watch it,” Rachel replied while rubbing the back of her head.

“Nice! Maybe if you want, I’ll text you the list. You can also contact me later if you want to meet Otsuka Kun.” Elisa said.

***

“Make masks?” Emma repeated.

Rachel nodded confidently, “He’s an acquaintance of a part-time coworker of mine. He can make one pretty quickly. If you have time, how about we go there today?”

“Okay. I just happen to only have half-day classes for today. But aren’t you tired, Rachel?” Emma asked.

Rachel shook her head, “My enthusiasm has covered my tiredness. After all, I did it because I really wanted to stop this suffering. The result of this struggle is well worth it. If we keep waiting for time, we will be the ones left behind.” She said.

“Okay then. I’ll get ready first. See you on campus.” Emma said before hanging up the phone.

“Gosh.. Rachel.. You are a warrior.” Emma muttered proudly. She didn’t expect Rachel to be so helpful.

As promised, after the last class was over, Emma and Rachel immediately went to meet Elisa Lanken’s friend. Elisa herself turned out to be a high school student.

It was a small housing location near Jen Marrie Street. There was a rather small house that seemed to need quite a bit of renovation.

Rachel looked at her phone screen again, “Seems like it really is the place to be.”

“It is? Well.. okay,” Emma replied by pulling off her car and turning it off.

The two ladies got out of the car and walked up the wooden steps in front of the house which squeaked when stepped on. Emma pressed the doorbell beside the door. They both waited for a minute, but no one responded to the bell. Finally, Emma pressed it again, looking at Rachel.

“Are you sure this is the house?” Emma asked. Rachel nodded.

Not long after, some sounds were heard from behind the door. It looked like the owner of the house put so many locks behind the door that it took a long time to just open it.

“Who?” The door opened slightly and revealed the face of a black-eyed man who was behind the tiny gap of the door opening.

“Oh, hello. I’m Emma Hilland and this is Rachel Markway. Is this really Ostuka Kun’s house? We came here to order customized masks.” Emma greeted in a friendly manner, although there was a confused look on her face because the man behind the door seemed quite strange.

“Elisa Lanken told me to come here. We are friends at work,” Rachel added.

“So you are Elisa’s friends?” The man repeated in his low, flat voice.

Emma and Rachel nodded in unison, “Yes,”

Without another word, the man opened the door wider so the two girls could see inside his house. They didn’t know if it was intentional, but the conditions inside the house were the opposite of the outside, which looked dilapidated. The inside of the house looked like a neatly arranged witch’s house. There were many unique ornaments on display there.

“Come in,” The man said.

“Thank you,” Emma and Rachel answered as they stepped inside.

“Your house is awesome,” Emma complimented it by looking around. She felt as if she was on a tour of a house of a fictional film shooting location. Even the man who owned the house also wore pretty unique clothes. The white-haired man was wearing an oversized shirt and pants that were a bit tattered like a dwarf in a fictional movie.

“Thanks.” He replied.

“I’m sorry, but are you Ostsuka Kun?” Rachel asked as she followed the man walking in front of them.

“My name is Ostuka Yamada. Kun is a close address for a young man. I don’t know you and you don’t know me well, so there’s no need to use the word ‘Kun’ when addressing me.” He explained.

“O-ow.. All right,” Emma answered with a glance at Rachel. Again, they both looked at each other in surprise. Yes, it was a new culture shock for both of them.

Otsuka took the two girls down to the basement where he worked on his various projects. The spacious basement looked quite full of strange items.

Previously, Elisa had told Otsuka about her friend who would come to visit him. Therefore, he did not need to be suspicious and immediately knew what to do.