"Well, what do you think of it"?

Ichika had no reply to that question now. At least, now that she was feeling extremely awkward and torn between fleeing the mall and hiding.

The event wasn't at all chaotic, though it was by no means quiet. People dressed either as Kamen Riders or Power Rangers walked around, talking excitedly to their friends or family members, taking selfies or posing for other onlookers. A few others were tucked away in corners, quietly typing on their phones or reading, whilst others were checking out the paraphernalia on display.

"I gotta say. This is a neat cosplay event", Ace admitted.

You don't say, Shin answered, then turned to look at Ichika. Are you alright?

"Me"? Ichika asked him back. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why're you asking"?

You look pale, Shin murmured mentally, taking her face in his hands and looking into her eyes, trying to read her thoughts and see what was going on. And not because you haven't been out in the sun for awhile. You look like you're about to faint.

"I'm fine", Ichika insisted flatly. "Its just... its been so long since I went for a cosplay event".

"So now's time to enjoy it", Seven added, flexing one Spandex-gloved hand as they passed their tickets to the attendant on duty and walked on. "Come on, you're only 35, and this is something you like, so stop whingeing and let your hair down for once. Who knows? One day you'll be too old for this shit, and I mean literally".

Inwardly, Ichika had to admit he was right. Even at 35 now, she was beginning to feel her knees aching frequently, despite not doing much heavy work on some days. Perhaps it was time she went on a cram adventure and enjoyed herself before the rest of old age's symptoms caught up with her.

But why did it feel so overwhelming to be outside then?

Astra and Leo had disappeared further into the mall, presumably to go check out some paraphernalia that had caught the former's interest. Seven had ducked into a bookstore with Taro to check out manga, Zoffy and Ace were god-knows-where now and Shin was still standing where they had all left him, looking for all the world as if two girls climbing all over him in clunky armour was an everyday thing.

Do you want to visit any particular places here? he asked her.

"Not at the moment", Ichika replied, then cast Miko and Lalia a wary look. "Do the girls want to go anywhere"?

Lalia wants to try out the photo booth, and Miko wants to look for that quartet of teens who passed us just now. Shin replied, looking away a moment to rearranged his chestpiece before continuing. Do you mind if I take them both? Or do you want to come with us?

"You can take them", Ichika told him, padding up to them to give Miko a hug. "I...have some stuff to sort out first".

Take your time, Shin added, then signalled for the girls to follow him. If its too much for you, you can still go home. You haven't been to these sort of things in awhile, after all.

Ichika bade him goodbye and left, taking care to watch where she was going so she didn't break someone's armour by accident. She knew he hadn't meant to sound harsh, but somehow, she still kept hearing his gentle tone as a mocking one instead. Why did his voice still mock her? Why did it still plague her mind like a rabid locust? She was away from him now, with a man who treated her better than he ever did. Fuck, PTSD was a real bitch.

Just as she turned a corner to cross into another hallway, she suddenly felt a hand grab her shoulder hard. The next thing she knew, a tall figure collapsed on top of her with a shocked cry, arms flailing and hands groping for something to balance on, though the person in question only succeeded in squashing Ichika further.

"Excuse me...sir"? she tried to get his attention. "Can you...get off me please"?

She expected a grunt or an angry slew of curse words cussing her out for being clumsy in reply, but it seemed that was not the case.

"Oh my, sure", a gentle, strangely polite-sounding male voice replied, crawling off her clumsily before helping her up to her feet. "I'm so sorry, madam. I was lost and looking for my friend, and hadn't expected you to show up".

"That's okay", Ichika assured him, brushing off her dress as she took in his costume. The man was about 5'11", and dressed exactly like Kamen Rider Zi-O, from the black boots up to the silver clock hands on his mask pointing to 2:10. "Maybe I can help you find hi"-

"ZI-O"!

A loud voice called out to them at that moment, and Ichika turned to see another man, dressed like Lord Drakkon from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, ran up to them, gold-booted feet clattering against the floor like shells. He eventually came to a stop just short of almost crashing into Ichika and his friend, breathlessly murmuring something along the lines of 'where were you' and 'what the actual hell'?

"Draks"! the Zi-O guy exclaimed, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and helping him balance. "Where've you been"?

"Bigger question. Where have YOU been"?! the Drakkon guy panted out, a note of annoyance in his voice. "I turn around for five minutes. FIVE BLOODY MINUTES, just to get two iced coffees, and then POOF, you're gone"!

"Do you seriously expect THAT much of palace etiquette outside the palace"? the Zi-O guy retorted, one clock arm twitching. "Like, dude, chill. We're outside, among everyone else, and its not like we can't have fun every now and then".

The Drakkon guy just wiggled a finger at him and said "Make sure you don't get both of us in trouble down here. As it is there's been reports of some madman running amok all over the place, and we're down here partying instead".

"We aren't 'partying', the Zi-O guy replied, giving him the 'nonsense' motion with his fingers. "We're mingling with everyone else back home, and you know how much they love this get-together".

They continued arguing as they walked away, the Zi-O guy hastily thanking Ichika before his partner eventually dragged him away. For a moment, she felt something was odd, but tried to brush it off, assuming it was just part of their characters' respective dialogues.

Then it hit her.

And she had to move away before she really freaked out.