Chapter 4: Painting the Roses Pink

    By late afternoon on Friday, AnimeCon was simmering with excitement—a soup of colorful costumes and eager, chattering geeks. Pockets of empty space opened and closed in the packed multitude of people like bubbles on boiling broth as cosplayers were stopped for impromptu photo-shoots. Incredibly large, elaborate costumes towered over the press of people, and there were entire groups of cosplayers representing large casts from different animes. Intricately detailed monsters, gorgeous couples in splendid raiments, grizzled fantasy swordsmen, sarcastic robots and everything in between wandered about freely.

    “I wasn’t sure if I owed you an apology or not,” Brian said to Stephanie as they continued down one of the hallways.

    “An apology?” Stephanie asked, perplexed. “Wh-what would, I mean, why would you owe me an apology?”

    “Er... for stealing a kiss back then, in the café,” he admitted, looking at her cautiously. “I’ll admit, when you took off in a hurry, I was kinda worried.”

    “Oh, no! The kiss was fine! Uh, more than fine, the kiss was amazing. It was just—the thing with my hair, I was really surprised and... The kiss though, the kiss was amazing,” she emphasized clearly.

    “Definitely, um, it was definitely a more effective attack than I was prepared for. I guess you really do have a lot more up your sleeves than I thought,” she admitted playfully, feeling her face redden.

    “Arms, even,” he joked, tugging his sleeve back to expose a forearm. The charm dangling from his wrist bobbed and twisted in the light.

    “Haha, uh, yeah,” she said weakly, momentarily enthralled by the glimpse.

    Mmm... His forearm was nothing like her slender, feminine arms. It was thicker... rougher, with the subtle curves of muscle that gave them a deliciously shapely appearance. Even his hands look strong, she thought heatedly. What would... what would those hands feel like on me?

    She imagined them tightly gripping her shoulders, tugging open her flimsy costume with ease, and exposing her pale skin to the air. Would she feel heat rise to the surface wherever his rough fingertips roamed? Something deep in her tummy twitched reflexively at the thought. She could hold tight onto the corded muscle of those arms... or let his hands slide down her back towards her rear. Would those hands squeeze, his fingers press deeper into the soft, pert curves of her buttocks? Another series of hot pink sparks seemed to sputter in her brain.

    “So, any clue what happened?”

    “W-with what?” she asked, blinking rapidly as her daydream evaporated.

    “Your hair, the pink in it. I meant to ask, but we got kinda sidetracked by that Kelly girl.”

    “Oh! Uh, no,” she answered sheepishly, “No clue. I mean, ah, it wouldn’t come out with water at all, a-at least. Kelly, uhm, she was sure you rubbed dye in my hair or something. How bad is it?”

    Gently, he reached up past her rabbit ear headband and ran his fingers through her hair, separating the aberrant pink strands with his fingertips. She found the gesture surprisingly... intimate, and gradually leaned into him. Her heart beat the excited doki doki of a pure young girl, but other parts of her were heating up in a much less innocent way.

    “It’s not bad,” he said, making eye contact with her. “Actually, it looks nice.”

    “Really?” Hearing those words from him, it was as if the warmth within was beginning to radiate out through her smile.

    “Excuse me, would it be okay if I got a picture of you two?” A petite Asian girl in a hoodie asked from behind an expensive camera.

    “Of... us...?” Stephanie asked, flabbergasted. “Together?” Though too embarrassed to admit she’d never played a Fantasy Wars title, it was pretty clear their costumes were from entirely different genres.

    “Of course,” Brian agreed readily, drawing his fantasy pistol from his shoulder holster in a smooth motion. His other hand slipped around the small of Stephanie’s back, delicately pulling her against him. Deep inside of Stephanie, a furnace was trembling into motion, small pink flames sputtering from glowing coals. With his feet squared, chest raised, and an arm around her, he looked—heroic.

    Caught off guard by the camera already pointed their way, Stephanie realized how stiff her posture was, and nearly panicked. She put her arm awkwardly around Brian—but was too self-conscious to put her hand on him. Instead it hovered, not touching, a bare inch off of his side.

   It’ll look like I’m actually holding him in the picture, though, she tried to assure herself. She stared vacantly at the camera lense for a moment until finally something in the kindling pink fire within her popped, and a warm, safe feeling seemed to spread throughout her. She relaxed into a soft smile just in time for the flash of the camera.

    “Thanks! I love your costumes!” The Asian girl said, smiling.

   My first picture taken at a convention, Stephanie thought, disoriented with excitement. And, it’s with him. A picture of us. This is all really happening, and now there’s actual proof! I want to see, I want a copy! She followed the thin Asian girl with her eyes.

    “You know, Steph,” he said in a low voice, “you can put your hand on me for photos, if you want to.”

    Stephanie gulped, feeling her cheeks burn red in a hasty blush. “You, you noticed, huh?”

    “Yeah,” He chuckled, looking at her. “You seemed... tense.”

    “Yeah! I’m good, uh, great. Was just a little nervous. That was the first time someone’s, um, taken a photo. Of me, I mean. At a convention like this. In costume...” she trailed off meekly.

    “You’re joking,” he said, eyeing her carefully. “You’re a virgin?!”

    “What?!” she sputtered, eyes wide. “W-well yes, but—” Is it that obvious? Wait, where did that come from?!

    “A convention virgin, I mean. This is your first time cosplaying?” he asked playfully, gesturing to her Flamituff gijinka.

    “Um, yes,” she said, exhaling slowly. “That. This is my first anime convention.”

   “Oh, wow, I just assumed...” he said, chuckling, “I mean, your costume doesn’t look like a first-time cosplay. You made it yourself?”

    “...I did.” She said, pleased with herself.

    “Now I feel bad,” he said, shaking his head. “Here I’ve been taking up all your time, and you must be excited to go around and see everything.”

    Her gaze flicked across the breadth of his chest as he held open his jacket to re-holster his prop pistol. Everything, huh...

    “Uh, yes! I mean, no! That is, I am excited, but you’re not taking up my time. Or it’s ok-okay if you do. I like you. Like taking up time with you, I meant to say! Er, s-spending time with you,” she corrected herself. Stop stammering!

    “...Me too,” he said. “But, did you need to meet back up with your friend? The Pandape girl?”

    “Ah! Right. Her,” Stephanie remembered. “She, told—ah, she asked me to meet her in the vendor’s room, but... I mean, I’m sure she’s shopping, and, well. I can hang out for a little bit longer. With you. If-if you want to.”

    “Cool! Let’s walk for a bit, then.” Brian proposed, offering his hand, and Stephanie giddily took it, relieved. I have him to myself. For a bit longer, at least.

    Holding hands, they carefully traversed their own convoluted route across the packed main lobby. Convention staff bottlenecked traffic into the vendor’s room, talent show auditions stage, viewing theaters, and gaming tournament with badge checks, and haphazard lines had begun to criss-cross the area. Troupes of fans milled about, squatted, or sprawled out on the floor in the lobby, creating an ever-changing topography of areas to navigate.

    “So, we’ve established that you’re a Monster Battlers fan,” he began, “Are you real into anime too, or just games?”

    “I’ve only seen the... ‘mainstream’ anime, so I don’t feel like I’m a very serious fan,” she admitted shyly. “Just stuff that’s been dubbed into English and aired here in America.”

    “So, things like Shinobi Souls, and Magi Hunter?”

    “Yeah, pretty much,” she said, feeling lame. “But I read a lot of shoujo manga comics online... which, uh, you’re probably not into... Obviously. Hah, sorry.”

    Although there were compendiums of comics focusing on specific genres such as sports, horror, or science fiction, Japanese comics were also often categorized simply by their target demographic. The latest shounen, meaning comics for boys, might be collected into a thick monthly magazine such as Shounen Leap on convenience store shelves all over Japan. Likewise, the newest shoujo comics, for girls, could be found in a release such as Shoujo Anthology, emphasizing romance and drama rather than action and heroics.

    “No, that’s normal. I think the only shoujo I’ve really read was Key Catcher Sakuro.”

    “Ah! That’s a good one. I was really into it when I was in high school. But, still. Good series.” She said, nodding her approval.

    “Oh!” Brian exclaimed as he remembered, “Actually, I read about half of Vampire Crusader—that’s about as shoujo as they get. I quit following it, though, seemed like they were all drawn with the same face. I couldn’t tell anybody apart, even their hairstyles were too similar.”

    “Oh, I know, right?” Stephanie laughed in agreement. “It just gets harder to follow the further in the series you get. “Like, you can’t tell the vampires apart to begin with except for their hair color, and then they do that dramatic style thing, and the colors invert. Then there’s Akuma’s long-lost twin and a longer-lost triplet! And then that incubus guy is always using his magic to disguise himself as other characters...” she trailed off in embarrassment, realizing she was rambling.

    “A triplet, too? Geez, that’s awful,” he said, chuckling. “There’s a Vampire Crusader cosplayer over there, past those girls. Did you see him?” Brian gestured towards a distant young man in an overly posh white-and-black school uniform.

    Stephanie laughed abruptly, and quickly covered her mouth, glancing sheepishly back to Brian. “I was wondering how often he gets asked which vampire he is.”

    Smiling knowingly, Brian sighed. “A couple years ago, I had this uniform right, but couldn’t get the hair perfect. So, people couldn’t tell if I was Lance, or Leonus from Fantasy Wars.

    “I think you’re perfect.” Stephanie said, blushing. And I don’t know who Lance or Leonus even are.

    “Thanks,” he said with a chuckle. You know, my friend who gave me the charm’s been trying to get me to do a Shinobi Souls cosplay, but I can’t figure out who I’d be.”

    “Shinobi Souls? You’d be a great Sousuke!” Stephanie exclaimed.

    “Sousuke Salladin? No way, he’s a badass, but I don’t have the body to pull it off. Love the character, though.”

    “But you’re, um. Well I think you definitely could. Probably. Yeah.”

   Brian would be perfect as Sousuke! The pink flames licking through her imagination seemed to conjure Brian in the ninja assassin’s outfit. An almost completely bare upper-body, toned muscle criss-crossed with long scars and the leather straps for ornate armor plates protecting his arms. A middle-eastern keffiyeh worn around his neck like a scarf hid his face from enemies when necessary and occasionally revealed glimpses of chiseled, gorgeous features. Almost TOO sexy... I would love to see him in that! Or out of it...

    “Well, she cosplays Akane Kurokawa from Shinobi Souls, maybe you’ll see her on Sunday.”

    Stephanie did a double-take. “Ah, y-your friend that gave you the charm is a—a girl?” And, bold enough to cosplay something as risqué as Akane Kurokawa?! Akane was widely considered a ‘fan-service’ character, recognized more for her bodacious body nearly spilling out of her skimpy outfit, than her skill as a ninja.

    “Yeah, that’s Emily. She’s that friend I told you about, who was pushing for me attend, forget my ex, quit dwelling on things. Emily gave me that charm and told me to meet some girls here, start building myself a harem.” he laughed.

    “Harem, haha—wait, that’s it! Harem!” Stephanie lit up, flashing him a smile. “Er, uh, may I?” she asked, reaching into his sleeve for the dangling charm. She adjusted her glasses and took another look at the complex character carefully carved onto its face.

    Modern Japanese was written in a simple alphabet called hiragana, but they also used the roughly three-thousand symbols of kanji when writing something old-fashioned and traditional, like a family nameplate... or an omamori charm. While Stephanie had taught herself many of them, even kanji like these that she understood were difficult for her to recognize without a context to place them in.

    “I knew it looked familiar—I do recognize this! The symbol for ’inner,’ together with the symbol for ’palace’. When you put these two kanji together, it means ’harem’! It’s a harem charm!” she exclaimed proudly, giggling. Huh... this omamori isn’t on a pin after all. What was that feeling earlier?

    “That’s amazing, you can read kanji? We had to look it up and we could still barely believe it. Emily’s sister bought it from a shrine somewhere in Japan.”

    “W-well, I can only read some kanji. And, uh, usually I have to use my reference book all the time... hah. They sold something like this at a shrine?!” Stephanie laughed, turning it over in her hands. “Do you know which shrine it was?”

    He shook his head. “If they told me, I don’t remember it.”

    “It’s hilarious,” she decided, “And clever. And...” Sporting a shy smile, she looked past the omamori and up into his eyes. “H-hey, do you, uh, do you think it works? The charm, I mean.”

    “...It just might,” he said, sharing a grin. “But, I don’t believe in magic or charms. Luck is just being ready for the right moments when they come, right?”

You are reading story AnimeCon Harem at novel35.com

    “That’s, ah, from Seneca!” Stephanie recalled. “He was a Roman philosopher. ‘Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.’”

    “You have a sharp memory,” he said, impressed. “I always seem to butcher famous quotes when I try to remember them.”

    “N-no, you got the idea of it, what was important,” Stephanie insisted, “Philosophers explored ideas, it was, um, only those who followed after that turned their work into neat little aphorisms like that. What Seneca actually wrote wasn’t something easy to fit into a bumper sticker or fortune cookie.”

    “Guess that puts things in perspective,” Brian chuckled. “But, what I mean to say is, rather than put my faith in a magic charm, or even get full of myself, I’ll thank Emily and you.”

    “What do you mean?” Stephanie asked, cocking her head.

    “Emily could’ve kept her hands out of my problems, but she didn’t. She helped me realize that things were really over with my ex, she... well, prepared me. To move on. She gave me this silly little token to remind me of that, and then you gave me an opportunity. You two are why I feel so lucky right now. I’d rather believe in the people who’ve helped me rather than... abstracts, like luck, fate... fortune, or whatever.”

    “What?” She asked, tilting her head. “How did I give you an opportunity?”

    “Well, pinning me to the ground and planting your panties on my face wasn’t an opportunity I was gonna miss,” he remarked playfully.

    “H-hey, that’s not, um, exactly—”

    “What I mean is, even if someone else had seen me drop that charm, they probably would’ve just pocketed it. You returned it to me, which means a lot. And, it means even more to me that you had the courage to talk to me after that, ah... that little accident we had. I can tell how hard it was for you. Well... or was that really an accident?” He wondered aloud.

    “It was. So much. So much accident. Such,” she blurted. “I never would have... uh, well. Accidentally—”

    “Of course. If you’d just wanted me to go down on you, you could’ve just asked,” he teased.

    “W-what!? I d-don’t want you to, ah, I mean I didn’t want y-you to, uh, that’s not something that I—” she cried, flushing scarlet and hiding her face.

    “Sorry, kidding.” he said. “Truce?”

    “...Truce,” was all she could manage, too flustered to say anything else. Is it even possible for a guy to go down on a girl...?

    For a girl who loved to read and prided herself on her knowledge, she was finding her own understanding of sex disappointingly... rudimentary. Well, going down on a guy is when his.. um, his thing is in her mouth. So, maybe...? The warm pink flames she’d felt in her belly rose up and spread out into a scorching conflagration as she pictured his lovely jawline nuzzling between her naked thighs... perhaps playfully nibbling the insides, in delightful sensitive places where even the slight exhalations of his breath would be enough to make her quiver. Perhaps he would make his way towards her labia with soft, puckered kisses and then spread her—

    “But, uh, t-that aside, I like the way you think,” she decided, gulping. “That you believe in your friends, and in, uh, you know, people, rather than random happenstance. I like that.”

    He shrugged his shoulders and raised his other hand in an empty gesture as if to say, well, it can’t be helped. “That’s what I’m like after watching too many shounen animes.”

    “Uh... I’ve been meaning to ask...” Stephanie began as they passed one of the gaming rooms. In this one, a dozen players were carefully setting up miniature armies atop a tabletop covered in the labyrinthine ruins of a tiny city.

    “What did you mean earlier, exactly?” She asked, feeling her face redden. “Right before Kelly left, when you were going to—when you said you were going to show me something later,” she said with difficulty.

    “Oh, no, I’d really have to show you. I can’t just tell you about it,” he said playfully. “Why, are you... curious?”

    “Um, yes. A little. How... how would... you show me...?” Stephanie asked meekly.

    “Actually, I think it’s your turn,” Brian said. “I attacked last, right?”

    “R-right,” Stephanie laughed, suddenly nervous. Nervous but willing. “Okay. What would, erm, if I did, what sort of... what do you want me to do? To, ah, ‘attack.’”

    He deliberated for a long moment as they wandered past the darkened LAN gaming room, where two dozen glowing computer monitors outlined the silhouettes of gamers competing in a cacophony of gunfire sound effects and explosions.

    “When I kissed you back in the café, it was ’cause it felt like you were daring me to, and also just... well, me expressing my feelings at the moment,” he decided. “I don’t want to pressure you into expressing something you may not really feel, you know?”

    “I want you... to want to ‘attack’ me, sure,” he explained. “But, I won’t tell you to. Having someone simply follow direction isn’t nearly as... well, exciting, as seeing someone express their feelings in their own way, you know? Telling you what to do would be more like I was... using you.”

   Of course it wouldn’t be that simple, Stephanie chided herself, uneasily swallowing down her own naiveté on the complex nuances of courtship. Her keen mind bravely tumbled on through the blur of this unfamiliar terrain.

   This isn’t a campus administrator telling me, ‘this and this and this much, and you’ve passed.’ It’s the prospective employer casually brushing aside those... quantifiable expectations, and simply daring me to impress them. Can I impress Brian? She realized that she wanted to, more than anything. With her feelings, and her courage in expressing them.

   Express my feelings. In my own way, she thought to herself, not disappointed with his reasoning in the slightest. I love that. Her stomach suffused into a nervous pink firestorm. But, what... exactly... should I do? She’d always rolled her eyes at magazine headlines at the supermarket like Ten Tricks to Drive Your Man WILD.

    Not something like that. I want to do something honest, and meaningful... not just some kinky gimmick to catch his attention for a moment, she decided. Hundreds of the novels she’d read had gleanings of romantic knowledge in them, and in her head they slowly began to coalesce into an answer, fuel feeding into the voracious combustion of emotion throbbing through her.

    I need to... I need to surrender myself. To my feelings. To him. Let go of propriety and... the fear for a moment and... just let my body act. ‘Heart of mine, do as you will,’ she commanded resolutely.

    “Although...” Brian mused, rubbing his jaw. “I guess you were the one boasting to me that Flamituffs attack more, and get hit less?” he quipped, “You’re not exactl—”

    Stephanie interrupted, placing her gloved hands on Brian’s chest and leaning in, her lips hovering bare inches from his. She hesitated there for a single moment, soft blue eyes peeking shyly up over the rim of her glasses, and savored his surprised expression. Lovely. Frantic energy shuddered up and down her body for that brief second, the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and her whole body prickled with anticipation. She closed the remaining distance, and kissed him.

    As their lips met, the raw current anxiously weaving through her began to ignite in a chaotic explosion of spinning and roiling pink fire. The crowds around them momentarily forgotten, she felt herself rising onto her tiptoes, pressing herself hungrily up into the kiss. Whatever this is between us... attraction, a crush, some infatuation, or even... love, I need more. I need so much more. She was too lost in the sensation of their lips sliding against one another to realize that her hands were tugging on his coat, pulling him closer as they kissed, open-mouthed, feeding on one another’s affection.

   “Wow, you defini—” Brian began breathlessly, before being cut off again.

    All at once she pushed her tongue into his mouth, felt it slide against his. The bursting explosion of fire and energy inside her was too bright to be called pink, and she felt a fluid heat sliding down her body towards her sex that made her abdomen clench and jerk. Her whole body wriggled against his, and she shivered. Her molten core, hidden beneath her increasingly damp panties, ached for attention.

    As if the whirling cloud of erotic thoughts couldn’t be contained in Stephanie’s head anymore, bright color bled out from the roots of her hair, seeping and spreading slowly across her blond tufts and turning them a brilliant shade of cotton-candy pink. Before it could overtake her whole head, the passion and heat of their kiss grew too intense, and the couple broke apart, gasping for breath.

    Her senses slowly returning to her to scattered applause, she realized that a handful of people around her were actually clapping and cheering. Did something...? Oh. It’s. It’s us. Then she realized they were all looking in her direction. Cheeks burning, Stephanie stared down at her feet bashfully.

   Well, that did go pretty far... she thought, proudly.

    Pulling away reluctantly, Brian did a double-take, zeroing in on her newly colored locks with a stare.

    “Wha... what is it?” Stephanie panted, giving him a shaky smile as she brought her fingertips to her lips. “...My hair, isn’t it? What, uh, what’s it like now?”

    With a slow, considerate movement he gathered some of her once golden tresses in his fingers and pulled them into her view. Oh. Oh, my. The single strand of pink highlights in her hair had spread out into a wide swath of pink on her left, and several individual strands of pink now streaked through the blond on her right. Stephanie giggled.

    “...Steph? Are you alright?” Brian said, lowering his voice.

    “You’re turning me pink,” she said, attempting to stifle her smile. “I don’t know why, or how... but you—you’re turning me pink, Brian.”

    “It, well... yeah, it does seems that way,” He admitted. “But, that isn’t normal, I’ve never heard of anything like this happening.” His face of concern for her was captivating, an expression she wanted etched deep into her memory.

    “Does it look bad... this time?” With her head canted and her bunny ears jutting up from her pink and gold tresses, she looked painfully adorable.

    “No, it’s cute,” looking it over again, he shook his head. “It suits you. It’s pretty... But—”

    “Then, I don’t care,” she said, beaming at him. So much more is happening to me when we kiss then just something with my hair.

    “Hey, how’d you do that hair effect thang?” A grinning brunette girl wearing a skimpy stage magician’s outfit asked in a southern drawl. “That was amazing! What is it, some kinda fiber-optic wig?”

    “This is seeming more and more like some kind of anime story,” Brian observed dryly.

    “Can we get your picture?” a heavy-set girl in an anime T-shirt asked. Brian looked at Stephanie with an expectant grin.

    “Yeah!” she affirmed cheerfully, determined to be ready this time.

    Brian drew his fantasy pistol with a flourish this time, gun-spinning it around his trigger finger and snapping it to a stop perfectly aimed for his action pose. Again, he reached around her and planted a hand on her hip, pulling her against him.

    But, this time, her tentative reaching fingertips were sliding under his jacket as well. Sliding across his chest, torn between eagerly exploring and slowly savoring every touch. Finally, they fell firmly in place at his side and she was fully embracing him. She felt... great. Amazing. I love this. The camera flashed, followed by another camera, and then another.

    “Thanks! I really love your hair!” the heavyset girl chirped. “I have a pin of you on my backpack!” The girl turned to show a row of Monster Battler badges, where a Flamituff was settled in between an Oaknaut and a Solar Bear. And then, there at the end of the row, was the familiar silhouette of a rotund Pandape.

   Pandape. Megan! Oh crap! A surge of alarm spiked through the cloud of pink in Stephanie’s brain. What am I going to tell her? About what happened? About Brian? About my hair?!

    “I, uh, should probably go, to meet up with my friend in the vendor’s room, she was... uh, there was her panel, and now, um...” Stephanie mumbled reluctantly. Her lips were still tingling from their kiss. No, not just her lips but her whole body was alight with sensation, and every touch of her pink-and-red Flamituff sundress against her skin was palpable.

    “Right, it’s okay,” Brian chuckled. “Thanks for hanging out with me for a bit longer.”

    “Um, if we could... meet again? Later? If you’re interested! I mean, I’ve had fun, getting to know you...”

    “I’d love to,” Brian said flashing her another charming smile. “I’m gonna hit up a couple panels, but in case I can’t find you later—do you want to exchange numbers?”

    “Yes!” she said excitedly. His number. Brian’s number, in my phone. Currently, her digital address book consisted simply of her mother, grandmother, an old Sunday school teacher, her student advisor, and Megan.

    He recited his number to her and she hurriedly thumbed them into her phone, head blurring with pink flames.

    “I had fun,” Stephanie blurted out, suddenly wanting to say a dozen things but lacking courage to voice most of them. And, I’ve only known him for what, an hour and a half?

   “Really. Even just, uh, just talking to you. But everything else too. Especially everything else. I’ll call you,” she promised, turning away from him as quickly as she could and scurrying through the mass of people towards the vendor’s room. He watched her well-shaped bottom wiggling away appreciatively.

    Just a few minutes later, his phone throbbed in his pocket, and then began to play the Fantasy Wars victory theme. Pulling it out with a smile, he swiped his screen. His pace faltered and his smile abruptly drained away at what he saw, and the con-goers walking behind him jostled into him for a moment.

    “Sorry,” Brian muttered distractedly, looking back at his phone in confusion. It was a text. From his ex-girlfriend.

Chloe-Ravioli: We need to talk.

 

You can find story with these keywords: AnimeCon Harem, Read AnimeCon Harem, AnimeCon Harem novel, AnimeCon Harem book, AnimeCon Harem story, AnimeCon Harem full, AnimeCon Harem Latest Chapter