Makoto shrugged. "We'll continue our work on the costume, of course." He looked at them, his eyes sparkling. "And do you all mind doing a photobook for sale, this time? To recoup some of the cost."
He giggled. "We're gonna make a proper, fully clothed photobook, of course. The lewd photos are for my collection only."
"A photobook? For sale?" Yuna's eyes lit up, the murderous, jealous glint momentarily replaced by the familiar, greedy gleam of a hustler. She swallowed her mouthful of pancake, her mind already calculating profit margins. "We could sell them at the con," she said, her voice excited. "And online too. We'd make a killing."
"That's a wonderful idea," Mika agreed, her voice soft and curious. "It would be a good way to build our brand as a cosplay group." Her eyes sparkled. "We'd have to come up with a name, of course."
"Oh, I've already got one," Ayane chimed in, her mouth still half-full of pancake. She swallowed, a slow, deliberate motion. "The Harem Scarem Cosplay Group."
Yuna just stared at her, a look of pure disgust on her face. "Absolutely not," she said, her voice a dangerous growl. "We'll call ourselves... Yuna and the Backups."
Mika and Ayane just looked at her.
"It's... a work in progress," Yuna turned away embarrassingly and muttered.
Makoto just smiled, standing up and walking back to the pile of fabric. "It sounds like we have something. I can assist with the merch design. Should be able to build a shabby website with what I learned from my Software Engineering major, too."
He went to his room and came back with his laptop, then sat down on the couch and looked at them. "Come on, those costumes won't make themselves."
"Finally," Yuna grumbled, but she was already on her feet, with a new, determined fire in her eyes. The pancake was forgotten. This was business, and this was her territory. "You've been lazy enough for one morning."
Ayane finished her pancake-taco in one last, massive bite, then wiped her hands on her pajama shorts. "Alright, let's make some magic," she chirped. Mika, ever the picture of grace and efficiency, began to clear the plates, stacking them neatly by the sink. "I'll clean up here," she said. "You three get started. I'll be right there."
The living room, which had been a den of debauchery just hours before, was transformed into a chaotic, creative workshop. Rolls of fabric unfurled, patterns lay out on the floor, and the hum of Yuna's sewing machine soon filled the air.
Yuna was in her element. She was a tiny, gray-haired general, barking orders, her hands moving with practiced speed. "You're cutting that all wrong, you idiot!" she snapped at Ayane, who was trying to cut a straight line and failing spectacularly. "Give me that. You can pin the trim."
Mika found herself in charge of the smaller, more tedious tasks: ironing seams, threading needles, and trying to decipher Yuna's cryptic, hand-scrawled notes on the patterns. It was a comfortable, familiar chaos, the air filled with the sounds of snipping scissors, the hum of the machine, and the constant, bickering banter of the girls.
Makoto wipes his sweat and starts setting up their social account. "Hey, they just announced that there's going to be a cosplay contest at the con, too. It's time for you to get your revenge, Yuna." He showed them the post on the Tokyo Anime Festival (TAF) fanpage.
Yuna's head snapped up from the sewing machine, her eyes blazing with fierce, competitive fire. "Revenge?" she repeated, her voice a dangerous growl. "Damn right it is. That fake-chested Raiden cosplayer won't know what hit her."
A predatory grin spread across her face. "This time," she declared, "we're not just entering. We're going to win."
"Ooh, a group entry?" Ayane said, her eyes lighting up. "That's a great idea! Our theme is solid, and our costumes are going to be flawless."
Mika, who had finished cleaning and was now doing the hand-sewing beads onto Nezuko's obi, just smiled. "It would be a good marketing opportunity," she said. "For the photobook."
"Look here. I'm going to take a behind-the-scenes photo of you all." He lifted his phone, and the three of them immediately stopped what they were doing.
They posed, a perfect, chaotic tableau.
Yuna, in the middle, glared at the camera, a pair of scissors held menacingly in her hand, a look of fierce determination on her face. Ayane, on her left, threw up a peace sign, a wide, goofy grin on her face. And Mika, on her right, just smiled, a serene smile that was both genuine and frighteningly calculated.
It was the perfect picture. The main wife, the new challenger, and the second-in-command. The warrior, the jester, and the strategist. He snapped the photo.
Makoto grinned as he posted the first image to their newly created X account. "It looks good. You're all already so beautiful without any makeup."
He turned to Ayane, his eyes sparkling. "Retweet it with your 2B ass account, please, Ayane. It would help our new account get some followers."
A deep, furious blush exploded across Ayane's face. "You...!" she sputtered, her voice a potent mixture of embarrassment and strange excitement. "You're not supposed to tell them about that account, Makoto! That's my secret, professional side-hustle!"
But she was already pulling out her phone, a slow, wicked grin spreading across her face. "Fine," she purred, her voice a dangerous hum. "But if any of my pervert weeb followers start sliding into your DMs, you're on your own."
Her thumbs flew across the screen. A moment later, Makoto's phone buzzed. The picture had been retweeted by an account named GloryToMankindsASSets, accompanied by the caption: Check out my new project with these cuties! You can follow them for more wholesome, SFW content. ;)
The post was already getting an alarming number of likes from accounts with very questionable anime girl avatars.
Yuna just scoffed. "Wholesome? And SFW?" she said, her voice a dangerous growl. "She's delusional." But she was also pulling out her phone and liking the post, an almost feral glint in her eyes.
Mika, however, just tilted her head, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Actually," she said, "I think we should create a Patreon." She looked at him, her eyes sparkling. "For our special, behind-the-scenes content."