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On most days, the Destiny City Convention Center was an unassuming building on the waterfront. It was gray, boxy, and there was a marquee out front advertising the events that would be held there. On any given day, someone could expect to see suits there frequenting something such as the Education Association 2013 Bargaining PA/PR Conference, the Association for Computer Users in Learning (ACUL) 2013 Conference, the Minority Procurement Conference and Trade Fair, and the like.

Today, however, was different. There was a colorful crowd of people, many of them in costumes, lined up outside the convention center. It was because it was the day of the Destiny City Anime Convention (DCAC).

Taye was among them. He was cosplaying Monkichi. He was looking forward to meeting new people, seeing the other cosplayers, and splurging on merchandise in the dealer's room -- he made sure to set a budget ahead of time and he promised himself not to spend more than he had in the Nyanko Sensei change purse on his lanyard. He had his eye on a Tomoe Mami Zippo lighter. He wasn't a smoker and he was the complete opposite of a pyromaniac, but he thought a lighter would be practical and he loved how it looked like Mami's head came off when it was in use. He couldn't help but crack a smile when he saw it.

He was beginning to have second thoughts, though, about donning his costume so soon, because while he was waiting in line, he had time to think and soon he realized that he'd have to take the arms off of his costume, so he could grab the badge. He was wearing a lanyard to put the badge on and he had pre-registered, so it'd be easy enough to get. But still, it bugged him.

While the line moved briskly, there were still, like, twenty people ahead of Taye, so he wouldn't be going anywhere soon. He decided he could help pass the time by talking to other people.

When he looked behind him, he did a double take when he saw what she was cosplaying. That long, black hair. That poofy Madoka-esque dress. That cute, little hat. It just had to be Kazumi! Puella Magi Kazumi Magica wasn't exactly obscure, but he didn't think it was all that popular in the states, so he wasn't expecting to see anyone dressed up as any of its characters. And boy did she look antsy. He could relate. He was eager about this too. He just wanted to get this over and done with, so he could bite into the meat of the con, so to speak.

He was so thrilled that he let out an audible squeal. "Wow! You look just like her! Kazumi, I mean."

Now, there were only ten people in front of Taye. It was only a matter of time before they could go inside.

"Oh, wow, that's perfect!" She even talked like her. He had to applaud that. He just had to. He liked it when cosplayers paid attention to details like those. It made it seem even more realistic and added to the fun of it all. His costume's gloves ended up muffling the sound of his clapping, though.

"It's a fitting tribute. I'll have to buy the last volume when it comes out. Only three more days to go. Speaking of which, have you read the last chapter, yet?" He didn't want to give out any spoilers. He knew he hated those, so he tried his best not to spoil others.

"I'm not all caught up with Oriko, so I can't say that much about it, yet." Truth be told, Taye had only read the first chapter. He remembered being surprised that the girl on the cover wasn't Oriko. He felt deceived. He also remembered finding scads of Touhou doujinshi by the artist when he looked him up. His rendition of Nitori made him think of an adult Yuma. "But I can say I like the art of Kazumi more." He wondered if his pre-med studies had made him more critical of anatomy. While he read, he kept finding himself thinking, Where's the back of her head? No amount of hair can cover the fact that there isn't anything back there. or Legs don't work that way. or Those poor, poor, poor phalanges.

"That was one of my favorite parts!" Many OMGs and squeals were had when he read that page. He thought it was just like Kazumi to pay homage to her teammates in that way. "My others were the fight scenes. They were just so gorgeous and badass and sad. And how that one teacher at the end was just like the one in the anime. Only a guy. That was hilarious!" Just thinking about it made him laugh.

He liked talking to this girl. There was nothing like fanboying/fangirling to make time pass by, because they were finally next in line. He took this as his cue to begin fiddling with the glove on his right arm with his gloved left hand to get it off. "Do you want to go ahead of me? It'll take me a little while to take this off, anyway."