A/N: My depiction of Abel Eastwood.

***

Abel had always wondered... just how much did he know about himself? There were numerous abilities he didn't even know he had.

One of such skills was staying awake throughout all of his tedious classes. In normal situations, drowsiness would easily subdue him and drag him all the way to dreamland. This time, however, Abel's body had refused the trip, keeping him in touch with reality.

Regardless, when the teacher's lectures entered his right ear, they were instantly pumped out through his left, unprocessed by his idle brain. Well, at least he got the gist of the lesson though, and that was discovering how entertaining calculus was. Like I'll use that shit in real life.

To be honest, the ultimate reason why he managed to endure the agony of hearing that woman's flat voice, was the doodles he had beautifully crafted on his notebook. It wasn't just any drawing, but specifically the goofy detective he had been planning to cosplay.

All I need is light blue hair, pull my bangs to the back and dress myself in a detective suit. Nice. He quietly snickered as he spun on his pencil, blocking out whatever happened around his surroundings. Let's see how many people I'm gonna charm on the weekends.

Clearly countless.

The reason? Self explanatory.

Heh, the perks of being an attractive dude.

When lunch break finally manifested into being, a rewarding smile tugged his lips as he strutted through the crowded hallway. Keeping his head high, he mentally chuckled at the giggles coming from around the corner, obviously targeted towards him. Witnessing his distinct reputation among those girls, a flood of delight deluged through his entire body. Take that Jethro. I'll be much more popular than your ass could ever imagine.

Grabbing some burger and french fries from the lunch lady, Abel immediately scanned for any familiar signs of that orange hair amidst the crowded cafeteria. There was no way one couldn't tell Charlotte from other people, or Abel might as well render them blind.

Thanks for making my life easier, Lotte. He snorted inwardly as he approached her table, where another friend of his, Adrian Gardner, awaited his arrival.

"Wow, would you look at that grand entrance," Charlotte remarked as she rested her chin on her hand. "Seriously, your sheer arrogance blinds me."

"Certainly you're entranced by it, aren't you?" Abel drawled as he settled down on his seat. "Just admit I'm hot, Lotte."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, sire." She waved the back of her hand. Rolling her eyes, she groaned under her breath. "I'm not gonna swell your ego further, thanks."

"Yo Abs." On the other side, Adrian greeted with a lazy grin. He wrapped his arm around Abel, pulling his friend closer. "Perfect timing. Lotte and I were just discussing the convention this Saturday. I heard you're gonna cosplay that Kaito dude from that Detective Showdown anime?"

"Do you really have to ask that?" Abel questioned back, but he maintained his smirk. "Hell yeah I am."

Adrian sported dark tousled hair and almond skin, but if asked to describe him further, Abel would definitely abuse the words 'simple' and 'casual'. Not to mention, he would be forced to dig through the thesaurus for further synonyms. This guy practically came to school dressed in a plain T-shirt - with its color changing everyday - and jeans, accompanied by a bag consisting of only a notebook and a few stationeries.

Basically, Adrian's give-a-fuck meter was not just zero; it was nowhere to be found.

And just like Charlotte, Abel had no idea whether he should classify Adrian as his best friend. Nevertheless, as years passed, this dude never once stepped outside his circle and continued staying by his side. Heck, Abel didn't even think he was bothered enough to hang out with the others. Not that I mind.

Besides, Adrian nearly shared the same genre and character taste - despite occasional disagreements - as him, so there was some sort of connection established between the two.

"Kaito's a jerk," Charlotte huffed, "I don't understand how you two find him likeable."

"I mean... I guess he does act like some arrogant jerk," Adrian admitted while Abel stuffed his mouth with french fries. "But girl, haven't you seen the last episode? He managed to piece all the hints together before anyone did!" He straight up spat facts. "Can't wait to see how Kaito's gonna reveal the culprit. I think it's gonna be Sayuri or that blond-haired guy. They're already acting suspicious from the start of the case."

"That's because Daiki's helping him too! Don't disregard his efforts!" She barraged in.

"I know, but I ain't giving him too much credit, though. He's a little too cold for my liking."

Haha, I like how this conversation is going. Abel swallowed his food. Adrian, my respect for you is off the charts.

"Abel, you should cosplay Daiki instead," implored Charlotte, reverting towards her friend who had taken a huge bite on his burger. "You should really see the fandom, he's much more popular there! Trust me, you're gonna get swarmed by fans... that's what you want, right?"

"No way, I'm not gonna impersonate a gloomy man who's so angsty with his life he lashes out at everyone. Kaito's much better, and the fandom likes him more. I can prove it to you once we get there," Abel countered after he gulped his burger.

No matter for what reason, people like Daiki never failed grating his nerves, whether they were fictitious or not. Either they were extremely difficult to understand, or they merely craved sympathy. If he were to encounter Daiki in real life, Abel would have steered clear of him like a plague, cutting off any sorts of associations with him. I don't even understand why Kaito still has him around.

"Still cynical as always..." Adrian guffawed. "Never change, Abs."

"Petition to make the name Abel Eastwood and cynical douchebag interchangeable," suggested Charlotte.

Cynical douchebag, huh? It might sound like a blatant insult for most people, but for Abel, that nickname didn't induce a reaction within him. In fact, he embraced that label if it was a core part of him, taking it as some sort of a compliment. I don't care what they think.

"Maybe I'll cosplay as Daiki if pigs manage to fly," Abel sneered. "How about you two? Who are you gonna cosplay?"

"Dunno. I'll just put a random costume on and then expect someone to play the guessing game." Adrian shrugged helplessly, just as he would answer in every other convention. He subsequently shifted his attention to the orange-head. "Lotte?"

"Midori of course! We literally have the same hairstyle, but I just need to put her yukata on. Gosh, you guys should have fallen for her. She's extremely gorgeous and she's the icon of the show," she gushed on. "She might look naive and weird from the outside, but she's a total queen with an inner savage! She even knows judo! Ah, I aspired to be her someday."

"Whoa yes, I love her too. Damn, that lady ain't playing around!" Adrian exclaimed, his brown eyes were opened wide. "Remember how she drop-kicked that one culprit right in his balls? My mom thought I was a lunatic for screaming so hard at that."

"Yeah, and he obviously deserves it." Charlotte folded her arms. "He's a creepy pervert who tried messing around with her. If I were her, I would have done worse to him."

Abel said nothing. He was too focused devouring his lunch until his plate was left with nothing but leftover crumbs. It quickly put an end to his seething stomach, which had been disrupting his thoughts with its profound growls. Tapping his fingers, he silently listened to his friends hyping their favorite moments of the show and as well as talking about their future cosplays.

What they didn't know, all of their interactions really helped him push those memories of his disconcerting family to the back of his head, not wanting them to spill out again. They all can go kiss my ass and watch me prevail.

Without any warning, a fleeting thought zoomed past his now vacant mind; a particular one which caused him to furrow his eyebrows and made him muse on.

Right, he nearly forgot about that Mairi girl.

There was no way she would not come to such a huge event. If there was an attendance list for every convention, her name, alongside with his, would most likely be present in all of them. To add more, she always had a crowd following behind her, so it was not like she was difficult to notice.

The last time he saw her was at a small convention a few months prior, right before the summer break. She was crossdressing as that dude from the volleyball anime he never caught the vibes on. And that poker face of hers... was especially a turn-off.

Despite their encounters, he never once struck a conversation and neither did she. They were strangers who happened to cross paths and were simply made aware of their sole presences. That woman probably didn't even know his name, and combined with how she treated her fans, he was the least of her worries. However, something about her was just... feeding his curiosity.

The two had been sharing momentary gazes as long as he could remember. What started their non-verbal communication was a big mystery even an observant detective like Kaito could not solve. To add salt to injury, whenever her eyes locked with his, it glued him right in his place. His stomach would flip and his muscles would stiffen.

Oh, how much Abel despised that stupid feeling with every fiber of his being, but it clearly was inevitable with her. What the hell is wrong with you? She's your fucking rival for God's sake. Get over it, Abel.

He blankly stared at the lone french fry in his fingers before he shoved it into his mouth.

Someday, I'll defeat her. That's for sure.

***

After suffering through many rounds in the torture chamber, classes were officially finished, which meant two awesome outcomes for Abel. The first was none other than Rocky, who would always give him a warm welcome back. The other one was the upcoming convention, which heaved him up with more enthusiasm. But for now... I need to see that big baby already.

The former was completely expected. As soon as Abel opened the front door to his house, Rocky instantly broke into a series of high-pitched barks as the canine hopped all over him, trying to stand on its hind legs. He could be exaggerating, but only monsters could resist smiling and laughing at its comical actions.

"Hi Rocky, miss me already?" Abel massaged the border collie in every place possible. The dog woofed as it licked his cheek repeatedly. "Aw, you feel lonely without me? I'm so sorry, if only I could bring you... but those classes would bore you to death, big boy. Better for you to stay at home and relax all day, you know!"

"Oh look, the wannabe cosplayer is back."

That one familiar voice evaporated Abel's happiness in a heartbeat. His broad grin shrank away, replaced by a deep scowl. With his forehead crinkled, he gritted his teeth tightly and clenched both of his hands, but not too hard as not to squeeze the life out of Rocky. At this moment, Abel was nothing but an active volcano on the verge of erupting at any given moment.

"What do you want, Jethro?" Abel bellowed, shooting up to both of his feet, having no intentions to stare at his pathetic excuse of an older brother.

"Aw man, I just wanna welcome my baby brother home, can't I do that?'' Every laughter emanating from him strongly tempted Abel to lunge towards his brother and strangle the living hell out of him. "Besides, I've got some good news to tell you and our parents. I got promoted by my boss!"

"Huh, some good news that is." Abel sneered derisively. "What do you want me to say, 'congratulations to my most amazing brother on the planet'?"

"Oh boy, someone's getting jealous..." This asshole was seriously pouring gasoline on a blazing fire, amused at the imminent rage enveloping his brother. "Maybe you should stop being a closeted weeb who can only do shit and start working hard for your future-"

Abel's blood boiled over as all he saw was red. He abruptly charged at Jethro and snatched his collar, yanking the unsuspecting idiot towards him. All sorts of inferno flared within Abel's darkened eyes as he lashed out, "Who the fuck are you to dictate me about my life? I can be whatever the hell I want, a closeted weeb that is, and none of it should be your fucking concern."

Never in his life would Abel want to punch someone so bad. My fists are itching...

"Bold of you to say I've no future when you, yourself, are still living with your goddamn parents and have no social life aside from work. It's okay, please continue stepping on me and spouting your bullshit," he seethed, "but one day, I'll show you who's the boss. I'll be sure to make you regret everything your big ass mouth spit out. Mark my words."

Jethro suddenly lost his intellect and ability to speak, that was why he gawked at Abel like a deer in headlights. This fucker's clearly projecting when he says I'm a freak. How much hypocrisy is contained in him? Perhaps countless, but I couldn't care less.

"Until then, sayonara," Abel derided, thrusting Jethro off his way before he marched up the stairs as Rocky tagged along.

***

A/N: Sayonara means goodbye in Japanese.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of this chapter!