Tsumugi obviously still has clothes!

Kyoko walked as she spoke, turning her bare butt to Tsumugi as she headed for the other woman's changing room. "I haven't looked inside out of respect for your privacy, but I did try moving it. Don't you think this heavy bit of luggage could be the answer to some problems?"

As the detective rolled the heavy case out of Tsumugi's room to show the cosplayer what she meant, she was baffled to see Tsumugi still giving her a blank smile. "Ah... In a pinch, I guess my cosplay case is big enough to hide most of your naked body behind? If you want to use it that way, I guess I can't say no-"

"Of course that's not what I'm saying." By this point, Kyoko was getting fed up, crouching for the zipper on the luggage. "I'm saying you already told me you have a cosplay outfit in this thing. I don't know what to expect, but surely it's better than nothing."

Before Kyoko could reveal the contents, Tsumugi shot out her hand to grab Kyoko's arm, a sudden and intensely serious expression on her face. "I can't let you do that."

"... Why?" Kyoko felt her hairs standing on end as she felt surprising strength from Tsumugi's grip. "What have you got to hide?"

"It's not about hiding anything. Right's right and wrong's wrong. And using cosplay as clothing is wrong!"

Kyoko tried to wrestle her arm free and pull the zipper further, now convinced Tsumugi was trying to hide something. "Surely you can understand these are special circumstances? While I appreciate... your dedication for your craft... you have to... let go...!"

"I can't allow it! My newest cosplay, made with all of my love for the character... I can't allow it to be worn as a simple means to an end!"

The detective let go and backed up, unable to believe she was losing this contest of strength. It went to show how much Tsumugi cared about her cosplay... Also, Kyoko noted, it revealed Tsumugi was craftier than she let on. All the time the seemingly dull girl had been going on, she hadn't been forgetting the briefcase, she'd been trying to keep her cosplay out of the detective's hands. Still, there was no way Kyoko was going to let either of them go out naked when Tsumugi presumably had a perfectly good outfit for at least one of them. "Please, let's be reasonable about this. You object to this because wearing the cosplay in this way would take away its meaning, correct? I'm perfectly fine with you wearing the cosplay since you know the character. Then you can go and get clothes for us-"

"No way!" Tsumugi shook her head, sending her wet blue hair flapping around her. "I made those clothes specifically with Chiaki in mind because I knew she'd be able to breathe life into the character! And that's just one of the reasons I wouldn't be caught dead in it. If only she were here instead of you..."

Kyoko thought that was a pretty damn heartless thing to say about the person who'd just sacrificed her dignity to protect Tsumugi's, but she kept the thought to herself. "Look... Tsumugi... Maybe I can play the character? Earlier, it seemed like you were considering me a certain type of character. Maybe I'm the type who would fit the cosplay well?"

Tsumugi continued holding a pout for a moment, before letting out a sigh. "Maybe... I guess... You could be right. Maybe you'd be a good fit for it, Kyoko." She still didn't seem to be fully buying it, but she also seemed to realize how unreasonable she must have seemed. "Okay. Finish opening it up and take a look. Maybe we'll get lucky and it's a character you love, after all? Why, if it's a good match, I'd be plain delighted to share the gift of cosplaying with you!"

The detective returned Tsumugi's smile, trying to make herself look as convincingly excited about cosplaying in this situation as she could. Forget getting into a fictional character: she thought she deserved an award just for her acting skills in hiding her frustration. She finished opening the luggage, revealing its contents to the two of them...