Cosplay Elf from Another World

Her body laid flat on the ground, immobilized by my body that rested over her. My face was buried on her plump chest, thinking I'm in heaven, but I heard her shortened breaths, like she was running away from something. The vehicles in the vicinity stopped, causing a traffic jam.

I'm still alive, and felt my breathing. When I raised my head and turned back, my prosthetic right foot got disconnected, its middle flattened as the small metallic shards scattered. However, even eyes lie.

For some reason, I've been taken away from my reality with my past vision taking over some seconds of my memory. My breathing quickened rapidly. The vision of the pool of blood under my leg distorted before my eyes, like a hallucination that took over my reality simultaneously.

I've felt the pain mentally, causing my body to heat up while experiencing full-tremors. The sound of myheartbeat trashed into my ears. With copious sweating, I whimpered, wanting not to experience the same pain again. My hazel-brown eyes appeared red. I nearly cried… until the woman before me uttered her words.

"W–Water…"

"S–SHIZU-SAMA!?"

I gasped and looked into her sunken emerald eyes. Her beauty was otherworldly, including the notable long ears that had no touch of any cosplay embeds or plugins. Though she sweated intensely, I could smell floral scents from her body.

She portrayed the exact appearance of the elf goddess that he adored in my game, like… SHE BECAME REAL! However, I perceived her sticky mouth and her skin that lost its glow. My heartbeat cycled slowly back to normal. But there's no time to be lost in thoughts. I shook my head and voluntarily shouted.

"WATER! DOES ANYONE HAVE WATER!?"

Since the crowd had already surrounded us, a stranger gave a bottle of water that hadn't been opened yet. I set off from her, supported her back to sit straight and placed the open bottle diagonally onto her mouth. She swallowed in huge amounts, her throat expanded for every gulp. On a count of five, she already finished the bottle and coughed. Her skin returned its usual glow that attracted the people's gaze.

"Are you alright?" I asked while rubbing the coughing her back.

After coughing, she wandered around, paused for seconds, and replied with a tearful voice, "… Where am I?"

"Hey, Shizu-sama, aren't you a hardcore for cosplay roleplays? Whose die-hard Otaku wouldn't know what Akihabara was?" Though she had long elf ears, it doesn't mean that she's Isekai-ed right? She's probably just a cosplayer, and there are hidden cameras somewhere.

But I doubted when she responded to me with a slight tilt of the head to her side. After sitting straight, she pressed her lips and clenched her fists. "... My father…"

Sounds of unstoppable horns of cards deafened our ears. Soon, a police mobile came to fetch us to make a police report. The policeman left his vehicle and supported me to stand. "Sir, would you be willing to go to the nearby station to file a report?"

When I noticed the PUV driver being questioned by the police's partner, I shook my head. "I just need to ride back home. You can let me go. I can stand on my own foot." Though contrary to my request, the policeman didn't let me go.

"Was this yours? I found it on the nearby pole." Another policeman asked and came to give the bag that I dropped on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, only the For Dummies book was in there. The figurine didn't even say goodbye from me. 

After witnessing the karma of skipping into the lines, I flared my nostrils, accompanied by cycles of noisy breathing. Grinding my teeth, I thought that the girl was an accomplice to steal my treasure. Her similar appearance to Shizu-sama wasn't a coincidence.

I pointed my finger at her and said, "You'll bring her with me. I will never let this go."

Affirming my commands, the other policeman dragged her and forced her to go into the police mobile. She struggled to escape, the fear of the unknown showered his skirmish towards her undetermined fate. "L–Let me go! What are you doing to me!? I just wanted to go home!"

I shouted, "Shut your mouth, thief! You'll pay as a replacement for my limited-edition Shizu-sama figurine."

"I don't even know what you are saying!"

She surrendered and sat together with me on the police mobile's backseat. Still trembling, her face turned ashen. It only alerted me, proving that she was guilty of being an accomplice of the underground Otakus, a term for those who claim limited merchandise with underhanded tactics. I bit his lip since I could be labeled with the same term due to abusing my privileges.

Looking away at the window, I murmured, "Reveal yourself now, thief. I'm a forgiving person. I would listen to you only if you give the Shizu-sama limited-edition figurine with removable clothes back."

"I'm no thief! In fact, I think you are one of my abductors, only disguising yourselves so I could become your slaves. Please bring me back to my father! If something happened to me, the Percyne kingdom wouldn't forgive you."

"Percyne? A Greek-myth reference? You can't fool the 21st century Gen-Zs. You're avoiding the topic. You must've been guilty of the charge. Bring back the figurine now!"

Tears crawled down her cheeks. She pulled and shook me, which switched my attention to her. "I don't even know you… or what you have! Please free me! My father needed me!"

"Shut up! I don't even know who you are, yet you just appeared in the middle of nowhere! It's unrealistic–" Our heads bumped into the front seats when the mobile suddenly stopped. Groaning, we both caressed our heads from the impact.

The driving policeman gave Kou's ID to him and uttered, "You're only given a free ride. We would appreciate it if you keep quiet to avoid further accidents. Furthermore, we're already at the said address. You owe us a free donut."

They accompanied us to our house, the other policeman was still assisting me in walking. As the door opened, they greeted my mother who was in shock. Her eyes rolled down, noticing that my prosthetic foot broke. The girl, though her energy to fight back lost, only stared at the ground and followed.

"Mrs. Maki Sugiyama, is that correct? We're only visiting your home about the previous incident that happened. We'll be glad to fill you out with the details–"

"Kou!" Her hand flying over her chest, she rushed at me. "A–Accident!? What happened to Kou's foot?"

"You wouldn't like to hear what happened, Ma'am. All I can say was… it would be expensive."

Before we entered the house, I noticed my mother's darted gaze at the girl's brooch. It was a pace that she usually does when sitting for longer periods of time, doing nothing. In this aspect, I sometimes had difficulty discerning my mother's thoughts. The girl noticed it and stared at my mom's jade-green eyes. If my mom's brown hair was dyed blonde, they would be mistaken for a mother-daughter relationship.

But I wouldn't want a sibling who's a thief!

With them sitting on the living room sofa, my mom listened to the policemen report and my rants. The girl didn't gain a spotlight to tell her side. 

"So, that's it? Let me process it…" My mom shut her eyes for a moment and soon awoke the same time the thinking bulb lit inside her head. "First, what was the report about? Was it the incident, or the thievery of a rare doll?"

"We only came to report the damages that the incident caused. Many owners of private vehicles demand compensation for the ruckus, since we heard from witnesses that the traffic lights were still on green. It would be a total of a million yen as an estimate."

"You're demanding us to pay when my son saved a girl from death? It's impossible that the damages totaled exactly a million. You're not asking him for donuts, aren't you?"

The policemen's faces turned pale when they stuttered. After a long pause, they replied, "N–No, Ma'am! We're not asking you for the payment. We're specifically referring to that cosplay girl. Wandering between the streets to disrupt the traffic flow was a violation to the law. We only need your confirmation, a signature, to affirm with the report." They might've thought she was cosplaying due to her long ears.

"You're asking a lost minor to pay millions?"

"N–Not really, Ma'am! We're just forced to bring her as per your son's request. We can soon look into the database to look for her parents and inform them about the situation."

"And what business do you have with her, Kou?" Staring at me, she asked.

I stood and exclaimed, pointing at her, "She's an accomplice, Mom! She took my limited-edition figurine–"

"That limited-edition figurine with removable clothes? Do you have any proof that she stole your belongings? If she did, what would she do with it?"

"..."

"Don't play dirty tricks, Kou. Your misconception may harm innocent people. Couldn't you see the look on her–"

The girl's deep breaths, which soon shortened, only forced her tears to come out her wet dull eyes. Crying, her face puffed alongside a runny nose. "Father… Help me… " The wailing that echoed throughout the walls halted the interrogation session.

Mom embraced her, rubbing her back and whispering with a kind soothing, "It's alright… Don't hold back. Just cry as you wish. It may be hard for you to hold it until now." She then faced the policemen and declared, "If you have any CCTV footage of the scene, I would like to request you to delete it. Please cancel the allegations for the said incident. I'll report to the nearby station tomorrow and pay the reimbursement of crybabies that only amounted to a tenth of my savings."

TENTH OF HER SAVINGS!? "W–What the hell, Mom!? You're just ignoring the accident that nearly killed me!? Also, when did you have ten million yen in your bank account!?"

"As you wish, Ma'am. We apologize for the monotonous conversation. The office is only ten minutes by car across Akihabara's UD+ building. We'll be expecting your attendance soon."

Completely ignoring me, Mom nodded at the policemen before they set off. The girl buried her eyes onto Mom's shoulder, her body fully trembling. It didn't take long until her cry gradually softened and turned into a doze. Mom laid her head flat on the couch. "She must be so tired."

"Mom... Explain."

She smiled gently. "Kou, I'm glad that you're safe, and I'm very grateful for it. I never thought that you would step your legs in the same situation that day to save somebody. But if you lose something important, just think how important this girl's life is for her. I hope you understand that well. I'm glad I raised you right." Maki rubbed the pouting Kou's head and smiled. 

"That's just unfair… You're too good with words."

"And you're too good with actions."

"You still haven't explained the ten million though…"

"Let your Dad explain it."

Six in the evening, the windows only harnessed the brightness of streetlights before the Sugiyama residence. A familiar ceiling greeted the girl who just woke up from lethargy. The aroma of the roasted chicken's sweet fragrance diminished the remaining doubt on her heart.

The girl sat up on the couch, not witnessing any people but the television that remained on. She stood and searched for the source of the aroma, finding herself in the kitchen where Mom served the meals on the dining table. I was also sitting on a chair while scrolling my Instantgram.

"Oh! Good evening."

"Good evening… Ma'am… I'm sorry for what happened earlier, and… thank you for letting me rest in your home."

Maki shook her head and smiled. "Did you enjoy that limited-edition couch? I even found myself wandering off as soon as I felt its comfort."

After their small talk, she looked at me. I quickly averted my gaze with a Hmph. She continued talking to my mother.

"I–I'm not going to lie, but… it was comfortable, I guess. I really appreciate your courtesy. I may need to leave soon. I need to go home now."

"Really? Won't you like to join us for dinner?"

"I–" Instead of her mouth, the growling of her stomach became her answer.

Momlaughed after her shared her unconscious response. "Really? What perfect timing! Don't be shy, girl. You can sit on the table."

Shrouded with embarrassment, the girl couldn't deny what her body really wanted and sat on a dinner chair. "T–Thank you very much…" 

Not soon enough, we heard raindrops hitting the roof. Mom and I both looked at the ceiling, and she said, "Oh! I forgot the dried laundry. I'm going to fetch it. Please enjoy the meal."

When Mom left, the girl vacantly looked at the roasted chicken meal surrounded by three blank plates, utensils, and full water glasses. However, she gazed back, suppressing the twisting of her stomach.

Disappointed, I stood with a loud sigh and walked out of the table. My foot is already re-attached, and her widened eyes were signals that she noticed it. "I'm going to piss."

I left. I'm still not bought with the idea that I'm with a thief in my same home. While extracting my urine, I soon thought that it was a bad idea to leave a thief alone unwatched. I hastily finished my nature's call, zipped my shorts, and went out.

When I came back, the entrance door was left wide open. I gasped, unable to see any living creature in our kitchen. In contrast to the untouched meal, the water glasses, once filled, remained empty.

"That damn thief!"