Kou visited the nearby park and brought two packs of cat food with him, the usual routine. The ground was damp after the midnight rain that lasted for an hour. He sat on the unique bench named solely for him and waited for the cat to come down the tree. As the cat sat beside him, he opened his first pack.
"You know, Sphynx-san, I might be in a pinch… But I'm not blaming you, you know! I'm just thinking about how karma was accurate. When Mom knew that the figurine's clothes were removable, she scolded me like what she always did with my father. I suddenly lost my will to live. I did save someone so they shouldn't experience what I went through, but I think it didn't feel worth it. I couldn't even focus on the Mangas and Animes I binged yesterday."
He named her Sphinx, representing the cat's breed, yet she wasn't very talkative. She only half-meowed when seeing the pink-colored packaging Kou always bought for her. After giving her the second cat food, Kou continued,
"Why would Mom care for that stranger with no name? That girl just left Mom paying her million yen ruckus without any thanks. She's driving me nuts. Even if she's a Shizu-sama lookalike, she's still a thief. It's a fact that she benefited from us without anything in exchange, literally a win-win."
Meow. Meow. Meow. Kou's eyes widened after the cat responded to his rants. Usually, she would climb up the tree and hide. It was the first time for Kou to witness this.
"What meow meow? Are you still hungry? You're really a cunning one. I didn't expect you to be so talkative– Wait, where are you going?"
The cat stepped down the bench and walked towards the nearby playground. She entered the bottom end of the enclosed spiral tube slide. Kou felt that she was nudging towards a hint, hence he followed her. When another set of meows caught his attention, Kou peeked into the hole in anticipation of getting a treasure from a hidden side quest. Yet, what he witnessed instead was the same sleeping woman whose clothes were partially wet.
Her see-through dress showed the bright glow of her chest's skin color, indicating that she didn't have any underwear on her top. She unconsciously shivered, wrapping herself with only her arms. Even with her mouth closed, her chattering teeth made repeated sounds.
"M–M–Masochistic Shizu-sama thief!" His face blushing, Kou shrieked. His loud squeak called Sera out of her sleep.
Sera groaned and scratched her red-appearing eyes after waking up. When she sat straight, her head bumped into the roof of the slide. "Aw!" Covering her head, she hissed to ease the pain on her forehead.
"W–What are you doing here!? Don't you have a home?" Kou asked, still gazing at her bright melons.
"You… YOU!?" When Sera noticed his gaze, her arms flew before her chest, her cheeks appearing red out of embarrassment. "W–W–Where are you looking at!?"
Pouting and averting his eyes, Kou replied, "N-Nothing? Literally nothing in there. Weren't you cold? It must be a pain sleeping in wet clothes throughout the night."
"That's none of your business," Sera replied. The loud growling of her stomach accompanied it, making her blush.
"Without food, clothing, and shelter, you're so pitiful. You haven't even said any hints of thankfulness yesterday. I thought you're going back home?"
"I…" Lost in thought, Sera pressed her lips and averted her gaze. Kou didn't know that she lost her way home. However, he couldn't let go of how she's currently suffering, like he was blessed he had a delightful life even after the incident.
"Wait here, don't leave. Also, don't eat the cat."
"Are you… bringing those blue guys again?"
"Heck, no. Those guys won't bother you unless you're found guilty. However, I still don't trust you." Kou left her to buy a bun, hot chocolate, and a bottle of water at the nearby convenience store. He saw Sera and the cat sitting beside each other at the end of the slide. While she caressed the cat, they both stared into nothingness.
Kou waved the bun before her eyes and said, "Here, take this. Don't worry about the price. I have a personal PWD discount."
The bun heat emitted the fragrance so plain Sera couldn't believe it was food. When she took it, its warmth stopped her hands from shivering. Her teary hollowed-out eyes looked at the bun with doubt, but judging from her whispery voice couldn't hide the hunger that lasted for a day.
"T… Thank you."
"I'm glad you know how to be grateful."
At her first bite, the hidden flavor from the bun's core savored the sweetness of meat onto her mouth. Trained her tongue on bread and tasteless meat, Sera has finally tasted the flavor of the other world. Her once-dead emerald eyes softened, filling itself with an inner glow and outside with tears. All of her limbs sensed a tingling warmth. From her second bite, she rapidly munched the bun which soon vanished after a few seconds. She coughed after.
"H–Hey! Eat slowly. You don't want to see those white guys in hospitals, a place filled with trauma as per my experience," Kou advised while rubbing her back and giving her the opened bottle of water.
She gulped the water to cleanse her throat. After drinking, she exhaled and said with a cracking voice, "T… Thank you very much… I have never tasted something like this before… It's delicious…"
"Gracias. Here's a choco to warm yourself."
Sera took the hot chocolate. Its warmth radiated throughout the plastic cup. She blew it before sipping. After her first taste, her widened eyes glimmered and her cheeks reddened; her body experienced a temporary paralysis from shock. The sweetness soon made her shiver and eliminated the cold she felt.
"This… This must have been expensive. How can I repay you for your kindness?"
Kou shook his head. "You don't need to pay me back. It's the cheapest one out there. Since we're always collided by fate, may I know what your name is? Mom wanted to know your name before you leave."
After a sip, she pressed her lips. "... Sera."
"Sera, hmm… I thought it was Shizu. By the way, you can call me Kou. I'm sorry that I blamed you for something you didn't do. I'm just lost in thought since I've never been patient before. If you don't have anything to eat, you can always visit our house. Mom wanted to have dinner with you."
"I don't know… All the houses seemed similar."
"That's a problem…"
Kou would have let her stay in their house if she wasn't the cause of the disappearance of his figurine prize. However, knowing how pitiful she was now, he couldn't think that she was an accomplice of some unknown thief. The commotion might have been a distraction for some other die-hard fans who had devilish hands.
After another sip, Sera shook her head. "It's nothing… I'm sorry too. I mistook you as an enemy. I'll do anything to repay your kindness."
"Since the air already lightened and calmed, are you really a cosplayer?"
"Cos… player?"
"You aren't? What's with the long ears?"
"I've had these since I was born."
"Really? A genetically-modified elf ears? Your parents must be absurd."
"Don't ever insult my parents!"
Kou's phone vibrated from his pocket, emitting its alarm sound. He turned the alarm off and said, "I think I'm going now. I need to finish the ongoing series of Elven Wars. FCO5 is currently having an anniversary event now. There's too many things I need to do."
Sera nodded, "... Thanks again."
"You sure are lucky no officers checked the playground due to the rain. You can hang and dry your cloth on the fence on the top and hide inside the slide. The sun is going bright. Since the floor is damp, no children will come and play in this playground today. You can take your time before you search your way home, and don't wander around at night past ten."
Sera followed Kou's instructions and left the playground at noon. As expected, no children came. She ventured into the city streets, smelling the same air pollution emitted by the nearby cars. After the previous incident, she realized how the roads were dangerous and different from the sidewalks. When she blended with the crowd standing before the pedestrian lane, she noticed the green pedestrian light made the people walk across the street. She may not know what a pedestrian lane was, but she grasped its rules.
Desperate to return to her home, she hastily asked hundreds of pedestrians that passed through her for hours, emphasizing 'Pencyne' kingdom to be specific. However, most of them ignored her inquiry. Although some replied, they provided the same negative response.
"Pencyne? I've never heard such a complex name before. And kingdoms don't exist in the modern world."
"Are you a foreigner? You look like you're not from here."
"You stink of improperly dried cloth and lack of bath! Get away from me!"
"Are you Vlogging? I'm sure you're doing this for your roleplay content. There are hidden cameras out there, aren't they?"
"What a creep! Wearing revealing clothes in public… hide yourself in your shell so kids won't see you! What an improper woman!"
She returned and sat on the playground slide she was before, losing hope in asking people for leads. Lowering her head with a hunched posture, she pressed her lips. Where in the world am I? Why does no one know where my home was? I want to walk away, but my body feels heavy, and I don't know where I'll go. This world… it's too much beyond my understanding. I miss you, Father… I hope you're safe.
Soon, a group of suspicious thugs approached Sera with malicious smiles on their faces. Sera's shoulders tighten, her breaths bursting in and out. Her limbs unconsciously shook.
"Hello, pretty girl. Are you lost? I might know where you should go."
Unable to speak out of fear, Sera didn't respond… until the thugs mentioned her hometown's name.
"Pencyne Kingdom? I knew that place, and we just passed there before. It's the nearby town within the forest, is that correct? We can guide you on your way. You just need to follow us."
Sera didn't know that these thugs only got this information from the kingdom after hours of stalking her. They grasped the imagery of her hometown from overhearing Sera's descriptions in her inquiries. To lure her, they made up the false truth that they're once guests of that place.
With a racing heartbeat, Sera gave them a darting gaze in desperation to return home. She may have replied with a hesitating nod, but her decisions were a product of her irrational thinking. Not knowing the truth about Earth's people, she followed them blindly. This is her only hope to go back.
***
After nine-hours of watching three seasons of Elven Wars, he turned off the computer in his room, leaned his back against his gaming chair, and sighed. Once he watched Anime, it would take him until the end of three seasons before his stomach growled "That's a good hoard! I never expected that the underrated Elven Wars had complex plots. Damn, I'm hungry."
He stood up in his chair and opened his mini food stash near his cabinet. To his surprise, his eyes dilated when the stash was left blank. "I forgot the Otaku Sustenance Plan." For him, this plan was for hoarding snacks as reserves when he binge-watched Anime and Mangas.
Without fixing himself, he ate the pancakes cooked by Maki for the afternoon bites and left the house for groceries. He then witnessed his neighbor also going out of her home. Her crimson-red pigtail hair extended down her shoulder, her brown eyes had Anime-like width even without eyelid tapes. Her bright skin commended her angelic face, emphasizing that she was a model. Even though she was Kou's childhood friend and shared the same age as him, Izumi Hase far contrasts Kou's gloomy identity.
Not wanting to get involved with her, Kou ignored her. She noticed Kou passing through her and greeted him. "Kou…"
"Oh, hi Izumi," Kou replied and continued walking without caring about her lowered gaze. For him, Izumi was his past friend, and their relationship already expired. Even if her face attracted countless boys in their school, Kou didn't faze a bit from her appearance. He always thought it would only face countless unnecessary problems if he got involved with her.
Kou noticed Izumi following her, not knowing they had the same destination, the grocery store. They separated from each other's trails since the area for snacks was far from the fresh meat and vegetables section. He already knew that she would be buying ingredients for their meals since she was the one who cooks for her mother who was a doctor.
However, they still met the moment they reached the counter. Kou reached first in line, and Izumi followed. When Izumi noticed Kou's basket full of snacks, cup noodles, and energy drinks, she commented, "Wouldn't that cause problems to you? It's too unhealthy."
"Health isn't my problem. You already knew I'm unhealthy when I lost my foot." Kou's middle school classmates knew his dark past, Izumi included. She was the only one that followed Kou's class until his current high school year, and she still kept his secret.
"I… I'm sorry…"
"Not that I care," Kou replied and left after the counter prepared his bag of snacks. Just steps away out the gate, the deafening squeal of a girl from the nearby alleyway echoed into his ears.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? LET ME GO!"
Kou's shopping bags fell down the moment he lost his grip. He recognized the girl's squeal, since it's the same teary voice that he heard not long ago. The guard at the grocery gates also heard the commotion. When their eyes met, Kou said, "Sir, I might need your help."
***
A thug gripped Sera's wrists above her head as he pushed her back on the wall. Sera's face turned ashen accompanied by her tears. She shook her body, trying to let go of the grip, but couldn't escape due to the thug's strength. Gritting her teeth, she squealed, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? LET ME GO!"
Another thug caressed her long ears and asked, "Do you think your fantasy world exists? Pencyne Kingdom? At what mental hospital did you come from? That place doesn't exist!"
"Liars… You're all liars… You promised me…" Her rushed heartbeat made her unable to continue speaking. Sera, who was once a princess, never experienced this betrayal before. The people of Pencyne Kingdom were all kind to her… However, this world was the opposite.
"Like I care about you. All we wanted was a delicious treat. Bon appetit!" The other thug tore the middle of her cloth vertically, reaching down her chest. Though her body wasn't fully exposed yet, the rip reached below her bottom chest. Before her cloth was fully torn, a flash accompanied by a clicking sound halted their actions.
They all stared at the alleyway entrance where two people stood: one was the grocery guard holding a baton, and the other was Kou carrying a phone. After he witnessed what they did to Sera, his hazel brown eyes widened, showing its whites. He pulled his lips back, baring his teeth. With his nose flaring, he shook in extremities and growled,
"Uncultured bastards… Do you think I'll let this go?"