"Oh come on, you really believe I'll help you out for free?" The male lead on your television said.
"Please! He needs saving!" The female lead screamed.
You soon tuned it out, tapping away on your new phone. You just needed some more background noise for tonight. Even though the rain that was pouring quite heavily usually sufficed as background noise, your brain was running fast, your thoughts almost debilitating and all consuming and the silence of only just having the rain was simply not enough, so you had turned on your TV and settled on some random soap opera.
You checked the last of your messages, giving a final update to your last friend before turning it off and putting it on the coffee table.
Tripping down a steep cliff, breaking your old phone, and then subsequently getting robbed by a fox of all animals and not another hiker was not on your list of how you expected your day to go earlier.
It had been chaotic to say the least.
You turned your gaze away from the ceiling, looking out the window. A clap of thunder boomed, followed by three quick flashes of lightning far off. You sat up, watching as the rain pelted against the window, turning everything into a hazy blur. Exhaustion ebbed at your mind. You were getting tired.
You got up, stretched, and looked down at your remote control, debating if you should keep the TV on or turn it off when there were three loud knocks on your door in quick succession.
You flinched, heart racing as you stood still. Somebody knocking at your door? In this storm? That couldn't be.
But it was, for three more quick knocks followed after a tense few seconds. You scrambled over to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and put it behind your back before tip toeing over to the front door. Just in case if the person knocking was a serial killer or a particularly angry former acquaintance.
You silently cursed as you instinctively checked the peep hole only for it to show nothing because you broke it 6 months ago and had been procrastinating on getting around to fixing it. You took in deep breaths, the cold metal handle of the knife behind your back digging into the flesh of your hand as you slowly unlocked two of the three locks and opened the door, partially peeking through it.
The person standing on your doorstep was soaked through, long dark hair plastered against their dark clothes which you guessed looked like a kimono of sorts and their pale face, which was partially covered by their hair.
"Can I help you?!" You shouted over the rain, hoping the downpour didn't wash away your words.
"I'm sorry to bother, but could I stay for the night?" A familiar voice asked.
One that you thought you wouldn't hear in real life unless you somehow met the voice actor at a convention. You blinked in shock as the man moved his bangs out of his face, an apologetic smile on Suguru Geto's face as he looked down at you.
You closed the door, slowly undoing the locks. This can't be real, right?! He could just be a really good cosplayer with an eerily similar voice as in the anime. Yes, this guy was just most definitely a cosplayer.
Stop overthinking, it's just your nerves, you've had a long day, there's nothing to worry about. You chided yourself.
You opened the door, stepping back to invite him in.
"Come in! Quick, this rain is a mess!" You exclaimed, hoping your nerves were not showing in your voice.
The Suguru Geto cosplayer (?) scrambled in, leaving a trail of water as he entered. You managed to maneuver your body close to a nearby cabinet and gently place the knife behind your back onto it. You stared at the man, who was surveying your house. His black, monolid eyes were calm, not judgemental as he did so.
"Uh... I'll get you some towels! So you can dry off!" You managed to say before scurrying off, not waiting for a response.
You opened the door to your bathroom, hands shaking as you grabbed some towels. He really looked like Suguru. Should you ask him for his name? What if he simply offered 'Suguru Geto' as a name before he decided to murder you and throw your body into a garbage dump? You hated intrusive thoughts but situations such as these made them worse to deal with.
You took the towels quickly, finding him to be in the same spot you had left him in the dim entry hallway, the only lights on in your house being the TV still playing that ridiculously loud soap opera.
You extended the towels towards him, trying for a smile.
"Here you go. Got you some towels."
That was so lame and cringe. You thought to yourself.
The man smiled, which made your heart do a staccato. It was a very attractive smile. He grabbed the towels.
"Thank you very much. Again, I am sorry to bother you but well I got caught up in this storm..." He shrugged, shaking his head. "I certainly wasn't expecting it."
You bit back a retort about checking the weather app and instead said, "Yeah, I understand. The weather around here is a little unpredictable, which is why I stay inside for the most part."
Oh great, you were revealing how much of a shut in you really were. How splendid.
The cosplayer laughed and you almost gasped. He sounded so much like Suguru. You definitely should ask him for his name.
"That is a smart move in living in such areas." His head swiveled around. "Do you happen to have a bathroom I could dry myself off in?"
"O-Oh yeah. Just follow me." You said.
He stayed in step beside you as you walked out of the entryway, into your living room, and then down another hallway, the drip drip drip of water echoing. You stopped at the end of the hallway, pointing at a lone white door.
"There. That's the bathroom. I'll see if I have any spare clothes for you to put on and I can fix up some warm food so that way you don't get sick." You said, smiling.
He looked down at you, nodding slowly. "Thank you very much."
"Of course. It's my pleasure to help out." You stated, turning and then walking away.
You opened a different door, entering the guest room. You flipped the switch and a warm glow encompassed the room, coming from the ceiling light. You went over to the closet, opening the door and rummaging through it. An old friend had left some of his clothes behind the last time he had visited, which looked to be around the size of that Suguru cosplayer's measurements.
You took out a white Henley shirt, black pants, and some black slippers before leaving the room.
You stopped outside the bathroom door, slowly knocking on it. The muffled sounds of grunting and shuffling stopped.
"I brought you some clothes. I'm not sure if they'll be a perfect fit but they're what I have for you." You said.
The door creaked open and your eyes widened perhaps a tad bit. The shirtless cosplayer with only a towel around his waist looked down at you, a playful smirk on his lips. You tried not to stare at his sculpted physique, which still had some water droplets dripping down it.
"Uh, here you go!" You exclaimed, extending your hands with the clothes in them. "I'll get started on something warm for you to eat. Some soup would do you good."
He grabbed the clothes, fingers slowly running over the fabric of them. He glanced down at the clothes and then back at you, chuckling.
"These seem like a near perfect fit, where did you get them?" He asked, tone teasing.
"Oh, they're from an old friend." You supplied, not noticing the way the corner of his eye twitched. You stroked your chin, oblivious. "He left them here last time he visited, which was... hm, quite a while ago. 7 months ago? Either way, the last time I saw him, he had a similar build to you."
"And you could tell that from my baggy clothes?"
"Oh yeah, that old friend taught me how to do so." You smiled absently at the memory before shaking your friend. "I'll go get started on that soup. You change and it'll be ready soon."
"Thanks again for letting me stay out of the rain." He said, almost softly.
"No problem." You said, walking towards the kitchen.
You went to one of the black cabinets, opening it to find a can of soup, well technically stew, available. You took it out, grabbed a small pot and can opener and went right to work.
You hummed as you prepared it, grateful to have plenty of that beef stew (or as you simply just liked to call it, soup) available. It was simple, hearty, and filling. You turned the stove on, pouring the soup in the pot and letting it heat up.
Footsteps sounded from behind and you turned around to see the Suguru lookalike standing at the kitchen entrance, staring at you. With the kitchen lights off, you could see him more clearly. He looked so much like Suguru that it was as if he simply came out of the pages of the manga itself.
"That smells good." He said, walking over to you. "What kind of soup is it?"
"Beef stew." You answered. "I know it's technically not a soup but I don't really care, soup and stew are the same to me."
He glanced at it before looking back to you. "Say, in all of this bit if chaos, I've forgotten to ask for you name. What is it, by chance?"
"Hm? Oh, it's (Name)." You turned to look back at the soup to see the broth boiling. You checked the clock on the stove. 3:25. Just two more minutes then to turn it off. "What's your name?"
It was almost as if the world tipped with that sentence. That very simply sentence.
"That's... Are you not a cosplayer then? You look like this one character's doppleganger and I thought you might say that character's name instead." You said, hoping the deflecting joke landed.
"A cosplayer? Nah, that's my real name."
You looked back to the soup, which was boiling even more now. You turned it off, silently grabbing a bowl and a spoon from a cupboard.
"Geto Suguru... that's a nice name. Sounds Japanese, are you from Japan?" You said slowly, grabbing the handle of the pot and pouring the soup into the large bowl.
Something in you told you with a certainty that you couldn't even usually deny that this man was the real Geto Suguru and that you had to tread carefully
"Yes, I'm from Japan." Geto said, a charming smile on his face.
"I've always wanted to visit Japan. It looks so nice there." You say, your panic slowly rising as you try to make small talk with a fictional chaaracter who somehow came to life.
"Yeah, it is." Geto tugged at the sleeves of white Henley. He looked extremely hot in the outfit, you had to admit, especially with the way it snugly fit the muscles on his arms. "You've never been?"
"Nah, haven't had the chance to yet. Been pretty busy lately." You put the dirty pot in the sink, turning back to him. "Alright, your soup is done. You can eat it now."
"Thenk you very much, (Name). It has certainly been an experience meeting you."