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(NEVER PUBLISHED, NOT YET AT LEAST)

The Elf Boy Invasion

Matsuda Isoruko woke up with a start, his heart racing like a jackrabbit on Red Bull. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes, trying to shake off the remnants of his vivid dream about being chased by a pack of wild raccoons. But as he glanced around his tiny one-room apartment, he realized that this wasn't just any ordinary morning.
"Wait a minute..." he muttered to himself, his eyes scanning the space for any signs of...whatever was going on here.
That's when he saw him – a small, pointy-eared boy with piercing blue eyes and a mop of messy black hair, snuggled up in his bed like they owned the place. Matsuda's jaw dropped as he stared at the tiny elf boy, who was fast asleep, completely oblivious to the fact that his life had just been turned upside down.
Matsuda's mind went into overdrive as he tried to process this sudden turn of events. "What in the world...? Who are you? How did you get here?" he muttered, half-expecting an answer from the elf boy, who was still fast asleep.
He tentatively reached out a hand to gently brush some hair out of the elf's face, and that's when it hit him – the realization that this tiny creature wasn't just any ordinary sleepover guest. He had pointy ears, for crying out loud! This kid was an elf!
Matsuda sprang into action mode, scrambling out of bed to grab a towel from the bathroom to cover up the...well, whatever this elf thing was. "Okay, okay, stay calm," he whispered to himself as he carefully tucked the towel around the elf's shoulders.
The noise from downstairs, however, did not share his sentiments. A grumpy old lady next door started yelling at someone about something (Matsuda had no idea what), and it sounded like she was getting louder by the second. Great timing – just what they needed to draw attention to themselves.
Matsuda quickly scanned the room for anything that might give away their little secret. The windows were open, and a breeze carried the scent of freshly brewed coffee from the nearby café into the apartment. He spotted his phone on the bedside table and snatched it up, dialing a quick text to an old friend who worked at the local anime shop.
"Hey, Hana! I need a favor – stat!" Matsuda typed out as quickly as possible, trying not to think about what he was really asking her to do. "One pointy-eared elf boy just showed up in my bed. Yeah, that's right...can you send someone over ASAP?"
The old lady next door continued to yell at the top of her lungs, getting louder and more agitated by the minute. Matsuda winced, trying not to think about what she might do if she found out there was an elf hiding in his apartment.
As he waited for Hana's response (which arrived almost immediately), the elf boy finally stirred, opening one eye lazily to gaze at Matsuda. "Good morning," he mumbled, his voice husky and sleepy-sounding.
Matsuda blinked, taken aback by the sheer...normalcy of this tiny creature's greeting. "Uh, good morning!" he replied, trying to play it cool while simultaneously freaking out on the inside.
The elf boy sat up in bed, yawned, and stretched his arms above his head, revealing a pair of impressively well-defined arm muscles for someone so small. Matsuda couldn't help but stare, and the elf boy caught him, grinning mischievously.
"Hey, you're staring at me again!" he said with a chuckle. "Don't worry, I won't bite...unless you try to take my lunch money."
Matsuda blinked, taken aback by this tiny creature's sassiness. "Uh, sorry...I guess I just didn't expect..."
The elf boy's grin faltered for a moment before he smiled again. "Yeah, yeah – I'm not exactly used to being around humans, either. My name is El'gorin, by the way."
As Matsuda tried to process this new information, Hana arrived at the door with two of her friends from the anime shop in tow. They looked just as bewildered as he was.
"What's going on here?" one of them asked, eyeing the elf boy suspiciously.
Hana held up a hand. "Don't worry about it – we'll take care of this. Just...uh...just try to stay calm and let us handle it."
Matsuda nodded gratefully as the three of them ushered El'gorin out of his apartment, down into the alleyway behind the building where they managed to stash him safely.
As he watched Hana's group lead El'gorin away from prying eyes, Matsuda couldn't help but wonder...what had just happened? And who was this tiny elf creature that seemed to have somehow magically appeared in his bed?
"Well, I guess it's time for some answers," he muttered to himself, shoving a hand through his hair as the full weight of this situation hit him like a ton of bricks.
This was definitely not what he had planned for his day off from work...
As he watched El'gorin disappear into the crowd with Hana and her friends, Matsuda couldn't help but feel a twinge of...something. It wasn't exactly curiosity – more like a creeping sense of responsibility that seemed to be spreading its roots deeper into his gut.
"Well, great," he muttered under his breath as he trudged back up to his apartment, "just what I needed – an elf problem."