| within the woods with miss kobayashi.

[miss kobayashi]

the beast kept still near the house, unwavering expect for the slight breeze that blew against it's ragged fur. it stood, waiting, watching, patiently still in the night. the beast was a powerful creature of the forest blessed with keen smell and hearing to the point that no other creature could compare to it's power. but such a gift came with a pitfall, and with this, it's vision was corrupted. it was easy to tell the light from the darkness from the way the light would shine and how the darkness would gloom. everything else, however, was too blurry to perceive from a distance, to the point where they couldn't rely on their muddled sight. to them, the world was better seen through sound and through smell, following the closest instincts they have. so, while the beast continued to stare, it was focusing on both the sounds and smells surrounding them.

an unperceivable noise caught it's attention, a noise closest to a boom caught the beast's attention for a moment before they settled once more. it's ear flicked to the nearby crunch of the foliage, but it's stare remained still.

it wasn't the quick flash of light that took the beasts attention, but rather, a delicate gasp that made it apparent that the beast's presence was now known. in one quick motion, the large head of the dog jerked to the side so it could stare solemnly at the figure who watched them from a distance. the figure was too far and much too bleary to make out, but it was obvious that it had noticed him as much as they had noticed it.

a heavy smell wafted over the beasts noise, and it recognized the scent in an instant──fear. a dense, musty smell that only grew heavier the longer the beast stared at the figure, who kept still in place. it was one of the easiest scents to recognize and usually only meant bad news for the other party. fear meant irrationality, acting out recklessly to avoid confronting what it is that makes them afraid. it was easy to attack when something was afraid, as they drop reason and resort to other means to get by. and, without reason, it's easy to take control. it was also at this point that the beast knew the figure was human, small in comparison but with the right demeanor and shape to pass off as a human.

a human──to a beast──was their natural enemy and easy prey. humans would kill their kind in the blink of an eye, with their loud weapons and large machinery. their kind could be easily slaughtered by the humans, both outnumbered in size and technology, so they needed to adapt. and despite adaptation, their kind quickly decreased in numbers. for a beast not to become a target, they needed to act fast──for fear was one of the main motivations for murder.

the beast took a slow, calculated step towards the fearful human, large enough to be eye-level and staring it down with aggression. it didn't move as the human lunged their weapon forward, but, the second the human initiated the attack, the beast was ready to fight, and do whatever it took to win. unafraid and steady, their shoulders arched, body stooping ever so slightly to the ground. their ears pinned back, body stiffening as it took another slow step forward, and then one more. a deep snarl erupted from the beast's throat as it took one final step. it was ready to attack, and was only seconds from doing so when they realized that they were close enough to make out the fearful expression on the human's face.

a strange feeling emerged from the beast, a heavy force taking control once the human's face was in view. no. no. no. something was wrong. the snarling faded rather quickly after another moment, the beast instead taking a hesitant step back away from the human. it's expression softened, taking another step back and fighting against a force that was pushing them away from the human. in the blink of an eye, the beast swiftly turned around, pushing off towards the woods. it retreated into the forest, silent with each step until it was out of view for the human to see.

[leopardus]

indentationyuuto's entire had been shaking violently when the beast continued to get up close and personal with him, white fangs accompanied by a slick strand of saliva as its mouth opened wider to reveal them more. he could see so much hostility in its eyes, its amber irises, and it felt like today was his last day . . . it felt like they were about to lunge and snap his neck at any moment . . . but they didn't. instead, the beast's angry expression had turned to that of a blank neutral, taking a step back as if he were some godly form that would rain down with its wrath and destroy it within the blink of an eye──it was funny because yuuto could never be like that. he was more than happy to see the animal flee off into the woods until not a trace of it could be seen, but he also felt an faded worry deep in his stomach──the worry that the beast may potentially come back, or maybe bring back its groupies with them; he really prayed that it wouldn't happen, but praying won't really help his cause . . .

indentationhe spent a few brief seconds standing there in perplexity before he turned on his heel and stumbled on his uninjured foot back to the front of his house, his foot was, in fact, bleeding from that pine cone and he needed to care for it immediately. yuuto placed the rake back to its original place, which was against his house and in the bushes that were growing wild and free all around. he needed someone to attend to that, maybe give them a little trim and all and they'll be about their way──but yuuto never really did outdoor work, and besides, what more could he do? he lived in the woods, where everything has a mind of its own. stomping up the stairs for one last time, he then entered the house and closed the door──locking it and placing a wooden chair to the door out of fear that that beast could come knocking down his door.

indentationafter letting a cloth sit in warm water for a while, he gently applied it to the small gash on his foot as well as some rubbing alcohol which made him draw back from its sting. he then took some bandaging and wrapped it around afterwards, hoping that it'd keep in place. his foot hurt when he applied pressure or walked on it, but it would heal and get better if he just adds creams and rubbing alcohol to get rid of the bacteria that would build up in it──would it leave a scar? he wasn't sure, it was only a minor injury, but it could. yuuto didn't bother taking another shower like he normally did, too woozy and weary inside to give a damn as he hobbled his way over to his bedroom──falling onto his bed face-first before rolling over. he stared at the same white ceiling he did earlier, the white of the room bringing some light as he turned on the small light that was connected to one of the outlets in his room. he needed that light, he only felt even more rattled on the inside after that encounter with that animal──the light was comforting to him. he didn't know how long he stared up at that ceiling, but he did eventually fall to sleep . . . wold it peaceful sleep? most likely no.

[miss kobayashi]

instinctively, the beast continued into the forest, keeping the quick pace and swiftly avoiding the forest's obstacles, leaping over an overturned tree and descending deeper into the darkness. despite their speed, the beast still kept fairly silent, as if it knew how to lift of the forest floor delicately enough to not make a sound with every step. it needed to rely on sound, now, as the only hope in perceiving what the beast could see in front of them was relying on the moon's dim radiance that merely sifted through the trees. it wasn't enough to see with. soon, the silence from before was interrupted by the heavy puffs of the beast, feeling weary from the run but not fading.

far enough away from the house and the human to not sense even the slightest bit of fright, the beast slowed down. hefty breaths escaped the creature's mouth, creating a small fog from it's warm breath reaching the cool air. it's run faded into a trot of sorts, their nose risen into the air and taking nose of gentle sniffs──navigation of a sort. as the scents in the air became more recognizable, the trot turned into a light pad. and, as if pattern, the beast would walk, pause, sniff the air, and continue in a certain direction. in the distance, the forest was cut off by a long wooden fence, beyond the fence a long stretch of land that could be explained as nothing more than a field.

the beast soon came upon a pile of what appeared to be human clothes──accompanied by a phone and a carabineer carrying a set of keys──laid alone on the ground, as if whatever person who possessed the items simply passed from sight. unfazed by the sight, the creature stopped in their tracks, glancing through the fence before taking a wary step back. and the beast, hidden in the dark night, away from the sight of any creature──human or animal, shut their eyes contently and simply... waited. the beast diminished in size, shrinking to almost half the size and losing many of it's prominent features. their teeth flattened, claws shortened, and muzzle dwindled.the thick hair slowly faded into pale flesh, the front legs replaced a pair of fairly brawny arms, a long scar etched onto one of the forearms. lastly, the eyes, closed for the duration of the transformation, blinked open to reveal pasty gray human eyes. in a matter of seconds, the large wolf, a beast in size and strength, had shifted into a normal human, with pale gray eyes and abnormally white hair.

haru brushed a thin layer of dirt that had caked onto his arms, the feeling bothersome but not unbearable. he knew the most annoying part would be having to wash it off when he got home. having trouble making out what he could see in the pitch black, he reached his arm out and carefully felt for his clothes, feeling nothing but pebbles and dirt for the first couple of pats. with his forth touch, luckily, he had gripped hold of his pants and pulled them towards him, silently slipping them on, following with a shirt and then his shoes. the process was awkward, especially in the darkness, but had become fairly routine to him, and by the time that he had finished, he was able to snag his phone and keys and shove them into his pocket without thinking with a loud huff. he reached for the top of his head, briskly running a hand through his hair.

the darkness easily hid the unease rested on his face. reaching up and carefully gripping onto the wooden fence as if not to lose his balance, haru slowly followed along the fence in silent shock. instead of processing what had happened, he was simply going to brush it off until he made it home──that would be simple enough, right? but he couldn't get the terrified expression of yuuto out of his head. it didn't take long for the fence to lead to a road, where a run-down motorcycle was carelessly rested off to the side. without another thought, he hopped onto his bike, turning it on and suddenly barreling down the road, as if he would get caught if he wasn't fast enough. worried thoughts filled his mind as he sped off. why him? why now? he shook his head, trying to wash away his anxieties. as long as he didn't do anything, it would be fine. yuuto didn't know, and he wouldn't have to.

[leopardus]

indentationmaybe he should have never gone to sleep right after that . . . maybe he should have taken the time to recollect himself. he would have avoided this twisted dream if he had done that. in this little dream of his, he is walking through the forest with a flashlight in his hand and a pocket knife in the other──it was in the middle of the night, presumably past midnight as the sky was too dark for him to wander without a light. what was he doing there in those woods? he didn't know, it was so out of character for him to do such a thing which made the dream even more eccentric. though as he was walking through those woods, it seemed like he was alone by himself in a strange world that he only existed in──but for some reason he didn't expect for there to be something else.

indentationduring his walk, undergrowth crushing beneath his feet, he noticed something in the woods that made his heart stop. a dark figure, too dark to see, had stood there a few lengths away from him. out of reflex, yuuto pointed his flashlight towards it but he still was unable to see the figure clearly, his vision blurring as tears that came from his own panic build up in his hazel eyes. they stood there together, staring at each other in the night, yuuto refused to move a muscle as he was too afraid to do so──thinking of the figure as an animal, something that would charge right for him if he dared to move even the slightest bit. everything felt like it was in slow motion as he was once again lodged into place with his function of movement gone for the moment. though his functions all came back to him soon as he seemingly tripped over nothing and fell to the forest floor with a noisy thud. he attempted to look back at the figure as he struggled to sit up, but his attempt had been foiled when he noticed the figure had dissipated into thin air . . .

indentationyuuto searched all around for the figure again, but he could not find it; he ended up finding something else instead. this something was two irises of a bloody orange color, the color of the moon during a lunar eclipse. the eyes moved closer and closer to him, causing for him to scurry back with his hands; eventually, his back came to a rotting tree trunk, making his nose scrunch up at the smell of it. the daunting pair of eyes only got closer to him until another animalistic figure came from out of hiding from the darkness, a scruffy, sooty grey colored canine with long, skinny legs attached to its body. its face had been burned it seems, the marks protruding all the way up from beneath its mouth and all the way up to ts right eye──it also had other scars onto his body, yuuto could make out the long jagged pink flesh going from its shoulder down to its back. these marks truly made the beast more uglier and intimidating, its yellow jagged teeth showing as its mouth gaped open──its claws were also as long as its canines, abnormally long for a dog but perfect for a malicious beast.

indentationyuuto was completely terrified, forgetting that this was all a dream and that he would wake up alive in the morning as soon as this beast made its bold appearance. for some strange reason, it was not the canine he encountered that night, but a completely new one that had probably been produced out of his mind. the man raised his hands to cover his face as it was almost close enough to attack . . . but the attack never really came. yuuto's hands lowered slowly as he stared into this beast's eyes, which held no kind of wavering emotion. he could tell it was a bit angered upon seeing him here as its mouth was still parted, but just like the beast from his encounter, it did not lunge at him. yuuto didn't do anything for a while, but as the moon cast overhead──a glint of silver had caught his attention for a second, noticing the pocket knife that he had──and then the idea came to him, something uncanny for him to do . . .

indentationhe slowly took the knife from beneath him without the beast noticing and in the heat of the moment, he aimed for its neck──striking the animal with all his might. it ended up in its neck which caused it to be distracted for a couple of seconds, while it tried to pick it out is when he decided to make a run for it. though alas, the beast was intelligent than the average animal and the knife was out as fast as it went in. it was quick to notice yuuto trying to run in the distance and took charge after him. within a flash, he had been taken down as the beast bit his leg and caused him to fall down in pain. yuuto tried to escape from its hold but he couldn't, looking up at the beast for a brief moment──he noticed that its appearance changed entirely, matching the appearance of the canine from that night. his heart scrunched up when the sight embedded in his psyche, never to be erased. the beast had changed its mind about letting him live, a scream had escaped him as it admitted a strong bite to his throat . . . and then after that, he saw nothing but darkness before white light flashed within his eyes as he woke up to see the same white ceiling of his room . . . his whole being perturbed and in distress.

-
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indentationwhat on earth was that? he tried to answer his own questions, but failed as he could not find the conclusion to them. He was killed in his own sleep, figuratively but still traumatically. what was up with that other beast? why did it . . . change? his eyes watered, his body flushing as he stared into space silently. he turned to the clock, it was late──beyond 7:30 AM, his regular wake up schedule. that deliveryman was bound to be here any moment, in fact, and he needed to hurry and get ready . . . he was still in the same clothes from the other day. yuuto heaved himself out of bed drowsily, but nearly fell as he accidentally put all his weight onto his injured foot. "damn it." he hissed to himself as the pain continued with a light throb. he hurried to get ready anyway despite his injury . . . maybe a short shower would calm him down? maybe it'd make him forget about . . . . that? he didn't know, shaking his head . . . he didn't forget too easily.

[miss kobayashi]

when it finally felt like haru had gotten his eyes to shut tight enough for him to fall asleep, the incessant blare of his alarm forced his eyes open. a soft groan escaped him, and he reached to set the alarm for snooze. he had barely gotten a wink of sleep when it was already time for him to get moving. but his agitation had kept him awake most of he night. all his life... no one had ever seen that part of him. and, if haru hadn't actually seen that it was yuuto... he could've... haru shut his eyes, holding his breath and fighting back the bad thoughts. he drowsily reached for his face, rubbing it slowly with his hands and trying to gain some sort of consciousness. thinking about it again just made his head hurt. maybe... he could just get five minutes...

the next time the alarm went off, haru jerked up from the bed, checking the time and cursing silently to himself. if he was late to work again, he knew he would be out of a job. throwing the covers off, he grabbed his uniform──carefully folded next to his bed──before hauling himself from his bed, taking a small glance around his room. stacks of books, clothes, and other useless garbage filled practically every corner of the room. taking careful steps, as the whole ground was basically covered in junk, he staggered into the hallway, slipping on his uniform in his frenzy. no time for breakfast, let alone a shower, would wonderfully lead him to a sour mood and an obvious stench. he had gone to bed still covered in dirt last night, and now essentially screwed himself over cleanliness-wise. and even though his hat could hide his oily hair and clothes hide his unwashed skin, there was nothing to conceal the clear bags under his eyes and overall fatigued manner.

haru made it out of his apartment, slipping his cap over his tousled hair, locking the door and rushing to his motorcycle. most everything he did was basic routine, so it gave him time to stress over yesterday's interaction. god, he couldn't forget what had happened the night before. what a coincidence, yuuto, of all people would be someone that haru──no... not haru... he refused to identify as what he became at night──that the beast would run into. it wasn't even typical for him to run into people in general, he was usually careful about those things. usually.

he pulled up to the building with only seconds to spare. transferring to the truck only took a minute, and he had pulled off the lot with deliveries in hand without anyone discovering he was almost late. once on the road, he allowed himself a sigh of relief, reading over the delivery locations. from the new system, as haru speculated, they would start off with the most common daily deliveries, which didn't usually mean home deliveries would start first. except in haru's case. yuuto──from what he gathered──would get everything delivered to his home, and, from what he heard about from mainly gossip, never, ever left his home. in fact, last night was the first time haru had ever seen him outside. it could've been the last, too...

" dammit! " in an instant, the truck screeched to a stop when haru had forced his foot onto the brake. he jerked forward, pain in his chest as the seatbelt held him back. in the middle of the road stood a deer that he nearly collided into. the panicked odor the deer released overwhelmed his senses for a moment, but he was able to stop before he had done any damage. the creature stood for a moment, frozen in fear and staring him down, too shocked to know what to do next. haru waited, watching the deer and noting the terror on it's face. he raised his eyebrows, the realization flowing through him of how similar the deer looked to yuuto. in that moment, the deer made it's move, sprinting off the road and into the woods, while haru sat there, dumbfounded. it wasn't until a car that had caught up behind him blared it's horn and forced him to continue moving. he drove, silently, stunned, until he had made it to the same familiar old house.

and as was his daily regime, he parked the car, moved to the back so he could grab a package──this time a larger, but lighter parcel than the last──take his clipboard, and sauntered to the house entrance. don't think about it. don't think about it. yuuto doesn't know. haru continued to fill his mind with simple thoughts as he forced himself to bluff about ever meeting him. about the beast ever meeting him. he closed his mouth to suppress a small yawn──fighting back any exhaustion that could lead to the slightest bit of suspicion. haru forced a content expression, the package carefully held in his arms. he reached out to knock on the door, tapping it twice, and then taking a step back and waiting. after a few moments... there was no response. his heart sunk, but he maintained unperturbed──at least on the outside. after another second of waiting, he knocked on the door once more. " mister sorai? delivery! "

[leopardus]

indentationwhile in the shower, yuuto could only feel his awareness of the peculiar nightmare even more than ever. he crouched down to the floor, the warm water falling onto his head and dripping down his back and face. his bangs of mousy brown hair hanging as his head tilted downwards, watching the grotesque looking blood drip from his foot wound dripping down the shower drain. even the sight of blood had reminded him of the nightmare, the monster within it──the blood dripping down its throat when he mindlessly sank the knife within its neck. it was a nightmare he kept remind himself, only a nightmare and nothing real . . . it couldn't be true that dreams and nightmares held any significant meaning or importance──it just couldn't be. yuuto's fingers combed through his hair, his breath became shaky as he reminisced over the nightmare as if he lacked self control──he never had self-control when it came to his fear, it would chain him up and drag him through the mud mercilessly. it had gotten to a point where it was affecting his well-being, his psyche and functioning. he wondered if he needed professional help? . . . no, he──he probably didn't need it. though he tried to convince himself that he didn't need a psychiatrist to tell him this and that, the sharp sound of the doorbell ringing made him shriek and scrunch up into a ball like a prey animal would do──his heart sunk in shame, he was ashamed . . .

indentationhe felt weak when he tried to get out of the shower, barely even washing off as he was still a bit soiled, his body giving up on him as if it were old and aged and needed support. he cursed himself mentally when he nearly slipped on the tile floor of the bathroom, struggling to get back up on his feet. it took a minute to do so, but he finally managed to free himself and regain his strength. he took the crimson towel, a deep red color that reminded him of . . . blood, that had been awaiting him and dried himself off in a hurry. yuuto flimsily put on his clothing, a plain white t-shirt with sky blue, ripped jeans──the ones he ripped his own self out of his own clumsiness. he fixed his hair in the mirror, wrapped his foot in bandaging once again, and raced out the bathroom to get the door──nearly slipping out of his uncoordinated movement. yuuto was still exhausted and tired, he had only managed to get four hours of sleep last night as his head had raced with thoughts . . . thoughts of getting killed and ripped to shreds by vicious, cruel animals and you know, the usual.

indentationfor some reason, he hesitantly opened the door as if the white canine would be standing there with bloody murder in its eyes, merely cowering when he remembered it being in his nightmare. the door opened slowly, creaking and grating at his ears, and he was surprised with the sight of the deliveryman, that mister morikita, standing there with another package in his hand. well, he wasn't surprised upon seeing him or anything, but seeing someone actually coming to his house was still shocking to him. yuuto's eyes drooped as he prepared to listen to whatever the man had to say, staring him into his eyes tiredly as he placed his hand against the frame of the door to keep himself standing tall. a flash of heat wavered through him as the sun's rays reached him from behind mister morikita; his skin still warmed from the shower. hopefully, he would hurry up and say what he had to say and then get out of here, so yuuto could just flop down onto his bed again and sleep through the day and be through with it──it wasn't like he had anything better to do anyways . . .

[miss kobayashi]

as the door slowly clicked open, the dawning realization that he hadn't even considered yuuto's state after the incident yesterday hit him like a ton of bricks. haru knew from experience that people usually didn't respond well after an interaction with that part of him. he inadvertently held his breath as soon as he met eyes with yuuto. " good morning. " haru started, greeting the other with a warm smile. ah. and in that second of eye contact, he could very well tell that yuuto was especially wearied. he looked paler than usual, considering how pale he already was from a lack of daily sunlight. his hair was partially wet, giving it a darker color and leading haru to believe he had caught him right after he got out of the shower. it could most directly resemble yuuto's look when he first came to deliver to the house──an unwelcoming, fatigued expression that really made haru wonder how much time this person had spent outside. it was unsettling, in the least, as he most likely knew the direct correlation to why yuuto looked so exhausted.

haru pursed his lips, a small wave of guilt washing over him over the supposed detriment he caused from their interaction. sure, it could've been scary for anyone. he was used to the fear──and anger──that came with humans and the unknown. hell, even with the known. but to see something like that while living alone in the woods? it's enough to keep someone up for days. of course he'd feel bad if he put someone through that. it was at this point that haru realized he had two choices. one, he could pretend that nothing looked out of the ordinary, do a short spiel on the delivery, and give him his package. but, could acting like nothing looked off be suspicious? two, he could ask about the other's condition──in a considerate fashion──and at least let off that he was concerned. or would that be too nosy?

" new package, a private supplier. from a relative, maybe? " haru suggested, deciding it would be better if he played innocent. keeping the cordial expression, he lowered the box enough for yuuto to access it. but before he passed the parcel over, he stopped, eyebrows furrowing slightly in concern. guilt was still biting away at him, but he knew he couldn't apologize, or say anything that could remotely relate to how yuuto felt. instead, he hummed softly. " ah──it's heavy. I can put it inside for you, if you'd like? " it was a lame excuse for compensation, but at least it was something. and from the looks of yuuto he bet the second he'd pass the box to the other he'd collapse.

[leopardus]

indentationa private supplier? relatives? yuuto's face scrunched up in confusion as he stared at the box openly, his mind feeling dazed and lost. the only relatives he really knew was his mother, father, aunt and uncle. maybe it was from someone who he had forgotten about? yuuto wiped the sweat from off his face and leaned against the door frame with more weight as if he were about to pass out──but he couldn't faint just yet, mr. morikita was still right in front of him after all. when he was just about to take the package from him before he had lifted it away from him, asking if he needed assistance. yuuto was just about to answer no, stepping forward, but nearly tripped and fell from misplacing his foot. so, maybe he did need help. "ah, y-yes," he murmurs in response. "please."

indentationyuuto stood off to the side and let mr. morikita carry the box into his house, telling him to place it into the kitchen area. the package from the other day had still been up on the counter, left unopened and undisturbed──in normal condition you could say. if it were food inside then it would have become bad by now since its been a day, hopefully he wouldn't be questioned about that because it was caused out of pure apathy. he stands there and waits, twiddling his fingers as if he were nervous──and truth be told, he sort of was. he never let anyone into his house before ever since gaining authority over it after his auntie and uncle were gone. his uncle and auntie were also the quiet type of neighbors, never letting anyone they didn't truly know well into the house even if they had known each other for a while. but, mr. morikita was his deliveryman ... he was probably just a regular guy ... or not, but yuuto couldn't tell yet.

[miss kobayashi]

haru obliged with a small nod, carefully carrying the box into the house. with his first step in, an unusual assortment of smells distracted him for a moment before he continued forward. it was surprisingly normal, nothing like his trash heap of an apartment, and not similar to the usual hoard of needless supplies that he figured a recluse would have. it was simply a house. " nice place. " haru started, a tinge of uneasiness laced in his tone. he tried to break off the awkward tension between the two, but only felt a little more uncomfortable.

it took him a moment of quiet thought to locate the kitchen, moving over once he spotted it. once over, his eye caught the unopened package from before, only adding to his guilt. he didn't say anything about it, doubting that yuuto had a good explanation and not wanting to interrogate the other after being allowed inside in the first place. it made him wonder──how often did people come to visit? did he have people visit? he couldn't imagine someone as young as yuuto being alone so deep in the woods. there were, bad, bad things that could be there. that were there. it was almost irresponsible of him. haru bent down, setting down the box with next to the counter. while he moved himself into a standing position, he noticed that the action of holding the box had rolled up his sleeve a bit. his scar displayed itself rather blatantly, and his eyes widened. shocked, and a little embarrassed, he quickly tugged on the sleeve until it stretched all the way to the palm of his hand. when he was a beast, his scar wasn't as noticeable, as he had slim legs and fur to cover it up for the most part, but as a human, it was difficult to hide. haru glanced over to yuuto, praying that he didn't see anything and instead forcing another small smile. " here good? " he hummed softly.

[leopardus]

indentationyuuto didn't right away answer when mr. morikita complimented him about his home, persistently twiddling with his fingers behind his back. when he did, his voice was barely even audible, murmuring a low thanks and turning his head to the side──thin arms crossing over his chest, nodding to the man to place the package down. it was when mr. morikita was placing the package down that made his breath catch in his throat, slightly glancing at the pink line of flesh on his arm subtly before he pulled down his arm's sleeves more, the reddish tint in his face only making him more suspicious and wary of the man. thoughts from the other day revisited his head, but despite his painful curiosity, yuuto was determined to keep his mouth shut and not make this situation even more awkward than it already is.

indentationthe atmosphere had only become even more tense and awkward, yuuto was ready for to usher the man out the door but his unfamiliar sense of inquisitiveness had made him want to speak to mr. morikita, though it was out of character for him to start a conversation with all honesty. he wondered the reason behind mr. morikita living in these woods, did he or did he not? the only things he really could acknowledge from him was that he was around his age, his first name was haru, and he was quite the oddity, well, at least to yuuto. his entire appearance was blank yet eccentric, eluding of peculiarity that yuuto would not get from any of the other people he has so far seen around in this ... neighborhood. he huffed and scratched the back of his neck. he'll probably never know the conclusions if he never speaks to him, but yuuto was okay with that ... it didn't really matter that much to him.