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The Kaito mansion, an ancient home built several years ago on a massive stretch of forested land. By day in the summer, it is a beautiful, scenic area with its lush trees, clean fresh air, and even the occasional wildlife here and there. By night however, it becomes a rather spooky and unsettling location with its eerie silence and winding shadows from the lack of street lights. The vast forest around it stretches for miles from the nearest town, making it a terrifying place to get lost in. There is still a road not too far away from the house and a beaten path that acts as a very long driveway all the way to it. Mailmen and delivery services are the most common form of individuals who actually know of the place and come by from time to time to deliver mail.

The building itself is in rather rough condition, yet still structurally sound despite going back nearly 200 years. Time has had a good run at the old home which is visible by the ancient peeling paint and the few splintering planks in the porch. Still, even with being out of its prime, the house is a marvel to be seen. The old architecture tells of a time from long ago, giving it a rustic Victorian feeling. Its almost as if looking at a piece of art in a museum. Internally, the house looks more 'newer' than the outside, possibly a recent refurbishing by the previous resident. The flooring within is composed of hardwood floors, albeit rather dusty. The walls are standard drywall though much of it is covered somewhat peeling wallpaper. Pictures are still hung up from the previous man who lived here along with much of his furniture.

The manor itself is composed of two floors, an attic and a basement. From the entrance, one will enter a lovely foyer with an attached staircase leading to the second floor. It also contains a grand living room, a kitchen with connected dining room with a bay window, a large bedroom and a bathroom. There's a large door that marks the entrance to the private study/personal library. Another older door beside the entrance to the living room leads into a long downward staircase and marks the entrance to the basement. It is a sturdily build room composed of cement walls and floors with several rusty shelves taking up the center of the room for storage. It would seem Isamu had used the basement for a workshop at some point as simple tools hung from the walls and an old workbench showed some moderate signs of use. On the second floor are four surprisingly large empty rooms and two additional bathrooms. Strangely, despite the size of this house, its only really had one or two residents living in it at once, leaving an immense amount of empty and unused space within. A cord hangs from the ceiling of the second floor which marks the entrance to a dark and dusty attic, mostly used for storage.

In the back, a solid wood deck allows for simple viewing of the surrounding nature. A glass double door marks the backdoor of the home which appears to be more recent than much of the house. Simple wooden lawn chairs lay scattered about though they too are affected by age. Currently, it is within the Autumn months and many of the trees in the area have begun to change color, some even losing their leaves. This has dyed the area surrounding the mansion a rich golden brown and adding to its beauty, at least doing the day. During windy nights however, the leaves howl through the air as the decaying trees rustle against one another, as if screaming of the inevitable winter. 

In the will, it was described that the house itself was fully paid for, as was the many acres of land in which it was built upon. Financially, much of the place is taken care of though bills must still be paid for utilities. Aside from that, other finances would have to go towards maintenance and food. This makes the place very ideal for a relaxing summer home or even just a place to get away from it all. However, that final message still lingered. “Be ready for the favor forged in lifetimes.” This phrase was spoke only a few times by your grandfather, and often it was merely him quoting his own father. That quote went back several generations yet no one in your family quite knew what it meant. And now it was passed on to you... 

𝑨𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒏𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔. 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒐𝒇𝒇. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔. 

𝑬𝒙𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒓, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅𝒍𝒚, 𝒘𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒗𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 ton 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆.

𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒌, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒂𝒘𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈.

The old dust inside swirled about as the door opened, as if it hadn't been disturbed in some time. Opening that door was like bringing life back into a dying creature, allowing the home to breathe once more. As Takeshi enters, theres a strange disconnect for the moment, as if the old structure itself cant believe its old master is gone and this is the new inhabitant. If he were to take a look around, he could discover the large spacious rooms and underused space. Obviously this home was not meant for only one person yet was not known for having more than that. Searching around a bit, he would probably discover the few rats that had managed to move in which scurried away to the far corners of the home upon his discovery. Besides them, the place had a very empty feel and that of loneliness. 

One thing he would have found however, was the large study on the first floor. This was by far the cleanest room in the house and had a large ornate wooden desk at its center. A grand leather study chair sat behind it and the left and right walls of the room were lined from top to bottom with books. They were mainly classical literature and was indeed an impressive collection. Behind the chair resting upon the wall was a massive oil painting with unusual subject matter. The center consisted of a remarkably tall man with long lanky limbs and a golden mane for hair. On his shoulder rested a white cat with a large toothy grin like a Cheshire cat and by his side was a massive black dog, though the species did not resemble any kind of dog. In fact, it looked rather uncanny. It was unknown who this painting was suppose to be of as that man was definitely not his grandfather and much of the painting was well worn with age. Sitting beneath the painting in a glass case was an ornate double barreled shotgun. Seems grandpa liked to have protection, even way out here.

Outside on the deck, the backyard would be a little nicer than the front, but not by much. An old garden would be visible that has long since needed some heavy maintenance. What were once flourishing crops and flowers were now little more than withered weeds. The ground below them had become hard and rocky over time, layered with decayed leaves and refuse. Heavy tilling would be required if one wanted to get this old garden into any sort of working shape. Beyond the garden was the tree line. Tall spindly trees rose high into the sky, their branches a mixture of greens, yellows, oranges, or barren. A beautiful appearance for the current season, though that is sure to change in the coming winter. 

𝑨𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒗𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕, 𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒑, "𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒉𝒖𝒉, 𝒃𝒐𝒚?" 𝑰𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍, 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆.  

𝑨𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒌. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚, 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔. 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒉𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒌 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒅'𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉. 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕, 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚.  

𝑨𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚, 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒔? 𝑨𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒚𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆? 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒏𝒖𝒅𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒖𝒃𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅. "𝑪'𝒎𝒐𝒏, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆. 𝑳𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒃 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓."  

𝑽𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎. "𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝑻𝑳𝑪," 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑩𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒂𝒔 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑.

Surprisingly, Takeshi's grandfather did spring for internet at one point in his life, maybe if only to keep in touch with his kids. It was... unreliable at best but still something. There was also a connected phone line attached to an old fashion wired home phone. Besides that, there was not really much else to get in touch with the outside world.

Takeshi would have one week to adjust to his new home. In that time, the place was quiet and calm aside from the occasional rat scurrying about. Only once in that time had any mail been delivered, much of it being junk however. He could do what he wanted in that time, decorate how he saw fit and maybe even make some possible repairs that were definitely needed. It wasn't until the end of that week did something eventful happen. In the middle of the night, around 1 o'clock in the morning, came a small but rapid knock to his front door. Depending on how long it took him to answer, the knock would come again and again. If he were to look out the peephole at who it was, he would see nothing, yet the knocks would still come. 

If his faithful hound, Hayate, were to accompany him, the dog would very easily detect the scent of wildlife and nature. Earthy scents like soil but also the faint mixture of blood… 

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒅𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆 - 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒌𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.   

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆. 

𝑨𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒆'𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓, 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕. 𝑨𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔. 

𝑺𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒛𝒆𝒂𝒍. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓, 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒚𝒍𝒗𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆, 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍. 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆. 

𝑰𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂 𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒅𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉, 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕. 𝑺𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒆𝒚𝒆, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍. 𝑰𝒏 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒉𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒈𝒆. 𝑨𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒖𝒃𝒔, 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒖𝒐𝒖𝒔. 

𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑨𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒐𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍, 𝒂 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕. 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. "𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕, 𝒃𝒐𝒚? 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒍?" 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂. 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒘. 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒕, 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅.

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒆, 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓. 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒅𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎.  

𝑨𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔, 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆. 𝑨 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒔.    

Takeshi Hayate were indeed no longer alone. Something lurked within the shadows of the trees above him, something small and easily concealed within the swirling darkness of the night. It moved with the wind, concealing itself from his observation in the rustling trees but something about it was… sinister. Occasionally, he might catch a sparkle of white, a glimpse of red, or the fading echo of a giggle. No, not a giggle. A cackle, like something was mocking him. Or maybe it was simply his mind playing tricks on him. It was quite late after all, and being so deep into unfamiliar woods was never good for ones mental state. 

Soon enough, the wind would die down and with it, an eerie silence. The natural ambiance of the forest would still be apparent but besides that, nothing. Just the calming sounds of various insects and the hooting of owls. Nothing to be concerned with. Not even Hayate would be pulling up much aside from that dead rabbit, three sharp precise cuts visible along his abdomen which was undoubtedly the cause of its demise. With little else of concern, returning back would be the next ideal step. (Taking the lead here, hope you dont mind.) 

Heading back towards the house, there would be an uncanny feeling of being watched yet nothing would make itself known. Silence follows the man and his faithful hound as the two return back to the abode. However, it was upon returning did they find something was amiss. The front door of the mansion was halfway open, revealing the inside of the foyer. Even from outside the house, Takeshi would see a rather small intruder inside his home. A squirrel, specifically a red squirrel, seemed to have snuck its way in and appeared to be curiously looking about the place, as if in search something. It was a strange little thing. Well, little probably wasnt the most accurate word. As far as squirrels go, this thing was massive, standing at around a foot and a half tall. It's fur is an unkempt reddish-brown with a creamy white underbelly ending just beneath it's jaw and just before it's tail. It's fur is littered with large white swirls, most notably on it's shoulders, thighs, and cheeks. It looked rather distracted, its back to the entrance as it slowly backed up towards the exit, oblivious to the approaching human and companion. Finally, it lets out a small disappointed sigh, seemingly done with its search and turns to leave, only to halt immediately in its tracks upon seeing Takeshi. Easily, he would notice the soft hazel colored eyes the creature possessed, both now wide with fear and containing the spark of sentience. 

The squirrels entire body would be frozen on the spot, its fur puffed out in an alarmed way as it locks its gaze from the man to his dog, and daring not look away. Its body was trembling like leaf, visible panic quickly setting in as the little thing looked ready to run, scream and vomit all at the same time. Fortunately, it did neither of those things and instead, did something different altogether. 
“Hhh… H-H-he-- er… Um, H-Hell--o?” The squirrel would stammer out, a shockingly feminine and human voice coming from her. She sounded like a young girl, early teenage maybe. “Um… Jeez, you weren't suppose to see me…” She whispers quietly, her panic still very much apparent. “I-- um… We… We're looking for a m-man… whose suppose t-to be living here? P-P-Probably… older. Um… I-I think his n-name is… Isamu. I t-think I'm saying that right. Do, uh… D-Do you… know where he is? Or… maybe where we can f-find him? It's… K-Kind of… really… very… very important.”

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒄 𝒓𝒉𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒎 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒐𝒈, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒛𝒆𝒍 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒚 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒓.  

"𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒛 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅?" 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔. "𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆?"  𝑯𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑, 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍'𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅.  𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆, 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 - 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆.  𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍'𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒆 - 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒓. 

"𝑰𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒖?" 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅. 𝑨 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆. "𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒅, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆."  

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒊𝒓𝒆, 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚, 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒆.  

"𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆, 𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔," 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓.

The little squirrel would bend almost immediately under Takeshi's answer, her ears folding backwards as her large bushy tail plops to the ground. Her pupils would shrink as an all encompassing dread drains any sort of confidence she once had and leaving only palpable fear. Her breathing heightened, turning to hyperventilation as his small advances slowly backed her into a corner. Her eyes darted around, panic driven for a desperate escape. Despite him giving her the apparent option to leave, she found herself unable to make motion towards the man or his dog. 

“Y-Y-You… You don't… U-Under…s-stand!” She struggles to speak out, tears now welling up in her eyes. “I-I'm just… Please I-I didn't m-mean… I-I tried t-t-t-to knock and… Y-You… You're g-gonna…” She suddenly blinks as her eyes catch something behind the man. Still able to look out the front door, the squirrel sees a small black shadow drip out of the trees and land on the rough patch of dirt that makes up the front driveway. From the shadow, a wide sinister grin appears followed by a flash of steel. “LOOK OUT!” The squirrel suddenly screams, tears bursting from her eyes.  

Not a second later a steel kitchen knife is flung full force through the air, narrowly missing Takeshi's head and impacting the wall in front of him. From the shadows comes a low hissing growl follow by another feminine voice. “Alroight. Dat be enough. Da only person allowed ta frighten da little dove like that is me!” The voice yells out, speaking in a heavy British cockney accent. The owner of his voice soon steps into the light bleeding out from the open front door, revealing her full form. What Takeshi sees is some sort of three-foot tall feline creature with a crouched, anthropomorphic figure. She has wiry white fur dotted with big dark red spots, most notably on her chest and the right side of her body. She has two fluffy ears that curl at the tips, the right being red and the left being white. Her eyes also follow this patters with her left eye being a sparkling brilliant silver, and the right being a dark bloody crimson. Atop her head is a red leather hat that helps conceal her messy unkempt hair and around her neck is a white handkerchief with red polka dots. 

The cat thing would let out an unnerving cackle, her lips curling into a devilish grin, showing off countless rows of sharp needle like teeth. “Gotta admit though, it be pretty funny seein' the little dove look like she was about ta piss ‘erself. She don't get like that with me anymore. Might need ta step up my game.” She holds out a six fingered hand, each tipped with a bright red claw. Those claws would suddenly extend, reaching over half a foot in length and looking deadly sharp. “Anyways, here be the deal. We be looking for an ol' dust bucket named Isamu whose suppose to be livin' here. Fukker owes us a favor. Buuut, it looks like da geezer ain't here anymore. Dat be a reeaaal shame cause, uh… we need this house. We also can't afford ta let too many o' you simians know about us so… No hard feelings, love.” She explains in a very casual manner, standing in the doorway of the house. This casualness would immediately melt into a huge vile grin as the feline lets out a screech, suddenly launching herself at Takeshi with a hand full of claws fully extended.  

𝑨𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊’𝒔 𝒕𝒚𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊’𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒑 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆. 

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊’𝒔 𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈; 𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒘𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒊𝒗𝒐𝒕, 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔. 

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒊𝒄 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒘𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒙-𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.  𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊’𝒔 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓—𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝒀𝒆𝒕, 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒘𝒔 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆.  

𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕.  𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒐 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏; 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕.  

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆'𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔- 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒆, 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔.  

𝑹𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒍, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒓, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒊𝒄 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔, 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒆, 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒃𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚.  

"𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒌𝒐𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒖," 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕. 𝑰𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆.  

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒖𝒆𝒍, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒖𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒐𝒓-𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒘𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒅𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒖𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒍, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒆, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍-𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒚𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎.

𝑰𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒐𝒇𝒇-𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚. 𝑨 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒂𝒔𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒊𝒓, 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒆, 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑨𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒚, 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉.  𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒗𝒊𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒕, 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎. “𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒌𝒐𝒖𝒖𝒏 𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆.”  



𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒐 𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅'𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒍 𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌.  

𝑺𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚, 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑼𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒂 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝑳𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆.  𝑰𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒚, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌. 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓; 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓. 

𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒏, 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉. 

"𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒚," 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒅, 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. "… 𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝑰𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒖 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒔𝒐 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒐𝒏..." 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚 𝒖𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕. “… 𝑯𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍… 𝑨𝒈𝒉…”

That feline creature would pose as an inhumanly difficult adversary for Takeshi as she comes at him again and again with wild chaotic strikes. Her movements were incredibly fast and precise with every strike looking to injure or maim. All the while she sported that huge toothy grin which only seemed to get bigger the longer they fought. It was like she was having fun with each deadly attach thrown his way. The blows that he threw back towards her seemed ineffective, even when he managed to catch her midsection and launch her little body into a nearby wall. Hits that would knock the wind out of most creatures simply seemed to interrupt her onslaught of claws and slashes. . She would immediately bounce back without with a moment of hesitation, giving the poor human next to no breathing room. Even when he manages to get a cut or stab in of his own, it wouldn't slow her down in the least, assuming it registered to her at all. It was a miracle that he hadn't gotten shredded already and it came as no surprise when the creature found the hole in his defense. Leaping onto his torso, she imbedded three of her six claws into the left side of his abdomen before pulling her face up close to his own. She gives a deranged cackling laugh, those multicolored eyes mere inches from his own. That close up, he would see that she did not have circular pupils like he did and instead both eyes contained black four pointed star. “Hehehehe gotcha, love. Good try though.” She tells him, giving him an intimate lick along his cheek before ripping her claws out of him and leaping off. 

The feline turns her attention to his dog next, claws still deployed. She knew he gave it the order to attack and was fully expecting it to try, though she would be more than capable of shredding a mere dog to bloody pieces. “Come on then, pup. Have at it like ya master did. I could use a bite.” She taunts, snapping her many rows of needle like teeth at it. To her surprise and disappointment, it doesn't attack and instead flees to its injured master's side. Her grin falters ever so slightly before returning with a shrug of her shoulders. “Loyal thing, arentcha? Cute. You both get to die together now…” Like a harbinger of death, that feline slowly approaches the two of them, both hands by her size and all claws facing towards him. 

However, just as she gets withing striking range she hears his explanation as to who he is and instantly she halts in her tracks. The feline blinks, her once exuberant smile vanishing as her eyes go wide. Shes silent for a good moment, her demented brain seeming to be rapidly processing something… difficult. “Y-You're kiddin', right? Oh shyt. OH SHYT!” She would suddenly scream out, taking a step back from him as her menacing aura completely melts away into one of alarm and anger. “Oh fukkin hell! Damn it all! NOW YOU TELL US?!” She continues to shout in a bind rage, followed by an assortment of colorful curses and stomping her clawed feet on the ground. Seems like the kitty had quite the offensive mouth on her. After a short moment she snaps back to her senses, a very concerned look now on her face as she looks towards him. “Ah fack, you're hurt. Oh no. Oh no no no. Okay, listen. First, don't fukkin stab me. I can promise ya, you wont kill me. Second, hold still. We need to stanch the bleedin'. Just keep your mutt off me.” She orders, throwing all caution to the wind as she comes in close. The little cat thing drops to her knees beside him before grabbing hold of his shirt. With a sharpened claw, she slices a long strip of the fabric and balls it up. “Might wanna bite onto somethin'.” This was the only warning she gives before tightly pressing the material to the three deep puncture wounds in his side. She'll keep the cloth pinned to his side before looking back and yelling, “HYZENTHLAY! Where da fack are ya? I need ya, dove!” 

The little squirrel from before had immediately fled out of the way when the fighting began and was now hiding on the staircase that led to the second floor. She peeks her head out when shes called however and comes nervously skittering over. “I-I'm here, I'm here, Lucy! W-What's do you need-- O-Oh… Oh he's b-b-bleeding a lot…” The squirrel stammers out. 

“Yes, how astute of you, dove. I CAN SEE THAT!” Lucy would yell out, grabbing Hyzenthlay by the back of her neck and thrusting her towards the blood makeshift bandages. “Pressure, here, NOW. If he bleeds out I'll make sure you bleed out with ‘im! I’m lookin' for a proper first aid kit.” 

“W-wha? Wait, why? I t-thought you were g-gonna… kill him.” The squirrel does as shes told and presses both her small hands down on the wound, doing her best to slow his bleeding. 

“Change o' plans, dove. Apparently, this fukkin' tit be Isamu's grandson.” Lucy would stop her search before suddenly spinning around to pointing an accusatory finger at Takeshi. “Ya couldn't have started with that? Ya wouldn't be bleedin' out right now if ya did! First aid is not my fukkin' job! Graaaah!” She lets out an angered scream before bolting off, rapidly looking through the house for medical supplies, leaving the little squirrel alone with Takeshi and Hayate. 

There's an awkward moment there as the squirrel keeps applying pressure as she was told. She swallows hard, letting out a shaky breath. “S-So… Um, I know this… isn't r-really the best time b-but… Hi. I'm, uh… Hyzenthlay. Th-The other lady is Lucy. S-Sorry she… well, s-stabbed you. Its… nice to meet you, though.” Hyzenthlay says, trying her best to put on a positive tone, despite the current situation. 

𝑨𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒚. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔? 𝑺𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒔𝒆𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆. 

 𝑨𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎. 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒔, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒐, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒚𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒈'𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.

 𝑨𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆'𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒃𝒚 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒗𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏. 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆, 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚. "𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖?!" 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅. "𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒐!"  

𝑨𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍-𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑨 𝒎𝒊𝒙 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔. "𝑭***, 𝒇***, 𝒇***…" 𝑯𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉, 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚. 𝑯𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑼𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒅 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒚. 

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔. 𝑨𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆, 𝒊𝒇 𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍.

When Takeshi did not return introductions to Hyzenthlay her confidence in the situation faltered and she quickly began to shrink under the weight of the awkward situation. Her head would shrug down and she swiftly looks away from him, uncomfortable with making eye contact. “R-Right… Probably n-not the best… time for introductions. I'll just… k-keep applying pressure…” The squirrel mumbles out, holding down the rags tightly to his side still. 

Scrambling noises could be heard behind them as Lucy goes ransacking through the house, haphazardly searching for anything that could be used to help mend the situation she caused. Finally, the feline creature returns to the others, a old first aid kit in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other. The alcohol could have been from Takeshi's own collection or maybe was something left over from Isamu. Either way, she slaps down the supplies beside the injured man and pops open the kit. “Oi, simians can use vodka as a disinfectant, roight?” Lucy would ask to anyone while also unscrewing the cap to the bottle. Without a single moment of hesitation she would pull the bottle to her little lips and take a mighty swig of the contents, downing a fraction of the powerful drink with ease. The sheer gulp she take would put lesser humans into fits of coughing and gagging but Lucy barely even seemed fazed by it. “Hmm, yea. This'll do. Get ready ta move those rags out the way, dove.” The feline says to Hyzenthlay as she begins unravelling a generous amount of gauze. Soaking it in the alcohol she would create a makeshift sterilized patch and quickly press it to Takeshi's wound once the squirrel pulled the torn fabric away. He would feel a shocking sting to his system as the liquid goes to work cleaning the injury. Finally, she takes the roll of gauze and would begin to wrap it around his midsection. With Takeshi being in a sitting position, this was somewhat easy to do as her small frame rapidly crawls around his form until a proper bandage is right secured. Lucy will even tie it off with a cute little bow to keep everything nice and held together. 

“And there we go! Crisis adverted.” Lucy would say, wiping her hands together and taking another mighty swig of the alcohol. She would pause for a moment, looking over at Takeshi with a bit of an embarrassed look along her face. “Welp, guess this be roight awkward…”

“Indeed. Are you quite done making a fool of yourself, Lacemaker?” Another voice suddenly speaks out, this one being deep, refined and masculine. Lucy and Hyzenthlay both snap their necks around to the source of the voice. Standing at the steps of the pouch was yet another stranger, this one however was far different than the other two. While Lucy and her companion both resembled animals, this new individual did nothing of the sort. He is a tall, gangly humanoid with a skeletal frame, bone-colored skin, and long, lanky limbs. His fiery orange-and-red hair splays out from the top of his head and runs down the back of his thin, foot-long neck like a mane, and sways about on its own accord. His face is gaunt and skull-like, with beady orange eyes set in deep black sockets, sharp cheekbones, and a chiseled but flat nose that appears to be no more than two slits. His mouth stretches from ear to ear, full of red needle-like teeth that lock tight together, giving his mouth the appearance of being flayed open like a "Glasgow Grin". A smaller set of outer teeth interlace where his lips meet at the middle, making his mouth appear smaller than it actually is.

Going down his neck are a four blood-red slits from where multiple white quills jut out like fishbones, the largest being on opposite sides of his head, curling around his head and neck like a collar. From the neck down, his anatomy is more conventionally humanoid with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His hands each have five fingers and a thumb tipped with black claws. Much of his height is taken up by his long legs, which are digitigrade in shape and end in raptor-like feet with five huge, sickle-shaped claws. 

Despite his monstrous appearance, this new individual looked far more sophisticated than the likes of Lucy or Hyzenthlay. He wore an elegant leather vest with fanciful gold inlays and a loooong matching leather coat over it which ran down the length of his elongated body. He had no shoes to speak of, allowing his sickle like toe claws to clack against the hard wood as he walked up the porch to the front door. What really came at a shock was his size. The other two were tiny compared to this monstrous stranger, coming in at a grand 9 feet in height! He has to bend himself low to fit through the door way but the heightened ceilings of the mansion make it easy for him to stand once inside. He towers over Takeshi, Hayate, Hyzenthlay and Lucy, looking down at the four with sharp, fierce beady eyes. “Lacemaker: Status report.” He orders, his voice demanding and firm. 

Lucy immediately stands to face him and had to look straight up, her height only coming to a mere three feet. “Well heya Ludwig. Was wonderin' when you'd catch up, ya slow wanker. So we've got bad news, good news, more bad news, and more good news. Isamu's dead, bad, but apparently gave his house to his grandson, so thats good. Buuut I didn't know that. He tried to threaten the little dove, so I tried to do what I do best and nearly killed him. Bad. Buuuuuuut I managed to patch ‘im up! So there. He’s alive, house is still here, and I did ma job!” Lucy explains a fast version of what happened, placing her hands on her hips with a proud expression. 

Ludwig merely lets out an annoyed growl, snorting in her direction. “For once. And even then your actions were shoddy. You should have investigated further before making such a rash decision. You know what would have happened if you had killed him!” 

Lucy just rolls her eyes to him scolding her. “Yea yea, ‘would make it so much harder to stay hidden, increase the risk of humans discovering us,’ blah blah blah, I know. But look, he ain't dead. So f*** off n' leave me be.” She would cross her arms defensively. 

Ludwig waves her off with an agitated growl and just shakes his head before looking towards Takeshi. “Do forgive her… rudeness. She was given the order to kill any humans in this house who were not Isamu or in some relation to him. A security measure, I assure you. I am Ludwig, the acting Grand Voice for my government. Your grandfather and many generations before him has had a long running arrangement with our kind. Recent events have forced us to call upon this arrangement suddenly, so my apologies for not sending a letter before hand. Tell me, surely your grandfather has informed you of us, correct? At least somewhat?”

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒉𝒐𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒙𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 - 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒐𝒅𝒌𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅! 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒋𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈.   

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒖𝒑, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒍𝒚. “𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕? 𝑴𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈?”

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 - 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅; 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒙 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅...𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕?

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇. "𝑴𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅. 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔."

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HAYATE'S POV:
𝑨𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒚. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓, 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒚-𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒘𝒌-𝒆𝒚𝒆d 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒋𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍-𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈.   

𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘, 𝒂𝒍𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒕, 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒖𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑰𝒕𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒕. 𝑨𝒔 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌. 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔, 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈'𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓-𝒂𝒕-𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒔.  

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆, 𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆, 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚.

Ludwig gives a hard stare down at the man as he manages to stand, a surprising feat considering the injury he had just sustained. Either that or Lucy put waaay too much alcohol and just numbed the entire area. Regardless, Ludwig would raise an eye at the human, mentioning he never once heard of them from his grandfather. Ludwig grumbles out in an annoyed manner, a hand curling around his chin in deep thought for a moment. “He never once mentioned us? Honestly? Blast it all. That makes things unnecessarily complicated.” The lanky ghoul would say, letting out a sigh of disappointment.  

Lucy on the other hand would cross her arms and look up at the human with a disgruntled expression. “I'd say so. For the record there, love, we ain't monsters. That be insultin'. We be animals, same as you. Just… a little different.” The feline would tell him, clacking her large red toe claws along the floor. 

Ludwig gives a confirming grunt as he leans down and gingerly picks up Hyzenthlay by the scruff of her neck and placing her upon his shoulder. “Quite right. I realize there is much here you do not understand. We must seem like petty home invaders given the time and circumstances. All of your predecessors before you have been informed of us in some way. You see, several generations ago, I mistakenly saved your distant great-great-great grandfather from mortal peril. A lapse in judgement on my part as I mistakenly revealed myself to him. However, before I could end him, he told me that he would be indebted to me for the rest of  MY life. This was… a rather apt choice of words.” 

Lucy walks up beside Ludwig, a cocky smirk over her face as she gives an agreeing nod. “Roight roight. See, that be a funny thing cause… well, we ain't really from here. Not… technically. Our kind don't age like your lot do. We live much, much, much, longer. Longer than your little simian head could probably understand.” She explains, casually rubbing her shiny claws over her chest fur to fluff them. 

Ludwig gives her a little annoyed growl at being interrupted. “Hmm, yes. Because of that stipulation, that promise became a life debt, passed down through generations of your family. However, its only been your direct grandfather's who have known of us. Now don't think me cruel. I merely wanted one singular favor in exchange for this debt. That is, if ever we found ourselves in need of an emergency hideaway then this home would suffice, and whoever is the current resident, assuming they are apart of the Kaito family, would help keep us hidden from watchful eyes. Simian, or otherwise… It would seem this has fallen onto you now.”

𝑨𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒚 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆. 

𝑨𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒋𝒖𝒎𝒑 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒋𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔. 

𝑨𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.  

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒑, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒓𝒆. "𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔? 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒐𝒘𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅? 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈?"  

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒃𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆.   

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 

Ludwig gives a hard narrowed glare down to Takeshi upon hearing his rebellious question, his hands casually folded behind his back. Slowly, Ludwig leans himself forward and down until he is eye level with the human, allowing him to see all the moving little quills that jut out of the lanky creatures neck. Ludwig's eyes were small but intense, like two little golden spheres sitting within pools of black. “Watch. Your. Tone.” He sternly, like a parent warning a child of their language. “If you do not believe my word, then look upon this home for proof. If I recall, its construction was intended with several rooms, yet they serve no purpose. Empty. Why do you believe that is? To put it simply, they are intended for us. Regardless, it does not matter if you agree to it or not. The results will be the same. If you agree, then you shall continue your existence with only some moderate changes to your current living conditions. You will also be making things far easier for us as well. If you refuse however…” He looks over towards Lucy and gives her a curt nod. 

The feline smiles widely from ear to ear, savagery flowing throughout her body. Her claws deploy, each one flickering in a menacing way. However, instead of turning them on Takeshi, she faces them towards herself, stabbing her own claws into the center of her chest. Hyzenthlay would immediately look away, cowering on Ludwig's shoulder before Lucy suddenly rips her own chest open before the human. What he sees might as well be a portal to hell. Instead of organs or bones he sees a massive gaping maw of rows upon rows of gnashing teeth and writhing tendrils. A vortex of death and hunger like something seen out of a waking nightmare. Those tentacles come whipping and flailing out, desperately reaching for something to grab. Before they can reach Takeshi or his companion however, Lucy will close the maw, dragging all those horrendous appendages back inside and sealing her chest up like it had never been there to begin with. She gives an innocent little giggle, that grin still across her face. 

“Thank you, Lacemaker. Good demonstration. Now then human, these are your two options. Regardless of which one you pick, we will be commandeering this home for the time being. You can either work with us and continue to live you life. Or… I let Lacemaker continue where she left off. Take your pick.”  Ludwig tells him, standing himself back up straight and staring down at Takeshi with that same intensive glare. It would seem like Ludwig's facial expressions would not change very much, possibly lacking the muscles in his face to do so. 

𝑨𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆, 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒌 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒔. 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒃𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒓, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈'𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆.  

"𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑰'𝒎 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕," 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒅 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆. 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒚𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚'𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 

"𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆? 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒕. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔?" 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒇𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒅. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆'𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆.  

𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒅𝒐, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚'𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒆𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆.  

𝑩𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈. "𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒆," 𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔, "𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒏. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆. 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝑰 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆."

Ludwig's heavy gaze would soften ever so slightly as Takeshi relented, finally agreeing to their terms. Hyzenthlay would let out a held breath of relief while Lucy would snap her fingers in disappointment, still itching for a fight. Ludwig pays her no mind as he continues. “I am pleased to know that you can make intelligent decisions, simian. Do understand, this is not a tyranny nor are we unreasonable in what we require. I know these circumstances might seem weighed against you, but they are for an important purpose. I had hoped that Isamu would have shared a bit about us with you, but it would seem he did not get around to it. This is unfortunate, for this is quite a lot to inform you of. First things first however. Lacemaker: Run an inventory check for what supplies we have. We were not able to bring anything from our previous settlement, so be meticulous.” Ludwig would command, motioning to Lucy. 

The little feline would giggle and hop from foot to foot. “You got it!” She yells out, bolting off as she dashes towards the kitchen. 

“And do not just go searching for alcohol! Blasted drunkard… Hyzenthlay, take a scan of the home. I want to know the amount of rooms, windows, entrances and exits. See what rooms are furnished and usable.” 

The little squirrel gives a little jump as she is given an order, blinking in surprise. “O-Oh! I have a job. Y-Yes sir, Ludwig.” Hyzenthlay says, scrambling off his shoulder and skittering up the stairs. 

“And Shuck, I want you…” Ludwig turns as if to speak to a another person, only for there to be no one there. He turns back to Takeshi. “Ah, right. There is a fourth member of our little group, but I have him out running reconnaissance on the local area. I'm sure he shall be with us momentarily. For now, come. There is much to explain and you can rest in the meantime. That injury is going to take time to recover.” Ludwig would beckon the human to follow as he travels deeper into the house. Passing the kitchen, Lucy could be seen hard at work rapidly opening every cabinet, pantry, drawer and cupboard, counting every bit of sustenance that could be found. It would seem that she was able to keep track of everything without the need to write it down. In one hand, she held the bottle of vodka she once used to clean Takeshi's wound, the contents now being more than half way empty. 

Ludwig just sighs and shakes his head, choosing to ignore the feline drinking on the job. Entering the living room, the tall lanky ghoul would take a seat in what once was Isamu's personal recliner, his long legs taking up a decent amount of space. He would motion for the human to take a seat. “Now then… Before we begin, I suppose asking for your name would be appropriate, unless you wish to stick to the title of Simian. You probably have quite a lot of questions for us and that is understandable.” He would pause to toss one long leg over the other and clear his voice. “You may ask whatever questions you would like of us, but I shall answer a few more obvious ones, such as who we are. As I said, I am Grand Voice Ludwig, current leader of my government. You have already met the Voice of Court: Lucy Lacemaker…” 

“'Ello love!” Lucy would blurt out, popping into the living room for a quick moment before returning to her counting. 

“…and the Sciurus Vulgaris: Hyzenthlay. Our final member is the Yolsh Soldier: Shuck. He'll be with us eventually. Now, as for what we are, our kind is known as Kivouachian (Kiv-o-ack-ian). We are an ancient species, born well before the creation of your world, or even before the very stars that hang in your sky. We are the shapes made from perfected nature, created through natural selection and rigorous conflict. Every Kivouachian is different, with no two being exactly alike. From shapes, sizes, colors, skin types or even body types, we are all Kiv, and you best believe we are all dangerous, though some more than others.” He would pause here for a moment, giving Takeshi time to process.  

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒄𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒛𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈, 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑-𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒎 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚. 𝑯e 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆. 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔. 

𝑨 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒐𝒔𝒚𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏.  

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂. 𝑯𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒑, 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒊𝒄.  

"𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰'𝒎 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖?" 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆. “𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰'𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒏𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒆.”  

"𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔," 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆. “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚’𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆.”  

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑨𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅. 

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔.  

𝑨𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒄𝒉, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒔𝒚𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒚. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚'𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑳𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆-𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒔. 

𝑨𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈, 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒊𝒕. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒆, “𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕.” 

𝑵𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔. 𝑨𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒚, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.  

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇, 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍, 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆'𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍.  

𝑬𝒚𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅.  "𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈... 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒘," 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚. “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰’𝒎 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔.”  

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒍, 𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔.

Ludwig raises his nose to Takeshi's agreement to play along, which is more than the Grand Voice expected him to give. It was obvious that this human would be troublesome. There was a strong sense of pride about him and his rebelliousness was evident. In truth, humans like him were seen as a security risk and were better off being killed, but this was a special situation. It would be best for everyone's survival if this human remained alive to help prevent others from snooping about. Fortunately, Takeshi wasn't completely resistant to the idea nor idiotic. He understood the position he was in. All that was needed now was some careful compromising. 

“Perhaps some clarification is needed. I do not expect servitude, nor unrelenting devotion. That is not the sort of government I intend to run. We are not gods, nor some sort of celestial beings. As Lacemaker said before, we are merely animals, created through life and shaped by its trials. To think we are anything else would be to reject our own nature. No, what I expect is cooperation, competence, and competition, for these are the building blocks of progress.” Ludwig would explain, taking a moment to reach into his coat. He pulls out a small black notebook, bound in leather and tied shut with a red ribbon. Undoing the bindings, he would also take out an antique fountain pen and begin writing something into the pages before continuing. “Along with these building blocks is also the aspect of respect. You said it is something earned, and I would definitely agree, but this goes the same for you. The more you can prove your usefulness, the easier a time you shall have with us. Perhaps, depending on what the future holds, you may even have this home returned back to you, as it was only intended to be something temporary while we recollect ourselves. Now onto--” A sudden knocking to the front door stole away Ludwig's attention, his head snapping in that direction.

A scrambling sound would come from the kitchen followed by the sound of clattering plasticware. “Ooh! I got it, I got it! That be Shuck!” Lucy yells out, skittering across the kitchen floor before launching herself at the front door, grabbing the knob and twisting her small body to open it. "'Bout time ya got here!  Da fack happened to ya? You're a mess!" 

The sound of hooves and claws clacking on hardwood follows as the new entity enters the house. “Yea, yea, I know. The woods ‘round here be thick as hell.” A deep gruff voice speaks out as their heavy footsteps approach the living room. He has a similar accent to Lucy, though not as cockney as hers. “You try coverin' that much land and not havin' every damn bramble bush caught in yer fur. This be the new place? Pretty big as far as human dwellings go.” Shuck turns the corner and enters the living room, revealing himself to Takeshi. What the human sees is an amalgamation of different creatures mixed together, the most apparent being wolf, panther, and ram like qualities. He enters on four legs, his fur mainly pitch black with some strands of silvery white being on his arms and legs. He has two black ears both ending in bright tuffs of red that curl upwards. He has a furry dragon like snout tipped with two small upward facing horns that lead into a row of more horns that gradually get larger the further they go up his forehead before curling over his eyes. Most notable are the two massive hallow ram horns that spout out the top of his head and curl downwards, ending in two sharp points that end on either side of his cheeks. The left horn is split at the tip. He has a long wiry black and red spotted main starting at the back of his neck and traveling all the way down to his skinny waist. Two diamond shaped red splotches are visible around his eyes which are oddly the same color as his sclera. His irises are a sickly yellow color. 

About 13 bone-like spines jut out of his sides, some straight and some curved. The low half of his body is longer, thinner and smaller than the front, ending in a pair of ram-like hooves that seem more than capable of delivering a good kick. A short panther like tail hangs limply from his backside. Lucy would be riding his back, being mindful of the spines as she plucks away various bundles of thorns that are caught in his fur. 

“Ah, there you are, Shuck. Took your time I see.” Ludwig would greet him with a stony glance. The strange hound would simply roll his eyes at the comment. “Actually, your timing is perfect. I was just informing our new associate about us. Shuck, this is Takeshi along with his canine companion.” The grand voice motions towards the human and Hayate. 

Shuck blinks, looking the man casually up and down, along with his pet. “A simian, huh? Never thought we'd be bunkin' with one o' your kind. You know we'd be in a bad spot for somethin' like this to happen. Welp, in any case, nice to meetcha. I be the hardheaded on 'round here.” He would say with a little laugh, knocking a clawed hand against one of his large horns to emphasize his point. 

𝑨𝒔 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅'𝒔 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒚𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌'𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒖𝒇𝒇 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒓.

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒌 𝒖𝒑, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔, 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒗𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑯𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕.

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌’𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌'𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌; 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒔𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎.

Shuck raises an eyebrow defensively as Hayate approaches, the German Shepard taking quite the apparent interest in the devilish hound. He would move himself about as he is sniffed awkwardly by the dog, making a direct notion to keep the mutt from getting behind him. It would seem that Shuck was a little bit uncomfortable with someone or something unknown invading his personal space. “Hey! Watch it. Don't be gettin' any ideas there poochie.”

Lucy would give a little chuckling laugh as she is swung around on Shuck's back, the feline holding on tight as to not get thrown off. “Hehehe whats the matter, Shuck? Not takin' too fondly to yer new fan?” She would say in a taunting manner. “I wonder if they gotcha confused as somethin' else. Ya look enough alike.” 

Shuck would snap at her, twisting his head around to try and snap at the small feline bouncing on his back. “Come off it, Lucy. We do not! That be like sayin' you look like some mangey alley cat!” He would shoot back at her defensively. Lucy gasps out at this comment, angrily grabbing onto his neck and digging her claws into him. 

“Mangey?! I do NOT look mangey! I take damn good care ' this fur, you bramble covered f***! You take that back now!”

“Ow! Lucy, quit it! I'm fakkin' with ya. Fine I take it back!”

Lucy dislodges her claws from his neck, leaving several puncture wounds hidden beneath his fur. Strangely, very little blood would seep out from the injuries and Shuck look to only be mild discomfort from it, if that. 

Meanwhile, Ludwig is gripping his temples in frustration at the behavior of his two companions. He lets out a long-aggravated sigh before looking back up towards Takeshi. “This is what I put up with. Considering all that has happened tonight, I think it might be best to retire for the remainder of the evening. I know those injuries are probably still bothering you and I do not wish to overwhelm you anymore than we already have. This way we can get ourselves fully situated while you rest up. Would that be agreeable with you, unless you have any remaining questions for us? I can inform you of our reason for being here come morn.”

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚, 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆. 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈'𝒔 𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓. 𝑨𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒔𝒐, 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒑 𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒖𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒅.  

𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒑𝒊𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅-𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆'𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔.  

𝑨𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒘. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.  

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈, "𝑬𝒓- 𝒚𝒆𝒔. 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅." 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒓. "𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔. 𝑲𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉, 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒃𝒐𝒚?" 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒂 𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒄𝒆𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒈'𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎, 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒆'𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏.

The three would watch as their new human companion leaves them, heading upstairs to finally rest and recuperate from the overly stressful day. On the way up, little Hyzenthlay finally finishes up her scan of the house, identifying every window, room, door, and piece of furniture that was usable. This was done multiple times as she miscounted or lost track of a few of her numbers. Seeing Takeshi entering his room, she wishes him a soft good night before venturing downstairs to join the rest of her housemates. “L-Ludwig, I finished counting all the rooms and s-stuff.” She would tell him, giving him the report on the amount of available space within the house. He gives her a curt nod, quickly adding her numbers into his little black book and keeping everything recorded. 

From there, the four Kivs, and Hayate, take a moment to discuss a few things amongst each other. Lucy would be sitting down atop the mantlepiece, finishing off the bottle of vodka from before. Shuck would be sitting in front of one of the couches, seeing that his spines would poke the furniture to shreds. Hyzenthlay takes a spot above, laying down atop a hanging shelf and seeing everyone down below. Ludwig remains in his chair, intensely looking over the pages in his journal. 

“So what are we gonna to do with him?” Lucy directly asks, not looking up from her bottle. “He's a bit of an arse. Not a bad fighter though, for a simian. He knows of us now, and it be obvious he ain't too keen on a buncha strangers invadin' his home. If he tells someone we're fakked.” 

Ludwig wraps a hand around his chin and slowly closes his book. “Indeed. It is dangerous. I had hoped that Isamu would have informed him more about us. Made him more prepared and more trusting. This will be dangerous going forwards. I want you two to keep a very close eye on him but try to work with him. The more he trusts us, the better.” 

“Askin' us to lay on the ol' charm, huh? Well ya definitely chose the wrong set o' Kivs for that job. We ain't exactly the most likable sorts, especially not to simians.” Shuck rubs a hand against his horns, scrubbing off a bit of dirt left over from his run through the woods. 

“Oi! Speak fer yourself. I be fukkin adorable, hehehe.” Lucy coos, laying herself out on the mantlepiece with the empty bottle in one hand. 

“Pfft, maybe when you're drunk off your arse--” *BONK!* The empty bottle clonks him in the head, fortunately not shattering on impact. Shuck winces out with a groan, snarling up at the mischievous feline. 

“Whoops, ma hand slipped. Silly me.”  

“Enough, both of you!” Ludwig suddenly snaps, aggravated with their childish behavior. He stands from his seat, fixing his clothing. “I am going to retire to the study. There is much to do now after what's happened and I have letters to write. I want no interruptions, so keep the noise down.” With a flick of his coat, Ludwig walks off, vanishing into the study and closing the door behind him. 

*Several hours later* 

The sun would be rising in the early hours of the morning, bright rays shining in through the houses many windows. Takeshi would awaken to the smell of something burning, like food being left on the shove for a little too long. Downstairs, the house wouldn't be in too much of a mess from how Takeshi left it. Shuck would be out on the back porch, laying down atop one of the old lawn chairs and staring up at the cloudy morning sky. Lucy would one sprawled out along the kitchen table, her body contorted in an odd and unsettling way. Her hat would be over her face and light snoring could be heard coming from her. Around her body would be three or four more bottles of various alcohol, all apparently finished off by the sole feline. The source of the smell would be coming from the stove which looked recently used. Three used plates would be sitting in the sink with a dirty pan. Hyzenthlay would be sadly trying to clean the piece of cookware, her tiny body struggling to scrub off the burn residue from a barely passable cooking attempt. On the counter would be a fourth plate, a meal still waiting on it consisting of over cooked eggs, lightly charred bacon and a slice of bread. One of the pieces of bacon would have a chomp taken out of it. 

HAYATE’S POV AFTER TAKESHI RETREATED TO HIS ROOM:

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈'𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕, 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎. 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒗𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅. 𝑨𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆-𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒅, 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒌𝒚 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅.  

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒗𝒔, 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒓. 𝑨𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒕.  

𝑨𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔𝒚. 𝑯𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒖𝒕. 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒃𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈'𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒈, 𝒆𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈, 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅.  

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒖𝒑, 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒈 𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚. 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 him, 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒓.  

𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑲𝒊𝒗𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒐𝒓. 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒄𝒆, 𝒏𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒐𝒅𝒌𝒂 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒓. 𝑯𝒚𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒇. 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍.  

𝑨𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆, 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝑼𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒔, 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.  

𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈'𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒕, 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒕 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚, 𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.  

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TAKESHI’S POV THE FOLLOWING MORNING:

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕. 𝑯𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒔, 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒕 𝒂 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒌, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅. 𝑰𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒅, 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚. 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚, 𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅, 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒚𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌'𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌'𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕.  

𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂 𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒊𝒕, 𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒍𝒚. 𝑯𝒚𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒚 𝒂 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅-𝒑𝒂𝒏, 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒆. 𝑶𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒈𝒈𝒔, 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒇𝒇. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 - 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔.  

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏'𝒔 𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒖𝒛𝒛𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑯𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒍, 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒘 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑨 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 - 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒗𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒆.  

𝑯𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉, 𝒓𝒖𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅. 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒆, 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑨 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔.

Hyzenthlay would jump as she sees Takeshi come downstairs and inspect the current environment of the house. She scrambles herself out of the sink, abandoning the dirty pan for a moment. A cloth had been neatly folded and tied around her waist, creating a tiny sized apron. “G-Good morning, Takeshi.” She would greet nervously, her little hands anxiously rubbing over one another. “I-I uh… hope you're feeling better… this morning. L-Lucy tried cooking some breakfast for everyone but, s-shes…” The squirrel slowly turns her eyes to the small snoring drunken cat sleeping atop the dining room table. “…not exactly use to cooking. It's not her fault though. Lucy's diet m-makes it so she doesnt have to cook her food. She a.. Uh, trying to r-remember what it was called. It h-had a weird name.” She pauses to think for a moment, snapping her little fingers before perking up. “A sanguivore! Y-Yea! I think that's what's it called. She mainly feeds on… well, b-blood, but s-she can eat raw meat as well. Shuck and I are both vegetarians s-so we can eat m-most plants raw, though S-Shuck is okay w-with eggs. L-Ludwig is really the only one whose omnivore but he's… not picky." Her words begin to trail off as she realizes how much shes been talking, her head slowly tilting downwards in embarrassment. "A-Anyways, I'm just t-trying to clean up a bit. Hope that's… okay.” Hyzenthlay would give a little bow to Takeshi before resuming her attempt at cleaning. 

A moment later, an unceremonious snort is heard from the feline as she begins to rise from the dead, untwisting herself as she sits herself up and slides her hat back to the top of her messy head. She looked drowsy still and out of it, or maybe still heavily intoxicated from the multiple bottles she burned through. Her red eye would be twirling about in its own, wondering out of sync with its partner. Lucy knocks on the side of her head, resetting the damaged eye and aligning it back up properly once more. She blinks a few times, looking up over towards Takeshi. “Oi, mornin' love. Cooked a little somethin' for ya. Simans fry up bacon n' eggs in the mornin' roight?” She would ask, rolling herself over onto her belly and stretching out her small form, curving her back downwards as she arches her chest in the opposite direction. Her flexibility was easily evident as she bends in ways that would be considered painful for a human. Her mouth opens as she lets out a mighty yawn, her jaw stretching as those multiple rows of needle like teeth angle themselves outwards like the maw of an angler fish before snapping back to their original position. Lucy would then plop herself down onto her furry behind, crossing her legs as she rubs her good eye sleepily. “If ya dont like the food then eat shyt. Cookin' ain't ma specialty but I figured I'd give it a shot. Workin' a burner stove is a pain…” 

Hyzenthlay peeks herself up from the sink for a moment, hearing that last part from Lucy. She would gently poke Takeshi to get his attention, then mouth to him, “Shes afraid of fire.” Not a second later, the squirrel gets bapped in the face by the rim of Lucy's hat which goes bouncing back through the air. The feline would skillfully catch it and return it to its rightful spot atop her head. “Shut the hell up, dove. I ain't scared o' nothin'. Just… a little more cautious 'round an open flame, thats all.”

Takeshi's hand pressed into his bandaged abdomen while he stood in the doorway, seemingly in contemplation. As he ambled toward the kitchen sink, his eyes fell upon Hyzenthlay, rushing to clean up the mess that had been made, a fabric apron neatly tied around her waist. Although he acknowledged her with a small nod, he abstained from engaging in idle chit-chat as he was not in the mood for such pleasantries.

Subsequently, his attention was drawn to Lucy, who sat atop the dining room table, seemingly inebriated. While she explained her attempt at breakfast, Takeshi's annoyance grew as he noticed her nonchalant attitude towards the task at hand. Merely a day ago, Takeshi had fallen victim to a stab wound from the cat creature herself, and yet Lucy was acting as if nothing of importance had occurred.

"Lucy, can you not see the mess you've created here?" Takeshi's voice was strident as he gestured towards the dishevelment. "If you can't handle cooking, then leave it to someone else. The last thing we need is a fire in the house. I don't care if cooking isn't your specialty, you should at least know how to use a damn stove without burning everything." he snapped, his tone dripping with acrimony. “I'm just thankful that the house hasn't burned down yet…”

Takeshi's scolding appeared to have had a more profound effect on Hayate than was initially expected. The normally tranquil and collected canine appeared to have been provoked to a deep-seated inclination by Takeshi's fury. It is possible that Hayate apprehended the gravity of Takeshi's injury, or that he was merely responding to the intense sentiments permeating the area.

Despite his own wounds and the tumultuous ambiance within the abode, Takeshi retained his focus on pacifying Hayate and reinstating his composure. The dog was addressed in a hushed, calming tone, and gentle gestures were accompanied with placatory touches to aid in his relaxation.

"Hayate, calm down," Takeshi uttered, his voice resolute and collected. He sensed the tension rising within himself, aware that the last thing he required was for his faithful companion to spiral out of control. Subsequently, he extended his hand to pet Hayate in an attempt to calm him and mitigate his barking.

Initially, Hayate appeared apprehensive, emitting sporadic lunges and barks. Nevertheless, Takeshi persisted and remained steadfast, utilizing a gentle touch and unwavering commands to maintain control over the dog. Gradually, Hayate began to placate, and his frenzied barking tapered off into low, tentative whimpers. However, his anxieties remained, evidenced by his pacing and tensed musculature.

Lucy gives a scowl to Takeshi's insult, her claws instinctively deploying at the sheer audacity of his rudeness. “Oi! F*** you, ya watery tit!” She snaps out at him as she stands herself up atop the table. “I'd be the only one willin' or able to actually cook! Little dove be too small, Shuck's barely got apposable thumbs n' can't stand up right to reach the pan, and Ludwig… Ludwig wouldn't even bother with soemthin' so ‘beneath him’.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest, her eyes narrowed angrily at the man. Hayate would begin barking, momentarily taking the feline's attention away and making her glare down at him instead. Fortunately, Takeshi quiets the canine down before she blows up a second time. Shaking her head, she hops off the table and prepares to walk off towards backdoors that lead to the deck. “You could at least thank a person who tries to do somethin' nice for you before pissin' 'em off. You try cooking something when you're three and a half feet tall…” She would grumble out, stomping her way to the backdoors just as Shuck is coming it. The hellish hound is nearly shoved out of the way by the angry cat who goes out onto the deck to cool off. 

“F*** me, whats got her fumin' first thing in the mornin'? Figured the alcohol would keep her docile for a least a little bit.” Shuck would say, stepping into the kitchen to greet Takeshi. “Mornin' lad. Hope you were able to get some sleep after last night. I heard about the nasty stab ya took from Lucy too. Honestly, you be one lucky sonovbitch that she didn't getcha worse. Might wanna get the bandages replaced though.” He suggests, walking over to the fridge and fetching himself an apple. Treat in hand, Shuck heads to the living room to relax for a bit. 

Hyzenthlay peeks her head out the sink that she was using to hide during Lucy's outburst. She makes sure the coast was clean before scrambling out again. A small sigh escapes her lips as she sees the angry feline sitting up on the railing of the deck, probably grumbling to herself. “Erm… S-Sorry, again… about Lucy. She's uh… She can be a bit s-sensitive. I know shes not the easiest to g-get along with… I put the f-firstaid kit below the sink and f-found some… d-disinfectant last night. I can help change out your bandage if you'd like…” The squirrel would offer, sprting a weak smile as she tries to be helpful. 

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚'𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏; 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏? 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔.  

"𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆?" 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒔. "Y𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒌, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒎. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒏?" 𝑬𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚.  

𝑰𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒕, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 now. 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅.  

𝑨𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒏. 𝑯𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒚'𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔. "𝑰 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂…" 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒅, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕.   

𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌'𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍. 𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝑯𝒚𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔. "𝑰'𝒎 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆," 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒅. "𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏' 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇." 

𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒘𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓. 𝑯𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚, 𝒑𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆.

Ludwig pen would not stop working since he retired to the study the previous night. With rapid fluid movements he creates artistic and elegant letters, all addressed to a variety of different individuals and places. Each letter is then tri-folded and stamped with a classical wax seal. Behind him, a pile of created mail laid stacked and folded, with some groups of the envelopes tied together with twine or string. Now how these letters were to be delivered and to who would be another story altogether. Despite his deep concentration, Ludwig would halt as something feels amiss. The quills along his neck would flicker and wave about, sensing a presence outside his door. Quietly, he sets down his pen and rises up, gingerly opening the door. 

To his mild surprise, he sees Hayate patiently sitting outside waiting for the lanky man. Ludwig narrows his eyes to the beast, judging its purpose here. To him, Hayate was a well under evolved creature. Stupid, and barely conscious of its own existence. And yet… it serves its purpose well. Ludwig had seen how the beast sticks to the protection of his master and for someone like him, he can appreciate such loyalty. He gives Hayate a simple head pat to acknowledge its dedication before making his way out into the kitchen. 

“Ah, Takeshi, you're awake. I thought I heard Lacemaker screaming about something.” He would greet, adjusting his tie and running his fingers back through his hair. “I do hope the night has allowed you to somewhat process the recent events. I understand such a drastic meeting can be rather stressful. Once you are ready, meet me in the living room and I shall inform you of everything else you need to know.” Ludwig tells him calmly, the tall man stepping through the threshold to the living room and taking his seat in Isamu's chair. Shuck was already there, sitting calmly in front of an unlit fireplace. Hyzenthlay would join soon after, managing to scrap off the majority of burn residue from the pan and rinse off the other dishes. Lucy would be the only one yet to join, the feline still outside and sitting atop the deck railing. Her back was to the house, preventing anyone from seeing her facial expression. 

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈'𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎.  

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒘𝒔, 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒓, 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍.  𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒖𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒎 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒊𝒓. 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆.  

𝑫𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇, 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒍.  𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑨𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂 𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.  

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈'𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍. 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒇 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂.  

𝑨𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒐𝒈'𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒆𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈'𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒏.  

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒏. 𝑯𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊’𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.  

𝑨𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒍, 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒄𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏. 

 "𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕," 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. "𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒘."  

𝑨𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒘𝒔, 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔.  

𝑹𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖c𝒉 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔, 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒚𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆.

Ludwig, Shuck and Hyzenthlay would all be waiting inside the den for Takeshi to join them. The hell hound takes a set beside the tall lanky ghoul while the squirrel gently rests atop the tall man's shoulder. There was a bit of tension in the room as everyone got settled. Though Ludwig's stony demeanor gave little away in the manner of facial expressions, the flicking of his quills would show his anxiousness over what needs to be said. Shuck would be showing a similar sort of feeling, avoiding eye contact with Takeshi as his horned head aimed more towards the ground. 

“So then…” Ludwig would begin, “In order for you to understand the full gravity of the situation, we must start from the beginning and go forward from there. Feel free to ask any questions you might have. The retelling of our tale can be a bit much, even the abridged version.” He would pause, clearing his throat and taking a deep breath. “The start of our tale began long ago, far longer than you may realize. Lucy, Shuck and myself hale from the world of Kivouach, a place vastly different than anything here on Earth. It was a wild, unkept world of savagery and ruthlessness. Back then, only the strong survived, and the weak were feasted upon, or cast to the wind. Despite the unforgiving world we were given, Kivouachians all possess a certain amount of control over our very genetics. The same way you can control your hands, we can manipulate the very cells in our bodies. This allowed us to adapt and change to anything our world threw at us and only allowed those with the strongest genes to survive. If you recall the demonstration Lacemaker showed you yesterday, that was a key example of instant genetic manipulation, allowing her to create new orifices or natural weapons on the spot. Due to this intense control over ourselves, our bodies can also perfectly replicate each cell on a genetic level. Essentially, we are immortal, at least in comparison to a human's lifespan.” 

“Aye. We realize it be hard to imagine it, but Ludwig, Lucy n' myself have been hidin' out on your planet since before your kind even evolved into what you are now." Shuck would mention, peeking his head up a bit to sit more proudly. “We were actually able to watch and witness this happen. It was quite the spectacle to see you simians go from flingin' shyt at one another to suddenly building full on skyscrapers. It took ya a couple thousand years so… guess you guys were bound to figure it out eventually.”

“If you find this hard to believe, look back at your simian literature. Your stories, legends and myths, not all of them are lies or make-believe. Much of those tales were based off of Kivouachian sightings.”

Shuck would suddenly start cracking up, snicking and chuckling to himself. “Oh you have no IDEA how fukkin' funny it was to read simian literature and see the wild connections your kind has made to ours. Cryptids, demons, mythical creatures, just about all of ‘em have come from one Kiv sightin’ or another.” 

“Yes, yes, but we're getting off subject. The reason we are now here is because our world is gone. Kivouach was destroyed, and with it, countless of our kind.” At this, Ludwigs expression falters and for a moment, his eyes drift away as though plagued by old memories. 

“So many strong ones… Smart ones too. Some friends…” 

“Some lovers. Often both, now gone.” A familiar voice would chime in. Lucy is standing in the entrance way of the den, her arms crossed over her chest as she joins into the conversation. She gives Takeshi a brief nasty look before walking past him, leaping up onto the mantlepiece and taking her seat. 

Ludwig would lean forwards at her arrival. “Ah, Lacemaker. I didn't figure you wanted to be here for the explanation.”

“Didn't wanna miss story time. Keep goin'. You're just getting to the good part.”

"With our world gone, we were forced to move to another world. However, the previous lord of Kivouach has also come as well, the cursed Locket. She was the first and only ruler of Kivouach, granting her the title of Grand Voice, and established many of the laws that turned our kind from bloodthirsty savages to intellectual beings. Under her rule, strength was no longer the dominating factor in survival. Intelligence was as well. For the new Kivouachians, having one without the other made you useless. I was her Grand Whisper, or adviser, for a time, and learned much from her ways. We shall take a pause here for a moment. Do you have any questions, or shall I continue?"

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒔' 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔, 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒇𝒂𝒓, 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈'𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔, 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔.  

"𝑺𝒐, 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕," 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅. "𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆...𝑲𝒊𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔? 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒍, 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅? 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅?"  

𝑯𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. "𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒓𝒚𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚'𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅? 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆'𝒗𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆? 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎."  

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒔.  

"𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒚, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕'𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆...𝑲𝒊𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅? 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅? 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒐𝒏 𝑬𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉, 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆?"  

𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚. "𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍."

A dark feeling befalls over the room as Takeshi asks exactly how it happened, how Kivouach had fallen. A pained expression crosses Ludwig's face as he looks away. Shuck is much the same, the hounds head drooping as he drags a claw along the wooden floor. Lucy on the other hand… Her smile would slowly return to her face, the grin growing wider and wider as she shows off all those needle-like teeth.

“Thats… complicated. The fall of Kivouach was due to a variety of different factors and reasons, for too many to explain.” Ludwig would say simply, snapping his attention back towards Takeshi and quickly regenerating his stony demeanor. He seemed unwilling to share more than this, but Lucy could see straight though that protective mask. 

“Complicated? Sure. But lets me honest here, Ludwig, there be one main, important reason that led to Kivouach's destruction.” The feline chimes in, a mischievous little cackle emanating from her. 

“Lacemaker… Do not. Do not bring that thing up.” 

“Oh? And why not? After all, he deserves to know the full story, don't he? Hehehe!” Lucy would let out a maddening laugh, much to Ludwig's building anxiety. She turns to Takeshi, her different colored eyes shining like a diamond and ruby gem. “Ya want to know why it got destroyed? It be because of ol' Dizzy Jones.” 

There's a break in the tension in the room as Ludwig and Shuck both seem to jump at the mere mention of that name, recoiling at its utterance. Even for beings as old and as powerful as them, hearing that name made a flash of fear run through their faces. “That not be his real name though. Just an alias. His real name be--”

Ludwig shoots up from his chair, towering over Lucy with blazing golden eyes. “Be. Silent. Lacemaker! You will not utter that monster's name in this house, not ever. Do so and I will make sure you are left dollfaced and hanging from the rafters like a fowler in a chopshop!” His words were sharp, his normally cool disposition having cracked into fury fueled by fear. 

Lucy gives him a challenging stare for a moment, her eyes narrowing before she relents, pulling her hands up in a state of surrender, but still keeping that large grin along her lips. “Fine, fine. Jones then. He was the leadin' reason as to why Kivouach fell, if you must know.” 

Ludwig, satisfied but not happy with her words, returned back to his chair. “Yes… Dizzy Jones is the name we give to this… monster. A beast the likes of which our kind has never seen before. Nigh unstoppable, he managed to dispatch the even the most skilled of our Yolsh soldiers with ease. In barely a blink, he had undone hundreds upon thousands of years of work, destroying our society like it was child's play.”

“Still freaks me out thinkin' about it. I actually ran into weird fukker myself at one point." Shuck would recall, "Thought I could slow him down when I was travelin' across the madness frontier. I couldn't land a single damn hit, like I was fightin' living light or something. He broke six of my ribs in an instant and sent me sprawling.” He clutches his side where said injury took place. 

“Once our city fell, Dizzy Jones turned onto our world itself, shattering the madness frontier and with it, all of Kivouach. As for our arrival here…” 

“That would be one big arse Mandosian Door!” Lucy would blurt out, rolling onto her back and drooping half way off the mantlepiece. “Tryin' ta explain it to ya would probably break yer little simian brain. Hell, I don't even fully understand ‘em myself. It’s like… takin' a short cut through space. Or rather, a space between spaces. They were scary as f*** the first time I went through one. Anyways, with Kivouach breaking the surviving Kivs flooded into the biggest door we had but had no idea where it would lead. The other exit doors were busted. In the end I guess we got lucky cause we survivors ended up here, on Earth.”

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒊𝒛𝒛𝒚 𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈'𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒏. 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒌𝒆, 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆.  

𝑨𝒔 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.  

𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈'𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒅𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒄 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚; 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑲𝒊𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒂𝒄𝒉, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒊𝒛𝒛𝒚 𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈.  

"𝑺𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏? 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓?" 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚, 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑨 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒕-𝒖𝒑 𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕.

The main three give Takeshi a skeptical look to his questioning of the Mandosian Door, though Hyzenthlay would be looking from person to person with confusion. Seems like the little squirrel was out of the loop. Lucy would sit herself up on the mantle, crossing her arms with a dejected look towards Takeshi. 

“Well, yea. More or less. I don't think you understand the scale of this door though, hun. This doorway bridged lightyears together, weaving space like a fukkin loom! The sheer science behind it was only understandable by our greatest minds.”

“And even then it wasn't perfect. We lost billions on Kivouach and even more during the Great Shift.” Ludwig adds, sitting back in his chair and tossing one leg over the other. “Without any properly established exits, we survivors were shunted out, scattering ourselves over Earth or killed within the Doorway. Our population is a pitiful fraction of what it once was, going from countless billions to a couple mere thousands.” Again, the atmosphere takes on a dreary mood as the three are again reminded the crushing extent of their situation.   

“Not to mention replenishing our numbers is next to impossible with you simians bein' as populace as you are. Our kind takes hundreds of years to mature. Our fowlers actually need to be looked after to make sure some simian does mistake them as a wild animal and decide they look good mounted on a wall. I think only a handful of ‘em have managed to reach maturity.” Shuck sits back, rubbing his claws against his coat and plucking out bits of dirt from between his nails. “We cant even murder each other like we use to. Any one of us that dies is pretty much permanently one less Kiv in the world and with our dwindling numbers, we can’t allow that.” 

“Yes, yes, our crippling population aside, that isn't even the worse parts. As I mentioned before, Locket, the previous leader of our kind has also come over as well. Upon our arrival here, Locket and I did not see eye to eye on how to rebuild our kind. She wanted to build Earth into another Kivouach, recreating her court and resuming her reign. I disagreed with her and want to take our kind into a different direction. I saw the cracks in her court, the ones she was blind to and refused to admit existed. We had a rather… heated debate which resulted in the splitting of our race. There are now those who follow Locket's Court, and those who follow my government. Unfortunately, much of the remaining Yolsh army joined her so we're rather… outmatched at this time. We've been hiding from her hateful gaze ever since. However, she managed to locate the last settlement Shuck, Lucy, Hyzenthlay and I were hiding at and laid siege to it. This is why we were forced to fall back to this emergency settlement to hide.”

𝑨𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑'𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓, 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒈.  

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑳𝒖𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒈'𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑫𝒐𝒐𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊. 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔? 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒊𝒕. 

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍. 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍. 

𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑳𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚, 𝒑𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒕. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒋𝒐𝒍𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆. “𝑺𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒊𝒕? 𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑳𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒚? 𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒅 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍? 𝑵𝒐𝒘, 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌. 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒆, 𝑰 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉, 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒎 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕. “𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒆. 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕… 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆.” 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎, 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄'𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆.

Takeshi's outburst was met with surprisingly similar results from the three. Lucy would give a sharp snarl to the man, but slowly, her eyes would break away and her head would dip. She hated the thought of admitting it, but he was right, and she could not deny that. Shuck responded more even tempered, a sigh escaping his lips as he too could not meet the human's gaze. Ludwig would be the only one who could keep full eye contact, though his face showed a softer expression than what the ghoul normally had. His quills would be considerably calmer, and would even be flickering about as they often did to show his feelings. The three remained silent as Takeshi made his final statement before leaving to tend to his injury, leaving a heavy silence to descend upon the room. 

After a moment, it was Lucy who broke the quite, slamming her fist against the wall with a festering growl. “F***! Why is it so much more painful to hear it from a bloody simian?!” She yells out, her anger lashing. “Even his kind can see how facked we are! Hearin' it out loud just makes it feel so much worse. Ludwig we gotta do something. Locket's already closed in on us once. If she does it again then…” 

“I know.” Ludwig answers swiftly and calmly. “I have a plan but I need more time. Losing the last settlement forces us to leave behind all the research we've been working on. A major setback to be sure… but we have one successful result.” He would turn to Hyzenthlay who was quietly sitting on his shoulder, gently rubbing over her head. “I will need to recreate the notes and get everything reestablished. We haven't lost yet. We just need to bide more time.”

“We've been biddin' for a good while now Ludwig. We can't keep this up forever. Locket's aggressive and smart as all hell. We be hard outmatched. We need a win. Somethin'.” Shuck would say, a tiredness in his eyes. 

“In time. If my plan works then we can get ahead of Locket at her own game. If there's one thing that Locket holds dearly, its her own rules.” With that, Ludwig rises from his chair, letting Hyzenthlay scamper down before silently returning to his study.  

The three remaining Kivs and Hayate would be left to their own devices, trying to figure out what to do next. Shuck would look up to Lucy who was angrily pouting on the mantlepiece. “Well, at least Takeshi knows the story now. Most of it anyways. He took it better than I thought.”

“Bah! The simian be a ripe arse. Rude fukker… I even tried cookin' for the guy as an apology for stabbin' him and he just criticizes the food!” The feline grumbles, scratching her claws over the stone platform under her. 

“Lucy, you've barely ever even touched a siman stove a day in your life. Can ya blame the guy for wantin' to avoid food poisoning?”

“F*** off! What happened to the thought that counts? Ain't that suppose ta be important or somethin'?” 

“Y-You could try… you know, actually apologizing to him. T-That could work…” Hyzenthlay would suggest sheepishly as she sat atop Ludwig's chair. Lucy would snap a glare so quickly at the little squirrel that she would visible duck her head into her shoulders. The sheer IDEA of Lucy verbally apologizing was enough to make her fur bristle. "O-O-Or… n-not….”

𝑨𝒔 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎, 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓, 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒗𝒔, 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆. 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒎𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔.     

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒘𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒓. 𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎.     

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒎𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎 - 𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒐𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒖𝒕. 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒃𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔 - 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.     

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒖𝒔 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎. 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 couch 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒚. 𝑹𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒈𝒆, 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏.

Shuck turns his head as he sees Hayate retreat behind the couch, hiding from the three Kivs while tensions were still high. “Hey Lucy, I think ya might wanna calm yourself down a bit. Ya scared the dog.” The hound would say, peeking his head around and trying to see if Hayate was okay. 

“Who care about the mutt. Noisy damn thing…” She growls out, jumping off the mantlepiece, her bright red claws clattering on the ground. 

“Okay, what's crawled up your arse? You've been agitated as f*** since we've arrived here. I know us movin' so suddenly wasn't idea but ya don't gotta take it out on everyone else.” 

Lucy spins to face him, her lip quivering into a snarl. A moment later though she closes her eyes and exhales a heated breath. “I just… Nothin's been going my way since we got here. First we get chased out by fukkin Locket. Then I get berated by Ludwig ‘cause I almost killed Takeshi when we arrived, even though he told me to kill the resident here if they weren't in relation to Isamu. It wasnt even my fault! The dumbass simian said he didn't know anythin' about the old man when the little dove asked him. He only said it after I was about ta finish his arse. I patched him up at least! Then there was the cooking thing with him yelling at me and now he's out of fukkin alcohol! I just… can't win!” She throws her hands down, her claws deploying our of frustration. 

“Well, damn. Alright, I can see where you're comin' from now. Havin' you be sober be a dangerous thing… Here, why don't you try relaxin' or something. Do somethin' ta get your mind off things.” 

“An' what the flippity F*** would you suggest I do?” Lucy crosses her arms, tapping her toe claws against the ground. 

“Well, we're in a simian house so we might have actual hot water for once. Maybe take a nice soak to unwind. Its been a good while since we were able to actually bathe. Little dove could definitely…” Shuck goes to look over towards Hyzenthlay, only to see her having vanished. “Huh, where'd she go? Whatever, point be go have a nice bath or something. I'll see about gettin' more supplies.” 

Lucy gives a little sigh and a nod, agreeing to her companion's plan and the two go their seperate ways. Lucy travels upstairs, halting for a moment in front of Takeshi's door. She looks like shes about to knock for a moment, then decides against it, instead continuing to travel down the hall to the guest restroom. Closing the door behind her, the sound of running water would shortly follow. 

𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒋𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚, 𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒑 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒂𝒌. 𝑨𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆, 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒕 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅'𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒔.  

𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚'𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒌, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅, "𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒚. 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚'𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅. 𝑰'𝒎 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕… 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅." 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒏𝒖𝒅𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒎. 𝑨 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈.  

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒙𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒂, 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅, "𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆," 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒅𝒐𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈.  

𝑴𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉, 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚. 𝒀𝒆𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕'𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌.

Shuck had been taking account of a few things once Lucy went upstairs, taking his time and counting over what they could use. Similar to what Lucy had done the previous night, the hound made his own count of things, adding things up skillfully in his head and measuring out what was required. Upon hearing Takeshi descend down the stairs, Shuck would count up the last few bits of supplies and peek his head into the living room. 

“Oi, uh... Takeshi. Ya got a sec? I know you've been through a bit but uh… we need stuff. I know you weren't expectin' to have to feed more than yourself, but we're here now and we're gonna be runnin' through what supplies you got pretty quick.” Shuck would report, trying to be courteous to their host. “Lucy or I can hunt for game to hunt easy enough, but we're gonna need other things. Lucy's one hell of a drinker and is usually in a better mood after some strong alcohol. The little dove n' myself could use some more fruits or veggies. I… Have a thing with meat so I avoid it as much as possible. Ludwig'll eat anythin' but he's picky on how its made. He also has a thing for cookies and black tea, though he'll never admit it. If we could pick up a few of those things as well as anything you might need, I think that would be appreciated.” 

The black hound comes closer, taking a seat beside Hayate. Side by side like this, Shuck was quite a bit bigger that the German Sheperd. “I know that wound still be bothin' you and town be a good distance away. I hate to dump a bunch o' work on ya but obviously I can't go into town lookin' like I do. Even if I were to disguise myself, the best I can do is lookin' like a big wolf dog or something. If yer feeling up to it, I can go into town with ya for support.”

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌'𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑵𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔.  

𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒍𝒚, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅, “𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒐𝒕, 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌. 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒎.” 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕.  

𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒚 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒈'𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒔𝒕 𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈. 

"𝑰 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰'𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑴𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏."  

𝑷𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒚, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉. "𝑩𝒖𝒕...𝑰 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆'𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌." 𝑯𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉, 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. “𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚. 𝑰'𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕.”

𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒈𝒂𝒛𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌'𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅, "𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑰'𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒆. 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕...𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒚."

Shuck would tilt his head to one side when Takeshi described the difficulty involved with his request, the hound raising an eye skeptically. “Now, hang on one second there, mate. I can understand it bein' a bit difficult to get around with your bein' injured an' all that, but it shouldn't be anythin' too hard. Don't ya got one of those simian vehicles, like a car or somethin'? How else were ya plannin' on getting supplies for yourself?” Shuck would ask with a confused expression. He knew that the town was a fair distance away from them, around a good couple miles. Walking there wouldn't be too difficult, though it would be a bit of a trek. Now doing that while also trying to carry groceries back was another story altogether. 

"I was plannin' to help ya pick out and carry stuff we would need. If ya don't got a car though I guess we can improvise." He pauses and looks back at himself, arching his chest down low to the ground. Theres a small growl from him and the sound of straining bone as the several spines sticking out of his back are slowly sucked inside his body. Antoher groan comes from him as his back legs begin to shift and change, the hoof-like feet he has splitting apart and growling a layer of fur over them, taking on the appearance of paws. Similar would happen to the bony digits of his upper claws as well. The odd colors over his body would also fade and shift, blending it more naturally with the majority of his coat. "There we are. Ma horns hurt like hell to pull in for long periods of time so I figured I'd hide them if we got closer to town. I was thinkin' I'd give you a ride there n' back if transportation's a problem. It ain't gonna be the smoothest ride though and that injury might become a bigger problem. Of course, worse case scenario, I could always bug Ludwig to go. The tall fukker can at least semi look human long enough to go shopping."

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊’𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑯𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒍𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚.   

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒆. "𝑶𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒓," 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, "𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰'𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒎 𝑰?" 𝑨 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒚.  

"… 𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏. 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑰'𝒎 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕." 𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒎. "𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒍."  

𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒏𝒖𝒅𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇, 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌.  

𝑨𝒔 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌'𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒊-𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌'𝒔 𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒎𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒘𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒓.   

"𝑶𝒌𝒂𝒚, 𝒐𝒌𝒂𝒚," 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒕𝒓𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆. "𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒕, 𝑰 𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒇𝒖𝒍. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅."

Shuck had an uncertain look along his face as he scratches the back of his head with a newly formed paw. He looked rather confused as he tried to think over process of moving everything themselves and traveling to and from the town. “Well hang on, mate. This be feeling a bit silly now. If ya can't trust yourself to not pass out while drivin' a car, theres no way you're going to be able to handle ridin' my back all the way to town, then do shopping, then carry everything back with us. Even if we load everything up on me, it'll take us hours to get back and that be assuming you don't pass out multiple times along the way or spill everythin' in the process. Just… forget the idea.” Shuck states. He wasn't trying to be rude or doubt Takeshi or anything. He was just being realistic. A lot of movement is involved with riding on the back of something and even if Shuck tries to make it as smooth as possible, there's just no way they would be able to get there and back without the human being in a substantial amount of pain, and/or bleeding to death. 

“Look, I think it might be best then to hold off on the town trip unless we reeeaaaally need somethin'. I didn't realize how much pain ya be in. Our bodies heal up in minutes to hours so I forget sometimes that its different for a simian. I'd say we can probably hold out for at least a couple days before havin' to make a trip.” Again, Shuck was trying to be courteous to the man and make things easier for him. “Guess we can resort to scavengin' the area. We're Kivs after all. Huntin' for food is how we've stayed alive for the last several million years. And don't worry, I'll make sure Lucy doesn't try ta cook again.” He gives a little chuckle at that, then swiftly looks behind him just to make sure Lucy isn't standing there. Thankfully, the devious feline still seems to be upstairs having a soak. 

With a sigh, Shuck releases his disguise, the bone spikes shooting back out from his back as his legs revert as well. He would give a shake to get comfortable again in his own body as the transformation seems to apply some level of strain to him. Little pops and cracks could be heard as his skeletal system resets back to normal. He would then go to the couch across from Takeshi, relaxing himself down on the cushions. “So, mate, got any questions still? I know this be a lot for ya and I wanna make things at least somewhat more understandable. I be the oldest of the four o' us so if ya got anything ya wanna ask, feel free.”

𝑨𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒅. 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒃𝒚 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅.  

𝑨𝒔 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒂, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑺𝒉𝒖𝒄𝒌'𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚. 𝑨𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆.  

𝑯𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒑. "𝑰 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒕, 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔, 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚. 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 24 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕." 𝑯𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅. "𝑰 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰'𝒎 𝒐𝒌𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒘."  

𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕. "𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕."  

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎, 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒘𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒆. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒅𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒉.  

𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒚-𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑯𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕.  

𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒓, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒖𝒎 𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊’𝒔  𝒍𝒂𝒑, 𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒏. 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒈'𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒓, 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒈’𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.  

𝑼𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅. 𝑹𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕-𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒗𝒊𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕, 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒌𝒊𝒏. 𝑰𝒏𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚. 𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.  

"𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒅?" 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕. "𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆!" 

"𝑰 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒏 𝒊𝒕," 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆. "𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔."  

"𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒅𝒐𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚!"  

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒑𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒍. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒚𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕. 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅.  

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒖𝒎𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆, "𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒖𝒔? 𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑴𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖?" 𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 - 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍-𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓-𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑰𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 - 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉. 

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒑𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 - 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 - 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚-𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅.   

𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒚, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊, 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆'𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 - 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒂, 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏. 𝑵𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.  

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒐 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒔, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒐𝒙𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈.   

𝑰𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔, 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒖𝒕, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆, "𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑫𝑶𝑵'𝑻 𝑲𝑵𝑶𝑾 𝑨𝑵𝒀𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑮!" 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅, "𝑰 𝑫𝑶𝑵'𝑻 𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑬 𝑾𝑯𝑨𝑻 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑵𝑲, 𝑰'𝑴 𝑵𝑶𝑻 𝑮𝑶𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑻𝑶 𝑫𝑶 𝑾𝑯𝑨𝑻 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑾𝑨𝑵𝑻 𝑴𝑬 𝑻𝑶 𝑫𝑶!"   

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒔𝒉. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒌𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉, 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚. 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈.   

𝑹𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒅. 𝑼𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒅'𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒎. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚, 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒅𝒆.  

"… 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈," 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒘 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕…

Lucy had taken to the second bathroom upstairs and had filled the tub up completely with hot steamy water. Stealing whatever shampoo Takeshi had in his bathroom, Lucy applied a generous amount of it to the tub and let the soapy water fill. From there, the feline would remove her hat and choker from around her neck, a rare sight apparently which is only evident by the thinner furred ring around her throat where the accessory once sat. Now being fully naked, the small woman lowers herself into the water, wincing only for a moment as the comfort of such temperature is first a bite. 

Lucy would easily sink and submerge into the tub, the water rushing around her body up to her neck with plenty of space to spare for her long tail to slither beneath the surface. She leans back, head against the back wall with her clawed hands along the edges of the bath. “Nothin' compared to the halo rooms of home but… it'll do. It'll definitely do.” She tells herself, her eyes slowly closing as that intense heat sinks in through her fur and skin, loosening up the dirt and refuse that had accumulated on her for who-knows how long. It was rare that Lucy got the chance to fully relax, and even rarer that she did it while fully sober. Without her mind being fogged by the distraction of alcohol, she was left with the wonderings of her own thoughts, a dangerous concept to be sure. Glimpses of the recent happenings rush through her mind, the memories dancing behind her eyes like the projector to a movie screen. So many memories to go over, all crammed into her little furry head. Countless human lifetimes she has lived through, with more changes and major events than she could even count. As it often happens when one is left alone with their own thoughts, her mind turns to the darker shades things, reminding her of their situation. Glimpses of Locket flash through her head, along with the many members of her court. Members that Lucy was once friends with, now enemies. Strange how time has a habit of twisting things around. 

Lucy would sit in that tub for several long minutes, until the water turned to lukewarm and her thoughts became visions of existential dread. It was only then would her eyes open and she snap up, a small gasp escaping her lips. She finds herself panting, looking down at herself like she had just fled from the confines of a bad dream. She rubs her eyes, taking a moment to reset herself and take a deep breath before pulling herself beneath the water's surface. She'll curl up beneath the soapy bubbles, her arms hugging her knees as she lets every part of her soak in the cleansing liquid and only after she felt her chest heaving for air did she relent, breaching the surface once more with a deep lung-filling breath. 

She had been in the bath for a good minute now and once she gave herself a proper scrub down did she decided it was time to go. Pulling the cork at the bottom of the drain, she allows the water to wash away before standing up in the tub, her fur waterlogged and heavy. She gives herself a good shake, her fur flinging droplets of moisture all over the walls and shower curtain but thankfully leaving the rest of the bathroom unscathed. Stepping out, she grabs a towel from below the sink and begins to tedious process of drying off, rubbing herself over and over against the cloth to remove as much liquid as she could. No matter how hard she tried though, she would always end up a little damn, with clumps of her fur sticking together… like a cat. Draping the towel over her shoulders, she grabs her hat in one hand and her choker with her tail, carrying the two accessories with her as she made her way out of the bathroom. She felt refreshed now at least, definitely more relaxed, though she hated feeling like she was still wet. Maybe Takeshi has a blow-dryer she could use. As she makes her way down the hall by his door, she contemplates asking him, though she wonders if he's still be sour about her stabbing him. 

Lucy would halt though as the sound of yelling could be heard from his room, the feline unable to help raising an eye in curiosity. With how loud he was being, she didn't even need to press her ear to his door to listen in to the shouting match he was having with someone on the phone. Seems like whoever he was talking with certainly got his ire and got the man screaming back and forth. Before, Lucy might think to leave him to suffer with whoever he was arguing with and let him irritate that injury even more, but with how clear her head was, she felt her aggression on the lower end of the scale for once. The feline would patiently wait for him to go quiet and for his arguing to finally stop before gently knocking twice on his door. Cracking it open, she peeks her head in, seeing the man sitting down on the floor, his back against his bed. “Quite the shoutin' match you had there, hun. Somethin' tells me you be use to havin' them. I ain't here to have another one, just so ya know.” She tells him calmly, cracking the door open a bit more and walking inside, exposing her recently washed form. “Wanted to ask if ya had a blow-dryer I could use real quick. A nail file would be nice too. Need ta keep my ladies sharp.” Lucy flashes her claws, giving a light mischievous giggle before lowering her hands harmlessly. “Ya seem like you got somethin' else on your mind though. I know we ain't exactly friends-- hell, barely acquaintances, but, uh… Ya wanna talk about it? I know humans can feel better talkin' about their problems. I ain't doin' much right now without any alcohol so… I wouldn't mind listenin'.”

𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅, 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒖𝒓𝒚, 𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒖𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅, 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈.  𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓'𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒖𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆’𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒕, 𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆'𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒎𝒐𝒊𝒍.  

"𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕, 𝒃𝒐𝒚," 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒐 𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒆, 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝑯𝒂𝒚𝒂𝒕𝒆. "𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒏𝒂𝒑 𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔. 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈."  

𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊. 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒅, 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 - 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅.  

𝑯𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅. E𝒙𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒔𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅.  

𝑨𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅. 𝑹𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚.   

𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚'𝒔 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌, 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒋𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚. 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒏.   

𝑨𝒔 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒘  𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒓, 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒅. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒘-𝒅𝒓𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒎.   

“𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒘-𝒅𝒓𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒆, 𝒆𝒉? 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖?" 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕-𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅𝒍𝒚.    

𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒓, 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊'𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔. "… 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕." 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒏𝒍𝒚, 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆. "𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒇𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕," 𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆. "𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔. 𝑬𝒓- 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒘-𝒅𝒓𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔." 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒅, 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.