The time that followed was jarring for Akashi as he hung around with Hotarumaru, listening to the kid ramble on and try to get to know him.

"Where do you work?"

"Somewhere."

"How old are you?"

"Older than you."

"What made you move out here?"

"I chose to."

"Is purple your favourite colour?"

"I like red, actually."

He got break using the perfectly valid excuse of needing to get some washing done. He started to feel just a little guilty when he realised there was nothing in his apartment for Hotarumaru to do. Then again, when he searched his apartment he hadn't found anything like toys either… He hated himself a little as he decided to start saving up for a tv. Pondering if he at least had some old jump comics to give the kid, he realised it wasn't just entertainment that was expensive, double the food costs, he'd need clothes and probably all sorts of other things as time went on.

Living with someone else, let along taking care of a child was a big deal, was he really about to change his whole lifestyle? … He was. He knew he was.

Akashi didn't stay in the apartment long, he didn't know how to feel about Hotarumaru trailing him around like a baby duck while he searched for the manga to give him and hoping it wasn't among the many things thrown out earlier.

"You can read right…?" Akashi asked him, hesitating handing them over.

Hotarumaru puffed up a bit, "Of course, I learned at school like everyone does." He responded confidently.

Akashi realised he wasn't even sure how old he was, it's hard to tell since he's so small. Maybe he should have been asking questions right back at him.

"Right." Akashi gave him a short answer and handed him the small stack of books. He realised they were old issues and probably not going from one to the next but it was going to have to do for now.

The shining look Hotarumaru gave him was something that increased the guilty feeling weighing on him.

"So, about school, you attend the one around here, right?" Akashi asked. He should be learning stuff about the kid too.

"Yeah! I'm in grade 4." Hotarumaru told him easily. A little older than he would have guessed.

"Means you should be going back to school soon." Akashi said after a moment of thought. More things to spend money on. "Think about stationery you'd need, stuff like that books and pencils. I might have some stuff lying around you can use." He wondered if Hotarumaru could see through his lying already. He was better at lying about some things more than others.

Hotarumaru seemed amused and finally left him be as he made it clear he was going to shower. He didn't feel ready for work but figured he was going to have to change his sleep schedule from now on. Akashi had the feeling he'd grow increasingly more appreciative of the fact his mother managed to raise him basically on her own. He should probably call her back one of these days.

Showering and getting dressed felt as tiring as usual if not more so from having less sleep than usual but he did it anyway. Damn societies basic expectations of cleanliness and being presentable. He cursed a lot of things, but especially anything that made him exert extra effort.

Before he made it out the door, Hotarumaru called out to him and told him "Goodbye!" Akashi didn't know how to respond, he glanced back into the room and nodded at the kid before shutting and locking the door for the first time in a long while.

He decided it was a good idea to grab a can of coffee before he got to work to help him make it through his shift. Making the slight detour to a vending machine that sold any put his nerves on edge but he succeeded in getting to work without being stopped. He almost laughed at himself for his fear of social interaction considering how things were looking now.

"Welcome to the real-world, Dracula~" Nikkari gave a particularly amused greeting to him when Akashi arrived. Being associated with a monster was an improvement to Nikkari asking if he'd had a fun night each time he arrived because of his messy appearance (they worked the nightshifts so it never made any sense).

"Good to be here." Akashi said, grinning lazily despite not sharing his amusement.

"Someone's more undead than usual." Nikkari commented as Akashi walked through the aisles, having a check for anything misplaced by customers. He made that comment every time they worked together though.

"And your hair is extra shiny today." Akashi responded, deflecting came easy to him. The guilt as Nikkari just smiled and said no more was new. Having Hotarumaru around was already making him feel things again apparently, that wasn't pleasant.

For a moment, Akashi considered actually talking to Nikkari about his situation rather than lying, deflecting and burying his feelings. The thought flew out of his mind as quick as it had arrived.

"Your hair does look nice though." Akashi said awkwardly trying to at least salvage the atmosphere between them.

Nikkari batted his eyelashes at him and twirled the tip of his ponytail around his finger. Akashi figured that meant he was forgiven.

Work was as boring and repetitive as usual, the caffeine helped to stop him from almost falling asleep on the spot as he was prone to. Maybe that was what made the hours tick by slower than he was used to.

When he and Nikkari were closing the shop, Akashi surprised Nikkari by initiating conversation.

"Hey… You work a lot of odd jobs, don't you?" Akashi figured to get right to the point. It was intimidating to have Nikkari's golden eye locked in on him.

"Yep, doing all sorts of things. I don't take on long time work like this often to keep my schedule flexible. Why, what's up?" Nikkari asked, he was someone good at controlling his facial expressions so Akashi couldn't help but assume he was rather pointedly not hiding his curiosity.

Akashi supressed a sigh, "The rent was jacked up at my place. Figured it wouldn't hurt to look for more work. If it's not asking too much, you've mentioned you have a lot of references is all…" He wasn't sure why he didn't tell him the truth about the situation. Then he reasoned that human trash like him just aren't suited to be honest anyway. His mind accepted the answer easy enough and he just ignored his conscience.

Nikkari stared at him a while longer before giving him another one of those hard to read smiles, "Sure. I'll email you later about some places still looking. You want something stable, right?" He asked.

Akashi nodded weakly, they'd already saved each other's emails long ago. He vaguely realised Nikkari was probably the closest thing he had to a friend. Maybe if he ever became a decent person he'd try reach out to him and be a decent friend. Of course, he only considered that because he didn't think it was possible. Maybe it would be nice to have friends and a life again. Probably. Or maybe not, that was a strange thought.

They exchanged goodbyes and headed separate ways. The walk back was as uneventful as ever, something he was thankful for since in one day his daily life had been incredibly shaken. In many ways, this small bit of normalcy was a comfort. One he was going to get rid of if he were to get a better job… He only had himself to blame, but it was still a pain. As he made the way up to his apartment and started unlocking the door he paused. If it weren't him, would anyone have stepped in to help Hotarumaru? He opened the door with a heavy sigh as he realised, probably not.

He didn't know what he expected to see, but Hotarumaru laid out on the couch was still a surprising sight. He fought a smile as he noticed one of the manga open on the coffee table next to him. Akashi tried to remember if he told Hotarumaru the bedroom was his, he failed to recall such a conversation and decided it was probably his fault he'd crashed there. Akashi had to mentally debate with himself for a few minutes before finally deciding it was okay to pick Hotarumaru up and carry him to the bed.

He was a little scared by how light the kid was in his arms as he walked him over. He wasn't an expert on how heavy people should be but it didn't feel right. He figured a check-up at the doctors was also something he should set up for him sooner or later. Counting his lucky stars that Hotarumaru didn't stir, he draped the thin blanket over him and left the kid in peace to keep sleeping.

Akashi walked lightly around his apartment, he wasn't hungry but he made his way over to the kitchen anyway. He checked the bin and was relieved to see Hotarumaru had eaten while he was gone… Yeah, he was going to have to take him shopping for proper food tomorrow. He considered eating himself for about half a second before considering the noise of the kettle would probably wake Hotarumaru. He didn't know how heavy a sleeper the kid was but it didn't hurt to play it safe and let him sleep.

While he walked over to the couch he emptied his pockets, plugging in his phone to charge after checking to see no new messages like usual. His wallet had definitely never been very full before, but now he could practically feel it's life draining away as he placed it on the coffee table. His exhausted body screamed out in relief as he finally laid down on the couch, taking his glasses off and placing them aside.

… Responsibility really didn't suit him. He fell asleep soon after.