As some semblance of sense returns to him, Kaito holds the pot over his head and growls menacingly at the brat, "What the hell?! You better run, because I'm going to call the police right now!"

He makes a move to throw the pot, but the kid gets on his knees and begins to crawl. Kaito is scared that he's going to get tackled into the ground and overpowered, so he steps back by instinct. However, the kid was crawling away from him, so all this results in, is them both hitting opposite walls eventually, with a great deal of distance now between them.

Both just stand there for a while, looking at each other. The teenager looks frightened, as if he has any right to be, and despite his best efforts to put on a strong face, Kaito is sure that his fear is also showing in his face. He's desperately cursing himself for the shitty decision of turning off his phone; if it was on, he could reach for it and call the police while he was running, as he's pretty sure he's faster than this kid. But his phone took a rather long while to turn on, so despite his threats of calling the police, he's well and done screwed.

There's no other choice but to engage the kid, somehow convince him to leave, and then barricade the door as he turns on his phone and makes that call.

Easier said than done, so he just ends up blurting the first thing that comes to mind, "Honestly, just take whatever it is that you want, and leave. I won't stop you."

Which immediately gives away how desperate and vulnerable he truly is, when he should have playing into the fear the brat was showing by trying to prove he was in control. Good going, Kaito Tenjo, your deceased father sure would be proud…that he doesn't have a family of his own that would rely on him for protection in these situations.

But for some reason, the kid still seems pretty scared, putting his hands in front of his face in surrender, "I don't want to steal anything, I swear! Like I said, I never touched this place, even when it was abandoned."

It's at that moment that Kaito remembers the very particular choice of words the teen had used back at their meeting on the cliff; that he had never destroyed anything in Kaito's home. Not that he never went inside it.

Another wave of paranoia comes to him…what if…what if this kid has been doing this every night, and Kaito never noticed because he crashed into sleep pretty hard these days?

Oh gods, was this what those people who find out there's been a stranger living in the attic with them for months felt like? How horrifying! But his mind immediately points out, the only bathroom is in his room, and surely he would have still woken up if someone went inside to use it. And no food was missing from his pantry.

So either this was the first time the brat had broken in, or…what exactly? "Then what the heck are you doing here?" he hisses out, part in desperation, part in complete frustration.

The kid only lowers his head as he points to the windows, "The moonlight…" he whispers weakly, "I can't…I can't see it, or else…" he sobs as he hides his face in his knees, "And there is no other place around to hide in…"

Kaito should scream, 'what about your house? Why are you even out so late at night?'

Kaito should take this as the last straw,take advantage of the fact the kid is currently against a corner, and break the pot over his head, hopefully knocking him out long enough for him to call for help.

Kaito should, at the very least, hiss at him menacingly to leave his home and never come back. Call the company tomorrow to change all the locks and fortify all the windows, stat.

But he does none of these things.

Instead, he holds the pot to his chest, looking at the window he hasn't checked yet. The one that still has him fearing some light might come in…and his body starts to tremble uncontrollably.

Even though it's completely illogical, he understands 100% why this kid fears the night sky so much.

And even more stupidly, he begins to take several steps towards the stairs, always keeping a watchful eye on the brat and fetching his phone in the process, "I'm going to lock my room and barricade it. I have a gun there. If I hear one step, I am shooting you and throwing your body over the cliff." he threatens.

It's just as empty as all the others. He has no gun at all, not even a baseball bat in his room. This is the most idiotic thing he's ever done in his life, enough that all his college professors would fail his every class on the grounds of 'too dumb to live'.

But the kid doesn't make any movement to approach him. Just remains there, hugging his knees to his chest, eyes twinkling a little, "Thank you." he whispers. And with that, he's back to shooting fearful looks at the one window Kaito didn't check.

Kaito looks at it too, and for a moment, feels way more scared of it than the invader just a few feet away from him.

Eventually, he reaches his room, snaps out of it, and barricades the door and window as much as he can. He turns his phone on, keeping the emergency services on speed dial, hides in the bathtub…and just waits.

He can't fight off his body for too long though, and soon, the tiredness that has plagued him since he got here is too much to bear, and he loses consciousness entirely, knowing there's still someone in his house that just shouldn't be there.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

He wakes up to the sound of the loud, annoying motorcycle, startled as usual. His body aches like no tomorrow, and he soon realizes why…he's still in the bathtub.

Memories of last night come to him, and after slapping himself for his foolishness, he dials the number of the police station. Soon someone picks up, asking what his problem is, but when he replies several times, "There was an intruder in my home last night, and I don't know if they're still there!"

All he gets in return is, "Hello? You've called the police station. What is your emergency?" several times.

He keeps trying to reply, almost shouting at points, but eventually the person on the other end just goes, "Prank calling emergency services is a crime, and once we track down your call, you are getting fined at best!"

Kaito can only open his mouth, dumbfounded, as the call drops.

Given the threat, he doesn't dare try again. No matter how much he wants to scream back at the lady that he's going to sue her department for negligence. No matter how much he wants to test if it's an issue with his phone or not, by calling Chris to at least warn him that something might happen to him.

Like going into the garage, something in him freezes him from making further attempts.

Instead, he quickly turns on the internet, and searches around for other options. A gun would be good, but he needs to get a licence for it first, and he can't order them online. He curses not being in the States, where he could go into certain supermarket chains and walk out with a shiny new weapon. Does his country have no self respect for his safety, especially when their emergency services aren't up to par?

Maybe what he needs to do, is to get out of the country entirely. It sure would solve a crap ton of his issues, to get a completely new fresh start.

Kaito was never one to move around much, though, and he's already relocated his life three times. If it was up to him, he'd still be in the countryside to this day. So moving out again is out of the question, much less going out of the country.

His roots are here, and gets the feeling that is set in stone. Forever.

In the meantime, he's stuck with no other options. Stuff like a bat or a knife are useless in the hands of someone as frail as him, likely to get taken away by his assailant and used against him. If things come to worse, he's better off just running.

With a sigh, he gets up and begins to open the windows, after making sure it's daytime. The surge of light…pure, safe, warm light, makes him gather enough courage to dismantle all his barricades. Strangely, it's rather easy to get the stuff all back to the exact same place they were before. His room looks exactly like it did before he went to bed last night.

It's a relief for his neat freak tendencies, so he's not going to think about it for too long.

Instead, he cautiously makes his way down the stairs, cursing himself for not having any weapon, just in case. A cursory glance behind the couch and other hiding spots reveals nobody, and after scouring the kitchen, he finds no trace of the kid at all.

Nothing was stolen, nothing was out of place. And neither the door nor windows seem to have been tampered with, making him question how the brat even got in, much less got out. It's as if nobody was ever here at all…

Could last night have just been a very realistic nightmare? Was he sleepwalking and barricaded his own room for no reason too?

Either the kid is a phantom thief, or there's a secret underground tunnel with an entrance Kaito doesn't know of. Both of them are too ridiculous to be true, compared to the sad reality that all the stress might truly be causing him to go crazy.

His gut instinct refuses to accept that though.

So after mulling over it for far less time than he should, he slips a smaller knife into his pocket, takes his cellphone, and out of the house he is. There's only one destination on his mind, so he pays no attention to the nature around him, wind still strong even at this hour.

Once he gets to the cliff, there's no one there, however. And a quick jog down to the beach reveals that it's similarly empty. No signs of obvious red bangs flowing in the wind anywhere.

And perhaps, that is only logical. What did he expect, for the kid to be here at all times of the day? If last night truly was a hallucination, their meeting on the cliff was likely just a coincidence. One that might never repeat again, if the brat took his threat of trespassing seriously.

But if that is the case…

Why does he feel watched as he walks away from the beach? Even though, when he glances back, there's nothing in there? Just water. Endless, likely freezing water, being torn asunder by the harsh wind…one step away from killing anyone foolish enough to swim there.

"Niisan, don't you hear tha—"

His head begins to throb all of a sudden. Feeling himself turn cold, he runs out of there as fast as he can. The fear is so much, he isn't even out of breath when he finally reaches the house, closing the door as harshly as he can.

What an utter mess his body is in.

Well, nothing better to do than to try to put everything out of his mind, make something to eat, and rest in front of the TV.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Honestly, though he didn't mean to, the day passed in as much of a daze as the others did, with him not able to remember what he watched at all. He had actually meant to go and check the cliff again, but perhaps it's better that he didn't.

Truly, he needs to get some sort of medication. Anxiety meds, antidepressants, horse tranquillizers, freaking anything. Just something to allow his mind to get the rest it needs to return back to normal. Because he certainly hasn't felt like himself in a long time, and especially not since he came here at all.

He feels like he's stuck in a fog of not actually doing anything. A just comparison to the situation with Haruto, but definitely not what he needs at all. To be fair, Chris did warn him when he was looking over to buy the house that resorting to such drastic measures would lead to this sad result, but Kaito certainly wasn't expecting it to feel this literal.

When night comes, he gets the overwhelming urge to close all the blinds and curtains as before. Slightly less intense, but still there.

He can't bring himself to check the rest of the house however.

Because he's certain that he's not alone. And he doesn't have enough courage to check again. Not even to try and hurt himself to verify if he's dreaming or not.

So he just barricades the second floor, and falls asleep against the bathroom door, alert for any sort of sound. Briefly, he thinks he hears something coming up the stairs, and after a few minutes, going back down. It makes his heart skip several beats, and his sweat turns cold…but until he loses consciousness, everything is mercifully silent.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The motorcycle keeps acting as his alarm clock, and given his terrible sleeping condition, he's not even mad about it this time. Just like last night, he puts every piece of furniture back into place perfectly, opens the windows, and checks the entire house again.

Just as immaculate as the day he moved in. But Kaito is certain that it was not a hallucination this time.

The cliff is still empty when he goes there after breakfast. The beach still gives him the dreadful feeling for seemingly no reason. And like that, the day goes on exactly as the two previous ones. The urge to close windows is less strong that time, but he still protects his door and sleeps in the bathroom nonetheless. Again, he's sure he hears the sound of light steps on the stairs, but this time, doesn't hear them go back down.

The next morning, once again roused awake by the motorcycle, nothing is out of place.

Everything about this feels like a freaking joke.

Kaito starts leaving little tests. He fetches some jewellery his mother left to him after she died (necklaces and bracelets, of course), and leaves it out as bait for his cheeky little guest. Even leaves one by the top of his stairs, so if the brat really has been trying to come into his room every night, he can't afford to miss it.

Every piece is still there by next morning. Whatever the kid wants, it's clearly not to rob him.

Sometimes, he dwaddles with his phone, wondering if he should call someone or not. But the memory of that call to the police station always makes him decide otherwise. And he still doesn't want to open either his social apps or emails to send a message to Chris, even though he's sure there's one waiting for him there.

He also keeps going to the cliff each day, desperately trying to remember what hour it was when he first met the kid. But he's had no luck so far, and if he wasn't sure he was being visited by him nightly, by this point he'd be convinced he truly scared the other away for good.

The last time he went to the beach, he felt a little bit less dread as he walked away from it. Something tells him he might be close to the correct time to meet the other. If only he wasn't still stuck in a daze most of the time, and could meticulously plan what hour to leave each day…as it is, because of his current state of mind, he just has to take advantage of the few times he manages to snap out of his stupor long enough to do anything of worth at all.

As each day passes, he loses his obsession with closing the windows at night. He still does it, but the fear that the moonlight might just slip through, becomes less overwhelming, to the point it feels he's just following a strange habit more than anything else.

Perhaps because he's not so intensely afraid of what's out there, he gathers a little more courage to explore the inside of his house instead. After one more hour of indecision, he moves the closet barricading his door…

And just like he was expecting, there is the brat. Sleeping in a very uncomfortable position, nudged between the top of the stairs and Kaito's door.

It's the opportune time to clobber him over the head with something, knock him out, and tie him up as he waits for him to regain consciousness, hope he doesn't get a concussion, and finally get the answers to the endless questions he has.

It's the smart, logical, and even sensible thing to do in this bizarre situation.

And yet, for some stupid reason, Kaito can't bring himself to be that cruel. Maybe because the behaviour reminds him of when Haruto was a young child, and not wanting to always wake up Kaito by sneaking into his bed, would drag a pillow and a sheet and sleep on the floor near his bed. Kaito scolded him so much for that, for putting so much strain on his already weak body…but he would be lying if he wouldn't do anything to have those days back. Where he was the only light in his brother's world, and he clung to him and him alone.

Lost in those nostalgic, idiotic emotions, Kaito does the stupid thing in his life, and gently shakes the other boy's shoulder, "Wake up, you darn fool."

Kid must be a deep sleeper, for it takes a few shakes for him to even stir, and a couple more to get him to blink open his eyes and try to make sense of what's happening. As his brain slowly catches up, he startles, jumping back suddenly, and almost falling down the stairs in the process. Kaito curses out loud, for despite everything, he doesn't want to call the police station to announce he has a dead intruder in his house in this lifetime.

"Huh, what…what are you doing here?" the brat has the gall to ask as he looks at him with utter bewilderment.

Kaito almost rolls his eyes to the back of his head, "I'm the one who should be asking that. This is my house, remember?" he points out with a scoff, crossing his arms, "I guess you don't, since you have been coming here every night. Don't think I didn't notice just because I didn't come down. Though since you tried to come into my room, you must have noticed the barricade."

Again, the kid's eyes widen, "Barricade? You did that? I thought I just couldn't get in because…" he suddenly brings a hand to his head before he can finish his sentence, as if the mere act of thinking about it makes his head hurt, "Never mind."

Something about that reaction is odd, and yet, it seems completely sincere too. And in a strange way…somehow familiar to Kaito, even though he can't put his finger on how. But he does let that go unfinished because of it.

He doesn't let the brat completely get away with it though, "And why were you even trying to get into my room in the first place? Trying to murder me in my sleep?" he accuses.

The boy's face immediately falls with sheer horror, "What?! Of course not! Why would I do such a thing?!" he almost pleads.

"Well, I don't know, you tell me." Kaito challenges back, "Why would you break into my house every night then? Because I've baited stuff for you to steal, and you don't seem interested. I've wrangled my head around it, and the only options left are murder or sexual assault."

"No! None of those things! Never!" the boy shouts as makes a dash for his feet, as if he's supplicating to him, "I would never do harm to another person! Promise!"

Frustrated, Kaito brings a hand to his mouth, and takes a deep breath, "Then why are you doing this. Because you have to admit it makes no sense."

"I already told you about it." the kid whispers as he looks inside Kaito's room. Kaito follows his gaze, and predictably, it's directed at the window, "It's so the moonlight won't get to me. I know it's totally nuts but…you understand, don't you?" he shoots Kaito a sympathetic look.

And as soon as he says that, Kaito can't argue back. Even with his fear not as potent today, he does know he would absolutely break into someone's house just to make sure to get away from it.

He can't even begin to understand why. But it's what he knows his body would do, by complete and utter instinct.

So he nods…but then he adds, "But why my house? Don't you have a place to go? You know…your own home?"

At that, the kid lowers his shoulders and averts his gaze from him, "No…at least I don't think so." he admits in a trembling voice, "I don't think anyone remembers me any more. There's no place but that cliff for me…and this house, when I need cover from the moon."

And then, the kid begins to cry, "But why? I should have…why do I…" he grunts, holding on to his head as if weighs a thousand kilos, "It hurts, I can't think!" he literally sobs.

Again, if Kaito where to scrutinize that with his usual cold rational view, he'd tell the brat that none of that makes any sort of sense, and kick him out into the cold with a warning that he'll be shot if he tries this tomorrow (with the gun he doesn't own, of course, but it's the threat that matters).

But…not only can Kaito sort of get it (or at least, he sympathizes with the feeling that there is no place for him in this world), but the sheer sadness that the kid outright radiates…he looks like a limping, whimpering puppy, for gods' sake.

And his mother always taught him to be nice to animals. To not even kill the insects he used to catch as a child. To remember to be cautious, but never forget to be kind as well.

He can't shake off that education even years after her death so…with a resigned sigh, he asks, "What's your name?"

After recovering enough to remove his hands from his face, the kid's eyes alight with hope as he struggles to look up to him, "…Yuma." he takes a few minutes to answer, as if he hasn't introduced himself in a long time, and is out of practice, "Yuma Tsukumo."

Kaito raises an eyebrow as he thinks about it, "A lot of ways to read that. Superiority, true, help someone, to play, much far, reason, dance, citrus fruit?" he lists off the top of his head, trying to think of all meanings and kanji combinations such a name could have.

Yuma seems to pale a little, as he looks away awkwardly, "You got one part right, 'to play'. But the full meaning of it is…" his voice drops to barely a whisper, "…horse."

At that, Kaito fights off the urge to laugh, "Well, Yuma, I sadly am not the type to play with horses." he mocks as he turns around, closing the door behind him, "But you can keep hiding here. If you ever come into my room without permission, or even touch anything in the whole house, I will make sure you regret it."

It's a stupid offer. One his rational side is berating him for even as he says it. And yet, he can't bring himself to take the words back.

He hears Yuma scramble around from the other side of the door, likely fighting off the urge to come into Kaito's room regardless. Despite their rather muted interactions, Kaito gets the feeling the kid is actually the extroverted type, and is dying at the seams to talk his ear off. Wisely though, he chooses to remain on the other side, not even tampering with the doorknob, "And what is your name?"

As Kaito places the statue of a tall bird he really should have thrown away earlier in front of the door (so if Yuma tries to come inside in the middle of the night, it will fall and wake up Kaito, giving him a chance to defend himself), he ponders on whether to answer or not, "Kaito. And you don't need to know anything else." he warns.

After a long stretch of silence, making Kaito ponder if the other even heard him at all, Yuma eventually whispers, "Thank you, Kaito, truly. You're a kind man."

Kaito freezes on the spot…

"You can be so cruel, niisan!"

"I thought we were perfect for each other, but the distance between us has become too much."

And for the first time in a long while, gets into bed, and puts the covers over him.

There are some things best left behind.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

At this point, he's not surprised when he wakes up to the sound of a loud motorcycle.

But he is majorly annoyed, because first off, he was sleeping peacefully for once, and secondly…why does that thing pass by him every morning? His house is in a dead end corner of the village, so no way it's someone on their morning commute to work. But why always come here so dreadfully early then? The rider is more punctual than any alarm clock on existence, more disciplined than the most devout monk.

And all to annoy Kaito. Just his luck.

With a sigh, he gets up and rubs his eyes. He got into pajamas for once, though he doesn't quite recall changing…oh well.

After making sure the giraffe statue is still in the same place, he gets up and heads for the shower, feeling a bit at ease. Going on his normal morning routine, he's pleased to find that there isn't a thing out of place, not even the couch. It briefly makes him wonder if Yuma slept by the stairs again, which now that he's relaxed a little about this whole mess, is rather disconcerting. He'll warn the boy about it tonight.

Because it really does seem like the kid, even if odd, really means no harm.

And what the heck. Kaito has no intentions of turning his social media on any time soon, much less call anyone or begin looking for a job. And if he can order groceries online, even if it's expensive to get it delivered all the way here, then he's not going to seek out human interaction for a long while.

Likely not for the next six months, when he'll forced to because—

Again, some things are best not to think about.

The point is, he's a man of science, and he knows no matter how introverted one is, most humans need some sort of interaction so they do not go crazy. And Kaito isn't quite on the level of complete hermit yet. So, might as well take advantage of this whole thing, and use the kid as the bare minimum social outlet he needs.

Plus, a distraction would be nice too. As long as Yuma proves to be harmless, no matter how foolish letting this go on is, Kaito will allow it.

Which means, he has other things to focus on now; namely that annoying motorcycle. It's about time he at least flips off whoever owns it, because he's had enough of being so rudely awakened every day.

With that, he fetches his phone, and sets off the alarm for about fifteen minutes before the thing usually arrives. Then he collects all the garbage he has (surprisingly little, considering all the frozen food and ramen he consumes), and gets everything ready for tomorrow.

For today though, he decides to make use of his phone's alarm while he still remembers to do so, makes a mental note of all the hours he's already tried, attempts to remember his first day here, and eventually settles for a random spot in the afternoon.

Predictably, he doesn't meet Yuma that day. And he's far too tired to go to the beach either to see if anything feels different.

Putting so much of his brain to work wears him out completely, as he crashes into bed and falls asleep that night without even seeing Yuma or setting up the trap by his door.

But he remembered to close the windows, so that's all that matters…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"I really don't want to have to say goodbye to you." a pained voice confesses as something warm caressed his cheek.

It's familiar, so familiar. And unlike last time, this one doesn't come with any conflicting feelings. Kaito wants to open his eyes and reply so badly, but just like last time, he's unable to move a single muscle.

The person next to him sighs, "But unlike the others, I can see the reality of the thing. Even if I don't want to…" and then he feels something loom over him.

Hair. Long, silky hair rubbing against his cheeks, as a pair of lips gently kisses him on the forehead, "Rest well, Kaito. You've deserved it. I'll finish the research we started for your sake."

This…this person is—