Although she'd tried to keep her voice soft when she addressed him, apparently Levi still managed to startle the mysterious boy; his attention snapped to her, and the arm he'd been holding out flinched, pulling into his chest. It looked like he was getting ready to escape her if she made any other sudden moves, almost like a frightened animal… although, when she saw his eyes, they didn't suggest fear at all. Rather, they seemed to shine with worry, caution, and perhaps… a bit of sadness?

She held her hands palm-out in a gesture of non-aggression, and stepped toward him cautiously, "It's… it's okay, are you hurt? Do you need some help?"

His eyes flicked down for a moment, as if he had to think about his answer; he returned her gaze again, and spoke in a voice she could only just hear above the soft splashing of the waves, "...no."

Levi looked the boy over - his whole body looked pale and willowy, he wore a half-soaked T-shirt that was at least two or three sizes too big for him, and black board shorts with a fire pattern on them, but he was utterly barefoot with nary a shoe nor flip-flop in sight. Had he just walked here like this? Maybe he lived upshore somewhere and got lost? However, a closer look at his face revealed three thin scars: one across the bridge of his nose, then two more that crossed his jaw on either side.

"Are you sure you're okay? Is something on your arm…?"

She began to reach out toward him, trying to see what it was he'd been looking at, but he pulled his limb in closer to his chest, and twisted his body away; it was just enough that he kept his arm guarded, but his face was still in three-quarters view. His gaze was downcast, but she could tell it was aimed at least in her general direction.

"I'm fine…" he almost whispered, after a silence between them.

Levi shook her head and sighed, her brow furrowed into a look of concern, "Why do you keep looking at your arm though?"

"...it's nothing. Don't… worry about me…"

The strange boy spoke slowly, more so than almost anyone she'd ever met. Did he have special needs, maybe? If that was the case, he might need more than just medical attention if he was out here alone… but it seemed she'd need to gain his trust first, and that was proving difficult. At first, she wasn't quite sure what to do next, so she decided to see if he would relax a bit if she was more casual; she took a breath and sighed, then sat down about three feet from him, just close enough to talk (and so that she could hear him) but not so close that he'd feel like his personal space was invaded. Then, Levi - her legs folded lotus-style and a warm smile crossing her lips - asked, "What's your name? I don't think I've seen you here before."

There was another pause between them, and though his eyes still stayed largely downcast and his position remained self-protective, she saw his gaze flicker back up to her at least once, if not twice, "...my name is… Azusa…"

As he spoke, she would glance to see if any progress had been made on his arm. This might take some doing, but she was growing concerned; she could smell iron, the scent of blood, even through the salty sea air. He would need some kind of bandaging, if not a hospital, but for whatever reason he was refusing to let her see.

"Azusa… well, my name is Levi. I live about fifteen minutes upshore. Are you from around here?"

He picked up his head, and it seemed like he gazed out to the sea… or at least, to her, it seemed plausible that the sea just happened to be in the direction he looked, "...no."

"Oh," that would certainly explain why she'd never seen him around, maybe he was on vacation with family? It was too early to tell, "then, where are you from, if you don't mind me asking?"

Azusa appeared to think on this for a few seconds, as yet another silence fell between them, but a few seconds later, he simply murmured, "...the ocean."

"The ocean?" She couldn't suppress a small giggle, "Ah, I see, you're joking. But really, where are you from?"

His brow furrowed, his stare stayed locked on the horizon over the water, then he turned his head to look at her almost through his peripheral vision; he seemed to speak a bit more firmly when he repeated himself, "The ocean."

...yeah, she was gonna go with special needs. She guessed that he meant he lived overseas and just didn't have the right word for it, "The ocean… okay, well, where are you staying while you're… on land?"

Silence. Levi considered asking a second time, but then she looked again, and in the moonlight, she could see droplets of dark liquid coming from his forearm and falling from the point of his elbow. It couldn't have been anything else but blood. She couldn't contain a small gasp, and she reached out again, "Oh my god, Azusa, you're bleeding! Why didn't you tell me?"

A flat, monotone reply followed, "I… didn't notice…"

She stared blankly at him, though her mouth hung slightly open in shock, "Wh- no, like… it's dripping down your arm," she pointed, watching as another droplet fell into his lap, "Azusa, you have to be honest with me, okay? Listen, if you're bleeding this much, you need to see a doctor. Do you understand? Where are your mom and dad?"

A frown crossed Azusa's face, but he otherwise didn't move, "dead."

Ooookay then. Not the answer she was expecting. Levi tried another option, "Well, do you have an aunt or uncle? Brothers? Sisters? Cousins? Anyone we can contact to let them know where you are?"

Strangely enough, this seemed to be the first she saw of a smile from him, albeit it was no more than a shadow of one, "I have brothers…"

"Brothers! Okay, good, good, now Azusa, can you tell me where your brothers are right now?"

His expression suddenly became more serious, and he fixed his gaze on her, "The ocean."

Welp, so much for that. Levi then asked a bit more forwardly, "Azusa, do you have a cell phone? Like…" she reached into her back pocket, and pulled out her smartphone to show him, "one of these?"

Lord, was this guy full of surprises, and she'd only known him for maybe ten minutes; he locked his stare on the little piece of technology, and instinctively reached out to take it. However, he realized what he'd done, a bit too late - Levi seized the opportunity and took him by the wrist before he could flinch again. She then extended the limb out, placing the phone back in her pocket so that she could utilize both hands to examine and manipulate his anatomy. Sure enough, the inside of his forearm sported a gash: at least 3-4 inches long, and oozing with fresh blood; as far as Levi knew, such a wound could easily be fatal if not treated.

"Shit! Azusa, you need to go to the hospital! C'mon, I'll take you, I'm not leaving you out here like this…"

"No…" he protested weakly, she began to wonder if he was already suffering from the effects of blood loss. She took his hand on one side, and reached behind him with the other arm to grab him and pull him up. Azusa seemed as if he was going to deadweight, and his reluctance was still apparent, but he allowed her to stand him up… and he was taller than he looked when he'd been sitting down, she guessed he was about her height if he wasn't slightly slumped. The boy seemed fairly stable though, so there was still hope.

"Come on, I'm gonna let my mom know that we need to take you to the hospital. I promise the walk isn't long at all…"

He still didn't seem all that willing, and even as Levi took his uninjured hand to lead him, he all but dragged his feet through the sand. Why on earth was he so reluctant to get medical attention? It seemed like forever before they reached her house, as what should have been only about a twenty or thirty minute walk was stretched into something closer to forty-five minutes. She noticed that every so often when she'd look back, he would stare off onto the horizon, as if he could think of nothing except the sea… or being anywhere else but there. Either way, she just couldn't get any kind of read on this strange boy.

However, as they approached the front porch, Azusa really dug in his heels and refused to set foot on the planks at all, "No…"

"Azusa, it'll only be a minute, and you've come this far…"

"I'll be fine…"

Levi sighed deeply, then conceded, "Alright, fine. But just stay here, okay? I need to get my mom real quick so I can take you to the emergency room and she won't worry about me."

She stepped away, and he seemed to be frozen, staring through her with his forlorn eyes, and then she went up to the front door with her keys in hand. Once she unlocked and opened it, she poked her head in and called out, "Mom!"

"Yes?"

"I need to go into town, there's a kid with an injury and he needs to go to the E.R."

"Okay, be careful. Text me when you get there so I know you're safe."

"Alright, mom. I love you!"

Levi pulled the door closed behind her, and was about to lock it again, but she looked back to the place where she'd left Azusa… and there was no one there. It wasn't even as if he'd run off, but more like he'd simply vanished, and it was too dark and too late to venture out looking for him.

"Shit…"