A\N: Hi LeeMae. I see you lurkin'. Hi. Chapter is dedicated to my biggest fan, Sandrine Georges. Sandrine, "u r world beater." Here's to our dream(?) of becoming an oyster farmer/mycologist duo.

The desire to expose bared flesh was one of the body. And he was not willing to subject himself to that suffering once again. If he had had a choice in the matter, he would not have chosen to lust after Toshio at all. Or any other man, for that matter.

So he wasn't quite sure why he had sent a reply. He had deliberated the decision long enough. It was nearly noon when he replied to the text message with a simple rejection. After all, it was polite, right?

There is a reason for that, Toshio. And I do not wish to communicate any further. He tucked his phone back into his pocket, and continued his faux slumber on the couch.

The message had arrived at the worst possible time; which was not so unlike the habit of the man who sent it. He was stalking prey in Shibuya's Daikanyama district. He had slipped the woman into a light trance, and was pretending to lead her home, when his cellphone had pinged rather loudly. This was apparently enough to draw her from the stupor he had put her in.

So he'd come home without a meal.

And his daughter had gone to bed starving.

But he'd sent a relatively cordial text anyways. What else was he supposed to do? Toshio had wanted something; otherwise he would not have bothered to seek Seishin out. That much, he'd worked out for himself. But what exactly did Toshio want?

His life seemed fine enough. It was remarkably close to what he'd had before, sans expensive apartment. He had recently taken a vacation. A vacation with his girlfriend.

He sighed. He'd realized long ago that Toshio had no romantic interest in him. And if he'd expressed any, it was only after three glasses of a particularly strong liquor.

At the time, he had thought nothing of it. Kyouko had left him, to work in her father's shop, presumably. And he'd taken Toshio out for drinks, because he'd seemed so dejected. It wasn't the loss of Kyouko that had saddened him. No, it was his own failure to retain his "possessions."

And he had no intention of becoming another one of Toshio's pawns. He had that nurse-woman. She'd quit her job for him; he had her wrapped around his finger. He'd seen enough of their nauseatingly relaxed life from his 11.6 inch monitor.

No, he hadn't felt any guilt for breaking into the doctor's computer. The other man had left it unguarded.

Much like his thoughts.

He checked his cellphone once again. Seishin. Please, I just need your help. A guy from Sotoba is dead, and I think he may have been bitten by Shiki… It wasn't you, was it?

Yes, Toshio, I enjoy acts of wanton violence now that I am a Shiki. Before killing him, I raped him as my daughter watched. Afterwards, we stole all the valuables in his house, and sold them on the black market to make a neat profit. He's my fifth victim this week. But then again, the doctor was dense. He'd probably take that seriously.

Instead he settled for: Toshio, there are certain people I do not desire to cross. The perpetrator of the incident is one such person. I do believe that I asked you to curtail this correspondence. Good-Bye.

And he'd gotten an almost instantaneous reply. Seishin! Please. This is serious!

What was he supposed to say to that? Yes, and I was serious about you leaving me alone. He hadn't changed. He had taken Seishin's request to be left alone as an open invitation. The jinrou's own wants and needs were put after his own.

Some part of him knew that he would eventually have to give into Toshio. He'd typed: The last time you asked me for information, you ended up disregarding it entirely. You yelled at me for distracting you. And you've tried to kill me twice before. What makes you want me now?

I know… but… you're… I can't ask anyone else. He'd felt himself blush. The doctor had gotten one over him again. His earlier determination to fight him had worn off. He was the only one that Toshio could ask… Right? Which inevitably meant… He was getting ahead of himself again.

Where, and when do you want to meet?

Does that center across from the train station… At noon sound good? You have the same area code, so I assumed…

Yeah. Meet me inside the Go Parlor. The fee is 460 yen.

.. Go?

Is there a problem?

No. Just… Bad memories… He slid his phone into his pants' pocket. He had the feeling that it was going to be a long day.