Chapter Text
Kazutaro Williams —scratch that, that’s not his name— Kazuto Miki is shivering under the cold, dark rain. The only thing he feels right now, as he’s clutching the strap of his bag, is cold. Unwavering, unfeeling, unremarkable cold. Rain threatens to fall, and as Kazuto keeps fiddling with his jacket, trying to make it fit over his body, he realizes the fabric, being too thin to protect him from the cold, is really not gonna help him with how much this weather hates him.
It is a fact of life that Kazuto has to lose. It’s something that feels like an universal rule in this world. And yet, he feels free, in a way. Like a gambler who only has one chip to lose in a do-or-die situation. Now, he just has his clothes on his back —as in, not enough to keep him warm from the cold—, his backpack, almost filled to the brim with his stuff (including documents, notebooks with story ideas he never finishes, an old laptop he bargained for, and a pup hood he stole from Norman, the bastard).
He does not look back to that house. The dark basement he spent most of his life in. The suburbs in Sierra are so similar, they all blend together, house after house after house become blurry images with how fast his feet are moving. Considering the fact that the skies are cloudy enough to make Kazuto look upwards to the sky, and constantly repeat this action as he runs, is a cause of concern.
It’s funny, in a sense. During his high school years, Kazuto thought of himself as a street dog, abandoned by his owner, and here he is, becoming a street dog a few hours after his eighteenth birthday. It has the potential to be a funny joke, Kazuto has to admit. Instead, he swallows tears through a knot in his throat. Watching his mom (not that she was ever supportive of him in particular) pack everything that he had (just some clothes he still managed to fit into at the tender age of eighteen) in plastic black bags, and then throwing them out in the curb for him to find after his last school day…
Well. Kazuto is not happy about that, of all things, but there’s a feeling he can’t describe fueling him.
He keeps running, turning corner after corner, chasing his own shadows and trying to find some place that allows him to leave Sierra behind. Anywhere but here is best.
It takes a while, but after ten whole minutes of running, at 6PM in the middle of the work week, he arrives at a bus stop.
Kazuto takes out his phone. He’s done this whole song and dance far too many times, and he doesn’t want to risk it. No, sir. He wants to make sure he’s doing everything on his power to leave, as soon and as fast as possible. He would prefer if leaving today is an option for him. Kazuto checks his phone, looking on the Moogle Maps any possible routes for where he’s gonna go.
On one hand, he has Brindle. Which has many pros, considering how farther away it is from Sierra, and how calm it seems, based on the amount of mentions of an “idyllic atmosphere” there are in online articles. That, and how the mountains just make everyone more calm, according to… Kazuto shakes his head. It is useless to dwell on him and his noxious words.
Then, on the other hand, he has Crest Haven, the city that is adjacent to Brindle. Compared to Brindle, Crest Haven has less to initially root for it. It has less touristic spots, but more on the side of things that he can do to keep himself as far away from Sierra as he possibly can. To begin, he checks on his e-mail app, just to make sure, and yes, checking the spot that has all the favorite emails holds the acceptance letter for a scholarship.
Which means that Kazuto’s fate is sealed, in that way. He has a full-ride scholarship for Crest Haven University, but that also made him question a bit on the authenticity of the term. Just because it says on the tin that it’s a full ride doesn’t mean that it actually covers everything. It could just be a full tuition scholarship, but no room nor accommodations for him. Now, the main issue is…
Where does he spend his days in between his college days, and now?
He has three months before the first semester starts. Ninety… Ninety two days before he begins college. That is scary. He can’t spend his meager savings in just a bunch of motel stays. And he can’t just beg for friends’ houses or staying at a relative’s house. Because those two options are already crossed off before they even start the consideration round. He’s not with enough family, nor friends or classmates that could help.
So that means he should search for a place to stay. At least until he can get back on his feet. The email did mention a date in specific, but that’s for at least eighty seven days ahead, so five days before the start of the semester, probably to finish the registration. Maybe Kazuto’s a bit overzealous of getting to the city earlier than usual, but he has a good cause to be concerned. Without this… He basically has no chance of ever getting a job where he wants.
Maybe he can keep on staying in the shelter while he studies, too. He may not have to worry about that.
Or an education, or literally anything to find his place.
Therefore, Crest Haven it is. But that just brings another question…
Where the hell does he stay? Is he looking for a place to sleep, or just stay temporarily until things get better? Does he need to look for a job immediately? Or start after he gets acquainted with the college lifestyle and the city itself?
Kazuto just types another question on the Moogle app, this time trying to look for resources.
In the first three search results, he sees an address. Crest Haven’s Homeless Shelter.
For any other circumstance, Kazuto would have turned up his nose at this. At the idea of being homeless. He does have a home, just… not here. Not in Japan, either. But he does have a home… He just has to look for it. And yet, he still has no one on his side right now.
Kazuto ends up tightening his hands into fists. He may not have had anyone (the fact that public school managed to give him enough leeway to actually get into a college like this is nothing short of the result of Kazuto’s hard work, nothing else. It. Isn’t. Pity) on his side, but it feels more like the world is challenging him than anything.
Prove yourself. Prove you’re strong enough.
He just needs to endure these ninety-something days. That’s all. He doesn’t need anything else. A job, a place to fall and die, and his education to look forward to. Those are the main things that worry him.
So that settles it. He saves the address in his phone, and, rain or shine, he’s going to the bus company and riding on the first bus to Crest Haven that he can find.
As soon as Kazuto stores his phone in his bag, he makes sure to run all the way to the commercial zone of Sierra. This place, while Kazuto hasn’t been able to put a foot here, he’s managed to find his way around more confusing layouts. He can do it. This isn’t even a bad thing, being all honest.
Okay, it is a bit bad. He’s pretty sure he’s turned right at least three times. This isn’t working for him.
He ends up doubling back, standing under the bus stop that’s two turns right before the spot he stopped to consider his sorroundings. Turns on the Moogle Maps app, then looks for the bus company. He’s sure that he has seen it before, if not in the internet through annoying ads, then by the ad cars that roll by the shopping center when he goes with Vanessa…
Damn, Vanessa… Okay, getting distracted by sad thoughts there. No. Bad Kazuto. Get into the search bar. Type the word bus… Good. Now look through the city.
Using his fingers to flick through the screen, he ends up finding the bus company, but it doesn’t seem like it’s very far away.
Three blocks down, then three more to the right from where he is. That’s manageable.
Storing his phone again, he ends up running the entire distance, saving the name of Foxhound Transportation in the back of his mind. It does take a lot longer than what he usually expected from himself, but it does take a bit for him to reach the street of the bus company.
Decked in gray and orange colors, the Foxhound building looks very modern and sleek. It’s a typical sight on Sierra, compared to other stores that have a more old color palette, but Foxhound seems more like a tech store, somehow.
He ends up approaching the door, and right next to it, there’s a small LED display that shows the next bus’s arrival times, as well as some ads on the screens.
Kazuto sighs, with enough relief. He’s fine for now. The next bus leaves in thirty minutes. Not counting if Kazuto books a seat in this bus immediately. So he decides on not wasting any time, and immediately goes in.
There’s a rush of cold air that makes him shiver as soon as he’s three steps into the building. Looking around, there’s a bored racoon guy on the front desk, to what he assumes is the place to book a ticket. It’s not gonna hurt him to try out, right? He can just ask and go on the next bus.
Steeling himself, Kazuto sighs, holds the strap of his messenger bag, and goes to the front desk. It’s not gonna be an annoying interaction, he’s just asking a question, he’s not causing issues, he’s not going to make the raccoon guy’s day much worse. He’s— god, he’s sweating a little bit on his hands.
“Uh, sorry to bother, sir… But I, ah, wanted to get on the next bus to Crest Haven. Is there anything I should do?”
Immediately after asking, he feels like a complete dumbass. He should have just asked to get on the next bus, or just put some of the money there and asked if the next bus would come in the next twenty minutes or so.
He’s just gonna run away all the way to Crest Haven, you know what? He’s not gonna make it—
“Oh, yeah. Kid, you gotta show me an ID first.”
Oh.
Well. Kazuto can do that. He’s eighteen.
He gets his wallet, and prepares mentally the amount of money that he’s gonna get out —at the very least twenty dollars in five dollar bills, which means that he will have eighty dollars in ten dollar bills and twenty dollars in five dollar bills, and ten dollars in one dollar bills— and slides across the counter the ID, which still shows his old photo from back when he was fourteen. He thanks all the stars that his mom didn’t really care for signing that approval form.
“Okay, cool, cool. Now, you’re gonna pay on that automated booth over there, and wait for the small card it’ll give you. Then you’re gonna wait until the next driver’s ready.”
He doesn’t quite catch everything, but the guy does speak in a monotone, which makes things difficult for him to understand. At least he got the gist of it.
Still, he doesn’t quite get why the card promotion. He’s not sure why there would be a tri-city card promotion.
Kazuto picks up his ID, and puts it in the wallet.
“What’s it for? The card, I mean…”
“Bus pass for Crest Haven, Brindle and Sierra.” The raccoon guy looks at him and softens his expression. “Considering it’s your first time using our services, and you look like a student, it’d do you good to get one of these. You just recharge on any of our Foxhound booths. They’re all across the three cities.”
“Oh. That—“
“Pretty nifty, huh?”
“Very!” Kazuto feels like a weight has been lifted from his body. As his feet almost begin the movement towards the booth, Kazuto turns around, as if suddenly yanked by an invisible hand. “Oh, sorry. Thank you, sir!”
And he bows, because that is a totally normal thing to do when you get help. The raccoon guy looks more amused than mocking, but he just nods and goes back to his normal day.
Kazuto finds it a lot easier on his nerves as the prompts to the automated booth, that looks more like an ATM, guide him through the process. It takes a picture, and Kazuto cringes a little when he becomes aware of how messy his hair looks, and how his dog ears look like they were photoshopped on top of his head, but the photo is fine. Nothing too stellar. Just that he still looks like a kicked puppy.
Then the registration for the trip. He clicks on the respective fields (then double and triple checks, because he’s quite sure that if he doesn’t, he’ll suddenly waste the money he doesn’t have millions of), and then there’s a wait, as he confirms the seat and the time (the closest he can get on is at seven thirty, which fits given the booth likely takes the very next trip as a trip someone can’t get on).
By that point, he’s all done with the prompts as he receives a card, with his name and photo on it, and then the machine tells him that he can start with paying for the bus pass. So he inserts the five dollar bills, one at a time. And by that point, the trip is booked.
He sits down, a bit numb after the events from before, and feels like he can pass out —but Kazuto decides against it. It’s easier on the raccoon guy if he just stays awake. Not like he just got kicked out of his house, right? He’s just a normal guy with a normal life…
Well, that just makes him sound like a loser. And a very pathetic loser, at that.
Kazuto shakes his head. It’s not worth it to dwell on this.
Once he gets on the bus, it’s easy for him to get comfortable, as the seat is very big (probably to accommodate guys that are like, seven feet tall and jacked to hell and back, not some barely five feet tall twink that looks like he can be blown away with a strong wind like Kazuto is), and it has the QR code for the wi-fi, which makes Kazuto think that he just stepped in the future of transportation.
Once he sits down, he manages to get his phone out, putting a good review of the company as soon as he finds it on Moogle Maps. Then, with all the time of the world, he gets on Chirper to read some of the threads he follows for his fandoms.
It only takes him a bit for him to realize that there’s been drama in the SAPchirp (Sins and Paradise Chirper community, which Kazuto remembers from a mutual).
wolfstar’s babygirl | #1 HYPER SIMP❤️❤️ @wolfylezbian
just wishing for some accountability from the creators is all I’m asking
💬 45 ⭯ 120 ❤️ 30
Well, that is a bummer. Is he reading all of that drama? Because he now has questions about the main chirp. And he’s not sure if he actually has the energy to care for it. If someone asked him what it is about, this is about fanfic on the Place of Our Own site. It pretty much has to be.
He’s also bored and looking for some excitement, maybe some fandom drama can be the antidote to that.
Maybe. He bites the bait and taps on the chirp, if only, for the sake of reading backwards to figure out what the hell is going on here on this day.
wolfstar’s babygirl | #1 HYPER SIMP❤️❤️ @wolfylezbian
like, they want to hide on the “oh but it’s just a story” BITCH THE FUCK IT ISNT,,, this is so gross and disgusting, how do ppl ship those 2 on this hellsite dont U GUYS KNOW DAGIO IS HIS ABUSER RITE?? LIKE THEY’RE TOXIC AND ABUSIVE TO EACH OTHER
💬 80 ⭯ 200 ❤️ 50wolfstar’s babygirl | #1 HYPER SIMP❤️❤️ @wolfylezbian
dagiostar shippers dont interact plz yall are disgusting
💬 400 ⭯ 120 ❤️ 100wolfstar’s babygirl | #1 HYPER SIMP❤️❤️ @wolfylezbian
I cant believe ppl write shit like this on this website
PO3 IS SUPPOSED TO BE A SAFE SPACE YOU FREAKS
[image]
💬 450 ⭯ 1000 ❤️ 500
Oh.
Checking the image, he notices that the ship that she’s talking about has a bigger fic count than Hyperwolfstar’s, which means that this girl is salty no one likes to write or read those fics. Okay, then Kazuto just drops on the profile of this person, and immediately blocks it. Not worth his time, really.
If this even included some amount of drama based on fake identities, racism, or something else, at the very least Kazuto would have called this worth it. And this isn’t any of that, just a numbers game about a very popular show.
He tries to check on some fanart from one of the most popular artists of the fandom. The artist is very cool, too. Kazuto tries to like and repost a lot of the artist’s chirps so that other people can see him. There’s a few pictures of Dagio, which makes people in the comments mad as hell, but to Kazuto, the art is good, so he’s immediately reposting it to his account.
And then he also goes and reposts a lot of Dagiostar ship art, if only, to spite the wolfylezbian account. Not that she’ll get to do anything to him, since she’s blocked.
So there’s that.
He spends some time scrolling, for the sake of ignoring that nagging feeling in his brain. It only leads to pain on that zone. He doesn’t want to think, and ends up putting his loudest, most screaming emo music to numb the thoughts. His wrists itch, Kazuto looks at them then quickly closes his eyes, trying not to think about… that. He wants to get to a safe spot, at the very least that would get him far away from this. Whatever it is. He hates feeling assaulted by his own brain.
Kazuto knows it’s only suggestion and mental sleights of hand, but the itching keeps going, transforming into a burning sensation. He lifts the sleeves a little, if only, to make it easier on him. But then he takes a look at them.
The scars. They beg for him to cut himself some more. Kazuto swallows thickly. Tries to resist.
Maybe he can think about how much he’s gonna sleep on the bed of the homeless shelter. It’d make it easier for him. He won’t have to worry about food, sleep, work, study…
He breathes, slowly. Swallows again.
There’s a slight pause in between the songs, and he knows that this time, it’s an ad appearing on his Rockify app. He lets it go, not wanting to upgrade, and saving himself the grief of torturing himself with guttural rock growls so that the pain, the feeling of being stranded, alone in a sea of people, can go away.
It also helps that, in between the screaming rock songs that make him imagine his own movies, there’s a few K-pop songs he can bop to. Using TWICE as a buffer between the heavy fight scenes for a fic he wants to finish at some point. The song is loud enough to shut his mind up for at least a good part of the trip.
Compared to most other places he’s been, the road to Crest Haven is almost a blessing in disguise, with how quaint the city looks like. Sierra is full of skyscrapers, tall concrete boxes and cars. By contrast, this place looks more like a big town in a Ballmark movie, where there’s Christmas coffee shops and tree farms to get the perfect tree to save the town’s Christmas party with the help of a jaded businesswoman and his hot, muscular and kind love interest.
Kazuto keeps looking out at the window, and he notices that his playlist is too short for the trip, since now he’s back to the first song on the playlist, as the guitar solo begins, he pauses and stores his phone. It’s at twenty percent. Survivable, but he doesn’t want to run around a city he doesn’t know with a dead phone… at eight PM in the middle of a work week.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster. And out of all things that happened to him, he would prefer if the mess ends when he gets to the shelter.
He leans back into the seat, sighing. He’s tired, after all the running he had to do to get to the Foxhound building.
It doesn’t take much longer, but when he gets off the bus and enters the Crest Haven building, Kazuto almost misses the comfortable seat, just as the hot summer air gets to his body, and that makes him swallow his words. Yeah, the heat is a much better thing to settle for than the nice bus seat. He can deal with this.
The inside of the Foxhound office is quite sterile for the bright colors it uses. Taking away the bright orange (part of their branding, Kazuto assumes), everything looks quite modern and minimalistic. The seats look like those chairs that are very curved on the back rest, and to Kazuto, it all looks like the work of a rich person designing their dream house. Or a low-poly version of a more detailed seat. There’s a lot more, like the booths (these ones are very different from the Sierra branch), filled with a ton of people going about their days.
The sound of rolling suitcases, people talking, and footsteps makes Kazuto breathe easy at this point. He is quite far from home now, as the squeamish feeling he has on his stomach tells him. He has said that he’s always alone, but now, when no one he knows is in this place, or in anywhere nearby, his words sting like a burn. They can’t be any more true now.
He looks to his sides, trying to find somewhere to locate himself, without having to unnecessarily use his phone. Only for emergencies. He can’t afford to charge his phone, even now.
There’s no phone charging stations, for starters. A dumb decision, if Kazuto has any say on this. There should be a place to charge phones in every big store and building. But whatever. It’s not like Kazuto left his charger back at the home he doesn’t have, either… Right?
About that.
He checks in his bag. No sign of any cable that looks as similar to his phone’s charger. None of the adjacent little kiosks have any sign of selling phone chargers, either. Damn.
Just his luck.
Kazuto is about to give up and rawdog the tourism section of his trip, when he spots a huge map screen. He runs, gripping the strap of his messenger bag to secure it close to his body. As soon as he is within arms’ reach, he relaxes his posture, adjusts his hair a little, then swipes his fingers and zooms in Crest Haven’s map.
The entire city can be divided in many different sections. There’s the suburbs, which are close to the industrial zone with factories and everything, and a small little pop-up that makes Kazuto frown as he gets rid of it, gosh. He keeps looking.
There’s a bus stop near the spot where he remembers the homeless shelter. Kazuto looks to both sides. Zooms in.
Right there, near the Everspring Street bus stop, right next to the Steelworks Factory. Okay. He can handle remembering that information. No big deal.
He zooms out and drags his finger up, swiping until he finds a good stopping point. The Maynor Shopping Center sounds like a good option. It’s on what he assumes is the richer part of the city, so he doesn’t run into anything suspicious. And it’s in the commercial district, which also means there’s enough places that no one would dare to think Kazuto was looking for the homeless shelter.
Kazuto leaves the office, and starts to run for the place where the shelter is.
He’s quite sure that, at this point, he’s quite close to the shelter. Just right around the corner, he can see the Steelworks Factory, and the bus stop, too.
Thing is, there’s something Kazuto didn’t account for. And that’s the climate. Since he isn’t aware of the climate (and it’s not his first thought to check for the weather news, besides, it can always change at the whims of Mother Nature, not his fault), he notices a bit late that he has to find shelter.
He’s wet on his head, shoulders and shoes. These damn sneakers definitely aren’t worth shit. But he also spent… what, ten bucks? Not the point. He didn’t spend much on these shoes, so maybe he gets what he pays for with those.
And the homeless shelter is not too far from him, maybe he can run to it and not get as wet as he is right now.
But right now, he can’t ponder on that, so he settles on jumping the broken down metal fence, careful not to snag anything on him, bag and clothes, on the sharp edges of the wire fence. Then, using the broken down factory’s architecture to his favor, he stays underneat the metal roof, the constant water drops breaking the monotone silence.
Kazuto still looks to both sides, and opens the bag. Thankfully, the phone can still turn on and do calls to a certain degree. He turns on the ultra battery saver setting on the phone, and searches on Moogle Maps. If Kazuto’s wrong with this address, he’s gonna scream.
So… yeah, he’s not wrong. Thankfully. But now that he chose to stay hidden underneath the factory’s roof, he now has to deal with waiting until the rain lets up. It may not do so for a bit, and it’s not like he can just wait it out for long. He may have checked for any immediate threats, but the constant silence from this place, and how dark it is don’t give Kazuto much reassurance.
He holds the phone, trying to think of a way to get out of this place, and to see if he can call the owner of the shelter.
The rain also roars, water falling down like machine gun bullets. There’s a thunder in the distance, too. It agrees with Kazuto’s thoughts now.
He’s just a street dog that nobody wants. It just comes out of the blue, with Kazuto’s shaky breathing, and how—
No. No. Better stop that train of thought. He’s not dwelling on this.
Moogle Maps shows the phone number of the person Kazuto assumes is the owner of the shelter. Typing it out, his body starts to feel a bit weak.
Is it the right idea? To call the owner and ask? Shouldn’t he try to call someone else first? Maybe there’s a runaway center or something like that, maybe he can try to call that first?
Damn it, not the right time, either. He should have done his research first. Maybe try to consider his options more carefully, and plan his moves accordingly. This… Kazuto should have seen this coming, really. Eve didn’t like him because Kazuto is, or better yet, was baggage from her previous marriage. Ten years after the divorce and it still holds true, if what she did is any indication.
Kazuto swallows, a knot in his throat making it harder to do it, but he manages to do it through the pain and the discomfort. It makes the water in his eyes not overflow into tears. He can do this. He’s already out of the city, so it doesn’t matter much what he ends up doing. He’s an adult, his parents (or the people that posed as his parents… more like authority figures, really) didn’t care for him, and they’re not about to care now.
He can do this.
He types the 211 in the phone, and soon enough, there’s what Kazuto can only describe as elevator music ringing in his dog ear. He wishes he could just have normal human ears, but nope, he has these dog ears right on the top of his head. Makes things awkward for phone calls.
“Hello, thank you for calling Community Services, this is Donna Sue speaking, how may I assist you?”
Thank the gods he didn’t take too long waiting.
“Uh, hi… God, I— I’m currently in Crest Haven, and. Well.” Kazuto sighs, feeling the tears well up in his eyes. “My mom threw me out of the house back in Sierra, so I went here because my— well, I had my college application accepted and it was for this city… So I’m here. And I don’t have, you know, a home.”
Kazuto curses inward. That did not come out like he intended. It sounds like a kicked puppy that is on his last legs. He was aiming for just a recently kicked puppy.
“Okay, my dear… Are you in any immediate risk?”
“No, ma’am. I was looking for the homeless shelter in the city. It just started raining while I was on the way there… And then I had to look for shelter from the rain because it got worse.” Kazuto looks to his sides, and doesn’t see anyone. “I don’t see anything that can be a risk for me.”
“Good, good! Very well. You don’t have any issues with finding food or water, right? Because I can connect you with local resources for both. I know there’s some food banks available.” Donna’s voice is quite calming, like a southern lady he met in the mall with Vanessa that one time. “I might also give you the phone number for the shelter, as well as the address, is that okay for you?”
Kazuto nods, at first. He realizes Donna Sue can’t really see him.
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you so, so much.”
His voice comes out as a whisper. At least he doesn’t sound too much like a charity case.
“No worries, sweetie. Just wait a moment here, okay? I gotta look for the information here.”
“It’s okay… Uh, I do have very little battery, so if you— well, there’s no pressure, but I don’t have a charger and I—“
“I got it, sweetheart and I’ll make sure you get the help that you need.” He can hear some clicks and the clacks of some keyboard keys. “Okay, so I can transfer you directly to the landline of the shelter’s owner, if that could help, and I can send you through text message the information about the food banks. Now, if you could verify the phone number, please, that would be great.”
“That… that would be awesome. Yes.” He hesitates a bit, but Kazuto ends up nodding, more to himself than anything. “It’s 258-555-0144.”
“Very well, sweetie. Now, just give me one second as I send the texts and then I’ll transfer you right to the shelter owner’s line. I reckon you must be tired after all of today.” There’s a slight pause, but Donna speaks as soon as she’s done. “Okay, sweetie, she’s gonna be on the line soon enough. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“No, not at all. You helped a lot, miss Donna.”
On the other side, he hears a soft laugh.
“It’s alright. Just take care of yourself, okay?”
“I will. Thank you so much.” Kazuto doesn’t hide any of the happiness he feels when saying that.
“It’ll all be alright. Now I’m transferring the line. Have a nice evening!”
“You too!”
Then Donna’s voice disappears. Kazuto waits in the middle of the rain, and soon enough, another woman’s voice appears on the other side of the line.
“Hello, this is Maria, the owner of the Crest Haven homeless shelter, who am I speaking to?”
Okay, now this is made a lot easier on his nerves. Kazuto sighs, as if to prepare himself again.
“My name is Kazuto. I, well. My mom threw me out of the house, and I already called the 211 for information, and they transferred me here because my phone is very low on battery. I do need a place to stay, at least until I can go to college…”
A small beat passes between the two of them.
“Oh, dear! That must be difficult. Well, I do have space in here. Are you any close? I could send someone to pick you up, if that is okay.”
“No no, it’s fine. Really, Miss Maria.” Kazuto is quick to correct himself. “I am near the Steamworks Factory in the industrial zone. Is the shelter any close to that?”
Because if it is, he can just run the rest of the distance is what Kazuto is about to say, but doesn’t.
“It’s very close, you should turn around the corner to the left and you’ll see it, dear. But are you sure you don’t want me to send someone over to pick you up? With this rain, I wouldn’t want you to get sick.”
“I’m very sure, miss! I just need to run the rest of the way and I won’t be very wet.”
Another small silence, almost as if Maria sighed before speaking again.
“Okay, I’ll be sure to keep an eye out and let you in. Just be sure to knock on the door first, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am! I— thank you. I’ll be there very soon.”
After a brief you’re welcome from Maria, and a few reassurances that he’ll be fine, Kazuto hangs up the phone, and stores it back in the bag. He makes sure to adjust everything, so that the few clothes he has inside can cover everything that’d get ruined under the rain (mostly the laptop, the phone and the documents).
Then, stepping out of the shadows, and being careful with climbing out of the fence, Kazuto makes a mad dash for the shelter. Turn around the corner, to the left, and he slows down to survey each house, making sure to pay attention.
He may get more wet like this, but he doesn’t mind it if he can avoid finding the wrong house.
It takes at least three houses before he finds the sign near the mailbox. Crest Haven’s Homeless Shelter.
Walking to the porch, Kazuto makes sure to try to look as presentable as he possibly can while being damp from the rain. He then knocks on the door, three quick taps and he’s done.
He waits for a few moments, and the door opens, revealing a cat lady in her nightgown, which makes Kazuto feel bad for her, since he’s interrupting her sleep and even her whole nighttime routine.
“Oh, my! You must be Kazuto, then? Please, come inside. I was just preparing some things to get you warm, you look drenched.”
“It’s no big deal, ma’am. I was just… Well, I don’t really feel very wet. I am used to that.”
“Now, it’s okay if you call me Maria, it’d make me feel old if you were to call me ma’am.” She ends up saying it with warmth.
Something that makes him want to follow her and maybe even hug her, but Kazuto resists, he doesn’t want to look like a creep. He already has the part with how disheveled he looks at the moment. Looking like a wet puppy.
“Sorry, Maria. Still, I think just giving me a place to stay is more than enough, really.”
“Nonsense, please come inside, I feel I must talk with you for a bit. Would you like some tea?”
Kazuto follows Maria after she opens the door for him, going inside right after her, and hearing the door close behind him makes Kazuto snap out of himself. He walks to the dining area, where Maria tells him to stay for a bit as she brews some tea.