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Toshiro put the key in the keyhole and attempted to turn it, only to discover that the door was already unlocked. An involuntary sigh escaped his lips as he put the keys back in his pocket and grabbed the door handle instead. He definitely remembered locking the door on his way out, so it being unlocked could only mean that Laios made it home before him and neglected to re-lock it. In the grand scheme of things, that wasn't really a big deal – so long as one of them was home and could monitor the situation, it arguably wasn't necessary to lock the door – but he found himself irritated by it on principle alone. Forgetting to lock the door was one of Laios' most consistently annoying habits, and more irritating still was the pitiful, apologetic look he would give Toshiro every time he was called out on it, none of which inspired any changes in his behaviour, of course.
Well, that may not have been entirely fair. It was obvious that Laios did have a deep, sincere desire to improve his behaviour. He sought Toshiro's advice on many occasions, and generally took his words to heart. Once a problem had been pointed out to him, he would go out of his way to fix it, to varying degrees of success. Somehow, though, none of his efforts made him any less irritating – on the contrary, they only seemed to make things worse. The earnestness with which he assured Toshiro that he would never make the same mistake again only to repeat it again not even a week later, the pride he took in accomplishing the simplest tasks and his puppy-dog eyes begging for forgiveness every time he messed up, the endless questions about things that should have been obvious or were completely irrelevant and pointless – those were the qualities that made a majority of their interactions utterly insufferable for Toshiro to endure, and knowing that there was no malicious intent behind any of them made him feel a pang of guilt over his own annoyance.
Of course, regardless of Laios' intentions, there were some legitimate grievances to be had with his conduct. His total lack of social graces and obliviousness to even the most basic of cues made talking to him an absolute chore. His obsession with all things Japanese, beamed at Toshiro in an endless flurry of ramblings about movies he'd never seen, comics he'd never read, games he'd never played, that Laios took for granted that he would share his passion for by virtue of hailing from Japan, was as uncomfortable as it was exhausting. He would almost always leave the house without bothering to tell Toshiro where he was going, and it was near impossible to get ahold of him due to his irritating habit of leaving his phone behind, and while Toshiro did not particularly care what he got up to, he would prefer to know his whereabouts in case something happened to him. Laios' lifestyle was pretty objectionable, too. He did not have the kinds of obligations that would give his life some much-needed structure, like an academic degree or a regular job. Instead, he would hole himself up in his room for hours on end, doing whatever he wanted, which, as far as Toshiro could tell, mostly amounted to dressing up in animal costumes and playing video games. Of course, so long as he contributed his portion of rent every month and did not involve him in his nonsense, his private life was none of Toshiro's business – but that didn't mean he couldn't judge it.
Truthfully, Laios was far from the worst roommate he could have asked for. Annoying, but harmless – or perhaps harmless, but annoying – were the words that most accurately described Laios Touden. That said, he did possess some good qualities, too, although they could be quite hard to appreciate in day-to-day interactions. He was unshakeably loyal and honest to a fault, undeniably talented – though Toshiro couldn't help but wish that he would choose to pour his talents into something worthwhile for once – and there was something enviable about his ability to be unapologetically passionate about his interests. Whatever else one wanted to say about him, he definitely had a distinct personality. Toshiro admired those traits, and resented Laios all the more for having something that he lacked. Obviously, none of that was Laios' fault. At the end, the problem was that Toshiro would rather not have to share his apartment with another human being, whether it was Laios or somebody else – anybody except for Falin, who would never agree to move in with him. Indeed, Toshiro only agreed to the current arrangement as a favour for Falin, and he often wished that he hadn't. Well, he would only have to endure it for a little while longer. In a month and a half, he would finally get to close this chapter of his life. He didn't even have to worry about finding another roommate for Laios – not that he had any obligation to care what would happen to him once he was gone – because Kabru already volunteered to take his place.
Kabru’s eagerness to move in with Laios was baffling, all the more because it seemed entirely sincere. In fact, it was one of the first things the two of them talked about, after Kabru insinuated that there may have been something more illicit going on between them – what an idea! The thought that anybody could mistake his relationship with Laios for anything even remotely romantic was so patently absurd that Toshiro had to assume that it was a joke. Other than that, though, Kabru seemed like a perfectly normal guy, certainly compared to Laios. What could the two of them possibly have in common? Admittedly, they seemed to get along pretty well. Ever since Kabru became a regular presence in their house, Laios stopped bothering Toshiro with his inane nonsense, so that was definitely a plus, too. In fact, they'd barely talked to each other at all since Laios came back from the furry convention. Toshiro asked about Laios’ black eye, but didn't keep pushing when the other refused to elaborate; presumably he said the wrong thing to the wrong person and got his teeth kicked in, which was bound to happen sooner or later. In any case, if Kabru was happy to deal with Laios, then Toshiro certainly wasn't going to stop him.
Toshiro braced himself as he pulled the door handle. Laios had developed an almost supernatural ability to recognise his footsteps even when he was on the opposite end of the house and wearing headphones. Whenever Toshiro came home, there was a high chance that Laios would already be waiting for him at the door, and proceed to ramble incessantly while he attempted to take off his shoes. It had been happening less frequently as of late – once again, that must've been Kabru’s influence – but the primal fear that had been instilled in him for the past year remained. Toshiro took a deep breath as he opened the door, but the impact he braced himself for did not hit him. The hallway was empty. The first horrible thought that passed through his head was that Laios left without locking the door, but after a moment he managed to make out a soft whistling sound from the kitchen, and promptly released the breath he'd been holding. Careful not to make a sound that could alert Laios to his presence, he took off his shoes and tip-toed past the kitchen on his way to his bedroom, sending a curious glance inside as he went.
Laios was standing at the counter, wearing a T-shirt and cargo shorts with socks and a hoodie tied around his waist, seemingly wrapping something in aluminium foil. He was whistling a cheerful tune and tapping his foot, and his hips were rocking in a rhythm that matched neither of them. Toshiro could only catch a glimpse of his face from where he was standing, but it was enough to be able to tell that he was smiling and his cheeks were slightly flushed. It was not particularly uncommon to see Laios happy, often for no reason at all – indeed, his excessive, overbearing cheerfulness was one of his defining characteristics. Laios was happy-go-lucky and unrepentantly optimistic, and seemingly able to whip up enthusiasm for any insignificant little thing, from a bug he found on the ground to a new monster movie coming out next month. This, Toshiro loathed to admit, was something that he had in common with his sister, but it was significantly less charming coming from him. What appeared in Falin as an appreciation for beauty found in unusual places, in Laios seemed more akin to being entertained by jangling keys. All the same, it was an ability he envied. How freeing it must have been to be this unsophisticated, this unconcerned with material reality!
Most of the time, seeing Laios’ smiling face filled him with dread, knowing that he would soon be forced to listen to him ramble about whatever it was that excited him so much, which more often or not would be something that he found utterly incomprehensible and totally uninteresting. Laios had a way of making even the most compelling topics appear incoherent just by the way he talked about them, the irritating affect that made him sound like it was his first time on Earth, and the things he typically chose to talk about were anything but compelling to begin with. In any case, when Laios was in that kind of mood – which was often – one would want to avoid being spotted by him at all costs. This time, though, there was something different about his demeanour something that Toshiro couldn't quite put his finger on, that didn't set off the usual alarm in his head. Laios seemed more… focused, perhaps, so focused that he didn't notice that Toshiro came home, and at the same less intense than usual. Whatever it was that got him excited this time, he gave every impression that he was going to keep it to himself for once, which ironically tickled Toshiro’s curiosity. What was he up to? Did something good happen to him, or was it only about to?
Just then, Laios picked up the foil-covered packet and turned around to face him. Toshiro froze in the doorway, cursing himself for not ducking into his bedroom. However, it seemed like Laios still hadn't noticed him, his attention occupied by stuffing the foil-covered item into his backpack. Once it was inside, he zipped up his backpack, picked it up, and finally his gaze met Toshiro’s. He froze, his eyes growing wide, holding the final note of the melody he'd been whistling. After a moment of silence, he gave a nod, regarding Toshiro with mild interest. “Oh, hey! I didn't hear you come in,” he said cheeefully, putting on his backpack. So he really didn't notice… Toshiro opened his mouth to respond, but Laios impatiently put his hand up and shook his head. “Sorry, I can't really talk right now. I've got to bring Kabru his lunch before his next class,” he said with unusual firmness. Laios had always enjoyed sharing his food with others, Toshiro recalled. He was always eager to give Toshiro a portion of whatever he cooked for himself, and he repeatedly offered to cook for him, too, but Toshiro always refused. Evidently, Kabru didn't do the same. Still, though, to go so far as to make lunch just to bring it to him? Was that really worth the effort when he could just buy a snack in one of the vending machines on campus? “Ah, that reminds me!” Laios blurted out, scratching his chin with his index finger. “What do you call those cool lunch boxes? You know, the ones with all the little compartments?”
Toshiro thought for a moment. “...Bento?” he suggested cautiously.
Laios snapped his fingers, his face lighting up with relief. “Yeah, that's one! Bento! Do you have any idea where I could buy those? I've always wanted one, and it would be cool if Kabru and I could match.”
Toshiro instinctively retreated into himself. This was was more like the Laios he was used to. “No, sorry. I have no idea. You could probably find them in a department store.” He blinked. Something had been bothering him the entire time, and he finally figured out what it was. “What's that on your neck?” he asked in a weak voice, pointing at Laios’ neck. There were huge red marks scattered all over skin. At first he thought that it may have been some kind of horrible rash, but it more reselbled the marks by mosquito bites – though whatever mosquito was capable of leaving such massive bruises must've been at least a foot tall, not to mention that it would've sucked Laios’ bloodstream completely dry. Maybe they were bruises? That still wouldn't explain how he acquired them, nor how he failed to notice anything wrong until now.
“Huh?” Laios quizzically tilted his head, his hand subconsciously reaching up to the side of his neck. Suddenly his eyes grew wide. “Oh, that! No, it's fine! Totally!” Laios clapped his hand over the side of his neck, his cheeks visibly flushing. “Something must've bit me, I guess,” he added in a nonchalant tone.
Toshiro furrowed his brow. “Are you sure? It looks pretty bad. You should probably get that checked...”
Laios scoffed, dismissively waving his hand. “Naw, don't worry. It's nothing serious. I mean, it doesn't hurt or anything, so it's probably fine, right? Besides, I like it like that,” he added nonsensically. Toshiro silently watched as he hurriedly took off his backpack and put on his hoodie. The red marks were barely visible above the hood. Toshiro found himself starting to wonder if they'd been there before and he just never realised it. There were quite a few things he was noticing for the first time. Laios put the backpack back on, grabbed the straps with both hands, and gave a nod towards Toshiro before squeezing past him into the hallway. He grabbed the doorknob, remembered that he wasn't wearing shoes, slipped on his sneakers without tying them, and glanced back at Toshiro as he opened the door. “Anyway, gotta go! I'll see you later!” he said, giving a thumbs-up, and promptly disappeared past the doorway. Toshiro heard his loud, pounding footsteps on the stairs echoing through the building as he stood motionless in the hallway, his gaze fixed on the spot where Laios had just been.