[attr="class","mouths1"]”Nee, Tatsuya. I’m almost home.”
”Mmn…? So you’re done?”
”More or less~. Mind unlocking the door?”
”...Didn’t you say not to open it for anyone at this time, of night, though?”
”Yup~. Even if it’s me~.”
”Yeah… So...why even ask, then?”
”To see if you remembered~.”
”Riiiight, right~... Well, no need to worry about that~.”

Upon hearing those last several words, a softened chuckle sounded faintly throughout the evening; courtesy of a particular gijinka himself as he broke the boundaries between jogging and sprinting through the dimmed streets of Lyeant as he bounded through the city lines upon his trip and venture back home. With a single hand of his free from holding any sort of object, he took care to allow it to be the one to aid him in vaulting over the occasional wall, as well as to aid him in grasping the occasional ledge to pull himself up as was necessary, as the remaining kept its grasp upon one of several burner phones that he had taken care to purchase and stock up on rather commonly and constantly throughout the days. For sake of cheapness and ease of disposal, it took the form of a rather old school phone style; a flip phone, primarily. Of course, bluetooth hadn’t been compatible with phones of the given sort, so holding it himself was more or less necessary, though after enough nights of using them for business reasons - as well as to call his child even after his nightly ventures had been done and over with for sake of ensuring his safety and comfort - the routine was an easy one, and thus it had been nothing too out of the ordinary, and nothing that he couldn’t quite handle. After all, sprinting was the majority of his final stretch back home. Every so often, he couldn’t help but lodge it between his ear and shoulder when he needed both of his hands, but again.

Nothing he couldn’t quite handle.

”Did you put Ryusei to sleep?”
”Mhm~. A while ago. I’m just up now to wait for you~.”
”You don’t have to do that, y’know~.”
”Yeah, yeah… You know the drill, though. I want to.”
”Hah~... I’ll try not to keep you up too long, then.”
”So long as you get back safe, Dad~.”
”I will, I will~. Won’t be much longer, hopefully.”
”Again; I’ll be waiting~. Love ya, Dad~.”
”Mmn, love you, too~. Mata ato de~.”
”Jaa, ja. Mata ato de.”

With that last bidding of goodbye, the Haxorus himself took care to shut the phone before jumping down from the lower rooftop that he had been sprinting upon; easing the landing itself by tucking his form - however large and burlier it may have been - into a ball for sake of rolling across the ground, and not too long afterwards, he used the momentum from the movement to guide himself back onto his feet and continue the venture as if it hadn’t even been interrupted. By that point, however, he slowed his sprint into more of a subtle jog for sake of managing his stature as he progressed onwards; swiftly and discreetly disposing of the same burner phone into a nearby trash can - and leaving no prints of the sort, due to the gloves that he wore - before beginning to slowly shed his disguise piece by piece, starting with his masks. He reached up and unhooked both of the masks that he wore upon his face; the first being a standard, black, surgical style face mask that covered the lower portion of his face. He took care to fold it and slip it into the remaining pocket of his pants before lifting the more traditional half mask that covered the upper portion of his face and slipping it into his jacket, as well. Following that, he slipped the aforementioned gloves off and rolled both of them into a ball within a similar manner that one would pair socks together; slipping it into the remaining pocket of the simplistic hoodie that he wore.

The only thing after that had been his hair and his eyes; both of which had been styled differently for sake of the minor journey, and had been equipped with contacts of a differing color than his natural eye hue, respectively. A soft and swift tossle of his hair had been given for sake of returning it to its normal hairstyle, and as he slowed himself down more, he took care to reach into his pocket once more in order to take hold of his contact cases; turning the corner of yet another street and slipping them off and into each case all the while. While they had each been golden with the contacts on, they each revealed a bold, brightened hue of jade emanating from either eye once they were off, and he blinked a couple of times with a gentle sigh as he finally snuck the case back into his pocket and continued down the final stretch of the sidewalks and towards his home.

”Mmn… It’s been a long week…” he mused to himself as he strode along. ”I still need to do some work once I get home. ...Maybe I’ll do it in the morning before I leave…”

[attr="class","mouths1"]Initially, the man’s trek had been a rather uneventful and calm one throughout the time that he had taken care to turn around the needed corners, and to progress down the required streets and sidewalks; jaded voids of his kept upon the paths before him all the while, and free from their golden veils and disguises as he ventured onward within his finished goals for the evening. For a small while during the ever shortening journey between the position in which he stood upon, as well as the familiar street that he had known his own residence to be plotted and built upon, he pondered to himself in regards to what he could to in order to pass the time; pensively considering anything between taking a different pathway to switch matters up while also keeping the side streets and differing directions around the city fresh within his memory, as well as embarking within some form of idle activity for sake of aiding his growing boredom. The concept of his own, silent form of “I Spy” crossed his mind as a potential means to cope with his own, lack of amusement. Soon afterwards came several more activities and games as a means of consideration.

In the end, however, he merely breathed a sigh while deciding to settle for something simpler, and significantly less active.

When his mind and intentions had been solidified, Ryusaki merely took care to keep his eyes forward and attentive while his hands lifted and shifted across his form; the eastern extremity slipping within the bounds of his inner coat, while the western slipped downwards and within the sanctity of the respective pocket of his lower body wear. Within the same, general span of time, they each reeled outwards in order to procure a duo of objects within their own grasps; the right hand holding a case, of sorts, while the remaining maintained a continuous grasp upon what appeared to be a lighter. Either one of the given objects had been encased within a subtle coat of metal; their hues a reflective shade of cobalt, and their forms engraved within rather intricate designs all the same. With a soft degree of pressure applied to the side of the encasing that he held within his right hand, he took care to part the containment for sake of revealing the contents within; casting his gaze and general attention upon a small line of cigarettes that remained secured within before picking one out and sealing it shut once more as swiftly as he had opened it. Soon afterwards, the dark haired man pulled the same hand upwards in order to place the colorless portion between his lips; forming a temporarily makeshift barrier around it while igniting both the lighter, as well as the opposing side of the smoke itself.

He inhaled deeply while beginning to take the fumes - however hazardous and generally unhealthy they were - within his lungs and body altogether while leisurely beginning to fiddle within his clothing and zippers with the initial intention of placing them back within the pockets that he had accessed them from. While he had managed to do so with the lighter in itself - as its own, respective pocket had been veiled over by little more than the cloth binding it together - he found himself struggling to find the zipper within his coat at first. Throughout the time that he had begun to exhale lowly and under his breath, he found himself briefly glancing downwards while opening his outer wear a tad bit more; this time reaching his remaining hand upwards to aid himself. His fingers barely grazed the tip of the inner zipper before he caught wind of a rather loud, ear catching sound within the near distance.

The reaction that he gave had more or less been the norm in regards to most, though due to the time of day - or night, rather - as well as the fact that there had been little more than a soul upon the streets aside from himself until then, he glanced up within an instantaneous manner; piercing, emerald hued eyes of his striking across the clearing in attempt to catch sight of whoever had caused the aforementioned noise.

And he did.
He did, and he found himself doing more than he expected once he saw more than he expected to.

Now, his reflexes were often second to none. They had been since childhood, and they continued to be as much even throughout his twenties, and remained as such within the present day, as well as throughout those very moments. Thus, it was more or less a given that - upon seeing objects of any sort soar through the air and within his general direction - he would act upon instinct and impulse alike; either aiming to sweep himself aside by whatever means possible for sake of evading the impact that would be to come in the event that he had neglected to do so, or enduring as well as he could have possibly done in the event that attempted evasion would have been futile to begin with. As such, he acted as quickly as he could; briefly forgetting the minor struggle that he had been having with his cigarette case and coat zippers alike for sake of ensuring his own safety, and taking care to lift his arms while crossing them before his form. Immediately, he leaned forward and adjusted his feet in attempt to better secure his positioning, all while taking it upon himself to swiftly and briefly harden both his skin and scales alike in order to better protect himself.

For the most part, he had managed to withstand the objects - leaves, he took note of after gaining a breather, alongside a glance over his shoulder - for the most part, though that in itself hadn’t quite been enough to prevent him from breathing a low, distasteful hiss beneath his breath upon feeling a gentle sting upon his left cheek, as well as several other portions of his arms, and even smaller portions of his upper body. In the beginning, he stumbled once or twice due to the force, as well, but had managed to stand his ground and general form. A majority of the leaves had been managed to be endured, sure- though that in itself hadn’t meant that he had escaped the impact in itself, nor had it meant that he hadn’t gone unscathed by any means.

After all, accuracy was a given by the move that was used.
From several encounters in the past, he knew that fairly well by then.

Briefly examining his form, as well as the cuts through both skin and clothing alike that had been swiftly acquired within the last several moments, the Haxorus gijinka narrowed his eyes before giving another, softer hiss under his breath; tilting his head up all the while and focusing his gaze upon the person - a woman, by the looks of it - that distanced herself afar. Lashing his tail once or twice within an absentminded manner, he rolled his shoulders and shook his limbs and wounds alike to warm himself up a tad more while beginning to straighten his form once more within a more accustomed stance.

”...That’s quite the entrance, there,” he mused with a touch of subtle amusement despite the taken cuts that had been inflicted upon him; voids of green lingering upon the other’s form as he rolled his neck with a soft breath. ”I’d say I’m surprised you’d stay up this late to take a hit of your own up, but...then again, that’s pretty much normal in the line of work, now isn’t it~?”