Rei was quiet, watching the man from behind his mask. The words interested him, but made him angry still. 'I didn't ask to be banished. I didn't ask for my family to forget me... I... I didn't ask to become a demon..." He sobbed and suddenly he couldn't stop, hugging himself and resting his head in his knees, crying uncontrollably. "I... I..." He didn't know what else to say to the man. He felt bad for swearing at him and hitting him now, and the anger disappeared. Suddenly he was afraid, afraid that he would be all alone again. "I've never had a friend before..."

Vincent breathed out, calming himself and stepping forward. He had reason to be angry, but he was still afraid. Still worried. "Rei..." He crouched down, coming to the same height the young man was. "You're no damn demon. That mask is. It's hiding the human and you've got to get rid of the damn thing. Your family's not forgotten you, why else would they send me every week? And I don't come here for the paycheck. I could do anything else around their home and make the same amount. I come here because I... well, at first it was curiosity. Then I just wanted to get to know you, but I didn't want to push. I was afraid of scaring you off. I want to be your friend but I... was always... concerned. I was worried that you didn't even want a friend. I don't know why you were banished but I was afraid it was something to do with people... So if I did something wrong, I'd push you away. I didn't want to." He let himself fall onto his backside, and he wrapped his arms around his knees. His hair was wild now, and he just pushed it aside.

"I'm sorry for being silly," Rei said after what felt like an age. He slowly removed the kitsune mask, feeling vulnerable and afraid. He looked at the man who had cared for him, and saw the red mark from where he had slapped him. "I'm sorry I hit you, I was just... Anger clouded my judgement..." He shuddered slightly as his eyes met the man's hoping he really wasn't going to curse him. "I... Don't know your name..."

He looked away, holding onto his mask tightly for comfort. He hoped the man wouldn't stare too hard at him. He felt ashamed to be showing his face, very uncomfortable. He closed his eyes and fiddled with his hair nervously. "Please stay." It came out like a plea, like he was begging the man. He just didn't want to spend another night alone. He shook in fright when he thought about it.

He had to smile a little at the very slow, gradual acceptance. Maybe Rei felt cornered, maybe it was actually on his own. But when he took the mask off Vincent felt as if he were really looking at Rei, and not some plastic facade that mask had kept up. And hearing his voice unhindered was like a breath of fresh air. Vincent kept his gaze somewhat averted, taking in the young man from the side of his glasses. Of course he wasn't a demon---he was beautiful. But Vincent wouldn't say that. Maybe not yet. Maybe not ever. He gave a sincere smile. "I'll stay." He said. "And... I'm Vincent."

But this brought up new problems. What would he tell his employers? He couldn't stay long, or he wouldn't make it back in time. Maybe it didn't matter. He could do something else, perhaps, if he got fired from this job. Unless his parents wanted to know. But Vincent's brain was scrambled and he put a hand to the warm spot on his face, where Rei's hand had connected. "Rei... Why did you do... this?" He nodded behind him, to where the sliced noose laid strewn out.

Vincent... Such an interesting foreign name. It felt funny to say it out loud and Rei repeated it, trying to pronounce it properly. It was difficult for him, of course, so he settled with what he could say. He was glad the man would stay with him, it made a small smile play about his pink lips. He wondered what his face looked like. No doubt he needed to shave, he could feel the stubble growing on his lip. When he was clean shaven, Rei remembered he was compared to a doll, his face was pale and his lips were perfect. He would have had no problems finding a wife, if he had been that way inclined. But did he still look beautiful?

He winced slightly, seeing the rope without the frame of the mask. "I... Would rather not..." He glanced over to where the letter still lay and reached for it, tearing it up so Vincent wouldn't read it. "Someone slipped this into my package and... It's not nice..." He couldn't believe that the words written on the paper had caused him to lose control. Just simple letters... "They were... Talking about my past."

Vincent pursed his lips, studying Rei's face directly now. He didn't look... real. He looked like somewhat injured porcelain. Painted. What did he look like in comparison? Dark complexion, dark hair, dark eyes, dark clothes. Dull. When he ripped the letter up, Vincent winced. "About... your past... Is that...?" He glanced at Rei and bit his lower lip, playing it around his canine tooth. "Is... it why you're here?" He looked down, hoping he hadn't crossed the line so soon. He didn't want to leave at all, he didn't want to risk Rei trying this again, perhaps with a razor Vincent would bring him every week or so. Wouldn't that be assisting in a suicide? He would die of shame if that happened... He would never forgive himself.

"Rei... You can't think I'm here just for a paycheck... can you? At first, that was what I was here for. Until I met you. You were so very... mysterious. I just got curious. And I got more and more curious, and then the mask didn't matter as much as getting to know who you are." He'd dreamed of seeing what was under that mask. Dreamed of it more often than he cared to admit.

Vincent was asking too many questions and Rei wasn't used to it. He always hated interrogations, so he remained quiet for awhile. The delivery man had wanted to be his friend, know who he was, why he had been banished... It was only human nature to want to know answers after all. "Please, I'd rather not..." No he couldn't bring himself to tell the near stranger about what had happened to him. "I... Loved someone... I shouldn't have loved... They tricked me... Seduced me... Made me do things I normally wouldn't have and I brought shame to my family's name..."

He sighed and stood, going to where Vincent had dropped his items. The bottles of sake were still intact, even though they had been dropped on the ground. He picked them up, along with the other things and went to his table, setting it up the right way before placing the bottles upon it. "Do you want something to drink?" Rei asked him, still feeling very self-conscious.

Vincent was quiet, and just nodded a little at the quick reasoning. He was glad to have gotten what he did, so he just dropped the issue entirely and stood when Rei did, dusting himself off and really, really looking at the room. It had been nearly trashed... Rei had done it, no doubt, when he got the letter that pushed him to try to hang himself. Vincent doubted he would ever get the sight of that out of his head, the limp, twitching, spasm-wracked body hanging in the dim room, looking as if death had already come to take him. He shuddered and his stomach flopped, and he swallowed hard before looking at Rei.

He knew many customs of the Japanese, but couldn't remember what turning down something offered meant. He doubted he'd be able to keep anything down though, and didn't want to risk making a disgusting mess. "Um... No... no thanks, I shouldn't... right now. Not a good idea." He pulled a face, trying to shake away the idea of eating or drinking anything at this point. His insides were knotting and unknotting and that wouldn't do at all.

"Oh... OK," Rei lowered the bottle and decided that he couldn't drink while his guest wouldn't. It just felt rude to do so, even though Vincent had turned it down. He sat at the table and looked out the window, his heart leaping when he caught his reflection in the glass. A pale face, shadowed eyes. He blinked and looked away quickly, afraid of what he had seen. How long had it been? Nearly a decade. Nearly 10 years since he had seen his reflection. What had he expected? A horror, a monster, a demon looking back at him? He breathed heavily, putting the mask back over his face to calm himself.

Vincent sighed, crossing and uncrossing his arms and finally settling on drawing his hands through his hair, pushing it back the way it usually was. He stepped forward, absently pushing his glasses up even though they were already as far up on his nose as they'd go. "Rei, you... don't need that." He said quietly. Vincent's voice surprised him; it was low and quiet, airy, somewhere between a plea and a fact. He wanted to see the Rei behind the mask, not that plastic painted kitsune. A painted smile that didn't let him see what there really was. What had been in that package? What had sent Rei here? Why had his family turned his back on him? What kind of love went so wrong, had hurt him so badly? Vincent wanted to know, but he wouldn't push. Not today.

Rei frowned, but kept the mask on his face. He just couldn't get used to not hiding himself. He didn't like feeling Vincent's eyes on his vulnerable face, didn't like to think what the man saw. He sighed and looked at Vincent now, fiddling with his hair as he looked at him. "I haven't got much to entertain you here," he said suddenly, feeling bad for forcing the man to stay with him. "Maybe we could get to know each other? Where are you from? Why did you come here?" Rei was a little interested in why any one would leave their home country to live in a completely different culture, one that didn't even speak their native language.

Vincent looked down, stifling a sigh. He should have felt lucky that Rei had shown him his face at all, regardless of whether he had wanted to at all or not. But now that he'd seen Rei's face, he wanted to see it more. He didn't push the matter, though---Rei would have to take it off at some point. Vincent just had to be patient. He went around to a nearby wall and crossed his arms, leaning against it. "Well, I... I come from Australia. Pretty far down, Victoria to be exact. It's about as far south along the continent you can get without leaving it. I came here to get away from my family... partially. Mostly, it's because I know the language. And I was so interested in the place... And it put more distance between myself and my family with what money I had to my name."

He sighed, looking out the slat between the boarded window nearby. "I found a job with your family as a... well, I would do whatever no one else wanted to do. And after a few months, they asked if I'd want to be a runner. I wanted to get out, and... explore, I suppose, so I took it. I didn't know anything about what I was running, or who I was meeting, until I realized it was their son. You. And I just got... curious. And more curious. Then I just wanted to be... around." He looked up, raising a brow as if it was nothing to put much thought in. Vincent didn't really think it through, after all.

"I've never left the country," Rei commented, watching Vincent as he talked. "I've always wanted to go to Paris, in France. I know quite a lot of French, a little English..." Why he hadn't focussed learning English, he didn't know. While he was being tutored he found English studies boring, but anything to do with France was fascinating to him. His father had promised to send him away to Paris for his 21st birthday. If only he hadn't been so stupid and been banished.

He sighed and took the mask off again, cautiously. He just couldn't keep it on now that he had someone to talk to. He carefully glanced at his reflection again. Pretty good looking still. He smiled softly and looked to Vincent, running his hands through his hair. "What's Australia like?"

Vincent glanced up to Rei when he spoke, and most likely he visibly brightened when Rei took the mask off. He just wanted to see the guy's face, and he had such a nice face. His eyes were shadowed, his skin pale from lack of sunlight, but the youthfulness was there. He found a place to sit, a spot on the floor he decided looked especially comfortable, and smiled at Rei gently, taking his glasses off and fiddling with them. Maybe Rei would feel better when Vincent couldn't really see him well. Hopefully.

"Well... It's... warm. Hot. And just... well, it's normal. I come from a normal city, a pretty big one near the ocean. Outside the cities there are just... deserts. And in certain territories you'll find stations---farms, basically. The people that run those huge bits of land are strong enough to live hours away from the nearest city. A lot of... well, diversity there. A lot of danger from the native wildlife too." He shrugged, looking up from his obsessive lens cleaning.

"I saw a shark the other day," Rei commented, pointing towards the window that overlooked the bay. "While I was walking along the shore. It was only a small one, but I saw it swimming around... The villagers have alarms for when the big ones come in, so the fishermen and swimmers know when it is dangerous to go in the water. I hear them mostly in summer."

Rei stood up and sighed, putting the mask on the table next to the bottle. Why did he feel like leaving it off? He was sick of hiding. This man, Vincent, he knew nothing of his shame. Why hide from him? Vincent was being so caring and kind... He had saved his life, and was risking losing his job staying with Rei. "Will my parents miss you?" he asked finally, touching the bottle of sake and staring out the window at the waves hitting the shore. It was rare for anyone to come to his bay. It was hard to get to, and because of the rumours of a ghost haunting it, only teenagers came on dares.

"Do you want to go outside, for a walk? There's some things I like to look for when the tide is turning like this. We might even see some of the tanuki that live in the forest around the village."

Vincent was so glad that Rei was actually talking more than a couple words, a question, a comment, nothing more than that. He was actually talking, holding a real conversation, listening and responding. He could imagine the threat of sharks, he'd seen them plenty of times before. He'd seen a couple attacks, too, which had been because stupid surfers hadn't listened to the warnings. Thinking back, Vincent shook his head. Remembering home was hard to do, even in minute ways.

Glancing up, he shook his head. He could handle a few extra hours, then speed a bit to get home. Home. Which was his real home, really? He'd sat up for hours asking himself that before but never came to a conclusion.

"A walk sounds nice." Vincent jumped up, brushing his clothes off. They were generally suit-based clothing, and the heaviest thing he wore was the long gray jacket. He stepped around to the door, gathering his bag and sliding its strap over his shoulder. "Do you make a habit of going out during the day?" He didn't remember ever seeing Rei come outside, not much more than sticking his head out to speak to Vincent and hand over his lists or take the package for the week.

Rei shook his head. This would be the first time in years that he went outside during the day, but he was so excited to have company that he wasn't afraid. He decided to leave his mask behind, sure that no one else would come to his bay, not after a recent sighting of the "spirit". He went to the other room where he slept and changed out of his black robes. He wore tight black pants and a white shirt, slipping into his usual black shoes at the door. He felt... Normal. As though he hadn't spent the last 9 years locked away in isolation. He smiled at Vincent as he joined the man at the door.

He made sure to bring a small bucket this time, planning to collect more shells and pretty stones to decorate his house with. Maybe he could even do some gardening? He didn't know what had given him the sudden urge to be outside and not hide any longer. Maybe it was Vincent. The man that had wanted to be his friend for so long. "Let's go," Rei said, opening the door and blinking at the sunlight.

Vincent was almost reluctant to let Rei out of his sight, his mind still buzzing with the event that had led him to be asked to stay for a while longer. While he was gone Vincent stooped down to gather the ripped clothing that had been formed into a noose and the knocked-over chair, feeling ill just handling the things. The chair, still useful, was set against the wall, and he knotted up the cloth and stuffed it out of sight, into his bag. Out of sight, out of mind. Or at least, out of sight... Vincent's inner voice muttered to himself.

When Rei came back out, Vincent smiled brightly. He looked so... much better. Like he had life in him. "Yeah." He nodded, stepping out the door and looking around. Studying the area, he found no one around. The only sign of humanity was the boats far off the shore. "Looks like no one's around." He said, looking back to Rei before he came outside.

"No one likes to come up here. This place is haunted," Rei commented with a smile, leading Vincent around the back of the hut and down the hidden track that led to the beach. Once there, Rei looked about and found that he had been right in thinking no one would come to the bay after the recent sighting. They were the only two people around. The white sand crunched slightly underfoot as the walked towards the shoreline, scaring noisy sea gulls as they approached.

The sea scent that Rei found so refreshing cleansed him. He had only just tried to kill himself a few moments before, but it felt like years ago. That Rei died on the noose, letting him be reborn, to have another chance at life. He spun while he walked, staring up at the baby blue sky and the fluffy white clouds that crawled across it. "I forgot what sunlight felt like."

Haunted? Well, Vincent could tell why. If Rei made it a point to go out in flowing clothing, with a mask, only at night, they would associate him with a spirit, or a demon, or some supernatural thing. And in a little fishing village like this, it was no doubt very easy for rumors to spread like that. But now Rei was out without his mask, in lightweight clothes that let his skin meet the sunlight, and Vincent was probably far too happy because of it. He shrugged out of his long jacket and folded it into his bag, untucking his white shirt and loosening the clip at his neck. It was warm enough that it was unnecessary, and he had already crossed the professional barrier.

He smiled while Rei walked, seeming to drink in the sun like a starving man. "It's easy to forget how it feels when you're trapped inside... all the time." He said, and his smile grew a bit sad.

Rei continued to smile as he strolled along the shore, looking for any interesting stone or shell to place in his bucket. He was happy that this time he had company, not just the mewing cries of the gulls as the wheeled in the air like vultures. "Have you gone fishing before? I'd like to try myself, but I have never done it." He picked up a white shell that was tinged with blue and placed it in his bucket, looking up at the horizon. Many fishing boats of different shapes and sizes could be seen. Were they catching anything? Were the fish bigger out there?

"Look, there's that shark again!" Rei pointed with excitement at the yellowish fin that protruded from the water. The shark was only about the size of a cat, and was lazily swimming in the warm shallow water. "It's all spotted," Rei said, still pointing at it.

Vincent snapped back to reality and nodded animatedly. "Sure I fish." He smiled. "I used to do it all the time, all day, when I was at home. Start really early in the morning, and I wouldn't stop until evening..." That way he had an excuse not to go home. "I could teach you sometime..." He muttered, looking down at his feet as they hit softer land and sunk in a bit. Nearer the water, Vincent stopped to look in and smiled at the clarity of the water. It was so pure here. He could see himself living in a simple house here. He wouldn't mind that. And being out of the city would be even better. Waking up to the sound of quiet, simpler life would really work in his favor.

"Really?" He stepped up beside Rei and looked into the shallows. "Oh... It's small. It could do some damage, though, if it wanted to. You want to catch it? I think I can get some supplies from the village and we could net it in." He would have to get into the water a ways, but it wasn't as dangerous as getting in with a larger, more hostile species of shark.

"Why would I want to catch it? It looks happy where it is. Maybe we could name it instead? I think..." Rei thought for awhile, watching it swim effortlessly in the water. Maybe it was hiding here to avoid the nets and hooks of the fishermen. He heard some caught shark to make into soup and medicines. "I want to name him Kiba, after the sharp teeth he must have in his mouth."

Rei found a rock and sat on it, watching Kiba swim and then eventually disappear from view. Somehow he wished he could live in the ocean. At least then he could swim away and hide from his past. His thoughts fell on his uncle and he realised he had started to cry. He sniffed and wiped away the tears, glancing at Vincent and hoping he wasn't about to be interrogated. "Just makes me happy to see, is all," he replied quietly.

Vincent shrugged. He didn't care to catch the thing, but if it was going to stick around it might as well have a name. He smiled while it swam about, then began to disappear, and looked around to Rei as he sat. He was a mystery. More of a mystery than Vincent had ever experienced. He'd never come to find someone that acted, thought, behaved the way Rei did. Why he was banished was still a mystery, but a mystery he hoped he might unravel. And maybe in place he could loosen some of his own pain.

Stepping forward, he was suddenly concerned. The tears had come almost immediately, and Rei's expression hadn't even changed first. He didn't want to ask and force him back into his shell, so instead Vincent leaned against the rock and put an arm around Rei's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "I hope so." He said quietly. "I hope it's that and nothing else. Unless you want to talk about it. You should know I'll listen and I won't judge. I have some pretty bad things in my life too, I don't have any reason to judge." He pulled back, giving Rei a bit of space to digest what Vincent said.

"But what I did was really bad..." He bit his lip, wishing Kiba would come back. For some reason seeing the small shark and knowing what it would become gave him comfort. He flinched slightly at being touched, but found the gesture endearing. He hadn't been touched in a long time. He brought his ungloved hands up to Vincent's face and stroked it almost lovingly. It felt nice, having a friend. Maybe he could trust Vincent with his secret. But not now.

As he touched Vincent's face, he realised the man was starting to blush. So he found Rei attractive? Was that the motive behind him wanting to befriend Rei? He doubted it. He smiled again, the tears disappearing as suddenly as they came. He leant forward and placed his lips on Vincent's, stealing a kiss before the man could react. Grinning, Rei jumped up off the rock and poked his tongue out at the Australian. "I stole a kiss, do you want to get it back?" He laughed and ran away from the man, glancing back to see the stunned look on his face.