Ryo gave a few skips of excitement as he happily bounded up to the girl's room with a cheered atmosphere to accompany him. As he pranced towards the area he couldn't help contain the positivity that emitted from every pore in his body like a burst of exhalation.

'I've finally made a breakthrough with my angel!' He fist pumped the air as he jubilantly ran to the girl's premise and the boy poked his head around the edge of the door to goofily grin at the individual ahead. "Knock knock. Good evening angel."

Ryo took one look at the girl's solemn attitude to have a frown embedded in his face. He gave hear a quizzically sympathetic gaze before he cautiously inched his way into the room. The female seemed too distracted to notice the boy's presence and he had to fully enter the room before he could catch her full regard.

"(Y/n), you alright?" The girl stared at the male for a few moments before she gave him a halfhearted response.

"Yeah, I'm alright..." Ryo fidgeted slightly as her reply that seemed forced and dishonest. The male sat down in front of the girl's bed and smiled up at the female with a supportive grin. He proceeded to give her a playful poke on the lips to accentuate his urge for a returned gesture, only for the girl to reply by forcefully lift one corner of her lip to purposefully satisfy the unfooled boy. The male sighed before he began emitting a flamboyant aura once more.

Before the female had the chance to figure what wondering thoughts had entered his mind, she had to jump back in her spot as a grey blur came bolting out of thin air towards her face, stopping inches away from her nose. As her vision adjusted on the shape in front of her, she felt a sense of bewilderment and loss as she stared at the plush toy that was staring right back at her. The soft creature held the appearance of a round mouse with large glossy eyes that reflected the female's astounded features.

"Hey there, (Y/n)!" The girl gave the animal plushy a baffled look as the mouse opened its mouth to speak out in an exaggeratedly high-pitched voice that would appropriately belong to a child in their toddler years. (Y/n) was breathless at the unrecognisable vocals and was momentarily placed in a state of wander as she debated whether the inanimate item had actually gained life and expressed speech. However, as she processed the scene before her, common logic came to take place beside her sense of reality and allow her to comprehend the situation.

She looked past the gawking creature to see Ryo brightly grinning at her with an innocent exterior. Her attention was drawn back to the puppet as its mouth began moving again to be synced with the sound of words.

"My name's Charlie the Chinchilla! And I'm here to listen to all your problems!" The creature gaped its mouth open in a gesture of intense awareness as it awaited for the girl's response. The female looked back at the grinning male as he also intently watched for a reply.

(Y/n) was too shocked to understand what she was meant to speak to and kept her gaze focused on the puppeteer as she began reluctantly talking to the awaiting toy.

"H...hello Charlie..." She awkwardly regarded the fake animal while keeping her eyes glued on the boy.

"It's a pleasure to meet such a lovely girl like you! Now tell little Charlie what's hovering over your head." (Y/n) raised an eyebrow as she didn't seem to detect the male's lips moving even an inch as he kept an open smile.

"Ventriloquism...?" She whispered out her assumption as the male allowed the puppet to nod at her guess.

"Correct, darling gall!" The Chinchilla responded as the hand puppet was brought back to its owner. "And it took me so manny months to perfect it." This time around, Ryo demonstrated the voice had originated from his own lips as he moved his mouth along with the sentence in the same improvised voice.

"Where did you learn to do that?" The girl impressively inquired.

"My butler taught me. He used to be on stand up before he began working for my family." Ryo happily reminisced, feeding on the girl's curiosity.

"Oh, did your butler work in a lot of places before he came to you?" Ryo became thoughtful as his memories collected to create a full story of what he has heard and nodded a positive answer. "Really? Where?" The female inquisitively sparked up a topic of discussion, making the boy seem in deep thought over picking out all the details he can remember.

"Well...if I remember correctly, I think it started in 1967 when he entered a spy organisation called SEAL where he became an undercover agent in gathering input from Ukraine." (Y/n)'s face fell as the words fully processed inside her head, knowing the story will take a completely different corner from her expectations. "However, no one suspected he was actually a double agent working for an Italian mafia where he had to provide them with some documents about a bunch of weapons that they were planning on smuggling out to their subunit gangs around Europe." The female widened her eyes at the sound of the casual speech the male used while describing events of serious assessment, only for the boy to wave his hands in a calming manner. "Don't worry, he did this because they took his family hostage, so it's not like he had a choice."

"Uuhhuu..." The girl felt speechless as the conversation had taken an unexpected turn she had not foreseen.

"So at around 1970 he got found out by a bunch of FBI agents in Ukraine so he had to run from the police for a few months until he managed to find a way to enter another country, but the risk was that it was surrounded by the rivalling states. So if he even set foot outside of that zone, he risked getting caught and tortured. So in order to keep communicating with the Boss, he couldn't risk using telephones or letters so he had to hide the rest of the documents in small samples, inside foods that he knew were going to be sent out to the Mafia. So that got his family released. 3 years later he decided to fake his death and while tensions were high, he kept himself low key and managed to find a way to load himself on a cargo ship by hiding in a cage with lions that were meant to be shipped out to a Zoo."

"Lions...?" Her inquiry was barely a whisper as she tried to concoct the circumstances he would have to suffer through from the feckless situation. "How...?" Ryo looked up in a remembering gesture as he recalled the circumstance.

"I believe he hid underneath all the straw or, in some cases, had to literally let the lions lay on him for hours on end until the coast was clear. At the start he had to lay down what territory he owned and had to wrestle two full grown lion in order to establish his dominance over an area of the cage. Then over the days of export he actually created a mutual relationship of respect with them in order to be allowed his share of the food." The female cringed at the thought of a person having to devour raw animal meat for survival sake and remained unsure how to take the new information as it seemed to flow out of the boy, as though he were reciting a nursery poem. "Give the guy a break, he had to eat raw meat for a few weeks in order to live. Anyway, that takes us to his next job where he had to work as a priest in a local church so he could find out where his family was from some guy called Marco and after a bit of persuasion he told him where he can find his wife and kids. So after a bit of dealing with some savoury individuals he finally found them."

"That's nice." (Y/n) remained clueless and unprepared for the array of information that was sent her way as she could only nod her head in a reflexive response.

"After that he completely change his name and even appearance as a precaution and started using fake IDs, if I remember correctly. Then he entered the police force in 1980 but then quit after all the detective work and tracking became too easy and mundane for him. Then he became a pet-sitter, but after realising it's not a good idea to keep a Komodo Dragon around a Rabbit the hard way, he decided to drop out of it." The girl nodded in response, only slightly trying to keep up with the rambling life story. "He then began working as a doctor but realised it's harder to perform medical treatment on someone beside himself. So he started working at a fast food restaurant until he got into a serious fight with the manager and sent him in the infirmary. After that he tried his luck as a car salesman, but after he used one to escape a chase-down from the cops, while the customer was still inside, he got fired. Then after that he tried out stand up which worked for a couple of years before he got bored with it and then came to work for my parents when I was 1." The male dusted off his hands in a finished manner as he waited for the girl to get a word in between his talkativeness.

"...He should write a book..." Ryo snapped his fingers as he passed the girl the puppet to free his other hand.

"Way ahead of you." He pulled out a thick novella from seemingly the ground itself, and presented it to the female to analyse. "'How to know where you fit.' Written under the pen name: K.F.C McDonald. It was pretty popular at one point." He patted the cover as he laid it beside the female for safe keeping.

The girl lifted the book up to examine it and felt as though she held great power in her palms. "I'm surprised he hasn't gotten sued by now."

"They don't dare touch him." He proudly proclaimed and snatched the puppet to place it back on his hand like a needed buddy.

"So what's his real name?" The male felt slightly overwhelmed as his memory recalled to the number of aliases he was fed.

"He goes by many. But the one I call him is Michael." The male lifted up the gaping puppet and rested its head against his in a fond manner. "He gave me Charlie after my mum died and my dad couldn't really cope to support me emotionally. He said that if I ever felt like I needed to talk to somebody, or felt lonely, then I should carry Charlie around with me at all times and say my concerns to him." He amusingly shoved the gawking creature in front of the female and wiggled him around to create the illusion of movement. "Charlie has been sharing my griefs and pain for years now. So I doubt he would mind if you used him for the same purpose."

The girl couldn't help but politely smile at the puppet's ogling eyes and exhaled. "Thanks Ryo..."

The male hummed in disapproval and shook his head from side to side. "Not me." He purposefully shimmied the creature around in front of her face, drawing more focus on the toy.

(Y/n) huffed in amusement as she turned towards the puppet. "Thank you, Charlie." The male brightly grinned.

"No problem, fair angel!" Charlie's voice rang out in a happy mimic as he gave the girl a quick peck on the cheek.

"So, did Michael really tell you all this about his life?" Ryo guiltily rubbed his neck in a shameful manner as he felt his confessions' weight.

"Not exactly. Since he's relatively old, he has the habit of falling a sleep on many occasions and tends to talk in his sleep. And boy, the stories I would sit down and listen to for hours about the weird situations he would get into and the dialog that would come out of a psychological thriller spy movie." He blithely reminisced until signals popped up in his head. "Which means I'm not even supposed to know all this and neither do you! So if you ever meet him just pretend like you don't know anything about him. Ok?!" He clapped his hands in a preying manner as he pleaded for the girl to keep the private information on the down low.

The girl awkwardly smiled and nodded in response to his plea, though she was mostly convinced to keep the possibility of a bunch of men in black clothing and shades coming knocking at her door and sending her off to Area 51. "S-sounds good." The boy gave a relieved exhaled before he relaxed once more.

"Good, I'm glad that's out of the way...hey! You kept the bunny!" The male jubilantly stared at the toy that sat comfortably beside the TV, staring back at the pair.

"Yeah, I brought it up about a week ago..." The female uncomfortably smiled as the male smugly smirked at the motion, and embedded gesticulation in his speech.

"Aww! I'm so happy my angel had a change of heart! This really does mean a lot to me...I couldn't ask for a warmer gift than that." Ryo playfully snuggled the puppet against the female's neck in an affectionate manner. "Charlie likes it too."

"Get away from her." Ryo reflexively retracted as a chilling, cold voice quietly spoke from behind him, embedding an instinctual sensation of cation to play on his fears. The boy turned around to gaze up into the distasteful expression that appeared on Alex's face.

"What?" Ryo confusingly gazed at the male as he unintentionally tilted Charlie's head in the same inquiring manner.

"Get away from her." The repetition was blatant and told with full seriousness that held no patience for hesitation.

"But me and (Y/n) were having so much fun! Do you want to meet Charlie too-?"

"I don't want you near her." The second male sent the blond a cautionary scowl as he kept a flat tone to his words, making the boy retract in slight intimidation.

"Alex, stop." The girl chose to speak up, picking up on the familiar, threatening atmosphere that would lead up to conflict every serious conflict she had witnessed. Alex muted his undertone before reluctantly approaching the pair and chose to sit down beside Ryo where he can keep an eye on the two.

Ryo turned back to the girl to hand her his full attention while trying to ignore the daunting glares that came from the second boy. "I've noticed you've been really bothered by these circumstances. And it's understandable, so can I count on you to at least talk to Charlie, OK?" The girl nodded as a response and earned more little kisses from the puppet in its ecstatic state. "Smooch smooch smooch~" The male cheerfully laughed and giggled while the girl amusingly chuckled at his actions.

Before Ryo had the chance to continue further with his behaviour, his wrist was grabbed and was forcefully yanked away from the female. Alex jolted in front of the male's face with a bloodthirsty stare while his body seemed to grow a shadow over the boy as the blond shrunk back. "Don't put your hands on her." As the actor lost his breath with the quiet and meaningful threat, he grinned at the male with a worried smile as a defensive reflex.

"Alex, don't!" The stone-faced boy tusked at the female's disapproval but retracted in either case as he proceeded to keep his focus on the opposing boy. Ryo jubilantly jumped up and wrapped his arms around the girl's shoulders in a grateful embrace.

"My guardian angel! You've always come to my rescue!" Alex could feel his blood rushing to his muscles as he prepared to tear the blond away from the female, only to replace his deprecated features with a puzzled gaze as Charlie snuck over the girl's shoulder with a scrunched mouth, showing his aggressive disapproval of the male he was glaring at, before the creature mockingly stuck it's flat tongue out at the flummoxed male.

As Ryo separated from the girl to satisfyingly smirked to himself and disregarded the opposing boy's scolding glares. "You don't deserve to hold her." The blond glowered at the male's statement and seemed ready to talk back to the animal lover. "You've done enough for her." Ryo eyed him to receive any more implications on the meaning behind his words.

"What's your problem? Can't I spend some time helping (Y/n) deal with the situation?" The blond was momentarily pulled by the second male as he locked their heads beside each other so Alex had a proper angle to whisper into the boy's ear. "Hey! What the hell-?!" Before Ryo could fully comprehend the situation, the boy began speaking in a hushed tone into his auditory range, making his face slowly melt into a disturbed and disconcert expression while the male spoke to him. (Y/n) stared at the pair to witnessed Ryo's altering features slowly morphing into a dreaded face, reciprocating each sentence that entered his head. "But...how-?!"

Alex pulled back to stare directly into the boy's distressed eyes, "Leave. Now." With the stern command, Ryo lowered his gaze in a shameful gesture before sliding Charlie off of his hand, taking away the creature's life and laying it down beside the girl.

(Y/n) stared at the action in a seemingly confused state and as she watched the dejected boy, while he gave her an optimistic smile before choosing to stand up and restricting himself on waving to the girl instead of petting her head affectionately. "I'll go and eat now so I'll maybe see you tomorrow...bye bye." He quickly departed from the two before he could receive a return to his fair well.

The girl waited a few moments for the boy to have fully left the scene before turning towards Alex. "What did you tell him?" The boy gazed back at her concerned and irked expression, remaining silent at her question.

"Damn it Alex, why did you have to say that...?" Ryo sensed his brimming vision becoming a swirl of images before his eyes obstructed with each ache of his heart. He stubbornly rubbed at his optics and attempted to block off the words that pierced every area of his mind.

The boy approached the kitchen with a wondering gaze, trying to ignore the echoing information that forced him out of the girl's presence. As he stepped into the kitchen, his body froze and his pupils constructed as he gazed an open glass bottle of a clear liquid. The scent that was all too familiar to him wafted into his nose, immediately numbing his brain as a sense of temptation clouded his thoughts. The boy could feel his breath becoming heavier as he inhaled the strong aroma as his judgement tugged against his wants and needs. Ryo could feel his throat drying as his body and mind yearned for the relief of the beverage to take away his anxiety and lift the weights of his burden. His hands began uncontrollably shaking as his last bit of self-restraint began urging him to gain self-control once more. His body trembled. His blood rushed. His feet began dragging him towards the bottle that seemed to be placed like a reward to be gained.

"What are you doing?" The blond gasped out of his trance as swivelled around to see a dark-haired male staring at him with a suspicious gaze.

"R-Ren! Hi, I just came to get something to eat...so, where did you get the alcohol from...?" He glanced towards the bottle with an almost longing look before forcing his sights back to the male.

"I found it in the bottom cupboard. Probably from when Alex and his parents stayed here." Ren walked towards the glass bottle as he caught the blond's curiosity.

"Why do you even need-?" Ren harshly pulled up the sleeve of his shirt, hissing as the knife wound uncovered itself and began slowly drawing blood once more, making Ryo's eyes widen at the sight of the cut. "What happened?!"

"Jin attacked me." The male gulped as he recalled back to the individual's shows of instability that still haunted his subconscious and watched as Ren took the bottle of alcohol and moistened a clean cloth with it. "I don't have any disinfectant so this will have to do for now." The boy groaned in slight pain as the liquid was absorbed by his open laceration and closed the bottle to place it back on a shelf. "Did you need something else." Ren noticed the hungry glances that were being sent towards the glass container by the second male and watched the boy with caution.

Ryo averted back to the opposite direction before his mind could fully lose its senses. "No, I just came for dinner...it's kind of weird to see the kitchen so empty." The blond commented as he gazed around the open space, recalling to more noisy times of companionship that seemed years away by comparison. "Usually we would be playing games in the living room and annoying each other. Seems like everybody is busy with their own things I guess." Ren amusingly shrugged at the statement, finding it to be fairly true before choosing to retreat back to his own room.

"Make sure not to leave the fridge open again." Ryo pouted at the idiotic reminder before giving out his assurance.

When left alone, he glanced towards the cupboard that now held the bottle that would allow him to drown his worries, only to smack himself when he felt his thoughts becoming bleak. "Come on man, get a hold of yourself." However, with every moment that he remained in the area, he could feel his strength and composure lowering to the point where his appetite dissolved as his last form of protest. Concluding his best chance would be to simply leave the premise he sighed and proceeded to exit out of the dinning area, feeling the relief of his eased thoughts. 'I think Charlie might have to pay me a visit soon...'