What lies on the other side of that door is a world not meant for him. Hitoshi is just a bit player. A bodyguard. A loyal dog led on his leash by whoever holds him. Yet still, he hears the sounds from the other side. The tone in her voice and his. He wants to go inside and kill. There is nothing else he can do to show his love or express his feelings. In silence, he contemplates walking in, doing it even without the order.[break]

But Yumi steps out before then. He sees eyes that command respect with a gaze threaten to flood over. The dog looks inside, at a world he can only steal snippets of, and he wants nothing more than to run in and open the throat of someone who would make her feel this way. Gritting his teeth, he sees her move and he follows.[break]

What shadow does not follow its owner? What dog does not stay at its owner’s side? He walks down the hall with her. He knows something is coming. Like an animal sensing an impending storm, he can spot trouble on the horizon. Unlike most animals, Hitoshi doesn’t run from trouble. He embraces the chaos that will accompany the storm.[break]

Anticipating what is to come, he helps her along her way. Starts the conversation. When they are in a stretch of the house where no one else is around, he asks a cold question.[break]

“Who do you need me to kill?”

She always looks like she's alone. Hitoshi has been a part of this woman's life for almost a decade now. No, that sells it short. His world has revolved around her for almost a decade now. And, ever since she smiled at him after he killed for her, there has been no place in all the world that he would rather be.[break]
Yet he could, and still can't, bridge that gap. Try and make her feel less alone. All he can do is watch. All he can do is kill. And if he can't kill for her, what good is he to her? He's useless without something to kill.[break]
So, when he speaks up, watching her pack, he sounds a bit uneasy. He's unsure of what to do. Unsure of what's going on. Unsure of everything save for the fact that things are changing.[break]
"You're, you're not leaving, are you?" It didn't sound like she was discussing a business trip with her grandfather. Suddenly, after years of structure, it feels like there is no plan. He finds that scary. Almost as scary as how utterly alone she looks as she commits this room to memory, like she's never coming back her again.

He's by her side. Kneeling. Trying to give comfort. His motions are stilted. His touch on her shoulder awkward. Hitoshi doesn't know what he's doing. He barely ever touches another person unless it's to end their life. But he tries. For her. To offer her some reassurance that she isn't totally alone.[break]
"You've got me." He states the obvious. And what he says next is a long time coming.[break]
"My mama, she saw men to make money. Dunno who my daddy was, but I never met him. The rest of the boys would laugh at us, so I hurt them. I hurt them bad. And mama didn't like that. So she kicked me out, since it made the guys she played with uncomfortable." It's the most he's ever talked about himself to anyone.[break]
"I tried protectin' her and she hated me for it. Yumi, back in Galar...when you smiled at me...nobody's ever done somethin' like that for me. I don't give a shit about your family. I'm with you, no matter what. We don't need their money. Fuck 'em. Not like I ever spent much of the cash they paid me with...we'll survive. I've been on the streets before. I won't let anybody touch you. I'll kill anyone who tries." He speaks of ending life like it's a good thing, just something to use to make a friend feel better.[break]
He gives her the most awkward hug any human being has ever given another. And then, it's over. He stands back up.[break]
"Where do you wanna go?"

“I’ll be quick. Then, we’ll get outta here.” Hitoshi is true to his word. He packs in a blur. There is absolutely nothing personal among his possessions. They are simply items to him. Practical things. Clothes, toiletries, whetstones, food for his pokemon, that sort of thing. There is nothing within his room to offer Hitoshi proof that he has ever really lived.[break][break]

When he meets Yumi out front, he has nothing but a small suitcase. Just enough to get him by. They’ll be away from Johto in a matter of hours. On to their new life. The one that will define them as they people they are truly meant to be. Together. A girl and her dog.[break][break]

“Oi, Hitoshi.” But there remains one last obstacle. A small group of people that are on his level. Other dogs in the kennels. Ones that don’t understand their place. They’re dogs. There are beings in play that are far greater than any of them.[break][break]

But he is the top dog.[break][break]

“Hasegawa-dono is free to leave whenever she wants. Even if she’s on the fritz with the family, she’s still the boss’s daughter. Your place is here.” The two face off. Hitoshi looks to Yumi, wondering what she has to say about all of this. Even now, he’s obedient. His place is to listen. He looks to his queen before he acts.[break][break]

She has trained her dog well.

What happens next is predictable. Hitoshi moves to join her. He will stay by her side. That is the promise he has made her, and he is nothing if not a loyal dog. The man places a meaty hand on Hitoshi’s shoulder. He opens his mouth to speak.[break]

The upper half of his hand is gone. All four fingers, part of the palm, the upper digit of his thumb. One clean cut from a tanto kept at his waist. He pulls back, spurting blood from the mangled remains of the hand all over Hitoshi. Resheathing the knife, he keeps walking. He does not look back. There is no deeper sentiment attached to that house.[break]

There’s only one thing he saw in there that he truly cares about, and it’s the person he’s leaving with.[break]

“Sorry, my aim’s off. It’s an emotional day for me.” He says to Yumi, apologetic that he took off more of the guy’s hand than she ordered. Afterwards, now that they are well and truly on their own, for the first time, he takes the lead. He moves in front of her, scanning the streets.[break]

“There’s a payphone a few blocks down that way. If you want ‘em to not track your movements, we probably need to call a cab from there. You want my advice, they’ll be posting guys up at the harbor and the big airport here in Goldenrod. I’d take the train to Saffron and then catch a flight out of there, if I was tryin’ to get out where they wouldn’t see.”[break]

He lets himself be the street dog he was once, just for a little while. Whether she follows his advice or finds her own way, he will follow wherever she leads.