Beastars: A Steep Fall From Light

Chapter 44: Everything Burns

Yuta drove along the road, up to the mansion. He had told Louis he'd take the day off, but today was not a normal day. His brother understood, and it was only one day he'd miss. There'd be plenty more to come. Pulling up the driveway and parking in front of the main entrance, he pulled out his phone and tapped through the list Louis had sent him. It was mostly formal clothes they didn't want to get ruined by stuffing into the luggage. Suits, dresses, and special items; Adler mostly filled this category.

He unlocked the door and stepped into the empty foyer. The echo was odd. It always echoed, but now that he knew no one was inside it seemed to reverberate even greater. He didn't want to walk, on account of his shoes squeaking or tapping on the floor and disrupting the pure silence. But he got over it and made his way towards the servants quarters. The sound echoed through the empty halls and Yuta did a few double takes. He had to stop walking and listen for other footsteps. He could've sworn someone else was there, but it always turned out to be a mirror out of the corner of his eye, or the playback of his footsteps off the walls. His social brain was creating the illusion of others there with him in their absence.

He opened the closet and pulled out the plastic covered hangers used for transporting clothes to the dry cleaners, including the heavy black zip-up one he used for Adler. He looked at the list again. Four dresses for Azuki, five suits for Louis, and then Adler. Louis would be easiest to pack for, considering he just wanted any five suits. Azuki wanted a specific four. He thought he knew which four, but then again some of them looked very similar. And then Adler was just Adler. So ten hangers in total.

He grabbed the nine normal ones in his right hand and the heavier black one in his left. The extra rustling of the bags as he walked caused his paranoia to increase just a bit more. As a sheep he was more used to crowds and being surrounded. It made him feel safer the more people there were around him. Being alone made him uneasy. He opened the door to their bedroom and closed it behind him. Having the four walls around him, making the space smaller, helped a bit. At least it made the area he had to worry about easier to monitor. He laid the bags on the bed and moved to Azuki's armoire. He pulled the doors open and shifted through the dresses she had hung up. He looked at the list again. She wanted the sapphire blue one with diamond tassels attached, the turquoise one, the mixed red and purple fabrics, and the black one. He got the black and sapphire no problem, but turquoise? That was green? Blue? Blueish-green, greenish-blue? There were like, nine of them that could've matched that description. Azuki wouldn't pick just any dresses for him to bring. She would want her favorites. He looked back and tried to remember if there was one she wore more than the others, but to him they all blurred together. He just grabbed one-not too fancy, not too plain-and laid hung it on the hanger, slipping the bag over it and laying it on the pile.

Now onto the black. Again, she had three black dresses. They all looked the same. He just grabbed one and slipped the bag over them. He added it to the pile and picked them all up. He picked up the empty hangers and walked out to Louis' office. He struggled with the door, but was able to jiggle the key from his pocket and turn it in the handle. He then twisted the knob and pushed the door in. He laid Azuki's dresses on the desk and moved to Louis' armoire. He opened it up and pulled out the first five he saw. Two black, one navy, one grey, and, his personal favorite, the maroon with a green undershirt. He looked the most natural in this one. He bagged them and put them on top of the dresses. There was a lot, and he'd need a trolley cart to transport the dresses, suits, and shoes. He'd forgotten Azuki's heels. He turned and went back to the room. He kneeled down and looked under the bed. He grabbed a box and opened it to look at the contents. Yup, these were the high heels she wanted. He grabbed another box of less formal shoes and stacked it on top. He then moved back to the office and put them next to the desk. He then grabbed two sets of Louis' shoes-one black, one brown-and put them next to the boxes.