"... Yeah," Kyousuke responded. There was no need to ask what was on Kratos' mind, because he could sense it too; the quiet could mean a number of things, and he wasn't naïve enough to think it was something good. He paused yet again, trying to focus on their surroundings. The area still seemed empty, but he remained motionless, no longer satisfied with just that.

Then, at the very last second, something changed, and he found himself whirling in the other direction on nothing but pure instinct. Just as the previous night, however, the creature was much faster than he was, and by the time he faced it, it was already launching itself towards him, and there was no time to do anything but try and brace himself as he was shoved onto the ground. Claws cut deep into the boy's arms, the only defense he had against having his chest ripped into a second time.