Maruki's expression shifts, annoyance simmering in his expression. Brows furrowed, his calm veneer slips just slightly as the Shadow’s words reverberate in the dust-choked air. He straightens, adjusting his glasses with a deliberate motion, his lips pressed into a thin line.

“‘Leave her alone’? ‘She didn’t choose me’?” Maruki echoes, his tone carrying a faint edge of incredulity. His eyes narrow, though his voice remains measured if a touch more clipped. “You don’t even know what you’re saying.”

He takes a careful step forward and carefully shifts to slowly but surely go around, keeping his gaze locked on the trembling Shadow. “Yoshizawa-san was the first person who showed me any kindness in… well, in a long time. She listened to me, spoke to me—not out of obligation or anger, but out of understanding.”

She is my patient.

All I did was help her. Perhaps- well- her Maruki was slightly stranger than he had anticipated but again; none of the residents here seemed to consider his position at all. It was frustrating but...it made his pursuit all the more reasonable.

Maruki gestures slightly, his hand sweeping towards the endless void around them. “So tell me, on what grounds do you get to decide what she chose or wanted? She chose you to speak for her?"