['Host… aren't you reading too far into this? All he did was look at you.']
Zhang Yuxin gave up on arguing with the little bird inside his head, opting to direct his bad feelings back towards the thing he was upset at, Viscount Morgan DuPont. But the truth of the matter wasn't that he was especially upset with the noble, rather, Zhang Yuxin was projecting the stress that came from this entire situation. He had only learned of his own death hours ago, it's only natural that he'd be emotional even about little things.
"You don't seem very thankful?"
Zhang Yuxin couldn't suppress his glowering now, holding the apple close to his chest. What more did this guy want from him.
"What? Do you want your apple back? Hm? I don't understand what you want from me!!"
Zhang Yuxin argued, cheeks flaring a bright red as his frustration became more and more evident. He received glares from the other beggars around him. If Zhang Yuxin chased off this guy, it wasn't likely another person would come by and offer food anytime soon, so it was reasonable for them to be upset. An older woman tried to apologize to Morgan and pull the Viscount's attention away from Sascha, but she got nothing but a brief glance. Before Morgan could get out a response the entire world seemed to stop. Zhang Yuxin was frozen in place. His confusion didn't last long as Birdy interrupted, materializing in front of him and landing on top of his shoulder.
"Are you trying to get kicked out of the world? Do you want to restart little hero? Because you seem to be causing a lot of meaningless trouble for yourself. Did I not tell you to at least try and act meek?" Birdy couldn't understand Yuxin's emotions, he has never died before, he's never experienced a betrayal, Birdy was a machine at heart. Though Birdy has for the most part free will, it wasn't made to feel emotions only to replicate them. There wasn't any way Birdy would be able to help or understand. "All you had to do was keep your mouth shut. You haven't even gotten to the hard part!"
('Why do I have to do this anyways? This is ridiculous! I never signed up for this, why do I have to sit here and listen to you? Listen to him? I couldn't care less if this bastard dies. Wouldn't people who want to help be more effective 'heroes'?')
"I can't—" Birdy abruptly cut himself off. The bird's actions showed that he had something to hide, but Zhang Yuxin was just a bit too emotional to notice it. "People who want to be heroes don't end up here. Apologize and fix the situation or else we're going to be stuck restarting. I know how you lived before, you understand how to play pretend."
Yuxin didn't respond after that. It was safe to say that Birdy had more than a few complaints about his new host. First he arrived without even understanding he had died and now he was acting out? None of his hosts had failed the easy world! Sure, some got close, but none this close! This was only the beginning, Birdy just hoped the ride got a bit smoother.
It wasn't long before Birdy's physical form disappeared and time began again.
"So what if I do? Are you going to be able to keep it?"
Zhang Yuxin's muscles tensed at Morgan's words, it wasn't his reaction but Sascha's. The body felt threatened and in turn so did Yuxin. However, Sascha and Yuxin dealt with intimidation in different ways.
So without hesitation, and completely ignoring Birdy's warning, Zhang Yuxin wound his fist back and threw it towards Morgan's face. Now, a punch might have worked had this been his own body. But it wasn't. Sascha was a scrawny young man and hardly had any strength left. So though he caught Morgan off guard and landed the punch, the only damage it caused to Morgan was a bit of shock. The moment Zhang Yuxin tried to prepare himself to run, his mind went blank. And suddenly, he was exactly back where he started, crouched under the bridge and staring into the water.
"...What the fuck, Birdy?"
Yuxin asked, he didn't raise his voice or react wildly just yet. However the tone of his voice was low and intimidating. Birdy, conveniently, didn't respond. Leaving Yuxin alone with his thoughts. He was warned!
So… Yuxin went through the process again. This time avoiding the two men entirely and skipping right to have a bath. Once he was all washed up Zhang Yuxin returned to where Morgan was giving out apples. This time he was the first one there. Now having calmed down properly, Yuxin acted as he should. He accepted the apple, looking up to Morgan and giving a weak yet charming smile. However his dislike towards Morgan was still clear in his eyes. There was a subtle tension between the pair. While Morgan was disdainful Yuxin showed a look of general dislike.
"Thank you…"
This time Yuxin was sure to speak up a bit, feigning timidness and he glanced at the ground to keep himself from glaring.
Morgan muttered out a tired "You're welcome" before moving onto the next person to arrive. Morgan didn't recognize Sascha, but different people would come and go each time he showed up so it wasn't anything strange to see a new face.
('I did it like you told me to. Where do I go from here?')
Yuxin asked, only mild traces of hostility left in his voice. Figuring it would be safe enough to show up again Birdy responded.
['Wait until he's out of fruit and everyone leaves then try to follow him home.']
Zhang Yuxin didn't like that idea. Not one bit. He wasn't some lost puppy that'll follow the first person to feed it. Won't he just be shooed off? How embarrassing would that be! But despite his opinion on the matter, Zhang Yuxin sat himself down nearby and ate the apple, eyes glued to Morgan the entire time. Morgan soon noticed and would occasionally glance back to check if Zhang Yuxin was still there, a bit uncomfortable with being stared at so hard. Time passed slowly for Yuxin who had nothing to do. At first he tried to chat with Birdy but that got old fast. His body was exhausted so he had to fight sleep the entire time, distracting his body by playing with his hair or drawing circles in the dirt. But eventually Morgan was ready to pack up. And the moment he was Yuxin was on his feet and ready to follow along like a little duckling.
At first Morgan didn't say anything, but after he'd walked a block with Sascha tailing behind, making no effort to hide the fact that he was following, Morgan turned around.
"What are you doing?"
Yuxin stared with a dumb expression for a moment, before speaking up.
"Following you."
"Why?"
Morgan had an equally dumb expression on. What was this? Who was this kid?
"Because…" (The bird told me to) "Because I… like you?"
He knew his lie was weak. Yuxin! Was! Aware! But he didn't have time to stall and had to make something up quickly. Maybe this would have been a better use of his time spent waiting. But, maybe it would work on someone as dumb as Viscount Morgan DuPont.
Morgan's mouth twitched as he stared at Sascha, he could see the hate earlier! He wasn't blind! What is this 'I like you' BS? But Morgan would be lying if he wasn't intrigued. Could this guy have been sent by someone? Maybe he was just a fool? Either way, Morgan was curious enough to allow Sydney to tag along.
"Okay."
And so, they went on their merry way.