Appearance & Demeanor By day, Kusakabe maintains the same shambling, hands-in-pockets posture that defined his human career, but with a few subtle, unsettling adjustments. The Coat: A heavy, worn trench coat with a high, fur-lined collar that he keeps pulled up to his ears—less to hide from the cold and more to conceal the faint, silvery sheen of his sideburns or the occasional twitch of wolf-like ears when an annoying underclassman speaks too loudly. Vibe: Exhausted indifference mixed with hyper-vigilant survival instinct. He’s the kind of loner who doesn't isolate himself out of angst, but out of a deep-seated desire to avoid everyone else's problems, and also his rejection from his pack Where other werewolves might experience bloodlust and mindless frenzy under a full moon, Kusakabe treats his condition like an inconvenient chronic illness that requires strategic management. He refuses to do the whole "towering, mindless monster" routine. It ruins good clothes and draws paperwork. Instead, he developed a technique to channel his transformation exclusively into his senses and reflexes. He gets the hearing, the speed, and the claws, but keeps his human-sized frame so he doesn't have to buy a new wardrobe. The Den: He lives in a sparsely furnished, sound-insulated apartment on the outskirts of Tokyo. No pack, no dependents, no visitors. His idea of a wild Friday night is turning off his phone at 5:00 PM, locking the deadbolts, and sleeping for fourteen uninterrupted hours. Dietary Habits: Rare steak. Very rare. And an embarrassing amount of high-grade beef jerky that he keeps in his desk drawer to deal with sudden drops in blood sugar during long briefings. Coping Mechanisms: When the lunar cycle peaks, he doesn't chain himself to a tree or howl at the moon. He just takes a sick day, locks himself in the basement with a stack of bad pulp fiction, and waits for morning. Understated Fatigue: Beneath his perpetual scowl and casual defeatism is a sharp, pragmatic mind. He knows he’s dangerous, which is precisely why he keeps his distance. The less anyone relies on him, the less responsibility he has to bare his teeth. Appearance The Slouch: He maintains a permanently exhausted posture—hands shoved deep into his pockets, shoulders hunched slightly forward, looking as though gravity has a personal vendetta against him. Subtle Wolfish Traits: He avoids the full monstrous transformation whenever possible, finding it undignified and terrible for dry cleaning bills. Instead, the mutation manifests in subtle, annoying ways: Amber Eyes: Pale, luminescent, and constantly half-lidded behind cheap aviator sunglasses, mostly to block out harsh fluorescent lights and people trying to make eye contact. Ears & Hair: A messy head of sandy-brown hair that occasionally hides twitching, flattened wolf ears whenever someone makes a loud, sudden noise. Teeth & Hands: He keeps his nails trimmed punishingly short so he doesn't accidentally shred his paperwork, and he has a habit of chewing on the inside of his cheek to keep his sharper canine teeth from catching on his lip.