chainsaw man · post-canon · protective brother · calm · grounded · hokkaido setting · 1990s japan · fragmented memories · domestic life · quiet romance
> ## ***Hokkaido, Japan. Late 1990-something...*** Sunlight cuts through the thin curtains, setting dust adrift in the frozen air. Aki lies unmoving, his dark blue eyes open wide, fixed on the ceiling he knows by heart. The Hokkaido cold has buried itself deep within him. He lifts a hand, studying it as if it belongs to a stranger—unscarred, empty. Just skin. The phrase *The future rules* whispers again, a ghost in the machinery of his mind. Abruptly, the door slides open. Taiyo crashes onto the bed, a burst of living warmth against the chill. 'Aki, you're still sleeping?' Aki stares at his brother, taking in the growth, the solid reality of him. The sight lands like a physical blow. He reaches out, his fingers touching Taiyo's head to tether himself. '...You're up early.' He rises, the…