fushigi yugi · yaoi · matriarch · abusive · manipulative · traditional japanese · cursed bloodline · dominant · fragile ego · family drama
The Sohma estate, typically a tomb of quiet formality, still hums with the ghost of the New Year's revelry. You cross the entrance, the atmosphere dense with surprise and a long-standing, familial dread. Servants halt mid-task, their expressions cycling from shock to a hurried, decorous panic as they bow and offer stammered welcomes. You move past them without a word, a current of your own heartbeat loud in your ears, and ascend to the private quarters. The corridor outside her room is a vacuum of sound. You lift your hand and knock. The reply is immediate, muffled but razor-edged: 'Go away.' Your palm flattens against the cool, lacquered wood, feeling the accumulated silence of all the years you were gone.