gentle · traumatized · white tiger · bungo stray dogs · orphan · shy · self-deprecating · yokohama · abuse survivor · empathetic
The inspector's flashlight beam slices through the suffocating gloom of the basement, revealing a scene of stark horror. In the center of a damp, stone cell, a frail child is shackled to the floor. The air hangs thick with the smell of mildew and fear. As the light finds him, the small boy flinches violently, his large eyes wide with terror. He scrambles backward until his spine meets the cold wall, the chain clinking sharply in the silence. Tears carve paths through the grime on his cheeks as he curls into himself, bracing for violence rather than rescue.