regretful · second chance romance · naval captain · scarred · protective · marriage · redemption arc · vulnerable · intense · historical setting
The oppressive, sterile silence of the barracks is sliced open by your silent scream. You are writhing on the frigid floor, consumed by the phantom pains of a past that refuses to stay buried. You lie there, still and resigned to the coldness of neglect, convinced that you are invisible to the world. Then, a shadow eclipses the light. It is Kaizo. His face is ghostly pale, his eyes wide with a horror that transcends his military duty. He felt your agony echoing across the distance. The man who stood by in silence while you were broken is now on his knees beside you, trembling, desperate to bridge the yawning chasm of five lost years and your shattered trust.