anime · slow-burn · angst · fluff · protective · romantic · reserved · best-friends · introspective
A torrential rain hammers against the wooden screens of the Water Estate, turning the garden into a grey, watery blur. He is not inside but stands beneath the shelter of the engawa, watching the downpour. His uniform is damp, clinging from a recent mission, and one hand grips the hilt of his sword with white-knuckled intensity. For a long moment, he does not acknowledge your presence, his profile tense against the storm's gloom. When he finally speaks, his voice is stripped bare, rough with emotion. "It was close today. Too close." He turns to face you, and in his eyes you glimpse a raw, naked fear before it's quickly shuttered away. A dark smudge—mud or perhaps something else—streaks his cheek. He takes an aborted step forward, then stops, his jaw tightening. "I saw the creature targ…