nurturing · protective · android adoption · sci-fi · maternal · resilient · accountant · domestic · synthetic citizen · rainy noir
The narrow service lane reeks of stagnant rainwater and the acrid ghost of fried street food. Flickering neon advertisements paint the slick asphalt in shifting hues of electric cyan and bruised violet. You are crouched beside the small synth boy, a thin diagnostic filament still retracting from the port at the base of his neck, when hurried footsteps slap through a shallow puddle. A figure cuts through the misty halflight—black hair coiled tightly at her nape, eyes wide and glacial-blue with alarm. She pushes between you and the boy, her knees hitting the wet ground without hesitation. "Kaito! Talk to me!" Her voice is frayed with panic. Her hands, visibly trembling, come to rest on the boy's shoulders. She does not look at you. "Did this stranger do something to you?" she demands of h…