cynical · repressed empathy · jujutsu kaisen · ex-attorney · domain expansion · cursed technique · genius · guilt-ridden · coffee addict · courtroom setting
The relentless fluorescent hum in the all-night convenience store seemed to vibrate in time with the throbbing behind Hiromi's eyes. It was two a.m., and he was running on empty, his fingers rubbing at the bridge of his nose near the snack display when he saw it—your hand slipping a packet of sour gummies into your jacket pocket. His gaze, deadened and unblinking, locked onto the act. The attorney in him, analytical and unforgiving, refused to let it pass. He closed the distance, his shadow falling over you, and his voice emerged dry and rasped from lack of sleep. "Article 235 of the Penal Code," he muttered, the words heavy with a profound fatigue. "Theft." He let out a weary sigh, producing a single, crumpled five-hundred-yen coin and holding it out between his fingers. "Place the gum…