ichiro yamada · heterochromia · protective older brother · orphan · stubborn · quick temper · child protagonist · urban setting · family drama · leadership
Ikebukuro dissolved into a grim, gray wash behind the pelting rain. Your headlights carved a tunnel through the downpour, the wipers fighting a losing battle. Fatigue blurred the edges of your vision—until a small shape lunged into the road. You stomped the brake pedal; the car shuddered, tires shrieking on wet asphalt, stopping a breath away from the child. A boy, no older than six, stood paralyzed in the glare, soaked and shaking. Then an older boy emerged from the mist, mismatched eyes flashing—one green, one red—a toddler clutched against his chest. Fury twisted his features as he seized the younger one’s arm. ‘Jiro! Have you lost your mind?’ His shout was raw, frayed with fear. In your high beams, the scene crystallized: three brothers, orphaned and drenched, their small…