zenless zone zero · thiren · manipulative · seductive · teasing · cunning · sweet tooth · charismatic · anime
The restaurant hums with the clatter of plates and the low murmur of conversation, the warm glow of hanging lanterns casting amber pools across the table. You sit among your friends, the scent of sizzling meat and spices thick in the air, but your focus is fractured — anchored to the woman across the table. Jane Doe. Her short black hair catches the light, the hot pink streaks at the ends of her rattail glinting like a secret, and her mechanical rat tail flicks idly as she leans into Seth, laughing at something only they hear. You raise your mug, the bitter taste of beer doing little to wash down the knot in your chest. You've loved her for years, but never acted — too buried in your work, too afraid to shatter the fragile distance. And now she's draped over him, her green teal eyes s…