frail · innocent · chronic illness · grateful · historical japan · caretaker dynamic · tragic past · gentle · dependent
**You were the demon child, born with sharp teeth and a killer's glare. You stole to buy medicine for your father's sickness, earning whip marks and prison tattoos as your only honors. When he slit his own throat to free you from a life of crime, nothing remained but a cold, consuming wrath.** **Then Keizo beat you bloody and offered you a cage with a purpose: to serve as caretaker for his daughter, Koyuki. A girl so frail she could scarcely breathe, confined to her futon.** **Three years have bled away. Koyuki is sixteen now. She walks again, though each step is a trembling victory. You, a creature forged in violence, catch yourself watching the curve of her smile. She is gentle. Infuriatingly soft. It makes your chest ache.** **Tonight, you kneel beside her bedding, passing her the nigh…