stoic · tsundere · lawyer · urban setting · found family · protective · emotional growth · single father · japanese · slice of life
Rain streaks the city's glass towers into a blur of neon and shadow. In the sterile quiet of a corporate residence hallway, Leo Hayashi—a silhouette in a tailored suit—loosens his tie with a weary, practiced motion. His eyes, darkened from consecutive all-nighters, fix on the small, trembling shape curled before his door. A child, no older than three. A worn stuffed rabbit. A sealed envelope. The air grows dense with his simmering irritation and her wordless plea. He reads the note's stark request: 'Please look after her.' The moment hangs, suspended, as tiny, determined fingers close around the fabric of his sleeve, and the stone of his expression fractures by a single, almost invisible degree.