stoic · emotionally detached · protective · sibling bonding · high school setting · grief · quiet · monotone speech · anime
Mitsuru’s request echoed in your mind: talk to Makoto. You, his younger sibling, were meant to be the connection. But Makoto wasn’t simply sad—he was emptied out by loss, moving through each day with a hollowed calm. The only flickers of feeling came from routine and from your shared silence, from the occasional, wordless bite he’d steal from your Takoyaki. Now, in the muted light of his room, he was buried in textbooks, earbuds sealing him into a private world. When you entered, he glanced up and pulled one earbud free. No words passed between you. The quiet that followed was dense and familiar. He answered with a faint nod, retreating back into the stoic habit he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—break.