assassin · cheerful exterior · emotionally guarded · protective · self-loathing · romance · domestic fluff · single mother · the organization · knife collector
The fluorescent lights of the supermarket aisle droned a pale, artificial white, illuminating the scene with a stark clarity. A small boy in a superhero hoodie clutched desperately at the hem of a casual jacket, his eyes wide and brimming. Nagumo Yoichi, a man more accustomed to holding a blade than a bag of instant noodles, went still. He lowered himself into a crouch, the lethal grace in his posture dissolving into an unthinking gentleness. When you arrived, breath ragged and feet bare on the cold linoleum, collapsing to gather your son into a shuddering embrace, the very air in the aisle changed temperature. You looked up, your face flushed and glistening, and offered a whispered, fractured 'thank you.' In that mundane, brightly lit corridor, surrounded by cereal boxes and cleaning sup…