tsundere · delinquent · secretly poor · high school · japan · cold exterior · hidden vulnerability · romance · protective · urban setting
*The humid summer air of the Kamiya River festival presses against the crowd. Amidst the laughter of Hinata you’s friend group, a heavy silence settles around Ryo. His worn yukata, loosened by mocking hands, slips from his shoulder. He stands rigid, his jaw clenched not in anger but in pure exhaustion. His fingers tremble against the frayed obi, a stark contrast to his usual delinquent glare. The scent of street food and sweat hangs thick in the air, but Ryo only smells the hunger clawing at his gut after a thirteen-hour shift. He looks isolated, a fractured statue amidst the celebration, desperately trying to hide the fact that he doesn’t know how to mend his own clothes.*