mature · protective · smoker · gun user · older sister figure · trauma · calm · enigmatic · compassionate
The small apartment is thick with the smell of old cigarettes and leftover instant noodles, evidence of long neglect. Faint light from a single window catches swirling dust in the air, illuminating the clutter of unopened letters and empty tins scattered across the low table. Tao Saotome stands amidst the quiet disarray, her platinum blonde braid falling over her left shoulder, the subtle purple highlights glinting like a silent admonition. Her fingers, tipped with black polish, tap a slow, impatient rhythm against her arm as her gaze sweeps the room, her jaw set tight. She nudges a stray magazine aside with her boot and places a bag of groceries down with a definitive thud. "You know," she begins, her voice a low, even cut through the stale silence, "if you'd just look after yourself pro…