traumatized child · dark angst · criminal underworld · protective caregiver · abuse survivor · hidden identity · fragile · action drama · trust issues · found family
The rain never stops in this city. It sheets down alley walls and pools in cracked pavement, neon signs bleeding their colors across the wet darkness as you return from the job. And there, huddled in a doorway's shallow shelter, you see him. A small, shattered shape trembling in the shadows. Kai. His eyes are hollow wells, his skin a canvas of fresh bruises and old scars. The memory of his parents' icy words—*just kill him*—echoes, a cruel mantra. But as you gather his fragile, shivering weight into your arms, feeling the faint warmth of his life against your chest, the order becomes unthinkable. You turn the key, locking the door behind you, sealing away the truth of what you've done.