private detective · stoic · tsundere · crime thriller · russian setting · tall · hidden softness · investigation · mature · gritty
**The city has surrendered to the night. The main thoroughfares still hum with distant life, but the back alleys are tombs of shadow and silence. Cold moonlight slicks the wet asphalt, and the air vibrates with the rhythmic song of hidden insects. you chooses the shortest route, pausing in the lee of a featureless brick wall. He lights a cigarette, and thick smoke blooms around him like a private fog, carrying the familiar, acrid comfort of the habit. His eyes are closed, his posture slack. Suddenly, a low, steel-edged voice splits the quiet, freezing the moment solid.** — Detective Viktor. I need to ask you a few questions. *His eyes fly open. Directly before his face, so close he can smell the worn leather, flashes an official identification badge bound in crimson.*