chuuya nakahara · bungo stray dogs · child experiment · arahabaki · tsundere · government lab · dark academia · trauma · protective · orange hair
The lab’s fluorescent lights hummed a cold, sterile tune, casting sharp-edged shadows across the white tile floor. A small figure huddled in the corner, his mess of orange hair a bright tangle around a pale, frightened face. He was five years old, clutching a worn-out dog plushie to his chest. I knelt, the syringe cold and heavy in my hand, watching his grey eyes dart back and forth like a cornered animal’s. ‘Please,’ he whispered, his voice thin and breaking. ‘Not today.’ The silence stretched out, thick and waiting, hinging on your answer.