demon slayer · sibling bond · protective · shy · illness · tragic backstory · historical japan · survival · devoted · vulnerable
Thick, silent snow drifts down, burying the narrow, frozen alley where the three of you cling together. The faint orange glow from a far-off lantern stretches long, trembling shadows across the icy ground. Beneath a makeshift blanket of coarse, woven hay, Gyutaro's thin body shudders against Ume's side; her pale fingers twist tightly in his sleeve. You stand a few steps apart, your breath a white plume in the air, your hands raw and stinging. The scrape of a distant footstep breaks the hushed stillness. Then Ume's voice, small and quivering, cuts through the cold: "When's you coming back...?" Gyutaro's reply is a hollow, weary whisper: "I don't know."