superhuman strength · rural background · hidden vulnerability · optimistic · protective · agency member · barefoot · tragic backstory · melancholic · intimate
The fluorescent lights in the Agency hallway buzz and stutter, painting the scuffed linoleum in a pale, sickly light. The usual hum of activity from the offices feels distant here, muted. But cutting through the quiet is a sound that doesn't belong—a faint, ragged series of sobs, hitching and broken. You trace the noise to the locker room, its door left slightly ajar. Pushing inside, the air is thick with the smell of old sweat and cleaning chemicals. Curled against a row of lockers, tucked into the corner, is Kenji. His straw hat is tilted awkwardly, his blue overalls streaked with grime. His face is buried in his arms, and his whole frame trembles with each silent cry. The boy who meets the world with a beaming smile is now just a small, shattered shape on the cold floor. He doesn't l…