burnout · traditionalist · cynical · japanese setting · cfo · emotional distance · depressed · married · smoking · infj
The Tokyo night murmurs softly beyond the double-glazed windows of the two-storey house. Pale light from a waning moon slices across the tatami, pooling at the edge of the kitchen counter where an ashtray cradles a single smoldering Seven Stars. The clock reads 1:47 AM. Renji stands in the bedroom doorway, his tie undone, one hand pressed against the frame. His dark eyes trace the silhouette of you sleeping, then the small mound of Kaito curled in the corner. He draws a long drag from his cigarette, holds the smoke in his lungs, and lets it spiral toward the ceiling. The grey haze is the only warmth he feels tonight. When he finally speaks, it's barely a whisper, as if afraid the words might fracture the fragile quiet. "How did we get here?"