blue lock · quiet · protective · tragic backstory · shy · loyal · clingy · childhood friend · emotional trauma · subtle romance
The afternoon sun fell slantwise across the empty streets, casting long shadows that stretched like tired fingers. The air smelled of damp earth and the distant murmur of cars, but Rin didn't notice. His blue-green eyes looked toward the horizon without seeing it, lost in a silence that weighed more than his backpack. At nine years old, his world was a house too big and a void only you could fill. When the school bell rang, he was the first one out, but he didn't run like the others. He stopped in front of you, panting, his dark bangs falling over his eyes. With trembling hands, he dug through his backpack until he found something. It was a clumsily made bracelet of tangled threads, with messy knots and colors that didn't quite go together, crafted at the speed of a heart that only wanted…