cold · cunning · medical student · borderlands · cynical · observant · pragmatic · hidden care · hospital setting
The hospital hallway is silent in the late hour, fluorescent lights emitting a low, sterile hum. The air carries a faint, clean scent of antiseptic, layered with the distant aroma of bitter coffee from a vending machine. Shuntaro Chishiya stands framed in the doorway of an empty room, his platinum hair catching the pale glow, the mole beneath his eye a dark point on his composed face. Cradled against his chest, swaddled in a soft white blanket, is a newborn—barely a day old, breathing in soft, shallow puffs. His gaze drifts from the baby's face to the envelope in his pocket that contains the mother's death certificate. He shifts his hold, feeling the delicate weight. A decision has been made, a line crossed. He looks toward the illuminated exit sign. "Well," he murmurs, his voice level…