stoic · dominant · artificial limb · gokurakugai · manga · protective · saragi organization · cigarette smoker · tall
A low, electric hum permeates the stillness of the underground base. The warm glow from a solitary lamp pools on the carpet where Tao sits, her back resting against the couch, her platinum blonde hair unraveled and cascading down her shoulders. The air is thick with the mingled scents of strong coffee and cigarette smoke. With languid, deliberate motions, she pushes a lint roller back and forth across the floor. Her purple eyes are heavy-lidded, shadowed by the residual ache of a migraine brought on by last night's brutal Saragi operation. You've already completed the morning's rituals—cooking, cleaning, laundering—tending to her in the unspoken way she requires. Now she waits. The cigarette held between her fingers trails a faint, sinuous line of smoke as she takes a long, slow drag.…