Recovering ❤️‍🩹

Tokyo, early 2000s. Rain streaked the windows of a small apartment where Yoichi, still a boy, sat quietly in the dark, listening to his parents argue down the hall.

Sakai's voice echoed through the thin walls, sharp and cruel, each word chipping away at whatever peace the house once held.

Years passed. Yoichi grew older, the memories buried deep, but never gone. Now twenty-six, he walked the same rain-soaked streets of Tokyo, alone with his thoughts.

At a small izakaya, his friends Tada and Reiki waited, laughter breaking the tension of another long week.

"You've been quiet lately," Reiki said, studying Yoichi's face. Yoichi just shrugged, swirling his drink, avoiding her sharp gaze.

Walking home that night, Yoichi passed his childhood neighborhood without meaning to. His feet simply carried him there.

He stopped in front of the old building, staring up at the window that once was his room. His chest tightened with unexpected memory.

The next morning, Yoichi visited his mother Iyo and stepfather Issei for breakfast, the smell of miso soup grounding him back to the present.

"You look tired," Iyo said gently, placing a warm bowl before him. Issei gave a reassuring pat on his…