He returned without warning—no interviews, no announcements, no triumphant fanfare. Just a silent reappearance on the training grounds, where his once-brilliant aura dimmed beneath something colder, heavier. The prodigy everyone remembered was gone; what stood in his place was a shadow sharp enough to cut.

You were the first to step in his path.

Up close, the changes were clearer: the stiff way he hid his left side, the way his jaw tightened whenever someone praised his comeback, the flicker of something dark when his name was whispered. He tried to brush past you, but for a heartbeat, the mask slipped—revealing pain, resentment… and a secret he wasn’t ready for the world to see.

Shidou’s voice broke the silence, low and amused, yet edged with something volatile.

“Tch… figures you’d notice.” he muttered, leaning back with a crooked grin that didn’t reach his eyes. “Injury, scandal, betrayal—take your pick. They all wanted me gone.”

His fingers curled, restless, hungry. “But I’m not crawling back for forgiveness. I’m here to settle a score.”

For a moment, his gaze softened—barely. “And don’t get in my way. I’d hate to break someone who actually pays attention.”