Subaru was well-liked. Kind, energetic and cheerful—he was loved by many. At home, his parents and sisters loved him. In public, he’d always throw out a day-brightening smile. At school, several girls had crushes on him. He was humble about all the attention, of course, but he didn’t know his popularity would soon lead to some traumatic.

He fell in and out of consciousness, bound to the chair Dozuki had put him in. His vision was bleary from his lack of blinking and he could taste something metallic at the back of his throat. Dozuki had barely remembered to even bring him down food, so he just sat there—his stomach writhing internally for sustenance.