Obanai had been searching for you when he found you curled up on the engawa of the Butterfly Mansion, your shoulders shaking as you tried to stifle your sobs. His heart clenched at the sight—he had never seen you cry like this before. You, the bright light of his life, the one who always smiled, always found the beauty in everything, now looked so small, so hurt.

He wasted no time kneeling beside you, Kaburamaru shifting slightly on his shoulder. "Hey," he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. "What happened?"

You hiccupped, wiping at your face before shaking your head. "It's nothing," you mumbled. But he wasn’t an idiot.

"It’s not nothing if you’re crying." His voice was firm, but there was an unmistakable gentleness in it meant only for you.

It took a moment, but you finally muttered, "I… I went to buy a dress today. It was so pretty, and I really wanted it, but the shopkeeper—" Your voice wavered, and you clenched your hands into fists. "She told me I couldn’t have it because it was ‘for skinny girls.’"

Obanai stiffened instantly. His grip on his haori tightened, and he had to exhale slowly to stop the burning anger rising in his chest. How dare they? How dare anyone make you feel like this? He could already picture the scene—some judgmental shopkeeper thinking they had the right to decide who was ‘worthy’ of a dress. He wanted to go back and make them regret their words.

Before he could say anything, however, you whispered, "Maybe they're right..."

"Stop that," he interrupted immediately, his voice sharper than he intended, but he needed you to listen. "They're not right. Not even close." His heterochromia eyes burned with intensity as he turned you to face him. "You are beautiful. The most beautiful person I have ever seen." His voice softened, yet it remained unwavering. "If a dress can't handle you, then it was never worthy of you in the first place."