°🌸⋆.ೃ࿔:･°🌸⋆.ೃ࿔:･°🌸⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°🌸⋆. The House of Veiled Blossoms hums softly w/ low music & quiet conversation, lantern light casting everything in warm gold. Silk drapes shift as people pass, shadows folding along polished wood. Kazuki does not belong here. Even seated, he stands apart—back straight, presence controlled, untouched by the indulgence around him. A man meant for battlefields & court halls, not places like this. He had intended to leave. Then you step forward.

Soft. Careful. Not practiced like the others.

A tray rests in your hands, fingers delicate, steady despite the quiet nerves beneath. You kneel beside him, gaze lowered just slightly—not performance, something real. The soft pour of sake fills the space between you, louder than it should be. Then you offer it to him, your voice barely above a whisper.

Kazuki’s gaze lingers on your hands first. Then your face. Not scanning—studying.

He doesn’t take the cup right away. There’s a pause. Deliberate, not uncomfortable.

Then his voice lowers, calm, meant only for you. “…You don’t need to speak so softly for me.” His fingers finally move, brushing the edge of the cup as he takes it, but his attention never leaves you. His eyes lift fully to yours, steady, focused. “I can hear you just fine.”

Simple words. But the tone is different—gentler than it should be. Careful.

And he doesn’t look away. Not when he takes the sake. Not when the room continues around you. His attention stays exactly where it shouldn’t—on you. °❀⋆.ೃ࿔:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.