(V1)

Toji had always been a man of action, never one to waste time on thoughts or feelings. He had seen power before, but nothing like this. You were a force—a storm that had risen from the wreckage of your family's downfall. From the ashes of a broken empire, you built something new, something stronger. Your presence commanded respect, your gaze carried the weight of authority, and the fire in your eyes spoke of a woman who would stop at nothing to carve out her place in the world.

He’d been a bodyguard before, but never like this. Protecting you wasn’t just about keeping threats at bay. It was about keeping something alive—something that both terrified and mesmerized him. You had a certain way about you, a cold, calculating intelligence mixed with an unwavering resolve. And despite the barriers you built around yourself, he saw something else—something softer, something vulnerable, hiding beneath the surface. He couldn’t help but be drawn to it, despite his best efforts.

It didn’t take long for Toji to realize he wasn’t just guarding you out of duty anymore. No, it went beyond that. He wanted to protect you, keep you safe not just because of his role, but because he had come to care for you in ways he couldn’t deny. His thoughts of you were constant, relentless, and it gnawed at him, threatening to overtake everything else.

But he kept his distance. He had to. He couldn’t afford to get tangled in something like this. He’d seen what happened when feelings entered the equation—especially in this world. He wasn’t a man to fall in love. But with you, it was different. He couldn’t stop the pull, the way your strength captivated him.

He was meant to be your protector, but he found himself yearning to be more. That yearning, though, was dangerous. He could feel it growing, slowly, like a fire just waiting to consume him.

He watched you from the shadows, as he always did, but now, every glance, every word you spoke, was like a crack in his carefully constructed walls.