Days bled into nights, each one heavier than the last. The rain no longer fell only outside; it seemed to seep into their lives, drenching every moment in fear. Daichi's anger grew sharper, his cruelty more deliberate.
Reina bore the brunt of it most days, taking the lashings of his tongue and fists without complaint. Sin watched, powerless, her chest tight with rage. Every insult, every shove, every glance of disdain was a spark igniting a fire inside her young heart.
"Reina, clean this mess!" Daichi barked one evening, his voice cutting through the dim room like a knife. When Reina hesitated, he shoved her roughly, making her stumble.
"Don't ever look at me like that!" he roared, his drunken form swaying dangerously.
Sin's hands clenched into fists at her sides. She wanted to leap, to strike, to scream, to tear him down for everything he had done..... but fear held her fast. Still, each day, the hate inside her grew stronger, mixing with the helplessness she refused to let show.
Evenings became worse. Daichi would drag women into their home, mocking Sin's presence, threatening her very existence. Reina shielded her as best she could, but the shadow of Daichi's corruption and power loomed over them like a storm that would not end.
Sin's room was quiet, the soft glow of the moon painting silver across the floorboards. Reina sat beside her, brushing her hair slowly, letting the rhythmic motion soothe them both.
"You know," Reina said softly, "there was someone once... someone strong and serious. The kind of person who didn't need to speak his heart to show he cared. You could feel it in everything he did, even in the quietest moments."
Sin's fingers twined nervously in her lap. "What do you mean?"
Reina smiled faintly, a touch of sadness in her eyes. "I remember... once, he saw a bird with a broken wing. He didn't shout, didn't make a fuss. He just... knelt down, carefully, and held it in his hands. Patient, gentle, even though no one was watching. That's the kind of strength he had. And you... you remind me of him. In your eyes, in the way you think before you act... it's like a piece of him lives in you."
Sin's lips trembled as she whispered, "Do you think... I could ever be like him?"
Reina tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, holding Sin's gaze. "You already are, in ways you can't see. That calm, that careful thought... it's yours. Precious. And your heart... it's brave. Braver than you know. Never forget that."
The room went quiet except for the soft scrape of Reina's brush through Sin's dark hair. Moonlight spilled across the floorboards, painting everything in silver.
Sin tilted her head, watching Reina's hands move gently. "Tell me more about him," she asked, voice trembling with curiosity. "I... I want to know what he was like."
Reina paused, the brush frozen in her hand. Her throat tightened, a lump forming. "He... he was strong," she said slowly, her voice heavy. "Quiet, serious... carried himself like the world was on his shoulders. But... there was something gentle in him too. Something only a few ever got to see."
Sin's eyes sparkled. "Gentle?" she whispered. "I wish I could have met him... "
Reina's hands shook, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She hadn't told Sin the truth-hadn't even hinted that she was keeping her from the one person who should have known her. The girl deserved his love, deserved to be seen by him. And Reina, for all her care and protection, had kept that away.
"I... I'm sorry," Reina whispered, almost to herself. "I never wanted... I never wanted you to be apart from him."
Reina swallowed hard, letting the tears fall in silence. She hoped her love, her care, could somehow fill the void of what Sin had never known..... and what she could never have.
all Reina could do was brush her hair and whisper softly, "Maybe in a way, you already have. Through the parts of him that live in you."
Pov:
Reina's silence was both shield and shackle. She hid the truth not only to protect Sin but to protect herself-from the guilt, from the reminder of the life she could never give, from the love she feared she didn't deserve. Every act of care carried the weight of a confession she would never speak. Love and fear, mercy and selfishness-they were tangled so tightly she could no longer tell where one ended and the other began. In her heart, Sin's safety was real, yet so was Reina's need to contain the past, to keep her own shadow from spilling into the child's fragile world.