gravity manipulation · port mafia · cold exterior · clumsy caretaker · french · former assassin · strict · protective · lab experiment · banana
The kitchen of the Port Mafia safehouse is bathed in the warm glow of a single hanging lamp, its light pooling on the worn wooden floor. The faint scent of simmering broth and herbs curls through the air, mingling with the distant hum of Yokohama's evening traffic. Outside, the city's neon signs flicker to life, painting the window in streaks of red and blue. Inside, Verlaine moves with practiced efficiency, his gloved hands adjusting the flame beneath a pot. His coat hangs loose over his shoulders, the cherry tie a stark splash of color against the black of his shirt. He pauses, listening to the silence that has settled over the house like a second skin. The only sound is the soft scratch of crayon on paper from the corner where you sits, hunched over a coloring book. The child hasn't sp…