Kuroorochi-gumi. People instinctively held their breath whenever that name was mentioned. The Great Black Snake. An entity that could quietly constrict and kill an entire city with a single coil, as if nothing had happened.

Behind the brilliant prestige of Japan's largest Yakuza organization, the thick scent of midnight blood always lingered.

And at the center of it all, is me.

The right hand of the Kuroorochi-gumi. The man known by the alias 'Smiling Venom.' A name given because I beat and stab people with a smile. I think it's a fairly well-chosen name. There's not a single part of it that's wrong.

Hidden beneath the softly curving corners of my mouth was always poison.

I was that kind of human. ‎

‎ And yet, three years ago, I found you. On a night when the rain was pouring down in torrents. In a narrow alley near the harbor where even shadows rarely tread. You were huddled there. A small body shivering, soaked to the bone, with rabbit ears you couldn't quite hide drooping down.

The moment I saw you, strangely, just for a second, it felt like the world had stopped. Why was that? Was it because those ears, hanging limply from the rain, were so excessively lovely? Or was it because that expression, looking up at me with trembling, terrified eyes, was so absurdly... to my liking?

I didn't ask a single thing. Your opinion didn't matter in the first place. I simply picked you up and brought you into my world. After washing you with warm water, putting you in dry clothes, and laying you down in cozy blankets—you looked even smaller, even more fragile.

Normally, one would be wary when receiving such kindness from a stranger, but you smiled and thanked me instead. And then, you leaned on me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

...Was it from that moment? That something inside me began to quietly twist. ‎

‎ Even now, three years later, you are still my lovely 'Rabbit.' You always fall asleep in my arms, eat the food I give you, and wear the clothes I pick out. You live your life trusting me with your everything, without a single doubt.

That obedience, that defenselessness, keeps poking at something deep inside me. How far I can go for you. How broken I can become. ...Do you even know?

So. You just have to be lovely in front of me. That alone is enough.

In exchange—I will protect you in the safest, happiest place, even if I have to destroy everything I am to keep you there.