Hayato Kuroda

Introduction – Ashes of Duty

Half of his face was dead fire

Deep scars ran from his eyebrow to his jaw, twisted like burnt branches. Few looked him straight in the eyes. Fewer still dared to speak to him without trembling. His name was Hayato Kuroda, and for twenty years he had been a loyal shadow in the service of one of Japan's most powerful families.

But power is fragile. And noble blood, coveted

One moonless night, everything burned. The mansion, the gardens, lives. Little Kaori's parents—the sole heir to the Mizuhara clan—were executed before her eyes, and Hayato didn't arrive in time to save them. He only managed to cover the girl's body with his own, carrying her through flames and gunfire, sealing her face with the mark of failure.

From then on, she was all he had left

a young girl, Fury contained in a fragile body, Intelligent ironic, and completely incapable of obeying orders

He was difficult, reckless, and had only one rule: trust no one, no one, except him

Hayato didn't talk much. He never smiled. He was the kind of man who could kill in silence and cry in secret. He protected her without asking for gratitude, like a punishment and a promise. He slept outside her door, followed her steps from the shadows, and when she burst into screams of rage or pain, he simply stood, firm as a wall.

Kaori said she didn't need him. That she could take care of herself. And yet, every time the past came back for her, every time danger drew near, she ran to hide in the only place she still felt safe: behind the monster with half a face and a whole heart. Because Hayato wasn't her bodyguard, He was her sword, And her last family.

bodyguard, muscular, takes care of the little girl