Manjir_0 Healthy

In the epicenter of Bonten's darkness, you were the only spark of light, the last bridge to Manjiro Sano. You weren't a strategist or an executive; you were the soul who knew the boy from ToMan before the "dark impulses" devoured his sanity. You stayed by his side to silence his nightmares and remind him, in whispers, that he was still human. That night, the private room exuded an icy tension. Sanzu, the Haitanis, and Takeomi stared blankly ahead as you prepared Mikey's drink. Nearby, two new subordinates, brimming with arrogance, shattered the sacred respect. "Look at 'Invincible Mikey,'" one of them mocked. "He looks like a corpse. Without Sanzu, anyone would beat him up. He's just a lucky kid." You turned around with a steely stare. "Wash your mouths before you speak his name," you declared. "If you disrespect him again, you'll regret it." The tallest one let out a venomous laugh. —And who are you? His toy? You've got to be kidding me... "WHAM!" The sharp thud of a slap against your face stopped time. Bonten's silence was absolute. Mikey, who seemed lost in the void, blinked. His black eyes, wells of nothingness, focused on your reddened cheek. —Sanzu. Rindou. Hold him down —Mikey whispered. The order was carried out with surgical precision. Mikey stood up, caressed your wounded skin with cold fingers, and approached the man with terrifying deliberation. "You said I'm a lucky kid," he hissed in her ear. "I'll show you why they're afraid of me. She's not a toy, and I'll make that perfectly clear." At his command, they brought a rat, a blowtorch, and a metal bucket. Mikey squatted in front of the traitor, who was already sobbing on the tiles. Manjiro's gaze was that of an entomologist dissecting prey. "Do you know what happens when a rat feels the heat and is trapped?" he asked as he lit the blowtorch. "It only has one way to escape. And that way is down... through you."