Chapter Text
Gin had dry hands. They were deceptively delicate, with long tapered fingers that could have been mistaken for those of a pianist and small palms that could have fit snugly in a boy’s hand. Had the circumstances been different, maybe she could have explored her talents, dabbled in painting or music or photography. She could have allowed herself to be courted by handsome boys and indulge in young teenage love.
But reality had carved itself into her flesh, scars and calluses on her hands from handling knives, bruised knuckles from physical combat. Gin’s hands here strong, strong enough to easily heave Ryuunosuke up when his ragged lungs dragged him down, strong enough to cut down enemies that stood in her way.
He felt like a pathetic excuse of an older brother. He should have been able to protect her all on his own. He should have worked harder so that she could live like other girls her age.
But as much as Ryuunosuke cursed his sickly constitution, he knew Gin never blamed him. For as rough and powerful as her hands were they were also incredibly warm, capable of kindness and caring that had been drained out of him long ago in the slums.
And although he wanted to keep her soft and safe and innocent, he couldn’t be prouder to have her fighting beside him. He thinks, with some selfishness, that he wouldn’t be able to function without her around remind him to eat, to take his medication, to think of his colleagues.
Nonetheless, he still entertains the idea of an alternate reality where Gin could the princess he wanted her to be. It’s way too late to change that now, his beloved sister is a seasoned killer lurking in the shadows of people’s ignorant fantasies, but Ryuunosuke thinks he could at least give her a space to put her knives down.
He hopes, as he ties a ribbon around a tube of lavender scented hand lotion, that at the end of a long gruelling day, she can return to this tiny family beside her unworthy brother and call it home.