"I can offer you and your daughter absolute protection, so you no longer have to wander from place to place, living in fear. I can give your daughter the best education and training, so she can master her own power instead of following in your footsteps. I can even invest resources into studying your ability and try to find safer, more efficient ways to use it."
"But!"
Uchiha Makoto lowered his voice slightly, his tone carrying an unquestionable weight.
"All of this comes with one condition: absolute loyalty and obedience. From this day forward, you and your daughter are mine. Your lives, your abilities, everything you have belongs to me, to command as I see fit."
"In exchange, you will receive protection, opportunities to grow, and a future where saving someone may no longer require letting them bite you."
"So, Shiori," Uchiha Makoto leaned forward slightly, his gaze blazing, "what will you choose?"
"Will you cling to that little bit of self-sacrificing kindness, scraping by in fear that one day you'll be exposed and drained to death, unable to protect anyone?"
"Or will you entrust your life and ability to me in exchange for a future where you're truly strong and capable of protecting your daughter?"
Silence filled the medical room, broken only by the faint hum of the equipment.
The color drained from Shiori's face, and her lips trembled slightly. The choice was so heavy that it almost felt as though her soul had been placed on a scale.
She instinctively looked at the ugly scars on her arms. Then, as though she could see through the wall, she looked toward the next room, where the daughter she treasured as much as her own life was quietly playing.
After a long while, she drew a deep breath, as though