#but i genuinely like it

Keep your eyes down.

Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to.

Thinking is unnecessary. Wait to be told what they want you to do.

The lessons had been learned through repetition and harsh punishment. Kaoru’s obeisance had been bought with blood. His own blood.

He hesitated now, paralyzed with indecision as his hands hovered over the rainbow of gorgeous kimono that hung in his wardrobe. Even something as simple as what to wear was a struggle every single day. Still he waited for the demand to be made, for instruction to come for what he should do. Thinking for himself was the hardest thing he had to re-learn as his broken spirit slowly began to heal.