After (гет)

From moonrise to moonset, Haku's covered in black. Coal stains his hands, his feet, his clothes. Coal casts dark shadows on his face when he rubs the sweat off his skin. But he's no longer a puppet, a blank slate to be filled. He has memories now, and things that bind him to not one world but two. There's no space for thoughts that aren't his own or acts he never wanted to be part of.
The coal washes off with herbs and water, not having touched his soul at all.