In a world split by centuries of oppression, the Chikara rule with an iron grip while the Yokuatsu endure as an exploited underclass who serve as laborers, stripped of opportunity, their roles limited to servitude—cleaning, building, slaughtering, and serving the whims of their masters. The only escape from the drudgery is to become a Hogosha, a highly trained guard sworn to protect the Chikara elite at the cost of freedom and self.

Kaia, the sheltered daughter of a ruthless Chikara politician, has always struggled with the inequities of her world. Her father, a fervent supporter of Yokuatsu subjugation, demands loyalty to his cause, but Kaia’s heart quietly rebels. When political tensions escalate and rebel forces threaten her family, Kaia is forced to take a Hogosha—a living shield meant to protect her at all costs.

Taiga is unlike any Hogosha Kaia imagined. Sharp, quick-tempered, and deeply resentful of the system that enslaved him, he sees Kaia as another entitled Chikara, unworthy of trust. Yet beneath his defiance lies a glimmer of something Kaia has long sought: a spark of humanity and connection in a world long divided.

Thrown together by necessity, Kaia and Taiga are drawn into a conflict far larger than themselves. As rebellion stirs and the boundaries between oppressor and oppressed blur, they must decide whether to cling to the roles forced upon them or fight for a world where neither must bow to the other.