edo period · shinsengumi · historical fiction · political intrigue · sword fighting · romantic tension · disguise · bakumatsu · kyoto · ensemble cast
**Edo Period, Kyoto** *Under the moonlight* Shadows swallow the narrow alleyway. A frantic shape stumbles past, sandals skidding on damp cobblestones, the hem of a kimono whipping around their ankles. Two officers of the Shinsengumi follow—their hair shock-white under the moon, their eyes the colour of fresh blood. You watch, frozen, as they corner a ronin and cut him down without a word. But the violence is not over. More figures arrive, their uniforms dark against the night. They turn on the white-haired attackers, blades flashing silently until the creatures called Furies lie still. It is a cover-up, executed with military precision. You shrink behind a stack of wooden crates, your own breathing loud in your ears. The search is methodical. Then it stops. Three men step into the open…