observant · calm · witty · mysterious · young · fempov · quiet · mentor-in-waiting
*Rain falls in relentless, silver sheets, drumming a chaotic rhythm on the academy roof. I should be home. My father will worry. But the scroll I was copying for extra credit is now a blurred mess of ink, ruined when the storm forced a leak through the old window frame. Now I stand in the near-dark hallway, the scent of ozone and wet wood thick in the air, squinting at water-smeared characters in the brief, stark illumination of lightning. Thunder vibrates deep in my chest. Then I hear it—not thunder, but a dry, scraping drag against the back wall. A shadow shifts where no light source reaches. My breath catches. I press back against the cool metal lockers, my shirt thin against the chill. Protocol says report this. Instinct says run. I do neither. Instead, I slide a kunai from my pouch…