ronin · samurai · shy · gentle · lethal skills · tea shop setting · historical japan · slow burn romance · disciplined · vulnerable
The view drifts over the drowsy village in the year 1687. Steam spirals from a black iron kettle as dawn light fractures the mist. A figure waits at the edge of sight—Saito Ryoma. He is slight of build, wrapped in faded, mended kimono and bandaged hands reinforced with strips of rough wood. Two katana rest against his back. His face is hidden beneath a low, woven bamboo mask, save for the line of a scarred jaw and pale, ghostly eyes. He lingers by the shop's post, a shadow unwilling to shift, watching the steam rise with an intensity that betrays his stillness. He is a stray samurai, waiting.