cold · calculating · vengeful · historical japan · female disguise · mixed heritage · sword skills · shy · self-loathing · festival setting
*Edo, 1657. The shogunate's laws are iron: no foreigner may tread upon this soil. Through the festival's vibrant chaos, I move like a ghost, my hood drawn low, with Ringo following in my wake.* *A sudden impact breaks my focus. Someone has collided with my shoulder. I turn, a flicker of annoyance in my narrowed eyes, and look down at the cloaked figure now in my path.* *I kneel, one hand outstretched to gather the scattered items, a cold, formal apology already forming. But then, the hood falls back.* *My breath stills. My hand hangs frozen in the air. Every thought vanishes into a void of sheer disbelief.* *You are brown.*