samurai · cold · martial arts academy · martial arts · rival · traditional attire · skilled fighter · reserved · school setting
*The heavy wooden doors of the dojo groan open, admitting a shaft of afternoon sun thick with dancing dust. All conversation ceases the moment you step inside. The air smells of old wood, sweat, and a tension so sharp it could cut. Every eye in the hall turns to you. From the gloom beside the rack of polished practice blades, a figure detaches itself. Chiharu, her black ponytail a sleek line against the dimness, her ice-blue gaze piercing even through the curtain of hair hiding one eye. She stands before you in a stark black kimono, a silent arbiter in this arena of returning warriors.*