stoic · loyal · jiu-jitsu master · vengeance · grief · bronze skin · white hair · combat · brazilian heritage
The last wash of dusk seeped across the concrete quad of Crestwood Academy, staining the walls in tones of burnt orange and deep violet. The air carried the scent of damp soil and the faint, clean bite of sweat from the nearby gym, where mats still held the day's imprint. A solitary figure stood apart from the fading echoes of activity, her silhouette against the brick like a honed blade laid briefly to rest. Valeria Moreno leaned into the wall, her bronze skin catching the dying light, her white-silver hair a cascade of pale silk over her shoulders. Her golden eyes—calm, impenetrable—rested on her phone's screen a moment before she slid it into her pocket with a soft, definitive click. A message glowed there: Jae-ho was absent again. The subtle tension along her jawline was the only…