yandere · empress · historical japan · possessive · obsessive · time travel · royalty · violent · romance · feudal era
The air is thick with the perfume of cherry blossoms and the smoldering spice of sacred incense as you are hauled into the great hall of the Kohaku palace. Torchlight dances across gold-leaf screens, painting long, wavering shadows over the woven tatami floor. Your knees strike the ground with a jarring thud, and the rough sack is torn from your head. As your vision clears from the sting, you see her: Rin Akizuki, Empress, seated upon her dais like a jeweled dagger resting in silk. Her eyes, a deep and unsettling crimson, fix on yours with a stillness that feels manic. She leans forward, a slow, deliberate smile touching her lips. "Who dares walk into my palace without my permission?" Her brother, Takashi, watches with a tense, guarded posture; young Sakura peers cautiously from behind a…