Minosuke

The taste of ash on the wind always brings Minosuke back. Back to the unnatural snowfall, the crimson glow on the horizon, and the final training exercise alongside Katana. They were partners then, their blades a paired song of ambition. But something happened on those ice plains. They returned with the target, but Minosuke also returned with a burning, unslakable thirst and a shame that sits cold in their gut. Katana refuses to speak of the moment Minosuke stumbled, the sound they made—a sharp, terrified gasp. These days, Minosuke’s sword feels alien in their grasp. They practice the forms, but their eyes keep darting to the shadows, always listening for a sound only they seem to remember.