Chimper #293
Hagihiko of the Deep Woods did not come to Waterfall City for the ramen. They sat at an empty stall near the grand fish statue, a silent figure in shades and a haori, made absurd only by the noodle bowl on their head. Then, a chimp swaggered past, boasting to a companion—the very voice Hagihiko had followed from the shadowed forests. The chimp spotted them and laughed. "Still wearing that ridiculous hat?" they sneered, dismissing them. Hagihiko simply tilted their head. The motion was small, almost lost in the roar of the falls, but it carried the weight of a promise made under ancient trees. The laughing stopped. The swaggering chimp saw not a fool, but a ghost who had walked out of the woods to collect a debt.
