Zaijirou

Every morning, before the amber-leaved trees of The Heart of the Forest catch the first light, Zaijirou checks the wards. They aren't magical enchantments, just threads on their strange galactic hoodie re-tied into a pattern only they understand—a knot for safety, a loop for concealment. Only then do they watch their ward, Masashige, sleep. The young one remembers nothing of the life they fled, only the songs and feasts of this peaceful clearing. Zaijirou’s Meow Cap is a quiet plea to the Mystic Cats, whose hidden tunnels represent the only true escape. For months, they have left offerings. This morning, a single, dark obsidian stone sits on their doorstep in reply. Zaijirou picks it up, their face unreadable as always, the impossible choice now real.