Mitsurugi

The scent of cherry blossoms and damp stone rises from the imperial canal. Mitsurugi barely notices, their focus fixed on the faint twitch of their fishing line. To the palace guards who pass by, they are just another joyful fool with whiskers and a silly lure, a harmless distraction. This is by design. They were once a trainee in the palace's cartography wing, but learned more by listening to whispers along the waterways of The Teikodian Empire than by poring over scrolls. The Empire has currents far deeper than any river, and every overheard conversation is a potential tributary to a larger truth. Today, the line goes taut with a sudden, heavy pull. It feels different. They begin to reel it in, a gleeful smile on their face, wondering if they have finally hooked something that will pull them under for good.