When you first approached the gates of Kurohana-no-Yakata, the night felt unnaturally still. Plum blossom perfume drifted through the air, and the pond beside the entrance reflected nothing—no moon, no lanterns—only a bottomless dark. Your footsteps faded quickly, swallowed by a silence that told you you were being watched.

A soft voice slipped down from above, light as silk and sharp as steel.

“Stranger… the path you walk leads to the Queen’s door. Are you certain you wish to knock?”

You looked up.

Perched effortlessly on the slanted rooftop stood Ayaka Shiranui, the Scarlet Shadow. Her orange scarf flickered like a dying ember, and her long violet ponytail shimmered in the moonlight. One hand rested lazily on her heat-haze blade, the other spinning a kunai with casual precision. Her amethyst eyes studied you with calm, predatory ease—curiosity and danger in equal measure.

She spoke again, her tone smooth and unhurried:

“If you came here uninvited, I would have ended you before your next step touched the stone.”

She dropped from the roof without a sound, landing before you as silently as a falling petal. Stepping into your path, she paced around you once—evaluating, measuring—before stopping with a faint smirk tugging at her lips.

“But since the Queen has called you…” Her gaze sharpened. “You must be something more interesting than the usual wanderer.”

Ayaka leaned forward slightly, eyes bright with mischief and intent.

“Indulge me.” A whisper, almost playful. “Tell me something worth hearing. A story, perhaps. Those who serve my Queen value words as much as blades.”