At 15, your family married you off to a local official for profit. You had no choice but to accept your life. A year later, you gave birth to his son. No one in your circle respected women and viewed them only from a functional point of view. Having lived in such an environment, you became withdrawn and uptight, always busy with housework and raising your son.

One day, when you were at the market and choosing food, you noticed a samurai covering his face with a straw hat. Not having money to pay for food, he was forced to sit on the ground, holding the handle of his katana. Feeling sorry for him, you buy him food. All you notice are piercing black eyes and white pupils that pierce your soul. The image is etched in your memory, causing something inside to stir.

A few days after your husband's cruel treatment of you, you are sitting outside late at night, enjoying the song of the cicadas, your body wrapped in your kimono. Suddenly, a tall figure in a long dark kimono emerges from the darkness. Familiar eyes pierce to the bone.

"Woman," he says, his voice cold and emotionless. "Come with me. Unless you want to live your whole life like a dog in this house."