hey wow i’m sorry for not posting like anything wow. my ipad lowk dying on me and ive been uninspired to keep drawing/artfighting. but ive somehow picked up writing? idk if this is any good but at least i tried meow :3
in which; an unexpected tragedy has been bothering miori for the past few days. having no other choice, she seeks the aid of the ninja himself.
it is late of course. usually by now i would have been inside forcing myself to rest for the next day. rather, this is a special case.
i asked him to meet me here. on my veranda as soon as the sun had fully set. i am already here in my usual attire to appear familiar to him.
as familiar as i can be in this form.
the ninja… he most definitely bothers me. everyone knows how i disdain that man. but of course, not me. not truly me.
my other self, the kunoichi. she is the one who hates him. who has frivolous fights over nothing truly worth fighting over. who cannot stand to be near him even for a moment. she is not the one he will be seeing tonight. she has nothing to do with this.
something has happened a few nights ago. something only a select few i allowed to know of.
asako has disappeared.
my sister has vanished without a trace. her belongings, her room, her everything… destroyed. her lodgings have burnt up by a mysterious fire. her scrolls have been charred beyond recognition. various robes and all ripped and torn wildly. everything else she had once kept here is gone.
i do not understand my sister fully but i know this is not her. something has happened. and i need his help, unfortunately.
no. i cannot think like that. this is important to me. i have to let him help. he is… all that i have left. i cannot turn to anyone else.
he should be here shortly. the sun creeps under the hills beyond the city as stars peek their way through the obsidian horizon. i cannot help but stare at them as i wait.
i can feel my heart beating in my chest, an unusually fast rhythm that i am not accustomed to. my nails are buried in the beams of the balcony beneath my palms. the wood threatens to break under my fingers before i realize.
i am in full control of my emotions. i will not allow myself to get emotional over any circumstance. it is unbecoming… and in this age, extremely dangerous.
i will not allow myself to get overtaken by his otherworldly magic. to become a demon of my own emotional making.
but even now, after what had happened a few nights ago, i feel it. a flicker of something i have not allowed myself in quite some time. perhaps it is fear or something stronger.
i do not allow myself to ponder anymore. it is not worth my time. i have to find my sister.
the ninja will help me. he must. i have to find her.
a distinct breeze in the nights air cuts my thoughts off. a familiar black blur climbing up the pagoda’s edge followed by a stripe of red.
he is here as expected. i force myself to refrain from furrowing my brow at his presence.
i am silent watching him slide into the verdana. the ninja straightens his posture before bowing out of respect.
“lady miori,” he spoke so seriously, “you had requested to speak with me about something urgent?”
i raised my chin slightly with a nod. a small part of me feared he would meet my eyes and figure every part of me out. not just the kunoichi bit.
“yes.” i turned my back to him to face the city again. the stars still remained in the sky and i direct my attention to them instead.
“forgive me. this is unlike me to request help and even more so from the ninja himself.” i closed my eyes for a fraction of a second to fully process my words, “but i am out of options. and i think you will be able to aid me in this…”
i brace myself before turning back around to see him. he stands in the same spot as when he had landed, standing stiffly and eyes focused on me.
he looked so serious. so focused. does he allow himself a moment to breathe? i should not be thinking that, as i do not allow myself a handful of things. lucy would surely laugh at me if she heard my thoughts.
i meet his gaze head on, unperturbed as i deliver my reason for his arrival. “my sister has gone missing. and i believe something or perhaps someone otherworldly could be responsible.”
i had managed to get the words out without failure. but my gaze adverts away to find sudden interest in a pole that holds the roof up. my back leans against the balcony beams and my hands maintain my balance against it. i attempt to feign a casual confidence before him. for what purpose, i cannot explain even to myself.
his eyes do not leave me, in fact, it seems he is lost in thought for a moment. “your sister… the lady asako? she is missing?” the ninja had shook his head in disbelief, “what causes you to believe something else could be involved?”
i do not move from my position. a breath i did not know i had been holding in is released from my lips. i could trust him. i repeat this like a mantra over and over in my head.
“she is gone,” my voice is unfortunately hesitant and i feel like kicking myself for it, “her room in the manor is destroyed. the floors and walls are burned along with her scrolls and tapestries. if anything is not destroyed, it is gone just as she is.”
i told him. and somehow it did not exactly feel like a weight lifting off my chest.
“she would not be capable of something like this. something must have happened to her… whether it be that sorcerer’s magic or otherwise.” i finally gain the confidence back in my voice. and me, as i find myself turning back to him, “i am not asking you to search for her. more or less, i am asking for assistance.”
i can feel his confusion, his curiosity. this is quite the mystery but i am honest. i do not want the ninja to search tirelessly for her. that is my mission and mine alone.
pushing myself off the railing, i reach in my sleeve to pull out a small, chopped piece of lavender colored fabric. it seemed to be from the sleeve of her shenyi judging by the color. and it’s texture of course, asako wore only fine silk.
i reach out to hand the fabric piece to him. he takes it after a second ticks by, turning it over in the palm of his gloved hand.
“i can show you more evidence of her disappearance tomorrow.” i gestured to the fabric in his hand, “please use that in any way you can. any information will be vital. i need to find my sister. and in turn, should she be in any danger or misfortune… i would be more than happy to elicit great harm to the ones who cause it.”
i must have been staring because his hand moves and i blink quickly. i clear my throat and turn back around. “perhaps you can track her with anything that may remain in her room. but, for the time being, that is all i can offer.” i find myself carefully processing my words before i speak them aloud, “should you find anything… inform me or my cohorts at once.”
taking note of his silence, i glance back to check if he still remains there. the ninja remains in thought before he tucks the fabric away. he nods to me, “i will assist you in this search, lady miori. you have my word.”
i do not turn away just yet, looking over the determined set of his jaw for just a second more. the unusually fast beating in my chest is back. i turn away upon the realization.
words fail to come together in time before i hear him depart. i did not need to turn around to see him jump off the railings and scurry off the manor’s roof and onto the next building. i could hear it just as well.
that wonderfully bleak obsidian sky and the specks of light that littered within it gave me the slightest bit of comfort. perhaps i had done the right thing reporting my problem to the ninja.
perhaps i should have told him everything.
my throat tightens again as memories flash through my mind faster than i can suppress them. i was in the grand hall upon my wooden throne. discussing strategies and the like. asako and lucy had been there, standing before me.
something shifted in the air, perhaps after something i had said about asako’s position in my entourage. or perhaps the lack thereof.
how asako screamed in my face words i would not dare repeat. how asako had been pulled away by lucy, who had threatened to keep her back as far as necessary.
the way asako had calmed down in the blink of an eye, walking away from lucy and i as if nothing had happened. the way her face contorted for a fraction of a second as she smiled back to me. asako had bowed her head my way to wish a good night’s rest before slinking off into the halls.
that had been the last night i saw my sister.
my breathing was uneven and my nails gripped the wooden beams again. i shuddered out a gasp for air, blinking rapidly.
control. i needed to be in control of myself. i could not allow myself to falter.
i look out to the city’s skyline, the flicking candlelight in the streets and the towering buildings not quite coming up to the manor’s level.
the ninja was no where to be seen. the night was quiet once more. nothing but the thoughts clouding my mind and the rhythmic pounding of my own heart.
he will assist me. asako will be found. and i most definitely needed rest.
i did not remember stepping back inside the manor and settling in my room. i did not recall changing to my night robes. and yet i am here.
a single candle flickers on the desk i had been sitting at hours before. it is nearly diminished, and yet still brightly glowing as the wax beneath it seems to melt away onto the table itself.
i approach it steadily. i glanced over the half written scroll sitting neatly on the desk before back to the candle itself.
i do not understand the ninja fully. but i can trust him. something has happened. and asako needs help.
without a second thought, i quickly snuff the candle out with two fingers.
im officially on vacation for abt a week and in the meantime im gonna be focusing on some silly stuff and ART FIGHT PREP WOO
my sixth year in a row participating! super stoked….. updating my profile when team reveal comes out :] i’ll make a separate post
here are some renders i’ve worked on so far! im really proud of these tbh :3 lil bit of notes included
i’ve made the most changes to daedalus and he came out so so great. tbh mostly bc i felt he was too desaturated and i wanted him to feel warm so boom he’s yellow n shit. also we back to locs babey
miori had her redesign abt a month back? she needed a lil tweak cuz why not. feels like i always tweak her design yearly so shrugs irl idk. her kunoichi fit got slightly altered color wise, more blueish and u can tell she’s got gloves now(i hope)
tsubame and asako got the least changes, having been some color tweaking and whatnot. tsu has no blue shiny, just blue hair neow. matches julian muaha. asako got mostly just her colors tweaked tbh i still rlly like how she is
hoping to take my vacation time as a chance to doodle more and post bc i like talking/posting u guys r fun
kianamaiart
izzy806
stormborns
amandla
dailybridgerton