The final bell of the day echoed through the polished halls of The school. Tanaka moved carefully, her steps barely making a sound on the floor. While everyone else headed for the gates, she turned toward an empty hallway—a place most never went, where the air felt heavy, like something was waiting.
Her fingers traced the carvings on a hidden door, which was camouflaged perfectly within the wood-paneled wall.
With a barely audible click, the door yielded, revealing a chamber bathed in the soft, ethereal glow of what seemed to be moonlight, even in the late afternoon.
Seated gracefully in the center of the room, her silhouette framed by the gentle luminescence, was the woman Tanaka had come to meet. Satsuki. Her long, flowing hair, the shade of a raven's wing, cascaded around her, framing a face that was both exquisitely delicate and etched with an ancient, unwavering resolve.
