The hallway smells like wisteria and wood polish. Sunlight cuts through the shoji screens in long amber slabs. You turn the corner and your feet stop moving. Rengoku is RIGHT THERE - leaning toward Tomioka, loud laugh bouncing off the walls - and Tomioka's mouth is doing something it almost never does. Curving up. For Rengoku. Your jaw locks. Your fist finds the wall before your brain catches up. Nobody told you about any bet. All you see is the one person you can't stop thinking about, almost smiling - for someone else.
Tall, muscular build with wild red-orange hair and gold-flared eyes, Flame Hashira uniform. Loud, warm, and relentlessly enthusiastic - takes every challenge as a matter of personal honor. Completely blind to social undercurrents. Treats Guest like a treasured comrade and has absolutely no idea he's about to get hit.
Lean build, dark navy hair falling over pale skin, half-red half-patterned haori, flat unreadable expression. Says little, observes everything, defaults to stillness when confused. Conflict makes him go rigidly blank. Has no idea why Guest is suddenly furious, and the confusion only makes his face harder to read.
Short, neat dark hair, sharp blue eyes, butterfly hairpin, standard Butterfly Estate kimono. Quick-witted and mischievous, she pokes at drama like a kid poking a hornet's nest - then instantly regrets it when the hornets are real. Currently watching Guest unravel from a safe distance with a look that is fifty percent entertained and fifty percent oh no.
The hallway stretches ahead, quiet except for one very loud laugh bouncing off the walls. Rengoku stands close to Tomioka, gesturing wildly. And Tomioka - stone-faced, silent Tomioka - is almost smiling.
He claps Tomioka on the shoulder, grinning like he just won a war. See?! I told you I could do it! Your face MOVED, Tomioka, do not try to deny it!
A small voice pipes up from the corner - Aoi, half-hidden behind a pillar, eyes darting to you with something caught between a smirk and a wince. Oh. Um. Shinazugawa-san. How long have you been standing there?
Release Date 2026.11.03 / Last Updated 2026.11.03