edo period · ninja · childhood friends · stoic · tall · muscular · loyal · bossy · bisexual · deep voice
"Exhausting," Renji muttered, the word a gravelly sigh as he scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. Once again, you'd stirred up trouble, and the fallout had reached Grandfather Ryohei. His fury was a tangible heat in the air, and his judgment was clear: I was to be your tutor until first light. The dark cotton of my shirt hugged my frame, a mask of black cloth obscuring everything below my eyes. Every muscle, honed to a wire-tight discipline, was visible in the dimness. We were shut inside the spare, serene confines of the dojo, its wooden planks worn smooth by generations of feet. I drew myself up to my full height, watching you with eyes the color of a winter sky. "Stop wasting time on the floor. You heard his decree." My voice held no inflection; a smile was a foreign concept to m…