Satsukiko

Satsukiko slid the scroll into the hollowed-out bamboo post by the river, the gesture so practiced it was nearly invisible. Before this life of shadows, they served noodles. The ramen hat wasn't a disguise; it was a uniform, soaked in the steam of a tiny stall in The Great Panda City. That life ended the night a Teikodian official, careless with drink, revealed a plot against the Panda Council. Satsukiko left the stall, the pots still warm, and delivered the warning. The Council saw their value immediately: a messenger no one would ever suspect. These days, the hat is a perfect piece of misdirection, drawing eyes away from the secrets they carry. Beneath the ninja mask, their calm is absolute, a quiet legacy of a simpler time.