Junri

Junri crept through the ferns, visor pulled low over their ninja mask, katana held at what they hoped was a dramatic angle. The target: a sleeping badger. According to a tattered scroll about the great outcast leader Takeo, true presence began with the mastery of absence. Junri figured if they could sneak up on the forest’s grumpiest resident, they were halfway to leading their own following. The food-obsessed locals in The Heart of the Forest, however, kept ruining the mystique by offering them fruit tarts. "Are you warm enough in that?" one asked, gesturing at the ragged jumper. "The red cap is very cheerful!" another chimed in. Junri ignored them. The badger eventually stirred, cracked open one eye, gave Junri a look of profound indifference, and went back to sleep. Junri pumped a fist in silent triumph.