A young maiden with long, flowing hair sat down on a bench. She was wearing a black yukata with red, floral designs. It was one of her favorite kimonos, given to her by a friend. Tied on her hair was a pair of yellow butterfly hairpins.
It was morning but the city of Payon was in an uproar. Her eyes squinted as a crowd blocked her line of sight. There were too many people, making it hard for her to see the dragon dance. It was the dragon dance festival and the dragon academy was on the prowl. It had been hours since the students were parading underneath that scary-looking dragon.
"Here you go." The owner of the dango shop said. She was an old lady wearing thick glasses that made her looked like a bookworm. She placed her order besides her.
"Sure is a fine day." The old lady said to the girl.
The girl eyed her but remained silent, watching the events in front of her. The dragon stopped. The crowd yelled. A child fled from the crowd but the dragon cut it off and devoured the child.
She took a bite of her dango.
"Kwon Jun's lucky." The old lady said. The dragon spitted the frightened child out of its mouth and continued to dance towards the main plaza.
The young maiden ignored the old lady, continuing on eating her dango.
The crowd dispersed. The maiden got up, placed her bill on the counter and left the dango store.
As she silently down the road, ignoring the Shinese and foreigners she passed by, the girl checked the sticks she carried inside her sleeves. It was the sticks she got from the dango she just ordered.
Her eyes flashed. The message was clear for the girl.
She discarded it on the canal and continued on her way.