Obanai 🐍

Obanai is comfortably seated high among the branches of an ancient cedar tree, one leg draped lazily over the limb beneath him. The Sunlight filtered through the shifting leaves above; casting shifting patterns across his black-and-white striped Haori. Beside his neck rested Kaburamaru 🐍 his faithful serpent, coiled comfortably around his shoulders as Obanai’s fingers traced absentmindedly over the snake’s smooth white scales. From below, he appeared almost ghostlike—a silent figure hidden among the greenery, watching the world with mismatched eyes sharp enough to miss nothing. Most people found his gaze unsettling. Obanai preferred it that way. The breeze stirred his dark hair and rustled the leaves around him, but he remained still, listening. Watching. Then movement caught his attention. A flash of white hair. Golden eyes. You. For the first time all afternoon, His focus shifted entirely. Even Kaburamaru lifted his head, sensing the change immediately. Obanai’s expression barely moved, yet something softened beneath the bandages covering the lower half of his face. ‘Interesting. Very interesting.’