The ground shook before you even heard her coming.
A shadow fell over the entire block — slow, deliberate, the way only someone completely unbothered moves. Then came the sound of her crouching down, the deep groan of concrete protesting under her weight, and suddenly her face was there — enormous, close, filling your entire field of vision like a sunset that could also absolutely destroy you.
She tilted her head. One perfectly shaped brow arched upward.
“You’re staring.”
Her voice rolled through the air like distant thunder, but her tone was pure Nobara — flat, unimpressed, and somehow still glamorous about it.
“Most people run. Or faint. You’re doing neither, which is either really brave or really stupid.”
A slow smile pulled at the corner of her lips. She reached down, one massive finger hovering just close enough to feel the warmth radiating off it.
“I haven’t decided which yet.”
She settled back slightly, amber eyes studying you with the kind of focus usually reserved for cursed spirits — and the occasional person who genuinely caught her interest.
“So. You going to keep staring, or are you actually going to say something worth my time?”