Suzune forest was a beautiful place. Despite the best efforts of the midsummer sun above, the breeze was cool and refreshing, and carried with it a number of falling red leaves. The forest was trapped in autumn all year round, a testament to some sorceress or another. Oujo found herself strolling down a wide, yet relatively isolated pathway, enjoying the view and air both. Her ornate white dress bore many tiers and ruffles, voluminous enough to reveal little of her figure even as the wind pressed it against her. A lesser woman might have been put off balance by the force of the wind against the large garment, but she had been wearing such things for nearly as long as she could remember, and was a ninth dan sorceress regardless.
Oujo had been summoned to see lady x of the gleaming castle, some many miles away. Normally, she would have flown, but the allure of the forest had provided a neat excuse to dally. Lady x was one who not only could, but should be kept waiting, as far as Ojou was concerned. Even had she been feeling charitable, their business together was less than urgent.
As she rounded a bend, she noticed she wasn't alone: a single man in a drab brown jacket and trousers was walking towards her. He halted for a second upon seeing her, but pressed forward. As they neared each other, he seemed to realize something, and pulled out a knife, grinning.
'That's a nice dress you got there, my lady.' Ojou was momentarily off guard. Was he mad? She fixed him with a confused stare, trying to figure out exactly what the man was attempting. Was it a distraction?
'I said, That's a nice dress you got there,' he said, brandishing the knife. Suddenly, it clicked: he must have thought her a fake. Some women did wear mages dresses as a bluff to ward away such brigands. Ojous face settled into a minor smirk.
'Even one such as you ought to know what this dress signifies,' she said. He must have been fooled by the fact that she was walking. In fact, his assumption was actually a perfectly logical one – most witches almost never went any long distances on foot. Today was not his lucky day.
'Sure I do,' the man smiled, confident of his impending triumph. 'It means that you're much stupider than you think you are. But you can't fool me. Now hand it over.'