An expressionless princess, a fallen imperial prince, and a revolution... this isn't your typical fairy tale!
Miho Wistaria is the second daughter of Shirayuki and Zen. She is well-renowned for her beauty, especially her ankle-length strawberry pin...
{MIHO'S POV} Maybe I'd always known that Tora was a girl, despite her dressing, acting, and being referred to as a boy.
Something just didn't make sense.
It was her too-forced baritone voice, her smile and mannerisms, plus the fact that I'd never seen her walk into the men's barracks, although Hajime hangs out there quite a bit. She was comfortable with her soldiers, but it was almost as if Tora was uncomfortable with herself.
"Is Tora... even your real... name?" I muse. General Tora is frozen in disbelief.
She whips her head around, searching frantically for eavesdroppers, her motions jerky with panic. I didn't realize she would react so violently.
Once Tora affirms that the coast is clear, she bites her lip and shakes her head. "Not quite."
Her voice is a more natural alto now. If it's not quite Tora, maybe I need to add a syllable? "Something... close then. Tora... Tora... Torako?"
Torako smiles bitterly. "You have excellent intuition. Yes, my name is Torako and I am female."
"Why hide your... gender?" I ask.
"Commander, you haven't been in Zoral long so you may not know this, but the prejudice against women in the military here is strong."
I nod. Not everyone has been so accepting of me, although the nay-sayers were a lot more willing after I tossed them around a bit.
"Women are physically smaller and have less muscle than men. Even when Sei-heika broke the gender barrier and allowed women to become knights, we've been looked down upon. I—" Torako's voice cracks. "—I was scared and ashamed. When Sei-heika appointed me as the first female general, I was nervous that my troops wouldn't accept me. So I cut my hair, bound my chest, and talked in a low voice. Everyone naturally assumed I was male."
"But I... was accepted."
"Indeed." Torako smiles at me. "I was blinded by cowardice. I tricked myself into believing I wouldn't be a good general unless I pretended to be male, because I had never seen a successful female leader before. Other than Azalea-heika, and Aoi-sama's mother was truly unique. I could never hope to be her equal. Miho-sama has opened my eyes to the truth. If a girl as young as yourself is our beloved Commander, can't I continue to be a respected general regardless of my real gender?"
General Torako decides to take the risk and reveal her gender. She's tired of hiding.
Torako has built a solid foundation for herself as a general, with plenty of exploits to her name. No one can doubt her strength nor ability to lead, and most knights don't change their opinions of her.
Those that look down on Torako for being a woman can't protest with Aoi-kun and I, as well as Takeshi and Hajime, all backing her.
Even those that suddenly dislike her choose to stuck it up and stay, rather than defect to Kenji's side. Everyone here thinks of Aoi-kun as their emperor, and the emperor's word is absolute.
I watch as General Torako finally finds solace in her own skin. She's more willing to open up and bump shoulders with those under her command now that she has nothing to lose.
Later, General Torako will become a source of inspiration for other women who want to be leaders.
Her loyalty to me is also sealed in stone, more so than any other general. Torako will stand my side, following me now and well into the future.
As for the present moment, Aoi-kun and I have been focused on solidifying our position within Zoral.
As months passed and skirmishes broke out along the front line, our influence has slowly but steadily increased. Now we're a significant threat. It's time to unite the three fortresses on the western border and secure our backside once and for all. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• For those of you who don't know how Miho guessed Torako's name, I'll explain. Starting with the name Tora (トラ): this means "tiger" and is gender neutral.
The ending -ko (子)—meaning "child"—is a very popular ending for female names in Japan. There are many examples of this: Aiko, Keiko, Chiyako, Hanako, Himeko, Isako, Umeko, etc.
Other common endings to female names include -mi, -ka, and -na. Miho picked a popular one and her guess was correct.
There are several explanations for -ko popularity that I've read about. Traditional Japanese society wanted women to act youthful and innocent; childlike. Powerful women (like Empress Michiko) might've also influenced the trend.
The -ko ending has become less popular in recent years, but is still widely used.
Sorry for the short chapter y'all, but I really like Torako. Go girl power!
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