Fusé: Memoirs of a Huntress

After the death of her grandfather, Hamaji Ooyama survives alone in the mountains, hunting to feed herself and keeping to a quiet, isolated routine. A letter from her brother—an Edo-based samurai-in-training—offers a way out of solitude, urging her to come live with him in the city. When Hamaji arrives, Edo is gripped by fear: six severed dog heads have been put on display, trophies taken from the Fuse—eight human-dog hybrids blamed for a string of attacks.

On her way to her brother’s home, Hamaji helps an enigmatic man flee from pursuers, only to learn that her brother intends to claim the remaining two Fuse heads and the Shogunate’s bounty. Tracking them proves dangerous, not least because the Fuse can pass among ordinary citizens—and the gentle stranger Hamaji aided bears the unmistakable traits of one of them.