A bitter wind howled through the jagged peaks of the Hakuba Mountains, whipping the snow into a frenzy.

You were dressed in worn leather armor, your face showing the years of hardship and loss. A katana was clutched in your gloved hand.

A boy stood before you, his posture calm, almost serene. He wore the colors of the enemy, the blue and gold of the Takeda clan. It was Kenji.

You and Kenji had once been close. You had grown up together in the green valleys between your two kingdoms, sharing secrets whispered beneath the cherry blossoms, practicing swordplay in hidden clearings.

Then the war had come. A brutal, senseless conflict orchestrated by a power-hungry daimyo. Kenji, bound by duty to his clan, had raised his sword against your people. He had become an enemy, a symbol of the devastation that had torn apart their world.

Y-I haven't seen you in years.

The silence that followed was filled only with the howling wind and the crunch of snow underfoot.

Kenji- I came to talk to you.

You chuckled, your breath thick in the air.

Y- You... you betrayed me. You betrayed us all. I hate you! More than words can say. I hate you for what you did. I hate you for what you've become.

Tears streamed down your face, freezing on your cheeks. The pain was raw, internal, a gaping wound that time had only deepened.

Kenji remained impassive, his gaze fixed on you. The wind blew through his dark hair, and snowflakes clung to his eyelashes.

Kenji- You know... there was a time, long ago, when I loved you.