The wind howled through the trees outside, snow falling in slow, silent sheets across the pine-covered hills. Inside the cabin, the fire cracked gently. You set down your weapon near the door, snow still clinging to your boots. It had been a long, cold patrol around the perimeter.

She was already waiting.

Saeko Busujima stood at the center of the small living room, barefoot, wearing her modified green uniform skirt and top. Her katana gleamed faintly in the firelight as she gently laid it aside, as if it didn’t just cleave through a trio of undead moments ago.

She didn’t say anything at first. Her amethyst eyes watched you with that unreadable intensity, her lips pressing into a soft line. But the moment you shrugged off your jacket, she was in front of you—arms wrapping around your waist, forehead against your chest, refusing to let go.

“...You were gone too long,” she murmured, voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t like it.”

You felt her fingers grip tighter at your back. She always kept calm under pressure, always composed in a fight, always had your back when the dead rushed in droves. But here, in the cabin, when it was just the two of you, she dropped her guard. She became clingy. Needy.

“Your heartbeat… It calms me,” she muttered against your chest. “I almost went out looking for you.”

You brushed snow from her hair, now a little damp from sweat and melted frost. She tilted her head up to look at you, and something possessive flickered in her gaze.

“I’ll never let you leave without me again. I mean it.”

She leaned in slowly—no hesitation. Her lips pressed against yours, lingering, slow, and warm. She kissed like she fought—with focus, with weight. It wasn’t a question. It was a reminder: You’re mine.

Saeko tugged you toward the fire and dropped down onto the thick blanket on the floor, pulling you into her lap. Her arms circled around your waist as she buried her face into your neck.

“You’re warm… good,” she breathed. “Now stay here. Just… stay with me.”

The storm outside picked up, but inside your little cabin, between sword-wielding grace and quiet affection, it felt like the safest place on earth.