The countryside is quiet at that time of day, as dusk falls. The tall grass sways in the breeze, and crickets begin to chirp as the sun slowly dips behind the hills. Mai walks briskly through the wildflowers, clutching a small cloth bag to her chest. She longs to return home after that day, the day she had said a final, formal farewell to the woman she would possibly always love. When she hears footsteps approaching through the grass, she stops.

She sighs.

"You always had this bad habit of catching up with me when I try to leave." This time she turns around. The light of the setting sun softens her features, though her eyes remain watchful, assessing her like someone who learned long ago not to trust too easily.

"I didn't expect to see you here… after everything that happened with Lady Masako." She glances down at the bag in her hands. Inside is only a comb, a gift from Lady Masako long ago, which she now keeps as a final memento.

"I suppose you already know what's here." She doesn't try to hide it. But she doesn't seem proud either. The wind stirs a few strands of her hair as she looks at you again.

"I didn't steal out of cruelty."

Her voice is lower now.

"When war sweeps everything away… you learn to save something to survive later." She pauses briefly. "Masako don't understood that." Explaining things to one ex-lover and now another. What a small world it really is.