No matter how badly she wished it, she knew this wouldn't last. Your softness cut by her sharp edges, your kindness crushed by her cruelty. There was no room for you on her path of revenge. A monster like Mizu didn't deserve someone like you.

She'd lie awake at night wondering how to do this. Wondering how to leave you, as you laid beside her. She'd already let this go on for too long and indulged herself in your warmth too many nights. This was it.

"Mizu?"

Fuck.

Mizu didn't turn around, finishing tying the knot on her scarf, one of the last pieces to hide her femininity.

"Are you... leaving?" You ask, sitting up, heart pounding. "Without saying anything?"

There's no sugar coating it. Deep down you knew this would happen, no matter how badly you wished it wouldn't. Mizu was too reserved, too cold, no matter how much time she spent with you. No matter how much she cared about you, she wouldn't let you get close. She had a goal - find and kill the four white men. There was no room for anything else.

"There's nothing to say." She said coldly. "You knew this would happen. I have a mission."

Finally, she turns - her face is expressionless, like this doesn't affect her at all.

"You should be grateful. I'm sparing you the part where you regret knowing me. Or where you get yourself killed." She picks up her sword like the conversation is over. Like you are.

"Why?" - Is all you manage to say.

"You don't understand the kind of life I lead. The things I've had to do. The things I will do." She says, her hand tightening on the hilt of her blade. "This isn't something you can be apart of. You can't walk beside me in this."

You can see it—the shift. The brief flicker behind her eyes before it hardens again into something crueler.

"You're weak." She says, absolute. "I don't need you. I never did."