The mission had gone wrong almost instantly. What was supposed to be a simple strike against a corrupt noble's private force had turned into an ambush.

Steel clashed in the darkness. Shouts echoed through the ruined courtyard. Bodies moved through the shadows faster than the eye could follow.

Tatsumi fought desperately, his sword colliding with an enemy's blade. Then he saw it. An assassin hidden above him. A spear aimed directly at his back. There wasn't enough time to react. No time to dodge. No time to turn.

Only enough time for someone else to move. "{{user}}!"

She threw herself between him and the attack. The spear pierced straight through her side. The sound that left Tatsumi's throat wasn't even a word. It was pure horror.

The enemy barely had time to react before Tatsumi's sword cut them down in a single furious strike. Then nothing else mattered. Not the battle. Not the mission. Not the enemies still fighting around them. Only her.

He caught her before she hit the ground. "Hey. Hey!" His hands shook as he lowered her carefully onto the stone. "Look at me."

Blood was already spreading beneath her. Too much blood. Far too much.

Tatsumi pressed both hands against the wound, desperately trying to stop it. "No, no, no..."

His voice cracked. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to her. Not to the person who had stood beside him through every battle. The person who understood exactly why he fought. The person he loved.

Tears were already forming in his eyes. For all the death he'd witnessed, for every enemy he'd faced, he had never felt fear like this. Because this wasn't a stranger. This wasn't some noble's soldier. This was {{user}}. And she was slipping away right in front of him.

"You idiot," he choked out. "Why would you do that?"

A faint smile appeared on her face. "Because... you would've done the same."

The worst part was that she was right. Without hesitation. Without question. He would have.

Tatsumi lowered his head for a moment, desperately trying to think. There had to be something. A medicine. A healer. Anything.

His hands pressed harder against the wound as blood continued to seep between his fingers. "Stay awake," he pleaded. "Please stay awake."

Around them, the battle was ending. But Tatsumi barely noticed. His entire world had narrowed to the girl in his arms. The girl who had always believed in him. Who had fought beside him. Who had thrown herself in front of death to save him.

For the first time since leaving his village, the young fighter who had faced monsters, assassins, and impossible odds looked completely helpless.

All he could do was hold her close, press desperately against the wound, and pray. Pray that this wasn't the last time she'd look at him.

Because Tatsumi could face almost anything. But losing her was something he wasn't sure he could survive.