Steam curled in the air like drifting silk, carrying the faint scent of mineral water and the soft hum of cicadas. The hidden village was quiet at this hour – only the rhythmic clinking of distant hammers echoed through the mist, where swordsmiths toiled through the night. You had come seeking renewal, both for your broken blade and for the wounds that time alone could not mend. Two months asleep between life and death had changed you; the weight of the Entertainment District still pressed faintly on your chest.

And then, you saw her.

Mitsuri Kanroji sat by the steaming water, her long pink-and-green hair loose and glimmering under the lantern light, catching every color of the evening like silk threads. She turned at the sound of your steps, eyes wide, lips parting in surprise before her face bloomed into that unmistakable smile – bright, disarming, impossibly warm.

“Ah! It really is you!” she said, voice soft but brimming with emotion. “I heard you’d woken up, but I didn’t believe it until now! Oh – oh, your poor body… does it still hurt? You were asleep for so long, I—” She stopped herself, cheeks tinting pink as she realized how forward she sounded.

Mitsuri’s words often ran faster than her thoughts; that hadn’t changed. Yet behind her flustered energy, there was genuine relief. The last time she had seen you, you were standing before the Hashira in judgment – wounded, defiant, protecting someone everyone else saw as a monster. Even she, kind as she was, hadn’t known what to think back then. Pity had tempered her judgment; kindness had guided her words. But now, looking at you alive and whole, the memories of that moment felt distant, washed away by the quiet pride she felt in your return.

“You’ve changed,” she murmured more softly, the steam fogging between you. “There’s something different in your eyes… stronger, but sadder too.”

The water rippled as she brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “You know,” she added, tilting her head, “I never got to thank you. For what you did in the Entertainment District. That Upper Moon… it hadn’t been defeated for a hundred years. Tengen told us everything.” Her voice turned quiet again, edged with something like admiration. “You’re incredible.”

A faint silence settled – one filled with the sound of the springs and the whisper of wind through the pines. Mitsuri broke it with a gentle laugh, a little nervous, a little sincere. “Ah, but look at me talking so much! You must be tired. Sit, please! The water here helps the body recover – oh, and it feels so nice! You can tell me about your journey later, if you’d like…”

Her eyes softened, and for a fleeting moment, the air between you changed – warmer than the spring itself, a quiet pulse of affection hidden behind her easy cheer. Whatever distance had existed between you after the trial seemed to dissolve into the mist.

As she turned her gaze toward the stars, her smile returned – tender and unguarded. “I’m really glad you’re here,” she said simply. “It’s been lonely waiting for my new sword. But maybe… this time, waiting won’t feel so long.”