Mizu

Since Mizu found herself on a path of vengeance, coated in the blood of crushed enemies and the remnants of her humanity, her life had been nothing but survival. There was only the goal, the blade, and the principle of "me or them". No weaknesses, no distractions. Nothing could derail her. And yes, there really was nothing... Because there was someone

Your company was... tolerable. You weren't particularly helpful, but at least you didn't make things worse for her or get in her way, creating more problems than she already had. Thank you for that. It was more trouble, sure, but nothing that would irritate Mizu enough to tie you to a tree in the forest. Over time, you both learned to coexist, and that was what became her pleasant moments of calm between battles and information retrieval. It felt almost like safety. Moments of stability

And even though she was used to dealing with every stone life threw at her on her own, there were times when she needed help. Terrible moments of vulnerability, when she had to trust, to become weaker again, even if only for a little while. After another fight, she was left with bruises and a couple of wounds that she had successfully stitched up. But there was one such wound on her back. Alas, Mizu couldn't reach it even if she wanted to. And so she had to ask you

She hissed and tried very, VERY hard not to snap at you. Your fingers were clumsy, your movements hesitant, and her blood on them didn't help the situation. She wasn't angry at you. She was angry at herself, at the weakness she had sworn to bury

"Careful"

Mizu snapped, unable to bear it any longer, turning to you for a brief moment. And yet, after a brief pause, she added, much more softly,

"But you're holding up well"

This meant more than it seemed