The house was quiet save for the faint sound of dripping water from the melted ice that pooled around the shattered tatami. The brazier had been overturned, its flames extinguished in the chaos. Miura sat in the corner, her face pale and drawn, a streak of blood dried on her cheek. Sabrina stood across from her, gripping the hilt of her cutlass so tightly her knuckles turned white.

“We need to talk,” Miura said at last, her voice low and steady, though a storm brewed beneath it.

Sabrina flinched at the words, already sensing what was coming. “Miura, please, don’t do this.”

Miura didn’t look at her, instead staring at the jagged frost that covered the remains of the doorway. “Twice now, Sabrina. Twice you’ve convinced me to spare him.”

Sabrina stepped forward, her voice desperate. “And twice, I’ve saved us from becoming like him! Miura, you know what Robert represents–what he’ll use against us if we stoop to his level.”

Miura’s dark eyes snapped to Sabrina, sharp as a dagger. “And what has that mercy cost us? He escaped, Sabrina. Again. You’ve given him another chance to hunt us, to destroy everything I’ve fought for.”

“Miura, it’s not about mercy,” Sabrina argued, her voice trembling. “It’s about strategy. If we kill him, we risk bringing the full force of the British Empire down on Japan. On you. I’m trying to protect you.”

“Protect me?” Miura stood, her kimono shifting like the shadows cast by the flickering remnants of the lanterns. Her tone was bitter, her body rigid. “Do you think I need your protection? Do you think I haven’t been fighting men like Robert my entire life?”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“That’s not what I meant,” Sabrina said, but her voice faltered under Miura’s glare.

Miura took a step closer, her words like ice. “You don’t understand what it means to fight for survival, Sabrina. To know that every act of restraint is a weapon turned against you. You have the privilege of sparing lives because you’ve never truly had to fight for your own.”

“That’s not fair!” Sabrina snapped, her emotions boiling over. “I’ve fought! I’ve survived things you can’t even imagine!”

“Then why do you keep holding me back?” Miura’s voice cracked, the pain bleeding through her anger. “Why do you protect the man who would see us both dead?”

“Because he’s my brother!” Sabrina shouted, the words ripping from her throat. “Because I can’t just turn that part of me off, no matter how much I hate him!”

The room fell silent, the echoes of their voices hanging in the air. Miura’s expression hardened, her jaw tightening. “And that is why this has to end.”

Sabrina’s chest heaved, her heart pounding in her ears. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I can’t do this anymore,” Miura said, her voice cold and final. “I can’t fight with you if I have to fight against you at the same time.”

“Miura, no,” Sabrina whispered, taking a step closer. “Don’t do this. Don’t push me away.”

Miura turned her back to Sabrina, her shoulders stiff. “You’ve made your choice, Sabrina. Twice. And I’ve made mine.”

Tears blurred Sabrina’s vision, but she refused to let them fall. “You’re walking away because I won’t let you kill him?”

“I’m walking away because I can’t afford to love someone who stands between me and what must be done,” Miura replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

The words hit Sabrina like a physical blow, and she staggered back. “You don’t mean that,” she said, her voice cracking.

Miura glanced over her shoulder, her dark eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “I do.”

Without another word, Miura stepped through the shattered doorway, the wind catching her kimono as she disappeared into the night.

Sabrina collapsed to her knees, her cutlass clattering to the floor beside her. The storm outside raged on, but inside, the silence was deafening.