"Here's your favorite…rice balls. Remember how I'd always insist on making something fancier, something befitting your stature? But then you would insist that you liked these, and you know I will always be more than happy to oblige."

Taihou set the plate down before her. No matter how modest its contents were, she knew they would always make that person happy— especially when made by her.

"Oh, let's not forget the drink, shall we?" She reached to her side and picked up a bottle of wine before pouring the liquid into a cup she had prepared.

"Simple as your taste in food might be, the same can't be said about your taste in drinks. So here's your favorite wine," Taihou continued, briefly cradling the bottle before returning it to where it was. Most people would never think of pairing rice balls and red wine, but her dear Commander would readily swear by them. And if anyone disagrees, he would give them no time of day.

"Just like us, isn't it…? She laughed a rueful laugh that ceased abruptly when she placed a neatly folded uniform along with an officer's cap. Above her, the sky had begun to turn grey, and the sun was already behind the clouds.

But Taihou was unfazed. She continued to run her fingers through the fabric, on which she somehow could still smell the smoke. The brine.

She had mended the holes and cleaned the soot—but the potent, nauseating scent continued to cling.

"I've been holding on to this for too long, haven't I, my Commander?" She whispered. "I wanted to—no, must—make it presentable…so forgive me. No matter how hard I try, I cannot get rid of this…unpleasant odor."

By the time she finished speaking, drops of water had begun to fall on her bare shoulders, but Taihou was unmoved—not even when the clouds finally burst, drenching all under the sky. She watched with an empty gaze as the downpour washed her carefully prepared rice balls away and overflowed the glass until the wine inside spilled out into the uniform—becoming blood-red stains on the formerly pristine fabric.

"Even now, I'm still a failure, am I not?"

The thunder bellowed as if a rebuke.

"Here we are, sir," the young officer told his superior in the back seat as the car slowed down to a near halt near the cemetery. From the rearview mirror, he could see the man nodding.

The Commander heaved a sigh, but not because the rain seemed to have grown heavier.

"Thank you. Please wait here."

"But sir, it's raining and—"

"It's not necessary," the Commander said, silencing the officer who was about to scramble for the umbrella. He left the car without looking back, letting the rain fall on him.

Finding the grave among the nearly identical ones was never a complicated feat. One particular person would often be there for hours on end.

And today, she would be the one he was looking for.

To his no surprise, she was there, unmoving like a statue, soaked and eroded. At least until he arrived.

Despite the turmoil within her, Taihou was still cognizant of her surroundings. She could sense she was being watched and whipped her head towards the culprit—the last person she wanted to see. Every time she looked at his face, she would see the face of her dear Commander. But that person wasn't her Commander—merely a faint shadow of his. The one who failed him and sent him falling into the abyss.

"You…"

The Commander found her tone surprisingly neutral, and her face barely showed any emotion, despite the act.

But for a fleeting moment, he could see the fire that used to burn ceaselessly within her crimson eyes. The fire that once was a reflection of her soul. The soul with unbridled passion—and for certain someone, love.

But those emotions were long gone—the only thing left that would rekindle her fire was hate, and the Commander was well‐aware she despised him.

"...Why are you here?" Taihou hissed.

"I'm here to pay my respects."

"A…After everything you did…?"

"That's why I'm here."

Taihou's gaze shifted back and forth between the grave and the Commander before settling on the horizon. "...Do what you want. It's not up to me to decide anyway," she murmured.

"Thank you," the Commander replied. He knelt before the grave, letting the smell of rain-soaked soil enter his nose. "It's been a while, isn't it, brother? Forgive me. You don't really like waiting, yet I was always behind you. But now, here I am. I'm no longer behind you. And that's why I could only come here today. You see, I've been promoted. Now everything you've been fighting for…I will fight for them. Your burdens…I will shoulder them. This time, I will not fail you again, I promise."

The Commander rose to find Taihou looking at him, and he steeled himself to say what he sought to tell.

"And for that, I will need your strength, Taihou."

"Me?" Taihou scoffed. "The 'useless' me? What can a pair of failures hope to achieve?"

"I'm a failure, I know. But brother won't… won't let you say you are a failure. And you're not."

There was no answer, no retort, only Taihou with her head down as if faltering.

"I loved him as much as you did. And I want revenge. I want nothing more than to utterly destroy them," the Commander continued, seeing that she won't respond any time soon.

When Taihou finally looked up, she could see the Commander's darkened scowl on his otherwise vacant countenance. It was quite surprising seeing it on him, but she found a kindred spirit in it, as much as she loathed to admit it.

Her laughter soon reverberated amid the thunderous rain.

"...Very well. You and I…will have our revenge. Or we will die trying and go to where my dear Commander is… That's more likely…but if you really loved him as much as I did…then that would be fine too, would it not?"

"Nobody's going to die this time. You will survive this," the Commander replied, fists clenched. He glanced at the grave for one last time. It was as much a promise to his brother as it was to her—and to himself.

Taihou said nothing at that. But in her eyes, the Commander could see the fire raging about once more, a new purpose stoking the flames. And for now, that was enough.