.
.
Snow drifted down the valley like ash, wafting down the ink-dark sky.
He blinked his eyes, staring upwards. He was standing in the middle of a dirt road, beneath the gnarled trunk of a dead tree. It was cold and he shivered, watching the plume of his breath push out into the cold night air.
"Are you lost?" someone said, and he turned.
She was more beautiful than anyone he had ever seen, standing in the middle of the dirt road and smiling at him, kindly. Not a noblewoman, but someone who carried herself like one.
"My name is Bishamon," she said.
"My name is," he began. "I don't remember."
Kazuma opened his eyes.
It was still nighttime, and Veena was still asleep. Her body was comforting and warm, and quietly he shifted her closer, pressing his lips along the strap of her nightgown and kissing her shoulder, softly.
"Mm. Kazu." Veena shifted. "What's wrong?"
"I was dreaming about the day you named me."
She rolled onto her side to face him. A strand of hair fell over her cheek, which he brushed back with the tips of his fingers.
"I remember," she said. "You were lost and you had nowhere to go. You haunted that spot for days."
"You saved me," he said, softly, and she smiled.
"You saved me too," she reminded him.
They kissed. She sighed and tucked her face against his shoulder.