That smile of hers never falters during the darkest of hours, and even as her soul slips away from its fragile container, the smile she always wore was still plastered on her face. Underneath her was the trembling Yagen Toushirou, who was frozen in place as her blood slowly coating him with the warmth he never needed.

"Thank you," was her last words before she lied limp on top of the poor warrior.

Yagen Toushirou was a sword with a strange legend; it was said he could not hurt his past master as he tried to commit suicide. But as he threw the blade out of frustration, it cleanly sliced a mortar in two, thus earning him the name Yagen, the sword that would not hurt its master. He was proud of this legend that surrounded him and tried his best to uphold the legend true.

With every opportunity given by his master whether it is sparring, expeditions, or going to the front lines, he tried his best to become stronger for her. Love was not exactly what he felt for her, but rather admiration and respect for giving him another life centuries after he was dead. The blade Yagen Toushirou went down with the last master he had been with. Now that he was given a body and a new life to serve another master, he wanted it to be until her age ripens to a good old eighty years old. The medicine he made and the countless enemies he took down was only for the sake of his master.

"Yagen, do you have medicine for sleeping? I haven't been able to catch a wink for two days, and these eyebags is seriously ruining my face."

The little doctor was deep in thought as he tried figuring out the mix in his experimental medicine that could cure numerous common illnesses. So she tapped his shoulders lightly as to jolt him from his reverie.

That did the trick and his focus how was on her more apparent bags and her sagging frame. From that one glance, he knew that she had not been sleeping for days, though he did not know how many it was. He was not listening, after all. But the smile she always wore never wear away from her face, so it was natural for him to smile back.

"What is it, General? Haven't you been sleeping lately?"

"That's why I'm here!" She replied with her usual spoilt voice whenever she needed something bought or done. "I need medicine so that I could sleep at night. And lots of it too."

"General, you could always get some at the pharmacy during your time. Wouldn't it be more convenient for you?"

"But I don't have the money for that. And I've never bought medicines other than cough syrup and paracetamol. I don't want people to be asking me why I would want lots of sleeping pills. You know how much I hate answering questions when I don't want people to pry."

As usual, he probed more since he was her physician. And his master cooperated wholeheartedly. Though she said she hated answering questions, for her to be answering his questions made the short sword secretly happy. He felt that she trusted him unconditionally. This motivated him to finish the task that was given to him in record time. The moment he was done with it, he immediately prescribed her the drug and stayed with her until she was deep in sleep.

"...feeling a bit light-headed, fatigue that lasts for almost two months so far, loss of appetite, loss of interest in hobbies and work..."

Yagen mumbled to himself as he wrote down the anecdotal record of his session with his master in her files. It worried him that he had only realised the severity of his master's condition only when she told him about it; she looked perfectly fine as she went about her daily tasks at hand. He concluded that she was tired physically, emotionally and mentally. He wished she could tell him sooner when it started so that he could nurse her back to health. But he knew that her life as a college student and a saniwa sage were tough to balance, and it was not his right for him to make her choose either one. It was her life she was living in, and his only duty was to care for the well-being of his master whenever she needed it. And his task right now was to make more sleeping medicine and drugs that could reduce stress.

He devoted the little time he had trying to concoct mixtures that would help her get back to her feet again.

Weeks passed and his stress reliever mixture was almost complete. But her dose on those sleeping pills increased with each use. Though she did not tell him that she increased the dose, he could tell from the rate she had been asking for more. It worried him and he started to isolate himself to complete the mixture for her. Whenever she went to him to get her fix, he would just leave the medicine on his table while he hid away in his makeshift laboratory at the attic. He was determined to perfect it before he could administer it to her.

Little did he knew that his avoidance had made her worse.

The other sword warriors had noticed her decline ever since Yagen avoided her. She ate so little and rarely got her work done. Sometimes it got to the point where the warriors themselves planned and prepared the lineups for the frontlines and expeditions just so they could replenish the dwindling resources they had at the citadel. But since she did not say a word to them, they could not do anything to help.

When he came back to consciousness, he realised that he had turned back into a short sword. He tried screaming for help, but since he was not a sentient being he used to be, his cries fell on deaf ears. As he was about to give up trying to call for help, he heard footsteps drawing closer to where he was at. The backlight obscured his vision so he could only see a silhouette, but he knew that his master came to him. She picked him up and started talking to him as if he were still human.

"I'm sorry, Yagen. You were my only hope in getting better, but even you drifted away from me. I figured that it would be better if I were to be gone. Forever. So, as a parting gift, please realised this last duty I'm about to give to you: please cut me through the hilt."

Yagen's spirit was kicking and screaming, begging her to stop as she pulls him off his scabbard and aimed him at her chest. With one mighty push, he could feel her heart beating dangerously close to his blade. She missed. In his desperation, he manifested back into a human and lie helplessly underneath her as the blood pours out of her body. He froze at the sight. The legend he upholds as long as he had served her crashed as he saw with own two eyes that he managed to hurt the master he treasured the most. He reached out to stop the blood, albeit trembling, but her smile that had always adorned her face stopped him in his tracks.

"Thank you," she said as she drew her last breath. The master he admired the most, the ever cheerful master that he happily served now lie lifelessly on top of him. When it finally dawned on him that he had a part in his master's suicide, he held her tightly and cried as hard as he could. The extreme emotional response was enough to damage him.

Though right before the damage on him was irreparable, Yagen the blade was slowly disappearing from the current timeline he was in. Now that the spiritual power that has given him life was gone, there was nothing that can get him to stay anymore. Before his arms disappeared, he quickly gutted himself with his blade. Damaged beyond repair, he uttered his last word as he hugged her form tightly.

"General, sorry... I'm... going with you..."