Mizu remembers an autumn day under a fruit tree. Mikio refused to unsheathe his blade. He didn't take her seriously until she'd beaten him. The hurt is too familiar for the memory to make her flinch. You're a monster, Mikio said. In the end, it's the only honest thing he said. What he truly thought when he saw all of her. She's never wanted people to take it easy on her. No matter the reason they called her soft or brittle or weak. The people who have paid a price for it.

"Good," Mizu says. She wouldn't respect anything less. Vergil doesn't have her respect exactly, from this conversation, but there's been a level of honesty (if fox spirit motivated) that she appreciates. Seeing her as weak because she's human is simply another form of arrogance. She'll show him, should they be here long enough.

Vergil hasn't done anything to Mizu. She has no reason to want him dead. He has nothing to do with her quest, and unlike Taigen, he's not asking for a duel to the death. Sparring. Mizu has rarely had a sparring partner. Usually it's simply trees. They don't offer the same resistance as someone wielding a sword. She smiles with teeth.

"Yamato, no Yamato, I won't hold back."

It's not like she has her sword either. Mizu doesn't deserve it. They may both fight with other weapons. The clock ticks closer to the final moments they're in this place.