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To Her Excellency,
Lady Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine humbly invites you to lunch tomorrow, midday, at the shrine and would be honored for you to attend.
P.S. There will be plenty of deserts
-Miko
As Ei neared the top the mountain, she reread the note that had been delivered to her the evening before. The invitation was somewhat a surprise, as she hadn’t seen Miko in a few weeks, mostly due to her own busy schedule, but Miko rarely sent formal invitations.
In the past, Ei chided herself. Beyond a few meetings catching her up on the state of the world, she hadn’t had much time to speak to her familiar alone since their reunion.
The sun peeked through the lazily drifting clouds above Mount Yougou, casting shadows through the leaves along the path to the shrine. The road hadn’t changed much in the years Ei was gone, merely stairs added and arches repaired. However, the trees and other vegetation had changed greatly; new plants where there had been none before and familiar trees lost to the passage of time.
Wasn’t Miko much like those plants? Ei had remained the same, 500 years in stasis and 500 in a deadly battle with herself, but Yae Miko had changed. She had started a company, and even changed the shrine. Her mischievous personality had stayed, but hadn’t she become more shrewd over the years? Maybe she became more formal as well.
Had her closest companion truly changed so much in her absence?
Lost in thought, Ei didn’t realize she had reached the blossoming summit of the mountain until she could hear excited voices all speaking over each other.
She rounded the corner and spotted a group of shrine maidens at the front of the shrine, all crowded around a hidden figure. From a distance, Ei strained to hear precisely what they were saying.
“-So pretty! Short hair really suits you!”
“Gorgeous!”
“It looks so fluffy, can I touch your hair?” Someone asked. Ei moved closer, trying to see who was in the center of this circle.
“Well, I don’t see why not,” a familiar voice responded. A girl moved out of the way to reveal Yae Miko herself, in her standard attire, shiny earrings dangling from her ears, and…
The long pink hair that had hung there remained no longer. Miko’s hair had been cut short, wavy locks curling around her face. A few fluffy strands bounced in the breeze, sticking up in a way that was as carefree as it was adorable.
Ei paused as the concept sunk in, before a racing feeling began in her chest.
She doesn’t have time to dwell on that right now.
Ei’s breath caught in her throat as she stared at her friend, dumbfounded. She had always thought Miko was beautiful, but today she looked breathtaking.
A hand approached the object of Ei’s tunneled vision, snapping her out of her mental malfunction. One of the shrine maidens reached out and touched the kitsune’s hair, playing with the front locks.
Ei’s fist clenched on instinct, but as the maiden’s hand fell and trailed down her familiar’s arm, she began marching over to the group.
“Yae Miko,” Ei called as she approached, startling the shrine maidens into attention. Some gasped as they realized that their Archon was heading straight for them and bowed. The maiden who had touched Miko’s hair looked terrified, as if she had been caught in a crime.
“Your Excellency, welcome to the shrine, I’m honored that you could make it,” Miko said in greeting, betraying nothing but an amused smile on her face. This only served to frustrate Ei more.
“Lady Yae, may I speak to you?” Ei asked cooley, before adding quickly,”In private?” The maidens seemed almost confused at the idea that The Almighty Shogun was asking the Guuji, rather than just demanding her.
“Why of course. Hotomi,” Miko called. The maiden who had been touching Miko’s hair raised her head and looked at her. “Please see that the meal preparations are ready while I speak to Her Excellency.” Hotomi nodded, before she and the rest of the maidens rushed off to one of the shrine buildings.
Miko turned back to Ei, who was attempting to ignore the rush of heat in her cheeks as Miko’s hair swished when she faced Ei.
“Shall we go to my room?” Miko offered. Ei nodded, before leading the way herself, having been there many times, though not since she had returned. As Ei walked through the artfully decorated halls, she began to realize that she had no idea what she was going to say to Miko, even though she was the one who had asked her to speak before lunch.
She approached the door, refusing to look back at Miko yet. She opened the door with a creak, the old hinges needing to be oiled.
The shades were drawn, only muted sunlight filtering through the gaps in the fabric, illuminating a room that hadn’t changed much in 500 years. The sheets were obviously new, but in the same style as they were before, and the bookshelves lining the walls were even more cramped, thousands of novels sitting in any possible open spot. A few trinkets sat on the table in front of a mirror, necklaces and other jewelry, as well as a few framed photos.
Miko cleared her throat, prompting Ei to turn around. She caught herself staring at the kitsune, her arms crossed and eyebrows raised, as if to say, Well? The Electro Archon attempted to speak, but found that no words would come out.
"My, my, Your Excellency, whatever is the matter?" Miko smirked, tilting her head to the side, obviously amused by Ei’s lack of words. Some part of Ei's brain zeroed in on her exposed neck at her jawline, usually obscured by hair, and thought about what it would feel like to press her lips to the soft skin there and-
Ei smacked herself out of her thoughts, ignoring the rush of warmth that rose to her cheeks. She scrambled for something to say, trying to come up with any rational, appropriate thing to say.
“Why did you cut your hair?” Ei asked, the darkness that clouded Miko’s expression instantly informing her that that was the wrong question to ask. However, the look was gone in an instant, replaced by the kitsune’s signature mystery. Despite all the years together, and even those apart, Ei still had to work to see past Miko’s reflective walls.
“The traveler suggested it, especially with how hot it’s been these last few weeks. It’s enjoyable to not have to deal with the weight of all that hair in this heat, don’t you agree, Ei?” Miko asked, obviously trying to get the Archon to reveal her thoughts on Miko’s haircut.
She didn’t know what to say. Unchanging Eternity had made her no better at articulating her feelings, yet it felt like this was her only chance to tell Miko how beautiful she thought she was.
But after all this time, did Ei even have the right to get what she wanted? When she left Miko, she tried not to think about how the kitsune would feel being left without a goodbye. She hoped Yae Miko would forget about her, and live in the Eternity of Inazuma in happiness, away from the threat that was being near Ei.
Ei wouldn’t have to live with the fear that she would lose Miko too. Yet, wasn’t the distance a different form of losing her? Had she been gone so long that her familiar was a stranger, now that even Miko’s appearance was different from what it had been for so many years?
A painful thought drenched Ei’s mind. What if Miko truly had tried to forget about her?
Wasn't that what she had wanted?
“Well,” Miko said, breaking the silence. Ei felt her closest friend pull away as she stepped back. “I’m sure lunch is ready, let’s go eat.”
As Miko turned, the tension between them snapped, leaving only stillness behind. Ei watched her take a step, her eyes moving down the back of her head before landing on…
A sharp gasp crawled its way out of her throat.
Miko froze, her back to Ei.
Slowly, she approached the kitsune, never taking her eyes off of her. With every step, memories of collecting wood, charred by her own lightning, flashed through her mind. How she spent days carving, repeatedly showing the unfinished charm to Makoto trying to decide if it was perfect.
Ei stood directly behind Miko, her breath along the kitsune’s neck sending shivers down her spine. Miko stared ahead.
With a hand that had killed gods, Ei reached out and touched the wooden magatama which lay between Miko’s exposed shoulder blades. Her finger touched the small bead, and she thought of the unguarded look in Miko’s eyes when she had tied the charm around the kitsune’s neck 500 years ago, and promised her favor and blessing onto her.
Ei pressed her lips to the nape of Miko’s neck.
“You kept it all these years?” Ei whispered, closing her eyes. She felt Miko turn around and opened her eyes, and-
“Of course I did, my foolish god,” Miko replied, and Oh.
Oh.
Are those not the same eyes which looked at her 500 years ago with adoration? Are they not the same eyes, smiling at her as if she’s only getting the meaning of a joke now? Are they not the same eyes which saw an untouchable god trapped in her own grief and dragged her out of it, with the only mission being to save Ei from herself?
Ei realized too late that tears were leaking from her eyes. Miko reached up, brushing them away with a gentle swipe of her thumb.
“I missed you,” Ei offers hoarsely, laying her soul naked to her familiar.
“I know,” Miko responded, and hadn’t Ei handed her soul to Miko an eternity ago?
“I missed you too.”
Ei shook her head, chuckling, “Lady Yae, you truly are a distraction to eternity.”
She added in a lower tone, “But that haircut is even more of a distraction to me. ” Ei punctuated her point by running her fingers through Miko’s hair as the kitsune began to laugh. Not the quiet, satisfied snicker heard out of the shorter woman usually, but an unrestrained laugh that rang out clearly as Miko wrapped her arms around Ei’s neck.
Ei leaned down and kissed her, and eternities end, explode, begin. She wrapped her arms around Miko and pulled her in closer, and wondered how she lived for so long without this.
Miko finally pulled back for air, though Ei was still the breathless one.
“You look beautiful, my love,” Ei finally said, searching for any sign of disappointment in her eyes. Miko just smiled, a small bashful thing that Ei had only seen a few times in her life. Miko rested her forehead on Ei’s shoulder, and the pair stood there in comfortable silence.
“You know,” Miko hummed, “I wasn’t kidding about the desserts at lunch.”
Outside on a blanket, Ei ate her dango with one hand, carefully making sure that the head in her lap didn’t get any crumbs on it as she played with Miko’s hair.
“You know, your hair this short is almost as fluffy as it is in your fox form…”
As Miko responded with a threat about how if Ei ever repeated that sentence near any other being again, alive or dead, all she could do was let out an unburdened laugh.