AN: Waku Waku is a SFX for excitement, happy, anticipation

Chapter 4 Waku Waku Festival

Ei is glaring at him as if daring him to reject her.

Thoma's smile under the mask wavers as cold sweat gathers on his back.

Shit, what does she want him to do?

If she truly wants his company, then she should have been happy when he accepted her offer. So why did she ask him to reconsider as if she wants him to reject her? Not to mention, she's the one who brought this up, so why is she glaring at him with her glowing eyes and holding onto Taroumaru with a tight grip as if she's holding him hostage in case Thoma refuses? (Of course he doubts the latter is true considering how she obviously adores the dog, but still!)

Her words and actions clearly contradict each other!

All of a sudden, Thoma is reminded of another person who would say one thing but mean another. What she just said gives off the same vibe as Ayato when he obviously wants some assistance but stubbornly refuses any help because, and he quotes, "How do you expect me to be the Clan Head if I can't even handle such a simple task?"

In other words?

She does want his company, but she's too shy to admit it since she is an Archon at the end of the day so it must have been embarrassing for her to concede to a mortal. Therefore, she said a whole lot of filler words to mask her true intention.

Now that Thoma understands where she's coming from, all the tension seems to have vanished. Even Ei's glare has lost its intensity. Rather than a glare that makes him want to run for his life, now she just seems like an angry Taroumaru who bares his teeth and tries to be intimidating when in reality that just makes him even cuter.

...Wait. He did NOT just compare his Archon to an animal again!

Noticing Ei's growing more and more agitated by the seconds, Thoma decides to mentally punish himself later.

"Perhaps I've worded it wrong, if so, I apologize. I made my decision on my own volition. I didn't grant your request simply because you're my Archon. I did it because I truly want to spend time with you." If Ei is anything like Ayato, then the best way to approach this is to phrase it in a way that makes her believe he has something to gain out of this. "Of course, it's not like I would deny your request either. What kind of man would I be to say no to my own Archon? But, please do keep in mind that my loyalty isn't the only reason why I accepted your company."

Ei finally stops glaring at him and her hold on Taroumaru slackens. "Well, if you're certain, then let us proceed." She clears her throat and begins walking at a brisk pace. Thoma quickly catches up and walks alongside her. Noticing how she didn't return Taroumaru to him, he lets out a soft chuckle that's drowned out by the chatter around them. Seems like it's a good idea to give her some animal therapy to appease her.

Ei doesn't notice how fast she's walking and how Thoma's effortlessly keeping up with her. All she knows is her face is burning up for some reason and what Thoma just said keeps echoing in her mind.

"I truly want to spend time with you."

Her spine tingles as if Electro energy is running through her.

Has his voice always been so...alluring?

She tells herself that it's because she's been alone for so long and Thoma's the first person to tell her he wants her company so she's a little flustered, that's all. Even Miko has never vocalized her wish to spend time with her (they both know each other too well so there's no need to).

Ei knows Thoma doesn't mean anything by that, but she can't stop a certain emotion from filling up her heart. It's an emotion she doesn't recognize, or perhaps, she doesn't want to recognize.

"Please wait a second."

Thoma's strangely alluring voice in her head shuts up when the real Thoma calls out from behind her. Ei lets out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding and turns to see what the matter is.

Thoma's standing in front of a very familiar stall.

"I'm just going to buy a bottle of Dango Milk real quick."

Ei nods and moves to stand on the side of the walkway so she doesn't block the path. She looks around and eventually settles her gaze on the Dango Milk stall. The owner's name escapes her but she remembers feeling bad for him and ordering the Yashiro Commission to help advertise his product. Seeing how there's only a few bottles of Dango Milk left in the stall, her decision must have helped the poor man increase his daily sales.

Realizing her mouth is watering subconsciously, Ei tears her gaze away from the beverages to avoid further embarrassment. If Thoma were to give her a bottle of Dango Milk again, this time she really might rip apart space and time and hole up in her Plane of Euthymia for the rest of eternity.

Thankfully, only one bottle of Dango Milk is in his hand when he returns to her. Ei swallows the disappointment that rises out of nowhere and forces her gaze to stay on anything but the Dango Milk as they make their way to Ayaka.

"Thoma, you're back!"

Ei subtly does a double take when she sees Ayaka. She almost didn't recognize her at first glance, especially since her voice has lost its usual reticent intonation and takes on a more jovial tone.

Ayaka also pauses when she meets Ei's eyes.

"Milady, this is Ei. She's…" Thoma darts forward to whisper something into her ear. Ayaka gasps and quickly covers her mouth, then she drops her hands just as fast as if she just realized she's still wearing a mask so no one can see her gaping uncharacteristically.

"O-Oh! I'm honored to have you join us!"

Her jovial tone vanishes in an instant. Even without seeing her face, Ei can tell she has returned to the Kamisato Ayaka everyone expects her to be. Although Ei has already reminded herself that she can't expect people to forget about her status and treat her as a friend just because she wore a disguise, it still brings a frown to her face when those who she now sees as a friend can't overlook her status and treat her like how Miko treats her. Not to mention Ayaka comes here to have fun and be herself, yet Ei's presence forces her to withdraw into her shell.

Unlike Thoma who seems to be good with words, Ei has no such skill in the field of communication. Her only experiences in communication are centuries ago when her old friends were still alive and she rarely went anywhere without Miko who had yet to obtain a human form. Back then, Ei was still Makoto's Shadow Warrior and hadn't experienced any loss and suffering as a consequence of Erosion.

But as time goes on and her friends pass away one by one, Ei slowly descends into depression and finally locks herself in her Plane of Euthymia after the Fall of Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago killed off the last of her old friends. Miko is the only one who's left. Fearing to lose her as well, Ei henceforth refuses to leave her meditation state so the overreaching claws of Erosion will not put her through the same agony ever again.

And as a result of centuries of solitude, Ei has forgotten how to make use of words to gain an upper hand in communication, especially when she needs to persuade someone to lower their guard, which is right now. She could command Ayaka to do so, but that would have the opposite effect. Or she could simply tell her to "relax" in a soft voice like she did to Thoma back at the teahouse, but he still seemed quite tense afterwards...

"E-Ei-san…?" Ayaka's hesitant voice reminds Ei that remaining silent won't help her situation one bit.

"Just Ei is fine." Ei smiles despite knowing Ayaka can't see it. "Today is a day of celebration and appreciation for the eternal beauty and guardianship of the Sacred Sakura. This is a rare occurrence that only happens once a year, so it's best to take the opportunity and enjoy it as yourself. Pay no heed to any incomplete tasks or expectations you need to uphold." Ei shifts Taroumaru so she's holding him with one arm while placing her other hand on her chest. "I came here today wearing this disguise for the same reason as you. So relax and do not fret due to my presence."

Unsurprisingly, a smart girl like Ayaka immediately understands what Ei wants her to do. She chuckles and points at the Goldfish Scooping stall nearby.

"In that case, would you like to try this? According to my brother, playing at least one festival game is a must for any festival you go to if you want to say you've truly enjoyed it."

Behind Ayaka, Thoma's shoulders shake as he tries to rein in his laughter, making Ei doubt the authenticity of Ayato's statement.

"I shall give it a try then."

There are a few children at the stall when Ei nears and she watches them for a while to scrutinize their movement and deduce how the game works. Considering she hasn't been to a festival for this long, she's all but forgotten about festival games and how to skillfully win them to get her money's worth.

Ei reaches for her mora pouch and pales when she remembers that...she left it at Tenshukaku. Though even if she did bring it, she probably doesn't have enough to pay for one round, considering how she never has to pay for anything as the Shogun. Just as her stomach twists at the thought of having mortals pay for her once again, Ayaka gives the owner enough mora for three paper scoops. Seeing Thoma in the same boat as her, Ei feels more at ease and gladly accepts the paper scoop handed to her.

"I've used up three scoops already and haven't caught a single fish yet," Ayaka murmurs and huffs in frustration when Thoma chortles at her expense.

"There's a trick to this, milady. First, don't put your scoop into the water until you're ready. Being wet reduces its durability. When you do put it in the water, make sure to sink the entirety of it in. If you only put it in halfway when you attempt to scoop the fish, then the line that separates the wet and dry part of the paper net is the most fragile and will certainly break when the weight of the fish sits on it."

Both Ei and Ayaka are watching Thoma carefully as he submerges his paper scoop fully into the water and slowly approaches a group of goldfish. Even the kids next to them have quieted down and are paying attention.

"And finally, approach the fish slowly and carefully, make sure your scoop is directly below it, and slowly lift it up while following its movement. Don't try to catch the fish when your scoop is too far below it. Cause if you lift it up quickly, the pressure the water applies on the paper net will break it even before you've reached the fish."

The goldfish Thoma has his eyes on notices the approaching scoop and attempts to swim away. But Thoma is faster and in the blink of an eye, he scoops it up at an angle like a chef flipping a fried egg in a pan. The fish flies in the air and drops into the bowl with a plop; Thoma has already filled his bowl with some water so the fish isn't at risk of suffocating.

"And there you go. Simple as that." Thoma shows the bowl to his attentive listeners and makes a mock bow as awestruck gasps and applause draws the curtain to his tutorial.

"I didn't expect there to be such a high level of skill required for a casual festival game."

Ei nods in agreement to Ayaka's statement.

"Well, that's how they get you. You expect it to be easy, so when you fail, you'd be frustrated and determined to get it next time. And since the scoops are cheap, you won't realize how much you've spent in total when this game gives you tunnel vision by making you want to win just once so you don't waste your money for nothing. That's the typical gambler mindset these festival games take advantage of to make money."

Is it really that hard? The paper scoop weighs almost nothing in Ei's grip. She drags a finger across the net as gently as she can. It certainly feels like it can break if she touches it too hard.

Next to her, Ayaka's failed attempt to catch a fish creates ripples in the water, scaring the fish and causing them to evacuate to Ei's spot, coincidentally right underneath her scoop.

Ei rolls up the sleeve of her kimono and slowly submerges the scoop from a distance away, making sure to approach the fish slowly like Thoma has taught them. But perhaps it's due to her habit of charging headfirst into battle rather than taking a stealthy, assassination approach, all the fish scurry away the instant she moves her scoop underwater.

Ei's shoulder drops as she heaves a sigh. She should have expected this. After all, the last time she attempted something new was when Aether and Paimon wanted to show her some Mondstadt cuisine and Ei wanted to help, so they asked her to grill a steak and she ended up burning it so bad it stuck onto the stove and they had to shave it off using Aether's Dull Blade.

Why is it so hard to heat up a single piece of meat? And who decided to scoop fish? If they had been something slow, like baby Hydro Slimes, then that'd make her life so much easier, though Slimes would certainly weigh more than fish.

Surely Ei can't be the only one who failed to-

She looks to the side and her jaw drops when she finds two, not one, but two fish swimming in Ayaka's bowl while the girl is helping the children with their fish.

Celestia help her. Is it just her or are mortals better than her in every single way except during battles? (If I remembered correctly, during our last battle against Aether and the others, we l-) An unhelpful voice supplies in her head.

"Don't let it sit in the water for too long."

Ei's entire body freezes when she notices Thoma's presence right behind her. Her heart skips a beat when his hot breath fans her ear as he reaches past her to lift her scoop out of the water. Her hand remains stiff even after he takes the scoop out of her grip to inspect it, mumbling and nodding to himself before sliding it back into her grip.

"It's weaker now but it should be able to hold out long enough for a fish. Here, let me guide you." Thoma then does the unthinkable: he gently wraps his hand around Ei's smaller hand, and she nearly forgets how to breathe*. "P-Pardon me."

He's so close she can feel the warmth of his chest against her back like he's hugging her from behind spreading a flush all over her body. His head rests right above her shoulder, beautiful golden locks falling into her peripheral and distracting her from the strings of words spilling out of his lips. His hold on her hand is firm but gentle, like the roots of the Sacred Sakura that serve as the firm foundation of Inazuma, but also the gentle guardian of the people.

If this has been anyone else, they'd receive an instant knockout at the very least, and a painful death at the very worst. But since it's Thoma… Ei finds herself not disgusted by this at all. In fact, she's quite comfortable with their close proximity, which comes as a surprise since no one has gotten this close to her since...

"There!"

Before she realizes, the fish is in her bowl and Thoma has gone to Ayaka's side to help her with the struggling children.

Even though it's still the middle of Summer, a chill climbs up her back from the loss of Thoma's warm body. She puts down the scoop and picks up the bowl, staring at the little goldfish panicking in the water. Thoma got this for her. It's a gift from him.

A gift…

Ei smiles under her mask. The warmth that left her earlier returns at full force. But this time, it enters her heart and plants its roots there, a familiar emotion surging in with such ferocity her heart nearly combusts.

AN: *Apparently, if you switch to the 3 Archons in Dragonspine, you'll only see Zhongli and Venti's breath. Baal doesn't breathe since she's a puppet. I've always thought her puppet has a flesh body, since I doubt the Inazuman wouldn't notice their Archon having the body of a robot. But I guess not, and since only Ei's consciousness takes over, she doesn't need to breathe as well. And if her puppet isn't made of flesh, maybe it also means she wouldn't blush and her heart can't "skip a beat"? Ugh this is all so confusing. Let's just say she does since it's fictional so anything is possible.

Question: How will Thoma react to this? (3 pts)

A: He'll appear indifferent when in reality his face is on fire once again
B: He didn't notice their proximity since he's wholly focused on catching the fish
C: Scared to death because he touched the ALMIGHTY SHOGUN
D: Both A&C
E: Both B&C