A/N: EDIT: Lots of flames. Great. And you wonder why I don't update my Genshin stuff as much T_T
As ever, the Embers Rule persists.
If folks don't like this, poof! Gone! Deleted for good.
Sorry, but its the sad truth. I don't have a team anymore, meaning I'm writing almost EVERYTHING by myself. At the end of the day, this is a HOBBY for me, one I don't get paid for. To top if off, I'm working two jobs. As such, I haven't the time to write a story no one likes. So by all means, speak up! Raise your voice! Make yourselves heard! At the en
Of course, reviewing is your choice. I can't force you.
Now let's move onto your questions, comments and concerns.
Q: How long will you continue the daily updates for?
A: As long as I can.
Q: When will you update Practice Makes Perfect?
A: Thursday, or over the weekend. Long chapters are long...
Q: If that's who I think it is...everything's about to come crashing down, isn't it?
A: *zips lips*
Alright, I think I've kept you waiting long enough. Sorry for the delay.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. Really! That ought to be bloody obvious. Now then...
Also, minor verbatim for Raiden's story quest. Here we go.
"Never stop searching, even if only for a brief flash of light. If nothing else, we have the present moment."
~?
A Softer Audience
"Why is she here?"
"Is that the Raiden Shogun?"
"What's she doing with someone like him?"
Humans were, in the Shogun's opinion, impossible to understand. Far removed from eternity, they lived short and unlovely lives; lives often spent destroying one another. Countless times she had seen such. Envy. Greed. Sloth. Like fat cattle they fed and fed, bleating only when their meal was interrupted...or when they were in danger.
And right now, they were very much acting like the latter.
Were they afraid of her? She saw the fear in some of their eyes as she sashayed past. And yet others looked upon her with awe, even joy. The Shogun wondered why it was so. She often left Tenshukaku on occasion when duties dictated. They had cowered and fled before her presence then as one would a storm.
What, then, was different this time?
"Yeesh," Naruto muttered beside her. "Tough crowd...
The Shogun did not answer. Instead she listened as they walked...only to find their whispers growing in strength. All the while Naruto grew increasingly tense beside her. She knew to look for such things by now; saw it in his stance, the slight tensing of his jaw, the way his eyes were just a little glassy as he ignored their words:
"Who is that? I've never seen him before.
"No...it can't be...do you think the two of them are...
"Nonsense! She's a goddess! A mere mortal wouldn't be enough for her!"
Raiden's gaze raked over the onlookers and found the speaker immediately, a doddering old biddy in a faded blue kimono with more makeup than sense. Violet eyes sparked a warning; one the old crone must have seen; because she slipped back into the crowd to evade her wrath. It wouldn't save her. She knew her face now.
"Blessings be upon you!" A woman suddenly appeared from the crowd and thrust a bouquet of sakura bloom at them. "I hope the two of you have a long and happy life together!"
Naruto's brow shot into his hair as he caught it with his free hand. "Eh?"
Oh, where's my camera, I simply must take a picture-
Her brow furrowed. The woman scarpered.
Raiden let her go.
In many ways, she supposed these were her people, too. Her pursuit of was focused upon eternity, but nation or no, Inazuma could not exist without its people. And yet now she found herself baffled. Why did they seek to approach and wish them well all of a sudden? She posed such a query to Naruto.
"Pretty sure its me." his smile was strained.
Raiden favored him with a black look. "I do not understand."
He held up their linked hands, fingers still threaded together. Ah. She'd forgotten all about that. It felt so comfortable.
"Ya think I should let go?"
His palm loosened against hers.
No! A tiny, girlish part of her -one she'd not been aware of until this very moment- cried out like a child forgotten at a festival. She found herself gripping his hand tighter for reasons she didn't understand. She found herself at a loss. For so long she had lived under the edict given to her by her creator. Pursue eternity. She had labored under the impression that she was Ei's assistant in this; that her creator -sister?- had no way to interact with the waking world. Thus it fell to her to carry out her edicts. To have that belief cast aside so flippantly...it shook her.
She needed something to cling to, if only for today.
By pure chance she caught a woman with pale hair staring at the. Her gaze lingered far too long on Naruto. An irritating feeling bloomed in the Shogun's chest. They should not stare at him so. He was her guard. Wasn't he? She stole a quick glance at him when he wasn't looking.
What had come over her?
"Please, Lady Shogun!" someone bulled forward and thrust their arms out at her. Raiden ripped her hand free and raised both arms, half expecting another attack or worse, a second bouquet to fend off. No such assault came; the assault she received was a verbal one. "Bless this child! She was born sickly!"
Raiden blinked, and Naruto with her.
It was a mewling infant held in the woman's arms, not a weapon. A little girl, young and pink, less than a month hold. A pale tuft of dark hair crowned her head, though her eyes remained firmly shut. Raiden hesitated. In time this child too would grow old and die. All things not of eternity would one day pass from this world. She alone was eternal and unchanging.
And yet.
...give her to me."
Faced with her severe visage, the woman did so gladly. After only a moments awkwardness, the Shogun tucked the little one into her arms. She fit snugly against her bosom. So small. So fragile. Transitory. A mere candle in the wind. Disease, ill health, or even time itself might one day snuff this flickering flame out. And yet here she was.
The words of blessing came easily enough, as such were often her duties. Granted, she'd not blessed a child before, but surely it couldn't be that difficult?
...surely?
She could feel Naruto's gaze on her. A silly little flare of pride fluttered in her heart before she could stifle it. Absurd!
"May this child live a long and healthy life." she intoned solemnly. "May she be blessed with thunder and kissed by lightning. May she grow to be a peerless warrior and...?" A stray thought occurred to her suddenly and her words trailed off. "Does it have a name?"
The woman shook her head. "Begging your pardon, your ladyship. She doesn't."
Her brow furrowed. "Are you not her mother?"
"No, m'lady." the woman wrung her hands and flinched a little beneath her gaze. "Just a caretaker of the local orphanage. She was left on our doorstep."
A peculiar pearl of emotion bloomed in Raiden's chest. It felt suspiciously like anger. Abandonment. Rejection. Loneliness. Despair. Ei had...views on such things. As did she. Perhaps the babe's parents had a legitimate reason for leaving her. Perhaps not. Regardless, she liked it not.
"Then," she swallowed once to rise to above her emotions, "I shall name her."
Naruto made a pleased noise behind her. "Nice!"
Raiden resolved herself to ignore him. Surely no harm could come from this. A mere babe, no matter how adorable, was no threat to eternity. But what to name it? Her eyes widened as she realized she couldn't think of one; such was beyond her programming. In her anger, she had spoken rashly, but now she had no idea what to do.
"I...?"
She looked to Naruto, but for the first time since they'd met, he didn't have answers for her. All she received was a selfsame smile and a shrug. He looked rather bemused by her plight, which wound her into a proper tizzy all the more. Why did he have to be like this now?!
'What are you leaving this to me?!'
Much to her chagrin, the tiny pink creature gave began to fuss in her arms.
"Ah...!" Raiden made a girlish noise and tried rocking her arms a little. Remarkably it worked.
Even she knew better than to shout out a newborn. With the crisis momentarily averted, the Shogun wracked her mind, trying to find an answer. Her brow darkened, sparks flashing through her gaze as she wrought her brain for an answer. Name, name, name! Something! Anything would do! Else it would take her a millennium to come up with something. Naruto was no help at all! On a blind whim, one came to her.
"Mileena." she said at last. "That shall be her name."
The caretaker cooed with glee. "My lady! Such a clever choice!"
Raiden fought down a wince and schooled her face into an impassive mask. It wasn't clever at all. She'd just mixed a few letters together; more aptly, millennium and Naruto's name. It didn't help that most of the crowd cooed at her choice. Humans. For the life of her she'd never understand. Why did naming a child endear her to them so.
"You are to take her to the Kujou clan." she whirled and presented the caretaker with the babe once more. "Inform Kujou Sara that she is now responsible for this child's well-being."
Naruto guffawed openly. "She might hate you for that."
Hate? Raiden rebuffed such a thought. Nonsense. Kujou Sara was a tengu warrior and a loyal archer of the Shogunate. Surely one such as she knew more about childcare than a mere puppet.
The child's caretaker nearly fainted dead away, but scarpered to comply with her request nevertheless. "It shall be done!"
With her departure so too went most of the crowd; they'd had their spectacle for the day; while some remained to balk at her, a good bit retreated to their duties. From the corner of her eye, she saw a pair of soldiers peel off in search of the woman who'd spoken out against her earlier. The hag would likely find herself in a cell by the end of the day.
Naruto failed to notice it and laughed instead. "You'd make a good mother. Sara might not thank you for foisting that kid off on her, though."
Raiden's every function ground to a halt as her face burst into fiery red splendor. Her?! A mother?! Absolutely absurd!
"Insolent!"
"Now, now," he took her by the hand and guided her way, "C'mon, I've got other things to show you...
In short order he brought her over to another stand. One that sold milk of all things. Dango milk. It was run by a young man named Tomoki, who seemed vaguely familiar with the blond; in that they both shared a brisk handshake. Such informalities vanished the moment he laid eyes upon her. His already pale visage went paler still, eyes growing almost comically large as he beheld her.
"As I live and breathe!" he clasped his hands." The almighty shogun! Here in my shop!"
Raiden sighed. She should have expected as much. "I am merely here to inspect your goods. Pay me no mind."
"Go on," Naruto nudged him. "Tell her about your latest creation."
"W-well," he gestured to a pair of bottles, "My newest concoction is this Dango milk." he held one up for her inspection. "When the dango are worked into a viscous form, they mix very nicely with the milk. The focus is not just the taste, but the unique texture...
He dared to nudge the bottle a bit closer.
"Care to try?"
She did and took a long sip. "Sweet."
Almost surprisingly so. She rather enjoyed it. Didn't Ei like sweets? Surely this would bring about no harm. With infinite care she set her cup down.
"I hereby declared Dango Milo a national delicacy. All must learn of this treasure."
"Ha! Naruto's fist thumped into his open palm. "I've got it!"
Raiden blinked. "Got what?"
"A name for you!" he rounded on her with a spectacular smile. "It just came to me while you were drinking that! If the other "you" is called Ei and you don't enjoy being called Raiden all the time...!"
Her body betrayed her and leaned in, eager to hear his words sooner. "Yes?"
"Mei!" His declaration hit her like a thunderclap as his finger hit her forehead. "Your new name is Mei!"
The Shogun blinked. "Mei?"
She tasted it on her tongue, rolled it around and considered it for a long moment. Mei. Not a bad name. It held many meanings, one of which was bright. Fitting for an avatar of heavenly lightning. The tiny ghost of a smile plucked at the corner of her lips. She quashed it a moment later, but the feeling persisted.
The Shogun touched a hand to her lips.
Her smile bloomed anew.
"Mei...
A/N: Honkai Impact, much?
And yes, THAT Mileena was just name-dropped. Minus the teeth.
Had to snip some bits till next time. The date continues! Its all building up and we're nearly there now...!
Felt good giving some more character to the Shogun here, while Ei did her own thing.
As ever, the Embers Rule persists. So? Should this be a story?
By all means, speak up! Make yourselves heard!
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly?
And enjoy the Previews!
As ever:
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
Read at your own risk!
As ever, these are from the far flung future...or are they~?!
(Previews!)
"You don't seem to understand. She is a puppet. She feels nothing."
"Is that so? And who decided that?
"Alright, I'll bite. Who are you and what do you want?
"Arataki Itto, at your service! As to what I want...I hear you've got an in with Kujou Sara.
Naruto snorted. "Guess you could say that...
"He gave you a name?"
"I am no longer the shadow."
"Be good to Ei."
Naruto looked past her.
...please tell me you're not a ghost."
The spirit smiled softly. "Would it bother you if I was?"
She looked so much like Ei...
"Never stop searching, even if only for a brief flash of light. If nothing else, we have the present moment."
My sister said those words to me once. Before all this. Before...YOU.
She would have liked you, I think. However, I do not.
You've ruined everything! Why did you come?!
Why did you fill my heart with doubt?!
WHY?! Answer me!
"R&R~!