A/N: Leg's in bad shape, but I'm not dead~!

I really WANTED to update Shed No Grace on Me today, but the Shogun was crying for attention. Couldn't help myself.

Apologies for the delay, Elden Ring keeps trying to drag me away. Send halp~!

As ever, the Embers Rule persists. If folks don't like this...well. I won't continue it. 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!

No questions this time. Only story!

Alight, I've kept you long enough.

We're finally here; hope you're ready for it!

As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes!

Once again! MASSIVE Spoilers for Ei's second quest, and a bit of verbatim on that front.

Its ironic, really. Ei convinced the Shogun in her story, but here? Its the other way around. Sweet, delicious irony...

"Hmm. Lets see here. Impossibly stubborn, jumps straight to the most extreme course of action imaginable, presumes her sheer will can see her through despite a near impossible goal that requires nothing short of the very peak of her abilities? Yes, that sounds like Ei, alright. And now look what you've done. You've upset the Shogun. Did you expect anything less?"

"Miko!"

"What? I was simply being honest."

~?

A Dangerous Audience

The Shogun pounced.

Swift was her speed and woeful was her wroth; scarce had Naruto stepped forth from the portal and returned to reality than she was upon him, lunging into his personal space. What she found there worried her to no end. He looked...tired. Worn. Both physically and mentally. It spoke ill of his health that he barely reacted in time, only narrowly managing to catch her.

"Whoa, hey!" nevertheless catch her he did, hands coming up to settle round her waist. "I'm alright, I'm alright! Calm down!"

"You most certainly are not!" her forehead jarred against his as she leaned into him. "You were gone for a week!"

Her guard cast a baffled look around the shrine. Blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice, now. I was?"

Mei shoved closer, nose nearly brushing his. "You! Were!"

"Huh." his confusion seemed genuine, if nothing else. "Only felt like a few minutes. Guess time gets funny in the Plane of Euthymia...

Mei felt her right eye begin to twitch. Was that all he had to say for himself?!

"Ahem!"

Credit where it was due, Naruto was a quick study. Of course he was. He was her Guard after all. He looked down. Saw her pout. Felt her hands gripping him. Realization dawned across his face. His arms tightened around her. Rightly so. Exhausted as he was, he still managed a wan smile for her sake and pulled her close. As well he should!

A hand rose to pat her head. "I'm back, Mei."

Something deep inside the Shogun warmed to the words. Curious. She couldn't quite say why; nor what it was that brought a small smile to her face. A strange, fuzzy feeling welled up inside her of her. She held it close to her heart, that little ember of light cradled between her palms. Had anyone else been present to see such an expression upon her face, she would have denied it most vehemently. She wasn't happy to see him again after his long absence. She didn't enjoy hearing his words. No. Nay. Never! Surely not!

...one more time."

Naruto's brow shot into his hair. "Wanna run that by me again?"

Shame coursed through her, but she couldn't take back the words. "Nevermind! Let me have a look at you...

Sputtering at her slip, she drew back to rebuke him further, holding him at arms length by the shoulders...only to pause paused. She saw something. Blood on his jacket. A gasp tore past her lips. No, not just blood. She spied bandages, too. A wound! He'd taken an injury! Something twisted in her at the sight, and it felt as if a hole had opened in her heart as well; a great gaping tear that threatened to suck all her joy away.

"Why are you wounded?!" she made to shake him, then thought better of it, fearing she might open the wound anew. "Did I not tell you this was a foolish endeavor!"

He scratched the back of his head. "Not really...?"

Thunder crackled overhead. He winced.

"If you finish that sentence I will not be held responsible for what happens to you." leaning in, she laid a hand on his crude bandages. "Tell me at once how this transpired."

Naruto did, and she soon wished he hadn't.

Because with words, came clarity.

Bright. Painful. Clarity.

At the end of the day, she, the Shogun was built to resist erosion. Her will was stronger than any living being...or so it should have been prior. Until he broke through. And with it, that will had not changed, but evolved to a high understanding. Slowly at first, but now she understood. It fell to her to prove that her present will was no product of erosion; that the future she intended to forge would be a grand undertaking, a destiny that would not only be resistant to erosion, but one she could commence with or without Ei's aid. Inazuma would move forward one way or another.

That future required Naruto. Her Guard. Her Light. Her...

'Go on,' a little voice needled her. 'Say it. You know you want to.'

Friend? The word was not strong enough. Associate? Too distant a word.

She was the Shogun, after all. And she cared for him. Such made him her...her...Consort. There. She'd said it!

And if it came to a fight with her Creator over such...then so be it. She understood now. This was her duty. No matter how long such a battle might last, months, years, centuries...and no matter how many times they fought, she would defeat her. Of that, she was certain. Her rules had not changed. They could not change. She was simply...viewing them in a different light. Yes. That was it. She would fight for the everlasting future of Inazuma. Long may it shine eternal. After all, to her, time was but a drop in the ocean of eternity.

"Where is she?"

Some of her intent must've shown through her face; because the blond boy blanched.

"Mei, just calm down." when she didn't, his face grew stormy. "Yeah, we fought, but it all worked out in the end, and there's something I gotta tell ya-

"You needn't fret." a familiar voice pierced the din not a yard away. "I am right here."

The air rippled anew behind him. And just like that. She stepped forth.

Naruto swore softly. "I told you to wait!"

...I cannot. This must be done."

Mei, no, the Shogun, bridled but a little. She'd always known this moment would come. Perhaps it had been destined from the very beginning. The creation, meant to come into conflict with her the creator. The look in her eyes was one of purest steel, what else could she do but reciprocate in kind.

A hand flicked out, summoning her lance. "You are prepared, then?"

"I am."

Ei stood her ground her chin, took a deep breath, and...bowed...?

Low and deep and the waist, the once proud goddess looked not at her, but at the floor of the shrine proper. As the Shogun looked on aghast her creator went a step further, all but prostrating herself before her. Forehead now kissing the dirt itself, she laid both hands flat before her, bowing yet further. Only then did she speak.

...I offer my sincerest apologies." though her words were muffled, their meaning rang true. "For everything."

"See? There we go!" Naruto bulled in on her right. "It was all a big misunderstanding."

Her eyes traveled to his wound. "She stabbed you."

"Yeah, but I got better!"

Four little words. And yet the banked the fires of her wrath to newfound heights. He did not understand. Neither did Ei.

"Stand aside." she nudged him back, and for once, he listened. "This is a matter between us"

After all this, all she'd said, all she'd done, Ei thought she could skate by with little more than an apology? Naruto, she could allow. He was ever the forgiving sort, always willing to let bygones be bygones. But she? She could not let such a trespass stand. Once upon a time she would have ignored such; shoved her emotions down and acted as her orders dictated. A small part of her wanted to try, even now. But she couldn't. She was awake now. Her eyes opened to the beauty of the world, and all the emotion that came with it.

But before they came to blows, she must know.

"I have one last question. What has brought about this change in you?"

"I was foolish." Much to her chagrin her Creator raised her head for a moment, then snapped it back down, perhaps recalling an unpleasant memory. "Once I thought my goals were the pillars of Inazuma. Now I see they are towering obstacles I have no choice but to overcome."

A curious choice of words; an unwelcome one at that. "And what do you propose?"

"..."

Ei rose to her feet, slowly. Woodenly. She actually had the gall to climb to her feet and approach her.

"You used to represent my past, but from today onward you are me." She stopped a hairsbreadth away, looking her square in the eye. "Makoto never saw me as a fearless weapon." a hand came down on her shoulder, all too gentle, frail, even. "Likewise, I should not regard you as a mere a mere tool. It is my hope that we can work together in the coming days, and in time, trust one another.

...and what of my Guard?"

Ei's face flamed with embarrassment. "Well, that is to say...its rather complicaed.

Something ugly rose in her heart. She would take this from her, too? Did her arrogance know no bounds?

'Why? Why must she take everything from me?'

Mei could feel Naruto's eyes upon her. Heavy with expectation. Even now he believed in her. He was waiting for her to say the right thing, to forgive and forget, as he always did. She envied him that. To simply take a hit, turn the other cheek, and smile as if nothing had transpired. It baffled her. Emboldened her. Aggravated her.

.

..

...pity she had to disappoint him.

"Unacceptable."

Ei recoiled. "What?"

Her palm shot out to thrust her Creator away. Ei stumbled back with wide eyes. The Shogun could have slain her, then. She knew she could've. She was at her peak, while her creator was exhausted from her arduous battle. Struck her down while she was unprepared.

The Shogun let the moment pass. She had yet more to say.

"You have laid hands upon the one person in this world that I have come to care for." the skies darkened high above her head as her eyes began to burn. "That which I do not wish to lose. And now you deign to imagine that he might be yours? A prize to claim as you please?" frustration piqued her voice. "What right do you have to him?" Wind lashed at the air, ripping at their hair. "You stabbed him! You sought to kill him! You have no right! None at all!"

Ei struggled upright. "And what right do you have to make such a claim.

"More than you!" Mei bit back, readying her weapon. "He. Is. Mine. That is all. End of discussion. Draw your blade if you wish to claim him!"

"Hey!" Naruto stepped forward, heedless of it all. "Wait just a second. Lets calm down and rest our tempers, eh? There's no need to get all riled up!"

She rounded on him with a hiss. "You will be silent."

Stoic blue eyes met hers. "No, I won't. She's in no shape to fight right now. Can't you see that? If you're gonna fight over me, at least make it a fair one, ya know?"

Mei's gaze swung back to Ei, even now faltering on her feet despite her best efforts to stand. His words rang true. If she was to have victory it should be taken at her peak. Nothing less. She would not sully her hands with such cheap tactics. Anything less would be an insult to her honor. And she would not yield that. No. Never that.

Her jaw clicked shut.

"I will grant you three days to recover." it took everything she had to force the words through clenched teeth. "Seventy-two hours. No more. Then we shall face one another in mortal combat!"

Behind the air rippled anew, cutting her declaration short.

"I'm sorry," a merry voice so unlike Ei's chirurped behind her, "Am I interrupting? I know you wanted me to wait, but I just couldn't help myself! This is all so exciting!"

Ei covered her face with a squeak of dismay. "Makoto, no! Now really isn't the time for this!

"Aaand there she goes." Naruto slapped a hand to his forehead. "Way to kill the mood...

The Shogun could only pivot in surprise to face the newcomer.

"Oh! You must be the Shogun!" gentle hands took old of her free arm, pumping it up and down vigorously." Its so nice to finally meet you!"

Mei blinke. Once. Twice. Thrice now, and still no answers came.

A face not unlike her own gazed back at her.

"Who...are you?"

A/N: Naruto may forgive and forget, but the Shogun does not so easily.

Aaaand Makoto pokes her head out again. Told you we weren't done with her.

Three days, Ei. Three days, then you're in for a real fight.

Aaaand scene!

See you next time! Next week if I have anything to say about it, but my leg's not looking good.

As ever, the Embers Rule persists. So? Should this continue? Or fall into oblivion? Hell, it might even be ending soon. That depends on you, the reader.

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~?!

(Preview!)

Yae Miko blinked.

"Of course, something interesting happens the moment I turn my back...

"Eh? Who's the runt?"

The little girl blinked up at him with her violet blue eyes. And then.

He knew what was coming when she smiled. Somehow, he just knew. "Papa-sama!"

Mei blinked. Ei gasped. Makoto tilted her head. Naruto's eyes rolled back in his head and he keeled over with a wheeze.

R&R~!