Nobody else tried to stop them from leaving the palace. Apparently, they got the one dedicated guard to stand outside her room, because most of the guards and palace staff just stood and stared at her. Some even dropped to their knees. The Traveler then used her strange, alien magic to teleport them instantly to the Kamisato estate, a process that felt like being turned inside out and sucked through one of the Anemo Archon's whirlwinds.
When they arrived, the Shogun threw up in the nearest bush, very exaltedly.
The Kamisato estate wasn't impressive. It was no grand palace, at least- only a plain, blocky mansion, and a feeble yard with a puddle for a pond. But the air was filled with silence and the sweetness of cherry blossoms, a permeable tranquility that killed the Shogun's instinct to make snarky comments about the size of her enemies' home. It helped her forget the taste of bile lingering in her mouth.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Hey. Ball."
Oh. Right. Serenity wasn't allowed with the Traveler around. The Shogun cracked an eye open. "Hm?"
"Nothin'. Just wanted to see if you'd reply."
The Traveler rapped her knuckles on the Kamisatos' door and then put her hands behind her back, bobbing like an earnest child awaiting a gift. The Shogun frowned down at her. "Can you not do that? Your spritely energy is giving me an ulcer."
"Oh, don't be like that. Roboids don't get ulcers."
The Shogun was formulating a retort to that when the door swung outwards. She had been expecting to be greeted by one of the servants.
Sara stood in the doorway, panting heavily. She had discarded her armor and ornamental tassels, leaving her in only a tight, black shirt and a pair of shorts. She was sweaty. The impressive musculature in her arms glistened as she moved.
The Shogun swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.
"Apologies, Traveler. I was doing my daily exercise routine and-" Sara's eerie, hawkish eyes landed on the Shogun, springing wide. "A-Almighty Shogun!" She squeaked, falling to her knee so quickly it bounced off the floorboards. She didn't even flinch. "Forgive me! My attire is extremely inappropriate! I… I didn't know you would be gracing the estate today!"
The Shogun's eyes narrowed, her glare falling on the Traveler. The tiny blonde only smiled innocently, throwing up peace signs.
Sara's eyes were still boring holes in floor.
"Wait. You didn't ask for me to come here?" The Shogun asked.
She shook her head furiously. "No, my Lord! I would never presume to call upon you! The Traveler told me she was only going out to get a snack! Please, give me a moment, I'll go change into-"
"Don't." The Shogun said, a little too quickly. Sara looked up. The Traveler snickered.
The Shogun cleared her throat. "I mean, no, that's fine. I'll survive. Please just stand up."
Sara got to her feet, rigid as if she had been called to attention, but her eyes flickered around as if she were desperately trying to find something to stare at in the distance. "Y-Yes, Raiden. I forgot myself. Excuse me."
"Is it just me," Ei said, hovering by the Shogun's shoulder. "Or is she trying very hard not to look at your chest?"
The Shogun coughed pointedly. "Is it hot out here? It's quite hot, I think. We should go inside."
"Of course." Sara said. "I'm sure Ms. Kamisato would be-"
"Great idea," The Traveler broke in, rubbing her hands together. "We can go check out Sara's room. You're going to love her figure collection."
The Shogun frowned, unsure what to make of that comment. "Hm? You collect figures, Sara?"
Sara's face turned bright red, her eyes becoming saucers. "No! I-I just remembered! The house is dirty! Too dirty! We have to stay out here!" She nearly tripped over the doorstep in her haste to get outside, slamming the door shut behind her.
The Shogun didn't think about how close the girl was, or how there wasn't even an arm's length between them. She also didn't think about how she could smell her sweat.
"Oh my Me." The Shogun croaked out. Her body was suddenly slightly too warm. Ei's laughter bounced around her skull.
Sara didn't seem affected by the proximity. "It's nothing, I swear." She said, and then gave the Traveler a death stare. "The Traveler was just being a comedian. I have a few lacquerware statues. Nothing strange."
"Mhm." The Traveler said. "Guess a tea party's off the table. Oh well. What're you up to lately, Sara? Anything fun?"
"Well, yes. I find daily exercise to be immensely rewarding. I was about to begin my bow practice-"
The Traveler sighed. "Boring. I was trying to hint at the fact you've been taking bounties on the Kamisato estate board to pass the time."
"Oh. Yes, I am. Inazuma's army may have no need of me anymore, but that doesn't mean Inazuma doesn't. Monsters still stalk these lands, human and otherwise."
The Shogun was having trouble following the conversation. Why were they still standing so close? Sara couldn't look directly at her, but somehow had no problem standing firmly in her personal bubble. Was nobody else uncomfortable?
"That sounds dangerous." She managed to say, wiping her clammy hands on the skirt of her kimono.
"It is, in theory. But I haven't run into any complications. I am the greatest warrior in the Shogun's army, after all." Her face fell. "At least, I was."
Sara's pained expression reactivated something in the Shogun, and her reason for even being at the Kamisato estate sprang back into her mind. You need to be the big, powerful Shogun and go comfort your only friend.
"You still can be." The Shogun said, the words spilling from her mouth before she could rethink them. "I'll go with you. You'll be my army of one."
Sara froze, her expression going blank. Embarrassment flooded the Shogun's system- but she stood strong, her posture relaxed as she could manage, and hoped her face wasn't flushing.
The Shogun could see the mini tanuki turning the gears in Sara's head for a moment, before the tengu staggered backwards, as if she had just then realized how close they were standing. "Oh, no. Excellency, I couldn't possibly ask something like that of you-"
"Good thing you didn't ask." The Shogun said. "Now report, General. Where's this 'bounty'?"
Sara's eyes may not have been human, but they filled with the most human joy the Shogun had ever experienced. She thumped her chest with her fist, nodding. "Yes, my Lord! There is a powerful Kairagi Warlord on Serai Island by the name of 'Augustus'. We…" She faltered. "W-Why are you looking at me like that?"
"…Augustus?"
"That's his name!"
The Shogun rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Carry on."
"Thank you. As I was saying, the Kairagi resides on Serai Island. But that means it'll be at least a full day's journey, even if we get the fastest boat in all Inazuma. So I don't know how feasible taking this commission really is-"
The Traveler popped up between them, nearly shutting the Shogun's heart down. She had forgotten the little yellow creature was even there. "Did someone say 'teleport'?"
The Shogun's stomach churned at the mere thought of it. "Oh no you don't. Never again. Do you hear me? I refuse to subject myself to your infernal magic, imp. Never again."
They took the teleporter.
When they arrived, the Shogun threw up, very nearly hitting the Traveler's pointy-toed shoes.
She recoiled, her face scrunching in disgust. "Ugh. How do you have so much vomit? You don't even eat anything. Do you have stomach acid?"
"I don't know!" The Shogun wailed, furiously wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand. "I'm cursed! Teleporting has cursed me!"
Sara staggered around, blinking rapidly. She was greyer than usual. "Woah."
The Shogun had given her time to bathe and change into her business attire before they left, more for her own sake than anyone else's. It wouldn't do for Sara to be killed because the god protecting her was too busy staring.
"Well, girls and ghouls, it's been fun." The Traveler said, patting Sara on the back. "But I've done my work for today, so I'll be off. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."
Sara's face was slowly returning to its normal shade of inhumanely pale. "Wait, what?"
The Traveler chuckled wryly, staring off into the amethyst horizon. "Heh. You wouldn't get it."
With that, she was gone. No lights, no sounds, no puff of smoke. Just gone.
"I wouldn't get it?" Sara pursed her lips in a slight frown. It was adorable. "Why wouldn't I get it?"
"Our sweet, simple Sara." Ei said from where she lounged against a tree, shaking her head. "She just makes you want to protect her, doesn't she?"
The Shogun walked past the ghost without so much as a glance.
Serai Island was very… purple. The landscape was purple, the water was purple, and the sky- where is wasn't torn asunder by storms- was purple. There was an unmistakable tension in the air, the heavy pressure of building electricity, hanging over them like an executioner's axe. The only sound was the rolling thunder overhead, interrupted sparingly by the crackling of lightning, and the storms seemed to be the only things that moved.
It was an eerie, dead place.
"Hm." The Shogun said. "I like this island a lot. Why don't I have a palace here?"
"I truly can't say, Lord Shogun." Sara said, coming to stand beside her. She aimed a finger toward a hanging cliff in the distance. "The Traveler was kind enough to drop us off fairly close to the Kairagi's alleged campsite. It should be just over there."
"Let's get moving, then. We wouldn't want to waste our precious daylight."
That thoughtfully confused frown came over Sara's face again. It was still adorable. "But... it's always dark on Serai Island, your Excellency. We have no daylight to lose."
The Shogun had to look away from her to keep from laughing, willing away the giddiness rising in her stomach. Ei had been right.
They walked in silence. Sara kept glancing over at the Shogun pensively, her mouth open a sliver, as if there was some thought eager to escape from her head. But she never said anything.
She did, however, have a very strange habit. The way she walked was very deliberate, as if she were counting- and every fifth step, she would whisper to herself. Five.
The Shogun would've asked her about it, if Ei ever shut up.
"Look, Shogun." Ei said, strolling along beside her. "You have to acknowledge me at some point. I'm sorry that we got in that fight, alright? I was having an off day, and you were being so mopey and irritating. I didn't mean what I said. I wouldn't hurt your general. Truly."
The Shogun didn't know if Ei could read her thoughts, but just in case, she started thinking the nastiest, most violent string of words that she could muster.
"Seriously. I'd rather we be friends than enemies. I'm going to take Inazuma back at some point, and I'd very much appreciate if my puppet wasn't fighting me tooth and claw. Life would be so much easier that way, don't you think?"
The Shogun stopped walking. "I'm not your puppet."
Sara stopped too. "Huh?"
"What?" Ei said. She seemed genuinely confused. "Of course you are. How could you be anything else? Just because you're broken doesn't mean your strings have been cut."
"Go away."
Ei scoffed. "Go away? Really? I don't think you understand how this relationship works. The only reason I'm not walking around in your skin is because I don't want to. It's the same reason I haven't killed the traitors. If I wanted to do it, it would be done. So I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a simple malfunction in my machine isn't going to be enough to keep me from using it. The sooner you accept-"
"Go. AWAY!" Grasscutter materialized in the Shogun's hand, wild electricity roaring from the weapon as it swung through the air. The blade stopped just before it touched Ei's neck.
She smiled.
The Shogun's body locked up, frozen exactly in place. Her muscles wouldn't so much as twitch. The panic of being trapped slithered its way through her stomach, her heartbeats coming in short bursts.
Her arms moved, but they didn't feel like her arms anymore; she was simply watching someone else play with a doll. She flipped Grasscutter around with a single, smooth motion, pressing the blade against her own stomach.
She didn't know if would hurt. She couldn't even remember what pain felt like. Had she ever experienced it? Could she?
Sara's eyes went wide. She reached out a hand. "Shogun!"
The blade pushed through the softness of her belly.
It did hurt.
When the Shogun came to, she was curled up on her side, her arms wrapped around her stomach. Despite herself, she was whimpering, her face hot from the sting of fresh tears. Sara was holding her close, her head resting on her lap, stroking her hair with a gentle hand. Normally, such a development would've sent the Shogun into a malfunction. But just then, she couldn't feel anything but gratitude.
Grasscutter was gone. The pain was gone. But the phantom still lingered, sending her body into shivers at the memory of it. She knew very acutely why normal people didn't like being stabbed.
"I can't win." She whispered into Sara's leg. "I can't."
"Did… did she do this?" Sara said, her voice taut. Her comforting touch didn't relent.
The Shogun didn't bother to pretend she didn't understand the question. Sara probably knew every detail. The thought crushed her. "Yes."
"That fucking bitch. If she wasn't dead, I swear I would kill her."
The Shogun nearly went into shock. She had never heard Sara curse before, much less a curse involving an Archon. "Eh? I thought you loved the Electro Archon. She's your almighty protector."
"No." Sara's voice, as quickly as it had become hateful, was soft. "Don't you see? The Electro Archon hasn't protected us in centuries. The Shogun has. You have. And now that I know the two are separate, I can firmly say I hold no loyalty to the Archon. I'm your general, not hers."
"I wasn't protecting you. I was just following my programming."
Sara grabbed the Shogun's face, forcing her to look up at her. The Shogun went still, staring into her eyes. They burned with golden fire. "I don't believe that. I don't. I've stood at your side for a decade, and I've seen you do incredible things. Your strength is something people rally behind. Your presence is something they take comfort in. Your cause is something they believe in. They love their Shogun, just as I do."
The Shogun turned away. Looking into her eyes was too hard. "They never knew they were rallying behind me. I never had a cause. It was just a ghost, winding me up and watching me spin."
"Fuck the cause, then! Nobody knows what 'manifesting Eternity' means anyway!" A drop of moisture fell onto the Shogun's cheek. A tear. "I just wish you could see it. They never believed in Eternity, Raiden. They believed in you."
The Shogun was quiet a moment. "What were you going to ask me? While we were walking?"
"I…" She took a breath. "I wanted to ask if you remembered all the years I spent at your side. I want to know if you remember me."
"And if I don't? What if it's all lost behind a haze of cold, half-memories? Just film reel from a puppet who couldn't feel?"
Don't say that. Please… please remember me."
The Shogun searched through her tangled memories, each one like a shard of ice. Her sister's death. Her death. Her creation. Years and years atop the throne, sitting there. Always alone, trapped by Ei's Eternity.
And then a girl, standing at her side. A cool, steady presence. A friend.
"I never thanked you." The Shogun said, nearly choking on the words. She was crying again, but she didn't bother to stop the flow of tears. "I never, ever thanked you."
Sara laughed. Her hands brushed against the Shogun's shoulder, like she was drawing something with the tips of her fingers. The Shogun still didn't know if her skin was real or not, but she was very aware of the touch. "No, you didn't."
"Thank you."
Sara's hands faltered, and then continued their circling. "Y-You're welcome, excellency."
"I thought I told you to stop calling me that."
"Of course. Sorry." For once, Sara didn't actually sound sorry.
They stayed there for what could've been an eternity, perfectly still. The Shogun certainly didn't mind; despite how much she exercised, Sara's thighs were still pleasantly soft. She made a good pillow.
"Um. Do you still want to fight that samurai?" Sara eventually said.
"No. He'll still be there tomorrow."
"Very good point. Goodnight, my shogun."
The Shogun closed her eyes. And for the very first time in her very long life, she fell asleep.