The Raiden Shogun grunted as she stretched out as far as she could, trying her best to hang the last lantern onto the ceiling, struggling quite a bit with how heavy the parts used to make her were.
What was she doing, one might ask?
The Raiden Shogun was preparing to host a meeting with the man who had been plaguing her mind for quite some time now and as such, she needed to make the Tenshuukaku as pleasing as possible.
It wouldn't do to meet him in such a drab and dreary large room with no furniture whatsoever!
As such, she had tasked those under her to acquire whatever tasteful furniture there was in the past few days. Whatever would improve the "feng shui" of things.
She was extremely giddy about the idea of this man she liked meeting her without her having to kill him.
For all her hundreds of years of life, she had never felt this way, simply mindlessly following the programming her creator had inscribed within her, but now she truly felt like the world she lived in was much grander than she had originally expected.
Beyond the borders of Inazuma, there was a whole world that she was curious of now, but in the sense that she wanted to share all these newfound feelings with the person who sparked such feelings within her.
Caught up in her own thoughts, she forgot that she was in the midst of doing something and fell from where she had been reaching out to place the lantern.
"Uaah!" She lamented, having fallen atop the table she had prepared with a bunch of sweets that she had always seen her creator indulge in, typically eating an amount enough to satisfy ten adult soldiers.
The Puppet frantically tried to fix the now destroyed table that would never have been able to take the brunt of her body falling from such a height.
While she had not yet fully developed her own sense as a woman, it'd be unwise to mention how heavy she was to cause such damage to the table.
She sighed as she realized she'd have to get a new one and rearrange the sweets she had spent all morning to prepare.
Ironically, she was now hoping Yae Miko's meeting with Kazuha would last a lot longer to give her an ample amount of time to prepare, because she needed this to be absolutely perfect!
It was quite too bad that despite all her plans and preparations, she had forgotten one thing that would be a massive hindrance to her plot.
"Mnnngh… Why do I feel pain on my rear…?" Ei thought as she took over the puppet's will, looking around at the lavishly decorated Tenshuukaku with a serious and confused expression.
"Huh? What happened? Is an event going on here for the first time ever?" She thought, as she looked at what she seemed to be in the process of doing.
"Ohh! Sweets! My favorite too!" She chirped happily, immediately reaching out to begin enjoying what looked like snacks prepared for her.
With Kazuha
"I'm quite surprised, Kazuha~ I didn't expect you to lie on holy grounds~" The Guuji Yae picked up her tea cup to take a sip as the corners of her mouth began to inch up uncontrollably.
Opposite of her, Kazuha looked somewhat unnerved as he fidgeted quite a bit in his seat.
"Ah… I believe there's a misunderstanding between the two of us, Lady Miko…" He tried to defend himself.
"Another lie, but it matters not. You may keep trying if you wish to. Your desperation does amuse me a little." The Priestess assessed Kazuha with her gaze, seemingly admiring the young man who sat before her.
The joy that was beginning to well up from the bottom of her heart made her already beautiful face even more enchanting, but unfortunately, Kazuha knew that expression all too well in his ventures across the world.
That was the sight of a predator who had found its prey the same way his captain smiled during rather tenuous circumstances.
Kazuha's mind raced, trying to figure out what he could do during this situation, doing his best to come up with a countermeasure.
Yae on the other hand, paid no heed to his lack of response and simply decided to continue speaking to fill in the silence.
"Truth be told, you have caught me off guard. Putting other things aside, I'm also quite confident in my looks, so I didn't think you'd deny that too. Could it be that the Priestess of Watatsumi Shrine is quite ravishing? Even so, I don't believe i'd lose to her in a battle of charm. Why do you think so guarded against me though…? Could it be that…?" Yae Miko leaned forward, looking intently into the eyes of the man who was being ratted out by the amulet she had.
It was truly ironic that Kazuha, who was used to learning the secrets of others to gain the upperhand, would have it work against him while also having his true thoughts be laid out in front of someone to hold over him.
"Do you know of my true nature…?"
The instant Kazuha heard those words, he'd have sworn he could hear the sound of a chess piece landing on a chess board, accompanied by the sound of "Checkmate!" resulting in him stiffening with a level of anxiety.
Against The Grand Priestess who also had a way of discerning lies with the position to abuse her power in any way if she so desired, Kazuha had three options.
One: Admit to it outright.
Two: Admit to it silently.
Three: Deny it and be corrected by the amulet.
"Are these even options?" He exclaimed in his mind, before he sighed, accepting that he had been cornered and deciding there was no real need to keep up appearances anymore.
"Yes, you're right, so can we just maintain a distance?" Kazuha couldn't be bothered to keep up with the act anymore so he dropped his polite smile, adopting a neutral expression as he leaned back more casually, his tone becoming much colder.
"I have no real interest in anything involving you or your peers besides to do my best in bringing back my clan before leaving it in capable hands. As such, I have no desires for a close relationship with you, the Shogun or any of the noble clans, but I will assure you that unless given a reason, the Kaedehara Clan will not do anything to offend those of a higher standing if it can be so avoided, so would you be able to find it within yourself to simply let this matter drop so that we can both go our separate ways?" Kazuha let loose with his true feelings in a straightforward manner.
I won't join you, but I won't go against you.
That was the message laid out to her, showing his full desire to maintain a neutral stance in regards to any future collaborations that may involve him, which was a safe route generally to make in politics.
Little did he know, however, The Guuji Yae had her attention on something else that he had said.
"You have no interest in me? You don't find me strange?" She asked in a perplexed tone, causing Kazuha to become equally confused.
"I don't quite understand." He replied with a frown.
Yae Miko pondered for a moment, taking a moment to sip on her tea before elaborating a bit more hesitantly.
"You should understand, surely, that I enjoy seeing others in a troubled position and begging for mercy~ Don't you find it strange for a priestess to have such a side to her?" Yae awkwardly revealed the dark depths of her mind, showing how much of a dilemma she had been over this matter.
It was truly a wondrous sight that someone who vastly ranked above him in age was so shut in in terms of her knowledge of the entirety of the world. Likely due to a result of most of her experiences being simply as a Priestess and reading and writing works of fiction.
Of course, there were rare moments for her to indulge in her vices, such as teasing a certain general or bringing fear to a certain small ninja, but that was hardly enough for her to feel satisfied.
There also wasn't as many opportunities for her to fully come to an understanding that her desires were hardly the worse, though Kazuha didn't know it yet, but this seemed to have stemmed from a snippet of history with how she had promised aid not only from Ei, but herself, to what was once essentially just a child.
Recalling the last time she had met with The Balladeer, she could only do her best to differentiate herself from him, resulting in a mindset of her treating such a way of thinking as even more of an evil act. Though, if her actions come to fruition… no matter.
After listening to her words, however, Kazuha could only chuckle to himself over the lamentation of the kitsune priestess.
If there was one thing he had learned during his travels, it was that many people, even the most noble, had hidden sides to them that they conceal.
This included the same Priestess Yae Miko had mentioned, which had resulted in him keeping a cordial but distant relationship with her.
With these thoughts in mind, Kazuha had many retorts to give her, however, since he was the one looking for a concession from her, he had no choice but to water down his words.
"This is nothing at all. You're still a priestess, showing that in spite of your innermost desires, you're still someone of an upright morality. There are plenty of people like you out there, including Inazuma here. Especially among those of a high standing. This… perverse side of yours is barely worth mentioning."
"Is that so…?" She asked, her eyes glancing towards the amulet she had, seeing nothing to indicate he was lying.
"Of course." Kazuha was able to say with great confidence about this, having met many characters personally. "You don't realize how terrible people can become when they let loose their inhibitions. Compared to people I know personally, you're someone who has barely scratched the surface."
"I… I see…"
Somehow, the words sounded rather convincing coming from Kazuha, resulting in her feeling a great pressure had come off of her shoulders, making her sigh a deep sigh of relief.
"So whatever issues you may have is nothing at all. As long as you gain the consent of the other party without disturbing those around you, everything should be fine in spite of the position you hold."
"I get it now." After listening to Kazuha's views, Miko nodded deeply as a glimmer of light sparkled inside her majestic purple eyes.
"But it would still be bad for such information to spread, right? How would I find anyone who would indulge me?"
"Do you really need to ask?" Kazuha stopped himself from rolling his eyes, maintaining his composure. "You're the Grand Priestess of the Narukami Shrine. Aside from The Raiden Shogun, you're the utmost highest power in Inazuma. There are so many people who would become subservient to you. I'm certain that if you had them lined up, they'd reach from one end of Inazuma to the other so there's not much you should worry about. I'm sure anyone would be honored to accept such a role."
He gave a wry smile, feeling as if his words weren't exaggaratory at all, his gaze looking off to the distance as if there was an invisible audience who would already bow to merely kiss her feet, causing him to shudder at the thought.
"Would they really think of it that way?" She tentatively asked.
"Of course. Trust me. No one would be able to reject you." Kazuha nodded in confirmation.
Not once during this entire exchange had there been a lie from the young Kaedehara man.
"In that case, Kazuha… I think that you're a good choice…~" Yae Miko stood up, strutting up to Kazuha while carrying an air of fragrance, towering over him as she grabbed him by the collar, leaning in to speak with an assertive tone, which paired disturbingly well with the slight blush on her cheeks.
"Become mine…~"
Watatsumi Island
Sangonomiya Kokomi was going through the many reports she had gathered in the last few days since she had last seen Kazuha and the information being given to her was enough to make her suspicious of her hunches.
"Kujou Sara has been seen buying sweets in massive quantities along with many items that are seemingly being used to furnish the Tenshuukaku as after buying said objects in question, she can be seen bringing them directly back to the Tenshuukaku where the Raiden Shogun resides…" She murmured to herself as Gorou remained on standby.
"Scented candles… lavish carpets… ornamental tea sets…" She listed off the items in question, furrowing her eyebrows, trying to understand what these all could be for.
Gorou on the other hand was sweating profusely, seeming like he had swallowed a bird as she continued to list everything off one by one.
"Ah… General Gorou, what do you make of all this…?" She eventually asked, wanting to confirm her suspicions as she held herself back from crumpling the paper in her hands.
""Ahem… It seems like Kujou Sara is trying to win someone's heart from the sounds of it…" He sheepishly answered, his composure lost as he began fidgeting where he stood.
"What makes you say that, General Gorou?" She asked with narrowed eyes.
"... Because that's exactly what I wrote in response to a reader's question…" Gorou lowered his head, feeling guilty.
It was still baffling how Gorou was still unaware of the "Ms. Hina" character that had been created by the Yae Publishing House to better sell his words, but that didn't change the fact that Gorou was responsible for what could possibly be happening to Kazuha as they stood there.
"General Gorou, what was it that you said in response to this… fan of yours?"
"Ah… If I can remember it specifically, I recall it being rather direct and seeming extremely personal… The writer mentioned that they had previously killed the person they had fallen in love with's friend…" Gorou rubbed his chin in thought, remembering exactly how he responded to with that particular letter, resulting in him having to consult the Traveler who seemed extremely against answering this one for some reason.
Paimon herself looked extremely irritated with him for some reason, seemingly knowing who the sender was despite the name being obscured for the writer's identity protection.
Wait. Friend killed? A formal letter? Kujou Sara shopping for the Tenshuukaku?!
Even Gorou could connect the pieces here as he exclaimed.
"Y-you don't think that…!" He stammered to which Kokomi nodded and they answered in unison.
"The Raiden Shogun has fallen in love with Kazuha!"
"Kujou Sara has developed feelings for Kazuha."
The two stared at each other for a moment before Gorou tilted his head in confusion.
"Huh? Kujou Sara? Why would she be the one…?" Gorou asked as Kokomi looked even more perplexed.
"Kujou Sara was the one who defeated Tomo in a duel, resulting in his death. She's the one doing the shopping and clearly using her power as a general to try and seduce Kazuha. Otherwise she wouldn't have seemed so persistent the other day." The Priestess looked explained, to which Gorou responded.
"But… General Sara doesn't seem like the type who would abuse her position, especially after the recent reports we have gotten in regards to their clan head." Gorou protested, crossing his arms in thought over the matter.
"You do have a point, but I just can't see the Raiden Shogun being able to develop feelings for someone she had barely met after all these years… It just doesn't seem plausible with all the information we have at hand…" Kokomi closed her eyes in thought.
It was a strategist's worst nightmare to not have all the facts available, resulting in too many potential errors when coming up with a countermeasure towards things.
As such, she had to prepare a plan that would work regardless of which is true.
"Gorou. Prepare to leave immediately." She ordered with a sharp gaze in her normally gentle eyes as they appeared to glow ominously the moment she had thought about directly going against the Raiden Shogun.
While she had led the resistance against the Shogunate, it wasn't anything personal. It was a simple matter of differing ideals that led to their conflict.
Kokomi was well aware that she'd have lost if she even tried to directly attack the Electro Archon as no amount of strategic planning with the resources they had would allow her to shrink the gulf between their powers along with the fact that they later learned that this was all a ploy by the Fatui.
Gorou's animal instincts piqued, causing him to suddenly be on guard against his own leader, for reasons he didn't know, but if he were able to see her eyes, he'd have noticed how they seemed to have taken on a snakelike appearance.
Far off from where they were, the skeleton of what was once a divine being began to stir.
Somewhere in the middle of doing their commissions
The Traveler sighed as they continued to fish, looking rather exhausted after having to do so many tasks for the day for The Raiden Shogun.
Noticing the line being tugged on, they began to pull back with their rod as Paimon showed her excitement.
Catching yet another fish to add to their basket, they pondered over the events of the last few days, wondering what was going on with the Puppet.
They had noticed that she had been acting real strange, but didn't pay it any mind until their meeting with Gorou, resulting in them seeing a very concerning letter.
Pondering over if they should involve themselves or not, they then sensed something… unsettling in Inazuma.
It felt like how Yashiori Island felt before they had managed to free Ruu, but much more primal and ancient.
They didn't know it yet, but their close Ronin friend was going to be in the center of a rather large change to the very foundation of Inazuman's most influential members.
Far off, word had already gotten around to the reestablishment of the Kaedehara clan and with it came a century long agreement that the patriarch of another distinguished noble remembered with a frown.
"Ohhh, this one looks really good! Paimon's stomach is already growling…! Let's cook it up right now!" Paimon drooled over the poor fish who seemed to have sensed Paimon's hunger.
They sweatdropped before they looked up towards the bright sky, wondering what was going to happen from here and if they should stay in case something bad were to happen.
Here we go, lots of teasers for what is to come.
Hey, guys, do me a favor. I'll let you decide on this one.
Aether Traveler or Lumine Traveler?
Aether means that we get abyss Lumine which is cute as fuck, but there's some conficting stories with Aether ships that I don't wanna force aside.
While Lumine Traveler is cute and will not interfere in any ships relevant to me, but will make it so that the abyss has nothing to do with this story in any way whatsoever.
Also… You guys newfound hardcore IttoSara fans like me or you interested in what a KazuSara ship would look like to my mind?
Kudos.