A Guide To Mending Broken Wings

by The Greatest Show

Cross-post of my first Genshin Fic from Ao3. What are those who love a bird to do when their wings are broken and their heart is scarred? What can they do when the bird knows only to push themselves and struggle forwards as they try to flap their mangled wings? Well that is what we are hear to see my friends, for here is a story of healing those broken wings.

1. Chapter 1

Authors Note:

Good evening ladies and gentleman, today we have something a little different to offer you as we present to you a story of healing and mending as we delve into a fandom that we have recently immersed ourselves in with great joy and fervor, that being the fandom of Genshin Impact.

This story is written as an offering for the 'Genshin Femslash Spring' event that has been organized by the Genshin Sapphic Subreddit, grants it will probably still be going on long after the event has ended given the speed at which we write and update our stories.

But we digress, this is a story centered around one of our favorite characters being given the love and care she deserves after all of the pain and suffering she has endured, that character being best birb herself Kujou Sara.

Ah, and before we forget and manage to get ourselves sued-

Disclaimer: We do not own Genshin Impact or any of its characters, they belong to Mihoyo, we are merely playing in their sandbox.

With that being said, we present to you this story of a young woman being given the love and care she so greatly deserves as those who love her try to show her both just how much they care for her and just how deserving she is of the love and pampering they offer to her.

Today we present to you the first act in a story of a young birb being guided from the darker corners of her mind and into the light of her lover's arms.

Today we present to you the first chapter of -

A Guide to mending broken wings.

To the people of Inazuma, the sound of thunder was a common occurrence. Theirs was a land presided over by the Archon of Electro after all, and so it made sense that they would become quite used to the sound of thunder rumbling in the skies above them and the flashes of lightning that would further help illuminate the sky.

Some even found comfort in the rumble of thunder and the flash of lightning, for it meant that their God was with them, watching over their lands and ensuring that Inazuma would stand eternally. The fact that the rumble of thunder and the flash of lightning also brought with it rain enough to fill wells and to slake the thirst of the farmers' crops was also something of a cause for joy and happiness.

That being said of course, there were times when the fury of the God of Eternity would well and truly reach a boiling point,when the skies above would turn into roiling shadows as lashes of lightning struck the earth and thunder resounded from above with such force the world seemed to shake at the fury of the Electro Archon. Rain would fall of course, but in such quantities and with such force that it was more comparable to an ocean having been brought into the sky and then upturned upon the world below, ensuring that vision was slim and that walking anywhere was an incredibly foolish endeavor.

As a result of these frequent, and oftentimes fierce, bouts of rage, the people of Inazuma had long grown used to the storms that enveloped their land. The art of being able to quickly close down their stalls and shops, and close shutters across their windows as they sought out the safety and warmth of their homes, or to busy themselves inside of their places of work until their ladies temper had at last passed, was something of a source of pride for the people of the island nation.

All of that is to say that when a thunderstorm began to form in the middle of the day, the people of Inazuma, some working and some assisting in the clean up from the end of the war several weeks ago, were quick to seek shelter as they sighed, lamenting their Archon's temper being provoked. However, there was yet no rain or lightning much to their confusion, merely a sky darkening and darkening further until naught of the heavens could be seen save for an unending mass of roiling ink like clouds, accompanied by the distant and yet ever present rumble of thunder.

Darker and darker the clouds grew, until pitch would have appeared as bright as day. The people were left wandering in almost total blackness as they desperately sought out their homes or shelters, even the samurai who served the Shogun felt their blood begin to run cold as the darkness swallowed not only the capital city and Narukami Island, but all of islands that made up Inazuma as a whole. The shadowy darkness of the sky encompassing all of them within what seemed to be mere minutes of the the sky beginning to darken, and soon even the people of Watatsumi were left seeking shelter in their homes, the former leader of the rebels forces and Divine Priestess herself was quick to take stock of the ever spreading darkness and seek out the comfort of her blankets and her books.

But it was not just the rapidly approaching darkness that sent the people of Inazuma, and indeed even the beasts and creatures of the land from Hilichurl to Slime, fleeing for shelter and safety. For with the stygian clouds there came such a cocktail of sensations that it left many feeling nauseous whereupon they stood from the sheer intensity and variety of the feelings of an enraged god let leak into the heavens.

Chief amongst this nauseating cocktail of emotions broadcast into the skies was what seemed to be an overwhelming sense of pain and guilt with grief and sorrow mixed in alongside of such intense fury and rage that it made even the mightiest of warriors and beasts flee for safety, their weapons clattering on the ground as they fled from what something deep within them screamed would be certain death to witness.

All those who dwelt upon the island nation could feel it. This was going to be bad…this was going to be very bad.

And indeed, for many had barely made it home, and others were still searching for shelter when there came, not from the depths of the palace of the Tenshukaku as was to be expected but rather from a compound that neighboured the mighty palace, a roar of such intensity that the very island seemed to shake, the violent shaking jolting three particular ladies from their slumber.

"What the hell was that!?" came the voice of Lumine, the Traveler, as she shot out of the bed she had been laying in but a moment before, a sword forming in one hand and a mass of crackling lightning dancing atop the fingers of her other hand.

"It sounds like an earthquake." Came the sharp voice of a woman whose presence would have shocked any who saw her there, for there stood the eight Fatui Harbinger, La Signora. In one hand she held the beginning of a whip of flame and in the other a mass of cryo had begun to gather before she dismissed it as she needed to use her hand to keep herself from falling as the entirety of the compound shook once more.

The two women were quick to move to look outside to see just what was happening as amidst a flurry of stars and constellations there came the tiny form of the still half dozing Paimon.

"Lumine! I'm hung-" Her words died on her lips as the island began to shake once more, an all encompassing *BOOM* echoing across the island making all tremble, trees shook with such force that their leaves fell and mountains trembled such that boulders began to roll and fall into slight avalanches.

The third woman had jolted up in the bed she had been laying in previously, the other two women having held her in such a way that the beat of their hearts drowned out the all encompassing roar of what could only be explosions of some great and terrible volcano erupting somewhere or perhaps of some terrible struggle between gods having begun anew.

Her thoughts ground to a halt as she took in the sight beyond the open curtains of her window, a sky of such roiling stygian blackness that one would not be remiss in thinking that it was still the middle of a starless night, for indeed this is what Lumine and Signora thought as they both turned to look at the floating girl.

"Paimon," Lumine began, an edge of unease in her voice as she looked at the almost inky darkness that dominated the land outside of the window, the lamps and lanterns were not lit as none had the courage to attempt to do so with such a weight bearing down upon them from above. A weight that now began to bear down upon the women who were gazing at the world enshrouded in shadow beyond their window.

"What time is it?" The Traveler finished as she took a breath to steady herself, her eyes darting to and fro outside of the window with unease as she felt the mixture of emotions that began to bear down upon her.

Her grip on her sword tightened to where her knuckles were white.

"I-It s-s-should be a little bit past Noon!" Came the trembling voice of the tiny fairy that now hid herself behind the tall form of Signora, who was sharing a nervous look with the Traveler.

"It's the Shogun." Came the voice of Kamisato Ayaka, who had by now leapt from her bed and begun to dress herself as quickly as she could, her eyes wide with dread and fear as she saw the black sky and felt the thrum of another explosion of thunder that shook the island and made her windows rattle in their frames with such intensity she feared they might shatter.

La Signora and Lumine shared an alarmed glance as they likewise began to quickly don their own clothes, Paimon fluttering around with unease written on her face as she trembled from the roar of another peal of thunder, this one accompanied by a single almighty *CRACK* of lightning, the blinding white whip of plasma striking the earth like the lash of an enraged god.

The blinding flash made the women stumble, Lumine almost tripping as she quickly finished getting dressed, and Signora almost tripping as she donned her dress. Ayaka, who had already finished getting dressed, was moving to open her door and call for the servants to quickly close the shutters to the windows around the house in the event her brother had not already done so.

In the span of a few minutes, all of those present in the room were dressed, and Ayaka had got the attention of Thoma, who had been going to wake her up to alert on Ayato's orders as he began to make sure the estate was secured from the storm, and had informed him that her brother had forgotten to close the storm shutters and to please hurry up before the windows broke.

With a sharp bow Thoma was quick to race off, gathering a handful of servants brave enough to weather the oppressive atmosphere of the outside to make sure the shutters were closed, Lumine having joined them after she made sure her shoes were on. Surprisingly no one questioned her presence, or the presence of a Harbinger who had pulled the trembling Kamisato heiress into an embrace as Ayaka let out a low whimper from the sound of thunder echoing once more.

"Does this happen often?" Signora asked as she began to try and calm the trembling woman in her arms down, swaying back and forth as she held the heiresses head to her chest so that she could hear the thrum of her heartbeat and feel the warmth of the fire in her veins to keep her warm against the chill that had begun to envelop the island.

"N-Not Like this." The Kamisato heiress said as she fought the urge to completely bury herself in the arms of the woman that held her, her pride as an heiress of a noble clan warring with her desire for safety and warmth in the midst of an unsettling situation, she was quick to make the decision that her pride could burn as she buried her head in the woman's chest as the entirety of her clan compound shook from the force of another roar of thunder with lightning now beginning to lash the ground of the world with greater and greater frequency.

The door slid open with Lumine stumbling in a second later, the woman having moved at full speed to help close the shutters and get back inside as soon as she could as she felt her hair begin to rise from the amount of static now humming in the air.

Lumine took in the scene before joining in, pulling Ayaka into her arms so that Signora could stand and close the curtains. Paimon, who had gone with Lumine, was quick to fly over and help close the curtains. The tiny fairy, trembling with each almighty clap of thunder, moved at great speed to seize her curtain and drag it to meet with Signora's own before she buried her head in the Harbinger's chest, whimpering in fright of the loud noises.

It was but a second after the curtains were closed that a sound akin to the roar of a deep sea beast echoed across the island as the sky at last opened up, and a frigid deluge began to pour down upon the island nation. The temperature within the building quickly dropped from a slightly unpleasant chill, to a cold that struck straight to the bone of those who felt it, driving those within to seek out blankets and warm drinks or in the case of the trio, or rather quartet, of ladies to huddle together for warmth. La Signora's warmth was a welcome relief to all 3 of those present.

The rain collided with the roof of the compound with such force that all those present within the compound feared that the roof would collapse under the force of the rain. The closest description of the sound that the rain colliding with the roof made was that of the galloping of countless hooved feet stampeding at full speed and in a blind panic. The sound was near deafening and made many wince at the auditory assault that was only made all the more intense when it was coupled with the yet deafening roars of thunder that seemed to only grow in intensity the longer the storm raged on.

As the quartet huddled for desperate warmth and comfort amidst the ever increasing chill of the storm, a lone thought echoed through all of their heads in almost perfect unison, that thought being-

'What could have set the shogun off this badly?'

Earlier.

If any of the servants of the Tenkushaku palace had seen the face of the Electro Archon as she sat within her chambers, her fingers drumming incessantly on the vanity before her as her gaze continuously flickered to the clock which rested upon the nearby wall, they would have almost certainly felt ill at ease. For there upon the normally serene and calm face was an expression of concern and anxiety, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed as she tried to tear her gaze from the clock and focus on the mirror in front of her.

As she began to let her body go through the familiar motions of brushing her hair, she kept letting her gaze travel from the clock, to the doorway of her chambers which was visible within the mirror before her.

"She is late." Came a voice that rumbled like distant thunder within the mind of the Electro Archo, the voice of the Raiden Shogun. The 'she' in question was obvious to both of them, and would have been equally as obvious to the slumbering Guuji who lay sprawled across her bed, had she been awake and able to partake in their conversation.

Ei offered no answer for she knew the Shogun knew as well as she did that she agreed with the statement, for normally by now she would have knocked at her door, exactly five times, and requested permission to enter despite a permanent invitation to her chambers having been given to her quite a while ago.

Normally by now, she was softly opening and closing the door as she slipped into the room, her gaze never traveling across the room and instead immediately zeroing in on her goddess as she sat at her vanity, preparing herself for the day.

By now, she should be silently requesting permission to approach her so that she can deliver her early morning report without rousing the slumbering kitsune that lay entangled in her bed sheets and pillows. The woman in question not even sparing a glance at the near nude, or completely nude depending on the nights activities, priestess, much to the pair's continued annoyance, as she quietly strode to her goddess's side to kneel beside her chair as she relayed what she had learned from her time of waking till then.

Normally by now, Ei is softly chiding the woman for waking up too early and not letting herself rest as she should, offering her bed to the now blushing young woman so that she can rest until later on in the day if needed. Always would the young woman deny the offer with a flush to her cheeks as she continued her report, her goddess would always take the time to tell her that she could stand and deliver said report so that her knees would not ache from being pressed against the wooden floor. And likewise would the young woman always blush as she rose, nervously clasping her hands in front of her as she delivered her report, concern never failing to rise in the woman as she saw her subordinates' nervousness and yet she would never ask of it for she feared that in doing so she might drive her general to raise her defenses against her and she did not think she could stand it if that happened.

By now, she should have finished her report and offered to help her braid her hair, the Archon smiling as she felt her heart sing as she accepted the offer, letting calloused and strong hands gently card through her silken locks as she closed her eyes and savored the feeling. Sadly noting that it would be one of the few times she would be able to freely relish in the touch of her beloved general, as the woman seemed to be quite adverse to the physical contact Ei so craved after being without it for so long, and she had not the heart to demand it of her beloved general.

By now the two of them should have roused the third woman in the room who lay sprawled across her bed in deep sleep, marks of the previous nights activities gracing her skin and yet not even warranting a glance from the general much to the annoyance of the kitsune who craved her gaze and the concern of the goddess who yet feared that her general held animosity towards her priestess.

By now Ei should have finished getting ready and Miko should have begun getting ready as the other two women shared a discussion regarding what needed tending to that day before the priestess was ready and they headed off to eat breakfast. Always would this process be somewhat delayed as the kitsune tried and tried so desperately at that to get the general to fix her attention upon her as she donned her clothes and made such suggestive and seductive sounds and movements that Ei was tempted to further delay their breakfast. The Shogun would always tell her that her general was still in the room and that she was not quite ready yet to fall into their arms and while away the day in passion and pleasure, much to Ei's embarrassment.

Likewise would they normally by now be within the hallway on their way to breakfast, only for her beloved general to part ways with them as she claimed she had already eaten and had other matters that she would have to attend to before she rejoined with them later on, much to their annoyance as they wished to enjoy her company as they ate.

Yes, by now would Kujou Sara have entered her room so that her day of work and trying to make her general see the affection held for her could truly begin, and yet here she was not. Indeed, was her normally clockwork precise general late by no less than an hour, a feat which had Ei more than a little worried that something was wrong.

Even if Ei herself were not awake and at her vanity by now her general would still have arrived and gently roused her slumbering goddess to deliver her report as she knelt by her goddess's bedside, ignoring the way that Ei and Miko would try to pull her into the bed with them so that they could sleep a little while longer, as she did so.

Ei felt a small amount of trepidation begin to swell in her. A feeling that the Shogun mirrored as she could feel the other woman stalking across her plane in paces as she felt her nervousness grow.

She had to fight the urge to fidget herself, struggling to finish brushing the last of her long locks of violet hair before beginning to bind them into her familiar braid, as she wondered where the tengu that had enraptured her was at. The sound of shuffling from her bed made her smile slightly as it shook her from her worries for a moment.

"Ei? What time is it…and where is the little bird?" Asked the still half-asleep form of the Guuji as she rose from where she was entangled in the bed sheets, her eyes still half lidded with sleep and yet carrying a sharpness that only a kitsune could possess after just awakening as she looked around the room.

"It's around 11:10 or so, nearly time for lunch." Ei said, not at all bothered by having slept in so late. Yae and her had been quite busy the night before after all and had been thoroughly spent by the time their work was done.

Miko's eyes snapped open wide as she heard what time it was, another question forming on her lips only to be cut off as Ei answered her second question.

"As for where Sara is, I don't know. She hasn't arrived yet, and the servants I have sent to inquire about her whereabouts have not yet returned," Ei said as she finished braiding her hair, beginning to stand up and don the last bit of her attire as she heard Yae all but leap out of the bed and begin to don her own clothes, a look of worry on the kitsunes face as she hurried to get ready.

Ei could faintly hear her lover mumbling under her breath as she finished tightening her sash, a steely glint beginning to enter her eyes as she prepared to go on the hunt for her missing general only for a series of knocks at her door to make her jolt as she felt a smile begin to form on her face as she turned to look at the door, anticipation welling in both her and the Shogun, with Yae's eyes sharing the same gleam as Ei called out for whoever it was to come in.

She knew it was not her general from the fact that they had knocked only 2 times as opposed to 5, but still she hoped that it was one of her servants with information and lo and behold for there was the form of one of her servants, a young women who was panting as she tried to catch her breath, the light sheen of sweat on her frame telling her that the woman had more than likely sprinted the whole way to her room.

After several moments of taking deep breaths the woman stood and composed herself before she began her report.

"Your excellency," she began with a low bow before she continued. "I apologize for taking so long, but it was a challenge simply to be able to speak with the head of the Kujou Clan regarding the whereabouts of General Kujou," here the woman paused for a moment, as though considering what to say next before deciding to continue on, "I was informed that the General is under quarantine due to her being ill and has been restricted to her room for the time bei-" The woman was cut off when she heard a low snarl leave the lips of the Guuji and a distant rumble of thunder echoing in the horizon as Ei, no the Raiden Shogun's, face contorted into a snarl of rage that made the servant feel her heart stop for a moment before the the Shogun reigned in her temper and returned control to Ei.

"And why is it that the Kujou Clan head did not inform me of this, when I distinctly recall telling him that if the general had any problems with her health, be it from her wounds or from other sources, they were to be brought to my attention immediately?" Ei was surprised that she had managed to keep a snarl from her lips as she spoke. She had told the Clan Head to notify her regarding any issues with her General's health and that if she learned that he had not there would be severe consequences. Their clan was already on thin ice after their previous heads stunt and it was only due to Sara being among them that she had not been far harsher in her punishment of them.

It would seem that the new clan head thought her promise was just an empty threat…pity.

The servant before her paused for several moments as she seemed to try and think of a way of saying what the clan head had told her without provoking her god, only to decide that honesty was a good enough policy as she lifted her head and met the Shogun's gaze.

Ei raised an eyebrow as the woman spoke.

"To Quote the acting Kujou Clan head," the woman began before taking a deep breath to steady herself as she continued. " The Tengu's health has been on a decline as a result of her foolishness, and has culminated in a bout of particularly foul illness, whose exact origin and nature we are uncertain of. We are not going to allow whatever illness she has contracted to be allowed to spread to the people of Inazuma during this time of reconstruction, let alone potentially to the Shogun and the Guuji should she be summoned by them and have as such decided to place her under quarantine within her room while we search for a skilled enough healer for her." The young woman relayed.

For a moment there was nothing but silence, a complete and utter still silence akin to that which one would find within only the most remote and antiquated of graveyards, whose sole visitors were oft not but the rodents come seeking shelter from storms in tombs and mausoleums.

And then the silence was shattered, for their came a sound that could not be rightly described as anything else but the very definition of fury that emitted from the throat of the Guuji, whose nails had begun to lengthen into claws and whose teeth now appeared as not but twin rows of gleaming fangs. Her violet eyes now glowed like bale thunder, sparks humming and crackling along the edges of them as 5 tails emerged from the woman's back, each one's appearance bringing with it a greater and greater pressure that claimed all space in the room as its own and trying its very best to bring all present to kneel in awe and terror.

As the miko went to stalk past the girl and out of the room as she sought to retrieve their general, and possibly to commit several felonies along the way if the bloodlust that laid upon the room a boreal chill was anything to go by, she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

The young servant woman could not bring herself to look away from the sight before her as a gasp tore from her throat at the sight of burning violet suns which emmenated arcing sparks of pure electro energy as they bore down into her own for but a moment, and yet at the same time what felt to the young woman to be the very eternity her goddess sought, before they turned to lock with the kitsunes eyes.

The servant was certain that if she had not been kneeling before she would have slumped to the floor in a limp heap as sheer terror seized her at the sight of those burning orbs which had locked with hers. Her heart thundered in her ears and her blood, which had been rendered near frigid in terror from the miko's fury, was doing its best to keep up with said heart. The pounding of both was so great that she missed what was said between the envoy and the god.

"Ei. Let. Me. Go." Miko snarled as she tried to pull herself free from the grip the shogun had on her shoulder, only to find that it was solid and that no matter what she did, no matter how hard she struggled, she could not liberate herself from the grip of the shogun.

Ei, for indeed it was Ei who had taken over as the Shogun, whose temper was gradually approaching a point which would undoubtedly lead to not but great destruction across the entirety of their nation which had prompted her to withdraw into the plane within their shared mental space to calm herself, said nothing.

For several moments there was not but an ominous stillness as the god stared into the eyes of her envoy, until at last the miko heaved a sigh as closed her eyes and grit her teeth as she reigned in her temper.

"Fine," Miko finally choked out, words still half a snarl. "But if they do something else then-"

"I will be happy to let you vent your frustrations on them," Ei spoke up with a clam nod of her head as she released her envoy's shoulders before turning once more to the servant who had at last regained enough of her composure to understand the words her god now directed towards her.

"Would you please alert the healers that they are about to have a sick patient to attend to and to prepare for a potentially distressed Tengu." It was not a question or a request, but a command from the Goddess of Eternity as Ei gazed upon the young woman with burning violet eyes.

She had told the Kujou clan that they were on thin enough ice as it was after the stunt Takayuki had decided to pull when he allied with Kunik- no Scaramouche she corrected herself, but it would seem that they had not listened as well as she thought they had.

Pity.

The Shogun continued addressing the woman in front of her, "Also, order the staff to prepare the room below mine, it should already be clean but I want it ready for the general to move into as soon as possible, and then send someone to the Kujou clan compound after we return with the general to collect her belongings. They are to take a contingent of guards with them, and in the event the clan attempts to deny them access to the general's belongings they are authorized to use force to allow for the servants to retrieve them. That is all." The Archon finished her orders, the young woman's eyes having gone wide at the last bit before she managed to compose herself as she gave a bow before she raced off to fulfill her lady's orders.

"I thought the two of you were going to wait for the Little Bird to warm up to us a bit more before you invited her to stay with us?" Miko asked as she watched the Shogun begin to massage the bridge of her nose for a moment before she opened her eyes and fixed the Guuji with a look, one eye glowing violet and one eye dimmed to a not so bright, but still faintly glowing violet to show that the Shogun was looking at her through it.

"We were going to/We were going to," came two voices speaking as one from the lips of the Raiden Shogun, one was the voice of Ei and the other of the Shogun herself, the only difference between the two being a slight inflection on their words and the fact that Ei's voice seemed slightly less stoic then the Shogun's own.

For a moment the Goddess closed her eyes as she secured away the last bit of the rage that had been threatening to spill out of her. The faint echoes of distant thunder and the darkening skies outside that had been a tell to her rising fury silently fading away as swiftly as they had appeared, although the sky was not a clear as it should have been, and keen ears could yet detect a distant rumble, as her fury yet simmered even as it was suppressed.

It was only once she was certain that though her displeasure was still somewhat obvious, it would not be enough to cause panic and fright within her people as some continued their labors of reconstruction and others who had not been as badly affected by the battle within the city nearly a month ago went about their daily lives, that she allowed for herself to speak up once more.

"Originally we wanted to ease her into the idea of living within the palace with us," Ei began a somewhat dreamy expression in her eyes as for a moment a number of fantasies flickered through her mind's eye before she reigned herself in before continuing. "But this newest stunt by her clan has proven that they cannot be trusted to ensure her continued health and well being." Here Ei heaved a great sigh as her shoulders slumped, she had known that her general was somewhat under the weather but she had assumed it to be a minor cold or perhaps simply stress and a side effect from the wounds that Scaramouche and Takayuki had dealt to her before the Traveler and, much to the amazement of the Archon and priestess, La Signora had dealt with them, driving one away and rendering the other into such a state that the previous head of the Kujou clan had not said much since his imprisonment. It was one of the reasons she had encouraged, or rather forced, her general to take some time off and to recover from her wounds.

Yet, here she was being informed that her general had come down with something so severe that she was unable to be at her side, and yet instead of reaching out to her as they had been instructed, her clan had decided to not inform her and to take matters into their own hands. She could only imagine that they had pressured Sara into not sending for her and that the poor tengu had felt that she had no choice but to acquiesce to their demands given that she was living in their walls.

She hoped that Sara would forgive her for the strips she was about to tear off of her clan mates backs. Whether it was metaphorically or literally would depend solely upon what she learned in the near future.

Line Break

There were many things that Ei expected to occur once her and Miko had arrived at the Kujou Clan compound, the guards had taken one look at the stormy expressions worn by the two women and had made the wise decision to focus on keeping the palace safe while the two were away…they were not suicidal enough to be near the women when they looked like they were about to murder someone.

She had expected for the guards to have the state of mind to see her to her general's room as soon as possible once she had stated her reason for gracing them with her presence after their last leader's attempt at a coup, and to send for the acting clan head to meet her once she had arrived at said room.

Likewise, she had expected to see her tengu laying in a clean bed with medicine near her and a healer by her side as they treated her. Because surely they could see that the only reason they were let to walk free, albeit under surveillance and scrutiny, and not be disbanded and scattered to the winds as their position of power was stripped from them along with their assets, which she would happily use to spoil Sara with presents, was because of the honor and bravery of her beloved general.

She had expected the Kujou Clan's acting head would have the intelligence, the Shogun had snorted a laugh at the thought of anyone in the clan aside from Sara having a brain when Ei had thought about that, to have an explanation for his actions in regards to not contacting her that would not end in the clan needing a new acting head once she had heard it.

Of course, as Ei had come to know quite well over her oh so very many years upon Teyvat, things don't always go as you expect them to…for better or worse.

The first thing that greeted Ei upon her arrival at the Kujou clan compound was somewhat along the lines of what she had expected, given that so many of the clan had been a part of the chaos that had brought so much damage to her beloved city. Namely the number of guards that had been posted after several mobs of citizens had vented their rage on the clan by hurling rocks and rotten produce at and over the compound's walls and windows as well as any unfortunate people who had been outside at the time.

Ei could hear Miko let out a low growl as she took in the disheveled state of the guards, whose focus was more on what each other was saying as opposed to their surroundings as they should be given that their general lay within the compound behind them.

A sneer began to cross her face as she strode towards the gate with her kitsune struggling to keep pace for a moment before they stood before the two guards, who were so immersed in their conversation with each other that they only noticed the two approaching them when Ei's presence began to envelop them, the smell of ozone and the crackle of static electricity forcing them to snap to look at a now glaring god and her sneering envoy as they approached them.

Miko could smell the fear that began to grip the two men, and oh how the scent brought a fanged smile to her face as she looked at them with her eyes glowing slightly under the now darkening sky as Ei glares at them with disapproval clear in her burning violet eyes.

For a moment there is nothing silence as the fools try and fail to think of an excuse for their lack of attentiveness before one of them manages to stammer out a-

"Y-Your Excellence! Lady Guuji! We were not expecting you!" The guard stammered out as he looked at his fellow guard to see if they had been informed about something like this beforehand, only to receive a dumbfounded look from his fellow guard.

"I would be surprised if you had given that this visit was brought about by us learning some concerning information regarding General Kujou," Ei said, her words making the guards eyes snap open wide as they shot nervous looks towards each other, something which made the archon and her envoy narrow their eyes.

"I want to see my general immediately, one of you will escort me to her chambers and the other will send for the acting clan head to meet me outside of her chambers, and inform him that he had best have an explanation for why I was not informed of her health declining despite specific instructions being given to inform me if anything happened to her." Ei said as she began to stride forwards to enter the compound and locate her general, only for one of the guards to block her way with his spear with the other joining a moment later.

Ei paused as she turned to them with baleful eyes alight with electro energy, the sight alone enough to make both stagger backwards and yet still they stubbornly held fast their crossed spears so that they may bar her passage.

"W-w-we are s-sorry y-your grace, but by-by t-the orders of the Kujou Clan no one is to be allowed entrance to the compound without," his words died on his lips as Ei, at last having tired of this farce, struck him on the side of his head with the back of her hand with such force that it flung him against the side of the gateway, cracks spider webbing across the stone from the impact as he impacted it, his limp body sliding ot the ground with a thin stream of blood beginning to leak from his lips.

The other guard froze where he stood, terror entering his eyes as he began to tremble where he stood, his spear clattering to the ground as it slipped from his trembling hands with a loud clang that easily drew the gazed of the other guards, at least those who had not already turned their eyes towards the scene with unease entering into their eyes as they took in the scene of one of their comrades slumped on the ground unmoving and their god's baleful gaze.

"Tell me soldiers of the Kujou clan," Ei began in a deceptively calm voice as above the sky began to darken and thunder began to echo in the distance, "am I not your Shogun? Am I not your God? Well…please…answer me." Ei finished with her arms open wide as though to physically welcome their replies with Miko holding a hand over her mouth to cover the fanged smile as her eyes glowed baleful violet at the trembling forms of the guards before them.

For several moments there was not but more than silence until the guard who had dropped his spear, and had fallen onto his rear as he looked up at her form with sheer terror in his eyes, choked out a sound that could best be described as a mix between a strangled cough and a garlged yelp as he fell backwards into a dead faint.

Silence enveloped the gateway, as soldiers and servants alike scrambled into kneeling positions, pressing their faces into the stone and dirt beneath them as they did so, prayers and pleas for mercy and forgiveness tearing from their lips with all of the speed of a raging rapid as terror seized their hearts. A thousand affirmations of their faith in her and their subservience unto her tearing from their lips with speed as great, if not greater, than the prayers and please they spat out towards her.

Ei simply gazed at them with a dispassionate look in her eyes while Miko chuckled into her hand for several moments at the pathetic sight before her, until at last she relented in her fury towards them, allowing for the pressure which had bore down upon them like the weight of the darkest parts of the ocean deeps to lift and for them to scramble to their feet with eyes widened in fear.

"Now then," Ei began, her voice calm as she looked at the trembling mass before her, "must I repeat myself? " She finished with a light glow building in her eyes as the air began to hum with static. Miko had lowered her hand to reveal her fanged smile as arcs of pink lightning danced amidst her finger tips, her own orbs glowing as balefully as her gods as the servants and soldiers were quick to stammer out apologies as they tripped over one another to show them where their general was.

"What do you know," Miko began as they were escorted by an aging man who bore the robes of a servant, "They do have some common sense among them, however small it may be.'' The kitsune finished as she chuckled to herself, Ei smirking in agreement as the Shogun mentally chimed in with her own chuckle as she voiced her agreement with the Guuji's words.

For a moment there was nothing but silence as the three walked down the corridors of the compound until they arrived at a small building that sat at the very edges of the compound, a lone guard sitting in a chair before the door to block exit and entry alike. The Archon and her Envoy blinked in confusion as they were led closer and closer to the building.

"I thought you were taking us to where General Kujou was," came Miko's voice, her eyes narrowing into slits as electro began to hum across her fingertips once more as she looked at the servant who had turned to them, fear etching itself upon his face as he beheld the fury present in the Guuji's eyes and the unvocalized disdain in the Shogun's own orbs.

"I-I-I a-am l-lady Guuji," the man stammered out, as he pointed towards the remote building. "L-lady S-sara r-r-resides i-in th-there." He choked out as he saw the way the kitsune's eyes widened before once more narrowing into razor thin slits as a snarl tore from her lips as she marched past the trembling man, purposefully sending him sprawling onto the ground as she did so, and towards the building, Ei right beside her all the while.

The first thing that greeted them as they drew near the building was the stench of sake that wafted from the lone guard who sat in front of the door, empty bottles lay sprawled around his feet as he seemingly slept in the wooden chair he sat upon. The mere sight of the man who was supposed to be protecting their little bird instead napping with an overwhelming odor of alcohol coming from him was enough to make Miko snap.

Ei had gotten to deal with the gate guards, this one was hers.

Without prompt or preamble the kitsune walked over to the man, her nose wrinkling from both the stench of his sake and the more foul odor that wafted from the doorway behind him, and lashed out with a kick that sent him sprawling from his chair and onto the hard ground.

The man had barely been able to mumble a slurred question before the kitsune seized him by his throat and, with a snarl that made the servant yelp and fall onto his backside, flung him across the stretch of the courtyard and into the wall of another neighboring building, a crack heralding the drunken man's return to the realm of unconsciousness as suddenly as he had left it.

Miko stood there for a moment as she reigned herself in before turning to offer Ei a fang filled smile, an unspoken request present in her gaze to which Ei offered the faintest of nods in response. The man would be hauled into the dungeons later on, once they had made sure that Sara was okay.

Miko smiled and nodded at Ei before her smile vanished as the foul odor wafted towards her again, a low sound accompanying it, a sound which made Miko stand straight upright as though a bolt of electro had torn through her frame. Ei, having moved to join her familiar, likewise went still as the sound reached her ears.

It was a sound that neither of the two ever wished to hear again. It was a sound that had haunted their nightmares for the last several weeks after the events that had been masterminded by Scaramouche and Takayuki.

It was a pain filled whimper. A whimper filled with such agony and misery that it made their hearts cry out in grief of their own. Especially since they knew well whose voice the pain filled whimper had been uttered in.

Without a second to think or any spoken words between them, the two women sprung into action, the servant long forgotten as Ei tore the door from its hinges and flung it aside with strength and speed so great that it tore through the wall of the building it had been flung ito as though a siege engine had launched it as she and Miko aline lunged into the room, only to freeze at what they saw.

For a moment there was nothing but the continuous sound of pained whimpers, and the ever growing thundering of their own heartbeats to fill the still silence of the room.

For a moment the two women were transported back in time, back to moments of tragedy and sorrow which had cracked and fractured and shattered and broken them over the many years they had walked the surface of Teyvat.

For a moment Ei saw Sasayuri, brave and loyal and wonderful Sasayuri laying in a pool of their own rapidly spreading blood as she searched the wreckage and debris of the battlefield for her missing friend. For an instant she felt the same flare of denial that, no, this can't be right, and that maybe she's just sleeping, echoing through her mind before she ruthlessly crushed them as she fought the tears that had begun to gather in her eyes.

For a moment Miko felt the thunderbolt shock and all encompassing fear that came when her long time mentor and dear friend Saiguu had faded away, into the endless darkness that had enveloped the world. Leaving her with so many questions left unanswered and so many dreams and promises broken and rent asunder by the catastrophe. She distantly noted the familiar salty taste of her own tears as they trickled from her eyes.

For a moment Ei felt the weight of her sister in her arms, the warmth of her blood soaking through her clothes and staining her skin crimson as she gazed up at her with eyes filled with a rapidly dimming light as Ei's tears rained down upon her face. She could feel those same tears beginning to run down her cheeks again as she lost the battle to hold them back. Miko was likewise reminded of Makoto, of the way she had looked so small and so frail in those moments before the end, as her life poured out of her and onto the ground around them as they wept for her.

For a moment it was these remembrances and the feelings that came with them that held dominion over the women and rooted them in place. Mere helpless statues forced to bear witness to a horrible spectacle as their grief and anguish and pain tore through them in a magnificent and terrible inferno until something greater replaced it, for but a moment later another wheezing gasp filled with pain echoed through the room, and the spell that their memories held over them snapped like the string of a bow pulled far too taut.

And the moment the control that their memories had held over them snapped, was the moment that all hell broke loose.

For in the next moment the skies of Inazuma began to darken and darken fast as Ei tore into the room, Miko joining her an instant later as they both tore to the figure, whose appearance had roused these memories within them and whose apparent suffering made their hearts ache and their tears begin to flow anew.

The sight that could stir such sorrow and grief

They cared nothing for the puddles of filth and waste, of vomit and sweat and whatever else was within them, as they surged towards the small pallet that lay in one of the corners of the room, where the stench of sickness and filth was such that Miko felt nausea tear through her and even Ei, god that she was, felt like she would be ill as they approached it.

Absent-mindedly they avoided the spilled bowls and broken plates and trays of rotting food that the woman who writhed in agony on the pallet could not bring herself to stomach in her condition.

With a snarl on her lips the Shogun seized control of one of Ei's arms to unleash a nova of crackling Electro that seared away all that laid in their way, leaving nothing but lichtenberg marks scorched into the floor along with the heady aroma of ozone to bar their way from the woman they loved.

Miko fell to her knees first, her breath leaving her in a sharp gasp as she looked at the writhing mass that lay tangled in sweat and filth soaked blankets on the hard futon before her. Her hand absently reaching out to gently card through now oily slick raven locks as she laid it upon the feverish skin of the Tengu warriors forehead.

Indeed, there laid before them the sprawled form of Kujou Sara, her skin waxen sans for the feverish flush that adorned her face as sweat trailed down from her forehead as she shivered with such ferocity that it appeared as though her body were seizing from the force of them. Her clothes were soaked almost clean through in sweat and dried vomit as her sheets were, and her body was caked in dried filth from the time she had spent unwashed. And her wings, oh her wings, which were always such a beautiful sight, were now caked in filth in such density that many of her feathers looked to be bound in clumps both large and small and many other clumps were missing revealing swollen and raw flesh beneath where the feathers had once been.

In all the visage of the proud, beautiful and handsome general was gone and in its place was a woman who had been reduced to a mass of fevered flesh and filth soaked clothes as she writhed in fevered agony with a loog of such pain upon her face it brought the two immortals to tears as they beheld it.

Ei said nothing as she raised her trembling hand and gently, oh so gently lest she hurt the woman who looked to be oh so frail, laid it upon Sara's cheek, the heat of her fevered flesh enough to make Ei feel as though she were holding her hand against a teapot as it rests over a flame as opposed to flesh.

For a moment Ei could not believe her eyes. For surely this could not be Sara, their Sara, no surely it could not be. She had looked well when she had been sent back to her compound to rest, well enough for her healers, who were among the best in all of Inazuma, to agree that such a decision should be safe for her to do so as long as she took the time to properly rest and had someone to help clean and rebandage her wound so that they didn't get infected-

Ei felt as though one of her own lightning bolts had struck her as a bolt of sickening realization tore through her, the Shogun releasing a snarl of such furious malice that it caused the skies of the plane of Euthymia to darken to a shade of black so absolute in its absence of light that it would have made the eyes of any who gazed upon it ache from the pain of beholding such an absence of light, as a realization tore through the two of them.

A realization that Miko appeared to likewise come to as she gently stroked the sweat and filth slicked forehead of their beloved general, her fangs gleaming in the light that streamed through the doorway as her form trembled with barely suppressed rage as pink lightning began to arch and dance across her skin even as low whimpers left her lips at the pained groans and whimpers that left the tengu who writhed below them.

It was a particularly harsh cry of pain as fever clouded eyes opened as Sara seemed fit to choke on the bile that began to rise in her throat that truly jolted the two from their thoughts as Ei quickly helped the young woman to sit up and rubbed her back as Miko pulled her oily hair away from her face as she retched off of the side of her futon, little more than bile and stomach acid leaving her lips as she clutched her stomach, agony wrote in bold across her face.

"Ei-" Miko had barely managed to get the word out before the Shogun cut her off, correctly guessing what the kitsune was going to ask her.

"Go. Get her to the healers in the Tenkushaku…I'll deal with the clan." Ei said, the last few words leaving her lips in a thunderous rumble amidst an audible crackle of violet lightning that began to arch and dance across her skin as the sky outside began to darken to a black so stygian that it bathed the islands in complete shadow.

Miko gave a nod before she quickly leaned in and gave Ei a brief peck on her lips before she lifted Sara out of her futon and into a bridal carry before the two vanished amidst a crackle of pink lightning.

Ei knelt there a moment longer before she rose, her gaze traveling over the room her general had called her own after she had stood to her full height. Her eyes roamed over the room, taking in the filth and her nose took in the foul odor of illness and filth that had been spared the Shoguns nova of electro energy, as she seared the sights and smells into her mind a silent vow that she would both make certain that nothing like this was ever allowed to happen to her general again and that she would make the Kujou Clan pay for this injustice echoed through her and the Shogun's mind.

Idly she noted something out of the corner of her eyes that made her turn to look at a sight that stole the breath from her lungs and made the Shogun release a low gasp of her own as they moved towards it.

She paid no mind to the ash and filth as she strode towards a particularly desolate looking corner of the room, where filth and feathers were pooled in a large dried puddle before what looked to be a makeshift altar, upon which rested 5 lacquerware statuettes of her with her eyes closed in meditation and a sword resting upon her lap as she smiled peacefully.

For a moment there was silence in the room, and within the Plane of Euthymia as her and the Shogun both gazed upon the shrine before them, idly noting the loving care with which each of the statuettes had been maintained and the great care that had been taken by their owner to prevent them from coming into contact with any of the vomit and filth that came from them as they writhed with fever.

For a moment the thunder that had been echoing in the stygian sky overhead vanished and all was silent as Ei and the Shogun both closed their eyes as they heard footsteps draw near the building and the beginning of a voice speaking up. But the words that the source of the voice would have spoken were drowned out as in the next instant Ei and Raiden opened their eyes and-

There was no real way of describing the sound that left their shared lips. A roar, a scream, a howl, a shriek, all could be considered and yet none could quite do the sound justice. What was certain about the sound was the sheer force of the thunder and lightning it heralded the descension of. With thunder roaring above with such force the building she was in shook as a window cracked in its frame and lightning so bright it nearly blinded those who glimpsed it as it struck the earth like the lash of some fell god, or in this case a livid god.

When the last of the sound had left her lips Ei felt her chest heave as she took in several deep breaths as regained herself before she turned to regard the source of the voice. Her balefully glowing orbs alighting swiftly upon the dazed and trembling form of the acting Kujou Clan head who laid upon the ground with blood dripping from his ears as he looked up at her with terror written upon his face.

Ei said nothing as she approached him, a serene expression upon her face as she did so.

She said nothing still when Raiden seized control of one of her arms and snared the man by the throat as she strode outside of the building, absently waving a hand to raise a barrier around it to protect it from the storm as she did so.

She was still smiling oh so gently as she vanished amidst a crackle of violet lightning, the young man having been taken with her.

Within the confines of the Kamisato Clan compound three women and a fairy huddled closer together as they swore screams began to echo amidst the storm, and a clan head and his retainer tried to ignore the sound of pained shrieking that echoed amidst the winds and rain to the best of their ability.

And within the confines of the medical wing of the Tenkushaku, a tengu's fevered nightmares began to fade as the scent of sakura petals drifted over them and a warm voice whispered in their ears as healers scrambled about.

Fin Chapter 1