Night had fallen around Narukami Shrine. Beneath the shadows, a journalist snuck up the steps and made her way towards Lady Gujii's abode. Charlotte was on the hunt. Journalists always looked out for the next big scoop, and Charlotte had her eyes on one such story.
Yae Miko had been absent for a whole week. Nobody had seen hair or tail of the shrine maiden in the Serenitea Pot since. The last time that had happened, she invaded Aether's dreams for a booty call.
She had to find out if that scheming vixen was up to something.
Hiding beneath a Torii Gate, Charlotte waited for her contact. It didn't take long for Lyudochka to emerge with a broom. She swept the steps innocently.
"Lovely weather tonight," said the shrine maiden.
She replied, "Yes, but I always carry an umbrella."
Lyodochka reached behind the counter, producing a box. She walked over and handed the box to Charlotte. It was hefty though not too heavy. The insides sounded like paper.
"This is legit?" asked Charlotte.
"Taken right off Gujii printing presses. This is what she's been working on."
Charlotte handed her a small sum of Mora, but Lyudochka refused.
"I'm only doing this because you're Katarina's friend."
Lyudochka resumed sweeping. Box in tow, Charlotte descended the mountain path. She made her way back through the city to the Kamisato estate. Thoma greeted her at the entrance and directed her to her room. Ayaka had graciously offered to house her for the length of her stay. The estate proved more comfortable than any shabby hotel ever would.
Charlotte thanked Thoma and locked herself in the room.
"Alright Miko," she whispered as she set the box on the table. "Let's see what you've been up to."
She opened it. As she guessed, the insides were full of papers. Most had been compiled into a packet, simply titled Nightmares. A little too concise for a light novel title. Charlotte flipped to the table of contents. She recognized names: Jebrael, Meluse, Silver, Teppei, and Tadhla. Those were all people Aether knew—people who died. A few phrases seemed familiar too: 500 Samsara Deaths, Abyss Order, The Disappearance Cases in Fontaine…
She flipped ahead to the introduction.
To the girls, Aether has nightmares. When we visit him in his dreams, we must help him overcome those nightmares. I have made a comprehensive packet outlining the sources of his stress and traumas. Please familiarize yourselves with the content of this packet.
When comforting him, remember to be mindful of your words. Aether has a praise kink. That's part of why he can't say no to any request. He likes people praising him. Make sure, when you're in bed with him or when you visit him in his dreams, you praise him. Tell him he's doing a great job, not just with sex but at being a hero.
Charlotte felt a lump in her throat. So that's what she'd been working on. All this time, while she suspected the worst, Miko was just thinking about Aether's wellbeing. The fox could be so mischievous that Charlotte forgot she too had a heart.
She put aside the packet and discovered a second, thicker packet. The introduction read:
To Aether,
The girls all have their nightmares spawned from their fears and stresses. I have outlined their fears in a generalized appendix and made a far more detailed analysis for everyone. When you visit them in their dreams, help them face these fears in the way only you can. With your help, hopefully, we can end all their nightmares for good.
Appendix:
Amber
From what I gather, she gets nightmares that one day you won't need her anymore.
Arlecchino
Her traumas manifest in her nightmares: all the friends she killed, her upbringing at the House of the Hearth, and in the face of Mother. She hides it well, but her scars run deep. Moreover, intimacy frightens her. Letting down her guard around you still scares her.
Ayaka
She fears losing you, one of the first true friends she's ever had. The stresses of her duties to Inazuma also weigh heavily on her mind.
Barbara
She fears a day when she can no longer make people smile.
Beidou
It's strange but I'm not sure Beidou's scared of anything like the others. She's not haunted by her rough upbringing, her clash with Heissan, the storms she's weathered at sea, or much else. She worries occasionally for her crew but believes they can handle themselves.
Candace
She loves Aaru Village. She's scared that one day she'll fail to protect it.
Collei
She has frequent nightmares about the Doctor and Fatui.
Charlotte
I often forget her mental fortitude. Charlotte doesn't fear the enemies she's made doing her job or that she's inadequate. I think what frightens her is that one day she won't be able to do her job anymore. When that happens, she fears nobody will hold criminals accountable and countless wrongdoings will go undocumented.
Chevreuse
It's funny; she and Charlotte have different professions, but their fears are identical. Like Charlotte, Chevreuse wonders "Have I done enough for Fontaine?" For Chevreuse, she fears that she will fall short of her father Donatello's example. She has one other pervasive fear: a case where the word of the law conflicts with her sense of morality. If faced with such a conundrum, she's not sure she'd have her father's resolve to do the right thing. Personally, I think she would, but that's neither here nor there.
Chiori
She doesn't want to fail. After putting so much time and tears into her workshop and her craft, she's afraid it will all come to nothing if she fails. Chiori takes great pride in what she's accomplished. Beneath her confidence, she's scared of losing it all.
Cryo Cincin Mage
She fears the coldness of solitude. She doesn't want to be alone forever; she needs people surrounding her with love and affection.
Clorinde
She doesn't fear much, except that she and Navia might one day no longer be friends.
Dehya
Like Beidou, she doesn't really have any frequent nightmares. She's a strong-willed person. Sometimes, she worries about the future of her people but she's generally optimistic now that Nahida's in charge of Sumeru.
Eula
She fears that Mondstadt will one day reject her, and she fears being abandoned by her friends. She doesn't want everyone to see her as another Lawrence.
Faruzan
She deeply misses all her friends and family from 100 years ago. Finding sources of funding also causes her serious stress.
Fischl
The nightmares of the Prinzessin revolve around her friends rejecting her as she is.
Furina
The stress of her 500-year performance left wounds on her psyche. Sometimes, she sees the prophecy coming true, she thinks about all the people who would have perished if she failed. But what truly hurts her is the loneliness.
Ganyu
She's troubled by her body. Ganyu worries that she's not beautiful compared to the other girls. In her nightmares, she gets overweight, and her horns grow long. You reject her and Liyue turns on her. Furthermore, she worries that her mixed heritage means that she doesn't belong in the world of Adepti or of humanity. Of course, her workload gives her stress too.
Hu Tao
I don't know at all. You'll have to find out yourself.
Jean
She fears that she might fail her duty to Mondstadt. Jean takes her duty seriously, as she loves her city. The idea that she could fall short and disappoint her lineage remains a constant thought in her mind.
Jeht
She dreams about Babel, her mother's killer, and her father. She's most scared of being left behind and abandoned.
Katarina
She gets nightmares about the Husks that almost killed her in the Abyss. She's not scared of death. It would be most accurate to say that the fear of death has been drilled out of her. I can only imagine what hellish training she endured.
Keqing
She used to have nightmares that she was inadequate. Now, most of her nightmares revolve around two things: the stresses associated with her duties to Liyue and you. She loves you deeply and worries for your mental well-being. The idea that you might be in pain keeps her up at night.
Kokomi
She dreads failing the people of Watatsumi. The war and her duties are great worries to her.
Layla
Low self-esteem manifests in her dreams where she's a failure who disappoints her parents.
Lisa
I think she mostly worries for you and Jean. She thinks you both work too hard. Lately, she's been concerned for the well-being of Katarina and Cryo Cincin Mage.
Lynette
Growing up on the streets has left her hostile to most people. She often remembers the night she was almost taken advantage of by that wealthy older man.
Mirror Maiden
She fears the idea of returning to the person she used to be. Mirror Maiden believes that no amount of repentance can account for her past sins. She fears that when she dies, she'll have to face judgment for all her crimes. Amazingly, she's scared that they'd forgive her. Because if someone like her can earn redemption, then what good is redemption anyway?
Mona
She fears that the things she's foreseen about you and her may come to pass.
Navia
She relives the deaths of Meluse and Silver. Sometimes, her parents are there too.
Nilou
I thought she'd be afraid that one day she'd never dance again, but no. She's scared that the Akademiya might one day shut down Zubayr Theater and all her friends won't have any place to go.
Ningguang
Her duties weigh heavily on her mind, but there's one event that especially traumatizes her: The Jade Chamber's destruction. Although it has been rebuilt, the loss still haunts her.
Raiden Ei
She suffers nightmares about the people she couldn't protect, the Archon Wars, and her sister's death. Although she hides it well, she is deeply troubled. Likely suffering from PTSD. To that end, Ei has horrible nightmares about losing you, Aether. It scares her more than anything in the world. Ei has a strong will, but even she is not immune to nightmares.
Rosaria
I'm not sure it's my place to say what her greatest fear is. It's an incredibly personal subject. I assume she's already told you about it. All I will say is that it presses on her mind more than she'd like to admit.
Shenhe
Her nightmares involve her childhood. I'm sure you know all the details so I won't be redundant. More importantly, since entering a relationship with you, she's developed a new fear: that she will never feel anything for you. The idea that she'd feel nothing even if you perished is deeply upsetting to her.
Shinobu
She fears being forced to return to her family and becoming a shrine maiden.
Sucrose
Excessive social interaction. She worries that she falls short compared to the other girls.
Xiangling
Another famine.
Xianyun
The Archon Wars. She thinks of all her friends who perished in the wars and often wonders what she could've done to save them.
Xinyan
No fears except for frogs.
Yanfei
Sometimes, she worries that one day there won't be a place for the Adeptus in the Liyue of today. Otherwise, drawn-out custody battles make her stressed.
Yoimiya
She's bright and cheerful, yes. Secretly though, she has bad dreams about her father. Given his ailing condition, she can't help worrying that he'll get worse. The idea of losing him more than she already has terrifies her.
Yun Jin
She worries that the people she calls friends only like her because of her fame.
Charlotte sunk into her chair. Blasted Yae Miko. Sometimes she was so dangerous that her victims formed support groups just to whine about her wickedness. And sometimes, she looked out for everyone like a big sister.
She flipped through the appendix once more. Her eyes landed on the profile Miko made about her once again. Miko had a discerning eye. Maybe that was simply par the course for artists.
The bits about Mirror Maiden and Rosaria intrigued her. Seemed they had secrets of their own. Curious as she was, Charlotte refused to read their detailed profiles. That would be an invasion of their privacy. Of course, she'd already done that by taking these packets but ce'st la vie.
She did wonder what Miko had written about her. She flipped ahead and spent the next few hours reading. By the end of it, Charlotte realized something was off. Several letters had been set in a type-font different from the rest. She wrote out the letters: C-H-A…
Together, they spelled out a message that sent a chill down her soul:
Charlotte, I know you're reading this. You always were a curious young woman. Now, I could have you fined for invasion of privacy, but I have another idea. I need your keen journalistic eye. Help me improve my profiles and I'll drop the matter. We'll meet tomorrow in my office to discuss the full details. Take care, and sleep well.
Love,
Yae Miko
As the chill subsided, Charlotte let out a chuckle. That blasted kitsune really was something, predicting everything down to the last detail. Beautiful, cunning, and insightful—no wonder she had Aether wrapped around her finger.
Well, if Lady Gujii wanted a collaboration, Charlotte was more than willing to oblige. Being taken into Miko's confidence thrilled her. For one, working with her might help Charlotte gain some insight into Lady Gujii's thought process. For another thing, it proved Miko saw her as something of an equal. She'd set up everything just to lure her in. And Charlotte wouldn't be a journalist if she didn't take the bait.
