away [ yae miko - raiden ei ]

VIII

Ei felt pure rage building inside her.

« what ... what are you doing, here? » as she pronounced these words, she was trying to calm down. raging against Yae surely wouldn't have been a good idea.

« Ei. » Yae was staring at her, right in the eyes, determined to achieve her goal.

« we need to talk. like, seriously this time. »
« what are you going to do? confuse me again? » Ei felt her hands tremble.

« you've already confused me enough, no need for further useless talk »
« Ei, could you listen to me for once ?! »

Yae immediately regretted saying that sentence. she needed to keep Ei in a calm mood, or else who knows what she would do.

Ei was staring at her with furrowed eyebrows.

« Almighty Shogun, do we need to ... »
the two women almost forgot they weren't alone.

Ei sighed. « we're going to move in another chamber, more appropriate to the discussion we are about to have. » Yae let out a short sigh of relief, knowing that at least Ei was willing to listen to her words.

« come, let's go. » Ei turned around and waved her hand, as a sign for Yae to follow her.

« do not interrupt us. » she gave one last order as she and the kitsune disappeared from the sight of the guards, while they stood there perplexed.

they walked a while and finally arrived to the area reserved to the archon only, the east area of Tenshukaku, where Ei didn't allow anyone else in as it was strictly reserved to her and a very, very little number of people.
Yae, of course, was part of this small group.

that area was rarely visited, hence why it was rundown. it contained lots of old memories from the past, such as old toys, souvenirs, objects from other regions and some family portraits.

Ei locked that place away because she didn't want to remember the past anymore, as she was trying to fully concentrate on her meditation and the future once she reached her "safe" eternity.

Yae thought this was stupid. Ei locked that place away to also lock away memories from the past, but wasn't her meditation a way to keep remembering the past? after all, why was Ei trying to achieve eternity, if not for the past?

"that's some sort of funny paradox ... i guess"

they finally arrived in front of a door. this one was actually in a better condition than the others. Ei opened it and a gentle breeze suddenly caressed them.

the women walked in, and Yae immediately recognized that place.

the Sakura Tree.

« Ei ... »

the archon, who had her back facing Yae the whole time, turned around to meet her gaze.

« what is it you need to tell me, Miko?»

the kitsune sighed. the moment had come.

« Ei, i think you have already understood why i'm here, so i guess i can get straight to the point. »

Ei clenched her fists. « Miko ... »

« i know why you are doing this, and i know you don't want to suffer anymore. but you're being selfish. you can't force people to accept your decision, especially if it's one that would ruin everyone. you DO know what's going to happen to Inazuma if you keep pursuing your goal, right? »

Ei furrowed her eyebrows.

« nothing can exist forever, accept it. focus on the present! Inazuma is falling apart because there isn't a single person able to guide and unify the people of this nation! you left everything in the hands of a miserable puppet, it's like neglecting your duties! » Yae gradually raised her voice, trying to get her message across. « this isn't fair to the people who live here! surely Makoto didn't die for this, didn't die for you to ruin Inazuma, the nation she loved and treasured so much! »

« shut up!» 

art credits : witheringspoons on instagram