𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗻 | raiden ei x reader

Chapter Nine

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You really had missed Tenryou... in some twisted nostalgic sort of way. After all, you had called the streets of it home for quite a bit of your adolescence. You know every inch of it like the back of your hand—from the Komore Teahouse to the alley where you had once been accosted and beat up by some neighborhood kids. Good times, really.

When you had first been dragged up those steps, you genuinely thought you would never see these streets again. It was fitting, you supposed, to die on the steps of a city that had done nothing but hurt you through your young teenage years. A sad thought, but a suitable sendoff for a rebel like you.

But now here you are, weeks later—standing beside the Electro Archon as if you were her prized Kujou Sara.

Speaking of the tengu woman, she had looked particularly annoyed when Baal had informed her that you would be attending the walkthrough of Tenryou in her place. It was funny, really, how pinched her face got when faced with the oh so woeful idea that someone was more important than her.

You weren't exactly happy to be replacing Kujou on this little field trip, but you still stuck your tongue out at her teasingly when the Raiden Shogun turned her back. Think of it as a bit of payback.

And now, as you're making your way through the streets of Tenryou with Baal walking slightly ahead, you can't help but feel exposed. Not even in terms of your clothing (although that is definitely a factor), but more in the way that people were staring at you as you walked past.

Whispers accompanied you wherever you went, some questioning, some mocking, some... slightly vulgar. You looked extra hard at the vulgar people, as if you could somehow electrocute them with your eyes. It didn't work, sadly, but it's the thought that counts you suppose.

You peek forward slightly, Baal's face trained in absolute concentration, like she was determined to get to... wherever it is she's going. You probably should have asked her what this whole plan was, but for the past few days you have been trying to not speak unless it was necessary.

That damned letter from the Kujou Clan Head was burned into your mind, the implications of it still bothering you even days later. It's causing you to be wary, even more so than you would be normally. Would he send assassins? Trained soldiers? Hell, would he hire Kujou Sara to get the job done? Your mind runs wild at the possibilities.

The Raiden Shogun stops every now and again—once to shake a child's hand, another to say hello to the old man at Shimura's, mundane things like that.

When you were younger, you do remember seeing Baal out and about once or twice—from a safe distance, of course. Even then, before you met Ayaka, you had an extreme view of the Archon. Fawning over her had not been something a pissed off kid like you wanted to do.

But it is out of character for her to be out like this...especially without Kujou there with her. She doesn't even spare you a glance as she parades around, only once slowing down to accommodate your own leisurely pace.

You don't say a word either, your focus centered on the looks you're getting from the townspeople. Surely they can't recognize you, you have changed a lot since you lived among these streets... but the thought of anyone connecting the dots unnerves you.

Your train of thought crashes as you collide with, something. You stagger for a bit before pulling your head up to see a woman before you that decidedly isn't the Electro Archon.

"Oh my," The woman says, cooing at you as if you weren't a fully grown woman. "Ei, you did not tell me this girl would be so adorable."

Your brain backtracks to the name the woman had called Baal. Ei...? Is it a nickname? How is that a nickname for Baal? It was way too cute for a stone faced woman like her...