Tengu Torment

Our Bond is Our Fetish

The shop was coming along nicely. Renovations were proceeding rapidly, and soon Kokomi would be able to start moving her wares in. Now that all seemed to be progressing smoothly, the Divine Priestess wanted to tick something else off of her bucket list: a date with her former rival general on Narukami Island, in the heart of Inazuma City. They chose to hang out at Tenryou, avoiding Tenshukaku to evade the eyes of any of Sara's soldiers. Sara had no intention of letting her subordinates see the side she showed to Kokomi alone.

As for Kokomi, she clutched on to Sara's arm tightly as they stood outside of Shimura's, one of the most famous food stalls in Inazuma. Across from Shimura's, a short distance away, was Tomoki's street food stand. He looked much more confident than before, and yelled out his products proudly: "Dango milk!" he cried. "Surprise yourself and enjoy the most refreshing drink on Narukami Island!" Once ignored and ridiculed for his curious blends of dango and milk, he was now prosperous and turning a handsome profit. It turns out that what effectively amounted to a royal warrant for one's cooking – the Almighty Shogun's personal seal of approval and fondness – rapidly shut critics up.

"I want a bit of everything: first, a plate of Mixed Yakisoba, and then a scrumptious Tonkotsu Ramen to share with you. Then we'll cross over to Tomoki's and have ourselves a dango milk, along with his original milk concoction and tricolour dango," said Kokomi joyfully, as she and Sara watched Shimura Kanbei artfully toss fresh lettuce, fatty pork, carrots, and other mouth-watering ingredients into a scrumptious mix with well-beaten noodles that were drizzled in soy sauce. "If Ayaka-sama is around Komori Teahouse, let's ask her to let us in and have Thoma-kun prepare us some of his fine desserts."

"I only have one stomach, you know," said Sara, smiling in fond exasperation as Kokomi squeezed her arm. She tried to sound calm and detached, but inside her heart was singing. She tried not to show her nervousness – being seen out in public with her, on an honest-to-Shogun date, was a completely different experience. It was nerve-wracking in its own way, even though she and Kokomi had already shared each other's bodies and hearts many times. While they had agreed to simply stroll around and do whatever they fancied, Sara was worried sick that she'd somehow mess up, displease Kokomi, and ruin their date.

Kokomi seemed to read her mind, though. "I've never been on a proper date before, either," protested the Divine Priestess delightedly, "and I had... other priorities for you when we first met. So don't blame me for making full use of today. But there's also no way anything can go wrong, because I'm with you already, and that's all that matters to me."

Sara nodded anxiously, unable to keep up her brave mask. "I just want you to be happy today. In fact, I want you to be happy always. With me." She leaned forward, clasping Kokomi's small hand in her own, and planted a loving, tender kiss on the side of Kokomi's head. The former Resistance leader giggled, shutting her eyes gratefully as she savoured Sara's gentle, protective touch.

"This is the first time you've kissed me here, in Tenryou," she observed, gazing up at Sara admiringly.

Sara smiled bashfully. "And I hope to shower many more on you, my sweetheart."

Kanbei was done. Sara and Kokomi sweetly shared the Mixed Yakisoba and Tonkotsu Ramen between each other, before heading over to Tomoki's food stand as Kokomi had wished. "The Shogun's general and Tenryou Commissioner wants to try my offerings, too? Along with the great Sangonomiya Kokomi?" Tomoki had cried. "Truly, I've been so blessed recently!"

To Kokomi's amusement, Sara really didn't enjoy the overly sweet dango milk at all. They then continued their stroll and stopped in front of Aisa Bathhouse, where Kokomi struck up a conversation with Aikawa Sumusu while Sara looked on watchfully. The tengu general didn't like Aikawa's bearing, but for Kokomi's sake, she remained an impassive onlooker as Kokomi enquired as to the prices for a session at the bathhouse.