For Eternity

For Eternity - II

  It was a rainy evening that day. Lightnings were wilding in the sky, as the cold breeze of the wind blew in the empty city. Ei set foot on the terrace in her room and raised her hand high. To her surprise, the thunderstorm didn't stop. She scoffed and tried again, still nothing. She glanced outside the Tenshukaku, and on the middle of the wooden bridge stood someone. A woman with long, light pink hair.

  She blinked quickly, and suddenly, the person wasn't there anymore. She tried to find the woman in a white robe, but she was nowhere to be seen. That was when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Ei turned around immediately summoned her Musou No Hitotachi, ready to end whoever it was. And there she was, the woman with the white dress, wiping fresh blood off her lip.

"Now no one will come in between is, my dear."

  In that instant, Ei woke up. She calmed her breath and placed a hand on her chest. Her gaze soon met with the window, revealing the sun rising in the distance. It made her feel better, knowing that her dreams didn't affect the weathers then.

  Meanwhile, Yae hadn't slept at all at night. She taught what the fortunes would mean, of course they'd mean something. She raised her eyes to look outside, then realized the time. Sad for her, she still didn't know the answer to her question. She got up either way and took a bottle of pills from a drawer, just so she wouldn't be tired all day. Her plan in mind was quite simple. Go visit Ei and chat about the fortunes the two got.

  As soon as she left through the door, she heard an old man yelling. Something such as the fortunes aren't accurate, they're just made up. She told another shrine maiden to take care of him, "I need to go tell another's personal fortune.", was her excuse to get out of trouble.

  So long, her little trip went well. She saw a lot of animals in the wild, lively kitsunes and crystal flies all around her. She picked up a few flowers along the way, since she hoped they would be something Ei found beautiful. She quietly started to hum a quiet tune, something you'd hear in the streets, when suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice.

  "Oh hey! Lady Guuji Yae of the Narukami shrine! Never expected to see you here! What're you doing either way?", the lively Arataki gang's leader's voice said. He was the "one and oni", Arataki Itto. Miko was truly caught off guard by the man yelling behind her. She only let out a deep sigh, then smiled at him.

  "It's my day off. And I'm going to visit someone close to me. I just thought about picking some flowers for them, hopefully they like them as much as I do.", she responded quietly. The other laughed slightly and placed a hand on her shoulder.

  "Surely that person can't be as close to you as I am! I mean, I am THE Arataki Itto! Who wouldn't want to be close friends with me!" Itto laughed and flexed his muscles. Yae wasn't obviously interested in small-talk with him, so she slowly started to walk away. What she didn't know, the oni followed her all the time.

  "You've got to agree! I'm strong, I'm handsome, I've got everything to be a great leader! Man, I bet I'd be a better leader of the entire Inazuma than the Shogun herself!" Itto talked to himself out of confidence. Miko stopped walking, and slowly turned to the oni. He was still chuckling at himself and didn't notice the other's sharp glare.

  "I'm sorry, could you repeat that for me? I don't think I heard correctly." she replied, a small smirk carving on her face. Itto was surprised by her comment. He understood that she agreed with him, though like everyone else, he thought that she and the Shogun were almost inseparable.

  "Well, I'd have everything it needs to be an archon! I have power, the looks, everything I'd need! I'd do better job on protecting the people of Inazuma, while the Shogun?! Pfft, she barely tries! All she does is be in her Tenshukaku like it's a prison! I'd actually spend time with the citizenry! I would-!" Itto continued to ramble. Yae dropped the flowers on the sand and stared at him. Itto kept on rambling, on and on. That was enough for her.

  Miko kicked him on the ground, earning a loud yet confused yelp from him. She grabbed his collar and walked closer to the deeper water, dragging him along. Once her knees were covered, she pushed the oni's head under water. He tried to fight back, but she had too tight grip of him. He was slowly calming down, he didn't fight back anymore. She slowly loosened her grip, and just like that, he was floating on the water like a starfish.

  She giggled slightly, but it stopped quickly. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had just done. Yae looked at Itto's floating body horrified as she took small steps back. It was truly shocking, doing such with your own bare hands, just out of rage.

  She ran away from the waters, past Konda Village, still making sure not to be seen. She hid behind some rocks nearby Mt. Yougou and caught her breath. She raised her hands and stared at them, both of the pair trembling. She proceeded to let out deep sighs, in and out.

  "He was talking poorly about her... Why... Why would I do such a thing... Sure, she has no reason to receive hate like that... Did he go too far? Did I go too far?... ", she whispered to herself.

  "Maybe... Maybe he deserved it... Such cruel words towards Ei... The Almighty Shogun... So uncalled for...", she continued, slightly louder. She stayed silent for a moment, then slowly stood up. She looked up in the sky and smiled slightly.

  "Yes. He did deserve that. Everyone who talks about her like that- oh no no no... No one will talk about her like that... Not while I'm near... I would never allow that... My Ei... My sweet little Ei...", she talked to herself, a wide smile forming onto her face as she spun around. She saw a small shrine near her, and she immediately ran to it. She got her knees and prayed.

  "I won't let anyone talk about her like that again. I'll keep my word. No one will get away with saying such bullshit about her... Oh, you think I will let something like that happen? How funny of you..."

  "I will not fail this promise. I. Won't."