To the moon and back, Ei.

対決

What is Yae doing? She doesn’t know herself. Drowning her problems away with alcohol was totally something she didn’t think she’d do, but here she is, sipping on the finest Sakura wine from the bottle, slumped down on the floor of her chambers. Her pupils are dilated, her eyelids struggling to stay open.

Yae looked over to the clock,

It’s 2 am.

Fumbling to close the wine bottle’s lid, she snuggled into her comfy futon, falling asleep almost in an instant. She wasn’t expecting anything much, she was mostly expecting to have a dream about Ei and that only, but something else happened.
And it was painful.
The Priestess woke up, coughing violently. Blood starts to drip from her mouth and onto the futon. She immediately got up to cough it all out into a bucket. And the things that came out of her mouth shot her eyes wide open.

Fresh sakura petals flew out of her mouth, stained by the blood, and into the bucket. Yae tried to swallow it all down, but it shot back out causing Yae to spit out even more blood. The whole night was pure suffering. Yae tried to sleep, but she would still wake up in the middle of the night to cough out more petals.
Yae looked down at the sakura petals on the floor. They reminded them of Ei, how they were her favourite. Under the cherry blossom tree, where Yae confessed her love to Ei, and she returned the feeling. And they were happy, but not all relationships have a happy ending.

For years, Yae craved for Ei’s touch again. For her warmth, her love, her loyalty, her everything. Her adorable smile, her delicate fingers intertwining with hers as they lay on the grass, looking up at the beautiful sky. Oh, she would do anything to relive that moment again.
But that will never happen again, because Ei is gone. The Ei she knew and loved is gone. She became another type of Ei that she couldn’t recognize.
“Ei…” Yae sniffled, blood dripping from her mouth to the floor, “Come back…”

***

After what felt like years, the coughing finally stopped, and Yae was able to fall asleep without disturbance. After a while, Yae woke up, but it wasn’t her bedroom. It felt like she was transported into another world. Looking around, she saw a large field, with one single cherry blossom tree under it. There under the tree, stood someone she recognized. Someone she loved dearly, her beloved Ei.

“Ei!” She called out for her name, but no response. She called out her name again, and she heard it. She turned around, smiling and reaching her hand out to Yae. She ran towards Ei, hugging her so tightly. Ei hugged back, savouring her warmth. Yae knew this was a dream, yet she never wants to wake up. It felt the same like all those years ago, when she confessed, and Ei was the first to pull her in for a kiss. After that they cuddled under the tree, forgetting all their worries, and only focused on each other’s breathing.
Under Yae’s touch, she felt something strange. It felt like something beneath her was falling apart. She looked at Ei, and nearly screamed.Ei was fading away, particles flying in the air. A weak smile flashed on Ei’s face, before her body fully disintegrated.
A single tear rolled down her cheek. Her mouth was left open, nothing coming out except empty gasps. She tried to get something out, she tried to scream, to cry, to say anything, but she couldn’t. The shock had washed over her body, despite knowing this is just a dream. Ei just disappeared. Perhaps this dream portrays what’s going on in reality.
The Ei she knew and loved, had faded away from her life.

***

Yae had dismissed herself from shrine work, due to “a medical condition”. Though, she told the shrine maidens not to worry, as she will recover quickly. It had been a few weeks of pure suffering, coughing out petals and blood. No doctor she consulted told her about what was going on. They thought she was going insane, so Yae eventually stopped seeing them.

Something Yae did notice though is that the coughing got worse whenever she thinks of Ei. Yae hasn’t seen Ei ever since the fireworks show. The way Ei was so blunt and cold made Yae want to scream out of frustration. Why was she so bland? She knew Ei better than anyone else, and she knew Ei always had a soft spot for her. So why? Thoughts race through her mind. Was that even Ei? Definitely wasn't. Ei isn’t that cold, so it could be none other but… The Raiden Shogun.

***

There she is, in a small waiting room, waiting impatiently to see Ei. She knew Ei wouldn’t let her in the plane of Euthymia after whatever happened at the fireworks show, but she didn’t care. She still wanted answers from Ei and the Raiden Shogun. Her fists are balled up, and her teeth are gritting. The thought of Ei sending the Raiden Shogun to attend their day out makes her blood boil. She would’ve punched Ei if she didn’t love her so much.

“Lady Yae, Her Excellency is ready to see you.” About fucking time. Yae coldly got up, not saying a word. The doors opened, and The Raiden Shogun sat on the desk. Her head is resting on her hand, and she seems annoyed. When the doors behind her closed, Yae slammed her hand against the table.

“Let me see Ei.” She growled, her needle-like fangs showed a little. The Raiden Shogun sighed, rolling her eyes before swatting her hand off the table.

“She doesn’t want to see you.”

“Okay then, fair enough. Then I’ll be questioning you.” Yae sighed, plopping down onto the seat, her arms crossed and her eyes glaring at the Shogun’s violet ones. Yae could feel her throat caving in. She wants to cough, thinking about Ei makes her want to cough, but she has to hold it in.

“Be honest with me, are you sure Ei was the one who attended the fireworks show with me? Or was it you? Because it definitely seemed like you.” The Shogun sat up, crossing her legs. After what felt like years, Raiden finally said something.

Something that broke Yae’s heart to pieces.

“I was instructed to attend the fireworks show with you.”