Complementary Colors (Aether x Raiden Shogun/Ei)

Complimentary Colors (Aether x Raiden Shogun/Ei)

The Raiden Shogun, or more accurately, "Ei", has been feeling very odd as of late. She couldn't pinpoint the exact moment this started, but it was around the time a certain someone arrived at Inazuma. That person's name was Aether, a blond traveler from another land, his origins still unknown. He had arrived only a few months ago, and yet he has already had such a big impact on not just Narukami Island, but on Inazuma as a whole.

He single handedly solved so many issues that had plagued Inazuma for months if not years. Yes he had help, but he was the one responsible for most of these solutions. He was the mule that kept pushing forward, no matter how many burdens he had to carry. His valiant and courageous efforts had earned him nationwide respect throughout all of Teyvat. Even before he arrived at Inazuma, the people who lived there had still at least heard about him via his brave endeavors in other regions such as Liyue and Mondstadt.

They hadn't always been on good terms Ei and Aether, in fact they were on pretty bad terms all things considered. Even then however, she still admired his fearlessness and dedication to his plans, even if they heavily contradicted everything she once stood for.

Things have changed a lot since then, mostly thanks to the valiant efforts of Aether and the Sangonomiya Resistance. Inazuma, Ei included, have been a lot happier ever since the war between the two factions has ceased. The citizens of Inazuma City, although skeptical, were a lot more comfortable with the Shoguns rule. Her relationships with her friend's such as Yae Miko had vastly improved as well. She had even befriended her once highest paid bounty, Aether himself. And that's where this had all began.

Shortly after explaining the whole Raiden Shogun puppet fiasco, which was certainly a headache, he had actually taken the time out of his day to get to know Ei. This came as a surprise to her, she would have thought he would want nothing to do with either of them after she nearly killed him numerous times, any normal person would have done that. But as she would soon come to learn, Aether was anything but normal.

He actually acted very chivalrous and compassionate towards her, it was almost as if he was one of her top servants, but filled to the brim with personality and charm. He didn't hold a grudge against her, in fact he openly tried to relate to and understand where she was coming from with the "Eternity" perspective. He took time out of his day to talk to her, to help her rethink her ideals. It was the most compassion she had been shown in centuries, that she could remember anyway.

This is around the time it started, these...feelings she couldn't describe. She would get these feelings whenever she was around Aether, and even when she thought about him. The centuries she spent secluded from anybody had left her quite out of touch with anything involving human interaction, so it was very difficult for her to put into words exactly what she was feeling. The only thing she knew was that it felt...pleasant. Her best guess was that this feeling is normal between friends, that this feeling was shared between any type of friendship and she had only forgotten about it due to her years of loneliness. If that were truly the case however, why did she only feel this when Aether was involved? She spent a decent amount of time around Kujou Sara, her right hand and one of her closest friends yet she didn't feel like this. Even Yae Miko, her arguably closest friend didn't have this effect on her. Even though they were right next to each other, sharing some tea.

"What's keeping your mind busy Ei? Is it me~?"

Ei's head shot up, to see Yae's playful expression looking back at her from across the table. It was only then she remembered where she was, the Plane of Euthymia, her own little "safehaven" if you will.

"A-apologies Yae, I must have spaced out for a moment. It's nothing to worry about really." She replied, taking a sip of her tea.

"And here I was thinking we were making actual progress." Yae sighed softly. "You know if you want us to be as close as we once were, you're going to need to open up about your troubles. This isn't the first time I've got you dozing off." Yae said sternly, taking a sip of her own tea.