For Eternity

For Eternity - VIII

Just like the two promised to each other the other day, Ei and Yae met each other outside the Tenshukaku. Yae had brought some Sakura shrimp crackers along her, since she knew Ei usually didn't eat breakfast. Once Ei was done, she told Miko the schedule of the day. There wasn't much for the day, after an hour they had a meeting with the Kamisato siblings. Yae immediately understood that they had a lot of time to spend, and she started to tell all the things that they could do. On the other hand, Ei thought that it could've been better if they already get in the estate. Yae immediately disagreed.

"Would you really rather go there than spend some time with me? You know I'll be coming along with you, don't you? If it is how you want, we can take a walk around the island. For example, have a walk in the Chinju Forest.", Yae gave ideas. Ei let out a sigh and placed a hand on the other's shoulder.

"Miko. You know I'm not here for a break. I still have my duties to do, for the day. Even though I love spending time with you, I must fulfill those duties.", the archon said. Yae rolled her eyes and then got another idea.

"We could be able to send the puppet to the meeting, correct? As long as I'm aware, she should still be working. Or has something happened?", the kitsune asked. Ei got silent for a moment. She tried to figure out how to simply explain how the Shogun is.

It was a surprised how an Eye of the Storm appeared right in front of them. It turned into a teleport, where the puppet Shogun came from. She didn't look so happy with either Miko or Ei. She gave Miko an angry glare and then started to walk away. Ei tried to ask the puppet the same thing Miko had asked her right before, but the puppet had already left.

"What's wrong with her, my archon?", Yae asked impatiently. Ei let out a deep sigh and turned to Miko.

"Me and her, we've had a lot of disagreements lately... Not only having to do with eternity... But... Actually, it doesn't really matter. She's just being the typical Shogun I built her to be.", Ei said and started to walk down the stairs.

"Let us go into the Chinju Forest like you suggested. I feel like we could have a good time there, hopefully.", she said and continued walking. Miko turned to look at the Tenshukaku for a moment, then started walking down beside her archon.

Ei and Yae arrived at the Kamisato Estate right in time. Miko promised to come and get her archon when the meeting would end. Ei was more than alright with the idea, and with that, she entered the building. Miko turned in her fox form and climbed on a bench. She got in a comfortable position, closed her eyes, and started to sleep.

Suddenly, she heard some noise. She sat up and changed back in her human form, however, there was no one around. She thought it was a silly idea for her to be hearing things, which made her slightly giggle. She got up and started to walk around, then she noticed people at the estate. The housekeeper, the Yashiro commissioner, along with quite many guards. However, Ei was nowhere to be seen. She took a few steps inside and looked around, still not seeing anyone.

"Oh, Guuji Yae! How are you doing? What brings you to the Kamisato Estate?", the housekeeper by the name Thoma asked. Miko gave him a slight giggle.

"Well, I heard that the God of Eternity is here. I would've liked to spend time with her, but sadly, she's nowhere to be seen.", she replied as she picked a flower from the ground and started to twirl it around.

"Ah, Beelzebul is having a talk with my sister, Ayaka. I had a conversation with her before Ayaka. I believe they should be done soon.", the commissioner, Ayato, replied. Miko nodded slightly, keeping the flower in hand.

"While you're waiting, would you mind something to drink? It is a beautiful day today, I'm sure you must be thirsty.", Thoma asked, already taking a couple of steps in the estate.

"Hmm... I don't think having some sake wouldn't hurt.", Miko replied with a smile. Thoma gave her a nod and already left inside. Yae looked slightly away with a smile on her face. A long time didn't pass until Thoma came back with the drink she requested. She thanked him and drank almost all of it immediately. Around ten minutes passed from then, and both Ei and Ayaka came out of the estate.

"Hello, dear archon. How did the conversations go?", Miko asked. Ei let out a sigh, then nodded slightly. Miko smiled at her reaction and gave the receptacle back to Thoma. In that moment, the two took their leave. Miko placed her hand on Ei's shoulder and smiled. She looked behind her, locking eyes with the Kamisato siblings. She gave them a bigger smile, that almost looked threatening.

"There's something about Guuji Yae I don't like...", Ayaka whispered. Ayato nodded to Ayaka's comment.

"Huh? I don't think anything's off about her! I think she seemed nicer than before...", Thoma replied. Ayato let out a deep sigh and kept looking after the two.

"During my and the Shogun's talk, she mentioned something about her dreams connecting to the real world. The shrine maiden appears to be just like the way Shogun described in her dream. Prepared for anything and quite protective. Something about her makes me feel uneasy.", Ayato continued. Thoma was confused by the other two's conversation, he offered them to talk it through a good cup of tea.

Later that day, Miko and Ei returned at the Grand Narukami Shrine. It was getting late, and the sky was clear, it was quite obvious that the scenery looked beautiful with the stars shining clearly.

"This reminds me of the night when the traveler left... Just the two of us under the midnight sky...", Ei spoke out loud. Miko giggled at her comment, as she kept getting lost in Ei's eyes.

"Why don't we remember that day by both of us taking a fortune? Will luck now be by our side, or will it leave like last time?", Miko asked. Ei simply shrugged it off and looked at the sky. Suddenly, Miko grabbed her hand and pulled her to get a fortune. Ei was surprised of course, but it also made her smile.

Miko took one fortune and Ei took the other. They did the exact same steps at the exact same time. Once it was all done, Miko took both of their fortunes and started to read them.

"Congratulations, my archon! It seems that you've gotten a great fortune for yourself! Something special will happen to you and it will lead to greatness!", Miko read from the paper. Ei was caught off-guard, once again.

"Do you think we'll be able to get rid of the threat in Inazuma? I surely hope so!", Ei said with a wide smile. Miko's smile faded slightly, but it remained. She put both of their fortunes away and walked closer to the edge of the mountain to see the sky.

"What about your fortune, Miko? What about your fortune?", Ei asked. Miko shook her head slightly and took a hold of the other's hand.

"I don't think it matters now. Let us just appreciate the beauty of the sky.", Miko replied. Ei lowered her eyebrows slightly, but then shrugged it off. She didn't think of it as anything important. However, Miko didn't tell it intentionally. What Miko didn't tell was that she got a great misfortune saying simply "It will all end for you.".