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Cherry blossoms filled the breeze as Lady Guuji sat under the sacred Sakura tree.
Lady Guuji had very peculiar tastes.
She liked writing,she liked sake, she liked ramen, and she liked a particular powerful woman. Lady Guuji even liked to tease her friends and joke around a bit.
But, do not be fooled. Lady Guuji was also exceptionally strong.
Lady Guuji was hundreds of years old, and even knew the Almighty Narukami Ogosho. Though, most people called her the immortal shogun.
The shrine maiden had many different titles other than Lady Guuji. Such as Guuji Yae, Yae Miko, and Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine. Guuji Yae is also very knowledgeable, as she has been alive to even witness the cataclysm.
And many historic events as well.
Though, she wasn’t present at the scene of the cataclysm. On that day, she was in her Kitsune form playing around with cherry blossoms as they fell to the ground from the stems.
Her peace was disrupted when a specific crying long haired maiden came running towards her. At first, she was startled and a little annoyed, but then she saw the maiden’s face and changed out of her fox form.
Salty, crystal tears fell from the maidens eyes as she hugged that which was dear to her.
Lady Guuji was surprised, as this was none other than the Narukami Ogosho herself. The two of them didn’t talk as they hugged, but Lady Yae was not ignorant, and she could tell what happened by the look on her love’s face.
Though, that was the last time she saw her dear Ei before the vision hunt decree was abolished.
Ah, the Guuji was very lonely all those years, though she would never admit to such. After all, she had to wait five hundred years to see her love again. Yes, Lady Yae did have friends, but they could not even begin to compare to her dear Ei.
Sakura Mochi was eaten by lady Guuji on the twenty-sixth of June every year without fail while her beloved was away with hopes of her coming back. It was her love’s favorite after all.
She would prepare Sakura Mochi, honey milk tea, and Raman. Eaten in that order, of course.
Guuji Yae rarely showed negative emotion outside the comfort of her own home. She was always perceived as the clever shrine maiden. Never a woman who cried quietly on her soft pillows at night.
Sometimes, Yae Miko would prepare some sake before bed, grab a book and plan to go to sleep. Only to end up face first in beautiful lace sheets as she gripped the pillow case while clear buds of tears she’d from her face, onto the sheets.
Tears blossomed into damp stains on her bed covers. Sake originally used for something to go to sleep with became a substance for the woman to drown her sorrows in.
The day after that night, Lady Guuji got to work like nothing had happened. Like she hadn’t been mourning the loss of her lover who wasn’t even dead.
She knew her dear wasn’t dead. How could she? Her Ei was the goddess of thunder, a warrior, and more importantly, Ei was her’s. And she was Ei’s.
They belonged together like two puzzle pieces clicking together.
Meant for each other. In every lifetime, in every eternity her beloved wished for, in every universe, and in every heart.
Even if they were ever separated like this again, they would always meet again under the eternal gaze of The Almighty Shogun’s will.
As knowledgeable and as powerful as Lady Yae is, she is but a mere humble servant to her excellency.
If Ei so wished it, she would take to a fight even with The Tsarista and Morax for her. She would bend all the other gods and goddesses to her beloved’s will if she could. All Ei would have to do was ask.
When the blonde-haired traveler came a long to the shores of Inazuma, things changed.
She finally had someone other than herself that peaked her beloved’s interest. Which meant she found another way to try and convince her dear to come back.
Now, call her a manipulator, call her a traitor, but she only wanted her love to come home. She didn’t genuinely care if the vision hunt decree was abolished, or if the traveler died, she wanted her Ei to come back to her. No matter what the circumstances were.
If her Almighty Shogun came back into her arms once more, she would be alright.
And that day eventually came.
She got into the plane of euthymia thanks to her own magic and the Traveler’s presence.
And she finally saw her, after so long. It seems eternity didn’t change her dear’s beauty, for she looked almost the exact same. The exact same porcelain face, the same midnight hair, the same striking eyes.
It was like the first time she saw her. Except this time, something inside her was cured. Her mourning for her beloved was temporarily cured. Now she didn’t have to stare at paintings to see her beloved.
Lady Guuji was very close to begging for her Ei to come home, to come into her arms, so she can hold her beautiful once more. For the last time Guuji Yae did, 500 years had past.
Her dear Ei’s face was in shock when she saw her. “Miko..” That precious nickname that her goddess gifted to her.
The Guuji laughed and smiled. She was already feeling better.
In the end, her beloved didn’t actually come out of her euthymia until the next day.
It was twilight, and she saw her beloved walking around the shores from not too far away. It wasn’t the puppet, Lady Yae could tell, their presences were very different. It was her Ei.
She smiled when her goddess noticed her. Who else could it be? Who else had the soft pink hair and fox ears, who had the long, bare, legs barely covered by her modified shrine maiden uniform other than her?
The long haired lady walked towards her as Guuji Yae gave a small wave. She didn’t know what else to do in that moment, so she waved. Ah, she felt like an awkward child again
Her beloved walked in the sand as she left footprints in the sand and the moon shined on the archon’s right side.
Ei looked so wonderful in the moonlight. It suited her.
The dim light shining on her as stars danced in the sky. People are always talking about how their lover looks in the sunshine and in the grass, but Lady Yae thinks nobody knows true love until they’ve seen the Almighty Shogun in all her glory walking in sand in the moonlight.
Her dear finally stood in front of her. And her soft voice broke the comforting silence. “Miko, I didn’t expect to see you here at this time of day.”
“Neither did I. And yet, here we are.” The shrine maiden paused a moment before continuing, a smile evident on her face, “Care for a chat, Ei?”
“I would love that, Miko. How about you tell what happened during these 500 years? I would like to know what the people of Inazuma are doing now.” Ei said with a small smile on her face.
“I would love that my dear. But first, how about you embrace me, just like you did all those years ago? We never really did talk when you got out of your euthymia.”
“Ah, yes. Of course.” And then suddenly they were on the ground on the soft, slightly moist, shores, holding each other under the moonlight as they chatted and laughed away.
They continued like this for quite some time into the night, but then, Yae Miko said this in a soft voice; “Ei, my dear. You do not know the full extent of how much I have longed for you during your absence. Please, my beloved, do not leave me for that long again. For I would still love you no matter how long you are away, and I do not think my heart can handle this again. Please, my Ei, spend your everlasting eternity with me.”
Ei lifted her head from where it laid on her fox’s chest, and smiled a sweet smile reserved for nobody else but her beloved. “Of course, my beautiful fox. As long as time permits it and longer, we will stay eternal, no matter what.”
Yae Miko smiled at her and cupped her porcelain face. “Eternity with you, my goddess, sounds absolutely wonderful.” And gave her a long, loving kiss, for the first time in 500 years.
Ah, after all this time, her beloved still tasted so sweet.
Finally, The Guuji’s longing for her beloved was over, for she had her right in her arms.