"Good morning, Miss Fox," Kiyo Seigan said.
Yae Miko blinked.
Warm summer morning light entered through the unpainted wooden lattice. Green vines climbed the old, peeling walls of the tofu shop.
Layer upon layer of fine leaves filtered the heat from the sunlight, refusing entry to its harshest glare. Washed clean of summer heat and the earth's rising warmth, only a deep green shade remained, falling across the boy beside the counter.
—Like a dream.
"...What is it?" Kiyo Seigan asked.
He was wiping the porcelain bowls in the display cabinet. Since he had agreed to remain as the shop's help, he could hardly live here without doing any work.
"Ah..." The fox lady blinked again. "Good morning. I'm simply not used to it."
"Not used to what?"
"Mm." The boy's face was reflected in her violet eyes. Yae Miko spoke softly. "It has been a very, very long time since anyone said 'good morning' to me."
Truly, it had been such a long time.
Whenever she awoke, the cold, empty shop held no one but herself. She had said good morning and good night hundreds of times, but no one had ever answered. From sunrise to sunset, she had always been alone.
Now she was no longer alone, and that would take some getting used to.
But... she was also a little happy.
Only a little.
Not very happy at all. Just the tiniest bit.
She turned her face away so Kiyo Seigan would not see the faint curve of her lips. Yet the fox's narrow eyes caught the soft light trembling among the green shadows. She cleared her throat and worked to maintain the dignity of the shop's owner.
"What are you doing?"
"Straightening the display." Kiyo Seigan placed a cleaned bowl on the shelf. "Aren't we opening the shop? The customers should be arriving soon. You overslept, so stop lazing around."
Ugh... Why did it feel as though this fellow had taken over her shop?
This Guuji was the owner!
The fox lady gave an indignant whine, both ears rising with great authority.
"Come help, lazybones," Kiyo Seigan said. "Bring out the ingredients we prepared. We need the pork bones ready for the noodle broth."
"...This Guuji is not lazy!"
And so Kiyo Seigan temporarily settled into the shop.
Arranging false local papers was not difficult for Lady Guuji, and she soon had everything prepared. Kiyo Seigan was now officially a native of Inazuma: a young man from Ritou who had come to Konda Village in search of work, accompanied by his younger sister Lumine and his pet Paimon...
Not bad.
Thanks to Kiyono's Tofu Shop and its special standing, no one would come searching here either.
"This Guuji knows who is looking for you. I made some inquiries last night."
Without looking up, Yae Miko poured the pork bones into the pot. "The Yashiro Commission probably bears you no ill will. They are searching for you because the Fatui are searching for you."
Kiyo Seigan's hands paused. He set down the porcelain bowl and looked at the fox lady beside him in surprise.
It was not the Fatui's search that surprised him.
It was Yae Miko.
I made some inquiries last night.
She made it sound so casual.
But information like that was not easily obtained, and Konda Village lay a considerable distance from Inazuma City.
Had she gone without sleep all night...?
Kiyo Seigan watched her. The fox lady did not seem to notice his gaze and continued preparing the broth. She gave a lazy yawn.
She looked rather adorable when she yawned. Her lips parted slightly, revealing one small fang, while a pale hand rose to cover her mouth. Both fluffy ears stood upright, and her chest rose gently with her breath.
"Haa... hah."
No wonder she had overslept.
Kiyo Seigan thought back to her earlier declaration: This Guuji is not lazy!
What an idiot.
"You should get some rest..." Kiyo Seigan said.
The fox lady gave him an elegant roll of her eyes. "This Guuji isn't sleepy... haaah..."
"Oh, and little one—remember to call me Kitsune Onee-san!"
As she spoke, she stretched. Her red-and-white furisode sleeves slipped down, revealing two smooth, pale wrists.
"That reminds me. The person from the Fatui who is looking for you seems to be a Harbinger newly arrived in Inazuma. Her name was... La Signora?"
La Signora...
Who was that?
Some random woman.
Never met her.
The name meant nothing to Kiyo Seigan. He opened his mouth to reply, but something interrupted him.
A disorderly gust swept the fallen sakura across the courtyard and howled through the shop's upper floor.
He sensed a turbulent current of elemental power, carrying an emotion almost like hatred. Following it to its source, he looked toward the second floor.
It was Lumine.
"La Signora."
Lumine pushed open the door. Her fringe cast a deep shadow across her eyes, and Anemo energy curled around the edges of her boots. She gripped Kamigiri, her pale fingers pressing hard against the hilt. When she spoke the name La Signora, her teeth seemed clenched together, as though she were grinding the words between them.
Kiyo Seigan had never seen such an expression on Lumine's face.
Such hatred in her eyes.
In his memory, this golden-haired girl had always been cheerful, forever carrying a smile at the corners of her lips.
Who was La Signora?
"La Signora..." Lumine repeated. She stared at Yae Miko. "Where is she? Tell me—where is she?"
"...Inazuma City," Miko answered.
She just would not leave them alone.
Lumine clicked her tongue softly.
That woman truly would not leave them alone!
Lumine would never forget her. On that beach at the end of winter, it was La Signora who had driven a hand through Kiyono Fugin's chest and taken his life for a second time.
Back then, Lumine had been unable to do anything.
She had been weak and powerless... but things were different now.
She had not expected them to meet again so soon.
Lumine felt Kamigiri trembling in her hand. This time, the ending would be different.
She had always sensed that one day, she and La Signora would meet again.
"Uh, Lumine?" Kiyo Seigan asked tentatively. "Are you all right?"
"Mm." Lumine looked at him. The restless Anemo energy slowly subsided. She breathed out, seeming to recover her composure, and raised her eyes with a smile. "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine..."
"Kiyo Seigan."
Lumine came down the stairs, pressed a pale hand against his cheek, and pulled him toward her. Her amber eyes fixed seriously upon his.
"First, promise me that you will never, ever, ever meet that bastard called La Signora!"
Who the fuck was this Signora, anyway?
Kiyo Seigan was utterly bewildered.
"Wh—"
Before he could ask why, a pale index finger pressed against his lips. Lumine stared at him and repeated herself.
"Promise me first."
"..." Kiyo Seigan nodded.
He had no choice but to nod.
The girl before him was standing on tiptoe, trying to bring herself level with him. Her body leaned forward, and agitation had brought a faint flush to her delicate cheeks. Again and again she insisted that he promise, like a silly but stubborn little otter.
"She doesn't know what you look like now," Lumine said with certainty. "Even if she sees you, she won't recognize you."
"Staying in this tofu shop is the right choice," she murmured to herself. "Until the filth in your body is cleansed, we need an identity to hide behind."
"Um," Kiyo Seigan said weakly, "could you let go of me first...?"
Lumine blinked.
Only then did she realize how close they were.
In the heat of the moment, she had apparently failed to mind the distance between them. Her ears reddened with a sudden mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. She was not embarrassed because she was too close to Kiyo Seigan; she was annoyed because the bastard had asked her to let go.
Why should she let go?
"Idiot. I'm not letting go."
Lumine kept her hand exactly where it was. Instead, she pushed her luck and moved even closer, until their breaths nearly touched. With an imposing air, she demanded, "What? Are you embarrassed?"
She looked rather embarrassed herself. Even the rims of her ears were red.
"N-no." Kiyo Seigan drew a sharp breath, though his face was turning blue. "Your grip is too strong."
She was squeezing hard enough to bruise his cheek. What monstrous strength this woman possessed!
She was stronger than a damn bodybuilder!
Your grip is too strong.
Miss Lumine froze.
Pfft.
Behind her came the fox lady's unmistakably mocking snicker.
The blush on Lumine's face deepened until it seemed ready to drip from her skin.
Whatever else happened, Kiyono's Tofu Shop opened for business that day.
There were not many customers in the morning, and most were longtime regulars.
They had heard that the shop had hired a new assistant, a young man from Ritou. The elderly customers were skeptical of his abilities. Could this young fellow cook properly?
Surely he would not ruin the Pillar General's good name?
Every gaze directed at him was full of doubt.
Kiyo Seigan soon won them over with his cooking. He discovered that he truly possessed a talent for tofu. Whether making fried tofu or clear-broth tofu, he mastered each dish after seeing it prepared only once, as though the knowledge had always been his.
"Lia."
He took the Salt Ruler from his shirt pocket and spoke softly. "Make me a little salt."
Salt produced by the Salt Ruler tasted especially good.
"Is that any way to order your own god around?" Lia sighed helplessly. "Not the least bit devout."
"Then, great and noble Havria, your devout and sole believer beseeches your protection. Bestow upon me your divine grace—so that I may stew this pork bone."
He spoke with solemn reverence.
"...What a smooth talker," Lia said with a laugh.
"Because you're my one and only god," Kiyo Seigan replied, smiling.
"Then you may never worship a 'second god,' Kiyo Seigan. Not now, not ever." Lia spoke softly as the Salt Ruler gave off a faint glow. "If you do, I will have no choice but to settle accounts with them."
Her tone was calm, but her words were terrifying.
Sometimes Lia was frightening—pathologically so.
Especially when it came to matters like this.
Her worshippers had abandoned her once. She could no longer endure being abandoned by them, and Kiyo Seigan was now her only believer.
"There won't be another," Kiyo Seigan said. "Who did you have in mind...?"
"Inazuma's Narukami, for example. Beelzebul—the embodiment of Eternity." Lia sounded like a cat afraid someone might steal its dried fish. "So many people worship her, don't they?"
Beelzebul...
Who was that?
"Besides, Eternity is far too long. I could never stay for that long," he said. "It would be exhausting. And when it comes down to it, I don't even know her. What does Narukami have to do with Kiyo Seigan?"
"If so many people worship her..." Kiyo Seigan scattered the salt from the ruler into the pork-bone broth. "Then she must have plenty of people by her side. With so many, she won't miss me."
"But Lia only has me."
He spoke earnestly, the warm summer breeze stirring his pale hair.
"I'll stay by your side."
"...Smooth talker," Lia whispered. Her voice was very low. Then she repeated softly, "...Idiot."
"You have to keep your word."
"Then let me stand guard by Ei's side forever."
"If I can withstand your strike, you'll agree to my request."
...Ei remembered the past again.
During those eternally lonely battles, her thoughts often returned to the past.
Thin afternoon light lay across the eaves of the estate, tinting the old plaque of the Pillar General's Mansion with muted gold. The pine in the courtyard still stood tall, its layered branches shielding part of the sunlight. Beneath it rested a cenotaph without a gravestone.
What no one knew was that Ei did not remain within Tenshukaku at all times.
Occasionally, she returned to the Pillar General's Mansion.
Whenever she did, the Raiden Shogun ceased fighting her, and for a short while the two were at peace.
Returning here seemed to mean it was time to rest.
Here, after so long, she could feel peace within her heart.
And here, memories came more easily.
She remembered the competition before the throne, that shimmering summer, and the young samurai in the brilliant prime of his life. He had challenged her: if he could withstand Musou no Hitotachi, she would take him as her personal guard.
He had said he would remain by her side forever.
Ei remembered what she had told him then. She had dismissed the young man's words and replied with calm indifference:
"Hah. A mortal... Beside Eternity, your life is but a fleeting instant."
Yes. She had not been wrong.
What a fleeting instant it had been.
What a terribly brief life.
She stared blankly at the cenotaph covered in fallen leaves. Yellow afternoon light rested upon the mound. After a long while, Ei spoke softly.
"Long time no see, Kiyono Raimei."
Long time no see, Kiyono Raimei.
But she was not seeing Kiyono Raimei at all.
Throughout their final hundred years—even when he died—she had not seen him once. She did not even know what Kiyono Raimei had looked like during those final years.
How ironic.
She lowered her head slightly.
Then, without warning, she spoke in a level voice.
"Come out."
Ancient, lonely, unfathomable pressure rolled forth with the thunder, blurring even the daylight. Narukami's terrible majesty covered everything around them. Thunder rumbled low, and the branches of the pine shuddered together.
Even La Signora, for all her power as a Harbinger, found it difficult to withstand such authority.
"Your Excellency Narukami." La Signora stepped from the shadows. She paused, then spoke with practiced elegance. "I merely wish to propose a deal."
Ei gave her a cold glance.
"Leave."