Chapter Text
The whole wide world was at her feet when Raiden looked at her, smiling softly at one of her teases. Miko wouldn’t trade her happiness for anything in the world, abandoning all ordinary troubles and empty desires, only to be with her.
Or – at least that’s how it used to be.
Reminiscing about old days felt wrong nowadays and Yae Miko had a mission after all. As she watched the last Shogunate warrior fall to their death by her sharp ended whip, she indulged in a breath of fresh air, dipped in poisonous nostalgia.
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“Oh, please, you wouldn’t last a second against me in a game of go,” chuckled Miko as she watched Ei walking beside her.
The pack leader grumbled under her breath, only making the rose haired alpha laugh brighter. They were on a stroll through Narukami City, enjoying the warm weather and the smell of fresh food. Miko was expecting a day like this, a day off work and filled with her crush’s presence. She couldn’t imagine any other place she’d rather be.
“You’re so full of it,” replied Ei as she waved to a shy girl on the side of the street.
Everyone knew Ei around the nation, if not because of her vast reputation as pack leader of the Shogunate, then because of her relationship to the nation’s Archon, Makoto. Ei’s twin sister didn’t usually go outside the palace, preferring solitude to the loud and proud life her sister thrived on.
The sisters were similar in a lot of ways, but so different at their roots. Makoto was serious and mature, selfless and strict. Miko was reminded of a mother bear often when she was in her presence. Ei was a wolf in all aspects – one with her pack, confident in her skills and sharp as a sword. It’s one of the reasons Miko fell in love with her, despite their secondary gender.
She knew it was bizarre to be in love with another alpha. Forbidden in their own nation, along with many other ways of living. The people of Inazuma were struggling every day from the strict rule of Makoto, but Miko knew it was a necessary evil to keep the foes out. She thought of herself as a freak for many years for having such thoughts about her best friend.
However, she knew her fate was written way before she could decide it. Yae Miko was confident Raiden was her fated mate.
It was the only way her feelings could be rationalised, although she tried telling herself feelings don’t have a mind of their own. It didn’t work most of the time. Miko was a calculated person, or that’s how she preferred to see herself ever since her younger years. Never taking risks not thought through, always leading the right cause.
It’s how she kept her position of High Priestess of the Narukami Shrine all these years.
“Oh let’s go there, I want to see the ocean.”
Ei took Miko’s hand in hers and pulled her towards the east wing of town. Butterflies rose in her stomach, convulsing together in a mixture of colourful disaster. She giggled at her friend’s reaction, but followed her without comment.
Ei held her hand tighter. “I’ll miss this.”
Miko gave her a puzzled look.
“What do you mean?” she inquired softly. “Are you leaving somewhere?”
The pack leader didn’t respond at first, only gazing out towards the clashing waves. Miko frowned further.
“My mating ceremony is later this week, and after that we’ll be discussing the Sangonomiya situation again.” Still not watching Miko, she continued, “I’ll be stuck in the castle all month, discussing strategies.”
No.
“I can’t wait to show that worthless excuse of an alpha how it’s done around here,” Ei went on.
Wait.
Gritting her teeth and squeezing Ei’s hand tighter, the rose haired alpha took a deep breath that her lungs did not register. They were outside, a breeze surrounding them and covering the alphas in a pleasant scent of cherry blossom trees. Miko saw red. Yanking her hand out of Raiden’s, she took a step back.
“Mating ceremony?”
Ei seemed surprised at the reaction. “I am expected to give an heir. My pack needs it. You know that.”
Miko shook her head. She knew all alphas needed to mate with an omega or beta eventually, but this wasn’t how it’s supposed to go.
“You can’t – Don’t.”
“Miko.” Ei smiled gently before grabbing her hand into hers. “Don’t you trust me?”
“I do. It’s not –”
Fair? It’s not that? I just thought you’d choose me despite everything?
All the gentle smiles, hidden embraces, sweet caresses Ei has given her all these years all came rushing back in a sickening wave, along the ocean below. She nodded her head, the world in a blur, her heart crumpled, but still beating for the woman who couldn’t be hers after all.
“Have you – have you ever considered me?”
She knew it was the wrong thing to ask the second it left her trembling lips, but she needed to know. Was it all a ruse, has she been blinded by her own overpowering feelings and failed to see Ei fall for someone else? Or was it really just that – her job to not let the pack down.
“You know I love you,” was all Ei said before she let go of the other woman.
They didn’t share another word the entire walk back.
Miko tried to act nonchalantly about it the next few days. Her shrine maidens couldn’t be fooled so easily when they’ve spent the better half of a decade together, though. The Shogun herself announced her sister’s mating ceremony, bringing joy to the nation, all around the villages, but evading the shrine. Miko still thought of it as a mistake. Surely, if Ei hadn’t been obligated to give an heir to the nation, she would have chosen differently.
Whoever her mate, Miko felt sad for them, because Ei would always love her more than them.
The mating ceremony began at dawn, on a bright and chilly Sunday. It was a small official gathering, with the exception that the Archon was also present, which she didn’t need to be at all such events. Since Miko was the designated Priestess of the shrine, she had to officiate their bond, which only brought more painful twirls inside her stomach.
Ei was gorgeous. Adorned by a splendid violet gown, hair braided all the way to her feet, pieces of decorative armour placed on her shoulders and thighs, she looked like a princess – Miko supposed she kind of was.
It was hard to gaze away, but movement at her periphery distracted her momentarily. Kujou Sara, the general of their army, designated only months ago, was strolling towards them, flanked by two other soldiers. Dressed in a long dark blue gown, a deep v-cut on the front, a traditional kitsune mask adorning her side of the head, the beta joined them silently, standing beside Ei.
Ei stared at her.
“We can begin now,” motioned Makoto for the Priestess to begin the ceremony.
Oh. It had never crossed her mind that Makoto might have chosen someone from a high social status for their benefit. Thinking about it now, it was the only logical way Ei would have accepted the relationship. Miko shook her head and took her staff in hand. Trying hard not to watch the two women that were now staring each other down, she went through the vows.
“We have gathered here today in the sight of our beloved Archon as witnesses to celebrate the link of Raiden Ei and Kujou Sara. We cherish this step on their journey toward what we pray will be a”, she paused for a mere second, gulping down the knot in her throat. “Long, happy, and healthy life together.”
The rest is a blur of words, movements, colours and cheerful noises all around her. It didn’t really matter. Although they had been officially connected in the mating ceremony, Miko knew why her friend looked that way at Sara. It was the way a trapped bunny looked at its predator before its final moments.
It was only a matter of time before Ei gave up on the fake bond and went back to Miko.
And Miko would not be standing by in the meantime. She will simply help Ei realise why she was making a mistake in listening to her sister about her future. She hadn't found the strength before the bond had been put in place, but she herself knew mating bonds are not permanent. They needed to be redone regularly and Ei would have no reason to.
It had been weeks before Ei could go on a walk with her again, trapped between official tasks from her sister and missions she had to watch over because Sara couldn’t be trusted yet with the entirety of the nation’s army.
“I am so tired,” admitted Ei as they lay down under the shade of a blossom tree.
Ei’s head was propped on the rose haired alpha’s thighs, eyes closed and fingers fidgeting with the grass around her fit body. She had heavy bags under her eyes, her hair dishevelled.
“Take a break. A longer one than these ten minutes you allow yourself with me,” proposed Miko, running her fingers through her friend’s hair.
Ei shook her head. “I can’t. We came up with a plan to take down the Sangonomiya clan. The only problem is that the person I put in charge is an oaf.”
Miko chuckled. “What is the mission? I think you were a bigger oaf when you were younger.”
Ei hesitated for a mere second. Normally, she shouldn’t be discussing war matters with outsiders, but Miko was her closest friend – on good days, something more, with the way their hands always found each other.
“We decided we needed someone on the inside. Someone who can crumble them from within. We’re sending an omega who can play with her mind,” she clued Miko in. “The man I picked is a real charmer and a great warrior, but I fear he underestimates that alpha.”
Miko hummed. “Tell him not to.”
“It’s not that easy!”
“Sure is, just use your alpha voice and scare them into subordination, like you’ve done with many others,” teased Miko.
Ei gazed away, standing up.
“I don’t do that… as often anymore.”
Miko hummed again. “I think you do it even more and I think you know why.”
The pack leader frowned and turned a side glance towards her friend. Her scent turned sour, as if expecting the words that would come out of Miko’s mouth.
“Your mate is stressing you, instead of, you know.” Miko made a suggestive gesture. “Relieving you of it.”
Ei rolled her eyes. “It’s not her.”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t know! Leave it.”
“How can I leave it?” Miko asked despondently.
“Just leave it!” snapped Ei and rolled her shoulders defensively. Her facial mask fell back in place, a sight that annoyed Miko to the ends of the world. “I have to go, Sara’s waiting for me.”
Miko frowned deeper and raised with Ei. Her mind whirled and she wanted to snap at the woman in front of her, who promised her the world and broke her heart all in one sitting months ago. She needed to remind Ei of who she was and of their relationship. She needed to keep her there.
“Send me, instead,” began the rose haired alpha.
That made the pack leader stop in her tracks. “What?”
“To Watatsumi Island. You know I can do a better job than that rascal,” teased Miko, although her humour turned sour.
Shrugging, Ei took a couple of steps back and turned around. She looked uncertain, untrusting almost at her old friend. She looked bored as she thrust her chin upward, in defiance of the idea.
“We need an omega, not an alpha for the job.”
“No,” rasped Miko. “You need someone steady on their feet who can protect themselves against Sangonomiya. Just think about it – someone close to you that suddenly wants revenge on the society you and your sister are building. We can even use the premise of an attack on my pack. I gain her trust, you rally up the army and we launch an attack from all sides.”
“And what if it fails?”
Miko shook her head. “But what if it works?”
The usual pomegranate scent that adorned Ei’s frame came back as sweetly as before their argument.
“Where’s the catch?”
The shrine priestess smirked. Her old friend has yet to fall in one of her traps, then. “You belong to me. You have an heir with that beta of yours and then you come back to me.”
The tension in the air grew thicker at her words and the two alphas stared each other down, scents powerful and vicious in tandem. The hairs on the shrine priestess rose in response to the staredown, but she stood her ground. Ei was hers from the beginning and Sara was simply there to uphold a role. It was less of a bargaining and more of an irrefutable future. She knew Ei hadn’t bitten Sara’s scent gland yet and a claiming bite was not something Ei had ever wanted from a mate.
“You have to succeed first, Priestess.”
With that, Raiden Ei took her leave, breaking eye contact and abandoning Miko to her thoughts. Now, all Miko had to do was uphold her part of the deal. As the next few days rolled forth, she conducted a plan with Ei’s closest strategists of how to infiltrate the island and seek the leader of the resistance. They did not know where she lay rest, only speculated that the shrine would be the obvious truth, in close quarters with her pack. Miko thought of a few ways to bring soldiers to the island without raising alarms, but she couldn’t quite get it right with so little key information.
It did nothing to stop her anxieties of failing this task when the Shogunate leader stared her down at every meeting, with Sara to her right.
Everything was going according to plan, the consultants deciding on a late summer Thursday to infiltrate the Priestess. She had sold precious information to the Fatui of an ancient relic around Fort Mumei, which would be her way in. She needed to go forth, wait for the resistance to strike and help them fight the Fatui. Pretty straightforward, she patted herself on the back.
Ei would be hers.
The Monday before the plan was set to roll out, Miko went into town on a leisure stroll. She had felt like a wrung wire for some time now, the walls of any room threatening to close in on her. She was confident in her plan, but she realised that no matter how much she talked to her warchiefs, Ei’s attention often left her body for Sara’s own. She sought after her mate’s gaze, drawn to her fingers when she thought no one was looking. Miko was always looking, though.
She knew it was a matter of time until Ei would realise this power game she was playing would not conclude to her happiness. However, there was a gnawing feeling inside the priestess’ chest every time she thought of her love. The alpha inside felt incredibly choked up even now, as she was strolling the Inazuma City’s streets. Almost as if fate was warning her of what’s to come.
She should have listened to her instincts. The scent of blood and fright hit her senses tenfold as she approached the Shrine. She thought she had imagined it, but nothing could mimic her omegas’ scents so closely. Looking around the path leading up to the Shrine, her heart stopped, as pieces of robes adorned the tree trunks and blood speckled Naku weeds. Miko shrieked for her maidens’ names, but with none in sight, she sprinted towards the temple doors, with the worst in mind.
Pushing open the doors to her maidens’ quarters, she gulped down the thick scent of despair, grasping what was in front of her with a trembling frame. One of the omegas was laying on the floor in front of her, robes torn and make-up smeared, while two others were thrown over their futons carelessly. The rest of them, the alpha sensed, were in the rooms in the back, in similar states. The stench of alpha desire tainted the walls, floors and furniture all around and Miko saw red in front of her as she growled low and hurt.
The omega closest to her winced, still conscious, and Miko started. Calming down momentarily, controlling her scent as best as she could, she kneeled down. Miyumi could barely look her in the eyes, when she whispered the Shogunate’s name.
“What?”
The omega shook in her arms so badly that it took everything in Miko not to break down as well, seeing one from her pack in such pain. She helped cleanse them all, bring them food and allowed them to nest in her own quarters. She watched them closely, attentive and scared of anything else ever happening to them. The alpha inside wanted to scratch, bite and tear apart the people to blame, but Archons be damned if she left their side now. She should have been there.
What were The Shogunate thinking? Where was Sara? Rage boiled under the priestess’ skin at the thought of this being the warchief’s fault. She kept her pack close to her for the following days, as thoughts swirled around her mind. She dismissed the thought of abandoning her pack ever again. Trusting Ei to keep her pack safe just barely, she led them all into the palace, coming face to face with the Shogun.
“What is the meaning of this?” demanded Sara as she saw them all approaching.
Miko snarled at the beta. “That is what I want to know. Ei, it has come to my attention that your spoiled brats touched what’s not theirs.”
Ei raised a brow at that. “Were you there?”
“I don’t need to be there to smell it on every one of them, or see their blood pooling up a sacred territory, alpha.”
Ei shrugged. “Was that not the plan?”
The priestess’ stomach dropped, rage uncoiling from her heart. “What.”
“The plan,” replied Sara calmly. “You pretend to be attacked by us. Of course, our pack did not do anything, but that’s what you’ll believe. We needed to be prepared for evidence, in case the resistance scouts looked for proof of your words.”
Miko took a step back, furious. Her omegas made themselves small, sensing their alpha ready to snap. Sara cocked an arrow into her bow, in defiance, stepping in front of Ei. Ei dismissed her with a wave of her hand, unaffected.
“You must not do anything rash, Priestess. You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you on purpose,” pouted Ei in slight concern.
However, Miko did not miss a beat at Sara’s confession and the pack leader did not seem surprised by her mate’s words. She would have ripped the warchief’s throat to shreds if Ei wasn’t looking. When Sara let down her bow, the arrow still cocked, she took a couple of steps back, turning her head slightly, but keeping Miko’s pack in sight.
That’s when she saw it – the bite mark. It wasn’t that visible if Sara didn’t turn her head, but there it was. She shouldn’t have trusted Ei with the truth, when she couldn’t even hold herself accountable for knowingly attacking innocent omegas that did not belong to her. But seeing the bite mark as well, accepting that Ei was perhaps never hers to hold and cherish, that hit the nail on the head to her own coffin.
There was only one thing that the Shogunate will remember about Miko, though. She will never go down without a fight, and without everybody else there with her.
The Shogun wanted a war? She would get one.