Chapter Text
Consistency has always been the key to eternity. So the Raiden Shogun likes to keep her days the same, no matter what little things come up. It’s simple, really - tea in the morning and evening with Yae Miko and occasionally Kujou Sara if she has the time (she always does come anyways), meetings and strategizing during noon, and at night, gazing at the moon or polishing her blades. It’s a repetitive process, but by all means not boring or colourless. She’s lived for far too long to view anything as mundane anymore, which she might’ve done in her first thousand years. Now, however, it all just melts into background noise. Neither exciting nor monotonous, just…there.
“Sencha again?” Yae Miko asks as Baal walks into the courtyard. It was a nice little place, away from the Tenshukaku, but still near enough that they could come running at the first sign of trouble (though nothing had ever happened, not for many years).
“I will take whatever you’ve boiled,” is Baal’s response as she folds her legs, settling onto the cushion. Tea ceremonies have always been enjoyable. Though usually rigid and cold, her and Yae Miko have long since dropped that tension. Keeping it for thousands of year would be a bit…ridiculous, even for beings such as themselves.
“You wouldn’t have had the option anyways.” Yae Miko smiles, not unkind, but not warm either. It’s just a smile, one to show amusement and nothing else. “Though tomorrow I was thinking gyokuro. As for tonight, I was considering hojicha or tamaryokucha.”
“You may choose whatever you see fit,” Baal responds. Yae Miko smiles again, sly as a fox, as she gently picks up her cup and brings it to her mouth, taking a sip of the tea. Baal does not, instead choosing to wait. It’s become a…habit, to wait for Kujou Sara to arrive, and pour her a cup before she drinks her own. She does not know when or why she started doing this, but it’s become her routine. And routine means consistency, so she waits.
Soon enough, just as she always does, Kujou Sara comes. She’s dressed in her usual attire, mask hanging on her side, and walks towards them. She holds herself with a sort of pride and confidence that Baal observes can only come from going through many battles and emerging victorious. Baal has always found herself watching Sara train, with both her sword and arrows.
“Greetings,” Kujou Sara says, and bows at them both. She then takes her own seat, and Yae Miko pours her a cup of tea. Baal waits for her to take a sip before grabbing her own cup and taking a sip. “Sencha?” Sara asks looking down at her drink.
“Correct as always,” Yae Miko replies. “For tonight, would you like hojicha or tamaryokucha?”
“You may choose what you see fit, Lady Yae,” Sara responds, formal and polite as always. “Your tea is always delightful.”
“Hojicha, then,” Yae chooses, pleasant smile on her face. “I presume we will be meeting here at the same time as usual. Perhaps I will have some mochi prepared as well.”
“You’re too kind.” Sara sets down her cup, already finished. “I must get going. It was a pleasure to be here.”
Baal watches as she walks away, confident strides and swagger. Her eyes follow Sara as her figure grows smaller and smaller, until she eventually disappears through the golden doors of the Tenshukaku. Something’s…off about her. Baal isn’t quite sure what, but Kujou Sara seems…different. Nothing in her demeanour or act, but just the cold feeling creeping up Baal’s spine as she watches the golden door close, and Sara disappear behind them. Something was - is - very, very wrong, but she can’t place what. It’s subtle, so subtle and hidden, that Baal hadn’t even realized until Sara had left them, that something was wrong .
“So you feel it too?” Yae Miko asks. Baal turns to the pink haired woman, watches as she sighs and pours more tea into her cup. “New winds blow new life onto our shores. It seems that in the near future, things are going to grow very interesting .” Baal only arches an eyebrow in response. She has never been one of many words, instead choosing to listen to what others have to say (others usually meaning Yae and occasionally Sara).
Kujou Sara had never held a fondness for tamaryokucha tea. Perhaps she had wanted a change, wanted to take a dive into shallow shores of the unknown. Or perhaps something indeed was wrong. Until then, Baal would only sit back and watch. For she was the God of Eternity, not time. She would not be one to predict or speed up things that happen, rather, she’ll just wait and watch. “She does not drink tamaryokucha tea, not on a regular basis. She would not choose it over hojicha.”
“It’s a possibility that she’d like to try something new,” Yae hums. “But this is Kujou Sara, and she keeps things consistent. Still, we may just be reading too into things. Let us not dwell on it, for there are more important matters to take care of.”
Still, the cold feeling stays, seeping into the Raiden Shogun’s heart as she, too, delicately stands up and leaves the courtyard. It stays even as she meets with the Yashiro Commission, settling into her heart. And it flares up when Kujou Sara turns up for evening tea, elegant and pristine, holding herself with pride. Nothing seems out of the ordinary as she kneels down into the cushion and gently grabs her cup of tea. Baal hesitates for a moment, narrowing her eyes at the woman sitting beside her, before taking a sip of her own tea. Sara, as always, is the first one to leave. Whether or not she really is off is still something Baal cannot answer. People are…impossible to predict. So she only waits.
The Raiden Shogun, though it may seem unlikely, is a very patient woman. The Archons have existed for centuries upon centuries. To be impatient would mean to be immature. For one cannot wait around for thousands of years and still be like that - counting seconds and minutes for something to happen. Baal would’ve gone mad long ago if she had done that. So like a predator stalks its prey, patiently waiting for the right moment, she will do the very same, for Baal can wait for an eternity. The only question is whether anyone else can.