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The soft silence from outside the shrine told Kokomi it was late at night. All that could be heard is the gentle streams of the waterfalls outside and the guards doing their nightly rotations. In front of her were several dozens of sheets of paper, some of them letters from the Kujou clan talking of peace talks while others were strategy plans she wanted to revise. They had taken another week to get to her, purely because her transcriber had to sort through them all.
Shuffling the papers she had read into a neat pile, she sighs quietly and rubs her temples. While it had been a month since the civil war had ended, Kokomi has barely had a moment to rest. At first it was healing wounded soldiers and informing the families of those killed in action. Gorou and her had gone door to door, finding letters too impersonal. She had comforted sobbing parents and shocked partners and prayed for their souls to reach the afterlife safely. They had visited Inazuma city to talk to the tri-commision about advancing further. She had talked to Kujou Sara specifically, and healed her also.
They had yet to meet the Raiden Shogun, or, as they know her now, Ei for proper peace talks. While the vision hunt was over, both parties must organise reparations and a proper treaty must be signed. Kokomi was no idiot, and had a letter requesting the Raiden Shogun’s presence almost right away through Guuji Yae. Kokomi is still waiting for a reply, but she understands that the Raiden has other things to worry about too.
A yawn escapes her, and her eyes feel heavy, but she must power on. It must be past midnight at least, having heard the clock strike the hour 3 times since she entered the room at around 9. One of her retainers or the shrine maidens would be around to wake her in around 5 hours for them to do rounds at the infirmary, but yet, she was nowhere near finished going through these papers and she needs to reply soon to be respectful and to organise things soon. Not to mention her transcriber will have to go through all of them. A groan follows another yawn, and she runs her hands through her hair before going through another document.
The door to the room opens a little while later, it surely can't be time for rounds yet? She hadn’t heard the clock strike again. Trying to tidy the pieces of paper up so it looks a little more presentable, the person in the room chuckles. It’s familiar of course, one she’s heard many times before. It helps her relax and she looks towards the sound of the voice.
“It’s just me, Kokomi.” Gorou says gently, resting his hand on her shoulder, standing on the right side, just like he always does.
She smiles up at him, “I thought it was one of the shrine maidens. I apologise.”
Gorou hums and takes one of the pieces of paper on the desk, running his fingers over the braille. “There’s no need to apologise. I’m just surprised you’re awake, that's all.”
“I thought I should try to get through these letters, they arrived transcribed today and the majority of them are urgent.”
“Is it all just letters from the Shogunate?” His voice is curious and she pauses before shaking her head.
“No, this pile.” She rests her hand on a seperate pile to the one in front of her, “Is strategy plans from our battles, I hope to revise them and see what went well and what we could have done better.” Moving to another pile, she sighs slightly, “These are letters from the families of those killed in action. Thanking us for taking care of them.” Kokomi’s voice shakes slightly, and Gorou squeezes her shoulder gently,
“Kokomi… when was the last time you took a break?”
Her eyebrows knit together in confusion, “What do you mean, I’ve had breaks while travelling to the other islands,”
“You only ever had shiort naps, I mean like a proper break, at least 8 hours sleep and a day off.”
Kokomi is silent at that, and Gorou sighs gently.
“Please, come with me?”
Kokomi nods, and stands up as Gorou leaves her side, she hears him sorting the papers again and blowing out the candle in the room. He takes her hand gently and leads her out the room.
“Where are you taking me?” She asks quietly and he rubs his thumb over the back of her hand.
“To my room, so you can sleep properly and undisturbed, And before you start worrying about rounds in the morning, I’ll go ask one of the shrine maidens once we get there. They’re sure to understand.”
Kokomi protests, “But! I have so much to do Gorou, there’s letters to respond to and people to heal. I can’t just lay in bed and sleep.”
“And you can’t do it while sleep deprived can you?”
Kokomi sighs in defeat and she knows Gorou is grinning in triumph. He leads her to his room within the clan's household, He had took up residence at Watatsumi when the vision hunt decree started, and they were planning on retaliating. After it ended, he decided he didn't want to move, so he just stayed in place. Kokomi knows his room is close to hers but not incredibly close. Having the general in a different area to the leader makes sense, they had taken into consideration the fact there may be attempts on both their lives.
Gorou opens the door to his room, and sits Kokomi down on the bed. She runs her hands through her hair again, a nervous habit one would say. Gorou huffs as he rummages through something, but makes a happy noise when he finds what he’s looking for.
“Do you want clothes to sleep in? I have a spare shirt and some shorts, they're not the nicest but they’ll do for the night.” He thinks for a second, “If not, I can get one of the night guards to go to your room and get something?”
Kokomi shakes her head, “Your clothes are enough Gorou, thank you.”
Gorou puts the shirt and shorts in her lap, and gently takes her hair out of the clasp and bun it’s in. “Hopefully that will make things easier. While you get changed, I’ll go talk to the shrine maidens alright?”
“Alright,” Kokomi smiles, “Take your time, there’s no rush.”
Gorou squeezes her shoulder gently again before taking off, closing the door behind him. Getting changed, Kokomi neatly folds her clothes on the bed, knowing he will move it to somewhere safe and won’t fall off when he gets back. She hums softly as she slips Gorou’s clothes on, the earth tones he constantly smells of prominent on them. It sounds weird when she admits it out loud, but even Gorou’s smell comforts her. Having something familiar in a new scenario is the best way she gets through things, and it lets her know he’s here and that he’s alive.
Kokomi then shakes her hair out, combing through it with her fingers when there’s a knock on the door, and Gorou asks if it’s okay to come in. Responding with a yes, she faces towards the sound of the door opening with a grin on her face.
“Time for bed.” Gorou says softly, moving her clothes on top of the dresser before laying in bed with her. His chest to her back, he wraps her arms around her gently. Kokomi sighs happily and snuggles into him.
“We have the entire day off tomorrow, you need the rest.”
Kokomi giggles a “Yes sir.” before yawning, and Gorou chuckles in response.
“Goodnight Gorou…”
“Goodnight Kokomi”
And the Divine Priestess falls asleep, not noticing the hint of a gentle kiss on top of her head when she starts to slumber.