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The Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine sat beneath the Sacred Sakura, reviewing one of the novels that were yet to be published at the Yae Publishing House as the shrine maidens attended to their duties. She carefully read every word as she sipped on a drink that the traveler made for her, called the “Scholar’s Afternoon”. The kitsune was so invested in reading that she was startled when she heard someone yell out her name,
“Guuji Yae!! You gotta help!!” Setting down her drink and the novel she was invested in, Miko slowly stood up, giving an annoyed glare at the person who interrupted her,
“Oh, one of the people from the Yashiro Commission?? How unexpected, did you come here to politely grab my attention and not rudely interrupt my important work by blurting out my name?” The kitsune said sarcastically as she feigned surprise. The person from the Yashiro commission crossed their arms,
“I’m very sorry..however, now’s not the time for this Lady Guuji!! We seriously need your help!!!” The Guuji let out a tired sigh before placing her hand on her forehead,
“What happened this time?”
“You see…this may sound foolish……we need help with babysitting..” Miko’s eyes widened upon hearing that, the words reciting in her mind, making sure that she was hearing those words correctly. The kitsune wasn’t expecting that.
“Wait wait wait, so you’re telling me that you made your way from the Kamisato Estate, startled me, interrupted my work, and requested MY assistance….just to ask for a babysitter??” Miko’s emotions were a mixture of annoyance, frustration, surprise, and confusion, “I hope you know this is a shrine, not a daycare..”
“Lady Guuji, I do understand your frustration but…these kids aren’t just ordinary kids..” the person let out a sigh before revealing the truth, “..the kids I’m talking about are the Kamisato siblings..they turned into young children!! You know we can’t just let an ordinary Inazuman citizen take care of two of the most important people in the Tri-Commission!!” the person then continued, “So please…help us Lady Guuji..”
“What the…” the kitsune was flabbergasted. She couldn't hide the complete surprise that washed over her expression. That was a HUGE surprise to her. ‘Hmmm, the Kamisato sweetie and the Kamisato rascal…as children…..this could be interesting, and a great revenge plot towards that little rascal for soaking my fur with ice-cold water…’ Miko’s face slowly went from surprised to a mischievous smirk, “Alright, I’ll take care of them. Just give me an hour.”
“Oh thank you so so much Lady Guuji! You’re a true lifesaver!! I’ll tell the Yashiro Commission to start the preparations!!” the person bowed before rushing back to the Yashiro Commission.
-
Miko sat and started thinking about how she would take care of those two kids. She had no experience in babysitting whatsoever and she knew she couldn’t do this alone. She started brainstorming ideas on who could help her.
‘That idiot tengu? Hmm…no, she’s too stiff, plus I’d be taking care of 3 children.’
‘That adorable little ninja girl is nice and mature, besides, she can distract those two..or not, she’d probably sleep the entire time, and that’d lead back to me being on my own..’
‘The oni…I can’t imagine how dreadful that would go…’
Miko was on the verge of giving up until an idea popped up in her mind,
‘Ah, how could I forget, my dear Ei…’
Immediately after that thought came to mind, she made her way to the Tenshukaku. It was no trouble for the Guuji to get past the guards in front of the Tenshukaku. They knew that the Shogun wouldn’t mind her presence. As she stepped inside, she was greeted by a familiar figure with a long purple braid who was meditating. She put on an impersonation of a guard,
“Almighty Shogun, there seems to be a bit of a catastrophe at the Kamisato Estate.” Ei let out a small giggle at Miko’s attempt at impersonating a guard as she stood up and looked at Miko,
“Is that so? Then we shall prepare for battle. Make sure all of the soldiers are stationed.”
“Yes ma’am!” The two girls burst into a fit of laughter right after their little roleplay,
“So Miko, what brings you here?” Miko gave Ei one of her signature mischievous smirks, Ei knew that the kitsune’s smirk wasn’t a good sign, making a frown plaster on her face.
“Well, you’re gonna help me babysit~!” Miko giggled. Ei’s eyes grew with surprise, before becoming excited,
“Hmm, that’s a great surprise. Though I am curious, who are the children we will be taking care of?” Ei raised one of her eyebrows and tilted her head, awaiting an answer from Miko. The Guuji didn’t feel like going on a long, boring, and complicated explanation to Ei about how the Kamisato siblings turned into children, so she just gave a simple,
“You’ll see.” as an answer. Ei was confused about why her best friend kept that answer to herself but she just went with it.
-
Upon arriving at the Kamisato Estate, people were relieved yet shocked to see that the caretakers of the young Ayaka and Ayato were the Guuji, and the Archon themselves. The people of the Yashiro Commission bowed as the two entered the estate, only to find the biggest, most horrendous, most disgusting mess either of them has seen in centuries. Miko almost gagged.
“HEYYY!!!! AYAKA YOU PIG THAT’S MY DOLL!!”
“B…but didn’t the nice lady outside give it to me….?”
“DON’T CARE!! MINE NOW!!!”
*sniff* *sniff*
Oh no.
Ayaka started sobbing as Ayato started tearing up,
“Wait Ayaka don’t cry I’m sorry!! That’s your doll!! You know when you start crying I also..”
*sniff*
Oh god no.
Ayato tightly hugged Ayaka as now they were both sobbing. Great. Ei was about to try to say something to make the two feel better, but Miko beat her to it. Miko gave them an intimidating glare and crossed her arms,
“Silence, both of you. It’s just a toy, get over it.” Ayaka had a frightened expression on her face. Ayato on the other hand just stuck his tongue out at Miko. This is why Miko didn’t like kids. She’s lucky that she was able to compose herself, otherwise, she would’ve ripped that kid to shreds. Not that Ei would let her anyway. Ei then stepped forward and crouched down to the level of the two, putting her hands on both of their heads,
“Hey you two, how about you share the doll? I’m sorry about Miko, she isn’t used to taking care of big kids like you two, I’m Raiden Ei. We’ll be playing with you two today, but before the fun starts, let’s clean up, ok?” Ei gave them both a sweet smile. Ayaka was paler than she usually is at this point, and Ayato was quivering,
“A-aren’t you…the Almighty Shogun?!” Ayato’s eyes lit up with awe and excitement. The shogun became flushed at the sudden recognition.
“Well uh, yes but let’s not let that pose an obstacle in our main objective..” both of the siblings gave a small nod before they started their search for cleaning supplies.
-
Ei taught Ayaka how to sweep and mop the floors while Miko was malding trying to get Ayato to clean his room.
“For Archon’s sake kid, just put the toy in the bin…” Miko let out a frustrated groan. Ayato was too busy fiddling with Miko’s fox ears to pay attention to his messy room. Miko didn’t want to wait until Ei, the babysitting expert, came to pluck him off her. So she decided to take matters into her own hands,
“You know Kamisato rascal, I know where to find a really cute and fluffy fox that will be your bestest friend forever! If you clean up, I’ll let you play with her after we eat dinner…” Ayato’s eyes lit at her words,
“Really?! Okay, I’ll start cleaning Yae-san!!” As if she cast a spell on him, Ayato started cleaning. Bribery always works like a charm. Miko smiled to herself, seeing the young boy be so determined. She could sort of see why Ei enjoys being around these headaches.
Once they finished cleaning up, they all met in the kitchen. Both Ei and Miko were proud of the now clean house,
“You both did an amazing job!!” Ei complimented, the kids giggled at the compliment.
“Yeah uh…you two did well..” Miko admitted, which this time, Ei was the one giggling.
“Miss Ei,” Ayaka spoke, “I’m hungry…can you make Unagi Chazuke for dinner??” Ei’s face flushed from the request, she didn't want to tell the children that looked up to her that their Archon can’t cook. Luckily, Miko was to the rescue,
“I’m sure Miss Ei is very tired and needs to rest, so I’ll cook dinner for you guys instead! Why don’t you two go wait outside the kitchen while I talk to Ei?” Ayaka and Ayato nodded before sprinting out of the kitchen. Yae gave Ei a teasing look, Ei responded by rolling her eyes. Miko started cooking the Unagi Chazuke,
“Seems like we’re flawless babysitters, aren’t we Ei?”
“Haha, it seems so. I am truly glad you brought me along. Though, I didn’t expect us to be taking care of the Kamisato siblings.” Miko smiled at that.
“Enlighten me Ei, why weren’t you surprised when we arrived here?”
“Well, I figured we wouldn’t be taking care of any normal kids, as I know you would never in your life accept such a silly request. But a part of me is curious as to why you decided to accept this request instead of just forwarding it to me??” Ei gave a small laugh.
“Believe it or not, at first it was a plot to get revenge on that Yashiro rascal for ruining my fur…but then it turned into something quite interesting. It makes for a good plot for a novel. Also, those children would starve because you can’t cook.” Upon hearing that last sentence, Ei gave Miko a little nudge, making both of them laugh.
-
They had all finished eating their food as they rested in the living room. Miko was in her fox form, letting Ayato play with her. Ei was braiding Ayaka’s hair as she hummed a small tune.
“I didn’t know Miss Yae could be such a good cook, it’s a shame she had to leave us after dinner,” Ayato yawned, “But at least she left me with this adorable, fluffy fox!” He slowly started drifting off to sleep. Ayaka nodded before also drifting to sleep.
“I think we should go now Miko, it’d be very awkward if they went back to normal after they woke up and see us here,” Ei said to the kitsune but got no answer. She looked and saw Miko fast asleep in Ayato’s lap. Ei smiled then got up and picked up Miko, before leaving through a portal.
-
The next day, a letter arrived at the Grand Narukami Shrine with the Yashiro Commission insignia on it. The Guuji then curiously opened the letter as it read,
‘Dear Lady Guuji,
My sister is forcing me to write this. I am sorry. The reason why we turned into children was because of a very special and intense game of hotpot. (I added a few…odd ingredients). Thanks for taking care of us. By the way, your fox form is very fluffy. Let me know when you’re up for sale haha!! I’ll spend all of my savings!!! Also uh, Ayaka wanted to apologize for the ant she got on the Shogun’s shoe.
-Kamisato Ayato’
Miko frustratedly burnt the letter to a crisp before mumbling to herself,
“This is why I don’t like that rascal.”