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Miko first meets Ei in the depths of Chinju forest, never knowing her name until many centuries later. With the sun setting in the orange sky, she settles herself on a comfortable patch of moss, beams of light became warmer as dusk kept progressing. Pink fur illuminating, she closes her eyes and steadies her breathing to let herself fall into a slumber. That is, until something picks her up by the scruff of the neck, leaving her dangling in the air at the mercy of the perpetrator. She tries to snarl, and bites at the hand that holds her. It’s a stupid oni, with an even stupider smiler on her face. The oni points at her, beckoning someone to come over to see how adorable the ‘little thing’ is. Outraged with her treatment, she gives an especially strong bite to the oni’s hand. She lets go of Miko, swearing whilst tending to her bleeding hand. As she deserves. Unfortunately for Miko, she lands head first onto the ground.
A gentle voice tells the oni to stop overreacting and that she should have expected something like this to happen. A voice so alluring that it stops Miko from yapping, enticing her to walk to the woman in purple who holds a naginata that could cut grass with a gentle swipe. Her hair sways softly behind her in a single braid, glowing purple eyes meeting her own. The purple woman crouches down and pets her behind her ear, giving an apology for the stupid oni and a small smile. She is like an eternal shadow that lingers behind you that never fails to be behind you as you walk through life. Oh how Miko wishes she could transform into a human, to feel her properly, run her hands through her hair, experience the softness of her skin and the gentle heart she has. Instead, she climbs up to her shoulder and burrows herself into the crook of her neck. Dark and quiet, she readies herself for sleep, which is once again, interrupted by that stupid oni who is holding her a lot more gently than before, careful to see that she is comfortable. She opens her eyes and sees that it’s not the oni, but the purple woman whose touch is as gentle as the wind. She’s back on her mossy retreat and the purple woman leaves, giving a final glance before heading towards the stairs that go to Mount Yougou. She wishes she knew her name and remembers the featherlight touch of hers as her mind drifts away into sleep.
The next time she sees Ei is at the Grand Narukami Shrine where she undergoes training to become a shrine maiden. No longer restricted to her fox form, she walks on two legs, skin replacing the pink fur she had. The only part of her that gives away her lineage are the furry ears on her head, colour like the sakura petals that fall in the spring.
She’s once against skipping shrine duty, unbothered to perform rituals that could be done by a mere human. Additionally, the news of Alice’s return makes the hair on the back of her neck prickle up. Whilst she’s old enough to not cry whenever she tormented her, she’s not too sure how to get back at the old hag for making her youthful human years so stressful. Maybe she can beat her at a drinking contest.
Wanting to avoid detection, she transforms back into her fox form, tail swaying behind her as she scuttles through the shrine, making her way to the stairs that descend down. Those stairs were a bit pointless, only there after climbing a large chunk of the mountain. At the base of the stairs, she sees the familiar shade of purple she saw only once a century ago. The same shade of purple which stroked her fur, the same shade of purple who still wields a naginata that could cut grass. She runs towards her and climbs back onto the comfort of her shoulder. This woman doesn’t know she’s a shrine maiden skipping her duties, maybe she’ll take her along to wherever next she’s going. Unhelpful to her attempt to avoid shrine duties, Kitsune Saiguu is right next to her, eyebrow raised and with an unimpressed look on her face.
“Miko if you’re going to avoid your duties then do it so that I at least don’t catch you slacking,” Saiguu groans with a shake of her head. Picking her up by the scruff of the neck like the stupid oni from the last century, she scolds her about her behaviour, especially infront of the Raiden Shogun. Raiden Shogun? If she was a human, she would’ve balked. Instead, she jumps down from the Shogun’s shoulder and scampers off, in disbelief that she’s become so entranced by the God of Eternity. “Oh no you don’t,” Saiguu says before she hands Miko in the air. She tries to squire her way out of her grip, but Saiguu knows her and all her tactics so it’s useless. She dreads the punishment she will receive, is it going to be working at the fortune slips, acting utterly ridiculous in front of the humans who look at her ears for too long. She’ll go through the lengths to slip something pickled in Saiguu’s next meal, willing to go through the horrendous process of pickling food to get her revenge.
“So her name is Miko,” says the purple shadow, no, god, whose expression lacks the warmth from just before.
“You know this brat?” Brat? What do you mean brat? I am a part of the same grand clan as yours! Sadly for Miko, her complaints are just tiny whines and growls made by her fox form. Oh how she wishes she had vocal cords right now, archons she wants to give Saiguu an earful, regardless of the fact that she is her elder by many centuries.
“Yes, me and Chiyo met her a while ago in Chinju forest. I see that she now works at the Shrine under your supervision,” the Shogun comments, still stoic and reserved. Miko wishes she could see the smile she saw a century ago again.
Miko becomes fed up of being treated as an animal and wills herself to transform back into a human. She falls down head first (again) onto the concrete floor, pink mist clearing away after her change of form. Rubbing her head, she sits up and glares at Saiguu, eyes strong enough that they could pierce the back of a mere mortal's skull. Unfortunately for her, Saiguu is no mere mortal.
“Don’t you try to run again, I’ll have you cleaning the floor of the shrine for a week longer if you do. And pay your respects to the Shogun.” Miko bows meekly to the god, bashful of the earful she is getting from her mentor. She doesn’t process any of the things that Kitsune Saiguu is saying, too entranced by the deity in front of her. She dons the same outfit as the last time, the intricate kimono with lilac drapes that flutters in the spring breeze. She kicks herself mentally, mortified that the first proper introduction with the Raiden Shogun out of all people started with a sharp scolding. Determined to redeem herself, she dictates the longest and sincerest apology to the Shogun, hoping that this incident will be glossed over and forgotten.
“It is your mentor that you should be apologising to,” says the Shogun without emotion. She must have made a disagreeable face at the thought of apologising to Saiguu, as the latter hits her on the back of her head, once again reminding how she should be acting in front of the shogun. Before Saiguu could go on further about her ‘disgraceful’ actions, she scurries back to the shrine as she rubs her head. She gives a final look back at the Shogun, who stares back at her with curiosity. It is only after Miko is done with her duties for the day that she realises that she still doesn’t know her name.
Miko sees Ei for the third time in the courtyard of the Tenshukaku. Kitsune Saiguu decided that she should know the truth of their gods when she’s due to become the next Guuji of the shrine, that the person she thought was the Raiden Shogun is a kagemusha, an eternal shadow of the true Raiden Shogun. She learns their names finally, Makoto and Ei, the twin sisters who rule over the nation of Inazuma. Makoto is more approachable than Ei, offering Miko a kitsune ramen which she gratefully accepts. As they dine in the courtyard, she notices that Ei has only eaten sticks of dango, leaving the other foods untouched. Intrigued, she steals a piece of tofu from Ei’s dish, ignoring the comments from Saiguu. As she chews on the tofu, she watches Ei’s face, not missing a single detail. Unbothered and unimpressed, the kagemusha continues to feast on the dango, saying that the next Guuji should learn how to control her urges.
“Oh but Ei, life isn’t eternal. We should learn to enjoy what we have,” Miko drawls, placing a hand on her thigh. It doesn’t go past her how her cheeks colour deeply.
“You are not the Guuji, you should treat your god with respect,” Ei snipes back, pulling Miko’s off her thigh and onto the grass between them. She laughs and flicks her hand in dismissal.
“But you are not the Raiden Shogun, only a kagemusha.” Maybe that was a little out of line, as Ei excuses herself from the meal, stating that she must get back to her training. Miko feels a little guilty, but the look on her face was worth the extra duties at the shrine, the scrunch of her nose and the reddening of her cheeks as she touched her. She reminds herself to do it more. She turns around to bid farewell, but Ei is already gone, like a shadow in darkness.
She’s seen Ei countless times now, bumping into each other at the shrine or the Tenshukaku, always ending with Ei running away from her sly smiles and confident touches. She watches in secret when Ei is training, following the moonlike arc of her naginata, the strikes with her taichi, the silence of her meditation. Personally, she likes it most when Ei works with her naginata, for it is the first weapon Miko saw her with. It also displays her muscles wonderfully.
Today she takes a break from her strenuous exercises and instead reads a poem by a pond. Miko approves, glad that she has finally met someone with a good taste in literature. Transforming into her fox self, she trots next to Ei and nestles in her lap. Ei sighs, but makes no move to move her off her, stroking her pink fur instead. If she was a cat, she would be purring. But she is a kitsune, so she transforms back into her human form, head lying in between her legs. She doesn’t give Ei the smirk that sends her running, or says the words that has her face red like dendrobiums. Instead, she reaches out to her face, caressing her cheek slowly but surely. Behind all the flirtatious comments and the risque touches, she’s still the small fox in Chinju forest who’s in awe of the women in front of her. She wishes for once that she was a mere mortal, and that Ei was one too, so they could live a life full of the things she wanted to do without the duties as a future Guuji and the kagemusha of the God of Eternity.
She finally feels the touch of her god, not Makoto but Ei, that rubs her ears as purple eyes stare into each other, losing themselves both into a deep hole that she wishes they’ll never leave. The touch of her god is softer than she could ever imagine, setting her skin ablaze as she nestles herself closer to her god, her Ei. Sitting up, she holds Ei’s face in her hand, the other cupping the back of her neck. Discarding all thoughts of what she should be as Saiguu’s predecessor, she draws herself closer to Ei in a way she’s only thought of in dreams. No longer does she have a stony expression that everyone sees, but it's soft, childlike, honest as she gets closer with Miko. She can count the individual lashes, the myriad of colours in her purple eyes, she lets herself be with Ei in a way that she wishes can be eternal.
She wakes up the next day with an empty space beside her, only a note left behind that Ei has left to battle the giant serpent at Yashiro Island. Current events drive her away from Ei and she curses the gods that she doesn’t know.
She doesn’t see Ei a lot after that, both dealing with losses they could have never imagined to ever happen. Miko wants the comfort of Ei, but Ei wishes for solitude, locking herself away in the Tenshukaku, not allowing any visitors, even Miko herself. Sasayuri, Makoto, even that oni Chiyo she mourns for. But they are nothing compared to the pain of losing Saiguu, she watched with her own eyes as she broke down into dark matter, final moments in agony.
She wants the time when she was a small fox and when Ei was just a kagemusha to be back. How naive she was, thinking that they were restricted in what they could do when they were the freest that they could be. She wants the time in the Tenshukaku courtyard back which were filled with laughter and joy, where even Ei would smile, making her own heart flutter like a desperate butterfly. Now, her requests are denied, the mere Tenshukaku guards insisting that the Shogun wanted no visitors. Idiots, it is no shogun behind those doors, but a hurt child who cries for her sister.
Ei requests for her presence at the Tenshukaku on a stormy day in winter. As irritated she is with her, she accepts the summons. For how could she deny the wishes of her beloved. There, she meets a puppet, looking identical to Ei but is nothing like her. Robotic, emotionless and without flaws, it makes her sick to her stomach. Ei assures that it is only there to prevent any catastrophes, as the puppet will operate as the Raiden Shogun.
“Like Makoto.” The mention of her name makes Ei weep, trembling away from prying eyes aside from Miko. Wiping the tears, she assures that it will get better, “For I live for you, and I will serve you until the end of Inazuma”. Later, upon Ei’s request, she teaches her how to transfer consciousness into objects. It’s a short lesson, Ei’s determination scaring Miko a little; she’s never seen her like this. Miko leaves the Tenshukaku with a kiss on her forehead, “You best let me see you tomorrow, okay?” With a smile that she only later recognised to be sad, Ei replies,
“Of course.”
The next day Ei is gone with Musou Isshin, leaving behind the Raiden Shogun. Miko curses Ei for leaving her behind with something that can never replace her and weeps over how she never said goodbye. Was this her way of making the two of them eternal?
Ei has long returned as the true Raiden Shogun of Inazuma with help from the traveller. But it may not be long before Ei is lost to her.
“Please Ei, please don’t go,” MIko begs over her body, blood oozing steadily from a wound on her side. Her naginata is lost, Musou Isshin broken in two, Ei is completely defenceless aside from Miko and her kitsune spirits. She reaches out to her cheek, hand bloodstained as she barely holds her face.
“Goodbye Miko”. Her hand falls and Miko lets out a cry that could pierce Celestia. Inazuma crumbled, Miko transforms into a Tenko, the sky kitsune. Inzauma has fallen, so she no longer serves Ei but herself and what she wants to do is save Ei no matter the cost. She runs through the broken islands, Ei barely alive in her jaws. She flies through the air, leaping through the clouds as she feels the Raiden Shogun’s life slowly leaving her body.
In Sumeru, she offers her entire world for them to save Ei, as Ei is all that is left now. Losing her may as well be death and it would be damned for her to lose her for the second time. She fights against the monsters that rise once more from the depths of Khaenri’ah as the scholars at Sumeru do their best to save her god. She tears apart flesh of humans, monsters, gods, what’s the difference when she must protect her Ei.
Bloody and beaten, she drags herself to Ei, hearing the news that the Raiden Shogun will live. She sees Ei weak but alive in a fragile bed that makes her look so small. Losing consciousness, she uses the last of her energy to turn back into the kitsune that Ei had seen her when they met the first time hundreds of years ago. Curling herself into Ei, who is stroking her matted fur, she sleeps knowing that she will not lose her god.