Work Text:
Ei was feeling incredibly light today.
Just yesterday, Miko was able to organize a small birthday party together with the traveler and their fairy friend under the sakura tree. Despite her reluctance to celebrate, she was surprised by how much she enjoyed it. To be in the company of friend’s again, sharing sweets and light novels and stories under the shade of the sacred sakura made her feel like everything really was going to be okay.
Despite the events of yesterday helping her refresh her mind, she was still at an impasse. Ei woke up at the first light of dawn in order to think of what an appropriate gift to give for the birthday of the one person she wished to share her eternity with, Yae Miko.
With the sun already shining and with Ei still unable to think of what an appropriate gift should be, she decides the best way to get an idea was to ask her friend, General Kujou Sara. Well, at least in Ei's mind and from what she could surmise from the Shogun's previous statements about the half tengu general, she thinks they're friends. She knew the general was just about to finish her daily routine exercises so she starts walking towards the Tenryou commission grounds.
Kujou Sara was removing the arrows from the targets when she noticed some of the Tenryou soldiers with her visibly tense. She chooses to ignore them but realizes that was a mistake.
“General Kujou.”
Sara visibly jumps the moment she hears the Shogun’s voice,the arrows she was holding scatter on the floor while the one she was trying to remove from the target dummy breaks in half. Ei was about to apologize but is startled when Kujou Sara stands up straight to face her.
“S-Shogun-sama! I apologize, I was not informed you were going to visit. I still do not have the-”
“Relax General. I’m not here for business. I came here as a friend to ask for your advice about a… personal matter.”
Sara blinks, her confusion visible on her face, but Ei doesn’t notice and continues with her question.
“Today a… good friend of mine celebrates her birthday. Unfortunately, with all the years I have been away from the modern world, I am no longer aware of what the recent traditions friends do to celebrate. I had an idea for a cake, which is easy enough to commission but I want to do more to show her just how special I view today is. Could you give me advice on what I should do?”
Kujou Sara, unfortunately, stopped processing whatever Ei was saying the moment she hears her call herself a friend.
The shogun and I are friends? She thinks of me as a friend???
“Uhm, are you okay General Kujou?”
Sara blinks away her confusion, her mind screaming at her to answer the Shogun, who has gone out of her way to ask her a question and that she shouldn’t disappoint her new friend who she didn’t know was her friend.
“O-Oh. I apologize Shogun-sama. Well… Hmm. You are asking me, what you should do for their birthday?”
“Yes… I have been thinking about what else to do since this morning, but I cannot think of anything meaningful to give to her… I feel physical gifts are too insincere after what I have done, but I can’t think of any other activity to do that would be enjoyable for her…”
Sara listens intently to everything the shogun was saying. She has her hand on her lips, her mind in deep concentration.
It is here that Kujou Sara realizes… She also does not know what people do to celebrate birthdays. She thinks back to her meetings with the traveler and Shinobu and comes up with the first thing that comes to her mind, which coincidentally, was also the most recent thing she has done with a friend for a while.
“Well… I think you should both simply go out and spend some time together. Perhaps just have lunch together? Since you say you haven’t seen each other in so long, your company should be much more valuable than anything else.”
Ei ponders on her words, a frown visible on her face.
“You are right. Thank you General Kujou, the shogun was certainly right about you.”
Ei leaves with an unnoticeable skip in her step. Meanwhile, Kujou Sara stares at the retreating figure of the shogun with her mind still processing whatever the hell just happened.
“... Wait, what did she mean by ‘the shogun’?”
Ei still had many duties to take care of before she could meet with Miko, so quickly writes a letter informing her that she wishes to meet her at Uyuu restaurant and if she arrives before her, she should simply order whatever she wishes.
Watching the messenger crows fly towards their destinations fills her with newfound excitement. She isn’t fond of going out, but spending time with Miko more than makes up for the displeasure of having to go outside. Still, her duties come first and that takes up alot of time. Before she knew it, it was already well past lunch time.
Ei quickly freshens up, and before she leaves, she informs her retainers that she does not wish to be disturbed unless it's urgent and if there is any work that comes up, they should simply leave it on her desk.
Though the people of Inazuma still can’t help but gawk at the shogun whenever they see her actually walking the streets of Tenryou, they are slowly starting to get used to it. Ei is still confused as to why they react that way, But Miko assures her it’s nothing to worry about.
While walking, her mind couldn’t help but wander.
What if Miko doesn’t like what I have planned…
What if this isn’t enough…
What if… What if.. What if…
With her mind second guessing the things she is doing, she doesn’t notice that she has already entered the restaurant. Her anxieties are quickly washed away the moment her eyes lock with Miko’s.
“And here I thought you were going to leave a girl hanging with all this food.” Miko says in her usual soft, but teasing tone.
“Oh, Miko. I would never dream of leaving you alone. Especially not today.” Ei says as she takes the seat next to Miko. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
Miko giggles, then places her hand on top of Ei’s. “We have all eternity dear, being late should be the least of your worries.”
Before Ei could reply, the door to the restaurant opens loudly.
“Ei-san! We’re here with the thing you asked us for!” Lumine rolls her eyes at her friend’s antics. “Paimon, keep your voice down. And sorry were late Ei, someone kept trying to take a bite out of the fruits we were using.”
“Hey you promised Paimon we would get a slice!”
If Miko was annoyed, she didn’t show it, but Ei was sure she saw the tell tale sign of her ears twitching. Ei simply takes the box from the two travelers and places it between herself and Miko.
“Thank you for taking your time to take this commission. Kujou Sara should have your compensation ready. Oh, Okazaki-san, please give these two travelers some dango before they leave.”
“Aww, does that mean Paimon can’t-” Lumine quickly feeds Paimon a dango “Nope, not today Paimon, anyways HappyBirthdayGuujiYaewe’llseeourselvesoutbye!”
The pair quickly leave, leaving the two alone again.
“I thought they would never leave.” Miko huffs but her annoyance quickly dissipates when she looks back at Ei again.
Ei was holding a simple cream cake, with all of her favorite fruits on top. At the center was a single candle and two small wooden figurines of herself and Ei. “I had the traveler make the cake, but it was easy enough for me to make the two pieces at the center. Happy Birthday Miko.”
Miko couldn’t help a tear escape her eye, which Ei quickly wipes away. “I want us to simply spend time together today, and perhaps head back to Tenshukaku after we have had our fill here.”
Miko gives her a quick kiss on the cheek and squeezes her hand. “Nothing would make me happier.”
It turns out, when the two decide to spend time together, the passage of time is furthest from their mind. They spent the whole afternoon and dinner at the restaurant before they finally decided to leave and head back to Tenshukaku.
To Miko, this was the best birthday ever.
(The next day…)
“G-General Kujou! General Kujou!”
The day was not going well for Kujou Sara.
Despite her happiness from yesterday’s events, the rest of the day could not be more opposite. After her talk with the shogun, everything seemed to have been out to give her the worst day possible.
First, there was Fatui found in Araumi, so she had to go there to personally arrest them, and then the Arataki leader was found causing trouble at Tenshukaku so she had to stop the festival he was holding, and THEN there was the rather big price tag, signed by the shogun, to give to the traveler after what she said was a ‘personal commission assigned to us by the shogun’.
She also woke up late for her 5:05am today which made her extra grumpy.
“What is it soldier.”
“U-Uhm… Its Uyuu Restaurant… T-They have come to deliver the S-Shogun’s bill from her meeting yesterday…”
Pinching the bridge of her nose she simply gestures for the soldier to leave the note on her table.
She takes a sip of coffee before looking at the aforementioned note. Something she regrets doing since she instantly spits it out the moment she reads the end.
It’s during these days she wishes Lumine would ask for her assistance in one of her Adventurer's Guild commissions.