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He just wanted to drop off the answers for his column. That was it. Gorou had to run a few errands for Her Excellency anyway, so he figured that he should do this while he was out.
That was a mistake.
Today was apparently the day Yae Publishing House needed an inspection. And that meant that the boss was there.
Gorou wanted to run. But it was too late. He had already caught Yae Miko’s eye. “Ah, if it isn’t my favourite general!” She laughed in that annoying way that she always did, that made Gorou want to just melt into a puddle of pure mortification.
“Ehe, I’m just here to drop off some papers. I’ve got work to do.”
“Is this not itself your job? What work could be more important than your boss?”
“I- Um- You see-”
“Oh, don’t be like that! Stay awhile.”
That was the absolute last thing he wanted to do, but his flustered mind defaulted to agreeing to things, so he said “Oh- Okay?”
“Glad you came around.” She smiled infuriatingly.
Gorou took a deep breath. All he needed to say was that he had to leave. But he also knew that Yae Miko would try her best not to allow that.
He handed her the papers. “Just take these.”
“Ah, thank you, Gorou. I see your tail is looking especially wonderful today. Did you look after it recently?”
In reality, he had, but Miko didn’t need to know that! “Of course not!”
“Do you know how rehearsed that sounds? I have a feeling you’re lying to me.”
And, of course, she was onto him. She always was. “I am a ranking general of the Watatsumi Island Army. Why would I be-”
But she noticed he had gathered himself, and moved on to a different, presumably more absolutely humiliating, topic. “You are, aren’t you? On the topic of the military, that strategist you’re close with… Sangonomiya, was her name? Are you… just friends?” She laughed quietly.
Gorou felt his face heating up. “Of course we are! The relationship between Her Excellency and I is purely platonic and professional.”
“Your blush tells a different story. Oh, and…” She reached out to touch him. “...Your ears, too.”
Gorou jumped back. He didn’t like anyone touching his ears, much less Yae Miko. “Please don’t.”
“Awh, but they look so soft!” She laughed. “But I won’t. Even I know how to respect boundaries.”
Clearly she didn’t.
As if Celestia itself was doing her terrible bidding, the sky suddenly. clouded over. “Oh, dear, it looks like rain,” Yae Miko said. “We should head inside.”
Gorou did not want to get stuck in the rain. He hated the feeling of being wet. But he also didn’t want to be in the presence of a certain Grand Priestess longer than he had to. He chose rain over Miko. “I’m sorry, but I have to go. I have a few errands to run.”
“Well! Why didn’t you say so earlier?” She laughed. “Go ahead. But my doors are open if you need to get out of the rain.”
He would not be taking that offer. He quite literally ran to his next stop.
***
“Hmm…” Sangonomiya Kokomi was doing what amounted to signing a paper more times than she could count. “He should be back by now…”
The papers, she figured, could wait. She wanted to check on Gorou.
Perhaps he had just gotten held up and she would meet him on the way, but Kokomi didn’t want to risk something bad happening to him.
By the time she got to Inazuma City without seeing him, the rain was coming down hard. She knew Gorou didn’t like the rain, so perhaps he had found shelter until it stopped? That seemed a likely conclusion. She was thinking of where he might be when a flash of orange-brown caught her eye. That was his tail, wasn’t it? She ran over.
***
Gorou was drenched. He was drenched, and he hated it. He just wanted to dry off by a fire. The only problem was that he couldn’t find one.
Somebody approached him from behind. Almost on instinct, he quickly turned around. “General Gorou, are you alright?” she said.
“Y-Your Excellency!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
She laughed, but it wasn’t the kind of laugh that Yae Miko had, it was the kind that only Kokomi could accomplish that, regardless of circumstances, made Gorou feel at ease. “I wanted to check on you! You were late, and I couldn’t focus on work.”
“Oh. Ehe, I’m fine. Just got caught by Miko… and then the rain.”
Kokomi frowned, and then hugged him. She was just as wet as he was, but it didn’t matter. The quiet gesture made Gorou feel so warm that he wouldn’t be surprised if the water just evaporated. It didn’t, unfortunately, but he didn’t let go. This… this was nice. “Your Excellency…”
“Just call me Kokomi. I think we’re close enough for that, don’t you?”
He blinked a few times. “Yeah… yeah. Thank you, Kokomi.”