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Miko yawns, resting her head on her hand as she waits. Onodera is running late, which isn’t like him at all — something must have delayed him. While she’s hardly going to bite a competent employee’s head off for a situation beyond his control, it’s still frustrating to be kept waiting… especially when she only came into the office today for the sake of this meeting. She does most of her work for the Publishing House remotely, which allows her to keep to whatever schedule she’d like and avoid being bothered, but there are some things that need to be done in person, and this is one of those things.
She smiles at the sound of a heavy hand rapping on the door.
“Come in,” Miko calls, lounging back in her chair.
“I’m sorry for the delay, Chief Editor,” Onodera apologizes as he steps inside, a box held carefully in his hands. “The manufacturer wanted to sort out some final details while I was there, and I thought you would prefer that be done as soon as possible to avoid the risk of needing to push back the launch event.”
“Quite right,” Miko murmurs, eyes fixed on the box. “These would be the first production samples, then?”
“They are,” Onodera confirms, setting the box on the desk as he settles into the chair opposite Miko’s. “I think you’ll like them. The manufacturer did a good job.”
Miko opens the box and smiles down at the contents. They appear to fit the designs that they’d had commissioned from Yoimiya perfectly.
“Wonderful,” she declares. “How many will be available for the event?”
“These samples were made with the assistance of some Fontaine technology, it seems,” Onodera says. “A full production run covering the period leading up to the event could go as high as one thousand of each, I was told, though there’s apparently some room for error. I instructed them to aim for that — I was thinking that if we have leftovers, we can distribute them at future events. I’m sorry if you would have preferred otherwise, but…”
“No, no,” Miko dismisses, waving her hand. “You’ve done perfectly, Onodera.”
She does so love working with intelligent people. Onodera was one of the Yae Publishing House’s first hires, and he’s grown from a nervous young man into an event expert to rival anyone the Yashiro Commission has. Perhaps more importantly, he’s been working with Miko long enough to anticipate her desires. The less micromanagement she has to do, the happier she is. These days, her input is really only required at a high level — the details can almost always be left to her staff.
“Thank you, Chief Editor,” Onodera says, bowing his head. “Production should be complete in advance of the originally planned date, so there should be no issue with the launch. I’ve taken the liberty of reaching out to the author to reconfirm her availability, and I spoke with Naganohara about the potential for a show that night as a tie-in. She was very enthusiastic, and assured me she could be ready in time.”
“Ah… an inspired choice,” Miko murmurs. “You’ve given her an advance copy to assist with her preparations, I presume?”
“That’s right,” Onodera confirms. “She was certain she’d be able to recreate the scene.”
“I’m quite certain she can,” Miko says, nodding. “In all my years, I’ve never seen a firework-maker so gifted — not even her father, brilliant though he is. It should serve as the perfect capstone for the launch — good work, Onodera.”
Onodera smiles and bows his head again.
“That leaves food and location setup,” Miko says, drumming her fingers on her desk. “Are those handled?”
“They are,” Onodera confirms. “I spoke to a number of the most popular street food vendors, and they agreed to set up at the event location. I thought that would provide the widest variety of food options and ensure we pull as much traffic as possible, even from those who might not have initially been interested in the event. I have little doubt that once they see what we have in store for them, they’ll be more than willing to stay.”
“Yes, yes, good thinking,” Miko chuckles. “If they wish to eat from their favorite vendors, they’ll have no choice but to visit our venue… And the setup? We’ll need more than just the Publishing House staff if we want everything to go smoothly. If everything goes as planned, it should be our biggest launch event yet.”
“I’m coordinating with the Yashiro Commission, specifically through Kamisato Ayaka,” Onodera says. “She’s agreed to lend us a few of her own. Additionally, we’ve retained a somewhat well-known freelancer named ‘Kuki Shinobu’ to assist with preparing the decorations. Her work is excellent, and I believe you’ll find it to be more than up to your standards.”
“I have no doubt of it,” Miko says. “I’m aware of that child and her abilities, and she has my full confidence. Any decorations she produces will be as good as we could hope to get.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Onodera says. “Is there anything else you’d like? Any changes to the day’s schedule? Anything you’d like to give more input on?”
“No, I’m quite content to leave everything save inviting the special guests in your capable hands,” Miko assures him. “What’s the point of having competent minions if you don’t use them? I have no time for such a senseless waste of resources.”
“Quite so, Chief Editor,” Onodera laughs. “Quite so. If you’ll excuse this minion, he’ll be heading out to finish those arrangements. I look forward to hearing that you’ve successfully acquired our stars.”
“Off with you,” Miko chuckles, flapping her hand. “I look forward to seeing the results of your efforts. You’ve done well, Onodera.”
Onodera bows and departs, and Miko smiles down into the box again before closing it and rising to her feet.
The details of this launch event had come from Onodera, and she trusts he’ll carry it out to perfection. Even if something goes wrong, the most important part is already in her hands: the production samples of the promotional merchandise he’d dreamed up, the perfect gifts for her adorable wives.
Miko hums cheerfully to herself as she sets out towards Tenshukaku. She can’t wait to see their faces.
“You said you’d have a present for us today, Miko?” Kokomi asks, eyeing the box on the table in front of them with what Miko feels is an unwarranted level of suspicion.
“I do,” Miko confirms, smiling.
To her amusement, this only seems to make Kokomi regard the box more warily. Her dear little fish is the cautious sort, but really, what about this gift in particular has her so on edge?
“What is it?” Ei asks, peering down at the box curiously. “The box is bigger than I was expecting. I thought you had commissioned another novel about us or something.”
“I didn’t not do that,” Miko laughs. Ei knows her so well. “But that’s not the present, and won’t be launching for a few more weeks.”
“Oh, Miko,” Ei sighs, rolling her eyes. “How many does that make?”
Miko steadfastly refuses to answer, instead opening the box to reveal its contents.
“…These are so cute!” Ei gasps, hands shooting in to claim her prizes.
Miko smiles at the delight on Ei’s face and proffers the box to Kokomi.
“Go on,” she urges. “I’m sure you can tell which are yours and which are mine.”
Kokomi stares down into the box, a soft smile spreading across her lips and washing away her earlier look of caution.
“Yes, I can,” she says. “Thank you, Miko. This was actually really sweet of you… I love them.”
“Naturally,” Miko sniffs, returning the box to the table and retrieving her own items from within it. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a wife sweeter and more thoughtful than I, and it should be expected that I would pick the best gifts.”
“That’s true,” Ei agrees softly, brushing a kiss against Miko’s cheek. “You really are a softie deep down, aren’t you?”
Miko growls as Kokomi giggles and copies Ei from the other side, and then she glares around at both of them.
“I am not,” she huffs. “I simply enjoy spoiling the ones I love.”
“Yes, which makes you a softie,” Kokomi giggles.
“I have bathed in oceans of blood,” Miko hisses, lips peeled back to bare her sharp fangs. “I have torn mens’ heads from their shoulders, inflicted tortures the likes of which your adorable little heads could never imagine on my enemies. To Kujou Sara, I—”
Kokomi cuts her off with a long kiss.
“Yes, yes, you’re a big bad evil youkai,” she teases, face still so close that Miko can feel her breath on her lips. “Such a big bad evil youkai that you held me as I cried and reassured me I wasn’t a monster for doing what had to be done, that what I thought I believed in my nightmares wasn’t proof of my wickedness. Such a big bad evil youkai that you helped Rikka discover herself, letting her be happier than she’s ever been and helping her find a reason to value her life, something that I had completely failed at. I never even guessed the truth about her, but you figured it out in a single glance, didn’t you?”
Miko’s mouth tightens, but given Kokomi is correct on all points she can’t really speak up in denial without it being far too obvious a lie to be worth it, even in jest… even if the truth regarding Rikka was slightly more complicated and less benevolent than Kokomi seems to think, given Miko hadn’t been certain and would have been perfectly content to simply be tormenting the girl for her amusement had Rikka turned out to be cis after all. However…
“The manner in which I showed her the truth of herself was not a kind one,” Miko grumbles.
“It wasn’t,” Kokomi agrees gently. “You scared her a lot… but she’s still grateful to you, and so am I. You saved her life, Miko, and made it worth living. You opened the door for her to become my friend, not just my general.”
“What you did to Sara was… inexcusable,” Ei picks up. “And your history is a bloody one. But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a softie. People can have many sides that they show under different circumstances, and that’s one of yours… our cute, soft, fluffy little fox.”
Miko rolls her eyes.
“Yes, yes, whatever you say,” she sighs. “Perhaps I should stop buying you gifts for a little while and see how your attitudes change, hm?”
“As if that would change anything,” Kokomi scoffs. “We love you, Miko, not your gifts. …I mean, we do love your gifts, but we’d love you just as much without them.”
“I’m not even convinced you could actually stop, anyway,” Ei mumbles. “You seem to enjoy giving us things even more than we enjoy receiving them.”
Miko winces. There’s some truth to that.
She prefers to show her love by doing things for those she loves, and an easy way to demonstrate that is by spoiling them rotten with everything they could ever desire. Refraining from doing so would feel, to Miko, as if she weren’t showing her wives how much they mean to her, and that would be… unacceptable, to say the least.
“At any rate,” Kokomi says. “No matter how soft ‘you’ may or may not be… This ‘you’ is plenty soft, wouldn’t you agree, Ei?”
“Oh, extremely,” Ei says.
Miko chuckles, resigned to the situation.
“Perhaps I would have had more success convincing you of the truth had I not just gifted those to you, yes,” she agrees.
It’s a little difficult to make claims regarding one’s softness (or lack thereof) stick when the ones you’re arguing with are holding extremely soft plush dolls of yourself that you just gave them, after all.
“They’re adorable,” Ei says. “I love them.”
Miko watches in amusement as Ei places the little Kokomi plush on top of her head, then inserts the Miko into her cleavage. She looks absolutely ridiculous, but she’s also clearly having fun, and that’s what matters.
Miko kind of hopes that Ei will go out in public like this at some point. The reactions of the people would be hilarious.
“I do too,” Kokomi says, toying with her Ei and Miko plushes. “Where did you get them?”
“Oh, they’re promotional merchandise for the upcoming launch festival for a new light novel,” Miko says airily. “It’s called ‘I’m Just A Cute Little Fish Priestess, But The Raiden Shogun And Lady Guuji Are After My Heart!’ and I’m quite certain it’s set to be a best-seller. It’s a romantic comedy about an adorable Divine Priestess from Watatsumi Island being seduced by the rulers of Narukami.”
Kokomi’s mouth drops open and she lets out a distressed sort of squeak. Miko smirks at her, then looks down at the Ei and Kokomi plushes she acquired for herself and presses their faces together as she makes kissing noises.
Kokomi’s muffled scream as she buries her face in her own plushes is exactly the reaction Miko was hoping for.
“I can’t wait to read it,” Ei says brightly. “How closely is it based on real events?”
“Oh, not closely at all,” Miko dismisses, laughing. “It’s highly fictional, but deeply entertaining. The author did an excellent job.”
“Only you, Miko,” Kokomi sighs. She’s not hiding her face anymore, but her cheeks are still bright red. “You’re lucky I love you so much.”
“I certainly am,” Miko says, setting her plushes down in her lap so that she can cup Kokomi’s cheeks between her hands and draw her into a lingering kiss.
When she pulls away, Kokomi is even redder than before. Miko smirks at her, then turns to Ei.
“Of course, I’m just as lucky with you…” she murmurs, repeating her actions.
Ei isn’t blushing when she pulls back, but she is smiling at Miko in a way that the kitsune finds… concerning.
“Softie,” Ei accuses teasingly.
Miko opens her mouth to protest, but finds Ei’s Kokomi plush pressed into her face.
“Kokoplush kiss attack go!” Ei cheers. “Quick, Kokomi, help me!”
Miko finds herself barraged with ‘kisses’ from Ei’s Kokomi plush and Kokomi’s Ei plush, and it’s not long before they’ve got her pinned down on the couch laughing.
“I yield,” Miko giggles. “I yield!”
The plushes are pulled away, and she instead finds herself wrapped in Ei and Kokomi’s arms from opposite sides as a pair of kisses are pressed to her cheeks.
Miko lets herself relax, enjoying the sensation of being held by the women she loves so much. It’s a wonderful feeling, and there’s no rush to get up — little Makoto and Ren are staying overnight at Yoimiya and Ayaka’s place to spend time with Hanabi, after all.
“I love you both so much,” Miko murmurs.
She smiles as her words are met with a jointly chorused reply of “We love you too.” Her wives really are the cutest.
“So the launch event for ‘I’m Just A Cute Little Fish Priestess, But The Raiden Shogun And Lady Guuji Are After My Heart!’ is in a few weeks you said, right?” Ei asks, seemingly oblivious to the way Kokomi’s cheeks redden as she repeats the full name of the light novel. “Can we go? I’d like to pick up a copy as soon as possible, and your Publishing House’s events are always a lot of fun.”
“Do we have to?” Kokomi whines, though there’s no heat in her voice.
“I was quite hoping you two would agree to be the guests of honor,” Miko laughs. “We’ve set up parts of the event around it, after all.”
“We’ll be there,” Ei promises. “Right, Kokomi?”
“We will,” Kokomi confirms, pouting. “But if everyone laughs at us I’m blaming you, Miko.”
“It will be my fault when that happens,” Miko agrees easily.
“When?!” Kokomi splutters. “Not if?”
“When,” Miko repeats, smirking. “It is most certainly ‘when.’”
Kokomi sighs, but Miko can see the resigned amusement sparking in her eyes.
“Ei, our beautiful wife is a bit of a bully,” Kokomi says. “It’s a problem.”
“It is?” Ei asks, her confusion obvious.
Miko, too, is curious where Kokomi is going with this.
“It is,” Kokomi says. “I enjoy it far too much, and it makes me wish we could just stay in our room all day.”
Miko throws her head back and laughs, wrapping her arms around Ei and Kokomi’s sides and hugging them more tightly against her body.
“A desire very familiar to me,” Miko says. “And to our cute little god as well, I suspect.”
“Yes, absolutely,” Ei agrees, nodding. “Maybe we can ask Yoimiya if she and Ayaka are willing to keep the kids for another day…?”
“I’m sure they’d like that very much,” Miko murmurs, smiling softly at the thought of their children. “Dragging them away after they’ve been having fun over there is already quite the chore. We might as well make it work for us for once.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Ei laughs.
“That sounds nice,” Kokomi whispers dreamily, nuzzling her face into Miko’s neck. “Can you send one of your shiki to ask, Miko? I don’t want to get up…”
“Of course,” Miko agrees, flicking her fingers to summon a bound spirit to carry the message.
It’s only a few minutes before the shiki returns with Yoimiya’s enthusiastic acceptance, and Miko smiles as she lets her eyes drift shut.
“Want to take a nap before dinner?” she hears Ei ask, her god’s strong, gentle fingers combing soothingly through her hair.
“That sounds nice,” Miko whispers. “That sounds very nice.”
Two pairs of lips brush against her own, and then Ei and Kokomi snuggle as close to her as they can.
“I’ll make kitsune udon when we wake up,” Kokomi promises quietly. “You deserve a treat too.”
Miko’s smile widens as she drifts off to sleep, held lovingly in the arms of the wives she adores with every fiber of her being.
She really is the luckiest fox in all the world.