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Kujou Sara has always been something of a conundrum to Kokomi.
At first, when she'd only had rumours and second hand accounts to go on, she'd assumed that her Tengu counterpart was just as they said she was: Stony, unfeeling, and blindly loyal to the Raiden Shogun and her vision for Inazuma's future, willing to throw the lives of her soldiers into the grinder to achieve her mission at any cost.
The first battle they'd fought had quickly dispelled that. She was there fighting on the front lines herself, and it was clear that her soldiers followed her not because they were commanded to, but because she inspired them by her example.
That was fine, of course. First assessments are rarely correct, particularly when they lack information.
The bloodthirsty brute her soldiers had spoken of in hushed tones when they had learned that the Generals in charge of the Shogunate's Yashiori campaign were to be replaced were similarly absent, and instead she'd found a woman always eager to exchange prisoners, always willing to negotiate to avoid needless slaughter, always returning her men with all of them sharing the same story of a stern woman that uncompromisingly had ensured their proper treatment as prisoners of war.
Gorou always thought it was some sort of front, to make them lower their guards, but Gorou is overly paranoid sometimes, and no matter the convoluted plans Kokomi would engage in to try and find out what exactly Sara's game was, the answer would always come back the same:
That's just what she's like.
That, Kokomi supposes, is when simple curiosity had turned into tentative fascination.
~~~
For the rest of the war, that had been all that Sara was.
An enemy, a curiously noble and, unfortunately, dangerously competent and determined one, most certainly, but an enemy nonetheless.
Then, the peace came, and the Shogun was convinced to reconsider (not defeated, she so often has to remind her more hawkish advisors, those foolish enough to think that they have an apportunity to capitalise on their perceived victory. The Shogun never fought, and her army was never beaten.)
When the negotiations began, she'd asked for Sara by name.
Not because she expected to be able to run roughshod over her in the treatises, but rather because she is not a brute, and because she could be trusted.
It's hard to argue that someone is colluding with the Fatui when she very publicly stormed the Tenshukaku to root them out, after all.
That's not to say she had no plans of playing for advantage, of course. Despite herself being obviously uninvolved by all accounts, the Kujou Clan's standing had taken a great blow following the fallout of the revelations of what exactly Kujou Takayuki had been doing in the past years.
The Kujou Clan has always been known for their great political acumen, though, so she'd been certain that the two could come to some sort of accord in terms of their mutual need of allies.
Not so, as it turns out. Sara rebuffed any attempt to talk to her outside of their duties with obvious discomfort, and Kokomi had almost given up when Lumine, bless her, had appeared in her tent, handed her a spinning top, and told her "Go to the beach after dusk. Play along and everything will be fine"
She'd thought it strange at first, but Lumine has always been the peculiar sort, so Kokomi had listened.
She hadn't known exactly what to expect, but Kujou Sara hunched over a rock and watching another spinning top rapidly spinning was certainly not on the short list.
She'd barely arrived before Sara's glowing eyes had shot to stare at her with a face full of displeasure, but then they'd shifted to the spinning top, and her features had softened.
"Ah, you have also come to enjoy your solo in peace. It is good to see that there is another that understands the importance of following the principles of their use. Come, there is enough space for both of us."
It'd sounded completely nonsensical, and Kokomi had no clue what was actually happening, but Lumine hadn't exactly been vague in her instructions insofar as what she should do, so Kokomi approached, and Sara shuffled to the side to give her room around the rock, and then she sits down in silence.
For what feels like eternity, Sara watches the spinning top with intensity that almost makes Kokom giggle, but then she looks directly at her.
"There is no need to be hesitant. While we may have formerly been foes, I have been charged with ending conflicts with Watatsumi. As such, it is appropriate that we become friends."
And so, Kokomi spends her evening in silence, spinning Solo tops on a rock.
After what must be hours, Sara rises and grabs her solo from the rock, looking as if Kokomi has gifted her the sun and the moon.
"This has been pleasant. Should you wish, I would not be opposed to engaging in such a way again."
And then she walks away without waiting for an answer.
Strange as it may have been, perhaps she'd gotten what she'd wanted after all.
~~~
As the negotiations ended, and things returned to relative calm, Kokomi had taken Sara up on her offer to keep meeting.
It'd been her goal all along, of course, but she'd promised she would, too, and Sara honestly looked like she needed a friend.
As it turns out, a perhaps too big interest in spinning tops isn't her only unusual habit.
She'll spend hours walking into the forests beneath mount Yougou to spread fruits from a large basket around seemingly random spots. When Kokomi asks her about it she proudly declares "to reduce the strain on the Tenryou Commission's resources."
When she has time to spare, rare as it may be, she'll spend it staring at birds in silence, sometimes spreading her wings when they start staring back. "It is nice to be appreciated", she says when Kokomi questions her about that, and Kokomi simply accepts the answer, because what else is there to do.
In the end, Sara doesn't speak much, and when she does it's frequently stilted and awkward, but her action speak just as much as words could.
She isn't cold and uncaring. She's exceptionally bad at expressing it, but she cares so much about everything, all of her emotions burning like fire just beneath the exterior.
Slowly, at first, but increasingly rapidly, that simmering fascination turns into care in kind.
It's somewhat hard not to be at least a little bit charmed by a woman that will not only hold entirely earnest conversations with crows, but then also defend your honour when they supposedly say that you look strange, after all.
Then, one evening after they've strolled across the Byakko Plain, Sara turns towards her nervously.
"I understand that this suggestion might be considered inappropriate, and I must stress that you are well within your rights to refuse, but I would like to share my spinning top with you."
Kokomi is so taken aback that she almost lets out a snort, but Sara looks so serious and genuine that she stops herself.
She doesn't really understand what the issue with sharing the spinning tops actually is, but it's clear that it's also of great significance.
Any doubts about the right course of action are dispelled by the genuine smile that spread across Sara's face when she agrees.
It isn't something she ever expected herself to do, sitting beneath a tree with a tengu and watching a spinning top spinning in the dirt, but Sara looks so genuinely content, so incredibly happy to share such a simple thing, that Kokomi can't find a single thing to complain about.
Yes, she decides, as Sara's wings spread around them to splay on the ground and the tengu woman leans gently into her side. Expected or not, she can get used to this.