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Seasons change with the passing of time. Yet, to Ei, time remained a fixed constant in her world. The Plane of Euthymia remained untouched by the passage of time, such was the realm that she resided in. Few had ever bore witness to such a place, and even fewer were allowed to come and go as they pleased.
Yae Miko was one such person. She was free to enter and leave the private realm of her god — her lover to the handful who knew.
So when Miko entered the realm, sauntering over to where Ei was meditating, the god immediately knew that she would have to bid the rest of her peaceful day farewell.
“Ei,” Miko greeted as she wrapped her hands around Ei’s form.
“Miko,” Ei greeted back, her eyes still remaining closed.
“Come on, let’s go out. It’s been so long since we went on a date. There’s even a yokai festival going on.”
“I’m not going.”
“Are you sure? I recall seeing your favourite sweets there.”
…Curse that sly fox.
And that was how Ei found herself walking down the brightly-lit stalls at the yokai festival with Miko. Everywhere, laughter could be heard with the screams of joy. However, there was a difference with this festival compared to the festival she remembered. A very big difference. It was the presence of humans.
In her memories, the yokai festivals were filled only with yokai. There were only a handful of times when a human slipped past the barrier and entered the festival. Yet now, Ei watched as the humans and yokai happily interacted with each other; she watched as the human children played with the smaller yokai, their contagious laughter infecting even the grumpiest yokai.
What would Makoto think of the present now? Of a world that changed so much from the memories Ei still held?
“My my, what’s in your head I wonder? Are they more interesting than me?” Miko asked, breaking away the stray thoughts that had wandered into Ei’s mind.
Ei bit into the dango she was holding in lieu of a reply. She chewed the sweet slowly, savouring the taste as she mulled over the words she wanted to say.
“Do you think… Never mind, it’s not important.”
However, Miko stopped her before she could walk away with her unfinished question. “A moment in time is but a drop in the face of eternity. Do you want to regret the moment you have yet to experience?”
Ei clicked her tongue, her annoyance rising at how easy Miko could read her. Yet, that feeling disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving only the emptiness of the memory of grief she remembered so long ago.
“Do you think… No, Makoto should have been here instead of me.”
Miko sighed, as if tired of hearing the same words again.
“Ei… We talked about this.”
“I know but I still think Makoto should have been here instead of me.”
Ei felt a strong grip on her shoulder before she was forcibly turned around by Miko.
“And what would that have accomplished? Is your life of so little value to you? Do you really think Makoto would be happy if you traded your life for hers?”
“Don’t twist my words, Miko.”
“Then enlighten me exactly what you mean by ‘instead of me’.”
“I-!”
Ei bit her tongue when she realised that the two of them were still in a public place. She grabbed Miko’s hand and pulled her away to a secluded area. They walked in silence, and Ei was wary at the lack of comments and remarks from Miko.
They stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking the festival below. Ei released her hand from Miko’s own and she turned around to face the only other person she deeply cared for.
“Makoto would have been a better ruler than I am,” Ei said, her unflinching eyes never once wavering as she spoke. “She was meant to rule, not me. I never wanted this. She should have been here to see the future, she would have loved what Inazuma became.”
“I never took you to be a coward, Ei. What happened to the god who fought off legions of monsters by herself? What happened to the woman who could stare down the strongest gods? What happened to the person whom I had fallen in love with? What happened to you, Ei?”
“She changed, Miko. She’s no longer the one you had fallen in love with anymore.”
“And is it so bad? Is it so bad to change?”
“It is for me who sought eternity to bury my grief.”
Hands wrapped around Ei’s form but Ei could not bring herself to push away the fox she loved so much.
“And yet, there are some parts of you that haven’t changed. You’re still stubborn. You like to eat sweet things but dislike everything bitter. You pout cutely when nothing goes your way. Your smile is still just as beautiful as the first time I saw it. You have changed but at the same time, you have not. Makoto would have loved what Inazuma is today, but she would not have been happy with you gone.”
“Miko…”
A finger was lightly pressed to Ei’s lips, silencing the rest of her words.
“I wouldn’t be happy if you were gone too. Would you really make an old fox like me cry?”
“Miko… I…”
“Shh.” Miko hushed the god. “Just take my lips into yours. If you think the world doesn’t need you, then remember that I always do.”