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Kokomi has never lost focus on the battlefield.
There were very few things she prided herself on after years of self-doubt, but her preparedness and concentration during the tumultuous emotions of war continued to remind her that she was more worthy than she thought.
She expected none of this to change when she arrived at Nazuchi Beach in a flurry of bubbles, with orders to her reinforcements to attack the Shogunate tirelessly. Kokomi heard Gorou before she could even find him in the throes of battle.
“Her excellency!” His voice was exhausted, but she could hear hope color his tone as the rest of her troops turned to gaze at her. Kokomi made her usual effort to not falter under the gaze of so many, though eye contact continued to be one of the deadlier things she felt she faced.
“The wait is over, my comrades! Now is our moment!” Kokomi continued to scan the fray, working quickly to determine the state of the battle. She combed through the endless battle plans in her mind, eyes flitting between soldiers and lines of attack. She made a note of every limp, injury, and casualty, fighting tears pricking her eyes at the limp bodies in the sand.
As she continued to cast her gaze across the scene, Kokomi’s eyes fell onto the far side of the enemy line and the fierce golden eyes which met her glance.
Kujou Sara of the Tenryou Commission stood tall in her position, angled face pointed towards the sky and wings stretched against the wind. She held no kindness in her eyes, only determination and something which resembled heavy disdain for the Sangonomiya Priestess. Time seemed to slow, and the turmoil of the battle raging between them blurred in her peripheral vision.
It was just her and the enemy, the sun and the moon, before the latter fell into an eclipsed shadow, incompatible and overwhelming. Though she knew the battle had turned in her favor and that victory was imminent, she couldn’t help feeling that she was the moon here, being swallowed up by the terrifying radiance in the eyes of the winged woman across the beach.
“Tch… all forces retreat!”
The momentary link between them snapped as Kujou Sara roared at the Tenryou Commission to relinquish the slipping grip they held on the tide of the war. At this moment they had lost the battle, but something in the Tengu warrior’s eyes dulled while her troops ran from the lines of the Resistance. Her gaze flitted away from Kokomi, though she could still recognize what resignation of a warrior looked like when she saw it.
Kokomi was vaguely aware of the sounds of cheering from the Resistance as the Shogunate marched from the shoreline, their footsteps peppering the sand.
“Your excellency, we did it!” Gorou’s voice was pitched with emotional excitement, but she was still transfixed by the woman who had turned away from her just moments ago, wings braced against the ocean breeze as she escorted her forces away from their final loss.
She shook her head free of the magnetism which had pinned her eyes to Kujou Sara and looked wearily at Gorou.
“Your excellency? What is it? What’s wrong?”
For the first time, Sangonomiya Kokomi had lost focus on the battlefield.
— 1 month after the end of the vision hunt decree —
It was lively in Inazuma City, and it had been ages since Kokomi had participated in everyday activities outside of the safety of Watatsumi Island. She had decided to forgo the typical armed guard accompaniment, much to Gorou’s annoyance, if only for the fact that she craved some semblance of normality and had a desperation for solitude for just one blissful evening.
“Don’t you understand you’re putting yourself at risk?” Gorou pleaded with Kokomi as she donned her silver cloak and put the hood up, obscuring most of her identifiable features.
“Watatsumi Island is at peace with the Tenryou Commission, Gorou. The vision hunt decree ended a month ago, and I’d like to just… go be a person on my own for a few hours.” She could hear the exhaustion fray the edges of her tone.
“Your Excellency, as sorry as I am to say this, you are not just a person; you are the shining hope of Watatsumi Island. What if something goes awry?”
“I’m wounded that you think I would let my guard down, or not plan for every eventuality as I always do. I’m not blind to the dangers, but I’m also not afraid to live for a few hours. Please, just let me pass. I’ll be back tonight.”
“Can I help you find something, ma’am?” The sudden voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she put on a tired smile as she turned to face the owner of the stall she had accidentally stopped in front of amidst her wandering thoughts.
“Do you have bird egg sushi by any chance?”
-
If Kokomi was being honest with herself, this was one of the more reckless things she had done in recent years (not that she would ever admit as much to Gorou), but as she watched the people of Inazuma City wander their streets, chattering aimlessly in the cool dusk air while she munched on rice and egg, she couldn’t find it in herself to care.
As she finished her snack and made her way to leave the market area, the hair on the back of Kokomi’s neck stood on end. Suddenly the war strategist was back on edge, slipping behind a pile of empty crates and making quick work of an analysis of her immediate surroundings. Kokomi was no longer people-watching, but making a map in her mind of each individual, what they were holding, who they were with, how they were breathing… everything. Her focus flitted from person to person, and with each one, she made a mental note.
“Not you, not you, no, not you, no, no….”
And then she found her.
Golden eyes, thankfully not focused on Kokomi but instead on a scroll in her hand, scanning the words quickly before speaking to the man at the stall she was standing in front of. He nodded and handed her what appeared to be a feather quill and some ink, which was then wrapped carefully in a piece of dark purple paper. The knot in Kokomi’s chest undid itself slightly as Kujou Sara walked stiffly out of sight, the package tucked tightly under her arm. She was only doing some shopping, as people often did.
Just shopping.
Kokomi flexed her fingers which had been clenched tightly into fists, laughing at herself nervously as she relaxed from her hiding place. She felt she was being dreadfully jumpy… of course Kujou Sara would be out and about; the woman lived in Inazuma City. Kokomi had prepared herself for the eventuality of coming across her, but all plans had gone out of the window when she was actually met with the piercing gold.
“Silly.” She chided herself, crumpling the sushi paper tightly in her hand before throwing it into a waste basket.
Despite herself, Kokomi waited in the market for a good twenty minutes until she left, tapping her fingers against her leg as she continued to nervously scan her surroundings, slightly suspicious of everyone who passed her. She was convinced Kujou Sara would somehow appear right next to her, those golden eyes inches from her face.
By the time she decided to leave, night had properly fallen, lanterns lighting the streets with a soft orange glow and the air crisp. Kokomi drew her cloak around herself as she shivered slightly in the evening breeze, leaving the din of the market behind in favor of the path by the shore where she would search for a quiet place to teleport back to Watatsumi Island.
Kokomi planted her feet right at the edge of the water, inhaling the salty sea air as she focused on her home and the water lapping at the tips of her shoes… and then at something buried in the sand and soggy from the water. Something which definitely did not belong there. Kokomi bent to snatch it up before the tide could take it away, staring at her fingers as dark purple paper crumbled around them, and a broken quill tip rested in her palm.
A cry of rage sounded in her ears, and Kokomi looked in the distance down the beach in horror to find Kujou Sara with a knife raised ferociously as she was surrounded by sword-wielding men.
-
Sangonomiya Kokomi knew that this was a bad idea. She knew in her gut that she had not prepared for this, that the strategist in her was screaming for her to turn around and go back home, but her legs were already carrying her as fast as she could go in the direction of what she could only assume was an ambush for the General of the Tenryou Commission. She dialed into the scene before her, strategizing as she ran, her mind reeling with each possibility which snapped into place like pieces of a large puzzle.
“Back up. Back the hell up! Do you know who I am?” Kokomi was close enough to the ambush that she could clearly hear what Kujou Sara was shouting, those golden eyes so focused on the men surrounding her that she didn’t notice the cloaked woman careening towards her.
“Of course we know who you are; why do you think we’re here?” One of the men sneered.
“I’m the General of the Tenryou Commission; you would do well to not touch me.” The Tengu warrior spat on the ground at his feet, brandishing her knife.
“I think we’ll be just fine… sure you’re powerful, but six against one? I’ll take those odds. You’re hardly even armed.” And they closed in around her.
Kokomi wished she could forget the cries of pain which sounded from the center of that circle, wished she could make herself run faster, wished a singular ounce of common sense would stop her from doing what she was doing, but most of all, she wished that they would stop.
“STOP!” Kokomi screamed as she sent a sharp jet of fish-guided water into the fray, a final pump of her legs sending her over the sand dune and into the vision of the mob.
“What the–” One of the treasure hoarders turned to face her, his fists bloody as the stream caught him square in the face. He tumbled back into the man next to him, knocking him back like a set of dominoes. The disturbance was enough to stop the attack on Kujou Sara, and turn all attention onto the Divine Priestess. She could see golden eyes squinting at her from behind the horde, blood streaming down the General’s forehead as she swayed dangerously. Kokomi pointedly ignored how dull the gold was compared to the brightness which emanated from her eyes on Nazuchi Beach.
“You don’t want to be involved in this.” The biggest one in the mob spat, wiping his knuckles onto his linen briefs and staining them a dark crimson.
“I think you’d be surprised at what I am involved in everyday.” She said quietly, her mind picking out the best plan of action from the thousands, which spun around like a carousel, lying in wait.
It wasn’t often Kokomi was directly involved in battle anymore, but she never allowed her prowess in the field to dull. That would be unbecoming of someone of her status.
The big treasure hoarder ran at her, broadsword dragging at his side before he pulled it deftly out of its sheath and swung it towards her chest. She took a deep breath as she stepped out of range, catching it with another blast of water which sent him staggering off course and into the surf.
“Bitch, I’ll teach you!” She heard the threat, but couldn’t place who it came from. Two more pulled crossbows on her, notching them in sync and firing with deadly accuracy. Another deep breath and Kokomi launched herself into the air, allowing the gentle streams of water caressing her to complete the backflip as she heard the bolts whistle past her ear.
Time seemed to slow, the world flipping upside down as she heard a sickening crack, her stomach falling to her feet while she watched Kujou Sara fall to the ground with a broadsword raised above her.
No. No, no, no.
Panic she had never quite felt before tightened her throat, and so she used the only tool she had left.
“Covenant of the deep!” She cried, arms outstretched as her sight righted itself and she landed on her feet, channeling every ounce of the power in the vision at her chest. Her heart grew very warm, becoming hot to the point of discomfort before she flattened her palms and poured the energy from her hands, streams of water jetting into the remaining treasure hoarders and blasting them unceremoniously into the ocean.
Whimpering became distant as the treasure hoarders nursed their wounds and ran from the beautiful wreckage wrought by Sangonimiya Kokomi.
“Still got it.” She smiled to herself, touching the damp shore as she knelt in the surf.
Her head snapped up, pride dissipated and her expression hardened as she remembered the impromptu mission.
Kujou Sara was not moving, and Kokomi held her breath as she approached the collapsed woman whose blood stained the sand, one of her muscular legs bent at an angle which left even the healing-blessed priestess slightly dizzy. The gravity of the situation, of Kokomi’s enemy crumpled at her knees with her life in Kokomi’s hands, is not lost on the woman in the slightest. Her hands shook as she assessed the extent of the damage, bruises marring the sharp features of her face, blood dripping from her mouth, chest moving ever so slightly as she took painful breaths… the only evidence that she was alive.
Gorou would tell her to leave the broken woman there, that it was in the best interest of Watatsumi if Kokomi left her there, that she was arguably the worst enemy of the resistance even above the Shogun. The voices of every advisor she had, of every tactical plan she had ever made echoed in her head, but as she looked at Kujou Sara teetering on the edge of death, she remembered the fierceness of her gaze. Kokomi remembered the fight of her spirit, and she knew that she could not be responsible for the death of such a soul.
“I will not let you die.” She whispered to Kujou Sara, and the ocean listened. The Tengu warrior did not stir, and Kokomi grit her teeth as she began to plan how she would smuggle her greatest enemy into the homeland of her people.
-
The journey to Watatsumi Island was treacherous, and not one which Kokomi would jump at the chance to make again.
Though she had mastered dematerialization and rematerialisation across large distances, she had never even thought to attempt it with another person, much less an unconscious enemy of the island. She somehow managed it, though by the time she arrived on the shore next to her secret cave, she was sweating bullets, swaying back and forth as she dragged Sara up the hill and into the alcove that would be her best shot at keeping this decided lapse in judgment as secret as possible.
She felt pangs of guilt as Kujou Sara’s broken leg dragged through the weeds and stones, and was admittedly grateful that the woman was so unconscious for the time being, lest she be in devastating agony.
By the time she had trudged into the warm lighting of the cave, she was lightheaded, her legs shaking as she was dangerously close to collapsing herself. Kokomi only had enough strength to set Kujou Sara on the emergency cot she had set for herself before she fell into the chair at her desk, breathing heavily.
The light flickered faintly, casting shadows against Kujou Sara’s face and nestling in the sharp angles of her cheeks and jaw. Even unconscious, hair splayed about her head and face bruised, she looked positively regal. She shifted, moaning in her sleep as she likely began to feel the pain from her leg.
Kokomi desperately wanted to sleep as she had exhausted herself far beyond capacity, but she knew she needed to set Kujou Sara’s leg before she allowed sleep to take her. If there was a time to right the break, it was now when there would be no resistance.
She prepared the supplies by the side of the cot, took a deep breath, and with steady hands, corrected the leg in one deft movement.
“Gahhhh” Kujou Sara groaned deeply, stirring back into consciousness as her eyelids fluttered delicately, flecks of gold visible beneath heavy lashes.
“Shh, you’re safe. I just had to set the break so you can begin healing.” Kokomi whispered, pressing a cold cloth onto the woman’s head as she bandaged her leg in a makeshift splint.
“Where t-the hell am I? What are y-you doing here?” She slurred, eyes suddenly furious through the pain-driven haze. “Release me at once.” The demand was weak and halfhearted, and she winced as she felt the split in her lip. Kokomi was too tired to argue with her, her own eyelids growing heavy as she finished the shoddy bandage work and slumped back into the chair.
“I’m not holding you hostage, Kujou Sara. You are free to leave whenever you like.” Kokomi gestured to the entrance to the cave, unobstructed. The Tengu warrior’s eyes flitted from Kokomi to where she was gesturing, then to her leg. “If you are not here in the morning, I will understand; I only ask that you leave in peace. I have done my best for you.” And she set her head down on her desk, drifting into a fitful sleep.
-
The Sangonomiya Priestess rested without dreams, a rare occurrence but not unheard of. She awoke to the sound of the waterfall outside of the cave, birds chirping somewhere in the distance. Kokomi couldn’t wonder how she had ended up here… had she fallen asleep reading? Was she late for a meeting? She sat up quickly, and golden eyes flashed at her from across the cave.
Oh.
The events of the previous evening all came rushing back, the trip to Inazuma City, the attack on Kujou Sara, and how they ended up here. Kujou Sara was gazing at her suspiciously, posted in the cot, still here.
“You stayed.”
“Where else was I supposed to go?” There was stiffness in her tone, but Kokomi could see something different in the gold of her gaze, something afraid. Kokomi stood, stretching deeply and rolling her neck. Kujou Sara’s eyes followed her the whole time, silent, jaw set defiantly.
“How are the bandages on your leg? I could only work on that last night because I was exhausted, but I’ll treat the rest of your wounds today.” Kokomi gathered her things, smoothing her hair and pulling on her gloves clumsily.
“They seem fine,” She spoke through gritted teeth, wincing as she shifted her weight, “You don’t have to treat them. Just leave the supplies and I’ll do it myself.”
“Watatsumi Island medicine is too specialized for a newcomer to understand its intricacies. You’re better off if you just let me do it.”
“You’re far too soft Sangonomiya–” Kokomi ignored the way she shivered when Kujou Sara spoke her name, “–I’m more competent than you think.”
“It’s not a matter of competence, Kujou Sara, it’s a matter of basic knowledge. I’ll be back in a few hours once I have assured my second-in-command I’m safe and alive. Don’t do anything reckless.” The Tengu warrior opened her mouth to respond, but Kokomi had already left the cave smiling.
-
“You said you would be back by sundown!” Gorou’s voice was little more than a barely contained shriek, ears nearly flat to his head as he gestured wildly towards her.
“I know; I’m sorry, Gorou.”
“Where were you?” She could hear the demand hidden in the inquiry, and Kokomi felt the familiar pang of guilt that she had become so accustomed to. His bloodshot eyes were full of so many questions that he didn’t dare ask as her subordinate, but he wished to ask as her friend.
“I ran into someone I knew and lost track of time… I apologize from the bottom of my heart for worrying you.” Not technically a lie. He eyed her carefully, unsure of how to proceed. They were friends, but Gorou would be loath to question her integrity.
“You’re the heart of Watatsumi, ma’am. All I want is to make sure you’re safe.” Gorou pleaded, ears perked with earnest dedication.
“Of course, I understand. I appreciate your concern for me; I’m not sure what I would do without you.”
He beamed at her, though her thoughts were still back in the cave by the waterfall.
-
Kokomi spent the rest of her afternoon gathering supplies from the medical stores of Watatsumi, herb blends and supplements, and medicated bandages, all picked with a precise hand. Luckily, they were well stocked for all occasions, so in the event that someone noticed the missing supplies she wouldn’t be questioned.
When she arrived back at the cave, Kujou Sara’s eyes were closed, leg propped against the cave wall for elevation.
“You’re back.” She said simply, eyes still shut.
“Mmm I brought the supplies I promised.”
“The supplies you’ve deemed me too foolish to use?”
It took Kokomi a moment to recognize the teasing in the deadpan of her voice, but smiled regardless.
“Exactly.”
Her eyes snapped open at that, narrowing in a mix of annoyance and humor before she sat up awkwardly in the cot. Kokomi pulled her chair up to her, arms full of her various spoils before she set them on the small shelf near the wall. She picked up the first vial, a disinfectant salve blended specially for more delicate areas of the body.
“Please hold very still.” Kokomi murmured, setting her gloves in her lap and warming the salve between her fingers. She leaned in slowly, closer than she had ever allowed herself to be. Kujou Sara looked as if she wanted to recoil, eyes flashing dangerously, but she did not move.
Kokomi moved from wound to wound on her face with a practiced hand, quick but exact movements, focusing an embarrassing amount on the planes of her face and the way they felt under her fingers.
“I still don’t understand why I couldn’t have done this myself.” The woman murmured, lips barely moving but her breath fanning across Kokomi’s face.
“I told you already. Please drop the issue before you make me regret bringing you here.”
“You’re telling me you don’t regret it already? Color me surprised, Sangonomiya Kokomi; you’re even more of a princess than I gave you credit for.”
Kokomi pointedly ignored the insult, capping the bottle and placing it back on the shelf. Kujou Sara’s injuries were already looking improved, the shade fading from an angry red as she placed a small bandage on each of the cuts.
“I dread imagining what my troops would think if they could see me now, at the mercy of our greatest enemy. I would never hear the end of it; they might even have me publicly ridiculed, not that I wouldn’t deserve it.” She continued as Kokomi moved to her arms and shoulders, treating each wound and bruise.
“Are you quite done complaining?” Kokomi asked as she placed the last vial back where it belonged on the shelf, fighting the blush rising in her cheeks as she found herself once again face to face with the woman.
“You should have just left me to die.” The warrior snapped in her face, hissing sharply.
“That isn’t in my nature, Kujou Sara,” Kokomi said as she stood from the cot, relishing the way her eyes widened with thinly veiled shock. “The world would be a worse place without you in it.”
-
They fell into a stilted and awkward sort of routine after several days. Kokomi rarely left the cave, other than to replenish the supplies or make sure Gorou was aware that she had not left the island without alerting him first.
Kujou Sara barely spoke to Kokomi after their exchange on the second night, only asking for water or more ointment in simple sentences with little emotion.
Kokomi spent her days in the cave strategizing in her notebooks or reading, sometimes doing so aloud just to ease the boredom. At first, she wasn’t sure if Kujou Sara even enjoyed it, but when Kokomi would read, she could peek over the book and see that the woman would tilt her head back and close her eyes, easing into the cot with more contentment than at any other moment.
“I can provide you with a book if you would like to read on your own.” Kokomi said one evening after finishing a particularly interesting story, but Kujou Sara shook her head sharply.
“Wouldn’t be the same.” She murmured, eyes still closed as was typical when Kokomi would read to her. Kokomi laughed softly, setting the book on her desk.
“How are your bandages?” She asked, approaching the cot and inspecting the wounds on her face. The split in her lip had almost closed completely, and the bruises had faded into a dark yellow indicating the end of their healing process. Kujou Sara’s eyes opened slowly as she shrugged.
“I’m not sure. You can change them if it’d make you feel better.”
“It’s not about if it makes me feel better, you’re the patient here.” But Kokomi was already grabbing fresh bandages, dabbing ointment on them in preparation for use. She had grown used to the silence between them during treatment, often failing miserably at avoiding eye contact and blushing furiously whenever those golden eyes would lock onto hers.
“Why do you do that?” Kujou Sara chuckled dryly after the second instance of Kokomi’s eyes seeking purchase somewhere else on her face.
“Eye contact is often difficult for me,” Kokomi admitted shyly as she shrugged, “It’s such an intimate thing… I can hardly look my troops in the eye if I can help it. It's always been this way.”
Kujou Sara didn’t respond, but Kokomi couldn’t ignore the way she didn’t attempt to make eye contact for the rest of the evening.
-
Despite herself, Kokomi began to dread the moment when Kujou Sara’s leg would be fully healed and she would be able to leave the strange companionship they had forged.
“You’re looking much better.” Kokomi remarked as she entered the cave one day, hiding the bitterness in the back of her throat.
Kujou Sara was sitting up in her cot, injured leg dangling over the edge of the canvas fabric.
“Mmm I feel better, thanks to you, I suppose.” She smirked, displaying more of a smile than Kokomi had seen from her in the past two weeks. The color had returned to her skin, pink tinging the high points of her face, and the bruises had completely healed, leaving essentially no trace.
“Let me check your leg; you should be able to walk on it in the next day or so.” Kokomi moved to sit in the chair, but Kujou Sara shifted to the edge of the cot instead, eyeing the empty space next to her. Kokomi smiled shyly, taking a seat next to her instead and taking careful note of the way the warmth of her thigh felt against her own.
The silence had become comfortable, something Kokomi almost enjoyed as she began the monotonous task of unwrapping the bandage and readjusting the splint.
“Why did you do it?” Kujou Sara blurted out, breaking the silence between them as Kokomi finished rewrapping.
“What do you mean? I had to rewrap it.”
“No– I mean, why did you save me? No one would have expected you to… quite the opposite, I think.”
Kokomi took a moment to think about it, mouth opening and closing several times before she finally answered. She fought the trembling in her hands which sought purchase anywhere other than the startlingly close hand of the woman next to her.
“That day at Nazuchi Beach, I recognized something within you. Behind the anger and the disdain, I could see you, and I think a part of me wanted to continue to see you. There’s a certain look in your eyes that I see when I look in the mirror, a look of dedication to belonging even though you know you’re inherently different. The look of being torn between two worlds and needing to prove yourself and what you stand for.”
Blue eyes met gold as Kokomi slid her gaze up to look at Kujou Sara, and the softness there surprised her.
They sat there in the sanctity of that moment, mutual understanding exchanged with such a simple glance. Communicating this way felt as easy as breathing when there was no animosity between them, and Kokomi believed she could see galaxies in the depth of Kujou Sara’s eyes.
She thought she had seen everything that fateful day on the beach, but she had missed one glorious thing which was now shining at the forefront of her gaze.
Possibility.
“I understand.” Kujou Sara whispered across the small stretch of air connecting them before closing the distance and crushing her lips softly against Kokomi’s, cupping her jaw with a gentle hand as the other threaded through her hair.
Kokomi could not hide her palpable shock and nearly pulled away from fear, but this was so soft… so warm. So right.
This was right.
Kujou Sara pulled away, assessing her reaction as a warrior would with concern etched in the lines of her face, but Kokomi pulled the woman close again with her eyes pressed tightly shut.
She was determined to not wake up from whatever strangely perfect dream this was.
“Please don’t leave.” Kokomi murmured against her lips, hand grazing the fingers against her face.
“I’ll see what I can do.” She smiled against Kokomi’s mouth and leaned in further.