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As Kujou Sara patrolled the streets of Hanamizaka, her keen eyes scanned the various sights in the area. Hajime bickered with a client over at Amenoma Smithy, but that wasn’t her concern, nor were the small fireworks demonstrations Yoimiya performed for passersby. She waved around a small handful of sparklers, for which she always had the proper permits and was far more careful with than she appeared. Even the infamous Arataki Gang, who were currently in an onikabuto duel with a group of schoolchildren weren’t necessarily what she was looking for, but the green-haired woman standing off to the side of them was.
As Kuki Shinobu leaned against a wall and had a conversation with Detective Sango, her striking amethyst eyes occasionally glanced over at the antics of her fellow gang members. Even though she held no kind of official government position, far from it, Shinobu was just as prominent a figure in daily Inazuman life as the General was, and while plenty of residents of Hanamizaka often complained about the antics of the Arataki gang, few had anything negative to say about their Deputy Leader. When she wasn’t corralling the troublemakers or paying their bail, she helped settle disagreements, fixed children’s toys, and gave advice on a whole host of topics from law to cooking.
“Miss Kuki.”
Sara’s stern voice broke Shinobu’s focus as she walked up to the green-haired girl. She rarely heard this tone of voice directed at anyone except her fellow gang members. It usually reminded them of how much trouble they would be in the next time they showed up at the police station.
“Hey Sara, to what do I owe the honor?” she replied.
“You are hereby required to make your presence known at the Tenryou Commission headquarters immediately,” the General sternly said. “I shall escort you there personally.”
Shinobu was confused. Usually, if the Tenryou Commission needed her advice, one of Sara’s subordinates would seek her out, sealed letter in hand. Sara only sought out Shinobu on her time off, and usually just to chat about work and life over hotpot. But this time, she wondered if she was in trouble, Archons knew what for.
Shinobu responded with a nod and cast a glance back at the fight as she went. Itto seemed to be extremely focused on his match, despite repeatedly losing, so she figured it was safe enough to leave him unattended for a while. After making a quick promise to Sango to continue their conversation later, Shinobu jogged to try and keep pace with Sara as she strode back to Tenshukaku.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shinobu remained confused about why she was there as the pair walked through the doorway into Sara’s office. With the urgency and force that Sara had used, she’d expected to either be the star of her own execution, or be brought in front of the Almighty Shogun herself, and she wasn’t sure which was more terrifying. However, Sara’s composure broke as she slammed the door shut behind them and slumped into a nearby chair, face in her hands. Shinobu could immediately tell that something was up, but before she could even open her mouth to ask, the General immediately blurted out,
“I think I like girls.”
Shinobu was unsure how to respond. This was far from what she had been expecting.
“What makes you think that?”
“Well, sometimes when I look at some women, I feel…different,” Sara said.
“Different how?” Shinobu asked.
“Um,” Sara muttered, “Well…”
“It’s alright, Sara,” Shinobu said. “You know you can trust me.”
The General’s cheeks reddened, before she continued.
“The last time I went to the Grand Narukami Shrine to check in on a report of vandalism, I tripped on one of the stairs, and Guuji Yae chuckled at my expense, calling me a ‘silly bird’. Alongside the usual anger and shame, I felt…” Sara searched for the correct description. “Embarrassed, but not in a bad way as such?”
“Flustered?” Shinobu asked.
Sara blushed some more, before shyly responding, “Yes. Normally, I could easily brush off Lady Yae’s comments, but this time it stuck with me for some reason.”
Even though Shinobu rather despised everything to do with the shrine, she couldn’t deny that she’d react the exact same as Sara had. “The Guuji has a way of getting to people, that’s for sure.”
“Last week, after overseeing a trade deal for crops and fertilizer with Lady Sangonomiya, I reported to the Almighty Shogun herself to update her on our diplomatic progress, and she-” Sara could barely contain a small squeal upon recollecting the encounter- “she called me highly dependable, and that she was right to trust me with this work!” Sara squirmed in her seat, bouncing her knees and wiggling her hips as she spoke. “Me! Being praised by her Excellency the Almighty Narukami Ogosho herself!”
“Well, it only makes sense to enjoy being praised by a god,” Shinobu said. “Although, you seem to…enjoy it more than others might.”
Sara coughed and her cheeks flushed at the remark, and she took a second to collect herself again before continuing.
“I… I was also going through some confiscated items from an arrest a while ago, and something caught my eye, a light novel,” Sara looked down at the floor shyly as she recounted. “It was about a Guuji and a female Shogun who were…close. I just kept on reading and reading, and I found myself being envious of the Shogun. When I got to the part where the Guuji fed the Shogun from her own mouth-” Sara paused, clearly feeling overwhelmed from even just the memory. “I knew. I knew I wanted that more than anything. I knew that I was willing to give or do anything to experience that for myself.”
“In general, or specifically with a girl?” Shinobu asked.
Sara looked away from her companion, as if she was ashamed of her answer, and muttered, “With a girl, I don't think I'd ever want a man to even get close to doing that.”
“Yeah, you seem like you are even more fascinated with girls than most men I’ve met, Kujou.”
Flustered, Sara retorted, “Well, maybe it's, um, like a mother bird feeding her chick! I am a Tengu, after all.”
Shinobu smirked underneath her mask. “Whatever you say, General. Anything else?”
“Well, I can't help but notice how Lady Kokomi's, uh, attire seems to emphasize…” Sara swallowed loudly, “...and, well, flatter certain, um, womanly features she has… I find that they draw my eyes like a fish to a lure... just as the Almighty Shogun's garb…” Sara cupped her hands in front of her chest. Shinobu’s mask thankfully was hiding her own blush as she visualized the mentioned ‘womanly features.’
“And…” sweat began to collect on Sara’s brow. “There’s a girl I sometimes see, and every time I do, I can only think of one thing: how much I wish that I could dedicate my life to her, but -may her Excellency forgive me for this- but in a way more than I dedicate my life to the Shogun.” Sara tried to act normal, but couldn’t help averting her eyes more than usual when discussing her crush. “She’s…incredible. I’ve wanted to tell her how I feel for ages, but every time I just…couldn’t. I’m too much of a coward to be honest with myself, let alone with her.” Sara’s cheeks reddened at that last section.
"Ok, I think I get it!" Shinobu interjected. She felt that she knew exactly who this girl in question was, but decided to keep it to herself, at least for the moment. “But why tell me all this?”
“Because...” Sara paused, as tears welled up in her eyes. “…because you’re the only one I can tell.”
“You don’t have anyone else to talk to about this?”
Sara shook her head.
“Nobody in your family?”
“Just you,” Sara blurted out. Her breaths then began to rapidly pick up just as sobs began to get caught in the back of her throat, and her eyes darted between Shinobu and the door. “If I t-told anyone, m-my father w-would k-now, a-and..” Sara started rolling her sleeve down, before stopping. “I’ve said t-too much, I’m s-sorry.”
“Sara, what’s wrong?”
“N-nothing. Nothing is wrong at all.” Sara stood up suddenly, startling Shinobu. She started to speak in between rapid breaths. “I need to go… I-I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have said anything… this is between me… and him.” She started walking towards the door. “I’m sorry for interrupt-”
“Wait!” Shinobu grabbed Sara's arm as she walked away. Something was very, very wrong, and as Sara’s sleeve slipped, a dark, purple bruise revealed itself.
Shinobu gasped. “Is that…”
Sara could not manage to do so much as turn to face her only friend.
“Does...Takayuki…”
Sara swallowed heavily.
“He punishes me when I fail him, like a good father shou-”
“Abusing you isn’t what any father should do!” Shinobu interjected. She was standing now, her grip firm, but caring. “You don’t deserve this!”
“No, I do…”
Sara felt a pair of arms embrace her tightly. She was unsure how to react. Usually, when someone put their arms around her, it was a criminal trying to restrain or injure her, or a family member holding her still so her father could beat her. This, however, felt different. Shinobu pressed her whole body into Sara’s back, and Sara felt her smooth, soft skin against her own. It was warm, like something from a long-lost memory.
“W-what are you doing?” Sara was puzzled.
“I’m not going to let you tell him, just so he can hurt you again,” Shinobu said, her face buried in Sara’s back. “I can’t let you do that to yourself.”
Sara was now even more confused. “Why?”
“Because you’re my friend, and I care about you.”
Sara finally broke.
Tears streamed from her face and fell onto the floor, some landing on Shinobu’s embracing arms.
“I’m s-s-so scared,” Sara sniffled.
“It's going to be okay,” Shinobu said. “I'm not going to let anyone hurt you.”
Sara turned around to return Shinobu's hug and buried her face in the shorter girl's shoulder. “It hurts so much. He beats me for the smallest things, for disagreeing with him, for getting into arguments with other clan members, for getting home too late,” Sara quietly explained.
“It’s alright, let it all out,” Shinobu comforted.
“What am I g-going to d-do if he finds out?”
“He won’t, Sara.”
“Please, don’t tell anyone,” Sara sobbed.
“Sara, please, look at me.”
Shinobu removed her mask, setting it aside to remove any ambiguity from what she was about to say. Sara looked at her soft lips, covered in a royal byzantine. The two women stared into each other’s eyes, amber meeting amethyst.
“I would never betray you, Sara.”
Tears welled back up in Sara’s eyes until she couldn’t fight her urges anymore, and leaned down.
Sara was overwhelmed by a wave of bliss as her lips touched her desire’s, sparks flying between their lips and tongues as their visions connected. Her usually hidden sets of wings unfurled in full as Sara fully let her emotions take over. She felt weightless as if a strong wind filled her wings and lifted her up to the very stars. Shinobu's lips were soft beyond soft, beautiful beyond beauty itself, a treasure that no king could ever attain, and Sara was blessed enough to be in their embrace.
Despite how good it felt, Sara almost immediately regretted it; how could she just assault her only friend like that? She wanted Shinobu to feel comfortable around her, but now she had forced herself upon the girl, and Sara was terrified of how Shinobu would react. Shinobu had fought men twice her size and won without even breaking a sweat, just for flirting with her. When the two of them sparred, she could at least duel to a standstill, if not beat Sara at her own job and pin her to the ground. Sara could only imagine that she could easily be thrown across the room, or worse.
However, Shinobu held Sara’s head with both of her hands and returned the kiss with an even deeper passion, even letting her pierced tongue explore the inside of Sara’s mouth.
Pulling away after a few seconds, Shinobu sighed happily. “I’ve been waiting for that for a long time, songbird.”
Sara had absolutely no idea how to react, her jaw slack
“I’ve known for a while that you’ve had a crush on me, and, admittedly, I fell for you as well.” Shinobu was unable to hide her own blush anymore, now that her mask was off.
“Does…this mean you won’t tell Takayuki?”
Shinobu let out a stressed sigh.
“If he tries to lay a hand on you again, I’ll have to teach him just how much pain he’s put you in.” Shinobu’s voice was laced with a venom reserved for her fellow gang members.
“Can I ask you a question, Shinobu?”
“Of course, you don’t need to ask permission to ask,” Shinobu replied
“May…I kiss you again?” Sara shyly asked.
“Why ask for something that’s already yours?” Shinobu said sensually.
Their lips locked together as Shinobu lifted the taller woman onto her own desk to even their heights. Were anyone to walk outside the general’s office, it would be impossible to not hear the two women making up for lost time.