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Ei stared down the stove, electro crackling in her eyes, as if by a mere stare she could get it to work.
A familiar laugh sounded behind her, like a mocking melody. “Honestly, Ei. If you want to learn, you should at least try.”
“I am trying!” Ei protested. She pointed at the stove. “The vessel is not cooperating!”
Yae Miko rolled her eyes. “Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless, you are.”
“I command you to give me clear, concise directions this time!”
“Turn on the stove,” Yae Miko said simply.
Ei seethed through her teeth. “ How? ”
Yae Miko, being her usual self, was absolutely enjoying this. “The best way to learn is to-“
“I get it, I get it,” Ei said dismissively. She turned back to the stove and proceeded to tentatively zap it with a bit of electricity.
Yae Miko said nothing, though Ei knew she was holding back laughter.
After a few more hopeless attempts, including one where she slammed her fist into it, which created an ugly dent, she finally managed to get a fire going by pulling a lever. Pyro spew across the coals in a beautiful myriad of red. Ei took this as proof of her competency.
“Well done,” Yae Miko said in a disinterested voice. “Now, take the oil and pour it gently on the pan.”
Ei took the bowl of bright amber oil. Her arm shook with concentration as she poured it into the pan as precisely as she could.
Suddenly, Miko’s voice edged up. “Ei, don’t lean over the-”
The entire bowl’s contents spilled into the pan and overflowed into the fire, causing the entire stove to explode in flame. The fire blew straight into Ei’s face.
Now, Ei was a god—not just a god, but the incarnation of lightning itself. But that didn’t mean that she didn’t feel pain. And a sudden burst of pyro was sure to spill into the electro that constituted her body, causing a huge overloaded reaction. She stumbled back and, like any sensible person would, hopped right back into the Plane of Euthymia.
Yae Miko zipped towards the Raiden Shogun with an effortless wave of electro. She looked at her with a mixture of amusement and disbelief. “Ei?”
The Raiden Shogun glared at her in all her burnt glory. “Hello, Guuji Yae. I must be back to Tenshukaku now.”
Oh, great.
The Shogun turned away. Miko raised an eyebrow.
“You’re going back like that? ”
The Shogun paused. She looked over her shoulder at the kitsune. “What do you mean?”
Yae Miko brought a dainty finger to her chin. “Do you not notice that half of your hair has been burnt off?”
The Shogun raised a finger to her hair. Sure enough, it was sizzling and cracking.
Miko sighed. “Come. A trip to the Grand Narukami Shrine should set things in order.”
The Shrine Maidens pretended not to notice as the Lady Guuji dragged a very burnt Raiden Shogun up the mountain and to the Sacred Sakura. Good. They had some sense. Though Yae Miko was slightly disappointed that she wouldn’t get to scare off anyone today.
“Sit here,” Miko ordered. She reached up to feel the electro in the air.
“I do not understand the purpose of this endeavor,” said the Shogun.
“And I don’t feel the need to explain it to you,” Miko said. She gathered a bolt of electricity and shot it at the Shogun. A bit of burn disappeared.
Bit by bit, pulling power from the Sacred Sakura, Yae Miko managed to heal most of the burns on the Raiden Shogun’s body. At least, cover the marks of pyro up with an excessive amount of electro. Even she was getting quite exhausted by the time she finished.
“Alright, back to Tenshukaku you go,” Miko said, waving at the Shogun dismissively. She yawned. “I think I need a bit of a nap.”
The Shogun stood up and wordlessly bolted away, leaving behind naught but purple sparks. Yae Miko sighed.
Now it was time to pull Ei back from Euthymia. Miko was getting quite tired of this. But if Ei was left there again, she might find an excuse to stay there for another few centuries. That wouldn’t do. But Miko was ever so tired, and Ei was ever so stubborn…
Ah. She could just get the Traveler to do it.
A bit of a nudge at the Adventurer’s Guild was all it took for the Traveler and her edible pet to come running.
“Miko! Miko!” Paimon cried as they rushed to their usual spot underneath the Sacred Sakura. “We need your help!”
Miko let a small smile slip on her face. “Oh? What is it this time?”
“Ei won’t come out from the Plane of Euthymia again!” Paimon complained, flying around frantically.
Miko turned around dramatically. Her dress swayed with the movement. “Really? Hm. I don’t see why that’s any of my business.”
The Traveler and Paimon gave her an unimpressed look. Hmph. No fun to be had with them, it seemed.
She held up a placating hand. “Alright, alright. Why don’t you go inside yourself?”
“We have!” Paimon cried. “But she wouldn’t listen!”
Oh, of course. Yae Miko would have to actually work. Thanks, Ei.
“So, naturally, you come to me,” Miko said boredly. She let out a purposefully exasperated sigh. “How irritating.”
“But what should we do?!” Paimon asked.
“Tell her that I have sweets,” Yae Miko said. “And that I will only offer them if she meets me physically, at Mt. Yougou.”
The Traveler and Paimon stared at her again. Miko laughed.
“What? If she acts like a child, then I shall treat her as such.” Miko turned around once more. “Now, hurry along. You don’t want to keep Ei waiting.”
“Miko, you really didn’t have to do this,” Ei said flatly. Sakura petals wafted down from above. Yae Miko’s back was turned to her as she prepared something on the counter.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Miko said innocently, pouring white powder into a container. “As the Head Shrine Maiden, it’s my duty to extend offerings to the Electro Archon.”
Ei wisely ignored her. “So? Where are my sweets?”
Miko couldn’t bear to hide her smirk. She turned around lazily, spinning a spoon between her fingers. Behind her revealed a stove and ingredients.
Silence. An Electro Crystalfly drifted beside them.
“You are insufferable,” Ei said finally.
Miko’s eyes glimmered with mischief as she chuckled. “Get to it, then.”