Chapter Text
Everything was a kaleidoscope of red. Makoto's ears were ringing and nothing seemed to register as she held the cold mass close to her chest, not looking anywhere but at the blank and unmoving dull violet eyes contrasting with unusually pale skin. Rain mixed with tears and blood trickled off her face as she ran her fingers through matted hair dyed with blood; making her seem eerily calm amongst the chaos of screaming and the sound of destruction, as though she knew it was an illusion, and she did. Because Makoto's went through this once before, and over and over again.
Makoto's eyes slowly opened as her ears and eyes began to take in the reality of what the screaming and loud bangs were. Everything was no longer just red, but a mix of orange and pink with a midnight backdrop. The screaming disclosed itself as the cheers and laughter of the people in Inazuma; Because today they were celebrating the hundred years since the end of the cataclysm. Babies waddled around and children played with the beetles or gazed at the fireworks with glistening eyes, new generations took in the festivity of the environment while older generations soaked with the reminder of the cataclysm held ceremonies in honor of the lives lost.
Makoto enjoyed fireworks, though the fondness slowly dissipated soon as the memories latched back on to her memories, making her body and heart ache with a feeling only felt when she saw her sister still holding on tight to her nagimata, still showing pride and strength while she laid unmoving and drenched in blood of both hers and her enemies. But it wasn’t just the resemblance fireworks and the sound war had but rather that her sisters eyes once stared in awe at the fireworks, but never would be able to again. So while Inazuma was celebrating a hundred years since war, she was mourning a hundred years since the loss of her little sister.
~
“My~ Makoto you look… Horrendous to say the least. Or that’s what I can tell from the little of your face showing from these mountains of paper.” Yae tried to maneuver around the piles not just on Makoto's table but also scattered on the floor, Yae made out requests, blueprints, complaints, and many more from the papers.
“Urgh..”
Yae started to make it around just enough to see her hair painting the floor and her hand moving frantically, then gently, then frantically for a moment, until being interrupted by a loud tearing sound, and a small gasp. There was silence for a moment before Yae made a comment.
“I didn’t know that you picked up drawing as a hobby Makoto.”
For some reason that was what set Makoto off into a long rant and an hour of sobbing and screaming, and somehow less papers on her plate but that was because she tore them all up. Yae managed to gather a bit of what she was doing, or more like planning. Very bad and rather disproportionate sketches of various kinds of people, a little boy, a tall girl, and an old man, and then the rest she can’t tell. But Yae wasn’t dumb and Makoto had acquired a near perfect shade of her sister's hair as a pencil.
“Are you sure a… puppet- er or.. doll? Would really make you feel less lonely, Makoto? You know, just because it has purple hair won’t exactly make them your fami-“
“I know that.” Makoto snapped as she started combing through the long tumbled mess on her head, wincing once with every tug. Yae stayed out waiting for answers, hand on her hip and her face furrowed, Makoto wasn’t an idiot and she knew her best course of action was to get help with this sort of project, and who better than her best friend and basically secretary?
Makoto started with a sigh, “I can’t help but feel worried that… maybe, a war would break out soon, or maybe some sort of accident- Just… somehow I’ll die soon.” Makoto pointed her gaze towards Yae instead of the drawings splayed on her desk,
“And while I know you can handle the job of archon, I know it’s not something you wish for. If I could just make this puppet to take over my role, then I wouldn’t have to worry so much about the fate of Inazuma..”
Makoto suddenly stood up and swiftly changed her expression from sorrowful to determined, she clapped two hands together and looked up at Yae as best she could due to her short stature “So please, please please please! Help me Yae. I can’t do this alone both you and I know that, favor for a favor~?” Yae had a bit of surprise on her face but that extinguished into a scowl knowing that she was yet again, going to give in to her archon's troubling, but not stupid, demands.
Yae yanked Makoto's arm but quickly let go and pinched her nose, “Nope- go take a shower first. How long has it even been since you bathed?” Makoto grew a bright embarrassed flush on her face and Yae waved her off with a scrunched nose then went to wait outside the door, it took no time at all, maybe around five minutes? Though clearly Makoto rushed and needed more time because her hair was still soaked and her obi was much too high, as well as slanted.
Before Yae could say anything Makoto quickly fixed the obi then grabbed a towel to dry her hair, and started running out the door with Yae in hand, ready to figure out just how to make this puppet-doll thing.