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ithinkinggenshin · 2 years

Text

Messed Up Messy Love

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Characters: Ei, Yae Miko, Ayaka

Pairings: GN!Reader x ^above characters (separately)

Warnings: Angst, abandonment, implied cheating, hurt/comfort/hurt, swearing, death, bloody nose, imprisonment, possessiveness, grammar errors

Word count: 6.7k

Synopsis: So I got an ask for a fic about fighting and making up but I ended up writing a breakup fic instead. So here’s that. Don’t worry, I’m gonna keep working on that request.

Note: Under the cut because the fic is long

Ei:

She neglected you. Disappeared without a word of warning. You know she’s a busy woman. You know she devotes herself to her pursuit of eternity. She loses track of time when she’s concentrated and focused, but she seems to not realize she may lose you too if she continues to ignore you.

You’re tired of this treatment. The days and nights without her are far more frequent than those with. It was more than enough time to have you going through the 5 stages of grief. At first, you gaslit yourself into believing she was just busy. She made time for you in the past but maybe something came up? Maybe she was held up with mountains of paperwork. Or maybe she was just meditating. You go to the palace everyday and ask the guards to let you in. Everyone knows you by now, but they still deny you entry. What is going on?

By the third day of you not seeing her, the theory that she’s meditating has rooted itself in your mind as the answer. It must be.

Of course, you’re wrong.

You visit the shrine to get a fortune slip and pray. You’re secretly hoping Ei will hear your prayer and come to you.

A chance encounter with Yae Miko leads to her talking to you about her recent visit with Ei. So recent that it was just yesterday. Your face gives away how utterly confused and hurt and betrayed you are that Ei has chosen to not come and see you but let Yae Miko still visit her. Yae sees your crestfallen expression and reassures you that Ei has just been busy and has lost track of time. She promises to bring you up the next time she visits Ei. That is, if she herself hasn’t already come running to see you.

You nod and thank her. You believe her. You want to believe her. You’re choosing to believe her.

A week passes. Ei doesn’t even send you a letter.

By this point, you know she can’t be busy with political stuff. She’s an incredibly intelligent woman. She built a puppet for her to control. She developed all kinds of sword techniques. She’s ruled over Inazuma for centuries. She isn’t busy. At least, not busy enough to not have time to even send a blast of lighting to you to show she’s thinking about you.

It’s because of the lack of lighting that you don’t worry if you’ve made her angry. The last time she was angry it stormed and thundered for over 3 weeks. She sat in her plane of Euthymia until she calmed down. To her it was a blink of an eye. It would have been an awful and painful three weeks for you if she hadn’t dragged you with her to the palace. Even though you were the one she was mad at. Even though it was an argument that you two had, she brought you with her to protect you from herself. You would’ve apologized sooner, if she hadn’t locked herself up completely like she did. She said she needed time to think. You said that you were glad you had some time to think too, but it was too much time if you’re being honest. Ei had said she’d try to keep that in mind for the future.

The rain let up, and the people breathed a sigh of relief. Some even came and thanked you for calming their archon down. You can’t describe the surreal feeling of joy and love you felt knowing that Ei wanted you, even when she was angry, and that you two could work things out.

You thought she loved you.

Another week passes and now you’re pissed.

She’s ignoring you! She doesn’t care about you! You swear she’s so selfish. It’s always her plans that come first. Her wants. Her needs. She wants to be alone? Fine! She can be alone for all eternity. Maybe she’s staying away from you on purpose.

Maybe she’s preparing for your death. Maybe she doesn’t want to care about you when you die.

Maybe she doesn't actually care about you.

Maybe she never did.

Maybe she doesn’t love you…

…

Maybe she never did…

You cry at those thoughts. You’re not angry anymore.

Ei. Please come back. You say to yourself, alone in your room.

All indications of her presence in your life are gone already. Her scent, stray hairs, and snacks are gone. Thrown out and scrubbed away from your previous house cleaning, back when you thought she’d be coming to see you.

You feel like crying again.

You try the palace again. You bring her favorite snacks. You bring gifts. You write her love letters. You beg the guards to let you pass. To let you see your girlfriend. They all look guilty as they turn you away. The letters you sent come back to you, unopened.

You go to see Yae. For once you can see straight through her lies. Her hesitation to answer and ultimate decision to simply reassure you again by saying that she’ll talk to Ei. You scowl and ask her what happened when she brought you up before. She dodges the question with twisted words. You don’t bother trying to pull the truth out from her. You’re sure it’ll hurt you. You don’t think you can handle more pain. You turn and leave as Yae is mid sentence. She doesn’t get upset at you for being so disrespectful. Tears fall as you make your way back down the mountain.

Ei must not love you anymore.

That’s why she doesn’t want to see you.

The days seem to drag on and blur by at the same time. Life goes on. The world keeps moving. You can’t bring yourself to leave your house for a few days. You manage to avoid work by faking ill, but you can’t avoid your job forever. You need to eat. You’re surprised you’ve almost run out of food. You’ve barely had an appetite.

You finally go out.

You go back to work. Your boss asks if you’re okay. You say you’re fine, just fatigued. They tell you to take care of yourself. You can take time off if you’re still feeling sick. You thank them and shake your head. They don’t try to pry further. You’re grateful for that. You try to get back into the swing of things. You force yourself to take on each day.

You think you’re healing.

Ei still hasn't come.

You try not to think about it.

It’s been months. You can’t tell how much time has passed. You stopped keeping track a long time ago. Your heart aches as you realize that it’s almost your anniversary with her, but you don’t think you’ve even seen her since your last one. You don’t remember.

You don’t want to.

You go out instead of staying in and wallowing. You promised a girl you’d meet her at the festival. She gives you butterflies and makes you trip on air. You want to hold her hand and kiss her. You don’t though. Not yet.

You think of Ei. You go to the palace. Some of the newer recruits don’t recognize you, but their seniors do. They still won’t let you see her. You ask if you can leave a message or letter. They shake their heads. You sigh. You go to Miko and tell her that you’re done with Ei. That you’re not waiting for her anymore. You say you feel bad that she has to be the messenger for this, but end up grateful as Yae brushes it off and says it’s not a big deal. Your life is short compared to hers and Ei’s. It’s best you go on and keep living. She jokes that at the very least, Ei may not conjure another storm that prevents anyone from coming in or out in her grief over you.

You’re not sure how to respond to that, so you just thank her again and go back down the mountain.

You continue life as normal.

You’re blissfully ignorant to the fact that your message never gets to Ei.

Another month goes by. The butterflies don’t go away. They migrate from your stomach to your heart, making you more giddy instead of nervous. You slip your hand into hers. You both freeze for a moment, before she turns and smiles at you, a blush spreading across her cheeks. You must be blushing too, because she smiles even wider when she sees your face. You two walk through the streets hand in hand. You play games and eat treats. Some people stare at you like you’re covered in blood, but you don’t pay them any mind. You can tell the stares are making her uncomfortable too. You feel bad for it, but it’s not in your control. You just squeeze her hand tighter. She squeezes your back. It’ll be okay.

You told her a while ago that you dated the Raiden Shogun. She laughs nervously and says she already knew. Everyone knows. How could they not? You tell her about your relationship. About what happened. She admits that she feared loving you because she thought it might be blasphemous to love the Raiden Shogun’s partner. You say you feared loving her because you knew that people would harshly judge you and whoever you ended up with. She doesn’t deserve to deal with that kind of scrutiny. But you’re not with Ei anymore. You did everything you could to tell her so. You admit that you’re surprised that there was no indication of her being upset or anything, but you also accept that she might’ve been long over you by the time you came around to admitting that you were ready to accept and move on from her.

You want to love.

You want to be loved.

Others will judge you no matter what in this life. You had to accept that a long time ago. You’re willing to put up with the stares and the criticism if it means that you can be happy with another person. But you aren’t willing to put that person under the same kind of pressure if they’re not up for it. It can be extremely difficult to deal with, you tell her. She just gives you a half smile and says she’s already heavily judged by others.

Growing up as the daughter to the Kamisato clan, Ayaka was always being graded on everything. The way she acted and dressed, who she affiliated herself with or didn’t.

She walks over to you and sits down next to you. She leans her head against your shoulder. Let the people talk. If they really care, they’ll bother to consider your feelings as well.

You’re not Ei’s property. You aren’t her toy. You may have been hers at one point, but she had made no moves to claim you for over a year. Even if she came back into your life right now, you wouldn't accept her. You wouldn't immediately lay your heart in her hands. She'd have to explain herself, she'd have to prove herself. And even then… you don't know if you'd be able to trust her again.

So you both decided to take the leap. You find yourself in a slow dance of courtship. You'd take her on small adventures. Short walks through the forest next to the estate or to obscure shops in the city. Often late at night or early in the morning. Before and after her long and hard work days. In return she'd give you gifts. Writing you long letters and buying you ornate fans. You started displaying your growing collection in your house.

Ayaka gasped and nearly cried when she saw the way you decorated your home with them. You told her that you liked to see them when you walked around. Not only are they beautiful, but they also always made you think of her.

Time flies when you're with her. Everyday you'd find yourself sharing a moment with her, and every time you wished that time would stop so that it would never end. So that you could feel this happy forever.

Maybe that's what Ei is chasing.

A way for her to be happy forever.

You know that such a thing doesn't exist, but you hope she finds it nonetheless.

After all, it's hard to stop caring about someone you loved for so long. She told you about all the pain and grief of her past. She shared some of the burdens she carried. You did your best to say the right things and be there for her. Maybe that's where you went wrong.

No.

You needed to stop that train of thought. Before the tracks pointed downward and you started spinning in a cyclone. It wouldn't be the first time.

Ayaka pulls you out of your long trip through your memories. She helped you the same way before, calling your name in the beautiful voice of hers and rubbing her thumb on the back of your hand. Innocently asking what you were thinking.

You shake your head and smile at her. Memories are the bane of you. They're like a riptide that pulls you off your feet and away from the present moment.

And yet… she manages to save you.

Every time, without fail.

You keep winding your way through the festival, smiling and laughing. Admiring the beauty that came from all your neighbors' hard work.

You come to the top of a cliff. You wrap your hand around her waist, and she leans her head on your shoulder. You turn your head towards her, and she meets your gaze. You lean forward. She mirrors your movement. She grabs your shirt and you tighten your grip on her waist.

You both jolt when you hear the boom of the first firework of the night. Laughter bubbles up and comes out of both of you. You lean down and your lips meet hers. Her hands grip your biceps, and you embrace her fully. Fireworks boom in the background, but you swear you're both eons away.

You feel it before you see it, and you see it before you hear it.

Your hair stands up.

The light blinds you.

A blast that you only hear the first half of before the ringing in your ears makes the rest of it feel muffled and far away.

You and Ayaka cling to each other as you’re blasted off the cliff into the water below. You’re lucky that neither of you are hurt too badly, only sore. You climb out of the water and are immediately seized on both sides.

“Filthy traitors are not tolerated and have no place in eternity.”

That cold voice.

It’s her.

The Raiden Shogun.

“You are under arrest for your crimes against the Shogun. Do not struggle. We are bringing you to the palace for her to decide and execute her punishment,” Sara is as matter-of-fact as always. You can tell she knows what happened. She looks guilty as she makes eye contact with you, but she gives the order to take you away anyway.

You try to look back at Ayaka and don’t see her there. You try to fight. The soldiers don’t budge. You feel your heart pounding. You feel like you’re going to die, long before you come face to face with the Shogun’s sword. Which you probably will. There’s no way she won’t execute you for seemingly cheating on her. You’re surprised when you find that you’re more worried about Ayaka’s safety than yours.

The butterfly that rests in your chest flaps its wings.

You really love her.

You’re walked through the streets of the city. People come and watch you like a parade. Watch as you’re dragged by guards behind the Shogun and her general. You close your eyes but can still feel the stares.

You think about your time with Ei. Now that you think back on it, you must have looked like such a lapdog next to her. Leaning your head on her thigh as she hovered and meditated in her mindscape, patiently waiting for her to finally acknowledge you. The way you cupped her face and always tried to comfort her. Like a dog licking its master's tears. She always felt more than any human ever could. The pain and suffering from centuries ago, mixed with the pain and suffering of her people now, you don’t know how she bears it all. You’d deliver her treats and walk with her along the base of the mountain. She took you to see the arch that was once a gateway to her sister’s mindscape. You’d bring flowers to every so often and thank her for blessing the shrine and by proxy, the people.

At first, Ei was confused by the way you’d talk to the shrine. Who are you talking to? No one is there. You told her it was just how you honored the dead. By talking to them, you brought them to the present day, as though they were alive, to help them live on.

You had to part ways with Ei not long after that.

Later that night, you had been woken up by pounding on your door. One of the head officials and some guards stood in the doorway when you opened it, demanding to know what you did with Ei. You looked at them confused. She never returned to the palace? Strange. You promised to help them look. You didn’t tell them where though. The places you two shared, they’re kept secret for a reason. They’re places only you two together felt at peace. At least, you thought so.

You ended up finding Ei still at the shrine, talking to it. Talking to Makoto. She sat in her usual mediation position, talking about everything that came to her mind. You quietly called her name. And smiled when Ei stood, took your hand, and formally introduced you to her sister.

Thinking back on it, Ei didn’t call you her partner. She said you were special to her. You wonder if that was a sign.

You consider praying to Makoto. Ask her to protect you from her sister, as you’re forced onto your knees inside the palace, wrists cuffed behind you. You stay in a stooped position. You don’t want to look at her. You shouldn’t feel this bad. You know you’re in the right. It wasn’t fair for her to disappear on you, and now to act as though you’re wrong to have fallen in love with someone else.

But you know it’ll do you no good to try and reason with her.

You know the woman standing before you isn’t your Ei.

You don’t know where she’s gone.

That’s probably the only regret that you have.

You wish you could see her one last time.

You tell the Shogun that. That you wish to see the person you thought loved you. To talk to her one last time. Wouldn’t it be good for her too? To at least have some closure before it all ends.

Permanently.

Your request is denied.

You’re asked if you have any other last words.

You tell her to not punish Ayaka for any of this. The Shogun held a higher place in her heart than you ever did. It was your own scheming that convinced her that being with you was okay.

You plead for her safety.

Your request is granted.

You hear her voice one last time.

The change in intonation gives her away.

“Goodbye.”

A flash of light.

“I love you, Ei.” You whisper.

Then darkness.

Yae Miko:

It’s not fair.

You swear up and down that you’ve been nothing but a pathetic joke to her, and everything you’ve been made to do was entirely for her entertainment. Which isn’t fair at all.

But Yae Miko doesn’t play fair.

You’re just a pathetic human, chosen to amuse the greatest kitsune of all time.

Fuck that.

You’re not her doll to dress up.

You’re not her pet to do tricks.

You don’t belong to her.

So you leave.

She sends you home after deciding you’re being “too boring” today. You’re relieved and at the very least, you’re reassured knowing that one of her few weaknesses is boredom. If you simply do nothing, she’ll get bored of you and leave you alone.

But it shouldn’t matter what you do. Especially now, as you take your bags and head to the Ritou docks. She doesn’t deserve an explanation as to why you’re leaving. She doesn’t deserve to even know that you’re going.

But when you get there, your determined gaze turns to shock. Fear and dread settle in your stomach, but anger gives you a hard front. You march down to the docks and decide that you’re going to ignore her.

You’re completely unsuccessful. How can you ignore her when she’s speaking to the captain of the ship you’re about to board? She’s very clearly about to stop this voyage altogether by influence alone. And when you try to walk past the two, she puts her arm out in front of you, effectively stopping you in your tracks as you’re caught by surprise.

“Please, my lady. The amount of resources and people invested in this trip! We must be allowed to leave.”

“Hm. Alright, how about a deal? This one here plans on going on this little trip of yours, correct? Let me keep them, and I’ll let the rest of you go on your merry way. Alright?”

You turn to her in horror and glance at the captain who refuses to look at you. You selfishly hope that she’ll fight for you to come with her, but when she agrees with Yae’s terms you don’t feel any surprise.

You glare up at the kitsune who smiles down at you in return.

“Perfect. Come along then, dear.”

You push her arm away from you before it latch on. You scowl at her and look at the captain again, who shakes her head silently.

Just great.

You turn heel and storm away. You're not giving up just yet. You're glad you didn't have to pay for everything up front. Only a small fee to reserve your seat. Compared to being stuck with Yae, it’s a minuscule loss.

You go across the docks to another captain who is clearly preparing to set sail, but before you can even say anything they shake their head and turn away.

Everyone went quiet when the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine stepped onto the wharf. They all slowly returned to their business, quietly talking among themselves, wondering why she was here. Everyone could hear her conversation with that captain. At least half of them curled in on themselves in fear, despite not being her targets. And they all looked when she referred to you. Instantly, silently agreeing to not come between you and her.

You could feel her suffocating presence behind you as she followed you around. You desperately approached each of the workers on the docs. The captains simply crossed their arms and shook their heads. The crew-mates were more jittery and would say some sorry excuse and scurry away.

"Are you done? You can't really believe you have any chance with these people now."

Your eye twitches and you clench your teeth. She's right. She's effectively cut you off in terms of leaving by ship from Ritou. The gossip about you and her will spread fast. No one will let you board their ship now. Not unless it's some oblivious foreigner who has a death wish and doesn't know what it means to stand against Guuji Yae.

You keep approaching people. You don't want to leave. If you start heading back, she'll start pushing you towards the shine. You won't be able to escape this time. The people in the city have seen you dragged around by Miko before. They see you as lucky. Lucky to be in her favor. Blessed to always be in her presence.

You consider throwing yourself in the ocean.

Yae decides she’s had enough of watching you desperately try to approach all the men and women on the docks. She’s barely managing to keep faking her amused face. When she learned about your plans to leave Inazuma, fury erupted inside of her and the kitsunetsuki flashed behind her.

How dare you.

Of course, she was confident that you wouldn’t actually be able to leave, not so long as she’s around. But the idea that you were trying so hard to get away from her, it maked her electro powers fly out of control. The day you leave her is the day you die. And now, here you are, trying her patience ever further.

It’s completely futile to try and get away. It’s like watching a child play a game of shogi against a grandmaster, they have no chance of winning, but the better of the two is entertaining them. But doing so is getting quite boring for her.

Time to speed things up.

She grabs your wrist from behind and squeezes just hard enough to bruise but not break your bone.

“Come now, little one, listen to reason. You’re so rash to go and make a decision like running away like this. Let’s go back to the shine and talk things through. I’m sure whatever problem you have I can help you solve.” She must look so kind for offering to help you like that.

You barely hold yourself back from smacking her.

You grit your teeth and speak low enough that the others can’t hear, though she’ll hear just fine being a kitsune and all. “You know damn well that you’re the problem. So unless you plan on exiting my life for good up at that shrine, I’m not going with you.” You give her the hardest glare you can muster, and almost lose it at what she does next.

“Ahaha~”

That damn laugh.

“Haha… that’s cute. You’re so cute,” she pinches your cheek, “but I can’t let you go. I’m hurt that you think I’m a problem. I don’t know what I could have possibly done wrong. Especially not to the point that you’d try something so drastic as this. Now let’s go.

You don’t have a choice.”

When did you ever have a choice with her?

Yae leads you through the streets and crowds of people. You drag your feet the whole time, trying to stop her. You take immense pleasure from seeing how angry she’s getting from all your resistance.

Yae Miko always gets what she wants, and right now she wants you.

You get to the base of the mountain where the stairs start, and when Yae’s grip falters for barely a moment you take that opportunity and rip yourself out of her grasp. Turning heel to run, only to be slammed in the back with an intense blast of electro that leaves you writhing on the ground. Of course, one second later a couple turns the corner and sees the guuji kneeling over your body. Once again Miko looks like the hero coming to the rescue. If only they knew it was her that did this to you.

She whispers in your ear, “don’t even try to run from me again,” she leans in closer, “or else I’ll break your legs. I’ll make sure you’ll never even think of defying me. As much I’ve enjoyed this little game of chase, I don’t intend to let you run wild like this forever. In fact, I don’t plan on letting you out of my sight again. Now, get up. Or would you prefer me to carry you?”

You twitch and shake but force yourself to get up, your legs almost collapsing under you if it weren’t for Miko catching you. You muster as much strength as you can to push her away. She just rolls her eyes and grabs onto your wrist again. You wince as she locks you in another bruising grip. Once again, she’s dragging you around, only this time your attempts to resist hurt you more than her. You almost twist your ankles multiple times tripping up the stairs after you try to avoid climbing any higher.

Unfortunately for you, Yae is starting to enjoy this. She was annoyed before, but the moment she stepped onto the stairs leading to the shrine she instantly felt better. Not that she was actually worried about losing you.

You’re in her domain now.

She’s now the rule maker of this game, the god of this realm. You don’t stand a chance.

You never did.

She feels so much glee as she thinks about how pathetically helpless you are. She thinks about all the different ways she can punish you. Maybe she won’t wait like she said she would and just break your legs. Or maybe she’ll put a collar on you and chain you to the wall in her room. Or maybe…

You look over to see a wicked smile growing on your captor’s face. Dread lumps in your stomach and only swells when she makes eye contact with you.

The perfect punishment.

Fitting for the ultimate rule maker and final rule breaker.

You barely step onto the wooden boards of the shine before you feel the hairs on the back of your neck rising and your vision goes black.

Yae Miko hates to do so much work, but it’s worth it to carry your body through the shine. At least she gets to bask in the glory of looking like a saint. But still, she’d much rather have you awake when she has you helpless. It would be far more entertaining.

She carries you to her quarters and sets you down on the tatami mats. She’ll start the preparations immediately, but first, she has to make sure you won’t be able to get away before then.

When you try to step out into the hallway to make your escape you’re met with an electric shock that almost knocks you unconscious again. You try to crawl away only to be met with more electricity, and worse, the end of your chain. You couldn’t even force the chain off your ankle when you were stuck in her room. Now, you barely manage to claw yourself back through the door, where it finally stops. You feel like your entire body has been fried. Your head feels heavy. All of the electro must have damaged your nerves because you don’t even register any pain from when you let your head drop and hit the floor. You do, however, wince when you hear that rotten laugh.

“Goodness. You really shouldn’t have done that. Not when you're about to play again I've prepared for you,” she lifts you by the roots of your hair, “and you’re going to be at a disadvantage with how weak you’ve made yourself.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Yae flashes a smile. You feel it this time when she slams your face into the floorboards. You also feel it when blood starts dripping and running down from your nose to your lips.

“You really shouldn’t be provoking me like this. If you push me even more I’ll have to cancel the game I set up. You don’t want that now do you?”

“I’m not going to play your stupid game.”

“Oh yes you are~ After all, if you win, I’ll let you leave.”

“Bullshit.”

Miko throws her head back and laughs again. You can’t help but wonder what she’s got planned. She likes to toy with you, she’s probably just bluffing to get your hopes up.

You want to slap that stupid smile off her face.

“Don’t be so unreasonable. When have I ever lied to you?”

You’re going to strangle her.

“I’m being serious. I’ve set up a fun little game for us to play, and if you win, I’ll let you go free. You can stay on the island or leave and I’ll never bother you again.”

That’s too good to be true.

“But if I win,” she swipes some of your blood and licks it off her finger, “you’ll be stuck with me for the rest of your life.”

There it is. There’s always a catch with her.

“And if you don’t play, then I win by default.

So what will it be? Why don’t you make it easier on yourself and give up right now?”

She’s baiting you.

“Fine. I’ll play. What are the rules?”

There’s no way she hasn’t rigged this.

Yae claps her hands and smiles wide. She knew you’d choose to play. She sees that hopeful look in your eyes.

Oh how she’ll enjoy crushing it.

“It’s simple. We’re going to play a game of cat and mouse. You run away, and I'll chase after you. If you can avoid me for more than an hour after I start chasing after you, then I’ll let you go. Simple as that. I’ll even give you a longer head start because of…” she glances at the door, “what you already did to yourself.”

“You’re the one who set up that trap.”

“And you’re the one who stubbornly kept going.” She stands up and tosses a handkerchief onto your head. “Now clean yourself up. I don’t need you dripping blood down the halls too.”

For once you don’t argue. You’re already thinking of how you’re going to avoid her for the next hour.

You can do that. You’ve done it before. It won’t be that difficult to do it again. And you’re pretty sure Miko will keep her word. She likes to play with high stakes. Though… she only plays games she knows she’ll win.

It doesn’t matter. Your freedom and future depend on you winning this game. Depend on you shoving Yae’s arrogance in her face and showing her that she’s not all powerful like she thinks she is.

She guides you down the winding halls and outside. You descend the staircase and you realize how dark it actually is. Dammit. Why did it have to be on a night with a new moon? It’s hard to see. This may actually be more difficult than you thought it would. It doesn’t matter. You’ll win.

You have to.

“Now then,” Yae says as her heels touch the bottom of the stairs. “Scurry away little mouse. I’ll come find you in, hm… let’s say, ten minutes?”

“Make it twenty.”

“Fifteen minutes. I’m starting count now.”

It’s just like her to barely negotiate. Still, fifteen is better than ten. You turn heel and run. You know she’s looking as she watches you leave, so you try to trick her into thinking you’re going into the forest but instead you intend to work your way around so you can get into the city. It’ll chew into your time, but if you can set this up right, then you won’t have to even move for the remaining hour. Just like before.

You dash your way through the forest and the thought occurs to you that you might just be leaving a trail behind. Ugh. It’s fine. The city doesn’t have leaves for you to crunch through and leave prints on. You do have to jump pretty far to avoid getting wet in the river though. Which takes a lot of effort because of how weak your muscles feel. The electric shock has taken its toll on you. The adrenaline carries you across, thankfully.

You make it into the city and bolt for Shimura restaurant. You’re worried that you wasted too much time going through the forest. You’re sure Yae’s already stopped counting.

You run faster.

You awkwardly scramble and manage to climb up onto the roof. You duck behind the sign but then reconsider and jump up onto the higher roof and hide behind the tower. Now, if she comes around you can move so that you can hide from all angles. And if worst comes to worst, you can jump down and run in the opposite direction. Either in and through the city or down onto the grassy hill behind the restaurant.

You let yourself relax a bit after waiting for 15 minutes. You’re still terrified, but if your heart keeps racing so fast, you may die from the palpitations alone. You only get to enjoy the relaxation for a minute before you see it.

No way.

A large, glowing, nine-tailed fox comes prowling up the steps into this half of the city.

That bitch.

She never said it was against the rules to use her powers but still! This was supposed to be a game of cat and mouse not sharks and shrimps. And of course it looks directly at your hiding spot as soon as it stands in front of the restaurant. You swear it’s smiling as it starts to approach.

Thankfully, your body reacts faster than your mind as the next thing you know you’re sprinting down the grassy hill. You can hear it chasing after you.

Shit!

The rising land in front of you is going to make you pick a path. The moment she sees which direction you go, Yae’ll be able to jump and over and cut you off. And it won’t be an option to turn around, it’ll take too long. You have a terrible feeling this isn’t going to end well. But you have to press on.

You run along the cliff to the left and as expected, the fox leaps over to cut you off on the left side. Thankfully, it lands far enough away that you make it to a point that you realize that you’re able to go back the other way. Of course this doesn’t mean victory in any sense, because as soon as you turn back to the left, the kitsune is vaulting over you and planting itself directly in your path again. It’ll go on like this until it manages to prowl close enough to snap you up in its jaws. The only reason it hasn’t yet is because if it jumps too close to the small cliff, it risks slamming into it altogether.

It stalks towards you, growling. You make a stupid decision. You turn heel, and it leaps onto the cliff right above you. But instead of running left or right you run directly away from it. Towards the ocean. Towards the edge of the real cliff. Towards your doom.

As they say, better to die in freedom than to live in bondage.

You leap into the air, and as soon as both your feet leave the ground you regret your decision. You don’t want to die.

You squeeze your eyes shut as the fear overwhelms you, and you start crying midair. You pray for someone to save you, and your prayers are answered quickly. The mighty kitsune hurls into you, and you instantly cling to its fur. It’s thanks to it that you land safely on the beach below.

You still don’t let go of it. Even when it’s turned back into your worst nightmare. Even while she taunts and teases you. You sob into her hair and she coos.

“My, my. What a stupid and reckless decision you just made darling. I think you owe me for saving your life, hm?”

You’re still crying as you shake your head against her back.

“No?” She tuts. “How ungrateful. Fine. How about I carry you back up there and throw you off the cliff again myself?”

You sob harder and shake your head furiously.

Yae manages to get you to let go and she holds wrists in the air so you can’t get away.

“Then stop being a brat. I won the game. I saved your life. Now I get to claim my prize. Now you’re in debt to me. Because I won, I already own you. So now what you’re going to do to repay me is: you’re going to entertain me. I’m going to keep you as my toy, and you’ll let me play with you as much as I want, however I want. Until you break. You don’t have a choice. Now, let’s go home. Okay precious?”

You hyperventilate. This is a fate worse than death. You can’t face it. Not right now. Not when your heart is about to burst from all that's happened tonight.

Miko sighs. She really hates having to carry you around so much. Oh well. You’re more pliable like this anyway. She leans you against her and transforms into her fox form, catching you on her back. She makes sure you’re secure before sprinting back to the shrine.

Time for the real fun to begin.

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