(❀)
Part five,
" 의사와 교활한 여우 "
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While the traveling doctor was busy dealing with the situation with Kunikuzushi, the Murasaki cough had gotten worse. It wasn't quite life-threatening before, but the symptoms had suddenly begun to get worse. Even greater, the previous remedy used for it was no longer in effect. At least, not as efficiently as before. The only explainable reason for this was that the disease had become a mutant over time as it overcame the antidote used for it.
All the villages she had tended to in the past popped up in her mind these days. Due to her occupation, she wasn't one to hold grudges for long, but vowed to herself merely a year ago to never forgive the shogun for what he has done. Now that shogun just so happened to be Kabukimono of anyone he could've been, Y/n no longer knew how to feel. Resentment? Confusion? Relief?
She felt everything at once, at the same time felt like an empty bowl that the ingredients all flew out of while stirring up a disaster of emotions.
The promise made with the kids of Konda stood fresh. It was a small village, but everyone seemed to know each other like family. As much as she wished to sneak away and see them again.. Chances of a fox suddenly growing wings and flying up was more likely than the shogun letting his reunited friend step a foot out there.
Ever since waking up, that man was everywhere. And by that, everywhere. Taking a stroll in the garden? He's sitting by the benches, staring at her. In the library to grab a light novel? He's holding a book in his hand, but his eyes are on a certain someone, burning wholes into her instead. When Y/n confronted Kunikuzushi about this, he gave her an eye roll and a "You're delusional."
Talk about delusions.
Even bedtime didn't seem to be completely seperated from him. Kunikuzushi's constant nightmares woke him up in early mornings, and this devil refused to be the only one sulking from lack of sleep. It wasn't of rare occurence for him to waltz over to her chambers and wake her to read with him.
Don't misunderstand this. Y/n loved books and reading light novels. But Kunikuzushi may just be the first person to change that. Still, everyone else serving at the palace seemed to be grateful for the doctor's arrival which drastically changed their shogunate within days. Lucky are they, not needing to deal with his grumpy early-morning self nearly every day. Nor having to experience heart attacks whenever spotting tufts of blue hair everywhere within the span sunrise to the next sunrise.
When not spending time treating patients around the palace or talking with Kunikuzushi, gossiping with the maids became a hobby of hers. They filled her in with all the juicy drama going on in the mighty Tenshukaku- about the rumors of the two shogunate soldiers posted by the gates secretly dating, the tree near the garden once being used as support for intimate actions by a pair of drunk lovers once during an event...(?) It was truely a mystery of how they manage to get their hands on these rumors.
In return for them filling her in, Y/n gave them..... Dating advices. She seriously wondered at first when you got so skilled at romance related subjects. (Before remembering all the- "heavy romance" novels she enjoyed reading in the past.)
Speaking of, she was currently enjoying some time alone in the royal library. Except this time her stalker wasn't present. She had managed to ditch the guard who was seemingly in charge of following herself around, before sneaking into a random door that just so happened to be filled with books. Honestly, even Kunikuzushi, who stuck out like a bolt of thunder in the night sky did a better job at stalking her than that guard. The said shogun was having a meeting with some generals, so Y/n assumed that guard was ordered to tag around. Anyhow, this was a very much deserved personal and alone time.
The door suddenly opened, making her flinch and almost drop the book. Ready to accept fate and face the wrath of a certian indigo haired male, Y/n sighed and turned around. But his hair was pink..?
"I had a gut feeling you would be here. Pleasure to finally meet you, the name is Guuji Yae Miko."
None other than the retired shogun's wife, the former head shrine maiden of the grand Narukami shrine. She was known for her sly nature and sharp tongue, often picking fights with the current shogun.
"The pleasure is all mine, my lady. I am L/-"
"L/n Y/n, I already know. You are quite the hotspot of this tiny nation as we're speaking."
Stepping closer to herself, the kitsune descendant bent down to her level and smirked. A faint trace of sakura came into the doctor's senses that were still sharpened from tensing up when Yae Miko first made her entry. "Quite the eye candy, I dare to say. No wonder you even caught the interest of the Raiden Kunikuzushi himself~"
Taken back surprise by her boldness, the doctor slowly began inching away towards the nearest bookshelf. The Guuji followed along like a fox stalking its prey, a grin on her sharp complexions. "I've always wanted to speak to you personally, but that tanuki-sized brat seems to be by your side like some sort of leech at all times." Gripping her chin lightly and turning it side to side for a better view, Yae stared directly into the doctor's widened eyes.
Face flushed, Y/n wanted to shrink into the ground right then and there. Miko merely chuckled in amusement before taking a seat nearby. When not teasing, Yae was actually a surprisingly pleasent lady to talk to. Her cool tone and remarks felt refreshing in it's own way. Y/n soon learnt that she trailed both herself and the guard out of curiosity for a while until she lost sight of him. She was sure silent when following..
Turns out none other than lady Yae was the foundation for all the gossips and rumors within the maids. Y/n wasn't fazed one bit at what was likely supposed to be grand news. Despite only knowing her for less than a day, it didn't appear to be out of the Guuji's character to drop those wild stories around for her own amusement. The two of the. talked about preferences in light novels for a while, and discovered that they both had many in common.
Both loved romance-based fiction with heavy drama that left readers on edge until the very end. She even owned a publishing house in the city..! Time flew by like an arrow while chatting about reccomendations and favourite authors.
For the first time in a while, Y/n relaxed and mindlessly talked about different books with Yae Miko. While she was enjoying her life..
On the other side of Tenshukaku, everyone else was forced to face the uncensored wrath of the one who was throwing an entire kabuki theatre while looking for her. Kazuha was given front row seat to Kunikuzushi's unsheathed fury towards the soldier who was once meant to watch over the doctor, who was shaking on the ground and cherishing his last moments on Teyvat. The fact that the said person haden't been killed off yet was more surprising than the rest of the situation. There were already around hundreds of men searching for the said doctor, who were all failing almost comedically miserably.
I assume you know what kinds of words our dear shogun would be spitting at the poor soldier right now? You're likely correct with your assumption. Such vulgar and ugly words from such beautiful mouth.
Rubbing his temple in distress, Kunikuzushi clenched his teeth in frustration. That girl mysteriously disappears off somewhere in this gigantic prison, and the Guuji oh so conveniently is also nowhere to be seen at the moment. Ei merely believed her spouse to be on a walk or talking with the maids somewhere, so she let her son deal with the unfolding events. At least that's what she told her attendants.
Ei wasn't that blind of this whole ordeal. She almost knew for sure that Yae used this opportunity to harass the poor girl. (Which the past shogun herself was a great victim of.)
Mentally sending the latter a good luck, Ei continued her afternoon meditation. All while being perfectly aware of all the ruckus unfolding out the doors.
"Your majesty. Lady Guuji and doctor was found by the west corridors not long ago."
Finally giving the poor soldier a break from his degrading comments, Kunikuzushi snapped his head towards the new figure. The guard who shortly arrived nearly wet his pants at the shogun's beyond pissed expression. "West corridors.. That's where the small library is. Are you fools telling me no one checked in there all along? Go after them!" He barked with gritted teeth.
The man bowed quickly and ran off to join the others in the search.
It seemed that Kunikuzushi was destined to search her for an eternity, while the doctor was fated to run for infinity.
"You crossed the lines this time, Miko." He sneered to himself quietly, ruffling his indigo locks.
Kunikuzushi was a selfish man who didn't enjoy sharing, and despised losing.
And losing what he had to someone else?
Following the previous soldier, the shogun began running towards the direction he was informed of.
Yae popped her head up. Confirming the clear path, she grabbed her companion's hand to help her up from behind the pot of the bonsai tree. The sight of panicked people and an upset Kunikuzushi made Y/n feel the guilt for her actions crawl up her spine, but Miko seemed otherwise. "Come on, they think we're still around the library. Let us make haste." She whisper-shouted ahead.
Jogging through the huge hallways, Y/n looked around their surroundings nervously. "Are you positive this is worth it? Everyone seems so worried, I feel bad.."
Being completely honest, she doubted from the beginning that Kunikuzushi's aftermath fury would hardly be worth the short thrill of playing tag.
Pausing to take a glance at the doctor's direction, the kitsune smirked once again in responce. Continuing to get moving, Yae spoke up at last.
"What do you think? It is such a rare occasion to see the emperor himself so out of character." She bent down near another decoration, pulling Y/n along with her. "Although I do find your amount of personal space around him amusing, he does need to know what is healthy and what is not."
Feeling somewhat touched, Y/n's gaze looked drifted down her plain hakama. But Miko's next words nearly made her take back the feeling she birthed before.
"Plus, I kind of really wanted to see his reaction."
Making a 'really?' expression, Y/n shook her head at the Guuji's true intentions that were now under the spotlight. But now she was even more worried for her future self. This felt as though she was gambling her life with the devil itself... But at what cost? Not that Yae had much to lose, but Y/n's head was in Kunikuzushi's hand as long as she was in Inazuma.
The kitsune and the doctor navigated through the palace, often hiding in conveniently placed rooms before taking off once more. Yae seemed to know this place like the back of her hand- thankfully. Perhaps she should ask for a map of the interiors of the Tenshukaku one day for the sake of not getting lost for half a day by a single wrong turn.
"Fufu~ It seems that we're far enough from those soldiers. Hm?" Pausing, Miko softly furrowed her brows in concentration. Y/n held her breath so she could focus better. Yae's eyes narrowed before opening a door nearby and dragging her company inside. Puzzled, the doctor raised an eyebrow at the said woman, but she simply put her index finger to her mouth. Motioning for the latter to hide, the female winked and walked out the door.
Roaming along the halls for a few moments, a familiar face greeted the Guuji from a corner nearby.
"Miko." A slightly deeper voice demanded, his gaze piercing into hers without hesitation. "What is the meaning of this." Putting her hand up to her mouth, Yae covered her dry chuckle. Scaramouche glared daggers into the lady in front of him. "Not even a proper greeting? Good afternoon to you too, almighty shogun."
Multiple irk marks formed on his head. Today of all the week was the last day he wanted to face the damned fox. Finding the younger's fury rather amusing, Yae threw him another sly grin.
"What, fox caught your tongue? After all-"
"Cut it out, Yae. Where is she."
It was a tiring enough day already. Kunikuzushi had to set up a meeting with the generals of the palace for a meeting about the lockdown of Inazuma. Most were too afraid to do anything else than agree and nod at the shogun's words. Nevertheless, he was perfectly pissed at having to make all the ideas and lead the meeting from beginning to end. Well, not that he would accept any suggestions from others in the first place anyway. But the point stood.
The Guuji tilted her head innocently with a cheeky closed eye smile. Seeing him getting so worked up over one person was a new source of entertainment. "Hm.. Oh yes, the doctor who came in recently. Am I correct.?" Tapping his footwear impatiently, the shogun crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the kitsune.
"Perhaps I saw her, perhaps I didn't. Why, is someone jealous? L/n is quite the beauty, I don't blame you one bit." This was a non-calculated gamble Yae had the short side to. But she wouldn't let this fine, fine opportunity to go to waste. Kunikuzushi was not even a hair's width away from running at the woman right this moment.
creeeak
That was until the door quietly opened by a certain someone who wasn't able to read the room due to the closed entrance.
"Miko? Is everything alr-"
It turns out kitsunes are much faster than she thought. In a flash, Miko grabbed caught Y/n's wrist in her cold hand before taking off running. There was barely any time to process what was going on.
This situation felt like a major dèja vu..
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A/n sorry it took a while to publish, I got caught up trying to whip up chaps for mechanism and notes 🙏
I almost cried and shriveled while cringing at my old mha drafts I thank the lord that i didn't publish back in 2020
2490 words