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I blink awake to see a face that Visions were created for. Yae Masako leans forward to press the back of her hand against my forehead, and her long, pink hair tickles my nose. She smells like lavender melon. My stomach growls.
“I was going to ask if you were feeling better, but it seems like your appetite has recovered enough. How’s your stamina?”
My headache is gone, but even though I’m still a little sniffly, I can’t let Masako down again. Did she spend the entire night taking care of me while I was ill? The blush on my face must be left over from my fever.
“Breakfast is ready for you. I made Rice Cake Soup.”
“Yay, Rice Cake Soup!” It’s one of my favorite foods, second only to the Butter Crab that Masako made for me as a treat. I feel like I’m being spoiled by Masako, or maybe she’s always been this good at looking after me.
The Guuji Yae Masako has many responsibilities. Aside from being clever and beautiful, she also manages things at the Grand Narukami Shrine and, most importantly, takes care of me, the Raiden Shogun, as my servant and friend.
I could never complain about the troubles that Masako goes through for my sake. She is thoughtful and generous with both her time and effort, always ready with a plate of Tricolor Dango to lift my mood when I return to Tenshukaku. But, lately, Masako has been unusually accommodating.
Just yesterday, she’d prepared my favorite Butter Crab, and the day before, she came to visit me when I was practicing with my sword to cheer me on. She never nags, and even when she’s mad at me, Masako will still come by to cook for me with a smile.
That’s why today, I, the Almighty Shogun, will go on patrol.
It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I’d been dreading the patrol for months. Seeing the same deferential face on every citizen I met was exhausting, and when I tried to avoid their eyes, I almost thought they’d drop to their knees at my feet. But all I had to do was think about Masako’s face, and her beauty that inspires art and song, and I was able to make it through my day.
Sometimes I feel like the Guuji Yae Masako deserves more of this obedient reverence than I. It’s been a trying day, especially because my cold has not fully passed, and it only got worse when I got injured.
I was swinging my sword to fend off the Nobushi that I was supposed to be looking out for on patrol, but it was a lackluster performance because I didn’t have Masako nearby to clap for me. When an irresistible sniffle tickled my nose, I had to sneeze, and then a Kairagi caught me on my sword arm—ouch!
I can’t face Masako. Even when I try, I’m still hopeless. I wonder how upset she’ll be with me when I come back hurt.
There’s not long for me to wonder because Masako is waiting for me with my usual welcome-home snack. “What’s this? You went on patrol today?”
Thinking of Masako’s lovely face helped me when I went outside today, but now that she stands in front of me, I suddenly can’t bring myself to look at her, either. Somehow, I’m no longer in the mood for a snack.
I don’t know when she notices the blood on my sleeve, but she stops me from slipping by with a light hand on my shoulder. “Allow me to tend to your wound. It’s my fault that you went out and got hurt, after all.” There’s not a trace of judgment to be heard in Masako’s voice.
The Almighty Shogun is invincible, but even the invincible Almighty Shogun is not entirely invulnerable. Masako tenderly bandages my arm and refuses to let me out of her sight.
Masako is powerful and influential as the Guuji of the shrine, and yet, she insists on staying by my side to feed me so that my injured arm can rest. Part of me feels like I am being reprimanded for my recklessness, but the rest of me is guilty and grateful to be relying on Masako once again.
Since Masako insists that I rest, I attempt to read my new book, the sequel to "Shogun Almighty: Reborn as Raiden With Unlimited Power” that I’ve been looking forward to, but I’m unable to lift or hold it. When Masako swoops down and takes the book away, I think for a second that Masako is mad at me and is punishing me for being an accident-prone Shogun, even if I was just trying my best not to be seen as a slacker this time.
But then Masako slides into bed behind me to hold my book out for me. Her front is pressed against my back . . . and each twitch of her fluffy fox ears brushes the side of my head when I lean back to rest on her shoulder.
“Masako . . . ?” Yae Masako is brilliant and insightful. She knows my needs better than I do, but she’s never tended to me like this before.
“The faster your arm heals, the sooner you can return to work. Allow me.” Masako’s warm breath ghosts across my cheek. She’s close enough that I can almost imagine her heartbea
“What, like this?” Strong arms encircled Miko’s waist, and she jumped, dropping the manuscript. A warm, solid body pressed against her back for a moment before she heard a hum in her ear. “I feel like that’s a stretch of the imagination.”
“Ei!” Miko twisted in her grasp. “It’s fiction. It’s not supposed to be—”
When Miko turned far enough to face her, Ei let her go, taking a step back to regard her with a smile. Miko’s ears flattened against her head but she stubbornly held Ei’s gaze even as an unwelcome warmth crept up the back of her neck.
“It’s fiction,” she repeated, stone-faced and blushing.
“‘Beauty that inspires art and song.’ There appears to be more truth to your fiction than you’re letting on,” Ei teased with bright eyes.
Unwilling to be caught off guard for long, Miko smirked. “Is that your way of telling me that you’ll enjoy being told ‘good girl,’ Almighty Shogun?”
As if on cue, Ei’s ears went red. She cleared her throat, gaze flitting away, and protested weakly, “M-Miko!”
Miko shrugged as she took a bold step forward into Ei’s personal space. “I’ll do it,” Miko said, her grin widening as Ei blinked down at her. Miko lowered her voice to a whisper when her lips reached a flushed ear. “But only if you say ‘pretty please.’”