Chapter Text
Miko peers through the window from her seat, her eyes set on the driveway of the house next door.
It has been devoid of life in the last couple of years, the family that had once occupied it having moved away to some bigger city some time after the war had ceased, and so did many other people. With the war coming to an end, the others felt much safer to move on and indulge in bigger and better things.
But Miko did not share the same privilege. She could not leave so easily. Left with no choice but to stay.
Today, there is a woman standing at the driveway of the neighboring home, her arms straining under the weight of the 3 cardboard boxes she cradled against her chest, their lids open and the contents threatening to spill out onto the concrete below with every step the woman took.
The woman was one of, if not the tallest woman Miko has seen in her lifetime. She is also lean, and quite young, her hair, a deep violet, spilling out from the loose short ponytail and falling into her face, red and sweaty from the heat of the sun. The stranger breathes heavily, her shoulders rising and falling with each and every huff, and only when she’s a few feet away from the porch does she finally bend down and lower the boxes on the ground.
With that, the woman huffs through her lips, stretching and massaging her lower back with her now free hand, relief washing over her face. A few moments later, the woman finally trudges and disappears into the house.
Miko stares at the now empty driveway for a while longer, then shakes her head and returns to the novel she had been reading moments ago.
The afternoon is particularly uneventful. Miko finds herself leaning against the kitchen countertop, mindlessly staring at the open flame on the stove, waiting for the whistling of the kettle sitting atop.
There is no purpose in her actions, merely preferring the silent thrumming of the flame, preferring to do anything but to be left alone with her own thoughts in an already deafening silence. She’s had enough thinking in her lifetime.
The sound of the front door creaking open followed by a loud thud as it was shut breaks her away from her daze and has her reaching into a drawer where she kept a variety of knives and pulling out the biggest one of the bunch.
“Who’s there?” she calls out, gripping the knife tightly.
A pair of bright indigo eyes peek out from the side of the cased opening, widening in horror as they spot the sharp blade clutched in Miko’s hands.
“Woah, woah! It’s just me!” the intruder exclaims. Miko recognizes the voice and immediately loosens her grip on the knife with an exasperated sigh.
“Does no one know how to knock these days?”
“I told you I’d come to visit today!” Kokomi protests.
“Last time I checked, it was basic decency to knock before entering someone else’s h-”
“I brought you fried tofu.”
“Have I ever told you how much I enjoy your company?”
“Actually, n-”
“Be a dear, and go wait in the living room, please. I’ll bring you some tea.”
“I hate you.”
“You should start seeing other people and go out more often, you know?” Kokomi tells Miko as she sets down the tea tray on the table. She’s lost count of how many times she’d heard those set of words, but the young girl seems particularly determined to say them in her every visit.
“Oh, Kokomi, we both know I’ll spend the rest of my days rotting in this house,” Miko retorts.
“The fair is in two weeks! I don’t want to be a third-wheel for Gorou and Itto… again.” Kokomi grumbles grumpily, aggressively laying out all the food she’d brought with her.
Miko cannot help the chuckle that escapes her. The girl is a godsend, truly.
“So you want me to go with you instead?”
“It’s you or those two,” Kokomi says. “I love them and you can be insufferable, but they’re sickeningly sweet, and I would prefer it if I were to have someone else to suffer with. Plus, you used to help in officiating events like this back then, right? I could use some help. Preparation is starting in a few days.”
The words “used to” makes Miko’s stomach churn.
“And what do I get out of it?”
Kokomi shrugs. “Well, you get to see and maybe touch some grass?”
Miko snickers. “And if I say no?”
“I was planning on buying you whatever food you wanted for lunch until the fair ended, but if you don’t want it then-”
Miko gasps dramatically, a hand clasped against her chest, as if she’d just been offered the world’s greatest treasure. “Who am I to say no? Of course, I would love to go to the fair with you, Kokomi,” she says in an exaggerated manner.
Kokomi rolls her eyes comically. “Yeah yeah, definitely purely from the goodness of your heart,” the younger one grumbles. Miko only laughs at the display, earning herself an unamused glare from Kokomi.
“You know, there are new people moving into town for when I get sick of you,” Kokomi says.
The town they lived in is rather small. It was lively, beautiful, and they had no shortages of tourists coming by for a souvenir or two whenever there was an occasion, but there is no denying that it is quite small, a town where everyone pretty much knew everyone that lived in it. So of course, it is to no one’s surprise that word of a new face moving in spread around so quickly like a wildfire
“So I’ve heard, but who are you trying to fool? you could never even dream of replacing me.”
Kokomi abruptly pauses, squinting at Miko. “You actually keep up with what goes on in town?” she ponders, completely ignoring the other half of what Miko had said.
“You make it sound as if I live under a rock,” she huffed.
“You don’t?”
Miko makes a disgruntled noise. “They’re moving in next door, it’s not hard to miss.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yes, really.” Miko mutters, “just moved in this morning actually.”
At her words, Kokomi promptly pushes herself up from her seat, looking across the yard through the window and peering at the said house next door. Miko follows her gaze, drifting from the driveway and to the porch. The cardboard boxes that had been there this morning are now nowhere to be seen, she notes briefly before busying herself with pouring tea into their cups.
“That must be them! Look!” She hears Kokomi exclaim in the background, but Miko does not look, only chuckling at the excitement in the former’s voice.
“They’re both really pretty”—Kokomi lets out a soft gasp—“do you think I can get a date with either of them?”
Miko groans. “Have some shame, they’ve barely been here for a day.”
“You’re no fun.”
“I was quite fun back then, you know?” Miko retorts.
“Okay, hag.”
Miko approaches the door, keeping her footsteps light against the wooden panels—she’d been calling out Ei’s name for the umpteenth time; she wouldn’t be surprised if their neighbors were to file a noise complaint against her. Usually, her wife would be scurrying to her like a puppy at the first call, but much to her surprise, Ei hadn’t even responded at all.
Her hand tightly wraps around the knob, carefully twisting it, slowly loosening her grip when she could finally push the door open. She does so gradually in order to not make a noise.
The way that Ei is seated has Miko concerned for her wife’s spine. She had both of her feet on her desk, her back slouched against the backrest, a book held way above her head.
Miko wonders briefly what kind of abomination would be so comfortable while sitting in such a position.
Of course her adorably stupid wife would be the primary candidate. Miko chides herself for even asking.
Ei was still none the wiser to her presence—there’s nothing wrong with having a little fun, no?
She brings herself behind Ei, then leans down, bringing her lips dangerously close to Ei’s ear… and blows.
Ei practically throws the book across the room and lets out an honest to god squeak that Miko wasn’t even aware she was capable of making. She would’ve doubled over laughing if Ei wasn’t clinging onto her as if her life depended on it after very nearly falling on her ass.
As expected, Miko only watches the chaos ensue with barely contained laughter.
“Miko!” her red-faced wife exclaims indignantly, her voice abnormally high.
“Yes, darling?” She coos, not even bothering to hide the shit eating grin on her face.
“Knocking exists for a reason, Miko,” Ei scolds.
“And where’s the fun in that, hm?” Miko taunts, pressing a kiss on Ei’s cheek for good measure before maneuvering around to find the poor book Ei had haphazardly thrown.
“I-you… how long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough,” Miko mutters mischievously.
She disappears from Ei’s view for a moment, and resurfaces with the book held in her hands.
“Well, well… so this is what’s been keeping you so preoccupied.”
Ei’s eyes widen when she spots the novel. “Miko! I-I was just-”
Miko holds the book against Ei’s lips, cutting her off. “No need to be frightened,” she comforted, setting the book down on Ei’s lap. “It really is quite an interesting story, I don’t blame you for being so… engaged.”
“You’ve read it?”
“There’s only so much entertainment I can have without you here, dear,” Miko answers playfully.
An “oh” was all Ei could muster, as if completely dumbstruck, earning a chuckle from Miko.
It felt nice to see Ei be so flustered. It felt even better to know that only she could make Ei so empty-headed.
“Uhm, uh, did you need anything?” Ei says when she regains some semblance of composure.
“No, I just wanted to see what you were up to.”
Miko moves to seat herself atop Ei’s desk. “So”—she pulls the chair closer to her, along with Ei, who almost lets out another squeal as she holds onto the armrests for dear life— “Which part were you on?”
Ei eyes her suspiciously, clutching the book against her chest. She really did not want Miko near it.
“Why?”
Miko tilts her head, raising an eyebrow. “Why not?”
“But why?”
“It must be a really entertaining one if you were so handsomely focused on it, no?”
Ei looks at her in thought, blinks, then looks at the book in her hands, then back at Miko once again, unsure of what to do. “I was at the uhm… the uh-”
“Yes?” Miko demands in a sultry tone.
“T-The one in the uh… the office,” Ei tells her begrudgingly.
Ei already regrets answering. She could practically see the gears turning in her wife’s pretty little head, scheming against her.
Her description had been vague, but the rosy tint that painted her cheeks was enough for Miko to know exactly which scene Ei was talking about.
Conveniently, the stage was already set, the two of them were already in an office.
“I seem to have forgotten what happened in that chapter,” Miko wonders aloud, feigning innocence. “Would you mind reading it for me, darling?”
The request sounds reasonable enough. If it were anyone else, they would be none the wiser.
But Ei knows her. It’s a lie. Yae Miko, the love of her life, her beloved wife, has an excellent memory, if not perfect.
Ei would lose her head if it wasn’t attached, but Miko?
There was no way that Miko could have neglected something so easily, right? Right? Ei has seen her begrudgingly memorize and recite long paragraphs from boring academic textbooks, she couldn’t have forgotten a scene such as that one.
It’s bait.
Ei is more than willing to bite if it makes Miko happy.
“Masako leaned into the Shogun’s space, meeting her stormy amethyst eyes, holding her with an intense gaze, as if she was challenging her—daring the Shogun to stop her. The Shogun averts her eyes, but does not stop her. Masako watches the Shogun’s throat bob as she swallows, her breath hitching as Masako inched closer, invading her space, suffocating the Shogun in her presence.”
Ei stops for a breath, suddenly feeling hot. She could see in her peripheral vision how Miko was now leaning closer to her than she had been just moments ago—it had Ei’s stomach doing flips. Miko is watching her with such vigor, she could feel her mouth go dry.
She gulps.
“Warmth spread across the Shogun’s face as Masako’s hand slid under her chin.”
Just as Ei utters those words, she feels the soft pads of Miko’s fingers against her chin, softly caressing the skin there. Her breath hitches in her throat, and she barely manages to fight back the urge to swallow again, her heart pounding in her chest.
“Masako slowly tilts the Shogun’s face towards her, forcing their eyes to meet-”
“You’re cute when you’re all red and dumbed down, you know?” Miko husks, word for word.
Just as the novel had narrated, Miko leans in, her eyes drifting close as she claims Ei’s lips with her own. Strong arms wrap around her back, pulling her even closer until she’s sitting on her wife’s lap.
When she pulls back, she could not help the grin that spreads across her face, amused and absolutely delighted at the sight of Ei in a daze, looking at her with wide eyes filled with awe. Ei looked almost as if they hadn’t done this before, as if she was falling in love with Miko all over again.
Miko leans in once more, leaving another peck on Ei’s lips, a final blow to her already melting mind. Miko only laughs as her wife is rendered practically useless, opting to plant her face against Miko’s shoulder in embarrassment.
They stay in the embrace for some time, simply basking in each other’s presence. They part when Miko mentions a store that had recently opened up, selling something called “dango milk” which has Ei wide-eyed and shoving Miko off her lap—as politely she could—so they could go dress up and head out to see the store for themselves.
“You never told me what was in there,” Kokomi muses, her curious gaze pointing down the hall.
“In where?”
“There.” Kokomi nods to its direction. “That room at the end of the hall?”
It is the only room she hasn’t let Kokomi into, it was only natural that it piqued her interest, but even Miko herself could not bear to step foot into it, even just looking at it made her heart ache with longing, drowning her with it.
She shakes her head. “Just a storage room for things from way back, nothing important really.”
“If it’s nothing important then why still keep it?”
Oh, Kokomi…
Even if she could burn it down—burn it all down and leave it all behind—she still wouldn’t. She’d have to burn herself with it.
“Reasons.” Miko shrugs nonchalantly. “Potato, po-tah-to. Really, it’s nothing to be concerned about,” she says in the most dismissive tone as she could. If Kokomi thinks she’s full of shit, she certainly doesn’t say anything.
“What is concerning is that it’s getting late, and perhaps it is best if you head home,” she quickly redirected the subject
Kokomi glances out the window, and finds that it indeed was getting late, the sun already setting in the horizon.
“Oh, right, I should get going!” Kokomi stood, beginning to pack her things into her satchel.
“Do you need a ride?”
“No, no,” Kokomi shook her head, slinging the strap of the bag over one shoulder, “Gorou let me borrow his car, thanks for asking though.”
“Alright then, drive safe, dear.”
“I will!” Kokomi smiles at her in reassurance before heading out to the door.
As she’s just a foot away from the door, she opens the door, but does not step out just yet, simply holding it open.
“What I said about seeing other people… please do think about it, Yae,” Kokomi says to her, genuine concern in her voice. She steps out and shuts the door before Miko could even answer.
The answer has always been—and will always be—a firm no. And Kokomi already knew that.
Kokomi means well, Miko knows. But she also knows she could never untangle herself from the chains of their past. She has tried, tried to forget their vows to each other.
She couldn’t.
She wouldn’t.
Before she goes to sleep that night, she flashes the porch light three times, and heads to sleep on the couch, as she always has on lonely nights for as long as she could remember, those nights spent waiting, and waiting, and waiting. The couch is comfortable. The bed is far too big, far too cold for only one person to sleep on it.
Miko’s eyes are closed, and she’s breathing deeply, her head resting on a pillow laid against one of the couch’s arms, her mouth slightly parted, releasing soft puffs of air as she slumbered. She held an open book against her chest, her glasses lying askew on her face.
Ei’s heart flutters when she realizes that her wife must have fallen asleep while waiting for her. Half of her feels bad for keeping Miko waiting, but the sentiment has her other half feeling giddy and warm. She makes a mental note to make it up to her wife in the morning.
Quietly, she sauntered over to Miko’s sleeping figure on the couch, crouching down next to her. She reaches a hand out and gently takes off Miko’s glasses, folding it then setting it down on the coffee table beside her. Her fingers softly combed through Miko’s hair, smoothing it back from her face.
Miko’s eyes flutter open at the touch, her bleary purple eyes staring at Ei.
The room is dark, but the moonlight shines upon Miko’s figure softly, highlighting her in silver, giving her an ethereal glow. Ei has seen nothing more beautiful.
Ei smiles when those purple eyes widen, seeming to finally recognize her.
“Hi,” Ei greets.
“You’re home.”
“I’m home.”
“Hi.”
Ei laughs softly as Miko lets out a yawn, stretching like a cat.
“Come on, Miko, let’s get you to bed.”
“Mmh, kay,” Miko mumbles sleepily.
Ei stands, then slips her arms under Miko, carefully lifting her off the couch. Miko grumbles sleepily, nuzzling into the crook of Ei’s neck. Ei smiles fondly, pressing a soft kiss on her wife’s forehead as they make their way to the bedroom. She nudges the door open with her foot, then cautiously maneuvers them into the room and towards the bed.
Slowly, Ei lowers Miko onto the bed, or well, tries to anyway.
Despite how sleepy Miko seemed to be, her hand stubbornly managed to keep a tight grip on Ei’s collar, unwilling to release it.
“Miko, let go.”
Miko does not listen, if anything, her grip only tightens, and even pulls in Ei closer to her.
Ei chuckles. “Honey, I have to get changed.”
Miko lets out a whine, refusing to let her go.
After a solid minute, Ei only sighs in resignation, always one to give in to Miko so easily, kicking off her boots before climbing onto the bed with Miko, pulling up the blanket over both of them, snuggling into her wife’s embrace. When Ei glances at Miko, she simply scoffs in amusement at the smug grin plastered onto Miko’s face.
The sound of rain tapping against the window wakes Miko from her slumber. She rubs at her eyes with the back of her hand. She feels… warm. A good kind of warm. She lays there for a moment longer, basking in the warmth as she let the haze slip away from her mind. A part of her was tempted to simply close her eyes and go back to sleep but-
The haze slips.
Soft hair, warm skin, amethyst eyes.
Miko lurches upright, suddenly more awake than ever, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She frantically looks around, eyes wide open, searching for… her.
In the very back of her mind, she knew that she would not find what she was looking for, but logic was not usually at the forefront of Miko’s mind when it came to her. Miko’s addled mind still insisted that she was here.
She was here.
She’s not here. She’s not here. Miko repeats in her head, an attempt to calm her mind.
She’s not here. Not anymore.
It was just a dream.
She’s not here.
Miko closes her eyes, breathing in deeply. a shiver runs down her spine when she exhales.
It was just a dream. A dream of a memory from a long time ago to be exact. From a happier time. A time before she… disappeared.
That’s all it is.
Longing grips at her heart, squeezing it. Miko feels as if her heart might burst.
She breathes. In, then out. In, then out.
Each and every one of her memories were a sharp-pointed dagger. There is no place in her memories that she could touch without bleeding. Everywhere she looked, there she was.
This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.
But it is. And she has no choice but to live with it.
The sun has fully risen when Miko manages to pull herself off of the couch. She fluffs her pillow, setting it aside on the couch, taking her time in meticulously folding the blanket, anything to detach her from her thoughts. She folds, unfolds, and folds again, and again, until the corners align perfectly with each other, until there is no longer room for mistakes, then settles it atop the pillow in a neat pile.
She heads to the kitchen, grabbing the kettle and filling it up with water from the sink, she settles it atop the stove, fire erupting from it as she turns the knob. She adjusts the flame appropriately, then waits for it to boil.
When it does, she brews herself a pot of coffee. Afterwards, she proceeds to do just about anything to keep her mind off any dangerous thoughts.
She cleans the entire house from top to bottom, leaving no stone unturned.
(She cleans almost the entire house. She strays from their once shared bedroom, as well as the office. She still kept their bedroom neat every now and then as she still had most of her belongings stored there, but she did not dare to imagine the state of the office. She has not been able to hold herself together for long enough to step foot into it. The mere thought of it made her chest painfully tight.)
She moves the furniture around, sweeping and scrubbing the floors until they are squeaky clean before moving them back to their respective places. She wipes the windows until they are crystal clear, cleans every table, every shelf, every surface she could get her hands on until she is sure there is barely any speck of dust left, until her hands are red, and raw from cleaning, sweat dripping from her face.
A glance at the clock reveals that she’d been cleaning for the better part of the day. 1:43 PM, the clock read. The amount of time she spent cleaning was better emphasized by the sudden loud rumbling of her stomach.
She ignores it, opting to head to the bathroom and take a shower first, feeling more filthy from all the cleaning than hungry.
She sheds her clothes, haphazardly tossing them on the hamper then steps into the shower.
The cold water numbs everything but her grief.
Miko was in the process of thoroughly drying her hair in the living room when a set of knocks sounded from the door, interrupting her activities. She frowns. She wasn’t expecting anyone today, and she was, quite frankly, in a sour mood. Socializing wasn’t particularly appealing at the moment.
She’s tempted to simply ignore it, however-
“Miko!” the person outside called out, knocking more furiously. “I know you’re in there!”
Miko perks up at the sound of the voice. It wasn’t her. But it was a welcome presence either way. She gets up, heading towards the door.
There were really only two other people who called her by her first name. Another pair of twins, ironically.
“Ah, Lumine, you didn’t miss me too much, did you?” Miko greeted.
The girl makes a face, repulsed. “You wish.”
Lumine takes them both downtown on her clunky, yellow Volkswagen type 1. The worrying sounds the car made had Miko wary for her own life despite Lumine’s reassurances. It’s a wonder how the twins managed to survive on the old thing, it was practically a metal coffin with wheels, but the two have always been… an odd pair.
“Miko~ hellooo?”
“Teyvat to Yae Miko?”
She spots movement at the corner of her vision.
“If you value your hand, I suggest you keep them away from my plate," Miko threatens casually, swatting away Lumine's hand.
The Traveler only laughs at her words, having already gotten used to her antics. “Thought you fell asleep there for a sec, gran.”
“I may be getting older, but I’m not that old.” Miko scoffed.
“Yet.”
“Did you come all the way here just to be a pest?”
“Actually…”
“Actually what?”
“The library.”
“What about the library?”
“Aether and I are doing some research about… the cataclysm.”
It takes everything in Miko to restrain her expression from falling. Perhaps letting slip a twitch of an eye or a slight quirk on her lips, but if Lumine ever noticed, she doesn’t say anything, only continuing on with her narrative.
“We went to Katheryne, but she said that all records of it are-”
“Stored in the restricted section, and only I know how to unlock it.”
“Yeah! That’s exactly what Katheryne said.”
“Well, I hate to disappoint you…”
“But?”
“I lost the key to it quite a long time ago. I could find a keysmith but it would take quite a while.” The restricted section was, as the name states, restricted. Access to it wasn’t through a simple or common lock and key.
Miko would know. Afterall, she had watched her engineer it herself.
“However, if it’s Khaenri’ah that you’re particularly interested in, I do recall that I took the records back home. I was afraid they would be neglected in my absence.”
“That sounds illegal.”
“What Katheryne doesn’t know won’t hurt-”
A streak of purple passes the corner of her eyes, but it disappears at the edge of the window frame as soon as she turns her head to it.
She could almost swear it was-
“Miko?”
Lumine's concerned voice drags her back to reality.
“I… If you’d like, you can take a look back home.”
Concern was still plastered all over Lumine’s face, but Miko is glad that she does not poke further.
“Actually, I have somewhere to be for the next two days,” the traveler says instead. “Do you mind if I drop by at a later time?”
“Well, It’s not like I go anywhere these days. You can stop by whenever.”
Lumine beams at her. “I owe you.”
“Damn right, you do.” Miko laughed.
“Fried tofu?”
“Unfortunately, Kokomi has already beat you to it. I’ll save your IOU for… rainy days.”
“Alright then, you know my number.”
Miko notes how Lumine’s eyes seemed to avoid hers, how she was lightly drumming her fingers against the table. She’s nervous.
“Something on your mind?”
The traveler stares blankly at the table in thought, seeming to hesitate.
“I heard that… the fair is a few weeks, right?”
“Planning to see it for yourself?”
“Is it… is it true that Ayaka will be in town?”
Ah.
“If memory serves right, she usually comes around this time of the year,” Miko answers. “To see the fireworks show specifically.”
A frown crosses Lumine’s face, but it’s immediately masked by some semblance of indifference, but try as she might, Miko could still see the clear disappointment behind the traveler’s facade.
“Troubles of the heart?” Miko queries.
“No…” Lumine shook her head. “Just curious.”
Miko knows it’s a lie, but she does not dare to pry. If Lumine wanted to talk about it, she would.
Instead, the two carry on with their meal, simply chatting about events that have happened in the last couple of months, like how the travelers had gotten themselves stuck at the bottom of a mine, among other unbelievable feats. Lumine’s stories have her wondering how in the hell the two siblings were still in one piece.
After much time has passed, Lumine pays for them both and bids Miko goodbye as she heads out. However, Miko did not feel like going home just yet, her gaze stuck on the same window pane that she had seen the figure pass by earlier.
She could pretend she doesn't know why her heart feels as if it’s tied to heavy weight, but for a moment, she could swear that she saw those purple eyes. It was foolish to wait, much more to wait for someone who has died long ago.
Yet she finds herself staring distantly at the window, staring until the sky has already turned dull, hoping to see… something, anything.
Hoping to see her.
Miko understood now why people write so much about other worlds. Other universes. Other possibilities.
Perhaps, in another world, in another life, she would be sitting across the table, telling Miko about how she managed to escape death for the nth time, and they would both share a laugh.
The seat in front of Miko is empty. It was almost as if the world was mocking her.
She could only laugh bitterly.
The rain pitter-patterns against the umbrella she held above her head, quietly bristling at the feeling of water splashing on her calves with every step she took, only the rumbling of thunder serving as a reprieve. While others cowered at the sound of a lightning’s roar, it somehow helped in calming her nerves.
It felt almost out of place. Like the calm before a storm.
The road on her way home is void of the usual bystanders she usually came across on rare days when she managed to get herself out of the house, the rain having most likely sent everyone scurrying back inside their homes.
She would’ve liked this, Miko found herself thinking. There was nothing better than spending the rest of the afternoon cuddling under a warm blanket, perhaps with some hot chocolate and blasphemous amounts of sugar.
Miko still remembers every lecture she gave about it. Miko still remembers.
She closes her eyes and sighs.
Some days, she wishes she didn’t.
Her mind drifts to the silhouette she’d seen earlier.
Miko knows it couldn’t have been her, because it just can’t be her. She’s dead. Gone.
She remembers it all too well.
It was foolish.
What is dead always stays dead, yet she could not help herself. There was a small nagging voice at the very back of her mind that kept telling her—what if…
It was foolish indeed, but what was she if not a fool for her. Miko would’ve happily set herself on fire to keep her warm.
Miko ceases her steps when she spots a figure of a woman, hunched over on the sidewalk, just a few feet away in front of her.
The rain was only getting heavier with each second that passed by, and the woman seemed to not have an umbrella herself.
Miko picks up the pace, brisk walking towards the stranger.
“Do you need some help?” Miko calls out as she inched closer.
The woman’s head snaps to her direction.
Everything stops.
Dark purple locks were stuck on the woman’s face, absolutely drenched from the rain. Miko hadn’t recognized it outside of its usual braid, even less recognizable now that it had been cut up until her shoulders, but with those wide, bright amethyst eyes staring into her own… There was no mistaking.
Miko knows those eyes.
They could only belong to one person.
The knife in her heart twists.