Chapter Text
If the Priestess of Watatsumi Island would have known that the Inazuma-Watatsumi peace resolutions summit that she, impulsive in her eagerness to work things out with everyone, had agreed to was going to be this draining, she would have taken a more tactical approach. Several short, efficient meetings with days, if not weeks, between them. Spread out the tension, and the people, and she could have overcome it with her usual flair.
But now it was too late and Kokomi found herself fiercely wishing she was somewhere else.
There were several different factors at play in their combined efforts to wear the Divine Priestess down more quickly than usual. The first one was simply the fact that five days of long and tense summit meetings, where complex topics were thrown across the table the same way insults and arguments were, leaving Kokomi to play the role of constant peacekeeper, at a peace summit. But, to her they listened, for better or for worse. Still, with how she was revered, she could calm her soldiers, generals, lesser priests and politicians down with ease, even when she was anything but calm herself.
The second factor was that her own people were overly reluctant, if not downright hostile to those who had come along with Raiden Shogun herself. Kokomi understood it, truly she did, but the constant mistrust and palpable aversion was not helping in terms of having open and productive discussions regarding the future of Watatsumi and its place in all of Inazuma. Even Gorou –the boy usually so loyal and obedient- she had caught narrowing his eyes at many a Inazuman visitor, long lingering stares to others, which told the strategist that if even Gorou of all people was wary, it meant that Kokomi absolutely, needed to stay alert and keep all her diligently people in check, lest the peace summit turned into a war summit.
Which tickled her excitement, admittedly, but sadly one of the direst rules in warfare was to spare as much life as possible. So fighting with words and not weapons it was, tragically. It was definitely better for the future of Watatsumi though, and in the end that was to be the ultimate goal, personal preferences of the method aside.
Then lastly there was the third factor, which Kokomi thought could be better described as a singular menace who, with her mere –and constant- presence around Kokomi, wore the Priestess down almost completely by herself.
Now only less than two hours into the peace talks of the first day, Kokomi felt uprooted, restless and worn out to the point of constantly having to suppress the urge to snap. The Electro Archon had a power over Kokomi she could not put into words. It felt as if she was constantly left hanging, needing- wanting more… more of what? Validation, respect, or to have her words be taken seriously? No, not quite, not entirely. On the other side, with only miniscule bits and scraps the Archon threw at her. In the form of glances, words, or the lack of said glances and words, left Kokomi feeling untethered, overwhelmed simply by a look in the other woman’s eyes, conveying something Kokomi could not put into words, and neither could she do that with the feelings constantly rising from the depths to the surface, where the shifted, changed, replaced one another and coiled.
Kokomi didn’t know what was causing this… disruption within her, but could conclude that it relied on the interaction between her and the Raiden Shogun. Whom, by the looks of it, was not at all experiencing the same inner turmoil that Kokomi was curtly drowning in. Then again, there was nothing but confidence, gentleness, calmness and the many other useful faces to wear during conflicts of words on her own face, so perhaps behind the dull, almost bored expression on the Archon’s face, her emotions were also doing summersaults in her stomach.
Kokomi, continuing to listen to the Archon’s reasoning behind her proposition to involve Watatsumi more and more freely with the interisland contact and travel, let her gaze fall on the purple eyes of the woman.
Not even the words she spoke were reflected in those purple depths. Kokomi had gathered from several trusted sources that the Archon had been leaving her palace and had been acting much more lively than the many years before, no longer was she perpetually maintaining the status quo, she seemed to have concluded that actually seeing the status quo she had created, and the many bits and pieces that did not fit all that well together were indeed high due for some improvement, hence the reason the Electro Archon had set foot on Watatsumi. Still, what Kokomi had heard from her sources had let her to expect… something else.
She didn’t know what she had expected, but it definitely hadn’t been this.
It was the eyes, the constant almost dullish staring, as if the Shogun couldn’t believe she had to sit there and spend her precious time listening to Kokomi speak. It had gotten worse as the day progressed. The Electro Archon had reached Watatsumi as a silent women who seemed either disinterested or did not find whatever other people were saying important enough to engage with, and only spoke when she had some fact or information to share, usually a complaint.
Their initial contact had felt like reading a book to Kokomi, there is text in it, facts and information, but reading is not interacting as you cannot contest the information you receive, and that’s how it had felt, as if she were receiving information but could not interact with the source.
Once the summit had started, the Shogun had changed gradually, or rather, not adapted at all to the social decorum of political meetings. The woman either had no talent for the art of diplomacy or cared naught for it. Kokomi felt there was a good chance it was both.
The subtle surprises –with the Archon constantly reacting in ways Kokomi couldn’t predict- kept catching the Priestess unaware. The purple-haired woman had arrived very early, dawn hadn’t even breached yet by the time Kokomi had gone to greet her and her envoy, so initially Kokomi had chalked the Shogun’s unusual silence up to having been a bit too much of an early bird who simply needed a few hours to properly get her bearings, being on an island she was unfamiliar with, which was full of people who held many… conflicting feelings about her.
That could have been true were it not for the fact that whatever had unfolded in the head of the Electro Archon, her behavior now was not that of someone who had finally ‘gotten her bearings’ after a few cups of coffee and was now ready to tackle the day along with everyone else. No, she had remained the stoic and uncooperative woman she had arrived as, which proved to be yet another hurdle to deal with once the summit had started, where disinterest and silence were not exactly the most forthcoming way to make these long days the most easy for everyone involved, in Kokomi’s humble opinion at least.
Kokomi had already considered various different reasons for this unexpected anomaly, but the predominant thing she could not wrap her head around was why the target of all the apathetic, sharp words and downright condescending comments was almost entirely her.
Somewhere it made sense, she was the Priestess of Watatsumi, the leader of her people and the spokesperson representing Watatsumi during this summit. So yes, it was logical that the Archon would speak directly to Kokomi the most. And while Kokomi would be loath to admit it, being the almost exclusive interest of the Archon did make her feel… something. Important? No, she didn’t need being talked down to by Raiden to feel important. Perhaps it made her feel valid, as if the Archon saw her as someone worthy and strong enough to directly take what was on the woman’s mind, without her having to placate and mince her words. Such a reason would be nice, Kokomi thought, if it could be anything more than wishful thinking on her part.
Whatever it was, the Shogun didn’t have to be downright rude about it. Which Kokomi -with her friendly words, endless patience, genuine attempts at understanding everyone’s point of understanding and her perpetual gentle smiles- just couldn’t cope with. She could deal with criticism or being disagreed with -a thing that scarcely happened nowadays however- but the Shogun spoke to her as if she was beneath her, contesting every word Kokomi said with a disrespect the Priestess couldn’t stomach.
What had she done wrong for the Shogun to hound her so? Were her arguments truly that flawed? …Was she really not worthy enough to speak on these terms with the Electro Archon?
As the day furthered Kokomi’s unwanted irritation simmered and melted into doubt, making it a struggle to keep up her gentle and positive demeanor in a room full of her people, when on the inside she felt almost too miserable to continue. Still, she would not be discouraged, continuing her well prepared statements for potential treaties in a room full of expectant people. She would keep her chin held high and show the other leader she would not crumble.
“Excuse me, Sangonomiya?” Raiden interrupts her up calmly, her expression neutral but her heavy gaze once again unrelentingly on Kokomi, as it had been the past few minutes.
“Yes, Your Excellency?” she responded, a polite smile on her face. It still felt strange, jarring even, for the Priestess to address the Archon in this manner, as it was how the people of Watatsumi addressed her. Kokomi had never directly spoken with the Archon before, and hearing the form of address being used for another, along with having to use it herself for another, was almost surreal in now unnatural it felt. It made her slightly worried she had gotten arrogant in recent years, with how it instinctively felt disrespectful to be spoken to any differently.
Maybe she could have adapted a little more easily to the change if her Excellency would return the favor and address Kokomi just as how everyone else did, but unfortunately the Electro Archon did not seem to see the purpose in that.
“Sangonomiya,” the older woman says once more, finally snapping Kokomi fully from her inner thoughts.
The Priestess had to stop herself from clenching her jaw. “Yes?” she responds politely.
“If you will, your… proposition to establish a regulated trade route between Watatsumi and Inazuma city, it’s… premature,” Raiden explains. “There is currently too much unrest on both islands for such a thing to be regulated and overseen properly, and all sorts of people would see it as a chance to stir things up even more.”
The Archon gestured for one of her generals, who handed her a document. Without saying another word, she reached over the table, turned the document around and placed it in front of Kokomi, whose eyes quickly told her the paper contained detailed information on various parties who had stakes in a trade route, for better or worse.
“Then, what do you propose?” Kokomi responded, wondering if the Shogun had any replacement plan or adjustments in mind. This was a lot, and while at first glance she knew all of these factors could be taken into account, it would be complex to do, and change much of the original plan she had created.
The purple haired woman raised an eyebrow in a manner that Kokomi thought could be conveying surprise. “Propose? No, I do not have another proposition. I was merely stating the flaws in yours. The document serves to back up my claim.”
She sounded confused, almost. Kokomi couldn’t help but wonder if the Archon just couldn’t bother investing in a discussion with her. Perhaps she thought the plan was too flawed to even consider, perhaps this was her way of saying Kokomi should improve her plan until she could once more present it to Raiden on a better platter and in another shape that the Archon would approve of. Either way, it was clear those were all the words the terribly charming woman was willing to waste on it, which wasn’t much at all really.
“I will… discuss the points you have brought up tomorrow morning with the experts on this field,” Kokomi relented, this time definitely clenching her jaw. “Before the second day of our summit starts we will have taken them into account.”
“I expect nothing less,” the Archon responded, the words to a spear of ice in Kokomi’s stomach despite having no significant emotion behind them. The audacity. Kokomi might not be as powerful and of equal ranking as the Archon but she also was not one among many soldiers the woman could order around to her hearts extent. This was supposed to be a two way conversation to reach a common goal, yet Raiden seemed perfectly willing to have the Priestess dance to her whims. The lingering gaze on her only served to unnerve Kokomi more. There was something heavy and intense in those eyes, of which the contrast with her aloof demeanor made Kokomi feel as if she was losing her foothold.
A spark of curiosity set her mind alight, along with the stubborn and not so practical drive to get closer to this rude but enigmatic woman. Kokomi wanted something from her, to pierce through the Shogun’s mask, if it could be called that, or maybe to have the woman pierce though hers. Either way it was a personal urge, one that would not necessarily benefit the outcome of this summit, and thus was left better ignored. Her feelings remained where they were though, thick and simmering in her impotence to do anything about them.
It was as if the Shogun did not see her as someone worth engaging with.
A pity really, as Kokomi thought of the woman as someone potentially very interesting to speak with. The woman held many secrets, that was certain, and the Priestess had a feeling that the Archon did not consider many of the knowledge only she held to be secrets. They were just sitting there, in the darkness of her mind, until someone she did find interesting enough to speak openly with would cross her path.
And again Kokomi wished that person to be her, along with several other reasons she’d rather not dwell on.
Either way, it was still a possibility. The Shogun did have her eyes almost entirely on Kokomi, so perhaps she was waiting for Kokomi to do something interesting enough. Kokomi considered herself a flexible woman, however, much less a flexible priestess and general who –with currently no less than twenty pairs of eyes on her- had several reputations to maintain.
When she finally got released from the grueling and overly long summit- only the first day of five, she reminded herself wearily- Kokomi, drained, down and rattled, stayed with her compatriots as briefly as respectfully possible. She praised them for their hard work and patience before telling them to get some respite and rest with their free evening.
They offered for her to come along but she politely declined, saying that she had much preparation to do for the following day. Lauding their Priestess and commander for her diligence, her soldiers left to go eat, feast, rest and other things they needed to do in order to free their minds up for the next day.
As she began to make her way – decidedly not towards the halls of the Sangonomiya Shrine the people who just left assumed she would retreat to, but swiftly onto an abandoned path leading to a set of caves, some distance away- a deep sigh escaped Kokomi’s lips.
Listening to the many different sounds that made Watatsumi feel like home, she wandered along the path as she let her mind wander as well, which proved to be a premature act to do as quite sudden she was startled out of her thoughts by the very woman who –as embarrassing it was to admit- had been making up the vast majority of those thoughts.
“Sangonomiya?”
“Hhm, oh. Yes?” comes her hurried and slightly surprised response as Kokomi stops in her tracks and turns to see the Electro Archon standing practically next to her. “Greetings, Your Excellency,” she quickly wills herself to tell the other, her words spoken a tad higher and faster because suddenly she was thoroughly aware they were alone. No small army of expectant eyes to save her now.
The taller woman had a look of muted curiosity over her, as if she wanted something but couldn’t quite put her finger on what that was supposed to be. But, as her eyes were on Kokomi, intently so, the Priestess felt her heart rate increase at the mere thought that whatever Raiden was curious about, it possibly involved her.
“Today during the summit,” the Shogun continues, “You were very… professional, so to speak,” she says, still having an air about her that suggest she’s not exactly sure what the discrepancy in her head is, or how to bring it out into the world.
“So to speak?” Kokomi repeats, perhaps too quickly in her near desperation to speak with this woman one on one about something that made sense.
“Yes,” the Archon reaffirms, then her eyes become more focused, her thoughts seemingly as well. “I applaud you for your professionalism, your agreeableness and politeness only being extensions of that… but,” she says, then pauses, seemingly not because she does not know how to continue but in an odd kind of reluctance. “But underneath that well-crafted act of professionalism you shroud yourself in, I can sense many layers that pique my interests more.” Her eyes linger on Kokomi’s who feels suddenly very warm now and blames that on her heart rate abruptly bursting for absolutely no reason at all.
“Peace and progress isn’t made with just words,” Raiden all but hums. “It’s made by the feelings, thoughts, the identity, of those who speak the words,” she explains, although with how she says it, it sounds almost like an ancient revelation to Kokomi.
“I would say bringing emotions to the battlefield- ah, these sort of councils I mean, is generally not advised, as things can get… messy. Emotions often aren’t rational, nor are they objective,” Kokomi retorts, rather not picturing how today would had gone if she had voiced her inner thoughts plainly.
With her eyes so vacant Raiden somehow managed to take in Kokomi with the most scrutinizing look. “But what they are is true, and genuine as well.”
Without warning, the older woman steps closer and while Kokomi had noticed the height difference between them this morning, now it is suddenly very there, between them, and her first irrational thought is that the Shogun has no need being taller than herself, as Kokomi is as much a mess of personality, talents, masks and strengths as the Archon was, albeit admittedly in a more mortal form.
Still, when Raiden looks into her eyes, her head dipping forward slightly to make up for the height difference, and places her hand on Kokomi’s cheek, the Priestess suddenly feels very small.
This woman could zap me like a fish, is the unnerving, yet also uncomfortably appealing thought firing up in her mind.
Yes, personal feelings were definitely not meant for this summit.
“I look forward to what you have to share with me in the coming days,” Raiden hums, unspoken words thick in the air, before she removes her hand, fingertips brushing over Kokomi’s heated cheek as they retreated.
I want to see what is underneath all that you crafted to for yourself to fit in your role. The message behind it is all too clear to a woman who is skilled to look at everything from multiple perspective to find its true shape.
However, Kokomi wasn’t sure she wanted to know that herself, or have it brought out.
“I…I too look forward to make progress during this summit, for both our people,” she replies, using a tremendous amount of inner strength to keep her voice under control and retain her ability to speak. She couldn’t muster responding with anything containing even a flicker of her emotions, or she would burst.
Next to her Raiden nodded, a hint of disappointment flickering over her expression as she recognized Kokomi’s words as the rejection to her offer it was.
There was truth in that, but also not. There were a lot of conflicting feelings inside Kokomi at the present, and making sense of them was not the right time.
Spurred on by feelings rather than logic, Kokomi speaks up again. “And…” she continues just when the Shogun moves to leave, “perhaps to discover what makes up the deeper layers of your mind as well.”
The words haven’t left her mouth yet or she’s wishing she could have stopped herself. What was she saying? That was a far too personal thing to tell the Electro Archon of Inazuma. She sounded like some kind of sycophant overstepping her boundaries with nothing of substance to offer.
To her side, she hears a brief laugh, a sound she needs a moment to recognize, as she had not yet heard the Shogun laugh, and couldn’t imagine what it might sound like either. But it’s soft and amused and not… condescending. “Well then,” the older woman says as she takes the first step away from Kokomi, something akin to amusement clinging to her voice.
“Then perhaps this summit is going to be interesting after all.”
After another step she turns her waist to look at Kokomi one last time. “Of personal interest, that is,” she adds, almost as an afterthought, but the amusement is still there, along with that earlier spark of curiosity.
And with that she’s gone. Kokomi endures the painfully long seconds where all she can do is watch the Shogun make her way back up the path where they came from, as looking away is a strength she does not possess, neither is filling her mind with anything but thoughts of the Shogun.
When finally, after a lifetime of seconds has passed, the Shogun is out of sight, Kokomi releases a deep breath she didn’t know she was holding. Promptly she feels worn again, overwhelmed by thoughts and emotions of such diversity that she can’t process, let alone focus, on any of them.
Instead she just lets her mind wander freely, remaining unconcerned where they go, and continues making her way to her favorite place of hiding, where she can finally, finally empty her head.
Still, just the short trip there also does wonders for her mind, given that she is alone that is. Before the interruption that came in the form of the Electro Archon, Kokomi had left her thoughts to be guided by the sounds present all over Watatsumi, and as her pulse gradually returned to a more normal pace, she let the island do the same once more.
Walking almost leisurely, she easily finds peace again by listening to the various sounds that make Watatsumi what it is, many of those now only audible in the silence of the evening. With dusk already setting in and many people scattered over the many houses and places, there now hung and unique kind of blanketing quietness over Watatsumi, the kind that Kokomi loved the most, one that helped recharge her.
The night wasn’t silent, there was no quietness to be heard by far. No, instead the myriad of noises Kokomi could hear all throughout Watatsumi created a muted cacophony, mingling together into a gentle shroud, muffling its own noises as it hung over the island.
In the far distance all around her, there was the familiar sound of the sea Kokomi loved so much. She was practically in the center of the island yet in the far distance there was the sound of the sea, the water caressing the shore before retreating, mingled with the sounds of the many rivers and waterfalls, of which the faint sounds could be heard if Kokomi paid attention. The sound of water in general felt the same as true silence to her. A welcome background noise that always calmed her. The feeling of home, always surrounding her, reminding her why she did all this, why she was the Divine Priestess of Watatsumi that had to protect all the Great Orobashi had given Watatsumi and its people so very long ago.
Other than that there was the murmuring of people in the distance, with the occasional bout of laughter, the sounds of the many creatures living their own lives, completely unperturbed by today’s events that only affected the humans here. There were crickets, who would be shrill and headache-inducing if they were in the wrong amount and in the wrong place, but the chirps coming from many different spots in the dense foliage that Kokomi passed by all fell perfectly into place with the many other pieces of the quiet orchestra
The short walk thankfully did its job in helping to empty her mind, and many of her irritations of the day melted more with each step she took, even Raiden and her enigmatic demeanor found a spot somewhere to settle in her mind. The walk didn’t exactly clear Kokomi of her oddly heightened emotional state, however, and even once she had reached the caves, her hidden loft for her own peace of mind, she still felt strangely fragile. Feeling that, while if she wasn’t sad at the present moment, if something small happened –, a tiny inconvenience such as not being able to find a book or something even less important- she would be distraught to the point of tears.
She reasoned her imbalanced emotional state was because of how unusually draining and perhaps even downright gruesome her day had been and knew that she needed to rest, preferably here in her one place of total privacy, so that her overworked mind had the total reassurance she would not be disturbed. Kokomi knew herself well -even if many others didn’t- and had learned to wrangle with the complexities of both her own mind and body in order to keep herself going.
A flicker of doubt and uncertainty crossed her heart as she sat down and lit the candles on her desk, knowing she needed to read a bit –easy things, facts, history, tactics, anything that did not come with a story, with people, with emotions- to ease her mind back into a more flexible state.
Still, with her eyes glued to a page already, it was hard to immediately let go of the unpleasant sting of doubt in her stomach.
Four more days of this…
The Archon now expected something from her, because she just couldn’t keep her mouth shut, but what exactly that was the Priestess didn’t have a grasp on. When her exhaustion had faded, however, Kokomi knew her determination to get to the core of it would rekindle.
It would indeed make this very long week a lot more interesting.
With a part of her mind focused on the letters in her book, another part of Kokomi’s mind silently vowed to turn things around, to earn the woman’s respect and show her that she was worth, to meet the Archon’s odd expectation that the Kokomi had parts of herself worthy of Raiden’s interest to hide. Maybe she had something unique to offer the Shogun, even if she wasn’t exactly sure what that was. Among the people it was clear what parts of Kokomi they saw worth in and what they expected of her. That didn’t mean that was all there was to her, though.
Perhaps she just needed someone with a different perspective to shine light on other sides of her.
Kokomi might not be immortal, but it was also no secret to her that something had been happening to the Archon in the past centuries which had resulted in the woman now being unfamiliar with not only the ways and history of Watatsumi, but also that of Inazuma. So Kokomi might not have more knowledge than the Shogun, but she was certain she understood many of the current events and situations on a deeper level than Raiden.
And that will be what leads her to victory in the coming days. Both regarding the outcome of the summit and satisfying Raiden’s curiosity, Kokomi settled on, dismissing the issue in her head for now in favor of the many texts before her.
As she finally was able to let her mind rest, her thoughts dwelling to the strategies and teachings in her books, the tired Priestess failed to notice the shape standing several paces outside her den finally turning to step away, her long braid gently swaying in the wind the most discerning feature about her as she silently made her way through the darkness.