Till Death Do Us Part

Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/38638335.

Rating: Mature
Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Category: F/F
Fandom: 原神 | Genshin Impact (Video Game)
Relationship: Raiden Ei | Baal/Yae Miko, Kujou Sara/Sangonomiya Kokomi
Character: Raiden Ei | Baal, Yae Miko (Genshin Impact), Kujou Sara,
Sangonomiya Kokomi
Additional Tags: Lesbian Character, Falling In Love, Soulmates, Fluff and Angst, Fluff,
Angst, Romance, Raiden Ei | Baal Can't Cook, Raiden Ei | Baal is Bad
at Feelings, Yae Miko Teases Raiden Ei | Baal, Raiden Ei | Baal/Yae
Miko Fluff, Soft Raiden Ei | Baal, I'm Bad At Tagging, I don't want to add
spoilers in tags, Alternate Universe - Office, Modern Era, Minor Kujou
Sara/Sangonomiya Kokomi
Language: English
Stats: Published: 2022-04-27 Words: 41,344 Chapters: 13/13

Till Death Do Us Part

by aprilapricot

Summary

Every human is born with a red symbol on their arm, and that symbol guides lonely ones to
their soulmates. They must find their true love before the age of 25, or they die.

Ei, however, is born without the red symbol on her arm.

 Chapter 1
Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Ei is content with her life now.

To own a wealthy company and lead her team is what she's good at. She knows she is capable of
being a leader. She has always been great at making choices and having followers listen to her,
even though she can be quiet at times.

Her team has always admired Ei's determination when it comes to her own work. She always puts
her duties first, before anything else.

Ei owns a company that helps to promote the products of smaller businesses, whether big or small.
They also handle the delivery, the advertisements, everything. There is a department for every step
to successfully promote a product. Her company also creates original products that aren't on the
market.

Ei is fine with the way things are now. She does not care about anything else.

But, there is something that Ei should be worrying about.

In this world, every human being is born with a red symbol on their arms. This symbol never
changes its shape nor color, even for people with different skin colors. This symbol is the exact
same for every living being on this planet.

The interesting part, is this symbol is able to link you to your soulmate.

Everyone is able to see a red line that leads them to their corresponding partner. This red line will
never disappear, until they find their soulmate.

This is, mostly, a wonderful thing for the lonely people out there. Some immediately leave their
home country in search of their true love, some realize that their future beloved is right in front of
them all along.

There are also couples who find out that their red lines go the opposite direction, and this can lead
to fights, arguments.. and eventually, a breakup, or a divorce.

It doesn't matter what people do to find their soulmates, because in the end..

If you don't find your soulmate before you turn 25, you will die.

Yes, for some people who are unable to find their soulmates due to personal reasons, their health
will deteriorate in an instant. There are at least thousands of deaths everyday, due to those unable
to find their true love in time.

When you see a stranger suddenly drop dead at exactly midnight, you know that they are too late.

It is a pity, but what can people do? That is just how the world works.

This simple rule is easy for people to understand, and yet, someone has an unanswered problem.

Ei was never born with the red symbol.

It does sound extremely strange. Every human has this symbol, so why didn't she get it? Was she
simply just never meant to have a soulmate?

She often checks every part of her body, just in case the symbol happens to appear somewhere
else, but her skin is spotless. Ei has been questioning this for years, but nobody knows an answer.
She had even travelled across countries just to meet doctors who might know an answer to this, but
even they have no idea why this is happening to her.

Every doctor who sees her has come to the conclusion that Ei is just, destined to die. They simply
place their hand on her shoulder, in a form of sympathy, and say things like "Have as much fun as
you can before your life ends."

Ei always ends up leaving the hospitals in anger, not because she hasn't found an answer yet, but
mostly because these stupid doctors are sympathizing her. She doesn't need anyone's sympathy, she
just wants to know why the symbol isn't on her body.

Maybe there is someone in this world who doesn't have a mark like her. It's impossible that she is
the only one. Perhaps two beings without a mark can be considered soulmates too. Would that
really work?

Ei checks her arm once again at her desk. She has just finished a meeting with some people, and is
now alone in the meeting room.

Of course, her skin is spotless as usual. Ei pulls her sleeves down, letting out a sigh.

No, I mustn't tell anyone about this matter. They will just sympathize with me, that's all they will
do.

Ei has never told anyone about this problem. Her co-workers used to question her about her love
life. Because she did not want her problem to spread around the office, she simply lied to them that
she indeed has a partner.

"Boss, so.." A co-worker suddenly leans close to her. "You're in your twenties, right? Have you
found your soulmate yet?"

Ei looks up from her paperwork on her desk with no emotion. She simply answers, "I do have a
soulmate, but we are quite busy with our own work to see each other."

"Huh?!" The young lady's eyes widen at that answer. "Then.. you both don't spend much time with
each other? That's not what a soulmate is!" She says.

Ei shrugs and continues her work. "Well, as long as I have a soulmate, I will not die. That is all
that matters."

In the end, to Ei, her work is most important right now. Doing her work efficiently will bring good
name to her and the company. As long as she is able to leave a good mark behind before she dies,
it is enough to make her happy. Finding love is the least of her concern.

So, this is how the rest of the day goes.

Ei leaves the meeting room for her next one, with her assistant, Kujou Sara.

Sara has always been loyal to her boss. Whatever work Ei hands to her, she finishes it in a day, or
even a few hours. Ei wonders if Sara also has the same mindset as hers. Perhaps she also does not
care about having a partner.
Ei has never heard of Sara having a soulmate. Maybe Sara is just too shy to reveal it to everyone,
or perhaps she has never found them after all.

Either way, this is not Ei's business to pry into.

Ei arrives in front of the small meeting room where she will meet Sara and discuss about their next
project.

She hears some chatting behind the door, which confuses Ei a bit, because this meeting is only
between the two of them. She knocks on the door three times with her knuckles, and pushes it open.

Inside, is Sara and an unfamiliar woman holding each other's hands.

"Sara?" Ei calls.

Both of the young ladies gasp and immediately let go of each other. Sara looks at Ei's way with an
embarrassed look. "O-Oh my god, Ma'am! When did you get here?!"

Ei crosses her arms and glances at the other woman in the room. She has a much brighter uniform
than Sara's. Her pale pink hair is tied into a bun, with blue highlights at the end of every strand.

"Sorry, may I know who you are?" Ei asks.

The lady starts to panic inside, assuming that this strict boss lady is about to yell at her. "Y-Yes!
My name is Sangonomiya Kokomi, I am from Sangonomiya Business!"

Ei suddenly remembers. "Ah, right. You are the Boss' daughter. I know you."

Kokomi's father owns the second wealthiest company in Inazuma, and both his and Ei's companies
are often trying to outdo each other.

Kokomi waves her hands in denial. "I-I promise, I'm not here to cause trouble! I just—"

Sara interrupts her. "It's okay, Kokomi. Let me explain."

She turns to Ei again, "Ma'am, this is Kokomi, my soulmate."

"What?" Ei's eyes widen in unexpectance.

Sara and Kokomi glance at each other and give each other embarrassed smiles. "Yeah, it's true.
She came running into the building, saying her red line leads to here."

"When I entered the reception area, my red line lead to Kokomi too, and we both immediately
knew." Sara explains, staring lovingly at Kokomi.

Kokomi grins and stares into Sara's beautiful glistening eyes. "I've never met Sara in person, but
we have talked on the phone before, and she is lovely." She blushes pink.

Sara, at this point, has gotten distracted once again. "You too, Kokomi. You are the most beautiful
woman I've ever seen.."

"Alright." Ei stops those two before they can start making out with each other in front of her. "You
may continue your flirting later. We have a meeting to hold."

But Ei lets out a soft smile. "Congratulations to you two."

—

Throughout the meeting, Ei was not able to focus.

Learning about Sara and Kokomi finding their soulmate shouldn't be bothering her so much, so
why? It is perfectly normal to see someone finally finding their loved one.

So why is Ei feeling down?

During that whole meeting, Sara was smiling more than usual. Of course, she had just found the
love of her life.

Did Ei not want Sara to find her soulmate? Was she envious that she found a soulmate before her?

Or was Ei just selfish? Had she wanted Sara and Kokomi to die on their 25th birthday too, just so
Ei wouldn't have to die alone?

That is such a bad mindset, Ei thinks to herself, shaking those negative thoughts away.

As a leader, she should be proud of her followers, not envy them. Ei feels bad for thinking that way.

But at the same time, it saddens her that she truly is alone, and she will die alone.

Ei has more paperwork to finish at home, but she doesn't feel like doing it anymore. Perhaps she
needs some sleep, and before she'll know it, that sadness will disappear. Only work should be in
her mind, not this useless topic.

As she reaches her home, she looks into her handbag to get her house keys out.

"Ei!"

She lifts her head up in surprise. When she turns around, she sees Yae Miko standing behind her.

Yae Miko, or Miko, as Ei calls her, is the closest person she spends her time with. With her, Ei
doesn't need to talk about work all the time, because Miko always has her ways of bringing up
different conversations when she's around.

She owns a popular bookstore in town, called the Yae's Publishing House. It has some of the best
books outside of Inazuma written by famous authors.

Miko is known to be quite mischievous and playful with Ei. She teases her way too much, to the
point where she blushes in front of her, which makes Miko tease her even more. It is a never ending
cycle.

It's strange, because Miko doesn't have this kind of attitude around her staff. She becomes a totally
different person with them. Friendly, soft-spoken and patient.

But after all that, Ei still appreciates Miko for always keeping her company all these years. Even
when Miko is busy with her work, she always finds the time to entertain Ei and make her day.

"Miko? Is something wrong?" She asks her.

Miko approaches her with wide eyes. For some reason, Ei isn't able to take her eyes off hers
either.

She starts to worry. "Miko..?"

 "Ei, do you see the red line?"

She raises her eyebrows, looking Miko up and down.

Oh no.

"Ei!" Miko calls again, but this time, with a big grin on her face.

"I am your soulmate!"

Chapter End Notes

I'm quite new to ao3, so I apologize if I make any mistakes!!

 Chapter 2
Chapter Summary

Ei makes her choice, whether to selfishly let Miko into her life or push her out for her
safety.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

"What?"

Ei stares blankly at Miko, unable to let out a word, let alone a sound. Is she hearing this right?
After the whole 'I will die alone' monologue in her head, is this really happening?

Miko is my soulmate all this time?!

Miko comes closer and squeezes her hands. Her soft, delicate touch makes Ei jump a bit. "I should
have realized sooner that you were my soulmate! I can't believe I never noticed!"

Ei continues to stare with wide eyes, still shocked. She glances down at their hands intertwined
with each other.

But.. how would I know that, when I do not have the red symbol?

She can't pull her sleeve up now. If Miko knows she never had the symbol to begin with, she
would be furious. Does the red line really lead to Ei? What if it's someone else? Why can't the
world just be nice and give her the damn symbol—

Crap, she panics in her head, if I do not show some kind of happy reaction, she is going to suspect
something is wrong for sure!

Miko is patiently awaiting Ei's response. She does not dare to lie to her dear friend, especially
about something this serious, but if this is what she has to do to maintain their friendship...

"Miko.." She smiles. "The line.. it leads to you.."

Miko smiles and looks into Ei's eyes full of adoration. "I can't believe it... I have always loved you,
Ei."

Ei immediately pulls her hands away, her face showing fluster. "M-Miko! It is too sudden for that!"

Miko laughs, her hand covering her mouth. "Oh, I'm just teasing you.

But still, I'm glad it's you."

Ei had thought that Miko would return to whatever she was doing after the soulmates confession,
but she's dragging her to somewhere that she won't reveal. Ei just wants to go home and scream
into her pillow about how hectic today has been. Is it really okay for a person with the symbol to
have a soulmate without the symbol? That doesn't really sound possible, and logical. How would
Ei know that her nonexistent red line leads to Miko?

Miko suddenly stops in her tracks, causing Ei to bump into her from behind. "S-Sorry.." She
apologizes, rubbing her arm with the other.

"We're here." Miko looks back with a grin.

They both stand in front of a shop. Ei looks up at the sign, Kiminami Cafe.

Ei returns her gaze to Miko, "I just ate a heavy lunch, though."

Miko pouts, crossing her arms. "Are you going to reject free food from your new love?" She sighs,
"How tragic."

Ei's eyes widen, looking around nervously. "H-Hey, we are in a public area.."

Miko lets out a stifled laugh, "What's wrong with that? I thought you'd be dying to finally flirt with
your soulmate."

"I am not used to this kind of affection, Miko." She groans softly. "Can we go inside before I lose
my mind?"

More laughter comes out of that prankster's mouth. "Alright, alright."

The two of them enter the Cafe, waiting for a waitress or waiter to lead them to their table. Upon
being seated, they are immediately served with a menu each.

As they are scanning through the food selection, Ei can't help but take quick glances at Miko
sitting in front of her. When occupied by a task, Miko looks focused. She somehow looks good
without realizing it. Her purple eyes glow under the light, it's the most beautiful thing Ei has ever
seen. Nobody else is able to attract her attention like this, except her.

Miko bites her lip, probably figuring out which dish she wants to eat. She puts on an adorable pout,
enough to burn Ei's cheeks bright pink.

Before Ei gets caught, she quickly buries her face into the menu, scanning through the pages
quickly, all flustered.

After making their choices and repeating their orders to the waiter in charge, they patiently wait for
their food to arrive. Ei takes the time to appreciate the interior of the Cafe. Simple chandeliers hang
on the ceiling, lighting up the place with a dim white. The whole Cafe looks as though they are
inside of a treehouse. Potted plants are placed in the center of every table. There are vines hanging
on the walls of the Cafe as well. This place truly gave away forest vibes.

Ei hasn't eaten out in a while, actually. Because of the amount of work everyday, she is too busy to
eat outside, so she usually just orders takeout or buys a quick lunch at the convenience store
nearby. Perhaps this is a nice change of pace.

Being able to see Miko after a while is great too. She has also been busy with her own bookstore,
so Ei hasn't been able to ask how she's doing. Well, from her teasing and jokes, she seems to be
doing well.

Sitting opposite of each other reminds Ei of how the two of them met for the first time, two years
ago. It wasn't at a Cafe, or any restaurant, but in a meeting room.
"Good morning, Ma'am. My name is Yae Miko, I am an author and the owner of Yae's Publishing
House." She introduces herself as they shake hands. "It is an honor to meet you in person."

Ei nods back, "There is no need to be formal with me, Miss Yae. We are about to be partners after
all."

As Ei gestures for Miss Yae to sit, she asks, "So, let us begin. You mentioned that you are
struggling to sell a book that you just wrote?"

Miss Yae nods and explains, "Yes, that is correct. I am selling a few copies in my bookstore. I
personally think I did really well with the story, with how these two characters meet and how their
friendships blossom."

"However, no one is batting an eye at my story, and I am visited by people of different ages
everyday! I had even promoted my book to them, and they looked disgusted by it!" She rants,
crossing her arms in frustration.

"So, I would like your assistance in promoting my new book across Inazuma. Perhaps with your
help and your company's popularity, people will give this a read!" She huffs out a satisfied smile,
as if she had just finished reading a speech in front of class.

Ei leans back in her office chair and thinks for a moment. She clears her throat, "Alright, I am able
to work with that. Advertisements on social media and billboards can help. But before that, may I
have a look at your book?"

"Of course." Miss Yae takes out a thick book from her handbag and gives it to Ei. Just from
reading the title on the hardcover, Ei understands why she has had trouble selling it.

The Adventures of a Princess and Her Sidekick On Their Way to Hunt for The Frog
Monster Of Doom

Ei blinks for a moment, rereading the title of the book several times.

Miss Yae immediately understands her reaction. "Oh, not you too!" She scoffs. "As the saying goes,
you can't judge a book by its cover."

Ei takes off her reading glasses and massages her temple. "Okay, Miss Yae. I see what the problem
is. I do not think people would want to read a book with.. a title this childish."

Miss Yae gasps dramatically. "Oh no, this is not a childish title! Young adults these days enjoy
reading things like these!"

"Then, why is it not selling?"

Miss Yae doesn't respond immediately. Then, she starts speaking, "Because the world is changing,
Ma'am. They are influenced by the older generation about what is normal and what is not. I want
these people to realize that it's okay to like these things, it does not make you strange, but unique!"
Miss Yae frowns.

Ei doesn't say anything. She studies the young lady for a moment. Something about her just seems..
different from everyone else.

Ei puts the book down and makes her decision, "Alright, I accept your proposal."

That was the day that changed both of their lives. Miko's book sold out overnight after being
advertised on many social platforms. The author got the recognition that she wanted all over
Inazuma. Her business is doing much better nowadays.

For Ei, Miko was the only person that could grab her attention with anything she does. As they got
closer, Miko started to show her true personality. Her mischievous, flirty attitude was what Ei
wanted to listen to forever after all. No matter how strange they may be, Ei is attracted to them.
She isn't sure what made her stay for so long exactly, but she feels less lonely.

Ei doesn't realize that she has been staring blankly at Miko. "What are you thinking about there,
hm?" She breaks the silence. "Are you dazzled by my looks?"

Ei quickly glances away and gets flustered, "Actually, I am amazed by the interior decoration
here."

Miko leans back in her seat, "Huh, you are right. I never pay attention to the interior everytime I'm
here.."

"Well, you are always thinking of ways to tease me and embarrass me in public, that's why." Ei
jokes.

Miko laughs, and then changes the subject. "So, what have you been up to? I had not seen you in a
few weeks." She asks. The real conversation begins.

Ei shrugs. "The usual work I do. I look at papers in front of me everyday." Truthfully, she's getting
tired of looking at sheets of white so often.

"What about you?" She returns the question.

Miko smiles. "Actually, I'm writing a new book."

"Really?" Ei's eyes light up with curiosity. She straightens her back, "What is it about?"

Miko lifts her hand up and moves her pointer finger left and right. "Ah ah, it's a secret for now. All
I can say is, it's based on a true story."

Miko has written a few books that had become well-known around Inazuma. But for her, that
recognition is not enough. She constantly gushes about how great it would be if the entire world
knew about her work. Of course, it hasn't happen yet, but Ei is confident it will soon.

Ei nods. "Alright, well, I hope I will be the first to read it when it releases."

Miko laughs, "Of course, anything for you, dear."

When their meals arrive, they start eating in silence. Not that they don't want to talk to each other,
but the food here is too delicious to focus on anything else. The seasoning is just perfect. Every
bite is always a satisfying one.

After finishing their meals, the two of them continue to make small talk for a while. When it is
time to pay the bill, Ei and Miko argue in front of the poor waiter on who's paying.

"Ei, please listen to your superiors, alright?" Miko huffs.

"Miko, I am a boss of my own company."

"No, I am much more mature than you to decide what I spend my savings on." Miko points her
finger at Ei, like a mother telling a child to behave. "And I am also the oldest here."
"..By a day." Ei reminds her.

"That still counts!"

In the end, Ei loses a round of Rock, Paper, Scissors, and Miko pays their bill that night.

On their way back home, Ei still has doubts about their relationship. She has never heard of cases
where a person was born without a symbol on their arm. Why did it have to happen to her, out of
billions of humans on this planet?

The thing is, no one knows if a person with no symbol could live over 25 if they date someone
with the symbol. Is Ei technically pulling Miko into danger? Isn't she being selfish for wanting
Miko all to herself, despite there being a chance of something going wrong?

Miko means a lot to her. She has always enjoyed Miko's presence, so she wouldn't mind having her
in her life more often.

But, if separation is what destiny had planned for them in the end, then she won't try to prevent it
from happening.

Having someone important in her life is a wonderful feeling, maybe having Miko to herself for a
while wouldn't hurt her..

"Miko." Ei calls.

Miko, who is ahead of her, turns around swiftly. "Yes?" She tilts her head a bit to the side.

God, that is adorable.

"Uh.." Ei clears her throat. "I wanted to thank you for.. dragging me out for dinner."

Miko has a confused expression on her face, as if wondering why Ei is suddenly saying these
things.

"I admit, I have not been taking care of myself too well, so.. you technically saved me."

I'm sorry, Miko. I have been too lonely. I just.. need you here for a while. If I find out that my body
is really putting you in danger, I will make sure you leave, so that you can live happier. I promise, I
will not be selfish anymore at that moment.

"I truly want us to be soulmates. Will you continue to stay by my side?"

Miko blinks for a moment, and then lets out a laugh.

"H-Huh?" Ei gets flustered, wondering if she had said anything wrong.

"No, no.. it's just.." Miko wipes a tear from her eye. "I wasn't planning on leaving you, silly."

She walks closer to Ei. "I am staying no matter what. No matter how much we hate each other, or
want to murder each other, I am not going anywhere."

"There is no one else that I have a relationship like this with, only you.. and I'd like to keep it that
way." Miko moves a strand of Ei's hair out of her face.

Ei widens at her sudden action, her eyes are looking down at her feet. She is too shy to look into
those beautiful eyes of hers. "Miko..!"
 "Well then.. who's moving out?" Miko grins mischievously.

This time, Ei wins this round of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

With Miko being too impatient to move in the next day, they work together to move in Miko's
clothes and books that same night. It takes them around 2 hours, because Miko does not know how
to throw away or donate things she doesn't use anymore. Ei is glad that she lives in a double storey
house.

Right after they are done, Ei immediately passes out on her bed. Her arms and legs are spread far
out on the bed, leaving no room for Miko to lay in. And here Miko thought she could finally sleep
next to Boss Ei.

Miko groans, but she isn't angry. She covers Ei with a blanket, tucking her in.

She hasn't been able to truly admire Ei's beauty from up close. Ei has a calm look on her face, but
who knows what she's dreaming about in that head of hers.

Miko brings her face close to hers. She hesitates a bit, but eventually plants a small kiss on her
forehead, making sure it doesn't wake her up. She backs away, and notices Ei's face glow brighter
than before. Huh, probably just her imagination..

"Goodnight, my love." Miko whispers. "I will always love you."

Chapter End Notes

There isn't much happening in this chapter, but the next one will be a bit more
entertaining, I guess? :)

Thank you guys sm for the kudos and the nice comments!!
 Chapter 3
Chapter Summary

Miko is getting along too well with another woman, and Ei does not like to see that.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Ei wakes up to the sound of birds chirping outside her window. She yawns, turning herself to lay
on her stomach with her face flat on the mattress.

And then she recalls the night before. Ei remembers flopping herself onto bed, and closing her
eyes..

She immediately sits up and looks around. Huh. She doesn't remember anyone else sleeping next to
her that night.

Did Miko get up early? But...

Ei feels the spot on the mattress next to her for any sign of warmth. It doesn't seem to have left
Miko's scent, or any sign of her presence, even. It leaves Ei with a slight sense of relief, feeling
glad that she didn't have to deal with a clingy Miko. But at the same time, she feels bad that Miko
probably slept on the couch that night.

She gets out of bed and goes straight to the living room. From there, she can already smell
something good coming from the kitchen.

Ei hasn't stepped foot into that room in a few days. Not that she doesn't want to, it's just... she has
no use for it. She never knows what will happen next, maybe holding a silver spoon is enough to
suddenly light the room up on fire.

"Ei!" Miko suddenly panics, looking straight through her.

Ei also starts to panic, even though she hasn't found out why Miko is panicking in the first place.
She turns around...

...to see the frying pan she was holding just a second ago, in flames.

Both of them scream, as Miko immediately reaches for the nearest cloth to put out the fire. She
turns on the tap in the sink and completely soaks the cloth wet, before slapping it at the frying pan.
Ei turns off the stove and continues watching the fire in shock.

With Miko's smart and quick thinking, she is able to stop the fire, only leaving a burnt scrambled
egg inside.

The two of them stare at the frying pan in silence, still traumatized by that event.

Suddenly, Miko lets out a laugh. A laugh that is able to leave someone in tears after.
Ei turns back and scolds, "T-This is not funny, Miko!"

Miko catches her breath and rubs her eye. "I cannot believe you caused a fire from some
scrambled eggs."

"Shut up!" Ei pouts. "At least I tried!"

Miko shakes her head in disbelief, "You've burnt every food you've tried to cook, it's no wonder you
decided to take business courses instead."

She continues to tease Ei, while the poor purple-haired lady stands there and takes it. But deep
inside, hearing Miko's laugh fill the room cheers her up.

Ei smiles to herself. It is a memorable event, something that Ei will not repeat, especially when
Miko's around.

She enters the kitchen, and is greeted by two beautiful plates of pancakes on the table, placed
opposite of each other. Ei sees Miko washing some plates in the sink, softly humming to herself.

Ei goes to lean on the counter next to her, "Good morning." She greets. "Someone is in a good
mood today." She smiles softly.

Miko turns to her and grins, before shifting her focus back to the sink. "You are lucky I'm in a
good mood, otherwise all we're eating for breakfast is soggy cereal."

"That's fine by me." Ei smiles with her eyes.

Miko finishes washing the last plate, before placing it on the dry rack. She turns towards Ei and
suddenly has a look of disappointment. "You still have not changed out of your uniform last night."

Ei looks down at her outfit. She had honestly forgotten about that. She is wearing a now wrinkled
button up shirt.

Ei laughs nervously, "Right.. Let me change."

She rushed back to her room and quickly changes into a new set of clothes. She makes sure the
room is locked, before stripping.

Ei looks at herself in the mirror in silence. Her eyes are only focused on one thing, and that is her
left arm. There is still no symbol there, even after meeting her supposed soulmate.

She doesn't want this to bring her down, but it's hard to forget it at this point. What she can do now
is shake it off temporarily and focus on the present, and on Miko.

After changing into a new uniform, she goes back downstairs and enjoys her breakfast with Miko.
As usual, they chat about whatever that comes to mind. Miko is truly skilled at communicating
with people, she has her ways of entertaining her guests. No one can get bored of her.

The top of the stack of pancakes has a spread of butter. Honey has been drizzled on it. It may look
like a normal meal to some people, but Miko's home cooked meals taste better than anything in this
world.

"Ei, when do you finish work today?" Miko suddenly asks.

Ei looks up from her pancakes and tilts her head a bit in curiosity, "6 PM. Why?"
"Oh, nothing. I just miss you when I don't see you for too long." She stares lovingly.

She doesn't truly answer the question. This is what Miko likes to do. She doesn't tell people her
thoughts easily, and she hides them with her teasing and jokes instead. Sometimes Ei wonders if
Miko truly is the carefree type of person that everyone thinks she is.

Ei rolls her eyes jokingly. "We still see each other at home anyway."

After finishing their meals, Miko goes to change her outfit next, while Ei helps to wash the dishes.

As Ei leaves the kitchen to go back upstairs, so too does Miko leave the bedroom to go downstairs.
The two of them stop when they see each other from afar.

Ei sees Miko standing at the top floor stairs, looking down at her. From her angle, it's like an angel
from heaven coming down to take her away, to save her.

Miko is wearing a light pink flowy dress that complements her similar shade of hair. Her collarbone
is slightly exposed, and Ei can't stop herself from staring at it.

Miko looks at Ei at the bottom floor stairs. She feels like a princess walking down to her prince
charming at a masquerade ball. Ei's statuesque body sends an exciting tingle down her body.

As Miko walks down the stairs gracefully, Ei clears her throat, "You look.. great."

She lets out a slight chuckle. "Like what you see?"

Ei blushes and looks away, attempting to hide it from Miko. "Are you going to the bookstore
today?"

"Yes, I have some work to do there." Miko nods. "Shall I cook dinner for us tonight?" She asks.

Ei nods immediately with an excited smile. "I would never reject your cooking."

The two of them grab their bags and leave the house. They walk together side by side to their
workplace, which is quite close to each other.

It is a hot day today. Ei is sweating her ass off, while Miko looks like she's having the time of her
life.

Damn it, I knew I should have worn something thinner.

As Ei reaches the entrance of her company building, they both wave goodbye at each other. Miko
blows a kiss to her, while Ei runs into the building in embarrassment.

It would be a shock to all of her staff if they knew that her soulmate was this flirty.

Ei greets the receptionist and the staff walking by, before entering an elevator to her office floor.

As she plops herself onto her comfortable office chair, the silence in the room also fills her head.

Well, time to work.

At exactly 4.30 PM, Ei flips her thick file close with a loud thud! She breathes out a sigh of relief,
leaning back in her chair with her eyes close.
Today has been a long day of writing and reading. The small fonts people use in their reports are
going to blind her soon enough. These people just aren't professionals..

Suddenly, the sound of ringing coming from her office phone scares Ei. She recognizes the phone
number coming from the reception room. She groans, and immediately picks up the call. "Ei
speaking."

"Boss, there is someone looking for you."

Ei furrows her eyebrows, quickly grabbing her calendar to take a closer look. "Huh.." She mutters.
"I am not scheduled to meet anyone today."

"You.. should come to the reception room and see this."

The receptionist ends her call right then and there. Ei frowns, wondering what is happening
downstairs.

She rushes to the reception room by the elevator. As soon as the doors open, the sounds of a small
crowd forming fills her ears.

Ei is one of the tallest here in this building, so she could easily see what is going on, and she isn't
too happy about it.

"Look, it's the boss!"

The crowd eventually quiets down and backs away to give Ei some space. She crosses her arms at
none other than Miko herself, who looks traumatized from what happened.

She coughs. "...Miss Yae. May I help you?"

Miko's eyes light up at her arrival. "Ei! I came to ask you about something—"

"I thought it was normal for everyone to book an appointment to see me." She says sternly. "And..
please do not call me Ei here."

Miko frowns after hearing that. "Aw, I thought that we had chemistry."

The crowd of people starts whispering to each other. Ei groans, knowing that rumors are about to
start spreading in the building, "Just.. come with me."

She leads Miko into the elevator, only realizing that she had brought someone else with her. "Hold
on, who is this?" Ei raises her arm to the stranger's chest level and blocks her from entering the
elevator.

The young lady has her dark brown hair tied into a messy bun. She looks like she is about to fall
asleep anytime, but continues to put on a friendly smile.

"Ei, let me explain! This is my artist, she works for me!" Miko quickly calms her down. "I
specifically brought her here to help us."

Ei is quite confused about this whole thing. Miko usually books appointments when she has to see
her. Even if it is just to have a chat with her to keep her company in her office, Miko never breaks
the rules.

But here she is, looking all confident, and even bringing a random person with her!
"Miko, I do not allow people I do not know into my office that easily." She says in a monotonous
tone.

"Oh, come on, you know me, and I know her, so.. we can all trust each other, am I right?" Miko
chuckles lightly, squeezing the lady's shoulder.

Ei watches the two of them smile at each other. She frowns at how happy those two are. Are they
closer than I had expected?

Not wanting to cause a scene, she calms herself down before replying, "Alright, you may come in."

The three of them ride the elevator in silence. Ei has a lot of questions in her head, but her main
concern is why Miko brought someone with her, especially an artist.

When they enter Ei's office, she gestures at the two of them to sit at the office chairs opposite her.
Of course, the two of them sit strangely close to each other, and that also makes Ei feel
uncomfortable.

"Now, what are you two doing here?" Ei starts.

"Firstly, I actually wanted to surprise you. I thought that I would come visit you before you finish
work." Miko explains. "Secondly, I am in need of assistance about my new book that I had told you
about. I need ideas on what the cover should be, which is why I brought my artist to help make it
better. I thought that the three of us could discuss about what to draw on there."

Ei has her hand on her chin, as if thinking hard. She then nods, "I understand. I apologize for
getting upset."

She turns to the artist, who is still smiling so naively. "But, do you need an artist at this moment to
draw out our ideas, though?"

Miko nods. "I still have a lot of unfinished work to do, so getting an artist here will speed things
up."

The lady introduces herself, "My name is Maria, I hope it's not too much trouble to enter your
office this way." She bows in respect.

It is.

She glares at this stranger, before clearing here throat. "Alright, we should get started. I leave work
in an hour."

And with that, the three of them start discussing. Ei is not sure about what she can even do,
because she was never told about what this book is about. As Miko said, it's a secret.

But, from what she understands from their conversation, there will be two butterflies in the story. It
sounds a bit like a children's book, perhaps that is what Miko is aiming for.

She does not understand why she has to be here, because both Miko and Maria are the ones doing
most of the discussing. Ei stares begrudgingly at the two of them smiling together.

Half an hour in, and Ei has still not spoken a proper sentence. "Oh, yes, that looks wonderful!"
Miko nods her head in approval at Maria's sketch.

The artist continues to focus on her drawing, while Miko constantly compliments her. Ei is not
liking this.

She feels left out. It's like as though she is invited just to watch these two friendships blossom in
front of her.

"Ei, what color should this butterfly be?" Miko suddenly asks. Ei's mind stops wandering. She
looks at the two of them absentmindedly.

Maria points her finger to a pretty butterfly she had drawn in her sketchbook. "We've chosen the
color yellow for the other butterfly, what about this one?"

Ei doesn't think too much about it. "Dark blue."

"Oh, that's a nice color!" Miko nods, as Maria pulls out a dark blue color pencil from her pencil
case. She smoothly fills in the empty spots between the lines, not leaving a single uneven spot.

She then continues to sketch the background, which is filled with branches and leaves behind. Ei
can't help but get herself immersed in the coloring process. She admits that it looks lovely.

After what felt like forever, Maria stretches her arms up in the air, "Ahh, this is roughly what the
cover will look like!" She says proudly.

Both Ei and Miko admire the drawing from up close. For a drawing draft, that is pretty impressive.

Ei wishes she could draw as good as that, so Miko would have called her to help alone.

She looks at the clock on the wall behind those two, almost time for her to leave. Ei coughs, "Well,
time is up. You should leave."

Maria pouts. "Aww, time went by really quick.. I enjoyed drawing for you guys!"

Miko nods, "Let's do that again some other time." She turns to look at Maria. "I appreciate you
coming all the way here to help me, thank you."

Ei clenches her teeth. She angrily snatches her handbag and files, "Let's go."

With Miko and Maria not suspecting anything, they also pack their bags and the three of them
leave the office together. At the entrance of the building, Miko and Maria wave goodbye, before
walking their separate ways.

The walk home still wasn't enough for Miko to notice anything different with Ei today. She was
hoping that Miko would stop and turn and tell her "You're the only one I need." at one point, but
nothing happened.

Miko, instead, continues to talk about Maria and their history of working together throughout the
years. "I couldn't find any good artists for months, but when I was about to take the sign down,
Maria came running in, in heels!" She chuckles. "I gave her exactly five minutes to introduce
herself and show me her portfolio, and everything just clicked! She was the perfect artist I was
looking for!"

She sighs with a smile, "Ah, what would I do without her?"

Ei has the grumpiest look on her face, and usually, nothing can get her this upset. But hearing her
soulmate admire someone else that isn't her sounds wrong.

Ei doesn't notice that she has started taking faster steps, walking further away from Miko. "Hey,
wait for me!" She calls, catching up to her.

Miko said that she would cook dinner for the two of them, and so she does. With an apron on, she
makes two plates of simple spaghetti bolognese (which is just cooked spaghetti and bolognese
sauce from a can), but she adds more seasoning to make it taste better.

She brings the two plates to the table, "Bon appetit!"

The two of them immediately dig into their meals, and their eyes widen at the wonderful taste.
Even Miko is proud of herself, "Huh, I did not know I can cook this good."

Ei doesn't answer. She fills the uneasiness in her heart, and her stomach, with spaghetti.

Finally, Miko notices something is wrong. She puts her fork and spoon down and looks at the
person in front of her. "Ei, is something wrong? Did I make the spaghetti too salty?"

She looks up from her plate from the sudden question. "N-Nothing. The spaghetti is alright."

"You are terrible at lying." Miko sighs. "You know that you can tell me anything, even about my
cooking."

"Just eat, Miko." Ei's voice suddenly becomes stern. She notices the tone in her voice, before
clearing her throat. "Sorry."

Miko is surprised by that tone. Ei would never speak that way unless something is truly wrong.

"..I just want you to know that I'm here if you need to talk—"

Ei interrupts her, "Enough, Miko. Your head is occupied with someone else, is it not? You don't
have to care about me."

Miko's face turns sour, with a slight pain in her heart. She continues to stare at her for a while,
before asking, "What is wrong with you?"

Ei freezes.

"How can you say that when all I have in my mind is you?" Miko scolds. "Every second is about
you! It has always been like this!"

She stands up from her seat, "Is there anyone else who comes to surprise you at work? Is there
anyone else who will cook dinner for you? No other person sees you as an angel like I do, and that
is the truth!"

Ei looks up at Miko, "Then why do you talk about her so fondly?!" Her voice breaks.

Miko stops and realizes Ei's eyes are red. She thinks, is she talking about Maria?

Everything finally clicks. She never realized that she had talked so much about Maria today, that
the name Ei never came out of her mouth. She was too occupied by her new book and the drawing
Maria drew, that she had not thought of Ei all day.

"Are you... jealous?" She asks.

Ei doesn't open her mouth, but the tears in her eyes answer the question for her.
Miko finally relaxes with a soft smile, walking to the other side of the dining table to embrace her.
Ei wraps her arms around her in an instant, burying her head into Miko's shoulders. She was
worried that Ei could have been upset about something bigger than this, and it could have damaged
their relationship.

No, she thinks, nothing can separate the two of us apart. Whatever happens, Miko will always be
there for her.

She rubs Ei's back, like comforting a baby, "I'm sorry, my love.. I should have paid more attention
to you." She whispers. "I am not leaving you, and I will never stop loving you, okay?"

Ei nods, which makes Miko's shoulder feel ticklish. "Okay."

"Miko." She calls, lifting her head up slightly. A spot on Miko's shirt is wet from Ei's tears. "Can
you sleep with me tonight?"

Miko lets out a soft chuckle, "Of course I will, but you must promise me something."

Ei continues staring into her eyes, waiting for her next sentence.

"Promise me you will not hide me away from the general public, that you will always be proud to
call me yours. There is nothing to be embarrassed about."

"I promise, I will show you off as much as I can." She smiles. "Now come lie down." Ei becomes
impatient.

The two of them let go, but Miko doesn't move out of the way. "Well.. we should finish our plate
of spaghetti first.." She looks at the lonely plates sitting on the table.

The two of them slowly get into bed, and into the covers. Ei managed to change into a long sleeved
shirt away from Miko. Honestly, she had completely forgotten about the symbol today. It's
incredible that this person is able to make her forget about her own problems for a while.

Miko had changed into a sleeveless top and underwear. Her legs are beautiful and smooth. She is
gorgeous in every way.

Even the blanket isn't enough to keep her warm. Once Miko wraps her arms around her, she feels
safe and cozy, like nothing could hurt her as long as she's here.

Like a baby, Ei shrinks herself into Miko's arms. Miko gives a quick peck on her head, burying
herself into her luscious hair.

No matter how much Miko's arms will hurt at the end of this, she won't let go. They want to stay
like this for minutes, even hours.

"You are my love, my light during my dark days. You are the rainbow in the sky that stands out
from everything else." Miko whispers, as she massages Ei's head.

Ei lets out a soft "mmm" after every sentence. Her soft breath tickles Miko's neck. She seems to be
enjoying this.

Miko continues to do this until Ei falls asleep in her arms. Only then Miko closes her eyes,
knowing that she is safe, and happy.
Chapter End Notes

Sorry, I suck at writing cuddling scenes

Thank you so much for the kudos and nice comments!!

 Chapter 4
Chapter Summary

Ei meets with an old friend, but he is no longer who he used to be.

Chapter Notes

I'm not sure whether to put a warning for this??

There is a short fight scene in this chapter!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Ei enters the building through the main entrance like usual. She prefers to walk or take public
transport to her destination, so she doesn't use her car often. During those times, can she truly relax
her mind and enjoy the nature around her.

Before she can even reach the reception area, she is suddenly stopped by an employee. She has a
grin on her face, "Good morning, Boss! How are you and Miss Yae doing?"

Ei smiles, as her thoughts are filled with Miko. "Good morning. We are doing fine, thank you for
asking."

The employee starts gushing, "You are very cute together. I wish you two happiness!"

"Thank you." Ei suddenly remembers the time. "Don't slack off now. You should get back to
work."

"Ah, right!" She slaps her forehead. "Please excuse me. Have a good day, Boss!" She waves,
before running off in the opposite direction.

Ei chuckles to herself. Huh, people are still talking about us, even after a month.

Both Ei and Miko have been busy with their work, to the point where they aren't able to spend
much time with each other. The only times they get to see each other are before and after work. Of
course, they still cuddle each other before bed, but someone will be the first to fall asleep quickly
from exhaustion (it's usually Ei).

As the days go by, so too does Miko's new book's release date. There are still many things to fix,
plan and discuss. It makes sense that she would be preoccupied.

But deep inside, their love for each other doesn't go away. No matter how busy they can get, there
will always be time for the two of them to just imagine their loved one by their side.

Ei misses the constant hand holding, the way Miko whispers sweet nothings into her ears at
random times of the day, the warm feeling when they are hugging each other..
She just wants to jump into Miko's arms right now.

Well, the only thing she can jump into now is her office chair.

She stares at the stack of reports and files on her table that she had just taken from the shelves. She
has a grumpy look on her face, like a child not wanting to clean up their toys.

She has never been overwhelmed by the amount of work she has to do. Before she knew that Miko
was her soulmate, work was what she was willing to do until the night she dies.

Miko's appearance taught her to appreciate life a little more, to try out new experiences before it's
too late. As the saying goes, you only live once.

Ei's thoughts are interrupted by a phone call. She stares at the unfamiliar phone number on the
screen, trying to remember who it's from.

She gives up on thinking and answers the call. "Hello, this is Ei."

A man's voice comes from the other side. "Boss Ei! Do you remember me?" He greets, as if he has
known her for a decade.

That voice seems familiar. Ei replies after a moment of silence, "Is this Richard?"

Richard laughs proudly, "So you do remember! It has been a while, Boss."

Ei relaxes in her chair with a small smile. Richard is one of her old clients. He wanted to open a
business where he sells energy drinks of different flavors with no sugar added. It sure does sound
unbelievable, but Ei has personally visited his factory and tasted his drinks.

After his drinks has been promoted through the internet and in physical booths, their sales
increased in a matter of weeks. Richard was able to rent a small office building outside of the city.
One year later, he now owns a building and is the boss of the entire thing. He and his team
continue to create different flavored drinks for his target audiences.

However, Ei is wondering where Richard had gotten her personal phone number, instead of calling
her through the office phone.

"How have you been, Richard? Congratulations on reaching your donations goal." Ei asks.

"Oh, I've been doing wonderful! The money we raised was donated to charity. Just doing a good
thing." He says humbly.

"Oh, I almost forgot why I called!" He chuckles. "My group and I created two special drinks, but
we're not sure which one to choose! I need your help to decide which one tastes the best. We will
release it on the first of next month, and it's gonna be a big deal!"

Ei laughs politely. "Me? I am flattered, but I don't think it should depend on my decision."

Richard reassures her, "Oh, don't worry! This is what I personally want. You've been a great
partner to me and I want to repay that kindness."

"Do you remember my factory? It looks much bigger now, I can show you around. I'll pick you up
somewhere, no problem at all." He asks.

Ei hesitates, but she eventually accepts his invitation, "Alright, how about tomorrow evening? I
will wait for you outside of my building."
He notes, "Sure, tomorrow evening. I'll see you soon!"

They both say goodbye, and Richard ends the call first. Ei stares at her phone screen for a while,
thinking about their conversation.

She is grateful to be the first person a client has thought of to make an important decision for a
company. Whatever drink Ei chooses, she hopes that the customers will like it too.

"So, let me get this straight. A man is coming to pick you up in a car you've never been in and he's
taking you to.. a factory." Miko repeats Ei's words.

"You explained it in a creepy way, but yes." Ei nods.

Miko waits for more words to come out of her mouth, but she says nothing else. Miko groans, "Ei,
do you not realize how.. suspicious, that sounds?"

"He is an old client of mine. I have visited his factory once before.

"That is not the point." Miko crosses her arms. "Why doesn't he just bring the drinks to you to try?"

Ei shrugs, "Because the drinks are not ready to be brought out of the factory..?"

Miko's eyes widen. "Why not? Are the drinks still inside of those machines?"

Ei sighs, realizing nothing is making sense right now. "Look, I'll be fine, Miko. If anything
happens, I know how to protect myself." She says, which is true. She went to a self defense class
when she was younger and still remembers every move. She had to use those moves once when a
drunk man grabbed her in the middle of the street, and the man probably woke up with a broken
bone somewhere.

Miko worries, "He isn't the only person in a factory, Ei.. If something happens, and I'm not there.."
She doesn't finish her sentence, but Ei understands what she means.

She walks up to her and pulls her in for an embrace. Miko buries half of her face into Ei's shoulder,
her eyes twinkling under the dim light in their house.

"If I'm wrong and he hurts me, you can slap me, alright? I deserve that for not listening to you." Ei
says with a smile. She is serious about it.

Miko pulls away slowly after a moment and sighs. "At least let me wait for you outside or
something. If you take too long, I will barge in, and I don't care what you say." She says firmly, not
giving Ei a chance to reject her decision.

Ei doesn't fight back. "Alright, give me one hour."

The next day, Ei patiently waits for Richard outside of her company building. Even with a coat on,
it fails to keep her warm from the soft breeze. She is glad to have him pick her up, or she would
have to walk in the coming rain.

Ei suddenly hears an engine revving from a distance. She turns to look at the intersection road on
her right. A speeding black Lamborghini drives towards her way.
The car immediately brakes and stops right in front of her. Ei is stunned by that act, it's quite
dangerous and no one has done that for her.

The door on the driver's side swings open, and out comes a man she is not able to recognize in an
instant.

"Boss Ei, it's been a while!" The blonde man smiles wide, coming over to Ei. He has light green
contact lenses on.

Ei blinks a few times in surprise. "Richard.. Wow, you look much different than I remember."

He laughs out loud. "Yeah, of course, I had to change my looks to look more presentable! That old
nerdy me would have fallen for the new me." He says proudly.

Ei doesn't think too much about it, except that his new look feels a bit too much. "Well, let us get
going, shall we?"

Richard, like a gentleman, opens the car door for the lady. She smiles at him as thanks, and climbs
in.

Ei has obviously never been in a Lamborghini. Richard's car looks like it has been modified to look
more advanced than usual. This surely would have taken hundreds of thousands of Mora, maybe
even millions.

His wealth is getting to him.

As Richard is driving, Ei decides to ask him more questions to catch up on what he has been doing.
"You said that you have upgraded your factory to a bigger one. How long did that take you?"

"The whole year, actually. I'm expanding another section in the area, and it's still under
construction." He explains. "Our drinks are constantly being sold out, so we need more people to
make more!

Ei is quite impressed with how far he has come. Back when she first met Richard, he was a skinny
guy with glasses. He was a bit shy, but he had a lot of great ideas. She accepted him as her client
because of how talented he was.

"Thank you, by the way, for choosing me to decide on your next energy drink release. I am
honored." Ei smiles.

While still looking at the road in front of him, Richard shakes his head, "It's no big deal. You've
done much more for me. You're gonna like the new drinks we made."

The factory is located outside of the city, in a smaller area inside some forests. Richard drives
forward on a small path that doesn't connect to the main road.

Ei sees the factory slowly appear in her view. She gasps softly at how big it has grown. It kind of
looks like a castle, with the long pipes on top blowing out steam. The right side of the building is
under construction.

Richard parks his car, and they both climb out. Ei continues to stare at how high this factory is.
Richard laughs, "I knew you'd be surprised."

"Come, I will give you a tour of the place. A lot of it has changed." Richard says, leading the way.
Excited, Ei follows him with a peaceful mind.

Meanwhile, on the empty main road, parked to the side is Ei's car that was borrowed by Miko.
With the windows rolled down, she stares out at the factory in the distance with an alert look.

Miko taps a button on her phone, and the timer starts.

"And, this is the area where the labels are pasted onto the cans. We have workers here making sure
nothing goes wrong." He points to the workers in their uniform watching over the huge silver
machines.

Ei was shown every part of the factory. From the workers cutting up real fruits, to the energy
drinks being mixed in large pots. The whole place is filled with machines hanging high in the air
and on the ground. Honestly, it makes Ei a little nervous.

They watch a batch of cans go in a big machine box by the conveyor belt, and come back out with
colored labels.

"This is wonderful to watch." Ei admires. "Everything here is consistent, everyone is doing a

responsible job."

Richard talks proudly of himself, "Well, I am the boss after all." He suddenly remembers
something, "Oh, I've been so busy showing you around, I've forgotten about the taste testing! Let
me take you to my office."

He leads Ei to a door that is away from the production area of the factory. This place is much
quieter and fancier. The way to his office has carpet flooring and landscape paintings hanging on
the wall.

Richard opens the door for her, and Ei walks in first. The interior would be what someone would
pay attention to first, but she was not expecting to see more people waiting inside for them.

"Ei, this is my personal assistant, Suzuya," Richard introduces a tall man in a blazer. "and this is a
good friend of mine, Fitzgerald, who helped to create the two drinks you will try today." He
introduces a shorter man with glasses.

Ei starts to feel uneasy, remembering her conversation with Miko the night before. "Ah, so many
people here today."

Richard brushes it off, "Oh, we're just excited to see you try our drinks! Come, come, take a seat."
He gestures Ei to take a seat.

There are bookshelves lined up on the walls on her left and right. The office desk is in front of a
window, and it's facing a coffee table. Two black couches are placed on opposite sides.

Fitzgerald brings two glasses of two different colored drinks to the coffee table. Richard and
Suzuya are sitting on the couch opposite of Ei.

"First of all, we'd like to thank you for coming here to personally try our new drink creations."
Suzuya smiles. "These are flavors way different from what we are already selling, but these will
surely gain a lot of attraction from our customers."

He starts explaining to Ei about the drinks. "This drink on your right is cotton candy flavored." Ei
picks up the cup and swirls it around, revealing a shimmering pink inside.

"It does look strange, but once you taste it, you will immediately recognize the taste of childhood."

Suzuya points to the next drink. "On your left is mango flavored." He pauses. "This one is much
more normal, but still strange to hear that it's coming from an energy drink. We used the real fruit
for this."

"Personally, I enjoy the mango flavor more." He adds, laughing to himself.

Fitzgerald also joins in. "I agree, the mango flavor has a refreshing taste."

Ei looks at the cotton candy drink first. It sure does look pretty, but how would it taste without
sugar?

She picks up the glass of cotton candy energy drink and takes a few sips. Instantly, her mouth fills
with lots of sweetness. It takes Ei back to when she went to a carnival for the first time and had
cotton candy on a stick.

But, there is one question that she needs to ask. "Is sugar added into the cotton candy drink?
Without sugar, you would still have to add some sort of sweetener in it to make it sweet, would you
not?"

"Correct, we added corn syrup, which is a replacement for sugar." Fitzgerald says.

Ei raises an eyebrow. "Corn syrup? That would defeat the purpose of your energy drinks in the first
place. Have you forgotten?"

Richard laughs nervously from the awkwardness. "Why don't you give the mango flavor a try?"

Seeing these people not take their business seriously, it leaves Ei with a suspicious feeling. Had
they forgotten what their energy drinks are supposed to be?

Richard seems to be brushing this off as well. He shouldn't be lying to his customers like this.

Ei picks up the mango flavored drink. It has the usual yellowish color every mango flavored drink
has. She knows that this will taste good.

After a few seconds, she takes a few sips.

Ei's eyes light up, "Mm, you are right. This is refreshing." She pauses.

The rest of the guys are waiting for her response. Ei knows what her answer is already. Although
the cotton candy flavor is something you'll never see very often, it isn't the best drink for this
company to produce.

"I'll choose the mango flavor."

The three men smile. "Wonderful choice." Richard praises.

Fitzgerald takes away the glasses. Ei looks around, wondering what else she is supposed to do
here. "Well, if that is all, I suppose I will excuse myself now. Thank you guys for the great
hospitality—"

The office door closes shut with a slam.

Ei turns to look at the door. Suzuya is standing there with fire in his eyes.

Richard chuckles. "Why in such a hurry?"

Shit.

Ei slowly gets her phone out. "Is there something else you wanted to show me? Let me just inform
my soulmate that I'll be home late—"

Her phone is immediately snatched away by Richard and thrown across the room. The sound of the
phone breaking instantly breaks Ei's heart, knowing she is really screwed this time.

Ei feels a pair of hands grab her shoulders from behind. Immediately, she turns back and twists his
arms around with her elbow. Fitzgerald's jaw drops from surprise. Ei locks his arms in between her
armpit, before sending a hard punch to his face. Fitzgerald falls back and holds his face, yelling in
pain.

She turns back to Suzuya, who is now charging at her. He lets out a yell, before reaching for Ei's
neck to choke her.

But Ei is faster than him. She punches his arms out of her way, which causes him to gasp from
being caught off guard. She palm-strikes his nose up and sends a kick to his groin. Suzuya yells in
pain, as he staggers back bent over, and falls on his back, clutching his groin. Ei catches her breath
and steadies herself.

"Holy shit, she can fight!" Fitzgerald yells, holding his now bleeding nose.

Richard is the next one to lock Ei's arms behind. But before she can fight back, the world around
her suddenly starts to spin, and she almost loses her balance.

"God, finally, it's taking effect!" Suzuya groans, trying to stand up from the pain.

Taking effect?

Richard pulls a dizzy Ei to the corner of the room and pushes her onto the bookshelf, causing some
books to fall as well. The pain in her head becomes stronger, to the point where she is unable to
move any part of her body or she would instantly pass out. Her back slides down the shelf and she
eventually sits down on the ground, hunched.

"What the hell took so long?! How many pills ... put in there?" Fitzgerald yells at Suzuya.

"Five pills! That should have been ... her out in seconds!"

Ei's surroundings are getting blurry. The voices around her are now starting to sound like
gibberish.

Richard gets down on one knee and moves his face close to hers. She can feel his stinky breath on
her cheek.

"You are naive. Too naive." He says calmly. Ei listens closely, trying to keep her eyes wide open.
"Once I ruin your reputation, I will rise to the top and take your crown."

And with that, She passes out.

—
 Miko stares at the timer on her phone screen. It has been over an hour and two minutes.

She looks back at the factory in the distance, before looking back down at her phone and dialing
110.

"110, what is your emergency?"

Miko starts to act panicked. "Help, my friend went off to meet with a man at his factory and she
hasn't returned! She isn't responding to my texts and calls! The man looked suspicious too!"

"Okay, I'm sending the police your way. What is the address?"

Miko gives the operator the address of the factory, before hanging up.

She starts the engine again, with a bad feeling in her chest.

I'm sorry I have to do this, but something doesn't seem right. He better not have laid a finger on
you.

Miko drives herself through the small path that leads to the factory.

Chapter End Notes

I updated Chapter 1 with a small explanation of what Ei's company is. It isn't much,
but at least it won't leave some people questioning what she does I guess

Thank you for the kudos and nice comments!!

 Chapter 5
Chapter Summary

Evn after already going through a traumatic experience, more problems arise for Ei.

Chapter Notes

You did not see me accidentally post Chapter 5 early haha....

Anyways, hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Miko stops her car at the gates and gets down. As soon as she closes the door, a security guard
quickly approaches and stops her with his hand. "Hey, you are not allowed to enter!"

She slaps his hand off of her, "Do not touch me, you imbecile." She glares. "Did you see another
woman enter before me?"

"Another woman?" He furrows his eyebrows.

Miko slams her fist on the car roof in frustration. "A woman with purple hair! Where is she?!"

The guard steps back in surprise. "C-Calm down, geez.. She went in there with the boss.." He
points to a door just right in front of them.

Miko doesn't say anything else. She turns and walks straight to that door. The guard panics and
follows her from behind, "But no visitors are allowed inside without permission from the boss!"

She ignores him, and swings open the door. She is met with a bunch of lockers lined up on her left
and right.

"Ma'am, I cannot let you in unless your name is in the list!" The guard scolds. "I will have to
inform the boss if you refuse to cooperate—"

Miko grabs his collar and pushes the guard onto the lockers, which makes a loud slam. The guard
doesn't dare to move, or this short lady could murder him in a second. He looks down at her with
sweat trickling down his neck. Miko doesn't let go of his collar.

"Richard, isn't it?" She says calmly. "I suspect he did something to the woman in the purple hair, so
you're coming with me to find her."

"M-Me? I am just a security guard, I can't enter the factory whenever I want..!" He stumbles on his
words. "Besides, the boss wouldn't do anything to her.."

"Shut up." Miko interrupts him. She thinks for a moment about where possibly Ei could be.
If Richard wanted to hurt her, doing so in the production area of the factory would attract attention,
unless his workers are in on it too.

Miko lets go of him and continues on to the next room. The guard lets out a sigh of relief, fixing
his collar.

She opens the next door, which already leads to the production area. The place is filled with
machinery everywhere. The sounds of metal clanking echoes throughout the big room.

Ignoring that, she swiftly zooms her way to the center of the room, trying to find a worker. With
luck by her side, she finds a man in a uniform standing by some buttons.

"You. Do you know where Richard went?" Miko gets straight to the point. The man turns back in
surprise. "Oh God, I thought it was a ghost or something."

"Answer me quickly!" Miko scolds. The security guard suddenly appears behind her, "Answer her
quickly, she's a scary one.."

The man looks at the both of them in confusion, but answers anyway, "That door over there.. I
think he was giving someone a tour of the factory." He points to an entrance in the corner.

"So he's going all the way to the left, I'm assuming." Miko says to herself.

The guard remembers something and mentions, "Then he must be in his office. That's the farthest
room on the left."

Miko's eyes widen from that realization. "You might be right. For once, you're helpful." She says,
immediately rushing to the next room.

"Hey, wait!" The guard runs off to catch up to her.

While walking through countless of rooms with machines, some workers have tried to stop Miko
from proceeding, but the security guard shushes them and tells them not to bother her.

The two of them finally reach an area in the building that looks much cleaner and fancier. A set of
stairs appear in front of them.

"It's two floors up." The guard says before she can ask him.

Miko climbs up the stairs, skipping a few steps. The guard tries to catch up to her, but fails. "Wait
for me!" He breathes heavily.

The second floor has a nice carpet flooring. Small glittering chandeliers are hung on the ceiling.
Hmph, Miko scoffs to herself, of course he would only care to make this area fancier than the rest.

The guard finally reaches the second floor, still gasping for air. "I have not worked out this much in
months.."

He looks up at Miko, who seems confused about where to go next. "Ma'am!" He calls out to her,
who turns around. "Let me take you to his office. We're getting close." He says.

After going through endless hallways, they reach a big wooden door that stands out from the other
doors. "We're here." He says.

Miko approaches the door and knocks loudly three times.

There is no answer, not a single movement inside either.

Without hesitating, she kicks the door open, which leaves the guard speechless.

As soon as she enters the office, her eyes lay on the one person she has been looking for all this
time.

Ei is passed out on the floor, with both her wrists tied together with zip ties behind her back. Her
hair is in a mess, like she had been in a struggle. Her dress is wrinkled.

Miko isn't able to hold her tears in any longer. She runs and crouches next to her, as she combs her
hair with her hand. "Oh my goodness, my love.. I'm so sorry.."

The guard watches from afar with his jaws dropped. The pink haired lady was right all this time.
How could his own boss do this?

He gets his phone out to call the police, but he already hears police sirens in the distance.

Miko holds her lover's head up with her arm, cuddling her like a baby. Her tears fall onto Ei's
cheeks, but she doesn't pay attention to that. "I couldn't stop them.. in time.. I'm sorry.."

The guard silently waits there to give Miko time to be close to Ei, until the police arrive. She
continues to hug her tight, never letting her go.

No longer will she keep her eyes away from her. Anybody who dares to hurt her will hear from
Miko herself. She will make sure they suffer the same pain Ei went through.

Miko loosens her grip a bit, and her eyes move to Ei's arm.

The coat that Ei wore is now hanging halfway off her arms.

The red symbol is nowhere to be seen.

Ei has been in the hospital for a week, and she doesn't want to be here.

She remembers passing out from being dizzy, which she realized already that the mango flavored
drink was spiked. When she woke up, she was in a hospital, and was informed that it had been two
days since she was admitted.

Honestly, it surprises Ei that the pills were that strong. She is even more in shock that the pills had
not killed her.

The doctors have to do daily blood tests on her, to make sure the pills don't have any effects on her.
Those pills were much more different than the usual ones criminals use, so they just have to make
sure Ei is okay.
Of course, as soon as she woke up, the first thing she was worried about was her exposed arms, but
by then, the nurses and doctors have already seen her missing symbol. Nobody questioned her
anything, but she has a feeling that they are just as clueless as her.

She demanded to wear a long sleeved hospital gown, but the hospital doesn't have any, so her coat
will do. She had thought that the nurses would stop her, but all they do is shake their heads in
disbelief. Ei isn't bothered by their reactions.

Miko has also been giving her weird stares lately. Not the glaring type of stare, but the concerned
type. Does she know about her missing symbol?

"Why are you still wearing a jacket?" Miko frowns.

"It is cold." Ei simply answers, which is a terrible excuse. The air conditioning is turned off.

Miko comes to visit her everyday, informing her about what the police have found during their
investigation.

Richard and his friends were caught on the same day, attempting to climb over a fence. At the
police station, they refused to answer any questions, which made things difficult.

They learned that Richard's friends, Fitzgerald and Suzuya, are not their real names. Ei should have
noticed that.

The police had also found Ei's phone inside of a dumpster, but it can no longer turn on. The sim
card was nowhere to be found, so they had to deactivate it in order to hide the private data inside.

Ei isn't sure why they would need to throw her phone out after throwing it across the room and
breaking the screen.

The police closed down the factory and questioned the workers there about the event. They had
only found out that the workers there have been mistreated for months. Their salary was purposely
delayed. Some of the workers had also been abused by Richard himself.

Ei feels guilty for agreeing to meet him. She should have realized that he has changed. Fame and
money can ruin someone.

Miko was right all along, and she should have listened to her.

On the day Ei is discharged, Miko comes to take her home. The two of them embrace each other
for a while, cherishing the warmth that they couldn't have for many days.

Miko pulls back, and out of nowhere..

..slaps Ei's cheek.

The smacking sound surprises the hospital staff in the lounge. The impact itself wasn't painful, but
a sting came right after.

Miko purses her lips. "That is for getting hurt."

The ride home is a quiet one. Ei isn't surprised; nobody would be all jolly after an incident like
that. She is constantly repeating Richard's last words to her before she passed out.

"Once I ruin your reputation, I will rise to the top and take your crown."
Miko doesn't have the radio turned on today, so it is a bit awkward. Ei feels as though they are
sitting far apart, with an invisible wall in between them.

At home, Ei immediately jumps into bed. She sinks into the soft mattress with a relaxing smile on
her face.

"Your assistant said she will come over to hand you some reports tomorrow. You aren't fully
healed to go to your office just yet." Miko says, as she drops her backpack on the ground next to
the door.

"Sara?" Ei says to herself, having not hear her name for so long. "I hope she is doing well without
me."

She sits up on the bed with her legs crossed. "Miko, let us look for a new phone together tomorrow.
I do need it to communicate with my clients and employees as soon as possible—"

"You cant leave." Miko simply replies, her back facing Ei.

Ei looks up at her. "Oh.. I think I'm well enough to go out—"

"You shouldn't go out so often." Miko looks back without turning her body. "I don't want you to
get hurt."

Ei frowns. So Miko is still upset. "..Miko, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, but I won't make the same
mistake again, I promise. As long as we both are together, we will be alright."

Miko doesn't say anything, but Ei knows that she is traumatized from what happened. To see the
one she loves on the verge of dying and tied up is such a horrible experience.

In bed at night, Ei cuddles Miko. She twirls her pink strands of hair around her fingers. Miko's calm
breathing is music to her ears.

Ei presses a soft kiss on her forehead, letting her lips stay there for a few more seconds. Miko
keeps her eyes closed. She can feel the spot on her forehead slightly wet from Ei's lips.

She doesn't say or do anything, but Miko enjoys the physical touch. She doesn't know what
Richard and his group did to her, but she will never let anybody lay their hands on her anymore.
Only Miko is allowed to touch her, like a leopard marking its territory.

Ei closes her eyes, and talks to herself in her mind.

Things will get better, surely.

The next day, Ei patiently waits for Sara to come with the reports she needs to check. Miko didn't
tell her what time she would be here, but she doesn't want to ask her.

Even after all that cuddling, it seems like Miko is avoiding her still. She doesn't know how else to
cheer her up. Her lover is well and safe, shouldn't she be happy?

Just before lunchtime, the doorbell rings. Ei quickly puts on a sweater and goes to answer the door,
and it's Kujou Sara standing outside with a stack of files in her arms.

"Sara, it's good to see you again." Ei smiles.

But Sara doesn't look too good either. She looks as though she hasn't gotten enough sleep. "Boss,
I'm glad you're okay."

Sara places the files into Ei's hands. "..There. We'll see you again once you're fully well." She bows
slightly, before turning to leave.

"Sara!" Ei stops her. "You aren't acting like yourself. Has something happened? How is the
company doing?"

Sara winces at the mention of the company. She turns around again, "To be truthful, it isn't doing
so well.."

"What?" Ei feels a wave of panic wash over her body in an instant. "How could this be? Are you
not doing your jobs as ordered without me?"

"Boss, it's not us!" Sara defends. "We've been doing everything we usually do, it's just.."

"A lot of your clients have backed out from partnering with us.. More rumors are spreading about
you and the company online and we can't stop it.. It's gotten bad." Sara explains.

Ei frowns, already feeling her mind racing with thoughts. How did this happen? This has never
happened to them! People have always talked so highly about their company!

Their company has had the best reputation for years. How did it all go downhill so quickly?

"Sara, tell me in full detail what happened." Ei says clearly, making sure she understands. "We
have been doing so well. How is our reputation decreasing?"

Sara blinks for a moment. "Boss.. did you not read what the news articles are writing?"

"That asshole client broke my phone, Sara! Just tell me, I have not been on the internet in a week!"
Ei begs, being too impatient.

Sara sighs, taking out her phone. "Here. They're all over the main page." She taps on the screen a
few times.

Before she hands the phone to Ei, she mentions, "You aren't going to like these.."

Ei quickly grabs the phone and starts scrolling through the list of news articles on the screen.

Company X Steals Mora From Small Businesses

Ei's eyes widen. She reads the next one with a frown.

Employee Forces Client to Sleep with Him to Help With Small Business

"Oh my God." Ei has her hand on her mouth in shock. She feels sick to her stomach. Their
company would never do such thing, and everyone should know that! Their company has been
here for years and they have been helping so many small businesses in Inazuma.

Why has everyone suddenly turned their back on them?

Ei shakes her head in disbelief. "How could this happen..?" She almost breaks down.

"We are the talk of the country, Boss. If this goes to Liyue and Mondstadt.." Sara trails off, not
wanting to imagine it happening.
"We- We have to stop this.. They are spreading false rumors!" Ei yells in frustration.

She continues scanning through the list, but her eyes stop at a specific news article with a title that
immediately shatters her heart into pieces.

Boss of Company X, The Only Human Being Without A Symbol! See What Doctors Have To
Say!

"Boss?" Sara frowns at Ei's pained expression. She takes back her phone and reads the article title,
before shaking her head. "What kind of rumor is that? How would you be able to find a soulmate
then—"

"That rumor is true." A voice suddenly appears from behind.

Ei turns around, to see Miko leaning by the doorway with her arms crossed. Sara also looks at her
with a surprised face.

The moment that Ei was afraid of all this time has finally happened.

"Miko.. no, no no, let me explain!" She panics.

"You think that I wouldn't notice something fishy, after almost two months?" Miko scolds,
heartbroken. "You have never shown me your arms this WHOLE time I've been living with you."

"You wear thick ass coats when it's thirty degrees outside! You are terrible at lying, I swear."

Ei goes to her and grabs her arm. "Miko I have my reasons! I swear, just hear me out—"

Miko pulls her arm away, "You told me yourself you saw the red line! Why didn't you just tell me
the truth?"

"Because this was what I feared!" Ei shouts. "Because I'll be lonely again! Because I don't want
you to leave me!"

Miko groans with her hands on her head, as she stomps back into the house. Both Ei and Sara
follow her in. Ei continues to explain, "I was selfish, Miko, I know! I just wanted to know what it
was like to love and be loved! I was going to tell you eventually, just- not this moment!"

"You are so childish, Ei." Miko stops and swiftly turns around with her fists clenched. "You clearly
never listen to me. How many times do I have to say that I will never leave you?"

Ei freezes in her spot. "H-Huh?"

"I told you that I wouldn't leave you no matter what, did I not?" Miko's voice suddenly cracks, and
she hides her eyes with her hand, trying to hold in her tears.

Ei doesn't move. It's like taking one step forward and she might accidentally trigger Miko to start
sobbing.

"Do you not believe me? What do I have to do to prove it to you?" Miko shakes her head. "With or
without your symbol, I would never think about leaving. That thought has never appeared in my
mind, not even a second. You are the one I love, the one I want to be with forever." She talks in a
calmer tone, but her breathing is still hitched.

"So stop thinking that I don't love you. It hurts me that you think I'd think about you that way." She
 rubs her eye.

Some strands of hair are on Ei's face, but she doesn't bother to comb it back. She walks up to Miko
and gives her a hug. She doesn't realize how tight it is, as Miko struggles to breathe, but she doesn't
tell her.

Miko wraps her arms around her lover's neck. "You've been alone for too long, darling.. I'm here to
give you all of my love, for as long as I can.."

Ei buries her head into her shoulders, breathing in Miko's scent, letting it take over her brain. "I'm
sorry, I won't think that way again.."

After a minute of holding onto each other, they eventually calm down and let go. Only then do
they remember that Sara is still standing there, watching the whole scene happen.

She has a stunned look on her face. Ei clears her throat, "Uh, I suppose I'll have to explain
everything."

Chapter End Notes

I don't have ideas for what Ei's company name should be. If you have some, let me
know and I'll see if I like them!

Thank you for the kudos and comments!!

 Chapter 6
Chapter Summary

Ei realizes she loves Miko more than anything in the world.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

The doorbell rings, surprising everyone in the house with its high-pitched ring.

Sara walks quickly to the door without even waiting for the ring to finish, and opens it. Her face
lights up instantly with a smile, "Kokomi."

The pastel looking lady smiles at her appearance as well. The two of them hug each other for a few
seconds, before letting go.

"I came as fast as I could. What happened?" Kokomi asks.

Sara leads her to the dining room, where Ei and Miko are waiting. As soon as Kokomi sees the
purple haired lady, she stops.

Ei notices her surprise, and stands up, "Kokomi, it's nice to see you again."

Kokomi goes up to her, "Ma'am, I'm glad that you're okay! I heard about what happened.."

"Thank you for coming. I wanted to discuss some important things with you." Ei says.

"Are they about the rumors?" Kokomi guesses.

Nobody answers her, but the silence is enough for her to figure it out.

"Before we get to that, I wanted to talk to everyone, to explain myself, as a sign of trust." Ei says.

Kokomi sits down next to Sara, and the talk starts.

"Well, I am sure that everyone has seen the news articles about my missing red symbol." Ei begins.

Kokomi nods. "I've seen a lot of them, though I know it's not true.."

"Well, it is. I do not have the red symbol on my arm." She reveals, pulling up her sleeve. She shows
her bare arm to the three people in front of her.

Kokomi and Sara's eyes widen, while Miko is the least surprised.

"Wow.." Sara says. "Never in my life did I think I would ever get to see someone's arm with
nothing on it."

"Then.. how did you see the red line lead to Miss Yae?" Kokomi asks.

"I didn't. I lied." Ei pulls down her sleeve, suddenly feeling a little sad from her own words.
Nobody says anything for a moment. They are aware of what happens when someone doesn't find
their soulmate in time. Without that symbol and the red line, isn't one destined to die?

Ei only has half a year before she turns twenty-five.

Kokomi speaks again. "But you do, right? Since your red line does lead to her, then everything
should be alright," She turns to Miko. "..right?"

Miko has her chin on her palm. She doesn't avert her gaze from Kokomi, "I believe so. It has to be
alright." She speaks confidently.

"Sara, your red line led to Kokomi, right? And Kokomi, your red line led to Sara. It's impossible for
one of your lines to lead to someone else."

The two of them nod in agreement. "That is true. Then.. is Boss Ei's symbol just glitched or
something..?" Sara asks.

"Is that even possible? That sounds more believable in a video game.." Kokomi jokes to lighten the
mood.

Miko doesn't hesitate with her words, as if she knows what will happen in the future, "She will be
okay, for sure."

She gets to the point, "Let's talk about the rumors. We already know who spreaded them online."

Everyone looks at Miko. She is right, only one person was able to do that while Ei wasn't
watching, while Ei wasn't strong enough to stop them.

"Richard." Ei's face turns into disgust.

Miko nods, smiling at Ei's reaction, "When you passed out, those assholes went through your
phone and somehow spread the news online."

"And then they broke it and threw it out." Ei continues for her. "They made sure to destroy it
completely."

Ei suddenly realizes. "Then.. he was the first to see my arm."

"He was thinking of fake news to spread online about you, and he happened to look at your arm
and used that to his advantage!" Sara snaps her fingers.

"But what will the news about your arm do?" Kokomi questions. "It won't ruin your reputation like
those rumors about you stealing Mora."

Ei replays what happened that day in her head. She tries to remember every word she and the other
men have said.

Ei slowly gets her phone out. "Is there something else you wanted to show me? Let me just inform
my soulmate that I'll be home late—"

Richard remembered Ei mentioning about her soulmate, but when he saw her arm, he knew that it
wasn't possible. He included her insecurity as part of his plan too.

"..I have been hiding that part of myself for twenty-four years, and it got exposed in a few
minutes."
Everyone's eyes are on Ei.

"I just want to be treated the same way like everyone else, or I would be an outcast."

Kokomi frowns, regretting the words she had just said. Miko reaches out to Ei's hand and squeezes
it, letting her know that she's not alone.

Ei had put all her hard work into growing her company, her business. Maybe ignoring them is the
best way for the rumors to die eventually. People will surely lose interest in that topic over time.

"..I suppose it is too late to stop these rumors from spreading. I will just continue my work like I
always do—"

Miko stands up, not letting go of her hand. "No! That is not the kind of mindset you need."

"We are going to do everything we can to stop these rumors, because they are absolutely fake! You
will not be treated like a villain for nothing!"

Sara stands up next. "The news about your symbol is hard to deny at this point, but not the ones
about you stealing Mora. I've known you for many years, Boss. I know that you are not like that."

Kokomi slowly stands up with her hands on the table. She looks up at Ei, "I can get my father to
help."

Ei's eyes widen. "Your father?"

The Sangonomiya Group is one of the companies that are high in the rankings as well. They have
always seen each other as rivals, constantly trying to outdo each other in terms of wealth.

They are quite understaffed, but they are surprisingly doing very well, with luck on their side.

"People are surely to question him about you, since you two are like rivals. He will debunk the
rumors, and people will listen to him."

"How do you know that? Would he really want to help me?" Ei crosses her arms, letting go of
Miko's hand.

Kokomi nods confidently, "He's competitive, but he has a good heart! He knows that you would
never betray your clients."

Ei thinks for a moment. "That may help a bit, but not entirely." She shakes her head, "People can
still say that he's lying."

"We will find other ways to stop it completely, but for now, this is better than nothing." Miko
agrees with Kokomi's suggestion.

After talking for another half an hour, Kokomi and Sara excuse themselves to return to their
offices. Before they walk out, Ei reminds them, "You two be careful, alright?"

Kokomi smiles, "We will. I have a driver picking me up." Sara also replies, "I'm driving back to
the office."

Sara pecks a quick kiss on her lover's cheek, "See you soon."

Sara walks out, but Kokomi turns around and approaches Ei. "Ma'am, uh.." She twiddles her
thumbs. "Thank you for trusting me enough to share your secret."
Ei smiles at her politeness, "It is nothing. You are my assistant's soulmate, you have the right to
know too."

Kokomi walks out while waving goodbye. With Ei and Miko left in the house, Miko suggests, "I
should get someone to grab a new phone for you."

She takes out her phone and immediately calls a number without hesitating. It doesn't take long for
the person on the other side to pick up.

"Hi, Maria. Could you go to the nearest gadget store and get the newest phone model? I'll come
pick it up at the bookstore later.. Uh huh.. Okay, thank you."

"Maria?" Ei's eyes widen. "You are not asking her to use her salary, are you?" She squints at Miko.

Miko dramatically gasps. "I am not that kind of person! Besides, since when did you start caring
for her?" She teases, referencing to when Ei got jealous of Miko's artist.

Ei turns away, "I was simply concerned, that's all.

She looks back at Miko again and asks another question, "Miko, why did you not want me to leave
the house to buy a new phone?"

Miko doesn't say anything for a moment. "Partly because of your health. You had needles poked
into you every hour, you aren't well enough."

"And also because I knew about the rumors." She moves closer to Ei. "You would have seen the
news as soon as you turned on your phone. It's everywhere, Ei. I knew that it would tear you apart."
She frowns.

Ei looks down at the floor with a sad look. Miko lifts her chin up gently with her hand. They look
into each other's eyes.

"We will put a stop to them, I am sure of it." She nods confidently.

Ei isn't so sure, but with Miko's assurance, she has a bit more hope for the future.

At almost midnight, Ei sits at the edge of the bed, still feeling awake as ever. With thoughts
constantly running inside of her mind, sleep is the last thing she'll be able to do.

Ei still hasn't gotten used to leaving her arms exposed, despite doing so for so long in the hospital.
Maybe it's the fact that Miko was the main person she was hiding her arms from, and she has found
out her secret.

The bedroom door swings open slowly, and Miko's head pops in from the doorway. "Not tired?"
She walks in and closes the door.

Ei shakes her head and smiles. "My thoughts are keeping me awake."

Miko jumps onto the bed and sits next to her with her legs crossed. "What are you thinking about?"
Miko wraps her arm around her shoulder, not putting too much pressure on it. "Are you still
worried about the rumors?"

Ei doesn't say anything. Perhaps the rumors aren't the main thing she's thinking about..
Miko takes a look at her lover and immediately understands. The people she aren't close with may
not treat her the same way after learning about her symbol.

She gazes into Ei's eyes, which are looking down. "You are too focused on the past, dear."

Ei looks up slightly from that unexpected response. Miko brings up her delicate hand to lift her
chin up, staring lovingly into her purple eyes. "Don't be upset over a symbol, you still have
something a lot of people haven't."

"And what is that?"

"A soulmate." Miko grins.

Ei rolls her eyes pinches Miko's cheek. "Very funny."

Miko rubs her red cheek with a pout. Ei lets herself fall onto the bed on her back, with her arms
spread out. "Would it be considered "official" when one of them doesn't see the red line?"

"Of course, as long as the other one has the red line." Miko also lies down on her back. She turns to
Ei and cups her face with one hand. "You don't have to worry. No matter what, I'll stay with you."

"Don't say that, Miko." Ei shakes her head. "If becoming my soulmate guaranteed you death, I
wouldn't want you to stay."

Miko sits herself up once again and suddenly pins Ei's arms down, unable to lift them up. Her eyes
go wide. Miko is on top of her.

"I would do anything it takes to be with you, no matter where you are or what will happen."

What is she doing?

"You say the same sentence everytime. Do you really mean it?" Ei asks. "Will you go back on your
words if it really happens?"

Miko smiles and licks her lips gracefully.

Without another word, she suddenly crosses her leg over Ei's body, and sits on her legs. Ei freezes
in her spot with her lips tightly shut, unable to tell her to stop. With every movement, Ei's gaze
continues to stay locked on Miko's gorgeous eyes.

Miko leans down, her face very close to Ei's. They look at each other's lips, and Ei realizes what
was about to happen.

She has never made out with anyone, let alone be this close to someone's face. Ei truly is the
luckiest person in the world, to be dominated by the one and only, Yae Miko.

"I'll prove that I'm telling the truth."

With her firm hands still pinning Ei's arms down, they close their eyes, and their lips meet.

Her heart instantly flutters. It's like the world around her has suddenly exploded into colorful
confetti. The absolute joy she feels at this very moment can never be compared to any other happy
memory.

Miko's lips are a bit cool and soft, like a pillow. Their noses constantly tickle each other with their
soft breaths, as they continue to press their lips gently against each other.
 Their hearts beat faster and faster every second. As the kiss gets more intense, Miko's grip loosens
as well. Her arms give up, and now her elbows are on the mattress.

Ei pulls her arms away and cups Miko's cheeks, leaving her lips slightly parted for her tongue to
enter, like an invitation, which she gladly accepts.

Their tongues explore each other's mouth. Miko moans, and she can feel her hot breath on her face.
Despite not putting on perfume the entire day, Ei can imagine the floral smell that comes from
Miko on every other day.

Miko combs her fingers through her lover's hair, and everytime they kiss even harder and deeper
than before, she grips a fistful of them from the intensity, with a sudden urgent need to have her all
to herself.

Oh, I need you. I need you so bad.

Ei pulls away slightly to catch her breath. She licks her lips and swallows, still able to taste the
warmth of Miko's tongue.

She pulls Miko to lie down beside her. They embrace each other, melting into each other's arms.

Like an animal marking its territory, Ei has Miko all to herself. A desire to own her, to not share her
with anyone else. Only Miko can kiss her like that, only Miko can touch her like that.

"You never told me you were such a great kisser." Miko lets out a chuckle, breathing heavily. "We
should do this more often."

Ei cups Miko's face again, also breathless, "I would do this everyday. I love you, I need you.
You're mine."

"Do you believe me now? That is exactly how I feel."

Ei buries her face into Miko's silky hair, breathing in the smell of floral shampoo. She truly is like
a flower that has bloomed beautifully.

All her life, Ei had thought that nothing else mattered, except for her career and wealth. She was
ready to die alone, as long as she leaves a name in this world for the next generation to learn.

But when Miko came into her life, her view changed. If she is destined to die, then so be it.
However, she will die happy, knowing that she has a soulmate by her side, who has made her the
happiest woman in the world on her last moments. Miko has also made the same decision.

"I love you so much, my love. Do not ever forget that." Miko reminds her again. "There is no one
else in this world I would rather be with."

Ei doesn't reply until after a few seconds, "..Me too, Miko, me too."

Chapter End Notes

This is kind of a short chapter. I'm busy with some stuff in real life, updates will be
slow
Hope you enjoyed the makeout session~
 Chapter 7
Chapter Summary

Mr. Sangonomiya makes Ei realize that she can't hide away from her problems
forever.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

"Holy shit." Miko cusses, looking out in the distance with a grin of disbelief. She slows down the
car to take a better look. "They still have not moved on, huh?"

This is what Ei hadn't expected. A group of protesters are standing right outside of Ei's company
building with large signs in the air. One of them says 'SHUT DOWN YOUR BUSINESS!'

She wishes she could just scream at them that they were wrong about her, but she holds those
thoughts back.

"Oh, come on, this is ridiculous." Miko groans, stepping on the pedal again.

If they had decided to walk to the office, all hell would break loose. God knows how chotic things
would be if they had spotted Ei.

Ei is now well enough to go back to the office. However, Miko insists on driving her to work and
back everyday, no matter how many times Ei reaaures her that she is fine. In the end, she can't
change her mind after all.

Honestly, she wasn't ready to return to work. With the rumors slowly ruining the company's
reputation, the pressure on her is making her go crazy.

As the car speeds off, Ei turns back to look at the protestors in the distance.

Hope everyone in the office is handling this well.

Miko drives the car to the back of the building. The car goes through the security booth, and stops
in front of a door into the building.

The back entrance is guarded better with tall gates and more security guards. If protesters had
crowded in the back, they wouldn't be able to see anything anyway. Plus, the guards may scare
them off.

"Well, you better get going. I'm sure your employees miss you." Miko smiles.

Ei unbuckles her seatbelt, and leans towards Miko to plant a kiss on her cheek. "Alright. I will see
you soon."

"Good luck, baby." Miko waves, as Ei exits the car. "And stay safe!"

"You too!" Ei says, before closing the door.

She takes a breath, getting herself mentally ready, before walking into the building.

She walks to the end of the hallway and gets in an elevator to go to the client service department,
where office workers have their own cubicles. She hasn't visit that floor of the building in a while,
even before Ei had to go to the hospital. Perhaps her return would cheer her workers up for a bit.

The elevator stops and lets out a 'ding!'. The door opens. With a smile ready, she walks out to a
hallway.

Immediately, she can hear the sounds of the office phones ringing and people talking from a
distance. Ei furrows her eyebrows, and quickens her pace.

When she turns the corner, she almost bumps into a worker with a stack of files in her arms that
almost covers her face. Her eyes light up, "B-Boss?!"

"Sheila? Is everything alright?" Ei asks.

"Uhh, yeah! I have this under control!" She nods. The files on top almost slides off, but she quickly
balances them again. "Sorry, please excuse me. I have to get to somewhere."

And with that, she hurriedly walks off. Ei looks back at her with confusion, as she disappears
around the corner.

Ei continues her walk to the cubicles, the sounds and voices getting louder. When she finally gets
to the main area of the floor, her eyes widen at the mess in front of her.

Usually, you would imagine a quiet atmosphere, with all of the workers sitting in their private
cubicles or talking to the phone in whispers.

But here, half of them are holding onto the office phones with looks of fear on their faces. Some of
them are also pacing around with stacks of files, just like the worker Ei had bumped into.

One of them hangs up and turns her office chair to the worker in the cubicle next to hers, "We lost
another one."

"What is going on here?" Ei finally speaks, surprising everyone on the floor.

"Boss!" Their faces light up. Some of them get up and start crowding around Ei with tons of
questions they had been wanting to ask.

"Boss, are you okay?"

"We're so glad you're back!"
"What happened?"

"Don't make so much noise!" Ei stops them in a strict voice. "Must I remind you all that this is an
office?"

Everyone goes silent, with some still whispering to each other.

Ei prefers her workers to treat her like a workmate, than to fear her for being the highest role in the
company. She does not want them to see her the way people see bosses in general; scary and hot-
headed.

Ei remembers that everyone in the office must have been surprised to see her after so long. She
clears her throat, "Uh, I assume everyone has heard about the rumors.. and the articles about.." She
pauses.

"Your symbol." A worker finishes the sentence for her.

Nobody says anything, until another worker speaks, "We don't see you any different. You are still
here, alive and well, that's what matters." He smiles.

The rest of the workers there also nod and smile in agreement. Most of them have been working
here since the very beginning, they understand that Ei is a good person.

Ei also gives him a thankful smile. "Thank you, everyone. I am happy to be back."

"Now, the company isn't doing so well, is it?" She gets to the topic at hand.

"..Yes, Boss. A lot of clients have backed out everyday. Plus, the ones who are still here are
demanding to raise the investments, or they will leave too."

"Then let them leave." Ei doesn't hesitate. "If they are truly grateful for all that we have done for
them, they would not take advantage of this situation."

"Do the work that you usually do, I will.. figure things out. This is my responsibility."

"Boss, here are two cups of coffee you requested." Sara enters her office. She sees Ei focusing on
the computer screen in front of her.

Sara approaches her desk and gently places the cups down. The soft noise it makes against the
wood distracts Ei. "Oh, thank you, Sara."

Ei pulls a cup closer to her, before saying, "Have a seat. That other cup is for you."

Sara's eyes widen, "O-Oh, thank you, Boss!" She quickly sits down on the chair opposite of her and
takes a sip.

"You don't have to call me Boss when we are alone. I'd like us to see each other as close friends."
Ei smiles.

"I'm glad you think of me that way.. Ei." Her name leaves a strange aftertaste in her tongue. She
will have to get used to it. "I'm very grateful to be able to work alongside you."

Not much is known about Sara. She was brought here by her father, Kujou Takayuki, who is also
her client, to work under her company. She had started as a normal office worker, but her extreme
determination in her work had attracted Ei's attention.

After only a few months, she was promoted to Ei's personal assistant.

"Whatever problems the company is going through, I want to help too!" Sara says confidently. "I
think I could lend a hand too."

Ei sighs. "I understand, but only I am able to solve this. You have done a lot for this company in
your own ways too. I do not want you to get involved."

Sara shakes her head, "I had already been aware of the responsibilities I will have to take working
here. Now that I am your assistant, I am partly responsible for what is happening to you."
"Let me help you, as close friends." Sara pauses. "If you need help with anything, just let me
know. I can help to carry some of that burden. Not just because of my loyalty to you, but because
you are genuinely a good person and you deserve a break."

With confidence like that, even Ei doesn't have the heart to reject her. She had thought that she will
have to carry everything on her shoulders, but she never realized that Sara had been supporting her
from the back all this time. She had known Sara before Miko, as a matter of fact.

Ei finishes the last drops of coffee, before placing the cup down, "Alright, just don't get yourself
into too much trouble."

"Um, has Kokomi informed you anything recently? About her father's help?" She asks.

Sara replies, "No, she hasn't. I haven't heard from her in a few days."

Ei returns her gaze to the computer screen. She had been looking up articles about the rumors. All
of them say the same thing about her stealing money, but there is something that is never
mentioned in any of them.

Where the rumors came from.

It makes sense that Richard had been the one to start the rumors when he got a hold of Ei's phone,
but why was it never mentioned? Why has no one written his name in any of the articles?

Even worse, no one had talked about the shutdown of his energy drinks business.

Ei continues to scroll through the list of articles. The repetitive titles start to bore her..

..until she finds an unusual title different from the rest.

Here Is What The Victims Have to Say About Ei of Company X!

As if planned, Ei's personal phone rings. She quickly takes it out and looks at the screen. "Huh, it's
her." She says with no surprise.

On the third ring, she answers and puts the call on speaker. "Kokomi? Is everything alright?"

On the other side, Kokomi talks in an excited tone, "Ma'am, I have good news! My father would
like to arrange a meeting with you to talk about this incident."

Ei's eyes widen. "A meeting? That sounds good." Sara's eyes also go wide at the mention of a
meeting.

"Then, how about tonight? He wants to treat us all out for dinner, including Sara."

Both Ei and Sara look at each other with a grin.

This is going to be interesting.

Kokomi, Sara and Ei exit the limousine one by one. As the limousine leaves, the three of them look
up at the fancy restaurant in front of them. Bright yellow lights from the chandeliers light up the
entire place, to the point where they can hurt people's eyes. They can see almost every table inside
occupied with guests enjoying their food.
Ei almost rubs her eyes, before remembering she has eyeshadow on. She turns to the other two,
"Shall we go in?"

"It sure is crowded." Sara blinks at the number of people inside.

"Don't worry, we are not eating with them." Kokomi smiles. "Follow me."

The two of them follow Kokomi to the entrance of the restaurant, where a waiter is standing by the
door with a tablet in his hand.

He immediately recognizes her, and starts tapping away on the tablet screen. No one knows what
he is doing, but he's definitely a professional.

He looks up at Kokomi with a sweet smile, like someone talking to their crush for the first time, "I
will have someone bring you to your table."

"Thank you." She bows slightly, before they walk in. A waiter is already waiting there for them.

As they walk through the main floor, Ei notices how packed this section of the restaurant is. The
space in between tables for waiters to move around aren't a lot, but they are able to travel from one
table to the other swiftly. Ei has a lot of respect for people with this job.

She notices some guests turn their heads her way and glare. Ei quickly looks away, pretending not
to notice. It seems that they have already seen the news articles.

They climb up some stairs to the second floor, which is more quiet and peaceful. There are tables
in every room, which have sliding doors that will block out the noise and have more privacy. It is
much better to eat in here than downstairs, where it's extremely crowded. That is, if you are willing
to pay more.

The waiter stops in front of a door at the end of the hallway. He bows, "This is your room. Mr.
Sangonomiya is waiting inside." The man slides open the door for them.

Kokomi is the first to walk in, "Father, we are here." She smiles.

Sara and Ei are next to enter, and they are impressed by the decoration inside.

The room is heavily inspired by the traditional Inazuman culture. There are four cushions on the
wooden floor, and a short legged table in between them. A lantern is placed in the corner of the
room, which gives off an orange-ish sunset glow, perfectly matching with the light brown walls.

"Ei, it is wonderful to see you again." Mr. Sangonomiya greets.

"Hello, Sir. How are you?" Ei smiles, as she and Sara sit next to each other opposite of him.

"Oh, I'm doing fine, just like every other day." He replies. "Please, enjoy yourselves tonight. You
may order whatever you like."

They look through the menu which had been placed on the table prior to their arrival. Every meal
is over fifty thousand Mora, but this is nothing to a big successful businessperson. As long as the
food is wonderful, there will be no regrets.

After the waiter takes their orders, they chat among themselves, sipping on green tea.

"You must be my daughter's soulmate, Sara." Mr. Sangonomiya nods at her. "She speaks fondly of
you."
Kokomi lets out a small nervous laugh, "Father..!"

Mr. Sangonomiya chuckles at her, "I am glad that you have found the right one. You both must
take good care of each other."

Sara glances at Kokomi and smiles. "We will, thank you for accepting me."

Mr. Sangonomiya turns to Ei, who looks like she has been daydreaming. "How are you doing now?
I'm sorry about what happened that day. Nobody deserves to go through something like that."

Ei shakes her head, not wanting him to sympathize her, "I'm doing okay. It was in the past."

Mr. Sangonomiya pauses for a second. "You sound like you have moved on from the incident."
Mr. Sangonomiya raises his eyebrows, as if hinting something.

Ei blinks, before replying, "I just think that being sad about it now has no use. That is the reaction
he wants from me." Maybe he wants her to cry all day because of her reputation. Maybe he wants
Ei to give up with her business, and hide away in the dark. He wants her to feel useless, terrible,
worthless.

But Mr. Sangonomiya has a different opinion from his facial expression.

"And you are not feeling any other emotion?" He asks.

Ei tilts her head slightly in confusion. Mr. Sangonomiya clears his throat and straightens his back.
"Don't you feel angry? That he has sabotaged your reputation?"

"Since the past few days, nobody outside of your office and friend group has heard a word from
you ever since you left the hospital, as if you are hiding away in shame."

Ei takes a breath. "..I'm not angry, but I do want the rumors to stop."

"But I don't see that determination." He pauses. "The man who had drugged you had also spread
false information about you, you should be upset."

Ei remembers the first time she heard about the rumors on the internet through Sara. "I was
actually quite upset in the beginning, but I felt that.. it would be impossible to stop it."

Mr. Sangonomiya shakes his head, "That is not the kind of mindset you should have. If Kokomi
hadn't suggested that I could help, you would have stayed silent."

"You need determination to stop giving that man what he wants. Not just your tears, but your
ignorance to this situation. You need to do something about this, and you have to be confident
about it."

"Now, I've thought of one simple way to debunk the rumors, to get people to trust you again." He
pauses.

"I will do a livestream on my social media account and you will talk to the viewers through it."

Ei's eyes widen. "Livestream? Talk to the viewers?"

"I am certain most of them know that you and I are business partners. My followers trust me
enough to let me do what I want, so they won't question my actions."

"Secondly, telling the viewers everything about what really happened will open their eyes. Maybe
all they need is a clarification from you. Without it, who's side will they be on?"

Ei stays silent. Kokomi and Sara look at her with encouraging faces, "You have to do it, Boss.
People will soon believe you." Sara says.

She feels terrible for getting other people involved in something she should be responsible for. But,
they are all considered her close friends, and friends will always help each other through thick and
thin.

"Alright, I will do it." Ei nods, now with determination in her eyes. She must make her last
remaining days a good one. She doesn't want to die with terrible words still coming out of people's
mouths about her.

She has to be strong and face the problem. Only then will she be able to form a better future for
herself and her company.

"Wonderful." Mr. Sangonomiya smiles. "We shall do it as soon as possible, before the situation
gets worse."

Right after that, the room door slides open, and the same waiter enters with everyone's meals on a
tray.

Sara and Ei stare at their meal in amazement. Ei had ordered a beef ramen, the chef's
recommendation. The strong smell of the miso broth makes her stomach rumble.

"Let us eat first." Mr. Sangonomiya changes the subject.

The four of them enjoy their meals in silence, while inserting a few small conversations in between
to not make things so awkward.

The piece of seaweed placed in the soup has become a bit soft. Ei chews on it, which still has a bit
of crunch to it.

There is still one thing that is bothering Ei since this afternoon. She has not checked out that article
she saw on her computer screen.

As soon as she gets home, she has to read it. Something doesn't add up.

"Welcome home, darling." Miko cheers, giving Ei a big hug. "How did the meeting go?"

"Good. Mr. Sangonomiya will be holding a livestream soon for me to talk about the rumors." Ei
replies, letting go of her.

"That's wonderful news. I'm happy for you." Miko grins gratefully and gives Ei a quick peck on
the cheek. "Get some rest. I'll make a cup of hot chocolate for you." Ei nods.

She goes up to their bedroom, where she chucks her handbag onto the bed. Immediately, she takes
out her phone and taps on some buttons.

She scrolls down a whole list of articles, before reaching the one that she found in the afternoon.

With a deep breath, she taps on the article.

A bunch of paragraphs pops up. Ei reads through it slowly.

 The news about one of Inazuma's richest bosses, Ei, stealing clients' Mora is the talk of the
country. Many clients have backed out due to fear that they will be her next victim. Here are what
some of her ex-clients have to say about the situation.

The creator of a famous chocolate chip cookie brand in the country, Starshine Cookies, states "I
was manipulated by Ei and her evil schemes! She demanded 50% of my sales, even though the
contract had never mentioned that kind of amount. She is a scammer!"

"What?" Ei mutters in confusion.

She never had a client with that brand name.

Ei continues reading the next paragraph, hoping that it was a client she recognizes.

Alison from social media account CarouselCrochet says "An employee approached me in private
and made a deal. If I slept with him, he would get the boss to increase the investment. That was
absolutely disgusting, and I don't want anything to do with this company!

Ei scratches her head with an angry expression. She has no clue who these people are.

She has been dealing with clients for years, she should be able to recognize their names and their
business. But none of those names ring a bell.

Are they sabotaging her company on purpose? Are they partners with Richard?

Chapter End Notes

Thank you for the kudos! I'm glad that a lot of people enjoy reading this :)
 Chapter 8
Chapter Summary

Ei and her friends do a livestream to explain the truth. A new chapter of her life also
begins.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

"Sara, I want to show you something." Ei calls her over.

Sara quickly rushes to her side, as she clicks on some links on the computer. "What is it? Did you
find something?"

"All this time I had thought that Richard started the rumors.." Ei clicks on the article that she had
read last night. "..but it seems that he wasn't doing it alone."

Ei scrolls down and lets Sara read the few paragraphs for a moment. Her eyes move from left to
right quickly, and then her eyebrows scrunch together after a few seconds.

"This was also posted on the day I woke up at the hospital." Ei points to the date written under the
title. "How could Richard have done all this so fast?"

"He must have given them some sort of signal through your phone, so the police wouldn't find any
evidence in his." Sara says.

"Sara, can you get the client records from the shelf over there, and look through the initials C and
S?" Ei points to a shelf in the corner of the room. Sara nods and immediately paces there.

She grabs four thick files from the shelf and walks back over to Ei. She puts down the files on the
table. "..Let's see if you really were my clients."

The two of them take some time to flip through the pages, looking for the unfamiliar business
names Ei had seen in the news article last night.

There are two endings to this, and both of them aren't good. Whether they were her clients or not,
they are evil for spreading lies about her.

Ei finishes the last remaining pages of the second file she looked through, and closes it. Her eyes
close for a moment, "Starshine Cookies isn't in here."

Sara also closes the file, "No CarouselCrochet here."

"I knew it." Ei says to herself. "They must be just as jealous as Richard."

Sara grabs the mouse and clicks on some links. "Out of all the articles this author has written, this
one has the highest reads."

Ei leans back in her chair and sighs. "Why is this happening to me.."
Sara looks back with a smile. "Don't worry. It will all end soon."

Ei gazes at Sara for a while, before sitting up straight. "..You are right. We still have the livestream
Mr. Sangonomiya will hold for us."

She hopes that she doesn't mess up and everything will go well.

For the next few days, Ei's name goes trending once again on social media about the livestream.
Mr. Sangonomiya had announced the date of the livestream being held to talk about what is
happening. A lot of people are excited to hear what Ei has to say, and many are also predicting
what kind of sob story she is going to make up on the spot.

Despite the bad reactions, Ei is ready to prove them wrong.

Two hours before the livestream, Mr. Sangonomiya had his assistant drive her and Sara to his
office. It is located right in the middle of the city, where all of the noise and crowds are. It would
take about an hour to get here by train or bus.

Cars are constantly honking at each other. The sidewalk is full of pedestrians in colorful,
fashionable clothing. Ei feels like she is in another world. Even the shop lots near the streets are
decorated with bright colors to attract customers and tourists.

The car drives past the front entrance, where cameramen are filming reporters outside of the
building. Ei feels like they are treating this as a big deal when it's nothing.

Mr. Sangonomiya's assistant turns the corner and drive to the back entrance. The car stops in front
of two tall guards who are waiting to escort them in.

Ei and Sara exit the vehicle and follow the guards in. They actually feel safe being guarded like
this.

As they walk past the company's employees, they nod their heads or give a smile towards Ei and
Sara, which leads them to nodding back in politeness.

The guard brings them up to an empty conference room, where Mr. Sangonomiya, Kokomi and
Miko are waiting. There is a laptop sitting on the meeting desk.

Ei's eyes immediately light up at the sight of her lover, quickly rushing to her side. Miko also
stands up from her chair to give Ei a hug. "I'm glad you're okay, love."

Sara also walks to Kokomi and studies her outfit from head to toe with a smile. Kokomi giggles,
"What are you looking at?" Sara glances back at her, before letting out an embarrassed chuckle,
"Uh, you're beautiful."

As Ei and Miko let go, Mr. Sangonomiya reminds them, "the livestream will start in an hour and
thirty minutes. Do whatever you like until then. Good luck." He turns to leave.

"Sir." Ei suddenly calls out. He turns his head back, his body still facing the door.

"Thank you for helping us." She bows in respect and gratefulness. She stays in that position for a
few seconds, but to her, it felt like a long time. She is thankful to have people still siding with her
and believing her.
Mr. Sangonomiya acknowledges her with a nod before leaving, closing the door behind him.

And with that, the main event is coming up next.

Sara and Kokomi help to set up the laptop for Ei. They explain to her what each button on the
screen does, as she is not very familiar with the technology nowadays. Honestly, it is exciting to be
able to talk to people through a screen.

With just five more minutes left, Ei adjusts her seating position and combs her hair with her hands,
making sure no strands are sticking out. Miko is sitting next to her, out of the webcam's view. She
wants to be there for Ei during the livestream, even though they won't be able to joke or comfort
each other as much as they want. As long as Ei can sense her presence, there is nothing to worry
about.

"Are you ready?" Kokomi asks. Ei nods with a confidence face. "Good luck." She smiles, before
clicking on the 'Start streaming' button.

Almost immediately, the viewers count on the corner of the screen goes up to a thousand. Ei's eyes
widen, completely forgetting to start an introduction.

"U-Uh, welcome! Welcome to the livestream." She stutters out. "My name is Ei, and I am here
today to talk about the recent events, and the accusations towards me.."

She looks at the comments made by the viewers flooding in at the bottom.

oh my gosh it's ei
lol shes actually here
what was mr sangonomiya thinking

Ei continues, "Before we start, I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to join the stream
today. I'm sure everyone has a lot of questions."

"The next sentences that I will speak are nothing but the truth. Please hear me out before you make
more assumptions, because the read story is not what you think."

Ei gulps. Miko notices the pause, and quickly reaches for her hand. She squeezes it, letting her
know that she is there.

Ei looks at her, before turning back to the screen. "I am sure everyone here knows of the popular
energy drink that was constantly selling out in supermarkets. The owner, Richard, was my client."

"I still remember the day he came to see me. He was small and shy, but he had big dreams. He told
me all about it with his own words, and it completely impressed me."

"He wanted to open an energy drink business with many flavors. He let me taste some of the drinks
he made. He had everything ready for that interview. And because of that, I accepted his proposal."

"Ever since then, his business grew bigger and bigger. He had enough income to upgrade his
factory. He was doing a really good job. All of this happened in the span of two years." Ei pauses.

"Almost a month ago, Richard contacted me, asking me to help choose a new energy drink flavor
to release. I agreed to come with him to his factory, not suspecting anything." Ei turns to Miko. "I
told Miko about what happened, and she was extremely worried. She told me she was going to
wait outside of the factory for me incase anything happened no matter what I said."
"So, Richard picked me up at the office and drove me to his factory. He gave me a tour around,
before letting me into his office. I only realized something was fishy after seeing three other men
inside of the office waiting for me."

Miko squeezes Ei's hand even tighter with a sour face.

"..Everything was going normal. They brought out two cups of different flavored energy drinks,
and I drank both. After finally making a decision, I wanted to excuse myself.. but they managed to
lock the door before I could leave."

Ei glances at the comments once again.

WHATTT
acting like the victim again
omg no way

"That's when they all tried to grab me and hold me down, but I was able to fight them off for a
while, before I suddenly felt dizzy. That was when I realized that one of the drinks had been
spiked."

"I passed out after that, and I woke up in the hospital, two days later."

"Miko was the one who called the ambulance. If she hadn't been there waiting for me outside of
the factory, I don't know what could have happened to me. I'm glad that I allowed her to come
along."

"And because of her quick thinking, the police arrived there on time to stop Richard and his gang
from escaping."

"Now, about the rumors that had suddenly spread all over the internet, it was definitely Richard's
doing. When I was unconscious, he went through my phone and sent a signal to his team to start
spreading the rumors. There is an article of two people who claimed to be my clients spreading lies
about me, and it was published on the same day I got drugged."

"After that, he broke my phone and threw it away in a garbage bin outside of the factory. No other
person could have done this."

"I am aware of the hundreds of articles about me stealing money, about my employees offering
money in exchange for sex. I understand that everyone is angry. I would be upset as well to know
that someone would do such thing."

Ei straightens her back and looks at the camera with a strict face. "But I promise you, my
employees and I have never EVER done such thing."

"I took over this business five years ago. I have clients and employees from five years ago who are
still loyal to this day. My personal assistant here has been with me for many years, and she was
shocked to find out that people were saying these things about me."

"The strangest thing is, why had no one questioned Richard's disappearance? Why did nobody talk
about the complete removal of his energy drinks from stores? Why were there no articles about
what he did to me?" Ei frowns.

Ei knows that there are people who are upset over her success. But this is a horrible way to show
their jealousy, to sabotage her position as the boss with one of the wealthiest companies in the
country.
She doesn't want to assume that that's the reason for the complete silence about the events. It is
also possible that the police kept this a secret from the public to avoid attention, or perhaps the
incident was not worthy enough to be on the news. Anyway, it seems like everybody is shocked to
find out the whole story only today, from the comments.

"I had a hard time doing my job when I first took over the company. I constantly pressured myself
to be the best. I had so many rules set up for myself and my employees, so that everything would
go smoothly. Of course, I realized that it was too much for us, and I shouldn't be stopping myself
and others from making mistakes and learning from it."

"I understand that I wasn't the most understanding boss, but I have changed. I treat my employees
and clients with respect, no matter our roles in this business line. I want people to believe that I can
do better."

"Please don't believe the articles you have read online. I have never done anything like that, and I
never will. I may make mistakes sometimes, but I promise that it is not on purpose. I always try to
improve everyday."

Ei turns to Miko, as if searching for an approval on her speech. As expected, she squeezes Ei's
hand again and nods, as if saying, "You did wonderful!"

Ei glances back at the laptop screen. "Thank you for listening to me. I will let the next person
come on camera to talk about the recent events." She looks around the room, to see who wants to
sit down and talk next.

She stares at Sara, who is standing up straight with a confident face. She nods at Ei, signalling that
she will go up next.

Ei stands up and allows Sara to sit on the office chair in front of the laptop. Immediately, the screen
is filled with comments surprised about Sara's appearance.

"Hello, everyone. I am Boss Ei's personal assistant, Kujou Sara. I have been working in this
company for several years now." She pauses and leans her arm on the desk in front of her, getting
close to the webcam. "My boss is one of the most inspiring people I look up to. If you have a
problem with her, you will have to get through me first."

"Sara!" Ei scolds off camera, which causes Sara to lean back in her seat. "I have known her my
whole life. I see the boss every single day for years. She has shown me kindness and respect,
despite not being on the same level as her. She is a kind woman who would never hurt anyone on
purpose!"

"It is absolutely shameful of you to make up such a disgusting lie about her and my workmates.
What has she ever done for you to team up and brainstorm the stupidest lie and spread it across the
country? You are all terrible monsters." Sara points to the camera threateningly.

Ei groans softly from Sara's 'speech', while Miko is enjoying this moment with a grin.

The comments are filled with a nervous face emoticon, as if the viewers are terrified from Sara's
words.

"There's nothing else to say. Just stop trying to ruin our lives, because we will rise again. No
negativity is going to bring us down. Thank you." Sara stands up and storms off, leaving the office
chair to turn slightly.

Miko is the last to get on camera. She looks at herself on the screen and fixes her hair and outfit,
very typical of her.

"Alright, thank you Sara for that lovely speech. I enjoyed that very much." Miko smiles. The
comments are spammed with heart emoticons and people screaming out "MISS YAE!!"

Miko laughs at the comments, "Alright now, this is not the time to be screaming about me.
Everyone should be cheering for my dear Ei for being so brave these few weeks."

Ei blushes at the mention of 'dear'. Miko continues, "You guys have no idea how much she went
through. She survived a drugging incident, which is an absolute miracle. I am so grateful that she is
still here with us." She reaches out to Ei to hold her hand, to which she happily accepts.

"And now, false information about her are spreading? She is not letting them get to her! Ei is a
very strong woman and all of you should look up to her."

"Since many of you love me so much, you will listen to what I have to say, right?" Miko chuckles.
"Then, believe me when I say that Ei is innocent. She is a precious bean that would never hurt a
fly."

"I was upset when I found out that her trusted clients were betraying her, stabbing her behind the
back! After everything she has done for you, this is how you repay her kindness?" Miko asks.

"As much as my fans like to fangirl about how beautiful I am, I will not acknowledge them if they
disrespect my love. I will not tolerate that behavior, no matter how nice you are to me."

Some rude comments start to appear on screen. They were going by fast, but Miko was able to
catch a few.

she doesnt even have a soulmate symbol

leave her while you can

Miko frowns while reading them. Her lips are pursed together, calming herself down. She breathes
in and out, before saying, "Whether Ei has a symbol or not, I will continue to love her and stay with
her. You have no right to tell me what to do."

"Half of you guys haven't even found a soulmate yourself, and you dare to say things like these?
Oh, how shameful." She insults.

"I better not see more of them after this, or I will personally come knocking at your door." Miko
ends her speech, leaving the seat.

Ei comes back and sits down, "That is all we have to say. We hope that this has answered some of
your questions. Whether you want to believe us or not, we are innocent. These fake rumors were all
started by Richard himself."

She pauses for a moment, before saying the words she wanted to get out, "I am sorry if I have ever
been rude even just the slightest in the past, I may have not realized it, but I am learning to be a
better person. I hope that you can forgive me and we can move on from this."

"If you despise my success, please feel free to send me a message through my business mail and
rant to me from there, instead of faking lies on the Internet."

"Thank you for watching us today. Have a good day, everyone." Ei stops the livestream.

Nobody says anything for a second. Suddenly, Miko questions her, "Why did you apologize? You
have nothing to say sorry for."

Ei turns her chair towards Miko, "That is not true. Everyone has made mistakes, including me.
Maybe that's what people want to hear."

Sara sighs, as Kokomi massages her shoulders with a smile. "I'm just glad this thing is over. I hope
I won't get surrounded by protestors again.."

Miko walks to Ei and gives her a hug. The warmth of their embrace puts Ei's mind at ease. "You
did a good job. I'm so happy for you."

"Get some rest everyone," Ei says. "Kokomi, I'd like to thank you and your father again for helping
us."

Kokomi nods back in response, "No worries. We are all friends here."

She is glad to be able to tell the whole story to everyone. She doesn't know how people are going
to take it, but she hopes that it changed their mind about her. People shouldn't have even thought
about her that way in the first place.

Ei hopes that she won't have to deal with angry clients. Ei wishes for her name to be replaced with
some other trending news on social media. She just wants to live a normal, peaceful life with no
additional pressure.

Before I leave this world... please.

People on social media continued to talk about the livestream for a few days. They were still
divided on whether to believe Ei or not, but the majority of them had finally realized that it was all
fake and were now on her side.

News articles were also written about the livestream, which also lead to them mentioning Richard
and his disgusting plan.

Slowly, the news died down, and people started talking about other things. Protestors no longer
stood outside the building, nobody gave Ei hateful glares anymore. Everything was going back to
normal.

Ei could finally go back to giving love and affection to her dearest Miko without being distracted
by negative thoughts. She had missed the peaceful feeling of being next to her lover.

Two months after the livestream happened, Miko suggests to take Ei out for dinner somewhere.
They hadn't gone on a date in a long time anyway, and Ei wants some time to relax and eat good
food, so she agrees to follow.

Miko drives to a tall building an hour away from the city. The area itself is quiet, perhaps not many
people come out here to eat at night.

They go in and take an elevator to the highest floor. Miko, in her sparkly flowy pink dress, glances
around the elevator with glee. Ei isn't sure what she's so excited about, but it is undeniably cute.
 "You aren't going to tell me what's up there?" Ei asks her. Miko gives her a mischievous smile.
"No, of course not. See for yourself."

When the elevator doors open, Ei steps out to a rooftop decorated with gorgeous fairy lights. Red
flower petals are sprinkled all over the ground. At the edge of the rooftop, they can see the entire
city in the distance filled with thousands of dots of lights that look like fireflies.

Ei is amazed by the view. Miko chuckles at her reaction, but she understands. The view truly is
mesmerizing to look at.

"You said you would bring me to a restaurant, but this is wonderful. I forgive you this time." Ei
smiles. Miko leans against the railings and grins, "We'll go to one after this. You can have your
favorite dessert too."

"So, this is a surprise you set up for me." Ei moves closer to Miko and holds her arms. "How
romantic of you."

Miko plants a kiss on her forehead, "It's not much. You deserve much, much more than this."

Miko moves her arms down to Ei's waist, planting more kisses on her cheek and her nose bridge. Ei
closes her eyes and takes in the affection.

Ei feels the weight on her waist disappear, moving onto her hands.

"Ei, you make me the happiest woman in the world, but this moment.. it cannot be compared with
anything else."

She opens her eyes and gasps.

"Let us continue to make more beautiful memories with each other." Miko is kneeling on the floor
on one knee. Her face looks up at Ei with a soft smile.

She gets out a small black box from her pocket and opens it, revealing a small, silver ring glittering
under the light.

"My dear Ei, will you marry me?"

With a hand over her mouth, Ei nods excitedly without words. She pulls Miko up and hugs her
tight, so many emotions starting to overwhelm her. Miko returns the hug and stays in her embrace
for a long time, burying her head into her shoulders.

Ei replies in a soft tone, "Absolutely. I love you so much, Miko."

Chapter End Notes

Thank you for the kudos everyone!!

 Chapter 9
Chapter Summary

Ei and Miko get married.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

It took one month to plan the wedding, where it will be held at and when. Ei and Miko were
debating on whether to tell the world about it or keep it private. In the end, they decided it was best
to just invite a few close friends and family. After the whole 'fake rumors' thing, they didn't want
their name to be all over the internet once again. Besides, reporters and unwanted guests would just
disrupt the peace.

They decided to have the wedding at a private garden, where sits a large cherry blossom tree,
perfect to exchange rings under. It perfectly fits the Inazuman theme.

Ei wanted to wear a tuxedo, so Miko chose a pretty dress for herself. Wearing a suit would be more
comfortable for her. She also wants to be the one to see her soon-to-be-wife in a beautiful wedding
dress instead. Miko has always liked sparkly and flowy dresses anyway.

They both went with purple themed outfits. Ei had chosen a dark purple blazer and pants, and a
light purple button up shirt to be worn inside. Of course, she won't know what Miko picked until
the day of the wedding itself, but she will look gorgeous in whatever she wears.

On the morning of the wedding, Ei is getting her makeup done in a dressing room by a makeup
artist they hired. Sara and Kokomi, who are chosen to be their bridesmaid and groomsman, are also
inside helping Ei to get ready.

She cannot believe that this day is finally here.

Never did Ei expect that she'd be proposed to by the most beautiful woman she has ever seen.
Because of her problem with her symbol, she had truly thought that getting married was never
going to happen, and here she is, in a beautiful garden, surrounded by the people she cared about.

Time flies by very quickly. When someone is way too nervous, they forget about calming down
and taking things slow.

Ei is now walking towards the large arch in front of the venue with leaves and flowers growing on
it. Their bridesmaids and groomsmen are standing in a line on both sides with small bouquet of
flowers in their hands. In front of Ei are tons of chairs arranged side by side in many rows. Her
employees and Miko's friends are sitting and waiting for the ceremony to start.

One of her employee's daughter is the flower girl for the event. She walks down the aisle,
sprinkling white flower petals along the path.

Ei will admit, she is a bit anxious to see Miko. Getting married is like starting a new chapter in
your life. You will push your past away and move on to a brighter future. It is a huge responsibility
to make, but she has to do it. She wants to be happy for Miko, and to make Miko happy too.
The guests rise from their seats and face the door where the bride will walk out from. Ei adjusts her
suit and holds her hands behind her, looking straight at the door.

The pianist starts to play A Thousand Years by Christina Perri on the piano.

The guests go silent. Ei can only hear her heartbeat at that moment.

The door swings open slowly.

A woman in a light purple ballroom dress stands behind the door. The flare of her dress is large,
sweeping the floor slightly with its silk tulle.

Miko's hair is styled into slight curls, every strand gathered onto her left shoulder, although there
are a few shorter strands that end up hanging behind her back. She wears a veil that ends at her
elbows, hanging from a small flower clip on her head.

As the song goes into the first verse, with a small bouquet of Naku Weed in her hands, she walks
down the aisle with elegance, looking straight in front her, at Ei. Miko smiles excitedly at her
without showing her teeth.

Ei is astonished by the amount of beauty she is able to pull off, to the point where she freezes in
her spot with her lips slightly parted. No matter what Miko does, she always nails things perfectly.
That is what Ei loves about her. Everything is attractive about her.

Miko reaches the front of the ceremony and stands in front of Ei, facing her. The wedding officiant
announces into the microphone, "I would like to thank everyone for coming today to celebrate this
special day."

"These two lovely women met suddenly one day, not realizing that it was fate that has brought
them together. No matter what obstacles they both had faced, they both are willing to stay to help
carry some of that burden."

"They are both understanding, and patient with each other. Through the highs and lows, they
continue to shower each other with lots of love."

Ei and Miko smile at each other, recalling the moments where they laughed together, and the
moments where they cried together. Every memory the two of them have made is what forms their
relationship today.

"I would now like to invite their friends up to do their readings."

Kujou Sara is the first to come to the microphone stand. She, along with the other groomsmen, are
also wearing a dark purple tuxedo with a bow. Sara clears her throat, "Thank you. Firstly, I'd like to
congratulate Bo- Ei, and Miko, on getting married. I have expected this day to come, because of
how sweet you both are towards each other."

"Ei, I will never forget the day you took me in as your employee. I was lost, I had no true goal to
reach, but working under you had been so motivating for me. Everything that I did, you
continuously showered me with inspiring words that gave me so much confidence. If it wasn't for
you, I'd be nothing, and that's the truth."

"But, I did notice something as well, while working with you. Although you were constantly
occupied by your work, there was one thing that I could see in you, and that was loneliness."

"I was so happy to know that you have found the special one. You two are truly made for each
other. And now, here I am, a groomsman for your wedding." Sara glances at Ei with a smile. "I am
so happy to be able to experience this wonderful day, to be able to see you smile more often now."

"Please take good care of each other. May you two be eternally happy. Thank you."

Everyone claps at Sara's speech, including Ei, who almost sheds a tear.

The readings continue on for a while. Kokomi had also given a short speech that touched
everyone's hearts. Everyone's speeches, in general, were wonderful and sweet.

After the readings, it is time for the vow exchange. Both Ei and Miko had prepared a speech for
each other. Ei isn't the most confident with hers, as she is not that great at pouring out her feelings
into paper.

With the microphone in her hand, she looks down at her piece of paper and clears her throat. "My
life had always been about work. I was taught about the business world since a very young age. I
was destined to take over my father's company."

"I was not really taught about how the red symbol and soulmates worked in this world. It was only
mentioned to me once, and then never talked about again. I realized then that nothing else
mattered, except to leave a good impression on this universe through my work and make everyone
proud before I go."

"When I met Miko for the first time, she had left a mark on me by the way she communicated, by
the way her chuckles filled the room. She was different from many people I've met. And even
then, I had not realized that she was changing my world for the better."

"Eventually, I realized that I was overworking myself. People around me had found their
soulmates, and were living happily. To be truthful, I was envious. I wanted to experience love too,
but I accepted that I was going to be lonely for the rest of my life.. or so I thought."

"The same woman I had met in a business meeting, turned out to be my soulmate." Ei looks up at
Miko, who is smiling sweetly at her. "Deep inside, I had wished that it would be her. I just knew
that she was too special to not be important in my life. I wanted to focus on my work, but at the
same time, I had a glimpse of hope. I begged for a miracle to happen. I wanted to be saved by an
angel in disguise. I didn't want my life to just be about work." This time, she isn't reading from her
paper.

"Miko's appearance in my life had changed the way I see life. I was able to learn the feeling of
having butterflies in my stomach, I finally had my first kiss." She pauses.

"Yae Miko, you are my first and last. I only want to share all the love I have with you. I truly love
everything about you."

Miko's eyes glisten under the sunlight. She shuts her eyes slowly, and a tear rolls down her right
cheek.

Before she speaks, she wipes the tear off with a chuckle. "You prepared such a formal speech. I
only have a dozen pickup lines in my head right now." The guests laugh.

Miko flips her side bangs back, and begins her speech, "My whole life has always been simple. I
wake up, go to work, come home and sleep. I don't overwork myself like you do, because I know
when to take things slow and relax." She raises her eyebrows at Ei. "But still, I realized that I was
wasting my life away by doing the same old thing. I had not even bothered to search for my
soulmate."
"When I first met you, oh my, you were so cute. With your little pout and eyebrows furrowed, I just
wanted to squeeze your cheeks!"

"I was distracted by your cuteness, that I didn't realize my red line had lead to yours until after I left
your office!" Miko slaps her forehead playfully. "Silly me, what can I say? You are like a camera,
whenever I look at you, my eyes just won't move anywhere else."

Ei chuckles. Miko continues, "Actually, the truth is..I was afraid. We had only just met after all. As
people say, you need to become a historian to be able to find a date." She smiles, before going back
to a serious face, "Jokes aside, I was pretty stupid. I really thought that you would have pushed me
away if I had told you earlier."

So this was why Miko had only revealed that she was Ei's soulmate after a long time.

"I knew that you weren't the scary kind of boss that people went on about, but.. I still had some
fear." She shrugs. "I am just an average bookshop owner after all. Would a successful
businesswoman even want me?"

"So, I stayed from a distance for a while. I tried to get to know you first, and slowly, we actually
started to connect. That all happened in the office too, during our meetings! How impressive is
that?"

"Slowly, I saw you open up to me as well. Deep inside, you were also a lonely human being
looking to improve your life and find some new friends."

"It's like the universe is pushing me towards you, saying "Go, little one! You are the only one who
can save this poor woman!"" Miko smiles. "I am so happy that I was chosen to be by your side
forever. I will do everything I can to see you smile, baby, because you deserve the entire world."
She genuinely expresses, looking right into Ei's eyes. Ei knows that she is telling the truth.

"No matter how much the waves in the sea try to separate us, no matter how far apart we are in a
never ending hedge maze, I will always find my way back to you. You are the light that always
guides me home."

Ei is touched by those wonderful last few sentences. To have someone adore her so highly, is a
blessing that she is grateful to have. She is absolutely lucky.

It is now time to exchange rings. The ring bearer brings a white pillow with the two rings on it to
the front. Miko gently picks up the ring on her side, which has a rose quartz stone on it. She moves
it around slightly with her fingers, as if admiring it.

Miko extends her other hand out, inviting Ei to give her hand, which she accepts. Miko squeezes
her hand softly, finally placing the ring onto her finger.

Ei is the next to pick up the ring. Surprisingly, it is colder than she had expected. She grabs Miko's
hand and puts the ring on, shaking a little bit from being nervous.

Finally, the most important event is here. The officiant turns to Miko with a question that they have
been waiting for, "Miko, do you take Ei to be your wife?"

"Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others, and holding only
unto her forevermore?"

"I do."
The officiant turns to Ei, "Ei, do you take Miko to be your wife? Do you promise to love, honor,
cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others, and holding only unto her forevermore?

"I do." Ei answers.

The officiant smiles, "By the power vested in me, I pronounce you married! You may now kiss
your partner."

And with that, Miko impatiently pushes her lips onto Ei's, which surprises her a little, but she
accepts it and closes her eyes.

As the crowd cheers in the background, Ei takes in Miko's soft breaths and her smooth, pillowy
pink lips that sits comfortably on hers. The first kiss as married partners is the most important than
any other, so Ei has to enjoy this as much as she can in a short amount of time.

She cups Miko's face, while Miko wraps her arms around Ei's waist. This is the start of their new
life as a married couple. Ei's mind is overwhelmed with today's events; she is in absolute happiness
over how her life is finally turning around for the better.

The two of them pull away and turn to the guests, who are all on their feet and clapping and
cheering for them. Holding hands, they run out of the ceremony through the aisle, laughing.

"Let's party!" Miko cheers.

The reception room is decorated to look like a masquerade ball. The walls and the decorations are
gold in color. There are candles hung on the walls, along with a huge chandelier hanging on the
ceiling that lights up the room brightly. Lively music plays from a band the married couple had
hired.

The cake cutting event is the first to happen. Ei and Miko hold the knife together, cutting a slice of
their wedding cake out. It is a two tier strawberry cake with icing decorated around the highest
level. There is also a mini Ei and Miko figure holding hands made out of cake fondue. Of course,
Miko chose to bite mini Ei's head off.

There is a buffet at the side of the room, where guests serve themselves. From fried rice to onigiri
to little sweet dangos, it is enough to fulfill people's cravings.

While most guests are enjoying their food at their tables, some of them are dancing in the middle of
the room.

At their table, Ei and Miko look at the couples slow dancing in the middle. She watches Miko
staring lovingly at them enjoying themselves. Honestly, she looks the cutest when she is
daydreaming.

"Are you in the mood to dance?" Ei speaks, grabbing Miko's attention.

Miko turns and smiles. She looks back at the crowd and places her hand against her chest. "Oh, if
only someone strong and handsome invites me to dance with them."

Ei rolls her eyes, chuckling. She stands up from her seat and bows, "My lady, you look quite lonely
out here. Would you like to dance with me?" She extends her hand out.

Miko grins and immediately accepts her hand, "Oh, yes, I would love to." She also stands up. Ei
 leads her to the dance floor. The guests back away slightly when they see them coming, to give
them some space.

"Do you still remember the steps?" Ei asks, reminding herself of when the two of them practiced
for their first dance a few weeks before.

"Of course, how could I forget?" Miko answers confidently, wrapping her arms around Ei's neck. "I
hope you don't step on my gorgeous heels this time."

Ei definitely remembers the few times she stomped on Miko's feet during practice.

She shoots Miko a look, before pouting, "I-I won't do it again, I promise."

The band starts playing a slow romantic song. Ei places her hands on Miko's waist, and they start
moving in sync. Their feet naturally move to the rhythm of the song, completely forgetting about
all the other guests around them. It's like they have this floor all to themselves.

Ei doesn't even pay attention to the steps she has to take next, her mind is all about Miko. Being
able to feel her skin on her neck gives Ei some kind of excitement. She can also hear Miko
humming softly to the song playing.

Ei twirls Miko around, which also makes her hair and dress spin. The guests watch in awe at how
magical the two of them look.

They place their foreheads against each other's, with their eyes closed. They stay in that position
for a while, enjoying the music that is playing.

"I love you so much, my Princess." Ei stops and opens her eyes.

As Miko flutters her eyes open, she feels Ei comb a strand of her hair behind her ear, before
cupping her cheek. Ei closes her eyes and brings her face closer.

And then, their lips touch. Their heads tilt slightly to the side to be able to kiss comfortably. Ei lets
out short breaths everytime they pull apart slightly, which tickles Miko's cheek, but she doesn't
mind.

As they pull away, Miko whispers in reply, "I love you to the moon and back. It will always be
you."

Chapter End Notes

Sorry I don't know how weddings work

Thank you for the kudos and comments!

 Chapter 10
Chapter Summary

Ei celebrates her "last day" on Earth.

Chapter Notes

Um I changed the rating to "Mature" Enjoy~

See the end of the chapter for more notes

Ei scrunches her eyes tight from the bright sunlight coming out of the window. She stretches her
arms and legs in the air, before flopping them down again.

"Good morning, darling." That familiar voice greets her first thing in the morning.

Ei struggles to open her eyes, but manages to do it. She sees Miko looking down at her with an
excited grin.

"Wake up, sleepyhead! We have a long day ahead of us!" Miko cheers while jumping off the bed.
Her movements make the mattress bounce, which also bounces Ei a little.

"What time is it?" Ei groans, sitting up.

Miko turns around. "I allowed you to sleep in a bit. It's almost afternoon."

"What is happening today?" Ei asks, confused.

"Hm, have you forgotten already?"

"Today is your early birthday!"

Oh.

Ei had forgotten that her birthday was tomorrow. Normal people celebrate their birthdays on the
actual date of their birth, but when it comes to people who never found their soulmates.. it would
be better to blow out the candles the day before.

For Ei's case, she doesn't even know what to do.

Miko had suggested to celebrate early.. just in case.

She knows that Miko just wants to make her happy on her special day, but.. Ei is certain that she,
too, is just as terrified. She is just good at hiding it.

Ei doesn't want to worry Miko either. Whatever happens, happens. For now, she wants to focus on
the present and have as much fun as she can.
"I don't have many activities planned today, but they're fun anyway." Miko explains. "First things
first, we'll have lunch with Sara and Kokomi."

Ei moves herself to the edge of the bed and smiles sleepily, "I can't wait."

So, the two of them get ready in the bedroom. Ei puts on a short sleeved shirt, while Miko decides
to wear a sleeveless dress.

Ei's phone's screen suddenly turns on and vibrates for a second. She glances at it on the desk,
before looking away with a sigh.

Miko notices it and stops what she's doing. "You should check your messages, Ei."

"It's fine, I.. I'll read them later." Ei shakes her head, not daring to look into Miko's eyes.

The whole country knows about her not having a symbol. So of course, her phone is flooded with
happy birthday and good luck messages.. Some people on the Internet had also wished her
goodbye.

She is afraid to check them. Reading their emotional messages might have her suddenly break
down, and she doesn't want that.

Miko looks away and doesn't say anything else, to not hurt her feelings.

They continue to get ready, before taking a ride to a small cafe in the city. It is a place hidden
behind buildings and trees, so not many people see it. The food there is affordable and delicious,
according to previous diners.

When Miko and Ei arrive, Sara and Kokomi are already there waiting. They wave happily at each
other, giving each other a quick hug.

"Ei, happy early birthday!" Kokomi and Sara wish. "Thank you both." Ei smiles.

Sara hands a wrapped box that she was holding to Ei. "Here, we bought you something."

Ei softly gasps in surprise, "Wow, thank you! You didn't have to do that, really."

"No, it's alright. It's a special gift for you." Sara shakes her head.

They enter the cafe and sit at a table in the corner together and get their orders taken. Then, they
start chatting about anything they can think of. Their conversations no longer just revolve around
work, as they are all comfortable with each other, just like friends.

Miko makes a few jokes, and Sara laughs at them. Kokomi tells an interesting story from her past
that attracts Ei to listen deeply.

Being able to connect with her friends gives Ei some sort of warmth, as if she feels content with the
present. Being able to enjoy good food and have lovely conversations makes Ei relax.

After eating, Ei and Miko argue once again about who is paying the bill. This time, Kokomi
interrupts them and pays for everyone instead.

Outside, the four of them are still grinning from ear to ear from their wonderful conversation.

"Oh, is it time to leave already?" Sara realizes and stops walking.

"We talked so much, that I lost track of time." Kokomi laughs.

The four of them stop and stare at each other in silence for a moment.

"..Well, it is time for us to go." Ei breaks the silence. "Miko has other activities planned for us
today."

Kokomi comes closer and gives Ei a hug. "Have fun, Ei. See you soon." Ei smiles and hugs her
back.

When Ei turns to Sara to say goodbye, her eyes widen at her. Miko and Kokomi also turn to look at
her, wondering what Ei was speechless about.

Tears roll down Sara's cheeks. Her eyes are looking straight into Ei's, as if blinking will make her
disappear from her sight. She has a worried look on her face, her eyebrows are furrowed in
confusion.

"Sara..?"

She swallows. Her eyes are turning redder than before. A tear rolls down to her lips, but she doesn't
wipe it off.

And then, Sara goes in for a hug. She buries her face into Ei's shoulder, squeezing her sleeveless
top tightly.

Ei is shocked. She didn't expect Sara to react like this. Ei doesn't move an inch, afraid that it may
be enough to break her down completely.

"See you.." Sara whispers in between her sniffs. Ei hugs the young lady back, combing her hand
through Sara's short hair. She doesn't say anything back, but does she have to? Perhaps a hug is all
Sara needs.

After a minute or so, Sara lets go. She stares at Ei's wrinkled top and apologizes, "S-Sorry, I can get
you a new top to wear—"

"Don't worry about it." Ei smiles softly. "Your hug was much more important than some fabric.
Thank you, Sara."

Ei gently wipes Sara's wet cheek with her hand. "Don't worry about me. Take good care of the
office and the employees."

Sara smiles, despite her face still looking a little sad, "Alright. See you soon."

Ei and Miko say their goodbyes and get back to the car in silence, still in surprise from what had
just happened. Miko doesn't start the car, but she turns her body towards Ei in the passenger seat,
"Are you alright?"

Ei puts on her seatbelt. She returns her gaze and nods, "Yes, I am okay."

Miko doesn't say anything else. She starts the car and drives off.

They drive out of the city, passing through rows and rows of trees on both sides of the empty road.
It feels like they are on a road trip.

"Where are we going, exactly?" Ei asks. Her arm is leaning on the car door with the windows
down.
"I can't tell you yet." Miko bites her lips with a grin. "First, we'll need to stop by a convenience
store and grab some snacks."

The car slows down as they reach the first convenience store they see at the side of the road. Miko
parks the car and turns to Ei, "Stay here, alright? I will be back in a few minutes." She exits the car,
leaving the engine on.

Ei silently watches Miko enter the store, while some music is playing from the radio.

"Hmm.." Ei mutters. "Is she hungry already?"

After five minutes, Ei sees Miko leaving the store with a big plastic bag full of items.

"Miko, what are you doing?" Ei asks her, as she puts the bag down nicely in the car's back
passenger seat.

Miko turns to her with innocent eyes. "I bought snacks."

"For what? Wasn't stealing my fried tofu from my plate enough—" Ei asks sarcastically.

"Silly, they're for later!" Miko chuckles. "You'll see when we get there."

Ei is still not getting a proper answer, but she doesn't complain. If Miko is hiding a little surprise
from her, she might as well be patient.

They start driving once again for another fifteen minutes, until they eventually pass by some hills
and empty fields.

In the distance, they see a small town with a few groups of people crowding around it. Everyone is
dressed in casual light clothing and some are carrying picnic baskets.

"Are we having a picnic?" Ei asks excitedly. Miko laughs, "Well, yes, but that's not all."

Miko parks the car nearby. She walks to the car trunk and gets out a folded red mat. As they walk
to the town, their fingers are intertwined with each other's.

Miko leads the way, as she was the one that planned this entire day. They queue in a line in front of
a counter, waiting for who-knows-what.

When it's their turn, Miko does all of the talking with the staff in charge. Ei glances at the papers
on the desk in front of her, and she reads a sentence in bold on it.

FIREWORK SHOW

Her eyes widen. Is this Miko's surprise?

Miko takes the tickets from the staff and thanks them, before pulling Ei along out of the queue.

Ei had always wanted to watch a firework show in person. On special holidays, people play with
fireworks from their hometown, and Ei is only able to watch from her office window or her home.
As pretty as they are in the sky from far away, she would love to watch them up close right in front
of her eyes.

"Miko, you brought me to a firework show?" She asks.

The pink haired woman turns to Ei and smiles with a big grin. "Congratulations, you guessed
correctly."

They walk through the small town, to a large open field where most of the crowd are. There are
colorful picnic mats on the grass with different selections of snacks on it. Some large speakers are
surrounding the field, facing the guests. So that's why Miko bought a whole bag of food, Ei thinks
to herself.

They choose a spot somewhere empty at the back away from the crowd. Miko unfolds the mat in
her hand, gently placing it on the grass. Then, she takes out all the food she bought from the plastic
bag. From egg sandwiches to caramel pudding, she had really planned out everything.

"You are very thoughtful, Miko." Ei smiles warmly. "I'm sorry I didn't prepare anything for you."

Miko looks up at a tall Ei with a pout. "Don't say that. You woke up and got ready early for me,
that's your gift."

She pulls Ei's arm down, gesturing her to sit next to her, which Ei does immediately. "Today is
your day. You deserve all the great things." Miko rubs her hand with her thumb.

"Now, let's dig in before the show starts." She suggests, handing Ei a sandwich.

They enjoy the snacks while they wait. Ei eats a scoop of pudding, savoring every sweetness from
it. This may be the last time she'll ever eat dessert, so she must enjoy it slowly.

Every snack that Miko bought was unique and had different flavors, to which Ei realized that Miko
wanted her to experience every taste for the last time, from sweet to salty, before she goes.

After two hours, a staff behind the speakers surrounding the field announces the start of the
fireworks show. Miko lays her head on Ei's shoulder, her eyes glancing up at the night sky.

Their hearts beat fast in anticipation. That sizzling noise will come out anytime soon.

The dark sky stays empty for a while. Suddenly, one by one, those sizzling noises fly into the sky
and explodes into big colorful displays in every direction.

Red, and then blue, and then green, and then red again.

Ei's heart jumps at every explosion, giving her that adrenaline rush. She looks at Miko, who is
staring with her lips parted open in amazement. The colorful explosions of the fireworks reflect
into her glittering eyes.

Pink, and then green, and then blue.

The fireworks start to explode into more detailed designs. One explodes into a beautiful flower,
made out of yellow and pink. Another one explodes into a big heart made out of red.

It was truly magical. How could a small rocket hide such wonderful colors in a tight space? It
shouldn't be a big deal, but Ei is absolutely amazed by the little things.

Ei was just about to get used to the explosions, but they soon die down, leaving that slight feeling
of emptiness in her ears. The crowd cheers and claps, as the last speck of light leaves the sky. The
show has officially ended.

Miko doesn't move, however. Maybe it's the sinking feeling of the night almost coming to an end.
She doesn't want to move on, she doesn't want to have to say goodbye to this memorable event.
But eventually, they both get up and go back home.

The car ride home was a long, silent one. Both of them knew what was coming next. Despite
having a fun day, the sadness is impossible to avoid.

Still, Miko tries to keep a smile on her face. After Miko parks the car outside of their home, she
asks, "Is there anything else you want to do tonight? I will make it happen."

Ei thinks. "Let us just lay in bed together, side by side." She pauses. "One last embrace."

Miko doesn't say anything, but she nods, agreeing to her request.

As Ei exits the car, she sees a lonely gift box in the backseat. "I almost forgot about Sara and
Kokomi's gift." She opens the car door and takes the gift out.

Entering the house, she immediately sits down and tears off the wrapping paper. Miko, who is also
curious about what's inside, grabs a seat next to Ei.

When Ei opens the box, a shiny amethyst pendant in the shape of a heart sits on a small pillow
inside.

Stunned by its color, Ei gently pulls it out, still admiring its shine. "Oh my goodness.."

Under the pillow is a small note. In cursive handwriting, it says, ' You are the shiniest star in the
sky that lights up our world'.

"Let me put it on for you." Miko smiles. She helps to hang the necklace on Ei's neck and clip it.
From behind, Miko plants a kiss on the back of her neck. "You look beautiful."

Ei plays around with the pendant in her delicate fingers, feeling the stone's smoothness. She smiles
to herself gratefully.

They then change into some comfortable clothes and jump into bed, cuddling each other under the
blanket. Ei tries her hardest not to remind herself of the time, but fails.

The ticking from the clock on the wall has her curious about how long she has left until midnight.

"Miko." Ei manages to get her attention, despite having her whole face buried in Miko's chest.

"Yes, dear?" Miko replies, massaging Ei's head gently.

"I'm scared."

Miko's hand stops moving. Ei lifts her head up, looking into those purple sorrowful eyes.

"There is nothing to be afraid of, love."

"You know there are a lot of things to be afraid of." Ei says.

Miko sighs. "What matters is that you are safe and happy today. That's all that matters."

Ei pulls away and sits up. "I don't want you to hide your sadness away from me. If you need to cry,
I want to cry with you."

Reluctantly, Ei glances up at the clock.

She has ten more minutes.

"..I know you want me to be happy, but we both can't avoid that fear."

Ei turns her body towards Miko with her legs crossed. Miko's back is leaning on the headboard of
the bed, looking down at her feet.

"Instead of ignoring it, we should face it together. Then it wouldn't be so scary." Ei says.

Nine more minutes.

Miko brings her legs to her chest and hugs it. Ei notices her hands shaking. She reaches out to hold
them and rub them.

"My love, you have been bottling up your fear for so long." Ei frowns. "You were busy making me
happy and stopped looking after yourself."

She hears Miko's breath hitch. Her eyes twitch a little, before forming tears.

Ei pulls Miko into a hug, holding her tightly. Miko buries her head into her shoulders, returning the
embrace. Ei can feel her body tremble.

Before long, Miko sobs out painfully, "I don't want to lose you!" She continues whining in tears. "I
NEED YOU!" Her hands grip onto Ei's shirt in a tight fist.

Six more minutes.

Ei's eyes also start to water from Miko's reaction. As the tears blur her vision, she speaks gently
into her ears, "I'm so sorry for having to leave you."

"I will always watch over you, Miko. Wherever you are, I will always be by your side. I promise."

"It's not the same!" Miko cries. "I won't be able to hold you.. kiss your beautiful lips.. or cup your
face in my hands." She sniffs, bringing her face close to Ei's.. smelling her scent, touching her skin.

Ei closes her eyes and makes her last request. "Do it, Miko. Anything you want to do to me, do it."

And with that, Miko forces her lips onto Ei's. They were plump and wet from her own tears that she
couldn't care to wipe off. Her fingers delicately move down from Ei's neck to her chest, giving her
a slight tingle wherever she touched.

Miko's tongue enters her mouth, which Ei allowed. She can feel her tongue explore the area,
licking her teeth a few times.

She pushes Ei down to lie on her back. Miko climbs on top, still kissing her. Ei lets out a satisfied
moan as Miko moves her fingers to her inner thigh. Her cold touch makes Ei's whole body shiver.

Two more minutes.

They pull away slowly while catching their breath. A tear rolls down Ei's cheek as she whispers, "I
love you."

Miko wipes her lips with the back of her hand. As she brings her hand down, her lips curve into a
genuine smile. "Thank you."

Still, her red, swollen eyes were a sign that she isn't fully ready. But Ei knows that Miko is satisfied
 being able to truly hold her again one last time.

"I am loyal to you, and only you. I will always be with you." Miko tells her.

One more minute.

"You are truly the best living thing to ever exist. No, you are my Goddess, too perfect. I will never
meet anyone else like you."

Ei plants a kiss on Miko's forehead. "Take care of yourself and our friends. May your days be filled
with happiness and excitement when I am not around."

Miko lays Ei's head onto her shoulder. As she rubs her back, as if rocking her to sleep, she wishes,
"Goodbye, my dear Ei."

Ei closes her eyes shut, allowing the darkness to take over.

Miko looks up at the clock, ticking its last seconds.

As soon as the minute hand on the clock moves to twelve, Miko closes her eyes, putting her hand
on Ei's head.

Silence takes over. In that moment, Miko wishes for a miracle to happen. Other than the ticking
noises of the clock, she wants the bedsheet to move slightly from Ei's movement, or Ei to take a
deep breath.

Ei lifts her head up slowly and stares at Miko, both of their eyes wide open.

Miko's eyes water again, quietly thanking any God out there for giving her lover a second chance at
life.

"..I-I'm alive!"

Chapter End Notes

Thank you for the kudos and comments!! I appreciate them very much <3
 Chapter 11
Chapter Summary

A day before Miko's birthday.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

When Ei thought that the start of her turning twenty-five would go pleasant, it becomes the
opposite.

After finding out that Ei was going to live after all, the two of them hug each other and cry once
again. They were so grateful that Ei had avoided death. They force themselves to sleep, no matter
how much excitement was keeping their brains running.

However, after what feels like a decade of darkness, Ei wakes up to somebody shaking her body
awake. The bright sunlight shining in her eyes makes her groan. She groggily opens her eyes and
looks at Miko staring down at her in surprise. She asks, "Miko, what happened-"

"Ei, your arm." A sentence she was not expecting to hear immediately shakes the sleepiness away.

She looks down at her arm, gasping at a familiar shape that has appeared on it.

The symbol that Ei has always dreamed of having has finally appeared on her arm. Being able to
see it on herself feels strange. But, that wasn't really what she was surprised about..

Her symbol was not red, but green.

It wasn't a disgusting color, but anybody would be shocked to see someone's symbol with a
completely different color. Ei rubs her arm, making sure someone did not just draw on it with a
green marker pen.

"W-Why is it green?" Ei asks Miko, but she shrugs her shoulders, unable to answer her question.

Immediately after, they start searching online for other people who could also possibly have a
green symbol like Ei, but no helpful website pops up.

"What am I gonna do?" Ei panics, "Is this another sign that I will die soon?"

"Ei, I doubt you will die because of the symbol." Miko says with no hesitation. "Perhaps you have
turned into a superhero."

"Oh, please." Ei sighs. "I don't even know why I bother looking it up online. Even doctors cannot
figure out what is wrong with me."

Miko scoots closer to Ei and wraps an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, it's alright, I'm sure it's
nothing bad."

"What if you ask about it in a forum or something? Perhaps some users may know something
about it."

Ei thinks for a moment. If not a single website is able to answer her question, asking on a forum
wouldn't help either..

But she decides to try it anyway.

Ei creates an account under a fake name. She edits her profile to look like an average, totally
random human being on Earth who is looking to use this website.

Tapping on some links, she ends up on a page made for discussions about soulmates. The front
page is filled with many questions regarding the topic.

My red line keeps spinning in circles around me! Where the heck is my soulmate?
My red line seems to be pointing towards Sumeru.. Should I fly there and find my one true love?

Ei taps on the "Ask a question" button. She sits back and thinks slowly about how to form her
question. It cannot be too straightforward, or people may become suspicious.

Her eyes light up as an idea pops up in her head. She types down her question,

"Hi, I have a question. Why are our symbols red? Why is it not any other color, like blue or green?
Asking for a friend. Thanks."

Okay, it does sound a little suspicious, but it doesn't hurt to be curious about something like this.

Ei doesn't hesitate and presses the 'Enter' key. The question appears on screen, already looking a
little lonely.

Now she waits.

At the same time, Miko suddenly turns her head towards Ei, "Do you want to follow me to the
mall?"

Ei returns the gaze and nods, "Sure. Are you planning to get something there?"

"Yes, just something to eat for dinner." She answers, before getting out of bed.

"Not cooking tonight?"

Miko stretches her arms in the air, "Not today. I think I deserve a nice unhealthy meal for once."
She grins. "I will go change."

Ei tries not to worry about the symbol for now. Tomorrow is Miko's birthday. Yes, a day after Ei's.
Their birthdays happen to be so close to each other, even they were surprised to learn when they
first met.

Miko has been treating her so well, so she wants to return the favor. Perhaps bringing her to the
city's biggest library tomorrow might be a good idea. She also plans to get a birthday cake.

Ei is suddenly excited. After everything Miko has done for her, Ei wants do something even better
for her.

After Miko is done getting changed, Ei changes into a short dress with a jacket on. She was getting
comfortable showing her bare arms, but with a green symbol now, that confidence has gone back
down to zero. Besides, people are surely going to stare.
They drive to the nearest mall, just to quickly get a few things. It is a weekday, and yet, many
people have chosen to leave the house today. Finding parking was a struggle for those two.

Eventually they managed to find a spot that happens to be close to the entrance of the mall.

"Huh, the power this place has." Miko jokes, staring at the crowd of families standing around the
concourse floor.

"We don't have to stay here for too long." Ei says, turning to Miko. "What are you preparing for
dinner tonight?"

"Actually.. I want to eat fried chicken.. and fried tofu." She smiles just at the mention of those
delicious food.

Ei laughs. "Of course you do. Then, I'll have some fried chicken as well."

They walk to a fast food restaurant and Miko orders their meal. While they wait for their food, Ei
happens to catch a few teenagers staring at her. When they realize they had been caught, they look
away and start whispering to each other with stifled laughs.

Ei raises an eyebrow at their act, but doesn't think about it too much. It is normal for the younger
generation to be playful and mischievous.

But for some reason, she feels like there is a reason behind that.

After Miko gets her delicious fried chicken, they move on to the supermarket, where Miko looks
for frozen tofu. Again, some adults walking past Ei stare at her with wide eyes, as if they were
surprised to see her.

This is when Ei realizes what's happening. Ever since she appeared on the news months ago, many
people had expected her to die from not having a soulmate symbol. It isn't surprising that people
recognized her.

She had gotten thousands of messages and emails wishing her goodbye. She just didn't want to read
them.

"Ei?" Miko suddenly calls her, which brings her back to reality.

With a packet of frozen tofu in hand, she says, "If those people are making you uncomfortable,
please let me know."

Realizing that Miko had figured out what she was so gloomy about, she quickly shakes her head.
"Oh, no! It's fine, I understand why they were staring."

"They shouldn't, no matter for what silly reason." Miko has a serious tone in her voice. "When
everyone thought you would disappear, you showed them that you are here to stay. You are so
strong." She cups Ei's cheek, her purple eyes staring straight into hers.

"Miko..." Ei is grateful for her sudden encouraging words.

Miko brings her hand back down. "Let's go pay for this." She gestures to the frozen packet of tofu
with a small smile.

After paying, Miko excuses herself to go to the bathroom. While Ei is waiting outside, she spots a
souvenir shop just a few steps away.
I should surprise Miko with a nice gift.

Ei hasn't truly thought about what to gift her. A cake isn't enough for a special woman like her, she
needs something else to top it all off.

And then, Ei realized something. If she wanted to grab something right now and hide it from Miko
until tomorrow, she can't get something big in shape, or Miko would find out.

Walking past the aisle in the shop, her eyes are only focused on small souvenirs that can fit in her
purse for the time being. Perhaps a pair of sparkly earrings? Or a keychain with her name on it?

Going to the last aisle at the back of the shop, Ei was starting to lose hope that she will find
something special in here for Miko. But just when she was about to head for the exit, Ei suddenly
spots something and stops walking.

A small fox enamel pin sits comfortably on the shelf. Ei walks closer and picks up the pin gently. It
is inside of some plastic packaging, pinned on a thin piece of paper. The fox is pink in color, for
some reason. Either way, it is a cute design.

It doesn't remind her of Miko. If she had a spirit animal, she would definitely be a fox. Cunning,
intelligent and charming.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Ei dashes to the cashier and pays for it. She stuffs the pin
carefully into her purse before Miko sees it.

Just in time, Miko walks out of the bathroom. "Sorry to keep you waiting, love."

Ei gives Miko a quick peck on her cheek, before wrapping her arm around her waist. "You didn't,
don't worry."

"Let's go home, shall we?"

They drive back home and start preparing an early dinner. Of course, Ei is not able to participate in
that activity, so she just helps to arrange the plates and utensils on the table to look pretty.

Ei watches Miko enjoy her fried tofu much more than she used to. With evey bite, she closes her
eyes and lets out a soft satisfied 'mmm'. Ei smiles to herself at her love for the dish.

After cleaning the dishes and clearing the table, they spend the rest of the night in bed, cuddling
each other, as always. A TV show is playing on the television in front of the bed.

The two main characters in the story are at the beach, playing in the sand. The scene shifts to them
splashing each other in the ocean.

Ei smiles proudly, "Miko, doesn't that look like us?"

Miko continues watching for a few seconds in silence, before saying, "We are better than them."

"Shall we go to the beach tomorrow?"

"Let's.. discuss it tomorrow." Miko buries her head onto Ei's chest.

"Alright, I will keep it a surprise for now." She chuckles, combing her wife's hair.

"Get some rest, dear. See you tomorrow." Ei kisses her head, before laying her head down on the
pillow. "Happy early birthday, we'll have lots of fun tomorrow." She closes her eyes, her mind
focusing on Miko's warm presence.

Not long after, her voice whispers back,

"See you soon."

Ei wakes up from a sudden chill in in her arms. She moves deeper into the blanket, but it doesn't
make her any warmer.

She opens her eyes and blinks a few times, getting her vision used to the darkness in the room. Ei
glances down at a peaceful Miko sleeping.

Ei combs a strand of hair that has fallen on her face. When her fingers touch Miko's forehead
slightly, her fingers suddenly pull back from reflex.

They're so cold!

Ei struggles to push herself away from Miko's embrace. Her joints feel like they are locked in
place, like a puppet.

Something doesn't feel right. No human body can act this way.

"Miko?" She gently shakes her, despite the icy cold feeling giving her the shivers. Every part of
Miko's skin is freezing.

Ei moves her arms up and down, but she doesn't wake up.

"Miko, this isn't funny!" Ei starts to panic. Her breathing becomes erratic. She slaps Miko's face
softly, before doing it increasingly harder than before everytime there is no reaction from her.
"Miko!"

Ei gets out of bed and runs to the light switch to turn on the lights. She squints from the sudden
brightness, but that is not what's important.

She runs back to the bed and gasps at Miko's pale body. Her lips have turned into a pale purple.
She isn't moving at all. She isn't breathing.

"No no no no this can't be happening!" Ei cries out, her voice cracking. She starts doing chest
compressions and giving rescue breaths, but nothing is working. She sobs endlessly, trying
everything she can to bring Miko back to life.

Without wasting another moment, Ei carries Miko's body into the backseat of the car, and speeds
off to the nearest hospital.

As soon as she arrives, she stops the car and carries Miko out, leaving the engine on. "HELP!
SHE'S NOT BREATHING!" Ei shouts as she enters the emergency department.
The nurses there quickly rush to her to help bring Miko to the emergency room. As they were
about to continue moving, a doctor in a white coat rushes out. "What happened?"

Ei explains calmly while still in tears. "Doctor, she stopped breathing for some time— She had
turned purple! She could have had a heart attack or anything, please help—!"

"Ma'am, is this your wife? When is her birthday, and how old is she?" The doctor interrupts.

Ei goes silent for a second, not expecting that question to come so early, before yelling, "Doctor,
not right now! Please help her!"

"We need to know if her birthday is today, and if she had just turned twenty-five before we do
anything."

"Why does that matter?! She's not breathing, for God's sake!" Ei asks frustratingly. The room goes
silent, even the nurses don't dare to object the doctor's actions.

He explains, "Many hospitals have banned giving checks to patients without soulmates who passed
away at age twenty-five. They are not real medical emergencies."

Ei's jaw drops from the doctor's ignorance, and lets out a laugh of disbelief. "Excuse me? How dare
you say she does not have a soulmate?!"

"Either way, any death, whether they had a soulmate or not, is an emergency! What kind of
monster are you?!"

The doctor takes a quick glance at Ei's arm, which she had forgotten to cover. He turns around
before saying, "I'm sorry, Ma'am. We are simply following the law."

Ei is in disbelief. She had never met any doctor like this. "I am her wife, for fuck's sake! What kind
of proof do you need?! A marriage certificate?"

This time, the nurses have slowly backed away, showing that they weren't on Ei's side either. She
feels like an outcast being stared down by bullies. Ei feels hopeless.

"HER RED LINE LEAD TO ME!" Ei cries out. "Why would she marry me if it didn't?!"

The doctor gives the nurses a look, as if giving them orders in his head. The nurses nervously nod
back and leave the area.

"SAVE HER! Please.." Ei's voice cracks, as she drops to the floor on her knees, too exhausted to
fight back. Miko has not moved an inch since the moment she entered the hospital. Is this it?

Is Miko really gone? She was perfectly fine that night! How could this happen? Why did it have to
happen to her? Why not me?! I had a better chance at dying, so why her? Why did you take my
happiness away from me?!

How am I going to live without her? I can't do this alone, I need her with me! I can't bear to wake
up without her next to me! Why? WHY?!

Ei's mind is noisy, filled with thoughts about this sudden change in her life. The people around her
have disappeared from her sight, except for the young woman in her arms that once radiated
sunshine. The young woman that everybody looked up to for her bright personality.

She is no longer glowing like she used to. All that's left of her is emptiness. Ei's heart breaks into a
 million pieces, for Miko was her entire world. No one can have her entire heart, but Miko.

But now, the only person that she loved the most, is gone.

Chapter End Notes

Uhh, sorry

Last chapter (or second last) coming next

Thank you for the kudos and lovely comments!! ily guys
 Chapter 12
Chapter Summary

Ei shuts herself away from the world after Miko's death, but not for long.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

A small crowd of Miko's close friends silently stand and listen to the flames inside of the cremator.
Other than a few sniffs and soft crying, words are just not enough to describe this grief.

After the funeral ceremony ends, guests are handed drinks and food. Some are standing in groups,
talking to each other about the loss of a wonderful woman.

Outside of the building, Kokomi is staring off into the distance, looking distracted. Her eyes are
red and sore from wiping them with the same wet tissue in her hand countless times.

No one had expected this to happen. The whole country is grieving. Her acquaintances and
customers will miss her work, her cheerfulness.. the sweet smile that she had always put on.

Sure, Kokomi hadn't known Miko for a long time, but she knew about her work and her bookstore.
She had once sent an employee to buy some books there for her, and she looked up to the owner
ever since.

Ei hasn't answered her calls and texts for a few days. She did not come to the funeral ceremony
today either.

Kokomi is terribly concerned about how she's dealing with all this, but at the same time, perhaps
leaving her alone for some time is best for now.

"Kokomi." The familiar voice from behind calls.

Sara appears next to her with two glasses of water in her hands. Kokomi glances at the glasses,
before looking up at Sara, giving her a weak smile. "Thank you." She says, as she takes a glass.

Sara breathes out a sigh, staring at some trees in the distance. "It's so unfair."

Kokomi turns to Sara, who suddenly has a revengeful kind of look. Her eyes are glaring at nothing
in the distance. "Miko could have been saved."

"..She passed away from a heart attack."

"And everyone assumed it was because of the symbol." Sara is furious. "Just because her birthday
happened to be the next day, the doctors denied to check on her!"

"They're all a bunch of selfish pricks. Ei has to sue their ass."

Kokomi doesn't answer that. "I hope Ei is doing okay."

ONE WEEK LATER

The house's doorbell suddenly rings, something that Ei did not expect to hear on days where life
feels like it's repeating itself. Getting up to answer it will take too much effort.I'm sure they'll leave
after this.

So she ignores it, as she continues staring off into space in bed.

The doorbell rings again, and then comes a few loud knocks on the door.

This sudden noise in the house hurts Ei's ears. She misses the silence. Her mind is starting to
become noisy with her own thoughts.

No, calm down. Breathe in, breathe out. Empty your mind. Don't think about anything.

The house goes back to silence. That person must have given up and left already. Ei breathes out a
sigh of relief and closes her eyes.

Suddenly, Ei hears a loud bang on the door, and another one after five seconds, and another one,
like someone was slamming themselves into it. The final bang causes something to break and
crash.

Ei immediately jumps up from the noise. She starts to panic, shit, is someone breaking in?

No, she can't have this right now. She already has too many things in her head, she doesn't want to
add this to the list. It's too much. She just wants to lie down in silence and not care about anything
else—

She hears a set of footsteps coming up the stairs in a hurry.

Ei starts screaming in fear, running to the corner of the room, furthest from the door. When the
door swings open, she closes her ears and awaits danger.

A woman in messy brown hair enters the room, gasping for air. Her uniform is wrinkled, like she
had just gotten into a fight.

Ei gasps as soon as she realizes who it was. "Maria?"

Maria's eyes meet with Ei's, and she gasps too. There are visible dark circles under her eyes. Her
hair looks frizzy and not combed through. She looks skinnier than the last time she saw her.

"Oh my God, I thought you were dead!" Her eyes are wide. "Are you okay?"

Maria was Miko's artist. Ei hadn't seen Maria since the day she brought her to the office. Ei felt
terrible for getting jealous over their friendship, but she no longer thought that way anymore. She
knew that Miko loved her and her only.

"W-What do you mean?" Ei furrows her eyebrows in confusion.

Maria comes closer to Ei, who is still crouched down in the corner of the room. "You didn't answer
the door! I thought something happened to you, so I had to break the door handle to get in!"

"You what?!" Ei raises her voice in an instant.

"I-I panicked, alright? I knew you weren't really doing well, and I was afraid you could have done
something to yourself.." She goes on, letting out her true thoughts. "I tried texting and calling you,
just like many other people did.. but you have not answered them in a long time.."

It's true, Ei stopped checking her phone so often. She didn't want to read any messages or answer
any calls that had anything to do with Miko, and also because she couldn't reach for the charger
from her bed, so she just stopped trying.

"I'll call someone to get the door fixed—" Maria volunteers, but Ei stops her, "It's fine, I'll do it.
You can leave now."

"A-Ah, I came here to give you something.."

Ei ignores it, "I don't want to hear it. I need some peace and quiet."

Maria still pushes the topic out, "Ma'am, Yae Miko personally told me to come see you."

Ei's eyes go wide at the mention of Miko's name. She had not heard it from anyone's mouth in so
long.

"Miko.." She repeats, focusing on the way she pronounces it. It has been a while since she said her
name too, due to the fear of the traumatic memories coming back.

Maria clears her throat, before starting her explanation, "Actually, Miko left me with some last
tasks to do on her birthday.. like treating the staffs to pizza, and giving you the book she recently
wrote.."

"The book about the butterflies?" Ei remembers Miko bringing Maria to the office that day to help
draw the book's cover. It was a children's book about two butterflies, a genre that Miko had never
worked with before.

Maria nods. "Ma'am, the book we worked on.. it was never meant to be released to the public,
actually.."

"She wrote it specifically for you only."

Ei doesnt reply. She had never expected Miko to do such thing. Had she planned out her last
messages for Ei months ago? Did she know that she was going to die early this whole time?

"You didn't ask her what it was about?!"

"I-I tried to, but she didn't tell me! I drew the cover and some illustrations inside of the book, but I
never got context of what the story is about."

Maria takes out a thin book wrapped in brown wrapping paper. "She had it wrapped after the
printing, and it was never opened.. until today." She puts the book into Ei's trembling hands. "No
one has seen what the finished product looks like, except her."

"I don't know what message she left in it, but they're for you. She wanted you to read it." Maria
stands up. "..I also wanted to send my condolences. I'm a phone call away if you need me. I'm here
for you."

When Ei doesn't answer, Maria knows that she shouldn't stay for too long. She bows slightly and
leaves the room hesitatingly.
Ei sits in the corner of the room for a long time, not knowing what to do. Miko's death was already
painful enough, and now she has to read the last words she had written months ago. It makes Ei
sick that Miko could have known she was going to die and had to keep it hidden from the world for
so long. Miko suffered much more, and she still kept a smile on her face.

It hurts Ei more that Miko had never complained much about life, while she cried about every little
inconvenience in hers. It makes Ei angry for always putting the spotlight on herself. She is
absolutely frustrated that she talked too much about herself instead of sitting down and listening to
Miko's worries. She hates herself for never shutting the fuck up.

You should have died instead of Miko. What can this useless being contribute to society? All you
do is cry, and cry and cry and cry—

Ei's eyes well up, and her throat starts to hurt. She pushes the wrapped book away from her, before
hugging her knees tight. Her breathing slowly becomes erratic.

You are absolutely worthless. The world lost a hero because of you.

A scream of agony fills the empty house. Uncontrollable tears flow down her face like a waterfall,
even staining her shirt, but it can't be stopped. She is in too much pain. No matter how much she
cries and shrieks, the guilt never leaves.

Ei grabs a handful of her own hair and pulls it, letting out her bottled up frustrations. It hurts her
head a lot, but she doesn't care. She deserves this pain, the same pain that she had caused for
everyone around her.

Nothing in life matters anymore. Without that one person who had been by her side for so long, she
has nothing to look forward to everyday. She is just there; a flesh with no soul. Her life no longer
has meaning.

She will suffer with the guilt until the day she dies.

Ei laid on the cold, hard floor for a few hours, not wanting to move. The amount of screaming and
crying had tire her out, that getting up was the last thing she wanted to do.

But eventually, she has to get up. This surface is starting to hurt her bones and back.

Ei pushes herself up. Her head starts to spin, and her vision goes dark for a moment from sitting up
too fast. She groans to herself, slowly standing up. Ei stands there for a while to gain her balance,
before walking to her bedside table.

I should get someone to fix the door.

She picks up her phone that is almost dying from low battery and scrolls through the amount of
notifications that have popped up from the last seven days. Still, she does not want to check them.

Ei looks through her contacts, and suddenly stops and stares blankly at the screen for a moment.

..Nevermind, that door is not important.

She doesn't want to trouble anyone anymore. It is not a big deal anyway, Ei doesn't think anyone
would even bother to break in. That's how she really thinks about herself.

As Ei is about to turn off the phone and probably never pick it up for the next three days, a new
notification pops up.

Sara: Ei, we need to talk

Sara is sitting across Ei at the dining table. She has never seen her look this miserable; eyes of no
emotion, thin, lack of energy.. Ei looks like she is just.. done.

Even sitting here seems to make Ei uncomfortable. She doesn't want to talk to anyone. Her bed is
her only safe space.

The two of them try not to make eye contact, but their eyes still accidentally meet once or twice.

"..How have you been, Ei?" Sara asks after that long, uncomfortable silence.

"I don't know. I feel nothing." Ei answers.

It goes back to silence once again.

Sara remembers the strict, responsible leader that Ei used to be, the determined look on her face
when she talks to her clients.. Miko's death had really changed her.

"I'm here for you. Kokomi is, too. We will help you in any way we can, just let us know." Sara
reaches her arm out towards Ei, wanting to hold her hand. Ei doesn't move a muscle, however.

Sara leans back in her seat again. "Um.." She gets to the point before this get any more awkward.
"The reason I came over, was to tell you about this person I found who can help answer some
questions you had about the symbols."

Ei's eyes widen slightly, not expecting to hear about symbols in such a long time. She lifts her head
up a bit to look at Sara.

"I know it isn't the right time, but.. this could be the only guy who can answer you. I'll show you
his website."

Sara takes out her phone and taps on the screen a few times, before turning it towards Ei.

The screen shows a website with a few paragraphs and pictures. There is a photo of a man who Ei
assumes is Zhongli, holding a certificate given to him by a man in a suit.

Zhongli has the mind of a historian at this young age. He remembers details of past events
very well, even ones that happened before he was born! Now, he holds monthly seminars to
educate listeners all around Teyvat about specific events.

Aside from being a speaker, Zhongli works as a consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

"Liyue..?" Ei mutters to herself. She is familiar with that name.

Ei has been to Liyue once many years ago to meet with doctors about her missing symbol, but none
of them were able to give her an answer.

"People have tried quizzing him on specific events that happened in the 19th century, and he could
answer them all." Sara explains. "Ei, I think he may know the answers to your questions."

"..I don't believe it, and frankly, I don't care anymore." Ei says coldly.

Sara is taken aback by that response. She clears her throat. "This is your only chance, Ei, to learn
why you weren't born with one, to learn why you have a green symbol right now. I-I'd go with you,
but I'm looking after the company—"

Ei shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head. "I mean, even doctors couldn't answer me. What can
this young man do?"

"Ei, please." Sara is practically begging. "You've been looking for answers for a long time. You
shouldn't give up now."

"Why, Sara?" Ei suddenly snaps. "Why shouldn't I? Is this all worth it when I don't have my wife
beside me?"

Ei's muscles start to tense. "I promised that I would look for the answers together with her, and
now she's gone. She is no longer here to learn about the truth, so what's the point?"

Sara doesn't reply for a moment, thinking of ways to approach this carefully. This isn't the right
time to force her to go, she is still grieving for Miko.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have confronted you like that." Sara apologizes.

"..Do you remember what Miko said during her speech at your wedding? How she said she would
always search for you?"

Only Ei's purple iris move up to look at Sara. And when she finally recalls it, her face relaxes and a
tear rolls down her cheek.

"No matter how much the waves in the sea try to separate us, no matter how far apart we are in a
never ending hedge maze, I will always find my way back to you. You are the light that always
guides me home."

Home. That's where Ei is. Miko's spirit will always be here, watching over her. Even when their
universes are separated, she knows how to come back to her.

Ei closes her eyes and imagines Miko's voice in her head. She recalls her sleepy voice in bed, her
lectures when Ei was harsh on herself.. Oh, how much she misses her. She was like a melody to
her ears, a song that Ei could never get tired of.

She has to try for her. Miko wouldn't want to see her give up just like that.

"My love, I will always be here to cheer you on. You can do anything you put your mind to. Ei feels
a hand on her cheeks, caressing it gently, as if she was a cat. The same, encouraging smile on
Miko's face appears in her mind.

Ei opens her eyes, and she is back to reality.

"Okay.. I'll go to the seminar."

Sara's eyes light up with hope. "I'll help you book a spot and buy a plane ticket."

"..But before that, we should probably fix the door."

Chapter End Notes

Last chapter coming out next It has been fun writing Till Death Do Us Part

Thank you for the kudos and comments!

 Chapter 13
Chapter Summary

Ei learns the ultimate truth about herself and Miko.

Chapter Notes

See the end of the chapter for notes

Ei steps into Chihu Rock, looking a little lost. With the amount of people walking around the area,
it is going to be difficult to spot the theater from here.

She can hear pots and pans clanking with each other from the restaurants nearby. Some shop
owners are chatting happily with their customers. A stall owner is calling out from his table of
fresh ingredients, "Welcome to Second Life, satisfaction guaranteed!"

Liyue Harbor is as lively as ever.

But now, none of that matters. The theater will close its doors as soon as the seminar starts, so Ei
has to hurry.

She stares at the people walking past her. If she could ask them for directions..

No, she shouldn't bother people. They have their own tasks to finish, Ei would just be an obstacle
for them.

Nervous, Ei continues to walk closer to the shop lots. She notices a building at the end of the street
with a unique architecture, decorated with red lanterns.

That has to be the theater.

Ei continues to walk, eventually spotting some foreigners who happen to be going the same way
and following them.

Some guards are standing outside the door, checking the guests' tickets. Ei queues up behind a line
and patiently waits.

There, she takes out her phone from her bag. She checks hee notifications, to see 27 messages from
Sara.

Ei, I hope you're doing okay

Ei, answer me please
I need to make sure you are at the theater safe and sound
Please stay safe

Ei lets out a chuckle, texting her back.

Sara, I'm fine. I'm queueing to go inside now.

After getting her ticket checked, an escort waiting inside brings Ei to her seat. Inside, half of the
theater is already filled with guests. It will be completely full once the seminar starts.

Ei's seat is in the middle. Not too far back, not too close to the stage. She will be able to see
Zhongli clearly, but it's not like it truly matters. Being able to hear him loud and clear should be
enough.

Ei feels a little nervous about finally being able to learn about herself today. The truth might be too
painful to hear, and she might freak out.

Even though she shouldn't think this way, she wishes that her sudden green symbol appearance was
just an "oops-God-gave-her-the-wrong-color" incident. She even wishes that Zhongli won't bring
up her questions, so that she can go home without having to feel intense emotions.

A trail of claps suddenly fill the theater, and Ei looks up to the stage.

A young man with long, brown hair tied into a low ponytail, walks elegantly onto the stage. He is
wearing a brown coat with the back going down to his knees, like a cape. His outfit is decorated
with silver diamonds.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for coming here today." He greets. His deep and mature
voice immediately attracts the audience, including Ei.

Zhongli's whole appearance is elegant, like he had just walked out of a castle. He really does not
look his age.

The young man starts his lessons. He begins with explaining the basic concept of soulmates in this
world. His hand moves around whenever he is explaining something, as a way of showing his
passion towards the subject.

"The basic rule here, is to find your soulmate before you turn 25 years old. If you are too late, you
die and pass away peacefully. There are many questions that people have about this simple rule."

"What happens if their soulmate dies before turning 25? What if one's symbol doesn't tell them
where their soulmate is? Has a red line ever lead a person to, perhaps, an animal?" The audience
laughs.

Zhongli is able to expand from his main point to many bullet points, explaining every word clearly.
His reasonings come from the ancient times of Liyue, before he was even born. He tells the stories
of ancient Gods. Ei is able to understand the way he forms his sentences, with the correct words
and phrases. Honestly, his way of wording things impresses Ei more than it should.

Even though none of these answers are what she is looking for so far, Ei is paying full attention.
Now she understands why listeners praise Zhongli's seminar so much.

"Now, there is also another phenomenon that I, personally, am interested to find out more.
Sometimes, things can go wrong, like a glitch in the system."

"Although rare, a person can own a green symbol instead of red. What does this mean? Can they
not see the red line? Were they never meant to have a soulmate?"

Ei's eyes light up. This is it! Will the answer reveal who I really am?

Zhongli slowly walks close to the edge of the stage. "Sixty years ago, there was a man who didn't
believe in love. Having a soulmate was not what he was interested in."
"One day, a young woman took interest in him. She stayed by his side for as long as he could
remember, despite showing signs that he did not want her around. The woman stubbornly stayed,
constantly showering him with kindness. She seemed happy all the time, that no one expected
anything to happen to her."

"After a long time, the man realized that he had started to fall for her. Suddenly, a red line
appeared, which actually lead him to the young woman."

Zhongli pauses and swallows. "But, it was too late. The woman had turned 25, and passed away
that midnight."

"The man felt guilty for refusing to give the woman a chance. On the midnight before his 25th
birthday, he waited for the darkness to take over, but it never happened. Instead, a green symbol
appeared on his arm."

"The man continued to wait for his own death to take over. He waited, and waited, and waited,
until sixty years had passed. When the man finally looked in the mirror after a long time, he still
looked 25. When people learned about the man and his green symbol, he disappeared and was
never seen again."

He still looked 25?

"He was one of the first people to be gifted with eternal life. Although rare, this can happen to
anyone. Take this time to cherish the people around you."

Gifted with eternal life?!

From what Ei is hearing, the green symbol makes one immortal.

Ei's heart is beating fast. Her throat feels sore, like something is stuck inside. She cannot believe
this.

Her eyes are locked on Zhongli, who is still talking. Ei's surroundings have gone quiet. She is in
her own world now.

That can't be all. There has to be a reason why she was chosen. The man had a completely different
story than what Ei experienced, so why does she have the green symbol too?

After about two hours, the seminar ends. Zhongli bows at his listeners and walks off the stage, as
the crowd's loud applause fills the theater.

Zhongli's explanation didn't answer everything Ei wanted to know. She can't leave now, this is her
only chance to learn the truth.

As Ei rushes out of the theater, she glances around for a way to enter the back of the building. The
afternoon sun stings her eyes for a moment, from being inside a dark room for so long.

Ei follows the walls of the theater, which circle around to the back. A black car can be seen parked
in front of the back entrance.

The door suddenly opens, and Zhongli can be seen walking out with some other men following
behind him.

"Zhongli!" Ei shouts impulsively. "Wait!" She chases after him.

The young man turns around in surprise, and so do the rest of the men behind him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" A tall man stops Ei by grabbing her arm.

"Don't touch me!" Ei scolds. "I know self defense!" Her arms stiffen.

"That's enough." Zhongli stops them both. He stares at the man who Ei assumes is a bodyguard,
gesturing him to let her go. The man eventually lets go and backs away.

Ei rubs her arm, "Sorry, I came here to ask you more questions. Your seminar didn't answer
everything I wanted to know."

Zhongli tilts his head slightly in curiosity. "Now, that is new. Did I miss something?"

"Can we just chat for a moment? I need to know some things from you, please." Ei begs.

"I-I'm not from here, so this is a big deal for me. I have to know, or this entire trip is useless to me.
Please."

Zhongli doesn't answer for a moment. He stares at Ei with no expression, before nodding. "Okay,
come with me."

Zhongli gently hands Ei a cup of chrysanthemum tea with two hands. He then pours himself a cup.
His delicate hands carefully handle the hot teapot. Ei can't help but have her eyes locked on them.

Zhongli notices and starts explaining, "I follow the tea etiquette wherever I go. It is important to
maintain this tradition, so it can never be forgotten."

Ei blinks and nods, as if listening to an older teacher. "How should I drink this in your culture?"

Zhongli smiles slightly, feeling glad that Ei is interested to learn. He lifts up his own cup, "Lift it
up with two hands."

"Smell the aroma of the tea." Zhongli takes a deep breath with his eyes closed, appreciating its
sweet scent.

"Take a sip. Do not finish it all at once." Then, he takes a sip.

Ei follows Zhongli's exact movements. She lifts the cup up with two hands, smells the tea, and
takes a few small sips.

"When you are drinking tea, your mind must be calm. The tea tastes bitter when one has many
stressful thoughts."

Ei closes her eyes and focuses on the good things. The smell of the chrysanthemum tea fills her
nose. Her tongue has that little floral aftertaste. The silence in this private room in the teahouse
puts her mind at ease.

"Do you feel better now?" Zhongli asks calmly.

Ei smiles slightly. "Yes, thank you, Zhongli."

The young man exhales slowly in relief. He puts his cup down gently and looks at Ei. "First of all,
I want to say that I appreciate you approaching me first. I accept any and every kind of feedback
from the listeners."

"You said that you have some unanswered questions. I will do my best to answer them all."

Ei starts. "I enjoyed listening to your way of presenting facts. I was not expecting much today, but I
learnt quite a lot."

Zhongli bows slightly. "Thank you, I am glad that you understand. These seminars are to educate
people on the facts of Liyue's history."

She swallows nervously. "Though, there was one point you made that wasn't satisfying for me,
about the man who was gifted eternal life."

"Does the green symbol represent immortality?

Zhongli nods, "Yes, it does." Ei was expecting that answer, but she feels slightly devastated to hear
it from the historian himself.

"Immortality can be gifted to anyone? Are there specific traits we need to have it?"

"Based on my knowledge of Liyue's history, yes. God chooses anyone, no matter what happens for
immortality to be gifted."

"One could already have an existing red symbol on their arm, like the man in the story. One could
not have found their soulmate yet. Anybody can be gifted immortality, although it is very rare."

"Is there a way one can stop it?" Ei asks, feeling determined. "Perhaps a way to refuse the gift of
immortality?"

Zhongli tilts his head slightly, "Whether there is a way or not, nobody knows how."

"Why not?"

"The green symbol can appear suddenly and without anybody's knowledge. How will you know
what decisions to make to prevent the symbol from appearing?"

Ei scoffs, "Please answer it honestly."

"I am." Zhongli reaches for his teacup. He takes a sip with his eyes closed, before opening them
again. "Ei, I wouldn't lie."

Ei's eyes widen at the sudden mention of her name. "How do you.."

"I may be a historian, but I am not meant to know everything. Though, I do know who you are."

Shit.

"I had a feeling that I would see you in the crowd when I decided to hold this seminar. I am
assuming that the question posted on the forum page was also from you."

Ei's jaw drops slightly. This man is really something. He behaves like an old man, but he sure
knows how to use the internet better than her.
She should have realized that a knowledgeable man like Zhongli would recognize her. As a
historian, it should have been obvious that he learned about her story.

"Do you want to remove your symbol? Is that the reason you came here to watch the seminar?"
Zhongli asks.

Ei doesn't reply. Her thoughts are all over the place.

The reason Sara suggested her to go in the first place was to learn about herself, not find ways to
die. She has forgotten the main purpose of being here today. Deep inside, Ei just doesn't care about
all of this.

"I am sorry about your wife, Ei."

"Do not," Ei closes her eyes, "bring her up."

Zhongli stays silent for a second, but speaks again, "I may not have known her, but I know that she
had the best life with you."

"Ei, I will tell you something that I did not tell the audience today."

Zhongli leans back in his seat. His eyes are looking down at his teacup with a solemn look.

"Why did the young man get a second chance at life even after abandoning his soulmate like that?
Was it really a gift, or a curse?"

Why would it be a gift? Having to watch her close friends die before her is a curse. Ei would rather
shut herself away from the people, so she wouldn't have to feel pain when they leave.

"As he met many new faces along the way, so too did he lose them. Some of them weren't able to
find their true loves in time, some passed away from natural causes. All the man could do was
watch. Seeing his acquaintances die while he was able to escape death, felt truly unfair."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ei's eyes start to form tears.

Zhongli continues, "Instead of grieving about the past, the man decided to use this chance to truly
experience life. He retired from his tough job, and found a much more peaceful environment to
work in. He constantly bought gifts for the people he worked with, as a sign of trust and
appreciation."

"Ei, I understand the feeling of being the odd one out in this world. However, you can use this time
to make the world a better place."

Ei shakes her head. "I can't do this forever. I can't do it alone."

"You don't have to do it alone. Keeping them company until their time comes is better than
avoiding them completely. They will thank you for being there for them when no one else did."
Zhongli speaks in the most comforting voice.

"Just like with your late wife, you made her the happiest woman in the world. I can say for sure that
she left this world peacefully, knowing that you were there by her side during her last moments."

Ei leans back in her seat and lets the tears roll down her cheeks. Her heart is in so much pain.

But as much as she hates to admit, Zhongli is right. Crying doesn't bring her back. What she can do
is show the same kindness that she shared with Miko to the world, to the people who have truly
been alone.

Though, in the end, Miko will always be her number one. Nobody can take her place. Nobody
could treat Ei the same way Miko did. Miko truly understood her when the world failed her.

After talking for what felt like a long time, Zhongli sees Ei out the door. Ei bows, "Zhongli, thank
you so much for speaking with me today."

"I am glad that I was able to help you. Let us keep in touch, alright?" Zhongli smiles warmly.

Ei nods and waves, before turning around to leave.

Zhongli watches her walk out of the building. As soon as the doors close shut, he sighs.

He goes back into the room they talked in and sits down. He rests his head behind, staring up at the
ceiling.

Her bright smile enters his mind. The way her eyes glittered when she talked about something she
liked. The kindness that she continued to share when he refused to have her in his life.

"Guizhong.."

"..It sure has been a while since I last saw you, hasn't it?"

A few days after the seminar, Ei returns to Inazuma. The trip to Liyue sure has been an exhausting
one. She admits that she misses shutting herself away from the outside world.

The silence in the house greets her, just like always. Ei carries her luggage and handbag up to the
bedroom, placing them aside for now. She will unpack later, she doesn't feel like doing it now. An
eighteen hour sleep is what she needs.

Before Ei undresses herself, she notices something on the floor in the corner of the room. She
doesn't recall leaving anything on the floor like this.

Oh, Ei remembers. It's the letter and the book from Miko that Maria brought over. She had
completely forgotten about that.

Ei refused to read it that day, due to the amount of heartache that would come from it. After talking
with Zhongli, however, perhaps there is something important that she has written in there. If she
doesn't read it, how will she know if Miko really did pass away happily?

Ei gulps, slowly approaching the book and letter wrapped in white paper. She sits herself down and
picks it up, feeling the weight of it. It isn't heavy, as the book is quite thin.

With no other thoughts, she tears the paper off.

Inside is a letter, which she already knew, and a thin book with a colorful cover. Two butterflies,
dark blue and yellow, are next to each other on a branch, with a lovely blue sky in the background.

Ei is surprised that Miko had actually kept this drawing as the cover permanently. She remembers
Miko asking her for suggestions on what color the butterfly should be. She had already chosen the
color yellow for one of it.

One thing that she is confused about, is why Miko did not release this book to the public. Ei
remembers her saying that she was planning to release a new book. Was it just a lie to cover up her
true plan?

Ei slowly runs her fingers across the cover, feeling its smooth surface. Her fingers stop at the
corner. She takes a moment to relax, before turning to the first page.

The first page has a blue butterfly, surrounded by butterflies of different colors.

Every butterfly in Flutterland has a partner.

Green butterflies go to green butterflies, red butterflies go to red butterflies.
This is a butterfly named Blue.
Blue does not have a partner. Blue is sad to see its friends enjoy being with their partners.

Ei turns to the next page. Blue and Yellow are standing together.

One day, Blue meets a yellow butterfly named Yellow.

Yellow says that it chooses to be Blue's partner.
However, Blue is worried about what other butterflies will say about them.
Yellow tells Blue that there is nothing to worry about.

The next page has Blue and Yellow flying together.

Blue and Yellow became closer and closer.

Blue enjoys spending time with Yellow, despite what other butterflies say.
Yellow makes Blue the happiest butterfly in the world.

Ei had a feeling that this book would be about her and Miko. She smiles at the illustration,
remembering the moments when Miko made her smile.

But when she turns to the next page, the story got a little darker. Yellow's wings have turned into a
darker, muddy color.

The next day, Blue leaves home to look for Yellow.

But, Blue finds Yellow sick and unable to move.
Yellow tells Blue the truth.

"Blue, I am sorry for not telling you earlier."

"I already have an assigned partner, but I wanted to stay with you. As my punishment, I
have to die."
"But, I do not regret a single second with you. I would do this all over again if I could."
"You are my true partner. The world made the wrong choice."
Blue calls for other butterflies to help, but they quickly fly away.
Yellow takes its last breath next to Blue.

One specific line has stuck to Ei.

"I already have a partner, but I wanted to stay with you. As my punishment, I have to die."

Then, based on this world, that would mean..

Ei covers her mouth with her hand out of shock, unable to let out even a sound. Her heart
immediately drops, and her head starts to hurt. This is the only conclusion that she can make up.
The truth that solves the mystery behind Miko's death.

I am not Miko's true soulmate.

Yellow left its true soulmate to be with Blue. Their love was so strong, that Yellow was willing to
stay, no matter what the outcome was.

But why? Why would anyone sacrifice their own life to be with a person who weren't destined to
love?

Ei drops the book and picks up the letter. She tears the envelope off in a hurry, leaving the torn
pieces of paper scattered on the floor.

After she unfolds the letter, she reads..

Ei, my dear! If you received the book and the letter, then that means I have already died. I assume
you read the book first? I knew you would be more curious about that. I wasn't planning on telling
you much about it.

The book doesn't explain fully what is going on, but I am sure that you got the gist of it. Here is the
truth about me that I couldn't tell you all these years.

Your missing symbol did not kill me, Ei. None of this is your fault. My death happened because of
me.

When I told you that my red line lead to you, I lied. My red line had always been facing the
opposite way, Ei. You weren't my actual soulmate.

I was in shock that it wasn't you. When we met for the first time in your office, I connected with you
so quickly. You made me feel special emotions that no one else could do.

I questioned the Gods on why it had to be someone else. I refused to be with someone I didn't love,
even when I knew that it guaranteed me life after turning 25. I didn't want to do that.

So, I stayed with you instead. If the world won't give you a partner you deserve, then I will be
yours. It's selfish of me to abandon my own soulmate, but if they were really desperate to live, they
would have found me already.

I know that you would be mad. I'm sorry for hurting you, but I promise you, this was what I wanted
from the beginning. I wasn't going to let anyone decide who I want to date. You are my soulmate in
my heart, and that's all that matters.

To be truthful, I don't know what to expect of the world after death. But, as long as I know that you
are okay, I have nothing to worry about. I will die in peace, knowing that I have fulfilled my
destiny.

Don't cry, my dear Ei. I am not gone forever. I will always be there with you, watching over you.
Don't let my death stop you from achieving your dreams.

I love you always. No matter what people say, I will always be your Yellow.

Yae Miko
Ei squeezes her hand into a fist, crumpling the letter in between. Ei laughs sadly to herself, "You..
you were that selfish, huh?"

It hurts Ei that things had to end this way. If Miko had just stayed with her real soulmate, perhaps
they could have found each other at a different time.. both alive. If only Ei knew that she was
destined to be immortal from the beginning. She would have pushed Miko away for her own good.

But, there is nothing she can do now. Although Ei misses the positive aura in the house when Miko
was around, she died knowing that Ei had finally experienced love. As long as she knows that
Miko was happy, it adds some sort of relief in her heart.

With the letter still in hand, Ei walks to her handbag that was left on the floor with her luggage. She
takes out her wallet and looks inside. The pink fox enamel pin that she was planning to give to
Miko is still sitting comfortably inside, untouched for an entire month.

Ei closes her wallet and puts it back into her bag, slinging it onto her shoulder.

She has one last place to go to today.

Stone gravestones are lined up neatly every row. Some have flowers of every color placed in front
of them as gifts, which brightens up this place.

Ei scans through every name written on the stone gravestones as she walks past. It is crazy to think
that most of the deaths here were caused by not finding a soulmate on time, than natural causes. It
is insane that this rule exists in the first place. People have gotten so used to it, that it has become a
completely normal thing in Teyvat.

Ei slows down her steps as she spots the gravestone with Miko's name on it. Some flowers have
been left beside it from previous visitors.

This is the first time she is visiting Miko. Ei did not go to her funeral ceremony. She couldn't face
her. She didn't want to be seen by others. Ei can imagine how miserable she would have felt to be
stared at by the people around her. It would have made her feel even worse about herself.

Ei slows down her steps when she spots the gravestone with Miko's name. Some flowers are left
next to it from previous visitors. She stops right in front of it, looking down at the stone.

"Miko.." Ei talks. "I missed you."

Ei kneels down and places a small bouquet of Naku Weed at an empty spot next to the gravestone.
Ei used to plant these long ago in her garden, and it was also used in their wedding.

"I finally know the truth, Miko. The truth that both of us have been searching for."

"My missing symbol did not mean anything, because I was meant to be immortal. If not, I would
have died there and then. So, it wouldn't be wrong to say that it saved me."

"But, I also wouldn't call it a gift. It would hurt so bad to see my friends grow old in front of me,
but there is nothing I can do to stop it."
 Ei collects the next few thoughts, and continues, "Miko, you have taught me to be kind to others,
the same thing you did to me. You treated me with so much love and care, even when I thought I
deserved nothing. You made me realize that I am more important than I think."

"You made me look forward to waking up every morning. I craved for your neck kisses, the way
your soft lips plant onto my skin. I miss your touch, your words of encouragement.."

Ei clears her throat. "Sorry, am I going too far? You would probably ask me to keep going.."

"You said that you had a happy life, and I am still trying to believe that. It is crazy that you
preferrred to die than date a person you didn't know. You really were different." Ei lets out a smile.

"But, if that's really how you feel, then I don't have any reason to think you are lying. I am glad
that I made you happy. I hope that you're doing okay, wherever you are."

"I'm sorry I made you worried with my behaviour, but.. I'll be okay." Ei nods. "I used to think that
my company and my work was all that mattered to leave my mark in this world, but I have a new
objective now, and that is to guide people to the right path the same way you did to me."

"Thank you, Miko, for being there with me. Without you, I would have been a mess. I guess it
would be okay to admit that I truly needed you to stay."

Ei brings out her wallet and takes out the pink fox enamel pin. She removes the packaging and
places the pin on the gravestone. It still has the same shine Ei once saw in the souvenir shop.

"This is for you, my dear. Happy belated birthday." Ei stares at it with a soft smile.

"I love you, my Yellow. I will always love you."

Chapter End Notes

This chapter was a bit too long oops

That was the end of Till Death Do Us Part! Thank you so much to those who read all
chapters! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! I apologize
if there were any mistakes or plotholes um I am not that smart sorry

I will write more stories in the future that aren't just about eimiko, soo yeah!

Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!