according to plan

As the conversation continued beneath the sacred sakura, Yae Miko’s true position became steadily clearer.

On the surface, she was the picture of loyalty — the respected Guuji who publicly supported the Raiden Shogun and maintained the shrine’s neutral, proper standing. Just like the heavy, concealing clothes she wore.

Underneath, however, she was the one quietly pulling strings. Every disturbance, every convenient distraction, every “lucky” escape they had experienced since arriving in Inazuma had her fingerprints on it. She didn’t want the Shogun’s downfall. She wanted to save her oldest friend from the self-destructive path of Eternity she had locked herself into.

Aether and Yelan exchanged a glance.

They both had the distinct, uncomfortable feeling that they had been dancing to this fox’s tune from the moment they set foot on Inazuman soil. Her power was nothing like Ningguang’s open, overwhelming influence. It was quiet. Barely noticeable. And yet it felt absolute — as if every event in the nation ultimately bent to her amusement and will.

Yae Miko eventually rose with an elegant stretch.

“I’ll give you two a moment to discuss whether you wish to accept my help,” she said lightly. “Do try not to take too long.”

She walked a short distance away, leaving them at the table.

That was when they saw it.

Kujou Sara and a full contingent of Tenryou Commission soldiers had climbed the long mountain path and were now approaching the shrine gates. Their weapons were ready. Their intent was clear.

Yelan tensed. Aether prepared to move.

Then Yae Miko simply lifted one hand.

Without raising her voice, without any dramatic display of power, she spoke a few calm words to the tengu general at the gate. Sara’s expression twisted with frustration and reluctant obedience. Within moments, the entire force turned around and began marching back down the mountain.

They had clearly seen Aether and Yelan sitting in plain view at the Guuji’s table.

And they could do absolutely nothing about it.

Yae Miko strolled back over, smiling as if she had merely sent away an unwanted salesman.

“There. Much quieter now,” she said, seating herself again and casually recrossing her legs — offering another brief, deliberate flash of her bare pussy beneath the heavy shrine skirts. “So… have you decided? Will you let this humble Guuji help you reach the Raiden Shogun… or would you prefer to keep running through the forests like wet, exhausted animals?”

Her fox-like eyes sparkled with mischief and absolute confidence.

The demonstration had been clear.

In Inazuma, even the Shogun’s own army answered to the pink-haired kitsune when she decided to exercise her quiet, terrifying influence.

Yae Miko didn’t even try to hide it.

She sat there with that same amused, fox-like smile, fully aware that she had them completely in the palm of her hand. Every escape, every convenient path, every distraction, even the exact timing of Sara’s arrival and dismissal — it had all been her doing. And she wanted them to know it.

Aether looked at Yelan, then back at the Guuji.

There was no real choice.

“…We accept your help,” he said.

Yae Miko’s smile widened with genuine delight. She extended her hand across the table. Aether shook it.

The moment their hands met, as if the entire sequence had been scripted down to the second, voices rose from the shrine gate.

The rest of the party had arrived.

Rosaria, Ganyu (cowbell still jingling), Cloud Retainer, Shenhe, and even a slightly battered but alive Beidou stood at the entrance, looking travel-worn and surprised to see Aether and Yelan already sitting there. They had also been guided by the same subtle, invisible cues — animals, convenient paths, unexplained clearings of patrols — and had reached the summit at the exact instant the deal was sealed.

Yae Miko withdrew her hand and rested her chin on her palm, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

“Perfect timing, isn’t it?” she said lightly, as if she hadn’t just orchestrated the entire reunion. “I do so hate it when guests arrive fashionably late.”

The way she spoke made it clear: she hadn’t merely influenced events.

She had known — or arranged — the future of this particular afternoon down to the minute.

Yelan simply exhaled through her nose, already accepting that they had been outplayed from the beginning.

Yae Miko gestured elegantly for the newcomers to join them under the sacred sakura.

“Now that everyone is here… shall we discuss how we’re going to save a certain stubborn Archon from herself?”

The full party was reunited under Yae Miko’s watchful, amused gaze.