mirrorball by Taylor Swift
Y/N POV.
Fatigue takes over my body as I return to my piling work at the Grand Narukami Shrine. Under the bright sky, the sakura petals fall gracefully onto the wood whilst the beautiful maidens sweep the floor, humming to the songs of the birds from afar. The shrine is busier than ever. People from all places and class flock to the Grand Shrine to pray for good blessings and karma for autumn is making its way to Inazuma with its cold winds and auburn leaves, blanketing the streets of the periwinkle city.
The streets... There has been word going around that the nobles of Inazuma are hosting a grand ball. The elites of aristocratic society are to hold a gathering and it is not just any gathering. It's the party all the young ladies of the city and Inazuman lands want to be invited to, the kind of event where you would hold out your fan in front of your face and giggle quietly over the men who sends you glances across the hall. However, the only difference about this one is that the esteemed Kamisato clan will be the ones hosting it, and they say the main event would be the Head, or in Lady Yae's words: the Yashiro Scoundrel.
That one hell of a man.
Yes, I am very much aware that I have yet to ask him myself but really, did he not even care a bit about me to ensure that what I had heard from the streets was indeed untrue? Did he take me for a fool? The finest bachelor in Inazuma and me? Impossible. I was being delusional, and it was entirely on my part that I felt like this.
After all, men are all the same.
He tricked me. After everything we said, and... did. Why did I not think that he was just trying to get his way under my skirt? So many questions linger in my mind but I can't even begin to imagine which I would ask first when I see him. If I ever do, at least.
"Y/N!!" I hear Maki call for my name.
I look up, pulled out from the flurry of my thoughts that cloud my soul and heart. Everyone is busy and yet, I'm standing here in a daze thinking about some man I've only had a moment with. I'm sure I would be able to find someone else but yet, my heart aches deeply at the thought of seeing him with someone else; someone who isn't me. I, more than anyone, should know better than to delude myself with fantasies of being together with a nobleman. This isn't some story where the poor girl falls for the kind prince and off they go, living their happily-ever-after. I am a woman, whose time is taken up all at the shrine, dedicating my youth and adulthood to this sacred place I call home. I tend to people who seek refuge under the Shogun's wings, needing help and relief. Ayato... is a busy man. His whole life revolves around the people around him and the people he needs to take care of. We are one of the same boat in a vast ocean full of other boats trying to keep afloat. He lives in his office, desk full of stacks of papers, body driven to exhaustion, and hands sore from the way he grips his fountain pen.
We are simply not meant for each other.
"Hello, I would like to get an offering for the tree," A young girl coms up to me.
"Of course!" I guide her around, trying to distract myself from further thoughts about Ayato.
"Has the young lady tried her hand on the fortune paper?" Her grandmother smiles at me, the wrinkles around her eyes crinkling together.
"Not quite yet," I give her a polite smile.
She goes on to talk about how the Grand Narukami Shrine's fortune papers never fail to be accurate, the chances of life written all in a piece of paper. The girl runs up to the enormous tree clad in pink, the older woman telling me how she used to not believe a single thing about luck and fortune telling until she realised the power this shrine had. In Inazuma, the Grand Shrine is a beacon of hope for the people who worship the Shogun. The more faith an Archon has, the more power they receive from their offerings, and in return, the Archon has to return their faith with blessings to their prayers. This shrine serves as the biggest temple to the Shogun, and every Inazuman visits it at least twice in their life. No matter how far their island may be, it is a tradition for all. Us shrine maidens who to tend to this holy place are placed on a pedestal of prestige, with many young ladies wishing they could be in our place. Gracious and elegant, caring and passionate, yet we all dwell on how we wish we could be free from the reigns of our busy shrine duties. Lady Yae is just too tough on us... But, I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.
"Go on, give it a try. This old lady wishes to see how your future will be like," She chuckles.
"Alright, if you say so," I laugh before holding the wooden cylinder, shaking the cup until a wooden strip falls out.
"Happiness masked in a tragedy will soon befall on you. Be brave."
The grandmother only chuckles once again before walking away into the distance, away from the shrine. As I call her out to get her granddaughter, I look around and see the little girl running back up to me again.
"Your grandmother has left," I bend down to tell her, placing the wild strands of her hair behind her ear.
"Grandmother? What grandmother? I came here alone," The girl only smiles in amusement and curiosity.
"Alone...?" My eyebrows furrow together.
"Yes! But, don't tell my mother! She doesn't know I'm here, hehe!!" She smiles before skipping away down the steps to the Chinju Forest.
Who could that old lady be then?
YOU ARE READING
Deja Vu || Kamisato Ayato x Reader
Fanfiction"Gods, give me one more chance..." His hands had never gripped onto something so desperately before. The lifeless body of his beloved in his hands as the Sacred Sakura tree gleamed brightly once again in the Inazuma that used to flourish so beautifu...
