Chapter Text
'We're so sorry...'
'No... Don't worry... I know how elusive he can be...' Sara brought her hand to her eyes and sighed, gesturing to the soldiers to withdraw. Gorou didn't know who they were talking about, but apparently he was the alleged culprit. He had managed to escape and they had been searching for him for a couple of hours.
‘If only I had managed to stop him...’ he lamented, leaning his head back against the wall. He couldn't see anything in the darkness and didn't know the other person was armed, but even so, as a general, he should have been prepared for something like this. ‘Which reminds me...’
Gorou stood up, ignoring the pain from his wound, and, leaning on the wall, made his way to where it had all happened. Sara was still too busy trying to bring order among the few remaining citizens of Inazuma and the Commission's soldiers, and Yae was at the top of the stairs talking to Ayato, who had appeared shortly after the main chaos had subsided. He didn't know if she was angry or sad, but it seemed that what had happened had affected her quite a bit, and it was noticeable in her gestures, even from a distance.
‘It was around here...’ he thought, feeling a chill as he remembered the sharp pain of the stab wound. The wound still hurt, a lot, but the pain, the sensation he felt at the moment it happened... The blade... He trembled just remembering it. He knew he was right because as soon as he got close enough, his nose began to detect the smell of dried blood. ‘Here...’ He moved away from the wall and walked to the spot where it had happened.
There were still stains all over the floor, most of them from the other person the soldiers had to take away to treat before it was too late. Gorou bit his lip helplessly as he thought about that poor boy, hoping they had been able to do something for him. He followed the stains with his eyes until he realised that some of them... were they starting to look like footprints? He began to follow them to make sure. Yes, they were definitely footprints. From Inazuma sandals, and they led to the harbour, to the water. Gorou got there, but apart from a broken piece of armour from one of the Commission's soldiers, there was nothing else. The culprit had probably used the water to wash their hands. At that moment, Gorou remembered someone who was still there and decided to go and see her to check if she had anything to do with the footprints.
‘Excuse me...’ he said when he was close to her. It was the girl who had been screaming during the accident. She had stepped in the pool of blood where the other victim of the attack was lying, and her sandals and the bottom of her kimono were completely stained. She was now sitting on one side, trembling, but unable to leave.
‘Is it me...?’ she asked nervously before seeing the bandages around Gorou's torso. Her eyes filled with tears and she hurriedly stood up, clasping her hands together and leaning forward. 'I'm so sorry, I really am! This is all my fault! I shouldn't have shouted! I caused the panic! I thought it was water when I stepped on it, but when I looked down and saw someone on the ground... If I had kept calm, he wouldn't have escaped!’
‘It wasn't your fault.’ Gorou shook his head and tried to comfort her. ‘And even if it caused panic, it was best that people reacted as quickly as possible. He could have attacked more people if no one had noticed.’ The girl seemed to calm down a little, but it was clear that she still felt guilty and couldn't stop sobbing. ‘Ah, yes... I'd like to ask you... Can I borrow your sandals?’
‘M-my sandals?’
‘You don't need to give me both, just one is enough. It's to check something.’
‘O-oh, yes! Of course!’ She hurriedly sat down and took off her shoe to give it to Gorou.
Gorou thanked her and returned as best as he could to where he had seen the footprints, having to stop a couple of times along the way because of the pain.
‘They're not hers...’ he thought, bending down to compare the sandal with one of the footprints, but the girl's foot was too small. ‘There's only one other person who has stepped in the blood... So whoever has the stained shoes...’
‘Gorou!’ The scream interrupted him and made him jump to his feet. ‘What are you doing? You shouldn't be moving!’
‘I'm sorry, Sara, it's just that... I was looking at something...’ he replied, shrinking back a little as his ears began to droop backwards. Sara was angry, and the way she was looking at him made him feel like a child who had just being caught done something very wrong.
‘You shouldn't move. You're going to start bleeding again.’ she said, moving closer so he could lean on her. They had barely taken a couple of steps when one of the soldiers returned, bringing news that reassured them both.
/////////////////////
She had tried to be careful, but as soon as she set foot in the capital, some of the soldiers on guard saw her and ran towards her to make sure she was all right. Luckily, Itto knew how to react quickly and was able to hide in time. After a brief interrogation, one of them said he was going back to Ritou to inform Sara that Yunjin had appeared, and the other offered to accompany her to Komore's Tea house. Yunjin tried to persuade him not to, but he seemed very determined.
‘Aaah! I saw something over there!’ Sayu suddenly shouted, pointing to one of the distant bushes on the outskirts of the city.
‘What? What did you see?’ The soldier stood guard.
‘I don't know...! It was a shadow!’ she exclaimed, starting to run towards where she had pointed. ‘Come on, come on! Maybe it's the culprit...! And he'll get away if we're not quick!’
The soldier quickly followed Sayu, and Yunjin mentally thanked the little girl for being so quick to find a solution.
‘You can come out now.’ she said, signalling to Itto to come out of his hiding place.
After that, they headed to Komore's Tea house. Yunjin went ahead to make sure there were no more guards, but luckily, following the route Sayu had told them earlier, they avoided encountering any more. They were in the most populated areas where there were the most people passing by. Yunjin went to the door and opened it. Not even the owner of the tea house was at the counter; it was the perfect time to go in. She gestured to Itto and he came out of hiding, threw himself on the floor and rolled to the door.
‘W-what are you doing?’
‘Moving quietly. If I don't make any noise, they can't find me. It's all calculated.’
‘That's how you attract more attention!’
Itto went inside and Yunjin closed the door behind her with a long sigh. Now they just had to get to the end of the corridor, wait for Sayu and...
‘Yunjin!’ Itto hurried to jump behind the counter to hide, knocking some things over in the process. ‘You're here! Great! I was told you might be in danger and I was very worried.’
‘I'm fine, Xingqiu. Thank you very much for your concern.’ she replied, putting everything that had fallen back in its place. As soon as she saw her stained sleeve, she hurriedly hid it behind her back. ‘And you? Did anything happen to you?’
‘The Commission's guards took me away before things got out of hand.’ He waved his hand dismissively. ‘I've been here ever since. It's a shame, I'm sure I could have helped.’
Yunjin and Xingqiu continued talking a little more about what had happened and the details. At one point, she looked away and saw Itto's head peeking out from behind the counter. Taking advantage of the fact that Xingqiu was looking the other way, she signalled to him to continue. He seemed to understand, crawled across the floor to the corridor, stood up, and hurried to the end as quietly as possible. Luckily, her friend from Liyue didn't notice anything. After exchanging a few more words, Yunjin told Xingqiu that she wanted to rest and headed to her room.
‘How... distressing...’ she thought, putting her hand to her chest when she got there. Now all she had to do was wait for Sayu and talk about what they were going to do.
Barely a few seconds had passed when she heard Xingqiu talking to someone. They thought it was Sayu or another guest at the teahouse... Until they heard Sara's voice, and panic set in. Both she and Itto looked for a way out, but Yunjin's room had no windows.
‘There!’ Yunjin exclaimed, pointing to the wardrobe.
‘There?’ Itto laughed. ‘Please. Something so small doesn't have room to hold the Great Muscu-...’ He couldn't even finish speaking when Yunjin started pulling him towards it. ‘It really is too small!’
‘We have no choice! We can't let Sara see you!’
After several pushes and some more struggling, Yunjin managed to close the wardrobe door after hiding Itto. She looked at her sleeve again and put both hands behind her back to hide it.
‘It's true that you're here...’ Sara closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Yunjin was in her room, just as Xingqiu had told her.
‘Yes, it was a scare, but I'm fine.’ Yunjin smiled. She was an actress; she knew how to hide the nerves she was feeling at that moment.
Shortly afterwards, Gorou arrived in the room, and she couldn't have been happier to see that he was all right.
‘The blood is very alarming,’ Sara explained. ‘Luckily, the blade didn't hit any important areas, and as soon as we covered the wound, we solved the problem.’
‘Thank goodness,’ Gorou said, putting his hand to his neck with a somewhat uncomfortable laugh.
‘And about Itto...’ Sara asked.
‘Oh, him... He thought I was in danger, that's why he took me out of Ritou...’ There was a silence, and after several seconds, Sara sighed and pressed her hand against her eyes again. ‘Hey, Sara... A-ah... I don't think he...’
‘I know. I know.’ Sara nodded. ‘Itto is an idiot, but he's not a criminal. Much less one who does these things... But... Until we know what's going on, the Commission must keep the prime suspect under arrest. We have no other choice...’
‘I understand...’
Silence fell again. A longer, more uncomfortable silence.
‘Well, if you're all right, I should let you rest. I have a very long night ahead of me.’ She headed for the door and waved goodbye. ‘I'm sorry this happened.’
‘It wasn't your fault.’ Yunjin smiled to comfort her.
Sara smiled back and began to walk down the corridor. She had barely taken a couple of steps when she heard her stop.
‘So, they're both there?’ Hearing that voice, Gorou let out a sound like a puppy being hit, and Yunjin saw the hairs on his tail stand on end.
‘Yes, that's right. If you want to talk to them, go ahead.’
Yunjin heard Sara leave and High Priestess Yae appeared in her place. Seeing how tense Gorou was, she put her hand to her mouth, let out a slight chuckle, and entered the room. Without saying a word, she walked between them and went over to a piece of furniture, where she sat down and crossed her legs.
‘I know you're there, Itto. You'd better come out.’
Itto gasped so loudly that, from Gorou's reaction, Yunjin knew it was impossible for Yae not to have heard him, but even so, she couldn't give him away.
‘Sorry, but... I think you're mistaken. Itto left as soon as...’
‘There's no need...’ Yae raised a hand to interrupt her. ‘...to lie to me. I know he's here; a little animal told me so.’
Yunjin looked at the door and saw Sayu's face peeking out, with a remorseful expression.
‘I'm sorry... She followed me when I was coming here... I had no choice...’
‘Don't worry, even if you hadn't told me, I would have known you were here. I can put two and two together.’ she said with a chuckle before closing her eyes and resting her head in her hands. ‘Now... Itto, show yourself.’ The room began to fill with Electro energy and Yae's eyes began to shine. ‘I don't want to have to do this the hard way.’
‘Okay! Okay!’ Itto came out of the wardrobe and Gorou looked like he couldn't believe it. ‘Here I am. You want me? Let's go!’ he said, getting into fighting position.
‘Please!’ Yae clasped her hands together and began to laugh. ‘I'm not here to arrest you. I told you, I can put two and two together.’
‘Does that mean you think he's innocent?’ Yunjin asked.
‘I don't think so. I know so.’ Yae's expression changed to one of annoyance. ‘But I don't know who was responsible, so I thought I could tell you something that might help. To put your minds at ease.’
‘What you want is for us to catch the culprit for you, right?’ Gorou crossed his arms and frowned.
‘I'm so glad you understand me!’ Yae gestured affectionately, and Yunjin saw Gorou start to tremble. ‘I don't care if the festival is ruined, but I don't have time for this.’
‘Well, shoot! What do you know?!’ Itto was losing patience.
‘From what I can see, it's a hate crime.’
‘Hate?’ Yunjin didn't understand.
‘Gorou... You know the other victim, am I right? That boy was part of the resistance, wasn't he?’ Yunjin and Itto looked at Gorou, and he nodded.
‘The resistance...?’
‘The resistance. The brave group that fought against the reign of terror of Shogun Raiden and her Vision Capture Decree. Both Gorou and the other boy were part of it. He hasn't told you anything because I know Sangonomiya Kokomi has said not to talk about it during the festival.’
‘And it's true...’ Gorou rubbed his neck somewhat uncomfortably.
‘Ayato did some investigating and found out that the boy was hiding this.’ Yae took out a piece of paper and showed it to the three of them. It read, "I know you're one of them. Disgusting member of the resistance", accompanied by several threats. ‘And it wasn't the only one.’ Yae took out several more notes. They all said almost the same thing. ‘It's clear that our criminal wanted to make the victim nervous so that he would react and everything would end the way it did.’
‘Why would anyone have anything against the people who helped restore Inazuma to the nation it is today?’ Yunjin asked, both disgusted and saddened at the thought.
‘There are all kinds of people,’ Yae sighed and stretched her legs. ‘And believe it or not, there were people who agreed with the Shogun's ideas at the time. Either that, or perhaps the situation gave them more power over others. Or money, due to the lack of materials from outside.’
‘The merchant...’ Gorou said suddenly.
‘Who?’ Itto didn't understand.
‘The merchant from this morning!’ Gorou looked at Yunjin. ‘I'm sure he was one of those who took advantage of the situation to sell goods at exorbitant prices! That's why he reacted so aggressively when you approached him! He doesn't want you here! Maybe he wasn't there when the attack happened, but I'm sure he knows something.’
‘Now that you mention it...’ Yunjin paused to think.
‘Bravo!’ Yae applauded and climbed down from the furniture. ‘It seems you know where to start. My work here is done.’ She headed for the door. ‘Oh, by the way... You only have tomorrow.’
‘What?!’ Gorou exclaimed.
‘Calx and the other guests from Mondstadt are coming the next day. I'd like everything to be resolved by then. I don't want them to go home scared, knowing that there's a violent criminal on the loose in Inazuma.’ She closed her eyes and sighed. ‘Otherwise, I'll have to hand Itto over.’
‘What, when, and what?!’ protested Itto.
‘Don't worry. I'll tell them to find a cell with a window that lets in plenty of light.’ She waved goodbye and started to leave. ‘So good luck tomorrow, Arataki ‘Number One’ Itto.’
As Yae's laughter echoed down the hallway, Gorou and Yunjin did their best to calm Itto down before he exploded at the High Priestess.
‘We should get some sleep tonight...’ Sayu's voice interrupted the scene and the three looked at her. She had been so quiet that they forgot she was there. ‘We have a lot of work ahead of us tomorrow... And I can see that we won't be able to take a break for a nap, so we'd better rest now...’
‘Sayu is right.’ Gorou nodded. ‘I'll ask for a room at the tea house to spend the night, and we'll see each other early tomorrow morning.’
‘I'll do the same...’ Sayu nodded and let Gorou pass.
‘Well, let it be thre-!’ Sayu shook her head, interrupting Itto.
‘You can't... You're hiding... And they need a record of the people who request rooms...’
‘And I'm going to have to stand in the middle of the hallway all night?’
‘You can stay here,’ Yunjin offered. She was sure she wouldn't be able to sleep much, so she didn't mind. ‘The room is big, I'll ask for some blankets for myself and we'll make a makeshift bed with them.’
‘That's a good idea...’ Sayu closed her eyes and yawned. ‘Now, if you'll excuse me...’
‘Wait.’ Itto stopped her. ‘I want to thank you for helping us...’
Sayu looked at him strangely for a moment, then put on a more aggressive expression, got her hands to her head, and began to move away from Itto.
‘No! Don't even think about it...!’
‘Come on, just a little!’
‘You're not going to stroke my head, Itto...! You're too strong...! Not only will I not be able to grow, you'll make me shorter than I am...!’
‘At least a pat!’
‘No!’ Sayu finished leaving the room and slammed the door shut. Both Yunjin and Itto heard her hurried footsteps down the hallway, moving away.
‘What a disappointment...’ Itto threw his head back.
‘I'm going to get the blankets.’ Yunjin started towards the door. ‘I guess it won't take too long...’ She stopped when she heard Itto start to laugh.
‘I don't need any of that.’
‘Where are you going to sleep?’
‘I can sit in any corner.’
‘Y-you're going to sleep... sitting up!?’ Yunjin couldn't believe it.
‘Yes. That's right.’ Itto put his hands on his hips with a proud expression.
‘B-but that's impossible... No one can fall asleep like that...’
‘No one except Arataki The Most Resilient Itto.’ He said, heading for one of the corners of the room and sitting down. ‘Get ready to be amazed.’ Yunjin approached and he cracked his knuckles for a moment before closing his eyes.
It took a while, but Itto's expression and breathing began to relax. Yunjin crouched down and began making soft sounds, snapping her fingers and clapping gently, to see if he would react.
‘He's really fallen asleep...’ she thought, standing up again, unable to believe it.