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Eyes widening and jaw dropping, you watched as the Vision that was originally latched onto Thoma’s hip shake before zooming past the guards on either side of him and towards the Shogun.
Your gaze landed on his face, a defeated expression crossing it as he attempted in a last ditch effort to stand and pursue the vision, though both guards stopped him before he could do anything.
~
“I’ve never seen you in Inazuma before and those clothes look foreign, perhaps from Mondstadt? What are you doing so far away from home?”
Whipping around, your eyes landed on the young blonde haired man before you, a small smile painting his face as he looked down at your panicked form.
“I-I was just passing through! I’m looking for something so please don’t report me to th-“
Before you could finish, a hand was clapped over your mouth, effectively silencing you. Gazing up into his face with fearful eyes, you were met with furrowed brows and a finger placed to his lips, telling you to be quiet.
“Mmpf-!” Your attempt to mumble something to him was cut short as he dragged you in between two buildings and out of sight of the two guards that had just happened to be patrolling the area.
He didn’t utter a sound as he quietly observed the two men conversing, though you couldn’t bring yourself to tear your gaze away from his face.
He was rather handsome.
A minute or two passed and you hadn’t even noticed the two had left until he pulled his hand off of your face and stepped out into the middle of the walkway.
“Now, what were you saying?” He smiled sweetly at you once more and you couldn’t help but frown at him.
“You can’t just go around manhandling me like that! I thought you were going to kill me!” An apologetic grin planted itself on his face as he scratched at the back of his head.
“Sorry! You just sounded like you weren’t meant to be here, so I thought I’d help you stay out of their way.”
You eyed him with suspicion, arms crossed and head turned up slightly before sighing aloud and shaking your head at him.
“Sorry, I just…” You let out a huff of air at the small laugh that escaped your lips before continuing.
“The people of Inazuma haven’t been so welcoming and I’ve run into quite a few bad people, sorry about that.”
He nodded in understanding, taking in what you had to say. “Well we can’t have that now can we? On behalf of the people of Inazuma, I'm sorry! Let me treat you to some good food as an apology.”
Your eyes almost popped out of their sockets at this, a stranger offering to pay for your next meal in a foreign land?
Who were you to say no? It must have been a blessing from the Electro Archon herself.
“That’s very nice of you, I haven’t had the opportunity to try anything new here.” Grin widening, he took you by the arm, dragging you towards a teahouse nearby.
“That’s great, let me show you what Inazuma has to offer!”
And thus the start of your friendship with the Pyro vision user began.
~
“Ah, I’m sorry!” You chirped out at the tall man before you.
You hadn’t been looking where you were going and had bumped into his shoulder when turning the corner. Though he barely seemed to notice.
He shot you a small glance, curiosity seemingly being piqued for just a moment before grunting and walking off.
You watched his back as he stalked away, trying to recall whether you had ever met a person with horns like his before. He couldn’t be an adeptus.
“I see you’ve met Arataki Itto.”
Turning to face Thoma, your face contorted into that of confusion and he huffed lightly, smiling at your obliviousness. He always seemed to forget that you were not an Inazuma local and so common knowledge often eluded you.
“He’s an Oni, or part Oni. I’ve never been able to make sense of such a thing, surely if you have even a drop of Oni blood in you, then you are just an Oni no?”
When your confused expression didn’t leave your face, his eyebrow raised.
“An Oni? A demon?”
Hearing the word demon, cleared up the confusion you had and he laughed as your face relaxed into that of realisation. He would never get over the look that always crossed your face when you learnt something new, something he had grown to appreciate alot.
“I see there’s a lot I still have to teach you about Inazuma.”
“It’s your fault for not warning me about such a scary guy!” Saying this, you lightly punched at his arm as he laughed at your actions.
“Scary? The guy creates bug-fighting arenas to play with the kids!”
Thoma shrugged his shoulders at his own words but his smile dropped at the expression on your face.
“Bug arenas?! That sounds fun! I wanna see!” His eye twitched as he watched you chase after the tall horned man in the distance, calling out to him.
“Heyyy! Ittoooooo! I want to watch too!”
Thoma chuckled lightly to himself before chasing after you, not wanting to miss out on the fun that seemed to always find you.
~
“I don’t have any money, so get lost!”
The samurai turned to look at one another, before guffawing at your brave words.
Backed into a corner, you could only watch as they approached you slowly, katanas glistening in the afternoon sun.
“You’d be a fool to be travelling without any mora on you, girl. Now hand it over and we’ll make your death a quick one.”
You clutched your hands into fists, trying to stop the fear that had wracked your body at your predicament.
You were scared, yes.
But how stupid could these samurai be?!
“If you’re going to kill me anyway, what the hell makes you think I’d hand over any mora I have willingly you idiot?!”
They both stopped at that, stances faltering at your blunt words, though it only took a moment for them to recollect themselves.
“What did you say?! For that, I’ll make sure you bleed painstakingly slow whilst I laugh!”
Before they could approach you, however, Thoma had appeared, making quick work of the pair that had been threatening you.
It took you a moment to realise you were no longer in danger, though when it had settled in, you let out the breath you had been holding and collided with his chest.
“Thank you, Thoma! Thank you, thank you!” You gasped out. He was taken aback, though his hand eventually found itself caressing the back of your head as he smiled down at you.
“As if I’d let a fellow Inazuman get hurt!” You chuckled gently at this, though refused to remove your face from his chest.
That is, until you realised what he had said.
“Inazuman?” He smiled sheepishly at you pulling out a document for you to look over. Taking it from him you read it over not once, not twice but three times just to make sure you weren’t going crazy.
“Thoma… This is-“
“That’s right! You can stay in Inazuma now!”
You stared up at him unsure of how to react.
“Thoma... I'm leaving next week. I was never meant to stay.” Smile faltering, he looked down at you, disappointment evident in his eyes no matter how much he may have tried to hide it.
He had worked hard to get those papers.
~
“Here you go! Got some special made fireworks for you alongside the ones you ordered!”
Yoimiya handed you the bags that contained your fireworks and you shot her an inquisitive look. She smiled brightly at you, hands on her hips as though she were about to announce something important.
“It’s from Thoma! He was all red and fidgety about it too!”
You smiled at her words, happy to receive such a thing, on top of it being from Thoma. You hadn’t seen him in a while, but you’d be sure to thank him before you left.
You had to.
~
You thought he’d drop by before you left but it was starting to seem less and less likely. It had been four days since then, the longest period of time you had spent not seeing him and you couldn’t help but worry.
Perhaps it was your own fault, for not showing appreciation for what he had done for you.
But you could hardly blame yourself, he had known from the start that you were only a temporary visitor.
What had changed?
Aether bolting past you shook you out of your thoughts and you watched as the young boy sprinted in the direction of the Archon statue.
And somehow, deep down, you had a gut feeling it was about Thoma.
~
The Vision seemed to have a life of its own as if shot out towards the Shogun, Thoma attempting to follow it.
“Thoma!”
His eyes darted to the side, searching for the one his name had left before landing on you, a sad smile creeping onto his face.
He seemed ashamed that you had seen him like this.
Before anything more could be said or done, Aether had been sucked into some kind of portal and you lost sight of him. Though not a moment longer he was sent flying out, wounded and unconscious.
Gasping you watched as Paimon floated towards him, shaking him in an effort to rouse him though the boy didn’t respond and the Shogun approached, raising her weapon and preparing to strike him.
“No!” You screamed just as Thoma cut himself free and had thrown a polearm to distract her, sending Aether flying into the arms of the man.
His eyes briefly met yours as he shouted in your direction.
“Run!”
And you did just that, the Shogun watching as a seemingly innocent bystander pushed her way out of the crowd at the command of the prisoner.
~
The three of you sat in Komore teahouse quietly, awaiting news from the outside and it wasn’t until Aether returned that you stood.
“There’s a warrant out for the arrest of us three.”
“Whaaaaa?! Paimon didn’t do anything wrong!”
You nodded at her words, feeling as though this was being blown out of proportion.
“Actually, it’s for me, Thoma and you.”
Aethers eyes landed on you and your blood ran cold.
“M-me? But I… What did I… I didn’t do anything…”
“It’s my fault.”
Thoma had piped up from beside you and you turned to eye him at his statement. What did he do? Perhaps she had seen the two of you conversing in the past, or maybe someone had tipped her off about you being from Mondstadt.
Though you found it unlikely, there’s no way she would be interested in the likes of you.
“I drew attention to you, unnecessary attention during the altercation.” He looked defeated at this and disappointed in himself once more.
You hated seeing him like this.
“No it’s not, she’s in the wrong! Don’t beat yourself up over something like this! We just have to lay low until this blows over!”
His head raised, gaze meeting yours as his eyes seemed to silently thank you.
You just shot him a sweet smile.
~
It was ironic really, how you weren't even meant to be in this nation and now you were stuck here, hiding from the Shoguns army in a teahouse not far from Tenshukaku, where she resides.
How the place hadn't been stormed yet was beyond you, though you were starting to get the sneaking suspicion that Ayaka had something to do with this. You would have to ask her the next time she dropped by.
Just as you thought this, she entered the teahouse quietly, making her way toward you in that same graceful manner she always does, before sitting down in front of you.
"Aether has made his way to Watatsumi island to join the resistance in retaliation against the Raiden Shogun and I... Well I think it would be best if you joined them there. At least that way, we could ensure that you wouldn't cross paths with any of the Shogunate."
"Thank you Ayaka, for allowing me to stay here until now."
She smiled kindly at you, though the crease in her brow did not go unnoticed by you, it seemed she wanted to say more.
"I only wish I could have helped you more, to be kicking you out of here so soon... I can't help but feel bad about it."
Smiling gratefully at her, you waved your hands to dismiss her words.
"Don't say that, you've helped me immensely and I appreciate it, really!" She seemed to relax at your words, a grateful expression gracing her face.
You stood, grabbing the small amount of belongings you currently had with you, making your way toward the entrance where Ayaka had prepared an escort.
"Where are you going?" Thoma had rounded the corner from the room he had been staying in and stood there, a confused look painting his face.
You shifted on your feet, feeling as though telling him the plan would upset him for some reason. Ayaka took a step forward, hand on her chest and relayed what she had just told you to him.
He didn't take it very well.
"What?! Milady, at least let me escort her! I'd feel a lot better about her being so far away if I knew she made it there safely!" Thoma had turned to Ayaka, a pleading tone lacing his words as he eyed her desperately, but she only shook her head sadly at his words.
"Thoma... You know you can't do that, the Kamisato clan still needs you here despite your current predicament. I would love to send you with her for my own peace of mind but its just something I cannot allow, at least for the time being."
He grit his teeth silently at her words , fists clenched and resting at his sides as he eventually nodded, relenting to the Shirasagi Himegimi.
She too, considered you a valued friend, something she was lacking in and it pained her to say no to him. Sighing to herself, she stepped ahead and you followed but not before turning to the man beside you.
"I'll be back soon Thoma! Once this is all swept under the rug, let’s meet again!” His head shot up instantly at that, searching your eyes for a brief moment before that smile you had grown to love appeared once more as he nodded.
"Of course! Stay safe and i’ll be right here if you need me so don't hesitate to send a letter, I’ll come running!"
You grinned, nodding at his words.
~
It turned out, the journey there would be the furthest thing from safe.
You were stood on a battlefield in which resistance members and the shoguns army clashed, many soldiers falling around you. The man who had been escorting you had gotten his information wrong.
You were meant to meet some members of the resistance who would escort you deeper into Watatsumi island, however, your escort was under the impression the meeting point would be here.
He couldn't have been more wrong.
You yelped aloud as he deflected an attack launched at your side, pushing you behind him as he did his best to usher you back and out of the conflict.
"Grab the Traveler and the girl, don't let them escape!" Kujou Sara commanded and at her words soldiers from all sides rushed at you and your escort.
"Look out!" You screamed as one struck the man defending you, causing him to collapse in pain. Rushing forward, you used all your strength to push the soldier who had readied his weapon to deliver a fatal blow on the man, sending him flying. Grabbing the polearm he had dropped, you tried your best to position yourself in a defensive manner.
Thrusting the polearm in the direction of the approaching soldiers, you attempted to keep them as far from the both of you as possible.
"Miss! You must run and leave me, I will hold them off!" You shook your head at this, clumsily waving the weapon at another soldier who had stepped closer, effectively pushing him back.
"Not happening, besides, I wouldn't get very far without you anyway! Get up, we can push back if we both watch each others backs!"
"Miss..." The moment he had said that, he whipped around at the man charging the both of you from behind, snatching the spear from your hands and thrusting it into said man.
The soldier was sent flying further than you could have imagined and all around you had stood stark still, unsure of what had just happened.
A vision fell from the sky, landing in the open palm of your escort and he stared at it for a brief moment before realising what this meant.
You never thought you’d ever witness the bestowment of a Vision and certainly not in a situation like this, but it made you realise what was at stake for the people of Inazuma.
To have the power to protect themselves and others taken away from them was unfair and saddening, you couldn’t help but feel for them all of a sudden. You truly hadn’t realised what such a thing could mean to someone.
The moment his vision landed in his hands, he immediately stepped in front of you, pushing you back once more.
"Stay behind me!"
But the wound on his side made him double over in pain and the shoguns army took this as their chance to approach.
Then it began to rain.
Rather than fall down and be absorbed into the earth, the droplets seemed to float up.
It felt surreal to witness, like something out of a fairytale.
No sooner than this occurred a young woman appeared, gracefully floating down onto the battlefield, you had never seen anyone as innocently beautiful as her.
"Her excellency!" Gorou had yelled out in happiness and she smiled down at the lot of you before speaking.
"The wait is over my comrades, now is our moment!" At her word, countless soldiers poured onto the battlefield with a battle cry.
You had even spotted Beidou and Kazuha, both of which cleared the enemies surrounding you.
"Are you okay?!" Kazuha asked you and you nodded at him, an appreciative smile showing on your face.
After their arrival, the battle was very one sided, forcing Kujou Sara to order a tactical retreat and before long, the area was only filled with the resistance.
You finally allowed yourself to collapse to the ground in exhaustion, your eyes landing on the Anemo vision now hanging from the waist of the man who defended you.
You shot a grateful smile at him, hoping it would convey your appreciation.
One he shot back.
~
Quite a bit of time had passed since then, you had opted to residing in Watatsumi island, far from the Shoguns eye and the clutches of her army and eventually word had reached you of the events that had taken place during your absence from Inazuma city.
Aether had beaten the Raiden Shogun and the Vision Hunt Decree had finally been abolished thanks to the will of many.
You had just arrived back in the city, glad to find that you were no longer wanted by the Shogunate for 'affiliation with criminals'. It turned out just knowing those who had committed 'treason' put you in a very unreasonable position.
You sat alone on a hill not too far from Komore teahouse, relishing in the silent breeze that occasionally drifted by.
"Hey!" Your head whipped around at the man who had called out to you and you stood, a grin stretching over your face, but before you could do anything he had pulled you into his arms.
"I was so worried after I heard what had happened! Your escort told me everything! Why didn't you run away?!"
"How could I do something like that? I know you wouldn't have." He stilled for a brief moment before chuckling to himself and holding you at arms length.
"Ever the rebel, I see. I was so bored without you." You smiled up at him and he cleared his throat, turning his head to the side to hide the blush creeping over his face.
“I mean, of course I'd be worried about a friend!” Thoma grinned down at you before plopping himself on the ground beside you as you did the same, narrowly missing the bag that you had brought.
"Thoma about the travel permit..." He froze up, half expecting you to bring up the topic at some point, though that didn't stop him from dreading the talk. He didn't want to hear you say you're leaving, as long as he didn't hear it, then it wouldn't happen.
He searched for something, anything to talk about that would help avoid the subject, and his eyes landed on the bag beside you.
"I-"
"What's in the bag?" He asked, cutting you off before you could say anything more and your eyes shifted to it.
"Oh it's something special! A really sweet guy gave it to me and I'd like to enjoy it with him!"
Thoma's smile dropped at that. Who? When would you have had the time to get to know someone well enough for them to give you something like that?
And then he began to panic.
Watatsumi island! He knew he shouldn't have sent you off! A pang of jealousy swept though him and he was surprised, he'd never felt such a thing.
"What is it? If you don't mind me asking that is!"
"Fireworks!" His eyebrows shot up, immediately thinking back to his commission for Yoimiya.
"Oh, did you get mine?"
A strange look crossed your face, surely he was not that oblivious.
But apparently he was and who were you to pass up on the opportunity to tease him?
"Yours? You had some made?" His heart dropped at your words and confused look. Of course you hadn't received them, too much happened too fast, there wouldn't be much time for Yoimiya to get them done considering what had happened.
"I was waiting here for the man, he's really handsome ya know! He's kind too! Now that I think about it you two are very similar!"
He gave you an inquisitive look, unsure of where you were going with this.
“I was wondering when you’d turn up, I was starting to think I’d have to set these off myself!”
Pulling out the fireworks he had commissioned Yoimiya to make, you smiled at his surprised expression, as his blush returned once more.
“I thought you hadn't received them!” He sputtered out.
“Now why ever would you think that?" You asked, a teasing tone lilting your sentence. You both laughed at that, a comfortable silence falling over the two of you as you prepared the fireworks.
"You know, when I got them, I was so happy, thank you Thoma, for making my time in Inazuma much more enjoyable than I could have imagined! And I... I think I'll stay here with you and everyone.”
Before anything more could be said, he grabbed hold of your hand holding it in between the both of his.
"Really?!"
The grin on his face only served to solidify your decision.
"Yep!"
A bright grin spread across his face and it flustered you, knowing you were the one who made him smile.
Lighting the fireworks, you waited patiently as Thoma pulled you to the side and away from them in a bid to keep you at a safe distance, though not a moment later, one shot into the air, a brilliant show of colours bursting from the stream it had left as it made its way up into the sky.
You were in awe, sure you had seen fireworks before, but never any made specifically for you.
"Wait, you think I'm handsome?" He asked, his lips quirking into a roguish smile, your cheeks grew warm, completely forgetting you had said such a thing.
"Sorry, what was that? The fireworks are too loud!" You shouted over one of the explosions taking place in the sky.
He just chuckled at your antics, turning back to face the fireworks.
"That's okay, I'll keep it to myself!"
He waited for another explosion before saying his next words. You were sure you had heard him wrong, turning to the blonde man beside you, eyes wide and mouth open in surprise.
He placed a finger against his lips, sending you a wink. You batted at his arm, partly embarrassed and partly confused.
"You can't just say something like that Thoma!" Laughing at your words, he allowed you to take hold of his sleeve and shake him gently back and forth.
You huffed at him, annoyed that he could work you up so easily.
"I like you too."
Thoma’s jaw dropped at that and it brought a cheeky smile out of you.
He quickly recovered though and murmured under his breath. "That's all I needed to hear."