Chapter Text
it didn't hurt.
and even if it did, it was too fast for the brain to acknowledge the pain before it was incinerated along with every piece of consciousness he once had.
all except for one.
if he could recall anything from the time of hanging in between, it was just this thick mist wrapping him close like a cocoon. he seemed to have heard quiet whispers and even quieter music, but any sense of warmth or cold abandoned him. he couldn't even tell if he really sensed anything, but he could very definitely say he was not as dead as he should be.
when the misty cocoon finally released him, he let out a surprised yelp as his palms scratched the gravel. he blinked confused beyond his being, lifting his hand up in amazement.
"holy shit..." he mouthed under his breath. "what is going on...?"
a familiar, although too gentle female voice replied, causing him to jerk his head up and crack a few discs in his neck, "you died."
"..."
he guessed just as much. clearly, there was no way for him to win against raiden shogun's musou no hitotachi. what is a mere mortal against a god if not just a ragged doll ready to be thrown across the room and forgotten forever?
but while this was a logical conclusion, the fact that raiden shogun informed him herself was... well, almost like an electro shock, really.
"i— i'm... yes."
"do you know where you are right now?" the woman asked, her deep purple eyes scanning his face.
tomo looked away from where she meditated hanged in mid-air, and took a glance around. it was hard to call this place a room. it looked like a black hole of never-ending space, thick in pulsing energy and a deeply red celestial body above curving and twisting lazily like fresh magma. everywhere he looked, the nothing was overwhelming the everything. he swallowed down.
"no... i have no idea. uhm, hell?"
raiden shogun smiled.
this is where tomo began suspecting a treason. raiden shogun smiling? no way in the world. and yet...
"that's a correct answer, although not the one i had in mind. in fact, there might not be one correct answer after all. nor any wrong ones."
very helpful, he thought to himself as he shyly looked up at the woman's figure. she had put down her hands and slowly stepped from mid-air, soundlessly crossing the space. she seemed more like a ghost than anything of palpable consistency. the divinity enveloped her like a shroud of shattered diamonds, so much tomo couldn't stand to look at her any longer. it felt like he didn't deserve to be seeing her with his two mortal eyes.
"we are," she spoke softly, "in my eternity. in our eternity. or in other words, we are in my head."
"ah?" he muttered before he could stop his bloody mouth. the silent footsteps of the woman got near, and soon he could see the tip of her shoes.
"does it surprise you?"
"yes... a bit."
"more than the fact that you're a little too alive for a dead man?"
tomo swallowed down, "uhm..."
from all the surprises that awaited him ever since he woke up from that peculiar slumber, the look of a pale hand outstretched his way once he looked up again was by far the biggest. his eyes widened up, and instead of leaning towards the hand, he stumbled backwards.
raiden shogun's eyebrows rose. she nodded in understanding before retreating her hand, "don't worry. i won't harm you here in any way."
"y-yeah..."
"there are questions you should be asking, but i understand if you're too confused to even think of one. frankly speaking, i'm just as confused as you. aren't you curious what you're doing here?"
tomo huffed a breath, feeling it shaking through his throat, "to be honest... i really am curious how we could just be in your... head."
raiden shogun nodded, "oh. see, i'm a god. there are many things i can do. living in my own head is nothing of particular skill. creating my own clone to fulfil the shogun's duties also isn't very hard."
at that, tomo blinked surprised and stared at her. she stared back at him with a smile.
"my name is ei," she spoke.
"b-but—"
"the one you had pleasure to meet some time ago was not necessarily me. it was my creation. a puppet made to serve inazuma as i stay here protecting our eternity. she is made to be a warrior and protector of the land, all the duties of ruling the country lay in her hands."
tomo thought it through for a moment, feeling the way his brain creaked and groaned. but even if he managed to comprehend what was just told, another wave of information crashed into him and rendered him speechless.
"you died at her hand that day, and it shook right through my gnosis. you see, the gnosis is directly linked to all the electro visions it produced. naturally, the connection can be felt, but hardly ever is it capable of physically quaking it... that day, it trembled so hard it disturbed my meditation."
tomo bit into the inside of his cheek, "oh... i'm sorry about that."
"why would you be sorry? the last thing you should be doing is apologising for a vision like yours. this ambition... truly outstanding. pure. but oh, it burns so bright there's no doubt you were born to do great things. it would be such a pity to lose you so young and beautiful as a sacrifice to a statue of a god, don't you think?"
tomo didn't reply. the woman, ei, began walking slowly around him, the hem of her clothes brushing through the air.
"but alas, you can't reverse death. the divine bolts are ruthless in their consequences, and it's a nature of things for life to be gone... isn't it?"
"i... i guess so?"
"but?"
"but?"
"but if that was truly the case, would we be having this conversation now?"
tomo licked his lips. the gravel beneath his palms cut deeply into the skin. he curled up his fingers, glancing down to see his red haori stained in dust, but still red as the last time he wore it. he scrunched up his eyebrows.
"so, i didn't die?"
"no, you did. you most absolutely did, and your body was buried six feet underground beneath the kamisato estate. however," she sighed, "body is just body. it's an armour hiding something much more precious. a soul."
she turned away, grazing the side of his head with her long braid.
"after death, the soul goes on a journey to the underground, from where it departs into the reincarnation cycle and comes back with no memory of the past. sometimes, you're reborn as a petal of cherry blossom in the grand narukami shrine. other times, you become a butterfly. hardly ever can the soul come back to the human body, as being a human is quite exhausting for the souls... and because it hurts to do so. one lifetime carries a lot of meaning, a lot of burden and too many precious memories. that's why some souls refuse to go, and they wait there for their loved ones. sometimes, they wait into infinity. it's a sad reality, isn't it?"
"uhm, yes. i think."
"not only did your soul refuse to rest," she said, glancing at him through her shoulder. "it even refused to enter the underground."
tomo choked a little, "oh."
"it seems like the ambition you once had refused to die along with the body, and so did your soul. this ambition comes directly from your heart's deepest desires, and it demands to be fulfilled. death could not shake it off, and i might have an idea why. perhaps somewhere out there, there is a certain somebody who helps you keep this hope alive."
tomo's eyes opened wide. he was shot through with the image as if it was the only thing he could see. the silhouette of a boy with hair whiter than the snow of snezhnaya's peaks, with one streak redder than falling maple leaves, and steps carrying him lightly on the wind. tomo could only swallow down the furious beating of his heart, as it was the only sound in this infinite eternity.
but ei didn't need him to say anything in return, for she was a god. she already knew the things he had yet to learn himself. she didn't have to look at him to see right through his poor attempts at holding his racing heart back.
"pure love is something many people never experience in a hundred lifetimes. once you have it, make sure you treasure it. this boy... your death had shattered him beyond repair."
tomo slowly exhaled, "it shouldn't have."
"just because he didn't kiss you back then doesn't mean he didn't want to. doesn't mean he's not living in regret. he's somewhere out there mourning a dear friend and lost youth," she sighed. then, she faced him completely and spoke in a loud, clear voice. "i can bring your life back. i can make this happen. but you need to prove me you deserve it."
"how?" he asked as he gripped hard at the gravel. the heart in his chest beat loud to the rhythm of his old friend's song in the distant room of his memories.
"i give you hundred days. within those days, you will be sent back in a different body, and you will have to find him. you will have to make him recognise it's you, but you can't say it directly nor can you do anything too obvious. in particular, you are not to touch the empty vision the boy carries with himself. you will know when to be silent, for i am giving you this invisible cursed shackle on your throat," saying so, she rose her hand. a bright glow descended from her fingertips, and a ribbon of light approached him and circled around his throat. he felt it cool down over his skin as it melted into him. he rose both hands to his neck, but felt no presence of a shackle anymore.
ei's eyes were on him as she repeated, "a hundred days, no direct hints, staying away from the vision. if you fail, i will shatter your soul. if you're late, i will also shatter your soul. but if you succeed," her eyes turned softer for a short while, "i will allow your body back, and i will allow your freedom. a hundred days, starting the moment you say yes. so? are you ready to challenge the god's will again?"
tomo finally gathered himself up from the ground. sweeping the dirt from his clothes, he looked back at the woman.
"i only have one question, if i may. perhaps two."
"go ahead."
"you said you couldn't bring people back from death."
"i didn't say that i couldn't. it's a matter of should or shouldn't."
"then why... why are you giving me this chance?"
she shrugged, "you didn't give me much choice, my dear. ambitions like yours are what makes the power of electro truly powerful. pure love is what makes the world softer. and perhaps, you really were too beautiful to die so young."
he felt himself blushing under the gaze she gave him, looking down at his shoes and muttering under his breath, "thank you."
"what's your decision?"
he exhaled. then, nodded vigorously, "yes. absolutely."
before his vision went blank, she smiled at him one last time, "go then, break the concept of impossible."
—
he woke up again to the head-splitting shriek of a woman, followed by the sound of something breaking and a vicious smack on his face.
"ow—"
"GUARDS! GUARDS?! THERE IS AN INTRUDER!"
the intruder rubbed his eyes, took a brief look around, and cursed so poetically that the screaming woman still managed to give him the look of horror before she threw another porcelain figure his way. he ducked just in time, stumbling on his two feet towards the window.
"HE'S ESCAPING!"
like hell he's escaping. anyone with just the briefest sense of preserving their safety would rather hop out of the window instead of risking getting impaled on one of the flying objects. and so, tomo didn't spare the woman a single glance - in further fear of what he might discover - before he tumbled down the window and grazed both of his knees on the concrete.
"shit," he muttered as he heard the delicate beige robe tear underneath the spiked stone.
but there was no time to cry yet. sucking it in, he struggled with his body up, took a sharp turn and began running as far away as his feet could take him, manoeuvring between masses of people, ignoring their obscene looks, running more until the bursting city life and expensive buildings of inazuma's greatest entrepreneurs melted into lower suburbs. in there, he ducked behind a wobbly shed and slid to the ground, inhaling and exhaling until it felt a little less like his lungs were about to be spit out.
that was by far one of the wildest mornings he had, although nothing could still compare to waking up on mitachurl's shield seasoned in fresh slime essence.
as the memory wafted through his brain, the sound of wind slicing through the air followed along with the shadow of a nimble body and the brief glow of his scarlet eyes, and this laughter that rang through tomo's brain and made his eyes snap open.
kazuha.
tomo sat up and began massaging his aching wrists. he already managed to gain scratches and soon-to-be bruises on stranger's hands. the memory of his conversation with a god in their eternity was as fresh as the memory of a katana risen above the same woman's hand. every word she said rang clear through his head, and tomo no longer cared about his energetic escape from a very suspicious place a second ago.
trembling to his legs, he moved towards the bucket of water on the ground. holding his breath in, he leaned over it and...
"motherfucker," he whined.
he was so fucking ugly.
of course she would make it difficult. giving him the looks of a demented farm boy who got his cow stomp over his face more than one time before was surely the first challenge he'd be given. he no longer wished to look at his new face. the word 'mediocre' would feel offended.
of course he was being dramatic, but what could you do? he fell back from the sunkissed, tall youth of hair the exact shade of sand and eyes the condensed lilac right into this... ordinary, colourless, plain, low-key hideous—
he shook his head. he couldn't waste time on wailing to the cold-hearted moon, when the time was tickling. so he took the water bucket and splashed some in his face, shuddered as his senses stirred back to life, and he was soon back to his feet.
but being ugly was just the first obstacle he could ignore simply by avoiding mirrors. but he couldn't go out into the streets wearing this funny little robe of his, especially now that it was stained with dirt, blood, and... lipstick?
he shuddered. he really didn't want to know what this body did before he possessed it.
and like every other criminal who was miraculously brought to life with no money on himself and no sense of keeping face, he decided to steal himself a new attire. he would think about his sins later when he was looking less like a farm boy knocked-out by his own cow. and so he sneaked behind someone's yard, eyed the drying laundry hungrily, and quickly snatched a pair of pants and a shirt. running back to his temporary hideout, he gladly disposed of the stained cloth, briefly wondering why he even wore shoes... did the body, perhaps, forget to take them off when it...?
he shook his head again. enough thinking of this mess, he's got another one to attend.
but oh dear, was it truly a challenge given by the hands of god.
to begin with, he had no idea how much time has passed since he got fried with musou no hitotachi. the streets of inazuma city changed almost every day. vendors' displays had to be re-adjusted to fit the new trends, even the vendors themselves switched places and retired. tomo remembered this city bustling with life and joy. he supposed he was asleep for a decent ten years, because there was not a single sign of that old joy he remembered. everywhere he looked, guards were patrolling the streets, sending everyone suspicious glares. as they passed him by, he saw their eyes raking his body and face before they looked away visibly disappointed.
his confusion grew the more he walked, until he witnessed the exact reason for the air feeling so thick.
"please. please don't," someone cried. a boy, very young, very beautiful. beaten up to the ground with four arrows pointed at his neck, and the fifth guard straightening up with the glowing item in his hands. pure shade of cryo blue halted tomo's footsteps. the guard then let go of the poor boy's collar, and he nodded for the other four to retreat. "please! please don't go! don't take it away, don't— it's all i got! you can't—"
the guard looked at him briefly. perhaps for a second, there was a little bit of compassion in his eyes, but he replied coldly and emotionlessly, "her excellency's orders."
and just like that, they left the boy sobbing on the ground as tomo's chest was filled with ice.
vision hunt decree. exactly the reason he died for.
because it was better to die beneath the god then crumble to the ground as they stripped you naked from all your hopes.
the boy was still sobbing on the ground as tomo's feet moved. ear-shattering, heart-wrenching sounds of someone so deeply defeated. he kneeled down in front of him and tapped him on the shoulders.
"come on," he spoke quietly. "let's get you out of here."
the boy shook his head, "no point."
"i know, but you're laying in the middle of the street. come, let's go."
the longer he looked around, the worse everything became. when he made sure the boy was off to cry somewhere else, he hesitated before making his way towards tenshukaku. in there, he looked into the ice cold eyes of a stone woman sitting there with her wings spread and glowing in seven hues of seven stolen elements...
tomo looked away.
exactly the reason he died for.
he investigated for a few hours, and came to only the worst conclusions. the vision hunt decree started a war. the rebellion was led by sangonomiya kokomi at the far end of the nation, and the war took too many lives already. the vision owners all ran away or chose to hide in the shadows. their home that was once gentle and supportive had now turned upside down and killed the very hope that built it.
tomo had to find kazuha, but with the circumstances looking like this... it was unlikely for kazuha to still be here. at last, he could only hope he made it safely away.
but the time ticked away the longer he stood there, and the horrible sense of panic stripped him away from any logical reasoning. he had to find something or someone who would be able to tell him about kazuha. someone they both knew, someone who understood, someone who would recognise him... but who in the entire tevyat would even believe him? 'hey, i know i look like an obliterated twink and smell like rotting tooth, but i'm actually tomo, you know? that damned idiot who got himself killed.' could he even tell anybody...? well, actually, she only told him not to tell kazuha. besides, he had this fancy little invisible shackle over his throat, so he'd know if he should shut up.
but still, no one would believe him.
unless...
tomo's eyes snapped open as he took another sharp turn and trotted towards komore teahouse. once upon a time, they had dined in there. him, kazuha, the kamisato siblings, and..."
"THOMA!" he almost cried in relief, stumbling as he clutched onto the startled boy's front robes. "god gracious, i found you... listen—"
the initial shock lasted just a fraction of a second. soon, the pyro vision over his hip lit up, and before tomo could voice some protest, he was plunged away by the burning shield and the light-haired boy's wary glare.
"sir, this is at least a little rude to—"
"nonononono, listen! i know it sounds crazy, but—"
"please don't assault strangers in the middle of the d—"
"stranger my ass. thoma, listen!"
"i'm going to have you escorted, sir."
tomo gritted his teeth, counted all his chances, and made the fastest decision of his life as he inhaled, "the rematch beneath mount yougou."
thoma halted as his eyebrows furrowed, "huh?"
tomo curled his hands in fists, "you lost to me in araumi after that ruin guard obliterated our backsides as we had to hide in a cave accidentally discovering a hidden chest, except it was filled with cabbages. so you made soup from it and we all got food poisoning."
thoma blinked at him. tomo was glad he got his attention.
"you were butthurt because of the loss anyway, and requested a rematch on mount yougou. except we didn't go there, because i fucking died."
thoma's eyes widened, but soon enough he shook his hair, "i'm escorting you now, sir."
tomo groaned, "when you just came to inazuma, you ate one of itto's bugs and he got your ass kicked, and you would most likely die at his wrath if i didn't save you."
at that, thoma's hands dropped.
they met each other that day, and no one else knew about this particularly embarrassing moment but the two of them and itto. that could still be explained by one of them spilling the secret, but the rematch on mount yougou was a matter between only him and...
"no," thoma murmured. "no way in hell."
"i know it's crazy but i will explain."
"no fucking way. I BURIED YOUR DAMNED BODY MYSELF!"
tomo groaned as he slapped his palm over thoma's mouth, "would you be quiet? you're making a scene. it's a little fucking confidential matter, so don't just go yelling like a madman."
thoma stared at him incredulously, and tomo was prepared to be slapped in the face, but when thoma's eyes filled with tears he realised there were things so much worse than a swollen cheek.
"oh my fucking god," tomo groaned. "not here. can we go inside?"
komore teahouse was always their little hideout with nothing but the dog judging them as they stumbled inside. they went into the furthest room possible as tomo exhaled in relief, only to quickly take back his last words about swollen cheeks.
the contact with thoma's fist sent him tumbling on the opposite wall. he scoffed to his eardrums shattering just as thoma began wheezing profanities and screaming with no grammar sense to his words, and tomo had to smack him with a chair to finally make him shut up, but it still took good ten minutes of calming the little madman down, then twenty to explain him everything, then another ten until he more or less digested the news.
after that, thoma leaned back in his chair and exhaled, "oh man. you got yourself fucked."
tomo also leaned back on his own chair, twisting the empty teacup in his fingers, "i realised. do i need to say that i need your help?"
thoma shook his head, "we all need help here, but i'll do what i can."
"how long has it been since...?"
"three months," he replied. "tomorrow will be exactly three months since you got yourself fried."
only three months, and yet the vision count on the statue suggested years. the situation took a turn for the worse too fast. thoma was able to give him more information in five minutes than he would gather himself in another three months. the kamisato clan was well-informed in the situation at the front. so well thoma could tell him that kazuha was indeed there for a while until the situation turned even worse, and he was forced to run away. from the information he gave him, kazuha escaped on the board of the crux. the direction of their course was liyue.
and that was exactly where tomo had to get. and that opened another set of problems.
"no one is allowed to leave ritou," thoma sighed. "even the merchants can't move freely. everything froze. i mean, of course people still escape, but i don't need to tell you the exact number of bodies we found washed out on the beach, right?"
tomo also sighed, "that's bad."
"yeah. but not entirely impossible, though?"
tomo's head perked up, and he was at thoma's throat in an instant. the boy scoffed and leaned back, snapping his hands away.
"keep your distance, electro boy. you really smell. i said no one is allowed to leave ritou, but i didn't say anything about leaving other islands. except it's a death wish just as well, the only difference is they won’t catch you unless the storm does. for real though, you need a bath."
tomo was too excited to bother about something so ordinary like a bath right now, "can you arrange it?"
"maybe, if you take a bath though. or kazuha will slice you before you even say hello."
"i will smell like roses, i promise," he said excitingly. "i will owe you my life."
"you already do," thoma rolled his eyes. "if i didn't poke that ruin guard in the eye, you would be his flip-flop by now."
"yeah, yeah, sure."
by the time they left the teahouse, it already began to get dark outside. the carriage waited at the outskirts of the city as they climbed up, and thoma spent the long journey to the kamisato estate explaining tomo all the crooks and crannies of the current situation. the only reason why thoma was allowed to carry himself freely with his vision on display was ayato's close connection to the shogunate, as well as ayato's close connection to thoma himself.
it took three days to prepare for the journey, which was exceedingly long compared to the time it took ayato to comprehend who this weird new human truly was. as the illegal boat was being prepared, thoma led him down beneath the cliffs, and pointed at the mound pierced down with two pieces of a broken sword. tomo puffed out a breath, "damn."
it really was his grave. somewhere underneath the humid ground, his own body was turning to mush. he felt downright ridiculous as he knelt over his own damned corpse and touched the hilt of his sword. he could still feel the electro particles nuzzle into his skin as they vibrated through the weapon. truly, the thunder incinerates body and bones. in nourishing the earth may they both find rest.
"thank you," he spoke quietly to thoma. "and sorry. i caused a scene, didn't i?"
thoma was leaning on the stone wall, his eyes also laid on the broken stone, "you have no idea how broken he was. i have never seen anyone crying harder."
tomo bit into his lip, "i owe him an apology as well."
"you don't. he hates it, but he understands it. he knows you'd rather die trying than to give your hope away freely. perhaps that's why he snatched that vision and ran. because he couldn't stand the idea of your hope dying."
tomo smiled, "well? and it worked."
thoma sighed, "i hope you'll manage, but... making it through the sea is not the most difficult part. finding him will also be easy, but tomo..."
"what?"
"he's absolutely fucking broken. i doubt he'll even spare you a glance in this state."
tomo let go of his broken sword and stepped away from where his body laid beneath the soil. he swept the dust from his new clothes and gave his grave one last look before turning away and facing thoma.
"i'd still rather die trying then let this hope die."
—
the journey through the sea proved him two things. first, the thunders and lightning strikes were truly a pain in the ass. he might never be fully healed from scoffing at the sky shaking and breaking, as he remembered the shocking numbness putting his life to an end. and second, he was absolutely seasick and would never step on board willingly ever again in the next million years and one more. he was rendered useless throughout the journey, but once the shadows of inazuma disappeared and the outline of high peaks slowly emerged, he never felt more glad in his entire life.
liyue was huge. he only knew it from books and stories he devoured once upon a different life. it was completely a different story to look up those enormous mountains himself. the air carried distant scent of glaze lilies and jueyun chillis, the combination of delicate and mind-wrecking. as he walked down the streets of liyue harbour, he couldn't help but crane his neck up in amazement.
and to think he could die without seeing it...
everything was different, but people remained the same. but in here, the laughs and giggles were louder, and the vision owners carried themselves with pride and big smiles. liyue was the land of contract inscribed in the stone. they had different eternity, a different god. and even though rex lapis was told to be dead, tomo couldn't help the feeling of suspicion as he passed by a man of cor lapis eyes, who looked at him as if he knew.
somewhere among the peaks outstretching their bodies towards the sky, among the maze of people and glow of geo particles permeating the air, there was the boy tomo came to retrieve. to find him was truly easy, as the gossips ran wild throughout the land, and the news of the crux halting in guyun stone forest reached him on the fifth day since he woke up.
"there's a prize for the winner, too!" tomo heard the excited exchange of words as he pretended to be browsing through the books on the shelves. "i heard that if you manage to reawake the vision, it will be yours!"
"does it work like that, though?" the other person hummed. "i thought only the chosen ones could gain a vision... can you even awake the vision of someone who died?"
"well, lady ningguang did."
"it was probably different, though."
"so what? doesn't hurt to try."
tomo picked up one book from the shelf and made his way towards the counter. it was a series of liyue maps along with other fun notes, even recipes for a bamboo shoot soup. kamisato ayato personally handed him a pouch of mora to survive the first days, and tomo was going to thank him for it later. he purchased the maps and sat away studying the vast lands. the journey to islands was going to be draining, and he could already feel his gut wrenching in pain at the idea of taking a ship. but there was truly no other way, so he sucked it up and decided to make himself feel a little but better by approaching the blacksmith.
in there, he purchased the cheapest blade there was and smiled through invisible tears because he already missed his old one. the dull blade wasn't even sharp enough to cut an apple in half. but he was lucky enough to guarantee himself a spot on the boat that was to take a few overly excited young men to the islands for the duel. he had to at least pretend he was interested in winning his own vision back. in reality, as soon as this thought crossed his mind, he felt a sharp pain over his neck, and a well-known female voice spoke into his eardrums.
"i do not advise that."
"i know," he huffed rubbing his neck.
a few hours later after a horrible journey through the sea (not that horrible at all, he was just being dramatic again) the boat brushed across the shore, and all his hyper companions jumped out of it and dashed towards the heart of the islands. tomo followed behind, looking all around himself, because he knew that to find kazuha in the middle of the crowd was at least unlikely. he had always preferred to be alone to meditate in peace.
and yet, he was nowhere in sight. as tomo walked forward, the loud cheerful voices of people became gradually louder. he looked up, and as he turned around the stone wall, an open space revealed tons of young people gathering over the arena. in the middle of the circle, two people were already smacking each other with their own dull blades. and they were truly just smacking each other, because there was no skill in their movements and no sense of grace. tomo winced at the sight, and so did the dark-haired woman with an eyepatch over her face.
she shook her head, "points for excitement! but you still need to learn a lot. good job, keep practicing!"
"uh-huh," the person to his left muttered quietly. "captain beidou doesn't seem impressed."
"she's a professional," the little... flying child..? replied back to the blonde-haired traveler. "of course she's not impressed. aether, do you think you can do it?"
the boy called aether shrugged, "dunno." he then turned around and saw tomo. he smiled kindly before turning away.
tomo opened his mouth to ask him something, but voice died in his chest. because the moment he did, he saw a flash of a well-known robe, and the intricate pattern of maple leaves following the aura of autumn. he choked.
kazuha was just there. like it didn't make any difference. like he was just a part of the crowd. like he didn't just cause tomo's heart to jump up so high it punched into his brain screaming and crying.
kazuha was just there, in all the most kazuha way tomo remembered. although never one of the tallest in the room, he made it up with his inborn elegance. his footsteps were light as he moved with the wind brushing some of the hair away from his face. twenty one years of age shaped him into a mature man, but his face was gentle and his features soft. everything about him was the same, down from his shoes and red socks, up to the top of his white hair. the only difference was the hand he held bandaged, and tomo guessed he knew what caused this necessity.
he was gone just as fast as he appeared, walking towards the woman called beidou, whispering something in her ear. the woman nodded, and her eyes landed on the blonde haired boy and his interesting companion.
"traveler!" she waved at him. "wanna have a try?"
tomo watched the boy nod and walk forward, then watched him pull out his own blade. this time, the fight was more pleasant to the eye, as aether was already well-trained with his weapon. tomo would love to watch the duel more closely, but all his senses shut down, and all he could do was stare at the place where kazuha sat on top of a rock, his eyes following aether and never for once looking somewhere else.
tomo felt insane just standing there as his heartbeat accelerated and he raked his brain for any smooth way to approach the boy.
before he could, his chance was over and so was the duel. because after it, aether and kazuha walked away, and he was left there standing dumbfounded until someone pulled at his shoulder, and he realised he was being hauled onto the arena. he sighed in desperation, feeling everything but not any wish to fight right now.
he focused on his opponent, assessing his chances. the boy was too thin and too lively to even hold onto his sword properly. tomo sighed and pulled out his funny blade.
when it came to sparring, he had years of raw experience to back him up. he learnt everything he knew by practice with no theory until he met kazuha, and they both polished each other. by now, tomo's skills were perfected both to heal and protect, but it was a pity he couldn't call out for the thunder to dance along with him. this duel was too easy, even for a zombie like him. the other person truly didn't know anything, and within a flash tomo was able to knock him off.
salves of applause accompanied his victory, but he was not allowed to leave. more people began queuing before him, and he was forced to take them down one by one. he felt utterly bored as he flipped their swords away, sometimes yawning, sometimes narrowing his eyes when he underestimated the opponent. he was duelling with the seventh person, when he heard that voice so clear as if he was always standing a step away.
"nice one."
he tripped, and his opponent took that chance to pry his funny little sword forward. tomo hissed at his brief moment of carelessness as it resulted in a cut on his arm. his opponent smiled brightly.
tomo narrowed his eyes, "over my dead body."
and he rose his hand, blade flashing under the sun, curving, diving, and within one surprised yelp of the other man, an applause rose up again. tomo huffed, glancing at the cut on his arm. he then glared at the man under his feet, "i liked this shirt!"
"s-sorry—"
"i think we may have a winner!" captain beidou's voice billowed above them, and soon he felt the weight of her hand over his shoulder. "congratulations!"
he gawked. the voice in his head instantly told him to make his way out of it, for he was absolutely not allowed to touch the empty gem of his own vision. so he laughed nervously and slipped from under beidou's grasp.
"thank you but.... i don't actually want it."
"huh?" all the eyes were on him, including the pair of scarlet red. he felt his cheeks glowing hot red as well as he mumbled.
"i don't... want the vision."
"you don't want the vision?"
"nope."
beidou looked awestruck, "then why are you even here?"
he bit into his lip before shrugging, "uhm... sightseeing?"
if before they all looked at him as if he was crazy then now they looked at him as if he was downright insane. he smiled nervously as the whispers began filling the air. beidou blinked, then turned to kazuha.
"well..."
however, before she could finish her sentence, someone yelled from the other side of the arena.
"captain beidou! captain beidou!"
"what's up?"
"it's bad," the person came running to her feet as they bowed down. "the vision... it's gone."
"it's WHAT?"
the turmoil was enormous. in an instant, they all forgot about his obscene attitude as they dashed towards the table, where in a wooden box rested the prize for the winner. kazuha was the first one to lean over the table and gaze inside, and the knuckles on his hands turned white as he clenched over the lid.
"it's gone," he confirmed quietly.
"someone stole it!"
"how dare they?!"
"we have to find them!"
"traveler," kazuha spoke. "the trail is still fresh. if we follow it, we may catch them on time. will you assist me?"
tomo had no idea what's gotten into him when he unceremoniously butted into their conversation, and with his hand up in the air, he interrupted aether mid-word, "i will help!"
kazuha looked at him, and tomo's insides did a flip. then it all churned down to the blunt reply, "no."
"wha— oh come on, you've seen me fighting! i can help."
"..."
"besides, it's technically my prize even if i don't want it."
he was so damn lucky they were already wasting too much time contemplating his presence. with a sigh of defeat, the three of them rushed chasing after the thief, and tomo congratulated himself profusely for being a brave idiot. as they ran through the sandy beach, aether yelled over his arm, "we're too slow!"
kazuha's jaw was clenched as he admitted so. but there was strict resolve painted on his face as he pulled out his smooth weapon and grabbed them both by the hem of their clothes.
"hold on tight. i will call for the wind to carry us faster."
and he did as he said. the surprised yelp aether let out as they rose up in the air reminded tomo of the very first time he tasted kazuha's elemental powers. the freedom was overwhelming as the wind brushed against their skins, pushing them gliding over the sea. it was a wonderful experience that lasted too short before it was over. as soon as their feet touched the ground, they broke into a chase. the silhouette of the thief appeared in their sight, and as he looked through his shoulder with shock written on his face, he was already defeated.
"GAH! don't kill me, don't kill me!"
"we will see about that," aether said darkly with the tip of his blade pointed over the thief's throat.
"you seem to have something that doesn't belong to you," kazuha spoke calmly. "i would like to get it back."
the thief's eyes narrowed as he failed to crawl away before coming in direct contact with tomo's foot, "hey there, man. he was actually being polite. repay kindness for kindness."
"kindness my ass!" the thief blurted out. "this is simply injustice!"
"is stealing a virtue of justice according to you?" kazuha asked.
"no! but neither are the visions!"
tomo clicked his tongue, "what's so good about the visions?"
the thief looked at him incredulously, "are you insane or something? everything is good about the visions! your ambition recognised by gods, the admiration, the skills! only a fool wouldn't want that!"
"were you able to rekindle the vision?" right now, kazuha's calm voice edged into urgency.
but the thief looked down and cursed, his jaw clenching. he shook his head in defeat, before rummaging through his pocket and throwing the empty gem at kazuha's feet. the boy knelt down, gently taking the vision in his hands and cleaning it from the sand. only when he was sure no piece of dirt was attached and not a single scratch littered the surface, did he look the thief in the face.
"it's a pity. i hoped you would at least be able to relight it."
the thief snorted, "yeah, me too. but it's dead and cold."
kazuha lowered his head, before gently putting the vision back into his own pocket. he sighed and turned away.
"there's nothing else left for us to do here."
"huh?" aether popped up his head, visible disappointment running through his face. "but the thief—"
"it's not his fault that the ambition he has was not enough for the gods," kazuha explained. "stealing is bad, but i can't be angry. he's already angry with himself for not running faster."
the thief huffed as he got up to his feet, "kindness my ass."
"just leave," tomo groaned. "you make me want to beat you up."
but even though the man left looking down at his feet, the three of them stood awkwardly in the same spot. the white-haired boy wasn't looking their way as his eyes laid dead on the sea. tomo felt aether nudge him in the side, and he looked at him questioningly. they both shrugged, before aether finally broke the silence.
"so... this vision...?"
kazuha turned back to them. it was impossible to hold so much calm sadness inside one's eyes and still smile gently, "it's a long story."
tomo licked his lips, "looks like it's a big one, too."
"this vision is important to you, isn't it?"
kazuha nodded. his fingers ghosting over the pocket where the extinguished gem rested safely. tomo didn't really expected him to speak, but kazuha's lips still opened.
"it once belonged to a dear friend of mine. we used to travel together in inazuma before the vision hunt decree was announced. these were... different days."
these were the days of peace and leisure spent against the passing time. in sun, in rain, even in storm, the two of them would cross kilometres holding onto nothing but their joyful laughs and very poorly made jokes.
kazuha sighed, "my friend... he was a brave man. i'd say he was a little too brave at times. i remember him once asking me about the sacred art of raiden shogun's musou no hitotachi. the final move, the symbol of divine powers and utter dominance. he asked me if i thought one could make it out and defeat her. even though i denied it, he was so sure that there must be someone who'd be able to withstand it. then, the vision hunt decree was announced."
kazuha looked over the horizon as the memories blurred his vision, "we had to run from place to place, and we separated. he didn't want to hide. he found the injustice to be too overwhelming. i was moving around when i heard people say that he had challenged the vision hunters to a duel before the throne."
aether hissed, probably already knowing the end of the story.
kazuha nodded, "by the time i arrived in tenshukaku, the duel was already over. i couldn't do anything with raiden shogun still rising above. i caught the vision that was ripped from him and ran without turning back. all i thought about... when i was running the fastest i could was that i must not let his hope which burnt so brightly become buried under the ice cold statue of a god. eventually, here we are."
tomo risked looking at his face this one time, but he wished he didn't. kazuha wiped his eyes before any tear could spill. he breathed for a while to recompose himself before speaking again.
"since then, i was looking for a way to rekindle the vision. i thought that perhaps finding someone worthy would give it a second life, but so far there's nothing. unless..." he looked up, and his eyes landed on tomo's.
tomo shook his head quickly, "thank you, but... even if i wanted, i don't think it's right."
"why?"
"because the vision is already with someone worthy of it," he explained. "if you were close friends then it's only you who can carry this hope of his. but," he hesitated, wondering if cracking a joke right now would be obscure or not. "forgive me for saying it, but that friend of yours seems like a real halfwit. i mean, who mentally sane challenges a god and hopes to live?"
kazuha smiled lightly. instead of replying to it, he asked a question himself, "what is your name?"
"my name? oh," right, he forgot about that. his fake persona couldn't be nameless, but he couldn't spill his real name like that. so with the only braincell helping him through the sudden task, he blurted out, "nakama. dachi nakama.* though you can just call me whatever you want."
"nakama," kazuha nodded. "you have an inazuma name."
he nodded, "yeah. i come from there, actually. arrived here a few days ago."
kazuha's eyes twinkled, "you should've said earlier."
tomo shrugged, "there was no occasion."
kazuha nodded, "but you were right calling my friend a halfwit. he never really contemplated possible consequences of his actions. but at that time, he knew what he went for. he would rather die beneath a god than be stripped off of his ambition like that. even if his death was useless in the end, he was still brave." he looked at them before gesturing back to the guyun stone forest. as they began making their way back, he only said, "i wish i could be as brave as him."
—
"so..."
the crowd eventually dissolved, with everyone dragging their tails between their legs disappointed they didn't get to win a blessing from the gods. the crew of the crux also began packing their things, said to leave back to liyue harbour, for their captain had an urgent meeting with her girlfriend, although she sent them a dead glare each time they called lady ningguang like that.
the traveler and his funny little companion already waved them a goodbye. from what tomo overheard, the traveler wanted to get to inazuma soon. he was going to regret this wish soon, but who was tomo to ruin his hope? from other things he overheard, kazuha didn't plan on going with any of them.
six days already passed from tomo's time. although not many, he couldn't help the panic rise in his throat from time to time. because even though he already managed to get a glimpse at kazuha, even fought alongside him, kazuha's gaze washed over him completely not seeing. tomo had to find a good reason to stick to him legally, or else he would be forced to low-key stalk him, and that was by far not a romantic setting.
so he took all his chances in his hands and approached the lonely boy, looking up towards where he sat perched up on a towering rock.
kazuha looked back at him politely, "are you still here?"
"well. yeah, i am. i was going to leave, actually. but, uhm... i've heard you were going to travel alone now, right?"
kazuha nodded, "yes, that was the plan for the time being."
"i see," tomo had to play it wisely. kazuha was not dumb, and kazuha also had tremendous trust issues. if he came up as a creep, he would be most likely given either a silent treatment or a slap to the face. none of these could be considered a romantic setting, either. "that's what i was going to do, too. look, i was wondering... would you mind if we traveled together for some time?"
kazuha eyed him up, his features clean and empty. he contemplated for how long it took for a crystalfly to pass them by, before he looked away, "apologies. i wish to travel alone."
damn it, you sad fuck. tomo swallowed down.
"i understand if you want to be alone with your thoughts and all..."
"it's a no. please stop asking."
he had seen it coming back like a smack of memories. maybe he would feel taken aback by kazuha's coldness if he hasn't seen it all years before, the foot of a mountain, two boys meeting for the first time. tomo's offer. kazuha's decline. tomo's persistence. kazuha's glare. tomo's smile. kazuha's sigh of defeat.
'no' was after all just apart of 'not unless you try harder.'
"sorry," tomo breathed out. "it's rude of me to insist. but i really just came here a few days ago, and i have no idea what to do. i am... looking for someone."
kazuha glanced at him again through the misty absence in his eyes, "family?"
tomo smiled, "yeah, in a way. this person left inazuma before me three months ago, and ever since then we lost touch. i was told they're somewhere in liyue... or any other nation, i don't know."
"do you have any hints as to where this person could be?"
right in front of me, he thought.
"no idea, unfortunately. but i thought i could ask around on the go, and maybe i would eventually find them," he replied.
kazuha thought for a bit, then sighed again, "i don't really like travelling with strangers."
bullshit. who’s a stranger? you know me better than i've ever known myself.
"i won't bother you too much," he promised like a liar. "i really wouldn't mind going alone but... since we're both from inazuma, i figured that maybe we'd have someone to talk to."
kazuha fixed the bandage over his wrist as he sighed in defeat. tomo had to resist the smile from ripping his cheeks open.
"fine. but i have two conditions."
"sure. i have one, too."
kazuha jumped down from the rock and fixed his clothes, then glanced down at the dull blade over tomo's hip, "first, you're getting a new weapon. you won't even poke a hilichurl in the eye with this stick."
tomo looked down at this poor joke of a sword and nodded, "yeah, that was actually my condition."
"your fighting style is good," kazuha whispered. "i feel like you didn't get the opportunity to properly show off."
well, tomo thought, this funny shackle over my throat tightened every damn time i wanted to.
"my second condition is, it's only temporary. after three months at most, i want us to part ways."
tomo quickly counted the days, and came to a vicious conclusion that he didn't even have more time than this. so he nodded, and gave kazuha a smile, "deal. where do we go first?"
kazuha walked away without answering him. tomo sighed. what a man, really... keeps making him follow blindly, but tomo would do that even if kazuha led him with a knife over his throat.
*仲間 (なかま、nakama) - japanese word for "companion, friend, a member of the same group" etc.
友達 (ともだち、tomoDACHI) - taking it straight from the japanese word meaning friend. yeah, tomo really just played smooth af, didn't he?