Chapter Text
It was the day. Itto would finally be able to meet the greatest columnist of Teyvat – at least according to Itto. Because of that, Itto’s appearance needed to be perfect. Even more perfect than usual, that is. Thus, he asked Kuki Shinobu, his sidekick, to dress him for the occasion.
“Why are you so fond of that Ms. Hina anyway ?” she asked the Crimson Oni.
“You wouldn’t understand. She is so pretty ! Just look at her !” he said while showing her the page of a magazine he was holding. “And read her answers to people’s concerns, it’s just so on point ! It’s as if she can read you like an open book, and for some reason I’m so at ease when sharing my thoughts with her she’s so ama-”
“Okay, okay you can stop there. I just asked you one question,” she sighed, before finishing brushing his hair. “As long as you don’t get into trouble with the Tenryou Commission, I suppose it should be alright.”
“Don’t worry I’ll make sure I go to the Yae Publishing House shop without a hitch, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity after all!” he laughed.
Once he got out of the Arataki Gang hideout, Itto rushed to the bookstore with only one thing in mind: thanking Ms. Hina for her hard work, and for the letter she wrote for him back in the days.
A few years before, when the Vision Hunt Decree was still in application, the One and Oni Arataki Itto lost his beloved Vision to the Tengu Kujou Sara. After such events, Itto had not lost his fighting spirit – maybe thanks to his Oni nature – but he started to neglect his Gang. He stopped playing with the kids and stopped hanging out with the ones he used to call “his boys”. Even Shinobu didn’t know what to do in order to get him back to his usual self, and after a week or two, he finally disbanded the Gang.
On the other hand, he became totally obsessed over having a rematch with the Kujou Tengu. But with her ignoring his taunts, he had nothing to fight for or against. Thus, Itto started to wander in Inazuma, occasionally challenging some ronins. When he arrived at Yashiori Island, a young soldier – who didn’t have the uniform of the Shogunate – called the white haired man out.
“What are you doing here? It’s dangerous with the Tatarigami spreading around,” the soldier asked, his spear pointing towards the oni. In response, the man with red horns walked up to the soldier and grabbed his spear, before smiling brightly, which had the opposite effect.
“I’m just here to have fun. But you’re right, it’s probably dangerous here. Can you help me out buddy and tell me where I can go ?”
The soldier smiled awkwardly, having no way to defend himself, and nodded as an answer.
“W-well you can come with us to Watatsumi Island for the moment, I’m sure you will find something interesting to do there,” he said after the oni gave back the spear.
When they arrived at Watatsumi, a group of soldiers was ready to welcome Itto.
“Seems like wherever I go, jail is open for me,” he thought.
“Hopefully her Excellency had an emergency plan in case something like that happened,” the soldier who accompanied him whispered.
Arataki Itto went to jail without any resistance, even though he could have beaten all the soldiers. Besides, he was kind of curious as to how the prisons in Watatsumi are, compared to the ones on Narukami Island.
“Wait a minute,” he thought after spending some time in his cell, “who is going to bail me out ?”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” a feminine voice, clear as the ocean, said. “Nice to meet you, Arataki Itto. I am the Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, Sangonomiya Kokomi. Feel free to call me however you like”
“You’re going to get me out ? So you’re like an important person here Miss Kokomi, right ?” he said.
“Yes I am, although I may not be as famous as you, Mr. Arataki. Actually, the fact that your reputation reached our lands is no mean feat. That’s why we would like you to join the Resistance. An individual such as you can help us turn the tide. I think you might be interested, since our ultimate goal is to take down the Sakoku Decree, as well as the Vision Hunt Decree.”
“You mean I can fight Sara and get back my Vision ? Deal.”
“Great. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to rest a little,” The Divine Priestess added before leaving.
However, training at Watatsumi Island didn’t go well for Itto. Indeed, he stood out way too much because of his size, and his explosive temper made it only more difficult for teamwork exercises. At the end of the day, everyone in the camp wanted Itto to leave, including Itto himself.
In response, the next morning the Divine Priestess ordered Itto to be put on standby, and told him he could leave whenever he wanted, but that his help would always be welcome. Nevertheless, Itto had already made up his mind. He would leave at dusk with his stuff.
After saying goodbye to everyone in the camp, Itto went to his tent, and reached his bundled belongings, but noticed something sticking out from the bag. It was a rolled piece of paper, on which was written the following content:
Dear Arataki Itto,
I know that your stay here at Watatsumi Island will not be your most pleasant memory.
However, I wanted to tell you that even though I do think it is preferable for you to stop training with the soldiers, we really do appreciate your presence among us on the island. I think everyone in the camp wanted a break, and you were the perfect dose of novelty they needed. For that, I can only thank you.
Also, here is a piece of advice: you can not always be by yourself. If you have to leave this island, please go back to the ones who love and cherish you. Even though your Vision has been stolen, I’m sure you can still be a great leader for your gang.
Please come back whenever you feel like it.
No signature. Only the fresh smell of sakura blossoms was left in the room, which contrasted with the oppressing saline air. Heh, another fan of the Great Oni. The letter didn’t really have any effect on Itto, and he just left the island. But for some reason, he couldn’t leave the letter behind, as if he had to take with him at least one souvenir from Watatsumi. Yeah, maybe he would try going back to Narukami. Just so that girl doesn’t have to worry about him.
When his Gang jumped on him upon his arrival, Itto felt at home, which was a feeling he had forgotten. The following days and weeks were kinda difficult for Itto. He challenged Sara almost – if not – everyday, but it was hard to pay any kind of attention to the kids he used to play with. Even Yoimiya was a little sad that she was getting more popular than him.
However, the words of the mysterious girl from the letter resonated with his heart, and the more time passed, the more he read the letter and gained the motivation to go back to his former self. That letter was his little secret, and he never showed it nor talked about it to anyone, not even Shinobu, even though he could have bragged about it to her.
He decided he would never abandon his gang again. He would continue to live with Granny Oni and play with the kids of Narukami Island, because they are the ones who “love and cherish him”. He still challenged Sara everyday though, but started to do so in other ways than just showing up in front of the Tenryou Commission – displaying posters on billboards among other things. After a while, he came back to his usual self, so much that no one saw the difference when he got his Vision back.
One day, while sticking a message on a billboard, he smelled the same fragrance as the one in his room back on Watatsumi Island, though it was very faint. Itto used all of his olfactive senses to find the source of that fragrance. It came from the Yae Publishing House shop. Itto looked everywhere, but only saw the lady with fox ears give a pile of papers to the owner.
“Here are the answers from Ms. Hina for this week’s issue of That’s Life. Make sure to review all of them well as usual,” she pressed.
Itto walked up. “Hello, Oni. How are you doing since our last duel ? I believe you’re not here for a rematch I presume ?” she smiled.
“'Sup, I don’t need a rematch since I’ve won. I’m here for something else. What’s that thing you’re holding ?”
“How interesting, you’re asking for something to read. Well, we have an advice column in our magazine. You can send your thoughts to Ms. Hina, our columnist, and she will answer. Of course everything stays anonymous and even Ms. Hina has no idea of who writes the letters. This pile of papers contains the answers to our reader’s concerns.”
“Can I see one of those papers ?”
“Absolutely not, pay for a magazine if you want one, I’m not charitable enough to give you such a treasure for free.”
“Th-then how much for just looking at one of these ?” Itto panicked.
The confusion on Itto’s face made the Guuji Yae smirk by reflex, which she hid right away with her hand out of habit. She was about to have fun teasing that Oni.
“The original copies are way too valuable, but I guess I can let you have a look at one. But only if you can apply for a monthly subscription for the That’s Life magazine. You will even get a discount since you’re a friend of mine, how about it ?” she said while handing the subscription form to Itto.
“WHAT ?! Sorry but I don’t even earn that much in a year. I just need to take a look at it, please,” he begged.
“Oh really ? That’s such a shame,” she replied, knowing perfectly that the Oni was just as broke as a Sumeru Academia student. “Well I can let you take a little glance, if you admit your defeat and hand over the seat that is rightfully mine,” she added, referring to the reward he got from their previous duel.
“NEVER! There is no way I’m letting go of my trophy! Nor am I admitting defeat! An Oni has a pride, I will not waver just for a piece of paper”
The Lady with Fox ears clicked her tongue, and her face became serious. She thought he would give up everything for the manuscript, but underestimated the Oni’s pride. She also blamed herself for being too greedy.
“You can have a quick look,” she finally sighed. “I won’t force you to pay right now, but you have to buy at least ten magazines this year. That’s my final offer” she said, not knowing she would gain a regular customer even without that requirement.
“Ten magazines? That’s a lot more reasonable! Thank you!” he shouted, before quickly exchanging a bag of Mora with the desired paper.
Itto was able to confirm it. In addition to the fragrance, it was the same handwriting as in the letter. When he got back home, he could also tell that Ms. Hina was the writer of his letter from the writing style, the one which spoke directly to his heart.
Back to the present day. Itto is patiently – not so patiently actually – waiting for his turn at the meet-and-greet event, holding in one hand a magazine where Ms. Hina replied to his concerns so he could get an autograph, and his letter in the other one. When his turn came, everyone could hear his heart beating.
“Hello Ms. Hina, I've been a big fan of yours since the first day I read your letter. I’m so grateful for everything you did. Do you remember me? I was on Watatsumi Island when you gave me that letter”
he let out, speaking really fast.
“H-hi. Thank you for your kind words. I am very sorry but I don’t remember you. Also, please refrain yourself from disclosing any information concerning me, especially since this is a public event,” she calmly replied, seemingly embarrassed by Itto’s question.
“B-but don’t you recognise this letter ?” he asked with puppy eyes.
“Sorry, I really don’t,” she replied after signing his magazine.
“Oh, okay,” were the only words that could get out of his mouth.
His mind went blank. He did not know what happened next. A moment passed and he was already back in the Arataki Gang hideout. In fact, he already knew that she wasn’t the girl he was searching for from the moment he saw her. Sure she looked exactly like the cardboard, but her smell wasn’t the one he expected. Moreover, she was kind of… different? She didn’t speak to his heart, if that made any sense. It made sense to Itto at least. Was it just that he romanticised all that letter story ?
At that moment, Itto’s state was really close to that of a rock. Immovable, in body and mind. Yet, something managed to bring him back to reality. The smell he was looking for? It could have been that, but it was not. A pair of canine ears, swimming through the bushes of Inazuma City, had stirred his curiosity,