Archive of Our Own

To all those living on the shores of Watatsumi, General Gorou was a name mentioned only with reverence and respect, second only to Lady Sangonomiya herself. On the battlefield, he was a fierce warrior and trusted leader. It was said that Gorou had two arrows nocked in his bow at all times: one aimed at the enemy, the other pointed towards victory. No matter the situation, Gorou had an answer for everything. Rain or shine, wind or sleet—nothing quite fazed him when it came to battle, and to that end, Gorou prided himself in always being prepared for anything.

Anything except this.

Gorou stood at the edge of the shore, a hand on his chin as he once again ran his eyes over their uninvited guest. Since the dissolution of the Vision Hunt Decree, bandits were by far the most interesting thing he found on daily patrols. This time, though, he’d stumbled on something entirely different. It looked like an oni—at least Gorou thought so, given the horns—and a big one at that. He’d washed up on shore somehow and was currently sprawled out like a starfish, face-down, on the sand.

“General,” said one of the patrol soldiers from beside him, “what do you make of this? Is that actually an oni?”

“I thought oni were just a Narukami fairy tale,” said another, gripping his spear. “Is it true what the legends say, then? Will he try to eat us or steal our children? This must be a curse from the Shogun!”

“Nonsense,” a third soldier said. “Oni aren’t real. Those horns are probably just attached to a headband.”

“Who would wear something like that, though?”

“Enough,” said Gorou, silencing the lot. “We can’t risk him waking up when we still don’t know whether or not he’s hostile. If this is indeed an oni, we can’t be sure that the five of us can take him.”

One of the soldiers spoke up. “Should I report back to Her Excellency and ask for help with retrieving him?”

Gorou hummed in thought. He only had four men with him, and their patrol was only halfway done. This oni looked difficult to carry, given his size. Not to mention that they couldn’t count on him staying unconscious the entire way back to Sangonomiya. If he woke up while being carried, they were in for a fight—a single glance had been enough to tell Gorou just how powerful this man was.

“Go,” said Gorou, decisively, “but be quick about it. If he in fact washed up from Narukami, then we must be prepared for the worst.”

The soldier gave a bow and hurried off. Gorou remained with the other three, who surrounded the oni on all sides.

“Ugh, I’m getting scared just looking at him.”

“Don’t admit something like that so easily, you coward…”

“What if he’s friendly, though?”

“An oni? Friendly? I’d more readily bow to the Shogun.”

“But legends are just legends, right? We don’t know how oni really are.”

“Why don’t you wake him up and ask then, if you’re so curious?”

“No, don’t! Please don’t. Seriously, don’t.”

The soldiers turned to Gorou. “What do you think, General?”

“We can’t make assumptions,” said Gorou. “The only thing we can assume with certainty is that there are no certainties.”

That seemed to satisfy the soldiers for the time being. As the others returned to talking nonsense, Gorou crouched down to investigate this so-called “oni” more closely. The horns looked real enough: large and curved, with no headband in sight. Then there was his mane of silver hair, glowing red against the sunset—also pretty real, though Gorou had to wonder why he was even checking so closely.

That wasn’t the most pressing thing, however. There was some sort of power emanating from him, a kind that Gorou was overtly familiar with. Warm earth and the sturdy, immovable force of rock—for better or worse, this oni had a Geo Vision, much like his own.

It took a while, but reinforcements eventually arrived. As a team of soldiers carefully lifted the oni from the sand, Gorou took one last long look at him. His exposed chest and large muscles, the painted nails and the red markings lining his entire body… Something seemed to change in Gorou then, and he would have asked for a few more moments there if the soldiers hadn’t already started carrying him away.

It was all Gorou could do to try to stop his tail from wagging as he watched them leave.

For the responsible and diligent general of the Watatsumi Army, few things were more important than a restful night of sleep.

Gorou did not have a restful night of sleep.

Never mind the fact that he couldn’t get his tail to quiet down. He’d deemed it a lost cause an hour in and tried to focus instead on getting to sleep. Miraculously, he’d managed it despite the tail issue—but that’s where things got ten times worse.

The oni appeared to him in his dreams. He rose from a billow of steam and smoke, fangs bared and horns gleaming, calling Gorou’s name in a voice he had not yet heard. There against a blazing sky, he stood with his shoulders squared and chest exposed; the sun behind him cast his figure in shadow, and Gorou stood at his feet, eyes locked with the oni’s own. Red—like blood upon sand, or beach waters stained from war.

Yet there was nothing but kindness in that oni’s gaze.

Gorou would see him again and again throughout the night, up until the point he was woken by a soldier frantically rushing into his quarters and pleading for help.

“It’s the oni!” said the soldier, and Gorou already had his armor on before another word was said. He rushed to the holding room where they kept those in custody—finding there a harrowing sight.

All of his men, lying defeated on the floor. Some lay curled against the wall, knees to their chests; others gripped their spears as they sat unmoving, eyes wide with disbelief. Gorou’s ears arched back. There could only be one person responsible.

And there he was: the oni, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room… in the middle of an arm-wrestling match with one of his soldiers.

“G…General Gorou,” said a man at Gorou’s feet, reaching weakly for his hand. “Forgive us… All of our training… was not enough…”

At that moment, the oni slammed his opponent’s hand down onto the coffee table, then flung the whole man into the wall.

“Hell yeah! That’s thirty wins in a row, baby! Come on, who’s next? Who’s next, huh? You all think you’re so big and strong, well—come grab a ticket for the ‘Let Arataki Numero Uno Itto Prove You Wrong’ train, and let Arataki numero uno Itto prove you wrong! You guys owe me so much rice after this, haha!”

Gorou blinked. He looked at the oni. He looked at his men. He looked at the oni again.

“What… exactly… is going on here?”

“Oh, hey! Another loser!” bellowed the oni with a grin, slapping the coffee table as though in invitation. “Just in time, my man! Come here, come here! Wanna see how fast I can beat you in an arm-wrestling match? You owe me a bowl of rice if it’s five seconds or less!”

“Don’t do it, General!” wailed his men. “He’s too strong!”

“Me? Strong? Pfft, nahhhh… These babies are doing all the work. Can’t take all the credit now, can I?”

The oni lifted both of his arms and kissed his huge muscles. Gorou’s tail started wagging again, so he slammed his ass against the door in a desperate attempt to save face. Unfortunately, everyone noticed.

“Woah! Are those ears like, real?”

Gorou hadn’t expected how quickly the oni could move. He also hadn’t expected him to be so tall— the man easily towered over him by a good head or two. Before he knew it, Gorou was pressed up against the door with the oni’s red eyes staring him down. And his tail, for whatever insufferable reason, would not stop wagging.

“Those are some eyes you got there, man! What’s your name?”

“N… No!” said Gorou, voice cracking.

“‘No’? ‘No’ is your name? Come on, what sorta name is that?”

“N— No, I meant, you can’t touch my ears!”

“Woah! Wow, wow, hold up here—I didn’t even ask yet! You a mind reader or somethin’?” The oni leaned down, hands on his hips. “Don’t tell me… You can see into my soul! Wait, no, you totally can, can’t you? Aw, man! That means you can steal all of the beetle-fighting secrets I have stored up in my head!”

Before Gorou would react, the oni grabbed him by the collar and shook him vigorously.

“No stealing, got it? I’m the best onikabuto fighter in town—me! The one and only, super-powerful oni, Arataki Itto! Don’t think you can steal my title just ‘cause you can read what’s in my head!”

He let Gorou go, and despite feeling like a tub of jelly, the general was able to conjure up one single coherent thought:

The oni’s name was Itto.

Itto stepped back, lifting his chin with a flick of his hair. “Heh, well, hope I didn’t rough you up too much there. I’m just messin’ around, you know, hope you don’t mind. Oh, but I was dead serious about the arm-wrestling match. You still want in, or…?”

Gorou wobbled back up to his feet. Just who was this person? Randomly washing up on shore one day, demolishing the Watatsumi Island forces in arm-wrestling matches the next… He didn’t even seem bothered that he was being kept in custody. Why was he here? What was he trying to do?

And why did he make Gorou’s tail wag so much?

Gorou once again pressed his behind against the door, though that did nothing to wash the red off his cheeks. Hardly three minutes in a room with this guy and Gorou had already been reduced to a stuttering embarrassment. He couldn’t form his words, he couldn’t quiet his tail, he couldn’t even look the man in the eyes without his heart skipping a beat—just what was it about this guy that made things go south so fast?

“You… Just— Why are you here?” sighed Gorou, running a hand through his hair.

“Huh? Why am I here? Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Since, you know, you sorta put me in this room and all… Great decor though, by the way! I love the cute little seashell thing you have going on here, very ocean-y, very, uh, beach-y! Could use a bit of color here and there though, if I had to be honest with ya. Maybe red? Red’s a super nice color! I would know—my horns are red!”

Itto dipped his head and pointed at his horns. “See? Red!”

“Y… Yeah,” said Gorou, confirming that his horns were, in fact, red.

“Sooooo,” continued Itto, flipping his face back up and looking around. “Why am I here, exactly? And where is ‘here’? Honestly, I was so focused on winnin’ those bowls of rice for my boys that I forgot to ask, heheh.”

“You mean you don’t know?” said Gorou. “We found you washed up on the shore.”

“The beach, huh?” grumbled Itto, rubbing his head. “I mean, I guess I did wander off that way when I was lookin’ for beetles yesterday… Huh. Wait a minute.” He patted himself down—first slowly, then frantically. Itto’s hands ran all over himself, from his pants to his chest to his hair to his neck.

“Oh no!” he wailed.

“Oh no?” said Gorou.

“Oh no! Obsidian Soulcrusher is gone!”

Gorou tilted his head. “Obsidian… Soulcrusher?”

“My beetle! Aw, man! I just found the little dude yesterday, too! First black beetle I’d seen in my entire life! And he was huge! Like freaking enormous! He was the size of your entire face, I’m telling you! Aw, no no no no… I was totally going to wipe the floor against that boba-slurper with him!”

“Boba… slurper?”

“Yeah, you know! The dude from the Yashiro… Ah. Wait. I mean—” Itto seemed to remember something very important and bit his lip. “The… The— Ah, um. The dude! Yeah, the dude. The dude I fight beetles with. Yep, he likes boba. And he’s definitely not the distinguished head of one of Inazuma’s top clans, nope, haha, that can’t be him, not at all…”

Gorou had no idea what he was talking about, and neither did anyone else in the room. But they did all hear the word “Yashiro”—and that was something they did understand.

“Mister… Itto, was it?” said Gorou, clearing his throat. “Listen. I apologize for the… unprofessionalism we’ve displayed this morning, but we’ll have to be serious now. Would you follow me? I have some things I’d like to ask you.”

Itto scratched his head. “Huh? Well, uh, sure, I guess. Wouldn’t mind a tour of the place too, while you’re at it… I’m still getting that rice though, right?”

Gorou motioned to a few guards to follow him. Together, they led Itto down the hall and into another room, one not occupied by crying soldiers. Otherwise, this room looked exactly the same as the other one.

“Wow! This room looks exactly the same as the other one!” said Itto, looking around as they entered.

“Sit down,” said Gorou, motioning to the coffee table. He nodded at the guards, who took their positions at the door.

Itto sat down, albeit a little hesitantly. “What’s this, an interrogation? Please don’t tell me it’s an interrogation. I didn’t do anything this time, I swear!”

“Are you from Narukami?” asked Gorou, sitting down himself. Itto tilted his head a little.

“Uh, yeah? Aren’t we all?”

“In case you weren’t aware,” said Gorou, “you’ve washed up on the shores of Watatsumi Island, under the jurisdiction of Her Excellency, the Grand Priestess Lady Sangonomiya.”

Itto stared at him for a while. And then he burst out in laughter, slapping his hand on the table.

“Hah! Hahaha! That’s golden! You’re funny, you know that? Watatsumi Island! Pffft, as if I could have ended up here after falling asleep on the beach beside Konda Village!”

Gorou flattened his ears. “I’m not joking.”

“Ahaha! Hahaha… Ha.” Itto gave him a blank smile. “What?”

“I’m not joking,” Gorou repeated. “You are on Watatsumi Island. Now state your business.”

“Woah, woah! No need for the serious tone, geez. You’re making it seem like an interrogation. And unless collecting beetles is suddenly a crime now, this oni did nothing wrong! …This time!”

As Itto held up both palms in front of him, Gorou sighed. “Look. As someone from Narukami, you must understand how strained the relationship between our two islands are. The Vision Hunt Decree was just repealed, after all—and that beside, nobody has forgotten the blood that has colored both of our histories.”

Itto rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah, about that… I sorta kinda slept through all of my history classes, soooo… I have no idea what you’re talking about. But I’m sure it’s fine, right? It can’t be that bad! Not like one of our Narukami guys murdered one of your Watatsumi guys, right? Right?”

Gorou just looked at him.

“Ah? Ah… Ah. Okay. Got it. Gotcha. I’ll shut up now.” Itto paused for two seconds before continuing to not shut up. “Hey, well, how about this? You give me those bowls of rice I won, and then you let me leave, and then I’ll swim back to Narukami Island, find the dude that murdered your dude, and beat him up! Yeah? Yeah? Good idea, am I right?”

“Unless you intend to commit high treason against the Raiden Shogun, that’s not happening,” said Gorou. Itto leaned back in his seat.

“The Shogun… Oh... Ohhhhh… I-I mean— Pfft, the Shogun? I can take her! I could take two of her! You see these muscles? They’re not just for show, you know!”

Itto flexed again, and Gorou tried his best not to blush.

“My point is,” he said, sternly, “we can’t trust anyone who comes from Narukami. Not until we know why they’re here and what their intentions are. This is simply protocol for all who enter our island. So I’ll ask you again to explain yourself clearly.”

“Alright, alright, I get it, I get it,” said Itto, waving a hand dismissively. “You wanna know why I’m here and all that? Well, so do I! Yeah, there you have it. I have no idea why I’m here. One moment I’m hunting for beetles near Konda Village, and the next thing I know, I’m cooped up in some room with a bunch of guards! What’s up with that, huh? I mean, hey, at least they were nice and offered me some rice. A man’s hungry after drifting all the way from Narukami to Watatsumi, you know? I mean, I guess that’s what happened anyway, since I actually don’t know how I ended up here…”

Gorou put a hand on his chin. “So you’re here… accidentally?”

“Yep. I said what I said. So are you gonna give me that rice now or am I gonna have to beat it outta ya?”

Gorou grunted. “Should I take that as a threat?”

“Oh, come on!” laughed Itto. “Take a joke, will ya? It’s a joke! Lighten up! What, are you the big, bad boss of all these tough guys here?”

“Yes,” said Gorou, straightening his back. “You’re speaking to General Gorou of the Watatsumi Island Army. I lead all the troops you see here.”

“Well, General,” scoffed Itto, leaning forth on one arm with a grin, “nice ears ya got there.”

This time, Gorou couldn’t help but blush. And not only that—he couldn’t keep the small yelp of surprise from leaving his throat either, nor could he catch his tail before it started wagging again. Itto was suddenly so close. How could he not be, when he was leaning halfway across the table? And wearing such a devilish grin, too. Gorou found himself staring at his fangs—especially when Itto ran his tongue over them, as though to tease.

“You like what you see, huh? I figured. Nobody out there can resist my charm, haha!”

“If you can’t explain yourself,” said Gorou quickly, gripping his thighs, “then we’ll have to hold you here until we arrange for your deportation. I assume you understand what that means.”

“Woah, hey! Hey, hey, hey! I didn’t do anything wrong! Come on!” Itto had both hands on the table, as though to plead for his freedom. “You didn’t like my jokes? I mean, sure, fine, whatever, but you can’t jail a man just for not having the same sense of humor!”

“It wasn’t the jokes,” said Gorou, rising from his seat in a hurry. He turned to leave—only for Itto to grab his wrist.

“Okay, wait, just hear me out!”

Gorou sighed. He was so eager to leave—another moment with this man and  he’d probably melt into a pile of embarrassment. It was bad enough that there were still guards in the room. Gorou could already hear all of the rumors that would surface as a result of this: something about Gorou having a weak spot for oni, something about their fierce, loyal general losing his cool at the sight of horns and fangs…

Despite himself, Gorou answered him anyway.

“What is it?”

“Look… Honestly, I don’t get why there’s such bad blood between our two islands,” said Itto, shaking his head. “I mean, okay. I get that the Shogun did somethin’ real bad to one of your guys. But that’s the Shogun, you know? That ain’t me. Hell, it was the Shogun who took my Vision ‘cause of her dumb decree. I’ve never met her in person, never talked to her in person—just cause I live on her island doesn’t mean I know her at all! So how are you gonna judge me based on what she did?”

“All those raised on Narukami hold some degree of reverence for the Shogun, no matter how small,” said Gorou, careful with his words. “Loyalty can be rescinded. A few of our soldiers once served under the Shogunate, in fact. But reverence is imbued at birth, and stoked through the fires of propaganda. Those men now turn their spears against the god that raised them, but they do so with hesitance. Watatsumi soldiers do not.”

“You’ve heard it, right?” continued Gorou. “Rebel soldiers are nothing but boors. We’re ungrateful for what the Shogun has provided for us, and we should be thankful she hasn’t razed our island altogether and sent it to the bottom of the sea. We’re uncultured, uncivilized, and unappreciative. It’s all stuff they say to indoctrinate you.” He scoffed and turned aside. “If you ask me, I don’t see what’s there to appreciate from a god who took everything from us.”

Itto leaned back and put his hands on his hips. “Whew, that’s… That’s a lot. And I’ll admit, I didn’t get like, half of that, but I think I get whatcha mean. Mostly. I think.”

He slammed a hand down on Gorou’s shoulder. Gorou’s knees nearly buckled from the force.

“Listen. You don’t gotta like the Shogun—but I sure as hell ain’t leaving here until I make sure you like me. So I tell you what! Give me a chance to prove myself, and I’ll show you why we’re not so different. Narukami, Watatsumi, Liyue, whatever—it doesn’t matter where you come from! If you’re a nice dude, and I’m a nice dude, then why can’t we get along?”

“I didn’t say we couldn’t get along,” said Gorou, waving Itto’s hand away. “I just said we can’t exactly trust you right now.”

“And how’re you supposed to figure out my intentions if you’re keeping me locked up in his room, huh? You ever think about that?”

Gorou diverted his gaze, but Itto was quick to force it back on him.

“Give me a chance! Come on, we’ll have tons of fun!”

Gorou couldn’t turn away now, even if he wanted to. The red of his eyes, that stupid grin on his face—just what was it about this oni that made him lose control? There was his tail again, wagging itself away, and now his heart had joined in with its frantic beating. How badly he wished those other guards weren’t in the room. Gorou hated showing weakness. He hardly ever did, before, but this oni changed everything. And he had no idea why.

What he did know, however, was that something inside was telling him that Itto might not be such a bad guy after all.

“Fine,” grumbled Gorou, crossing his arms. And when Itto howled with joy, Gorou turned aside to hide the smile on his face.

“So you’re really an oni?” asked Gorou, digging around in some bushes. Beside him, Itto threw rock after rock aside, as though in search of buried treasure.

“Yep! Sure am,” he said, beaming. “Arataki Itto, the one and oni! That’s my catchphrase—came up with it myself. Whatd’ya think? Snappy, right?”

Gorou chuckled. “Cheesy is more like it.”

“C— Cheesy?! Oh, come on. Could you come up with something better?”

“I don’t have to be a chef to tell you that the food’s burnt.”

“Hey! Hey! Now that’s just offensive! You think I’m gonna let you get away with that, General? Come here! We’ll settle this like men!”

Gorou scoffed and ignored him. “If you want to find this beetle of yours, we need to make good use of our daylight. Its exoskeleton is black, so we won’t have good vision come nightfall.”

Itto grumbled but turned back to his rock throwing. “Whatever. But don’t think I’ll forget about this! You still owe me all that rice, too.”

“You seem really preoccupied with that rice.”

“Well, yeah! Who wouldn’t be? I got like, twenty mouths to feed.”

Gorou’s ears perked as he turned to glance at Itto. “Are you a dad?”

“A what? What? What, no! No way, I’m way too young to have that many kids! Seriously? Do I look like an old man to you?”

“With hair that color, you could pass.”

“What is this?! I didn’t come out here to get slandered! General! General, hey— Look at me when I’m talking to you!”

Gorou was well aware of just how broadly he was smiling. He was also well aware that nobody was around. They were entirely alone here, on the same shore Itto had washed up on the day prior. And Gorou, for one, was basking in every moment. He couldn’t explain it. No, it was such a strange feeling, this sensation that came whenever this idiot opened his mouth, but already Gorou knew that it was a feeling he shouldn’t fight.

At least, not when they were alone.

“Well, Itto,” said Gorou, moving to another bush. “I’m curious. What exactly did you need this beetle for, again?”

“Like I said,” Itto started, puffing his chest, “you’re looking at Arataki Itto, the one and oni—there it is, there’s my catchphrase again—beetle-fighting champion! That’s right! When it comes to onikabuto fighting, I’m the best there is. You won’t find anyone more seasoned or talented than me! So that’s why I need this beetle, to beat this one guy I can never seem to beat.”

“If you can never beat him, then doesn’t that make him the champion instead?”

Itto was quiet for a long time.

“…Semantics, semantics! You can still be the champ even when you lose like, most of your games! Even all of your games, actually! Who says that, you ask? I says that! I says that all the time! And you gotta trust me, cause how can you not trust a guy with this sort of hair, huh?”

Gorou chuckled again. This Itto was quite a character—and he had little to no understanding of logic. It was endearing, really. Not that Gorou would ever admit it.

“Beetle fighting sounds pretty popular on Narukami.”

“Ha, you know it! And it’s all ‘cause of this guy here. I made sure everyone on the island knew just how fun beetle fighting could be! You know, maybe it’s fate that I washed up to Watatsumi. Guess the gods wanted me to bring the joy over here too.” He turned to Gorou, stars in his eyes. “That settles it! Once we find Obsidian Soulcrusher, we’ll get you a beetle too! And then I’ll teach you all the ins and outs of beetle fighting! No backing down, you hear?”

“I’ll see if I have room on my schedule,” said Gorou, turning away to hide another smile.

They walked the length of the shore. Gorou loved his feeling: the scent of the sea on his fur, the mist of the ocean cooling his skin. It was a luxury he could rarely ever enjoy, as his days were often marked by patrols and other taxing work. More often than not, Gorou found himself at the beach only because there’d been a disturbance—Fatui sightings or vagabonds from Narukami, for example.

In retrospect, he was glad he agreed to babysit this oni. Technically, he was working—Itto was still under Watatsumi custody, and as general of the army, it was his job to look after him. Gorou couldn’t risk him making a move against Her Excellency, after all, or otherwise compromising their defenses when tensions between their two islands were still so high.

But if this was work, then he wouldn’t say no to doing more of it.

Sunlight ebbed by midday, and at sunset, the shadows drew thick along the coasts of the island. Itto and Gorou, in-between stretches of beetle searching, passed the time by speaking of frivolous things: the best kind of sweets, for example, or the best way to wash rice. But there were also the interesting things, and the things that made Gorou’s head spin with thought: when the conversation eventually steered toward talk of their two islands, Gorou listened with earnest intent.

Itto spoke of his life in Inazuma City with great celebration, detailing the children he often played with and the games through which they bonded. And Gorou echoed his sentiments. Marbles, statues, onigokko (the last of which Itto couldn’t mention without a grumble)—these were all games that Gorou himself enjoyed as a child, or at least variants thereof. And what he found, more deeply than anticipated, was a sort of camaraderie with this strange oni whom he’d so recently met. Their islands were different, yes, and their cultures disagreed on many issues. But it was clear that Itto did not let Narukami define him—and that, Gorou thought, was reason enough to trust him.

“You guys got a real nice island here, I’ll tell you that,” said Itto, leaning against a tree. “The view here is so much clearer than what you can usually see back at home. It’s all like, bzzz bzzz! Boom, crack! Thunder and lightning, you know? Cause the Shogun and all.”

“I can only imagine how oppressive it must be living under her rule,” said Gorou, skipping stones over the water. “Some of my men—the ones that came from Narukami—told me about the fear she instills in everyone who lives there. That she rules with an iron fist and strikes down any who dare stand even a foot in her way.”

“I can believe that,” said Itto with a shrug. “Like I said, never met her in person. But if she’s anything like that little birdie general of hers, she must be a pain in the butt to deal with.”

“General Kujou?” Gorou asked, perking an ear. “You’re acquainted?”

“Not like I wanted to be,” grumbled Itto. “The woman swooped in out of nowhere and just snatched my Vision! Like— rude! Okay, well, maybe she didn’t just come in out of nowhere, and maybe she did challenge me to a fight over it, buuut… But it’s the concept, okay? The concept!”

“We at Watatsumi fought tooth and nail against the decree,” said Gorou, bending down to pick up another stone. “I can’t imagine how anyone on Narukami still holds any sort of respect for Shogun after making such demands.”

Itto shrugged, sitting up. “At the end of the day, she’s still the Archon, you know? Some people can’t let go so easily. Not speaking for everyone, of course, and definitely not me, but I’m just telling it how it is. Just so you know, though, General… I think you should keep in mind that not everyone who bows to her agrees with everything she does. Hell, some people who bow to her don’t agree with anything she does.”

“Then why bow?” said Gorou. “Fear?”

“Heh. Maybe,” Itto answered. “I guess this is sorta insider information, so don’t go around telling all of your buddies about it or anything, but… Sometimes, bowing is just the easiest way to avoid trouble. And when avoiding trouble ends up helping more people in the long run, that’s just what you gotta do.” He scoffed. “‘Course, I don’t live by that rule at all. Nope, not at all! That’s the difference between me and him—Arataki Itto bows to no one!”

Gorou raised a brow as he threw the stone over the water. “Who’s ‘him’?”

“…Well, General! This has been a pretty productive day, if I do say so myself,” Itto said, standing up and stretching. “You all good to head back? You finally get that tail issue of yours under control?”

Gorou yelped. He yelped like an actual, literal puppy. And then he turned around, hiding his red face. So Itto had noticed after all, dense as he was… Great. Just great.

“Ahahaha! I’m just teasing, I’m just teasing! Seriously, man, you gotta learn to loosen up a bit! Oh—we got some amazing hot springs back in the city. You oughta visit sometime! I’ll take you!”

Gorou did loosen up, just a bit. “You’re asking me to come to Narukami?”

“Just for a vacation, obviously!” laughed Itto. “Looks like you really need one, anyway. Seriously, when was the last time you took a nap? I always say that a good rest makes for a good day, and a good day makes for a good beetle fight! Oh, shoot, we never found Obsidian Soulcrusher, did we?”

Gorou chuckled. “I’m sure he’ll show up sooner or later.”

“He better! Else I’m never gonna win that fight! Ugh, I can already see that dumb smirk on his face…”

Itto started walking off, but he turned around to offer a hand to Gorou.

“Come on. You still owe me thirty bowls of rice, you know! And you’re gonna watch me eat it all!”

Gorou took his hand with a smile. “What happened to those twenty mouths you had to feed?”

As Itto threw a million excuses his way, Gorou looked up at the dawning stars. This was nice. This Itto, he was nice. Maybe it was alright to feel this way. Somewhere in the back of his head, he was already planning that vacation to Narukami.

And as they walked the whole length back to Sangonomiya, Gorou finally let his tail wag as much as it wanted.

(Extra scene)

This guy smelled of Narukami, though Gorou tried to keep an open mind. At least there were camellias on his clothes, which meant he belonged to the Kamisatos—a clan Gorou could respect, despite being from the mainland.

“State your name and purpose,” said Gorou, crossing his arms. He hadn’t expected to be called out to greet visitors today and was thus in a less-than-stellar mood, especially since he had to leave Itto behind at Sangonomiya. Still, this was his duty, and one he carried out proudly. He had the rest of the day to spend time with Itto anyway, so it was fine.

The visitor extended a warm smile and bowed in greeting, as per the custom.

“Thoma, of the Kamisato Clan,” he said. “I’m here on behalf of the Yashiro Commissioner. Sorry we showed up without warning. There’s been… an issue.”

Gorou perked an ear. “What sort of issue?”

“Uh, well, about that…” Thoma rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous chuckle. “This is going to sound weird, but did a random oni happen to wash up on shore here recently?”

…Ah.

“So what if one did?” said Gorou, lifting his nose. “What business does the Yashiro Commission have with oni?”

“None, as far as I thought,” answered Thoma. “But apparently our very bright Commissioner thought it was a good idea to set off some experimental Naganohara fireworks, which blew up part of the beach, which sent an oni flying off into the sunset… The Yashiro Commission extends its apologies and takes full responsibility for any damage caused by stray, displaced, and slightly-charred oni. We’re very sorry.”

As he bowed again, Gorou glanced at Thoma’s horns. “Are you an oni too?”

“Huh? Oh, no, this is just a headband.”

Behind Gorou, one of the patrol soldiers elbowed his partner. “See! I told you the headband thing was real.”

“In any case,” said Thoma, “we’d be happy to take him off your hands, if he really did wash up on shore. And we’ll pay for any damages caused to your island.”

Gorou paused for a while in thought. “Does the Yashiro Commissioner have any business with this oni personally?”

“Hm? Not that I know of.”

“Then no,” said Gorou decisively, hands on his hips. “No oni washed up on shore here. You’re free to leave.”

“What?” said Thoma, like a confused puppy. “But the Commissioner was sure he flew toward Watatsumi—”

“You’re free to leave,” said Gorou again, a little more sternly. “Though… We won’t say no to a boat to send him back on, if he does show up one day.”

Something about the way Thoma looked at him made it clear he could see right through his lies. But that was fine. It was a courtesy that the Yashiro Commission was extending here, and one they did not have to take. Gorou was by no means trying to keep Itto here for any longer than he wanted to be, but he sure wasn’t letting him get taken by the Shogunate against his will, either.

“I guess that’s reasonable,” said Thoma, passing on the message to one of the guards behind him. “I’ll arrange for another boat to be sent here. We’ll get going, then. But, one more thing before we do?”

Gorou’s ears perked as Thoma approached him, holding in his hands some sort of box with a cloth draped over it.

“The Commissioner sends his regards.”

He lifted the cloth, and sitting there in the middle of the glass box was an enormous black onikabuto.

End. :)