Chapter Text
All Kazuha knew was to keep running.
In these moments, his feet carried him farther than he'd traveled his entire life. Farther than he'd ever traveled with Tomo, farther than he ever could in the future with him now that he had left this world.
Self-blame, horror, regret swirled in his mind, focus entirely off of his physical body, the strain on his muscles, the agony in his legs, the painful thrumming of his heart about to burst from his chest, and instead trapped in that dark place in the back of his mind.
He should've done more than just ask Tomo if he'd thought this out entirely, if he'd made sure it was the right choice, and if he'd considered all of the dangers. He didn’t press any further than that, and he feared it may haunt him for the rest of his days.
Kazuha had been upset when he first heard of Tomo’s plan, to say the least. He tried not to take it personally. Tomo's choices were his own to make, his battles his own to choose and fight.
That didn’t mean in the slightest he chose every battle wisely.
Nor did it mean it didn't hurt that Tomo was willing to throw their years of friendship to the wind for this. A noble cause in theory, yet a ridiculous idea in practicality.
Kazuha's worst fears had come true. Tomo was gone forever. The only option now was to learn to live life without him, without the feeling of that warm hand in his, those strong arms enveloping his body, that loving gaze holding his. Those were all now replaced by a heavy weight in his chest, a bitter taste in his mouth, and a cold chill never leaving his skin.
At the very least, Tomo was survived by Ryuka, his small white cat. After taking hold of Tomo's vision in his dying moments, Kazuha’s first thought was to swiftly run off and retrieve their most important belongings. Ryuka included.
Kazuha had taken one last look at the place they called home and headed off, knowing he would never be welcome here again. Neither Kazuha nor Tomo would ever spend another day here or make another memory together.
The loud grumble of his stomach tore him from his blurring, racing thoughts, thankfully. He paused his running for the first time in...hours? Days? Time was something he simply couldn't bring himself to keep track of right now.
He began to breathe again, and took notice of how sore his chest and stomach especially were, how he gasped for fresh air, the exertion wracking his body.
"Are you hungry too?" he panted softly to the tiny cat that had been tucked away in his kimono. She hadn’t made a noise since he picked her up, he felt guilty for her escaping his mind for so long, but now she looked up at him with unknowing, wide eyes and a loud mew in response. Kazuha couldn’t help but smile to himself and pat her head.
He tread slowly and carefully towards the dark, secluded forest nearby. Surrounded by several grassy hills, it was adorned by several glowing blue flowers and tranquil flowing streams. The complete silence besides the gentle breeze portrayed it as a relatively safe place to stop and gather oneself for a short while.
It wasn’t as if Kazuha had the luxury of being picky about where to stay, and surely there were much more perilous dangers ahead of this. He had no way of knowing how far away the next potentially safe place would be, or if his body could handle the distance.
Kazuha continued cautiously through the forest, examining the breathtaking scenery whilst clutching Ryuka closely, protectively. She’d gone mostly noiseless again, soft purring resonating through the silence. He navigated towards an opening in one of the hillsides. Shrouded in darkness, he entered and lit a lamp to grant himself vision. The cave led far and deep down into the hill when he stole a curious glance, and shivered at the steep fall down. He had no intentions of wandering caves anytime soon, certainly not this one either.
A bit unnerving standing next to the entrance to a cave system, but much safer than anything out there. Here, it was quiet and the lights were dim. He was not being pursued at this moment. It was only him and Ryuka. He set her down gently, though she squealed in protest.
“Shhhh,” Kazuha murmured, fishing through his bag for the salmon he’d grabbed, along with a small dagger. He cut it into small pieces, dropped it beside her. Lightning fast, Ryuka darted to the salmon. She tried to consume so many pieces at once that they continuously fell from her mouth and she snatched them back up sloppily.
“Ah, quite hungry indeed.” A soft smile crossed Kazuha’s delicate features as he watched her absent-mindedly for a few moments. He then sifted through his bag again for what would serve as his own dinner. This seemed a secure, comforting enough place for a good night’s rest. They would set off once more in the morning, when the first bits of sunlight filtered through the trees’ leaves into the opening of the cave.
Stuffed and exhausted, Ryuka had already fallen fast asleep once Kazuha gathered his meal and finished it. He glanced down fondly at the cat curled up in his lap purring.
A twinge of sadness overtook him no matter how hard he tried to stave it off. Ryuka had no idea of death or loss, of what had happened to Tomo. Kazuha could never explain it to her. As the time passed without her owner present, she would probably think he abandoned her and didn’t care for her anymore.
A bit similar to how Kazuha felt before, but now he understood and began to fully accept Tomo’s sacrifice for what it was. The grief and longing for his friend would not subside for the rest of his days, he could only work on it and manage it better with time. He knew Tomo wouldn’t want him to blame himself or carry the weight of regrets on his shoulders. He would want him to move on and lead a happy life. He could accomplish that while still honoring his friend’s memory, even if it seemed contradictory.
Kazuha drew in a heavy, shaky breath. He would have to get to sleep soon too. For now, he looked out at the tall trees, beautiful flowers, peaceful streams, the dark sky with few stars tonight. If only he could share this view with Tomo once more.
A noise rang out from deeper in the cave, startling him a bit. Kazuha’s sudden shocked movement enough to wake Ryuka, she mewed in complaint and crawled off of him to sleep beside his bag instead. Kazuha waited for another noise, but after several minutes, it was silent. It must’ve been a small animal, something harmless. He willed himself to drift back into unconsciousness.
The next time Kazuha awoke, he found himself robbed of his free will and eyesight. Try as he might, he saw nothing but pitch black and the feeling of cloth tightened over his eyes, ropes tightened over his arms and legs. He was tied to…something… a chair? He was sitting, after all. It was difficult not to be consumed by extreme anxiety and fear in a situation like this, but he tried his best to compose himself and remain rigid.
Only inevitable was this fate. Of course, the Raiden Shogun had found him and captured him in no time. Of course, he was helpless to the same force that captured the life of his friend. Of course, he had let his guard down too soon and tried to relax too quickly. It was all his fault. He only deserved this. Now, perhaps he would meet Tomo soon.
Heartbeat pulsing in his ears, mouth drier than ever before, he worried for Ryuka. What were the Shogun’s policies when it came to animals? Would she be recognized as a harmless, innocent animal and set free? Or would her life be taken too for being a traitor’s pet? She was not guaranteed safety from the Shogun’s cruelty, as no one human or animal was.
“How did you find me? Who are you?”
The unfamiliarity and suddenness of the cold voice sent a shiver down Kazuha’s spine. This didn’t sound to be…the Shogun or her army.
“W-what?” he sputtered out, mind racing with too many thoughts and possibilities at once to form a coherent sentence. He began attempting to squirm from his restraints, panic rising.
“Playing dumb is pointless. So is struggling. I know exactly why you have come here, and I do not fear you. I can take you out of this world with a flick of my wrist. Answer my questions.”
A sharp edge suddenly applied pressure against the center of Kazuha’s throat threateningly. At first, he thought it to be the tip of a blade but quickly realized it was a pointed fingernail. He swallowed nervously beneath it, chest and head pounding.
He didn’t recognize this voice at all. What had he done to this person to warrant this hostility? Who even was he? All he could place was a slightly high masculine, sarcastic voice with an edge to it of unconcealed contempt.
Kazuha retreated into his mind trying to reason with the situation, failing to answer the questions asked of him once again. The pressure grew until his captor’s nail dug into his throat enough to sting and cut off some of his breathing, pushing him to hurry up.
Kazuha cleared his throat, gulping again and a bit breathless as he spoke. “I…know not who you are. Nor how I came to find you. But if I may… I am Kaedehara Kazuha. I am a mere wanderer of no danger to you. I only entered in search of a place to stay for the night, and I was fully unaware of anyone else inhabiting the space. Please…let me leave, and I will not return.”
His genuine pleas earned him a disbelieving scoff. “Likely story. Who else knows of my location, Kaedehara Kazuha?” The stranger’s nail pushed harder on his throat to emphasize his name.
“No one, I promise you,” Kazuha gasped out, drops of sweat gathering on his forehead.
“Sure. Then tell me more, why did you need a place to stay? Why are you wandering aimlessly through Inazuma, especially here to be exact? This place is suspiciously far from walking distance of any civilization.” Thankfully, the pressure on his throat dissipated to allow him to speak freely.
Kazuha inhaled the fresh air swiftly and let out a sigh of relief. “I ran here. I’m not sure how long it took. I traveled past countless towns, villages, forests, hills, mountains. When I stumbled upon this peaceful, quiet forest, it seemed a perfect, safe place to spend the night… Could I see my bag? I can prove to you there is nothing of concern, I have brought with me no dangerous gear or weapons besides a small dagger for cutting food.”
“I’ve hidden your bag somewhere you’ll never find it,” the voice snapped back.
A few beats passed as Kazuha processed what he’d heard. His intuition told him differently. He sucked in a cautious breath.
“It’s in your hand, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not!”
A soft thud echoed through the cave, most likely the sound of his bag indeed falling to the floor. Then he heard the contents colliding against each other and footsteps heading away. He fretted for a moment that he was going to be left here to die, before the silently threatening nail returned to its position digging into his throat. Kazuha couldn’t hold in his annoyance this time.
“Could you stop that?” The words erupted from his lips before he could hold them back, and he instantly regretted them. Surely, he was going to be violently murdered now to pay the price for his lack of self-restraint. At the mercy of this menacing stranger, he had no options to be anything but submissive and quiet, yet he had accomplished the very opposite in no time.
“Oh, how amusing, you think you’re the one giving orders here.” A dry chuckle seemed to be the stranger’s only response. Kazuha was a bit surprised he wasn’t punished, but grateful, of course. “You’re not getting your bag, regardless. Now, what do you want with me? Planning to kill me?”
“What?!” Kazuha’s jaw dropped, and he blinked rapidly beneath the blindfold in thorough confusion.
“Capture me? Torture me?”
“No! Please listen, all I want to do is get out of here, I swear!” In his desperation, Kazuha’s voice cracked, his chest heaved, and his eyes shut tightly in defeat. He really didn’t want to die here, especially since he clearly was not whoever this stranger thought him to be.
Greeted with a thick silence that lasted several moments, his blindfold was then removed and he finally became aware of the drips trailing down his cheeks. He’d felt such fear it elicited uncontrollable tears from him. Embarrassment flushed his cheeks slightly.
His eyes opened, landing upon his unknown captor who turned out to be much less frightening and bulky than the image he’d concocted in his head.
A rather small, fragile-looking man with a youthful face and short, pin-straight indigo hair cut bluntly at his chin in the front, spiraling longer near the back of his neck. Pale blue eyes contrasted by blood-red eyeliner pierced Kazuha’s, full of ice and an unmoving glare seeming to stare right through him as though he were a translucent ghost.
“You… why are you… crying?” For the first time, the man appeared genuinely perplexed, turning his face to the floor and refusing to meet Kazuha’s pressing crimson gaze.
“You…tied me up and blindfolded me. I don’t know you. I’m afraid for my life,” Kazuha replied honestly, uncertainly.
“You really… don’t know who I am?” The man’s tone was suddenly small, hesitant.
“How would I know who you are? I have not ventured here before. I was being pursued, I found a forest to take shelter in, I entered. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“You’re.... telling the truth?” His gaze returned to search Kazuha’s face, prying for answers, interrogating him for any hint of deception.
“Yes,” Kazuha breathed out. His arms and legs grew sorer by every minute. He wished desperately to stretch them out, to have free control of his body again.
A familiar meow caught his attention and he turned to see Ryuka padding up to the man. She let out a high-pitched trill as she rubbed nonchalantly up against one of his pale legs.
To Kazuha’s surprise, the stranger bent over to scratch behind the cat’s ears.
“Mm, I know. I need someone to take me. I think your owner may actually be telling the truth… It’s not as if he looks all that dangerous. What bounty hunter brings a cat along with him? Quite pathetic. Weak. But…perhaps strong enough to get me where I need to go. What choice do I have?”
At a loss for words, Kazuha could simply watch. The stranger who tied him up, blindfolded him, and made him fear for his life enough to bring him to tears now calmly stroked and spoke to his cat who seemed to have no qualms with the whole situation. Though again, it wasn’t as if Ryuka could understand the gravity of the situation, the danger Kazuha was in.
“Okay, Kaedehara Kazuha, you can address me as Scaramouche. I am prepared to offer you a deal.”
“...Deal?”
“Look this way. Do you know where these places are?”
Kazuha turned his head and, for the first time, noticed the colorful maps drawn across one of the spacious cave walls. His eyes widened in wonder as he briefly marveled at all of the drawings.
“I do...”
“This trail-” Scaramouche traced with his finger along the wall, having to stretch on tiptoes and grunt quietly to reach the very top of his drawing, amusing Kazuha just a tiny bit. “-leads to the safest, most secretive way out of Inazuma. Underground passageways leading to these small, abandoned boats.” He turned back to Kazuha, expression stony and guarded. “You will act as my guide and shield until I am in a boat sailing out of this hellhole, then I will return your bag and your freedom to you. That is my deal.”
“Uh… no can do. Unfortunately, the Shogun’s army and I are not exactly… simpatico… at the moment. So I won’t be able to take you safely anywhere, I’m afraid. You may be in even more danger with me at your side.” Kazuha squirmed again as the ropes dug into his skin long enough to burn now.
Scaramouche took note, reluctantly stepping forward to free him. “Move one inch, try to run or do anything funny, and I’ll kill you.” He leaned in close, breath stirring the hairs on the back of Kazuha’s neck. Kazuha stiffened, holding as still as possible as the man undid his restraints then distanced himself once more, standing in front of Kazuha, looking down on him again.
“Something brought you here, Kaedehara Kazuha. Call it what you will. Fate, destiny. If you believe in that nonsense.”
“A cat. She needed to eat and sleep, as did I.” Kazuha stretched, arms reaching high and legs spreading out. Somehow aware she’d been mentioned, Ryuka waddled over to Kazuha and jumped into his lap, wide blue eyes peering up at him. He ran his fingers through her soft white fur and held her close protectively.
“I have made the decision to trust you. I do not take trust lightly or hand it out to just anyone.” Scaramouche crossed his arms, eyes narrowing.
“A horrible decision, really. You hardly know me,” Kazuha bit back, tipping his head skeptically. No longer physically restrained, he clearly felt he had a bit more freedom to speak his mind.
“Trust me when I tell you this. You can search this cave system for years. Your hands will tire, your resolve will weaken, and your body will grow sore, if you don’t fall to your death in a matter of minutes. Without my help, you will never find your precious bag.” Scaramouche’s lip curled into a smug smirk of triumph as he looked down on Kazuha, who gaped at him before looking down at Ryuka to gather his thoughts. Scaramouche was right, unfortunately. Painfully right.
“Let me get this straight. I serve as your escort and bodyguard to take you to the boats, then I get my bag back?” Kazuha pursed his lip, eyebrows furrowing in deep consideration.
“That’s the deal. Understand, or need I repeat myself?” Scaramouche’s hands rested on his hips and he frowned in clear impatience and annoyance.
Kazuha drew in a heavy sigh. “Alright. I don’t wish to do this, but you clearly leave me no choice. I’ll take you, though I can’t promise the trip will be easy.”
Scaramouche stepped forward, leaning in close to the point their noses almost touched. “Really?” His suspicious gaze dug into Kazuha’s skin, and he flinched at the sudden closeness.
“Yes, really. You know, you’re going to have to trust me at least a little bit for this to work, not just say it, Scaramouche.” Kazuha raised a brow.
“I don’t have to do anything,” Scaramouche sneered and turned away once more. “Prepare yourself and we’ll leave soon, blondie.” He disappeared with a callous wave down a pathway Kazuha couldn’t see the end of, probably to retrieve the bag he’d hidden.
Kazuha briefly glanced down at Ryuka for support but she had drifted off to sleep again, purring softly. The rhythmic noise calmed some of Kazuha’s nerves at the very least. He was left to his own thoughts there in an unknown area of the cave system, silent save for the occasional drip of water and echo of a faraway creature, until Scaramouche’s return.