Chapter Text
When you were 'gifted' the opportunity of smuggling goods to inazuma, you jumped at the chance. The high reward making your heart flutter, the amount of good you could do for your family, the freedom you would finally feel, it was everything you'd ever dreamt of. Your family was always your top priority, they did all they could to support your dreams, but money was tight and merchants chasing their overdue loans where ruthless in the land of contracts. This could prove to be a fresh break for you and your loved ones.
You didn't expect the wrath of the almighty shogun to be as ruthless as legend though. The seas were rough but, what you didn't account for was the unending storm, the constant crashing of lightning striking around you. Your eyesight blurred, all you could focus on was the screaming of your crewmates, your captain barking orders, the desperation was thick in the air. But before you could go to tighten the ropes of the sail, you felt your body slip, as one loud crack of lightning turned your vision black. You felt yourself be plunged into an endless abyss, you didn't expect yourself to die on this trip, but the cold peace brought you a strange sense of freedom, you'd always hoped for a vision, perhaps a cryo one, but truly you knew the gods would never gaze upon a lost cause such as yourself.
You let the cold, weightlessness embrace you.
...
You thought that was the end, until you felt a fire in your chest, the burning pain was immence. As you coughed and sputtered trying desperately to remove the pain in your lungs, your vision began to come back to you, bluring of a violet sky, with a blonde standing above you, pushing on your chest. With one final cough you felt the final lump of first in your lungs leave your body, and you sat up to catch the fleeting breath in your lungs.
''Oh gosh! thank god..' You heard next to you, a familiar tone you thought, it reminded you of your friends from mondstadt. You turned to face the voice, greeted by a soft face of a blonde, with a strange outfit, one you'd never seen before. 'Please don't exert yourself' He assured you, 'everything is okay, you were in a serious wreck..'. You blinked at him, 'W-where am I? where are my crewmates,, my ship? is this liyue?' He looked at you with concern, gently helping you to your feet, keeping a firm hand on your waist to keep you balanced. 'You're in inazuma,, you washed up on the shore alongside the wreckage of a ship, we haven't found any other survivors' Those words rang in your ears, you were the only one... The man noticed your immediate drop in attitude and attempted to reassure you 'It's alright! we will continue looking, Its a miracle you're alright, My name is Thoma, I wont ask how you got here, I understand it was probably under..' he paused, and looked down on you 'less than legal circumstances' you gulped, god, you just survived a wreck and now you're going to prison... 'Dont worry' He chuckled 'As long as you follow my lead, no one will notice. You don't happen to have a vision do you?' If only, you thought, maybe you would of been able to keep your crew alive. You shook your head slowly, and thoma looked at you carefully, his expression unreadable. 'Well then that's not an issue for us to worry about. Come on.'
Thoma was kind, at least he appeared to be, he tended to hover quite a lot thought. He offered you a job quite quickly after you recovered, under the same clan he worked under. You had your doubts as the kamisato clan seemed awfully important, what could they possibly have use of a washed up pirate for? But after taking your first couple jobs, you found yourself getting quite comfortable. Thoma helped introduce you to the others working under the kamisato family, and it made you feel less alone, they even helped you write letters to be smuggled to your family back in liyue. Your family knowing you were alive helped you ease into inazuman life a lot easier, quickly you accepted your new job, you began to make friends, and things, maybe started to feel normal. You longed for liyue still, but you hoped soon, the Sakoku Decree would be ended and you could return to your loved ones.
When you first began working for the kamisato clan, you began work as a gardener, you had tended to flowers in liyue's gardens quite often as a child, and you found that the best way to make yourself useful while working for the estate. Tending to the flowers always made you feel at ease, it was during this that you first met Lord kamisato.
While watering and tending gently to the precious dendrobium, which you had learned tended to sprout on the grounds of fallen warriors, and therefore needed to be treated with the upmost respect, you felt a presence beside you. Looking up you were greeted by the kamisato commissioner. Startled, you stood up quickly, bowing, 'L-lord Kamisato! How may I be of service?'. After what felt like eons of his gaze burning into you, he let out a soft chuckle and spoke. 'Please, continue. I was enjoying watching you tend so delicately to these flowers.' You peeked up at him, before returning your attention to the flowers silently. After a moment, you let your eyes drift up to him, 'Are you found of dendrobiums?' you asked. 'You know, any of my other servants would never dream of speaking to me like that.' He began, you turned to him in shock and as you began to spout apologies he held up a hand to stop you. 'But, it's nice to be asked about my interests beyond business.' With a smile across his lips 'I love what they represent, that the loyalty these soldiers offered to me, can be forever immortalized.' A moment passed, the wind softly blowing between you both. 'You value loyalty highly.' You spoke quietly, turning your attention away from the flowers to gaze up at him. He offered you a soft smile in return 'Loyalty is the embodiment of dedication, like a Gardner to it's flower.'
That was the last time you saw the commissioner for months. Your life continued as normal, things felt odd though, the odd time you felt you may of had an admirer, they quickly shot you down, and it left you devastated. You spent more nights than you'd like to admit crying over men who you thought were interested right until you showed interest back. You continued to send letters off to your family, taking advantage of your generous paycheck to buy ornate and decorated paper, so your family could see that you were thriving. You often sent money back with your letters too, to hopefully ease their financial burden, you never expected anything back, but it still hurt to go months without a reply.
It wasn't until one day you had gone to the commissioners quarters by request, intending to discuss your time off and request time to travel, that you noticed a draw left adjar. You attempted not to look but, you couldn't help but notice a neatly bundled pile of letters, in the ornate paper you could of swore you sent your family a month prior, it wasn't until you noticed your signature that you began to panic. You shut the drawer of his desk quickly as you went to sit down, your heart thumping in your chest. Was he personally intercepting them? Did the shogunate find your letters? Did your coworkers lie to you?
It wasn't until the door opened that you were ripped out of your thoughts, it was Ayato. He glanced across the room towards you, you watched him carefully as he scanned the desk, you swore you could see something flicker in his eyes, but it was so quick you couldn't work it out. He swiftly made his way over to his desk, sitting in front of you.
'So...' he started 'you wish to request time off?' You opened your mouth to speak 'i-' you barely started before he stopped you, quietly holding his hand up. he looked down on you, never before had you felt so small. 'You know you are paid a generous amount. You are expected to be here often and are given ample time in the week? Am i such a cruel employer that you request over 2 weeks off in another city? What if the shogunate were to find you, we would not be able to cover for your status here in inazuma if you moved.. though if you truly wish to go...' He looked at you, piercing blue eyes not giving away anything.
You gulped. 'I apologize, I've changed my mind.' looking down at your feet, as you replied. You heard a soft hum escape the commissioners lips, 'Dismissed.' You stood, your eyes still firmly on the ground as you walked out, though you did hear the distinct sound of a drawer open as you left.
You spent the next month plotting your escape, you stopped writing letters. Delusion or not, you knew you had no agency in inazuma under the kamisato clans employment. You pocketed every paycheck you were given, conversing with the locals you managed to make the aquantance of some smugglers, ones whom were travelling to liyue in a weeks time. You could barely afford their fees, but it was worth the cost, you could take the risk again.
Despite your plans, you had made friends among the servants, and you felt guilty for leaving them all behind without saying anything, so one evening, in the servants quatres, you suggested you all visit a local bar together. Most agreed, even thoma, whom you expected to excuse himself to his quarters early like usual, which was a pleasant surprise.
It was a fun night, and it was full of plenty of alcohol, and although you were anxious, you let yourself go for the night, enjoying your newfound family's company. It was bittersweet sure, but they were happy to be spending time with you, and you had some disposable income. After many hours of celebration and joy, covered by your left over savings most of you began to split off to make your way home, thoma pulled you aside. He lead you outside towards the docks before turning to you. ''Where are you going?'' he spoke harshly. Shivers ran down your spine, 'what?' you sputtered back. 'You're spending all your mora, I also know about your agreement with the crux fleet.' What was this? how did he know? 'I..' you looked up at him. 'I'm sorry, I don't belong here'. You felt tears well up in your eyes, surely he could understand that. But instead of the compassionate look you expected from your longtime friend, the one who fished you out of the ocean, you only saw distain. 'After all the lord has done for you? This job? this lifestyle? You want to run away?' He sighed, rubbing his eyes 'I really didn't think it would come to this Y/N...'. Your heart sank, what? what did he mean by that? all of this was ayatos doing? So the letters weren't a coincidence. You felt your blood run cold as he placed a hand on your arm 'Come on, you know this is stupid, don't make this more difficult than it needs to be'
Before you could think, your legs were carrying you. You were sprinting away, towards your home, towards liyue. All you could think of was getting home, The ocean didn't register in your mind, all you could think of was running. You heard the quick pace of thoma behind you, and as you leapt from the dock, you expected to feel the crash of water, but your feet kept going. Ice cold beneath your feet kept you running, frozen ice beneath ever step you took. Before you could even register the gift the gods had just bestowed on you, you felt the same heat you had felt before, right as you plunged into the ice cold water.
When you awoke, you felt something missing, but couldn't place it. You were dressed in a soft kimono, it was silk. You had no strength, none at all, you could barely lift your head to look around at your surroundings, but you quickly noticed what was wrong. The commissioner stood at the foot of the bed, speaking to Thoma, he gazed over, noticing you awaken. 'Ah, it appears you're awake.. you know, I was quite hurt by your little stunt' There was a venom in his voice, the eyes of both Ayato and Thoma felt cold, you couldn't even recognize them. Ayato moved closer, he placed a gloved hand on your chin, forcing you to look up at him. 'My kindness only goes so far, if not repaid by loyalty...'
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