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The tsaritsa lifted your chin with the tip of one of her crystal heels, her legs crossed over each other as you kneel before her. “Very good work. I might just as well make you one of my loyal harbingers.” She had one elbow on the armrest of her throne and her jaw on her palm, towering over you with a satisfied grin on her face.
After joining the Fatui as one of the elite agents, one the force’s lower ranks, you were assigned your own special mission after requesting to become promoted as a Fatui harbinger. You understood how dangerous it was to become one, and the fact that only the strong could survive, however, you would go to such lengths just to be able to find and meet a specific someone again. During this mission, you worked alongside Pierro, who commended you for your fighting skills and agility, especially on how well you handled and effectively used both your vision and delusion together.
“Well, Your majesty, what do you think?” Speaking of the devil, Pierro walks beside her throne, his arms crossed over his chest. It wasn't long before the Tsaritsa’s grin faded, turning back to her usual intimidating frown. It was practically silent and you feared that your heartbeat could be heard in the room, but after a few minutes, Her Royal Highness finally spoke. “I’ve made up my mind. Summon the others here.” Her voice echoed along the halls, and Pierro bows before exiting the room. “Stand,” she ordered, and you immediately followed. Seconds later, the rest of the harbingers filled the space before you and the throne, each of them lining up in an orderly manner. Your eyes scanned every one of them until you found a particular person that stood out the most, but your heart dropped as you saw his rather major changes. First, his hair was no longer long, and you couldn’t help but think about the times where you loved braiding it and trying out silly hairstyles. His fashion had changed too, to silks and gold with more intricate, rich designs. But lastly, his eyes seemed so cold, so powerful and inhumane. Guaranteed, he is no longer the Kunikuzushi you once knew back at the castle. You blinked as you realized that his eyes were locked on yours and you looked away before any of the other harbingers could notice your stare, afraid that you had been looking at Kunikuzushi for too long.
“This is Y/N, and as of today, I recruited them as one of my harbingers. Treat each other well, and prepare for your next mission. Take your leave.” The Tsaritsa’s voice echoed once again, and you heard a bunch of muffled “Yes Your majesty”s as everyone bowed and left the throne room. As you were leaving, you tried to run after your beloved friend, but you were stopped in your tracks as a ginger haired man turned towards you. Kunikuzushi never looked back at you once, and you felt yourself sigh.
“Were you scared? Don’t worry, that’s natural for your first time. Your Highness is actually really nice and gentle, she just has to be cold on the outside.” The ginger haired harbinger laughs as you give him a smile. “I actually was. My heart was about to pop out of my chest,” you gave back a nervous laugh. “I’m Tartaglia, by the way, but you can call me Childe,” he smiles warmly at you and you felt somewhat relieved that there was at least someone friendly in this suffocating place.
While hanging at the lounge where everyone was around a table playing chess, you noticed that Kunikuzushi was nowhere to be found. Indeed, he also was never a people person back then, at least that part of him stayed. You excused yourself to Childe, saying that you had to go to the restroom and that Pierro gave you a tour before. You took this chance to wander around in the castle halls, feeling small because of the large ice blue walls, hoping to find Kunikuzushi. After walking a little bit more, you had come across a hall with multiple doors parallel to a line of large windows, and as if you manifested it, you saw Kunikuzushi sitting on a chair sideways to a table, staring outside the barren snow-covered lands out the window. You guessed that this was his own office, so you knock on the door frame before calling out to him. His head turned to you, and his peaceful face then turned into a scowl, eyebrows furrowed and all. “Kuni? It’s me, Y-” to your surprise, he cuts you off, “I know who you are, Y/N, now leave, I don’t want you ever in my sight.”
Your heart sank, feeling an uncomfortable pain in your chest down to your stomach. Before you could reply back, he raises his voice again, “and do not call me that. I go by Scaramouche now, and you won’t like what happens if I ever hear you say that name again.” You were taken aback by his large change in attitude that you were left speechless and it was evident in the face that you’re making. You slowly stepped back and found your way back to the lounge, looking at your feet the whole way. He used to be so pure, gentle and kind. Just what really happened between your time apart? This wasn’t how you imagined your reunion to go. Meanwhile, Scaramouche pretends to do his paperwork, gritting his teeth and clutching his pen so hard that he was close to snapping it in half.
The time for the new mission had come, and you were stationed in the deserts of Sumeru but close to a village that you were assigned to look over. Scaramouche was stationed in Inazuma, which was a very far region from yours. The station was already set when you arrived. It was a rather small hut, but complete with an electric fan, a table, a cot, and a box of necessities. As you sat on the cot after turning on the fan, a frown crept up your face as your thoughts wandered its way back to Scaramouche, his cruelty to you during the situation earlier replaying in your head. Many questions race your thoughts, such as what made him change this way, why was he with the Fatui, and what happened after he received the Gnosis.
After a bit of thinking, you groaned in frustration and sat yourself up on your bed, slapping your cheeks with both of your palms. You had to stop thinking about him. So you stood up and opened the well-made bamboo door of your hut, peaking your head outside and slightly squinting your eyes from the sun reflecting on the sand dunes. You stepped outside and felt the warmth hit your face, your shoes sinking in the sand. You didn’t walk that far, just sitting on the sand near your hut and playing around with the cute little desert foxes and scarabs.
It was almost dawn, the sky already turning a light purple color. You sighed and laid your head down on the sand, petting the tiny fox sleeping on your stomach. Truthfully, you were bored. Nothing of importance has been happening over the village you were tasked to watch, and instantly you wondered if the Tsaritsa— or Pierro, assigned you to the easiest region on purpose. You pouted at the thought, but you didn’t think about it for long as you heard the shifting of grains of sand. Alarmed, you stood up, quickly grabbing the dagger sheathed at your thigh. However, the desert was so open and vast that even small creatures could be seen, let alone a whole person. But as you cautiously peered at the lower ridge of the dune that you were currently on, to your surprise, you see a wounded Scaramouche trudging his way up with an arm around his stomach, a bloody nose and a cut over his jaw.
“K-kuni?!” you exclaimed and immediately slid down the dune to put his other arm around your shoulder, but he only glared at you. “I thought I told you not to call me that.”
“Who did this to you?” You ignored him because you were more concerned about his injuries. After looking back to see that no one was chasing after the two of you, you helped him up to your hut, which was unbelievably hard because your boots kept sinking under the sand. Eventually, you arrive inside and you sit Scaramouche down on your cot, closing the door behind.
He was panting hard, his sweat mixing in with the blood that hadn’t dried. You remove his short-sleeved yukata, revealing a sleeveless turtleneck underneath to at least help cool him down. His slender figure hadn't changed much, but you could see how toned his body got from being a harbinger. Scavenging the box beside the cot, you looked for the first aid kit and decided to talk to him. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Inazuma? Why did you come all the way here?” You ask while cleaning around his wounds and cuts.
He winced before replying back, “I had other things to attend to. It’s none of your business anyways,” as expected, he answers back with his cold tone. You scowled and put a cloth drenched in alcohol over the big cut on his jaw. He groans before immediately grasping your wrist, his grip unexpectedly tighter despite his injured state. “If you really hate me that much, you could’ve gone to Childe, because he’s just stationed in Liyue.” You retorted back and snatched your hand back from Scaramouche.
“That hurt, you fucking-!”
But before he could finish, you cut him off. “No, fuck you, Kuni! Why are you being such an asshole to me? You didn’t even give me a chance to talk back in your office.” You scowled at him and his gaze became sharper towards you.
“Me, the asshole?” he lets out a small laugh. “You’re the one here who disappeared in thin air! You left me and abandoned me all alone in that hell on Earth castle.” You notice his hands clenching tightly, his nails digging into his palms in anger.
You can only breathe out an exasperated sigh. “What are you talking about? Yae told me that the Gnosis was being passed down onto you, and so I wasn’t allowed to see you for 2 whole weeks, and then you were gone.” Scaramouche furrowed his eyebrows, wanting to hear more.
“I couldn't believe it, so I searched everywhere for you, and I joined the Fatui because I needed money, and by chance I heard one of your assistants talking about you, so I worked my ass off to be a Harbinger to see if it really was you. I never left you.” After your rant, you sat down on the cot out of exhaustion and looked away from Scaramouche. You felt guilty about swearing and yelling at him even though he paid no mind.
“You… looked for me?” Astonished, he needed to ask once more. Yet he didn’t let you answer as he regained his composure, his eyes darting away from yours. “Well, it’s too late now anyway. I can’t go back to the ‘me’ that you used to know. And I never will, even after I’ve achieved my goal.”
You turned to him and cupped your hand on his cheek to force him to look at you. “I don’t care, Kuni,” you said slowly to emphasize your words. “I finally found you, and you have to bear with it because I’m not going anywhere this time.” You gave him a small smile while he stared at you wide-eyed. He couldn’t believe that all this time, he got it all wrong, and he was never actually abandoned. He was more in disbelief that someone cared enough to really look for him, search for him hard enough and succeeded. Someone like you , caring about someone like him ? Impossible, he thought.
He backed away from your touch and turned his face away from you. “Now that you’re around, it’ll be troublesome everyday,” he annoyingly sighs, and you were about to frown until you saw him fighting back a smile that threatened to show at his lips.
You snickered and lightly pounced on Scaramouche, your arms around his ribcage as you pushed him down on the cot with your weight on him. “I know you missed me.” You smugly grinned, and it faded away almost instantly when he let out a pained groan, glaring at you right after. “Oh, sorry I forgot!”