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You were formerly a soldier to the Raiden Shogun, assisting the vision hunt decree before one day stumbling upon some crewmen possessing visions and had a change of heart, making an impulsive decision.
Instead of arresting them, taking their visions, or even fighting them, you decided to help them escape a land crawling with vision-hunting soldiers.
While guiding them away, you ran into other soldiers, making your betrayal known.
While you had stood frozen in place, the crew had acted, fighting back against the soldiers and you later joined them in the frail.
This ultimately led to your betrayal of the Shogun and meeting Captain Beidou of The Crux.
She was a kind and energetic woman, taking your betrayal as something very profound and allowing you to join the Crux, sheltering you from the nation you turned your back on.
Though some were suspicious of you, Beidou accepted you with open arms, trusting you and the crewmen reciting the memory of everyone fighting together.
She understood what you were sacrificing when you guided her men to safety—your name, reputation, and family.
Though as time passed, you grew fond of the crew and vice versa. The ship was your home, and the crew; your new family.
—————
Even if you accepted the Crux as your family, there was still a single man who never got to trust you. Beidou told you that he has a history with the Shogun and her soldiers. She said he was taken in the same way as you.
The vision hunt decree was devastating, so it was no surprise.
You couldn’t force trust on anyone, and his reluctance was understandable, though you couldn’t help but grow fond of him too.
Every morning he would sit on the deck either watching the waves or writing poetry in his journal. He would speak softly to those around him and be incredibly polite.
He had ruby-red eyes and long silver hair that he often tied in a ponytail, though once it rained and he left it loose.
He was an anemo user and did this strange thing where he’d conjure a wind leaf and blow into it like a flute. He would play beautiful songs.
Though he would never speak to you unless necessary and would either give the shortest response possible or fully ignore you.
It was sad really, you understood, but you still wanted to befriend him. You just had to hope it would come with time.
—————
One winter day though, Beidou sends you and Kazuha on an outing to collect some Jueyun Chilies before they leave to a hotter region. It was already extremely cold outside but she made a comment while you both were leaving shouting something along the lines of ‘If you get cold you can hold his hand!’
You rolled your eyes but smiled slightly as you walked alongside him. Kazuha didn’t seem as friendly-natured right now though, he seemed rather tense.
Then he spoke up, “Let’s make this quick, shall we?”
Hastily you replied, “Of course,” mustering a friendly smile.
—————
There was some idle chatter here and there though most noises came from the wind, shaking trees, animals passing by, and both of our footsteps indenting the snow.
Many would believe that since you wield a pyro vision, you must be hot all the time or are immune to cold; both of which are incorrect. Instead, you’d say you were more vulnerable to the cold than your average person. Your choice of clothing was also poor as you were in a thin, single-layered outfit.
The man next to you seemed to be dressed very well in long and warm clothes. You honestly wanted to ask if he had extras or were willing to spare a layer, and though you’d usually ask the crew such a thing, this man was a little different.
Likewise, you decided to push on and keep searching for the chilies.
—————
Though as time passed, the weather only grew more dangerous by the moment. The winds were raging and the snow was pouring heavily over the both of you. As you walked further up the mountain, you found yourself succumbing to the cold.
You stopped walking for a moment and turned to the man beside you.
“Can we stop and find shelter, or build a fire maybe? I’m freezing to death out here!” you said pointing at a snow-covered house back behind you.
Kazuha, on the other hand, looked completely impartial to the weather and looked as if he was glaring at you, but there was too much snow falling to tell.
“Can you not create enough fire to keep yourself warm?” he asked in a sort of smug tone.
“It doesn’t work like that!” you pleaded.
His face looked contemplating for a moment before looking back up at you. “Want to find shelter to regroup with your vision-decree soldiers?” he said in a more serious tone.
You looked at him for a moment trying to decide if the joke was funny enough to laugh at before noticing the unwavering look on his face.
“You can’t be serious!” you yelled, wielding a look of disbelief on your face. “I gave up everything I had in Inazuma, there’s no way I could possibly go back, much less buddy up with the Shogun!”
You couldn’t believe that after months with the crew, he still thought you could be working with the Shogun. He seemed to relent slightly upon hearing the last part, but it seemed his view on the situation had not.
“It would be inefficient to stop now, let’s just grab those chilies on the hill, and then we can head back down the mountain,” he said while gesturing to a hill close by.
“As if I’ll make it that far,” you mumbled under your breath, just loud enough for him to hear as you caught up to your place beside him, furiously rubbing your sides and trying to emit any pyro that could possibly be used to warm you up.
—————
As you both reached the hill, you sat down on the snowy ground laying your back against a tree while Kazuha picked the remaining jueyun chilies.
You closed your eyes, zoning out without realizing he had walked up to you.
“Come, let’s go.” He outstretched a hand towards you.
Even though you hardly opened your eyes, you were astonished. Either he had a drastic change of heart in the last minute or so of walking, or you just looked so frail that he offered a hand hoping you’d be able to stand.
You tried to reach out and grab his hand though it just slipped through your grasp. You had to be hallucinating at least a bit. You tried your hardest to focus before formulating your next thought.
“I’m tired Kazuha, I’m going to rest for a bit, you go on ahead, I’ll catch up,” you said, slightly trailing off and taking a peek at his reaction before you were inevitably to close your eyes.
He looked at you for a moment before seemingly hitting a dawn of realization, his face then contorting to something slightly worrisome. You weren’t sure if it was because of the state you were in, or because it was the first time you had used his name.
“No you can’t sleep right now, it’s too early. You can sleep once we get back to the ship,” he said very sternly, reaching to grab your hand to hoist you up.
“No, I’m tired,” you said trailing off as he raised you up to your feet before almost immediately losing your footing and dropping your weight onto him.
“You need to seek medical attention at the ship,” he said in a panic-masked voice.
Your head then lolled to the side, resting on his shoulder before he immediately tensed up grabbing your shoulders and turning your head to face him. “Can you still understand me?”
You tried your best at a nod but only half-succeeded, though he seemed to understand and in a quick motion, unbuttoned his jacket to wrap around you.
“I can walk,” you said trailing off, trying to muster a confident response. He seemed to not care for it whatsoever though before slinging the bag of jueyun chillies over his back and lifting you into his arms.
He broke out into a run towards the abandoned house near the foot of the mountain, getting there much faster than anticipated. You were almost completely limp and he hoped it was because you chose to make it easier and not because you were already succumbing to the cold.
When he entered the house it was completely empty aside from a small coffee table in the middle of the room and two cushions seated on either side of the table and a pile of firewood.
After laying you down, he set up a fire using the excess wood and began trying to hold a conversation so that you wouldn't fall asleep on him.
He wasn’t sure of what to say so he tried something basic, “What’s your favorite color?” he asked as he moved to sit beside you.
“Maybe red.. Or blue.. Or whatever Beidou’s favorite color is. I admire her a lot.” you said while prying your eyes open slightly.
“I admire her too,” he agreed, staring at the wall in front of him.
He stopped to think for a moment before asking his next question. “Why did you become a soldier to the Shogun?”
He thought you would spend a long time on your answer, though you responded almost immediately.
“My family was poor and it made me sad seeing my little brothers in the field all day. They’d die working in those conditions. I only excel in combat really so it was kind of a no-brainer for me.”
There was a tinge of both guilt and sadness as you spoke that Kazuha could recognize easily. It may have been your condition that allowed you to speak so carefree yet clear of emotion. He didn’t know what to think of your answer but relented knowing that regardless you may forget what he said once you recover.
“I believe I was too harsh to you, I apologize for deciding to resent you without knowing the reasoning behind your decisions,” he said in a genuine tone. “If I had empathized with you, you may not have had to be put in this situation.”
“It’s alright, I didn’t factor in your reasoning either, I suppose,” you replied back.
Kazuha jumped slightly, not expecting such a quick or kind response back, but he was still glad.
He turned to face you, “I hope I could make it up to you by possibly buying you dinner?”
Your face brightened slightly, “Of course, but you have to carry me back too,” you smiled.
—————
When you began to regain your focus, he handed you the bag of jueyun chillis to hold as he carried you back to the ship. With one of his hands under your knees and the other around your back.
As you neared the ship, he put you down and you opted to walk to the deck, wrapping an arm around his neck and leaning your weight on him.
He notified Beidou of the situation and she immediately ushered you to a room to rest. She gave Kazuha some shit for dismissing your needs, but you assured her everything was fine since you were not badly injured and would probably recover within the same day.
As you would be resting on the ship the whole day, instead of buying you dinner, he decided to convince Beidou to use the extra jueyun chillis to make a spicy stir fry in celebration of the next expedition happening tonight.
Beidou never refused a good party and all was set. Lights were on, music was played, and lots of drinks were broken out. Kazuha had decided to sit and eat next to you on the deck while you watched the city in front of you fade as you sailed away.
You questioned him a lot on the haikus he wrote and he tried his best to assure you they weren't anything special, but you convinced him to show you at least a single page. His poetry was very beautiful and a lot of it was dedicated to describing the scenery watched from the boat.
He looked incredibly bashful as you complimented his work. Though promised that he’d write one for you someday to which you continuously assured him he did not have to, he ignored it.
You enjoyed talking to him under the moonlit night, to which he did too apparently as it became routine to meet at the deck every night and share a meal. Beidou congratulated you accordingly, praising you for getting through to him. You feel as though you didn’t do much, and most were her fault anyways for sending you both up a dangerously cold mountain in the dead of winter.
Though as you thought more about it, you didn’t want to believe that that was possibly her intention from the beginning, so you ignored that fact. And so you continued to share the deck every night, smiling as you talked and swooning more for him each day.