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Inazuma..
An Isolated Archipelago far east of Teyvat that has overcome endless storms. The people that have set foot on the islands have been met with red maple and cherry blossoms as far as the eye can reach. On winding shores, towering cliffs, in forests and mountains full of secrets, live people in peace. Endlessly worshiping their electro archon, Raiden Shogun.
Amongst those people are you, an ordinary person working for your grandma in her famous flower shop. People all over Inazuma came to the city just to buy fresh and beautiful flowers from you and your kin. They always said that your grandma’s hands were made by the god, The almighty shogun, because she always knew how to grow the best flowers and you loved to hear citizens cherish her so much.
Today was but a normal day for you, working in this little yet lively shop. Opening the wooden door, a familiar sight greeted you. Every day you felt like it was worth it whenever the scent of flowers hit your nose. On this fateful day, it felt even better with people greeting you on your way towards the shop.
Flipping the sign that states whether the store is open or not, you made yourself ready for the day. Eyes filled with joy and amusement whenever you find a new way to decorate the flowers.
Flowers were more than just decorations in your eyes, they held this certain power that made others happy and that is why people gifted flowers or liked to look at them. From a very young age you had always loved to see how your grandma picked and arranged the different flowers, she taught you everything and now you harbored the same love she had for them.
Twirling the flower in your hand, a liyuen peony called shakuyaku in inazuman, you placed it within a wooden vase. It almost resembled a bowl, but with careful inspection, anyone could tell it was a vase. Concentrating on everything you learned about ikebana*.
Sweat trickled down as you cut the stem from the delicate flower, careful hands moved as in a dance, eyes shining with determination, you inserted the blossom in the soil. Many stared as you worked, what better way to describe this scene than a magician showing magic? Ikebana is an almost forgotten art in the Inazuman custom, your family is one of the families that kept this tradition going with the arrangement of flowers.
If the Naganohora makes fireworks as a form of art, your family arranges flowers.
Many could continue to make poems about how the flowers bloomed in summer or how they wilted in winter, but no one could ever arrange a picture with the very flowers they describe. You could take pictures, but nothing could compare to art made by nature.
When you were almost done with the arrangement a crash was heard, breaking the careful concentration you had. Panicked, you looked up from where the flowers stood, and in front was a man with his face covered with a cloth. His attire spoke of a man of robberies, his ruff, and kind of lanky build furthered the picture that this man was dangerous.
“Don’t move or I’ll be forced to use harm” He said, his voice gruff. You shuddered and felt uncomfortable with this entire situation, but you couldn’t help but wonder what there was to steal in this small shop filled with blossoms.
The robber stole as much as he could, your priced vases, paintbrushes, flowers, and even the smallest amount of money in the register. It was rather uncouth and you were frustrated with this whole ordeal. The shop was left in shambles after he left, the bright and beautiful day got ruined by a mere robber.. again.
This must be the third time this month that your shop got robbed and no one took it seriously at the Tenryou police house!
That’s why you decided to take things into your own hands and walked to the police house once again this month. You knew that they had grown tired of you and your complaints, but it wasn’t fair that the thieves robbed the shop however they wanted and no one thought about you or your feelings.
You entered the station and left complaints but once again you only got an eye roll by the soldier who told you that a mere flower shop was nothing compared to the “actual” crisis. That was until this particular day..
……
" You don't understand, I can't afford to pay for what's stolen again! I'm working alone and can't just abandon my shop! Might not be a big thing for you sir but I'm trying to survive on what little money I make just like you!” you said, very upset, but it didn't seem to help no matter how much you complained. The man looked at you with a tired expression and sighed.
"Look ma'am, I have better things to do than stand here and listen to your worthless complaints. I suggest you leave this place before we arrest you and close down your shop. I'm sorry that you're getting robbed of things, but maybe you aren't capable of handling a shop." he looked into your eyes, stating how serious he was, but you couldn't believe what you were hearing.
All your years of serving the electro archon and her soldiers only to be looked down on like this. You bit your lip and walked out of the tenryou commission. Everything was worthless right now… Life wasn't on your side.
You came back to the shop and started packing some things in silence. Maybe the guard was right, maybe you weren’t capable of keeping a place like this active and popular when you were so unstable. Truth is that you realized this months ago when your grandma died, but you couldn't just stop! You needed money or else you would end up on the streets. There was no way for that to happen..
Suddenly the doorbell rang, bringing your attention to the door. There you saw a rather interesting red-haired man. His hair was tied behind his neck and his green eyes shone in the bright light. He walked inside and bowed a little.
"Good afternoon ma'am! My name is Shikanoin Heizou. I'm a detective at the Tenryou commission. I heard your little chat back there and decided to dig into the case. Seems like you've been there a few times but never been taken seriously."
Were you dreaming? Did someone come to help you with your small problem...? So life was maybe good after all!
You had to admit it, he was attractive as he stood there and told you about his small plan for catching the thieves and getting back all the things. You couldn't help but get lost in his green eyes as he never took them off you. They shone so beautifully in the sunlight, making you feel all kinds of things inside.
Ignoring that feeling since this was but a man you met a few minutes ago, not only that, but your entire shop was in ruins. Maybe the feeling you had right now was a thankful feeling! Denying the fact your face flushed and your heart skipped a beat whenever their eyes met.
“Thank you for taking the time to help me and my small family business,” you said shyly, feeling the tension and the fact the room grew a hundred times hotter you couldn’t help the fact everything you said came out a little hesitant.
“Man alive, you’re even cuter upfront! Either way, I found myself bored with the old cases Kujou Sara keeps on sending me. Your case on the other hand sounds interesting” His smooth voice spoke with confidence and eagerness to solve a case, perhaps he was born to be a detective.
“A small traditional ikebana* The flower shop got robbed, but not only that. The entire town has been suffering with robberies such as these, if I didn’t know better I would’ve thought that this was but a small case” He chuckled, and oh god that was so attractive, but keeping that thought aside you couldn’t help but feel curious about what he was saying. Small robberies have happened within this small and usually safe community, it did seem like a targeted case.
“Now that you mention it, isn’t it a bit weird that they’re targeting a small community such as ours?”
That seemed to catch the detective off guard, then he started to get a glimmer in his already shining green eyes! Snapping his fingers as if he had solved the world's biggest case, he pointed directly at you.
“Man alive, I can’t believe I missed this! A series of carefully conducted robberies have happened within Inazuma. What’s so special about these runts is that they only target small communities to not raise suspicion!”
He took your hands and you instantly flushed. Fingers almost intertwining, he sighed and blew air out of his nose looking extremely satisfied with his findings.
“This made things so much easier, we could track their next movement thanks to this discovery! Cracking a case such as this always gives me thrills!” He rambled.
A small giggle left your mouth, he honestly looked like a dog with how happy he got talking about “Solving cases”. His happiness seemed to be very contagious, soon you found yourself beaming alongside him and making your way towards the next location to find the robbers!
On the path that led you and Heizou towards the edge of Inazuma city, you found a small trace of shakuyaku flower decorating the track. Your heart clenched at the destroyed flower, you sincerely hoped that you would find the robber soon so you can teach them a lesson!
At the same time, you couldn’t help but feel lucky that your things got stolen, the time you spent with the detective felt magical and priceless. You wouldn't trade the small talks he would hold with you nor would you forget the face he had when you arranged a small flower crown within seconds.
It felt special that you had this detective all to yourself during that time, never minding the fact that the shop that helped you get through so many tough times is in ruins as you make your way. What was supposed to be a day's worth of travel turned into three days with how sidetracked you and Heizou got.
Asking each other questions, communicating, getting closer, and learning new stuff with each other. Having meals with him was probably your favorite time, but time was certainly not in your favor. You and Heizou found yourself in front of your destination with some treasure hoarders occupying the goods.
Heizou made quick movements and got them captured within seconds, it almost felt too fast and you couldn’t help but mourn the loss of time.
You wanted to spend more time with the redhead.
Either way, you felt thankful… You realized that you hadn’t paid him yet, nor had you thanked him. Heizou seemed to read through your train of thoughts and smirked a little to himself.
“How about a thank you date?” He cupped your face and his green eyes fell into a lock with yours. Face feeling uncomfortably hot and probably red, you could only nod.
The detective only smiled with his eyes closed and started to drag you away towards Inazuma city where the date could commence. He was rather shameless and very much a flirt, but this was something you got used to with the time you spent together with him.
It almost felt like a dream having him going on a date with you.
“Should we grab dinner before I show you my secret place?” He whispered. Your heart almost leaped out of your chest and you couldn’t deny it any longer, you had a crush on this very sly detective.
Feeling bold, You leaned in near his ears and whispered “I would love that”. The shocked face of Heizou had made it all worth the embarrassment!
Though you couldn’t help but have thoughts of doubts running through you, this didn’t seem like the first time he had been in a relationship or down this. Maybe he always offers a date after a mission to thank others and make them thank him.
This does sound a bit out of character, but who were you to say that you knew him better than he knew himself?
Either way, you were willing to give away your heart in hopes that he would gently give it back.
Dinner was spent with laughter and lots of blushing. You decided to be bolder than usual and fed the detective, catching him off guard and his flushed face was everything to live for. You felt pride that you made the shameless character break down into a flustered mess.
The food was divine and Heizou, ever the gentleman paid for the dinner. You felt a bit guilty and kissed his cheek as a way of thanks.
“Ps-s–kah I- You-! Hhhh–” his sputtering was kind of cute, hands flew up to cover his face, but the hands couldn’t hide his red ears and reddening neck. It’s your third time making him flush and it felt like an accomplishment!
To save his image he took your hand and started to lead you towards his special place, true to his words, it was indeed special.
A small meadow filled with flowers and he seemed to have planned this way before the adventure. It warmed your heart, but at the same time made you feel indescribably cold. This all seemed so prepared as if he had someone in mind and it surely couldn’t be you.
Moonlight shone a path towards the blanket thrown across the plain of green, the midnight air hugged your frame tight and Heizou’s ever-gleaming eyes put you in a trance. He made a small signal to make you sit down on the prepared blanket, then he prepared a flower pot and scissors.
Materials and items used for ikebana.
“Do you plan to show me how to arrange a pot? The promise you made to me during our trip isn’t forgotten, dearest.” He said, unphased by the fact he called you dearest.
Smiling you started to help him and steer, guiding his way on how to arrange the different flowers and how the different angles could mean different things. Slowly a picture started to form within the flower pot as two strong Peonies stood inside the pot with other blossoms surrounding them.
They didn’t cover the center flowers' beauty but gave it some privacy and wilted petals were thrown across the pot to give a sense of belonging.
It wasn’t perfect.
It wasn’t the best.
But it felt real.
The flowers told a story of a two people finding love within a wrecked environment, but with the help of each other, they managed to stay strong. The two leaning peonies looked so frail, yet with the help of each other managed to stand.
“You know, this was planned for someone”
Her heart sank.
“I saw them complaining to the tenryou commission and fell in love with them instantly. You could say that it was love at first sight”
Oh.
“Their way of speech, their way of movements, and the way they makes me so flustered that my smart mouth can’t even make a coherent sentence”
OH!
“Even under the moonlight with soil and dirt covering their hands…” He looked away with a flush, but steeled himself and looked straight into your eyes.
“You’re beautiful”
You knew that in the end, you could finally say that you were at your happiest moment. Lips locked and wind blowing through their locks, a care for this world long forgotten.
Like the peonies, they leaned on each other for support, and with time they would start to wilt… Together.
“I love you”
A shared look of compassion for each other within this land of eternity.
“More than words could describe, so the very flowers you planted shall be the witness to our love and make a story for the future generation”
His breath tickled her ears and they were left smiling under the moon's warm embrace.