Work Text:
Heizou’s not proud of what he’s done.
As a servant and pawn of the highly esteemed, all-mighty Raiden Shogun and a detective under the Tenryou Commission, he has a duty to serve Inazuma – and right now, he’s “serving” by stealing the civilians’ Visions, all for the sake of a futile attempt to pursue eternity. As a servant, he knows he’ll be punished more severely than any rebellious commonfolk if he chooses to defy the Shogun’s will or turn against the Tenryou Commission.
He’s merely doing all this – stealing Visions and watching as the life drains out of his victims’ eyes – for his own survival. Nobody can blame him, really. He’s sure anybody would do the same if they were in his shoes. He’s sure they would follow every order obediently because they want to survive as much as the next person.
It doesn’t mean he has to be proud.
He’s turned a blind eye as many times as he could, but he’s under the direct orders of Kujou Sara; there’s only so much he can do. And yet, still… he wants to do something, he wants to stop being such a coward. To stand up to evil, to be evil’s natural enemy – isn’t that what he’s all about? So why is here, why is he hurting innocent people and ripping apart lives?
He never does anything.
The young woman’s hydro Vision – stolen. He had personally taken it, ripped it out of her hands as she begged desperately for him to just let her be. The father whose geo Vision was the only way his four young daughters could eat – stolen. The girls had clawed at him, then screamed when their father collapsed after his Vision was taken. Their sobs and vain attempts to wake their father up still haunt him to this day.
The pair of siblings with matching electro Visions – stolen. He remembers them so well because they had willingly given their Visions up. He had asked, and they had given. But their eyes; their eyes were so dull and emotionless, almost as if they’d already had their Visions, their lifeline, forcibly ripped away from them.
He never does anything until one day, the next victim he’s ordered to torture hits too close to home.
He’s the white-haired, red-eyed wandering samurai, and a well-known criminal part of the Watatsumi Army – the Resistance. He had conspired many times with General Gorou and Divine Priestess Sangonomiya Kokomi against the Shogun and many times, they freed countless victims.
It’s Kadehara Kazuha, one of his closest confidants and a friend he swore he’d protect.
Ever since the Vision Hunt Decree that started a year prior, Heizou had done everything he could to assist Kazuha anonymously, whether that be getting guards off his back or “accidentally” losing the criminal’s trail. He kept telling Kazuha to get out of Inazuma for good, but the latter never listened, insisting on staying to help.
How many more times can he “accidentally” lose Kazuha before they start sending guards to go with him? How many more times can he feign ignorance at Kazuha’s location before Kujou starts getting suspicious? How many more times can he pretend Kazuha’s case wasn’t assigned to him before they accuse him of being a traitor?
One way or another, soon enough, they’re both going to get hurt.
Kazuha needs to go, now – and Heizou knows just where to find him.
***
Kazuha is there, all right.
Sitting on the rock as usual, looking over the lake surrounded by trees, the rain pouring down hard on him. Lighting strikes all around him, and the thunder roars across the sky, but he looks like he’s sitting in the middle of a sunny meadow, the breeze behind his back.
Yoimiya’s not here, and neither Ayaka nor Ayato are sitting next to him. That’s mostly how it is, anyway. They rarely come – only when they feel like they really can’t go on anymore do they visit. This place was somewhere tucked behind a world where nobody knew about, a place that was unmistakably Inazuma from the lighting, but also unmistakably a beautiful plane balanced perfectly between fiction and reality.
It’s the place Heizou found, and the place he knew Kazuha would be, no matter what happens.
“You have to go, now,” the detective says immediately, looking straight at him.
His friend slowly turns his head toward him, his crimson eyes meeting Heizou’s olive ones. “You know I’m not going to go anywhere,” he answers in that ridiculously calm voice of his.
Heizou sighs, clenching his fists in annoyance. “Kazuha, if you don’t get out of here right now, your Vision is going to get stolen. They’re after you – can’t you understand that?! Tell Beidou or whatever, and get out of here for good, please. If you don’t, they’re gonna capture you, Kazuha.”
“But you’ll do something, won’t you?” the white-haired wanderer asks, tilting his head to the side.
Heizou hates how much faith Kazuha always puts in him. He hates how Kazuha looks at him like he’s some kind of good guy. Because when his friend does, he always feels like he should be a “good guy”. But he can’t anymore; not if he wants to live, and not if he wants to protect the people dearest to him.
“Not anymore,” Heizou says quietly, not meeting the other’s eyes. “I can’t anymore, Kazuha.”
“You can’t or you won’t?”
The detective doesn’t answer.
Suddenly, Kazuha chuckles, much to Heizou’s annoyance. “Just kidding. I understand. But Heizou, like I already said, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m not leaving here until the Vision Hunt Decree is abolished and every innocent victim gets their Vision back.”
Should he be the one to break it to his friend that he’s up against the all-mighty Shogun, and that he and his role-playing group of friends stand a better chance trying to teach a hilichrul how to be a human?
“Kazuha, I’m warning you as a friend, if you don’t get out of here right now, you may never later, even if you want to. The Shogun is not someone you want as your enemy,” Heizou insists, taking a step closer, tone with a touch of anger.
Instead of listening to him, the criminal merely turns his gaze back onto the lake. “Thank you, Heizou,” he murmurs softly. “But don’t worry about me anymore.”
How can a human be so dumb and insensitive? How could he tell him to just stop caring about his best friend? Was he telling him, “Oh, sure, go ahead and apprehend me later. It’s fine.”
It’s not fine.
It’s not fine at all.
None of this is fine. Stealing people’s Visions and ripping apart homes for an ideal that can’t ever truly be lived out in happiness? What point is eternity if everybody’s just eternally suffering and crying? Why can’t he himself understand that stopping the Shogun right now is more important than his own life or Vision?
Why can’t he stop being a coward?
Kazuha glances at him again and seeing the agony on his face, softens. “You’re overthinking things again? Just stay here, Heizou, and keep doing what you’re doing. Keep turning a blind eye to as many victims as you can and try to maintain a low profile. Just focus on protecting yourself, okay?”
But Kazuha doesn’t know, does he – that he doesn’t turn away anymore.
“I’ll be going now,” his friend says, and just like that, he’s gone.
And Heizou is alone, mission failed.
***
Kazuha is dragged across the ground, toward the Shogun and her statue.
Kujou Sara and Heizou had been called out to face the Shogun just moments before, though they weren’t told what for.
Heizou knows why now.
He opens his mouth, but flinches when Sara puts a hand on his shoulder in warning, shaking her head solemnly, the grave… almost sadness in her eyes masking the same horror-shock she had when she saw Kazuha. It wouldn’t have mattered if she stopped him or not, though – no sound would’ve come out.
“Just a few days ago,” one of the soldiers standing by Kazuha’s crouched side bellows out for the crowd to hear, “a certain blonde outlander interrupted the Vision Hunt Ceremony, taking with her what would have been the 100th Vision added to the mighty Shogun’s noble purpose.”
Heizou wants to laugh.
“And so, in place of the Kamisato Clan’s errandboy, what better replacement than the young rebel who has caused us so much trouble? Kadehara Kazuha!” the soldier proclaims like he’s doing something meaningful. “You have the honor of being the 100th Vision bearer to sacrifice himself for the good of Inazuma!”
The Raiden Shogun turns around.
Her gaze – even though she isn’t looking at him – makes him tremble.
A soldier turns to him, a sadistic smile on his face. “We heard your conversation with Kadehara, Shikanoin.” He laughs when the young man’s eyes widen ever so slightly, the horror evident on his face. “Don’t look so scared! You’re much too valuable an asset for us to just get rid of you. But it’s not like we can just let you off so easily…”
“This is your punishment,” Kujou Sara breathes out, realization dawning on her.
Heizou wants to –
What?
What does he want? What does he want to do? What can he do? He had always told himself that if Kazuha, or if any of his friends actually, really did get caught, he’d do something. He’d stop the soldiers, he’d fight against the Shogun if that’s what it would take to protect them.
But now, in the face of the Shogun, he’s terrified.
Who was he kidding? He’s Shikanoin Heizou, a stupid, good-for-nothing detective – not a hero. He’s not the main character, he doesn’t have the courage of a protagonist. He doesn’t have the power of friendship on his side – his friend is the one he’s betraying. He has nothing, he is nothing.
He feels sick. No, it’s much worse than just “sick”. It’s an indescribable, disgusting, horrifying feeling. From his hands to his legs to his lips, his entire body trembles. And as if somebody had pressed a switch, he suddenly collapses onto the dirt, dropping to his knees. A sharp cry breaks out, ugly and broken, echoing throughout the entire city. It’s so vulnerable, so scared, so utterly petrified.
Help me.
Help me, please, Heizou screams inwardly.
Help my friend, because I’m too scared.
And then the Shogun, in her clear, thundering voice, announces, “Let the ceremony now commence!”
All the while he knows Kazuha is fighting for control of his Vision, Kujou Sara grabs his shoulders, shaking him, and yelling at the other soldier, “Please, let him go back. Please, don’t put him through this. Please.”
Don’t be nice to me now, Kujou, Heizou whispers to himself. You’ve always hated how I did things, and I always annoyed you on purpose. Don’t be nice to me now, please. Don’t act nice now, when I need it.
I don’t deserve it.
But the soldier merely laughs, and pushes Kujou to the ground, grabbing Heizou by the back of his head and roughly forcing him to look at the horrendous, absolutely horrific scene unfolding in front of him.
The guard next to Kazuha kicks the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel. For all his peaceful and calm façade, Kazuha’s one of the most stubborn people he knows. His Vision, on the ground in front of him, begins to tremble, shaking and jolting around.
All eyes follow the dull light of the Vision as it flies into the Shogun’s waiting palm. “You will be inlaid upon this statue for all of eternity,” she thunders, and then the Vision has disappeared, taking its place on the statue along with all the other ones.
At the last moment, Heizou’s gaze meets Kazuha’s.
His terrified olive eyes meet Kazuha’s heavy, drooping crimson ones – and he wants to cry when the latter shows no recognition at all. There's no spark or emotion, no anger that Heizou wished Kazuha would have for him, no desperate, betrayed look in his eyes.
Just… nothing.
And then he’s hauled away, and Kujou Sara tries to gently get Heizou to stand up.
But he doesn’t want to stand up, so he doesn’t.
***
Kujou Sara tries to help him in the following days.
Heizou’s not really sure why, since she had made it very clear before this all happened that she hated his guts. But if he had to make a guess, he’d probably say she pities him; pities him like everyone else he meets. It seems everybody had learned that the Kadehara who had his Vision inlaid upon the statue was his dear friend, and that it was because of his negligence, carelessness, and dumb planning that Kazuha had been there in the first place.
Whatever it is, Kujou has started being kind to him, and he while he appreciates it, it just makes the guilt drown him all over again.
“Madam Kujou,” he says a few days afterwards, when she gives him a cup of tea he didn’t ask for, “please attend to yourself and if you have extra time, you should get as much rest as you can. I can take care of myself; don’t bother with me.”
Kujou freezes. She doesn’t answer.
She continues being kind to him.
He continues hating her kindness.
***
After that, he never saw Kazuha again.
And after that, everything continues going downhill.
The blonde outlander who dared to challenge the Shogun was rumored to be seen walking up to Tenshukaku. Everybody’s talking about it, and everybody knows what that means – nobody who dares to step foot into Tenshukaku leaves.
And they’re right.
The blonde outlander never returns.
Even after Kazuha, or maybe especially, Heizou continues to serve the Tenryou Commission, taking the Visions he’s assigned to. For some reason, he seems to be less sensitive to the people who cling to him and beg him to have mercy on them.
As per his punishment, the Shogun decides to make every Vision stolen a spectacle and he’s forced to attend every Vision Hunt Ceremony, forced to watch every single innocent victim’s last moments with a living soul. Every single time, after their Vision is hatched upon the statue, his eyes meet with theirs, and he wishes he didn’t have to see how broken they’ve become.
***
He watches as Arataki Itto is dragged across the ground.
[“Laaaavender Meloooon~ Laaavender Meloooon, how I love my Laaaaavender Meloooons,” someone bellows out, singing.
Heizou, unsurprisingly surprised that someone would be singing in prison, hurries to find who’s the source of music. When he sees the infamous Arataki Itto, he’s almost not surprised anymore. “What in the world are you doing, Arataki?” he asks, eyebrows raised.
Itto stops his horrendous song, grinning. He grabs the bars separating them and beams at Heizou. “Eh? You love my song, don’t ya? Well, you’re in luck ‘cuz the one and oni Itto is a master of song!! Want to hear my original song dedicated to my gang?”
Smiling politely, Heizou shakes his head. “No, thank you.”
“Aw, maaaan!” the oni sighs. “You sure?! You’re missing out on a lot, you know! Here, actually, let me just sing a bit, and you can tell me if you like it or-”
“May I interest you in some Lavender Melons instead?” Heizou interrupts quickly.
Gaping, Itto nods excitedly, like a five-year-old. “OH, YEAH!!”]
~~~
Kuki Shinobu glares straight at the Shogun, muttering something under her breath.
[“Ahh, Shinobu-chan! Back already? Can’t get enough of me, huh?” Heizou hums, smirking at her.
Exasperated and very much not amused, Shinobu sighs. “Shush, Shikanoin. Boss is already enough of a headache already.”
“Ah, the infamous Arataki Itto,” he muses, laughing. “Even I’d say he’s quite the handful.”
“Tell me about it! I feel like I’m babysitting a toddler half of the time!” she groans, messing up her own hair.
Very much amused by her, Heizou grins. “How about we get dinner together to get your mind off of Itto?”
She stares at him, long and hard. “Ha-ha,” she laughs dryly. “Don’t think I’m so easy, you idiot.”
“Oh, no!” he gasps, placing a dramatic hand over his heart. “Oh, no, I would never! Not the beautiful, noble Kuki Shinobu-chan of the famous Arataki Gang! Obviously, you’d have thousands of suitors chasing after you, so I completely understand why you would reject just me.”
Without another word, she turns on her heel and leaves.
“W-Wait!” he runs after her, choking on his laughter, “I’m serious about dinner!”]
~~~
Gorou and Sangonomiya Kokomi have their Visions ripped away from them together.
[Heizou’s heard many great things about the general and Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island, and how together, the two were unstoppable.
Quite curious of how they work – and also quite eager for a break at the famed beauty of Watatsumi – he went to visit the island personally. He wasn’t able to get a glance at Kokomi, unfortunately, but he did get to talk with General Gorou.
(He did not appreciate getting treated like a criminal.)
One of his life-long dreams would be to see Gorou and Kokomi in action together.]
~~~
Yae Miko kicks her own Vision across the floor, letting it slide right under the Shogun. She smirks, but she doesn’t meet the puppet’s eyes.
“How you’ve changed, Ei,” is the last thing she says before collapsing onto the floor.
[“It’s an amazing deal if you think about it,” Heizou tries again, looking at the head shrine maiden earnestly. “You get the credit for publishing stories about the greatest detective of all time, and I get some publicity too! It’s a win-win situation no matter how you look at it!”
“Maybe you’re forgetting that I don’t need any clout about some detective,” Yae Miko smiles sweetly.
Heizou’s jaw drops open. “Clout? It’s not clout! Listen, Lady Guuji, someday, you’ll regret this!”
“Mm-hmm,” she hums. “Now get out.”
The detective glares at her and leaves with crossed arms and a humph.
“You’ll regret this!” he yells in a final warning, which, of course, Yae Miko pays no mind to.]
~~~
Naganohara Yoimiya smiles to the very end, despite her tears dripping onto the ground.
[“Ah, you, young man over there! You look like you’d love some fireworks!”
Heizou stops walking and turns to the direction of the voice. “What?” he asks intelligently.
Yoimiya grins, eye sparkling. “You’re looking a bit down today, friend! How about watching some fireworks? They’re bound to make you crack a smile or two when these pop into the night sky!” Without another word, she piles the packets she had in her arms onto him.
“I don’t have any money on me right now,” he says blankly, quite confused.
She lets out a pfft and waves her hand, brushing his concern away. “It’s free, silly! Just go and have some fun. If you need help with setting them, lemme know! You can find me or my pops at Naganohara Fireworks!”
The girl had been right – he had been feeling a bit discouraged because of a new case he was working on, but right now, a small smile begins to grow on his tired face. He looks up at her, waving around one of the firework packets. “How about we watch them together tonight, whoever you are?”
“It’s Yoimiya!” she protests, but she’s laughing. “And I’m always down for fireworks!”
So that night, he brings Kazuha, and Yoimiya brings Ayaka, Thoma, Sayu, and a bunch of other people he doesn’t know and they all watch the fireworks shooting into the sky together.]
~~~
Kamisato Ayato forcibly shrugs off the guards that captured him. Before they can grab him again, the Shogun holds a hand up, interested. The Kamisato head doesn’t try to run away – instead, he sprints forward and before anyone can react, tries to crush his Vision under his feet.
When it doesn’t work, he takes the Vision and bashes it against the floor. There’s no desperation in his actions; his gaze is steady on his hand and he shows no sign of fear as he continues smashing it against the dirt. Even when the Vision flies out of his hand and into the Shogun’s palm, he keeps doing the motion, bringing his hand up and down, up and down.
Everybody, including his sister beside him, knows what’s happened.
Kamisato Ayato’s gone crazy.
[Similar to Kokomi, Heizou never got to personally meet the young but extremely talented head of the Kamisato Clan, but he’s heard enough about him to last a lifetime and more. Even though the man rarely shows up in public, everyone knows of his prowess and quick mind.
He thinks Ayato would be quite a competitor – a battle of wits and smarts would be rather interesting. When he muses about it at work aloud, Kujou Sara scoffs and tells him to keep dreaming; nobody of Kamisato’s status would want to play a pointless game against some lowly detective.
Heizou doesn’t give up hope though – if he’s to be the undisputed detective around, he’s got to challenge anybody who might want to steal the title from him!]
~~~
Kamisato Ayaka watches helplessly as her brother bashes his hand against the ground.
After a few moments of this, she breaks free from the guards and runs to him, grabbing his hands to stop him – and nobody tries to prevent her from doing so.
“Brother,” she whispers softly, moving her hand to bring his eyes to meet hers, “stop, Brother.”
His violet eyes meet her, and he blinks blankly.
When she realizes that he doesn’t recognize her, tears spill out from the corners of her eyes and like a child with a bruised knee running to her older brother, dives into Ayato’s unwilling arms, sobbing into him. “Brother, it’s me,” Ayaka whimpers. “Ayato, it’s me, your sister.”
Your sister.
And purely on instinct, because there is no way that he would have recovered in such a short time, Ayato slowly brings his arms up and wraps them around his sister’s small, fragile body, engulfing her in his warm embrace as her Vision, too, flies into the Shogun’s waiting hand.
[He’s seen Kamisato Ayaka many times.
Anyone who cares to has seen her, actually. She’s always personally assisting anyone who needs help, always doing so with a kind, respectable smile and gentle heart.
Heizou’s seen that kind of smile before, though. It’s small and if you paid attention, was visibly forced. He’s sure that from doing so much work at such a young age, Ayaka’s become convinced that she must stick to a strict regime and that she must appear to be perfect at all times.
That’s ridiculous, if you ask him.
And so, Heizou made it his goal to somehow become friends with the young Kamisato lady and one day, put a real, genuine smile on her face.
Of course, Kujou Sara also scoffs at him when he says it aloud.]
~~~
Thoma has to look away, unable to keep watching his lord and lady cry into each other’s arms.
And this time, no blonde outlander comes and saves day as his Vision gets inserted into the statue.
[“You kidding me? Detectives are the best!”
Thoma scratches his cheek sheepishly. “Well, um, I think you’re exceptional, Mr. Shikanoin, but when you see a detective, doesn’t that mean a crime has already been committed? The more detectives in the area, the more it means that the crime rate is rising.”
Heizou stares at him, unamused, because even though Thoma’s technically right, how dare he diss the honorable work he does? “Let’s work on a case together, shall we? I’ll show you the exhilarating thrill when you solve a mystery and capture evil with your own hands!”
The young housekeeper laughs good-naturedly. “Sure, let’s do that!”]
~~~
So many.
Day after day, it happens – the soldiers will round up the new Vision bearers they found, and toward the end of the day, the Shogun will show up and pluck the Visions from each and every one of them, while the crowd watches it like it’s some sort of show. He’s forced to watch it every time, and it’s times like these that he’s glad Kujou decided to start pitying him, because it means that she’ll stay with him during the whole thing.
At least among all the blood-thirsty monsters, there’s a fellow human with him.
Slowly but surely, the Resistance dies off, all the members either captured, dead, or given up hope. After the blonde outlander, there is no more hope of an outside source of help – even the Crux members slowly stopped coming too, though no one knows if they were bribed or threatened.
Every time the Ceremony commences, every time a new prey has been decided, Heizou sees Kadehara Kazuha on the ground, his blank crimson eyes staring at him.
It’s always Kazuha.
It’s like Kazuha’s there every day, ever since the first Ceremony. It’s like every time, he’s getting his Vision stolen again, and every time, Heizou stands there, still, and does nothing at all as his friend’s lifeline is taken away and treated like an ornament to decorate a Christmas tree.
When the Kamisato siblings’ and Thoma’s Vision are taken away and the Ceremony is finished for the day, the soldiers try to get Ayato away from his sister – but it doesn’t work. Ayaka complies like a doll, moving wherever the soldiers direct her to, but Ayato grabs onto her arm and doesn’t let go.
They hit him, and they kick him. If they were allowed to, they probably would’ve used their weapons too. But no matter what they do, the Kamisato head doesn’t budge. So they do what any oppressor would do – they focus their attack on the one the target cares for more than his own life.
The moment the guard switches focus and raises his arm to hit Ayaka, Ayato swiftly, gracefully steps in between him and his sister, shielding her. The soldier’s arm hits Ayato’s back, hard, and for a second, he staggers. But then just as quickly, he regains his foothold, right arm covering his sister’s neck, left hand pulling her close to him.
It’s amazing.
Heizou can tell that the Kamisato is barely conscious and yet – on instinct alone, on the mere muscle memory, on the one core concept that he had drilled into his own head every day – he knows that he has one job, and it’s to protect his sister.
Even the Shirasagi Himegimi, the picture-perfect lady of Inazuma doesn’t have that much discipline. She sways between the two sides, following the guards when they pull her, and going back to her brother when he grabs her back. Her Vision is gone, and she doesn’t know who she is anymore.
But Ayato is still grabbing onto her – his Vision wasn’t his only lifeline; she is too.
And that’s what Heizou should’ve done.
He should’ve grabbed onto Kazuha and refused to let go no matter what. He should’ve honored his promise and actually protect his friend. He should’ve known that his own life would be meaningless if it had to come at the expense of his constant companion, of the man who had sheltered him and smiled at him when no one else would.
He should’ve brought Itto more Lavender Melons, should’ve taken Shinobu out for dinner. He should’ve asked to watch Gorou and Kokomi in action together. He should’ve thanked Yoimiya for that night full of smiles and laughter and invited her for another. He should’ve challenged Ayato to a duel, told him he would squash all his competitors. He should’ve become friends with Ayaka and tried to make her laugh a true, genuine laugh with a corny joke. He should’ve proved to Thoma that detectives were great and have him feel the exhilarating joy of solving a case.
But he didn’t, and now he’ll never get the chance to.
***
Heizou runs through the forest, ignoring the screaming thunder around him and the lighting strikes that seem to deliberately be targeting him. He runs like his life depends on it, because he’s not sure what he’ll do if he doesn’t run somewhere.
He breaks through the forest, and sees the lake, the rain, and the rock.
Kazuha’s always there, right? No matter what happens, if he just goes here, if he finds the lake by the moon, the rain that seemed to be just a little gentler here, the place a perfect balance between fiction and reality, he’ll find Kazuha and he’ll be okay. If Kazuha’s really gone, if that all wasn’t just a dream, then-
Kazuha’s not there.
He’s not sitting on there like he said he would be.
Heizou stops running. He closes his eyes and raises his head toward the sky, the rain dripping onto his face. His lips tremble, his fingers quiver. What is this feeling – is he angry? Or is he sad? Or is the guilt coming back, all over again?
It’s all three; he can feel the guilt eating him inside-out. Why didn’t he move that day? If he had moved that day, none of this… He can feel tears prick the corners of his eyes. Kazuha’s gone. He’s gone, and he’s never coming back. He can feel the unjustified anger bubbling from the back of his mind.
Kazuha left him, he-
No.
Wait.
Did Kazuha leave him, or did he leave Kazuha?
***
Everyone part of the Tenryou Commission is ordered to give up their Visions.
That’s what the Shogun decrees, months after the 100th Vision Hunt Ceremony, and after they’ve finally secured each and every Vision from all of Inazuma.
Is she crazy?
This is going too far – after the Kazuha incident, no one from the Tenryou Commission had ever done anything to even be suspected of being a traitor. They had followed her orders obediently, without question, for the last two years. They had been the perfect pawns, the perfect puppets to control.
And now, and now she’s going to take their Visions too?
“All those who serve the Shogun are ordered to willingly, without any protesting, give up their Vision. Anyone who resists will be taken to Tenshukaku and will have to face the Shogun. But for her outstanding work these past two years and her unquestionable loyalty to the Shogun, Kujou Sara-” Kujou’s breath hitches when she reads her own name.
Everyone in the room waits for her to continue, including Heziou.
“-Kujou Sara is… Kujou Sara is exempt from this order,” she whispers, almost afraid.
Heizou’s scared too, but for very different reasons.
***
Heizou is familiar with the process.
He’s taken to the Ceremony and a soldier next to him pushes him forward rather roughly. He sees the Shogun like usual, and she has the same piercing look, the same glare in her eye that could make a Lawachurl run for its life. Kujou Sara is next to him as usual, and like always, her hands are trembling.
He’s not familiar with seeing his emerald Vision on the ground in front of him.
He’s not familiar with seeing his Vision shake and jolt on the ground – then fly into the Shogun’s hand.
He’s not familiar with the immediate pain he feels all over.
It hurts; that’s the only word he can remember right now. Pain, pain, pain. His vision slowly gets blurry, all the while the colors around him seem to become more and more prominent until the yellows and oranges and red blind his eyes. It hurts to open his eyes, so he closes them. It hurts to continue kneeling, so he lets himself fall onto the ground. It hurts to keep being, so-
And then the pain stops.
The stinging pain in his heart stops, and he’s left with absolutely nothing. He feels nothing, he sees nothing, he hears nothing. There’s a dull alarm at the back of his mind, but it’s so faded, he can’t fully process what his brain is telling him to do. He feels himself falling, but he can’t care enough to try to see where he’s falling to.
No… that’s not right; he wants to care, but he feels so sleepy… so tired that even if he wants to care, he can’t bring it in himself to actually start. It hurts a little again, but it’s not the same pain. It’s the type of pain when you know that something wasn’t meant to be, and that no matter how much you struggle, it’s all futile in the end. He’s tired now, so maybe he’ll just go to sleep. Yes – sleep… it sounds very good right now…
“Shikanoin! Shikanoin!”
Who… who’s talking?
“Shikanoin, get up, please.”
Nah… I don’t… really want to.
“Shikanoin, can you hear me?”
He can, but when he tries to tell her that, no sound comes out. He slowly opens his heavy-lidded eyes, trying to see who’s the one screaming in his ear. He’s met with worried golden eyes and the face of a woman, and for a second, he thinks he should know who she is.
“Shikanoin-”
It hurts too much to keep looking, so he closes his eyes.
There is only one thought in his head.
Help me, Kazuha.
And even though he can barely remember his own name – is Shikanoin him? – and it pains him to keep thinking, there’s something ringing in the back of his mind. Something that told him he doesn’t get to ask for help, and that all the pain he’s feeling right now is some sort of karma.
Am I a bad man? he suddenly thinks, because he’s confused as to why his heart won’t let him ask for help. After all, any decent human being can ask for help, right? There’s no shame in asking for help, unless he somehow wronged this “Kazuha” in the past, right?
Who… who’s Kazuha again?
Did this Kazuha… did he have to experience the pain he’s feeling now?
(Heizou hopes he didn’t have to, because Kazuha sounds like a nice guy.)
***
Somehow, Heizou ends up home.
It probably has to do with the woman scuttling around his house right now, mumbling something about how the house is so messy. He’s sitting on some sort of stool, eyes blankly following her movements. He hopes he’s not causing too much trouble for her… maybe he should-
The moment he tries to get up, his legs dies on him, and he finds himself face-planted onto the ground.
Quickly hurrying over, the woman gently grabs each of his arms and hauls him up, placing him back on the stool. She uses her hand to brush aside his messed-up hair and shakes her head. “Don’t try to get up yet, Shikanoin. You haven’t recovered your strength.”
He squints at her and stares at her pretty, golden eyes for a long time. So long, she probably got a little embarrassed because she starts to stand up and go back to what she was doing. But before she does, he grabs her hand and grins a childish, stupid grin.
“Are you an angel?” he asks cheerfully.
Her lips quiver, and her eyes seem even sadder than before. “No,” she whispers. “No, I’m not.”
“Ohh,” Heizou hums like a child, “then, do you know who a ‘Kazuha’ is? The name’s been stuck in my head for a long time, and I feel like I did something mean to him. I think I’d like to apologize to him. Do you know if-”
But before he can finish, the woman starts sobbing.
Tears flow freely from her pretty eyes, and she immediately tries to wipe them away, but they’re coming too fast for her to catch all of them. Instead, she brings her hands back up to cover her face and she cowers away, sobbing as Heizou stares at her.
“I…” she coughs out in between sobs, “I never wanted this. Never.”
Heizou feels bad for making her cry.
“I thought the Shogun – I thought Her Excellency would never be wrong,” she continues, breath quivering, words unsteady, “I never wanted to hurt you or your friends or anyone. Never, never.”
Heizou feels sad now; he doesn’t want this kind woman to cry.
“I’m so sorry, Shikanoin,” the woman murmurs, “I’m so sorry. This… this isn’t who I am, this-”
But she doesn’t finish her sentence because they both know.
This is who she is, and there’s nothing she can do to change it.
And in the exact same way, he’s Shikanoin Heizou, and he’ll never be able to apologize to Kazuha, or any of the innocent victims he hurt.
They wrote their own ending.
Heizou’s Vision was stolen because of his own choices. No one stepped up to help him during the Ceremony because he hadn’t done anything worthy of anyone’s help; in fact, he’s lucky they didn’t cheer when his Vision was stolen. No one came to help him besides Kujou after his Vision was stolen because everyone was probably glad in their hearts, glad that he finally got a taste of his own medicine. No one’s coming to help him now because he never helped any of them.
Kujou Sara “exemption” from the order was the punishment she gave herself. It was set in stone the moment she chose to hurt lives and people who did nothing to her. No matter how much she tried to help Heizou, nothing would be able to save her from her guilt as being the only person left in Inazuma with a soul.
But their ending is already much better than so many others – at least they can still cling to one another.
***
In the end, what did Heizou do?
Did he realize who was most important to him at the very end and grab onto him, without letting go, like Ayaka? Did he defy all human capabilities and even after getting pummeled, refuse to let his loved and treasured ones get hurt, like Ayato?
Did he, like Gorou and Kokomi, accept fate calmly, with a beautiful but tragic promise of in our next life? Did he, like Shinobu and Itto, struggle till the very end? Did he hold fast to his own ideals to the end, like how Kazuha, Yoimiya, and Yae Miko smiled even as their lives fell apart?
No, he hadn’t.
In the end, he had cowered and trembled, and after all he had done, still thought, “Please help me”. In the end, he had made a testament and shown everyone that he was Shikanoin Heizou – the coward and the clown.
How could he have expected Kazuha to help him after all the times he had left his friend to fend for himself? How could he have expected Kazuha to reappear after trying so hard to make him disappear? How could he have expected Kazuha to forgive him after everything he had done?
In the end, Heizou was the furthest away from Kazuha he could be – and maybe that’s how it should be.
A villain and a hero can never be friends, after all.