Chapter Text
As the merchant walked away, Thoma breathed a sigh of relief. Another step forward in Lady Ayaka’s plan. Another step closer to the abolishment of the Sakoku Decree.
Then he heard the call. “Stop, in the name of the Tenryou Commission and the Vision Hunt!”
He looked up to see what was going on. It was rare for the Tenryou Commission to act on Ritou. Outlanders weren’t subject to the Tenryou Commission, and as far as he knew, no one who lived on Ritou had a Vision. The Alcor had already left, so the Doushin couldn’t be after Beidou or Kazuha. What were they doing here?
It took him a minute to realize that it was him they were approaching.
“Gentlemen,” he greeted them, putting on his most charming smile. “What can I do for you?”
He knew, of course. He had known for a long time that this was coming. Employees of the Tri-Commission had kept their Visions longer than private individuals, but he was an outlander, in the service of the weakest of the three Commissions. It was a miracle they had let him keep his Vision this long.
He eyed escape routes. There were more than a dozen of the Doushin here, but none of them appeared to have a Vision. They would be at a disadvantage against him, even though his talents lay more in protecting than in attacking.
He didn’t run, though. If he ran, he would be a wanted fugitive, and anyone suspected of helping him would be put under close scrutiny. And there reasons why now, more than ever, he couldn’t allow the Kamisatos to fall under suspicion.
“Outlander Thoma,” the lead Doushin greeted him, while the others surrounded him.
“Yes, I’m Thoma,” he answered. “Can I help you with something?”
There was a knot in his stomach that wouldn’t go away. It wasn’t like he used his Vision often, and he could always go back to more traditional methods of lighting the fires in the estate. He would have to brush up on his combat training, to deal with any wandering Kairagi or Nobushi that he might encounter while out on a commission, but he could do that. He could still be of use to the Kamisatos.
Still, he had seen what losing a Vision did to others. He wasn’t looking forward to losing his.
The Doushin’s demand caught him off guard. “Put down your spear and come with us.”
“What?”
A dozen spears pointed at him. “I said, put down your spear and come with us,” the Doushin repeated.
“Am I under arrest?”
“Yes.”
This wasn’t right. They didn’t arrest people for having Visions.
“What am I charged with?”
“You are under arrest for suspected high treason. Now hand over your spear.”
He hesitated. Surely there was a way out of this. Surely there was some way to convince them to leave him alone. He’d talked his way out of other situations, in the past. He was good at it.
But he looked at their faces and saw hatred. Implacable, unyielding hatred. Of him as an outlander perhaps, or perhaps as the traitor they believed him to be.
He could still fight. He could still get away.
But he was a trusted servant of the Yashiro Commission. If he fought, they would have an excuse to arrest one of the Kamisatos. Or both of them.
And he couldn’t let that happen.
Slowly, he took his spear and handed it to the Doushin.
The next moment, a spear haft slammed into his stomach. The unexpected pain doubled him over, leaving him gasping for breath. “Hey! What was that for?” he asked.
“On your knees, outlander.”
There was something very wrong here. But he was now weaponless, and still massively outnumbered. The Doushin surrounded him, cutting off any escape.
Two of them grabbed his shoulders and forced him down. Part of him still resisted, as they bound his wrists tightly behind his back, but he didn’t fight, not really, not even when a derisive kick knocked him to the ground, not even when they announced to the shocked crowd of onlookers that he was a traitor of the vilest order. There was nothing he could do for now.
Many of those watching knew him. Most of them were outlanders, restricted to Ritou, but not all. Surely someone would get a message back to the Yashiro Commission. Lord Ayato was away, true, on a secret diplomatic mission even Thoma didn’t know the location of, but there was bound to be someone in the Shuumatsuban who knew. Surely they would tell him what had happened. And once they did, surely he would find a way to get Thoma free.
He just had to endure one night’s imprisonment. At the very least, he could manage that.