She run through the mountains, golden eyes flickering upwards towards the setting sun, constantly trying to assure herself that she still had time. Hoping to get to the safety of her small home before the darkness creeped in. Short pants of breath came out of her dry lips, occasionally glancing around her to make sure that no monsters were lingering on the shade provided by the trees.
Hope glimmered on her golden eyes when she saw her home, pushing her aching legs to the limits, darting towards the broken door. She let out a small smile of relief as the door closed behind her securely, barely seeing the last speck of light in the sky as the darkness of the night settled in.
Before she could relax in her home, her small house rattled widely. Her eyes widened, quickly moving away from the door. Through the broken gaps of wood, she could see the monsters lurking outside. She scurried away, removing the blankets from her small cot, digging in beneath it to grasp the familiar fan that had always given her comfort, especially on dire situations.
The door shook once more, the monsters were trying to get in her home. She grasped the fan tightly to her chest, hearing the monsters hissing, as if they couldn't wait to devour her. Perhaps today was the day that they would finally come get her, eat her flesh like they so desired ever since she was left behind on this mountain. Her house wouldn't last another night, and so does she.
Was that the reason why she met the strange Oni today? Because it would be her last day.
Well...it wasn't that bad. She couldn't help but think. After all, after so many years, she had encountered another person who was not a monster for once.
And that person had the brightest smile she ever saw, she would never forget it.
She stood up on shaky feet, fluttering her wings, the pain on her shoulder blades made her wince, but nevertheless ignored it. She had to get out of her house, and presumably escape down the mountain. There was a village down there, hopefully, she could stay there for some time.
She quickly erased the thought. What was she thinking? She couldn't go down there on civilization with the monsters on her trail. She would be leading them straight to new flesh that they could devour and she was bound to destroy another village which she absolutely refuses to do so.
And besides...that boy was there.
She didn't want them in danger.
Her only option now was to go higher up the mountains, lose their trail and wish for the sun to come up faster than normal.
She flapped her wings, bolted up high into the broken ceiling, bracing herself with her arms as protection from the splinters. It hurt to fly, but she pushed on, flapping till she was flying up the mountains. The monsteres shrieked behind her, enraged that their prey had escaped them once again. Their dark aura loomed over her, causing her to shiver from the sinister presence.
But she could only go so far with her tired body and aching wings. Soon, the monsters had catched up to her, crawling at her feet, pulling her downwards. She let out a cry as she plummeted to the ground, various hands with the smell of death went to grab her. Shrieking in pain when one monstrous hand snapped her wing, preventing her from any further flight away from the creatures.
Her small hand tightened on her fan, with a flick of her wrist, a strong gush of wind caused them to fly away from her body. She didn't waste a second, quickly moving on her own feet, deathly gripping on her fan till her knuckles turned white, afraid that if she loosened for a second they would take away the last item she could protect herself with.
She flapped the fan once, two times, and many more till a sharp wind that could slice through anything pierce her enemies. They let out a monstrous cry that seemed to shake the forest when her slash hit their torsos, black liquid oozing out of their chest, trailing down their bodies. With a flick of her wrist she aimed at the trees, the wind cut through the bark sharply, causing it to fall on her enemies.
With the little time she bought herself, she quickly darted out of the forest. Of course, with her luck, some monsters was able to avoid her attacks, quickly following after her.
Two monsters went after her, the other tailing behind her back while the other went to her side, hiding in the thick forest, unnoticed by the little girl.
She glanced over her shoulder, flickering her wrist once again, a sharp cry of pain rang through the silent night, injuring her opponent once again.
However, she wasn't quick enough to see the monster that had come closer in front of her, swiping it's tail, causing her to launch sideways over the clearing near a familiar cliff.
Before she could realize what was happening, she was, once again pummeling down the second time that day.
Her golden eyes glistened with tears, urging her injured wings to fly once again, to save her from the fall, but to no vail it hurt too much to even move.
"No! It can't end like this! I... I always believed that I could protect this place forever with my strength..."
Her eyes fluttered close, the last thing her young mind had seen was the purple flash of lighting in the sky.
She couldn't help but find it beautiful.
The next day, a small crowd of people had gathered around an unconscious girl. No one knew why she was there or what she was doing there, and she looked battered, like she could've seen better days, but nevertheless, no injuries.
What striked the villagers interest was the glowing purple vision in her hands. No doubt that the Almighty Raiden Shogun had acknowledge the little girl.
"What should we do?" One of the villager asked.
"We should take her to the Tenryou Commission. They would know what to do."
When she came about, she noticed that she was no longer in the mountains but at the lively civilization of Inazuma where she was being carried. She squirmed on the stranger's arms, immediately noticing that the girl was awake, he set her down on her own feet.
"Are you okay?"
She stood there, nodding her head. She was uncomfortable by the stare the people were giving her. Golden eyes took a quick glance of her surroundings, taken a back by the beauty that was all arround her. It was different to the village she had encountered the day before. The place she was in was more advanced, and more luxurious and it was brimming with people.
"What's your name?"
She shook her head once again, the man scratched his head, unsure of how he should take it. Wether she refuses to say her name or that maybe she doesn't have one...but surely she does have one right?
"We'll take you to the Tenryou Commission. We found you laying unconscious on the ground. We don't know where you come from or if you're a citizen of Inazuma, the Tenryou Commission handles all illegal entry and exit of the people."
Her eyes widened, illegal? She had been staying in the mountain for as long as she could remember, surely it was a part of Inazuma right? She wasn't a stranger to her nation!
She opened her mouth, "I-I'm a Tengu." She admitted reluctantly, unsure if she shouldn't have revealed her heritage, the last time she did that she was left behind on the mountains with only the monstrous creatures as company.
The man's eyes widened, "You are? It's rare to see one these days. Come, I'm sure the Tenryou Commission will know what to do."
They walked through the city, she brought her hand to her chest, fingers tightly holding onto the vision in her hand. She was in awe at the sight before her, cherry blossom trees were all around the city, the petals falling softly on the ground. The city was beautiful, people go on about their day with smiles on their faces, a pleasant atmosphere loomed in the air.
They approached one of the guards guarding the entrance of some place she didn't know the name of. "I have something to report to the Tenryou Commission."
The guard nodded his head, jerking his head to go inside. The man motioned for her to come follow him, she trailed after him as they approached the building.
"I have found this little girl laying unconscious near Chinju Forest. She's a Tengu."
The receptionist eyes widened in astonishment, "A Tengu? Wow, no one sees one these days..." She muttered distractedly. "What were you doing at Chinju Forest?"
"I fell down from the mountain."
"You fell...and come out totally unscathed?" The receptionist eyes her skeptically.
"Well, she is a Tengu." The man who accompanied her shrugged. "And look," He pointed at her hands. "She was granted with a vision by the Almighty Shogun."
Her eyes widened, looking down on the purple vision in her hands. She had heard storied about the Archon even when she was deep in the mountains. The Almighty Shogun was someone who governs all over Inazuma, she was a God worshipped by her people, and her many stories had reached even the far corners of her land.
The receptionist eyes widened, gaping widely at the little girl, "A vision!" She couldn't help but exclaim loudly.
The loud commotion had caught the attention of the nearby soldiers, and unfortunately, the Head of the Kujou Clan as well. He had just gotten out of the building after his meeting when the loud exclamation reached his ears.
His eyes set on the receptionist who was talking with the man who he presumed reported news to the Tenryou Commission and to the battered girl by his side. True to the receptionist's words, a glowing vision settled upon her hand, a vision that many desired but few ever gained.
It was astonishing that this little girl had caught the Shogun's attention at such a young age. She was scrawny and malnourished, scartches all over her small frame, yet she stood proudly on her own two feet. This was a girl acknowledged by the Archon. Perhaps it was her destiny, and it was by pure dumb luck that she was brought to the Tenryou Commission. Takayuki couldn't help but think that she might have been sent by the heavens to the Tenryou Commission.
He approached the group, the receptionist and the man quickly bowing respectfully when they saw him nearing. The girl, who took notice of their actions, bowed her small head as well despite not knowing what it was for, she trusted her instinct in following their actions.
Takayuki was pleased by this, the girl was quick to adapt to her surroundings, and she knew when to act appropriately.
"What is going on here?" He inquired, eyes scrutinizing the people before him.
"I found this little girl laying unconscious at Chinju Forest, she is a Tengu granted with a vision by the Almighty Shogun."
Takayuki nodded his head sharply. "You may go. I will look after the girl."
The man bowed once again, scurrying off, leaving the Headquarters of the Tenryou Commision. Takayuki observed the girl before him, squaring her shoulders proudly as she fought his stare. She was a Tengu, she shouldn't be intimidated that easily.
"You girl, what's your name?"
The Tengu shook her head, "I have no name."
"Very well," He jerked his head, motioning her to follow after him. "Starting today, your name would be Kujou Sara."
She nodded, following after him. She let her name roll around her tongue.
Kujou Sara.
She was now the girl named Kujou Sara.
~~~
(A/N: The scenes here are inspired from Sara's Vision story. For starters, I have no idea where the mountain she once lived in is located, but looking at Itto's lore where it said he fought a Tengu once in Byakko Plain, I had set the story at Narukami Island since it makes more sense lore wise. I have no idea if Sara and the Tengu that Itto had fought are the same person but I'll make it that way anyways since it's more interesting. Looking at the Narukami Map and the Yougou Cleansing Quest, she must've been living somewhere in there lol let's not just sweat the small stuff cus seriously, who has time for that? ANYWAYS, let's just think that the monsters in the mountains are connected to the Cleansing Quest, although to be honest I barely remeber the details about the quest other than it was a tumor and it was something dark.
Also, note that I will portray the characters exactly as how they were portrayed in the lore. I'm not gonna be bias with anything here since I like Genshin Lore.)