but it smelled like danger, no?
Tomo made a stupid choice, Kazuha said stupid things, the result is regrets and grief
The patter of rain danced on the canopy of leaves above Kazuha's head, inciting a dull rhythm in his mind as he gazed out quietly into the rainstorm. It had started out as a soft drizzle, but had veered into a more inconvenient downpour, forcing him to find shelter to shield him from wet clothes and a bad cold. In this case, Kazuha had spotted a canopy of trees right off the trail he had been ambling along. It would only be a hindrance to his health to travel with wet garments, and he preferred some rest right about now anyways.
Not a thunderstorm, he noted as he watched the trees sway, but resting out in the open was all around a bad idea in the long run. Letting himself catch a cold was a horrible idea, not when he had no means of getting medicine- what with the recent staggering prices- or even finding a safe place to rest without letting his guard down. He loved the rain, he really did, but he just wasn't in the mood.
Kazuha cupped his frigid palms and blew into them warm puffs of breath, bringing forth memories of a warm hearth and even warmer company; to find solace in unreachable recollections was what brought him any sense of reassurance in arduous times.
He couldn't believe Tomo at first when he approached him with his plan- to challenge an Archon was to sign off his own death, there was no doubt that if he did, he wouldn't come out of it unscathed or even alive.
All of Inazuma, with no doubt, knew of the Electro Archon who ruled over their land with an iron fist- the Raiden Shogun who demanded respect from her people but gave none in return.
Was the quashing of delicate dreams worth the so-called eternity she craved?
Kazuha could never understand the intentions, but even while he wholly disagreed with her actions, he did not think that sacrificing one's own life was worth making a small chip in the armour of a god who was so above her people it would likely not even make a difference. To him, it would not make a difference. It was a dumb plan that would certainly only result in regrets.
Tomo wasn't seeing clearly, he was blinded by a dream. He was too half-witted to care about the risk raising such a challenge against their ruler posed, and it had led Kazuha into a fit of rare anger that sparked in his heart to stop his dear friend from doing something so selfless yet stupid.
Kazuha rarely got angry, anger was an unbidden emotion that looked ugly under the sun and burned whatever it touched; his anger had scalded Tomo, he knew for he saw the hurt bloom in his eyes.
Kazuha sat in silence as the rain pattered on, lost in thought. As the downpour finally dwindled, he took a deep breath to collect whatever of himself that had been scattered in his rigorous thinking and rose. He would find Tomo and apologize- a good friend would do just that, and he owed Tomo more than he could ever repay.
Yet even with the rain ceasing the thick gray clouds persisted, the sky felt ominous and foreboding, as if it was warning Kazuha of things to come.
He couldn't help but pick up the pace at the thought.
His large straw hat shifted in the cool breeze as he neared the city. The sky had fully cleared, and clusters of wispy cumulus clouds dotted the blue expanse, like lace upon the sky.
Kazuha frowned despite the agreeable weather.
Lately… the city had been feeling duller than it had ever been, like it had lost its spirit. While the sun continued to shine, and pink flushed sakura petals continued to dance and decorate the streets, the atmosphere among the people was much different. Less of them ventured out of their homes, and the ones who did were guarded, a wall of silent distrust placed between them and others.
As much as the people would like to pretend otherwise, the vision hunt decree had taken a toll on them all. Those who had them feared losing their beloved visions, their families urging them to stay hidden. And those who had performed great feats using their elemental abilities were the first ones targeted. This was also another reason why Kazuha hated the idea of Tomo challenging the Shogun- it would shine a spotlight directly on him, not unlike how a Ruin Guard locked and fired bullets at their targets.
The worn and well used path crunched beneath his sandals as he moved further into the city- he would take the path straight to the Raiden's residence and hope that Tomo hadn't done anything too rash. Knowing him, he was probably camped outside the Raiden's home thinking he was being stealthy.
Kazuha's ears pricked in curiosity as they picked up hushed conversations circulating the cobbled streets of Inazuma City. Words spilled, and Kazuha's ears filtered in some choice words that almost made him stumble. His heartbeat quickened, pulse threatening to split out of his skin. A young man… the Raiden Shogun, could it be-?
How did they know this? Tomo wouldn't advertise his rebellion- no, Tomo would hold his intentions close to his heart then have the results speak to the people themselves.
He frantically approached a couple eating on the curbside, stomach grumbling as the scent of the meal tickled his nose, the plate of food looked absolutely delicious (it made him wonder when the last time he ate properly was) .
He discarded the thought quickly, his hunger could wait, he needed answers first. The people whom he had asked looked visibly concerned at his distraught behaviour, but indulged his questions nonetheless.
They offer him a condensed summary of what little they knew, and Kazuha took off running when they told him the most damning news: "He decided to try and take on the Shogun" . Upon hearing those words, Kazuha lost in time before he turned and ran, not noticing nor caring that his large hat had been lost among the crowd, or if people were staring at him, garnering the attention that he hated. Kazuha wished that by all means, Tomo the boorish, loveable, wonderful oaf, had yet to forfeit his life to this fool's dream.
But what good were prayers, when it was his very own god that set out to smite his precious person?
What good were prayers, when there was no god to listen?
With all his heart, and every fiber of his being, he just hoped Tomo was safe.
Kazuha was too late.
Gone was his beloved friend, gone was the light in his eyes and hope in his heart. Kazuha had seen it snuffed out right in front of him. His mind refused to accept the reality even as the final blow was struck, and Tomo's body fell lifelessly to the ground.
Stupid, stupid Tomo, he had gone ahead and challenged the Raiden like a fool. A sense of dissonance washed over him- that corpse was supposed to be Tomo? Tomo was loud and boisterous, a joyous human that loved his cat, he moved and fidgeted, he was a golem of a man that constantly needed to move. Tomo was not that flesh vessel slumped to the floor.
But it was Tomo lying on the floor.
Why didn't he stop?
Why did he go ahead with his horribly stupid idea?
Why hadn't Kazuha been there to stop him?
Why wasn't Kazuha fast enough to stop him?
Why had he been so blindsided by his anger that he abandoned his friend in times he needed the company the most?
Why couldn't he have just been able to talk him out of it?
Why did he die?
Why?
Why?
Why ?
Why couldn't it have been himself who died instead?
Kazuha had to force the bile down his throat.
They exchanged no final words and no sincere wishes were shared- their last conversation was him furiously berating Tomo, and that would be Tomo's last memory of him. Kazuha's stomach twisted at the thought.
His body moved on instinct alone, and he caught the limp body of his friend. Tomo still felt warm, and the moron still had a stupid grin etched on his face. Even in death the idiot was smiling. Kazuha then noticed a vision arcing through the air. Tomo's vision.
Within a second, Kazuha was airborne, securing the remains of his friend onto the ground and his snatching his friend's vision as he watched the bright power of electro dim, fading out, leaving this world just like his stupid friend left him behind.
He grasped it, and it burned.
He nearly fell over and let go at the pain, but managed to stubbornly hold on, ignoring the searing burn as his flesh screamed at him in agony.
But he wouldn't let go, he couldn't, this was Tomo, not that corpse, this was the true remains of his soul, his dream, his hope and his ambition. Kazuha would be damned if he let it go.
There was no turning back now that he had grabbed the vision. In one fluid motion, he drew his sword, knocking back the commission officers trying to arrest him, and fled.
He couldn't bring himself to give a final glance at his best friend's lifeless figure.
A sob racked his body, and his knees felt weak as he dashed away from the scene, leaving behind the body of his best friend.
The hand clutching the vision felt as if it was on fire as he stumbled forward, tears tracked down his face and blurring his eyesight so that everything looked like blobs of nothing. His eyes felt as raw as his heart did, and his heart ached.
Kazuha's world was falling apart- what was one do when they saw a friend disappear right before their eyes, never to smile again?
The only thought on his mind was that he had to keep moving.
Keep moving and get to the docks. He would contact an acquaintance then, and pray to whoever would listen that he would make it out of Inazuma safely. He owed Tomo this, at least-nothing good would come for his sacrifice if Kazuha's dead body came to rest next to his.
His hand burned like it had been buried in hot coals, and he was afraid to inspect the damage the dying vision had done to his skin.
He tore a piece of cloth from his sleeve as he ran, wincing as a burning pain shot through his body- it hurt like hell. He could only spare his hand a glance, but perhaps that was better, for what he saw in the brief second was seared, raw flesh, bloody and blistered. Skin peeled back and half melted almost, the best way he could describe it was as if a snake midst shedding it's scales stopped midway, then had welded it back on.
This, he supposed, was the power of an ambition so strong, that it bestowed the power of lighting. Even in its dying moments it sparked with intensity.
The pain differed from a usual burn, it stung and tingled, as if he was being continuously zapped by static electricity. It was hard to explain, but the burn felt cold. Like lighting. His thoughts were so jumbled that he couldn't even understand it himself, and it was painful, so very painful.
But somehow, even as he wanted to just stop and sob in a corner, Kazuha felt strangely at peace with the pain- maybe it was because the burn itself was given to him by Tomo's vision, and that in some way, should this nasty burn leave a scar (which it most probably would), a physical reminder of his friend would remain.
It was a twisted way of thinking, yes, but there was no time for such pondering. His pursuers were growing closer by the second.
The wind whistled into his ears and tore at his skin as he fled, but he didn't stop for even a moment. Not even when he realized that he left behind Tomo's precious cat. One of the only other friends of Kazuha's in this wretched land.
He fought with torn clothes, a sore body, and an infected burn. He didn't care when he bled, fending off several warriors from the commission. He trekked through forest, villages, and fields, never stopping, never slowing pace.
He nearly collapsed when he reached the port that his contact told him to head to. But he couldn't fall, not here, not yet. There were plenty of obstacles that hindered his way, but he bypassed them all through sheer wit and devotion. Through it all, he felt as if the draining vision had fizzled back with flickers of new life. Or so he imagined.
Kazuha's mind wandered.
'Was it possible to reignite a dead vision?'
He shook this thought from his head as quickly as it had appeared. Later. He would look into it later.
For his escape from Inazuma, he had somehow- after desperate correspondence and much hiding from the authorities- found himself on a ship among the Crux, the fleet which belonged to an acquaintance of his and Tomo- the well renowned Captain Beidou. Her crew aboard the Alcor provided him with much needed medical aid. (Tomo had always wanted to travel on the Alcor one day, and guilt panged through Kazuha as he gritted his teeth, bearing silently the pain as he rested).
Beidou had checked in on him several times, and it was one of those rare instances where her face held a grim look in place of its usual confident and carefree smirk.
("You're safe now." She told him, and Kazuha wanted to say that he didn't deserve it, not when Tomo was not here, not when Tomo's days had been cut so short, not when he couldn't get to see this boat, nor the clear skies that would soon come upon them. He would never taste the freedom of another land- not when he laid dead in a city that didn't understand his sacrifice. He wasn't even sure if his friend would have a proper burial, if Tomo would, at least, be honoured in death.)
How many days it had finally taken him to get onboard the Alcor, and how long it took to port in Liyue, he could not tell. The events were all blurred in his head into one massive nightmare that he couldn't chase away. He looked at his bandaged arm and the colourless vision he clutched in his hand and saw him . The grief haunted his eyes- with dark shadows and even darker eye bags- and was visible to even the crew, who gave him a wide berth so that he could grieve alone.
His heart lurched in painful ways as he looked at the vision and the missing telltale violet shade that signified its electro power that had long faded.
Gone.
Just like Tomo.
Tears poured down his face once again, leaving behind glistening tracks as they flowed. He was still trying to process it all but it was too painful. Kazuha held the vision close to his chest, resting it above his heart- the one that still beat (he wished it didn't ).
Kazuha stared off into the distance where his homeland once laid- a place that was so close yet beyond his sight, filled with memories, both good and bad.
As he cried to the stars, mourning the loss of his life companion, he made promises, to both himself and Tomo.
He would return.
He would fix this- he had to.
He could stay silent no more, not after all that he had lost.