Crimson. A color which represents many positive meanings, yet also many negatives. While it symbolises vigour, passion, courage, love, and affection, it also represents darker meanings such as anger, warning, revenge, and ruthlessness. And lastly, crimson is the color used to describe fresh blood…
But for the General of the Tenryou Commision, her description of crimson is one of a noisy, idiocy, goofus, sore loser, reckless, and unashamed. It is surprising though, how the General was supposed to be used and sensitive to the color of blood, but not once had she compared the two. If anything-
"You may come in." Kujou Sara stated the second she heard the knock on the door of her office.
Ishikawa entered, "General." he said with a salute. "I've come to report the arrest of a hostile."
'A hostile?...Or maybe..' Sara thought, growing tired as she was now aware who it was.
"It's Arataki Itto again, General." Ishikawa said, slight amusement in his voice as he landed the finishing blow.
Sara gave out an exhausted sigh, "I thought so… Has anyone interrogated the suspect yet?" she asked, as she fixed the papers in her desk, marking her progress.
Ishigawa shook his head, "No, General. After reporting it to you, I was planning to be the one to interrogate him."
"That would suffice, guard the prison door for a minute or two, I plan to talk to the suspect for a bit. After that, interrogate him." Kujou Sara stood up from her desk, the tone of a leader in her voice.
"Yes, General." Ishikawa replied, as he waited for the General to walk out the room first.
'It's past noon, already?' Finally out of her office, Kujou Sara took a deep breath from the fresh air, stifling a yawn in the process. She has been working 6 hours straight since this morning. These past few days were hectic for the Tenryou Commission, forcing Sara to stay in her office all day managing the papers that concern the Commission. Fortunately, ever since the disbandment of the Vision Hunt Decree, Inazuma was peaceful enough where Sara was almost never needed to patrol the vicinity herself.
"What was the reason for his arrest?" The Tengu General asked as they walked through the Tenryou Commission's Headquarters towards the Prison Keep.
"Reports say that he assaulted three Officers, General." Ishikawa replied, looking over his clipboard.
The air surrounding Sara intensified, as she slowly looked back at Ishikawa with a dark expression. "He what…?" she asked in a low voice.
"That's what the witnesses in the report said, General. While they were assaulted, they only suffered minor injuries." Ishikawa explained indifferent, one of the few in the Tenryou Commision that doesn't get intimidated or scared by Kujou Sara's intense display of "emotion".
Hearing his response, the Kujou General slowly faced forward, as the atmosphere surrounding her got colder. Some of the clouds in the air darkened pitch black, as her golden eyes shined with Electro energy.
"Change of plans, Ishikawa." Sara said in her most commanding tone yet. "I will be the one to interrogate the suspect." she continued walking towards the Prison Keep, the other soldiers getting tense averting their gaze away from their General.
"Understood, General." Ishikawa can only nod as he follows her superior.
'...That idiotic Oni.' Sara thought out, her dark expression softened for a moment.
Itto's ears perked up as he heard the prison door open. His expression lit up, "Finally some company! You guys should probably bring some people here besides me. It's pretty dang lonely being in here by mysel-." his voice was cut off as he saw Sara enter the room with her feathered fan brimming with Electro. "O-On second thought I'm good! Yup! No complaints here, General!" he averted his eyes from Sara's intense look. "I-I thought that Ishikawa will be doing the interrogation again…Quite a surprise that my one and only rival would be the one to do it!" Itto gave an amused grin, as he rubbed the sore part of his wrist that was tied up by a rope.
"..." Sara didn't reply, as she just continued to coldly stare at Itto who was now nervous, and sweating heavily.
"Eeek!" Itto yelped as Sara adjusted her fan, sending out Electro sparks that almost hit the oni's horns.
What took only a few seconds seemed like a few hours for the oni, as the Tengu General finally spoke up. "State your name." she said in her commanding tone.
Itto's expression turned into a cocky one as he pointed to himself, "Arataki "The Undefeat-" he was interrupted by Sara's dark expression. The General was not amused, and was not in the mood for his antics. "Arataki Itto, General." The oni fixed his tone.
Hearing that Sara continued, "Arataki Itto. You are arrested for assaulting an officer of the Tenryou Commission. You had performed this crime at noon, just outside the commission, and 3 officers were injured."
"I don't know about assaulted-" Itto tried to explain, only to be interrupted by Sara's eyes that were shining with Electro energy. "Please continue, General." he immediately fixed his sitting position.
"It is my duty to inform you that you have the right to retain and instruct Counsel in private, without delay. You may call any lawyer you want. There is a 24-hour letter service available which provides a legal aid duty lawyer who can give you legal advice in private." Sara continued, following the program.
Itto raised his tied up hands. "Can I call my lawyer, Shinobu-" This time he was interrupted by Sara's feathered fan, seeing it darken, and sprouting sparks of Electro. "I'll call her later, she might be busy." he brought his hands down.
Sara's eyes looked towards the red markings in Itto's tied up wrists. Seeing how he was trying to rub his wrist, her expression slowly softened as the Electro energy shining in her fan, and eyes slowly evaporated. "If you have spoken to any police officer (including myself) with respect to this matter, who has offered you any hope of advantage or suggested any fear of prejudice should you speak or refuse to speak with me (us) at this time, it is my duty to warn you that no such offer or suggestion can be of any effect and must not influence you or make you feel compelled to say anything to me (us) for any reason, but anything you do say may be used in evidence. Do you understand?"
Seeing that the Tengu General was calming down, Itto finally relaxed and looked at Sara with an apologetic expression. "I understand…" It was only a small reply, but the barren state of the prison made his voice louder. The oni bowed slightly as he looked at the ground. "Sorry."
And that was all it took for Sara to completely soften up. She sighed, as she tuckered up her feathered fan. Grabbing the keys to Itto's prison cell, she opened the door. She walked towards the sitting oni and knelt in front of him. "...What were you thinking?" she asked as she untied the rope in his wrists.
Itto just continued to look down in the ground as he rubbed his wrists. "I… got desperate." he said, an ounce of guilt in his voice.
A question mark expression appeared in Sara's face, as she can't think of an idea of what the Oni meant. "Desperate? What were you desperate for?"
"I-I…" Itto scratched his head,
"It's just…" he then scratched his horns.
"B-because…" Then his nose.
"Lately…" Then his ab-
An angry vein appeared in the Tengu's temple, "Just say it!"
The oni's face turned red, "I just wanted to see your face, okay!? Sheesh!" Itto blurred out now facing the Tengu with an angry expression.
"H-H-Huh?" Flabbergasted, now Sara averted her eyes from Itto's gaze. But only for a moment. As the General just took a deep breath, and now turned towards Itto with a glare but also a small blush in her face. "So? You assaulted my soldiers just because of that small reason?"
No matter what the reason was. For Kujou Sara, if you trample her soldiers, you also trample her honor and pride as the General of the Tenryou Commission. Even if it's Arataki Itto.
"I never assaulted anyone! If anything, they were the ones who assaulted me!" Itto explained, making Sara raise an eyebrow up. "I'm serious! I was just like "Hey, wanna fight?" to one of the patrolling soldiers outside the Commision, and they agreed! Not my fault that the one I fought passed out, and the other ones patrolling too, misunderstood, and fought me to also then pass out too!"
"Now that…probably makes more sense." The Tengu contemplates whether the Oni's story was actually the truth.
'He does not seem to be the type to lie… For all I have known about him, I have never seen him lie. This idiot can be all things but a liar.' Sara thought out, as she looked at the oni who was rubbing his sore wrists, and red knuckles. 'And besides…'
"In your "entanglement" with my soldiers, did you use your weapon?" Sara asked, only making sure since she already knew his answer.
The Oni raised an eyebrow questioningly, then slowly a cocky smile painted his face. "Did I use my weapon? Heck yeah! I used these babies right here!" Itto exclaimed, fully showing off his raging biceps, and kissing them.
Sara rolled her eyes, as she sat beside the oni tiredly. 'So he really just went easy on them, just to get arrested…' she thought out as she looked at him. 'Just to see me…' Her last thought, sprouting out the unfamiliar, comforting yet giddy feeling that keeps showing lately because of the Oni. She sighed her loudest yet as she rubbed her aching head. "I need to train my units more, if they got beaten by an idiotic Oni who already went easy on them and was not even using a weapon." The Tengu stated, sitting beside the Oni who was still kissing his biceps. "I need to intensify the training plan." her eyes shined with electro energy for a moment.
Ishikawa and the other members in the Tenryou Commision shivered as they felt a storm would be coming later.
Finally noticing that Sara was sitting beside him, Itto stopped admiring his muscles as he just stared at the ceiling. "So… Am I forgiven, General?" he asked her, a calm tone not befitting for a Crimson Oni.
"..." Sara kept quiet for a moment, thinking of what she'll say, "Even if you have a reason for your actions, and even if those you fought only suffered bruises, and minor injuries. What you did was still wrong, and I am angry at you." she didn't bother whether what she said was light or harsh, but nevertheless, it still made the Oni sad.
Itto looked down on the floor again, "I really do feel guilty, and I am sorry. I mean it. I just… couldn't think of any other way, you know?" He rested his head on his hand, while he used his other hand's nail to trace the prison floor. "I know you're busy since I haven't seen you these past few days, you don't patrol the streets as much as you used to back then, so getting arrested was probably the only option left just so I can see you." his voice sounded like he was pouting, which he is.
In her head Sara somewhat agreed to what the Oni was saying.
"And fighting your soldiers was actually my very last option. I tried different ways to get arrested, but they won't arrest me for vandalizing the bill board, stealing the community trash cans, and for harassing kids with my undefeated onikabuto. Only filing it as a warning." The oni continued tracing his nail on the floor, as he was trying to draw while talking.
"I have actually never seen your onikabuto win, and wait that was all your doing?!" The General's voice sprang up, now knowing why these past few days she's been getting multiple reports of a person bringing havoc again in the vicinity. To think it was the Oni yet again, it made the Tengu slightly nostalgic back then when he would always vandalize the billboards just to demand her a rematch for stealing his vision.
"I knew that you would clearly be upset with me for hurting your soldiers, I still went and did it anyway. I know, I know, it was stupid but I really didn't have a choice." Itto said, now stopping his drawing of Ushi on the floor.
Sara thought about saying that he could visit her, but she herself knows that it won't happen. As the oni has a big reputation in the Commission, and him showing up would really kick up a big fuss. And especially…
"Even though you're my girlfriend, and I can't see you whenever I want, it just sucks." Itto scratched his head, clearly irritated by what he said.
There it was again, the term Sara is still not comfortably able to say or accept... But it was still true, the pair only started dating 2 weeks ago, so in technical terms she IS his girlfriend. Even though the root cause of it all was very complicated, Itto was able to convince Sara to be lovers with him. Sara's face slowly gained a crimson color, as that unfamiliar, comforting yet giddy feeling sprang up again.
"I forced you into being my girlfriend, so I shouldn't complain if you can't see me." The oni looked at the tengu, "But even if I made you upset, and even if I'm in prison. It was worth it since I got to see your face." he showed a goofy grin. "This will last me 3 days without bothering you, so you can go back to work now. Arataki "The Satisfied" Itto is satisfied!" he finished with his signature cocky grin.
Sara looked at Itto with a cringey blushed look on her face, 'How can he say those things with a straight face…' she thought out, feeling embarrassed by listening to him.
The Tengu this time was the one to look at the ground. Thinking of what she should say, surprised by how quickly she found an answer, Sara looked up at Itto, "I-"
*Knock!* *Knock*
The two sprang up as they heard a knock on the door. Sara quickly stood up from her place, and walked towards it. Opening it, she saw it was Ichikawa who was holding a tray with food. As soon as Sara left the room, she immediately closed the door.
"Good afternoon, General." Ichikawa bowed, unable to salute.
"Good afternoon." The General replied, still with a blush on her face. "What is all this?" she pointed at the tray Ichikawa was holding.
Ichikawa showed its contents. "It is currently lunchtime, General. I've brought the prisoner his food."
"Oh." Sara can only let out that sound, as she looked behind her. 'Guess our time is up…' she thought out, now somewhat relieved that she is going back to work.
"..." She should walk away now, but her feet don't move. She should think about work, but all she can think about was the oni behind her. Sara thinks about how lonely he probably felt these past few days, how he would leave those notes in the billboard only to be left unread by her, and how he would have probably strolled over and over again in the city just for a chance to see her.
"...Actually, I will be the one to bring the prisoner his lunch." Finding her voice, she looked at Ichikawa.
"Are you sure, General? I can do it in your place, and you haven't gotten your break yet." The loyal officer asked, concerned for his General's health.
"Thank you for the offer, but I can manage." Sara grabbed the tray Ichikawa was holding, "The prisoner is not compliant with interrogation, so I'll be using my break to force him to confess." she continued, somewhat feeling guilty that she had to lie to her subordinate.
"Is that so, General?" Ichikawa asked, looking indifferent at his General.
Sara can only nod with a small blush on her face. "Thank you. You are dismissed."
Ichikawa took a step back, and saluted. "Understood, General. Please call for me when you need assistance." he turned, and walked away.
Sara looked at her subordinate walking away, and turned around towards the door.
'...What am I doing~?' she thought long and hard, embarrassed by her actions, wanting to hit her head on the door.
As soon as Sara opened the door he heard the keys clink on the floor beside her.
Now realizing that she also forgot to lock the prison cell she became more embarrassed and ashamed of herself.
"Okay! My hands are up!" Itto yelled, facing the wall with his hands up in surrender. "I'm not trying to escape nor am I planning an escape plan! I just found the keys hidden here in this cell, maybe the past prisoner stole it from you guys. So it's literally your guys fault not mine! Be thankful that I locked the prison cell, since you guys left it open. Basically doing your whole job, can I get a little thanks here!" he continued explaining, clearly unaware and not expecting that Sara would return.
Sara signed yet again as she placed the tray on a nearby table. "Why are you guys so quiet? Do you want me to kneel down? Oho~! Scared much? Hehehe!" Now he was being cocky as he knelt down. "Here! I am now kneeling down, be thankful I'm in a good mood so I'll cooperate with you guys."
Sara opened the prison cell, grabbing the tray again she went inside.
"Why am I in a good mood? Glad you asked!" He scratched his nose in a cocky manner.
'This should be interesting.' Sara thought out, setting the tray down, and sitting on the floor again.
"The reason for my good mood my o so dear prison wardens, is that I had finally seen my significant other! Oh yeah, that's right! After a few days of being lonely by my lonesome, and being with the gang mind you. Finally got to see her face, brightened my day believe it or not." Itto said with a straight face, clearly not feeling an ounce of shame at what he is saying.
Sara just sat on the floor as she listened to Itto's ramblings. Feeling more embarrassed by the second.
"Well, sadly we only met for a few shakes, and she got back to work. But hey I'm an easy Oni to please! I wonder when I'll see her again though… I'm crazy about her actually… Ah man, just talking about her makes me miss her *cough!* mor-" As soon as Itto heard a cough in the cellar, he slowly looked towards the source.
With Sara not being able to take anymore she interrupted the rambling, if not he would have talked all day. Given by how he is the noisiest Oni she had ever met, that would be true. And…she doesn't want that unfamiliar, comforting, yet giddy feeling to worsen any more than it is from hearing him talk about her like that.
"H-How long were you sitting there?" Arataki "The Undefeated" Itto asked, fearing the worst.
"Just the part when you held your hands up." General Kujou Sara brought her hands up, imitating him.
"So basically at the very start…" Now it was the oni's turn to be embarrassed as he just sat down beside her with his face as red as his horns. "Oh man, and here I thought that I was making the guys jealous..."
"Here's your lunch." She brought the tray closer to Itto, trying to change the subject.
"Oh, thanks." Itto looked at his food, then at Sara. "What I said earlier-"
"Just eat your food."
"Yes, General." The oni immediately complied, as he started eating. Itto took a bite on an onigiri. "Food's pretty okay," he commented while chewing his food. "You would get more prisoners if it's delicious though."
"Idiot Oni, swallow your food first. And what kind of prison would that be?" Sara replied beside him, watching him eat.
"Good point." Itto let out a chuckle, as he continued to enjoy himself. After finishing his onigiri rather quickly, he turned to the Tengu. "Have you eaten yet?" he asked, some grain of rice on his face.
Sara shook her head, as she removed the rice on the Oni's face. "Not yet, I don't feel hungry."
"You gotta eat something at least." Itto looked at his choices, choosing an egg roll he picked it up with his chopsticks and held it near Sara's mouth. "Here. I'm not going to let my rival/lover be weak before our rematch again."
Sara never understood the joy of eating food. Only thinking of food as a tool necessary for surviving, which was true. She dislikes eating delicous food, especially sweets since they put her in a relaxed state, it makes her feel weak and made her feel that she was doing something wrong. The General's preferred food is a quick-filled meal, eat it, then go back to work. Through all her life that was one of her ways of living. Until this oni came up and changed that part of her. She was now even able to eat sweets again because of him, Itto was very nosy when it came to that part of her.
Sara opened her mouth. Getting his signal, Itto placed the egg roll on her tongue. "Any criticisms?" The Oni asked, as the Tengu chewed her food.
After savoring it for a while, she swallowed, and voiced out her opinion. "Kudos to the chef. But I prefer it sweeter though."
Itto nodded in response, "You and me both. Want some more?" not bothering to wait for her reply, he eyed his lunch for which he would give to Sara.
For a while the two just kept staring at the same spot as Itto ate his lunch, the Oni would occasionally give some of his lunch to Sara, just holding out the food near her mouth and Sara eating it without hesitation, and giving her opinion on it. While it was quiet, the pair were at the point where they were comfortable to not talk to each other. Which was very surprising, since Itto while a very extroverted person, actually likes these type of quiet moments with the Tengu.
But...Sara still had something to say.
"I am content. My stomach is full now, thank you." The General said politely, Itto gave a grunt and nodded as a reply since his mouth was full, happy that his girlfriend was able to eat.
As Sara braced herself for what's about to happen, she couldn't prevent the yawn that forced its way out of her lips. She was already tired from working all morning, and eating till she was full, really nailed the coffin to her sleepiness. Nevertheless she forced herself to try and stay awake for only this time. Unconsciously, she rested her head at Itto's shoulder. The Oni perked up slightly at this, but was able to contain his surprise and continued to eat normally.
Sara focused her eyes at one spot in the prison room, to prevent herself from getting any sleepier. "Whether or not you forced me into this doesn't matter." she said, her tone the most calm it had been all day. "If you felt lonely, then…it is my responsibility to do something about it." A small blush now formed in the Tengu's cheeks. "I…will try to see you more often from now on. I do not know how I will do it, but I will try to do my best." she finished, leaning more to Itto's shoulder. It was the first time she had done this, and was surprised by how warm and comfortable the Oni's shoulder was.
The prison room was still and quiet for a moment. Until Itto rested his head on Sara's. "Don't look at me, I think I have a stupid grin on my face right now. Stupid but still handsome though. Itto corrected at the last part, some of the nervousness Sara was feeling disappeared as she rolled her eyes at what he said. Itto continued, "You say that you don't know what to do, but look, you've already done something. "
Sara tried to look up at Itto's face, "What do you mean?"
"Didn't you stop your work, visited me in jail, and even used your break just to be with me?" Itto looked back at Sara. "I never expected you to even consider doing that. Since I know you're a hardcore rule follower, work comes first, work is love, work work work work." One by one of Itto's comment about Sara, sprouted angry vein after angry vein in the Tengu's head. "But... The fact that you did all those things for me was really sweet, and very cool if you ask me, as expected of my one and only rival/lover." Itto exclaimed, clearly impressed at Sara.
"I guess so." Sara can only shrug, feeling embarrassed by Itto's somewhat genuine compliment.
"I'm not lying when I said that I was an easy oni to please. Seeing your face was really enough for me." The oni slightly nudged Sara's head. "So you really didn't have to force yourself to do something."
'Then this was all for nothing!' Sara thought out, that comment making Sara all the more embarrassed and ashamed in her actions, "I apologize, in the future I will keep that in mind!" she said, her voice higher than usual, she tried to quickly remove herself from the oni but was immediately stopped by Itto. "No! Let me go! Do not torture me more than you already do!" The Tengu's wings sprouted from her back, a small gust of wind blowing in the prison room as they flapped to remove herself from the Oni.
With Itto having a tight grip, was easily able to keep Sara in place even as she tried to get away from him. He felt nostalgic, as this wasn't the first time she tried flapping away from him. "Nope~! Now that you said that, I will be expecting you to keep your word. Kujou Sara always keeps her promises, right~?" Itto laughed, as spoke in a teasing voice. "And calm down! You wouldn't want to end our prison date if your guards heard us!"
Hearing that, the Tengu's wings instantly folded as Sara calmed herself. Her stoic expression returning, "...You are the worst, idiotic oni." she said full of spite, now leaning back at the oni's shoulder.
"Well, I am your one and oni after all , Kujou Tengu." Itto said proudly like it was one of his proudest titles. "And come on, you made a mess now." Itto pointed at the sprawled out wooden furniture, and the leftover egg rolls on the floor that Itto was saving for last.
'Another blunder… What is wrong with me today?' Sara thought out, shaming herself for her lack of self-discipline lately.
"Pardon my outburst earlier. I will tidy up the room, and get you some more food." Again, when she tried to remove herself from him, Itto just gently forced her head to stay in his shoulder.
"Nah, it's okay. I'll clean up later, and I don't like wasting food. Just rest, and have your break. You can even sleep if you like." The oni grabbed one of the egg rolls on the floor "Five-second rule!" he quickly put the egg roll in his mouth, and started eating again.
Sara would have just thanked Itto for the offer, and done everything herself. But hearing that made the General aware how tired and sleepy she really was. And the warmth and comfortable feeling the oni's shoulder was giving really didn't help. "...Are you sure? I don't want to impose…" Sara lightly yawned in the end, and rubbed her eyes. "You finally saw me after a few days, and I do not want to waste it by sleeping." her tone slightly guilty for being sleepy.
Itto shrugged with his other shoulder. "Eh, I'm not that mean to force you to stay awake when clearly you are tired. And besides…" he smiled as looked at Sara who was yawning, and rubbing her eyes. "This is nice once in a while."
"...Yeah." Sara agreed with him for once. "Do try to not be arrested in prison the next time we meet." she said, with a blank tone.
Itto gave out one of his trademark chuckles. "No promises! Now go rest! I don't want to hear any excuses when I finally beat you in a duel!" The oni said as he fixed his posture to make Sara more comfortable.
Sara rolled her eyes from his statement, "Well I will take you up on your offer." Looking at the bar window at the ceiling, she calculated when her break would end. "Wake me up after half an hour." The tengu said, not waiting for the oni's reply as she closed her eyes. Quickly feeling the sleepiness take over her body.
"Understood, General." Itto saluted, expecting a comeback from Sara. Only to look at her as she was breathing steadily, possibly asleep. Looking at her sleeping face, a soft smile enveloped his face, as the oni tucked the tengu's hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Sara." he muttered hoping to not wake her up. The oni then continued to eat his leftovers, as he stared at the open space and counting on his head the time left for Sara's nap.
After sometime a thought suddenly came to his head. "I wonder when I'll get out of jail?" The oni asked himself.
The Tengu's work mode suddenly turned on, "Assaulting an officer is a crime punishable by law. The suspect is given a serving of 24 hours in jail. Since you assaulted three, then you are serving 72 hours in jail time." The sleeptalking General said, as she went back to her nap.
"Huh!? No! I can't serve 3 days in jail time! I have an onikabuto championship match tomorrow!" Now not minding his voice, Itto panicked as she tried to wake up the Tengu on his shoulder. But unfortunately for him, Sara was a heavy sleeper, only waking up at her assigned time. "Sara~!? General~!? No~! My undefeated title~!" Itto shouted as he cried in sadness. With Sara staying asleep, not being fazed and bothered by the oni.
Violet Thunder" The Onikabuto
Record: 0W 10D 1L
For the General of the Tenryou Commission, her description of crimson is one of a noisy, idiocy, goofus, sore loser, reckless, and unashamed. It is surprising though, how the General was supposed to be used and sensitive to the color of blood, but not once had she compared the two. If anything she was…afraid. Afraid that if she would stare at the color of crimson, she would want to remain in its warmth forever.
Author's Note: Hey, guys! This is my first fanfiction about this pairing or even Genshin Impact in general. This ship even before Arataki "The Supreme" Itto was released immediately sailed and is my most favorite ship in the game. I am pretty aware that Sara was a bit out-of-character here, but that will be justified in the future when I write the chapter on how their relationship started. Please give me your opinion about this, and any criticisms is very welcome! Look forward to the next chapter HAHAHAH~!