They moved to a room designed for meetings. There was a large table in the middle, and a bunch of cushions to sit on surrounding it. Miko sat on one end, and Jaune sat opposite her. Not long after, Jaune gave her an abbreviated version of what happened before he became a living comment. Obviously, he left out certain details that he'd rather not say out loud, but he told it as it was. As he shared his story, he wondered how the shrine maiden would even react. Would she believe his words? He wouldn't blame her if she didn't, because the idea of someone being transported to another world sounds outlandish.
Once he finished his retelling of the event, Miko absorbed this information with a thoughtful look.
"Now that you know, can you tell me more about where I am? I remember some things you said, like Inazuma and Teyvat, but I'd like more specifics. Also, what was the lightning I saw you use before I blacked out? Was that magic?"
The lady took his bombardment of questions with stride before saying, "As stated before, the land you find yourself in is Inazuma, an archipelago, and one of the seven nations that comprise the continent of Teyvat."
"What are the other six?"
"I was about to explain before you rudely interrupted me." Miko gave him a stern look and frown, causing him to scratch his head sheepishly. "Liyue, Mondstat, Sumeru, Fontaine, Natlan, and Snezhnaya are the other six nations, with Liyue being the closest nation to us."
She brought her hand in view, and he watched in fascination as an orb of purple electricity formed. "What you saw me use was Electro, which is one of the seven elements that comprise this world."
"I think I can guess the others," Jaune interjected, as he realized how similar this was to some of those fantasy comics he used to read. Plus his own experiences with magic. "Mostly."
Miko seemed to pick up this familiarity as she lowered her hand. "You have something similar in your world?"
He nodded. "Practically identical, all things considered, though only a handful of people could actually use it."
"Interesting… you'll have to tell me more about this later, but for now, let's get back on the topic."
A purple gem within a purple frame slowly floated into view. "This is a vision. It's what allows humans to use elemental power, though it's not something a majority of the populace has access to."
"Just like Aura…" Jaune surmised, causing the shrine maiden to raise an eyebrow. He quickly followed up by raising his own hand and activating his aura, "In Remnant, Huntsman uses Aura to fight the Grimm. It makes us superhuman and increases our healing ability. Plus, there are also semblances which are their own power unique to each individual."
"That would explain your wounds healing faster than expected. What should have taken a few weeks should be healed with the week," Yae Miko noted as she stood. "As much as I'd like to hear more about your world, I have duties I must attend to."
"You really believe all the stuff I said?" Jaune asked, "I wouldn't blame you if you didn't."
She gave him a reserved stare before shrugging, "This world is filled with lots of fantastical things, as I'm sure you'll come to find."
Jaune furrowed his eyebrow at the cryptic words, but she didn't give him a chance to question her.
"For now, I want you to rest and when I return, I want you to explain more about your time in that world. It's quite the fascinating listen."
With a bow, Miko left the room, leaving Jaune to stew in his own thoughts.
'Teyvat…a whole new world.'
Jaune snorted to himself. This was something his younger self would've dreamed up. A hero is being transported to another world so he can save it! Or something like that. Unfortunately, his life wasn't a fantasy, and he had things he needed to prioritize. Specifically finding a way back to Remnant. He didn't even want to imagine what Salem might do to his home in his absence. Miko had hinted at some weird stuff existing, so maybe somewhere in this world, an answer existed.
No. It had to exist. He wouldn't accept anything less.
For now, he should focus on resting up and healing from his wounds. As if peeking in on his thoughts, his shoulder let out a pulse of pain that spread across his body. Jaune endured the pain as he stood and made his way out of the room. When he walked out into the courtyard, a stray thought passed his mind.
'I wonder what exists outside this shrine?'
Deciding to indulge this curiosity, he followed the path to what he assumed was the entrance. The blonde walked around the building opposite the Sakura Tree and faced a stone path that led to stairs going down. He walked further down the pathway before stopping at the edge of the cliff, and his eyes widened in surprise.
The Narukami Shrine stood atop an enormous mountain, and his gaze found a village and a port town. Even further away from the shrine was a large city that was at least a day away. There were more islands beyond this, including one with a large rock floating in the air with a permanent purple storm surrounding it. It was something that should be impossible, and yet there it was, floating without a care in the world.
"Excuse me, are you the foreigner the Lady Guuji saved?"
Jaune perked up and turned around to see a woman walking towards him. She had a black, chin-length bob cut, and brown hair clips separated the front portions. She was wearing the shrine maiden outfit, similar to what Yae was wearing, but much more reserved. It seemed like the official version compared to whatever modifications the pink-haired lady made.
"The Lady Guuji? You mean Yae?"
She nodded as a small smile came upon her face. "Indeed. Though just so you are aware, her given name isn't Yae."
Jaune tilted his head in confusion. "It's not?"
"No. It's Miko. I'm surprised you didn't know. Most foreigners don't realize that the given name and family name are swapped when we introduce ourselves."
"Oh, well…thanks for that." Jaune held out an open hand in greeting. "I'm Jaune, by the way."
"I'm Maki. It's a pleasure," she grasped his hand daintily before letting go, "I'm going to assume that you are that foreigner. How did the Lady Guuji find you? I remember one moment she was attending to her duties, then the next she was gone. Not long after, she reappeared holding someone in her arms."
"Yeah. That was definitely me. Let's just say I had a bad fall."
"I see…" Maki said with a raised eyebrow, but she didn't question further, "If you don't mind me asking, what nation did you come from?"
Jaune opened his mouth before clamping it down. What should he say? While Miko was open to his words, her reaction may be the exception, and explaining the truth would likely weird her out. He also couldn't use any of the other nations because he knew jack about them. The blonde would not attempt to bluff his way out of that. So he told half the truth.
"I come from a place called Remnant." Jaune pointed past the farthest islands. "Across the sea. I fell overboard on a ship and ended up washing up here."
"You're from across the Dark Sea?" she responded in surprise. "No one knows what lies beyond there, but to think that another nation exists…"
He gave a small smile. "I'm just as surprised as you. I never thought I'd find myself in another nation entirely."
Maki shared the smile before a troubled look came across her face. "If you're from across the sea, then that means you don't have a permit."
"A permit?"
"Yes, a traveling permit. You'll likely be arrested if you're caught without one outside of Ritou."
"Wait, back up a little. Why would I need a permit?"
Maki stared beyond the cliff, and Jaune followed her gaze to the large city that sat at the end of this island.
"Relatively recently, the Raiden Shogun enacted the Sakoku Decree." Noticing the confusion on the blonde's face, she further explained. "The Raiden Shogun is the God of Eternity and the Electro Archon of Inazuma. When she enacted the Sakoku Decree, no one was allowed past Inazuma's border. In or out."
"Foreigners could not leave nor explore the island, and they were forced to stay in Ritou unless they had a travel permit." Maki pointed toward the coastal town he noticed before, and he figured that place was Ritou.
"Then…all I have to do is get a permit, right?"
She shook her head. "Unfortunately, it's not as easy as that. You'd have to go through multiple hoops to get one. It's why only a select few merchants usually are allowed outside of Ritou."
Jaune processed the information with a frown. It was all too much, to be honest. Not only were their gods thrown into the mix, but the Sakoku Decree stopped his plans in his tracks. If he couldn't leave the island, then how in the hell was he supposed to get back home?
His injuries flared up, and Jaune decided that he'd think about this later. "Thanks for telling me this, even if it was just bad news."
"I'm sorry," Maki apologized, "But it's better to be knowledgeable in this situation than not, no?"
"Definitely. For now, I need to rest. My body needs the rest with all the injuries I have."
She nodded. "I'll see you later, Jaune."
Jaune nodded back as he headed back the way he came. His mind was filled with ideas on how to handle this decree business. He could try to sneak into Ritou and stow away on one of the ships that arrived there, but a ship would have to be there for him to escape. If he just got in and waited around, then people would get suspicious of him.
Jaune reached the door to his temporary sleeping space and slept on his plans for now. He'd had to brainstorm further, and maybe Miko could help him out.
[-]
"What have you discovered?"
Podić walked up to his subordinate, another Fatui agent, just like him. They were currently examining the rotting corpse of some Hilachurls. Another piece of a puzzle they must solve. His superiors ordered him to investigate an object that had crashed on the northern end of Narukami Island. They were wary of any sort of anomalies, as they didn't want any disruptions to their plans. No matter how big or small the problem was, they would be sent to investigate.
They sent a scout at first to find out the situation and find out if this was something worth investigating further. With the discovery of Hilachurl's corpse and faint traces of elemental energy, the higher-ups decided to investigate further.
Despite their orders, Podin thought that such a use of resources was a waste. After all, it's not unnatural for these creatures to be killed by someone using their vision. In the end, he had no choice and they sent him and his team to discover what had happened. Good thing he listened, as something strange was afoot.
"These Hilachurls weren't killed in the same way as the Mitachurl at the entrance," the agent told him. "With the big one, we could find faint traces of Electro energy that led somewhere. These corpses were killed by mundane means. A sword, specifically."
The agent continued, "Unlike the Mitachurl, the ones have no traces of elemental energy."
"It's possible that some Vision user decided to not use their elemental power," Podin interjected sternly.
"I'd agree, however, I believe that there is proof that the one who killed the Mitachurl, and the one who killed the Hilachurls, are two different people."
"Show me."
Podin followed the agent further into the cave, where others of his team were analyzing every inch of their environment. Soon enough, they entered a larger part of the cave, which was illuminated by a large hole in the ceiling. The hole loomed over a sizable crater directly in the center of the area, and Podin squinted at the formation.
"Something crashed through the ground and into this cave where they landed at the center of this crater." The agent pointed toward a large indent at the center. "Not only that, but I've found traces of blood leading away from this crater, by where we found the Hilachurls."
Podin placed a hand on his chin as he thought about the situation. Something had landed here and survived. Considering the size of the crater, the mast has been moving pretty fast. Yet despite the speed, they could survive the crash and continue moving. Such a thing was unnatural, and unlike any normal human that he knew. Regardless of whether there were two people here, the fact of the matter is that something left this cave. They must know what.
"Send someone back to the higher-ups to inform them of our discoveries," Podin ordered. "I'll have this area cordoned off and gather a small team to follow the elemental trail you mentioned before."
"Yes, sir!" The agent ran off as Podin looked back at the crater.
Was whatever crawled out there a potential asset, or a potential threat? Or maybe even both? No matter what it was, he was going to sort this out. One way or another.
A/N: So I got a couple of questions. Just have some ideas in my head and want to see what y'all think.
First: What do you think of pairings? Would you like it in the story, or do you not care for it too much? I have some ideas on who I could pair Jaune up with, but nothing fully concrete. Anyone in particular you'd think would be a good match for Jaune?
Second: Would you mind Jaune being able to use elemental energy in some shape or form?
Like I said, these are just ideas and I can go either way with them. Either add them to the story or don't. Just wanna see what you guys think before I come to a conclusion. Anways, I'll see you next week and I hope you enjoyed what I wrote.