A/N: Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! And for those who don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you still had a swell day.
The Crux had long since left Inazuma considering the rhythmic swaying and occasional lurch of wood. Yet Beidou hadn't given him the ok so he stayed where he was. In the meantime, he had both Crocea Mors and the nameless katana in his lap. Jaune was simply staring at the weapons, and his mind was focused on the battle the day before.
'Should I have killed them?'
The blonde felt numb thinking about the event. A part of him felt he had been too ruthless. Too brutal. A huntsman is supposed to save lives. Not end them. Then he remembers people like Cinder. Like Salem. The bandits. No matter where he goes, there are those who seek to cause harm to the innocents. If he had just given them a good beating, they would've continued countless atrocities. It was the right thing to do if he wanted to save lives.
'So why did he feel so numb?'
Jaune focused on Crocea Mors as his hand dragged across the sheath. It stopped at the grip and he slowly gripped it. He lifted it, grabbed the sheath with his other appendage, and pulled the blade free. His blue eyes immediately were drawn to the dried blood that lay on the end of the broken blade. The visceral reaction wasn't there and instead, it was replaced with an unnerving sense of discomfort. It was like his heart was disgusted at the fact the sword was in his hands.
The huntsman sheathed the blade just as the door to the cargo hold opened. Beidou casually walked in as her eye landed on Jaune.
"C'mon. I wanna talk and I'd rather do it in the open air."
With a nod of his head, he stood up and placed Crocea Mors on his hip, along with the nameless katana. He grabbed the sack of his stuff before following the ship's captain to the upper deck. They moved through the halls of the ship as the crewmen gave him curious looks. A quick bark from Beidou made them return to their tasks, though they still gave him glances. Jaune saw light peaking from an opening leading to what he assumed was the top deck and the pair walked up the last flight of stairs to emerge into the sunlight.
The salty smell of the ocean invaded his nostrils as he squinted his eyes in response to the change between light levels. He saw the rest of the crew committed to their tasks, some of them looking at him like before, but the captain ignored them as she continued moving. Jaune looked beyond the barrier separating the boat from the water, and he was met with the open vastness of the ocean. It was a sight he hadn't seen in a very long time. He could barely remember the last time he had been on a boat.
The two went up another flight of stairs leading to the poop deck, where a member of the crew dutifully steered the ship. Beidou stopped at the fence and casually leaned back on it, giving him a gesture to join her. He obliged as he leaned on the fence with his arms, facing the open sea. The huntsman noticed Narukami Island less than a mile away when he looked behind the ship.
"I like to get to know the people who end up on the Crux," Beidou started casually. "'Helps with the monotony of things."
"I… don't know what to say. Anything, in particular, you're curious about?" Jaune awkwardly responded.
"Hm…" The woman thoughtfully hummed, "How about where you're from? Your name reminds me of similar ones from Mondstadt, and the fact you have a family name makes me believe you are a noble. Am I right?"
"Kinda. I'm not from Mondstadt. I'm, as hard as it might be to believe, from across the Dark Sea."
That piece of info caught Beidou's eye, and an intrigued look crossed her face. "The Dark Sea? I've always wondered what lay there, and there are plenty of rumors surrounding it."
"What kind of rumors?"
"Ancient civilizations. Dangerous wastelands. Powerful Seelie. The only thing I know is that the Dark Sea isn't under the jurisdiction of The Seven Archons."
Jaune recognized the familiar word. The god who ruled over Inazuma was called an Archon. Considering there are seven nations in Teyvat, he figured these archons ruled or oversaw their respective nations. It made him wonder if not getting in contact with the Inazuma Archon was the best choice. Miko seemed strangely insistent that he didn't, and she knew the place more than him, so maybe it was the right choice. Either way, it doesn't matter anymore as he's already on a ship heading away from the nation.
"So you're not from Mondstadt… but you didn't refute that you were a noble."
Beidou brought him out of his thoughts as he responded, "Once upon a time, my family could count as nobility, I suppose. My ancestors used to be hailed as great heroes. Brave. Courageous. Fighting for what's right. My sword, Crocea Mors, is even a family heirloom."
"It sounds like they aren't that anymore."
"Times changed, I guess. Nowadays, my family is just as normal as the rest. If big. The only reason I know our history is because my grandfather used to tell me stories of what the Arc family used to stand for. It inspired me so much that I ended up taking Crocea Mors with absolutely no training and striking out in the name of glory and heroism," Jaune shook his head with a chuckle, still amazed at just how foolish and naïve the younger him was.
The captain's face was calm as she stared at Jaune. "Considering you're still here, I'd say you reached that goal, yeah?"
Jaune's mouth opened for a moment, before being clamped shut. He genuinely didn't know how to answer that question. A part of him wants to say yes. That he's the hero his younger self wanted to be. Yet he's reminded of his failures every time. His failure to save Pyrrha, to stop the fall of Beacon, to stop the fall of Atlas, and most recently, his failure to save Penny. Why was it that no matter what he did, the lives of those closest to him would be lost? Was killing Penny the right choice to stop Salem? He felt disgusted at the thought, but her death stopped the Maiden powers from transferring to Cinder and instead to Winter. Was that the best option available?
Seeing the huntsman's unresponsive state, Beidou shifted the question. "You don't need to answer that. How about you tell me how you crossed the Dark Sea in the first place? I can't imagine you swam across."
"Huh? Oh–I uh…" Jaune stuttered through his words as the sudden topic shift surprised him. "I–I fell overboard. On a ship. Ended up waking on the shore of Narukami Island."
"You could get past the storm?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Storm? What storm?"
"You mean you–no, that kinda makes sense. If you were unconscious, you wouldn't have seen the storm. Still…" A thoughtful look came over her head before she shook it away, "Ah, whatever. The storm I'm talking about is the one surrounding all of Inazuma. The Raiden Shogun instated it to enforce the Sakoku Decree further. It makes getting in and out of the place a pain in the ass."
Jaune blanched at the info. It certainly put into perspective just how powerful these Archons were to be able to kick up a storm on a whim. Also made him wonder if the Shogun would've wiped him off the face of the earth for daring to approach her. Food for thought, he supposed.
"Speaking of getting out, where are we headed anyway?
"Oh, right. 'Knew I was forgetting something. We're heading to Liyue. 'Got some business with the Tianquan of the Qixing."
The foreign words went over his head, and just as he was about to ask–
"Hey, captain! We got a problem here!"
"What have these idiots done this time…" Beidou mumbled as she gave him an apologetic look, "Guess we'll have to pick up this conversation later."
With those final parting words, the woman walked away to handle whatever situation had cropped up. Jaune stayed where he was for the moment, leaning over the fence and staring toward the dark, heavy clouds far ahead in the distance. Despite having moved past it, Jaune's mind couldn't help but return to the question Beidou asked. It was a never-ending spiral of 'what-ifs' and doubt that he stuffed deep down. He wasn't in the mood to acknowledge those thoughts and instead headed back down to the cargo hold.
Like before, he moved past busy crewmen, though this time they didn't give him curious gazes. They focused on their task, and Jaune simply continued. Suddenly a door opened in front of him, and someone came walking out almost bumping into him. He stopped before such a thing could occur and the guy did the same. The blonde looked down at the man, and he noticed he was wearing clothes similar to those he saw in Inazuma. However, it stood out much more, especially compared to the drab colors of the ship. The man's platinum blonde hair tilted with his head, as he gave Jaune a curious look.
"I didn't know we picked someone up from Inazuma." The man seemed to connect the dots himself. "Interesting. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Kaedehara Kazuha."
He extended a hand in greeting, and Jaune was quick to grasp it. "I'm Jaune Arc. I wasn't expecting to be on this ship either if I'm being honest."
"So you were swept up in Beidou's whims, hm?"
Jaune chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you can say that. Fortunately, it was those whims that ended up saving me from those…" The blond racked his brain for the name of his pursuers, "... Fatui guys. No idea why they were after me, but they think I'm some sort of criminal."
"Well, I guess that's one thing we both have in common."
"The Fatui are after you too?"
"No, not them. I'm wanted by the Inazuma Shogunate." Jaune raised an eyebrow warily, and Kazuha was quick to clarify. "I'm wanted because I didn't give up my Vision."
"Your Vision?" Jaune remembered what Miko told him about Vision. How they were small baubles that allowed their wielder to use one of the Seven Elements. "Why would they want your Vision?"
The Inazuman gave him a befuddled gaze. "Do you mean to say you aren't aware of the Vision Hunt Decree?"
He was quick to explain his excuse for why he knew little about Teyvat, and Kazuha was curious like the rest. "That certainly explains it. Well, in Inazuma it's illegal to have a Vision and if you do, it's confiscated by the Shogunate."
"That sounds bad. Why would they do that?"
A frown came across his face, and for a moment a look of resentment flashed in his expression. The samurai quickly returned to his previously polite face.
"The Raiden Shogun is the God of Eternity, and in her eyes, Vision wielders are a threat to that eternity. At least, that's what she said when… never mind that. At the end of the day, it's a cruel thing to do, even if Vision users are uncommon."
Jaune nodded in agreement, and he wondered if that's what those Fatui people were after. They thought he had a Vision and wanted to confiscate it. Hopefully, he could set the record straight if they ever crossed paths again. It would make his journey more difficult if they kept pursuing him.
"Anyway, I think that's enough about the decree. I don't want to make this conversation more downtrodden," Kazuha's eyes roamed down to the weapons on his hip, "How about you tell me what you were doing before this? We can share stories."
His fellow blonde-haired man stepped to the side, allowing entry into his room and Jaune gave him a friendly smile, "Sure, why not?"
The huntsman entered his room, commencing the first of many conversations the pair would have over the course of their time on the Crux.
A/N: A couple more chapters till Jaune gets to explore Liyue Harbor. Other than that, I'll see you next chapter.