Cold Clouds 5 - (Genshin Impact, Ganyu!SI)
Junjun Shugetsu, the Appearance of the Moon Guard.
The irony of such title was hilarious considering that I was quite sure this was the Japanese version of Ganyu's original title. It's been three years since I moved to Inazuma, and I was pleased to know that the place I found was Ritou village.
The place, surprisingly enough, was quite similar to how it appears in the game's present, but while many would question how that was the case...
Well, many would also be surprised to know Inazuma was currently shattered in multiple smaller states that were led by minor deities. Think of it as the Sengoku Jidai of Japan, but instead of Daimyos, it was all about 'gods' playing Risk left and right.
When I arrived in Ritou, I found the place to be quick to isolate itself upon my arrival. They had spotted me early on, expecting me to be one of those divine contenders trying to claim their home as my domain, but all I did wa just wander around, get annoyed at the cold treatment, and merely set up a tent outside the other side of the village's entry point.
For a full month, I was treated as if I was some sick woman that was just trying to pollute their bodies and mind with a plague or worse. For a full month, that was the case but... I was patient. Humans could be so 'animal-like' when handling something above them. I wouldn't define myself as such, but they definitely felt scared of what I could bring to their realm.
Calm and attention were the key factor that allowed the cold attitude to thaw and then melt entirely. It all started when some of the adults sought my assistance when sick. I think someone spread rumors I was some sort of 'benevolent' spirit.
In truth, I used my knowledge in basic medicine to help where it was possible, and I managed to avoid any deaths under my watch. This, coupled with the fact I caught a few kids getting lost in some of the nearby caves before sending back home, was enough to finally be approached by a small representative group that sought to speak with me.
The poor elderly chief forced his body to fully bow down with a simple request, his action followed by the rest of the retinue.
"Lady, become our goddess."
...
"I am not a goddess," I argued flatly. "But I can be your protector if you wish so."
The next few minutes were a mix of awkward exchanges in trying to tackle the 'culture shock', and me helping the chief to get his bones to work accordingly in standing up and not break. After this weird meeting, I was invited to the village, and I was introduced to the rest of the locals.
Truth be told, I wanted to travel the entire region, but as it became clear that this nation was too broken and too wartorn for me to safely make the trip without pissing off too many entities at once, I decided to just stay put, wait for a better opportunity and then go from there.
I had predicted things would be tame in a year, then two, and at the third year... I guess I got attached to the place. Albeit I wasn't the village chief, my opinion was valued quite highly by the leadership, and many elders found my suggestions worthy of planning and establishing upon reality.
I wasn't a master builder, but the sight of the precise work employed by the Guili Assembly allowed me to provide with some sharp criticism over the barely-sufficient state of the port, same for the housing. I was around long enough to see some of the more risky homes be fixed up and even expanded to provide more space to the current locals.
I had to put a stop to any attempt to build a shrine or even a temple in my honor as I reaffirmed my 'non-divine' status. Some were shocked by this rejection, others found it to be 'another sign that we have the best goddess' sort of situation.
At least the kimono I got was quite nice in terms of beauty and feeling to my skin...
And around the first year... I was greeted by the first wave of trouble: the local yokai being an unruly bunch of pricks. It was mostly Kitsunes and Tanukis, the pranksters always at odds since 'the former invaded the latter's domains' and there was a constant clashing on who was 'the best and the most deserving of those lands'.
The fact those clashes also involved competitions of pranking humans, I had to personally get involved, 'smack' some common sense and reaffirm the borders of the village and why they shouldn't be crossing it for this sort of reason.
By the second year, the two types of Yokai had learned the lesson, but I found myself grumbling over the attention I was creating by merely keeping the lawn clean. The 'greener the land is, the more people will move in' is such a strange notion when one considered how scattered the settlements were in this side of Narukami Island.
More housing and the docks were further expanded. Guilds were registered and the bureaucracy was sharply improved upon the massive rise in denizens. Ritou was growing, but I knew better than consider this positively as the word was spreading that 'I was keeping the peace'. And it was bound to lead to some 'issues' of the arrogant kind.
I was lucky enough that the one moron that decided to come forth first was one that wasn't truly a bad person. She was just... an oni. A dumb one.
"I am Mikoshi Chiyo, and I'mma ready to show you that-! Wait, you are not an Oni?!"
I received the news of this abrupt case from some of the militia scout that reported some lone oni wandering about and daring them to bring 'the mighty Oni Ganyu' to her attention. I was very confused by this oni calling me someone of her kind, but as I got to meet who was disturbing the peace, I couldn't help but realize that...
The theory that Itto's bloodline was the same as Chiyo may not be a loose theory as many players believed.
"I am not. And I have never said I was one."
"B-But- but they said that you have horns!"
I bowed my head slightly. "These?"
Chiyo leaned closer, red eyes narrowed at the Qilin horns and... she facepalmed. Hard. "Crap, I thought you were a Oni when I heard people mentioning a super-strong woman with horns!"
She huffed, stomping her nude feet on the ground.
"Dangit! So I made this trip for nothing or... maybe not~!" She revealed the club she had holstered by her back. "You're still strong, right? I bet that you will make for a nice warm-up."
Correction. Dumb and cocky.
I sighed. "Look, I am not against challenges, but I will make this easy for you to understand. You are not in a good spot to beat me."
Blinking in confusion, Chiyo looked at her stance and then... took a step to the side. "Now?"
I held back the urge of facepalming, and merely decided that today was a good day to beat the dumb out of an oni. Sadly for me, the beating occurred but her dumb nature persisted through it. In fact, it persisted through several frustrating beatings.
I learned a few things about Chiyo: she was quite stubborn, and dumb, she had no place to go, and dumb, she was quite attentive to punctuality, AND EXTREMELY DUMB! The few times where I just let her go and try to stay away from me seemed to make her want to get wrecked more by me.
I heard of masochists, I have met some in my previous life- this? This was not it. This wasn't a masochist, this was pure idiocy given supernatural strength. After all, Chiyo was an Oni- she was a relatively strong Oni. She just wasn't strong enough to ever pose a threat to me. I was too well-trained, my biology was way tougher, and she didn't seem to favor anything else but pure physical power.
By the sixth time of facing her in a month, I realized it was time to take responsibility for potentially brain-damaging the moron so many times she may have developed Stockhom Syndrome and go for a seventh battle with a single gamble.
"Chiyo?"
"Yes, Ganyu-sensei?" She asked giddily, having decided weeks ago to just see me as a 'teacher' of sort.
"If I beat you this time, you are coming to live in Ritou."
...
"R-Really?" Chiyo appeared shocked. An orphaned child, shunned by many humans, was being given the chance to have a family? Oh no, I just wanted to keep her close and find ways to distract her without being 'death-warred' upon it's time to face a serious threat. "I-I mean- As if I would ever be beaten by you... again. Still, if that's the case- if I win, I will live in Ritou village."
...Do I need to say more?
As expected, Chiyo came forth, screaming her lungs out, her club fluctuating with the same grace of a dying fly and-
"Woah! This place is bigger than I had expected!"
"I am glad to hear that, Chiyo-tan."
A giggle at the honorifics and the headpat she got for being a 'good girl'. I should add a disclaimer and mention that Chiyo at this point is a year younger than me. I was 15, the brat was 14 despite her childish antics.
And I kind of became her mom since she is utterly trash at everything but basic combat- but that's a story for next time right as I end up facing... two familiar twins.
AN
I don't have anything against Chiyo, but I feel she fit the role of airheaded dum-dum in the group of friends Ei still cherish in Genshin's present. Think of her as Ayame from Hololive, but trying to pick fights with everything that can fight.