(Shikanoin Heizou)
For the first time in months, he found himself in a different nightmare than before. Instead of standing among the onlookers as usual, he was fighting in the duel before the throne. Among the crowd was someone who Shikanoin Heizou had not seen in months, Kaedehara Kazuha.
Against his will, Heizou started walking towards the center of the fighting ring. As soon as he got to the middle, his opponent materialized in the ring. Before him stood an entity in the form of lightning-wielding Kairagi.
The fighting started as soon as the Kairagi appeared. At first Heizou dodged his attacks, hoping to learn from his patterns. This wouldn't be the first time he was summoned for a duel before the throne. Even if this was a dream, it felt too real.
After dodging a few times, he started fighting back. At first he thought he was winning, but in a matter of seconds he was almost backed into a corner. Within a minute of fighting, Heizou was defeated.
With a flash of lightning, he woke up.
His morning started as it usually did. Nothing to indicate anything out of the ordinary.
The Tenryou Commission police station was not the closest to his house, but he didn't mind the walk there. It was actually one of the highlights of the morning, since he was able to keep his eyes open for anyone or anything suspicious on the way to work.
This time however, he noticed fewer people outside. The ones who were outside rushed inside as soon as they could. As he was walking, the gray clouds above and the wind made everything colder than usual. It wasn't unusual, given the time of year. Heizou came prepared, wearing more clothing than usual.
Soon he was at the station. However this time, something felt off. Even his intuition had been telling him that something was wrong. Now that he was at the station, the feeling was much stronger.
Sure enough Kujou Sara, a General of the Tenryou Commission, appeared as soon as he arrived. The expression on her face stayed neutral, but she still appeared as if she was trying to mask disappointment. She ordered the Doushin nearby to arrest him. Not wanting to cause any more trouble, Heizou put up no resistance. He knew why she was doing this.
Heizou had originally thought his tracks were covered. But Sara was perhaps not as easy to fool. Whatever the reason she found out, she was aware of his disloyalty.
Looking around, he could tell that another vision user had already been arrested. Pyro energy at that. Surely it wasn't her who was taken, after he allowed her to get away with handing in a fake vision…
They all knew he had been aiding some vision wielders. Heizou never dreamed that he would be arrested, or end up as another criminal. The worst outcome would've been losing his vision, and he wanted to avoid that. He never wanted to join those who lost their ambition, and by extension themselves. Especially after witnessing the effects.
After he was handcuffed, the others brought him inside the Commission building. He could feel more eyes on him now.
"I trust you understand why we had to arrest you here on such short notice," Kujou Sara said to him.
Heizou made no response.
"Not long ago we found out that the visions you handed us were fakes!" a man next to her told him. "You clearly have elemental sight, so there's no way you wouldn't have known about that!"
"So I suppose that you want to take my vision now?" Heizou replied.
"Not exactly," Sara explained. "If all goes well at the 100th vision ceremony, you may be let off with a warning. But if Mr. Thoma somehow escapes, we're taking your vision."
So that was the source of the pyro elemental energy he saw. Not Yoimiya as he had initially assumed. He still felt bad that Thoma of all people was subjected to such a fate.
Heizou was then taken to the station. There he saw Thoma in a holding cell. Aside from the way Thoma eyed him suspiciously, Heizou didn't have a problem being there next to him. It seemed that the housekeeper was understandably lost in thought, so the two of them stayed quiet for the remainder of that morning.
A group of Doushin, former colleagues of Heizou's, escorted them both out. The group made their way to the giant Statue of the Omnipresent God. Strange. Normally someone having their vision taken away was not a spectacle. But Kujou Sara mentioned that it was the 100th vision taken since the decree was first issued. Heizou never wanted any part in this, but in trying to avoid everything, he now ended up the center of all of it.
Shortly after, the crowd of onlookers started to gather around the statue. Heizou was mostly hidden from most of the crowd, but could see almost everything happening. As he watched on, Thoma was brought to the center. The Archon would be there shortly, but it felt like an eternity sitting there.
By some miracle, Kamisato Ayaka arrived just before the Raiden Shogun. She fought off the other Doushin before freeing Thoma. In the chaos and confusion, Shikanoin's captors let their guard down for a moment. He took the small chance he was given and immediately freed himself. He took off before anyone could notice that he was gone.
After running for a bit he hid behind a building to rest for a moment. Nearby he could hear the faint voices of both Ayaka and Thoma, confirming that they weren't caught. Heizou ran off again, this time spotting Ayaka also running in the same direction.
Eventually Heizou and Ayaka made it to a secluded shore that faced Kannazuka. Tired from running, he sat down on a nearby rock. Moments later, Ayaka appeared. She looked a little pale from running.
"I didn't expect you to actually follow me at first," Heizou said at last.
"At first I didn't expect to either," Ayaka explained. "But I have such a high bounty on me, so there's no way I wish to stay on Narukami Island at the present time."
"If memory serves correctly, a bounty like yours could fetch up to millions of mora."
"I see… Then how did you end up with one of your own?" She asked.
Heizou went on to explain all that happened that morning, up to when he saw Thoma in the holding cell. Then Ayaka told him her side, up to the moment she got to the statue.
Heizou turned around. The faint noises of other people were somewhere in the distance.
"I think they might be onto us."
"Then it would probably be smart to get to a safer area."
The two of them then spent the rest of the day traveling along the shoreline of Narukami Island. Eventually they found a small empty boat, still intact. With this boat, and a couple oars found nearby, they left Narukami island behind.