Chapter Text
Kunikuzushi didn’t say a word for the next week.
He was unbearably silent, looking away from Kazuha whenever they were in the same room, straight up leaving whenever he could. It was the longest Kazuha had gone without hearing him for… well, the past month.
And it was fair. Kazuha couldn’t blame him - he’d essentially violated him in a way Kazuha couldn’t hope to understand. He’d understand if Kunikuzushi waltzed straight into Watatsumi and never spoke to him again.
He wanted to apologise. But he didn’t want to impose. He was caught in the gentle, precarious balance of not hurting Kunikuzushi again, and bandaging the wound he’d already left. As if taunting him in his newfound loneliness, the hallucinations of Tomo had left him too.
Kazuha didn’t pray, generally. He hadn’t prayed before Tomo died, and he certainly didn’t pray after, but he did now. He prayed to the Raiden Shogun, if she even knew about her son who had caught Kazuha’s heart in his grasp. He prayed to Barbatos, hoping he cared enough for those who held his Vision to listen. He prayed to Rex Lapis, who looked favourably upon Ningguang and Beidou, so would maybe have some empathy for him.
He even prayed to Tomo. The real Tomo, not what his mind had conjured. Asking for advice, maybe comfort if he deserved it. He doubted he did.
When he was younger, and his clan had the money, he studied many languages. A word from a language near-dead and almost forgotten had always stuck in his head - gwelsen , meaning blade of grass. He felt like a simple blade of grass in the giant wind of Inazuma’s gods and their whims. Kunikuzushi himself felt like a commanding storm, in the way a near trivial act as not speaking had Kazuha awake at night, hearing his heart thump in his ears as he thought of nights of cold hands tucked under a thin blanket, and Kunikuzushi curling up next to him, resting his head on Kazuha’s chest.
He’d never been so reluctant to see Watatsumi on the horizon, and never had been so regretful to take the job of securing the mooring lines at the docks. He was almost thankful for the rope burn, it gave him something else to think about.
Kazuha hugged Beidou and kissed her cheek, hauled his pack onto his back and stood on the pontoon, keeping his eyes on the faint shape of the Sangonomiya Shrine in the distance. It was now, or never. Kunikuzushi would either leave on his own, or with Kazuha.
He whistled a tune quietly. Something about the plains and shores of Sumeru - when he felt an elbow in his side, albeit gentle.
“Well,” Kunikuzushi said, adjusting his straw hat on his head, and tightening the strap of his own satchel. “Are we going? I don’t know the way.”
Kazuha could have cried. Instead, he smiled brightly, and gestured for Kunikuzushi to follow him.
“I’ve forgiven you, by the way.” Kunikuzushi said conversationally, as the two of them began their walk up the hills. “I’m still very angry, but I forgive you.”
Kazuha fought the urge to grin like an idiot. He instead smiled politely, and nodded. “I’m glad - and I am still sorry.”
Kunikuzushi sniffed. “Yeah, well. You did save my life. So thank you, I guess.”
“You’re welcome. It was strange, not speaking to you for so long.” he said, hoping the soft confession hidden in his words would go unnoticed.
“I got bored of you moping around.” Kunikuzushi said, voice flat and sarcastic, but there was a note of sincerity beneath it. “Is this definitely Watatsumi? It looks just like any other island to me.”
“Oh,” Kazuha did grin now. “Just over this hill, and you’ll change your mind.”
Kunikuzushi grumbled something, quietly, but followed Kazuha up the steep hill, narrowing his eyes until they came to the summit, where they looked down at the valley holding the Sangonomiya Shrine and all its watery wonders.
“So?” Kazuha asked, trying to stifle the laughter in his question. Kunikuzushi was silent, eyes wide and taking in every single detail he could. His mouth opened, then closed, and then opened again, a bit like a goldfish.
“It’s…” his voice was hushed. “It’s beautiful. It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.” he turned, and gave Kazuha his own small, quiet smile. “And if you go down, I bet you can’t see the ocean.”
Kazuha snorted, and grabbed Kunikuzushi’s hand, not catching the way his eyes caught on their linked fingers. “Hang on tight! I’m gonna use Aether’s windglider!”
“Aether’s what - Kazuha! ” Kunikuzushi shrieked as Kazuha suddenly held him close to his chest, and leapt from the hill, the windglider extending its wings in the fluttering breeze.
“You are going to kill yourself one day.” Kunikuzushi muttered into his ear as the two of them glided down, Kazuha aiming for the steps of the shrine. “You’re going to jump off a stupid cliff, and then the wind won’t catch you.”
“Maybe you will instead.” Kazuha whispered back - and it was a funny thought, Kunikuzushi catching him as he fell from the clouds - but it must’ve been colder than he realised with the windchill, because Kunikuzushi shivered against him.
They landed neatly, Kunikuzushi still clinging to Kazuha like a barnacle to a whale, his arms locked around Kazuha’s neck.
“You can let go, Kuni.” Kazuha murmured. Instead, Kunikuzushi clung on harder.
“Nope, not after that.” he muttered, “I can’t feel my hands.”
Kazuha hummed, putting an arm around Kunikuzushi, and looking up, he saw a very familiar face running towards the two of them.
“Gorou!” he called, pulling away from Kunikuzushi and catching Gorou into his arms as the shiba barrelled into him, hugging onto him tightly, having to lean back slightly to accommodate the weight.
“Kazuha!” he was smiling widely, and his tail was wagging tellingly as he leant back to see his face. “You’re back! I’m so glad!” he bounced on his heels, his bow held tightly in his grip. “Any injuries? Bumps? Bruises? Scratches? Fever?” He grabbed Kazuha’s bad arm, and held it up, inspecting the bandages. “Is this any better? Any worse?”
“Aching a bit, but that’ll be from sleeping rough a few nights.” Kazuha explained, grinning at the way Gorou’s ears went back as he squinted at Kazuha, trying to discern any visible injuries. He had missed him, and he didn’t blame him for being a little paranoid - he’d be worried if Gorou had gone on a similar mission.
“You’re good,” he confirmed, stepping back, and blinking in surprise when he set eyes on Kunikuzushi. “Oh! My gods, I - I thought that was a rumour .” he hissed, stepping back again and drawing back an arrow in his bowstring. Kunikuzushi frowned, and there was a slight smell of ozone as lightning crackled around his fingers.
“Woah,” Kazuha quickly stood in front of him, holding his hands up. “No. This - this is Kunikuzushi. I helped him escape from the Shogunate Palace. Kokomi needs to talk to him - he has a lot of insider information.” he explained quickly, trying to ignore the feeling of Kunikuzushi balling a fist in his haori behind him.
Gorou’s eyes stayed narrow and suspicious. “What did you get me for my twenty-second birthday?”
“Birthday?” Kazuha blinked. “I… didn’t know you when you turned twenty-two.”
Gorou sighed in relief, and lowered his bow. “Okay, you’re not being… mind controlled, or whatever. Who is that? ”
“The Shogun’s mistake. Also her estranged son.” Kunikuzushi spoke up, poking his head out from behind Kazuha. His eyes widened at the sight of Gorou’s ears and tail, but he mercifully didn’t comment.
“The Shogun has a son? ” Gorou asked, bewildered. “I - she has a child? Like, biologically?”
Kunikuzushi shrugged. “I don’t know if my creation really counts as biological .”
“We should talk to Kokomi.” Kazuha said decisively, taking Kunikuzushi’s spare hand into his own. “It’ll… explain a lot.”
Kokomi blinked at Kunikuzushi in front of her, who, Kazuha suddenly realised, looked very bedraggled in comparison to the shining floors and walls of the Sangonomiya Shrine, their hair tangled and the bottom of their kimono starting to tatter.
Kokomi was seated behind a desk, battle plans laid out in front of her, and Kunikuzushi was sat on a small, uncomfortable looking stool, Kazuha and Gorou leant against the walls behind them.
“You… are the Raiden Shogun.” Kokomi tried, speaking slowly after Kunikuzushi’s long winded explanation of… everything. She looked tired, like she hadn’t slept in a while.
“No.” Kunikuzushi corrected, folding and then unfolding their legs. “I was supposed to be a puppet for her to reside inside of, and be a proxy ruler of Inazuma. Then, for whatever reason, she discarded me.”
Kokomi nodded slowly, clearly processing everything. “I… see . So the current Raiden Shogun - that is not Raiden Ei? It’s a separate entity?”
Kunikuzushi nodded. “Yes, the puppet is identical to her, but it is different.”
Scribbling quickly on a scrap of paper, Kokomi’s nodding increased. “I see, I see. And this puppet - is she controlled directly by Raiden Ei?”
“I…” his face fell. “I don’t know. I was given free will, to an extent. But I think that might’ve been a mistake; as I was never allowed to exercise it.”
Kokomi noted it down, before she paused. “What do you mean by ‘to an extent’?”
Kunikuzushi worried his lip between his teeth. “I, uh… can be commanded. I can’t control my body until I finish the task, but I can think freely.”
“You… understand that I don’t believe that.” Kokomi said gently, wincing at her own delivery. Kazuha grimaced privately to himself.
“I understand.” Kunikuzushi’s voice was flat. “Would you like a demonstration?”
Kazuha quickly shook his head at Kokomi, eyes wide, making a chopping motion against his neck. She bit down on her lip, and mouthed sorry to him.
“Stand.” Kunikuzushi snapped to attention, standing up so abruptly that the stool knocked over, clattering loudly on the ground.
“Jump in place, seven times, but on the sixth, face Kazuha.” she said, dropping her pencil and lacing her fingers together, watching with suspicion. Kunikuzushi did as she had asked, expression completely empty. Kazuha shivered slightly.
As soon as he was done, he snapped out of it, and gave Kokomi a near-poisonous glare. “Is that satisfactory, your Excellence? ”
Kazuha would’ve been proud of how far his sarcasm had come if it were in literally any other context.
Kokomi nodded. “It is, thank you, Kunikuzushi. I believe you. And now I ask a favour of you - will you join our Resistance against the Vision Hunt decree, and the Shogunate force?”
“You’re asking if I would fight a war with my mother?” Kunikuzushi smiled, just as sharp and wolflike as he had when he first met Kazuha. “I will. And I want the privilege of fighting her myself.”
“I’m not sure if we can manage that exactly,” Kokomi said softly. “But I’m glad you’re joining us. And, Kazuha, I have bad news.”
Kazuha straightened up, suddenly aware of all eyes on him. “Yes?”
“The…” she sighed heavily. “The Fatui are here. We need help.”