Chapter Text
Kazuha wasn’t going to make it. He could hear the crackling in the air, feel the Electro building to barely breathable levels. It pushed down on him, trying to slow his ascent. But Kazuha had a time limit. If he wasn’t fast enough, his friend… Kazuha pulled on Anemo energy to circle him, to push through the heavy air. Even then he was slowing down as he got closer to his destination.
As he was running, he could see slumped figures to the sides. The scent of Electro wafted off them, more concentrated than what remained in the air. His friend must have fought them on his way in. It was no surprise that they were defeated, Kazuha was well aware of how strong his friend could be. But Kujou Sara stood by the Archon’s throne. She would be a tough opponent on a regular day, when well rested. But after fighting through a large number of soldiers, ones who had training against vision users, it would be much harder to defeat her. And from the rumours, failure meant death.
Kazuha had heard what was happening from Yoimiya, who had half-stumbled, half-run into her house with a pale face an hour before. “He’s challenging the vision hunt decree,” she shouted. Kazuha didn’t need to ask who. He should have known, from the way his friend had patted him on his head and asked him to help his father with some things, while Yoimiya was busy with the local child, and he went to fetch some things. The Electro cackle around his friend had been particularly outspoken, while the breeze was quiet, even as he opened the door and left.
Kazuha had left the Naganohara house as discreetly as possible, even though he wanted to sprint out. He didn’t want to draw attention to them again, for hosting a known lesser fugitive. They already had enough trouble from his friend not even pretending to hand over his vision like his sister. Not that Kazuha could say anything, he didn’t pretend either.
But that left Kazuha following after his friend, hoping to make it before it was too late. He gave up on stealth as he reached the first downed guard, breaking into a run and trusting that speed and evasion would be enough against the few that remained. The wind carried whispers to his ears, reminding him of the consequences of failure. On what could happen to his friend. Of what could happen to him. If anything went wrong, he may never hear such whispers again. But he couldn’t leave his friend.
Nearing the top of the stairs, Kazuha had to slow down. The weight of Electro was far greater than anything he had ever felt before. He could feel the energy dancing across his tongue, cackling in his ears. Yet he still forces himself to go onwards, nearly at the top. He could hear speaking, indistinguishable beyond the veil of Electro. Yet he couldn't hear his dear friend's voice. He reached the top of the stairs.
He was too late.
The first thing he saw was his friend. A wave of relief has passed through him, a thought of He's alive. And then he could finally hear the words being spoken. It was Kujou Sara, sword at her side, her usual bow nowhere in sight. She stood by the Shogun. Which meant…
His friend's sword was shattered. He still held the hilt, but half the blade was gone. He had lost.
And the consequences. “As agreed. For losing a duel before the throne, you shall face execution.” came Kujou Sara’s flat intonation. Her voice carried to his ears, echoing in his head with a clarity that would surely haunt him in years to come.
Kazuha didn't have time to take another step, to say anything in protest of the declaration, when a bright burst of light appeared where the Shogun had stood, and the air filled with even more Electro. As the light condensed he was just able to make out a sword, glowing with Electro, when the Shogun moved. She shot forwards at a speed Kazuha could barely follow, leaving no time to dodge. The Musou no Hitotachi.
The Archon struck, fast as lightning and returned to where she had stood before his friend even reacted to the blow. The usual repulsion between two Electro charged beings did not slow her. Killing mortals would of course take no effort for a God.
His friend stumbled backwards with the blow. The force made him release his sword, and his vision detached, both flung high in the air, back towards Kazuha.
And he knew his friend was already dead.
Kazuha caught his friend's vision, could see it already flickering. The light his friend so often cradled, the light his friend had fought to keep, fading away. And he thought of the dying vision embedded in the cold hearted God’s statue.
He turned and ran.
He couldn't let such a fate fall on his friend's cooling vision. It was the least he could do for his dear friend, after being too late to save him. He could hear shouts start from behind him. He brushed off the oppressive whispers of Electro and listened to the warnings of Anemo. Kujou Sara was calling for the remaining guards to chase him, to catch the rogue vision user who had defied the Shogun’s punishment. The Shogun herself seemed unmoving, not caring to chase Kazuha.
He managed to get halfway down the stairs before he ran into the first soldier. He was able to evade his blow and continue onwards, not having any time to disarm him. Kazuha had to get out of the city, had to make sure he wasn't cornered.
He heard a whisper in the nearly stagnant air and dodged to the side as an Electro charged arrow whistled by. It hit the ground with a burst that barely missed him. Kujou Sara had her bow back.
Kazuha had to find a way out. From Kujou Sara’s elevated position she would be able to fire at him over practically the entire city. He couldn't shelter in nearby houses or businesses, where he would be hunted out and bring trouble to innocents. The soldiers his friend had felled before were all slowly getting up, overcoming the Electro charged strikes his friend is so fond of.
Was. Was so fond of.
Another whisper reminded him it wasn't the time to think about that, and Kazuha dodged another arrow. He realised couldn't stay on the ground, as another soldier delayed his flee.
It took a simple burst of Anemo to propel him up onto the rooftops. The way out was clear of obstacles, but the number of weapons pointed at his back had only increased. Kujou Sara had reinforcements, more people firing arrows. None of them were as good a shot as her, but it would only require a lucky shot when he was distracted to bring him down.
As it was, the sheer number of arrows coming his way was exhausting. After using his vision so much to get to his friend's side, and then using it more to get out, it was getting harder to concentrate.
But he was nearly at the edge of the city. He didn't know where he would go when he escaped, but he could follow the strengthening wind's guidance then. He just needed to get away, needed to protect his friend’s vision. He pulled together the energy he had left and put on a final burst of speed to clear the walls.
The guards seemed to know he was almost away. A final flurry, the biggest yet, flew towards him. Kazuha focused, partially on asking the wind to carry him further away, and also on scattering the arrows before they could touch him. The effort made his vision blur, the remaining Electro energy in the air and the purple decorations blending into his view and tinting his sight.
But then he touched down outside the walls and was free to run again. The wind ruffled through his hair, whispering of a place he should go, and as always he followed.
As he did so, he wondered why Kujou Sara didn't fire during that last volley.
—
Kujou Sara was loyal to the Shogun. That would never change. She would strike down any foe directed her way. And so she didn’t hesitate when she was challenged to a duel before the throne.
It was an honourable battle. The terms had been set and followed. The loser would die by the Shogun’s hand if not from the fight itself. Kujou Sara knew that when she accepted, as did her opponent. She had taken her position knowing that she would get challenged, and had trained extensively to make sure she lived up to that position.
The man was strong, skilled with his sword and vision, enough so that at times her movements were near desperate. It was a true fight in every way, her blade clashing against his and sending cackling energy high into the air. But in the end, she won, his sword breaking in half.
He didn’t fight the Shogun’s judgement. Kujou Sara had seen many quail in the face of the Muso no Hitotachi, even those not facing judgment. There were those that tried to flee, to beg, to bargain. Nothing would stop the Shogun once her decision had been made. As she announced his fate, he did not do any of those things.
The light of the Shogun’s unsheathed blade was nearly blinding from all the Electro cackling off it. Still she watched the man, unable to take her eyes off his face even as her God struck him down.
As his body dissolved into Ash her eyes found his broken sword, propelled away by the force of the Shogun’s blow. She would gather the shard and return it to his family herself. He deserved no less for an honourable fight. But instead of the flying blade, her eyes caught on a red and white figure, circled by green light. An Anemo vision user.
The person reached up and caught something. Purple light caught her eye. It was her opponent's dying vision, the Electro sigil flickering and fading. She had half a second to wonder if the person would hand it over, would hand over their own vision, before they turned and ran.
She cursed and yelled to the soldiers around her, “Stop them!” and ran to retrieve her bow. The weapon would have gotten in the way during the sword duel and was placed to the side, but it was still a short task to pick it up again. Idly she noticed the Shogun leave. A random vision user was not worth the attention of a god.
She ran to the edge of the platform and drew her bow. Whilst she would prefer to bring in the law breaker alive, it would be too difficult a task to capture a fleeing Anemo user. They moved with the wind, and would not be contained easily.
With that thought she fired her charged arrow, and was not surprised when the foe dodged it. The Anemo user kept running, green energy surrounding them.
A soldier tried to engage the foe, but the vision user just dodged and ran past. Did they have a weapon and just wanted to avoid delays, or was she firing on a person only armed with a version? It did not matter, she must serve the Shogun and the stranger had defied one of her decrees.
She fired another arrow when the Anemo user encountered another soldier, trying to take advantage of their distraction. It didn't work, the enemy dodging both attacks smoothly. A burst of Anemo and they were on the roof and Kujou Sara cursed internally.
A lesser strategist may think the move put her solely in the advantage. In a way it did, clearing her line of fire, so the complex shots between buildings were no longer required. But that strategist would be ignoring the enemy’s single goal. Escape. Before the Vision user was delayed by the roads and soldiers, but now they could use their vision to launch themself between rooftops at much higher speeds. If she didn't end this soon they would escape.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her soldiers finally regrouping. More bows went up and drew back to fire. They fired separately, disjointed in their attacks that gave the vision user plenty of space to just dodge without needing to expend his energy.
“Hold!” She ordered. They were nearly out of range. There would only be room for one last shot.
“Draw!” Arrow strings pulled back all at once, her men well trained.
Nearly. Almost there.
Now.
“Fire!”
The volley went up into the air. And came down from the sky like a razor sharp cloud.
Kujou Sara could see Anemo energy gathering at the vision user's hand. They couldn't dodge so many arrows at once, the only option was to use their vision to deflect. She knew this was coming. Which is why, as the volley was already flying towards its target, she fired.
The Electro charged arrow flew through the air. It was far enough away that it wasn't tossed off course by the burst of Anemo energy thrown out. The tip was still aimed at the enemy's back, and they weren't preparing any way to dodge or deflect it.
She tracked it as it got closer. The vision user still had no signs of noticing it. The purple energy was visibly reflecting off their back.
Then the reflected light got brighter. Much too bright to solely be from her arrow. It expanded, covering the enemy’s body with Electro energy, a different shade to her own, and reaching outwards. She could hear her soldiers murmuring amongst themselves, but she tuned them out as she watched the now inevitable. Her arrow slowed far more than it should have, the two familiar purple lights colliding nearly violently. It stopped before even reaching the vision user, falling uselessly to the ground.
The Vision Hunt defier got away.
Her soldiers bustled about, one coming up to her side. “What are your orders?”
“Take the wounded to the infirmary. Get a description from them, someone must have seen something. Bring a sketch, and a name if you can get one, to my office.”
“And the other Vision user?”
“I’ll handle it.” She wouldn’t need to do anything. The only thing she could do was gather the remaining sword of the dead challenger. She had recognised the shade of Electro surrounding what must have been the Swordsman’s friend. And everyone knew visions didn’t stay lit long after the person they belonged to died. She need not worry about a vision which would not light again.