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chapter seventeen

"Ah. I see. So you've already forgiven her, Y/N?"

3rd Person POV

You and Ei both turned around at the sudden voice. You eyes narrowed on the man, whom walked towards you two, as Ei's widened with shock. The man stood about four feet from the two of you. "Kunikuzushi...what are you...doing here?" She spoke shakily. Her eyes looked filled with some sort of regret. You were confused. But then, you remembered what he had said to you.

"What do you even see in Ei, Y/N? What do you see in her that makes you forget all of her crimes?"

Your eyes: filled with confusion as you continued to stare at the man who stood in front of you. This was Kunikuzushi. The puppet from the story your parents had told you. "Wait..my parents? Oh well. Their not important right now, I'll worry about them another time...I still love them though," You thought to yourself.

"Don't. Don't call me that," he spat. "What..?" Ei muttered. She walked towards the man whom walked backwards. "Call me Scaramouche. Not...Kunikuzushi," he glared at Ei. This caused Ei to frown.

"I'm sorry," she spoke. You just stared at the both of them, extremely confused on what was even happening. You knew that Kunikuzushi was the puppet Ei had abandoned, but either way you were still confused about their relationship. You had sensed some sort of tension in the room. A lot of tension. "You're sorry? Really?" The man asked. "Either way, I don't forgive you,"

"I can..understand why," Ei admitted. "I never meant to harm you," "Oh really? You didn't mean to harm me? You just threw me away! You just did it, without any remorse! You left me there...to die!" "Kunikuzushi..." Ei muttered. "You fucking left me when I fucking needed you the most, Ei!" She felt bad. She would admit that she had regrets of leaving him behind. She originally didn't want to admit this, but felt as if she should eventually acknowledge the guilt.

The Shogun didn't care look back at the puppet. His cries grew softer and quieter the further she went. She stopped for a minute. She looked behind her and saw the puppet in the distance, whom was still screaming and crying. "I'm sorry, Kunikuzushi. I have no need for you and I don't want you to be stuck doing nothing. You're too gentle and considerate for the job I want you to do,"

Kunikuzushi glared at Ei. You could tell by looking at him that he was holding back tears. Your eyes softened at this. You frowned at how hard he was holding back tears. It wasn't a pleasant sight at all. It was saddening.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I know that you have no reason to forgive me. You have the right to hate me. Even if I want to put our past behind us, I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness. You..didn't deserve that..I know that you got took by the Fatui. That wasn't my plan. It hurt to know that it was impossible to save you. I had no idea where you were, and Inazuma was already going terribly. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to help you. I really am, I really really am. You're not the same anymore, are you? Do you still have the kindness in your heart that you used to have? Are you still the considerate person I used to know?"

Kunikuzushi, or Scaramouche, stared at Ei throughout her whole 'speech'. "What do you mean 'person'? I don't have a heart nor a soul, do I? You simply created me. You..my creator..my...mother..you just abandoned me! Why did you do it?! Why! Because you had no purpose for me? Really? I was experimented on for years! And now you say that you care about me? That's pathetic, Ei," he spat.

You yourself frowned at this. "Scaramouche, or, Kunikuzushi, I understand that you had went through a lot of terrible things, and yes, this could definitely be enough to hate Ei, and I myself, will never experience what you went through. I'm not going to justify Ei's actions. They simply cannot even be justified. And as much as I do love her...her abandoning you wasn't a good choice. And even I'm not happy about this. I don't know why Ei would've even thought to do that, I have no clue whatsoever. You didn't deserve that, Kunikuzushi. I know that you hate that name, or do you really? Is it because it brings back old memories you strive to forget? From what I understand, she created you, yet decided she had no need for you, correct? So, this later led to the abandonment you faced. Then, I believe the Fatui took you and experimented on you for a long period of time, yes? You then were given the title of the Balladeer, right? Whether or not you think this, I'm sure Ei still loves you deep down. Even if she doesn't want to, she can't rid those feelings. When someone's not in your life, you feel as if there's a hole in your heart. Are you experiencing that? What were you planning to do in Inazuma in the first place? If you were trying to harm Inazuma as a whole, why? Did you want to make Ei suffer and get the karma that she, in your mind, deserved by ruining the land she ruled? I will admit, that's a somewhat good way to get your revenge. But normally, violence isn't always the answer. Sometimes it is and I'm not denying that. I don't know all of the details to your suffering, so I can't confirm if violence was really needed or not. And even as Ei's girlfriend, what Ei did to you wasn't something that anyone should do or go through. You deserved better. I'm so sorry you had to go through that, I really am. And it seems Ei is apologizing, and I'm not forcing you to forgive her. You don't have to give her a chance. Maybe, just maybe, if you sit down and have a private conversation with her you two can figure some things out?" You spoke softly.

Kunikuzushi couldn't hold tears back for much longer. Tears streamed down his face. He quickly put his arm over his face, trying to cover it. This caused you to frown again. Ei looked astonished at your bravery for stepping in. "What...why...I.." he couldn't do anything but mutter at your statement.

Ei sighed. "Would you like to talk about our problems, Kunikuzushi? I...have some things to talk to you about. But it really is up to you,"

Kunikuzushi's gaze was flooded with tears, and with those teary eyes, he stared at Ei. Whom was a blurry blob due to the tears. "I just...I..just want to kn..ow w-why...fuck!" He muttered, stumbling on his words. Which made him even more upset. He didn't want to be seen as weak. He hated being seen as weak. Being weak was what made him get abandoned in the first place. This caused him to cry more. Ei walked closer to Kunikuzushi. He backed up. "Don't...don't touch me Ei, please. Please just..just...j..ust..." He started shaking slightly. "Oh Kunikuzushi, what happened to you?" Ei frowned. "Can we please talk about this? I..I want to apologize for all my actions and make it up to you. I'm not at all happy of my decision of letting you go anymore. Please, Kunikuzushi. Can we please talk about it?" Ei pleaded.

Kunikuzushi looked at her. He thought about what he should do. Did he really want to forgive Ei? Was this really what he wanted? He didn't want to admit that he missed her comforting words when he was upset back then. He missed her. He thought of her as a mother back then. He really did. But then, she just left him to die. He looked at Ei with a sudden softness in his eyes. He sighed. He closed his eyes. Memories flooding his mind.

"Oh, Kunikuzushi. What did you do this time?" Ei asked, sighing as she helped him inside. Blood was dripping from his knee (don't ask why he's bleeding he just is), whilst he was shedding a few tears. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Kunikuzushi..?" Ei asked, with a curious tone, yet with no anger in her voice. He sighed before blushing of embarrassment. "I..I tripped," he admitted. Ei chuckled softly. "Haha, come with me, we'll get your knee better, alright?" Ei said. "Alright!" Kunikuzushi smiled, his tears fading away. "Try and be a tad bit more careful next time, alright?" Ei told Kunikuzushi as she wrapped some bandages around his wound after cleaning it. "Okay!"

More tears fell from his face as he sniffled. He didn't even know why he cared. Why would he even want to forgive someone who broke his heart like that? The person whom he trusted, the person he thought of as a mother, the only person who even cared about him, just left him. Left him to die alone. But she wanted him to have freedom. He didn't acknowledge that, no matter what he refused to let anyone come into his life and make a positive impact. Ei had ruined that for him.

"Ei?" Kunikuzushi asked, knocking on her door but entering before she could even answer him. "What is it my little Kuni?" She asked him. "Can I have some Mora please?" He asked simply. "What? What do you need Mora for?" She was taken back by his sudden question. "It's nothing bad I promise!!" Kunikuzushi quickly reassured her. Ei made a 'phew' sound. "Then what do you need it for?" "Welllll, I sorta wanted to buy some chocolates downtown.." He explained nervously. Ei laughed. "Sure. Here, make sure to buy me a few as well. Also! Stay safe, okay?" Ei handed him some Mora. He smiled. "Thank you! And I'll stay safe, I promise!" He happily trotted out of Ei's room and went to buy some chocolates.

He hated the memories he had with Ei. They made him miss her, and he didn't want to care about Ei. He didn't want to care about her at all. And that was final. He tried to stop crying, but it wasn't working in his favor. He rubbed some tears away, pondering if he should say something.

He sighed, he looked away from Ei. "Fine..let's talk about it if that's what you wish,"

~~~💜~~~

I don't even know I added Scaramouche I can't 😭 but uh yeah he's here now?

Sorry for any typos besties and have an amazing day/night!!!!!!! -minty