"Pst! Kuni!"
The purple-haired boy turned over to face his best friend upon hearing his name. His eyes sparkled, full of life and wonder... but they also had lots of heartbreak trapped within them.
"What is it, Y/N?" He asked, gazing into his friend's eyes.
"If we ever parted ways somehow, and lost each other, would you come looking for me?"
Kuni sighed and broke the eye contact. It seemed like something he'd already thought about before.
"I suppose... it depends on how we lost each other. But in theory... yes, I would. You're my best friend."
---
"So... Aether, Paimon... who is this Balladeer you keep mentioning?"
I asked, walking next to the traveler. He stopped moving for a second, before clearing his throat.
"Ahem... he's a Fatui Harbinger we've seen a few times. The akademiya are trying to turn him into a god, and we need to stop that."
"He's so mean and super creepy!" Paimon exclaimed, floating around the two of us. "Grrr, he just makes Paimon so mad!"
A loud bang filled the room, and before I could respond, Aether suddenly pushed me out of the way and I fell to the side. Paimon flew towards me and hid.
"What's going on?" I whispered, turning to her.
She looked frightened, and from that I knew it was something serious.
"Well, I certainly didn't expect I'd be meeting you here, traveler..."
That voice.
I quickly got up and ran towards Aether. He furrowed his eyebrows and signalled for me to move out of the way, but I didn't. It was too familiar.
The person's gaze averted from the anxious traveler to me, and my heart dropped.
"I don't think we've met. I'm Sca-"
"Kuni?"
Scaramouche stopped in his tracks and his eyes widened.
"What did you just call me?"
"Kunikuzushi...?"
Aether stared at me like I was going mad. Though Scaramouche gulped and folded his arms.
"Y/N... we meet again."
"Y/N?! You know him?!" Paimon shrieked, unable to keep quiet for a second. Scaramouche stepped towards me and gently took hold of my arm, before using some sort of strange power to teleport us away.
I opened my eyes, and we were somewhere completely different.
"You'd be surprised how much I thought you were gone, Y/N. I know I promised to find you if this ever happened, but... I was so sure you were dead." I sighed deeply and sat down next to 'the Balladeer'. He was staring down at the floor.
"It's okay, I forgive you. What's all this about Fatui Harbingers, and becoming a god? And most of all... Scaramouche?"
"I've been up to a lot, as you could probably tell. Just call me Scaramouche, or make up a nickname, I don't really care."
I smiled; he remembered how I always gave him nicknames when life was so much simpler.
"Hm... how about... Scara? It's so much easier to say."
"That'll do, I suppose. What else is there to say? I'm a harbinger that will become a god."
"Have you thought this through, Kuni- I mean- uh, Scara? I know the traveler will be strong enough to try and defeat you, I've seen him do it to others."
"Whatever, I guess. At least I'd be something for people to remember. The fake god, hated by everyone except Y/N, for who knows why?"
I scooted closer to him and laughed a little in an attempt to brighten the gloomy atmosphere.
"You've changed, Scara, but... I'll love you the same way I did all those years ago, perhaps even more."
Scaramouche put his hand on top of mine shyly, and mumbled;
"I'm so glad you're here with me, Y/N. You're even more beautiful than I remember."
