Under the maple leaves | Kazuscara [ENG]

Chapter 1 - Prologue

It all started right after this year's Lantern Rite, a day later to be precise. Wanderer, since the memorable and very long day when he restored all his memories, still hasn't found his place.  He hung out with Nahida quite often, because she was the only person he knew and trusted at least a little. She was almost like a mother to him.  But it wasn't his home or his place. He didn't feel much of a connection with Sumeru, and he didn't have many pleasant memories from here. From Inazuma, the place of his creation, they were all bad, so he certainly didn't intend to return there. These were the only nations he knew. But he didn't want to move from where he was, because then he'd have to meet someone, and he definitely didn't want to do it.

It was inevitable in his current situation, because Nahida forced him to go with her to the academy and meet a few people.  So he sat at a fairly large table in an equally huge room and looked at the beautiful floor without saying a word.  From the corner of his eye, however, he could see most of the room, as well as the people in it.  He already knew their names, because the dendro archon had kindly introduced them all.

Closest to him sat Tighnari - a boy, though from his appearance it was doubtful, with large ears on his head and hair that seemed to reach his chin.  Right next to him was Cyno, he had white hair, also quite long, and something like a hood or a cap with similar ears. Opposite them were Kaveh and Alhaitham;  the first one was quite an annoying and expressive blonde, and the second one was literally the opposite. He had gray hair and didn't show much emotion.  People say that opposites attract, but with these two, it's not so sure.  Dehya, Nilou, Collei and Nahida were sitting a little further away.  The girls, being girls, took care of themselves and paid no attention to anything else. So Wanderer was left alone among really many people, by his standards.

The four guys that were introduced at the beginning were playing some kind of card game called "Genius Invocation TCG". In addition, of course, they had to drink something.

- The Lantern Rite is over and you still haven't learned how to play it, Kaveh? - Alhaitham asked quite maliciously, watching the blonde lose another round in a row.

- IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT THESE DICES ARE CHEATED, YOU'RE DEFINITELY MIXING SOMETHING WITH THEM.  - Kaveh in emotion knocked his dices off the table, scattering them in a radius of even a few meters. One of them rolled quite close to the Wanderer, allowing him to take a closer look on it

- Congratulations, Kaveh, now you have to pick up it all - Alhaitham sighed, clutching his head, unable to stand his roommate and his moods any longer.

- Won't you help me?

- And why should I, you scattered them, so you collect them, it's simple. By the way, you will check if I mess with them.

- And we'll have time to finish this round - added Cyno, waiting impatiently for Tighnari's move.

- Can you stop rushing me?  I'm trying to focus. - The boy carefully looked at his two still living character cards, as well as the dice with elements, and then moved his gaze to the cards he held in his hand.  He decided to use one of them to exchange pyro elemental dice for dendro and this way get enough of them to use his strongest attack on one of Alhaitham's character cards, killing it and doing quite a bit of damage to the other two in the process.

- Hm.. - Alhaitham set aside the murdered character card and said nothing, knowing he was pretty close to losing after this, considering it was now Cyno's turn to move.

- Ha - Kaveh, instead of collecting his dices, watched the game from the floor and was quite pleased that the second person to be eliminated would be his roommate.

- Don't laugh, just collect those dices, remember who actually LOST most of the rounds.

- And who are you to order me around, hm? My father? - The blonde asked, staring at Alhaitham a bit defiantly.