𝐈'𝐌 𝐀 𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐈'𝐌 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐋! | genshin impact

| 12 |: Survival

A pair of deep blue eyes reminiscent of the clear ocean surface at night gazed upon the moon in the sky as a cool breeze gently caressed his face. Ayato stood on the cliff near the sandy road to Ritou with his arms crossed over his chest, seemingly immersed in his own thoughts.

The plan must go well tonight.

The more he thought about the plan's success, the bigger the seed of doubt inside him grew.

Was he right in sending Sayu with Jin? Should he have chosen a more experienced ninja instead?

The Yashiro Commissioner was drawn out of his musings when he heard dull, rapid footfalls on the grass behind him, and looked over his shoulder with an arched eyebrow. Under the shade of nocturne, he was able to discern Sayu and Jin running towards him frantically. It was obvious that something had gone wrong during the operation, and he braced himself to hear the worst.

Skidding to a stop in front of her master, Sayu was the first to speak up.

"I-I'm really sorry!" she cried.

"What happened?" asked Ayato calmly. Arms falling back to his sides, he turned around to fully face the pair; he then looked at Jin, noticing the thick bundle of papers in his grasp. If they're successful in stealing the reports but were acting as if they had failed the operation, that could only mean one thing - and the high possibility of it made his entire body stiffen. Yet he remained collected on the outside, knowing that reacting in accordance with his emotions would do more harm than good. "Did Lady (y/n) and Kazuha get caught?"

Jin pulled off the hood of his shinobi shozoku and nodded. "Sayu accidentally alerted the guards by stepping on the wrong floorboard on the Nightingale Floor. Lord Tatsuya may have figured them out after being informed of intruders inside his residence."

Sayu shrunk in shame after the older ninja revealed her terrible blunder to Ayato, and the latter let out a muted sigh of disappointment as he turned his head away from them. The objective was met, but the operation had ultimately failed because (y/n) and Kazuha were caught. He knew that Tatsuya wouldn't do anything rash towards his niece as it might jeopardise his plans, but there's no guaranteeing Kazuha's safety.

"I see," said the Yashiro Commissioner, "You may return to the Onigasaki Estate, Chamberlain Jin. Don't let rumours of what happened tonight spread around. It might give rise to nasty scandals regarding Lady (y/n) and Kazuha."

"Understood." Bowing, Jin handed the reports over to Ayato before disappearing into the night.

"Let's head back, Sayu. There are a lot of things that need to be taken care of immediately," Ayato called out, beckoning to the small ninja.

As he turned on his heel to leave the area with Sayu in tow, two darkened figures in the distance silently watched the pair move. The moment the master and his ninja were out of sight, the clouds shifted in the sky, allowing the pale moonlight overhead to dapple Tsukuyomi and his tsukumogami, Hanagiri. The former quietly exhaled through his nose and folded his arms over his chest.

"I knew this would happen," he murmured, making Hanagiri tilt her head at him, "Ayato was too careless in choosing Sayu over a ninja with more experience in infiltration."

"Are you going to rescue them?" she curiously asked.

He was silent for a moment as he pondered the thought. Tsukuyomi could easily break (y/n) and Kazuha out of Tatsuya's home if he comes up a plan; he has the means to outwit him, and people he could trust and rely on to get the job done flawlessly. However...

"No," he replied, surprising her, "If I act now, I might mess things up. Ayato is most likely coming up with a plan to save both of them, so just watch over them." He paused before adding; "If he doesn't make a move by tomorrow night though, help them escape. I'll send a secret message through Hanamaru."