Home || Kazuha/Scaramouche

˖°࿐ Chapter 6.1

author's note
_finals is done and i can finally finish+edit this story!!

Kazuha reread the letter's contents over and over again but surprisingly, he couldn't fully grasp what it was trying to imply. Yes, he clearly understood that it had something to do with the Raiden Gokaden incident and yes, he could clearly read that the letter was written by the god of Wisdom. That much he caught on about. But then what of this information helps him to find s/n?

'Raiden Gokaden.. Raiden Gokaden..' He lightly tapped the letter to his face, pacing in circles in front of the Kamisato Estate. Maybe it's because of the worry he had for Scaramouche or maybe it's because of his ideals in not dwelling on the past. But even with him understanding the premise of the incident, he can't seem to find anything that would connect with the current situation.

"Ah, I should've approved s/n when he asked about the letter's contents. This could've all been avoided," Kazuha calmly mumbled under his breath. Guilt crept up his conscious. He closed his eyes and continued, "This letter wouldn't have s/n's scent either as it wasn't directly by him.."

He's not yet fond of the missing young man nor does he truly know Scaramouche's 'scent' but he knows that he's partially Kazuha's responsibility. More like he felt that it was his responsibility. 

Lifting up the letter after his long thought, he scanned through it once more. He thought of the Raiden Shogun who—  with his limited memory of the story, was the one behind the 5 forging schools' teaching. Which surfaced the thought of Tenshukaku, though he tried to suppress the thought. Thoughts about the Kamisato clan also surfaced but he knew both of the siblings have been busy as there is an ongoing event at the moment and he wouldn't want to bother either of them.

He also clearly noticed that the Traveler was also heavily implied in the letter. With that, he began to search for the Traveler. With the thought that surely they might be able to help..

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The sun was already at its peak, its radiant light shining down on Teyvat's surface by the time Kazuha found the Traveler around Inazuma City. (who, as always, is accompanied by Paimon)

Kazuha slowly approached the Traveler with his usual calm demeanor when Paimon caught sight of him. She put up her hand and energetically waved it towards the silver haired guy. 

"Hey Kazuha!"

The Traveler turned their head towards Kazuha at Paimon's voice, quickly changing their demeanor. They joined in with Paimon and gave a small wave towards Kazuha as well.

"What in Teyvat brought you here Kazuha?" the Traveler wondered as they slightly noticed Kazuha's troubled face. Hearing that,  Paimon bluntly added, "Yeah, right Traveler! You've always been so hard to search for when you were needed and now you popped up like nothing had happened?!"

The Traveler nudged Paimon, indicating her to shut up, and gave her the glare. Paimon, as always, was annoyed by it and exclaimed her iconic "What?!" to the Traveler. While all that,  Kazuha dumbfoundedly watches them irritate each other.

The Traveler ignored Paimon to avoid further comments from said floating mascot. They quickly diverted the topic and awkwardly said, "Aha- just don't mind Paimon here. So is there anything I could help you with Kazuha?"

"Well.. s/n is missing.."

Paimon blinked her eyes. "HE'S WHAT??!"

The Traveler patted Paimon's back and sighed, clearly knowing this would happen one way or another. It was one of the things they were concerned about when they decided to travel to Inazuma with Scaramouche. But since Nahida suggested the idea, they knew right away it's definitely to mend old his bonds.

As the Traveler was thinking, they spotted a parchment of paper held by Kazuha and was reminded of the letter that Nahida had written the other day. So they decided to ask him about it.

"You've been holding onto that paper for a while now, what is it?"

Kazuha lifted up the paper optimistically and let the Traveler read through the letter. He answered them, "Oh yes. During our first meeting, s/n gave me this letter, supposedly it is from the god of Wisdom. Also about the Raiden Gokaden."

The Traveler took some time to think of their response choices while they skimmed through the letter. It was a quick deduction of theirs that Scaramouche might be taken somewhere else instead of disappearing completely but that thought was a really weak deduction. 

"Have you traced back the incident?" The Traveler asked mindlessly. In which, of course the answer is yes.

"Well, a thought previously surfaced in my mind. The beginning of the 5 schools, that would start with the Shogun."

"What about the Shogun?," the Traveler unknowingly misspoke. 

Though it's not entirely their fault as they (who have a clear memory of what truly happened) didn't know of all the changes. But the slip of tongue definitely puzzled Kazuha.

"Well.. the Shogun was the one who taught the 5 forebearers of the school," he stated what he remembered.

In an instant, the Traveler understood what Kazuha meant and changed their perspective of thinking. 

"So you're implying that the Raiden Shogun is behind it, Kazuha?" The Traveler also thought it sounded right. Even if Kazuha didn't know about Scaramouche and Raiden Shogun's connection, it wouldn't change any of the suspicions.

Kazuha nodded towards the Traveler's remark and added his own thoughts. "More specifically, the Shogun's place. Tenshukaku."

Paimon jolted up and gasped loudly, adding that dramatic touch of a reaction. Her eyes widened and her mouth wide open like she's trying to find something ridiculous to say.

"So.. YOU'RE SAYING HE'S KIDNAPPED IN TENSHUKAKU?!?! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!" she screamed, pointing towards said place. Everyone around them quickly turned and embarrassed, Paimon closed her mouth with her hands

Quite a mortifying sight it is. Kazuha sighed from the second embarrassment while the Traveler— who's used to it, rolled their eyes and gave up on the situation.

"...sorry!"

"Ah nevermind..," the Traveler said in a relatively quiet tone, awkwardly laughing it off.

The Traveler reverted back to the topic and repeatedly tapped their index finger on their chin. They thought out loud, "If it is true that s/n is in Tenshukaku right now.. then we might need some back up!"