Catch me?

Chapter 7

With the help of the dendro archon, the Wanderer had now regained the memories of his past self. This meant that he couldn't run from his sins and the truth of it all anymore. Well, more than couldn't, it'd be proper to say he decided that he didn't want to run away anymore. Running away from his sins meant losing his whole self after all, and the Wanderer had to learn it the hard way. If memories make a person, then the acknowledgment of the past sins and the desire to correct himself is what made the Wanderer now. It was a pity that he had to be born again to learn his life lessons but at least it wasn't too late for him. Considering the fact that he witnessed his past sins first hand, it was actually quite a commendable first step for him to take responsibility for all of that now in his new life after running away in the previous one.

Putting all of this aside, the God of Wisdom greeted the group after they got back from the 'dream'. "Welcome back, Lumine, Paimon, Balladeer."

The Balladeer in question looked away from the god at the mention of his name.

"What, you don't like being addressed by that name?" assumed Nahida.

"I was just thinking of changing the name. Being called by a name that's associated with The Doctor repulses me now."

"Now that the Fatui members probably don't even remember you and you don't want to work together with The Doctor again, how about you help me find out some more information from Irminsul?" the God of Wisdom thought it fit to offer him her proposal now.

"Utility to others is what gives me worth. And besides, the wisest leaders are fated to end up with the best helpers. So I suppose I can live with helping you from behind the scenes from now on." the Wanderer seemed to have come to his own conclusion about what course of action would be his best option now and why.

"I'm glad that you've accepted our proposal. Why don't you choose a new name to celebrate?" Nahida remembered his disgust at his previous name and his wish of changing it.

A new name. A name is life's first gift. Something he wasn't bestowed with in his previous life. No wonder he had to go around choosing different names every century as the Traveler mentioned before.

"Oh, oh, oh! Paimon wants to pick an ugly nickname for you too! Paimon still doesn't like you all that much, after all!" said Paimon, excited with the opportunity of being able to annoy him with a funny nickname.

"Lumine and Paimon have helped you out a lot. If you can't decide on a new name, maybe you can try asking them for ideas?" The dendro archon looked at the Traveler this time, asking to cooperate through her eyes.

"Wait, you want us to give him an actual name?".The Traveler in question seemed troubled by the suddenness of it.

"No, no, Paimon only does ugly nicknames. If it's a serious name you're after, it's all yours, Lumine," her companion conceded.

It was now the Wanderer's turn to ask her for a name. "Well? Have you got anything?"

"How about...." She took a few moments to ponder over what name would suit him the best and came up with something she saw fit, "Aoi?"

"Seriously? That's the best you could come up with?", the Wanderer scoffed disappointedly. She couldn't even think of a proper name, just recklessly put random letters together to make an easy enough one.

"Oh, please, like you could do any better? And besides it's a well thought out name. At least it's not Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal- Everlasting Lord of Arcane Wisdom. You're more than five hundred years old now, maybe it's time for you to finally grow up, hm?" Paimon snickered out loud at the Traveler's comment.

With a glare at Paimon, who hid behind her companion, the man in question began, "You said you had good enough reasons for choosing this name? How about you explain how you came up with it, maybe then I can be more indulgent towards it?"

"Why should I be the one to explain anything to you? You're the one who needs a name...", her eyes shifted towards the God of Wisdom and after remembering that it was actually a request from her in the first place, she decided to play along.

"Ugh, fine...so, you know how a person is usually named in the language of the nation they're born in? Since you are an Inazuman, what better language to choose a name from than there, right? And as for why this name specifically, let's just say you remind me of the color blue. Your current outfit, your vision, and even your hair, somehow they all are different shades of blue, no? And I like the color anyway, so yeah."

Oh.

He wasn't expecting such a genuine explanation for the name. And so he stared.

"What? Still not convinced? If you don't like it, you can just stick to whatever ugly nickname Paimon comes up with", she shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't waste any more effort on something so simple for someone who was unwilling to accept it.

"No, this will do", he was satisfied with the name now. After his 'rebirth', it really was his first gift from someone, his very own name. After listening to her reasoning, he realized that all this time all the names he was going by were not names at all. They were all just titles. Kabukimono, Kunikuzushi, Scaramouche, the Balladeer, Shouki no Kami, the Wanderer- no matter which one he looked at, they were all titles. The titles did not anchor his existence, these titles could all be attributed to just about anyone, none of them defined him. But for his new name, although it was hard to say whether it could define him or not, the fact that someone gave it enough thought to match his name with his appearance was enough for the name to suit him perfectly.

"And are you done yet? Have you come up with a nickname?" he turned towards Paimon who was still hiding behind the Traveler.

"Uh... still thinking, stop rushing me!" the floating fairy came out from behind her companion. She needed some more time to come up with an ugly nickname for him apparently. But Aoi didn't seem to mind. After all, you wouldn't go around giving people you're not connected to a nickname. It would just be a sign of a new bond he had created, one where they could call each other by ugly nicknames.

"That's fine, take your time. I don't have plans for leaving Sumeru for now anyways," Aoi seemed to have at least some plans then.

"So what are your plans?" The Traveler was curious about his current goals.

"Everyone who manipulated me and made me suffer will have to pay the price, The Doctor at least is on top of my list. Oh, and since I'm not leaving Sumeru for the time being, if you see the descendants of the Raiden Gokaden in Inazuma, please tell them that I was the one responsible for their downfall. They, of all people, have the right to know."

"But then-", Paimon didn't seem to like the idea despite claiming to 'not like him all that much'. Lumine and Nahida exchanged a worried glance.

"It's fine, let them exact their revenge upon me when the time comes. Maybe that's how it always should have been," Aoi gave them a faint smile. "Alright then, let's call it a day, shall we?"

He started walking away from the three of them, seeming like he had a lot on his mind that he needed to sort out. But he paused right before reaching the gate of the Sanctuary.

"Oh, and, Lumine?"

Her eyes widened slightly at the sudden mention of her name from him. After all, he had only been referring to her as 'the Traveler' this whole time. It was rare for him to call her, be it in his previous or current incarnation.

"I think I couldn't bring myself to say this to you as the Balladeer, but", with his back turned towards her, he turned his face slightly to the left, his massive hat hiding any emotions he might have been showing in those eyes that were once again lit up with memories of his past. But the traces of a smile that was dancing on his lips couldn't escape her searching gaze. She strained her ears to hear a quiet mumble,

"Thank you for catching me back then."