"One day, I'm going to destroy the pathetic authority the Akademiya wields over Sumeru."
Y/n L/n, a scholar and the assistant of the Akademiya scribe, Alhaitham, despises two things: the Akademiya's control over Sumeru and the General Mahamatra. Bes...
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Nighttime? Check.
Matra switching soon? Check.
Bag with just the bare necessities? Check.
Farah's journals? Check.
Check. Check. Check.
Y/n was ready to break her house arrest. Was it a stupid idea? Probably. Did she care? Not really. She's given herself a "mission" to motivate herself to do something and it's working. The consequences will be future Y/n's problem.
Slinging her backpack over her shoulders, Y/n made her way to her bedroom window. At first, the matra had been good about patrolling around her house every few hours at night, but as the days flew by with nothing from her, it seemed as if they stopped because they assumed she wouldn't try leaving. It was good for her though because while the matra stood by her front door and yawned, she could leave through her window at the back of the house and sneak out of the city.
Y/n checked if she had everything one more time before slipping out of the window, carefully stepping on the dirt ground to ensure she did not step on a twig or leaf that would draw attention.
"I don't remember... Farah's house being... this far from... the city." Y/n huffed. It had taken much longer than she would like to admit to get to Farah's house. Though it was partly because she couldn't remember any of the shortcuts to the house.
Taking in a deep breath, she pushed open the door, but the previously dark interior had suddenly bursted into a warm candlelight. Inside was Farah wearing an apron as she prepared a meal while listening to Khalida talk on the couch.
It was so nostalgic and for a brief moment, Y/n wanted to stay where she was and watch, but she took out her catalyst, aiming for the yellow mirage beryl. It wasn't powerful enough to leave behind any infection, but still she felt... reluctant to destroy it.
"Why are you hesitating? You know it's not real."
Y/n tensed at the familiar voice, but thanks to it, she was able to shut her thoughts out and destroy the illusion.
As the image of Farah and Khalida faded with the light, the house had turned back to its cold and abandoned state. Dust covered everything like a soft blanket, giving the space a melancholy atmosphere.
Then, suddenly remembering the voice from just seconds ago, Y/n slowly turned her head, already having an inkling about who was standing behind her. And much to her dismay, she indeed found who else but the General Mahatra, leaning against the doorframe with his usual blank expression.
The two made eye contact for what felt like forever in tense silence until Y/n broke it by walking into the house, choosing to ignore the general's presence entirely which turned out to be unusually difficult as he followed her in without saying a word. This made the ex-scholar more on edge as if the disheveled state of her childhood home didn't already give her a feeling of uneasiness.
'Please say something, but don't say something I don't want to hear. General, why aren't you saying anything? Oh my fucking- Why is he following me? Lesser Lord Kusanali, please help me!' Y/n thought to herself as she navigated her way to Farah's old room and began looking through her bookshelves and drawers for more of Farah's work whether it's drawings or notes.
From the corner of her eye, she could just barely make out the general's figure, looking at something down the hallway and she knew exactly what he was looking at. She remembered wiping away the blood on the floor in fear after her memories were locked away though she was unable to get rid of it all, leaving behind a noticeable stain. She hadn't realized that it could be seen in the dark or perhaps the general was just better at seeing in the dark than the average person.
Gathering whatever she could find and hold at the moment, Y/n left the room, pushing past the general and out of the house for some fresh air. Although she hadn't been in the house too long, with the amount of dust that had compiled inside, she was breathing in much more than normal, causing her a mild headache.
Behind her, she heard a short, faint huff of amusement from the general. She glanced over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow at him, slightly offended as she thought he was laughing at her.
"What are you laughing about, General?"
Cyno ran a finger across the top of the kitchen counter and was inspecting the dust when he looked up at the sound of Y/n's voice. He remained quiet for a moment as if he was somewhat surprised that she had said anything.
"Nothing," he replied with a slight smile, "Though you are certainly not the first, it is always interesting to see criminals like yourself who act so nonchalantly despite having been caught."
"And it's interesting to see the General Mahamatra do nothing as a criminal such as me roams free."
The general doesn't respond, but walks out to her, grabbing one of the journals on top of the pile Y/n held and flipping through its contents. The ex-scholar immediately puts her pile down to the side and moves to snatch the journal back to which the general dodges easily, raising it above his head.
"Stealing Akademiya files, then burning them. And now you research banned topics though for the second time now. You've got quite the record of rule breaking when it surrounds information, L/n. I've let you off the hook a few times now, will you continue to give up the opportunities I give you?" The general finishes, swinging his leg behind Y/n's, knocking her down onto the ground.
Y/n glares back up, standing up again. "I don't need anything from you," she snarled as she punched the general's face and grabbed the journal from his hand.
She knew the general had let her get the hit in from the calculating expression he had on his face after she had hit him, but she chose to ignore it, picking up her pile of journals and other files to begin making her way back home.
A/N: Sorry for not posting last week and like 2 weeks ago. I haven't had much time lately because I've been sick and I've been stressed with a lot of homework and other stuff.
