Chapter Text
Everything you had been through, all the people you’ve met could have never prepared you for this.
Captain Beidou had been kind enough to pick up another wayward soul with an insatiable wanderlust not long after assimilating her first— Kaedehara Kazuha— into the Crux Fleet.
You had crossed swords with the man in the wild jungle of your homeland, spotting him easily from a tree (bright white hair was quite a stark contrast to the lush greens and browns of Natlan’s vegetation). Under the assumption he was one of those Fatui you’d been hearing whispers about at the docks, you plunged down onto the outlander with conviction—
Only to be met with another sword crossing yours.
The man had a serene look on his face as if he didn’t come within an inch of losing his life, and your lips pulled back into a snarl in an attempt to assert dominance over the stranger.
You blinked, and suddenly fell forward, carried by the momentum of your own sword; the small gust of wind left in front of you smelled of unfamiliar leaves and your ears swiveled back when a voice spoke up from behind you,
“Apologies for this, but I fear we cannot converse in such a state.”
With that, you felt a sharp blow behind one of your knees, involuntarily dropping down onto it on the springy forest floor. Two of your hands were pinned back with one of his own and you couldn’t get enough torque to wrench them out of his practiced grasp.
Shit. This guy must be a Vision holder. Hissing inwardly at your own carelessness, you swiveled your head to side-eye the man who just bested you and scoffed, “And now we’re in the perfect position to have a chat, yeah?”
He sighed and met your gaze, piercing red eyes boring into your narrowed green ones. “If I were to release you, may I have your word that you won’t raise your sword at me once again?”
“Absolutely not.”
He hummed. “Why?”
“I’m not going to surrender to any outland spy,” You bite back.
You flexed your claws, hoping he could tell you mean it.
“What makes you believe I’m an Inazuman spy?”
You paused, ears perking up in surprise. Damn. You really need to get a better poker face— or, uh, poker ear— because the action didn’t escape his notice.
“Did you believe me to be from elsewhere?” He pressed, despite no prior verbal acknowledgment.
Weighing your options, you decided that even if he’s lying to lower your guard, if he wanted to kill you it would’ve happened ages ago.
Biting your lip, you shrugged a bit and admitted, “I thought you were one of those Fatui. I heard they’ve started cropping up around here and uh… I guess I jumped to conclusions. Literally.”
He let out a soft laugh and if he was trying to lull you into a false sense of security, it was working, because there wasn’t a hint of hostility you could smell on him. And now that you look at it, his attire did look familiar.
“Far from one of those miscreants,” the supposed Inazuman assured you. “I’m simply a traveller now, seeking out inspiration in the unique nature of all distant lands. I suppose your motivations for being in such an isolated place differ.”
Instead of answering him, you ask a question of your own:
“What’s your name?”
“Kaedehara Kazuha. Likewise, yours?”
“y/n. And yeah, I patrol the land outside our village pretty often, but you just so happened to be on my favorite sitting rock,” you accuse.
For some reason, he seems to also find that funny.
“Apologies, y/n.” He gestures to said favorite rock and remarks, “you have good taste in where to settle after a patrol. This stone is in the perfect spot to soak up the last rays of an afternoon sun before it sets behind the tree line.”
Weirdly verbose way of putting it, but he acknowledged your ability to identify good warm rocks, so it gets a pass. Or, it would get a pass if you could get out of such a weird position. Your leg was starting to fall asleep.
“Well, Kaedehara Kazuha, I would be much more inclined to appreciate that compliment if you let me go before it gets completely dark,” you snarked, trying your luck with the soft-spoken wanderer.
Unexpectedly, he actually did let go, even offering you a hand. When you took it and he hoisted you up, it was surprising to note that he was only a few inches taller than yourself. That surprise was immediately sidelined when you tried to pull your hand away, only to find him still holding onto it firmly.
You tug again, ears pressed flat and eyebrows furrowed in wary confusion. “Uhh… what are you doing?”
In place of answering directly, he flipped your palm up and brushed his free hand over yours, eyes widening slightly as he dragged it down to your fingertip and your claws extended when you nervously flexed a bit.
“This is weird. Can you please explain or let go?” You complain, tugging again. At this point you don’t believe he’s going to attack you or anything, but that didn’t negate your confusion.
“You know, I’ve met many like you on my journey, but your build is unique. Is this common among your kind?” He comments softly.
“Is what common?” This is now getting weirder. The tip of your tail flicked.
He looked up and clarified, “The padded palms, retractable claws,” glancing down he added, “paws in place of humanoid feet?”
Many like you. You pushed that comment to the back of your mind and instead nodded, hoping that answering his questions will make him let go faster.
“Yeah. My mom and brother are the same way, so is the rest of my family, but my dad is just a guy from Inazuma.”
He was clearly intrigued by the detail about your father, but didn’t pry, instead humming thoughtfully.
”Have you ever been to Inazuma?”
“Of course not,” you frown. “The nation has been closed for ages.”
He smiles again, more cunning than the others you’ve seen on him. “Would you like to go?”
And that’s what led you to your current situation.
Dropping off of the Alcor, your tail lashes in an attempt to preserve your balance as the sensation of solid ground causes your sea-accustomed legs to buckle a bit on impact; a few crew mates chuckle and pat your back or shoulder in good humor as they disembark, finding it amusing how you never seem to learn. It was short-lived, though, replaced by an air of urgency.
The truth is, you feel a bit of a rush every time you force your body to adjust to such a stark change in what’s beneath your bare feet, but now isn’t the time to focus on funny sensations.
After taking a few unsteady steps, you feel yourself shaking off the residual wobble in your legs and begin to pick up the pace. Repeating Captain Beidou’s directions in your mind, you weave through crowds of uniformed soldiers towards their makeshift camp.
Pink hair, Hydro vision. Pink hair, Hydro vision. Pink hair—
You spotted your target in conversation with two bloody men who were frantically relaying their situation to the woman with pink hair and an apparent hydro vision adorned on her dress. It also helped she was actively healing those in front of her with said vision.
You couldn’t hear much of their conversation over all the background commotion, but managed to catch something about someone needing renforcements.
As you approached, the woman you were instructed to seek out and aid snapped her gaze up to meet yours.
“Y/n?” She addressed you. You nodded and glanced at her subordinates.
“Your Excellency,” You bow respectfully, ”I’m assuming the Captain already gave word of my arrival. I take it this is as good a time as any?”
With a firm but kind voice, she replies, “Correct. And you truly couldn’t have arrived at a better time.” Looking you up and down, she states, “I’ve been told you’re trained in combat. One of our units is engaged in a feigned attack and requires immediate backup. Meet me at the gate.”
With that, she spun around and quickly began summoning soldiers. You turned to the remaining two as they rolled their shoulders and began speaking of battle and frowned.
“You’re going back, right?” They both confirmed. “Can you fill me in at the gate while her excellency prepares?”