Chapter Text
There was no way this was happening.
Do the archons hate me? What bad karma have I accumulated for this to happen to me? This could’ve happened on any other day but why now?!
“No”
“Excuse m-me?” Thoma stutters as he sees your pissed off expression.
“I said No. I need Rika with me today” You turn around and go look for Rika around the estate.
“But I was instructed that I come with you today”
“Who instructed you?” You face him suddenly and he stops in his steps. Thoma could basically feel chills going up his spine. He was just following orders but now he’s the receiving end of your rage. “Did Ayato say this?”
“Well...” Thoma hurriedly chases after you as you head to Ayato’s office.
“I’m going to strangle him!”
“I-it was actually Lady Ayaka’s orders!”
You stop in your step as soon as you heard what Thoma said. Like a frozen statue, you don’t move a muscle and repeat what he said in your head.
“M-Mistress?”
“Thoma” Pausing for a moment, you take a deep breath and ask him calmly “Where’s Ayaka?”
Thoma couldn’t see your face and if he was being honest, he was more scared now than he was a moment ago when you were angry. He couldn’t read your mood now.
“She’s in her study but-”
Without a word, you make a sharp turn to go to Ayaka’s study. You reserve some of your rage for Rika too. She knew how troubling it would be for you today and she just agreed with your sister.
“Ayaka!” Barging in her study was something you’ve never done before. Most of the time, you’ll knock politely but with the nerves you’re having today, all politeness went out the window.
“Hello sister, you look beautiful!” Ayaka greets you with a happy smile as if she didn’t do something. Her sparkling eyes look at you with so much admiration as she points out how the kimono matches you so much.
Rika sits across her quietly sipping tea, not even sparing you a look.
“Rika what are you doing? Stand up, we are going to leave” But even as you say this, your personal retainer stays seated on the floor as if you were a ghost she didn’t hear.
“Sister, Rika and I will be getting to know each other better today. I have personally requested that Thoma goes with you instead. It wouldn’t be far off that you are to be accompanied by the chief retainer on your arrangement with your suitor. No offense to Miss Rika”
“None taken, my lady” Rika still doesn’t glance at your way and sips her tea more.
It seems like your schedule today has been leaked by the other retainers as they didn’t know you were keeping this a secret from Ayaka. They probably thought that she knew as this was a normal procedure in the clan (despite it being the first time). They might have been too excited to see that their young mistress was now finally entertaining a suitor.
You sigh and massage the temples of your head “Ayaka, you could get acquainted with Rika on any other day except for today. I need her.”
“But Y/N-neechan” Ayaka gives you her biggest puppy eyes and pout. “Please. I am terribly hurt that you haven’t told me about this. I thought we didn’t keep secrets from each other?”
This is very unfair. Your sister knows that you are weak to her when she does this. But today, today you make a stand against it!
“Ayaka, no-”
“I am deeply HURT” she hangs her head low and puts on her best sad face, acting like you have deeply betrayed her. You didn’t have any time to spare anymore so you just heaved out a big sigh.
“Fine…” Ayaka perks up with a smile and bids you a goodluck on your arrangement today. Seeing her being all genuine and smiley irritates you more because you know she meant all the compliments and you cannot fault her for any of it.
“Have a nice day, Mistress” Rika says as she politely nods at you.
“Don’t think you’ll get away with this, Rika!” You smirk at her and keep eye contact “I shall have a little.. talk with Akash when I get back. I bet he would be very interested in things that I have to share”
Your precious retainer almost broke out of her seat but willed herself to her seat. She might put on a straight face but you can see her jaw clenching as she holds herself back. You stomp out of the room not even waiting for Thoma who was frantically catching up to you.
To say it was tense, was an understatement. On the way there, Thoma tried his best to create small talk with you but you were clearly not in a good mood as you only answered with one or two words. You appreciate Thoma trying to comfort you but he wasn’t even supposed to know about today. Damn gossipers!
Well now that you’re here, you suppose you’ll have to change your plans. There’s no use crying over spilt dango milk. You’ll have to be discreet about your actions today. Initially, you didn’t have to worry about anything because you know that even if Ayato asked Rika, she would tell him that everything was alright and normal (she was a good liar with her straight face) but now with Thoma with you.. He would most likely tell every detail of your actions for today. Even if all 3 of you are good friends, it was apparent that Thoma’s loyalty in Ayato was very high. He would not dare lie nor miss out on the smallest details of this arrangement. Especially about this thing that Ayato might have opened up on some occasions with him. You know your brother treats Thoma as his closest confidant as it’s hard to trust people as the Yashiro commissioner. You admire their friendship, you really do, but if it puts you on a tough spot then it was less admirable as the minute goes by.
As you stand before the entrance, you try to slap your face into calmness and remove the crease between your eyebrows as well as the frown on your mouth. You put on your gentlest smile that you could muster as a staff greets you.
“Good morning, Miss Y/N Kamisato. My lord is waiting for you by the garden.” He bows to you and leads you into their estate.
The Fukuyama household wasn’t as big or grand as your estate. It was much smaller and humble but you could still feel an air of nobility surrounding it. You researched their clan beforehand. They really don’t meddle into politics and focused rather on their family business, which was creating papers, ink, paint and scrolls alike throughout Inazuma. Their clan has provided the country for generations with their high quality products. It seems odd to you that Ayato would decide on this person as the one you would meet. They clearly don’t have much political influence nor do they desire the power that the Kamisato clan offers. Or maybe there’s just some talks happening that you don’t know of. Whatever it may be, your goal was just to make it clear that you aren’t interested in marriage at the end of the day.
Fukuyama Jun, the heir to the Fukuyama clan, is almost 30 years old. He is the eldest son in the clan, works hands on in the factory and there are no rumored lovers before. The glasses atop his nose makes him look mature and the way greets you with a polite smile and bow is a sign that he was also raised like a noble.
He seemed nice. The tea was good. The snacks were also good. But the awkward atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife. You didn’t want to be rude but you didn’t want to be too friendly and give off the wrong impression as well. If Rika was here with you, it would be easy to get straight to the point but since you can feel Thoma basically drilling holes into the back of your head with his staring, you would have to phrase yourself much more carefully. Purposely trying to sabotage this arrangement would make Ayato disagree with your deal.
“I apologize that you had to walk all the way here miss Kamisato. I should have been the one to visit you at your estate”
“Oh no worries. I was the one who requested the arrangement would be made here instead. I’m sorry for intruding on your estate.” Because the people at the estate weren't even supposed to know. You even declined the offer of them sending escorts because you wanted to keep it a low profile but it seems that even with just 2 people helping you dress, the word spread fast amongst the retainers.
And just like that, it was dead air again. You can see him try his best to not let things be awkward but it was painfully obvious to everyone that both of you weren’t comfortable in this setting.
“Mr. Fukuyama, would you lead the way to the factory? I would love to see how things work.” You at least think that walking or having to observe something would make things much less awkward. After all, having to talk about something present in front of both of you would create a conversation that wouldn’t die down so easily.
“Are you sure, My lady? It is quite hot there and it is not the cleanest place for a lady to be at”
“I am sure. I am curious as to how different colors of paint are created. After all, I used to paint.”
“You used to paint, milady? I would like to see some of your works” Jun stands up and holds up a hand to assist you.
“It’s in the past, though I am still very interested in the production of the materials. I remember my father gifted me some of your paper and paints when I was much younger. I enjoyed using them.” For the first time today, you smile fondly to yourself as you remember memories of you painting with your father and mother.
“I am glad we are able to provide such things for you to enjoy.” You notice that he too, smiles genuinely now, he must honestly love his work.
“Here we are. Please excuse the mess. We would have prepared better if we were notified earlier.”
You giggle at his worried face “I do not expect a factory to be clean, my lord. I want to see it as is. I am not afraid of a little bustling heat.”
As he opens the door, a wave of hot air greets your face. Opening your eyes, you were greeted with a lot of workers doing their jobs. Mixing of pigments, mashing of materials to create a canvas, hundreds of people all working at different things to make a beautiful piece of product. It fascinates you so much that you were probably staring with your mouth open.
“My lord” A burly man, named Haru, greets your group and introduces himself as the head supervisor of the factory. “Milady, I apologize we haven’t prepared anything for you as we didn’t know you were coming to visit.”
“Please don’t apologize. It must be me who should ask for your forgiveness as I am the one intruding suddenly on such a busy day.” You give a slight bow and smile to them. “Also I am not a stranger to how a factory works, I’ve been to some in my travels to Fontaine.”
“You have been to Fontaine, milady?” Jun asks you with an excited glint in his eyes.
“Yes. During my travels there I have the opportunity to tour to see their factories, machineries and of course their famous paintings” Well technically you broke into some factories for a mission but you’ll leave that detail out for everyone’s sake.
“I have been wanting to go to the art galleries myself! But sadly I do not have the time to-” He almost bumps into a machine but thankfully Haru saves him just in time.
“My lord, please be careful”
“Ah sorry. I’m a bit clumsy now, aren’t I?”
The burly man pulls out a suspiciously clean handkerchief from his pocket and gives it to his master. They continue to chatter as they tell you about the procedures and different methods of how different papers and paints are made.
The interaction before you made you raise your suspicion. You’ve seen this before. On your journey that made you meet countless people or more specifically, couples, you learned to be more observant of other people’s relationships.
Love that has grown in somewhere it could never outright bloom. The feeling of a slight squeeze in your heart appears. You look back at Thoma to try and see if he has the slightest idea but what greeted you was emerald eyes solely looking at you like you’re the only person there.
Quickly turning back to the front, you give your attention back to the tour of the factory.
When the tour was quickly ending, you saw a glass room with several people trying on paints inside. Your eyes gleamed in excitement. Running up to Jun, you politely ask him if you can try some paints as well. He gives you a surprised face before nodding and making the workers in the room take a break so you can have it all to yourselves.
“If I may, I’d like to talk to you in private, my lord” You give him a gentle smile and immediately turn to Thoma “The room is made of glass, there is no need to follow us. You can simply watch us from the outside”
The other retainer and thoma couldn’t even speak a word before you entered with Jun following behind you.
“My lady, please wear this apron at least. I wouldn’t want to ruin your beautiful kimono” He gives you an apron similar to what the people at the kitchen use. You tie the sleeves of your kimono first before putting it on and tying it at the back.
“Thank you. My lord, can you please help me move this canvas here and some of the paint too?”
He does everything you asked without a word and once he has placed everything, you pick up a brush and start to paint. It was nice of him to provide you a big canvas, it was just the right amount where half of your face would be covered. You didn’t know if Thoma could read lips but it was better to be safe. After all, the chief retainer of the Kamisato clan has many tricks and skills up his sleeve.
“I do not mean to annoy the lady with my question but I am curious if the art galleries in Fontaine really do have marvelous works of art?”
“They do!” You give him an excited reply “I remember seeing a painting so beautiful that it moved me and I was brought to tears”
“What is the painting about?”
“It was about two friends…” You wash out the current paint and pick up another color to paint a pink sky beneath the orange one on the canvas “They looked at each other lovingly. At first, I wondered how such a bright and colorful painting could make me feel so sad.. Then I looked at the two people in the painting more closely.”
You wash off the color once again and now decide to draw the two people as best as you can. Though this one didn’t show their faces, it was apparent with the clothes who they were.
“They were friends who loved each other but didn’t have the privilege to pursue it.. At least that’s how I interpret it.”
Concentrating on your painting, you didn’t notice the sad smile Jun had as he didn’t respond to your story telling. “They had such beautiful smiles but there was a small distance between them with their hands almost touching if they only reached out to each other more. I asked myself why didn’t the artist just let them touch their hands.. Surely it would be possible at how close the two were but just then I only realized as I read the painting’s title.”
You put down the paint brush and analyze the painting. Not too shabby for a person who hasn’t practiced in a long time. It was definitely nothing close to what the art galleries in Fontaine had but as you turn to Jun and see his sad smile, you figure he gets the gist of your tale.
“Duty” You breathe out. With your back now facing the glass, you made sure to cover Jun as well so that no one from the outside could read your lips. It was a habit you developed after traveling that it's better to be safe than sorry.
After a few moments of silence, Jun has finally spoken up. “It is such a sad painting.. It seems that my lady has seen through us. I apologize.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Because I am.. This kind of person. A man who likes another man.”
“That is nothing to apologize for.” You turn to him and look him in the eye to let him know you are serious “Please do not apologize for being true to yourself. There is absolutely nothing wrong with who you are and who you love. Being a noble is both a burden and responsibility. And besides, I should be the one apologizing to you.”
“What could my lady possibly apologize for?”
“I went on with this arrangement with no intention of it being successful. You were just a pawn in one of my plans to appease my clan’s nagging. I also apologize for overstepping my boundaries with this.. Painting.” You bow to him deeply to apologize.
“It’s a beautiful painting.” He smiles at the painting, his finger tips running over so slightly at the two figures under an orange and pink sky. Now he understands why you wanted to place the canvas with the back facing the door, it’s so that other people outside cannot see it. He covers the canvas with a cloth and smiles at you “I shall take it as a token of your apology and also I beg of you not to tell anyone else.” This time, it is him who bows deeply.
“Of course. Your secret is safe with me.” You stare at each other with such gentle smiles, coming to a silent agreement of the results of today.
“Does my lady also have someone who they.. Cherish?” Jun looks outside the glass windows and looks at the love of his life working so hard.
You can see Thoma outside, posture straightening up stiffly as you meet his eyes. You couldn’t help but giggle at his reaction. Taking a deep breath, you pause and look at the floor.
“No.. no, I don’t”
And with that, your tour at the Fukuyama factory has ended. It was almost nearing evening as you walked back to the estate and bid your goodbyes to your new friend.
The distance between the Kamisato and Fukuyama estate wasn't very far but as the strong rain suddenly poured, it would be a problem for you to return quickly.
“Y/N here! Let’s take shelter for a while!” Thoma grabs your hands and pulls you hurriedly under a small shed before you get wetter.
“Achoo!” You take a sniff back as the temperature drops lower and being wet certainly didn’t help. Rubbing your arms together, you try your best to keep yourself warm.
“I’m sorry for not taking an umbrella with us earlier” Thoma gives you an apology and takes your hand once again to place his vision in his hands. “Some warmth, your hands are already cold”
You gaze at the precious pyro vision in your hands one more time “Thoma.. I heard what happened.. With your vision. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you.”
And you figured with that certain situation with the shogun, Thoma would be more wary about handing off his vision to anyone but you noticed he would give it to you so frequently.
“I knew that I had to do it or else Ayato and Ayaka would be in trouble.” Thoma scratched his head and sighed “I know hold an important position in the clan but that’s all the more why I had to surrender. I was honestly so scared but I knew it was my duty to sacrifice myself.”
“No! It shouldn’t be! If I was there I would have-”
“I know you would interfere and even face the shogun herself. I know you would.” Thoma laughs lightly “And in that moment, I thought to myself, that was the only moment I was relieved you weren’t in Inazuma”
You tighten your grip on the vision in your hands and feel anger towards yourself “I- I’m sorry, Thoma. I don’t know what else to say. I’m so sorry.”
It was foolish of you to think that things would be better if you were there. Knowing how reckless you were, you would’ve made the situation worse. Yet another proof of being a burden.
“Please don’t apologize. All that matters is everything is fine now, right?” Thoma takes off his jacket and puts it on your shoulders “Oh hey look at that, I knew red would suit you!”
You look at Thoma in shock as how he could just brush off that experience as if he wasn’t close to losing everything in that moment and he goes smiling at you because you looked good in a color you didn’t like.
It was already dark but the more you looked at Thoma, the more you realized that he was a sun that you were flying too close to. And you want to keep staring at him longer, step closer to the sun until it hurts you because it doesn’t matter if your chest felt like it was burning because it would be worth it to see him smile like that.
It was a petty thing to not wear any red ever since you discovered when you were young that it didn’t suit you. But with the way Thoma said it so genuinely, you knew he wasn’t lying for the sake of it and the way it made your heart beat was so dangerous. You unconsciously grip his jacket on you tighter as if it was the comfiest blanket in all of teyvat. Once again, you were put in a position where you understand the shogun’s belief to keep everything the same, the goal to achieve eternity. The want to make this moment last forever.
But alas the rain lets up and finally stops. The skies were clearing up, displaying the numerous stars in the sky. It was a signal that your time was up. You have to snap back to reality and enjoy this sun from a distance that wouldn’t hurt you or anyone else.
Stepping closer to Thoma, you hand him back his vision. You pull him a bit lower by his hands and look him in the eye to utter him a sincere thank you. Words were stuck in your throat. You wanted to tell him you were thankful for him being strong, for being there for you today albeit it being the most troubling thing, for always lending you his warmth with his vision and his jacket, for saying that you look nice in a color you didn’t like, for- for how he will continue to take care of Ayaka in the future. There were so many things that you wanted to say to him but you knew better than to blabber about unnecessary things. What mattered now was you had successfully finished your arrangement so your brother could do his end of the deal.
Removing the jacket from your own shoulders, you put it back on Thoma and let go of him. You take one last look at his emerald eyes that glow as the moonlight lands on them. Silently, you pray to the archons above that those eyes will always shine bright as they do tonight.
Without saying another word, you turn and walk the path going back to the estate. Thankfully it wasn’t too far and as soon as you arrived, you ordered the retainers to prepare your bath.
“Tell them I’m not joining for dinner. I’m tired and will immediately go to sleep.”
And you weren’t lying at all, you really were tired. Also this was a good strategy to avoid Ayato asking you questions with your mind not being able to hold up anymore conversations. You’ll have to strategize first on your wordings before you talk to your brother even though you know Thoma will report to him after dinner.
Rika seems to understand your somber mood and doesn't bother you any further. She bids you a goodnight as she closes the door of your room.
As you close your eyes, you try your hardest not to replay those moments under the rain. Hopefully, exhaustion will put you right to sleep and give you a dreamless slumber.
You wake up the next day feeling better, shaking off the memories of last night and locking them up in the deepest part of your heart. Putting on your usual clothes, you join the others for breakfast and meet up with Ayato as he summons you in his office.
“Good morning Y/N” he greets you with a smile
“Good morning Ayato” you sit in front of him “I’ve done my part of the deal. Now it’s time to do yours”
“Oh, already cutting it to the chase?” He giggles at you and puts his brush down to give you his full attention “Why don’t you tell me about yesterday?”
“What for? I know Thoma probably already told you everything”
“You wound me once again sister. Of course I want to hear it from you. Fukuyama Jun was a nice man, wasn’t he?”
“He is. I enjoyed the factory tour. Did you pick him because you thought we would bond over painting?”
“Correct. They say people who most likely have the same hobbies would get along better.”
“Well thanks for your… consideration for picking my suitor but” You smile at him widely “Let’s just say I now have a new friend!”
Ayato sighs and shakes his head “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”
“Never” You laugh at him “I know what you’re doing Ayato and I told you countless times already, I have no intentions of marrying.”
“It’s not marriage” Ayato looks at you with sad eyes “I just want you to- to open your heart and like mother said.. love”
“You and I both know that I don’t deserve to ” You stand up, having had enough of this conversation already “Do me a favor and apply that to yourself instead, Ayato. I know it’s hard for someone like… in our position to receive genuine feelings like that but I firmly believe you deserve it.”
“Y/N wait-”
“Keep your end of the deal, alright?” It wasn’t up for debate. Both the deal and your opinion on the other topic. “And I’m going to be staying at Ritou 2 weeks before the festival starts. It will be hectic with all the incoming shipments of materials and arrangement for the guestlist. Rika will be staying with me as well. I’ll come back here for our meetings, I know you’re busy enough so I won’t have you going all the way to Ritou. If you need more help just tell me. I’ll see you later brother.”
And just like that, you left Ayato alone with your words in his office once again.
As much as you and Ayato annoy each other, you genuinely love him as your brother. And you appreciate his efforts to help you with that matter but it’s not something that could be changed so easily. Besides, you have already made peace with this decision long ago. Nothing could change your mind.
At least you’ll be away from the estate for a couple of days and will be busy for the Irodori festival. Hopefully it will keep off your thoughts and stop your overthinking. All that was left to do was pray that things go your way with the plan.
Staying in Ritou for 2 weeks rightfully did its job of keeping you busy. Hans came back from his Inazuma travels to help you around Ritou, especially with the heavy lifting of the incoming materials. Akash was also kind enough to pause on his research to help in any way he can with the preparations. Rika was ever reliable and accomplished everything that she should do. You had a good team with you, they were genuinely good people and you thank the Archons that you met them and they tolerate you until now.
With the preparations for the festival almost finished, all that was left to do was wait for the guests to arrive. Greeting the incoming guests was something you personally took upon as you knew some of them.
You haven’t talked Thoma in quite a few days. You’d only see him from a far when he was running around doing errands and you yourself only had a few spare moments to even relax. The Kamisato clan has always been in charge of festivals and you’ve seen how hectic everyone was ever since you were young. Your parents have always shown you the ropes but nothing of this year’s scale. This festival will be the first major festival open to all other nations since the decree ended. Ayato, Ayaka and you have been planning this together with the other clans for quite some time to ensure its success.
If it was tiring to prepare for the festival, the actual festival will be even more tiring. Rather than being able to enjoy it like everyone else, you’d have to be on your toes to make sure that everything is going smoothly. And for today, your task to greet some of the guests is already starting as you see a ship with a little girl with her red hat waving at you coming to the docks.
“Big sister Y/N!!” Klee hurriedly jumps down the docks and runs to greet you.
“Hello Klee! Look at you, you have grown up so much since I saw you” You pat the little girl on the head and give her a warm smile.
“Klee, what did I say on the boat?” You turn to the male voice that spoke behind her and greet him accordingly.
“To not run so far from you big brother Albedo..” Klee pouts as she already receives a scolding.
“Hello Albedo, welcome to Inazuma” You bow to him formally to give your respects as the host “I hope you have a pleasant stay here and enjoy the festival. If there is anything you need please do tell me.”
“Thank you Y/N. It’s an honor to be invited by the Yae Publishing house to this event. Luckily the knights have allowed me to bring Klee along as well.”
“Yes! Klee can join as long as I am a good girl!”
“And what did master Jean tell you before going here?” You squat to talk to eye level with Klee.
“She said no fish blasting here too..” Klee puts her hand behind her back and responds timidly “And that jumpy dumpty should behave good too”
“Good girl Klee!” You clap to applaud her on remembering her rules “Always stay with Albedo, okay? There will be lots of people so you might get lost but if you see these people you can approach them for help.”
You point to your team behind you and introduce them to Klee. Only Rika has met her before since you met Hans and Akash after your trip from Mondstadt.
“And me too!” Walking casually to the docks himself, your blond retainer introduces himself to both of your guests.
“Oh mister we both have the same vision! See! Klee has the same!” Klee turns to show her vision that was clipped to her backpack.
“Wow! That’s so cool Klee! You must be very strong and capable!” Thoma laughs at her little antics.
“Ah Thoma, good timing! Please do help me with escorting our guests.” You tell him to stay put before rushing off somewhere again. “Albedo, we should go to your assigned rooms so we can put down your luggage.”
While you and Thoma escort both Klee and Albedo, you instructed your team to do their respective jobs for the morning schedule.
“And here we are, I hope everything is to your liking.” You show them where the things are placed and give tips about Inazuma in general. “Oh and before I leave.. Albedo, do you have the thing I requested for?”
Albedo nods “Klee, can you give Y/N our gift for her?”
“Ah! It’s in my bag!” Klee hurriedly rummages the contents of her bag and even goes handing Thoma some of her stuff as she searches for the package.
“Careful Thoma, that cute thing is actually a bomb. Don’t drop it.” You whisper to him quietly to not alert everyone else.
He laughs at your joke but you shake your head and look at him seriously to let him know you weren’t actually kidding. He gulps and nods as he holds it firmer in his hands.
“Klee found it!!” Klee hands you two packages wrapped in brown paper.
“Wait, two? I only asked for one, did I not?”
“Well the other one is what you requested but Klee saw me packing it and asked if she can also give you a gift.”
“Thank you so much Klee!” You give her a tight hug and she giggles in glee as she hugs you back. “Have a fun time in Inazuma okay? We have to leave now for work. I’ll see you both around.”
Albedo nods and thanks you while Klee happily waves you off.
Now it was just you and Thoma walking back to the Ritou office. Apparently, Ayato asked him to check on you and have some stuff picked up from the incoming shipments at the dock before checking if everything with the festival vendors are complete.
“Thoma, do you have some time to spare? Can you come with me for a second?”
“Yes Mistress. Is there anything you need help with?”
The bigger package had little dodoco’s written all over it so you assumed this was Klee’s gift for you. As you open it carefully, you laugh to see it was a little sketchbook with Klee’s drawings of you and her and other friends you all have in Mondstadt. It was cute, there was even a letter from Klee saying that she hopes you visit Mondstadt again.
“Oh, was this drawn by Klee?” Thoma smiles as he sees the drawings.
“Yeah. Klee loves drawing like her big brother Albedo. See, she even drew me and Rika together with Jean and the others.”
“Oh you met Jean? Jean Gunnhildr?”
“Yes. She’s acting grand master now! Is she a close friend of yours?”
“No- not really. The Gunnhildr is a famous clan and everyone in Mondstadt knows her. I’m not surprised she’s in a high position now though, she was always so diligent even as a kid.”
“Oh wow really? It must be cute to see little miss Jean training as a knight” You both laugh together but you can see the slight sadness in Thoma’s eyes. “Why don’t you try going home to Mondstadt some time soon? If Klee and the others can come here then you can certainly go back there. I’m sure Ayato would give you a well deserved vacation.”
Thoma shakes his head “Well I do miss it but the estate would be such a mess without me!” He laughs out loud “Imagine all the dusty corners who no one cleans but me. Also I’m worried the three of you might burn down the kitchen the second I’m gone”
You roll your eyes at him playfully and shove him a little “I’m serious Thoma. You can go back anytime. Just let us know.”
“I know.. Thank you. But there’s still a lot of things to do and.. You know.. It would require riding a boat for a long time again and..” He trails off to an awkward silence.
“Shit. I’m sorry Thoma I didn’t mean to-”
“No! No- it’s fine. I know you meant well.” He smiles at you gently “Maybe someday I’ll have the courage again but for now I enjoy my stay in Inazuma”
“Well for now then you can have this” You hand Thoma the other package from Albedo that you especially requested “It’s for you. It’s nothing much. I just thought you would like something from your hometown.”
You debated with yourself for quite a long time if you’ll still give him this. Things have been taking a toll on you personally but you would never give in to them. You requested this favor from Albedo as soon as you knew he was coming to Inazuma and after all the recent revelations of your sister’s feelings, you thought it would be cumbersome to give Thoma a gift. But after a long thought process, you knew that you’re giving this gift to him as a friend and nothing more. The gift would just gather dust if you didn’t give it anyway and it wouldn’t be too bad to make your friend happy, right? So in the end you decided to proceed with your original plan.
Thoma is dumbstruck as he holds the package in his hands and slowly unwraps it. His fingers glide at a small glass case with a small familiar red flower inside of it.
“I had Albedo preserve it. So it’s a real flower but it’s probably glazed with chemicals to retain its appearance. I’m not sure how long it will last but I hope it’s okay?”
Thoma smiles at the flower in his hands. It’s been a while since he’s seen a real one. Windwheel Asters are quite simple flowers but it didn’t grow well in Inazuman soil since it needed richer soil and lots of wind to display its beauty so even seeing it in his hands right now was quite surreal. It might not spin freely as it was preserved but the beauty of freshness was still retained.
“Thank you.” He smiles at you once again so fondly and as if on reflex, your lips smile upward too. You knew right there and then that you made the right decision to give it.
“Y/N? The meeting room is ready and everyone is waiting for you.” Rika opens the door suddenly and snaps you both back to reality “Sorry for intruding in your moment”
“Okayyyyy Let’s go!” You answer her back immediately before she says anything else and stand up to step out of the room “I should get going now. See you later, Thoma. If you need any help just let me and the team know!”
You don’t even wait for Thoma’s reply anymore and give Rika a glare.
“Don’t say a word” You point at Rika before opening the door to the meeting room.
Like a routine, you go to the docks and welcome more guests that you personally know. Xingqui arrived with a bunch of people from his guild. Nothing less than from the Feiyun Guild. Venti arrived with the other guests from Mondstadt, saying that he was excited to try the Inazuma sake. Kazuha returns with a smile as he is happy to come back to his homeland and not have a warrant on his head. And of course your favorite pair of adventurers finally arrived.
“Aether, Paimon! Welcome back to Inazuma. I’m so glad you can come and join us!” You greet them with a smile at the docks.
“We wouldn’t want to miss any of it. Especially all the food we’re going to eat!” Paimon drools.
“It would be disrespectful after we received a personal invitation from Ayaka” Aether adds.
“Oh? Ayaka personally sent you a letter? Huh I didn’t know about this” You hum to yourself but quickly dismiss it and say your normal lines of “You can ask me for help if anything goes wrong!” thing before letting them settle in.
The day ends without a hitch. Tomorrow will be the start of the real work as it was the first day of the festival. Even if the events doesn’t start until the afternoon, you still had to double check if everything is going smoothly.
—--
Day 1 of the festival went on as planned. You saw Ayaka greeting the other guests and getting all chatty with them. It felt good to see your usually shy sister to be making more friends. You decide it was better not to bother them and continue on with your patrolling.
As it was nearing evening, you had to make an appearance at the opening ceremony. This would also be the first time for you to see Ayaka doing her speech in front of a big crowd. Apparently, after you left to travel, she talked to Ayato that she would be the one to handle all public affairs to help him with his workload since he’s always almost stuck at the office or in meetings. It fills you with pride to see your sister deliver her speech flawlessly as the crowd concentrates on her words and smiles at her message. Seeing her all grown up made you feel a bit emotional. She was always so shy and conservative when she was younger, so seeing her grow up as such a beautiful and reliable woman makes you feel so proud. You and Ayato share a knowing smile with each other as you stand on the side when Ayaka finishes her speech.
As she breathes out a sigh of relief, you both applaud her for doing a good job. It was hard to believe that she was nervous as she was as perfect as she can be.
Thoma came around from the corner, giving your sister praises as well. Only then that you remember they’d have the day off tomorrow and hopefully your matchmaking plan succeeds. You see Thoma whispering to Ayaka, she suddenly gets flustered and covers her face with her fan, obviously trying to hide her bashful expression.
“Y/N-” Ayato calls for your name and you snap out of your daze and realize you were probably staring and he caught you red handed.
“S-sorry Ayato, I have to go look for my team now. I still have some things to do at the office. I’ll see you at home in a few days. Bye!” You ran off before he could say anything to you. Because the worst thing to happen isn’t realizing things for yourself, but to have your brother call you out on it. Not that there is anything to realize. No. You just don’t want to create a misunderstanding and have Ayato assume anything.
The next day, you woke up with bags under your eyes. Granted you only slept for 3 hours. Your mind was too busy waking you up with thoughts of your matchmaking working and ending well. Double checking all the signs, praying to the gods that everything goes smoothly and repeating to yourself over and over that everything will be alright.
You.
Are.
Happy.
This is what you wanted. This is how things should be.
And before you knew it, your mind exhausted itself yet again but Rika woke you up all too soon to tell you that you had a meeting in an hour.
Normally this would be the most uneventful day as there were no special performances but nonetheless it will still be busy as the guests from other nations will have their book signing today. The Yae Publishing house will also hold a special sale on all of their books and release the awaited part 3 of your favorite book. The Onibudo.
People from different nations are still coming into Inazuma today. Which means you still had a lot of work to do. The only time you get to rest was during lunch time which was still accompanied with a small huddle with your group. And all of them were also so busy with their own duties which means no one could buy your book for you. The publishing house had a very strict 1 is to 1 policy for buyers. Of course you could buy the book on another occasion but with the amount of guests you have seen arriving at the docks, it will most likely sell out and you would have to wait months until the next batch would be printed.
A guard comes knocking into the meeting room, alerting you and your team “Miss Kamisato, there have been reports of treasure hoarders at the far east. It hasn’t been discovered yet what they were discussing but they had lots of boxes and the number of people was high.”
“Does the kujou clan know about this? They are in charge of security after all” You and your team quickly get ready and proceed to tell the guard to guide you to the location.
“They do. They have tried to reprimand them but they had no legal grounds to do a search as they were not directly disturbing the festival nor we had any proof that they had stolen something.”
“Hmm.. Rika, can I ask you to observe them for the rest of the day?” You stand very far away from the group of treasure hoarders as to not alert them. It is true that there were an abnormally high number of them more in one place and it was also true that they were not doing any harm so you couldn’t act on it.
“Of course, Mistress. I’ll report to you if anything happens.” Rika bows to you and immediately circles around the area carefully for her stake out.
“Miss Sara Kujou has told me to relay this information to you since this area is close to Ritou and wanted to ask if you were familiar with the boxes they have.”
You look closer once again at the boxes and observe that there was nothing distinct about them. “They look like any other box that would’ve been made locally here. It seems that it’s not an import from any of the Irodori festival shipments. We’ve thoroughly checked every box and marked them appropriately so these are not any of those boxes.”
“Thank you Miss Kamisato. I’ll relay this to Miss Kujou right away.” The guard bows to you and walks away to report to Sara.
“Hans, Akash. Let’s keep our guards up in case Rika comes back with any more information but for now let’s carry on our duties as planned.”
“Roger!”
“Got it!”
The three of you walk back to Ritou and resume your normal day. You were busy doing paperwork while Akash walked around Ritou then Hans helped with carrying incoming and outgoing shipments.
It was nearing evening when Rika came back, she was clearly out of breath as she slides the door of your office open. This surprised you since she was calm most of the time.
“What’s wrong?!” You hurriedly come to her and she immediately pulls you out.
“Thoma”
“Thoma?!” What in the archon's name is happening?! Thoma was supposed to be with Ayaka right about now, enjoying the night at the festival together! Your heart was beating so fast because none of the things you were planning are going right as of now.
“The treasure hoarders have surrounded him.”