Chapter Text
“These are the guards’ schedule the Croque-Mitaine ordered.”
You took the folder and tucked it inside your coat. You nodded curtly at the informant. He was new and Baptiste was still testing his reliability. If his information proved to be correct, they might still work with him on future operations.
You started to leave when the man called out to you.
“Wait up, girlie!”
“That is not my name and you know it.”
“Oh, sorry. [Y/N], wasn’t it? Quick question. Been wondering all afternoon. Where are you from?”
“Fontaine.”
Strangely, the man laughed. “No, I mean, where are you really from?”
You frowned, unable to understand the question. Had you not just told him? Perhaps he wanted a more specific location.
“I was born in Petrichor.”
“Right, but looking at you… and your name, and everything. I’m guessing Inazuman or Liyuean?”
Your frown deepened. “My dads were Inazuman.”
“Hah, I knew it! Got an eye for these things. So, I was wondering, in your culture-”
“My culture,” you interrupted, rage rising and dangerously close to boiling over, “is Fontainian culture. Same as yours.”
“Yeah, sure, but it’s different for you, you know?” And just as you were thinking of turning your back to him and putting that unnerving conversation to an end, he complemented. “It’s not really where your roots are.”
Later that evening, Baptiste had entered your room with a smile and a dangerous gleam in his eyes, and asked why the new informant was refusing to continue their partnership and had apparently gotten his nose broken. You were not sure how to answer. How to put it into words.
Every time you passed by the camellias you noticed something that needed to be taken care of. A tiny weed that needed to be plucked. More water. Pruning the leaves. Shooing onikabuto (perhaps you could just call Itto to come collect them). Before you knew it, you were dedicating most of your time in-between chores to ensuring the flowers were thriving.
As much as you were reluctant to admit it, Furuta had been right. Once you had gotten over the anxiousness of having to find a way into the Kamisato siblings’ studies, taking time to work on the garden was relaxing. You could be away from Thoma’s nagging and let your mind wander, but not too much. Besides, there was a sense of accomplishment in helping bring something to life.
It was also an excellent way to discreetly listen in on the staff’s gossip. Like the discussion Kazumasa and Furusawa were having then.
The two samurai were stationed within the estate that day. Perhaps emboldened by the fact that the Commissioner had been absent for the past couple of days due to a series of intense meetings at the Tenshukaku and Ayaka had also left earlier that morning, they had been complaining about the Tenryou Commission’s increase of import taxes for ore used in weapons in a not-so-subtle tone.
“I had been planning to reinforce my spear with cor lapis after the Sakoku Decree was revoked but now the amount I’ve saved won’t cover even half of it!” Furusawa whined, briefly removing his helmet and sighing.
Kazumasa nodded. “I don’t understand the reasoning behind this. It’s like they want outlanders to drain our resources. I even heard that the Kanjou Commission is planning to facilitate the obtention of work visas for foreigners.”
“Ha! That’s ridiculous! Our people have been struggling enough in this economy and now they are letting outlanders steal their jobs?”
You rolled your eyes. You had heard that flawed rhetoric before. In reality, most foreigners who managed to immigrate to Inazuma ended up with jobs that had been rejected by Inazumans because the pay was too low, or struggling to set up an independent business in Ritou.
“We’d better watch our backs too. We already have Thoma here, who knows if the Commissioner will decide to hire more outlanders.”
Your hands froze on the stem of a camellia, where you were pruning an overgrown leaf. You were an outlander. They just didn’t know. You had been born in Fontaine and spent your entire life there except for seven terrible months you wished to erase from history. Thoma had been in Inazuma for twelve years. Even if only one of his parents was Inazuman, he was way less of an outlander than you.
“Humpf. The last thing we need is another Thoma. Just thinking of that careless lazy attitude makes me want to punch something.”
Careless? Lazy? Had any of them ever seen Thoma working? How early he got up? Were they making those assumptions solely based on the fact that he was a Mondstadter?
There were plenty of reasons to hate Thoma. He was picky, annoying, nosy, cheerfully deceptive. A plethora of adjectives to choose from. Couldn’t they at least pick up the correct ones?
You felt your fists clenching, the urge to break something building inside of you. Then you noticed you were still holding the camellia. You let go of the flower quickly as if you had been burned and directed your anger towards pulling out nearby weeds. The feeling of killing something undesirable was strangely refreshing.
“Wow, you really are taking gardening seriously.”
You wanted to throw the weeds on Thoma’s face as revenge for interrupting your peace and tranquility, but opted for a sigh instead.
“Furuta can’t take care of the garden alone, it’s risky for her back.”
“Are you sure it’s not because you enjoy it?” your eye twitched. With a grin, Thoma pressed. “I mean, you were smiling earlier.”
“Are you really admitting that you’ve been watching me? That’s a bit creepy, Master Thoma.”
“I mean, I do have to supervise your work. Is that still creepy?” he retorted without missing a beat. “Anyway, we need to go to Inazuma City and buy some crab. Milord is hosting some representatives from the Kanjou Commission tomorrow night and he asked me to prepare butter crab. We can leave whenever you are ready.”
You knew there was no getting out of that errand, so you started gathering the gardening tools and putting them away. With your back turned to Thoma, you frowned in thought. If he had been watching you for a while, he should have heard the samurai’s remarks about him. But if that was the case, why hadn’t he done anything? Thoma held a position of trust and respect within the household. One word from him and the samurai would be immediately discharged. Or at the very least reminded of their place.
Maybe he hadn’t heard anything after all.
What was supposed to have been a quick errand turned into an entire ordeal. For reasons beyond mortal comprehension, all crab in Inazuma City’s shops had been sold out. You had gone to every store. You had even asked Ogura Mio and Amenoma Togou if, by any chance, they had some spare crab at home. But of course not.
“It was the same thing in Ritou…” Thoma said with a dejected sigh. “I asked Koharu to go there yesterday, since they usually have the best crabs, but she said she couldn’t find any.”
You gaped incredulously. “What the- How does all the supply of crab simply disappear from Inazuma?”
“Beats me. There must be somewhere we haven’t checked yet…”
“Yeah, like the ocean.”
You regretted those words the instant they left your mouth. Thoma froze, eyes wide. You saw the exact moment the mischievous thought took root in his brain.
“No. Oh, no, no, no, no, no.”
“Hitomi...”
“No way.”
“You’re brilliant.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’m not saying we actually dive into the ocean… But there is a beach nearby where you can always spot crabs running across the sand.”
“Surely milord won’t mind if you prepare another dish without crab…”
“Think of it as a lesson in being a retainer for the Kamisatos: we do all in our power for the good of the Clan.”
You gritted your teeth, swallowing your remark that Inazuman nobles could well do one night without the world bowing to their every whim. If wasting time hunting crabs was what it took for you to win Thoma’s trust, so be it.
He led you to the beach to the west of Inazuma City, not too far from where your unexpected misadventure with Itto had taken place months ago. As Thoma had promised, a few red and purple crabs were enjoying their time on the sand, oblivious to the cruel fate that awaited them.
“The trick is to move silently and then grab them quickly,” he whispered, stepping forward for a demonstration. When the crab finally noticed the man, Thoma had already swiftly swung his hand down and picked it up by its upper shell. “You have to grab them right in the middle to avoid their pincers. Got it?”
“Yep,” you deadpanned. On your right hand, a red crab wriggled its legs desperately trying to escape.
Thoma blinked. “Point taken. No more underestimating your crab hunting skills. My bad.” He tossed you a bag to put the crab in and grinned. “Even better, we’ll get this done in no time! Ideally, we need sixteen crabs. You get the ones on the right, and I get the ones on the left?”
And so you split up.
As soon as you turned your back to him, you let your face fall into a scowl. Yes, this was the culmination of all of your years working as a mercenary, moving without being seen and gathering intelligence. Crab hunting. Sylvain had better never hear about that.
You managed to catch quite a few crabs before they buried themselves under the sand. Sadly, it seemed they were warning their fellow crustaceans about the nearby predator, for finding more crabs soon became more difficult.
There was a rocky formation against the cliffside, where the coastline bent, and you could feel a faint smell of smoke coming from that direction. At that hour, it was probably a fisherman. If they had crabs, maybe you could convince them to trade a few.
So it was with great confidence that you went around the rocks and found a camp with three nobushi staring straight at you.
You froze, fingers clenching around the top of the bag. Two of the nobushi wore simple blue robes, but the third one donned a full dark purple armor covering most of his weak spots. His face was obscured by a black oni mask and a helmet from which hung the symbol of Electro. You had done enough research, listened to enough rumors to know what kind of ronin that was.
“Why, good afternoon, miss,” the kairagi spoke in a tone of mockery as he rose to his feet.
Among the ronin that roamed the Inazuman wilds, kairagi were rumored to be the worst. They did not content themselves with stealing and rarely left their victims unscathed.
Your mind raced, assessing your options. Thoma was too far away and, from behind the rocks, he would not be able to see you. You would never be able to run away fast enough on the sand. The disadvantage in numbers was too great for your odds in a direct fight to be promising. Especially one of daggers against swords.
The best strategy was to give whatever they asked for and find an opportunity to slip away. Or somehow use the element of surprise to slit their throats. Unlikely, but if you had learned anything throughout your life was how to improvise.
“Good afternoon, sirs. I was just picking up food for dinner. I will be on my way-”
“Not so fast.” The kairagi put a hand to the sword hanging from his hip but did not make a move to unsheathe it. Beside him, however, the other ronin had picked their own rusty swords off the sand and stood up. “What do you have there?”
“Just some crab.”
You held out the bag for him and the kairagi confirmed its contents.
“That’s a lot of crab for one person. Do you have family waiting at home?”
You quickly considered the question. Telling them you were a retainer for a noble family seemed unwise; most vagrants despised nobility, so they could decide to kill you simply to make a statement. You decided to appeal for some potential sentimentality.
You forced your lips to quiver as was befitting of a harmless villager.
“J-just my daughter, but- I heard that there was a s-shortage, and I was planning on trying to sell some at the market too.”
“An entrepreneur, huh? Good, our country sure needs more of those.”
Though you could not see his face, the kairagi sounded amused. Better than downright aggressive, you thought. You intensified your shakiness.
“P-please don’t hurt me. I’ll give you what I have, just let me g-go home.”
“Now, don’t worry about that. We would never harm such a hardworking compatriot, right?” The two men beside him nodded and one of them snickered. “This is not the way of the Shugosha. We are just trying to get by and ask for a little solidarity from our people. Would you be able to contribute?”
You recognized the name as the band of ronin that Kurisu had mentioned in Ritou. That was probably not the entire group, which intensified your sense of urgency in getting away from them.
“Yes, of c-course. Please take everything.”
You slowly pulled out your coin purse and handed it to one of the nobushi. It was only when you saw his eyes widening that you realized your mistake. You had forgotten how generous the Kamisatos were with the amount they gave you and Thoma for groceries.
The nobushi whistled, showing the purse to the other two.
“So, not only an entrepreneur, but a successful one?” the kairagi laughed. “Are you sure this is all you can contribute with?”
“This is all I have.” The nervousness in your tone was just starting to find some ground in reality.
“Right now, perhaps, but what about at home? Or at work? It’s not fair to keep it all to yourself when so many Inazumans are struggling.”
“I live in the c-city. I can go there and get more money.” You hoped you sounded convincing. The nobushi would never dare step foot in Inazuma City with the hordes of doushin patrolling the area. If they realized that was all they could extract from you, maybe they would just-
“That’s not a problem. We can stop at a nearby village and ask someone to fetch your things. Meanwhile, you can take some time off with us.”
A hostage situation – classic. If someone alerted the doushin, you would be killed. You yourself had had to pull off something similar with a notary in the Court of Fontaine once, while the notary’s assistant allowed Sylvain into her office.
Worse still, the nearest village was Konda, where people knew you had been hired by the Kamisatos. Someone would probably spill the beans and then you would be in even more trouble with the nobushi.
You started to feel a pit growing in your stomach. It was getting less and less likely that you would be able to get rid of them without a fight. You could probably hold them off for a while but winning was highly unlikely. If only you had a Vision – even Sylvain had gotten a Vision somehow. Why couldn’t the Archons help you out only this once?
“Hello, there! Is there any trouble?”
Well. That was not the Vision you had been hoping for, but you would take it.
Thoma put a hand on your forearm, slowly placing himself between you and the nobushi. You did not complain about the unexpected human shield.
Then you saw the shift in the nobushi’s countenance. So far, they had been in a good mood, the kind of carefree attitude one has when they know they have control over a situation. As soon as they saw Thoma, the two men whose face youcould see started sneering and even the kairagi lost some of its amused air.
“Aren’t you a bit too far from home, outlander?”
Thoma ignored the question, eyes focusing instead on the coin purse one of the men was holding.
“Oh, it seems you have my friend’s purse. Would you mind giving it back?”
The nobushi spat at Thoma’s feet. The housekeeper let out a dejected sigh.
“Come on, was that really necessary?”
“Thoma,” you hissed, fervently wishing he would draw a weapon and be done with them quickly.
“Look, we don’t want any trouble,” he continued with that usual carefree tone. “We’ll just get our things and be on our way. We can even spare a crab or two if you’d like. You would have a tough time finding any at the market right now.”
The kairagi shook his head and let out a humorless laugh. You saw his hand moving to the hilt of the sword and slowly unsheathing it.
“I believe outlanders have taken way too much of from us already.”
The other men assumed a fighting stance. Thoma sighed again.
“That is certainly a shame.” He turned his head back to you and shot you a small smirk. “Don’t get too close.”
With a flicker of his wrist, a Kitain Cross Spear suddenly materialized in his hand. The kairagi swung his sword, but the movement was deflected by a sudden burst of Pyro. You instinctively raised your hands to cover your face, but there was no need. The Pyro energy had crystalized into a shield around Thoma and you.
"I mean it, though, you should get back,” Thoma said, sending you a quick glance before stepping forward and thrusting the spear against the kairagi, who quickly dodged. You understood Thoma’s insistence when you saw the shield moving along with him; he could not cover you both at the same time without standing still.
You stepped back behind the rocks, out of the nobushi’s reach but close enough to observe the battle. Having Thoma fight back had clearly enraged the men, who were now shouting curses and trying to attack from different directions. Thoma moved with the swiftness of a trained soldier, but the shield was still crucial for him to avoid some of the blows.
The men in blue coordinated an assault from both sides, which Thoma dodged by ducking and swinging his leg, tripping one of the nobushi in the process. The other’s counterattack was fast, but it knocked harmlessly against the shield. Thoma then hit the man’s stomach with the blunt end of his spear, to your annoyance. The situation could have been resolved much more quickly if he had just been willing to go for more serious injuries, but no, Thoma never wanted to make your life easier. Or his, for that matter.
The kairagi had taken advantage of the others’ attack to charge his sword with Electro and swung against Thoma. The ensuing overload reaction was strong enough to make the shield dissipate. Some residual Electro sparks caught Thoma’s arm, but he shrugged them off and lunged at the kairagi.
The difference in their approaches was once again obvious: Thoma was fighting to disarm, while the kairagi was fighting to kill. While that would have usually given the kairagi the advantage, Thoma was clearly the better fighter. He parried the sword slashes with practiced ease and used the sharp end of the spear sparsely, tearing through the armor just enough to give the ronin light wounds. He barely used Pyro at all.
Eventually, the kairagi mis-stepped when dodging one of Thoma’s flaming attacks and the blond took the opportunity to knock the sword off his hands. The kairagi fell to his knees and, before he could scramble for his sword, the spear was at his neck.
“Let’s put an end to this. There is no need for us to fight,” the Mondstadter said calmly, looking around to the other men.
One of the nobushi looked rather panicked, glancing back and forth from the kairagi to his other companion. The second man, who had been knocked down by Thoma first, was more persistent. Already at his feet and seeing their leader subdued, he decided to put Thoma in a similar position. His eyes snapped to you and he lunged at you, sword at the ready.
“Hitomi!”
The warning was unnecessary. You had been watching the fight and noticed the nobushi’s intention. Thinking you were harmless, he did not even strike with proper form. You had no difficulty moving out of the way and slashing a dagger across his ribs. The man yelled in pain, clutching his side as he fell on the ground.
You turned to Thoma, annoyed that he had made you reveal your weapons, but saw a much more pressing situation developing. Taking advantage of Thoma’s momentary distraction, the kairagi retrieved his sword and, still on one knee, swung it against Thoma’s side. Thoma saw the crackling of Electro from the corner of his eye and activated his shield.
You were not sure if he had been fast enough, but you saw that Thoma’s momentum had not stopped as he hit the kairagi’s chest with the blunt end of the spear, knocking him down on the sand, and stomped on his chest to make sure he would not get up.
With a satisfied smirk, you eyed the remaining nobushi, who was still confused about where to settle his eyes. You decided to be cordial and assist him.
“Hé, connard,” you called, feeling a hint of vindication at hurling the insult in Fontainian. The nobushi started and turned his eyes to you. “This is the part you run.”
Personally, you would have preferred a more permanent solution to ensure the nobushi would cease to be a problem, but, seeing Thoma’s previous unwillingness to hurt them, a less bloody approach seemed merited. The man was smart enough to follow the cue, darting off on the opposite direction you and Thoma had come from.
You kept the dagger in your hand and approached Thoma and the kairagi. Even with his mask, you could tell he was seething.
“You will pay for this, outlander,” he growled.
Thoma ignored him, turning to You instead. “Are you alright?”
“Not a scratch.” You pointed your chin towards the fallen kairagi. “At least knock him out if you are not going to incapacitate him.”
“Would you do the honors?”
Rolling your eyes, you bent down and removed the helmet and the mask from the kairagi, finally seeing the rage in his black eyes. You paid it no mind as you hit his temple with the hilt of your dagger. His eyes rolled back, and he immediately fell unconscious.
Thoma took his foot off the kairagi and let out a small wince. At first, you thought it was a gesture of pity for how mercilessly you had knocked out the man. Then you saw that he had shifted the spear to his left hand, while his right one was pressed against his side. Thanks to his red jacket, it took you a few seconds longer to see the blood seeping through his fingers.
So his shield had not been fast enough. The kairagi had landed a hit.
“Holy f- Thoma, take off your jacket,” you ordered. Surprisingly, Thoma complied without hesitation and allowed you to have a closer look at the wound.
It was deep enough to need stitches, but nothing close to life-threatening. Though ill-timed, the shield had still managed to absorb some of the impact, it seemed.
You took the jacket from Thoma’s hands and pressed it against the wound, a more efficient way to stop the bleeding.
“Ouch- gentle, gentle,” he whimpered.
“I am being gentle, you’re just a baby.”
“I think Fontainians may have a different standard of gentleness altogether.”
Thoma let go of his spear, letting it vanish into the pocket dimension reserved for the weapons of Vision-holders. A new wave of pain caused him to wince and drop to his knees, holding the jacket more tightly. You crouched until you were at his eye-level, ready to support him if needed.
“Hitomi,” he called again, more breathlessly this time. “Help me get to Komore Teahouse.”
Your eyes widened. You would have slapped him had he not already been injured. “I know they say some teas have healing properties, but I don’t think they act that fast. I’m getting you to a doctor.”
“No, trust me,” his free hand grabbed yours and gave it a squeeze, reinforcing the sense of urgency. “Komore Teahouse.”
You opened your mouth to argue but closed it when you saw the hardness in his eyes. This was not some delirious state, he knew what he was doing. And that made you want to know as well.
You put his left arm around your shoulders and, before starting to stand up, you felt the weight of the dagger on your other hand. The last message Sylvain had sent you echoed in your mind.
The housekeeper is in the way. Get rid of him.
Thoma was weakened, relying on you to move. You had a dagger. It would take but one quick swipe at his throat. You could pin it on the nobushi. It was such an excellent cover. An opportunity like that would never come up again. If Sylvain were there, he would not have thought twice.
You put the dagger away.
Explaining Thoma’s death would be so messy. It could put the Kamisatos on higher alert and make your job even more difficult. Besides, even if you killed the two nobushi on the beach, one had escaped and there was no telling what he could say about you. Ironically, it seemed that Thoma would give you less trouble alive than dead.
Those were the reasons for your decision, you told yourself.
“Oh, and Hitomi?”
“Uhm?”
“Don’t forget the crabs.”
Again. The only reasons.
Hauling Thoma to Komore Teahouse was a less of a nightmare than you had imagined. Even with the pain, he tried to support his own weight as best as he could as you climbed up the wooden ramps that connected the cliff next to the beach to the city. Fortunately, it was a route that rarely had many passersby and nobody had noticed the Kamisato housekeeper’s injury.
When you tried to ask him what you would tell Kozue once you reached the teahouse, he had only laughed and told you that was the least of your worries. And, indeed, Kozue did not even bat an eye at the pair of you.
“Come inside,” she said in her usual expressionless tone, opening the door for them.
“Thank you so much, Kozue,” Thoma said with a smile. “Is Sayu around by any chance?”
“Yes, she has been hiding from Kano Nana on the roof. I will bring her down.”
None of that exchange made sense to you. Komore Teahouse was a highly exclusive establishment, as Kozue liked to remind everyone that came near. Letting a bloody, injured person in was certainly not good for business, even if that person was the chief retainer of the Kamisato Clan. Not to mention that any reasonable person would have inquired as to what had happened, whereas Kozue had seemed entirely unimpressed by the situation.
“I will explain everything,” Thoma said, noticing your quizzical expression. “Let’s just get to the room in the back first.”
You followed Thoma’s directions, thankful that the other customers at that hour were in private tearooms with the doors closed. Once in the room, Thoma leaned against a wall and slid down to the floor, letting out a sigh of relief.
“There is a medical kit in the cupboard, behind the porcelain jar.”
You promptly walked towards the cupboard, mind reeling from the sudden influx of new information. It was only when you kneeled before Thoma with the kit and a jug of water in hand that it dawned upon you.
“This is a hideout.”
Thoma’s eyes widened. “You didn’t know that?” he sounded genuinely surprised, much to your own astonishment.
“How was I supposed to know? This is one of the fanciest places in Inazuma, I’ve always thought hideouts were supposed to be inconspicuous!”
“But I thought-” Thoma caught himself before finishing the sentence. His reaction made something else click in your mind.
He knew that you had tried to get a job at Komore Teahouse before you started working with Yoimiya. Kozue had certainly warned him as soon as you had left. And that was right after you had been turned down at the Kamisato Estate and one of their retainers had suddenly quit. It was too much of a coincidence; he had assumed you had known of the teahouse’s ties to the Kamisato Clan and was trying to get close to them no matter what. That was why he had been so reluctant to give you another chance.
He had been right, only for the wrong reasons – your feeble attempt at a job at the teahouse had indeed been an unfortunate coincidence. Still, the accuracy of his suspicions was infuriating.
You took a deep breath, trying to muster some sense of calmness. Thoma could not know what you had just pieced together. So you focused on what was before you.
You opened the medical kit, took out some gauze and soaked it in water. Without needing to be told, Thoma moved his jacket, allowing you a clear view of the injury. The gash was an angry shade of red, with blood smeared all over, but the bleeding itself seemed to have subsided.
“Do you know how to treat wounds?”
“Not my top skill, but I know the basics,” you answered truthfully.
“That’s good. I just need to clean it a little bit. Once Sayu gets here, she will be able to fix it.”
So Sayu was some kind of healer, apparently. You appreciated that you would not have to be the one responsible for that. Still. Perhaps because you needed to earn his trust to complete your job, and perhaps because you were in a good mood, you said, “It will be more efficient if I clean it. Take your shirt off.”
Thoma’s muscles visibly tensed, preparing himself for more of the “Fontainian standard of gentleness”. Even so, he carefully removed his black shirt, wincing slightly when the fabric brushed against the gash.
You started to dab the wet gauze around the wound, this time truly taking care not to hurt him. You could not help but let your gaze drift. You knew that Thoma was not physically weak, with the amount of housework he did. Once you had even seen him effortlessly carry a wild boar that Hirano had hunted to the kitchen. Still, he was more toned than you had expected. Practicing with the polearm certainly helped.
Your eyes stopped on a scar on the left side of his chest, across the lower portion of his rib cage, shaped like a crescent moon. It was light, hinting at how old the injury was, but it was almost the size of your closed fist.
“Oh,” he exclaimed, following your gaze. “I had an accident on the ship when I first came to Inazuma. That one is a reminder of that.”
You hummed noncommittally, continuing your work.
You had always thought it was an effect of the jacket, but his shoulders really were broad. It almost contrasted with how lightly he carried himself. You made a mental note of that for future reference. One never knew when the need might arise.
The door to the room slid open and a small figure entered. The girl looked younger than Anaïs and Boniface, perhaps around seven years old. Her short green hair was tucked under a beige hood with dark brown ears that resembled a tanuki. After taking a better look, you saw that the back of her outfit even had a tail. The girl yawned and rubbed her eyes.
“Did you really have to wake me up?”
Thoma offered her a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Sayu. It was a bit of an emergency. I promise you can go back to napping after this.”
Sayu scowled, but she stepped forward. She did not have any reaction to the sight of the wound. In fact, she barely seemed to pay attention to anything. Instead, with a sigh, she pressed her hands together in a sequence of quick gestures. A teal light shone from her left thigh, where you noticed an Anemo Vision. The light shot out until it formed a circle around them, brimming with Anemo energy. Soon enough, Thoma’s wound began to close. Even you started to feel some of your fatigue being lifted up.
It was not your first time witnessing a Vision healing, but the process always amazed you. Wounds that would take days or weeks to close disappeared in a matter of seconds, often without any scars. Thoma’s case was no different.
“Perfect! Thank you so much, Sayu!” he beamed, prodding the skin and finding no trace of the wound. “You know, I would be happy to learn some of these ninjutsu if you could-”
Without waiting for him to finish, the girl curled into a ball and, using a gust of wind to propel her, rolled out of the room. You stared at Thoma, baffled.
“What was that?”
“Don’t mind Sayu,” he said with a chuckle. “She dislikes anything that requires her to work. Still, she is a very accomplished ninja.”
“She… works for the Kamisatos?” Thoma nodded. You could not help the scowl that overtook your face. “She’s a kid.”
“Sayu is very talented. She was raised by her sensei and trained under them for many years.”
“Many years. Right,” you muttered, unconvinced. Thoma frowned at your tone, but then seemed to realize something and started chuckling.
“Sayu is thirteen years old.”
You blinked. “What?”
“She is thirteen years old. For some reason, though, she never grew as tall as her peers, so she looks much younger.”
That girl was older than the twins, then. That explained much from her reaction. As a ninja and a Vision-holder, she had probably been called to aid the Kamisatos in other assignments involving fights before.
A more important detail caught your attention: Thoma had just confirmed that the Kamisatos had ninjas under their service. Your mind recalled the feeling that someone had been following you right before you moved to the Kamisato Estate. It must have been one of them. Baptiste would appreciate that information.
“They didn’t do anything to you, did they?” Thoma asked suddenly.
“I- what?”
“The nobushi.”
“No, nothing. They only started getting more aggressive after you arrived.”
When they saw someone who looked like a foreigner. They had not realized they were already speaking to one.
You remembered how calm Thoma had remained during the entire exchange. Then the way Kazumasa and Furusawa had been talking about him earlier that day. There was no way he had not heard them.
“Do you always have to deal with people talking to you like that?” the words left your mouth before you knew it. Thoma cocked his head.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re less than them because you’re a foreigner.”
To your surprise, a small smile spread across his lips. “It has gotten a lot better. It took a while for me to fit in and make connections. Still, I guess there will always be people who just see me as an outsider and judge me based on that…” He shrugged. “I don’t mind, as long as the people I care about see me for who I am.”
That reasoning was so… simplistic. Like if he could just choose not to care about how people treated him, it would not affect him. Then again, perhaps it wouldn’t. He was the chief retainer of the Kamisato Clan. There were plenty of people trying to get on his good graces because of that fact alone. If he were not connected to the Kamisatos, he would have a much harder time being accepted. One simply had to look at the merchants stranded in Ritou to know that.
“Did you have to deal with that in Fontaine?” Thoma asked, snapping you out of your thoughts.
“Sometimes.”
Sometimes people would compliment your Fontainian and how you spoke it without an accent. Sometimes they would presume you knew certain things about Inazuma and be upset when you did not. Sometimes you were tested on your knowledge of Fontainian history and culture.
“It was annoying.”
“I can imagine,” Thoma nodded sympathetically. “Does that have anything to do with how you learned to fight?”
You froze. For a moment, you had forgotten about that unwelcome revelation at the beach. Thankfully, Thoma had already provided an easy way out for you.
“In a way. I got into a fair share of fights as a kid. And later on, well, I didn’t live in the safest neighborhood in the Court of Fontaine, so I had to learn a thing or two.”
Never mind that the most dangerous beings in that neighborhood were yourself and your co-workers.
“Why didn’t you mention it before?”
You snorted. “What, you mean in the recommendation letters? I applied for a housekeeping job, Thoma, and I intend to continue doing just that. Knowing how to throw a punch didn’t seem like a relevant qualification.”
He chuckled in response, conceding to your point. Then, he added, “Would you mind if I told milord and milady about this? It’s important that they know their retainers’ full skillset.”
You frowned in annoyance. He was making it sound like you had a choice, when both of you knew it was not the case.
“It is your duty to tell them anyway, so why are you asking me?”
“Because I would still prefer if you were comfortable about it.”
You almost rolled your eyes, but then saw that Thoma’s face was serious. You sighed. Apart from being pointless, saying that you did not want them to know would only raise more questions. So you nodded.
“Go ahead, I don’t mind.”
He shot you a grin. “Great! I promise you will still have plenty of time to tend to the garden.”
“You talk as if that is all I do.”
“Don’t try to lie, you enjoy it!”
Before you could retort, you caught something moving from the corner of your eye. In a flash, you were up on your feet and stepping back, eyes glued on the Shiba Inu that had entered the room and was now making his way towards you.
“Taroumarou! Hey-”
The dog stopped in front on Thoma, sniffing and licking his waist, where the wound had been. The retainer laughed and patted the dog’s head.
“Thanks, buddy. I’m alright, don’t worry.”
Taroumarou nuzzled into his hand and let out a small bark. By then, you were at the opposite side of the room, back pressed against the wall. The dog turned his stare to you. Thoma quickly put a hand in front of him.
“No, Taroumarou, Hitomi doesn’t-”
Taroumarou turned to Thoma and let out a series of high-pitched barks that caused you to wince. Thoma waited for the dog to finish and then sent you a nervous glance.
“Hitomi, stand still for a moment. He just wants to sniff you.”
“No.”
“He’s very insistent on this. I promise he won’t do anything. I will be right beside him the whole time.”
The words of reassurance flew right over your head. You were too busy trying to phase through the wall to hear them. That was a ninja dog, Kozue had told you previously. If he wanted to attack you, you doubted Thoma could stop him on time.
Almost as if to prove your point, Taroumarou disentangled himself from Thoma’s hands and rushed towards you. The housekeeper yelled and tried to catch him, but the dog slipped away easily. You wanted to scream, but the sound was stuck in your throat. You could only watch as Taroumarou ran and came to a halt at your feet.
The dog brought his nose close to your knees, sniffing and making small humming sounds. You held your hands up, close to your face, intent on protecting your vital points. Taroumarou did not seem bothered by your shakiness, continuing to sniff you as though looking for a treat.
An eternity seemed to pass before Taroumarou finally stopped and sat down in front of you, tongue lolling out of his mouth. You continued to stare at him, unmoving.
“Hitomi,” Thoma called softly. “Look, his tail.”
It was swinging from side to side.
“That means he’s happy!”
“Good for him,” you hissed, clearly unhappy.
Taroumarou then got up and nuzzled his head into your knees. You almost kicked him out of reflex. You caught yourself in time and turned to Thoma with despair in your eyes. He understood the message and quickly ran to take Taroumarou away. When he tried to touch Taroumarou, though, the dog growled.
“I think… he wants you to pet him.”
“No. Way.”
“Just… Put your hand out like this. Just for a moment.” Thoma reached out for your hand and you were too overwhelmed to swat him away. He looked into your eyes. “Trust me. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
You held Thoma’s gaze, feeling your heartbeat slowly steady itself. Your mind regained some semblance of clarity and recognized the ridiculousness of the situation. You had your daggers. You were bigger. Even if the dog attacked, you should be able to get it away from you. And Thoma was there. With your history so far, that was not so reassuring, but…
Images of the trip to Ritou flashed in your mind.
“Alright,” you croaked.
Thoma wrapped his fingers around your wrist and gently guided your hand down to Taroumarou’s eye-level. The dog sniffed it again, tail still wagging. Thoma then turned your fingers downwards, touching the fur on his head.
“Good boy, Taroumarou! Very good!” Thoma said, causing the dog’s tail to move even faster.
It was almost cute. The dog. Almost.
That was when you felt something slick running across your fingers. It took every ounce of your self-control not to yank your hand away from Taroumarou’s tongue. The dog stopped licking and looked at you expectantly. You grimaced.
“Gross.”
Taroumarou whined, ears flattening against his head.
“Aw, don’t say that! It’s okay, boy. Kozue will get you some treats, alright?”
The mention of treats was enough to get the dog’s tail wagging again. He barked happily and made its way towards the door, sending one last look at you before exiting. If you did not know better, you would swear he was making fun of you.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
You snapped your eyes back to Thoma.
“Yeah. Still alive, I guess.”
“I’m sorry for how this turned out,” he said, tone indeed remorseful. “But thank you for giving it a shot. Really. And, well, for all the help back at the beach.”
You averted your gaze and shrugged, feeling strangely self-conscious. Nothing about that day had gone as planned. You had no idea how the events would affect Thoma’s level of trust in you and, by extension, your progress on your mission. But you could not help a tinge of hopefulness from spreading. You had, after all, faced a dog and come out unscathed. That had to count for something.
Looking down, you saw that Thoma was still holding your hand, wet with dog slobber. You pulled your hand back and cleared your throat.
“So, did we get enough crabs?”
“Uh- yes. The crabs, yes,” he stammered, taking a step back as well. “We should get them back to the estate now.”
You nodded. As soon as Thoma put his shirt back on, you wiped your beslobbered hand on his back.
“Hey!”
“You can take any complaints to the owner of the teahouse.”
A couple of days later, Thoma approached you in the garden.
“Hitomi, can you go to the city and get milord’s new suit at Ogura Mio’s?”
You put down the hand shovel you had been using to spread manure around the camellias.
“Sure. Are we leaving now?”
“You can go whenever you are ready. I have to finish organizing milord’s new book collection in the library.”
Your eyes widened. You stared at Thoma, mentally reviewing his words to make sure you had understood correctly.
“You are letting me go to the city… unchaperoned?”
He flashed you a sly grin. “Aw, I didn’t know you would miss my company so much! Maybe I can leave sorting out the books for later-”
“I’m leaving, bye!”
Without waiting for another reaction, you darted off to the main gate.
That was a good sign. An excellent sign. You would have that job done in no time now.