Maple Leaves

Japanese Red Maple

Turning around swiftly, my hand latches itself onto my sword, before slowly loosening. The man in front of me scoffed at me and looked at me in disgust.

"𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲? 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞." The grip on my sword loosened and my face slowly softened as I examined the man. He seemed to be wearing Inazuman clothing, rather obvious with the hat sitting on his head. "𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐱, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐚𝐳𝐮𝐦𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐨. 𝐈 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠? 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝'𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰..." I stared at him confused, still not knowing whether or not I should trust him.

"𝐈'𝐦... 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮?" I asked the man, putting on a confused expression and letting go of my sword. He slightly smiled at me before rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. He looked back at to me, his small smirk that once rested on his face was now gone as he looked directly into my eyes. His eyes aren't like he's from Inazuma, most people you look at have gentle and kind eyes. They should be welcoming, accepting. But his... His aren't anything like that. Behind them I swear I can see evil intent. His eyes watch my every move, even if it's just a small shift to the side. His eyes seemed crude, evil, someone you shouldn't trust. I shook my head internally before smiling back at him.

"𝐌𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞. 𝐍𝐨𝐰, 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬." He nearly demanded at me. I was taken aback from his sudden lash out towards me but settles down a little knowing that his name was, in fact, a name originating from Inazuma.

"𝐈'𝐦 𝐊𝐚𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝐊𝐚𝐳𝐮𝐡𝐚. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈'𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐞." Scaramouche held in a laugh as he heard me speak.

"𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮? 𝐎𝐡, 𝐧𝐨! 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐊𝐚𝐳𝐮𝐡𝐚. 𝐘𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐲𝐯𝐚𝐭." Scaramouche scoffed at me, squinting his eyes slightly. He turned around, his hat following his movement and letting out small jingles as he walked away. "𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐞." And in the blink of an eye, he was gone from the beach we where standing on. I looked around a little, before turning back to the sea. 

Did I really escape Inazuma? No, truly it isn't over that quickly. Is it? I shake my head. I told Beidou I was going to go to the harbor and explore it, so that's what I'm going to do. After all I heard the harbor was a beautiful place, with nice people.

And it was. I arrived at the harbor and was struck with awe. It truly was beautiful. I looked around, walking around aimlessly. I should've been paying attention, I ran into someone. I shook my head and bowed a little, giving them an apology. The simply scoffed and crossed their arms at me. I lifted my head.

"𝐀 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐞? 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟?" I stared blankly at the dark and light blue haired person in front of me. I felt slightly uncomfortable under his gaze, his amber eyes piercing through me. I scratch my head, trying to think.

"𝐔𝐦... 𝐍𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐫? 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞?" He squinted his eyes at me as I spoke to him. God, what's up this dudes piss poor attitude...

"𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮." Unfolding his arms he pushed past me and continued on his way. I watched as he slowly blended into the crowd, his mask glaring back at me. As I was lost in thought, I felt a small tug on my kimono sleeve. I looked behind me, only for no one to be there. I looked down to find a small, purple haired child.

"𝐘𝐨𝐮. 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐐𝐢𝐪𝐢 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐐𝐢𝐪𝐢." I nodded my head and saw a girl running towards us. I pushed the child behind us as the girl approached us. She placed her hands on her knees and took quick breathes.

"𝐀𝐲𝐚, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐐𝐢𝐪𝐢. 𝐂𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐈'𝐦 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫!?" She panted out before standing up straight and placing her hands on her hips. She smiled brightly at me, despite being an inch or two shorter than me.  "𝐘𝐨𝐮! 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐤! 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝? 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞... 𝐨𝐨𝐡! 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬!" She stuck her arms out and ran in a few little circles, making small noises before stopping and looking at me with hope in her eyes.

"𝐈'𝐦... 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐚'𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭..." I lied to her. The woman groaned and hung her head slightly, her hat tipping. She sighed before looking up with another smile.

"𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭! 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐮 𝐓𝐚𝐨. 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐲 '𝐁𝐨𝐨!'" I nodded my head at Hu Tao before she started to run off again. The little child emerged out from behind me before tugging once more on my kimono sleeve. I bent down to her height and listened to what she had to say.

"𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐐𝐢𝐪𝐢. 𝐐𝐢𝐪𝐢 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥." And with that, she let go of my kimono sleeve and started to run off, just like how Hu Tao showed me. I blinked a few times as I watched her run into the crowd, just like that blue hair man did. I shook my head before continuing looking around the harbor.

My stomach slightly grumbled as I finished reading a missing person poster. I looked down in embarrassment before looking over and seeing a small restaurant. I sighed before walking inside it. It wasn't busy, as there were only a grown, ginger man with a small child. I sighed, well at least there won't be on a food. Nor should there be any issues while being seated!