(Kazuha x Tomo) Ephemeral Autumn Leaves

5. Visions of Eternity

The next morning, Kazuha awoke to the sound of birds singing. The storm had passed, Tomo seemed to have gotten an early start to the day, and was already outside the hut making breakfast. Kazuha felt something lying upon his chest, and reaching to pick it up, a blueish-green glow shimmered across the object's surface.

It was an Anemo Vision.

"Kazu-Chan, you're awake!" Tomo came strolling into the hut with a bowl of rice in his hands that he handed to Kazuha.

"Tomo...what is this...?" Kazuha was genuinely confused, unaware that what held in his hands was a Vision.

"That was there when you woke up," Tomo smiled. "It seems the God of Freedom looks favourably upon you."

"Freedom..." Kazuha repeated in a whisper.

Unfortunately, it was not long after receiving his Vision that the Vision Hunt Decree was announced. Kazuha received a letter from Gorou, a friend he had met during his travels, promising refuge for Vision wielders on Watatsumi Island, and inviting him and Tomo to join the Sangonomiya Resistance. The only problem was that they had no means of getting to Watatsumi Island.

"I can buy us a small boat in Ritou," Tomo suggested. "We've always been wanting to buy one anyways, haven't we? We can sail to Watatsumi Island, fight alongside the resistance, and maybe one day when this is all over we can use that boat to explore the rest of Teyvat. How does that sound?"

Kazuha was uncertain. As much as he wanted to join up with Gorou and the resistance, he also felt that it would be safer for them to continue laying low as they had been rather than putting themselves in danger. "Should we really risk it?" He wondered.

Tomo didn't seem to care about the risks. "It was the Raiden Shogun who bestowed this Vision upon me. I thought that meant that she and I shared the same ideals, but her vision of eternity is not the same as mine." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Kazuha, there is a sword art I once heard of called the Musou no Hitotachi. Do you know of it?"

Kazuha didn't know exactly where his friend was going with this, but replied with a nod. "It can only be witnessed when divine punishment is administered. It is the pinnacle of the Raiden Shogun's skill. A symbol of ultimate power."

Tomo gazed off towards the horizon, his eyes distant as he listened to Kazuha's words. "There must be one who can withstand it," he whispered. "There will always be those who dare to brave the lightning's glow."

A few days later, Tomo departed with Tama for Ritou, promising to purchase a small boat for them and meet him in a designated location near Konda Village where they would then set sail for Watatsumi Island. Kazuha had a bad feeling about the two of them separating, but Tomo insisted that it would be better for only one of them to step foot in Ritou. After all, the island was swarming with the Raiden Shogun's troops.

Kazuha did wait at the spot where they promised to meet, but Tomo never came. It was after a couple of days that he decided to set out for Ritou himself to try and find his friend. As he made his way through Konda Village however, he overheard a conversation that made his heart stop.

"Have you heard?" A man whispered. "The Bakufu seized another Vision wielder."

"Oh, how horrible!" A woman gasped. "What happened?"

"I heard they caught him in Ritou trying to find a boat to escape. He challenged the Raiden Shogun to a duel on the condition that if he won, he'd be granted a ship and be given safe passage to leave Inazuma with his friend."

"Challenging the Raiden Shogun to a duel? Is he crazy?"

"What other choice does he have? To give up his Vision, or to fight for the chance of earning his freedom?"

Kazuha didn't wait another moment before he found himself running as fast as he could to Tenshukaku. Please don't let it be true. It can't be true.

Of course, by the time he arrived it was too late—Tomo lay defeated at the feet of the Raiden Shogun as she unleashed the power of the Musou no Hitotachi and his lifeless vision clattered to the ground.

                                                        ***

With Tama at his side once again, a renewed sense of hope filled Kazuha's heart. Though it continued to rain the following day, he continued scaling Mount Yougou with Tama tucked in his shirt. After hours of a strenuous climb, the bright red Torii gates of the Grand Narukami Shrine finally came into view. The shrine maidens were shocked when a young man appeared over the cliff side, rushing over to ask if everything was okay.

"I'm here to speak with Guuji Yae," he said, gasping for breath.

The shrine maidens all turned in unison to the main building within the shrine complex, where a woman dressed in white and red descended the steps. "That is I. What business do you have here?"

From his pocket, Kazuha produced the dull, faded Vision of his friend. "I wish to rekindle a Vision. I was told that you may know of such a way."