Inazuma had two problems; its unrelenting rain, and a traitor.
On good days, the sun would melt beneath the western mountains and sakura blooms would travel with the wind. Yet on bad days, on days like today, the sky would scream as if it had never had a voice and the animals would burrow under anything that would allow them.
Every time he closed his eyes, his past flashed through his head. There was no use in fighting a losing battle, no purpose in trying for something that was already lost.
This stranger looked up from under the brim of his hat, catching a small glimpse of the street lamps. Their pale flames flickering ferociously behind paper shields. A small gust of wind was plenty to snuff them out.
"Hmph, how pitiful," he muttered, striding down a broken path. The maple trees that once lined this road had begun to thin out the further he traveled from Ritou. All that remained were blue plants and leaves of pink.
"Ah you're here," came a voice. Although it was silky, one could hear the treachery if they listened close enough.
"I had some business to attend to beforehand. Do you have it?" The stranger asked, his arms folded lightly across his chest.
"Yes, I do," the person before him reached into a pocket at their side, shuffling around for a while before pulling out an envelope. They hesitated as if regretting their decision to enclose this information. "Where is he?" They asked, their gaze averted as if to have plausible deniability.
"As of two days ago- he was spotted on Watatsumi Island," he took the paper from the person before him. "The Tsaritsa thanks you for your service. You two will not face any issues from us." He folded up the paper and placed it inside his coat, the purple lace concealing any concept of a pocket.
There was no reason to tell them what they wanted to know, he simply could have killed them where they stood, but the stranger was already having a rough day- physical exertion was not something he necessarily wanted to do.
"What's your name?" They asked, their eyes still choosing to wander anywhere but the man before them.
"My name? I have a feeling you already know the answer to that..." he trailed off, raising an eyebrow to see what kind of reaction he could get.
"Scaramouche?"
The stranger chuckled before them, dropping his head down into his hands before peering at them through split fingers; "bingo."
