EYE OF THE STORM | k.kazuha

13: POET

After your talk with Kazuha, things had been going smoothly. Things went back to normal and life got busier. You'd still play with Little Yue, occasionally having sleepovers if you felt like it. Taking care of the kid reminded you of Yui. When she was still a kid, rather than a young adult.

Not only that, but Kazuha had been open to talking about his past as well.

He'd tell stories of when he was still an Inazuman noble, the heir to the famed samurai clan. There were various things he learned when he still had a noble title. Stories of his travels across your shared homeland, and friends he'd meet along the way. There was one in particular that Kazuha would speak fondly of. His eyes would hold a glimmer of sadness, but his smile would still be genuine.

You wondered why he left such an impression on him. But you figured that unless he was ready to talk about it, then he will. You wouldn't want to make him face unwanted feelings.

And so your days with the Crux kept coming. Task after task, duty after duty. At one point, there was another banquet held. You happily accepted Kazuha's invitation to dance again. Although they did not play the same song, it didn't matter. It was fun, and to you, that's what made it count. You even danced with Beidou and maybe caught the Tianquan watching the banquet from afar.

Although most of your days were spent in the Alcor and never in the city, it was fun. The sea grew familiar to you, despite the crashing waves being a scary sight to most people.

It was another quiet night, and the Alcor was docked in Liyue for a few days. Most of the crew went out while you stayed behind with Kazuha. You sat in the corner, blanket on your shoulders as you ate a snack. It was chocolate, expensive from what you heard.

Suddenly, another presence sat down beside you. Kazuha opened up your rather large blanket and covered himself as well. It was quite chilly, despite the time of year. You blamed it on the ocean.

"You know, this sort off reminds me of when we first met," Kazuha said.

"I can see why..."

"A lot has happened since then, huh?"

"Yeah... You know, ever since I got to Liyue, I got so emotional all of a sudden. I used to be very good at hiding them, but I changed." You stated.

"Maybe you just bottled it up so much because of your situation that it flooded your whole being once you got the chance to let them go. It's not bad."

"But like... That means I have too many feelings now."

"You'll learn to sort it out in a good way. I'm here to lend an ear when you need to let it out." Kazuha smiled.

"How do you... cope? Do you have any ideas?"

"What I like to do is write literature, haikus especially."

Making a poem didn't sound so bad to you.

Later that night, you sat in your quarters, a pen and paper nearby. You paced around the room, trying to come up with the first line.

"Um... Blades of... Blades of samurai dance... does that even make sense?" You questioned. Literature wasn't quite your forte, and this proved it. You had no muse, no inspiration, which made it harder.

"Yui? Hm.... your delicate blue... eyes? Ugh, let me write this down."

Your delicate blue eyes
and your soft blue hair
The same color as the sky
and ----

"What rhymes with hair...? Ah, wait. This isn't even a haiku."

You groaned in frustration, feeling like a failure. you'd often observe Kazuha make his poems and see how fast he'd be able to write one. You wondered how he could do it and how he could find inspiration so easily.

"Maybe I'll ask him? No, he'll probably make a whole thesis on it... Should I write one about him?"

A lonely nation,
lost in the sea of strangers
until I found you

"Hey...! It's not a bad haiku...?"

My little sister.
How blue your eyes and hair were
I always miss you.

"It's not too bad! Okay, let's write some more."

And so, you spent the majority of your night writing haikus. Some were for the important people in your life while some were about your feelings. You laughed and almost cried, feeling silly at what you were writing.

🍁

When the morning came, you hadn't woken up yet. You were crouched over at your desk, head on the scattered paper.

The crew had noticed your absence and asked Kazuha to check on you. He, of course, obliged. He traced the wood while quietly walking to your door.

"Y/N" the door read.

He knocked gently, calling out your name. When he did not hear a response, he knocked a little louder. But there was no answer.

"I'll open your door, is that okay?" He asked.

After a while, he opened the door out of concern. You hadn't been awake for a while and there had been no answers. To his surprise, he saw balls of crumpled papers on the floor. Your dulled blade was at the corner of your table while you sat on the chair.

Kazuha walked towards you, one hand placed on your desk. He accidentally touched one of the haikus you made and curiously held it up.

Shall I call you mine?
We are from different worlds,
But fate brought us here.

He smiled gently. Who knew you could be so romantic? He placed it on your desk once more before tapping your shoulder.

"Huuuuh... What... time is it?" You groggily asked.

"10 AM, sleepyhead."

Your head shot in up and realized who woke you up. Instantly, you shuffled to collect the mess you created as Kazuha chuckled.

"Get ready, Beidou wants to have a meeting with everyone."