Flying in the Wind [Genshin Impact]

Chapter 25. Friendly Duel

Chapter 25.
Friendly Duel

Time just flew by for Kazuha and Ayaka as they lost themselves in their conversation, and the tea and rolls were soon gone. Certainly, most of the talk was dominated by Kazuha and his detailed anecdotes about all his travels. Ayaka was fascinated by everything the boy told her, and she couldn't help but ask him different questions to expand the story even more. Kazuha patiently answered each of the questions. It didn't bother him at all that he had to talk so much; in fact, it was pretty comfortable for him to speak with his old friend, as it was when they were little. It didn't seem like there were eight years between them at all.

"And that's how you met Tomo?" Ayaka commented once Kazuha finished giving the details about his first encounter with the wandering swordsman with the Electro vision.

"You could say so," Kazuha agreed. "We didn't become friends right away, though. He's a very nice person, but only until you get to know him better."

"Yes, it seems so," Ayaka commented shyly, giving a half-smile. She had been a witness to what he said in a certain way. "So you don't always travel with him?"

"No. In fact, I hadn't seen him for a few months until I ran into him in a village in Yashiori, and he asked me to accompany him to..."

Kazuha fell silent abruptly, perhaps realizing that he was possibly about to say more than he should have.

"To help him with his business here in Inazuma," he finally added after a few seconds of hesitation. Ayaka just nodded, understanding. "I often have fellow travelers like Tomo, but I'm mostly alone."

"It must be very lonely."

"Over time, you get used to being away from people. You even begin to appreciate the silence, the calm, and the feeling of the wind or rain outside. Although a good cup of tea like this, with pleasant company, helps recharge the energies from time to time."

Kazuha raised his already half-empty cup and smiled enthusiastically at her hostess. She returned his smile the same way, her cheeks blushing just a little.

"Everything you tell me is fascinating and unbelievable, Kazuha," Ayaka mentioned with an emotion that was clearly trying to temper itself. "I can hardly believe that there are so many places in our nation that I have never seen. And it makes you wonder what could be beyond that, right? But even before the borders closed, traveling outside of Inazuma was more of a dream than anything else for me."

Kazuha could feel clear traces of bitterness and sadness in those last words. He could understand how she felt. When he was a child from a noble family, he always imagined what it would be like to know all those places far from home. But the responsibilities that came with his status severely limited all of his options. And very sure it had been the same for her. And now that Ayaka was older and had more obligations to her clan and the Yashiro commission, that feeling must have only gotten worse.

"Maybe one day you can," Kazuha stated optimistically.

"Maybe," Ayaka replied with almost no emotion in her voice. "But with the current situation, I see it very far away."

Now that she mentioned that, Kazuha was beginning to wonder what was the young Kamisato's real opinion regarding this "current situation." What did she think of the Border Closure Decree? And more importantly, what did she think of the Vision Hunt Decree? As a Tri-Commission member, the most expected thing was that she would work side by side with the other commissions to guarantee the correct fulfillment of both and blindly trust in the will of the Almighty Shogun. But everything he'd seen her do and say over the past couple of days, including her attitude with that ronin the night before, made him wonder if she might not really agree with these.