To Destroy A Country

Part 1, Chapter 1: Pure Chance

"Kunikuzushi! Kunikuzushi!"
The children called out to him.
"Tell us another story!"
"Yes! Please!"
"Please! Please!"
They were pestering him as he was carrying two large buckets of water on his shoulders using a milkmaid's yoke.
He set it down with a sigh, "but I told you one earlier..."
"Pleassseeeee!"
He smiled, "oh, why not?"
The children all cheered as they sat down at his feet and around the buckets.
He crouched down, dipping his hand in the water and lightly flicking the water at the children, who giggled in response.
"This tale is about water. Far, far away there's a great water god! The hydro lord took the form of a cube," Kunikuzushi manipulated the water droplets in his palm into a cube that rotated above his hand. "His name was He and he guarded his land with a fierce and mighty power!"
The little ones all marveled at his skills and gasped as he told his story.
Kunikuzushi smiled wider as the cube in his hand moved into the shapes of rock, paper, and scissors. "Legends say that He uses the art of Rock, Paper, Scissors to defeat his foes! He had practiced his art for centuries, never loosing to anyone!"
"Not even once?!"
"Not even once!" Kunikuzushi let the water fall into the bucket again, "but one day, He went into a deep sleep. His land was safe and there was no more danger... he sealed himself away in a quiet pool, where he still sleeps now."
The kids all gazed into the bucket, as if they could still see the cube, "oooo!"
"But," Kunikuzushi continued, "those who happen to come upon his resting place all..."
The children waited in anticipation, practically shaking from the suspense as the storyteller dipped his hand in the water once again. "Get splashed endlessly!!!" He threw water at them all.
The kids squealed with delight, scampering to their feet and running around in circles.
Kunikuzushi laughed as he stood up.
"Another one! Another one!" They all chanted at his knees.
He chuckled, "I don't know... how good have you all been?"
They all started talking at the same time, telling of how good they had behaved and how well they had been helping out.
Kunikuzushi caught something from the corner of his eye. He pushed his hat up a bit, was he seeing things?
Walking towards them all was a person he hadn't seen before. He was dressed very differently than anyone else on the island and certainly no one had that hair color...
"Please?!"
Kunikuzushi was made aware that there were still kids to cater to. "Ah, how about I'll tell you two stories next time, okay?"
"Aww mann!!!"
He lifted his milkmaid's yoke with one hand, holding it carefully, "run along quickly, now." He placed his maushiro to his lips and blew into it, creating a smooth but loud noise.
After a moment, the same noise returned from the nothwest. "Go on, before your parents worry."
They all ran off, blowing into their own smaller maushiros.
The newcomer was hardly getting closer, their approach very slow. He was staggering as he walked. He was clutching one of his hands and he was sopping wet.
Kunikuzushi set down everything in his hands and rushed over. They looked like they might fall over at any second! He carefully got beside them and took their shoulders, "are you alright?"
Now that he was up close, he saw just how white their hair was and how detailed their outfit was. The orange and red colors reminded Kunikuzushi of the other islands... How had this person gotten here?
All they did in response was lean onto him and nod.
Kunikuzushi left the questions for later. Right now, he needed to get this person in front of a fire.

"Where is this?" They finally spoke.
Kunikuzushi halted at the sound of their voice. He had been hanging up their clothes to dry, "Tsurumi Island, Inazuma... you look like you're from one of the main islands, yourself..." he sat down across from the stranger.
They nodded, bundled in a blanket and in a fresh set of Kunikuzushi's spare clothes. "I come from Narukami Island." He spoke quietly, but he had a certain natural lightness in his tone.
Kunikuzushi noticed that he still hadn't opened his right hand and that it seemed to be severely burned. He dug through a pile of things and pulled out a bandage, "your hand, I can help you heal it." He sat in front of the newcomer as he dipped the cloth into one of the buckets from earlier, "sorry, I'm not very good with hydro..." The droplets converged into a thin layer over the cloth, glowing ever so slightly. "It won't help a whole lot, but it's better than nothing."
The other stared, his hand still tightly closed, "you have a Vision?"
Kunikuzushi paused, it had been a long time since he had heard that word, "no... I've just picked up a few things..." He held out the bandage for him.
"What's your name?" They asked instead of offering their hand.
Kunikuzushi wasn't the least bit offended. He wouldn't have readily excepted help from someone as suspicious as himself, either. "Kunikuzushi, and you?"
"Kaedehara Kazuha," he responded, "thank you for showing me your hospitality." He passed the item to his left hand before holding out his right.
"Of course. I don't see many people, so I'm glad to have someone to talk to." Kunikuzushi carefully wrapped his hand. Those didn't quite look like burn scars... more like he had been electrocuted...
"What brings you to Tsurumi Island?" Kunikuzushi asked.
Kazuha paused, "I didn't know this Island even existed. It isn't on any maps... Originally, I had planned on fleeing the country entirely, but I guess I got turned around."
Kunikuzushi chuckled, "well, I think you're a little more than turned around. How on Teyvat did you get here?"
"I swam," Kazuha said seriously.
"Wait, really?"
He nodded.
"... what? How?!"
"Only with the help of my own vision," Kazuha sighed quietly, "the Raiden Shogun has banned them..."
"Oh, that's why you left..." Kunikuzushi looked to the faintly glowing green vision on Kazuha's clothes.
"Earlier," Kazuha turned the conversation around, "I saw you playing some sort of flute?"
"Oh, the maushiro. It's not an intrument, we actually use it to communicate through the mist."
Kazuha's eyes widened a little, "you mean it's always this foggy? It's not just bad weather?"
Kunikuzushi shook his head with a smile, "nope. It always like this. It's for protection, they say."
"They?"
"The natives."
"You aren't from here?"
"No," he shook his head, "I've been here for..." He couldn't tell the truth! It had almost been half a century since he had come here! "... a bit. We never get visitors from the outside, I'm so glad to have someone to talk to."
Kazuha paused, "I saw children with you... are there not many people on this island?"
"There's a good amount," Kunikuzushi shrugged, "but none of them have been off the island so they only ever talk about what's going on here. It gets pretty boring..."
"Why don't you leave, then?"
"Ah... that's a complicated question..." he chuckled nervously. "How about we continue this conversation after you've rested up?"
Kazuha nodded, feeling very fatigued.