Once Upon An Assassination Attempt || Kamisato Ayato

Chapter 23 | Nostalgic snow

UNEDITED

"And when did this happen?"

"Just this morning. I'm doomed. I'm doomed." He crouched down and buried his face in his hands, which muffled his cries.

It didn't take long for realisation to sink in that once again, we were a few steps behind him. The commissioner and I had been following Hiiragi Genji, since we didn't have an idea about the whereabouts of the artisan who took the commission.

"What's your name?"

"Lu Wei."

It really is him.

We couldn't find him because he set off on a journey and told his assistant he was going to 'chase inspiration' as he put it.

I stared at him.

Messy hair that looked strikingly similar to mine on some mornings, ragged clothes and a disheveled appearance. No one would ever guess he was an artisan. Yet Hiiragi Genji managed to do it. The fatui network is formidable indeed. Even though they'd withdrawn from the deal with him, they had given him plenty of information.

And I have a feeling they're keeping an eye on him.

"You really are doomed," I said, thinking of how the Yashiro Commissioner would deal with him.

He started crying louder. "I'm gonna die."

"Uh-huh." I nodded.

"I should use this stake and be done with it."

I looked away, and clapped my hands together the way they did in a shrine in inazuma.

"Hey, you're supposed to say 'life is precious, or 'don't do it'."

For some reason, he had decided I was the unreasonable one here.

"I can do it for you," I offered, unsheathing my sword.

"I want to live." He backed away, putting his hands up in defense. "I'm sorry."

"Your choice." I shrugged.

"But the commissioner will have my head if he knows."

"If he knows what?" With that same smile he insults the other commissions's unreasonable elders with, he strode in, holding a cup of milk tea with what looked like black bubbles inside.

Where did he even get that from? Wasn't he at the tavern?

He sipped the milk tea from a straw, and looked between the artisan and me.

"That I lost the heirloom. I've heard the Yashiro Commissioner is particularly cruel to those who are inefficient. I'm doomed. I'm doomed."

I resisted the urge to laugh, and pat the artisan on the back.

"Do you think he'll behead you?"

"No, that would be the easier way." He shook his head. "I've heard he tortures people in the basement of the Kamisato estate."

"Stop laughing, Sora."

"I didn't."

"You were about to."

"So what? Are you gonna guide both of us to your torture chamber?" I grinned as he formed an expression of displeasure.

"What do you.." Lu Wei started, then scrambled back in fear after he realised what I was implying. "P-please spare me. I haven't had a satisfying last meal, I haven't drank Mondstad's dandelion wine and I haven't made a will."

"Well, Commissioner?" I took out my sword. "What do you want to do?"

"It was definitely Hiiragi Genji that took the vase. It seems that he has more help than we had originally anticipated."

"He's heading to dragonspine because he's caught news of someone coming after him. He doesn't know exactly who, yet."

"When did you -"

"I was in the tavern for over an hour. Did you think I was just drinking? Hiiragi Genji also had roasted potatoes for dinner last night. He was wearing a blue kimono, and wore a mask in a poor attempt to disguise." I really wanted roasted potatoes ever since I heard about that.

"As expected."

I rolled my eyes. Who was it telling me I had nothing to do with it a while ago?

"I'm sorry to interrupt but-"

"As compensation for losing the heirloom of the Kamisato clan, you have to participate in a mission to get it back." Ayato laid out the verdict to Lu Wei, who only seemed more scared now.

"I can't - I can't fight. I'm just a feeble artisan."

"Who told you to fight?" I scoffed.

"Your job," Ayato said with emphasis, "is to fix the vase when we get it back, as it originally was."

"Oh. Thank you, archons. Thank you."

"I don't think archons even heard your prayer."

"Now, now, Sora, don't scare the artisan with your hate for the electro archon."

"I don't hate her. I just want to fight her."

Ayato sighed.

"She tied up Thoma."

"Technically it was the soldiers- can we focus on the matter at hand?" He interrupted himself.

"Sure."

Lu Wei, who was dancing in joy, gazed at us eagerly. He wasn't good at dancing, I decided. Hilichurls did a better job.

"Where do we go? When do we go?" His earnest expression brought me great joy, because of what I was going to say next.

"Dragonspine."

"Sora, stop with that scary smile."

"You're doing it too."

Lu Wei flinched. "I shouldn't have said thanks.."

~~~~~~~

There was a vast contrast between dragonspine and the land from the river across it. The lush green and vibrant colours of mondstad seemed to fade away into the black and white canvas of dragonspine. The pine trees were visible from where we stood, and all Lu Wei could talk about was the quality of the wood.

"-its simply marvellous. The ability to grow in these circumstances does make the texture really.." he droned on and on.

Ayato was standing Infront of us, gazing at the peak of the mountain hidden in clouds. The snowfall was more visible there, which made it hard to see it clearly. His hair was swaying in the wind as he stood there without taking his eyes off the snow, like he was lost in a trance.

"It reminds me of another day that snowed.." his voice was barely above a whisper, maybe he wasn't even aware he had uttered it loud enough for me to hear.

All I could think about, was the one time I ate snow with herbs.

It was good.

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Have you guys seen the faceless Ayato?

I forgot what I was going to type here.