✽﹒KazuScara | My Savior (Genshin Impact AU)﹒✽

Unexpected (Hurt/Comfort + Angst?)

Kazuha woke up to see Kunikuzushi crying in his sleep, his muscles twitching

"Hey, hey, wake up! It's not real, it was just a bad dream." Kazuha shook him softly.

Kunikuzushi woke up, panting and sweating.

"It's okay. It was just a nightmare. You're okay, you're safe." Kazuha said after noticing Kuni's panic.

"K-kazuha.. The shogun." He started to cry, nuzzling his body into Kazuha's embrace.

"It looked so real.. I can't-" He cried into Kazuha's shoulder, soaking the clothing with tears but none of them seemed to mind.

"Shh.. it's okay. I'm here now." Kazuha said as he brushed his fingers into Kuni's hair, combing it gently.

He placed his hand on Kuni's forehead, and noticed his temperature was a bit high.

"You have a small fever. Don't force yourself to do anything extreme." Kazuha warned.

"It's okay, I'm going to be fine. Just a small fever is nothing too much." Kuni replied.

"It's 5 AM right now. Would you like to try and go back to sleep, or stay awake and prepare extra for Inazuma?" Kazuha asked.

"I don't think I want to sleep anymore, so I guess I'll stay awake. Thank you, Kazuha." Kuni looked up at him and smiled.

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Morning, 7 AM

Beidou, Kazuha, and Kunikuzushi waved goodbye to Ningguang and descended down back to the port.

They walked near the Alcor, and carefully stepped on board.

Kazuha and Kuni went near their shared room, and watched as Beidou made her announcement to the crew.

"ALRIGHT CREW! We're heading yet once again to Inazuma!" Beidou cheered loudly, and the crew did as well.

"Everything alright? If you feel ill or anything, please tell me." Kazuha said, looking at the boy.

"No, I'm fine now. The nightmare just.. made me feel sick." Kuni answered.

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A few hours passed and they had finally arrived in Inazuma.

"Everyone, we have arrived!" Beidou yelled.

The crew got off, and then later Kazuha and Kunikuzushi.

Near the step, Kuni almost tripped and fell.

"Oh!- Phew, that was close. Careful here next time, hun." Kazuha said, as he grabbed Kuni's arm to stop him from falling down into the water.

"T-thank you.."

They walked from the port into the main part of Inazuma city, looking around at the shops.

"Would you like to try that?" Kazuha asked, pointing at a shop.

"Yes! That thing called dango milk looks really tasty!"

"Alright then."

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"Hello, we'd like to have two bottles of dango milk please."

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They quickly finished the dango milk, which Kuni really liked.

"Would you like to visit my friend Thoma? He's the owner of Komore Teahouse."

"Sure! I heard Komore Teahouse has a dog, is that true?" Kuni asked,

"Yep, the dog's name is Taroumaru, he bites a lot though so you have to be carefu-"

Kazuha was unexpectedly cut off by Kunikuzushi gasping loudly and hiding behind him, holding his hand tightly it would leave a mark.

"Hey hey, what's wrong?" He asked, and Kuni replied by pointing at a tall woman with long, purple hair, standing on a flight of stairs.

"The shogun!?"  He thought. He turned around to hug Kuni, telling him to close his eyes, and that everything will be okay.

"K-kazuha- please don't get hurt. We should go somewhere else safer." He cried.

However, the 'shogun' noticed them.

"Kunikuzushi.. and the boy's friend." She thought, as she dropped her polearm on the floor and walked towards them.

"Stay away!" Kazuha yelled, as he didn't know what the shogun was planning to do.

"I'm not the shogun, I'm Raiden Ei. Controller of the puppet you know as the Shogun." She said, looking down in guilt.

She saw Kunikuzushi crying in fear, and reached out her hand to him.

Kazuha covered Kuni using his own body,
"What do you want from us, Ei?"

"I.. In all honesty, I truly am sorry about your friend. And for Kunikuzushi, I'm glad you're free now." She said, smiling softly.

"Free!? 'Free' my ass. I could've died all alone in the forest, yet your intention was solely based on 'eternity' that you didn't care about my feelings. You abandoned me. You saw no worth in me just because I cried in my sleep. You discarded me. I saw you as a mother, yet you didn't even bother to care for me after you created me." Kunikuzushi snapped.

"Mother.. he saw me as a mother.."  The word echoed inside her head. She really did feel bad for the both of them in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Kunikuzushi. I realize I was too focused on eternity that I didn't get to care for you. I'm sorry. I understand if you can't forgive me, but please know that I really do apologize." She said.

Kazuha sighed, and looked at Kuni who was looking back at him with teary eyes.

"Let's go. I don't care about you anyway." Kunikuzushi said in a cold voice, as he grabbed Kazuha's wrist and moved to somewhere away from her.

Seeing that, Ei felt miserable. She felt upset, sad, and guilty all at the same time. She thought that by letting him wander off alone, she had freed him. But unfortunately, a huge misunderstanding was caused and he viewed it as discarding him. She knew she should have talked to him properly, but didn't get to.

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Kazuha wiped away the tears on Kuni's face, and hugged him tightly.

"It's okay. I'm here."

"She never asked about how I'm doing or even looked for me, not even once, after I was left alone to wander. Now when she sees us, she acts like she even cares. Why..?!" He screamed.

"I don't know how to answer that, but I think it may be a result of miscommunication. Raiden Ei, thought she freed you by leaving you alone. While you may have viewed it as abandoning. I'm not saying it's your fault, it's mainly hers for not saying anything beforehand. I'm here for you now, okay?" Kazuha said, making eye contact with Kunikuzushi.

"...So maybe she really did  think about me after all.." He said,

"Yes, but let's get some rest in the room we booked for now. You're probably quite tired after all this."

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He opened the door, and went inside.

The room was well-designed, and it smelled fresh.

"Would you like some tea?" Kazuha offered.

"Yes please."

END

Word count: 1006