Kaedehara 'Kujou Killer' Kazuha

The Crux

*All credits for art go to angerykacchan on twitter*

In the dead of the night only two people on the Crux were awake. The moon and stars shone bright against the pitch black sky and the young man sitting on the mast of the great ship gazed at them in delight, a small smile adorning his handsome face, glowing in the moonlight.

He sang a soft, quiet poem to them, basking in their glow. 

Yet below the deck in her private quarters Captain Beidou ignored the scenery and instead poured over her notes.

3 members of the ship's crew are missing, no bodies found.

In a ship in the middle of the ocean there aren't many places to go apart from the endless blue abyss below. 

The missing were assumed to be drowned by the rest of the crew and in their grief they had set up extra precautions to help prevent anyone from tumbling over the edge when the ship was unsteady. However the Captain didn't believe it. It has been smooth sailing as soon as they had sailed off from Liyue Harbour, there was no way they could have lost their balance and tumbled overboard. 

Even if there was, her crew were not incompetent, they where all just as good sailors as she was if not better, otherwise they would never had made it onto the Crux.

What other explanation was there? Beidou banged her head on her desk in misery, she couldn't think properly. Too overcome with grief at the loss of life from her faithful crew the Captain staggered over to her bed and wept silently.

Kaedehara Kazuha was still smiling, blissfully unaware of his friend's grief below.

His good friend, who had saved him from the sea, saved him from his past life and built him a new one. A life with other friends, other means of happiness, a blissful sanctuary to escape from the trauma he had endured.

He licked his lips, breaking from his thoughts and gazing at the stars once more.

Beidou tossed and turned in bed, something was preventing her from sleep. She couldn't tell if it was just the anguish of losing her crew or the sinking feeling that everything would just get worse..

---------

Another wail echoed through the Jade chamber as Lady Ningguang sobbed helplessly into her secretary, Baishi. 

'IT CAN'T BE TRUE' Ningguang screamed but the messenger simply bowed.

Ningguang jerked her head back to the paper he had first handed her,reading it over and over,hoping it was a sick prank Beidou had pulled on her.

"Captain Beidou of the world renowned Crux Fleet found dead on her ship"

The headline glared back at her and she convulsed into more heartbroken sobs, crumpling against Baishi, who felt ashamed for all the previous times she had cursed Beidou, it wasn't her fault, you can't choose who you love, she looked at Ningguang trembling in her arms and her heart filled with sadness.

'B-baishi, tell me what the rest of it says Baishi, I can't bear to read it' Ningguang thrust the paper at her and Baishi scanned the page, her eyes widening in horror. 'What does it say?!' Ningguang said sharply, noticing her reaction immediately.

Baishi gulped, wondering if she ought to keep this information away from Ningguang. One look at the tear streaked face told her it would be impossible.

 "T-they say Captain Beidou..she..her..her head was raised up the mast as the ship's flag,one of the crew members found her bloodied clothes just below it" 

Ningguang let out another howl of anguish and dropped to her knees yet something urged Baishi to continue reading

 "i-it says here that some of the crew took it so badly they tried throwing themselves off the boat, uh..the milileth had to restrain them from then flying at each other, they've put the whole of Liyue into lockdown and are conducting investigations.." 

There was a crash as Ningguang staggered to her feet and hurtled past, knocking a vase onto the floor in the process, she ran into her room and Baishi could make out muffled sobs. She gulped and turned to the messenger who stood, rigid.

 "The Tianquan is not fit to be seen right now, may I ask you to escort yourself out while I tend to her, I assume you know that none of what has happened may be shared to any members of public" The messenger nodded and hurried away. Baishi turned towards Ningguangs chambers, hesitating before picking up the piece of paper again, skimming to one of the lines she had skipped over, deeming it to not have any crucial information 

"4 others missing from the crux fleet:

Alias mora grubber (female, name and age unknown)

Li Juza (male, age: 46)

Xu Liushi (female,29)

Wandering Samurai(male, thought to be early twenties, crew refuse to disclose anything)"

Kaedehara Kazuha?

Baishi knew he was the wandering samurai, what would it have taken to kill both him and the legendary captain of the crux?

She thought for a second, there was something strange about this.

She shook herself and bent to clean up the broken vase. It was a beautiful maple leaf done by one of the finest potters in the land. It had been a gift from Beidou for Ningguangs birthday. Baishi remembered hiding behind a corner, watching the two with resentment bubbling inside her. For years she had been Lady Ningguang's loyal lapdog, content with merely being in the Tianquin's presence, that was until SHE came along.

 Captain Beidou in all her splendour with her stories of defeating sea monsters bare-handed, the whole of Liyue singing her phrases and enough beauty to make even the adepti marvel. Baishi remembered the look in Ningguang's eyes, a look of pure adoration and love, the same look she had whenever she looked at Ningguang. A look that was never returned.

Water gently trickled out the broken vase and Baishi quickly covered it with her handkerchief, she knew it was silly but somehow the trickling water reminded her of the blood trickling down that same beautiful, splendid captain's  head as it was hung on the mast. Baishi remembered every detail.

After all, she was the one who hung it there.