Risk It All For You (Thoma x Ayato)

Chapter 2: The Land of Eternity

Some days had passed since Thoma had landed on Inazuma. Once he started working for the Kamisato clan he mainly would do basic house work, he didn't get to go out much. He woke up bright and early to get ready for another day of work.

"Good morning my lord, what do you have for me today?" Thoma asked.

"Good morning Thoma, I have something different planned for today," Ayato explained as he got up.

"What did you have in mind?" Thoma questioned.

"You haven't had much time to explore Inazuma so I decided we could go on a walk together through the city" Ayato said.

"That would be wonderful!" Thoma exclaimed

"Then let's get going," Ayato said as he made his way out.

The two men made their way towards the city. As they made their way, Thoma had time to appreciate the land around. He never got to pay attention to the land before while he was on the streets, but now that he is out again he can truly appreciate its beauty.

They soon reached the entrance to the city. Thoma looked around and saw many stray dogs.

"Are you a fan of dogs Thoma?" Ayato asked.

"Oh very much, I've never seen so many dogs out though, are they all strays?" Thoma asked.

"Not all of them but a portion are, although no one takes them in they are still cared for. People feed them daily" Ayato explained, "if I could, I would love to adopt some."

As they continued on, Ayato stopped at a shop.

"Good morning Mr. Naganohara, how is the shop doing? How's Yoimiya?" Ayato shouted out to an elderly man.

"Oh Mr. Kamisato, great to see you again. Business is going well, Yoimiya is out right now though she will be back later" The man responded.

"Great to hear, tell Yoimiya we can't wait to have her over again sometime" Ayato said as he waved goodbye.

"Will do, have a wonderful day" The man said.

Thoma awkwardly waved at the man as well before following Ayato. He wasn't sure what he should do, he knew he would be getting weird stares for hanging around Ayato.

"Let me actually introduce you around now" Ayato stated.

He stopped for a moment to look at Thoma

"Inazuma is the nation of eternity. Our archon, the Raiden Shougun ensures that her nation will last forever for as long as she rules" He said as he turned to continue walking.

"Now I haven't traveled outside Inazuma but I do say that the scenery is beautiful compared to most nations. There's many diverse landscapes, I wish I had more time to explore myself" Ayato said as he continued to wave at people around.

"Inazuma sure is much different than Mondstadt, but in a good way. I feel like there's so much going on, it's exciting" Thoma said happily.

"I'm glad to hear you enjoy it so much, oh let's go this way, there's a restaurant I want to visit" Ayato said.

Thoma started out being quite nervous to go out again after how people treated him, but walking alongside Ayato, he felt like a new person. People stared happily, waving and greeting them as they passed by. Soon after they arrived at the restaurant.

"Good morning Mr. Shimura," Ayato said to an elderly man cooking.

The man turned around to face Ayato, a smile appearing once he saw him.

"Mr, Kamisato, lovely to see you again" The man said as he greeted him.

"I could not get enough of your food since my last visit, I'd like the same as last time. Thoma would you like anything?" Ayato asked as he ordered.

"No, I'm good," Thoma replied.

"Alright then, here you go Mr. Shimura, you can keep the change as always" Ayato said as he handed him mora.

The man began to cook his order. As he did the two began to talk. It was mostly small talk and checking on how they were doing, it was until after Ayato received his food that the conversation got deeper.

"So Mr. Kamisato, I know last time you said you didn't have anything planned but do you have any idea of what you're going to do for your marriage?" The man asked.

Ayato seemed a little surprised at first before he regained his posture and responded.

"No unfortunately, still no updates. I promise I will notify you once there is, it is a bit of a stressful topic" Ayato replied as he continued to eat.

"I know, but many people are wondering when it will happen, it's been a long time" He responded.

"I understand, I promise to have an update soon" Ayato said as he finished his food, "thank you for the food as always Mr. Shimura. Have a good day."

The man waved him goodbye and the two men continued on with their tour.

Thoma didn't want to be intrusive but he wanted to know more about what that man was talking about.

"I don't mean to pry much, but what was he talking about back there?" Thoma asked shyly.

Ayato took a deep breath to respond.

"Well it's not much a secret so let me explain" He said, "my parents died very early and their responsibilities were put upon me at an early age, I adapted well but there was still a big issue"

Ayato's began to shift as he continued to explain.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Thoma said.

"No no, it's important for you to know" He said as he continued, "many people put it off for awhile but now that it's been so long people are naturally curious as to when I'll marry myself."

Ayato stopped in front of a large statue.

"But enough of that, this is the final place I wanted to visit for today. This right here is a statue of the Raiden Shougun, there is a lot of history behind it" Ayato said as he gestured towards the statue.

"If you look closely you'll see small dents inside the statue, you see a few years ago there was a situation known as the Vision Hunt Decree" He said as he led Thoma around the statue.

"The Shougun sent out an order to confiscate all vision and have them placed inside those little pockets" He said as he turned back towards Thoma, "but that situation has been fixed for a long time by now, all the visions have been returned to their rightful owners."

"Wow, I can't imagine what that was like, I'm glad that it's over now" Thoma responded in awe.

"All that remains now is this statue, but that is the end of our tour, I hope you got to know Inazuma better and are enjoying your time here" Ayato said kindly.

"Yes, this place is amazing, I'm glad to be here, and I'm also glad to be working for you" Thoma responded.

"Wonderful, let's return home now, it's gotten quite late. We have an important event coming up soon" He explained as they headed home.

Thoma still had many more questions, some about Inazuma and some for Ayato, but at least now he can appreciate the nation even more than before.