Cold Blooded

Ritou Island

"Yun!" Chongyun turned to see Saya waving at him from the stern. She pointed to a gathering of storm clouds in the distance. Chongyun grabbed his bucket of soapy water and tucked his mop under his arm. He joined Hisaya at the stern and looked at the storm. He could just make out the faintest outline of the island behind it.

"That's Inazuma," Saya said with a broad smile. She lifted her lantern to eye level and looked in at Lost and Found. "Are you excited to be going back home, my babies?"

The crew had all spoken over there homes a few times. Zyrenia and Andrei were both from Snezhnaya. Fangqi was from Liyue like Chongyun, though he never remembered seeing the man before. Gisei and Saya were both from Inazuma, those islands shrouded in an eternal storm were their home.

Andrei told them that they would need to be in full uniform once they disembarked. Most of the crew kept their masks perched on their heads, tied to their belts, or hanging around their necks. Zyrenia had them wear them whenever they trained and spared. She said that it would adjust them to being able to fight with the limited vision that came with the masks. Besides those times, Chogyun had never seen his comrades with their masks on.

The ride through the storm was rough. Gisei swung from the sails on ropes and Zyrenia turned the wheel with vengeance, as Andrei yelled orders at everyone. Chongyun, Saya, and Fangqi raced about tying down ropes and sails from the deck. Though it was a tiring process, they soon broke through and arrived at a dock.

"Welcome to Ritou Island, comrades!" Andrei called from the wheel, his big hand on Zyrenia's shoulder. "Get ready, we're unloading in a bit."

Chongyun rushed to the room that he shared with Gisei and Fangqi. The two men were both older than Chongyun and had been with the fatui for years. They were something known as "Skirmishers" in the ranks. More specifically, Gisei was a "Pyroslinger Bracer" and Fangqi was a "Hydrogunner Legionnaire."

Gisei wrapped a white cloth around his head and covered most of his face, except his eyes. He did the latches of his jacket and donned a hat with blood red feathers. He grabbed his gun from the wall and strapped it to his back. He sighed slowly and looked up at Chongyun.

Fangqi had a similar outfit, but altered to his heavier build. It was all blue while Gisei's was red. He slid a dark grey mask on that reminded him of Adeptus Xiao's mask, just less ornate. He adjusted his hat and pulled on a heavy pack that glowed a faint blue. Attached to it was a large gun that slid into a holster at his side.

Chongyun strapped his claymore to his back and grabbed the mask that he usually kept perched on his head. He stood for a moment and looked at it. This would be his first time wearing it in public. It felt like he was officially a part of the fatui now. He slid the mask on and looked at his comrades. They nodded at him and although Chongyun couldn't see their faces, he knew they were smiling.

They left their cabin and met Saya and Zyrenia on the deck. Saya had her mask on and her hood pulled up. A small smile crossed Chongyun's lips. The hood reminded him of the little bunnies that sometimes ran through the forests of Liyue. Saya noticed Chongyun's look and laughed.

"I know, I know. I look like a rabbit, don't I?" Saya said, laughing again. Chongyun's smile wavered. It was uncanny hearing her bright voice coming from that menacing costume.

Andrei then came out of his quarters, mask in place. "Alright, everyone," He turned and looked at each of them. "Get the goods out of the hold and then you can go into the city. We have some lodgings booked at the Inn. We leave again for Snezhnaya in two days. Don't die and have some fun!"

The crew cheered and headed into the hold to grab the crates. Gisei and Chongyun grabbed a crate and brought it up to the deck easily. Within the hour, the cargo was all sitting on the deck ready to be unloaded by the Inazuman dock workers.

Saya grabbed the crook of Chongyun's arm with a giggle. "C'mon, Yun!" She said, practically yanking him towards the dock. "Let's head to town. I can show you all my favorite places and tomorrow we can go see my family. Gisei will probably want to come with us tomorrow though. We grew up in the same village, y'know."

Chongyun smiled and followed her into the city. Together they got dango and boba and walked through the city. Saya showed him how you can collect sakura petals underneath the pink sakura trees. She gathered them in her arms and threw them into the air. Lost and Found twirled in between the petals and curled up inside the shadows of Saya's hood.

As they were looking at a few stores in the center of the city, Saya turned and waved at a man in the crowd. He was tall and dressed in red. His blonde hair was tied in a small ponytail at the nape of his neck and a headband kept the rest out of his eyes. A spear was on his back and a stick of Mitarashi dango was in his hand.

He turned when Saya called to him and smiled, but it was a bit uneasy. He ate the last bit of his dango and walked over.

"Hi, Mr. Thoma," Saya said with a big smile. Chongyun waved slowly. He felt like this man didn't trust them, probably because they were a part of the Fatui.

"Hello there, um, have we met before?" Thoma asked with a small laugh. He scratched the back of his head and smiled brightly, but his worry was clear on his face.

"It's me, Mr. Thoma," Saya said, slipping her mask up with a secretive smile. "Hisaya."

"Oh, it's nice to see you again," Thoma said, his fear melting away. "I wasn't told that you had joined the Fatui, but the city has been much quieter with you gone."

"Oh, heh heh," A small blush crept across Saya's face. "Sorry for all the trouble I caused back then."

Suddenly remembering Chongyun, she pushed him forward and introduced him. "This is Chongyun, he's a new recruit from Liyue."

"Nice to meet you, Chongyun," Thoma said, shaking his hand with a smile. "Welcome to Inazuma. If there is anything that you need, I've got you."

"Thank you, sir," Chongyun said with a small smile.

"It was nice meeting you and seeing you again, but I have some things that I need to finish for work," Thoma said. 'See you around."

He walked off into the crowd and disappeared around the corner. Saya smiled and turned to Chongyun. "The sun is starting to set. We should probably head to the inn and meet with everyone else."

With that the two headed to the inn for the night. They played a few games of Genius Invocation with the rest of the crew. Chongyun lost twenty mora and Hisaya gained almost a hundred. The night was filled with laughter. They all headed to bed when the moon was already high in the sky.

Fangqi snored like a Geosvishap, while Gisei and Chongyun chuckled their way through stories of the day. The two finally fell asleep with the hope of another great day on the horizon.

~author's note~

Thank you again for reading this far!

Chapter art by @cloudy01102007