Limitations ~ Scaraether

5

Nodding in contentment from the statement, Nahida quickly left Kuni's apartment, giving him a small smile as she began speaking,

"I'll stop signing you up for contests then." Kuni couldn't help but smile at the statement. Finally, he didn't have to do time-wasting things without a choice anymore— well, he did have the choice to not do them, but the debt must be paid. And gaining a second chance at life, while also knowing who he should loathe, isn't something that can be paid back easily.
Though, the conversation struck him as odd, if she's the archon of wisdom, shouldn't she know already that the relationship is fake...? If so, why... no, she wouldn't do that. Even if she knew, why would she deliberately ruin something both parties are in on? Kuni sighed, exhausted from the mental thinking. Seriously, why did Ei have to give him human traits?
He quickly looked out the window to determine the time since the clock was broken in his apartment and deduced it to be around 4:00 P.M. That should be a good time to bother Aether, yes?
Walking out and locking the door of his apartment, he started strolling down the streets searching for the blonde, but when he didn't find him, he began to worry. Had he gone out? Sure, it wasn't his business to know, but why did it feel like it? Their entire relationship is a fib anyway, so, why does he care?
Katherine, looking up from the papers at her stand, noticed the panicked-looking puppet and merely smiled in her mind.

"If you're looking for the Traveler, he's busy doing a quest so, he won't be back for a while." Kuni stared blankly at the robot before nodding his head. He didn't like seeing Katherine's since they reminded him of his former automatons-obsessed colleague, but they did come in handy at times.
Giving the robot a small bow to show his appreciation, he thought to himself about what he should do now. Since he doesn't know what type of quest it is, he doesn't know how long it'll take for him to be back. And he knows how long a quest can take.
Flinching as he felt a hand grasp his pants leg, he turned around to find a nervous child standing behind him.

"I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but I wondered if you could help me look for my Aranara doll..." The child dressed in red let go of his pants and looked down, embarrassed by the request. Back when Kuni was still a Fatui, he would've laughed in the kid's face and told him to "get lost," but now, he felt his eyes eased by the request.

"Fine, where did you last have it?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Over there on that bench... I got up to throw something away, but when I came back, it was gone..." the kid whimpered.

"Hm." Kuni walked over to the bench and began asking the surrounding people if they noticed anyone— or thing— come and take an Aranara doll from the bench. Most said 'no,' since they were busy with something else, while only one answered 'yes.'
The little kid was thrilled to hear someone answer positively and asked if they could get a description of the person who took it.
The stranger smiled and answered them politely, saying that it was a small child who had taken it. He had ginger hair, and blue eyes, and was wearing Sumerian clothing. Great... as if that'll help limit the options.
Sighing as he realized how tiring this will be, he started having sympathy for the Traveler. Imagine having to do this all the time.

"Do you know what direction he went?" Kuni asked, his arms on his hips impatiently.

"He went towards Menakeri's Treasure Shop. I don't know if he went inside of it, though, since I stopped paying attention." The stranger shrugged their shoulders and turned away.

"Ah! What if he tries to sell it?!" The girl panicked.

"If he does, then that sucks for you."— is what Kuni would've said, but he refused his urges to be a bitch and told the kid to follow him toward the treasure shop.
Once they entered, they saw a middle-aged man at the counter with a smile on his face.

"Welcome, customers. What may I do for you?" He asked, cleaning off some glass.

"Did a little kid come in here with an Aranara doll? He has ginger hair, blue eyes, and Sumerian clothing."

"Hm, no, but I did see someone of that description rush past my doors."

"Do you know where he ran?" Kuni asked, crossing his arms, irritated.

"He ran over to Puspa Café." The shop owner turned away from the two, rearranging the decorations behind him.

"Come on." Walking out of the store over to Puspa Café, and entering it, the sound of water flowing from the fountain placed in the middle of the room became apparent.

"Over there!" The child pointed, and Kuni looked up but was met with a confusing sight. Looking down at the child again, he noticed she had a wide grin on her face. Yes, the ginger-haired kid and Aranara doll existed, but he was sitting at a table with Aether and Paimon surrounded by desserts. Once they noticed him there, they waved over with perplexed smiles.

"Uh... What...?" Kuni was dumbfounded. Especially when the little kid dragged him over to the table with a cheeky smile on her face.

"Ah, thank you so much, Klee," the ginger boy cooed.

"You're welcome, Teucer!"

"Teucer, what is the meaning of this? And why are you in Sumerian clothing?" Aether asked calmly.

"Well, I thought my brother was in Sumeru and traveled from Snezhnaya to here, but he isn't," the boy explained, "but anyway, I heard you were dating someone and did my research to figure out who and my day got even luckier when I met Klee and some other blonde named Albedo, I think, and I asked her to plan this with me! But to do it, I needed to buy native clothes to not give myself away."

"Yeah!" Klee beamed, "Big brother Albedo should be here any moment now."

"Why a café?" Kuni muttered, seating down next to Aether.

"Because it seemed romantic..." Klee giggled.

"Hm."

"Why? Do you not like cafés?" Teucer panicked at the thought.

"No, I just don't like sweets."

"But cafés have sweet things..."

"Indeed they do."

"..."

"Don't mind him! Sweets just don't sit right with his boring taste buds..." Aether smiled, earning an offended look from the puppet, "What? It's the truth."

"Hmph!"