"Mute" Mizu X F!Reader

🪷Cards🫧

Silence filled the space as the two of you walked through the bamboo forest. You didn't know where Mizu was going, but you didn't mind much. All that could be heard were the soft sounds of the snow being crushed beneath your feet. The sun shone down, seeping through the few leaves. Occasionally, you would hold out your hand to catch the many patterns of the small snowflakes that fell from the sky to distract yourself from all the walking.

The silence that once filled the air was broken by the same humming from before. Mizu, who was the first to notice, turned around, causing you to follow. Before Ringo could come any closer, Mizu drew her blade just a couple of inches away from his face.

"I found you guys!" he exclaimed as he started rambling about how he had a shortcut, causing you to zone out until he finished.

"Go home," Mizu said, putting down her blade and continuing walking. You quickly turned around to follow her as Ringo caught up with the two of you.

He explained how he now knew what he wanted to do, and that was to become a samurai like Mizu.

"Please let me be your apprentice. Uh, I'll do anything." You watched from the side as Mizu began, "A breeze can throw a crane off-course. You... are a typhoon." You raised your eyebrow, trying to make sense of what she said, but dismissed it as she began walking again.

He somehow caught up quite quickly and slid in front of the two of you.

"Please! I'm strong. I can carry your things, and you can have the best soba in the world every day!" he tried reasoning with Mizu.

The only part that stuck out to you was that he could cook well. You subtly nudged Mizu at that part and rubbed your stomach to see if she would consider letting him tag along. She looked at you with no emotion before looking back at him as Ringo called him his master.

You thought about it; having Ringo make you the best soba every single day would have been nice. But it seemed Mizu didn't take that into account because the two of you left him tied up to a tree. You didn't notice as Mizu began to walk ahead, and you kept behind as Ringo called out to you.

"Miss! Please tell me what did you say to become the apprentice," Ringo asked, looking at you with pleading eyes.

You didn't know what to say as you saw Mizu, who was ahead of you, look back with an impatient face. You took out your small notebook and ripped out a page as you tried to give it to him. Somehow you managed to get the paper to stay on the rope that kept him tied before running up to catch up with Mizu.

The two continued on their journey. But you stayed behind as Mizu went to a shrine for a quick moment before returning back. Curiosity struck you as you wanted to know what she had done there but decided to keep the curiosity to yourself.

You felt a rush of relief enter your body once you saw the gates of Kyoto and began walking at a slightly faster pace. Once the two of you were in line, you heard the small commotion of a mother not being able to enter without a male companion. You felt pity since you would've been in that same situation if it weren't for Mizu. You looked at Mizu and tried getting her attention by tapping her arm. She noticed what was happening but stayed silent. You decided not to argue back since Mizu was the only one able to help you get into the villages. You walked by the mother and child as the two of you got accepted and kept your gaze on them until you walked far enough.

"I have important business to attend to. You can stay here until I return," Mizu said, breaking the silence as you walked into the more crowded part.

You nodded before waving goodbye as she left and you parted ways. You began to walk around and stop at every vendor who was selling something to check out what they had. Taking in the beauty of this place, you wanted to stop at every place there was. As you went on, you saw Mizu at one of the brothels; this really piqued your curiosity but soon shook off the thought since it would be awkward if she saw you spying on her.

Time must have slipped by since the sun was already beginning to set. You entered a small shop and began to look around; to your luck, it was a supply shop. You opened the sliding doors and the wooden shelves were filled with all kinds of handmade tools and supplies, all which of what you needed. You stocked up on notebooks; however, you struck gold when you found flashcards that had simple phrases on them. They ranged from 'no thank you' to 'I'm hungry' and even a few sentences. You immediately grabbed them all and went to pay for it all.

Once you left the shop, you were hit with the cold wind of the night; snow began to fall again as you walked in the direction the snow was falling, making your cheeks and ears feel twice as cold as before. The street lamps were lit by now, creating small pockets of light as you walked down the snow-covered path. Stopping at an inn, you reserved a single room for two days since you didn't know when Mizu would come back.

A whole day has passed by now; you would spend most of your time exploring or taking a nap. There wasn't anything that would be too exciting since you already went to every shop there was. But once the second day ended and you left the inn, you found Ringo walking out of the brothel Mizu last stopped at. Quickly you caught up to Ringo since you didn't want to spend another day by yourself aimlessly exploring the city. He seemed to still remember you as Mizu's apprentice and took notice of you quickly.

"Miss, it's you again! Has master left?" he asked, looking around you to see if Mizu was with you.

You took out a flashcard you had 'no,' you showed him as you shook your head and flipped to another 'I'm Y/N, and you?'

"Ringo! Nice to meet you, Y/N," he said, smiling while holding out his arm for you to shake.

"It's good that I bumped into you since I was going out to look for the master," he began to talk on and on about the stories he had from the brothel that he just came out of.

You listened in as he went from story to story; you didn't mind since it was a change to hear someone talk.

"Why do you use those cards, Y/N?" he asked, pointing to the cards that were stored on the side of your pack.

'I don't speak.' You pulled out the card and showed him.

"Well, the idea of the cards is smart, Y/N. I have to say that," he smiled as he changed the topic to how he met someone who was also mute and how they lived with them for a week while stuck in a forest. You didn't know how, but the two of you managed to stray away far from civilization and more towards a forest. From afar, you could hear the sound of running water not too far from where you guys were.

'I'm getting hungry'' You showed Ringo the card as he happily obliged and set down for a small break. As he cooked up some food, he still went on about how he was now going to become a samurai like Mizu and compared how you all had "deformities" or such. You listened in and happily ate the food he served. As he cleaned the space, you began to draw in the snow, reaching for a small twig that laid out on the ground, you began to draw small patterns all over the place, each stroke causing the small twig to break. Hoping this would take your mind off all the walking you had to endure yet again. As he finished packing, the two of you set off again.

"You're a really good listener, Y/N. Usually, people tell me to shut my trap by now," he started as you took out a paper.

'I don't really have a choice, but I don't mind.' You handed him the paper and smiled.

"You're right; it's not even like you have a choice to stop me from talking. Well, you do, you could always throw something at me or push me, but you wouldn't do that, right, Y/N?" he raised an eyebrow.

'Nope.' You shook your head as he began listing off ways people have shut him up before. You listened in for the sound of what you thought was a small stream again to find a place to stop and get some water. You tapped Ringo on the shoulder and motioned him to follow you.

The sound only got louder from what seemed to be water. He began to hum again as the two of you walked closer to the water. But just as you two got out of the bushes, you were both met with the tip of Mizu's sword.

"Peaches."