guard dog | genshin impact

nine

CONTENT WARNINGS: there is a very Very VERY!!!!! Brief depiction of animal abuse in this one; it's not graphic at all, but it's there (dw, ayato n the mc put a stop to it immediately) I'm also emphasizing the  some blood imagery and smatterings of violence.

...

The walk back to the forest was an utter, absolute pain.

You were grumbling as you traversed the barely illuminated pathways—thankfully having memorized the terrain enough to afford yourself some reverie. On the way down the mountain, you ran into one of those pesky cicin mages that looked like she wanted to pick a fight. The fact that whole day stakeouts usually drained the life out of you meant the best option was to run the hell away. Of course, those little electro   didn't make life any easier and pursued you until you reached the borders of Chinju Forest. Hah. At least those pests knew better than to come in here.

When you finally got back to your temporary stronghold, the sight of a familiar, dilapidated shrine eased your nerves somewhat. You nearly collapsed into the makeshift tent you'd pitched a few meters away. The scent of the earth pervaded your senses as you took in deep, heaving breaths—wondering why the hell you were still here.

It's been days since you'd left the estate without another word. Days since you burned Kujou Sara's feather into a crisp. Yet you're still very much here in the vicinity of Mount Yougou. Even if you knew you should've been on the move by now, you chose to linger. As for the reason...

You're still debating between 'curious about the Tenryou Commission's back-up' and 'maybe they were lying about Kujou Sara's magic feather'.

Because 'I actually regret being hasty and I want to scout the enemy first before warning Ayaka' was definitely out of the picture.

You turned over to your side—some stubborn rocks digging through the flimsy mat and into your skin. You're loath to admit, but you kind of miss that comfortable futon they'd given you at the estate... No, screw that. You've slept in worse conditions before. This was nothing!

A frustrated sigh fled your lips as you sat upright, staring at your hands on your lap as if they could quell the gritty feeling gnawing at your gut.

It was Day One all over again. You'd scale the rough slopes of Mount Yougou to spy on the resident activity within the Kamisato Estate, watching like a hawk for hours. But this time, you're not doing it to look for weaknesses in their security or to familiarize yourself with everyone's habits.

...Maybe you were feeling some hint of remorse for acting so brashly. Ayaka lied to you, but you'd been technically doing the same this whole time. Now that you thought about it, you had no right to cause an uproar. Not when you're the one who's technically indebted to her for not having you arrested.

Even if she was completely privy to the nature of your mission, Ayaka kept her silence. She let you become her retainer, her friend. Those fleeting moments you shared over evening tea; the times she'd let you accompany her on brief walks; and that conversation you had before the festival... Though your mind refused to acknowledge it, there was no foul play in the manner in which Ayaka had treated you. But that didn't mean it made sense to you.

If it means I will gain your forgiveness, then I do not mind if we live our lives separately from now on.

You groaned, massaging your temples firmly. You just could not wrap your mind around how someone could carry so much innate kindness in their hearts. No one could be that genuinely good—not even Ayaka!