Twisted Fate Of The Broken Ones | Scaramouche/Xiao

43 - Teaming Up

The next day arrived and now, the wind was silent as the sky was clear and the air was warm.

Kazuha was simply meditating on top of a rock that was surrounded by the sea water in Guyun Stone Forest.

He was near the beach, listening to the sounds of nature as he relaxed, being as calm as the water around him.

A small breeze calmly ran through his hair as he had his eyes closed, trying to come up with a haiku.

"Solitary cloud," He thought aloud quietly, starting the haiku.

When Kazuha was in a peaceful situation with calm surroundings without any distractive noises, he would easily create haikus. He enjoyed it a lot.

"Shadow in the setting sun," He spoke quietly with a soft voice again.

'And the last line...' He thought, trying to figure out the last line of the haiku before he felt a sudden strong breeze running past him.

He soon felt the overwhelming presence of the familiar Adeptus. He had that kind of an aura Kazuha wouldn't so easily forget.

The samurai took a deep breath and opened his eyes, turning his attention towards Xiao who was now standing at the beach near him, giving the Adeptus a warm smile.

"Nice to see you again, Xiao!" He greeted the Adeptus as he stood up from the rock and proceeded to get himself to the beach where the Adeptus was.

The Adeptus had been wandering around Liyue, trying to find a way to solve the problem with Kunikuzushi while slaying monsters.

"Kaedehara Kazuha..." Xiao spoke as he looked at the samurai approaching him, who was seemingly surprised from the sudden meeting with the Adeptus.

"I have... a problem." The Adeptus said, looking down as Kazuha now stepped in front of him.

"It's about Kunikuzushi. He called out to me yesterday evening and... proceeded to attack me as soon as I had appeared. This happened in Liyue Harbor which was... a risky place for sparring. I tried to talk some sense into him, warning about the citizens but... he didn't listen. He was like a puppet being pulled by some kind of strings." Xiao started explaining to the other Inazuman wanderer, shaking his head as he frowned and crossed his arms.

"I don't know what I should do with the situation. After all, I can't ignore it either. Our bonds are too strong to be severed." The Adeptus continued, feeling a bit helpless as he tried to seek advice from the samurai who had known Kunikuzushi for quite a while now as well.

"Hmm... Give me a moment to think." Kazuha said and put his hand under his chin as he looked down slightly, trying to think of something.

After thinking about the Raiden bloodline's history with the God of Electro and the art of the Musou no Hitotachi, he got something into his mind.

"If you can't get to him from the outside, you have to get to him from the inside." Kazuha said, lowering his hand to his hip.

"Is there a way to reach his inner mind?" The samurai asked the Adeptus, frowning slightly.

After hearing the question, Xiao remembered the small, purple plaque that Kunikuzushi had gifted him in the Plane of Euthymia, his eyes widening from the realization.

He soon took out the object, the small plaque now in his hand.

"He gave me this some years ago, saying that if he ever started acting strange in the real world, I could use this to enter his... Plane of Euthymia." Xiao answered and then raised it towards Kazuha with a focused look.

'I wonder if Kunikuzushi was aware of his future...' The Adeptus silently thought as he looked at the plaque in his hand.

Kazuha's eyes widened and he soon started smiling again.

"That's it! With that, you can enter his mind and talk sense to him!" He answered with an excited tone. Though, Kazuha crossed his arms and shook his head.

"But you have to go in there alone, I... don't wish to remember unwanted memories." He mentioned as he glanced down towards the Masterless Vision which was attached to his waist.

Kazuha wanted to help the Adeptus with whatever was going on with Kunikuzushi but he was being held back by his past.

Xiao glanced towards Kazuha before looking at the plaque again, not sure how to use it since all he knew was the instructions that Kunikuzushi gave him in the Plane of Euthymia. He then gave Kazuha a nod.

"Of course." He answered, remaining silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Erm... Thank you." Xiao spoke with a grateful tone, even though he still didn't fully like him because of how close Kazuha was with Kunikuzushi but... now was not the time for jealousy and he was truly grateful to Kazuha for reminding him of the existence of that small, purple plaque.

"Maybe we should go find him. Then you would see the situation yourself as well." Xiao gave Kazuha a frown as he suggested him to come with him.

The samurai thought about it and then nodded.

"It would be great. Whatever is wrong with Kuni, I want to help with it." He answered, raising his hand on his chest as he looked at Xiao with a smile.

"Where have you looked for him? He could be anywhere." Kazuha asked the Adeptus, trying to find a way to find the wanderer.

Xiao looked down for a few seconds before raising his gaze back towards Kazuha, keeping the plaque secured in his hand.

"The last time I saw him was in Liyue Harbor yesterday evening, after that I went to patrol all around Liyue, mostly the areas around Wangshu Inn." He answered as he glanced towards the sea with a worried look.

Xiao wanted to know what was wrong with the wanderer. He had a strong suspicion that it had something to do with that Dottore. After all, it all had changed since he went to see this 'friend' of his.

Kazuha put his hand under his chin again, visibly thinking. He then nodded and lowered his hand, looking at the Adeptus in front of him.

"I haven't seen him here either and since he was in Liyue Harbor just last evening, he hasn't gone far." He said with a confident smile.

"You said you had patrolled the areas around Wangshu Inn, right? If you patrolled all the areas of Minlin, Qiongji Estuary and Bishui Plain, then that leaves Lisha out of the list." He explained, soon realizing something.

"I doubt that he'd have any business with the Chasm, so that leaves... Qingxu Pool! He must have gone there!" He announced.

Xiao's golden yet piercing eyes widened slightly, but then he started questioning the suggestion.

"Why would he go there in the first place? He is after me, so it wouldn't make any sense..." He said, frowning slightly.

"But then again, you haven't seen him anywhere else either..." Kazuha spoke, giving Xiao a shrug.

"It wouldn't hurt to even check it out, right?" He mentioned, a warm smile on his face.

Xiao let out a defeated sigh.

"Hmph, fine, let's go seek him from Lisha. With my powers, I can quickly teleport us there." Xiao said and held out his hand for Kazuha to take.

"Um... If that's fine with you, that is." He mentioned as he waited for the other to take his hand.

Kazuha looked down at Xiao's hand that he had held out for him to take. He then gave the Adeptus a nod with the warm smile on his face and took his hand.

Xiao then used his powers to surround them with a dark mist and Kazuha closed his eyes like he was preparing for an impact, feeling a breeze surround them and soon they had both disappeared from their spot...

A/N
I'll be taking a small hiatus! I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far cuz there is a lot more to write but right now I need to take a small break from writing TwT