i want to breathe, for one second more - kazuscara (原神)

chapter 17 - the sieve of one's hands

"I don't really know how to put this into words," Scaramouche started, shifting his feet as he stood before Kazuha. "But I don't have a place to stay anymore."

As the words left his mouth, he instantly regretted it. "I-I do have alternatives, don't get me wrong. I just don't want to reside there," he informed firmly. No, it wasn't as if Scaramouche cared about what the other thought about him. It was just that he didn't want Kazuha to get the impression that he was a desperate person and...

Nevermind.

He scraped his argument against himself and drew back to the present moment. "It's a horrible way to start a conversation, I know. I wanted to tell you as fast as possible because I need your help on this one. My company has literally taken 'employee monitoring' to the next level, you see, and I can't stay at my regular house anymore because... I dunno, it's like we deserve privacy or something? I'm talking too much. You get the idea."

"Mhm, I think I understand the situation better now," Kazuha agreed. "I don't know what to say to you, though! I hope your company stops stalking you...? Ah, anyway, I'm very glad you told me! I suppose your 'break' is over now and you'll need to get back to work soon, so moving around is definitely not on the table. Say, where's your workplace located?"

"I can't tell you that! Surely you've heard of confidentiality rules before? We wouldn't want to move there anyway. It's on Yashiori Island."

At this, Kazuha crossed his arms and smiled. "I'm impressed by your dedication to travel back and forth so much... oh, wait a minute! You do that for me, right? How nice of you!"

"I never said such an atrocious thing," Scaramouche covered his face with his hands. "You're making that up. You should feel ashamed of yourself for lying."

He lifted his head and the pair stared at each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. It was a rare moment for them, given that they'd spent so much time discussing serious topics. It wasn't as if whatever Kazuha said was a funny joke, but instead the complete juxtaposition between Scaramouche's crisis and their carefree attitude that made them laugh.

He could have sworn he heard the other choke down a cough though.

"This is meant to be serious!" Scaramouche exclaimed when they calmed down. "We're acting like teenagers. Do you have any proper suggestions?"

"I... You could live here, couldn't you? No one knows about this place. It's so pretty too. You used to walk by this place all the time! It's important to you. Isn't that enough?"

"Where am I going to get anything? Transportation? Any resources at all? This area is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, if that's your idea of a habitable–" He paused mid sentence before narrowing his eyes and continuing. "Hold on. Where do you live in the first place?"

Kazuha stepped backwards and shifted his gaze to a nearby bush. "Sorry... I never mentioned that before, did I? It's not so important, that's why."

Upon glancing at the unimpressed harbinger, he sighed. "Do you really want to know?"

Scaramouche nodded, although suspicion was starting to creep in. Why wouldn't he?

"You know Araumi, right? It's quite close to the Grand Narukami Shrine. There are a few trees and abandoned ruins around the area, as well as easy access to some resources..."

A chill ran down Scaramouche's spine, although he wasn't sure about what exactly was causing it. He pressed his mouth into a straight line as the other spoke.

"No one goes there often, which I'm rather relieved about, and it's huge. There's probably an entire underground system that we can't access, judging from all those intricate details and puzzles scattered in the middle... yes, I'm staying there for a bit!"