Kabukimono
I open my eyes to find myself laying in a field, the vibrant blue sky blazing overhead.
A gentle breeze stirs the parts of my veil not trapped under my body.
I get up and look around.
This... doesn't look like Tatarasuna...
Where am I?
Did the mist voice really exist?
After looking around for a little bit, I spy what looks like a large city in the distance.
Or maybe it's a castle?
I think I'll go there.
As I begin to walk closer, I realize that it is in fact a city.
"Hey! You!" A voice calls.
I turn around, ready to explain myself if I'm doing something wrong, and see a girl with brown hair and a red ribbon that looks like bunny ears running towards me.
She doesn't look upset...but I know better, especially given Niwa's absolute zero anger (as Nakeshi calls it. It's a very cold, stony anger that only appears once in a while.)
The girl catches up to me and begins talking quickly.
"Hey! You don't look like you're from around here. Are you headed to Mondstadt?" She asks.
"Oh...is that what that city is called?" I ask.
The girl nods.
"My name's Amber, gliding champion of Mondstadt. And you are?" She asks cheerfully.
I like her already.
"They call me the Kabukimono." I say.
"Kabuki....mono? Oh! You're from Inazuma, right? That sounds like something from Inazuma." Amber says.
I nod.
"I am from Inazuma. However....I am not entirely sure as to how I got here." I admit.
Amber smiles.
"Tell you what. I'll take you to Acting Grandmaster Jean and we'll figure out how you got here and how you can get back home." She says.
Home....
Shakkei Pavilion...
No.
Tatarasuna.
With Niwa, and Katsuragi, and Na-chan, and Mister Nagamasa.
I nod and let the girl lead me into the city of Mondstadt.
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"Oh my, who's this little cutie?" A woman dressed in purple asks.
"I'm called the Kabukimono." I say to her.
She pats my head and lightly pinches my cheek.
"You're just so adorable~ like a little lost puppy~" She gushes.
I smile.
"Oh yeah. Kabukimono, this is Lisa, the Knight's of Favonius' resident librarian." Amber says.
"It's nice to meet you, Lisa-san." I say politely.
Lisa seems to melt into a puddle at this statement.
"Well aren't you the polite one." She says.
"Don't die, Lisa." A new voice says.
I turn to see a tall man with ice blue hair and an eye patch walk up to our trio.
"Sir Kaeya! But... weren't you out doing something?" Amber asks.
"I was, but I finished early. It's too early to start drinking, so I thought I'd come back here." Kaeya says with a smirk.
"This is a new one, sir Kaeya. Coming back to work during your free time~" Lisa says.
"Well, Lisa, I don't think Diluc would much like it if I went to Angel's Share this early." Kaeya says.
"P-please don't fight!" I say.
I dislike it when people fight.
Lisa smiles at me.
"Anything for you, cutie." She says.
"Stop grooming minors." Kaeya says.
Huh?
Lisa gasps.
"Grooming minors? Kaeya! Well I'll be. You just wait until I tell Jean what you said." She says.
"I-isn't grooming minors a completely different thing?" Amber asks.
Lisa smiles at Amber, but I can still sense her annoyance at Kaeya.
"You just go present your little friend to Jean, I'll deal with him." She says.
Amber nods cautiously and leads me away.
She opens the door to a room and leads me inside.
Inside the room is a woman with a blond ponytail.
"Miss Jean! I have something to show you." Amber says to the woman, placing a hand on my back.
Jean turns around and her eyes fall on me
"Oh? And who is this?" She asks.
"This is uh-" Amber stops mid sentence, but I do not blame her.
My name can be hard to remember for those not of Inazuma.
"I am called the Kabukimono." I say politely.
"Yeah! This is Kabukimono. I found him over by Springvale while I was out." Amber explains.
"The Kabukimono, hmm? I've never heard that term before...." Jean mutters.
"It's an old Inazuma term for an eccentric person dressed to the nines." Lisa explains, having just entered the room.
I was listening in on her and Kaeya's conversation while Amber was showing me to Jean.
As I am a puppet, I have exceptional hearing.
I am not surprised about Lisa's sudden entrance at all.
Amber, however, was, as she jumps at Lisa's interjection.
"I read it in a book once." Lisa finishes.
"You're from Inazuma then? How did you get here?" Jean asks.
"I do not know." I say.
Should I tell her about the mysterious mist voice?
.....
No.
"T-The problem is that I've never been outside of Inazuma. I don't know where Mondstadt is in comparison to Inazuma. I do not know how to get back." I say, growing desperate to be around those I trust.
I wish Niwa were here.
I don't like being away from him for any more than thirty minutes.
I don't want to be left alone again...
I feel tears well up in my eyes but I quickly blink them away.
Crying is what made her believe I am weak.
I will never cry again.
Unfortunately for me, Amber notices.
"Don't cry! I'll get you back to Inazuma! You can count on me!" She says.
"Now then, Kabukimono. Do you have any family in Inazuma?" Jean asks.
Family....
I'm sure she means biologically related to me.
I shake my head.
"Any friends?" Jean tries.
I nod enthusiastically thinking of my friends at Tatarasuna.
"Now you don't have to answer me, but will you tell me where you came from and about your friends? So we can get you back home?" Jean asks.
"Uh um, I'm from.... Tatarasuna...." I say.
Lisa looks up from her book, now interested in my words.
"Tatarasuna? Now now cutie, Tatarasuna has been abandoned for many many years." Lisa says. "Do you mean to say that you've been camping out there all alone?"
I frown.
Abandoned for many years?
That's impossible.
"That's not right. But...last night I....that's impossible!" I say.
"Tell me Kabukimono...do you know anyone by the name 'Niwa'?" Lisa asks.
I brighten again.
"He is one of my friends!" I say.
"Kabukimono....Niwa Hisahide died over four hundred years ago." Lisa says.
What?
But I saw him yesterday!
I shake my head slowly, holding back tears.
"But...I spoke to him just yesterday. Did I...fall asleep again? Has it been longer than I thought?" I say quietly, mainly to myself.
I feel Amber place a hand on my shoulder.
"Jean...we should take him to Alice." Lisa says.
"I agree with you. I'll tell Albedo about this when he returns." Jean says.
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"Good morning Alice. I have a problem that needs your assistance." Lisa says to the short blond haired woman standing in front of us.
I grip on to the edge of my veil self-consciously as Alice looks me up and down with curious, bubbly red eyes.
"Oh? And who is this? He's cute." Alice says.
"Isn't he though? This is Kabukimono. Apparently he fell asleep four hundred years ago and woke up a few hours ago." Lisa explains.
"Oh, you poor thing. To wake up with everyone you know probably dead...I can't imagine the pain." Alice says, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me into a hug.
"You see, we knights don't really know what to do with him, so we decided to shove him off onto you~" Lisa says.
Alice nods.
"Yes yes, thank you very much. Kabu-chan, you'll be staying with me and my daughter for a while. During that time we'll figure out what to do with you." She says.
"You'll even distort time to get him back to his friends?" Lisa asks, half teasing half serious.
Alice smiles.
"Time travel is the easy part. Finding out more about this kid....that's the harder part."
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I've been really obsessed with Alice recently and I don't know why, please help 😅