Archive of Our Own ^beta

It had been a long time since he had a moment to himself, longer still since he had one with Kazuha at his side. The samurai liked to travel and keeping him in one place was difficult and not an endeavor that Heizou wanted to pursue. Having free time, Kazuha beside him, and the ability to travel all at once was a phenomenon that only occurred once before today so Heizou wasn’t wasting the opportunity.

He had a bag packed and Kazuha had spoken with Beidou so that they had use of the ship to travel to Liyue with her while she had some small dealing there. Really it had been something minor that the Captain of the Alcor didn’t need to take the ship out to sea for, but she was making an exception for them.

Heh. It was kinda cute. Kazuha was a favorite of hers and Heizou hadn’t minded sending him out to win her over. He wanted out of the country for a while.

It was nice, spending time alone with someone you liked.

Besides, he’d been doing enough work for the commission to fill the roles of three men for the last several weeks. Sure it was to make up for the fact he’d been slacking off but still, that was far too much at once for any one man and he was about to start seeing things if he didn’t have a break soon.

Kazuha was beside him as he packed his few things he needed, watching him and asking where he’d like to go.

Really, anywhere was nice but he wanted to see places he’d never been. The city was grand and spectacular in it’s own way, but Liyue was Liyue and just another city if looked at through eyes that had already seen its wonders. Heizou was getting tired of the cities.

“I know a few places that have less people and less lights, but the more remote we travel, the more dangerous it will be.”

Heizou just smirked and raised an eyebrow at that. Was Kazuha really doubting their abilities should they run into danger?

Kazuha gave him a slight smile in return. “I was stating the facts. Nothing more.”

Heizou chuckled, shoving a shirt that was too revealing for most into his bag. He didn’t need much as he slung it over his shoulder, the weight of a couple outfits, a few books, and a brush was all that was in there to weigh it down. “No need to state such obvious ones. I’ve been traveling before, though my sights have always been grounded to this land and a few other port cities outside of Inazuma. One day I would love to see the rest of the world.”

Without warning Kazuha was there, closer than any person who wasn’t a loved one should be. His arm was over his shoulder and his breath was in his ear. It tickled and left the most pleasant feeling in its wake. “One day when you no longer wish to tie yourself to your work here, that can be arranged.”

What a tempting offer.

Not yet. Not now. If he spread out without creating a name for himself, his goal – the whole reason he dove so hard into his work being a detective for the damn government here and under the shoes of those he’d rather not be tethered to when he’d prefer cases that were tailored to his strengths when others could take on the more menial tasks of guard duty and event planning – would not be as easy to attain.

There were too many still hurting. Too many that came to him personally when injuries were dealt to them. People who heard about him though the culprits of their cases did not – or did not fear him.

So it wasn’t enough. His job wasn’t done yet.

Kazuha lightly placed a hand on the back of his head. “One day. Do not rush. You have all the time in the world and I will wait for you.”

Was Heizou not the one waiting for Kazuha? Or… or had Kazuha always been…? That was a new perspective. So…

Heizou held a hand to his chest and smiled, feeling the warm breath of something new brewing inside of him. He need only finish his work here and he could branch out, sure that he would not be alone in his ventures. “Thank you.”

….

The freedom the ship provided as they sailed from Narukami Island was refreshing. There was a weight on his chest that that lifted, that Heizou hadn’t realized was there until his feet were no longer touching the land.

Kazuha was no longer beside him but he didn’t have to be.

No one had to be. Heizou was used to being alone only this time, with those of the Alcor (no other ship of Beidou’s accompanying them) there was no way he could feel alone.

Everyone was so friendly. He had met most of them before, on the way to Lantern Rite. There were a few newcomers now that were younger, one of them a female that gave him some dried meat when he missed eating lunch with the others because he was too busy looking out at the endless ocean before him.

It was so relaxing here with just a touch of thrill to it at the sense of the new and unseen danger that could be lurking in the waters or beyond the horizon. He had heard tales but had never seen anything. He wanted to. Maybe he would see one on this voyage or one of the voyages after.

That would be something to tell tales of.

He only had stories of cases, nothing of fighting monsters or sea creatures of myth. Captain Beidou had spoken of grand adventures and combats that he could not help but doubt were real. He believed her only because it was her. His mind had trouble imagining such scenarios were possible for a human to live through.

Had Kazuha? He never heard the samurai speak of much besides the sights, sounds, and smells of other lands. He truly was an enigma himself, though the descriptions were such that Heizou could picture the places as if he’d been there as well whenever Kazuha spoke.

The voyage felt too short by the time they arrived at the strangest location. Heizou had pictured they’d go to the city to drop off Beidou’s supplies or whatever it was that she was using as an excuse for them to travel. Instead they were at a small island with a very large rock formation.

Kazuha came to get him, offering his hand. “You said you hadn’t wanted to see the city. This place has its own charm about it, and if you look around at the right time of day you can’t replace the scenery here. We’re in luck. We should be able to reach the top before dusk falls.”

Heizou took his hand, unsure why Kazuha thought he’d need it but it was nice. Heizou rarely held someone’s hand. It felt strange with both of their hand-wear but, oddly, with how they fit it also didn’t bother him.

The sand snuck its way into his shoes as they exited and there were monsters. They were everywhere. Kazuha hadn’t been joking.

In only seconds they found themselves needing to defend their lives from those that wanted to take it. No humans were around, only the creatures that roamed the land. Heizou would have rather avoided them, left them to their peace here, but if Kazuha traveled here than it was likely others did as well and leaving such deadly enemies to attack those who couldn’t defend themselves was a bad idea.

He wasn’t going to be responsible for lives lost because he was ignoring a fight.

Working in tandem with Kazuha was as simple as breathing. The wind obeyed both of them in different ways, so there was never a fight to command the anemo energy in the air.

Kazuha bathed himself in it almost constantly, as if the wind were his clothes. Fire raced around both them and the creatures as Heizou kept his own defenses up, taking the same fire and making sure to keep it at arm’s length - literally - as he struck at whoever was close to him.

The hardest enemy to take down was an abyss mage in the area who must have been commanding the other monsters. The fire shield around it was only being fueled by the energy Kazuha relentlessly tossed around. Heizou had to make sure he didn’t burn himself too badly, jumping around it and finally taking down its defenses while he and Kazuha took its life.

It wasn’t a pleasant thing but it was something they both did commonly enough that Heizou was starting to become numb to the screaming.

“Are you alright?”

“Fine.” Heizou wiped some ash from his clothes. They were both quick enough that there were no injuries. It was easy to avoid mages if you knew how they attacked. It only took a glance at Kazuha to be sure he was alright. “So, where are we traveling?”

Kazuha pointed up, past where they were docked and up a crevice in the mountain. “Up there. It’s the best view around here and you can see across the ocean.”

Really? That was impressive. Heizou looked across the beach and could see specs. The top of the mountain was likely far more glorious and unrestricted a view. “Lead the way.”

Kazuha did just that as Heizou had to climb up the mountain behind him. It wasn’t difficult for either of them, though Kazuha had an easier time of it. It was clear that, while Heizou noticed it wasn’t any more simple for the samurai to find hand and footholds, the wind seemed to carry him whenever he called upon him.

While it got Kazuha up the mountain faster, it felt like cheating and only encouraged Heizou to climb faster.

The pathway was easier to tread once it was pointed out and Heizou ran, smiling and laughing. “Well now, let’s get going then before the sunset beats us to it.”

“Heizou, wait!”

Heizou didn’t care to do so as he rushed forward, his steps clacking against the stones in tempo as Kazuha struggled hard to gain any ground on him. It was a useless battle. Kazuha might know this place better but Heizou was faster and the path was clear. He didn’t need to be familiar with it to be able to outpace the samurai and there were no hidden crevices to lose his footing.

Heizou had already passed the first mage when it made a noise behind him, a second one appearing before him.

In only a moment, three of them had him surrounded, squeaking noises of victory as he came to a sudden halt in front of one waving a stick at him and surrounded by a water shield.

Heizou lost his smile, falling back into a fighting stance and looking between them. While not impossible, this was going to be difficult until Kazuha caught up in another second or two. Get them talking then.

Dropping his hand to his side, he placed it on his hip. “Well, well. I see it’s not just me that enjoys the scenery here. Were the three of you planning something nefarious or just watching the sunset? If it’s the latter, perhaps we can do so together?”

A jest, nothing more. Heizou knew better than to think abyss mages were anything more than aggressive nerdowells. He’d tried on several occasions speaking with them before and it had gotten him nowhere. They’d sooner kill him than have a conversation.

The ice mage proved this by trying to attack him.

Heizou dodged out of the way, not reacting with aggression himself. Not yet. He wasn’t ready to take them on yet.

“Now, now. You didn’t answer my question.”

“Foolish human.”

The fire mage reacted in kind as well, the ice mage teleporting behind him. Both the attack and the sudden chill were enough to have his instincts override his thoughts on talking things out. He reacted, dodging the first attack and ignoring the sudden pain of the ice being far too close to his skin as he attempted to take down the shield of the other with nothing more than anemo.

Kazuha wasn’t slow. He was there at his side, the wind engulfing him in more cold as the samurai landed. Heizou shivered, not having time to think about it. All he could do was laugh.

The mages were fools to think they could win this with two anemo users, specifically someone like Kazuha, nearby. “Stand down and you won’t get hurt.” Heizou didn’t stop his assault but he did give out the warning. The mages weren’t stopping and Kazuha was rushing forward towards the fire one.

The warning fell on deaf ears. That was fine.

A few blasts of wind near the fire mage were all it took to annihilate the shield on the ice and water mage, both of them stunned with no idea what just happened. Heizou ignored the poor creature, going to the remaining mage who was baffled but aggressive enough not to be running. It only took him a few more seconds to do what Kazuha could not, all three helpless, though the other two were speaking once more, getting up and declaring how it was an insult that such weak humans could do such a thing to creatures such as them.

Kazuha didn’t give them time to recover, calling on the wind and encircling them all.

It was beautiful. Really.

Heizou stopped, no longer fearing the creatures before them in favor of what was happening here and now.

The wind was doing something magical.

There were leaves that should never exist in Liyue, floating around in a torrent of fire as the sun was setting. It created this wonderful array of colors, burning vivid images into his sight of both Kazuha and the scenery around him. The clouds were on fire. The grass was alight under his feet, burning him if he stepped in the wrong place. The world was nothing but colors of red and orange as he took a few steps away from the pain to examine the moving, living, breathing scents, sounds, and imagery the wind was creating around him.

Only there was nowhere to walk.

Heizou didn’t realize until it was too late that there was no ground where he had stepped. Everything was so blinding.

He fell.

He heard a voice.

The red turned black.

…

…..

………..

Kazuha let the mages do as they pleased. If they pursued him he’d deal with it later. He had more pressing matters to attend to.

Heizou fell off the mountain.

He’d seen it while he was trying to silence the fire mage, the last of its embers of life fading before his eyes as the detective passed from his view and down the rocky slope.

Then Kazuha was moving, jumping out of his own anemo energy that he could not control past calling it forth. It would die out in a moment.

Holding the ledge of the rock formation, he slid down, his shoes not meant for the action. He didn’t care if it hurt a little.

His eyes were scanning the area below once free of obstacles.

It wasn’t hard to see Heizou far below, the red of blood far easier to catch sight of than the man himself. That made his heart constrict and only encouraged him to go faster as he scraped up his hands and knees skidding down the stones.

Still it felt like it took too long before he reached the bottom.

Heizou was bleeding badly from his head, the red of his hair stained even brighter and his face covered as he lay on his side, a curtain of it dripping down into his eyes and mouth before staining the sands below. Kazuha could catch sight of places where the blood had caught on the rock near him as he let go and ran to check on the detective.

“Heizou, hey. Are you…” He didn’t want to ask if he was alive. It was such a long fall and Heizou had nothing to catch himself with.

There was the slightest shaky breath that caught his attention.

Thank goodness.

Kazuha was afraid to touch him. He didn't want to hurt him but he couldn’t leave him here. Lightly he parted his hair to see if he could tell where the injuries were. With his clothes on there was no way to identify any bodily injuries and he didn’t want to shift him and cause anything worse to happen.

Heizou twitched, hard. He did it again, whining as he did and his eyes tightening.

“I’ll get someone. I don’t know how to treat you. Heizou, are you conscious?”

Heizou winced. He drew in an arm, running his hand into his hair without care and pulling at it. Kazuha had to stop him. “Heizou, it’s me. I don’t wish for you to harm yourself. You need to not touch your hair. You have a head injury.”

Heizou tried to pull away from him. It took a moment before the way he shook revealed that it might not have been intentional. This was… not good. There was no healer on the ship and Kazuha had been in war. So had Heizou. This kind of injury…

Very gently, Kazuha sat. He stretched out a leg and rested Heizou’s head there. He had to check on him but be gentle about it. While they had a few people with medical knowledge along, Beidou and he were the best equipped to deal with anything. He’d get her if he had to but he had to know what he was dealing with.

Heizou didn’t resist him, more blood streaming down his face and into his other eye. It gave him a location for the wound. It was near the crown of his head and off on the left hand side. Touching around, Kazuha winced. Head wounds always bleed a lot but something had shifted. This was more than an abrasion.

Then Heizou opened his eyes.

“He-Heizou. Are you awake?”

Heizou said nothing for a long moment before he blinked. Then, slowly, as if he were drunk, he spoke. “... zuha. Are… you… there?”

Kazuha’s breath shook. “Heizou, can you not see me?

There was another long pause. Heizou’s eyes looked dull and he had no expression. The doll-like appearance was almost as terrifying as his words were. “...no. Can… kinda… hear.”

Kazuha bent down, placing his forehead on Heizou’s and not caring as the blood stuck to his skin and his own locks were covered in the liquid. There was no helping this. They needed a healer and had none. Even with one, Heizou was too injured and he was suffering. The fact that his vision was gone right now was a terrible sign.

And it was his fault. He should have warned him not to stray from him. He had warned him but not enough. Heizou wasn’t nearly as prepared as he should have been.

And it wasn’t the enemy that did him this harm…

Kazuha didn’t want to admit that part. He ignored it and threw it into the far corner of his mind where he didn’t have to acknowledge it. He’d deal with it later. He always did. Kazuha wasn’t one to ignore something because it was painful.

Right now Heizou was the one hurting and he needed to do something or at the very least, make it less of a burden for his friend.

“It’s… It’s just dark. You’ll be fine. I need you to stay calm. I’m here. You can rest. I’ll take care of everything.”

Kazuha felt the tears fall. With Heizou blind he didn’t have to worry about them. All he had to do was keep the quiver out of his voice.

“Mmm… hurts.”

“I know. I promise it won’t hurt for long. I’ll help. You only need to rest. The pain will go away then.”

Kazuha couldn’t tell if Heizou shut his eyes. He could only feel him tremble and, every now and then, jolt as if someone had harmed him. Slowly, Kazuha wrapped his arms around him until he was holding him. He never wanted to let him go.

Ten, fifteen minutes. That was all it took. Heizou stilled.

Kazuha didn’t hold back the crack in his voice when that happened, or the tears that further fell. There was no need. The person who they were falling for, who the hurt was being hidden for, could no longer be harmed by their creation.

It had been so long since he’d cried for someone. Tomo had been the last and the pain then had been cut by the fact that his dear friend had reason to lose his life. He had wanted the battle he had died in. It had been painful to lose him but his friend had gone in expecting it.

This… this was not supposed to happen. He had known Heizou had been needing time off, had been wanting time to see other places. They had spoken of it plenty of time. This was supposed to be everything other than what it had become.

This was supposed to be the beginning. Kazuha wanted to show Heizou what he’d been wishing to see. He wanted to show him the future past what he had set for himself. There was so much more out there. So much more the detective didn’t even know he wanted until he had accidentally voiced it to him, and started to see the world beyond his current dreams.

Kazuha wasn’t supposed to be the end to those dreams.

None of this was supposed to go this way.

It was dark out as he looked up, blood covering his vision and filling his senses. He could see and smell nothing else.

They had missed the sunset.