Beidou’s strong voice boomed through the halls of the Jade Chamber, causing Ningguang to immediately look up from the paperwork she had been slaving over for the past few hours. Her wife stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, complete with a concerned expression painted on her face.

“We just came back from Sumeru, Kazuha and I, right? We had a great time by the way but you know… Kazuha, being Kazuha, smoked something… and now he’s kind of out of it. He has been out of it for some time now, actually.”

Ningguang, pinching the bridge of her nose, set down her brush with a sigh.

“Beidou, darling, we’ve been over this,” she grimaced, looking the captain in her eye “you have been far too lenient with our son’s drug habit. Now, because of your disregard, we are clearly facing the consequences.”

Captain Beidou averted her eye, scratching the back of her neck. Ningguang was right, she had been warned and now they had a situation far beyond what she ever thought was possible. Yes, Kazuha liked to smoke - a lot - but it was just some Naku Weed, what bad could come of that? But now-

“What exactly happened, Beidou?”

Beidou breathed in deeply, recounting their journey to and from Sumeru.

Sumeru, the Nation of Dendro, notoriously had a rich flora and fauna, fostering an equally large amount of peculiar species of mushroom. Kazuha had been telling her about how elated he was to try some of these mushrooms -in moderation, he said, to ease her worries- though when they arrived Kazuha practically jumped over the side of the Alcor, his Anemo Vision cushioning his fall, and took off into the hustle and bustle of Port Ormos at an insane speed. Beidou chuckled, he probably caught a scent, like a bloodhound, and his free spirit demanded him to follow. In hindsight, she probably should invest in a leash. She didn’t think anything of it, he was a grown man, he would return for dinner, surely? With this thought, she went about her day and her business endeavors.

Kazuha does return for dinner, he is high of course with a major case of the munchies. Beidou didn’t think anything of it, this wasn’t unusual.

When Kazuha doesn’t sober up by the time they set off on the way home, that’s when she sensed something was wrong.

Usually, Kazuha would indulge in smoking, be high for some time (around 8 hours) then he would slowly sober up and return to being somewhat coherent (as his sober personality wasn’t that different from his high one).

Obviously, Beidou made sure to bring him home to Liyue safely and left him to chill on the Alcor, hoping he would sober up on the fresh harbor air.

The next day not a lot changed. The white-haired ronin was still out of it, vaxing incoherent poetry at no one, staring out to sea. Seeing this, Beidou finally started to worry.

The hat man , he’d mumble when she asked what happened.

Beidou, knowing she wouldn’t get anything out of her son, immediately set off to see her wife.

“So you’re telling me our son has been high for a week.”

Beidou sheepishly nodded, averting her gaze to the insanely expensive hardwood floors. Ningguang groaned as she stood from her desk, “Where is he now?”

“He’s napping on deck-” Beidou practically whimpered “but what do you plan on doing?”

“Oh, I just want just have a word with him.”

With that, Ningguang upped and left the Jade Chamber, her heels echoing from the walls and in Beidou’s ears, signaling her and Kazuha’s impending doom.

Ningguang finds Kazuha exactly where she was told, sitting on the only sunny spot on the Alcor, staring into the vast distance. She approached him with sure steps, not waiting for him to acknowledge her arrival, asking without a moment of hesitation: “Kazuha, are you high right now?”

Kazuha didn’t react, so she cleared her throat impatiently.

“Rain means gloomy days

but sometimes for flowers to

grow they need tough love”, he breathed.

“Ah, so you are.”

She breathed in deeply, pushing her mounting annoyance down, and put on a patient smile. “So, sweetheart, how was your trip to Sumeru? Any… fun stories?”

Kazuha giggled. “So many, mum. You should’ve joined us.”

So he did hear her, that rascal!

“Oh really? Like what?”, she smiled, though it did not reach her eyes.

“Like the silly little cabbage people,” he hummed a little melody, smiling to himself, “or the hat man!”

The hat man. There was this figure again. Ningguang thought back to all the horror stories she’d heard from Doctor Baizhu about people’s trips when they were on too much allergy medication (she wasn’t too well-versed in actual drugs). Before she could ponder any more, Kazuha spoke again, “He gave me some mushrooms, they were delectable! Then he called me an airhead when I ate them.”

Ningguang opened her mouth to refute that and make her son feel better about himself, even though it was not wrong to call Kaedehara Kazuha an airhead, but Kazuha interrupted before she could say anything. “I kind of liked it.”

Right. This was also Beidou’s son.

“Yeah, well…” she cleared her throat, “You shouldn’t spend your time with people like the hat man “ Who isn’t even real, she did not add, “perhaps a person like that detective you made friends with would be a better influence. He doesn’t make you eat weird mushrooms or call you names.”

Ningguang nodded to herself, self-satisfied.

Kazuha hummed, as if considering her words. “Heizou’s nice.”

“See? So maybe you could go visit him and-”

“He cuffs me sometimes, when I visit his office.”

Ningguang fell silent, her jaw on the floor and the rest of the sentence dying on the tip of her tongue.

“I like that.”, he chuckled.

She clears her throat one more time, feeling awkward, trying to collect her bearings.

“Well… Kazuha, perhaps it would be better if you stop smoking.”

Kazuha turned his head slowly, his expression confused.

“Where is your stash? I want you to hand it over.”

Visible upset made its way into Kazuha’s crimson eyes as he asked “But mum, why?”

“Look, your consumption has been getting out of hand and now it’s not even just naku weed you smoke. It’s time to stop.”

“But I need it-”

“Hand it over.”

There was no room for discussion or pleading, that much Kazuha seemed to realize.

“It’s in the drawer under my bed.” he mumbled, sniffling a bit.

“Thank you, Kazuha.”

Ningguang pet his white hair in an attempt to comfort her son somewhat as he got up and stumbled somewhere else on deck.

With a deep sigh, she made her way underdeck to Kazuha’s little room.

🍁🍄🍁

Armed with Kazuha’s box of naku weed, Ningguang practically runs into the brick wall that is her wife.

“Beidou, what are you doing?” she asks, eyeing the captain who was trying to pull herself up to a hidden crevice at the top of the hall.

“Have you seen a raggedy-ass grey cat anywhere? Kazuha’s looking for the fleabag.” she said before shouting “HERE KITTY KITTY” at the top of her mighty lungs.

“You have a cat?”

“Well no, it’s not mine… I got it for Kazuha. Biggest mistake of my life,” she said in a strained voice craning her head into the crevice, searching with her one eye “It never stays put and just gets underfoot but I thought ‘Hey, an emotional support animal for your traumatised son, what could go wrong?’ and Kazuha seems to adore the damn thing so oh well.”

“You spoil him too much.” Ningguang deadpanned.

“Probably.” she agreed before bellowing again “AITO! HERE KITTY! PSPSPSPSPSPSSS”

“Well, I confiscated Kazuha’s weed so that problem is solved.”

“So that’s why he wanted his cat. He did seem upset.”

“Sometimes children need a firm hand to guide them. It’s better this way.” the Tianquan said matter of factly.

“Well he is 21, actually,” the captain said under her breath. “but whatever you say, darling.”

“You know what I mean,” Ningguang waved her off, “where is he anyways?”

“He went to Third Round Knockout.”

Ningguang stopped in her tracks. “He what?”

“Oh well, he asked to see some fox guy he met in Sumeru but I figured bringing him back to Sumeru would be counterproductive so I naturally said no, plus you wouldn’t want me to either. So then he started pouting with his cute little face, you know the one I mean, and I felt really bad. So when he asked if he could go to Third Round Knockout instead, I said yes because I thought ‘He’s such a sad little guy, maybe he can make some friends! Like that nice lad with the screwed-up haircut and his little popsicle friend.’.”

“You’re lucky we’re married and I would be the first suspect in your murder.” Ningguang said, exasperated.

“What why? I thought we want him to have a healthy social life!” Beidou finally let herself down from where she was looking for the cat.

“Well go check on him then” Ningguang suggested with a strained smile, the vein in her forehead practically bulging under her fair skin as she made to leave the ship, not looking back at her wife, “Look at what kind of friends he’s making.”

With that, she exited the underdeck to return to her work in the Jade Chamber.

“That is a great idea!” Beidou exclaimed “Looking for the cat can wait.”

🍁🍄🍁

With unhurried, confident steps Captain Beidou of the Crux Fleet arrives at Third Round Knockout in Liyue Harbor. Old Iron Tongue Tian was retelling his nth story about Rex Lapis’ heroic deeds in the Archon War to the patrons - well, one patron - when she went up the steps to the tables. The old story teller faltered for a second, spotting her but quickly caught himself, resuming his story like nothing happened. Third Round Knockout’s sole patron turned around with a cheeky grin. “Captain!” she greeted cheerfully, “Fancy seeing you here. Here to grab some lunch and listen to a story before rush hour, too?”

Beidou shook her head before looking around the restaurant and the street, confused. “Nothing of the sort, Master Hu” she chuckled without her usual heart in it, “Say have you, perchance seen my son Kazuha… around… like at all?”

Hu Tao put a finger to her chin, humming thoughtfully. She seemed to think for a while, or at least she acted like it, before she snapped her fingers, like she had a EUREKA-moment and said “Nope! Not at all!”

“Great! Thanks for your help!” she chuckled awkwardly, turning to leave as she did. Her steps turned hurried when she thought Hu Tao wasn’t looking anymore, almost running towards the Jade Chamber to alert her wife.

🍁🍄🍁

“Darling, we have a problem…”

For the second time of the day Ningguang was interrupted in her work by her wife’s booming voice. Irritated she slammed her brush on the desk, beckoning the nervous captain to come toward her desk. “Well? How is our little rascal doing, making friends like a good boy?”

“You’re making fun of me.” Beidou mumbled.

“Why ever would I?” Ningguang gave her a sickly sweet smile.

“Well, Kazuha is gone. He is not where he said he’d be.”

“Shocker.” Ningguang picked up her brush and started her work again.

“So what are we going to do?” Beidou prompted, leaning over Ningguang’s desk, waiting.

“You mean, what are you going to do.”

“Ning, this is serious” Beidou begged “We lost Kazuha. What do we do?”

Ningguang set down the brush again looking up to meet Beidou’s eyes. She sighed, cupping her cheeks in her hands. “Well, go look for him, Captain Beidou.”

She placed a chaste little smooch on Beidou’s lips before patting her cheek. “Well, go on, hurry.”

“Ning, you can’t be serious. He’s your son, too!”

“Well, I have a nation to run.”

“Ning” Beidou whined, “Liyue can gaslight and gatekeep without you girlbossing it 24/7. Come help me look for OUR son.”

Ningguang, Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing, ‘certified girlboss’, groaned. “Gods damnit, fine.”

She stood up, pushing the gargantuan pile of paperwork on her desk to the side “I guess we’re making poor Ganyu work overtime again.”

With that they hurried out of the Jade Chamber.

Not even an hour later, Ningguang watches her wife make an absolute fool out of herself, running around like a headless chicken in the busy harbor, from merchant to sailor to merchant again. Beidou flags down one unsuspecting pedestrian after the other, her booming voice repeating “HAVE YOU SEEN MY SON” like a mantra. Really, this should be more humiliating than it is, for a woman of Ningguang’s status to have her significant other presenting herself like this, if Beidou didn’t make a fool of herself like this often, drunk out of her mind.

Beidou even waits for a whole ship to dock when she runs out of pedestrians to terrify, practically pouncing on the sailors, eager to belt her mantra.

The ship’s captain, a poor man with a wooden leg, bears the brunt of the panicked Captain Beidou’s efforts to locate her ‘poor, little son who must be scared out of his mind’, disregarding that Kazuha is, in fact, a master of the sword and an actual samurai .

“HEY YOU!” she points at the captain “HAVE YOU SEEN MY SON?”

She gestures up to her chest “HE IS THIS TALL, WHITE HAIR, RED EYES, SCLERA TOO, CLEARLY GAY BUT WE HAVEN’T HAD THE TALK YET”

Ningguang doesn’t mention how the man on the ship that literally just docked into the harbor couldn’t physically, mentally or spiritually have seen Kazuha.

“Darling, how about we check out the only lead we have, now that you got this out of your system.” Ningguang pats her wife’s arm in a comforting gesture.

“Lead?” she asks, her voice a tiny bit hoarse from all the yelling.

“You know, the fox man Kazuha wanted to see?”

“Oh yeah right.”

They head out to Sumeru.

🍁🍄🍁

The yapping of a big group of dogs signals their arrival at Gandharva Ville, almost like they were trying to fend them off. A meek guy in green, practical clothing was trying his best to keep the hoard of hounds at bay, letting the two women pass.

They walked over the wooden bridge toward what seemed to be the main building of the forest village, passing people in similar clothing to the guy with the dogs - forest rangers, presumably - who all seemed to ignore them. It was quiet apart from the barking, no one spoke a single word.

When suddenly a nasal voice, drenched in annoyance, cut through the silence.

“I. DON’T. CARE. DEAL WITH IT YOURSELF!”

The source of this disturbance, a man of small stature with rather disproportionally large ears, stood a little off to the side, glaring at the poor ranger shaking like a leaf.

“Tell Azar, that this is punishment and I am not, contrary to his belief, his personal maid. If he’s going to eat weird plants, with his unending wisdom, then he can suffer the consequences.” he pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ease the migraine currently forming. The poor ranger scurried away with a quick nod, leaving the man to steep in his anger alone.

“Gods, Cyno was so right, this is no punishment for them. It’s like it’s punishment for me.” he grumbled.

“That seems fox man enough to me.” Beidou pointed towards the man that was more ear than man.

Ningguang, sure as ever, started walking toward him, leaving her wife to scramble after her.

“Greetings” she called in a confident voice.

The fox man groaned dramatically “What now? You do know that I am not the only available ranger here, right?” He made a sweeping gesture toward the whole village.

“Oh, I am sure you are the only one who can help us with this problem” Ningguang smiled at him politely “unless there is another fox man in this place.”

He gasped, offended, “That is so rude. Fox man? Whatever is that supposed to mean?”

“Are you not…?” Beidou asked, genuinely confused.

“Excuse me? I am of the rare species of the Valuka Shuna, not some common fox. I find that quite offensive.”

“Oh” Beidou chuckled awkwardly “Our bad.”

He cocked an eyebrow, making a circular motion with his hand, waiting for something, only to be met with an awkward silence from the couple. “What? Are you not going to apologize?”

Ningguang made no sign she would, so Beidou clapped him on the shoulder in what was supposed to be a reassuring gesture “We’re sorry, little man, we didn’t know calling you a fox would be out of line.”

The ranger’s eye twitched in annoyance, but he seemed to let the second slight go.

“So what makes you think that I’m your only hope here?”

Ningguang cleared her throat at the expression.

“My son seems to be acquainted with you.” She prompted.

“Oh really?” The ranger seemed unimpressed.

“Kaedehara Kazuha, I demand his whereabouts.”

The huge ears on the ranger’s head twitched at the mention of Kazuha’s name, even though he was trying to seem as unaffected as possible.

“Don’t know who that is. I don’t know why I would know-”

“Lovely crate of mushrooms you’ve got behind that hut. Psychedelic kind?” Ningguang pulled out a nail file from god knows where and started working her stiletto nails pointier.

The fox-eared ranger practically growled at the mention of his precious merchandise.

“On second thought, I might know something. Why don’t you ladies follow me inside my hut?” He said with a strained smile, his ears slightly tucked lower.

Beidou gaped, not having noticed the crate before, impressed by her wife’s keen eye but followed the two, eager to witness whatever mind game they were playing.

“Hey you!” the ranger called to the guy stirring a pot nearby, trying to act like he didn’t see anything. He was startled by suddenly being addressed, pointing towards himself sheepishly. “Yes you, gods” the fox ranger rolled his eyes “You make sure the General doesn’t get into my hut before my guests leave.”

The man saluted awkwardly.

The ranger’s hut was small, quite cozy and very green .

Their host gestured towards his desk chair offering one of them a seat, he himself closing the door, which was more of a leaf-flap. His expression suddenly lost the strained smile he had put on to seem more polite.

“So, Kazuha?” Beidou tried to start the conversation, standing by her wife’s side, who had taken the generously offered seat.

“Why do you want to know the whereabouts of my client?” He eyed the women in front of him suspiciously.

Ningguang hummed, intrigued, “Client, I see.”

“So you do know where he is?” Beidou burst out into an eager smile.

Ningguang’s eyes darted around the hut, taking in the ranger’s home, cataloging every single detail.

“Maybe I do, I don’t know why I should tell you, though.”

“Tighnari, is it?” Ningguang’s eyes carelessly left the document on the desk, “Or do you prefer Nari?”

His ears twitched, annoyed. “Maybe even ‘my Padisarah’? How interesting.”

He cursed under his breath.

“Kaedehara Kazuha passed by yesterday.” Tighnari bit out.

“There we go.” Ningguang smiled, satisfied.

“So he was here? Where did he go?” Beidou gripped the backrest of the desk chair.

Tighnari sighed, dejected. “I don’t know where he went or where he is now. He came here, wanted to buy some of my mushrooms but I refused so-”

“Wait why would you refuse a customer? Loss of revenue is never ideal!” Ningguang gasped.

“It’s a personal policy, he wasn’t coherent enough to be schooled on the effects and risks of the drug so I refused to sell to him. ANYWAY” Tighnari waved her off “I told him to stay here overnight, as it was kind of late when he arrived, and I was busy tending to Co- I mean I was busy with another patient. I wanted to examine him first thing in the morning, his condition seemed peculiar to me.”

Tighnari had started pacing the room in his retelling, completely forgetting that he wanted to block the only exit. “In the morning I went to do exactly that but… He was gone.”

“Escape? Why would he leave like that?” Beidou asked, the previously eager smile falling.

“I couldn’t examine him like this but I did make some observations while talking to him.” Tighnari continued in a softer tone, sensing Beidou’s mounting distress “Mainly the unusually red eyes, even for Kazuha, pale skin, short sentences, slow processing of speech, difficulty retaining information et cetera. So by these, I can make an educated guess of what he was high on.”

“Please do tell.” Ningguang gestured for him to continue.

“It’s a pretty uncommon species of blue-capped mushroom not native to Avidya, but can be found in parts of Apam Woods or-”

“Can we get to the point, please?” Beidou interrupted.

Tighnari seemed to pout for a second before regaining his composure “Basically I don’t sell these but some shady fellows in Sumeru City do. I find the effects too extreme and don’t recommend the consumption.”

“Alright!” Beidou clapped her hands, filled with newfound determination, “Kazu could be looking for someone who sells those!”

Ningguang’s hand was promptly yanked up by Beidou and she felt herself be dragged towards the door. “Thank you, fox man! Much appreciated!”

🍁🍄🍁

After briefly bickering, Beidou and Ningguang split up in Sumeru City, in order to cover more ground.

So with an eye wide open, like a (one-eyed) hawk, Beidou set out to find these notorious ‘shady fellows’.

Walking through the streets, she eyed every passerby and stall owner, looking for anything one could call shady. Or a blue-capped mushroom.

Maybe it was her strange behavior or her striking pirate captain get-up that made the small pink-haired merchant with the round, jelly-like genie notice her; she will never know. The little girl waved her down, gesturing for the captain to follow her. It was quite the goose chase, trying to follow her through the winding roads of the city, ducking behind carts and crates at some points, before they eventually reached a little grassy clearing just outside the city.

“What do you seek, dear customer?” the pink-haired child beckoned.

Startled, Beidou stammered, “Do you only deal in wares or also in information?”

A devious smile spread on the girl’s face, making Beidou feel like she walked right into a trap. “Perhaps” she chuckled “It depends on what price you are willing to pay.”

“Oh money isn’t an issue-” Beidou blurted.

“Great!” a scheming look settled in the merchant’s eyes “Tell me what you want to know and I’ll give you a price.”

Beidou swallowed. “Have you heard of the whereabouts of Kaedehara Kazuha? He has been missing for a couple of days.”

“Kaedehara, eh?” she chuckled.

She mumbled something under her breath, seemingly counting on her fingers. “Information on him would make about 3 Million Mora. How does that sound?”

“Of course! Anything!” the captain agreed, handing over a fat pouch of mora.

The little girl’s eyes gleamed in delight, immediately pocketing the pouch.

“Kaedehara Kazuha passed by here in the morning. He bought my entire stock of sapphire mushrooms and left. Later he came back and purchased a Sumeru Exploration Guide. That is all.”

Beidou, visibly disappointed, let her shoulders sink. They had been running around for two days gathering tiny crumbs of information on their missing son, yet they didn’t seem to get any closer to finding him. It felt like taking a leap forward and falling hard, scraping your knees.

The little girl, sensing her customer's dissatisfaction, added “I can tell you more about the mushrooms~”

Hearing this, Beidou perked up.

“For a small extra fee, of course.”

Without hesitation, Beidou started digging in her pockets, “How much?”

The girl was taken aback, she had never seen a customer so willing to pay whatever unholy sum she came up with without a single attempt to barter. She respected the desperation and the effort to get any information, so she decided to be a bit more generous. “How does 50 thousand mora sound?”

Beidou obliged right away. She would pay anything if it meant she could come closer to finding her son.

“A pleasure doing business with you, Miss~” the girl cooed.

“The brilliantly blue sapphire mushroom, an extremely potent mushroom formerly used in psychotherapy! Although, these days it’s more of a recreational drug, for when you want a nice long trip to see some fairies. Trips last days, sometimes weeks, depending on the dose. Yes, truly amazing.” she explained, like an advertisement.

“Psychotherapy?!”

“Oh yeah, I guess so. It’s not used anymore, doctors think it’s amoral. I like… I guess it erases trauma or something.” the pink-haired girl shrugged.

Erases trauma .

All of a sudden it made sense.

Kazuha was indeed extremely traumatized and he had already been using naku weed not only for his own pleasure but also as a means to self-medicate. It was natural that he would move on to other substances eventually.

Beidou needed to inform Ningguang right away.

“Thank you so much, little miss-” Beidou said hurriedly but paused, not knowing what to call the little merchant girl.

“Dori, we’re practically friends now!” she grinned, “But hold on there, captain!”

She tugged at Beidou’s clothing, “I feel regretful that this is the kind of information you got, so why don’t we sweeten this interaction a bit?”

Beidou made a confused noise.

“Come on, captain! Look at you, I know what you are!” she giggled, “And I’ve got just the thing for you!”

She pulled out a piece of cloth, striped in different shades of red and pink, “Do you like it?”

Beidou looked at it, confused but intrigued “I sort of do, yes…”

“For a small price of 5 thousand mora it can be yours~”

“Ning would enjoy that…”

“I’m sure she would!”

With that, Lady Ningguang was left another 5 thousand mora poorer.

🍁🍄🍁

Ningguang’s face was priceless at the end of Beidou’s recounting of all the information she found out. It was quite impressive, really, but also very distressing in content. A lot of different emotions must pass her normally serious face since her wife felt the need to squeeze her hand in an effort to comfort her.

“He’s suffering a lot more than we thought” she mumbled, feeling somewhat guilty, “even though I went the extra mile and got him Liyue’s best therapist.”

She sighed. Never has she felt this much at loss, this defeated. This was so not girlboss of her.

“Why didn’t he say anything?”

Beidou sighed, rubbing her thumb over the back of her hand.

“You know how he is, Ning. He never wants to trouble anyone.”

“You’re right. That’s just how he is. I wish he would talk to us more.”

Beidou shrugged, but not in a dismissive way.

Ningguang gathered herself again, breathing in deeply, trying to find motivation again.

They had not come this far and spent so much money - gods damn it, Beidou- just to give up here.

“Alright,” she spoke, with her newfound determination, “let’s continue our search.”

Beidou smiled at her reassuringly, being pulled gently by the hand down the bazaar.

They passed some stalls, mostly ceramic wares and spices.

Despite the urgency they felt to find their son, Sumeru City was still a sight to behold. The smells of grilled meat and spices mingled everywhere; the calls of merchants and stray notes from musicians made the atmosphere pleasant. They would have to definitely return here some other time when they weren’t hurrying.

A stall caught Ningguang’s eye. It wasn’t anything special, apart from the lack of customers compared to the other stalls.

The man behind the counter was selling music instruments, mostly zithers. That wasn’t unusual, the couple passed a number of stalls selling similar items on the way. What had caught her eye was, that there was only one zither missing from the vendor’s stock; one that was on display nonetheless.

Curiously, she approached the stall, greeting the man politely.

“Say, has a young man, rather short and of Inazuman descent, passed here recently?”

The vendor’s eyes lit up at the question. “White hair, soft spoken?”

Ningguang nodded, encouraging the man to continue talking.

“Yes, yes! He was here around noon. He not only passed, but he also bought one of my zithers!” he gestured to the empty spot on the counter, “He was very polite, and paid good money, too!”

Ningguang just thanked him for his help and returned to Beidou’s side, who looked a bit puzzled.

“He bought a zither here at noon.” she filled her in.

“That is something he would do, but why?” the captain asked.

Ningguang shook her head, as she didn’t know either, but the trail was getting warmer.

Maybe it wasn’t hopeless after all.

“Well, care for some lunch, darling? We’ve barely eaten since we left the ship.” Beidou pointed towards a tavern.

Taverns weren’t normally Ningguang’s style but she couldn’t deny she was starting to get a bit hungry.

“Sure why not”, she smiled at Beidou, hooking her hand into the crook of the captain’s arm.

In the Tavern, there was only service at the counter.

Beidou, ever courteous, suggested that her wife go sit at a table of her liking while she got their food.

The tavern was spacious, divided into two floors with plenty of tables and even a bar.

There was a sole patron sitting at the bar, a man in minimal clothing with a strange jackal-eared headdress, tapping his foot on the stool impatiently.

The rest of the patrons seemed to flock to the opposite side of the tavern, which was quite strange.

Ningguang made her way to the empty side, appreciating the privacy, earning looks from the other guests ranging from distressed to panicked.

She sat there a while but couldn’t help but wonder why everyone seemed to avoid the man. So she stood and approached him.

“Excuse me?”

The man turned his head with a questioning expression.

“You’re a Matra, right?”

He nodded, blinking his eyes slowly “Sorry, I am currently off duty.”

“Oh, no worries, I just have one question.” she assured him.

The matra sighed, motioning her to continue.

“Has there been any intel on a wandering Inazuman recently?” Ningguang asked.

The matra turned away. “There has… But that kind of intel is confidential. Sorry.”

“Is there nothing you can tell me?” she couldn’t help but let some of her distress slip into her voice. He looked her over and must have seen her exhaustion when he said “The matra have been instructed to keep their eye on a wandering samurai. The order came from the very top, from the Lesser Lord herself.”

The worry Ningguang has been trying to shove down surged in her, making her mind race. Keep an eye on him? An order from the Dendro Archon herself? Just what did Kazuha do to warrant this?

“Please, if you were supposed to keep an eye on him, do you know where he went?” Ningguang was physically fighting her worry from showing so much, not being used to this amount of emotion.

“I’m sorry, Miss, I can’t tell you.”

She sighed. Fine, there was no other choice, she was too close to getting any kind of substantial information.

“He is my son, he has been missing for days. My wife and I are very worried and want to bring him back home.” she said, practically pleading.

The Matra’s eyes seemed to soften for a second, causing him to no longer exude coldness like before. He sighed, defeated. “I am only telling you because I have a daughter of my own, and I would move heaven and earth to find her if she went missing.”

Ningguang bit her lip, trying to hide the relief she felt. “He was sighted on the road towards Vanarana. That is probably where he was heading.”

Ever calm and collected Ningguang fought her urge to jump up in excitement, having finally received a straightforward pointer to her son.

“Noone finds out that I told you, understood?” he practically ordered, his voice low.

Ningguang nodded, “Thank you for your help.”

In that moment the waiter manning the bar returned to her station from what was presumably the kitchen with a paper bag in her hand. She set it down in front of the matra and said “Your honeyed dates, General. Greet Collei for me, will you?”

The Matra (General?) nodded curtly then stood and left hurriedly, leaving Ningguang alone at the bar.

🍁🍄🍁

“Hilichurls, really?” Beidou complained.

Indeed Vanarana didn’t seem all that special compared to the countless myths that mentioned it. It was just a regular ghost village ruin overrun by Hilichurls.

“It’s quite… whimsical.” Ningguang struggled to find words for the aura of the place.

Beidou seemed to ponder the description for a second before nodding, “It fits Kazuha alright.”

With cautious steps in order to not alert any of the Hilichurls, the two women started making their way deeper into the abandoned village.

The huts they passed were of various, rounded shapes with a lack of doors and little round windows. They did not seem practical or comfortable for any person to live in yet the Hilichurls had somehow made themselves comfortable in them.

The condition of the village did not get any worse or any better the deeper they ventured, although at some point the Hilichurls had stopped occupying the little huts.

Beidou couldn’t help but wonder if there was some sort of ward or threat keeping them away.

“There is nothing here” Ningguang had abandoned her usual composure by this point and her voice was steeped in disappointment “there is no way a person could even live here.”

Beidou gave the village one more look around. That’s when she spotted a strange looking hollow tree trunk acting as some sort of tunnel to a place even deeper below. “Ning, look” she pointed at it causing Ningguang to follow with her eyes “We haven’t looked there yet.”

With quick steps she descended through the tree trunk, helping her wife to not lose her foothold while following.

There was a cavern with a small opening in the ceiling with a… planted field of sweet flowers? And a tiny hut not unlike the others they had passed.

Captain Beidou kneeled to examine the soil. Indeed, this was a field made by man, hand-tilled and planted. She helped Ningguang cross the uneven field to look at the hut.

The huts they passed on their way were all empty and abandoned, even the ones that housed Hilichurls. This one however had baskets filled with fruit and sweet flowers, as well as gardening tools that showed signs of recent use.

“There is no way he…” Ningguang mumbled “He couldn’t possibly be using these. He cannot be planning to live in this… This shed.”

“He’s not. He just set out, he had no chance to do any of this.” Beidou reassured her, “Besides, as you said, this is just a shed.”

Ningguang gave the cavern a sweeping look, doing the thing where she analyzed every detail of a place, looking for any information of use.

“You’re right.” She sighed, “Let’s keep looking, this is where the General said he’s heading after all.”

They were trying to keep themselves hopeful and motivated even with their lack of definite clues but Beidou knew that it couldn’t go on like this forever. They were grasping at straws, taking any hint they could get their hands on, hunting down any trail Kazuha left.

Kazuha probably didn’t even want to be found, he had left just like that after all. Had they failed as parents? Beidou knew their family arrangement wasn’t usual, that they weren’t together a lot, that living with the Crux fleet was not like having a regular, stable home. They were living as pirates on the sea. But Kazuha had never complained!

Of course he hadn’t, it was Kazuha. He could be held captive and tortured and he wouldn’t say a negative word as long as he got to eat a meal at the end of the day.

Beidou shook her head, trying to break out of her thoughts. Nevermind that, they would get him back and start over and they would look out for him even better.

“Beidou look!” Ningguang called out to her from where she had gone ahead.

It was a round clearing in the winding labyrinth of stone walls and paths that was Vanarana.

In the middle of the clearing stood a house. Not a hut, a proper house in the same style as the huts. The pair hurried up the steps leading to the doorway leading into the house.

The inside was dimly lit due to the lack of any lit light sources and the sun going down. Wooden furniture of unusually small sizes dotted the room, including a table and some shelves. There was a whole wooden staircase leading to a second floor. It wasn’t a big house but it seemed strangely homely.

“This one is definitely lived in.” Ningguang dragged a finger along the top of one of the shelves, checking for any dust. Her finger came away clean.

Someone was indeed living there and had cleaned recently.

Beidou spotted a backpack under the stairs while checking for signs of Kazuha. Gasping, she alerted her wife, “That backpack is Kazuha’s”

Ningguang hurried over “Quick check it!”

Beidou nodded opening the bag and checking the contents.

Kazuha never carried a lot, he said it was a burden in his travels. “I just need my blade, the clothes on my back and some mora to help fill my stomach”

Beidou had laughed, it was so Kazuha.

But seeing what he carried in his bag made her stomach sink a bit. It was indeed not a lot.

Only a change of clothes, a pouch with some leftover mora and a little notebook bound in an Inazuman style.

Beidou looked at Ningguang, holding up the notebook, asking wordlessly. Her wife met her eyes, determined, and gestured for her to continue. With a quiet apology on her lips, she opened the notebook, leafing through the pages until she found the most recent entries and began reading the words on the paper out loud.

Dear Diary,

The Alcor docked in Port Ormos today. I was looking forward to this particular errand run for weeks, as I had never made it as far as Sumeru in my travels. Sumeru is such a beautiful place with lush forests, so very different from Inazuma or Liyue. I would be lying if I said the plantlife, especially the ones with recreational uses doesn’t interest me in particular.

Because there is so little time on this visit I left the ship right away, not wanting to waste any time and see as much as possible.

But Diary, I never imagined I would meet someone. Especially so deep in the forest.

At first I was a bit cautious, this is a foreign country after all, but he noticed me! I was trying to be quiet, too! I must say, it intrigued me a lot, a person with such sharp instincts and senses.

The man was strange looking, on a second look he was wearing Inazuman clothing and his face seemed to be stuck in a scowl.

Honestly, he was quite rude, but that didn’t bother me, I am a stranger to him as much as he is to me.

We talked a bit, he insulted me a lot. In the end he pulled out a strange, blue mushroom from his clothes and handed it to me. I was of course confused and asked what it was for. He grinned at me, said his aunt gave it to him to help him forget some things and ‘double dog dared’ me to eat it. Not wanting to seem rude and because I am always open to new experiences I did as he said. The last thing I really remember was him calling me ‘an airhead’ before passing out.

I’m writing this after waking up. He is gone, I didn’t notice him leaving.

I’m confused, what should I do?

“Oh Kazuha” Ningguang rubbed her temples, “Peer pressure got to him. Even after the talk I had with him about that.”

Beidou rolled her eyes.

Dear Diary,

My mind has been foggy since I met the guy in the forest. It won’t really clear up anymore and Mama noticed it. I don’t really mind it, really, it makes it harder to think, especially back to those bad times. It’s harder to remember him, he’s shrouded in a similar fog as on that night. It should be upsetting but I don’t really mind it if it means I don’t wake up yelling his name. But Mama was very worried, so she told Mum about it. She was very upset with me and took my stash of naku weed. I wish they would leave me and let me deal with this myself. I have been doing just fine like this, unable to think too hard. I can think enough to keep writing poetry and wield my blade, that’s all that matters. But now they took my only means of dealing with this.

I’ve been thinking about the guy I met, it’s hard to forget that eccentric get up, the huge hat. I’ve been thinking about the mushroom he gave me, and how it is supposed to help him forget some things.

I am running away. I want to look for him.

Dear Diary,

I passed Tighnari’s place wanting to buy some of his tamer mushrooms, now that I no longer have my naku weed, but he refused to sell to me. I know he means well, he wasn’t mad or anything (I think, although I am not 100% sure). He offered me a bed for the night but I didn’t want to stay, there is no time to lose. I need to find the guy with the big hat.

Dear Diary,

I found him! I really did! I didn’t think it would be this easy.

I found him just outside Sumeru City. At first, I thought I was dreaming, I was pretty tired and he looked prettier than I had remembered, with the sun going up behind him, as he sat on the root-bridge leading to the city.

I waved at him and he did a double take when he saw me.

We talked for a couple minutes but his eyes kept darting towards the city gates and he seemed unsure. That’s when he turned to me and suggested a deal: I run an important errand for him and he would spend some time with me in exchange.

Oh, Diary, I was so delighted. Something about him was so magnetic, I just wanted to be able to exist next to him.

He sent me to a merchant named Dori, wanting me to buy her stock of sapphire mushrooms, the mushroom he had me try in the forest.

But then I couldn’t find him anymore.

I must admit, I felt a bit betrayed like I was naive. I remember Tomo called me naive sometimes, to tease me of course he would have never wanted to genuinely hurt me, but at that moment I felt like he was right. I was naive.

Maybe he just wanted to get rid of me while playing a prank on me.

I’m going to go back to Dori and buy the Exploration guide she tried to sell to me. I will not give up and I will find him again.

I feel like he could help me, maybe even his aunt.

Dear Diary,

This will be my last entry. Everything will get better now and there will be no reason to write about my day, like the therapist told me to.

I found Wanderer again, he didn’t leave me, that much I know now. He kept his word and spent some time with me. We talked a lot and found we have a lot in common.

He can help me. He is my only hope to get better, he knows a way to help me be fine. I can’t repay him for his help in mora and other riches, so I have decided to repay him with companionship. But that is not so bad, I do not mind. Wanderer is a man I do not mind spending my days with.

He is a bit rough around the edges, he is quite rude and defensive but I know he is not a bad person. I want to witness him getting out of his spiky shell.

I am going to purchase a zither, as he told me to, and I’m going to Vanarana, where I will meet him.

“That is all.” Beidou finished.

Ningguang looked up from the deep state of concentration she had slipped into while listening and says “The sequence of events is accurate, we have been on the right track.”

Beidou returned the notebook to the backpack, cautious so as to not damage the precious item in any way.

“What now?” she asked, tired to the bones.

“We wait.” Ningguang said, letting herself lean against the wall, “This is indeed his destination. I say we wait for any sign of Kazuha arriving.”

Beidou stretched her arms above her head, “I’ll set up the bedroll, let’s try to rest a bit. We have been on our feet all day.”

Ningguang’s shoulders slumped down, letting her exhaustion show, her hand rubbing her frowning face, “Let’s rest.”

🍁🍄🍁

Footsteps through the marsh outside the house roused Ningguang from her light sleep.

It hadn’t been that long since she and Beidou had settled down for the night, in a bedroll on the second floor.

Cautiously she peeled her wife’s heavy arm from around her waist, trying not to wake her, although she was sleeping like a rock. It was a miracle that she wasn’t snoring like one of those steam engines from Fontaine.

With light steps she made her way down the stairs, her bare feet not making a sound. She peeked out the empty doorframe into the young night, to the little body of water and spotted a figure.

A short figure with white hair, carrying a blade at his hip. She would recognize that figure anywhere.

Kazuha.

It was like her mother’s instinct kicked in and she was pulled into following him, hurrying through the cold water, not caring that her feet would be covered in mud and plants.

Kazuha was skedaddling down the path they had taken up to the house earlier. He wasn’t looking around, he didn’t seem scared or disoriented, carrying the zither he bought, instead, he seemed to have a clear destination. Determined, he stopped in front of a strange rock and readied his zither.

Ningguang stopped in her tracks, a sweet, playful melody hitting her ears. Befuddled, she willed her feet to move again. Why was Kazuha playing at a rock? Was his condition getting worse?

She came to a halt next to the young man and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Kazuha startled back, although his reaction was a bit delayed, which was very much unlike him and his usual impeccable reflexes.

“Mum?” he asked, confused, in an almost whisper. He seemed unsure if this was real, grasping at Ningguang cautiously.

She tried to wrestle down the emotion building in her, a dry clump in her throat.

It didn’t take long for her to lose the battle and she quickly pressed the white-haired man against her chest, cradling the back of his head with her hand.

“There you are” she exhales into his hair “We were so worried, Kazuha.”

She took him by the shoulders, holding him away from her, but not too far, to give him a once-over, checking for any injuries.

Kazuha looked like his usual self, without any visible injuries or pain, but there was a glint of disappointment in his crimson eyes.

“Come, let’s get you home.” she whispered to him, trying to gently pull him towards the house.

Kazuha did not budge.

“Mum, I can’t”

Ningguang gives him a questioning look.

“I can’t go, I promised I would stay with him” he mumbled and averted his eyes, looking almost like a guilty puppy.

“Promised who?” Ningguang asked.

“The guy with the hat, I promised I’d stay here with him. It’s the least I can do.”

Ningguang groaned, she couldn’t help but grow frustrated.

“Kazuha, dear” irritation lacing her voice “The hat man is not real, he’s a creation of whatever it is clouding your mind”

Kazuha took a step back, letting Ningguang’s hands fall away from his arm.

“He is real. I’m not crazy.” he insisted.

“Oh for the love of- Kazuha, there is no hat man. You ate a mushroom in the forest, a really strong one, and you haven’t been in your right mind since. Please, stop this nonsense and come home with us.”

“No, he’s coming. We’re going to meet here, just as we agreed. He is real, I promise.”

Ningguang clicked her tongue, looking around, torn.

Kazuha was starting to get really upset, his soft voice breaking and his eyes getting slightly wet. She was never the parent, who could handle her child’s emotions. Beidou was usually the one comforting and soothing Kazuha, whenever he was upset or when he woke up at night, bathed in a cold sweat, calling out for a friend long gone. Ningguang liked to tease Beidou for coddling him so much, but in truth, she had always wished she could also be emotionally available to him like she was.

Right now she didn’t have Beidou to rely on, to fix this for her.

“Please, mum” Kazuha was practically begging.

“Ugh, fine” she relented, not wanting to make her son cry “I’ll let you wait a bit longer. I’ll be over there in case you need help, okay?” She pointed at a little hut nearby.

Kazuha smiled at her, softly, wiping his wet eyes with his bandaged hand.

Ningguang dragged herself away from her son, who she had just found again, determined to indulge him for a bit longer, even though it all seemed pointless. But if Kazuha needed to think his little imaginary friend was real for a bit longer before he found out she was right, then it was fine. She could wait a bit longer, there was no need to rush now.

So wait she did. She watched Kazuha, as he solemnly plucked away at his zither, trying the melody from earlier over and over again, before eventually sighing and putting down the instrument.

She didn’t have to wait for very long. Originally she had planned on waiting ten or fifteen minutes before making Kazuha come with her. But then a figure actually arrived at the scene.

A figure with a very big hat.

Ningguang jumped up from the rock she sat on. There was no way.

“You actually came.” The figure exclaimed as he approached.

Kazuha turned towards him, fiddling with his clothes, giving him a tiny wave with his unbandaged hand, “Of course, I promised.”

The hat man stopped a couple of steps away from him, righting his hat on top of his head.

“So you did.”

A moment of silence passed, before Kazuha seemed to gather himself and said “The song didn’t work”

His voice was small and apologetic as if bracing for anger from the man with the hat. It made Ningguang’s stomach churn uncomfortably.

“ Tsk As expected” the hat man spat “Of course, the gods would lie to us. Just typical.”

Kazuha seemed to shrink back at that, hiding the zither behind his back, as if that would lessen the other man’s anger.

“To think that even she would lie like this”

“I can try again?” Kazuha suggested, “Maybe I played it wrong”

The hat man gestured for him to start playing.

So Kazuha played the melody again. And nothing happened.

The man with the hat kicked the rock in his anger.

Kazuha, always eager to keep the peace, shuffled closer and gently pet his arm, “Maybe the instrument is wrong? I just chose a zither because it’s what I’m most familiar with, maybe it’s meant to be played on a flute or a lyre.”

“A lyre!” the hat man agreed, “It’s meant to be a lyre! But where do we get a lyre at this time and place?”

Kazuha seemed to ponder for a moment before he said “I saw one in one of the huts earlier. I’ll go get it right away”

He passed Ningguang on his way to the specific hut, not paying her any mind.

When Kazuha returned to the strange rock and readied the lyre he turned towards his companion and practically stumbled over his own words “By the way, my uh- my parents are here. They found me.”

The hat man whipped his head around, his eyes wide, “They found you?!”

“I- I don’t know how, but they did and now they are here and want me to return home-”

“Kazuha, no one was supposed to know about this!” he scolded, “This was supposed to be a secret, just between you and me! I can’t help you if your parents butt in!”

“I know!” Kazuha choked out, “I tried my best to stay undetected! I didn’t want them to find me!”

“Well your best wasn’t enough now, was it?” His words dripped with venom as he spat them. “How can I still trust you like this?”

Kazuha hung his head low, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

The hat man glared at him with cold eyes, the silence spreading between them feeling strained and just as frigid.

“C-Can I still try, please?”

Kazuha’s voice was tiny compared to his usual confidence as he broke the silence, so troubled contrasting the peace it usually carried. Ningguang gripped her dress tightly, fighting her urge to storm over there and defend him.

The hat man continued to glare before something broke behind his eyes and he let out a frustrated noise. “ Ugh Fine!” he bit out “The plan is ruined already, there is nothing else left to go wrong.”

Kazuha readied the lyre again, his shoulders still somewhat slumped, and played the melody again.

The melody flowed all around them like it was resonating with the place, all the plants and the wind.

Suddenly Ningguang’s vision went black and she felt herself hit the muddy ground.

🍁🍄🍁

When she regained consciousness, she felt that something was so very wrong.

There was a dreamy purple and teal hue to everything.

That alone would be easy to stomach, with a little time to adjust. What really threw her off was the tiny, round, plantlike creatures staring down at her. “Oh my gods” she scrambled to sit “The funny cabbage people are real, too!”

She quickly gathered her bearings and looked around to spot Kazuha and the other man, not wanting to leave them out of sight any longer than she already had.

Luckily they were still where she had last seen them, the hat man helping Kazuha stand and then dusting his own clothes off.

Whatever had happened just then had also made the night around them lighter and it was easier to make out the things around them.

Ningguang eyed the hat man, trying to place the now familiar face. Indigo hair and eyes, huge round hat, Inazuman style clothing…

The Balladeer.

Ningguang hurriedly stifled a gasp into her hand, her entire body now alert, waiting to step in. This was catastrophic. Her poor, little Kazuha had somehow gotten entangled in whatever plan the Balladeer had hatched. He was being used as a tool for some sinister plan. Now bringing Kazuha home had become even more urgent.

“It worked” Scaramouche exclaimed, almost as if he didn’t believe his own eyes “Kazuha! It actually worked!”

He grasped Kazuha’s shoulders, shaking him excitedly.

Ningguang couldn’t see Kazuha’s expression, which did not help ease her mounting anxiety about this.

What worked? What happened? What did Kazuha do?

The Balladeer seemed to lose track of the time looking at Kazuha’s face, before catching himself and clearing his throat awkwardly, letting go of the white-haired samurai.

“So this is what Vanarana is really like?” Kazuha asked, looking around, his eyes wide in amazement.

Scaramouche quickly nods, letting his eyes wander around the place with a fond look.

Like someone who had just returned home after spending years away. Ningguang ducked behind a bush, not wanting to be spotted.

“Look!” he pointed at the small creatures just where Ningguang had woken up “These are the Aranaras!”

He thankfully turns away to look around more, grasping Kazuha’s hand.

“That one is Arapacati!” he kept pointing at the creatures, “That is Araphala! Then Arasaka and Arachatora.”

He gave them a small wave, then turned back to Kazuha, “They are going to help take care of you.”

Kazuha chuckled, “That is so nice of them.”

“You can finally relax here and stop worrying so much. Nothing can harm you here, I am-” Scaramouche cleared his throat and averted his eyes, “I mean, the Aranaras are going to make sure your peace isn’t disturbed.”

Kazuha seemed to tense up for a second.

The Balladeer noticed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Kazuha lied.

“No something is wrong.” Scaramouche frowned at him “Out with it Kaedehara, are you getting cold feet now?”

“No!” Kazuha tried to assure “I am not! I was just… Thinking of my parents. Whatever is going to become of them, if they are going to be alright… With my staying here and all.”
Scaramouche’s frown deepened, his indigo eyes confused.

“What? Your parents? What would happen to them?”

Kazuha nodded.

“They stayed behind in the other Vanarana.” He said, voice a bit irritated “Eventually they are going to give up and leave when they realize you are not coming back. Then they will return to their daily lives, do their jobs and then they will stop caring and forget this happened. Parents love to do that.”

Sore subject, eh?

“Oh” Kazuha exhales.

“Don’t worry, Kazuha” Scaramouche rolled his eyes “You are going to be alright, they are going to be alright.”

Kazuha’s shoulders slump again, “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Oh gods,” the Balladeer whined, “Stop looking at me like that.”

“Sorry.”

“You wanted this, right?” Scaramouche raised his arm, causing Ningguang to tense up and-

Cupped Kazuha’s cheek. “I- You… No- We went through all this trouble just to come here and set this up. It’s going to be fine. Stop being silly.”

Kazuha breathed in deeply, “That’s right, you’re right. Sorry.”

“Come on, let’s get you to the house, you should rest a bit. I’m sure you’ll feel better after a big nap.”

And with that, he took Kazuha by the hand and started leading him away in the house’s direction.

🍁🍄🍁

Ningguang didn’t usually eavesdrop. She had people for that. People with a very high wage.

Yet somehow, over the span of just one day she had lowered herself to their position, now tailing her own son and a damn Fatui Harbinger for the second time.

She watches them enter the house, still hand in hand, from a safe distance, only moving into earshot again when they make it halfway up the stairs.

Ningguang pressed close to the wall next to a little window, undetectable to the young men as if they would even notice her with how much they were in their own bubble.

Scaramouche moved Kazuha to sit on the comfy little chair Ningguang remembered seeing when laying down to rest with Beidou. Beidou, of course, was nowhere to be seen. This was all too strange.

“Do you want to nap, Kazuha?” the Balladeer asked, his voice strangely soft, and brushed his thumb gently over the white-haired man’s cheekbone.

Kazuha just nodded, clearly loopy and overwhelmed. Ningguang knew that look all too well.

Sometimes Kazuha tired himself out just by existing and observing the world around him. His senses were so sharp, he was prone to sensory overload. Sometimes all the smells, sounds and sights became too much for him, burying him like the waves he liked to watch. At times like this, he became loopy and tired, wanting to nap for a while. Ningguang figured that the mushroom tormenting him wasn’t helping anything either.

Scaramouche silently pulled out a bedroll from one of the cupboards, setting it up without a complaint coming from his infamous foul mouth and pulled Kazuha gently onto it, trying to get him to rest.

“Will you be staying here? With me?” Kazuha asked, sleepily concerned “In Vanarana, I mean.”

Scaramouche crouched down next to him, contemplating his words. “I don’t really want to stay here, all alone,” Kazuha added “No offense to the Aranaras, of course.”

The Balladeer sighed, gently squeezing Kazuha’s shoulder as he guided him to lay down.

“I’ll stay here sometimes.” he eventually said, “But I won’t be here all the time. I have things to attend to. Important stuff.”

Kazuha seemed content enough with that answer and finally settled down, curling up on the bedroll like a cat, just like he did when Ningguang saw him napping anywhere he could find a sunny spot.

“I’ll be waiting for you to return then.” he mumbled.

The Balladeer turned his face away and Ningguang couldn’t make out what expression he was making.

He seemed to gather himself before he stood again, trying not to startle Kazuha, who had started drifting and walked down the stairs.

Ningguang cautiously left the window she was spying through, trying to get ahead of the Balladeer.

She was determined to confront him.

She caught him by a hut not too far away from the main house, crouching down, quietly talking to one of the plant creatures.

Ningguang, Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing, firmly planted her feet on the muddy ground, trying to gather all the dignity and confidence she could with her feet bare and her dress crumpled and dusty.

She cleared her throat, with a tone she hoped exuded authority, to get the Harbinger’s attention.

Scaramouche didn’t stand, he just startled, catching himself with a hand on the ground, and turned his head, his eyes confused.

“I demand to know where we are,” Ningguang ordered.

The man blinked slowly, trying to wrap his head around what was going on.

“Excuse me? And who might you be?” there was no politeness in his voice.

“Tell me where we are, give me my son back and tell me how we can leave.” she clarified in the same ordering tone, “Tell me and you won’t be punished too harshly.”

He stood from his crouching position, not very intimidated Ningguang realized and clasped his hands behind his back.

“What happened to hello? How are you? My name is…?” he mocked, “Who are you to order me around anyway?”

Ningguang remembered all the intel she had heard about the sixth Lord Harbinger, his crimes and his foul character. His penchant for cruel punishment whenever opposed by his own underlings.

She tried not to shudder, clearing her throat again, this time to keep her voice from giving away how nervous she was. She could not show weakness in front of the Balladeer.

“Balladeer” started again, “Release me and my son from whatever spell this is.”

“Your son, eh?” he played dumb, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Quit acting, I saw you two. I don’t know what nonsense you fed to him and for what purpose but you will tell me how he and I can leave this place.”

The Balladeer turned away, deciding he was done with this conversation, “I’m not saying a thing. Plus, he won’t want to leave, he wanted this. Good luck figuring it out on your own, lady.”

He waved backward and strolled away, his steps light and without care.

Ningguang did not watch him leave. Fine, I can do this on my own, she thought, clicked her tongue and stormed back towards the house.

She would drag Kazuha out and home if she had to.

She did not need to drag him anywhere for he is leaving the house when she walks up the stairs.

There was a moment of silence with the two of them just staring at each other, frozen mid-step.

“Mum?” Kazuha broke their standoff, confused. Why do they keep running into each other like this?

“Kazu, dear, we need to leave this place immediately” she blurts, “It feels wrong and I don’t know what it will do to you.”

Kazuha closed himself off again at the mention of leaving.

“Mum, I told you, I won’t leave.” this time he didn’t sound as meek, but his eyes showed how troubled he felt.

“Why won’t you listen to me?” she demanded, “Why won’t you listen to your mother? Did he threaten you? Is there blackmail-”

“No!” he didn’t even let her finish “There is nothing of the sort! I want to be here!”

“Why, Kazuha? What do you have here that you can’t have at home?”

“I can get better here. He promised he would help me forget, he promised I would be safe here.”

“Safe from what? The Vision Hunt? The Shogun? The War?”

“Yes! The lightning can’t reach me here!” Kazuha’s voice dripped with hurt, his eyes cloudy, “I’m safe here, I can’t hear the lightning anymore.”

“Kazuha, the Vision Hunt is over! There is no war!” Nigguang practically pleaded, “Come home, please! We can get you more help, we will support you no matter what happens! Just please don’t run away!”

Kazuha closed his eyes, clearly shutting his mother out. “You don’t understand. It will never be over for me.”

With that he walked back inside the house, his shoulders starting to shake as he stifled a sob.

“Kazuha- Come on, please…”

He took a mushroom from the bowl left on the table, his hand shaky, and bit into it, chewing.

Ningguang stepped inside the room intending to try and comfort her son.

He was right, she didn’t really understand but she was determined to try.

“Kazuha, I’m sorry, please let me try and-”

Kazuha groaned, as if in pain, with his hand shooting up to press against his temple.

Confused, Ningguang set a gentle hand on his shoulder, “Dear?”

Kazuha turned around, his eyes wide and bewildered “Mum? What are you doing here?”

The shiver that ran down Ningguang’s spine paralyzed her for a second, both in body and mind.

“What do you mean, dear? We were just talking…?”

“No…?” his brows furrowed “I was just about to leave and look for Wanderer. What are you doing here, mum. You’re not supposed to be here.”

Ningguang tried to shake off the mounting confusion turning into pure concern.

“Nevermind that. Come on, we need to leave now! I’m so sorry, I upset you. I’ll be better in the future, I promise!”

“I can’t leave here, mum, I’m supposed to stay here and focus on getting better.”

“Kazuha, for the love of everything that is good and just, you cannot stay here. Something is wrong with this place.”

Then Kazuha groaned again, mirroring his behaviour from not even five minutes earlier.

This time when he turned around Ningguang could no longer detect that troubled glint in her son’s crimson eyes.

“Mum?” he asked, again “What are you doing here?”

Ningguang gripped her white hair in a tight fist, completely lost on what to do. She could no longer cram all the concern and now panic into the depths of her mind. Anxiety turned her stomach around, doing cartwheels, her mind reeling, trying to figure out what was happening to Kazuha.

Was it the mushroom? Was it the place? Was he finally losing it? Was she dreaming?

“How nice of you to visit! It’s been so long already since I last saw you.”

Her mind ground to a screeching halt.

“What?”

“You just missed Wanderer, I’m afraid.” he smiles that calm little smile of his, although laced with a bit of sheepishness.

Ningguang’s mind started up again, full steam ahead, going through possibility after possibility. Mind control? Brainwashing? Some obscure trauma response? A mental defense mechanism?

“I’m sure Wanderer would’ve loved catching up with you, too. Are you staying?”

“Kazuha, what are you talking about?” Ningguang asked, scared out of her mind.

Kazuha blinked at her, “What do you mean?”

“You need to come with me, have someone look at you. Something happened to you.”

“Something happened to me? But I feel fine. What’s wrong?”

She grasped his hands, willing her own to stop shaking.

“Mum, you’re scaring me, what’s going on?”

“Would you mind taking a walk with me, dear?” she ended up asking, taking this opportunity.

She did feel a bit bad taking advantage of Kazuha’s condition but her goal was getting him to safety and trying to reverse whatever this place had done to him.

Kazuha made a confused noise, taken aback by Ningguangs sudden request.

“Sure? That’s fine but- I’ll have to come back soon and get dinner started. Wanderer will be returning for the meal.”

Wanderer here, Wanderer there, Wanderer Wanderer Wanderer…

Ningguang bit down her irritation. That deceiving piece of trash! He couldn't even introduce himself properly, just what was he scheming? Using a fake name! Stealing Kazuha away! Exposing him to whatever this place was!

Ningguang cautiously hooked her arm around Kazuha’s, acting as if this was just one of their causal strolls. Just like their strolls around the streets Liyue, when she found a free moment and the Alcor was docking in the harbor. Just like when they looked at the glaze lilies slowly blooming open, releasing their sweet scent. Just like when sweet rhymes left Kazuha’s gentle lips, gracing his mother’s ears.

Ningguang swallowed harshly, choking back tears of relief. Kazuha was finally coming with her.

Getting Kazuha to play the song at the rock again, however, was more difficult.

Kazuha was embarrassed, refusing to play.

“I don’t think I remember the song right anymore” he chuckled, absentmindedly plucking at the lyre.

“Why would you not?” Ningguang inquired.

Her son laughed sheepishly, “It’s been so long since I last played it, mum, I might not remember it correctly anymore.”

Her eyebrows furrowed, troubled. There it was again. “Kazuha, just how long have you been here?”

Kazuha thought for a second, his eyelids sliding closed. “Two years, I think. Night and day is hard to tell apart in Vanarana.”

Two years.

Her poor son had aged two years in his mind right before her very own eyes.

She gets him to pluck the melody at the rock, after all, sending them both unconscious to the ground.

🍁🍄🍁

Kazuha was still cemented to the floor when Ningguang awoke again. Sighing, she hauled him up so that his arm was over her shoulders and stumbled back to the house, hoping Beidou would be there this time.

She set him gently down on a chair, making sure he wouldn’t fall over, and hurried up the stairs, no longer watching her step volume.

Sure enough, Beidou was laying there, sprawled out on the bedroll, snoring away, as if she was having the most comfortable sleep of her life.

Ningguang not so gently shook her awake.

She startled awake, shouting “I swear I didn’t chuck the cat into the sea!”

Ningguang rolled her eyes “Nobody chucked the cat into the sea, wake up!”

Beidou rubbed her eyes, trying to come to her senses “Wha- What happened?!”

“Kazuha’s here, come quick”

She jumped up immediately, all the groggyiness gone in an instant and practically sprinted down to where he was sat down.

Ningguang watched her fall to her knees and inspectKazuha for any injuries, “Why is he unconcious…?”

“Give him a few minutes, I’m not sure how the place I brought him back from works.”

“What place? What happened?” Beidou whipped around, distressed.

“Some alternate version of Vanarana. I have to warn you, he will be very confused when he wakes up.”

“Why didn’t you wake me sooner?” she resumed looking him over.

“I did now.”

Kazuha woke up slowly, groaning. His cloudy eyes struggled to open, unable to focus them on anything.

“Kazuha-” Beidou gasped, enveloping him in a crushing hug.

“Mama?” he choked out “You’re here, too?”

“Of course,” she whispers into his hair “I’d come get you from anywhere”

“It’s been so long, Mama…” he finally wrapped his arms around her, too.

She released him with a sudden movement, alarmed “What do you mean?”

Kazuha’s still unfocused eyes blinked at her. He still believed he had lived in that place for years. Ningguang sighed.

“Look! You even kept my backpack for these two years!”, he elaborated.

Beidou’s frown deepened.

“Say, mama, how is Heizou doing?”

“He’s alright but-”

“What about Gorou?”

“Yeah, of course but why-”

“Wonderful! I take it Tomo is alright, too, then?”

Beidou seemingly choked on air at that. The pit in Ningguang’s stomach grew to twenty times its previous size.

Kazuha didn’t remember…?

“Oh no, sweetheart…” Beidou’s powerful voice broke “Tomo’s-”

She cleared her throat to gather herself, “Do you not remember? Tomo died in the Vision Hunt, that’s how we met-”

Kazuha interrupted her. “No! That’s impossible! He was alive and well when I- I when I left! He- He was so supportive towards my plan to travel the world-”

Beidou looked straight at Ningguang’s face, clearly disturbed by this inconsistency. “A Vision Hunt? What are you talking about… What- What happened while I was gone..?”

“Maybe we should leave him be for a bit…?” Beidou suggested, her gaze not leaving Ningguang.

Kazuha’s breathing was shaky as he removed himself from Beidou’s embrace and stumbled over to his backpack, almost as if in a trance.

He fumbled around a bit before pulling out the notebook Beidou read out before and got lost to the words written by his own hand.

He couldn’t be roused from his reading after that, as much as they tried.

Beidou gently slung him over her shoulder, deciding to let him be and waited for her wife at the door, so they could leave for Sumeru City and have him get looked at by a scholar or a doctor.

Ningguang however stalled. “Go ahead, I still have… some things to discuss with the perpetrator.”

Beidou shuddered at her frigid tone, deciding to not argue and follow the instruction.

Ningguang watched her wife and son disappear down the path leading back to Sumeru City, filled with cold, hard determination.

“YOU!” a voice steeped in rage called out to her just when she could no longer see her family.

The Balladeer came at her with hectic, heavy steps, his face twisted in anger, red as a tomato.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

Ningguang scoffed at him, “I saved my son from your twisted scheme, Scaramouche.”

“WHAT TWISTED SCHEME? ARE YOU DELUSIONAL?”

“I am not the delusional one here. You might have irreversably damaged my son’s mind, all for your selfish Fatui gain.”

“SELFISH GAIN? KAZUHA WANTED THIS! AND YOU RUINED IT!”

The short man was shaking with red, hot anger.

“Here is what I propose: You follow me back to Sumeru City to face the consequences of your actions, confess your sins to the matra and then maybe, if you’re sufficiently remorseful, I’ll let you apologise to Kazuha personally. Or, I’ll have you hunted down by not only the matra but also the millelith and whoever is willing to join.”

Scaramouche’s eyes narrowed at that, “Are you threatening me, old hag?”

“I am.”

Ningguang could almost hear the gears working in the Balladeer’s head as he thought about her threat.

“Fine, whatever makes you get off my back.”

🍁🍄🍁

The General Mahamatra is already waiting for them when they arrive in Sumeru City, having been called upon by the Archon herself.

His expression was sour, even more than usual, as he opened his mouth to speak, “Wanderer, you have made quite the stir, haven’t you?”

Scaramouche, Wanderer , didn’t answer and kept starring ahead but past the General, like a defiant child.

“Lesser Lord Kusanali has been watching your actions. She has found them unacceptable and wishes to punish you.”

“Ah, so I am still the bad guy.” he grumbled.

“The punishment for your crime is, seeing as you disregarded her instruction to keep away from Sumeru City and have broken confidentiality in the matters surrounding Vanarana, endangering yourself, the inhabitants of the sacred place and an innocent foreigner, imprisonment below the Akademiya. As it was agreed upon when you were taken in by the Dendro Archon.”

Wanderer hung his head at that, ashamed.

Ningguang puffed out her chest, proud to have finally brought this fiend to justice. Proud at the young Archon for being strict with the Harbinger and-

“However” The General continued, making Ningguang’s thoughts of pride halt and Wanderer look up, confused.

“The Lesser Lord has recognised your intentions and feelings in this matter as pure.” The General looked about as displeased at this as Ningguang felt. “Therefore she has decided to let you decide: Be imprisoned under the Akademiya, as agreed upon, or repent, apologise to one ‘Kaedehara Kazuha’ and leave Sumeru, making good on your name.”

“What?” Ningguang and Wanderer asked at the same time.

Cyno closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his thoughts before he spoke again.

“The Lesser Lord, in my humble opinion, is too good to you, I won’t deny that. If it were me, there would be no option. Still, I can understand her choice to some degree, based on what I know about your past.”

Wanderer frowned, not knowing where this was going.

“My daughter, Collei, has a… complicated past connected to the Doctor, too. I know how much she still suffers from all the trauma he caused. So I can see why you would wish to help someone you like and not have them suffer like that anymore.”

Wanderer suddenly coughed, having choked on his own saliva, clearly flustered. “What do you mean ‘like’? I don’t-”

“Oh spare me your babbling, Wanderer. We both know you wouldn’t go out of your way like this for anyone. Now choose.”

“I- I realize, my attempt at helping might not have been the best” Wanderer admitted, “And I do want to make up for my mistakes, I did promise Nahida I would try my best.”

He shifted his weight from foot to foot as he thought about what to say.

“I might… Like… him a bit, I think. I would hate it if he resented me because of this.”

Ningguang watched on in horror as the Wanderer blushed deeply. “I’m going to apologise to him and l will leave Sumeru for good.”

This was not what she wanted to happen.

“Kaedehara Kazuha is at Puspa Cafe. Hurry.” The General said, back to his professional tone.

Ningguang and the General Mahamatra watched as the Wanderer scurried off.

“Gods, this is what I had to leave Gandharva for. It was my precious vacation days, too.” He groaned, turned on his heel and walked off.

🍁🍄🍁

Kazuha couldn’t help but chuckle when he noticed Wanderer walk into the cafe and idle around, obviously nervous out of his mind.

His senses were still dull and his mind foggy, slowly clearing up thanks to the coffee Mama had bought him. He was delighted that he could notice him right away despite this.

The shorter man paced around the room, clearly eyeing Kazuha, kneading his own hands.

Kazuha decided to humor him and let him come to him on his own terms. He just hoped Mama wouldn’t come back before he gathered his courage.

Wanderer eventually approached the table he was sitting at, his facial expression complicated. “May I sit with you?” he asked, unsure.

Kazuha nodded with a gentle smile.

“I- uh” Wanderer started, “wanted to talk to you, about what happened.”

Kazuha hummed in approval, “Sounds good, though I have to warn you I am still kind of confused and a little groggy.”

“Well… I wanted to apologise for not telling you the full scope of what would happen. It was fucked up and I’m sorry.”

“What exactly happened? I don’t really understand yet.”

“First of all, I was in no way trying to take advantage of you and I had no bad intentions whatsoever. I just- I was so happy when you forgave me for what I have done in the past, to your clan and all. I couldn’t fathom how you could but I knew I had to make up for my mistakes somehow and that I owed you. So when you told me about… all of your struggles I had an idea” Wanderer breathed in deeply.

“At first, when we met, I made you eat that mushroom because I thought it would be funny. But then afterwards, when we became… f-friends… I realised I could use them to help you. You said you wanted to forget. I knew how to make you.”

“Based on everything you told me, I came to the conclusion that the root of your problem was the Vision Hunt Decree. The mushroom alone couldn’t help you with that because it can only help you forget incidents that were traumatic, but I couldn’t just tell you that, not after you bought so many and they could still be useful. Instead I called you to Vanarana, made you enter the dream located there, so I would have an easier access to your memories and so that you would finally be at peace. I- I didn’t actually erase your memories, I can’t do that. I just made use of a trick my aunt, Lesser Lord Kusanali, taught me. That was gifting dreams. I was only supposed to use it on myself, when I couldn’t sleep because of nightmares but I thought it was perfect for this. I looked at your memories and gifted you a dream, where the Vision Hunt never happened.”

He lowered his head, “I was going to insist or… even order that you stay in Vanarana. The dream could only be held up due to Vanarana’s nature. It was perfect when you promised you would stay with me in exchange, even though you didn’t owe me anything in my eyes.”

“But I would be lying if I said it didn’t make me happy, when you promised to stay.”

Wanderer was silent for a moment, gathering courage for his next words.

He looked up at Kazuha, with his cheeks flushed in a deep pink and his eyes wide with determination.

“B-But although Vanarana and everything that you remember wasn’t the realest” He looked Kazuha straight into his crimson eyes, “Something else is.”

Kazuha cocked his head to the side, waiting.

“And that is my feelings for you.”

Kazuha was dumbfounded. Flabbergasted. His foggy mind cleared up in a split second, that’s how shocked he was.

But then the shock shifted into pure delight and amusement, making Kazuha giggle at the man infront of him.

“W-What?” Wanderer asked, confused and jumped defensively up from his seat. He was going to retreat behind his walls again.

“Nothing, nothing” Kazuha waved him off, his face still amused, “It’s just… You’re so silly.”

“S-Silly? What do you mean?! I’m not silly-”

“Yes you are.” Kazuha couldn’t stop giggling. He thought back to the dream Wanderer gifted him.

“Wanderer,” he looked at the indigo-haired man, straight into his eyes,”You were my literal boyfriend of 2 years in that dream.”

“WHAT” Wanderer’s voice was high pitched with how flustered he was, “I DID NOT PLAN THAT, THAT WAS NOT MY DOING, I PROMISE”

“I thought so,” Kazuha assured.

He gave Wanderer a moment to calm down and gather himself again.

“I’m so sorry for what I did to you.” He averted his eyes that were brimming with regret, “Would you be willing to try this again, with us? I mean without any weird dream magic, mushrooms and manipulation.”

“I’d love to.” Kazuha replied, grinning in delight.

Wanderer blushed even deeper and Kazuha wasn’t sure how that was even possible. He idled for a couple seconds before making up his mind, walking around the table and plopping down next to Kazuha on the bench.

Nervously, he just stared ahead, not sitting any closer or making a move, frankly not doing anything.

Kazuha rolled his eyes, amused, leaned over and planted a little kiss on his cheek.

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In a relationship with this hat guy I saw during my shroom-induced psychosis

thatmifi

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