"I wanna sing a song, that'd be just ours, But I sang 'em all to another heart" - Acse - 原神 (2023)

It was a dreary summer night. The cliffs apon Inazuma were coated in another dark purple haze. Kazuha sat on the tallest cliff rock, his fingers idly twirling a leaf between them. time and decay had eaten away at the corners, leaving the leaf broken and ripped.

A soft gust blew through the clouds, pushing his hair out of his face. The wind smelled of electricity and iron, and Kazuha bowed his head, knowing another samurai had fallen to the Archon. It left the skin on his arms tingling, and his mind empty and dull, something not often seen of the poet.

The moon moved directly above him, casting shadows from the old maples around the scene. The clouds obscured the city view below him, showing only dreary clouds. one might think it was the top of the world.

"What're you doing, Kazu?" Another voice came, and Kazuha looked over his shoulder to see his partner sit down next to the poet.

Said partner was in leisure clothes, a thin robe held tightly across him.

"It's almost 4 in the morning, Kazu. Tomo sent me out to find you" He said bitterly, eyeing the leaf in Kazuha's hand. The blonde nodded softly, studying his partner's eyes.

"Your eyeliner smudged."

"Sorry, I wasn't aware it had to be on point at 4 fucking am." Came the bitter reply.

Kazuha sensed he did something wrong, eyes going to scan the area in front of him. The clouds glowing in the moonlight reminded him of his partner's hair and eyes, and he couldn't help but sigh.

"What are you doing here, Scara? you should be in bed, right-"

"Tomo told me." The other replied, not tearing his eyes from the clouds and leaves that blew around them. Kazuha blinked slowly, his lips turning into a soft pout.

"Told you what?"

"That you're joining the resistance."

Kazuha's eyes widened slightly as he turned back to the clouds, slowly looking down as he sighed "I was going to tell, I promise, but-"

"But what?" The other said, loudly and firmly. It echoed around the mountains, but a echoe of the betrayal. “You said you would tell me everything" Scaramouche said bitterly, turning to glare at his partner. There was no warmth behind those eyes, dark indigo orbs cold and done.

Kazuha knew he messed up.

"Look. She's stealing visions and someone has to step up to her-"

"-And your first thought was to join the resistance?"

"I didn't have a choice!" Kazuha found himself yelling back, calm demeanor finally snapping. Scara moved back a bit, before his glare turned icy cold. He stood up, brushing off his clothes. Kazuha did the same, quickly standing up "Nono- Scara wait-"

"No." came the bitter reply, and those smudged eyes looked up at him once again. Dead, and yet alive and crackling with electricity. “Why’re you suddenly now joining the resistance- It’s been out there for months!”

“You need to believe me-” He said again, eyes wide and voice desperate “Just think- we don’t have a choice-”

“Oh, yes you did.” the other hissed, jabbing a finger into the samurai’s chest. “Who told you you just had to join the resistance? Don’t you care about your safety-”

“Tomo did.” Kazuha said quietly, anger behind those words as he looked up, eyes dark and cold as they always did when said male came up between their conversations. “Tomo told me. Happy?”

“Tomo?” Scaramouche replied, soft and playful as he pulled his hand back, resting it on his chest as he let out a little laugh “oh, then I suppose it’s alright, as long as Tomo told you, right?” Kazuha knew he should have shut up, but he didn’t.

He decided to play with fire.

“It was my decision, Tomo just-”

“I’m your FIANCE. Why would you listen to him over me!” Scara whispered/yelled, throwing his hands up to try and find some sort of sense. Something nagged in the back of his mind, making his smile twitch as realization finally set in. "No going back, right? All those 'i love yous', they were lies, weren't they?"

"No, Scara I never lied-'' Words, which were usually like butter on the blondes tongue- got caught up and stuck, unspoken promises and soft reassurances getting stuck.

Scaramouche blinked once, twice before letting out a sadistic smile "i thought.. all this time. She was right- Oh my god-" He laughed quietly, leaning against the maple tree to regain balance.

Kazuha blinked, moving over in a hurry. As much as he was still pissed, having his fiance fall off a cliff in the middle of the night was not something he was hoping to experience. "Who- what was right about-"

"You love him" Dark eyes didn't look up and instead fixated on a random spot in the distance, upon the clouds. Kazuha knew the forlorn look, but his eyes didn't look away once.

Until Scaramouche's next words.

"You love Tomo, don't you?”

It wasn’t a question.

Kazuha gasped, eyes widening. His lips tried to form excuses- apologies- anything, but his tongue seemed to be tied into knots, fumbling over words.

"Sca-"

"No. Don't lie to me. Tell me the truth- Don't you dare fucking lie again" He hissed, meeting those dark red eyes. Pale fists balled at his sides, shaking as they tried to find purchase. Any sort of purchase. The Unazuman's world had just been ripped out from under his feet.

It was quiet.

That was the answer Scaramouche needed.

"Oh my god" He whispered, blinking back whatever tears wanted to spill over.

Kazuha had nothing to say for the first time Scara had met him, and seemed dull. Like another lifeless maple leaf passing over the starry expanse of cloud.

"I couldn't help it, '' He whispered quietly, looking up. It was almost terrifying how those bright red eyes that had held poems, soft kisses under trees, surprise gifts in the morning and soft giggles in lakes.. how those memories had suddenly been stripped away into pure nothingness. "I didn't want to- I couldn't help it- I can change like the leaves in autumn-"

"What does that fucking mean?" The other screamed, once again having the words echoed around the clouds, bouncing around in mockery. "You're not making fucking sense! You never make any fucking sense!”

"I didn't want to fall out of love with you-!" Kazuha instantly stopped, eyes widening as he realized his mistake.

Perhaps he already knew it was over.

"Out of-" Scara whispered, the sadistic smile on his lips falling into nothing but a small 'o'. "Out of love..." He said again, looking back at his partner "I thought you just loved him- I never
thought you would stop-'' He bit his mouth shut, pushing off the tree. A burn mark was left where his hand was, the electro vision pulsing with energy that was struggling not to leave his body.

"I'm so so sorry," Kazuha whispered, sliding down to his knees and looking at the rock they sat upon. He held his knees to his chest, hands crumpling the maple leaf he so tenderly holded a moment ago.

Scaramouche took a deep inhale, tiptoeing to where Kazuha was. He crouched down, on his knees as he tilted his Fiance’s head up to look at him. For a mere hopeful second, Kazuha thought it would be okay. But that's the thing about hope.

It’s deadly.

"That's the problem though" Scaramouche whispered, hands moving to cup one of Kazuha's cheeks, forcing the blond to meet his eyes. It seemed the little fire behind both those orbs had gone out, while Scaramouches had only pulsed with electricity. In a storm, not all power survived. "You're not sorry. You never told the truth when you apologized for how you felt. I know you, Kazuha. As much as you can try to deny, I hold all your pretty little secrets” he whispered. “You have no regrets, do you"

Once again, he was met with the silence in the mountains

"You asked why I came to find you." He said bitterly, making Kazuha lift his eyes and glance upon his old partner again. "I came to inform you of my answer to La Signora's question, ''

Kazuha leaned into the hand, though his skin tickled with numbness. Scara almost scoffed at the familiar gesture, but did not move his hand. Instead he kept it firmly in place, not allowing Kazuha to move his head.

The change in gesture had the anemo user's eyes snapping open, looking up at his partner- ex. His ex partner. He knew never to leave anything in the other's hands alone.. let alone his own head. The possessive side of Scaramouche was once again coming out, and it terrified Kazuha to the bone.

"I told The Fauti no-" Scaramouche said in a simple exhale, chin lifted up so Kazuha couldn't see his eyes.

"Scara- you-" Kazuha let out a little happy gasp, feeling relieved and ecstatic and hopeful again.

He had been so worried his boyfriend was going to actually join the fauti's ranks and become one of those heartless monsters, it plagued his every thought and now, now he had reassurance and let go of Scara without worrying about anything-

"-But I suppose you just changed my answer" Scaramouche finished, letting go of Kazuha's cheek, pushing him down to the dirt. Kazuha let him push, knowing it was but a fit of anger. He let out a soft gasp of pain before looking up, tears outlining his eyes. This.. couldn't be happening, right? This was all some fucked up dream surely-
"..-And they're making me a Harbinger. at least someone wants me around" He said lowly, pronouncing every word harder then he should "If not my own fucking fiance, then at least an Archon, right?"

He reached down, crouching in front of Kazuha and rolling a finger around the red locks, eyes cold and dull, full of thoughts as he simply let himself speak "I still can't believe you. I could kill you right here and now and-"

"-zuha? Kazuha!?" A voice shouted below, and both the boys atop the hill stopped.

"...Tomo" Kazuha whispered, eyes widening as they scanned the clouds below, then looked up at the Scaramouche. The electro user's eyes were calm, but Kazuha knew that calm. It was the calm before the storm, the calm that could snap any moment and destroy everything. It was the calm in the final moments of a soldier's breath, the calm of fire as it extinguished every light.

And those eyes were looking for Tomo.

Kazuha sat up, pushing Scaramouche back as he ran to the corner of the mountain where the voice was still calling out for the anemo user, his eyebrows furrowing as he put an arm out

"Don't- don't you dare hurt him-" Kazuha choked out

Scaramouche just found himself folding his hands behind his back, blinking slightly as he smiled. Brightly.

"Oh, don't worry, dearest Kazuha. I figure you'll have the honours of doing that later."

..

Years upon months later, lulled to the dull rocking of the boat, Kazuha sat in the sailors quarters, holding the blank vision in front of him. He traced a finger over the blank surface, eyes staring up at the molding wood atop him with dulled eyes. Scaramouche wasn’t wrong that one day.

But even so, even that day, years later from the incident, he would never forget the final parting words of his lover.

Dark blue eyes looking back at Kazuha for the last time as he brushed by, the scent of almonds and ashy perfume following him as he stopped at the cliffs steps.

It was a moment before he spoke, words calm and dark and laced with unspoken threats and heartbreaks.

A kiss under a cherry tree.

Falling asleep in a rainstorm under a golden parasol.

Gentle fingers tracing the other cheek.

Perhaps Kazuha saw it coming, the words that lodged into his heart and stayed there, never to be heard again.

"I’m done begging for your love. Loving you was the most exquisite form of self destruction" He let out one last sadistic chuckle, turning around. "How long before I'm just another inspiration for your poems? Until I'm just another fucked over memory?"

And just like that, Kazuha knew it was over.

"...I knew it was too good to be true" were his fiance's final words, lost to the wind in the depth of night, atop the old mountain in Inazuma.