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The Vision Hunt Decree was ruthless.
It left a trail of destruction in its wake. Almost nobody was spared - if you had a vision, you were targeted. Heizou was honestly quite surprised they hadn’t come for his own vision yet. It wasn’t like he followed the rules imposed by Her Excellency the way they were supposed to be followed. In fact, he actively disregarded them at times.
This did not change the fact that Heizou was watching the downfall of his nation as it began. The Sakoku Decree had been enough to make the country nervous, but as it was released, Heizou braced for the impact of what was to come. As it turns out, he was right to do so.
Visionless people were something to behold. They made Heizou feel like running behind a building and vomiting. Allogenes stripped of ambition. Dead eyes staring at him without a spark of recognition. It was terrifying, and every day, Heizou silently wondered if he was next. When would his disobedience be enough to have him marked as a traitor?
More than anything, though, Heizou missed Kazuha.
The Vision Hunt Decree had taken many things from him. His sense of stability, his confidence in what he was doing, and his best friend. Not many people enjoyed his company, but somehow, Kazuha put up with him. Whenever the ronin was wandering around Narukami Island with that unreasonably tall friend of his, he would take the time to talk to Heizou. It was the closest kind of friendship Heizou had since he was a child.
And then, he was gone.
Ran straight into Tenshukaku and stolen a vision from the feet of the Raiden Shogun, bolted into Chinju Forest, made his way to Ritou, and sailed away on the Alcor with the Crux. Heizou knew he shouldn’t be surprised - he was the one who found Kazuha in the forest. He was the one who told Kazuha how to get away. He was the one who took the blame for missing the samurai and letting him escape. It didn’t change how he felt.
And, sitting on a rock in Chinju Forest, gaze cast downwards, Heizou was the loneliest he had ever been.
There was a faint feeling of rain falling, but it was light. Heizou had grown accustomed to an almost constant state of rain. The thunderstorms that surrounded the country ever since the Sakoku Decree had been instated were a constant. The blue glow of the plants around him was almost comforting.
This was the last place he had seen Kazuha, huh? What a thought.
At that moment, Heizou was content to ignore his obligations at the Tenryou Commission and sit longingly on a rock in the forest.
…
A noise. Heizou’s head snapped up, glancing around him. That wasn’t a noise that was heard in this forest normally. It almost sounded like…
Ah! There it was again. Heizou narrowed his eyes.
A meow. Again. Somewhere close by.
“A cat?” Heizou would have thought that a cat would have found shelter by now, the rain wasn’t going to stay light for long.
The meowing was insistent, however, and also unmoving. If Heizou was going to find whatever cat was making the noise, he would have to do it before the rain became too heavy.
The noise led him to a small clearing in the trees. Two rocks next to each other formed a small overhead cover and sure enough, the incessant meowing was coming from right under them. Heizou approached slowly, bowing his head to see underneath the rocks and -
“Oh, you’re -” Heizou had seen this cat before. Small, white, and staring at him with big eyes. It let out another mew. Heizou sighed, expression falling.
“This is the last place you saw him too, huh,” Heizou said more than asked as he reached out a hand towards the cat, letting it sniff his fingers. The cat hesitantly approached and smelled his hand for a few seconds before closing its eyes and rubbing its head on Heizou’s hand. He smiled softly.
“You don’t have anywhere to go during the storm, do you?” He asked as the cat circled around his legs. The rain was light enough as to not drench the poor creature right then and there, but it wouldn’t be long before the cat was soaked. Heizou knelt down.
“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have some company during this storm, yeah?” He smiled at the cat, blinking slowly at it and watching it do the same in response. Swiftly, before the cat could protest and run away, he picked it up in his arms. “How about we wait this one out together?”
Heizou started back towards his apartment, a little piece of Kazuha in his arms.
Logically, Heizou knew that the cat did not belong to Kaedehara Kazuha. The cat actually belonged to that friend of his. The one who challenged the God of Thunder and died by her blade. Heizou wasn’t stupid though. The cat had always liked Kazuha better. He had witnessed their interactions with the thing before, and where the cat pushed its head into Kazuha’s hands, it bit the taller ronin’s fingers. Where it danced circles around Kazuha’s legs, it arched its back and hissed at its owner.
That was probably why the cat was making Heizou so nostalgic. The feeling was welcomed, though. He hadn’t felt anything but dull sorrow, fear, and stress since the day the cat’s owner had faced a god and lost.
Opening the door to his apartment, he set the cat down on the floor and watched as it ran off to explore. He chuckled quietly as he shut the door and took off his sandals. He found the animal in his study sniffing at a stack of case files. Specifically, at a picture of a white haired wanderer who probably looked familiar to the creature.
Heizou walked up next to the cat and scratched its head. It looked at him with wide, dilated pupils and nudged the stack of papers, effectively scattering them on the floor. The cat jumped off of the table onto the floor and ran away guiltily. Heizou did not give chase.
“Yeah,” he sighed sadly. “I miss him too.”
But the cat was a good companion during the storm. When thunder struck the ground near his home, he was comforted by the soft weight on his lap and the novel in his hands. If Heizou slept on the sofa that night, too hesitant to move a cat off of him, that was alright.
He should not have been surprised when the cat showed up again.
Cats are notoriously smart. They have a way of finding their homes again once they go out. Heizou didn’t know why he was so surprised that the cat knew where his apartment was after he let her go the following morning.
But when he opened the door again, lo and behold, a small white blob ran forward into his apartment.
Heizou turned around. The cat was sitting on his sofa and staring at him. Heizou sighed and turned towards the door again. The cat screamed.
His shoulder slumped as he turned to walk back inside, shutting the door behind him. The tiny animal watched him come closer to the sofa and flopped over onto her side and rolled around. Heizou was many things, but he was not immune to how cute cats are. He sat down next to her and started to scratch her head, smiling at the loud purrs that came from the action.
“Hey,” he cooed softly. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” The cat gave no response, only continuing to purr. After a few minutes of petting the cat, Heizou got up to leave for work.
He opened the door. A loud scream followed. Heizou whipped around to face the cat, who was once again sitting upright and staring at him intensely, eyes dilated like marbles. When she saw she had his attention, she flopped over once more.
“I have work,” he tried. The cat continued to stare at him from her now laying position as if to say, I know you don’t go to work regularly. Ignore work. You don’t have to go.
“I really do,” he almost whined. The cat did not relent. He backed up. The cat rolled more. He sighed.
“Madame Kujou won’t be too surprised if I’m late, I suppose,” he said, scratching the cat behind her ears. The cat squinted her eyes closed and purred in response.
There was a revolution brewing in Inazuma. Heizou supposed it was only a matter of time. He had recently received news from Kujou Takayuki about his deployment as a spy on Watatsumi Island. Quite frankly, Heizou wanted nothing to do with espionage, and he would be sure not to out anything the resistance was actually doing. But he couldn’t actually deny the request, so to speak. Or else -
Dead eyes. Lack of recognition. Loss of ambition. Heizou couldn’t be next.
There was one thing that gave him pause though, he thought as he stared at the white fluff ball that was sleeping soundly on his bed. He couldn’t just leave her. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to forgive himself.
That was probably why he found himself at Naganohara Fireworks. Heizou didn’t know many people around the city who trusted him, but he did know who could be trusted. Naganohara Yoimiya was someone who had definitely dabbled in the illegal aspects of the Vision Hunt Decree, but she was good at hiding it. Heizou was sure no one other than him was onto her trail in the slightest. Plus, she was a genuinely good person. That helps with winning a cat’s favor, right?
Either way, she was the one who Heizou was going to be entrusting the cat to. She was just going to have to agree.
Heizou waltzed into the building with little fanfare, hands behind his head. Yoimiya was hunched over a box of fireworks, supposedly working on organizing them when she turned around to face him after hearing his footsteps. The expression on her face quickly changed from curious to guarded.
“Detective Shikanoin,” she greeted. “What brings you here?”
“Hello, Miss Naganohara,” he smiled back easily. “Your facial expression suggests you’re hiding something from me.”
She stiffened. Instinctively, her hand twitched towards an adjacent corner of the room. Heizou moved over in that direction.
“I’m not hiding anything from you, Detective. Swear it,” she said back indignantly. In response, Heizou glanced pointedly over at the box where he knew her stash of fake visions was being kept. She paled.
“I’m sure,” he said. Her expression grew more panicked. “It’s fine, Yoimiya. I’m not here on an investigation. Rather, I’m actually here to ask a favor of you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “A favor? For you?”
She was suspicious. That was fine. “Would you follow me?”
She really didn’t have much of a choice, he knew that. She knew it too, which is probably why she agreed. When they had made their way to his apartment, he asked her to wait outside and opened the door. As soon as it was shut, a white blur came running out of his room and started rubbing on his legs.
“Hey,” he greeted, smiling. “I’ve got someone who’d like to meet you. Is that okay?”
He scooped her up into his arms and opened the door again. Brandishing a cat in front of him, he met Yoimiya’s gaze again.
She looked surprised. “A cat?”
“I’m going to have to go away for work soon,” he explained. “This cat belongs to a friend of mine, but she’s staying with me for now. I need someone to look after her while I’m gone.”
“Why are you going away for work?”
“Think of it like a paid vacation. That’s how I’m viewing it at least.”
“And you need me to catsit?” She seemed suspicious. “Why me?”
Heizou smiled a little more genuine this time. “Because you’re a good person. I can tell. And I need someone trustworthy to look after her while I’m gone.”
At that, her face softened. “Huh. Alright then, I guess.”
Heizou placed the cat in her hands. She quickly settled into Yoimiya’s arms and started purring. Yoimiya’s expression shifted to a smile as she started cooing at the cat. Heizou knew he made a good choice.
A lot had happened while Heizou was on Watatsumi Island. He wasn’t even sure he knew all of it.
A mysterious traveler had fought the Raiden Shogun and won, putting an end to the Vision Hunt Decree. Kujou Takayuki had been removed for deals with the Fatui. Kaedehara Kazuha had parried the Musou no Hitotachi.
Kaedehara Kazuha was back in Inazuma.
Heizou was focused on a lot of things at once, but that thought was at the back of his head a lot. It’s what he was thinking about when he got back to his apartment on Narukami and was assaulted by a blur of white fur.
“Hey, get back here! You’re supposed to - oh, hi Detective!” The cheery voice of Naganohara Yoimiya.
Heizou wrenched the cat off of his clothes and placed her on the ground. She rubbed against his legs. “Hello, Yoimiya,” he smiled. “Thanks for taking care of this one for me.”
She stared at him. “What?” he asked.
Yoimiya tilted her head. “You know, I watched that cat attack pretty much every other doushin who came up to her.” Her gaze was piercing for half a second. “You’re not that bad, are you?”
“I’m not sure what that’s supposed to mean.” He knew exactly what that was supposed to mean. He just wasn’t comprehending her saying it.
“You knew about the fake visions I had when you came to my shop to give me your cat. You also probably knew about how I helped out rogue vision holders. But you still came to me for help, and didn’t out me or anything. And she likes you!” Yoimiya gestured to the cat who had flopped next to his feet.
“I mean-”
“Who does the cat belong to, Detective?” Her eyes were wide. “You never did tell me.”
Heizou looked at the cat, not meeting Yoimiya’s eyes. “Well, at this point, the cat belongs to Kaedehara Kazuha.”
Yoimiya’s eyes widened. “Like, the one who parried the Musou no Hitotachi?”
Heizou stopped. “That’s news to me. But I don’t doubt it. Do you know another Kaedehara Kazuha?”
Yoimiya grinned wide. “I love Kazuha! That just proves it!” She elbowed him in the side. “You’re pretty alright, Detective,” she said, and walked away.
“Heizou?”
That was not the voice Heizou was expecting to hear while eating at Shimura’s. Not that it didn’t excite him, but it was a shock. Turning around in his seat and wiping the shock off his face, he turned to face his friend.
“Kazuha. It’s been awhile,” he smiled. Kazuha looked good. Like. Really good. Heizou didn’t know whether or not that was a real thing that happened in the years Kazuha was away, or if his mind was playing tricks on him due to not seeing him for so long.
Either way. Wow.
Kazuha’s face lit up upon hearing him, which did not do any favors for the new realization that Heizou had just had. “It has. May I?” He asked, gesturing to the seat next to him.
“By all means, there’s a lot to catch up on, isn’t there? How were your travels overseas?”
Kazuha’s smile brightened. “Fantastic. I spent a lot of time in Liyue due to the nature of the Captain’s relationship with the Tianquan -”
“Wait, no, pause. What?” Heizou laughed. “Elaborate on that.”
Kazuha blushed. Heizou’s stomach did a flip. “No, I don’t think I will.”
“I suppose that’s fair. Continue?”
Kazuha continued to tell Heizou about his time spent with Captain Beidou and the Crux, and Heizou, despite being utterly invested in this conversation, was becoming increasingly aware of how much Kazuha had changed.
That night in Chinju Forest when Heizou had cornered Kazuha he had seemed detached. Sad, terrified, and miserable. Now, he was brighter. Happier. Heizou smiled a little wider.
When he got home from lunch that day and faceplanted onto his bed, a small white blob sat next to him. He buried his face in her fur. “I’m really in it now, aren’t I?”
Heizou was not stupid. This was something he prided himself on. He was the smartest person he knew and was able to see things in a way nobody else could. Being smart also meant being very in tune with himself.
Heizou never wished more to be stupid.
Of course, after meeting with Kazuha again, chatting over lunch like their friendship had never been put on hold, going out a few times after that as well, Heizou realized he was now attracted to Kazuha. This was terrible. The worst. Why was he like this?
Heizou was ecstatic to even have a friend back. Why couldn’t he just let good enough be good enough?
He sighed heavily. The cat paused from tearing up his sofa to look at him. Heizou stared at the cat and then fell dramatically into the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. The cat jumped up onto his lap and sat.
Heizou looked down at the cat. “Why?” he asked. The cat did not have an answer.
A knock on his door. Who would be knocking on his door? Heizou didn’t have people who would knock on his door.
Carefully extracting himself from where the cat was curled into his side, he moved to the door and slowly opened it.
“Kazuha?”
“Heizou, hi,” Kazuha said (nervously?). “I was just wondering if you were busy right now, and well, you weren’t at the police station, so I figured you would either be at a restaurant or your apartment.”
“How did you find my apartment?” Heizou was confused. The apartment was relatively new. He didn’t have it before the Decree.
Kazuha laughed lightly. “Ah, well Yoimiya of Naganohara Fireworks told me about it.”
Heizou sighed. “Yoimiya.” That made sense. She had mentioned that she was friends with Kazuha. Heizou opened his door wider and stepped back to let Kazuha in. “I’m not doing anything right now, just going over case files. Was there something you needed?”
Kazuha shook his head, stepping inside. “Not at all. I just wanted to spend time with you.”
Heizou ignored the clench in his chest and laughed. “And to think, usually I’m the one to find you. What changed?”
Kazuha averted his gaze. “Ah, well -” A white blur. Loud meowing. Kazuha’s arms were suddenly full of cat.
He looked shocked. “Tama?” he asked. “What are you doing here? What?”
Heizou giggled loudly. “Yeah, I forgot to mention that the last couple of times. Uh, I might have found a friend in Chinju Forest?”
Kazuha looked up from the cat. “When?”
“Um, not long after you left. Probably a month or two after?”
Kazuha’s eyes were still wide. “You’ve had her for that long?”
Heizou shook his head. “Well, not really. I let her out every day but she still comes running inside when I get home.”
The cat - Tama - was purring in Kazuha’s arms at this point. It was very cute. Heizou shook his head.
“How did you find her?” Kazuha looked absolutely wonderstruck.
“I was kind of just sitting in the rain for a bit -”
“You hate the rain,” Kazuha said, eyebrows drawn together.
Heizou waved him off. “You get used to it after a while. Anyways I was just sitting there thinking until I heard meowing constantly from one spot. When I went to go check it out, this one was sitting beneath some rocks.” Heizou paused. “I knew she was your friend’s. She reminded me of you, so I took her back here to take shelter from the storm.”
Kazuha smiled gratefully. “Thank you for keeping her safe.”
“No problem, seriously. She kept me company.”
“I’m glad. It did pain me to leave her behind, but I couldn’t find her when I searched and I was kind of on a time limit.”
Heizou sat down on the sofa and looked at Kazuha sadly while gesturing for him to sit down. “I would have helped, you know. If you asked.”
Kazuha sat on the sofa and placed Tama next to him. She quickly squeezed herself between him and Heizou, purring contentedly. “I couldn’t have asked that of you. You already did enough for me by distracting the other officers and leading me to Ritou.”
“Kazuha,” Heizou said, turning to look him in the eyes, “I would have done that for you. I would have done anything to get you out of there safe. I still would do anything. All you have to do is ask.”
At first, Heizou feared he said too much, as evidenced by the way he flushed bright red after saying that. However, the pink flush of Kazuha’s own cheeks also said something.
What was it that was being said?
Heizou was smart. He prided himself on it. But Kaedehara Kazuha confused him in the best way possible. He knew something was going on here, but what?
“I-” Kazuha started. His blush grew deeper. “Thank you, Heizou. You’re truly too kind.”
Heizou shrugged, face still burning. “I don’t think so. I’m only this way to people who deserve it.”
“And I deserve it?” Kazuha asked, his voice slightly lower. When did they get this close? Heizou’s eyes flickered down to Kazuha’s lips briefly, blushing an even brighter shade of red. Luckily, it seemed Kazuha was too caught up in his own dilemma to notice.
Heizou reached out to grab Kazuha’s hand from where it was resting on Tama’s head. “Of course,” he replied. “Of course you do.”
And now Heizou understood. The puzzle pieces were slowly fitting together in his head. Maybe he was just a bit slower because of his own emotions, but everything started to make sense. The reason why Kazuha had gone out of his way to find his apartment. Why he was nervous when he entered. Why he was blushing at Heizou’s words.
And when he leaned in and felt Kazuha do the same, he thought that maybe this was alright. Maybe it was okay to have friendship, but also something more.
Tama purred softly from her spot next to them. Cats really were the best.