You carefully walked through Inazuma city, trying your best not to draw attention to yourself. Of course, that was difficult, given your samurai armor. Your first order of business would be to get yourself something new to wear.

It was odd for you to be so alone now. After meeting the others years ago, you hadn't worked like this since you were young. It felt so foreign to you.

You kept your head down, weaving in and out of the people. You'd spent the last couple of hours in the streets, trying to forget that you'd witnessed another vision bearer getting arrested. As much as you wanted to help him, you wouldn't know where to start, and you were well aware not everyone could be saved.

On your way, you passed a small restaurant called Shimura's, trying to ignore how the smell made your stomach growl. You were low on mora, and you knew buying different clothes would be a better use of the now limited resources you had.

But at the same time, the idea of stopping for food was so tempting. You hadn't eaten since the night before, forgetting to even pack anything in your bag as you left Yoimiya's house that morning. Even if you'd remembered, though, you knew you wouldn't have wanted to trouble her more.

Your stomach growled again now, and you sighed, giving in and turning around to go back to the restaurant. You would just have to find some other way to get new clothes, you supposed.

Now standing in line, you glanced up at the menu and cringed. Most of it was too expensive for you, but you might be able to afford the cheapest option. Taking out your mora pouch, you quickly began counting the coins, trying to be sure you could afford it. The line moved forward, and there was only one person ahead of you now. You hoped they would take their time so you could finish, but ended up being wrong as they stepped out of the way a moment later.

"Next." The old man at the counter announced, urging you forward. You panicked slightly, unable to finish your counting.

"Uh," You managed, glancing back at the menu, "Could I get one Teyvat Fried Egg?" The man nodded.

"Sure. That'll be 180 mora." He seemed irritated, but that made sense for how early it was, and the fact that he had such a long line. You nodded, carefully putting your bag of mora on the table.

"Here." You took note of how he raised an eyebrow, as if surprised that you were even going to pay him, being a Ronin. He took the bag, making a point to carefully count your money and causing you to become more anxious. You really hoped there was enough in there, or he might call the guards on you out of spite.

You started to sweat at how long it was taking for him to count it. The people behind you were getting impatient, you could tell. Finally, he finished and looked up at you, a deep frown etching his features.

"175. You're five mora short." He spat, crossing his arms and waiting for your response. Your face reddened slightly. This was the first time you'd tried to get food at a restaurant in years, and of course it was going horribly.

"Oh, I see..." You replied, slumping a little. He didn't seem willing to compromise, especially with someone like you, so you took that as a sign to get lost, picking your mora back up. "In that case, you can cancel my order." With that, you turned and started walking away, your own stomach betraying you with another loud growl.

"Wait!" Someone called out behind you, and you snapped your gaze back to see a blonde man with green eyes, motioning for you to come back. Confused, you obliged, not wanting to make a scene in the middle of the street.

"Mr. Thoma," Shimura spoke, a smile forming on his lips, "Good to see you. Here to pick up food for the Kamisatos again?" Your ears perked at the mention of that name. Yoimiya had told you about them, hadn't she?

"I sure am," The man, Thoma, nodded with a smile, "But first, I couldn't help overhearing they're short by about five mora?" He pointed to you, and you tried your best not to look threatening.

"Oh," The old man replied with a sigh, "Yes. And between you and me, I wasn't willing to make an exception, not for someone like that." The man frowned, but a second later it was replaced with that friendly smile again as he faked a chuckle.

"I see," he replied, "that's a shame. I'm actually the one that recommended they try this place. They're a friend of mine and it's their first day off in a while." You gave him a puzzled expression, but he ignored it, keeping his focus on the restaurant's owner.

"Is that so?" Shimura replied, stealing another glance at you. He didn't even try to hide his disdain. "Well, if they're a friend of yours, I suppose I can make an exception just this once." You tried to hide your disbelief at the situation. He was going to let you off the hook just like that? Just because that guy asked him to?

"That's so kind of you, Mr. Shimura!" Thoma smiled brightly, reminding you of Yoimiya. They both had the same friendly demeanor, but something about this guy was off-putting to you. What was he trying to do?

"No problem," the old man sighed, turning back to you, "175 mora will do this time. Now hurry up, I have many other customers to feed." You shook off your shock, coming back up to the counter and handing him the rest of your mora. Then you moved out of the way to wait for your food.

Once Thoma finished ordering, he came over to where you stood to greet you.

"Sorry, I didn't get a chance to introduce myself before," He said softly so Mr. Shimura wouldn't hear, "I'm Thoma, housekeeper for the Kamisato Clan. And you are?" You stared back at him, still unsure of how to act. He seemed genuine, but at the same time, you found it suspicious that someone would help a Ronin like you for no reason, when everyone else in the city seemed afraid of you.

"Y/n," You replied finally, shaking his outstretched hand.

"Nice to meet you, Y/n!" He exclaimed. You nodded in response. There was a moment of silence before you spoke again.

"Why did you help me back there? I don't even know you." It came out as more accusing than you had intended, but he didn't seem bothered.

"Maybe not, but you seemed like you've been through a lot," he pointed to the bandages on your shoulder, "I thought you could use a warm meal, and it was only 5 mora, anyway." This wasn't quite enough for you though, and you frowned.

"You helped me, even knowing who I am?" You gestured to your armor to show you weren't buying his story. He just shrugged.

"I don't believe in judging people before you get to know them." With that, the conversation seemed to be over. Neither of you said anything else as you waited for your food, still trying to decide if he was trustworthy. He was with the Kamisato Clan, which Yoimiya said was friendly, but at the same time, you had your doubts.

Finally, Shimura called both of your names, prompting you to return to the counter and pick up your orders. The old man gave you a dirty look which you tried to ignore as you took the box from him. Then you walked away.

"Well, I should be going now," Thoma spoke, "I need to get this to Miss Kamisato. It was nice meeting you, Y/n!" He waved goodbye, turning to leave before you called out to him.

"Wait!" He stopped, turning to you with a curious expression. You glanced down at the ground. "Thank you for helping me." It was quiet, but he seemed to have heard you anyway, because he smiled and nodded before being on his way. As he left, you noticed he had a pyro vision of his own. Maybe that was why he'd decided to help you, like Yoimiya had.

It seemed vision bearers here supported each other more than you thought.

..........

After finishing your food, which was overcooked at best- you assumed Mr. Shimura couldn't be bothered with the quality of his cuisine when it came to criminals like you- you wandered through the city some more, trying to come up with a way to get some more mora.

Your goal was ultimately to find a way to get out of Inazuma. Whether that meant bribing the captain of one of the supply ships in Ritou or asking Yoimiya or her friends for help, you knew you would probably need the money. On top of that, you would need it to buy some less conspicuous clothes.

You sighed as people continued to stare at you. had they never heard of manners? Either way, you didn't feel comfortable being in public like this anymore and decided to head out of the city for the time being.

At the very least, you might be able to find some treasure and make a few mora off of that. At least there, you wouldn't have to worry about being reported. As you left the city, you realized you finally understood why so many people wanted to leave the land of eternity.

Before, you'd always found it pointless, since the chances of actually succeeding were so low. You didn't understand why people with visions didn't just hide it, like you had. But after witnessing the white haired man's arrest and meeting some other vision bearers, it had become clearer. Living in hiding like you did with Yoimiya was stifling, even if you enjoyed her presence. The looming threat of being caught with a vision didn't feel like truly living. It was only surviving.

You'd seen how the man with the anemo vision fought like he had nothing left to lose, and he probably did, just like you.

You wanted to leave, too. Even if you knew the odds of it working were so slim, the longer you stayed here, the more it seemed worth the risk. If nothing else, you could say that you had tried.

You were outside the city now, headed towards Byakko Plain. Based on your memory, there were a few camps of Ronin in the area you should avoid. But even as you took that route, dodging their territories and trying not to be seen, the area seemed oddly empty. The camps were set up where you remembered, sure, but there was no one in them, which was very usual.

Feeling uneasy, you carefully treaded through the plain, a hand on your sword in case someone attacked.

Suddenly, the snapping of a twig behind you caught your attention, and you whipped around to see none other than Kama. Pulling out your sword, you pointed the blade toward him, holding back the urge to stab him right in the heart.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," he replied, "Shouldn't you be bleeding out alone somewhere?"

"Shouldn't you be rotting in a jail cell?" His eyes narrowed.

"You know, I wanted to be merciful with you, Y/n. I really did," He sighed, leaning against a rock.

"Turning the others against me and attacking me was merciful?" You scoffed, "Don't kid yourself, Kama."

"It would have been a quick death," he shrugged, "Quicker than yours will be now." With that, he took a step back, and five Shogun soldiers emerged from the bushes you hadn't realized they were hiding in. Along with them, your three former teammates also appeared.

Cursing, you readied your blade. You didn't think you could take them all on at once, though, especially since they knew about your vision now. As they approached you, you knew your only chance would be to run.

So, as much as you hated to do so, that was what you did.