The last hot dance with the cold lady

"I propose to have a festival" said Kenshin in a righteous voice. "We need to have some fun".

"Kenshin, there is no money nor people to have a festival" said Sara in a tired voice.

She came back yesterday after months in the front of the war and had a very long and extremely satisfying talk with Kenshin. She talked about everything she learned these months while Kenshin listened with a smile, and sometimes spoke to add or comment something.

Sara felt that they got a lot closer after last night's talk, and there was an ambiguous mood in the air by the last hour of the talk.

But now she was once again reminded of how random Kenshin was.

"And yet, we need a festival" Kenshin insisted. "Just to make Ayato work. He has drunk more of his weird tea in these months listening to the rest of us argue than times he has gone to the toilet during his whole life"

"That's" Ayato spoke with an indignant expression "actually possible".

"See? People have been hungry for months now, and since the Decrees came up, we have not been able to afford a single moment of happiness. Please Ei, don't get offended, but it's the truth. Anyway, we need a party. I will provide food, but the Tenryou and Knajou Commissions won't be allowed to come" Kenshin said making a 'X' with his arms.

"Why wouldn't the Commissions be allowed to participate!" roared Takayuki, the head of the Tenryou Commission, the police to put it simply.

"Because you guys are getting fatter" replied Ayato in a disinterested tone. "Even after people are hungry your guys are widening. We lost half of our people, and they are too hungry to commit crimes so all you do is wait for the sun to hide. The Kanjou Commission is the one that distributes food, and the fact that you can't see your own feet tells me that you are not distributing it equally".

"S-Shut up" said the fat leader of the Kanjou Commission.

"I can feel the grease coming from your voice" deadpanned Kenshin. "Anyway, it will be a festival prepared by and for the citizens, so get your grubby hands out of it. Luckily, the citizens can count on the extremely dependable and equally bored Yashiro Commission.

"That's unfair, you are showing your favouritism. Your Excellency, the Tenryou and Kanjou Commissions are also citizens of Inazuma, they should be allowed to participate, they also need to lighten up their spirits!" Takayuki complained to the Shogun, who nodded in agreement.

Kenshin rolled his eyes. Ei didn't control the puppet in the last few months, and these old fogeys were using it to act as petulant children again. You only needed to put 'For Eternity' before your request and you could be almost assured you could get what you wanted, but it usually worked towards depriving people of things.

'For Eternity, enslave children'. Okay.

'For Eternity, free those children'. Nope.

Of course, it was just an example, but people found themselves losing more and more rights. SO Kenshin decided that this was the perfect moment for him to throw a festival.

"Whatever, a festival is needed, and we won't stop it because of you bastards. Ayato and I will take care of everything, so just learn the date and place from the people in town if you can, they are not pleased with you" said his piece, Kenshin stood up and left, Ayato following him close behind.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yoimiya!! Open up or you won't see any fireworks!" Kenshin shouted while hitting the door of the Naganohara's fireworks shop.

"Really?!" Yoimiya opened the door with shining eyes. Eyes Kenshin hadn't seen that full of life since the Decrees started. Well, he couldn't see at all, but her soul was happy now.

"Of course! Did I ever lie to you?" asked Kenshin with a hurt face.

"Nope, never!!" Yoimiya shouted in excitement. Kenshin fooled everyone else, but he had a soft spot for the always energetic and happy Yoimiya.

"Then prepare, because this night we will have a festival!!" Kenshin shouted, and everyone around looked at him.

People are sad and angry nowadays. The lack of food, entertainment and the desolate state the city was in was making everyone lose a part of themselves every day.

But now hearing that there was a festival today at night, they felt excited after months of sadness, apathy and anxiety.

"Where will the festival be?" asked a young man with shining eyes, eyes Kenshin couldn't see, but he felt his excitement.

"As a Shrine, we will make sure the festival is a success, just go with everything you can take with you to the Amakane Island!" shouted Kenshin, and everyone went to their house to see what they could bring. They didn't have anything after months of being poor, but maybe they could take some tableware, or maybe some wood pillars to make a humble stall, or even some toys that their kids now in Liyue didn't take with them.

They didn't know if this was going to be their last festival, so nobody thought of being stingy.

"I need to prepare!" shouted Yoimiya before entering her house. "Tou-chan, we have an order!"

"A MURDER?!"

"Tou-chan! AN ORDER!"

Kenshin wryly smiled and left the father and daughter duo to their antics. They had a lot of people to notify after all.

"Hey, Kenshin" Ayato suddenly said with a serious face. "Why did you decide to do it today? We are in a bad situation, but we still have some time".

"But we are going to enter our final phase. We still have some food and I can bring more, but after tomorrow we won't be able to have a festival anymore, as the Fatuis won't send that much food anymore" Kenshin said with a bitter shake of his head.

"What about your 'friend'?" asked Ayato with a pointed look.

"Arlecchino won't be able to help us. She needs to show some progress to be able to move this amount of food, and I'm not going to leave Inazuma for now. She has been helping us for months just because of me and the deal we have, but now even she can't move, the guys in charge of finances are stopping her until she shows progress" Kenshin explained.

Even with their deal, Arlecchino had helped them beyond what she was required to, and it only made Kenshin admire her more.

He had been able to stop their plans before even starting, he had been receiving the shipment that would feed the whole city of Inazuma for months when he saw a box full of Delusions, he realized then why did the Fatuis start the Vision Hunt Decree. They didn't want to sell the Delusions, they wanted experimental data on their usage.

Kenshin was outraged and talked with Arlecchino, who had no idea of this. It was a plan concocted by an unscrupulous man called Dottore, who was a 'mad scientist' who would gladly sacrifice hundreds of people if that meant advancing on his experiments.

Kenshin told Arlecchino that he would report this if she couldn't make it stop, and between the 2 they were able to reveal the existence of Delusions while leaving Arlecchino out of it. She looked incensed at being used like this by Dottore.

But stopping this plan only meant that the scarce food they received was decreased even more.

Ayato didn't reply, and only let out a sigh. At least his family was safe and sound.

"Anyway, just focus on today's festival. You are the expert here after all. I don't know if the people will receive you ready to talk" Kenshin said with a wry smile. Everyone who entered that meeting room was being accused of selling the country, except ironically the Shogun, and that was driving Kenshin mad.

"If I say I am following your orders, people will grovel before me" said Ayato with a smirk. "People here are not smart, but they know the only reason they can't see their ribs is because of you".

"Whatever, I have something to do, remember the location" Kenshin said with a pointed look. 

"Yeah, I know" Ayato nodded and left, happy to be able to work for the first time in months.

Kenshin said 'As a Shrine.....', it was said like that to fool the Tenryou and Kanjou Commissions. They think the festival is at Amakane Island, where the true location is the Shrine. It was a code people thought of to communicate with other people without the police noticing.

In an ancient language, 'asa' meant morning, and people liked to think that this hard period was a night that would eventually end.

It was an extremely absurd and easy-to-crack code, but nobody had the energy to think of a more sophisticated one.

Kenshin left for the Tenshukaku again, and went to the meeting room only to find the puppet sitting alone in the dark room, in the seiza position with her eyes closed.

"I don't know how you are not bored" Kenshin said while knowing exactly the answer.

Ei did not feel bored because she, for some reason, thought that staying like this was her duty. It was incredibly boring and a mind-numbing activity, but she kept the boredom away out of sheer willpower and discipline.

For 500 years.

"What do you want?" asked Ei, whose soul resurfaced.

"I want you to have that dance you owe me in today's festival" Kenshin directly said, making Ei frown.

She felt how these last months were affecting her, so she had to stay in the Plane of Euthymia to keep the Erosion to a minimum.

"I don't know your reason to be so reluctant to come out, but you have to agree. It's for a few hours, and it's a result of the duel, no matter how stupid it was" Kenshin reminded her with a serious look.

"I understand. I will be there" Ei replied with a sigh.

"No, if you go people won't be able to relax. I will come for you" Kenshin said and left the room, leaving Ei behind in the huge, dark and cold room.

Alone, as she has always been.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Let's have a toast!!" a carpenter shouted, raising his glass full of liquor over his head. "Cheers!"

"Cheers!!" an adult joined the toast while the minors pouted at not being allowed to drink.

The Shrine was packed, and there were people even on the stairs, but nobody seemed to mind, they were having fun for the first time in months.

Of course, 2 collectives were feeling angry.

The first ones were the mikos at the Shrine, who were stunned when a horde of people came at dusk with drinks, food and all kinds of things. Then they learned that Kenshin had organized a 'festival', aka party, in the Shrine without them knowing.

And the second where the Tenryou and Kanjou Commission, whose members arrived at Amakane Island ready to gorge themselves on food and alcohol, only to find some posters and letterboards with dicks on them.

Indeed, there was a sausage party there.

They were furious and decided to crash at the party in the Shrine, but the Shuumatsuban quickly neutralized them. By the time they wake up, the party would have ended, and the only thing they will get from it is the piss and vomit of some particularly vicious people who didn't like these Commissions at all.

And Kenshin was in Ritou, which was mostly empty. Citizens were at the Shrine and the staff were unconscious near the Shrine, which made the Fatuis the only people here.

"So you are leaving today" Kenshin said to Arlecchino, who was packing the last things in her room.

"Yes, I should have left a month ago, but I stayed even disobeying the orders just to help you here" she looked at Kenshin with a frown. "I hope you appreciate it".

"Of course I do, isn't that why I taught you so much? You are probably the most knowledgeable person in Snezhnaya about curses, I only hope you tell me someday what are you exactly looking for" said Kenshin with a smile.

"Maybe one day" replied Arlecchino with her mind on a certain prophecy of Fontaine, the place she grew up in until she was inducted into the House of Hearth. "Now move".

"Why so hasty?" replied Kenshin, who extended a hand while bowing to Arlecchino. "Would the lady grant me the honour of being her dance partner?"

"No, now move."

"Come on, please, we don't know when are we going to see each other" Kenshin said with a smirk.

Arlecchino was opening her mouth to say no, but something in Kenshin's demeanour made her stop. She prided herself in being extremely perceptive, and something was off with Kenshin today but she knew that if Kenshin hadn't already told her about it, he wouldn't talk.

"We have no music" she replied instead, tacitly agreeing to a single dance.

"You hum something, maybe from your homeland. Now, teach me and please don't step on me. I can hear your heels on the floor and it sounds painful being stomped by them".

Arlecchino sighed but put Kenshin's hand on her waist while she put her hand on her free hand. Kenshin had always been respectful towards her in the last months making Arlecchino trust his integrity and made her sure that he wouldn't try to do something weird.

She started humming she knew from happier times, the times when all she needed to worry about was not being found by other kids when they played hide-and-seek in the woods near the orphanage.

She directed Kenshin, who followed her commands and allowed him to keep his feet untouched by those scary heels.

Seconds turned into minutes, and they slowly twirled around the small room. 

Arlecchino felt strange at being in close contact with another person for a prolonged period of time. She couldn't trust anybody who didn't come from Snezhnaya because she was considered a criminal, and some people tried to attack her.

She couldn't trust anybody from Snezhnaya, because she couldn't afford to let her mask slip.

So there was nobody she would allow herself to trust. Until Kenshin appeared.

They were of similar ages, but they couldn't be more different.

Kenshin was mischievous, open and ingenious.

She was cunning, deceptive and determined.

This difference appeared because of their childhood. Kenshin was able to live freely and in a loving home, while she had grown up seeing her friends get killed, and trained to be a ruthless assassin.

And despite this disparity, Arlecchino couldn't bring herself to be jealous of him. He had only tried to help her, and what he asked for was ridiculous in her opinion. She had gotten so much in these months that she even disobeyed direct orders to stay and learn more.

Kenshin was able to see through her facade, so she didn't need to keep it up and could speak honestly and openly. Her calm facade broke and the caustic but ingenious woman she was appeared, but all Kenshin said was that she preferred her this way.

And he didn't judge her for anything. They had some relaxed talks after her lessons about souls, and even when she confessed to having murdered people in cold blood Kenshin didn't even flinch, he just listened to her problems calmly and offered some refreshing perspectives that helped her understand things.

Of course, Kenshin learned too about her life. He learned how dark and difficult life could be and how you not always have an option, sometimes you were forced to do things you abhorred. And despite hearing some gruesome things that gave him nightmares, the only thing he showed Arlecchino was calm understanding.

Not pity, because that would be an insult to Arlecchino's determination.

Not disgust, because he was sure she would have also preferred to avoid taking those lives.

Just calm acceptance and sometimes some questions, mainly about her feelings about doing those things.

It was hard at first, Arlecchino looked at him with an angry expression and kicked him out, but with time she slowly opened and they could now talk about everything they wanted.

Arlecchino saw that Kenshin wasn't showing pity and didn't ask to bask in the morbid details, he only wanted to get to know her and her feelings better so she was gradually able to relax with him around.

And this made the 2 of them feel closer.

They learned from each other mainly because their lives had been extremely different, making them intrigued about each other, but most of all it made Arlecchino able to open herself to somebody.

Their dance and twirls gradually came to an end, and by the time Arlecchino stopped, they found themselves looking into each other's eyes.

Well, Arlecchino was.

The black eyes with red 'X' shaped pupils looked directly at the purple ones with golden spots moving in mesmerizing trajectories, like stars painting over a purple sky.

They stood like this for a few seconds, both not knowing what to do before Kenshin took a step back, sensing that something neither of them was ready to do was going to happen.

"I hope you are well in your travels, but remember that you need to write weekly" Kenshin said with a smile.

"I know" Arlecchino said with a cough to regain her bearings. She didn't know what happened to her, but it wasn't bad. Still, she needed to focus or someone would realize something she didn't want to expose.

"I won't be able to send you letters as you are always moving but I will send them to my company in Liyue, if you are near and want to take the time to go, remember that there will always be a letter for you there" Kenshin said while holding the door so Arlecchino could exit the room with her bag.

"I know" she replied with the same calm voice, but Kenshin was able to sense her warm feelings.

Soon Arlecchino was on the ship. Even while the ship sailed and Arlecchino was losing sight of Inazuma, she didn't look back.

She was at the foremost part of the ship, and her normally cold and calculating eyes were showing a hint of tenderness remembering the only person she could trust in this cold world.

"Do you require something from us?" 3 Fatui agents appeared behind her in a kneeling position, waiting for orders.

"No" replied Arlecchino, the gentle look in her eyes disappearing and being replaced by her stone-cold mask of calmness. "We are going to Snezhnaya to report".