Memoriae Vitae

Title: Memoriae Vitae: Act 1: Rebirth Part 1
Fandom: Genshin Impact
Characters: Nobunaga, Kujou Sara, Ryoka, Yae Miko
Pairing: n/a
Ratings: T+
Warnings: N/A
Author Notes: n/a

Kujou Sara crossed her arms as she watched Nobunaga in the courtyard of the Tenryou Commission Headquarters. She sighed as she looked at her mentor, feeling antsy and uneasy. He looked remorseful and upset about something. He rarely ever looked perturbed. If anything, he was usually up to something mischievous and causing some sort of trouble for someone. Anything for some lighthearted moments to make people laugh or see things in another perspective. Seeing him like this, however, only made her worry about him.

“Is something wrong, Lady Kujou?” Ryoka asked as he walked up to her. He looked away from her as he spoke. Concerned she’d look at him however, she held her gaze towards the older Tengu instead.

“Nobunaga’s been acting strange.” She said. “He’s been quite preoccupied with something the past couple of days and has been avoiding people.”

“He’s always acting strange though.” Ryoka said as he followed her gaze. The older warrior was sitting on a roof and just looking up at the sky. With the part of his face Ryoka could see, Nobunaga looked like something was bothering him.

Since Lady Sara finished her training, Nobunaga has been different. From what Ryoka understood, Nobunaga had sealed away some painful memories and found a way to regain them. After he gained them back, he didn’t change too much other than having a more appreciative side to his surroundings. Like he had regained a part of himself and was glad to have it back. He was just as confident as before but seeing Nobunaga all down like this was quite the turn around.

“Maybe he’s just caught up with recent events?” Ryoka suggested. “I mean we were all taken aback by the fact that the Fatui were so deeply involved in our own politics…” He paused for a moment. Trying to determine whether or not to bring up events leading to his Lady’s father’s arrest.

“Maybe…” She mused and turned her head to look at him. “Can you check up on him for me? There’s some things I need to attend to and you two get along pretty well.”

“As well as vinegar in water…” Ryoka mumbled. He straightened up with the next look she gave him. “Er… of course, Lady Kujou. I’ll see if there’s anything I can do to help Nobunaga.”

With that, she turned on her heels and left the courtyard. Ryoka watched her leave and sighed. His shoulders slumping downwards with his expression. He wasn’t prepared for whatever shenanigans Nobunaga was going to start with him today. Although, seeing him looking down about whatever was on his mind did give Ryoka some sort of relief. He inhaled, then exhaled and made his way towards Nobunaga. The older Tengu was still on the rooftop and hadn’t moved.

“Nobunaga?” Ryoka called out to him. There wasn’t a response and he didn’t even react at all. Ryoka grumbled to himself and worked up some courage to try it again. “Look, Lady Sara is worried about you!”

Still nothing – which surprised him. The mention of “Lady Sara” was enough to stir some sort of teasing reaction from Nobunaga. Maybe something was wrong with him? Ryoka opted to climb on top of the roof instead. He used a ladder nearby to make his way up and carefully got as close to the man as he could.

“Nobu?” Ryoka repeated his name once more. He was met with silence once more and just opted to look at the sky with his friend.

Nothing happened for a while as they sat there, gazing at the scenery. Ryoka wondered to himself about what he should do. Maybe he could ask Nobunaga for help with something. A change of scenery was always a good thing, especially since something seemed to be bothering him. Ryoka furrowed his eyebrows as he thought about what to do or some sort of task. Sara’s birthday was coming up, maybe…

“Hey, Nobu? Do you wanna come with me to Nazuchi Beach?” Ryoka asked. “There’s something I want to get from there.” Nobunaga finally reacted. His eyes flickered towards the horizon then back up at the sky.

“What do you need there?” He asked. Ryoka could still hear the boyish charm in his voice but it sounded a little unnatural.

“Lady Sara’s birthday is coming up so I was thinking of picking some flowers for her.” Ryoka explained. “It’d be easier to get it out of the way with your help.” Nobunaga was silent for a second.

“I suppose you’ll want to get the Electro Archon’s blessing too?” He asked. “If so, we’ll have to stop by Mount Yougou.”

“That’s fine with me!” Ryoka smiled. “Whenever you’re re– WOAH!”

In a quick movement Nobunaga pulled Ryoka towards him and he saw a blur of colors. Nobunaga was using his speed to take them towards their first destination. Usually he gave a warning but he seemed to be in more of a rush than it seemed. Ryoka simply buried his head into Nobunaga’s shoulder. While he was fast at flying, it didn’t make the motion sickness itself, or the sudden movement, hard to deal with. They stopped nearly as fast as they had left. Ryoka looked away from Nobunaga’s shoulder, realizing they were at the shrine. A few of the priestesses were giggling as they walked past the pair.

“Sorry for not giving you a heads up.” Nobunaga said as he helped Ryoka steady himself. “I wanted to get Lady Yae’s advice on something.”

“It’s all good.” Ryoka said, feeling a wave of nausea hit him. “I’ll take a minute to gather myself and join you later.”

“Again, sorry.” Nobunaga frowned, looking concerned over his friend’s well-being. The older man walked off as soon as Ryoka waved him away.

Ryoka had found a large rock to sit on to settle his nerves. He looked at the ground for a moment as his mind caught up with him. As the world stopped moving, he noticed a shadow standing over him. He looked up to see the Lady Guuji herself. A mischievous smile peaked from behind her hand and he couldn’t help but wonder what she was up to. He eyed her carefully as he got to his feet.

“Feeling upset?” She asked.

“Nobunaga just sprinted over here so quickly.” He admitted to her. She chuckled at his reply.

“What timing then.” She said. “I was joking around about needing some assistance and he comes right over.”

“Well, if you feigned falling over, you know he’d be here before you even finished that sentence.” Ryoka said. Sure they joked about it, but Nobunaga actually would do that. He seemed to have an immense fondness for Lady Yae. The reason itself was something Ryoka couldn’t see. She was always poking fun at him at his own expense in some aspect.

“Oh, do you know why Nobu would be acting so weird?” He asked her. That seemed to pique her interest. The mischievousness in her eyes slipped away and were replaced with genuine concern and curiosity.

“Weird? How so?” She inquired.

“He was pretty upset and quiet today.” Ryoka explained. “It’s like he’s another person. Lady Sara was pretty worried about him.”

“It must be that time of year then…” She muttered. She had a sorrowful look for a moment but it flickered into her usual smile. “It’s nothing to be worried about. He’s prone to overthinking things every now and again. I’d keep him company – he might just need a friend.”

“But he’s not in any trouble or anything?” He asked.

“If there’s one thing I know about Nobunaga, it’s that he overthinks things.” She reiterated. “Which is funny, he never used to do that.” Ryoka wanted to ask but Nobunaga seemed to have made his way towards them.

“Hopefully, I’m not interrupting anything.” He said, looking as relaxed as he usually did.

“No, I was uh…” Ryoka stammered.

“He was asking for a blessing for talking to your Lady Sara.” Yae said, her mischievous smile returning.

“Oh, well maybe this blessing will help him actually talk to her.” Nobunaga laughed.

“It’s worse knowing there’s two of you in the world doing this…” Ryoka mumbled as he walked past them.

Nobunaga watched as his friend went to go pray to the Sacred Sakura. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of familiarity when he saw him. It was like seeing an apparition of a familiar face that had been long gone by now. He felt a hand on his arm and looked to see Yae looking at him.

“I told him to keep you company.” She said. “He seemed worried about you.”

“I’m hoping that I won’t have to worry them at all.” He sighed. “Like he and Lady Sara need to deal with an old man’s problems. They have their own to deal with.”

“But friends are good in a time of need.” Yae persisted. “And it’s not like Ryoka isn’t going to be shirked away by whatever you do. Whether you know it or not, he and Lady Sara do look up to you.”

“They act a lot like they used to, so it’s not that strange.” Nobunaga said. He sighed remorsefully a second later.

“I know you miss them but they’re not gone forever.” She said, moving her hand to his face. He just looked at her, seeing his dark reflection in her light, purple eyes. “They probably miss you just as much.”

She was right… He had to make an effort to visit them. If he moped around, it wouldn’t make things easier. He had to go make an effort to do something about this or it’d be on his mind a lot longer. He smiled at her, taking her hand into his and pressing her fingers against his lips.

“You’ve yet to steer me wrong.” He murmured to her. She simply laughed at his gesture.

“And you’ve yet to prove me wrong about anything.” She replied. “Oh, someone you know came by a while ago – another Tengu. I don’t remember his name but he was asking about where he could find you.”

“Oh?” Nobunaga was a little worried. He wanted to ask more but Ryoka joined them. He made a note to ask about it when they came back from Nazuchi Beach. Although, he was curious as to why a Tengu was looking for him specifically. It’d been ages since he lost contact with them – through actions he did on his own. Not that he regretted what he did, he had to go through with it anyways and he’d gladly do it again as well.

“Shall we get going?” Nobunaga asked Ryoka.

“We’re not flying again, are we?” He asked.

“We’ll take a boat from Ritou.” Nobunaga said. “It’d be faster to fly but I know how my flying makes you feel.”

“Oh, let me get an omamori then and we can leave.” Ryoka said as he looked around for a nearby shrine maiden.

“Then this is your’s.” Yae said as she handed Nobunaga an omamori. It looked more intricately designed than the other omamori offered by the shrine. The pattern on it looked similar to the sakura patterns Yae’s outfit. The light purple flowers sat on a dark purple background with varying shades of purple to look like the Sacred Sakura. He could feel the amount of effort she put into making this and smiled at her once more.

“I’ll make sure to keep it safe.” He promised her.

“You better, otherwise you’ll have to deal with some horrible luck.” She said.

“Least I incur your wrath, Lady Yae.” He chuckled. “I’ll be sure to come back once our trip is over. I’m curious about the Tengu you met with. It’s unusual for them anywhere that’s not in their domain.”

“He didn’t look like he was going to cause any trouble.” She mused. “But it was strange. Maybe he just missed you?”

He opted to not comment on this one. He doubted anyone he knew from the Tengu Clan would’ve missed him being in exile. He really couldn’t recall anyone that might even be worried about him in all honesty. He didn’t dwell on it too much as Ryoka returned to him. The pair descended from Mount Yougou. They made their way to Ritou and rented out a boat to use. Nobunaga made sure the boat’s sails were sturdy enough to sail and did most of the work as they left Narukami Island. Ryoka looked around in wonder as they left the island to make their way to Tatarasuna.

Nobunaga looked back at Narukami Island. Seeing its cherry blossom trees fade from view as they sailed onward. He looked ahead of them to see blue silhouettes of the other islands that made up Inazuma. There was a storm hanging over one of the islands in the distance. Seirai Island was close to Tsurumi… He wasn’t sure how he’d convince Ryoka to accompany him or if he should ask him to go with him. It’s not like there was anything of value on Tsurumi Island anyways. Well to most people. Something to think about as they sailed to Tatarasuna however.