Falsifying Identities is (Still) a Crime [Double Trouble SAGAU]
-> 《Yelan, Kamisato Ayato, Al-Haitham, Nahida》
Fortunately, you and your doppelgänger's secrets are still under lock-and-key. Unfortunately, the two of you are surrounded by adoring acolytes who are determined to pry those secrets out into the open with murder if they had to.
YELAN 《UMBRABILIS ORCHIS》
'If you find yourself in Liyue Harbor, avoid drawing the attention of the Qixing and its associates.' Behind the bright and dazzling Liyue Qixing, Yelan haunts the shadows as a non-existing yet terrifying presence no one dares to cross if her interest is piqued. Her work behind-the-scenes is always a gamble- whether it be her life or someone else's .
Her calculative plots, thoughts, and actions are all for the sake of Liyue Harbor and the all-encompasing Creator, no matter how bloody it may turn out to be. As long as you aren't ensnared in her web of danger and deceit you should be fine... are you?
If you were any smarter, or braver according to some, you would've ran out of the restaurant the moment Yelan strutted in and plopped into the empty seat right in front of you.
While the staff and customers treated her appearance like it was a normal occurence despite your bug-eyed look, you caught her 'little helpers' occupying the table across the room and sighed.
It appeared that the moment you had entered the establishment, you had been caught in the spider's web as she gleefully ambushed your lunch plans.
"Hmm, what's wrong? Aren't you at least a little bit excited to see little old me?" The devil purred, the cunning look in her eyes betraying her innocence, "I'm hurt, I thought we had something special~"
"I'm sorry, have we met?"
Yelan's lips quirked into an amused smile at your pathetic attempt, and yours dropped into a gape as she stole your lotus crisps without hesistation, "Nice try, but even I won't forget a face like yours anytime soon, little body double~"
You slapped her hand during her second attempt of stealing your lunch, determinedly ignoring the sound of someone choking across the room.
Is this karma for skipping your banner? You belatedly wondered, memories of your previous meeting clouding your mind. It involved the Chasm, your damm curiousity over the big nail, and ended with an interested Yelan dogging your steps across Liyue after attempting to shoot you down from said nail.
"Quit the niceties, what do you want?"
Yelan's smile never faltered, instead it widened as she leaned towards you, "Does our Creator have any plans here in Liyue? With you've travelling here so often."
"No, they don't." Yelan was hard to deal with on a normal occassion, but lying to her? Pigs will fly before she'll believe your words without any evidence. "I'm here for a vacation, that's it."
Several clatters and curses were heard across the room. You sigh, "Please let me eat my lunch in peace, and go deal with your subordinates before Wupei dies choking to death."
A momentary silence engulfed you two, the sound of chatter and someone choking in the background
Yelan hummed, "I'll see you later, betta fish~"
The terrifying woman finally stood up and stalked off, like a beautiful ghost who can either haunt you till your very last breath or take it away in an instant (murderously).
You were several bites into your meal when the rock finally sank deep within your gut and you dropped your chopsticks in horror, she compared me to a fish.
... maybe my doppelgänger can issue some sort of a restraining order?
As part of the Tri-Comission, he has a duty to preserve Her Excellency's Eternity in Inazuma, and the Creator of Tevyat has long since been a part of the Raiden Shogun’s vision. Although, Ayato does have his reasons to investigate the ‘body double’ his Creator had brought in, and it has to do with a little something he’d overheard from his sister’s conversation with Thoma.
“The Traveler’s been hanging around the Creator’s sibling a lot recently.” Curious indeed.
You should've left Inazuma the second you escaped the Tenryou Commission and its terrifying doushin by the name of Shikanoin Heizou- hell, you should've never step foot inside the nation in the first place despite your curiosity and your need to see the bake-danuki in person.
Maybe if you did, you wouldn't have ended up handcuffed to the desk of the Yashiro Commissioner like some sort of wanted criminal.
"Body double-san, the table won't be set aflame if you glared at it hard enough." Kamisato Ayato idly commented, never raising his head from his pile of documents.
You switched your glare onto him, "If it weren't for the laws of this land and this table I would hit you."
The commissioner finally lifted his head, blue eyes glimmering with amusement, "Ah, I look forward to your future endeavours then."
This damn- you stood up, belatedly recalling that you were still handcuffed as the desk rattled and you stumbled on your feet. The amused smile on Ayato's face lightened, watching as you muttered death threats to the pair of handcuffs before he spoke.
"Thoma just came back from a meeting with our dear excellency, the Creator."
You froze as the Kamisato sibling continued, "The Creator was utterly overjoyed over your wish to extend your stay in Inazuma, and the Kamisato household will gladly continue to house you during your stay with Thoma's assistance."
The shogi doors slid right open just then.
As though Ayato had timed the moment perfectly, Thoma walked in with a tray of purple soup and a bright smile which you didn't fell for after the guy handcuffed you to the desk.
Soup isn't suposed to be purple, you frowned
"Waka-sama, body double-san," Thoma greeted, lifting his tray in indication, "I brought lunch as requested, sea gadorama soup with naku weed."
You froze, looking at the tray in horror and then at the amused Yashiro Commissioner who had the gall to politely smile at you.
"It's my favourite soup," the madman explained. Thoma's slight wince didn't go unnoticed, so did the apologetic gleam in his eyes mixed in with sympathy.
Before you could even ask Ayato struck, smooth and quick as a snake he took a spoonful of the soup and shoved it in your mouth.
To put it simply, it was disgusting. Your first instinct was to throw up because of the soup's slimy texture (why?) and it's medical taste that threatened to burn your tastebuds with its bitterness (WHY??).
Your second instinct was to faint from horror and disgust, which you actually did.
AL-HAITHAM 《VULTUR VOLANS》
The man is a mixture of curiousity, determination, and resillience that you would respect on any other occassion or any other person. Unfortunately, this is Al-Haitham: the bane of your existence as a parasite you'll never get rid of, and you had doomed yourself the moment you'd stepped into Sumeru.
He might proclaim himself as a cold and rational being, but you've seen the mania swimming in his eyes- and his presence everywhere you go in the nation of wisdom.
The large, looming shadow behind you as you appraised one of the stores has, unfortunately, become a normal occurence for you during your time in Sumeru. For others though, it was a terrifying situation to deal with.
"E-Excuse me, I believe that the Akademiya student behind you wants to ta-talk to you." The store vendor stammered, unwilling to look into the piercing eyes that was definitely glaring a hole into your skull.
"Please ignore him, sir, and tell me the price for these spices." You monotoned.
You first met Al-Haitham in Gandarva Ville after Tighnari dragged you back to nag you on the dangers of cuddling the wildlife and hallucinations- it's not your fault the man can't see the Aranara. He thought you ate a bad mushroom which was, technically speaking, possible-.
"Hello, sir." You simply nodded your head in acknowledgement at Al-Haitham, he didn't say anything and simply gave you an unusual stare.
Then he smiled, you didn't like his smile at all. It was like it had too many teeth.
Soon the questions came, why you were in Sumeru; what was your plans travelling through the forest; how did you know the dissolvement of an entire knowledge division was connected to one man; how was the Creator who was piled high with paperwork and stress; it was never-ending.
You didn't know how to answer him without being insensitive but everything about Al-Haitham was unsettling: his intonation as he pelted you with question after question, his stance as he backed you into a corner with an unassuming smile, everything about the man sent the warning bells in your head blaring to run and never look back .
You heeded you own advice and booked it, despite the strange looks people gave you, but the prickling sensation of being watched never left.
Throughout your journey in Sumeru you saw the hint of a cloak disappearing from the corner; a flash of silvery hair camouflaged itself amongst the busy crowds; the dendro energy in the air humming, clouding as it blurred your senses with a smug satishfaction.
Maybe you were seeing things; maybe your paranoia finally reached its limit and you were scared of nothing really; maybe everything was fine because Sumeru was the land of the dendro archon so the dendro energy following you around was completely normal right??
It wasn't until a curious vendor asked about the Akademiya scholar following you that you realised you weren't seeing things- that you had never been truly alone since you met Al-Haitham.
The scholar was a true predator, hunting you down through Sumeru like prey.
"Why are you following me?"
Currently, you wanted to smack the bland smile off Al-Haitham's face as he replied, "I have a gift for you, consider it an... olive branch, so to speak."
He pulled out a leather bracelet with a Sumeru rose in the middle, but this one was a bright jade-green that resembled more like a carving than an actual plant.
"An experiment of mine." Al-Haitham answered your unasked question as he pulled your hand out to tie the bracelet around your wrist.
You tried to tug your hand back and reject the gift, Al-Haitham's grip tightened like an iron cage as a sharp pain jolted through your arm.
Al-Haitham continued as he tied the bracelet knot, "Tighnari was a great help in growing the rose while General Mahamatra provided me the papers to legally put the tracking device on it. Don't try to take it off, it won't work unless you want to lose your entire hand."
A stone sank deep into your guts as smug eyes met yours, a hunter who finally caught its prey, "Enjoy your trip in Sumeru, habiba."
NAHIDA 《SAPIENTIA OROMASDIS》
Lesser Lord Kusanali is most knowledgeable about the past, present, and future of Tevyat and their beloved Creator. In fact, she seemed like the absolute ally and alibi you should have on your side with the whole body double idea, no?
But if the God of Wisdom herself was unable to uncover the truth of the world, what other knowledge could be beyond her reach?
Your body double plan was pure insanity from the very beginning, even your doppelgänger said it.
But it worked impossibly well in the face of obsessive acolytes, multiple threats of bodily harm and an uncountable ammount of escape attempts that you- quite conviniently- forgot about the giant elephant in the room.
It was ironic that the giant elephant came in the form of a child that barely reached your knees, but you were too busy panicking over the realisation that you forgot about Nahida and her connection to Irminsul.
"Hello, Lesser Lord Kusanali." You calmly greeted while internally screaming at your terrible luck to encounter the God of Wisdom, and in Port Ormos no less after barely escaping several Matra.
Nahida smiled with too much teeth to be considered normal. Even her facade of curiosity felt unnatural on the face of a child as she spoke, "It's nice to meet you, the Creator's Kagemusha."
Her smile remained as you nodded in response, too terrified to speak. Tilting her head to the side like a curious child Nahida spoke eloquently, "... Irminsul holds no record of you despite your origins and connection to the Creator."
In the future where you doppelgänger questioned you about your meeting with Lesser Lord Kusanali, you can explained nothing but the shit-eating terror Nahida managed to instill within you with every word she spoke.
"You are not a Descender like the Traveler, yet you are also not a part of Tevyat according to Irminsul." She took a small step forward, you staggered back in response as though her words had physically hurt you.
You tried for a non-petrified smile as you answered, "But not all knowledge can be found in Irminsul, no? Not everything is as cut-dry as it turns out to be like ███████ ████ ████████████ said-"
Nahida frozed. The dendro archon stood in place like an unmoving statue, her eyes didn't blink even as everything around you faded into a landscape of greys and glitches. All of a sudden you hear a voice next to your ear, not a gust of air touching your ear as her words rang through your head like a clear sky.
"There are some things in this world that must remain as it is, Creator."
Colour slowly bled back into your vision as Nahida spoke, "You are not a Descender like the Traveler, yet you are also not a part of Tevyat according to Irminsul." She took a small step forward, you stood immobile in confusion and horror.
Nahida frowned, sensing your sudden mood shift, "What's wrong?"
You throat felt parched, "I-"
You stopped yourself, remembering the non-existent memory of what once occur. Clearing your throat you gave Nahida a smile, "It's nothing. It could very well be because I'm the Creator's kagemusha that the world chooses to respect her excellency's wishes."
The God of Wisdom didn't utter a word about the bewilderment and terror hiding behind your glass smile and trembling fingers; nor the unusual shift in your emotions, like film tapes messily pieced together.
And yet, her all-knowing eyes weighed you down as you made a flimsy excuse and ran.
Doppelgänger: my sibling and I want a little sister
Nahida: that's wonderful news-
Doppelgänger: *slaps documents onto the table* it's you, please sign here
You: *blocks the door* be our little sister >:3
Doppelgänger: little sister >:3