(Going with ☔️ with how my town’s drowning in rain lolololol)
Wanderer!MC every now and then coming across a few Khaenri’ahn survivors washing up on Inazuma’s beaches on rickety old boats and rafts and quietly directing them to safety. MC’s not even gonna bother asking questions, certainly not when some of them are outright bleeding to death.
Niwa and Nagamasa turn a blind eye to these outsiders because they obviously need help; and a few of them even find some work in Tatarasuna.
There was a Khaenri’ahn child missing an eye and Katsuragi felt his heart break into itty bitty pieces when he saw that. 🥲
MC also being forced by Niwa to take the imperial exams for a proper medical license.
Niwa: 😅 “I know you hate showing your face in public, but trust me, this will come in handy if you decide to move out later in life. And I know you hate relying on us to get specific resources.”
Wanderer!MC: ☠️ (Hello testing anxiety, my old friend—)
Cut to the exam room where the proctors can’t help staring at MC wondering why they so closely resemble the Shogun…and the examinees struggling to keep their eyes on their own paper because they want to look too! But they can’t look up at the purple/indigo-haired test-taker otherwise it’ll be declared “cheating” and they don’t want to fail after studying so hard—
MC manages to pass and they practically drown their relief and leftover academic stress with some hard-hitting sake.
Then “Escher” finally shows up and Wanderer!MC. Is. Not. Happy.
And they hate how, in reality, there probably isn’t a whole lot they can do about it.
But they can try to stall him until they can think of something.
They have Nagamasa and Niwa going back and forth with the head of the Akame clan during those Tri-Commission meetings, asking several questions about Dottore and the Akame clan’s idea of using Crystal Marrow to increase forging efficiency and production at the Mikage Furnace.
Two most important things: the black gas caused by using Crystal Marrow, and a background check on “Escher” himself.
Nagamasa: “According to an analysis from multiple physicians—” Niwa was right about MC’s license coming in handy, but he probably wasn’t expecting it to be used on this occasion. “—the black gas is caused by the Tatarigami from within the Crystal Marrow. There are extensive reports on patients afflicted—”
TLDR no. 1: The process developed by Dottore and the Akame clan will cause a massive Tatarigami gas leak — with obvious consequences, health-wise, economically and environmentally.
Nagamasa: “I’ve also visited Fontaine before—” For Condessence Crystals. “—and I have seen missing person notices of a young man with the same face as the one helped develop this method. And the last time I checked with my associates in Fontaine, ‘Escher’ is only a painter who has been missing for years. There is nothing about him being a mechanic. So, who exactly is this man seated with us?”
The Akame clan head is unable to answer any of those questions, and Dottore can’t answer that either because he wasn’t expecting them to be so thorough. Plus, it’s not like he can be honest about the lack of safety being almost intentional on his part.
And with a little more needling — “What do you mean the side-effects haven’t been observed yet?” “So you’re saying there aren’t any safeguards to address the accumulation over time?” — the proposed method to improve smithing production gets shut down, or at least suspended.
Not that any of it bothers Dottore, who for his part has become very intrigued with MC. From the profiles he cobbled together on persons of interest, Nagamasa is usually one of the most cautious. It’s only because of MC using themself as an “assistant” and sounding board for him to bounce ideas off of that he can afford to be bolder in his approach.
That, and MC has a good rapport with the locals, and more recently with the curious nobles (especially after MC and Niwa helped solve a poisoning case in a classic power struggle between two clans).
And it only took them a handful of questions and a background check to rip the proposal apart.
…If he only had his own assistant who was just as competent.
But back to the current situation: Dottore has to deal with suspicious eyes on him now; and what little support and connections he was starting to build came undone so quickly, especially because the Akame clan was accosted over it, and they’re obviously not happy with him.
Although, in Dottore’s actual defense, he did warn them about the Tatarigami in the noxious fumes from using the Crystal Marrow.
What’s more, he’s unlikely to develop any rapport with the other officials, nobles or even the merchants. Word travels surprisingly fast in Inazuma, and now even the Lady Guuji has her eye on him after that debacle. Though, she likely already suspected him to begin with.
And that’s not getting into how Fontaine (namely, Neuvillette) has probably been alerted to the Fatui’s movements after Inazuman investigators showed up for a background check on a man who’s been missing for possibly years.
So, the solution should be: get rid of MC as fast as possible.
As much as it pains him to see their skill go to waste over things like whatever Pierro wants or MC’s “ethics.”
Except he just witnessed MC clear 20, maybe 30 or 40 monsters and Ochimusha in one sitting and. Uh.
Yeah. He’s not winning that confrontation. (He’s still a normal mortal human without any segments.)
MC hasn’t noticed him stalking them yet.
Back to the drawing board with Pierro, before the Kanjou Commission decides to kick him out.
Through his back-and-forth with Dottore, Pierro starts to get an idea of the scope of MC’s presence. And their killing intent.
MC is a puppet creation of the Raiden Shogun.
They’ve also been steadily developing their technical skills and at this point have optimal combat capabilities and a knack for science.
Now, they could be a threat; but, perhaps one of the more interesting parts, they’ve been treating Khaenri’ahn survivors and harboring a crippled Khaenri’ahn who currently can’t make it on his own.
And they don’t seem too fond of the gods either.
Pierro actually decides to backpedal on his initial order to sabotage. The Jester is not keen on making an enemy out of a potential boon, and he — well, Dottore, anyway — is already treading on thin ice.
Dottore now has to go through the impossibly difficult ordeal of trying to win over MC.
Dottore: 💀 (I can’t remember the last time I actually socialized and that woman looks like she wants to strangle me with my own ***.)
More Khaenri'ahn survivors! And Dottore! That little shit is finally here, and Wanderer!MC is already on his lying ass, lol! 🤣
Dottore is so bamboozled by Wanderer!MC it's hilarious, and now he has to get close to her without causing mayhem or destruction?! How?! They HATE his ass! ...And does he even know how to socialize as a regular person?! This isn't like his experiments!!!
Sides that, love how Pierro was quick to change plans, but dude, maybe you should've sent someone that wasn't Dottore. The Doctor might ruin any chances they have with making Wanderer!MC a ally... and for you to see those Khaenri'ahn survivors.
Tagging: @platinumrosetail, @arn9tails, @bloodytea, @uniquecutie-puffs, @lovelyjane-stuff
