Y/n pov:

Me and Kunikuzushi returned from our house hunting, and we're currently trekking back up towards the sanctuary.

"No no no, a house near the ocean won't bring us much joy." I said, rejecting the option.

He however disagreed. "Why not? It's great with all the fresh air, isn't that important for you?" He said with some sass. I rolled my eyes, knowing what he meant. "Because I breathe?" I said, crossing my arms and returning the sass.

He chuckled. "Exactly." I rolled my eyes. "No, I've  grown quite unimpressed by the ocean, or water in general." I said. He hummed. "Because of your five hundred year long ice bath?" He asked.
I chuckled at this. "Exactly." I said, copying his manner.

We trekked up towards the sanctuary.

-

3rd pov:

Y/n and Kunikuzushi walked past someone, not paying them attention as they only looked at each other.

"Aah!!!" A high pitched voice exclaimed as she saw the two of them.

"What's wrong?!" Aether asked Paimon after she had yelled.

"Hey, did you see that? He literally just went by. Over there... it looked like, like..." Paimon said surprised, not understanding what I'm the world was happening.

Aether looked past her and up towards the sanctuary. His eyes widened as he caught glimpse of Y/n and who he called The Balladeer.

"The Balladeer?! No it can't have been, he got locked up... quick, let's catch up and see!" Paimon said. Aether nodded in agreement and the two of them ran up the path towards the sanctuary.

-

Y/n pov:

We opened the door and walked inside the sanctuary.

"I'm not saying a cabin in the mountains will be nice either. It'll make us feel like cave people!" Kunikuzushi said, not wanting to live in the mountains. I agreed with that.

I hummed. "Fair enough."

We saw Nahida and I gave her a wave. She smiled. "Welcome back, I hope you enjoyed your time." She said.

"Did you manage to contact Aether yet?" I asked her. Kuni decided to stand off to the side.

Nahida shook her head. "No, not yet." She said.

Almost on call, the sanctuary door opened. Well look who it is.
I went over to Kunikuzushi and stood with him.

Aether and Paimon walked towards Nahida, me and Kuni out of his sight for the moment.

"Traveler, Paimon, there you are." Nahida greeted them.

Paimon however, was quick to speak. "Nahida, bad news! We just saw The Balladeer, strolling around in public! And Y/n was with him! Do you think he's brainwashed her?" She exclaimed.

As me and Kuni heard her voice, he sent her an offended glare. And my eyes widened at her accusation.

"Did he escape, or...? Aah! It's him!" She exclaimed as she and Aether noticed the two of us standing here as well.

"Hmph. Sure enough, you're here." He spoke to them in a cold manner. I couldn't blame him. And so I let it be.

Aether was on edge immediately and looked as if he was ready to beat him up. Paimon kept speaking.
"Hey, what are you doing in the Sanctuary of Sarasthana?! Aren't you supposed to be locked up?!" She yelled.

Nahida then stopped her before she yelled anymore. "I know you must be confused. Please, allow me to explain." She said.

"It was mine and Y/n's idea to set the Balladeer free. We've made a deal, and he's gonna do some investigation in Irminsul for me." She explained the situation to them.

It didn't seem to reassure them though. They certainly did not trust him the least. "A deal?! You sure you can trust this guy?" Paimon asked.

Kunikuzushi huffed at her rudeness. "What? Maybe killing me is all you can think about? If that's the case, why haven't you done it already?" He asked them.

Paimon placed her small hands on her hips. "Don't flatter yourself. It was... Nahida and Y/n said there's still some mysteries in you to figure out!" She told him.

I spoke up. "So if it were up to you, you'd finish the job?" I asked her in a cold tone. I crossed my arms. I was serious about wanting to protect him and staying by his side.

Kunikuzushi continued my statement. "There I was thinking you were just getting cold feet." He said.

Nahida sighed, not liking how things escalated to this. She quickly made sure we all calmed down.

"Don't let him trick you Nahida!" Paimon told her. At this, Kuni laughed at how she was questioning the God of Wisdom herself.

Nahida spoke up. "As long as the terms are reasonable, I don't think there's a problem in making a deal with The Balladeer." She said, her words made me smile. I could see a small smile on Kuni's face as well. Her words must've meant something to him.

Nahida decided to try and reassure the other two as well. "The Balladeer's power was all but completely spent after the battle. And what was left of it has been sealed away by Y/n. He's not strong enough to be a strategic threat." She said.

Nahida also told them how he was no longer a harbinger, and he was stranded in Sumeru. Aether chose to see this as Kunikuzushi being tossed out like trash.

Kuni wasn't bothered by this however. Because that behavior was normal between the fatui and the harbingers.

Nahida turned to Kuni and I. "Why don't you join forces with us? The two of you." She asked us.

Kuni scoffed. "We don't need to join forces with anyone. You must understand that. After this, me and Y/n will be on our own." He answered her.
I simply nodded along, confirming his thoughts.

Paimon then spoke again. "Y/n? You're with The Balladeer?!" She yelled.

Kuni smirked at Paimon. "She's always been with me, you just never understood it." He said. I rolled my eyes at their bicker.

Nahida sighed. "Let's not talk about that now. I trust that Y/n will do what's right for him." She said and gave me a confident nod. I gave her one in return, confirming her thoughts.

Kunikuzushi grabbed my wrist, tugging me with him. "Alright. Then I'll do what we agreed." He said.

Nahida nodded. "Good. Go now, and keep in touch." She said.

Kunikuzushi took me with him and he teleported us away, a bright light covering my vision.

When my vision cleared again, we were standing in a place I had never seen before.

My eyes were wide as I looked around at the huge tree with the bright energy surrounding it.

"It beautiful here." I commented. Kunikuzushi nodded and held my hand, walking me across the grass. We stepped closer to the huge tree.

"It's so peaceful..." I mumbled. Kunikuzushi responded, "It is..."

He looked around at our surroundings, beneath the huge grass covered branch we were standing on, there were trees.

Then he looked towards me, catching my eye. "Let's live somewhere in the forest. But in some clearing of some sort." He said. I smiled at his good idea. "Yes, why not."

Then I heard someone walk towards us. I turned around and saw Aether and Paimon.
"Look at that, hot on our heels. Were you scared I was going to reach Irminsul before you?" Kunikuzushi mocked them. I couldn't blame him for it either.

Paimon crossed her arms. "Paimon's here to make sure you don't do anything to Y/n."

Kunikuzushi scoffed at her. "Maybe you should have more trust in me." He glared at them.

Aether crossed his arms. "It's hard to trust you." He said.

I then spoke, wanting to end this bickering as we had more important things to do.
"Do you trust me though?" I asked Aether.
For a few seconds I simply had eye contact with him.

Then he sighed and nodded. "I trust you Y/n." He said.

Kunikuzushi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? When did you two get so close?" He asked.

I sensed a small hint of jealousy, and I hoped so dearly for Nahida to cut in soon. Thankfully my prayers were answered.

Nahida's voice echoed around us. "Sounds like a successful rendezvous." She said. She told us about how we were about to enter the most important area of Sumeru.

"You must put aside your differences and be extremely careful as you navigate your way through." She said.

Aether nodded in understanding. Paimon sighed, but decided to call a truce for now.

"So how will we do this?" I asked him, not really understanding how this would work.

Kuni turned to me. "Per my agreement with Lesser Lord Kusanali, I'll be at the front. It's my job to lead the way and get rid of any obstacles in our path." He started.

Then he looked into my eyes, "All you have to do is keep your pretty eyes open and stay close to me." He explained, making my heart flutter at his compliment. I smiled.

I could hear Paimon whisper-yell to Aether. "Is he... flirting with her?!" Aether looked shocked as well, as I could tell from my side view.

Kuni then turned to them. "You two just make sure not to fall behind. If there are no objections, I suggest we get going." He said and took my hand. "Or did you two need time to mentally prepare yourselves?" He asked, mocking them.

Paimon stomped in the air. "The snark on this guy!" Aether crossed his arms. "There's no need for all the biting sarcasm." He said.

Kuni turned back to the tree, speaking to Nahida. "We can start now." He said.

Nahida spoke back. "Irminsul access granted. Initiating connection procedure." She said.

Small threads of glowing energy forming as a mini tree appeared in front of us.

"Is this a small sapling?" Paimon asked.

Kuni ignored her and took my hand, leading us into the new portal.

"Argh, darn it! C'mon, let's catch up with them!" I heard her voice yell.