Chapter Text
Picture this,
It is after the Great Cataclysm, far enough out that the nations as a whole are just focused on rebuilding and re-strengthening (Except for whatever is going on in Snezhnaya. Are those guns? Who are these Fatui people and why are they trying to get everywhere?) themselves. Yet it is not so far out that the scars of the fighting and the deaths are all but forgotten.
Inazuma is where this story focuses on.
More specifically Tatarasuna, Kannazuka. Yeah, the Mikage Furnace!
So, we have our cast here, for good reference.
First up, we have our Inspector, Mikoshi Nagamasa. He can be quite rude, and most people wonder how the rest can even tolerate him. Well, he’s a good person at heart, he just shows it poorly. He tends to be stubborn, and stuck in his ways, but that just means people can depend on him.
Secondly, there is Nagamasa’s Yoriki, Katsuragi. He is the person you go to when you just need a friendly face to chat with. People ask him all the time: “Hey, why do you want to work with Nagamasa, don’t you know his reputation?” He just laughs at them. He has a habit of taking in strays and wounded animals, much to the rest’s dismay. He’s been described as being too nice for his own good.
Third, the Armory Officer, Miyazaki. He’s grumpy about half the time you meet him. The other half, he’s a decent fellow. He tends to be the voice of reason in arguments, as he prefers to remain neutral. Also has a grudge against math, yet he has to do basically all of it.
Next up, Nozomu. He’s kind of an idiot. He works at the forge because he is good at it. He will stand up for anyone and everyone he believes in and trusts. He also has fallen victim to many, many jokes. He has a heart of gold, though, so he laughs it off every time. He also loves to draw and make art in his breaks.
Last but not least, Kinjiro. He usually keeps himself busy by doing different tasks around the forge. However, he is also the primary cause of prank rules being made. He once locked Nozomu’s sketchbook in the Arsenal, and has subsequently been banned from being in the Arsenal alone.
Now that that has been taken care of, we can truly start the story.
It was a dark and stormy night.
Half joking, it was usually stormy nowadays in Inazuma, considering there’s something going on with the Shogun, seeing as she is the cause of the lightning. Some people say she is mourning a loss in the Cataclysm, but compared to other nations, which lost entire Archons, Inazuma was doing pretty fine, so no one could really say anything for certain. Just pretty much annoying. Especially for tourists who just want to look at the islands, they don’t want to be struck by lightning. Honestly, if they keep getting struck, the best course of action would just be to close Inazuma entirely with these poor tourism ratings.
However we don't have to deal with that for another few hundred years or so, so pay that no mind.
The Mikage Furnace recently got a new shipment of Jade Steel. A good thing, considering they used it to forge weapons. Honestly the fact that Jade Steel contains Tataragami essence is really just a minor thing. No need to worry. This won't bite anyone in the back.
Anyway, their new shipment came in, yadda yadda yadda. Good thing, considering they needed to use Jade Steel in their forging of swords.
“Nozomu, pray tell, what are you doing?” Nagamasa asked, watching Nozomu be surrounded by multiple piles of Jade steel.
“I’m sorting the steel you bought by color, what else?” That was definitely not a logical way to sort steel, and apparently everyone but Nozomu knows that.
“You sort the steel by quality, not by color. We’ve never sorted them like that.” He sighed, then remembered an equally important fact “..they're also all the same color. How have you gotten this far and not realized that?”
“Some of them are a different shade of silver.”
“You. Kinjiro put you up to this, didn’t he? I’m going to have to talk with him… again…” Nagamasa sighed, again, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Clean this up, you’re going to sort them properly tomorrow. It’s too late to have you restart now.”
“Right- will do, Sir!” Nozomu said, scrambling to clean up the room. As Nagamasa turned to leave, he suddenly remembered the real reason he sought out Nozomu in the first place.
“Lastly, have you seen Katsuragi and Miyazaki? I’ve not seen the two of them all day.”
“Oh, they told me to tell you that they’re discussing some of the matters at hand.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Said they would tell you if something important came up”
“Well at least someone is doing their job right around here” Nagamasa left to find Kinjiro, leaving Nozomu to deal with the consequences of being tricked once again.
“Got any twos?” Miyazaki asked, piles of cards lay on the table. They were playing cards.
“No, go fish.” Katsuragi said, motioning his hand to the draw pile.
“That’s bull, I know you have one, I see it in your eyes.”
“And I’m telling you, I don’t- go fish.”
“Fine, fine I’ll draw if that’s what you say-“ Miyazaki grumbled, drawing a card. His expression immediately soured as he silently placed the three twos he held in his own hand in a pile with the card he just drew.
“Anything to say to me?”
“Shut up, it’s your turn.”
“Alright, got any fives?” Miyazaki made a show of lightly throwing the five he had in his hand at Katsuragi, who made yet another pile.
“I swear, the Shogun favors you, but instead of giving you an electro vision, she gave you an anemo one and the ability to win at cards.”
“Please, if the Shogun favored me, she would let me keep all these strays I find,” He laughed “Unless you want to go against the Shogun’s will?”
“The last stray you brought in had rabies. I don’t even know how you managed to pick it up without it biting you in the first place. One of these days, one of those creatures you bring in will end up causing trouble for the entire team”
“Oh come on, you and I both know the only time something will truly trouble us is when Nagamasa finally snaps, and we all know that’s about as likely as Celestia falling.” Katsuragi picked up the cards, shuffling them neatly. “What do you want to play next?”
“Garbage- less thinking. Say- who’s scheduled for patrol tomorrow?”
“Ah, I am,” He sorted the cards out between the pair. “Word is there has been some disturbances in the Ley Line Energy on the island, and I wanted to check the beach to see if Yashiori Island also felt it. You want to go first?”
“Yeah, I'll go first-“ Miyazaki drew a card, then immediately tossed it in the discard pile. “A queen. How are things with Nagamasa?”
“Ah, he’s doing well. He said he was pretty excited about the new shipment. I just think he wants to start forging as soon as possible- oh, a two!” The two of them continued to play well into the night. And that’s where this episode ends for now. Who knows what will happen next? Probably not more card games.