Chapter Text
Hat Guy, as the others at the Akademiya call him, had truly done it now. Of all the things to cause him trouble he never expected turning in completed work to be something to cause this much of a pit in his stomach. It wasn't the assignment itself. That had been written, revised, and turned in well ahead of time. It was the attention it had garnered. Not from his fellow students or even Lesser Lord Kusanali, that he could avoid and deal with. The assignment in particular wasn't anything special. He'd done what was asked, apparently too well. His analysis of the causes leading to the Inazuman Civil War and the issues the resolution was likely to encounter had somehow garnered the attention of those on the islands he'd left long ago. When he signed the form stating his research work could be published with credit, he didn't realize that the Akademiya used Yae's Publishing house. If he had, maybe he would have chosen a different topic for that paper or many of his others. He had allowed himself to settle into being a student and had cared about just getting something out for the grade and to free up his time. He himself had not fully taken into account just how many of his political analysis essays were on Inazuma or their relations with other countries including Snezhnaya and the Fatui's influence in their policies and decrees. To his dismay and misfortune, the fox had.
Yae had taken an interest in how Inazuma was viewed by the rest of Teyvat as she would surely need to keep Ei updated and informed. Anything to make their chats more interesting or productive. She had found the easiest way to do so was to read through papers the Akademiya was publishing that mentioned the country. After all, she was the Chief Editor and it would be a shame if any imperfections were set to print. She hadn't expected to find a student's diligent research papers that went over Inazuma's politics with such a fine tooth comb. Of course she went on to read the student's other works and found he was no less thorough with Snezhnaya or the other nations for that matter. Always the one to search for budding authors, she sent a letter.
Wanderer stared at the sealed envelope on his desk. He had expected to finish an assignment today, not see the kitsune's seal holding an ivory envelope shut fast. From the substantial bulge of the casing, the fox was not brief with whatever she had to say. He sighed with a grumble as he pushed it aside and took his seat, glad that the wax seal held against the stuffed envelope as he ignored it to attempt to finish his coursework. He couldn't ignore the growing pit that settled in his gut, even with centuries of practice. He thought the last he'd have to see that kitsune was when he obtained the Gnosis.
He huffed as he snatched up the envelope, sparing the official wax seal of Yae's Publishing house's owner only a passing glance before taking joy in slicing it in half to reach the contents of the letter. Inside were pages of Yae's elegant penmanship below her official letterhead, reiterating that it was the kitsune who had written to him. His face scrunched with confoundment to find that she was praising his analysis works and research into Inazuma, even if it was in her own odd way. He skimmed over her attempts at teasing, notably mentioning how she'd heard others call him "hat guy", not giving them a second of his time as he searches for the reason she wrote to him. The pit in his stomach dispersed as he was assured she had not, in fact, learned of who he used to be and was looking for revenge of some kind. It reformed faster than lightning and colder than the Tsaritsa's ice, when the phrase "I've mentioned your works to Ei and she's intrigued by your papers as well" greeted his eyes. Only those that knew him well, few and far between as they may be, would be able to pick up on the slight trembling of his hands and how his rich violet eyes glared to where he usually kept his bitter tea to see if he could hide behind a sip or two of the sobering flavor. To his dismay, the spot was empty, unoccupied by any cup, let alone his bitter tea. The phrase that mentioned his creator was the last on that page, demanding he turn the next to see just how badly he'd messed up by allowing his work to be credited to him.
Colossally, it turns out. The kitsune was requesting correspondence about when the soonest he could come to Inazuma would be. Was "never" an option? He continued reading as he tried to think of the most convincing excuses to get Yae to never contact him again. He found himself staring at a page that detailed how Yae had shown his papers to Ei, the head of the Kamisato Clan, and the head of the Tenryou Commission and that all four of them had expressed interest in meeting with the author of such papers as he "clearly has some interesting viewpoints to share on many topics". Ei, "mother dearest", not the shogun, her successful creation, but the one who created him wanting to meet with him, in front of an audience of other high ranking Inazumans.
He found himself staring through the paper, his free hand's fingernails digging in and splintering the wood of his desk. He resolved to speak with Nahida about the letter once he noticed the damage he'd caused to akademiya property. In his mind he told himself it was merely to get answers about how this letter had made it to his desk and to notify her of the damage caused during it's reading, but deeper down, he knew she'd know what to do. She was the goddess of wisdom and he needed more than an insignificant amount of guidance. His nimble fingers reordered the letter's pages again, not bothering to read the last page, and folded it, creasing and stuffing it back in the undyed parchment it had arrived in. He reasoned with his hat using his free hand, hiding the uncertainty in his eyes behind it's brim as he walked the winding path to the the Sanctuary of Surasthana.