The docks of Ritou, once the site of a tense, hostile standoff, were now the scene of a warm, fond, and slightly chaotic, farewell. The Alcor was ready, its sails unfurled, waiting to catch the evening tide. And on the pier, a group that represented the entirety of Inazuma's new, united, and profoundly changed, power structure had gathered to see them off.
Beidou stood on the deck, a hearty, knowing grin on her face, Kazuha at her side, a gentle, peaceful smile in his calm, red eyes.
And on the dock, a truly surreal and powerful welcoming committee was assembled. Ayato and Ayaka were there, the noble siblings of the Yashiro Commission. Yoimiya was there, her sunny energy a bright, cheerful beacon. Yae Miko stood, a foxy, elegant, and slightly sad, smile on her face. And, in a move that made the few remaining Kanjou Commission officials on the island almost faint from shock, the Raiden Shogun, Ei herself, was there, standing with a quiet, serene, and profoundly, personally, present, grace.
They had all come to say goodbye to the small, quiet boy who had, in the space of a few, short, and chaotic, months, completely and utterly, changed their world.
Before they boarded, Ren, with his ever-present Kamera, insisted on one, final, group photo. It was a picture for the history books: the two architects of the most respected commission of Inazuma, the sunshine girl of the Summer Festival, the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, and the living god of Inazuma, all gathered, smiling, around a single, small, and very beloved, boy from Liyue and his elder sister.
With final, heartfelt hugs and promises to visit, Ren and Ganyu finally walked up the gangplank of the Alcor. Ren stood at the ship's railing, waving, as the great vessel pulled away from the dock, the figures of his Inazuman family growing smaller and smaller, until they were just colorful specks against the beautiful, violet twilight.
Later, in the quiet, gentle sway of their private cabin, a profound, weary, and deeply happy, peace settled over them.
"You know," Ganyu said, her voice a soft, contemplative murmur as she looked out the porthole at the dark, starlit sea, "barring the times when I was absolutely, completely, and soul-crushingly, terrified that you were about to be erased from existence… I did enjoy our time in Inazuma."
She then turned, her amethyst eyes, full of a deep, profound, and slightly awestruck, light, settling on Ren. "But I look at you now," she said, her voice a whisper of pure, honest wonder, "and I see… a boy who can talk to gods. A boy who can wield the power of two elements without a Vision. A boy who has the power to change the entire world."
A sad, almost inadequate, look crossed her face. "How… how am I supposed to protect someone like that? You're not just my little brother anymore. You're… so much more."
Ren looked at his big sister, at the beautiful, gentle, and powerful adeptus who had been his anchor, his shield, and his home, and he gave her a small, confident, and deeply, deeply, loving, smile.
"Maybe," he said softly, his voice full of a new, quiet, and unshakeable, strength, "it's time for me to protect you."
The statement, so full of a simple, profound, and utterly sincere, love, hung in the air for a moment. And then, Ganyu's sad, contemplative expression completely, and utterly, vanished.
It was replaced by a look of pure, theatrical, and utterly, comically, mock anger.
"Oh, is that so?" she said, her voice a dangerous, playful purr as she put her hands on her hips. "Are you suggesting," she continued, her eyes narrowing in a parody of a scolding glare, "that your big sister is getting old? That she needs a little boy to protect her?"
Before Ren could even react, she was on him. Not with a hug, but with a flurry of tickling fingers, her gentle, loving assault finding all of his most vulnerable, ticklish spots.
The quiet, serious atmosphere of the cabin erupted into a storm of helpless, joyous, and breathless, laughter.
"No matter how powerful you get," Ganyu declared between her own, happy giggles, as Ren squirmed and laughed uncontrollably, "no matter if you can talk to gods or fly through the sky or create mountains of ice… you will always, always, be my little brother. And you," she finished, with one, final, triumphant tickle, "are the one who will always be getting protected."
And in the warm, happy, and laughter-filled cabin of the ship that was finally, truly, taking them home, Ren knew, with an absolute, unshakeable, and deeply, deeply, happy, certainty, that she was absolutely right.