Welcome to my world // Genshin Impact x reader

oO Chapter 43 Oo

"Ah, (y/n)!" Beidou exclaimed, smiling warmly, her hands on her hips. "So we meet again!"

"Hi, Beidou." I panted out, though I still managed a smile. Getting to Beidou's ship had been a very rushed affair. Between waiting for Lumine at our agreed meeting point and then rushing over to the port after she'd shown up five minutes late had been stressful to say the least. She did have Kaeya and Albedo with her, though, so were all good on that front. All our team members were here.

"I didn't realise that you were friends with Lumine here!" She laughed, clapping a hand on my back. "You should have said!"

"Ah, I wasn't aware you knew Lumine either." I smiled awkwardly. It was a blatant lie, but I couldn't really help it. I didn't wanna come off as creepy or a stalker to Beidou.

"Oh, well." Beidou smiled good-naturedly. "Before we leave, I'd like to introduce you to our other guest of honour!" She gestured to Kazuha, who was standing a little ways away from us. He was absorbed in a conversation with another crew member, but looked up as Beidou addressed him.

He smiled with his eyes closed, walking over with a hand up in a wave. "Pleasure to meet you all."

"This is Kazuha." Beidou said, her smile looking a little proud. "He's got a silver tongue, so be careful!" She added teasingly.

"Come now, Captain." Kazuha smiled again. "Our new passengers have nothing to fear. Might I ask your names?"

"Ah, you already know me and Paimon." Lumine smiled. "These are (y/n), Xiao, Albedo, Zhongli and Kaeya!" She gestured to each of us as she spoke our names. As mine came up, I waved sheepishly. 

As Lumine's roll call finished, Kazuha's gaze came to rest on me. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks a little at the way he languidly inspected every inch of me, until his eyes reached my face. His lips quirked up at the ends, seemingly amused by my flustered state. Did I mention he looked utterly shameless about it too?

"You carry a quite mysterious aura about you, (miss/mister/mx) (y/n)." He commented, an intrigued glint in his eyes. "How peculiar." 

"A-ah, do I...?" I trailed off, smiling awkwardly.

"Like the stars, but not exactly..." He left his sentence midway, studying me. His head tilted slightly as he looked lost in thought. "It feels familiar and at the same time, completely foreign."

I just smiled sheepishly. I had absolutely no idea what to say in response to that, I mean, what are you meant to say? Thank you??

"When do we leave?" Xiao cut in, being very straightforward. 

"A few minutes." Beidou replied. "We're just waiting on a few crew members and then we'll be off."

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

"Ah, I can't wait to see Inazuma!" I said dreamily as we glided through the water. My mind was elsewhere, lost in the vibrant sakura trees and dimly glowing forests I was sure to find. I'd only seen a few pictures of Inazuma beforehand, but everything I saw was gorgeous. The landscape had sort of soft dark purple aesthetic going on, and I loved it. I couldn't wait to finally get off the ship and explore everything my eyes could see.

"My homeland is beautiful, I'll admit." Kazuha sighed, gazing off into the distance. "I don't mean to dampen your enthusiasm, but I'm afraid the people of Inazuma aren't in very good shape. You haven't chosen an opportune time to visit, I'm afraid."

"Hm? Oh, you mean because of the Vision hunt decree?" I questioned.

Kazuha nodded once. "Yes. I fear it's caused riots and unrest within the nation."

"Well..." I trailed off, not sure what to say. I didn't exactly support the Vision hunt decree, but after finding out what Visions did to their bearers...I couldn't say I opposed it either. There was a lot of confusing morally grey area to work around here. "I'll try help them in any way I can! It can't be easy, losing your Vision..."

"I see you have one yourself." Kazuha commented, his eyes lingering on my hips, where my Anemo Vision hung. "Anemo, no less. The same one as I do."

"Yeah." I smiled brightly. "I only received my Vision recently, but...I couldn't imagine parting with it."

"I feel the same way about mine." Kazuha tilted his head slightly as he stared out over the open ocean, towards the horizon. "Once you receive a Vision, it becomes a part of you. Being separated from it is like losing yourself. Your direction, your dreams, your ambitions...they're all ripped from you mercilessly."

"That sounds horrible..." I breathed, placing a protective hand over my Vision unconsciously. Really, once you think about it, the whole affair of having a Vision is problematic. You die inside slowly if it's taken away, yet you become only a puppet for Celestia should you keep it. There's no way out. They're a death sentence, rather than a blessing. So why did I feel so strongly about mine...? I never wanted it in the first place, but now that I have it...I never want it to leave my side. I need it. Even if it eventually spells my downfall in the end. After all, it's better than losing myself should I ever be parted from it...right?

"(y/n)?" Kazuha waved a hand in front of my face. "Are you alright? You seem rather lost in thought..."

My head shot up, effectively snapping me out of my daze. That's weird...

I dug my nails into the side of my thigh in mild discomfort. My head hurt. It hadn't before. 

"Ah, I'm fine..." I mumbled, waving off his concerns. "My head just hurt for a moment."

"Would you like to rest a little?" Kazuha asked, concern lacing his features. "We don't want it getting worse right before we reach."

"Oh no, I'll be alright." I said, smiling gratefully. "It's not that bad."

"Tell me if you change your mind, okay?" Kazuha smiled. Despite how hard I tried to push it down, I found myself swooning at his smile a little. I was never crazy for him, like other people in the fandom were, but his smile was so sweet and genuine it instantly put me at ease. Something about it was so warm and comforting, it was hard not to just gaze at him forever.

"Okay." I smiled quietly, enjoying how he chuckled silently and returned his gaze to the pink sky. I hadn't noticed that the sun had started to set. The looked beautiful against the ocean, which mirrored its colours. The sky blazed vibrant pinks and oranges and just looking at it made me forget the tempest that had plaguing my mind earlier. Well...whatever happens, i'm not alone, at least.

(a/n: I swear I didn't mean for this chapter to be so heavy-

It just happened all on its own-)