The Will to Live - Xiao x Reader

Part 43 - Aether

"Y/N? Uh- Why is Paimon out of breath?" Thoma asked with his smile. To be honest, it wasn't just Paimon out of breath, I struggled to keep up with Y/N's pace too.

"Yeah... Can I speak to Ayaka or Ayato? Preferably both." Y/N skipped over Thoma's question. Thoma seemed to notice the urgency in Y/N's voice and guided us to the siblings chatting over a cup of tea and paperwork.

"Y/N?" Ayato noticed them first, "Oh and Xiao, Aether and Paimon. What's the occasion?" He asked casually. 

"How do I put this?" Y/N had rushed over it seemed they hadn't mentally prepared to tell our friends their region was about to be at war. "Er- The Fatui are waging war on Inazuma and they want to take over," They put it so bluntly.

Ayato laughed but I interjected, "It's true."

The whole room went silent and the Kamisato sibling slowly reacted to the news. While Ayaka's eyes widened Ayato's stayed neutral. "How do you know?" Ayato asked with a steady tone. He must've thought it was a prank of some sort.

Xiao threw him an arrow with the note attached, "Hundreds came raining down just outside the city. No one was hurt luckily and Yoimiya has gone to alert the Shogun and the Kujou Clan."

"I came to propose that you organise an alliance with Liyue. You have the status and connections to do so," Y/N explained. "I was planning to go to the Tsaritsa anyway so this just adds one more concern to talk to her about."

Ayato considered the option for a moment, "Are you requesting, ordering or suggesting we do this?" He raised an eyebrow while asking for clarification but it was almost... Flirty. That asshole, I scoffed in my mind. Y/N will be mine. 

"A suggestion..?" Y/N sounded uncertain with their answer.

"Are you suggesting that because you don't think Inazuma will be able to fight off the Fatui alone?" Ayaka spoke up.

It was strange to see them like this. All three of them were important people and they'd always seemed to use 'lighter' words for topics like this. That did also lead to miscommunication but that doesn't matter~. They were being blunt and straightforward. I don't know if that was Y/N's way of expressing their concern but it appears that it came off as a joke.

"That's correct," Y/N couldn't have sounded more arrogant. "I'm not going to involve myself in the war directly but I will be heading for the Zapolyarny Palace so Inazuma will have to just hang tight for a while."

Ayato sighed, "So basically, we follow your plan and get an alliance with Liyue and fight till you put a stop to it or we fight till the Fatui take over? Seems we don't have a choice."

Y/N nodded before turning to Xiao and me, "What do you two plan to do?" The question stung. Were they planning to go to the Tsaritsa alone? I wondered, Do they even want us to go with them? The thought of leaving Y/N's side had never entered my mind till now but I couldn't help wondering, Do I want to fight alongside my friends. They were going to be in danger. Death was inevitable. Did I want to see that?

"I'm going to stay by your side," Xiao's voice broke me out of my daze. Y/N looked at me, they were waiting for an answer I didn't have but, I had to choose. My thoughts went back to the Vision Hunt Decree. 

"I'll go with you too," I blurted out. I abandoned Y/N once, never again. 

Y/N smiled but it quickly faded. "Alright then, we should get going. There should be a boat going back to Liyue tomorrow for visitors, we'll have to find a way onto that."

***

A/N: On the boat bc Idk what to write before it so yuh.

Y/N perched themself on the very edge of the boat. I watched the wind wash through their hair as I worried that they would fall into the water. My heart tightened looking at how beautiful/handsome Y/N looked as they stared into the horizon. I wanted to talk to them. To hear their voice but I was too nervous. Y/N had been different ever since the arrows incident. They were more serious and almost cold - like when I first met them - but they seemed unsteady.

"You gonna keep staring at me or tell me what's on your mind?" Y/N turned to face me. 

"I- Uh-" I stuttered, "Are you... O- Okay?" Y/N should've smiled and shrugged off the question yet they stayed silent. "What's bothering you?" I felt bad for pressuring them but couldn't help being concerned.

Y/N looked away, "This whole thing is... My fault." Even with the sun, Y/N's eyes were dark. But it was no wonder. They were blaming a whole war on themself. Y/N looked back at me and started to laugh, "Paimon are you alright?"

Paimon held her hand over her mouth. Her face was slightly paler than normal (A/N: Is that even possible?). She suddenly ran towards the side of the boat - almost running into Y/N - and vomited over the side.

"I told you that you shouldn't have eaten that much," I sighed. Paimon lifted her head to argue but immediately put it back over the edge. "We'll be at the harbour in about another 10 minutes, don't worry." I walked over to comfort her.

"How can Paimon get seasick if she's constantly floating around?" Xiao joined the conversation. He'd been at the front of the boat since Liyue was in sight, probably out of homesickness but still, I hadn't even taken the chance to speak to Y/N without him around. How stupid of me. 

I put on a smile, "I don't know." 

Xiao looked at Y/N and I followed his gaze. They instantly turned a slight shade of pink and stuttered, "H-How should I know? Ask Paimon," Y/N tried to redirect the attention.

"I don't think I can right now," I laughed.

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A/N: Idk but hi. My motivation is dying however I have been working on my art and stuff if you wanted to look at that on my TikTok and or account on HoyoLab. I hope you're enjoying the book so far! Oh yeah, Zapolyarny Palace is where genshin impact wiki says the Tsaritsa is supposed to be so yuh.

Take care <3