A Yaksha's Wish | A XiaoLumi Story

Chapter 20

Lightning flashes in the distance and after a few minutes, clouds, heavy with rain, roll above the traveler and her companion.

Lumine is standing at the edge of the ship, attempting to make out a sign of land in the distance, while her fairy friend is covering her ears, not used to the noise.

Paimon shivers from coldness as the water soaks through Paimon's comically loose clothing.

"Why did you wear something that isn't remotely waterproof?" Lumine teases, rolling her eyes.

"Fine, fine, I may have not thought this out enough," Paimon admits.

"Why don't you go to the lower part of the ship," Lumine suggests.

"I don't wanna leave you here alone," the fairy says uncertainly, her voice quivering due to the coldness.

"I'll be fine," Lumine assures.

"Okay," Paimon says hesitantly, zipping under the deck of the ship.

Lumine rests her arm along the edge of the ship, becoming lost in her thoughts.

Xiao's words ring in her mind, and tears unwillingly fall from her eyes. She'd lost everyone, everything she'd loved, and finally when she finally healed again, finally found someone to love, he abandoned her as well.

Lumine screams into the wind, yelling multiple confessions at the archons, sharing her entire story, everything, though her voice is barely audible over the wind. Lumine screams, allowing all of her tears to flow out of her eyes, into the salty seawater.

Little does she know, her words catch onto the wind, being carried away to the ears of the archons. 

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.

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Zhongli stops in his tracks, listening to the string of confessions made from non other than the traveler.

He listens intently for nearly 3 hours. She pauses for a moment before ending with her conclusion, which intrigues Zhongli the most.

"I-I've lost everyone I've ever loved. Lost my homeland, my brother. I don't even know who my parents were, and when I was finally able to love someone again...he left me too."

He then listens to her sob uncontrollably, beginning to scream a string of curses repeatedly.

Zhongli stumbles over himself in surprise as can never recall a time when she'd acted remotely mentally injured at all.

"Foolish Xiao," Zhongli mutters, shaking his head, and thousands of miles away, he hears the melodic voice, lined with years of wisdom  speaking his name, and he assumes the former archon had summoned him.

~~

Zhongli doesn't need to turn around to know the adeptus is standing behind him, most likely assuming the ex archon had summoned him.

"I must speak to you," Zhongli says, his voice laced with...sadness?

"What is it, my lord?" Xiao asks, bowing towards his god.

Zhongli sighs, though doesn't say anything about Xiao's unnecessary formality as he has more important topics to explain to Xiao.

A faint smile, a hint of mischief lines his ageless face, "You're becoming quite the heartbreaker."

Xiao tilts his head, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Listen to this," Zhongli instructs, his voice suddenly serious.

Xiao pauses for a second, then begins to hear a pained voice of Lumine, repeating the conclusion to her ranting that Zhongli had listened to earlier.

Xiao's eyes widen.

 "T-t-this is truly the traveler speaking?" Xiao sputters in pure disbelief. The yaksha's usual stone-cold facade shatters, as he breaks down in guilt combined with deep, deep, dread, "I didn't know she cared about me...this...much." 

"She does," Zhongli encourages, "And you do too, do you not?"

Yes. "No.." Xiao says, the lie leaving traces of bitterness in his mouth.

Zhongli purses his lips, "Are you sure?"

"Well...maybe I do care for her...a bit..."

"Then I see absolutely nothing wrong with starting a relationship with her."

Except she's thousands of miles away, is furious at me, probably doesn't even love me anymore, I have duties to attend to, I could not care for, anyways. Plus, we have a different agenda. I must protect Liyue, while Lumine wants to travel around Tevyat, looking for her brother...

"It wouldn't work," the adeptus mutters, drowning in disappointment, "I must protect Liyue, she will almost always be elsewhere in Tevyat.."

Zhongli stops for a moment, seeming to contemplate something. 

Finally, the former archon allows the words to escape from his mouth, ringing into Xiao's ears, words that Xiao has trouble comprehending.

"You have fulfilled your duties already, you should do something, be with someone that makes you happy because you might not have them forever," Zhongli says in a slightly sad tone, most likely referencing his lost time with Guizhong, Lord of Dust.

Happy? It is not a word that is very familiar to Xiao, though he knows it has something to do with positive emotions.

"I...need to think about some things," Xiao responds.

Zhongli gives an understanding nod, permitting the yaksha some time alone. Xiao teleports away to the roof of the Wangshu Inn, his mind swirling with all of the information he'd just attained.

Lumine...loves him? A slayer of demons, one who is almost demonic themselves. The traveler, the beautiful, kind, perfect traveler loves someone who has a hole where his heart should belong? 

If she knew of my past... he thinks, Then she would definitely change her mind. 

Too many words to comprehend flash through his brain, and he rubs his temples, trying to rid the growing headache. 

"Maybe...Maybe if she ever returns. I will tell her. Otherwise, if fate decides a different future, I must let her go, allow her to be happy with someone else.."

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.

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Lumine arrives on Ritou, and is immediately greeted by a young man with a blonde hair, his hair mussed, and tied up into a messy ponytail. Short horn-like things jut out of his forehead. His clothes seem somewhat casual, baggy pants, black shirt, short jacket. A red circle with a fire symbol emblazoned onto it hangs from a rope on his belt.

"So he's a vision holder," she whispers to herself.

"Hello!" The man greets, his voice naturally sounding...playful? His face displays a cheeky smile, and she returns a slightly guarded smile, waving in a more under-toned way.

All the traces of her sudden breakdown that had transpired the night before are gone, replaced by the confident, perfect Lumine that the people across Tevyat are used to.

"My name's Thoma, how 'bout yours?" 

"Lumine," the girl replies simply, though loud enough for people around the dock to hear, which immediately arouses whispers from the many people who had heard the stories of the famed traveler from across the sea.

"Well then, shall I show you around Ritou?" Thoma asks, earning an eager nod from Lumine, "Okay, c'mon, then!"

a/n im impatient so im probably just gonna do one chapter of lumine in inazuma and then a bunch of xiaolumi stuff in the chapter after that😃

also imma add a xiaolumi rival soon~