Honkai Star Rail (READER)

Blade - When the end arrives

Inflating your cheeks like a puffer fish you lazed about, slumped over Blade's shoulder. Finding him unresponsive you tried squeezing his shoulders, giving him a back massage, to eventually just placing a blanket around him. 

"You looked cold." You said upon the sudden glare of his tilted brow. 

Taking a bite out of a sandwich you'd made you offered him a piece. Nothing. It was odd, how quiet and unemotional he was acting, albeit that's how he normally was. 

This strange silence pushed you to irritate him more and more to find the answer. It clearly irked him as his brow kept twitching. You noticed it quickly and resorted to just sitting silently beside him. That was until the boredom took over and you couldn't stand it anymore. 

"Let's go do something!" You pleaded, feeling bored without Kafka around to give you directions. Blade said nothing, simply sharpening his sword as he tolerated you around him. 

"Blade!" Snapping in his face and pinching the bags under his eyes both failed to grab his attention. Deciding to find someone else to annoy, you start to leave. Blade stops you, "What do you want to do?" 

With a devious smile on your face, you drag him to an amusement park. Blade seems none too thrilled about this idea, but watching your eagerness to run around like a child, he gives in. 

The park was relatively empty, with only a few passersby every other square inch of the abandoned space. Blade realized that you had taken him to 'Fun World', an old function that used to cater to millions of people, but after a horrible tragedy it shut its door. 

"I thought you couldn't get in this place?" 

"They do a couple of tours. I thought you'd like it, being all angsty and whatnot." Laughing you take his hand, weaving your fingers together with his but he doesn't reciprocate. Merely a bystander as you drag him along the bloodstained amusement park. 

Your tour guide was a nice woman, with short dark hair and an average voice, she guided you and a couple ghost hunters through the attractions. "This is where the founder Calvin Sweeny first created the character, 'Finny the Fun Fish', this later turned to be a disaster as Calvin realized real fish couldn't swim out of water. It became a huge mistake as multiple children were reported taking fish from the aquariums and trying to give them legs like Finny."

"There was a lot of dead fish that year." 

"Yikes." You commented, nudging Blade for a reaction, but he was stiff. Beginning to wonder what was wrong with him you decided to touch your hand to his forehead. 

"Don't." He said softly, catching you off guard as you drop your hand. Following slowly as the tour guide continued through the liminal space. Clinging on to whatever semblance of affection you could. You wrapped your arms around Blade's, finding nothing but an aloof response. He had been like this since his last mission on the Luofu, absent. 

A small realization hit you, maybe he just wanted space. He didn't say anything outright, but your persistence might have been edging him over a crossroads he didn't want to enter. Blade didn't want to snap at you, knowing that you had already suffered enough in your life, he didn't want to be the reason you were upset. 

Blade hadn't realized that somewhere along the way you'd let go of his arm. Getting nervous he looked back, before thinking that this was his opportunity, to leave. Heading back to the pod the both of you used to get there, he contemplated just taking off. Hating how tired he was, and how much effort it took to love you. Blade was exhausted. 

The struggle that he endured, all his life up until this point had taken the fight from him. 

Just wanting to see the worlds burn before him, to exact the same torture he'd felt upon everything else. It all seemed simple, Elio had a plan, Kafka had a plan, everyone had plans, and Blade followed. A pawn in a game he didn't want to play. Promised a gift that he would never be able to receive, all because of...you.