Say My Name and I'll Be There

Chapter 26

'You best be sure to share them before they fall on the ears of an early grave.'  The yaksha rolled his eyes as he remembered another one of Zhongli's lines.  But...he's not wrong.  His agreement with the archon's words was already a big enough struggle; he couldn't imagine actually acknowledging and accepting his own feelings.  He continued to watch you, his expression hardening as he fell deeper into his thoughts.  Human minds are fragile.  She could break and come out stronger; she could break and become like me, or...she'll shatter completely.  My feelings may not reach her if the latter happens.

 After thinking this and continuing the internal struggle for a bit longer, he finally placed his hand beside yours, fingertips barely touching fingertips.

..........................................

Xiao glared at the handcuffs that restrained him when he caught sight of the exact same seal that prevented him from breaking out of his cell.  The harbingers must've done a lot of research in order to obtain him.  He was forced to walk behind you after being blindfolded.

Unlike him, you were allowed to see where you were walking.  Apparently Dottore had thought of you more as a pest than a serious threat.  Not that you were offended, though; you were a pest without a vision.  Fighting was useless, and your only chance of escape was crushed in the damned Tsaritsa's hands.  Now that Xiao was here, it was your priority to get him to escape while he could.

'Out there, you will not survive.' Childe's words ringed in your ears much like a mosquito.

Speaking of which, here was the man himself, in the middle of Dottore's arena and accompanied by another harbinger you had seen in the Tsaritsa's throne room several days ago.  He was much shorter than Childe, more around your and Xiao's height.  He wore a strange outfit too, with the likes of an umbrella for a hat and shorts of all things in a literal winter wonderland.  You had the guts to stifle a laugh, and he glared harshly at you.

"You're walking just fine after being injected so much," Dottore held a strange grin and nodded to himself.  "Just as the Tsaritsa thought; healing abilities would be drastically increased along with the lifespan of the human in question.  Interesting.  Now then!"  He clapped his hands and signaled for the guards to halt your and Xiao's movements.  They finally removed the cloth from around his eyes.

"This here is the sixth harbinger, Scaramouche," greeted Childe.  Even he seemed to find amusement in his co-worker's height, a rare glint of joy in his eyes that quickly darkened when Scaramouche caught onto the glee in his voice.

"He will be in charge of testing your fighting capabilities," Dottore answered your confused expression with a thin smile.

"Fighting capabilities?"  The guard unclasped the cuffs around your wrists.  "I don't--"

"Another lie!" Dottore rolled his eyes and scoffed.  "Childe reported you fight much like this yaksha, correct?"  The harbinger nodded in confirmation.  "Now I sincerely doubt an amateur such as yourself would be able to wield a lance so proficiently when all you were learning to wield was a sword."  He nodded to Scaramouche.

"I'll break her in," he spoke almost to himself, and tossed you a metal staff that hung from a rack of weapons to the left of the arena.

The guards escorted Xiao to the right of the room, and Childe joined him.  He leaned down slightly and placed a firm grip on the yaksha's shoulder.  "My orders are to kill you if you try anything."

I sincerely doubt you could, Xiao thought to himself as he watched you catch the staff.  Your worried inward voice reached his ears, and he met your gaze without nodding.  This is...wrong, he watched Scaramouche assume a fighting stance.

"Fight me," the harbinger ordered.

Xiao?  Your eyes met the yaksha's, and much to your dismay, his expression was unreadable.  You didn't want to fight anyone if it were for the sake of this sickening research.  Your stare fell to the metal in your hands as you absently stroked it.

"Are you deaf, or just stupid?" The harbinger spat out.  "Follow my orders."

You dared to look up at the harbinger and in an act of defiance, struck one end of the metal polearm onto the tile floor.  The ringing accentuated your now-glowing eyes.  "No."

"'No?'"  A light scoff escaped his curled lips.  

Childe's grip on Xiao's shoulder tightened immensely.  "She's made quite the mistake this time," he whistled.  Even the guards tightened their hold on the yaksha in preparation for what's to come.

"No," you repeated in a firm tone.  Your irises shone brighter.  "I don't want to."

"You don't want to?" Something snapped in the harbinger, and he threw himself at you with a catalyst in his hand.  A bolt of electricity hit the staff as you attempted to block his advance, and it instantly jarred your bones.

"Urk!"  Your back collided into the back wall of the arena.  Your body fell to its knees, your limbs violently twitching from his attack.  Xiao was also struggling a bit, but he breathed through the pain.  After all, he could handle more pain than your mortal body ever could.  "Hah.."  You started to get up even though your legs shook like jelly.

"I didn't say you could get up!" Scaramouche landed a hard kick to your stomach, and your head hit the wall again.  When you caught a glimpse of his face, it terrified you.  His eyes were pure malice, pure insanity.  They were cruel, and much more than Childe's ever were. The disregard for human life was on par with Dottore's.  Scaramouche yanked you to your feet by the collar of your shirt and slammed you into the wall again with a hand at your throat.  "When I give you an order, you follow it. Now do what you're told." 

He backed off of you and let you pick the staff up again.  You wiped the blood away from the corner of your mouth and snuck a gaze at Xiao, remembering that he was feeling the exact pain you were.  Do I fight him? Your eyes wavered with conflict as you glanced back and forth between the harbinger and the yaksha.

This feels wrong, Xiao's conflicted thoughts plagued his decision of answering your question with a nod or  shake of the head.  I can't ask her to fight like this, but I can't ask that she avoid it either.  Both conclude with us battered and beaten--wait.  His brows furrowed at you.  Is she...trying to protect me?  Again?  A yaksha, who's known nothing but pain and death and can come out unscathed?  She's prioritizing me over her mortal self?  

Your gaze had long since removed itself from the yaksha, and you eyed the harbinger carefully while you twirled the polearm in your hands.  This man intentionally chose a pure metal object as my weapon so he could just electrocute me whenever he wanted.  Your shoulders shrunk back at this as you realized the true intents behind this 'exercise.'  One, to torture.  Two, to see if they can make you snap and prove their theories right.

You sure as hell weren't going to let them push you around if it was going to hurt Xiao.