Omniscius [Genshin Impact]

Part Nine

17: The Red Queen

The Kaedahara boy should have arrived by now, Soleil thought as she looked out the window, shielding her face with one hand from the sunlight. That's good.

After the fateful investigation that took place in the warehouse, Soleil was inclined to believe there was a link between Scaramouche and Kaedahara Kazuha–albeit an indirect one.

Since then, Soleil was looking for ways to contact him without having being too outright. Luckily, she recalls from Beidou's stories that Kazuha was a poet and liked to make haikus. That information saved her the trouble, and she decided to invite Kazuha over for the Irodori Festival.

Hopefully, none of the event holders will have a problem with that since Kazuha wasn't originally in the guest list.

Soleil then focused on the flowers in the small pot before her. She had been busy doing ikebana, but instead of just using Inazuman plants, she added the Mondstadt flora Klee stuffed into her backpack.

Soleil rearranged it so the lamp grass was in the middle, surrounded by Noontide Silkpods. The cool glow of the lamp grass contradicted the bright yellow petals of the Noontide Silkpods.

Although she would have included a young sakura branch, she was afraid it might not survive outside the Inazuman climate. So instead, she arranged it to be small and minimal for the journey back.

Soleil designed the small pot with white paint from Albedo's stash, creating swirls resembling clouds and wind gusts. She looked over the pot one last time before nodding in approval.

Klee would like this, Soleil thought. She cleaned up after her mess and returned Albedo's materials before leaving. Albedo left to do his work with Aether and Klee left to buy some more temari for...experimentations.

But it's been a while since she left. She still hasn't returned. Soleil felt worried and decided to find Klee, bringing the ikebana in her hands to show it to Klee.

Soleil approached the Five Kasen Plaza, finding Albedo near the blank canvases in the distance. Two out of five were painted in beautiful pastel palettes: one with Suikou's and one with Aoi no Okina's.

The scholar's eyes glimmered when she spotted Aether and a familiar boy in red and white talking with Albedo. It seems she was right, and that Kazuha finally arrived according to his schedule.

She giggled. They all look so charming together. She approached to say hi when she felt someone roughly bump her side.

"Ah!" Soleil said in surprise, the sudden force making her drop the flower pot in hand and make shattering clanks on the stone pavement. The flowers!

She turned to the person, and her eyes widened a little to see Ayato. "Oh. Soleil," he said in recognition, "I didn't see you there. My apologies."

"Yeah... Why are you so wet?" Soleil raised an eyebrow at him. Ayato blinked and looked at himself. He chuckled, "Oh, this. It's nothing."

His clothes were drenched in water, hugging his body and revealing more of his prominent figure. Droplets hung from his lashes and the tips of his pastel blue hair. A few more ran down the side of his face and his sharp cheekbones. Each droplet seemed to glisten under the sun.

"I don't know what kind of extremities you're up to in order to amuse yourself, but it isn't right for an esteemed lord like you to walk around unceremoniously like this," Soleil crossed her arms.

Ayato chuckled. "Unceremonious, you say?" he mused and swept his hair back with one hand to stop the droplets from falling on his face, "How so?"

"Well..." Soleil's eyes gazed down his body, unable to stop herself until she saw how evident and fit his torso was under the wet clothing.