Genshin oneshots~

A Swimming Adventure [Kazuha x Heizou]

Heizou POV:

I made my way down to the ports in Ritou, the calm ocean breeze ruffled through my hair, inhaling air down by the ocean always reminds me of Kazuha. I took a seat on the creaky bridge as I dipped my toes into the cold waters, I closed my eyes to relax and rewind from all the cases I was solving in the past few weeks. Suddenly, the bridge collapsed as the old rope's last strand broke, I got thrown into the icy cold waters, I jolted and my arms flailed around, I was helpless in water, I never learnt to swim. I thought it'd be the end of me until I felt strong arms pull me up out of the water, I lay on the wooden planks breathing heavily and coughing up water. "Heihei, you alright?" came a voice above me, I squinted to see the white haired samurai looking down at me, "Yes... ahem... I'm fine" I said as I slowly sat up. Kazuha then offered to teach me how to swim, I agreed, I don't want to experience that again. I went back to my house to grab a change of clothes and went to the nearby waters to meet Kazuha, when I got to the promised spot, I didn't see him, I walked around trying to spot him until I saw a pile of maple leaf themed clothes folded neatly on the sand, I looked up and squinted at the ocean until I saw Kazuha swimming gracefully among the turquoise bubbly waves, he soon spotted me as he walked out, "You came!" he said, I stared at his fit body in complete awe, I quickly shook my head to get the weird thoughts out of my mind. I gave him a quick nod and removed my shirt as well, "looks like you've been working out" Kazuha says checking me out, I blushed, "Hahah... only for you~" I said as I put my face really close to his, "Heizou, I'm immune to your flirting by now" he said and kissed me gently on the nose, he then held onto my hand and led me into the ocean until the water went up to my ribcage, "Hm, I've never taught anyone so please excuse my lack of experience" he said. In my mind, I was thinking he might try and teach me how to do different types of armstrokes or how to breathe, but no, he swiftly picked me up and threw me into the ocean, I started to flail around just like I did earlier today, I tried kicking and moving my arms but it just didn't work, as I started struggling to keep my head above the water, Kazuha realised it wasn't working and dragged me out, "WHAT THE HELL KAZUHA?" I said, I was coughing and spluttering while thumping my chest. "I'm sorry Heihei, I thought you would just swim normally if you got a little lift off..." he said and trailed off, I smacked my forehead. Is he stupid? "I thought you were going to teach me some armstrokes or breathing first!" I said and tugged on his arm, "Yeah... I should of" he led me back to the spot where the ocean met my ribcage.

"Alright, we usually swim like this" he said as he moved his arms in a vertical circle, it was kind of like how a paddle boat worked, "you kick your legs only using the muscles in your lower leg, your thighs don't need to do much work, come on you try! Hold on to my arms and lay on your belly in the water and kick" he said encouragingly. I held onto his arms tightly, shaking a lot as I slowly lay forward, surprisingly the water pushed me up as I tried my best to kick using the lower parts of my legs, "Yes you're doing it! Now, let me teach you how to breathe" Kazuha said as he helped me stand up. "Okay, so take a big deep breath and blow the air gently out, preferably slowly, like this" he said as he took a deep breath and went underwater, I squinted and saw his lips were in the shape of an O as bubbles gently and slowly floated up to the surface. It was my turn, I took a couple of deep breaths before going in, I took one final breath and went underwater, I couldn't hear anything, just the water gently brushing past my ears. I blew the air out slowly, and it felt quite exhilarating. As I felt the air in my lungs getting less and less by the second I came up panting slightly, Kazuha was looking at me really surprised. Did I do something wrong? "Heihei, you were under water for 30 seconds, that's so impressive!" he said as he hugged me tightly, I smiled, "it's you that's the great teacher" I said, kissing him gently on the cheek.

"Time for the final step!" he declared, "Try swimming! Just do what we were just practising but at the same time, don't worry I'll be here ensuring your safety" he said and gave me the thumbs up while smiling supportively. I felt really nervous, how am I supposed to do it at the same time? I bent my knees slightly and moved my arms first in the air to see what to do, then I slowly lowered myself on my belly and kicked as soon as my feet left the ground and took a deep breath and quickly submerged my face into the water, I moved my arms and my legs a bit too fast but slowly I got a rhythm going and I was able to smoothly swim in circles around Kazuha, "You're doing it! You're really doing it!" he said as he clapped and yelled supportively on the sidelines. After 5 minutes, I got a bit tired, so I swam to a more shallow spot and slowly stood up. Kazuha slowly came up behind me, and kissed me on the lips in the middle of the ocean, "I'm so proud of you Heihei~" he said as he hugged me tightly. I didn't even know what to say and what to do, I felt so proud of myself, I was able to learn it quickly and I enjoyed it! "My Kazu," I said as I hugged him back.

We headed up to Kazuha's house to get changed, I shook myself dry like a dog outside his house to avoid getting the floors wet, Kazuha wheezed, "Heizou you're so weird" he giggled, I shot him a jokingly angry look, he and I took turns taking a shower, when it was his turn, I went to the kitchen and made some fresh miso soup. "I made miso soup~" I said and handed him a cup as we sat down on the couch, "thank you Heihei" he said as he sipped on the soup and held my hand squeezing it slightly. "Why don't you come with Captain Beidou and I the next time we visit Liyue?" Kazuha says suddenly, "I know you don't travel a lot but there's honestly a lot to see" he said looking at me hopefully. I kissed his forehead, "Of course, anything for you Kazu" I said.

The next morning, I swung by Kazuha's house to ask about the visit to Liyue. I knocked on the door gently, "Oh, Heizou!" he said happily as he hugged me, "the boat is leaving in an hour, let's go to your house and pack your things! Mine are already on board, since I go so frequently". Kazuha and I dashed around the corner to my house as I raided my closet and gathered some hygiene products, "that should be it" I said as I slammed the suitcase lid down and fastened the buckles, "Alright, let's head down, we only have 15 minutes left!" We walked quickly down the road towards the ports. I made out the shape of a huge ship with red sails, it was bigger than the other ships in Inazuma, I saw a brown haired lady dressed in Chinese pirate clothes walk off the ship, that must be the Captain! I thought in my head. Her face lit up seeing us both, "if it isn't Kazuha and his boyfriend" she said in a jolly voice and pulled us both into an aggressive hug, "Beidouuuu my face" said Kazuha, his voice slightly muffled, "Oh, sorry" she said letting us both go, "I'm not very good with hugs, anyways welcome aboard the Alcor!" she said and gave a salute as we politely thanked her and went aboard.

Soon, the anchor was lifted as the ship whirred to life and sailed towards the Land of Contracts, Liyue. I walked up to the front of the ship and rested my hand on the mast as I watch the seagulls swoop and dive in the air, the ocean breeze blew in my face a bit stronger than the ocean breeze I experienced in Inazuma, I felt a hand grab mine, it was Kazuha. He and I watched the waves crash against the ship gently, until soon, I made out the shape of a city. It was similar to the buildings I've seen in Inazuma, but it was more brightly coloured and lively. Kazuha and I stepped off the Alcor and soaked in the warm sunshine as we watched people hustle and bustle enjoying the city life, "Kazuuuu I'm hungry..." I said and slumped on his shoulder, "Psht, alright... let's head to Wanmins'', he and I intertwined our fingers as we made our way to a little restaurant on the side of the road, the aroma of foreign dishes clung to the air, I sniffed the air curiously, "Hm, smells nice" I muttered to myself as we walked up to the man behind the counter, he was expertly cutting chillies and celery, he cuts quickly and efficiently. "Good afternoon Chef Mao, could we please get some Dragon Beard Noodles and some rice buns?" Kazuha asks while giving him a wave, "Oh Kazuha!" the man says giving him a warm smile, he tosses the chillies and celery in the pot and noted down our order, "I see you've brought your boyfriend" the man says eyeing me, "you've found yourself a jewel, I can sense it" he says giving me a wink, Kazuha smiled.

Soon, our food was ready, Kazuha and I sat on the table just right of the stall and began eating. The flavours were very different to what I was used to, but I liked it! "Ahhh..." I said as I leaned back on the chair, patting my stomach, "that was great...". "Want to go for a walk?" Kazuha offered, "Tonight is the Lantern Rite after all!" he said excitedly. I heard about Lantern Rite before, I remember that one letter Kazuha wrote me a year ago explaining that Lantern Rite was a New Year's celebration in Liyue where there's fireworks, lanterns, music, and fun. I was pretty excited to experience it for myself, as the night fell, people gathered at the top of the city and released lanterns, "Heihei, look what I got us!" Kazuha said, handing me a lantern, we both closed our eyes and made a wish, on the count of three, we slowly pushed the lantern up into the air, it spun slowly as it joined the thousands of other lanterns floating away into the starry night sky. Kazuha and I then headed down to the lower parts of the city, where stalls are set up lit by lanterns, music was booming loudly as Xinyan and Hu Tao sang their hearts out on a stage in the centre of the city, Kazuha and I danced the night away, until the city fell silent as the fireworks began. I dragged Kazuha to sit down on these nearby stairs as he leaned into my shoulder staring up at the night sky, the sky was bursting with different colours, the fireworks were in the shape of stars, hearts, and mora. As the last of the fireworks were released into the air, I grabbed Kazuha by the collar and kissed him just as the final firework made a bang in the air, Kazuha looked at me shocked, I simply smiled and said, "Happy Lantern Rite Kazuha", he smiled back, "Happy Lantern Rite to you too Heizou".