✦⁺₊ aeipathy - an enduring or consuming passion.
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" so you helped her out?" she chuckled, " see, it's an easy way of earning mora."
" easy for you to say, you're a chef. not an adventurer." i huff.
i rest my head on the palm of my hands, looking at xiangling curiously as she cooked. the aroma of the currently sizzling ingredients making my mouth water.
" hmph. you make it seem easy." the navy haired girl replies.
it was currently midday, the scorching sun beaming down at liyue's citizens showing absolutely no mercy as they continue with their daily activities. today was especially hot since no clouds were present in the sky, only transparent rays of orange casting down upon us.
and here i was, sitting leisurely at wanmin restaurant, knowing very well nobody would want to hire a girl with no experience in attending a formal job. becoming a full-time adventurer was my only option, it wasn't very appealing.
" are you simply just going to sit there?"
" well i have nothing else to do."
guoba hops towards xiangling, standing not to far from where i was currently sitting.
honestly he was rather adorable, his soft orange fur making me want to squeeze and cuddle him without second thought.
but....taroumaru.
just thinking about the shiba made me feel homesick.
" guoba, light this up!"
the little bear lit up the stove. xiangling patting his head as he nuzzled further into her hand, longing further for her attention.
i observed everything around me for a moment.
before seeing a certain duo heading straight for the restaurant which caught the corner of my eye.
i met the trio along with guoba when i had first arrived. wanmin restaurant was actually the first place i had stopped at upon arrival. due to my luck i met chongyun, xingqiu and xiangling. i'm glad to call them my friends.
" firstly, i won the bet so that's why we're heading to xiangling. so you can pay for my popsicles."
the light blue haired exorcist sticks his tongue out at the male next to him who seemed utterly unbothered by the entire situation. simply and purposefully ignoring the bickering boy.
" oh look y/n's here! she'll help us sort this out for sure, she'll definitely be on my side."
chongyun races ahead to the h/c girl who was slowly dozing off in the distance as xingqiu let out a deep sigh then following behind shortly at his own pace.
" you see now y/n?"
i nod at the exorcist as if i had payed attention to everything he had said to me.
" vouch for me." chongyun whispers harshly.
" afternoon my liege." xingqiu greets politely before occupying a vacant seat next to me.
chongyun elbows my side, urging me to start talking about their dispute.
" so—-" i immediately get cut off by xingqiu.
" before you say anything, chongyun and i didn't really have an argument. technically i didn't object to his statement so therefore that means—"
" fine. you win as long as i get those popsicles." chongyun interjects and sighs in defeat.
i only look at the two sat either side of me, blinking twice to comprehend what just happened.
xiangling only laughs at the trio, smiling at her friends brightly. " suppose you'll be paying xingqiu?"
" unfortunately, yes."
" i see, well they'll be ready soon, give me some time." the chef clasps her hands together before returning to the stove.
i wonder how she makes popsicles.
....
a couple more moments pass.
" can we go third round knockout, xiangling's busy." the light hair coloured boy states a matter of factly.
" i suppose. miss kamisato?"
oh. had it been quite some time that somebody had called me that or had spoken to me with such formality.
" alright. but please xingqiu, drop the formalities."
the boy only smiles in reply.
" xiangling we're heading out!" i shout.
" yeah yeah, be back soon or i'll feed these to guoba. i'm sure he'd be more than happy to devour them in one go." xiangling giggles.
" i can hear you xiangling!!"
" chongyun no! let's go."
xingqiu drags chongyun away from the restaurant. i hurriedly speed walk to match their pace.
well, this is eventful.
- kazuha's pov -
my eyes wander around the crowds of liyue. it's feels nice to be back at home.
it was just how i remembered it.
and looked exactly how it did when i had last been here which was no surprise. a relief, really.
well, what brought me back here?
beidou had constantly been nagging on about lantern rite and how it was just around the corner.
she was personally invited by the tianquan of liyue to help out with this year's annual festivities.
although i'm certainly not a huge fan or highly invested in crowds. this year was an exception.
this would be my first time attending the lantern rite
festival. you could say i was slightly excited, i guess.
" kazuha!" beidou firmly wraps her arm around me. " doesn't this feel nostalgic."
i smile at the woman who deep down, was clearly ecstatic but was trying her best not to show it.
" indeed, it does."
she lets go of me. " so why don't you roam around the city. i'll need to go see the tianquan soon, just make sure you see the fireworks."
i nod affirmatively, staring back into the streets of liyue harbour.
" kaedehara i mean it, don't miss the fireworks."
i wave my goodbyes to the brunette, i suppose i'll just wander around for a bit and if i get tired i'll just return to the ship.
.....
my stomach grumbles.
on second thought, a meal would be nice.
-
- y/n's pov -
" you're not gonna buy one?" xingqiu raises a brow while holding up a brooch to the sunlight.
it was quite beautiful, completely covered in gold. finished off with a couple of scarlet gems to decorate.
i supposedly got distracted by another lantern rite stall once again but this time i also unfortunately for them, i dragged the blue haired duo along with me this time.
i think about it for a minute, pressing my lips into a fine line when remembering that i truly do not have the mora for this.
" nope, maybe another time." i offer xingqiu a half-smile as he gently puts the item down.
before xingqiu could speak..
a loud crash accumulates from my right as our eyes wander towards the blue haired exorcist who was currently surrounded by broken pieces of fine china. he smiles goofily at the two of us. my eyes only widen in shock. xingqui's expression however, only contorted into a plain look of horror.
" CHONGYUN!" both me and xingqiu shout completely in sync.
-
" now you owe me." xingqiu crosses his arms, avoiding chongyun completely. " i knew we should've never left you to roam around, now look at the situation you put us in. practically everybody was staring at us."
we were finally on our way to third round knockout after what had felt like decades.
the woman at the fine china stall really wasn't buying it. especially because chongyun had broken the most expensive plates on display.
" how embarrassing." the guhua clan leader said through gritted teeth.
the exorcist only had a mustered expression of what looked like guiltiness implanted on his face. not speaking a single word to avoid another petty quarrel.
-
we sit at the table. all of us having quite a different reaction to one another.
chongyun was mindlessly looking through the menu.
xingqiu impatiently tapped his fingers every so often on the table, eyeing and glaring at the exorcist sat across from him with great frustration and anger.
y/n on the other hand, was close to face planting the table but used her arms as a pillow instead. blowing on a loose stand of her hair repetitively out of boredom.
tension lingered in the air. the waiter approached us.
" what can i get you?"
xingqiu kicked chongyun's foot as the exorcist gave him a dirty look before staring up at waiter.
" just a cold cut platter please." chongyun replies before returning his glare to xingqiu.
" and you sir?"
" a bowl of stir-fried shrimp, thank you."
xingqiu reciprocates the exact replica of the look chongyun was giving him.
" you, ma'am?"
i wave my hand in dismissal.
xingqiu immediately turns to me. " my liege, are you absolutely sure you don't want anything to eat."
" mmhm, i ate at wanmin restaurant before coming here." that was a lie. i really didn't.
but i wasn't hungry as of now and i'm sure xingqiu wouldn't have taken 'no' as an answer without a proper reason. and by the looks of it, he doesn't have enough mora to pay for three meals due to the china incident that happened earlier today.
" i see, that will be all."
the waiter turns the the table behind us.
" what may i get you sir?"
" just a chicken mushroom skewer."
my ears immediately perked up to the sound of that voice.
why did it sound so....familiar.
i raise my head.
" y/n why don't you eat?" chongyun asks.
i turn around to see the person sat behind me.
to be met with...
his eyes.
those damned scarlet eyes which were practically impossible not to recognise.
they belonged to none other than..kaedehara kazuha.
" ...y/n." kazuha whispered softly.
" i know you're mad at me but give me a chance to explain—-"
" excuse me."
i stand up from my chair ready to exit the building, leaving xingqiu and chongyun puzzled.
i walk outside to be met with the hot sticky air, a quite unpleasant greeting after sitting in a cold room.
" y/n!"
i begin walking away from the man i was being following by. unwilling to look him in the eyes.
he was an utter stranger now.
" y/n!"
a hand clasps tightly around my wrist, permitting me to walk away any further.
" y/n, please just listen to me.."
" let me go."
kazuha released his grip instantly. watching my figure run off into the distance.
he stares down at his hand before clenching it into a form of a fist.
" i'm so foolish."
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bro i have the worst hay fever ever :')
i wrote this at 1am
i'm looking forward to summer break, even with pollen allergies :>