Idk i just randomly got sent this art from a friend and decided to use it. No clue who the original artist is even after 30 minutes of searching.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hello y/n. May I eat lunch with you?"
You glanced up from your math review sheet, momentarily pausing your chewing as you held your onigiri. Your blank face was replaced with a smile as you moved over to let the blue-haired female sit beside you. "Yes, of course! come, come, sit here!"
"Thank you. Oh, what's that?" Ganyu asked, leaning over your shoulder and eyeing your papers. You were currently studying, realizing you had wasted far too much time goofing around on the beach trip you went on with the others.
"Ah... it's my review sheet for the exams. I promised Xiao I would score top marks this time and he would give me a reward..." You froze after you said this, face flushing a bit. Well, you didn't mean for that to slip out.
Beside you, Ganyu slightly chuckled. "My brother also talks about you all the time."
Your head shot up as you stared at her. "what."
Ganyu smiled softly but didn't try to explain further.
You sighed, knowing she would not continue even if you tried asking her. So decided to let it go. "Hey, Ganyu? Are you ready for the exams?"
"Oh! I studied all night for the past week. I think Im almost ready. What about you, y/n?"
"I don't know...I feel like if I stay positive, I'll end up disappointing myself with a bad grade," you replied with a nervous smile, eyeing your messily scribbled review notes.
"Don't worry Y/n! I have no doubt you will do well on the exams! We can study together someday if you want, and I can help you with your weak points." Ganyu exclaimed with a smile.
"Ah, the perks of being friends with a smart person~" you sighed happily, leaning back and sipping your apple juice.
Ganyu giggled and the two of you talked for a while as you ate. However, there was one question you wanted to ask her. It might be personal, but you were too curious to back down now.
You looked down with a small frown. "Ganyu I have a question. About Xiao."
"What is it, y/n?" Ganyu asked, tilting her head.
You continued, "Xiao is nice but...I feel like there's a part of him he hasn't shown anyone yet. I feel like it's a kind of barrier between us, yknow?" You then snapped your head up to look at Ganyu.
Ganyu's smile slowly fell as she sighed, closing her eyes. She looked up once more, opening her lunch box and shoveling a rice ball in her mouth before speaking. "I understand your curiosity, y/n. Xiao has just been through....a lot, as a child."
You looked up with curiosity as you picked up a new onigiri to replace your empty hand. Ganyu continued, "and I am sure he would tell you when he is comfortable. But, I can give you the basic story of what happened."
"..." You remained silent, awaiting Ganyu's explanation. You didn't want to interrupt her and wanted her to only continue if she was comfortable. The atmosphere had grown thick now, and an aura of sadness and regret radiated off Ganyu. You lightly let out a breath you didn't know you were holding in.
"Xiao has had many friends since he was young, though they were almost like siblings to him. He never knew his real parents, so he was raised in the orphanage with me until we were both adopted." Ganyu started off softly, her eyes looking slightly empty as if reminiscing the past. You remained silent, processing the information Ganyu had given. It was quite a shocker that Xiao was an orphan before he was adopted along with Ganyu; But then again, this was probably the reason he never talked about his past.
"As we grew up, his bond with our friends strengthened. But he was most close to one particular boy, and looked up to him like an older brother." Ganyu's voice dropped as her fingers holding her food shook as she continued. "One day, however, he got injured badly. I don't know much about the incident myself since I wasn't there, but I do know what happened. He was attacked by a lady on the street. He protected Xiao and sent him away. In the end, he was injured really badly..."
"Hey. Ganyu." you reached a hand and lightly pat Ganyu's back as she stiffened. The look on her face shook you. There was so much remorse and sadness, and for the first time, you felt like you saw a side of Ganyu that she would never have shown anyone.
"He's alive but he's been in the hospital for years now. The lady who attacked him claimed he was her husband, but that can't be right. Bosacius is too young." Ganyu whispered.
You froze.
That name.
It was the same...
"Ganyu..." you started, holding her shoulders. Ganyu looked up to meet your eyes but however, flinched when she made eye contact with you. "repeat that."
"r-repeat what?"
"His name. What was his name?"
"Bosacius?"
It was the same name.
There was no doubt.
An image of the tall purple-haired male flashed in your head.
The lady who attacked him was your mother.
You were there that night too,
and you did nothing to stop her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Could I see Bosacius please?" you asked the front desk at the hospital.
"And who might you be, miss?" asked the receptionist with long green hair and glimmering golden-orange eyes.
"Ah, sorry! I'm y/n l/n." you handed your credentials to the male who skimmed through them and handed them back to you.
"What relation might you have with Bosacius?" he questioned.
"He's a...friend," you replied with a forced smile. This seemed to be enough to convince him as the male nodded.
"He is in room 102 on the first floor. You have 10 minutes," he said as he handed you a check-in page. You graciously accepted it, bowing before running up the stairs to the first floor.
You had asked Ganyu for details, and she had told you Bosacius was currently at the BuBu hospital in a coma. So you decided to go after school.
You didn't know why exactly you were asking to visit Bosacius, but something tugged at your heart, and the guilt that was eating you away seemed to become more visible. You thought it was the right thing to do, to go visit the victim you couldn't protect. The person you could have saved, but didn't.
100...101...102...
Your body halted as you stepped in front of the door to the patient. You could hear your heartbeat thudding in your eardrums as you felt your breathing become slightly uneven. With a huff, you closed your eyes and reopened them, reaching for the doorknob and twisting it open. You shielded your eyes as the evening sunset flooded the room. the pale white curtains of the hospital window fluttered as orange sunlight pooled into the room. Fresh flowers were in a vase on a table, and a large white bed sat in the middle of the room, concealed by a bed curtain. You nervously gulped as you took a step forward, your shoe soles clacking against the stone floor.
As you neared the bed, your breath stopped when you laid your eyes on an oddly familiar face. The pale face of Bosacius, his purple hair scattered around him as he peacefully rested on the pillow.
An overwhelming feeling of guilt and shame washed over you as you stood there, motionless. How many years had it been again? Ah yes, 7. 7 years in a coma. You sighed, thinking of how this person could have lived a normal life, and not have to waste 7 years of his life if you had stopped your mother that night, or even called for help instead of cowering in fear.
You sat down on a chair beside the bed as your hands clutched the white sheets. "I-" you choked on a sob as you felt your eyes tear up. "I'm sorry..."
Your head pounded as silent tears rolled down your cheeks. You hadn't cried in so long, that this overwhelming feeling of pain and regret felt so foreign. Your shoulders shuddered as you let out strangled sobs between breaths. You skimmed your hands over your face in an attempt to stop the tears, but to your despair, it did nothing.
It was until you felt a light hug that your breath caught and you violently whipped your head down to see who was giving you the hug.
"Don't cry. If you cry, Qiqi will cry too." a purple-haired girl with a long braid said. She looked around 6 to 7 years old, the same age as your younger sister. You stared at the girl through wide teary eyes. The young girl, or this 'Qiqi', stared back at you with her pink-colored eyes.
"Uh," you stated, unable to form a coherent sentence at the given time.
Qiqi pat your back then moved away to the table. You traced your eyes to the small figure, watching her curiously. She came back a moment later with a glass of water.
"Qiqi will give you Qiqi's cocogoat milk....because you are sad....and Qiqi does not like it when people are sad..." she said, holding up the 'cocogoat milk'. You raised an eyebrow but took a sip, tasting the familiar flavor of coconut milk.
"Thank you," you said, tilting your head as you forced a convincing smile.
"A fake smile...just like brown-haired girl I hate.." Qiqi murmured, making your smile falter for a moment.
"So. who are you?" you decided to change the topic.
"Qiqi is Qiqi. Qiqi helps Baizhu." the girl explained emotionlessly. You smiled awkwardly at her as you sweatdropped. You thought back to the receptionist with the green hair you saw, and the name card on his chest that said "Baizhu".
"Ah. That's nice, you must enjoy working at the hospital then." you giggled. "Im Y/n. Its nice meeting you, Qiqi," you said with a soft smile, patting the front part of her hair which wasn't covered by her hat.
"Oh. Y/n. Where have I heard that before....?" Qiqi muttered as she placed a finger on her lips, deep in thought. "Oh, Y/n..."
You tilted your head in confusion, but choose to keep quiet to be polite.
"Paimon talks about Y/n..."
You froze, having a heart attack for the second time today. "Paimon? Do you know her, Qiqi?"
Qiqi nodded. "Qiqi remembers now. Paimon is Qiqi's friend."
"How do you know her?" you asked excitedly, feeling rather proud that Paimon has a friend.
"Qiqi goes to school with Paimon." Qiqi explained. "Paimon talks about Y/n a lot. Too much. Qiqi's head hurts." Qiqi held her head in a headache motion, making you sweatdrop. You reminded yourself to ask Paimon to tone down on her bragging the next time you saw her.
"Oh, I see. I'll tell Paimon not to be so loud next time," you replied with a smile.
"Are you like Qiqi? Do you go to Paimon's school?" Qiqi questioned, looking up at you.
"Ah no....hehe, Paimon is my sister," you replied with a smile.
Qiqi stared at you for a moment before nodding again. "Y/n looks like Paimon. I think. I can't remember..."
(A/N: just pretend you have something that makes you look like paimon. It could be hair color, eye color, or even your choice of clothing. Or if nothing comes to mind, pretend you wear the same hair clip as paimon.)
Just then, there was a knock. You turned to the door to see a nurse standing at the door. "Excuse me. I apologize ma'am, but your 10 minutes is up. I am here to escort you back." she explained. When she noticed Qiqi beside you and your sad expression she continued. "I'll give you a moment."
You stood up and dusted your uniform skirt. You then bent down and gave Qiqi a head pat. "I'll get going now. I'll come by and say hello one day, okay? Remember me, Y/n." you said with a smile as you stood up.
You placed a small candy in the girl's hand as you walked to the door. But you stopped when you felt a tug on your shirt. You looked down to see Qiqi once more. "Don't cry. Or Qiqi will be sad."
Your eyes widened as you then chuckled, a small blush at the corner of your eyes from happiness. "I'll make sure not to."
You walked down the stairs with the nurse as you headed back to the hospital's main entrance. You said your goodbyes as you started putting on your helmet and walking toward your bicycle. However, you froze when you saw a boy leaning against it.
He looked up, and when your eyes made contact with his amber ones, you felt another wave of guilt hit you, making you glance away. Xiao walked towards you, hands in his pocket and his backpack resting on his back. His uniform was messy as usual, his shirt collar unbuttoned, his blazer sleeves rolled up, and his ear-piercings visibly beneath his messy hair. He stopped right in front of you, glancing (up/down/at) your figure. Finally, he spoke.
"Y/n, what were you doing in his room?"
Your breath caught as you kept looking at the pavement, which looked much more alluring than usual today.
"Y/n, I asked you a fucking question!" Xiao harshly grabbed your shoulders, his nails digging into your skin. He had a dark look in his eyes, though you could identify a glimmer of worry and concern too.
"I'm...sorry," you whispered. You knew it was a stupid response, but it was all you could muster out. You felt like you were going to go through what you went through in the hospital room all over again.
Xiao patiently awaited your response, only tightening his hold on your shoulders. Well, that was sure to leave a mark by tomorrow morning.
"I was there that night." you started. You felt Xiao stiffen against you, so you continued. "I just found out today. It was my mother who hurt him. But I didn't..." you cut yourself off, not wanting to say anything more. Deep down you knew you weren't at fault, but it still bothered you. Maybe, maybe just if you had said something to your mother that day, Bosacius would be okay today.
"You didn't what? You didn't do shit? Give me a fucking answer Y/n." Xiao yelled, his tone starting to rise. You could hear the pain in his voice, and the look in his eyes held disbelief. Of course, he would be mad. You didn't do anything that night. All you did was stand there in fear. You recalled the faint memory from 7 years ago again.
7 years ago
"(father/n) YOU PIECE OF SHIT! YOU LEAVE US, AND WALK AROUND WITH ANOTHER BRAT?!" A woman yelled in her drunken state. A girl with (h/c) hair and (e/c) eyes flinched and backed away at the sudden yell. She glanced toward what her mother was yelling at and saw a tall man and a young boy her age standing there.
The girl's eyes widened as she noticed the tall man's hoodie. It was a university hoodie identical to the one her father had owned. She knew this was not going to end well, so she tugged at her mother's sleeve, trying to pull her away.
"M-mother! Let's go now....please...." she whispered.
SMACK
The girl thudded to the ground as she held her red and swollen cheek. Her head pounded and her vision blurred as pain took over her. However, she held her head and sat up, fighting back her tears.
"SHUT UP YOU BITCH!" the mother screamed at her daughter before returning her attention back to the man in front of her. The man's eyes widened as he looked at the figure of the young girl with (h/c) hair. He instinctively pushed the small boy beside him away. He then began talking. "Uh, ma'am, this seems to-"
"YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO TALK AFTER YOU LEFT ME? WITHOUT EVEN TAKING THE BRAT? AND NOW I HAVE TO HAVE A SECOND ONE!" the mother yelled, gesturing to her big belly.
The man before her now harbored a concerned expression. "Ma'am, pleas-"
"NO, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR VOICE!" she screamed.
The young boy behind the man flinched, as did the girl with (h/c) hair. The mother then raised her bottle of wine above her head as she walked over to the man.
The man immediately turned his attention to the boy behind him.
"Run Xiao. Now." he said.
"N-no! I'm not leaving you, brother!" the young boy argued back.
The two of them argued until the younger one screamed. "IM NOT LEAVING YOU EVER! I WON'T LEAVE UNLESS YOU HATE ME SO BAD!"
The older brother bit his lip, then roared. "I SAID GET LOST! I HATE YOU! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!"
The younger boy let out a quiet sob as he took a step back. Tears spilled out of his eyes as he hiccuped. "No...Brother I wont-"
"XIAO WATCH OUT!"
BANG
Screams pierced the air as the young girl looked at her mother in horror. As her mother turned to look at her, a small pistol came into view, making the daughter shudder and back away in fear.
Loud sobs echoed throughout the alleyway as the young boy cried and held onto the figure of the man who was bleeding from being shot. More voices were soon heard as people started making their way to the alleyway.
The young girl got up, her long (h/c) hair flowing behind her. She then trembled, and felt something cold run out of her ear. She grazed her hand across her ear and looked at it to see a fresh crimson liquid coating her small hand. She lost her footing and crashed to the ground then. She opened her eyes once more, and the last thing she saw was the boy sobbing over his brother.
'What did he look like again? What made him so special?'
'ah. I remember now. Those eyes.'
The girl made contact with beautiful golden eyes and heard the sound of police sirens before passing out.
"Y/N!"
You flinched.
Xiao looked at you worriedly. His face rubbed your cheek, and you noticed tears on his fingers. Ah, how embarrassing. This was the second time he had seen you cry. You looked at him, and judging from his expression, he remembered the incident just as well as you.
You felt your eyes wide as a strong scent of almond tofu filled your senses and a warmth surrounded your body.
"I'm sorry. Im so sorry y/n. I was mad and I...I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry..." Xiao choked out, his embrace only tightening as he rested his chin on your shoulder.
More tears spilled down your cheeks as you hugged Xiao back. Maybe this embrace you both shared was what showed that you had forgiven one another, and accepted what had happened.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wow okay that was a lot of y/n and xiao trauma dumping, but its part of the story. Honestly, I have no clue why I even included all of this in, but I originally found this story inside my old notebook, so I decided to expand on it. And now here we are.
Also summer vacation is coming up, and I'm definitely going to be able to update more for the story. aaaaa I cant wait to finish this book and see this finished result!! Currently I am working on honkai star rail and saving fund for Blade. I have 100 wishes saved plus 60 pity on the banner, so blade is coming home 100%
Make sure to vote if you liked the chapter ^^
(Ty for almost 40k reads! Holy shit I didn't expect to get this many reads)