ad astra abyssoque (genshin impact oneshots)

before the maple leaves (1)

kazuha x reader

you walk through the streets of inazuma and decide to hitch a ride to the abandoned harbor to watch the stars. there you meet a young man, clothes red like maple, hair bright like the sun, eyes shining like stars. 

as a swordsman from the fallen guhua clan, you moved to inazuma before the borders were closed off. and yet, due to the anti liyue sentiments of those around you, you lived in seclusion, to avoid being captured and thrown out, like most who were also on the immigration group were.

"takoyaki! takoyaki for sale! walk by, pass by, but don't let this chance go by!" a street vendor yelled, his voice bright and clear, confident as if he has yelled this chant thousands of times. you turn a blind eye, as you're never interested in food, especially consider how tense the atmosphere is. 

it's your first time in inazuma city in a long, long time, and it's a lot different than you thought it would be. the buildings were beautiful, covered in a deep shade of purple, shooting up into the sky. and yet, they looked different than the tall buildings in liyue. perfect, perpetual, eternal. 

slipping your hood over your head, you dashed through the city, avoiding crowded areas and walked straight east, directly towards the abandoned harbor and to the outskirts of the city. you tucked in your sword which hung in a hilt by your side, a prototype rancour you had forged a long time ago in liyue. you had wanted to change it to a primordial jade cutter, but you had never managed to save enough money to buy one. 

though you were clearly from liyue, seen by the way you acted, from afar, nobody could really tell. inazuma and liyue people looked very similar after all. that was why you were able to go so far without being brutally attacked by illegal anti outsider gangs. 

sighing, you remember all the news you had seen posted on billboards about citizens from liyue and mondstadt being beaten up and left on the side of the road. there was even this one scholar from sumeru who was an exchange student at the yoshiyuki academy who had gotten bullied to the point of fleeing back for sumeru. 

you shook your head, not allowing your thoughts to wander. being able to go out and watch the stars was a rare occasion, and it would be a waste to spend it thinking about such trivial things. at this point, you were near the outskirts of the city, in the poorer areas. the houses were no longer beautiful and imposing, rather simple and patched up, much like the one you lived in. children played on the streets, kicking a makeshift ball around, laughing. 

"ayaki, wait up!" a boy yelled.

"you cant catch me!" a girl running in front of him chanted gleefully. you smile, being reminded of your days as a guhua disciple.

your shimei, how was she doing now...

steadying your gaze, you continue trudging through the barely paved streets, looking down, noticing the wild dandelions and the scuffed opened toed shoes that lined the houses. 

dandelions grew here?

soon, the paved road disappeared, and you were left in a clearing with only a dirt path, and grass all around you, reaching towards the sky. you continued to walk, quickening your pace towards the old, abandoned harbor that had been nearly completely destroyed when the new harbor was built. you hoped to get there by night so you could watch the stars in peace tonight. along your way, you notice the maple trees, their leaves the brightest shade of red as they drifted down to the ground in the breeze. 

soon, you begin to feel tired. you sit down under a maple tree and open your water pouch, taking a sip. a single maple leaf falls onto your head and you flick it off, staring at it as it falls to the ground, joining its peers. 

you hear a light rumbling sound coming closer and closer to you, causing you to quickly spring to your feet, hands tightly gripping your sword hilt. however, it was but an ox cart. 

you sigh heavily, planning to let it pass by, until an idea runs through your head.

you run up to the cart and wave to the old man driving. 

"umm... sir? are you headed in the direction of the old harbor?"

the old man stroked his beard for a second and thought. 

"ahh, the old harbor. i'm heading to midori village, but it's just twenty minutes west of the old harbor." 

"so would you be so kind as to allow me to ride with you? i'll pay you," you say, slightly nervous. 

"no need to pay me, it's nothing much," he answered back with his gruff voice.

you bowed quickly and climbed on, feeling the cart slightly shake as you sat down besides the large pile of hay. you take out a scroll and start reading, skimming through those lines of poetry you've read so many times already.

"horses of luo city trot for three miles, from the high balcony i admire the golden palaces-" 

suddenly, you hear a soft male voice join in from besides you.

"casually discuss heartbreaking matters with the moon, i only hope to spend the rest of my days with you." 

you turn and see a young man, who you hadn't noticed before leaning on the hay. his face was turned skywards, but his eyes were turned towards you. his hands were behind his head and he lay down, one leg crossed over the other. 

seeing that you noticed him, he sat up and looked at you. it seemed as if he had maple leaves swirling around him at all times. 

the first thing you noticed about him were his clothes. they were redder than maple, and adorned with countless embroidered designs, clearly from a high class family. his golden hair was tied in a low ponytail, slightly messy and with a red streak down his bangs. his eyes were brighter than stars when he turned to look at you, and for a second, you stared at them, a bit too enamored for those red eyes.

"this... friend. you know this poem?"

he nods.

"i have a lot of spare time and i like reading poems."

you smile at him. 

"and your name is?"

he ponders for a moment.

"just call me kazuha"