LOYALTY. | diluc x reader

eleven - clarity

the blade of your sword swung around in and throughout the air, the wind going with the way you moved your weapon around. the way the sword fit in your hands and the way it was at a constant balance in your grip reminded you of why you chose such a simple yet grateful weapon to accompany your fighting style.

it went through all the opponents around you, being flipped around with ease and elegance to contrast the rough sounds of the hilichurls who were unfortunately victims of your blade.

you got to your feet with ease after spending some time in the air, flipping over your opponents as if your body had no sense of gravity in itself. you smiled at the sight of a cleared out camp, the sword in your hands disappearing with yet another and last swift spin of it.

you looked back at the man behind you, his tied blue hair swaying around as a burst of ice escaped his hold. he as well made his own sword disappear and he looked back at you with his resting smirk face on.

–"all good, boss?" kaeya asked, walking over to where you were stood.

you hummed in reply, smiling at the nickname he gave you. you looked over the enchanted scroll in your hands, your eyes tracing over the unreadable words on the paper with nothing but confusion.

kaeya saw the way you looked at the scroll, asking if everything was alright after looking at it himself. the two of you couldn't make out a single word.

–"this is what they were after?" you scoffed, feeling like a prank was pulled on you, "this doesn't even look like hilichurlian to me!"

–"it really isn't," kaeya started, throwing his head to the side, "what use would they have of something such as this?"

–"perhaps they wanted it because it looks fancy," you chuckled, "oh well, let's lend it to lisa, i already know she'll make something of it"

kaeya nodded before the two of you made your way back to the headquarters with the scroll in your hands. the scroll had the same kind of energy as the abyss mages who left you unconscious about half a month ago.

that is quite a long time, the sudden appearance of abyss mages wasn't giving you nor the knights any kind of hints or clues as to why it happened. to say you were stressed was an understatement, not getting much out of your house except for when you had to talk with the knights.

this meant not being able to see diluc at all, not even crossing your path or accidentally seeing each other in the distance on the street. not that it would be expected to see anybody at all on the streets in mid january.

and yet you thought if only you had seen that warm and fiery shade of red in the middle of the skin-biting frost of the grey streets you'd find a way to smile, even if only for a second or two, even to smile so little so as to not let him see it.

you sighed as you entered your own office for the millionth time this week, throwing your coat on the coat rack. you yawned and stretched after taking a seat at the main table that had pages of notes scrambled all over the surface.

your eyes squinted at the messy handwriting, reading it all over again as you felt your eyes sting of tiredness with another yawn coming in. you were truly fighting the sleep, ticking yourself awake every time you felt yourself slip away.

the warm atmosphere that the fireplace in the middle of the room created wasn't helping with the fact that you were merely seconds away from falling asleep. the outside view from the window was engulfed in a sort of darkness that made you feel lonely.

you looked around the empty and dimly lit room, not wanting to think about the pile of work in front of you.

a knock was heard at your door and you stood up straight again, widening your eyes to snap yourself from your zoned out state so as to not let whoever was about to come in see how incredibly tired you really were. you were too prideful to make anybody worry about you.