I Don't Love Him!! (ChiLumi) (Genshin)

Chapter 3- His Past

Time skip (1 week):

Childe POV:

All I knew of that time was fear. I watched my little sister, Tonia, being thrown into the pit. The tall man beside me grabbed my shoulders, ready to throw me in next.

I'm such a failure of a brother.

I was ready to die. I glanced at the bottomless pit, bracing for the fall, the inevitable shattering of bones and impending death. I was pushed off, as a small scream that only I could hear escaped my mouth and laughter could be heard above, before I fell even further below, the wind beating against my body roughly. And at the very last moment, what I felt was not the sound of my body breaking, but a soft surface, and a warm hand.

After I woke up, the sight that greeted me was not pleasant. I was still alive and breathing. I hated that. I wished I had died. But the woman I met then changed me completely, beyond recognition. It was shocking to even my own family. I returned after three years, welcomed by my teary siblings and parents. And then, my father threw me again into the darkness. Away from the ones I loved, once again. Left to fend for myself. The only one who could care for myself and protect everyone. That was my destiny.

I snapped back to reality, hand still resting on my schoolbook. My thoughts kept rushing back to the blonde girl and how similar she was to me. Loneliness was a word we both knew and I wished to support her through it, like my master had done for me. Loneliness hurt more than anything after all. I sighed and continued to read the book.

I miss home.

*
I followed the golden haired girl again during lunch break. No matter how much she tried to push me away, she didn't put much emphasis in her words, nor behave violently, and let me stay near her. It gave me an odd feeling of acceptance, but then again, it wasn't as if I was particularly accepted by anyone, so it was fine if that wasn't the case.

"Ojou chan, what are you gonna write for the English essay?" I questioned but as usual, Lumine remained silent. No answer came from her mouth, and her face had almost no reaction. She just quietly munched on her sandwich. I smiled and continued the conversation with a convincing grin.

"Life of a mouse, like, really. They really ran out of ideas for essays, huh?" I laughed, but not much of a reaction came from her. I walked beside her, towering over her small and delicate stature. She looked almost like a doll, with the same lifelessness that they had. I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind.

"Its way hot here compared to my homeland." I said, drinking my cold coffee as I fanned myself with my other hand. Lumine suddenly whipped her head towards me and glared fiercely at me.

"Then why don't you just go back to where you came from?" she said icily. It didn't affect me much to be honest. I'd heard worse things. It still stung a bit, though. I wished I could go back there too. It wasn't as if I wanted to be here. I could only visit my home once or twice a year, and it was now entirely impossible due to me being a student of this school. During school holidays, I would again be briefly called back to work. I shifted another fake smile on my face as I looked at her.

"Awww, don't be so cold, ojou chan〜" I put my hand teasingly on her shoulder and she just scoffed.

*
As soon as school was over, a boy with short blue hair, thick blue rimmed glasses and a book on history in his hands, came running up to me. I recognized him as Xingqiu, Lumine's bully Xiangling's friend, and also the smartest guy in class. He tugged on my sleeve as he gasped for breath.

"I want to ask you a favour." he muttered. I nodded as a sign for him to go ahead. Xingqiu looked me, with soft and sad eyes as he spoke. "Xiangling and I used to be Lumine's friends. Lumine was actually my best friend. She made me and Xiangling her friends when everyone was bullying us and, well, technically saved us. But then all of that stuff happened, and she distanced herself from us completely. And thats why Xiangling hates Lumine. The favour is, well . . . please take care of Lumine. I want to see her smiling again." Xingqiu finished.

"That is what I'm here for, so don't worry〜" I said, waving a hand to him as I walked past the school gates. Most of the students ignored me as I was Lumine's friend but I didn't mind it at all. It was normal for me to get ignored or feared. As I walked the usual route that led to my house, I noticed a familiar figure on a bench on the road. My eyes widened as I glanced at her.

"Lumine?!" I rushed over to her, and wiped away her tears. She held my hand, as if holding on to me for dear life and continued crying.

"He's gone. They're all gone, I-" she stuttered between her tears. "Its all my fault. I don't deserve to live and-and I-" she was beyond control now. Tears were coming out as naturally as breathing and her usual pinkish eyes were now a bright red, strained from crying. I held her closer to my chest, and helped her stand up. She didn't push me away this time, but rather, clung on to me like I was the one place with water she found after traveling by herself in the desert all this time, and would die if she let go of me. I didn't speak and maintained my silence as she let it all out, telling me all about her past. Before we knew it, we'd reached the apartment where I lived. I turned the key in the lock, and led her inside. She was too shocked to say anything, or ask anything, and was still crying. I helped her onto my bed, and whispered a small "Goodnight, ojou chan" before heading into the living room and opening my bag to do my homework. As usual, I pulled out my diary before starting on my work, and wrote an imaginary letter to home, detailing all that I had done today.

And today, maybe we got a little bit closer than before.