Before I Go ~ A XiaoLumi Story

Chapter 11 ☆

THE MOON WAS high in the sky by the time Xiao woke up.

Lumine had gone, but Paimon was still there, sitting attentively on a high branch. The small floating thing hadn't noticed Xiao's rousing.

He heard footsteps coming and tensed up, reaching a few inches to grab his polearm. Someone rounded the corner . . . but it was just Lumine. Xiao felt himself easing slightly as Lumine walked towards him, holding a slip of paper in her hand.

Lumine winked at Xiao before turning to Paimon. "Well, I've got us a way to Inazuma, but no dinner!"

Paimon immediately jumped up. "I'll find us something!" she piped, flitting off to find food.

Lumine laughed softly, settling herself next to Xiao. "Glad to see you're in better condition than last night."

Xiao shifted uncomfortably, itching gently over his bandages. "Mm . . . although, I must . . . thank you."

Lumine looked like she was trying to suppress her shocked face, but it wasn't working. Xiao could tell she was taken aback by his gratitude. Even after protecting and witnessing mortal activity, he still hadn't quite mastered their ways of communication, and he wondered if he had said something rude.

"No, no, we should be thanking you! Kazuha and I would have been toast without you there." Lumine urged. "How did you even know to help?"

"Heard some kids talking about you competing in the Crux Clash," Xiao said. "I wanted to come to watch. I wasn't planning on saving you until I saw you and that samurai, Kazuha, running out of the arena."

A pink hue was added to Lumine's face for a moment. "Ah," was all she managed.

A silence, only broken by the gentle breeze and the rustling of sand, wrapped around the two, almost like an embrace.

Xiao looked at the traveler and watched as she gazed out at the ocean. "You fought well, by the way," he said quietly.

"Oh! Well, thanks . . . I suppose you must have seen better, being an Adeptus and all."

Xiao smirked. "You'd be surprised at how horrible some of the Adepti are in combat. It's a wonder Morax was around long enough to bring me in to fight."

Lumine giggled. "Oh, surely, surely, for none of them are better than the likes of Xiao, Conquerer of Demons, the Most Vigilant of Yakshas!" This sent the traveler into a laughing fit. "For he has slain the most enemies, and has eaten the most almond tofu!" she managed in between loud giggles.

The tension that had been strangling Xiao until then slowly began to unwind itself as he began to feel more at ease, and he gave a half-smile to Lumine.

A still quietness covered the pair once more until Xiao dared to ask what had been on his mind since Lumine came back to him earlier that evening.

"So, Inazuma, huh?" he asked softly. "Is that your next stop?"

Lumine tensed beside him before letting out a long breath. "I was hoping to tell you in a better way, but yes," she murmured. "I leave for Inazuma on the Alcor in seven days."

Xiao felt a lump in his throat. She was leaving him. "Ah, I see. Will I be able to see you again?" he asked Lumine, trying to ignore the uncomfortable sadness he found himself feeling yet again.

Lumine smiled warmly. "Of course, I'll come back every chance I can."

After a few moments of hesitation, the traveler carefully leaned back against Xiao and rested her head on his shoulder. Xiao immediately tensed, an unfamiliar feeling gnawing at his stomach. He'd always avoided human touch and confrontation, and every instinct he'd ever had told him to shove Lumine off of him, to run away from her as far as he could, but something made him stay with her.

"I'll miss you," Xiao heard himself whispering to her in a voice so inaudible it almost blended into the breeze.

Golden eyes met golden eyes for a moment before Lumine murmured, "I'll miss you, too. Every time I hear the whistling of the breeze, or soft rainfall, I'll think of you."

Xiao slowly eased the tension in his muscles, Lumine's words soothing him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders awkwardly and rested his head on top of hers.

It was enough to just enjoy one another's company like this -- in a realm full of battles and hardships, Xiao felt somewhat . . . happy for the first time in centuries.

This was enough.

And that was okay.