High Impact || Genshin Impact H.S AU

Chapter 8.2

Kujou Sara heard gasping and chattering, more than usual and she turned her head, seeing the students leave the interior to go outside. Squinting and leaning her head to the side, seeing the large rock formations penetrate the sky.

She sighs, assuming that they were nearby the Golden Apple Archipelago, the so-called annual field trip that all the students were in an uproar about. Yet she’s already been to the place numerous times for business trips that her parents turned into family vacations.

Suddenly she felt her shoulder rustling, something moving on it and she sharply turned her head, seeing Ei wake up.  Sara gulped, her heart beating quickly at the cute sleepy face Ei makes.

“Yae Miko? Why is everyone being louder than normal?” Ei says, addressing their minxy pink-haired friend, Yae Miko, sitting across the table from them. Sara felt dejected, ignored by Ei, even when letting her shoulder fall asleep in fear of waking Ei up.

“We’re soon to approach the archipelago,” Yae Miko says. “I’m certainly excited,” she adds, smiling sweetly at Ei.

Sara couldn’t help but snarl a bit, a sharp stinging feeling clenching her heart. Jealousy. She was familiar with the feeling, using it to make her the top fighter within her family and most favored by her adopted parents.

“Ugh, it’s just sand and water. I’m over it,” Ei says, groaning as she lifts her head from Sara's shoulder. Sara let out a small breath of relief as she moved her shoulder and let it wake up.

“Thanks, Sara,” Ei mutters, looking away.

Sara only nodded, though wishing that Ei would look to her eyes more often. She wanted Ei to see her more and she wanted to see Ei's eyes more as well. They were so pretty, purple, and glowing like her skin.

“Oh, it’ll be fun Ei, we’ll relax and be able to enjoy the sunlight,” Yae Miko says, curling a strand of her hair around her nimble finger.

In an attempt to garner attention from Ei, she spoke. “And we can finally see who’s better at volleyball,” Sara suggested. She was referring to the one time they mentioned volleyball in PE and Yae Miko claimed she was a pro but Sara refuted that and it led to an argument between the two. It only ended when Ei got so pissed off from the yelling, she threw a nearby chair at the wall.

“Oh please, you can barely light a candle to my roaring flame of skill,” Yae Miko taunts, standing up now and giggling evilly while covering her mouth. Sara felt her eyes burn, staring at the confident pink fox with a competitive rage.

“Ei can judge who’s better,” Sara suggests, pointing her head to the beautiful purple eye girl, skin like milk and skill prowess like anything Sara has seen before. Ei arches an eyebrow, having only been lightly witnessing the competition between the two girls, never involving herself in it.

“I mean I guess I’ll referee, just like a chill down, fighting gets on my nerves,” Ei responds. Sara nods, understanding and knowing full well that Ei hates conflict, resulting in her anger issues getting out of hand.

Others may call it rage issues, Sara just saw it as Ei being severely passionate and losing control of that passion.

“Alright then, it is settled,” Yae Miko says, reaching a hand to Sara. Sara eyes it down, hesitant to accept such a hand from someone she found personally deceptive. But when she glanced at Ei momentarily, all she could think is Ei congratulating her and showering her with compliments. Sara gulped, accepting the hand and shaking it, sealing the deal.

Then the ferry blares, indicating that they needed to get back to their bus seats. The three girls moved away from their table, heading down the stairs to the assigned bus. They entered the bus, with Ei going first, Yae Miko second, and Sara third.

Sara tried to move past Yae Miko, hoping to secure a seat next to Ei. Sadly, Yae Miko persisted and was able to sit next to her, leaving no room for Sara. Sara growled quietly, glaring at the pink-haired foxlike girl, as she moved to the seat behind.

She felt like sulking, but she knew she couldn’t mope around or else she would get weak and lose Ei's attention.

So, she decided to focus and think of strategies to beat Yae Miko at volleyball.

Before the bus closed the doors and began to depart from the ferry, she could feel glares and hesitation from the students around her. She rolled her eyes, used to being looked at or judged.

Being the adopted daughter of the infamous Kujou clan in Inazuma, she did hold a name to her.

Some called her a gold digger, others say she was a lucky bastard who was able to infiltrate an elite clan. They were all names, coming from jealous people who understood little in her eyes.

Some of the Inazuma students might fear her because of her status as the revered daughter of the Kujou clan, while non-Inazuma students probably think she’s just scary. She didn’t blame either, since they were both true, she was aware of her resting bitch face.

But she didn’t like how people assumed it was easy for her to become the favored daughter among the many cousins and siblings within the clan. Because it wasn’t.

Years of her childhood were spent training and studying, aiming for high marks and praise at all times. She had to fight her clan members in many martial arts, sometimes breaking a bone or two to get to where she was at the moment.

When she reached her goal, being favored and receiving special treatment, being planned to take over as clan head, she got bored. Then she met Ei.

That one fateful day, at the presidential inauguration, she saw the daughter of the new president, pretty as a Sakura blossom and yet fierce as lightning, she fell in love.

Then she spent the next few years, using every opportunity to talk to the girl who held captive her heart. Every event she was hinted to be at, she went, every slight encounter she cherished.

Eventually, the two became real friends, something that Sara was proud of even more than any high grade or praise she’s gotten.

She had been with the girl even during the hard times within her family, always being by her phone and waiting in case she needed to call her for support. She did at one point, being there for her and visiting her in the Chinju woods while she cried.

She did turn out to be a bit different after the moment, shyer around Sara but also more raging towards others, but Sara never saw it as a flaw so much as Yae Miko. Yae Miko would lecture and tell Ei she needed to get her temper under control if she wished to be a public figure.

Then the three girls all got invited to Genshin High. Sara only went because of Ei, not wanting to be so far apart from the beauty of nature. If Ei didn’t go, she wouldn’t go so far for a school promising success and riches in your life, Sara already had that.

Eventually, the bus stopped parking in front of the resort. The students all chattered loudly, excited to be at the resort that Sara had visited several times before. She knows the place was nice but she was over it like Ei, rather bored as she remembered the long meetings she was stuck in and the dumb lunches she would attend.

The resort may seem like a vacation place for others, was a special and fun office building, used when politicians and business leaders wanted a change of scenery while still working.

She got up from her seat, seeing the back of Ei’s head, smiling at the sight of her gorgeous dark hair with purple highlights. Then she heard Ei’s laughter, prompting her to freeze for a moment.

Ei’s laughter was something she hadn’t heard in a long time and it felt like an orchestra in her ears, playing beautiful music that took her out of the moment. Her heart raced a bit, pounding with the love she had for Ei.

She then saw it was because of Yae Miko, but even then, her love for Ei outweighed her slight hatred and annoyance at the pink-haired girl. Ei began to leave the bus, making Sara hurried her pace and catch up to the love of her life.