High Impact || Genshin Impact H.S AU

Chapter 8.3

Ei groaned, being interrupted from her eternal dreams of darkness, something she weirdly found solace in. Opening her eyes, she immediately winced in the bright light, not a single cloud outside apparently, only blue sky.

Then she hears more clearly what woke her up, other students, all clambering and being loud and obnoxious. It agitated her, hearing the voices of those she didn’t want to hear, especially when she was trying to sleep.

“Yae Miko?” she says groggily, then clearing her voice a bit to seem more sophisticated. “Why is everyone being louder than normal?” she says finally, now seeing the pink-haired friend across the table from her. Ei also felt the presence of Kujou Sara, making her feel a bit shy, trying hard not to blush.

“We’re soon to approach the archipelago,” Yae Miko answers, then adding, “I’m certainly excited,” while smirking. Ei rolled her eyes, remembering the destination of their field trip.

She had been to the Golden Apple Archipelago numerous times, her father always claiming it was a vacation despite him always working. While she would be left with her sister and mother, playing at the beach, and having fun.

Over the years, she had gotten rather desensitized from the archipelago, having seen all of its cool sights. Now when she thinks of it, all she remembers were the frantic meetings and yelling, the pressure and intense political life her family had invading the small dome of paradise.

“Ugh, it’s just water and sand. I’m over it,” Ei states, looking at the way too eager classmates of hers. it only increased her annoyance. Then she remembered Sara amiss her growing rage, feeling warmed by her. The friend was kind enough to let her sleep on her shoulder, probably asleep since she didn’t feel any movement from the girl. Ei felt her heart race a bit, sweetened by the kind action.

“Thanks, Sara” she whispers, too shy to admit how much she appreciated the gesture.

“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. Ei rolled her eyes again, annoyed as she remembered where they were going again.

“It’s been a while since I last visited the place, before,” Ei thinks, immediately tensing up at the thought of her. “Before her,” she says, not wanting to think too much about it. In the background she could hear Sara’s voice, teasing her a bit but it was already overwhelming, the images and the funeral she had to attend.

She looked around, seeing a few familiar faces within the Inazuman students and faculty, recognizing them as high figures in Inazuma’s political life. Being the daughter of a former and infamous president, she had a hell of a reputation to deal with. She was also a public figure, one with a target on her back, and Makoto’s back.

“Ei can judge who’s better,” Sara says, breaking Ei out of her darkening and spiraling thoughts. She looks at the two friends, seeing them get into another squabble again. She had a feeling it was volleyball since that was what they fought over last time.

“I mean I guess I’ll referee, just like a chill down, fighting gets on my nerves,” Ei says, crossing her arms and regaining her composure. The two nodded, then stare at one another as if they were rivals. Ei wished they would get along better and be fewer rivals and more friends.

“Alright then, it is settled,” Yae Miko says smugly. Ei was familiar with the voice, the same voice she used when she was confident in something to a point of no doubt. She would know, having been friends with the daughter of the Narukami shrine high priestess, for years.

The two were made to be friends, a way for the parents to develop connections early on for the two and themselves. Ei was annoyed when she was told to hang out with the pink-haired girl, but over the years, the two had bonded over being high political children and became bests of friends.

The friends had shaken hands, making Ei eye roll again, finding their rivalry ridiculous still. It just seemed they were both fighting over nothing, Ei loved and appreciated the two both very much.

Then suddenly the ferry horn blared, startling Ei a bit. Ei immediately got up, wanting to avoid being stuck in a crowd with other students, and began to head downstairs to her assigned bus. Her friends followed suit.

She got onto the bus first, heading towards the middle since she knew that the back would be full of loud people while the front felt too depressing for her taste. So she settled for the middle of the seats and sat down, Yae Miko sitting next to her. Sara pouted a bit as she went to sit behind her.

Ei felt bad, not wanting to not hang out with Sara, since she was important to her as well. To her, Sara was a good friend, being someone who saw past all the hardships and rumors placed onto her. In Ei’s eyes, Sara showed that she could make friends again, even if she was the daughter of a flawed president.

She was also there during her hardest times, making Ei know that she could trust Sara with anything. She did admit that she wasn’t the most vocal or paid enough attention to Sara, weirdly getting extremely shy or it felt hard to speak to her as her heart was pounding like crazy. She didn’t know what to make with this emotion.