Important in Another World- A Genshin Impact Xiao x Lumine fanfic

Chapter 6- The Calm before the Storm

( Quick summary- Xiao finds out about Olympus, and the war, without Lumine noticing. )

Xiao POV

Ever since that day when he had found out a whole lot of information that he couldn't digest, and didn't want to know anyway, he had firmly stopped following the Traveler- Outlander?- around. Besides, he didn't think she was a threat. Someone with such a strong and pure sense of family can't be a deterrent to peace. 

That didn't mean that Lumine didn't still intrigue him. Whenever he wasn't fighting monsters or gulping down almond tofu, he found himself thinking about Lumine. Much more than he was comfortable with. 'Ugh, mortals are so confusing.'

He shook his head, ridding his mind of such thoughts, and gazed at the pristine blue night above. The stars had always calmed him, twinkling upon the world. He stared at the night sky, silently begging it for answers.

To what questions, he did not know.

Lumine POV

One last strike from her sword, one last swirl of Anemo mingling with Pyro, and the Mitachurl finally collapsed, disintegrating into nothingness. They reminded her of the monsters of home. Home. In this moment, she missed New York more than ever. Its bustling streets, glowing billboards, ever-present hum of traffic, even in the dead of night. In this moment when she was all alone, separated from her dear brother Aether, her other close family, and her other siblings. Lost siblings, who had disappeared from Olympus nearly 3 millenia ago. 

Shaking her head, clearing her mind of nostalgia, she told Paimon, "That was the last of our commissions, let's check with Katheryne." "Ok Ok, but then you WILL take Paimon to eat!" Giggling at her friend's huge appetite, she said, "Oh, alright, I'll take you to Wanmin." "Nops, Paimon wants to go to Liuli Pavilion this time!" Lumine blinked in shock. "Uh gee, that's not possible, we cant afford it, and besides, there is a three-month waiting line. ""Humph. Then Paimon will order exclusive food from Xiangling."  She sighed, giving in. Here she was, quibbling over things as trivial as food, whereas... She had no idea about Aether, or where he was. She had no idea about what was going on in the war, which was quite possibly the greatest one of the century, it was constantly occupying her thoughts, making her more distracted and snappy than usual. 

People thought that she was the valiant, great, savior of Mondstadt, when actually she was.... Nothing more than a lonely girl, whose kin had been taken away, whom she desperately missed. She was someone, who in reality, wanted nothing more than to go home with her family. Her eyes started glazing over, and she hurriedly blinked the tears away. "Come on then. And after dinner, I'll go and clear out some more Treasure Hoarder camps." This was her way of distracting herself from Percy's prophecy and Kronos, both of which had been weighing heavily in her mind ever since that call.

She felt so helpless.

(I took treasure hoarders, since i really need their drops for kaeya lol... Any kaeya mains here?)

Timeskip to few days later.

"This is the last one. Fate's Yearning, apparently liked by older ladies." "Let's offer it." said the long haired brunette beside them. This man was Zhongli, a senior consultant of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, and they were helping him with the Rite of Parting, a final sendoff exclusively for gods and adepti. 

Technically, they were still wanted in the city, but they were able to roam with caution, since they had already met up with none other than the Tianquan of the Qixing, Ningguang herself. They just had to make sure to not bump into unruly citizens. And definitely try to avoid Childe. She just felt too suspicious of him. Though that part didn't seemed to be working out so well.

Once again clearing her thoughts ; she seemed to be more distracted than usual lately, she carefully did as Zhongli asked. This time, the statue of Morax glowed a soft yellow. Paimon mused, "Hmm... Seems Rex Lapis liked this one. Does that mean that he has a thing for old ladies?" Lumine cracked into laughter, while Paimon and Zhongli looked confused. But she couldn't help it, the image of a god with some real old lady like Madame Ping made her lose it. She recovered herself quickly though. 

Zhongli, with a small amused smile, said, "Well, lets not dilly- dally now, shall we? Lets head back to the Harbor." She nodded, and they went off.

*****

As they got closer to Liyue Harbor, the atmosphere seemed to grow more ominous. Tension hung heavy in the air. She looked at Zhongli with a frown, and he returned it. At the gate, they were interrupted by someone in a black mask, probably of the fatui. And right now, she wasn't too keen to meet them. 

Paying no attention to her, the man turned straight to Zhongli and said, " You are the Wangsheng consultant, no? Well, we wanted to tell you, that you'd better get into the city straightaway, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor seems to have gotten into a bit of a fix with the authorities at the gate, and are squaring it off. Also, the adepti are on their move." Zhongli blinked at this sudden information, then grimly said, "I see. I shall head there straight away. How are the Qixing planning on dealing with the Adepti?" 

"The Tianquan herself has gone to meet them, or rather stall them." After some hesitation, the Fatui added, "Uh, and also, you are on good terms with Childe, so please take care of your actions, they might very well reflect on us. After all, Ningguang declared that they would keep a strict watch on the Fatui." "Dont worry, I shall take care."

Turning to her, Zhongli said in that same grim voice, "Remember Lumine, if you wish to avoid an explosion, then you must first find the fuse." "Uhhh, ok."

'Zhongli shall be dealing with the Funeral Parlor. Which means that it is up to us to find the 'fuse' '

With that, they headed into the city.

Xiao POV

He sat on a chair, feeling very restless. Around him, the other adepti bickered about what to do after Morax's passing. Cloud Retainer wanted to destroy Liyue. Moon Carver wanted to see how Liyue fared with Mortals. Mountain Shaper wanted to investigate the situation by personally going to Liyue. 

And here he was, getting bored along with Madame Ping, and Ganyu. Yanfei wasn't here, as she was too childish. Frankly, he was getting tired of the bickering. Finally, in a low voice, he said, "Enough."

Everyone stopped talking. "This meeting is fast becoming nothing but a waste of time. So much senseless bickering. I suggest, that we all go visit Liyue Harbor, where the Qixing is sure to come and meet us. There we will see if the Qixing are capable enough of handling this situation on their own, or if we need to step in." 

The others exchanged glances between themselves, talking in a low voice. Finally, they said, "We agree to this solution." "Then what are you waiting for? Go on." Before they could ask about him, he added, "I shall approach the city from somewhere else, I do not wish to meet with them directly."

That was a half truth. He didn't want to personally talk to them, but he also had an ominous feeling. That something was going to go incredibly wrong. And he wanted to go inside the city to investigate this. 

3rd POV

In truth, neither Lumine nor Xiao knew what this was.

This was merely the calm before the storm.

(1255 words)