i don't need you; xiao

~four~

"I do not comprehend why you accepted his invitation to each lunch together. He is a stranger. He could be dangerous." Xiao explains to (Y/N). She paid no attention to him, for she was too busy thinking about the lunch "date" with Childe.

The vermilion released a sigh knowing there was no way convincing her out of it. To him, it strangely hurt him to see that she was excited to eat with someone else. She didn't want to be friends with Keqing, so why him? What was so different about him?

Whatever happened to only enjoying your meals with me, (Y/N)? Memories flooded in his head as he thought of that. The times when she would simply enjoy his company as she ate her food. The times when they would cook together and make Almond Tofu because it was Xiao's favorite dish.

Too deep in his thoughts, he failed to notice (Y/N) had stopped walking and crashed into someone's chest. He swiftly stepped back to observe the person he bumped into.

"Ah, watch where you're going little dude! You don't wanna get hurt, don't ya?" A very large man with red horns and red makeup gave a toothy smile to Xiao as a girl with a black mask and green hair approached him as well.

"Pardon him. He also tends to not watch where he goes and always bumps into someone." The oni stared at the green-haired girl in shock.

"Hey! It's not always my fault. This little dude was zoning off in another dimension. You know, if he hadn't bumped into me, he could've tripped, or worse, could've bumped into something else and gotten injured!" The oni exclaimed.

The green-haired girl rested a palm on her forehead and closed her eyes for a moment. (Y/N) joined the group to which everyone turned their attention to.

"Kuki Shinobu." The masked girl says. "The oni here is my boss, Arataki Itto. Nice to meet you."

"Uh, you forgot something Shinobu. It's Arataki 'The One and Only Oni' Itto." He grins as he exhales on his knuckles and wipes them on his chest. "I go by many more but this one is one of the most popular so."

(Y/N) stays silent, quietly observing both of the people in front of her. Itto smacks his hands together in front of her face which causes her to flinch. Xiao steps in front of them, glaring at the oni.

"Watch it." He scowls. Itto whimpers and steps back to Shinobu, who has her attention to something behind Xiao and (Y/N).

Shinobu raises her eyebrows. She takes Itto's arm and walks pass them. Itto tries to refuse, but Shinobu won't let him go.

"Hey! Let me go! I gotta teach her that it's really rude to stare at people! Hey Shinobu! Wait!" As their voices trail off, Xiao focuses his attention to (Y/N), who is staring at the ground.

"Are you okay? Did he scare you?" She rejects answering him, afraid that he'll notice her cheeks are flushed.

"Ah, there you are! I found you!" A familiar voice is heard from behind (Y/N). She peeks over her shoulder to prove she guessed the voice correctly, and sure enough, it's Childe with Zhongli by his side.

"Hey there girlie." He winks at the girl. She turns back around to hide the big grin that is on her face. She collects herself before turning back to face Childe and sees that he's carrying a picnic basket.

"Shall we head to the place?" He says as he offers his arm. "I know a secret location where no one will bother us."

"Let's go then." (Y/N) slides her arm into his and the two walk away together with big smiles on their faces.

Zhongli, who was left behind with Xiao, observes how bothered the vermillion is to see his master with someone else. Someone who she barely knew for a day, yet acts like she knew him for a year.

Zhongli places a hand on Xiao's shoulder. The vermilion looks up to meet his bright golden eyes. Reassurance was swirling in them as he gave a comforting smile. He nods towards the path where Childe and (Y/N) walked through. The two follow behind them.

✽.｡.:*・ﾟ ✽.｡.:*・ﾟ ✽.｡.:*・ﾟ ✽.｡.:*・ﾟ ✽.｡.:*・ﾟ

"Close your eyes and no peaking." Childe says as he hovers his hands over (Y/N)'s eyes. Xiao glares at the two from afar, resting on top of a tree branch. Zhongli stands below him.

"You'll kill him if you keep staring at him with those eyes." Xiao scoffs and crossed his arms on his chest as Zhongli chuckles. He watches as the two sit down on a blanket that was placed there by him.

"She seems really interested in him. Ugh, why can't she remember." Xiao clenches his jaw as he slides a hand through her hair. "This is frustrating."

"Xiao, I have warned you once and I'll warn you again. You shouldn't rush her to retrieve her forgotten memories. Only she can slowly regain them back, without help from anyone. Forcing her memories back to her puts her in grave danger. It's shame that it has been years and I know it pains you to see her like that, but you cannot do anything at the moment. It's futile."

Zhongli releases a heavy sigh and stands up straight on both of his legs. He glances at the two eating who seem to be having a great time together. His eyes then travel to Xiao, who's gritting his teeth and sneering at a leaf resting on the palm of his hand.

"I'll make that bastard pay for doing this to her." He tightens his hand into a fist, crunching the leaf. "Him and everyone working for him."