Genshin Impact Oneshots

Bleak Childhood [Xiao x Hu Tao]

Idk what I'm doing 

I started this kinda in a bad mood then it got better so this fic is quite messy, will do better another time ig

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She always looked cheerful, with her smile plastered on her face, telling silly jokes or indecipherable sentences that only she knew the meaning of. Sometimes, there seemed to be another sense to her words. Something darker, something that one should better not be aware of in order to not shatter this bright facade of emotions.

After all, how could someone working in a field so close to death be completely sane?

Xiao was well aware of this and maybe this was what brought him towards Hu Tao despite her being another human with a lifespan as short as a fragment of his own. She was the complete opposite of him and yet she seemed to be the one to understand him the most.

And maybe this was because she went through a similar experience.

"So he's dead."

Fiery red eyes which looked like rather dull flames, long and soft dark hair tied in low ponytails, cheeks rounder than usual on a face looking much younger as well. Her gaze was set on a coffin being buried six feet under the ground, lips forming a tight line that lacked expression.

An old man was standing next to her, wearing a hat he usually saw the young girl wearing instead.

It didn't take long for the adepti to understand that after breathing some kind of suspicious incense on the altar of a cave Hu Tao dragged him to, he somehow fell into a weird dimension seemingly showing the girl's past.

Alatus had to admit that he was a bit surprised by what was unfolding in front of his eyes. Scenes kept playing one after the other, and in each of these, the future director of the funerarium always looked so... devoid of feelings.

She spent her days in the funeral parlor, reading books from dawn until dusk while barely touching the food the old man would bring her for lunch and dinner.

It was weird.

"Are you a customer? This isn't the entrance."

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of her younger version.

"I'm... not really a customer."

"What are you then?" she asked bluntly, the light from the lamp spreading orange hues in the dark room.

"A friend of the director." he somewhat lied, it wasn't really far from the truth as the girl would become the director in the future.

"Grandfather never told me about you though."

"I prefer staying in the shadows, that's why."

"What a weird man."

Her attention swiftly changed from Xiao to the book opened on the table, probably bored of him now that she knew the bare minimum of his identity.

"What are you reading?" asked Alatus.

"A book about death and grief."

How fun.

"Is this what interests you?"

Hu Tao nodded, her eyes scanning each line printed on the paper. 

"I'm trying to understand what people feel when losing someone dear to them."

"Have you never experienced it by being in such a place?"

"I'm not sure." Her palm set on the surface of the book as she straightened up a bit to look at the man. "Most people during funerals say things like they would want the deceased one to be back to them, live longer. But... What's the point? Their time has reached its end so there's no reason to hold onto their soul, they should simply let them go on the path towards reincarnation."

"It's... not that simple."

"Why?"

"Hmm... How would you react if your grandfather died tomorrow?"

"I would hold his funeral in due form."

Just as he expected from her, in a way.

"Wouldn't you be sad?"

"No. Birth and death rule this world and there's nothing I can do about it so wouldn't bidding them farewell in the afterlife be the best thing to do?"

"Maybe, but not everyone thinks the same." He sat not far from her, leaning his back against the wooden wall. "You care about this place don't you?"

"People need someone to take care of their funeral so of course."

"Well, just like you care about the funeral parlor, they care as much about their family and friends. If this place disappears, you will be distressed right?"

"I will... have no other place to go to..."

The girl lowered her gaze and the adepti patted her head with a faint smile. Hu Tao's young mind was still a bit confused but she roughly understood what Xiao meant. Though, she would probably need more time to truly be able to assimilate his words.

"Once you understand how important living is, this will be the day you become the perfect director of the funeral parlor."

"I... will do my best."

Just as Xiao could see the sign of a smile, his vision began to be clouded and his eyelids started to shut by themselves. He somewhat heard a small 'Thank you' before his mind awoke.

His amber eyes suddenly widened to stare into the orange hues of the afternoon sky, two red eyes appearing in his vision.

"Xiaoooo... Are you hereee?"

The red rose to his cheeks as he straightened up briskly, still a bit startled by the change of scenery.

"Where are we-?"

"Just at the entrance of the cave, look behind." The man did so and indeed found the same path they entered earlier. "You suddenly passed out as soon as we got to the end so I had to drag you outside all by myself! You know, you don't have the same weight as a feather..."

Hu Tao smirked a bit and Xiao sighed in relief.

"I see..."

"So? What happened to our super strong yaksha to be knocked out by just some smoke?"

The adepti opened his lips slightly, not too sure of what to say and where to start. Did this even make any sense?

"This is a bit complicated..."

"The more interesting then!"

The woman crouched down in front of him with a soft smile that made the other miss a beat.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Mhm! I bet it's worth listening to coming from you."

She stared into his soul, her vivid red eyes drilling holes in it, and there was no way he could refuse her request.