Verisimilitude (GI Various x Reader)

Chapter Twenty-Six

        After Lumine had registered for the competition, her first fight was literally the first fight of the competition. I stood beside Beidou and Kazuha as Lumine began to get ready for her match.

"Our first competitor is seen by many as the favorite to win this tournament. Her first bout begins now!" Beidou exclaims and then Lumine and her opponent dashed at one another. It was easy to see the difference in power between the two as Lumine quickly and easily defeated her first opponent. Paimon hovers next to me as we watch Lumine walk back over to us.

"What a strange guy, why was he so confident to being with...?" She asks. Lumine, having drawn close enough to hear Paimon, shrugged. Beidou gleefully laughed.

"Hahaha, I knew I wouldn't regret introducing you as the favorite!" She turned to Kazuha. "So what do you think, Kazuha? She totally dominated that guy, and did it with style, too." She commented on Lumine's fight. Kazuha quietly nods.

"Impressive. But I also observed our favorite exercise some restraint, as if to protect the opponent from serious harm." He noted. Lumine rubbed the back of her neck, not realizing Kazuha would be able to notice a small detail like that. Beidou nodded with hum, her ruby eye narrowing at Lumine.

"Well, I've fought my fair share of battles, both big and small. And I say, after the show she put on just now, she's more than convinced me of her ability. So come on, we all know you've got a wide vocabulary in there- can't you spare a word or two to congratulate our up-and-coming champion?" Kazuha sighs with a small smile.

"Alright... Let me think how to aptly phrase these words of praise...You fought well." I hid my chuckles behind my hand as Beidou gave him an unimpressed look.

"Ugh, alright then. I was thinking your inner poet might want to join in the fun, but... I guess I shouldn't put you on the spot like that." She shook her head at him, then returned her attention over to Lumine.

"You know, a lot of competitors came to me saying how surprised they were that Liyue's hero was entering the tournament... And since you signed up, we've had many others do the same, with more than a few top-tier fighters among them. I'm sure lots of them are here to find out how they stack up against you. It's only a shame that the Oracle Knight couldn't join in as well. Hell, even I wouldn't mind having a chance to spar against someone like you." Beidou chuckled. I gave her a small smirk.

"Well, these are your rules after all. But don't worry. I'm more than open to having a sparring session in the future if you'd like." Beidou nodded with a grin.

"I'd like that!" She smacks my back and causes me to cough suddenly. Lumine and Kazuha watched the exchange with amused looks.

"I honestly don't see what all the fuss is about." Lumine mentions after some time. Beidou chuckles.

"Haha, well, since everyone sees you as the one to beat, I figured I should start treating you that way too. For one thing, we don't want you wasting all your energy in the early rounds fighting people who are well below your level. Not to mention... you must be itching to fight someone in your league, too, right? So, I'm putting you straight through to the semi-finals!" Lumine, Paimon and myself all gasped and gaped at Beidou. I know I said that these were Beidou's rules, but I didn't expect her to just throw Lumine into the semi-finals like this!

"Huh? But we only just started on the qualifiers... Seems like a crazy system if we just skip straight to the semi-finals." Paimon mentioned. Kazuha only shook his head, amused at our reactions.

"This is how Captain Beidou works. You won't persuade her otherwise. Besides, at your level, you would have made it to the semi-finals anyway." Paimon hums to herself in thought.