DECATHECT | HSR x F!Reader

08 ~ 403 Days Before

[Y/N] opened her eyes as she found herself sitting in a tavern. The atmosphere was lively as laughter could be heard from the people around her. The shuffling of cards, coupled with the sound of dice rolling across tables and the clinking of glasses. 

"What would you like to drink, my lady?" The bartender asked the lady.  He wore an embellished black tailcoat, shiny leather boots, and smiling white theater mask obscured his face. 

"I....don't drink alcohol." [Y/N] stated, looking up at the bartender. 

"But you're in a bar my lady! Surely you are here to order something with alcohol." He exclaimed. 

She sighed and stared at the menu etched onto a wooden board before pointing at a drink. "Fine, this one please." 

"Of course my lady!" 

She watched as the bartender began creating the concoction, sliding the finished drink down the table towards her. "A cocktail with Marian oranges and palm cinnamon, my lady." 

[Y/N] reached out and grabbed the glass, the yellow-orange drink akin to molten gold swirling around in the cup. She turned around to observe the other patrons in the tavern, everyone wearing different theater masks.

Lifting the cup to her lips, she slowly began to drink the cocktail as the bartender stood up to address everyone. "Welcome to Tavern World's End" The bartender, bows deeply to the patrons and continues. "We only serve customers with a sense of humor."

The people in the tavern laughed in unison and set down their glasses as he continued,  "In keeping with Aha's will, we will have some fun next. Mr. France and his team of bodyguards will be the next to join the arena." As he spoke, [Y/N] continued to drink, she felt words slowly beginning to morph into gibberish as the alcohol began to take its hold. 

"His opponent will be Avila. He and his mercenaries are burly and not to be underestimated!"

With his words, the atmosphere lit up with excitement, each audience member waiting in suspense. Dark spots were now beginning to appear in her vision as the bartender leaned down to face her. Despite him wearing a mask, she could tell there was a wide smile hidden behind the face covering. "Who else is coming? Who's up for the 78,201st round?" 

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"What the...." [Y/N] stared at the marble bust that was now a collection of powder and tiny bits on the ground. "What happened?? Are you alright Baiheng, Jingyuan??" The [h/c]-ette exclaimed, rushing over to where the two stood. They had arrived at her store earlier during the day, and out of curiosity, Baiheng asked [Y/N] how she made her pieces, leading to the current situation. 

"We-we're okay! Your statue isn't though..." The Foxian said, her fluffy tail nervously swishing back and forth. 

"I'm sorry! I accidentally turned on one of the machines and I tried to turn it off and knocked over the statue-" Jingyuan began but [Y/N] sighed, waving him off. 

"It's fine, I'll clean it up. Be careful not to touch anything alright? Feel free to look around." The [e/c] eyed woman grabbed a dustpan and began sweeping the broken pieces of marble away. Baiheng and Jingyuan scurried off to the other side of the room, whispering and pointing at some of the ores lined neatly on the shelves. 

As she finished sweeping up the remaining parts, [Y/N] heard the front door to the shop open up. "Hello?" A deep voice asked. 

"I'll be right back," The [h/c]-ette told the two High Cloud Quintet members, who were still busy oogling at the shiny polished gems. "Yes! How can I help you?"