Project Rebirth #2

Chapter 9

It was the day of the triple date. Y/N stretched, then got up from her desk and walked to her dresser. What would she wear? Y/N normally didn't care about what she wore, but Heizou was going to be there, and if there were any fanatics of the 5WIRL band stalking them, she certainly wouldn't want them to judge her. She finally decided on an emerald green strapless tulle dress, one that her mother had given her years ago, yet that she had never worn. It had always seemed too fancy for Y/N's taste, the girl who always wore black pants, black shirts, and black jackets. But now was an occasion good enough for that dress, and Y/N was going to wear it, whether she wanted to or not. She slipped on the dress, it felt like it was going to smother her with its rigid frame.
Y/N sighed. She wasn't like the other girls at her school, all curves and pretty faces. She was extremely skinny, but with a chest that looked like a woman's that seemed to attract far too many boys. Y/N had always hidden behind her jackets, but this time it seemed like there was no way to hide. She opened her phone to text the group.

5WIRL +Y/N!

Y/N: Should I walk to the restaurant?

Venti: no xiao will drive us 😎

Xiao: no

Venti: whyyyyy notttttt

Xiao: i have to finish something

Venti: what is it

Xiao: nothing, i'll come to pick you up, Y/N

Y/N: Thank you.
Y/N: Is it anything important that you have to finish?
Y/N: I don't want to intrude...

Xiao: it's fine

Kazuha: i live too far away to walk there

Wanderer: same

Heizou: i can walk there

Y/N: I can borrow my parents' car.

Xiao: i'll pick you up first, y/n
Xiao: then kazuha and wanderer
Xiao: and then venti
Xiao: and then heizou ig

Heizou: no no its fine i'll walk

Venti: seriously heizou

Kazuha: You can just let xiao drive...

Heizou: no no no it's fineeeeeee

Y/N: I'll be waiting outside, just give me...7 minutes.

Xiao: k

Kazuha: see you guys in a few

Wanderer: ditto

Venti: Ehe~

Y/N put her phone into her purse and ran into the bathroom, frantically brushing her unruly h/c hair, and glanced at the make-up kit that her mother had bought for her. No. Today Y/N would be herself. She made herself beam at the mirror, her white teeth shining at her. Her looks were either a blessing or a curse, she supposed. She went back to her bedroom, grabbed her purse, and then exited the house. Y/N stood on the driveway, anxiously pacing back and forth along its length. What if they judged her? After all, the 5WIRL band was all male, with no female participation as far as Y/N knew. She shook her head, determined to not be swayed by these thoughts.
Suddenly, a car swerved violently onto the street, almost tipping over from the sharp curve. It skidded sideways along the road, coming to a halt in the middle of Y/N's yard. She marched over to the car, flinging the door open.
"How dare you ruin my lawn!" Y/N reprimanded Xiao, who was dramatically examining his nails like some sort of model, which he was. He looked up at her, massive shadows under his eyes. Small scratches covered his hands, as if he had spent a massive amount of time trying to pry open something.
"I could pay for a mansion if you want a better lawn," Xiao said absent-mindedly.
"I– Why do you have scratches on your hands?" Y/N asked, not bothering to question the legitimacy of his statement.
"I spent most of the night breaking open one of the windows. After all, I knew that I had to find some way out in the morning, didn't I?" Xiao said tiredly.
"I..." Y/N sighed. She herself was exhausted, and she didn't have the energy to question him further. She climbed into the back row, curling up on one of the seats.
Y/N fell asleep for most of the ride, barely waking up when they picked up Kazuha, Wanderer, and Venti. One last figure also entered the vehicle, but her sleep-addled mind couldn't comprehend what was happening around her. She didn't wake up when Xiao slammed the brakes to avoid hitting another car, or when they ran past a red light. Y/N was finally jerked awake when someone shook her awake softly.
"Y/N. Y/N, we arrived at the restaurant," the familiar voice said. It was Heizou.
"I-" Y/N paused as she yawned. "I thought you were going to walk to the restaurant..."
"I decided to walk to Venti's place instead," Heizou replied, twisting a strand of her hair around his fingers. It was that moment that she realized that she was lying in his lap, and that everyone else was staring at them, excluding Xiao, who was on his phone.
Y/N jerked upright and blushed, her face turning bright red. "I- I- let's just go!"
Y/N scrambled out of the car, Venti, Kazuha, and Wanderer following her with amused expressions. Heizou stayed behind for a moment, long enough for Xiao to walk over to him.
"You are making this much too obvious," Xiao whispered to him, quiet enough that Y/N couldn't hear.
"I– I am not!" Heizou protested indignantly. He quickly turned and walked into the restaurant — with Xiao close behind — to rejoin the others.
"Is there anything you want to eat in particular?" Venti asked the group. "Since, you know, I'm the richest member in the group."
"Everyone knows that most of your Mora is stolen from Xiao," Wanderer pointed out. "Plus, Xiao is the richest person here."
"It's not stolen!" Venti protested, crossing his arms. "Xiao just gives it to me!"
Venti turned to Xiao, who nodded in confirmation. "I only give away a few million once in a while, so it wouldn't affect my finances long-term."
Y/N's eyes widened. "You just give a few million away!? I only have 30,000 Mora! Just how did you get so much Mora?"
"Being the son of the richest man in Teyvat has something to do with it," Xiao said bitterly. "If he expects me to leave his money alone, then he doesn't understand the meaning of life for a seventeen-year-old."
"Ah...so you steal?" Y/N asked, frowning. Stealing was illegal, and was completely without honor, except for specific situations.
"If he didn't want me to learn how to hack, then why would he put me through all of those programming courses?" Xiao replied off-handedly. But his expression sent a clear message: stop talking about this.
"But is there anything that someone wants to eat?" Venti asked again.
After several minutes of debate, the group decided on several foods: Sweet Madame, Almond Tofu, Mondstadt Hashbrown, and Universal Peace. Y/N had always loved Universal Peace as a child, ever since the recipe had been invented by her favorite author, Ganyu. Y/N had always watched the videos of Ganyu creating her specialty version of Universal Peace, Prosperous Peace, and had practiced for years until she had mastered it.
Once the food had arrived, Wanderer and Kazuha immediately began to chat, laughing and smiling and...well, being happy. Y/N looked at them in envy; when was she going to have someone to talk to like that, someone who looked at her with love and affection in their eyes? Venti had started up a conversation with Xiao, who seemed rather stressed. But after several minutes, it seemed that Xiao was actually listening to Venti, and perhaps even enjoying their time together. The two truly did seem like an odd couple, but Y/N supposed that opposites could attract one another every once in a while. As for Heizou, Y/N could bend her arrangement with Hu Tao to make him jealous, after all this was a special occasion. She turned toward Heizou, hoping to talk to him. But Heizou was silent, staring blankly at the table. He seemed to be hiding in his jacket, its sleeves covering his hands completely.
"Heizou." Y/N tried getting his attention. "Heizou. Heizou!"
Heizou looked up at her, his green eyes dull. "What is it, Y/N?"
"Is there anything you want to talk about?" Y/N asked, trying to think of something.
"Hmm...there was this recent political assassination. The police deduced that the culprit must still be in the surrounding area, but they overlooked the fact that..." Heizou began to ramble, Y/N listening as best as she could. He really did seem like the detective type after all. "...The only strange thing about this case is that there was no motive behind it. The victim was just a normal employee until a turn of events had them running for mayor. It's such an unremarkable position, so why would someone kill them?"
"Who were they?" Y/N asked, for lack of what to say.
"Her name was Nahida, age 30. It seems like she was hanged in her own home in the middle of the night," Heizou answered. He flipped through some pictures in his phone then showed a particularly eerie picture: a small woman with white hair and green highlights was hanging upside down from the ceiling, a short rope tied around her neck.
Y/N gagged, feeling her small portion of Universal Peace coming up into her throat. With some effort, she forced it back down, then turned back to Heizou, who was looking at her with a worried expression. He quickly put his phone back into his pocket, looking around sheepishly.
"Sorry, I forgot that most people aren't used to images like this..." Heizou explained. "It's necessary for detectives to examine crime scenes to gather more information."
"No, no, it's fine," Y/N reassured him. "I actually quite enjoy solving crimes myself. I just wish..."
"That we could stop the crimes before they happened," the two said in unison. They both froze, looking at each other.
"...Not many detectives have that dream," Heizou said, stunned.
"I wouldn't know, I just read crime and mysteries often," Y/N admitted shyly. "But I would love to investigate the crime with you..."
"I...hm. Well then, you're my new assistant." Heizou smiled softly. "Want to go outside for some fresh air? You took my breath away."
Y/N laughed. "Sure, Heizou."
They told the others that they would walk around for a bit, and exited the restaurant. They slowly entwined their fingers together as they walked, watching the seagulls circle the bay. They eventually made their way to the beach, and sat down together, watching the sand glowing from the light of the sun. Y/N smiled at Heizou, who returned the gesture happily.
"You know, I never thought that we would become friends again after what happened," Y/N said, staring out across the ocean.
"...You really don't remember anything that happened?" Heizou asked, his expression unreadable.
"No..." Y/N said slowly. "It feels like drifting through a thick fog when I try to remember things."
"Well, it wasn't important anyway..." Heizou said, clearly uncertain about how to handle the conversation.
"All I remember is that you stopped talking to me, and after that we became rivals," Y/N said.
"Ehe~" Heizou smiled, planning for something devious. "If you were a song, you'd be the best single on the album."
"If my parents were here, they would kill you," Y/N commented.
Heizou's eyes widened. "Would they really? Are they that uncompromising?"
"My father expects me to be single for another decade," Y/N joked.
Heizou laughed and tucked back a strand of her hair that had fallen into her eyes without thinking. Y/N blushed and scooted back a little, a movement that Heizou understood. She obviously wasn't interested in him, so perhaps he should just back off a little. He also moved back slightly, his face maintaining his care-free expression despite his disappointment.
"I heard that Nahida is distantly related to Raiden Shogun, so maybe we should ask Wanderer if he knows anything," Heizou said, changing the subject.
"That seems like a good idea!" Y/N agreed. Although it didn't seem like Wanderer was on good terms with his mother, it looked like their relationship was much better than Xiao and Morax's, which was a good sign.
"Thank you for supporting me!" Heizou flashed one of his brilliant smiles at Y/N, who felt as if she had ascended to Celestia itself.
"Anytime." And with that, the duo walked back to the restaurant, hand in hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm sorry! I promise I won't do it again!" Y/N said, ashamed.
"You already promised that last time!" Venti retorted. But all in all, he didn't seem that angry. Venti had more of an anxious aura around him, as if he was thinking about how Xiao was handling this.
Y/N thought for a moment. If Venti was reacting like this again because Y/N accidentally walked into his and Xiao's private moment together (I do not mean that in a 18+ way, I mean that as in a normal fluff moment), then perhaps Venti knew about Xiao that she didn't. But based on what Y/N knew about Xiao's relationship with Morax, it wouldn't surprise her if Xiao had a fear of intimacy. It would explain why half the time the two acted as if they were just friends, or mere acquaintances, and why Xiao seemed to distance himself from others, even Venti. If Morax's decisions had such negative consequences, wouldn't someone else have noticed, like Xiao's mother?
"...You two do seem to make out in obvious places," Y/N noted. Venti blushed furiously at her words. "It's amazing that the press hasn't found out the truth."
"I– I– I mean, it's not like we have a lot of places to have a private conversation!" Venti protested, twirling one of his braids between his fingers.
"...At your house?" Y/N suggested slyly.
"No, Jean and Diluc won't let me date until I'm like...twenty or something," Venti said, sighing.
"Aren't you already dating him?" Y/N asked.
"I...no, we're not dating." The pain in Venti's voice was clear, his worry and disappointment washing over Y/N like waves. "He said that he's not ready, and that Morax would find out."
"I will drag you two back into the restaurant in ten seconds," a familiar voice announced. Wanderer grabbed the two of them by their collars (clothing, not like dog collars) and dragged them back into the restaurant without waiting for their response.
"Wanderer, what did I say about kidnapping your friends?" Kazuha said, arms crossed. His expression was stern, and Wanderer froze.
"Ah...um...sorry." Wanderer let go of Y/N and Venti, who both sighed.
Kazuha suddenly pinned Wanderer against the wall and kissed him, resulting in Y/N blushing and running off, fortunately for her, Heizou and Xiao found her hiding in the restaurant.
"I'm sorry for walking into–" Y/N began, but Xiao cut her off.
"It's fine," he said quickly, glancing at Heizou.
"I lost a bet with Xiao, so I had to pay the restaurant owner to close the restaurant down early, but they let us stay here, so..." Heizou shrugged. "12 million Mora, but at least we have the place to ourselves. Oh god, did they think we bought the restaurant?"
"...I'm not going to question the fact that you wasted 12 million Mora." Y/N yawned, covering her mouth. "Anyway, Wanderer and Kazuha are...um..."
"Hmm?" With that, Heizou raced off to find the two, leaving Y/N and Xiao alone.
"Have you noticed anything off about Heizou recently?" Xiao asked, obviously fishing for information.
"Not really..." Y/N decided to not mention the glances, blushes, and flirting.
"...Alright." And with that, Xiao also walked back to the front of the restaurant, leaving Y/N alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wanderer was blushing as Venti watched with an amused expression on his face. Kazuha always knew how to make Wanderer flustered so easily, as if he knew that Wanderer hated kissing in public. Kazuha broke the kiss after a few moments, leaving Wanderer gasping for air, sitting on the floor in shock. Kazuha smirked, and sat next to Wanderer, opening his phone to text somebody.
Heizou and Xiao walked into the room, an odd combination of light and dark. Y/N followed them a few moments later, her dazzling h/c glowing in the morning light. Heizou's mouth opened slightly upon seeing her, then blushed and turned away. Venti walked over to Xiao, holding out his hand as an invitation. Xiao hesitated, then slowly accepted it, lacing their fingers together.
Everything seemed alright, Y/N thought to herself. She had forgotten that Wednesday had been the last day of school, and that within a few months the 5WIRL band would be in their last year of high school. Y/N hoped that she would see Heizou throughout the summer, for she had a nagging suspicion that things were not over yet.

**Chapter Nine end**
Too much romance...I'm joking, I'm joking! It's very difficult for me to write romantic scenes, though, so it takes a long time for these chapters to come out. My evil plan is beginning to come together, mwahahahaha. Don't get attached~ Also, after this fanfiction ends, I will make a prequel that will go into depth of what happened in ancient Teyvat, and how it led to this future. This fanfiction is like an alternate timeline of what could have happened. Oof, I just realized that with my plan, neither the original characters nor the reincarnations of them have a happy ending...oh well. One last thing: I have recovered from most of the unfortunate events in my life, so I will work on this fanfiction more often. Love you all~