The Tragedies of Life {A Genshin Impact OC Story}

Chapter 1: The Balladeer

4 years later...

Chinvat Ravine was always dark, being towered over by the tall trees of the Avidya Forest, but today it felt particularly dark. There was some sort of evil aura around the place, that Kinoko couldn't make out as she walked through it. However, she was old enough to at least know how to fight off any evil, Tighnari teaching her to use her vision, and somewhat the scythe she was found with 4 years ago. She still looked young, however they both assumed she was 16 when she was found by her getting a few memories from her childhood and morales.

Now she was 20, and able to move around freely once healed up. In fact, she ended up staying in the forest, moving into Gandharva Ville near Tighnari's house. He taught her a lot of the things she forgot, and she was content with her life. Now she was at the Akademiya studying architecture for her first year. However, she had a lot of free time, so she used that to help Tighnari patrol parts of the forest while he was treating his assistant Collei, who was ill at the moment. Collei was a bright girl, a few years younger than Kinoko, but she was like a younger sister to Kinoko, as Tighnari was like an older brother to both of them.

She now wore an armor-like top with a brown belt that sat uneven around her waist, accompanied by a skirt. Some armor pieces were on her arms and legs as well. She wore a mushroom pin on her head and on her belt, where her pouch and vision sat.

She could feel shivers travel up her spine as she sensed a presence behind her. She quickly turned around and saw a man before her, about her height. He had piercing blue eyes, and wore a large kasa hat-styled personally- that cast a dark shadow over his porcelain-like face. He had a mischievous but menacing glint in his eyes as he folded his arms. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Akari." He said slyly.

She squinted her eyes in confusion and started to back up. "You have the wrong person. My name is Kinoko." She said. She didn't even notice her hands shaking as she started to prepare for the worst. "W-who are you?" She stammered.

"I'm The Balladeer, number 6 of the fatui harbingers, and trust me when I say I definitely have the right person." His cold eyes narrowed on her. "You can be very useful, you know." He said in a low voice.

A dark mist filled the air, and she coughed as she fell to the ground, feeling an overwhelming sense of dizziness. She fell to her knees on the ground, her eyesight growing blurry. He walked towards her and lifted her chin to face him. "Just do what I say, and you'll get everything you want." He said with a deceiving smile.

She felt herself falling until she hit the ground. Something green flashed on the ground before she completely passed out cold.

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A cold towel pressed against her forehead. Kinoko felt extremely dizzy as she opened her eyes slowly. Tighnari looked down at her with a worried expression. Luckily she was in her own hut in Gandharva Ville, laying down in her bed. The moment she awoke, he immediately bent down to hug her tightly. His long ears dropped down, which sometimes happened when he was scared. Even though it's been a few years, Kinoko still wasn't that used to hugs, and felt it went against her life somehow. She didn't know why though.

"Are you okay, Kin?" He asked softly as she hesitantly hugged him back.

"I'm fine." She said groggily, stretching once he pulled away from the hug, trying her best to remember what happened previously. Oh, right...The Balladeer. "What happened?" She asked softly.

He hesitated, before sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Well, I was about to go get your report about any withering zones in Chinvat Ravine, when I saw someone about to grab you. I shot an arrow to distract them, and used the mist to hide you from his view and took you back here in your passed-out state." He paused, before leaning over and hugged her again. "I thought you were about to get kidnapped, or worse, killed..." He murmured, before releasing from the hug again.

Kinoko sighed, nodding slowly. "Yeah...that was terrifying." She said softly, and Tighnari stood up.

"I'm glad you're okay. I need to go check on Collei, but you need to get rest. I advise you not to leave the village for a few days in case he comes back." He nodded at her, and stopped short of the door before turning around. "I'm glad you're okay, Kin." He said softly before leaving.

She gave him a tight smile. "Me too." Once he left, she stared into space for a few moments. Whether The Balladeer would come for her or not, she had to keep moving. He would find her in the village, and she knew it was possible she could hurt her friends. She got up and started secretly walking to Sumeru City, destination: Lambad's Tavern. Drinking was one of the ways she got over anxiety, and it was a perfect place to hide from people.

Once she arrived, her eyes locked onto a blonde man in the center of the room, drinking alone. He had red eyes that drooped many times as he sank in his sleep. He wore a blue quill in his hair, and had traditional Sumeru clothing, fit for an architect. Kinoko walked over and sat in front of the man.

"Hello, Kaveh." She said with a soft smile as he snapped out of his drunk daze. His frown immediately twisted into a surprised smile.

"Kinoko, I didn't expect you to be here so late at night." Kaveh said, awkwardly laughing as he took another sip of his drink.

She looked at his drink, then back at him. His cheeks were flushed red from the drinking. "Kaveh, are you alright? What happened this time? Did a client cancel out on you?" She asked, her voice laced with concern. Kaveh was an architect, and sometimes from his own temper, would have clients cancel out on him. He was also probably the brokest man in history, being around 1,000,000 mora in debt. Kinoko met him a few months after she settled into Gandharva Ville, and was immediately inspired by his work on the Palace of Alcazarzaray. So, he decided to teach her architecture, and she later enrolled in the Akademiya.

Kaveh was a stubborn soul who often complained about his roommate, Alhaitham. Alhaitham was Acting Grand Sage for the time being, but was also a scribe. Even though Kaveh was his senior, he still had to pay Alhaitham rent for living at the house.

Kaveh sank again in his seat. "I shouldn't even pretend I'm okay, because I'm miserable." He complained dramatically.

She looked at him with sympathy and nodded. "I get it. How about I pay for your drinks? That'll certainly help you out so you don't get into more debt." She rummaged through her pouch and took out her wallet of mora.

"No, no, no, I can't have my student paying for my drinks." He shook his head repeatedly, but his eyes lingered on her wallet.

She smiled, knowing he could hardly refuse. "I insist. I have plenty of mora for the drinks, and you deserve it-especially since you're miserable." She smiled playfully.

After a while of insisting, Kaveh gave in and let her pay for his drinks. He got pretty drunk eventually, and the two chattered away. But Kinoko could still feel that eerie feeling. She turned around and there he was-The Balladeer sitting in the back of the tavern, his cold eyes narrowing on her. She knew she had to leave-now. She could put everyone in the tavern in danger! She went over and paid for the drinks, and a familiar presence came into the room-Alhaitham.

"Kaveh, we're going home. Now." Alhaitham said, a stoic look on his face as he looked down on the drunk architect in front of him.

"Why? You can't tell me what to do..." Kaveh trailed off, passing out. Alhaitham sighed and picked Kaveh up bridal style to start carrying him back home, but walked over to Kinoko first. "You paid for the drinks, didn't you?"

Kinoko laughed nervously. "Ahahah...yeah, I did, sorry for giving you trouble." She thought he was about to lecture her about how it was irrational for her to pay for Kaveh's drinks, but instead he just put mora on the counter in front of her and walked away. She was about to protest, but he already walked off. She sighed, and remembered the presence in the room, so she immediately darted off, running out of the tavern and into the streets of Sumeru.

Cold sweat ran down her face as she prepared for the worst, she could be killed-no wait, kidnapped. She could have her entire life taken away from her in a second, or worse, put everyone she knew in danger. All she knew about the fatui was that they're dangerous, and she could not have that happen. As she reached the entrance to Sumeru City, that cold, eerie feeling came back, and behind her, was The Balladeer.

A/N Edit: So by the way, since school is still going, chapters will be mostly posted on Sundays. Once summer starts, then chapters may come more frequently depending on vacation and stuff like that.