Sometimes life changes for no reason. The interesting thing is whether these changes are good or bad.
Does waking up in an unknown world with many people who develop a crush on you count as a nice thing?
- Yes, I am still existing. At first I just got sick because my immune system said 'fúck you in particular', then I didn’t feel much like writing at all and then I didn’t feel like posting what I wrote since I knew that I made people wait longer than I should have...
And I now I am back here. Yay. The good thing is that plenty of future chapters are (partially) finished.
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Cyno is… strange. On the one hand he seems like super serious and intimidating, but on the other hand he also seems like the personification of a dad joke. Though, if you think about it, it’s not the worst you have encountered so far. By far not. Just the thought of Dottore’s scalpel gives you phantom pain everywhere.
Still, despite having decent company you can’t help but feel bored. Sure, not being surrounded by psychopaths is a good thing, but laying in bed all day without anything to do isn’t exactly great either. Also, your legs are starting to feel stiff from the lack of movement. Maybe you should walk for a bit…
Quickly you stand up from your bed and immediately regret it. The static one gets after standing up too fast because of iron deficiency is nothing in comparison to this. Though technically, you do lack iron right now – alongside the other things blood consists of.
Before you can fall to the ground Cyno jumps off his chair and catches you. “I don’t think that that’s a great idea at the moment.” Carefully he places you back on your bed.
His kinda bare chest is still something you have to get used to, especially when your face is in direct contact with it. If your head wasn’t lacking blood right now you probably would be blushing. “Yeah, I noticed that as well… Sorry.”
“No need to apologize. In the end it is also my fault that you’re in such a poor condition.”
“Your fault…? As far as I remember you didn’t have anything to do with the Fatui’s schemes and neither did you know about anything that was going on over there in the first place. So don’t think of this as your fault, please.”
“But in the end my loyalty for the Academia made me blind towards the truth. The justice I held so high was undermined by the things I chose to ignore.” This thought must have bothered him for quite some time now.
“No, that’s not true. That justice is still very much a part of you, I can feel that. You simply have to make a fresh start without the Academia.” Seeing that Cyno won’t be convinced by anything you might say, you decide to change the topic. “Eh… Do you happen to have any board or card games? You know, something that can be played without moving much?” Maybe that will get his mind off his self-doubt.
To your surprise, his crimson eyes light up after a few seconds of thinking. “Have you ever heard of Genius Invokation TCG?”
Something in the back of your mind is telling you that this will be very long session of playing cards.
In the evening, five or so hours later, your head is boiled down to a mush. When you said you were looking for a game that doesn’t require being physically active you should have added that it shouldn’t require much brain energy either. This game, that weirdly contains cards of characters you met before, is way to complex for a casual card game.
But hey, at least you found out about Cyno’s favorite hobby. He seemed so happy about teaching you the rules of this game and then playing it with you, that you didn’t have to heart to ask for a break.
But help has arrived to save you from your dilemma. “I really hope you haven’t been playing the entire time I’ve been away.” It is the black haired foxian you are both familiar with.
“Mostly, yes, we played TCG non-stop for god knows how long…”
Upon hearing your defeated undertone, an amused smile appears on Tighnari’s lips. He walks up to you and pets your head. “Poor (Y/N), you got to know all sides of our friend Cyno here. I see that you are still as capable at creeping into other people’s hearts as ever. Impressive as always.”
“What do you mean with poor (Y/N)? They asked to play with me themselves and made great progress for somebody who never played Genius Invokation TCG before.”
“Perhaps they didn’t know how time consuming it is to play with you and are rather exhausted and in need of rest due to their physical condition.”
“But wouldn’t they have told me so then?”
Tighnari's tail ficks and he removes a strand of hair out of your face. “No, the (Y/N) I know wouldn’t. They probably saw how much you were enjoying the game and ended up not saying anything, am I right?” During the last part his eyes move towards you.
“Yeah, I’m sorry… But still, thank you for teaching me how to play this. Maybe we can play another time.” You give Cyno a reassuring smile.
“It’s fine. You should have told me earlier that you want to rest. Your well-being has priority. If I were a x-ray technician, I would have seen right through your lie, but unfortunately, I am not.”
“...Anyways, on my patrol today I noticed an oddly high number of guards when coming closer to Sumeru City. Assuming that it has to do with the escape of (Y/N), this was to be expected.”
A slight sigh leaves Cyno’s lips. “This doesn’t make solving this crisis any easier for us…”
The room falls quiet, leaving everyone to their own thoughts.
A minute or so passes until Tighnari speaks up again. “Might our surprise guest have an appropriate idea? After all, you took the effort to follow me all the way here.”
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