The Tragedies of Life {A Genshin Impact OC Story}

Chapter 8: Sunsettia Tree

A few days later, Kinoko had been secretly looking for Wanderer again. She wanted answers, but she also didn't want to directly ask where he went.

But, fate was on her side.

She was sitting on a tall sunsettia tree, right off the path that leads out of Sumeru City. Spring was the season where sunsettias go ripe, so she picked a few and put them in her pouch to bring back home, and give to Tighnari and Collei.

The branch she sat on was slippery from the moss, so she used one hand to hold on tightly, while the other one held the sunsettia she took a bite of.

Her feet dangled in the air, and it was a pleasant moment. Some footsteps were coming from a distance away, but she assumed it was just a traveler. The leaves of the tree blocked the person from view.

Then, she saw the top of a familiar blue hat moved underneath her. Her eyes widened and she quickly and quietly scrambled to lift her feet up so she couldn't be seen, but the moss failed on her, and she slipped off.

Embracing for impact, she shut her eyes, then felt arms underneath her. She opened them and saw Wanderer, staring right back at her. He didn't seem angry, nor did he seem in a good mood either. He just seemed...lost in thought for a few moments. Then, a smirk appeared on his face. "Look who we have here." He taunted. "Trying to spy on me?"

Kinoko's face shifted to surprise, embarrassment, then frustration. "Shut up." She murmured. "Can you put me down?" With a scoff, Wanderer put her down, and moved backwards until he was leaning against the tree, his arms folded over his chest.

"So, you were spying on me." He commented, his gaze fixed right on her. When she looked at him, there was something different in the way he acted. Maybe she was overthinking things.

Her muscles tensed. "I did not! I was here before you ever came, and I certainly had no intention to spy on you." She crossed her arms as well, glaring at him.

He scoffed. "Yeah, sure." He muttered, knowing it would just make her more mad.

"Anyways," she took a deep breath, calming herself before speaking again. "I have a name to call you. You said call you whatever, right?"

He shifted and stood up straight again, his eyebrows raised slightly in interest. "Hm? Go ahead then. What stupid name do you have for me?"

The corners of her mouth tipped upward. "Koi." She answered him, her gaze unwavering. She had heard two people who arrived from Inazuma at the docks in Liyue arguing, but at various points they called each other, "Koi". She had wondered if it was some sort of term people used for arguments, a negative term someone used for another. Hence, why she found the name perfect.

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know what that name means?" He asked, a confused frown forming on his face.

Kinoko shifted her weight so she was leaning to one side. "No? Why? What does it mean?" She said.

He sighed, and shook his head. "You know what? Whatever. It's not like I care what some stupid girl calls me." He spat.

She muttered something under her breath in response, but then remembered what her main reason to see him was. Her hand hovered over her pouch to pull out her scythe from her pouch. "I also have something to ask of you." She started. He looked curious, even just a tiny bit. She took a step forward. "Tell me about my past. Everything you know. I know you know a lot. You need to tell me." She said firmly.

Wanderer blinked at her for a second before bursting out laughing. "Ahahahah! That's a good one! It doesn't even sound like a question!" He took a step forward, a sinister smile on his face. "And who do you think you are to command me, hm?"

She frowned, and her jaw tensed. Slowly, she pulled out her scythe and pointed it straight at his throat. She didn't even want to go to these measures, but then again, it was him so she didn't care. The sharp edges barely hovered over his skin, and it gave her an excited feeling. "You will tell me my past." She repeated.

The sinister smile on his face still wasn't disappearing. "You barely know how to fight, and you're threatening to slice my throat in half? You're funny, actually thinking you can kill me." His hand went up and pulled the sharp blade of the scythe behind him until it was rooted into the tree, pulling Kinoko right with it until they were inches apart. "What makes you think I'll do as you ask?" He asked in a low voice.

Her face scrunched up in frustration and she moved around him to pull her scythe out. "Maybe I'll tell Lesser Lord Kussanali you refused to help me." She said simply. That got a reaction out of him. "I assume she's the one giving you commands?"

He stopped for a moment to think, before sighing. "Fine. I'll help you. But if you want to take my advice, I wouldn't try and figure it all out in one go. It's way too much, especially if it's yourself. You'll feel too much pain." He looked down.

Kinoko's expression softened a tiny bit. "You act like you know from experience." She commented.

"Don't ask how I know!" He snapped. "But anyway, Lesser Lord Kussanali and I will find information on you through Irminsul, and I'll tell you what I know about you-slowly."

"But I don't want to go sl-"

"Too bad. Want my help or not? If you really want to have a bad week and destroy your entire view of yourself, then be my guest and I'll tell you. But I assume you aren't in a rush to hurt yourself in the process of this." As Wanderer spoke, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was speaking from some kind of experience or knowledge.

Kinoko swallowed hard. "Fine then. You'll tell me 'slowly'. So when will that be? When will you tell me more?" She asked, putting her scythe away back into her pouch.

"I dunno," he replied, starting to walk away in the direction of the city. "whenever fate forces our paths to cross again." He said mockingly as he disappeared down the path, leaving her standing there.

She sort of wanted to go after him, but refrained. She climbed the tree once again and held onto the branch she sat on with both hands this time. "Well fate is stupid." She muttered to herself.