The Tragedies of Life {A Genshin Impact OC Story}

Chapter 17: Hat

What does Kinoko like to do when she has too many things going on at once? Hyperfixation. Examples have included Liyue Harbor, school, Wanderer, and others. Right now, it was her blueprints. She was spending hours upon hours each week painting, sketching, writing, everything non-stop. Well, except for when she and Wanderer did commissions, that is. At this point, the two have silently agreed that they would meet on Saturday mornings at 8 am to do commissions together.

Kinoko finally started to fully see him in a new light. Maybe he had troubles of his own, like her. He's been betrayed, and he's worked so hard to become more like humans. Yet, he would never be a human. Kinoko would never feel normal in her own skin. She liked the idea of both of them just being outcasts, together. Maybe being, or feeling different from others wasn't so bad after all, as long as you have someone to feel different with.

If Nahida told her that Wanderer needed her, Kinoko would do her best to fulfill that. Somehow, every argument, no matter how big or small, could never change that it helped them understand each other better.

So, after a few weeks, they finally learned to tolerate each other. Kinoko expected that it would take longer until she's comfortable around him, but 3 months wasn't that bad, really.

Today was a Saturday, and the two were coming home from helping someone find their lost dog. It was starting to pour rain above them, and Kinoko caught herself smiling. She sighed happily. "I love the rain." She commented.

"I hate the rain." Wanderer grumbled back. He huffed in annoyance as water droplets fell off the edges of his hat in front of him, though he stayed completely and perfectly dry.

"Why would you hate the rain?" Kinoko asked while she ran ahead and jumped in a puddle. Sure, kids do that, but no one was stopping her from doing it herself. After everything, "now" feels so small compared to the future. The rain above the two left her soaking wet, but she didn't care much. The rain above her felt refreshing.

"Why would you like the rain?" He said back. His usual snarky personality was clear as ever today, but Kinoko didn't care. "Don't humans get sick after going in the rain?"

"I guess," Kinoko said with a shrug. "But I don't care. The rain is nice because it's always changing, as with the water cycle. Every time it falls, it's different, in a way. I dunno, I guess that's just-nevermind-it's the reason I like it." As she explained her reasoning, Wanderer looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She could feel his eyes on her the entire time, and feeling nervous because of it, she ran ahead to splash in another puddle. "If you're so worried about me getting sick though, can I go under your hat?" She asked teasingly.

He almost laughed out loud. "Hah!" His face morphed into a cold one. "No way." He said flatly. "I don't want your dripping wet self anywhere near me." He crossed his arms and walked a bit faster to catch up with her.

"Ugh, then you can't be commenting about me under the pouring rain." She grumbled. He said nothing to that, just kept walking. It was a long, boring silence when she spoke just loud enough to be heard over the rain. "Please?" She asked hopefully.

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Ugh..." Kinoko groaned. "I guess I'm just going to have to get sick and die of the rain." She said sarcastically. "Boo-hoo for me. I guess I should say goodbye to you now." She teased. She knew she was annoying him, and took great pleasure in that. She couldn't help but gasp in surprise though when he tugged her arm closer to him until they were both under his hat. She was suddenly aware of how small his hat actually was when two people were under it. It felt as close as when Nahida forced them to hug a few weeks ago.