Honkai Star: Rail x Reader Oneshots

"How far would you go in the name of love?" | Aventurine x Reader

Summary: In a desperate bid to hurt the IPC, a rebel faction kidnaps and brainwashes Aventurine's lover, twisting their memories until they believe him to be their enemy. Aventurine is forced to confront his most vulnerable side as he tries to reach the person he loves, now filled with hatred for him. Each visit to their cell chips away at his heart, testing whether his love and determination can overcome the poison planted in their mind—or if he’s already lost them to the lies.

Tags: Aventurine x Reader, Angst, Hurt/Comfort(?), Memory Manipulation, Brainwashing, Established Relationship, Angst with a Happy(?) Ending, Desperation, Vulnerable Aventurine, Betrayal and Trust, Slow Burn Reconciliation.

Warnings: Emotional Manipulation, Psychological Trauma, Depictions of Brainwashing, Angst and Emotional Distress, Mention of Memory Alteration.

Aventurine’s polished shoes clicked across the marble floor, his strides controlled and sharp. His mind was a fortress, an untouchable sanctuary where strategies wove themselves as naturally as breath. He was Aventurine, a Stoneheart, a master manipulator who left no stone unturned. Yet, as he entered the holding cell, his calm mask cracked.

You were here, restrained in the cold metallic chair, your once-familiar eyes lost beneath a haze of fear, anger, and…hatred?

The IPC's enemies had done this to you—a dark faction, a ragtag alliance of renegades who viewed the IPC as oppressors and had no qualms about using you as leverage against him. Kidnapped and twisted into a weapon, they’d turned you against him by feeding lies, injecting venomous memories and suspicions.

Your eyes were lifeless, glassy, and nothing like the vibrant spirit he remembered. He tried to ignore the ache in his chest as he came closer. His smile, thin and determined, masked his worry. It had to.

“It’s me. Aventurine.” He leaned down, his tone gentle yet familiar, hoping to reach the part of you that still remembered him. “You’re safe now. It’s over.”

You flinched, as if his words were poison. Eyes narrowing, you glared at him with an intensity that was so unlike you, a chill running down his spine. “Safe?” you echoed, voice filled with a bitterness he’d never heard before. “I know what you’ve done.”

His brow furrowed. “What they did to you—it’s not real. They wanted you to believe lies about me, to turn you against me. But you know that, don’t you?”

“Don’t,” you spat. “Don’t act like you care. They showed me the truth—the kind of person you really are.”

Aventurine froze, hiding the pang that ripped through him. You weren’t just angry; they’d poisoned you, twisted your memories, laced his image with treachery and deceit. He tried to smile, a shaky thing that barely held. “I’m the same man you fell in love with, the one who brought you mooncakes and teased you about how you always took two sugars in your coffee. Remember that?”

But the warmth of those memories was buried beneath layers of resentment. “That was just another game, wasn’t it? Another act in your gamble?”

He swallowed, struggling to keep the frustration from his voice. “No, it wasn’t. Whatever they’ve made you think, that wasn’t me. We…we had something real.”

You pulled back, lips curling into a cold sneer. “I see it now, all of it. Your charm, your games, your facade—you play with people’s lives like pieces on a board. I was nothing more than a pawn, a tool to you.”

It took everything he had to keep his voice steady. “I don’t expect you to understand yet. But I swear, I’d risk everything to make you remember. To bring you back.”

Silence stretched between you, thick with tension. He knew it would take time to peel away the lies they’d wrapped around your mind. But he could feel himself wavering, vulnerable in a way he hadn’t felt in years. Here he was, standing before you, stripped of his layers of armor, all for a love that he couldn’t bear to lose.

He reached out, fingers brushing yours, hoping, praying you’d remember the feel of his hand. But you wrenched your hand away as if burned.

“You’re sick,” you whispered, voice trembling with a mix of rage and sorrow. “You’ll say anything to win, won’t you? All that matters to you is the game.”

The ache in his chest grew sharper, nearly unbearable. “The game isn’t worth anything without you.”

The vulnerability in his voice made you hesitate for a fraction of a second. It was small, but he saw it, the faintest crack in the wall of hate they’d built within you. And he clung to it.

Your breathing hitched, eyes flickering for a moment before hardening again. “No,” you muttered, stepping back. “I won’t fall for this. Not again.”

Aventurine felt the weight of your words settle heavily on his shoulders, like a cold chain binding him. Yet, beneath the pain, hope flickered. This battle was far from over, and he would not give up, not while a single fragment of you still remembered.

In the days that followed, Aventurine returned to your cell, chipping away at the barriers with small memories, moments he hoped could stir something real. And each day, as he watched you resist, a small part of him feared he’d already lost you to the lies.

But he kept going. Because that was his final gamble—the highest stake he’d ever wagered on.