Chapter Text
The teen breathed heavily, the pungent air penetrated his nose in electrical waves. The smell of maple leaves and cherry blossoms wafted the air, along with scent of burnt, electrified grass. Where was that heavenly aroma of silk flowers and the ocean breeze that he seemed to yearn for? Why wasn't atop of a mountain meditating or training like he should be?
This new island- this place, it carried so much sadness within its shores. Lightning struck wherever it could as goosebumps were sent shivering, making the hair on his skin stand. They definitely weren't in Liyue. Recalling however, was too much exercise for the boy. He felt weak and tired, his head was pounding.
Chongyun was pulled along against his will. His destination? He was unsure. The blunet desperately wanted to let go of whoever was dragging him along. The stranger was uncharacteristically quiet, how he knew was a different set of questions all together. But the broken look on her face and her iron grip around his wrist made him recoil his questions.
Was it remorse that painted her expression? Her twisted, broken smile she'd attempt to give him every time they made eye contact only made him feel worse. His chest was beating rapidly against his will and he could not figure out why it made his heart ache to see her face so distraught. Chongyun felt like he knew her, but even then, her guilt-ridden face fills him with a sense of unfamiliarity, uneasiness and dread. No matter how hard she tried to play it off as her seemingly goofing off, Chongyun felt like he knew better.
Chongyun had so many questions, why were they following this blonde traveler? Who was the flying fairy? Where the hell were they going? Why...did it hurt to see her like that?
The boat ride over the waters gave him the opportunity to ask the questions he so desperately needed answering to. But seeing a single tear drop trickle down the brunette girl's deadpanned face make him retract and hide within himself.
Now here he was, continuously pulled along the unknown land to an unknown destination until they finally, finally came to a stop.
"Traveler- I think we've gone far enough! L-Let's just rest first and straighten everything out, ok?" The little white-haired fairy spoke.
The blonde didn't reply, instead they walked further down to an abandoned blue tent nearby with some logs scattered around a campfire, "Rest here, I'll fetch us some food."
Chongyun hadn't notice the aching pain in his leg until they came to a stop, but the brunette seemed to have noticed before he did because she began to wrap her arm around his back and place his arm over her shoulder, just like she did when he woke up. The exorcist couldn't help but feel the warmth bubbling in his chest as her fingers interlock with his.
The brunette carried Chongyun over and sat him down on the log. Chongyun hisses at the sudden jolt of pain in his leg when he finally sat down, "Are you alright?"
The little fairy spoke, concerned eyes wandered over his battered body, "I-I'm fine...floating...fairy?"
Paimon sighs, folding her arms but nothing more than just slightly irritated at the label, "I'm Paimon, not floating fairy," The tiny girl exclaims, mumbling to herself softly after, "At least you didn't call Paimon a child or food." Her eyes narrow at the blonde struggling to pick a fruit up high.
"Sorry, Paimon."
"No- don't be sorry! Agh, look at you! Making Paimon feel bad." Paimon stomps her foot in the air, mumbling the last sentence.
Chongyun's eyes lingers over to the stranger that was glued to his side the whole journey over the archipelago. Her floral red eyes fixated on his figure and clouded with sadness. There was an uneasiness in his stomach that just wouldn't leave as she shifted her gaze away from, him only confused him even more.
"Uhm..sorry. I uh- should probably introduce myself-"
"There's no need to do that- ugh, do you seriously not remember anything, Chongyun?!" Paimon was ready to throw something in her frustration.
"Don't force it, Paimon. You already know how it is," Lumine returns with a handful of fruits and meat, "Let's just- eat first."
Chongyun looks at the purple fruit carefully, recognising it to hail from the land of Inazuma- wait what the fuck, Inazuma?!
"Paimon knows," The girl sighs looking at Chongyun longingly, "Paimon's just upset that it's one of our friends- AHHH!" Paimon barely catches and is almost pulled down by the sheer weight of a huge lavender melon Lumine tosses at her.
"Where...did you get these fruits? Were they imported."
Lumine sets up a pot and places the meat inside it and over the fire while munching down on a lavender melon of their own. They swallow quickly and pause for a moment before replying, "Just— from that tree over there."
"I...are we..."
Lumine nods, taking another bite while adding in some of the seasoning into the pot of meat, "Yeap, Inazuma. Sorry to have dragged you along so suddenly." Lumine takes a glance at Hu Tao, but the girl did not make eye contact. Her eyes glued on her lap and her fingers playing around with her hair.
"I should uh, reintroduce myself. I'm Lumine, a Traveler. And that flying pet is Paimon but she probably already told you that." Lumine smiles small while Paimon chokes on her melon.
"Paimon is not a pet!" The angry girl throws her melon at the blonde.
Chongyun lets out a nervous laugh, his eyes now drifting to the quiet girl sitting on her own log, "And uh..."
"That's one of your friends," Lumine smiles, "You uh...actually came here to get her, her nam- "The names Hu Tao, pleasure to re-make your acquaintance."
Hu Tao jumps onto her feet and joyfully extends a hand out to the blue haired boy. Chongyun quickly analyses her face before returning the hand shake, "Uh- Chongyun."
The girl had a wide cheeky smile on her face, and yet it seemed so off putting to the exorcist. But the moment he took her hand in his for a firm shake, Chongyun felt like his brain was on fire, like as if there was a spark and a flash of a long forgotten memory.
"I already know your name, silly!" The girl quickly pulls her hand away and drags her fingers over her palm, not lingering longer than she should before sitting back down.
"R-Right, mind explaining why you suddenly dragged me all the way here? And why are we in Inazuma?" Chongyun's gaze returned back to Lumine, now plating the meat on some clean leaves.
"Well I'm here to try and find my sibling. She was here for a business deal but uh...not everything went exactly to plan now did it?" Hu Tao shrugs at Lumine's comment, taking the leaf and ready to scarf down her meal.
"What about me?"
"You came to get her, and again, also did not go according to plan," Chongyun mumbles a silent no thank you as Lumine offers him the steaming cooked steak, "Ah sorry, forgot about that."
Lumine tosses Chongyun a fruit and he gives them a thankful nod, "So...why did we follow you if we need to go back to Liyue?"
"You're uh...kinda stuck in here? There's no easy way out of here. And another thing..." Lumine looks down to Chongyun's side, only seeing his omamori hanging with the tassel, "We need to get your vision back."
Hu Tao inhales deeply, shoving more food in her mouth to prevent whatever that painful feeling was, inside. It stung her like a bee.
"But hey, you seem to not be affected as badly as some of the others, so thats a plus."
"I have a vision?!"
Hu Tao stands up immediately, leaving her food on the log and stretches, "Ah that was a nice meal, I'm gonna go walk it off."
"Hu Tao wait," Lumine shouts and groans as the girl turns on her heel and walks off almost immediately, "Ugh, Paimon stay with Chongyun."
"Did I...do something wrong?" Chongyun looks to Paimon for some sort of reassurance, but the tiny girl shrugs and looks ahead, watching the pair disappear just over the hill.
Hu Tao was ready to run off. Her blood was pumping, her head was throbbing, feeling a vein just ready to pop. Hu Tao desperately wanted to claw at something and rip it apart, piece by piece.
"Hu Tao stop!" Lumine ran, curving around and stretching their arms out.
"Oh! Traveler, how nice of you to join me!" Hu Tao grins and picks up the pace, circling and walking past Lumine.
"Hu Tao, you can talk to me, you know?"
Hu Tao hums, both hands linked behind her back as she twists around with the same smile still painted on her face, "Talk about what?"
Lumine sighs and trails behind, their soft gaze fixated on Hu Tao as she trots on.
The two walked in tensed silence, all the way back down to the beach front as they looked over towards Watatsumi Island.
"Hu Tao," The girl hums again to acknowledge the Traveler, "Why did you follow us?"
"If I recall correctly, you invited me to tag along, dear Lumine."
There was a pause and Lumine groaned at the memory, "I- was...upset, ok? You weren't suppose to come."
"Oh, so you don't want us here?" The girl teases.
Lumine sighs and runs their hand through their hair before dropping it down to their side."You know that's not what I mean!"
The wind howls by, carrying fallen leaves in its wake as it dances across the water, carried to only Celestia knows where.
"I didn't want you both to get hurt any further. You should have stayed there and help look for his vision."
Hu Tao tucks her hands under her arms, "Uhm...whoops?" She flashes a nervous grin and Lumine grumbles.
"Whatever, you panicked and now we're here. I-...I'm sorry, ok? I appreciate the thought."
The two remained quiet, watching the tides come and go, just barely reaching the tip of their shoes before sweeping away what little of the shore there is into its waters.
"You know, you're lucky all that Chongyun lost was his memories," A sad smile is carved on their face, "Remember when I told you to leave? Because of how dangerous it was here?"
Hu Tao snickered, "Do you wish to say 'I told you so'?" Hu Tao let out another weak laugh.
"No- it's....when we left Ritou and met with Ayaka, we learnt about the Vision Hunt Decree and...met all the people affected by it."
Hu Tao lifts her head to look at the melancholic Traveler, "They forget about the important people in their lives, just like Chongyun," Hu Tao's breath hitches and Lumine notices but they continue on, "But they also lose a part of themselves, they even forget who they are. That's why I said it was dangerous. That was why I wanted you to leave."
Lumine's sad golden eyes glistened, "I didn't want to lose you too."
Hu Tao mouths an 'oh' and shifts her gaze back down. Fragments of broken memories begin flooding back in little pieces. The time back at the Vision Ceremony, she remembered the emptiness, just before it all faded to black. The guilt was only getting worse, and the pain in her eyes was so great. She wasn't ready to break just yet, so she sucks it up, refusing to let allow herself the satisfaction of crying her heart out.
"I'm not blaming you, in fact, I wish I told you sooner."
Hu Tao remained quiet, and Lumine didn't mind. Allowing the girl to sit in silence with her thoughts, "Tomorrow we'll be heading towards the factory, so rest well."
The Traveler pats the girl and walks back to camp. The tired Traveler looks down by the beach one last time to see Hu Tao curled within herself. Lumine's fingers curled into a fist, the bubbling anger that they buried deep inside for the moment came back stronger than ever. Their brows furrowed and their shoulders stiff, Lumine was ready to take down the fatui.
But for now, they needed to keep all those feelings hidden. They needed to be strong, strong for the rest of the team. There was this horrible feeling still pooling deep within, bitterly regretting every moment since they've stepped into Inazuma for not doing enough. Squeezing their eyes shut as tears begin to seep out, they march back to camp, hoping to forget this sharp pain in their chest.
Back at the beach, Hu Tao lets out a sigh as the wind tussles her hair. Looking over her shoulder one last time to make sure the Traveler was gone, finally allowing herself curl into herself with her knees tucked under her chest. She was finally ready to allow herself to cry, but she had no tears left to shed. Just this aching feeling of emptiness in her heart, as she takes one more glance at Watatsumi Island.
---
"You two will stay out here and guard the entrance. If anyone tries to escape, catch them. I'll be back in an hour, ok?"
"I can go with you, you know? What if you need backup?" Hu Tao chirps.
Lumine shakes their head, "No I need you both here, and for you to look after him." Lumine gestures to Chongyun
Hu Tao hums, tapping her foot before exclaiming out loud, "But what if you get hurt?"
"I'll be fine."
"What if there's a lot of them?"
"I've dealt with such before."
"Are you sure?"
"Hu Tao-"
"What about a coffin? Take up my offer now, buy a coffin now and get your next funeral 25% off!" Hu Tao winks at Paimon and the floating girl's face distorts into that of disgust.
"Oh NO! Paimon is not dying! Traveler, maybe you should bring her so that you don't die! Paimon doesn't want you to die- "Enough, Paimon. No ones dying."
Hu Tao chuckles weakly, "Alright, you win! We'll wait out here."
Lumine lets out a deep breath and rubs their temple, "Thank you."
"Why...do you wanna go alone? I have some...uhm...fighting experience." Chongyun steps forward with a meek voice.
"I-...well uh," Lumine's eyes dart around before landing back on Chongyun, "It's just something I need to do alone, ok? Just stay here where it's safe."
Chongyun nods and the two disappear into the factory, "Bye bye! Don't miss me too much!" Hu Tao yells and waves into the darkness followed by the echoed groaning noises from Paimon.
"We won't!" Paimon yells before the doors slam shut.
The teens stare at the door for a moment, unwilling to break the extremely awkward silence.
"So- "Yes, Chonggers?"
Chongyun feels the sudden urge to slap her.
"My name is Chongyun, Miss Hu."
"Oh relax, just call me Hu or Tao or Hu Tao or Tao Tao or Hu put me in this coffin!" Hu Tao grins, immediately turning into a frown just seeing Chongyun's befuddled face, "No, not funny?"
"Should...I laugh?"
"Sevens no! Chongyun, laughing? Because of Hu Tao?"
Chongyun wraps his arms around himself and mumbles a sorry.
"Argh- no that's not what I meant! Aiya...you're always taking things seriously."
Chongyun slumps down on a nearby tree, "I'm sorry I can't remember."
Hu Tao bites her lower lip and sits down in front of the boy, "Oh I wouldn't worry too much. We'll get your vision back soon!"
The two sit in silence again, a more peaceful silence. Hu tao was rocking back and forth while Chongyun was lost in thought.
"What...was I like? Was I any different with a vision?"
"I'd say no, just more cranky towards me." Hu Tao chuckles.
"Cranky? But you're my friend, why would I be cranky?"
Hu Tao's heart skips a beat at his acknowledgement of their friendship, " I-...I don't know, you tell me, Cloud? Why were you so cranky?"
"I...don't know, maybe you irritated me?"
"Ah yes, I probably do, but you love me anyway." Hu Tao winks, unknowing of how much Chongyun is starting to burn up.
"What?!"
"As your bestie, you just love being around me!"
"B-Bestie?"
"Of course, you love being around me so much you made me your official bestie."
Chongyun begins raking his fingers into his hair, extremely red and burning up rapidly, "L-Lo...huh?!"o
Hu Tao begins to catch on, continuing on with her bit, "Oh yes, Chongyun. You're very much in love with me, you refused to let me leave Liyue to come here. You were all like 'Noooo, it's too dangerous' or 'Don't leave me behind nooooo, I'll miss you so much!' Oh you were sooo clingy."
Chongyun's cheeks glow a light pink as Hu Tao continues on, "You mostly hangout with me, carrying me when I'm tired, always stalking me when I leave the harbor to go pick herbs with Qiqi-"
"Ok ok stop! I've heard enough!"
Too easy.
Hu Tao chuckles, then giggles, then erupts into laughter, finally collapsing onto the ground holding her stomach as she cackles like a mad man.
"Wh- what's so funny?"
"I- AHAHAha...oh Archons help me. Oh my stomach," Hu Tao wipes away a tear and pushes herself back to sit upright, "Cloud, I was just...AHAHAH" Hu Tao stares at Chongyun for just a moment before breaking out laughing again.
"What?! I don't get it!"
"I was just kidding, Cloud."
"Huh?"
Hu Tao begins to relax, letting out a few more laughs, "I was teasing, I didn't actually mean any of that."
Chongyun tilts his head, "But you're not lying."
"I am- wait what d'ya mean?"
"I feel like you're not lying."
Hu Tao slows her breath down, "I...Cloud, most of the things I said were just...uhm...made up."
Chongyun shrugs, "I...nevermind then. Maybe I'm just being delusional."
Hu Tao stares for a while, rendered speechless. She had no idea what he meant at all and she's sure he doesn't either, "Aiya, sometimes I miss your stupid comebacks, dumb exorcist." Hu Tao mumbles the last part while hiding her mouth behind her arm, unaware of the blush slowly creeping.
The two went back to silence, just sitting alone with their thoughts to pass the hour until the Traveler returns. While Chongyun tries to wrangle with his apparent loss of memory, Hu Tao...
Hu Tao...
She was guilt-ridden, for the whole day she couldn't get rid of this god awful feeling, yet just chatting with Chongyun somehow makes her forget the horrible situation they were in. Despite how different he was, he was still the same. He's still witty, albeit less snappy towards her. He's still the same old naive little Chongyun, and Hu Tao just loved that about him.
Loved...
Just one glance at the boy was all it took for her to hide her reddened cheeks, as old feeling began to resurface. How she tried so desperately to ignore whatever this bubbling feeling was, how it flutters and tickers her every time they were just near each other. If only she could remember when it first started.
"Stupid..."
"Huh?"
"You're...st-..stupid—sorry I...you said you missed my comebacks I just...maybe I'm not so good at pretending to be the Chongyun you know. Yo-You're not stupid..."
Hu Tao smile grows as she cups her ear and leans forward, "What was that you just said?"
"You're not stupid?"
"Say it again!"
"You're not stupid."
"Again!"
"You're not stupid."
"Again!"
"You're...not stupid?"
"Again!"
"You're stupid."
"Hey! That's mean!" Hu Tao puffs a cheek and crosses her arms.
"Well you're kind of being stupid now- "Am not!"
Chongyun lets out a small laugh, "I...see why you enjoy bantering with me now. What else do we do for fun?"
Hu Tao's smile widens even further that now she's practically grinning from ear to ear, "You...like having fun with me?"
"Yeah, you seem fun. Maybe just a little crazy, but I guess your kind of fun."
Hu Tao now with both hands on her hips, gives Chongyun a firm nod, "Yes yes keep praising me! With every praise you give me, I'll tell you another story about you and I."
"Wha- so I need to buy stories off of you now?"
Hu Tao giggles, "Yes."
Chongyun groans and rubs his temple, "I see why I get cranky with you now," He mumbles under his breath.
"So, can we shake on it?" Hu Tao stretches out her hand.
Chongyun reluctantly takes her hand gives it one firm shake, "Fine."
"It's a deal then, Cloud!"
---
It's been an hour, and there was still no sign of the Traveler or their companion. Each passing minute only gives the already anxiety-riddled exorcist more reason to panic.
"We should go and check on them!" Chongyun paces back and forth in front of the door.
"Oh relax, that's Liyue's saviour in there. If anyone can handle a few Fatui, it's them." Hu Tao was still sat on the ground, new weaving a few flowers together out of sheer boredom.
"But they said they'd be back in an hour."
Hu Tao blows a raspberry, "It's just been a few minutes, you need to relax."
"But what if their hurt, or trapped, or...or- "Oi, Cloud! Their fine. Seriously, were you this anxious when I left?" Hu Tao grabs the panicked boy by the shoulders and lets out a laugh.
Chongyun looks at her confused once again and she sighs, "Riiiiight, you don't remember," Hu Tao releases Chongyun and taps her foot rapidly while staring at the factory door.
"Hmm, I guess it has been a while..."
"That's what I just said!"
"We should go in, what if their trapped, or hurt." Hu Tao snickers as she mocks the blunet and opens the door, slowly creeping into the darkness that was the hideout.
"I just said that!" Chongyun lets out a frustrated groan and follows the girl closely behind. For some reason, Chongyun has the very strong urge to submerge her underwater.
The teens make their way in, the last stream of sunlight disappearing the moment the front doors slammed shut. The air reeked of death, sending shivers down Chongyun's spine.
On the ground, there was a hint of purple fog, empty crates stacked upon each other, and what they could barely make out to be freshly dead bodies in the distance.
"H-Hu Tao, is that...?" Chongyun looks towards the unmoving silhouettes in the distance.
"Huh? Don't tell me you're scared of ghosts, Cloud." Hu Tao grins and turns to look at Chongyun.
"No I'm serious, look over there!" Chongyun points with a shaky hand.
"Lil exorcist is scared of ghosties~"
"Hu Tao...please."
Hu Tao smile falters as she follows his finger and looks into the room right next to them. Inside sat the lifeless body of a Fatui skirmisher. Her eyes grow dark as her stomach churns.
Blood was spilling from his mouth, his head was caved in and his clothes were covered in blood. It was gruesome, whoever killed him really had it out for him.
Hu Tao sighs and she steps forward to the front of the doorway, standing in silence as she claps her to hands together and bows her head.
Chongyun watches as Hu Tao mumbles a prayer under her breath. Meanwhile, Hu Tao was trembling. She could feel those cold eyes staring right back at her as she said her prayers. She struggled to keep her hands clasped and felt the food from yesterday in her mouth. She quickly turned away after finishing her prayer.
There it was again, that sickly feeling Hu Tao felt just the day before. She felt uneasy just looking around at how much death permeated through the air. Her heart stops as she thinks back again to Chongyun's almost lifeless body-
No, she can't think about that now.
"What...uhm...were you doing?"
"I'm the Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. It's my job to care for the dead but unfortunately, we don't have time for a big ceremony so I just said a few prayers for him and the others..." Hu Tao shivered, "If theres others."
The girl kept pressing forward, with every step she took, the more unsure she felt, and somehow, her friend behind was able to see her discomfort. Chongyun could see how bothered she still was, for someone that works extremely close to death, she seemed very turned off by it. He decided not to question though, allowing Hu Tao to continue on forward.
The two winded around, following the trail of littered bodies and fog down the halls. With every turn, there seemed to be just more and more Fatui laying lifeless, making the two extremely nauseated. Hu Tao especially was beginning to feel dizzy, her body swaying side to side and her head bopping every now and again.
Chongyun didn't like it, he felt awful seeing her in such a state. Not knowing what came over him, he grabs her arm and pulls her closer to him. Now leading the two down the maze of corridors, his hand only tightening its grip as if scared to let her go. Chongyun didn't know what prompted him to pull her so close, maybe he was just worried or it was instinct. Whatever it was, he's just happy Hu Tao didn't seem to mind or make any funny comments.
The deeper they went, the stronger the fog and the weaker they felt. Passing body after body, seemingly slashed across by a blood raged serial killer. But there was no one else inside apart from the Traveler, Paimon and whatever nasty Fatui that were left alive.
In the distance, the two could begin to hear someone arguing. The closer they drew, the clearer the voices became.
"DON'T YOU DARE MOCK TEPPEI!"
The two look up to the room up ahead, the floor was covered in now dense purple fog and their friends standing in the middle of it all. Lumine had their sword in hand, coated in blood.
"Hey! Calm down!" Paimon screams as Lumine prepares to charge.
The fog then begins to change, circling around the Traveler the moment they took the first step forward. Lumine folds and grabs their head as they gasp out in pain. Their upper body falls forward as they clutch their chest, weakly raising their sword with their other arm, pointing at the unknown figure standing in front of them.
The figure cackles, tipping their hat as they begin to maniacally laugh, "That's it, just like that! Embrace the anger...EMBRACE IT!"
"LUMINE- aRGH!" Hu Tao screams before feeling the effects of the fog begin to affect her, leaning her entire body weight onto Chongyun.
"The wrath of the gods fills this factory, and it feeds on your anger!" The figure laughs once again.
Chongyun grits his teeth and goes to grab his claymore when his fingers grazes something attached to his hilt. He pulls out a small pink bag with a symbol on it and it was distinctly Inazuman, "What-"
Chongyun had no time to gloss over it though as Lumine's sword falls to the ground and they fall into their knees. Their vision was going haywire as everything fades in and out rapidly.
Paimon rushes over and shakes the Traveler as the figure begins to approach them menacingly, "Ah, what's happening?! Get up!"
"Lumine! Agh- Hu Tao?!" Chongyun frantically looks around the room.
Chongyun was stuck, Hu Tao was at the brink of collapsing and the strongest member of their team was down, leaving him and Paimon alone. He froze in place and the fear began to kick in as he and the purple figure make eye contact.
Chongyun too began to sway, the dizzying effects of the fog was too potent. He fell onto his knees, as his grip on Hu Tao loosened and the unconscious girl slid onto the floor.
With barely any strength left, Chongyun leaps forward and swings his claymore. However, he was fumbling, unable to keep a strong grip on his sword as not only the fog, but his constitution was beginning to affect him greatly. He was heating up way to quick as he attempted to swing his sword again.
"You're pathetic, thinking you can win a battle against a Fatui Harbinger without a vision." The Harbinger summons a bolt of lighting and strikes the poor boy.
Chongyun falls on his knees, with his hands still wrapped around his claymore for stability. Unwilling to let the Harbinger, he swings again, this time with his anger channeling his energy into his swing only for him too succumbs to the fog and collapse, unaware that the omamori in his hand had begun to glow.
"So Morax, you decide to pawn of your precious souvenir from your dear friend to some mortal? I'm hurt." Yae Miko says disappointed as she makes her way forward towards the Fatui Harbinger.
"Miko..."
"I really didn't think you'd return after what you did, Balladeer. Or should I refer to you as Kunikuzushi." The sly fox stops, towering over the puppet standing before her.
"That's Balladeer to you."
"Why, what's wrong? Did the guilt finally eat you up completely?"
"Stop playing games, fox."
Yae Miko scoffs and looks down at the four figures behind her, "You ought to treat your guests better too. You're just like your mother."
"She's not my mother, and I'm nothing like her!" Scaramouche says behind seething teeth.
"Then why return to Inazuma and cause pain to some random Travelers, hm? I'd assume you have better things to do for the Fatui than just fooling around here?"
"You have something that belongs to me, and the only way to lure you here is through them."
Yae Miko looks down at the blonde on the floor next to the sobbing Paimon. She sighs, "Hmph, how crude."
"I'm not playing around, if not the Fatui will continue to poison your precious Inazumans with delusions of grandeur so that they can finally know what it feels like to wield the power of the gods!" The puppet cackles, feeling the adrenaline of the moment get to him like there was artificial blood was pumping through his veins, "I'll continue to feed them this false sense of security, allowing them to play allogene before they all succumb to it."
Yae Miko's eyes narrow as the puppet continues his monologue, "Soon enough, I'll poison the whole of Inazuma. Then the whole of Teyvat, until you give me what I want."
Yae Miko bends down and places two fingers against the neck of the unconscious Traveler, "What is it that you want, Kunikuzushi."
"Don't play dumb, you know what I want. So you better cough it up, unless you're willing to bid your precious Inazuma farewell."
"Why choose to strike now then, hm? What is the Fatui planning- "Enough! I'm losing patience."
Scaramouche's fingers with tingling, like as if his veins were drawing in electro energy and channeling it right to his fingertips as he aims directly at the outlanders on the floor. He was itching to strike, "I will kill them, I swear I'll kill them," Scaramouche looks Yae Miko dead in the eye, "If you don't give me what I want, I'll do it! I know your plan, I know you need the outlander to save your pathetic country." He spat.
Yae Miko refused to flinch as the Harbinger's eye twitches in frustration, "If you don't give it to me in the next 10 seconds, I'll do it. Do you dare to gamble such a possibility with me?"
Yae Miko gives Scaramouche a cold glare, waving her hand and summoning a singular chess piece in her hand, "Fine then, let's make a deal."