I finished off my first Onigiri and was surprised to find I still had room for the second one. Now that my mind had partially cleared of worry, my appetite came back. It's a good thing that Childe made me get two Onigiri, then. Savoring the rice, I let my eyes wander around the table as I thought about Mona again. She really was quite peculiar, and I wondered if she'd be able to use her powers of divination to somehow reveal the truth of the Abyss Order's plan. Of course, that's a big ask and not one I was willing to make—not when we still had time to figure things out with our own leads. They weren't very strong leads, though.

"Do you think I could get Mona to look into my future?" Bennett asked. "I've gotta say, it's killing me to find out if I'll forever be this unlucky. Getting used to my bad fortune hasn't been easy. Even though I made it this far, a lucky streak would be nice."

Childe scoffed. "Don't worry about all that fortune-telling stuff. Seeing as you're able to talk and eat with the likes of me every day, I'd say you've been in luck."

"Wow, I never thought of it like that," Bennett said.

"That's because Childe's ego is doing all that talking," I interjected. "What he means to say is that we're all lucky to have the chance to spend time together. Even if it's just meals or a few classes, it's nice knowing we have each other's backs, right? Though, if you still want to get your fortune told, it can't hurt to ask."

"I'm warning you," Childe leaned in. "Mona can be really picky about her divinations. If she gives you a vague response and you ask her to clarify exactly what she means by 'intertwined constellations' and 'there will come a time when you are challenged with appreciating what you value most,' she'll just brush you off and move on to the next person."

"Is that what she told you?" I chuckled.

"Amongst other things," he grumbled. "According to her malfunctioning scryglass, I can't have what I desire most, at least, not all to myself. She said—I remember her exact words because I wasted so much time trying to decipher them—my greatest desire in life will be divided amongst others. What's that supposed to mean?"

Xiangling gasped. It seemed like she was struck with an epiphany.

"What is it?" Childe spun to look at her. "Did you figure it out?"

"I think I left the stove on," she said. "Yikes. I'd better go check—just to be sure."

"You have a stove in your room?" Bennett frowned. "Isn't that a fire hazard?"

Xiangling held a finger to her lips with a sheepish smile. "Shh! Not so loud, okay? I gotta go quick. See you guys later!"

Quite obviously in a panicked state, Xiangling swept up her things and made a mad dash out the door. Amber shook her head and murmured something about another Pyro incident getting the Academy's attention.

"Hey, Childe," Thoma piped in. "I have an idea about Mona's divination. The first step to figuring it out would be establishing your strongest desire. Do you know what that is?"

Childe narrowed his eyes at Thoma, and I could practically see the gears turning in his head. What did Childe desire most? If this question was asked a few weeks ago, I didn't doubt he would have proclaimed his wish to be the strongest in Teyvat. With that in mind, Mona's divination certainly made no sense at all. How could one be the strongest in the world, yet also share that power with others? Then again, Mona said astrologers show people what fate has in store for them. Childe had no way of predicting his future desires, so maybe being the strongest really was out of the picture.

If not power, then what? Because Thoma asked the question, I briefly wondered if he was up to something. Childe was still silently sorting out his own thoughts, so I looked over at Thoma. I didn't expect him to already be staring at me, and my cheeks involuntarily heated at the eye contact. As he caught my reaction, a knowing smile quickly formed on his face.

"I don't know," Childe breathed out in frustration. "Originally, I would have said that I wanted to become number one. The top fighter. A Champion."

Just as I thought.

"But now, that doesn't matter to me as much anymore." He rubbed his temple. "My outlook on life has since changed."

"What caused it to change?" Thoma prompted, looking more at me than at Childe. "Was it a sudden revelation? An event?"

"No, I wouldn't say so. You're awfully invested in a fortune that has nothing to do with you." Childe looked at Thoma with suspicion. "Why is that?"

"I wouldn't say it has nothing to do with me," Thoma shrugged. "Not just yet. I'm just trying to help you out as a friend, Childe. If not an event, then maybe…a person?"

The last bit of my Onigiri went dry in my throat as I realized where Thoma was going with this. I forced it down as best as I could without choking. Thoma passed me a glass of water, and I graciously accepted it with a stifled smile. The water chased away the stubborn clump of rice, allowing me to fully focus on a much more pressing matter. Judging from the expectant look in his eyes, Thoma still fully believed that Childe had feelings for me. Like Thoma did. Like Diluc did. This was beginning to seem unrealistic, but then I remembered Thoma wasn't the first to point out the idea to me. Kaeya guessed it ages ago.

"A person?" Childe looked to the ceiling as he thought about it.

Then, he looked at me.

I think my heart stopped.

"Is this seat taken?"

Everyone turned their attention to the newcomer—Kaeya—who sat where Xiangling had been just a moment before. He had a simple tray of Fruity Skewers and nothing else. Kaeya's eye swept from Thoma to Childe before landing on me.

"Good morning, everyone," Kaeya picked up a skewer. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"We were just talking about Childe's fortune," Bennett informed. "Did you know Mona was an astrologer? It's really amazing. Thoma just asked if there was a special person that might have transformed Childe's passions in life."

I cut in. "He didn't say it like that."

"Oh," Bennett shrugged. "That's what it seemed like to me."

Amber nodded aggressively. "Me too. Childe was just about to give his answer."

She looked at me. Archons, why was Amber looking at me? It was more how she looked at me that caused my pulse to quicken. I'd seen that expression on her face once before when she was insistent about Diluc. When she was right about Diluc.

Childe cleared his throat. "Good morning to you too, Kaeya. Do you have any particular reason to be sitting with us today?"

His formality was off-putting. To an outsider, it seemed like Childe was being polite. Even I was almost tricked into assuming the same. Except, Childe was never formal.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Of course, this isn't the first time I've enjoyed breakfast at this lively table. You missed out on quite a lot, Childe," Kaeya goaded. "Lumine, tell him about the fun we've had."

"You sat here one time." I reminded him. "And said that it wouldn't happen again."

Kaeya tsked. "I said that I couldn't promise it would happen again. You make me sound so cold."

"Cryo Vision," Childe coughed to the side.

Kaeya turned his head slowly in Childe's direction. "Ah, yes. I do remember learning of a particular little rhyme from Snezhnaya. Bennett was especially excited about it."

"The pinkie one!" Bennett nodded. "The cold will kill the pinkie that once betrayed your friend, the frost will freeze your tongue off so you never lie again."

"Childe must be no stranger to the cold," Kaeya sighed. "My presence should be most comforting, then."

Childe shot back. "I could do without it."

"Oh, I just remembered another memory." Kaeya looked at me with a mischievous glint in his eye. "Lumine was so stressed, I took the liberty of feeding her Almond Tofu. She even commented that it tasted sweeter off of my fork."

My jaw fell open. "I did not!"

Kaeya quirked his brow. "Did you not eat Almond Tofu off the fork in my hand?"

"Well," I stammered. "That part is true."

"And the rest is history," he chuckled. "Now, now, don't give me that look."

The look in question was that of barely restrained infuriation on Childe's end. I was a bit taken aback by how openly Kaeya made his remarks. Normally, his teasing was more subtle and reserved for private moments, but now…the whole table was all ears. Including Thoma's. His green eyes quizzically darted from me to Kaeya, and I inwardly sighed. Explaining Kaeya's natural tendency to flirt, though I didn't know why it persisted so much, would have to be gone over at another time.

"Back to the point," Kaeya's amused expression deflated. "I actually wanted to bring up some business matters. Lumine and Childe, I cannot thank you enough for volunteering your time to help sort out the responses that Jean collected."

I paused. When did I volunteer for something like that?

"Ah, so that's what you're here for," Childe fronted with a smile. "You should have led with that, Kaeya. Assisting the student council is the least I could do after benefitting from their services all these years."

"Huh? What are you guys talking about?" Bennett swiveled his head around. "Are you two joining the student council?"

Bennett's questions echoed my own thoughts, and I was most confused as to why Childe was going along with it.

"Not at all," Childe shook his head. "Kaeya simply asked for a helping hand."

"Jean went around the school and asked students their opinions on the Sakoku Order," Kaeya explained to the table. "With how long it's been in place and how restless everyone has become, she decided to put together a formal proposal for the headmaster to consider. Her questioning was very successful, and that unfortunately means a lot of work for me. I have hundreds of responses to filter through and compile onto one document."

"I said I would help with that?" I asked.

"You don't remember?" Kaeya tilted his head. "We discussed it. Hm, was it last night? No, I believe it was the night before."

The night before. That was when the three of us were in my room revisiting my powers and the Abyss Order. Nothing was said about student council matters, though. I would have remembered that much. Seeing as how Childe was in on this somehow, maybe there was a hidden meaning to all this.

"After classes tomorrow, we should meet in the official student council room to get things sorted," Kaeya informed. "There, we can continue our work with no interruptions and utmost confidentiality. We can't have the students' responses getting leaked before the document is ready, now can we?"

"That would be most unfortunate," Childe agreed.

Understanding dawned on me. This wasn't about helping Kaeya with student council duties. This was about continuing where we left off after I fell asleep that night. I could see how meeting in the student council room rather than my dorm was more appealing from an organizational standpoint. I'd never seen the student council room before, but it would undoubtedly be a less suspicious location for us to gather, and at a much more reasonable time of day. Kaeya and Childe must have agreed on this beforehand, probably while I was sleeping. If that was the case, then I had one more thing to bring to the table.

"Thoma, why don't you join us?"

"To help out?" Thoma looked at me. "Sure, I don't mind."

Childe cleared his throat. "We don't need any additional help. Lumine, there needs to be a limit on how many people handle this matter. It's because of the confidentiality Kaeya was talking about."

Childe looked at me with urging eyes as if trying to get through to me the real meaning of the conversation. I understood it completely. It's just that Childe didn't know Thoma was in on my secret—neither did Kaeya.

"Thoma can join," I insisted.

Kaeya hummed with interest. "Is that so?"

"After class tomorrow, right?" Thoma asked with an eager smile. "I have time. How many responses are there again?"

Childe crossed his arms. "Hundreds—no—thousands. Far too many for you to concern yourself with."

"There aren't even a thousand students at this school," Amber said. "Unless people submitted more than one. If there really are so many, why don't I also join in?"

"Childe was exaggerating," Kaeya sighed. "Just the four of us will be enough, but thank you for the offer, Amber."

Childe was visibly against having Thoma join us while Thoma appeared rather perplexed. He didn't know the truth behind Kaeya's student council story, and an innocent smile remained on his face this whole time.

"Wait," Childe frowned slightly before casting a slight accusatory look at me. "I get it now."

"Get what?" Thoma blinked between the both of us. "Am I missing something? Could it be that there is other student council work you want me to do?"

Childe sighed and unfolded his arms. "At least I wasn't the last one."

"What Childe means to say," Kaeya cut in. "Is that having you as our final contributor would be most appreciated. We can fill you in on the specifics later, but for now, don't be late for the meeting."

"Got it," Thoma nodded. "You, me, Lumine, and Childe. Should I bring anything to prepare?"

"Just yourself will be enough," Kaeya said.

Kaeya didn't stay long. After delivering the information on our meeting, he quickly excused himself to attend to actual student council duties. For some reason, Childe's mood never recovered even after Kaeya left, and I had a sneaking suspicion it was because of Thoma's sudden involvement. Was he annoyed that yet another person knew, or…I thought about Thoma's theory. Was he jealous that Thoma in particular knew? Whatever the reason, Childe would simply have to get over it.

Between Childe, Thoma, and Diluc, I've been through an emotional rollercoaster as of late. I was grateful that Kaeya, at least, had remained a constant through it all. I didn't know how I would have been able to process any of this without him. Even though Kaeya got so busy with his upperclassman schedule and role as a student council member, he still found the time to reach out and make sure everything was going alright on my end. Sure, Kaeya was a tease, but I guess there had to be something to balance him out—though I could admit his antics weren't all that bad. No one could be immune to that level of charm. The Signora situation alone was enough for me to realize how much I could count on him.

Tonight, I would see Diluc. He was the one other person who I wanted to be completely honest with. For the first time, I felt truly nervous over how one of them would take it. Kaeya and Childe were quick to view my powers from a more technical perspective. Thoma had been more concerned with our mutual feelings and was willing to accept anything that followed. While Diluc was the most enigmatic of them all, I couldn't prolong the truth any longer. Because Kaeya's plan was happening tomorrow, this was my last chance. It was about time all five of us finally came to one place, and hopefully, to the same understanding.