previous chapter: lumine wakes from a frightening dream and encounters her electro power again. she decides that learning how to control it properly is better done sooner rather than later, and aether gives insight into focal points. after some searching and waiting, she connects with professor guuji.

**recently merged a few chapters. 12+13 (cicin ambush), 14+15 (fire and water), and 16+17 (anemo awakening)**

"So, what's your professional opinion?"

Thoma's question hung in the air as I examined the potted plant. He sat across from me at the picnic table we agreed to meet up at after I had heard about the failing growth. With my newfound expertise in taking care of plants, helping out with his Horticulture II assignment was my chance to return the many favors from his Vision Studies tutoring.

"There's some yellowing on the older leaves here," I said and lifted the small bundle of vines. "Different circumstances can cause this, but the new growth is also affected. I think you might be overwatering it. What kind of plant is this?"

"It's not anything you'd typically find in Teyvat. The assignment is to create a hybrid from two existing species of my choice. I wanted to challenge myself and stay away from the Inazuman species that I'm familiar with, so I went with two from Sumeru. What you're looking at is a combination of kalpalata lotus and stamina flower."

We had kalpalata lotuses in the greenhouse, but I'd never taken care of stamina flowers before.

"I don't understand why the leaves are wilting," he said. "Caring for houseplants is one of my main responsibilities at the Kamisato Estate. I only water it once every few days. At this rate, the buds won't get a chance to bloom."

First, I needed to confirm if my guess was correct.

"Did you bring the tools?" I asked.

He lifted his bag resting below and set it on the table. From it, he pulled out a small pair of shears, a spade, and gardening gloves. "These are what everyone in the class was given. To make it fair, no fancy fertilizers or equipment is allowed."

"None necessary." I held out a hand. "Gloves and spade, please."

Once equipped, I got to work and pried at the damp, packed mass of soil from the pot. The plant's leaves were similar to ivy, tumbling onto the table and slightly getting in the way. It took a bit of time to carefully free the entire mass, so I asked another question to better understand what I was dealing with.

"Of all the Sumeru foliage, why kalpalata lotus and stamina flower?"

"They both reside on cliffsides, so the odds of creating a hybrid species that could successfully thrive in the wild is high."

Thinking back to my time in the greenhouse, I vaguely remembered the potting soil used for kalpalata lotus being rockier than most. If stamina flower lived in the same environment, then overwatering wasn't the only issue.

"You should switch out the soil to something with a greater composition of gravel. The parent plants wouldn't thrive in dense soil like this, so neither would their hybrid. You'll also get better drainage and—ah, there it is."

With the plant free, I set the pot aside and pointed out the roots. Most of them were firm and tan, but there were a few that took on a mushier texture and had darkened to a muddy brown.

"Root rot," Thoma identified on his own.

"Yup. Luckily, it's not too late. You can still save the main plant by hacking off the infected root and starting fresh with new soil. We can do that first part now."

Wielding the spade as a weapon instead of its intended purpose, I strategically whacked at the caked roots until the soil began to break apart. Clumps of dirt crumbled onto the table. Then, I angled the sharper end to hack at the root rot.

Thoma held a hand out, reaching for the spade. "You don't have to do all that. Now that I know the problem, I can take it from here."

"Please, it's the least I can do. Besides, you're always going around helping people. It's about time someone else did the same for you."

"In that case, I won't stop you." He dropped his hand with a smile. "There's actually another reason why I chose to make this particular hybrid. If the flowers bloom how I envision them to, their beauty should be breathtaking."

"Really? I've never seen a stamina flower before, so I don't know what to expect besides a lot of blue."

"Stamina flower petals are light in color, and a literal light glows at the end of the stigma. When consumed, the light gives an extra boost of energy—hence the name. If I'm lucky, the hybrid will produce a similar effect, but I'll be happy as long as the petals produce both colors."

"That would be pretty," I agreed. Really pretty. Why did I like the idea of that so much? At the thought of blue and white petals, the realization made me lift a hand up to my hair. "Isn't that just like my—"

"Excuse me!"

I swiveled in my seat to see where the shout had come from. Approaching us was someone I'd seen in passing a few times. His brown, furry ears that perfectly matched his hair weren't a forgettable sight—not to mention the tail that swayed behind him. The student lightly jogged the rest of the way, and his eyes lit up when they landed on Thoma.

"Thoma, hey."

"Hi, Gorou. Is there something we can help you with?"

So this was Gorou. The details of his participation in the Grand Tournament came to the forefront of my mind. Kokomi's partner. Liked to climb.

"Sorry to bother you, but I'm actually here for Lumine." Gorou looked at me. "You are Lumine, right?"

I nodded and wondered what he could possibly need from me when we'd never met before.

"Oh, good. I can't afford the time to go searching for someone else. She's probably watching the clock as we speak."

"Who?" I asked.

"Professor Guuji. She asked me to find you and bring you to her. You want to meet with her? That's what she said, but if you're too scared—I mean—intimidated, then pretend like you never saw me and enjoy the rest of your day."

Finally. Almost two days had passed since my conversation with her, and I was beginning to think she forgot about my request. Too excited to question why Gorou tensed at the mention of Professor Guuji, I refocused on Thoma and placed the plant back in the pot.

"This is for the Electro stuff I was telling you about! Oh, be sure to find new soil by the end of the day. The roots will bounce back soon, so you might need to repot. One other thing…it's slipping my mind."

"Less watering?" he suggested. "I'm so used to the watering frequency for Inazuman plants. We get more thunderstorms than the other nations, so I'll have to account for that difference."

"Yes. That. Perfect." I stood quickly but then hesitated. "Is there anything else? I feel bad for leaving so suddenly."

He beamed in a way that made my heart melt. "You've been a great help. Really, thank you. I hope your session with Professor Guuji is successful."

So did I. With a hopeful heart, I removed the gloves and brushed any lingering dirt from my clothes. Luckily, there weren't any stains. Though I'd only spoken with her once, I wouldn't be surprised if Professor Guuji didn't approve of messy appearances.

"Wait, there's one more thing," Thoma said.

Did I leave something behind? No, he only tapped a finger on his face. His lower cheek. Right at the corner of his lips.

Oh.

I found myself blushing at the small gesture and responded by leaning down and placing a quick kiss on his lips. After pulling away, I was met with wide eyes and a bright pink face. That had—apparently—not been what he meant.

"There's a bit of dirt," he stammered and swiped a thumb across my cheek. "Right there. I got it."

"I thought…that was…sorry."

Thoma recovered faster than me and smiled gently. "Don't be. I liked it. I more than liked it."

I fought the urge to linger since Gorou was waiting on me—whistling a quiet tune with his head turned away. To relieve him of feeling awkward, Thoma and I quickly said our goodbyes. As Gorou led me to Professor Guuji, he kept a fast pace. Was he in that big of a rush to get there? The furrow of his brow and twitching tail made me think he was nervous.

"How do you know Professor Guuji?" I asked. "You must keep in touch a lot if she's sending you to do things."

"Actually, it's because she's always sending me to do things that we keep in touch. I should have never signed up for that literature club event last year, but I can't back down now. It's good discipline."

He released a shaky sigh. I shouldn't pry any further. The poor guy looked ready to shed off all his fur just talking about it.

When we entered the lecture building, I didn't expect to walk past the Worldly Beings room and not go inside. Gorou brought me to a smaller room up a flight of stairs. The door was closed, and he stared at it with mild panic in his eyes.

"Is this it?" I asked.

"Correct."

"Are we going to go in?"

"You absolutely can. As for me, well, my job here is done. I almost forgot! There's a super important, time-sensitive, labor-intensive project that I have to work on. Because of that, I won't be able to walk in with you."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, I'll see you around."

He was already walking away and shouted a half-believable, "Maybe!"

An interesting one, that Gorou.

Now, it was just me staring at the closed door. Behind this wood was my first session of Electro training. Being mentored by a priestess from an Electro-rich nation held many promises and zero drawbacks. There was no time to waste.

I opened the door and entered the room—one that contained a handful of students.

Because Professor Guuji sat at the front, I knew Gorou hadn't brought me to the wrong location. All around were piles of books and paper. No one but the professor paid me any mind—they were too busy with their heads down, focused on writing.

With a serene smile, Professor Guuji offered me a small wave. "Oh, good. You made it."

"What is this?"

"Literature club, of course."

"I didn't sign up for literature club. I thought we were going to—"

"Now, now. Before I am your mentor, I am a supervisor. Before that, I am a professor. Before that, I am a priestess. As you can see, there are many roles for me to fill. You cannot possibly expect me to drop everything for your request without you returning the favor." Her smile held steady as she pointed to an empty seat. "That spot is yours."

I couldn't argue with that reasoning, but I would have appreciated a heads-up beforehand. There was some time to waste, after all.

"There's not much you can do by standing there," she tutted.

I sighed and followed her direction. A stack of binded papers rested in front of me.

"Those are the first drafts that the literature club has produced," she explained. "Each story is only a few chapters in length. Since you're a pair of fresh eyes, I'd like you to review each of them and annotate your thoughts."

Simple enough. I dutifully leafed through the first story and got sucked in. Part of me wanted to resist finding enjoyment in the task since it wasn't what I came here for, but the students in the literature club had talent. Professor Guuji now walked to each student's workstation, offering small comments here and there. Her presence alone was a strong influence, and it showed with the quality of work in my hands.

"What do you think?" she whispered in my ear unexpectedly.

I shifted away from her smirk. "It's good."

"Just good? I hope you're annotating more than that."

"I am."

She hummed approvingly and asked, "Did you have a hard time finding your way here?"

"Not at all. Gorou led me all the way up to the door. He was super helpful even though he has a big project to work on."

"That's the first I'm hearing of it. So, he did bring you here after all. I suppose there's no need to chide him for not greeting me upon return." Were my ears tricking me, or did she sound disappointed? "Carry on. When the hour is up, we can begin."

Time passed faster with each story I became engrossed in. It was a shame they were so short, but their length was what allowed me to get through everything once the club members started to leave. They all thanked Professor Guuji on their way out. Then, it was just the two of us—plus the newly-written stories that she focused her full attention on.

It wasn't until after Professor Guuji finished skimming through the material that she filed them away and regarded me with a sly smile.

"You've been very patient today, little one. It's time to be rewarded. Follow me."

The sky had darkened significantly from when I was last outside, and I followed as Professor Guuji silently walked me into the forest. A clear path existed in front of us, and though the route seemed familiar, surroundings felt slightly different in the dark than in the light. Eventually, we emerged from the shroud of trees and entered a clearing.

The gliding clearing.

Except, it was alight with an ambient, purple and pink glow. Unknown objects and structures charged with Electro were stationed in the grass. Professor Guuji strode forward until she stood in the middle of it all.

"Our first objective is to determine and increase the amount of Electro you are able to take control of. For the initial assessment, I want you to retrieve the blooms from that cluster." She nodded toward where a sphere of cherry blossoms was suspended in the air. "Don't be shy."

Her tone might sound patronizing to some, but it'd be a lie to say I wasn't slightly uneasy at the thought of sticking my hand into the petals. The task seemed easy. Too easy. Though, worrying about what the trick could be was a waste of mental energy. I might as well dive straight in.

The blooms looked unassuming as I got close, but my hands came up empty when I tried to grab them. They dispersed around me, still hovering, but unobtainable. Again, I tried for even a single petal and found no luck.

"That's enough," she said.

I pushed aside the embarrassment that welled in me. What if Professor Guuji determined I had no Electro affinity at all? She even went out of her way to set this up beforehand, and I failed at the first task.

"Come here, little one. Touch this thunder sakura bough to interact with an electrogranum."

My spirits lifted at the mention of electrogranum. I was familiar with elemental spirits after using anemograna in Beginner's Gliding. The thunder sakura bough she spoke of was a twiggy ball that grew up from the earth. It definitely didn't exist here before today, so how did she get it to be rooted so firmly? The question fled from my mind once my fingers made contact with the electrogranum inside.

It sprung from the thunder sakura bough and floated at my side. Three petaled prongs encircled a condensed ball of Electro, and I felt it buzzing with energy. And…there was an additional, identical energy forming on my skin.

"Now, try again," Professor Guuji instructed.

Facing the bloom cluster, I shook doubt from my mind and tried to snatch one before they could escape. My fast action wasn't necessary. With the electrogranum nearby, each petal in the cluster gathered close and didn't scatter after making contact with my palm.

"I…got them."

"Of course, you did. Electro responds to Electro. The charges are naturally drawn to each other. Do you feel any differently with the electrogranum?"

"I can feel its energy, but I can also feel my own energy taking form."

She hummed lightly with a small nod. "Good. Now, familiarize yourself with that budding seed of power. When the electrogranum returns to the thunder sakura bough, retrieve the sakura blooms once more."

The energy spirit fizzled out before I was prepared to do so, but what was left of the sensation lingered on my skin. Not enough. To my dismay, the petals evaded my touch like before.

Professor Guuji didn't nod this time. "Again."

For the second time, I activated the thunder sakura bough and welcomed the electrogranum. After regrasping what it felt like to have this energy buzzing near me, I channeled the energy down the skin of my arm—tiny hairs raising along the way. If I wanted to grab the blooms with my hand, then my hand needed an Electro aura.

The electrogranum returned to the thunder sakura bough.

Not wanting to disappoint, I focused on maintaining that energy. My fingers twitched as tiny sparks erupted off of them. Then, I stepped forward into the cluster.

Petals condensed together and were pulled into the center of my palm without me even reaching for them. A bolt of delight made me gasp, and a literal bolt of Electro fried the petals into tiny, twinkling lights.

Mouth agape, I turned to face Professor Guuji and pointed at my hand. "I got them!"

"You pass the first phase, but I won't congratulate you just yet."

"How many phases are there?"

"Do you see those thunder spheres?" Instead of answering me, she leisurely walked to the edge of the cliff—far too close than any sane person without a windglider would dare. "I want you to reach the furthest one and then return back here."

The thunder spheres in question were in the sky. Though stationary and easily reachable with the help of a windglider and an Anemo current, I had neither of those. How did she expect me to pull that off? A heavy weight of expectation sat on my shoulders, so I refrained from asking aloud.

The answer was obvious—Electro.

My eyes landed on the thunder sakura bough, and I decided to employ my little electrogranum friend for guidance. When it reappeared, so did my confidence. I drew close to the cliff's edge and contemplated leaping toward the closest thunder sphere.

A bright Electro line appeared.

It tethered me to the thunder sphere. I felt the natural connection that Professor Guuji spoke of—a tugging pull from within. A scream nearly escaped me when my body zipped into the air. The propelling force stopped at the first thunder sphere, but I didn't get a chance to recover.

I was falling.

This time, I really did scream. Terror gripped me in my speedy descent. With no windglider to land with, I would either die here—Professor Guuji only stared from above—or find a way back up. The line. I had to make use of the line.

It was no longer connected to the first thunder sphere, but the second one. Sucking in a breath, I desperately tapped into the pull and rapidly traveled upward. In a few heartbeats, I reappeared at the same level as the thunder spheres.

One more left.

Not keen on dropping like a stone, I waited for the line to tether me to the final thunder sphere and was instantly transported. My heart thundered in my chest—too stressed to think about anything besides getting back to land. Thankfully, the thunder spheres operated the same on return, and I collapsed to the ground with shaky limbs.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

I ignored her. Wait, bad idea. She'd abandon me if I did that.

"It was scary," I wheezed and slowly got back on my feet. "Would you have saved me if I didn't figure it out?"

Professor Guuji chuckled, though I couldn't seem to grasp what she found so amusing. "Why bother asking? You figured it out."

I pretended she said 'yes' instead.

"Our second objective is to strengthen your connection with Electro. Hands-on learning is best, as you've recently discovered. You will pass this phase once you no longer rely on the electrogranum's energy to maneuver the thunder spheres. It must be your own."

Walking away was an option—not the option for me, but an option nonetheless. I sighed deeply once. Twice. Then, I abandoned all fantasies of escape and activated the electrogranum. It would take several more tries before I'd be remotely comfortable with attempting phase two on my own.

After each try, I got a better sense of directional awareness while traveling at a high speed. Nerves still got to me, and I returned with jelly legs, but less so as time went on. Strangely enough, I never tired—not fully. Interacting with the electrogranum restored energy bit by bit.

When my feet landed steadily on the ground, I knew it was time.

Standing at the edge and targeting the first thunder sphere with a laser stare, I saw that laser take form as the tethering line of Electro. It flickered when my confidence waned and grew strong when I took a slow breath. Two slow breaths later, I bolted into the air.

One, two, three thunder spheres out. Two, one, and back on the ground.

Did I…really just do that? Me?

"Well done," Professor Guuji said and patted my shoulder. It surprisingly felt very nice. "On to phase three."

No breaks.

She pointed to an Electro dome with a rock structure at the center. "Our third and final objective is to put into practice all that you have learned. Let's see if you can pass through the thunder barrier as you are now—even better if you can dispel it once inside."

Compared to the previous phase, this sounded like a piece of cake. Is this what people called 'saving the best for last?' Call me a fan, because enduring another heart-stopping event was at the very bottom of my to-do list.

If I wanted to pass through the thunder barrier, and if Electro responded to Electro, then I could cut through it with my Electro power. After experiencing the past two phases, I easily brought Electro to life without the electrogranum's aid. Sparks danced on my skin, and I migrated that energy to my hands.

The thunder barrier was large, but only one point of entry was necessary. With my hands braced on the forcefield of energy, I pushed both my body and my power forward.

And promptly got repelled.

Stumbling backward, I shook my arms free of the numb tingle that reached my bones. Stronger. I needed to overcome the thunder barrier's power with something stronger. Relying on the electrogranum was no longer an option—not when I had already proven to Professor Guuji and to myself what I was capable of without it.

This time, I placed my hands closer together, creating a pressure point that would hopefully break through. My energy drained the more I continued to push myself. Without the electrogranum to replenish me, I used sheer will to stay strong.

So close.

My hands slipped past the thunder barrier, but resistance only increased from there. The rest of my body was instantly rejected, and I fell back with more force. Bruises would appear tomorrow, but my focus was on today.

After staggering upright, I took a few steps back to examine the thunder barrier as a whole. The rock structure on the inside had to be powering the whole thing, and it was unlikely that any one spot in the thunder barrier was stronger than the rest. So, maybe I should do the same. Maybe, instead of focusing power on my hands, I needed to wrap it around me.

Getting my hands through had been a feat on its own.

Should I try with the electrogranum? No. I knew I could pull this off.

If I wanted success, I had to give my all. Every last spark of Electro mattered. It skated over my arms, along my legs, in my hair, and across the rest of my body. The night grew bright when I blinked. The world sped fast when I moved. The thunder barrier pulsed with energy, challenging me.

When I made contact, there was no resistance. There was a pull. Like a knife through butter, I slid inside the dome and was overcome with surprise. For a fleeting moment, the distraction caused my Electro power to dissipate. The consequence was immediate—a series of attacks targeted me like an immune system defending the body.

The sudden pain made me wince. Minimal yet troublesome.

Before the thunder barrier could gain an advantage, I sprinted to the center and aimed Electro at the rock structure. Light flashed, blinding me.

The thunder barrier hummed with raw power, but I hadn't even noticed until the sound faded away. It went completely silent.

Bright flares blotted the scene before me as my eyesight returned, revealing that I had succeeded in the third and final phase. The thunder barrier was dispelled.

Right as I began to see clearly, right as euphoric triumph greeted me, and right as Professor Guuji walked over—dark spots took over my vision, and I felt every cell in my body give out. A lot of energy had been spent on this grueling lesson, and I almost shuddered at the thought of what else she had in store.

For now, though, the last thing I remembered hearing before sleep took me was Professor Guuji's silky voice.

"I'm very impressed. Rest now, little one. You've earned it."

speaking of yae miko, good luck to those wishing for her, yoimiya, and the weapons!

a special thank you to serial guest reviewer kankan for their support! 💕