Just another day

"I'm guessing you haven't told her…" said the blue-haired lady with a kind knowing smile to the person at her side.

The taller man looked up from his plate with confusion written in his eyes.

"About what?" he asked his brow furrowed in stupor as if he was trying very hard to think about what he has forgotten...

Ganyu sighed and rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disappointment. It was always like him to forget about such an important date, after all, it was the day that belonged to him so it would be meaningless in his view.

"Wait…" a tinier voice interjected, even as food remained in between her teeth "...is something happening today?" she asked while gulping down the pieces noisily, totally lacking in decorum.

Ganyu grumbled at her manners as she grabbed one of the napkins on the table reaching across to clean the little 'lady's' mouth, even as the girl blushed and tried to turn her head away from it… though a quick glare was enough to 'appease' her as it were.

"It's October twenty…" she said resolutely as if waiting for some grand all-knowing understanding to suddenly happen towards the teacher and student duo now eating with her…

They simply stared at her with the same dumbfounded expression.

She huffed closing her eyes… seriously this boy, he lived to anger her.

Well, then only one thing left to do.

She reached out with her hand grabbing unto pliable skin…

"Oi Ganyu, twaht huwts." the man said in a monotone voice as his right cheek was put into a two-finger hold, his lips stretchering out slurring his words.

She looked up at him with an utterly unimpressed stare "It's your birthday Jingwei."

The adepti let go of the reddened patch of skin.

He rubbed it for a second before frowning "Oh… so it's been another year."

Ganyu opened one eye to give him a smoldering glare.

"It's your birthday?" Shenhe finally gathered her thoughts as she watched the two adults bicker in front of her.

The white-haired man turned towards her with half-lidded bored eyes, he just didn't get what the big deal was "Seems so…" he shrugged and continued to play with his food "...It's just another day."

There was a snarl of disapproval at his words but very little else passed between the two.

Shenhe looked at the two adults nervously…

It had been one month since she had first met the half adepti with blue hair and ever since then they had visited the little city every week, it was a bit of a walk and it pretty much meant that one of her only two free days was pretty much out… but it was worth it.

Not only for herself but for him too.

He started to smile a lot more as if some weight had been lifted… not that she had never seen a smile from him. He always tried to give her one when she was around or did good but it always seemed a bit forced, not that he wasn't happy for her but it always seemed that bigger problems were ruminating around his head that didn't allow him to truly appreciate the now.

All in all, it seemed to be a good thing that they had started coming along weekly to visit the other adepti.

She was extremely kind and always seemed to be doting on both of them… and she was about the only one that seemed to truly make Shirou falter a bit. Her words seemed to be the only ones he truly took to heart.

Shenhe had never seen her mad, honestly, she thought the woman couldn't possibly even have a single 'bad' emotion…

But it seemed her teacher had a knack for creating miracles.

"I just don't see the big deal is all."

He said shrugging, his eyes unable to follow the older woman's own.

Ganyu simply huffed in annoyance, shaking her head in disapproval "Do as you wish, you're an adult and can make your own decisions… still…" she grabbed something from below the chair, it was a neatly wrapped box with a bow on top "...here…"

She lifted it up with both hands, her eyes shining slightly.

"...even if you don't care about it…"

She dropped it to his own awaiting hand, smiling slightly at his dumbfounded face.

"...I always will…"

Then she simply went back to eating her food.

Shenhe looked on feeling slightly left out as the duo of adults had their little moment, a jealous burning feeling coming up from inside her.

It was a pretty moment, and a part of her was happy to know that he had someone like that… but another sentiment rose far higher, one that didn't feel as good.

To have that kind of parental love...

Her fork hit the plate a bit harder than she had intended.

Not that anyone seemed to notice as even her teacher seemed far too engrossed in the small box in his hands.

He slowly and meticulously peeled the festive paper off, making sure not to rip apart the flimsy sheet. The box in and of itself was unremarkable, just a brown cardboard container, nothing more nothing less, so he simply moved on...

The adepti pushed the top up, his eyes widening at the contents within.

Shenhe tried to get a better look, her curiosity getting the better of her as she stood up on her tippy toes, though due to the table's size was unable to catch even a glimpse as Shirou stood motionlessly staring...

Finally, though, he seemed to snap out of his reverie and grabbed the small object showcasing it for all to see.

Her eye twitched slightly as a small frown forced its way into her lips.

She didn't get it...

...It was just an arrowhead…

Though from the way her guardian seemed to regard it, it might as well be an object from the gods themselves.

Ganyu smiled softly an odd sense of nostalgia filling her eyes.

"Do you remember it?" she asked softly, her voice little more than a happy whisper "When you first asked me to teach you how to use a bow? That was from the first arrow you made…"

The woman grabbed his hand and gently caressed his cheek as his eyes moved back to hers.

"...Don't forget where you came from…." her voice continued with the same soothing tone, but there seemed to be a silent plea within her words "...even as you traverse the world, don't forget where home is… okay?"

The man stared for a little longer, a whole conversation seemed to happen as the duo simply watched each other's eyes silently.

After a while, though he merely nodded as if answering her plea.

The bluenete smiled even more radiantly making the whole restaurant seem warmer by the minute, such was her happiness at such a simple move.

Shenhe couldn't help but cringe as she tried to make herself as small as possible…

She finally understood what was like to be the third wheel on something, not wanting to break the moment but at the same time wanting to be anywhere else but here… quite a conundrum.

Thankfully the duo finally stopped, both quietly looking away the air around them still feeling quite cozy and sweet.

"You know…" Shirou started with a quiet laugh "...there's still quite a few hours left before my actual birthday, I wasn't yet born at this time."

He twirled the metal piece in between in fingers in a practiced motion before smirking at her…

"Isn't it bad luck to be given a gift beforehand?"

Ganyu's head swiveled back in a quick motion, her eyes wide and fearful "I didn't know that!" she yelled out startling the other customers "Give it back then…"

Her small hand reached out to his only for it to be pulled back way out of reach.

She pouted at him as he laughed.

"Muuuuuu…" she looked up at him her eyes slightly misted "...why do you always have to tease your mother."

Shirou simply clicked his tongue

"Because you make it easy." he said throwing the metal arrow in the air and catching it back "But thanks Ganyu, I appreciate it."

She huffed but couldn't help the little giggle from coming out.

"So…"

the youngest of the group started a bit awkwardly not really knowing if she should be cutting in between the two.

"...are we gonna do something special for today?"

Her teacher shook his head "No need, this was more than enough."

Shenhe opened her mouth to question him further…

"He is quite stubborn young feather." Ganyu interrupted her with a gentle smile "This is probably the first birthday he even accepted for the last few centuries, let us just be happy about that."

"I see…"

She frowned while staring at the man.

Something about that didn't really sit right with her, to ignore something like this even if that's what he wanted.

A twinkle appeared in her eye…

Well, that wasn't a bad idea at all.

(Jingwei)

"A storm is coming..." Shenhe stated as she looked at the black clouds.

Already the sky seemed to rumble and shake with untapped energy, the little girl groaned on the inside. There was no way they would reach their house before it started raining, just another day getting soaked it seems.

Thankfully she seemed to be immune to getting colds nowadays, otherwise, every visit would be a nightmare during winter.

Shenhe yelped as a hand started ruffling her hair around.

"We just need a few more things then we can go." he said chuckling at the cute little growl she made, what a fierce little lioness…

"You looking for anything specific?" Ganyu asked with her ever-present smile.

"Just some empty books."

The half quilin clicked her tongue in understanding "So you still write huh."

The man simply shrugged some of the light in his eyes dimming slightly "I did promise her I would."

"Shirou…" she started a hand coming to her chest as she looked at him with a pained expression… she wanted to say more but no further sound came from her lips.

It was a difficult subject to breach for both of them, the past wasn't exactly easy to revisit for such long-lived lives and now wasn't really the time to focus on those.

The woman shook her head and watched her surroundings…

Despite the storm closing in, the streets of Jingwei had become rather busy, mostly with construction staff who had been rapidly trying to clean up before the rain started.

With varying degrees of success as far as she could tell.

"Dammed machine." one of them yelled out as he kicked a piece of machinery to the side, though he stopped as soon as he noticed new pairs of eyes "… L-lady Ganyu, my apologies, it seems we're having a small problem."

Ganyu sighed tiredly as every worker around her seemed to eye her for help.

This was, for all intents and purposes, her project, even though she had never really had much experience in structures much less cities.

Until now she had simply delegated most of the work to the vastly more experienced personnel that was given to her by the Liyue qixing and simply oversaw if any sort of corruption or embezzlement happened.

In a way she was here to just be the eyes and ears of the government and it had been going alright, with a few problems and hiccups to be sure, and everyone seemed to take her word far too seriously… but she was used to that after all, she was a well-known adepti.

She did wish that the people of Liyue didn't think of them as all-knowing, there were quite a few blank places in her knowledge despite her age…

Like this one.

Despite being a disciple of Cloud retainer, she simply did not have the mind for machinery.

Thankfully she had someone at her side who did…

"Do you mind if I could take a look?" Shirou said stepping in front of the diminutive woman.

"O-oh…" the earlier worker stated with a stutter "…of course my lord, as you wish."

Everyone made way for him their heads bowed staring at the ground.

Even if they didn't know exactly who it was, it was really easy to tell that he was a being beyond human. After all most of them saw lady Ganyu daily and the man in front of them felt much the same.

The adepti knelled in front of the machine and touched it with a finger, his eyes widening slightly before a soft smile came unto his face.

"Should be rather easy..."

The group of workers surrounded the man in total wonderment as he slowly pieced together what was wrong.

A few questions were asked and responded to amicably, at first the humans seemed nervous around him, not a sentiment born out of caution but one more out of faith and belief, they didn't want to annoy the god in front of them but that soon passed as Shirou took the time to answer everything in detail.

He seemed almost happy to do so.

"I've never seen him like this…" Shenhe murmured as she stared at the commotion in front of her.

Ganyu giggled masking the sound with her dainty hand.

"Be around him for a while and you'll see it often."

The girl crossed her arms and shrugged "If you say so… let's just hope the old timer doesn't waste a lot of time on this, I have something I need done."

The quilin didn't answer back, in fact, she didn't even seem to notice the fact that Shenhe had talked at all, she had simply remained focused on the scene in front of her.

Her eyes slightly misty as two separate images interlocked and became the same.

One of the present…

...and one of the past.

It wasn't exactly a new situation, this one she viewed from a distance…

Should she step in? Probably.

But it had been her bird's decision to help and it was not as if she could stop him when he saw any sort of injustice.

So she would merely watch and step in if things started getting rougher.

"Auugh…"

A small child yelled as he slowly and wobbly ran, eyes blazing, teeth gritted as he tried to ram against another one of the same size.

Though that never came to be as he was swiftly dodged, falling to the ground with a strangled yelp.

He looked up staring hatefully at the hooded figure of his enemy.

"Are you done?" the other boy asked in a detached way, the message loud enough to be heard by those surrounding him as well.

They were all small barely at the age where one starts to understand the world at large, but also one where biases and friendships started.

Where ones started being left to the side and groups formed around the most popular.

Such was the fate of those different…

A quiet sniffling could be heard as the silence stretched among the group of children.

It was that of a little girl around the same age as the group of boys, she was clutching a broken toy to her chest, her naturally red eyes were slightly misty as she quietly sobbed underneath the golden tree.

The hooded boy looked at her, his face still blank before he regarded the others "There's no need to fight, just leave…"

The child on the ground scoffed wiping away his face from dirt as he panted "...whatever…" he murmured black hair shadowing his expression "...let's just go this isn't worth it."

The group scampered away as fast as they could, seems they wanted to save some face.

He scratched his cheek, he didn't really understand it, it's not as if he hit any of them he merely dodged around and redirect some attacks.

Oh well…

"Are you okay?" he asked the girl with a smile.

She looked up at him with wide eyes full of wonderment, he took note of the particular set of irises she had, white flowers, how peculiar "I-i'm fine…" she answered before looking down at her shattered toy, with some sadness...

It was a knight, he could recognize some of the symbols in the colored clothing as that of Mondstat but he couldn't really tell which house, it was never really something he paid much attention towards... still a toy from another country shouldn't exactly be cheap.

"... I just wanted to play…"

The girl sniffed out her eyes getting filled with another set of tears.

The boy sighed as he pulled down his hoodie white hair falling down framing his face.

"Here…" he said as he picked out something from his pocket "...it's not the same but at least you'll have something to play with."

It wasn't exactly a toy, more of a carving than anything else.

It was a woman… a girl? She seemed to be around the age where you shot up and fully grew into one's body, she was wearing armor not too dissimilar to the toy knight but it looked far more regal and less fantasy-like.

The little girl looked at it in wonderment "Pretty…" she said quietly her eyes shining slightly from her unshed tears "… can I really have it?"

The boy nodded and helped her up.

She blushed slightly suddenly becoming nervous in the presence of the other child.

"Jingwei!"

Someone yelled surprising the two children, they immediately turned their heads toward the sound, only barely seeing someone further down the road...

The Blue haired woman waved her left hand out to the duo.

The boy smiled softly "Seems I have to go." he bowed down and pulled his hoodie back up "Until we meet again."

The girl looked on as the unnatural child left without even hearing her own goodbye.

She looked down at the toy wondering if she would ever meet him again.

Ganyu smiled as her child ran towards her fighting every instinct within her to scoop him up and hug his breath away.

Aaaah… too bad he didn't like her doing those things.

Still…

"Oi let me down."

She giggled as she hugged him even tighter in her arms.

He started wiggling his little legs around scrambling with all of his strength… too bad it didn't exactly mean much to someone like her.

The boy stopped trying soon after, giving up to her affections, something she took with even greater fervor.

After a while, though she finally settled the frowning child down.

She giggled yet again, ruffling his hair underneath the hoodie.

"Seems you made a new friend, little bird."

He tilted his head "Did I? I didn't even get her name though."

The half quilin sighed rubbing the back of her head, seriously this child, had no modicum of normality "Well I guess, you can try to talk to her tomorrow."

"Why?" he asked with a blank face, not really understanding the reason.

The woman's eyes narrowed.

And he immediately took a step back.

But was far too late…

"Twat huwts Ganuw."

She pulled his cheek with two fingers "You need friends, Jingwei."

He nodded his head rapidly trying to appease her as best he could.

Which seemed to do the trick as she finally allowed the now burning patch of skin, to go free from her hellish hold.

He rubbed it for a bit with a small pout…

"What am I going to do with you…" she wondered with a small smile as she held out her offending hand for him to grab "It's getting late, I thought you wanted to watch the sunset over the harbor."

The boy nodded and without much fuss allowed her to lead him further up the road to Liyue harbor, they passed the natural rock arch of the mountain above them as they finally heralded the city in front of them.

From this far they could see it all, the ships going south to Inazuma, the people still walking around finishing their day, to the sun going down behind the mountains casting an odd orange glow to the land.

It gave out an odd sense of peace and warmth…

Though the moment was broken as someone grabbed him from beneath his arms and lifted him like a cat.

"Hup." Ganyu said merrily as she dropped him on the wooden railing.

The boy looked up at her as he was forced to sit in the uncomfortable plank, she hugged him from behind with a content sigh.

The boy shrugged, If this made her happy…

"It was a good thing you did back there." she said after a while of sightseeing in silence "I thought that statue was important to you."

"I can just make another."

She giggled yet again "What an unselfish child I have."

"I don't understand…"

She lifted her chin from atop his head "Don't understand what?" Ganyu looked down at his expression noticing his confusion as she brushed aside one of the white locks from his eyes "Not everyone would give away their prized possessions to someone they don't even know."

He frowned as he seemed to think "I didn't really do it for her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… helping her just made me happy I guess." he said unsure if he was explaining it right "Does that make it bad? It's selfish to only think about yourself right?"

"Did you only think of yourself?" she asked gently trying to get to the bottom of his feelings… it seemed like something he had been fighting against for some time.

He shook his head vehemently "No of course not."

"Then what's the problem?"

The boy frowned still not fully sure.

Ganyu sighed and kissed his temple "Where it comes from doesn't matter, you did a good act… the fact that you take enjoyment out of doing good is more of a gift than anything that speaks about your character."

She flicked his forehead, laughing as he yelped…

"So stop being silly…"

The boy in her arms was still young and didn't understand the world fully.

"...there's no reason to think about the why…"

It could be harsh and unfair, especially towards someone who fought against such ideals so readily.

...simply act."

But just like for her, he would be the one to flicker a flame to light up the world.

That was something she truly believed… even now, that those flames have been tempered down, over centuries of fighting, betrayals, and other calamities.

It was the job of the parent to always believe their child would eventually reach their destiny.

He wasn't the boy defending a girl anymore.

But the sentiment was still there.

"I guess we're done here…" he said while cleaning his hands with a napkin, he looked at the duo in front of him with a small smile "…all right then we should probably go, we wasted enough time already."

The man started walking away before someone grabbed his coat.

"Is there something you need Shenhe?"

The girl said nothing for a while, staring at the ground intently her expression shadowed by her hair.

"Mora…" she murmured holding out her hand.

Shirou tilted his head in confusion not really hearing what she said "huh?"

Shenhe gritted her teeth her face going full crimson "Mora alright!" she yelled out surprising everyone still on the road "I want to buy something so just give me some."

The man looked at her curiously before sighing opening his bag of coins and taking out a few dozen, he put them in his pocket and then gifted the pouch to her.

Off to the side, Ganyu laughed softly already understanding what the little girl wanted to do.

"I have enough here to buy what I want, so you can use the rest." he said thoughtfully before waving his pointer finger "No wasting it frivolously though, I'll check what you've done later."

Shenhe balanced the pouch in her hand, it felt weighty enough she guess "Yeah, you got it old timer."

The male adepti sighed "Seriously with that name, Ganyu is older than me and you don't call her that."

"She's also prettier than you."

Ganyu spluttered in embarrassment at the girl's words, the duo though just ignored her.

Shirou nodded sagely "Fair enough."

At this point, steam could be seen coming out of her face as she hid it behind both of her hands.

"Alright then, we'll meet back at the entrance of the city, don't take too long Shenhe."

"Yeah yeah." she lazily waved her hand looking back at the man with half-lidded eyes "I'll be there in time don't worry."

He shrugged "If you say so, just don't cause any problems."

The black-haired girl scoffed, turned, and left without another word, her objective was on the other side of the city so she needed to be quick… hopefully, no other customers remained there, this weather didn't exactly make for selling expensive stuff, but you never knew.

Knowing her luck…

"Be safe!"

She continued moving even as she heard the fluttery yell from a distance… devious plans coming forth to her mind, she had seen one store where she might get what she needed… she had never been inside there herself merely walking in front of it as she did some tasks.

She smiled, tossing the pouch into the air and catching it as it fell down.

It wasn't really something she thought she would ever do for someone else, but… well, after all, he has done for her…

The girl shook her head, no need for those kinds of thoughts right now, she was supposed to be quick about this. Her knees bent down and the air picked up around her. Houses and cobblestone roads passed quickly under her feet, and people around her passed through, some of them giving her a passing glance as the girl almost glided through them never once touching anyone.

It was kinda fun in a way, like a game only she was playing.

But all things must come to an end.

The door of the store opened, the bell atop it clinking with a welcoming sound.

"Oh welcome…"

A far older kind face welcomed her with a smile, as she perused the objects from a distance, it did simmer down slightly as the old woman noticed that it was a child who had entered her small shop.

It seems that everything before had been professional courtesy rather than true emotion.

Oh well…

Shenhe coolly walked in front of the counter, the lady giving her a suspicious sideways glance, but her expression didn't change neither did words come out of her mouth.

She dropped the bag of coins on the table, the round golden pieces shining under the light.

It was always better to show yourself with actions rather than words, off that she believed in fully.

And this again proved it.

Immediately she noticed the change in behavior of the woman in front of her.

"I'm here to buy…" Shenhe declared coldly her expression like that of stone.

The older woman seemed to take a step back for a moment, it was like those eyes were staring directly into her soul, judging her "I-i see…" she stuttered out managing to give a shaky smile to her diminutive customer "...and what exactly are you looking for, young madam."

Shenhe smiled…

Good, seems she was taking her seriously.

(Ganyu)

A little humming sound came through from her closed lips, as she swayed back and forth with happy slightly dazed steps, it had been some time since her last nap and she was feeling a bit drowsy though she refused the dreamy scape's call for her this time.

Every day around those two had become precious and limiting and even a minute spent with her eyes closed was too much to bear.

Still, it did leave her with a somewhat obnoxious… 'energy' problem.

She had her arms wrapped around one of her boys as she leaned her head on his arm… he was much too tall for her to be able to do it on his shoulders but it was still comfortable enough.

He still felt the same way as she remembered, like a warm blanket… she used to hug him like a teddy bear when he was little in one of her daily naps, he used to be so pouty and cute about it but never refused when she asked.

Then again he never refused anyone asking for something…

"Are you still awake?"

His voice whispered near her ear.

"Hmmmm." she tried to respond but all that came out was a small groan…

The man sighed "Maybe it's better if we go to your hotel first."

"There's no need…" she whined a bit as she released his arms and stretched "… I'll be fine, worry about yourselves."

Shirou stopped and looked down at her, his gaze following her every movement with care... by this point they had reached the entrance of the city and the hotel was all the way on the other side. It wouldn't take too long but she'd rather not make a fuss for them...

"Ganyu." he called her out in a serious tone "I would rather waste a few minutes than learn you napped in some random corner, or worse in the wild."

Her eye twitched at the mention of her habits.

Seriously this boy...

"Have a bit of trust in me Shirou, I only sleep where I know it's safe."

He groaned and rubbed his temple "You think everywhere is safe… that's the problem."

The woman frowned and opened her mouth to retort…

"Well isn't this a bit fiery."

...but was interrupted, by an aged but strong voice.

A man wearing an all-black suit approached the duo. His white hair was slicked back and combed showcasing an aged expression with quite a few wrinkles somewhat hidden behind his trimmed beard. He was an older gentleman, in the twilight of his life though still standing upright and tall, his jovial grin didn't hide much of his still youthful spirit.

And those eyes…

Shirou's own narrowed.

…a flower for an iris.

So he was from that family.

The man laughed "Sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help myself when I saw you two."

The adepti's eyebrow rose as he stared at the old man...

That old and still with so much energy?

Shirou sighed "It's fine, we were just about done."

Saying that he still could feel Ganyu's eyes judging him quietly, it wasn't his fault that he couldn't trust her safety to herself.

The woman scoffed as if hearing his thoughts before moving on to looking at the older male, giving him a soft smile "It has been some time Hu…"

He nodded fiercely still with the same wide grin "That it has."

"What brought you here though? Is everything fine at the harbor?"

"I'm just here to sightsee… oh and chaperon a young lady doing some business around these parts..." he stated in a carefree jovial way like he was talking to some long lost friends "...our carriage broke down a bit further from the road but I didn't want to wait so I just walked the rest of the way here."

Ganyu tilted her head and forced a smile… her energy was still at an all-time low and now having to interact with someone who seemed to be always filled with it was getting to her.

"You could have just waited like everyone else though." someone said from a distance, the words filled with irritation.

The old man grinned and turned towards it "Seems you didn't either Lady Ningguang."

A woman this time came into view, wearing a sleeveless white dress that seemed far too intricate and varied in design to be something to casually wear, her white hair was tied up in a ponytail but some of it was out letting it frame her face. Her red eyes scanned her environment for a second, both amusement and curiosity passing between them.

She shrugged, her narrowed gaze lazily passing through the trio "It was going to take another half an hour and I'd rather walk rather than stay outside when a storm is coming." her eyes stopped as they finally settled into her traveling companion "Are you not going to introduce us?"

"aaah…" he let out a disappointing sigh as he shook his head "… but you see I was just getting acquainted with my new friend here."

The older man stared pointedly at the taller one…

"Just call me Shirou."

Ningguang frowned, her curiosity peaking "That doesn't sound like a Liyue name."

"It's the one I have." he said blankly while shrugging.

Her eyes narrowed further, the woman now looking more like a predator waiting for her prey's mistake rather than the businesswoman they had been told about.

Ganyu bit her lower lip… the tension was getting obnoxious…

"I've never seen you two together, didn't know you were friends." she said cutting through the intense staring contest.

"Lady Ningguang helped me expand to Mondstat, to return the favor I'm to help her establish a base in this city."

The lady in question inclined her head slightly to the side, giving him a sideways glance "Your family was one of the founding members of this city so I expect to get a good foothold by the time I return to the harbor."

Hu waved his hand around in a dismissive way "Yes, yes I'll try my best."

Ganyu laughed awkwardly at the duo's interaction… the newer generations were quite cutthroat huh...

"That remains to be seen…"

She took a deep breath from her nose her eyes closing for a second before returning to reality, her eyes narrowing towards something in the distance.

"...there seems to be someone coming our way."

The adepti's eyebrow rose as they both looked back only to see a grey blur that was coming ever closer to them at a rapid speed.

"Well, at least she's finally done." Shirou murmured under his breath before looking back at the blue-haired woman with a smile "We'll come back next week as usual."

She nodded "I look forward to it… and be safe."

A screeching sound could be heard as Shenhe came to a full stop as her shoes scraped onto the blocky road "I'm not late am I?"

She looked around for a second noticing the two new pairs of eyes staring at her with some amount of curiosity…

...oh well, at least have the balls to ask instead of silently judging.

"Are we going?"

He nodded before looking back at his two newest acquaintances "It was nice to meet you both…" he said as he moved past them.

Shenhe smirked and jogged to his side "Bye Ganyu."

The adepti in question threw her a smile and waved her hand as she watched them go.

"So…" Hu started his voice turning unusually serious "...that's him huh."

Ganyu nodded but said nothing.

"Should I tell lord Morax that his wayward son has finally returned?"

The bluenette shook her head "I doubt any of the adepti don't already know." she stated with some sorrow seeping into her tone a melancholic sigh bursting through her lips "They'll talk when both of them are ready."

The man chuckled "Perhaps it's best to leave things as they are, I do believe we had a lot more mountains than canyons before they 'talked' three hundred years ago."

Ningguang's head swiveled to the two, her eyes wide in surprise "Morax? The old archon?" she asked in disbelief "So that means that man is…"

"You should feel honored, it's not every day one meets their god…"

She grunted in return her eyes narrowing toward the silhouettes in the distance.

Honored was the last thing she was feeling right now.

(Shirou/Shenhe)

"Who the hell were those two bozos?" the girl asked in an uncaring way.

Shirou sighed at her words "Nobody you should worry yourself about…"

"If you say so…" she said shrugging it off, it's not as if she cared much about such things… besides she had other stuff to take care of.

Sneakily she took out a small box from her pocket… and immediately threw it at his face "Think fast."

He caught it without a second thought, looking pointedly at her, the question in his eyes was easy to read.

She shrugged "Just open it."

"I'm just deciding if this is an actual present or an attempt at my life…"

The little girl stared at him with a look of disgust "Next time I'll just punch you in the face instead."

A spark of amusement colored his eyes, he couldn't help himself… "You certainly do try that a lot."

"Just open the damn thing, old timer." this time she did growl those words out and took a low stance…

...oh boy seems she was actually serious this time.

He chuckled but did as told, opening the box.

"A watch?" he asked as he took out the object putting it near his face, a small ticking sound could be heard from within as it counted the seconds.

"I didn't really know what you liked, and well… never seen you with one so I thought, why the hell not, you know…" she said with an anxious tone while scratching her arm her eyes unable to follow his, seems she wasn't exactly very confident in this.

He took out the watch and put it on his left wrist, a small clicking sound was heard as the two pieces connected securing the object safely. The metal felt slightly cool to the touch and it would get some time to get used to it, he wasn't one for accessories but he also wasn't one to complain about getting something so earnestly.

So with a smile, he waved away her fears.

"Thank you Shenhe, I like it very much."

She blushed at his words and turned around to hide "Yeah whatever, don't put me on a pedestal after all I just used your money." she spluttered out her voice seemed slightly screechy as it went up in volume, probably from embarrassment "anyway did I get the time right at least?"

Shirou looked at her with confusion, before he understood her meaning "Nah, two minutes out I'm afraid, I guess that's bad luck for me."

She giggled as she started walking again "Guess everything is going according to plan then." she said with some amusement "Let's go before it rains… the clouds seem to be getting hea... vier?

The clock ticked, the hour changed…

...and the world lit up around them.

Shenhe looked up to the sky her mouth agape "What the hell?" she asked to the heavens as they parted showing the all-blue behind them "I've never seen this before."

She turned around to question if he was seeing the same thing, only to find him in an odd trance.

His hand was inside his jacket, his fingers lightly tracing his chest… right where his scar was.

"Shirou?" she asked fearfully trying to snap him out of his reverie "Oi, you hearing me?"

She started to click her fingers in front of him, which seemed to finally work as his eyes snapped away from the nowempty sky.

His hand stopped his movement and he coughed awkwardly "Sorry about that…"

"Riiiiight…"

Shenhe stared at him for a bit more but sighed when she understood he wasn't going to tell her what that was all about, he clearly knew what was going on too considering his reaction… she shrugged it off, it only meant nothing bad was happening so she didn't really need to worry all that much about it.

Oh don't get her wrong, she would get to the bottom of this, but she didn't need all the answers today.

Their relationship had been a rather comfortable give and take, if he didn't want to explain she wouldn't force him to.

"Alright then, let's go... at least we don't have to hurry back home."

He watched her go for a second, before his gaze returned to the sky, memories of old passing through his mind.

The past truly could be an all-consuming void.

And his was full of regrets.

He reached out his hand as if waiting for another.

But nothing, not even the rain, fell from the sky.


And that's that... sorry for the wait again, this took me a bit of time, I would have done it sooner at least a week quicker but got sick... pretty sure it was covid but whatever. Anyway there really isn't that much to say about this chapter at least for me (please review), this isn't a new arc or anything but considering it doesn't have much to do with Shenhe i decided to give it a new title... think of it as a little interlude in between i guess. I'm just putting up things for future chapters really.

Hope you guys enjoy this and happy reading.

Thanks to Ivan Tridelan for helping me out.