Cold Clouds 10 - (Genshin Impact, Ganyu!SI)

"Is she always so..."

"Dumb?"

Xiao blinked, the bird enjoying perching on my lap as I sat and oversaw a certain Oni picking fights with some of the kids. No blood was being shed, but poor Chiyo was, as usual, letting the kids beat her.

It was a clear sign that, despite her odd attitude, she was to make a good mother, which was how fate should follow since... I could date my archon GFs because they had no canon children, but Chiyo was to then produce the dynasty that would then influence a big slice of post-unification Inazuma's history.

"I would have... picked a kinder term."

"Which is fine. Chiyo is well aware that she is dumb, but doesn't work to fix it- she always says it's part of her 'charisma'. Whoever taught her that term deserves a lengthy talk."

"She is close to you. Friend?"

"That and apprentice," I hummed, patting his feathered head. "She is trained by me but, of course, she doesn't stand much of a chance to anyone with divine blood. Perhaps if she loses control of her oni heritage she could be threatening, but she is limited, flawed. And that's fine by me."

Xiao nodded, the peace of the grassy terrain reminding me of Inazuma. I was looking forward to go back there, but as the calm and quiet ruled supreme, Xiao's own thoughts were made vocally known by the bird himself.

"...Do you hate your mother?"

I drew a sigh at this, picking the right words for such a sudden query was not exactly what I wanted to pass the time with.

"I don't hate her. I just don't care for her."

"But she's... family?"

I hummed, picking up Xiao and turning him so he could see my serious expression.

"She is not. And I would like this topic to not be discussed. It's unpleasant."

He slowly nodded, and I felt a bit embarrassed as it was really ticking me off. I know I shouldn't mind this but- fuck, how can I keep my annoyance under control when I could tell that moron was spying on me from one of the clouds up above?!

Like, I had expected that meeting to be a brief unexpected encounter, but I could feel the foolish Qilin's eyes staring at me from above and- and that was messing with my temper. So, I did the best I could to ignore it. Ignore and ignore and... ignore.

Eventually, I was glad that Chiyo got tired enough that we could retreat to the small house we were to use. It was the one that dad and I had lived in. It hadn't changed at all ever since and... Chiyo was happily hurled into the bath tub to get that muddy layer off her butt.

I wasn't exactly doing the physical effort, but I was there to make sure that the oni didn't skip on all proper steps of cleaning up as she would usually do to 'get through with it faster'.

After that, the girl decided it was a worthy time for a nap and I decided to rest too before it was time to properly leave. Xiao was a bit irked he couldn't linger some more, but I promised I would have been around to have him give me some last salute before I left.

I wasn't planning to sleep, but I definitely got to bed, picked some books I brought from Inazuma I intended to finish and I was blessed with two hours of relative peace. Chiyo was snoring somewhere nearby, her own slumber undisturbed as I went on to finish one of the books and... perceive a few strong individuals at the entrance.

Closing the second book right as I had finished reading the first sentence, I got up from bed, mustered all my remaining patience, and I hoped this wasn't going to escalate to a point where I may have to smack a bitch up.

At the door, I was greeted by three women. One was my 'mother', the other was Xianyun, and lastly was... Streetward Rambler. Why the hell is she even here to begin with?

"Yes?"

"G-Ganyu," The woman that many would define as my mother spoke up, voice trembling and all. "I have come here to... to apologize."

"...What for?"

I think she had been expecting a 'no' or something akin to a rejection. My 'confusion' actually caught her off-guard.

"For not having been around," Streetward Rambler added, and I blinked flatly.

"What for?" I repeated with the same tone.

The trio appeared a bit tense at my flatness, but I didn't care.

"Your mother wishes to just make up for what happened and why she couldn't be around."

...

"Only for that? I mean, if I had to sound apologetic to something like that, then I would also extend it to the way this happened."

The older Qilin went stiff at this, while the two other Adepti turned to her for a brief moment.

"What do you mean, Ganyu?" Streetward Rambler. "Your mother told us that your father sought to have you and she gave you to him."

"My father was struggling economically and didn't even know I existed, so I doubt that was indeed the case. Especially since I remember the day you left me with him. Dad was so worried on how to make this work considering his already precarious situation."

"I-I am sorry-"

"You are not," I rejected her words, this time adding more still to my voice. "The only thing you are sorry for is that you had to ditch what I am now. Back then, it was a noble sacrifice and whatever. But not only did you try to use my father as an excuse to cover your ass, but I bet you didn't even know how much he loved you."

"Ganyu-"

"I am not even interested in whatever this is all about," I interrupted Xianyun. "Like, she is not my mother. She gave birth to me, but I had a single father. Someone that put sweat and blood into sustaining himself and me, always telling me that you had a good reason to have left me with him, but... after what you did, I doubt that's truly the case. The only one you should 'apologize' is him. But you couldn't even visit his tomb, couldn't you?"

"...I couldn't."

"I am going to guess why," I hummed dryly. "The shame of being such a rotten individual makes you disgusted of even showing your face there. He would let you speak, he would have been by your side- but now? I have no reason to bother with this."

I closed the door despite some protest from the other two adepti. As I walked away, I could hear those two actually pressing the older Qilin about those important details, highlighting how she hadn't told them about it so... I walked back to my bed and resumed my reading session.

The trio left, but I was glad that this didn't escalate into a messer business. Once Chiyo had finished napping, we got ready to leave and I waited for Xiao for that small promise. I told him he could visit whenever he wished but that I didn't plan to check Guili for a few years due to some 'unsavory reasons'.

With that wrapped up, I formed my cloud and I brought the oni girl back home to Ritou where we could resume our usual daily life. I could tell that any visit in Guili was going to be a labor, but for now I was focusing on helping the twins unifying Inazuma and then maybe, who knows, check the other islands in the region.

Time was favorable to me for now, but I was still wary of a certain kitsune in the shrine just beside Ritou...

AN

Next time... Ganyu faces the predecessor of Yae Miko as Chief Priestess!