Hello again!

Thanks again for the support on both fics. I'm really glad you guys are enjoying them. This chapter will also be part of the interlude. Lumine's journey to Liyue will start in the next chapter. I'm also delving into a bit of head cannon territory here so yeah. Disclaimer is in the first few chapters.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Kurama/spirits/beasts talking"

Diluc walked down a dark hallway, followed by Kaeya. After the former made a deal with Naruto to make a decision once he saw what the Lesser Abyss Order was about, Naruto decided to hold a meeting with the others the very next day. Right now, Diluc was on the way to said meeting with Kaeya because Naruto had left earlier to gather a 'new ally'. Even though Naruto promised him no harm, he was still nervous. He was meeting the leaders of the Abyss order, arguably some of the strongest beings in the world after all. After a rather long walk, they came to a moderately sized room with 6 chairs around a circular table. Kaeya took a seat and gestured for Diluc to take one, which he did right next to Kaeya. Right on cue, two people arrived and took their seats. One of the people was dressed in black with a half mask covering the right side of his face and the other looked like a copy of the Traveler if she were a male. 'Wait a minute.' Before Diluc could say anything, Naruto's voice rang out from behind them. "Hey Dain, Aether. Hope I'm not too late!" That just about confirmed Diluc's suspicions. The other one looked like a gender bent copy of the Traveler because he was the Traveler's brother.

Kaeya laughed. "Don't worry. They just got here. You aren't late."

Naruto sighed in relief. "That's great. We have some really important things to discuss. I also brought a new ally." Looking around, Naruto's eyes settled on the entrance. "That is currently busy admiring the walls. Let me go get him." With that, the blond went back through the entrance and returned with someone familiar in tow. Everyone's eyes widened and Diluc choked on his own spit. "Let me introduce you to the Anemo archon and our newest ally, Venti!"

"Hello! I am Venti, a bard from Mondstadt. Didn't keep you waiting did I?" All that met him was 5 deadpan stares.

Naruto sighed. "Just sit down Venti." Once Venti did as asked, Naruto cleared his throat. "I called for this meeting yesterday because I wanted to properly introduce you guys to my adoptive father Diluc Ragnavindr. You might know him from all the times he destroyed our bases. That, and to introduce Venti, who has agreed on an alliance between himself and the Lesser Abyss order." With that, Naruto turned to face Diluc. "Dad, the Lumine copycat is Aether, and I-am-emo over there is Dainsleif, aka Dain." Aether let out an indignant shout and Dain just crossed his arms and closed his eyes, already being used to Naruto's eccentrics. The others, except Diluc, just laughed. Soon enough, Naruto explained the events of the previous day and that Diluc was willing to hear them out about the two Abyss orders.

After some explanations, Diluc put his head on the table and groaned. "So you're telling me that the Abyss monsters are people from a nation called Khaenri'ah that had to be destroyed by the archons 500 years because they were being violent for no reason? How does that even turn them into Abyss monsters? Also Naruto. You said you woke up in the abyss after being banished from your village in a place called the Elemental Nations? I thought you took a ship here from Inazuma or something." Diluc's words were laced with confusion.

"I don't know either dad. But the abyss as vast, and it is safe to assume that it spreads under the EN as well." Naruto said. "But more importantly, I'd like to discuss the alliance that we have with Venti over here." The bard just smiled and waved.

"Before that, can you clarify one thing for me please?" Diluc cut in before Naruto could continue. At the latter's nod, Diluc asked, "If you knew the Traveler's brother and where he was, then why didn't you just tell that to the poor girl? You saw how distraught she was."

"It's because we are playing a very dangerous game here and I don't want to drag my sister into it, Master Diluc. If she knew what we were doing, I have no doubt that she'll try to join us, but I don't think I can consciously put my sister in harm's way like that." Instead of Naruto, it was Aether that answered the man's question. "So, I asked Naruto, who I'd trust with my life, to keep an eye on her for me while I'm not here. As a small favor, could you keep this from my sister?"

After listening to the heartfelt explanation and request by Aether, Diluc gave a nod of understanding while Naruto smiled. "Don't worry Aether, I'll take good care of your sister!" He said cheerfully. 'This guy is so dense.' Was what went through everyone else's heads when they heard what he said.

"Anyway, let's shift to more important topics. Are you all fine with dad being here?" Naruto's question was answered with nods, showing that they trusted Diluc. "Alright then, what I wanted to talk about was this." Naruto pulled out a small box about 2, ½ inches in size. Opening it revealed a blue and green chess piece with a strong Anemo aura that made a small breeze in the room they were in. "This is…" Dain said in awe. "The Anemo Gnosis. Our bard friend here wanted to part ways with it and let the Crimson Witch steal it, so I snagged it from her hands. Venti agreed to part ways with it and I believe he has been planning it for a long time."

"What makes you say that Naruto?" Aether asked him, still in awe that the blond had actually managed to get his hands on a Gnosis, the Anemo one nonetheless.

Naruto picked up the gnosis, but his fingers stopped at a small Anemo barrier. "Well, it's hard to notice, but if you look at it closely, the power in this Gnosis is basically depleted. This Gnosis currently holds the power over Anemo but not the winds, which is rather strange. I believe that the power over the winds was given to Dvalin. Am I right Venti?" Looking at the jaw dropped expressions of everyone else, Naruto realized that he had geeked out and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Sorry."

Venti closed his mouth and shook his head. "How do you know that Naruto?"

Naruto put his finger on his chin. "I mean it wasn't hard to guess but was I correct?"

Venti threw up his hands in exasperation. "Yes! Why did you think I asked that question?!" The bard took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "How did you figure out all that from guesswork anyway?"

The next day

It was a rather warm afternoon in Mondstadt and the breeze was blowing like nothing had changed. Naruto was walking towards the knight's HQ while he was lost in his head. The events of yesterday were still fresh on his mind and every time he thought about it, he couldn't help but let out a smile. Diluc had listened and decided to accept that him and Kaeya, which meant that Naruto and Diluc's bond was still as strong as ever. As he was walking past Jean's office, he heard the sound of sobbing and decided to take a peek.

Poking his head through a gap in the door, he saw Lumine, Paimon and Jean standing around a small red girl with elongated ears. The girl was the one sobbing and her face had a downcast look. "I hurt someone with my bomb." The girl said before sobbing a bit more. "I broke the rules." Naruto slowly slipped in quietly with exaggerated movements and stood behind Lumine with a finger at his lips to tell Jean to keep quiet about his presence. Jean's lips twitched upwards when she realized what was about to happen.

"Master Jean! Please don't punish Klee!" Lumine said a bit loudly. When Klee turned around to face Lumine, she also saw Naruto with a finger to his lips and tilted her head cutely in confusion. Seeing the stares on them, Lumine decided to elaborate. "The 'person' Klee blew up was actually a pyro Abyss mage that decided to mess with her bombs."

Klee still looked sad. "But Mr Fluffball was only a thief and that was my most powerful bomb. He didn't deserve to get blown up like that." Seeing that Klee was still sad, Naruto decided to step in. Hopefully, jump scaring Paimon would cheer her up.

"It's not your fault Klee!" Just as he said that, Lumine jumped with a squeak and Paimon screamed and almost bolted out the door. Ignoring them, Naruto just knelt down in front of Klee and put his hand on her head with a smile. "That Mr Fluffball was a dangerous person that hurt many people and now, thanks to you, they won't hurt anyone ever again. So don't cry ok?" Klee stopped crying and embraced Naruto in a hug he whole heartedly reciprocated.

"Ok then, Klee won't cry. And Klee will try extra hard to only use her bombs on bad guys!" After hearing that, Naruto broke off the hug and rubbed her head with a smile.

He then turned to Lumine who had an angry look on her face. Ladies and Gentleman, it was at this moment that he knew, he screwed up. Lumine stormed up to him and threw a punch, which was promptly dodged. "Can we talk about this?" A punch to his head, also dodged, was his answer. It was clear that Lumine was mad about his little practical joke and, judging by the others hands over their mouths, they were finding this situation incredibly funny. After dodging a few more punched, Naruto moved behind Paimon, and held her up as a shield, causing the little fairy to yelp. "Calm down Lumine." Finally after some time, the blond girl calmed down and snatched Paimon back, causing the fairy to yelp again, and checked her over. She then let out a huff and crossed her arms while Naruto muttered to himself. "Wow. Talk about being overdramatic." He then turned to the Acting Grandmaster ang gave her a deadpan stare when he saw how hard she was trying to hold in her laughter. Oh well, he was an opportunist. "You ok Aunt Jean? You look like you're about to wet yourself." Any intention to laugh died in Jean's throat as she realized what Naruto just said. Klee fell to the ground in a fit of laughter, followed by Paimon, Lumine and Naruto respectively. After they were all done laughing, Naruto cleared his throat and faced Lumine. "Look, I'm sorry for the scare but I came here to ask you something. I know you are going to Liyue in a few days, so I wanted to ask if I can join you in your journey."

Everyone's eyes widened. "What brought this on Naruto?" Jean asked with a slight tremble in her voice. "What about Diluc? Did he agree to this?" She would never say it out loud but Naruto had become somewhat of a younger brother to her and she was quite sure that there were other people that shared similar sentiments about the blond. But above all else, she was concerned about her sister Barbara. To the young Deaconess, Naruto was her only trustworthy friend that she could confide anything to. Heck, Jean was sure that, at this point, Naruto knew more about her sister than she did. She was going to be devastated.

"Why do you want to travel me all of a sudden?" Jean was pulled out of her thoughts when Lumine decided to join in to the conversation. She was curious as to why Naruto of all people wanted to join her on her journey. Afterall, her journey will be long and while she would love to have a companion that didn't spend all her Mora on food, she wanted to know why this person that met her just around a month ago wanted to accompany her on this long journey.

Naruto just smiled. "Well, in case it wasn't obvious, I am not from Mondstadt and I'd like to see the rest of Teyvat. What better way to do it, than with a friend?" A rather simple answer that everyone understood. "So what do you say Lumine? Do you want to answer now, or maybe some other time?"

Lumine thought it over. She had heard about his skills from Amber and it could be helpful to have someone that can fight, maybe even share her commissions, tag along. Paimon was great and all, but the little fairy couldn't fight and ate so much, Lumine didn't know how she still stayed afloat. Besides, it would be helpful to have someone who might be able to relate with her on this journey. Amber, and Naruto himself, had said that he wasn't from Mondstadt so maybe he just wanted to find where he was from. After thinking it through, Lumine made a decision. She turned Naruto and gave him a smile. "Ok Naruto. You can join me on my journey. It would be nice to have a travel companion that doesn't spend all my Mora in one restaurant."

Naruto smiled and Paimon floated around in confusion before perking up. "HEY! You take that back Traveler! Paimon is not that greedy!"

"So you admit that you are greedy?" Naruto followed up with a smile.

Paimon let out a squeak when she realized what had happened. "I will get you back for this one day whiskers!"

"Keep yapping, Yapping fly!" Naruto said with a closed eyed smile and a small wave. Klee started laughing while Paimon looked scandalized. Even Lumine looked like she was going to laugh. Naruto then approached Paimon and held up a fist. "Let's continue this some other time, shall we Paimon?" The fairy smiled and reciprocated. Naruto turned to look at the others. "Since Lumine agreed to let me join her journey, I want to meet some friends before we leave. Considering that she saved Mondstadt, maybe we could throw a party for Lumine?"

Lumine shook her head. "There's no need for that. I'd much prefer to get going as soon as possible, though that doesn't mean I won't visit."

"Same here. I'll also come for a visit every now and then!" Naruto followed up and turned to Lumine. "So when are you planning to leave?"

Lumine thought about before speaking. "It's best if we start as soon as possible, so maybe tomorrow afternoon?"

Naruto smiled. "Sure. I'll meet you at Dawn winery. It's just off the path so you can just walk in there for a quick stop. Anyway, I have to go and meet some people before leave. You'd better say your farewells too, Lumine. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, Naruto walked out of the door, leaving the others alone with their thoughts.

Jean sighed and looked at Lumine. "Traveler. A word if you would." Lumine shared a confused look with Paimon and walked up to the Acting Grandmaster. "It may not look like it, but Naruto is quite special to a lot of people here Be it Diluc, Barbara or even Lisa, Naruto has a place in everyone's hearts as a reliable friend. If he said he will return, then he most probably would. He is, without a doubt, very skilled, but can I ask you to keep an eye on him?" Hearing the genuine request, Lumine gave Jean a nod.

Naruto was making his way to the church to meet with some people he knew. If he was right, he'd be able to find two people he wanted to say farewell to in the church. Right on cue, he saw a certain unlucky adventurer coming out from the church, slightly wet, followed by a worried Barbara. He chuckled at the familiar interaction and started walking a bit faster to try and catch them. "Benny! Barbara! Wait up!" The two turned around and smiled when they saw who was approaching.

"Brother Naruto! Good to see you! Want to join me on an adventure?" The ever so enthusiastic Bennett asked. Barbara, however, did not look too happy about it.

"Didn't I tell you to rest? This is the 5th time you came to me for healing this week and it's still the third day!" Barbara said, her voice slightly raising towards the end. Truthfully, she could not understand how the young adventurer was still alive. He came to her almost every day for healing after having an accident and she was quite worried and impressed that he manages to live through so many near death encounters.

Seeing their interaction, Naruto chuckled. "Sorry Benny, but I won't be joining you on an adventure any time soon. I decided to join Lumine on her journey to find her brother." The teenagers' faces gained a downcast expression. Barbara opened her mouth to speak, but Naruto spoke before her. "Don't worry, I'll visit as much as I can. Maybe I'll even bring you some souvenirs form somewhere." While this made it slightly better, the duo still couldn't help but feel sad that one of their best friends was going to leave. "Anyway, I've got to tell this to some other friends. I'll see you later!" Naruto turned around and waved at them before jogging towards the gates.

Naruto was running towards Dragonspine to catch a certain Outrider that he was told was patrolling the area. While he was on his way, a red speck caught his eyes and he changed direction. Once he saw who it was, he slowed down and quietly walked up behind the Outrider he was looking for, as quietly as possible. Once he was right behind her, he smacked her shoulder and shouted, "Boo!"

Amber screamed and jumped like a rabbit, before drawing her bow and knocking a Pyro charged arrow on her bow. When she saw Naruto, she dismissed her bow and pouted. "You know I don't like surprises like that Naruto. I thought you'd save the pranks for Eula."

Naruto put up his hands in surrender and chuckled. "Sorry. Not going to stop it though." After a small stare down, Amber cracked a smile and Naruto put down his hands. "Anyway, I'm here to tell you that I'll be joining Lumine on her journey to find her brother." After hearing the news, Amber's face drooped. She might not admit it, but since they met, he had quickly become someone she really cared for. To her, Naruto was a great friend and partner who had helped her many more times than she would like to admit, so to hear that he was leaving was not something she ever imagined she'd hear.

"What do you mean Naruto?" She asked with a slight tremble in her voice. "What about Master Diluc? Did he agree to this?"

Naruto chuckled, but stopped when he saw Amber's expression. "Sorry. Aunt Jean had that same question, and yes, he did agree to this. As for why, you know how I'm not from Mondstadt right?" Amber nodded. "Since I came here, I've heard tales of other lands and nations, and they got me curious. So, since Lumine is going to be travelling around Teyvat, I'll be joining to help and to keep her safe." Amber nodded weakly and Naruto noticed the even more melancholic atmosphere. "Don't worry. I won't be gone forever. If you need, I can write to you and the others?"

Amber nodded her head before facing down and balling her fists. After a few seconds, she lunged at Naruto and embraced him in a bear hug as she stifled a few tears. Normally, she wouldn't be this sad over a friend leaving, but Amber was a knight that was regularly out on the field and knew almost everything that could kill you in the wild. She also knew that the number of said things was also quite high. She was worried about her friend. Eventually, she pulled away from the hug and looked Naruto in the face. "Promise me you'll be safe." She said weakly.

Naruto gave her a small smile and said, "Of course Amber. Anyway, I've got to meet with some more people so see ya!" With that, he turned around and ran back towards the city.

That afternoon, Lumine was walking around Mondstadt, admiring the city and putting important little details into her memory. She was leaving tomorrow and she had already said goodbye to everyone she knew from her short time in the city and it went… a bit strangely. From what she saw, almost everyone had had told her to avoid mentioning that Naruto would be joining her, unless she wanted to meet the wrath of the fangirls. Apparently, there were so many that Lumine wondered how Naruto didn't know about them yet. While she was lost in thought, she heard Paimon say something and zoom away. Breaking out of her stupor, Lumine caught up with Paimon and gave her a look, causing the fairy to slow down. "What got you so exited Paimon? See a new fool stall anywhere?"

Paimon huffed and crossed her arms. "Do you think all Paimon knows is to eat? Anyway, Paimon was going off to see Whiskers over there and ask him if he's ready to go!"

"And why do you need to do that?" Lumine asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Well he's travelling with us isn't he? So, what's wrong if I want to know if he's bringing any mora for food?" Ah, so that was why the little fairy was interested in Naruto. She just wanted to steal his Mora. Paimon's eyes widened when he realized what she spilled. "P-Paimon means she wants to go see if he is ready. Yes! That's what Paimon means!" With that, she flew off without another word to hide her embarrassment, while Lumine was struggling to hold in her laughter. After calming down, she walked over to where Naruto was talking to a passerby while ignoring Paimon.

When Naruto saw her, he smiled and gave her a small wave. "Hey Lumine! I wanted to introduce you to someone. This is Agar. He's a travelling merchant that has travelled to many nations. I wanted to know if he had any clues about you brother." Naruto enthusiastically introduced the person standing next to him. Lumine on the other hand, wasted no time in digging into the nervous looking 'merchant' next to her friend.

"Hello Agar! My name is Lumine and I'm looking for any clues on my brother's whereabouts." While Lumine was questioning (read as interrogating) him, Agar seemed like a nervous wreck. He was lightly sweating and his eyes were darting everywhere, while Naruto was giving him a thumbs up. Once Lumine was done, Agar took a deep breath.

"As you already know, my name is Agar. Nice to make you acquaintance, Miss Lumine." Agar spoke with a bow. "I haven't seen a person with the description you gave and all my goods have been sold, so there isn't much I can do for you. But, I wish you luck on your journey across Teyvat. They say it's the journey that matters and not the destination, but there's no problem in prioritizing a journey."

That wasn't the right thing to say, because Lumine's face looked downtrodden. "Oh. Well, I'll see if I can buy something from you some other day." She left without another word while Naruto looked at her with a sympathetic face.

The second she was out of sight, Naruto turned to Agar with a deadpan expression. "I told you to prepare, and that's what you say to her? I thought you knew her well. And prioritize the journey? What does that even mean?"

Agar threw up his hands in exasperation. "That was too soon! I didn't think I'd meet her that soon! And 'Agar'? The 'travelling merchant'? You really couldn't come up with anything better?" They weren't shouting, but it certainly felt like they were.

"What did you want me to say? Off duty, inefficient Knight of Favonius, or secret agent of the Fatui?"

"You could have let me make up something. I would've made up something cool."

"Like what? The last time I let you make the nicknames, you decided to call yourself 'Tresure hoarder Sam' and call me 'Blond wolf'. The name literally had 'treasure hoarder' in it. You're about as good as Diona when it comes to covering up someone's identity." Naruto's comeback left 'Agar' speechless.

"I do not know what to say about that. Can we take this to your room?" Naruto grabbed his hand and both vanished, leaving many watching fangirls wide eyed. This was going to have some very bad repercussions.

The two appeared in Naruto's bedroom in Dawn winery and 'Agar' plopped down on the bed. "Tell me one thing." Naruto turned to face him. "Why did you pick travelling merchant of all things. Wouldn't it vigilante or crime fighter been cooler."

Naruto sighed. "I picked travelling merchant because they travel. This way, if your sister meets you in another nation, all you have to do is show her some goods from a different nation for sale and there will be no suspicion placed on you. Same can't be done with either of the jobs you mentioned just now, can they Aether?"

'Agar' sighed and squeezed his index finger and thumb, causing the illusion to shatter and reveal Aether sitting on the bed. "I guess that makes sense."

Naruto gave him a small smile. "So how did it feel meeting your sister in a long time?"

Aether smiled slightly. "Nerve racking at best. For a moment, I was sure she would know it was me. It's sad I can't tell her who I am, or what I am doing yet. I hope you'll keep her safe my friend. Or else." Aether summoned his sword and ran a sharpening stone down the side of it before making it disappear.

Naruto sweat dropped a bit before clearing his throat. "Ignoring that, I wanted to ask you something. How would you feel if I dated your sister?" He gulped when he saw a sadistic smile appear on Aether's face.

"And why would you ask me that?" Aether asked, somehow keeping the smile intact.

"Mom and Kurama have been shouting at me to ask her out whenever I see her and I am hoping your words can silence them. Please." Naruto gave a hopeful smile.

Aether dropped his smile. This was news. Big news. Maybe he could finally get back at him for all the times he pranked them all. And if the worst did happen, at least it wasn't that aggressive ginger. "Sure. I don't mind." The look on Naruto's face was priceless. His smile remained the same but all the life had drained out of his eyes. A few seconds later, Aether burst out laughing.

In Naruto's head, Kurama and Kushina were laughing their heads off. Even Minato had joined in. "'Traitors!'" The words meant for Aether and Minato only made everyone laugh harder. "HAHAHAHA! Now you've got to ask her out brat!" Kurama said between laughs. Naruto just looked at Aether and grabbed his head in a headlock before rubbing his head, causing him to cry out in pain. "Traitor! You traitor! Now I'll never her the end of this from them!"

4550 words. Longer than the last one.

Aether has met Lumine! Just wanted to let you know that if you see this Agar charcter anywhere else, it is probably Aether. I also gave Naruto the curse of the fangirls cause it's fun. As mentioned before, this will be the last interlude chapter, and the next one will be the start of the Liyue arc. Also, I have laid down the groundwork for Naruto x Lumine. On the flip side, don't expect the ship to sail just yet, because that will happen much, much later. I want this one to be more of a slow burn fic, so the ship will come into play around Inazuma. Also, if it wasn't obvious, there will be a return to Mondstadt for story quests. Don't want to miss any genshin content now do we? That will be all from me. Please leave a review. Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one!