Chapter 187

Looking closer, the object was indeed a Vision. An Anemo Vision of the wind.

"I have no idea at all how I got this..." Yomite mumbled to himself. "You say it was in the coin pouch I gave you?"

Paimon nodded. "So even Bad Tattoo doesn't know where it came from...weird..."

(Come to think of it, I did hear some weird whispers back then...I could have gotten it around that time...)

He wondered if it happened while he was kissing with Fischl.

He was sure that the Vision was his, because from what he knew, the Visions would glow when a user worthy of them touched them, but once someone else did, their light would fade into nothingness.

"So what now? I should probably just keep it, any objections?" He asked, almost grinning.

Gaining a new power wouldn't be bad, but he had yet to utilize his old one properly. He knew he was a failure at that.

Still, training two powers at once might be too tough.

(I might have to look for Lisa again. I hope she'll help me with this. I could also ask Iris since she seems to be knowledgeable about elements but I feel like Lisa would be a better alternative in the long run because she graduated in a famous university for mages.)

"It belongs to you, Party Leader. It's yours to keep."

Lumine hummed sweetly, giving Yomite a brief smile.

She didn't know why but whenever she looked at him, she just felt like smiling for no reason. It was like he was her good luck charm.

He stirred emotions within her, strong ones, feelings of warmth and fondness and an unwanted desire that took root in her chest every time he looked at her.

But she always managed to repress those emotions deep within her, remembering her own words.

(He won't live that long. It's pointless. I'll rather stay alone. So stop fantasizing. Focus on getting stronger and finding your brother.)

He was like her barrier. Her layer of protection. As long as she stayed in one piece, as long as his image never left her mind, he would always be there to protect her.

...

..

.

Just like a true friend should.

.

..

...

Was he truly just a friend? Yes. In his mind, he considered her a friend, but could she say the same about herself?

Despite it being hard to admit it, she wasn't quite as easy to approach.

She seemed timid whenever she spoke about feelings, afraid of losing control and revealing things. Not everything she said about herself to others was correct either, to put it bluntly.

She wondered if his mask ever fell down every now and then.

Just like hers.

If he ever felt like breaking down and crying from all the stress that's been piling up on his shoulders like rocks weighing him down, surely a weak voice amongst many could probably call it victory or liberation.

Maybe underneath his cheerful and funny exterior, he was just like everyone else. A lonely guy who needed friends, someone to hold on to, to reassure him. Someone to set him free.

(Stop fantasizing.)

There was just something 'special' about Yomite. Something she could detect right away whenever they met.

(Stop it...)

She wasn't a mind reader after all.

Yet, everything about him screamed familiarity and comfortability to her and it made her want to hug him at any given chance, wherever it may be.

(Why can't you just...stop?)

It irritated her when these kinds of thoughts clouded her mind like foggy waters. She wanted to fight back, make herself numb, block all sorts of intimacy.

Those empty promises her thoughts were making sounded so childish, but deep down, she always wished there could be more to their relationship than friendship, that their distance was unnecessary.

That he was just as willing to go deeper into a closer bond with her, despite already knowing it would never be able to go beyond that.

The way he teased her and cheered her on so subtly, it became clearer to her that she wanted more, but her weakness always got in the way of her goals.

If she wasn't so weak, she would have already found her brother.

If she wasn't so weak, she would have already sorted out her feelings.

If she wasn't so weak, she would have already gone into that direction she desperately desired. But her weakness ended up dragging her down into an endless pool of meaningless inner struggles that made her feel smaller, worthless, and unloved, unable to heal from all her pain and scars from being alone for so long.

She should instead need to remain apart from him, until all that wasted energy was spent, until her journey ended.

Eventually, she would meet the end of it.

Eventually, she would realize what she wanted to fulfill.

Eventually...she would start loving him, realizing her affection for him without reservations.

Only then would she be free to join him...

***

The loud discussion about Visions woke up both Fischl and Hu Tao from their sleepy haze.

Fischl was a morning person and actually enjoyed being awake earlier than she had to but somehow, she overslept her usual 4 Am wake-up time by more than 6 hours...

While both were confused as to why they had been awakened, they had enough sense left in them that they hurriedly moved out of bed in case something bad happened.

"Morning, girls."

""Morning.""

Fishing through the cupboards they found four slices of bread and milk for breakfast.

After filling themselves up, the two girls excitedly jumped around, wishing to go on a quest at any moment.