#child!god reader

"You're not from here, are you?" Her voice was high pitched and soft, yet resounded in your ears. You couldn't ignore her even if you tried.

"Where is here?" Your voice was equally soft, despite the circumstances there was no flame in your veins screaming at you to get out of this cage.

You couldn't tear your eyes away from the girl's.

The girl smiled, "Here is here, and you are not usually here, are you?"

You frowned at her confusing wording, "I guess you're right."

She hummed and nodded, pleased, "Yes, (Y/n), right?"

For some reason you weren't surprised that she knew your name. You stepped closer, "Yes. Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

"There are few who don't know." She responded simply, "Both your name and mine, as is the way with gods. We are commodities."

"Co...mo- wait what do you mean gods? And you still didn't tell me your name." You pouted, your head spinning from her confusing sentances.

The girl came closer to you, her eyes made your skin crawl, she stared straight through you, every crevice of your soul was seen by her. Yet somehow she was still comforting, smiling and soft, she saw all of you and understood all of you.

"I am Nahida. Do you know where here is?" She dodged questions like a master, making you wonder how many mind games she's played.

"I... don't." You frowned, your eyes growing slowly watery.

Panic erupted in her eyes, "Well, technically you are dreaming right now, but I am more than real. Where your body is, is not where it's supposed to be."

"My...body..." You muttered, "So where is my body then? If I am not where I'm supposed to be?" You worriedly frowned, "Am I at school? I'm not supposed to sleep at school."

Nahida chuckled, "No, it's not as bad as that. You are merely... hmm how should I put this?... It's the same as a bee living in a hive that's not its own but all the bees think you're the queen bee. You are outside of the system, and you're not supposed to be there, but you think it's home. Does that make sense?" She explained, "It's not necessarily a bad thing as you are not negatively impacting anything, but it's not how things are supposed to be. Do you understand?"

You stared blankly at her.

She sighed, slumping her shoulders, "You are a queen bee in a new hive, but in your old hive you were a regular bee." Her gaze turned grave, "The worker bees will all treat you differently. Remember that when you awake."

"W-what?" Your eyes were round and glassy, confused and scared, "What do you mean?"

Her tiny hands cradled the backs of your dominant hand, in your palm a foreign flower bloomed, "Remember my words and you will be alright. We shall meet again when you next dream. Take care, (Y/n) and don't be afraid. You will be taken care of."

Her smile was sweet as the moon and faded just as fast when the sunlight crashed onto your eyes. You groaned, covering your eyes so they wouldn't be burned by the sunlight.

There was a gasp above you, "You're up!" It sounded like a woman.

You blinked blearily up at her. She didn't look the slight bit familiar, and compared to the girl in your dreams she was rather plain looking. The girl in your dreams...

You shot up, My dream!

Your tiny body heaved gasps of air, as you ignored the woman beside you to soak in the surrounding scenery. It was green and beautiful, a large tree reaching its branches up to the sky was nearby, a fantastical city built into it. There was also a rainforest farther away, and you swore you saw a desert even father than that.

"Where... is here?" Your wide eyes looked up at the woman, swimming with confusion and yet - to Dunyarzad's surprise - no fear.

She smiled patiently, "Here is Sumeru, child. I am Dunyarzad, may I know your name?"

You blinked up at her.

You are a queen bee in a new hive. The words echoed throughout your head like a mantra.

"I'm (Y/n). It's nice to meet you Dunyarzad." You smiled up at her, hoping that Nahida's words - whatever they meant - were wrong.

Dunyarzad's breathing halted for a moment, and then she smiled. Large and warm and distant, "It's a joy to meet you, young (Y/n). Are you aware of your purpose here?"

"My... purpose?" Your large, child eyes stared curiously at her.

She nodded, "You were put here for a reason, I know you aren't a child from Sumeru who accidentally fell asleep in a forest. No, you are different. Do you know why exactly you are in Sumeru?"

You hesitantly shook your head as a no, worry filling your large orbs.

"You are here... because you love Teyvat." She grinned, "Isn't that right? You love Teyvat so much and the world knew, so it brought you here. Isn't that lovely?" She smiled so brightly it nearly outrivaled the sun.

You grinned, "Yeah! Though I've never seen Sumeru before, it's so pretty!" You looked around once more, drinking in everything you could see with glee. "So, my purpose is to enjoy Teyvat?" You tilted your head curiously.

Dunyarzad nodded gleefully, "Yes!" She said softly, honey coating her voice, "You were brought here by divine will, your will to be here and to love here."

You grinned brightly, "That's so cool!"

Dunyarzad nodded as you stood up and hopped around excitedly, "Settle down, child. Come," She stood, dusting off her dress, "allow me to take you to Sumeru city. It is much safer there, and comfier than the wilderness."

You looked at her outstretched hand covered in bandages. You gingerly placed your smaller hand in hers and she led you towards the massive tree, who's branches hoped to one day meet the sky.

*~

Before the gate to the city was even in sight, you could feel the stares from wandering people nearby. The way their eyes widened as they caught onto you, breath caught in their throat, their whole bodies turned in your direction.

Dunyarzad was all smiles, even as your hand tightened nervously around hers. You could see droplets of sweat drip down her face, but she remained bright and comforting. Yet you knew something was wrong.

You got closer to her, almost burying yourself in her side, staring at the ground to avoid the stares.

"Dunyarzad! What are you-" You jumped back as a large woman rushed to Dunyarzad.

"Dehya!" She gasped , "Thank the archons. Look, it's-"

The woman with weird... ears(?) on her head and sharp blue eyes grabbed Dunyarzad's arm urgently, "I know-" She shook her head, "I know who it is." She whispered urgently, "Come on let's go to your house before..." Her eyes connected with yours and you felt a chill travel down your spine. The worry and tint of fear in her eyes as she stared at you was enough to have your hands shaking and gripping tighter onto Dunyarzad's bandaged hand.

The woman - Dehya - rushed the two of you into the heart of the city. Dehya pulled you in between her and Dunyarzad, your right hand being held by Dunyarzad and left arm being held onto tightly by Dehya.

Your chest heaved, there were pinpricks on the back of your eyes and your throat stocked up. You could hear your heart beat reverberate in your ears.

Dehya ushered you and Dunyarzad into a house and shut the door quickly.

"Dehya what-"

"Dunyarzad I-" Her blue eyes glanced at you nervously before settling back on Dunyarzad, "You know-" She huffed and muttered, "Do you understand how the Akademiya will feel about them?"

Dunyarzad tilted her head, "Won't-won't they feel thrilled."

Dehya pursed her lips, "Dunyarzad..." She sighed after glancing at you once more, "We shouldn't be talking about this with them around. Come on kid, you hungry?"

The words struggled out of your mouth, "A little..."

"Here I'll get you a drink too." Her and Dunyarzad made eye contact and they left the room.

Your feet dangled off the seat and you stared at them mindlessly. The tears tickling the back of your eyes finally wriggled their way out. You sniffled and wiped the tears away as well as you could. Why were you so sad? This place was... fun wasn't it? Shouldn't it be?

You love Teyvat. You love everyone here. That's why you're here, that's what the little girl said.

But why did you want to go home so badly? Why did everyone look at you like that?

A bang resounded throughout the entire house, your head snapped up in alarm, and the front door was blocked off by a group of people.

You had a flashback to all those nightmares you'd had that went exactly like this. Those nightmares that had you waking up sobbing and running to your parent. But would you wake up this time? Who would you cry to?

Tears were already streaming down your face, sobs wracking your body. There was nobody to help you.

"Calm down, child." The person in the front said, his voice gruff and uncaring, "Come with us, you are very important and we cannot leave you here."

Wasn't that what the girl - Nahida - was saying? Was it really true?

You pursed your lips and opened them up to retort when a strong arm wrapped around your waist and carried you away. The wind whipped your hair back, a scream tore through your throat at the fear that suffocated your lungs.

Your nails dug into the arm holding you, you were now outside with this person carrying you. You managed to gather the sense to look at who it was.

Dehya.

Dunyarzad was nowhere to be found.

"W-" you coughed out, "Where-"

"Shh!" She shushed you harshly, "If we want to get out of here alive and happy we need to be quiet. Okay?"

Her tone made your crying - which had halted briefly from panic - to start up again.

A flash of regret burned her eyes but it was gone as soon as it had come.

"Okay." You quieted your sniffling.

"Dehya." A deeper, distinctly male voice cut through the wind.

Dehya stopped in her tracks and wordlessly you were passed on. Dehya continued running away, and instinctively you reached for her. The man gently pulled your hand down and tucked you into his thick coat until you were completely obstructed from view.

"Keep quiet and don't move."

You nodded and felt him start to walk. You held your breath every time you heard people and footsteps. Though, strangely, every time you walked past someone they seemed to part for him and quiet down. It brought some relief to you but no matter what your heart was thumping against your chest so hard you were terrified if someone got too close they'd hear.

The man was swift and was quick to exit the city gate, it was less than five minutes later that he set you down in a secluded spot.

Your entire body was shaking, your legs hardly letting you stand up.

"Nilou, take them and go to Gandharva ville. Tighnari and Collei will be able to get them to Liyue and from there everything will go smoothly." The man said gravely.

The girl who had appeared from behind a rock nodded, "I'll do my best, Cyno."

"Good." There was no warmth in his voice and the white haired man disappeared back into the city.

The Nilou lady had orange hair and blue eyes, a beautiful combination, as well as a pair of horns on her head. You briefly wondered if she was related to Ganyu but your heart was beating too fast for you to worry about it for too long.

"It's nice to meet you, your grace." She bowed gracefully, "I am Nilou, I wish we had met under better circumstances but it is extremely important that we hurry." She held out her hand and you blindly took it.

She hoisted you up onto her hip and began sprinting. You weren't sure how far you had made it, the terrain unfamiliar to you, but Nilou was growing tired quickly.

You didn't think you were being followed but there were enemies around every turn, people and monsters alike, which made it 10 times harder to get around.

Eventually, Nilou set you down, her breathing ragged and sweat coating her forhead.

"I'm afraid we'll have to walk for the rest of this journey. Or at least until I get my energy back, if that's alright?" She held her hand out once more.

You grabbed it and nodded.

Your eyes wandered aimlessly, wide and searching for a distraction. Your heart had hardly calmed down and you hardly gripped onto Nilou's hand.

"...my name's (Y/n)," You muttered.

Nilou blinked, glancing down at you for a moment. She smiled beautifully, "What a cute name."

You looked up at her, it felt like your head would fall off any moment, "It's nice to meet you...Nilou."

She smiled softly, "It's nice to meet you as well, your grace."

You frowned, a moment of silence passing between you two.

"You can call me (Y/n)..."

Nilou seemed panicked for a moment, "Well I wouldn't want to disrespect you- although... to keep a low profile I suppose it would help..."

You nodded, "It's also weird being called that."

Nilou paused and giggled, such a childish answer bringing her back to the reality that you were a child in both body and mind.

"I understand. Can I ask how old you are, (Y/n)?" She asked in a kind tone and so casually that you could almost pretend you were meeting a new character - or even person - for the first time.

You nodded, "I'm seven." You held up seven fingers to the sky, while still holding Nilou's hand.

"Oh my, that's quite young. How'd you end up in Sumeru?" She asked, genuine curiosity on her face.

"I woke up here! And Dunyarzad found me!"

Nilou hummed, "I see. This must be quite the upsetting introduction to Teyvat." A frown tugged the corners of her lips down, her eyes turning downcast.

You frowned and could feel the hotness of tears tickle the backs of your eyes, "...yeah." You whined, "I don't wanna talk about it." Your voice was barely a whisper but Nilou heard loud and clear the pain in your voice.

"I'm sorry." Was all she said, and you didn't have the energy to lie to her and tell her that it was alright.

"We're almost there." Nilou pointed ahead, "Do you see the taller trees over there? With the buildings built into them and all the vines and buildings hanging from the trees?"

You nodded, "Uh huh." Your heartrate had calmed and there was a wonder sparkling in your eyes instead of fear. It made Nilou sigh with relief.

"That's Gandharva Ville. Where you'll meet Tighnari and Collei." She brought her hand back down to her side, grinning at the wonder glimmering in your eyes.

She giggled as you unconsciously picked up your pace.

You pursed your lips and opened your mouth before you thought about stopping yourself, "Nilou, what am I?"

"Huh?" She jumped at the question.

You looked up at her with eyes so desperate and confused and lost. It made her heart burn and crack.

After a minute of silence she sighed, "You are a god. You control Teyvat and the happenings within it. Your hand is divine and touches every vision wielder within Teyvat. You watch over us and help us with a guiding hand."

She sounded rehearsed, you didn't want to know how many times this had been said.

You looked up at her with quivering lips and watery eyes, "I don't... I don't think I'm a god."

"Oh dear..." Nilou crouched down gracefully beside you, her hands coming up to cup your face and gently wipe your tears with her thumb. "You're only a child. I'm sorry things have to be this way, but you will be treated with the upmost care and gentleness in Liyue. I can guaretee you. In Sumeru though... in Sumeru our archon is not loved by the people, and we do not want that fate befalling you." She cradled your face gently, her expression crinkled in pain and sympathy, "For now, let's focus on getting you into Liyue. I know it's painful and it's so much for you to handle, but do you think you can hold out for just a bit longer?"

You sniffled, but nodded.

She smiled sweetly, "Good."

She wiped the remaining tears from your eyes and stood up. She grabbed your hand and continued her way to Gandharva Ville. The two of you remained in comfortable silence.

Until Nilou noticed that the forest was too quiet... there weren't any people or animals around.

The fact mostly flew over your head but what neither of you could ignore was the smoke filling your nostrils.

Nilou had picked up her pace, her palm already summoning her hydro powers as if on instinct.

But all of it came to a halt when you and her stood in front of what used to be a bridge leading into Gandharva Ville. A weird blue fire lit up the entirety of the forest.

In the center of it all was a certain doctor, uninterestingly glancing around.

Nilou shoved you into nearby shrubbery that hadn't been touched by the fire yet. Her sword, already infused with hydro, appeared in her hand.

Run. She mouthed.

Ningguang still was unsure if you were her god, but her heart unnaturally broke when your tears doubled. When you cried because you thought that if she was talking to you then you were in trouble... hurt than a lot more than she thought it would.

"No, no," She frowned, carefully cupping your face with her hands and wiping away your tears, "I'm just worried about you, you're young and alone and crying. I just wanted to make sure you're okay, not get you in trouble."

"R-really?" Your tears stopped falling so rapidly, and she used this opportunity to clean you up.

She brought you up to the Jade Chamber, to get you away from the assimilating crowd and prying eyes.

There, she treated you to food, a nice bath, comfy clothes, entertaining toys, and anything you asked for. Still, though, she was unsure if you were her god. She'd give you these luxuries, allow you to stay, because you were just a child. Your appearance should be celebrated. Not to mention, with such an uncanny resemblance you and their beloved god shared, how had she not heard of you before?

You had calmed down slightly, the toys she had given you helped you tremendously, but you were still uptight and scared. She could tell from how reserved you were, especially with her and a few others you didn't know watching you.

The tense atmosphere was broken by a very concerned Beidou bursting into the room (and Kazuha following behind, a lot more quietly).

Beidou stared down at you, wide-eyed and shocked at how similar to the creator you looked. Sure she heard you looked like their creator but she didn't expect you to look exactly like them.

You, in turn, stared up at Beidou. Your eyes wide and star-struck.

"Pirate lady!" You squealed, raising your hand to frantically wave at her.

Everyone in the room took 12 psychic dmg.

"Ah, hello there kiddo!" Beidou kneeled down next to you, "Are you having fun?"

You nodded, showing her the cool toys Ningguang had given you.

"Oh, what's your name kiddo?" She asked, and everyone in the room's breath stopped to listen, "I'm Beidou."

"I'm Y/n." You grinned, "Nice to meet you Captain Beidou!"

"Ah," She grinned, "Just Beidous fine."

You nodded and continued to play with your toys, showing them to Beidou excitedly.

They were still all unsure if you were their god but... you looked so much like them, and you were a kid... so it wouldn't hurt right?

Kazuha, who you hadn't noticed until he sat next to you, said with a soft smile, "The wind likes you," He held his hand up as though he was holding something, "Says you're important and the cutest thing in aaaall of Teyvat."

You gasped and peered at his hand. Faintly, you could see, hear, and feel a gust of anemo in his hand and around you. The anemo was swirling gently around you and him, almost cradling your form.

You giggled, and the wind let the sound hang in the air for a moment, "Tell the wind I say thank you."

"The wind can hear you," Kazuha said, booping your nose, "Always. So if you ever need help or a friend, just speak to the wind and it will be there."

He was attempting to tell the others that the wind regarded you as their creator, but he also managed to solidify himself as your older brother.

*~

The moment you went on Beidou's ship was the best day of your life. You had been living in the Jade Chamber for a few days at that point (Beidou had placed you on her shoulders to overlook Liyue Harbor and you had squealed in excitement, asking for her to do it everyday she came over), so you were used to Ningguang at this point.

However Beidou still had business to do, and she couldn't stay in Liyue Harbor forever. They could also tell you were getting antsy. Ningguang, Kazuha, and Beidou did as good a job as they could to keep you entertained and distracted from your homesickness. Sadly, it was something they couldn't ignore forever.

You broke down one night, crying for your mom, dad, brother, sister, anyone you knew to come and take you home.

...but none of them came, only Ningguang did. She sat next to you and let you cry into her, rubbing your back soothingly.

"I-I wan-wanna see mom-momma again. Take-take m-me ho-home!" You sobbed into her chest.

She merely frowned, "I'm sorry young one... I don't know how to take you home."

You couldn't handle being unable to go home but it was the undeniable truth. You'd have to handle it and get used to Teyvat as there was nothing else you could do but adapt, survive, and thrive.

The next day, in order to lift your mood, Ningguang accompanied you onto Beidou's ship with Kazuha.

You were enthralled.

The waves, the feeling of freedom. You could see Inazuma in the distance, Sumeru and a bit of Natlan too.

A bright grin was plastered on your face the entire time. You even wore an eyepatch to match Beidou, to which she picked you up and flung you into the air with a grin.

Ningguang played Liyue Millennial with you as well, though you didn't understand any of it, you still had fun playing with the pieces.

"This is Shenhe," She placed the piece in front of you, "And this is the traveler. They-"

You shouted their name in recognition, gently holding the piece, "I know them!"

Ningguang's eyes widened for a moment, but the look was gone as soon as it had come, "Ah yes, you've known them for quite a while now haven't you?"

You nodded, "Yep! But I haven't seen them since I've come here..." A frown tugged your lips down.

"Well," Kazuha smiled down at you from his spot close to you two, on the edge of the ship, "I heard that the traveler is in Inazuma currently, and that's where we're on our way to."

You gasped, "Really? I haven't been to Inazuma yet!" You squealed, "I can't wait to see the traveler and Inazuma!"

He attempted to push you a bit to go back, you were far too important to be locked up in Dragonspine. People have probably already started to worry about your whereabouts (and while he did tell the Knights of Favonius that he saw you and was going after, he knew they couldn’t handle the people for long). But when he had picked you up to try and carry you back, you screamed and thrashed out of his grip. You had clawed at his arms and tugged at his hair, screaming profusely how you wanted to go home. You weren’t a god, you were a child with a home you missed.

But Albedo knew the truth, you were a god, with a duty to this world. It hurt his heart to see you like this, but you’d merely come to this world a bit too early.

You belonged here. You might not see it, but he’d try his best to make it as easy to digest for you as possible.

He was genuinely worried you’d start an avalanche with how loud you were screaming so he relented and let you stay in his lab. You curled up in the blankets and nuzzled into them for comfort. Albedo sighed and joined you - with permission of course.

The Knights of Favonius should be arriving soon with questions for me. I can talk to them then. It’s not like I can abandon their grace in the middle of Dragonspine.

Sure enough, they came by soon after. You stiffened up when you spotted them but Albedo patted you on the head and told you not to worry. They merely came to talk to him, okay?

You nodded and thankfully didn’t start breaking down as Albedo went to talk to the Knights.

He spoke to them in hushed voices at the entrance to his lab. You could overhear it a bit from where you were in the corner of the lab, but you barely understood what they were saying. All you understood was that you were staying with Albedo.

You sighed and melted into the mountain of blankets, but just as you were about to drift into comforting unconsciousness, rapid footsteps approached you. The sound of a bag filled to the brim, eager giggles, light footfalls as they ran towards you.

Your eyes snapped open to see Klee in front of you, grinning, “Hello your grace!”

“Your grace,” Albedo came beside Klee and patted her head, subtly telling her to give you some space, “Is it alright if Klee stays for a while?”

You blinked, but nodded. You hadn’t really hung out with Klee much but you knew she was nice.

She giggled and jumped in the air, “Yay! Thank you, your grace!” She beamed and you couldn’t help but smile as well.

Even if at first you didn’t join in on her little games, you soon found yourself giggling alongside Klee, and then partaking in her fun little games. You taught her eye-spy and she taught you the “see how many facts you can get wrong until Albedo starts explaining how wrong you are” game. The highest record was 50, achieved by Lisa. The lowest was 4, achieved by Kaeya (he said that you needed to use iron chunks instead of starsilver to make paint. He also got sweet flower variants mixed up. Then he told Klee there’s a better way to make bombs and very loudly said the recipe for a hydro dmg enhancement potion. Then to top it off, he got Rubedo and Albedo mixed up to which Albedo physically couldn’t help himself from correcting.)

They were watching you carefully, every movement of yours accounted for- and then you were suddenly gone! It sent the entire place into an uproar, looking for you everywhere. Practically tearing the place apart all to find little you, so tiny you could fit anywhere.

Meanwhile, you were blissfully unaware of the sheer amount of chaos you just left behind as you sat down at the body of water near Mt. Tianheng.

You huffed, grinning out of breath as you plopped down, "Thanks for getting me out of there, Sayu. It was way too stuffy."

The little ninja merely nodded, pulling her hood down more on her face as she sat next to you. She let out a small hum of acknowledgement.

"You were looking really upset back there!" Klee jumped in, still standing, a frown on her face, "I've seen Master Jean look like that before and Lisa got onto her about... something or the other. Either way, it was scary!" The girl - just a little older than you - pat your head reassuringly.

"It's because there were so many stupid adults in there!" Diona (who had insisted on coming along because she was the oldest - aside from Qiqi) declared, her hands on her hips and her tail swinging indignantly from side-to-side.

Qiqi nodded absentmindedly, sitting on the other side of Sayu.

You hummed, "I'm just glad to be out of there, so many people were watching me it was..." You trailed off, a frown tugging down on your lips.

Klee pouted, but all at once lit up, "I know what'll make you feel better!"

You perked up, looking at her expectantly.

She giggled, slinging off her backpack and digging her hand around in it. When she pulled her hand out, in it laid, "Fish blasting!" A bomb.

Your face immediately lit up in a smile, "Yes!"

She held the bomb out to you and you took it with a wide grin, holding the cutely shaped weaponry carefully in your palms.

Klee offered the bomb over to Diona, who took it with a worrying grin. She also offered one to Sayu but she refused. As for Qiqi, Klee knew not to give her anything potentially hot.

"I could use this to make my drinks taste absolutely dreadful!" Diona exclaimed, her tail wagging excitedly and her teeth bared in a worrying grin.

Klee narrowed her eyes, "No! That'll hurt someone! Master Jean told Klee to never put someone in harms way with my bombs!"

Diona deflated, her eyebrows scrunched up in frustration, "But that ash would be perfect for making the drink taste dreadful."

"You could just put straight up ash in there." You pointed out, "I mean, they can't say your drink tastes bad if they've been blown up."

Diona hummed, and then her grin returned, revealing her tiny fangs, "I like the ash idea! And I suppose you're right about the blowing up thing... though we could still blow up some parts of the Dawn Winery-"

"That could still put people in danger!" Klee argued, puffing her cheeks out indignantly.

Diona huffed, "Fine! Fine!"

You giggled and grabbed their arms, "Come on! Stop fighting, let's blow up some fish!"

Klee giggled, running with you and Diona over to the water.

Immediately, as the three of you crouched down around it, your attention was taken up by Diona. Her ears and tail became perfectly still as well as the rest of her body, and her eyes were dilated until they were round circles instead of slits.

You watched as instead of throwing the bomb into the water, as Klee was prepping herself to do, her dominant hand was slightly raising. Slowly, cautiously, until faster than you could register there was a splash in the water and in Diona's hands was a flailing fish.

You screamed excitedly, but you also backed up into Klee a bit, "Woah! It's moving! It's alive!"

"Diona," Klee wined, "You scared off all the- WOAH!" Klee completely shifted gears once she caught sight of the very much alive fish in Diona's palms.

Even Diona seemed surprised, but she grinned proudly, "I don't need any bombs! I'm quite-" Diona fumbled with the fish, trying desperately to keep it in her hands, "Skilled-"

"Quick! Kill it!" Klee exclaimed, a terrifying fervor in her eyes as she stared down the fish like it was her mortal enemy.

"What?" Diona screeched, her tail sticking straight up, "I don't want blood on my hands- agh!" Diona's hands chased after the fish as it flailed out of her hands and into the water. But when she reached out for it, her body ended up leaning forward a bit too much and-

SPLASH!

You nor Klee, or even the sleeping ninja, had any time to catch Diona before she fell straight into the water.

The screech she unleashed was so loud and primal you had to cover your ears as Diona clawed her way back out of the water. Instinctively, you backed up because her claws were ready to dig into whatever they caught on to.

When she exited the water, she shook herself off, wetting you and Klee in the process.

"Diona!" Klee approached her worryingly, "Are you okay-"

Diona took her hat from the water, held it up to her face, and screamed bloody murder into it.

Both you and Klee cringed at the noise. When she was finished she indignantly put her hat back on with a huff.

Her glare could kill.

"I'm sorry Diona!" Klee wailed, getting her catalyst out, "I didn't mean for you to get wet here-" She opened up the book and procured a tiny but well lit fire, holding it next to her, "You can use this to warm back up!"

"I'm sorry too!" You exclaimed, "I watched you as you were about to catch the fish and I didn't stop you, I'm sorry!" You stood next to Klee, a deep frown on both of your faces.

Diona's glare softened and she sighed heavily, "It's... It's fine I suppose." Her hands gently held the book, and she visibly relaxed. Her - still wet - tail unwound and rested comfortably compared to how stiff it was. She turned towards the two sleepier members of the group with a frown, some of her intensity returned, "Sayu." She snapped, "You're a ninja, you're fast enough, why didn't you catch me?"

Sayu blinked at Diona and simply pointed to the zombie resting on her shoulder, "She's tired. She was picking herbs all morning apparently."

Diona huffed, "Sure." She shook herself off one more time for good measure, gave the book back to Klee, before plopping next to Sayu and resting her head on her other shoulder, effectively getting her wet.

"Diona..." Sayu whined, curling away from Diona.

Diona merely grinned triumphantly.

Klee grabbed your upper arms with intensity, her eyes ablaze, "Y/n! We need to get revenge on that fish!"

You grinned, "Of course!" And picked your bomb that you had discarded off the ground.

"Diona!" Klee shouted, a bomb in her hands, "We're gonna get revenge on those fish for you!"

Diona blinked in shock before grinning, her once stangant tail wagging happily, "Yeah! Get those fish for me!"

You and Klee gave thumbs up, hopping happily as you searched the water for a decent sized group of fish.

"Here, I'll get these ones, and you get those alright Y/n?" Klee pointed out the groups of fish you'd be slaughtering and you nodded in confirmation, readying your bomb.

"For safety," Klee said, "As soon as you release the bomb into the water, run back towards the others, okay? Just in case." She gave you an assuring grin.

You nodded, "Got it! Ready?"

"Mm-hm! 3..."

"2..."

"1!"

You let go of your bombs at the same time, running away towards the other three, giggling as explosions went of behind you.

It must've been a wonderful sight for Qiqi just starting to wake up.

Once you reached them, you both looked back to see the results.

Klee whooped in celebration, "Woo! Let's go! Look at all the fish!" Her eyes were sparkling as she ran back to the water, "Y/n, help me grab them all!"

"Oh, okay!" You giggled, scooping your hands into the water, grabbing all the burnt fish you could.

Klee was giggling excitedly, though with the slight soot on her face and the dead fish in her hands she looked slightly manic.

Though you doubted you looked any different, so you giggled with her.

"Here Diona!" You held out the fish to her, "Here's some fish for you! Do you like fish?"

She did her best to not look enamored by the smell of the cooked fish but failed. Her tail wagging, ears perked, and pupils dilating at the sight.

"Ah, thank you." She grabbed some fish from your palms.

"Here Sayu!" Klee handed some fish to the girl.

She took it and sleepily dug in.

"Hey! Qiqi, you're awake! Do you want some- or- wait-" Klee retracted her hand from giving Qiqi the fish, "You can't eat anything hot. I could get a non-cooked one for you!"

"That'd be raw!" You said, "It'd hurt her... I think? She's a zombie so..."

"Does Qiqi like cold tofu, perhaps?" An older, adult woman's voice spoke from behind you.

You, Diona and Sayu jumped nearly a foot in the air at the familiar voice. Sayu, though, immediately transformed into a barrel, suddenly wide-awake.

"It's fine, no need to be so worried." Yae's scary voice attempted to comfort you, "Especially you, Sayu." You swore you saw the barrel shake, "I saw you sneak their grace away. Don't worry, I allowed it to happen. I merely wanted you all to have fun." She smiled.

Her smile always worried you but this one seemed... slightly more genuine than the others you'd seen on her.

Sayu transformed back into a human, "...so I'm not in trouble?"

"With me, you aren't." The words rolled so well off her tongue you wondered if she had a script for every possible scenario ever, "With the Kamisatos and Yashiro commission? I can't say. However everyone is tearing the place apart looking for their grace so the lot of you best prepare yourselves."

"Oh no..." Klee frowned, looking down at her shoes in shame, "Master Jean is going to be so upset with Klee..."

"It's okay Klee!" You reassured her, "I'll break you out of solitary confinement with the help of Uncle Kaeya! Just like last time!"

"Last time?" Yae raised an eyebrow curiously, and amused smile on her lips.

"Uh-" You panicked, "Please don't tell anyone! Jean will be super duper mad at Klee and Kaeya!"

Yae waved her hands, "I won't, I won't... if..."

You froze. You've seen her pull this trick on people before, "...if?" Your voice trembled.

Yae's grin doubled at seeing how frightened all of you were - save for Qiqi, she didn't really care - "If you give me some of the fish of course! I think it's good payback for allowing you to sneak out and keeping your secrets."

"Deal." You said, handing her the rest of your fish and Klee did the same.

She chuckled, "Oh dears, I don't need this much! Here, you can have some," She handed you and Klee each a fish. "Oh and Qiqi," The girl looked up at the woman, "Would you like the tofu I offered?"

Qiqi nodded quietly, grabbing the tofu handed to her and munching on it, "Do you..." Her dull eyes were set determinedly, "Do you have any cocogoat milk?"

Yae tilted her head curiously, "Cocogoat milk? Hm... I'm afraid not..." At seeing Qiqi deflate she quickly said, "Ah! But I do have some dango milk!" She procured the said milk from seemingly nowhere and handed it to Qiqi, who took it curiously, "Just don't tell Ei. It was meant for her." Yae winked down at you and you nodded seriously.

You were terrified for what she'd do to you if you told Ei.

Although Qiqi did seem to enjoy the dango milk, her eyes lit up and she drank the whole bottle, "Thank you Miss." She said, "I like this..."

"Hey!" Klee grinned excitedly, opening up her catalyst, "Qiqi! Would you mind if I made a note that you like dango milk? That way none of us will forget and you can get some again!"

Qiqi's eyes sparkled up at Klee, "Yes please, thank you Klee!"

Klee's eyes were sparkling like firecrackers on new year's, her smile just as bright, "Of course Qiqi!"

Klee quickly scribbled the note down with a pen she had taken from her bag.

Diona's ear twitched and she turned her head towards the way you had came. Yae's ear also twitched, but it was much less obvious.

"Oh no." Diona stood up, "I think-"

Yae's smile grew wider, "Seems it's my time to go. See you little ones later." She waved before mysteriously disappearing.

"That-!" Diona growled and before any of you could react, there was a group of people that had now spotted you.

"Oh no..." Klee whined, hiding behind you.

Diona's tail went in between her legs and Sayu tugged her hood down, hiding her face in her knees, and Qiqi was still chewing on the tofu she was given.