Chapter Text
Dawn was cruel on her eyes, on purpose. Usually one for blackout curtains and eye masks, Lumine had left the curtains wide open to ensure the blistering summer sunrise roused her before her flight. She felt strangely alert for the first morning in months; she hadn't had an evening cocktail or beer the night before, but not for any honorable or laudable reason. She just really hadn’t wanted to go out shopping last night. Arising from the bed with a groan. she ambled gingerly across the studio to the kitchenette area, where she had assembled her various effects for her trip today. Passport, house keys, battery charger for her phone, all arrayed on the flap of her messenger bag, with her laptop + a folder of documents tucked inside. Her backpack sat unzipped, awaiting the last use of her toiletries before departure.
"Just another travel day, nothing special", she murmured, and tried to believe it. She took a quick shower, not washing her hair- dry shampoo was applied instead, so that she could take a real shower after her flight. Toothbrush, toothpaste and other essentials collected. Only a three-day trip, so she was packing exceedingly light. No big makeup bag just the mascara that made her blonde eyelashes visible to the naked eye. No second pair of shoes, just her very respectable leather flats. Only the business essentials, nothing more. This trip to Inazuma was critical and she was not playing around.
- • •
The taxi to the Liyue airport and all the usual travel rigamarole went strangely smoothly. Once beyond security, Lumine sought out a table at her favorite pre-flight coffee joint and decided to go over the relevant business documents once more, to calm her mind. The Yashiro group, an Inazuma conglomerate, were looking for a contract scientist. Lumine had signed their NDA, but they had still been very reluctant to give further details. "Your credentials for this opportunity are suitable. We request your presence for an in-person consultation." Normally Lumine would have scoffed at this, but they offered business class travel and enough Mora to pay this month’s rent, just for meeting with them. If her consultation was favorable, working with them for a maximum of 6 months would pay her rent for many years, or let her finally put a down payment on a house. This could be financial security, she though cautiously, now that she had researched the Yashiro group thoroughly and finding only plaudits & positive feedback.
Of course, she could still find out that they wanted the impossible or that their needs were outside her skills. It wouldn't be the first line in her career as an independent scientific consultant: her heart had been hardened to rejection a great deal in recent years. "Only one way to find out," she mumbled to herself, while organizing her documents back into the folder and prepared for boarding.
- • •
The business class seat was roomy and plush- a far cry from what claustrophobia usually greeted her on a plane. She had chosen a window seat, with the idea that she could catch a nap on the 4-hour flight, but another facet of this trip kept running through her head. A couple of nights prior, she had seen a post by a member of a gaming chat server she frequented.
"Need a friend to do for a favor" Out of curiosity and suspicion that it was a con, Lumine had DM'ed the messenger
“What is the favor" Lumine replied brusquely.
"I need someone to get me Plan B," came the reply in the chat.
"Don't you have someone in your real life who can get birth control pills for you??"
"I don’t have ID or any way to get cash, so my parents will know if I buy it"
"That sounds unreal. Feels like a con tbh"
"It’s not, I swear!" Is this girl for real and just incredibly sheltered?? Lumine had felt a twinge in her cold heart, recalling the times when she had been young and scared.
“Fine, I will be in Inazuma city Wednesday evening. Meet me at this coffee shop at 7pm. Wear something distinctive, tell me about it here and I will find you.”
“Thank you! You’re a life saver! I will wear a sky blue hoodie and a bright pink scrunchie on my ponytail.” While rereading the chain of DMs, Lumine felt uneasy. She had bought the Plan B, after making sure it was as legal in Inazuma as it was in Liyue, and packed it in with her toiletries. She had picked a coffee shop close to her hotel, but it wasn’t the closest one, just in case it was all a set up. She continued to idly imagine the possible scenarios and stare out the window at the unceasing sapphire sea for the duration of the flight.
The Yashiro group had made her reservation at what looked to be a very nice hotel, according to a cursory glance that Lumine had taken of the website. When she arrived in her airport taxi, she was greeted by a valet who ushered her in to the registration desk. Once she had put her ID card on the desk, she was greeted eagerly.
“We have been awaiting your arrival, Dr Viatrix. Your suite is ready. Please let the valet bring up your things.” Lumine only had her messenger bag and her backpack, but she relented and let the valet carry her backpack. She took the card key and headed for the elevator. The suite was spacious and elegantly appointed, with a comfortable sitting area preceding the kitchenette and sleeping area. Lumine tipped the valet, then closed the door, locking it with the deadbolt. She had travelled in her nicest long light raincoat- she hung it up on a hook near the door. Looking at her watch, it was only 4pm. Everything had been far more efficient than she had expected. Lumine sighed- she really wanted this business with the coffee shop meeting over and done with, so she opened up the chat app on her phone and sent a DM.
“I am here earlier than I thought. Can you come at 5 instead?” The message showed as read and then the familiar dots of a new message being composed showed up.
“I can. See you soon! Thanks again!” Lumine sighed again, feeling a mixture of pity and concern for this girl who was resorting to strangers for help. If she has a boyfriend who has left her stuck like this, maybe I need to talk to him for her, she thought with more than a little anger on the mystery girls’ behalf. She pulled out her nicest suit from her backpack and spread it flat on the desk to let the wrinkles flatten out a bit, then hung up the light teal button down shirt for the same reason. However much she wanted a shower before this meeting, she didn’t have the time to do her hair the way she would want to for the meting tomorrow, so she grabbed just her wallet, her phone and the brown paper bag containing the Plan B box, pulled on a comfy hoodie and headed out.
Lumine arrived at the coffee shop 15 minutes early and chose a table with a clear view of both doors and a wall behind her. She nursed her matcha latte and tried to not look obviously anxious while scrolling through her phone. Maybe I should let a friend know what I am up to? Lumine felt a wave of shame that she hadn’t really maintained many of her friendships in the last couple years. Swiping down to a contact, she tapped it and started composing a message.
“Hi Mona, I hope you are well. Just doing a kind of crazy thing for a stranger from the internet, and I wanted someone to know just in case I get kidnapped, etc.” She added her current location and was shocked by the speed of a response ping coming in.
“Lumine, omg, how are you??? I miss you, what are you doing in Inazuma, besides favors for randos??”
“A possible job, they wanted an in-person consult. Randos are just a side quest. How are your stars?”
“Really good, been watching a nebula lately but planning on a collab watching a supermassive black hole soon.” Lumine looked up as the chime on one of the doors rang; she spotted a pink scrunchie on the customer who entered.
“That sounds awesome, Mona, we need to get together soon. I miss you too. Gotta go, my rando is here.”
“Take care Lumine, you are missed back here in Mondstadt.” Lumine stared at her phone fondly, feeling the warmth of reconnecting with a dear friend. She then turned her attention to her current concern. The pink scrunchie wearer had bought her drink, and had settled in at a table in the middle of the store. She had long pale blue hair that was up in a high ponytail, held in the fluorescent scrunchie, then braided and left to hang down her back. Her sky blue hoodie was oversized, had a small gold and blue logo on the lapel and was otherwise unidentifiable. She had completed her outfit with some bellbottom jeans and high heeled boots, making her even taller and more graceful looking. Lumine looked around, assessing if anyone else in the shop had come with her, and found no one who looked suspicious. She took a deep breath, grabbed her cup, and walked over to pink scrunchie’s table.
“Hey, I am guessing you are WhiteCrane05?” Lumine whispered as she sat down.
“Yes, and you are SadChemist? You don’t look too sad to me!” She was truly pretty, with flawless skin and bright silver eyes, and definitely no older than 18.
“I am more sad than I look I guess? Anyways, I have the things. Are you ok?” The youth blushed and turned away slightly. “Look, it is ok to feel embarrassed, but you already did a big thing, you asked for help.”
“He’s my first boyfriend. He’s my first everything. I really don’t know a lot about relationships and I…” A tear began to form and then slid down her cheek to rest on her jaw. Lumine reached out and put her hand over hers, which was still gripping the coffee cup.
“Has he hurt you?”
“No, no, he has been nothing but gentle. He would have helped me, I am sure, but he’s gone missing. And my period was late but it came this morning, so I have troubled you for nothing.”
“Its fine, don’t worry about that. Do you not have parents, siblings or friends who can help you?”
“I was too scared to ask them. I…” she trailed off, obviously struggling with how much to share with this stranger. “I am sorry, I need to go. My absence will be noticed.” She got up to leave, and Lumine shoved the paper bag into her hand.
“Take this and use protection next time. My business card is in the bag. Call me if you need a friend.” The beautiful girl looked straight at Lumine with big watery eyes, tears imminent, before lowering a pair of probably expensive sunglasses onto her face.
“Thank you, I will.” She swirled on her heel and made for the nearest door, brown bag clutched tightly in her hand. Lumine remained at the central table for at least another 10 minutes, considering the odd child she had just met and finishing her matcha latte.
She wandered back towards the hotel, and realized that she was hungry, so she turned back the way she had came. I think I saw an udon place back on the main street, she thought. The entrance she remembered was on an alley, so she walked down a block on the main street then turned off into the alley. She heard the clattering of something falling- Did I drop my sunglasses? She looked down, realized she hadn’t brought her sunglasses, then felt a blinding pain to the back of her head that reverberated through her skull. As she desperately tried to stay conscious, a voice urged her to relax, and that everything would be easier that way.
- • •
The light was too bright, did she forget to close the curtains again? Lumine flailed in the direction of the dazzling annoyance, only to realize that nothing about her situation felt right. She was in a chair, not her bed, and she wasn’t sure she was alone. She wrenched one eye open, and noticed the throbbing at the back of her head. She was at a table, and there was possibly a person across from her, sitting in the dark. Belatedly she noticed her hands were handcuffed to the table. Her mind raced, trying to understand what had happened between having coffee with WhiteCrane05 and trying to get dinner? The person across from her cleared their throat.
“Have I been arrested?” Lumine was slightly proud of stringing a coherent sentence together from her jumbled thoughts.
“Detained is more like it. I have some questions.”
“Ok, do I get a lawyer?”
“Are you admitting guilt?” Lumine tried to stare into the dark to get any information about the person questioning her, but the intense lights focused on her kept her literally in the dark.
“I am admitting nothing. I have rights.”
“You have no rights here, outlander.”
“In Inazuma, the law sees all as equal. Unless you aren’t representing a real court of law.” There was a pause from across the table followed by a deep exhale. I think he realized he has said too much, Lumine thought. She took a deep breath, keeping her cool, no matter how much she wanted to lose it.
“We want to know what you were doing with the lady you met for coffee.” Really, this is what they care about?
“You said it, we met for coffee.”
“And?”
“Just coffee. Actually, I don’t like coffee, so I had a matcha latte, but I guess that isn’t what you mean.”
“How do you know her?”
“We are friends online. We play a game together.”
“You gave her something.”
“Yup, friends give friends things. Not your business.” Lumine was feeling increasingly emboldened and irritated by this line of questioning. Someone had basically kidnapped her, knocked her out to ask her about her coffee meeting with a scared kid.
“We have a right to know what you gave her.”
“If you did, I would think you would already know, but as it is none of your business, I won’t be telling you.”
“Do you even know who you met with?”
“I don’t know her real name- we don’t use real names in the gaming community. I have no desire to know.” At this point, the questioner gave out an exasperated sigh, and seemed to speak into a headset microphone.
“She is not being helpful. Do you want to bring in the boss?” He listened, then mumbled an affirmative into the headset before pushing his chair back. “You’ll regret this,” he snarled at Lumine. Footfalls padded out of the room and a door opened and shut in the dark. Lumine sighed deeply and rested her head on the table. She felt irrationally defiant- she hadn’t felt strongly about much in years, but this made her blood boil. Knowing that she was entirely in the right, and feeling zero remorse about helping a stranger in need, she was not about to roll over and play nice for these jerks. The door opening and closing again put her back on high alert. This time the footfalls were nearly inaudible, and the new interviewer didn’t bother sitting down.
“You met with my sister today for coffee, and to do this, she slipped away from her security detail. I want to know what you did with her.” The voice was cool and aristocratic.
“Why can’t you ask her? Seems like a super shitty family dynamic if you can’t speak to your own sister.” Lumine was hoping to hear another exasperated sigh but she did not get that satisfaction. She never heard the steps, but she suddenly felt a gloved hand turning her chin to her left and then the voice was in her ear, now cold with some anger laced in the whisper.
“Our family dynamic is shitty, as you say. Why you would interject yourself into it, I can’t imagine. Now just tell me what I want to know.” Lumine closed her eyes and exhaled deeply.
“We met for coffee and we talked briefly about life, relationships, aka girl talk, and then she had to go.”
“And the gift?” Lumine could feel the steel in that voice but she could not waver now. She dropped her voice to her lowest whisper.
“Nothing illegal, but also none of your business. It was something you could have gotten for her, if she had a brother she could trust.” She finally got her sigh, but it was more disappointed than exasperated. The hold on her face tightened and then released and the footfalls padded softly to the other side of the table. The cold voice was speaking into something, maybe his phone?
“Everyone can clear out; I will take this from here.” The call was ended before the voice on the other end could object. He refrained from speaking for a while, as if waiting for a crowd to dissipate. “I appreciate your loyalty to my sister, even if it frustrates my desire for answers.” The edge in his voice had softened considerably. Lumine didn’t know how to respond to this statement, so she waited for him to continue. “I don’t enjoy the way things are, the way that I am more my sister’s jailer than I am her brother.”
“Sounds shitty, but I didn’t ask to be kidnapped and assaulted over your fucked up family issues. I don’t know any of you people.”
“You don’t, but tomorrow you would have. You’re meeting with the Yashiro group tomorrow, aren’t you?” A familiar wallet was casually tossed onto the table, ID and credit cards spilling out. Lumine suddenly found herself lacking a snappy comeback. “You’re Dr. Lumine Viatrix, correct? I am supposed to be interviewing you for our contract scientist position.” Lumine groaned and leaned forward, placing her forehead onto the table, hands still attached to the table.
“Fuuuuuuuuck, are you kidding me?” Welp, this trip had gone sideways in a hurry- just cussed out the people who might have paid a down payment on a house. Might as well head back to Liyue and live in poverty.
“I guess that means you would like to cancel our interview?” Lumine jerked her head up.
“Wait, I figured you were already cancelling it, due to this.” She tried to do the ‘gestures at everything’ but her hands being cuffed to the table limited the expressiveness.
“The fact that you are a skilled scientist and can be exceptionally loyal feels like a good fit for the position. I am hoping you will still show up tomorrow, if you will have us.” The throbbing in the back of her head announced its presence again.
“I would be more inclined if someone would apologize to me for my assault and detainment with Mora.” There was a quiet chuckle from across the table.
“I think that can be arranged. I will get someone to release you and take you back to the hotel. Looking forward to our meeting tomorrow, Dr. Viatrix.”
