Chapter Text
Liyue was full of many different kinds of creatures, some evil, some good while some morally gray.
Though it may be a land of prosperity and advanced civilization, it still needed protection here and there from stray evil.
Such protection came in the form of Yakshas, there were plenty of them back in the days until war had diminished their numbers to just one.
The youngest one out of the few that remained by rex lapises side.
He was known as the demon vanquisher, Alatus and most of all - xiao.
Today was just another day of protecting Liyue for him, scouting for any trouble around and helping those who were in need. He never seems to let himself rest so his job was never done.
He was nearing Minlin territory, closer to Sumeru borders to a lake that he knows is located there.
He’s covered in grime and blood from today's hunt and it was already starting to feel uncomfortable on his skin.
Don’t get him wrong, he has had it worse before, but it was still nice to stay clean to help the mind stay focused.
Little did he know that someone had already beaten him to the place… the scent of the said person was not familiar to him, not of Liyuen descent at least…inazuma?
There was no point in speculating, so he hid himself above the nearest cliff and looked over the lake.
He spots a head of ginger hair and a fluffy…tail? Ah, they have long ears like an animal…A fox.
Xiao furrows his brows.
What is a yokai doing in Liyue? Haven't the borders to Inazuma been closed for quite some time- both from letting anyone leave the region or get inside it?
He shakes his head, that doesn’t matter right now - what does, however, is if that fox is a threat to Liyue or not.
The said fox carefully washed himself in the lake, clothes thrown on the ground, indicating that he just spontaneously decided to undress and jump in.
At the pile of clothes, xiao notices an Inazuman vision - hydro, to be precise.
So this yokai was a vision holder…He didn’t even seem the least bit bothered that he was swimming out in the open, clearly in his natural element…thriving from the look of his tail.
It cutely wags even if it’s wet and heavy…
Xiao shakes his head, no - he clearly can’t be thinking things like this at this moment, he has to stay focused…
Though little did he know, while he was distracted with his thoughts, the fox was already looking at him.
Frozen in place, Xiao saw the prettiest blue eyes he has ever seen in this world. They looked like orbs that held the whole ocean inside, swirling with shades of blues as well as the reflection of the reds and yellows from the trees around the area.
“Breathtaking” was the first word that his brain supplied him with.
“You know, it’s kinda rude to stare at someone bathing unless you’re in the water as well.”
Xiao blinks dumbly, making the fox let out an exasperated sigh.
“I’m very sure that you can hear me. At least come down here and introduce yourself?”
He smirks up at him with a playful tail wiggle
“Unless you’re looking for a fight?~”
Xiao scoffs at that, Seems that Ganyu was quite right about the yokai being a playful bunch. All that was written on this Fox’s face was mischief and he doesn’t know if he wants to deal with that today… but it’s his duty to make sure that this little bastard didn’t go around causing trouble.
With his decision made, he vanished into thin air - making the fox blink in surprise momentarily before he appeared on the broken bridge on the shore.
The fox’s ears perked up to show his surprise, but other than that he refused to show any sign of being startled.
The yaksha was the first one to speak, fixing the fox with a slightly threatening glare.
“If you cause trouble then I will not hesitate to take you /out/. “
Unfortunately for the smaller male, that gave him the opposite reaction that he was hoping to get from the ginger-
The fox’s face brightens and a large grin spreads across his face, showing his crooked fangs that make him look adorable as well as dangerous.
“Really?~ so you’re down for a fight?~”
At this point, the fox was already balancing himself up with his hands on the broken bridge, lifting himself up as if he was getting ready for a fight.
Xiao looks at him with a scrunched up nose, staring at him with slight disgust.
Ah, a psycho. He found a psycho.
Insane creature with battlelust.
No, he was not gonna deal with this today, he’s going to find someplace else to bathe and forget that this weirdo ever existed.
He turned around and started walking away, hearing the other whine in protest. He ignored the ginger, it seems like he won’t cause trouble for others if he didn’t attack xiao straight off the bat.
The fox, ajax, puffs up his cheek and folds his arms, resting his chin on top of them and making his ears droop with disappointment.
“coward…Thought i’d get a willing spar partner. Hmpf, miko-nee said that there were a lot of strong creatures here to find so it doesn’t matter if this guy was a bust.”
He huffs again, tail swaying with agitation and expression turning determined as he dives back in the lake to finish his bath.
He’s already nearing this place called ‘’Liyue harbor’’ So maybe he will find a worthy opponent there…
Ah, the thought of it makes his heart pump with excitement.
Luckily, the fox hasn’t followed him to his next location. He managed to find another lake nearby and washed himself before he returned back to his duties.
There wasn’t any trouble to be found, not even from the ginger so he’s glad he was able to make the correct conclusion of the other not being the kind of creature to attack on sight.
The blue skies turned to soft orange and yellow shades, fading to deep yet pretty reds before it finally settled on dark shades of blues- speckled with twinkling star lights.
The adrenaline has worn off quite some time ago, pain already settling deep in his bones and making him ache.
It seems like his medicine is wearing off too so he’ll have to take a new dose… he knows that his lord will deliver it to him one way or another and he doesn’t want to go get it himself to not waste the others' efforts.
Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath through his nose - breathing out slowly through his mouth in a practiced motion.
He clears his senses and focuses on the sound of the gentle and cool night breeze.
There were faint sounds, but it still reached his ears…the sound of a fight, but there was no scream of help - only delighted (or rather, manic) laughter ringing through the silence of night.
He furrows his brows in suspicion.
It wouldn’t hurt to check out just what is going on. For all he knows, it could just be some insane person hitting something very loudly…but no, there he was again- the fox.
Though this time he was fighting against big ruin hunters.
Two water blades were formed in his hands, skillfully twirling around between his fingers before the ginger rushes ahead and jumps up high, twirling in the air a few times to increase the momentum of his blades before he stabs into the mechanical creature's eyes.
It groans as its power momentarily shuts down, flying engines shutting down and falling to the ground with a loud thump.
The fox pushes his blade in deeper and makes the hydro blade burst with elemental power to finish off the enemy.
Xiao sees how his tail wags with excitement, ears perking and turning to face in his direction.
The fox looks over with a big manic grin at him.
“You know, at this point, i might even assume that you’re stalking me~”
The yaksha sighs and steps out from the shadows, making the spear in his hand dissipates into golden pieces before it vanishes altogether.
He scoffs and stares at the other, momentarily glancing down at the poor ruin guard that was broken and dripping with water now.
“I’m making sure that you stay in line and not hurt this regions residence.”
The ginger pouts, ears drooping again before he huffs
“I’ll have you know, it’s never fun to attack innocent people. I’d rather fight against strong opponents that are willing to fight me - either just to kill me or just for fun~”
Xiao raises his brow with a judging look, making the other place his hands on his hips and puff out his chest proudly
“You can’t judge me. You’re a warrior yourself, aren’t you? I bet you enjoy every single fight of your own!”
Xiao glares at him, giving him a scoff at such childish words.
“I take no joy bathing in blood and collecting the miasma from the creatures that I slay; only the ones who have few screw loose would take fun in this.”
The other one could only roll his eyes at that, humming in thought as he eyes him.
He smiles with mischief yet again, the corners of his lips perking up while his tail sways with mirth.
“Is that so?~ well if you count me as someone with loose screws…”
His grin grows, pearly white teeth glinting with the bright moonlight.
Water starts gathering to his palms yet again, forming the two blades that he was fighting the beast with.
Xiao narrows his eyes at him, making his spear appear again - feeling like the other is gonna charge at him.
“Don’t.”
The fox only giggles before combining the blades and stretching them out into a hydro poll, twirling it around his body with a purr.
“I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself~”