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Yanfei had to stop herself from pacing for the millionth time, something Yelan had already grown quite annoyed by in the past hour. The food wasn’t growing cold anytime soon, having just been set out by Chef Xiangling a few minutes ago, but a constant worry tugged at the edge of her mind.
Where are they?
“Yanfei, the warming plates are doing their job, don’t burn the food.”
Yanfei stopped herself from adding more Pyro below the dishes. “Sorry, Yelan.”
Yelan sighed and crossed her arms. She didn’t want to encourage Yanfei’s anxiety, but she had to admit it had been a while. “I didn’t get to be with Xiao for very long, but he absolutely will keep his promise. And last I checked, he promised he would come to this.”
“After a bit of pleading and insisting the Milileth could handle any monsters in his absence, yes.” Yanfei flopped on one of the chairs, quite unprofessionally for Liyue’s top legal expert. “What if something happened to the boats from Inazuma though?”
“I thought the Shogun had control over thunder and storms.”
“Yes but I don’t believe she would be interested in keeping her protection over a couple of random citizens involved in minor crimina–”
Yelan’s voice came to a halt, and Yanfei jumped from her chair. A blast of Anemo came near them, rustling the tablecloth and banners nearby on the pavilion. Yanfei couldn’t help but glance for wounds but fortunately, this time Xiao wasn’t hurt.
Xiao was quiet, turning slowly as he gazed at the surrounding area. A table was placed out near the edge of the Yuehai Pavillion, a decent distance away from the crowds, but still close enough to the harbor that a great view of the fireworks would be on display after the last bits of sunset vanished.
Yelan was the first to speak. “Thank you for coming, Xiao. The food’s almost ready…there’s some almond tofu for you, as well as some grilled tiger fish, the Traveler told us you also like that.”
“But if you want to try anything else, let us know!” Yanfei said. “You don’t need to feel like you have to or don’t have to do anything.”
Xiao nodded. “Thank you. This will suffice.” He looked at the extra chairs, which came to a total of five. “Is anyone else coming?”
“Ah, I should have told you…” Yanfei’s gaze turned to the floor. “I had no clue if they were coming, but Kuki Shinobu said she was coming to the Lantern Rite and invited her on the spot. She’s bringing Itto as well.”
“I can deal with them,” Xiao said. “They were with us in the Chasm then, right?”
“Hey! Little dude, you’re here!”
As if on cue, a barrage of thumping footsteps sounded. Itto was at the front, half walking, half running, along with Shinobu and a blonde girl with red accessories.
The blonde girl folded her hands once they reached the table, catching her breath in between words. “Sorry…they arrived on time…completely, it’s not their fault!...I needed some help with unloading fireworks, I had no clue they needed to meet someone.”
“It’s fine,” Yanfei said, “fireworks are an essential part of this festival, after all!”
Shinobu reached for the back of a chair. “Thanks…Yanfei, Yelan, Xiao–this is Yoimiya. She’s the owner of Naganohara Fireworks back in Inazuma.”
Itto laughed, suddenly unfazed by the run. “She’s done some pretty epic stuff, lemme tell you! Back during the Vision Hunt Decree, she even–”
“Uh, let’s not talk about that now!” Yoimiya interrupted. She turned to Xiao, and her bright demeanor seemed to dull a little. “Thanks for what you did. Itto and Shinobu are friends of mine, and I’m glad we can all be together now.”
Yelan cast a wary glance at Itto. “What did you tell them?”
“A–Oh I barely remembered anything from after I was knocked out, but Shinobu told me that Xiao saved us.” Itto’s grin became smaller as Yelan’s bracelet began to subtly glow. “We didn’t tell her anything important though!”
“Itto’s right,” Yoimiya said. “You don’t have to worry about me, I was just told you all were great.”
Now Xiao was looking at the floor. Yanfei couldn’t help but be reminded of shy clients she had in the past. “We were all fine, I just did what I had to. You said the Vision Hunt Decree is over?”
Yoimiya nodded. “Yup! Been for at least a year. I heard you know the Traveler? Yeah, they were involved in a bunch of that.” She took a few steps closer to Xiao. He didn’t back off. “I hope you like the Lantern Rite. And hey, if you ever want to come to Inazuma, just let me know!”
Ah, of course the Traveler was involved somehow.
With that, the girl skipped back to the steps. Perhaps an illusion, but faint sparks of Pyro seemed to come from her vision, matching the stars just starting to shine in the twilight.
Shinobu sat in her chair. “Yoimiya’s very…joyful most of the time.”
“I can see,” Xiao said.
“Can’t wait to see what she does!” Itto turned to Xiao. “Epic to see you again little dude, I hope you know you’re an honorary member of the gang now!” He held out his fist towards Xiao, who held out his own hand in an unsure response. Itto awkwardly curled Xiao’s hand and bumped their fists together. “We’ll have to teach you the super secret handshake later. How about coming to Inazuma?”
“Itto!” Shinobu yelled.
“Hey, I just wanted to let him know it was an option!”
Yelan chuckled, finally uncrossing her arms and sitting as well. “Did you bring Ushi along this time?”
Itto stepped back from the table, stretching his hands. With quite a bit of flair, he punched forward and a small bull appeared in a flash of gold. Ushi took no time to start dancing happily near the guests.
Yanfei chuckled, giving Yelan a little nudge. “Glad to see you’re getting along this time.”
“This time,” Yelan repeated quietly.
They all sat down, Ushi dancing with no end in sight next to Itto’s chair. Xiao took the one near the almond tofu and grilled fish, just a slight distance away from everyone else. Shinobu and Itto both folded their hands. “いただきます!”
Yanfei grinned. “我开动了!”
Itto nearly dived face-first into his plate, while Yelan took her time setting up her napkin and carefully selecting from the variety of dishes. Xiao found himself not reaching for anything, somewhat overwhelmed even though he had only two in mind in the first place.
Yelan stopped in the middle of getting some shrimp balls. “Shinobu, make sure to save some of the almond tofu for Xiao.”
Shinobu quickly stopped serving herself. “Sorry!”
“It’s fine, I don’t need much,” Xiao said.
Yelan took a bite from the shrimp. “If it’s all right for me to ask, why are you so fond of it? I’m a little surprised that you’re a sweet tooth.”
“It’s…because of a few reasons.” Xiao added a little to his plate just to stop feeling so out of place. “The texture is like a sweet dream, if you can make any sense of that.”
Yelan nodded thoughtfully. “If you’d like, I made a fairly delicate shrimp dish for this. It’s not the same, but I’d say the shrimp is quite smooth. Give it a try if you’d like–although there is a bit of spice to it.”
“I doubt spice could hurt me much,” Xiao said.
Itto looked up from his plate. “Did someone say spice?”
Xiao took a few pieces of shrimp with his chopsticks. They were round and shiny, with drizzles of some sort of sauce, and on a plate an intricate blue design. Yelan really had a thing for that color.
“It’s not as soft as I’m used to,” he said, “but I don’t taste–”
Yanfei hopped in her chair when he started coughing, but was quick to hand him some milk. She couldn’t help but feel reminded of when he came to them hurt in the chasm.
“Oh, woah, that’s definitely some spice!” Itto said. “I’ve got to try some–there are no beans, right?”
Yelan had just barely confirmed that the shrimp was safe by the time he had taken some, downing them in one bite.
“Mmm–ok that is really good!” He coughed. “Spicy, but–wow, spicy, uh, little dude, gotta take some of that–” He poured some of the milk into his own glass. “At least you won’t have to worry about me taking your tofu, beans and all, haha!”
Yelan didn’t bother hiding her smile. “I’ll make sure to add to my intelligence reports that an oni gang leader and an adeptus have a weakness to chili.”
Xiao and Itto both took on an indignant expression, far too serious for the joke. Yanfei couldn’t help but laugh.
“Hey, I eat chili sometimes!” Itto said. Xiao just took more almond tofu.
Even with the incident, the dinner went on well. Yanfei and Shinobu had plenty of time to reconnect about studying law and the gaps of time after she left the school and when they had departed from the chasm. Yelan, as usual, managed to fit well into any conversation topic, and Itto went on plenty of tangents about his time with the gang, sometimes translating for Ushi.
“So…I need to understand, does he actually understand Ushi?” Yanfei whispered to Shinobu, as Itto was explaining in careful detail some kerfuffle the gang had gotten into and how it would have been really, really cool to have had an adeptus with them.
“Definitely,” Shinobu said. “From what I can tell, Ushi has existed for much longer, and he’s just tied to Itto’s vision now so he can summon him whenever he wants…also the things he says sometimes are absolutely not what the boss can come up with.”
Surprisingly, even Xiao had managed to get into the conversation. He normally despised small talk, and still did, but his interest was sometimes piqued by events in Inazuma and modern Liyue. The discussion went all over the place. Itto ranted about the Vision Hunt Decree, Xiao and Yanfei recalled their experiences during the last Rite of Descension, and Shinobu and Yelan spoke about random interests and hobbies they had picked up during their work.
Xiao finally found himself starting a topic. “Shinobu, why are you so often wearing a mask?”
“It’s complicated,” she said, fidgeting with the black half-mask laying on the table near her. “Long story short, I come from a family of shrine maidens, and…that’s just not something for me. I just don’t want to be recognized on the streets, that’s all.”
“So…you didn’t feel called to your duty?” Xiao asked.
“It wasn’t exactly like that, I wouldn’t ever consider it my “duty”--I didn’t mean to imply anything, being a shrine maiden is very different than what the adepti or Qixing do–”
“No, I wasn’t trying to say that.” Xiao took a small bite of grilled fish. “I just found it…odd.”
Yanfei pointed at the sky. “Look! They’re starting the fireworks!”
Nothing could be heard. Yelan twisted her neck to the horizon. “Where?”
“Aw, you missed it,” Itto said. “I only saw the tail end. It was a small one.”
Yanfei turned back to the table. “Well, I don’t know about you all, but I’m stuffed.” The others muttered in affirmation. “How about we go to the hill to get a good view?”
Xiao slid his chair back. “I…I’ll probably go, I can see them from far–”
Yelan reached her hand out, not quite touching him but making him stop. “Actually, we wanted to show you something, if you could stay a little while longer.”
Xiao paused. What was after this besides fireworks and lanterns? “I suppose.”
Shinobu pulled a large bag from under the table, though while all noticed, no one said a word about it. They cleaned up what they could, and once the Yuehai Pavillion workers arrived to take away the rest, they headed across the terrace to a path. The walk was short, dotted with silk flowers and even a few glaze lilies.
“I remember when these used to be all over the plains…” Xiao murmured.
They reached the top of a hill, with a perfect view of every rooftop in the harbor. Shinobu set down a blanket on the grass, and Xiao headed to a nearby rock.
Yanfei called his name.
“Before the lanterns rise,” she said, “there’s one thing we wanted to give you, from all of us.”
“…you don’t need to give me anything,” Xiao said.
Yelan stepped forward, taking the bag from Shinobu. “In a way, we should. The lantern rite was originally created as not only a time for wishes, but also to give thanks for the safety and stability in the previous year. The Adepti and Yakshas were a great reason for that, and even in this new era, they still are now.” She stopped, inhaled, and reached into the bag.
Xiao felt his breath get trapped as well when he saw the familiar pattern on the lantern. It was an intricate design with waves of blue and glaze lilies, along with the design of an old mask, with four bright eyes.
“Yanfei and I managed to collect as much information as we could on the yakshas, and the Traveler helped as well. A man named Zhongli in the harbor seemed to have quite the library of knowledge.” Yelan held the lantern forward. “Bonanus, or General Chizapus, wielded hydro in battle. She was gentle and meek in demeanor, almost shy, but had deceptive strength.” She placed the lantern on the rock. “I hope you accept this tribute to her.”
Itto came next, his previous joviality slightly dulled. Ushi trotted close behind. His lantern was large and covered in geometric shapes, along with elegant depictions of gemstones. At the front was a dragon-like mask. “Since we both use Geo, I’m giving you the lantern for General Kapisas. I don’t know much about Liyue’s history, but Ushi helped me put this together. He was noble, lawful, and liked to watch from the background…not exactly like me, heh.” He held the lantern out to Xiao, then placed it on the rock. Before he stepped back, he added. “I know he was friends with Chizapus, before…everything. Sorry about all that, little dude.”
Xiao blinked away a sudden burning in his eyes.
Shinobu took Itto’s place. Her lantern was the easiest to recognize thus far, with purple lightning, dark clouds, and a ferocious mask design. “I’m honored to give you this lantern, for Bosacius. I remember he was the one you went to look for, and I hope he is at peace. You said yourself Marshal Vritras was proud, bold, and courageous. I hope this gives him some of the honor he would have wanted.”
A part of Xiao wanted this to stop. Not because it dishonored his comrades, because it was the most honor they had ever received in such a long, long time. He couldn’t even say he didn’t like it, but he had never felt this sense of knowledge and understanding from anyone other than those who were around during that time.
Yanfei held back with her lantern. Xiao nodded.
“I never got to meet the other yakshas,” she said, stepping towards him. “I’m not much older than a mortal, but it would have been nice to be around to meet them.” With a spark of Pyro, she lit her lamp. The designs, which appeared dull at first compared to the others, lit up with a unique passion. Violetgrass, flame patterns matching the ferocity of those inside the lantern, and a rounded mask.
Once upon a time, that mask wasn’t shattered, and the woman who wore it wasn’t burned from the inside by her own similar fire.
“This,” Yanfei said, “is in honor of General Musatas. She was confident, open, but also very kind. She was very much a sister to you, and always dreamt of a peaceful future among her skilled and heated battles.” The lamp was placed on the rock, and then Yanfei got one more out. “And this one is for you, General Alatus.”
Xiao took the lantern, suddenly realizing his hands were shaking. The patterns on the lantern reflected those of his clothing, with green hues and his own mask design.
“I…” he began.
Yanfei reached out again, in case she needed to take the lantern back. “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry if you don’t like it—“
“It’s not that,” Xiao said, almost inaudibly. He felt the burn in his eyes and throat again, a feeling he knew of but hadn’t felt for so long, and never let out for even longer.
“Oh, come here!” Itto said. He walked to Xiao, arms open. When Xiao didn’t hesitate, he dove in for the hug. It was almost suffocatingly strong, and Xiao couldn’t help but feel reminded of Bosacius’ four-armed bear hugs.
The others each went in, Yanfei slowly joining in on the group hug, while Shinobu and Yelan each put a hand on his shoulder.
Xiao cleared his throat. “I uh, don’t think I can breath like this much longer.”
They all stepped back, and when Xiao saw the sky again, a couple lanterns had already begun their ascent.
“You can let them go whenever you want,” Yanfei said.
Xiao looked at the five lanterns thoughtfully. “Each of you gave them to me, so you may release the others.”
“Are you sure you’d like us to do it?” Yelan asked.
Itto pumped a fist in the air, Ushi mooing with similar excitement. “Awesome! They all get to go at the same time!”
The lanterns continued to fill the horizon, slowly drifting up into the sky. The stars faded among their golden light as Xiao, Yanfei, Yelan, Shinobu, and Itto each stood along the edge of the hill. With no words, they gently pushed the lanterns up in unison, and their colors shone bright among the golds and reds.
This was the third lantern rite in a row where Xiao had smiled, and the first time any of the others, even Yanfei, saw him do so. It was gentle, barely there, and had a sadness to it. But his brothers and sisters were now flying high as they once did, and until he could join them, they all would be his family.