A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Childe/ Tartaglia x Lumine Fanfic
During The Summer Festival in Inazuma, Lumine encountered a kitsune-masked man. He was strange, yet so familiar. Who could he be?...
(Art commissioned by me)
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When Lumine and Paimon set foot in Inazuma, the weather was midsummer. In the sweltering air, the streets strewn with cherry blossoms became ever more bustling. The Summer Festival had arrived, with residents across Inazuma putting aside their daily worries to enjoy the best things summer had to offer.
Even travelers like Lumine and Paimon could not resist being invited to the festival. The lady from Kamisato house had asked Lumine and Paimon to accompany her, but something unexpected caused her to make another appointment. Determined not to miss the occasion, Lumine and Paimon agreed to take to the streets in new outfits that Ayaka had sent them.
Inazuma clothing is multi-layered and slightly harder to wear than previously worn by Lumine. In the summer, people do not wear too many layers due to the hot weather. As she put on the yukata, Lumine secretly admired its beauty: each needle line was very neat and beautiful, the outfit was pale yellow, dotted with cherry blossoms, especially it was not as hot as she had thought. There was also a hand fan made of bamboo and fabric of the same color as her yukata, which featured koi fish. Lumine remembered that Ayaka once told her about the types of fans, and this one was called “uchiwa,” and the koi pattern symbolized good luck.
“Traveler! You look beautiful!”
Lumine turned to her companion. Paimon wore the same patterned yukata as her, but it was pink and white. Her little friend looked more adorable than ever.
“I was thinking if my dress is a bit tight. If Paimon can’t eat anything tonight, I’ll be so angry at the Kamisato!”
Lumine burst into laughter.
The bustling city of Inazuma greeted them in the glorious sunset. On both sides of the road, colorful lanterns were lit. Everywhere was filled with different restaurants and stalls; flowers, prayer charms, masks, and decorations that extended all the way to Amakane Island. The most sold was, of course, food. Needless to say, Paimon loved to be here.
“Whoa! What a crowd!” Paimon remarked as they mingled with the group of walkers. “Don’t leave me behind, Traveler!”
However, it was Lumine who was left behind when Paimon was caught up in the roadside food stalls. The little companion flew up and then swooped down on literally every stall she saw, as they offered free tastings. A few minutes later, Lumine could not see Paimon anymore.
Lumine could not fly like Paimon. She had to squeeze through the stream of smiling and talking people to find her friend. Inazuma City is large, with small streets intertwined and connected to one another. After a long search, Lumine accepted the fact that she had lost Paimon.
Lumine sighed. It’s also unclear where she was on the map of Inazuma City. She wandered alone, looking at the streets and rolled her eyes to every corner to see if Paimon was somewhere around. Not paying attention to the path, she suddenly bumped into someone's back.
“Sorry… I’m sorry!” Lumine said, embarrassed.
In front of her was a white yukata patterned with light blue waves. Whoever she bumped into was much taller than her. Then, he turned around.
Lumine noticed that he was wearing a kitsune mask on his face. Although his face was unknown to her, his appearance was very familiar; tall and slim, with short, choppy orange hair, even his voice was like that person.
“Are you alright, Miss?”
Lumine was frozen for a moment.
"You're not hurt, are you? You should be careful in such a crowded place like this. I can’t bear to see a beautiful lady like you get hurt."
Lumine frowned. Even these teasing words were very similar to a person she knew.
"We've met before, haven't we?" She asked frankly. Lumine does not like to play the vague game.
The one in kitsune mask laughed out loud:
“Quite a bold young lady, aren’t you? Perhaps we’ve met, in my sweetest dreams.”
Lumine blushed. She was both embarrassed and a little angry. How dared a stranger make fun of her like that?
“If you’re not the person I know, then I’m sorry for bothering you.”
Saying so, Lumine was about to leave, but the man stopped her.
"Wait. I'm sorry I teased you. But you look a little lost, Miss. Is there anything I can do to help you?"
Lumine weighed in on it a bit. She really needed to find Paimon and get back to the inn. Yet was this stranger trustworthy?
“Are you a local?” Lumine asked.
"No. I'm an outsider, just like you. The only difference is that I've been here for a while. I have some personal business here."
If it's a private matter, it's best not to ask. Lumine thought so. She hesitated for a moment and replied:
"I'm actually looking for my friends. I’ve just lost her."
"Then you've met the right person. I know every corner around here."
Seeing that Lumine did not believe him, the man said, "Come on, don't look at me like that! I just want to help a far-away traveler. That’s all."
"All right." Lumine replied. "But if you ask for mora, I don't have much..."
The masked man looked at her for a moment and then laughed so loudly that passers-by stared at them.
"Haha! Miss, you're funny! Why do you think my kindness needs to be reciprocated?"
Lumine paused for a moment. Her days of adventure from Mondstadt to Liyue, and now Inazuma, helped her come to terms with one thing: everything has a price. In other words, you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.
"Well... I'm sorry I didn't think right about you..." Lumine replied.
"Then, would you accept my help?"
Lumine nodded and said nothing more, but she thought that she would definitely repay today's favor.
They walked through the crowded streets. The masked man told Lumine about Inazuma and about the culture here. It helped widening her perspectives. If she hadn't bothered to look for Paimon, she would have enjoyed the whole atmosphere.
But there's no denying that everything at the Summer Festival was so special and distracted her over and over again. She came across a mask stall by the side of the road and turned to look at the person next to her.
"Do you want to buy a mask too, Miss?" He asked.
"Not really... I'm just thinking your mask is more beautiful and elaborate than what they sell."
The masked man adjusted his mask a little. Lumine saw him laughing.
"Of course. This is something I painted myself! If you want, I'll paint a same one for you."
Lumine waved her hand. “No, there's no need…” she said, but he pulled her into a nearby stall and asked the owner about the masks which customers could paint themselves.
Lumine watched intently as he painted the mask with red, black lines, and yellow dots. Moments later, he gave it to her.
"Here. For you."
Lumine picked up the mask, examining it with amusement.
"Thank you."
"Let me put it on for you."
Lumine looked up at him sheepishly.
"I... I can wear it myself."
Seemingly unable to hear her say anything, he took the mask and put it on one side of her hair.
"T-Thank you..." Lumine said, gazing down at her feet.
The man smiled.
"Hey, I don't even know your name." Lumine said as they continued to go.
"Call me Mr. Kitsune. The kids in Inazuma call me that." He replied and waved to a group of children in the distance.
He seemed to be very loved by children. Lumine thinks that any person who is liked by children cannot be evil by nature. Suddenly she thought of someone she knew. Could it be...? But how could a Harbinger like him be here? She looked around. There's no sight of the Fatui nearby. Was it all just her imagination?
The two walked into a smaller yet not less crowded street. Immediately, Lumine’s attention was caught by a crowd playing a very interesting game. They gathered next to a large pot of water, inside there were many goldfish. Each person held a seemingly fragile racket made out of paper, and tried to get the fish into their little bucket as much as possible during a specific amount of time.
"Do you want to try it?" Mr. Kitsune asked after seeing Lumine’s interest in the game for a long time.
Lumine nodded.
Mr. Kitsune said something to the woman who appeared to be the owner there, and she handed them two rackets and two small buckets.
In excitement, Lumine sat down and Mr. Kitsune sat next to her. Picking up turned out to be much more difficult than it seemed. The racket was flat and very easy to tear, and the dodgy fish seemed to have learned to avoid players and irritate them, skillfully.
Lumine's racket was torn shortly after she thought she had picked up the first fish. She looked to the side. Mr. Kitsune gave her a new one.
"Thank you." Lumine responded and the excitement returned. There's no way she’s going to lose to these goldfish!
After a hard fight, Lumine finally got her first fish. She eagerly turned to Mr. Kitsune to show it off, but then her face went sullen immediately when she saw his bucket full of fish. What was more obnoxious was that he rested his head on one hand and caught the fish only with the other hand. His attitude of fish-picking was very relaxed, not as strenuous as Lumine's at all.
"How did you get so many fish?" She asked.
"Oh... I don't know. Perhaps it’s my talent?"
He had just finished speaking when another fish fell into his bucket. Lumine gave up and dropped her racket into the bucket. She sat and watched him pick up the fish. From time to time, she pointed to the fish she wanted him to catch.
“This one! It has a nice color.”
"You do know that we have to return the fish after the game, right?" He laughed and moved his hand to pick up the fish Lumine wanted.
After the time was up, Mr. Kitsune got the highest prize: a stuffed fox. He gave it to Lumine.
"It does look like you." Lumine looked at the fox in her hands and commented as the two left. It has soft orange fur, a white belly and four black legs.
"Then every time you see it, you will think of me."
He replied without a hint of shame. But Lumine was blushing like a red tomato. Seemingly aware of her intention to return the fox, he said:
"In Inazuma, it is considered disrespectful to return the given gifts.”
Lumine pinched the fox's nose with a force. She thought about turning it into a sandbag for Paimon to practice her fighting skills, but then it was also too cute for that.
After coming to the end of the street, Lumine realized they had reached the gate of Inazuma. The outside of the city was as bustling as the inside, but the air was fresh and pleasant thanks to the sea. The moon was high, and Paimon was still nowhere to be seen.
Looking around for a moment, Mr. Kitsune said:
"Maybe your friend has gone to Amakane Island. It is the best place to watch the fireworks. Besides, there is also a well-known street stall selling delicious oden.”
Perhaps Paimon would not go there to see the fireworks, but for the food, yes. Lumine agreed to join Mr. Kitsune on the walk to Amakane Island to find her friend. They walked a long way across the coast. Along the way, Lumine noticed that the people of Inazuma City were also heading to the island as they were mostly hands-to-hand couples with smiles. There were butterflies inside her stomach when she thought that walking side by side with Mr. Kitsune like this made them look like a couple.
"Tell me about your friend." Mr. Kitsune suddenly spoke up. "The one whom you thought I was."
Lumine mused. "I don't know if we're friends anymore..."
"What's wrong? Did he do something bad?"
"It could be put that way." Lumine recalled the mess that the Eleventh Harbinger of Fatui – Tartaglia had made in Liyue. Worse than that, he had taken advantage of her trust, leaving her caught up in a dispute between forces like a puppet. Even though everything had been resolved, she still could not let it go easily.
"If he's a bad guy, you should beat him to death and never speak to him again."
Those words made Lumine laugh.
"I do want to beat him up. But..." She paused for a moment and then continued. "There’s also a good side of him that changes my opinions on him. I wonder what his true face is."
They walked a little further. The sound of waves was caught in her ears. Lumine saw some crabs digging the sand and hiding from people in the distance.
"Everyone has their own masks to wear, Miss." Mr. Kitsune said. "One day, I hope he'll have the courage to take his mask off in front of you."
Lumine gazed up at the man wearing the fox mask next to her for a moment. Wasn’t he hiding his face from her too? What's that fox mask hiding that she didn’t know yet? But everyone has secrets, and Lumine is not much of a pryer.
As soon as they arrived at Amakane Island, Lumine’s nose was immediately attacked by the aroma of food emanating from street vendors. Perhaps she was really hungry after the hopeless search for Paimon, and a long walk to this place. Now Lumine just wanted to sit down and eat all the food that the people here had to offer.
Mr. Kitsune led Lumine to an oden stall. They were seated right in front of the counter and the smoke and aroma emanating from the kitchen in front of them made Lumine's stomach rumble louder than ever. There was no need to wait long, their food was served soon after. Lumine's bowl had a variety of food: fish balls, boiled eggs, fried tofu, radishes and even noodles. She happily picked up her chopsticks and grabbed the food, but then realized that Mr. Kitsune was still sitting and looking at his oden bowl in a rather contemplative way.
"Aren’t you going to eat?" Lumine asked.
"Ah..." Mr. Kitsune seemed confused. He picked up his bamboo chopsticks awkwardly.
That person doesn't even know how to hold a chopstick too... Lumine brushed that thought away as soon as it appeared. She should have let go of the obsession which was him for a long time. Somehow, in all the places she went and the people she met, Lumine was looking for such a familiar silhouette in the past.
"Here, let me show you." Lumine reached out her chopsticks to Mr. Kitsune and demonstrated how to hold them little by little. There were moments when their hands touched and Lumine found herself blushing more than necessary.
"You're so good!" Mr. Kitsune's remarks made Lumine's cheeks flush to the ears.
"Well... It's just a normal skill..." She replied, recalling her days at Liyue, when she had practiced holding chopsticks skillfully to pick up food before Paimon ate it all.
Lumine ate her oden and praised the chef's talent. She also kept her eyes on Mr. Kitsune. He merely lifted the mask a little to eat, and the place they sat was not bright enough for Lumine to see his face clearly.
After the oden, Lumine was once again invited by Mr. Kitsune to a tri-color dango treat. Realizing that she was being treated too much, she offered to pay for some octopus balls called takoyaki which later on she had quite a memory of. It's a dish of spherical scones made of flour, with chopped octopus fillings and some other ingredients inside, then fried in a special pan that has a lot of semicircular concave parts. Lumine bought a square plate containing four takoyaki arranged neatly inside and she skewered one to her mouth.
“Wait!”
But It was too late for Mr. Kitsune, Lumine had put a whole round takoyaki in her mouth. She looked at him and wondered why he was leaning up as if he’s afraid her tongue was burnt. The food was cold enough to be eaten. But that's just what she thought.
When she bit into the crust and spilled the filling, Lumine knew why Mr. Kitsune had warned her. The filling was so hot that Lumine's tongue tip was on fire. She rushed a hand to her mouth, tears welling up. She tried to chew and swallow the food. Fortunately, it wasn't so hot to the point it actually burned her tongue.
Mr. Kitsune gave her a cool cup of tea. Lumine, after regaining her composure, noticed that he had been chuckled all along. She grimaced, took a sip of tea and said in a furious tone:
"You don't have to laugh at me like that."
Mr. Kitsune tried to suppress his laughter and replied, "Sorry... I've never seen anyone eating takoyaki in such a cute way."
Lumine's face was red, not knowing whether it was the food being too hot or because she was embarrassed.
Nearby, there was a place filled with tiny hexagonal wooden cards. Mr. Kitsune said Lumine could write her prayers on the card and hang it up. She took one and wrote her wish, hoping that she would soon be reunited with her twin brother. Mr. Kitsune just stood beside her, his eyes looking away.
"You don’t have a prayer?"
"I don't need it." He replied. "My wish has already come true tonight."
Lumine wondered what his wish was, but she doubted that a mysterious man like him would let her know too much about himself.
They still could not find Paimon. Mr. Kitsune said that having gone to this place, at least they should see the fireworks. So Lumine and he climbed the moss-covered stone steps filled with weeds, through the red torii gates that had faded over the years. The whole road felt as the entrance to a wonderland with fireflies and magical forests.
There were also a few others walking up to the fireworks watching location. One of them accidentally bumped into Lumine causing her to slip. She thought she was going to fall, but Lumine was saved. She found herself in Mr. Kitsune's arm and her head on his shoulder. He stood just one step behind her. And then, Lumine caught his blue eyes.
They’re the same like someone’s…
Embarrassed, Lumine stood up. "T-Thank you..." She said, turning her face away.
Lumine was not used to walking on Inazuma wooden slippers. She blamed them just to avoid thinking about the real cause of her confusion. Mr. Kitsune suddenly stood closer by her and said:
"Hold on to my hand, you won't fall again."
He did not look at Lumine but his hand was reaching out in front of her. Lumine hesitated but held on to it at last. They walked slowly up all the stone steps, to a cherry tree and sat down on a large rock, just in time for the very first fireworks to break out.
The night sky was lit up and there was a loud explosion. Colorful fireworks flew into the sky, then dissolved into hundreds of small rays of light. Lumine watched and admired their beauty. It was truly an ideal place to watch fireworks shoot from Inazuma City. Lumine turned to the man who brought her here.
"Though I can't find my friend, I'm happy that I’ve had a chance to enjoy the festival and watch the fireworks with you."
Mr. Kitsune seemed surprised and delighted.
"It is my honor to accompany you, Miss."
Lumine felt her cheeks burning up again. Perhaps all along the way, she had already known who the man in the kitsune mask really was.
"I hope that we'll see each other again soon."
*
* *
It was late at night. There were no more fireworks or laughter. Yet there was still a shadow of the person sitting under the cherry tree, even when the girl with him had already left for a while.
Next to him was a crimson mask, which seemed to exude a kind of dangerous and tempting power. But all his attention was on the harmless kitsune mask in his hand. All that happened tonight felt like a dream. Having known the Traveler had come to Inazuma, he still did not expect that she had found him herself, bumping into him among so many people on the street.
He had always wanted to see her again, ever since their farewell in Liyue. He constantly talked about her in letters to his family, as if they were very close friends; perhaps more than friends?
What could he expect, when fate always puts them on different sides of the battle? He fought for what he believed, and she always chose to help those who opposed him. But deep down in him was the desire to see her again, to see her smile at him once more. He wanted to touch her, but feared she would disappear like fireflies.
Therefore, having a walk with her, eating together and watching the fireworks next to her; everything that happened tonight was a beautiful dream in the middle of the summer night. Delightful and sweet, yet came and faded away too quickly. After all, at least he knew she still remembered him.
If only she didn't. That way, she would not have to be upset when they meet again, maybe in another battle here in this land. She had hoped that they would see each other again soon, but he'd rather she not knew who was with her tonight.
Tartaglia put down the kitsune mask and picked up his Harbinger mask. He turned his gaze to the sky, praying silently that the stars would remember today for eternity. Then he put on the heavy mask and left.
-The End-
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Au's note: It's been a while since my last Genshin fic. Hope you guys enjoy this one. I really love Japanese festivals in summer and this piece was inspired by those, and with the in-game activities/ atmosphere too of course!
For the fanart posted with this story, I think of it as something happens one or a few more years later after the events in the fic. Then, Childe and Lumine would have another date at the festival, and enjoy eating takoyaki together.
My Genshin Masterlist: x