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Chapter Text

The First Encounter

It was a humid summer day just like any other, Three sat on the front porch, it seemed like it had rained a few hours earlier.

Ei and Miko sat on both sides of Kunikuzushi, While Miko was dramatically stretching Ei took a seat next to her son who seemed to be deeply disappointed about something. 

Miko must’ve been stretching in the direction where the boy with the bowl cut was looking because it seriously irritated him. “Seriously! Could you stop putting your arms in my face?” smirking to herself, the woman who was sly as a fox stood up from her spot on the porch “Why don’t we go greet the neighbors, Who knows maybe you’ll make some friends” The pink haired woman said while putting Kunikuzushi’s baseball hat on him in a joking manner.

“I don’t want to greet the neighbors!” he said while standing up and yelling.

Before the two women could react, the boy with the bowl cut ran off of the front porch and towards a hill near their house that was adorned with weeping willow trees at the bottom of the hill.

Ei who was zoning out snapped out of it and looked at Miko in shock before The pink haired woman brushed it off, “He’s probably just upset we moved before letting him see his friends again, he’ll come back, don’t worry”

Clearly upset about something, The young boy in the navy baseball cap with the Red Oversized graphic t-shirt and brown shorts that stopped right before it covered his knees.

After a little running the boy got tired and plopped onto the tall, soft grass and pressed his knees against his chest, I wanted to move away from Inazuma but I didn’t think we were going to leave that quickly, I didn’t get a chance to say bye to Kazuha and Heizou, what if they’re upset about me not seeing them one last time?

While the boy with the bowl cut was in deep thought, the grass near him started moving which alarmed him as he saw a boy waking up from a nap in the grass.

A boy with vibrant amber eyes, dark green hair, sleeveless mint colored hoodie that seemed as if it was made from the most gentle silk embroidery that stretched passed his torso and with the flowy ends of a white shirt sticking out before white silk bloomers met in the middle. The boy was also wearing red flats which was out of the ordinary for a boy the same age as Kunikuzushi.

He’s.. pretty.. Like a painting..

“Ngh” the boy groaned as he rubbed his eyes before realizing someone else was sitting next to him. The boy quickly sat up which caused Kuni to jump back in surprise. “Who’re you?” The boy with the amber eyes said while tilting his head, The boy with the indigo hair felt startled and turned his head away before answering. “I’m Raiden Kunikuzushi” he said while sitting with his knees close to his chest, before Xiao could even finish forming words to reply to the boy sitting next to him, a blonde boy with a white sailor uniform with a white barrette appeared behind the tree.

“Hi Xiao!!” The blonde boy with the long braid said before jumping onto Xiao, The blonde boy was so quick to dive onto Xiao that Kuni was so startled he moved away just so he wouldn’t be hit by his shoes.

The boy with the green hair and the blond boy giggled and rolled around in the grass before the boy in the sailor uniform realized he forgot what he was here for. He recalled what Lumine had told him earlier, “There’s new neighbors that moved in next to Xiao’s place, and Dainsleif said they have a son that’s our age, we should go see who it is!”

With a determined look Aether got off of Xiao and turned towards Kuni which bewildered him.

What did I do this time? The boy with the indigo hair thought to himself “You guys just moved in next door right?” The boy with the blonde hair said eagerly, with a warming smile on his face, “My name is Aether! I live in the house with the tire swing down the street, I live with my older brother Dainsleif and my twin sister Lumine!” He said before grabbing Kuni’s hands and saying, “we’re gonna have so much fun together! I can feel it!”

Before he knew it, Kunikuzushi was getting dragged to stand with his feet by Aether who wanted to show him something, “Come with me!” He said while happily dragging the boy he just met to his house. Xiao, who was following right behind, called out to them, “Wait for me!”

Chapter Text

Xiao, who was following right behind, called out to them, “Wait for me!”

The three boys made their way towards Aether’s house and the blonde boy excitedly opened the door and slipped his shoes off before running in, leaving the other two to follow.
“Just put your shoes on the shelf” Xiao told Kuni

Aether ran towards the entrance of the kitchen that was next to the living room.

The kitchen had checkered flooring and a vintage phonograph played music lightly and calmly on a table near the television stand.

When the boys came into the kitchen they discovered a blonde haired man who looked scary similar to Aether, and a young boy with Navy hair and an eye patch.

A boy about the same age as the 3 who just walked in was sniffling, Dainsleif knelt to be about the same height as the boy with the blue hair and in an identical sailor uniform as Aether.

He talked to the boy in the eye patch very softly, as if trying not to scare him.

“Don’t worry it’ll be alright, They don’t hate you, You’re just returning to where you belong. Staying with them was temporary, He won’t be mad at you forever okay?” The man with the scar said while standing up and patting the boy’s head.

Before the room could get any quieter, Aether jumped up and tugged on the sleeves of Dainsleif’s black compression shirt, which got his attention.

“Dain can Kuni and Xiao come with us to the beach?” “Kuni? Is that your new friend here?” Pointing behind him, making Kaeya peak his head out behind Dain.

What the boy with the navy hair failed to notice was Dainsleif looking right at him before scooping him up in his arms and tickling him, causing the boy to erupt with laughter, kicking his feet wildly, looking carefree after all those weeks of sorrow and boredom.

Xiao was helping himself to tofu he found in the fridge while leaning on the counter, while Aether was in the middle of tickling Kaeya, Kunikuzushi stood there, Idly.

How come they get to be happy like that but We can’t, he thought to himself while looking away, sourly.
Dainsleif must’ve caught on and put Kaeya down before saying “It’s alright, You can come with us,no worries, But are your parents alright with you coming with us?”

The boy with the indigo hair that was once fiddling with his fingers looked up at the man then made an expression as if he was in pensive thought.

Who gave them the idea that I was going to come with them..

In the end they all ended up squeezing into Dainseifs black 4x4.

The front of the car had 4 seats, one for the driver, which was Dainsleif and next to Dainsleif was Lumine, Hu Tao and Aether, While the back had 3 seats and by whatever god was Incharge of luck must’ve held a grudge against Kunikuzushi, because he was squished in between the shy boy with the Navy hair and the eyepatch, named Kaeya and on his other side was Xiao who was staring out the window.

The car ride to the beach wasn’t as quiet and awkward as Kuni thought it would be. The three in the front of the car were singing songs so loudly, it hurt to listen, but it was better than an oddly quiet song.

What the boy with the indigo hair had been wondering was why did Xiao and his sister, Hu Tao have outfits you see in Magazines? It was so odd but weirdly better if they were getting attention from their parents anyway.

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When they neared the beach, Dainsleif had rolled the windows down and the fresh smell of the ocean had started invading the car.

What caught Kuni’s attention was the boats lined up near the shore, though he wasn’t near the window, he leaned close to Xiao, instead of Kaeya, as the boy with the eyepatch would probably freeze up.

Xiao and Kuni both gaze out of the window at the ocean, in awe, though Kuni was a little surprised by the fact that Xiao was leaning very close to the door of the car. Maybe he's never been here?

Xiao must’ve noticed the other boy staring before he spoke up.
“This isn't my first time at the beach, Is it your first time near the ocean?”

The boy in the indigo, still staring out the window while talking, “Yeah, it is”
He spoke slowly, as he wasn’t paying attention to what was being said.

Wait what did I just say? Immediately, he turned his head to look at Xiao, who must’ve been patientally waiting for him.

Lumine must’ve heard their conversation from the front seat, as she quickly turned around to join in. “Wait, It’s your FIRST TIME at the Beach!?” she said with disbelief.

“Yeah it is, What’s it to you?” The boy with the bowl cut said with a biting undertone, which left Lumine to scoff and cross her arms before she loudly started talking to Aether who was sharing a snack bag with Hu tao.

“Aether how come you always make friends with Lame Moody people like Xiao and that guy!?”
She said with a huff, that earned a quiet laugh from Dainsleif, who was looking for a parking space to park the car.

Aether then quickly swallowed whatever junk he and Hu Tao were munching on before bickering back at Lumine. “Your friends are annoying too! And Xiao and Kuni aren’t lame!”

Just when Kuni was about to bark back at Lumine’s snarky remarks, The boy with the eyepatch who originally went unnoticed noticed by him started tugging at his sleeve which startled him.

“Do you know how to swim?” Kaeya asked eagerly, leaving Kunikuzushi to wonder, What the hell am I doing here? I can’t swim..

Kaeya, noticing the silence, he spoke up, “Don’t worry! There are floaties in the back of the car” He said with a smile, “My name’s Kaeya, What’s yours?” “Kunikuzushi”
He said whilst turning his head away towards where Xiao was sitting.

What he didn’t expect was for the green haired boy to speak up, “The smell of the ocean is nice” before he got up on his knees and stuck his head out of the window, escaping the sounds of chatter and smiling at the wind in his face.

Kunikuzushi who was staring at Xiao who was enjoying his time sticking out the window, “Why does he have such a funny outfit on?” the indigo haired boy said without thinking.
Hu Tao responded dramatically, “UGHHH, Papa makes us wear that stuff, They're super crazy about Fashion. My name’s Hu Tao by the way, I already know your name!”

By the time they reached the Beach, The three in the front had already hopped out and ran to the trunk while Xiao, Kaeya and Kuni were getting out.

Dainsleif had come to open the trunk of the car and revealed the cooler, bag of fruits, umbrellas, beach towels, and a backpack with a change of clothes for the kids.

The blonde headed man then grabbed a sunscreen out of the bag and a bug spray can in the other before facing the army of kids he was forced to take care of.

Dain gives the bunch a mischievous look before taking a swing and throwing the sunscreen and spray bottle up in the air, leaving Kuni confused. What the hell is he doing? What he failed to take note of was how tense and ready the others were as if they knew this would happen.

Before the bottle could reach the ground, Aether had grabbed the Spray on sunscreen while Xiao had caught the sunscreen.

The other three started running away while Kuni was about to move. He saw Xiao and Aether make eye contact before they looked his way, throwing him a huge smile before they started moving closer to him at a rapid pace before he turned around and started running.

“Come here Kuni! We’re going to catch you!”

“Over my dead body!” The indigo haired boy said while running in the same direction Hu Tao had gone.

Before he’d gotten far, Xiao had hopped onto his back at the same time as Aether had, leaving the boy to fall to the soft sandy beach floor.

Giggling, the three took time to breathe before they held down Kuni, who was surprised and yelped when he felt the cold spray on his face.

Xiao was holding the bottle of cold bug spray, smirking. He moved and sprayed it in the indigo boy’s face, leaving him yelling gibberish while trying to not get it in his mouth. “Xiao I’m tso gunna get yhu back!” (“Xiao I’m so gonna get you back!”)

Aether, who was holding Kuni down by the arms, took it as a chance to quickly rub some on his face before he and Xiao looked at each other and counted telepathically, 3, 2, 1 Go!

“Hey! Get back here Pretty boy!” Kuni said before he stood up, picking up sand with his left hand as he stood up and went after the blonde green pair.

Dainsleif who came up with this effective way of getting the feisty group to apply sunscreen and bug spray so they didn’t end up with sunburns and bug bites, It was fun for them and easy work for me, Dain thought while scrolling away on his phone while sitting on the trunk of his car.

Soon, they had settled down at the beach and Kuni was sitting on a floaty, drifting around, enjoying the silence and sounds of the ocean before he bumped into Xiao who had his face in the water, leaving the boy with the purple hair to panic.

“Hey! Hey! Xiao? Xiao!!” The boy reached towards him to grab him, when Xiao had lifted his head up from the water, “Huh?” The pure look of innocence on Xiao’s face filled Kunikuzushi with pure rage.

“You ass!” He said before jumping off of his floating and onto Xiao, putting him in a headlock and dragging him underwater.

The two wrestled under the waves and hums of the ocean, finally coming up for air, taking in a deep breath at the same time, staring at each other before Kuni cracked a smirk, a smirk turn into a smile, before he knew It he was laughing so hard whilst trying to stay afloat.

“HAHAHAAHAHAHA- H-aha- X-Xiao Your head!” “Huh? What’s on my Head?” The boy with the green hair had started to feel around the top of his head, “Huh? What’s this?” Grabbing onto pieces of seaweed that was on his head, it seemed to be in the shape of a crown. That's why he was laughing?

Heat suddenly rose to his face as he tried to get it all off at once, as he tugged and tugged the thing tightened even more than before Kuni Unconsciously unwrapped the seaweed off of his hair while dying of laughter, what Kunikuzushi didn’t notice is that this small movement left Xiao with a weird feeling..

Does my stomach hurt? Why do I feel like there are butterflies prancing in my stomach? Like their having a picnic I wasn’t supposed to know about..

“Hey aren’t you hungry? Let’s go back, I heard your stomach growling earlier, It really scared me. I thought it was a shark " Kuni’s laughter and giggling only made Xiao all the more embarrassed.

The boy with the green hair moved behind Kuni to grab the well forgotten Unicorn floatie putting on his shoulder before turning his head to look at Kuni who had a hand on his chest, trying to regain his composure, “Are you coming or not?” Xiao said before turning around and making his way towards the sandy beach, Kuni on the other hand was following behind him, this is when he noticed that he was slightly taller than Xiao.

Catching up with him, he heard hurried footsteps of someone, but before he could turn his head to look. The blonde boy had jumped onto the pair, It was Aether.

He was giggling wrapping his arms around both of their necks as he pulled them closer to him, Hu Tao had a watergun as was continuously spraying Them in the back while Kaeya and Lumine were eating while sitting next to Dainsleif who was laying on a beach chair with a book and pen in his hand, looking deep in thought.

The group walked back together and sat down in a circle, while Kuni had a chewing feeling in the back of his head that wouldn’t go away, “Hey, Kuni want a slice?”

Snapping him out of his thoughts, He saw that everybody had already grabbed a watermelon slice and was digging in, hell even Xiao had one in his hand and another offering it to Kuni who took one out of his hand.

The group was telling stories in a circle, about their dreams and aspirations, the thought of the future had always puzzled Kunikuzushi, after all he had never really thought that far.

“I’ve always wanted to visit the mountains and paint something there” “You're not even good at painting though… Neither mountain climbing ""Hey!! How would you know!?” The blonde twins bickered at each other, “Hmm Something I’ve always wanted to do Is go somewhere haunted” Hu Tao said with a finger on her chin.

“WHY!?” The twins said in Sync, making Hu Tao lean in, eyes glowing with Sparkles of imagination.
“Guizhong Fuqin never lets me and Xiao go anywhere that’s remotely unkept. He hates it, right Xiao?”
Turning her head towards Xiao who was shoving his mouth with dumplings that Ning Guang had made for them while she was over, This was the only time where he didn’t have to abide by the insane table etiquette they had at home.

No hunching, fingers straight, utensils on your right, never your left, drinks on your right, Legs at a 90 degree angle, never less, no clothing wrinkles, No talking while eating, No chewing with your mouth opened, etc. It was Insufferable!

Xiao nodded his head while he stuffed his face in peace, Kuni on the other hand was simply shocked by Xiao stuffing his face and was about to pat his back before he retracted his hand.

“Hey Kuni! What do your parents do?” The black haired girl asked, making the other five look up at him in anticipation.
“Oh my mom.. Uhm she’s..” If I tell them my mom's Shogun will they hate me? Will they not want to do anything with me?

Seeing as he was struggling to answer Hu Tao, She quickly changed the aim of the topic from him to herself.

“Guizhong Fuqin works as a Fashion designer Y’know, and Zhongli Fuqin.. Uhm.. I don’t know what he does..” The black haired girl said while scratching the back of her head.
“Isn’t he a heavy spender though?” Aether asked as he opened a Popsicle, “He totally Is, but the money never disappears, It’s totally crazy!”

“Wait so aren’t you guys all just stuffed up rich kids?” Lumine said while raising an eyebrow and pointing at all of them.

“Like Hu Tao and Xiao’s parents are basically Loaded, Kaeya’s foster family owns a wine business and You..”
The blonde haired girl paused at Kuni who was sitting crisscrossed, and leaning back with one hand.
“Hah?” Looking visibly irritated that she somehow dragged the attention back to him.

The boy with the bread suddenly gasped that made everyone look at him, he quickly swallowed the ice cream he was stuffing his mouth with.
Your last name is Shogun right??” Aether asked, “Yeah isn’t that the name of the Ruler of Inazuma?” Hu tao added on while leaning in and talking hushily, as if they were spreading fake news.