Springtime for Baizhu

Dori made a face. "Not again, Kirara" she said one early morning. "Just give me 5 more minutes to observe your lovely fish, but I want to know is why do fish hate when you tap on the glass?" asked Kirara. "Actually it's because well, to put it simply, due to the vibrations you're making, it can damage her organs" Klee answered. "Oh, my apologies then, Dory, didn't mean to cause any harm" "Do you think that Kirara would actually eat Dory?" Collei whispered to Nahida and Yaoyao. Just then, they saw that Baizhu had arrived, he was crosser than ever. "Oh well, here we go" sighed Yaoyao. "Wait, what is that Kirara still doing here, I thought I sent her packing!" he grumbled. "You sent her away, oh please we all know it was Dori who stopped you two from arguing even further" laughed Nahida. Dori said nothing and just chuckled, that made Baizhu even more irritated. "Look, remember what we told you, Kirara only visits us temporarily, she lives in Inazuma, remember?" explained Nahida. "Well, I'll see if she has changed" Baizhu said boastfully. "If they get into another altercation, just leave them be" Nahida whispered to everyone. That afternoon, Baizhu came and spoke to Kirara. "Greetings, Kirara, how are you today?" he asked. "I'm doing well, thank you, uh is there anything you need?" she said. "Oh well, I wanna know do you still think that Catalysts are overrated?" "Honestly, yeah even though I-" "Aha, I knew it, you haven't changed a bit" he shouted, and he rushed off before Kirara could finish her sentence. It was late at night, Baizhu whispered something to Collei, she was half asleep. "Tomorrow, I'll give these sunflowers to Kirara to eat, and make her believe that she consumed daffodils and was poisoned, oh what a splendid idea, don't you think?" Collei, nearly asleep, took no notice and went to sleep, it might've been better if she had. Next day, Kirara was the first to wake up, Baizhu followed suit. "Good morning, Kirara, are you hungry?" he said. "Uh, yeah actually, uh but first I wanted to ask you about yesterday, you didn't hear what I say, so I wanted to let you know that-" "You can't think on an empty stomach, here eat these sunflowers, they will make you feel better" he said innocently. Kirara said nothing and just ate the flowers, she was feeling quite well throughout the day, but that's when it happened. When she got done with her final job, she was coughing violently. "Are you alright, Kirara" said Collei. "Yeah, just probably dealing with a sore throat, that's all" said Kirara. Overtime, Kirara's cough kept worsening and worsening until eventually she was coughing up blood. "Come on, Kirara" said Collei. "We're taking you to the hospital immediately!" When Baizhu woke up, he saw that Kirara wasn't there. "Yes, I finally sent her away" he exclaimed, but he overheard what the others were saying. "The doctors said if the poison remains untreated, she could develop bronchitis, and then, her days might be numbered" said Klee mournfully. "Poor Kirara" agreed Dori and Sayu. "Hey Baizhu, did you hear about Kirara?" they asked. "How should I know?!" he said hastily before running off for his job. Overtime however, people all over Sumeru talked of nothing else besides the well being of Kirara's health. "Yo Baizhu, do you know about the latest regarding Kirara, the Dendros say that she might not make it" said Hu Tao as she was coming from Mondstadt. "Oh please, now the news is spreading to Mondstadt and Liyue too, why is it whenever something bad happens, people always resort to me who was the one who did it" Baizhu said angrily. "But no one was accusing you, I was just asking" said Hu Tao softly, but Baizhu just sprinted like a jackrabbit. Days passed, and Baizhu kept feeling more remorseful, and so he eventually went to the hospital to check up on Kirara, he thought she was sleep. "Look Kirara, I'm sorry that I poisoned you with those daffodils, I thought they were sunflowers, I didn't mean to cause any harm" But just then, his mindset shifted drastically. "So what if I just poisoned you a little, it's just that everyone else isn't nice to me, so why should I be nice in return, and they always scold me for everything!" he vented. "But despite all this, I actually think you are a decent person, Kirara, but although after this, I suppose you'll never forgive me" And he walked sadly away. Kirara let out a soft but stern sigh. Next morning, Kirara came out of the hospital and making a full recovery, everyone was excited. "At last, the cat's out of the bag, if you know our meaning" joked Klee and the rest of her squad. Baizhu arrived shortly after. "Uh hi Kirara, are you feeling alright?" he asked while trembling. "Yes, Baizhu, thank you for checking on me, but I heard what you said yesterday, and listen, as much as would love to be friends with you, I don't like when people poison me, Yaoyao or anyone, so if you want forgiveness, Baizhu, you need to prove that you can earn it" she said sternly, leaving Baizhu with a lot to think about. It was a very windy evening, Kirara was assigned to pull up all the crops out for safety, but unbeknownst to her was that she was about to grab a patch of poison ivy that she thought was a vegetable. That's when Baizhu came in and stopped her. "No, Kirara, that's poison ivy, can't you see?" he warned. "Oh, well thank you, Baizhu" "So do you think we can be friends?" "Not fully, but it's a start" she said calmly. That's the answer that left Baizhu well content. "Kirara's my friend" he whispered before dozing off later that beautiful night.