The Archon of Wayward winds [Honkai Impact Fanfic]

A blind wind and a thunder's glow

Rex Crozzo hummed. He was faced with a dilemma that no man has faced. He was blinded from a battle with Dvalin by accident, yet this battle is harder. 

In his hands, he holds the key to victory or defeat.

"Huh? Crozzo-San?" Came the voice of Mei Raiden as she entered the kitchen. From what Ren can hear and feel from the sound, she just finished putting an apron on. 

"Oh, Hey." He greeted calmly while frowning at the items on his hand. 

Mei just looked at what he was doing. He was dressed in a simple white v-neck and a pair of pants with his blindfold gone, replaced by a pair of tinted glasses. On his hands was a packet of white powder. 

She could also see the ingredients prepared neatly and the fact that he was frowning meant one thing. He was struggling with what to pick. 

"Screw it." He said as he put them down and started to work. 

"What are you making, Crozzo-san?" Mei asked as she looked at him. 

"Sticky toffee pudding. I can't find the baking powder anywhere." He told her as he started to prepare everything, making Mei forget that he was blind due to how quick he was.

"Eh? But it's just beside you." She said as she pointed to the container with the label on it. This earned him a stare from the young man. 

"Did you forget I'm blind?" He asked her without meaning to be annoyed. His voice was just dry. 

Mei finally remembered and blushed. 

"S-sorry!" She apologized with a bow. 

"Don't bow. You can just help me." He said as he prepared everything and even plugged the microwave in. 

Quickly moving towards the blind young man, Mei was surprised to see how good he was. 

"U-Uhm... why do you want to make pudding?" She asked as she took the ingredients he said he will need. 

"Hmm?" Rex turned to her as he took out a pan. 

"I mean. You rarely get out of your room. And I haven't seen you eat at the table with us since we arrived." Mei said as Rex

"I'm busy. Most of my schedule is filled with meetings, and I have to be on time." He told her as he took a knife out. 

"Meeting?" 

"Yes. I own an appraisal store in the city." He said nonchalantly while he made the pudding. 

"An appraisal store?" She asked, curious as to what he does. 

"Basically a pawn shop but I specialize in precious stones such as Jade, Iron, and more." He said as he finished preparing and soon started mixing. "Do you mind making the sauce?" He asked as he separated the ingredients for it. 

"Y-yes." She said a bit surprised that he was back to cooking again and when a light breeze entered the room, dancing on with his hair before it moved away. The window was open so it must be from there. 

Watching him mix the mixture, Mei paused as she saw an image overlap over him. It was an image of a man dressed in a white opened jacket with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, embroidered with wind and pinwheel patterns embroidered in its tails with the real symbol of Anemo on its back standing proudly. He did not wear a hood but rather, he has a blindfold on his eyes as he gazed to the sky, black pants turning to the color of the earth as same as his boots. He has black hair with Teal highlights and his arms were surrounded by what seemed to be a pair of earth-colored gauntlets with faded amber lines. 

"Is something wrong?" He asked as he turned to Mei, eyes hidden under his sunglasses. 

"N-nothing!" She said with a blush while making the sauce. Rex suddenly stopped mixing and went to the window to sneeze. 

Sniffing, he wiped his nose with a sneeze. 

"Someone must be talking about me." He said as from outside the window, a hole in a tree appeared as it creaked. 

"Hm? That smells good?" Himeko said as she entered the kitchen only to stop as he saw Rex taking his glasses off and opening his dull dark eyes with a bit of a teal-ish tint while he cooked. 

"Is this good enough? Crozzo-san." Mei asked as she showed him the sauce. 

"Yes. Just leave it be. The pudding is almost done." Rex replied as he cooked more. 

"What are you making this time?" Mei asked once more as she took out a notepad. 

"Golden Shrimp balls. That's why I need the flour. Do you mind getting it?" He asked while the purple-haired girl nodded. 

Instead of disturbing the two, Himeko just smiled and decided to let them be in their own cooking world while taking a photo showing Rex preparing the pudding with Mei watching in amazement. 

"Clouds really do have a silver lining." She said with a smile while walking away. 

"Miss Himeko?" Rex called out from the kitchen surprising both her and Mei. 

"Ah, I'm found out." She said with a smile as she came in. 

For a split second, a purple glow appeared on Mei's eyes while she looked at Rex's eyes. 

'Interesting.' A voice said inside the girl's mind before it disappeared.