You heard heavy racing footsteps from behind you.

You

Shit, what have I done?...

Right as you were about to escape, one of the Infected jumped right through the window in an attempt to grab you.

You

God, what's with the Infected always breaking windows?...

Looking in the direction where you heard the pebble fall, you saw a boy with extremely exquisite clothing trying to run for it too. He looked confused and just a bit scared.

It was such a sight to you, you haven't seen a normal person until then.

You

"Hey! You over there!"

His head turned your way, not even realizing that one of the Infected was running right at him.

You weren't going to kill it in time, so you had to quite literally throw yourself right into him. You both rolled and tumbled, the Infected still running right at the both of you.

Before it could stoop down to your level and eat you, you quickly stabbed its neck a bunch of times, the blood splattering all over you and the guy you were protecting in your arms. 

After pulling out your blade after confirming its death, you quickly caught your breath and helped the boy up.

You

"Jeez- Sorry about that. It's the only way to kill them really."

He was completely silent, you had your hands on his shoulders, trying to reassure him in some sort of way.

You

"You weren't bitten, were you? And you're not injured?"

You said, still stabbing the shit out of the remaining Infected who were around your area.

???

"..." 

You

"... Hey y'know, you're quite short for a guy."

???

"... I'm leaving."

You

"Hey, hey! You can't leave!"

???

"I'm leaving."

You

"Pfft fine, go die out there. I know your dumbass is clueless."

Your attitude suddenly jumped into the conversation.

The boy stopped walking away with his fists clenched and shaky.

???

"Who are you to talk to me like that?..."

His voice was louder and sounded a lot more intimidating.

You

"... You do know that you're not the boss of me, right? You're hella weak, and I had to save you. Don't act like you're above me."

???

"Hmph."

You

"Anyways, have you seen a guy with blonde hair and a braid?"

???

"..."

You

"Oh so now you're ignoring me?"

No response.

You

"Huh, guess I'll leave you here. Nice meeting you though!"

You put away your blade in its slot and started to simply jog away, continuing your journey to find Aether.

You

Too bad I'll have to leave him to die.

As much as he hated it, he really didn't want to speak up, but what choice did he have?...

???

"Wait."

Slowly, you turned around.

You

"What? Crawling back to me already?"

???

"Wh- Stop... Could you please..."

You lowered your head slightly with your eyebrows high, and your eyes trying to give the boy a signal to tell you what he wanted to say.

You

"Could I..."

???

*Sigh* "Could you..."

You

"Could I what?..."

???

"C-"

You

"Just tell me already!"

Your voice suddenly raised.

???

"Could you!... Help me."

You

"Oh? And what do I get in return?"

???

"Wh... Huh? I have to offer something in return for your help? What is this?"

You

"No- I'm... I'm just kidding. How did you not get it?"

You scoffed.

???

"..."

You

"Waaait a minute... You're not from here, are you?"

The boy, with his arms crossed and his eyes furious, looked right at you.

???

"That is... Correct."

You

"Ooh, ooh! Aaand... You come from a place called Teyvat?..."

???

"That would be... Also correct. How do you know of that place?"

You

"Ha! I knew it, I knew it!"

???

"Ahem, just how do you know of Teyvat? Are you also from there?"

You

"Oh me? No... I'm from the Underground."

???

"..."

You

"... The Underground is located here."

???

"Oh."

You

"Yeeeaaah... Uh- Okay besides that, this friend of mine with blonde hair and a braid told me all about Teyvat."

???

"If you're not from Teyvat then... How do you know who this is?..."

You

"Because he came here? Why else?... I can't go through different dimensions or whatever he's able to do."

???

"He went here?..."

You

"Mhm. Why? Is he not supposed to?"

???

"... No, I'm just thinking that other people from Teyvat may be here too." Zhongli?...

You

"Anyways, I'll let you know - that vision thingy of yours is practically useless. By looking at it you have... An Anemo vision? An... Anemo? Did I say that right?"

???

"Hm."

You

"Okay, okay... And there's also your weapon. Yeah, you can't use it here. Bummer." 

???

"My weapon?..."

You

"Yeah, you heard me."

It was just then, the boy attempted pulling out his weapon, a polearm.

You

"Hehe, told you."

???

"... Tell me more. I want to know just what I am doing here, I don't like it."

You

"Oh trust me, nobody likes it here. That's why they're all dead!"

???

"... Okay."

You

"So, what's gonna be your next move?"

???

"... *Sigh* As much as I don't want to do this due to certain reasons, I'd like to stick with you."

You

"Me?!"

???

"You seem to have good knowledge of this "dimension" of yours, as well as Teyvat. Sticking with you would be the smartest option, I forgot to thank you for saving me there."

You

"Uhm... You're welcome?... But seriously, you don't understand, sticking with me is kinda... Just a bad option."

???

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

You

"I'm not as good as I look. I don't do friends anymore."

???

"Neither do I. I'm not saying we have to be "friends", I'm just trying to tell you that I'd prefer it if I stuck with someone for the time being until I can figure out a way to get back home, okay?"

You

"I see. Then I suppose dragging you along with me wouldn't be so bad. Y/N."

???

"That's your name?..."

You

"Yeah. Yours?"

???

"Xiao. Adeptus Xiao."

You

"Ooh, you've got quite a fancy name, Xiao."

Both of you shook hands.

You

"So, where to first?"

The two of you then started to walk out of the small grocery store you both were hiding in.

Xiao

"I don't know."

You

"You take first pick. From here, you can see about... 4 buildings. Which one do you wanna go through? Maybe we can find some way to get you home, or even better yet, find our friend."

Xiao

"That one."

Xiao pointed his finger at the tallest building there.

You

"Hm, good choice. Boring, but good choice."

Xiao

"...?"

It was some kind of office where they sorted papers.

Carefully, you and Xiao walked over to the building, making sure not to get noticed.

You

"Be aware that the Infected are super sensitive to sound."

You warned him, whispering, the both of you hiding behind a garbage can in the meantime.

Very carefully, you lightly pushed the glass door, there being enough force for it to actually open. 

The both of you sighed in relief, glad that none of the Infected reached you.