Sayu woke up just as Bai Luo was halfway through heating the milk.
The first thing she did upon waking was to look at Bai Luo with a strange expression, then immediately burrow into Tatyana's arms.
Too scary. That man is too scary.
In her mental list of people not to provoke, Bai Luo had climbed several spots, almost catching up to the shrine maiden sister.
Back in the water, she had noticed Bai Luo stuffing something into her breathing tube, but before she could react, that terrifying taste assaulted every taste bud in her mouth.
The bizarre sensation even made her brain freeze for a few seconds.
Is this even taste? This is pain!
After that, she had no idea what happened.
Tatyana, being hugged like this for the first time, seemed at a loss, unsure where to place her hands.
After cautiously patting Sayu's back, she quickly retracted her hand, as if afraid of being bitten by a kitten.
"Hmm?"
Feeling something soft against her face, Sayu looked up and saw the eyepatch-covered face peering down at her from between a pair of... valleys.
Wearing only a small undershirt and shorts, she instinctively took a few steps back.
"So... so tall."
She stretched out her hand, comparing herself to Tatyana.
Even on tiptoe, she still wasn't as tall as Tatyana, who was sitting on the ground.
She barely reached the other woman's collarbone.
"How... how did you get so tall? Do you eat carrots?"
Staring at this woman who could only be described as a "giant," Sayu swallowed hard and asked, completely ignoring Bai Luo, who posed an immediate threat to her.
Sayu's petite, almost doll-like stature was precisely what troubled her.
While her peers grew taller one by one, she remained child-sized, her height stubbornly unchanged.
This had become a deep-seated obsession for Sayu.
As days passed, the world seemed to stretch upward—only she stayed small.
Long ago, she had asked that woman for advice on growing taller.
"Little one, do you know why I'm so tall? Because for centuries, I've been sleeping every single day."
"Oh, so if I sleep enough, I'll definitely grow taller?"
She hadn't seen the smirk on that woman's face, taking the words as gospel and seizing every opportunity to sleep—and slack off.
No opportunity? She'd make one. No environment? She'd create it.
And so... Sayu could now fall asleep while standing, even dozing off mid-meal or while running.
Poor little thing. In a way, maybe her lack of growth is because of her Vision?
Right, all you Anemo boys and girls?
"..."
Tatyana responded with prolonged silence.
For her, this topic seemed taboo—something absolutely not to be shared.
Perhaps... The Doctor would know something.
"It's because she drinks ten bowls of milk every day and never skips fish, eggs, or meat. That's how she got so tall."
Bai Luo, sensing something, stepped in, picking up the entire bowl of milk and walking over with a smile.
"Huh?"
Sayu instinctively looked at Bai Luo, but her gaze didn't linger on him—instead, it landed on her tanuki outfit by the fire.
The issue wasn't that she wasn't wearing it, but how it was being dried.
"Eek!"
She suddenly remembered a rumor: The Fatui supposedly skinned captured tanukis and shipped the pelts back to Snezhnaya.
Because of Snezhnaya's extreme cold, such thick fur was highly prized.
"Yoohoo Art: Mujina Flurry!"
Sayu transformed into a tumbler doll, chaotic Anemo energy instantly swirling around her.
In the blink of an eye, the tanuki outfit by the fire vanished.
"What a naughty child."
Handing the bowl to Tatyana, Bai Luo rolled up his sleeves and strode into the dense woods.
Ten minutes later, he emerged from the bushes, holding a fish-scented tanuki ninja by the scruff of her neck.
Judging by the sand on Sayu's face, she'd probably been caught by the beach again.
"How do you always find me?!"
Her ninjutsu was flawless—aside from that Guuji lady, no one could see through it.
Even if someone could, once she activated her escape techniques, no one could catch her.
So why... why did they completely fail against this man?
Whether hiding or fleeing, he effortlessly dragged her back every time.
"Because you always run toward that little boat. I just have to wait there for you."
"..."
Sayu didn't know Bai Luo was lying.
"Hei" was a master of tracking and assassination. Once marked, even if you fled to Celestia, Hei could jump up and spar with you.
Though the marking and quantum teleportation had range limits, covering Kannazuka was no issue.
Bai Luo looked down at the tanuki ninja dangling from his grip, her face deep in thought, and his lips curled into a pleased smile.
"Are you thinking, 'Next time, I'll go to Kujou Encampment instead of the boat by the shore'?"
His words struck like thunder, making Sayu's eyes widen and the fur under her hat stand on end.
"You—"
"I can't read minds."
"I—"
"Guess?"
"..."
"If you curse at me, I'll spank you."
This time, the look Sayu gave Bai Luo wasn't just fear—it was terror.
How does this basta—... this absolute cute guy know what I'm thinking?!
And he's right every time?!
No... no more thinking. He'll see it.
Dangling by her scruff, she curled into a ball, muttering, "You can't see me... you can't see me..."
It wasn't that Bai Luo could actually read minds—it was just that this tanuki ninja was too easy to read.
Despite being part of the covert Shuumatsuban, her expressions were incredibly vivid, her face incapable of hiding anything.
With a little guesswork, he could easily deduce her thoughts.
That's why Bai Luo didn't recite what she was thinking but instead "answered" her unspoken questions through dialogue.
If he had to word for word repeat what she'd just thought, he wouldn't be able to do it perfectly.
But this method made her believe he could see her thoughts.
As the head of the Fatui's intelligence division, psychological tactics like this were his specialty.
Especially during interrogations—they worked wonders.