#but kokichi is insta-savage about it and kaeya doesn't REVEAL that he's a problem until it's advantageous to him in some way X'D

[howthesleeplesswander]

"The Abyss?" The surprise in his tone came not from believing the statement, but from the fact that that was the lie Kokichi chose. And it was quite a lie; the sort that required caution as to who it was used upon. There were plenty of fools in this city whose heads were filled with nothing more than their Archon's wind: people who would actually believe such an absurd claim. If that happened, not even Kokichi's younger years would protect him from people's fear.

But this was far from the first time Kokichi had told a dangerous lie, and it surely wouldn't be the last. As always, Kaeya had to give him points for sheer audacity.

He didn't bother faking the panic and horror of the desired reaction. The Captain merely hummed contemplatively, as if the statement was perfectly reasonable. "Made some new friends there, did you? And I suppose you made it out entirely unscathed?" He made a show of looking Kokichi over in search of injuries—or corruption, as he so aptly put it.

Did this little troublemaker have any idea that the vibrancy in his eyes as he spun his lies was exactly what gave them away?

Kaeya shook his head, still unfazed by lies and thinly-veiled insults alike. "How flattering for you to notice. But you'd better be careful; if I actually believed you could fight your way into the Abyss and back again, I'd be hounding you to join the Knights of Favonius right about now. We all know how unbearable that would be."

“Upgraded” to a villain?

Aw, that’s cute!! You’d think the Cavalry Captain would recognize a villain the moment he set his eyes—kehe… sorry, eye—on one. Maybe Kokichi was giving him a bit more credit than he deserved, huh?

—or maybe, just a cute fat maybe, there was more to it. Especially considering the things no one actually knew about this particular foreigner in Mondstadt (charm everyone as he did… what a great cover!). Kaeya was suspicious, alright. And that’s what made him the most fun—! Not like every other living thing in this city that served less of a purpose than a pebble at the bottom of a river.

Why do you think I bother to waste any time on you, dummy? (I know you’re hiding something… everyone else here is a bigger idiot than I thought.)

“I went to the Abyss!” he chirped, bright, cheerful, as casual as any kid proudly telling their parent they had held their breath for thirty whole seconds. “It was so cool! I really don’t get why everyone’s got sticks up their bums over it, catch my drift?” And, like sharing a secret with the Captain, Kokichi leaned in, voice lowered, lips pulled into a scowl. “It’s almost like ‘Wow, stop being such a crybaby over super dangerous and creepy creatures from another realm who totally just wanna have fun and corrupt you.’ Yeesh. People are soooo dramatic.”

He straightened up, rocked back on his heels with that innocent smile. “You should really visit it sometime, y’know! Supposedly it, like, really messes you up, but since you’re already there, you’d definitely be fine.”