Two Birds on a Wire (A Diluc and Kaeya fanfic)

Part 9

Jean was pretty sure she was stuck in some kind of weird dream right now. A dream was the only logical explanation because she couldn't make sense of what was right in front of her. Diluc. But not the same Diluc that ran the Angel's Share each night...This Diluc looked like he came straight out of the past. And he was staring right at her, eyes wider than she thought possible.

"...And that brings us to where we are now," Kaeya said, finishing off his explanation for...this. "

She wanted to say something, anything, to snap her out of...whatever this was, but no words came to mind. Luckily, Lisa was there.

"Well, isn't this quite the unique predicament?" The librarian had a thoughtful look on her face. "I've never heard of a spell doing such a thing before. I can't help but wonder what the Abyss mages' intentions were when they attacked you." She smiled kindly at Diluc. "Would you mind if I took a moment to look you over, cutie? We need to make sure there's no other residual effects of the spell."

Jean saw Diluc shuffle his feet and fiddle nervously with his hands. "Oh, um..." he murmured, looking a bit unsure.

"It's okay," Kaeya said, nudging Diluc's arm. "You can trust Lisa. She studied at Sumeru's Akademiya; she's very smart and she's probably the best person to help you right now. Why don't you go with her to get checked out while I have a quick word with Jean? I'll meet you in the library after."

Diluc still looked hesitant, but he nodded. Lisa opened the door of Jean's office, and he followed her out. Once the door shut and Jean and Kaeya were alone, Kaeya's expression faltered and he suddenly looked very weary.

"I...don't know what to say," Jean admitted, slowly sinking down into the chair behind her desk. She put her head in her hands and then looked up at Kaeya. "How are you feeling about all of this? I'm having a hard enough time comprehending all of this, but you..." she trailed off and shook her head.

Kaeya's shoulders slumped. Then he shrugged. "I...I really don't know. It's so bizarre seeing him like this again, and I guess...I can't help but wonder if this is a good thing. But at the same time, I feel guilty for thinking that. However weird it is for us, it's a hundred times worse for him."

Jean hummed. "With the way your relationship's been with him lately, I can't blame you for thinking that. Honestly, that thought crossed my mind as well. Things were so much more simple back then, when we were younger..."

Kaeya sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't even know how to act around him anymore. And I hate not knowing so much about this. Like how long he'll stay like this--will it only last a couple of days? Weeks? Or is it permanent?"

"All we can do for now is hope that Lisa will find us some answers." Jean straightened back up in her chair and looked Kaeya in the eyes. "There is something else I was wanting to talk with you about, though. And I have a feeling it directly has something to do with this."

Kaeya seemed to know exactly where this was going. "Ah..."

"Earlier this morning, two knights were sent on patrol near Springvale, and they found a patch of grass in between some trees that looked like it was struck by lightning. Because the weather's been perfectly clear for the past several days, they reported it thinking that a monster attack might have happened there last night. This was concerning since it was so close to the town, so I sent a few more knights out to investigate." Kaeya was avoiding her gaze now, looking anywhere but at her. She raised an eyebrow and continued. "Based on what you told me, I take it that that was where you found Diluc last night?"

"It...was, yes."

"We found something else there. And I think you know very well what I'm talking about, Kaeya. You've been withholding information from us."