"Get in there chump!"
The man placed his hand against the fabric of (Y/N)'s clothing before extending his hand outward to give them a harsh push. Stumbling forward, they hopped from one foot to another before they lost their balance and hit the ground hard, the thud reverberating throughout the jail just as the metal of the door locking clanked loudly.
"GAH-- WHY, WHAT DID I EVEN DO?!" (Y/N) questioned angrily, a fierce glare being sent to the man who inserted the key into the hole of the cell before turning it until a 'click' was heard.
He ignored their expression of rage and hostile intent to instead ponder something to himself that he had been wondering for some time now.
"Really, how did you get this far into Inazuma with the Sakoku Decree in place? And with no travel permits no less." He asked as his eyebrows scrunched together towards his nose as he recalled the layout of the island— unable to find a way they could have snuck in without being arrested already and yet had made it as far as they did.
When all he received was illegible mumbling, he sighed before shaking his head and attaching his keys to his belt, making the metal chime from the hitting against one another with the motion.
(Y/N) refused to look up and make eye contact, staring at the ground as they pulled one of their legs close to their chest and rubbed their knee soothingly to try and make the stinging sensation die down-- a result of being shoved into the cell when they were unprepared for the act of violence.
The guard glanced behind him to the cell across from (Y/N)'s and realized it may have been a mistake to put them there, but the person across seemed to be quiet at the moment and was just staring mockingly. They always had that look though so he thought nothing of it before turning back to the cell where (Y/N) had somehow got close to the bars without him realizing as they put their hand through to try and grab his keys off from his belt.
Slapping their hand away quickly, the man took a few steps back before glaring at the prisoner and shaking his head disapprovingly, already noting to let his superior know about their sticky fingers since he didn't even hear them get close to the bars while he was distracted.
"Behave yourself, we wouldn't want a simple arrest to delve into something further." He scolded before walking off and mumbling about needing a drink.
Silently, all the prisoners watched as the man walked over towards the door after nodding towards the current guard on duty and opened it up, causing the hinges to creak loudly before he stepped through and disappeared.
As the door slammed shut loudly to signify he was gone, motion directly across from (Y/N)'s cell caused them to look up to see who their cell companions were. What they were met with was an overzealous and cocky looking man with long white hair and red tattoos staring them down like prey.
He grinned when the two made eye contact, red clashing with (E/C) and never backing down as they had a really intense staring contest, hoping to see the other submit first. Upon recognizing his eyes were beginning to sting, Itto immediately resorted to using his words to catch them off guard.
"Eh?? What type of Idiot gets themself arrested for flaunting their vision! It's like you were asking to be put behind bars!" He mocked while placing a hand in front of the lower half of his face to hide his toothy grin before cackling and stretching out his legs against the ground.
While the other prisoners were either on their cots or slouching in the one chair they were given in each cell, these two decided the floor was much more comfy as they continued to glare at one another.
"That's the same reason you're in here." Someone had grumbled, though it went ignored.
(Y/N) felt their irritation skyrocket, this person now rising the ranks of the 'most punch-able' by their standards to sit prettily besides Kaeya.
"YOU'RE IN A CELL TOO DUMBASS!" They pointed out, before quickly adding, "--And how would you know that?!"
The white haired man's confident expression never dropped as he huffed happily, his hands placed on the side of his exposed stomach as he sent a smug smirk towards (Y/N).
"Well~, this oni's got a reaaaallly great set of ears, not to brag or anything, but I could practically hear anything if I wanted." He said while drawing out his words for emphases, the spiky cuffs on his wrist moving up his arms as he flipped his hair behind him.
"The door isn't exactly soundproof so we could hear everything. Eavesdropping passes the time." The person besides Itto's cell exposed as he flipped the page of the book he was reading.
Itto's attention snapped over towards his cell neighbor, and though he couldn't see the glare through the solid wall that separated them, the man could practically feel the angered stare, but he just shrugged it off already used to his antics.
"HEY--" Itto shouted, but was quickly cut off by the aggravated whine that erupted from the cell across from him.
"Argh!" (Y/N) tousled their hair around aggressively as they ignored the idiot across from them, their situation settling in as they not only lost their money and Beidou's pendant, but also their newly acquired vision.
Itto curiously looked over, his anger dampening as he raised his eyebrow and moved closer to the front of his cell. He wrapped his hands around the bars of the cell before putting his face close to it, peering over to see into the cell across from him better.
"You good over there?" He asked, though the answer he was given was immediate as (Y/N) snapped their head in his direction while opening their eyes that were closed shut to try and will the scenery away.
"NO! I'M LITERALLY SITTING IN A COLD, DISGUSTING, DAMP, CELL!" They shouted, their hands widening up and displaying the area around them.
Itto's horn hit against the bar of the cell as he lurched forward causing a loud 'clang' to reverberate throughout the hall of prisoners. He pressed his face against the cold bars, the cool sensation doing little to reduce the heat of his anger.
"WELL DON'T YELL AT ME, I'M NOT THE ONE THAT WAS SUCH AN IDIOT TO GET CAUGHT!"
(Y/N) crawled closer towards the bars of their own cell as they gripped onto them roughly, nails pressed into metal as they glared at Itto before spitting back,
"YOU WERE CAUGHT BEFORE ME, DUMBASS!"
"OH I OUTTA--- ONCE I GET OUT OF HERE, YOU BETTER WATCH YOURSELF!"
"I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRY, MEATHEAD!"
"MEATHEAD!? YOU-- YOU--"
He struggled for a word to come up with as an insult and just used the first thing that popped in his head, that would unfortunately stick for as long as the two knew each other.
"--YOU PIGEON!"
Finally feeling his patience snap, Itto's neighbor, who was the only one brave enough to yell at them slammed his book down before raising his voice.
"GUYS, SHUT UP!"
The two quieted down, listening to this man who seemed to be the only one who had the power to quiet them, but they still silently glared at each other for the rest of the evening.
——————♡——————
Like a luxury inn that only the richest in Teyvat could afford, dinner was served to all of the prisoners in an orderly fashion. Unfortunately for them, this was in fact not a luxury inn, but a prison. There were no utensils provided and the slop was just thrown into the multipurpose bowl/plate only to serve its purpose of keeping the captured alive.
(Y/N) picked up the bowl with starry eyes, thinking the creation looked almost as delectable as the food they personally made, before bringing it to their lips and throwing their head back before downing a huge portion.
Their eyes immediately blew out wide as the burning sensation made their tongue and throat contract to spit out the stew, the feeling of a virgin drinker downing a hard shot of bourbon for the first time without a sour fruit to drown the burn being re-lived for them.
"URGH! What-- this tastes like shit!" They spat as they coughed repeatedly, the other inmates seemingly used to it as no one voiced their complaints.
Itto especially ignored their criticism as he shoveled the food down his throat, having an obviously larger amount compared to (Y/N)'s along with a piece of stale looking bread that he devoured almost instantly. The only reason was because he would whine about starving to death all the time to the point even the guards found it so obnoxious they gave him some of their portions.
(Y/N) reeled back the bowl before tossing it at the bars of the cell, the echoing of the wooden bowl clanking against the ground reverberating throughout the hall of cells and the splash of liquid hitting the floor and walls causing everyone to stop eating and walk up to the bars of their cells to get a look at what was going on.
People who were in view at what happened all gasped and whispered, relaying the information to cell neighbors who weren't in view so everyone could understand what was going on.
"..."
Drenched in the steaming liquid, Arataki Itto stopped eating and silently shook his head to rid the food out of his hair. He stood up unnervingly quiet, his back facing everyone else as he stared at the wall of his cell while he was eating before he turned around to look towards the culprit.
(Y/N), in their fit of anger not expecting for that to happen, actually felt a little remorseful, but it was their rival after all and he knew just how to get them riled up.
"OOOH, YOU'RE REALLY TESTING ME NOW!"
"IT WASN'T ON PURPOSE!"
"WaSn'T oN PuRpoSe-- WASN'T ON PURPOSE MY ASS!"
"You two are insufferable."