Pregame Saiouma/Oumasai DRV3

Who are they?

[Still Kaede's Pov] {TW: Self harm}

"What? Wait... Where the fuck am I?"

I flinched at his choice of words. 'I never thought he could curse...'

He stood up, looking very irritated. He then gave me a glare that Maki would be jealous of. I stepped back, surprised by the new expression. He looked around, and his eyes rested on Kokichi, who was still sleeping in the chair.

His expression changed to a smile when he say the sleeping boy. He shook his head and headed over, like it was normal.  

"Hey, Kichi." His tone was soft and comforting, yet slightly playful. "Wake up, sleepyhead."

"...ng...hmm? Oh. H-Hey, Saihara." Kokichi said, rubbing his eyes. His voice was quiet and unsure, which was another new occurrence. 

"Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?" Shuichi asked quickly.

"N-No, I'm fine. At l-least, I think so. I-I just woke up." Kokichi's stutter was definitely new. He stood up, shaking slightly.

"...That's good. If any of the people here hurt you, just tell me, okay?"

"I-I will. Do you k-know where we a-are?"

Shuichi pulled the smaller boy into a hug. "I don't. But these people will not hurt you." He looked at me with the same glare. "Right?"

I gulped, scared. "Right. Of course not. We are just as confused as you are, I can promise you that much."

"Hey, Shuichi?" Rantaro asked for his attention. "What do you remember last?"

"Not much... I was in my house, sleeping. And I wake up here. I certainly don't remember giving you my first name." He said, his tone accusing. 

"Hmm, so Monokuma was right..."

"Monokuma?" He got excited at the name. "Hear that Kichi, we got in!"

"O-oh. We d-did? Cool..." Kokichi said, shaking a little bit more in Shuichi's hug.

"Wait, what do you mean, 'got in'?" I asked Shuichi.

"If you don't remember, it already happened. So I can't tell you~" He playfully responded.

"Wait, what? No, now you have to!" I demanded.

"No, all I HAVE to do is pay taxes, protect Kokichi, and die." He countered, releasing Kokichi from his hug, who immediately hid behind him, shaking. 

"Two of those are optional, actually." Rantaro mumbled.

"I don't see how death is optional, but I guess I can commit tax fraud."

"How is- you know what, I'm not gonna ask."

"H-Hey, Saihara?" Kokichi said, tugging on his shirt.

"What is it, Kichi?"

Kokichi whispered something into Shuichi's ear. Shuichi smiled. "Sure thing Kichi. Hey, blondie."

"It's Kaede. What do you need?"

"Do we have dorms, or something?"

"Well, yes, but..." 

"But?"

"The door to the gym locks from 10 pm to 8 am. It's 3 am."

"Oh. That's, um...a problem."

Kirumi spoke up. "If you need me to fix a sleeping area for the two of you, I will do so."

"That is certainly a kind offer. But we can wait, thanks." He said, then the two of them went to a corner.

"That was... unexpected." Rantaro summed up.

[Shuichi's Pov]

I leaded Kokichi away from the others. I have to keep them away from him, as he is an easy victim.

"Okay. What's wrong?" I said as soon as we got out of earshot.

"W-What do you m-mean?" He asked.

"I could tell that you were lying when you said you were fine. I know you. And I won't pressure you into telling me, but you know that you don't have to lie to me." I said, my worry obvious. "So please, don't bottle it up like you used to."

"I-I... Shuichi..." He said, tears threatening to fall.

"Shh...It's alright. I'm here, and no one will hurt you." I said, hugging him once again. 

I sat on the ground, still hugging, and faced the others so that Kokichi wouldn't know about their staring. He was shaking, he tends to do that when he's scared. I continue to whisper sweet nothings into his ear, playing with his hair. I felt his tears on my shoulder, but he was silent. After a while, I began to softly hum one of his favorite songs, Hayloft by Mother Mother. He relaxed in my arms, and I knew that he was falling asleep. 

It made me so happy that he trusted me enough to fall asleep on me. He knows where we are, and he knows how easy it is to hurt him, but he still fell asleep. I continued to hum, running my fingers through his hair.

 Once I was certain he was asleep, I checked his arms by slightly pulling the fabric on his sleeve down. Yep, he was hurting himself again. An array of cuts littered his arm. I sighed, knowing how hard it is to cut that habit. I lifted his head to reveal bags under his eyes. I frowned. When was the last time he slept?

He repositioned himself in his sleep, curling into a ball while laying on my chest. I leaned on the wall, letting him sleep.