More to me- Pregame Saioma

5. Something seems familiar...hmmmmmmmm

We had almost finished the third trial of the fourth game before Koma informed us that it was time for dinner.

I bounced downstairs, happy to be hanging out with a new friend.

Saihara smiled. "You seem excited."

"Well, I-I've never really had a sleepover b-before...I guess y-you could say I'm rather happy."

"You know, you can take off your uniform."

"Y-You want me to...t-take off my clothes?"

He got really flustered, waving his hands around. "No! Not like that! What I meant was the jacket must be hot, wait not hot hot, I mean t-temperature wise, and-"

I laughed at his blushing face. "Silly, I was just teasing you."

"You're the meanest, Oma-chan."

"I know. I'm b-big and scary and mean, a-aren't I?"

He ruffled his hand through my hair. "Yeah, just a big scary meanie right here."

I blushed, laughing again. He smiled at me as we sat down.

As I saw Koma come in with the shio ramen, I recalled how my family did dinners. We only ever had family dinners when someone was over, which was rare. My foster mother rarely ever cooked, she didn't have the skill, nor the ingredients. We were tight on money, so we usually got pre-made foods like instant ramen. Microwave ready, easy to clean. I always brought my food to my "room." I lived in the basement space for my home. The room that was supposed to be mine was reserved for...special guests. Special, wealthy guests...

"Oma-chan?"

"Hm?"

Koma looked at me, concerned. "Are you okay, Oma-sama?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. I just...s-spaced out for a sec. And please, t-there's no need for the "sama" h-honorfic. I'm n-no one special."

"Nonsense. I'm sure you're extraordinary."

I blushed. "T-Thank you, Koma-san."

"Besides," Saihara smiled at me. "You're special to me, Oma-chan."

"I am?"

"Yeah! We are lost together buddies, after all."

"...R-Right! We are lost together buddies."

"Oma-san?" Koma asked. "If I understand this correctly, your mother allowed you to stay here because you got lost on the way home?"

"Yes, t-that is correct."

"Why didn't your mother pick you up?"

"S-She was working o-overtime." I lied, blowing on my shio ramen.

"Her child was lost. Surely that would be more important than her work."

"Koma-kun..." Saihara mumbled, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"I-It's alright, Saihara-kun." I smiled lightly, hoping to reassure him. "The a-area we were in had a p-power outage. There was no wi-fi e-either. I'm still not entirely sure w-what happened, but I couldn't contact m-my mom. She had no way of knowing I was lost. I-I was only able to ask her later, after I r-realized we were very far from t-the bus I would normally take home."

"I see."

I smiled, eating my shio ramen. I was surprised at how great it tasted. I ate some more. I probably looking very messy compared to the sophisticated people sitting next to me. I looked over to Saihara for a moment. He was hunched over, scarfing down the yummy ramen. The sight alleviated my self-conscious thoughts.

I paused from my meal. "This is good, Koma-san!" I said, looking up at him. I immediately noticed his analytic gaze and his narrowed eyebrows as he examined me. He's staring into my soul! I looked away, eating more ramen.

"Oh, it's no problem! Someone as worthle-" He earned a glare from Saihara. "...I mean...I have no problem cooking for Shuichi-sama's- I mean, Shuichi-kun's friends!" He laughed nervously. That laugh seems so familiar...wait. Koma. Komaeda. Fluffy white hair...doesn't like Danganronpa... and he was about to call himself worthless...

I smiled at him after finishing. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom real quick. Which way is it?"

Saihara gave me directions to the bathroom, which I followed almost perfectly. Meaning that I opened the door to a bedroom and an office before I found the right door.

I walked into the bathroom, closed the door, and exhaled heavily. There is a fucking Komaeda in my friends dining room and I have no idea how to respond to this. He must be hiding his identity for a reason. Maybe he knows how some Danganronpa fans react to seeing his fanart and wants to avoid that? Either way, I have to ask Saihara about it later.

I finished doing bathroom things. I don't need to elaborate to you pervs. I quietly walked back to the dining room, and I overheard the conversation between Saihara and Koma.

"Your friend, Oma...he smiles a lot."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, his smile is nice, of course, but it doesn't seem like he's smiling for himself. It seems like his smile...doesn't come from happiness."

"You just met him, Koma-kun."

"I know! I know. But I've seen a lot of smiles while I've been on this earth, and I've learned to tell the difference between them. His smile...it seems like it's been made to alleviate concern. It's a silent way of saying, "Don't worry, I'm smiling, so everything's fine." It's not for him, or his happiness, but for those around him. And it concerns me."

"...I see what you mean, but don't you think you're reading into this a little too much?"

"Maybe I am, but I'm concerned about him. Did you see him when he first arrived? The way he drank the water as if his life depended on it? It scared me. His hair is unkempt. His teeth are yellow. He hasn't taken off his school jacket yet. He speaks so quietly, so timidly. His footsteps are almost nonexistent. He has bags under his eyes, and he eats food rather fast."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm trying to say...he might be in the "survival mode" mentality."

"The what?"

"When one experiences something traumatic, one's brain often goes into what is commonly called survival mode. It focuses on getting through the moment, rather than focusing on afterwards. Someone in this mentality will often makes rash decisions and won't concern themselves with the consequences. They don't take care of themselves properly because their brain is constantly focused on getting through the day, and they feel as if there is no tomorrow. And they're scared. Really scared."

"I see...it makes sense...but maybe we should leave it alone. After all, we don't want to scare him away."

"I know...I'm just concerned...so if you could, observe him closely. Take note if he has an adverse reaction to anything, okay? Ask him about his plans for even tomorrow, see if he's thinking ahead. And...just look after him."

"I'm not his mom, Koma-kun!"

Koma laughed lightheartedly.

(get fucking Komaeda'd bitch)

Word count: 1049