Second Chances || Saiouma

Chapter 17

A chill fell over the room, goosebumps swept up Shuichi's arms. His heart pounding in his chest, loud enough to fill the silence in the now-dead room. Blood rushing through his ears like crashing ocean waves.

Kokichi's mother was here?

Shuichi just couldn't believe it, but there was no denying the woman standing at their door, bearing a striking resemblance to Kokichi.

Shuichi sobered up immediately. He had already been on his way down, slowly drifting into a more conscious mind, but now it felt like he had been drench with a bucket of freezing water.

He straightened himself out, flattening his clothes down with his hands, even though he was pretty sure she couldn't see him.

Kokichi bristled, his body tensing up like a rod. "How do you know where I live?" His voice was cold and questioning, which seemed completely reasonable to Shuichi. Kokichi didn't even know his mother, and past Kokichi hadn't seen or talked to her in years either. So her showing up out of the blue, at ten o'clock at night, to an apartment she shouldn't know the address of, was completely worth questioning and in fact a little scary.

The woman wrung her hands together, having a hard time making eye contact with Kokichi, now that he knew who she was. "Well, I really wanted to find you, and I knew you had been on Danganronpa, so I-" she paused biting her lip worriedly, her shoulders hunching over. She looked about ready to cry.

"You what?" Shuichi flinched at Kokichi's harsh tone. No matter how pitiful the woman at their door looks, he remembers what his parents told them. His parents never went into full detail about the things she did, only saying she was into 'bad things' and 'bad people'.

"I called Team Danganronpa and was able to find a person who had your information on file. Since they aren't allowed to give out that kind of stuff to anyone, I pretended I was you."

Kokichi crossed his arms. "And they just gave you my information, just like that?"

"Yes," she pushed a piece of fallen hair gently behind her ear. "I've been told we sound similar over the phone, especially if I lower my voice."

Red flags were popping up all over his brain. Not only had she sought out private information about her son, that she abandoned mind you, but she also impersonated him to do so. Something just wasn't right here, and he could feel it.

Kokichi's mother picked at her thumb in silence, waiting for any kind of response, but receiving none. She looked up slowly, a nervous smile on her face. "I'm sorry for showing up so late and so abruptly, I really wanted to see you," she laughed shakily, Kokichi stared blankly at her.

"Am I intruding on something? I thought I heard another voice behind you, do you have a friend over?" she leaned a little into the apartment, eyes scanning behind Kokichi, but not spotting Shuichi, who was tucked away in the kitchen. "I'll leave, sorry for intruding."

Kokichi sighed and then pushed the door further open, stepping out of the way. "You can come in." She lit up instantly, clearly expecting to have been turned away.

"I don't have a friend over. Shuichi lives here as well, I suppose Danganronpa didn't tell you that?" Kokichi closed the door behind her as she walked into the apartment.

Her look of glory that she had been allowed in, died off as soon as his name was mentioned. "Shuichi? No, no they didn't-" her words grew quiet, as she took notice of him standing at the kitchen entrance.

"Hello," he waved, afraid to say anything else and have his dazed brain mess something up.

She waved back, but her eyes didn't match the friendly gesture. In fact, Shuichi was starting to grow uncomfortable with the look of resentment she was sending him. What did he ever do to her?