REQUESTED BY: P1nks0ftie
A/N: Enjoy some more Despair Disease what-ifs with Ouma.
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It was something straight out of a reality show. Well, that much was true, considering that you immediately recognized it when Monokuma cheerfully announced that a few of your classmates had been infected with something called 'Despair Disease' one morning.
Looking around, you'd noticed that a few of your classmates were missing. Shuichi, Kokichi, Gonta, and Angie were gone, leaving the rest of you confused and worried about them.
"Until one of you gets done in, they aren't getting better!" Monokuma had cackled, stabbing a roasted squid with a fork. "Unluckily for you, you don't have a nurse to keep track of 'em. Oh well, it is what it is!"
When you went to find them later that day, what you saw shocked you.
Gonta immediately cowered away from everyone, distrustful eyes darting back and forth as he vehemently cast his suspicion on anything anyone tried to say to him. He would believe absolutely nothing, especially not the others trying to talk him down and consoling him. He wouldn't even believe you when you told him that you didn't want to hurt him, and it stung.
Shuichi seemed to have lost all pretenses of reservation; instead of his usual guarded demeanor, now he was excitable, sinister with the way his eyes raked up and down your classmates as if sizing them up for slaughter. Considering his past interactions with you (and his ongoing sorrow over Kaede), it was enough to send chills down your spine. You couldn't stay in his room for long for fear that he would do something he would normally never forgive himself for.
Angie, despondent, completely denounced her religious beliefs, claiming that Atua never cared about her and wasn't going to save her from the school. Himiko was absolutely crushed at this, begging her to reconsider, but she snapped at her until she went away.
And finally, Kokichi. The boy who clung to you on a daily basis when he wasn't bothering Shuichi or K1B0. Instead of his chipper face and honey-laced words, here he was solemn and quiet, and when he spoke he winced as if telling the truth viscerally hurt him.
He was the most tolerable for you to stay with, and so it was decided that you would take care of him until the disease faded.
"Kokichi, I brought dinner," you said as you opened his door. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Horrible," he muttered with a sigh as his purple eyes shifted to look at you. "What did you bring?"
"I brought noodles." You sat the tray down on his knees and sat next to him yourself. You gave him a hopeful look. "Is it okay?"
"Good enough." He sighed again and picked up the chopsticks.
You deflated a bit, but remained quiet. It was important not to set off the infected students, lest they do something worse than just remain in their rooms. Even being around them gave you a chance to get infected apparently, but Monokuma was stubbornly trite about all that the disease was capable of. Since you nor the others felt any different by this point, about a day into it, so your guards were beginning to drop.
You watched as he ate, twiddling your fingers together. It wasn't like him to be this quiet, and it was unnerving.
Kokichi glanced up for a moment, an annoyed frown crossing his face. "Could you not stare at me? It's creepy."
"Ah, s- sorry," you bowed your head in embarrassment, your cheeks heating up. "Just... kinda zoned out."
He grunted, finishing up the bowl before letting out a soft exhale, pushing the tray away.
"It was... okay, I guess," he winced, grabbing at his stomach as he spoke. "Urgh..."
"Are you sick?"
"Sick of everyone treating me like I'm condemned," he snapped back, rubbing his stomach. "I feel like I'm gonna puke..."
Is it the disease? You wondered vaguely before watching his grimace deepen. From what I've heard, Gonta never had these symptoms... neither did Shuichi, if Kaito's report was accurate. I wonder why he gets nauseated so often...
"Is that all you wanted?" He asked, snapping you out of it.
"Uh, w- well I was thinking we could hang out more!" You tried your best to smile as you took the tray away. "We could do whatever you want... doesn't that sound fun?"
Kokichi blinked before shrugging. "Meh. Beats isolation."
You nodded quickly, standing up from the bed. "I'll be back in a jiff!"
True to your word, you came back straight after bringing the tray back to the cafeteria. Kokichi didn't know much of what he wanted to do, but all he wanted was to get out of his dorm room. So the two of you went for a walk outside and sat down on the grass, feeling the soft strands tickling your skin as you lay down side by side.
"I don't think we're ever getting out of here," he abruptly mentioned, his face twisted in discomfort as his hand went back to his stomach.
"What makes you say that?" You asked quietly, your grip tightening on your sweater.
"It's obvious that Monokuma only wants us to turn on each other in a bloodbath... if help was coming for us, why wouldn't it have gotten here by now?" He questioned. "Why else can't we escape ourselves?"
"W- well," you started, though doubt crept into your voice.
"He's banking on the fact that we're becoming complacent. He wants us to believe that we still have hopes of getting out of here without more murder while not actively trying to do anything to bust out." Kokichi glared at the night sky. "Now that this disease is going around... all we can do is wait until one or more of us dies."
"Don't say that!" You turned to him, hurt. "You aren't acting like yourself, Kokichi! Snap out of it! This-- this sickness is turning you into someone I don't know! Where's the Kokichi that I like so much?"
"That Kokichi never existed, (y/n)," he snapped at you. "The sooner you learn that, the easier it'll be to accept our predicament."
"I know you always showed a lot of bravado, but to just change into-- this?!" You gestured to his face. "I know Shuichi's out of commission, but you can't just--"
"I'm not this overblown cocky bastard all the time, y'know." He sounded more and more irritated as he went, sitting up and towering over your form. "I'm not some super evil guy, I'm just me. I'm just a liar. I've been playing you all for fools this entire time, and you just-- you just let me! What's wrong with you all?!"
His fists slammed down onto the grass and his face turned a pale, sickly green. "Shit--" He abruptly turned and vomited onto the grass, alarming you enough into jumping up.
"Kokichi--"
"I'm fine," he spat, wiping his mouth with his knuckles. "It's the disease... every time I tell the truth, I get sick. It's... it's why it only happens around other people."
Your heart wrenched painfully when you saw him dry-heave further, gagging and spitting more onto the grass. You knelt beside him and rubbed his shuddering back, and when he was done he leaned limply against your side.
"Kokichi," you whispered, tears dotting your eyes. "I... I don't know how to help you. I'm sorry, I don't-- I can't help."
"You didn't have to do anything, stupid." He groaned, eyelids fluttering. "Honestly. If I didn't l--" he groaned, cutting himself off as he clapped a hand over his mouth. It muffled his next words. "If I didn't love you so much, I'd have distanced myself from you much earlier."
"You do?" You didn't feel surprise, only relief. All this time, my feelings were actually returned? He wasn't just lying to me?
"Ugh, yes," he miserably replied. "It feels like my stomach is getting siphoned into a black hole."
You hugged him, gripping his scarf as his head fell forward, his breathing shallow.
"I'm sorry," you whispered again, clenching your eyes shut. "I'll try my best to make you feel better, I promise. I'm sorry you're suffering, Kichi."
--
A/N: Haha, have some fluff sprinkled in with your order of angst.
Please tell me what you thought, feel free to request more, and I'll see you guys later!