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The glass bowl of homemade macaroni grew colder as the seconds passed, the hands on our hanging clock ticking and accurately calculating the time. I curled my fingers, till my nails dug into the sweaty palms of my hands.
Aki would bite his spoon with ever gulp of his favorite food, the sound of clanking metal telling me that he was thoroughly enjoying the meal. After all, it was his favorite. Heat from the sun warmed up my back, slicing through the thin fabric of my shirt.
"Delicious!" Aki giggled, the bottom of his kid bowl visible from an above view. However, my food wasn't even touched, the topping steam from the freshly-cooked noodles no longer raising up into the air.
I wrapped my head inside of my arms, leaning forward against the kitchen table as if I were a sleeping kindergartener snoozing on their wooden desk. Dents from my nails littered my forearms, though not deep enough to break skin.
"You can have mine, if you want." I murmured, my eyelashes wet with tears as I hid my face from the toddler.
Despite the distributing warmth, I stayed cold- frozen. Even my back was covered with goosebumps, all of my body hair standing up on their very peaks. Keigo's assigned seat, it was right next to me, empty.
"Really? Thanks!" Aki accepted, dragging over my bowl of cheesy noodles. He stuffed his mouth with the macaroni, before smacking his lips loudly and talking in low mumbles. "Yuummy."
My chuckles lasted for less than a second, equal to small huffs of breath or something along those lines. Strands of greasy hair tangled their way over my forehead, getting stuck to my dry lips as I tried to rehydrate my eyes with blinks.
They were bloodshot, red veins nearly popping out of all visible white. Swollen areas of puffiness surrounded my lids, like I had just experienced some kind of allergic reaction. There was even still a remainder of crust around my mouth corners.
But surprisingly, even with his big appetite, Aki didn't bother to finish the bowl of macaroni that I had given him. Instead, I found him standing next to my legs, his hand resting over the top of my thigh.
His short arms reached around my waist, pulling me closer into some sort of awkward hug. "Is it papa?" he asked, making me sit upright and look down at him in an instant. "Did he make you sad?"
Aki rested his head upon my thigh, his sharp golden eyes staring up at my sodden face. My cheeks had become stiff with the feeling of dried tears, my nose scrunched and covered with small blackheads.
I returned the favor, tightly embracing the young toddler within my arms. I scrunched his hair and pulled his head into my chest, a strong urge to cry forcing the rest of my tears out. Before I knew it, I found myself sobbing into his thin shoulders.
I didn't need to say anything for him to understand, before I felt the same comfort of wings desperately trying to cover my back. They weren't long or full enough yet, so only the very tips could reach. Nonetheless, it reminded me of his father.
"Can we go see him?" Aki asked, his voice whimpering softly. I paused for a moment before pulling away, not wanting to influence the kid with unwanted feelings.
"I don't know.." I whispered. "I'll see what I can do, okay?" Aki nodded at me, trying to understand the situation. He ruffled out his crimson wings, stepping back away from my mess of a scene.
"Okay, so here's what you're gonna do!" Aki boosted up instantly, grabbing my hand and walking with me towards the couch. "You just sit there, kay?" I looked around the room, wondering what trick this kid was going to pull.
I sat back against the sofa, sulking my body against the cushions and slowly sinking into its comfortableness. From behind I could hear the hitting of pots and glass dishes, the tap water from the sink running as Aki washed the leftovers for me.
I laughed at his silliness, every song he decided to mimic and hum sounding slurred and inaccurate. For example, he tried to sing the intro to his favorite cartoon show, but it sounded more like weird breaths to me.
Then he came around with a plastic container, filled with loads of nail polish that I suspected he had gotten from Keigo's studio and makeup room. Aki held out my hand like a princess, trying to pick shades that matched my clothes and complimented my skin color.
"Would you like (Y/F/C)?" he asked, to which I nodded my head and happily agreed. "Cause, isn't that your favorite?"
"Yeah, it is." I smiled, curling my toes and leaning forward to help the reach of his short arms. "How did you know?"
"A little birdie told me." he dashed the excess polish off on the rim of the bottle, holding my fingers closer and trying to choose where to start from- the index or thumb. "Betcha' know who that is, huh? I hope we can go see him soon!"
"Me too." I whispered, peeking over at my nails, where Aki had started. He had the sharpest precision and accuracy, and moved as quick as race cars. Every nail was perfectly done with a single swoosh, like I had been taken to a five-star salon.
He continued to hum his mental playlist of songs, until he began to single a certain one. I gulped my saliva at the tone, an instant drop in my heart as he began to sing that special melody. However, Aki was able to hit every note and pitch perfectly, unlike the other times.
It was the song Keigo and I used to sing to each other, the iconic theme we would constantly repeat. I stayed frozen, but the kid in front of my eyes barely seemed to give it even a second thought.
"W-Where did you learn that song?" I asked Aki, who was too busy painting my nails and adding finishing touches.
"Oh!" he said and flashed me his baby teeth, quickly looking up at my dirty face. "That's easy."
"Papa taught me!" he smiled.
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AN; i finished danganronpa v1 and im now moving onto v2, AHHH I CANT WAIT TO SEE KAZUICHI
monokuma is so fat and cute
credit: Kohei Horikoshi
words: 1079