There was really nothing out of the ordinary about that night in particular.
I mean, yeah, me and Rantaro DID argue a whole bunch over text.
And yeah.. I was very concerned about Kokichi the whole night.
But I still recharged at a reasonable hour.
I still sat behind the television watching Celebrity Ghost Stories and laughing about how bullshit half of the stories were.
I still didn't even think to check in.
If I had, maybe then none of this would have happened to him.
I still think about that.
When I got up and drove to school in the morning, nothing was really.. off.. at all.
I only noticed something was amiss when I sat down next to a very, very upset Rantaro in homeroom, and no Kokichi there at all.
"Heyyy... Rantaro? You doing alright there, bud?"
"No."
"What happened.....?"
"I can't fucking remember. I woke up this morning with no memory of ANYTHING that happened before 6 pm, and a huuuuuge fucking hangover. Kokichi left some of his stuff at my house, so I called him to let him know, but I was yelled at for five whole minutes by Shuichi before I hung up on him."
"What did he say?"
"Uuuugh, I can't remember. All the words are like, running together. This hangover is so shitty. I do remember that whatever he said made me feel VERY worried for Kokichi though."
"I'm sure he'll be okay. Do you remember anything that happened like very vaguely?"
"No, dumbass. I'm a blackout drunk."
"I'm surprised you even know what the term means."
"Shut the fuck up, Kiibo. I'm not in the mood."
"Fiiine."
We sat in silence for the rest of the period, anxiously awaiting an arrival from someone we wouldn't see again in a long time.
▬▬ι══════════════ι▬▬
I was so thankful for Shuichi that day.
I didn't end up being that thankful later, but in that moment he was the person who had drove me to a safe place, listened to me cry, and respected my boundaries.
After I told him what happened, something changed in his behavior. It was subtle, but noticeable.
It wasn't anything I could have described, really. A jolt of fear in his eyes after i spoke those words told me everything I needed to know.
He had gone through the same thing I had.
I don't believe anyone was there for him, either. He had to suffer through it, alone.
He let me sleep in his bed while he slept on the floor.
In the middle of the night I woke up to something touching my forehead quickly, but it was gone when I opened my eyes.
Shuichi was walking down the hallway for something.
It was a comfortable sleep, besides that.
I awoke to Shuichi making cinnamon pancakes with chocolate and syrup from scratch. It smelled wonderful-- he was a very good cook.
I yawned and walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, 'Kichi."
"Hi..."
"How are you feeling?"
"..."
"Hey, it's alright. He won't hurt you anymore, okay? I'm here. I already called us both out of school for the day. You can spend it here. How does that sound?"
"I'm... not really sure. I might wanna go home-"
"Rantaro knows where you live, remember? It'd be safer to stay in this house, with me. Probably for a week or so just in case."
"But what about my mom-"
"I already texted her. She gave the okay."
"...alright."
We sat down and both ate the pancakes. They were very good-- except for the slight bitter taste.
"Hey..... uh... Do you know why these are kind of bitter?"
"Ah, It's just part of the recipe. Don't worry about it."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to insult your cooking, it's real good! Honest-"
"It's okay, Koki. Don't worry, I understand."
We sat in silence for a while, but eventually we started talking. A lot.
"So.. what's your house situation like?"
"O-oh, well, I live with my mom in the house next door. We just moved in a couple weeks ago, because m-my stepdad was.... not the best guy."
"What happened to your real dad? If you don't mind me asking, of course."
"Well.... he's not really alive anymore... L-let's talk about your parents."
"Oh, mine? They died when I was like- 10. Reeeally brutal. I'll never forget it."
His dismissive tone arose suspicion as to how much he actually cared about his parents' death, but I brushed it off.
"Didn't you like.. live with your uncle? Where is he?"
"Dunno. He ran off one day, about a week ago. Hasn't been back since. Honestly? Good riddance, that guy was awful.
"Pfft- he can't be that bad!"
"He was! He was really that bad. Dude did some fucked up shit to me and like a lot of other people. I wouldn't be surprised if he's dead in a ditch somewhere."
"How bad?"
"Like.. Death Row bad."
"Yikes, that's.. really bad.. Sorry- I thought you were exaggerating.."
"It's fine, 'Kichi! No worries. It's over with for the time being."
A phone buzzed on the countertop next to the stove. I think it was mine, but it was too far away to tell.
After Shuichi got up and looked at who it was, his face drained of color.
"Hey... could you go upstairs for a minute? I need to talk to someone."
"Okay..."
I went upstairs and sat on the bed.
...
Fuck.
Sitting on the bed led me to thinking about sitting on the bed at Rantaro's.
My stomach lurched just thinking about Rantaro again, so I ran to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet.
I felt hot tears start to stream down my face again as the painful memory repeated itself over and over in my mind.
The harsh slap of skin on skin, the overwhelming pain and pressure in my lower half.
I started to hyperventilate, but I heard Shuichi's voice downstairs, yelling at someone over call.
"You FUCKING ASSHOLE! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT AND THINK IT WAS OKAY? WHAT THE FUCK. I CAN'T BELIEVE I EVER TRIED TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOU."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'I don't know WHAT I did'?!? OF COURSE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU FUCKING DID."
I think he was yelling at Rantaro, but it was comforting to hear that he was defending me.
It did help, actually. Shuichi's voice reminded me that there was someone here to keep me safe. Someone who made me feel loved and appreciated and who would always be there for me.
It was incredibly sudden, but..
I think....
I think I love him.
▬▬ι══════════════ι▬▬
Someone hurt my Kichi.
It wasn't just anyone, either. It was the winner of Danganronpa 52, my former best friend.
Rantaro Amami.
I was fuming mad, having gone through the same thing myself.
When my plan for him was to go over to Rantaro's and call me to pick him up, I figured he would just make my precious Kokichi a little nervous.
I didn't think for one second that he would hurt him-- only I can do that.
If I would have known that this would have happened, I would have taken preventive measures.
Back in the eighth grade-- in middle school, I was best friends with Rantaro. I was so close with him that I started to develop feelings for him.
But now it's junior year of high school, and I realize that things change.
Things change and people change.
When Rantaro changed I didn't do anything about it.
I really, really should have.
But at least then I had Kichi.
I loved him and he would love me, sooner or later.
No matter how much it took.
▬▬ι══════════════ι▬▬
I woke up in the grass of my front yard at 7:48 am, and the first thing I noticed was that my head was pounding.
When I tried to recall how I got there, however, I just couldn't.
It wasn't coming to me-- I couldn't remember anything but Kokichi coming over last night. I know we studied, but after a while the memories blurred more and more.
Did he stay over? Is he home safe?
...
Did I tell him I liked him?
I walked over to the front steps.
The door was unlocked, so I went in.
A terrible sense of dread churned in my stomach.
Did I do something bad..?
I went up to my room and noticed most of Kokichi's stuff there.
Looking around some more, Kokichi was actually nowhere to be found.
I decided to call him and tell him he left some stuff at my place.
I picked up the phone and sat on the bed, dialing his number and hoping I got it right.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
A third time.
I started to get anxious. What if something had happened to him..?
The phone picked up on the fourth ring.
"Heyyy, Kokichi! I think you left some-"
"Why the fuck are you calling him?"
"Shuichi? I should be asking you why you have his phone. Damn freak. Give it back. Kokichi probably doesn't even know it's stolen."
"It's not stolen, and I'm not a freak. I don't know why you're not apologizing right now because what you did is so fucked up that saying it's 'fucked up' is a HUUUGE understatement."
"Bro- what did I even do? I don't have to apologize for doing nothing, and you're not going to make me."
"NOTHING? Ohhhh, that's RICH. FUNNIEST JOKE I'VE HEARD IN A WHILE!"
"Dude.. I'm just calling for Kokichi. Give him the phone, please. I have a huge hangover and your yelling is not helping..."
"Honestly? I'M FUCKING GLAD YOUR HEAD HURTS."
"Dude, I didn't do anything. Please, just give h-"
"You FUCKING ASSHOLE! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT AND THINK IT WAS OKAY? WHAT THE FUCK. I CAN'T BELIEVE I EVER TRIED TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOU."
"Chill out- I don't remember WHAT I did, dude."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'I don't know WHAT I did'?!? OF COURSE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU FUCKING DID."
"No, I don't. I'm a blackout drunk-"
"REAL GREAT EXCUSE!"
"Seriously."
"Nothing can fucking excuse what you did to him, and that's final."
The phone was hung up.
I was left reeling, confused, and already late for first period.
▬▬ι══════════════ι▬▬
4:13 am.
The red alarm clock shone brightly in my face as I groggily blinked away any remnants of my previous slumber.
I had to dispose of some suspicious items.
The rest of my uncle's body was in a rather large Tupperware container. It looked like cooked steak, but you could never be too safe. That stuff rots fast.
I planted a kiss on my beloved's forehead and snuck out the door, avoiding the one creaky floorboard in the middle of of the room.
The garbage guy came in the morning. I'd be safe for now.
I put some gloves on and trudged outside.
The fresh morning air hit my nostrils as I walked to the back of my house to pull out the trash can.
I threw the tupperware in there along with the gloves.
I needed a reason why I was up. If I woke up my beloved, he'd wonder why. That could be evidence used against me in a court case later.
I decided to start cooking breakfast.
I took the Bisquick out of the cupboard, greased a frying pan, and took out two rather large bowls.
I mixed up the batter in one before pausing a moment.
"Hmm.. he probably needs something pain-relieving."
I rummaged through my cabinet once again and found some Advil.
I shook out eight tablets and crushed them up, and put them in the batter.
"What can I put in there to cover that up..."
The answer was staring me straight in the face.
"Ah! Cinnamon."
I paused to think.
"Does cinnamon cover up the taste of it or just the smell?"
I shrugged it off and grabbed some sleeping pills from the cabinet as well.
"This will do."
I ground those up and put them in the batter as well, along with three tablespoons of cinnamon to cover the taste.
I made the second bowl of batter the same way, only without the added pills.
I dipped a finger in there to taste it, and the taste was strong.
"Good. We'll see how this tastes fried."
I turned on my phone, opening Spotify and pressing play.
Lucky by Radiohead was playing at a soft volume as I fired up the gas stove.
I cooked the pancakes one by one, cooking mine first as to avoid mishap.
I stacked them on plates, pouring syrup over them before topping each pancake with whipped cream, chocolate chips, and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.
This was going to be a perfect day.
A/N
THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE SUPPORT!!
i love ALL OF YOU SO MUCH opening wattpad and seeing like 30+ comments a DAY really warms my heart i never thought it would get this far
this story really is a coping mechanism for me and im NOT going to stop until it's done- it might just take a little while for me to get chapters out as i have lots of other projects + 2 new stories I'm working on!!
Seriously though i could not have done this without you guys your support is insane and i love you all <333
anyways how would you guys feel about possible BONUS CONTENT coming out after the story is done?
(dont worry its far from over)
I mean like notes from when i was first writing the story, complete analysis on what it means + shit, complete list of references i made, doodles I did, possible COMICS?!!? (ikik its not good enough to warrant a comic and my work ethic is awful but STILL)
maybe even like bonus stuff abt the pregame characters ive crafted in this story (I HAVE HEADCANONS FOR ALL OF THEM AND YOU BARELY GET TO SEE THEM AND IM SO SAD BC THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OWN LITTLE PERSONALITIES))
LIKE I KNOW THATS A LOT BUT THIS STORY IS LIKE. MY CHILD. MY KID. WE'RE ALMOST AT THE HALFWAY POINT NOW AND THATS CRAZY I GOT THIS FAR BUT IM GONNA FINISH FOR YOU GUYS!!!!
KEEP COMMENTING BC UR COMMENTS **MIGHT** INFLUENCE THE STORY IF YOU COMMENT EARLY ENOUGH OR LIKE SAY WHAT U THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN IM ALWAYS LOOKING FOR IDEAS
I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH THANK UOU FOR BEING HERE!!
-k0mxeda 🥰🥰❤️❤️