Yo! So as a bit of forewarning for this chapter: It's really long. To explain, it's essentially an anthology of short stories of the days leading up to when Kokichi and Mikan hang out! While it's not 100% essential, the stories are pretty good in my opinion, and some of them will contain clues for future twists. Also: This will have the first namedrop of the serial killer! If you want to skip around, then:
Kokichi's first POV: A cute story with Gonta
Mikan's first POV: Her and Ibuki spend some time together!
Kokichi's second POV: Some tension in the class
Mikan's second POV: Maki comes in to get some wounds treated
Kokichi's third POV: Conclusion to his and Gonta's tale
Mikan's third POV: Sonia gets sick, so her and Mikan chat
Hope you enjoy!
Kokichi's POV:
The next night, I went to the courtyard. It was the first time in a while that I didn't have the members of D.I.C.E. to entertain me. If it turned out to be boring, I had a contingency plan of playing video games afterward- but for now, this was fairly unexplored territory for me.
Honestly, despite it being pretty, the courtyard was really boring looking. With the different array of ultimates here, I would have expected something a bit more grandiose- but I guess they had to keep the appearance of a "prim and proper school", even if its students were anything but.
At some point during my exploring, I found that my legs were starting to get tired. The campus was huge, so it was taking a while to explore everything- even if most of it looked the same. Sitting down on a bench, I take a better look at where I was. It was mostly dark, except for a building made of glass that had its lights on. I recognized this as the research area for the ultimate entomologist, Gonta Gokuhara.
I found myself looking at it closely, absentmindedly taking in the black silhouettes of the bugs flying around. Something was "bugging" me though. The light was on, but I didn't see the silhouette of that giant teddy bear Gonta. He didn't seem like the type to waste power, so I had to wonder where he was.
That was answered quickly when I heard a voice behind me- "Oh, Kokichi! What you doing out here so late?" he asked in his usual grammatically incorrect way.
"I'm looking for fireflies!" I lied, putting on an air of excitement. Gonta's mouth went agape in surprise, before smiling. "That great to hear Kokichi! But it still too early for fireflies to appear, even though they very pretty." he says, his smile turning a bit bashful. "Darn, I was wondering why I wasn't finding any." I say, laughing it off.
"But it nice to know that Kokichi care about bugs!" says Gonta, seemingly trying to cheer me up. "Maybe we can discuss them?" he asks, getting into it. Now, everyone in class claims to hate lies, but this is one I know we all told: "Suuuuuure, I love bugs!" I say. Normally, Gonta is the least threatening being on earth, but if you dare say you don't like bugs around him... well, let's just say his power gets "over 9000!"
"Great! Then we can start now! Gonta was just bringing bugs some food." he says, smiling and leading me to his bug sanctuary. I do my best to keep up my happy facade, despite the utter disgust I felt on the inside.
As we walked down the path towards the brightly lit building, Gonta seemed to become more pensive. And soon enough... "Gonta happy that Kokichi agree to come with Gonta. Gonta know that others don't really want Gonta to spend time with Kokichi... but whenever Gonta look at Kokichi, he always seem so lonely..." he says, the thought seemingly having been on his mind for quite a while.
"Awww, are you worried about me Gonta?" I ask in a semi teasing manner. He takes a few moments, before answering "Gonta suppose so..."
We finally reach the insect house- it's every inch as disgusting as I imagined it. Bugs crawled and flew all over the place. My smile almost falters as Gonta shows me around for what felt like hours, beaming the entire time. "Woooow that's so interesting-" I say, choking back the urge to vomit at a wriggly worm.
"Yes, Gonta think so too! Gonta happy that Kokichi take interest in this! Whenever Gonta ask others, they always say they busy..." he says, a tinge of sadness to his smile. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this had been weighing him down for a while.
Okay, the bugs were gross, but I'd feel gross if I left Gonta feeling like this. "Nishishi, well since I love bugs so much, let's do this again tomorrow!" I say, limiting it to one more day. I hated the bugs, but I did legitimately enjoy Gonta's company... eeeven if I manipulated him into the, uh, incident.
And admittedly, this had its own manipulative part to it: I figured if I agreed to come back tomorrow, I would get out of here sooner. And low and behold- "Really? That make Gonta so happy! Then yes, let's have more fun tomorrow!" He says, smiling wide.
"Great! Then I guess we're done for tonight!" I say, figuring now was my chance. Gonta looked surprised, but thought it over "Yeah... Gonta suppose so if Kokichi say it is." Bingo. I was free to go now. I mean sure I was going to have to come back tomorrow, but I could probably cut that down a bit too. With a dramatic turn and a "Welp, see ya!" I began walking out the door, but before I could...
"Wait-" said Gonta. I turned around, giving him a questioning look. Gonta froze for a few moments, before straightening his back a bit. "Sorry, Gonta know it not very gentlemanly to shout- but, Gonta also know that it not very gentlemanly to not say goodbye to friend before they leave, or thank them for spending time with you. So... Thank you! And Goodbye" he says, a smile plastered on his face and giving a friendly wave with his hand.
I dunno how he did it, but the big lug somehow got a genuine smile out of me. Realizing this, I quickly make it my overdramatic and energized one instead- "Yup! See ya, Gonta!" I say, waving as I finally left that disgusting house of bugs.
You know, despite the fact that he was obsessed with bugs, Gonta really was nice to hang around.
Shame the others don't want him to hang around me- even if I get why.
Mikan's POV:
It was early in the morning, and Ibuki walked into my office, clutching her stomach while dramatically leaning on the doorframe- "Uhg, Mikan, Ibuki should have listened to you yesterday. Ibuki thinks she ate too much shortcake." she says, looking pale in the face. Rushing up from my chair and to Ibuki, I help her lay down on the bed set up in the nurse's room.
Yesterday, while we were hanging out, Ibuki began scarfing down shortcake faster than I could have ever imagined- I knew that Hanamura's cooking was amazing, but at the same time it made me worried about her health. But when I had tried to warn her, she just continued and said: "Ahhh I'm sure I'll be fine".
And now the worst had happened. I got down some antacids from the medicine cabinet, and measured some out for Ibuki to drink. "Um, I k-know that it doesn't taste that good but... this should help with t-the stomach pain." I say, timidly handing it to Ibuki.
She took it, drank it, and scrunched up her face in disgust- "Aug, you weren't kidding! That tasted worse than a broken guitar string!" she says in disgust... I decide not to question it. The bad taste seemed to have made her a bit more aware but still... "S-Sorry! There isn't much else that I can do about this kind of pain." I say, wringing my hands. Ibuki shakes her head though, seemingly trying to be energetic despite still having pains.
"Nah, Ibuki gets it! Even if Ibuki's stomach hurts really bad, she gets to have a really cute nurse take care of her, so all's good!" she says, pumping an arm energetically in the air, before cringing and clutching at her stomach. "Ehehehe... guess I shouldn't do that, huh?" she says, smiling sheepishly.
Still flustered by her nurse comment, I give an absent-minded nod to Ibuki's question. "Um- y-you should probably rest a bit while we wait for the antacid to take effect." I say, beginning to put away the medicine. Ibuki gave an energized "Kk!" in response, and I sat back down in the office chair by my desk. I was told by the school to log any students who came in and why, so I had some paperwork to fill out.
It didn't take too long for Ibuki to get aggravatingly bored- about 30 seconds in fact. "Uuuuuuugh is this all you do in the nurse's office? How can you stand it?!" she asks, flopping down on the bed dramatically. I turn around, pen still in hand "S-Sorry- This paperwork is important though s-s-so- Ah, but I can d-do anything you want afterward so please don't hate me-" I say, clasping my hands together.
Ibuki sat up and shook her head "Nah! Ibuki thinks it would be good to chat at least though. Seriously this silence is killing me-" she says, scrunching up her face is an irritated manner. Despite knowing her for a month, I was still expecting something worse, so I was kind of surprised at her request. But... well I didn't mind it in the slightest- "Hmhmhm, okay! Then um... w-what should we talk about?" I ask, a bit more chipper.
Ibuki puts her hand to her chin in an exaggerated way of thinking- "Oh oh Ibuki's got it! Why did you ask her about the mall yesterday?" She asks, cocking her head in a curious way. "When I asked, you just kinda shrugged it off."
This was... definitely not something I expected- "O-Oh- Well um, you s-s-see... I um... kind of got invited to hang out w-with someone t-there...?" I say hesitantly, cringing at every word uttered. I didn't want to tell her because I figured that she'd get upset if she knew I was hanging out with someone else, but I might have just made things worse by avoiding it.
Once again though, Ibuki subverts my expectations by giving me a smile rather than a disgusted or angry look. In fact, she almost looked excited. "Mikan, that's great! Who, what, when, where, why? Wait I think I know a few of those... ah just tell me everything!" she says, sitting up in the bed but cringing due to stomach pain. "Aug... tell Ibuki before this excitement makes her stomach feel any worse!" She says, still somehow bouncing back. With a worried whimper, I nod. "Um, w-well it happened yesterday right before we hung out. He s-seemed like he really wanted to so-" I get cut off by Ibuki's astonished gasp. "He? Does somebody have a crush on you? What's he like, who is he?" she asks, excitedly sitting on the edge of the bed: so much so that I was afraid she might fall off.
I tense up, getting anxious from Ibuki's spitfire questioning: however, I do my best to keep my composure and continue explaining "I'm s-s-sure it isn't anything like that! It's Kokichi. H-He's my roommate and-" I get cut off again. "Kokichi?! Isn't he like, that one dude who lies all the time?! Don't you know what happened with Gonta?!" she asks, a shocked and somewhat horrified expression on her face.
As Ibuki brought that up, the thought came to my mind for the first time- what if he was planning something? At the time, I had completely forgotten what kind of reputation Kokichi had- and what I had observed for myself. The more I thought about it, the deeper the pit in my stomach grew. But at the same time...
"I've... a-already said I would do it though so... so there isn't really m-much I can do." I say, looking down at my lap dejectedly. "He would b-be really upset with me if I didn't come, right?" I say, looking at Ibuki with a worried expression. "So what, you aren't in the same class so it's not like you even see him that often." she says in a nonchalant manner. I furrow my brows even further, realizing I would have to explain it to her.
"T-The thing about that is..."
"Kokichi's k-kind of my roommate." I say softly, cringing in anticipation for her response.
"Oh okay." she says, before furrowing her brows, and then gasping in realization "WAIT HE'S YOUR WHAT?!?!" she screams, clearly taken aback. I cringe, before saying it once again. "He's... m-my roommate." I say, even softer this time.
"Why didn't Ibuki know this?! Why didn't you say anything about this?! He hasn't like, done any evil stuff to you, has he?!" she asks, her mind seemingly running a mile a minute. Realizing that she wasn't getting the full situation at all, I attempt to explain it better. "N-No, he hasn't! I mean, h-he wanted to do a death game on our first day b-but... it kind of sounded like this game I h-heard of named Yu-Gi-Oh? A-And other than that, he's usually on his laptop when I g-get in so... we don't even interact much." I say, looking down at my lap thoughtfully as I finished.
Ibuki was silent for a few moments, seemingly taking in all of this new information. "Well... Ibuki is still suspicious but... if you think it's going to be okay then she supposes she won't worry... too much"
Breathing in a sigh of relief, I try changing the subject "A-Anyways, the antacid should be kicking in soon, so um... you shouldn't be bored for too much longer" I say, fiddling with my hands in my lap. Her mood changing fast, Ibuki smiled her signature smile and shook her head "Nah, it's fun hanging with you Mikan! Your vibe is more mellow than I'd normally go for, but I really dig it!" she says excitedly.
We talked for a few more minutes before Ibuki revealed that she was feeling better. Even though her protesting made it really difficult, I wound up sending her back to class. Throughout the rest of the day, I thought about the interaction on and off. Even though I smiled to myself at Ibuki's antics, I couldn't help but be even more anxious about hanging out with Kokichi. A lot of the stuff she was worried about truly had never crossed my mind, and my general anxiety just kept making me think up worst case scenarios.
Nevertheless, I didn't let it affect my work, as I cared for the rest of the people who came in with all my might.
Kokichi's POV:
It was after class, and it was about time for me to finish keeping an eye on Maki. Kaito had begun motioning towards the door, so I assumed that they were going to head somewhere else soon. In anticipation of this, I began to exit the room- didn't want to seem like a stalker, after all. However, just as I was leaving, I hear a familiar voice:
"Wait, Kokichi! You ready to go look at bugs again today?" asks Gonta, seemingly in an excited mood. It's not that I forgot about what I had said yesterday, or that I was even planning on standing him up- however, I didn't think that he would bring it up so soon.
And in front of everybody else.
Gonta really wasn't the type to keep secrets, and it seemed he was oblivious to what the others would say if they knew that we were hanging out. Needless to say, some nasty glares were shot my way.
The first one to speak up was Tsumugi, the blue-haired megane with an obsession with games and anime. "Um, Gonta, are you sure that you should be spending time with... him?" she asks, seemingly wary of the idea. Gonta turned her way, a confused and surprised expression on his face. "Huh? But Kokichi like bugs, so we just going to look at them" he says, oblivious as usual.
The next to speak up, much to my dismay, was Maki. "Don't you remember what happened the last time he said that." she said, giving me a death glare. The purple haired idiot came next "Yeah! He's probably just trying to use you again!" says Kaito, teeth grit and eyebrows furrowed.
"But last night, Kokichi and I have fun time talking about bugs!" says Gonta, just making things worse. "Last night? What do you mean last night?" asks Kaito, both confused and angry. "Oh, um- Last night, Kokichi and Gonta have lots of fun in bug house!" he says, smiling. Kaito glares at me once more "The hell are you planning Kokichi" he asks, voice low and gravely. I scoff, glaring right back at Kaito "Nothing. Geeze why do you always gotta be so suspicious." I ask, acting playful but letting some of my annoyance get through. "Why do I have to be suspicious?! Why do you have to act so suspicious?! Always messing around, manipulating others! Even Gonta! You're the lowest of the low." he says, hatred seeping through every word.
Guess it was time to reset my emotions once again. I wait a few moments, making sure that the words that were about to come out of my mouth sounded as sincere as possible. My mask ready, I spoke "Woooow that's a low blow right there." I say, looking at my hand with an apathetic face. "Can't believe it came from an idiot like you."
"Who the hell are you calling an idiot?!" Kaito shouts, raising a fist. "Hah, you really are dumb. You. I'm calling you an idiot, idiot." I say, smirking at him. Kaito somehow got even angrier, and started pacing towards me. For a moment there I actually thought I might get punched, but someone came to my rescue.
"Hey, we shouldn't be fighting like this!" Cried Kaede Akamatsu, A.K.A. piano idiot. Kaito stopped in his tracks and looked at her. Sighing, he scratches the back of his head "Right, sorry. I shouldn't let myself get so riled up by him."
I could practically feel the daggers that Maki was staring at me at that point. A few moments longer and I might have had to go to the nurse's office. "Don't worry about it. But even if he can be... less than agreeable at times, Kokichi's still our classmate" Kaede says, giving me a look of "sorry that happened, but don't pull this stuff"
Shuichi chimed in next, being Kaito's self-proclaimed "Sidekick". "Yeah. You'll just get into trouble if you start stuff like that anyways." he says, having to lift his head up a bit to look Kaito in the eyes because of his cap. I never got why he sided with someone so ignorant and naive as Kaito- he seemed plenty smart and that idiot was just dragging him down.
Guess it was my turn to speak- "Wow, thanks guys! If it wasn't for you I would have been punched just then. T-Thank you so muuch" I say, putting on crocodile tears. Kaito glares at me one last time, before sighing. That's when Gonta spoke up for the first time in a while. "Sorry... it Gonta's fault that friends fight" he says, a pensive look on his face. I scoff "Don't apologize Gonta. It's not your fault that purple haired idiot doesn't know how to control himself" I say, meeting Kaito's glare with one of my own.
He was about to open his mouth again, before Tsumugi cut him off "Um, why don't you come over here Gonta" she says, smiling sympathetically at him. He gives an "Oh... okay" before heading over to Tsumugi. Scoffing a bit, I put on a childish smile and wave- "Welp, this is boring now. See ya!" I say, finally getting the hell out of that room.
Aug, that was awful. Why the hell did that idiot Kaito make everything seem worse than it actually is? And don't even get me started on that shifty ass girlfriend of his. Still in a bit of a huff, I find myself walking around the courtyard once more. I just felt like I need some fresh air or something to calm myself down.
It wasn't until I heard loud footsteps behind me that I stopped, turning around. Honestly, considering how much of a softie he was, I should have expected it to be Gonta from the start. The behemoth was running at full speed towards me though, so I couldn't help but jump a bit and take a few steps back as a reflex.
A physically unphased Gonta stopped just short of me, a worried expression on his face. Getting over the shock and quickly putting my mask back on, I raise an eyebrow- "Hmm? What is it?" I ask, before gasping "Could this be a confession of love before I leave on a plane, never to be seen by you again?" I ask, putting some crocodile tears in my eyes as I pretend to be in one of those cheesy ass scenes from movies.
Gonta's face contorts in confusion "H-Huh? No, um, that not it at all... unless... is Kokichi really going away forever?!" he asks, the idea seemingly distressing him. Wow. I didn't think he'd actually be that gullible. Putting my mask back to normal, I laugh "Nah, that was a lie!" I say, putting my arms behind my head in a nonchalant manner. Gonta lets out a still slightly confused "O-Oh..." before calming down a bit.
"Sooooooo what are you actually here for?" I ask, figuring it was something I forgot, or Gonta saying the others told him that he can't be around me anymore. Hell, this might have been his own declaration of hatred and distrust towards me! It'd be about time... However, what followed was nothing of the sort.
"Gonta... just wanted to know if Kokichi was okay..." he asks, looking down at the ground. I yet again raise an eyebrow, as I scan his face and body with every trick in the book to try and see if he was lying. I should have known that was a waste of time though, since Gonta really wasn't the type to lie. Which left me with one question: "Why?" I ask, accidentally letting a bit too much of my confusion into my voice.
Gonta's head perked up, though not by much since he was way taller than me. "H-Huh? It's just that some... mean things were said. A-And even if Kokichi said some of those mean things... nobody really gave him a chance." says Gonta, scratching the back of his head in an unsure manner. I should have expected a sappy reason like that.
"Awwww, you're worried about me? Shouldn't you be worried more about someone like Kaito? Yknow, someone who actually has feelings?" I say, letting the lies just fall out of my mouth and take control of the conversation. But Gonta, like normal, didn't react the way I expected him to at all.
"That... another lie, isn't it Kokichi?" he says cautiously. I furrow my brows somewhat, placing my arms back at my sides. I guess I underestimated how perceptive he is. "Nishishi, I have no clue what you're talking about!" I say, laughing it off. Even if someone called me out on my B.S., I'm not going to give it up so easily.
Finally realizing it wasn't going to get him anywhere, Gonta changed the subject. "Um... Even though Gonta can't stay for much longer... would Kokichi still like to look at bugs together tomorrow?" he asks. "Gonta said that he would be back soon, and gentlemen always keep their word, but... Gonta thought it might make Kokichi feel better!" he said. Looking at his hands, I saw that hey were shaking a bit... he was really nervous about this, wasn't he?
"Sure, since I love bugs so much" I say, putting a bright smile on my face. Gonta's face lit up, as he smiled. "That great to hear! Um, Gonta gotta go back to others now, but will see Kokichi tomorrow!" he says, waving and running back towards the building.
Waving back a bit, I stand there dumbfounded at what just happened. I knew he was a softie, but I never expected Gonta to do something like that. I guess he did legitimately enjoy the time we spent together last night.
Somewhat looking forward to tomorrow now, I continue walking around the courtyard for a bit before heading back to my dorm and playing video games.
Mikan's POV:
It was early in the morning: A new day... a day closer to when I was supposed to meet Kokichi at the mall. I was still rather nervous, but I had calmed down a bit since yesterday. Seeing Kokichi calmly on his laptop like normal reminded me that he hasn't been that scary so far, so I had nothing to fear... probably.
About half an hour had gone by after my shift as a nurse started, and I hear the door to the office open. Turning around, I see a stoic girl with brown hair in twintails walk in. "Um, h-hello. What appears to be the proble-" "Kaito and Shuichi made me come here. Can you fix me up quickly or not." she asks, not looking me in the eye even once.
Already feeling very intimidated, I found myself tripping over my words much more than normal "U-Um, yes I c-can. What um, w-what's wrong-" I ask softly, my anxiety starting to take over my voice. The girl sighs, before turning around "I have a couple of scrapes and cuts. They're just making a big deal out of it, but Kaito and Shuichi won't shut up about how I should get it treated, so here I am." she says, in a monotone, but somewhat annoyed voice.
Still nervous, I quickly spin around in my chair towards my desk to jot down the info I needed for the paperwork. "U-Um, sorry to ask b-but... your um, n-name?" I ask, cringing and hiding in my shoulders somewhat. I hear the girl sigh behind me "...Maki Harukawa." she says, before sitting down on one of the beds. After writing everything down, I timidly get up from my seat and walk over to Maki.
Silence.
The two of us stared at each other in complete silence for what felt like forever, neither one of us making a move. I guess that maybe both of us were uncomfortable in this situation. However, when enough time had passed "Um... s-so... where are they?" I ask softly, hoping that I wasn't pushing too many boundaries.
With another sigh, Maki begins to speak "Sorry. I'm not... used to this kind of thing." she says, before pulling down her stockings just below the knee, and shirt just below the shoulder. Doing so revealed a rather nasty looking scrape on her knee, and multiple of what looked to be some kind of puncture wound on her shoulder. Any blood that had been there had already been coagulated, and it almost seemed like this happened during last night.
"W-Why did you wait so long?! T-This is... um, on m-moment-" I say frantically, going into autopilot and getting some saline, cotton balls, tweezers, and bandages. "Um, p-please stay as still as possible while I do this-" I say, before taking a cotton ball in the tweezers and putting some of the saline on it. Working as delicately as possible, I clean out the wounds on her shoulder first.
But surprisingly, there wasn't much to clean. A bit of the blood and other... stuff, was taken onto the cotton ball, but that was it. It was almost as if "...D-Did you already clean it out?" I ask, looking up at Maki. Avoiding eye contact, she waits a few moments, before responding with a curt and quiet "yes." Taking that as a sign to drop the subject, I furrow my brows and focus on doing the detailwork of the cleaning. While the outside of the wound was surprisingly clean, the inside looked like it was already housing a couple of different bacteria.
As I was doing that, Maki flinched for the first time in a while. Not expecting this, I flinch as well "S-Sorry! I... I'll try to be gentler" I say, anxiety edging my voice. She shakes her head though "No, you're fine. It just stings." she says in that same monotone voice, looking to the side. Gulping back my anxiety, I nod and go back to cleaning out the wound. It didn't take much longer for me to finish, and I set aside the cotton ball and tweezers.
Bandaging the shoulder, I take a sigh of relief. "T-There, that should do that" I say, the seemingly worse wound taken care of. I then look down to the scrape on her knee... it looked rather raw. Like she had fallen on not only a rough surface, but one that had splintered as well. "Um... I'll g-get to work on that now-" I say meekly, cleaning up the supplies for the first wound and getting similar supplies more fit for the current one.
"Um... c-considering this looks more, um, raw, this may s-sting worse than the last one" I say, wincing a bit. Maki sighs "Whatever, let's just get this over with". Quickly nodding my head, I get to work in surveying the wound. It looked like my idea of this possibly coming from something that splintered was correct, as I saw tiny fragments of wood in there: though not nearly as much as I would have expected for the scale of the wound.
"I suppose she cleaned this one out too" I say to myself, quiet enough so that Maki hopefully wouldn't hear. Starting off with the splinters, I take the few fragments that were left out, which caused the leg to start bleeding again. Noticing this, I go straight for the cotton pads and place some saline on them, gently dabbing the wound until there was no blood. Maki flinched a bit, but I kept my composure and continued.
Soon enough the scrape was bandaged too, to which I gave yet another sigh of relief. Wiping some sweat off my brow, I place the now used medical supplies to the side and look back up at Maki- who still looked as stoic as ever. Noting that I appeared to be done, she spoke once more. "Are we done here?" she asks. Anxiously wringing my hands, I do my best to respond "U-Um, with cleaning out the wounds, yes, b-but-" before I could finish, Maki stood up. "Good. Then I'm going back to class." she says, beginning to walk towards the door.
Taking a few moments to process this, I frantically stand up and turn to face Maki, shouting out an uncharacteristically loud "W-Wait!". Maki hears this, stops in her tracks, and turns towards me. "What is it." she asks, the smallest twinge of annoying in her tone making me cringe even more than having to yell did.
"It's just... um, t-there are a few more things t-that we have to... d-discuss before you can go" I say, finding myself placing my hands in front of myself in a defensive manner instinctively. Maki eyes me up and down for a few moments, before she sighs once more, something I noticed she did quite a lot. "Fine. What is it?" she asks, walking away from the door and closer to me.
Now feeling a bit more put on the spot, I gulp back some anxiety before speaking "Um, w-well if it isn't t-too much to ask... how did this happen?" I ask, my voice wavering a bit more than I would have liked it to. "That's none of your business. What happened happened, and that's the end of that." she says, eyes narrowing a bit as her voice lowered. I yelped, once more raising my hands in front of my face as I sank into my shoulders "S-S-Sorry!"I say, feeling tears come to my eyes.
Maki's face goes blank, before she looks away. "...You shouldn't say sorry so easily. There are a lot of people in this world who would take advantage of that." she says, the words kind of sounding they came from a place of conviction. Not expecting those words in the slightest, I cautiously lower my arms a bit. Maki's face looked kind of troubled... "S-Sorry for.. Being such a nuisance." I say, fiddling with my hands.
Heaving yet another sigh, Maki turned back to me. "Nevermind. Is that it, can I go now?" she asks, seemingly at the limit of her patience. Cringing a bit, I shake my head "Um, j-just one more thing, I promise!" I say. She doesn't look happy, but Maki looks at me expectantly. Taking this as my sign to go ahead, I gulp back some anxiety and begin to speak.
"Um, I know t-that you probably don't want t-to hear this from someone like me but... n-next time please come right here! It looks like you d-didn't properly clean out t-the wounds, and if y-you had waited much longer t-then you could have gotten a serious infection!" I say, folding my hands close to my chest to help me be steady as I say those words.
More silence from Maki. This time though, it seems... thoughtful. After what felt like an eternity, she looks at me, gives a curt "Okay", and walks towards the exit. Once she had left the room, I let out the breath that I had been holding. Still a bit shaky, I head back to my desk and fill in the rest of the stuff needed for the paperwork.
I wasn't expecting something like that to happen but... even the scariest person here didn't seem to do... those kinds of things to me. Even if it was only a bit... maybe I can really believe that things like that won't happen here.
Kokichi's POV:
"And this is a net-winged insect! Lots of really pretty bugs look like this!" says Gonta, a wide smile on his face. I, on the other hand, was holding back a grimace. "Faaaaaacinating" I say. Gonta smiles a bit longer, before looking down in thought. "What we do now? That every other bug that in here" he says, though he really didn't need to. I already knew all too well.
"Hmmm... As much as I love bugs, it's feeling kinda stuffy in here!" I say "Why don't we go walk outside for while?" I suggest. Gonta thinks about this for a few moments, before nodding, smiling, and turning to me. "Okay! If it what Kokichi want to do, then Gonta happy to do it too! Outside is very pretty right now anyways... " he says, smiling to himself.
"Well then, let's go!" I say, the smile on my face more genuine than normal since I was finally getting out of the disgusting bughouse. I know it's his passion and all, but I have no clue why Gonta loves these things so much.
Both of us make our way outside, the cool night air hitting our faces. I found myself skipping a little, taking victory in finally getting out of that place. Even with that though, I only just barely kept up with Gonta's ginormous footsteps. Guess that's what happens when you have such a disparity in height.
Okay the skipping was getting dumb now.
Stopping that, I walk normally once again. And in doing so, I find myself looking at Gonta: who in turn, was looking up at the sky. As if on queue, he spoke softly. "The stars... really are quite pretty" he said in a whimsical tone.
Thinking about what he said, I find myself looking up at the night sky as well. The moon wasn't especially big, but despite its size, it shone brightly. And the stars Gonta talked about were kinda beautiful too.
"Eh, I guess they aren't that bad" I say, a playful tone in my voice.
We walk like that in silence for a bit, just taking in how nice the night was. One thing that, in my opinion, was highly underrated. That silence didn't last forever though, as Gonta apparently finished looking at the stars. "Um, Gonta has realized that Gonta hasn't thanked Kokichi yet for spending time with Gonta tonight! Or... for being so kind to bugs. So, thank you, Kokichi!" he says, a genuine smile on his face.
Allowing a genuine smile to slip out just this once, I puff out my chest a bit "Yeah well, it's nothing since I love bugs so much" I say, letting my smile turn just a bit smug. Gonta smiled back, seeming a bit happier than normal.
Honestly, I did legitimately like hanging out with Gonta. It was just the entire, uh, bug thing that kept me from doing it more often. I'd hang out with him after class, but... yeah considering what happens when they just hear about us hanging out together? Ain't happening any time soon.
And that's when it hit me.
"Hey, Gonta, you doing anything this Saturday?" I ask, turning to him and cocking my head. He turns to me, thinks for a moment, and shakes his head. "Um, other than taking care of bugs like usual, Gonta no have any plans that day. Why Kokichi ask?" he asks.
Bingo.
"Welllll I was planning to meet up with someone at the mall there tomorrow. They're pretty chill so they won't mind you tagging along. You can learn more about gentlemen and stuff, and probably make a new friend too!" I say, trying to hype him up for this as much as possible. And after a few seconds of waiting...
"You really want to invite Gonta to that kind of thing?" he asks. I nod, smiling, and he smiles right back. "Then sure! Gonta would love to meet up with Kokichi and his friend at mall!" he says, excitement now lacing his expression.
"Nishishi, that's great to hear!" I say, a bright smile on my face as well. We continue walking a little while longer, before Gonta speaks up "So... what this friend like?" He asks, cocking his head as he looks at me.
I think for a few moments- the best way to describe Mikan without giving away who she is right away. Then again, would Gonta have even met her? Eh, might as well keep it vague for fun. "Weeelll. They're a person. They have hair, and two eyes" I say playfully, smirking a bit as I look at Gonta's face for his expression.
"Um... well they sound..." Gonta's face contorted into confusion as he attempted to come up with a word, "Oh she's also a girl" I say, letting a bit of a smug smirk onto my face. Gonta's eyes widen in surprise, before he smiles in excitement "Ah, so friend is a lady! Gonta will be sure to act like true gentlemen for her" he says, smiling brightly.
I chuckle a bit, just thinking about how much a surprise Gonta's in for when he sees how touchy Mikan is. Eh, maybe knowing someone like him will help her a bit, who knows. "Well then, I'm sure you two will get along just swell" I say playfully.
We walk around for a little bit more, before we both agree to go back to our respective dorms. I decide not to tell Mikan about Gonta joining us, just to see her reaction. Honestly it's probably going to be hilarious- I guess I'm a bit more excited for Saturday now.
Mikan's POV:
"A-Achoo!"
Sonia sneezed once more, putting her phone down for a moment to wipe her nose with a tissue as she layed in bed. I turned around, a worried expression on my face "A-Are you okay?! D-Do you need anything?" I ask, worried about her health. The princess shakes her head though "No Mikan, I assure you I am still *sniff* quite alright." she says, her signature smile on her face.
Earlier in the afternoon, Sonia had come into my office with a high fever, and stuffed nose. When coming in, she had insisted that "This must be a curse incurred by a ritual Gundham and I performed yesterday!". Right after she was sent into a coughing fit, and I confirmed it was most likely common cold.
And now Sonia and I were together in the office, my asking her to just to keep an eye on her condition. Even if it was the common cold, there were still different strains so I wanted to know how much of a danger it was to other students. I was wearing a medical mask for protection. At least she won't be bored since she appears to be looking at something on her phone.
But that only made me curious as to what she was looking at. It had been a while since she came in, and she hadn't done much else. Actually, now that I thought about it, she looked at her phone a lot. And she was always looking at...
"Um, s-sorry for asking but... a-are you looking at serial killer websites again?" I ask apprehensively, not wanting to be rude. Sonia lifts her head up to look at me, before smiling bashfully. "Ah, yes, I am. Sorry if it is bothering you." she says, once more flashing that smile. I vigorously shake my head in return- "N-N-No! That's not it at all! It's just... um, s-should you really be using your p-phone like that right now?" I ask, worried about her straining her eyes.
"I suppose not... but there's just this one really interesting article!" she says, stars in here eyes. Not wanting to make her feel bad or kill her excitement, and getting kind of curious, I ask "Um... w-what's it on?" I ask apprehensively.
"Ah, it's on this one new serial killer! They only just started about a month ago, however they're making quite a stir due to their unique way of killing!" she says, clearly excited about the topic. I, on the other hand, was already regretting my decision to ask. Sonia clears her throat a bit, before continuing "You see, somehow, a mark appears on the body of the victim the day that they get killed! And the name they're given is based off the image of the mark: Roses thorn!"
I cringe- while I was happy that Sonia was excited, I really didn't like talking about stuff like this. "Not to mention the absolutely gruesome way that they-" Sonia trails off, seemingly noticing my discomfort. "Ah, sorry Mikan. I just get really into this kind of thing" she says, smiling guiltily. I shake my head "N-N-No it's okay- I c-can... ohhhh s-sorry I can't t-take this kind of thing" I say, covering my head with my hands.
It was Sonia's turn to shake her head, albeit much more gracefully than me "No no Mikan, you are quite alright. I understand that this is a rather... unusual thing to be interested in" she says, giggling a bit before coughing. Noticing this, I get up from my chair "A-Ah, you should really b-be resting though! Um, o-one moment-" I say, frantically going to the sink to get her some water.
"Really Mikan, I am okay. It is just a mere cold" she says, watching a bit distressed as I get her the water. Walking over to her bedside, I timidly hand her the water. "I know, but... even so, I s-said that I would take care of you with a-all of my might so... I want to keep that promise!" I say, Sonia taking the water in her hands. Sonia sighs "You really are the ultimate nurse, Mikan" she says, smiling.
"H-Huh?! W-What does that mean?! O-Oh no, am I being too overbearing?! Ohhh please forgive me!" I say, getting more and more worried by the second. "Please, do not worry!" says Sonia, though she looked rather worried herself. "I only meant... you are very kind and caring. I am glad to call you my friend" she says, taking my hands in hers and smiling.
Trying to keep from sobbing, I squeeze her hand back and wipe my eyes "T-T-Thank you! And um, I'll be sure to truly take care of you with all of my might, rest assured!" I say, still sniffling. Sonia giggles, nods, and leans back. "Well then, I suppose I shall take a break from looking at my phone. Is there anything in particular that you would like to talk about, Mikan?"
The rest of the day, Sonia and I talked on and off about different subjects- although I felt terrible since I could never come up with any. However, eventually I sent her back to her dorm with a simple mask, and orders to stay in for at least two more days while her immune system took care of the rest. She accepted, and told me that she would come right back if it got worse.
My work done for the day, I log everything in and pack up to go back to my dorm. However, doing so just reminded me of what was to come tomorrow. Thankfully he didn't notice, but I found myself glancing at Kokichi on and off, still trying to see if this was possibly some kind of joke. Maybe I would get stood up, or maybe he was planning to do something to me, and there would be other people there-
No no I can't think like that! The people here... they're nice! They... they don't do stuff like that...
Right?
I found myself having more difficulty than normal going to sleep that night.
Hope that you enjoyed this extra long chapter! I worked really hard on it, and I'm really proud. Next time, Kokichi and Mikan will finally interact in a more casual setting!