Hello! I am sorry that this chapter took so long to make, however from now on it should take much less time to make a chapter! But for the here and now, I hope that you enjoy this chapter. I am rather happy with how it turned out!
Mikan's POV:
It was half past noon, and I had taken up my shift as a nurse. It was rather quiet today, and other than the people who needed to be given medication, nobody had come in. I suppose that's technically a good thing, but I couldn't help but feel a bit lonely as I sat in my desk chair.
I thought back to the few moments that I was in class today. The entire room had been filled with a tense atmosphere, though somewhat electric. That serial killer, the roses thorn: It had become a topic of gossip among the class. I could still remember it clearly, the way that others talked with fear yet intrigue. As it turns out, two more murders had been committed last night- one in the Tokyo prefecture, and another in Okayama prefecture. The bodies times of death were a mere half hour apart.
As scary as the thought of someone like that being even close to our area, I attempted to get it out of my head and focus on my work- as scarce as that was today. I supposed the supplies could probably use some organizing, so for the time being, I could busy myself with that.
I was able to do that for all of five minutes.
I fidget with my hands for a few moments, before absentmindedly looking out the window. The sun was bright, hitting the leaves in just the right way to make them glow. It was just a quick glance, however in that glance a thought occurred to me- what if I took a walk outside? The fresh air may help my nerves...
No , what was I thinking? It would be totally irresponsible to leave my post like that! If there was an emergency and I wasn't there then it would be a catastrophe that was all my fault! And yet... as I now stood right in front of the window, the warmth of the sun was enticing.
...I suppose if I left a note then...
I felt terrible doing it, however I took out a piece of paper and wrote the words "Taking a break, will be walking around campus if you need me". Then I put a piece of tape on it, and was about to post it on the door before... I go back in quickly, and write the word "sorry" on the paper just underneath. Feeling better about it, I finally place the paper on the door and leave my office.
When I open the door and walk out for the first time, that warm feeling that I had felt at the window returned, though somehow even more inviting this time. This, along with the fresh air, calmed my nerves a bit. And so I start walking, taking in the campus. Since I'm normally holed up inside of my office, I never really got to take notice of the campus before- but now that I was walking around like this, I couldn't help but admire just how beautiful it was. It was simple fields of grass with flowers scattered here and there, however it was beautiful, and framed the school well.
As I walked around the campus, I eventually came across a large figure, dapperly dressed despite the lack of shoes. I recognized this as Gonta, the one I had met at the arcade- and he was walking right towards me with a smile on his face and a friendly wave. I froze up a bit, his bulky frame being intimidating beyond all imagination. He didn't seem like he was mean when I first met him, however- well it was a force of habit at this point.
"Hello! You Kokichi's friend, Mikan, right?" he says softly, stopping right in front of me. Taking a small step back, I nod as my heart pounds a mile a minute. "Y-Yes, um, I w-was there at the um, arcade" I say, clutching at my nurses apron. Gonta was about to respond, when his face became troubled. "Um, is Mikan alright? Mikan look... nervous" he says. Noticing how antisocial and rude this must seem, I shake my head. "N-No I um... Sorry" I say, not having anything to explain my actions.
"No need for Mikan to be sorry, it Gonta's fault for scaring Mikan." he says, looking a bit upset. "See, Gonta still scary to lot of people, and so Gonta want to try to change that but..." His face grew even more upset, and I started to panic- "But Gonta still need to work harder to become gentleman." he says, becoming a bit more sure of himself.
Whether it was because he never mentioned it at the time or I just didn't notice, it was my first time noticing just how hard he tried to be a sort of... gentleman. From him wearing a suit despite lack of shoes, to the fact that he never seemed to get upset at me... well,so far, that is. "...Sorry" I say yet again. "Mikan really no need to apologize" says Gonta. I shake my head- "N-No, I made you think about that kind of stuff a-and made you sad and-" "Gonta no mind though"
And there he went again, acting like it was no big deal. If this was any other person I would have been mocked or ridiculed or even worse but- "Why... d-do you keep saying it's okay?" I ask, confused. This seems to have confused Gonta as well. "Why? Because... Mikan really not do anything wrong. Unless this just another thing Gonta not know about manners-" he says, becoming more upset when that last thought crossed his mind.
I was about to open my mouth to tell him that I did do something wrong, when he opens his mouth first- "No... even if Mikan did do something wrong by other peoples standards, Gonta still no think Mikan do anything wrong- Gonta really don't mind so... Mikan no need to say sorry" he says, happily grabbing the strap of his insect box with a bright smile on his face as he says so.
I really really wanted to protest what Gonta was saying but... something told me that I wasn't going to get anywhere by doing so. I suppose this was one time where I was just going to accept that... maybe they really weren't upset with me. I hadn't felt something like that since I met Ibuki...
Once more I was reminded: the people at this school... they weren't like the people back home. I was forgiven for almost everything that would have been seen as obscene back there- I wonder... if this is really so rare? No, no if I start thinking like that then I'll just become lax and upset more people when I do go back. For now it's best to assume that the people here are just... an anomaly.
"So, why Mikan outside? Gonta don't think Gonta ever see her out here before" he asks in a genuinely curious tone. "O-Oh um... that's because I'm... n-normally in the nurse's office. B-But nothing was going on and I left a note so it's okay, I p-promise!" I say, hoping that would be a good enough justification. "Oh, that why! Then, want Gonta to show Mikan around? Gonta outside plenty, so Gonta know it well!" he says, smiling proudly. With his sincere smile egging me on, I couldn't help but say "Alright"
With his already bright smile growing even brighter, he motions for me to follow him. I do so, and soon enough we're at a part of the campus i've never seen before- I knew that there was an indoor garden, meant for the ultimate botanist: however, it seems that there was an outdoor one as well. And this one... the beauty of the indoor paled in comparison to how beautiful the outdoor looked. The natural rays of the sun hit the petals in such a way that a few of them seemed to sparkle: a way that the indoors could never replicate.
"It's so pretty" I say to myself in awe. Despite that fact, however, Gonta heard and made an offer- "Would Mikan like to walk in garden? Gonta been there many times, so know very many pretty flowers" he says, tone excited. I was rather surprised at this though. He had already offered to show me so much, and now he was offering more. "W-Would that really be okay?" I ask, not wanting to waste any of Gonta's time. He nods enthusiastically, and I couldn't help but smile as the both of us enter the practically sparkling garden.
"And Gonta hear that these called 'Lillies of the valley'" he says, pointing to a small, white, bell shaped flower. "They smell very nice!" he explains. In response to this, I bend down and smell the flowers- it's just as Gonta had said. It was one of the sweetest floral scents I had ever known. I stood up, thoroughly happy. "This is amazing, t-thank you so much!" I say, my face having the widest smile that I had ever known up until now. To show my gratitude, I wanted to make an offer, however whenever I tried Gonta kept the both of us buzzing around the garden.
This most recent time was no different, and Gonta immediately pointed to yet another section of the garden. "Up ahead is beautiful rose bush! Come on, follow Gonta!" he says, going towards the direction he pointed. I quickly followed along, ready to see the new part of the garden, when the both of us stopped in our tracks: we were no longer alone in here. This in itself wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the person we were with.
The boy in question had a rather odd mask with a zipper, and long black hair which touched his back. In fact, you wouldn't even assume that he was a boy if it weren't for his lenky figure, and deep voice. All of that culminated into a more than eerie atmosphere around the boy. I found myself subconsciously hiding behind Gonta, who greeted the boy warmly. "Oh, Kiyo! What you doing here?" he asks.
Korekiyo Shinguji, who had yet to of noticed us, elegantly turned his head around to our direction. "Oh, Gonta and... someone new. How interesting" he says, fully facing us now. "If you must know, I am merely admiring the beauty of the garden. I find these roses in particular to be extremely beautiful. Their deep red, outside of these roses, is a highly underrated and misunderstood color. It evokes thoughts of blood, sure, but also thoughts of deep seeded love: Don't you agree?"
I found myself hiding behind Gonta even more, this time intentionally. As I did so though, I could feel Korekiyo's yellow eyes following me. Gonta, however, didn't pay much mind to this- "Um, Gonta suppose so. It is very pretty color" he says. I couldn't see his face at the moment, however the was he was holding his insect box told me that he had one of those genuine smiles on his face. A few more moments pass, and Korekiyo seems to notice how tense the air is.
"I apologize: it appears that I have frightened your friend. Mikan is your name, is it not?" he says, tone calm and somewhat curious. "I- h-how did you know my-" "You are the school nurse, yes? I would say any student who is capable of entering such a profession at such a young age is worth inquiring and learning about." he says, answering my question before I could even finish saying it. I felt guilty since I think this was supposed to make me feel better but... I wound up hiding behind Gonta even more.
"It appears that I have disturbed your time together. My apologies. If you don't mind, I shall be taking my leave now" he says, before walking past us to where we had just came from. I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, as I became painfully aware of just how much tension that situation had caused me to have. Gonta seemed to have taken it better though. "So, do Mikan want to look at roses?" he asks, smiling a bit.
I couldn't help but nod in response, smiling a bit myself.
The rest of our visit to the garden was rather nice- however the encounter with Korekiyo stayed in my mind more than I'd like to admit. When it was over, I began to feel guilty about the length of time I had been away from my office. It couldn't have been more than an hour, but that was enough time for me to let off the cramped feeling that had been nagging me in the office. Realizing this, I turn to Gonta-
"Um, s-so... I should probably be getting back to my office now-" I say, unintentionally blurting it out. I suppose I was still worried about wanting to do something on my own. But Gonta didn't mind at all! "Okay! It was great showing Mikan garden! Gonta hope we can do it again some time! Oh, or maybe Gonta can show you bug house!" he says, his eyes lighting up in excitement. Having a bit of a... bad history with bugs, I became a bit squeamish- "Um... m-maybe some other t-time" I say, a little bit panicked. Gonta nods in an understanding way, and I take a breath of relief. "Then see Mikan soon!" he says, smiling genuinely as he gave me a friendly wave. Mood once more lifting up again, I smile as I wave back and being heading to my office.
Reaching the office, I take down the sign from my door and crumple it up, throwing it into a trash can at the entrance. The room was as empty as I left it, and nothing had moved an inch- I suppose taking that break really wasn't anything too bad! Feeling that relief wash over me, I smile to myself as I sit back down in my chair. Everything really was okay... and I strengthened my friendship with somebody in the process! This really was one of the best days I've ever-
Before I could even finish that thought, the door shot wide open, and in came Kokichi, dramatically covering his mouth. "Mikaaaaaaaaannnn I feel sick!" he calls out, seeming to gag for a few seconds before turning around and letting his body fall to the floor. Having already gotten up when the door slammed open, I make a dive for it and catch Kokichi just before his head hit the floor.
There goes that sense of peace...
Kokichi's POV:
Class that day was boring. More boring than usual. Agonizingly boring. Maybe it was due to my higher expectations for suspicious behavior from Maki last night, but knowing that didn't make how boring it was any lesser. If anything it just made it more frustrating- I knew she had to of done something, but she was acting like nothing abnormal happened last night at all. Well... it's not like I didn't know how to draw something out of a liar like her.
It's like I always say: If you want to expose a liar, then you have to corner them psychologically.
My course of action decided, I listened in to the conversation she was having with, surprise surprise, Kaito. If I could get an easy to slip into moment to bring up her leaving campus last night, then it'll catch her off guard while not exposing that I know anything to everyone else. Now to actually listen to whatever those two were actually talking about.
"I'm telling you, one day I'm going to be the first man on Jupiter!" says Kaito, enthusiastically. Maki's eyes lowered in what I can assume to be annoyance. "Isn't Jupiter a gas giant?" she says, her tone of voice confirming my previous assumption. Caught, Kaito looks away, fumbling over his words and not willing to meet Maki in the eyes as he came up with an explanation. "Well I mean, that's true but- I'm sure I'll find a way to do it! I mean, leaving the Earth is mans dream, right?" he says. Bingo. That right there was my in. Who'd of thought it was from the dumbasses catchphrase.
"Wellll" I start, leaning back in my chair a bit- "I wouldn't say the Earth, but leaving this campus every once in a while would be nice! Wouldn't you say, Maki?" I ask, looking her in the eyes. In return, she glares at me with that dark, icy glare people had come to know her for. It wasn't her that responded though- "The hell are you talking about Kokichi? If you want to do that just do it. That has nothing to do with what we were talking about!" he half says, half shouts.
I shrug and giggle- "Yeah, you're right. Still, it'd be nice to leave the campus. Maybe in the middle of the night! Say, 'round one in the morning? I hear Tokyo's pretty alive at that hour" I say, giggling a bit as I glance at Maki. The girl looked like she was fuming on the inside, all of that culminating into her glare getting more and more intimidating. Kaito was pretty oblivious to this though.
"Man you always say the weirdest stuff" says Kaito, sighing as he rubs the back of his head. "Anyways, Maki- waaAAAUG!"
I had to hold in a laugh as Kaito finally noticed the expression Maki had on her face, catching him off guard and making him scream like a little kid. Thankfully, this brought Maki out of the rage filled trance she had from my little comments, as she was forced to pay attention to Kaito instead. "Nishihsi, geeze, I didn't know Maki's glare scared you that much Kaito~" I say teasingly, smirking. The purple haired idiot tried to play it off, but it didn't take a genius like me to tell he was lying.
"It d-didn't scare me- besides, she was glaring at you, wasn't she?" he says, getting defensive. Maki just sighs and rolls her eyes. "Awww, you're so mean Kaito! Trying to pin the reason why you're scared on me" I say, pouting like I was about to cry- crocodile tears were a specialty of mine, afterall. Everyone knew this though, so Kaito just rolled his eyes. "Whatever man. I wasn't scared" he says, rubbing the back of his head.
This fight was getting boring, so I drop it- "Yeah, well this is getting boring. Geeze, and I was just bringing up how I'd like to leave the campus" I say, summoning a fake tear to my eye. Once again this was written off, and I just merely shrug. And then I get an idea- "In fact, I'm so bored I think I'm getting sick! Owieee" I say, dramatically clutching my stomach. "Welp, I'm going to go see the nurse!" I say, instantly perking up and energetically making my way to the nurses office.
It was obvious that Maki wasn't going to budge, but her reaction was enough to tell me that her going out last night wasn't something she wanted others to know. I would have loved to of pressed more, but I still want to keep my observation covert to avoid stalking becoming yet another item on the list of "why we hate Kokichi Ouma". It wasn't like they were going to do anything different anyways. She was acting business as usual. Whiiich was boring. So, I thought I might go somewhere new. Somewhere I've never been before.
The nurse's office.
With my track record, you'd have thought I'd fake being sick a lot sooner. Honestly even I was surprised in myself that I hadn't done such a thing in the past. Guess I never really had a reason to since I'd already met who run it. But after that day at the mall, I couldn't help but have my intrigue in the girl be re-sparked. Some of my theories had been confirmed, but at the same time new questions popped up. So why not try to get answers to those and have fun doing so.
Queue the scene of me bursting through pretending to have a stomach ache, and finally dramatically falling into Mikan's arms.
I have to admit, even for me it was especially dramatic. So much so that Mikan immediately placed me on a bed and looked for some kinda medicine or something. Not minding being doted on, I simply relaxed in the bed and watched Mikan buzz around a section of cabinets. I wasn't prepared for what she came back with though-
"O-Okay, I brought a stethoscope, some pain killers, and a r-really strong antiacid-" she says, taking my act seriously. Realizing just how much she bought into it, I sat up in bed and and schooched away a bit- "Woah, it was a lie-" I say, her actions catching me off guard. I actually hated taking medicine, so the thought of having to take some was enough for me to just drop the act all together.
"Oh... it was just a lie" she says, putting it all down. She almost seemed disappointed, which was even more unnerving. Mikan takes the medicine, and puts it back into the cabinet. "So... um, if you aren't sick... why did you come?" she asks. Letting my legs dangle over the edge of the bed, I shrug. "Well nothing was going on in class, so I thought I might as well see where you go every day!" I say, swinging my legs a bit.
Some kind of realization clicked in her, and suddenly she was all smiles. "R-Really?" she asks. I nod. Her smile gets even wider as she brings over her desk chair near the bed I'm sitting on. "Um, so, was t-there anything you... w-wanted to do?" she asks, seeming a bit too eager. I could see where the rumours about the offers came from: she seemed a bit too eager to please.
"Wellll... honestly class was just boring as hell" I say, giggling. "Soooo not really. Why, you got any ideas" I ask playfully. Mikan furrows her eyebrows, deep in thought. "O-Oh, I have something!" She says. I raise an eyebrow, intrigued, as the nurse fumbles with her apron and pulls out... a marker. It seemed pretty good so far, but then it quickly turned into... How do I put this...
A shitstorm?
"Please, draw on me!" she says, a serious smile on her face. For the second time since I had come into this room, I had been caught off guard. I guess I could call that a good thing, but at the moment I was a bit too preoccupied with her ridiculous offer- "Hmmmm.. Yeah no." I say frankly. Mikan immediately retracts the pen, and I can just tell she's going to apologize, so I stop her before she could. "Buuuut I wouldn't mind drawing on some paper. Oh, or maybe the walls!" I suggest, bouncing a bit in childish excitement.
Mikan seemed taken aback for a moment, but she nods and gets up to go to her desk- "Um, I c-can't let you draw on the walls but-" she rummages around the desk a bit more before turning around with paper in hand. "Here!" she says, walking over and handing me some blank sheets of paper. "Thank you very much" I say, taking the paper and laying on the floor so I could have a hard surface to draw on.
Honestly, I had no idea what to draw, so I scribbled random things that came to mind. Grape panta, a pair of dice, a poorly drawn portrait of myself: like I said, random things. So I was getting bored pretty quickly. I might as well chat a bit while I draw then- I mean it was kind of the point of coming here anyways.
"Sooo... this is where you spend all day, huh?" I ask, mindlessly drawing a supercar. Mikan, who was now sitting in her desk chair again, nods. "Y-Yes. It isn't' much but.. S-something about it is comforting" she says softly. I raise an eyebrow- "What could be so comforting about a place with tons of medicine and sick people?" I ask, part of me legitimately confused. Mikan has to think about it for a few moments.
"I guess... ohhh you'll hate me if I say it-" she says, suddenly getting really nervous. Intrigued, I lift my head up and raise an eyebrow. "Wellll we'll never know if you don't say it" I say, pushing her to tell what it is. Mikan fidgets with her hands, obviously conflicted about the matter. I was about to give up and drop it, when I hear a small "Alright" from Mikan.
I fully sit up, going criss-cross applesauce. "So, what's the deets?" I ask childishly. With even more nervous fidgeting from Mikan, she finally says it. "I... g-get... g-got? Beaten up at school and home a lot. Since nobody would treat my wounds when I got hurt, I h-had to do it myself, and eventually I just... g-got good at it." she says. It wasn't like it was totally unexpected, but it was a lot to take in- especially that "at home" bit.
But that wasn't where it ended.
"But then one day, I r-realized something... sick people, and injured people... are weaker than me" she says. Before I could really properly take that one in, she continues- "B-Because, if you ignore a sick or injured person, they won't be able to endure the pain! And if it's bad e-enough, they could die! But... I k-know how to heal them... so they'll listen to why I have to say... they'll depend on me"
It was a kind of messed up reason to become a nurse, I couldn't deny- but something about it was also interesting. It was different than the usual "because I wanted to help people" reason I'd imagine most would give. At least she was being honest with herself on that front. I can at least give her credit for that.
"Wow, you're more selfish than I thought" I say, giggling a bit. Mikan visibly cringes at this, becoming upset. "I'm s-sorry- I shouldn't have told you. Ohhh you probably hate me now. Um, m-maybe taki-" "Geeze let me finish" I say, interrupting her. She really knows how to let her imagination wander, huh?
"That's a good thing. Honestly I really hate it when people lie to themselves saying stuff like "I did it because I wanted to help people"! It just isn't realistic. And I find it pretty interesting that you're that honest with yourself" I say, rocking back and forth like a child. These words seemed to of calmed her down a bit, as she thinks on my words. "So... you... d-don't hate me for thinking like that?" she asks. I shake my head- "Nope!"
A wave of relief rushed over her face, and the atmosphere thankfully got lese tense. Though that did make me curious about something...
"Hey Mikan" I start. "Why do you think everyone hates you? I mean, I'm me so I can be sure everybody does, but why do you think like that? I mean you don't seem that bad" I say. From that incident at the mall, I felt like I got a sense of what could cause that kind of thinking, but it still didn't seem like enough to make her assume everyone hates her. The question once more leaves the nurse silent in thought, though this time I knew better than to assume this meant she didn't want to answer.
"I guess because... i-it's always been that way" she says. Intrigued, I raise an eyebrow, which prompts Mikan to continue. "Y-You see, whenever someone did something wrong... they would always get forgiven right away. But... whenever I did something wrong- w-whatever I did... it would never be forgiven... I would never be forgiven" she says, fidgeting with her hands in her lap.
"Being here... is my first time not h-having that happen" she says, lifting her head up a bit. I thought she might have finally loosened up, when she becomes nervous once again. "T-This is my first time talking about my feelings like th-this with someone, so please- please... d-don't hate me" she says quickly, clearly unsure of herself.
"Nishishi, you really think I'd hate you over this?" I ask. "Geeze, you must have been around some grade-A assholes. I mean I can't say I'm much better, but damn" I exclaim. An even bigger wave of relief washes over Mikan this time. "I... t-thank you for listening to me" she says, once more looking down at her fidgeting hands, which were still in her lap. "It's... n-normally the other way around" she explains, giggling a bit.
I giggle a bit too- "So what, was this your quota of being selfish for the day or something? Oh, right, I forgot- this entire job is a selfish thing for you" I tease. Mikan giggles a bit, but less than before. "I don't know... b-but it was nice" she says, a genuine smile on her face. That was something pretty rare as far as I know, so it felt like an accomplishment to draw that out of the girl.
"Welp, I gotta go run the world again!" I say, standing up and stretching. We both share a bit of a giggle, as Mikan now knew what that stood for. "Then um... I g-guess I'll come back at the normal time" she says. I nod, and wave to her as I walk out the office. That was honestly a pretty good pick-me-up, I might visit more often.
I head straight back to the dorm, getting onto my laptop like usual. When I do so, I immediately go onto the chatroom that my organization uses, and start chatting with them about the usual stuff: school, pranks, raids, and updates on what's going on in the tokyo area.
I think I might be starting to get more comfortable with this. Who thought I might be happy at school?
Heh, certainly anyone I know.