Shuichi's POV:
Kaede and I went to get what Kirumi was serving us. Kaede's eyes lit up when she walked into the kitchen. I looked at the food...
Orange rolls.
Kaede took a plate and grabbed as many as she could. I reluctantly picked one up.
We sat down at the table Kaito and Maki were sitting at.
Kaito: "So what's up, you two?"
Maki: "I'm sorry for the scene Miu caused."
Me: "It's no big deal."
Kaede took a bite of her orange roll. Her eyes lit up in joy.
Kaede: "This is so good!"
I feel kind of nauseous.
Me: "I'm glad you like them."
She eyed my plate. She looked at me, seemingly upset.
Why is she upset?
Kaede: "Shuichi, that's all you're eating? You're gonna shrivel up!"
Me: "I don't like orange rolls. My aunt used to cook them in the mornings and they were always soggy and the orange was way to strong. Now I can't even look at them the same way."
I do like cinnamon rolls though. I really love most sweets. As a great detective once said: "Sweets stimulate the brain. That's why I think that sweets are vital to detective work!"
Kaede: "Shuichi, give these a chance!"
Normally I would refuse to try to like them. But seeing as this is Kaede and we just started dating, I should appease her.
Me: "Fiiiiine..."
I slowly reach down to pick mine up. I... I can't bring myself to it. It put my hand down in defeat.
Kaede: "Fine. If you won't do it..."
She tickles me in the gut, causing me to burst out laughing. I'm really ticklish, okay?
While my mouth is wide open from laughing, she shoves one in my mouth.
...
...
...
Its...
IT'S SO GOOD.
I never thought I would like one of these. It's moist without being soggy, sweet without being strong, and it's as fluffy as a cloud.
I turn to Kaede, who is laughing so hard that she can barely breathe. No, seriously. Her face is red and she's having to gasp for breath. I laugh at the face she makes as she tries and fails to stop laughing. My laughter only makes her laugh harder.
I finish the roll. and I look at her with a smile. She's practically in tears at this point. I give her a hug, and this seems to settle her down.
I look around at the other tables. Nobody seems to be paying attention to us. Tenko is talking to Angie and cussing out Korekiyo. Gonta is talking about bugs with Tsumugi. Jusging by her expression, she's thinking "This disgusts me, but I'll listen to be nice..." K1-B0 is being checked part for part by Miu, who is wearing a fascinated expression on her face. Korekiyo is ignoring Tenko and is talking to Kirumi. Kokichi seems to be telling jokes to make Kirumi laugh, some of which are actually working on her, much to Tenko's dismay.
However...
I let go of Kaede and I look at Kaito and Maki.
Kaito's jaw has dropped so far that you could probably fit a lightbulb into it.
Maki suddenly drops her fork, but she doesn't even look away. She just stares at us with a dumbfounded expression.
Kaito: "U-um... quick question..."
Maki shushes Kaito, who had attracted the glances of Kokichi and Miu due to his volume.
Kaito: "Sorry, you take it away Makiroll, you're better at being quiet."
Maki blushes a bit at that nickname. She nods at him before turning to us.
Maki (Whispering): "So this is a thing, now?"
Kaede: "W-what d-do you mean?"
Maki: "Don't play dumb. You two are a thing."
At this Kaede and I both blushed and looked away.
Me: "U-um... I... the th-thing is..."
I can't lie to them.
Kaito's jaw drops even further. I didn't even think that it was possible to drop any farther.
Maki's surprised face just darts back and forth between me and Kaede.
A massive smile then forms on Kaito's face.
Kaito: "Oh my God... CONGR-"
Maki covers his mouth with her hand.
Kaito (Trying to whisper): "Sorry... congratulations!"
Maki (Whispering): "You two are perfect for each other."
Kaito (Trying to whisper): "So how did Kaede confess, Shuichi?"
Kaede: "Um... I... I didn't confess first..."
Kaito stares at me with the same expression as before...
Before he starts to fall backwards in his seat.
Maki: "KAITO!"
She reaches out and grabs him before he hits the ground.
Kaito (Winded): "Th-thanks, Makiroll."
Kaito suddenly looks down at the scenario they were in. Kaito smiled at Maki as she started burning up.
Everyone was staring at them. Maki yelling is something that caught everyone off guard.
Maki and Kaito notice the stares and start to panic.
Miu: "It seems that there are two pairs of lovebirds in here today!"
Maki tries to glare at Miu but she's too flustered. Miu starts laughing at the failed attempt of scaring her.
I let out a heavy sigh.
I glare at Miu it for her.
Miu instantly sits down and shuts up.
Maki looks relieved.
Maki: "Th-thanks, Shuichi."
Kaito: "But anyways, WHAT?"
Maki elbows Kaito, seemingly wanting him to be quiet.
Kaito (Quietly): "Shuichi got the balls to ask you, Kaede?"
Kaede: "Well, he didn't necessarily ASK..."
She looks away and blushes.
Kaito looks even more surprised than before, if that's even possible.
Kaito: "Shuichi... don't tell me! You didn't... (He starts to whisper) ...KISS her, did you?"
He got me. I blush a bit and slowly nod at him.
Kaito (Screaming) "WHAT?"
Maki: "KAITO, SHUSH!"
Kaito looks at Maki with an apologetic frown.
Maki: "What happened to our shy, bashful Shuichi?
Kaede: "He's still there, but he has gotten more confident."
I smile at her.
Kaito: "I never thought I would hear the words 'confident' and 'Shuichi' in the same sentence without the word 'not.'"
Maki: "I guess he found the strength during the trial."
Me: "I... I think so..."
Kaito: "I just can't believe that my shy sidekick found love before me!"
Me: "I wouldn't say THAT..."
Kaede smirks at me before we both smile at the two of them.
Kaito and Maki look at us confused before turning to each other. The they realize what we mean,
They both go red.
Kaito: "I-uh..."
Maki: "We... uh.. we're not..."
Kaito: "Y-yeah, we're not..."
Kaede: "Suuuuure."
I went to get more food, and as I ate, we kept toying with Kaito and Maki about their relationship. When I finish up, Kaede and I both head out to spend time together somewhere else.
We ended up going to the arcade.
We looked around the arcade for something to do, when Kaede's eyes lock on the Switch that is set up there. She turns it on and it's...
Super Smash Bros Ultimate.
Ultimate.
Go figure.
Me: "You want to play this?"
Kaede: "Yup! I want to see how good you are!"
Me: "You play this?"
Kaede: "I used to play it with my family on some days."
Shuichi: "I used to play it after school too, but I had nobody to play with."
Kaede: "Well now you do!"
She smiled and threw some controllers at me. Black and Blue. She picks up Purple and Pink, and we get started. After picking the stage, I go over to my favorite character.
Announcer: "JOKER!"
I choose the costume with the white cloak and red mask, based on Goro Akechi.
Kaede: "The Akechi costume? I thought you would go for Black or Blue."
Me: "I mean, Akechi is a detective. Plus he's my favorite character from Persona."
Kaede: "I like Akihiko from Persona 3 most, but Akechi is great!"
Me: "Akihiko's probably my second favorite P3 character behind Mitsuru."
She nods at me and turns back to the screen. She seems to be contemplating who to play.
Based on her personality, she'll probably play Kirby or Jigglypuff, or maybe Peach or Zelda...
Announcer: "GANONDORF!"
I look at her, surprised. She gives me her best impression of Kokichi's evil grin. I quickly take a picture and show it to her. We both laugh at how silly she looked. We send it to Kokichi, and he's... not as amused.
We played for a couple of hours, and our wins were about 50/50.
After that, we got up and looked for something else to do. She eyed the ping pong table.
I suck at ping pong...
As I expected, she wins every time.
Kaede: "I refuse to move on until you win one."
Me (Upset): "Kaede..."
Kaede: "I'll give you a kiss if you win."
She would probably give me a kiss either way.
I laugh at her bribe. You know what, I'll take it.
We go back and forth, and I'm actually doing kind of well. We're both one point away from winning. On the last point, she knocks it into the net. Not a skill based win, but I'll take it.
Me: "Finally! Took me long enou-"
Kaede runs up and pulls me into a kiss before I can finish my sentence. We break just before Miu walks in with K1-B0 in tow, but we're still pretty close. When she sees us close together, she tries to say something before realizing that making a joke like that in front of Shuichi isn't a good idea.
We make it seem like she was passing me the racket and we play another match just to keep the trick going. She wins. Again.
We look over at Miu and K1-B0 and they're playing Smash. K1-B0's using Black and Green controllers, and Miu's using Pink and Yellow ones. We walk over to them and see that K1-B0's Captain Falcon is beating Miu's Wolf. When the match ends, they invite us to play a teams match against them. We pick up our controllers, choose our characters, and get started.
We completely trash them. Kaede loses one life out of three, and I don't even lose one.
Miu: "K1-B0! For fuck's sake! Your a fuckin' robot! How are you not God Tier at this?"
K1-B0: "That's kind of robophobic..."
Miu: "O-oh... sorry. You know what? I'm going to upgrade you so that you can be better at this so that we can beat Bakamatsu and her precious Cuckhara!"
I sigh at those nicknames. I don't get phased by them, if anything they make Miu look dumb. Kaede, on the other hand, absolutely hates those names. She puffs out her cheeks and pouts. When Miu drags K1-B0 away to her lab, I give Kaede a giant hug and a small kiss on the forehead. She giggles at my comfort.
That didn't take long to fix.
We go down to eat lunch. Not much happens because we were the ones there, but we do appreciate the time alone.
We decide to head down to the library. We stay there, showing each other our favorite books, even reading a few together.
Kaede: "You're a detective, you have to like Sherlock Holmes, right?"
Me: "Of course, though in most of the books it always seems I'm one step ahead of him..."
Kaede: "Seriously? That's impressive!"
Me (Mimicking a British accent): "Elementary, dear Akamatsu."
She burst out laughing. She could barely contain herself!
Kaede: "What... (gasp) was that... (wheeze) impression?"
Her laugh is so cute...
After she gets a hold, I start to talk again.
Me: "Well, I really like Sherlock Holmes, but there is another series from around the same time that I enjoy."
Kaede: "Oh, which one?"
Me: "Arsene Lupin, Gentleman Thief."
Kaede: "A thief book? I thought that as a detective you wouldn't enjoy that."
Me: "They're really well written. Plus, it's important to get the thief's side of the story. Sometimes, you have to think like a criminal to catch a criminal."
Kaede: "You think that's how Kokichi is able to detect lies and use psychology as a means to find killers?"
I smile at her, impressed by her deductions.
Me: "Not bad, Kaede. Yeah, that's probably how he taps into those abilities. I've read a few of those books, and I think it's really helping me as a detective."
Kaede: "Maybe I should read them for the class trials."
Me: "It would help. Fun fact, Sherlock Holmes appears as Lupin's rival in quite a few of the books. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle didn't like how Holmes was being used in a story against his will. To fix this, the author, Maurice Leblanc, changed Sherlock's name in his stories to Herlock Sholmes."
Kaede started laughing again. Herlock Sholmes was a funny way to avoid criticisms.
Me: "There was an Arsene Lupin movie made in 2004, but it kind of sucked... I really hope one day we can get a decent adaptation for him, like we have for Sherlock."
Kaede: "Actually Shuichi, you just gave me a great idea! How about we go to watch a movie after we're done in here!"
Me: "Sounds good!"
When we left the library Kaede had several of Homes and Lupin books, and I picked up the ones I was missing.
After making popcorn in the kitchen, we went to my room. We wanted to watch a movie that wasn't Monokuma related, if that's possible.
I found some disks that surprisingly weren't Monokuma related. We sat down on my couch and got started.
We ended up watching an anime about a rouge knight who takes down his tyrannical former ruler to save his past friends who he thought he were dead. It was really well done. The animation was smooth and stylish. The story and characters were fun and relatable. The music was top notch. (Kaede's eyes lit up at some of the piano solos, especially the piano version of the main protagonist's theme and the villain's theme. She may want to try to learn the songs at some point.) And every part of the story had us invested, it never felt rushed or dragged out.
At the end of the movie, there was a scene where the hero finally confessed his love to the girl he grew up with, and they kissed in the moonlight.
Me (Whispering): "Aww, that's so sweet..."
As the movie ended, Kaede pulled me in to a kiss.
Was she trying to mimic the movie? She pulled away for a moment.
Kaede: "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I saw that kiss and I kind of... um... I kind of just... felt like it."
I chuckled a bit.
Me: "There's no need to apologize."
Kaede: "Perfect."
She pulled me back in. I put one hand on her waist and one on her cheek. She put one around the back of my neck and one on the back of my hair. She started to stroke through my hair and it was oddly comforting. We only stopped for a few moments at a time to breathe. At this point, she was on top of me, but I don't care...
*BAM*
The door flung open and Kaito walked in. Kaede doesn't notice. I start tapping on her cheek to get off.
Kaito: "Hey, Shuichi, I came to tell you that dinner is..."
Suddenly, Kaede's eyes shoot open and she tries to get off of me, but it's too late. Kaito looks down at us. She's still on top of me, looking up at him. Kaito is shocked, and Kaede and I are flustered beyond belief.
Kaito: "S-sorry to interrupt..."
Me: "K-Kaito, it's no p-problem, nothing was going on in here!"
Kaito: "Promise?"
Me: "Promise!"
Kaito (Relieved but still shaken): "O-okay, then. I would ask for an explanation, b-but I think that would be too p-personal. A-anyways, see ya down there, s-sidekick! Heh heh..."
Kaede: "I-I'm sorry... that was almost a disaster and it's all because I didn't take your warning."
Me: "No, it's my fault for not locking the door. Now let's go."
Kaede: "Mhm!"
She gave me a cheerful smile.
We walked to Kaito and Maki's table and sat down. Kaito was still kind of shaken up.
Kaito (Quietly): "So, uh... how are you guys?
Maki: "Kaito's being quiet, something's wrong. He wasn't like this before he left."
She slammed her hands down on the table and gave us a death stare. I panicked as she stared into my eyes. I'm fine with Kaede looking into my eyes... but I'm still having trouble with everyone else.
Me: "I... uh..."
Kaede looked over and saw that I was struggling. She grabs my hand and gives it a soft, loving squeeze.
Kaede: "H-he saw us in a w-weird position. I fell over on Shuichi w-when he walked in."
Maki suddenly calms down and sits back down.
Maki: "S-sorry..."
Me: "I-it's no problem, really!"
Kaito: "But thanks for caring, Makiroll!"
Maki tries to hide her blush behind her pigtail. She lightly punches Kaito in the arm. He doesn't even flinch.
Maki gets flustered even easier than I do, and that's saying something.
Maki: "D-don't call me that in public, i-idiot!"
Kaito: "Sorry. Hey, you two! Are you not going to eat?"
Me: "I don't think either of us are hungry, we watched a movie and ate a lot of popcorn."
Kaito: "Aww, how romantic!"
Miu looked over.
Miu: "Did I hear ROMANCE? Spill!"
Me (Seriously): "It was a joke, Miu."
She sits back down. She seems to be getting annoyed that I can control her with fear like this. I'll be surprised if this goes on for much longer.
Suddenly, I hear footsteps. Someone is running up behind me. I turn around to see...
Tenko.
She jumps in the air and tries to roundhouse kick me. I let go of Kaede's hand and I manage to use both hands to block the kick.
Wait...
Kaede's hand!
I mentally facepalm. So that's why Tenko's attacking me...
I end up crashing to the ground. I instinctively pull out a truth blade, ready to use it to parry her attacks. Tenko tries to punch me while I'm down, but I knock her away with the blunt part of the sword. Before she can get another cheap shot in, Kaede gets in between us and puts her arms out. Suddenly, Tenko is dragged down to the floor. Maki is pinning her down. Kaito runs over and helps me up.
Kaede: "Tenko, what are you thinking?"
Tenko: "I saw that DEGENERATE holding your hand! I thought he was better than the others, but apparently, he's just another damn PERVERT!"
Me (Winded): "That's not..."
Kaede: "I was the one who grabbed his hand!"
Tenko is shocked.
Tenko: "Kaede... I thought you were better than this!"
Kaede: "It was for comfort! He was feeling nervous and he needed support!"
Who knows what would have happened if she didn't give me support.
Tenko: "I... sorry..."
Angie walks over, grabs Tenko, and walks out of the cafeteria.
I looked around, and all eyes were on me. As I saw their eyes, the only thing I could think of were those eyes of malice...
Even the nicest of smiles that Gonta and Tsumugi are giving me seem sinister. I try to think, but the only thing I can remember are those cursed eyes...
I clutch my head as I try to keep myself together...
I can't...
Kaede rushes over.
Kaede: "SHUICHI!"
I covered my eyes and ran out of the room as fast as I could. She can't see me...
I dash to my room at speeds I didn't think I could achieve. In the hallway, I see Angie talking to Tenko. They both stare at me. I hear Tenko ask me something, but I can't understand her voice.
Their stares only increase the pressure on my soul. I grab at my heart with one hand and at my forehead with another. I can't keep it together...
As I approach my room, I decide that maybe I shouldn't go there yet. Kaede will look for me there.
She can't see me like this.
I run off into the garden and sit down on the grass at the edge of the dome. I just stare at it, thinking.
What was my social life like before this? Not before the game, but before the eyes...
The eyes...
I try to avert my attention, but I can't see anything but them. I stare out into the dome again. I can see the reflections of my own eyes.
Fear.
Regret.
Weakness.
That's what I see.
Me: "Pitiful. That's what I am. Why do I have to be so weak? Someone as pitiful as me doesn't deserve the title of Ultimate Detective. Heck, I Don't even deserve the title of Ultimate or Detective alone...
Someone as pitiful as me doesn't deserve anything. Especially not..."
Suddenly, I feel something tackle me. I look up...
Kaede: "SHUICHI!"
She pulled me into an extremely tight hug. Kaito and Maki walk up to me.
Kaede: "I was so worried! You looked like you were going insane! What's wrong?"
Kaito: "You looked as if you were contemplating suicide, man. Had us all spooked."
Maki: "In fact, I would go as far as to say that you looked like you were already dead."
Me: "I-I'm so sorry, everyone. I really am. I don't deserve..."
Kaede pulled me into a kiss, not caring that Kaito and Maki were standing there. I looked up at them, and they smiled at us.
But their eyes...
I...
...
...
...
I don't care...
As long as Kaede is here with me, I feel like that doesn't matter anymore.
I pull away for a bit.
Me: "Thank you guys.. thank you so much for caring about me... I don't deserve any of you..."
Kaito: "Don't talk like that, partner. You... you're the best out of all of us."
He glances over at Maki. He leans in and whispers in my ear...
Kaito (Whispering to me): "Well, make that a maybe..."
Maki: "You know that I can hear you, right?"
Kaito instantly got flustered.
Maki: "Shuichi, have some damn faith in yourself for God's sake."
Somehow she managed to make that both harsh and kind at the same time.
Maki: "As for you..."
She looks at Kaede.
Maki: "Take care of him."
She grabs Kaito and walks away. Kaito flashes us one last smile and thumbs up.
Kaede: "Is this why you wore your hat?"
Me: "Yeah. If I didn't have you here, I don't know what I would do."
I lean back in before realizing that I still have a question.
Me: "Wait, how did you find me so fast?"
She smiled at me.
Kaede (Cheery): "My heart guided me to you! (Giggle)"
I gave her a look that basically read "You seriously think I believe that?"
She laughs at my expression.
Kaede: "Angie and Tenko followed you when you were running and they saw you get out here."
Figures.
Kaede: "They let us know you were here, and Tenko said that she tried to apologize. You should talk to her tomorrow, she seems to feel really guilty for what she did to you."
Me: "Alright. I'll do that."
She pulls me into another kiss. After a while, I feel something wet touch my cheek... is she crying? She pulls away. She doesn't have a tear on her face.
Then...
Am I...?
Kaede: "Shuichi, are you okay?"
I am crying...
I pull her close.
Me: "Kaede... why am I so weak? Anyone else would be able to move on from a pair of eyes of all things, but I'm so weak that even that is beyond me..."
Kaede: "Don't say that! You're not weak at all! You were able to hold up during my trial when everyone's eyes were on you, and you were strong enough to k-kiss me! That must have taken a lot of strength. Everyone has a weakness... something that triggers a change like this, you're far from the only person this has happened to! You have your reasons to not like eye contact, and you don't have to be ashamed of it! You don't have to tell anyone why, just know that we'll be here for you...
I'll be here for you..."
Me: "Can I tell you in the morning?"
Kaede: "Sure!
...
...
...
Wait a minute, are you inviting me to stay in your room again?"
Me: "I... uh.... well... I d-don't think it should be a r-regular thing, I-I mean, we just started d-dating!"
Kaede: "Well if you want to tonight then I'm fine with it. It's nice in there, and you're a peaceful sleeper. Plus, I think that you need support right now. In the end it's up to you..."
Me: "I... I would... um... please do..."
She giggles at my shyness.
Kaede: "Alright then."
We laid down about thirty minutes later.
Kaede: "Today was great, wasn't it? Sure, the end wasn't the best, but it was still great! A day for us..."
Shuichi: "It was great, angel."
Kaede: "(Giggle) I'm glad that you agree! Anyways, goodnight Shuichi."
She kissed me lightly.
Me: "Goodnight, Kaede..."
____________________________________________________________
TOO LATE. WAY TOO LATE. WAAAAY TO LATE AT NIGHT FOR THIS.
Anyways, I may have dragged this chapter out, (oops) but I heard that long chapters are good as long as they're interesting.
Anyways, as usual, thanks for reading! I have a paper that I need to work on, so I don't know if I'll upload tomorrow. Maybe if I get lucky...
Anyways, thanks for reading!