Predilection - Chapter 2

by taitofan

Rated T

Disclaimer: I don't own NDRv3 or its characters.

Author's Note: Time for the duo to get to now each other! Not that Kokichi will make things easy...

If you have any CC, please share and I'll listen. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 02-01-17


"If Komaeda hadn't betrayed the leader, we could have already been administrators by now!" the little girl who they'd beaten back in the forest had complained to her partner. "It's not fair! If that big idiot hadn't taken Jataro and Nagisa and run off, we all could have been big shots!"

"Instead of just Monaca," the boy had agreed with a pouty scowl fitting of a child. "Why did she get to be the leader's favorite?"

"Maybe because she didn't get stuck with you as a partner!"

"Hey, that's not fair!"

"Your face isn't fair!"

Shuuichi replayed the scene of the grunts in his head over and over. He needed to find this Komaeda person and see what he knew about Team Despair. If nothing else, he would at least be able to get another strong lead; at best he might get enough information to get more help sent to him. Not that he was exactly alone anymore…

"Saihara, you look way too intense right now! Keep it up and I'll fall for you!"

Shuuichi had protested when Kokichi said he'd be sticking around—this wasn't work for a civilian, after all, and it certainly wasn't the pokemon journey of a child. But Kokichi had laughed off all his concerns and insisted he'd be of use. Having a local around as a guide had sounded like a good enough idea, so he'd relented and allowed Kokichi to tag along. The other boy could hold his own in a fight, so it was fine, right?

"S-stop messing around. I'm trying to read the map." He heard Kokichi huff, but he refused to look at him. They'd only just met less than a day ago, but already he was doubting his decision. Kokichi was just so… difficult. He wouldn't stop saying embarrassing things like that. It was flustering him to the point of distraction, and he really couldn't afford that. "You said Komaeda was a gym leader, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right." Kokichi glanced at the map and made a disgusted noise. "Put that dumb thing away. I can lead us there quicker than you can follow that old thing. But, you know, just to be safe, we should hold hands so we don't get separated!"

And there he went again.

"I don't think that's necessary." Shuuichi waited for the inevitable complaint, but much to his shock, Kokichi did something very different—his eyes welled up with tears. Panic ran through him—he had no idea how to handle crying people. Was holding his hand really that important to Kokichi? If so, he supposed it wasn't such a terrible thing. Friends could hold hands, right? "W-wait, fine. It's fine. We can hold hands."

Shuuichi wasn't sure how he felt when Kokichi's tears were instantly gone and he was grinning triumphantly. He definitely wanted to be annoyed—duped, again!—but Kokichi slipped his hand into Shuuichi's own and it was just so warm and comforting that he couldn't really muster it up. He really wasn't comfortable with public affection, but this wasn't all that bad. They were definitely alone on the back road they currently traveled, if nothing else.

"I'm glad you saw it my way." Kokichi was still a brat though. "Now, Komaeda has run his gym with his boyfriend for over a year now, so whatever he had to do with Team Despair, he probably doesn't know anything current. You can probably get some information out of him though. If you can get him to talk."

There were so many questions that Shuuichi wasn't sure where to start.

"Boyfriend?" Perhaps that wasn't the best one to start with, but he blamed his skewed priorities on the fact he was holding another boy's hand.

"Yeah, the Kibou City gym is run by Nagito Komaeda and Hajime Hinata. They specialize in luck based double battles. Lots of high risk, high reward stuff. Gambling on Komaeda's pokemon to protect the team while Hinata uses moves that would hurt them if it failed. Stuff like that."

The concept of two gyms leaders wasn't a completely novel idea. Hoenn had twins who led double battle with the same type, while Unova at one point had triplets who each specialized in a different type. But this couple merely had a gimmick?

"Do gym leaders in Dangan tend to have gimmicks rather than types?"

"Yeah, mostly. Even the Elite Four has themes more than a straight type. Like, Akamatsu's pokemon all focus on sound-based moves and songs." How odd, Shuuichi thought. He wondered if that made it harder for trainers. He imagined so—it was more difficult than knowing to bring a fairy-type to a dragon-type gym. Though, in a way he supposed it did sound more exciting. "Kiibo is a steel-type trainer, but that's really only because all of his pokemon are machines, so they just so happen to all be steel types. He didn't really plan it that way."

"Is Kiibo a friend of yours?" Kokichi nodded, and Shuuichi was a little relieved to hear that he had friends. Part of him had wondered if the strange boy who'd refused to leave him alone had truly been alone. He was glad that wasn't the case. "You seem very knowledgeable about gym leaders… Do you have any badges?"

Kokichi giggled, flashing Shuuichi an enigmatic grin that made his stomach do little flips.

"Oh, I guess you could say that." Shuuichi was about to ask what he meant by that, when he was cut off by the sound of ringing. With a sigh, Kokichi let go of Shuuichi's hand—he didn't feel disappointed about that, he didn't—and pulled out what looked like a purple Holo Caster. Upon seeing the name on the screen, Kokichi frowned. "Sorry, I have to take this."

"That's fine."

Kokichi's apologetic smile seemed genuine as he took the call. Immediately, a hologram of a boy their age popped up. Kokichi frowned at him as he answered without greeting, "Kiibo, I'm in the middle of something."

"My apologies Ouma," the boy—Kiibo, Shuuichi thought, glad he had a face to put with the name—replied, not really sounding sorry, "but Akamatsu, Toujou, and myself have all been defeated. The challenger is headed to Amami now. You may be needed."

"…Can they entertain me?" Kokichi asked, looking as if he already knew the answer.

"I highly doubt it."

Kokichi groaned in frustration, and the hologram of Kiibo rolled his eyes. Shuuichi wondered if this was a typical conversation for them. He also wondered what in the world Kokichi could possibly be needed for. It almost sounded as if… No, that wasn't possible.

But hadn't Kokichi just mentioned someone named Akamatsu being in the Elite Four?

"Argh, fine. Call me back if Amami is defeated, because I'm not leaving unless I have to. The challenger can just wait a little while for me to fly back if I really have to."

No. No way.

"Based on the team composition, I believe there's a good chance Amami will defeat the challenger. But I will call if I'm wrong." Kiibo ignored Kokichi's muttered 'Amami had better win' and finally noticed Shuuichi. "Oh! Who is your new friend, Ouma?"

Upon being noticed, Shuuichi stood up straighter and greeted, "H-hello. I'm Shuuichi Saihara. I work as a detective with the International Police. Ouma is helping me in my investigation."

"I see. Hello Saihara." Kiibo gave a small bow, then offered him a kind smile. Shuuichi already liked him. "I'm Kiibo, Steel Master of the Elite Four. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Elite Four…?" Well, maybe it was possible. He shot Kokichi a look, which caused him to giggle a bit nervously. "Yes, a pleasure."

"Okay Kiibo, I've gotta go, bye, don't call me!"

Kokichi ended the call abruptly, and Shuuichi briefly wondered if Kiibo was used to that too. Then he reminded himself that he had something bigger to worry about than Kokichi's ill manners.

"Elite Four."

"Yep."

He recalled Kokichi saying he was the champion, then claiming he'd been lying. But he knew a lot about the region's gym leaders and he was friends with a member of the Elite Four who called to say two others were defeated and Kokichi would be needed if the fourth was too. It didn't take a detective to come to a proper conclusion.

"Were you," he paused for a moment, thinking how ridiculous the situation was, "lying about lying?"

"Something like that!" Kokichi at least had the decency to look a little guilty about it. Not very much though.

"So you really are the champion. Why would you tell me that, then immediately lie about it?"

Kokichi sighed, a pout coming to his face as he grabbed Shuuichi's hand and tugged him forward. Shuuichi didn't protest as he followed. He hated to admit it, but he really did like holding hands with Kokichi. Kokichi Ouma, Dangan's champion. The very idea boggled his mind. Why would the champion be so interested in him?

"I considered leaving you in the forest and following you around. I was going to pop up whenever you were in trouble and help you out, just to keep you guessing. But you ended up being too interesting to leave!" Shuuichi didn't know what to say to that, so he stayed silent. Though he could definitely say he was glad Kokichi hadn't gone that route. "I wasn't lying about being bored, you know. No one ever puts up a fun fight, so I decided to look into Team Despair myself. But then I found you, and I already told you I thought you were really fascinating out there. I didn't really expect you'd find out about me being the champion so quickly though. I wanted you to find out in a more dramatic way!"

"I'm fine without the drama, really." Kokichi giggled in response, and despite his confusion, Shuuichi couldn't help but smile. Kokichi was weird, but there was still something charming about him. "I just don't see why you'd find me so interesting though. I'm just… me."

"See, this is why I didn't want you to know." There was another huff as Kokichi shook his head in an exasperated manner. He sent Shuuichi a look that said, 'Please tell me you're not serious.' "Saihara, who cares if I'm the champion? All it's going to change is that stubborn people like Komaeda will be more willing to talk to you if I'm there too. He's not going to say no to me. I'll use my influence to help you, and you just need to keep me entertained, okay?"

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

Kokichi moved his hand to thread their fingers together for a more intimate hand-holding experience. Shuuichi could feel his face flush.

"That's a good start."

Romance had never been a thing that Shuuichi had ever cared about. He had his pokemon and his natural talent as a detective, and that was enough for him. So how could this boy waltz into his life and start making him question that after a matter of hours. It was ridiculous! He didn't have time for some silly infatuation to distract him!

"Why are you doing this?" he asked quietly. "You don't even know me."

"You're cute and you aren't boring. Isn't that enough reason to want to know you?"

Shuuichi had a mission. He needed to find out what was going on with Team Despair, get help, and take them down before anyone was hurt. Trying to make friends was enough of a distraction, but here was the regional champion, blatantly saying he was attractive and he had romantic designs on him. They were holding hands. It was all such a mess…

But Shuuichi liked it. He liked holding Kokichi's hand and he liked hearing that Kokichi was interested in him, and he liked entertaining the idea that things could progress between them. Having such an immediate attraction to someone was such a foreign feeling to him, but it wasn't bad. It was new and exciting.

"I… I suppose not. I wouldn't mind getting to know you better too." Kokichi's face beamed, and he squeezed Shuuichi's hand a little tighter. "Thank you, Ouma."

"You keep thanking me when you don't need to," Kokichi teased, beginning to swing their joined hands together. He looked genuinely happy; Shuuichi felt a little giddy at the thought he'd made another person react that way. "But you're welcome. I mean, I am letting you date Dangan's champion and all."

"D-dating?" Even with Kokichi pulling him along, he almost stumbled. "Isn't that jumping the gun a bit? We haven't even known each other for an entire day."

"We're both interested aren't we? Do you not want to date?" When Shuuichi was too flustered to answer, Kokichi rolled his eyes, though he was still grinning. "I'm not asking for you to marry me. Let's just kiss and stuff."

Shuuichi imagined kissing Kokichi and wondered if it would be possible to die from all the blood rushing to his face.

"Can we just see how things go…?"

"Fine, sure, whatever my beloved Saihara wants!" Shuuichi was about to question his word choice, but Kokichi flashed him a sweet smile and the words died in his throat. Did he practice that in the mirror or something? "Anyway, before we get to Kibou City, there's something you should know about Komaeda and Hinata…"

"Oh?" He was grateful for the change of subject. He wasn't sure he could take much more teasing in one sitting. "What is it?"

"They've adopted two of the little friends those grunts were talking about."

'If that big idiot hadn't taken Jataro and Nagisa and run off—' Shuuichi thought back to the incident in the forest and recalled the girl saying something about two people she knew being taken by Komaeda.

"…How do you know all of this?"

"I'm the champion! I make it my business to know what the gym leaders are doing!" It sounded to Shuuichi like Kokichi just liked sticking his nose into everyone's personal affairs but he couldn't deny it was working out in his favor. "No one hides anything from me once I decided I want to know something."

A terrible thought came to Shuuichi.

"How do I know you aren't just trying to get close to me because you find me suspicious?" He hated to admit it, but that sounded more likely than Kokichi liking him. He hated even more than it was a painful thought. "Maybe this is an excuse for you to follow me."

"Saihara, you're so cruel!" Kokichi pouted for a moment, before dropping it and fixing Shuuichi with a serious gaze. "…You don't know. I mean, I've already lied to you once, so who knows when I'll do it again. A cute detective comes from a foreign region to investigate—does the champion follow him because he likes him and wants to know him better, or because he wants to keep tabs on the mysterious detective? It's the fascinating mystery of Shuuichi Saihara! I guess it's up to you whether you want to trust me or not. I can't make you believe that I want to make you mine!"

Trusting didn't come easy to a detective, especially when the person to trust was as puzzling as Kokichi. But regardless, there was something about him, something that told Shuuichi that he could trust him…

Maybe he didn't understand Kokichi, but he wanted to.

"I apologize." He squeezed Kokichi's hand gently. "That was rude of me, saying I want to know you better, then getting nervous and trying to turn your feelings into something else just because I don't exactly understand them. Please forgive me."

Kokichi might have been grinning widely, but his eyes were a clear giveaway that he was confused.

"I... It's fine. Don't worry about dumb things like that, jeez." They walked in silence for a short while, Shuuichi wondering why Kokichi was suddenly so quiet. It was as if he hadn't expected Shuuichi to be so sincere. "Hey, Saihara?"

"Yes?"

"You can make it up to me by promising to stay with me for as long as you stay in Dangan, okay?"

Kokichi's eyes yet again gave away his fake smile. Shuuichi was trained to read people's body language, and though Kokichi was quite good at hiding his lying, it appeared he wasn't so good at pretending to be nonchalant about unexpected affection. Kokichi looked like he was ready to run at any moment.

"That's a big promise," he mused, smiling softly when he felt Kokichi tense. Maybe he could solve the mystery of Kokichi Ouma faster than his official case. "But that's fine. I promise, Ouma. I'll stay with you. I'll trust you."

Perhaps it wasn't the best promise to be making, but the genuine tender look that came to Kokichi's gaze made him glad he'd done it. Of course, it was gone so fast that Shuuichi almost wondered if he'd imagined the entire thing.

"Saihara is too kind! If you say those things, I'll hold you to them, you know? So you'd better not change your mind or I'll send my pokemon after you!" He picked up his pace, giggling as he went back to swinging their hands back and forth. "If we hurry, we can make it to Kibou City before it gets dark. Let's go!"

Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but Shuuichi was pretty sure he was getting a better picture of just the kind of person Kokichi was. Traveling with him might not be so bad after all.