He realised far too late why Kokichi not allowing any of the other students to get to know him better was actually in parts beneficial. He really wished he took example from him when he had the chance instead of learning it on his own skin. Kokichi's reasoning may have seemed arbitrary at best of times but he knew very well what he was doing. Always keeping ahead.
Shuichi's first rookie mistake started out with wanting to get to know Tsumugi better as a friend. He hadn't really hung out, or even talked, to the blue-haired girl one on one before and he was curious about her interests and who she was like as a person. Since it looked like they were going to be staying in the Academy a while, he figured he might as well befriend everyone there so they could work together. Knowing everyone's strengths and weaknesses would surely come in vital if they were to make a plan to escape.
He also partially wanted to ask her about what anime she enjoyed watching. From as young as he could remember, part of his morning ritual before school consisted of watching reruns of his favourite animes during breakfast time. Looking back on those times bloomed nostalgia in his heart and if anyone would remember them it surely would be Tsumugi, since they were around the same age. Turns out, they both had numerous favourites in common to discuss. He enjoyed spending time with her and listening to her stories about cosplay cons too.
However, a week ago she had asked him if he had any interest in cosplaying and who he would pick to dress up as, if she were to help him make a costume. His second rookie mistake was not keeping his cool. He thought she was joking at first, since he obviously wasn't familiar with the cosplay scene. When she still expected an answer, in the moment he panicked and his mind went blank, completely forgetting any and every anime character he previously had an interest in. The only options coming to his head were to do with non-fictional characters and since Kaede told him about the cospox tragedy in secret, he was overly cautious out of fear of setting it off. Stumbling for an answer, he blurted out the first thing that came into his head he'd want to cosplay as; a girl.
Seeing the way Tsumugi's eyes lit up, he regretted those words as soon as they left his mouth. He brushed them off as not a big deal and made up a bunch of justifications for his answer, which derailed them enough that he got her into talking about another anime that came out recently. After that, he made sure to go back to only hanging out with her in a group, when others were present to rein in the topic of conversation from straying too far into cosplay territory. He thought he dodged a bullet back then but apparently Tsumugi didn't forget and kept to her word. Or threat , he mused.
"Remember when you said you wanted to give cosplaying a go? I finally finished something that I think would suit you well! Just don't tell Kirumi!" She caught him randomly by surprise a few hours ago, when he was leaving the library with a few detective novels. She had an excited look on her face as she thrust the duffel bag into his hands, explaining she took what he told her seriously and created a cosplay for him from the materials she could find around the Academy. She would not listen to any weak attempts of excuses he made.
Shuichi's third and final rookie mistake acted as a nail in the coffin. His stomach did a flip as he accepted the bag with a small thanks, because what else would he do? He didn't want to hurt her feelings and he was a small bit curious to see what she could do with access to the warehouse and what was apparently Kirumi's cut up wardrobe. He reminded himself half jokingly that this was why everyone called him a masochist and he should be more assertive with letting others down. Kokichi was mercifully helping him work on that part.
He hurried back to his dorm room straight away, avoiding the usual hotspots he knew would harbour more witnesses. It felt weird sneaking around like this but he did not want to get caught with the bag and get questioned about what was inside. He made it clear to Tsumugi he was only going to try it on after the night time announcement, to minimise his chances of someone else seeing him dressed up. He felt jittery all day, to the point Kaito asked him a couple of times if he was okay, genuinely concerned. He had to cancel their training schedule that night, using the concern to his advantage and feigning sickness.
Evening time rolled around sooner than he hoped it would, and he waited in his room for some time before that to mentally prepare himself. This included staring at the bag, willing that it would combust. Doubts were already beginning to form in his head as he was actively regretting every decision he ever made that brought him to this point.
He finally sighed and zipped it open, figuring he'd better get this over with quickly since he promised to meet with her later to show it off. He didn't want to hurt Tsumugi's feelings but he didn't want to mull it over too deeply either, otherwise he'd definitely chicken out. Friends did things for each other all the time, right?
Looking into the bag, his first impressions of the colour scheme were very monochromatic. He tried to rack his brain for any anime characters he remembered they talked about that could contain such a limited colour range, but he came up with none. As he took the costume pieces out, he realised why; they all came together to resemble what looked like a generic maid outfit except with a reversed colour palette. He assumed that was where Kirumi's school uniform influenced the stylistic choices.
As he laid the pieces out, he couldn't stop himself from feeling impressed with how thought out and detailed the costume was. Nothing less expected from the Ultimate Cosplayer after all. He was almost baffled how it all fit into one tiny bag, in which Tsumugi also included a little note naming all the pieces and the recommended order of dress. He praised the small miracles. With the costume laid out, it took up a good majority of his bed. It even included a lingerie set he realised, face red.
His closet contained a standing mirror that he brought out to help him along in the journey, but it just revealed how his hands trembled with nervousness as he began unbuttoning the first button of his jacket. The quicker he does this the quicker this will be over, he told himself, as he forced his hands to speed up. It was becoming a mantra of his way too soon. He peeled each clothing layer off hastily and discarded them onto a chair.
He… didn't even know where to begin dressing himself first. He knew he could fall back on Tsumugi's guide if he needed to but just the look of it all made him overwhelmed, with mounds of fabric overflowing the basic shape structure of what would look like clothes. No doubt this was how the dresses always appeared so voluminous. They didn't leave any room for otherwise. If this is what Kirumi had to go through getting ready every morning then he felt sorry for her. All he had to do was throw on pants and a top and he was basically done.
Well, if he's doing it he might as well do it right. He figured he'd start with the lingerie. The lacey underwear felt frail in his hands as he picked it up, as if the lightest of tugs would rip open the whole thing in his hands. They glided gently up his leg as he pulled, not quite soft, not as frail as he suspected it to be, but firm. They fit snug around his hips, he realised to his horror. Tsumugi must be exceptionally good at sizing others up or she managed to get access into his closet; he didn't know which was worse. The second part of the set consisted of something akin to a very short… top, which he was secretly thankful for as he slipped it over his head since it meant no fiddling with bra hooks.
He glanced over at his bed again, looking for the next item to put on. By a combined process of elimination and just reading from the note, he decided it would be a garter belt, which looked embarrassingly like something Miu would wear. This time it had a weird bra hook on the back, but he could manage squeezing into it without unhooking it and it rested above the underwear.
He spied a pair of stockings which contained matching clips to the belt. They were surprisingly soft to touch, much more so than the lace. He liked the way they conformed to the shape of his leg and clipping them on meant that they stayed on. It was much more practical than socks, he mused. He hated when his socks would slip an- he caught himself on that thought before it could get any further. He should definitely not be enjoying this to the extent he is.
Sighing, he looked in the mirror for the first time since taking it out. He caught glimpses of himself as he worked, but now he could see his progress so far. Everything fit… just right. Tsumugi had a scary accuracy when it came to clothes without the need for measuring tools. Checking himself out in the mirror from both sides, and apart from the flush covering his face, he didn't mind what he saw. He could appreciate the hard work that went into creating this for him, even if it did make him slightly embarrassed.
The thing that worried him the most were the number of skirts laid out, as he had no idea what order they should be put on in. he tried his hardest to remember what Kirumi's uniform usually looked like, but apart from the colour scheme and basic accents these clothes are altered from, they were far from resembling Kirumi. He also realised that the skirts were adjusted to be made shorter. Of course.
The night time announcement cut sharp through the air, almost startling him. He better hurry before Tsumugi eventually comes looking for him. Since he definitely remembers Kirumi's motif being black on white, he put the white shirt dress on first. It had Kirumi's accented black collar, except the sleeves were cut and altered to be short and puffy and airy. The frills sat around his armpits and tickled him lightly whenever he moved his arms. He made quick work of the buttons, being confident in one task at least. The shirt fell just above mid thigh, forming one of the layers he'd soon be sporting.
His previous worries were concerning the skirts were irrational, he realised, as the other skirts went on over his head just as easy. The elastic waistbands allowed for stretching so it was as quick as simply tugging them over his head and the shirt. All the layers combined gave a puffy appearance and he did a little twirl marvelling how they rose and danced around him. He was gaining a small confidence boost in himself by the second and he now recognised why Tsumugi loved cosplay so much. It wasn't as bad as he thought!
The only top piece he had left looked like a vest with strings. A bodice, the note said. It wasn't something he noticed Kirumi wearing, so it must have been one of Tsumugi's extra touches. He guessed it went on top of the skirts, but he had some trouble tying it because whenever he let go of the strings to make a bow, they relaxed and made the bodice go slack.
He was struggling with the lacing so much that he failed to notice the jingling at his door. Terror struck his body when he heard the lock pop and the door swung open, in walking the last person he wanted to see him in this state of dress.
"Hey, do you know wher-" Kokichi stopped mid sentence when he noticed him with his hands still holding the bodice together. Neither of them moved and Kokichi's face deadpanned, eyes darting from his face, down his body and back up. He felt his face heating up from embarrassment as he could practically hear the cogs turning.
"I can explain!" Shuichi squeaked out, letting go of the strings and grabbing the edge of the skirts instead to pull them down as far as possible. Boyfriend or not, Kokichi should really learn to knock one day and understand others' boundaries.
"Neeheehee I'm listening." Kokichi closed the door behind him as he snickered and it locked back up. Before Shuichi could say anything else, he took out his monopad and took a quick photo of him. "I'm sure there is a logical explanation for all of… this ."
"Tsumugi wanted to make me a cosplay and I agre- stop laughing! Why are you taking pictures?" Shuichi was fuming but at the same time his stomach was doing somersaults. First he barges into his room unannounced and then he's taking pictures of him? Dating the… clown in front of him meant that the number of pranks he fell for increased. He didn't even want to think about that getting out to the others. He wouldn't hear the end of it.
"Don't worry, it's for reminiscence's sake!" He then nodded to the rest of the items on the bed as he sauntered over. "What a go-ood friend you are Shuichi! I don't think you're completely finished though, still have some items left? I can help you!"
Most of the time Kokichi's help ended up causing more trouble than good, but he couldn't deny that his heart was in the right place. One thing was true, he still had some items left to complete this cosplay. He hesitated when Kokichi beckoned him over, but he complied nonetheless sensing his disadvantage as well as crocodile tears if he said no as this very much looked like a case of his way or the highway. He didn't feel like arguing this late anyway.
After examining the contents, Kokichi moved down to kneel on one knee, holding a heeled shoe out open for him. When Shuichi didn't make a move, he snorted. "Are you going to make me wait here all night, Cinderella?"
His face got red and he muttered a shut up as he slipped his foot into the first and then second shoe quickly, wishing for this to be over already. The heels weren't too high where he couldn't walk, but he felt uncertain standing on them nonetheless. Kokichi whistled as he got up, their height difference even more comical now. "Legs like a fawn, Shu." The effort just got him another shut up.
Next, Kokichi's nimble fingers worked the rest of the lacing of the bodice surprisingly quickly and he had to wonder if it was from previous experience. He pulled tight and fast and Shuichi gasped and had to steady himself with his hands on Kokichi's shoulders to not trip into the smaller man. He just got another mysterious smile for his effort and hands on his waist to help steady him, lingering for just a second too long to be accidental. An apron soon followed the bodice and it hugged all the previous layers together. "Neeheehee I'm starting to like this new look on you. You should ask Monokuma to make this your permanent uniform."
Finally, the only item left was a small purple ascot which was looped around the back of his neck. Suddenly, Kokichi sat back onto the bed behind him, still holding onto Shuichi's ascot. A surprised noise left Shuichi as he tumbled forward involuntarily, knees on either side of the other. His face was red from the momentarily adrenaline rush and he could feel a light sheen of sweat down his back.
He tried moving away but Kokichi still had a strong grip around the ascot as he pressed their foreheads together, grinning. "Wow did you do that on purpose Shuichi?"
Flustered that Kokichi would try to blame it on him, he huffed and just pressed their lips together to keep him quiet; which was probably the intention all along. His thighs strained from trying to keep himself up in a half kneel, because god forbid he sat in Kokichi's lap and started another round of commentary. He should really get going soon. Kokichi stroked his hands up and down his sides as they kissed, sometimes stopping to fiddle with the straps of the garter attached to his stockings. He pulled on them once, twice, and snapped them against his thighs, making Shuichi shiver.
He was getting hot and sweaty in the cosplay just from kissing and touching alone. He cursed himself and his curiosity yet again for getting himself into this mess but he couldn't deny that he liked where this was going and how the other was reacting to his appearance.
"How about we swap favours?" Kokichi almost purred in his ear and Shuichi paled at all the implications of what that would mean. Was he going to become a maid service? Once you asked for a favour from Kokichi that was the end. He still remembers the last time he asked for something and then he ended up doing the others bidding for him for half a year until he was "pardoned" when they got together.
"Since I was so nice to help you dress, will you keep this on... for later?" Kokichi asked, putting on his most over-the-top innocent facade, batting his eyelashes. Oh. Oh. This wasn't one of the things that went through Shuichi's head. His thighs gave out and he reluctantly lowered his ass onto his lap, that game lost.
"If I do, will you let me go? I'm already late because of you," Shuichi groaned internally. What has he gotten himself into?
"Deal! I'll be waiting, my beloved detective ."