Party Hard like Mardi Gras

Part 3 of this AU! This is a follow up of The Phantom's Treasure and River Fever. So if you haven't read either of those, this story might not make that much sense. Anyway, I'm going to have more characters from Danganronpa in this story now! Yay!

Shuichi and Kokichi had started seeing each other a lot more, recently. Ever since Kokichi rescued Shuichi from drowning in the river, they had started hanging out more. If Shuichi didn't know any better he could almost think they were dating.

The two often met up somewhere and would spend time together, whether at a restaurant, or a café, or even just going to the grocery store. Then they would go to whoever's apartment was closer and spend the night. Shuichi had to reluctantly admit he rather liked waking up with Kokichi snuggly wrapped in his arms. He hadn't felt this kind of warmth in a long time.

A few weeks after the river incident, Shuichi was awoken by his phone vibrating from a notification. Kokichi was asleep partially on top of him but startled awake when the phone went off. Before Shuichi could grab it, Kokichi had already snatched it and was squinting at the screen.

"Who's 'Rocket Man?'" he asked, handing the phone to Shuichi.

"My friend," Shuichi replied, opening his phone. He groaned when he read the text. "Really Kaito? You know how much I hate clubs."

"What's wrong?" Kokichi questioned as he buried his face back in Shuichi's neck.

"Kaito wants a bunch of us to go to a club with him tonight," Shuichi muttered, "But all my friends know I hate clubs. I'm an introvert, so I hate crowds and loud music and alcohol."

Kokichi furrowed his brow in thought. "When you say 'Kaito,' do you mean Kaito Momota? Self-proclaimed 'Luminary of the Stars?'"

Shuichi blinked in surprise at him. "You know him?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kokichi replied with an annoyed sigh, "I had to interview him once for an article. He was obnoxious. Totally full of himself. Didn't agree with his way of thinking."

"Wait, what do you mean you interviewed him?" Shuichi wondered.

"For the newspaper I work for?" Kokichi said, "I told you I work as journalist in the daytime before!"

"No, you haven't," Shuichi pointed out.

"Oh. Well, I meant to," Kokichi said sheepishly, "During the night I'm the Phantom Thief. But during the day I work for The Other Side as one of its top journalists."

Shuichi cocked his head. "But I read that paper quite a bit and I don't remember ever seeing your name under any of the articles," he argued.

"That's because I have a pen name when I write my articles," Kokichi explained, "My opinion is usually quite different from every other newspaper in the area, so, in order to protect myself from death threats and such, I use an assumed name."

Shuichi carefully got out of bed and went to his desk. He had a copy of The Other Side lying there and picked it up. He searched through it until he found what he was looking for. "'Koko Miachi,'" he said, "Is that you? That's just an anagram of your name, Kokichi Oma."

Kokichi grinned at him from the bed. "Clever, huh?" he snickered.

"Heh, if you say so," Shuichi chuckled, "I would've gone with a name that didn't even remotely connect to my real name, but hey, you do you."

Kokichi stuck his tongue out and rolled over onto his back. "So, you gonna go to that club tonight or no?" he asked.

Shuichi sighed. "I don't know," he muttered, "All my friends are going, but I really hate clubs. I don't like dancing, or drinking, or loud music. There is nothing for me there."

"Then don't go," Kokichi said, "Momota is kind of insensitive if he knows you hate clubs but he wants you to hang out at one anyway."

Shuichi wanted to defend his friend, but he couldn't help but agree. What was even worse was that Kaito, or sometimes even Keebo, (and very rarely Kaede) would guilt trip him into going. Of his five friends, only Maki and Rantaro never tried to pressure him into doing anything he didn't want to do.

He looked over at Kokichi, who had gotten up to get dressed. "Can you come with me tonight?" he begged, "Maybe it won't be so bad if you're there with me."

Kokichi frowned. "I absolutely would," he replied, "You know I would do anything for you, my dear. But unfortunately I have something important to do tonight."

Shuichi groaned. "Maybe if I lie and tell Kaito I'm sick he'll believe me," he muttered. He went over and sat on his bed and picked up his phone off the nightstand. He texted Kaito and the others that he wasn't feeling well.

A minute later he got a text back from Kaito wondering if he wanted them to check on him. Panicked, Shuichi texted back that they didn't have to. Immediately, Maki called him on his bullshit.

Maki Roll: He's lying. He just wants to get out of going with us.

Rocket Man: What the H man? Do you not like us anymore?

Shuichi bit his lower lip. There was that guilt thing Kaito was so good at. He sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get out of this.

Shushi: No, that's not it. I'll go with you guys.

Rocket Man: Thanks sidekick!

With a heavy sigh, Shuichi set down his phone and flopped onto his back. This night was going to be horrible.

Kaito picked Shuichi up at around eight in his big ol' truck. Maki was in the front seat which meant that Shuichi had to cram in the back with Kaede, Keebo, and Rantaro. Although Shuichi, Kaede, and Rantaro were rather skinny, it didn't help the smothering feeling in the backseat that Keebo was a cyborg who had most of his body parts replaced with robotics years ago, so he was rather bulky.

Shuichi tried not to shiver as he brushed up against Rantaro. Shuichi never was one for physical contact, which was a major reason he didn't like crowds or clubs. Even when he was with his friends he didn't like being touched. He could handle an occasional hug, but he never wanted it to last more than two seconds. (Which made Kaito's ten second "man hugs" completely unbearable.)

They arrived at the club and Shuichi could already feel his anxiety skyrocketing. He could hear the bass of the music pulsing even from inside the truck. He could only imagine how bad it was inside.

Kaito didn't seem to mind, though. "All right! Let's go in!" he exclaimed.

"Yippee," Maki groaned sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

As everyone scrambled out of the truck, Shuichi suddenly felt someone put a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see Kaede giving a concerned look.

"Are you going to be ok?" she asked.

Shuichi sighed. "No," he replied honestly before turning to follow the others inside.

Inside there were way too many people, dancing, and drinking, and grinding on each other. Shuichi shuddered. He already hated this and all they did was step inside. He felt someone brush up against him and he looked to see Rantaro next to him.

"It'll be ok, Shuichi," he told him, "We're right here with you."

"R-Right," Shuichi murmured.

Sometimes Shuichi got the feeling that Rantaro wished they were still going out together. Shuichi and Rantaro had dated for a while shortly after Shuichi's ex-girlfriend cheated on him. Rantaro had lavished his love onto Shuichi, showering him with praise and compliments. And Shuichi had appreciated it, he had been far happier with Rantaro than with his ex. But ultimately his anxieties and pressures from the group forced them to break up.

"Come on, guys," Kaito encouraged, "Let's go mingle!" He grabbed Maki's hand and pulled her into the crowd despite the fact that she growled at him. Shuichi was the last one to follow them.

The group found their way to a table and claimed it as their own. Shuichi was more than happy to just sit there and try to ignore everything else all night. But unfortunately, Kaito was pulling on his arm, trying to get him to stand up.

"Don't be a wet blanket, Shuichi!" Kaito urged, "You have to get up and dance!"

"I-I'd rather not" Shuichi muttered.

"Shuichi, my love!" a familiar voice suddenly called out, "You didn't tell me you were going to this club!"

Shuichi watched in surprise as several people were shoved over by Kokichi making his way through the dance floor over to the table. He smiled happily when he finally reached them.

"If you had just told me you were coming here, I gladly would have gone with you!" he said.

"K-Kokichi!" Shuichi finally managed to gasp, "What are you doing here?"

"My job! I told you I had something important to do tonight," Kokichi replied.

"Hold on a second, Shuichi," Kaito interrupted, making himself known, "You know this little gremlin?"

"Ooh! Gremlin! How clever of you, Momota!" Kokichi taunted, "Like I haven't heard that one a hundred times before! Of course I know Shuichi! Why would I walk up to him and start talking to him otherwise?"

Kaito glared at him as Shuichi sank down in his seat. Great. This night was going to get even worse. But no one at the table seemed to register his discomfort.

"Who is this person, Kaito?" Keebo asked.

"He's a scumbag reporter who likes to trash the people he interviews," Kaito growled.

"That's not true!" Kokichi refuted, "I only trashed you in my article because your head was too big. I mean, everyone was praising you for something you hadn't even done yet!"

"I'll go into space eventually," Kaito muttered angrily.

"Yeah, 'eventually.' Which means you haven't done it yet. Which means there's nothing to praise you for," Kokichi pointed out while casually inspecting his nails.

"Do you want to die?" Maki hissed at him.

"Ah! Momota's blood hungry girlfriend!" Kokichi greeted happily, "I haven't seen you in a while! How've you been?"

Maki glared at him. Shuichi quickly sat up again, wanting to diffuse the situation.

"Guys! Please don't fight!" he pleaded. Kokichi looked at him and his face softened.

"Of course, my dear," he said, "But we're not fighting. We're just catching up is all." Kaito and Maki looked like they disagreed.

"Oh! I remember where I know you from!" Kaede suddenly exclaimed, "You interviewed me after one of my piano recitals!"

"I sure did!" Kokichi replied with a grin.

"Did he write horrible and rude things about you in his article as well?" Kaito growled.

"No, actually. He was quite polite and nice to me," Kaede said, "In fact, after his article ran a lot more people started coming to my recitals because of all the wonderful things he said about me." She blushed slightly. "I never got to thank you for that."

"Ah, there's no need to thank me!" Kokichi told her, "I was just stating my honest opinion!"

Kaito, it seemed, couldn't stand it anymore. "All right, Shuichi, just how do you know this guy?" he asked.

Shuichi quickly thought of the first thing that would make sense that Kokichi would also go along with (hopefully.) "I, uh, met him through work," he blurted out.

"Really?" Maki asked skeptically, "How did you meet through work? You're a detective and he's a journalist. What? Is he secretly the Phantom Thief?"

Kokichi rolled his eyes. "Yes, darling, I'm the Phantom Thief," he scoffed, "No! How else do you think a detective and a journalist would meet? At a crime scene! Duh!"

While Shuichi was glad he went along with the tale, did he have to be so rude about it?

Then came Rantaro's quiet voice. "Are you two… dating?" he wondered.

Shuichi jolted slightly. "N-No!" he replied at the same time Kokichi enthusiastically answered, "Yup!"

"Well, which is it?" Maki demanded.

"We're totally dating!" Kokichi answered happily before Shuichi could say anything, "We stay over at each other's apartments nearly every night! We've been seeing each other for over a month!"

Shuichi felt himself blush. He had no idea Kokichi thought they were dating. Unless he was just messing with them. That was possible. He wouldn't put it past Kokichi.

Kaito scowled. "I'm gonna go get a drink," he growled, stomping off. Maki was right behind him. Kokichi grinned at him.

"Don't hurt yourself!" he called.

Shuichi's other friends started dispersing as well until Shuichi was left alone with Kokichi. He noticed as Rantaro left he gave a sad backwards glance.

"All right, Kokichi, what are you really doing here?" Shuichi asked him.

"I told you, my job," Kokichi answered, "Well, my secret job. I'm here as the Phantom Thief."

Shuichi stiffened. "Seriously, Kokichi? Here and now?" he hissed, "If it's discovered that you robbed this place while I was here and I didn't stop you I'll be ruined!"

"Relax, Shumai!" Kokichi told him, "I'm not here to mindless steal everything. I'm here for a good cause, I swear! You know the People's Museum that got broken into about three weeks ago? Someone stole the two pistols that were instrumental in the founding of the city?"

"Yes."

"Well, I finally tracked down who stole them," Kokichi explained, "It's the owner of this very club. He likes to own things that no one else does. I plan to steal those pistols back and return them to the museum. Because everyone deserves to see them. They shouldn't be locked away where only one rich asshole will ever admire them."

Shuichi blinked at him. "W-Wow, Kokichi, that's rather noble of you," he noted.

Kokichi smiled. "I don't always steal for my own profit," he said. He leaned up and kissed Shuichi lightly on the cheek. "I'll be right back." Then he slunk off into the crowd and was gone.

As soon as Kokichi disappeared, Shuichi could feel his anxiety coming back. Kaito returned a moment later and dragged him onto the dance floor. And that's when his anxiety sky-rocketed. So many bodies were pressing against him. He was being shoved all around. Music that he didn't even like was being blasted in his ears. He could feel someone touching him and whispering suggestively in his ear. A panic attack was slowly rising through him and he couldn't see Kaito or the others anywhere. Oh God! He was going to break down right in the middle of this club!

Suddenly, Shuichi felt someone grab his arm and pull him away from the mass of bodies. He was dragged along until they reached a more quiet corner of the club and Shuichi was able to breathe. Then he saw the person who had dragged him away was Kokichi.

"Are you all right?" he asked, concern coloring his face, "You looked like you were about to have a break down!"

Shuichi stared at him for a moment before answering. "Y-Yeah," he replied, "I-I'm all right now. I just… I really don't do well with crowds."

Kokichi smiled gently at him. "How about I get you out of here?" he suggested, "I still need to get these pistols back to the museum and I could use some help. You can text your friends later that you left early."

"O-Ok," Shuichi said.

Shuichi allowed Kokichi to take his hand and lead him outside. Once they were out of the club, he could feel himself breathing a lot easier. Kokichi didn't let go of his hand as he continued leading him away from the club.

"Come on. The museum isn't too far away," Kokichi explained, "And we're going to meet my friend there."

Shuichi was just a bit surprised hearing that. He didn't know Kokichi had any friends. He didn't really talk about his personal life that much and anything he did say were covered in lies. He wondered if Kokichi didn't have many friends or people he trusted.

They reached the People's Museum in record time. Shuichi hesitated when he saw a large intimidating man standing across the street, but Kokichi urged him forward.

"Don't worry, my love," Kokichi said, "That's just Gonta. My friend."

They walked over to him and Gonta smiled. "There you are, Kokichi!" Gonta exclaimed, "Gonta was getting worried you had been caught!"

Kokichi scoffed. "Please! I never get caught!" he snorted. He reached into his pocket and brought out a silk wrapping that held the two pistols.

Gonta grinned then he seemed to notice Shuichi. "Is this that detective Kokichi talk so much to Gonta about?" he asked.

"Yes, Gonta, this is Shuichi Saihara," Kokichi replied, sounding a bit embarrassed.

"Gonta has wanted to meet you!" Gonta cried, grabbing Shuichi's hand, and pumping it up and down, "Kokichi has told Gonta all about you! Kokichi talks endlessly about how—"

"Ok Gonta, focus!" Kokichi interrupted, "We're here on a mission, remember?" Shuichi found it amusing how red Kokichi's cheeks were at the moment.

"Oh! Right! Sorry!" Gonta apologized.

"So, how are you going to get in there?" Shuichi wondered, "Security has tightened ever since the break in."

"Don't worry," Kokichi dismissed, "I know where there's a hatch in the roof where I can easily get inside. I just need you two to help me. Gonta is going to open the hatch for me and lower me down. And Shuichi, I want you keep watch in case anyone comes."

Kokichi led them over to the museum and showed them where and how to climb onto the roof. Shuichi was rather impressed. He really had thought this all the way through. There was no one around when Kokichi carefully put the pistols back in their display where they belonged.

The next morning the news was all about the miraculous return of the stolen pistols and how no one knew how it happened. There was also a side story about the owner of the club being arrested for accidentally admitting that he was the one who stole the pistols in the first place.

As Shuichi read the news, Kokichi came into the kitchen, still dressed in his night clothes.

"Good morning, my dear!" he greeted, "Sleep well?"

"I guess so," Shuichi murmured. He put the paper down and looked over at Kokichi who was pretending to pour himself some coffee. "Hey Kokichi, can I ask you something?"

"Of course!" Kokichi replied happily, "Ask me anything you like!"

"What you said to my friends at the club last night… do you really think we're dating?"

Kokichi stopped and turned to him. "Well, aren't we?" he wondered, "We see each other nearly every day. We hang out a lot. We sleep over at each other's apartments. We kiss sometimes. We've even had sex. Sounds like dating to me."

Shuichi flinched slightly. "Y-Yeah, but… most couples actually agree that they're dating first," he pointed out, "They don't just silently decide on it."

"Ok," Kokichi said, "Then, Shuichi, I want to date you. I want to be your boyfriend."

Shuichi hesitated. He could see so many things going wrong with this. What if they got caught? What if everyone found out he, a detective, was dating the notorious thief he had been chasing for so long? What if someday Shuichi had to arrest him?

But he had to admit, there was also some allure to the idea. Like Kokichi had said, they already spent so much time together. What was wrong with making it official? As long as no one knew, what would be the harm?

Taking a shuddering breath, Shuichi nodded. "Ok," he breathed.

Kokichi grinned and threw his arms around Shuichi's neck and kissed him deeply. "You won't regret this," he murmured in his ear.

And that's the end of that part! But not the end of the series! There's still more to come! What complications will our new couple face? What perils will come there way? Stay tuned to find out! But in the meantime, please leave a comment!