Kokichi thought Shuichi to be a rather strange person.
He was nervous just about all the time. Always wore that hat. Was avoidant, passive, people-pleasing.
Okay, maybe strange wasn't the best word—more like… different from Kokichi. But lately, he was acting plain odd.
The way his hat was held lower over his eyes, his self-isolating behavior, his persistent apologies and eyebags and flinches, and generally heightened anxiety. It was subtle. Subtle enough to slip past Kaito's boisterous personality and Kaede's consistent caretaking. But Kokichi? Kokichi noticed. Kokichi could tell. Kokichi knew.
… Well, he didn't know what was wrong. He just knew that something was. Kokichi didn't exactly know much about what went on in Shuichi's personal life. Kokichi considered him a good friend, maybe even his best (or, frankly, only) friend. But to Shuichi, he was likely someone the former simply tolerated. One of his classmates, but not a friend. Not a good friend. And not somebody Shuichi would come clean to.
But… Despite this, Kokichi liked to think that Shuichi wouldn't be outright… suspicious. That Monday, he had skittered away from Kokichi like a cat about to be put in a carrier. That Tuesday, he had left his usual taunting messages on read. That Wednesday, he had managed to avoid having a single conversation with any of his friends (Kokichi knew this through completely legitimate means, of course, and absolutely not by secretly managing to watch him all day.) Now it was Thursday, and there hadn't been a single moment where Shuichi was acting like himself. Like someone who was flourishing with his newish friends–someone who wasn't scared. Someone who wasn't… Secretive.
Yeah. That was the word. Secretive.
So, that day, he set on a mission to gather information. Do a little detective work. How ironic! In any case, he wasn't about to let this snoop opportunity pass.
Sitting in some random, currently empty classroom, definitely not when he should have been doing something much more boring, Kokichi sat down his notebook on a table he had also sat down his rump on. He began to scribble down some notes.
What was the timeframe? Well, this strangeness seemed to begin Monday and continued throughout the week. Though, now that Kokichi thought about it, he had seemed a little restless that past Friday… Hmm. So something might have occurred over the weekend. But what? There weren't any major tests coming up, it couldn't be that–and if it were, he would have mentioned something offhandedly, which would have come up when Kokichi asked the two if they noticed anything off about Shuichi lately (they honestly just thought he was fucking with them…) That also wouldn't be making him act avoidant. Or… maybe it would, sometimes he was a bit of a workaholic when it came to studying.
Kokichi chewed on the back of his favorite pen. He rolled his eyes around the empty, dark classroom, tapped his fingers, shook his head, and got back to work.
It didn't seem like something small, either, or just a regular episode of his. He would have sought solace in his friends, and while it was likely that Kaito or Kaede or Maki would have kept something like that secret from the purple-haired nuisance, he didn't sniff even a hint of lie in the other's claims of not knowing anything. Plus… something like that wouldn't change Shuichi's behavior so greatly. It wouldn't make him so… concerningly strange. Wouldn't make him sit under library tables at lunch, wouldn't make him cut conversations short, or miss texts, or lie. Not lie. Never lie. Shuichi would never lie.
But he was lying. Every time someone asked how he was, every time he said he had to go study or go to the bathroom, he lied. Every time Kaito asked how he had slept, recognizing his insomnia, or every time Kaede asked if he needed a break, acknowledging his low social battery. He even lied when Maki had noticed, when Maki, someone who kept mostly to herself, had pointed out his strange excuse for missing their nightly exercise routine. She took it at face value, but Kokichi saw through it. He saw through everything.
So, something was certainly major, and whatever major something that was had been taking a toll on his beloved Shuichi.
Kokichi was going to figure it out.
The bell rang, and Kokichi was off to class. But he wasn't paying attention, no, he was devising more.
Step one: Wait until lunchtime, and beckon Shuichi to an empty classroom for their shared free period right after.
Step two: Meet Shuichi in the science classroom that was usually unoccupied during that period.
Step three: Interrogate.
There was the possibility Shuichi wouldn't show up, but if that happened, he would simply drag the man away from his hiding spot and into Kokichi's own. Shuichi had a hard time saying no.
While some might say that forcing somebody to talk about things is bad, cruel, and unhelpful–Kokichi knew different. Well, for Shuichi, at least. Shuichi was the type that needed to communicate to get over something. Somebody who needed external support for a likely external issue.
Kokichi jumped out of his thoughts as the bell rang for his grade's lunch period. He clasped his hands together, running off to the science classroom. He was allowed in there with the underclassmen during lunch as long as he wasn't too annoying. He pulled out his handy-dandy mobile phone, and sent off a text to Shuichi–he may have been left on read the past seven times he texted, but that wouldn't stop him now.
"meet me @ science classroom during free period. or i will come and make a scene 3"
That was good. Shuichi couldn't resist a mystery, after all, and the chances he would want to avoid one of Kokichi's public tantrums were high.
Some time passed, and Kokichi waited. Then some more time passed. And a little bit more. Then, finally, his lunch was over–and it was a passing period. He watched the underclassmen leave the classroom, and the teacher go for their lunch. He waited a few more minutes in the now-dark classroom. But it wasn't long at all before Shuichi arrived, just as he expected.
Shuichi peeked his head around the door, unsure as usual if he was in the right spot. Kokichi grinned from his seat on the lab counter, waving dramatically at his buddy. Shuichi seemed to ease, knowing he was in the right spot, but was still tense. Anxious. He closed the door behind him, leaning against the frame.
The room was now only lit by the blinded windows. It was a little dramatic, he thought, smiling over at Shuichi. His eyes flicked over the boy's frame.
"Uh… Hey, Kokichi." He started, avoiding any eye contact. ".. Did you need something?" Kokichi's grin widened. His plan was already sailing the seven seas swimmingly.
"Well, hey there, Shuichi!" Kokichi said, tilting his head ever so slightly. His voice was high-pitched, melodic, a little sickly sweet. He cleared his throat. "Oh-kay! So, so, so… Where to begin…" He hummed, tapping his cheek in false thought. "Ah! I know! I'll start with the point."
His demeanor flipped into something serious. Too serious, mockingly serious, so serious it flipped back around to being silly. Kokichi may not have admitted it to himself, yet, but he was really concerned about Shuichi. Shuichi was someone he cared about… more than he should have. And to see his messy hair, dark eyes, and hands that clawed the skin off each other… God, it made him sick. He stood up, walking over to Shuichi. He grabbed his hands, pulling them apart, smudging some of the crusted blood that caked his cuticles.
"You've been acting weird. Like, weirder than you normally do. I understand it's hard for others to notice these things but as a supreme leader of hundreds of people, I know how to read my subjects!" He chuckled. Shuichi's hands were cold and clammy. Kokichi wondered when he'd last eaten a proper meal. "... And as someone who considers you a friend, I want to know what's wrong, before it eats you alive."
Shuichi was taken aback. He pulled his hands away and shuffled in an attempt to get further away from Kokichi. Unfortunately, since his back was against the door, he was unable to do so.
"Nothing's wrong…" He mumbled, adjusting his hat. "Don't worry about it, uh, everything's fine. So. Don't worry." He stumbled over his words a little, shifting his weight, nails finding perch in his skin. A terrible habit of his, something Kokichi wanted to shake out of him.
His reaction almost made Kokichi frown.
"Jeeze Louise Shu! You're lying to lil ol' me? I'm wounded, really!" He laughed, placing a hand over his heart. Shuichi's lips pursed. Kokichi swallowed a sigh. "I know all your other friends believe you when you say you're fine, but a liar knows a liar! So c'mon, spill!"
Shuichi shook his head. "No, no, I'm fine, really. Really." He continued to look at everything except Kokichi. Kokichi chewed the inside of his cheek, a little frustrated. At this point, Shuichi wasn't even trying to convince him–it was more like a warning to back off, to let go of the subject before something… happened. Kokichi stared up at him. Something was… wrong. More wrong than he thought before. What had happened?
"Shuichi." Kokichi let a bit of sincerity seep into his voice. "I'll make you a deal!" He brought back his lighthearted demeanor. "You tell me the truth, and I'll tell you the truth. If you admit something is wrong, I'll tell you why I care so much!" The thought of confessing his secrets made him ill, but alas, sacrifices must be made!
The taller of the two opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, debating. "... Nothing's wrong." His voice was weak, a little defeated. Kokichi knew he wanted to leave. But he persisted. He was stubborn, especially on things he cared about, and Shuichi just so happened to be something he cared about. A lot.
"Ah, ah, ah!" He shook his head. "Truth for truth, remember?" Shuichi opened his mouth to say something, but Kokichi interrupted him. "Guess I'll just have to lie right back at you! Let's see…" He swallowed his nerves, the feeling that something was terribly wrong sunk into his chest every moment this interaction furthered. "Well, I don't care about how you're doing. And I don't care about you. I'm definitely not getting increasingly concerned the more you deny that something's wrong, because that's not super unlike you. I don't consider you one of my many friends, and I don't think you should tell me if something bad is happening, because I've never been through anything bad myself, and I would not be a good person to come to if something… serious… occurred!" He spewed out, faster than his brain would be able to process it, because honestly, the idea of admitting any of that sickened him. A little opposite-day action ought to drag out some form of truth from Shuichi, a little bit of disgusting honesty to show the former that he was serious about this whole 'helping him' thing.
Shuichi seemed to crumble under the pressure. Just a little. A bit of dust chipped off his wooden block of bullshit.
"Okay! Mm... Maybe something is wrong, but…" He chewed his lip, it bled a little, but he didn't even seem to notice. ""t's stupid…" He looked down, visibly ashamed of himself. Kokichi placed a gentle hand on his arm, a silent encouragement to continue.
"... My parents are home. I-I don't know if you know, but, uh, they're…"
"A famous actor and screenwriter that are busy all the time and barely ever come home?"
"... How did you know that?"
"Just a hunch. Or maybe a bit of eavesdropping. You'll never know!"
Shuichi sniffled. Was he crying? Kokichi watched him wipe his eyes, turn away from him, and begin shaking,
Kokichi paused. His parents were home. Shuichi's parents were home, and that was enough to spiral him down into a total mess. His heart sank. That implied… Oh, god. Kokichi knew some of his little pseudo-organization's members had bad parents over no parents, so he knew what kind of shit needed to happen to make someone… to make Shuichi act like this. Kokichi had his fair share of bad foster parents, but that only lasted days to weeks before he'd find some way out. But knowing Shuichi's parents only visited occasionally, made this situation hit too close to home. A life of on-and-off abuse and neglect, something he had endured with the support of his fellow orphans and fosters, Shuichi had also endured–with seemingly no support at all.
"Shuichi." Kokichi dropped the mask entirely. He let the discomfort encase him. He let himself be sick, let himself be scared. Because right now, at this moment, his number one priority was getting Shuichi safe.
"What do they do to you?"
Shuichi winced a little, shaking his head frantically. He was almost sobbing at this point, struggling to keep his composure. "N-Nothing! Nothing bad, just, just…"
"Do they hurt you?"
"No! I mean, not when, when I don't deserve it-" Kokichi could have vomited. "-only when I'm being bad, and they don't really hurt me! Just…"
"Shuichi. You don't deserve to be hit. Nobody deserves to be hit by their parents, ever. That's not okay, there is not a singular circumstance in which that is okay."
"But-"
"No 'but's. How long do they stay for?"
"Not… not long. They're usually busy. They just stop by to give me money for groceries and stuff, and rest a night, and then they leave."
"They don't even buy you your stuff?"
Shuichi didn't respond. He wrapped his arms around himself, trembling.
"Shuichi… Do you know how long they're staying this time?"
"No! And- And I can't even ask, because that's rude! It makes it sound like I don't want them there!"
"You don't want them there, though."
"I don't!!!"
"What about your uncle? Does he know?"
Shuichi shook his head, letting out a dry sob and wiping his face, leaving a bit of blood on it from where he had been picking the skin off his hand.
"I can't tell him. I can't ruin his relationship with his sister. I can't be selfish."
Kokichi looked up at him and pulled him into a sudden and tight hug. Shuichi needed some comfort after all this prodding, and Kokichi was the closest person available to provide that. Despite his short stature, he let Shuichi sob into his shoulder, rocking them both side to side gently. A few seconds passed.
"I'm sorry…" Shuichi mumbled in a choked voice. His throat was raw from crying so hard.
"Shh, shh, it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. Don't worry!" Kokichi added a small lightness to his voice, to lull Shuichi into a sense of normalcy.
Shuichi pulled away from the hug, an embarrassment flooding his features.
"Okay… If… you say so, I guess." He sighed, shaking his head. "Please, don't worry about me. I'll be okay. I can handle it."
Kokichi's frown returned. He shouldn't have to handle it!
"Nope! Nuh-uh!" He shook his head, grabbing Shuichi's arms. "You will not be 'handling it!' Not under my watch! I say you stay with me until they're gone. Give you some quiet away from the chaos for a while!" Kokichi didn't exactly have parents to say no to that proposal, anyways. He lived alone in a small, cheapy apartment that he'd secured once he managed to become emancipated. Somehow, he always scraped up enough money to pay for it, and one extra body for a few days wouldn't hurt.
Shuichi chewed his lip again. Then, he nodded. "I can… try. They don't usually care what I do when they're gone, so, I guess it… isn't a horrible idea to ask, right?" He paused, reconsidering. "I don't want to inconvenience you, or drag your parents into this…"
Kokichi shushed him, placing a hand on his hip. "Don't worry about that, Shumai!" He laughed. "I do what I want when I want, and taking care of you is no exception! There is no such thing as an inconvenience to me!" He beamed, forcing the situation into one that was more lighthearted. "It'll be like one big sleepover! So… don't worry about it, okay?"
So, that was all. Shuichi didn't worry about it. He would go home, ask his parents, pack a bag, and come over to Kokichi's home. Then he would stay there until his parents left, or until he felt like it, and Kokichi would invite him over every time his parents decided to show their ugly faces. The cycle would repeat until Shuichi would turn 18, and he would move out, and cut contact with them. He would heal, and he and Kokichi would stay great friends until the Earth decayed.
… Well, that's how he wished it had went, at least.