Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Kaede had never really made an attempt to be friends with Kokichi.

I mean, why should she? A self-proclaimed liar who teased people relentlessly - He was like a child, and it wasn’t something that appealed to her. Their interactions were brief - He might drop a pencil and she’d pick it up and hand it over to them. Their fingers would brush against each other as her hand ghosted past his, and Kokichi would hesitate. Then… He’d smile and thank Kaede with a large grin. It was a bit strange, but she couldn’t pin down why. It was just him being friendly, right? It wasn't like they knew each other, so there was no other reason for it.
That’s why it was a bit of surprise when his eyes lit up from seeing her from afar, him calling her name out. “Akamatsu-chan!” The purple haired boy waved, not even giving her time to respond as he skipped across towards the blonde pianist. Kaede’s hesitation was clear, but she smiled and waved politely anyway. She was in the middle of a conversation with Shuuichi, but she would make time for people, even those she didn’t know all that well.
Really, Kokichi was an enigma to her. Perhaps he was a lot nicer than he let on, or maybe his home life wasn’t all the best, causing him to act so childish. She’d never know for sure - Well, unless she talked to him.
“O-Ouma-kun, I’m kind of busy…” Kaede smiled awkwardly, though she wasn’t really making an attempt to shoo him off or get him away. What if he had something important to say, and she wasn’t willing to hear him out? Almost instantly, however, the smaller boy’s smile diminished, eyes darting between Shuuichi and Kaede frantically, though his face remained blank. Eventually, a smile came upon his face - Natural, not forced, as if he were expecting this. “I need to talk to Saihara-chan in private, please~!” Ah. Shuuichi glanced over at the blonde with great confusion, eyebrows furrowed curiously. “Um… Okay?” He answered after a moment of silence.
Kokichi’s eyes lit up with childlike excitement (it was almost cute, Kaede thought) as he dragged the poor black-haired boy by the arm, not waiting for any further input. The pianist’s mouth drew into a thin line, waiting for the two boys to finish their apparently important conversation. There was whispering, giggling, a loud yell, and then… Silence.

Kokichi’s childlike skipping from behind the wall was a stark contrast to Shuuichi’s tired, sluggish walk, his face was paler than she had ever seen it. While the purple haired boy was already out of sight, happy as ever, Kaede’s eyes met Shuuichi’s weary, dead ones. They made eye contact, just for a split second.
“Are… You okay?” He wasn’t. Kaede knew he wasn’t, but she asked anyway. His eyes were dead, and his face was stark white.
Their gaze was connected for a few seconds, just a few. His mouth opened, but then it closed. His eyes were glazed over, blank. He looked almost pained, in a way. What happened back there? What did Kokichi do? Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to figure out an answer, eyes fluttering shut and crinkling, tightening and tightening…

When she opened them, Shuuichi was no longer there.

“Ouma-kun, do you know what’s up with Saihara-kun, recently?”

Of course he knew. Kaede and Kokichi, they both knew that the latter KNOWS something. Shuuichi wasn’t talking to Kaede anymore - In fact, it seemed like he was trying to avoid her at all costs. Darting around corners when she came near him, running away when she tried to approach him. And if she did manage to approach him, his terrified gaze was enough to make her hesitate, giving him enough time to scamper off.
“Aww, I don’t know what you mean!” Kokichi pouts, but there’s a slight crack in it. He’s smiling, isn’t he? God damn it, she doesn’t know what she’s feeling, but she’s certainly not happy. The smaller boy did something, and she needs to know what.
“Quit the act, Ouma-kun! Saihara-kun has been avoiding me for a week now, ever since you had your conversation with him!” She puffs her cheeks out and leans over him. She’s trying to look intimidating, but something about that cocky smirk on the boy’s face makes it feel like it isn’t working.
“Aww… You really see through me that easily?” Kokichi whines, crocodile tears welling in the corner of his eyes, but as quickly as they appear, they disappear. “You know, if you wanna know what I said to Saihara-chan, you should hang out with me~!” His eyes sparkle somewhat.
“Hang… Hang out with you?” Kaede furrows her eyebrows, confused. Was that was this was all about? Did he just want a friend? But, that doesn’t explain anything… “You could just ask to hang out instead of scaring Saihara-kun like that, you know. It’s okay.” She explains with an awkward smile on her face.

“No!”

The sudden shout startles her, because fury is filling the shorter boy’s face and she can’t tell if it’s a facade or not. His fists are clenched tightly, so tightly the knuckles begin to turn white. “I want to hang out with you without Saihara-chan in the way! It’s… It’s…!” His teeth grit together, but… His face relaxes. He’s scarily relaxed. His hands returned to his sides, releasing themselves from the tight grip he held them in. “It’s nothing, Akamatsu-chan. Say, if you hang out with me for a week, I’ll tell you exactly what I said to him, and I promise you, he’ll start talking to you again!” His cheerful demeanor returned. It terrifies her.
“I, uh…” She doesn’t want to. Alarm bells are ringing in her head, red flags are popping up as far as the eye can see. But god damn it, she’s curious. Shuuichi is avoiding her, and Kokichi is behind it somehow. She needs to know, she needs to know. “Okay.”

His whole face lights up like a christmas tree, and she instantly feels like she has made a mistake.

It’s day 6 since Kaede agreed to be Kokichi’s “friend”.

He’s not that bad. Well, he wouldn’t be, if she still wasn’t wondering what the hell he did to Shuuichi. Everyday, he promises, that on the seventh day he will let her know. She’s dreading it, but anticipating it, her fingers are intertwined, fiddling back and forth, until-
“Akamatsu-chan, you’re distracted.”
God damn it, if that doesn’t scare her every single time. The way he says it, it’s teasing, almost, but it’s laced with hidden fury that’s not as subtle as Kokichi might think. Truth be told, she’s afraid of him. She thought he was just a kid, and many of the conversations they have reflect that. But some of the things he says, the joking threats, the thin line that his mouth forms when somebody else interacts with her when he’s around, and the mutters under his breath when he thinks nobody can hear him… He's a mystery, but one she regrets trying to solve.
“Are you still thinking about Saihara-chan?” The purple-haired boy tilted his head curiously, a finger tapped against his chin. Some might find this endearing, but something about his mannerisms, the way he says it… It’s anything but endearing. Especially considering the state of Shuuichi. “I told you, I’ll tell you tomorrow-”
“Yes, I know!” Kaede snapped. His expression does not change, but she hesitates anyway, backing down almost instantly. “It’s just… Nevermind, it’s stupid.” Truth be told, it was anything but stupid in her mind. She just didn’t want to deal with the response, the subtle way his face goes blank for a split second before he breaks out into a chilling laugh, teasing her. Taunting her.

“Nothing you say is stupid.”

It’s said with such sincerity that it feels like it loops back around and becomes incredibly insincere. The blonde is confused - This is not what she expected. She expected relentless taunting, mostly about Shuuichi, but there’s nothing after that. No follow up. There’s just pure adoration in his eyes, idolization… God, what is this?
“It’s nothing important, that’s all. Just stressing over an upcoming concert.” She lied through her teeth. Truth be told, she knows Kokichi is a liar, he’ll find her out easily. But maybe, just maybe, after such a display, he’d take it easy on her.
“ Don’t lie to me.” Kokichi hissed, gripping her arm tightly. Her assumption was wrong. All sincerity, all adoration, it’s like all of it switched off in that one moment, replaced by pure rage. His nails are digging into her skin, tightening… If he goes any further, it feels like he might draw blood. He takes one look at her terrified face - Her petrified look - and suddenly… Stops. His grip loosens, and he looks genuinely terrified. Of himself, maybe? “A-Akamatsu-chan…” He stops.

And then he runs off, leaving her alone.

Another hand finds itself on her arm, and Kaede locks up with fear. Maybe she wasn’t what he was looking at, and there’s somebody behind her, waiting to hurt her? Why would he run? Was this his plan all along? Was this-?
“Akamatsu-san.”

It’s Shuuichi.

“S-Saihara-kun…?” She slowly turned around, and sure enough, there he was. His hair is tangled and ruffled and he looks like he hasn’t slept in days, but he’s finally talking to her again. Her eyes light up, but a second look at Shuuichi’s petrified expression makes her hesitate. He grips her shoulders tightly - she can feel him trembling - and lets the words pour out.
“P-please, A-Akamatsu-san, you need to go… P-please don’t come near him… I-it doesn’t matter what he says! You need to run, run as far as you can, d-don’t…!” A sharp inhale interrupts his entire speech, and he’s suddenly bolting off again.

Kaede is terrified.

“Hey, sis. There was a package at the door, addressed to ya.”

Kaede’s sister rubs the sleep out of her eyes and yawns, brushing her teeth to the point where toothpaste leaks out of her mouth and onto her nightgown. Her words were muffled, but Kaede can still understand them. And they confuse her.
A package? Addressed… To her ? She hadn’t remembered ordering anything online… Maybe something got delivered to the wrong address? But, her sister said it was addressed to HER. Maybe they meant a different Kaede Akamatsu?
“Oh, come on, sis,” Her sister begins, as if reading her mind. “Just open it, or I’ll do it.” Okay, she definitely didn’t want her twin prying through her belongings.
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it!” Kaede waved her off, but something feels incredibly strange. There’s a pit in her stomach, and everything in her gut is telling her to throw this slightly dented box on the kitchen counter in the bin and never think about it again.
The scissors glide across the brown packaging smoothly, and as she tears the cardboard flaps apart from each other, she’s hit with the overwhelming mix of smells. There’s bubble wrap, and another box beneath it. Whatever it is, it clearly needed a LOT of protection. The bubble wrap goes on the table for later popping and the second box is lifted out and placed next to the bubble wrap. It reeks of various strong scents - lemon, lavender, strawberry, most notably - and it’s… Slightly damp. Probably from all the scents. What even needs this much protection? She rolled her eyes, lifting the flaps of the box.

Shuuichi Saihara’s decapitated head is resting inside.

Kaede’s first instinct is to scream, which sends her sister bolting towards her location. And then she starts screaming as well, and soon there’s a puddle of puke on the floor staining the couch slightly and she's wailing, with a toppled over box sitting in front of her, Shuuichi’s head on the coffee table on its side.
“How…? I… I don’t get it… Why him?” She sniffles, eyes stinging from the tears and bile threatening to rise again and stain the couch even further. Her sister is already on the phone with the police, frantically flapping her hands as she details the scene to the officer on the line.
“K-Kaede, go up to your room, please… I’ll tell mom, and dad, and we’ll get them off work, I promise. I... I'm not letting you look at this!” Her twin practically begs, putting her phone in her pocket. She doesn’t have much of a choice, because her sister has to drag her when she goes unresponsive.

Shuuichi is dead. Shuuichi is actually gone. She got sent his decapitated head in the mail. She can’t speak. Her throat feels too dry.

Kaede shakily turns the doorknob to her room, closing and locking the door behind her. God damn it, she wants to just cry her eyes out, and have nobody interrupt her. Not mom, or dad, or the police, or her beloved sister.
She’s about to flop onto her bed, but she’s not alone. The window is open (it wasn’t before IT WASN’T BEFORE), and a very familiar face sits on her bed. Kokichi Ouma. The compulsive liar, the strange childish boy, the boy who she is terrified of. She freezes.

He’s wearing Shuuichi’s cap, and has a blank expression on her face.

“You made it to the seventh day, but you couldn’t even hold back talking to him, for just one more…” He sighws, stepping up. Kaede is prepared to run, to unlock the door, to scream for help, but next thing she knows, there’s a cloth in her mouth and she’s pushed up against the wall,
“I guess I’ll tell you what I said to him, anyway~!” Kokichi smiled innocently, so childishly and sweetly. In any other situation, it might look cute. “I told him to stop talking to you.” He dragged a finger down the nape of her neck. “I told him all the things I’ll do to you. I told him, I was angry, because he took up all of my precious time with you. When I could’ve been watching you walk home, I had to make sure he wouldn’t make his move on you. I told him, if he ever talked to you again, I’d hack his head off and keep you forever as mine, and if he ever told anyone, I would kill him, and choke you to death. I even showed him his schedule to let him know I wasn’t playing around.” His grin turned sinister, not trying to mask it behind innocent childlike smiles anymore. All of this… But, they barely knew each other, prior to everything. “Of course, some of it was a lie. I would never kill my dear Akamatsu-chan… Or, wait. My beloved Kaede-chan.” Her blood ran cold, a shudder running through her body.

“I told him all the things I wanted to do, if I could have my way with you…” The look in his eye is calm, yet sinister. Crazed. He gently stroked her inner thigh. ‘Fuck. FUCK.’ Terror filled her body.
“Ah, I can’t stay here for too long. I heard everything your sister said… Well, we should go, right, Kaede-chan?” He looked so carefree, as if what he said didn’t carry any weight whatsoever. As if they were just going for a quick night out, not as if he were about to drag her kicking and muffled screaming out of a window and towards his car.

Kaede's claustrophobia kicks in, but it's not like she can do much. Maybe living in the attic will help sort that out.